Spot the Difference #9 New Liverpool Kit

WWF Wrestler Crush

Liverpool FC Third Kit 2013-2014

Well they did say it was based on a classic Nineties design.

Game On

Here's the teaser trailer for FIFA 10, which is confusingly the 17th in the series of best-selling football games. It doesn't actually give you much clue about what to expect aside from showing of all the pretty official kits that Pro Evo doesn't have.

Speaking of which, the Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 trailer promises in depth customisation of defensive and attacking options. But knowing Pro Evo, making any sense of their notoriously difficult to understand menus to actually do this will be a task itself.

Premier League Team of 2009

Steven Gerrard picked up the Football Writers Player of the Year award the other day, it was the latest in the line of usual suspects picking up the end of season gongs. Not terribly exciting I think you'll agree, as year after year you get the likes of Terry and Rooney getting in teams of the year, despite underachieving by their standards.

So to recognise players who have actually excelled themselves this season, I've picked eleven players to play in a 4-5-1 system as my alternative team of the year.

Goalkeeper - Mark Schwarzer
The fact that Middlesborough went down without him and Fulham rocketed into the top half speaks volumes for his ability. Put Schwarzer back in the Middlesborough side and they'd be safe and Fulham would've been closer to 17th than 7th

Right Back - Glen Johnson
A sign of just how defensive Portsmouth became was that Johnson was arguably Portsmouth's biggest attacking threat all year, spending the second half of the season supporting Peter Crouch whilst Pompey played 4 centre backs and 3 holding midfielders. With Liverpool and United weak in the right back postion, how long will he stay on the South Coast?

Centre Back - Brede Hangeland
Dominating in defence, a keep part in the evolution of Fulham from soft touches to a real physical force. Already linked with Arsenal, I'm not sure he's Champions League class - but more than capable in the English top league.

Centre Back - Titus Bramble
A but of so many jokes, Bramble showed that given the right support he can deliver the goods. Next season will be key for him though, without the shield of Palacios and possibly the guidance of Steve Bruce too, will he fall back into old habits?

Left Back - Leighton Baines
Hasn't had the credit for his beautiful left foot delivery from set pieces, which is the main reason Everton haven't crumbled after the loss of Mikel Arteta in February, suprised he hasn't been called up as cover for Ashley Cole ahead of the unimpressive Wayne Bridge for England's qualifiers in June

Defensive Midfield - Wilson Palacios
Mentioned briefly earlier, Palacios has transformed the Tottenham team since his January move, giving them the holding midfielder they've been crying out for. Recommended to Wigan by Arsene Wenger, many Gunners will be asking why on earth he didn't sign him.

Centre Midfield - Danny Murphy
Jimmy Bullard got most of the credit for Fulham's survival last season, but just as important was Murphy's restoration to the starting line-up. Showed his class this season pulling the strings in midfield with his excellent passing as Hodgson smartly to the cash from a desperate Hull for the injury-prone Bullard.

Centre Midfield - Marouane Fellaini
Best hair in the league, after a slow start showed his ability, matching the work rate and aerial goal threat of Cahill during Everton's injury crisis (basically the whole season)

Right Winger - Yossi Benayoun
If any substitute should've won player of the year, then it was Yossi Benayoun, not Ryan Giggs. One the main reasons that Liverpool ran Man Utd so close, as Benayoun's performances meant Liverpool didn't crumble when Rafa rotated the line-up, unlike in previous years.

Left Winger - Matt Taylor
Starting his career at left back, Taylor has evolved into a hard working left-sided midfielder, providing vital support for Ricardo Gardner in defence. This side of his game is often neglected as many focus on his eye for spectacular goal - Taylor has grabbed ten of them this season, a key reason why Bolton avoided then drop with comparative ease this time out.

Striker - James Beattie
Ten Games, Six Goals in a move that transformed Stoke's season. Beattie's' goals saw Stoke change from scrapping for survival to mid-table safety, whilst also signalling the end of a reliance on Delap's long throw to direct, attacking football (a rarity this season) with Etherington and Lawrence proving excellent service into the box.

The Day Pro Evo Died

Today I sold my copy of Pro Evo 2009 on ebay. I'd only played it twice.

There was a time was when I would get each yearly update on day of release (and often before thanks to the Choices massive) and it wouldn't leave my PS2 for pretty much the year round till the next one came out. For my mind Pro Evolution Soccer 5 and a Max Drive update to get round those pesky licensing issues equalled the greatest sports game released ever on any console.

Part of the problem lies there, as aside for the odd graphical spruce up here and there, the game hasn't changed at all at all, making the flaws all the more apparent year after year.

Now with Pro Evo 2009 on the 360, the gaudy menus and awful music which I used to forgive now started to annoy, plus the sound that I can only compare to a bomb going off when a player made any pass made my blood boil. Also not being able to edit the kits with risky fudging up my 360 didn't help - it may have been part of the charm of Sensible Soccer, but on tent pole releases like Pro Evo, its just shoddy and takes away from the immersive experience.

If this was a one off I could convince myself it will be okay again and wait for next years release, but this has happened for 4 years now and I've been paying £30 quid for pretty much the same game each year. Perhaps next year's should have Ashley Cole on the cover, if Konami are going to keep cheating us like this.

Team Of Euro 2008: The Group Stages

The opening stages have now come to a close and so far we have seen a tournament that has garnered rave reviews, with attacking flair overcoming defensive nous and overall high extremely standard of play with only the deathly dull Greeks not offering anything to the neutral. Now after the final games of Group D have finished, here are the top XI players to have caught my eye so far.

Buffon (Italy)
While Boruc has been the busiest of the keepers involved in the opening rounds, a stunning penalty save vs Romania sees Buffon show he really is the world's best.

Lahm (Germany)
Comfortable on either flank, provides excellent support going forward and is underrated defensively

Van Bronckhorst (Holland)
Part of several stunning Dutch counter-attacks that have been the highlight of the tournament so far, also possess a sweet left foot

Pepe (Portugal)
Summing up the mood of the tournament so far, Pepe has made an equal impressive impression with his bursts forward from the centre of defense as opposed to his tough tackling

Kovac (Croatia)
Croatia have the best team ethic of any involved, and Kovac is their leader and the rock which they are built around

Fabregas (Spain)
Limited impact from the bench so far, but has shown some beautiful touches when called on - it should an unwritten law that any Dream Team includes Cesc.

Ballack (Germany)
All of Germany's attacks go through the Chelsea midfielder and his ability equals his smugness. Which is a lot. Stunning free kick vs Autria

Deco (Portugal)
While CR7 grabs all the headlines, Deco has been quietly pulling the strings in Portugal's silky smooth football. I'm not entirely sure why Barca want rid of him as he is still one of the best in the world with a underrated work ethic too.

Sneijder (Holland)
The architect behind the Dutch success story so far and has scored argueably the goal of the tournament do far.

Robben (Holland)
Has made an awesome impact from the bench, tearing the French apart in the second half with his pace and skill. Still lightweight so it remains to be seen if he can go the difference in a major tournament without crying off injured.

Villa (Spain)
Alongside Torres, their partnership has ripped apart a strong Russian and made them look mediocre, a three dimensional forward who can play many a role, his goals have surely sent his value through the roof.