Maple Lions

In the wake of rumours of Serie A knock-off branding, Toronto FC was unveiled today as the newest Major League Soccer franchise.  The simple name and colour scheme hearken back more to Merseyside than Milan.

Paul Canniff

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Jens Lehman, not Oliver Kahn, will be Germany’s starting goalkeeper this summer.

Damian P.

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Thanks to the EU, Sky’s grip on EPL broadcast rights has been loosened.  Part of the spoils will be going outside the Premiership to boost football at the grassroots.  The Guardian lays out the details here.

Paul Canniff

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Man U CEO David Gill puts the price tag on Ruud van Nistelrooy: £10M.

Gentlemen, crack open those chequebooks!

Paul Canniff

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Sven on his new Karate Kid:

“If you expect him to have the impact Pele had in 1958, we are talking about the wrong things but I am excited about it.”

Well, if he puts it that way…

Paul Canniff

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Throughout the EPL season we saw Sven perched in the stands at the great — and not so great — temples of English football.  And then he picks a World Cup-bound striker without ever seeing him play in an actual match:

“I’ve seen him perhaps three times in training,” said Eriksson. “At Arsenal training on Saturday I saw him play 11 against 11 on a half pitch.

“You can see how good the technique is because space is very small. And I saw him do some finishing.”

Meanwhile, Jermaine Defoe and Andy Johnson are on standby.

Truly, Sven has set the controls for the heart of the sun.

Paul Canniff 

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Theo Walcott was taking his driving test when his selection for Germany was announced.

Damian P.

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Man United’s 4-0 thumping of Charlton keeps them in second place and an automatic spot in the Champions League. Arsenal will finish the season in fourth, dropping Spurs to fifth and the UEFA Cup. And the Mags best Chelsea 1-0 to finish seventh, which gives them an Intertoto Cup spot - not much, perhaps, but more than we could have hoped for when the Souness era mercifully came to an end.

Damian P.

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The Associated Press says David Beckham will no longer be captain of the English national team once McClaren takes over:

It looks like David Beckham will no longer be England captain after the World Cup.

Steve McClaren will take over as manager from Sven-Goran Eriksson at the start of August and, when the question of Beckham’s captaincy was raised at his first news conference Thursday, McClaren didn’t exactly give the Real Madrid star a ringing endorsement.

“That is something I don’t want to discuss here,” he said. “I don’t think it’s right to discuss here. We have got a World Cup coming up. That’s my sole focus and attention on the squad and giving Sven my full support and backing.

“He’s captain at the present moment under Sven.”

Eriksson made Beckham the England captain early in his five-year reign as coach and there is a growing feeling that other players _ such as Chelsea centerback John Terry or Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard _ might be better suited to the role.

Damian P.

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Over at the Beeb, here is a presentation and discussion of a few formation options for England in Germany sans Rooney.  Call me crazy, but I’d be partial to the 4-1-4-1.

Mike C.

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