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You can’t always believe everything you read, but sometimes, it’s not as crazy as it seems. That’s what kicks off today’s roundup, which includes news from Toulouse, to well, you’ll find out in a second.
Written by Eddie Griffin. Leave a response
The transfer sagas are slowly but surely working themselves out. Ronaldinho is set for a new chapter in his career, and just as he’s leaving Barcelona, a new face is headed to the Nou Camp. That’s the highlight of today’s roundup, but there’s a lot more to talk about as well, from Liverpool to Lazio.
Written by Eddie Griffin. 3 comments
“I understand why Manchester United fans booed me,” Rio Ferdinand said after the last game of the 2004-2005 season. “I’ve heard I’m being greedy but some of the figures thrown about are ridiculous. I was accused of asking for £150,000 a week. I wouldn’t insult the club like that. I can assure everyone I will not be going to Chelsea and want to sign for United again.”
Still, this didn’t stop sections of United fans persisting to boo Ferdinand throughout the pre-season, up until him signing a contract just before the next season started.
It took years for most reds to finally forgive him, whilst many still don’t have much time for him. Playing for our club is an honour and if you can’t recognise that, you’re usually out the door.
Written by Scott the Red. 16 comments
Increasingly we’re seeing pre-season preparations forced to accommodate “brand-expansion” trips with Chelsea having traveled to the US and Liverpool to Asia in recent years (and United having traveled to both continents in the last 3 years).
Written by Ahmed Bilal. 2 comments
Can Real Madrid nurture Robinho as Manchester United helped Ronaldo to be a better player, or is he going to be another huge amount in the transfer market?
Real Madrid has had the service of many star football players starting from the days of the great Alfredo di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas. After the unexpected failure of the Galacticos era, Fabio Capello and current boss Bernd Schuster has helped the club to gradually recover from the trophy-less seasons. Are Real Madrid going to throw away the advantage they have now being a better team than a pack of stars? Will the probable arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo destroy the harmony in the team? Is it worth allowing Robinho to ‘grow up’ and be a better player?
The latest transfer speculation say that Robinho will be moving to Chelsea for a fee of 60M euros if Real Madrid buy Ronaldo. Whatever the offer be, the question is, “Is the deal worth it?” The Real Madrid and Spanish football enthusiasts know the role Robinho has had at the club. Is Ronaldo worth it? Who is a better player for Real Madrid?
Answering these questions are tough for any football pundit - let’s take a look at the history of both players and how they evolved through the ranks in their own clubs:
Written by abhilashkmanapatt. 2 comments
Arsenal have William Gallas, a player who agitated for a move away from Stamford Bridge on a contract dispute, was at Arsenal for only an year before he was made captain, has spent less time at Arsenal than most players at the club, is inspirational and temperamental, and has a habit of talking to the press (and criticises his teammates).
Liverpool have Steven Gerrard, a home-grown player, a leader on the pitch and off it, and most importantly, someone who commands the respect of the squad and manager.
Chelsea have John Terry, as home-grown a player as Chelsea are going to get, a leader and much respected by teammates and coaching staff.
Manchester United have Gary Neville, United boy for life and a capable leader. In his absence the standard-bearers have been Ryan Giggs (another home boy and well-respected) and Rio Ferdinand, the de facto captain, a leader on the pitch, a senior member of the squad and determined to see his career out at the club after having spent 5 years at Old Trafford.
Notice the difference?
Written by Ahmed Bilal. 8 comments
Today’s roundup starts off in a different order than usual, but that’s because one of the most-talked about transfer sagas is finally, finally over.
Written by Eddie Griffin. 9 comments
There are a lot of noteworthy names to report on in today’s transfer roundup, as a few ongoing transfer sagas could be set to wrap up soon - or maybe they’re just heating up.
Is Chelsea coming in for Ronaldinho at the last minute? Is David Bentley getting the big move that he wants? Is Dimitar Berbatov getting closer to signing for Manchester United? You may know the answers already, but we’ve got a lot more to talk about than just those big names.
Written by Eddie Griffin. 4 comments
Former Major League Baseball pitcher Anthony Young once lost a record 27 straight decisions before finally recording a win. The Buffalo Bills went to four straight Super Bowls - and lost each one. In 1986, Greg Norman led each of the four majors after the third round only to end up losing each one, a feat that was dubbed “The Norman Slam.” In 2004, tennis star Lleyton Hewitt pulled off a similar feat when he lost to the eventual champion in each of the four Grand Slam events.
When pitcher Brian Kingman lost 20 games in one season for the Oakland A’s, he said that you have to be pretty good to lose 20 games. Similarly, for those aforementioned athletes, you have to be pretty good to even be in a position to lose like that in the first place.
I’m sure that’s not much consolation to Michael Ballack.
Written by Victor Li. 10 comments
There’s plenty to report on in today’s roundup, so without giving you much of an intro, I’ll get right to the good stuff. Enjoy!
Written by Eddie Griffin. One comment
Scolari made a great first impression…
You have to give credit where credit is due. Luiz Felipe Scolari was absolutely brilliant in his first press conference as Chelsea manager last week. Not only was he friendly, charming and humorous, he also conducted the whole thing in English.
He certainly responded in the best way possible to those who have labelled him as a ‘bit of a mad man’ and said that he wouldn’t be able to communicate because he couldn’t speak the language.
Scolari was very confident without displaying the ‘over the top’ brashness of a Jose Mourinho and was far more passionate and focussed than the last incumbent, Avram Grant, could ever have hoped to have appeared or been.
Written by Graham Fisher. 6 comments
On July 24, many of Major League Soccer’s best will head north of the border to contest the 13th edition of the MLS All-Star Game, with this year’s group of all-stars taking on West Ham United at BMO Field, home of Toronto FC.
The MLS All-Stars beat Celtic 2-0 in last year’s contest, and they’ve won each of the two previous matchups against Premier League competition, a 4-1 win over Fulham in 2005 and a 1-0 win over Chelsea in 2006.
They’ll have an excellent chance of making it three for three, with the lineup they’re set to field in two weeks. On Thursday, the league announced the All-Star First XI, the top vote-getters at their respective positions and the group who’ll make up most, if not all, of the starting lineup for the match against the Hammers.
Written by Eddie Griffin. Leave a response
There’s not a great deal to report on in today’s transfer roundup, but we’ve got all the latest in the Frank Lampard and Emmanuel Adebayor sagas and more, so the cupboard certainly isn’t bare by any means.
Written by Eddie Griffin. 4 comments
There’s not a great deal of actual speculation in today’s roundup, as there are several signings to report, and there are a few more that are set to be finalized before long.
Written by Eddie Griffin. 2 comments
Well folks, another week has flown by, and it’s already Friday again. But, before you call it a week and do whatever it is you do on the weekends, check out today’s roundup of transfer news and rumors.
Tottenham have beaten Benfica to the signature of Espanyol’s Luis Garcia (no, not the one that used to play for Liverpool) and should complete a £9.5m move next week. The 27-year old striker scored 14 goals and was provided on many more for Espanyol last season.
Rumor Rating: 5 - If Berbatov, Keane, and Bent all stay, it’d be hard for Garcia to find a regular place, but with one or two of the three very likely headed elsewhere, it’s the right move to make.
The Daily Mail says that Inter are set to up their bid for Frank Lampard to £10m in an effort to get Chelsea to budge. Inter have had bids of £6.9m and £7.95m rejected, but they’ll be hoping the third bid is the charm.
Rumor Rating: 3 - Inter seem to be as adamant about getting Lampard as Chelsea are to hold on to him, so maybe their persistence will pay off.
Zenit St. Petersburg have reportedly rejected a £19m bid for Andrei Arshavin from an English club. The club is rumored to be either Arsenal or Chelsea, but Manchester United have also been linked with Arshavin, whose value has been raised to £24m by Zenit, who won’t mind cashing in on their prized asset–for the right price.
Rumor Rating: 4 - Barcelona still may come in for him, but with the spending that they’ve done (and they look to be putting another £15m on Alexander Hleb), they may be out of the picture. I don’t envision Arsenal putting £24m on someone right now, unless he was really, really, really worth it. That leaves Manchester United and Chelsea. Take your pick.
Liverpool have snapped up another promising prospect, as they’ve picked up Dutch forward Vincent Lucas Weijl from AZ Alkmaar. The Reds recently completed the signing of another 17-year old forward in Danish starlet Nikola Saric.
Rumor Rating: 5 - They’re certainly building well for the future, but they need to get a move on and pick up some pieces for the present.
Aston Villa and Manchester City could be fighting it out for Blackburn keeper Brad Friedel, who is available after being told his future is no longer secure. The 37-year old American keeper is set to be the subject of a £2.5m bid from Villa, which should set off a counter-bid from former boss Mark Hughes.
Rumor Rating: 5 - At 37, Friedel is still playing at a high level, so he could be Villa’s inexpensive answer to their goalkeeper concerns, or if he goes to City, he could give Joe Hart ample time to develop without a great deal of pressure being on him.
Blackburn are chasing Red Star Belgrade’s Ecuadorian star Segundo Castillo. According to the Mirror, the two clubs have been working on a deal for the past few days for the 26-year old midfielder, who is rated at £6m. Castillo has 30 caps for his country (2 goals), and has been at Red Star since 2006.
Rumor Rating: 5 - Castillo could provide a solid scoring punch from midfield, as he’s scored eight goals in each of his first two seasons at Red Star.
Everton are interested in Galatasaray defensive midfielder Mehmet Topal.
Rumor Rating: 3 - Topal just signed a new five-year deal with Galatasaray earlier this year, so the club might be a little reluctant to let him go, as he looks to be one of their many young building blocks for the future, along with the likes of Arda Turan.
Watford have accepted a £1.5m bid from Rangers for Danny Shittu. Watford rejected a £1.2m offer earlier in the week, but Rangers came back with an offer that was good enough to get their man.
Rumor Rating: 5 - Rangers don’t have a ton of money to spend on transfers, so getting a veteran defender who has top-level experience (Premier League and international with Nigeria) like Shittu for £1.5m is a good buy for Walter Smith.
Coventry City are set to snap up Wolves striker Freddy Eastwood for £1m. Eastwood had a poor first season at Wolves after a £1.5m move from Southend, and the 24-year old Wales international is on his way out after being transfer-listed at the end of the season.
Rumor Rating: 5 - After lighting up at Southend for three seasons, Eastwood scored only four goals (three league, one cup) for Wolves and made only 10 league starts. But, a change of scenery and a pairing with Michael Mifsud could be just what Eastwood needs to find his scoring touch again.
Inter are set to complete a €13m deal for Roma’s Mancini in the next few days. The 27-year old Brazilian is set to sign a four-year deal with his new club, and will make a cool €3.8m per season.
Rumor Rating: 5 - It’s never a good thing to sell one of your key players to a main title rival. But, with his deal set to expire next year and the chances of him signing a new contract being slim to none, it was better to sell him and get a decent fee rather than to lose him for nothing.
Marseille fans are working their hardest to raise £22m to buy back Didier Drogba, who their club sold to Chelsea four years ago for nearly £24m. A fan has set up a collection asking fans to pledge one, two, or five euros, and so far, nearly 5,000 euros have been raised.
Rumor Rating: 5 - You certainly can’t fault them for trying. With any luck, the club might pick up the cause. Who knows, if Drogba still has a soft spot for the club he spent only one season at, he may put a few million up himself.
Rennes are closing in on a deal for Udinese’s Ghanaian striker Asamoah Gyan. The 22-year old has been on Udinese’s books since 2003, and he has an impressive 13 goals in 27 international appearances for his country.
Rumor Rating: 5 - Rennes are getting a quality young talent in Gyan, who scored the fastest goal in the 2006 World Cup and has been linked with the likes of AC Milan in the past.
Marko Basa may well be costing himself a move to PSG, as the Le Mans man agreed personal terms with his potential new employer, but then got a little greedy and asked for a bonus.
Rumor Rating: 5 - Christmas is still five months away, Marko. Be patient.
Well, that’s it for the day in rumors. Just because it’s the weekend doesn’t mean I’m off, as I’ll be back tomorrow and Sunday with all of the latest news and rumors, so until then, chime in with your thoughts, chip in with your own tidbits, and I’ll be back tomorrow.
Written by Eddie Griffin. One comment
It’s amusing how the term “slavery” gets thrown around these days. In November of 2003, Rasheed Wallace compared the NBA’s Zero-Tolerance policy concerning arguing with referees to slavery. “That’s retarded,” the eloquent Wallace opined. “In my mind, it’s kind of like a slave and master or father and son. You’ve got your little son and you say don’t say nothing back to me — and to me, that’s totally wrong. It ain’t like that in any other sport.” I guess Sheed believes that children are slaves to their parents, too.
Written by Victor Li. One comment
He’s not worth it. As a public-attention whore and someone whose main concern is to make FIFA look good in the eyes of press and the national associations as well as to help make FIFA more money, Blatter doesn’t represent the true opinions of a ‘guardian of football’ (as FIFA claims itself to be by virtue of being the supreme authority). He’s not worth the column inches printed about his comments today, so we’re not going to discuss that.
What I will point out is that club football and footballers in general are under attack by the likes of UEFA and FIFA - organisations created to protect international football, not promote club football or the rights of footballers. When Blatter - as FIFA spokesman - talks about slavery in football, in reality he’s attacking the power clubs have over the game and how that makes it harder for FIFA to arrange more international competitions and thus promote the game globally. When UEFA (pandering to the clubs by blaming player power instead) talks about spiraling wages, they’re afraid that players will refuse to bend to FIFA / UEFA regulations if their future is secure.
Written by Ahmed Bilal. 11 comments
Frank Lampard’s position is a complicated one. On one hand he’s fully dedicated to Chelsea and has repeatedly said that he wants to see his career out at Chelsea.
On the other hand, he’s not getting the same amount of money or time on his contract that a few other players at Chelsea FC are getting. As vice-captain and arguably as central to Chelsea’s remarkable success in the last four seasons as captain John Terry, surely Frank Lampard deserves to be on equal footing at Chelsea FC as Michael Ballack and his captain (let’s leave Shevchenko out of this one)?
Written by Ahmed Bilal. 10 comments
There’s a lot to pack in to today’s roundup, and a few of the running transfer sagas from the summer are being settled, which could get some other moves in motion.
It looks like Alexander Hleb is finally set for his move to Barcelona, as multiple reports are saying that Barca could soon officially seal a deal that’s in the region of £15m.
Rumor Rating: 5 - That’s one down, hopefully.
Another extended saga should come to an end shortly, as Peter Crouch has reportedly agreed terms with Portsmouth, which puts his £11m move all the closer to completion.
Rumor Rating: 5 - Unfortunately for Rafa, it looks like Xabi Alonso will be staying, which could hurt his buying power for the remainder of the summer. However, this move could help making the Barry transfer finally get done.
Aston Villa have finally sealed a £5m deal for Chelsea’s Steve Sidwell. Sidwell is set to receive a sizable part of the transfer fee, as he’s taking a large pay cut from the £65k per week that he received for being a bit-part player for a season at Chelsea.
Rumor Rating: 5 - Three in one day–how about that?
With things still uncertain in regards to Emmanuel Adebayor, Arsenal could be weighing up some striking options, and one of them could be Colombian star Falcao, who Manchester Untied are also interested in.
Rumor Rating: 3 - The Sun says that Arsenal could be making an £8m bid for the 22-year old, but River Plate value him higher.
After signing Sidwell, Villa are also in line to make an £11m pound move for Valencia defender Miguel to finally solidify the right back position.
Rumor Rating: 4 - Scoring wasn’t an issue for Villa last season, but defense was (51 goals allowed) at times, so this’ll be money well spent.
Manchester City are reportedly close to signing defender Tal Ben-Haim in a £5m deal by the end of the week. Like Sidwell, Ben-Haim moved to Chelsea last summer and promptly didn’t feature much.
Rumor Rating: 5 - Ben-Haim wasn’t a good fit at Chelsea, but he’ll likely fare much better at City.
Fulham are set to pay £6.5m for a double swoop of West Ham duo Bobby Zamora and John Paintsil in an effort to boost their attack and defense.
Rumor Rating: 5 - There are question marks about the moves and the fee. Are Zamora’s best days behind him? He can still find the net regularly if he’s healthy, but he missed most of last season due to tendonitis. As for Paintsil, he is an integral part of Ghana’s national team, but he’s been a minimal part of West Ham’s squad in his two seasons there.
Stoke and Hull are doing all they can to improve their hopes of staying in the Premier League for more than one season, and both are racing to sign Portsmouth’s David Nugent to bolster their strike force.
Ipswich are nearing a deal for Greek striker Angelos Charisteas after agreeing a £2.25m fee with German club Nurnberg for the tall goal-getter.
Rumor Rating: 5 - Charisteas hasn’t ever been a prolific scorer on club level, but he has 19 goals for his country, with his biggest one accounting for the lone tally of the Euro 2004 final against Portugal to give the Greeks a shock title.
Burnley could soon sign Manchester United midfielder Chris Eagles. Eagles has yet to really make an impact at United, and they’ve given the all-clear for a deal to happen.
Rumor Rating: 5 - By being active in the market this summer, Burnley are putting themselves in a good position to make a run for at least a playoff spot in the Championship next season.
After missing out on Mark Schwarzer, Juventus are still in the market for a backup to Gianluigi Buffon, and two names that are now on their shortlist are Fulham’s Antti Niemi and Red Bull Salzburg’s Timo Ochs.
Rumor Rating: 5 - It’s highly unlikely that Buffon’s backup will see a great deal of time in net, but Juventus will likely select carefully because you never know what might happen, and if you want a backup, you want one who can step in and do the job.
Sampdoria have wrapped up the signing of Piacenza midfielder Marco Padalino, and they could make two more additions to the midfield in coming days in Parma’s Daniele Dessena and Juventus’ Sergio Almiron.
Rumor Rating: 5 - Sampdoria have been busy in the summer, and have done well to strengthen their chances of securing a Champions League place next season.
Bologna have signed Corinthians defender Coelho on a one-year loan deal, with an option to make the deal permanent afterwards. Coelho was heavily linked with Celtic in December, but that didn’t materialize into a move.
Rumor Rating: 5 - You have to watch out for his elbows if he’s in your vicinity, as he received a 120-day ban (reduced to five matches) for elbowing Cruzeiro’s Kerlon. Maybe he just doesn’t take kindly to tricksters is all…
Nice have found their replacement for the departed Hugo Lloris (now with Lyon), snapping up another promising young keeper by signing Colombian David Ospina on a four-year deal. Nice will pay two million euros for the 19-year old, who is already well-established in the Colombian senior national team, with 10 caps already to his credit.
Rumor Rating: 5 - That fee should prove to be a bargain if Ospina continues to develop as he has thus far.
Former Bolton youngster Kevin Wolze has inked a three-year deal with Wolfsburg after leaving Bolton. The 18-year old midfielder was reportedly homesick after the death of a close relative and decided to move to his hometown club.
Rumor Rating: 5 - You can understand his need to move back home, though Bolton is seeking compensation for his move.
FC Groningen have signed Wigan’s Swedish defender Andreas Granqvist on a four-year deal. Granqvist didn’t settle in his one year at Wigan, but according to his comments, the move to Holland will suit him much better. He said, “I am a player who likes to build the play up, rather than going for the long pass. I am still young and I want to improve. I believe Groningen is the club that will allow me to do that.”
Rumor Rating: 5 - Defense was one of Groningen’s weaknesses last term as they just missed out on a UEFA Cup spot (lost in a playoff), so adding the 23-year old is a good addition for them.
Well, that’s it for the day’s news and rumors. Chime in with your thoughts on today’s tidbits, chip in with ones you’ve dug up, and I’ll be back tomorrow.
Written by Eddie Griffin. Leave a response
Watched Manchester United’s 07/08 Season Review over the weekend (grab the torrent here) and it was quite an entertaining 2 and half hours.
It also gave me some perspective on the season that went by - perspective that I think is useful considering the Ronaldo saga, the transfer speculation this summer and for predicting United’s performances for next season. If you’re going to watch anything this summer, the Frost interview with Ferguson and this Season Review is it.
If you’re not a United fan, this is not for you. If you ARE a United fan, this is a must read. Here we go…
Written by Ahmed Bilal. 18 comments
There’s not a great deal to report on today, unless you want to hear a few recycled rumors regarding the ‘will he, won’t he?’ sagas of Emmanuel Adebayor, Alexander Hleb, and Andrei Arshavin.
But, there are some signings to report from around Europe, so the cupboard certainly isn’t bare in news.
Written by Eddie Griffin. 8 comments
In every transfer window, Continental Clubs launch a blitz of media attacks to unsettle the Premiership’s best players hoping to take them away. At some time or another they have the English Clubs bullied into submission in letting go off their start performers.
We, the fans, are sick and tired of this but we know we are helpless. But have we and the clubs been turning a blind eye to the answer that has been in front of us?
Written by Raed. Leave a response
April 28th 2007, 1.50pm
Manchester United started the day 3 points ahead of Chelsea at the top of the table, but now are 2-0 down at Goodison Park, whilst Chelsea are beating Bolton 2-1 at home. After today, there are just three games of the season remaining, including away trips to Chelsea and City, as well as a home game against West Ham, who are fighting relegation, and love throwing a spanner in the works when it comes to our title challenge.
After leading the Premiership all season, surely we can’t throw it all away now.
Written by Scott the Red. 2 comments
Darren Fletcher has a big-time dilemma on his hands (and no, it’s not whether or not he should enter the Rick Schroeder Look-a-Like contest). Everton have targeted the Scottish national as one of their summer transfer priorities.
The conventional wisdom is that a move to Everton would afford Fletcher more playing opportunities. Like Phil Neville and Tim Howard before him, Fletcher has been unable to establish himself as a consistent first-teamer at Manchester United, and might decide that his future looks much better in blue than in red.
Written by Victor Li. 2 comments
I’m back to give you the latest transfer headlines from around Europe, and there’s a lot to discuss in today‘s roundup, from Liverpool to Lyon.
Everton are set to make a four million pound bid for Manchester United’s Darren Fletcher in the coming days.
Rumor Rating: 3 - Fletcher may not want to move from a good situation at United, but a move to Everton would likely allow him the opportunity to play a lot more regularly than he currently does in United’s crowded midfield.
On another Everton-related note, Wigan have joined Sunderland in the race for striker Andrew Johnson. Wigan are prepared to pay up to 10 million pounds, but Johnson’s price tag is reportedly 12 million.
Rumor Rating: 4 - Interesting…two English, part-time starting strikers going for at least 10 million pounds.
Newcastle could make a bid of five million pounds to Chelsea for midfielder Steve Sidwell, who looked to be on his way to Aston Villa, but that move has slowed down recently.
Rumor Rating: 3 - That move could spell the end of Joey Barton’s time at Newcastle, which might not be a moment too soon.
Bolton and Blackburn are both interested in Sporting’s Montenegrin midfielder Simon Vukcevic. The 22-year old moved from Russian side FC Saturn last summer and made a big impact in his first season in Portugal, scoring 12 goals in 32 appearances, including one in a 1-1 draw at Bolton in the UEFA Cup quarterfinals.
Rumor Rating: 3 - Considering the impact that Vukcevic had in his first season and that he’s only 22 and has a very bright future ahead, I’d think Sporting might want more than the 5 million pounds that have been mentioned in reports.
Hull could be lining up a 1.4 million pound move for QPR midfielder Martin Rowlands.
Rumor Rating: 5 - Rowlands has had some injury issues in recent seasons, but he can find the net regularly from midfield. He’s spent his entire career below the top flight, and while he’s already in the frame for the Ireland national team, the 29-year old may find a move to the Premier League in his best interests.
Meanwhile, Sunderland could be trying to get in the way of Hull’s signing of George Boateng, as they’ve matched the offer of 2 million pounds that Hull had accepted by Middlesbrough and could offer the 32-year old midfielder a 30,000 pounds per week contract.
Rumor Rating: 5 - Well, as long as he hasn’t signed on the dotted line for anyone, he’s up for grabs.
Birmingham are set to snap up Kevin Phillips soon, but the Blues could be looking to further strengthen their strike force, as Alex McLeish is interested in Reading’s Dave Kitson.
Rumor Rating: 3 - It would seem a little curious for Reading to sell Kitson to a fellow promotion chaser, but we’ll see.
Andy Cole has signed a one-year deal with Nottingham Forest. There‘s some sentimentality behind it, as his late grandfather was a big Forest supporter and always wanted his grandson to play for the club.
Rumor Rating: 5 - He doesn’t score goals like he used to, but he’s still got a few left in him and can be an impact player, as he showed in a loan spell at Burnley last season, scoring six goals in 13 appea
