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Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Vancouver Whitecaps sign ex-Lierse, Mons striker Jarju
Vancouver Whitecaps
MLS
First-year MLS club Vancouver Whitecaps have signed Gambian striker Mustapha Jarju.
The 24-year old Gambia international, also known as Toubabo, has joined the Whitecaps from Belgian club RAEC Mons for the rest of the MLS season.
Jarju, who has also played with Lierse in Belgium, said he was looking forward to becoming a part of the Whitecaps squad before returning for pre-season next year.
?For me, the most important thing is the players, the team, we are all the same," he said. "I hope I'm going to have success in MLS and a very good six months in Vancouver, then come back ready for pre-season."
And as for the name Toubabo, which means ?white person?, the new ?Caps Designated Player took the time to explain how he got it.
"I got it when I was very young," he said.
"I don't know. I started playing well and they just give me that name. Maybe I played like a white man when I was young."
Swansea offer Scotland new Premier League chance
Wigan Athletic
Swansea City
Swansea City
Swansea City boss Brendan Rodgers is ready to hand Jason Scotland a new Premier League chance.
The Daily Mail says the Swans are talking to Ipswich about re-signing Scotland, 32.
Scotland had an ill-fated spell at Wigan Athletic two years ago, having been brought to the club by former Swans boss Roberto Martinez.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Agent rejects Roma rumours for Juventus keeper Storari
AS Roma
Juventus
The agent of Juventus goalkeeper Marco Storari has rejected claims linking him with AS Roma.
His representative has cooled the transfer speculation regarding a move south for his client.
?It seems to be a bit far out there to even talk about,? Claudio Vigorelli told romagiallorossa.it. ?Storari to Roma seems to be the joke of the moment.
?There has never been any contact with Roma sporting director Walter Sabatini, also because I?m convinced that they want to sign a foreign goalkeeper and not an Italian.
?That?s why there hasn?t been any contact and why I believe it will be very difficult for a call to arrive.
?At least that is what I hear from the people in Rome who know about these things.?
Click here for the No1 coverage of all the gossip and transfer news around Juventus.
Sports News: Injury concern for Sandro
Tottenham midfielder Sandro is a doubt for the start of the new season after suffering a knee injury while on international duty with Brazil.
Ex-Liverpool star Nicol excited about Man Utd meeting
New England Revolution coach Steve Nicol insists the entire squad is looking forward to Wednesday night?s meeting with Manchester United.
The former Liverpool defender leads his Revs side into battle against the 19-time English champions in a Herbalife World Football Challenge match at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough this week and he was definitely exciting at the pre-match press conference on Monday.
?For us, we're looking forward to the game immensely,? Nicol said. ?I know the players are. It will be a great experience for them to play against one of the best teams on the planet and some of the best players on the planet.
?It should be a great experience for our guys. Hopefully, we can do well and that will give us some confidence to take into the rest of the season.?
The Revs have not won in eight MLS matches and currently sit at the foot of the Eastern Conference table but will be looking for a big showing against the Red Devils in front of a strong home crowd.
Tottenham plan Keane, Bassong swap offer for Blackburn defender Samba
Arsenal
Blackburn Rovers
Tottenham
Tottenham are making a swap offer to Blackburn Rovers for defender Christopher Samba.
The Daily Mail says Spurs are ready to offer Sebastien Bassong and Robbie Keane as part of a deal for Samba.
Rovers do not want to sell the Congo defender but Samba, 27, wants to go and is concerned Arsenal were priced out of a bid by his �12million valuation.
Blackburn may consider a part-exchange deal but would rather not take older players with low sell-on value and thought Keane too pricey.
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Monday, July 11, 2011
FIFA whistleblower retracts all allegations
World Cup
The 'whistleblower' who made a number of claims about Qatar's 2022 World Cup bid has withdrawn the allegations in an email to FIFA.
Phaedra Al Majid, a former international media officer for Qatar 2022, said she fabricated the claims in revenge for losing her job.
FIFA said in a statement: "FIFA can confirm receipt of an email from a person claiming to have made allegations related to the Qatar 2022 bid process and now retracting these allegations."
Al Majid had named FIFA members Issa Hayatou, Jacques Anouma and Amos Adamu as having received bribes - and these claims were repeated in Parliament in a culture, media and sport select committee hearing.
FIFA added: "In a consistent and correct way, we have repeatedly said that FIFA would not be making any comments on allegations. This policy will continue.
"We have repeatedly said that FIFA can only act upon evidence. This policy will continue. When only allegations are made and no evidence is given, FIFA always stands firmly by its members."
Al Majid has sworn an affidavit saying she invented the allegations about the Qatar 2022 bid.
Alex / Birmingham rivals reach McLeish truce
Aston Villa have agreed to pay an undisclosed sum in compensation to Birmingham City over Alex McLeish's controversial defection.
Read more Alex news
Read more Alex news
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Sydney, Melbourne Victory alerted as Sunderland cut loose Fletcher
A-League
Melbourne Victory
Liverpool
Sydney
Sunderland
A-League clubs are ready to pounce after the release from Sunderland of Matthew Fletcher.
The talented centre-forward was cut loose by the Black Cats over the weekend after manager Steve Bruce added young strikers Connor Wickham and Ji Dong-won to his squad last week.
Fletcher is expected to attract lower league interest in England, though could return to Australia to kickoff his senior career.
The Australia U20 international, 19, was likened to Mark Viduka on Wearside and could interest hometown club Sydney FC for the coming A-League season.
Melbourne Victory have also been mentioned after their swoop for released Liverpool goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis, also a Sydney native.
Celtic?s Mjallby: Wanyama is like Desailly, Gallas
Celtic
Chelsea
Tottenham
Celtic assistant Johan Mjallby believes new signing Victor Wanyama has plenty of similarities to Chelsea great Marcel Desailly and Tottenham defender William Gallas.
The Hoops finally completed the capture of the 20-year old Kenya international from Belgian club Germinal Beerschot on the weekend and Mjallby can see him making his home in central defence even though he has played most of his football in midfield.
"I have seen flashes of him on video but haven't yet seen him live,? the Swede said.
"He looks a talented and strong boy. He's good on the ball and has this wee stroll about him, like a young Gallas or Desailly.
"Right now, he looks more to us like a central defender but he's versatile and the good thing is if we want to change the game we have options."
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Sunday, July 10, 2011
Report: Caleb King to enter NFL’s supplemental draft
In their press release confirming reports that Caleb King would be academically ineligible for the 2011 season, Georgia noted that the running back “indicated he will consider the options available to him before making a decision on his future plans.” Apparently, one of those options is not transferring to another school to continue his collegiate…
Manchester United Targets: The Red Devils Focus on Nasri or Sneijder
Sir Alex Ferguson continues his hunt for the team that will challenge Barcelona for European supremacy, thus far focusing on the quick and the young.
The raw but loaded with upside potential David de Gea was a shrewd choice for goalkeeper, as was the addition of the relentless and quick winger Ashley Young. But to compete at the highest level, Ferguson needs a creative playmaker who can pick apart the defenses of Europe’s top teams.
Alexis Sanchez was in his sights but the Chilean has made it clear the Camp Nou is the only place he’s interested in calling a new home. Another target, Tottenham’s Luka Modric, isn’t moving, according to boss Harry Redknapp, but if money changes his mind, Modric looks set for a move to Chelsea.
For Ferguson, that leaves two targets: Arsenal’s quick and talented playmaker, Sami Nasri, and Inter Milan’s creative star, Wesley Sneijder.
Rumors are circulating about the 23-year-old Nasri and whether Arsenal’s manager, Arsène Wenger, would be willing to sell him if Fábregas makes a move back to Barcelona. And according to The Telegraph, Samir Nasri is "set to demand a move to Manchester United when he meets Arsene Wenger."
Nasri is valued at around £25m by Arsenal, and while Wegner is arguably the most fiscally responsible Premier League manager, it’s unlikely he’s looking to help out a league rival.
The 26-year-old Sneijder is a more likely option for Manchester as Inter Milan looks to rebuild an aging team. The Dutchman will bring creativity higher up the field, something ManU badly needs. Last year Sneijder led the Italian league with completed passes in the final third of the field with 626.
Ferguson has let it be known that he’s a long-time admirer and Sneijder has said he wants the move. Everything seems to be lined up, including a record setting transfer fee for Manchester United.
The modern El Clasico is now between Barcelona and Manchester United and as Ferguson works to create a team that will challenge for European supremacy, football fans around the world can rejoice as strength and pace receive a much needed injection of midfield creativity.
Read more Manchester United news on BleacherReport.com
Aquilani says happy to return to Liverpool
Aquilani says happy to return to Liverpool
ROME, June 30 (Reuters) - Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani is looking forward to returning to Anfield after Juventus failed to take up the option to convert his season-long loan into a permanent deal.
The Italian playmaker, bought by Liverpool from AS Roma two seasons ago for an estimated 17 million pounds ($27 million), enjoyed one of his most productive seasons, playing more than 30 matches in the heart of the Bianconeri midfield.
But the Serie A side, who finished a disappointing campaign in seventh spot and failed to qualify for Europe next season, baulked at the 13 million pounds asking price set at the start of the loan period.
"I'm more than happy to go back to Liverpool," the 26-year-old Aquilani told Italian television's SkySport24 on Thursday.
"I'm going back to England feeling exactly the same as the first time with the same ambition. I've read that I don't want to go back, but that's not true. I came back to Italy for family reasons and to try and get back into the Italy team."
Juventus, who last week approved a 120 million euros ($170 million) capital increase, are instead likely to buy a striker to eventually replace Alessandro Del Piero, who will be pushing 38 when his new contract comes to an end next June.
In Thursday's other Serie A transfer news, Parma handed 35-year-old striker Hernan Crespo a 12-month contract extension, the club said on its website (www.fcparma.com), while Lazio have signed French defender Abdoulay Konko from Genoa.
The club announced the transfer on their website (www.sslazio.it) with the 27-year old, who is due to have a medical on Friday, set to take over the right-back berth vacated by Stephan Liechsteiner who moved to Juve earlier this week. ($1 = 0.626 British Pounds) ($1 = 0.705 Euros)
Leeds warn Swansea of Becchio price
Leeds United Swansea City Leeds United Swansea City Leeds United chairman Ken Bates will not sell their stars on the cheap.Swansea City are planning a 3m bid for Argentine striker Luciano Becchio.But Leeds chairman Bates said: “We have no intention of selling our top players unless the offer is so ridiculous it will enabl
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Stoke make offer for Chelsea striker Sturridge
Chelsea
Bolton Wanderers
Newcastle United
Stoke City
Stoke City have made a bid for Chelsea striker Danny Sturridge.
The Independent says Stoke have offered £6 million for the England U21 international.
Sturridge's uncle Simon, who scored 14 goals in 43 starts with Stoke in the mid-90s, could persuade the England under-21 striker his future lies in North Staffordshire.
Sturridge is also wanted by Bolton Wanderers and Newcastle United.
It's kicking off again! Click here for your No1 source for Chelsea transfer market news and gossip.
West Ham close to agreeing new deal with Collison
West Bromwich Albion
Jack Collison is in discussions over a new deal at Championship West Ham after being linked with a move elsewhere this summer.
However, reports suggest West Bromwich Albion have now expressed an interest in signing the midfielder.
Collison is aware of the transfer talk but is staying focused on trying to reach an accord with the Hammers.
"It's flattering but I'm in negotiations over a contract at the moment," he said in The Sun about the link to West Brom.
"Let's see how that goes."
Hibs: Season's Greeting
The Terrace Scottish Football Podcast are putting together a club-by-club of the Scottish football season just past.
The honour of wrestling with events at Easter Road fell to me.
This was another grim year for Hibs. The sun seems to rarely shine on Leith these days:
Grateful to hear your views on this one. Where do Hibs go from here? Is Colin Calderwood the right man for the job? Is the constant changing of managers just window dressing to cover the wider malaise?
It's going to be another interesting close season at Easter Road. The 2010/11 season was a nightmare.
Surely it can't happen again?
The honour of wrestling with events at Easter Road fell to me.
This was another grim year for Hibs. The sun seems to rarely shine on Leith these days:
"But any review of the 2010/11 season is a review of myriad failings over recent years. A club that enjoys revelling in its long term propserity off the pitch has been without structure or strategy on the field. Too many managers have come and gone, too many bad signings have been countenanced under an incoherent transfer policy, too many simmering resentments in the stands have gone ignored by the powers that be. The result of that was evident in every poor performance, every tame surrendering, every reduced attendance in this torrid season. The great solace is that Colin Calderwood seems aware of all this and confident in his own ability to bring about the changes needed."Read the full article here
Grateful to hear your views on this one. Where do Hibs go from here? Is Colin Calderwood the right man for the job? Is the constant changing of managers just window dressing to cover the wider malaise?
It's going to be another interesting close season at Easter Road. The 2010/11 season was a nightmare.
Surely it can't happen again?
More focus on youth, why we wont see much transfer activity and moving forward, quickly
The sun stopped yesterday, did you see it? It was the summer solstice so theoretically today we are a day closer to winter. Enjoy the summer while you can, every day is important.
Every day is also quite important for this transfer window - you see the number of players to the right that have already left us. Some of those need to be replaced but we are also led to believe from this manager that some of the younger players will get their chance. So don't be surprised if there is actually not that much activity this window.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Arsenal boss Wenger: No reason to buy for sake of it
Arsenal
Arsene Wenger
Manchester City
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger insists there is no way he will panic buy this summer.
Wenger certainly has funds available, with full-back Gael Clichy sold to Manchester City last week in a reported �7m deal.
However, the Gunners boss rejected suggestions he would buy just for the sake of it.
"If there were an obvious choice, people would have already made their decisions," Wenger said.
"Everybody needs the same players for the same positions. We are at the top level and therefore need exceptional quality to strengthen our side.
"I can understand that people say 'you have money, just go out and buy', but it's not only that, we want to find the quality we need."
Wenger also believes the failings of the final weeks of the last campaign can serve to inspire his men for the challenges ahead.
"I have said many times that we were very close to winning things last season, despite the disappointment we had at the end. I hope that provokes a response from my players," he added.
"We were so close this time we want to come back and achieve it.
"My responsibility is first of all not to lose players and then to add and make us stronger.
"Let's hope we can bring in one or two more additions of top quality."
It's kicking off again! Click here for your No1 source for Arsenal transfer market news and gossip.
Former Manchester City captain Doyle dies at 64
Former Manchester City captain Doyle dies at 64
Jun 28 (Reuters) - Former Manchester City and England international Mike Doyle has died aged 64 after being treated for liver failure, Manchester City said on Tuesday.
Doyle was part of the City team that won the English League title in 1968, the FA Cup in 1969, and the European Cup Winners Cup and League Cups in 1970.
He scored City's first goal in the 1970 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion and skippered their 1976 League Cup winning side against Newcastle United, their last major honour until they won the FA Cup last month against Stoke City.
He is the third member of City's successful team of that era to die in the past nine months following the deaths of coach Malcolm Allison last October and Neil Young, the scorer of the winning goal in the 1969 Cup final, in February.
Doyle, a midfielder or defender, played more than 550 times for City between 1962 and 1978 and also won five England caps.
After leaving City in 1978, he played for Stoke, Bolton Wanderers and Rochdale and retired in 1984 having played 627 matches in his career, scoring 42 goals.
In a brief initial statement on their website (www.mcfc.co.uk) ahead of a full obituary to be posted later, City said theye were "deeply saddened" by his death.
Petrov confident McLeish is right man for Villa
Aston Villa
Aston Villa skipper Stiliyan Petrov is of the belief that the club has done the right thing in appointing Alex McLeish as manager.
The Scottish tactician created headlines when he quit Second City rivals Birmingham to take the job at Villa Park but Petrov is happy with decision but has warned fans to give him time to settle into his new role.
"He needs to be given time because everybody deserves time," the Bulgarian midfielder told Sky Sports News.
"He will prove everybody wrong and that he is the right man for this job.
"He has the will to win every single game and he is a man who if he goes down, he will bounce back straight away.
"He will make the team that way and we need that after the disappointing season last year.
"I think he is the right man and if he is given time he will show that and prove everybody wrong."
Man City sign defender Clichy from Arsenal
Man City sign defender Clichy from Arsenal
LONDON, July 4 (Reuters) - Manchester City signed France left back Gael Clichy from Premier League rivals Arsenal on Monday in a deal British media reported to be worth around 7 million pounds ($11.2 million).
The 25-year-old defender underwent a medical before signing a four-year contract with big-spending City.
"I'm really happy to be joining such a great club," Clichy said on the Manchester City website (www.mcfc.co.uk).
"I hope I can add to the quality we already have here because we have a fantastic squad who I believe will continue to get better.
"I can't wait to get started and I think anything is possible with this team."
Clichy spent eight years at Arsenal and made 265 appearances for the North London club after joining from Cannes in 2003.
He has 10 caps for France and won the Premier League title with the Arsenal "Invincibles" team of 2003-04.
Clichy will compete for a place in the starting lineup with Serbian Aleksandar Kolarov who joined City for 19 million pounds last year. ($1 = 0.626 British Pounds)
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Birmingham City's parent company insist Carson Yeung charges 'do not relate' to the Championship club
The Championship club's controlling shareholder is to face five counts of money laundering in court next month, none of which involve the Blues, claim their parent company
SPL: Dubai Or Not Dubai
News filters through - from The Sun of all places - that the SPL's proposed winter break could be used to play a glamour cup competition in sunnier climes. Dubai and Flordia are mentioned.
Now it would be imprudent to discount the possibility that this is little more than a careless whisper leading a journalist to take a flight of fancy.
But with the SPL's ideas factory seemingly as bankrupt as Scottish Labour's election team who can tell?
I'm beginning to develop a complex, I'm so agin every idea coming from the SPL that I do wonder if it's me that is the problem.
Seriously though?
A glamour cup competition in Dubai? What's that all about.
A few things immediately spring to mind.
The nature of the winter break itself. The benefits of a break for the players will surely be lost if we bring them back earlier in the summer only to jet them off to play additional games during a period of rest and relaxation.
And if January in Scotland is too cold for "glamour" then why, instead of wintering elsewhere, does Scottish football not consider "summering" in Scotland?
Neil "Donkey" Doncaster the SPL's man with a dozen berated plans likes to talk of increased TV revenues. This is his default reply to almost any question.
He promises the moon. Alas he never convinces that he's got anything more than a papier-m�ch� space ship to get us there.
So the idea that a glamour tournament abroad would be timed to appeal to domestic TV audiences lacks cognisance of the broadcasting reality.
There's a reason Scottish football is designated TV football's graveyard shifts. We don't have audience appeal. We're the shabby looking Wimpy to English football's Fat Duck.
So we get Sky or ESPN on board. In return for 20 shillings and a loaf of mouldy bread they say "we'll show your groundbreaking, glamour cup competition in the footballing stronghold of Dubai or Florida. But we'll only show it in your normal TV slots."
That would lead to some odd kick off times. Kick off times hardly designed to allow players to return to these shores refreshed and raring to go.
And where would the fans fit into all this?
Fans who are railing against too many televised and too many games between the same sides are being told they can watch more televised games between the same teams.
It will be more glamorous though because it won't be in Scotland and you, the fans, the lumpen proletariat dragging the game down with your demands for quality, fair prices and consultation, won't be there.
I suppose this might just be the English Premier League's 39th game idea given a tartan spin. The SPL are blinded by what they see as the glamour and big bucks of England.
They consistently ignore English football's bloated, debt ridden underbelly, all of it underpinned by a very "old media" revenue model.
What we need are bold ideas. Bold ideas that the fans can relate to and that the fans want to be a part of.
In an odd interview during BBC Scotland's rather unsatisfying Bigotry, Bombs and Football documentary last night, Neil Doncaster was at pains to point out that the SPL sees clubs and their supporters as seperate entities.
Actually he doesn't see the fans at all. Or he sees them as nothing more as a hindrance to his brave new world.
What possible benefit does this latest plan have for fans? Where in this radical strategy for changing Scottish football are the ideas to give the fans more representation? Or the policies for ensuring fans pay a fair price for games?
They're absolutely nowhere. Because the SPL doesn't care. Scottish football doesn't care. Just ask the Kilmarnock fans how letdown they felt by their own board on Sunday.
There is, in Dubai, a monument to sporting hubris. An incomplete reminder of what happens when greed, arrogance and a failure to care about your core support lead you to chase ill conceived dreams.
The desert is in the process of reclaiming the only ten holes of a Tiger Woods designed golf course that were ever built.
Neil Doncaster might like to take a look round. And muse on how lonely failure can be.
Now it would be imprudent to discount the possibility that this is little more than a careless whisper leading a journalist to take a flight of fancy.
But with the SPL's ideas factory seemingly as bankrupt as Scottish Labour's election team who can tell?
I'm beginning to develop a complex, I'm so agin every idea coming from the SPL that I do wonder if it's me that is the problem.
Seriously though?
A glamour cup competition in Dubai? What's that all about.
A few things immediately spring to mind.
The nature of the winter break itself. The benefits of a break for the players will surely be lost if we bring them back earlier in the summer only to jet them off to play additional games during a period of rest and relaxation.
And if January in Scotland is too cold for "glamour" then why, instead of wintering elsewhere, does Scottish football not consider "summering" in Scotland?
Neil "Donkey" Doncaster the SPL's man with a dozen berated plans likes to talk of increased TV revenues. This is his default reply to almost any question.
He promises the moon. Alas he never convinces that he's got anything more than a papier-m�ch� space ship to get us there.
So the idea that a glamour tournament abroad would be timed to appeal to domestic TV audiences lacks cognisance of the broadcasting reality.
There's a reason Scottish football is designated TV football's graveyard shifts. We don't have audience appeal. We're the shabby looking Wimpy to English football's Fat Duck.
So we get Sky or ESPN on board. In return for 20 shillings and a loaf of mouldy bread they say "we'll show your groundbreaking, glamour cup competition in the footballing stronghold of Dubai or Florida. But we'll only show it in your normal TV slots."
That would lead to some odd kick off times. Kick off times hardly designed to allow players to return to these shores refreshed and raring to go.
And where would the fans fit into all this?
Fans who are railing against too many televised and too many games between the same sides are being told they can watch more televised games between the same teams.
It will be more glamorous though because it won't be in Scotland and you, the fans, the lumpen proletariat dragging the game down with your demands for quality, fair prices and consultation, won't be there.
I suppose this might just be the English Premier League's 39th game idea given a tartan spin. The SPL are blinded by what they see as the glamour and big bucks of England.
They consistently ignore English football's bloated, debt ridden underbelly, all of it underpinned by a very "old media" revenue model.
What we need are bold ideas. Bold ideas that the fans can relate to and that the fans want to be a part of.
In an odd interview during BBC Scotland's rather unsatisfying Bigotry, Bombs and Football documentary last night, Neil Doncaster was at pains to point out that the SPL sees clubs and their supporters as seperate entities.
Actually he doesn't see the fans at all. Or he sees them as nothing more as a hindrance to his brave new world.
What possible benefit does this latest plan have for fans? Where in this radical strategy for changing Scottish football are the ideas to give the fans more representation? Or the policies for ensuring fans pay a fair price for games?
They're absolutely nowhere. Because the SPL doesn't care. Scottish football doesn't care. Just ask the Kilmarnock fans how letdown they felt by their own board on Sunday.
There is, in Dubai, a monument to sporting hubris. An incomplete reminder of what happens when greed, arrogance and a failure to care about your core support lead you to chase ill conceived dreams.
The desert is in the process of reclaiming the only ten holes of a Tiger Woods designed golf course that were ever built.
Neil Doncaster might like to take a look round. And muse on how lonely failure can be.
Sports News: One dead, 16 hurt in roof collapse
One person has been killed and a further 16 have been injured after a section of the roof at FC Twente's De Grolsch Veste stadium in Enschede collapsed on Thursday afternoon.
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Huseklepp a certain option for Celtic
Celtic
Celtic manager Neil Lennon has indicated that the club is set to make another bid for Norwegian striker Erik Huseklepp.
The 26-year old was set to join the Hoops for �2million in January when he was at SK Brann but the deal fell through and Huseklepp ended up with Italian club Bari.
But following their relegation to Serie B, Huseklepp could again be on the move and Lennon says he is certainly an option for the Parkhead club.
"He's a player we liked the look of at the time," said Lennon. "Talks broke down because they wanted too much money.
"But it's a possibility given Bari's situation. He's just one of the options in the hat."
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Andrea Pirlo convinced he made right choice in leaving AC Milan as he aims to win titles with Juventus
The Italy international says that he is in Turin to win and suggests that he has no preference over which transfer target, Sergio Aguero or Giuseppe Rossi, arrives at the club
England and Scotland fail to splatter Blatter
Like EastEnders or Coronation Street going on a summer break to Spain, Blackpool or Ireland, the footballing soap opera has upped sticks for the summer.
A cast of thousands, a few suitably over the top villians, a couple of unlikely characters attempting to play the hero and subplots aplenty.
It's been fun and games at Fifa's navel gazing jamboree in Zurich this week. Sepp Blatter, revelling in winning an election against no other candidates, even went out of his way to show Tom Lehrer had greatly exaggerated the death of satire.
It hadn't died when Henry Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize after all. To prove it here was Blatter anointing Kissinger as the leading player in the committee charged with ridding Fifa of the stench of corruption that has smothered its reputation of late.
Who among us did not guess that this unwieldy organisation was corrupt, corrupt to the tips of its toes? And who didn't expect that Blatter, the man who has made the governing body rich, would get the support of world football's gravy train blazerati?
As chance would have it I was flicking through a a 1958 copy of Billy Wright's World of Soccer recently.
Billy, or his uncredited ghost writer, muses quite frequently on the international game:
What would he make of the 'world game' today? Reviled, discredited and run by a collection of thieves and bandits.
No doubt the English FA are this week proud that they are upholding the tradition Billy was so keen to celebrate.
Would we have heard a whimper from them if England had actually won the right to host the 2018 World Cup?
Seems to me the FA weren't so keen to blow the lid off Fifa's rotten core when the riches of the tournament were on offer. Not only were they prepared to dance with the devil, they were naive enough to think that waltzing with David Beckham, a Prime Minister and a future king would be enough to seal the deal.
That and the promise of the odd friendly, the sprinkling of riches brought by association with England's multi-millionaires being in its own way 30 pieces of silver in return for support.
Our very own SFA have been among the few nations prepared to back England's Axis of Virtue.
Little wonder they feel the right to preach the gospel of truth, fair play and transparency in this season of delight for Scottish football.
There is, of course, a different level to the corruption allegations currently being hurled at football's top table.
But a look at our own associations - the championing of an amateur management culture in a highly professional sport, the apparently effortless move through the ranks of people unsuited to the job - suggests that this level of incompetence writ large on a world stage was always likely to end up with the sorry mess that has unfolded recently.
It seems typical, in fact, that the SFA's principled stand has been pretty much ignored by what might laughably be called Fifa's leading lights who have chosen instead to concentrate their attacks on the English FA. We're now so marginalised that our dissent need not even be tackled.
There might still be time for reprisals though.
The most likely consequence, unless - and we shouldn't discount this possibility - bridges are cravenly built on both sides, is the loss of the Home Nations' key privileges.
England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales have enjoyed their own Fifa vice-president and powerful voices on the international FA board for over sixty years. That could soon come under threat.
That exalted position is often seen as a nod to our historical role in developing the game and exporting it to the world. In fact we were awarded special status to get us on board with the international game after World War Two. There's a history of Fifa giving and accepting "favours" that we've not always been afraid to use to our advantage.
There seems less risk to the independent footballing status of the four home nations. These recent controversies will now get wrapped up with the apparently never ending discussion of a joint British Olympic team.
But it seems to me that to act against the four countries would open up another deal of trouble for Blatter. It would undoubtedly drag Fifa into some sort of confrontation with Uefa and European football's top man, Michel Platini.
Platini has been name checked as the white knight to sort out this unholy football shambles. But he's left his steed in the stable.
Perhaps because he's playing a long game. A four year game that will end in the Fifa presidency in 2015. We'll see. Purer he might be but Platini, despite his protestations, is now a politician to his soul, every inch the strategist and courter of alliances that Blatter has been.
Certainly we have to conclude that neither Platini nor Blatter want to be trapped in a controversy over the fate of the English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish right now.
And there is another compelling reason for them to avoid that.
The same reason that the FA will stay exactly where they are, anguished, humiliated and beaten. But still part of Blatter's "football family."
Expulsions or breakaways would destabilise world football. That would create a power vacuum.
It's likely that certain club sides would move quickly to fill that vacuum, grab it eagerly while Platini, author of financial fair play regulations, and Blatter, holder of the key to global riches, are distracted. Whatever else Blatter might be, we have to surmise that he did not haul himself from PR supremo of a minor Swiss tourist resort to the dictator of world football by being a complete fool.
In his last stretch as president, in his mid seventies, his thoughts must surely turn to salvaging a legacy. The idea of being the man who killed international football will not appeal.
Will anything change in the next four years? Probably very little.
But this current crisis has been years, decades, in the making. The recent outrage, the scrabbling to screech from the moral highground, has been badly timed, ill prepared and poorly executed.
However honourable the intention it seems to have only entrenched the current regime and will now almost certainly lead to Fifa's own investigation being an act of Blatter-ist cosmetics.
Cackhanded and ineffectual. It wouldn't require much of a TV scriptwriter to work out exactly this story arc the moment the English and Scottish assocations got together as an inglorious crime fighting duo.
A cast of thousands, a few suitably over the top villians, a couple of unlikely characters attempting to play the hero and subplots aplenty.
It's been fun and games at Fifa's navel gazing jamboree in Zurich this week. Sepp Blatter, revelling in winning an election against no other candidates, even went out of his way to show Tom Lehrer had greatly exaggerated the death of satire.
It hadn't died when Henry Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize after all. To prove it here was Blatter anointing Kissinger as the leading player in the committee charged with ridding Fifa of the stench of corruption that has smothered its reputation of late.
Who among us did not guess that this unwieldy organisation was corrupt, corrupt to the tips of its toes? And who didn't expect that Blatter, the man who has made the governing body rich, would get the support of world football's gravy train blazerati?
As chance would have it I was flicking through a a 1958 copy of Billy Wright's World of Soccer recently.
Billy, or his uncredited ghost writer, muses quite frequently on the international game:
"Football is now the 'World Game.' After playing soccer, too, in forty countries, I also realise that it has become an international language; a language of friendship and goodwill.
"I've be lucky in going on tour with England to so many places - especially to South America... - but above all else I'm proud to have so often been a member of the Football Association Party. The FA, you see, stands for all that is good in world sport. It has set a standard which others have in every way been proud to follow..."
What would he make of the 'world game' today? Reviled, discredited and run by a collection of thieves and bandits.
No doubt the English FA are this week proud that they are upholding the tradition Billy was so keen to celebrate.
Would we have heard a whimper from them if England had actually won the right to host the 2018 World Cup?
Seems to me the FA weren't so keen to blow the lid off Fifa's rotten core when the riches of the tournament were on offer. Not only were they prepared to dance with the devil, they were naive enough to think that waltzing with David Beckham, a Prime Minister and a future king would be enough to seal the deal.
That and the promise of the odd friendly, the sprinkling of riches brought by association with England's multi-millionaires being in its own way 30 pieces of silver in return for support.
Our very own SFA have been among the few nations prepared to back England's Axis of Virtue.
Little wonder they feel the right to preach the gospel of truth, fair play and transparency in this season of delight for Scottish football.
There is, of course, a different level to the corruption allegations currently being hurled at football's top table.
But a look at our own associations - the championing of an amateur management culture in a highly professional sport, the apparently effortless move through the ranks of people unsuited to the job - suggests that this level of incompetence writ large on a world stage was always likely to end up with the sorry mess that has unfolded recently.
It seems typical, in fact, that the SFA's principled stand has been pretty much ignored by what might laughably be called Fifa's leading lights who have chosen instead to concentrate their attacks on the English FA. We're now so marginalised that our dissent need not even be tackled.
There might still be time for reprisals though.
The most likely consequence, unless - and we shouldn't discount this possibility - bridges are cravenly built on both sides, is the loss of the Home Nations' key privileges.
England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales have enjoyed their own Fifa vice-president and powerful voices on the international FA board for over sixty years. That could soon come under threat.
That exalted position is often seen as a nod to our historical role in developing the game and exporting it to the world. In fact we were awarded special status to get us on board with the international game after World War Two. There's a history of Fifa giving and accepting "favours" that we've not always been afraid to use to our advantage.
There seems less risk to the independent footballing status of the four home nations. These recent controversies will now get wrapped up with the apparently never ending discussion of a joint British Olympic team.
But it seems to me that to act against the four countries would open up another deal of trouble for Blatter. It would undoubtedly drag Fifa into some sort of confrontation with Uefa and European football's top man, Michel Platini.
Platini has been name checked as the white knight to sort out this unholy football shambles. But he's left his steed in the stable.
Perhaps because he's playing a long game. A four year game that will end in the Fifa presidency in 2015. We'll see. Purer he might be but Platini, despite his protestations, is now a politician to his soul, every inch the strategist and courter of alliances that Blatter has been.
Certainly we have to conclude that neither Platini nor Blatter want to be trapped in a controversy over the fate of the English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish right now.
And there is another compelling reason for them to avoid that.
The same reason that the FA will stay exactly where they are, anguished, humiliated and beaten. But still part of Blatter's "football family."
Expulsions or breakaways would destabilise world football. That would create a power vacuum.
It's likely that certain club sides would move quickly to fill that vacuum, grab it eagerly while Platini, author of financial fair play regulations, and Blatter, holder of the key to global riches, are distracted. Whatever else Blatter might be, we have to surmise that he did not haul himself from PR supremo of a minor Swiss tourist resort to the dictator of world football by being a complete fool.
In his last stretch as president, in his mid seventies, his thoughts must surely turn to salvaging a legacy. The idea of being the man who killed international football will not appeal.
Will anything change in the next four years? Probably very little.
But this current crisis has been years, decades, in the making. The recent outrage, the scrabbling to screech from the moral highground, has been badly timed, ill prepared and poorly executed.
However honourable the intention it seems to have only entrenched the current regime and will now almost certainly lead to Fifa's own investigation being an act of Blatter-ist cosmetics.
Cackhanded and ineffectual. It wouldn't require much of a TV scriptwriter to work out exactly this story arc the moment the English and Scottish assocations got together as an inglorious crime fighting duo.
Sports News: Schaefer: Khan may face Floyd
WBA light-welterweight champion Amir Khan is on a collision course for a bout with Floyd Mayweather late next year, according to Golden Boy Promotions chief executive Richard Schaefer.
Pavlyuchenko convinced Tottenham can make top four tilt
Chelsea
Manchester United
Tottenham
Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko is convinced they can finish in the top four next season.
Pavlyuchenko admitted last season's fifth-place finish was a failure, but is backing his team-mates to bounce back when the new campaign kicks off next month.
"Last season we took a step back," said the 29-year-old. "We didn't complete the task of finishing in the top four.
"If we hadn't lost so many points at the end we could have fought for a place in the top three.
"Next year I think we really will be in the top three. Tottenham are a very strong team with excellent players.
"It's too early to fight for first or second - Chelsea and Manchester United are a level above - but for the past two seasons we've fought as equals with Man City and Arsenal."
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
West Ham vow legal action over Olympic report
West Ham vow legal action over Olympic report
LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - English soccer club West Ham United plans to sue the Sunday Times newspaper and Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur over allegations of corruption during its successful bid to take over the Olympic stadium.
West Ham, relegated from the Premier League at the end of last season, was awarded the right last February to move to the new stadium in east London after the 2012 games, beating city rivals Tottenham in the process.
A report in the Sunday Times claimed that secret payments had been made to an executive on the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC), the body which unanimously made the decision, during the selection process.
"The suggestion of 'secret cash' in the Sunday Times article is absolutely and categorically denied," West Ham said in a statement on its website.
"As such, legal action is being taken against the Sunday Times, as well as Tottenham Hotspur."
The paper said the executive, Dionne Knight, had been paid 20,000 pounds ($31,970) before and after the decision was made. West Ham said Knight's work was in relation to the procurement of a construction partner after the Olympics.
On Friday, the OPLC confirmed one of its employees had been suspended for undertaking paid consultancy work for the soccer club without permission.
RETAIN TRACK
"This individual had no involvement whatsoever in our stadium process," the OPLC said.
"The individual concerned had declared a personal relationship with an employee of West Ham United FC when she joined the organisation and we therefore put robust measures in place to ensure our Stadium process was not compromised."
West Ham plans to retain the athletics track in the 500 million pound arena, with capacity reduced to 60,000 from 80,000 for the 2012 Games, and to move in for the 2014-15 season.
Last week, Tottenham, which planned to remove the track and build a new purpose-built soccer stadium, applied to the High Court in London to continue their battle for a judicial review into the decision to award the stadium to West Ham.
The court has previously rejected legal moves from both Tottenham and Leyton Orient, a third-tier club based near the stadium in east London.
West Ham said it was certain of the "robustness" of its bid.
"The OPLC has confirmed that Ms Knight had absolutely no involvement in the bidding process and we repeat that secret cash was not paid to her," its statement said.
"Her work was very transparent and the bidding process was never compromised."
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Scottish Junior Cup: Musselburgh Hope Honest Toil Prevails
Scottish Junior Cup final day.
A chance for the lesser lights of our great game to shine.
I'm no expert on the Junior game (I'm not an expert on much) but geographical reasons make the chance to bandwagon jump on this one too hard to resist.
Today Musselburgh Athletic play Auchinleck Talbot. Musselburgh lies pretty much in the middle of where I live now and where I grew up.
My own geographic loyalties would probably lie with Preston Athletic - another venerable non league side from the area - but its been hard to ignore the cup fever.
The East Lothian Courier has billed it as the "the biggest football match involving an East Lothian team for a generation" and it has the classic elements of the underdog planning a coup, the David marching into battle with Goliath.
Auchinleck might be a small place but its football team are Junior cup giants. They've done more than puch above their weight in this tournament. They are the most successful side in its history. Craig Anderson does an excellent job of profiling the reasons for this on the STV Sport website.
So Musselburgh - who were battling East Superleague relegation as Auchinleck missed out to Irvine Meadow for the West Superleague title - will not be highly fancied today.
You've got to go back 50 years for an East Lothian winner of the cup. Before that victory by Dunbar Lothian there was a win back in 1923 for Musselburgh Bruntonians, predecessors of today's Athletic.
They've got the backing of the town - the Honest Toun - and the local press, Courier, East Lothian News and Edinburgh Evening News et al, are cheering on their every step.
At least one interested observer believes they've got a chance. John McGlynn, manager of Raith Rovers, is brother of Athletic's chairman Charlie and uncle of manager Davie. McGlynn himself played for the club:
"Reaching the cup final must have been a pipe dream at the start of the season but with each victory the belief starts to kick in that you're going to win. I think Musselburgh is going to be a ghost town because so many fans are travelling." (Courier)
Estimates of that support stretch between 2000 and 5000 fans making the trip to Rugby Park.
The game seems to caught imaginations, created the feel good factor that football - at every level - is so uniquely well placed to build.
Can they do it?
It's going to be tough. On their road to the final they scored over 20 goals and conceded only three. That breeds confidence.
Auchinleck Talbot remain a mighty obstacle to overcome though.
It will be a hell of a party on the banks of the Esk if they can pull it off.
A chance for the lesser lights of our great game to shine.
I'm no expert on the Junior game (I'm not an expert on much) but geographical reasons make the chance to bandwagon jump on this one too hard to resist.
Today Musselburgh Athletic play Auchinleck Talbot. Musselburgh lies pretty much in the middle of where I live now and where I grew up.
My own geographic loyalties would probably lie with Preston Athletic - another venerable non league side from the area - but its been hard to ignore the cup fever.
The East Lothian Courier has billed it as the "the biggest football match involving an East Lothian team for a generation" and it has the classic elements of the underdog planning a coup, the David marching into battle with Goliath.
Auchinleck might be a small place but its football team are Junior cup giants. They've done more than puch above their weight in this tournament. They are the most successful side in its history. Craig Anderson does an excellent job of profiling the reasons for this on the STV Sport website.
So Musselburgh - who were battling East Superleague relegation as Auchinleck missed out to Irvine Meadow for the West Superleague title - will not be highly fancied today.
You've got to go back 50 years for an East Lothian winner of the cup. Before that victory by Dunbar Lothian there was a win back in 1923 for Musselburgh Bruntonians, predecessors of today's Athletic.
They've got the backing of the town - the Honest Toun - and the local press, Courier, East Lothian News and Edinburgh Evening News et al, are cheering on their every step.
At least one interested observer believes they've got a chance. John McGlynn, manager of Raith Rovers, is brother of Athletic's chairman Charlie and uncle of manager Davie. McGlynn himself played for the club:
"Reaching the cup final must have been a pipe dream at the start of the season but with each victory the belief starts to kick in that you're going to win. I think Musselburgh is going to be a ghost town because so many fans are travelling." (Courier)
Estimates of that support stretch between 2000 and 5000 fans making the trip to Rugby Park.
The game seems to caught imaginations, created the feel good factor that football - at every level - is so uniquely well placed to build.
Can they do it?
It's going to be tough. On their road to the final they scored over 20 goals and conceded only three. That breeds confidence.
Auchinleck Talbot remain a mighty obstacle to overcome though.
It will be a hell of a party on the banks of the Esk if they can pull it off.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Sunderland continue summer spending with South Korea's Ji
Sunderland continue summer spending with South Korea's Ji
LONDON, June 30 (Reuters) - Sunderland continued their close-season recruitment by announcing the signing of South Korea international Ji Dong-won for an undisclosed fee on Thursday.
The Premier League club said in a statement that the 20-year-old striker, who joins from K-League side Chunnam Dragons, had signed a three-year contract.
South Korean media has estimated the fee at around 3.8 billion Korean won ($3.5 million).
Ji has scored six goals in 11 games for his country and is Sunderland's second striker signing in two days after Connor Wickham joined from Ipswich Town on Wednesday.
Carlos Tevez confirms his desire to leave Manchester City this summer
The striker reiterates that he wants to leave the Eastlands club and cites the "difficult circumstances" in regards to his family being based in Argentina as a primary reason
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Manchester United: Has Wayne Rooney Played His Last Game with Red Devils?
During yet another exhilarating transfer season, speculation about many of the world's great players is inevitable. However, there is much more than just pure speculation that Rooney is on his way out of Manchester.
Earlier this season, Rooney indicated that he was not interested in pursuing a future with United. This exposed several undesirable traits.
For one, he is clearly not interested in the overall well-being of his team. As we have seen with several of the Real Madrid teams over the past decade, team chemistry is essential to overall prosperity.
This also further exposed his thuggish behavior. Throughout his entire career he has been a poor sport with a short temper.
It seems that United has finally become fed up with his childish antics and is ready for a change. The two most notable suitors are Liverpool and Manchester City since both clubs have the purchasing power. Moreover, he would be an ideal fit for both squads.
These moves would also benefit Rooney for a couple reasons. For one, he would be close to home, which would allow for quicker assimilation into the clubs. Additionally, he would be familiar with the competition which would also allow for instant success. Finally, a change in scenery would likely motivate Rooney to return to his once dominant form.
Now, I do realize that many United fans may think that this a poor move, but just think about it. He would bring in nearly £60 to spend elsewhere. Also, his value is as high as it will ever be.
It is safe to say that his production is simply going to slip from here on out. Just look at his production from the last two seasons. His goal total dropped from 34 in 2009 to 16 in 2010. The classic "Super Rooney" is simply a memory of the past.
So the solution is simple, and Alex Ferguson is well aware of this; sell Rooney and bring in another budding star to accompany Chicharito.
Furthermore, United will never be able to defeat Barcelona for a Champions League title with Rooney leading the squad. It may seem impractical, but it is necessary to part with a star to achieve future greatness.
Greatness is not second place. As long as Barcelona is in form, Rooney will not again achieve greatness. And really, who enjoys second place?
Read more Manchester United news on BleacherReport.com
Sergio / Juventus try again for Man City striker Tevez after Aguero snub
Juventus are set to make a new bid for Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez.
Tuttosport says Juve are planning to move for Tevez with No1 strike-target Sergio Aguero set to join Real Madrid.
Juve were convinced they had a deal for the Atletico Madrid star, only for it to emerge over the weekend that El Kun was ready to join Real after the Copa America.
Despite the lack of Champions League football, Juve are confident convincing Tevez about moving to Turin.
Like at West Ham United and City, Juve believe competing in Europe's elite competition will not be a factor for Tevez - and his personal demands are actually LESS than what Aguero was seeking
Read more Sergio news
Tuttosport says Juve are planning to move for Tevez with No1 strike-target Sergio Aguero set to join Real Madrid.
Juve were convinced they had a deal for the Atletico Madrid star, only for it to emerge over the weekend that El Kun was ready to join Real after the Copa America.
Despite the lack of Champions League football, Juve are confident convincing Tevez about moving to Turin.
Like at West Ham United and City, Juve believe competing in Europe's elite competition will not be a factor for Tevez - and his personal demands are actually LESS than what Aguero was seeking
Read more Sergio news
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Qatar 2022: Cloudy With A Chance Of Shade
I remember, way back when I was little, making “clouds” in school for a science experiment.
They didn’t cost $500,000 a puff. Very little does, unless an anti-doping agency is knocking for the ominous post-game pee test.
Of course, they weren’t trying to save a World Cup, either, which is what Qatari scientists have offered as yet [...]
They didn’t cost $500,000 a puff. Very little does, unless an anti-doping agency is knocking for the ominous post-game pee test.
Of course, they weren’t trying to save a World Cup, either, which is what Qatari scientists have offered as yet [...]
Cesc Fabregas / Arsenal braced to finally lose key pair Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri
Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri expected to inform manager Arsene Wenger that they want to leave club.
Read more Cesc Fabregas news
Read more Cesc Fabregas news
West Ham take on newspaper and Tottenham over Olympic Stadium allegations
Tottenham
West Ham are to take legal action against Tottenham and The Sunday Times over allegations made about the Olympic Stadium bid.
The Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) board, in charge of securing the future of the Olympic Park site, voted 14-0 in February to make the Hammers the first choice to move into the �486million stadium.
In a statement released on their website, the club announced: 'West Ham United can confirm the club are taking legal action in relation to allegations made in today's Sunday Times.
'We are certain of the robustness of our successful bid for the Olympic Stadium. The newspaper's statement that Tottenham Hotspur employed the investigators who obtained private information illegally is one we are treating with the utmost seriousness and no doubt data protection and prosecution agencies may also do so.
'The only wrongdoing here is by those who have broken the law and obtained private information. It would appear that no stone has gone unturned trying to find a way to undermine our bid including apparently targeting the 14 Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) Board members who had voted unanimously on the bid in our favour.
'The suggestion of 'secret cash' in the Sunday Times article is absolutely and categorically denied. As such, legal action is being taken against the Sunday Times, as well as Tottenham Hotspur.'
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Hart praise for Chelsea boss Villas-Boas: He proved himself at Academica
Chelsea Paul Hart is happy to see Andre Villas-Boas land the Chelsea job.Hart, now director of the Charlton academy, were looking for an overseas study visit as part of their UEFA Pro Licences.Hart recalled to the Sunday Mirror: “Andre was working on a tight budget at Academica, where his challenge was to keep them in the Portuguese top flight. His team just escaped relegation, which was a success.“We had some good chats. He came over as a
Manchester United agree deal for Spanish keeper De Gea
Manchester United agree deal for Spanish keeper De Gea
MANCHESTER, England, June 29 (Reuters) - Manchester United have agreed to sign Spain under-21 goalkeeper David De Gea from Atletico Madrid on a five-year contract, the Premier League champions said on Wednesday.
United, seeking to replace retired keeper Edwin Van der Sar, did not provide details of the transfer fee but local media has estimated it to be around 18 million pounds ($29 million).
The club said the 20-year-old had passed a medical this week.
De Gea, who came through the youth ranks at Atletico before making his La Liga debut in 2009, arrives at Old Trafford fresh from helping Spain to win the Euro Under-21 championship in Denmark last week.
He will be United's third signing since the end of the season as the champions have led the way in spending, having brought in defender Phil Jones and forward Ashley Young in a close season spree reported to be close to 50 million pounds.
United manager Alex Ferguson, who has spoken previously of the desire to sign an adequate replacement for Van der Sar in good time, targeted one of the continent's best young goalkeeping talents in De Gea.
When Danish goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel quit Old Trafford in 1999 the club struggled for six years to sign someone of a similar calibre, eventually settling on Van der Sar having passed up the chance to snap him up from Ajax years earlier.
Knowing the Dutchman planned to retire at the end of last season, when United won a record 19th English league title, Ferguson learnt from past mistakes and had already begun preparing for his top keeper's departure.
He signed 27-year-old Dane Anders Lindegaard last November and De Gea will now compete with him and Van der Sar's previous deputy Tomasz Kuszscak for the number one spot between the posts.
($1 = 0.626 British Pounds)
Lorient : Regain d?int�r�t pour Mareque
Lucas Mareque, le lat�ral gauche de l�Independiente de Avellaneda, est toujours suivi de tr�s pr�s par Lorient
Villas-Boas keen to escape Mourinho's Chelsea shadow
Villas-Boas keen to escape Mourinho's Chelsea shadow
LONDON, June 29 (Reuters) - Andre Villas-Boas knows comparisons with Jose Mourinho are inevitable but he was quick to distance himself from his former boss during his first news conference as Chelsea manager on Wednesday.
The pair are Portuguese, both used to coach Porto, claim late England manager Bobby Robson as an inspiration and have enjoyed huge early successes before moving to Stamford Bridge.
Villas-Boas however can escape Mourinho's shadow by doing something the 'Special One' did not do at Chelsea -- win the Champions League.
He also offered a more humble assessment of himself than Mourinho did when he arrived in west London in 2004.
While Mourinho, who had just won the Champions League with Porto, described himself the 'Special One' on his arrival, Villas-Boas took a more inclusive approach, saying he was the 'Group One' when asked what tag he would like.
He added: "I will wait for you guys to give me my title when I am successful.
"This is not a one-man show, this is about creating empathy, motivations and ambitions in everybody. Not only the players but the staff that surround me and everyone in this organisation.
"Maybe I should be called the 'Group One' as I want to group people together and be successful. I am just one gear in this big club," said Villas-Boas who succeeded Carlo Ancelotti earlier this month.
Villas-Boas, who is only 33 and was one of Mourinho's backroom staff at Chelsea until they left in 2007, said he had not spoken to the Real Madrid coach about his new job.
"We are two busy people in this football world," he said before adding he expected to be compared to his former mentor especially as Mourinho did so well at Chelsea, winning two Premier League titles.
Asked if he would like to go through a news conference without Mourinho's name being mentioned, he said: "It would be wrong of you not to".
IMAGINARY CHAIR
Pulling up an imaginary chair, he added: "It's like he's sitting here next to me, that he is here. He is part of the history of this club".
Villas-Boas, though, knows he will be judged on what he himself does and in a long 70-minute conference he suggested there would be exciting times ahead at the Bridge where he has become the seventh manager in eight years.
"We need to be up there at the top from the very beginning, winning every week and challenging for the title," said the Portuguese.
"It's not just a question of taking on Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United but Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham and Liverpool, there are a lot of good clubs in the Premier League.
"It is not one man against the other, it's about trying to build something that can make us powerful and help us threaten for the title. The expectations at this club are at the maximum, we have to challenge for trophies.
"The advantage we have at Chelsea is we are able to move in the transfer market for the best players in the world and that's what we will do."
Villas-Boas said it was important Chelsea played the game the right way.
"It's not just a case of winning, it's about winning with flair," he explained.
"Everyone likes attacking football. It should be an entertaining game for the fans."
Villas-Boas has had a mercurial rise since starting as a junior coach when he was 17 and being given advice by former England manager Robson.
The Portuguese later coached the British Virgin Islands and worked with Mourinho at Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan before going home to take charge of Academica and Porto -- the club he steered to the league, cup and Europa League treble last season.
The stakes at Chelsea are higher with billionaire Russian owner Roman Abramovich determined to win the one trophy that has so far eluded him -- the Champions League.
"I know if I am not successful I will not expect to stay in the job," said Villas-Boas.
"It was not about the money. I can assure you Porto were able to beat Chelsea's offer.
"I took the Chelsea offer against the will of my family. I just felt inside this was the right challenge and the right opportunity."
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Friday, July 1, 2011
Stevenage 1-0 Torquay United | League Two play-off final match report
The path they are taking may be an ugly one but there can be no denying the momentous nature of Stevenage's journey. With this narrow victory over Torquay in the League Two play-off final, the club have reached English football's third tier for the first time. The men from the new town are in new territory.
But for all the joy of a blustery afternoon in Manchester, Stevenage are unlikely to make many friends in League One next year. This, after all, is a team cultivating a reputation for playing in a direct, relentless manner. They were at it again here but having already accused his critics of "jealousy", Graham Westley, the Stevenage manager, is hardly likely to care about the flak that comes his way having achieved this success on the back of winning the Blue Square Premier League title last season.
"A league championship is special but going up by winning a play-off final is a great feeling," said Westley, who in his second spell in charge of Stevenage has also led the club to the 2009 FA Trophy and, earlier this season, to a third-round FA Cup victory over Newcastle United. "I anticipated we could do this [at the start of the season], I knew it wouldn't be easy, it was always going to be a big jump going from promotion to the Football League to what we've achieved today, but the players have kept their confidence, kept their work ethic and spirit, and shown what those things can give you."
Most teams in League Two will be glad to see the back of Stevenage, who have been dubbed the Stoke City of that division, but any unpopularity they garnered should be tempered by a respect for the rapidity of their rise. The club was formed in 1976 and having worked it's way through the non-league ladder, were denied promotion to the Football League after winning the 1996 Conference title due to the inadequate nature of their home stadium, Broadhall Way. They finally made it up last year and have excelled in their first season in the fourth-tier, winning the play-offs on the back of the best defence in the division, conceding just 45 goals.
It has been in attack where Westley's men have struggled ? they were the league's sixth-placed side but only its 11th-highest scorers, with 62 goals ? making the contribution of John Mousinho telling. The midfielder arrived from Wycombe last summer and has ended the campaign as Stevenage's top scorer with eight goals, the last of which sent his team-mates into raptures here.
Running on to a through pass from Darius Charles, this game's outstanding performer, the 25-year-old thrashed a low drive into the corner of the net from long-range. The strike was a reward for the urgency Stevenage had shown from kick-off ? which was delayed by 15 minutes due to an accident on the M6 that caused some of the sparse 11,484 crowd to arrive late to this venue ? and was to prove decisive for the men from Hertfordshire. They can now look forward to trips to such teams as Sheffield Wednesday and Preston.
"We know next season is going to be tough but we beat MK Dons in the FA Cup earlier this season and they ended up as a play-off side in League One. So the lads have shown what they can do against top sides in that division," Westley said. "We're not underestimating the challenge ahead, but we're not fearful of it."
For Torquay, who finished one place and one point behind Stevenage, there will be regrets at the placidity of their performance here. Paul Buckle's men had not lost any of their previous meetings against their play-off final opponents but failed to assert themselves here until the second half. Their best chance of equalising came on 76 minutes, when Billy Kee smashed the bar with a long-range drive. More chances came the way of the men from Devon but no breakthrough.
"We coped with Stevenage's power and strength but we just couldn't find that finish," said Buckle, who has been linked with a move to Bristol Rovers and will announce a decision on his future on Monday. "But I'm proud of the team, it's remarkable for them to go from finishing 17th last season to the play-off final this year."
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Champions League Test
Roped once more into acting as question setter as a local hostelry puts on a themed quiz.
Tonight's theme is Edward Gibbon's The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
No, I jest.
It's the Champions League as Barcelona and Manchester United go head to head in the final.
15 questions on each team. I think this one is a bit easy but see how you get on.
Want to do it for real?
Send in your answers.
Top entry received by next Saturday at noon will win a second hand copy of Martin Waddell's Napper Goes for Goal.
Cosmic.
1. Who did Manchester United beat in the semi final of the 1968 European Cup?
2. United beat Benfica in the 1968 European Cup final, at what stadium was the game played?
3. Who finished this season as Manchester United's top scorer in the league?
4. Sir Matt Busby only played for one professional side in Scotland, who were they?
5. Who scored the goals when Manchester United won the 1999 Champions League?
6. How many English league titles have United won since Alex Ferguson became manager?
7. What was the aggregate score in Manchester United's semi-final over Schalke this season?
8. Jim Leighton was dropped before the 1990 FA Cup replay. Which goalkeeper replaced him?
9. Who is Manchester United's top scorer in this season's Champions League?
10. In 1966 George Best scored two goals in a European Cup quarter final match against which team?
11. Which player has been Manchester United's first choice captain this season?
12. In what season did Ryan Giggs make his Manchester United debut?
13. Ryan Giggs has made more appearances for Manchester United than any other player. Which player has made the second most appearances for the club?
14. Which famous United striker missed out on the 1968 European Cup final with a knee injury?
15. Who scored United's goal in the 2008 Champions League final against Chelsea?
1. Which Barcelona player is this season's top scorer in the Champions League?
2. Barcelona won their first European Cup in 1992. Who was their manager?
3. At which stadium did Barcelona win their first European Cup in 1992?
4. Including this year, how many Spanish league titles have Barcelona won in a row?
5. Two of Barcelona's current squad have made over 500 appearances for the club. Name them.
6. In 2009 Barcelona broke their transfer record to sign which player?
7. Barcelona played Hibs in the 1960/61 Fairs Cup. What was the aggregate score?
8. In final of the 2008/09 Champions League Barcelona beat Manchester United 2-0. Which players scored the goals?
9. Which club are Barcelona's local derby rivals?
10. Who was the last English manager of Barcelona?
11. In 1986 Barcelona signed which Manchester United player?
12. Which current Barcelona defender began his professional career at Manchester United?
13. Who did current boss Pep Guardiola replace as Barcelona manager?
14. What nationality is Barcelona full back Dani Alves?
15. Lionel Messi has made 54 appearances in all competitions for Barcelona this season. How many goals has he scored so far?
Tonight's theme is Edward Gibbon's The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
No, I jest.
It's the Champions League as Barcelona and Manchester United go head to head in the final.
15 questions on each team. I think this one is a bit easy but see how you get on.
Want to do it for real?
Send in your answers.
Top entry received by next Saturday at noon will win a second hand copy of Martin Waddell's Napper Goes for Goal.
Cosmic.
Manchester United
1. Who did Manchester United beat in the semi final of the 1968 European Cup?
2. United beat Benfica in the 1968 European Cup final, at what stadium was the game played?
3. Who finished this season as Manchester United's top scorer in the league?
4. Sir Matt Busby only played for one professional side in Scotland, who were they?
5. Who scored the goals when Manchester United won the 1999 Champions League?
6. How many English league titles have United won since Alex Ferguson became manager?
7. What was the aggregate score in Manchester United's semi-final over Schalke this season?
8. Jim Leighton was dropped before the 1990 FA Cup replay. Which goalkeeper replaced him?
9. Who is Manchester United's top scorer in this season's Champions League?
10. In 1966 George Best scored two goals in a European Cup quarter final match against which team?
11. Which player has been Manchester United's first choice captain this season?
12. In what season did Ryan Giggs make his Manchester United debut?
13. Ryan Giggs has made more appearances for Manchester United than any other player. Which player has made the second most appearances for the club?
14. Which famous United striker missed out on the 1968 European Cup final with a knee injury?
15. Who scored United's goal in the 2008 Champions League final against Chelsea?
Barcelona
1. Which Barcelona player is this season's top scorer in the Champions League?
2. Barcelona won their first European Cup in 1992. Who was their manager?
3. At which stadium did Barcelona win their first European Cup in 1992?
4. Including this year, how many Spanish league titles have Barcelona won in a row?
5. Two of Barcelona's current squad have made over 500 appearances for the club. Name them.
6. In 2009 Barcelona broke their transfer record to sign which player?
7. Barcelona played Hibs in the 1960/61 Fairs Cup. What was the aggregate score?
8. In final of the 2008/09 Champions League Barcelona beat Manchester United 2-0. Which players scored the goals?
9. Which club are Barcelona's local derby rivals?
10. Who was the last English manager of Barcelona?
11. In 1986 Barcelona signed which Manchester United player?
12. Which current Barcelona defender began his professional career at Manchester United?
13. Who did current boss Pep Guardiola replace as Barcelona manager?
14. What nationality is Barcelona full back Dani Alves?
15. Lionel Messi has made 54 appearances in all competitions for Barcelona this season. How many goals has he scored so far?
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