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With over 2.5 million players, Fantasy Premier League is the biggest Fantasy Football game in the world!

Join TPOV's Fantasy League and see if you have what it takes to manage your team to the league title.

If you aren't playing the game then you can register at fantasy.premierleague.com.

Once you have logged in and entered your team, click on the 'Leagues' link at the top of the page.

On the Leagues page:

1. Select the 'Join a league' option
2. Choose private league
3. Now enter the code 16959-6179 to join the private league "Pursuit of Victory"

Iker Casillas asks the ref to blow the final whistle early out of respect for Italy.

Things got a bit ugly when Genoa went down 4-0 to Siena.

Genoa president Enrico Preziosi:

"I'm sorry that 60 or 100 people can say and do as they want with impunity without us having the ability to control them and send them home, They cannot take over the stadium and enforce their law. These people should go to jail, they are the evil of Genoa."

"I do not fear them. I hope we get a ban from playing at home, so we have to play away and get a bit of calm."

President of the Italian Football Federation Giancarlo Abete: "The events in Genoa are a very ugly incident which takes us backward and we must react."

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Source: ESPN

When we hear of a politician misusing taxpayer money we tend to think that it was used on a limo, a nice dinner at a expensive restaurant, or a vacation. Well, North Miami Mayor Andre Pierre misused tax payer money in order to play soccer. Pierre and his friends used a city-owned soccer stadium more that 100 times and didn't pay a single dime. According to NBC Miami the fees that he failed to pay to use the facility add up to $40,000. In order to play in the stadium schools, charities, and small businesses would need to pay more than $1,000 per game. Alonzo Mourning High School students sell candy bars to help pay the fees. The candy bars are sold for 50 cents, meaning that over 80,000 candy bars would need to be sold in order to pay for Pierre's use of the field.

Pierre's actions are against a city resolution which says that no one is exempt from paying unless it's a charity. In additions, charities are allowed just one exemption a year. To make things even better, the resolution was signed by Pierre. "It's almost a conspiracy, racketeering," said former North Miami mayor Kevin Burns.

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Source: NBCMiami

The FFA has announced that Gold Coast United will not play in the Hyundai A-League 2012/13 season.

FFA statement on Gold Coast United:

FFA has made the assessment that the a level of public and corporate support on the Gold Coast for an A-League team falls below the minimum requirements for a professional club.

In addition, a viable business plan and adequate capital investment have not materialised over the past six weeks since the termination of the license held by Gold Coast United Pty Ltd on 29 February.

“FFA is bitterly disappointed that Gold Coast United Pty Ltd failed to develop a market for football on the Gold Coast over the past three seasons,” said FFA CEO Ben Buckley.

“Today’s decision to exit can be directly attributed to Gold Coast United Pty Ltd’s lack of community engagement and its inability to build a football culture around the club.

“We acknowledge the hard work and commitment over the past six weeks by Football Queensland, Gold Coast Football Association, the Gold Coast players and coach Mike Mulvey. The team showed great professionalism and pride in performance in the way they completed the season.

“FFA’s mandate is to govern for the good of the game and this decision is the only responsible course to take in ensuring we have a sustainable Hyundai A-League.”

The potential for a National Youth League team to remain on the Gold Coast is currently under discussion with Football Queensland.

photo by Papesatan

At the end of the 2010/11 season Bari were on their to relegation to Serie B. Scared that they would not get paid, a few of the players decided to help a Balkan betting syndicate, known as The Gypsies, fix the outcome of games. One of those players was defender Andrea Masiello, who played for Atalanta until January this season. Masiello was paid €50,000 for scoring an own goal against Lecce last season.

Masiello was arrested yesterday. Eight other Bari players are also being investigated. Bari's sporting director Guido Angelozzi said the club had nothing to do with any manipulation of the result, and told SkyTG24 that they "thought it was a normal match."

Former Lazio and NY Cosmos Striker Giorgio Chinaglia passed away this morning. He had recently been hospitalized with cardiac problems. Giorgio scored 193 goals in 213 appearances with the Cosmos from 1976–1983. In 2000 he was inducted into the U.S.A. National Soccer Hall of Fame. A little known fact about him is that he began his career with Swansea in 1964. He played only 6 games. scoring one goal. He would go on to play with Massese and Internapoli before joining Lazio in 1969.

When I think of Giorgio I think of this:

Pele: "You shoot from no fucking angle!"

Chinaglia: "If Chinaglia shoots from that angle, it is because Chinaglia can score from that angle!"

Now that is swagger.

Last month 74 people were killed and thousands injured when supporters of Al-Masry and Al-Ahly S.C rushed the field. As a result of the Port Said stadium disaster, Al-Masry has been banned for two years by the Egyptian Football Association. "We are devastated - and really furious," Al-Ahly board memeber Khaled Mortagy told BBC Sport, "We believe this has nothing to do with justice, when you have 74 fans getting killed at a home game of this club, and yet these are the sanctions that are taken - just a one-year ban from playing. Because, theoretically, this season is finished, so when they say it's two years, it's actually just one." In addition to the two-year ban, Al-Masry will also be banned from playing at Port Said Stadium for three years. Last week 75 people were charged with murder or negligence.

Al-Masry supporters were not too happy with the decision made by the Egyptian FA. About 65 people have been injured in clashes with police during rioting in the city of Port Said. According to Reuters "Fifteen suspects were arrested during the clashes that took place between the army and protesters in front of the Suez Canal Authority building in Port Said,"

photo by Ronnie Macdonald

There a secret talks going on that could end with Celtic leaving the Scottish Premier League and joining nPower League One in the English Football system. According to People.co.uk, Celtic have been in talks with the Premier League and Football League in order to make this happen. This is nothing new, but with the on going financial struggles the SPL is going through this may be something that is necessary for the club to survive.

People.co.uk report that Celtic are desperately looking for a solution and are willing to enter at a lower level. I find that hard to believe. One thing that is true is that if celtic were to enter the English System at League One it will bring instant attention to the league. It would be awesome to one day have a Premier League with Celtic and maybe even Rangers. There is no way any other league in the world could claim to be the best, in my opinion.

UEFA would of course have to approve such a move. This shouldn't be a problem since UEFA has reportedly considered creating a Champions League that would include teams from outside of Europe. One of those teams that would reportedly be invited to join is the NY Cosmos. Since Celtic play in Europe, there shouldn't be a problem.

According to the Independent, Football League chairman Greg Clarke has reportedly ruled out the chance of Celtic joining. "We have absolutely no intention of having any discussions with any club from another national league regarding membership of our competition." Clarke said, "This would be highly disrespectful to the Scottish FA and Scottish Premier League and will not be countenanced by the Football League."

Take that Barcelona! Madrid has their own private island! Well, they will by January 2015.

Club President Florentino Perez: “It is a decisive and strategic step that will strengthen our institution in the Middle East and Asia,”

Who: Real Madrid, RAK Marjan Island Football Investment Fund, and the government of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah.

Size: 4.6 million square feet.

Cost: $1 billion.

Resort will include: Sports facilities, A marina with Yacht Club, 5-Star Luxury Hotels and Villas, an Amusement Park, a Real Madrid museum, and a 10,000-seat stadium that will have one side open to the sea.

The resort with have have Hologram Football shows. I don't know what that means, but it sounds cool. I'd prefer a real Football show, though.

Location: United Arab Emirates - more than half of their estimated 300 million followers are based in Asia.

The location was picked for strategic reasons. There are 2 Billion consumers will be 4-hours away by plane. All of Europe, Asian, and Africa will be 8-hours away by plane. 50 million consumers are 1-hour away by car.

The resort is expected to attract over 1 million visitors in the first year alone.

Your move, Barca.

Video Description:

March 16th, 2012 The Coppa Italia Dilettanti, otherwise known as the Italian Amateur Cup, matched up Torres (the club famed for launching the career of one Gianfranco Zola) against US Termoli, and both legs of the tie were were treated to some breathtaking moments.

Last week we brought you Fabio Cifani's outstanding 50-yard golazo for Termoli in the first-leg 2-2 draw, whilst the second-leg produced one of the great fair play incidents of the year.

With Termoli leading 1-nothing (3-2 on aggregate), the hosts were awarded a 90th minute penalty when striker Vittorio Esposito went down in the box despite a lack of contact from a Torres defender. Furious protests from the Torres team came to nothing as the referee refused to budge from his decision. But there was a twist.

Clearly suffering under the weight of guilt from winning a penalty that never was, Vittorio Esposito took matters into his own hands by purposefully fluffing the spot-kick. The gesture was warmly received by Torres (who nevertheless were dumped out the cup) and has since turned Esposito into something of a cult hero.

Vittorio Esposito = Class

Things like this make the beautiful game even more beautiful. This is the kind of stuff people need to see. Football/Soccer is not just about a bunch of guys throwing their bodies to the ground, pretending to be hurt.

I have a lot of respect for you, Vittorio Esposito.

Eskişehirspor supporters protest the banning of flares. Epic Troll.

Champions League draw - Quarter-finals

APOEL Nicosia	v	Real Madrid
Marseille	v	Bayern Munich
Benfica	v	Chelsea
AC Milan	v	Barcelona

Champions League draw - Semi-finals

Marseille or Bayern Munich	v	APOEL or Real Madrid
Benfica or Chelsea	v	Milan or Barcelona

League Name: Pursuit of Victory

Joining the league couldn't be easier. Simply use this link and you'll be added automatically after you've entered the game: http://fantasy.mlssoccer.com/my-leagues/320/join/?autojoin-code=133-320.

You shouldn't need the league code, but just in case here it is: 133-320.

The 2012 MLS Player Combine is in the books and TPOV was lucky enough to be there for all three days. We went into the Combine with little or no prior knowledge of the players participating. To us this was important because it allowed us to analyze players solely based on their performance. We believe this is the right way to do it, because if not what is the point of having the Combine. We feel that we did a good job in finding out who are the best players based on performance alone.

These are our top players:

FORWARDS:

Ethan Finlay
Attended Creighton University. Started 24 games in 2011. Scored 14 goals, and assisted 6. Ethan was 13th in the NCAA D-1 in goals. 2011 MAC Hermann Trophy finalist. In High School he set a school record with 98 goals and 59 assists. He may have missed the first day, but he sure showed up to play the second day of the Combine, scoring a hat-trick. He was the only true offensive threat we saw at the combine.

Darren Mattocks
Attended Akron University were he started 22 games and scored 21 goals in 2011. He was the 2011Mid-American Conference Player of the Year and also a Generation Adidas player. 2011 MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist. Very good skill  on the ball. He used his skill and speed to cause problems for the defenders.

Evans Frimpong
Attend the University of Delaware (The Blue Hens). Started 20 games and scored 12 goals in 2011. Named to the All-American Second Team. 2011 MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist. Similar to Mattocks in regards to skill and speed. He showed great vision as well setting up shots on goal.

Casey Townsend
Attended the University of Maryland. Played 21 games in 2011, scoring 17 goals and assisting 2. 2011 MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist. He was our favorite striker after day one, and really showed how dangerous he was on offensive side of the field.

MIDFIELDERS:

Enzo Martinez
Attended UNC. Started 25 games scored 9 and assisted 11. Arguably the most skillful player at the Combine. He made everything he did look easy. Very good with the outside of his foot, which used to pass and shoot the ball. The only bad thing I can say about him is the missed penalty in the first game.

Kohei Yamada
Youth International from Japan. Played with Thespa Kusatsu (Second Division Japanese team) in 2011 and played in 16 games. Arguably the best midfielder at the combine, based on performance. He didn' t show up on our radar after Day 1, but was possibly the best player on the field for adiPure on Day 2 and 3. He is a quick and nimble player. Did a great job of opening up the defense with his skill. Also did a great job of directing everyone on what they should be doing in the final third. He is the best player no one is talking about.

Jason Banton
Youth International from England. Played Youth Football with Arsenal, Blackburn, and Liverpool from 2008-2011. Played at the Senior level with Burton Albion and Leicester City.  Jason was the first player that impressed me at the combine. Very skilled player who scored the final goal of the combine. Did a great job of using his speed to beat the defense, especially on the flanks.

Yuri Gorentzvaig
Youth International from Brazil. Chosen from 6,000 participants to be one of 6 players in Nike's "A Chance" and play in a tournament in England. Has had a long carrer for only being 20 years old, playing with 7 teams in Brazil between 2001-2011. In my opinion he is the second most skilled midfielder after Enzo. Didn't do much, but just like Enzo, made what he did look easy. Played well Day 1 and 2. Not so much on Day 3.

Aldo Paniagua
Youth International from Paraguay. Played for Paraguay U-20 in the 2009 U-20 World Cup. Played in the Copa Libertadores with Nacional in 2009. He scored two goals in the Combine. One the player no one seems to talk about. Did a great job contributing to the attack in the final third.

DEFENDERS:

Aubrey Perry
Attended the University of South Florida. Played in 21 games in 2011, and had one assist. In 2011 he became USF's all-time leader in games played and games started. Held his side of the field all game, every game. Was not beat once. Good strength, and speed. Arguably the best defender in the Combine. Probably the best player you've never heard of as well.

Tommy Meyer
Attended the University of Indiana. Played 22 games in 2011, and had 7 assists. He was second in the Big Ten Conference in assists. He played on the USMNT U-17 team for the U-17 World Cup in 2007. Dominated the air, solid on the ground. Best Center back, in my opinion. He is very good on the ball. Had a few blocks in front of the net in Day 1. Would be a good replacement for Tim Ream at NYRB.

RJ Allen
Attended Monmouth University. Played 23 games in 2011, scoring 3 and assisting 4. Named to the All-Pac 10 Conference First Team. Does great job of winning the ball and pushing up on the attack. He was so involved in the attack that his fellow defensemen would have to yell for him to go back.

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Other Notable Players:

Luis Silva
Attended the University of California Santa Barbara. Played 22 games in 2011, had 17 goals and 10 assists. One of our top players after Day 1, but seemed to slowly fall out of our top list as other player stepped up their game. One of the best at distributing the ball in the Combine.

Lucky Mkosana
Attended Dartmouth and was the Ivy League Player of the Year. Lucky may be the most talked about forward. Our thoughts on him are that he would be better off as a midfielder. He is a player who leaves it all on the field, and does a great job of winning and distributing the ball. We however didn't really see him as an attacking threat. Yes it is true that you can't judge someone solely based on how many goals he scored, but his job is to score goals and he missed a handful of chances. We felt there were other forwards that performed better than he did. Overall we were not impressed with him as forward, like we said he would be a great midfielder.

Warren Creavalle
He attended the University of Central Florida, and was named to the All-Conference USA First Team in 2010 and 2011. Warren is a player that played his best on the final day of the combine. He did a nice job using his strength to distribute the ball in the midfield.

• by Fidel Leblanc, writing from Miami, FL

Would it be too cliche to say that Thierry Henry’s return to the pitch for the Arsenal was written in the stars? After all, everything pointed to him scoring a goal on his return. Yet, it was still such a surreal moment. When Alex Song’s exquisitely weighted through ball reached Henry, you just knew. Maybe with Marouane Chamakh or Andrey Arshavin, one would have been afraid of a miss, not sure about whether a goal was coming or not. But once it reached the French legend, most Gooners were beginning to stand out of their seats, the celebration beckoning them, and as if by clockwork, Henry took a wonderful touch to set himself and then guided the ball into the bottom-right corner. After that, pandemonium and mass euphoria struck the Emirates Stadium. Our usually disappointingly quiet home support absolutely erupted and that reaction is about an accurate measure of what Henry’s return has done to the Arsenal.

Its no surprise how badly we need an apt striker to partner or back up the absolutely amazing Robin van Persie. He has carried the goal-scoring burden willingly on his back, but there comes a point where one needs to rest with the confidence of your team-mates being able to carry on without you for a couple of games. Marouane Chamakh is bereft of any semblance of confidence when it comes to scoring goals and the fact that a 34-year old Thierry Henry was selected ahead of Park Chu-Young tells you all need to know about our striking options. Van Persie’s performance against Fulham was one which shows how badly in need of a rest he was.

There were many detractors and doubters about this loan move. There were those who said that it was a desperation move on Wenger’s part. Others said that it could tarnish Henry’s legacy if he were humiliatingly ineffective. He’s definitely on track to disprove that second one. In 11 minutes on the pitch, he showed that despite losing some of his physical attributes, namely his blistering pace, the man has still got it. His movement was more clever than Chamakh’s had been from the start. Leeds were forced to defend deeper because of a slower player than the one they had been facing until Henry came on. Such was the impact of the man’s presence.

This is a very smart move from Wenger, who has both solved a problem with depth, albeit temporarily, and galvanized the fans, players, and staff by bringing back a man who can be called nothing less than a true legend.

Welcome back, Thierry. Its like you never left.

1893 FA Cup Final - Wolves vs Everton

• by Dave Stevens, writing from Las Vegas, NV

With this weekend seeing the third round of the FA Cup played across England, we were given another glance at one of the quirks of the game, the concept of a replay.

In the modern age of multiple competitions and packed schedules, it might seem crazy that in the event of a tie, the game would be scheduled to be replayed at a later date prior to the next round of the competition as opposed to settling it on the night with extra time and penalties as we've come to see in other competitions.

But what some may not realize if they're younger or perhaps newer to the game is that the current format of replaying a tied game with the away team hosting the original home team for the second attempt at finding a winner, with this second game being decided by extra time and the dreaded penalty shootout in the event of another tie is actually a concession to the cluttered fixture list of the modern game.

For the majority of the FA Cup's long history, games were replayed multiple times until a winner was found during the course of a 90 minute regulation match. Until the 90s (91/92 season for the competition proper, 96/97 season for the qualifying rounds) it wasn't uncommon for a game to be replayed 3 or 4 times before a team emerged victorious. Oxford City and Alvechurch hold the dubious honor of having required the most replays to settle matters- after 5 replays - 6 games - 660 minutes of playing time- Alvechurch came away with a hard-fought 1-0 win to progress to the first round proper in 1971.

Replays originally took place just three or four days after the first tie, and when you consider the smaller squad sizes, fewer developed conditioning techniques and the fact that substitutes were not permitted in the competition until 1967, you will no doubt agree players were made of stronger stuff back then!

I can't help but feel this was a better age for the fan- more football, proper games to decide things rather than the lottery of aching legs battling through an extra thirty minutes or roulette from 12 yards... But of course we live in a different time. Think of the spectacle of the final these days - a grand affair. To think that until the year 2000, the final itself and the semi-finals were also replayed in the event of a tie...

So, the question I've been asked in the past is why they elected to keep one replay and not just do away with the format altogether.

The sentimental part of me likes to think it was a concession to tradition, a nod to a different time. But of course the realist has to look at the monetary aspect the replay format offers. Take, for example, last season's match between Notts County and Manchester City in the 4th round. The game was played at Notts County's ground and they managed to get a 1-1 draw. This meant the replay took place at Manchester City's ground and the far greater capacity, higher ticket prices and so on, all meant that the share of the gate receipts County received were a windfall for the struggling club.

Another financial benefit is that there are fewer replays than the round of games itself, and the replays often are the only games played on their respective dates, so there's a higher chance of tv coverage and the resulting payment.

But so as to not end on a sour note, talking about money, instead I'll end with a final motivation for clubs to want the preservation of the replay format: if you're the away team, warning a draw means you can take them back to your place where the "extra man" your home support might give you the edge to progress further in the competition.

And of course, it would be remiss to speak of replays without giving an example of why they are great value. Let's take a moment to remember the replayed 1981 final and this wonder goal from tottenham's Ricky Villa

One of the problems with Soccer in America is the fact that there is no promotion and relegation, making it impossible for local teams to have a chance at top tier soccer. Some of the major arguments against Pro/Rel is that it just isn't American. Well, I think I may have solved all of the problems and I did it in an American way. What is more American than a thirty-team league? The NBA, NHL, and NFL all have 30+ team leagues. A league of that size would also mean that more people in more areas will have a chance to enjoy top tier soccer in the United States. Here is my idea: Thirty teams divided into two Conferences (Eastern and Western) and Six Divisions. The division leaders plus the next five best teams in each conference make the playoffs for a total of eight from each conference. The two conference champions then meet in the MLS Cup Final.