Sepp Blatter has caused a storm with comments made about the way players should deal with racial abuse. Rio Ferdinand and Gordon Taylor have led the way in condemning the FIFA president with the latter calling on him to resign from his post.
Elsewhere in the news Fernando Torres concedes he is indebted to the Chelsea fans; Suarez is charged with racism rap; while Paladini leaves his post at QPR.
NEWS
Sepp Blatter defends handshake comments
Torres in debt to Chelsea fans
Villa star Bannan charged with drink driving
Johnson signs new Manchester City deal
Suarez charged with racism rap
Spurs to de-list from stock market
Paladini leaves QPR
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TRANSFER NEWS
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Liverpool plot January move for Lyon defender – Mirror
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Chelsea to re-open negotiations with Porto’s Pereira after failed summer bid – Daily Mail
Krasic’s ‘Premier League desire alerts Chelsea and Manchester United’ – Metro
Russians plan £15million Berbatov swoop – Mirror
Sao Paulo warn United and Liverpool told Lucas offer must be ‘irresistible’ – Daily Mail
Arsenal have confirmed that the fans who travelled to see their team get beaten 8-2 by Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday will be given free tickets to a future away Premier League match.
The Gunners were outplayed and embarrassed by the English champions in a one-sided affair, resulting in the worst result for the club since 1896.
The London club have praised the supporters who had to endure the defeat, and promised to compensate their financial expense.
“Sunday’s result was obviously disappointing for everyone connected with the club. Our travelling fans were magnificent throughout and we want to recognise their fantastic support. We will be writing to them shortly with the details,” a club statement reads.
Manager Arsene Wenger is under pressure after back-to-back league losses and the departures of Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas, and has apologised to the fans after the result.
“The fans do not want to see their team like that. We can only apologise and come back in our strength and desire in the next game,” he stated.
“Big scores are humiliating and difficult to swallow but I don’t think they have a special meaning. They are always under special circumstances.”
The Emirates outfit were without a number of key players such as Jack Wilshere and Thomas Vermaelen, but captain Robin van Persie thinks this is no excuse.
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“It is an honest result if you look at the game. We were simply not good enough. We have to deal with that. I don’t think we can hide behind injuries or suspensions. It is no excuse. They had injuries too, this is football,” the Netherlands international admitted.
Arsenal’s next game is against Swansea at the Emirates on September 10th.
Wesley Sneijder has admitted he could leave Inter Milan for the right offer reports the Mirror.
The admission will fuel speculation that a move to long time suitors Manchester United is imminent.
Valued at £35 million the Dutch midfielder finally spoke up on the controversy that has surrounded his future at the San Siro all summer.
With the Serie A side club suffering a cash crisis the midfielder admits that they could sell him for financial reasons.
Sneijder said: “All I know is that Inter need money and that I’m for sale if the right offer comes in.
“I have five days off after the international friendly against England on Wednesday. I expect clarity on my future by then.
“I can be very brief about the interest from Manchester United and City: I haven’t spoken with either of those two clubs, so I can’t really say much about my future at the moment.” He added
Speculation at the weekend saw him linked with a move to the Blue side of Manchester only for this to be quickly dismissed.
It seems United is the only option for Sneijder who is wanted by manager Sir Alex Ferguson as a replacement for Paul Scholes.
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A move to Old Trafford now looks to be on the card although his £200,000-a-week wages could delay the deal as it is out of the clubs pay structure.
Every summer, there are a couple of teams that fly out of the traps, act incredibly decisively and get all their business done and dusted well in advance of the coming season. This year it’s Manchester United, sitting smugly at the front, camped out in front of the forthcoming season 2 weeks early. They identified their targets, wrapped up the deals and went off on a fantastic bonding trip across America. Everbody is happy, Ferguson’s spent and aren’t United just great.
Every summer there are also a couple of teams that insist on leaving everything to the last possible minute, resulting in two people who’ve never met each other before taking centre together 3 weeks into the season. This year a number of clubs are heading steadily and knowingly towards this goal of gradual unpreparedness.
It’s immensely frustrating watching other football clubs doing business while your club waits, twiddling its thumbs, scratching its bum. As time ticks on, it feels like they’re already edging away from you up the table.
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There are several advantages to getting your buying done and your players in as soon as possible. First of all, it gives a manager far more time to work with his new signings and help them adjust to the new style of play, new training, new colleagues and so on. A month of intensive training is a huge advantage. Pre-season is the time to work out a player’s role in the team, to experiment with him, this should not be done during the season. Similarly it allows the players to get fit and the coaches to assess their fitness, you don’t want a player turning up at the start of season way off the pace, carrying timber. It can also have an added psychological benefit. Ferguson has stated that United don’t need anyone else. The new players are settling in. He is sending out a message, United are setting the pace and everybody else is playing catch up.
So why don’t all clubs attempt to work a little quicker? Why are Tottenham still playing all their pre-season friendlies with a number of players they intend to sell for example? Money is the simplest reason, the necessity to sell players before you can buy means clubs are forced to hold on until the dying moments of the transfer window. This undoubtedly has a negative impact on the start of a campaign. The last minute signings of Dimitar Berbatov from Spurs and Joleon Lescott from Everton highlight the de-stabilising effect this can have on a team.
The clubs that have conducted their business swiftly this season are the cash rich ones. Sunderland, Newcastle, Liverpool and Manchester United have been particularly busy. They have done well to make the most of this position, waiting until the last minute puts your team at a huge disadvantage before the season even begins.
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Disagree or just enjoy last minute panic buying? Let me know: http://twitter.com/#!/philipwroe
Aston Villa have suffered a defensive injury blow, as it has been revealed that Richard Dunne has a fractured collarbone and will be sidelined for up to eight weeks.
The Irish centre back was replaced late in the 1-0 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday, and will now undergo an operation on his right clavicle.
Ciaran Clark has also picked up a knee injury, and Villa Park boss Alex McLeish has wished the duo a speedy recovery.
“We’re gutted to be losing the big man,” the Scottish coach told the club’s official website.
“He was trying to get us back in the game when he made a tremendous leap but, unfortunately, he landed badly on his shoulder and fractured the collarbone.
“He is a stalwart defender and has been that for the past dozen years or so in the Barclays Premier League.
“It’s not good for us to be without such a top player and a defender of his massive experience.
“We wish Richard a speedy recovery and Ciaran, too, from his knee injury. We will look now for someone else to step up to the mark,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the Midlands club will be glad to hear that Chris Herd has recovered from an ankle ligament injury that has seen him on the sidelines since December.
The Australian is hoping to be available for selection for Villa’s game against Wigan on February 25th, and spoke of his delight at returning to fitness.
“I’m relieved to be back fit and training with the team,” Herd said.
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“I’ll be training as hard as I can over the next few weeks to try and work my back into the side.
“It’s been really frustrating but I’m glad to be back and I still plenty more games to look forward to this season,” he concluded.
In recent seasons, it seems that any, remotely talented or promising young player is instantly tagged as the ‘new Maradona’ or ‘new Pele .’
Some of these comparisons make perfect sense, such as Anderlecht’s 17 year old star striker Romelu Lukaku being dubbed the ‘new Drogba.’ Lukaku’s playing style is identical to Drogba’s; using strength and pace to charge through defences. He has also publicly stated that he ‘idolises’ Drogba and it seems he has based his entire game around him.
However, some comparisons are becoming just ridiculous. There has now been so many ‘new Maradona’s’ that the list even has its own Wikipedia page dedicated to it. Some players on the list, such as Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero have indeed turned out to be great players. However, others such as Franco Di Santo, who currently plays at Wigan Athletic have not lived up to their promise. It cannot be easy for a young teenager, to be suddenly compared to one of the greatest players ever and if they feel they are expected to perform to that standard and achieve the same success as Maradona, it is not surprising that their performance may suffer.
It seems nowadays, that players can no longer create their own name and identity in the football world. They are now instantly compared to another and should they not manage to achieve the same success as their predecessor, the youngster is regarded as a failure. In the case of Di Santo, many people, including myself, view him as a flop, someone who didn’t play to their potential and is destined for a career scoring the odd goal in a bottom half team.
Whereas if he was never labelled as the next Maradona and didn’t feel that he had such giant boots to fill, we, as fans and spectators would think that a young South American has done well for himself by making it to the Premier League and more importantly, he may feel he is doing well in his career as opposed to feeling that he is underperforming.
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However, ‘new Maradonas’ aside, I recently saw the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen whilst reading an article on the Telegraph website. According to the article, Blackburn Rovers boss, Steve Kean has labelled young centre half Myles Anderson , who recently joined from Aberdeen as ‘the new Chris Smalling .’ Now to me, this seems stupid on so many levels. For a start, Smalling himself has only just started his career, how can there be a ‘new Chris Smalling ,’ when the original still plays for England under-21’s? He also has no distinctive features regarding his appearance or playing style, therefore I struggle to see why the young United defender was chosen, seemingly at random to be used in comparison to another youngster. What’s more, Smalling himself has been labelled ‘the next Rio Ferdinand ,’ by his United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
So could this mean there are just chains of players, each labelled as the ‘next’ version of the player before him? If so, will there eventually be up and coming youngsters labelled as ‘the new Robert Huth,’ or droves of talent wasted as they were pressured into becoming the ‘next Messi’ for example.
Lost seem the days when players were allowed to carve their own identity and style into the game, or burst onto the scene, unknown to the world’s major clubs as now. It would seem that should someone such as Aaron Lennon , who rose from unknown teenager from the lower leagues to possible England international during his debut season for Spurs, would not have had the same impact on the Premierships full backs had he been labelled ‘the next Walcott.’
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Sure, some comparisons such as Lukaku and Drogba make perfect sense and who doesn’t love to predict future talents but these have to be kept in check, or else we lose the element of surprise regarding future talents and the players themselves lose the opportunity to become an individual and a great in their own right.
Read more of Richard Baker’s articles at This is Futbol
An international survey, conducted by OnePoll for UEFA Champions League sponsor Heineken has shown that men around the world would be prepared to give up and miss out on a romantic date with a leading international supermodel in order to see their team win the UEFA Champions League Final.
The study found that one in two men (52%) around the world would consider passing up a date with the likes of Brazilian model Adriana Lima if it meant that they got the opportunity to see their beloved team lift the 2011 UEFA Champions League trophy in Wembley. In fact, without hesitation, 37% of these men would miss or definitely miss out on such a perfect evening.
However, the international beauties can take comfort in the knowledge that despite this snub, even more men would find an excuse to skip their friend’s all-important stag-party (62%) while an amazing 44% would actually hand over the ultimate honour of being the ‘best-man’ to someone else! It just goes to show how the tournament captures the imagination of men around the world and the lengths people would go to in order to see their favourite team triumph in Wembley and be crowned champions of Europe.
The research among 5,638 men of legal drinking age across 15 countries, also found that this year’s final may even strain a few relationships. 58% confirmed that they would be willing to skip a date with their wife or girlfriend, while 55% of men around the world would be prepared to get their relationship off to a rocky start and face the wrath of potential in-laws by attending the match rather than meeting their girlfriend’s parents for the very first time.
Men’s passion for football clearly impacts on other important events in their lives, in and outside of work. The top ten life events that men from around the world would be willing to miss to see their team win are as follows:
1. A friend’s stag-party (62%)
2. A date with a girlfriend/wife (58%)
3. Meeting a girlfriend’s parents for the first time (55%)
4. An important meeting with the boss (48%)
5. A mother’s birthday (46%)
6. Best – Man’s duties (44%)
7. Wedding anniversary (44%)
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8. Girlfriend’s birthday (44%)
9. University Graduation Ceremony (43%)
10. An important hospital appointment (43%)
While football is considered more important than almost anything else, at least three in five men would be honest and try to explain the reason why they have missed out on a special occasion in order to go to London’s spiritual football home. However, 75% men believe that they would expect their family and friends to understand why they chose to be at the final instead of with them.
So Manchester United defender Patrice Evra has told his French friend and teammate Samir Nasri to leave Arsenal and join him at Manchester United to win silverware. Not exactly words that will please Arsene Wenger or Arsenal and Sir Alex Ferguson may not be too happy about Evra interfering with transfer policy.
However Ferguson is long term admirer of Nasri and would clearly love to add the midfielder to his squad. But he is a key player at Arsenal and certainly not someone to sell to one of your Premier League title rivals.
Arsenal also has concerns about where the player’s future might be. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been trying to tie Nasri to a long-term deal for some time – but so far he has not signed and would therefore be available on a free transfer next summer. So Arsenal may have to face up to the reality of losing their star player on a free transfer to rivals to Manchester United.
Patrice Evra therefore decided he would do his bit for United and ensure Nasri doesn’t sign that contract – so United can get the player on the cheap. Evra said “Little prince, if you want to become king you know where you should go. Every year at Manchester United is a guarantee of a title. I have been here for five years and cannot keep count of the trophies I’ve won – 12? 13? 15?”
He is a clever man Evra because he must know how keen Nasri is to win trophies especially as the exodus continues at Arsenal. But Evra’s comments will not make Arsenal’s negotiations with Nasri any easier. So is Evra right to try and convince his countryman to join United or should he simply mind his own business?
The comments from Evra suggest that Nasri would be welcomed at Manchester United and you can certainly see why United would want the player – who has scored 10 Premier League goals this season, a pretty decent return for a midfielder. However, at the end of the day I am big believer that transfers should not be discussed through the media and talking about players at other clubs is somewhat disrespectful. So in this case Evra should have kept his mouth firmly shut.
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Imogen Thomas Joins Paddy Power For a Champion Offer! They will refund losing Champions League Final bets if Man United lose the match Make your bets now!
Schalke boss Ralf Rangnick sung the praises of his players after they qualified for the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.After winning the first-leg of their quarter-final 5-2 at Inter Milan, Raul’s goal on the stroke of half-time settled any nerves and virtually assured the Bundesliga outfit of progression.
And although Thiago Motta scored an equaliser five minutes into the second half, Schalke defended well and even grabbed a winner through Benedikt Hoewedes as they wrapped up a 7-3 aggregate victory.
It is the first time Schalke has progressed to the last four of Europe’s most prestigious club competition, and Rangnick was bursting with pride after their win over the defending champions.
“We’ve produced two great performances,” Rangnick said.
“If you only allow the Champions League winners a couple of chances, you know you have played well.”
“Each player worked hard for each other and that was the key to our success.”
The result sets up a semi-final meeting with EPL giants Manchester United, and defender Christoph Metzelder believes the side has huge potential to cause an upset, as shown in the two legs against Inter.
“We have seen in the two games just how much team this potential has, we really wanted to win this game out right,” Metzelder said.
While the Germans were delirious with the victory, which also saw legendary striker Raul join the fans for post-match songs and celebration, Inter boss Leonardo was shattered.
The former Milan player was ‘bitter’ about the result and insisted he believed that his side could overturn the three-goal deficit ahead of the second leg.
“There is bitterness and it is hard to digest,” Leonardo told Rai Sport.
“But I think the team spent plenty of effort in these last months in the Champions League and in Serie A.”
“We got into difficulty in the vital moments. I had dreamed of a comeback and we could have scored early or been more concrete in our play.”
“We could have done better in certain situations. I really believed in it for sure because we played well in the first half, but we did not have any chances to score the goals (we needed).”
Inter will now apply their focus to the Serie A campaign, with the club five points behind table-toppers and city rivals AC Milan, while Leonardo also said the Coppa Italia is another target for his side.
“We have to be good to focus now as we have the league and Coppa Italia to fight for,” he said. “There is still plenty of work to do.”
The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) have denied reports that national team coach Guus Hiddink is headed for Chelsea.On Monday, the BBC quoted a senior source at the TFF as saying the association is resigned to losing the 64-year-old Dutchman to Stamford Bridge, where a vacant managerial position is waiting following Carlo Ancelotti’s sacking.
The report sparked a fresh round of criticism in Turkey, with leading media outlets prematurely lambasting Hiddink for abandoning the national team ahead of the 2012 European Championships.
But a TFF spokesman has since rubbished the speculation of Hiddink’s departure, saying there would be no movement on the issue until TFF President Mahmut Ozgener returns from holiday.
“There is nothing official happening because both parties are away,” Turker Tozar said.
“Mr Hiddink is on holiday now and the president is on holiday for a week as well. Nothing can happen at the moment.”
Tozar also denied that a compensation deal had already been negotiated between the TFF and Chelsea, saying: “Mr Hiddink is still our manager and he has a contract until 2012.”
Hiddink had a temporary spell in charge at Stamford Bridge in 2009 after they sacked Luis Felipe Scolari, and he led the Blues to FA Cup glory that season.
However his commitment to coaching the Russian national team meant his tenure was only temporary.
He is known to have a strong relationship with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, who sacked Ancelotti despite the Blues finishing runners-up behind champions Manchester United in the English Premier League.