The next Premier League season doesn’t begin until Saturday, August 14 but as soon as the first ball is kicked in the Community Shield, the English top flight football calendar officially opens.

Tomorrow we’ll see Manchester United compete against Chelsea (10am ET, Fox Soccer Channel) to see who will win the Community Shield silverware. Historically the game has usually been a hum-drum affair. Both teams obviously want to win the game. But the games are hardly ever played at a feverish pace. One exception was the 1974 Charity Shield (as the game was called then) featuring Liverpool against Leeds United (pictured above). It was feverish but also very dirty.

Having said that, the game usually is a massive confidence booster. After playing their preseason friendlies in the United States, Chelsea returned to England last summer and drew 2-2 in regulation time against Manchester United. The Blues then went on to win 4-1 on penalties. And that, without a doubt, was an important step for Chelsea as they then proceeded to carry that confidence into their 2009-10 Premier League season where they eventually became champions.

Let me add an important note. And that is that the Community Shield tomorrow will be live blogged on EPL Talk courtesy of Chris McQuade. So feel free to watch the game tomorrow and add your questions, comments and observations during the game on the homepage of EPL Talk.

And now, the poll. Who do you think will win the 2010 Community Shield? Chelsea or Manchester United?

Watching the Midlands derby on television Saturday between Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers, a smile crept on my face when I saw an elderly woman in the crowd celebrating after Aston Villa scored a goal. To see her beaming and jumping up and down was a natural and beautiful thing to see. It filled my heart with joy even though I’m neither a Villa or Wolves supporter.

It made me immediately think of my dearly departed grandmother. Except she wasn’t a soccer fan. Neither is my father, my mother, my sister or neither was my brother, who died eight years ago. In fact, I was and am the only soccer fan in my entire family. My grandparents on my father’s side were passionate Liverpool supporters, having lived in the city. But everyone else had no interest in the sport.

When I listen to interviews or podcasts such as The Spurs Show, I constantly hear stories of how fathers pass along the love of the sport and their support of a particular team to their son. For many families, it’s a birthright to become the supporter of a specific club. And the child is raised to become a supporter. But for me, I never had that. I learned on my own and alongside my cousin Kevin who was a mad Leeds United supporter.

When I went to my first professional soccer match when I was 10, it wasn’t with my father but it was with my best friend and his father. We travelled in his car to a mid-week game during the dark of winter. And seeing the bright green pitch under those floodlights changed my life forever.

I didn’t have the luxury of my parents understanding my new found passion. It was always something they had a hard time coming to grips with and it always seemed to them that it was a distraction for me from my schoolwork and more important things in life.

I did find a way to get my parents to come with me to two soccer games, though, which was a proud but unusual experience. The first was a game during what became the final season for the Miami Fusion where the team was playing some of the most beautiful soccer I’ve seen a team play in person. The crowd of over 12,000 was into it too, and my parents really seemed to enjoy the match. The second game they went to was to celebrate by seeing me propose to my now wife during half-time of a Miami Fusion soccer game.

As a father, I’m now in the role of encouraging my children to follow the game of soccer as I do. But the three girls I have are interested in playing the game more than watching it on television. My fourth child – my son, named Christopher, is still too young (one and a half years old) to get into the game, but I’m sure I’ll encourage him when he gets older. For me, it’s an opportunity to raise my children in a family that is as soccer mad as I am and bring them up with the game, if they’re interested.

What about you? What has been your experience following soccer with your family? Are your parents or grandparents into the sport, and have they taken you to matches? Do they understand why you’re so passionate about the sport, or do they look at you as the bizarre one in the family following that strange game? Share your stories and tell us about your parents and family, and their involvement (or non-involvement) with the beautiful game.

Photo credit: Geoff Penn

I’m getting sick of people who say that the FA Cup is dead or dying. All you had to do was watch the Tottenham Hotspur against Leeds United match on Saturday and you would have walked away convinced that the tournament is very much alive and kicking.

In a tremendously exciting game, Leeds United held their own against an almost full-strength Tottenham side. The football was good from both sides with Leeds having plenty of chances to score, while Tottenham came close on many occasions. But at the end of the day, the game ended 2-2 with an injury time penalty kick from Jermaine Beckford to force a replay at Elland Road, which Leeds United players and supporters will fancy their chances of beating the mighty Spurs.

By scoring both goals for Leeds United, Beckford increased his chances that even more Premier League clubs will be trying to sign him before the January transfer window closes the week after next.

Fair play to Leeds United, Tottenham Hotspur and both sets of supporters who created an incredible atmosphere at White Hart Lane.

In the earlier game, I watched Reading’s 1-0 victory against Burnley in a game that didn’t come alive until the second half. But Reading were deserving of their win and will now enter the pot for the fifth round of the tournament.

Watching Accrington Stanley against Fulham was a joy to watch especially seeing how well the Lancashire club battled and how the game looked like it was in slow-motion at times on the wet, muddy pitch. Near the end of the game, Fulham maintained complete control against the tired legs of Stanley, and ended up 3-1 winners.

Now, I suppose some people out there are still scratching their heads over Burnley’s appointment of Brian Laws and I must admit I was a tad taken aback. Anyone without a knowledge of the game outside of the Premiership, and there are plenty of those fans in England, never mind outside the U.K., would be wondering where on earth he’s come from.

Yes, it is a bit of a left field choice, but Burnley’s board have long admired Laws’ qualities as a manager and at the third attempt to sign him, they have got their man. Burnley went for Laws before they appointed Steve Cotterill back in 2004 and again in 2007 before going for Owen Coyle. It seems a spiritual affair too, as Laws’ playing career started at Burnley, who spotted him playing for the legendary North East junior team, Wallsend Boys club.

Most of the surprise seems to be based on the fact that Laws was until two weeks ago, manager of Sheffield Wednesday. Now a quick look at the Championship League table will tell you all you need to know about why some people are shocked he’s landed at Turf Moor. Yet I don’t think that paints the full picture of his abilities and the achievements that he had whilst managing Scunthorpe should not be underestimated. Not least being sacked for 3 weeks before being re-instated back in 2004.

He achieved miracles on a shoestring whilst he was at Glanford Park and rightly earned the chance to have a crack at trying to deal with the poisoned chalice that Sheffield Wednesday now offer. 13 managers since 1st January 2000, including 5 caretakers, tells you all you need to know about a club with ideas very much above its station. In fact, quite a lot of people had a lot of sympathy for Laws when he was shown the door at Hillsborough, because they were aware of the financial constraints that he has had to work under, tallied with with an over demanding level of expectation. Leeds United they are not.

Yet it is that same ability to work within tightly controlled budgets that probably gave him the nod to take control at Turf Moor and as an ex-player he will know all about the history and pride that Burnley fans have. Some people may be underwhelmed by the appointment and I was surprised when I saw that he’d been approached in the first place, but in the cold light of day I can completely see where Barry Kilby and the Burnley board are going here.

They haven’t gone down the depressing route of looking to a foriegn manager or an ex-player with loads of badges but no ability. Yes, he got sacked from Sheffield Wednesday, but as with Paul Hart, it’s not as obvious as things can be made out on the surface. No-one has succeeded at Wednesday since the early 1990′s and when he took over at Hillsborough in November 2006, the club were in danger of being relegated back to Division One.

Laws is a prudent, honest and no-nonsense manager who could be a great success at Burnley, don’t be too hasty to chastise him. Survival would mean everything to those Clarets fans and after all the upheaval in recent weeks, Laws can offer a smooth and straight talking style immediately. He served under Brian Clough as a player for 5 years during Forest last heady days of success and was always on the fringes of the England squad at the time.Now if he can survive a baptism of fire at Old Trafford and avoid hitting his star player in the face with a plate of chicken wings, he’ll do just fine.

During the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon claimed on national television that “There can be no whitewash at the White House”, yet history shows that there was indeed a whitewash and Nixon orchestrated it through delusions of power and presidential etiquette. It seems that time has taught people nothing about that lying whilst hoping no-one notices usually causes more of a fuss.

This week has seen the Portsmouth financial crisis reach such a point that they’ve simply stop talking to the press because, incredibly, no-one believes anything that comes out as an “official” statement. It is reaching the proportions of a footballing farce but the players have finally been paid after deadlines came and went on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Coming after the chief executive Peter Storrie said that he didn’t know when the financial situation would be resolved and players would have to be sold to keep the club going, today executive director Mark Jacob said this wouldn’t be the case but every player had his price. So two employees of the club and two separate versions of events. Add to that the Premier League are diverting January’s installment of the £7 million TV revenue money to Chelsea, Tottenham, Rennes and Lens and the on going battle with the HMRC, which Portsmouth claims is a mistake and the story gets murkier and murkier.

You see, throughout the last couple of weeks we’ve been told just how much the new owner Ali Al-Faraj had spent dealing with debts for the club, apparently £40 million, but they’ve had to get a loan to pay the wages and can’t clear the transfer debts they owe. So how can things be fine when they are still scraping around to pay wages and have to get more debt to pay existing debts? The Premier League don’t trust them to pay their own deals and I can’t think of another club that has had to have it’s TV money diverted to other clubs.

This situation is spiraling out of control and no-one knows where it’s going to end up next. When club employees don’t know which version of the truth to offer out, how on earth are the fans supposed to have a clue what is going on? With former owner Alexandre Gaydamak also weighing in claiming he’s still owed £28 million, how on earth did it come to this? Yet lets be honest, if Leeds United can implode so spectacularly as they did back in 2003/2004, can Portsmouth really find away out of it.

When I lived in Gosport many years ago and used to make the daily trek to the training ground out in Eastleigh, people would always show their love for the club be it in Fareham, Southsea, wherever. There is a real sense of pride in the side throughout Portsmouth, they are a tenacious and dedicated bunch of people and some of the best fans in the country. If you give your all for the shirt, they’ll give you their unconditional support and you can’t ask for more than that. I just wish the relationship was working the other way around and the club gave as much back.

If they gave a damn, they’d sort out this whole sorry mess and go into administration now. By doing so, they can clear the debts and take the ten point deduction on the chin. Hell, they may even be able to sign some players that could pull the deficit back in time. If not, then they can regroup ready for a promotion assault next season. I just wish the club would stop treating the fans with such indifference, they deserve better.

Listening to the BBC Radio Five Live commentary last Sunday of the match between Manchester United and Leeds United, I was taken aback by a statement that the commentator made at the onset of the program. I’m paraphrasing, but the commentator said that in the interests of simplicity, whenever he mentioned “United” in the commentary, he would mean Manchester United, not Leeds United.

While I realize and understand that if you said “United” to ten soccer fans and asked them which team you were talking about, nine of the ten would answer “Manchester United, of course” while some smart arse would mention “Scunthorpe United, up the Iron!”

But to me, I find it a bit condescending and demeaning to a team that is snubbed. If you’re a Leeds United or Newcastle United supporter, aren’t they “United” to you? And why should a Leeds or Newcastle supporter concede the title of “United” to Manchester? Sure, the Red Devils are one of the biggest and most popular teams in the world, but each team deserves the right to be called by their chosen name. To me, how hard is it for a radio commentator to add a three syllable word (Manchester) or a one syllable word (Leeds) before the word “United.”

Maybe it’s because I’m a Swansea City supporter, but it bothers me when I see a headline that screams “Veron Reveals City Snub.” If I didn’t already know that Veron was rumored to be interested in a transfer to Manchester City, I may have guessed the story was about Birmingham City, Man City, Stoke City or several other clubs. Yes, most soccer diehards will recognize that this is an article about Manchester City, but how difficult is it for Sky Sports (and other media organizations) to make it vividly clear?

If you’re a Manchester United or Manchester City supporter, or are lucky enough to support a team that is a one word name such as Arsenal or Everton, this whole City vs United thing may not bother you. But for the neutral soccer fan or for the team that can’t be called United or City for fear of confusing the general public, it’s quite annoying.

Photo credit: Toksuede

In a football world full of foreign fans, which have never once traveled to England, Manchester United is the flavor of the millennium. But those of us, who love and appreciate the English game, and its history and passion, felt liberated today.

Leeds United, one of the giant clubs of the last forty years in English football signaled its return to relevance with a fantastic 1-0 victory at Old Trafford. The War of The Roses Rivalry, which is one of the biggest in England, was on display for the newer Red Devils fans today.

Manchester United has for years profited at Leeds expense. Gordon McQueen Eric Cantona, Rio Ferdinand and Alan Smith, just to name a few. Leeds once was fortunate enough to sign Johnny Giles from Manchester United, and that transfer changed history! Throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, Leeds United under Don Revie gave Manchester United and Liverpool all they could handle. Matt Busby’s retirement reflected an era in which Leeds and Liverpool had emerged as the powers of the English game, and United’s post Munich run was over.

When the recently completed decade began, Leeds looked like the most likely side to dispatch Manchester United atop the Premier League. Some football watchers, like your humble writer, were foolish enough to believe the hype: I thought Leeds could be the best team of the decade, and actually picked them before the season to win the 1999-2000 Premier League crown.

But alas, Leeds squad had been built by taking on massive chunks of debt. A few years later, despite a run to the Champions League semifinals, the club was sinking fast. Today, under Simon Grayson, the club leads League One, England’s third flight. Leeds has been in League One now for three seasons, longer than anyone truly objective believed they’d be down there.

But today, the War of the Roses rivalry was renewed with vigor. Grayson’s side was well organized, pushing men forward on the counter, and using a speed advantage to get behind the Red Devils back four. Leeds also wanted the match more, cheered on by at least 10,000 fans who made the trek from Yorkshire.

Manchester United fans, many of whom are front runners from Asia or the United States will lament today’s result. But for those of us who love and honor English football every day, this was one of the best things that has happened in recent years. Leeds, a previously massive club matters again, and for that, English football is a winner.

This weekend sees the entrance of the Premiership and Championship clubs in to the F.A. Cup as the worlds oldest domestic cup competition continues in its 128th year. It’s one of those weekends that gets football fans excited, throwing up all kinds of memories for fans of every club from every level of the domestic game. For fans of all clubs, the F.A. Cup offers us all the chance to dream that this could be our year.

This weekend the fans of Barrow, York City Luton Town and Forest Green Rovers will be bursting with pride as the take on league opposition. Disappointingly for the fan in me, only four non-league sides have made it through to the third round this season but there are still some tasty ties for this years game.

Stoke City, Sunderland, Southampton and Notts County will be the clubs trying to avoid the ignominy of a defeat to a non-league side, but with all three of the bigger clubs at home, I don’t think we’ll see any shocks in those particular ties. There are several ties that are eye opening for several reasons though and of those, Manchester United entertaining Leeds on Sunday is the pick of round. Leeds’ fall down the leagues has been spectacular, but they currently sit on top of Division One, looking certainties to return to the Championship.

It’ll be interesting to see how this resumption of the cross pennine rivalry will be played out, with no love love lost between either side. Of the top four sides in the Premiership, Arsenal certainly have the most difficult tie, with a London derby trip to West Ham United on Sunday as well. Chelsea and Liverpool should make light work of Watford and Reading respectively whilst Tottenham should win easily against Peterborough United.

Overall though, the chances of any Premiership clubs getting knocked out by lower league opponents look slim to be honest but there are a couple of tricky ties. Portsmouth will be hoping Coventry City won’t bring their recent good form to Fratton Park, whilst Birmingham City face a dangerous trip to Nottingham Forest. Manchester City visit Middlesbrough who have been bang out of form since they sacked Gareth Southgate but should be too strong.

Of the other recently promoted sides, Burnley and Wolves both face potential banana skin games at Milton Keynes Dons and Tranmere Rovers and may view the match as a chance to give secondary players a run out. Bolton Wanderers fans will probably be viewing the clash with Lincoln City, now managed by Blackburn Rovers old boy Chris Sutton, with renewed optimism following Gary Megson’s sacking earlier today.

What ever happens, 3 Premiership clubs will be out of the competition no matter what with three all Premiership ties in the third round. Aston Villa welcome Blackburn Rovers, whilst Wigan will be trying to put tonight’s thrashing at Old Trafford out of their minds as Hull City visit the D.W. Stadium and Arsenal travelling to West Ham United.

Overall though, this isn’t really a weekend for shocks, but the F.A.Cup has a reputation for shocking you when you least expect it and that’s why it’s still the best cup competition in the world. Here’s to a great weekend of cup football before we get back to the Premiership.

Without a doubt, the third round of the FA Cup is one of the highlights of the calendar year for football supporters. It’s a golden opportunity to see the giants of football compete against amateur teams made up of people with ordinary professions such as postmen, labourers, accountants and policemen, etc.

In previous years, there have been so many upsets including Hereford beating Newcastle United, Sutton beating Coventry, Wrexham defeating Arsenal and the list goes on and on.

Sadly this FA Cup, there are far fewer non-league teams left in the third round than usual so the enticing David versus Goliath ties are very few in number. But the good news, for those of us in the United States, is that we’ve got more FA Cup games than usual on television thanks to Fox Soccer Channel and Setanta Sports sharing the rights.

Here’s the TV schedule for the FA Cup games for the weekend of January 2-3, 2010:

Saturday, January 2:

• Bristol City v Cardiff, 7:45am, Setanta US
• Middlesbrough v Manchester City, 10am, Fox Soccer Channel
• Sunderland v Barrow, 10am, Setanta US
• MK Dons v Burnley, Noon [delayed], Fox Soccer Channel
• Reading v Liverpool, 12:15pm, Setanta US

Sunday, January 3:

• Manchester United v Leeds United, 8am, Fox Soccer Channel
• West Ham v Arsenal, 11:10am, Setanta US
• Tranmere v Wolves, 1pm, Fox Soccer Channel

Out of all of the above games, the biggest game is Manchester United against arch-rivals Leeds United. I can guarantee that the Leeds players will be up for this match as they were when they played Liverpool in the Carling Cup a few months ago (and almost won).

In addition to the FA Cup matches on television, the FA website will be streaming two games online via their website at http://www.thefa.com/ I’m not sure whether they’ll be blocked for visitors viewing the streams from outside the UK, but here are the games they’ll be showing:

Saturday, January 2:

• Bristol City v Cardiff,

Sunday, January 3:

• Tranmere v Wolves

What for you are the intriguing games that you’re looking forward to watching? Click the comments link below and share your feedback.

The morning after Liverpool crashed out of the Champions League has seen the club reiterate that Rafa Benitez’s position is safe.  Not qualifying for the Champions League knock out stage is a big blow for a club that strives for parity at Europe’s top table. Throughout this season, Liverpool have struggled in the League and in Europe. Last night saw them relying on Lyon to win in Florence, but what astounded me was the lack of pushing for extra goals.

Liverpool needed goals, but towards the end of the game, Benitez’s substitutions began to become increasingly surreal. Ngog was removed for Benayoun, Left backs were exchanged and Aquilani was brought on for 34 seconds.  All the while, Liverpool were praying for Lyon to score but if they had, Benitez needed Liverpool to score more. If Lyon had scored and the game in Florence was drawn, Liverpool then could qualify by beating Fiorentina 3-0 at Anfield.

Yet what would have happened if Liverpool had only won 2-0? It would have then come down to goal difference and Liverpool would have lost out again. As it is, it doesn’t matter anymore, but what struck me before the game yesterday was Jamie Carragher’s comments about winning the Europa League to give the season a “gloss”. This Liverpool side is possibly the weakest since Gerard Houillier left the club in the summer of 2004, they’re struggling in the league and only have the Europa League and the F.A. Cup to aim for. What kind of gloss does winning the Europa League give you?

The title is a non starter, but is it beyond them to finish 4th? They are only 5 points off 4th currently but the next 3 league games could see them fall further behind. Tough trips to Everton and Blackburn are followed by a visit from Arsenal whilst the upwardly mobile trio of Tottenham, Manchester City and Aston Villa are playing well. For Liverpool to profit they have to hope they can hit title form, without having a hope of the title and all 3 of their rivals fall away spectacularly.Is that possible?

Of course, people point to the injury crisis that seems to have engulfed Liverpool, but this squad is solely the work of Rafa Benitez. It is only weak because he has created such a situation. He still relies on 2 players he inherited, Gerrard and Carragher, who are coming to the end of their natural careers. Gerrard is 29 and Carragher is 32 in January and has probably had his most fitful season in the red shirt. Gerrard can still drag Liverpool forward, but for how much longer? How much longer can Carragher keep going? How much will it cost to replace them?

Last year for me saw Liverpool punching way above their weight when they ran Manchester United so close for the title. Chelsea were in flux, Arsenal were still growing as a side. Spurs were in a crisis of their own creation, Villa lost their way and Manchester City were still coming to grips with their new found wealth. That is not the case this season, all of their rivals are in much better shape and all of them have money to spend, which is certainly not the case at Anfield.

The constant negativity towards the owners has sullied the the picture at Anfield, taking the focus away from the playing squad. Blaming bad luck, referees and injuries is becoming the norm from Benitez. Yes they have had bad luck with injuries but so have Chelsea and Manchester United. Chelsea were without Lampard, Drogba, Ballack, Boswinga and Carvalho on Saturday and thumped Wolves 4-0. Would a Liverpool side without Torres, Gerrard, Carragher, Mascherano and Johnson do so?

Of course the added poignancy here for Liverpool is that they can’t afford to sack Benitez regardless of how bad this season turns out for them. The last accounts filed for 2007-2008 saw Liverpool make a loss of £41.5 million on top of a £290 million debt. There is no doubt that Hicks and Gillett have saddled the club with debt, but at what point does the playing squad become the main area for concern? It is a dangerous game to assume Liverpool can walk in to the Europa League and win it.

There will be other footballing giants in the next round of the competition, which Liverpool will have to be aware of. Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Marseille, Real Madrid, AC Milan, CSKA Moscow and Athletico Madrid could all join them. It will not be easy for a team playing well to win it, never mind one that is struggling across all fronts to find some form. Benitez has to find a settled side and stick with it, forget the Europa League and concentrate on the league. Benitez’s obsession with Europe could completely derail the league with dire consequences.

What if Liverpool don’t win the Europa League and finish 5th? That’s a £40 million hole in a teams finances that is losing £40 million a year already. Across the Pennines, the effects of financial mismanagement coupled with failure to qualify for the Champions League can still be seen at Elland Road. That’s a very real scenario, regardless of history and standing. Liverpool need to get going and quickly or a disappointing season will become a catastrophic one within weeks.