Labels: brian barwick, eamon dunphy, England, football association, ITV, RTE, Setanta

After a Saturday like this, I now know why I'm not too fond of international matches anymore. They're bloody boring in comparison!

Growing up in Wales, I remember the thrill of watching the British Home Championships on Saturdays when England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland would play each other to see who would be deemed the best of Britain.

The calibre of play in the Premiership, meanwhile, dwarfed that of England today as Liverpool crushed Arsenal 4-1 at Anfield, Manchester United came from behind to defeat Blackburn 4-1 at Old Trafford, and Chelsea - oh lucky Chelsea - narrowly beat Watford 1-0 with an injury time goal by Kalou.

Meanwhile, around Europe, there's been plenty of other brilliant matches including Leeds overcoming Preston in the Championship (read The Scout's excellent report on ChampionshipTalk.com). Elsewhere, writer Juan Arango writes in LaLigaTalk.com about Riquelme not returning to Spain, as well as my piece on GolTV's new title graphics onscreen.

Elsewhere in Spain, I'm catching up on my La Liga viewing by watching Valencia against Espanyol. While Valencia looked vulnerable last week, their performance in the match thus far should give Chelsea much concern after fine goals by Villa and Vincente. You have to wonder whether Valencia can tear Chelsea apart after the Blues' lethargic performance against Watford.

Labels: championship talk, Chelsea, espanyol, goltv, la liga talk, valencia

Labels: abc, dave o'brien, ESPN, world cup

Labels: sky sports, skycast, soccer AM

The Football Association will today announce that ITV and Setanta has won the UK TV rights for four years of FA Cup and England matches for more than £400 million.

The expected announcement will deal a cruel blow to current TV rights owners Sky and BBC, especially the latter who is now left with only few leading live football matches to broadcast on television.

This is a massive coup for both ITV and Setanta. The ITV, who currently holds the TV rights to share coverage of the Champions League in England, will be able to put itself back on the football map. The channel had been renowned for its programme, The Big Match, which launched presenter Jimmy Hill's career as well as featuring the legendary commentator Brian Moore.

Setanta, meanwhile, continues to be a force to be reckoned with after acquiring the package to broadcast 46 Premiership matches in the UK beginning in the 2007/2008 season.

The ITV/Setanta contract shouldn't have an effect on the U.S.'s TV coverage since Fox Sports International owns the TV rights for the next two years Stateside.

For the BBC, meanwhile, this may mean the breakup of the legendary studio team of former players and now presenters/analysts Gary Lineker, Alan Hansen, Mark Lawrenson and Alan Shearer. You can be sure that ITV, Setanta and Sky will do everything they can to acquire some of these names that could add instant credibility.

The BBC is obviously handicapped by their inability to acquire advertising revenue to be competitive with companies such as Sky, Setanta and ITV. With its model of acquiring fees through license rights, it appears unlikely that the BBC will be able to compete in the future if the cost of TV rights keeps increasing to exorbitant amounts.

• In other news, UEFA is considering granting the winner of the FA Cup a berth in the Champions League beginning with the 2009/2010 season.

Labels: BBC, England, FA Cup, fox soccer channel, ITV, Setanta

Labels: Chelsea, english premier league, manchester united, premier league, premiership

Labels: England, john nicholson

If you're searching for a way to experience Saturday's Premiership match between Arsenal and Liverpool online, join the EPL Talk Chat hosted by bcjohn.

We'll have Arsenal, Liverpool and neutral fans from around the world chatting in real-time about the first cup final of the season. We'll also be able to tip you off regarding Arsenal vs Liverpool radio coverage and how to listen live (depending on what part of the world you live in).The match kicks off on Saturday at 7:45am ET/12:45pm GMT.

You can access the EPL Talk Chat from the EPL Talk homepage (near the center of the page).

Labels: Arsenal, epl talk chat, Liverpool

Labels: archibald leitch, craven cottage, fulham, reading

Labels: BBC, England, FA Cup, ITV, Setanta

If you're like me and when I consider the better writers from The Guardian, many of the names that first pop into my head are people such as Kevin McCarra, Paul Doyle, Barry Glendenning and Sid Lowe -- all members of the Football Weekly brat pack.

But one name that is often overlooked is one of the pearls at The Guardian, David Conn.

In another example of his excellent writing, David yesterday published a piece entitled The Premiership Feasts While England Flounder, which goes back in time to remember the reasons why the Premier League said it wanted to form as a breakaway group from the Football League. We all know the real reasons (i.e. greed), but the Premiership said it would benefit England, the national team. It's a revealing article, so be sure to read it.

I have to thank David for introducing me to Peter Lupson's book, Thank God For Football. After learning about the book by reading David's article, I then contacted Mr. Lupson for his interview on the EPL Talk Podcast.

Labels: david conn, England, english premier league, Peter Lupson, premier league, premiership, the guardian

What was the first soccer web site you remember visiting?

For me, my memory is a little dusty but I do remember being in college in 1996 and my professor was raving about the Mosaic web browser in one of her classes. Around that time, I remember using a bunch of different services to access the Internet. One was Prodigy, which was partly owned by Sears. Another was CompuServe. Then we had some terminals in the college library. And I started using AOL around that time, too. One of the services, I can't remember which, listed the results from English matches.

But the first soccer web site I remember visiting, and visiting frequently, was Soccernet -- which, at that time, was owned by The Daily Mail newspaper in England before they sold it to ESPN in 1999.

The design of the site was extremely primitive (click on the above image for a close-up) or see more examples here and here. But it was my first love in terms of soccer sites before I later discovered the BBC Sport site.

While ESPN has obviously taken the Soccernet brand and completely enhanced it, I wonder in hindsight whether the Daily Mail regrets selling the site to ESPN. The current Daily Mail site is extremely poor, but I would imagine that the Daily Mail brand was much more popular in the late 90's because of the web site. It was the first English newspaper that jumped to my mind back then. Now, I hardly even think about it or consider purchasing a copy when I'm in England.
What was your first soccer web site you visited?

Labels: daily mail, ESPN, soccernet

I reported a few weeks ago that Sheffield United had given their supporters a chance to vote on their home and away shirts for the 2007/2008 season, which will hopefully see the Blades still in the Premiership.

Well, the final results are in and here's what you can see Sheffield United wearing next season:

Home:



Away:



While the home shirt looks top class, the away kit is going to take some time getting used to it. The lime green color is pretty unique in the Premiership.

Labels: sheffield united

I had a good conversation with Steven Powell, head of development at The Football Supporters' Federation this past Friday, which has now been published on the EPL Talk Podcast for you to download and hear.

• The Football Supporters' Federation: Web site


• Sign the petition to standardize away ticket prices to 15 GBP


• Become a member of the FSF.

Labels: Arsenal, away ticket prices, football supporters' federation, fsf, safe standing, steven powell

For those of you wondering whatever happened to Kevin Keegan, read this article from The Independent which reveals Mighty Mouse's latest adventure.

Labels: kevin keegan, manchester city

In today's Sunday Express newspaper from England, it's reported that Fox Soccer Channel is in talks with British entertainers Ant & Dec about co-hosting a once or twice weekly show.

Ant & Dec, who are very popular in the UK after hosting a string of children's TV shows as well as the big hit "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here," would host a show on Fox to coincide with the arrival of Beckham at the LA Galaxy, the newspaper reports.

If signed, it would be a massive coup for Fox Soccer Channel in terms of PR and capturing the soccer mom and teenage girl market. For die-hard soccer fans, though, it may be less of a hit as the baby-faced hosts could turn viewers off. Of course, it all depends how the show is created and who the actual target audience is.

Ant & Dec, both Geordies, are big soccer fans and were spotted by TV cameras just a few weeks ago sitting in the crowd at Craven Cottage in a match that was aired worldwide, including in the U.S. market.

Labels: ant and dec, fox soccer channel

Thanks everyone for your patience in taking these surveys and/or reading the results. While they're not soccer news-related, they are extremely beneficial to EPL Talk as we aim to continue to improve and to better understand the types of content you're interested in reading.

So, here are the results:


Impressively 92% of you rate the EPL Talk Blog as above average and/or excellent, which is excellent praise indeed. Eight percent of you consider it as average.



Surprisingly, 15% of you visit several times a day. In the past 14 months, EPL Talk has published 657 articles on this blog, which averages 1.4 posts per day. So if you do visit several times, chances are you may find a new article published (or there's the complete archive to go back to and read past posts, some of which stand the test of time).

The majority of you, though, visit every day (or almost every day): 38% of you, while 31% of you visit 1-2 times a week and 15% of you a few times a month (shame, shame).



The more blog posts I write, the better idea I have what type of articles you prefer reading based on the number of times the articles are read. But I wanted to get your first-hand input into how you rate these articles. The above findings are interesting.

Sixty-nine percent of you rated articles about Fox Soccer Channel, GolTV and Setanta Sports as excellent, while the remaining 31% of you rated those articles as good. We'll definitely continue to focus on those three networks and the latest developments there.

While 69% of you rated opinion pieces about the news as excellent, 15% of you considered them average which, to me, denotes that there's a significant room for improvement there to perhaps give more opinion. Still, the overall results are extremely positive.

In regards to the open-ended questions, the answers are more revealing:

What's the one major thing the blog can change now to improve?
- "More opinions, not just news and updates"
- "Post videos of the best goals from a EPL weekend, or links to the YouTube ones"
- "More UEFA Cup coverage"
- "More about the mid-table and lower clubs"
- "More news on the lower leagues" (The Gaffer says check out our sister site, http://www.championshiptalk.com)

What topics would you like to see covered in the future?
- "Links to various team site blogs" (The Gaffer says check out the drop down lists on the homepage of http://www.epltalk.com and you'll see links to club blogs/sites)
- "Do another tour! That was fantastic. Loved the multimedia assault. It inspired me to drag my wife to London for a match"
- "More commentary on individual players"

Noted. I'll do my best to incorporate many of those recommendations into future posts of the EPL Talk Blog.

We'll pick one lucky winner out of the hat for responding to the blog survey and will announce the winner on today's EPL Talk Podcast interview with Steve Powell from the Football Supporters' Federation.

In the past few months, we've surveyed you about the EPL Talk email newsletter, podcast, chat, magazine, buzz club and the sneak-peek of the EPL Talk Show (more details to come about that in the near future). We'll post the final two surveys (for now) in the near future to get your feedback on the Premiership Community and the actual EPL Talk web site (which was what was first conceived and developed, and which started the whole crazy ride). Thanks again for your valuable feedback.

Labels: epl talk blog, survey results

A couple of weeks ago in the EPL Talk Email Newsletter, I wrote about how advanced the Bundesliga was in comparison to the FA Premier League when it comes to marketing itself.

The Bundesliga web site is far superior to the Premiership one. The German league handles all of the TV broadcasts for all of the Bundesliga matches to maintain consistency and a high standard, and the German league announced a deal with Major League Soccer recently to share best practices.

Compare that to the FA Premier League, and the Premiership seems practically invisible in comparison. It's the Premiership clubs such as Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal who are making all of the moves in America.
Now the Bundesliga has published its own email newsletter to promote the league (pictured above). The Premier League offers nothing.

There is hope in the near future as the Prenuer League is planning on relaunching their web site later this year hopefully in time for the 2007/2008 Premiership season. In the meantime, the FA Premier League should consider taking a lesson or two from the Bundesliga.

Labels: bundesliga, english premier league, epl, EPL Talk Email Newsletter, premier league

I want to share a letter I received from one of the EPL Talk readers regarding Setanta Sports and its availability via ITVN. Thanks to Dave Morris for writing in.

Gaffer,

I'm not fully informed on the relationship between FSC and Setanta, but my observation is: what a great value ITVN/Setanta is. In previous seasons, regular EPL Man Utd games would sometimes be on PPV - not "free" on FSC. That's the side I follow, and while PPV is plain extortion, I was always happy to at least have an option of getting the match - $20 versus missing the game entirely? - I'll pay.

In the pre-season, I was actually disappointed to learn that there would be no PPV package this year - that you had to get a sattelite channel to get the non-FSC matches. Imagine my surprise when I learned about ITVN - for less than one PPV match's cost, I can get a month's worth of Setanta - I don't think I've missed a Man Utd league match since I signed up. Plus, so much extra coverage of Carling Cup, Champions League,... it's the best $14.95 I ever spent. Clearly FSC is choosing which matches to move to PPV based on how many $$'s they can squeeze out of their audience, which is disappointing - but overall, I'm spending a lot less on PPV than ever before. You have to admit things are better.

Dave Morris
Richmond, VA

If you're interested in learning more about ITVN or if you want to sign up today, visit http://www.itvn.com/epltalk

Labels: ITVN, setanta sports

By John Nicholson

Ask most American's what Britain is famous for and you'll invariably get the same answers. Bad teeth, The Beatles, The Queen, Benny Hill and Are You Being Served and the muffin – which is a bizarre sexual practise we are all obliged by law to indulge in on the Isles. Honest.

Aside from those, a lot of people know us for our football hooligans. We invented hooligans in Britain. It's a word first used at the end of the 19th century in Police reports to describe rowdy people, often rowdy Irish people. 70 years later it was almost exclusively used in the context of football. British football hooligans became world famous for their violence and sheer numbers. Most clubs had a 'team' of serious nutters who would turn up at games looking for a fight with the other clubs team of psychos. Growing up in the 70s I thought this was normal. Dodging flying bottles and managing not to get seven shades of shite knocked out of you was all part of everyday life if you went to a lot of football matches.

It all reached a peak in the 80s when mass fights between fans and the police and anyone else who got in the way broke out on the pitch, in the grounds, on the streets and in the pubs as 'fans' went on orgies of violence. It got very unpleasant even for kids like us who had grown up in an air of vague menace and violence. Many of us stopped going to football simply because our idea of a good time wasn't being assaulted by a fat bastard called Smezza. They're always called Smezza for some reason.

These days life at the football is very different. The chances of Smezza and his mates performing a lobotomy on you with their 18 hole Doc Martens are now fairly small. He has either been killed off, quite literally, or he’s been rehabilitated with the help of Prozac or Lithium.

So when we get incidents such as those on Monday night when a fan runs on the pitch with the intent of giving a slap to a player or anyone else who gets in his way, there is a sharp intake of breath at the shock of it all, quickly followed by a big cheer.

It is a plain fact that almost everyone likes to see a pitch invader and one with intent to beat up a player is especially welcome, possibly because so many fans feel like players are taking the piss out of us with their insane wages and half-arsed performances, as well as their outrageously good looking if vacuous air-headed girlfriends. I'm not afraid to say I love it, even though the majority of the media and the rest of the games' authorities are obliged to wag a metaphorical finger and shake their heads gravely and say 'isn't it terrible.'

Secretly they know that we all love it. Its anti authoritarian and seems especially outrageous in these more tame, placid times when you can even get thrown out of a ground for fucking swearing and a player can get booked for 'over-celebrating.'

However, that doesn't mean, as some commentators have suggested, that if we celebrate the occasional pitch invasion, that we want to return to the dark days of the 80s or that it's a slippery slope back to those lawless days. We don't want to sit behind big fences, as they still do in some parts of Europe, like caged animals waiting to get out and savage someone. Almost all of us hated the violence we grew up with. However, there is something totally irresistible about a rebel fan so incensed by a player that he feels the need to run right across the pitch, evading stewards and police in order to plant one on the him in the full knowledge he'll be banned for life and even end up in jail. Hell, it's almost noble.

It's such a rare thing to happen that it would be wrong not to enjoy it on the occasions it does happen. Last season QPR keeper Simon Royce was attacked by a fan and it was one of the funniest things you'll ever see. Royce, a massive man, was holding the wildly thrashing fan at bay with one hand the way you'd hold off a small child who is having a tantrum.

Neither that incident, nor the one on Monday indicated a return to the inglorious days of the hooligan and we should be free to enjoy these isolated incidents for what they are rather than suffer the moral opprobrium of a media which is all too keen to show the incident a 100 times in slow motion on order to properly show the true 'horror.'

John Nicholson writes each week for Football 365 and EPL Talk. You can listen to John's wonderful stories on episode 30 and 45 of the EPL Talk Podcast, as well as purchase his excellent Footy Rocks book and order one of his unique rock'n roll T-shirts.

Labels: Chelsea, hooligans, john nicholson, spurs, tottenham hotspur

• The first match that will open the new Wembley Stadium will be televised live for viewers of Fox Soccer Channel this Saturday when England's under-21 side faces the Italy under-21 team. The new 90,000 stadium (discussed in more detail on the EPL Talk Podcast interview with Simon Inglis back in September) will be limited to a capacity of 60,000 for safety reasons. The match will kick off at 8:30am ET.
  
• There's a fascinating article about Everton FC and their Goodison Park by BBC Sport, where they interview an Evertonian professor about whether it makes financial sense to remain at the historic stadium or move elsewhere.
  
• For those of you who missed it, I made a guest co-host appearance on Soccer Shout earlier this week. You can hear the episode from the SoccerShout.com website, or there's a link in the "In The Media" section of the epltalk.com website.
  
• The soap opera that is Luton Town and their recently sacked manager Mike Newell has taken an interesting turn. To learn more, you have to read this fascinating article yourself to believe what the football club is saying. How much do you want to bet that Newell will find it difficult to get another job in football?
  
• In the meantime, be sure to check out Championship Talk, where Brian Koski and The Scout have been working incredibly hard to provide you with some of the latest news and intriguing stories from the Championship league.

Labels: championship talk, everton, fox soccer channel, goodison park, luton town, mike newell, Soccer Shout, wembley stadium

Back on February 15th, EPL Talk revealed that Liverpool would be unveiling new away shirts this season from Adidas. While the club hasn't officially shown what the new shirts will look like, EPL Talk has discovered the following picture courtesy of the Colours of Football web site.

The image shows what looks like the initial designs of the away and Champions League shirts for next season. The 2007/2008 Liverpool kit incorporates the new shirt template from Adidas and reveals what is presumably the away shirt (white) and the Champions League jersey (black).

Labels: adidas, Liverpool

Arsenal is rumored to be playing in a white away jersey for the 2007/2008 season. For the Gunners, it'll be quite a departure from their usual smorgasbord of away colors.

Labels: Arsenal, nike

EPL reader Ossie's Dream was kind enough to provide us a mini-review of Fox Soccer Channel recently, where he shared his disdain about Fox's over-the-top way that it incorporated an Adidas advertisement/sponsorship into last week's Super Saturday +. I, too, was critical of Fox Soccer Channel's attempts to find new ways to attract the attention of viewers with new techniques used in their crawl advertising during Premiership matches.

So, it's with equal distaste that I learned today that GolTV is making changes to its excellent "American Soccer" program due to the program's main sponsor, the U.S. Navy, taking a more active role. The weekly show features GolTV commentators/announcers Phil Schoen, Ray Hudson, Lindsey Dean and Kelly O'Donnell where they bring you the latest news on, as the show name suggests, American soccer.

1. "The show's set will be customized to reflect the Navy's look and feel," and


2. "American Soccer will herein be knows as "American Soccer Powered by the
   Navy."

I completely understand the reason why advertisers want to try different things to reach their audience rather than a typical and predictable 30-second spot (hence the quote from the GolTV advertising executive in the press release). However, the above two examples are out-of-line and go way too far into appeasing the advertiser and therefore destroy the trust that the viewer has built with the popular program and network.

In TV, there's the phrase "jumped the shark." And in my opinion, this move by GolTV has allowed their American Soccer program to go too far. I'm glad GolTV has found a major sponsor for the show. But please, please, please don't allow them to take it too far whereby they can dictate what the name of the show is and what the set looks like. It's an instant turn-off, and does more to distance myself from the advertiser itself than to raise my interest.

Labels: american soccer, goltv

The growing number of soccer podcasts is beginning to take its toll on listeners worldwide. Many of us, myself included, are starting to get burnt out by hearing too many soccer podcasts each week. But now with new shows cropping up and more to choose from, soccer fans are beginning to scale back, make tough decisions and subscribe to the ones that matter most.

Here's the list of my top five soccer podcasts that I listen to:

1. Football Weekly by The Guardian


2. The Game by The Times


3. The Beautiful Game


4. Soccer Shout by Phil and Tony


5. Divers and Cheats by Peter Brown and Graham Bell

While Football Weekly has moved from second place to first, I must admit that the show hasn't been as strong as it has been of late and definitely nowhere near the passion and hysterics that it achieved in its former life as the World Cup Podcast last summer. The number one improvement the show must make is to give Barry Glendenning (pictured above right) more airtime. While everyone is quick to admire him because of his comedic factor, many people overlook the other characteristics that make Glendenning so endearing: his sharp wit, and his talent to ferret out the unique stories that others often overlook.

If anything, The Guardian needs to wake up and give Glendenning his own show whereby we can experience the full extent of Bazza's talents.

Just like Football Weekly, The Game Podcast suffers from a similar fault. Wherefore art thou Guillem Balague? What put The Game Podcast on the map and instantly made it my favorite was the refreshing and intelligent debate between Balague and Gabriele Marcotti. Balague hasn't been on the show in weeks, and unfortunately it now looks likely that he'll be returning anytime soon.

While Marcotti continues to be brilliant and offers insightful comments, Balague has left a huge gaping hole in the show. Alyson Rudd, despite her cheerfulness and admirable knowledge of the game, is being relegated to the entertainment part of the show by singing her favorite football songs (no matter how much I love them). Bill Edgar's stats, unfortunately, are becoming less interesting. Great concept, but we need more insight a la The Guardian's excellent Knowledge section. And Danny Kelly, despite the fact that there are many football fans out there who don't rate him, is doing a fine job as host by keeping the energy level and excitement up.

I thought for a while that the different weekly guests on The Game Podcast could substitute nicely for Balague's absence, but it's been many weeks since the show has had a guest of real quality on who could add intelligent insight or discuss interesting topics.

While subscribers to The Game Podcast and Football Weekly are quite loyal and passionate about their shows, I feel there's a big opportunity out there for another organization to step in and, with the right guests, climb up the charts.

Based on their forthright manner, perhaps its time for Ireland's RTE channel to produce a quality podcast with excerpts from their football analysts that appear on TV? Their candor will be refreshing for football fans worldwide to hear.

If you haven't had a chance to listen to EPL Talk yet, subscribe to the EPL Talk Podcast via iTunes. As the only Premiership soccer interview show on the Internet, each week we interview some of the biggest names in football in a format that mixes a deep and intelligent chat about the world's most popular sports league with news, competitions and more.

Previous guests have included Kevin McCarra, Alan Mullery, Ronnie Whelan, Henry Winter, Gabriele Marcotti, Patrick Barclay, Jeff Winter, Simon Kuper and many more. Listen to the interviews here.

Labels: barry glendenning, Divers and Cheats, guillem balague, Soccer Shout, the beautiful game, the guardian, The Times

Newcastle United may not be masters of football on the pitch this season, but Adidas and their marketing team definitely know how to sell football shirts.

Labels: adidas, newcastle united

The latest episode of the EPL Talk Podcast was just published featuring a candid interview with Ian Bishop, formerly of Manchester City, West Ham United, Miami Fusion and several other clubs.

Bishop, who is perhaps most famous for his goal in the famous 5-1 win by Manchester City over cross-town rivals Manchester United in 1989 (see clip here), discusses several revealing topics during the interview such as:

> His experiences playing with the England B squad, and why he wasn't selected for another match,

> How he's coaching the youth of South Florida and still learning a lot about the game,

> And his thoughts on West Ham and Man City's perilous position right now in the relegation zone.

Give it a listen and let me know what you think of it.

In the meantime, you can learn more about Bishop's coaching projects at delraysoccer.com and tonystevenssupremesoccer.com

Labels: ian bishop, manchester city, tony stevens, West Ham United

According to The Observer newspaper, the Premier League plans to use its innovative goalline technology to settle disputes over whether balls have crossed the line from the 2008-09 season.
It's about bloody time!

This week's episode of the EPL Talk Podcast features a special segment on famous musicians and the teams they support. Here are the starting eleven plus a very large and growing substitute's bench:

1. Julio Iglesias (Real Madrid). Did you know the famous Spanish singer was once the goalkeeper for Real Madrid's junior squad? Strange but true.


2. Luciano Pavarotti (AS Roma). The Italian opera singer is near and dear to the heart of soccer fans after The Three Tenors performed so many incredible songs for Italia 1990.


3. Brian Johnson (Newcastle United). The lead singer from AC/DC is a massive Newcastle United fan, so much so that he played a cameo role in "Goal: The Movie" wearing a Toon shirt and saying a few lines.


4. Paul Oakenfold (Chelsea). The Chelsea fan and the world's most famous DJ has a studio in LA named after Stamford Bridge, and has traveled the world to watch Boca Juniors.


5. Joe Elliott (Sheffield United). Def Leppard's lead singer is a die-hard Blades fan, while bandmate Rick Savage supports Sheffield Wednesday.


6. Rod Stewart (Celtic). The Scottish singer still kicks soccer balls into the crowd at his concerts, and has travelled the world following Celtic.


7. Steve Harris (West Ham United). The Iron Maiden founder and bass guitarist loves the Hammers so much that he often plays a guitar onstage that's designed with West Ham colors, and wears a Hammers scarf in concert.


8. Robbie Williams (Port Vale). One of the most successful solo artists in the world ("Feel," "Rock DJ") is such a big Port Vale supporter that he's also a shareholder. His album, "Sing When You're Singing" pictures Williams wearing a football kit.


9. Ian Astbury (Everton). The lead singer of The Cult has played with Hollywood United FC in southern California, and released a remix version of a song from his solo band Holy Barbarians entitled "Dolly Bird (Goodison Park Shuffle)." (see video here)


10. Liam Gallagher (Manchester City). The Oasis vocalist played a massive concert at City's former ground, Maine Road, in 1996.


11. David Gray (Manchester United). Famous for the single "Babylon," Gray recently helped commentate the Arsenal against Man United match for BBC radio.
    
    Substitutes:


12. Steve Jones (Chelsea). The former Sex Pistols guitarist is a die-hard Chelsea fan.


13. Billy Duffy (Manchester City). The lead guitarist from The Cult ("Fire Woman," "She Sells Sanctuary") has been known to wear Man City shirts on stage, and also plays for Hollywood United FC with other celebrities in southern California.


14. Chris DeBurgh (Liverpool). Recently profiled on The Game Podcast from The Times, DeBurgh (who is famous for the single "The Lady In Red") supports the team in Red from Merseyside.


15. Noel Gallagher (Manchester City). The mad Man City fan was rumoured to be interested in purchasing half the pitch and many stadium seats from City's old ground, Maine Road.


16. Johnny Marr (Manchester City). The former guitarist of The Smiths had trials at Manchester City and was approached by Nottingham Forest to play football.


17. DJ Judge Jules (Arsenal). The Gooner fan remixed the Premier League anthem, which is currently played around football grounds in England and on the EPL Review and Preview shows.


18. Fatboy Slim (Brighton). The famous DJ owns 12% of Brighton & Hove Albion.


19. Elton John (Watford). The former chairman and director still has a significant financial investment in the club.


20. Simon Le Bon (Manchester United). Although Duran Duran's lead singer is from Birmingham, he's an avid Man United fan.

The question is: Who are we missing? Tell us your stories or personal encounters with famous musicians and the football clubs they adore. Click the 'comments' link below.

You can't improve what you don't measure, which is why we want to hear from you how EPL Talk can improve this blog. Just complete the following survey, which will take 2-3 minutes and we'll then pick out one lucky person to win a World Soccer Shop T-shirt. The winner will be announced on the March 25th podcast.

Thanks in advance for sharing your valuable feedback!

Labels: epl talk blog

The results are in from the EPL Talk Chat survey, where we asked your opinions about the online chat and what we can do to improve. Thanks to everyone who participated. The lucky winner of the World Soccer Shop T-shirt is Trip Burnam from Dallas, Texas.

So, here are what the results of the survey told us:


Ninety-one percent of you feel that the EPL Talk Chat is above average-to-excellent, which is exceedinly good news. Only one person rated it as average. What this says to me is that you feel the service is unique and well-received.



I was surprised by the answers to the above question. Sixty two percent of you attend every weekend, which proves how loyal the majority of you are. Thank you. Some of you only visit less than once a month, which is completely understandable since many of you watch matches on delay or on Tivo/DVR.



The answers to the above question were varied. I wanted to get a better idea what drives you to visit the chat. Sixty one percent of you try to go online for most matches or are there every weekend. Only 8% of you visit when it's just your team, which again shows how loyal many of you are and how you enjoy the chat no matter what team is playing.



One of the obvious areas of improvement is the sound quality, which we (bcjohn and I) have already taken great measures to enhance.



Stickam it is, but we'll keep our eyes open for better technology if and when it becomes available.



85% of you agree that the best match should be shown from 3pm GMT/10am ET/7am PT on Saturdays.



Based on the answer to this question, we'll do our best from now on to start the chat earlier than kick-off, approximately 10-15 minutes before.



Looking to the future, many of you appear interested in expanding the chat into other areas. Stay tuned to EPL Talk to see how we expand. We may begin with one additional night whereby hot topics in football are debated.

Thanks again everyone for your valuable input. If there are any points you want to address, feel free to email me at thegaffer(at)gmail.com or click on the 'Comments' link below.

Labels: epl talk chat

1. Does anyone watch Super Saturday+ anymore? Nothing against Nick Webster and Keith Costigan, but after watching 10 hours of Premiership soccer on a Saturday (from the early game on Setanta all the way through to the end of the tape-delayed match at 5:15pm on Fox), can anyone stomach any more soccer coverage? I still think the concept of Super Saturday+ is good except that the time the show is played is wrong, and the format of the program could be improved to make it more of a must-see program.

Labels: fox soccer channel, goltv

If you're searching for a way to experience Sunday's Premier League match between Everton v Arsenal online, join the EPL Talk Chat hosted by bcjohn.

We'll have Everton, Arsenal and neutral fans from around the world chatting in real-time about the crucial match. We'll also be able to tip you off regarding Everton v Arsenal radio coverage and how to listen live (depending on what part of the world you live in).

The match kicks off on Sunday at Noon ET/4pm GMT.

You can access the EPL Talk Chat from the EPL Talk homepage (near the center of the page).

Labels: Arsenal, epl talk chat, everton

If you're searching for a way to experience Sunday's Premier League match between Aston Villa v Liverpool online, join the EPL Talk Chat hosted by bcjohn.

We'll have Villa, Liverpool and neutral fans from around the world chatting in real-time about the crucial match. We'll also be able to tip you off regarding Villa v Liverpool radio coverage and how to listen live (depending on what part of the world you live in).

The match kicks off on Sunday at 9:30am ET/1:30pm GMT.

You can access the EPL Talk Chat from the EPL Talk homepage (near the center of the page).

Labels: aston villa, epl talk chat, Liverpool

In case you missed it earlier this week, I was the guest co-host on the Soccer Shout Podcast alongside Phil McThomas. You can listen to the March 13th episode via SoccerShout.com or from the 'About Us' page at EPL Talk under the 'In The Media' section.

Labels: Chelsea, hooligans, podcasts, Soccer Shout, spurs, tottenham hotspur

If you're searching for a way to experience Saturday's Premier League match between Chelsea vs Sheffield United online, join the EPL Talk Chat hosted by bcjohn.

We'll have Sheffield United, Chelsea and neutral fans from around the world chatting in real-time about the crucial match. We'll also be able to tip you off regarding Chelsea vs Sheff Utd radio coverage and how to listen live (depending on what part of the world you live in).

The match kicks off on Saturday at 11am ET/3pm GMT.

You can access the EPL Talk Chat from the EPL Talk homepage (near the center of the page).

Labels: Chelsea, sheffield united

By John Nicholson

Last night news broke that the Football League board is considering a proposal to outlaw drawn games, enforcing a penalty shoot-out to decide every game instead. Whoo hoo! Nurse, get the screens please! The lunatics are taking over the asylum again.

I'm not sure who actually sits on the Football League board but they must be smoking some strong medicine. This is right up there with some of Sepp Blatter's more hallucogenic despatches from the UEFA Home For The Bewildered. Perhaps the people who sit on this board having absolutely nothing better to do with their time other than dreaming up crazy ways to mess around with the game. Maybe they were just out on one almighty bender and, giggling and snickering, wrote down a few mad ideas on the back of a fag packet which somehow became a press release.

How about putting the goals on wheels as well? I know, I know, let's make goals scored with your arse count double!

Why not make everyone wear Flying Helmets, stick a carrot up their arses and run around in high heels too?

Ok that is just a typical Saturday night out for me, but sometimes it seems as if the game authorities are clinically insane or whacked out their gourds on mescaline.

With all the important issues facing modern football, the very last thing that needs attention is the win, lose or draw principle behind the game.

They seem to believe that this mad idea will make the game more exciting without grasping the notion that football has been massively popular all over the world for over 100 years with the principle of being able to draw games in tact. No one ever thought, I know let's abolish draws that'll make the game more fun. Why? Because it bloody wouldn't that's why.

While in some sports the idea of a tie is a strange exotic concept, in football it has always been part of game. Football fans don't need to see a resolution to every game; in fact, a draw can in certain circumstances be felt as a victory of sorts if a lowly club achieves it against a league leader.

The Football League board don't seem to have realised this, nor have they grasped the fact that if you resolved every tied game with a penalty shoot out, a lot of sides would just play for the draw just to get to the lottery of a penalty shoot out. And what exactly would having a win or loss to every game achieve? The leagues from the Championship downwards are already very competitive. This season, up to 9 clubs still have chance of promotion or play offs. Unlike the Premiership it is a real competition.

In all probability enforcing a result would make the gamer more conservative and negative because a penalty shoot out evens up the odds of you winning even if you play rubbish for the rest of the game.

But I'm doing this madness to much justice to even discuss it. I'm sure the people who came up with this notion have already woken up with a hangover!

Labels: championship, john nicholson

I just returned last night from SPORTELAmerica, one of the top events for sports TV broadcasters. It's important to us, the viewers, because this is the type of event where much of the wheeling and dealing is done that ultimately decides what TV rights deals will go to which companies.

• The latest news about how many 2007/2008 Premiership matches will be shown on Setanta Broadband starting in August,


• News about the upcoming launch of Setanta Sports Canada,


• The latest news about whether the Dish Network will add Setanta,


• What effect the SPC Worldwide deal will have on GolTV viewers,


• Whether GolTV is contemplating moving their headquarters from Miami, which would question whether commentators (and South Florida residents) Phil Schoen, Ray Hudson and Lindsey Dean would stay with the network,


• The latest news about the likelihood of FoxSoccer.com showing broadband matches from the Premiership starting next season,


• What will happen to the Saturday 2:15pm ET/11:15am PT Premiership match that is shown on tape delay on Fox but will probably be replaced by a Serie A match instead,


• And much much more.

Be sure to listen to this special episode of the EPL Talk Podcast.

Labels: EPL Talk Podcast, fox soccer channel, goltv, setanta sports

If you're searching for a way to experience Sunday's Premiership match between Manchester United v Bolton online, join the EPL Talk Chat hosted by bcjohn.

We'll have United, Bolton and neutral fans from around the world chatting in real-time about the crucial match for the Red Devils.

We'll also be able to tip you off regarding Man United v Bolton radio coverage and how to listen live (depending on what part of the world you live in). The match kicks off on Saturday at 8:45am ET/12:45pm GMT. You can access the EPL Talk Chat from the EPL Talk homepage (near the center of the page).

Labels: bolton wanderers, epl talk chat, manchester united

I had the good fortune of a candid interview yesterday with Manchester City legend Ian Bishop (most famous for his goal in Man City's 5-1 victory over Man United in 1989).

One of the topics we discussed was Man City's current predicament. Bishop believes that the side is missing an enforcer in the side right now, someone who can take charge, ruffle the other team's feathers and give 100% of their grit and determination. That person is Paul Dickov.

Labels: fox soccer channel, ian bishop, manchester city, paul dickov

Episode 56 of the EPL Talk Podcast has just been released and features an interview with Andy Sloan, the author of the recently released book entitled "23 Sweet FA's," which tells the story of how Andy and his mates travelled from England to Japan along with a foosball table.

Labels: 23 Sweet FA's, Andy Sloan, EPL Talk Podcast, Pro Evolution Soccer 2007

The draw for the quarter-finals of the Champions League has been announced, and the likelihood of an English team being in the final looks extremely good.

In the most attractive ties of the round, Roma will play Manchester United and Chelsea will play Valencia. In the other matches, Liverpool will play PSV Eindhoven (in a repeat of the earlier group stage), and AC Milan will pay Bayern Munich.

UEFA also announced the draw for the semi-finals, so we have these incredible matches to look forward to: Chelsea or Valencia against PSV Eindhoven or Liverpool, and Roma or Man United against AC Milan or Bayern Munich.

If Chelsea and Liverpool both win their quarter-final matches, the two teams will face each other again, which will guarantee an English club will play in the final.

Out of all of the English clubs, Liverpool has the easiest tie against PSV Eindhoven. Roma will be a difficult side for Man United to overcome, while Chelsea will battle Rafa Benitez's former club, Valencia.

Dare I say it, but could we see a Chelsea v Manchester United final?

The first leg of the quarter-finals will be played on April 3rd and 4th.

Labels: Champions League

The LA Galaxy is today expected announce the worst kept secret in soccer -- that they'll play Chelsea in a friendly on July 21st (reported by EPL Talk on February 13th) as part of a four-team tournament. The other participating clubs are UANL Tigres (Mexico) and Suwon Samsung Bluewings (Korea).

The LA Galaxy v Chelsea match is expected to feature the debut of David Beckham.

Labels: david beckham, LA Galaxy, Suwon Bluewings, UANL Tigres

If you're searching for a way to experience Sunday's FA Cup quarter-final between Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur online, join the EPL Talk Chat hosted by bcjohn.

We'll have Spurs, Chelsea and neutral fans from around the world chatting in real-time about the crucial quarter-final (and derby). We'll also be able to tip you off regarding Chelsea vs Spurs radio coverage and how to listen live (depending on what part of the world you live in).

The match kicks off on Sunday at 8:30am ET/12:30pm GMT.

You can access the EPL Talk Chat from the EPL Talk homepage (near the center of the page).

Labels: Chelsea, FA Cup, spurs

Fox Soccer Channel's acquisition of the TV rights to Serie A starting in August may mean the end of the tape-delayed 2:15pm ET Saturday EPL match on Fox Soccer Channel.

According to Fox Soccer Channel Executive Vice President David Sternberg, he's quoted in USA Today saying that the network may use the 2:30-4:30pm ET Saturday timeslot for Serie A matches.

While it's good news for fans of Italian soccer, it's a big blow for fans of the Premiership and presumably means that there'll be two fewer matches each week (on average) from Fox Soccer Channel (now that the Monday 3pm ET live match is going to Setanta). Of course, it's possible that Fox may decide to show the tape-delayed match at a different time of the day on Saturday or Sunday. However, now that Fox Soccer Channel has TV rights to many MLS matches, the Saturday evening timeslots will be filled with MLS matches in addition to pre- and post-match shows.

You have to wonder whether Setanta Sports will pick up the tape-delayed Saturday match instead.

Labels: fox soccer channel, setanta sports

Irish channel RTE's football analysts are legendary: Former Arsenal player Liam Brady, Leeds legend Johnny Giles, and author and former footballer Eamon Dunphy. Put them all together and you have one of the best football shows on television. Why? Because they tell you how they really feel about topics.

For a glimpse of how they work together, you have to view this video (uncovered at the excellent 101greatgoals site) where they dissect Liverpool's performance this week against Barcelona in the Champions League.

Dunphy is the chap on the far right. Brady in the middle, with Giles to his left -- in addition to the genial presenter.

While their comments are stirring and thought-provoking, I have to totally disagree with them. If Liverpool had played an attacking style of play throughout the match, they would have lost by more than one goal to nil and they would be out of the tournament. Everyone knows that Barcelona is the more skillful and better attacking side, which is why Benitez resorted to the tactics that he did.

Liverpool put Barcelona on the defensive from the kick-off, and the Reds were so unlucky not to be 2-0 or 3-0 ahead by half-time. By the 55th minute, Liverpool's gameplan fell apart as they gifted Barcelona more room in midfield allowing the Catalan side to link up play through the middle for the first time in the night.

Sure, we would have loved to see Liverpool continue to play great football like the world-class Anfield teams from the late 70's and early 80's, but this is a team that's not close in skill or teamwork to those famous sides. And we would have preferred Liverpool to play better in the second half against Barca, but they completely ran out of steam against one of the best teams in the world.

If either Dunphy or Brady were managers of Liverpool, we would have seen an even more entertaining match at Anfield on Tuesday night, but the Reds would not be in the quarter-finals as they are now.

That said, I enjoyed the debate by the RTE analysts and will keep an eye out for more coverage from them in the near future.

Labels: barcelona, eamon dunphy, johnny giles, liam brady, Liverpool, RTE

We were treated to another fabulous week of Champions League matches this week. And out of all of the European club teams that qualified for the quarter-finals, guess which country has the most representation in the next round?

• England: 3 teams (Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United)
• Italy: 2 teams (AC Milan and Roma)
• Germany: 1 team (Bayern Munich)
• Netherlands: 1 team (PSV Eindhoven), and
• Spain: 1 team (Valencia).

With eight teams remaining and three of those being English clubs, it's very likely that one of the English sides will face another in the next round.

But consider for a moment, the teams that aren't in the final eight:

• Inter Milan
  
• Barcelona
• Real Madrid
• Lyon
• Arsenal
• Lille
• Celtic, and
• Porto

Both Inter Milan and Barcelona were many people's favorites to win the tournament, so with those two teams being knocked, you have to think that one of the English clubs has an excellent chance of winning the Champions League. Looking at the five non-English teams remaining in the tournament, they're all beatable. In fact, this is the best chance an English club has to win the Champions League in years (who would have predicted Liverpool's win in 2005?)

We'll find out on Friday the draw for the quarter-finals. If you had to pick what teams you'd like to see matched up on Friday, who would they be and why? Here are my dream picks:

Liverpool v Valencia (Rafa Benitez faces his old club)
Manchester United v Roma (Ronaldo and Totti on the same pitch)
Chelsea v AC Milan (Shevchenko faces his old club)
PSV Eindhoven v Bayern Munich (the Dutch against German rivalry all over again)

Labels: Champions League, Chelsea, Liverpool, manchester united

By John Nicholson

When the obituaries are written about the 2006/07 Premiership, aside from containing lots of jokes about West Ham United, they should reflect that this was the season when American footballers started to become regular, valuable and respected members of top flight squads.

It's a quiet revolution, which is all the more ironic when you consider the fuss made over David Beckham's move to LA Galaxy. It seems that the best American players are increasingly able to compete at the highest levels in Europe and that clubs are seeing American players in a new, more valuable light.

The USA should be able to become a major force in world football and has already achieved much in the last 15 years. The real test will be in coming tournaments when Premiership hardened players have a chance to deploy their new top flight experience at international level. It'll be very interesting to see how well they perform.

Jay DeMerit, this weeks Podcast interviewee, is an excellent example. While Watford is set for relegation, Jay has been a stand out player for the side and I would imagine could find himself at another Premiership club next season and should make his international debut too.

There is some debate over whether not playing in the MLS hampers a players chances of playing for his country, but it seems to me to be a facile debate. You want your players playing at the highest levels possible. It can only be good for the national side.

A good player can look fantastic in an average quality league and then get found out at international level. The Likes of DeMerit will find international football easier having played against Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal than he ever would have if he'd played in the MLS. Marcus Hahnemann has gained vital experience in this successful season at Reading, and has gained many plaudits for some fine displays.

Brad Friedel remains easily one of the best keepers in the league. DaMarcus Beasley is turning out for Manchester City regularly too since arriving. Fulham's Carlos Bocanegra is a regular first team player and Brian McBride continues to put in ball-breaker performances and may well be the hardest bastard in the league.

Ok we're still waiting for a stand out, world beater to emerge from Uncle Sam's leagues but surely it's only a matter of time. Maybe if Freddy Adu can resist the birds, booze and bling on offer to a millionaire teenager in the Premiership he could be that player. If not him, then there will surely be others.

Others such as Rossi and Bobby Convey have yet to earn regular first team places they're in there and fighting for places with other internationals. They are playing in more exalted company and their game will improve for it. This is all good news for the national side.

After a disappointing World Cup where many of the players under-performed, and as a confirmed Americanaphile (yes I did just make that word up), I look forward to seeing the national squad's performances in the coming year. It's a pity that so many international games are played against the likes of Guatemala, Trinidad & Tobago and El Salvador who are hardly football giants. More severe tests against Argentina, Paraguay and Columbia lay ahead this year however and they will be the real litmus test of their progress.

Perhaps a tour of Europe could be organized for the national side at some point to get them experience of playing the top countries. Experience is hugely important.

The players that have so far made their mark seem to collectively have an excellent work ethic and by and large have integrated into the culture of the Premiership very well. Who'd have thought wealthy men in their 20s would enjoy a culture of birds and booze so easily?!

America is already at the top echelons of women’s international football; surely it can't be long before their male counterparts step up to the plate too.

John Nicholson writes each week for Football 365 and EPL Talk. You can listen to John's wonderful stories on episode 30 and 45 of the EPL Talk Podcast, as well as purchase his excellent Footy Rocks book and order one of his unique rock'n roll T-shirts.

Labels: english premier league, john nicholson, premier league, premiership

Fox Soccer Channel has achieved quite a coup by acquiring the exclusive TV rights to Serie A for the 2007-2008 through the 2009-2010 seasons right from under the noses of GolTV, who are in the midst of a takeover from SPC Worldwide.

Previously, GolTV held the TV rights in the US to the Italian league while Fox Soccer Channel only had the TV rights to home matches involving Catania, Lazio, Cagliari and Torino.

The proposed line-up for Fox, according to Fox Soccer Channel Executive Vice President and General Manager David Sternberg as reported in Multichannel News, are 9am ET and 1pm ET matches on Sunday, which will allow Fox Soccer Channel to continue showing their 11am ET Premiership match.

The article states that FSC will show up to four Serie A matches each weekend kicking off in August. The network will also feature preview and recap shows and some select midweek matches.

This is a huge loss for GolTV. However the network, based in Miami, still has the exclusive TV rights to La Liga through the 2008/2009 season.

Labels: fox soccer channel, goltv, serie A

The career thus far of Jay DeMerit, the American central defender who plays for Watford, is a remarkable story of determination. Many players would have given up after not being picked to play for a Major League Soccer team. Not DeMerit, though, who traveled to Europe in search of a professional soccer contract.

Learn more about DeMerit's remarkable story in this week's episode of the EPL Talk Podcast where he discusses what the mood is in the Watford squad, which American players in the Premiership he considers his friends, whether playing in England instead of the MLS hampers his chance of playing for the U.S. national squad, and much more.

Watch DeMerit this Sunday when Watford plays Plymouth in the FA Cup quarter-final. The match will be shown live on Fox Soccer Channel at 2pm ET.

Labels: jay demerit, Watford

It wasn't pretty. It wasn't easy, but Chelsea has made their way through to the quarter-final stages of the Champions League after coming from behind to defeat Porto 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.

However, this didn't look like a match that Chelsea would win. The Blues sorely missed John Terry especially when Porto easily broke down Chelsea's defence and scored the opener. Chelsea was extremely lucky to score the equalizer after a long range shot from Arjen Robben was bumbled into the net by the Porto goalkeeper.

In a rare occurrence, Michael Ballack scored the winner for Chelsea with a beautiful volley after being set up by Andre Shevchenko.

While Chelsea got the lucky break they needed to advance in the tournament, they'll have to play a lot better than that to have any hope of making it into the semi-final.

Chelsea now joins Liverpool, Roma, and Valencia in the quarter-finals. Two out of four English clubs have made it through to the next round. Let's see if Man United and Arsenal can make it four out of four tomorrow.

Labels: Champions League, Chelsea, porto

In a match that was similar in many ways to the 1-0 loss to Manchester United at Anfield this past Saturday, Liverpool stormed through to the quarter-final stages of the Champions League tonight after going through on the away goals rule (2-2 on aggregate).

Liverpool controlled much of the game, especially in the first half, and were unlucky not to be ahead after hitting the crossbar twice and Barcelona clearing the ball off the line. But while Liverpool was impressive on the attack, the team was also tactically superior as they stopped Barcelona from playing their brand of football. All Barca could do in the first half was pass the ball around in their own half and were only seldom able to penetrate Liverpool's midfield.

Liverpool's key strength in this match was their incisive one-touch football that ripped Barcelona apart time after time. Mohamed Sissoko was a rock in midfield, while John Arne Riise was a constant threat down the left wing. Every Liverpool player stepped up to the occasion on a historic night on Merseyside.

Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi were largely ineffective for Barcelona, and their attacks were easily stamped out by the Reds. Barcelona's best chance fell to Ronaldinho with a one-on-one against Pepe Reina. However, Ronaldinho's shot hit the post when he should have hit it hard and low.

When substitute Eidur Gudjonsen was left wide open on the left wing and ran in to score Barcelona's goal, it seemed like only a matter of time before Barca scored a second against the tired-looking Liverpool team. However, Liverpool held on for a historic win over two legs against the richest team in the world.

Based on Liverpool's performances in the past few weeks, in both the Champions League and Premiership, they're playing the best football in England right now. The results haven't been going totally their way, but they're creating so many chances and playing a wonderful attacking blend of football that those shots are bound to hit the back of the net soon. They're finding their form at the right time. It's too late for any silverware in England, but the Champions League trophy beckons.

If they can beat Barcelona (albeit a shadow of their former greatness), who can't they beat?

Labels: barcelona, Champions League, livepool

SCP Worldwide, a company owned by MLS team Real Salt Lake, has agreed in principle to buy GolTV for $200 million according to the Sports Business Journal.

The deal hasn't been approved yet as executives within some of Major League Soccer's broadcasters may complain because they find it inappropriate for MLS owner Dave Checketts to buy a network that competes against MLS media partners.

GolTV currently shows Liverpool TV and Arsenal TV programs. and also carries the German, Spanish and Italian leagues.

In the following article, it mentions that SCP Worldwide has purchased the TV rights in North America for the 2010 World Cup qualifying matches involving the teams from the South American Football Federation.

If the $200 million deal goes through, I wonder how GolTV will change - if any. And if it does change, whether SCP Worldwide knows what they're doing. It should be some interesting weeks to come in the world of football on TV in America.

Labels: goltv

Sheffield United has a unique idea. The Yorkshire club is asking fans to vote on what their official away shirt should be next season. So far, the lime green one (pictured right) has received the largest amount of votes. I'm not sure if that's because Sheffield Wednesday fans want to laugh at their cross-town rivals, or whether Sheffield United fans really do prefer fluorescent colors.

Meanwhile in February, Sheffield United fans voted for next season's design of the home shirt.

It's a refreshing approach from Sheffield United. After all, the fans are the ones that have to fork out their hard-earned cash, so why not produce shirts that the majority of fans like the most?

Voting for United's away shirt ends this Thursday, March 8th, so help decide what color you want to see Sheffield United in next season considering the likelihood that the Blades will be back in the Premiership next season.

Labels: sheffield united

The Champions Soccer Radio Network is continuing to grow. In addition to The 2 G's, The Arsenal Hour and Divers and Cheats, the latest show is Kop Shop USA, which is a one hour program focused on Liverpool FC.

Hosted by Fox Soccer Channel's Nick Webster and Keith Costigan, the debut episode was released a couple of weeks ago and featured an exclusive interview with Liverpool legend (and now Sky Sports analyst) Phil Thompson.

Webster's voice is great for radio, and the rapport between him and Irishman Costigan is perfect. While Costigan waxes on about how wonderful Liverpool is, Webster balances the equation by offering more of a reality check.

The show also features trivia questions, a debate about the latest developments at Liverpool, a little bit of gossip thrown in and audio from match commentaries and interviews provided exclusively by Liverpool's official web site.

Overall the show is a must-listen for Liverpool fans in the States. My only criticism is that the show could be tighter if it was 30 minutes instead of 60. Other than that, the future looks bright for Koppites everywhere.

Kop Shop USA is available for download as a podcast on iTunes. For more information, visit The 2 G's message boards.

Meanwhile, if you're a Liverpool FC fan, listen to EPL Talk's interview with Ronnie Whelan here.

Labels: champions soccer radio network, Divers and Cheats, keith costigan, kop shop usa, Liverpool, nick webster, phil thompson, The 2 G's, The Arsenal Hour

What more can be said about the West Ham against Spurs match that hasn't already been said or written? Here are a few of my reflections about the match:

• Martin Tyler may have the most recognizable voice of Premiership commentators, but I thought the duo of Alan Parry and Robbie Earle were riveting to listen to in this London derby. This was the type of match that is a commentator's wet dream, but Parry and Earle added to the spectacle with their sharp insight. My only criticism was when West Ham scored to make it 3-2, Parry mentioned something along the lines of "this is it" -- i.e. the match was essentially over. Who would have predicted the two goals from Spurs so late in the match?
  
  
• I can't remember the last time I saw fans at a Premiership crowd erupt as much as they did after Carlos Tevez scored to make it 2-0. The West Ham fans, especially in the Bobby Moore Stand, looked like a hornet's nest as huge numbers of fans bounced up and down wildly. No prawn sandwich munchers there.
  
  
• I've mentioned Gabriele Marcotti's recent comments about American investors and how they might prefer a closed-door league with no promotion or relegation in the future. This West Ham match was a perfect example of why relegation and promotion from the Championship needs to remain the way it is. West Ham, and their fans, are fighting for survival. If they're guaranteed a spot in the league each year, you take the fun and suspense out of the league.
  
  
• Fox Soccer Channel better hold on to that Sunday 11am ET timeslot for Premiership matches. Time after time this season (especially in the past few months), that timeslot has shown some incredible matches from England. Overall, it's been far more exciting than the Saturday 7:45am ET kickoff this season (despite the entertaining Liverpool against Man United match from this past Saturday).
  

Have we seen the best match of the season, or will we see a match that surpasses this one between now and the end of the season?

Labels: alan parry, carlos tevez, gabriele marcotti, robbie earle, spurs, tottenham hotspur, West Ham United

It's been more than a year since the EPL Talk web site launched, and we have plenty more exciting plans in the future for that site. But we have now launched three new sites that will interest many of you, and many more new readers out there.

Championship Talk: If you listened to the EPL Talk Podcast interview with Jeff Winter, you would have heard the news about a new podcast coming this summer. In the meantime, you can visit the Championship Talk web site where we'll be counting down the intense battles at the top and bottom of the table between now and the end of the season. We'll see if Championship Talk Podcast host Brian Koski will have some time to write some blog postings, too. Take a peek at http://www.championshiptalk.com

La Liga Talk: Is it the best league in the world or not? It's a fascinating topic, but if you're a fan of Spanish football, this will be a site you'll want to bookmark. The blog kicks off with an indepth look at Sevilla's win against Barcelona, which moved Sevilla to the top of the Primera Liga. Take a peek at http://www.laligatalk.com

Champions League Talk: The world's most entertaining competition will kick off again in a few days with the second leg of the first knockout stages. We take a closer look at Barcelona and offer a few suggestions of how Liverpool can ensure they get through to the last 16 on Tuesday. Take a peek at http://www.championsleaguetalk.com

If you're feeling overwhelmed, don't worry. If you enjoy EPL Talk, and you don't have time for the new blogs/sites, that's completely understandable. But if your football interests do stray to other leagues other than the Premiership, then the above sites are worth checking out. Over time, we'll be making those sites more robust. But, for the time being, enjoy them and be sure to participate in the comments there.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Labels: Champions League, champions league talk, championship, championship talk, la liga, la liga talk

You're invited to take a brief survey on how the EPL Talk Chat is performing and whether it meets your level of satisfaction. The survey will take just 2-3 minutes of your time, and will go a long way to helping us improve the level of service for you, the die-hard Premiership fan.

Please take the survey today.

The saying goes, "you can't improve what you don't measure," which is why it's vital to get your feedback.

We'll pick one lucky survey respondent's name out of the hat on March 10th and will award them a World Soccer Shop T-shirt. And the results will be shared on this blog shortly thereafter so you can see what everyone's feedback was.

Labels: epl talk chat

This morning, the Soccer Mad In America blog announced the Champions League TV Schedule for next week's matches, and it's good news for fans of English football.

ESPN2 will be showing the Liverpool versus Barcelona and Manchester United against Lille matches. Both matches are sure to be firecrackers, although I have a feeling that the Old Trafford match will end up being a comfortable stroll for United despite a tense beginning to the match.

Chelsea against Porto, and Arsenal v PSV will be on Setanta.

Labels: Champions League, ESPN2, Setanta

If you're searching for a way to experience Saturday's match between Liverpool v Man United online, join the EPL Talk Chat hosted by bcjohn.

We'll have Man United, Liverpool and neutral fans from around the world chatting in real-time about one of the biggest matches of the season. We'll also be able to tip you off regarding Liverpool v Man Utd radio coverage and how to listen live (depending on what part of the world you live in).

The match kicks off on Sunday at 7:45am ET/12:45pm GMT.

You can access the EPL Talk Chat from the EPL Talk homepage (near the center of the page).

Labels: Liverpool, man united, manchester united

In the space of just one week, Arsenal's entire season has come undone. The team failed to get a valuable away goal against PSV Eindhoven last week, which may signify their Champions League demise. Last night the youngsters couldn't overcome Blackburn Rovers despite numerous chances to put the game away, and the same young side lost the Carling Cup Final -- undeservedly so -- this past Sunday. For all intents and purposes, Arsenal's season may be over.

Labels: Arsenal, benni mccarthy, blackburn

The results are in from the EPL Talk Email Newsletter survey, where we asked your opinions about the e-newsletter and what we can do to improve. Thanks to everyone who participated. We'll be picking one lucky survey respondent's name out of the hat and will announce the winner of a World Soccer Shop T-shirt in Friday morning's edition of the newsletter.

So, here are what the results of the survey told us:



It's good to know that 93% of you feel that the email newsletter is better than average, and that's a good sign. Although it may not seem like much work to some, each issue takes two hours or more of research, so it's reassuring to know that the newsletter is being well-received.


Up until the past few weeks, the e-newsletter was always sent on Friday mornings. What I found, though, was that I was getting quite a few 'out of office' messages as many of you would take a Friday off for a long weekend or for business trips. But I'll return to sending it on Friday mornings. As one of you replied in the open-ended part of the survey, you "look forward to [the newsletter] in [your] e-mail every Friday morning. A sign that the weekend is here."


So here are the nuts and bolts of the answers, which gives me valuable insight into what sections of the e-newsletter are working better than others. Looking at the results, the sections you enjoy the most are (in order): (1) the TV guide listings of all of the matches involving Premiership clubs (in the league and in European competitions), (2) the headline story (which is usually breaking news), (3) the preview of the next EPL Talk Podcast, and so on. Interestingly, the section that scored the most votes for being average is the most popular section of the newsletter for click-thru's (i.e. more of you click the 'Best of The Blogs' section than any other section of the e-newsletter).

What the results do tell me is that the content in some of the areas can be improved, which is important for me to know. More about that later.


One hundred percent of you didn't think the e-newsletter was too long! Instead, 62% of you felt the length was "just right," while 38% of you thought it was "too short."

What it tells me is that many of you wouldn't mind it being just a little bit longer, so I'll see what I can do about that in future issues by adding a couple of new sections or adding more detail to the already existing sections. For example, one of the comments I received from the open-ended questions was: "A little more detail in news and match pre-views." It's a deal.

Here are my responses to some of the other suggestions in the open-ended answers:

"What's the one major thing that the newsletter can change now to improve?" -- One person replied "Have a guide for matches which can be heard on SIRIUS Satellite Radio." That's a terrific idea, and something I'll add starting this week or next. Someone else recommended "listings of games on tv in Japan." I'd love to, but if I do that, then I'll need to start listing TV guides for the other foreign subscribers such as Canada, Australia, the UK, etc, and there isn't room for that.

Another reader replied "Make it easier to print the topics. It is sometimes easier to print out your columns for later perusal." Let me look into that. Someone else suggested "Simplify the three columns down to two." That's something I plan on doing in the future when I undergo a redesign, but I need to get some additional advertising dollars in (and/or donations) to afford to do that.

Another reader suggested "I liked the best of the web, with the different websites featured." I thought that would be a section that everyone would like to, since there isn't much news about that on the web, but very few of the readers ever clicked on those links when I had them in the newsletter, so I decided to pull that section out.

"What suggestions do you have of how to promote the newsletter so more readers can subscribe to it?" -- One reader suggested "Create banners which people can post on MySpace accounts." That's an excellent idea, and something that came up also when we did a survey several months ago about the EPL Talk Buzz Army. When I can afford to redesign the e-newsletter, I'll have a graphic designer create some buttons and banners at that time. Unless there's a web designer or graphic designer out there who wants to volunteer his or her time?

"Any other suggestions or comments about the newsletter?" -- Lastly, one reader suggested that the email newsletter is "Too US centric." That's a worthy point, but only 5% of the readers are outside the U.S., and 81% of those foreign readers are Canadian.

Thanks again everyone for your valuable input. If there are any points you want to address, feel free to email me at thegaffer(at)gmail.com or click on the 'Comments' link below.

If you haven't subscribed to the free EPL Talk Email Newsletter yet, what are you waiting for? Sign up today here.

Labels: EPL Talk Email Newsletter, survey results