All posts by h79snht.top

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.

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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.

The Daily Mail has reported that “the hardest man in all the town” could be set to leave Old Trafford in the Summer.

The rather succinct post on the Mail’s website notes:

Wes Brown is considering leaving Manchester United. The 31-year-old fell out with manager Sir Alex Ferguson last summer and believes he has a better chance of getting a long-term deal at another club.

I haven’t shortened that in the interests of brevity, that’s literally the post in its entirety, no mention of sources, or quotes simply two and a bit lines letting us all know how a player who’s been at the club since his childhood, is now on his way out of the door- because the Mail say so.

Call me a cynic but I’ve heard these ‘falling out with Fergie’ rumours ever since the Summer and I’ve struggle to believe them. For starters in Wes Brown has fallen foul of Fergie why was he made captain for the Crawley Town game?

Why has he figured albeit on and off all season? Why did he quit international football to concentrate on a club career if he knew it was doomed?

I’m sorry but the whole article- if you can call it that- smacks of lazy journalism- let’s just think of a fairly plausible story and publish it.

Brown may well leave in the Summer- after all only six league appearances all season mean he’s hardly a regular, but I for one hope he decides to stay.

Wes – and I feel more comfortable calling him that as he seems like such a down to earth bloke- is United through and through. Fergie may look at the defensive injury crisis of the past two seasons and realise that United cannot afford to start letting experienced defenders who can play either centre or full back leave.

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He may not have had the best of seasons but he’s still a top class defender on his day and his popularity with the fans is well justified.

The saddest thing about the Mail’s article is the amount of so-called United ‘fans’ commenting on it slagging him off.

Read more Manchester United articles at the excellent Red Flag Flying High

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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.”

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

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Saudi Arabia have sacked coach Nasser Al-Johar for failing to rescue the proud nation’s Asian Cup campaign in Qatar.Al-Johar lasted just eight days at the helm of the Green Falcons after replacing Jose Peseiro, who was given his marching orders following a first-up 2-1 loss to Group B rivals Syria.

But they fared no better under Al-Johar, going down 1-0 to Jordan before a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Japan sealed Saudi Arabia’s exit in the group stages.

It was a humiliating early departure for the Green Falcons, who were runners-up in 2007 and considered one of the favourites to challenge for the title this time around.

Instead, Saudi Arabia failed to make the knockout stages of the Asian Cup for only the second time in the history of the tournament.

Team manager Fahd Al-Misaibeeh and his entire staff have also reportedly resigned, according to Saudi state news agency SPA.

“The Saudi Soccer Federation has accepted the resignation of Fahd Al-Misaibeeh, manager of the Saudi national team, and his crew, and relieved Nasser Al-Johar of his post as the current team’s coach,” read a statement from Prince Nawaf Bin Faisal, president of the Saudi Football Federation (SFF).

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“We vow to immediately replace them by a highly-qualified international crew and domestic aides.”

Prince Newaf was promoted to head of the SFF to replace Prince Sultan Bin Fahd, who was removed by King Abdullah following the loss to Jordan.

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

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It is 9 wins out of 10 for Tottenham Hotspur as the North Londoners close in at the top of the Premier League table. It could well be time for Harry Redknapp’s side to start believing in themselves that they can challenge for more than a top four finish.

At FFC this week there has been various Tottenham blogs that include the Postiga mystery; what next for Modric, while Levy’s masterstroke bodes well for Spurs.

There is also a selection of the best blogs from around the web:

Levy’s masterstroke bodes well for Tottenham

Harry provides Tottenham with the missing ingredients?

Simply a marriage of convenience at Tottenham?

The Helder Postiga Mystery

The limit of Tottenham’s potential?

What next for Luka Modric?

Tottenham deliver as Levy finds the financial balance

Tottenham on £9m alert as owners look for January sale

Roma look to tempt Tottenham with swap

Harry provides Tottenham with the missing ingredients?

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Best of WEB

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Best. Spurs side. Ever. (well, since the 1980s) – Dear Mr Levy

Dear Roman … Condolences . Cheerfully Luka. – Spurs Musings From Jimmy G2

Aunty’s Got Her Bloomers In A Twist – Harry Hotspur

End Of An Era – Tottenham On My Mind

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Click on Ms Blasi below to see her in all her glory

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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.

The approaching summer may seem all too familiar for Arsenal fans as another key player’s contract will likely take the headlines and not for the right reasons. But Arsenal’s stunning fight back on the weekend against Aston Villa may have brought to light something to give fans a little bit of hope: the fight back was spearheaded by Robin van Persie and his half-time team talk.

There is something a little different to the way Robin van Persie has taken to the captaincy at Arsenal over previous captains. There is a necessary responsibility off the pitch as well as on it, and luckily for the Gunners they have a captain who has developed extraordinarily well as both a player and a man. More than even Thierry Henry, van Persie can feel like this is his club. There is no running away from the position he has been given by Arsene Wenger and you have to feel that he is enjoying his new role as undisputed leader in the Arsenal dressing room.

As the player continues to insist on halting contract negotiations until the summer there should be little worry from fans. Perhaps its now in their nature to expect the worst whenever an issue such as this arises—and it seems to pop up with alarming regularity. But van Persie is not chasing a move away to his boyhood and hometown club, who coincidently and frustratingly for Arsenal happen to be the European champions, there is no evidence of the player wishing to test himself on another stage in order to capture the elusive Champions League trophy, and he certainly has no in-house hostilities from which to move away from.

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As like all fans of the club there is a desire from van Persie to see quality come into the first team. There’s a frustration from the player and that he simply can’t carry this team on his own as he has done for the whole of 2011. His desire, I firmly believe, is not for the astronomical wages that could be on offer at other clubs in the Premier League and abroad, but rather to win with the club he has built his family around. More over, maybe there is also a feeling that the player needs to and should repay the club for standing by him during his lengthy spells on the treatment table in the past; a romantic idea that may not have a place in modern football but which has been expressed by team-mate Thomas Vermaelen who extended his contract earlier in the season.

Despite the lack of trophies there is something a little more Tony Adams and Dennis Bergkamp about van Persie than Patrick Vieira or Cesc Fabregas. There was never a feeling that Arsenal was just a chapter of van Persie’s career, but instead that he will be at the club past his thirties and firmly establish himself alongside the icons of the club’s past. Equalling Dennis Bergkamp’s scoring record on the weekend was another small step towards that, and I feel there will be more memories for the Dutchman to create at the Emirates.

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We’ve heard time and again of the loyalty towards the club and a desire to stay in London from the player; making sure his family is happy and comfortable will be paramount in his final decision at the end of the season. But as the article points out, there is a sense of duty from van Persie to lead the club beyond this season. A desire to wait until the end of the season and see how the club takes shape is by no means a bad thing, as many fans will do the same upon deciding whether to renew their season tickets. The club’s previous misfortune in this department should not act as the precursor to what will happen with van Persie, instead a greater sense of perspective should be taken for a player who is more fitted for the club’s armband than most of his recent predecessors.