Category: Story

Major League Soccer has sold the international TV rights to its games to sports media company MP & Silva through 2013. Sports Business Journal (subscription only) reported that the deal involves "an eight-figure agreement." The TV deal is part of "a long-term, broad partnership with" MLS and includes "the exclusive rights to all MLS games, […]

Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill has said that soccer is in the age of the “disposable manager,” and that he is not exempt from getting fired in spite of his team currently sitting third in the English Premier League. He knows how quickly things can change, and feels increasing emphasis is being placed on instant […]

Both D.C. United and FC Dallas were approached last month about the possibility of acquiring Ghanaian international Stephen Appiah, 28, on a free transfer, reports Steven Goff. But for reasons not yet clear, the potential deals fell through. "Appiah would have been willing to play in MLS for $2 million per season, a figure probably […]

The English Football Association's full report on the incident involving Manchester United defender Patrice Evra and the ground staff of Chelsea FC last April is well worth reading in full at the FA's website, writes Sam Wallace. "In parts it reads like the average fight outside a kebab shop on a Friday night in a […]

"The title is won in May and we are in December. Mathematically we will fight until the end. I believe Liverpool will drop many points. I am convinced of that. They had four draws at home. That means they dropped eight points, why shouldn't they drop eight more in the second half of the season?" […]

"They are an absolute disaster, staggering into rotten relationships as broken promise after broken promise drives them ever closer to a complete breakdown, teetering on the edge of the financial and football abyss." Sid Lowe tells how it's not been Mallorca's season so far in La Liga.    

"I suppose the only thing that I sometimes get frustrated by is when people outside the football club are talking about things to do with me, because they are trying to create something that is not there." Liverpool striker Robbie Keane, who scored a fine goal for his team in the weekend's 1-1 tie at […]

I say, how awfully splendid. The English FA has something the U.S. and many other countries can't call on in their bid to land the 2018 World Cup — a member of the royal family to shake important hands and make small talk. Presuming that the monarchy is not overthrown in the meantime, Prince William […]

Arsenal shareholder Nina Bracewell-Smith, who has a 15.9 percent stake in the club, has spoken out about the way she was treated by her fellow board members, and at her removal from the board. "I'm in total shock and very upset about the appalling way I have been treated," she said. "The board have no […]

"Business, always business," a murderous character known only as "The Greek" answers laconically at the end of the second series of HBO's "The Wire" when asked by an airline check-in assistant if he's travelling for business or pleasure. The phrase could increasingly apply to soccer — it's less about the pleasure of the game, and […]

"Whether the Dynamo succeeds [in signing Mexican striker Luis Angel Landin] or are forced to look elsewhere is not the point. Rather, it is the fact the team has the tools to be aggressive in looking for talent — at home and abroad — that makes trading [Dwayne] De Rosario a potential winner." Bernardo Fallas […]

"Claudio [Lopez] and a lot of other experienced players in the league sometimes make very intelligent runs and they don't always receive the ball early enough." Kansas City Wizards coach Curt Onalfo carefully pinpoints one of the difficulties for good players in adapting to Major League Soccer.  

"The managers believe there has been too great a focus on refereeing decisions in post-match interviews." Scottish Premier League Chairman Lex Gold announces that the league's 12 coaches have agreed to desist from talking about refereeing decisions after games. If anyone's heard of a soccer-related New Year's resolution less likely to last beyond the end […]