FootbaLL LoVeRs

Avram Grant To Jose Mourinho: My Chelsea Were Better

2009-01-17T22:10:00.000-08:00

Jose Mourinho recently said that man who succeeded him as Chelsea manager, Avram Grant, did "nothing" for the club during his seven-month stint at the helm.
The Israeli led the Blues to their first-ever Champions League final, where they lost to Manchester United on penalties, but Mourinho claimed he would have gone one better had he stayed at Stamford Bridge.
Grant is confused by the Inter Milan coach's unprovoked criticism and has defended his efforts in resurrecting a Blues side that were in turmoil when he took over.
He told the News of the World, “What the fans need to remember is that Jose did not leave me a team that were champions, that was Manchester United and we were in sixth position after a very poor start to the season.
“Everyone was in shock. The atmosphere in the dressing room was not good, critics were saying the football was boring and negative and we had just had a poor draw with Rosenborg in the Champions League.
“The supporters were booing the team after that match, the stadium was half empty and Jose knew his time was up.
“He then walked out a couple of days before an away match with United when Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and Ricardo Carvalho were all out injured and I agreed to step in.
“I was director of football and was enjoying my job. Jose agreed I should come and we worked for three months together. He did his job and I tried to help him. I felt it was a very important role. But things were not good. Morale was low and questions were being asked.
“With a lot of effort — and a lot of thinking and hard work — I started putting the team back together again.”
What's Stopping Mou?
Grant then launched a stinging counter-attack at Mourinho, insisting the Portuguese had plenty of chances to lead Chelsea to European glory.
“I don’t see how Jose can claim he would have won the Champions League if he’d still been in charge,” the 53-year-old continued.
“He was boss for more than three years and he didn’t even make the Champions League final once. What stopped him? He had the biggest budget in the history of football, some of the best players and an owner that gave him everything.
“But he got beaten twice in the semi-finals by teams with half the budget he had at his disposal.
“What he forgets is that we beat Liverpool with a team that had (Fernando) Torres in and only missed winning the biggest prize in football by inches — and that penalty shoot-out miss did not make us a bad side.”
One Of The Best
Nicolas Anelka's flubbed spot-kick doomed Chelsea to trophyless season and signalled the end of Grant's whirlwind spell in the Stamford Bridge hot-seat.
But people often forget that the Pensioners came agonisingly close to claiming a double last term, as they battled Man United right to the wire for the Premier League title - a remarkable achievement after the start they endured.
And Grant said, “Jose says that I did ‘nothing’ in the League. Perhaps his memory is failing him because my winning ratio of games was second to none. We won all the big games at home when I was in charge, beating Arsenal, United and Liverpool.
“I am told one of the best in their history. We won all the big games at home when I was in charge.
“If we hadn’t started the season so badly under Jose, we would have been champions — it’s a fact — but the dropped points cost us dearly at the end. We paid the price for a poor start under his guidance.”
Mike Maguire, Goal.com

David Beckham Urges Kaka To Stay At Milan

2009-01-17T22:09:00.000-08:00

There was an air of mourning mixed with chants of anger at the San Siro last night as AC Milan claimed victory over Fiorentina thanks to Alexandre Pato's lone goal.
The result was secondary, even though it keeps the Rossoneri alive in the Scudetto race, as David Beckham made his first appearance at the Giuseppe Meazza since arriving on-loan from the Los Angeles Galaxy.
But even he wasn't the centre of attention, as the focus was purely on Kaka in what might prove to be his last game as a Milan player.
The Brazilian superstar now seems all but certain to join Manchester City now that their mammoth €120 million bid is set to be accepted by the Italian giants.
However, Beckham does not buy into the frenzy surrounding the former FIFA World Player of the Year's proposed move and hopes he snubs the vast riches on offer at Eastlands.
"I don't think it was Kaka's last game," the 33-year-old midfielder said in The Daily Mail.
"I think there's always going to be speculation around him, there's always going to be speculation around big players at big clubs and they don't come much bigger than Ricardo (Kaka). But he's very happy here.
"Without doubt he should stay. AC Milan are one of the biggest clubs in the world. It's not always about money. There is not one player in that dressing room that cares about money before football. I hope he stays."
Wise words from a man who has so often been accused of favouring personal gain over the pursuit of footballing greatness.
Mike Maguire, Goal.com

Real Madrid Offer Milan Late Bid For Kaka - Report

2009-01-17T22:05:00.000-08:00

As the Kaka transfer drama rumbles on, Real Madrid are attempting to throw a late spanner in the works.

According to the News Of The World, the club contacted Kaka's father on Friday night and signalled their intent to sign the player.

Real Madrid are willing to match Manchester City's record-breaking €120 million bid, but they will not go anywhere near the estimated €562,000-a-week wages that City are said to be offering.

In their favour, however, is the fact that Kaka appears reluctant to move to a club that does not play at the highest level, a platform that Real Madrid can guarantee.
In addition, a move to the Bernabeu would only materialise in the summer, after their club elections, allowing the Brazilian star to play out the season at Milan.

Arjun Miglani, Goal.com

Scholes wants to win everything

2008-12-24T05:07:00.002-08:00

Manchester United ace Paul Scholes has set his sicghts on ‘winning everything’ with the club this season.

The 34-year-old has just recently returned from a three-month injury absence.

Scholes said in the Daily Star: “This year has been a great one for us. We won the league and the European Cup in May and this season has gone well so far.

“We are still in four competitions and I’m looking forward to next year.

“My aim for 2009 is to see United win everything and for me to be a part of a team that goes on to lift trophies at the end of the season.”

He continued: “Now we can really concentrate on the league, the Champions League and the two domestic cups.”

[Source: Daily Star]

Mourinho plans Premiership return

2008-12-24T05:07:00.001-08:00

Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho has admitted that he wants to return to the Premier League one day.

The 45-year-old won two Premier League titles, the FA Cup and the Carling Cup twice during his three year spell as Chelsea boss.

He told Sky Sports News: “I never hide. I am in love with the English game. I have to go back one day, for sure. I just love it.

“One of my ambitions is to win the Premier League, Serie A and La Liga. The three big championships in Europe.

“One day I will go back to England because I love it and one day I will go to Spain to win La Liga. But at the same time, I am really, really happy with Inter.

“I want to make Inter a better club. I am very, very happy with the way things have gone so far. It has been a new start to me.

“My team is almost like I used to call my Chelsea team in 2004/2005, a ‘victory machine’. You always have a feeling you will win because the team is so strong.”

[Source: Sky Sports News]

Scolari urges Chelsea to give him more cash

2008-12-24T05:06:00.002-08:00

Chelsea boss Phil Scolari has asked the club chiefs for money to spend on new players in the January transfer window.

Blues owner Roman Abramovich and chief executive Peter Kenyon insists they will not spend any money in the January transfer window.

Scolari is desperate to bring in a new striker in January.

A source close to the Brazilian told the Sun: “Sometimes the best way to re-energise a team is to inject fresh blood, that’s all he asked for.

“Felipe was promised funds to buy before he joined. Everyone knows he wanted Robinho and what happened there.

“He knows financial situations have changed. But he is not asking for £20million, just a reasonable amount to get a new player in.”

[Source: The Sun]

Why have Arsenal failed to live up to their expectations?

2008-12-24T05:06:00.001-08:00

The headline of this article has been the question being asked for the past couple of weeks in the SoccerNews poll. A number of you have voted and the result makes for interesting reading.

Disappointing

Despite beating Chelsea and Manchester United and holding Liverpool to a draw with only ten men, there is no doubt that this season has been, in the main, a disappointing one for the Gunners. They wouldn’t have wanted to be sitting in fifth place at Christmas time and despite Arsene Wenger’s protestations about being a young side and learning all the time and being a great side in the future, he must be as upset as the fans and the players.

There has been some turmoil at the club with William Gallas speaking out about team-mates and things that should have stayed in the dressing room. He was, of course, stripped of the captaincy.

Someone new

There has been some strange comings and goings at boardroom level, and for the first time in his reign, there have been a few fans thinking that Arsene Wenger has done as much with the club as he can and they should consider bringing in someone new.

They lost Hleb and Flamini. There has been much talk of Adebayor and Fabregas leaving. They have been without Rosicky and Eduardo.

All out attack

The fans have booed their own player in what seemed like an all out attack against Emmanuel Eboue. It is some time since the Gooners have turned on one of their own.

Transfers in have been minimal and many eyebrows were raised about the signing of Michael Silvestre. Hardly a move designed to bring about an end to the small run of trophyless years.

Stubborn

The board spoke out that Wenger had money to spend if he wanted to, yet the big names did not come. Is this because Arsene Wenger stubbornly refuses to bring world stars to the club or because the club has a wage structure that makes getting the top players to sign too difficult?

The results of the poll show that at 43% nearly half of the respondents feel that they have under achieved due to the simple fact that the squad is too inexperienced.

Some 18% think the blame lies in a weak midfield. With the loss of Hleb, Flamini, Gilberto, and Rosicky, that may well be the case.

Roughly the same number of respondents put the blame firmly at Arsene Wenger’s door, blaming his stubborn views on the club’s transfer policy.

15% of respondents felt that the internal problems at the club have caused the problems and 5% actually went as far as to blame William Gallas personally.

Benitez and Torres close to Liverpool returns

2008-12-24T05:04:00.000-08:00

Rafael Benitez is close to a return to the Liverpool dugout for Friday's clash against Bolton, while star striker Fernando Torres should also be back in action soon.

Liverpool manager Benitez missed Sunday's 1-1 draw at Arsenal while he recovered from a kidney stones operation, but he is expected to be back on the bench for Bolton's Boxing Day visit to Anfield.

Benitez's assistant Sammy Lee hopes his imminent return can provide the perfect boost for Liverpool to finish the year on a high.

“Rafa is a lot better, he's on the mend. He has been in a lot of pain but he is improving,” Lee said.

“His presence is always missed, but the organisation he has put in place is such that even though he has not been here this week, the battle plan is still there.

“We know what we have to do, the game plan is there, it is business as usual.

“He is missed and hopefully he will be back with us for the Bolton game.

“He is a hands-on manager, it is hurting him more being away from the training ground really, but he will be back soon.”

The Bolton game may be too soon for Torres to return from a hamstring injury that has forced the 24-year-old to miss five matches, but Lee expects him back soon.

“Fernando's progress has markedly improved. He is getting better. He improves with every training session and he has worked very hard on his rehabilitation,” Lee said.

“We will put him in when we see fit, that's not evasive but I don't want to start revealing our line-up.”

Liverpool go into the first of their Christmas fixtures on top of the Premier League and protecting an unbeaten home league record in 2008.

It is the first time Liverpool have been top at this stage since 1996, and two wins over the holiday period against Bolton first and then at Newcastle on Sunday will give them their best points tally in a calendar year for 19 years.

“The lads will be in training on Christmas Day, we have two very important games in three days coming up and they are very professional and accept that they have to have their Christmas at a different time to everyone else,” Lee added.

“They know the job in hand, they know what preparation is needed to stay at the top of the Premier League.”

Sacchi Loses Faith In Milan's Scudetto Bid

2008-11-25T04:06:00.000-08:00

Former Milan coach Arrigo Sacchi has expressed doubts about the Rossoneri's ability and consistency to pull results out of the bag week in, week out following the controversial 2-2 draw with Torino on Sunday.

Carlo Ancelotti's men have struggled to break down the lesser teams this season: they drew with both Lecce and Toro and only just managed to scrape past Chievo 1-0.

Sacchi, who coached at the club between 1987 and 1991, doesn't think Milan have what it takes this term even though they are just three points behind bitter city rivals Inter.

"Milan have an excellent tactical culture. Carlo Ancelotti has been there for seven years but he doesn't always find the equal motivation and determination," Sacchi told La Gazzetta Dello Sport.

"The team has great technical qualities and they are brilliant at holding onto the ball but sometimes they over do it and they fail to find the same hunger and enthusiasm.

"A lot of players move without the ball and they only express their best football in the big games and this could cost them."

"I don't think it will be easy for them to win."

The Rossoneri take on Portsmouth in the UEFA Cup on Thursday night but their main aim this season remains the Scudetto.

Salvatore Landolina, Goal.com

Girlfriend Demands Four Ducklings From Pato

2008-10-27T05:06:00.000-07:00

The Rossoneri star has been impressing on the pitch but also off it as his girlfriend reveals she wants to spend the rest of her life with him and she has already laid down the objectives for next season.

"Pato is my future and I want to spend my life by his side," Brito told Brazilian magazine 'Contigo'.

"I want to have four children with him because I come from a big family and I want to have a big family too.

"I want to get married in church as this has always been my dream."

Pato has been scoring on the pitch for Milan now it's time to do it off the turf.

Brito has risen to fame for her acting roles but, most notably, for her appearance in Playboy magazine when she turned 18.

Meanwhile, Milan are just one point off the top of Serie A following their 1-0 win over Atalanta on Sunday night, thanks to Kaka.

Salvatore Landolina

Xabi Strike Smashes Chelsea's Unbeaten Run

2008-10-27T05:04:00.000-07:00

A deflected goal from Xabi was enough to see Rafa Benítez's side rack up a victory over Luis Felipe Scolari's charges.

After 86 league games without tasting defeat at Stamford Bridge, something finally gave as Xabi's deflected effort silenced the home crowd.

After that early goal the Reds went on to remain the better side for the most part, and Pepe Reina was given relatively little to do between the posts.

That was largely down to a spirited defensive showing from the Scousers that endured in the face of sustained possession from the hosts.

On a rare break forward, in fact, Liverpool managed the lead. With Chelsea dithering over a clearance after an offensive throw-in, Xabi Alonso attempted to rifle the ball past Cech. His shot lacked conviction, but Bosingwa's body deflected it so that the helpless 'keeper could only flail at it with his legs.

Chelsea tried their best to build from the back, but time and again their moves broke down on the edge of the area, allowing the likes of Gerrard to respond with swift counters that saw Cech tested with long-range efforts.

Further back Mascherano and his back four were looking increasingly comfortable as Chelsea ran out of ideas heading into the second half.

Still, Chelsea had the occasional spell of dominance that called for physical play from the visitors. As early as the 22nd minute Riera had picked up a merited yellow for hacking down Bosingwa, and Reina, too, could have joined him in the book for bringing down Malouda, but the Blues' forward was already offside.

Both sides made their changes in an attempt to inject life into their play, Babel replacing Keane to hold the ball up and run onto counters while di Santo and Belletti replaced Kalou and Malouda.

This had the desired effect for both sides as first the Reds came close with a low drive from an Alonso free-kick, and then an increasingly frantic Chelsea created a chance of their own. Ashley Cole inexplicably fired off-target after Di Santo directed Lampard's cross towards him for a golden opportunity.

Although Liverpool started to panic a bit and defend deeply, they may have known in their heart of hearts even with ten minutes to go that they'd done enough, and the match ended 1-0 in their favour.

Chelsea launch £16m legal fight over John Mikel Obi transfer deal

2008-10-11T07:10:00.000-07:00

Chelsea have began a legal battle against Lyn Oslo and their former chief executive Morgan Andersen to recoup the £16million transfer fee they paid for midfielder John Mikel Obi.

The move follows the criminal conviction of Andersen by a Norwegian court last March for falsifying documents in relation to Mikel's sale in June 2006 for which he was given a suspended one-year jail sentence.

Chelsea claim the entire transfer deal was based on the "fraudulent misrepresentation" that Mikel had an employment contract with Lyn and are now demanding their money back.

Mikel was at the centre of a major row at the time with both Chelsea and Manchester United claiming to have agreed to sign the Nigerian.

The dispute dragged on for more than a year and was eventually settled when Chelsea agreed to pay £16m in compensation - £12m to United and £4m to Lynn.

The club,however, stressed today that their refund claim is against Lynn and Andersen and has nothing to do with United.

Spot the difference: John Mikel Obi was paraded in United shirt before he changed his mind and signed for Chelsea

A Chelsea spokesman said: 'The club have issued a claim at the High Court in relation to the transfer of Jon Obi Mikel.

'The claim is against FC Lyn Oslo and Morgen Andersen and follows the criminal conviction in Norway of Lyn's former Chief Executive Officer Morgan Andersen.

'At the time of the transfer, Chelsea, Lyn and Manchester United agreed that the fees paid would be in final settlement of the transfer, any claims related to it and that no further action or comment regarding the transfer would be made.

'Chelsea has written to Lyn to make clear that because the transfer was based on a fraudulent misrepresentation, now proven by a court of law, the settlement previously agreed is not binding.'

After a slow start, Mikel has emerged as a key player at Stamford Bridge and has cemented a first-team place this season in the absence of Michael Essien.

Credit bunch: Top 20 European summer transfers - does your club's big buy feature?

2008-10-11T07:05:00.000-07:00

English football may be feeling the burden of an estimated £3billion debt, but that doesn't stop free-spending Barclays Premier League clubs dominating in the transfer market.

An analysis of the world's biggest deals from the summer transfer window shows half of the top 20 were completed by English clubs, with the deadline-day captures of Robinho for Manchester City and Dimitar Berbatov for Manchester United leading the way.

1 - Robinho (Real Madrid to Manchester City) - £32.4m

2 - Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham to Manchester United) - £30.75m

3 - Daniel Alves (Sevilla to Barcelona) - £26m

4 - Danny (Dynamo Moscow to Zenit St Petersburg) - £24.3m

5 - Ricardo Quaresma (Porto to Inter Milan) - £19.5m

6 - Robbie Keane (Tottenham to Liverpool) - £19.5m

7 - Jo (CSKA Moscow to Manchester City) - £19.5m

8 - Amauri (Palermo to Juventus) - £18.5m

9 - David Bentley (Blackburn to Tottenham) - £17.8m

10 - Ronaldinho (Barcelona to AC Milan) - £17m

Hleb: Signing Cesc would be absolutely Fab for Barcelona

2008-10-11T07:01:00.000-07:00

Barcelona midfielder Alexander Hleb admits he has been trying to persuade former Arsenal team-mate Cesc Fabregas to join him at the Nou Camp.

Spain international Fabregas vowed earlier this week that he would one day like to return to Barca, the club he left to join Arsenal in 2003, and for Hleb that day can not come soon enough.

The way things were: Cesc Fabregas and former Gunners team-mate Alex Hleb

Hleb moved to Barca this summer after three seasons at the Gunners, and the Belarus ace would be delighted if the highly-coveted Fabregas followed suit.

Hleb said in El Mundo Deportivo: "We get on very well on and off the pitch. For me he is like a brother. We call each other a lot to talk about things.

"He tells me he misses me at Arsenal and, without wanting to detract from anyone, I would love it if he came to Barca to be a part of all this.

"I don't stop insisting that he should return to Barca and he doesn't stop insisting that he is very happy at Arsenal and with Arsene Wenger.

"I will keep boring him until he changes his mind. If in the end he listens to me, I think it would be great for Barcelona."

Roman Abramovich loses £12billion in Russian share plunge

2008-10-11T06:59:00.000-07:00

Roman Abramovich has lost £12billion on the Russian stock exchange, it was revealed today.

The Chelsea FC owner has seen his fortune shrink as Russia's Micex Index has gone into freefall.

The decline in value of two of his companies on the Moscow-based index, steel maker Evraz and mining company Highland Gold, has left the 41-year-old tycoon £11.9billion worse off.

It comes just four days after details emerged of the £200million super-yacht Abramovich is having built - set to be the largest private yacht ever constructed.

The massive bill for the boat amounts to just a 60th of today's gargantuan losses for the Russian oligarch.

Abramovich's woes come on a disastrous financial day for London's Premiership football clubs, with the owners of Arsenal and West Ham also suffering from the effects of instability in the markets.

Arsenal's part-owner Alisher Usmanov has lost £7billion on the Micex index, which has declined 61 per cent since its peak in May.

West Ham's Icelandic owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson also said he may sell the club after losing £230million.

Chelsea open legal proceedings against Lyn and Andersen over Mikel transfer

2008-10-11T06:53:00.000-07:00

Chelsea have issued a high court claim for £16m against the Norwegian club FC Lyn Oslo and their disgraced former chief executive, Morgan Andersen, over the controversial purchase of John Mikel Obi, though there seems little prospect of the Premier League club being able to recoup all the money they paid for the Nigeria midfielder.

Mikel arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2006 in a complicated deal that saw some £4m paid to Lyn Oslo and £12m to Manchester United, who believed they had originally signed the player on professional terms. However, Andersen was convicted in an Oslo court earlier this year of forging contracts relating to Chelsea and Mikel, which enabled the Norwegian club to gain a slice of the player's transfer fee. Chelsea duly informed Lyn that the deal was based on a fraudulent misrepresentation that the player had an employment contract at the Oslo club and that they would seek full repayment.

Chelsea have privately stressed that they are not attempting to put Lyn Oslo out of business, and it appears unlikely that the Norwegian club, currently mid-table in their domestic league, would have the funds to pay anything close to the £16m compensation demanded. With that in mind, the two clubs are involved in "positive discussions" in a bid to reach some kind of compromise over the case, the pursuit of which has fast become a point of principal for the Premier League leaders.

Although Chelsea are technically seeking the return of the entire fee, the most likely result will be an out-of-court settlement between the clubs, given their willingness to maintain dialogue. "The claim is against FC Lyn Oslo and Morgan Andersen and follows the criminal conviction in Norway of Lyn's former chief executive officer," said a Chelsea spokesman. "It is for the entire £16m fee paid by Chelsea for the player as it is now clear, following Andersen's conviction, that the transfer was based on the fraudulent misrepresentation that Mikel had an employment contract with Lyn.

"Chelsea has written to Lyn to make clear that because the transfer was based on a fraudulent misrepresentation, now proven by a court of law, the settlement previously agreed is not binding. Chelsea is in contact with Lyn and looks forward to working positively with them to resolve the claim promptly. Chelsea would like to make clear that this legal action is against Lyn and Morgan Andersen."

That reflects the reality that Manchester United, who declined to comment, are not involved in any way in Chelsea's pursuit of the money they paid two years ago. Indeed, Chelsea are not intending to involve their Premier League rivals in the high court case. However, this should prove the final twist in a saga that infuriated Sir Alex Ferguson who, along with United, had been convinced that Mikel was bound for Old Trafford rather than Stamford Bridge some two years ago.

Mikel claimed to have signed a youth contract with Lyn in 2005 but, within a week, United announced they had agreed to sign him on professional terms at the end of the Norwegian season in January 2006. The player was even photographed wearing a United shirt, only for Chelsea also to claim to have reached an agreement to sign the player. That prompted United and Lyn to report the London club and the player's agents, John Shittu and Rune Hauge, to Fifa and it was not until June 2006, some 14 months after the saga first flared up, that Chelsea agreed a compromise deal to pay both Lyn and United for the player's services.

That decision was made on the basis that Mikel was under contract in Oslo, the reality of which was dispelled when Andersen — the chief executive at the Norwegian club at the time — was convicted of making false accusations and fraud over the agreement that apparently existed between his club and the midfielder. He was given a one-year suspended sentence after a court decided the professional contract Mikel subsequently denied ever signing and which committed him to the club actually carried a signature cut out from the amateur agreement to which he had previously been tied.

Alonso too slow for Juventus

2008-10-09T04:28:00.000-07:00

Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri says Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso is too slow.

Ranieri was close to signing the Spaniard in the summer and the former Chelsea boss has now revealed the reason.

He said: “He was a player we wanted.

“But he is a player, who even though he is an extraordinary man and a great professional, left me perplexed by the slowness of his movement in midfield.

“In the midfield of Rafa Benitez’s Liverpool, where all of them are little soldiers, he finds himself in a fantastic position.

“But in our midfield, he would have found it hard to support the midfield line seeing as Mauro Camoranesi and Pavel Nedved are not players that come back to give support like Liverpool’s wingers.”

[Source: The Sun]

Manchester City rumours

2008-10-09T04:27:00.000-07:00

Today’s newspaper watch brings two new rumours concerning the likely signings of Manchester City.

The Daily Mirror believes that Mark Hughes is lining up a January bid for Sampdoria’s twenty-six year old notoriously short tempered Italian playmaker Antonio Cassano.

The unpredictable Cassano has recently found love with a seventeen year old water polo player and is unlikely to want to move away.

(Source - Daily Mirror)

The Sun newspaper tells us that City are keen to sign Rennes’ Cameroon defensive midfield player Stephane Mbia for a fee of £9.6 million when the transfer window re-opens in January.

The twenty-two year old, who can also play at right back, has made eleven appearances for Cameroon.

(Source - The Sun)

Van Nistelrooy still expects Ronaldo to join Madrid

2008-10-09T04:26:00.001-07:00

Real Madrid striker Ruud van Nistelrooy believes that Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo will one day make a move to Real Madrid.

In an interview with Spanish sports paper Marca, Van Nistelrooy said to expect that the Portuguese winger will join ‘Los Galacticos’ next summer, “or the one after”.

Ronaldo was close to a move this summer but Real Madrid and Manchester United never came to an agreement. After undergoing surgery, the forward recently made his return to the pitch.

The Portuguese star does have a long term contract with United, who seem anything but willing to let him go without a fight.

Despite this summer’s transfer rumours, Ronaldo’s popularity among United fans doesn’t seem to have received a knock.

Bentley: We Must Stop The Jokes

2008-10-09T04:23:00.000-07:00

Initially it was a toothpick, and now it is a triangle. The latter of these inanimate objects contain more points than Tottenham Hotspur can currently brag.

The north London club have embarked on such a bad start that only a very minor percentage of Spurs supporters will remember the last poor run of form to a season's birth 96 years ago. The same year the Titanic sunk; but will the lily white ship sink just as spectacularly?

In order for the jokes and puns to come to an end, Tottenham wideboy David Bentley has called on the players to steer their vessel out of trouble.

"I know people are having a laugh at the fact we are bottom of the league at the moment but it's up to everyone at the club to stop the jokes," Bentley is quoted by the Metro as saying.

"We're not happy with what has been happening. You cannot hide from the situation but what we need are a team of leaders who take responsibility. We have to grow as people."

"We have more than enough good players at Tottenham to get us out of this situation and I give my word that we will," the confident ex-Blackburn Rovers winger said.

"I still love being at Spurs and I don't regret joining the club for one second."

Venables turns down Newcastle role

2008-09-25T22:12:00.000-07:00

Terry Venables rejected the chance Thursday to step into the hotseat at troubled Newcastle, who have been managerless since Kevin Keegan's abrupt departure earlier this month.

With the club up for sale by owner Mike Ashley, Venables was reported to have been offered the chance to come in as a caretaker manager.

Venables confirmed to The Sun newspaper, for whom he writes a column, that he had been in talks with the St James' Park hierarchy.

But the newspaper's website later Thursday said that the 65-year-old had “turned down” Newcastle's plea to become stand-in boss amid uncertainty over the club's future.

Former England, Tottenham and Barcelona boss Venables was one of the leading candidates to become Newcastle manager when Bobby Robson was sacked in 2004, although the club's then-owners eventually plumped for Graeme Souness.

He also has experience of working in the north-east of England having helped Middlesbrough avoid relegation in 2002 after being brought in to help Bryan Robson manage the side.

A similar salvage operation is required at Newcastle, who are currently second from bottom of the Premier League and were dumped out of the League Cup on Wednesday night following a 2-1 defeat at home to Tottenham.

That match was watched by 20,577 people, the club's lowest crowd in 16 years, which will not have helped Ashley's hopes of a quick sale.

Consortiums from China and Nigeria are reported to be considering bids but there has been no indication that anyone is willing to meet Ashley's asking price of more than 400 million pounds.

Venables's last job was as a part-time assistant to former England boss Steve McClaren. That role came to an end when McClaren was sacked in November of last year following England's failure to reach Euro 2008.

Kaka, Robinho in, Ronaldinho out as Brazil squad named

2008-09-25T22:10:00.000-07:00

There was no place for AC Milan's Ronaldinho on Thursday as Brazil coach Dunga named his 22-man squad for next month's 2010 World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela and Colombia.

Dunga called on Ronaldinho's club-mate Kaka, whose last game for his country was against Uruguay in November last year, and Manchester City's new wonder signings Jo and Robinho.

Despite appearing at the Beijing Olympics last month, where he scored two goals before Brazil were knocked out in the semi-finals, Dunga chose to leave Ronaldinho out.

“Ronaldinho has not had enough time to improve with his new club. He is missing rhythm,” said Dunga. “I have confidence in him, as do all Brazilians, and I hope he can become again the Ronaldinho that all the world knows.”

Brazil play Venezuela on October 12 then Colombia four days later.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Julio Cesar (Inter Milan/ITA), Doni (AS Roma/ITA)

Defenders: Maicon (Inter Milan/ITA), Daniel Alves (Barcelona/ESP), Lucio (Bayern Munich/GER), Juan (AS Roma/ITA), Thiago Silva (Fluminense), Alex (Chelsea/ENG), Kleber (Santos), Juan (Flamengo)

Midfielders: Gilberto Silva (Panathinaikos/GRE), Josue (Wolfsburg/GER), Lucas (Liverpool/ENG), Anderson (Manchester United/ENG), Elano (Manchester City/ENG), Kaka (AC Milan/ITA), Mancini (Inter Milan/ITA), Julio Baptista (AS Roma/ITA)

Strikers: Luis Fabiano (Sevilla/ESP), Jo (Manchester City/ENG), Pato (AC Milan/ITA), Robinho (Manchester City/ENG)

Great Dane Tips Gerrard For Derby Glory

2008-09-25T22:07:00.000-07:00

And the former Danish international also tipped new-boy Robbie Keane to break his drought by finding the net at Goodison Park.

"Steven is always our key man," Molby told the club's official website.

"Last season Steven got substituted at Goodison which surprised many people so maybe for this game he will want to do something special. It would be nice for him to get his 100th goal for Liverpool in the derby.

"I also think Robbie Keane will be relishing the derby. Newspaper columns have been full with stories about his lack of goals so far, but if he starts on Saturday then what a great game to get your first goal in!

"I'm sure he will find the net sooner rather than later and Saturday would be perfect. Once he gets his first then he will get plenty of goals."

Wary

The Reds triumphed in the corresponding fixture last season, coming from behind to snatch a controversial 2-1 win. Dirk Kuyt scored both goals from the penalty spot, while at the other end Jamie Carragher was lucky not to concede a pair of spot-kicks in the dying minutes.

Everton will be eager to reverse the result this time around, and Molby is wary of the attacking talents at David Moyes' disposal.

"We will have to defend well and we know they have got excellent players going forward," the former Ajax midfielder said.

"(Mikel) Arteta is getting back to his best and (Tim) Cahill is scoring goals. Yakubu can be a handful and they have (Louis) Saha who is also a threat.

"Everton's problem this season and it has been a massive one, is their defending so hopefully we can take advantage of that."

Scrappy

Rafael Benitez's men come into the clash on the back of some scrappy performances, having drawn against Stoke City last weekend before edging past Crewe Alexandra in the Carling Cup midweek.

Star striker Fernando Torres is yet to reach full fitness or form after a hamstring injury, and Molby admitted Liverpool's forwards would have to be extra sharp against the Toffees.

He added: "We haven't found our scoring boots so far this season but I think Liverpool will shade this game and win 2-1."

Mike Maguire

Sheffield United confirm victory over West Ham in Tevez case

2008-09-23T05:58:00.001-07:00

West Ham could be set for a £30m payout after an independent FA tribunal ruled in Sheffield United's favour over the Carlos Tevez affair, and the Blades have not given up hope that as a result of today's ruling the Premier League may also be forced to take action.

"The Blades began their legal fight for reinstatement some 16 months ago, which also included an arbitration hearing against the Premier League," said United in a statement on their website. "This award could now pose a question as to what the Premier League will do." United refused to comment further on the matter when questioned by guardian.co.uk today and it is unclear what further action the Premier League could take, with reinstatement an impossibility, though a hefty windfall from West Ham now seems likely.

United's claim dates back to the 2006-07 season when Tevez played a major role in helping West Ham avoid relegation, at the expense of Neil Warnock's side. In April 2007 the Hammers were fined £5.5m by the Premier League for breaching the rules in relation to Tevez and Javier Mascherano, but were not docked any points. Tevez was cleared to play on for the Hammers, Mascherano having departed for Liverpool in January, and the Argentine striker scored the only goal of the game in West Ham's 1-0 win over Manchester United on the last day of the season, a result that ensured the club stayed in the top flight.

United lost an initial appeal against their relegation in the summer of 2007, but continued their fight in an FA tribunal. That tribunal has today ruled in their favour.

"I can confirm that both clubs have been notified of the ruling," said the United chairman, Kevin McCabe. "The arbitration panel has awarded in our favour. The matter is still legally in process so I do not wish to comment any further until we have completed that process."

Warnock, the Blades' manager during the club's season in the top flight, said today that he feels justice has been done. "I think everyone in the country knows this is the right verdict," he told Sky Sports News. "This justifies what Kevin McCabe has said all along: that we were hard done by, that it wasn't done legally and we were fighting for our rights. It was scandalous. It changed one or two lives and it shouldn't have happened. This verdict puts your faith back into the justice system."

The Daily Mail today suggests that United are demanding £30,396,897.32 from the London club, with £21,788,795 of that figure considered to be compensation for the loss of Premier League status. The rest of the sum is based on reduced transfer fees, season ticket sales, merchandising and "lost business opportunities".

"We have no doubt that West Ham would have secured at least three fewer points over the 2006-07 season if Carlos Tevez had not been playing for the club," reads the tribunal's judgment according to the Mail. "Indeed, we think it more likely than not on the evidence we heard that even over the final two games of the season West Ham would have achieved at least three points less overall without Mr Tevez. He played outstandingly well in the two wins West Ham secured in those last two games."

West Ham are believed to be considering an appeal, but because both clubs and the FA agreed to the tribunal it is unclear whether or not they have the right to do so.

"We need to digest the full findings of the arbitration panel and will consult our lawyers on the next steps we might take before making any further comment," a West Ham spokesman told the BBC.

Chelsea gamble on 'player with three lungs' to fill Essien void

2008-09-23T05:56:00.000-07:00

Luiz Felipe Scolari expects to have Mineiro, a 33-year-old Brazilian midfielder, available for the Premier League game against Aston Villa a week on Sunday. Chelsea are set to sign the former Brazil international, who left Hertha Berlin in the summer, to provide backup in midfield after the injuries to Michael Essien and Deco.
"Mineiro is a player I need because I lost Essien for six months and only John Mikel Obi is there for us," Scolari said. "He won't play this week but maybe after 10 days he will play. He needs to play in the reserve team and needs some time but that is good for me because he gives me some options."
Arsène Wenger had considered a move for the Brazilian but after watching him in a behind-closed-doors friendly the Arsenal manager said this month that nothing would happen "at the moment". Birmingham were reportedly also interested in Mineiro, who was offered an extension to stay at Hertha last summer but felt the offer was not good enough. He made 36 Bundesliga appearances for Hertha Berlin, scoring twice in an 18-month spell.
Liverpool fans may remember him from their Club World Championship final in December 2005 when the midfielder scored the only goal of the game, beating Liverpool's offside trap and slotting calmly past José Reina, to win the trophy for Sao Paulo. He was a late call-up for Brazil in the build-up to the 2006 World Cup, replacing the Barcelona midfielder Edmilson who suffered a serious knee injury, but did not play in Germany.
A year later, however, he was Dunga's first choice in midfield together with Arsenal's Gilberto Silva - keeping Manchester United's Anderson on the bench - as Brazil won the 2007 Copa América in Venezuela. He is highly respected in Brazil and Scolari knows him well, having given him his first cap in 2001. His tireless running makes him an ideal back-up for Essien - who is unlikely to play again this year - and his coach at Sao Paulo, Muricy Ramalho, once said: "The guy is incredible. He runs so much at times it makes you wonder whether he has got three lungs, not two, like the rest of us."
Salomon Kalou has said that more goals will follow from him after he scored the equaliser against Manchester United on Sunday. "It's my first goal against Manchester United so I hope it is the start of a lot of goals and it has given me a lot of confidence," he said. "It is a good feeling to come off the bench and score."

Van Der Sar's Draws On Positives

2008-09-18T04:42:00.000-07:00

It is almost unheard of for an attack that consists of talent such as Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney, and Dimitar Berbatov would struggle to score in Manchester United's start to the season. In five games they have only found the net on three occasions, all in the Premier League.

Dutch goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar - recently praised by Danish legend Peter Schmeichel for changing the Red Devils' fortunes on his arrival - believes that despite their inability to find goals, there is no need to be concerned, because if they carry on performing as they have been the goals will eventually arrive.

"It is a missed opportunity on one hand, but on the other hand we played well," he is quoted by Sky Sports as saying.

"After the disappointment from the weekend [against Liverpool], it was important to get the confidence back... I think we created enough chances to win the game easy."

Manchester United face another tricky task on Sunday as they travel to Stamford Bridge in an attempt to kick-start their own season by knocking Chelsea off their stride.

Alan Dawson

Wenger and Kolo wanted me to join Arsenal – Barcelona ace

2008-09-18T04:41:00.000-07:00

Barcelona midfielder Toure Yaya has revealed that Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger and his brother Kolo wanted him to join the Gunners this summer.

But the 25-year-old midfielder insists he did not want to leave Barcelona, after only one season at the Spanish giants.

He told RAC-1 Radio: “Both Wenger and my brother told me in the summer that I should join Arsenal, but I told them that I am very happy at Barcelona

Toure is prepared to be patient and wait for his chance to break into the Barcelona team.

He added: “We cannot play with twelve. I am physically fit, but one must respect the coach’s decision. I am a professional and if I am not playing that I must be patient for the good of the team.

“When you pull on a Barça shirt you are representing one of the biggest clubs in the world and you have to win every game.

“The competition is good. We have two very good players for every position and that is crucial when you playing for the best team in the world.

“Now we have to play well and with real spirit. All the players are conscious that this season we have to win something.”

[Source: RAC-1 Radio]

Big Brother Milan Spy Players In Training

2008-09-18T04:40:00.000-07:00

The Rossoneri have been a disaster during the first few games of the season, picking up back to back losses in the process.

Vice president Adriano Galliani has demanded answers and it seems as if coach Carlo Ancelotti is providing them, albeit on dvd.

Il Corriere Dello Sport claims the club have set up a number of state of the art cameras and equipment around their Milanello training ground in order to monitor their players levels of focus.

The equipment has been positioned above the pitch so that nothing is missed as the players are put under scrutiny.

Ancelotti will analyse the images alongside his staff and then he will use them to highlight where individual players are going wrong.

It’s a delicate moment at the club with a number of reports suggesting that Ancelotti’s time is running out on the bench.

This latest attempt to try and smooth over the bumpy road seems like a no nonsense way to get their best from his players.

No more laughing or joking around on the training ground then as the club toughens up its stance in light of the recent problems.

Salvatore Landolina

Kalou prepared to leave Chelsea

2008-09-18T04:38:00.000-07:00

Chelsea striker Salomon Kalou admits he is prepared to leave the Blues if he fails to get back into the starting line-up at Stamford Bridge.

Kalou has not started a single Premiership match this season, under new manager Luiz Felipe Scolari.

He told Setanta Sports: “Of course I practice hard to have opportunities, but the manager’s decisions must be respected, even if I’m here to play.

“It’s up to me to work twice as hard at training, and to be honest I try to give my best in order to improve my football and hopefully it’s going to pay off.

“I don’t know what my future consists of, the season is still long. It’s too early to take a decision right now.

“When a young player arrives at Chelsea he’s happy to learn, and then you can have the opportunity to grow in another club or in here.

“As a young player I am aware of the fact that I have to make the perfect choice and at some point of my career I’ll have to accept to fly with my own wings.”

The Cote D’Ivoire international joined Chelsea from Feyenoord in 2006 for an undisclosed fee.

[Source: Setanta Sports]

Gerrard Talks Up New Team Spirit

2008-09-18T04:29:00.000-07:00

There is a great sense of pride surrounding Anfield at the moment. Not only do Liverpool share the top spot in the Premier League, but they have also been celebrating a historic win over bitter north west rivals Manchester United, and also a come from behind victory against Marseille.

Steven Gerrard thinks this is thanks, in no small part, to the ''togetherness'' in their camp. "The team was very confident after Saturday [Manchester United]. We don’t want to get carried away and start setting targets about winning things, we just want to stay on this run, work hard, and I’m sure the results will come," the Liverpool captain told the club's official website.

"Winning brings confidence, and I could sense we were going to get another positive result before the match with Marseille. The mentality in the changing room is very positive at the moment," he said.

"I certainly feel we are stronger than last year. It was disappointing to lose in the semi-final [in Europe] then, and we want to go all the way this time, but it’s important not to get carried away."

"We know we’re a fantastic side in Europe and it’s always difficult away from home. We didn’t play well in the second half but you could see the character and togetherness," the 28-year old added.

"We just don’t like getting beaten," he concluded.

We Are Title Contenders - Gerrard

2008-09-15T00:49:00.000-07:00

Liverpool’s, and in particular, Rafael Benitez’s woeful streak against arch nemesis Manchester United had looked set to continue at Anfield last Saturday when they went behind after just three minutes.

But the Merseysiders rallied to snatch a 2-1 victory thanks to a Wes Brown own goal and a Ryan Babel strike 13 minutes from time. And their captain Steven Gerrard was understandably delighted with the result, but even more so with the performance as he believes it now establishes his side as title contenders.

“When you get a win against the best side in the league, you know it will put you in good stead for the future,” he said after the game.

“We realise it is only early in the season and of course it doesn’t mean we will go on and win the league.

“But we can now challenge the other top sides like United and Chelsea because they know we are capable of beating them. And we believe we will be in the hunt come March and April,” he emphasized.

The 28 year old also singled out fellow midfielder Xabi Alonso for special praise.

“It has been a very difficult time for him throughout the transfer window because he didn’t know if he was coming or going.

“But he got Man of the Match against United and that says a lot about him.”

KS Leong

Mourinho told West Ham to poach Clarke from Chelsea

2008-09-15T00:48:00.000-07:00

Chelsea's determination to prevent their assistant first-team coach, Steve Clarke, from joining West Ham is likely to be strengthened after if emerged that Jose Mourinho had recommended the Scot to Gianfranco Zola, the new manager at Upton Park.
Mourinho and Clarke enjoyed a fruitful partnership during their three years at Stamford Bridge and the Portuguese has told Zola to make Clarke's appointment as his assistant a priority. Zola and Mourinho spoke on the phone shortly after the Italian was confirmed as Alan Curbishley's replacement on Thursday.
Zola played with Clarke during his seven-year spell at Chelsea but has no experience of him as a coach. So he turned to Mourinho, who promoted Clarke from youth-team coach to his assistant after becoming Chelsea's manager in June 2004. They won two Premier League titles, one FA Cup and two League Cups.
Mourinho, now at Internazionale, believes Zola would receive the same support and high-level coaching from Clarke as he enjoyed at Chelsea. Zola has told West Ham's chief executive, Scott Duxbury, to continue the pursuit of Clarke despite the feud it has created with his former employers.
News of Mourinho's intervention will no doubt infuriate Chelsea officials, who are making it as difficult as possible for Clarke to leave. The former full-back's resignation was rejected on Friday before Chelsea, having agreed over the weekend to allow the 45-year-old to move, informed West Ham it will cost them £5m.
That demand has bewildered the hierarchy at Upton Park because Clarke has just two years to run on his £600,000-a-year contract and has been marginalised at Chelsea since Mourinho departed. They also see it as disrespectful to a man who has given the club almost 20 years' service and wants a new challenge. West Ham are happy to pay compensation but are not willing to go higher than £1m and are prepared to take Chelsea to court.

Why Chelsea will win the Premier League

2008-09-15T00:43:00.000-07:00

Before the season started I predicted that Chelsea would win the Premier League title. I should make it clear that I am writing this article prior to this weekend’s games and I may look a bit silly if Chelsea have lost 5-0 to new title contenders Manchester City.

There are several reasons why I think Chelsea will win the league and although I am going to explain them here, please don’t think for a second that I am a Chelsea fan. That couldn’t be further from the truth. I am just giving an objective opinion.

Petr Cech is still probably the best keeper in the world. He didn’t have a great season last year following his horrific head injury and a further nasty injury to his mouth seemed to set him back even further. A decidedly dodgy Euro 2008 saw him make a horrendous mistake that led to the Czech Republic being eliminated.

Despite all of that there are signs that he might be getting back to his best which is very, very good indeed. (If he made another horrendous mistake on Saturday I will accept all of the ridicule!)

Bosingwa seems to have settled in quickly and immediately solved one of the few problem areas that the side had last season. He looks to be a high quality player who can defend and get forward to get effect.

John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho are certainly a pairing that would challenge Ferdinand and Vidic as being the best central defensive partnership in the Premier League. They can both play a bit and they can both be no-nonsense defenders when the need arises.

Ashley Cole is a player who it is hard to like. I’ve read his autobiography and believe me, that doesn’t help! Having said that, he has the ability to be one of the best in the world in his position and if he can fully recapture his form he will complete a formidable looking back five.

Deco has settled in really well to life in the Premier League and goals in his first two matches were confirmation of that fact. I was one of the people who said that he might struggle to come to terms with the pace of the game in England. I am almost prepared to say that I was wrong. We’ll need to see a few more games yet but the signs are that he is going to be a superstar in the Premiership.

Frank Lampard is a man who has suffered more than his fair share of abuse over the years. Hated by the West Ham fans for, well I’m not sure really and hated by the England fans because, well I don’t know that either. Averaging over ten league goals a season from midfield for the last seven seasons. Sixty four international caps and fourteen international goals. Described by Jose Mourinho as follows; “Lamps is Lamps. When he plays well he is best in the game, when he plays bad, he is the second or the third best.” He’ll do for me.

Michael Ballack is still one of the worlds finest midfield men. He has dragged an average Germany team to the latter stages of the last couple of tournaments almost single handedly. Towards the end of last season he was starting to show that sort of inspirational form to the Chelsea followers.

Joe Cole is a bit of an enigma. He has an abundance of talent and skill but has failed to establish himself as an automatic starter under several managers. His time has finally come now and I expect him to be one of the stars of the season.

Didier Drogba is probably the forward that Premier League defenders would vote as the man they least like having to mark. He has strength, pace, skill, movement, ability in the air, he can shoot, dribble, pass and finish. Not a bad player really. Obviously I wish he wouldn’t fall over so much and cry quite so often during games but none the less, he is one of the best.

Nicolas Anelka is the exception to the rule. He is Chelsea’s version of Manchester United’s Darren Fletcher, Liverpool’s Dirk Kuyt and Arsenal’s Emmanuel Eboue. You just wonder how they get a place in such a great team.

Add to them the injured Michael Essien, undoubtedly one of the best players of his type in the world, young Scott Sinclair, maybe an even brighter prospect than Theo Walcott, Wayne Bridge, the second best English left back in the country, Carlo Cudicini, some would say the second best keeper in the country, Obi Mikel, Salomon Kalou, Paulo Ferreira, Alex, Belletti and Malouda, (ok, maybe not Malouda) and you have a pretty formidable squad.

Oh yes, there’s one person I forgot to mention. Luis Felipe Scolari. It’s early days, but he doesn’t seem to have done too much wrong yet does he?

FIFA boss expects successful World Cup in South Africa

2008-09-15T00:40:00.000-07:00

FIFA president Sepp Blatter said Sunday he had no doubt that South Africa would host a successful World Cup, adding there was no 2010 plan B.

“The plan B is South Africa and the plan C is South Africa,” Blatter told a media briefing after meeting President Thabo Mbeki in Pretoria.

“We are informed and monitoring all the work and we have no doubt that when it comes to stadia, when it comes to the logistical organisation, that everything will be done.”

Blatter is heading a four-day FIFA delegation to South Africa to inspect venues and meet political leaders, including former president Nelson Mandela.

The cup would give South Africa, which has a high levels of violent crime, as a legacy of being identified as a safe country, he said.

“Most of the criticism now is that it is not secure (…) but you go to big cities anywhere in the world (…) tell me where you have 100 security? It does not exist.”

Both Blatter and Mbeki said a change of government in next year's elections would not affect the cup preparations.

“I'm saying quite firmly that we are on course with regard to meeting our obligations,” Mbeki said.

“It doesn't matter what happens here with regard to whatever the political challenges, this country will meet its commitments to FIFA to (…) ensure that we have a very successful 2010 FIFA soccer world cup. That will happen.”

Mbeki was responding to a question about a court judgment last week in which it was implied that his government had meddled in corruption charges brought against Jacob Zuma, tipped as South Africa's next president and whom Blatter will meet on his trip.

The court ruling led to widespread debate over Mbeki's future in weekend media.

Blatter said he had a special dedication and love for Africa, where football was “more than just kicking a ball.”

A World Cup in South Africa would show that Africans were able to host the FIFA event, he said. “It is justice to South Africa for what Africa has given to the world of football.”

Ronaldo confident of more personal awards this season

2008-09-15T00:36:00.000-07:00

Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo believes he changed the game by scoring 31 goals from midfield in the Premier League last season to win the European Golden Boot award.

“With this Golden Boot I have changed football a little. Usually strikers won it and I’m a winger,” the Portugal international told La Gazzetta dello Sport after receiving the trophy at a ceremony in his native Madeira on Saturday.

Ronaldo said he is confident of winning the Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year prizes after inspiring United to the Champions League-Premier League double last term.

“The best candidate for the other prizes is Cristiano Ronaldo,” the 23-year-old said.

“To be honest, I think I have been the most consistent and the best. And over time I want to enter the book of the all-time best players.”

Ronaldo, who has been sidelined since undergoing surgery on his right ankle in July, said he does not fear a hostile reception at Old Trafford after making an unsuccessful request to be sold to Real Madrid in the close season.

“When I put on the (United) shirt, I give my all. And I’m already in the history of the club,” he said. “When I play again the fans will love me again.”

He also said it was unlikely he would move to Manchester City, after media reports linked him to a big money move to the cross-town rivals.

“No one knows my future, but I don’t see myself in the shirt of another Manchester team,” he said.

soccernews.com

Chelsea Chase ‘The New Theo Walcott’

2008-09-14T05:50:00.000-07:00

According to the People, the Blues are preparing a £2 million offer for the teen who comes with a huge reputation despite his tender years.

Whilst Wolves will be desperate to keep hold of their hot prospect, they are unlikely to be able to resist an offer from Chelsea although it might take a record bid for a teenager to prise him away from Molineux.

Ismail’s searing pace and skill on the ball has earned him comparisons to Arsenal’s Theo Walcott. The young Gunner, who is four years older than the Wolves player, hit the headlines this week after scoring a hat-trick for England against Croatia.

Walcott, made his name at Southampton, becoming the youngest player even to pull on a Saints jersey when he appeared for the first team when he was just 16.

He spent two seasons at St Mary’s before Arsene Wenger snapped him up for an initial fee of £5 million, potentially rising to £12 million, a record at the time for a teenager.

The Wolves star, meanwhile, has been earning rave reviews for his performances in the Milk Cup which has brought him to the attention of scouts at Stamford Bridge.

The 15-year old was voted player of the tournament despite his side losing in the final of the competition. The Milk Cup is a prestigious under 16s tournament and clubs including Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Maccabi Tel Aviv all took part this year with Everton triumphing in the final 3-2.

Super-sub Babel ends Liverpool´s Man Utd misery

2008-09-13T08:18:00.000-07:00

Ryan Babel ended Liverpool's four-year wait for a league victory against Manchester United as Rafa Benitez's team fought back from a goal down to win 2-1 at Anfield on Saturday.

Carlos Tevez's third minute opener looked set to extend United's unbeaten run against their bitter rivals, but two defensive errors by the champions gifted Liverpool the victory before Nemanja Vidic was sent off for two bookings in the ninetieth minute, which will now rule him out next Sunday's clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

It had all started so well for United, with Dimitar Berbatov, making his United debut following his deadline day arrival from Tottenham, needing just three minutes to emphasise the qualities he will bring to Sir Alex Ferguson's squad.

The Bulgarian had already given an example of centre-forward abilities inside the opening minute when his shot from 12 yards was blocked by Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel. Skrtel appeared to block the shot with his trailing arm, but referee Howard Webb ruled out United's claims for a penalty.

Berbatov's presence did tee-up a United goal moments later, however, when he showed his awareness to pull the ball back to Tevez, who side-footed past goalkeeper Pepe Reina from 18 yards to score his second goal at Anfield in successive seasons.

With Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres both nursing slight injury problems on the substitutes' bench, Liverpool were without their two leading players as they attempted to overturn United's lead.

And the early signs were not good for Benitez's team as European champions United strutted around, looking likely to add to their lead before Liverpool could even get out of first gear.

But the home side managed to gain a foothold in the game with Javier Mascherano inspiring Liverpool with his energy and refusal to be overrun by United's powerful midfield.

The Argentinian was first to virtually every ball and he broke up United's momentum and allowed Liverpool to mount attacks of their own.

United rode their luck with Edwin van der Sar saving brilliantly from Dirk Kuyt, but the Dutch goalkeeper was at fault when Liverpool equalised on 26 minutes through Wes Brown's own goal.

Xabi Alonso's shot from 35 yards appeared harmless until it deflected off United defender Patrice Evra, but the ball should not have caused Van der Sar any serious problems.

But the veteran keeper over-stretched as he raced out to collect the ball and he could only palm the ball onto Brown's knees before seeing it bobble into the empty net.

To make matters worse for United, England midfielder Michael Carrick was then forced out of the game with an ankle injury following a challenge with Mascherano that resulted in him re-appearing in the dug-out after the break with the aid of crutches and a protective boot on his right foot.

Despite the absence of Gerrard and Torres, Liverpool grew in confidence in the second-half and they continued to push United back deep into their own territory.

But Irish forward Robbie Keane, still searching for his first Liverpool goal since his close season arrival from Spurs, failed to get behind the United defenders and it was United substitute Giggs that went closest to adding to the scoring with a 70th minute lob that was well saved by Reina.

Instead of winning the game for United, though, Giggs ultimately lost it for Ferguson's men when he allowed Mascherano to steal possession in the touchline in front of The Kop.

Giggs should have cleared, but Mascherano claimed the ball and squared to Babel, who netted from 12 yards to cap a dramatic Liverpool fightback.

Liverpool vs Manchester United

2008-09-13T06:49:00.000-07:00

77min - GOAL Ryan Babel gets the ball from Kuyt and blasts the ball home from 12 yards!

70 min - Ryan Giggs, on for Carrick, goes for the half-volley that nearly beats Reina!

56 min - Yossi Benayoun beats the United offside trap and glides in for the shot, but van der Sar blocks the ball with his face!

Halftime Report

Liverpool need Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard to put them over the top.

As potent as the Manchester United front line have been, they have failed to really test Reina in the Liverpool goal. The Red Devils are level due to some horrendous goalkeeping by van der Sar, with Liverpool putting the pressure on the Man United defence after the own goal.

Michael Carrick seems to be limping after an unexpected crunching tackle from Benayoun, with Man United set to bring on Owen Hargreaves if necessary.

27 min - GOAL Catastrophe for Man United as Van der Sar makes a hash of the cross, palming the ball to the shins of Wes Brown and conceding the own goal.

12 min - Van der Sar fumbles the cross and Dirk Kuyt nearly scores. Great block by the Man United defence.

3 min - GOAL Dimitar Berbatov pulls two defenders into the box and cuts back for a trailing Carlos Tevez who places the ball past a strandard Edwin van der Sar.

Line-ups:

Liverpool: Reina, Arbeloa, Skrtel, Carragher, Aurelio, Benayoun, Alonso, Mascherano, Riera, Kuyt, Keane

Subs: Cavalieri, Dossena, Hyypia, Gerrard, Torres, Babel, Ngog

Man United: Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Rooney, Scholes, Carrick, Anderson, Tevez, Berbatov

Subs: Kuszczak, Nani, Evans, Hargreaves, O'Shea, Fletcher, Giggs

Referee: Howard Webb (S Yorkshire)

Fabio Capello The Greatest England Manager Since Steve McClaren

2008-09-13T06:10:00.001-07:00

After his team's magnificent win in Croatia on Wednesday, England boss Fabio Capello is now being hailed as this country's greatest international manager since Steve McClaren.

England dealt the Croats a severe drubbing in the 4-1 victory, with pint-sized Arsenal youth Theo Walcott helping himself to a hat-trick in the process, and Capello's decision to play the Barack Obama lookalike has been seen as 'inspirational'.

Leaving David Beckham on the bench until five minutes from the end, and replacing John Terry with Matthew Upson to give the Chelsea captain a two-minute breather on 88 minutes, were also deemed, by the media, to be "masterful modern football management decisions not seen since the McClaren era".

Capello has led England to the very top of Group 6 with wins against, not only the brilliant Croats, but also fellow world giants, Andorra, who were brushed aside 2-0, after another sublime England performance that had many writers reaching for their dictionaries for new 'worst' superlatives.

England's next World Cup qualifying match is against the might of Kazakhstan at Wembley on October 11th, when, in the event of a home victory, Capello will be crowned as England's greatest-ever Italian coach, bar none.

Schalke fight fire with Fährmann

2008-09-13T05:51:00.000-07:00

It will probably be the most spectacular debut in the Bundesliga this season. With a crowd of more than 80,000 expected for arguably the most famous derby in Germany, 19-year-old goalkeeper Ralf Fährmann will make his first appearance for FC Schalke 04 on Saturday at BV Borussia Dortmund's Westfalenstadion. Fans in Gelsenkirchen may be nervous, but not Fährmann. "This is great," he said. "I'm ready."
No choice
Top of the league after three games, Schalke have been hit by a series of goalkeeping blows. With first-choice Manuel Neuer just returning to training after a broken metatarsal, deputy Mathias Schober tore a muscle in his right calf earlier this week. Coach Fred Rutten has no option but to give Fährmann his baptism of fire. "On the one hand this is not good," Fährmann said, "because I don't want my team-mates to be injured. On the other hand it's something special to play in a derby like this. I have the chance to show what I'm capable of against Dortmund."
'Strong personality'
Fährmann has spent the international break with Germany's Under-21s, though he failed to feature in either of their UEFA European U21 Championship qualifiers – against Northern Ireland and Israel – hardly ideal preparation for the 132nd Ruhr derby. Nonetheless, the teenager believes he can handle the pressure. "I know this is a very special and important match for our supporters, and I know how excited they are," he said. "Everybody wants to win against Dortmund. I think I'm cool enough. I left home in Chemnitz when I was 14 to play football for Schalke. I have a strong and stable personality."
'Cool customer'
Rutten may have been forced to blood Fährmann, but the 45-year-old Dutchman – who arrived in the summer from FC Twente – is putting on a brave face. "I'm not nervous because he is playing," he said. "He is a cool customer." Dortmund have won only one of their last nine home matches against Schalke, and their task could be made harder by the presence of forward Jefferson Farfán, poised for a Bundesliga debut for the visitors following his move from PSV Eindhoven. Dortmund coach Jürgen Klopp knows how much is at stake, even this early in the campaign: "It's a very special match, so I don't see why I should pretend it's not."

Scolari: Robinho worth huge price tag

2008-09-13T05:32:00.000-07:00

Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari believes Robinho is worth every penny of the £32.4million Manchester City paid for the Brazilian - even though his bosses thought otherwise on transfer deadline day.

The former Real Madrid player is set to make his City debut this evening against the club that had been negotiating for weeks to buy him.

In the end Chelsea refused to meet Real's asking price and City - having just been taken over by the ultra-wealthy Abu Dhabi United Group - then astonished the world by securing his signature in next to no time.

Asked if City had paid too much, Scolari replied: "No. He's a very good player. If I have money to buy a fantastic house, I buy it."

Robinho was the one player Scolari wanted to bring to Stamford Bridge after his initial primary target, Portugal midfielder Deco, had been signed with relative ease from Barcelona.

But the Brazilian insisted he had played no part in the Robinho negotiations and was content to leave that role to chief executive Peter Kenyon.

He said: "It was a technical decision and when it is about money the board makes the decision. The coach needs to say, 'If I want this player, this is why.' If that didn't happen, the club would buy this or that.

"I am the coach and manager, but I have zero influence on money. It's a job for Peter, not me. My job is on the pitch and that's the way I work. For 27 years as a coach I've worked like that.

"Chelsea offered what they thought was correct but they didn't want to pay for what they thought wasn't correct for the club, the agent, the player.

"This is the correct philosophy for Chelsea. It's not because we have money or don't have money. We have one project and we follow that."

Just as Robinho had been close to joining Chelsea, Scolari revealed he might have been managing City, who had made an approach while he was still Portugal boss.

He said: "They came to Portugal and we discussed this. But, at the time, I said what I said to all clubs, Valencia and the others, that I needed time.

"I was Portugal coach and if I had had an agreement with the Portuguese president, I would have said yes.

"But when the president did say he would give me time to negotiate with other clubs, it was then that Chelsea came.

"They [City] had a big project. It was fantastic and if they follow it, maybe they will arrive as one of the 10 biggest clubs in the world. But now they are my opponents so I wish them all the best after Saturday, not on it."

Didier Drogba returns from a knee injury but midfielders Michael Essien and Michael Ballack are out.

Essien will be missing for at least six months and Scolari could take the unusual step of bringing in a loan player to fill the gap.

He said: "It is a problem and I'll try to solve it this week."

Gerrard And Torres Fit To Play

2008-09-12T06:32:00.000-07:00

The pair had sat out their respective nations' international fixtures last week amid concerns for their fitness. Torres had suffered a hamstring injury during the scoreless draw with Aston Villa two weeks ago, while Gerrard had an operation on his groin midweek.

Both had been deemed as extremely doubtful for this weekend's crunch clash in Liverpool, but have now offered Rafa Benitez a major boost.

The Liverpool manager is without a league win over United since taking the reins in 2004, but with his star duo set to feature, his chances may have increased.

Gerrard and Torres took part in a full training session this morning (Friday) at the club's Melwood training complex after recovering from their respective groin and hamstring injuries.

The England midfielder Gerrard was thought to have ruled himself out of contention for the key fixture, but has been deemed fit. Both are included in the match squad for tomorrow's game.

Rafa Benitez told the club's official website: "They are both much better. They came through a full training session this morning. It wasn't a very hard session, but they will both be in the squad. If they are in the squad then they can play.

"It's important for us to have these two players of quality who can change a game. I'm not surprised they are available because the medical staff have done a good job and the players have been working really hard with the physios to get fit."

Peter Staunton

Figo Inspires Me, Inter For The CL - Quaresma

2008-09-12T06:29:00.000-07:00

Quaresma arrived at San Siro on the final day of the transfer window and he was brought in by Jose Mourinho to be Luis Figo’s successor when he decides to hang up his boots.
The former Porto man is delighted to have the opportunity of playing alongside his childhood hero and he believes that Inter can win both the Champions League and Scudetto this season.
"There was one player who I always used to try and copy when I was young and his name is Luis Figo," Quaresma told La Gazzetta Dello Sport.
"He is so impressive and I always used to tell myself that I wanted to be just like him one day. It has gone even better for me as now I am playing alongside him.
"Inter has some great players and we are trying to aim for the Champions League and Scudetto. I am thinking about where Inter can go rather than what I can achieve."
Quaresma is likely to make his Serie A debut for the Nerazzurri this weekend when Jose Mourinho’s men welcome Walter Zenga and his Catania side to San Siro.
The ‘Special One’ is looking for maximum points following the 1-1 draw with Sampdoria in week one but Catania will be no easy feat.
Salvatore Landolina

Scolari Claims He Turned Down City

2008-09-12T06:26:00.000-07:00

Due to the multi-million pound takeover of Manchester City by ADUG, this weekend's Premier League match-up between the Citizens and Chelsea has been dubbed the 'clash of the cash'.

The two richest sides in the Premier League, possibly in world football, meet at Eastlands in a game that promises to be intriguing.

The presence of Robinho in a light-blue shirt will be a cause of consternation for Chelsea fans; the Brazilian did everything but sign for the Stamford Bridge side this summer before accepting the offer of eye-watering wealth from the Abu Dhabi Investment Group.

However, one Manchester City target who did end up at Stamford Bridge this season is Luiz Felipe Scolari. The Chelsea boss has claimed that he was approached while still in charge of the Portugal national team by City with the intention of adding him as manager.

Mark Hughes is the current incumbent at the City of Manchester Stadium, but it could have been Scolari, according to the ex-Brazil manager.

In the wake of Sven Goran Eriksson's dismissal from Eastlands, the City board cast the net far and wide for a replacement. Talks were held with Scolari about the club's future, and terms were offered by the club.

Scolari described the offer as tempting, but decided against taking up the reins at Eastlands. He stated that a change of his circumstances led him to accept the offer of managing Chelsea in July, during Euro 2008.

He told Sky Sports News: "Yes, they offered it (the manager's job) to me. It was a very good offer but at that time I was with Portugal and I said I needed time to think. They came to Portugal and they talked to me about their ideas for the team in the next three or four years."

Peter Staunton

Podolski Closer To Exit Door

2008-09-12T06:24:00.000-07:00

Lukas Podolski appears to have pulled a “Robinho” after declaring publicly last week that he is unhappy at Bayern Munich due to his lack of playing time on the pitch and he could now find himself spending even more time off it.

The 23 year old signed for the Bavarian giants back in 2006 and he has so far failed to nail down a regular first team place, despite being a near automatic first choice for his country.

His outburst is unlikely to change the situation at club level as head coach Jürgen Klinsmann continues to leave him on the bench in preference of Miroslav Klose and Luca Toni upfront.

And Klinsmann’s words during a press conference regarding the issue did not sound particularly too supportive of the player.

“Podolski has to compete with two giant strikers and he has yet to demonstrate that he is better than them,” he was quoted by Marca.

“To become a great player, like those two strikers, is a long process that requires time. And in Podolski case, we are talking about months, even years.

“It is an unpleasant situation for Lukas because he will never be happy being a substitute,” Klinsmann explained.

Real Madrid have been lined up as favourites to land the Polish-born star but with Manchester City also supposedly interested in the youngster, Los Merengues could lose out if they maintain their present stance not to sign any new players during the winter transfer period.

KS Leong

City set to be thwarted as Kaká pledges future to Milan

2008-09-09T05:46:00.000-07:00

Kaká has poured cold water on speculation that he could join Brazil team-mate Robinho at Manchester City by pledging his future to Milan.

Kaká, the reigning World Player of the Year, was linked with a move away from the San Siro this summer following Milan's failure to qualify for the Champions League, with Chelsea his rumoured destination.

However with City's new owners, the super-rich Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), determined to sign the cream of the world's talent, speculation has been rife that the Eastlands club - who achieved a major coup in beating Chelsea to Robinho's signature - could once again be about to frustrate Roman Abramovich in the transfer market.

Kaká, though, whose contract with Milan runs until 2013, insists that he remains committed to the club. "Before it was Real Madrid, now it's England that is in fashion," said the Brazil playmaker. "The market is like that, just as Milan make offers, other clubs make offers to Milan. But I will never ask to leave.

"I have always been treated well by [the club] executives and my rapport is excellent. Perhaps one day they may change their approach with respect to me but I don't see that happening. I will only leave if Milan decide to sell me or perhaps on the day when we no longer have the same objectives, and that day has not come."

West Ham trim their shortlist down to Zola

2008-09-09T05:43:00.000-07:00

West Ham will seek to outflank Newcastle today by offering their vacant managerial position to Gianfranco Zola, having admitted that the Croatia coach, Slaven Bilic, is no longer under consideration for the role at Upton Park.

Zola has emerged as the London club's preferred candidate ahead of the former Italy coach Roberto Donadoni and, with personal terms having effectively been agreed, confirmation of his appointment as West Ham's first foreign manager could be made later today. Indeed, the club are already drawing up tentative plans to unveil the 42-year-old at the Boleyn Ground as early as Thursday ahead of the weekend trip to West Bromwich Albion.

Bilic's reluctance to break the terms of his contract with his national federation served to remove him from contention for the position created by Alan Curbishley's resignation last week. The 39-year-old had explored the possibility of continuing his role with the national team in tandem with duties at West Ham until January, when he would have served his notice with Croatia, in a last attempt to strike a compromise with his suitors, but the Premier League club were not prepared to be left with a part-time manager until the new year.

Instead, the Upton Park board insists it was left with two "incredibly strong candidates" on their two-man shortlist, comprising Zola and Donadoni, though the man recently voted Chelsea's greatest ever player was very much the favoured candidate. Zola was the only contender to be interviewed twice, first by the technical director, Gianluca Nani, and then by the chief executive, Scott Duxbury, and impressed both with his vision for West Ham under his stewardship.

Zola, currently coaching the Italy Under-21s alongside his former Chelsea team-mate Pierluigi Casiraghi, has indicated that his team would play the attacking, attractive brand of football long craved at Upton Park. The former Napoli and Parma playmaker may have too many connections with the west London rivals for comfort - he spent seven years as a player at Stamford Bridge and is still revered across the capital - but he boasts the charisma and enthusiasm sought for the role at the Boleyn Ground, and has been given a glowing reference by the Italian Football Federation to back up his credentials.

Those attributes were being digested by the West Ham chairman, Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, last night, Nani and Duxbury having reported back after a weekend of talks with the candidates, with the club's hierarchy aware that Newcastle had expressed an interest in luring the Italian to St James' Park. They are, however, confident that interest could be deflected given that Zola is understood to be reluctant to move to Tyneside, despite the fact that he remains good friends with the Newcastle executive director (football), Dennis Wise.

West Ham's board will meet again today and expect to be in a position to offer the job to their favoured candidate - personal terms had been discussed and as good as agreed with both Zola and Donadoni during the interview process - in the hope that Zola will be able to attend the game at the Hawthorns, with the team to be selected by the caretaker manager Kevin Keen.

By then, Bilic could just be contemplating what might have been. Duxbury and Nani decided against flying to Zagreb to speak with the Croat face to face, aware that the original favourite for the role is currently consumed with thoughts of defeating England in World Cup qualification tomorrow night. The complicated reality of trying to extricate Bilic from his contract ultimately proved impossible to resolve, particularly once the option of a part-time manager was quickly rejected.

The fourth candidate on West Ham's list, drawn up at the weekend, was the former Getafe manager Michael Laudrup. He had been expected to travel to London last night but has now accepted an 18-month contract to manage Spartak Moscow.

Chasing Mutu Was A Waste Of Time - Conti

2008-09-08T05:54:00.000-07:00

The Giallorossi were on the verge of signing the Romanian before the deal went up in smoke. Conti then played his part in wrapping up the transfers for Julio Baptista and Jeremy Menez and he is happy with the way the market turned out at Trigoria.

“Mutu? Seeing how things went, that situation was just a waste of time,” Conti told Il Messagero.

“Everything was in place for that deal but saying that we had our alternatives lined up and it all worked out well for us. We got the players we wanted and we are satisfied.

“Our philosophy here is to make sure that new and old players integrate well and make themselves always available.”

Conti also denied reports which claimed that the club had signed some players without the coach knowing.

“Every deal was done with all our consent. We have never done anything where the coach hasn’t been informed,” added Conti.

“There has always been a great relationship with Spalletti where there has been respect from both parties.

“Those who claim that the club made certain choices and the coach made others are simply lying.”

Roma have their eyes set on Champions League and Scudetto glory this season and the new arrivals are keen to impress and establish themselves in the Olimpico.

Salvatore Landolina

Kaká could join the City revolution

2008-09-08T05:42:00.000-07:00

The world's number one footballer, Kaká, will consider joining Manchester City next summer if the newly enriched club achieve their initial target of Champions League qualification.

Since last Sunday, City have been under the control of the Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), a vehicle of a Middle East sovereign wealth fund whose representatives have promised to turn them into 'the biggest club in the world, bigger than both Real Madrid and Manchester United' by pursuing 'the biggest players in the world'.

Kaká, Fifa's current World Player of the Year, has been seeking an exit from AC Milan and thought he would be allowed to leave for Chelsea during the summer. Milan ultimately decided against selling the 26-year-old Brazilian, but he believes the club will sanction a 100m euros transfer in a year's time.

'Kaká would prefer a club like Chelsea, Real Madrid or Milan, but we never know,' Kaká's representative Diogo Kotscho told The Observer. 'This season Manchester City do not have a team to win the Champions League. Maybe next season they can get into that competition - they have the prospects to be good enough. What they need to have is a big project to win the Premier League and the Champions League. It's not just about Kaká, they will only get the very best players if they attain this level. It was the same with Chelsea a few years ago - they had to prove themselves too.

'I think Manchester City are headed in the right direction, but they have big work to do. It's no easy thing to reach the same level as the biggest clubs in the world, and it's not just about money - you have to spend it properly and build a great team. In two or three years they can be there if they do the right things.'

In their first 24 hours as City's owners ADUG lodged British record bids of more than £30m each for Tottenham's Dimitar Berbatov, Valencia's David Villa and Real Madrid's Robinho, forcing up Manchester United's expenditure on Berbatov and stealing Robinho from Chelsea's grasp. His acquisition was also intended to provide a star name with which to promote City in the Far East.

ADUG's takeover is also understood to have caught club officials off guard. In the days preceding City's purchase, new chief executive Garry Cook had said that though the club were seeking investment, they were not for sale. Instead, Thaksin Shinawatra accepted an offer of around £200m for a club whose expenditure he could no longer afford to service. The final price will not be settled until ADUG complete due diligence on the club's books and the deal could fall through if significant problems are uncovered.

Though Thaksin's price demands almost resulted in ADUG withdrawing from the purchase last Sunday, the former Thai prime minister could profit by as much as £80m for his 14 months as owner. Thaksin has been allowed to retain a 10 per cent stake in the company and an honorary position on the board.

ADUG forms part of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, a sovereign wealth fund managing an estimated $500bn worth of assets. Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan drove the move into Premier League football as a means of promoting the emirate abroad.

The contractors on Liverpool's postponed new stadium project have denied they are considering legal action against the club. Liverpool announced an indefinite delay on construction of the £300m Anfield replacement last month, blaming 'global market conditions' yet promising to investigate increasing the stadium's capacity by 13,000 seats to 73,000.

Liverpool have been able to begin only preliminary work on the site at Stanley Park, resulting in the European Union withdrawing grants to fund the regeneration of the surrounding area.

Though not specifically asked about the possibility of suing Liverpool over the delays, a spokesperson for contractors Laing O'Rourke said: 'Laing O'Rourke continues to work closely with Liverpool FC in order to achieve their ambitions of constructing the new football stadium. Laing O'Rourke further wishes to clarify that it has not considered legal action against Liverpool FC.'

Liverpool's American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, face a January deadline for refinancing the £350m loan with which they have been running the club. A Dubai-based investment fund remain prepared to buy them out for around £500m, including that debt.

Torres: I Would Never Follow Robinho

2008-09-08T05:39:00.000-07:00

The 22-year-old defender is still a fan of the Brazilian's talent but was not impressed with his actions since the end of last season and thinks that he was badly advised.

Madrid president Ramón Calderón blamed Robinho's advisor, Vagne Ribeiro, for holding a press conference where he said he wanted to leave and Torres stated that he could never have done that.

"I would never accept something like that. My dad and my uncle take care of my affairs -the latter is a lawyer-. That says it all," he told AS.

"I do not like commissions and the club knows my family will never treat this as business. I play for Real Madrid; what more could I ask for?

"Robinho is a great player, but we all have to row in the same direction."

Torres was still earning €30,000-per-year after he mhad made 20 first team appearances for Madrid and valued his place in the team more than worrying about a bigger contract.

"There is no merit in it. I value a quality lifestyle, not material things. I prefer to be close to my family, in my own city and on the team I love than to earn a lot of money," he continued.

"I signed for what they offered. I would have signed for even less. Money doesn't rule my life."

Torres was then outraged when asked whether he felt that Raúl was losing his touch and could no longer command a regular place in the first team.

"Of course he is not! He is the most natural guy I have ever met and the player who has given me the most advice. I'm sure he will help Real Madrid return to Cibeles this year."

Lucas Brown, Goal.com

England driven by unfinished business, says captain Terry

2008-09-08T05:32:00.000-07:00

ohn Terry, England's captain, has rallied his team-mates before Wednesday's daunting trip to Zagreb by insisting that they have "unfinished business" with Slaven Bilic's side as they attempt to become the first visiting team to win a qualifying tie in Croatia for 14 years.

The Croats have never been beaten in a European Championship or World Cup qualifier at home since they began competing as a nation in 1994, and the convincing 2-0 victory they inflicted on Steve McClaren's side in October 2007 still smarts. Bilic's team followed that up with the decisive 3-2 success at Wembley which cost the England coach his job and the nation a place at Euro 2008.

"I think we have got unfinished business with Croatia," Terry said, after the Croats eased past Kazakhstan at the Maksimir stadium to extend their unbeaten competitive home run to 35 matches. "This is a new campaign and we are going there to pick up three points. If we can get off to a good six-point start, we'll take that. We know it's going to be tough again but, hopefully, they will come at us a bit more than Andorra did.

"You just try and rise to the challenge whenever you go back to a ground where you have bad memories. We know it's difficult and we know they have not been beaten there for a long time. We have the same at Aston Villa with Chelsea - we have not won there for a few years and every year we go back to Villa Park and we know it's going to be difficult, but we try our hardest. We have to go there with a clean slate and not think about the last game there or the last game at Wembley."

England's medical staff will assess Terry's centre-back partner, Rio Ferdinand, who has been sidelined with a recurrence of a back injury and is in doubt for the Group Six match.

Fabio Capello must also decide whether to recall David Beckham to the starting line-up after describing Theo Walcott's performance against Andorra as "excellent". Beckham's experience could prove crucial at the intimidating Maksimir. "We've got experience in the squad, players who have played in some of the biggest games in the world," said the 33-year-old. "We've got that experience and we will need it on Wednesday."

Mourinho's TV Fury

2008-09-08T05:29:00.000-07:00

The special one recently had pay per view television installed at his home in Como by TV Cabo, a Portuguese broadcaster.

The installation of a satellite dish and two decoders went well and the coach was all smiles but that changed when his first bill dropped through his letter box.

Mourinho’s TV deal wasn’t so special as the former Chelsea man noticed he was invoiced with an €18.600 statement.

The coach grabbed the phone and called up the company and it turned out that the problem was an error with the conversion rate from Swiss Francs to Euros.

The right amount was €6.400 but Mourinho was still furious with the company for making the mistake and he showed no signs of backing down.

The Nerazzurri man used his tactics to turn the result in his favour as he managed to blag a €700 discount for the troubles he went through. He then received a bill for €5,648.

Mourinho was adamant on getting his reduction but the sum he had to pay must have seemed like loose change considering he earns around €9m per season at San Siro according to reports.

Cesc: I Must Become More Complete

2008-09-08T05:13:00.000-07:00

The Catalan playmaker had set up the goal for David Villa in la Furia Roja's 1-0 win in Murcia, but otherwise had a quiet game alongside Xavi and Marcos Senna.

Although he was angered by the change, when he was replaced by Xabi Alonso, Cesc recognised that it was probably a good thing that he was not pleased.

"The day that I am taken off and it does not annoy me is the day that I give up the game," he told reporters.

"The main thing is that we won and that we have start the new qualifying campaign with three points. It was not was and we had to work hard to find a way through their defence, but we did it."

Now Cesc has vowed to improve his game and become more defensive after also being withdrawn in the final of Euro 2008 when Spain had gone a goal up against Germany.

"They always change me when we are winning. That means that I have to improve defensively and become a more complete midfielder," he continued.

Finally, Cesc was praised for his link play with Villa for the winning goal, but he modestly stated that it was not he that had done the hard work,

"He made it appear even better because he scored a goal from angle that appeared to be impossible," he concluded.

Lucas Brown, Goal.com

Solskjaer Delighted With Berba Capture

2008-09-06T08:03:00.000-07:00

Berbatov was signed in the final hour of the transfer window for a fee of £30.75m, putting an end to one of several drawn out transfers this summer.

Man United had to beat off stiff competition from city rivals Manchester City, who also put in a late bid for the 27-year-old.

The Bulgarian captain was Man United boss Sir Alex Ferguson’s major summer signing, and had been identified as a player the club wanted at the start of the summer.

Former Man United favourite and now coach with the club Solskjaer has hailed the Berbatov signing, believing that Ferguson has signed the right man.

Speaking to MUTV, Solskjaer said: “The saga lasted all summer but we were always confident we'd found the right one.

“I think he's the right one. His performances for Spurs have been great. I knew he was a good player when he played against us for Bayer Leverkusen.

“We're delighted we've got him.”

Despite Berbatov’s frequent sulks, and lack of effort on the pitch at Spurs, Solskjaer believes that Sir Alex is just the man that can handle Berbatov’s temperament and turn him into a club legend in the coming years.

The former Man United star added: “I've often wondered how he's done it, with all the internationals he's had.

“But he's always rotated people and I'm sure we'll see great performances from the front four again.”

Berbatov will have to wait until next week for his debut with United after the international break, when his new side take on Liverpool at Anfield next Saturday.

Spalletti: Good Luck Chelsea! Scolari: Arrivederci Roma!

2008-09-06T07:58:00.000-07:00

The Giallorossi clash with the Blues on match day three of Europe’s elite club competition next month.

Spalletti has hailed ‘Big Phil’ and the Chelsea man repaid the compliments as both managers shared their excitement ahead of the big date. In true Scolari fashion they began by joking around before moving to the big talk.

“Good luck Chelsea,” said Spalletti, which then brought a reaction from Scolari who replied, “Arrivederci Roma.”

Both coaches then began speaking about Group A’s most anticipated fixture as they begin cranking up the tension.

“Scolari is a great man,” said Spalletti.

“It was so nice to be involved in the manager’s forum with all the other coaches and it has made me appreciate the human qualities of top tacticians like Scolari.

“He has won everything and when you speak to him about football you always learn something new.

“Chelsea are a great team and we have to work hard from now until October 22nd in order to go there and face them.

“Scolari’s team can be intimidating but we will go there with courage and the will to do well.”

It was then the Chelsea boss who spoke of Roma and he admits that he admires the Giallorossi and their coach.

“Roma are a team to be feared and Spalletti is an excellent coach,” said Scolari.

“I know Spalletti well and we are good friends. I like talking with him because he has humility amongst many other qualities.

“I have seen Roma play and you can tell the coach has interesting ideas and I believe they will go far.”

The Giallorossi have a poor record against English teams in the Champions League but they will be hoping their luck changes on October 22nd when they travel to Stamford Bridge in search of three points.

Silva Could Go Under The Knife

2008-09-06T07:55:00.000-07:00

The 22 year old winger picked up an ankle injury while training with La Selección in midweek. He has already returned to Valencia to begin treatment after being ruled out of Spain’s World Cup qualifying double header.

Los Ché’s medical staff are keeping a close eye on Silva’s condition to make sure it is not an aggravation of an injury he suffered almost a year ago.

The club’s coaching staff, meanwhile, is reluctant to send him to the operating room straight away as it will rule the player out for a much longer period. However, they are also keen to avoid misdiagnosing their prized winger and risk having to endure a similar nightmare that their previous superstar, Vicente, had to go through.

As such, the team doctors will monitor the player’s situation over the next ten to fifteen days and if there’s no significant improvement, then they will intervene by recommending surgery.

Vicente, once described as one of the most technically gifted wingers in the world, suffered a spate of injuries – including a chronic ankle ailment – back in 2004 and his career has stalled ever since. He went on to publicly blame the club’s then medical staff for failing to treat him proper

Guardiola To Adopt Italian Method

2008-09-06T07:52:00.000-07:00

New Barça boss, Guardiola, looks set to implement even more changes at the club following his sweeping transformations on and off the pitch during the pre-season.

The former captain wants his squad of players to form an even tighter bond with each other and to do that, he will adopt an approach that he picked up during his brief playing stint with Italian side, Brescia.

Pep is looking to isolate his players together for certain periods of time, away from the outside world and from the glares of the press and photographers. The first stage of his plan will be to make the players spend an hour together every morning for breakfast with a menu that will consist mainly of fruits and fibres and no more items from the local bakery.

The 37 year old coach will also be moving their usual training camp from La Masia to the club’s Sport City grounds, but it will first have to undergo slight modifications as he does not think it currently meets his required standards.

The Blaugrana brought in a total of five new players in the off-season while also promoting a number of their canteranos to the first team.

KS Leong

Cesc Says No To City

2008-09-06T07:49:00.000-07:00

Cesc has given a pre-emptive response to any future advances cash-filled Manchester City may make for him by declaring that he will never join the Eastlands club.

The 21 year old Arsenal man, back in Spain for his country’s World Cup qualifiers told Barcelona-based daily Sport bluntly: "It would be suicidal for my career at my 21 years of age to move to City. It would make no sense."

The Citizens, currently owned by Abu Dhabi United Group, have already been linked to a number of the world’s biggest and best players including Ruud van Nistlerooy, Fernando Torres, Kaká and Gianluigi Buffon.

goal.com

United 'relaxed' over Manchester City's Dimitar Berbatov bid

2008-09-03T23:42:00.000-07:00

In the corridors of power at Old Trafford they have never quite embraced the idea of Chelsea as a superpower, so it will require more than the imminent takeover of Manchester City by Arab billionaires to convince the Manchester United hierarchy that they have serious competition on their doorstep.

Sir Alex Ferguson referred obliquely yesterday to an “increasingly competitive game”, but while the United manager was as staggered as anyone by City's signing of Robinho for £34.2million before the transfer window closed on Monday, neither he nor anyone else at Old Trafford was unnerved by City's audacious attempt to steal Dimitar Berbatov from the clutches of their neighbours.

Ferguson's decision to collect the Bulgaria forward from Manchester airport may have been interpreted as a panic measure, but David Gill, the United chief executive, suggested that new money was never going to entice Berbatov towards City, rather than United.

“The takeover at City and the subsequent release of funds meant they were always going to be pretty active on the last day,” Gill said. “But the fact that the player had made it clear that he wanted to leave Tottenham to join Manchester United for playing ambitions was enough for us. He had talked about his desire to play in the Champions League and to join a club that was challenging for major honours, so we were relaxed about it.”

Nevertheless, United could not have expected their £30.75million signing of Berbatov, a club-record deal, to be overshadowed by developments at City. Two subsequent announcements from Old Trafford have struggled to make the same impact but Ferguson will hope that confirmation yesterday of Mike Phelan's appointment as assistant manager will bring stability and that Manucho Goncalves can provide cover for Berbatov and Wayne Rooney after finally receiving a work permit to start his United career.

Happy Pav: Bye Bye, Berba!

2008-09-03T23:41:00.000-07:00

Berbatov completed a £31million switch to Manchester United just prior to the close of the transfer window, bringing an end to months of speculation and controversy.

The Bulgarian striker left White Hart Lane on less than amicable terms, as he essentially refused to play until the Spurs board agreed to let him move to Old Trafford.

The Lilywhites were reluctant to let the 27-year-old leave without first securing a replacement, but Pavlyuchenko's weekend arrival allowed the deal to go through.

And the Russian international will shed no tears at Berbatov's departure.

"I can’t really say anything about Berbatov leaving," he said in The Sun. "Let them all go then I’ll play. It’s good for me!"

Pavlyuchenko is also delighted to link up with Tottenham manager Juande Ramos, who has made no secret of the 26-year-old's central role in his grand plans.

"I’ve talked to Juande Ramos. He’s a nice man," the former Spartak Moscow striker added.

"He said he’s going to rely upon me. He played quite a big role in my transfer."

City's Arabs want promotion - for themselves

2008-09-03T23:32:00.000-07:00

There are all sorts of ways of making a name for yourself, but, within the bounds of the law, few are more effective than buying an English football club. Who had heard of Roman Abramovich before he bought Chelsea, the Glazers before they snapped up Manchester United? Within hours of the latest takeover, the world is a lot wiser about Dr Sulaiman al-Fahim and his hopes for Abu Dhabi.

About £200 million, and rising, is a lot to spend on self-promotion, but how better to guarantee headlines from Manchester to Madras than buying a football club and then launching raids for the world's greatest players? Asked why yesterday - why England, why the Barclays Premier League, why City? - al-Fahim cut to the point: “Big exposure for the group and for the city [Abu Dhabi].”

He told The Times: “We want to create Abu Dhabi as the capital of sport and culture in the Middle East, to attract all the important events.”

Chess is his passion (he heads the Abu Dhabi federation), but do not underestimate the scale of his ambition. To become the sporting centre of the region, Abu Dhabi must keep pace with Dubai, its neighbouring emirate, which is putting together a £2 billion “Sports City” to host top football, cricket and, perhaps, the Olympic Games. Those aspirations will have been fired by the global exposure enjoyed by Beijing last month.

Now there are TWO ways to feed your fantasy

This is where we are at. Less than 20 years after Michael Knighton failed to scrape together the £20 million to buy Manchester United and the national game was blighted by hooliganism and atrocious stadiums, English football clubs are a prized part of the business portfolio for Russians, Americans, Arabs and, no doubt before long, the Chinese.

English clubs are investment opportunities for those seeking to make themselves even richer (the Glazers, Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr), those who want the ultimate executive toy (Abramovich), or men seeking to sell themselves as munificent benefactors. City have had two of the last in Thaksin Shinawatra and now al-Fahim.

Pursued by charges of corruption, and worse, Thaksin never convinced the British public. Some of the muck stuck to him and there were alarming stories in recent weeks of him running out of ready cash. That seems highly unlikely in the case of the Abu Dhabi United Group, whose investors include the al-Nahyan royal family of the United Arab Emirates, for whom al-Fahim is going to prove an entertaining front man.

Happy to interrupt a busy day of shifting billions for a chat on the phone yesterday, he took the opportunity to plug his television show, a Middle Eastern equivalent of The Apprentice, in which he is the tough-talking Sir Alan Sugar. The trailer shows him cruising around in a garish, yellow Lamborghini, intercut with shots of Western destinations such as Harrods and Hollywood. He is going to enjoy rubbing shoulders with the famous footballers he attracts to City.

Yesterday he willingly entered into speculation about who would be the next big-money arrival. “My favourite footballer? That is Ronaldinho,” he said. “Hopefully, we can bring him to Manchester.”

Then there was Cristiano Ronaldo, for whom he said that he is willing to break every transfer record by spending £135 million. “We have not bought the club just to sit on it,” he said.

Such excitable talk suggests that Mark Hughes may be manager of the team in name only, although al-Fahim was insistent yesterday that Hughes would have a significant say on purchases. Sorry to be cynical, but Abramovich's advisers said something similar.

Whether watching the football brings as much pleasure as hogging the headlines remains to be seen, with al-Fahim unable to guarantee that he would attend more than once a month. He will start with the home fixture a week on Saturday against Chelsea.

Whether he knows his Arshavins from his elbow is questionable, but a deep knowledge of football has never been a requirement of ownership, even in the days when it was local English businessmen who ran the boardroom.

Yesterday al-Fahim ticked off all the usual clichés - “the Premier League is the best in the world”, “Manchester City has a proud history”, “we want the fans to touch the trophy again” - but he and his fellow investors have not bought for long-term fulfilment, but for immediate impact. Patience may be in short supply, in inverse proportion to the splurging on brilliant Brazilians.

TOON FANS HOPING FOR RESOLUTION

2008-09-03T23:20:00.000-07:00

Newcastle fans are hoping for further clarity on the future of manager Kevin Keegan after two days of fevered speculation on Tyneside.
On Wednesday the club moved to expand upon Tuesday's initial confirmation they had not sacked Keegan - contrary to a spate of media reports - and confirmed a dialogue that began on Monday was in progress but he remained in charge at St James' Park.
Newcastle's official statement read: "Newcastle United Football Club can confirm that discussions are ongoing between the board and Kevin Keegan.
"Both the club and Kevin would like to reiterate that Kevin remains as manager.
"He has not resigned nor has he been sacked, as has been confirmed in respective statements made by Kevin and Newcastle United Football Club."
League Managers' Association chief executive Richard Bevan has spoken to Keegan on the issue and his comments mirrored those of the Magpies.
"He has not resigned," said Bevan.
"He is in a difficult position - he'll be discussing really important issues with the Newcastle board over the next few days."
He added: "It is not ideal having to speak on managers' positions so early in the season but I was speaking to Kevin Keegan at length last night."
The drama over Keegan's situation was being played out as West Ham counterpart Alan Curbishley resigned from his post citing "a breach of trust and confidence" over "significant player decisions without involving me".
He, like Keegan, had also called on the services of the LMA, although no solution could be found at Upton Park.
Keegan may have some sympathy having expressed his misgivings over his club's summer recruitment policy, a matter that, along with the role of executive director (football) Dennis Wise, has been at the centre of this week's developments.
Meanwhile, Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp - the man who appeared set to take the job before Keegan's shock return - has expressed his sympathy for Newcastle's long-suffering fans.
He told Virgin Radio news reporter Adrian Hieatt: "I don't know where the problems have come from or what's gone on, but Kevin is a great football man and Newcastle is a great football club with unbelievable supporters.
"They don't deserve to have their club dragged through the mud as it is at the moment, so hopefully it can all get sorted out."

Capello: the story so far

2008-09-03T23:15:00.000-07:00

Analysis

What is clear as England move towards their first competitive matches under Fabio Capello is that a revolution has yet to take place. There was a belief that the Italian would change drastically the side that failed so abjectly under Steve McClaren but, if anything, the status quo has remained.

New faces have been introduced, such as David Wheater and most recently Jimmy Bullard, and others have received their first caps under the new regime, such as Joe Hart and Stephen Warnock, but overall the same faces are filling their regular spots. Indeed, all the players who have appeared in four or more of Capello's six squads so far were capped under a previous manager, and every player who started in England's most recent match, the 2-2 draw with the Czech Republic, had been a full international for at least four years.

It could even be argued that Capello is going backwards in term of selection policy. Having called up Aston Villa's Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor in his initial squads, he discarded the pair for his most recent and instead turned to Emile Heskey, who first played for England in 1999.

There is one way, however, in which England are progressing. In each of Capello's five matches in charge the side have maintained more possession than their opponents, even in the 1-0 defeat in France, where the visitors had 56.6% of the ball. The figure was even higher in the supposedly muddled draw against the Czech Republic - 56.8%. England also passed the ball better than their five opponents, reaching a 87.7% completion rate in Paris.

Interestingly, the team are tackling less as Capello's regime develops. They made 22, 24 and 22 tackles in his first three matches in charge but only 12 in each of the last two. Their tackle success-rate is, though, improving overall, from 77.3% in the 2-1 victory over Switzerland to 83.3% in the most recent fixture. What this all suggests is that although Capello's England may look very similar to the team that went before, they are playing in a more composed manner, consistently keeping the ball better than their opponents and showing a decisive, measured approach in the tackle.

There is also a sting to this side. England have had 64 shots on goal under Capello, resulting in nine goals, compared with a total of only 37 by their five opponents.

Anger and confusion at St James' as Keegan is driven to the brink

2008-09-02T20:29:00.000-07:00

At the end of one of the most baffling days in Newcastle United's history Kevin Keegan's future as the club's manager looked increasingly untenable last night. As his second stint in charge of the club seemed poised to end in disillusion and no little anger, Keegan is understood to have spent the evening inside a Manchester hotel in the company of his lawyers.

After a day of rumours that Newcastle had sacked their manager, and during which Keegan told friends he had been fired, the club issued a confusing statement shortly before 7pm which stated that the former England coach had not in fact been dismissed but failed to confirm that he would continue in his job.

Although Newcastle claim he is expected at training this morning, Keegan and Mike Ashley, the club's billionaire owner, appear to be wrangling over his severance demands. It is understood that a clause in the manager's contract makes him liable to pay Ashley more than £1m should he resign but Keegan feels he has a strong case for constructive dismissal and believes he should be paid £8m in compensation.

Suggestions that Keegan and Newcastle were parting company less than eight months after he returned to the club began surfacing yesterday morning when, instead of supervising training, he headed for a 10am meeting with board members.

Friends of Keegan were soon insisting that he had been dismissed and a militant, increasingly vocal, crowd began gathering outside St James' Park. Chanting "Ashley out" and hoisting placards in the much-loved manager's honour, their fury was palpable. Meanwhile the silence at St James' Park remained deafening until that 7pm statement was finally released.

It read: "Newcastle United can confirm that meetings between members of the board and Kevin Keegan have been held both yesterday and today. Kevin has raised a number of issues and these have been discussed with him.

"The club wants to keep progressing with its long-term strategy and would like to stress that Kevin is extremely important now and in the future. Newcastle United value the effort and commitment Kevin has shown since his return to St James' Park and want him to continue to play an instrumental role as manager of the club.

"For the avoidance of doubt the club has not sacked Kevin Keegan as manager."

With lawyers representing both parties already heavily involved, the wording is deliberately careful but Ashley will surely have been taken aback by the ferocity of the fans' reaction. However, despite his habit of wearing a replica shirt emblazoned with "King Kev" on the back, the relationship between Newcastle's owner and manager has long been unravelling.

Indeed things have never been quite right between them since late January when, two weeks after Keegan's installation, Dennis Wise was appointed to a director of football role. Relations between that pair have long been strained.

It is understood that this long-festering discontent on Keegan's part came to a head on Monday, with the vexed subjects of Joey Barton's and Michael Owen's futures having a tinderbox effect. The board allegedly tried, but failed, to sell both players behind Keegan's back on deadline day and that move apparently inflamed a manager working with the thinnest of squads.

Just last Friday Keegan - who saw James Milner sold to Aston Villa against his will last week and is unhappy with the way the club have handled negotiations over a new contract for Owen - predicted he would be greeting four new signings before midnight on Monday. He hoped Bayern Munich's midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger would be one.

Instead Newcastle's manager had to be content with two recruits from La Liga he had seemingly never seen play - Xisco, the Spain Under-21 striker, from Deportivo La Coruña in a £5.6m deal and Ignacio González, a Uruguayan midfielder, on loan from Valencia. There was, though, no sign of the specialist left-back that Keegan had been demanding all summer.

Trouble began flaring early on Monday afternoon when Keegan was summoned to a board meeting and heard his managerial style and record heavily criticised by Derek Llambias, Newcastle's managing director. Like Ashley, Llambias had disagreed with Keegan's decision to keep faith with Barton amid the midfielder's myriad problems and it appears that an attempt, not sanctioned by Keegan, to move the midfielder on later on Monday further inflamed matters. By then the manager's future was in the balance and training yesterday was taken by Terry McDermott, his longstanding confidant.

Meanwhile speculation as to the identity of Keegan's likely successor swirled around Tyneside, with the name of the currently unemployed David O'Leary quickly thrust into the frame. Other managers mentioned included David Moyes, Avram Grant and Didier Deschamps along with just about every coach in La Liga.

Wise - who left St James' Park for London late yesterday afternoon - has repeatedly insisted he would not relish a return to frontline management. Nonetheless the former Leeds and Millwall manager could serve as a caretaker and it is not entirely impossible that, longer term, he could reprise the coaching double act he enjoyed with Gus Poyet, now Tottenham Hotspur's assistant manager, at Leeds.

Manchester City plan £135m bid for Cristiano Ronaldo

2008-09-02T20:11:00.000-07:00

Manchester City's new billionaire owners are planning a world-record £135m bid for Cristiano Ronaldo in the January transfer window before turning their sights to, among others, Fernando Torres of Liverpool and Cesc Fábregas of Arsenal. "Ronaldo has said he wants to play for the biggest club in the world, so we will see in January if he is serious," said Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim, of the Abu Dhabi United Group.

Al-Fahim also re-iterated that he would investigate the potential availability of the former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry, Valencia's David Villa and the former Brazil international Ronaldo to join Robinho in a "dream team" that would be able to challenge for the Champions League within two or three years.

However, he identified United's Ronaldo as the biggest challenge for the billionaire tycoons, backed by members of the United Arab Emirates royal family, who have taken control of the club from Thaksin Shinawatra. "Real Madrid were estimating his value at $160m (£90m) but for a player like that, to actually get him, will cost a lot more; I would think $240m (£135m). But why not? We are going to be the biggest club in the world, bigger than both Real Madrid and Manchester United."

In all probability, City's chances of persuading Ronaldo to forget about moving to Real Madrid and decide instead to swap Old Trafford for Eastlands - or 'Middle Eastlands', as some City fans have started referring to it - are, at best, miniscule. Yet City's remarkable signing of Robinho from Real Madrid, for a British record £32.5m, just before Sunday's transfer deadline has already sent shockwaves through the sport, and Al-Fahim insisted the club would be willing to pay United three times the world transfer record, set in 2001 when Zinedine Zidane moved from Juventus to Real Madrid. "We want a team who can win the Champions League," he added.

Al-Fahim also confirmed that Torres and Fábregas were among his targets as City look to bring in a "minimum 18" players. "We're not just going to spend money on anyone, but if we can get the biggest players in the world, and of course if the manager wants them, then we will get them," he said.

Robinho arrived in London on Tuesday for a brief meeting with Mark Hughes to conclude the transfer - even though he has yet to take the usually routine medical examination - before flying out to join up with the Brazil national squad for Monday's World Cup qualifier against Chile. The 24-year-old has agreed a four-year contract that makes him the highest-paid footballer in the history of the game, with a weekly salary of £160,000.

Ronaldo could conceivably be offered twice that amount but it could also be argued that City's pursuit of the twice footballer-of-the-year also demonstrates a degree of naivety on the part of the new owners. United's reaction was one of bemusement, a spokesman saying "we have made it clear all summer that Cristiano is not for sale".

Scolari's Robinho Rage

2008-09-02T19:58:00.000-07:00

The Blues had been odds-on to land the Brazilian superstar after he declared his desire to leave Real Madrid sign on at Stamford Bridge.

Los Merengues had accepted a £28.4million bid and the deal was all but complete when Chelsea's impatience effectively scuppered the transaction.

The London giants jumped the gun to disastrous effect when they began selling shirts emblazoned with Robinho's name through their online shop last week.

That was enough to tip the Spanish champions over the edge in what was already a tense negotiation process, and the initial deal fell through.

Scolari made no secret of his admiration for Robinho and singled out the 24-year-old as the one player he hoped to sign this summer after landing Deco from Barcelona.

The former Brazil coach attempted to play it cool, insisting it made no difference if he captured the ex-Santos prodigy or not, but Chelsea sources suggest otherwise.

“He is too professional to make a fuss but this is a blow,” an insider told The Sun.

Further fuelling Scolari's wrath is the fact Chelsea turned down the opportunity to land Robinho on deadline day.

Los Blancos had accepted a bid of £32.5million from newly cashed-up City and challenged the Blues to match it - but the Premier League powerhouses were not willing to stump up the extra £4million.

Hence, the Selecao star made his may to Eastlands instead in an English record transfer, while Scolari was left demanding answers from chief executive Peter Kenyon and owner Roman Abramovich.

The source added: “It’s no secret that Chelsea has paid a lot of money for players in the last few years.

“Some of those players have been successful and others not so.

“Felipe understands the budget has a limit but feels that he did not ask too much of the club.

“He bought Deco for £8million and made it clear how important Robinho was to his plans for the season.

“So he is entitled to feel let down that the club would not increase its offer by £4m to get the player.”

Cecil Braun

Moratti: Quaresma Is Fast & Classy

2008-09-02T19:40:00.000-07:00

After a long transfer saga, Massimo Moratti finally brought Ricardo Quarsema to the San Siro at the request of coach Jose Mourinho for a hefty transfer fee. And the president seems extremely pleased at bringing the ex-Porto winger on board:

"Quaresma can add speed and class on the wings," explained the Nerrazzurri president. "He is another weapon besides Mancini and Figo. We hope he can be useful."

Many pundits believe that the draw against Sampdoria was the reason Quaresma was finally brought in and Moratti gave a quick word about the performance of his team in the match that ended 1-1 at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

"It was the result of a difficult match, even if there is no need to think it is a negative one," claimed Moratti. "The match was conducted well in the first half and a little less so after the restart, but this is the italian league and it's very difficult."

When asked if he thought he would have spent so much money on football when he first became Inter president, Moratti smiled, "I had hoped not."

Inter's next match will be at the San Siro when they host Sicilian side Catania, who were victorious over Geona in their match on Sunday afternoon.

Adam Scime

Pavlyuchenko signs for Spurs

2008-09-01T01:49:00.000-07:00

Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed the signing of Russia striker AS Roman Pavlyuchenko from Spartak Moscow in a £14million deal.

The 26-year-old has signed a five-year contract at White Hart Lane, with his arrival expected to precipitate the departure of Dimitar Berbatov for Manchester United.

Pavlyuchenko has scored nine times in 22 appearances for Russia to date, including three goals in the European Championship finals this summer.

Meanwhile, Spurs head coach Juande Ramos has refused to blame Berbatov for his side's slow start to the new campaign, which saw them earn their first point with a 1-1 draw at Chelsea.

He commented: "We never put any blame on Berbatov for the last two results.

"He wasn't there on the park, so it was those on the park, it was those on the pitch that were to blame and it was the same players that are responsible for putting in that great performance today and getting a fantastic result.

"It's nothing to do with Berbatov.

"With the arrival of Pavlyuchenko and anyone else who joins at the last minute, we'll have more options on the field.

"Up to now Darren Bent has been working hard on his own and we haven't had options."

Bayern finally secure victory

2008-09-01T01:46:00.000-07:00

Bayern Munich secured their first win of the new Bundelsiga season with a thumping 4-1 home victory over Hertha Berlin.

Luca Toni, Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Miroslav Klose all got on the scoresheet for Bayern, with Marko Pantelic netting a late consolation.

Bayern coach Jurgen Klinsmann told the club's official website: "We went out and did exactly what we set out to do.

"We wanted to put them under pressure right from the start and we worked very hard throughout to grind them down bit by bit.

"We wanted to let the ball do the work and play one-touch football. We did that very well, especially in the first half-hour and also for spells of the second half."

In the day's other game Stuttgart ran out 2-0 winners at home to Hannover, with Mario Gomez and Pavel Pardo the goalscorers.

Milan make losing start

2008-09-01T01:32:00.000-07:00

AC Milan started the new Serie A season with a dismal 2-1 defeat at home to Bologna.

Goals from Marco Di Vaio and Francesco Valiani gave the visitors a famous win in the San Siro, but Rossoneri coach Carlo Ancelotti remained philosophical.

He said: "It was a bit of a strange game, but I think there have been quite a few surprise results at the start of the season when teams aren't entirely up to speed.

"I don't think the side played badly or was lacking in any area. We attacked for 90 minutes and were punished by the only two chances Bologna created."

AS Roma were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Napoli, while Alberto Gilardino netted a last-minute equaliser to earn a 1-1 draw at home to Juventus.

Torino were comfortable 3-0 winners at home to Lecce, while Mauro Zarate scored twice in Lazio's resounding 4-1 success at Cagliari.

Atalanta edged out Siena 1-0, while Catania beat Genoa by the same scoreline.

Newly-promoted Chievo beat Reggina 2-1, with Vincenzo Italiano grabbing the winner two minutes from time.

We Must Learn From Our Errors - Robben

2008-09-01T01:07:00.000-07:00

Real Madrid looked on the right track to end their 17 year winless curse at the Riazor, but in their haste to do so, they allowed Deportivo to snatch the winning goal just five minutes after Ruud van Nistelrooy had equalized.
While it is just the first game of the season and only one defeat, the two goals that the Galicians scored from set-pieces highlighted just how fragile Madrid’s defence can be.
And Dutch winger Arjen Robben, who did not have the best of games himself, stressed the need to learn from their faults immediately in order to move forward.
“Deportivo scored from our mistakes. We didn’t play badly, but we must learn from our errors and we have two weeks to work on that,” he said in the post-match interview.
“This is only the first game. There’s still a long way to go in the season,” he assured.
His fellow winger, Gonzalo Higuaín, also gave the same response when asked what went wrong in the game.
“We played well in the first half, but Depor’s first goal changed everything,” the Argentine pointed out.
“But we must look ahead now. It is necessary to improve on what we did wrong so we will have a clear idea how to play against Numancia.”
The international break will give Bernd Schuster and his troops an extra week to fine-tune their game, although the German might have to make do without several key figures.
KS Leong

Torres to sit out United with pulled hamstring

2008-09-01T00:57:00.000-07:00

Fernando Torres is to have a scan on his hamstring today after limping out of yesterday's goalless draw with Aston Villa and potentially Liverpool's showdown with Manchester United.

The Liverpool striker joined his club captain, Steven Gerrard, on the injured list after 27 minutes at Villa Park, where Rafael Benítez received a hostile reception from the home supporters for his public pursuit of Gareth Barry.

Torres will be examined today and withdrawn from Spain's World Cup qualifiers against Bosnia and Armenia. He could be out for a month if results confirm severe damage to his right hamstring.

"Torres will have a scan tomorrow and only then will we know how bad it is. Only the scan can tell us," said Benítez , whose side maintained their unbeaten start to the season but failed to capitalise on Chelsea's home draw with Tottenham earlier in the afternoon to go top. "It is always a problem when you don't have Gerrard or Torres but the only positive news for us is the international break, which can give us time to get them fit. I think we will loose Gerrard for one more game, maybe, and hopefully Torres will be the same. It will be at least seven to 10 days, but it is too early to say for sure."

The 24-year-old pulled up as he chased a Javier Mascherano pass with Nicky Shorey, the hero of Spain's European Championship victory instantly signalling his discomfort to the Liverpool bench before being escorted down the tunnel by the club doctor, Mark Waller. With Gerrard recovering from two minor operations to his groin, and having only a slim chance of playing in Liverpool's next game, Torres' absence against United would be keenly felt by a team yet to spark this term.

Sir Alex Ferguson's champions arrive at Anfield on September 13, with Liverpool's opening Champions League group game away in Marseille three days later, a home game with Stoke City, the Carling Cup third-round tie with Crewe and the Merseyside derby at Everton completing a testing month for Benítez's team.

The Liverpool manager admitted "it was a pity we didn't go top today", but did not bemoan a point from a game that Villa had the edge in throughout, and denied suggestions that Albert Riera's proposed £8m move from Espanyol has not gone through due to a lack of funds at Anfield. Riera was given until Friday by Espanyol to complete the transfer, and Liverpool's chief executive, Rick Parry, travelled to Barcelona to finalise personal terms last Wednesday, but Benítez insisted the deal would proceed before tonight's midnight deadline. "I hope it will be done," he said. "We are still working on the deal and I am confident. It is really close and, in terms of bringing players in, he will be the only one if we can finish the deal."

Benítez turned to Riera having been denied funds to complete his £18m pursuit of Barry, the most intelligent performer on display at Villa Park, with the England international committing his immediate future to Martin O'Neill's team. The Villa manager, who put his summer spat with Benítez aside to shake his opponent's hand before and after the game, indicated he expects Liverpool to renew their interest in the 27-year-old when the January window opens.

Champions League draw

2008-08-28T22:19:00.000-07:00

Manchester United will face Celtic in a Battle of Britain in the UEFA Champions League and Fernando Torres can look forward to a return to Atletico Madrid with Liverpool following the draw in Monaco.

Last season's losing finalists Chelsea have been pitted against Italian side Roma, Bordeaux and Romanian champions CFR Cluj.
Fernando Torres will come up against his old side Atletico Madrid after Liverpool were paired with the Spanish side, Marseille and PSV Eindhoven in Group D.
Arsenal will be confident of progressing after being drawn against FC Porto, Fenerbahce and Dynamo Kiev in Group G.
United and Celtic locked horns in the group stages two years ago, with both sides claiming one win apiece in the two meetings, and it will be Gordon Strachan who pits his wits against former boss Sir Alex Ferguson again.
Bruce Rioch's Aalborg and Spanish side Villarreal make up the rest of Group E.
Elsewhere, Group H looks the toughest one to call with nine-times winners Real Madrid, returning Italians Juventus, Uefa Cup holders Zenit St Petersburg and Belarus champions Bate Borisov making up the group.
Barcelona have been handed a favourable draw in Group C, as they face Sporting Lisbon, Basel and Shakhtar Donetsk.
Rome's Stadio Olimpico will stage the final on 27th May 2009.
The first set of matches are due to be played on 16/17 September.
Group A
Chelsea
Roma
Bordeaux
CFR Cluj
Group B
Inter Milan
Werder Bremen
Panathinaikos
Anorthosis Famagusta
Group C
Barcelona
Sporting Lisbon
Basel
Shakhtar Donetsk
Group D
Liverpool
PSV Eindhoven
Marseille
Atletico Madrid
Group E
Manchester United
Villarreal
Celtic
Aalborg
Group F
Lyon
Bayern Munich
Steaua Bucharest
Fiorentina
Group G
Arsenal
FC Porto
Fenerbahce
Dynamo Kiev
Group H
Real Madrid
Juventus
Zenit St Petersburg
Bate Borisov

Ronaldo recognised as Europe's finest

2008-08-28T22:00:00.000-07:00

Cristiano Ronaldo, the pivotal figure in Manchester United FC's march to UEFA Champions League glory last season, had more to celebrate today after collecting the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year prize at the awards ceremony in Monaco. The Portuguese international forward was also selected as the Best Forward while there was some consolation for Chelsea FC, the side United overcame in Moscow in May, as Petr Čech, John Terry and Frank Lampard were nominated as Best Goalkeeper, Defender and Midfielder respectively.

Sensational season
Ronaldo scored United's goal at the Luzhniki Stadium – his 42nd in all competitions in a prolific club campaign – and although he subsequently missed in the penalty shoot-out, United bounced back to become champions of Europe for the third time. It completed a sensational season for Ronaldo, who finished as the UEFA Champions League's eight-goal top scorer and also claimed the ESM Golden Shoe having struck 31 Premier League goals as United retained their title. The 23-year-old succeeds AC Milan's Kaká as the Club Footballer of the Year and is the second Portuguese international to land the prize after Deco in 2004. As he reflected upon the stars who had previously received the accolade, Ronaldo said: "It's a pleasure to be part of this magnificent group of players. To win this award is great for me and I feel very proud. The Champions League is a great level and to be one of the best players in it is great."

Forward accolade
Ronaldo also becomes the second United player to take home the overall award after David Beckham in 1999, while Ruud van Nistelrooy was voted Best Forward while at Old Trafford in 2003. Asked what was the secret of his success, Ronaldo replied: "Work. I think Manchester had a great season and I scored many goals. I feel very proud to be the best forward as I played as a winger – it is very good for me and gives me more ambition to become better. Thanks to all my team-mates and those that voted for me."

Chelsea cheer
Čech, meanwhile, beat off competition from United's Edwin van der Sar, Manuel Almunia, Manuel Neuer and Pepe Reina to lift the Best Goalkeeper gong for the second successive year and for the third time in total, having also been honoured in 2005. He was presented with his trophy by Peter Schmeichel, the winner of the inaugural prize in 1998. His abiding memory of the season was perhaps his role in the UEFA Champions League final penalty shoot-out. He said: "Of course it was difficult because it was only up to me and the five players who would shoot. But I tried to remember what I had seen from the videos I'd watched and what I'd talked about with other goalkeepers. This is what was going through my mind."

Terry honoured
Terry, who was handed his award by Franco Baresi, had been voted Best Defender in 2005, but was no less delighted about his latest silverware. "For me personally it's an amazing achievement," he said, adding: "To be a great defender you need a lot of attributes – to be quick, strong, good in the air and you also need plenty of great team-mates around you and I'm very lucky to have that." One of those colleagues, Lampard, became the first Chelsea player – and only the second English-based footballer after Beckham nine years ago – to take the midfield plaudits, given out by Sir Bobby Charlton. He said: "It feels very good. When you see the players that you're up against, there are some world-class players there. I've been up for the award for three years now so it's nice to finally win it."

Chelsea warned of Roma threat

2008-08-28T21:58:00.000-07:00

Uefa's president, Michel Platini, has warned Roma that the Champions League final may be taken away from their stadium if there is any serious violence when they host Chelsea in their group match.

Roma's games against Manchester United in the past two seasons were marred by serious crowd problems and by knife attacks outside the Stadio Olimpico and Platini said Uefa would not accept further problems when Chelsea visit the Italian capital on November 4.

"We can't tolerate this level of violence," he said. "If we have any more violence we could withdraw the Champions League final from Rome. It's not an ultimatum, just a message that we are keeping an eye on it."

The draw in Monaco placed Chelsea, last season's beaten finalists, in a group that also includes Bordeaux and the Romanian champions CFR 1907 Cluj. The most intriguing draw, however, will see United play Celtic for the second time in three seasons. The holders will also meet the Danish champions Aalborg and the Spanish side Villarreal, against whom Wayne Rooney was sent off three years ago.

After a ceremony that saw Cristiano Ronaldo win Uefa's striker and overall player of the year awards and three Chelsea players - Petr Cech, John Terry and Frank Lampard - pick up the individual honours for goalkeeping, defending and midfield play respectively, Fernando Torres can look forward to an emotive return to his former club after Liverpool were pitted against Atlético Madrid. Liverpool will also face PSV Eindhoven and Marseille.

"It's not an easy draw for us and the overwhelming feeling after Wednesday's game [against Standard Liège] is that we are just happy to be involved," said Liverpool's...#65279; chief executive, Rick Parry. "The tie against Atlético Madrid is the one that stands out and will inevitably generate a lot of interest. It will mean a lot to all the Spanish players but especially Torres."

Of the Premier League sides, Arsenal will believe they face the most testing challenge, taking on FC Porto, Fenerbahce and Dynamo Kiev. But all four clubs will be grateful to have missed out on facing Bayern Munich and Juventus, both of whom were among the second seeds, and United will regard their opening group as a relatively moderate assignment.

"The pleasing aspect is that there will not be an awful lot of travel involved," said United's chief executive, David Gill, looking ahead to a tournament that begins on September 16-17. "Given that our next two league games are away at Liverpool and Chelsea, we're particularly pleased that the game that falls between those two is at home [against Villarreal]."

The Uefa Cup draw will be made here today and Gill intends to speak to Tottenham Hotspur's delegation to see if he can reach a compromise over United's pursuit of Dimitar Berbatov. The delays surrounding the proposed deal are clearly beginning to frustrate Sir Alex Ferguson. "In last week's press conference I said I was less optimistic, and I'm even less optimistic today," said the United manager. "I've no idea what's going on. It's very hard to get communication with some people."

Source: Guardian

Arsene Can Spend £30m - Fiszman

2008-08-28T21:55:00.000-07:00

The Gunners are classically the most thrifty of the Premier League's so-called Big Four, as they rarely invest in the transfer market to the extent that Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool do.

While the official line from Ashburton Grove has always been that the funds are there for the mega-money buys, Wenger's consistent miserliness has cast a deep shadow of doubt over the club's actual financial position.

But Fiszman, speaking at the Champions League draw last night, stressed that the manager has full control over how his kitty is spent.

He said: "If Arsene said to us, ‘I want this guy and he’s £30million, can I buy him?’ the answer is, ‘Yes’.

"Absolutely yes. It would be no problem. It’s not our decision who he spends on nor will it ever be. We back him totally."

It is widely believed - and, indeed, has even been mentioned by Wenger - that Arsenal's lack of outlay on players stems from the recent construction of the Emirates Stadium.

The venue, which succeeded the old Highbury ground and has a capacity of 60, 355, was opened in 2006 and cost over £430million.

But Fiszman dismissed the notion that the club are hindered by outstanding construction costs, pointing to the increased revenue brought in by those extra 22,000 seats.

He said: "That’s total c***. Explain how the stadium bleeds us if it’s producing an extra £30m a year?"

And yet still Wenger refuses to spend big, despite the obvious need for an experienced midfielder in his young squad.

After two entertaining yet trophyless seasons, some have suggested that the Frenchman is more concerned with maintaining a stylish brand of football than winning silverware.

But Fiszman insisted: "Absolutely not. We want to win and win badly but Arsène believes in creating teams the way he does.

"There's a dual problem for him. If we were to buy names, you are talking about relatively mature players who need to be integrated into the way Arsène plays. They don't know our style and it also impacts on the youngsters who've been brought through."

Lampard Excited By Robinho Signing

2008-08-28T21:23:00.000-07:00

It seems only a matter of when, and not if, Robinho completes a £28million switch from Real Madrid following his public plea to leave the Santiago Bernabeu.

The 24-year-old's capture will cap a summer of significant change at Stamford Bridge. New manager Luiz Felipe Scolari has already recruited Portugal playmaker Deco, and the addition of his fellow Brazilian will make the Blues' attack one of the most dangerous around - on paper, at least.

Lampard is thrilled that Scolari has brought in another creative genius, and he tipped Robinho to take the Premier League by storm.

"He is a fantastic player, I saw a lot of him last season watching the Spanish games," he said in The Sun.

"He has great flair, and something that would be nice to bring into our team.

"We have flair players already but he is another option and he could light up the league."

There are question marks over whether Robinho will adapt to the pace and power of English football - indeed, it is the query that surrounds most big-money imports.

But Lampard is confident that a player of the Selecao star's calibre will have little trouble adjusting.

He added: "He will have to get used to it because it is different to Spain, but he showed he is a world class player both at Madrid and for Brazil, and world class players adapt."

Cup-tied Pavlyuchenko to finalise Spurs move

2008-08-28T01:23:00.000-07:00

Tottenham Hotspur hope to conclude the £12m purchase of Roman Pavlyuchenko from Spartak Moscow, despite the fact that he would be ineligible to play for them in the whole of their Uefa Cup campaign.

The striker appeared for Spartak two weeks ago in the first leg of the Russian club's Champions League third-round qualifier with Dynamo Kiev, which they lost 4-1 at the Luzhniki Stadium. He did not play in the return last night when they bowed out of the competition after another 4-1 defeat, a result that saw them drop into the Uefa Cup, where they will start together with Tottenham in the first round, the draw for which takes place in Monaco tomorrow.

The European governing body's rules state that "a player may not play Uefa club competition matches for more than one competing club in the course of the same season", and although one player who has already appeared in its competitions for another club can be registered from the start of the knockout rounds, he cannot if he has been "fielded for another club that is currently in the same competition". Spartak's result in Kiev and their drop in status meant misfortune, too, for Spurs.

Spartak have an agreement with Tottenham for the transfer of Pavlyuchenko who is expected in London to finalise personal terms and undergo a medical. He could yet be joined by his Russian team-mate Andrei Arshavin of Zenit St Petersburg, although the clubs are still to agree a fee.

There was a departure from White Hart Lane yesterday. The South Korean left-back Young-Pyo Lee has signed a one-year contract at Borussia Dortmund.

Meanwhile, Manchester United are hoping to resolve Dimitar Berbatov's protracted transfer from Tottenham by arranging the first face-to-face meeting between leading officials from the clubs. David Gill, United's chief executive, will be in Monaco today for the Champions League draw, followed by the European Super Cup final at the Stade Louis II tomorrow. At the same time, a Spurs delegation, including sporting director Damien Comolli and secretary John Alexander, will be in Monaco for the Uefa Cup draw.

Nothing has been officially scheduled, but Gill hopes to meet Comolli for the first time since United declared their interest in Berbatov earlier this summer. Gill will propose that any deal should include a condition that Tottenham drop their complaint against United for allegedly tapping up Berbatov. United have made two bids for the Bulgarian, an offer of £20.5m followed up by a £25m package last weekend.

CHELSEA CONFIDENT OF ROBINHO CAPTURE

2008-08-28T01:15:00.000-07:00

Chelsea believe their pursuit of Real Madrid forward Robinho will go "to the wire".
The Brazilian featured, along with summer recruit Deco, on Luiz Felipe Scolari's shopping list when Chelsea's new manager pinpointed the players he wished to bring to Stamford Bridge this summer.
With Deco signed and already impressing in the Barclays Premier League, Chelsea are keen to bring Robinho to England from Real Madrid.
Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon said: "We are ever confident that it will get done but we have always said it will go to the wire.
"We will keep moving it on and we hope that he will be joining us here at Chelsea.
"There were two players Luiz Felipe Scolari identified. One was Deco and one was Robinho and we have already seen the impact Deco has made on the Premier League.
"I think the squad is strong and capable of competing in all competitions without Robinho, but with him it is an added dimension."
Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon insisted last night that he has not given up hope of staving off Chelsea's attempts to sign Robinho.
He told Spanish television channel La Sexta: "Robinho continues being a Real Madrid player and the coach counts on him.
"Those in charge of the sporting side of things want him to continue, and I've always wanted to follow the plans of those who really know about these things."
The transfer window will close after what is likely to be a frantic day of activity on Monday, however Chelsea appear to have no targets other than Scolari's younger compatriot.
There seems little prospect of another Brazilian, Kaka, leaving AC Milan to join the Blues, not least because the playmaker is happy at the San Siro.
Chelsea were linked with a world-record £80million bid for Kaka, but he told Italian sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport: "Me going to Chelsea? I'm staying as a Rossoneri player.
"I should help Milan to win the trophies we're up for this season."
He added: "I've always said I'm happy at Milan and as long as my aims remain the same as Milan's I'll stay here. Until now it's always been that way.
"My goal is to win, Milan's is too. As long as we are like that, I'll remain at Milan."
One player who could still leave Chelsea is Shaun Wright-Phillips.
The winger's agent has insisted the 26-year-old England international wants to stay in London, however his opportunities at Chelsea this season could be limited and Manchester City are very eager to take him back, three years after selling him for £21million.
Wright-Phillips is also believed to interesting Everton boss David Moyes, who has had a quiet time in the transfer market this summer and is desperate to add to his squad with the transfer deadline imminent.
But the winger's agent Wayne Lindsay told www.skysports.com: "He [Wright-Phillips] doesn't want to join either of them and we are now discussing the next move to see what we do."
City manager Mark Hughes - a former Chelsea player himself - said yesterday: "We're obviously keen to bring him to the club if we can."

O'NEILL: BARRY DEAL CAN WAIT

2008-08-28T01:12:00.000-07:00

Martin O'Neill will not attempt to rush Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry into signing a new contract if he is still with the club when the transfer window closes next Monday.
Barry's agent Alex Black claimed long-time Liverpool target Barry "will not leave Aston Villa" before the current window ends.
That will be a massive relief and a welcome bonus to Villa boss O'Neill who admits he was resigned during the close season to losing the services of the England player.
But O'Neill will adopt a softly softly approach when it comes to trying to persuade Barry to sign a new deal - a topic that was on the agenda before the 27-year-old made it clear last May he wanted to move to Anfield.
O'Neill said: "If Gareth stays with us for the foreseeable future, I will be really delighted. It will be a really big bonus for us. If Gareth is here this time next week, I will be relieved.
"I would have said only a few weeks ago that I was resigned to the fact Gareth would no longer be here - around about the time we played Reading in pre-season and when he didn't come with us to Malaga because I assumed everything would be done that week.
"But as for the future now, let's go one step at a time. That is what I would be looking at.
"I wouldn't want to be rushing anyone into making decisions or asking anyone to do something that no-one is really comfortable with."
O'Neill admits he has never had any doubts about Barry being in the right frame of mind since coming back into the side despite an average performance by his standards in the 3-2 defeat at Stoke at the weekend.
The former Celtic boss said: "Gareth will have better days for us than at Stoke with a bit of luck but Saturday might just have been a culmination of four games in quick succession, the lack of any steady pre-season build-up, and all of those things.
"I couldn't have faulted him in any of the matches he had played for us before that one and it was just maybe everything getting to him at the one time - including maybe that sharpness and fitness that he is still striving for.
"Is Gareth in the right frame of mind? I think he answered that with his performances in the games he has played for us."
Villa are expected to step up their bid to sign Newcastle's want-away winger James Milner who has handed in a transfer request.
They are understood to have had one offer rejected for the England Under-21 player in the region of £9million.
Now they look set to renew their attempts to sign a player who spent the 2005-2006 campaign on loan at Villa Park.
O'Neill thought he had landed Milner two years ago after agreeing a fee for the ex-Leeds star, but Newcastle stopped the deal going through at the 11th hour.
The Villa boss would only say: "I will tell you that we are very keen to try to strengthen our side between now and transfer deadline day.
"I am sure I could get one or two in anyway but it is just adding the sort of quality that I would want - and that is exactly what I will be trying to do.
"Am I a fan of Milner? He was nearly here two years ago. He nearly signed two years ago but it didn't materialise. But I never think anything is done and dusted until anything happens.
"So many things have happened to me as a player and as a manager that I would never take anything for granted. It was disappointing at the time but it was two years ago."
O'Neill is expected to ring the changes for the second leg of the UEFA Cup clash with Hafnarfjordur on Thursday night with Villa holding a 4-1 lead from the away leg.

GERRARD FACES GROIN OPERATION

2008-08-28T01:07:00.000-07:00

Rafael Benitez hailed his European lucky charm Dirk Kuyt as Liverpool scrambled their way into the Champions League group stages but lost Steven Gerrard to injury on Wednesday night.
They eventually beat an excellent Standard Liege side 1-0 on the night, and on aggregate, with Kuyt scoring the winner two minutes from the end of extra-time.
Benitez's delight with Kuyt's contribution was tempered by the news that skipper Gerrard will have a groin operation on Thursday and miss both of England's World Cup matches against Andorra and Croatia.
He will also be out of Liverpool's trip to Aston Villa on Sunday, and may miss the home game with Manchester United on September 13.
Liverpool have clearly made a tactical decision to limit Gerrard's loss to the Anfield club by deciding on an operation after last night's game.
England boss Fabio Capello will no doubt be disappointed with that decision, but Liverpool clearly wanted to get the maximum out of Gerrard in the third qualifying round before agreeing to the operation.
Benitez said: "We decided that Steven would play through the pain against Liege and then have the operation. He may not be fit for the Manchester United game, but he certainly will be okay for the first group stage match next month."
Benitez revealed that Gerrard has been playing through constant pain this season.
It was clear that Gerrard was not at his best last night, and he will now go under the knife to make sure he is fit to lead Liverpool into the group stages in September.
"He has a groin problem so he will have an operation and could be out for 10 to 15 days. It is not serious but we need to do it now," Benitez said.
"He has been playing some games in pain, not being 100% fit and we decided that this was the best moment for the operation.
"He had a problem for the first game with Liege, and also when he went away to play for England in their friendly last week against the Czech Republic.
"We talked with the doctor yesterday and today, and it was decided that Steven would play in this match with the pain. But now we will have to get the situation solved."
Of Kuyt's match-winning contribution last night,
Benitez added: "I was delighted with Dirk Kuyt, his goal was a reward for all the effort he puts in for us. He is amazing.
"His work is tremendous, he keeps going right to the end and makes a tremendous contribution to our side."
Liverpool, despite another worrying display, are now in the group stages draw on Thursday in Monaco.
Benitez said: "Obviously there is some relief with the result. We knew it would be a difficult game against a quick, well-organised team.
"The positive was that we played a little better than recently - we want to win trophies but we also understand the need for money."
Liege boss Laszlo Boloni said: "We are very sad after that result. Over two matches we have been the best organised team and we deserved better than to lose like that in the final minutes.
"We have produced a high standard in both matches, and now I hope that can be continued in our league matches and the UEFA Cup.
"I sometimes wondered whether the referee was affected by the fact that we were playing a big team. I felt we should have had a couple of penalties.
"But in the end we created a lot of good situations in both matches and did not make use of them."

Spurs say £30m for Berbatov or we stick him in the reserves

2008-08-26T02:30:00.000-07:00

The game of brinkmanship between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United over the future of Dimitar Berbatov intensified last night when the London club indicated that they would be willing to consign the striker to the reserves rather than sell him to the Premier League champions for anything less than their £30m valuation of him.

Spurs, having rejected United's opening £20m bid for the 27-year-old Bulgarian, are awaiting an improved offer but relations between the clubs are strained after Tottenham complained to the Premier League alleging United had inappropriately pursued Berbatov.

The Spurs manager, Juande Ramos, spoke with the striker on Friday and deemed him not "focused enough" to feature against Sunderland on Saturday, with an attitude that would not "be good for the dressing room and the team effort".

Although that statement appeared to offer United the initiative in their pursuit of Berbatov as they prepared an improved and apparently final bid of £25m, Spurs moved swiftly yesterday to indicate that they were willing to relegate him to the second string, where he would remain even after the closure of the transfer window, should United not offer the full £30m. The Tottenham hierarchy would argue that he was not psychologically ready to represent the first team, leaving him in limbo with two years to run on his contract.

Compromise is still likely to be reached before Monday's midnight deadline, but Spurs are dismayed that no real interest has been expressed in the striker by any other club.

Tottenham's own pursuit of reinforcements will go down to the wire. They are still interested in the Ajax forward Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and the River Plate striker Radamel Falcao, who was watched by their scouts at the weekend. The merits of the Wigan forward Emile Heskey have also been discussed.

There remains the possibility of Andrei Arshavin, the Russia playmaker who has long been targeted by Ramos, moving to White Hart Lane after Zenit St Petersburg secured the Portuguese midfielder Danny - full name Daniel Miguel Alves Gomes - from Dynamo Moscow for a Russian-record £24m. Arshavin was left out of Zenit's side for their win over Krylya Sovetov at the weekend and, despite Tottenham insisting publicly that they had "moved on" in their search for recruits, the 27-year-old remains an attractive target.

Quaresma To Inter In 48 Hours

2008-08-26T02:13:00.000-07:00

Quaresma’s prospected move to the Nerazzurri has become one of the transfer soap operas of the summer in Italy, ranking alongside Amauri and Ronaldinho's transfers to Juventus and Milan respectively.

Inter have been chasing the 24-year-old for what now seems like an eternity, as Jose Mourinho hopes to end his summer activity by bringing in a suitable winger for his 4-3-3 formation.

The main problem in closing the deal has been the failure to find a compromise over a transfer fee. However, the Gazzetta today claims that this issue is close to being resolved, and that Quaresma will become an Inter player within the next 48 hours.

Porto are demanding €30m for the wideman, but Inter are only prepared to pay €20m. Thus the Gazzetta says that the Italian champions will take Quaresma on a one-year loan, with the option of making the move permanent next summer for €25m.

Strangely though, Inter president Massimo Moratti did not seem too enthusiastic about Quaresma when asked yesterday about his possible signing.

“Quaresma? You always ask me these transfer questions but, to be honest, I don’t find that player exciting,” Moratti told Il Corriere Dello Sport.

“We have better players in our team who are doing so well.”

Luca Capofranco

Sergio Ramos Wants New Contract

2008-08-26T02:04:00.000-07:00

Realizing that the club have the astronomical funds to go after Cristiano Ronaldo and now David Villa and the capacity to offer Robinho a new mega deal in an attempt to entice him to stay, Real Madrid rightback Sergio Ramos is ready to cash in by demanding a significant contract improvement.

According to El Mundo Deportivo, the player’s agent and brother, René Ramos scheduled a meeting with the club directors yesterday to request a raise from €6 million gross to €6 million net per season for his client.

Sergio Ramos was reportedly promised a review of his contract at the same time the club discussed a new agreement with Raúl, Guti and Iker Casillas, but the negotiations never reached completion for the 22 year old versatile defender.

It is no secret that the former Sevilla man has received countless offers from AC Milan and it looks as though he might just use that as a bargaining chip to get his contract improvement.

Calderón Hails Epic Performance

2008-08-25T02:01:00.000-07:00

The Bernabéu club's president was overjoyed with the victory that gave los Merengues their first trophy of the new campaign and showed true determination.

Madrid saw Rafael Van der Vaart and Ruud van Nistelrooy sent off, but they still managed to score three goals in the final 15 minutes to win the encounter and the tie.

"Everyone is delighted with the way that we have won this trophy and it is what makes this club great and it will long be remembered," Calderón said.

"Scoring three goals with nine players will not happen very often. We have shown determination and spirit and that has made me very proud of everything we are doing here.

"The players are natural born winners and they do not know how to lose, it is not in their make-up. It is what makes Madrid so great and we are so happy and proud.

"Everyone has been great and showed great mentality as well as being physically strong. Now we have to take advantage of this and go for the other three trophies available this season.

"There is a feeling that this team cannot be stopped."

Madrid take on Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday evening in the annual Trofeo Bernabéu encounter that was postponed last summer after the death of Sevilla's Antonio Puerta.

Lucas Brown, Goal.com

Scolari: No Pressure On Fergie & Wenger - Yet

2008-08-25T01:30:00.000-07:00

The Blues followed up last weekend's dominant display against Portsmouth with a hard-fought win away at Wigan yesterday, Deco scoring the only goal with an early free-kick.

The west London club thus maintained their status as the pace-setters alongside Liverpool, who were also forced to fight for their 2-1 triumph over Middlesbrough.

However, the rest of the Big Four have not fared quite so well.

The Gunners were both outplayed and beaten by Fulham on Saturday, while United will hope to redress last week's disappointing draw against Newcastle when they travel to Fratton Park this evening.

But Scolari dismissed the notion that Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger are already on edge, insisting it is far too early to make such judgements.

"It is only two games - if it was the last games of the season, maybe there would be pressure but now? No," the Brazilian told the press.

"I think teams have time now to lose some points."

Spurs usher £25m Berbatov towards exit

2008-08-25T01:19:00.000-07:00

Tottenham Hotspur have insisted it was they, and manager Juande Ramos, who took the decision to leave Dimitar Berbatov out of the squad that lost to Sunderland on Saturday and that it was not the unsettled striker who told them he did not want to play.

Berbatov is determined to fulfil his "dream" of signing for Manchester United and the Old Trafford club, having seen one bid of £20m rejected, are preparing another worth £25m, which they are confident will finally close the deal.

Tottenham value the Bulgarian at £30m and it seemed a strange tactic for them to issue a statement before the Sunderland game, which carried quotes from Ramos, explaining that Berbatov was not... "focused enough" and would not "be good for the dressing-room and the team effort". The statement effectively conceded that Berbatov was lost as a player to Tottenham and appeared to give United the upper hand in the wrangle.

Ramos had picked Berbatov the previous Saturday, albeit as a substitute, in the defeat at Middlesbrough and the player scored twice for Bulgaria in their 2-1 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina last Wednesday. "I believe he was superb [for Bulgaria]," Ramos said on Thursday. "Let's hope he has something left in the tank to help us gain a victory on Saturday." The Spaniard's subsequent meeting with Berbatov, though, ended with the player being dropped from the squad.

Ramos, who said that he did not know whether Berbatov was at the stadium on Saturday, was asked whether Tottenham should not pay him if he refused to play. "You should ask the club," he replied.

It was also put to him that Roy Keane, the Sunderland manager, said he would drive any unsettled player of his to whichever club he wanted. "That's an interesting point of view," mused Ramos. As a result Ramos had only one striker, Darren Bent, against Sunderland. "Of course there are repercussions [to the Berbatov situation]," he said. "We were only able to play with one forward and I had no forwards on the bench to change things."

Casillas: We Should Facilitate Robinho's Exit

2008-08-23T21:58:00.000-07:00

Iker Casillas believes that a quick solution to the situation would be best for both parties, although he affirmed that the "news" won't affect them before their Spanish Super Cup clash with Valencia.

The Spanish international affirmed that if Madrid feel that Robinho wants to leave the club, they "will have to sell him, and they should sell him for a good price for the good of Real Madrid."

Casillas admitted that Robinho's sale would benefit the group "so that those of us who want to be here can have a united group who stand strong," and he added that if the Brazilian wants to leave "we will have to help him so that he enjoys his new club."

In respect to the possibility of David Villa joining Los Merengues, in the case that Robinho moves on, of course, Casillas expressed his "delight that a [Spanish] national team player can contribute to Real Madrid. He is a great player and also a good friend of mine," although he repeated that a decision has to be made by Schuster, Pedja Mijatovic or Calderon.

Ferguson coy over transfer targets

2008-08-23T21:13:00.000-07:00

Sir Alex Ferguson has insisted he is not worried by Manchester United's lack of new faces this season. Photograph: Andrew Yates/AFP

Last week Sir Alex Ferguson had a twinkle in his eye and a promise that Manchester United might surprise everyone by bringing in a new player before the start of the season.

Nothing happened. Mikaël Silvestre was unexpectedly sold to Arsenal, but that doesn't really count, and neither does Djibril Cissé snubbing Manchester City in favour of a loan move to Sunderland.

Now Ferguson is shaking his head and saying he is less optimistic about making a signing. 'Maybe, maybe not,' he offers with a shrug, so expect Dimitar Berbatov to be signed before tomorrow's game at Portsmouth in time to make his debut in the Super Cup match against Zenit St Petersburg in Monaco on Friday.

Do not expect Ferguson to switch targets and come back with Zenit's Euro 2008 star Andrei Arshavin instead, because United had the Russian watched several years ago and decided not to pursue their interest. 'He's obviously a good player, but he plays a particular role for his club and his country,' Ferguson says. 'He wasn't what we were looking for, but you have to say he was outstanding in the match against Holland.'

Ferguson may be relaxed about the transfer window closing before a new striker has been secured - 'We won the two main prizes last year and this is far from the worst squad we have ever had' - though should Chelsea add Robinho to their summer capture of Deco and continue their solid start to the season, United fans could soon be moaning about the club resting on their laurels.

'I think they know me a little better than that by now,' Ferguson counters. 'They know I will always try to improve the squad if I possibly can, and they know there is no point buying players who won't do that. The transfer market can be frustrating at times, but I don't think our fans will be jumping off a cliff if we don't sign anyone. I don't think anyone will mind Mikaël joining Arsenal either. He's been a great servant to this club, he's lost his place to Patrice Evra, and after nine years spent at United you have to treat a player fairly.'

Rather disappointingly, Ferguson did not watch the England friendly in midweek - Setanta's studio scouts could be missing a trick there - so he has nothing further to add to the great debate over Wayne Rooney's positional deployment other than the observation that 22-year-olds generally are prone to tiring themselves out running in search of the ball. Rooney himself, ineffective in his last two matches against Newcastle and the Czech Republic, says he does not mind where he plays.

'If we bring in a striker who can help the team score goals that will be fine with me, I'll try to fit in with him,' Rooney explains. 'If we don't, it will be me and Carlos [Tevez] again like last season. Carlos likes to drop in just behind the front man, that's probably his best position, so I'll have to stay further up. I won't have a problem with that, I think it's what the manager wants me to do anyway.'

The manager does not mind Rooney playing unselfishly for the team and tearing around trying to win the ball back, he just thinks he should spend more of his time on the edge of the opposing penalty area instead of on the edge of his own half. 'If he gets to the edge of the box he will make more goals and score more goals,' Ferguson says. 'He'll work that out for himself eventually. He does waste energy at times, but at 22 I don't think that's too much to worry about. It's just a question of channelling his energy and enthusiasm.'

Harry Redknapp may give an immediate debut to Armand Traoré, 18, who has joined on loan from Arsenal, in place of injured Croatia star Niko Kranjcar. He will persevere with 4-4-2, spearheaded by England's Defoe and Peter Crouch.

Scolari brings up the past to drive Chelsea to tedium

2008-08-23T20:58:00.000-07:00

One-touch passes, liquid movement and carousel creation seduced the eye as Chelsea's Brazilian manager directed his team to the most emphatic opening-day victory of the Roman Abramovich era. Something more pragmatic may be needed to extract three away points from Wigan in match two.

Dead balls killed Chelsea last season - goal after goal conceded from corners and free-kicks as training-ground preparations were neglected and better organised opponents took advantage. Luiz Felipe Scolari is driving his players to the point of tedium rather than letting such fatal negligence continue.

In the latter stages of pre season, Scolari devoted two consecutive days to training solely on set pieces, doggedly schooling his players on marking and defensive positioning. By the second day, one senior international, accustomed to getting his way with coaches, decided enough was enough, brashly informing his new boss that the team 'had got it now'. Reminding the midfielder that Chelsea had lost 19 goals from dead balls over the past 12 months, Scolari returned him to work. The sessions have continued this past week.

'I know we have problems with this,' Scolari says. 'The staff told me what happened last season. I'm training on this and I'm training many times because we have some different positions for marking now than before. I asked in the meeting before the Portsmouth game if they agreed about some positions. They understood, they trained and they agreed, and we were better in that game than in the training.

'This week we've been training again and they have good positions now for free-kicks, corner-kicks and fouls against us. For sure if we have good positions at these balls we have more chance to win games.'

The same reasoning explains Scolari's request for Chelsea to prise Robinho away from Real Madrid, regardless of the Spaniards' high-priced resistance. For all his pleasure at the manner in which his team controlled the midfield and passed their way to the 4-0 victory over Portsmouth, Scolari is aware such an approach alone will not garner sufficient points to return the Premier League trophy to west London.

A striker who manufactures as well as he finishes and can play through the centre or out wide, Robinho offers the unpredictable - and with it another way of playing. 'We have a system we play and to change this system we need different players,' Scolari explains. 'Now we have one player who isn't a wing, but when he plays on the wing, he plays very well - Deco. You think he's going to cross, but he does not cross. You think he stops the ball, he crosses. That is the style I want in Chelsea for many games because if we have only one system it is easy for the other teams. I like Robinho because his style is different. He tries dribbling many times, he's a different player and we need one more player inside the pitch who makes a difference.'

Though Robinho has tried to force Real into selling him by publicly stating his desire to join Chelsea, the Brazil international will not be at the club in time to play Wigan, whose draw at Stamford Bridge in April helped direct the title to Old Trafford. Muscular and direct, Wigan will test the value of Scolari's set-piece lessons and are likely to pair their newly acquired, bullish Egypt striker, Amr Zaki, in attack with Emile Heskey, scorer last season of their last-minute equaliser at Chelsea.

'I don't think that ended their [Chelsea's] chances, they still had a chance you know,' Heskey says. 'When we went to Stamford Bridge they expected to win. But it's a good mentality we have at this club, we never give up and we always go to the 90th minute.

'I don't know if they fear us, but I don't think they will be that happy to be coming to us so early on. I don't think anyone's that happy to come to Wigan because they know we don't just lie down and give up, not any more. You have to be physical against any of the top four, you've got to try and put them off their game a little bit.

'Chelsea are used to that so much now they just get on with their game. Against Portsmouth they just popped it off with one-touch football and it just looked so nice. We've got our own tactics the manager wants us to apply and we'll try and do that. On our day we are capable of beating them. We showed last year that we never give up.'

They showed it again in a stirring second-half display in their opening Premier League match against West Ham last weekend. The Latics trailed by two goals after only 10 minutes before pulling one back to lose 2-1. But their manager, Steve Bruce, warns his side against such early complacency against Chelsea.

He says: 'Our defensive organisation wasn't there in the first game of the season and it had better be there on Sunday, otherwise we'll be in trouble.'

It Feels As If I've Won The Champions League - Sheva

2008-08-23T20:54:00.000-07:00

Andriy Shevchenko made his first comments as a 'new' Milan player. The Ukrainian ace has made his return to the club he played for between 1999 and 2006, when he left for Chelsea. The player compared his satisfaction to winning a Champions League.

"I'm doing well," he said to Milan's official website, "and I'm happy. I had been hoping to come back for a while and already yesterday I imagined this negotiation could end well.

"For me, it's as if I've won a Champions League. There were some complications, but now that everything has been resolved I am truly happy."

Milan initially only wanted the player back on loan, but Chelsea only wanted to sell him permanently. However, it seems the negotiations were unblocked after a meeting between billionaire owners Silvio Berlusconi and Roman Abramovich, and Shevchenko is now a Milan player 100% again.

Ronaldinho Moving Back To Barcelona

2008-08-21T04:21:00.000-07:00

Ronaldinho finally completed his long drawn-out transfer to the Rossoneri last month, thus ending his five-year stay at Barcelona.

The 28-year-old joined the Blaugrana back in 2003, and during his first three seasons at the club, the Brazilian was without doubt the best player in the world, wowing audiences with his silky-smooth skills, winning two La Liga titles, the Champions League, as well as picking up the World Footballer of the Year in 2005 and 2006, and the Ballon d’Or too.

Things then started to take a turn for the worse, the last 12 months in particular, but Ronaldinho still is emotionally tied to the city of Barcelona, and has told his brother-and-agent Roberto de Assis to buy a new mansion in the area he used to live in.

Ronaldinho is well known for his party-loving lifestyle, and while he is not playing for Milan, plans to spend his free time shared between Barcelona and his hometown of Porto Alegre.

The 28-year-old is currently on duty for Brazil at the Olympics in Beijing and will be hoping to lead the Selecao to the bronze medal in their third and fourth play-off against Belgium tomorrow.

Roberto Rossi

Paim Tipped To Succeed At Chelsea

2008-08-21T01:03:00.000-07:00

Sporting's highly-rated young attacker has had his differences with the management of the Lisbon club, and Scolari is apparently interested in taking the gifted but temperamental prospect on a year’s loan to see if he can settle in London.

Couceiro, now in charge of Lithuania, has thrown his full support behind the proposed move.

"He is a player with enormous potential, which needs stabilising and let's hope that will come from a new club," Couceiro was quoted as saying by Sky Sports News.

"Chelsea is a great club, so it is possible he will stabilise there.

"It is important to train with coaches who can speak your language and with a coach of the level of Scolari."

Paim, 20, is described as possessing bags of pace and dribbling ability, either on the wing or through the middle.

Derek Wanner, Goal.com

Drogba Out Till October?

2008-08-21T00:52:00.000-07:00

The Ivory Coast star, who missed Chelsea's entire pre-season with a knee problem, was only expected to be out for the first couple rounds of the season, but Vahid Halilhodzic's latest comments on the matter suggest otherwise.

"Drogba will not be back before a month, a month and a half," Halilhodzic was quoted as saying by Sky Sports News.

"He has started to run but he will not be available for the match against Mozambique (a 2010 World Cup qualifier, September 5)."

Whether the apparent setback in his bid to regain fitness will force the Blues to dip into the transfer market remains to be seen.

The fact is that Luiz Felipe Scolari has precious few forwards to call upon. Claudio Pizarro has left to join Werder Bremen on loan, while Andriy Shevchenko is expected to follow suit to Milan. At least Salomon Kalou has by now returned from Olympics duty with the Ivory Coast, but the burden of expectation up-front will continued to be placed squarely on the shoulders of the in-form Nicolas Anelka, who bagged a goal during the opening day romp against Portsmouth.

Derek Wanner, Goal.com

I am leaving a strong legacy for England, claims departing Barwick

2008-08-21T00:46:00.000-07:00

Brian Barwick is confident Fabio Capello will lead England to success over the next few years after it was confirmed that the Football Association chief executive will leave his post on December 31 following a major difference of opinion with chairman Lord Triesman over the precise nature of his job.

Barwick has a host of credits to his name, although he was also responsible for the farce that accompanied the announcement of Sven-Goran Eriksson's successor and the botched attempt to hire Luiz Felipe Scolari. However, he did get Capello on board and is predicting big things for the future. "I'm convinced that in Fabio Capello, the England team has the right manager and a genuine chance of success," said Barwick.

After the eras of Mark Palios, Adam Crozier and Graham Kelly, Barwick will at least leave the FA free of any stigma of controversy. He may also point to his strong record, which includes building Wembley and gaining agreement for the National Football Centre in Burton, as well as the record TV deals he negotiated, as proof his departure is to the detriment of the organisation.

However, Triesman is a man who clearly likes to get his own way. The Labour peer has made sweeping changes since becoming the first independent chairman of the FA at the start of the year. He was not close to Barwick and felt he lacked the necessary business skills to modernise the organisation. Barwick did not chair the weekly management board meeting on Tuesday. He then pulled out of the presentation party for England's 2-2 draw with the Czech Republic last night with no explanation offered.

"I am sad to be leaving the FA - an organisation it has been a privilege to lead - but I believe it is in the best interests of all parties," said Barwick in a statement. "I have always endeavoured to do my job with passion, decency and integrity, and I believe I am leaving a strong legacy for the future. We have achieved a lot over the past three-and-a-half years: opening the new Wembley Stadium, implementing the structural review and increasing our broadcast and commercial contracts to record income levels.

"The organisation is in better financial health than ever before, and I am also delighted to afhave seen the recent launch of the Respect programme, which is very important to me. I would like to pay tribute to the FA board for their strong support, and especially thank my colleagues at the FA for their tremendous efforts during my tenure."

Triesman also paid tribute to Barwick despite being the pivotal figure in his departure. "On behalf of everyone at the FA, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Brian for the stability and growth that he has brought to the organisation," he said. "Brian leaves with our best wishes for the future and will always be welcome back as our guest at Wembley."

Speculation will immediately begin as to Barwick's likely successor. The Manchester United chief executive David Gill has steadily grown in influence at the FA and his work at Old Trafford is held in high esteem. However, it is hardly likely the current salary of £450,000 per annum will appeal to someone who earns in excess of double that figure. Also, if Barwick thought his wings were being clipped, the role as Triesman sees it is unlikely to suit Gill. A more plausible candidate could be the FA's chief operating officer, Alex Horne, the former boss of Wembley, who had already been handed many of Barwick's responsibilities.

'We are killing Gerrard by playing him left midfield'

2008-08-21T00:43:00.000-07:00

Fabio Capello insisted he was pleased with aspects of England's display in last night's draw with the Czechs and sought to justify his selection of Steven Gerrard in an unfamiliar role despite claims, notably by the Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp, that this was one of the worst performances by England in recent memory.

The final whistle prompted boos from sections from the home support, despite England having equalised in stoppage time, with Redknapp using his platform as a TV pundit to declare that their second-half performance was "diabolical". He was left bemused by Gerrard's deployment on the left: "We have one of the finest midfielders in the world in Steven Gerrard. He plays for Liverpool and is like Roy of the Rovers, a colossus. But he's not a left midfielder. He has to be in the centre. We are killing Gerrard."

Capello insisted: "He was not playing on the left, I'm sorry. We played 4-3-2-1. We played [Jermain] Defoe, Gerrard and [Wayne] Rooney and three midfielders behind them. The position he had to play was between the line of the backs and the midfielders. Mr Redknapp has to say something but he didn't play on the left. Sorry. With his movement - he went on the left and to the middle - he moved but he never played on the left.

"I'm happy for the draw because the reaction to the team to the last minute was good, was important. And I think, also, that the first half we played with good football, good style and created a lot of chances to score goals. And the team played together with different style. There was only one thing I didn't like, in the first half: sometimes, when the Czechs had counter-attacks, we suffered. That was the problem. We have to prepare something to combat that problem."

Asked whether he thought this performance suggested England were ready for next month's opening World Cup qualifiers and the game against Croatia in Zagreb, he added: "I think tonight we took another step. I'm happy. I saw a lot of things which I had doubts on, and the players' fitness levels are still not at their best but I think we'll be ready for both the games next month."

His newly appointed captain, John Terry, appeared less convinced. This was the latest sloppy performance from players who excel in the Champions League and Premiership yet flounder on the international stage. "It has been a problem for the past four or five years and it's something we need to address as quickly as possible," said Terry. "I don't know what it is and, as a group, we are trying to put our fingers on it."

Yet those present who made their displeasure known at the final whistle might agree more with Redknapp's assessment. The Portsmouth manager drew support from Terry Venables, now a pundit on TV. "If we were experimenting a bit it would worry me less but that seems to be his team," said the former England coach. "I only thought set-pieces would win us the game."

"That was one of the worst performances I have seen from an England team," added Redknapp. "The second half was diabolical. Some of the players are unrecognisable from those who play in the Premier League. I was full of optimism before the game, but then I saw the teamsheet.

"We keep chopping and changing the manager but the performances don't change and we don't improve. We change the manager, but pick the same players. We keep picking them and they are the best players, but they come here and play for England and don't perform."

West Ham accept Ferdinand bid

2008-08-19T02:01:00.000-07:00

West Ham United yesterday confirmed they have accepted an £8m bid from Sunderland for Anton Ferdinand but Roy Keane knows that persuading the central defender to move to Wearside may prove difficult.

Earlier this summer Newcastle were told West Ham would sell them the 23-year-old, who has declined an offer to extend his current contract at Upton Park. However, that green light was swiftly followed by an emphatic refusal on the part of Ferdinand to even consider relocating to Tyneside.

At that time, though, Aston Villa remained interested in him and, with Martin O'Neill having since looked elsewhere, Ferdinand's options are narrowing and he could be effectively forced to listen to what Keane has to say.

Sunderland's manager - who is able to offer transfer targets extremely lucrative salaries - has turned his attentions to Ferdinand after Sir Alex Ferguson's refusal to sell or loan him Jonny Evans from Manchester United and Younes Kaboul's decision to leave Tottenham Hotspur for Portsmouth rather than Wearside.

Keane also remains in the hunt for a left-back and a centre-forward. On Friday, he had a £9m bid for the striker Benni McCarthy turned down by Blackburn Rovers but may return with an improved offer.

Newcastle United remain in pursuit of Blackburn's left-back, Stephen Warnock, and are also hoping to sign Javier Saviola from Real Madrid on a season-long loan.

The club's recruitment team of Dennis Wise, Tony Jimenez and Jeff Vetere have spent more than a week endeavouring to finalise a deal for the Argentina striker. Wise and company are also hoping to persuade Real Mallorca to sell them another Argentinian forward, Oscar Trejo.

Ronaldo may have to adapt to a drop in adulation

2008-08-19T01:56:00.000-07:00

There was a moment before Manchester United's opening Premier League game when, briefly, it seemed as though the club might take an extraordinary gamble and bring Cristiano Ronaldo on to the pitch. After all the usual sponsorship announcements and, United being United, the far-too-enthusiastic welcoming of corporate guests from Saudi Arabia, a table was set up, photographers gathered round and the stadium announcer launched into a player-of-the-season presentation with a difference.

It should come as no surprise that Ronaldo was a notable absentee, despite winning all three of the club's first-team awards. Daniel Welbeck received a silver plate for being the outstanding young performer, Richard Eckersley picked up the reserves award and in ordinary circumstances the winner of the player of the season, as well as the goal of the season and players' player of the season, would have been lapping up the applause. Yet a decision had been made that Ronaldo should sit this one out.

It is unclear who made it, or whether Ronaldo had any say about the matter, but the better-safe-than-sorry policy was understandable judging by the observation in one of the fans' publications, that the player's summer dalliance with Real Madrid had left him "totally alienated from any sensibly minded United fan".

If the fanzines are an accurate representation then it is fair to say Ronaldo is being viewed in a much different light and that, to some, the damage might be irreversible. Red News's editorial describes the man who scored 42 goals last season as "a 23-year-old prima donna". Red Issue's columnists are more acerbic, one branding him a "conniving little shit", another describing the player's pledge to remain as "meticulously devised, all-round face-saving PR guff masquerading as an interview . . . it's easy to be honest and remorseful after you fail to get away with something. Not trying it on in the first place is the difficult, and praiseworthy, bit."

Football fans are notoriously fickle, of course, and when Ronaldo recovers from his ankle injury - his first game is pencilled in at Blackburn Rovers on October 4 - his goals will be cheered much the same as usual. Or certainly it will look that way to non supporters. Other evidence suggests Ronaldo may have to grow accustomed to the idea of not being afforded the adulation he once received. For starters Viva Ronaldo, the anthem of last season, has been adapted to Viva John Terry so that it no longer pays homage to United's No7 but mocks the Chelsea captain for his penalty miss in the European Cup final. When the Ronaldo version was aired in a pub before Sunday's 1-1 draw with Newcastle, it was drowned out with boos and other songs.

What cannot be disputed is that the team are missing Ronaldo at a time when injuries, Nani's suspension, Anderson's Olympics duty, Carlos Tevez's compassionate leave and the Dimitar Berbatov saga have left Ferguson with depleted resources. Ronaldo does not browse the messageboards or subscribe to fanzines but he might have noted there was not the usual rush of autograph hunters when he took his seat. Most simply stared.

Yesterday a member of staff in the Megastore confirmed that there had been a sharp drop in the numbers wanting Ronaldo on the back of their shirts, the most popular name now being Rooney. As Red Issue sums it up: "He [Ronaldo] may be young enough to be forgiven but he's old enough to have known better."

England will not win anything until top players stop buckling under pressure, says Cole

2008-08-19T01:54:00.000-07:00

The convening of Fabio Capello's England squad, with the first competitive matches of the Italian's reign a little over two weeks away, drew an admission from Joe Cole last night that players who have excelled in the Premier League and even conquered the European Cup have been guilty of buckling under the pressure when asked to represent their country.

The national team confront the Czech Republic at Wembley tomorrow in their final friendly before the qualification campaign for the 2010 World Cup finals begins against Andorra and Croatia next month. It is 14 years since England last failed to reach Fifa's showpiece tournament yet, having imploded in qualification for the summer's European Championship, frustration abounds that a group of footballers once nicknamed the "Golden Generation" have struggled to reproduce the consistency and confidence of their club form so often at the higher level.

While English players have regularly endured accusations that they lack the technical skills of their counterparts abroad, Cole acknowledged yesterday that their greatest challenge is hurdling a "psychological barrier" which has prompted under-achievement. "The main thing for England is that you need players who can play under pressure, who can do it under the spotlight, because you know there's a lot of criticism waiting out there from the public if you fail," said Cole who trained at London Colney yesterday, with only Jonathan Woodgate absent from the session. "You've got to deal with that. That's the hardest obstacle we've got to get over as a team - to learn to play under that intense pressure.

"Maybe some players do it better than others. That's just how it is. England must get over that psychological barrier. Sure, there'll be games when we don't play well, but you need to feel that - even when things aren't going to plan -you're going to win the game. It's something we need to improve on. I wouldn't say that any one player lacks confidence or belief when he puts on an England shirt, but I just think that, while you can improve your technical and fitness stuff, we need to improve our mentality as a team.

"We're trying to do it. We're not burying our heads in the sand. We're going out there and trying to play, getting the ball down and trying to build. We need to stay cool and calm and keep going forward. It's pigeon steps, going forward a little bit every time. The World Cup isn't for another couple of years, so we don't want to be peaking too early. We just want little bits of improvement every time and, by the time we get there, hopefully we'll be in a better position than we are in now: technically, physically and mentally."

Cole's admission that confidence is a problem in the national team comes as eight of the squad are assembled at the team's regular Hertfordshire hotel base representing Manchester United and Chelsea, powerhouses in the Premier League and last season's Champions League finalists. The party also contains another two European Cup winners in Steven Gerrard and David Beckham. Yet, despite reaching the quarter-finals of the 2002 World Cup, 2004 European Championship and 2006 World Cup, England's best players have rarely played with the fluidity or belief that have become trademarks of their club form. Indeed, many have been unrecognisable when wearing national colours.

The new Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, who has eliminated the national team in each of the last three tournaments in which England have competed, has already suggested that English players suffer "mental problems" at crunch times in key games. That has manifested itself most notably in penalty shoot-outs, but Capello himself admitted last month that his biggest challenge was boasting confidence within his squad. "I have to get individuals to play for England like they do for their clubs," he said. "There has been a lack of confidence among players and it's my job to rebuild that. There's a lot of pressure when playing for your country and this has perhaps weighed down too heavily on some players. We need to free them of that so they can play naturally, without fear."

"For me personally, playing for Chelsea and playing for England are two completely different things," added Cole, who earned his 50th cap in May. "International football is different. If you're asking me how I think we can get better, it's about...learning to play under pressure. It's a process and, as a group, it's something we need to improve on. We need to go out there and play freely. Results help that. There's no science to it but we are moving in the right direction."

Wenger calls for Ade support

2008-08-19T01:49:00.000-07:00

Arsene Wenger has urged the Arsenal faithful to get behind star striker Emmanuel Adebayor.

The Togolese hit-man ended speculation surrounding his future by signing a new contract at Emirates Stadium on Monday.
He had been strongly linked with a summer move away from North London, with Barcelona and AC Milan expressing an interest in his services.
His supposed demands for a substantial pay rise at the Gunners did little to endear him to the clubs supporters, and he received a mixed reaction during the club's opening game of the new season against West Brom on Saturday.
There are obviously some people unwilling to forgive to forget, but Wenger has called on everyone connected with the club to pull together ahead of a gruelling campaign.

Positive

He said: "We have to get behind him and support him because he is a tremendous force and (is of) tremendous importance for the team - you want your own fans to be behind him.
"What happened in the transfer period did not always reflect his deep desire and there was manipulation from agents on both sides, but overall I am positive he will recover."
Wenger added: "Every player needs to feel wanted.
"I think he is settled in his own mind. He has given a lot in the first two games."

Promising

Wenger's policy of attracting young talent to the Emirates Stadium showed no sign of abating over the summer, with Aaron Ramsey and Samir Nasri arriving from Cardiff and Marseille respectively.
Concerns have been expressed in the past as to whether a side packed with promise can mount a sustained title challenge, but the Arsenal boss is insistent he has the players at his disposal to be successful this term.
He added: "We are a young side and some more promising youngsters have come through for this season, but they have all got the quality which you need to have if you play for Arsenal.
"If you play at this club you must be ready to play at the very highest level."

FootbaLL LoVeRs

Avram Grant To Jose Mourinho: My Chelsea Were Better

David Beckham Urges Kaka To Stay At Milan

Real Madrid Offer Milan Late Bid For Kaka - Report

Scholes wants to win everything

Mourinho plans Premiership return

Scolari urges Chelsea to give him more cash

Why have Arsenal failed to live up to their expectations?

Benitez and Torres close to Liverpool returns

Sacchi Loses Faith In Milan's Scudetto Bid

Girlfriend Demands Four Ducklings From Pato

Xabi Strike Smashes Chelsea's Unbeaten Run

Chelsea launch £16m legal fight over John Mikel Obi transfer deal

Credit bunch: Top 20 European summer transfers - does your club's big buy feature?

Hleb: Signing Cesc would be absolutely Fab for Barcelona

Roman Abramovich loses £12billion in Russian share plunge

Chelsea open legal proceedings against Lyn and Andersen over Mikel transfer

Alonso too slow for Juventus

Manchester City rumours

Van Nistelrooy still expects Ronaldo to join Madrid

Bentley: We Must Stop The Jokes

Venables turns down Newcastle role

Kaka, Robinho in, Ronaldinho out as Brazil squad named

Great Dane Tips Gerrard For Derby Glory

Sheffield United confirm victory over West Ham in Tevez case

Chelsea gamble on 'player with three lungs' to fill Essien void

Van Der Sar's Draws On Positives

Wenger and Kolo wanted me to join Arsenal – Barcelona ace

Big Brother Milan Spy Players In Training

Kalou prepared to leave Chelsea

Gerrard Talks Up New Team Spirit

We Are Title Contenders - Gerrard

Mourinho told West Ham to poach Clarke from Chelsea

Why Chelsea will win the Premier League

FIFA boss expects successful World Cup in South Africa

Ronaldo confident of more personal awards this season

Chelsea Chase ‘The New Theo Walcott’

Super-sub Babel ends Liverpool´s Man Utd misery

Liverpool vs Manchester United

Fabio Capello The Greatest England Manager Since Steve McClaren

Schalke fight fire with Fährmann

Scolari: Robinho worth huge price tag

Gerrard And Torres Fit To Play

Figo Inspires Me, Inter For The CL - Quaresma

Scolari Claims He Turned Down City

Podolski Closer To Exit Door

City set to be thwarted as Kaká pledges future to Milan

West Ham trim their shortlist down to Zola

Chasing Mutu Was A Waste Of Time - Conti

Kaká could join the City revolution

Torres: I Would Never Follow Robinho

England driven by unfinished business, says captain Terry

Mourinho's TV Fury

Cesc: I Must Become More Complete

Solskjaer Delighted With Berba Capture

Spalletti: Good Luck Chelsea! Scolari: Arrivederci Roma!

Silva Could Go Under The Knife

Guardiola To Adopt Italian Method

Cesc Says No To City

United 'relaxed' over Manchester City's Dimitar Berbatov bid

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Manchester City plan £135m bid for Cristiano Ronaldo

Scolari's Robinho Rage

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Pavlyuchenko signs for Spurs

Bayern finally secure victory

Milan make losing start

We Must Learn From Our Errors - Robben

Torres to sit out United with pulled hamstring

Champions League draw

Ronaldo recognised as Europe's finest

Chelsea warned of Roma threat

Arsene Can Spend £30m - Fiszman

Lampard Excited By Robinho Signing

Cup-tied Pavlyuchenko to finalise Spurs move