Has Tottenham beaten out rivals for Brazilian?

Tottenham is on the verge of edging out Paris St. Germain, Portsmouth, West Ham, Middlesbrough and Manchester City to the signing of Brazilian international striker Fred from Lyon.

Seems a bit counter intuitive to me. Tottenham has scored 42 goals this season, no worries there, but has leaked an incredible 40, that’s a relegation number. Dimitar Berbatov doesn’t look to be heading away from the Lane, and the club has seen the return of Ledley King which will hopefully lend some stability. I don’t see a reason to do it except that they are picking up a pretty good bargain, around 9-11m pounds.

Harry Redknapp may offer Jermain Defoe a way out of Tottenham.

Another reason the Fred deal looks set is because Jermain Defoe has been told he can go and Darren Bent is being shopped around. Personally, I’d rather have Fred than either Defoe or Bent, but how can it be that players can barely last a season after a 16m pound move. I mean, hey, this wasn’t just up to Martin Jol.

Fred, 24, has lost his regular starting spot at the 5 times French champions to Karim Benzema who has wowed everyone with some stunning football.

Fred has finally spoken out to the media about his future:

“I hope my future will be sorted on Wednesday, I have two offers, one from Tottenham and one from Paris St Germain”

West Ham summer signing finally ready to play

West Ham United midfielder Julien Faubert has finally made his return to the pitch after a serious Achilles injury which has seen him miss almost half a year of action.

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Faubert scored after only 39 seconds during West Ham's reserves 2-1 defeat by Aston Villa. He played 45 minutes without complications.

The Frenchman was on the verge of additional international call ups when he suffered the Achilles injury in his first appearance for West Ham in a pre-season friendly back in July. At 24, Faubert joined the London club for 5 years from Bordeaux for 6m pounds.

West Ham has improved from their subpar performance last season and sit a respectable 10th in the table at the moment.

Gudjohnsen offered 80k per week

Icelandic international striker Eidur Gudjohnsen has been in talks with West Ham United after Barcelona have informed the player that his chances will be limited due to the arrival of Thierry Henry.

Barcelona are rumored to be asking a very reasonable 6.8million pounds for the player, but Gudjohnsen is demanding an unreasonable salary. West Ham have been chasing his signature for the majority of the summer as Hammers chairman Eggert Magnusson is also Icelandic and has confirmed that he’ll do what it takes to sign the player.

West Ham have offered 80,000 pounds per week but apparently Gudjohnsen is holding out for 100,000 –an outrageous sum.

Gudjohnsen should care more about first team opportunities than money. He’s really being greedy to ask a sum that very few clubs in the world can afford and are generally saved for elite players, which he is not. Come back down to Earth and get yourself back in the papers for the right reasons, Eduir.

Manchester City lay it down

Finally. Football again. There were some interesting developments and lots of new players on the pitch yesterday as Manchester City steamrolled West Ham.

While Manchester City were world beaters in the first 20 minutes against West Ham, let’s not get ahead of ourselves and call the team re-born. They may just be: sharp and purposeful away at Upton Park, but did we get an accurate reflection?

The reason I say this is because West Ham were a tactical nightmare and a disaster in central midfield. Man City ran them over in the middle of the park. In fact a non-league side could have run the team I saw over.

Manchester City played 5 in midfield to great effect, allowing new signing Elano to run rampant. Martin Petrov was excellent and Micah Richards, for me, was the best player on the pitch. Header after header, clearance after clearance, Richards kept the back a locked gate and played some truly class football.

City were also well organized, credit to Sven, and looked in-sync with each other. As for West Ham, they need Julien Flaubert badly. Dean Ashton, first time on the pitch in a year was doing his best impression of Ronaldo in the first game of the last World Cup. He needs fitness, badly. West Ham have not improved yet.

New signings Freddie Ljungberg and Craig Bellamy played respectably, Ljungberg in particular missing a tap in by inches. A sign of hope for West Ham was their performance in the second period improved significantly.

I fully expected West Ham to win this match at home against a team that has hardly played together, losing 2-0 the way they did, it could be a long season for them. Manchester City deserve full credit for their quality and win, with a long season ahead, stiffer tests will appear.

Remember this cynical foul?

The 1980 FA Cup Final was contested by West Ham United and Arsenal and contained one of the most cynical moments of football I have ever seen.

The moment occurred minutes before the end when un-fancied second division West Ham had a breakaway on goal as Paul Allen, just 17 years old and ready to take a chance on goal that would have brought him glory was tackled from behind in a shocking display of un-sportsmanship by Arsenal’s Willie Young.

Unfortunately, at the time, this offence was not on the rule books as a strait red, but it should have been. It was a sad moment, a cynical central defender ruining a clear goal scoring chance with only goalkeeper Pat Jennings to beat. Allen made an appearance as the youngest player to ever appear in an FA Cup Final and had a chance stolen to make it a fairytale.

Here is the moment:

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The greatest tackle ever

I never tire of seeing Bobby Moore's tackle on Jairzinho in the 1970 World Cup group match in Mexico. The former West Ham talisman executed a tackle so flawlessly, that I don’t think can ever be bested. The match itself was a classic, not only delivering the greatest tackle ever, but also the greatest save ever, Gordon Banks incredible stop of a Pele header.

Bobby Moore was playing very, very well. He was on his feet, in control, calm and patient. When Jairzinho was charging the right wing Moore kept backing away as the Brazilian brought the ball closer and closer to the England box. Jairzinho kept the ball close as he surged forward, but just as he crossed into the box, played the ball ever so slightly further ahead of himself. You can just catch that instant of recognition from Moore.

Like a cobra, Moore struck. He had been tracking back sideways, with back to goal. Today players will challenge, most often fouling, as the player reaches the edge of the box. As a testament to his class and technique, Moore keep himself trained on the ball and as Jairzinho crossed into the box he snapped his right leg out and pinched the ball away with superb cleanliness. Jairzinho tumbled over into the box, but Moore, hardly lowering himself to make the challenge, popped right up with the ball and looked to turn play back up field.

I have often complained about the quality of defending in the modern game and this video is exactly why, you don’t see defending like this anymore and it’s a shame:

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Freddie bye bye

West Ham have signed Arsenal midfielder Freddie Ljungberg and will present the 30 year old Swedish international at a press conference this afternoon.

He joined Arsenal in 1998 from Halmstads in a 3m pound deal and has been Arsenal's longest serving player. He scored 72 goals in 325 games for the club. Much speculation about his destination had been in the media lately with Fiorentina and a linkup with fellow Swede Sven Goran Eriksson at Manchester City all thought to be strong possibilities, but it appears West Ham, desperate for more progress in the transfer market, have offered the best terms.

He had two years left on his contract at the Emirates Stadium but the club decided to move him and avoid the inevitable 1 year contract problem that all Arsenal elder statesmen seem to face. Robert Pires left for nothing last season.

Ljungberg will become West Ham's fifth signing this summer joining Craig Bellamy, Julien Faubert, Scott Parker and Richard Wright.

As for Ljungberg, he'll have to do his Calvin Klein underwear modeling in new colors.

Harewood no longer a Hammer

Aston Villa have secured the signing of West Ham striker Marlon Harewood, beating out Wigan Athletic in a three year deal, 3.5m pound deal.

Harewood had a great first season for West Ham scoring 16 goals, but was one of the players seen as an underperformer last season, scoring only 4 goals in 35 appearances.

Harewood will follow teammate Nigel Reo-Coker to Villa Park. He was linked with several clubs since the end of last season including Wigan and Birmingham City.

All told, Harewood had a decent run at West Ham. He scored 56 goals in 178 games since his arrival in 2003 from Nottingham Forest.

Harewood has certainly not been a one season wonder, Harewood was the top scorer for West Ham in 2004-05 promotion campaign with 23 goals. For Forest, he scored 21 goals in 2003 which sparked the transfer to West Ham for a 500,000 pound fee.

West Ham and the stupid signing

“Unrivalled stupidity" is what outspoken French national coach Raymond Domenech's calls Julien Faubert after news that he decided to join West Ham from Bordeaux.

"I can't understand Faubert's decision apart from the financial point of view. When certain players call me to talk about me their transfer I tell them it's okay to play for one of the top four clubs in England, Germany, Italy or Spain, but this is stupidity. What a pity when he is on the verge of the French team. I have trouble understanding it." -Domenech

What I have trouble understanding is how the pedigree of the player’s club should affect a decision of a coach to play him in the national side. It’s a sort of bigotry to say that since you didn’t leave for Manchester United and play Champion’s League, then you are ruled out.

I think it’s more stupid for all of these players who join elite clubs with little chance for a starting role and end up with their names carved on a bench and leaving two years later for half of what they signed for and a career to recover. That’s stupid. That's what will likely happen to Yossi Benayoun.

Faubert, 23, has made one start for the French national side so far and looks poised to start no more while Domenech is coach, impressed in his first pre-season friendly this weekend. He played 45 minutes of and will play again against Austrian side Sigma today. With both West Ham midfielders sold, the position is wide open.

The Hammers paid 6.1m pounds to Bordeaux for Faubert who originally wanted a move to Rangers and had refused to train at Bordeaux when he was denied the transfer.

Frankly, this is none of Domenech's business. Faubert should be judged on his performances and not whether he earns more money or not, something I am SURE no player cares about.

Tevez: we now have a saga

It reported that striker Carlos Tevez has agreed personal terms with Manchester United, this according to his representatives. But West Ham aren’t in agreement.

The deal, curious as it is, suggests that Manchester United will bring Carlos Tevez in on a 2 year loan deal: not so fast though. Premier League rules say that the transfer must be done directly with West Ham but this pesky agent, Kia Joorabchian, has been nothing but a thorn in the footballing communities side with these strange ownership deals that force part of any sale proceeds to be paid directly to him.

The deal would be similar to the one which took Javier Masherano to Liverpool, but West Ham made the deal directly.

Tevez is really keen on the move to Old Trafford, but West Ham owner Eggert Magnusson has insisted that West Ham own the player's registration, and can’t go without consent and expects Tevez to return for pre-season training.

Here is where the saga will ensue: Joorabchian's lawyers say the deal has been negotiated with the "knowledge and permission" of West Ham.

Any deal will be under special scrutiny from the Premier League and they will likely back West Ham if any problems appear. This transfer is ripe for a spot of bung or corruption. The Premier League wants to ensure Joorabchian is not paid any of the fee for a transfer or a loan. Joorabchian seems intent on getting his. Back channel, anyone?

What makes this more complex and strange is that West Ham insisted they cut all ties with Joorabchian after the League ruled against them and fined them. How is it this guy is still involved? Are West Ham just covering up the third-party agreement? Is that why Joorabchian remains in the picture?

More mud in the water? Man United claim they were also given permission to speak to Tevez.

Well, however this ends, if Tevez becomes a United player, lookout. Can you imagine the potency of that front line?

Reo-Coker a Hammer no Longer

Aston Villa have ended the protracted transfer situation and signed West Ham midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker.

The 23 year old was transferred for 8.5m pounds for a 4 year contract. He passed a medical at Villa Park on Thrusday.

While Reo-Coker moves clubs, he doesn’t change colors as West Ham and Villa share almost identical strip. He made 142 appearances for the West Ham and guided the club to a promotion back to the Premiership. He was the team’s youngest ever captain, as well as being the England U-21 skipper.

"People ask me if I felt I was hung out to dry at West Ham and I believe I was - I was made the scapegoat" –Reo-Coker

Don’t expect a warm reception the next time you are at Upton Park, Nige.

Reo-Coker is Villa’s first signing of the summer. Gavin McCann moved to Bolton and Steven Davis joined Fulham, so Villa needed midfielders. They also need to hold on to John Carew up front too as he is actively being courted by FC Porto.

In the end Reo-Coker cost West Ham 500,000 pounds when he moved from Wimbledon so there is a tidy profit realized regardless of who has a bad taste in their mouths.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Javier Mascherano

Javier Mascherano is one of the finest Argentine players to appear in many years.

His club team in Brazil, Corinthians, rate him so highly that he has an 85m pound buyout clause In his contract.

Why? He’s a 21 year old who’s competence is astonishing. You don’t want him for a moment and think ‘that kids lost’, you think ‘whoa, that kid's dictating the play'. Mascherano can pass, tackle, move without the ball and holds the midfield like nobody’s business.

After his Messi-like climb through the youth sides, Mascherano cemented his place at last year's Copa America in Peru. He was voted the player of the tournament by his team.

After Carlos Tevez and Sebastian Dominguez, he is the third Argentine player to join Corinthians this year. Mascherano cost Corinthians only 8m pounds from Argentine giants River Plate. He’s among the top earners in Brazil.

Mascherano garnered interest in his first major international tournament when he was an under-17 in 2001. Now, more mature, his qualities have placed heavy Argentine expectations on ‘Jefecito’, or ‘little chief’ since his first full international debut in 2003.