One of Turkey’s most popular exports is already dazzling Middlesbrough fans, players and coaches alike with his quick feet, silky skills and killer eye for goal…

Sanli Tuncay, Middlesbrough FC’s new Bosman signing from Turkish champions Fenerbahce, has become an instant hit with Middlesbrough fans after a video clip from the club’s Bad Waltersdorf (Autria) training camp found it’s way onto YouTube. The clip shows Tuncay using some Cristaino Ronaldo style step overs to beat the defender, and following it up with a very cheeky flick past goalkeeper Ross Turnbull.

The Middlesbrough website has been inundated with Turkish hits since the strikers arrival on Teesside, with the site claiming more visitors from Turkey than from the actual Town of Middlesbrough. Five turkish TV crews and up to twenty reporters made their way to Austria to see Tuncay’s first day training with his new team-mates.

Here’s the clip:

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

English Premiership squads are full of exciting young talent just waiting to be given the opportunity to prove themselves in the first-team, but who do you think is your team’s most valuable asset?

Teams like Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool obviously have no end to the talent in their youth and reserve teams, but what about other clubs? Having paid close attention to the reserve and youth leagues over the past couple of seasons, here’s my predictions for each Premiership teams stars of the future (not counting obvious established first-teamers):

Arsenal:
Carlos Vela
Matthew Connolly
Francisco Merida

Aston Villa:
Robert Olejnik
Zoltan Stieber
Isaiah Osbourne

Birmingham City:
Sone Aluko
Krystian Pearce
Patrick Kavanagh

Blackburn Rovers:
Keith Tracey
Kevin Pezzoni
Raffaele De Vita

Bolton Wanderers:
Kyle Bartley
James Sinclair
Johann Smith

Chelsea:
Michael Mancienne
Scott Sinclair
Ben Sahar

Derby:
Sorry! Don’t know enough to judge.

Everton:
Scott Spencer
Scott Phelan
Lee Molyneux

Fulham:
Gabriel Zakuani
Michael Timlin
Chris James

Liverpool:
Robbie Threfall
Craig Lindfield
Gabriel Paletta

Manchester City:
Daniel Sturridge
Ian Daly
Shaleum Logan

Manchester United:
Jonathan Evans
Fabien Brandy
Ritchie Jones

Middlesbrough:
Nathan Porritt
Jonathan Franks
Tom Craddock

Newcastle United:
Tim Krul
Andrew Carroll
Matty Pattison

Portsmouth:
Supat Rungratsamee
Richard Duffy
Frank Songo’o

Reading:
Shane Long
Scott Golbourne
Adam Federici

Sunderland:
Again, don’t know enough to judge

Tottenham Hotspur:
Lee Barnard
Dorian Dervite
Leigh Mills

West Ham United:
Hogan Ephraim
Marek Stech
James Tomkins

Wigan Athletic:
Same as Sunderland & Derby i’m afraid!

What are your thoughts? Who are your team’s best young talents?

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Keith Lamb, the Middlesbrough Football Club Chief Executive, has been associated with the Boro now for many years (ever since the clubs liquidation in 1986). In the past, he has been partly responsible for such illustrious signings as Juninho, Fabrizio Ravanelli and Gaizka Mendieta, arguable some of the club’s highest-profile signings in Boro history.

But is it time Mr. Lamb stepped aside?

In the past two years, Middlesbrough have lost two of their best players to Bosman deals – Boudewijn Zenden to Liverpool (2005) and, more recently, Mark Viduka to arch-rivals Newcastle United (2007).

Keith Lamb has this idea that you can let your star players contracts keep running out until about one month before their expiration, and that loyalty will prevail and they will sign a new deal, but this is not the case. Bosman ruling states that when a player has six months left on his current deal, he is free to talk to any club regarding a pre-contract agreement to a free transfer at the deals expiration. Keith Lamb does not seem to know this rule exists…

Okay, Keith Lamb has brought some good players to the club, and played a key role in the Boro’s move to the Riverside Staidum. But how long can we keep on praising the man for work he has done in the past? Players like Mark Schwarzer and Aiyegbeni Yakubu have come out and expressed their concern at the way in which the club went about the Viduka deal, and many fans are not happy about the situation either.

If Zenden & Viduka were tied up on deals about a year before their expiration, then Boro could have cashed in £4m on Zenden, as he was in top form at the time, and at least £2m on Mark Viduka one year or eighteen months later – or, even better, kept them in the squad, so now, because of Keith Lamb’s policy, we are two players, or £6m, out of pocket.

Keith Lamb needs to either seriously consider his contract negotiations policy, or, seriously consider his role at the club.

Is Keith Lamb the best Chief Executive to take Middlesbrough forward?

From Soccerlens.com - Football News