The greatest penalty ever

You know how in today's football the players rush the box when a penalty is taken? They didn't used to, and this penalty is the reason they started. The greatest penalty ever taken came from Dutch legend Johann Cruyff when he exchanged passes with team-mate Jesper Olsen to score for Ajax against Helmond on December 5th 1982.

Cruff casually stepped up to the spot and chipped the ball slowly to his right, the goalkeeper, confused, reacted by moving to his right, Jesper Olsen casually passed the ball back to Cruyff who walked up to the 6 yard box line and dinked the ball into an empty net. Ajax won the game emphatically 5-0.

Cruyff claims he’d done it once before in the a match played in the snow but I couldn’t find a record of it. This one will have to do.

Years on, Robert Pires and Thierry Henry did a similar trick for Arsenal. Cruyff originated it thought, and here it is:

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U-21 Championship top scorer to Celtic

Celtic have just about wrapped up a great deal for European Under-21 Championships Golden Boot winner Maceo Rigters from NAC Breda for only 400,000 pounds nudging out arch rivals Rangers.

It’s a steal; the fee triggers a buyout clause in Rigters contract. Breda director of football Earnie Stewart has confirmed that Celtic had expressed an interest in the player.

The 23-year-old Dutch striker was very impressive during the tournament. In fact, next to Royston Drenthe he was Holland’s best player. Rigters has two years left to run on his Breda contract but the club announced that they were prepared to listen to offers from interested clubs.

And did they get interest. No less than 5 clubs lodged bids for the player in recent days. One is Newcastle United, the others are Rangers and Celtic, the other two are a mystery. The low buyout clause seems to have spread chum in the water.

Rigters scored four goals for Holland during the finals as they secured their second consecutive U-21 crown. While he was on fire at the tournament, he scored just three times in 32 league appearances for Breda last season. Paired with Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink up front next season, the explosive striker should prove more potent.

"We are just waiting for NAC to tell us which clubs we can talk to and that is likely to happen on Monday." –Celtic

Here he is with a bicycle kick to save the game against England:

Derby County break record

Premiership newbies Derby County have broken their club record transfer fee to sign striker Robert Earnshaw from Norwich City.

The 3.5m pound fee enacted a clause in the player’s contract. The deal is for three years and is proof of Derby manager’s Billy Davies commitment to sign players with top-flight experience for their first campaign at the top in 5 years.

The 26 year old Welsh international striker was top scorer for the Norwich with 19 goals last season, despite missing a large swathe of the season thru injury. Famous for his flips during goal celebrations, Earnshaw, born in Zambia, scored 11 times in his first Premiership season with West Bromwich Albion and has been awarded 32 caps where he has scored 12 times.

Earnshaw’s capture is Derby’s first move in the transfer market this summer.

Anderson permitted

19 year old Brazilian Anderson has been granted a work permit by the British Home Office which will now allow him to play for Manchester United. Anderson joined United earlier in the summer from FC Porto.

There was a scare inside Old Trafford as the first application for the work permit was rejected. The rules stipulate that a player must play in 75% of his home nation’s international matches over the previous two years.

United have won an appeal on the grounds that Anderson’s youth has not allowed him to fulfill the requirement. Anderson made his full international debut for Brazil in their 2-0 Copa America loss to Mexico earlier in the week.

Cisse to leave Premiership

Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse is set to make his loan deal permanent with Marseille despite a late attempt from West Ham to sign the player.

Cisse, 25, spent last season on loan at Marseille and wants to see the move happen. Marseille had wanted to keep Cisse on loan but Liverpool made it clear that was not an option.

"The Marseille option is the best choice for Djibril because of the Champions League" - Cisse's agent Ranko Stojic

West Ham representatives tried to contact Cisse’s agent earlier in the week but the interest came too late as the player had already made a decision on the matter. Marseille, flush after the big money sale of Franck Ribery to Bayern Munich, will be looking for Cisse fill the gap as the club grow out of a slump in recent seasons. A Champions League campaign next season should improve the club’s financial fortunes.

Cisse is not famous for his goals, but his two horrible broken legs. Once playing for Liverpool and another in a friendly for France right before the World Cup began.

A deal would serve both club and player, with the impending arrival of Fernando Torres from Atletico Madrid it would become crowded up front.

Here's the leg break against China:

And the one versus Blackburn:

Transfer market? Oh, you would have thought it was the rip-off market

Tottenham have signed England striker Darren Bent from new Championship outfit Charlton and have wildly overpaid. The final negotiated price was 16.5m pounds which is more than Barcelona paid for Thierry Henry. For the Premiership club, the price tag is a club record.

This clears the way for a Jermain Defoe exit at what will probably be a reasonable fee. If I were Charlton, I’d feel like someone forgot their bag of money on my seat at the ground. If I were Tottenham, I’d be opening my wallet, seeing the darkness and wonder where the hell the kitty is for a left sided winger.

Spurs had previously offered a reasonable 12m for Bent, even at that price he was full value but Charlton decided to treat the transfer as silly money and demand the 17m fee West Ham United offered until Bent refused to go. West Ham pulled a Chelsea, if that offer were never made you can rest assured that Charlton would have had very little reason to stick by their guns but being able to say “hey, West Ham thought it was fair value” they were able to keep the price tag on the table.

Bent’s deal is for up to 6 years. The 23-year-old passed a medical yesterday; the transfer fee will be paid in installments. Visa and MasterCard then, cha-ching.

On the bright side, this does give Dimetar Berbatov pause as they paid significantly less for him. He must wonder what he is really worth. If I were Spurs, break out the Visa again, give Dimetar a raise.

On the bright, bright side, this transfer fee will do nothing but stall the transfer market as prices across the board have just risen on the news that a player that has 3 caps could command such a fee.

On the positive side, Bent was in excellent form last season scoring 15 goals. That many goals means on a good team he would have scored 20+. If he can produce like that at Tottenham we will all look back and say wow… Jol has a vision. But, in my opinion there are too many like Angel, Barros and Shevchenko to warrant the risk. But Jermain Defoe scored 18 last season. Hmmmm.

On the positive, positive side, Charlton have just reaped a windfall profit of 15m pounds as they only paid 2.5m for Bent in 2005. They have to pay Ipswich 20% of that because of a sell on clause but are still 12+ million in the clear.

Inter out and even more reasons for Tevez to stay a Hammer

Inter Milan have ended their ambition to sign Carlos Tevez from West Ham United. Inter have signed David Suazo from Cagliari and now with a glut of strikers on the books there is no need for such an expensive player.

"He is no longer our objective" - Inter president Massimo Moratti

Tevez was keen on the switch, but it has emerged that West Ham have made a book smashing offer to keep the player on the books for a single season. They are offering Tevez 115,000 pounds a week and a 3m pound ‘loan’ payout to Kia Joorabchian, the owner of Tevez’s rights. The deal totals an astounding 9m pounds. This would suddenly make Tevez one of the Premierships highest paid players.

It’s clear West Ham see the problems they are having attracting top talent despite plenty of money for transfer fees and salaries. A commitment from Tevez would be an indication to potential suitors that the club has ambitions and wants the top talent.

Tevez singlehandedly kept West Ham in the Premiership last season. I think he should stay, I thought so even before the huge offer, and I think the offer is money well spent if it keeps him there and opens up the potential for more transfers to the club.

Arsenal looking at Martins to replace Henry

Nigerian international Obafemi Martins moved to Newcastle from Inter Milan last summer and scored an impressive 17 goals in his first Premiership season. Arsene Wenger is looking for a replacement for the newly departed Theirry Henry and it looks like Martins fits the bill. Arsenal are prepared to meet the player’s 13m pound buyout clause.

Arsenal have yet to make any formal approach for the striker but it has prompted Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce to urge Obafemi Martins to reject any offer from Arsenal and stay at the club. He plans a sit down with the player at the next possible opportunity.

I doubt it will work. Martins would probably relish the chance to play for Arsenal and after proving himself in the Premiership is well worth the 13m pound buyout clause, especially considering Charlton’s wild overvaluation of Darren Bent.

Should Arsenal be able to make the deal, it would potentially be a saving grace. Martins could be considered a poor man’s Samuel Eto’o as the two have similar attributes. 17 goals in a season with injuries is impressive, and at 22 he has plenty of upside and would come at a much better price.

Real-ly ungrateful

Just 11 days after Real Madrid’s first success since 2003, the club have decided to fire manager Fabio Capello. It was the first Primera Liga title in four years for Real Madrid. The Italian, who has won a league title with AC Milan, Juventus, Roma and Madrid in 1996 (every club he has managed) came thru where it counted but succumbed to politics, Real Madrid’s favorite pastime.

The 61-year-old Italian has now won the league title with Real twice, he did it in the 1997. Capello was brought in by newly elected club president Ramon Calderon before the start of last season and given the task of bringing discipline back to the club and clearing out unwanted players. He delivered on both fronts, getting rid of fat Ronaldo and lazy David Beckham who only decided to start playing a bit as an ‘I’ll show you” to the manager. Both players deserved to go, both did… wash hands move on… oops, I forgot. Politics.

Madrid sporting director Predrag Mijatovic confirmed Capello sacking at a press conference. Capello joined Real after he resigned from Juventus after the match fixing scandal.

Madrid has now seen 6, soon to be 7 coaches since Vicente del Bosque led the club to their last league title in 2003. Strange… at Madrid, when you lose you are fired, but when you win a title you are also fired. Chronic instability, that is all you can say.

The flouncing referee

Man, this is just too funny. In the 90’s there was a referee in Brazil famous for his flamboyant style of refereeing matches. His nickname was Margarida, Portuguese for ‘daisy’. His real name is Jorge José Emiliano dos Santos, now deceased, and he refereed in the Brazilian league.

Apparently he was a well respected referee; he had to be with these antics. Can you imagine this guy in front of the Kop? Kidding aside, you got to give him credit for that backwards running and the technique of the yellow delivery. Rest in peace my friend, you will bring laughter to millions.

See the entire funniest football moments ever series

Zlatan’s audacious flick

It was either a draw or elimination from the Euro 2004 for Sweden. 5 minutes from time Inter Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored an incredible goal to equalize the game and save Sweden from the hatchet.

From a corner, the Italian defense tried to clear a ball away from the box but failed. A head on sent the ball towards the goal line, a volley then followed sending the ball to the 6 yard box, from there Olaf Melberg went up for the ball but couldn’t make clean contact. The ball dropped into the box sending Ibrahimovic charging from the goal line.

Buffon charged but Zlatan got their first and with his back to the goal jumped and flicks it backward with the outside of his right foot audaciously sending the ball floating perfectly above the head of an Italian defender on the goal line and into the goal. Whoa, that's talent. Here is the goal:

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Cantona’s kung-fu kick

Former Manchester United icon Eric Cantona lashed out at a Crystal Palace fan in 1995 and paid dearly for it. His punishments for his kung fu attack were well deserved.

He was fined 20,000 pounds and banned from playing for nine months; additionally he was stripped of the French national captaincy.

Cantona, famous for his fiery temper claims the fan shouted racial insults and threw a missile at him as he walked off the pitch after being given a red card for kicking another player during a tackle.

In the incident, Cantona jumped at the fan with both feet and kicked him in the chest, he then punched him as a security person tried to intervene and stop the situation from getting worse:

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Liverpool join Gunners in chase for U-21 standout

I reported recently that Arsenal had sent scouts to all the UEFA U-21 Tournament matches to watch Miguel Veloso, now Liverpool has approached Sporting Lisbon about the player, reports A Bola.

The newspaper, not known for its rumoring, is generally accurate when approaches are made within the Portuguese League, and it claims that Liverpool have made preliminary inquiries about the player after it also emerged that their scouts at the games to watch other players were very impressed.

Veloso spent the entire 2006 season on loan to second division club Olivais e Moscavide and helped them on to promotion. Last season Sporting manager Paulo Bento put the player straight into the first team where he held his place despite Sporting’s biggest summer acquisition playing the same position.

Should Veloso leave Sporting have cover, and the Premiership a player to covet. He’s very sharp, especially his passing. He’s also excellent in the tackle and can play as a central defender. What apparently caught the eye of Liverpool most were his free kicks (video at bottom).

So has his stock risen that even senior national coach Philipe Scolari has his eye on the player for a sooner rather than later role in the national side.

Veloso also has pedigree. His father, Antonio, was 40 times capped and an SL Benfica defender for 15 years from 1980 to 1995, including seven seasons as club captain and seven times as Portuguese champions. He was also a member of the 1990 European Cup final squad that lost 1-0 to AC Milan.

"My father's influence is very big. He helps me in every aspect. He watches almost all my matches and tries to correct me in different ways. His great experience and know-how is a very important source of support for me." - Veloso

Liverpool should take note, this player is a serious talent, he must be for a club so stocked with midfielders to make an inquiry. This article goes in depth on the player.

Bent on a price: a never ending saga

You’d think 16m pounds is good enough, considering that’s what Henry’s transfer fee was, but no. Charlton Athletic are insisting that the only acceptable sale price for Darren Bent is 17m pounds. Tottenham must have their hands in the air at this point, and if I were them, I would give up.

In my view, the price is inflated to begin with. Darren Bent is talented, but not 17m pounds talented. I always felt a price of 12m pounds was more than enough, but wealthier men disagree with me. If I were Tottenham I would save my money because I think they are ok up front with Berbatov/Keane/Defoe. Darren Bent would be a nice to have, but at these top dollar prices they are half a step from the Fernando Torres’s and Samuel Eto’o’s of the world. Even Michael Owen or Obafemi Martins would be better value, in my opinion.

Some reports say have stated that Tottenham have ended the negotiations, probably not true, but Tottenham should send a shot across the bow to the Addicks and start shopping for other strikers. Bent won’t just go where he’s told (rejected West Ham) and not everyone has 17m to toss out for the player. Charlton will bend on Bent, but Tottenham tend to be a bit trigger happy at times in the transfer market.

A meeting of the Charlton board stated that:

"It's 17m or no go"

I’d say no go then. The valuation is way over the top. Charlton’s poker game could easily end up backfiring. In fact, it should. We are not playing with Monopoly money.

Pair in blue battle it out for bleu

There is a race is on for Juventus midfielder Olivier Kapo with both Steve Bruce at Birmingham City and David Moyes at Everton preparing a bid.

The 26 year old Frenchman is highly regarded in Spain after a season on loan with Levante. Real Betis is trying to sign him and keep him in La Liga next season. It appears that he wants to play in the Premiership though which leaves Everton and Birmingham poised.

The former Auxerre player is owned by Juventus where he has been given very little chance. He’s had a rocky few seasons until the loan spell saw him re-emerge as a viable player for larger clubs. Kapo said he would not consider staying at Levante.

Juventus’s price tag for Kapo is 2m pounds, a fee well within the reach of both Premiership contenders. You can see him in action here scoring against Deportivo De La Coruna:

Geremi set to free transfer

Newcastle United are on the verge of signing Cameroonian international Geremi from Chelsea on a free transfer.

The 28 year old player is versatile being able to play wide both in defense and midfield has been plugging holes for too long at Stamford Bridge and looks set to move as his four year contract is set to expire and a new deal is not being offered. While he made 23 starts he was never considered a serious contender for a starting role, relying on injuries to build his stats. With Paulo Ferreira and Lassana Diarra competing for the right-back spot, chances will be nil. Recall though that Geremi was on Jose Mourinho's very first team sheet at Chelsea.

Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce has committed to revamping the club’s defense and will be presenting new defensive signing David Rozenhal later today.

Middlesbrough were considered as a place for Geremi who had spent a season on loan there when he was with Real Madrid, but it appears no interest has emerged, even on a free. Geremi's experience could prove valuable to Allardyce as Newcastle face an uphill climb back to the elite.

The Ben Thatcher hatchet job

Charlton Athletic defender Ben Thatcher is lucky (for the FOURTH time) that he didn’t end a career, even a life. When he was with Manchester City he floored Pedro Mendes so violently that afterwards the Portsmouth midfielder laid completely knocked out and had a seizure and needed oxygen on the way to the hospital.

The Mendes incident took place in August 2006, and you’d think he had learned a lesson before then because this was not the first time. Thatcher is a dirty player. Not only did he knock Mendes into the advertising boards Thatcher also elbow had hospitalized an opponent during a pre-season tour of China.

Before the incident in China, he made similar challenges against Nicky Summerbee when he was with Wimbledon against Sunderland and Allan Nielsen from Tottenham Hotspur.
See the horror challenge here, what makes me gag most is his ‘what, me?’ reaction in anger afterwards:

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The Zidane volley

During the 2002 Champions League Final against Bayer Leverkusen, Zinedine Zidane of Real Madrid scored one of the finest volleys that I have ever seen. To score such a marvelous goal in such an important match attests to the greatness of the 3 time World Player of the Year.

The goal came from nothing, as Santiago Solari played a difficult long ball along the left touch line to Roberto Carlos. Under pressure Carlos dumped the ball towards the box and set about praying.

His prayers were answered as Zidane, in space, loaded up a brilliant side footed volley into the top left corner of the net. Everyone was left stunned, nobody expected it. It was technique that you can only marvel at. What a goal.

Let Zidane explain for himself:

And watch the goal in real time with some very annoying commentators that don’t know how to shut it:

See the entire greatest goals ever series

Middlesbrough Gera-ing up?

Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate is set to reignite his attempt to sign Zoltan Gera from West Bromich Albion. Southgate first attempted to sign the Hungarian international midfielder during the January transfer window but failed because a fee could not be agreed.

Gera has pledged not to force a move ala Jason Koumas from The Hawthorns but insists his future lies in the Premiership.

“I’ve told all concerned parties that I want to leave but I’ve never thought of using any tricks to persuade my bosses to let me go.” -Gera

Gera first asked to leave Albion when they were relegated but was forced to stay on as part of a rebound push. It has not happened and its 2 seasons on, Albion should let him go if he wishes. It’s now up to Southgate to make a reasonable offer. I’ve always felt Gera was a very talented player and would be a solid signing. He scores goals from midfield, something Boro will need after losing Mark Vidula.

First on Southgate’s list is right winger Gokdeniz Karadeniz of Trabzonspor but the move has stalled over the club’s distinctly different valuations. While Gera is not a first choice, I think he’d be a better option because he has experience in England.

Where are the new players?

Tom Hicks and George Gillett made promises of transfer fees when they took Liverpool over but so far we’ve seen nothing but empty hands.

Liverpool have been linked with all kinds of players: Samuel Eto’o, Fernando Torres, Yossi Benayoun, etc but so far no moves and low-ball offers. In trying to land Fernando Torres, Liverpool seem more interested in moving some of their less desirable players in part exchange but Atletico Madrid are not interested, knowing full well what their player is worth. Lots of talk of a Torres offer but none has officially be made.

Despite Benitez being quoted as needing his squad set up as early as possible there seems to be no movement to strengthen in areas the team needs. In fact, the only significant move of the summer is for a holding midfielder something Liverpool have a glut of.

What is all the delay for? Is this a sign that the new owners are more interested in profit than they are the club? Is Liverpool going to wait for a bidding war to ensue while the new owners acclimate themselves to the way the global transfer market operates? All interesting questions and not a lot of answers.

For example, one situation that puzzles me is that Marseille want to buy Djibirl Cisse and Liverpool won’t make a deal. They should sell the player and take the cash. Bolton are also interested in him for 6m. He should have been sold before Torres was available. Same goes for Craig Bellamy and Momo Sissoko, with a glut in midfield why is he needed? Sell him. Combine the transfers for all 3 players and you have half the money you need for Fernando Torres. It seems like Liverpool want to sell their players for the maximum and buy their players cheaply. It won’t work that way. If Darren Bent is worth 17m pounds you can bet Torres is worth 20+. Sell the players, buy your striker and settle the team for a run next season.

Arsenal: if you’re squeamish, don’t look

Man, how’s this for a smiling mug? Former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry was unveiled to the press today as well as a horde of supporters at the Camp Nou in Barcelona. Would any other player generate that many people for 16m, a ridiculous price?

It looks so strange to see Henry in a different kit. Henry passed his medical today and signed a four-year contract.

The 29 year old won two Premiership titles and three FA Cups with Arsenal and came a hair from a Champions League medal, losing to Barcelona. In addition he was an integral part of the Gunners 49 game unbeaten run and scored a host of amazing goals.

Henry leaves Arsenal as their all time top scorer. It will be hard getting used to him in Catalan colors, so used to his Arsenal strip we have all become.

He also leaves with the club in a bit of tumult with departures and takeover talk poised to disrup the wonderful flowing football on display at The Emirates.

Charlton sign one of U-21 Tournament’s best defenders

Charlton Athletic have been preparing for life in the Championship by signing Portuguese U-21 International central defender Jose Semedo. If you didn’t have a chance to see him at the tournament he was very impressive, hardly putting a foot wrong through all the games and showing exceptional skill and athletic prowess for his age.

Charlton have definitely done well as Alan Pardew continues to build a new squad ahead of his attempt to rebound to the top flight.

A powerful central defender, Semedo reminds me a lot of Kolo Toure and Marcel Desially when you watch him. He has never actually played in the Sporting Lisbon first team having spent his youth there and being loaned out since 2004 to Casa Pia AC and then CD Feirense in the Second Division in Portugal and then to Cagliari in Italy. It’s incredible how many talented players are coming out of the Sporting youth academy, it goes another step towards cementing its place as the second best in the world behind Ajax Amsterdam.

Semedo has signed a four-year deal and follows another Under-21 starlet, Frenchman Yassin Moutaouakil, to the club. Luckily Charlton get him on a free transfer, Sporting having slipped on the contractual front.

I will stop short of raving, but this player has tremendous potential and I am certain will do exceptionally well at Charlton. I couldn’t find a video, so you’ll just have to wait and see.

Wenger stands ground on contract

Arsene Wenger will only sign a new contract if David Dein is brought back to the club, so it’s getting reported in the Daily Mail. I think its 99% true.

Wenger is expected to meet with club directors this week where it appears he will lay down the gauntlet. Wenger’s deal is only good for the coming season and his refusal thus far to extend is set to exert huge pressure on the board to undo the situation. Thierry Henry’s move to Barcelona was in large part due to David Dein’s departure and the situation is devolving inside the club’s board to the extent that a mass exodus could ensue. And Henry is not the club’s biggest asset, Wenger is.

Wenger is furious with the manner of the former vice-chairman's departure and appears ready to ‘go to the mattresses’ over the situation.

It appears more and more that all the money flooding into the Premiership is doing more harm than good. Everywhere you turn its takeover here and buyout there and bla bla bla funds for transfers to placate the fans. Arsenal were just fine before the Stanley Kroenke situation appears and will be fine without him. I tend to support the idea of floating the club on the stock exchange but different from what it is today and only if supporters get a large stake hold and a stipulation in a charter exists so that nobody can take over the club in it’s entirely like the Glazers have at Manchester United.

While Dein was right in some ways, he was wrong, I think, to suggest that another American tycoon would be good for the club long term. It should not have caused a departure thought. This was an issue that could have been worked out. Still, David Dein should not have bedded Kroenke. There are other ways to float the club and generate the money needed to pay for the new stadium and compete in the transfer market.

The remaining board members, who between them own 45% of the club, have agreed not to sell out their stakes for at least one year but you can bet it will happen unless intervention takes place. Remember the 2 horse jockeys at Man United. Same horserace, different club.

I can sympathize with Arsene Wenger. How would you like something that you have been crafting for so many years be put at risk with all the uncertainty surrounding the club? I wouldn’t, and would consider more stable pastures for sure.

Should the situation at Arsenal continue, you can rest assured nothing good will come from it, I don’t care how much money rich pricks throw at the club.

Dein is in a similar position. He has kept a low profile since leaving Arsenal and turned down the chance join Newcastle, another friggin buyout victim.

Buyout = sellout.

Liverpool preparing striker swap to land starlet

Atletico Madrid are laying the groundwork for life without Fernando Torres having made a bid for Diego Forlan and having it turned down. The 23-year-old Spanish international is very close to a deal that would see him join Liverpool as it appears both clubs are willing to accept a player + cash swap. What and who remain. Liverpool better move fast as a certain club in London that just lost its biggest asset might just swoop in.

It appears that the two clubs are 8m pounds apart in their respective valuations of Torres as well as different players involved in the deal. Liverpool have offered former Atletico player Luis Garcia but the Atletico are demanding Peter Crouch.

Liverpool also offered combinations of including Djibril Cisse in their bid for Torres. Rafa Benitez has gone as far as instructing Cisse’s management to discuss personal terms with Atletico. Cisse plus a cash offer of £15 million doesn’t seem enough though.

Liverpool will have to smash their record transfer fee by more than 10m pounds to land Torres as Atletico won’t budge from a release clause of 27m pounds. Last week Liverpool representatives travelled to Spain for negotiations and plan to return again this week.

While Peter Crouch is an option, Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez wants to hold on to him, plus there are enough Spanish players at the club and misfits to close the 8m pound transfer gap.

Liverpool better not wait if they are serious about Torres. Arsenal just lost their best ever player who happens to play the same position. Arsene Wenger has long been interested in Torres and would surely step in with a bid should the means appear. He’s a creative manager and knows how to make a deal (and also get shafted on Henry’s transfer fee) and recall that Jose Reyes is still on Arsenal’s books.

Chelsea reportedly make deal for Brazilian wunderkind (video)

Chelsea appear to finally be making a cash signing this season, and it’s not a tried and true European player, its for a 17 year old kid from Brazil. Jose Mourinho's reported to be extremely keen on The 17-year-old Internacional Porto Alegre striker Alexandre Pato. The youngster has been linked with a moves to AC Milan and Benfica, but Chelsea have reportedly closed the deal before any more interest in garnered at this month’s FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Canada.

Pato's agent Gilmat Veloz said:

"The deal is almost done, the two clubs have discussed the matter in the last few days."

The deal on the table includes incentives and is reportedly for 18m pounds, a giant sum for a 17 year old. It’s an indication of his talent which from the video below is extraordinary. Pato has impressed everyone surrounding the Brazilian League with Internacional in recent months; the deal stipulates the player will be allowed to stay until the end of the Brazilian league’s season in December.

Here is what all the fuss is about:

You can see some other Pato video clips here.

Newcastle sign Czech international

Czech international defender David Rozehnal has agreed terms with Newcastle United for a transfer from French club Paris St. Germain.

Newcastle had initial approaches rebuffed, but raised their initial 2m pound bid to about 3m pounds, an offer which was eventually accepted. Borussia Dortmund offered the same amount but the player chose Newcastle over their German rivals. It appears Newcastle’s hand was forced when Tal Ben-Haim chose to join Chelsea.

Borussia Dortmund had been hoping to pull off the signing but pulled out after failing to match the personal terms offered by Newcastle. Sevilla were very closer to derailing the deal with offers of Champions League football and the pedigree of a 2 consecutive UEFA Cup triumphs.

Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce though has gotten his man and put money behind his commitment to revamp the Newcastle defense after releasing Titus Bramble, Craig Moore, Oguchi Onyewu and left-back Olivier Bernard.

Rozehnal is due to undergo a medical on Monday before signing a four year contract.

Arsenal got shafted on Henry transfer fee

Can you believe the transfer fee for the player that I think is the best striker in the world? 16m pounds? That’s a joke folks, and if I were an Arsenal fan I’d feel hard done by. Barcelona have got a bargain and they sure know it.

The same thing happened to Arsenal with Patrick Vieira’s transfer. A small fee for one of the best midfielders in the world… now Henry, the club’s best player? 16m pounds? Darren ‘done nothing yet’ Bent is about to be sold for that price. How on earth did Arsenal sell Henry so cheap?

I’ll tell you what; if Arsenal sold Henry last season they would have gotten at least 25m-30m pounds for the him. Now they get barely enough money to sign an average striker. News Flash: Arsenal all over Alan Smith! News Flash: Javier Saviola in Arsenal linkup! News Flash: you wuz robbed.

For me, the most bothersome aspect of this transfer is that Samuel Eto’o did not go the other way. All along I thought this would have been a really good deal for Arsenal if Eto’o, younger, quicker and deadlier, could have been persuaded to sign. It appears that Barcelona now plan to team the pair up in what is no doubt the most potent strike partnership on earth. All for a song. Nice, if you can get it.

I am not a Gunners fan, and I’m dismayed, I can’t imagine what you all must be thinking. Arsenal are going to have a tough season next year with nobody to replace Theirry Henry. While Arsene Wenger has made many great deals, this is not one of them and it tells me one thing: Theirry Henry pushed for this deal a lot harder than I or anyone thought thought.

Tribute to Theirry Henry: his two greatest goals (video)

Today it was announced that Theirry Henry is leaving Arsenal for Barcelona, I thought it would be fitting to honor Arsenal’s all time leading scorer with his two greatest goals for the club: in 2000 vs Manchester United and in 2002 vs Tottenham.

Henry was always a showman, and he scored some spectacular goals in his 8 years playing for Arsenal.


My favorite, vs Manchester United:

What a run vs Tottenham:

See the entire greatest goals ever series

Henry signs for Barcelona

Arsenal striker Thierry Henry has signed with FC Barcelona, Spanish news reports confirm.

Barcelona will pay 17m pounds for Henry who have signed a 4-year deal. Cadena Ser radio and the newspaper El Pais have quoted Barcelona officials.

It doesn’t look like Eto’o is going the other way, Gunners. In my view, that's bad news unless Arsene Wenger has a master stroke up his sleeve or one of the strikers on the books comes good.

Henry has been with Arsenal since 1999 when he joined from Juventus and has scored a club record 226 goals in 364 appearance. He has won Premier League titles and four FA Cups in his 8 years in London.

I for one am a huge Henry fan, I think he should have been world player of the year last season and am sorry to see him leave the club.

Henry still had three years left on his contract he signed last season but speculation of his departure has reached a fever pitch in the last weeks.

I sensed along Henry wanted to leave the club from his carefully parsed comments, now its real. Henry acknowledged he was upset that David Dein, a close friend, quit as vice chairman of Arsenal. This coupled with a lack of movement in the transfer window and a perception that Arsenal are rebuilding has caused the plates to shift and bring on the transfer.

Wenger too has been linked with a possible move to Barcelona when his contract expires.

Barcelona selling former untouchable

Barcelona have put Premiership clubs Chelsea and Liverpool on alert that once untouchable midfielder Deco will be sold this summer.

The news comes as the emerging consensus within the club feel Barcelona need an overhaul as questions of the level of commitment have been raised by club president Joan Laporta. A third successive league title slipped from Barca’s hands as they led La Liga at the halfway point of the season.

Only six months ago Deco was viewed as a key member of the team and any offer would have been rejected, no longer. Laporta said certain players were staying including Ronaldinho, Messi and Eto'o, but the list notably lacked Deco. A Catalan paper said Deco was given a warning mid-season about his performances and they did not improve. An unnamed source claims Deco will be sold as a warning to the rest of the squad to reinvest their energies into the club or risk the same fate.

Sensing the shifting tide, last week Deco mentioned a desire to play in the Premiership and remains close to Jose Mourinho, his former manager at FC Porto. Chelsea and Liverpool are said to be keenly interested in signing the influential playmaker. Both Rafa Benitez and Mourinho are great admirers of the player’s talent and could get the Brazilian born, Portuguese international at a cut rate price.

For some reason Newcastle buy Smith

Newcastle United have made an agreement for Manchester United striker Alan Smith to leave Old Trafford in a deal worth around 3.5m pounds, exactly half of the 7m pounds United paid Leeds United for the player just 3 years ago.

Apparently Sam Allardyce failed in an attempt to sign a trio of players at once from United; he wanted to sign defensive pair Wes Brown and Mikael Silvestre as well.

Smith has been assured of a regular place on the pitch at Newcastle under Allardyce. Why, I don’t know. Alan Smith is a useful player but he’s another striker that doesn’t really score goals along the lines of James Beattie, Juan Pablo Angel, Mikael Forsell, and to a large extent Milan Baros. For my money, 3.5m could have been better spent especially as Mark Viduka has joined Newcastle earlier in the season. Maybe Big Sam has plans for Smith that don’t involve his being a striker, ala the extension of the experiment at Manchester.

While Newcastle may have beaten out a few clubs to sign Alan Smith, I am not sure they didn’t just beat themselves in the process.

The best goal of the 2002 World Cup

During a group match at the 2002 World Cup, Uruguay’s Dario Rodriguez scored a dream goal from a volley that for me was head and shoulders the best goal of that entire tournament.

The goal came from a corner on 47 minutes with Uruguay down 1-0. Jon Dahl Tomasson put Denmark ahead from a low cross from the left side footing it first time.

The clearance from the corner landed at the foot of a Uruguayan player who tapped hit with his foot, knee, then foot again to lob the ball across the box where Dario Rodriguez unleashed a stunning volley into the top left corner of the net with the outside of the left foot. 5 touches and the ball never touched the ground. The keeper didn’t have a chance in the world and it’s probably my favorite goal from a volley ever.

Uruguay would go on to lose 2-1 but not for lack of beauty and class.

See the entire greatest goals ever series

Manchester City in double whammy

Not only are Manchester City potentially going to be owned by the former prime minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra but it has been confirmed he’s met with former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson about becoming the clubs manager.

Not only are City going to potentially be owned by a man with a less than stellar record in government, with more than a few allegations of corruption, but they will get a manager whose record with English players is weak and ability to take a struggling team and turn them around in England untested. Consider how close City were to the relegation zone and I would consider this a worrying sign.

Consider also that Shinawatra seems to think that Eriksson is an ideal candidate. That right there would worry me more than anything. A bad coach is one thing, but an owner, entrenched, making bad decision after bad decision is totally another.

Shinawatra offered 81.6m pounds for City on Thursday.

Shinawatra still has to pass the Premier League's standard of a "fit and proper person" before being able to complete the proposed takeover. Nothing a bribe can’t solve, eh?

Prosecutors in Thailand have recently filed corruption charges against the former Prime Minister. He’s had his bank accounts frozen. Surely this isn’t the right thing for City or the Premiership.

City fans should not be taken in by dangling some new signings or a lot of promises in your face.

Tottenham closing in on central defender

Tottenham are in advanced stages of negotiations for France Under-21 central defender Younes Kaboul from Auxerre in France.

The 21 year old Kaboul impressed in the French top flight last season and is valued by Auxerre at 8m pounds. Auxerre have already rejected 6m pound offers from Portsmouth and Inter Milan during last season’s January transfer window. Kaboul is widely considered Auxerre’s best prospect for the future as he climbs towards a place in the French senior team. Signing for Tottenham may just give him the experience and gravitas he needs to claim a spot.
Auxerre vice-president Gerard Bourgoin has been quoted as saying:

"There are very serious discussions with Tottenham but they are not finalised yet”

Kaboul is an imposing defender at 190cm tall. He’s agile and adpet and could seriously challenge from day 1 for a starting palace. He’s very polished for his age.

Here he is scoring in a league game against Le Mans:

Vaz Te looks to jumpstart career

20 year old Ricardo Vaz Te has fueled transfer speculation by admitting that he would like to leave Bolton Wanderers and return to Portugal. Sporting Lisbon, flush with cash from their sale of Nani, appear to be the youngsters target.

Unsure how he will fit into new manager Sammy Lee's plans, Vaz Te has always been somewhat erratic in his form for the club. Feeling like he needs first team football to develop consistency, a move abroad might just suit him well. For Bolton, a loan deal might be of more interest because in my opinion, Vaz Te is a really talented player who needs to find his feet.

At Bolton he’s always been surrounded by players, for better or worse, more experienced and consistent than him. I have never rated Kevin Davis and have always felt that Vaz Te should have been given his spot in the lineup to try and develop him. While my opinion on this in is not popular with Bolton supporters, I do think not allowing the kid a chance to prove himself without the pressure of the up and down bench-and-start roller coaster he has been on has potentially spoiled a chance to have a really hot property on your hands.

Vaz Te told a Portuguese paper:

"I always had the objective to play in the Portuguese league. My preferred club would be Sporting. It is a team that promotes youth”

Vaz Te came through the academy ranks is likely going to start for Portugal in tonight's Olympic Games play-off against Italy in Nijmegen.

I think Bolton should consider a season long loan at Sporting with a season of first team football -something he has never had. From there we can see what Vaz Te is worth.

Holland vs Portugal 2006: History for the wrong reasons

During the World Cup in 2006 a dirty, ill-tempered quarterfinal was played between Holland and Portugal with a madman referee that ended with a record 16 yellow and 4 red cards.

Both teams finished the game with nine men: Deco and Costinha were dismissed for Portugal, while Khalid Boulahrouz and Gio van Bronkhorst were ejected for Holland.

Russian referee Valentin Ivanov, in what I think was one of the worst refereeing performances ever, set the tone by booking players early on for late tackles that he could have given free-kicks for.

It was unwatchable, here are the fouls:

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Ryan Giggs’s slaloming supergoal

During the 1999 FA Cup semifinal replay against Arsenal, Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs, playing with a groin injury, took the ball from his own half –ala Maradona against England or Michael Owen against Argentina, to score a superb winner.

Patrick Vieira made a careless pass across the center circle. Giggs picked up the ball in space within his own half and started dribbling at the Arsenal defense. The first defender to approach was Vieira, Giggs jinked left to avoid a challenge. Yorke makes a fantastic diagonal run which causes the defense to hesitate and Giggs took advantage of this.

Next, Giggs wrong-foots a defender and evades a third challenge at which point 3 defenders converge and all looks lost. Giggs’s brilliance then shone as he played a perfect ball to himself directly into the box, takes on a shoulder challenge and with a defenders leg outstretched, unleashes a cannon just under the bar leaving David Seaman with no chance. It proved to be the winner and a 109th minute gem.

See the entire greatest goals ever series

Royston Drenthe

The player making the greatest impact at this month’s UEFA Under 21 Championships is Royston Drenthe of Feyenoord. He’s being touted to go just about everywhere with no less than 6 clubs making inquiries: West Ham, Sunderland, Aston Villa, Tottenham, Newcastle and Manchester City as well as Scottish outfit Celtic.

Drenthe has been outstanding during the tournament. A left back converted to winger for the tournament, he has only played one season in the Dutch top flight for Rotterdam side Feyenoord. In his first game against Israel he as deemed to be playing against weak competition but in the second game against Portugal, Drenthe jinked, skipped, slid and all around terrorized the Portuguese defense. If a defender (both Portuguese defenders –starter and sub to replace him, were yellow carded) when they stood off he's let off a hard strike, charge to the by-line or zing cross into the box. He was a real handful and cemented his class against Belgium in the final group match.

As scouts left the matches, I’m sure they were pondering what it would cost them to prize the player away from Feyenoord.

Drenthe’s agent said he’s received about 15 inquiries from different clubs throughout Europe.
He’s a dedicated kid:

“After the Portugal game I didn’t get any sleep until 4am. I’m still so pumped up and I lie and think about my game; analysing what went well and what went wrong. Only after rerunning the game several times do I fall asleep.”

The 20-year-old Drenthe could be available for a modest 3.6m pounds but I can’t imagine that he would sell for that price should he have anymore standout performances at the tournament. The asking price is well within the reach of most clubs so a bidding war could ensue. It’s up to Feyenoord which could easily block a deal and cash in next season where the player will likely garner a bigger sum.

Sensational rumor? How about this…

Barcelona are quickly becoming the revulsion of all things Arsenal as it has sensationally been rumored that it’s not just about Theirry Henry anymore but that now coach Arsene Wenger has become a target of the Catalans.

Apparently the story emerged after Barcelona lost out on the La Liga title on the last day of the season, coach Frank Rijkaard will quit (or, ehm, be asked to quit) and Barcelona will look to Arsene Wenger as a replacement. It’s rumored that when Wenger met with Barcelona financial director Feran Soriano in Paris last week his own future was a topic of discussion in addition to Theirry Henry.

Could it be real? Definitely. You could never seen him takeover another Premiership club, but another country? Yes. Wenger, who has one year remaining on his current contract, has not extended, and is frustrated departure of former Vice Chairman David Dein who was his main ally on the club's board. Additionally, Wenger might be interested in a new challenge. Coaches, like players sometimes need that to keep their motivation high.

Is it likely? No, not at all. The Spanish press is notorious for its sensational journalism and flexibility with facts. Wenger is well, well, well settled in London and is a sacred cow among Arsenal supporters. I can see Soriano making mention of Wenger coaching Barca but I can’t see it going any further than that. At Arsenal Wenger has very long term plans and is the type of person to see them thru.

Butt of a joke

Bayer Leverkusen keeper Hans-Jorg Butt created a truly hilarious situation after scoring on a penalty against Schalke 04.

Known for his free kicks and penalty taking, Butt made the score 3-1 against Schalke with a penalty. Full of hubris and delight he proceeded to hi-five every player on the pitch for Levelkusen, taking his sweet time and paying for it.

As he went back into his goal he found Schalke has scored. The play was restarted quickly and Schalke's Mike Hanke took advantage of the egregious celebrations to score a goal from near the half way line. He’ll never do that again.

Here is the video of it:

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Where will Eidur land?

Reports in Spain have claimed that Barcelona are considering a swap sending Eidur Gudjohnsen to Manchester United for defender Gerard Pique. West Ham United are ready to table as much as 12m pounds, well above the speculated valuation.

Gudjohnsen apparently wants to leave Barcelona because of limited first team football. He’s fallen down the choice sheet behind Samuel Eto'o, Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi. If this is what he wanted, I wonder what Gudjohnsen was thinking when he moved to Barca. He must have known he was not going to be first choice, if that is what he cares about, why not play somewhere where he would be. Not to knock his talent, I think he’s a classy player but you have to be realistic.

If he really wants to be the main guy, West Ham are very interested in having him. I understand he wants Champions League football, but he’ll remain a 2nd or 3rd choice option at Manchester United. Should Manchester be willing to swap for Pique, a former member of Barca’s youth team, it would probably be a better situation than he has, but not ideal.

Where the previous number bandied about was 8m pounds, West Ham would be coming in with an offer that Barcelona would take very seriously. It would take some convincing to get Gudjohnsen to share that feeling, West Ham, now with an Incelandic owner, would be an idea place as they look to revamp their squad and would likely be very effective next to Carlos Tevez should he stay (and I think he should).

Birmingham rejected for now

West Ham have rejected a 3m pound offer from Birmingham for striker Marlon Harewood.

The 27-year-old striker has been told he can leave the club but West Ham are waiting on a better bid, near 5m pounds. Harewood joined West Ham in 2003 from Nottingham Forest and was instrumental in their 2005 promotion campaign racking up 22 goals. Year before last Harewood scored 16 goals but had a let down season as did many Hammer last term with only 4 goals.

While Birmingham has been first to the table with cash in hand, Blues do come in with a renewed offer it is likely they will face competition from Charlton who are losing Darren Bent and Fulham needing help just about everywhere. A reunion with Alan Pardew would seem on the cards but to step down to the Championship when a move to a club in the Premiership looms would make it unlikely.

Harewood, I’m sure, would like to stay in the top flight and could get intransigent if he wanted, but so far he’s been relaxed about it:

"I just can't wait to be scoring again and winning games for a team, that's what I want to be doing."

The Blues have already had a bid recently rejected for West Brom's Diomansy Kamara but succeed in signing Middlesbrough defender Stuart Parnaby and a permanent deal for Arsenal midfielder Fabrice Muamba.

Golden boot back to Italy

Roma striker Francesco Totti has won the European Golden Boot award. Going into the last game of the season Ruud van Nistelrooy of Real Madrid had a chance to match or pass Totti for the award but came up limp on 33 minutes of Real’s last game.

The 30 year old Totti scored 26 times for Roma to finish one goal ahead of van Nistelrooy.

With the weighted scoring system his 26 goals in Serie A gave him 52 points, two points ahead of Van Nistelrooy with 50.

Totti played the entire World Cup and season with a pin in his ankle. He was injured last season and took the measure so he could compete.

Totti, normally an attacking midfielder took a different role with his club this season and it has paid off for him. Last year compatriot Luca Toni of Fiorentina won the award.

First 10 million takes him

Chelsea have announced that winger Shaun Wright-Phillips can leave Stamford Bridge for 10m sparking interest from Tottenham, West Ham, Manchester City and Newcastle United.

Failing to impress Jose Mourinho after a 21m pound move from Manchester City 2 years ago, the 25-year-old could serve to generate transfer funds for strengthening other areas of the squad. Selling seems to be the only means for Chelsea as Roman Abramovich's funds have been cutoff for new players as the club has been focused on free transfers.

Tottenham are reported to be keenly interested along with host of other clubs including his previous home at Manchester City. Tottenham are desperate for a left winger, but I think it would be awkward having Lennon and Wright-Phillips on the flanks. Although not noted as a position that size is important, two such diminutive players could see Tottenham outmuscled in midfield. A swap for Chimbonda would be equal value.

Alan Curbishley is also keen after missing out on Darren Bent, as he looks to rebuild his West Ham side after a disastrous season of underperforming players. Flush with cash, West Ham seem to have no problems with the asking price.

Manchester City would be a natural place for Wright-Phillips to return to but the price tag would be steep for a City side in debt.

While Newcastle seem obsessed with a new defense, cash remains for a new winger. Newcastle could be an excellent place for Wright-Phillips, especially with manager Sam Allardyce’s reputation for recuperating careers. In my opinion it’s the best team he could join because there is very little downside for him personally. I also think the cast of Newcastle's players would do Wright-Phillips some good, especially playing with Mark Viduka and Michael Owen.

Personally, I am suprised. Last season Wright-Phillips was on the verge of coming good at Chelsea. I thought he could have had a breakout season next year. To see him being sold means to me that there is indeed no money available.

Kanu likely leaving

It appears almost certain that former Nigerian international Nwankwo Kanu will quit Fratton Park this summer after failing to reach agreement on a new contract. This will probably be the end of the player’s career in the Premiership as he appears headed back to Ajax Amsterdam on a free transfer.

The 30 year old striker had a resurgent season scoring 12 times.

Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp expects the player to leave after contract negotiations broke down. He was offered a single year contract and would be given a second year should he play in 20 games for the club.

It appears the 20 game clause is the cause of the contract breakdown. While Redknapp has indicated Portsmouth would extend the contract for a second season in case an injury forces the player under the clause but still maintains good form. The clause is a protection against a great drop in form. It’s not too much to ask from Kanu, who has been known for spats of laziness and swings in form, it would serve as a motivator.

Miguel Veloso

Watching all the games of the UEFA Under 21 Championships so far, the one player that has impressed me more than any other is Miguel Veloso of Sporting Lisbon. Arsenal have their sights set on him, but Manchester United could prove a spoiler as they have a right of first refusal.

The Portuguese is a natural defensive midfielder and has been so impressive of late he is already challenging for a place on the senior side, where Felipe Scolari sees the 21 year old as a potential stalwart for midfield as Portugal challenge for a Euro 2008 place.

Physically they are different but there are a lot of similarities to Patrick Vieira, especially in terms of tenacity and passing. Veloso shows great composure and excellent technique. He has a great free kick as well as the ability to link up play. The 21-year-old admits he would be interested in a move to England:

"There is a lot of quality in England and for any young player it is an attractive proposition."

Reports in Portugal claim Arsene Wenger will approach Sporting Lisbon to discuss a transfer within weeks.

Veloso's agent Paulo Barbosa confirmed interest:

"There are some big European clubs in for the kid, but not only clubs from England but also Spain - but the subject is exclusively for Sporting, Veloso has a deal signed until June 2013 and club is not willing to negotiate his exit."

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger had Veloso and Joao Moutinho watched in all three of Portugal U21's group games at the European Championships. Veloso is also on Manchester United's radar screen and have a first refusal agreement with Sporting which could potentially keep him away from Arsenal. You would imagine after signing Owen Hargreaves from Bayern Munich there would not be much interest but nonetheless, United have also been tracking the player closely and had scouts at Portugal’s games to watch him.

Couldn’t find a decent video compilation of his skills, so here is a goal from a free kick at the U-21 Championships:

Fernandes may end up at West Ham

Portugal Under-21 midfielder Manuel Fernandes has spent the last season on loan in the Premiership at Portsmouth and Everton, while the player is desperate for a permanent move Benfica has slapped a stiff asking price on the talented midfielder. It appears West Ham may provide the home the player desperately seeks.

Apparently impressed with Fernandes’s performances in the U-21 Championships, it appears that the 12m pound price tag on the player may be negotiated for a permanent move. Fernandes was impressive on loan to Everton, but neither Harry Redknapp or David Moyes were willing to meet the asking price.

The asking price problem for the player stems from issues relating to his ownership by a third party, a a trend becoming more common and less appealing every day.

"I'm back at Benfica now, it's finished for me in England. I enjoyed it, it was a great experience." – Fernandes

Not so fast, then. Upton Park may yet sign a player deserving a place in a Premiership midfield.

Nani in injury scare, shows talent, shows up critic

Manchester United can breathe easier as recent acquisition Nani’s injury scare at the UEFA Under 21 Championships last night is deemed not serious. Up until his premature departure, he was at the heart of everything rebutting the criticism being leveled at him recently from Chelsea scout Piet de Visser.

Nani had to be stretchered from the field in the 52nd minute of Portugal's 4-0 win over Israel after an Isreali substitute tackled from behind landing his weight directly on Nani’s back leg. It was a terrible challenge deserving of a straight red that was not given.

Before the injury, Nani was having his best night of the tournament and was showing the talent that led Manchester United to splash out for him. He was at the center of everything, especially Portugal’s goals as the young side delivered a masterclass in domination. Portugal maintained 70% of the possession, had an 11 to 1 edge in corners, and had 30+ shots on goal compared to 3 from Israel. It was not just the stats though, it was the level and intensity of the domination at times looking like a game of FIFA 2007 on a game console where an older brother beats up on a younger sibling that’s not so good.

Chelsea, on the other hand, might think twice about comments of their scout Piet de Visser:

"He is a talent, but if you look at the European Championship in Portugal and the current tournament in the Netherlands - Nani has not shown any progress. Therefore I think Manchester United have paid too much money for a player who has talent, but has not developed since last year."

He should reconsider after last night. Nani’s passing, ingenuity, and superbly taken goal demonstrated his class. Obviously, we won’t know anything until he kicks a ball in the Premiership but you can bet Visser’s comments more from the fact that Chelsea have not signed anything but free transfers while United have splashed out and are poised to spend more. Having watched Nani last year I can say that Visser is definitely wrong: Nani has developed noticeably.

The dirtiest player in Europe

If there were ever a contest for the dirtiest player in Europe, it’s Marco Materazzi. When he played for one season at Everton he was red carded 3 times. From a provocation of Zinedine Zidane at the World Cup to the savage elbow he delivered to Juan Pablo Sorin during the Champions League against Villareal to moment after ugly moment in the Serie A, he’s a brute of a defender with no consideration for anyone’s body. Inter Milan should be ashamed to have him on their books.

Does this guy belong on a pitch?

And how about these gems from Seria A:

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The Graham Souness flag incident

During the 1996 season Turkish club Fenerbahce were competing for the title with Trabzonspor while Galatasaray were struggling.

Galatasaray managed to reach the cup final against Fenerbahce and everyone predicted an easy win for Fenerbahce. Leading up to the game there were insults at Galatasaray and the Fenerbahce chairman even made remarks about Souness’s fitness to coach.

Galatasaray won the first leg thru a Dean Saunders penalty. The 2nd leg was played in the heated atmosphere of the Fenerbahce home ground. Fenerbahce lost the match in an extra time equalizing goal. Galatasaray has won the cup.

Souness decided to take a huge Galatasaray flag and plant it in the centre of the Fenerbahce pitch. What resulted was a furor in the ground and the press, it was an act that was deeply offensive in Turkish culture. Years on this has always been looked back on as a very provocative gesture that has sparked violence in Turkish football and especially when English clubs travel to Turkey. It was a dumb move by Souness.

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Names finally emerge in bung inquiry, Newcastle and Bolton worst offenders

Two top flight football managers have been named by the Premiership bung inquiry. Sam Allardyce, when he was at Bolton for conflicts of interest and former Newcastle boss Graeme Souness for inconsistencies in evidence. Additionally Chelsea, Middlesbrough and Portsmouth have been named for having breached transfer regulations.

The clubs will now be facing further investigations from the FA but the report names Newcastle and Bolton are viewed as the most serious offenders.

Also, concerns about 15 agents were raised including Allardyce’s son Craig.

Of the 17 named in the report, four each relate to Newcastle and Bolton: Emre Belozoglu, Jean Alain Boumsong, Amady Faye, Albert Luque at Newcastle and Ali Al-Habsi, Tal Ben Haim, Blessing Kaku, Julio Correia for Bolton. Chelsea score three with Didier Drogba, Petr Cech and Michael Essien. Three also for Portsmouth with Collins Mbesuma, Benjani Mwaruwari, and Aliou Cisse and two to Middlesbrough with Yakubu and Fabio Rochemback.

Notice how every one of those transfers is for a player arriving from another country. Clearly the problem here resides on a lack of regulation at a higher level. The FA plans to send the findings to FIFA, but with a corrupt crony like Sepp Blatter in charge, don’t hold your breath.

The question outstanding for me is who took money?

Henry closer to Arsenal exit

Everywhere you look its denials, denials. Despite that, French sports paper L'Equipe claims Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger traveled to Paris on yesterday to meet Barcelona financial director Ferran Soriano to discuss a swap deal for Samuel Eto'o.

The troubling part of the situation if you are an Arsenal fan, is that apparently Barcelona wants to buy Henry outright, this week Eto’o came out and spoke of his desire to play alongside Henry. Eto’o is a friend of Henry’s and the pair have spoken recently about playing together.

Contrary to previous speculation, Barcelona will only move Eto’o for Henry for a 10m pound fee. Originally the rumor was quite the opposite, with Barcelona paying a fee in the swap deal.
It appears that the initial offer for Henry is in the 20m pound range. Arsenal are demanding closer to 27m.

I guess we are seeing the burden of debt from the construction of The Emirates Stadium, Arsenal are looking for bargains and their biggest asset sees the writing on the wall.
Barcelona has gone as far as publicly stating in a French football magazine that the Henry move was a done deal. We’ve heard that kind of talk before, but the different elements converging here would indicate that it’s quite close to happening.

Stories keep circulating in Spanish papers that claim Barcelona has presented a three year contract offer with an option for a fourth worth 8m pounds a year.

If this deal happens with no Eto’o going the other way, it’s bad news, ‘rebuilding’ news. While Arsene Wenger is as good as anyone in the world at this, maybe the best, it’s going to be some time before Arsenal recover. In many ways this one is more damaging than Patrick Vieira leaving because there is nobody close to Henry’s level at the club to replace him. A great holding midfielder is one thing, but goals are another. Hold all you want but without goals you will be holding nothing but a certain appendage in your hand in mid-table.

Should an Eto’o swap take place, its throw your hats in the air time. Henry looks unmotivated, Eto’o could be a sensation in the Premiership, could, I mean almost certainly would. I have watched Eto’o since he was 18 and he has never done anything but improve. Pace, explosiveness, finishing, he is as good as Henry and will still grow.

A swap benefits Arsenal, make the deal Arsene.

The Marco van Basten volley

Marco van Basten was one of the greatest strikers to ever play the game. He is a legend at his clubs Ajax and AC Milan and sadly has his career cut short because of injury right when he was in his prime. He is not often mentioned with the greatest strikers, but should be. Currently he is the coach of the Dutch national side and doing an excellent job of it.

His most famous and stunning goal came in the final of Euro 1988.

The Dutch were pressuring the USSR heavily in midfield. A pass was intercepted and the ‘Oranje’ started to charge up-field. After compressing the defense towards the center of the field in front of the box, the ball is passed wide where Arnold Muhren sends a high, long floating cross from the outside of the box on the left.

The ball floats endlessly, surly giving the defense time to regroup. The ball traveled about 35 meters towards van Basten at the complete opposite end of the area, and almost at the touch line. Hopeless, you think. But, almost at a dead angle to the goal van Basten volleys the ball with the top of his right foot and guilds it in a perfect arc and with terrific power and accuracy over keeper Rinat Dasayev into the opposite end of the net. It is an incredible goal from an incredible player, one of the greatest volley's ever, and done in a major final. That goal topped off Holland’s only international crown.

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Samir Nasri

Cross Chelsea winger Arjan Robben with the newly retired Zinedine Zidane and you come up with Samir Nasri. Just voted France’s best young player and given his first international cap, Nasri is a hot property. Despite interest from Real Madrid he will stick around in France for a while where he plays for Marseille.

The talented attacking midfielder, just 19, had a superb season for Marseille and has big ambition. For the moment he wants to remain in France for another season but would like a move to a European giant soon.

Nasri began playing in Ligue 1 with Marseille in the 2005 season. He started 13 games and came on as a substitute 11 times, just 17 years old at the time. The next year his goal count improved scoring two goals in all competitions. The following season he became more regular in the starting lineup and in the 2007 season became a full time starter, and a breakout player grabbing attention from the likes of Franck Ribery.

When you watch Nasri play, his talent is unmistakable. He has wonderful control and timing and evades defenders with apparent east. He’s quick too and has good vision. His teammates love playing with him and consider him one of the reasons Marseille has a better season last year. His weak point? Shooting. Don’t let the video below fool you, those are about his only goals. Some are crackers but check out other videos and you’ll see him missing the side of a barn over and over again.

Ben Haim a Blue

Chelsea beaten out Newcastle and have signed Bolton Wanderers central defender Tal Ben Haim on a free transfer.

Ben Haim has passed a medical at Stamford Bridge this afternoon and afterwards singed a 4 year contract. Rejecting a 2m pound price tag by Bolton during the January transfer window, it looked like the Israeli international would follow his former boss to Newcastle but Chelsea have done enough to convince the stalwart that his future remains in London.

The 25 year old former Maccabi Tel Aviv player now looks set to compete for a place in the Chelsea lineup. While a good player, I doubt he will force his way into the side and replace Ricardo Carvalho in the starting lineup, especially as he had a career season last year. It probably comes down to salary: Chelsea offered the most. Whether it will end up being in Ben Haim’s interests will have to be seen.

Bolton’s new manager Sammy Lee was hoping to keep Ben Haim on the books but could not match Chelsea’s salary structure. Ben Haim will now join Jose Mourinho's squad for their pre-season tour of the United States in July.

Ben Haim becomes the third new addition to the Chelsea first team following Claudio Pizarro and Steve Sidwell, all on free transfers as Chelsea follow thru with their new cheapski strategy.

Barton gets his money, Newcastle foot bill

The protracted transfer of troubled Joey Barton from Manchester City to Newcastle United is finally complete.

The final transfer sum is for 5.8m pounds and for a five-year deal. The previous deal was for 5.5m but Newcastle, in a bid to end a dispute over a 300k pound loyalty clause Barton felt entitled to, upped their offer and completed the transfer deal.

Manchester City insisted they did not force him to leave and didn’t actively try to sell him so didn’t have to pay. My opinion is that they shouldn’t have to pay because Barton disgraced the club. How could he ask for the money after all the embarrassments he’s created?

It looks like a face saving measure for both sides in the row, but it’s the Magpies who are basically paying Barton his 300k. Sam Allardyce was angered and criticized City for the delay: I’m sure he wouldn’t have done the same in their position, nor would he have kept it private. It took the Professional Footballers' Association to resolve the situation.

Barton made his debut for Manchester City in 2003 and has never been away from controversy: critical of England players, a training ground beating of teammate Ousmane Dabo, stubbing out a cigar in teammate Jamie Tandy's eye during a Christmas party, and let’s not forget him beating on a school kid when they were in Thailand for a pre-season tour in 2005.

Should Barton even be allowed to play in the Premiership anymore?

I hope Newcastle know what they are getting into. This bully makes Craig Bellamy and Laurent Robert look like saints. Hold your noses, Joey is coming:

Liverpool make low-ball bid

Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry today confirmed that the club has made an offer for West Ham midfielder Yossi Benayoun. The reaction from Premiership survivors West Ham was not positive, as the player had already agreed verbally to a new 5 year deal.

It appears that West Ham are also angered by the amount of the offer labeling it ‘insulting’, it’s thought to be as little as 1m pounds and responded by telling Liverpool that Benayoun is not for sale. West Ham plan talks this week to convince Benayoun to stay on where his new contract will be worth an estimated 50,000 pounds a week.

Benayoun is thought to be keen on a move to Anfield which is what caused him to hold up on signing the new deal. The deal has been on the table for a month which likely indicates some wink-wink, hold off signing while we prepare an offer.

When will it turn right for Benjani?

Zimbabwe international captain Benjani Mwaruwari has scored only seven Premiership goals since moving to Portsmouth from Auxerre in January 2006’s transfer window. Speculation has emerged that the player might return to France, but I would suggest he needs a bit more time and will come right.

Most Portsmouth fans will probably disagree with me and want to show Benjani the door, but he is an excellent, hard working player who was sensational at Auxerre. If he could settle himself at the club and with Premiership football he can easily turn into a 15-20 goal a season striker.

Why my confidence? Well, every player with few exceptions that tries to work within the team will have his day. There have been a host of players that take time to settle in the Premiership and start producing big time, just look at Didier Drogba. Pompey had their best season in years and Benjani started 26 of those games. You could argue that it was in spite of him, but it was not. He helped the team get results because he was active and threatening. Harry Redknapp agrees:

"Benjani was fantastic for us and worked his socks off. He gave us so much but he only scored six goals. We need to get goalscorers in who can get you 15 or 20 goals a year."

While there is speculation that Portsmouth may sign John Utaka from Rennes, and are interested in Boro’s Yakubu, it’s hopefully not to replace Benjani. I doubt it anyway, regardless of the interest Marseille has shown in the player. Portsmouth have problems up front with Andy Cole’s age, Kanu not yet extending his contract and Lua Lua a cry baby with his ‘I’m unappreciated’ garbage.

When will it turn right? Next season.

Barcelona winger on Tottenham radar, completion from abroad

If Tottenham move quickly, they have a good chance to land French international Ludovic Giuly from Barcelona as recent reports suggest the player will be available for transfer for as little as 1.5m pounds. A number of clubs has expressed interest in the winger, with former club Monaco, Marseille, Juventus, and Fiorentina all reporting interest.

The 30 year old’s role at Barcelona has diminished since they won the Champions League in 2006 with the continued emergence of Lionel Messi. Guily makes another in the list of quality experience players on the market this summer as clubs continue their trend towards staying as young as possible.

Marseille are considered to be serious contenders since they have cash in hand and a need to replace Franck Ribery, who joined Bayern Munich last week.

"Ludovic has spoken with Frank Rijkaard. There's an 80 per cent chance he will be leaving Barca," Dominique Giuly (agent and father)

Tottenham, who have failed in their efforts to sign Nani, Stewart Downing, Martin Petrov and so far Morten Gamst Pedersen are still looking for a solution for their left-wing problems. While he is 30, Tottenham need some experience and a direct player like Guily could easily fit the mold and at such a low price there is very little risk.

Zola’s brilliant flick

Gianfranco Zola will always be remembered as a timeless favorite at Chelsea for his amazing durability and eternal youth. He scored what I think is the greatest goal from a corner ever against Norwich City.

Graeme Le Saux lined up the corner from the right and took it short, too short in fact because it left all those players coming forward stranded for a chance on goal and exposed for a counter attack.

Zola charged the near post and changed his line to meet the short ball leaving him at a very tight angle towards goal. 99% of players would have tried to dump the ball into the box and hope for some luck, but Zola decided to make an audacious back heel flick-on with his right foot to redirect the ball into the top right corner of the net. It was a brilliant piece of invention by the talented Italian.

See the entire greatest goals ever series

Torres will finally be for sale

The race is on as Inter and AC Milan, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool, and Arsenal are all on alert following the reports that Atletico Madrid will confirm in the coming days that they are finally willing to allow striker Fernando Torres to leave the club this summer.

The 23-year-old Spain international is keen on a move to England and with the big four from England in the hunt in the Champions League they all stand a fair chance. The price will be in the range of 20m pounds.

Torres has been the target of endless speculation, mainly because he’s been far and away the best player on a distinctly average team which gets very little European exposure. Atletico has again failed to get to the UEFA Cup qualification stages. The problem has generally been that Torres has been a lifelong Atletico supporter and the club have been reluctant to sell their best asset as they try to move up the table, the fans are also extremely attached to the player.

The sought after success hasn’t happened. Better to sell Torres and improve the side across the board. Torres has also attracted interested from Barcelona but it is unlikely that he’ll want to compete against his favorite club.

Boro: Dutch international striker on the cards?

Middlesbrough are interested in a move for Dutch international winger/striker Romeo Castelen from Dutch outfit Feyenoord.

According to the Middlesbrough Evening Gazette, Boro manager Gareth Southgate is interested in the player but won’t spend the 6m pounds that Feyenoord are asking for the 24 year old.

Castelen is linked with a number of clubs including Torino, Paris St Germain and Parma. He has reached 10 caps for Holland so far in his career. He was a target of Manchester City last season.

Injury kept him out of the World Cup Finals last summer, but Castelan is a very talented player and would bring a lot of excitement to the club. He was a member of the side that lifted the European under-21 title.

Suriname born Castelan started his career as a right winger but he's now playing as a striker. He’s been more effective for Feyenoord in this role and has impressed many clubs with his searing pace. Think of him as a poor man’s Obafemi Martins.

Newcastle very close to signing Czech International

New Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce is determined to construct a new back four at the club and has made an offer for Paris St-Germain central defender David Rozehnal.

The 2m pound offer to the Czech international, 26, is coupled with the players apparent willingness to move to Tyneside. So far, there is no response from PSG, their asking price seems to be in the range of 3.5m pounds.

Allardyce traveled to the Millennium Stadium recently to see Rozehnal play in an Euro 2008 qualifier for the Czech Republic against Wales.

Borussia Dortmund are willing to meet Paris St Germain’s asking price so Newcastle will be forced to up their offer if they are to land the player.

Rozehnal won the Belgian League twice with Bruges, before that he was with Sigma Olomouc. He joined PSG in 2005.

Arsenal signing pacifier?

In an attempt to pacify Theirry Henry, Arsenal look interested in bringing France striker David Trezeguet from Juventus to the Emirates Stadium.

Trezeguet and Henry played together at Monaco early in their career under Arsene Wenger, both players have played for Juventus. It appears Arsenal have realized they have squandered endless chances all last season and would improve the side by bringing in a more clinical finishing. It also appears bringing a friend of Henry’s to the club would help settle the rampant speculation surrounding the Arsenal captain. Barcelona and AC Milan have been climbing over each other trying to get the strikers attention and bring him to their respective countries.

Trezeguet, 29, has rejected Juventus’s latest offer and looks set to leave after 7 seasons and 140 goals. It has been suggested that Arsenal can have the Trezeguet for about 4m pounds since he only has a year to go on his current deal.

"There's no possibility of me staying at Juventus. There's no more room for negotiations." - Trezeguet

Trezeguet was apparently angered at the terms of the new offer, calling it ridiculous.
Arsenal have competition for the striker as he is also wanted by French champion Lyon and Valencia.

Whether a move for Trezeguet is to pacify Henry or not, it seems like good business either way. Arsenal need to be more clinical in front of goal next season to move up the table. Trezeguet brings experience and composure to the side as well as lots of experience playing with Henry. The only down side is, at age 29, that he won’t have many years in the tank before he’s over the hill.

Barton holding City at ransom

The all out arrogance, petulance, and outright idiocy of it boggles my mind. World class trouble maker Joey Barton is at it again and his move from Manchester City to Newcastle is off until he relents.

Joey Barton’s contract with Manchester City has a loyalty payment of 300,000 pounds to be paid out if the club transfers him without an official transfer request. Barton, after his despicable antics seems to think he is entitled to the money, even though his behavior is what initiated the transfer. Technically he’s right, but so are Manchester City since the club is already losing a lot of money in value on the player.

Barton has passed a medical and agreed personal terms at Newcastle but the move will not be rubber stamped until he turns in a transfer request.

Barton was suspended by City near the end of last season following a training ground fight which left Ousmane Dabo hospitalized.

Machester City gave Barton permission to speak to West Ham and Newcastle but officially they never transfer listed him. In a way, I hope the stubborn brute sticks to his guns and sits at home next season wishing he wasn’t who he is. The Premiership is better without enforcers, this isn’t hockey.

Remembering Cantona’s greatest goal

Eric Cantona, second maybe only to George Best or Bobby Charlton is the most highly regarded player to ever play for Manchester United. In 1996 he scored his greatest ever goal against Sunderland.

Fed the ball from the right of defense Cantona received the ball between 2 defenders which quickly closed on him. Cantona faked left, retreated facing the second defender, and then turned to face the first defender again, but this time accelerated inside of him beating both players and breaking the midfield line. Cantona then sprinted the ball forward dishing it off to Brian McClair on his left and continued his run.

McClair dutifully passed the ball back to Cantona in the most classic of 1-2 fashions leaving Cantona with a defender and the keeper to beat. Cantona did that and then some by the most elegant of chip shots that bounced of the top corner of the goal and into the net.


In typical style Cantona surveys the ground in a self gratifying stare and lifts his arms letting everyone know he is was not to be considered washed up.

See the entire greatest goals ever series

The greatest team goal in history

Brazil scored the greatest team goal in history during the 1970 World Cup final against Italy. It was such a brilliantly crafted goal that you can call the one thing to describe what Brazilian football is all about better than anything else.

No need to describe it, folks, Carlos Alberto does it better than I can:

See the entire greatest goals ever series

Vasquez’s cheeky stunner

You see it training, but how often do you see a goal like this? And on top of that your FIRST GOAL for your new club IFK Gothenburg of Sweden? Well, what they call the ‘rabona’ or cross kick happened with Andres Vasquez against Orebro SK.

The 19 year old Peruvian midfielder can hardly ever top this effort in what has to go down as one of the most amazing goals ever scored. You must just stop for a moment and consider how difficult it is to wrap one leg around the other and float a ball so perfectly over a keeper –with the outside of your foot!



Vasquez defended well and caught a Orebro player out near his own box. He dribbled towards goal and on the edge of the area as the ball rolled he moved his left leg behind his right and with the outside of his left foot chipped the ball perfectly into the opposite corner of the goal.

This move, known as the ‘rabona’ was invented by Italian Giovanni Roccotelli in the 1970s.

See the entire greatest goals ever series

Ronaldinho’s cannon shot

Against Sevilla in 2006 Barcelona’s Ronaldinho blasted a monstrous strike which certainly goes down as his greatest ever goal.

From inside his own half, Ronaldinho was dribbling forward and stuttered as a defender approached. A quick flick to the right saw him past the first challenge and then in short succession a second, as Ronaldinho used the defenders pace against him and forced him forward as he again jinked right to open up space.

With a made wide on the left and a striker in good position for a thru-ball, Ronaldinho audaciously extended his right leg to let loose a cannon of a shot which rose and then dipped just slightly enough to dip under the bar. The keeper might as well have been swatting at flies. It was a goal that dripped brilliance.

See the entire greatest goals ever series

Lunatic fan tries to attack referee

UEFA awarded Sweden a 3-0 win over Denmark following the abandonment of the team’s recent Euro 2008 qualifier in Copenhagen. The teams were tied 3-3 in the last minute when a piss drunk Danish fan tried to charge Herbert Fandel after a decision to award Sweden a penalty. The crazy fan obviously didn’t see the blatant punch by Danish Christian Poulsen who plays for Sevilla.



Denmark will now have to play matches behind closed doors, pay fines and stage games away from certain locations for a period of time. Nice work from a drunken fool.

Xabi Alonso pens deal

25-year-old Spanish international Xabi Alonso who had been considered in trade with Barcelona for Samuel Eto’o has signed his future to the club and will not be moving away from Anfield.

His new deal is for five more years, until 2012.

"I knew there was interest from other clubs but it was always my idea to stay here. It's a special club and I just didn't want to leave"-Alonso

This makes Alonso the fourth player to re-sign with the club following Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and goalkeeper Pepe Reina.

Manager Rafael Benitez wanted Alonso to stay:

"We knew Xabi wanted to stay and he knew we wanted to keep him, some other top clubs were interested in doing something or at least wanting to know what the situation was, but we were always clear that we wanted to build a strong team for the future and Xabi is part of that future.” -Benitez

There were hints that Alonso could be on the way to Juventus, especially after Brazilian Lucas was signed at the opening of the transfer window. It looks like it may be Mohamed Sissoko which will move clubs. If Rafael Benitez does not sell one of his defensive midfielders you can bet there is going to be an unhappy player. At the very least, expect to see a lot of 5 man midfields next season.

Celtic negotiating for Black Star captain

Celtic are moving quickly to secure Ghanaian international Stephen Appiah from Fernebache in Turkey.

Gordon Strachan needs a replacement for Neil Lennon and strength in midfield the 26 year old Appiah appears very close to joining the Scottish giants.

Appiah is the Ghanaian national side’s captain and is a non-stop workhorse midfielder who basically asserts himself everywhere on the pitch. He can play anywhere in midfield even as a striker. I was immensely impressed with him during the World Cup and have wondered for years why a bigger European side has not picked him up. Tactically he’s shrewd as well and has a knack for being where the ball is.

The price tag looks to be about 3m pounds which would be a shrewd signing at a good price.
In 1997 Appiah played for Udinese in Serie A. He spent three seasons with the club, moving to Parma in the summer of 2000. Juventus paid Parma 1.5m pounds in the summer of 2003 to secure Appiah on loan, with an option of a permanent move. Although Appiah lost his place in the team to Manuele Blasi early in his second season, he played 18 Serie A games as Juventus won the Scudetto for the 28th time.

Clearly Henry wants to leave Arsenal

Thierry Henry has all but ended his Premiership and Arsenal career after a series of comments aimed at the state of the club’s upper management and responses to interest from other clubs.

Henry is apparently as upset as Arsene Wenger at the sudden resignation of Vice-chairman David Dein.

"I was devastated when Mr Dein left the club. I don't know what happened and I don't want to know. Unfortunately it is out of my hands. I don't agree with what has happened but sometimes that's the way things are. We just have to move on." –Henry

Henry then went on to all but welcome a bid from Champions League winners AC Milan:

"That is great to hear. How can it be anything else? As I have said many times, at the moment I am an Arsenal player. But everyone knows that a lot of stuff has happened at the club recently that wasn't supposed to happen. So the only thing I can tell you is right now I am an Arsenal player but I cannot deny it's nice to hear about Milan." –Henry

So, read into this, quote 1, here is why I want to leave and quote 2, here is one place I want to go. In a signal to both club and suitors Henry has stepped up the pressure on making a change.
He also let the media know of the level of discord within the Arsenal dressing room:

"The bosses have been unsettled and a lot of players at the club have been unsettled.” –Henry

So now we have quote 1, 2 and now quote 3 saying ‘I don’t think we are going to win anything any time soon so sell me’.

Edit: Because I am being accused of selective quoting in comments below, here is the rest. I my opinion its PR speak to cover himself in case a move does not take place, judge for yourself:

"The potential is definitely there. The signs are definitely there. So now let's hope we can put that all together and bring back some silverware.

Man United didn't win the league for three years and finally they did it - who would have said that 10 years ago? So things happen sometimes, you have to keep going and make sure you can be better and have a great season next season.

We're still playing good football, ok, not winning anything at the moment but you know, you have to give us that at least." -Henry, kissing the jersey after a goal

Henry has been a pretty strait up guy most of his Arsenal career, if he believed in the team the way he did when he extended his deal, he would stay and would not be making these kinds of comments, regardless of how he tempers them. The Arsenal captain has seems to have lost faith which is an ominous sign. Arsenal plays the best football in England, let’s hope we don’t see them go the way of Spurs.

Tottenham make low-ball bid

Tottenham has angered Charlton Athletic in their negotiations over a potential transfer of Darren Bent. Spurs manager Martin Jol is interested in signing the England international, but it looks less likely as Charlton value Bent at 15m pounds. This opens the door for West Ham and Liverpool who have expressed interest in the striker.

Tottenham’s 8m pound offer for the striker is almost half the asking price. Charlton are confident they can get a much better price for the player and rejected the offer out of hand knowing full well a number of clubs could use a quality striker. Statements from the Charlton camp claim that they won't be forced into selling their best player on the cheap.

West Ham, Newcastle and Liverpool are also interested in the 23 year old, but Newcastle have signed Mark Viduka so it’s unlikely an offer will come from them, but Liverpool have done very little this transfer season and West Ham, flush with a bit of cash, are itching to start making moves.

But Tottenham are in a strong negotiating position as Bent has made it clear he wants a move to White Hart Lane. It’s obvious they are using Bent’s wishes as a ploy to low-ball for a cut rate price. Player’s have more power today than in the past and Tottenham may just succeed.

Will Everton keep Andy Johnson?

Everton have fiercely denied any possibility of the sale of Andrew Johnson. But it has been heavily rumored that West Ham are about to make a huge offer for the player, we have seen Everton buckle before, will it happen again?

When speculation was rampant that Wayne Rooney would be sold, Everton also staunchly denied any possibility of a sale until they realized Manchester United were willing to pay big money for him. Everton survived ok by winning lots of games 1-0. They turned that cash into a bit of quality spread across the side and made due. They played some boring football though, grinding out results and forcing me to put toothpicks on my eyelids to stay awake.

So what will happen should it be true that West Ham are lining up an 18m pound offer for the England international? In my opinion, they will sell. Recall a hear and a half ago how they tried to unsettle Johnson at Crystal Palace? The old adage that a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush. Everton have taught themselves that they can survive just fine without a big name up front and there are some decent marksman out there to replace Johnson and thicken the pocket at the same time.

A profit of almost 10m pounds on Andy Johnson would have to be seriously considered. They could buy Jermaine Defoe or Darren Bent and still have enough to get themselves a decent winger or some help at the back. Should Everton sacrifice excitement? I am not a supporter, tough call.

Arsenal lose out in French international’s transfer: told you so

Recently I reported that French international winger Franck Ribery would not be heading to Arsenal as was widely expected, but rather forgo the Premiership for the Bundesliga and join Bayern Munich. A lot of nasty comments later, I plant the flag: I told you so.

Ribery has joined the German club on a four-year deal from French outfit Marseille.

Bayern are tipped to have paid 17m pounds for the player with performance clauses and a further 3m pounds if they qualify for Europe next season also in the contract. He now joins Luca Toni and Marcell Jansen as Bayern look to recover from one of the worst seasons in their recent history.

This leaves the Gunners without a significant signing so far this transfer season. Florent Malouda of Lyon has been linked to join Arsenal as it became more and more clear Ribery was not arriving, but even there they face stiff competition from Liverpool for the player.

Ribery joined Marseille back in 2005 and has scored 11 goals in 60 appearances during his career at the French club. He had his breakout at last summer’s World Cup where his grit, determination and talent impressed many clubs.

Ribery passed a medical in Munich today before signing on with the 20 time German champions. Luca Toni was also presented today.

Bayern has now spent 40m pounds so far on players this off season, joining Manchester United as big spenders. Arsenal better get on the ball or see another 4th place next season.

Viduka signs for Newcastle United

Newcastle United have made the signing of Mark Viduka official. Viduka, 31, comes on a free transfer after rejecting a new contract offered by Middlesbrough.

The Australian international signed a two-year contract with the option of a third.

Viduka will now be competing for a place on the pitch with strikers Michael Owen and Obefami Martins. Coming off a pretty prolific season scoring 19 goals he has a solid chance of a starting spot, especially with all of Martin’s antics and Owen’s history of injury.

Known for his silky passing, great touch, awareness, and ability to hold the ball up, he fits a mold new manager Sam Allardyce likes in his squad. Allardyce had a very similar, albeit less refined player in Kevin Davis at Bolton and certainly got the best out of him.

Arsenal start transfer battle with Liverpool for French player of year

Lyon midfielder and French international Florent Malouda has been a target for Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez for some time now, but the failure to secure a deal has left the door open for Arsenal who are looking to secure the player’s services.

Speculation of a move to Liverpool heated up when the player was quoted as saying:

"People make their decisions based on the different leagues in different countries but I would rather decide based on the club. And Liverpool, why not? It is a great club."-Malouda

But it appears now that Arsenal are planning to hijack Liverpool's bid to sign the 27 year old. It appears that Malouda’s move to Anfield has stalled over personal terms. Arsenal appear to be preparing a 10m pound bid that would take him from the French champions Lyon to Arsenal.

In addition to being voted player of the year, beating out Johan Elmander, Seydou Keita, and Abdul Kader Keita, he was also voted the players' player of the year in France after an impressive World Cup and bringing Lyon a sixth consecutive league title. Arsene Wenger senses the need to make a move since Arsenal's interest in Franck Ribery is no more as he appears to be signing his contract with Bayern Munich today. It’s important enough that it’s reported Wenger is handling the negotiations himself.

Should Liverpool fail in the bid, they can only have themselves to blame as the door to seal the transfer has been open literally for weeks.

Madrid negotiating deal for Chelsea winger

It’s been announced that Real Madrid are hammering out a deal with Premiership club Chelsea to sign Dutch international winger Arjen Robben.

"We are in discussions with Chelsea and the player, they are at an early stage but we hope to sign him, Bringing Robben was one of my pledges when I was running for president and still remains the case." -Real president Ramon Calderon.

The ever frail, sensitive and injured 23 year old Robben’s way of managing his career has apparently clashed too many times with Jose Mourinho. If there ever was a football primadonna who missed matches for a broken fingernail it was Robben. I’ve wondered why he wasn’t sold last season as he proved to me once and for all he’s not a team player but a player’s player, playing at his own convenience and collecting a salary in the process. Now, after another season with very meager returns since his breakout 2 seasons ago, it appears Chelsea are never going to see that player again and want to make a deal. Good move, in my opinion. Flases of brilliance were fleeting.

Robben was reportedly on the verge of signing a new deal with Chelsea until 2012.

The season that was: Ronaldo’s two best moments (video clips)

Cristiano Ronaldo was the Premiership’s best player last season by a mile. Here are his 2 finest moments of the season in video: Manchester United against Fulham and against Bolton Wanderers.

In one, Ronaldo is instrumental in a goal that ended up being Wayne Rooney’s. From their own box defending a throw in, Ronaldo slickly cleared the ball to Rooney who passed it back for Ronaldo to run onto. Ronaldo was off to the races as Rooney stayed off to his left. Ronaldo’s run ended outside the Bolton box as he side-footed a pass back to Rooney who calmly chipped it over the keeper’s head. It was one of the most perfect counter attacks you can imagine:


The second was a Ronaldo master goal, and on top of that a game winner against Fulham. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a better video of it, but this goal just dripped class. On 88 minutes, he takes the ball from his own half dummies the right back past another defender near the box and score the goal. It was a seminal moment in his season and was a goal that not a lot of players in the world could come up with.

Chelsea, everyone else chasing 17 year old Brazilian wonderkid (video clip)

Like a metronome, it’s happened again. A young Brazilian so talented has appeared on the radar he has all of Europe’s biggest clubs scrambling to sign him. Alexandre Pato has Chelsea drooling, as well as everyone in Italy, especially Inter Milan, AC Milan, Fiorentina and Juventus. Benfica have barely gotten a glance, Manchester United scouts have tried and failed to see him, and for my money he’s worth the buyout clause on just what the video below shows.

Imagine Kaka as a striker, with a few of Cristiano Ronaldo’s tricks and subtract 5 years from both of their ages. Brazil has tried to keep him under wraps but it has failed. At one point his professional club has resorted to having the new phenom train in private.

Alexandre Pato is so sublime that he’s now on the World radar. He’s only 17 but he’s already in the first team at his club Internacional de Porto Alegre after the club’s management made him signed a multi-year contract complete with a 15m pound buyout.

Let’s take the fairy tale to a new level: less than two minutes into his first professional game, Pato, which means ‘duck’ in Portuguese and came from his home town name ‘Pato Branco’ meaning ‘white duck’, scored his first goal –on his first touch.

Just look how sublime he is for his age:

In addition to his newfound stardom at club level, Pato was instrumental in Brazil’s qualifying for this year's U-20 World Cup by scoring five goals.

International have recently relented and have apparently started listening to offers. It appears another Brazilian will be leaving his home at a very young age for stardom abroad.

Brazilian 'Seal dribbler' to Middlesbrough?

Now that Mark Viduka has decided to leave Boro for Newcastle United, manager Gareth Southgate needs to rebuild his side up front. One possible name that has been touted is the player known as the 'seal dribbler'.

Brazilian teenager Kerlon of Cruzeiro is known for his ability to flick the ball up onto his head and run with it during matches. It is known as the seal dribble, and is virtually impossible for a defending team to challenge legally.

The move starts with a flick of the ball from the pitch onto his head, Kerlon then proceeds to run past opponents while bouncing the ball on top of his forehead like a seal at the circus. The speed at which he travels when doing this, coupled with his ability to change direction as he runs with the ball above his head, often makes opponents resort to simply pushing him over and fouling him. He is said to have learned the move from his father.


While the seal dribble is his trademark, he is by no means a one trick pony as the above video shows. He’s already established himself at all the different Brazilian youth levels for his age and can play as a striker but also as an attacking midfielder. He’s an excellent dribbler with his feet as well as his head and is a solid free kick taker.

The season that was: Wenger vs Pardew

I wanted to post a few articles about some of the most interesting moments of the 2007 Premiership season. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger can be as fiery as any manager around. He looks a right pushover, but don’t him angry as former West Ham manager and part time twinkle-toes dancer Alan Pardew learned.

When Marlon Harewood scored a last minute winner against Arsenal at Upton Park last November Mr. Pardew decided to dance the jig in front of Wenger and yell out to him “That one was made in England”. Not the most sportsman-like move, it must be said. That really set Wenger off into what can only be described as a thin man’s version of Sumo. Great comedy unless you were a Gunner watching your team drop 3 points in what was truly a great goal.



Wenger topped it all off when he refused to shake Pardew’s hand and got a fine of 10,000 pounds for what was labeled 'aggressive behaviour'. I would call it excessive comedy, especially how mad all the Arsenal players were.

Inter Milan shopping Adriano swap

Inter Milan have approached just about every club in Europe which has an unsettled striker with Chelsea being the latest. Inter have approached AC Milan about a swap for Alberto Gillardino, Barcelona about Eto’o, and Real Madrid for Antinio Cassano. It seems like ‘someone, anyone’ time at Inter. Will Thierry Henry at Arsenal be next?

Having been newly crowned champions in Italy this season, the club have grown tired of Adriano’s off the pitch antics, ole-lets-party lifestyle and often stubborn disposition. Both manager Roberto Mancini and president Massimo Moratti have signaled his time at Inter is finished.

Unfortunately for Inter, Adriano’s reputation has now preceded him. Once the talk of Europe for a run of amazing form, his career has started to crumble to the point that other clubs are not willing to trade their wash-up’s to Inter for him.

Approaches have been made to AC Milan for Alberto Gillardino to no avail followed by a no thanks from Barcelona for Samuel Eto’o plus cash. Real Madrid have tried for a swap with super-flop Antonio Cassano but even Inter cringed at that one.

Now it appears Inter Milan are going to abandon the continent and try to lure a player away from England. Reports have surfaced that Inter have made an offer to swap Adriano for Chelsea misfit Andriy Shevchenko. I cannot imagine Jose Mourinho would want a new distraction in Adriano, regardless of how lost a cause Shevchenko might become. I think Chelsea have bigger worries.

Another possibility which has been rumored is that Inter are considering approaching Arsenal to swap for striker Theirry Henry. I can imagine Arsene Wenger would be even less thrilled, not to mention the supporters.

Ah, the travails of the party boy lifestyle... when will they learn? Kimi Raikonnen and Jenson Button have both seen their careers in Formula 1 start to wither, look at poor Paul Gascoigne and a host of other players. Even David Beckham’s football career went downhill as his fame increased.

Have a good career, have some fun, don’t abuse it because it’s delicate thing to stay on top. Always remember to pillage BEFORE you burn.

Former World Player of Year wants Tottenham move

Former World Player of the Year Luis Figo wants to leave Inter Milan and spend his final season(s) in England with Tottenham. The out of contract, 34 year old winger, has apparently asked Martin Jol directly to sign him.

Figo’s representatives have contacted White Hart Lane officials in just the last 24 hours to press for a move.

Figo broke a contract to sign for Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad but that deal has fallen thru for unknown reasons as Figo said there was a breach of contract: read money didn’t make it to his bank account on time.

I will probably get a bunch of crap for saying this, but Figo would be a great signing. His legs are not what they were but he still has a great football brain and can play left, right and middle behind the strikers. That versatility could come in very handy when it comes to tactical adjustments. While the pace is not what it was, he is still a world class passer/crosser and has been a positive influence at every club he has ever joined. Figo won’t win world player of the year again, but he will definitely improve Tottenham. Go on, comment.

A friend of Figo’s is apparently helping the cause when he was quoted as saying:

"Luis has always had a soft spot for Spurs and would love to live in London. He has seen other stars go to the capital and settle with their families."

Figo is looking for a steep 60k pounds a week and two-years which is more than what I would offer him, but I would imagine in his twilight that he would accept less money to remain relevant with a good club: something Saudi money won’t provide. Inter Milan have also welcomed the player’s return to the San Siro. If he was washed up he wouldn’t be invited back.

Henry: back to Italy?

AC Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti has been publically quoted in his interest in signing Arsenal striker Thierry Henry. Henry has been heavily linked with a swap move to Barcelona for Samuel Eto’o and cash but the newly crowned Champions of Europe are entering the mix making a move abroad ever more likely for the Arsenal captain.

"Henry is a great striker and among the players that we are interested in" - Ancelotti

Alberto Gilardino has has already expressed his intention to leave the club after having failed to make much of an impact will probably get his wish. Ancelotti has already cleared the way. Even though they won the European Cup, the sale of Andriy Shevchenko last summer has weakened Milan up front and needing a big name to fill those shoes is a primary target for the club.

A move to AC Milan would be a disaster for Arsenal. While Henry, a former Juventus player, has been a good servant to the club and brought may goals and much excitement, it does seem that a change of scenery would be a good thing for both clubs. Poised for a switch for Samuel Eto’o seemed like a win-win for both clubs and players. A move taking Henry to Milan would leave Arsenal scrambling for cover. They might still land Eto’o but without Henry as bait, you can rest assured Barca will shop their player driving up his price.

In the end, I think Shevchenko would do better to go back to the San Siro and for Arsenal and Barca to swap strikers. I truly think Barca and Arsenal want to make this deal. Regardless of what does transpire, it’s starting to look a lot like Vieira to me.

Middlesbrough have competition as Tottenham eye Porto defender

As a deal with Chelsea looking more likely by the day for Pascal Chimbonda, Tottenham are turning their attention to newly capped Portuguese international defender Jose Bosingwa sending Middlesbrough’s plans into a tailspin.

24 year old Jose Bosingwa has been close to the top of the Middlesbrough shopping lists as contact has been made between the cubs over a transfer for the player. With Abel Xavier as well as Stuart Parnaby leaving the Riverside, Gareth Southgate is desperate for a new right back. Bosingwa can alternate between right back and the right wing.

It appears that Boro are no longer alone in the chase for the player, Tottenham have already rejected a 10m offer for Pascal Chimbonda but expectations are that Chelsea will make a better offer. Should that deal be completed, it appears Martin Jol has the impressive Boswinga in mind.

Bosingwa earned his first cap for Portugal during this Saturday’s 2-1 win against a stubborn Belgium. He came on as a substitute as the regular starter Miguel pulled up limp with a hamstring pull. He had his best season for Porto last season but fell out with manager Jesualdo Ferreira after the club singed Uruguayan international Fucile who plays the same position.

Best part about a move for Boswinga is that he would likely be available on a free transfer from FC Porto. From there it comes down to who would offer the best salary, in that case Tottenham would probably have the leg up.

Jose Bosingwa was born in Congo but after six seasons in Portugal he has become a naturalized citizen ala Deco. Before playing for Porto he was a member of cross town rivals Boavista FC. He was also a member of the 2004 European Cup winning side managed by Jose Mourinho.

Premiership elite all tracking Norway’s best player

While Blackburn Rover’s manager Mark Hughes has been adamant that Norwegian international Morten Gamst Pedersen will not be allowed to leave the club, it’s just a matter of time before a deal is made. When you have Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham all making inquiries combined with a player who has a release clause in his contract, plus talent galore, it can’t be stopped.

Norway’s best player was in brilliant form all season and at 25, is in the prime years of his career for a winger. He joined Blackburn Rovers in 2004 from Norwegian club Tromso IL. For him, this is the moment for a big money move to a top club and everyone around the player knows it. His agent said:

"All the big five follow Morten’s situation. We are in contact with the clubs" - Agent Rune Hauge

While much of this speculation is being generated from Pedersen’s management, it’s not a fishing expedition. He could easily play for any club out there. So who might realistically sign him?

In my opinion, it’s Tottenham or Arsenal. With Jose Reyes leaving, there is a hole to fill and Arsenal could use a touch more size on the pitch. In addition, Pedersen brings lots of extras to the table like free kicks. Manchester United have already signed 3 midfielders since the end of the season, doesn’t seem likely he’ll go there. Chelsea’s Arjan Robben seems to have dropped the idea of going to Munich and will stay at the Bridge. Tottenham, on the other hand, have lost out on Nani and appear keen to fill the gap on the left. With Berbatov and Keane staying and some good talent across their side, I wouldn’t be surprised if Perdersen would be wooed because of the lack of competition for a place.

Are all Man United fans idiots like these?

First, Manchester United fans continue supporting the club under Malcom Glazer, now comes this piece of high class FA Cup final showmanship from a decidely low brow part of the Old Trafford stable:



Pooring beer on the man's head?

Juventus in talks with Liverpool over midfielder

It looks like Liverpool may be making room in their crowded midfield after it has emerged that the club is in talks with Juventus over the transfer of defensive midfielder Momo Sissoko.

While the player is apparently keen for a stay at Anfield, the reality of the situation is forcing Liverpool to consider offers and clear up the glut in midfield. Juventus’s offer is said to be in the 8m pound range.

The reality of the situation is not just a crowded midfield. Rafa Benitez has his sights set on Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o and needs money from the sale of players to do it. Sissoko, a Malian international, has been linked with several other clubs recently indicating that Liverpool is actively shopping him around. New Liverpool owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks have promised Benitez funds but not enough to make a move for 35m pound rated Eto’o.

Juventus are looking to strengthen the team after a rebound promotion to Serie A following demotion for match-fixing.

Sissoko, 22, has seen his first-team opportunities dry up since the arrival of Javier Mascherano in January.

As a further measure to raise cash, Benitez is planning to sell wanna-be golf pro and world class prick Craig ‘links’ Bellamy.

I’ll trade your club’s talisman for mine

Barcelona have just placed an offer for Arsenal captain Thierry Henry in exchange for the unhappy Samuel Eto'o, according to reports emanating from Spanish daily newpaper Marca.

According to the paper, the Catalan club are prepared to swap Eto'o plus cash (17m pounds which doesn’t seem right) for Henry. Barca's Director of Football Txiki Beguiristain claimed negotiations with Arsenal representatives about the deal are in progress. Marca claims that Arsene Wenger had given a deal the nod.

Thierry Henry has been criticized recently for a lack of motivation and persistent injuries. Eto’o has fallen out with a number of Barca players and has had problems with coach Frank Rijkaard.

When Henry was offered a chance to quash the speculation in Bejing he was coy:

"For now I'm an Arsenal player. So there is nothing to add to it ... This year it was pretty difficult to see once again that we finished so far away from the top teams. It's been a long time that it's been the same top four. I'm actually getting annoyed that we're finishing at the end of the top four."

Apart from the numbers not adding up, the deal seems eminently doable and indeed could be exactly what both sides need.

Cheapski Chelsea grab a freebie

Peruvian international Claudio Pizzaro is out of contract with the Bayern Munich has signed for Chelsea on a free transfer making this the second free transfer in 2 seasons from Bayern after Michael Ballack joined last year. That makes 2 free transfers since season’s end as Reading midfielder Steve Sidwell has also joined the club. It would be 3, as the transfer fee for Alex from PSV Eindhoven not been 1 dollar.

Chelsea’s latest signing appears to further confirm the new transfer philosophy at Stamford Bridge.

Pizarro, 28, scored 97 goals in 229 games for Munich and has held talks recently with Chelsea, Juventus and Wolfsburg. Last season he wanted a move to England. He’s a good player and a decent signing, no more than cover though. It’s a blockbuster deal but he’s big and strong, very direct and left footed. He had a bad season at Bayern being preferred to Roque Santa Cruz who scored exactly 0 goals in 22 games. No wonder he wanted to leave.

Manchester and Newcastle linked with Bolton Wanderers striker

Manchester United’s prime target for a striker was considered to be Samuel Eto’o of Barcelona but reports today have surfaced that Manchester United is planning to compete with Newcastle United in bidding for Bolton striker Nicolas Anelka.

The well, well, well, well traveled former Arsenal, Real Madrid, Paris St-Germain, Liverpool, Manchester City, Fenerbahce, and now Bolton player was relatively successful this season scoring 11 Premiership goals. I can see why Sam Allardyce might want to bring Anelka into Newcastle, but why Manchester United would be interested is beyond me.

With low maintenance players like Darren Bent, Michael Owen or Mark Viduka or a host of others that would love a chance to play for United I don’t think it makes a lot of sense to sign a potentially destabilizing player just when the United dressing room has synced up well. Ruud van Nistelrooy was similarly destabilizing and I don’t see Rooney getting along well with Anelka up front.

Anelka has three years on his current deal at the Reebok, but United have taken the initiative and inquired about what it might take to bring Anelka in.

I guess one reason Anelka may be of interest is that United have spent 40m pounds so far on their 3 signings Owen Hargreaves, Nani and Anderson. Does United have money for Eto’o, by inquiring about Anelka, it looks clear they do not.