Liverpool FC of the English Premier League announced on May 16 that manager Kenny Dalglish has been fired after leading the team to a disappointing eighth-place finish this season. It was the former player’s second stint as the club’s manager. Dalglish was hired earlier last season after former manager Roy Hodgson was fired, but lasted just 18 months in charge.

Dalglish did manage to end the team’s trophy drought as Liverpool won the Carling Cup in February with a 3-2 win over Championship League club Cardiff in a penalty shootout. They also came close to capturing the FA Cup this season, but were beaten 2-1 by Chelsea in the final at Wembley Stadium on May 5.

Tom Werner, Liverpool’s chairman, said the team’s results in the Premier League were unacceptable this season and a change needed to be made. Dalglish found out he was fired after flying out to Boston for his season-ending review. Liverpool is owned by Fenway Sports Group, the same organization that owns the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball.

The Carling Cup victory means Liverpool will be playing in the Europa League tournament next season, but ownership was counting on a berth in the upper-echelon European Champions League. However, that wasn’t to be with the team’s record of 14-wins, 14 losses and 10 ties. In addition, the city of Liverpool’s other team, Everton FC, finished ahead of their neighbours this season for just the second time in the last 24 years.

Dalglish said he was disappointed to be leaving the club, but the decision was handled in a respectful and honourable manner by the American ownership group. He added that if the club ever needs any help in any way that he’ll always be available for them.

Dalglish was hired for the first time in 1985 and left the club after 1991 because he was suffering from stress. He managed to lead the team to the league title in 1990, but they haven’t won it since. He took over from Hodgson back in January 2011 when Liverpool was hovering close to the bottom of the league.

Liverpool finished the season in fifth place last year and Dalglish was rewarded with a three-year contract extension from owner John Henry when the season ended. However, Liverpool was one of the league’s lowest-scoring clubs this season with just 47 goals. They also had one of the worst home records in the EPL. This was deemed a huge failure after Dalglish spent a British record of 35 million pounds on forward Andy Carroll of Newcastle United and then proceeded to leave him on the bench for much of the season.

The 61-year-old Dalglish is still considered to be a Liverpool legend as both a player and manager. The fans will never forget the 172 goals he scored in the 515 games he played for the club as well as the championship he brought them as a manager. Most soccer experts feel he’s out of touch with the modern game though and his sour demeanor worked against him when dealing with the media.

The ownership group was also unhappy with the way the manager spent about $165 million of their money last year on players who didn’t produce for the team. In the end, Dalglish found out that sentiment and nostalgia don’t mean anything in today’s world of professional sports.

The e-book offers insights into the history of the world’s most popular sport, the embedded videos transport the reader back to the terraces of the 1930s and to the 50s and 60s where the Samba-mad Brazilians set the world alight. Kick-Off is an interactive experience for readers where they can read, watch, and listen to content that brings the story of the world’s greatest game alive. No other e-books on the iPad market about the history of football contains the kind of content that Kick-Off has, making it a unique e-publication.

You can also win a signed print by Gordon Banks.

You can get Kick-Off (for just $1.99) from iTunes/App Store  or more links from the publisher’s website.

Important note: When you purchase this publication, the initial download is about 6 MB. The first time that you run the app, it will download all the remaining content, which is about 315 MB for the iPad and iPad2, and 410 MB for the New iPad (retina).

Optimised for iPad (1024×768) and the New iPad (2048×1536) – our app will automatically determine which iPad you have.

Some screen grabs:

Organizational partners came together to encourage and empower the young players to take charge of their personal health. BoulderShares, which also sponsored the event, provided individualized health counseling and launched the use of a new health card to enable youth to track information about their health. Global DIRT was on hand to provide first aid care. Each team received personal care kits with a variety of donated first aid supplies and hand sanitizer, plus information about protecting themselves against cholera and other health risks. A professional DJ kept the energy high at the event and reinforced health and hygiene messages. An estimated 1,000 people filled the sidelines to support their favorite teams.

Along with learning how to take charge of their health, the young players were treated to an inspiring exhibition match played by Haiti’s national amputee team.

GOALS director and tournament organizer Kona Shen said, “I’m proud of the sportsmanship and spirit displayed by all of the teams at the tournament, and I’m particularly proud of the girls teams for their inspiring determination and level of play on the field. Through their love of soccer, these girls have become confident, healthy, determined young women. It’s incredible to see the support they have from the community, such as the hundreds of men and boys cheering them on as they play for a championship title.”

Soccer always has an exceptional power to forge friendships, cross social and economic divisions, and create safe and inviting spaces, and this is true even in the midst of the extreme poverty of post-disaster Haiti. As Haiti’s national game, soccer is a part of daily life. Kids play barefoot with both friends and strangers, amongst piles of rubble, kicking around tin cans, water bottles, or whatever they can find if a ball isn’t available. After the devastating earthquake of 2010, soccer fields and stadiums became home to thousands of internally displaced persons, who set up camp on the pitch. In the immediate aftermath, when aftershocks still threatened already weakened buildings, open soccer fields also hosted emergency medical teams operating out of makeshift tent hospitals.

Though soccer has a long history in Haiti, using soccer to advance development and promote health is relatively new ground. By hosting the largest youth soccer tournament in Haiti, GOALS is furthering its ongoing efforts to use soccer as a means to advance social change at the community and national level.

GOALS is a sport-for-development organization which harnesses the intense love of soccer in Haiti to engage youth in education and projects to improve their quality of life and develop local leadership. According to UNICEF, “Sport can be an effective tool to help achieve goals in health, education, gender equality, HIV and AIDS, child protection and child development.”

By convening aid agencies with hundreds of young soccer players from around Haiti to promote positive and healthy youth development, GOALS 2nd annual tournament proved that soccer is much more than just a game.

About GOALS Haiti:
GOALS is a 501c3 non-profit organization incorporated in the United States and headquartered in Leogane, Haiti. GOALS’ soccer programs impact 500 kids every day, and reach an additional 3400 people through outreach to families. For more information, please visit http://goalshaiti.org

The 2011/12 Barclays Premier League title may be going down to the wire between Manchester City and Manchester United, but it is the Reds who have taken the honours in the Premier League Match of the 20 Seasons. The 2009 Manchester derby, that saw United emerge victorious 4-3 over City, has been voted the greatest 90 minutes in the history of the Premier League in a poll of hundreds of thousands of football fans from around the world.

The Match of the 20 Seasons is the fifth award to be announced as part of the Premier League’s 20 Seasons celebrations, which are designed to honour the players, managers and football that has taken place over the two decades of the world’s most watched and supported football league.

In a close contest, the Manchester derby from September 2009 took 18% of the public vote. One of the great Manchester derbies also had one of the most exciting finishes. Wayne Rooney’s early opener was cancelled out by Gareth Barry to ensure parity at the interval. Darren Fletcher headed United back in front but Craig Bellamy equalised with a rocket shot worthy of the occasion. Fletcher thought he had won it with another header 10 minutes from time, but again Bellamy thwarted him with a wonderful solo effort on 90 minutes. Yet in the sixth minute of stoppage time, Michael Owen produced a trademark finish to win the match.

The runner-up was the game that won Match of the 10 Seasons, the classic Liverpool 4-3 game with Newcastle United from April 1996, which got 15% of the vote. Newcastle travelled to third-placed Liverpool only three points behind leaders Manchester United and desperately needing a victory. Les Ferdinand and David Ginola put the Magpies ahead after Robbie Fowler’s early goal, then after Fowler levelled, Tino Asprilla restored the visitors’ lead. Enter Stan Collymore. He bundled in to make it 3-3 then, in the dying moments, with space on the left of the area, Collymore smashed in a near-post drive which left Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan stunned

Another Liverpool game was close behind on 14%, their 4-4 draw with Arsenal in April 2009. A match which will be forever associated with an exceptional display from Arsenal’s Andrey Arshavin which hit Liverpool’s title challenge. His first strike in off the bar gave Arsenal a half-time lead. And after Fernando Torres’ header and Yossi Benayoun’s bundled finish put Liverpool ahead, the Russian scored a beauty with an unstoppable drive. He pounced for a third, Torres levelled again, then Arshavin finished off a breakaway for number four. Benayoun’s injury-time leveller denied Arshavin the label of match-winner, but it was a fitting conclusion to an amazing contest

There were 300,000 fans who voted in the Premier League 20 Seasons Awards casting over 4.4m votes in five categories: Goal, Match, Save, Goal Celebration and Fantasy Team of the 20 Seasons. In addition, there are also six panel categories: Player, Manager, Team, Season, Most Memorable Quote and Fantasy Team of the 20 Seasons. The remaining winners of these Awards will be announced over the next few days before a made-for-media event on Tuesday 15 May when the Player and Manager of the 20 Seasons Awards will be announced.

We had problems getting over the line and you could see that again at West Brom on Sunday. When we were 1-0 up we were nervous. When we were 2-1 down we got back to our game again and in the end we just hung on. We defended crosses with resilience but as long as we could not manage a fourth goal I was nervous. And Kieran Gibbs deserves huge credit for that late challenge on Billy Jones.

Overall, I am very proud of this season because we were not only tested on the football front – which we are used to – but also on our mental solidity. However we did not show any weakness, we kept united and, in the end, came back. It is a good lesson for everybody at the Club.

In addition, reaching the Champions League was a great present for Pat Rice, who retired after the West Brom game following 44 years of loyal service as a player, coach and assistant manager.

It was very emotional for him and for me too, because he has always been my assistant throughout my time here. Pat has many qualities of the ‘Old Guard’. That means he is a fighter and, although he doesn’t talk too much, when he talks, he talks!

I’d like to thank Pat for his service to Arsenal Football Club and all the supporters who have followed the Club with such passion over the course of the campaign.

I hope you have a great summer and I look forward to seeing you all at the start of next season.

The Impact opened the scoring in the 8th minute when defender Nelson Rivas played a long ball from inside the Impact half that found forward Davy Arnaud sprinting in behind the Galaxy defence. Alone in front of goal, the Impact captain beat the sliding LA goalkeeper Brian Perk to score his second of the season and his seventh against the Galaxy. Rivas earned his first ever point in MLS with his assist, in his first start at home.

The Galaxy tied it up in the 62nd minute, when midfielder David Beckham curled a free-kick around the outside of the wall from about 25 yards out, just inside the right post, short side. His goal ended the Impact’s shutout streak of 259 minutes.

“We came here with some heavy legs, played a really good team and still managed to get a point,” said Impact head coach Jesse Marsch. “In this stadium, we have not lost as well, so that’s another positive. Even though we weren’t the sharpest today, getting the point when earlier in the year we might not have was big for us.”

A few scoring chances and key saves

In the 20th minute, midfielder Collen Warner broke down the right flank, carrying the ball all the way up from inside 30 yards in the Impact’s zone, and fired a low shot from the top of the box that just missed right of the LA keeper.

A free-kick in the 31st minute by midfielder Felipe found forward Bernardo Corradi deep, far post, but his header landed just on top of the net.

The Galaxy came close to tying it up in the 53rd minute, when Landon Donovan won a ball just outside the box, and fired a booming shot that was saved by goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, playing his former team for the first time, making a diving leap to his left to tip away the ball.

Then in the 64th minute, Ricketts was forced into two key saves. The Jamaican goalkeeper came out to challenge forward Robbie Keane after a through ball from David Beckham found him behind the defenders. Moments later, during a scramble that ensued as the initial save bounced around the box, the ball fell to Landon Donovan, who hammered one from about 15 yards out, but a charging Ricketts was able to block the shot going toward the right post.

“I do whatever I can to help my team win,” said Ricketts. “Today we were under a bit of pressure and I helped out the best I could. Sometimes they bail me out. I have an easy game like Portland, where I’m not busy, and other times I work like today. It’s a team effort.”

“With the great players they have, it can be considered a good result,” said Impact defender Hassoun Camara. “But we were going for the three points. We have to be satisfied with our performance. Now we go to training this week to work on getting a win next week.”

A new record

The Impact broke the all-time Canadian attendance record of 60,342 spectators for a professional soccer game, established on June 20, 1983, at BC Place, in a match between the Vancouver Whitecaps FC and the Seattle Sounders of the NASL.

This is the second time this season that over 58,000 people attended an Impact game, including the 2012 home opener versus the Chicago Fire with 58,912 at Olympic Stadium.

“Playing in front of 60,000 fans is incredible,” said David Beckham. “Wherever you play, that’s what you want. Home or away, even if people are for or against you, it’s great to play in this atmosphere. I want to thank the Impact fans. It was a great day for the game.”

The Union had the opening opportunity in the seventh minute, as defender Michael Farfan lofted a cross into the box to a streaking Keon Daniel. Daniel could not control it however, and the ball went out of play. Moments later, midfielder Freddy Adu had space in the center of the park and his left-footed blast forced goalkeeper Ryan Meara to his left to make a save.

The Red Bulls took the lead in the 17th minute. New York defender Roy Miller played a long ball to Mehdi Ballouchy in the left channel. Ballouchy was able to control the ball and cut it to an on-rushing Lindpere, who took a touch and ripped it past goalkeeper Zac MacMath for his second goal of the season.

Philadelphia tried to get back into in the encounter and in the 24th minute, Lionard Pajoy was able to spin off Holgersson at the top of the box and his ensuing shot was held by Meara. Pajoy though did not miss seven minutes later, tying the game when he flicked home an Adu cross from eight yards out. That tally snapped New York’s streak of 324 minutes without conceding a goal. Adu was sent off in the 43rd minute for earning his second yellow card for simulation, leaving the Union with 10 men.

Despite being down a player, the Union took the lead in a minute into the second half. Brian Carroll headed a New York clearance to Danny Mwanga and the Philadelphia found Pajoy on the left wing. Pajoy juked into the box and slipped it by Meara for his second goal of the game.

New York hunted for the tying goal and nearly got it in the 66th minute. Dane Richards got to the endline and his cross was punched away by MacMath. The ball floated to substitute Juan Agudelo and the forward’s scissor kick just missed the mark.

Two minutes later, the visitors evened the score. Brandon Barklage’s corner kick found an open Holgersson and the Swedish forward nodded it into the back of the net for his first career MLS goal.

Agudelo almost put the Red Bulls ahead in the 77th minute as his volley off a Lindpere cross was punched away by MacMath. Soon after though, New York got the eventual match-winner. Rafa Marquez had the ball in the center circle and lofted it over the top to Cooper. Cooper touched it past an on-rushing MacMath and hit it into the gaping net.

Philadelphia rallied to try and find its third goal and its best chance came in the 86th minute when Farfan got on the end of a Josue Martinez free kick and could not put it on target from close range. Meara came up trumps in second half stoppage time, making a fine stop to block Pajoy’s attempt for a hat trick.

Manchester United Football club’s success has been founded on the traditional values of respect and hard work. Those values are what made Manchester the city it is and from the mid 18th century the cotton mills there were prolific in the industry. From those mills came the gingham fabric, an iconic check that like Manchester United is famous around the world and is now – for the first time – used on a Manchester United home shirt.

The tonal gingham in traditional and iconic red gives the home shirt a bold new look.  The black v-neck collar gives the shirt a contemporary look. The inner back neck graphic on the shirt reads, ‘Forged in Industry, Striving for Glory’; paying tribute to the cities industrial past but also the club’s hard-working ethos.

The outer neck graphic is the iconic devil symbol so synonymous around the world with Manchester United whilst a diagonal hatched graphic on the white shorts is a subtle link to the gingham used on the shirt.

The socks are black with a red detail on the top and a white devil icon. They offer a new and innovative design featuring an updated cotton footbed offering the support and comfort enjoyed by professionals to all that wear them.

Whilst the kit combines modern sport and youth style to give the club an iconic new look, Nike’s innovation gives the team our most technologically advanced kit to aid athlete comfort and performance.

The new home kit is made from Nike’s ground-breaking recycled polyester, making it Nike’s most environmentally friendly kit ever produced.  Each kit (shirt and shorts) is made using up to thirteen recycled plastic water bottles.  This innovative manufacturing process reduces energy consumption by up to 30% compared to manufacturing traditional polyester. Since 2010 Nike has used an estimated 1115 million recycled plastic bottles to create its high performance kits.

The kits are made out of 23% lighter fabric with 20% stronger knit structure than Nike’s previous kits and feature Nike Dri-FIT technology to wick moisture away from athletes to help keep them cool and dry on-pitch.

Kits have bonded re-enforced t-bar junctions that support critical seams on the shirt and shorts and inner welded seams with a flat finish construction to improve comfort and performance.  Temperature regulation is helped by ventilation zones, consisting of a series of tiny laser cut holes from the under arms to the waistband, allowing air to circulate to keep players comfortable.

Nike Pro Combat base-layers are used by athletes to compliment playing kits to further improve comfort and increase protection from injury. Whilst fans and players can enjoy the Nike’s Manchester United Sportswear collection off the pitch, inspired by the club’s heritage.

Forward Bobby Convey scored his first goal of the season to put Sporting KC in front at the half, but Grazzini’s penalty kick in the 61st minute and Roger Espinoza’s ejection a minute later set the stage for Dominic Oduro’s match winner with under 10 minutes to play.

Sporting KC remains in first place in the Eastern Conference, despite dropping their third straight match after opening the season with seven straight wins.

Chicago threatened early through Jalil Anibaba, who replaced Dan Gargan in the Firestarting lineup, but he scuffed his shot wide from the right side of the penalty area after receiving a pass from Pavel Pardo in the 6th minute.

Sporting Kansas City then recorded the first shot on goal of the game in the 20th minute following a free kick from Matt Besler on the team’s own side of midfield. The header from German centerback Arne Friedich, who would go off nine minutes later with a right hamstring strain, put the ball into the path of Kei Kamara and his half-volley was tipped away on an acrobatic save from Sean Johnson.

Ten minutes later, Sporting Kansas City opened the scoring on a beautiful series down the right side of the field. C.J. Sapong began the play by laying the ball back for Kamara along the touchline, while Roger Espinoza began his sprint toward the corner flag. Kamara’s well-weighted pass found Espinoza with space to run into the area and the midfielder’s left-footed cross was met by Convey near the penalty spot for a first-time finish inside the far post.

The goal, Convey’s first of the year since arriving from San Jose during the offseason, also marked Espinoza’s first assist of the season.

The Honduran National Team member nearly put himself on the scoresheet again in the 43rdminute, lining up a half-volley from 20 yards out after Sapong picked him out at the top of the area. Johnson dove high to his left to push Espinoza’s effort into the crossbar and over the endline.

The momentum in the match swung dramatically 15 minutes into the second half as AurelienCollin was whistled for a foul in the penalty area for the second time in asmany matches. Oduro was racing toward goal from the left side and went down as Collin’s sliding tackle came in from the side.

Grazzini converted the penalty kick, placing his shot into the upper right side of the net for the Argentine’s first goal of the year to level the score at 1-1.

Less than a minute after the ensuing kick off, Sporting Kansas City was reduced to 10 men when Espinoza was shown a straight red card after winning the ball off a challenge with Grazzini in the midfield. Espinoza’s ejection marks the third straight match against the Fire that Sporting KC has finished shorthanded and was Sporting KC’s 10th in the all-time series, most against any opponent.

Chicago capitalized on the man advantage with sustained pressure on Jimmy Nielsen’s net for the final 30 minutes, including an Oduro header narrowly wide at the 70-minute mark. Having recorded just one shot on goal prior to the red card, the Fire would pick up the pace beginning with Marco Pappa’s long-range effort in the 77th minute that Nielsen punched away.

Four minutes later, the Fire pulled ahead on a scramble inside the goalmouth. Kamara’s clearance at the backpost was thwarted by Patrick Nyarko, who sent the ball across to his Ghanaian strike partner Oduro to direct over the goalline with a sliding shot from close range.

Nielsen would keep Sporting KC close with a superb stop on second-half substitute Frederico Puppo in the 83rd minute for his fourth save of the match, but the Sporting KC attack registered just one shot in the second half after Convey’s goal had broken a 237-minute scoreless streak.

SEATTLE – Real Salt Lake put an end to the Sounders five game unbeaten streak with a lone second half goal and a lock solid defensive display, holding the home side to 1-0 shut out defeat.

RSL came into Saturday’s match unbeaten in four games and with a history of raining on Seattle’s parade – they knocked the Rave Green out in the first round of play offs last season. Salt Lake hasn’t lost the last three regular season games at Century Link Field. Seattle was looking for fifteen points in fifteen games and an outright claim on first place in the Western Conference but RSL forward Fabian Espindola had other ideas.

Espindola’s fourth goal of the season came at the Sounders’ expense in the 51’, picking up a cross from Luis Gil and firing the ball left footed from twelve yards right past a helpless Bryan Meredith. It was the first goal allowed for Meredith, who set the third longest shut out streak to open an MLS career at 275 minutes.

The Sounders team on the pitch was the tenth different line up that coach Sigi Schmid has fielded this season, demonstrating the depth of the Seattle squad. Andy Rose, the young UCLA supplemental draft pick, got his third straight MLS start and Adam Johansson was back in defense for the injured Patrick Ianni. Defender Zach Scott was out with a retroactive one game suspension following the Wednesday Dallas game, opening up a place for Marc Burch.

Seattle had the upper hand for the majority of the first half, establishing a fluid attacking rhythm. The partnership of Johansson and Mauro Rosales on the right side created the majority of Seattle’s chances, their pace getting the ball thru into the area for the waiting Eddie Johnson. But of eight shots, none were on target.

“We had a few chances from distance in the first half that we didn’t take and then with Eddie, he got tied up in the Real defense taking maybe one too many step overs,” Schmid had to say after the match.

Second half substitutes Alvaro Fernandez 59’ and Cordell Cato 75’ helped to reinvigorate the Seattle attack as they continued to push for the equalizer. Fernandez had a run down the right side in the 73’ but wasn’t able to connect with a pass in front of goal for the shot. Cato, making only his second appearance for the Sounders, sent a cross into the box in the 87’ but it was punched away by RSL keeper Nick Rimando.

During the second half RSL coach Jason Kreis brought on a series of defensive midfielders including Johnny Steele in an effort to protect their lead. Salt Lake dug in with their signature physical style of play; they lead the league in fouls and yellow cards, closing out another win.

Seattle forward Johnson picked up a silly yellow card in the 53’ after heading the ball out of Rimando’s hands, who was taking his time lining up for a goal kick. Frustration and fatigue showed on the Sounders in the second half after an impressive series of five games in fifteen days. Seattle’s next match is in Vancouver on May 19, the first game of the 2012 Cascadia Cup.