New Year's Eve Roundup

Happy 2010! Let me be the first to wish you a safe and happy new year.

2009 was full of some amazing games and goals in the world of soccer. I was going to do a year review but I haven't had the time. I will try to do one in the next few days!

I'm about to head out of town for the evening, so let me share with you some quick bits that have transpired recently:

-Liverpool defender and England international Glen Johnson suffered a knee injury on Tuesday that will put him out of action for up to four weeks. It's too early to tell if this might become a lingering problem heading into June's World Cup.

-Arsenal defeated Portsmouth 4-1 yesterday, officially making the FA Premier League a three-horse race entering 2010. The Gunners sit in third while Manchester United is in second after beating Wigan 5-0 on Wednesday.

-And finally, the transfer rumor mill is working overtime: the latest reports indicate that Real Madrid want Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery. The Madrid side are reportedly offering in the region of $60 million for the French international.

I hope that everyone has a great night and may 2010 be a great year for all!

Real Takeover Rumor Squashed

It seems that in recent days this blog has contained a lot of news surrounding Manchester City and its business on and off the football pitch. Continuing this pattern, here's another story about the Eastlands club. Except this time, it might be better to dismiss this report as false and just a product of the media machine in Europe trying to sell papers.

Rumor has it that owner of Manchester City and member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has approached Real Madrid with a $1.4 billion offer to buyout the Spanish club.

On Tuesday, Madrid issued a statement dispelling these rumors. Club President Florentino Perez stated that he and Sheikh Mansour have been friends for years and that his interest in Madrid was fabricated.

An audacious move such as this from Manchester City's owner does not seem so surprising when you consider the waves the club has already made in the transfer market. Targeting the best players in the world is now a reality for City, after signing the likes of Robinho and Carlos Tevez.

And Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan has already shown he isn't afraid to make controversial business moves (i.e. firing of Mark Hughes).

Who's to say that world domination in soccer isn't far behind? Maybe Real Madrid will become a feeder club for Manchester City.

But seriously: this buyout will NEVER happen!

Cesc Bags Brace As Arsenal Stay In Hunt

Cesc Fabregas started Sunday's game vs. Aston Villa on the Gunners' bench. Manager Arsene Wenger was keeping an eye on the fitness of the Spaniard who picked up a hamstring injury last week.

In a game that could ultimately end up defining Arsenal's season, Wenger was forced to put Fabregas into the fray just after the interval. It was the 57th minute, and Arsenal had yet to unlock Aston Villa's defense.

The 0-0 scoreline changed after Arsenal was awarded a free kick in the 65th minute. Fabregas calmly stood over the ball before bending it past the outstretched fingertips of Villa goalkeeper Brad Friedel.

Fabregas put the game away 16 minutes later when he beat Friedel on a breakaway after a nice through ball from midfielder Theo Walcott. The Spaniard limped off to a standing ovation as he was substituted for precautionary measures after the goal.

Abou Diaby added insult to injury for Aston Villa by making 3-0 in injury time. But the real story was Fabregas and how influential he is in his side's success.

In just under 30 minutes of play, Fabregas scored two goals. His creativity led to many other chances. Arsenal had a spark while he was on the pitch, something they had been missing in the first half.

The great ones step up when their teams need it most. Today Fabregas showed why he continues to be Arsenal's talisman.

The victory for the Gunners was crucial in keeping them in the hunt for the Premier League title. They now sit third in the table, four points behind leaders Chelsea with a game in-hand. Aston Villa now sit in fourth, three points behind Arsenal.

Here are the highlights from the game:

Merry Xmas From Xtra Time!

Well, Santa Claus has come and gone once again. Only 365 more days until his next visit.

Here's wishing a happy holidays and a merry Christmas to everyone out there. I hope it was a great one.

-Pete

City Feeling Heat Over Hughes Departure

I must admit, the way Manchester City have gone about removing Mark Hughes from his managerial post was a bit slimy.

It appears that those in control at the Eastlands have a certain agenda to fulfill. Part of this seems to be that they don't mind treating other human beings poorly.

City sit sixth in the FA Premier League, only six points behind Aston Villa for a Champions League spot with a game in-hand. There is still a lot of soccer to be played, and I fear that this manager swap may prove to do more harm than good.

Already there are reports that the players are "confused" after new manager Roberto Mancini's first speech to the team. Add that with a report that controversial striker Craig Bellamy has already had a row with Mancini after the team's first training session.

Talk about starting off on the right foot.

There are also peers of Hughes' who are speaking out on the matter.

Manager Sir Alex Ferguson of intra-city rivals Manchester United has come out stating that City's behavior has been "unacceptable." Hughes was a player under Ferguson at United and helped lead the Red Devils to a double in 1994.

While this is not surprising, seeing how Hughes and Ferguson have a relationship that goes back more than 15 years, it is worth taking into consideration because of Ferguson's status within the game. He is a managerial legend and his opinion does carry significant weight: eleven Premier League titles and two Champions League trophies gives one some sense of credibility.

While the new ownership at Manchester City has allowed an influx of cash to bring in more top-end talent, City still cannot be considered an elite club because of the way they handle their business. The messy departure of Mark Hughes is just the latest example of this.

Here's a clip of Manchester City Chief Executive Garry Cook responding to the sacking of Mark Hughes at a press conference on Dec. 22:

Transfer Market Starting To Heat Up

(Roberto Mancini being introduced at Manchester City)

As January gets nearer and nearer, start expecting more hints about what players may change squads during the winter transfer window.

One rumor has already been snuffed out; one involving Robinho moving from Manchester City to Barcelona. The Catalan giants reportedly had an offer turned down by the Manchester club. I made a post in October about this rumor; look back in the blog archives if you want to read all about it.

Speaking of Manchester City, the club recently sacked manager Mark Hughes after a string of disappointing results in the eyes of the directors. Former Inter Milan boss Roberto Mancini has succeeded Hughes at the Eastlands. Mancini has pledged to address City's defensive woes during the transfer period.

Start predicting who Manchester City will shell out big bucks for. Maybe an audacious move for Bolton's Gary Cahill will be in the works?

For an update on all current transfer news, visit Goal.com's Transfer Zone.

Stay tuned readers, because in a few days I will detail the year's best from around the world of soccer.

Third Time Is The Charm

During Sunday's 1-1 draw between Chelsea and West Ham at Upton Park, Blues midfielder Frank Lampard completed the unusual feat of successfully making three straight penalty kicks.

But only one goal was counted. Why you ask?

Lampard ran up and buried his first spot kick, but head referee Mike Dean whistled for encroachment in the box and asked for the penalty to be redone.

Lampard beat the goalkeeper again, only for Dean to demand ANOTHER kick be taken for ANOTHER encroachment offense!

Full of disbelief, Lampard put his head down and made it three in a row. Only this time Dean let it stand.

After all this, I say shame on Mike Dean for letting this weird occurence happen. There are at least one or two players running into the box before every penalty is taken.

On another note, how bad must West Ham keeper Robert Green feel?

A video of the penalty kicks is below: