This post is brought to you in association with ibuprofen.

Yes, while you've been contacting us regarding the lack of content on the site over the past couple of days (with the doom merchants suggesting we've shut down no less!) I've been confined to my bed suffering something that can only be described as flu-like.

The aches, the lack of energy, the feverishness and the generally miserably state I've been in has now been replaced by a hacking cough that has given me a sore throat the colour of England's away strip, and a streaming cold. Oh happy days.

Needless to say that having dragged my weary bones towards a computer today I'm still some way off catching up on everything, so a bit of patience would be much appreciated (as would good get-well soon remedies).

As a result of my absence, many of our columnists have been given the week off (a well-deserved break regardless of my ill-health), and there won't be a newsletter this Friday, but hopefully normal service will resume next week.

However, don't go giving up on us entirely this week, since now the captain is back on board (well, half on board the way I'm feeling), the Voiceoffootball show is just about back on the road (and avoiding doggy petrol)...

You're with the Reds.

Have we ever had so many emails from happy Liverpool supporters? I think not.

Nothing quite like a win against Barcelona in the hallowed Nou Camp to put every Liverpool fan from here to Anfield in a very good mood (read hungover but with permanently fixed smiles).

So, as Barcelona begin their inquest, Bellamy and Riise get ready to sell their brand of team bonding to the masses. Perhaps Eto'o and Ronaldinho should club together to buy the Craig and John guide to breaking up and making up, that's assuming that Eto'o hasn't spent all of his free cash on that white outfit we were persistently subjected to seeing by a director who was clearly so chuffed that his cameraman had found out where the Cameroonian was sitting, he just had to keep reminding us, over and over and over again. He was like the Graham Taylor of the television world. Very tedious.

Still, you certainly couldn’t accuse Bellamy of lacking dramatic timing; surely that golf swing is now officially patented.

As emailer Pete pointed out, sensing that Liverpool fans would be more than happy to share their joy today; "It is only half-time." There's always one party-pooper eh (and is he wearing blue I wonder?)!

However, whilst there was unbridled joy in Spain for the English contingent, in Portugal, John Terry's injury gave Jose a chance to get back on his soapbox. It really is beyond the call of duty, in fact absolutely scandalous, for a football manager to have to change his plans, switch players and be forced into making do eh Jose? Still, if playing Essien in defence is so catastrophic for Mourinho's strategy, perhaps he should have tried a little harder to get his boss to part with some cash last month.

Right, that's just about your lot for today, except to say that if you want to join in Yodasmog's campaign to get Steve Gibson knighted you can do so here. Ok, so not everyone thinks this is a good idea (could some people be any more negative), but even those of you bent on misery must have a sneaking feeling it's ingenious on Phil's part. Go on, admit it, you know you want to, we won't tell anyone.

There has been one big talking point here today, Lille vs Manchester United.

Should the goal have stood? Were Lille right to react the way they did? What about the crowd scenes?

You've been sending us your theories, and so far the consensus is thus: The goal was legitimate (what's good enough for Henry etc etc). Lille's walk-off was unacceptable (that's the polite word for it) and the crowd scenes were the same old story of foreign police being heavy handed. However, it has to be said that some people believe that the fans themselves aren't all entirely blameless if people were in the stadium without tickets (although I'm bound to say in those circumstances that the stadium management are at fault for not having proper entrance procedures in place to begin with, and it wouldn't be the first time there has been chaos on the continent now would it?).

Two other points worth repeating also revolve around the theory that Lille's reaction was a classic case of an unfancied, lesser-name side feeling hard done by when their household name opponents enjoyed a slice of good fortune (the inference being that the ref was got at), and that UEFA will make a pig's ear of the investigation deliberately because Platini is loyal to his countrymen - not that anyone is peddling conspiracy theories, oh no!

More than anything though, what dreadful scenes to kick off the Champions League knockout stage - every time you think that football can be the winner, along comes a set of circumstances to conspire to drag us back down to the dark ages, and no one can feel happy about that (smug anti-Manchester United fans hang your heads in shame).

Changing the subject completely, and Saul is back from his holiday and has written his latest column all about the Russian view of English football, and yes, it does include a reference to Roman Abramovich, how could it not.

Equally intriguing is what Mark has hit on today - read his column, read FA Cup rule 12 (b) and then tell all your friends, since everyone else in the media seems to have missed this one! A Voiceoffootball exclusive, and no mistake. Well done Mark.

Grrrr Mondays. Least said about the beginning of this week the better. Let's get on to the important business of the day...

Happy Birthday to Jack Hudspith, Voiceoffootball’s newest columnist who started writing for us today, his 20th birthday. Now that's dedication. Welcome Jack, and to everyone reading this, you can check out JH's first article here.

So, what in the wonderful world of football has caught our eye today? Well, the replays issue was bound to come back and bite the FA on the bum after Champions League participants Arsenal and Manchester United could only draw their respective games at the weekend. Ok, so extra matches only add to the fixture burden, but it's not like they didn't both have 90 minutes to win in the original games and if they couldn't, well, tough.

Replays are tradition, and when so many other traditions in football have been discarded, I don't see why this one should go too. However, listening to Graham Taylor almost made me change my mind - the words 'like a cracked record' spring to mind. Yes, we know that giving the underdog the chance to take the 'big' club back to their own place is part of FA Cup heritage, but it could just as easily be the underdog replaying at the 'big' club's ground, or indeed two 'big' clubs needing another 90 minutes to sort the wheat from the chaff.

On second thoughts, let’s not even go into this any further - I have no desire to turn into a turnip. Daniel makes some excellent points about 'big' clubs in his article that Graham Taylor would do well to read (as indeed would you!).

In case you hadn’t noticed, Liverpool 'brawl-ville' is the new red-hot tabloid story. An evening of excessive booze, dreadful karaoke singing and Craig Bellamy battering John Arne Riise with a golf club doesn't sound like my idea of fun - lets all be grateful we weren't out with the Liverpool first team in Portugal.

One person who probably has more important things to concern himself with is Iain Dowie, being as he is now the new manager of Coventry. We await Paul's thoughts on that appointment with interest...

Finally, Chelsea proudly announced today that Roman's empire reduced its losses by £60m for the year ended 30 June 2006, and although it still leaves an £80m loss, never fear Blues fans – Abramovich isn't going anywhere apparently, so there is still plenty of time to shake that money tree a little harder.

A super quick blog to wish you all a good weekend (never say we're not thoughtful here at Voiceoffootball).

Also, in light of the state of grassroots football hitting the headlines again today, anyone who hasn't yet read Paul Cooper's excellent feature for us on the issue should check it out here. Lets hope the FA act on what you say Paul.

Another new columnist joined our team yesterday, so put your hands together please (in a cyber sort of way) for Alistair Rattray (that’ll be everyone cheering except so-called 'expert' pundits then).

Finally, as well as writing his exclusive column for us every week, you can now catch up with Sam Kelly's thoughts on all things Argentine (football - not tango - Kally), on his new blog. Good luck with your new enterprise Sam.

Right, it's been an exhausting few days and I have a night out with my name on it, so until next week, don't do anything I wouldn't do (and no, I won't be elaborating on what that consists of)...

A Valentine's Day blog, just what I've been looking forward to, NOT.

Right, what you need to understand about my approach to Feb 14th is this: I like Valentine's Day about as much as I like liquorice... and I hate liquorice. Incidentally, back in my teens some spotty-faced 14-year old boy actually bought me liquorice for a Valentine's Day gift - and they call it the day of love – phah!

In no particular order, I intensely dislike the commercialism of 14 Feb, the nauseating slushiness, the excessive use of pink and the way we are bombarded with it by everyone, from the media and the shops to work colleagues and friends - yes, thanks to one and all of my so-called friends who seem to have today mixed up with 1st April when it comes to playing pranks.

Equally, the messages that have come my way, purportedly from some 'readers', over the past few days are mostly, well, optimistic to say the least. To clarify, mixing business with pleasure is a no-no in my book, and with regard to messages for columnist that are of a 'personal' nature, I refer you to this post.

Right, back to the salvation of football, and for anyone who's not yet visited our feature on the 'Give us back our game' campaign, I'd strongly suggest you do. It is at the very least food for thought, and something that everyone in a position to influence the situation should take seriously. Many thanks to Paul Cooper for his excellent copy.

Right, an evening of football for me, and for all you poor blighters forced to miss Bolton and Arsenal trying to emulate Boro and Bristol City's exploits of last night (how Yodasmog must have gone through the mill with that one) because you've got to sit through some inedible food that somehow has value because it's heart-shaped, my sympathies. What can I say, you either get the luck of the draw or you don't.

Matt is Mr Popular.

His article that draws comparisons between reaction to England's defeat to Spain and scripts from 'The Office' has hit a chord with, well, absolutely loads of you. Now we know how Ricky Gervais felt at the height of his David Brent fame. At this rate Matt will earn himself a starring role in 'Extras', providing Ricky 'I have a thing about only making two series' Gervais can be persuading into filming it that is.

Back in our office, and I owe those of you who have sent emails that have not arrived, or which you haven't had a response to despite expecting one, our apologies. We are aware that there are a few gremlins in the system that have meant receiving and sending emails has proved a bit hit and miss for some days now.

We are working on it, and if it's any consolation, it's not just you guys who are frustrated by these technological shortcomings - some of my friends are equally irritated and have had plenty to say on the subject!

Aside from that, and we have been having a debate here today about whether there is more antagonism at Wigan or Barcelona. Ok, not two names you'll hear in the same sentence too often, but what with the bad feeling between Eto'o and Rijkaard in Spain and Paul Jewell and the FA in England, who is winning the bullet spitting contest? It was mighty close, but Jewell just tipped the balance after the FA hit him with that oh-so-inevitable improper conduct charge (just for his behaviour towards referee Dowd mind you, they are yet to rule on what he said to the media afterwards). However, Wigan may have competition next week if Eto'o doesn't turn out to play against Liverpool. You can almost hear Benitez rubbing his hands together in glee...

Where to start today? So much to write about, so little time, best we crack on...

First off - England 2018. Nice idea, two small problems. 1) We haven't even paid the (ever-escalating) 2012 Olympic costs. 2) FIFA are yet to decide which continent will hold the 2018 finals, never mind which countries might be in the running. So, Gord mate, a bit of advice. We know you're trying to learn from past mistakes by starting campaigning ridiculously early, but before we get to 2018 or anything approaching it, try learning from pass mistakes where education, health, the environment, transportation, foreign affairs etc etc are concerned. Oh, and don't turn the Olympics into another Millennium Dome style fiasco either, otherwise FIFA won't need to think twice about our 'bid'.

Onto more pressing matters, and the furore surrounding video technology gained added impetus yesterday after the error-strewn refereeing display of Phil Dowd in the Arsenal v Wigan match. What a sterling performance it was from Mr Dowd in a game that got Yodasmog so wound up (almost as wound up as Paul Jewell) he sent this by way of more spleen venting:

"Disappointed at Thierry Henry's antics vs Wigan - totally unprofessional and, considering he could and should have been booked in the first half for a blatant dive, he was lucky to still be on the pitch. Add to that Arsenal's offside equaliser just after what should have been a penalty when Heskey was fouled and you have, amazingly, lucky Arsenal once more"

(Before the inevitable emails arrive, I'm sure Yodasmog's view has nothing to do with Arsenal denying Boro all three points the weekend before last).

As for the video technology argument, regular readers will know exactly where I stand on the use of cameras. The proposed goal-line technology idea is just a means of appeasement aimed at those campaigning to be able to utilise technology for all debatable/controversial incidents. Memo to FIFA: either find a way of incorporating ALL the available technology into games, or take retrospective action where it is appropriate. Either way, do something, don’t just do nothing (as per the usual).

Meanwhile, it seems Joey Barton has decided to follow in the proud tradition of so many England players by continuing to make headlines for the wrong reasons after allegedly making an 'offensive gesture' to Pedro Mendez. You can only imagine what Mendez himself is feeling having been thrust into the limelight yet again after Portsmouth have played Manchester City. No peace eh Pedro?!

Moving on, and for anyone who fancies becoming the manager of a 16th placed League One side, today is your lucky day: Bradford have sacked Colin Todd. As reader Chris Pool from the aforementioned Yorkshire city put it: "Wanted – someone with a sense of humour to manage a situation that is far from a joke."

In the wonderful world of takeovers, Leicester are seemingly on the brink of falling into Milan Mandaric’s hands, so since Voiceoffootball has gained a whole new Leicester City following after Saul’s article was linked here, it goes without saying that we look forward to receiving your views on that particular bit of business...

Finally, reports that England's cricketers have won a trophy in Australia aren't exaggerated: they have indeed secured their first oversees one-day tournament win since 1997. Ah, who needs the Ashes when you've got a big, circular metal thing - beats a terracotta urn any day.

A bit of snow and England grinds to a halt.

Day off here? No chance. Those of you eagerly emailing us from your home computers gleeful gloating about being too snowed in to get to your office/school/college etc are big sissies!

And so to England, for last night's 'performance' cannot be ignored any longer. The expletives used by you, our good readers, aren't exactly suitable for publication, but suffice to say that you were all as bored, frustrated, worried, irritated and enraged (delete as applicable), as we were by the loss to Spain.

As far as I am concerned, injuries are no excuse (McClaren/Gerrard et al take note). Not always having your first choice eleven, or anything remotely resembling it, is a fact of footballing life - Spain had a few missing too you know - and if England don't face up to that and fast they aren't going to make much of an impression in the remaining qualification campaign for Euro 2008 or, assuming they get through, the finals next year. You have to be adaptable and progressive no matter who pulls on the shirt, and the players who 'played' last night need to take a long hard look at themselves, since on paper they were hardly the pub-team names they performed like.

In response to yesterday's blog, Paul has apologised for causing any offence with his article, so hopefully that will be the end of that, and anyway, he has a new (and less controversial) offering on the site now, which you can check out here.

Finally, if the snow is getting you down (which I somehow doubt but go with the theory for a second), reading about Andy's exploits in Singapore will either be a welcome relief or make you very jealous. Either way, make the most of it, as Mr Fraser is now on vacation, not contactable (ie having an amazing time), until next month. I know, I know, it's alright for some eh!

It seems you are dammed if you do, and you are dammed if you don't.

Well, I am anyway. Having touched on Paul's article from last week in yesterday's blog, a veritable flood of complaints have arrived since which, in no particular order, lambaste Paul for writing the article, criticise me for publishing it, moan at me for leaving it on the site and then further lay into me for supposedly 'defending' the article yesterday (I would dispute the last point but lets not be picky eh folks), all of which kind of makes me wish I'd let sleeping dogs lie.

The point about Voiceoffootball is that all of our columnists have the freedom to write what they like (within reason obviously). Certainly what Paul wrote, while most of you clearly don't agree with it, doesn't infringe our basic editorial stipulations, thus it is on the site.

At Voiceoffootball we publish many articles, and it stands to reason that from a personal perspective as individuals we don't agree with them all, but that's no reason not to publish them. Without such a standpoint, you get into the realms of censorship and the site becomes sanitised to a point whereby you only read what we agree with. In that scenario, you'd no longer visit, our columnists would no longer write and the rest, as they say, is history.

Voiceoffootball is here for everyone who loves football, and the best way to respond to something you feel isn't right would be to apply to Write On so that you put yourself in a position for a published right to reply; a chance to have your say and put your point of view across every week.

Enough said. Now, moving on, and totting up your correspondence on Liverpool I am reliably informed that there are far more excited fans looking forward to the future than those discarding their season tickets and abandoning the Kop for good. Not exactly a scientific survey, but interesting none the less.

Right, I’m off to get myself a suit of armour in preparation for a further onslaught tomorrow (well, snow boots at least).

One of the world's most iconic football clubs is now officially a franchise.

When Liverpool's new owners, George Gillett and Tom Hicks, uttered the dreaded 'f' word (no not that one) during their press conference today, English football plundered a new low. I know we've had Abramovich, the Glazers, Gaydamak, Lerner, Magnusson et al, and that in theory another wad of cash, all £470m of it, is just another overseas investment, but we have CLUBS in England NOT franchises.

Perhaps being 're-branded' is the price you pay for a money-spinning takeover by American tycoons that makes Liverpool part of the sporting portfolio of two men who only a few years ago wouldn't have looked at English football, never mind Liverpool FC, twice.

Is it progression or a further fracturing of everything that English football holds dear? If it's a choice between the mighty dollar and the good old days I would personally take the latter every time, but maybe I'm stuck in the dark ages.

Liverpool fans are predictably divided. Some are delighted, considering the takeover as a step closer to a first Premiership title, a gleaming new stadium and the rejuvenation of the local area. Others are, frankly, disgusted that Liverpool have sold out to Gillett and Hicks (the latter partly because of his strong connections with George Bush) who, whatever they may say, are most definitely not Liverpool men (not a hint of a Scouse accent to be heard).

One thing is for sure, the direction that English football is going in is a topic that provokes strong emotions, and I suspect, as much as I hate to say it, that Gillett and Hicks won’t be the last of the foreign names running British football CLUBS, so fans of Liverpool’s rivals should beware excessive smugness.

Away from events at Anfield, and a quick mention must go to Paul's article on Watford that infuriated reader Liam so much he described it as "malicious and without foundation". To be fair Liam I don't think Paul meant to particularly offend Watford fans, since it really could have been any club that circumstances meant he disliked. So, to that end, I invite anyone, including Josh who felt the article was "prejudiced and discriminatory" to follow Paul's theory about disliking a club and come up with one of their own (and no mischief makers suggesting Watford please, lets give them a break).

Finally, our very own Yodasmog got a bit excited yesterday with the news regarding Jonathan Woodgate:

He's coming home, he's coming home, he's coming.....Woodys coming home!

Outstanding bit of business by Boro to ensure that they have first option to sign JW at the end of the season if he decides to stay. The best defender in the country when fit and that includes Ferdinand, Terry et al.

Yodasmog is a happy man

Lets hope England fans are all as happy as Yodasmog after tomorrow night's game...

Yesterday you had the great and the good blogging for you - today you just have me, that's disappointment for you!

Anyway, having delegated my responsibilities 24-hours ago, this post is all my own, so feel free to moan about me, rather than just at me.

Amongst our electronic postal delivery today has been speculation (and then reaction) to the England squad (I'm sorry, but I struggle to get excited about these friendly games), some less than good natured comments regarding Ashley Cole's injury (clearly the Get Well Soon cards are going to be few and far between) - the polar opposite to the feelings where Michael Owen's recovery is concerned, and they aren't just restricted to Newcastle fans either, which only goes to show it sometimes pays to be a nice bloke (as opposed to a greedy one) - and a number of bemused Liverpool fans unsure of exactly who they want their club sold to (the only consensus seems to be someone with lots of money, so you might be in luck).

But for once, my favourite communication of the day came about cricket. As Jeremy B (from Northwood) said on email today: “England win for the first time in ten attempts and you say nothing?!”

No Jeremy, I say plenty like... Hurrah! Break out the champagne! (Accompanied by dancing, NOT David Brent style).

It is true I have been very quiet about England's exploits (it's quite an achievement to be that outplayed you know) Down Under in the last couple of months, largely due to having spent most of this winter ruing ever mentioning the game of willow and leather. My silence has not prevented some sporting banter from a few Aussies, however. 5-0 is a cruel scoreline in any sport.

Finally, in response to questions regarding where Andy did his research for his column this week, I can exclusively reveal it was here (although Voiceoffootball is not responsible for the content of external internet sites, just in case you've not read our terms and conditions, so don't blame us if Priestess Pamela isn't all she's cracked up to be).

Right, I need some serious relaxation. Enjoy the weekend.

A blog posted by me but written by two of our excellent columnists - way to go eh?!

I know, I know, it's a bit of a cop out on my part, but go with it, you might like it.

First up Andy's reaction to Monday's blog and the less-than-happy rugby fans:

"I appreciate the term 'hug the nut' may have upset some rugby fans and I apologise. Perhaps they could cut and paste and replace the words with something less offensive. May I suggest: 'chase the egg', 'fat lads catch', 'throw and run', 'posh footy', 'British bulldog', 'kick it in the stands', 'no matter how much you go on, 2003 was never like '66'....."

And for those of you who wanted a further explanation:

"I've perfected the art of winding up rugby fans from an early age. One of my best mates is a big rugby fan and I give him loads. I refused to watch the 2003 World Cup final with him and used the excuse that I'd rather stay in and fix my Venetian blinds. It wound him up so badly it actually spoilt his enjoyment of the occasion."

So that's cleared that up then. I await further complaints (although I do wonder why rugby fans are taking so much exception when this is, after all, a football site - not RUGBY FOOTBALL either - so a bit of banter isn't so out of place).

Andy is about to leave the country for a few weeks (not driven out by hordes of angry rugby fans I hasten to add), to enjoy somewhere far too warm, disgustingly sunny and where he will be doing considerably less work than those of us stuck back in Blighty (not enough room in his suitcase for the Voiceoffootball staff and readership unfortunately).

Lets just hope he doesn't encounter any of the angry flight attendants who are still emailing us after this.

So, bon voyage to Andy and a welcome return to l'Angleterre for Sam, who arrived back from Argentina to discover that after 12 hours in a confined space his only reward is the English winter.

However, before he departed from the land of Boca, River, Racing et al, he sent us this rather impressive pic of the Estadio Centenario in Uruguay, which he visited before leaving South America.

And for all those who appreciate the finer points of footballing history, here's Sam's postscript:

"As winners of both the 1924 and '28 Olympic Football Tournament, Uruguay were recognised as the World Champions and, in 1929, asked to host the following year's World Cup - the first ever. Montevideo is, in fact, the only city ever to have hosted a World Cup (all the subsequent ones having been hosted by countries). The Estadio Centenario, built specifically for the competition, is also possibly the only football ground anywhere that's also a monument to the centenary of a nation's independence, hence the name. Pictured is the Amsterdam Stand (Amsterdam being where Uruguay won the '24 Olympics), and the goal in which the first ever World Cup was won by the hosts, a nation at the time of just 2 million, against their oh-so-friendly neighbours, Argentina. 90,000 people packed in on that day to see their side triumph 4-2, but even empty, it's still bloody impressive..."

So there you go, a Voiceoffootball blog and it doesn't contain any of my opinions, blessed relief for you all!