General News Archives

You know what really stood out about the recently closed transfer window?  Not the brinksmanship, the complaints about tapping up, or even the idea of billion-dollar teams squabbling over a couple million pounds.  The one thing that really stood out to me was all the talk about “dream moves.”

It seemed like every high-profile star that switched teams described their transfer as a “dream move.”  Jose Bosingwa called his move to Chelsea his “dream move.”  Dimitar Berbatov sulked, pouted, and divided the Tottenham clubhouse while pursuing his “dream move” to Manchester United.  His strike partner from the previous season, Robbie Keane, also forced his way out of White Hart Lane, albeit with a little more subtlety, and landed his “dream move” by going to Liverpool.

It wasn’t all bad news for Tottenham, though.  David Bentley, who decided to leave Blackburn because he wanted to play Champions League football, hailed Spurs as his “dream move” even though they had only qualified for UEFA Cup play.  I guess Bentley’s dream was to play in Europe for a competition that had the acronym “UEFA” in it. 

Additionally, Andrei Arshavin, who first referred to Barcelona as his “dream move,” showed that dreams are always malleable as he subsequently pointed to Tottenham as his “dream move” after Barca decided not to pursue him.  I guess the phrase “backup dream move” wasn’t as catchy.

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Well, that ends that. After a week filled with speculation about Kevin Keegan’s future at Newcastle, Keegan has decided to call time on his second stint at St. James’ Park, as he resigned today.

In a statement, Keegan said, ‘I’ve been working desperately hard to find a way forward with the directors, but sadly that has not proved possible.

‘It remains my fervent wish to see Newcastle United do well in the future and I feel incredibly sorry for the players, staff and most importantly the supporters. I have been left with no choice other than to leave.’

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Geoff Sheard announced that the funding for the takeover of English Sheffield Wednesday is now in place. More than eight months after first launching a bid for the club, Sheard plans to complete the takeover with founds provided by two investors, a German and a British, who will pay for the 29.9 percent stake. The identities of these investors are otherwise unknown.

Sheard told Yorkshire Post, “It’s a matter of days away – I’m hoping we’re done this week.” This is after several delays and a series of previous comments claiming the negotiations were nearly over and the deal was set to close.

Ten percent stake owner Dave Allen expects Sheard to purchase his stake over the next several days. “He phoned me to say the funds were in place – which I’m pleased about – and it was hoped to do the deal by the end of the week,” Allen stated.

Everything is said to be in place, as Sheard states he has communicated with the investors, the club, and the bank.

The club is in need of debt reduction, as they owe over GBP 20 million to Co-op Bank.

We’ve got it straight from the biscuit tin - the shortlist of managers West Ham’s owners are considering and the man who is odds-on favourite to manage the Hammers, at least in September 2008.

But first, the candidates:

West Ham’s Final Five

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So, the transfer deadline (August 31) has passed and the football market is now closed. Closed? Not quite. Indeed, while transfers from one club to another will have to wait until January to resume, teams may still sign players as free agents (and that until March 31, 2009).

So, inspired from this Top 11 Serie A Rejects article on mCalcio.com, here is a list of all the “European Football rejects” - in other words, all those players whose contracts were not renewed. Let’s see what kind of a team one could come up with (answer: a very *decent* team).

Ladies & gentlemen, I give you the “Unemployed FC” team:

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Following Alan Curbishley’s departure from West Ham yesterday, his transfer policy at the club has come under increased scrutiny. Soccerlens has rounded up Curbishley’s worst forays into the transfer market.

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Alan Curbishley is no longer manager of West Ham United. Reports claim that he has resigned, although it’s just as likely that he was politely shown the door.

Possible reasons for resignation include the failure to bring in a midfield enforcer, the sale of Ferdinand and McCartney (presumably without Curbishley having a say) and maybe even the board’s failure to keep existing players happy (Robert Green, anyone?).

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Fifa rankings for August 2008 (previous position in brackets):

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Football transfer fees were thought to be affected by the global credit crunch but that didn’t stop English clubs from smashing the English football transfer records twice in one evening as the clubs from Manchester bought Robinho and Dimitar Berbatov.

Whether or not they deserved to be sold for more than £30m each is a matter of personal opinion, but the deals have been done, and as it stands now, they’re the two most expensive transfers in English football history.

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There’s really only a couple (well, one to be specific) deals that many people followed on transfer deadline day, but while many looked to see if Dimitar Berbatov would sign for Manchester United and who Manchester City would nab with their newly-acquired mega-riches, many watched the window to see if someone would come through the door for their favorite club.

To say the least, a lot happened. I won’t recap it all, because that’d take way too long, and the updated summer transfer lists will let you know a lot, but I will give you the lowdown on plenty in our last summer transfer roundup. My my, how the summer has flown by….

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After hundreds (at least) of news bits over the last few months, we’re finally almost at the end of the summer transfer window. There’s a lot yet to happen on the final day of the window, but I’m here to get you caught up on all of the latest signings and speculation.

England

So, is Dimitar Berbatov going to sign for Manchester United today? The consensus seems to be that he will.

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If you have never coached or managed a football team you will believe, like I did, that the fans feel the highs of victory and lows of defeat more than anyone else. You will believe that the players and staff just don’t care as much as you do.

I have always felt this way about my beloved Watford. I have always thought, ‘if only the manager and players cared as much as I do and had the same passion for the club as I do, then we would be alright. It just doesn’t matter to them enough.’

Well I can’t speak for managers and coaches at the upper levels of the game as I have never been involved in any football other than at grassroots level, but if they feel emotions in anything like the way I do as a coach then they definitely care. Make no mistake about that.

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We’re about to head into a new week, and if you’ve missed anything on SL over the last week, here’s your chance to get caught up on some of the top topics from the site and the SL forum.

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In addition to our daily transfer news and rumours column, we also cover all the transfers happening in the Premier League. This summer we’re taking our coverage to the next level, and you can now track confirmed transfers for the following leagues:

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There are only a couple more days left in the summer transfer window, so there’s less spec and more deals right now as the deadline approaches.

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Football management produces stereotypes, geniuses, interesting characters and complete enigmas, in equal measure, but trying to fit Arsene Wenger into a single category is a challenge.

I should preface this piece by declaring that, as a Man Utd fan, given the fierce rivalry of recent years and some of the unsavory scenes at the end of matches (or in the case of ‘pizzagate,’ overly savory scenes!), I have always liked Arsene Wenger, while not always understanding the complexity of the man.

The fact that Wenger played just 12 times for Strasbourg and spent the rest of his playing career at amateur level is not unique, but an interesting side to the man. With a degree in engineering and a Masters in Economics he clearly has an intellectual side to him that is rare in his chosen field.

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We’re into the final weekend of the summer transfer window, and it’s sure to be a wild weekend. Well, maybe. Whatever the case may be, I’m back to give you the latest transfer news and rumors, and there is something to report on with Dimitar Berbatov, but I don’t know if it’s what Sir Alex Ferguson wants to hear.

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There are only a few days left in the window, so I’m sure there’s a lot in store for what I hope will be a frantic few days in transfers. Today, there’s plenty to report on from around Europe, as clubs are trying to finalize their squads with the new season still fresh or not yet underway.

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We’re rapidly moving towards the end of the summer transfer window, and the mad dash to get deals done continues. Still waiting for news on a couple of big names, but there’s plenty to report as is, so let’s get to it, shall we?

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Who would win the Premier League? The Champions League? The FA Cup?

Oliver Fowler finds out….

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I’m back to give you another rundown of the latest transfer news and rumors from the world of football, and while I don’t know what Dimitar Berbatov ate for breakfast, I do have plenty else for you, including a bit about who his current club are set to sign.

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Many a preseason favourite for the title have struggled to start their campaign in the manner that the media hype would suggest, but few have done so quite as spectacularly as Stevenage Borough.

Returning manager Graham Westley had made a number of eye-catching and proven signings over the summer, including Lee Boylan and Mark Albrighton from Cambridge, Eddie Anaclet from Oxford, and Iyseden Christie from Kidderminster.

The squad looked impressive and had many pundits tipping them for the top, but three heavy defeats and two draws see Stevenage in the bottom four, and if Westley was sacked tomorrow few Boro fans would shed tears at his departure.

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We’re one day closer to the end of the transfer window, and as expected, there’s a mad dash by many to make moves happen before time runs out. So, let’s get a move on and get started with today’s transfer roundup.

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‘Onest ‘Arry Redknapp appears to be feeling the pinch of the credit crunch. Obviously Lord Stevens’ enquiry into bung-taking in football found no evidence he was anything other than an upstanding member of the football community, but in a summer in which Portsmouth’s transfers have been limited, possibly he has struggled with an income below what he is used to.

For whatever reason though, it seems his wife Sandra has been forced to find employment to keep the couple’s caviar stock replenished.

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Well, we’re into the last week of the summer transfer window, so there’s going to be a mad dash to the finish for several sides looking to make some big signings before the window closes.

Some people are going to get their wishes fulfilled, while some are going to end up out in the cold. Who’s getting set to pack their bags today, and who’s still waiting for the magic words? Read on to find out.

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There’s still one more fixture left to be played in the second round of Premier League fixtures, but it’s time to take an early look at the winners and losers from the weekend’s action.

Chelsea and Liverpool have gotten their title challenges off by taking maximum points from their first two league ties and are assured of sitting atop the table at the end of Monday night, but they aren’t the only ones with a reason to feel good as a new week commences.

However, things are not nearly as rosy for some other sides, who have a little something to say for themselves after the weekend.

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Just in case you’ve missed anything on SL over the last several days, here’s a quick recap of some of the top topics from the last week.

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We’ve moving towards the last week of the transfer window, and there are still some transfer sagas yet to be resolved. While there’s little new news on any of them in today’s roundup, there is a fair amount to report on, with the Premier League and Serie A stealing all of the headlines today.

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It’s the weekend again, and while we sit back and take in the second round of Premier League action (or follow whatever league it is that’s your favorite), there’s still plenty to talk about on the transfer front as we move closer to the end of the transfer window.

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Every year UEFA nominates the best players in club football in Europe with the final awards presented on the eve of the end-of-August UEFA Super Cup. Last year we saw AC Milan’s Kaka, Maldini and Seedorf take the plaudits with Petr Cech rounding off the four and in the process denying Milan a clean sweep.

This year we see a strong England-based presence with 3 of 4 semi-finalists being from England in the Champions League last season and both Chelsea and Manchester United with a good chance of taking all the awards on offer. Here are the nominees:

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