Childish Hicks Forced To Resign

"Blow me, ****face. Go to hell. I'm sick of you."

No, that's not me chastising my readers. That's a portion of an e-mail from former Liverpool FC director Tom Hicks Jr. to a concerned fan.

Hicks Jr. was forced to resign to today by the club after comments made to Liverpool supporter Stephen Horner were made public. Horner wrote to Hicks Jr. to address the lack of transfer funds available to manager Rafael Benitez.

The former director apologized publicly for his comments, but it was a case of too little too late.

Hicks Jr.'s behavior just reeks of the frustration currently being felt at Anfield. Liverpool sit seventh in the English Premier League, well out of title contention and on the brink of missing the Champions League. It's been a rough year for the banged-up Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, manager Rafa Benitez and the entire Liverpool fanbase.

Stories like this only add fuel to the fire of dissatisfaction for the Kopites (aka Liverpool supporters).

African Nations Cup Hangs In The Balance

As many of you know, or don't know, yesterday the bus carrying the Togo national soccer team was attacked by Angolan rebels at the Congolese border. The team was heading to the African Nations Cup to be held in Angola.

Using machine guns, the rebels shot up the bus, hitting five people inside. There have been conflicting reports as to the death count, but the latest French sources say that there have been four fatalities: an unnamed local bus driver, assistant coach Abalo Amelete, press officer Stanislas Ocloo and reserve goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale.

Togo's most notable player, Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor (pictured above), was unharmed but is reportedly returning home. The team itself has withdrawn from the tournament after the horrific events on Friday.

The shocking nature of the incident has given the ANC a black eye and has prompted many to call for the cancellation of the tournament. As of today, the Confederation of African Football has confirmed that the tournament will go ahead as planned.

But how do they think the play will go on without hindrance? Players from the nations of Ivory Coast and Ghana have said that they are in solidarity with Togo. Those two nations are also due to play their games in Angola's Cabinda region, where the attacks took place. I imagine if they take the field, they won't be playing at their peak potential.

Most importantly, the games must go on. Yes, this was tragic. Dedicate the tournament to the memory of those individuals from Togo. But keeping the tournament going could be a sign to those who attacked that their actions will not stop this event from going on as planned. It should be used as a tool to unite all of Africa in support for Togo and against the meaningless violence displayed on Friday.

I also know that the CAF does not want to give in when this is such a big year for soccer in Africa with the World Cup. While I really do understand why Togo withdrew from the tournament, I think that the other nations must press on if they are to get past this unfortunate and tragic situation.

Indonesian Fan Goes Ronaldo Style

This just in: supporters of the Indonesian national soccer team have become so fed up with their team's performance that they are looking to take matters into their own hands.

One fan actually did.

Hendri Mulyadi, 25, was watching his team in the process of losing to Oman 2-1 on Thursday and decided that he needed to make an impact on the game. Muylyadi hopped a barrier, sprinted onto the field and took control of the ball while heading toward the Oman goal. He failed to score as his shot was saved by the goalkeeper before being hauled down by law enforcement. Here's the video in all its hilarity:



A pretty memorable scene nontheless, and his actions have recieved praise online. According to the BBC, a comment on a YouTube video of his on-field stunt said, "He could be a future striker for Indonesia."

Transfer Talk

Now that we're a few days into January, the transfer market has begun to heat up.

Here are some of the latest rumors and rumblings from across the European continent:

-Freddy Adu signs an 18-month loan deal with Greek club Aris FC

-Inter Milan's Patrick Vieira looks set to leave the Italian side

-Liverpool have joined Arsenal in the hunt for Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh

-Here's an article talking about how Vieira and Ruud Van Nistelrooy should change clubs if they hope to play at the World Cup this summer

-It's very likely that Atletico Madrid's Maxi Rodriguez may join Liverpool

-Arsenal's transfer plans depend on the health of striker Nicklas Bendtner

That's the latest for now. As always, check my Twitter page for up-to-date headlines throughout the day!

Old Firm Stalemate

Yesterday the famous Old Firm rivalry between Rangers and Celtic was renewed for the first time this decade, and ended in a 1-1 draw at Celtic Park.

The two giants of Scottish soccer waited until the final 15 minutes to score their respective goals. Scott McDonald headed home a cross from Aidan McGeady to put Celtic up in the 79th minute, but Rangers equalized through a Lee McCulloch header off a corner two minutes later.

The tie puts Rangers in firm position to repeat as league champions. The club are now seven points clear at the top of the Scottish Premier League.

This summer, I visited Glasgow and had the chance to visit the respective stadiums of each club. I even got to go onto the field at Rangers' home of Ibrox (see below):

What I can tell you is that after traveling around the city, it's obvious that there is a distinct division between those who support each side. The blue and red of the Union Jack can be found all around the pro-Protestant portions of where Rangers is located, while the green and white of Celtic surrounds pro-Catholic sections of the city. It's as much of a social and political rivalry as it is a sporting one.

To say that the rivalry is heated would be an understatement; hate would be a better fit. Take for example the fact that until 1989, Rangers refused to sign Roman Catholic players.

To find out more about the rivalry's roots, click here.

Twitter!

Hey folks! Hope you all had a great weekend.

Just wanted to pass along the notice that as of 11 p.m Sunday night, I now have a Twitter account for my blog. There's a new bar to your right ---> that will let you follow me on the site.

If you're on Twitter, you can follow me and get soccer news and links in a quicker fashion.

Thanks!

Adu To Aris?

Remember Freddy Adu, the once-anointed savior of soccer in the United States?

His journey from Major League Soccer to Europe has been a well-documented tale of bad luck and frustrations. Now it looks like he may be moving to his third European side in as many years.

On December 29th, Adu was released from his contract by the new coach of his Portuguese club, Beleneses. Out of work, Adu now looks close to signing a deal with Greek side Aris FC.

In 2007 Adu, 20, signed a contract with Benfica, a giant of Portugese soccer. With chances at the club limited, he was shipped out to French side AS Monaco on loan. Failing to make a mark there, Adu was lent to Portuguese side Beleneses for the start of the 2009-10 season.

Aris just signed another American a few days ago, striker Eddie Johnson.

With Adu currently out of the fold for the 2010 World Cup, he should make the most of his new opportunity in Greece to make an impression on U.S. manager Bob Bradley. And I'm not just talking about trying to make it to South Africa; he needs to show that he belongs in the future of the U.S. soccer. Adu's talent is obvious, but it's just been a challenge for him to consistently get playing time in Europe to hone his skills.

Here are some higlights of Freddy in action: