Nani emerging

Manchester United scored an impressive win against Fulham over the weekend with their biggest guns on the bench. This gave an opportunity for Nani to show some of his skills and he didn’t disappoint.

Now for me, Paul Scholes was the best player on the pitch Saturday, the diminutive red-head’s passing was stunning and his awareness on the pitch something to behold, but in terms of creativity and ‘up-and-coming-ness’ it was Nani’s show.

There were some glimpses early on in the season, but in recent weeks Nani is starting to look really impressive. At Sporting Lisbon, his previous club, Nani was the star of the team and was playing much better than you have ever seen him for United. It’s taken some time for him to adapt to the Premiership and his new team and we are starting to see dividends.

Nani’s movement was excellent against Fulham. His trickery was purposeful, sending the Fulham fullbacks into knots. His crossing was precise and his shots on goal forced saves. What else can you ask from a winger?

The only downside to all of this is a touch of petulance. Nani fakes injury which is very annoying to watch and brought out boos from the crowd every time he touched the ball after an incident with Paul Konchesky intended to draw a yellow card. Konchesky set him straight moments later when he deservedly dumped him out of bounds in a heap. From that one Nani bounced up and moments later tested the keeper yet again. He’s a determined chap, that much you can say for him.

Football’s top 10 highest paid players in the world revealed

A survey came out today that publishes a list of the highest paid footballers in the world. Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool all represent the Premiership and dominate the list while AC Milan and Barcelona are the only non-English sides listed. It certainly appears the money is in England now.

The list in order:

1. Kaka (AC Milan) 6.6m pounds
2. Ronaldinho (Barcelona) 6.31m pounds
3. Frank Lampard (Chelsea) 6.04m pounds
4. John Terry (Chelsea) 6.04m pounds
5. Fernando Torres (Liverpool) 5.86m pounds
6. Andiry Shevchenko (Chelsea) 5.77m pounds
7. Michael Ballack (Chelsea) 5.77m pounds
8. Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd) 5.69m pounds
9. Theirry Henry (Barcelona) 5.69m pounds
10. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) 5.69m pounds

More money than you can shake a stick at

If you think Alex Ferguson was pissed the last time Real Madrid were making headlines trying to tempt winger Cristiano Ronaldo away from Manchester United, then he will go red when he hears about their latest tactics.

Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon is all over the Spanish media telling anyone that will listen that he still has a chance to sign his dream-boat. And this time we are not talking huge transfer fees, the latest attempt to lure Ronaldo will go right to his pocketbook in the way of making him the highest paid player in the world.

To fuel speculation, Jorge Mendes who is Ronaldo’s agent, has been meeting with Real Madrid sporting director Predrag Mijatovic. While he claims its for other matters, don’t believe it. Real have a history of destabilizing players thru the media and the love affair with Ronaldo has not lasted the better part of 3 years. Let's just say the meeting wasn't exactly private.

The proposed salary: over 8m pounds per year, and with income tax in Spain about half that of England it would roughly equal 200,000 pounds a week were he being paid within the Premier League.

Ronaldo has scored a whopping 29 goals this season for United and signed a new 120,000 pound a week deal for 5 years. It’s more than likely that Mendes is trying to renegotiate terms and squeeze a few more quid out of Old Trafford, and why not? A winger that can score 30 goals in a season should be the highest paid player in the world.

At the moment Brazilian international Kaka is the highest paid player in the world, where AC Milan shell out 130,000 pounds a week.

I doubt Ronaldo would like to leave, I would imagine Manchester making him top of the salary heap will quiet Madrid.

Striker snubs United

Lyon striker Karim Benzema is as hot a property as world football has ever seen and Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has been snubbed in his bid to sign the 20 year old revelation.

Benzema played a starring role for Lyon as they secured a surprise 1-1 draw in the Champions League against United in France. Benzema scored the opening goal with quick feet and deadly precision and was a constant menace to United’s defense. He has been a menace all season, leading all scorers in France.

But United won’t be seeing Benzema at Old Trafford as Lyon have slapped a whopping 70m pound price tag on the player and Benzema quoted as saying he will be in Lyon next year.

To compound the decision Benzema has claimed that the Premier League is not of interest to him and that Spain and Italy are.

Regardless, Alex Ferguson has officially notified Lyon of his interest.

Bolton striker bid rejected

Bolton Wanderers have failed to land striker Louis Saha from Manchester United after a 7m pound bid was rejected for the French international. Bolton are looking for a boost up front after selling Nicolas Anelka to Chelsea last week.

Gary Megson, new Bolton manager, has money to spend after the 15m pounds garnered from Anelka's sale and it appears he’s going to spend it during the window as Bolton are in a fight to stave off a relegation to the Championship.

Saha has been recovering from an injury and appears to be ready to re-join the side.

United rejected the bid outright and told Megson the player was not for sale.

Veterans back to fitness could be big boost

Paul Scholes looks set to make his long delayed return for Manchester United in their FA Cup fourth round match against Tottenham at the end of the month. Scholes suffered a knee injury against Aston Villa back in October.

The 33 year old retired England international has completed his recovery and is just waiting from clearance from the team doctors. The veteran comeback also included Gary Neville from his ankle injury which has seen him out for 11 months.

As United have maintained pace with Arsenal at the top of the table, these returns could serve as a big boost entering the latter part of the season.

City’s worst nightmare: Premiership giants at the gate

Micah Richards is holding out for big money. Stalled contract talks have England’s big 4 clubs watching closely as the finest young defender in world may be on his way. Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea would probably climb over each other for a shot at Richards. Should a move away from Manchester City become a reality, you’ll see a bidding war that has never been seen for a defender before.

City fans hope that the stall is part of the process of negotiations, with Richards apparently wanting 70k pounds per week and the club offering around 50k pounds. The offer on the table would see Richards the highest paid player at the club by a mile. But 70k is not too much considering the talent and the big 4 won’t hesitate one iota forking up the cash. A defender with his pace and leaping ability is a very rare commodity and City has had a lot of success this season because of him. Just consider how many goal saving tackles that have been shown on Match of the Day.

Richards departing would be a nightmare for City fans and you can’t blame the club, they are doing everything they can to keep him. Will money trump the young man’s loyalty? It usually does.

You can’t fault Micah Richards for having aspirations but if City should land in the Champions League next season there is no reason to leave. Personally, he should stay 2-3 more years regardless and really cement his abilities in a place which will be forgiving and appreciative.

A two horse race already?

While the points may not yet tell the tale, the trend going into the middle of the season is for Arsenal and Manchester United to pull away in a two horse race. Chelsea and Liverpool are talented, but the top two looks to have more horsepower and edge to pull away.

If you notice, Avram Grant has lost twice to the top 4. That 2% that Mourinho added has cost them, while they have beaten teams they should have beaten, they have lost to Arsenal, a team they have not lost to for over 2 years. Losing John Terry, that happened last year as well, remember?

Liverpool have the same syndrome. A draw was at least demanded at home for their onset of players, but another loss to the top 4 sucks the air out of their confidence. Its not Benitez can’d do it. They beat Chelsea solidly early in the season, before Mourinho left. They have what it takes, but the rotation policy doesn’t explain their inconsistency. Winning the Champions League didn’t send them to the next level. They are a player or two away, and Fernando Torres is truly El Nino.

Chelsea is out of it as far as I am concerned. Liverpool, with the potential of a group of very fit players at the end of the season could make a strong run if they hit a stretch of form. I know what Benitez is trying to do, and I respect his confidence that at the end of the season he will be there with so many combinations tested that he may play his best 11 for a stretch of 10 games and win them all.

Arsenal and Manchester United are not going to pull away from eachother. The gap between them is so close. It looks like William Gallas, scoring the winner at the weekend really looks like the team’s new Patrick Viera and a side with so much pace and incredible passing is hard to beat not to mention attractive to watch. With Crisitano Ronaldo the owner of the team and a great defense who can bet against United? There is so much stability there, and is the team that can cope with injuries better than any other team in the Premiership.

Lend Money and Make Profit!!

Karim Benzema (w/ video)

Karim Benzema is brimming with confidence and French outfit Lyon will soon be brimming with offers as the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United are all looking to bring in the young star who been an absolute revelation in France. Oh, so are Inter Milan and AC Milan.

How good is he? At 19 he not only leads the French League in scoring but is also keeping Brazilian striker Fred on the bench. Fred, you know, a Brazilian international. When you hear the words “Brazilian international striker” you will assume a starting place but not in this case. This 19 year old is now a French international and before long will be keeping Thierry Henry on the bench.

How good is he? Ask the Manchester United scouts who watched him single handedly floor Rangers on the way to helping Lyon on the way to the next round of the Champions League.

For Arsene Wenger, this could be the solution to replacing Thierry Henry. Robin van Persie is always injured, and to challenge for a Premiership title you need fit players. Benzima is highly regarded by Wenger, but with all the interest, the price might have climbed too high to make him a Gunner. Lasanna Diarra was mentioned as a player in a swap deal.

Alex Ferguson is certainly keen to bring Benzima to Old Trafford, but Lyon's price has done nothing but go up. The intention was a swap deal which would send Louis Saha and Mikael Silvestre the other way to Stade Gerland. It appears that Lyon want around £6m pounds in addition. It won’t stop United, Benzima has all the makings of a superstar striker. Fred now on the bench, will Wayne Rooney be next??

Must take a moment here to praise the immense job the backroom at Lyon is doing feeding the club with new and exciting talent. Its like a revolving door over there, and nothing but class seems to take over from the great players that leave. 3 or 4 times now I have said “that’s it, they have sold one player too many and will now pay” but no. A new starlet steps right into to fill the boots. Wow, its all you can say. Lyon are, in my opinion 4th in the list of top academies in the world behind Ajax Amsterdam, Sporting Lisbon, and Arsenal. Impressive stuff.

Here he is in action, not alot of tricks and the like, but you have to admire how clinical his finishing is:

And:

And the destruction of Rangers:

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Youth comes at a price in Premiership

Football stars are getting younger and younger, but the race to youth is costing clubs dearly. Over the weekend we saw Tottenham gift West Ham, Manchester United hand Bolton a winner, and Sunderland open the flood gates against Everton. Kids were all at fault.

I have complained about this before, younger players may be exciting and athletic, but they are not skilled like you see here. Clubs are obsessed with giving younger and younger players a go, but all I see happening is more mistakes and a replacement of ability with the power footballer, where brawn makes up for missing years of refinement.

Will this trend stop? No, of course not. Especially considering the price of a seasoned professional. Should it? It's debatable. Just look at 1995 and the great Ajax team that won Europe and the 'you can't win anything with kids' of Manchester United that won the double. On the other hand, look at these clangers from the weekend:

Sloppy defending saw Tottenham's Younes Kaboul, 21, clear into Luis Boa Morte which ended up gifting Carlton Cole an open goal. Kaboul was substituted shortly after the half. Snicker if you want, but I doubt Ricardo Rocha would have done that. Look how many goals Tottenham have conceded.

Manchester United's Gerard Pique, 19, has tons of talent, but a rush of self assurance saw him leave his marking duties in the box and miss a clearance to gift Anelka a Bolton winner.

And Sunderland defender Paul McShane, 21, was under no pressure but completely missed a clearance to gift Everton the opener. His performance went downhill from there as three times Sunderland conceded from long, long, long balls and were a shocking mess at the back the entire game to the tune of a 7-1 scoreline that could easily have been 12-1.

Let's not even discuss Newcastle. If you thought Titus Bramble was the problem, well...

Of course a young player needs a chance to prove himself and you improve most thru match play. Understood, but too often a player at age 26 is considered too old.

And that leads me to my last point. England are going to miss Euro 2008. My number one reason for this failure is a tie between McClaren's inept tactics and England players obsession with money, but a second is harder to discern and has to do with all this young international potential entering the Premiership from abroad stifling the development of English kids who end up aged 26 in the Championship and considered past their chance.

There needs to be a balance between youth and experience, and this mania towards youth has gone too far.

It's a shame, especially considering the stayed excuse is to say English players are too expensive. I disagree: the obsession with youth drives price speculation. The mantra "give young players a chance" should be replaced with "have a second look at someone that is not 18, might not become World Player of the Year, but might also not gift points".

For United, transfer rumors point to Portugal again

Manchester United is starting to make a habit out of looking to Portgal for new recruits and the latest comes in the form of Sporting Lisbon's start midfielder Miguel Veloso.

Veloso is a holding midfielder, a position in which United hardly needs to add players. But the reviews of the players performances have been so strong that it seems like Manchester can hardly resist.

But United are not the only potential suitors for Veloso. Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Arsenal and Tottenham have all expressed interest in signing the player. United's ace in the hole is that they have a first refusal agreement with Sporting and can take the player to Old Trafford should they be willing to match the highest bid.

Sporting claim they don't want to sell their best players, but that is a farce. Its almost an unwritten law at the club that whenever you value reaches a certain level, you are sold. Veloso's manager has already been told that they will allow a move for the right price. Now its a matter of time.

Next week could be the make or break moment for Veloso as Sporting travel to Old Trafford where he will be watched very closely. Veloso won his third international cap over the weekend when Portugal won against Armenia and had a solid display in an otherwise ordinary match. A deal sending him to Manchester would almost certainly mean someone would become surplus to requirements.

Barcelona swap rumor is rubbish

I’ve published rumors over the years generally because there is some modicum of logic to it, but the ridiculous rumor that Manchester United are negotiating a swap deal with Barcelona for Samuel Eto’o for… wait… Louis Saha is total rubbish. If only Arsenal knew they could have had Eto’o for such a song.

Apparently there is a 5m pound payment along with Saha in the offer. Somehow, Louis Saha has increased his value 10 fold while constantly injured. Alex Ferguson is increasingly sick of Saha's constant injuries so would Barca want him then??

How rumors like this get going is beyond me.

See what I mean about Anderson?

Against Blackburn Rovers, new Manchester United midfielder Anderson showed again why I don't think he is as good as people claim.

There were lots of comments in my last entry on the subject, most disagreed. The most common argument was regarding how talented he is but nobody could point to much game changing impact. Talent, that may be true, he has lots and is tenacious, but he’s nowhere close to a finished product. What I do admire about him is how quick and willing he is to go after the ball. All the comparisons to Edgar Davids are justified; they are very, very alike. Now, that aside.

Anderson’s passing was very weak against Blackburn. I paid special attention to it as I watched the match. Many claimed that I hadn’t seen him play, well I have about 4 or 5 times now and what I saw this time was the same as the last: aimless passing and regularly out of position. I counted nine bad balls, I might have missed a few and about 3 good passes, one great pass and the rest of his touches had no impact. I also saw him contort the United shape as he wandered out of position. It’s a testament to how good Owen Hargreaves is that he covered for Anderson and kept the back line protected. I think many watchers confuse talent with impact. Anderson has talent, but it’s Hargreaves that makes the real impact.

Maybe one point we can all agree on is that the hair just isn't working for him.

Anderson over Carrick? You must be joking

Anderson over Carrick? Is there a joke I haven't been let in on? Is Alex Ferguson getting senile? Manchester United are starting to favor him and I can't see why.

Owen Hargreaves is finally fit and all summer I'd expected a pairing with Michael Carrick in midfield as Paul Scholes started to fade with age. It hasn't happened yet and the underwhelming Anderson has been getting the starts and Carrick has been sitting on the bench.

What gives here? Especially after a few chosen words about how the young Brazilian had not been developing? I don't understand it. A couple of weeks ago I watched Anderson closely in one of his first Premiership starts, I counted about 8 aimless and badly reasoned passes out of about 10 and thought: hmmm, its to the reserves for this one. Actually the opposite has happened and I don't get it. Especially since I saw Carrick's performances labeled sloppy.

While Carrick and Hargreaves are both more defensive midfielders, I actually thought it was a good idea to play them together, especially since you have a pair of wingers in the team (Nani and Ronaldo) who aren't noted for their defensive attributes (actually, Nani is a better defender than I give him credit for). My logic was that a pair of sturdy central midfielders that pass the ball well would serve the side better than a traditional playmaker, especially since Ronaldo and Nani wander centrally and Tevez drops back a lot (too much actually).

While you can't argue with goals, and United has scored a lot of them recently, you can argue that Anderson didn't know much about them save for a couple of decent setups. For my money, I would continue to give Carrick the chance to play slightly more upfield and see how it goes for a while.

Piqued interest from Spain for United starlet

There were recent rumors that Manchester United defensive prodigy Gerard Pique was slated to leave United after it appeared that Athletico Madrid were ready to buy him and give him a starting place.

The 20-year-old Pique spent last season on loan at Real Zaragoza and was impressive. This week the central defender scored his first goal for United in Wednesday's Champions League matchup against Dynamo Kiev.

While Alex Ferguson has insisted the player has a future at United, he said the same thing before shipping Guiseppe Rossi out to Spain. But Pique is a different player, in a different position and, if he stays at United, will certainly have an eventual spot in the side. But how many years away is that with Vidic and Ferdinand in their primes? Will the captain of Spain’s under-21 side be satisfied to plug holes when injuries appear ala Wes Brown? He wont, and shouldn't, he's too talented.

Real Zaragoza made a big offer at the end of last season which was rejected. They still appear interested. Pique was at the Barcelona academy before joining United where he was a teammate of Cesc Fabregas. While Fabregas has cemented himself into the Arsenal side, Pique has not. While its understandable to a degree because of the physical attributes required for the different positions, it appears to be a fading argument. Big clubs are waiting to offer him a starting place.

For United, its time to play him or get out of his way. I can't see him getting the role he can command at a smaller club so I wouldn't be surprised if a move were forced.

The Normal One and his ordinary team

Harsh or not, Chelsea were never really in it and were never going after more than a draw anyway. Manchester United beat them solidly and the red card did nothing more than distract from the inevitable result anyway: Chelsea fought but in the end were ordinary.

The first 20 minutes saw some amazing technical football. Pinpoint 50 yard passes, excellent movement, trickery; it all made for a tempting encounter. But soon after the game began to grind as it became clear that United were getting the better of the rub. Slowly, and red card aside, Chelsea began to retreat into a shell and as the minutes passes play more and more for a draw.

The crowd said it all as they began to sign their favorite Mourinho song and call the team “Steve Clark’s Blue and White Army”. Why wasn’t Clark, a man more than capable, given his chance? I can guarantee the players would have reacted better.

Jon Obi Mikel’s red card was used as a talking point for the disappointing result, but it was just a way to deflect the barbs. Chelsea went down a goal on the stroke of half time and spend the first 25 minutes of the second half swimming around the pitch soaking up United’s pressure and not even looking like getting in a scoring position. The funny thing is that Chelsea were already starting to do that before the red card.

I’ll give the Chelsea players some credit, they came out fighting. Even Andiry Shevchenko (who had more to prove than anyone) and his worn out legs gave it a go but it never jelled, did it? He got no support as Essien and the rest of midfield kept their distance from the front man, guess the only support he has is in the directors box, maybe Ballack will support him when he returns. For the rest of the players, I am sure they would have traded the billions for Mourinho in a second.

The stats tell it all: United were ahead on possession, shots on target, and corners were 10-1. And they were ahead in all these categories before the red card. The most telling stat, Chelsea had one single shot on target, can anyone remember who it was?

Boy Wonder returns

It couldn’t have ended any other way, could it? Boy Wonder Cristiano Ronaldo returned home to demonstrate what he’s learned since leaving and it’s safe to say, a lot. He drove in the winner as Manchester United won away at Sporting Lisbon in last night’s Champions League action.

Ronaldo headed in a cross from Wes Brown in the 62nd minute and was sure not to celebrate his goal and instead to bowed to the crowd in a gesture of respect. Ronaldo was a member of the Sporting Lisbon youth academy and has praised the quality of his footballing education.

It ended 1-0 and was a hard fought win for United. Sporting were no pushover and fully deserved a draw. United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar had to make a handful of excellent saves in both halves to ensure the win. While at times both team struggled and the matchup became a game of ping-pong, at others it was great football and on the whole a good game to watch.

In fact, on the whole Sporting created more chances, but were wasteful and van der Sar was excellent in goal. The second half saw United win the initiative and Ronaldo was given a standing ovation from the Lisbon crowd when he was substituted for Carlos Tevez.

For a look back at the game the brought Ronaldo to Sporting, have a look here as I compiled all his touches from that game into a YouTube video.

Liverpool look like champions

I’ve been very impressed with this season’s Liverpool squad, so much so that I’d have to say I think they are going to beat out Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea for this seasons Premiership crown.

Yes, I know it’s very early going but Liverpool have shown they can win, win ugly and win big -something that you saw Manchester United do last season and Chelsea the season before. For all the boredom that their match against Sunderland, they won ugly; against Chelsea they lost a bad penalty decision in a match that should have saw them take the 3 points, and against Derby County they won big. Despite being up 2 and then 3 and then 4-0, they kept sniffing for goals. Something Tottenham, up 3-1 against Fulham didn’t do.

The new depth in the Liverpool lineup is paying serious dividends and so is the pairing up front. Rafael Benitez, that awful beard aside, had made exactly the right decision to play Dutchman Dirk Kuyt alongside Fernando Torres. They play well together, attack the box and offer lots of different threats. When you are defending against strikers, it’s much easier when they are not multi-faceted, but with Liverpool now, you have 4 strikers that can all bring different things to the game and a pair of starters with pace and a great nose for goal. So far, Fernando Torres has been the best signing of the season so far.

The biggest difference I see in the top 4 teams so far this season is how efficient Liverpool are in front of goal. Arsenal are traditionally wasteful, Manchester United are squandering chances and great build up play and winning 1-0 when they do, and Chelsea are uncharacteristically squandering opportunities as well.

While the new look Chelsea are definitely more open and exciting to watch, as Roman Abramovich has requested, they are more vulnerable. I know Jose Mourinho thinks this is a mistake, as I do, but it looks like the meddling owner will have to learn the hard way. Chelsea are built on compactness and relentless pressure turning into opportunities. With this new open style they are exposed regularly as they were against Aston Villa and aren’t really creating great chances. Villa won because Chelsea were all over the place. It was a great game to watch but not the way a Champion plays.

In fact, it seems like Liverpool look like the Chelsea of 2 seasons ago and Chelsea are trying to be Manchester United of last season. You decide which is working.

As for Manchester United, they have a great squad. Owen Hargreaves looks top class and the buildup play is excellent. Nani looks worth every penny, and Ronaldo should be even more deadly this season than last. Unfortunately, losing Wayne Rooney for so many weeks will dent their chances, and they seem to have a lot to integrate into their side.

As for Arsenal, no team is more fluid in midfield and confident on the ball. They also have an excellent defense. But again, and again, the same complaint: they should be winning 3 and 4 to nil and too often scrape by. Robin van Persie is definitely top drawer but Emmanuel Adebayor is a lost cause. He’s causing more problems on the pitch than he is solving and should be dropped. He’s out of sync and should be in sync by now. Arsenal made a mistake not getting a top notch striker and it will cost a very talented team their chance.

For these reasons, Liverpool seen to have put it together just at the moment that their main contenders are all under shifting sands. For my money, Liverpool are good value for their first place and will raise the crown for the first time in a very long time.

Ole retires

One of Old Trafford's most popular players over the past decade is retiring earlier than expected. 34 year old Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has decided to call it quits for Manchester United after complications from a summer knee surgery.

Solskjaer, whose most famous moment was scoring the winner against Bayern Munich in 1999’s Champions League final, has been hampered by knee problems for the last four years. He scored 11 rather anonymous goals last season as United won the Premier League crown. He was expecting to play out this season and call it quits.

Solskjaer will remain at Old Trafford as a coach and serve his appointment as ‘club ambassador’, whatever that is.

Solskjaer joined United from Molde for 1.5m pounds in 1996 and made 366 appearances for United. He scored 126 goals in the 11 years at the club.

Too many eggs in one basket

Gabriel Heinze banked on a hearing to force his move from Manchester United to Liverpool and was left wanting as they ruled against him. Too many eggs in one basket, and now egg on his face.

United was in dispute with Heinze because the club had given him written permission to seek a new club as long as the fee was 6.8m pounds. The Premiership arbitration panel ruled that the document “envisages only an international transfer".

With the transfer window closing down in 10 days time, Heinze better move fast because he is certain to spend a season in the reserves otherwise.

Manchester United’s Alex Ferguson and David Gill travelled to the hearing to present their case. Their basic argument was that they were under no obligation to sell Heinze to a rival. All along I thought Heinze would lose the argument. It’s up to the club to accept or reject an offer. Even with a written statement that they would allow a transfer, it’s still up to the club to decide where.

If Heinze would have won, it would be the first move since between the clubs since 1962.
Heinze can appeal, but should cut his losses and get out of town fast.