EPL Talk: July 2006

Monday, July 31, 2006

Brown Is The Color: Spurs Unveil New Third Kit

Premiership Countdown: 19 Days to Go. It's been a busy weekend for Tottenham Hotspur. First, the Spurs impressively beat Inter Milan 2-1 in a friendly. Second, Michael Carrick joined Manchester United for 18.6 million pounds ($34.6 million). And third, Tottenham unveiled their new third strip. And it's brown. Yes, as in milk chocolate.

Coventry City, in the 1970s, wore an away kit that was brown. But that was approximately 30 years ago. Now in fashionable 2006, Spurs has decided to wear the brown shirt as their designated away European kit. So depending on how they fair in the UEFA Cup, it'll be interesting to see how long the kit lasts.

Interesting note: Although friendlies are largely meaningless, Spurs is undefeated during the pre-season after beating the following sides: Bordeaux (2-1), Nice (1-0), Celta Vigo (2-0), Birmingham City (2-0), Stevenage Borough (3-0) and Inter Milan (2-1). Next up are Borussia Dortmund and Real Sociedad.

If you're visiting the EPL Talk Blog for the first time, welcome aboard. EPL Talk is the only site of its kind, bringing you unique content for die-hard Premiership (and Tottenham) fans. Check out the blog, that's updated daily and counting down until the beginning of the English Premier League season. If you love listening to football interviews, listen to the only soccer interview show on the Internet, the EPL Talk Podcast. We just released an interview with DJ Paul Oakenfold about his two greatest passions (football and music). Plus, subscribe today to the free EPL Talk Email Newsletter, your weekly guide to the Premier League.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 9:38 PM 3 Comments Links to this post

Sunday, July 30, 2006

Premiership Countdown: 20 Days to Go

It's a new week in the English Premier League, and the transfer talks are beginning to pick up pace. So far post-World Cup, the biggest headline has been Ruud van Nistelrooy's departure to Real Madrid. Benni McCarthy's move from Porto to Blackburn was a pleasant surprise meanwhile.

But now it looks likely that United will sign Michael Carrick from Spurs as long as he passes his medical. Carrick, who's more of a passing midfielder, could be joined this week by Marcos Senna from Villarreal. If so, this would be a fantastic signing for United. Senna would be the much-needed holding, tackling midfielder and could become the fulcrum of the side.

In order to succeed this season, United has to keep its fingers crossed that Chelsea won't ruin the party and swoop in for an offer to capture Senna. The plot thickens.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 10:07 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Update on Interview with Paul Oakenfold

Episode 18 of the EPL Talk Podcast, featuring an interview with DJ Paul Oakenfold, is being delayed. I just want to make sure the audio quality is top notch, so I apologize for the delay. In the meantime, be sure to subscribe to the EPL Talk Podcast via iTunes so you can get each new episode the moment it's released.

One interesting note to share: If you watch Fox Soccer Channel, you've seen their promos where they have Duran Duran and Depeche Mode speaking for 20-30 seconds about Fox Soccer Channel and football. Well, don't be surprised if you see a new promo in the future featuring Paul Oakenfold. After I spoke with Paul and heard him wax poetically about Fox Soccer Channel, I had Fox's people speak with Paul's people. You heard it here first folks!

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 9:59 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Saturday, July 29, 2006

Premiership Countdown: 21 Days to Go

The number of authentic football stadiums in England is sadly dwindling. Gone are historic, but antiquated, stadiums such as Arsenal's Highbury, Man City's Maine Road, Bolton's Baseball Ground, Middlesbrough's Ayresome Park and others.

And now, it seems, that another legendary stadium could be on its way out. This time, it's the majestic White Hart Lane, home of Tottenham Hotspur.

According to an article in The Guardian newspaper, Spurs are seriously considering moving to London's Olympic Stadium, which is being built for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. In many ways, though, Spurs would be daft not to consider the move. The club will find it easier to move to a new home than to try to renovate White Hart Lane.

The move, though, would seriously depress many Spurs fans and football stadium lovers. White Hart Lane has been the home of Spurs since 1899. However the capacity of 36,240 prevents Spurs from competing in terms of ticket revenue with Arsenal's Emirates Stadium (60,000 capacity) and Man United's Old Trafford (76,000 capacity).

If White Hart Lane does disappear, there'll only be a few Premiership grounds left that are the older style with their own character that has graced the English game for so long. They include Everton's Goodison Park, Liverpool's Anfield, Portsmouth's Fratton Park and Fulham's Craven Cottage. I don't include in this list the following grounds, since they've been renovated so much that they're more modern nowadays: Old Trafford, Villa Park, Stamford Bridge, St James's Park, and Boleyn Ground. That said, at the end of the day, White Hart Lane itself is pretty modern after some of the redevelopment in the 80s and 90s.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 12:01 AM 2 Comments Links to this post

Friday, July 28, 2006

Setanta Sports Announces EPL Friendlies

Setanta USA has announced that they'll be televising the following pre-season friendlies live on their network, all featuring Premiership sides.

Saturday, July 29 11:30am ET:
Kaiserslautern v Liverpool

Monday, July 31 2pm ET:
Macclesfield Town vs Manchester United

Tuesday, August 1 2pm ET:
Grasshoppers of Zurich vs Liverpool

Friday, August 4 12:30pm ET:
Manchester United vs Porto

Saturday, August 5 3pm ET:
Ajax vs Manchester United

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 10:39 PM 2 Comments Links to this post

Premiership Countdown: 22 Days to Go

How soon will it be before you can watch Premiership matches over the Internet, legally? Imagine if you could watch your favorite side week-in, week-out. Or if you could pick and choose what matches you want to see instead of only seeing what's on TV.

That time will come. How soon, it's hard to say. But right now, Setanta Broadband is offering many of its matches over the Internet with their service. For those of you have been reading the back issues of EPL Talk Magazine and this EPL Talk Blog, you'll know that I'm a big fan of watching football matches on broadband.

Here are some of the highlights of Setanta Broadband over the next few days:

Saturday, July 29; 11:30am ET:
Kaiserslautern v Liverpool

Tuesday, August 1; 11:00am ET:
Grasshoppers Zurich v Liverpool

I'm not clear who owns the Internet rights to show the EPL on broadband, but I do know that Fox Soccer Channel is looking into showing material from their web site.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 12:44 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Join the EPL Talk Fantasy League for FREE

If you think you can outwit your fellow soccer readers and you want to have some fun, register today to join the EPL Talk Fantasy League. We'll award the winner of the league with an EPL Talk T-shirt and another prize to be named later.

The private league is currently open. Plus, it's free to join. Here's all that you have to do:

Visit http://fantasy.premierleague.com
Register your username and password
Pick your team
In the list of red text links that appear near the top right corner, click on the 'Leagues' link
Type in the following code number into the box labelled 'Join A Private League': 312189-53753
Click the 'Join The League' button

And that's it. The season starts August 19th, so be sure to sign up today. Then, throughout the season we'll post the league table here (or you can always view it from the above site). Be sure to read the 'Help' section under the league if you've never played before.

Note from The Gaffer as of March 10, 2007: The league has been closed for the remainder of the season to make it fair to the contestants who have been in the league since its inception. The winner of the EPL Talk Fantasy Champions League will win a prize.

The EPL Talk Blog has moved. Be sure to visit epltalk.com and update your bookmarks!

// posted by The Gaffer @ 9:16 PM 4 Comments Links to this post

Premiership Countdown: 23 Days to Go

While the Ruud Van Nistelrooy transfer saga continues with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in a tug of war over the Dutch striker, Manchester United fans should be genuinely concerned about United's inability to sign anyone. In fact, they're the only Premiership side so far this summer who hasn't signed a player.

United needs to make 2-3 critical signings between now and the end of August. United desperately needs a holding midfielder, a right winger and a striker to replace Van Nistelrooy. Sure, Louis Saha will be able to step in and do well, but it's a very long season especially with the Champion's League, so United will need cover for the Rooney and Saha partnership up front.

Looking ahead to the Premiership, United has an easy start to the season in August with matches against Fulham (home), Charlton (away), and Watford (away).

But the Red Devils will be in serious trouble in September. So much so that Sir Alex Ferguson's job could be on the line during the Fall/Autumn.

Here's who United will face in September: Spurs (home), Arsenal (home), Reading (away) and Newcastle (home). While the match against Reading could be tricky, the fixtures against Spurs, Arsenal and Newcastle will be a true test of the character of the Manchester side. The only saving grace is that all three of those matches are at home.

There's still plenty of time for United to bring in some players before the transfer window closes, but it will soon be a race against time if United continues to dawdle.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 1:00 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Next EPL Talk Podcast: Paul Oakenfold

He's the world's most famous DJ. He's opened for U2 and Madonna, and worked on records for New Order and The Happy Mondays. And, best of all, he's a raving mad football fan. His name is Paul Oakenfold.

Learn more about his passion for football, what team he supports, and more during this fascinating interview, which is scheduled for release this Sunday night. Be sure to subscribe to the EPL Talk Podcast via iTunes or this page today so you don't miss this episode or any others.

Oakenfold also talks about what he thinks of Premiership coverage in the States, and discusses Fox Soccer Channel and Setanta Sports.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 11:03 PM 2 Comments Links to this post

Premiership Countdown: 24 Days to Go

Which of the new 2006/2007 Premiership kits do you think looks best? Is it the new United kit?

Manchester United's new home kit has caused quite a bit of controversy on message boards worldwide with a lot of people saying it looks too close to Liverpool strips of old. But I personally think it's first class. The simple elegant design is more sophisticated than the typical too-trendy Nike styles.

Both the new Chelsea and Liverpool strips look similar as they're based off the same template from Adidas. Liverpool's away and third shirts are getting a lot of good feedback.

Newcastle, meanwhile, have added a new European shirt this year - which is an unconventional blue and black design. Arsenal's modern, but retro look, is clean and perfect.

Other thumbs-up include the new Fulham home kit (see above left).

If you're interested in purchasing a jersey for your favorite Premiership team, whether its the home, away or third shirt, visit the EPLTalk.com homepage for the most comprehensive listing of Premiership shirts available. At Kitbag, you can find Premiership shirts for 11 of the 20 clubs. But at EPLTalk.com, we've scoured the Internet to sell home shirts for almost every Premiership team. And for those that aren't available, we're selling collectible retro shirts. Note: The Premiership shirts will be updated this weekend, but in the meantime, you can also visit the Official Premiership Shirts site.

The EPL Talk Blog has moved. Be sure to visit epltalk.com and update your bookmarks!

// posted by The Gaffer @ 10:34 PM 2 Comments Links to this post

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

"Once In A Lifetime" Now Playing Near You

The documentary, "Once In A Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of The New York Cosmos," will expand the number of screens and will open this Friday, July 28th in the following cities: Dallas, Detroit, Houston and Minnesota.

The EPL Talk Blog has moved. Be sure to visit epltalk.com and update your bookmarks!

// posted by The Gaffer @ 9:00 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

The Economics of Arsenal's Emirates Stadium

I read an amazing statistic today on The Sports Economist Blog about Arsenal's Emirates Stadium: With 150 executive boxes compared to Highbury's 48, executive seats will reportedly provide 43 per cent of matchday income from spectators.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 8:39 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Premiership Countdown: 25 Days to Go

Late breaking news: ESPN2 will be televising the Columbus Crew against Everton friendly on Wednesday, July 26 at 7pm ET.

The Crew, who hosted Fulham last year in a similar friendly, will play against David Moyes's side who just lost 1-0 to Celtic. New signing Andy Johnson, although impressive, has yet to find the back of the net. Everton's Andy Van der Meyde, meanwhile, is still injured and hasn't flown with the team to the US.

This should be an excellent opportunity to see what Everton has in store and how a Major League Soccer team such as Columbus does against the Toffees.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 1:14 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Monday, July 24, 2006

Best Striker Partnerships in the Premiership

In today's transfer news, it looks like Hernan Crespo wants to return to Italy while Bayern Munich are inching closer to signing Ruud Van Nistelrooy. The question it leaves in my mind is this: Who are the strikers that'll be banging in the goals this upcoming season?

At Liverpool, the team has Craig Bellamy, Robbie Fowler and Peter Crouch available. Quite a bunch of misfits, but all three of them could achieve goals if they're in-form. However, for me, they're all too inconsistent.

Manchester United, meanwhile, has Wayne Rooney, Van Nistelrooy (for now), Louis Saha, Ole Solksjaer, Giuseppi Rossi and Alan Smith. Rossi has failed to net any goals in the friendly matches in South Africa. Smith, when not injured, is a better midfielder than striker. Solksjaer can be clinical in his finishing but is too injury prone. So, Saha and Rooney would be their best bets but they need adequate service from midfield.

Chelsea have the pick of the bunch with Shevchenko and Drogba up front, with Crespo probably on his way out, but Kalou (from the Ivory Coast) as a back-up. He scored 15 goals last season for Feyenoord in the Dutch league, so it'll be interesting to see how he performs in the Premiership. It'll be fascinating to see how Drogba and Shevchenko link up, unless Mourinho decides to stay with a 4-5-1/4-3-3 formation.

Looking at Arsenal, the team has the most number of dangerous striking options with Thierry Henry, Adebayor, Robin Van Persie and Antonio Reyes. Van Persie and Reyes, though, need to step up their goalscoring output.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 2:13 PM 5 Comments Links to this post

Premiership Countdown: 26 Days to Go

The Times newspaper today published an exhaustive and fascinating discovery of who is the greatest football team of all time in England.

The statisticians at the newspaper calculated every game played since the 1888-1889 season all of the way up to the end of last season -- some 80,000 games in total. To read how they approached this fascinating project, read this article first.

The top 31 teams are shown here (and pictured right), while teams 32-62 can be found here.

Their findings? Liverpool are the greatest team in the history of English league football. Read why here, and discover why Chelsea is number 14 while teams like Huddersfield Town and Burnley are above them.

You can also read their findings about Arsenal, and Manchester United.

Plus the statisticians have even calculated the greatest attacking sides of all time, and the top defences.

The exhaustive analysis, which must have taken up several pages in today's edition of The Times, also discusses Everton's position and how Leeds United ended above them in this table.

More analysis from The Times:

Great stuff. Now if you're a Liverpool fan, you can safely say that your club is the greatest in history...

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 7:20 AM 1 Comments Links to this post

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Episode 17 of the EPL Talk Podcast

The interview with Kevin Toms, the legendary creator of soccer games for the computer is now available on the EPL Talk Podcast.

Some important notes:
The FootyMax website, which is definitely worthwhile visiting to take part in the two week free trial, is at http://www.footymax.com

If you're interested in checking out what Football Manager is like (or if you want to relive the experience), there are a few ways to find it. First, you can play a remake of the game. Second, you can download an emulator for the Sinclair Spectrum computer, which allows you to play Spectrum games on your PC. You can find Football Manager here for the Spectrum.

During the latest podcast, I mentioned how you can win prizes from EPL Talk. Just go ahead and subscribe here (and, while you're at it, subscribe for the BIG surprise I mentioned on the podcast).

The EPL Talk Blog has moved. Be sure to visit epltalk.com and update your bookmarks!

// posted by The Gaffer @ 10:50 PM 2 Comments Links to this post

Premiership Countdown: 27 Days to Go

The Observer newspaper from England has done a fantastic job at looking at the 20 Premiership sides and reporting on the latest transfer speculation (as well as listing their upcoming friendlies).

Among some of the highlights of the article: West Ham are very interested in signing Ghana international John Painstill; a great quote from Bolton's Kevin Nolan; and Reading's star midfielder Steve Sidwell has admitted he's had talks with Man City.

Read the article here.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 10:31 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Next EPL Talk Interview: Kevin Toms

Tomorrow's EPL Talk Podcast will feature an interview with Kevin Toms, the world's most famous soccer computer game creator.

Some of you may recognize his name. Others may scratch your head in puzzlement. But Toms was a legend in the computer industry when he launched the very first and incredibly successful football management simulation game entitled Football Manager in 1982 for the ZX-81 computer. In a short amount of time, the game was available for all of the leading computer platforms.

After Football Manager, Toms created Football Manager 2, Football Manager World Cup Edition and other games.

Toms is now back with an incredibly addictive management game called FootyMax, which is played online. Subscribe to the EPL Talk Podcast today on iTunes or visit us Sunday night to hear the interview.

The EPL Talk Blog has moved. Be sure to visit epltalk.com and update your bookmarks!

// posted by The Gaffer @ 4:00 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Premiership Countdown: 28 Days to Go

Although I don't fancy Fulham's chances this upcoming season, I have a lot of respect for manager Chris Coleman and what he's trying to do at the west London club. After all, who couldn't a club with such a historic building nestled in the corner of the ground (pictured right)?

In today's Guardian newspaper, the reporter offers a glimpse into the life of a Premiership manager by speaking with Coleman and discovering what his schedule is like. As "Cookie" Coleman says, it's a 12-month job now, not 10 months.

Read the fascinating article today.

PS - I must have been drinking too many ciders during the World Cup when I was watching those England matches. We're now down to 28 days before the Premiership starts, not 29 (hence the reason I skipped from 30 days to 28 days).

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 3:50 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Who Dares Wins

~~The next person who responds correctly to yesterday's trivia question will win the last copy of the Once In A Lifetime book about the New York Cosmos.~~ Congratulations to Alan "speedy fingers" Wigodski, from Southfield, Michigan, for correctly answering the trivia question.

The winners of the two remaining Once In A Lifetime paperback books are Josh Hamlin from Greenbelt, Maryland, and Michael Miracolo from Hawthorne, New York. Congratulations Josh, Michael and Alan.

If you're interested in winning the last "Once In A Lifetime" autographed poster and Cosmos T-shirt (pictured above), e-mail buzz@epltalk.com and we'll tell you about the EPL Talk Buzz Club, where you can win these prizes and more. No strings attached. No fees to join. Just email us and we'll tell you more about how it works.

The EPL Talk Blog has moved. Be sure to visit epltalk.com and update your bookmarks!

// posted by The Gaffer @ 8:59 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Friday, July 21, 2006

Premiership Countdown: 30 Days to Go

Do you ever dream you could be at a stadium in the Premier League, to soak in the atmosphere and watch what happens inside and outside of the hallowed ground?

Although it's not as good as experiencing it in person, here are links to live webcams that show images of Chelsea's Stamford Bridge (camera one and camera two), and Arsenal's Emirates Stadium.

Speaking of Arsenal, the club officially opened the Emirates Stadium yesterday for 20,000 fans who watched the Gunners take part in a public training session.

The team is preparing for tomorrow's Dennis Bergkamp testimonial match where Ajax (his former club) will play Arsenal. What a fitting tribute for an Arsenal legend and an excellent way to open a new chapter in Arsenal's history.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 12:58 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Where Else Can You Win This Much Loot?

The winner of the New York Cosmos/Once In A Lifetime T-shirt is Mark Johnson from Richmond, Virginia. Congratulations Mark!

I have three copies of the paperback book from the movie to give away. So, here's how it'll work. Answer the following trivia question by e-mail and I'll announce the three winners of the "Once In A Lifetime" book on this blog tomorrow.

Question: Name one of the bands or singers who appears on the "Once In A Lifetime" movie soundtrack (Hint: You can find the answer at http://www.onceinalifetime-movie.com under "Soundtrack").

Send your answer to buzz@epltalk.com (along with your name and address, so I can send you the book if you win). Then check the blog tomorrow to see if your name was picked out of the hat. And watch for news about how to win other "Once In A Lifetime" items.

The EPL Talk Blog has moved. Be sure to visit epltalk.com and update your bookmarks!

// posted by The Gaffer @ 12:48 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Sneak Preview of Next EPL Talk Podcast

The next EPL Talk Podcast, scheduled to be released this Sunday night, will feature an interview with the world's most famous creator of soccer computer games.

I'll reveal who the mystery man is this Saturday, but suffice to say, it'll be an interesting interview to catch up on what his new soccer game is, to talk about how he got started and who his favorite soccer team is.

Subscribe to the EPL Talk Podcast via iTunes or this page.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 4:40 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Win a NY Cosmos T-Shirt

The winner of the "Once In A Lifetime" poster autographed by Giorgio Chinaglia and Shep Messing is... Jeff Whitsitt from Culleoka, Tennessee.

Now, for the first time, we're giving away a "Once In A Lifetime" Cosmos T-shirt as a prize (pictured right). The sleeve has a logo for the movie, while the back (pictured here) has the famous number 10 from Pele.

To enter the contest, all you have to do is e-mail a friend, family member or colleague about the EPL Talk Blog and forward it to me at buzz@epltalk.com along with your name and address (so I can send you the shirt if you win). I promise not to email your friend or collect their email address.

The winner of the T-shirt will be announced tomorrow. Plus, we still have a lot more gifts to award over the next few days, so keep on coming back to this blog.

The EPL Talk Blog has moved. Be sure to visit epltalk.com and update your bookmarks!

// posted by The Gaffer @ 4:03 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Premiership Countdown: 31 Days to Go

We're just over a month from the start of the Premiership season, and right now all 20 EPL teams have unveiled their home shirts for the 2006/2007 season.

Chelsea unveiled theirs today ($64), while Arsenal (pictured right; $73) and Manchester United unveiled theirs last week ($64).

What's interesting is that many of the clubs this year have reverted to retro designs. which -- in my opinion -- are better with a cleaner look-and-feel that'll make the teams appear more professional. Is this an attempt to return to the innocence of "the good old years" or is it just a trend in fashion?

Football jerseys are, of course, big business. For example, Adidas estimated that the 2006 World Cup should help provide more than $1.5 billion (yes billion) in revenue from soccer-related products including shoes and replica jerseys.

The EPL Talk Blog has moved. Be sure to visit epltalk.com and update your bookmarks!

// posted by The Gaffer @ 9:32 AM 1 Comments Links to this post

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Premiership Countdown: 32 Days to Go

To help guide you through the crowded field of different fantasy football games available, here are the seven of the better ones. Many of them have started registration, and some of them are free.

Fantasy Premier League (English Premier League)
Fantasy Football (Daily Telegraph)
Dream Team (The Sun)
The Fantasy Game (The Times)
Fantasy Chairman (The Guardian)
Fantasy League Classic (Fantasy League)
EPL Fantasy Challenge (Fox Soccer Channel)

Which ones have you tried? Last year, I tried the official Fantasy Premier League on the Premier League site. I failed miserably, ending up around mid-table. It seemed that whenever I transferred a player, the next week he would score a hat-trick (for example, Marlon Harewood). Or I picked a striker like Michael Owen who was injured most of the season.

The EPL Talk Blog has moved. Be sure to visit epltalk.com and update your bookmarks!

// posted by The Gaffer @ 2:15 PM 6 Comments Links to this post

Win Big with EPL Talk

Today we're giving away another "Once In A Lifetime" poster autographed by Giorgio Chinaglia and Shep Messing. To win, all you have to do is answer the following trivia question and we'll then pick one lucky winner out of the hat.

Question: In 1977, what famous European star did the New York Cosmos sign? (Hint: You can find the answer under the "Timeline" section at http://www.onceinalifetime-movie.com).

We'll announce the winner on the blog tomorrow. Keep on returning each day as we have more "Once In A Lifetime" prizes to give away such as Cosmos T-shirts and more.

Meanwhile, the winner of yesterday's paperbook copy of "Once In A Lifetime" is Alex Shorthouse.

The EPL Talk Blog has moved. Be sure to visit epltalk.com and update your bookmarks!

// posted by The Gaffer @ 2:05 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Premiership Countdown: 33 Days to Go

If you were like many soccer fans this summer, you probably visited FoxSoccer.com at some point to take in some of the World Cup news, blogs and guides.

For example, in June 4.9 million unique users visited FoxSoccer.com, which was much larger than its closest competitor ESPNSoccernet.com (3.8 million unique users).

According to Mediaweek Magazine, "FoxSoccer.com plans to continue on a permanent basis several online features introduced specifically for the World Cup, including live scoreboards with full statistical data; a real-time match tracker; live at-match blogs from Fox Soccer writers and on-air talent; and photo galleries." By the way, a separate version of the EPL Talk Blog at FoxSoccer is available here.

What this means for Premiership fans is improved coverage, more blog postings from the Fox Soccer Channel personalities such as Bobby McMahon, and advertisers who will be drooling to get their products in front of your face. At the end of the day, it's good business for Fox and we can expect to reap the rewards by seeing more "sticky" content on their site.

The EPL Talk Blog has moved. Be sure to visit epltalk.com and update your bookmarks!

// posted by The Gaffer @ 2:09 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Win the "Once In A Lifetime" Paperback

Each day this week, we're giving away a different prize from the new movie, "Once In A Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of The New York Cosmos." Today's prize is a brand-new paperback copy of the excellent book written by Gavin Newsham.

To be the lucky person to win the copy, just go ahead and take a look at the following trivia question. Then send your answer to buzz@epltalk.com -- and we'll announce the winner on the blog here tomorrow.

Question: According to co-director John Dower, what football documentary does he plan on doing next? (Hint: The answer is under the "About Filmmakers" section at http://www.onceinalifetime-movie.com).

The winner of yesterday's autographed "Once In A Lifetime" poster is: Steve Allen from Annapolis, MD.

Keep on checking back daily as we'll be announcing how you can win New York Cosmos T-shirts, another autographed poster and more!

The EPL Talk Blog has moved. Be sure to visit epltalk.com and update your bookmarks!

// posted by The Gaffer @ 1:15 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Monday, July 17, 2006

Win an Autographed Soccer Poster

Wanna win an authentic "Once In A Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos" poster autographed by Cosmos stars Giorgio Chinaglia and Shep Messing?

Just answer the following trivia question and you could be the lucky winner we pick out of the hat.

What famous Hollywood actor is the narrator for the Once In A Lifetime documentary?

Hint: You can find the answer at http://www.onceinalifetime-movie.com

Email your answer to buzz@epltalk.com today along with your name and address, and I'll announce the lucky winner tomorrow. Also check back on this blog tomorrow to find out how you can win the next Once In A Lifetime promotional item (could it be another autographed poster, a New York Cosmos T-shirt or a paperback copy of "Once In A Lifetime"?)

The EPL Talk Blog has moved. Be sure to visit epltalk.com and update your bookmarks!

// posted by The Gaffer @ 1:06 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Premiership Countdown: 34 Days To Go

While teams such as Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool are in the news each day, spare a thought for Aston Villa fans who haven't had any good news to chew on this summer.

First, consider the fact that Villa chairman Doug Ellis has told manager David O'Leary that before he can buy any players he needs to sell some first. Milan Baros was supposed to move to Hamburg, but it looks like that deal may be in jeopardy -- meaning that Villa fans will have to agonizingly wait longer before any hope of bringing in someone new.

Second, it emerged within the past few days that several players have publicly complained about the club cutting the pursestring's too much. The Villa players are having to pay for a masseur out of their own pocket. The physio wasn't allowed to claim a cup of coffee on his expense report. And Villa refused to pay $545 to have the patch watered after the season ended.

With Villa avoiding relegation by just eight points last season, this season doesn't look particularly promising for the Midlands club or fans. It's a crying shame because the club is steeped in history, has a fantastic stadium and a lot of devoted fans (Seamus Malin being one of them).

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 12:45 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

Damien Duff Close to Leaving Chelsea

What do the following players have in common? Didier Zokora, Michael Carrick, Edgar Davids, Aaron Lennon, Jermaine Jenas, Andy Reid, Reto Ziegler, Hossam Ghaly, Danny Murphy, Teemu Tainio and now, possibly Damien Duff?

Unbelievably, it's the overcrowded midfield line-up at Tottenham Hotspur. Now, Damien Duff is the latest transfer prospect and he'd be a fantastic signing for Spurs from Chelsea.

While the midfield for Spurs seems crowded, you only have to look at Chelsea to see how competitive theirs is (Ballack, Lampard, Essien, Makelele, Cole, Geremi, Robben, Diarra, Mikel and Wright-Phillips).

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 7:25 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Sunday, July 16, 2006

Interview with Hollywood Director Now Live

The interview with Paul Crowder, the co-director of the just-released soccer documentary, "Once In A Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos," is now available on the EPL Talk Podcast.

Watch the documentary in movie theaters in the following cities:

Now playing: New York (Angelika), Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington DC, and Seattle-Tacoma.

Opens July 21: New York (Roslyn), Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Boston.

Opens July 28: Detroit.

Opens September 29: Gainesville.

More cities to come. For more information about the documentary, visit http://www.onceinalifetime-movie.com/

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 10:19 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

Premiership Countdown: 35 Days to Go

If a English team is ever to win the Champions League again, this upcoming season presents the best opportunity. With the scandal in Italy, both AC Milan and Juventus are barred from playing in the Champions League. What a golden opportunity for a Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool or Manchester United to win the trophy.

For one of these four teams to do that, the secret ingredient could be the signing of one of the select Italian World Cup stars from Fiorentina, Lazio, AC Milan or Juventus. It could also transform a team and increase their chances of winning the Premiership. The perfect example is AC Milan's Gattuso. The fierce holding midfielder could make a radical difference in a Man United side.

Interestingly, there are two completely different stories published today on the topic of potential Italian transfers. The BBC leads with a more factual account, quoting top Premiership managers such as Rafa Benitez and Alex Ferguson. Reading the article, Premiership fans may feel pretty optimistic that one or more Italian stars will make their way to England.

The Sunday Telegraph, meanwhile, takes a different angle on the story and mentions friends of the players who allege that most of the Italian stars will remain in Italy, and that Alex Ferguson is already too late in his quest for new Azzurri.

If you were Mourinho, Benitez, Ferguson or Wenger, which Italian stars would you go after and why?

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 2:22 PM 2 Comments Links to this post

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Once In A Lifetime: The Next EPL Talk Podcast

Get your iPods and browsers ready. I can now reveal that this week's new episode of the EPL Talk Podcast will feature an interview with Paul Crowder, the co-director of the new soccer documentary, "Once In A Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos."

Crowder, a self confessed Chelsea nutcase, gives us insight into this new film, some of his favorite stories, what parallels there are between the Cosmos of the 1970s and the Chelsea of today, his memories of watching British football in the 1970s, what he thought about the ESPN/ABC coverage of the World Cup and much more.

During the episode, we'll also be announcing several new ways for you to win free prizes including Once In A Lifetime posters autographed by Cosmos stars Giorgio Chinaglia and Shep Messing!

It's interesting to note that Crowder has had a remarkable career. He was a drummer with a band called The Adventures, which opened for Tears for Fears and Fleetwood Mac. He was also one of the founding members of Floggin' Molly. Plus, he edited over 50 episodes of VH1's "Behind The Music," and is currently working on a new documentary project about The Who.

The new podcast episode will be available tomorrow (Sunday). If you want to get the interview as soon as it's available, subscribe to the EPL Talk Podcast on iTunes, Odeo or Podnova. Or you can play the new episode from your browser, after it's released, at http://epltalk.libsyn.com. If you missed any of the 15 episodes of the EPL Talk Podcast, catch up now before the Premiership season begins.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 8:44 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Premiership Countdown: 36 Days to Go

One of the joys of summertime in England is basking in the sun and watching the pre-season friendlies. It's a ritual that many soccer fans relish. Smelling the freshly cut grass, getting your hopes up that "this could be the season," and watching new transfer signings and youth players playing for your team for the first time in tiny and antiquated stadiums.

It's also an opportunity for smaller teams to play against Premiership sides. While the English Premier League teams get much-needed match practice, the smaller clubs get a nice injection of cash from ticket sales. It's a perfect agreement, except that many Premiership sides these days now revert to flying overseas for tournaments thereby taking the ticket revenue out of the country.

Keeping up with all of the friendly fixtures is a full-time job, but here's a selection of some of the more interesting matches during the next few days:

Saturday, July 15:
Wrexham v Liverpool
Barnet v Arsenal

Tuesday, July 18:
Celta Vigo v Spurs

Wednesday, July 19:
Accrington Stanley v Blackburn

With these matches, though, you can't take the results seriously. The matches usually feature unlimited substitutions and key players may be rested while they recover from World Cup duty, or make way for fringe players who have a lot more to prove.

Interestingly, Sheffield Wednesday from the Championship will play the USL Soccer League All-Star Team on Wednesday, July 19 at 8pm ET in Cary, North Carolina. The match will be shown live on Fox Soccer Channel.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 8:04 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Friday, July 14, 2006

Premiership Countdown: 37 Days to Go

It was one of the main reasons why the 2006 World Cup was less entertaining than previous years, and the reason why so few of the football superstars shone at the World Cup. It's the 4-5-1 formation.

Unfortunately, I predict the dreaded 4-5-1 will have a big impact on the Premiership this season, and we'll see more teams adopting the strategy based on how effective it was at the World Cup.

For many teams in the Premiership, they'll see it as one of their only hopes of avoiding relegation and grinding out results. It's worked well for Bolton, and I can see other teams using the method. The strategy works well to crowd the midfield and prevent attacking teams from getting forward. Many EPL managers, who can't compete against the heavyweights (Chelsea, Arsenal, Man United or Liverpool), may feel that this is their only option.

However, let's hope that the 4-4-2 (or similar attacking formations) will prevail and EPL managers will quickly see that it's difficult to win matches using a 4-5-1 (unless the 4-5-1 morphs into a 4-3-3 if the wingers attack down the sides, like Chelsea).

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 12:14 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Thursday, July 13, 2006

New Man United Home Kit Revealed

A day before the official press conference to launch the Nike kit, EPL Talk can now reveal images of the new, much-awaited home shirt for Manchester United.

View a PDF of the shirt now!

Thanks to Razman for sending me the images, which he found in the Manchester United newsletter he received today.

Interestingly, we included a photo of the shirt way back on May 30th, but we weren't able to confirm its authenticity until today. The new home shirt features a retro design to celebrate 50 years since the Busby Babes's first league championship.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 9:00 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

Man United Preseason Tour on US TV

In America, Setanta Sports will broadcast live matches from Manchester United's preseason tour of South Africa, starting this Saturday.

Wearing their redesigned strip, Man U will participate in the Vodacom Challenge alongside two local teams, Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.

The schedule is as follows:

Saturday, July 15, 09:15am ET:
Orlando Pirates v Manchester United - Durban

Tuesday, July 18, 1:15pm ET:
Kaizer Chiefs v Manchester United - Cape Town

Thursday, July 20, 1:15pm ET:
Kaizer Chiefs v Orlando Pirates – Rustenburg

Saturday, July 22, 09:15am ET:
Manchester United v winners of July 20 game - Pretoria

Setanta Sports is available on DirecTV, channel 615 and on GlobeCast WorldTV. More information about the tournament, meanwhile, is at http://www.vodacomchallenge.com/

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 3:33 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Premiership Countdown: 38 Days to Go

During the upcoming 2006/2007 English Premier League season, who can stop Chelsea from winning the title, and do you think Chelsea can be their own worst enemy and drop much-needed points?

For me, I see Arsenal and Liverpool as being the two clubs to trouble Chelsea the most. Arsenal's addition of Tomas Rosicky from the Czech Republic will give the North London side an extra dimension in midfield.

Many of their star players, meanwhile, will be full of confidence after exemplary World Cup performances (Lehmann, Toure, Fabregas, Senderos, van Persie, and Eboue). And don't forget that the Gunners will be buoyed by playing at a brand-new home stadium, where they'll definitely want to create an undefeated home record.

Liverpool, meanwhile, has done well in the transfer market by signing Brazilian full-back Fabio Aurelio (who is a potential replacement for Roberto Carlos on the Brazil squad), centre-half Gabriel Paletta from Argentina, left winger Mark González from Chile, and striker Craig Bellamy from Blackburn. Djibril Cisse, meanwhile, has been loaned to Marseille.

While Manchester United put on a brilliant display during the second half of the season, it unfortunately wasn't enough to dislodge Chelsea from the top.

My concern about the Red Devils is that they have yet to land any new players to address their problem areas (right wing, and center midfield). For far too long, the side has looked impotent in midfield, which used to be one of the strongest areas. United also has to worry about the potential loss of Ruud van Nistelrooy. Plus, I predict that Cristiano Ronaldo will suffer a huge loss in form and confidence when he faces the guaranteed boos and abuse during the forthcoming Premiership matches.

For Chelsea, this will be their hardest season ever. They've raised the bar for themselves and have to win the Champions League this season. They're expected to win the Premiership, but that league is going to be much tougher this year with a resurgent Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs and never-say-die Manchester United.

Jose Mourinho has his work cut out for him, trying to blend Shevchenko into the squad. Ballack, I feel, will slot comfortably into the team and will reduce the off-form Lampard to the bench. The big question for the Blues is whether they can sign Ashley Cole to fill their much-needed left back position. If not, del Horno's weaknesses will be a liability for Chelsea.

Personally, I feel Chelsea has enough talent to weather the storm and Mourinho has no fear to drop players who are underperforming (Lampard). Between them, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United, I believe this will be one of the tightest championship races in a very long time.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 12:54 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Sunderland Place Allardyce On The Shortlist

In today's Premiership news, Bolton's manager Sam Allardyce is on the shortlist to become manager of recently-relegated Sunderland.

Now that former Sunderland star Niall Quinn has moved into the chairman's position at the Northeast club, Allardyce would be the perfect selection to help bring the Black Cats back up to the Premiership.

Bolton, obviously, will not want Allardyce to leave.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 9:49 AM 1 Comments Links to this post

Get Free Soccer Gear from EPL Talk

EPL Talk is looking for people like you to help spread the word about the web site to your friends, colleagues or to strangers.

As a reward for getting the word out, we're giving away a bunch of prizes. No strings attached. And we pay shipping. Prizes such as video games, movie gift certificates, soccer video tapes, Barnes and Noble gift certificates, T-shirts and more.

If you're interested, e-mail buzz@epltalk.com.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 9:33 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Next EPL Talk Podcast

Last night, I interviewed a Hollywood movie director for the next episode of the EPL Talk Podcast (scheduled to be released this Sunday). I won't name the guy right now, but it's definitely a movie you'll be interested in.

He's a die-hard Chelsea fan, lives in Los Angeles and has some great stories to tell.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 9:21 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Premiership Countdown: 39 Days to Go

Looking at the Premiership schedule on Fox Soccer Channel for the upcoming 2006/2007 season, you can expect to watch 7.5 hours of continuous Premiership coverage on Saturdays in one block. Here's the rundown:

9:30-10am ET: EPL Preview Show
10am-Noon ET: Live Premiership match
Noon-2:30pm ET: Live Premiership match
2:30-3:00pm ET: Super Saturday +
3:00-5:00pm ET: Tape-delayed Premiership match

"Are you ready for some football?"

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 8:02 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Fox Soccer Channel Makes Changes to EPL Coverage

If you've been reading the EPL Talk Blog the past week, you'll notice that we've been talking a lot about Fox Soccer Channel's impending coverage of the 2006/2007 Premiership season.

We can now confirm that FSC has changed their schedule regarding coverage of matches. Their typical schedule will now be:

Saturdays
10am ET -- Live Premiership match
12:15pm ET -- Live Premiership match
3pm ET -- Tape delayed Premiership match

Sundays
11am ET -- Live Premiership match

Mondays
3pm ET -- Live Premiership match

The 10am ET match on Saturday mornings used to pay-per-view, so that's a huge bonus to be able to watch that match and have it followed by the one at Noon -- for four hours of live Premiership coverage.

Most of us know that the majority of Premiership matches are played at 10am on Saturday, so it'll be interesting to see if FSC shows the results of the matches near the end of the 10am broadcast (except, hopefully, for the 3pm tape-delayed match -- so the pleasure of watching the 3pm isn't ruined).

The other benefit is being able to see the Sunday match live at 11am ET rather than the tape delayed time of 1pm ET. Bravo to FSC!

Remember where you read it first! More details to come about the 7:45am Saturday matches, the 8:30am Sunday matches and the midweek games.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 12:53 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

English Premier League Transfer Update

The World Cup is still lukewarm, yet there has already been a lot of movement in the transfer market:

Spurs has announced the signing of Ivory Coast star Didier Zokora. The midfield player was one of the stars of the World Cup team (pictured, right).
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has joined Charlton from Middlesbrough after Boro announced they no longer wanted the Dutch striker.
Both Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have publicly stated their interest in signing Manchester United star Ruud van Nistelrooy.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 8:10 AM 2 Comments Links to this post

The Demand for Premiership Tickets

Last season, because I have relatives in Liverpool, I purchased one of Liverpool's membership cards. Without it, you're unable to buy tickets online or at Anfield stadium (or so they tell you). As it turned out, I didn't make the trip across the pond but I still retain the card, just in case.

To illustrate the demand for Premiership tickets, yesterday I received a letter in the mail from Liverpool Football Club. The correspondence read:

"I am delighted to invite you to apply for a Priority Ticket Scheme (PTS) membership for the 2006-2007 season. Your membership gives you a 1 in 2 chance to purchase a ticket for each Premiership home fixture in advance of general sales. One PTS membership allows you to apply for one ticket per match. There are 5,000 tickets available for every match and, with 10,000 members, you have a one in two chance of being successful for each match."

So how much does the Priority Ticket Scheme membership cost you ask? Fifty British pounds, which is $90.

If -- and only if -- I was a die-hard Liverpool fan who could catch a bunch of Liverpool home matches during the course of the season, then I'd consider it. But $90 is pretty steep just for being granted a 50% chance of getting one ticket. What if I wanted to bring my wife or one of my mates?

I'm curious to know what other Premiership clubs have similar ticket schemes. To me, it feels as if clubs are taking advantage of the loyal football fan and the incredible demand for tickets. What do you think?

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 8:00 AM 1 Comments Links to this post

Premiership Countdown: 40 Days to Go

According to the Fox Soccer Channel web site, we can reveal that the channel is planning on showing the Community Shield match on Sunday, August 13th at 10am ET.

The match, which is played between the Premiership champion and FA Cup winner, will be shown live. In previous years, it has been shown on pay-per-view only. This year, it'll be the clash between Chelsea and Liverpool.

View the latest TV listings for the Community Shield and opening Premiership weekend under the 'What's On TV' section on the EPLTalk.com homepage.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 6:55 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Monday, July 10, 2006

The Abuse That Provoked Zidane

The Daily Mail is reporting that it has deciphered what was said by Matterazzi to Zidane in yesterday's final that resulted in the Frenchman headbutting the Italian.

The newspaper hired a lip reader. Read the article here.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 8:17 PM 2 Comments Links to this post

Premiership Countdown: 41 Days to Go

Although the Premiership TV schedules for Fox Soccer Channel and Setanta Sports haven't been released yet, EPL Talk has put on its thinking cap and can deduce that the following matches will be shown in North America.

Saturday, August 19th, 7:45am ET
Sheffield United v Liverpool (TBD)

Saturday, August 19th, 10am ET
To be determined (Setanta Sports)

Saturday, August 19th, 12:15pm ET
Bolton v Spurs (Fox Soccer Channel)

Saturday, August 19th, 3pm ET
To be determined [tape delayed] (Fox Soccer Channel)

Sunday, August 20th, 8:30am ET
Manchester United v Fulham (Setanta Sports)

Sunday, August 20th, 1pm ET
Chelsea v Manchester City [tape delayed] (Fox Soccer Channel)

If you missed the news about Setanta Sports sublicensing the rights to select Premiership matches in North America, read the story here.

For the latest English Premier TV listings and much more, visit EPLTalk.com and be sure to visit it throughout this summer as the listings will be updated often.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 9:21 AM 10 Comments Links to this post

EPL Talk In The News

Here's the press release that was distributed this morning, announcing all of the developments on the site between now and the August 19th Premiership kick-off.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 9:19 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

New EPL Talk Podcast Available

The latest episode of the EPL Talk Podcast is now available featuring an interview with Jeremy St. Louis, an anchor from the Fox Sports World Report show available on Fox Soccer Channel.

During the episode, Jeremy discusses how the Fox Sports World Report show began, what the reaction has been in Canada to Owen Hargreaves playing for England, Jeremy's passion for soccer video games, how he became a Manchester United supporter, his feelings about the Ruud Van Nistelrooy saga, and much more.

Listen to it now or download it via iTunes.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 7:35 AM 1 Comments Links to this post

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Photos and Video from EPL Talk tour

Photos from today's EPL Talk tour for the 2006 World Cup Final: Queen Mary British Pub, Jupiter Farms, Florida.

I've also posted a video on YouTube. It's from inside the pub of the fans watching the final two penalties as Italy wins the 2006 World Cup.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 7:15 PM 2 Comments Links to this post

Clash of Titans Prepare for Battle

Today's Italy against France World Cup Final is a true clash of titans. Both teams are overflowing with class players, but who will prevail? Here are some of the key matchups:

Cannavaro and Henry. If Fabio Cannavaro can stop Henry from getting into scoring positions, France has little chance of getting a goal in this match due to their 4-5-1 formation. Winner: Cannavaro.

Lippi and Domenech. These two masterful coaches will need to have the right substitutions in the key moments of the match today. I believe Lippi will have the edge today. Winner: Lippi.

Abidal and Camoranesi. Although Abidal is having a good World Cup, his inexperience will show today when trying to defend Camoranesi's relentless attacks down the right wing, which will result in dangerous crosses into the box. Winner: Camoranesi.

For more tactical analysis, take a look at this fantastic feature from the BBC.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 11:33 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Build-Up to Premiership Season Begins

One of the advantages of reading this blog is that you get to find out about all of the EPL Talk developments first-hand.

Here's the latest news for you to enjoy:

Starting tomorrow, EPL Talk will be having a daily countdown to the start of the Premiership kick-off. Every day, we'll be posting Premiership news and much more, including details about how Fox Soccer Channel and Setanta will be broadcasting the matches. To coincide with tomorrow's countdown, EPL Talk will be issuing a press release to media organizations (check back tomorrow to read it).
The next episode of the EPL Talk Podcast will be released tonight, which will feature an interesting interview with Jeremy St. Louis, one of the anchors from Fox Sports World Report, which airs on Fox Soccer Channel at 10pm ET.
Before it's even released, EPL Talk has posted the TV schedule for the opening day of the Premiership season at http://www.EPLTalk.com This isn't finalized yet, and we still don't know what the August 19th afternoon match will be, but it's definitely going to be an exciting weekend of Premiership football.
I updated the "My Team" section of the EPL Talk homepage this morning and added links for Reading, Watford and Sheffield United (and removed WBA, Birmingham City and Sunderland). The "My Team" section has links to the official club web sites, history about the clubs, links to see their home/away/third strips and more.

At EPL Talk, we're working hard to keep you updated on the upcoming Premiership season. Even after the World Cup, keep on returning to the EPL Talk Blog on a daily basis for your English Premier League fix (and post World Cup thoughts). The EPL Talk Podcast, meanwhile, is released every Sunday night and we have some big interviews coming up soon.

Now that we're getting closer to the start of the Premiership season, the EPL Talk web site will be updated more frequently too with news, TV and radio listings and more.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 10:22 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

EPL Talk On The Road Today

In the final match of the EPL Talk tour of South Florida pubs and restaurants, I'll be making the trek to the Queen Mary British Pub in Jupiter to capture the excitement of the Italy against France final.

I spent a lot of yesterday trying to find a perfect Italian cafe or restaurant that would be showing today's match, but I came up empty-handed. Most Italian restaurants are closed on Sundays between lunch and dinner (the match is on TV at 2pm ET here in Florida).

Nevertheless, my friends and I are looking forward to the trip to the Queen Mary. I'll post photographs here tonight (and hopefully a short video up on YouTube). Interestingly, after each World Cup match, all of the pubgoers go outside and compete in a penalty shootout competition. If the Florida weather cooperates, we'll see if I bring home the gold!

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 9:50 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Sven-Goran Erikkson To Replace Bruce Arena?

If Jurgen Klinsmann turns down the expected offer of becoming the next US national team manager, what would you think about Sven-Goran Erikkson taking the reigns of managing the US instead?

It's not entirely an insane idea. The reason I mention the topic is because today the BBC is reporting that Erikkson has just turned down offers to manage Jamaica and an unnamed Champions League team.

Sven is definitely available for the US job (if US Soccer is interested in speaking with him). However I wonder if US Soccer would be able to afford the Swede. If they were able to agree financial terms, I see no reason why Sven wouldn't take the job.

However, Klinsmann is the obvious choice especially in terms of being the type of manager that the US needs. Someone who is able to make the right decisions, to raise the passion in its players and in tune with the advances in modern sports science.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 9:30 AM 1 Comments Links to this post

Friday, July 07, 2006

ESPN Tommy Smyth's Appearance on PBS

It's the weekend of the World Cup Final, and it'll be interesting to see how the media in the United States reacts to The Big Game.

So far, so good. While watching the Charlie Rose show Friday night on PBS, ESPN color commentator Tommy Smyth was interviewed and previewed Sunday's match. Although Smyth rubs a lot of soccer fans the wrong way, I personally enjoy Smyth's breath-of-fresh-air comments and insightful analysis.

It was also interesting to see that Rose is obviously a soccer fan.

Tommy's prediction for Sunday's final? Italy will win, and it won't be settled by penalty kicks.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 11:42 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Win a Copy of Best-Selling Soccer Video Game

We have one last copy of the World Soccer Winning Eleven 9 video game to give away on this Sunday's podcast. So far, we're yet to receive a correct response, so if you enter between now and Sunday, you'll have a good chance of winning the game for the XBOX console.

To win a copy, just download issue two of the EPL Talk Magazine and follow the instructions for the trivia contest. Then stay tuned to Sunday night's podcast to see if you won.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 10:05 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Setanta Adds EPL Matches to 2006/2007 Schedule

While Setanta has been making plenty of waves recently after acquiring two of the rights packages to show Premiership matches in the UK starting in the 2007/2008 season, now it's turn for the US branch of Setanta Sports to make headlines.

EPL Talk reader Rob Halton forwarded the following news from SoccerTV.com: When the 2006/2007 English Premier League begins August 19th, Setanta Sports will be showing selected EPL matches. The Irish broadcaster has sublicensed the Premiership matches that would have typically been shown as pay-per-view matches from Fox Soccer Channel. Setanta Sports USA is available via DirecTV for a monthly subscription fee of $11.99/month.

For Setanta, this is a perfect way to get new subscribers and to introduce the soccer network to new viewers in North America.

One advantage of watching matches on Setanta is that they typically broadcast the direct feed from Sky, thereby allowing viewers to see Sky's half-time analysis.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 8:25 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Barry Glendenning from The Fiver

Many of you may already know the name Barry Glendenning, but if you don't he's one of the most entertaining football writers in the business today. Glendenning writes for The Guardian newspaper and you can see his work in The Fiver newsletter, minute-by-minute match reports, and more.

I contacted him this week to see if he would like to be interviewed for an upcoming EPL Talk Podcast. Here's his humorous response:

While I'm very flattered that you're so short of football celebrities you
want to interview me, the whole idea of being a journalist/podcaster
answering questions posed by another journalist/podcaster on the subject of
journalism/podcasting doesn't appeal to me. Indeed, recording podcasts
doesn't even appeal to me, but I have to do them so that's that. To be
honest, the work I've done on the the Guardian's World Cup site and podcast
is fairly routine and dull and desk-based, so I can't imagine that anyone
would be interested in hearing about it for 20 minutes - it definitely
ain't a spectator sport. So without wanting to sound like a curmudgeonly
old git, I'd rather pass and retain whatever small sliver of dignity and
mystique I have left..

Apologies again for being a pernickety old grump,

Barry G.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 3:32 PM 4 Comments Links to this post

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

What's Your Prediction for the Final?

It should be a classic final on Sunday at 2pm ET. But my concern about France is their lack of goals from open play. Italy, on the other hand, need to rely on Toni or Totti to hit the net.

My prediction: Italy 1-0 France. What's yours?

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 10:20 PM 4 Comments Links to this post

ABC/ESPN Controversy Continues

The controversy about ABC/ESPN's coverage of the World Cup won't stop. Here are two more examples:

Courtesy of EPL Talk reader Griff from Japan, watch this actual sports news episode from ESPN's "Pardon The Interruption" here.
The Wall Street Journal newspaper is getting in on the act. And the article includes some very interesting insights about the coverage thus far, including insight from industry executives. Read the article.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 10:15 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

World Cup Permeates Mainstream America

Did my civic duty today and went to jury duty. I almost fainted when the woman running the jury duty, who was American as apple pie, opened up with some chit chat to the jury pool and said "That was good news about the Shuttle launch yesterday. And what about that soccer game? What an exciting match that was for any of you who missed it." She was referring to the Italy against Germany match.

Soccer in America is definitely making in-roads into the mainstream. Little by little...

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 10:11 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Random Thoughts

The only team to score against Italy this entire World Cup has been the United States, albeit as an own goal.

Any guess what sporting event ESPN2 broadcasted today on their channel? Golf? Tennis? Soccer? No, it was a hot dog eating contest sponsored by Nathans. Seriously.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 7:06 PM 2 Comments Links to this post

Fireworks Ignite As Italians Reach Final

Two late stunning goals from Italy's Grosso and Del Piero was enough to get Italy into the final in a very even match.

While the Italian national team are in hysterics, their domestic league is in shambles with the threat of Juventus, Fiorentina, AC Milan and Lazio being relegated.

Could this mean that Italian World Cup stars from these teams will be playing in England this summer?

Juventus: Buffon, Zambrotta, Camaronesi, Del Piero, Cannavaro,

AC Milan: Pirlo, Inzaghi, Nesta, Gilardino, Gattuso,

Lazio: Oddo

Fiorentina: Toni.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 6:06 PM 3 Comments Links to this post

Champions League Better Than World Cup

As a tournament, there is no equal to the World Cup. It's a 30-day magical mystery ride for teams, players, fans and TV viewers at home.

That said, however, I disagree with many that this is the best tournament in years. The first round matches arguably have been the strongest in recent memory with some very entertaining games. However, the second round, quarter finals and semi-finals have been anti-climatic. The stars didn't show up. 4-5-1 formations have been used too frequently. The standard of officiating has been disappointing, and there have been too few goals.

Consider this unpopular opinion, though: I believe the Champions League is more entertaining than the World Cup. Gulp, I've said it. Yes, I know. It's sacrilegious. With so much of an international flavor in the top teams these days, clubs like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea, AC Milan, Manchester United, Juventus and others have become "all-star" teams featuring the best players in the world on one team.

Take this year's Champions League final, for instance. Read through these line-ups and remember how many of them had a great impact during this year's World Cup:

Arsenal's line-up was: Jens Lehmann (Germany), Sol Campbell (England), Ashley Cole (England), Emmanuel Eboue (Ivory Coast), Kolo Toure (Ivory Coast), Gilberto Silva (Brazil), Francesc Fabregas (Spain), Aleksander Hleb (Belarus), Freddy Ljungberg (Sweden), Robert Pires (France) and Thierry Henry (France).

Barcelona, meanwhile, lined up as follows: Victor Valdes (Spain), Edmilson (Brazil), Marquez (Mexico), Olequer (Spain), Puyol (Spain), Deco (Portugal), Giuly (France), Van Bommel (Netherlands), Van Bronckhorst (Netherlands), Ronaldinho (Brazil) and Eto'o (Cameroon).

It's not just the "all-star" aspect of the tournament. As a whole, the Champions League matches appear to be played at a faster pace. Plus, the matches are played during the "prime" of the season rather than post-season when players are physically exhausted after enduring approximately 60 matches for their club.

What's your opinion?

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 4:36 PM 3 Comments Links to this post

Excitement Building for Germany Against Italy

Throughout the years, Germany against Italy has been a classic match. Most notably during the 1970 World Cup semi-final, when Italy defeated the Germans 4-3 despite Germany's Franz Beckenbauer playing with a dislocated shoulder after being injured in the match.

My personal prediction is that Italy will prevail in this match, 2-1. Germany's goal in this tournament was to reach the semi-finals, so psychologically they've already succeeded. Italy, on the other hand, have higher expectations. Plus, their players are more well rested, with fewer knocks and bruises, after cruising past Ukraine in 90 minutes. Germany, you'll remember, had to play 120 minutes against Argentina, and then play penalty kicks.

No matter what the result of today's game, let's hope that the teams rise to the occasion. This, without a doubt, is the biggest match of the tournament thus far. And, I predict, the winner will go on to lift the trophy on Sunday.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 7:53 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Monday, July 03, 2006

Setanta Offers Italian Commentary for Remaining World Cup Matches

If you subscribe to Setanta in North America, you've got to be loving life. The Irish broadcaster announced today that, in addition to the German commentary it has been providing, the semi-finals and final of the World Cup will be available with Italian commentary, too.

For no extra charge, subscribers can choose commentary in the language of either team. “We want to offer our expat fans as much access to the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ as possible,” says Simon Green, Chief Executive, Setanta Sports North America. “Soccer fans in America are waking up to a whole new appreciation for the game. We’re confident this new addition to our World Cup programming will attract even more soccer lovers to this prestigious sports event.”

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 12:03 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Death to the 4-5-1

Very early in the 2005/2006 Premiership season, all of the talk was about the 4-5-1 formation and how Bolton, especially, was being effective yet boring after Allardyce used the formation to grind out results.

What we've seen in the 2006 World Cup is the 4-5-1 formation being used to similar results, unfortunately to the detriment of the game.

England had been using it for the entire tournament. While it was effective, it was probably the most boring display by England in recent memory. Even France, renowned for being skillful and imaginative in midfield and attack, employed the 4-5-1 formation against Brazil and they eeked out the 1-0 result to reach the semi-finals.

Unfortunately, it's killing the game. All it does is enable teams to hold on to a nil-nil score and then hope (in the case of Beckham and Henry) that a goal can be scored from a set play such as a free kick.

While it's a horrible tactic, the bad news is that it is effective. It wins matches. It bores fans, but managers don't seem to care. In England's case, it was their eventual downfall. Portugal was there for the taking. England's entire team possessed more skill and creativity to win the match before it even started. But by playing the 4-5-1, England levelled the playing field and ensured the safe but conservative 0-0 draw. Death to the 4-5-1. Repeat after me, death to the 4-5-1.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 7:31 AM 1 Comments Links to this post

Premiership Continues to Grow in Popularity in US

If you live in North America, you'll want to read this article -- it could have easily been about you, or you. But if you live outside of North America, and I know many of you readers do, read the same article to gain an appreciation of how soccer (and especially watching the Premiership on TV) is growing in America.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 7:26 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Sunday, July 02, 2006

Seamus Malin Interview Now Available

The interview with Seamus Malin is now available on the EPL Talk Podcast. It's a fascinating interview, and the perfect remedy for any England, US or Brazil fans who want to take their mind off the World Cup exit, and listen to a legendary soccer broadcaster.

So you don't miss a single episode of the EPL Talk Podcast, be sure to subscribe via iTunes today.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 9:29 AM 2 Comments Links to this post

Saturday, July 01, 2006

The World Cup Gets Turned Upside Down

So, England and Brazil's World Cup dreams are over. In both matches, the favorites were outplayed, conservative and uninspiring.

England's demise falls to Wayne Rooney. The idiotic kick by Rooney was the turning point in the match. From that point on, England had to change its tactics and the harsh, cruel defeat by penalties seemed to be inevitable. England should, yet again, study how Germany takes penalty kicks.

Brazil, meanwhile, were impotent in front of goal and its midfield was unable to play due to excellent French defending. Let's just hope that France thrashes Portugal. Scolari's men don't deserve to be in the position they're in after a physical and uninspiring display against England.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 7:23 PM 5 Comments Links to this post

Photos from today's World Cup pub crawl

Take a look at the photographs from today's EPL Talk tour of South Florida pubs and restaurants. First stop was The Kings Head Pub in Sunrise, Florida for the England against Portugal debacle, followed by a trip to the Panorama Restaurant, one of the best places in Broward County to watch a Brazil match.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 7:19 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

England Poised to Defeat Portugal

England is just hours away from their crucial match against Portugal. On paper, this is one of the finest England teams to grace the international stage in years. But can they play as a cohesive unit and defeat Scolari's men?

Right now, England has everything in its favor. Five of the Portugese players are playing with yellow cards, so they (Figo, Maniche, Ricardo, Nuno Valente and Petit) will be playing more cautiously than usual. Cristiano Ronaldo is doubtful for the match, although a decision will be made within two hours of kick-off.

If Ronaldo doesn't play, Luis Figo will move into the midfield while Simao will slot into the Ronaldo's wing position. Simao, you may remember, was brilliant for Benfica this year when they knocked Liverpool out of the Champions League.

Regarding England, we've watched with joy so many of these players perform at the highest level this past season in the English Premiership. Wherever you'll be on Saturday at 5pm German time, cheer on the lads and let's believe that they can do it. C'mon England!

PS - Watch the blog Saturday night for pictures and blog posts from the day's events.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 12:32 AM 1 Comments Links to this post

Anticipation Building for Germany-Italy Match

When the American founding fathers named July 4th as Independence Day, little did they know that in the year 2006 soccer fans in this country would watch a game invented by their arch-enemy: the English.

For most Americans, July 4th means barbecues, parades, fireworks, overcooked hot dogs and, most importantly of all, no work. Thankfully, die-hard soccer fans in America will be able to celebrate the day by watching the Germany against Italy semi-final, which promises to be a fantastic match.

I'm confident that the Italians can pull off a slim victory against the Germans. The boys from Deutschland will still be recovering from their gruelling match against Argentina, and suffering plenty of knocks and bruises. The Italians, meanwhile, are starting to fire on all cylinders with Luca Toni finding his form just at the right moment.

For many of us in the States, this will be our first opportunity to watch a weekday World Cup match live on TV because the games are played during business hours on the East Coast in America. Tuesday's kick-off will be at 3pm ET. Prediction: Italy 2-1 Germany.

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// posted by The Gaffer @ 12:07 AM 2 Comments Links to this post

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Daily Analysis of the Premier League

: Name: The Gaffer; Location: Florida, United States

The Gaffer has been following football/soccer for more than 30 years. Born in Wales, he is a former journalist who now lives in Florida and spends his time analyzing the influence of the Premier League worldwide. In 2005, he founded EPL Talk.

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