Ever since the Bosman ruling came in to effect the possibility for clubs to snap up players for a bargain price has been a reality. Summer transfers like Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri proved the power of players to force a move to other clubs and arguably for a cheaper price than expected. As we approach the January transfer window there are a number of players in either the last six or eighteen months of their contract who could be available for transfer. Whether it is because they no longer wish to continue with their current club or the club no longer sees their services as necessary varies from player to player but one thing that doesn’t is the potential for a few million pounds to be knocked off their asking price. For many of the clubs they know it is the last chance saloon to either sell these players in January, persuade them to sign a new contract or risk losing them for nothing at the end of the season. For most clubs the only real option will be facilitate the sale of these players for as much as being sports clubs they are also businesses.
Click on Junior Hoilett to unveil the top 10
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Chelsea defender Ashley Cole did not taunt Manchester City players in the Stamford Bridge tunnel after his side’s victory between the teams on Monday, according to the London club.
Goals from Raul Meireles and Frank Lampard cancelled out Mario Balotelli’s opener to keep The Blues in the hunt for the Premier League title, and close the gap between themselves and the leaders to seven points.
Etihad Stadium boss Roberto Mancini had suggested that the England full back was ungracious in victory on Monday night, and may have teased the defeated team straight after the game, causing a fracas in the tunnel.
Despite the Italian coach’s comments, Chelsea have released a statement defending Cole.
“Contrary to reports, Ashley Cole did not say anything to the opposition in the tunnel after Monday’s game,” Chelsea’s official website states.
“Ashley has huge respect for the players and staff at Manchester City, many of whom he knows personally and calls friends.”
Chelsea travel to take on Wigan at the DW Stadium on Saturday, and will look to build on their win over City earlier in the week.
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Manchester City are getting tough with Carlos Tevez and have informed the Argentine that he will only be leaving the Etihad Stadium on their terms and not his. Tevez has two and half years left on his contract and City have suggested they will not budge on their asking price and will continue to discipline the striker if he fails to fulfil his contractual obligations. It is reported that his dispute with City has cost in the region of £9.3m to date; fines that Carlos Tevez is looking to appeal.
Carlos Tevez’s standoff with Manchester City has reportedly cost him a staggering £9.3m in the past few months. The Argentine apparently has until the end of the month to appeal against the fining with the Premier League – Guardian
Chelsea and QPR will issue statements ahead of their cup clash at the weekend in an attempt to defuse a potential volatile situation – Guardian
Fabio Capello is set to call-up Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain into his next England squad. The Italian was in the crowd at the Emirates on Sunday and was impressed with what he saw in the Arsenal winger – Guardian
Steven Gerrard believes there needs to be a change in attitude within the Liverpool squad. The Reds captain feels those underperforming need to take a long hard look at themselves to ensure that Liverpool can turn their fortunes around – Daily Telegraph
Mario Balotelli will be driven out of English football by referees, according to his agent. Mino Raiola has suggested that while his client is content in England, he may look to move to another country if referees continue to victimise him – Independent
Paul Lambert believes that Jonny Howson has all the ingredients to be a ‘great’ for Norwich City. The Canaries boss feels his latest signing from Leeds United has all the attributes to be a top class Premier League performer – Independent
Arsene Wenger is reportedly part of a two man shortlist to replace Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid. The Portuguese manager told a press conference that he is unsure whether he will still be at the Bernabeu at the end of the season, which may see Madrid renew their interest in the Arsenal boss – Daily Mail
Liverpool are reportedly keen on Udinese’s Chilean international Mauricio Isla, as Kenny Dalglish looks to freshen up the Reds squad in the January window – Daily Star
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Chelsea have opened talks to sign Genk winger Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgium youngster is one of the country’s hot young prospects and the Blues are keen to tie him down to a deal that will initially see the player be loaned back to Genk for the rest of the season – Sun
Last weekend was a family affair at Wembley as Steven Gerrard’s Liverpool went up against his cousin Anthony Gerrard’s Cardiff City in the League Cup final. While one family member was going to be pleased and one disappointed, it turned out that Anthony would be absolutely distraught.
The match itself was an enthralling one as both sides held a lead at one point (Cardiff in the first half and Liverpool in the second half of extra time). But the sides couldn’t be separated and so a penalty shootout would decide the winner as both Gerrards stepped up to the spot.
Steven Gerrard took the very first penalty, which was brilliantly saved by Cardiff goalkeeper Tom Heaton, but by the time Anthony stepped up as the 10th penalty taker, he needed to score to keep the Bluebirds in it.
In what was heartbreak for Anthony, he missed and handed the victory to Liverpool. Here’s Steven Gerrard consoling his cousin after the match, but what is Stevie G saying to Anthony?
Leave your suggestions below…
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Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has stated that he still has the backing of Roman Abramovich, and wants to lead the team to success in coming seasons.
The Portuguese coach has come under scrutiny due to the fact that The Blues are not in the race for the Premier League title, but Villas Boas is eager to fulfil the club’s objectives this term.
“We have two competitions where we look better, and another competition where we have to dilute the damage and try to finish fourth, at least, which is not a very honourable position for the dimension of this club,” he stated in a press conference, which is documented by The Telegraph.
“I think when we set up with this team, we believed that the team was ready for four trophies.
“We had a transfer window open when we didn’t do any market activity, apart from Gary [Cahill].
“So we are confident on playing still to reach the objectives that we have for this season with this team, and then eventually move on to what is next year.
“The reality is that in the last years there was a pattern of managers shifting. In the end, you have to agree that from 2004 Chelsea has been massively successful. It has been the best period of Chelsea’s history.
“And hopefully we can progress that within the three-year range with me here,” he commented.
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Chelsea face Everton on Saturday and will look to close the gap on London rivals Tottenham in the position above them.
Swindon Town’s defeat at Wembley last Sunday to Chesterfield would have been a hard pill to swallow if it was not for the fact that they are four points clear at the summit of League 2.
Also, the extra cushion of having 2 games in hand will sit nicely with the Wiltshire side. Paolo Di Canio will be looking for Swindon to bounce back with a ‘warrior’ like attitude and performance. Captain Paul Caddis is still out injured and this is a major blow to the Robins as he has been an influential figure this season. Striker Paul Benson is doubtful for the weekend’s game due to a slight neck injury.
Lowly-Season…
Bristol Rovers visit the County Ground on Saturday after suffering a 1-0 defeat to Aldershot on Tuesday Night. Rovers may feel aggrieved by this loss but 1 shot on target is not the sign of a team on form. The Gas have under achieved this season lying in 14th place with nothing notable to play for. With 1st Round, 2nd Round and 3rd Round defeats in JPT, League cup and FA Cup respectively, this has come as somewhat of a consolation for the fans during a poor season. Rovers will need to vastly improve their performances if want to keep key players in the summer. This season Rovers have had severe defensive issues shipping 58 goals in 39 games, which manager Mark McGhee had said ‘this is not what I expect from my players’. This will not deter Rovers from selling out their allocation against their local rivals.
Head-To-Head…
This is the 94th meeting between the teams with Swindon Town leading the way with 43 wins in comparision to Bristol Rovers’s 35. Swindon’s are looking for their 13th straight home win in the league but the form book goes out of the window in derby games.
Earlier This Season…
When the teams met in December they could not be separated. Swindon’s captain Paul Caddis put the Robins into the lead in the 37th minute with a left footed strike from the edge of the box. This effort was cancelled out late into the game by Danny Woodards headed goal. This point for Rovers kept them in touch with 17th place AFC Wimbledon whilst the Robins climbed to 6th, 11 points behind the leaders Crawley.
Trip down memory lane…
Saturday 29th May 2010
Millwall 1 Swindon Town 0
Attendance: 73,108 (32,000 Swindon Fans)
Goals From: Robinson (39’).
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Why I Remember The Game: This was my first trip to the new Wembley. An awesome stadium and had ever confidence beforehand. One moment will forever be with me and that’s the ‘Bobble’ from Charlie Austin. I suppose with this loss and the relegation that followed the next season we have ended up with the Italian maestro Paolo Di Canio therefore we cannot have any complaints.
You can follow me on Twitter for more discussion about Swindon @engoism.
Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that full-back Fabio will go out on loan next season to try and get more regular first-team football.
The Brazilian defender has only made five appearances for the Premier League champions this term, and the Scottish coach is hopeful that a temporary deal elsewhere will help the young star.
“I hope that Fabio will develop in the same way as his twin, Rafael,” Ferguson told The Sun.
“To help him, he will go out on loan next season to give him concentrated first-team experience.
“I have already talked to him and he understands the value of playing regularly at a higher level than we can give him at the moment,” he confessed.
Fabio has been a bit-part player at Old Trafford this campaign due to the continued progression of the likes of Phil Jones and Chris Smalling.
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A letter from Blackburn deputy chief executive Paul Hunt to Rovers co-owner Anuradha Desai has been leaked, which urges the Indian owners to sack under-fire manager Steve Kean.
The letter, dated December 2011, stresses that the Scot is not the man to take the Lancashire club forward, which may well have been proved right since Blackburn’s relegation.
“I write now to ask you to make significant changes to save the club, perhaps from relegation and perhaps from administration,” the letter reads, according to The Daily Mail.
“With the bank closing in, I fear that they will look to foreclose and have the potential to implement financial restrictions upon the club that could as a worst-case scenario enforce administration. Publicly I have been asked to support the manager and I always have as I personally like Steve.
“I have supported him from the start and have been desperate for him to do well. However, I am now of the opinion that it isn’t working and he is ready to go.
“He has lost the crowd and as a result of this evening’s game against Bolton has lost the dressing room as well – the players no longer want to play for him.
“It is a shame and disappointing but we must act now to save the club. The board should be asked their opinion on who should be the new manager,” he concluded.
Kean has stated that he will not resign from the club, despite demotion to The Championship.
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The Dons were in red hot form before Saturday’s defeat to Walsall where they were simply not good enough.
If we play like that against Huddersfield then we will lose by 2 or 3 goals. However, if we play like we did against Sheffield United then we will win for sure.
Our home form of late hasn’t been the best and stadium:MK has become less of a fortress. The pitch hasn’t helped the way we play and our free flowing football isn’t working as well. The pitch is starting to look a bit better and hopefully we can use this to our advantage on Saturday
Did you know?
MK Dons have scored a record breaking 106 goals this season, with 20 different goal scorers!
I think it’s vital that we get an early goal to settle our nerves. We must put pressure on Huddersfield from the first minute and not let them feel comfortable. I have no doubt that Karl and John will prepare the lads in the best possible way for the two games and I don’t think they need to be fired up as they know a place in the championship is at stake!
Playoff heartache will be fresh in the minds for both teams so I would expect a very open game and a few goals. I’m going to go for a 2-1 win to the Dons! I’d hope we could put clear daylight between us and Huddersfield but it will be tough and would require a performance of real quality which I know we are capable of.
My MK Dons XI v HTAFC
Martin,
Chicksen, MacKenzie, Williams, Lewington
Potter, Gleeson
O’Shea, Ibehre, Bowditch
MacDonald
Karl has stated that Doumbe should play some part in the playoff games but I feel it would be better to bring him in for the away leg where it’ll be more difficult for us. Hopefully MacKenzie is fit to play because his strength in the box is unrivalled by any other centre back we have. We must go for an attacking front four that will interchange constantly so that Huddersfield cannot man mark us and hopefully leaving us with more space to exploit.
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The dons faithful have been treated to a few cracking games at stadium:MK this season the 6–2 v Chesterfield, a few 3-0 wins, a 5-0 thrashing of Oldham and even a 4-3 win against local rivals Wycombe! Dons are capable of running riot and they need to make sure this game will live long in the memories of Dons fans!
With the Dons knowing this will definitely be John Gorman’s last home game, we all (fans included) need to make this a very special occasion for a legend that we have been lucky to have helping us out these last two years. Here’s to a very successful game for the Dons, let’s get the road to Wembley off to the best possible start! Come on you Dons!
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I’m in shock. When football finally returned to our screens after what seemed like an unbearable gap (2 weeks), I logically expected the pundits that would take this magical journey with us to be knowledgeable, astute, well-spoken fellows, like what they always have been you know? Imagine my surprise then when some of them turned out to be rubbish.
If you collated articles bemoaning the level of football punditry in this country you would have enough material to last you a lifetime. So it’s not surprising that the pundits are getting it in the neck again, especially the BBC.
The BBC didn’t help itself by starting proceedings with an explosive interview between Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney (insert sarcasm hash tag here). To call it banal would be an insult to banality itself. As for the likes of Lawrenson and Hansen, it’s all been covered before, so I’ll just sum it up by sitting here whilst sighing dramatically. Lawrenson has nothing (and I mean nothing) to offer, but the annoying thing about Hansen is that you know he’s capable of more. In fact, I have vague memories of the old Hansen doing this thing called analysis once upon a time. Maybe it was a dream.
Alan Shearer has escaped the wilds of Salford Quays to commentate from the grounds, and seems to have upped his game slightly. This isn’t saying much though, and the comments such as “Lewandowski seems like a good player” continue to flow. The vain hope that he’s done some research on a man who is rather key to his nation’s chances and has won the Bundesliga for the last two seasons was probably showing ridiculous levels of optimism. But do you need to do research? Take Greece for example – punditry school tells you that there little need for knowledge about their squad. Constant references to their poor economic status will do (include as many puns as possible – Greek tragedy, bailed out, indebted to their keeper, you get the idea). As for Shearer’s analysis of Sweden and Ukraine, all he could muster after watching one game is that they won’t bother England (do we ever learn??). Need I even ask if he has checked their qualification campaign, when they scored 31 goals, or looked at the new expansive play they are trying to adopt? They were poor against Ukraine, but useless they are not. Still, he looks happy to be there, so we should be thankful for that. And as for Harry Redknapp – well, don’t get me started.
ITV have fared better, for once. They haven’t cut to adverts during a goal (yet), and the scheduled adverts probably help them as they have less time to fill around the matches. I’ve nothing against watching Joe Hart play head tennis in a swimming pool but I’d want a bit more besides that.
Jamie Carragher’s accent takes time to adjust to, resembling Steven Gerrard on fast forward, but he has plenty to offer as a pundit (plus the odd generalised footballing cliché). The style may upset the Queen’s English brigade, but at least he was willing to make some valid points, and criticise the French team when sat next to Patrick Vieira. As for Patrick, again he was better than some of the previous offerings, though on early showings I’m not sure we’re getting full value out of an astute, educated man.
For the Czech Republic v Greece, we had the unassuming Matt Smith hosting, a man that rarely stands out, but does his job, so is fine by me. The pundits were Roberto Martinez and Gordon Strachan, and they assessed the game well. Martinez is the star of the show for me, giving straight-forward logical analysis, and whilst Gordon Strachan is a man who can irritate me (and most sports journalists) more than anyone, he too had far more to offer than the grey canvas on offer over at the BBC.
Of course ITV’s coverage is always worth watching for the constant possibility that at any moment Roy Keane may “go rogue” and turn into Michael Douglas in Falling Down. Expect a police statement demanding the safe return of Adrian Chiles. As for Keane’s performances – well he is what he is. He never smiles, he seems to have a grudge on life itself, and he is not one for a joke. But at least he has something constructive to say every now and then. The same goes for Gareth Southgate, who neither excels nor bombs, but is worth his place on the team, the “water-carrier” of the ITV squad. And a better bet than Martin Keown, another pundit with little of any substance to impart.
But – there’s still the problem of Adrian Chiles. For a man who professes to love football, and be a season ticket holder to boot, he seems to have very little idea about what to say. He is sadly something of a bumbling idiot at times, always coming out with unfunny quips and stuttering last night to the point that I had to turn over as it was just too excruciating. I don’t like saying it, as he is genial and inoffensive, and I wanted him to be a roaring success when he made the move to ITV. But any man who comes out with the line, “as a child Jakub Blaszczykowski watched his father murder his mother… but he’s bounced back!” is not schooled in how to say things the right way. His “banter” with Patrick Vieira before the England v France match was a low point of the Euro 2012 coverage so far.
Key in all this is the fact that the BBC decided to stay in Salford rather than ship out to Polkraine en masse, as they used to do. It’s not surprising really, as they are criticised for every pound they spend, so counting the pennies makes sense, and in theory it shouldn’t matter where they are as long as they watched the match. But as it turns out, it does matter. The BBC panel seem detached, cold, and rather depressed at times. On the other hand, the ITV panel are stationed on a lovely bespoke wooden platform in the heart of the action, giving the impression of a group of holidaying veterans cutting the breeze. They seem to be having a better time, which is hardly surprising, and it shows. The lighting is top notch too.
As for during the match, the less said the better. Co-commentators are uniformly rubbish in my head. Main commentators aren’t much better, always looking for their Kenneth Wolstenholme moment by quoting Shakespeare or tying Gdansk in with Polish solidarity in some mangled metaphor attempt that will always fail.
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So it’s advantage ITV for me so far. We’re all watching for the football, so the punditry is a sideshow. But like the weather it’s a staple topic of discussion with football fans. But when most of us can’t decide whether a draw against France is good or bad, I can’t see a few minutes of punditry helping us out much over the coming weeks. But the BBC needs to up its game after a poor month of general coverage that included a right royal slating for their Jubilee coverage. The easiest way they can do that though is to ditch the old guard, and it’s too late for that. Let’s hope then that the likes of Hansen can remember why they are being paid large amounts of money to sit in a TV studio, before they drag Lee Dixon and Gary Lineker down with them.
You can buy Howard’s Manchester City 2011/12 Season Review on Kindle for just £2.50