Johnstone's Paint Trophy

Now the Premiership has finished its 3rd round of games (Sunday), Chelsea 1-1 Tottenham, Aston Villa 0-0 Liverpool and Sunderland 0-3 Man City, the Premiership has closed for two weeks, no sooner had the Premiership started, for qualification games towards 2010 World Cup to be held in South Africa.

Of course Man Utd were not in Premiership action this weekend, they were in losing action in Monaco against Zenit St Petersburg for the right to be Super Cup holders which is a trophy that Sir Alex Fergurson HASN'T won.

But before the WC Qualifiers kick-off we have a week of Johnstone's Paint Trophy games. Just check out this video of how much it means to the supporters of MK Dons who won the trophy last season.

BIG EARS Group Draw

The Group stages of the Champions League were drawn this afternoon in Monaco, 32 teams in eight groups of 4.

For your information Chelsea were seeded no.1 for the draw and the groups are as follows:

GROUP A

Chelsea

AS Roma

Bordeaux

CFR Cluj 1907

GROUP B

Inter Milan

W Bremen

Panathanikos

Famagusta

GROUP C

Barcelona

Sporting Lisbon

FC Basel

Shaktar Donetsk

GROUP D

Liverpool

PSV

Marseille

Atletico Madrid

GROUP E

Man Utd

Villareal

Celtic

Aalborg

GROUP F

Lyon

Bayern Munich

Steaua Bucharest

Fiorentina

GROUP G

Arsenal

Porto

Fenerbache

Kiev

GROUP H

Real Madrid

Juventus

Zenit

BATE

Carling Cup and Champions League

There were a few shocks in last night's (Tuesday) Carling Cup ties. No fewer than THREE Premiership Clubs were knocked out by lower League oppositon.

Northampton won at Bolton 2-1

Hartlepool beat WBA at home 3-1

Swansea beat Hull City at home 2-1

and surprise, surprise Derby County ACTUALLY won a match!!!

Tonight there are more Carling Cup 2nd Round ties and 2nd leg qualifiers of the Champions League - both Arsenal and Liverpool are in action.

The 'REAL' Latics Top of The League

After their 4-0 demolition of Cheltenham Town at Boundary Park this afternoon, the 'REAL' Latics are top of League One, two points clear of Leicester City, who are looking to make a quick return to the Championship.

Oldham's Lee Hughes scored a hat-trick inside 17 minutes.

LIVE Action from 3pm

Barclays Premier League

Blackburn v Hull, 15:00
Fulham v Arsenal, 17:30
Liverpool v Middlesbrough, 15:00
Newcastle v Bolton, 15:00
Stoke v Aston Villa, 15:00
Tottenham v Sunderland, 15:00
West Brom v Everton, 15:00

The Coca-Cola Football League Championship

Birmingham v Barnsley, 15:00
Blackpool v Sheff Utd, 15:00
Cardiff v Norwich, 15:00
Charlton v Reading, 12:45
Coventry v Bristol City, 15:00
Crystal Palace v Burnley, 15:00
Derby v Southampton, 15:00
Ipswich v Wolverhampton, 15:00
Nottm Forest v Watford, 15:00
Plymouth v Swansea, 17:20
QPR v Doncaster, 15:00
Sheff Wed v Preston, 15:00

Coca-Cola Football League One

Bristol Rovers v Hereford, 15:00
Crewe v Walsall, 15:00
Hartlepool v Stockport, 15:00
Huddersfield v Milton Keynes Dons, 15:00
Leicester v Tranmere, 15:00
Leyton Orient v Carlisle, 15:00
Northampton v Millwall, 15:00
Oldham v Cheltenham, 15:00
Scunthorpe v Peterborough, 15:00
Swindon v Colchester, 15:00
Yeovil v Leeds, 13:00

Coca-Cola Football League Two

Accrington Stanley v Macclesfield, 15:00
Barnet v Brentford, 15:00
Bournemouth v Exeter, 15:00
Bradford v Rochdale, 15:00
Bury v Morecambe, 15:00
Dag & Red v Port Vale, 15:00
Darlington v Gillingham, 15:00
Grimsby v Chesterfield, 12:00
Luton v Notts County, 15:00
Rotherham v Chester, 15:00
Shrewsbury v Aldershot, 15:00
Wycombe v Lincoln City, 15:00

Blue Square Premier

Barrow v Mansfield, 15:00
Crawley Town v Torquay, 15:00
Eastbourne Borough v Cambridge Utd, 15:00
Ebbsfleet United v Stevenage, 15:00
Histon v Burton Albion, 15:00
Kettering v Rushden & D'monds, 12:00
Kidderminster v Altrincham, 15:00
Northwich v York, 15:00
Salisbury v Grays Athletic, 15:00
Weymouth v Lewes, 15:00
Woking v Forest Green, 15:00

Clydesdale Bank Premier League

Aberdeen v Rangers, 12:30
Celtic v Falkirk, 15:00
Hearts v St Mirren, 15:00
Inverness CT v Hibernian, 15:00
Kilmarnock v Hamilton, 15:00
Motherwell v Dundee Utd, 15:00

The Irn-Bru Scottish Football League Championship First Division

Dundee v Morton, 15:00
Dunfermline v Airdrie Utd, 15:00
Livingston v Clyde, 15:00
Partick v St Johnstone, 15:00

The Irn-Bru Scottish Football League Championship Second Division

Arbroath v East Fife, 15:00
Peterhead v Alloa, 15:00
Queens Park v Brechin, 15:00
Raith v Stranraer, 15:00
Stirling v Ayr, 15:00

The Irn-Bru Scottish Football League Championship Third Division

Albion v Berwick, 15:00
Dumbarton v Stenhousemuir, 15:00
East Stirling v Forfar, 15:00
Elgin v Cowdenbeath, 15:00
Montrose v Annan Athletic, 15:00

All the scores and scorers will appear in the comments section.

LIVE Saturday Action

All the news, scores and scorers from the Premiership, Championship, League One and League from 3pm (UK Time)

Rumour, Speculation, Gossip

It is 'rumoured' from a friend who knows a friend who is in the know!!!

Nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more that Shaun Wright-Phillips is on his way from Chelsea to Portsmouth on loan for the season.

How can this be you might ask? Considering Portsmouth have already signed their allocation of two loan players - Jerome Thomas from Charlton and Armand Traore from Arsenal!!

Well to accommodate the 'potential' arrival of Shaunie, Thomas has signed a permanent contract.

If Shaunie goes to Pompey, remember you heard it here first.

Friendly Internationals

Always makes me laugh, no sooner does the Premiership season kick-off, we have a plethera of midweek International 'Friendlies.'

Personally I would prefer the 2nd game of the Premiership season on a Wednesday night... especially after Chelsea's superb performance against Portsmouth last Sunday.

So for your delight here is a complete list of 'friendlies' taking place throughout the World this Wednesday evening:

England v Czech Republic (8.00pm)

Wales v Georgia (8.05pm)

Norway v Rep of Ireland (6.00pm)

Scotland v Northern Ireland (8.00pm)

Denmark v Spain (7.15pm)

Germany v Belgium (8.oopm)

Sweden v France (8.00pm)

Switzerland v Cyprus (6.45pm)

Ukraine v Poland (5.00pm)

Russia v Poland (6.15pm)

Italy v Austria (7.45pm)

Turkey v Chile (7.00pm)

Portugal v Faroe Islands (8.45pm)

Romania v Latvia (6.45pm)

Slovakia v Greece (7.15pm)

Slovenia v Croatia (7.45pm)

Bosnia v Bulgaria (7.15pm)

Belarus v Argentina (6.00pm)

Finland v Israel (5.00pm)

A lot of these games are to prepare for the 2010 World Cup which will be held in South Africa and if you think tonight is bad without Premiership action, wait for ten days or so when the Premiership shuts down for two weeks.

Oh what to do, what to do??????

All times stated are UK and ANY updates on scores and scores and final results, will appear in the comments section.

The FA Cup

So the Carling Cup played its first round last midweek and on Saturday over 100 matches were played in the extra preliminary round of the FA Cup.

Yep the FA Cup has started its long road to Wembley, clubs after the trophy that Portsmouth won last May.

Click here for the full list of results.

The preliminary round matches will be played on Saturday 30th August. Click here for a full list of fixtures.

Saturday Football - LIVE

Barclays Premier League

Arsenal v West Brom 12.45
Bolton v Stoke
Everton v Blackburn
Hull v Fulham
Middlesbrough v Tottenham
Sunderland v Liverpool, 17:30
West Ham v Wigan

The Coca-Cola Football League Championship

Barnsley v Coventry
Bristol City v Derby, 17:20
Burnley v Ipswich
Doncaster v Cardiff
Norwich v Blackpool
Preston v Crystal Palace
Reading v Plymouth
Sheff Utd v QPR
Southampton v Birmingham
Swansea v Nottm Forest
Watford v Charlton
Wolverhampton v Sheff Wed

Coca-Cola League One

Brighton v Bristol Rovers
Carlisle v Crewe
Cheltenham v Swindon
Colchester v Huddersfield
Hereford v Yeovil
Leeds v Oldham
Millwall v Southend
Milton Keynes Dons v Northampton
Peterborough v Leyton Orient
Stockport v Leicester
Tranmere v Hartlepool
Walsall v Scunthorpe

Coca-Cola Football League Two

Aldershot v Bournemouth
Brentford v Grimsby
Chester v Wycombe
Chesterfield v Bury
Exeter v Shrewsbury
Gillingham v Luton
Lincoln City v Dag & Red
Macclesfield v Bradford
Morecambe v Rotherham
Notts County v Darlington
Port Vale v Accrington Stanley
Rochdale v Barnet


LIVE updates in the comments section from 12.45pm (UK Time)

The Premiership Is Back!!!

The Premiership is back and kicks off in earnest on Saturday at 12.45pm (UK time) with Arsenal at home to WBA.

There will be LIVE coverage in the comments section of ALL of Saturday's action - so bookmark and return tomorrow for news of all the goals, scorers and sending offs.

Please note Chelsea play Portsmouth on Sunday at 1.30pm and Man Utd play Newcastle at 4.00pm.

Why Is Steve McClaren Speaking English In a Dutch Accent?

..... and 'how do you say it.... Underdog?' eh???

Wednesday Night - LIVE

There is more LIVE football action for you to follow tonight as there are TWO competitions to follow - if the drama tonight is as good as last night's then we will be in for another cracking evening.

Tonight Liverpool are in Belgium to play Standard Liege in the first leg of the Champions League Qualifier and in the same competition, Arsenal travel to Holland to play Twente Enschede, now managed by former England manager Steve McClaren.

In the Carling Cup there are four matches:

Coventry v Aldershot

Nottm Forest v Morecambe

Sheff Utd v Port Vale

Wycombe v Birmingham

Click here if you want to keep-up-to-date with the 'early' Champions League qualifying games.

Bookmark and come back at 7.45pm (UK Time) as the action starts to unfold.

I Can't Bear to Look

There were a few high-flying Championship sides that were knocked out of the Carling Cup by lower League opposition last night.

Charlton were dumped out by Yeovil 1-0, Barnsley were beaten by Crewe 2-0, Luton beat Plymouth 2-0, Blackpool lost at Macclesfield 2-0, Norwich lost at MK Dons 1-0 and Notts Co beat Doncaster Rovers 1-0.

Tonight there are more Carling Cup ties and also Liverpool and Arsenal start their campaign to qualify for the group stages of the Champions League.

All the action tonight LIVE from 7.45pm (UK Time)

Tuesday Night Football - LIVE

CARLING CUP 1ST ROUND

Bournemouth v Cardiff
Brighton v Barnet
Bristol City v Peterborough
Bury v Burnley
Charlton v Yeovil
Chester v Leeds
Crewe v Barnsley
C Palace v Hereford - kick off 8pm
Dag & Red v Reading
Derby v Lincoln City
Exeter v Southampton
Gillingham v Colchester
Grimsby v Tranmere
Hartlepool v Scunthorpe
Huddersfield v Bradford
Ipswich v Leyton Orient
Leicester v Stockport
Luton v Plymouth
Macclesfield v Blackpool
Millwall v Northampton
MK Dons v Norwich
Notts Co v Doncaster
Preston v Chesterfield
Rochdale v Oldham
Sheff Weds v Rotherham
Shrewsbury v Carlisle
Southend v Cheltenham
Swansea v Brentford
Swindon v QPR
Walsall v Darlington
Watford v Bristol Rovers
Wolves v Accrington Stanley


Unless stated all games kick-off at 7.45pm (UK Time).

All scores, scorers will appear in the comments section.

Carling Cup Action - TONIGHT!!!

No sooner had the Football League kicked-off, the Cup competitions start.

Tonight the Carling Cup starts it's Road to Wembley with the 1st Round.

The Premiership teams do not start their challenge until the 2nd Round and those teams in Champions League action, do not enter until the third round.

BOOKMARK AND COME BACK TONIGHT FROM 7.30PM (UK TIME) for all the goals, scorers and results.

Already..... The Comeback of the Season!!!

And the Football League has only just kicked off!!!

As you know this blog is dedicated to the REAL LATICS - Oldham Athletic.

Yesterday at Boundary Park, Oldham played host to Millwall in their first League One game of the 2008/09 season in front of a crowd of 5,367.

Millwall took the lead inside 15 seconds, Oldham equalised through Andy Liddell on 3 minutes - Millwall went 3-1 up and then the comeback started.

Liddell got his 2nd from the penalty spot, (Millwall had Robinson sent off) Alessandra made it 3-3 and Oldham born and bred and Oldham fan Chris Taylor scored the winner with five minutes to go.

Here are all the goals:

First Shock of the Season????

And the season hasn't even started yet!!

Last season's UEFA Cup runners-up Rangers are out of Europe after crashing to a shock 2-1 defeat to FBK Kaunas of Lithuania in the qualifying stages of the Champions League.

Strike One - To the SPL Referees

The opening day day of the Scottish Premier League appears to be in the balance after Scottish Premier League referees announced that they would go on strike, unless they receive £1000 per game.

Last season they were on £575 per game (nice - two games a week equals £1150 a week, get three games a week you are talking, hey lets retire LOL LOL).

The SFA only offered an increase of £25 per game (cheapstakes - you know what they say about 'Jocks?' Short arms deep pockets and I AM NOT talking about American College Jocks!!!).

But it seems the SFA have relented and now have offered £800 per game per Scottish Premier referee with further talks to be held on September 16th.

So it looks like the SPL will kick-off this Saturday, after all.

One question though - What about the Assistant's and the Fourth official and their money?

Russian Railways Cup - Final Day Goals

Sevilla won the Russian Railways Cup beating Lokomotiv 3-0 in the final. Chelsea took third place after thrashing Serie A's AC Milan 5-0.

Nicolas Anelka scored four goals including a perfect hat-trick.

Here are all the goals:

Russian Railways Cup - First Day Goals

AC Milan lost to Sevilla 1-0, AC's Gennaro Gattuso scored an own goal with a flying header and in the second game, Lokomotiv Moscow and Chelsea drew 1-1.

In the penalty shoot-out, Lokomotiv Moscow won 5-4.

On Sunday AC Milan play Chelsea and Sevilla play the hosts Lokomotiv Moscow in the final.

Here are the goals: