...anish defender Daniel Agger cost 5.8 million from Brondby.

A host of fringe players left on loan deals but all transfers were eclipsed by the return of striker Robbie Fowler, five years after leaving Anfield. Fowler scored 120 goals in 236 Premiership matches for the Reds previously and with Manchester United wobbling, Liverpool could eclipse them in second position. They are three points behind in third but have two games in hand. Rafa Benitezs side can be backed at 6/5 to win the Premiership in the without Chelsea market.

Manchester City
Following a blistering start to the season, City are sitting comfortably in tenth position. Manager Stuart Pearce will not stand for half measures and has motivated his side into three wins out of their last four matches, including a 3-1 derby win over bitter rivals United.

Pearce has boosted the ranks with the 6 million signing of Greek striker Georgios Samaras from Heerenveen after allowing Robbie Fowler to rejoin Liverpool and the loan capture of Espanyol midfielder Alberto Riera. Pearces managerial qualities have not gone unnoticed and he is quoted at 20/1 to succeed Sven Goran Eriksson as the next England boss.

Manchester United
The former Premiership powerhouses have been exposed yet again this season as being nowhere near Chelsea in terms of results, consistency and strength in depth. However, the Glaziers sanctioned the arrivals of Spartak Moscow defender Nemanja Vidic Spartak for 7 million and 5.5 million signing Patrice Evra.

A dire spell in Europe has seen them...more

The World's Most Beloved Sport - The History of Soccer

...ccer is extremely old. Despite that, there is still a version of Tsu Chu played today. While the two games are similar, Tsu Chu has had no effect on the modern version of the game, as it was originally developed and created for play in Great Britain.

Japanese Soccer History

Kemari, the Japanese version of "Soccer", is perhaps one of the most different forms of the sport, in comparison to modern soccer. Kemari was a game of "Keep it up", much like modern hacky sacks, although used with a larger ball that was stuffed with saw dust. This version involves a "pitch", or the field, designated by the selection of four trees, the cherry, maple, pine and willow. Many great houses in Japan would grow trees to have a permanent pitch, or field, established.

Kemari was normally played with two to twelve players. Established in roughly 1004 B.C., it vies for position of the oldest game with China's Tsu Chu. In fact, China's Tsu Chu players and Japan's Kemari players were the first to have an "international" game of their versions of Soccer, which is dated to have occurred in roughly 50 B.C., although a definite date of 611 A.D. is known. Regardless, this game stands with China as a sister sport to Soccer, while it never affected the modern version of the game.

Egyptian Soccer History

While not much is known about Egyptian Soccer, or other ball games, it is thought there was a version of a type of ball game played by young women during the age of Baqet III. On his tomb, images of this sport were depicted, although no one is certain how the game was played or whether or not it truly affected the outcome of modern soccer. Recordings of this game ...more

English Soccer - England's Football League Division One Review

...It would appear that Swindon Town have been keeping an eye on Football England recently, at least that's what I'm claiming anyway. Since I tipped them as most likely to stay up in the now ferocious relegation battle, they haven't put a foot wrong.

This was confirmed by another good win at home to Doncaster Rovers on Saturday.

The 2-1 victory, gives them three on the bounce on the row, and confidence seems to have been restored. Any struggling teams yet to visit the County Ground - beware.

Manager Iffy Onoura was well pleased with the latest result, and also seems optimistic of survival. Perhaps he's also in a good mood because the proposed television project featuring Big Ron has been booted into row z, early doors.

At the top, Southend reconfirmed their promotion credentials with a fine 2-0 away defeat of Yeovil, which keeps them top. Shaun Goater scored the second, and his goals could be vital in the remainder of the season.

Brentford too perhaps have been reading this column. Last week I voiced ...more

Super Bowl XL

...This is it: Super Bowl Sunday! The old adage You win the turnover battle, you win the game, is especially true come playoff time. Looking back at last seasons game, we find that the Patriots won the turnover battle 4-1, largely because of three Donovan McNabb interceptions. The Pats won the game 24-21, though they failed to cover. The year before, the Patriots and Panthers were even in the turnover department, 1-1. New England won again, 32-29, but failed to cover. Before that the Bucs had a huge edge in turnovers and destroyed the Raiders as a dog, 48-21, and before that the Patriots were a 14-point dog but won the turnover battle 3-0 in upsetting the Rams, 20-17.

Overall, the turnover department is huge. So who has the edge this Sunday? The Steelers are +7 on the season in turnovers, and the Seahawks are +9. Not much of a difference. In the payoffs, the Steelers won the turnovers battle +2 in their win...more

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