On the morning after the Tartan Armys invasion of Wembley, dozens of weary Scotsmen and approximately 10,000 beer cans lay strewn across Trafalgar Square - the traditional gathering point for any London-based football celebration. Following a very successful preseason for the Barclays Premier League (as clubs criss-crossed the planet delivering the BPL eulogy to the faithful), dont be surprised if you catch CEO Richard Scudamore sipping champagne from those very same Trafalgar Square fountains this weekend. Whist the debate rages on regarding the collateral damage caused to the national team - due to the league wide preference to import talent at the cost of providing top flight competitive football for English players - the BPLs global footprint continues to enlarge. Earlier this month, the well-regarded sportingIntelligence.com provided a statistical breakdown of all BPL players nation of origin. English-born players now represent less than 37 per cent of the overall talent pool in a season where we will see the very first Kenyan play in the Barclays Premier League - Southamptons Victor Wanyama. Outside of the four home nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Wanyamas signing means the East African nation of Kenya will become the 100th different nation to have a player ply his trade in the BPL since the league was formed back in 1992. To understand how extremely popular and emotionally attached the locals are to their favourite club, one only had to witness scenes this summer as teams jetted into destinations like Jakarta, Bangkok, Sydney and Durban. Then when you factor in clubs who toured the U.S., its hardly surprising to read one UK newspaper claim the 20 BPL teams collectively racked up over 200,000 Air Miles. In other words, the equivalent of circumnavigating the globe eight times this pre-season. Although this will be the very first season we wont witness Sir Alex prowling the touchline in search of prey, the storylines will compel soccer fans across the globe to gather round their TV sets in record numbers every weekend between now and mid-May. The Barclays Premier League is now screened live in more countries than there are member states of the United Nations. Coincidentally this comes in a season where TV monitors will play an active role this season. My how Goal Line Technology will miss the worlds most famous Scotsman! Following the IFABs decision back in March to allow Goal Line Technology in football - Hawkeye, one of the two systems FIFA approved, has been installed this summer at all BPL stadiums. By the time beautiful B.C. fully awakes Saturday morning, we may have already witnessed the very first instance in world club football the video replay monitor will be the determinant on whether a ball fully crossed the line. Although very few disputed goal calls occur in any one season, it can only be a matter of time before GLT replaces AVB on the back pages of our newspapers. As for the debate over whether David Moyes can replicate the unprecedented success and riches his predecessor bestowed on Manchester United? If the stock market is any indicator, it would seem so. Ticker symbol MANU has gained over 10 per cent since the ex-Everton manager took over at Old Trafford on Canada Day. Speaking of splashing the cash (as opposed to the conversation settling on which one of the big names), outrageously-priced new players will dominate the BPL this season as the focus has been on the pending departures of Gareth Bale, Luis Suarez and Wayne Rooney. With every passing day and only 17 more sleeps until the transfer window closes, there stands a greater probability that Crystal Palace will win the title this season than these so-termed want away players all getting their wish this offseason. Of the top clubs garnering success in the transfer market by doing their shopping early and often, Manchester City stand head and shoulders above all other contenders. Cesc Fabregas still remains elusive for the champions and Jose Mourinho admitted telling fibs about whether or not Chelsea will table a third bid for Rooney. But lets just hope for the sake of his health that Arsene Wenger has more success at the grocery store then he does in the transfer market. Ironically, the only manager in the BPL with an economics degree seems with each passing summer to become less capable of attracting the highest calibre players to the Emirates. Ferguson proved you could win with youngsters, but the manager who has bought more promising youngsters than any other manger in BPL history has yet to mould a winning team round that philosophy. Wenger cant ever be accused of not adding to his clubs bottom line. No one in England develops and then sells on their best players quite as effectively as the 63-year old Frenchmen who is just about to embark on a ninth season without any type of trophy. To me, the best story of this preseason hails from highly unfashionable Stoke. As BPL clubs continue to increase their revenues domestically and globally as they look to squeeze every last penny, baht or rupee from their fans - the club which was formed in 1863 when they became only the second-ever professional football club in existence are picking up the entire travel tab for their 3,000 supporters who will make the journey to Anfield Saturday morning. Yes - money will continue to dominate and players salaries will increase to yet more record levels, but how comforting it is to know that at least one club is not only recognizing and paying lip service to the financial sacrifice their supporters are willing to endure - but they are actually doing something about it? Something tells me when the pictures from Anfield this weekend are boomed into living rooms, roadside tea shops and shanty towns across the globe, Stoke City will have cut a swathe into that gap they currently have with the champions who claim 659 million followers worldwide. Kicking Off with Arsenal v Aston Villa Saturday at 10:00am TSN Radio is your BPL home this season.Broadcast schedule available here: http://www.tsn.ca/toronto/feature/?fid=103193 You can reach and follow Noel Butler at:Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca @TheSoccerNoel on Twitter Wholesale Shoes Black Friday Free Shipping . -- Fresh off their surprising run in the playoffs, the Portland Trail Blazers have signed head coach Terry Stotts to a multi-year contract extension. Cheap Shoes Black Friday . - This is just the warm-up act for 18-year-old William Nylander. https://www.cheapshoesblackfriday.com/. Grimes signed a $32 million, four-year contract to remain with Miami. The deal, which includes $16 million guaranteed, rewards Grimes for his recovery from an Achilles tendon injury that forced him to miss almost all of the 2012 season. Shoes Black Friday Deals 2020 . -- The Sacramento Kings have claimed forward Travis Outlaw off waivers under the NBAs new amnesty provision, filling out the frontcourt with another veteran. Discount Shoes Black Friday . In fact, with a few improvements, this could very well be a decent team over the next few seasons. I will go into more detail when digging into the Canucks Off-Season Game Plan, which will be coming earlier this year since they are part of the non-playoff contingent, there are some reasons to think this is a favourable situation for President of Hockey Operations Trevor Linden and whomever he selects to be the new general manager.HOUSTON -- Soony Saad scored late in the first half, and Dominic Dwyer added a penalty kick goal in the second to help 10-man Sporting Kansas City beat the Houston Dynamo 2-0 on Friday night. Kansas City snapped a five-game winless streak to improve to 6-5-4. "For them to be able to come in here and get a win being a man down and having a lot of changes, was huge," Kansas City coach Peter Vermes said. "From that perspective, its more for us than just three points going into the (World Cup) break." Houston (5-9-2) has lost four straight -- all shutouts -- and hasnt scored in 389 minutes. Houston had a few regulars, including starting goalkeeper Tally Hall, replaced in the starting lineup. Houston coach Dominic Kinnear took responsibility for the loss. "Its my fault for giving guys a chance," Kinnear said. "Im the guy who picks the team Im the guy who makes the subs. This game is my fault today, I take 100 per cent. I dont look back on years and say, Oh that was a tough stretch in 08. I dont know. Its not a good time right now." Saad scored in the 45th minute, taking a pass from Benny Feilhaber and sending a shot into the right net from just the left of the upper half-circle. "Even with us being down a man, I feel like we stayed mentally focused and picked our moments to go," Saad said. "On the one where I scored, that was just us stepping up as a team, capitalizing on a mistake and it was perfect right before half to get momentum going into the half." Dwyer struck in the 70th, firing his penalty kick low into the right net and freezing Houston goalkeeper Tyler Deric. Sporting was awarded the penalty kick after Houstons A.J. Cochran had a hand ball in the box off a corner kick. Kansas City played the final 69 minutes a man down after Toni Dovale was given a straight red card in the 21st minute for elbowing Houstons Alex Lopez in the face. The win was Kansas Citys first since May 10 in Monntreal.dddddddddddd "We were up in it today with the red card early in the game," Dwyer said. "It was a lot of running for us. We stayed in touch with the game and was able to get the three points. It was a good test of character (to be down a man). We had a lot of guys who normally dont start who came in today and had a fantastic performance from everyone on the field." Warren Creavalle had a chance to score for Houston in the 76th minute, but his shot from the right box was saved by a diving Eric Konberg. Houston had two more chances late in second-half stoppage time. Giles Barnes sent a shot from inside the upper goalkeepers box off the face of Kronberg. The rebound attempt by Will Bruin in the middle of the box was slowed by the traffic in front of the net and cleared out. "I think we need to look at everything from back to front," Barnes said. "Im sure thats exactly what we will do out on the training field. There will be some guys coming back, some people can get some extra fitness work in so that after the break we come back ready to go." Sporting Kansas City lost captain and midfielder Paulo Nagamura in the third minute after he and Cochran went up for a ball and Cochran headed Nagamura in the back of the head. Alex Martinez was substituted in for Nagamura, who was taken off the field on a stretcher and taken to the locker room where he was diagnosed with a concussion. He was not taken to a hospital. Houston lost starting defender David Horst in the ninth minute with a left leg injury after a corner kick. Horst hobbled to the sideline, and Eric Brunner came in for him. Feilhaber, who was tackled hard by Brunner on the first goal, left the game with a left shoulder injury at halftime. Both teams were down two players already due to the World Cup call-ups, with Houstons Brad David with the U.S. and Boniek Garcia with Honduras, and Kansas Citys Graham Zusi and Matt Besler with the U.S. ' ' '