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Transfer Rumors (21 May 09): Liverpool in 15m bid for Portsmouth defender Johnson, Celtic target Everton’s Moyes as next manager, Bayern Munich lead race for Arsenal target Elia, and more

We’ve got a laundry list of transfer news and rumors in today’s roundup, from England, Scotland, Spain, Italy, Germany, and France. Who’s being linked with big (and small) moves for names from here and there? It’s worth noting that Steve McClaren might not be too happy of a man if he read today’s roundup. With…

Transfer Rumors (20 May 09): No Manchester City approach for Barcelona’s Messi, Tottenham interested in Aston Villa’s Barry, Blackburn’s Derbyshire to get permanent Olympiakos move?, and more

Who’s being linked with moves in today’s transfer gossip pages? In today’s transfer news and rumors roundup, we’ve got a little something from several top European leagues to get you over the Wednesday hump.

Soccerlens Podcast – El Casico, Chelsea’s anti-football and all about La Liga

On episode nine of the Soccerlens Podcast, Stephen Darwin is joined by FourFourTwo’s man in Madrid, Tim Stannard, to talk about Spanish football and La Liga. The show will be looking specifically at Valencia and their financial woes, Tim rips into Chelsea and their negative tactics at the Nou Camp and of course there’s just the small…

Trebles and Quintuples

Since Manchester United’s memorable 1998-99 season, no club has since laid claim to the proper “treble” in subsequent outings (“treble” being defined as the rightful champions of the UEFA Champions’ League, domestic league title and domestic cup competition). While Liverpool fans had reason to celebrate three titles two seasons later, references to this accomplishment as…

One big Messi: Coming to grips with the extinction of the one-club footballer

On the nights that testimonials are played for AC Milan’s Paolo Maldini and Real Madrid’s Raúl Gonzalez, those sitting and the stands and watching on television will be seeing the final curtain coming down on a phenomenon that appears to be on the verge of extinction: the one-club footballer (if such a term even exists)….

Liverpool 91%, Manchester United 67%, Chelsea and Arsenal 58% sure of progressing to last eight of Champions League

All English clubs mathematically assured of quarterfinals If all mathematical favourites progress in the Champions League, the quarterfinals will consist of four sides from England, a club from Germany, one from Portugal and teams from Greece and Spain:

Liverpool take note – Atleti show up Real’s deficiencies

It was literally impossible to avert one’s eyes from last night’s pulsating Madrid derby anyway, but there is little doubt that Señor Rafael Benitez will have seen plenty to warm himself amidst a freezing Saturday night on Merseyside. In front of a baying Bernabeu crowd, a contrast to the usually silent demands, Real & Atletico…

Barça’s Slipup: Shades of Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle?

A league tie between FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid is often a fiesta of goals and carries a degree of unpredictability as to which side will emerge the winner. This past weekend’s encounter at the Estadio Vincente Calderon in Madrid certainly did not fail to live up to the usual expectations of an Atleti-Barça match….

2008-2009 UEFA Champions League 2nd Round Preview

The UEFA Champions League returns at the end of the month, as the strongest 16 teams have advanced to the Knock-Out Round! They’ve had a couple of months to prepare, and, in some cases, they’ve reloaded and restocked their rosters. For many clubs, they’ve staked their entire seasons on success in the Champions League, and…

Atletico Madrid v. Porto – 2008-2009 Champions League Preview

Atletico Madrid v Porto First Leg: Vicente Calderon, Tuesday, February 24 2009. Second Leg: Estadio do Drago, Wednesday, March 11 2009. Atletico Madrid come into this matchup having just put a run of terrible form behind them. They went winless in their first seven matches of 2009, losing five Liga and Copa del Rey matches…