Football World Stunned as FA Cup Game Abandoned After Collapse of Fabrice Muamba

Bolton Wanderers midfielder, Fabrice Muamba, is fighting for his life after collapsing in the 41st minute of his teams FA Cup game against Tottenham Hotspur.

The match was abandoned after club doctors and paramedics tried to revive the 23-year-old star for ten minutes while lying on the pitch at a sold out White Hart Lane of 36,000 fans.

The 33 times capped English Under-21 is being treated by the Intensive Care Unit at the London Chest Hospital.

Chelsea Were Right to Sack Andre Villa Boas, But...

Andre Villas-Boas' short time as Chelsea manager has come to an end. Barely nine months after moving to the Blues amidst huge fanfare from Porto, the Portuguese has exited the club after Roman Abramovich terminated the young managers three-year contract.

In leaving, Villas-Boas has become eighth manager to part with the club since the Russian Billionaire, Abramovich, bought the club from Ken Bates in 2003 for £140 million.

The recriminations of the young manager's sacking have started almost immediately with Sir Alex Ferguson calling the removal "sad," Avram Grant telling Sky Sports News the move was somewhat expected after poor results and Robbie Savage telling BBC Sport that "the players and board" were to blame.

The truth, as ever, is somewhere in between.

Luis Suarez, Patrice Evra Racist Comment Ban: Timeline of the Entire Saga

The Luis Suarez race comment saga looked like it was coming to its end on February 11 when Liverpool traveled to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United in the latest game of the two clubs' great rivalry. All Suarez had to do was shake Patrice Evra's hand. Instead he blanked the French star, and the whole affair looked like it was to begin anew.

Suarez's actions drew wide condemnation from all over the football world with Sir Alex Ferguson labeling the player a "disgrace" while others wondered how Liverpool FC could have let this happen.

The ugly affair began on October 15, 2011 when Manchester United traveled to Anfield to take on Liverpool in the latest chapter of one of English football's great rivalries...

Man United 2-1 Liverpool: Kenny Dalglish's Full Interview With Sky Sports Geoff Shreeves

Kenny Dalglish in his after match interview with Geoff Shreeves from Sky Sports said his team deserved credit after giving United a 2-0 lead. He said, "I thought that, obviously, with the two goals coming as close as they did that it made it really difficult for us to get anything from the game.

Arsenal 7-1 Blackburn: 7 Things We Learned from the Gunners' Win

Arsenal have moved back into Champions League contention after a stunning seven-goal haul against a very poor Blackburn Rovers squad at the Emirates.

Robin van Persie claimed a hat-trick, young starlet Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain bagged a brace with Mikel Arteta and Thierry Henry scoring one each as a rampant Gunners took full advantage over a 10-man Blackburn Rovers team.

The game, played at 13:00 to help Arsenal fans with traffic congestion as the Victoria Tube Line was closed, started off frantically with Robin van Persie scoring after just 90 seconds. Blackburn equalized through a barnstorming free kick from Morten Gamst Pederson, his 10th free kick since August 2005, but after Gael Givet was sent away, there was only ever going to be one winner.

Here we look at seven things we learned from the mauling...

2011 January Transfer Window: Day by Day Guide to Every Single Transfer

While the 2011 January Transfer Window may have been no where near as compelling, exciting or as interesting as the summer transfer window. It is undoubtedly one of the most important parts of the season.

Struggling teams are given a second chance to put records straight. While clubs with ambitions of winning trophies can really make a huge statement by either taking key players from rivals or by signing that one player who may turn out to be the one who gets them over the finishing line.

Here we take a quick look at every single transfer and offer some analysis on what could be the key moves this winter, or indeed this season.

Click here to read more.

Frank Lampard Has No Future at Chelsea Under the Misfiring Andre Villa Boas

Frank Lampard's future at Chelsea under Andre Villa Boas has been up for debate since the start of the season. As his manager puts his own personal stamp on the club and shifts the shape of the team in favour of his own footballing philosophies it looks like the England international will be surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge.

The soon to be 34-year-old midfielder has seemingly struggled in his 34-year-old managers 4-3-3 system this term, and if rumours are to be believed the club legend is now available for transfer.

Hold the BackPage – Team of the Year 2011

Hold the BackPage - Team of the Year 2011 by bpfootball

It’s the first Hold the BackPage of 2012 and Neil Sherwin is joined by Ger McCarthy and Willie Gannon to sift through the festive period’s Premier League action, while the lads also pick their Team of the Year for 2011.

The first part of this week podcast looks back at the Premier League action of the past week or so. Neil is understandably relieved that Manchester United slipped up following City’s defeat to Sunderland, something that Ger took great pleasure in. There’s a look at all the big talking points on the field including Stephen Ireland’s return to form against Chelsea and the continuing great form of Spurs, while Sir Alex Ferguson’s reluctance to delve into the transfer market also provokes some discussion.

In the second half of the show, the lads discuss the best Premier League players of 2011 following Willie’s article on the website this week. There’s some surprise inclusions, not least one Spurs player, while some decisions were easy and unanimous. This week’s FA Cup Third Round also gets a preview with the potential for a couple of shocks on the cards.

English Premier League: Team of the Year 2011

Who have been the best players in the English Premier League during 2011?

We all know there have been a number of outstanding individual displays over the past year ranging from Wayne Rooney's wonderful performance against Manchester City last February to Yakubu's four goal haul for Blackburn against Swansea in December to any number of performances by Newcastle's goalkeeper extraordinaire Tim Krul, who has been outstanding since the beginning of the current season.

However, when all is said and done the cream always rises to the top although picking a Premiership XI is no easy task. There are numerous factors to consider when putting together any list, particularly one as divisive a best team of the year, so in gathering together my XI I have considered consistency, general all around play, whether the player has improved over the last 12 months significantly and last but not least their skill level.

So without further adieu, the EPL 2011 Team of the Year...

Hold the Back Page PODCAST: EPL Winners and Losers of 2011

Hold the BackPage - The year that was... by bpfootball

In the final Hold the BackPage podcast for the year, Neil Sherwin, Ger McCarthy and Willie Gannon look back at 2011 in the world of football, while the latest Premier League action also gets dissected.

Hold the Back Page - Remembering Gary Speed - Man City / Liverpool / Luis Suarez / Rio Ferdinand / Euro 2012 Draw / Steve Bruce / Sunderland

Hold the BackPage returns for another edition with Willie Gannon back on board to join Neil Sherwin and Ger McCarthy in assessing the game’s recent talking points including the tragic passing of Gary Speed, the antics of Luis Suarez, Rio Ferdinand and Steve Bruce's sacking at Sunderland and, of course, no pod would be complete without a mention of the one and only Mario Balotelli...

It’s a rather sombre opening to this week’s podcast as the lads discuss the tragic passing of Gary Speed and share their memories of a fantastic player who has excelled for both club and country during a career which spanned more than two decades.

Hold the BackPage - Remembering Gary Speed by bpfootball

Gary Speed 1969-2011: Football Legend Dies at 42

Manchester City's great run in the Premier League and poor run in the Champions League, Robin van Persie's unbelievable form, and Lionel Messi's and Cristiano Ronaldo's domination of the game we all love was all put into perspective yesterday after Gary Speed passed away at just 42-years-of-age.

The former Leeds, Everton, Newcastle, Bolton and Sheffield United player and current manager of the Welsh international team was found dead at his home in Huntington, Cheshire, by Police at 07:08 GMT. They said there were no suspicious circumstances in the death.

Sources have said that Speed had been found hanged.

Gary Speed is survived by his wife and his two children.

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney...Robin van Persie?

Arsenal striker Robin van Persie is in the best form of his career. So far this season, he has bagged 11 goals in 13 goals in 16 games across all competitions including 11 goals in 12 English Premier League games.

Such is the Dutchman's phenomenal run of form over the last 12 months that many analysts are now comparing Van Persie to his contemporaries; Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.

But how do these favourable comparisons hold up?

Hold The Back Page - Skinheads in Skirts - Man City / Tottenham 4-0 Liverpool / BRFC 4-3 Arsenal / Shamrock Rovers / The Rooney Rule / Gasperini

Hold the BackPage - Skinheads and Skirts by bpfootball

Hold the BackPage returns for another edition with Neil Sherwin again taking the lead and he is joined by Ger McCarthy and Willie Gannon to sift through the latest Premier League action. 

The lads discuss Manchester City losing their 100 percent record, Tottenham hammering Liverpool 4-0 and Blackburn beating Arsenal 4-3 as well as a number of other hot topics including Shamrock Rovers in Europe, the Rooney Rule, Gasperini being sacked at Inter Milan and Turkey’s innovative new measures to combat hooliganism...

Asamoah Gyan Transfer Leaves Sunderland and Steve Bruce Up The Creek...

The season may be just four games old but Steve Bruce and Sunderland's season is already on a knife edge. Having lost Asamoah Gyan to Al-Ain in one of the strangest loan moves the English Premier League has ever seen, the Black Cats have lost their focal point up front and now face a long cold wait until the January Transfer Window opens up...

Hold The Back Page Podcast - Champions League / Manchester Domination of the EPL / Spurs / Dalglish and Liverpool / Peamount Utd

Hold the BackPage - Manchester Mania by bpfootball

The podcast is back for another edition as Neil Sherwin is joined by Ger McCarthy and Willie Gannon to discuss the opening round of Champions League action as well as the latest goings on in the Premier League as the Manchester clubs continue to lead the way.

With no vested interest in this year’s Champions League, Ger McCarthy is the perfect man to discuss the opening round of the competition as both Manchester sides picked up points. City were very much hit and miss at home to Napoli while, as Willie Gannon explains, United were far from convincing in their clash with Benfica. There’s also a look back at last night’s results for Chelsea and Arsenal as well as a round up of the rest of the games played.

Part 2 sees attentions turn to the Premier League with the possibility of a two horse race for the title developing. There’s a look at Liverpool who faltered against Stoke, while questions are asked about the possibility of Tony Pulis’ side qualifying for Europe this season through the league. Asamoah Gyan’s money grabbing antics also come under scrutiny and to round off the pod, Willie gives us the heads up about a massive game for Peamount United in the UEFA Womens Champions League.

Don’t forget, you can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or RSS!

Also if there is anything you would like to hear on the show in future simply drop us an email, tweet or comment on Facebook.

10 Things We Learned From Wayne Rooney vs. Kun Aguero and EPL Week 4

Manchester United and Manchester City dominated proceedings once again as the two sides continued their own private "anything you can do..." battle as both Wayne Rooney and Kun Aguero scored hat-tricks for their respective teams.

Liverpool traveled to Stoke for what many regarded as Kenny Dalglish's first real test of the season, which says a lot about how Arsenal are now perceived.

Speaking of the Gunners, they entertained Swansea at the Emirates as their struggling North London neighbours, Tottenham Hotspur, took on Wolves at Molineaux with Harry Redknapp entrusting his future to Emmanuel Adebayor and Scott Parker...

As with every Premier League weekend there was a multitude of talking points, so lets begin by going to the Emirates...

"The Older I Get The More I Love It" - Interview with Australian International Footballer Richard Garcia

"The older I get, the more I love it," says Richard Garcia when I ask if he still loves the sport he has played for near on a lifetime. The Australian international moved halfway around the world at just 15-years-of-age to learn his trade at the famed Academy at West Ham. He has seen the game from more angles than many professionals ever get the chance to see and is still as enthusiastic as he was on the day that he first pulled on a pair of boots.

From League One to the Championship and the Premier League to playing at the World Cup in South Africa, to suffering career threatening injuries, there is very little in the game that Garcia has yet to see.

I caught up with the midfielder, currently recuperating from a serious knee injury, to find how he is coping whilst out, how he views the game, and what he sees in his possible future after he finishes playing.

Tottenham Transfers: 5 Last Minute Harry Redknapp Targets

He may not like being called a "wheeler dealer" but no transfer window can go by without Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp pulling a deal out of nowhere.

The window still has another eight hours to go and Spurs have already pulled off some of the best deals of the window as Emmanuel Adebayor, Brad Friedel, Scott Parker and Souleymane Coulibaly have all joined the club for less that £10 million, albeit with Adebayor only joining on loan from Manchester City.

Heavy defeats against Manchester United and Manchester City in their opening two games of the season guarantees that the White Hart Lane fax machine will be working right up until 23:00 GMT.

Here we look at some of the transfer targets Harry Redknapp is more than interested in...

Owen Hargreaves: Manchester City Snap Up Ex-Manchester United Star on Free Transfer

Owen Hargreaves is to join Manchester City in one of the most dramatic and sensational transfer deals of the summer after the ex-Manchester United player agreed to undertake a pay-as-you-play deal for the Champions League debutantes.

Fresh from signing Sergio Aguero, Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy and Stefan Savic it would seem that the free transfer of Owen Hargreaves to the club will gazump them all in terms of interest and,hopefully pray City fans, value.

"Shock signing" and Manchester City seem to go hand in hand since Sheik Mansour took over the club in 2008 and no one in their right minds would have suggested to add Owen Hargreaves to that list, expect perhaps for the midfielder himself...