Jom Football

Manchester United to return to Serbia for players?

2009-01-03T12:43:00.001-08:00

In amongst the hundreds and hundreds of transfer rumours around at the moment, this one stood out for me as being of some interest.

The Times reports that Manchester United look set to finalise the £16.3 million deal to bring Serbian duo Zoran Tosic and Adem Ljajic from Partizan Belgrade to Old Trafford.

I know little about these two players. Zoran Tosic is a twenty-one year old winger and Adem Ljajic is a seventeen year old attacking midfielder.

The last Serbian I knew little about to arrive at Manchester United was Nemanja Vidic and he hasn’t turned out too badly!

Anyone know much about these two? Would they be likely to have as big an impact as their fellow countryman has?

(Source - The Times)

Gerrard leads Liverpool to victory over Preston

2009-01-03T12:37:00.000-08:00

Steven Gerrard put his testing week behind him by leading Liverpool to a 2-0 FA Cup third round victory away to fellow north-west side Preston North End at Deepdale here Saturday.

Goals from Spanish duo Albert Riera and Fernando Torres secured a victory for the Premier League leaders against the second-tier team which was only sealed in stoppage-time.

Gerrard, 28, could have expected to sit out this third round tie in normal circumstances, but having been charged with assault over an alleged incident that took place in nearby Southport in the early hours of Monday morning, manager Rafael Benitez opted to select his captain from the start as “the best thing for him and for us is to focus on football.”

The England midfielder, due to appear at a magistrates' court on January 23, has been told he has the full support of his club and he was likely to have welcomed the chance to have played against Alan Irvine's Championship outfit.

“We always seem to have problems against lower league opposition, so we knew we would find it tough but thankfully we've come through it,” Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said.

“We only got the second goal in the last minute and we had a couple of scares in the last minute so great credit to Preston.”

Having been embarrassed in FA Cup shocks by Burnley and Barnsley in recent seasons, Benitez underlined his determination to avoid another upset by naming a formidable starting line-up for this game.

Only goalkeeper keeper Diego Cavalieri, in for Spain international Pepe Reina, could be considered as a fringe player.

Liverpool started slowly, though, and the home side, buoyed by a run of four successive home clean sheets, attempted to make an early breakthrough.

Scottish winger Ross Wallace forced Cavalieri into the first save of the game with a curling left-foot free-kick on five minutes, but the striker lacked the pace to worry the Brazilian shot-stopper.

Preston's defence struggled to cope with the penetration of Liverpool widemen Ryan Babel and Riera created a golden chance for Robbie Keane after racing to the byline.

His cross was perfect for Keane to slot into the net from six yards, but the Ireland striker sliced his shot so much that it almost went out for a throw-in.

Gerrard then tested Preston keeper Andy Lonergan with a snapshot from 20 yards before Riera gave Liverpool the lead with a classy 25th minute strike.

A Gerrard shot was half-cleared by Preston and the ball dropped to Riera on the edge of the six-yard box.

Instead of shooting with his right foot, Riera cut back on to his left and headed away from goal before beating Lonergan with a powerful left-foot shot from 12 yards.

Liverpool would have had the game in the bag by half-time had Keane taken two clear chances before the interval, but the former Tottenham Hotspur star's poor finishing gave Preston a lifeline.

Keane continued in a similar vein in the second-half, missing at the near post from Gerrard's cross, before Lonergan denied the Liverpool skipper with a brilliant save from his long-range shot in the 59th minute.

And five minutes later, Preston believed they had equalised when Sean St Ledger headed in Richard Chaplow's cross.

However, a foul by Jon Parkin on Carragher in the build-up led to the 'goal' being disallowed.

Benitez ended Torres's six-week, injury-enforced absence by putting him on in place of the misfiring Keane 18 minutes from time.

Torres's first effort on goal flew wide from 25 yards but his second, a tap-in from Gerrard's injury-time pass, made it 2-0.

Written by SoccerNews · Tags: English Premier League, FA Cup

This is my last chance´ says troubled footballer Gascoigne

2009-01-02T02:21:00.000-08:00

England football legend Paul Gascoigne said drink and drug addictions nearly killed him in 2008 and knows he is now on his last chance to save himself, in an interview published Friday.

Gascoigne, 41, who is in a rehabilitation clinic on the southern English coast trying to get his life back in order, said going back on the booze would be the death of him.

“This is my last chance,” the fallen idol told The Sun newspaper.

“My mate Jimmy 'Five Bellies' says I've got more lives than a cat and he's right. But this is my last one.”

Gascoigne has battled alcoholism and depression since his playing days. Last year he was sectioned under British mental health laws.

“2008 was a terrible time for me, my worst year ever,” the former Newcastle, Tottenham, Lazio and Rangers star said.

“The drink and drugs nearly killed me, not once but a few times.

“And getting sectioned was the worst thing ever. A little bit of me died when I went in there and I am never going back.

“The difference this time is I know what I have got to do. I know I can never drink again otherwise it will kill me.”

His 12-year-old son Regan, in a documentary called “Saving Gazza” to be aired Monday on Channel Four television, said he thought his father would “die soon” and wished he would “go away” from the family.

“I don't think there's any point in helping him… I feel bad and sorry for him because he's in this kind of state but it's not our fault,” the youngster said.

In the television programme, Gascoigne admits: “I've got food disorder, bipolar, mood swings, anxiety. I drank when I was happy, I drank when I was sad. And yes, I must admit I thought of dying.”

Gascoigne has been sober for a month and undergoes a punishing fitness regime at the rehabilitation clinic, The Sun said.

Gascoigne, who spent time in rehab in Portugal last year, accused his ex-wife Sheryl of having turned their son against him and laid the blame for his comments on her.

“If she hates me that much, why is she still called Gascoigne? Because the name Gascoigne is a bonus for her, that's why.

“I'm not going to watch the programme. It's a disgrace to use a child like that.

“If Sheryl was so interested in saving me then why did she come all the way out to Portugal as part of making a TV show?

“Would it not have been better to have 'saved Gazza' without a camera crew in tow?

“Walking into that wine bar and meeting her all those years ago was the most expensive drink I've ever had.

“It has cost me about 17 million pounds (25 million dollars, 18 million euros) over the years.

“I paid maintenance for two kids who weren't mine and the family lives in a 1.6-million-pound house. Yet they throw all this at me.”

Considered one of the most talented players English football has ever produced, the former midfielder is best known for his exploits in the 1990 World Cup finals in Italy where he helped his country to reach the semi-finals.

Written by SoccerNews · Tags: English Premier League

Carlos Tevez insists that he is happy at Manchester United

2009-01-02T02:19:00.000-08:00

Speaking from Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires, Argentina’s and Manchester United’s forward, Carlos Tevez, has stated that he is happy at United.

He also added that he had no problem with his current manager, Sir Alex Ferguson.

Tevez, who is in Buenos Aires to sort out some private business, said that Sir Alex has told him that he wants him to stay at the club.

For him that was important and he accepted his team selections, even though he has been used as a “super-sub” for most of the season.

He is expected to be back in Manchester early next week.

Written by SoccerNews · Tags: English Premier League

Beckham about to make Milan debut

2009-01-01T04:08:00.000-08:00

English midfielder David Beckham is set to make his debut with Serie A giants AC Milan, who are scheduled to face Hamburger SV in a friendly on January 6th.

Milan boss revealed this to sportspaper Gazzetta dello Sport: “He will get a spot somewhere in midfield,” he said.

After failing to reach the MLS play-offs with Los Angeles Galaxy, Beckham agreed to be loaned out to Milan in order to retain fitness. Officially, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star should return to the United States next summer, but rumours mention a permanent stay in Italy.

The 33-year-old joined LA Galaxy from Real Madrid in 2007, and has scored five goals in 30 appearance.

Written by SoccerNews · Tags: Serie A

Happy New Year to all - what do we want in 2009?

2009-01-01T04:06:00.001-08:00

A New Year and new hope for football fans around the world. I would like to take this opportunity to wish a very happy New Year to all SoccerNews readers. I want to thank you for reading and commenting on the site, it is really appreciated. We might not often agree, but we all share a love of this great game of ours.

So what do we all hope for in 2009? Here are ten things that I wish for:
# I would love Watford to go on a long unbeaten run and find a way into the Championship play-offs and promotion back to the Premier League.
# I would love my own team, Wilton Town, to go on an unbeaten run between now and the end of the season and find our way off the bottom and up the Wiltshire League Division Two table.
# I would love referees to stop making really poor decisions that affect the outcome of important games.
# I would love players to stop shouting at referees and arguing with them.
# I would love players to stop diving and cheating.
# I would love the battle at the top of the English Premier League to go all the way to the last weekend.
# I would love the Champions League to have a surprise success rather than just the English teams or Barcelona.
# I would love to see no more of the smaller clubs fighting against administration whilst the bigger clubs rake in their millions.
# I would love to see a wage and transfer fee cap so that football, particularly in England, can return to some sort of normality.
# I would love to see negative and route one football eliminated and pass and move, fast flowing, attacking football become the norm.

That little list isn’t too much to ask for is it? OK, which of the ten wishes are likely to come true?

Sadly, I don’t think any of them are very likely really. I don’t mind too much though, because I love the game just as it is.

If Watford and Wilton Town were winning all the time I wouldn’t have anything to feel miserable about and we all love feeling miserable sometimes.

If referees got everything right and players accepted all decisions without question what on earth would we argue about?

If players stopped diving and cheating, what would become of great players like Didier Drogba and Cristiano Ronaldo :)

If the Premiership race for the top four was close and ‘outsiders’ did well in the Champions League, then it would make those who predicted otherwise, like me, look silly and we can’t have that can we?

If small clubs had more money and big clubs had less we would lose the glamour of the Premier League and I don’t think any of us want that to happen.

If the wages of players were reduced what would the gossip magazines have to talk about?

If route one and negative football were eliminated then the top teams would continue their domination of the game. It is great that a physical route one team can upset the likes of Arsenal. That is what football is all about.

So there we have it. I don’t actually wish for any of that. I just hope that 2009 is another great year for football supporters everywhere. More of the same would be just fine. Well, a couple of wins for Wilton Town would be nice…

Written by Graham Fisher · Tags: Editorial, General Soccer News

Can Newcastle and Mike Ashley repair the wounds?

2008-12-31T04:45:00.000-08:00

As we come to the end of the year one group of people who must be feeling a little confused are Newcastle United fans. 2008 has certainly been a year of mixed emotions for them and 2009 looks as though it will be little different.

Uncertainty

As we all now know, owner Mike Ashley has confirmed the club are no longer for sale and says that he hopes his decision will end the uncertainty over the Magpies’ future. Ashley had initially put the club on the market back in September when former manager Kevin Keegan’s sudden departure led to the fans turning against Ashley and Dennis Wise in all sorts of ways. The ‘Cockney mafia out’ campaign meant that neither man felt welcome at St James’ Park.

However, despite the media and Ashley’s people themselves claiming that there was plenty of interest in buying the club, it would appear that no suitable offers were actually forthcoming meaning that Ashley has now taken the decision to remain in charge.

Ashley said in Newcastle’s matchday programme,

“I am happy to end the uncertainty fans may have had about the future direction of Newcastle United. I know just how important that is to you. I have withdrawn Newcastle United from the market, and for me 2009 will be the year in which we drive the club forward together. Even when I haven’t been at games I have remained a keen supporter, kicking and heading every ball and cheering the team on TV and being the first to congratulate Joe whenever there’s a good result. When I took the decision to put the club up for sale in September I made a point of saying two things were very important. Firstly, any potential buyer would have to show they had the best interests of Newcastle United at heart and had both the commitment and finance to be worthy custodians of such a fine football club before I would even consider doing a deal. And secondly, I gave you my word that as long as I remain owner, this club would continue to be run responsibly at all levels. I hope you will accept that I have stood by that pledge.”

Mike Ashley originally bought the Magpies in the summer of 2007 and in January this year he brought the fans idol Kevin Keegan back to manage the club. This was a popular move and one that was sure to win over the Toon Army. Some sceptics suggested that was the reason for the appointment rather than it being a carefully planned football decision, but either way, it was an appointment that went down well on Tyneside.

The Messiah

So 2008 started pretty well for Newcastle fans with the return of ‘The Messiah’ although early results under Keegan were disappointing. This was not too much of a problem however because firstly, Keegan would be given as much time as he needed to turn things around by the fans, and secondly, as far as they were concerned, anything was worth getting rid of Sam Allardyce.

However, what did become an obvious problem fairly quickly was the fact that Keegan wasn’t happy with his role and the role of others at the club. In particular, he was unhappy with the role of Dennis Wise and the club’s transfer policy in general.

Hate campaign

Keegan left just a few weeks into the current season when the row over the club’s transfer policy, spiralled out of control. The fans were distraught at the loss of Keegan who had managed to turn things around sufficiently last season but was struggling again now. A hate campaign ensued against Ashley and he decided he had no option but to sell the club.

Sceptics were at it again when the sale was announced. Ashley had priced the club at a level whereby a sale seemed unlikely. Was the sale just a ploy to give Ashley some breathing space from the Keegan furore before returning to the club?

Those who said so at the time will be feeling pretty smug with their ‘I told you so’ smiles at the moment, but we’ll never know if that was really the case.

Genuine

Clearly, something had to be done before the transfer window opened as Newcastle are in need of players and who would go to a club in turmoil and officially for sale? What ever anyone thinks about Ashley, I believe that we all know he is a genuine Newcastle fan and he would have known that he had to make a move now.

Whether this is a spur of the moment move or one that he had always planned is open to conjecture. Whether he will be welcomed back with open arms by the Newcastle fans or not is also open to conjecture.

The one thing about which I am relatively certain is that Dennis Wise will never be accepted by the fans and if Mike Ashley really wants to stay and drive the club forward, he will have to do so without Wise.

Hatred

I don’t know what to believe about the current situation and I still feel that if an offer was made to buy the club that was financially sensible for Mike Ashley he would take it. He is a Newcastle fan but he can’t ignore some of the hatred that was directed towards him and his family after the Keegan affair.

If he is genuine in his desire to stay with the club, backs Joe Kinnear with some funds and sacks Dennis Wise, it is just about possible that the old wounds could be healed. I just fear for the club that all three of those points may be questionable.
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Written by Graham Fisher · Tags: Editorial, English Premier League

Liverpool´s Gerrard ´arrested after bar fight´

2008-12-29T09:53:00.000-08:00

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has been arrested after a fight in a bar on Merseyside, reports and a police source said Monday.

The fight took place overnight in Southport, near Liverpool, in north-west England.

“Six men were arrested on suspicion of section 20 assault on Lord Street,” said a spokesman for Merseyside Police, without officially confirming England midfielder Gerrard's identity.

Written by SoccerNews · Tags: English Premier League

Rooney´s agent loses ban appeal

2008-12-29T09:52:00.000-08:00

Wayne Rooney’s agent Paul Stretford on Monday lost an appeal against an 18-month ban imposed by the Football Association in July for breaking regulations when signing up the England striker.

Stretford was also fined 300,000 pounds (then 377,000 euros) in July after being charged by the FA following his troubled appointment as Rooney’s agent in 2002.

Seven of the nine charges brought by the FA against Stretford for breaches of world football governing body FIFA’s players’ agent regulations were proved.

The charges included failing to protect Rooney’s interests and failing to respect the rights of third parties.

Stretford was also hit with an improper conduct charge in relation to the “making of false and/or misleading witness statements to police and giving false and/or misleading testimony to Warrington Crown Court” in a case about the circumstances of how he came to represent the England striker.

Stretford made it clear he would lodge an appeal but an independent appeal board here Monday upheld the original punishment.

“The board dismissed Mr Stretford’s appeal in its entirety and the decisions of an independent regulatory commission in July 2008 were confirmed,” said a statement on the FA’s official website.

Stretford can now go to an arbitration panel to challenge this latest ruling and his ban will be suspended until he has made that decision.

Written by SoccerNews · Tags: English Premier League

Jom Football team of the year 2008

2008-12-29T04:28:00.000-08:00

In goal, there are a few decent candidates. Chelsea’s Petr Cech was really good but won nothing and made a mistake that cost his country dearly at Euro 2008. Without him, we need to look at keepers that won things.

Pepe Reine won the Golden Gloves award, but remained as second choice behind Casillas for Spain. Van Der Sar wan the Premier League and the Champions League and Iker Casillas won La Liga and the European Championships.

It’s a tough choice but Casillas gets my vote.

Back four

The back four has no end of contenders. Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra from Manchester United’s double winning side are all worthy of a place in the squad as are John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho from Chelsea’s nearly double winning side.

Sagna and Clichy at Arsenal made many ‘team of the season’ selections last Summer and Bosingwa at Chelsea might make quite a few at the end of this season.

Maicon at Inter, Daniel Alves at Carles Puyol at Barcelona and Sergio Ramos at Real Madrid are all screaming for selection as is Philipp Lahm from Bayern Munich.

That list is only scratching the surface. Chiellini had a great Euro 2008 and it seems very strange to select a list of the world’s great defenders without nominating anyone from Italy, the home of the magnificent defender.

Anyway, my back four looks like this:

Ramos, Ferdinand, Puyol, Lahm.

Midfield

Into the midfield and I am sure there was some fellow at Manchester United who did quite well this year! Yes, it would be a strange selection if we weren’t to include the Portuguese wing wizardry of Cristiano Ronaldo. Forty-two goals, fantastic skill and tricks and the ability to produce Olympic style tumbling at the faintest of touches make him an automatic choice!

Strangely, after winning the double, it is difficult to think that any of the other Manchester United midfielders that would be nominated in this category. Carrick, Anderson, Scholes, Hargreaves, Nani, Giggs all played their part, but none of them stood out enough to make this squad.

At Chelsea, Lampard, Ballack and Essien were all excellent for their club and Essien may well have made this team if he hadn’t been injured for most of this season so far.

For Liverpool, Mascherano and Gerrard were superb and at Arsenal, Cesc Fabregas came of age.

Pirlo and Gattuso continued to produce the goods at the ageing Milan side and Frank Ribery has developed into the world class player at Bayern Munich that we all thought he would as an under twenty-one international.

The European Championship winning midfield of Barcelona’s Xavi and Iniesta and Villarreal’s Marcos Senna probably all deserve to be in the team, but are difficult to accommodate in my rigid English 4-4-2 system!

Other players who could have made the squad include Wesley Sneijder, Kaka and Quaresma.

It’s a very, very tough choice but I’m going with the following:

Ronaldo, Senna, Xavi, Ribery.

Strikers

The strikers sort of pick themselves. I know that Lionel Messi isn’t a striker but give him a free role playing off the main striker and he will be more effective than anyone else in the world.

The main striker is probably between the two Spaniards who led their country to European glory. Fernando Torres and David Villa.

Many other strikers deserve a mention. Benzema, Rooney, Tevez, Drogba, Ibrahimovich, Klose, Arshavin and even the evergreen Ruud Van Nistelrooy.

For me though there are only two names for the team. Messi and Torres.

So there we have the SoccerNews representative team:

Casillas

Ramos, Ferdinand, Puyol, Lahm

Ronaldo, Senna, Xavi, Ribery

Torres, Messi

Written by Graham Fisher · Tags: Editorial, General Soccer News

Premier League Predictions - Portsmouth’s Adams will be celebrating today, whatever happens

2008-12-28T13:13:00.000-08:00

Here we go with some more predictions. They come thick and fast at this time of the year. Can I beat the four out of ten I managed on Boxing Day?

Sunday, 28 December 2008
# Arsenal v Portsmouth

Arsenal have slipped up at home a couple of times and managed to throw away a two goal lead at Villa, but Portsmouth don’t look too threatening at the moment. A 4-1 defeat at home to West Ham will hardly be worrying the Gunners.

It will be strange for Tony Adams to take a side to Arsenal and try to beat them. He is a Gooner through and through.

I think Adams will be celebrating tonight. Only because his favourite team has won mind, not the one he manages.

# Blackburn v Manchester City

Blackburn with a new manager take on shortly managerless Manchester City unless Mark Hughes can start to get some decent results, building on the 5-1 win over Hull.

Blackburn are a decent side and their ‘up and at them’ approach is not one that will sit comfortably with the flair loaded City side.

Blackburn’s recovery starts here. Although a 3-0 win against Stoke and a 0-0 draw at Sunderland might just be regarded as something of a recovery already.

# Bolton v Wigan

The dour derby. For anyone in the world who doesn’t come from Bolton or Wigan this must be the least exciting of all Premier League fixtures.

Sadly, it is likely to be amongst the least exciting games of football as well.

# Everton v Sunderland

Decent team playing poorly against a poor team playing OK. Could go either way this one.

I fancy Everton to just about have enough. Probably a last minute goal. Probably Tim Cahill or Aaron Lescott. It’s a fairly safe bet.

# Fulham v Chelsea

The West London derby doesn’t have the same sort of image, reputation or glamour of most of the other big derby games around the world. I guess that is because for many years, Chelsea have been so much better than their neighbours.

It is possible that the gap is beginning to close. Nowhere near enough for Fulham to get any sort of result in this one though.

# Newcastle v Liverpool

Michael Owen gets the chance to put one over his former employees and put himself in the shop window.

Liverpool are a tighter unit than they have been for sometime but I fancy Owen to bag one against them. Unfortunately for Michael, I expect Liverpool to bag a couple too.

# West Brom v Tottenham

West Brom are nowhere near as bad as Derby were last season, but they must be beginning to wish the season would end. There is no let up in the tests they face and Tottenham will be too strong for them at The Hawthorns.

# West Ham v Stoke

Gianfranco Zola’s beautiful football against Tony Pulis’ get it in the mixer football. For the neutral it would probably be best to see a Hammers victory, but then again, it is always good to see the underdog do well.

I’ll sit on the fence.

Monday, 29 December 2008
# Manchester United v Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough are a bit of a bogey team for United and I well remember them beating United over the Christmas period a few years ago.

United are looking pretty formidable at home and as long as they manage to take at least one of the many chances they will create I suspect they will be alright here.

Tuesday, 30 December 2008
# Hull v Aston Villa

Another stern test for Hull as the exciting Villa come to town.

This game should be good to watch with both teams liking to play attractive, attacking football at pace. I’d certainly rather be watching this one than the game at Bolton!

I reckon Villa might just come out on top, but they’ll know they’ve been in a game.

Written by Graham Fisher · Tags: Editorial, English Premier League

Capello shrugs off Ramsey comparisons

2008-12-27T23:54:00.001-08:00

Fabio Capello insisted on Saturday that he does not yet deserve to be compared to Sir Alf Ramsey, the man he hopes to emulate by transforming England into world-beaters.

Ramsey coached England to their only World Cup success back in 1966 but Capello's impressive first year in charge of the national squad already has many observers tipping the Italian's team as champions in South Africa in 2010.

But Capello says there is plenty of work ahead if the England of Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Theo Walcott and Wayne Rooney are to be kings of the world.

“Someone spoke to me about this big manager (Ramsey) but we have to wait. He's up here - I'm still down here,” said Capello.

“It's a very long way to arrive at the level of Sir Alf Ramsey - it is difficult and very, very long.”

Capello has overseen a dramatic improvement in the national team's fortunes in 2008.

After the low of failing to qualify for Euro 2008 under Steve McClaren, England have reached the end of the year on course for the World Cup finals boasting a perfect record in the qualifiers.

For good measure, they ended 2008 with a 2-1 friendly win over Germany in Berlin with their only loss in the year coming against France.

“It's been step forward, step forward,” Capello said.

“I'm very happy because the last game against Germany we played very well. The first 11 was new players, some players who hadn't played a lot of games, and we won and this is very important for the future.

“We had another (stepping) stone for the future.”

Capello added that, unlike McClaren, he was determined to maintain barriers between himself and his players.

“It's not important to play cards or games with the players. It's not important to me to be one of the lads,” said the Italian.

“The important thing is respect. I always say a manager is one against 24 always - there is one boss, one leader being judged by 24 players, in every moment he is under scrutiny and it's important the players know that is my role. The leader is the leader.”

Written by SoccerNews · Tags: English Premier League, World Cup

Rumours abound as transfer window gets closer

2008-12-27T04:41:00.000-08:00

Four out of ten in the predictions yesterday. That’s pretty good for me! You can’t predict into the future though. Who could possibly predict the results for future? Who could possibly know where a player is going to be by the end of January?

We are just a few days away from the silly season that is the January transfer window. It is silly because everyone will be linked to a move from everywhere to anywhere and the media will heighten the tension and speculation by reporting on every time a player sneezes in a manner likely to mean he is on the move!

Semblance of truth

I just want to point out that this site will be no exception! We will tell you about every rumour, whether it is based on a semblance of truth or whether it has come about because the friend of one of my mate’s cousins works in Rochdale and he says that one of his mate’s sister’s friend’s auntie definitely saw Lionel Messi going into the Rochdale players entrance in disguise!

The rumours annoy me and interest me in just about equal measures. The stories very often turn out to be totally untrue but the fun is in trying to spot the ones that actually are possibilities.

In the week before Christmas alone, I saw the following rumours:

Carlos Tevez from Manchester United to Arsenal
Diego Lopez from Villarreal to Manchester City
Adriano from Inter to just about anywhere
Arsenio Halfhuid from Excelsior Rotterdam to Aston Villa
Eljero Elia from FC Twente to Ajax
Andrei Arshavin from Zenit to Barcelona
Andrei Arshavin from Zenit to Real Madrid
Andrei Arshavin from Zenit to Tottenham
Andrei Arshavin from Zenit to Arsenal
Massimo Donati from Celtic to Milan
Roque Santa Cruz from Blackburn to Manchester City
Gokhan Inler from Udinese to Arsenal
Gianluigi Buffon from Juventus to Manchester City
Didier Zokora from Tottenham to Portsmouth
Stewart Downing from Middlesbrough to Tottenham
Matthew Upson from West Ham to Manchester City
Any top player in the world from anywhere to Manchester City

That is just a very few of the hundreds and hundreds of rumours that are wildly circulating around the media fuelled transfer frenzy in football as the window prepares to open.

Most likely

As I say, the exciting bit is to work out which of them might be based on truth. From the above list, the most likely move seems to be the last one. Any top player from anywhere to Manchester City!

Robinho proved that top players may be prepared to move to an under achieving club rather than a Champions League club if the money is right. Having said that, Robinho couldn’t establish a regular place in the Real Madrid team and they hardly set Europe alight in his time at the club.

Well renowned

Other likely moves in England I think will invole Tottenham who may well ship out a few and bring in a few. Harry Redknapp is well renowned for his transfer dealings and he will be looking to stamp his mark on the team. I also think it likely that Santa Cruz will leave Blackburn.

In Italy, I would expect Jose Mourinho to expand his Inter squad although whether he will raid his old Stamford Bridge hunting groundis less certain.

I would also expect Juande Ramos to try to strengthen his Real Madrid team with more signings than just Lassana Diarra.

Square root

So there we have it. Although most of the rumours will be based on the square root of bugger all, the transfer window always leads to some interesting and exciting speculation.

SoccerNews will be bringing it all to you as it happens and we can all dream that the signing that will make all the difference to our team is going to be the one that makes the headlines.

As a Watford supporter, I am told by the board of the club that we will be selling in January to ensure that the club balances the books and manages to survive. I accept that, but I’m sure we’ll make one big signing that will see us roaring up the table towards the Championship play-off places.

In fact, my brother told me that a friend of his in Watford was shopping in WH Smith in the town the other day and he had spoken to a bloke he used to work with who told him that a friend of his uncle’s had been told that one of his mates had seen Thierry Henry walking towards Watford’s Vicarage Road ground.

Written by Graham Fisher · Tags: Editorial, General Soccer News, Transfer News & Transfer Rumours

Premier League Predictions - Christmas cheer for Arsenal?

2008-12-26T19:40:00.000-08:00

Friday 26th December 2008

# Aston Villa v Arsenal

The battle for fourth place hots up with this one on Boxing Day. For those people who feel that there shouldn’t be football over the festive period, this is a mouth watering game to prove them wrong.

I’m not happy about the Summer break so I certainly wouldn’t support a Winter one. All year round football I say!

I think Arsene Wenger’s knowledge of how to get in and stay in that top four will see them through against the young pretenders to their fourth placed throne. They might have had a poorish season but wins against United and Chelsea and a ten man draw against Liverpool show that they are still one of the best four.

SoccerNews prediction: 1-2
# Chelsea v West Brom

I’d love to give West Brom some Christmas cheer but it just isn’t possible with this fixture.

On the plus side, teams that have ‘shut up shop’ at Stamford Bridge have shown that Chelsea can be frustrated and have managed to get decent results. On the negative side, West Brom have absolutely no idea how to ‘shut up shop’.

SoccerNews prediction: 3-0
# Liverpool v Bolton

Stuttering at home Liverpool against unpredictable away Bolton. That’s an easy one to predict then!

I think the Reds might keep their title dreams alive for a bit longer here and maybe make Gary Megson wonder if his team could be in trouble after all.

SoccerNews prediction: 3-1
# Manchester City v Hull

One of Manchester City’s last games before they spend goodness knows how many millions of pounds in the transfer window.

I have consistently predicted that the Hull bubble will burst but even I have been convinced that it might not. Having said that of course, the 4-1 defeat at home to Sunderland might be the start of things to come. They need to bounce back and I fancy them to get something here by attacking City’s fragile looking defence.

SoccerNews prediction: 1-2
# Middlesbrough v Everton

Just when Middlesbrough looked as though they were returning to type and slipping down the table, they turned in a great performance against Arsenal a couple of weeks ago. After that though they produce a dreadful performance at Fulham and they are now the only Premier League side without a win in their last six games.

Everton are back in the race for fourth or fifth place and they have done so without playing well and without any strikers. It’s a good effort by them.

SoccerNews prediction: 0-1
# Portsmouth v West Ham

The eleven Portsmouth players are still only looking half the side under Tony Adams than they looked under Harry Redknapp. I still haven’t worked out why that is.

West Ham are beginning to fight a little more now that they have realised that they really might be in a relegation scrap.

SoccerNews prediction: 1-1
# Stoke v Manchester United

Stoke have upset Arsenal and Liverpool this season and they will be looking to do again against the might of Manchester United.

They’ve got no chance.

SoccerNews prediction: 0-2
# Sunderland v Blackburn

This looked as though it would be the battle of the poor sides without a manager. Blackburn acted very quickly to appoint Sam Allardyce but Sunderland are still dragging their heels.

No doubt both sides will for inexplicable reasons continue to play better without the old Manchester United influence of Roy Keane and Paul Ince.

I don’t think this will be a game for the lover of pass and move football, that’s for sure!

SoccerNews prediction: 1-0
# Tottenham v Fulham

Two teams that have continued to surprise. Tottenham are so much better than they were at the start of the season and Fulham are so much better than they were last season.

The two managers are very different. Harry Redknapp is full of personality and Fulham have got Roy Hodgson.

SoccerNews prediction: 2-1
# Wigan v Newcastle

Wigan are a decent side but Newcastle are definitely getting better under Joe Kinnear. Many of their injured stars are back and things are finally beginning to look ever so slightly up for the Toon Army.

Written by Graham Fisher · Tags: Editorial, English Premier League

The power of football

2008-12-26T19:37:00.000-08:00

Christmas day is here. To all of you who celebrate Christmas I wish you a very merry one and I hope that you have a great day. To all of you who don’t celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a good December 25th as well!

Peace

At a time such as this it is worth remembering just what a power for peace and good, football is. In a world of famine, fear and violence. In a world of hatred and jealousy, football is one of very few things that can unite us all.

Take this simple football site. I write things about world football from my home in Southern England. The few hardy readers come from all over the globe. Many of you disagree with much of what I write and many of you disagree with each other. It is rare for anyone to agree on matters about the clubs we actually support. You can attack me or my family, but don’t criticise my football team!!

Love

Despite our differences of opinion on the game and our different backgrounds, lives and cultures, we all agree on one thing. We love football.

So at this festive time of year we should never under play the importance of the game. Some strange people say they can’t understand why people get so excited by watching twenty-two grown men (or women) chasing a ball around a field. Well, whilst not quite agreeing with the famous Bill Shankley quote about football being more important than life and death, the game is so much more than just a game.

Joy

It gives us excitement, frustration, joy, anger and despair. In fact, you name an emotion and football can, and does, produce it.

Written by Graham Fisher · Tags: Editorial, General Soccer News

It also has the unique and incredibly important ability to transcend politics and arguments and loathing to bring the people of the world together.

Football is an important piece of all of our lives and long may it continue.

To football fans everywhere, have a wonderful day.

Written by Graham Fisher · Tags: Editorial, General Soccer News

FIFA lifts suspensions on Kuwait, Samoa, Peru

2008-12-24T03:23:00.000-08:00

World football body FIFA announced it has lifted its suspensions on the federations of Kuwait, Samoa and Peru.

Kuwait was suspended in late October for political interference and the lifting of its ban is only provisional to allow them to play in Asian Cup qualifying starting in January and the Gulf Cup.

Whether the ban returns will be reviewed at FIFA’s Congress in March.

In the case of the Samoans, they were suspended for “repeated management problems” in October, but this has been resolved following meetings of the FIFA executive committee on the sidelines of the Club World Cup here.

A row with the government over alleged political interference in Peru saw that federation suspended last month, but they too are now in the clear.

Written by SoccerNews · Tags: World Cup

Sir Alex shows respect - if he can, anyone can!

2008-12-24T02:18:00.000-08:00

Impractical

In a week whereby the Scottish managers have agreed an extremely laudable but impractical deal in which they will refuse to comment on refereeing decisions after games, and a season that has been dominated by the FA’s ‘respect agenda”, the reaction of the manager’s becomes more and more interesting.

Let’s start with the most famous of the allegedly blinkered manager’s, Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger. On Sunday he probably was dealt a harsh blow when referee Howard Webb sent off Emmanuel Adebayor for a second bookable offence. The first yellow card was fairly clear cut and there were few arguments about it. The second card was, having seen the incident in slow motion and from several different angles, a little bit harsh.

Over the ball

What referee Howard Webb saw was that the striker had his foot raised as he competed with Alvaro Arbeloa and caught the defender with his elbow as he spun. On first view it looked like he had gone ‘over the ball’ and had also raised his arm. In fact, he probably did neither of those things but it was obvious to everyone watching, why Howard Webb produced the card. Everyone that is except Arsene Wenger.

“It was very soft. If we get red cards like that from opponents away from home then I’m very happy. It was not a red card, it was not a second yellow card. I don’t know what it was for and I’m sure he (the referee) doesn’t know.”

I can understand Wenger being bitterly disappointed by the decision, despite the fact that his side were so much better with ten men than they had been with eleven, but to say he doesn’t know what it was for is stretching the truth.

Leg breaking

The second incident involved Middlesbrough’s Julio Arca. As I said yesterday, Arca is not a dirty or malicious player, but the awful challenge he put in on Fulham’s Andrew Johnson on Saturday was a potential leg breaking disgrace. There is no doubt that it should have seen the player given a red card and facing at least a three match ban.

Unbelievably the referee, despite having seen the incident clearly, decided it was worthy only of a yellow card. Middlesbrough were incredibly lucky to keep eleven men on the pitch but went on to lose 3-0 anyway.

At 1-0 down, Middlesbrough conceded a harsh penalty for handball when the ball clearly struck a hand but there was little the defender could have done to get out of the way.

Try to guess which incident Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate wanted to talk about afterwards.

“There was huge decision given against us when we were 1-0 down when they were given a penalty and scored from it. We have had three unbelievable decisions against us in the last three weeks. We refuse to criticise referees but it is there for everyone to see.”

What a shame that Southgate didn’t also criticise the decision not to reduce his team to ten men and condemn the tackle made by his player.

The third incident involved Plymouth player Simon Walton being sent-off in their Championship defeat at Barnsley. Walton has a chequered disciplinary past and is Plymouth’s record signing. He has only just forced his way back into the team after falling out of favour.

Criticise the referee

Did his manager Paul Sturrock criticise the referee or look to other decisions in the game to blame his side’s defeat on?

No. He spoke very clearly about his own player’s lack of discipline.

“I just cannot believe the boy’s mentality to get back in the team and then show that kind of stupidity, it will cost him dear. He’s cost us dear as far as the game’s concerned. It’s very difficult to play with 11 men in this league never mind 10.”

Well done to Sturrock for his honesty. So who else has been honest and accepted the sending-off of one of his players?

I know it is hard to believe but despite losing his immense defender Nemanja Vidic for the first leg of the Champions League battle with Inter, Sir Alex Ferguson calmly accepted the referee’s decision to send him off in the Club World Cup final.

“It’s a soft sending off but he swung an elbow. When you do that in front of the referee you’ve got no chance. He gave the referee no option.”

Now surely if Sir Alex can be that mellow, anyone can! Maybe the Scottish managers have got it right and managers should not be allowed to comment on referee decisions.

Written by Graham Fisher · Tags: Editorial, English Premier League, General Soccer News

Carlos Tevez linked with Arsenal. Should Manchester United pick Berbatov ahead of him?

2008-12-23T01:36:00.000-08:00

This morning’s Sunday Mirror newspaper goes with a remarkable story that Arsenal are preparing to sign Manchester United’s loan star Carlos Tevez in a deal that will shatter their previous £11m record transfer fee. Whilst the idea of Arsenal signing a Manchester United player who struggles to get a regular first team game seemed absolutely ludicrous to me until I remembered Michael Silvestre.

Pecking order

The twenty-four year old Argentinian striker has been pushed down the pecking order at Old Trafford with Sir Alex Ferguson preferring the combination of Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov in his forward line this season so far. Tevez will get another chance to stake a claim for a regular place in the team when the club world cup final gets underway later but he would willingly swap that for a place in the United line-up against Stoke on Boxing Day.

When Carlos Tevez arrived at Old Trafford back in 2007 a new United hero was born. He signed from, well, nobody really knows, but his last club was West Ham! After scoring the goal for West Ham against United at Old Trafford that kept West Ham in the Premier League, Fergie stepped in to bring him to Manchester.

110% effort

His all action, hard working, 110% effort style of play is always going to make him a crowd favourite and he quickly established himself in the side alongside the likes of Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo. In fact, those three became a mainstay of United’s wonderful double winning season. As the Summer break began, Tevez had no reason to fear for his future at the club.

The arrival of Dimitar Berbatov at the last minute of the transfer window deadline day will have been a blow to Tevez. He said all the right things about, ‘welcoming the competition’. ‘looking forward to the challenge,’ etc, but it must have been a severe blow to him in reality.

Goal spree

Since the start of the season, Tevez has been a bit part player and despite performances like his four goal spree in the Carling Cup victory over Blackburn, he is still the current third choice striker. For a man who is not on a permanent deal and is an Argentina international looking forward to playing and starring in the 2010 world cup under Diego Maradona, a bit part role will surely not keep him happy.

It doesn’t seem likely that he would move to North London, but if he was offered the chance of a permanent deal and regular first team football, it might be a difficult move to refuse.

What would Arsenal be getting for their money if the deal became a reality? This compilation shows what he can do.

At United, assuming that Wayne Rooney’s role will continue to be pretty secure, the other striking berth is a straight choice between Tevez and the mercurial twenty-seven year old Bulgarian, Dimitar Berbatov. You get great quality from both of them but that is where the similarity ends.

Worker

Tevez is a worker. He chases everything, hassles defenders and regards nothing as a lost cause. He can produce moments of brilliance but what he will always produse is ‘blood, sweat and tears’. Berbatov, on the other hand is a completely different character.

In contrast to Tevez, he always appears to be strolling through games. I often wonder if he even bothers to shower afterwards as he hasn’t actually broken out into a sweat at any stage. Having said that, he can also produce moments of footballing magic that have rarely been seen in the game. His first touch and his vision and awareness are second to none.

Infuriate

I like them both as players but Berbatov would infuriate me with his workrate. I would have to put up with it though, because he can produce things that nobody else can. It is a fact that although Berbatov would make me pull what is left of my hair out with his apparent lack of effort, I would almost certainly select him ahead of the wonderful, hard working, but slightly less talented Tevez.

Obviously I have no idea if there is any truth in the Sunday Mirror story, but I would imagine a move for regular first team football would appeal to Tevez at this stage of his career. Sir Alex wouldn’t want to lose him but he has to pick his best side and at the moment, that doesn’t include him.

I’ll be watching this one unfold with more interest than most of the transfer rumours, because I like Carlos Tevez. In fact, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like him.

Written by Graham Fisher · Tags: Editorial, English Premier League, Transfer News & Transfer Rumours, Videos

Internazionale VS Man. United (Champions League)

2008-12-22T04:30:00.000-08:00

Who will win? Give me your answer.

Chelsea VS Juventus (Champions League)

2008-12-22T02:24:00.000-08:00

Who will win? Give me your answer.

Real Madrid VS Liverpool (Champions League)

2008-12-22T01:12:00.001-08:00

Who will win? Give me your answer.

Zola backs Chelsea

2008-12-20T06:29:00.001-08:00

West Ham United manager Gianfranco Zola believes his former club Chelsea will beat Juventus in the Champions League.

The Bianconeri was paired with the Blues in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Zola has been voted to greatest player of all time at Stamford Bridge.

“I think Chelsea will win but only just,” Zola told Tuttosport.

“I think the match between the Blues and Bianconeri will be very interesting.

“On one part there is the prestigious Chelsea of my career and, on the other, you have Claudio Ranieri who gave me so much. I am sure the game will give some good and spectacular for everyone.

“I think it will all come down to whoever is in the best form physically.”

[Source: Tuttosport]

Written by Hakon Hoyland · Tags: English Premier League, General Soccer News, Transfer News & Transfer Rumours

Lampard hails Owen

2008-12-20T06:25:00.001-08:00

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard does not believe the Blues need to make a January move for Michael Owen.

Owen, who is out of contract in the summer, has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge.

The midfielder told The Sun: “Obviously, it’s the manager’s decision. Michael’s a top player - he showed that with the goal he scored against Portsmouth last week, it was an unbelievable finish, top quality.

“If he is fit, which he’s struggled with a bit, he’s a top, top player.

“At the right price, whether it’s for us or not, he’s going to be a good buy for someone for sure.

“But with Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba fit, I’d look at us and say we’ve got enough.”

[Source: The Sun]

Written by Hakon Hoyland · Tags: English Premier League, General Soccer News, Transfer News & Transfer Rumours

Beckham expected at San Siro to watch struggling Milan

2008-12-20T02:08:00.000-08:00

David Beckham will get plenty of headlines when he arrives in Milan on Saturday but his new temporary employers will probably be wishing he could take to the pitch against Udinese a day later rather than watching the game from the stands.

AC Milan have been beset by injury problems to key players this season and are sweating over the return of Kaka ahead of this weekend's match.

And with Andrea Pirlo forced off at half-time during Wednesday's 2-2 UEFA Cup draw against Vfl Wolfsburg and Gennaro Gattuso out probably for the rest of the season, now would be a good time to blood the former England captain.

However, Beckham cannot start playing for Milan until the January transfer window opens and in the meantime, coach Carlo Ancelotti shows no sign of letting up his complaints about injury problems.

“This is a difficult time for us because we've been decimated by injuries which prevents us from taking to the pitch with the team we want to or from playing our best,” moaned Ancelotti.

As well as Pirlo coming off against Wolfsburg, on-loan Switzerland centre-back Philippe Senderos lasted only eight minutes.

“Senderos had a classic back spasm, Pirlo felt a muscle problem and, given the current emergency, it was better not to risk him after the break, and on top of that (Clarence) Seedorf (who played the full 90 minutes) hurt his knee.

“We need to stand strong and deal with these problems and the next few days will be very important to prepare for the Udinese challenge.

“Individually everyone is giving his all but it's very difficult to play under these conditions because we're forced to play several players out of position.”

However, Kaka, Pirlo, Seedorf and even France midfielder Mathieu Flamini all look likely to be fit at the weekend leaving only long-term absentees Alessandro Nesta, Gattuso, Marco Borriello and now Senderos missing.

But while Ancelotti has bemoaned his sick-list, midfielder Massimo Ambrosini had a more sober assessment of Milan's predicament.

“If we want to win things, this team has to overcome this difficult period,” he said.

Sunday's visit of Udinese is thus a must win game for Milan, although with a nine point deficit to champions, leaders and bitter city rivals Inter Milan, every match will be until they have drastically shortened the gap.

The plus side for Milan is that Udinese are the team in the worst current form in Serie A having not won in seven matches since topping the table in early November.

However, they did show glimpses of returning to form by sprinting out to a 3-0 lead over Lazio last week, before their defensive frailties came back to haunt them and they were pegged back to 3-3.

In other matches Inter travel to Siena on Saturday night while second-placed Juventus face a trip to Bergamo to play Atalanta.

AS Roma defend an eight-game winning run, including five in Serie A, as they travel to Sicily to face Catania hoping to put more pressure on the teams holding European qualification places.

Third-placed Napoli have a tricky trip to Torino while fifth-placed Fiorentina travel to Genoa to face Sampdoria.

That match will pit Serie A joint-top goalscorer Alberto Gilardino against Sampdoria captain and mercurial genius Antonio Cassano, a challenge Gilardino is looking forward to.

“Antonio Cassano is an exceptional talent, a player who in any moment can produce something incredible. In my opinion he should be in the Italy squad,” said the former Parma and AC Milan forward.

Italian league fixtures

Saturday

Lazio v Palermo, Siena v Inter Milan

Sunday

AC Milan v Udinese, Atalanta v Juventus, Cagliari v Reggina, Catania v AS Roma, Chievo v Genoa, Lecce v Bologna, Sampdoria v Fiorentina, Torino v Napoli

Written by SoccerNews · Tags: Serie A

Ramos chasing wingers

2008-12-20T02:05:00.001-08:00

New Real Madrid boss Juande Ramos has admitted that he would like to sign a new winger in the January transfer window.

The Spanish giants have been linked with Ashley Young and Aaron Lennon.

He told AS: “It is true that the market for wingers is limited and the clubs that you call raise the price because they know that we need the player.

“It is important that we bring in a right winger to help us in the UEFA Champions League and in the league.

“There are some interesting players in the English market and I know clearly who they are. I have told the club what I think and now it is a question of money.

“It seems to me that with (Arjen) Robben on the left and another player on the right we would be complete. Although Robben can play on the right, I prefer wingers to play on their strongest side and not switch over.”

[Source: AS]

Written by Hakon Hoyland · Tags: General Soccer News, La Liga, Transfer News & Transfer Rumours