African tournament fails to draw the crowds

Soccer outside Europe has gained in popularity in recent years, with David Beckham making a high profile move to the MLS in North America, a transfer that transformed soccer into a sport with a widespread global profile and exposed a new generation of potential players to the game, but the latest FIFA tournament, the African Cup Of Nations, has failed to catch the public's imagination.

Even though the tournament is generally regarded as being packed full of talented, skillful players, and traditionally brought to life by a glut of goals, the fact of the matter is that the absence of a few big names in African soccer has been seriously detrimental to the manner in which the tournament is being covered this time around.

With soccer fans around the world always keen to watch a good game of soccer part take in some live soccer betting, it's a real shame that players of the calibre of Samuel Eto’o have not been able to attend a tournament that has suffered from more than its fair share of controversies and negative news events in recent years. Betting markets and soccer betting tips.
are well down this year, reflected in the general lack of interest in a tournament that, it has to be said, is awkwardly placed in the middle of the European domestic season,

If the World Cup continues to be the only soccer tournament held outside Europe that garners worldwide interest, the popularity of the sport will surely remain at a plateau for the foreseeable future, trailing in the shadow of sports that hold local interest in particular countries and in particular continents. Let's hope, then, that the latter stages of the African tournament hold a high enough level of close competition, skill, sportsmanship, and excitement to start changing the dynamics

Probable next England manager accused of dodging tax

Over the years in the world of sport, there have been stories abound concerning the ways in which players and coaches have found themselves embroiled in controversy surrounding tax payments, with certain individuals keen to pay as little tax as possible, but one strange factor about all of these stories is the reason behind the tax evasion; for people who earn so much money, why would they risk getting into serious trouble with the tax authorities?

Now, one man who really shouldn’t be allowing himself to be dragged down in controversy of this kind, but has nevertheless done just that, is a man who many believe will be the next manager of the English soccer team: Harry Redknapp.

With Redknapp allegedly failing to pay tax on a bank account that was set up in Monaco (a part of Europe with a very low tax rate and notoriously used for slightly dodgy accounts), his chances of becoming the future England manager seem to have taken a slightly sinister turn, which has dramatically altered live soccer betting markets and punters’ soccer betting tips with regards to the new England boss. Some papers even starting to debate the chances of him being sent to prison.

If this does happen, the name of soccer in England would be tarnished in an almost irreparable manner, with those involved in a sport where the heroes all earn an enormous amount of money (don’t forget there is no salary cap in soccer, with many players earning more per week than the average person earns per year) seem unwilling to give anything back, whereas the paying public who pay through the nose to attend matches are forced to play by the rules.

With soccer already suffering elsewhere in the world, such as in the US, where the team failed to help the nation to a successful bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, this could be one of the final nails in the coffin for soccer around the globe.

Cardiff number two the hero in shoot-out

Cardiff City keeper Tom Heaton was the hero for the Bluebirds as they edged out Crystal Palace in an absorbing cup clash at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Heaton saved two penalties in the shoot-out to send Cardiff to the Carling Cup Final at the expense of Dougie Freedman’s spirited Palace side.

Having taken a 1-0 lead into the second leg, Palace were up against it early on when Anthony Gardner put through his own net. Don Cowie was played in down the right and his cross was headed in by the hero of the first leg.

The home side went on to dominate and threatened to take the tie away from the visitors. Kenny Miller – an outsider in the Championship top scorer betting - went agonisingly close twice just before the break but Palace survived. Their biggest threat came on the break, with Wilfried Zaha showing plenty of pace and purpose.

Cardiff continued to have the bulk of the chances in the second half and Patrick McCarthy did well to clear Anthony Gerrard’s goal-bound header off the line.

Things soon turned sour for McCarthy when he received a second yellow card for an ill-advised challenge on Miller. The skipper’s dismissal left Palace to face the last 12 minutes of normal time with ten men.

Cardiff pressed but couldn’t find any way past a stubborn Palace backline and the game went into extra time.

The Bluebirds again dominated but found the woodwork in their way. Substitute Filip Kiss clipped the top of the bar, before Aron Gunnarsson headed a gilt-edged chance against the bar.

Palace held out for a shoot-out and after Miller missed the first penalty, Heaton, number two to David Marshall in the Championship, became a hero with saves from Jermaine Easter and Sean Scannell to send the fans who Watch Football Live at the Cardiff City Stadium delirious and book a place at Wembley to face either Liverpool or Manchester City.

Beckham’s interest in owning a MLS franchise proves soccer is on the up

Although you can't argue with the fact that David Beckham decided to turn down an awful lot of money and the lure of several major clubs in order to continue pursuing a career in the MLS, proving a number of soccer betting tips wrong in the process, that fact fades into insignificance when you realise that not only does Becks want to stick around because he enjoys playing in North America, but also because he has a vested interest in staying for the long term in order to take advantage of the clause in his contract that means he could become the owner of an MLS franchise once his deal expires.

With Beckham clearly deciding that he wants to own a franchise, but with that franchise extremely unlikely to be the Galaxy, it looks like the former England captain will be applying to own a new team in preparation for the next round of MLS expansion.

This, combined with the fact that more punters are watching and wanting to bet on soccer games, and more MLS sides are now building and then playing in their own stadiums that are clearly fit for purpose rather than designed to be shared with NFL and College Football franchises, proves that the future of the MLS looks far, far brighter than anyone could have hoped for when David Beckham first joined the LA Galaxy.

If this rate of growth continues, we can only hope that soccer will get bigger and better in Canada and the USA and will perhaps eventually stand a chance of rivalling the traditional sports that we have enjoyed for so long. This may seem unlikely at the moment, but the fact that the MLS is expanding and improving in such a drastic manner means that it may not be that long before it can rival the top European soccer leagues.

Leeds snap up striker

Leeds United have signed MLS star Robbie Rogers on an 18-month contract from Columbus Crew.


The 24-year agreed personal terms on January 10 but had to wait for his work permit to be approved before he could become officially part of the squad at Elland Road.

Rogers was given a taste of football in England in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Newcastle last week but was unable to feature for the reserves because not all of his paperwork had been completed.

Leeds currently sit ninth in the Championship, one point outside the play-offs. On Tuesday they take on sixth place Birminghamb and could leapfrog them in the table with a win against Chris Hughton’s side, who are favourites in the live soccer betting. Rogers is expected to be on the bench for the first time in a competitive game in England.

Rogers started his professional career at Dutch side Heerenveen, but didn’t appear for the first team in the two years at the club. The American did play for the reserve team though, and won the reserve league championship during his spell with the side.

Following an unsuccessful spell in Holland, Rogers returned to America to sign for Colombus Crew where he has spent the last four years and established himself as one of the best defenders in the league.

In 2008 Rogers was nominated in the MLS Best XI players of the season as he helped his side win the MLS Cup and MLS Supporters Shield double. He has played on 18 occasions for his national side, scoring two goals in those games. Rogers was one of a number of soccer betting tips  recommended by United States manager Jurgen Klinsmann to Leeds boss Simon Grayson

Youngsters to look out for at Euro 2012

Once again there will be certain names talked about at this year's European Championships, with the likes of Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and the other usual suspects likely to be grabbing the headlines.

However there are some lesser known players who be looking to impress on the big stage and really announce their presence on the international stage.

One youngster who is receiving plenty of attention from some of the top clubs from across Europe, including Premier League champions Manchester United, is Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen. Those looking at the Euro 2012 betting online need to remember this.

The highly rated 19-year-old is being touted as one of the next big players to come out of Scandinavia and the youngster, who is currently playing his football with Dutch side Ajax, certainly has a bright future ahead of him.

Eriksen is one of those players who can pick a pass at will and his award for Danish Football Player of the Year in 2011 was well justified.

He will certainly be a player to look out for but Denmark look like they could struggle this summer as they have been drawn with the likes of the Netherlands, Germany and Portugal.

Another youngster who could make headlines at the upcoming European Championships is Borussia Mönchengladbach forward Marco Reus, who has been impressing in the Bundesliga this season.

The 22-year-old is being reportedly tracked by giants Bayern Munich along with Mario Gotze, who is another player to come through the Germany youth system and already has 12 caps to his name despite being just 19.

This duo are part of a German side expected to well once again in this upcoming major tournament and don't be surprised to hear the names of Reus and Gotze in Poland and the Ukraine this year.

Will Spurs' success also be their downfall?

What a time to be a Tottenham Hotspur fan! Sitting third in the English Premier League and very close to being able to topple the current league leaders should they win this weekend at the Ethiad Stadium in Manchester, the chances are that some of the more hardened and cynical Spurs fans may well be thinking that something dodgy is going on!

This train of thought would, of course, be completely untrue, but those cynical fans may still have a point in that the good may not be as good as it currently feels.

With Tottenham defying the soccer betting tips  to stay in the title race, they are now attracting a global soccer-watching audience. The likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, and AC Milan might just start hovering around White Hart Lane waiting and ready to swoop for players who they feel would be a welcome addition to their team.

For those of you who doubt that would actually happen, I would cautiously point you in the direction of the great Ajax team of the mid-1990s, who went even further than Spurs and utterly dominated their league and eventually found themselves European Champions to boot, only for their team to be absolutely destroyed by bids from around Europe that financed a new stadium (much like Spurs want) but left Ajax as a far smaller team that could not ever be taken seriously by other top clubs again.

With Spurs proving they are not a team to be trifled with last summer in the transfer window, the live soccer betting is still tipping a number of their stars players to be targeted by top clubs over the summer.

Plus with England rumoured to be interested in appointing Harry Redknapp after Fabio Capello quits after Euro 2012, it could be a summer of change for the White Hart Lane club. The reality is therefore that they need both the success they have been enjoying to continue and to maintain their nerve in a transfer environment that will be out to swallow up poor old Spurs.