Nani: Thriller

August 26, 2008

“It” with jetlag, Nani’s likeness to a young Michael Jackson (I think that’s the joke, right?), a fantastic Berbatov appeal from The Boy (”it’s tragic like”), Fergie calling The Special One “pretty boy”) and the fearsome pedantry of Roy Keane. But easily the best thing about the new season of I’m on Setanta Sports: the mysterious footage of Fabio Capello taking notes.

And because YouTube moves fast, there’s already a video response to the Nani “Thriller” joke.

Source TheOffside

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Tags: English Premier League

No panic buys for Wenger

August 26, 2008

LONDON (AFP) – Arsene Wenger insists he won’t rush into the transfer market despite Arsenal’s spluttering start to the season.

Wenger was furious with his players after Saturday’s 1-0 loss at Fulham and was expected to respond by stepping up his attempt to sign a new midfielder.

The Gunners boss has been linked with Liverpool’s Xabi Alonso and Aston Villa’s Gareth Barry and the transfer window shuts on Monday, but he has no intention of losing faith in his squad.

“I believe we have a strong squad and I believe in the players I have instead of always looking at who might be coming in,” he said. “It is not one player who makes a difference.

“It is up to us as a team to show personality, strength and belief within the squad. That will make the difference.

“We just look at the right player and if we can get him, we get him. If we don’t, we don’t.

“If nothing is done, it will not limit our ambitions because of it.”

Arsenal lacked any urgency on Saturday but the expected return of Cesc Fabregas after a hamstring injury for Wednesday’s Champions League qualifier against FC Twente should provide a much-needed boost.

Wenger held a meeting with his players on Monday when he made it clear some players hadn’t given enough at Craven Cottage and he won’t tolerate a repeat performance.

“We have talked about everything needed to be successful in a team, and commitment is needed for any success, no matter how much quality you have,” Wenger said.

“We live in a world now where you have to accept the critics and a definite conclusion from everybody.

“But I know my squad is good, my team is good, our spirit is good.

“We are intelligent enough to know we did not play well on Saturday, but we know as well we have the needed quality to respond.

“We completely understand the critics because we were not good – but we promise we will come back and play well tomorrow, to put a good performance in.”

Although the Gunners hold a 2-0 lead from the first leg that should be enough to book their place in the lucrative group stage, Wenger warned his players not to underestimate Steve McClaren’s side.

“We have done the job well at Twente, but the job is not over,” he said. “We have to respect Twente and come into the game with a desire to win.

“It is not always easy to go into a match when you lead 2-0, but I want us to be positive and to win it.”

Wenger admitted he let Swiss centre-back Philippe Senderos join AC Milan because Mikael Silvestre’s arrival from Manchester United has given him enough defensive options.

The 23-year-old, who endured an erratic five-year spell with the Gunners, was due to undergo a medical with the Serie A club on Tuesday.

“Senderos has gone to Milan and will complete a medical,” Wenger said. “At the moment, he does not get the games here, and so now he can play somewhere and remains in a top-level club.

“We have Johan Djourou, we have Kolo Toure, we have Senderos, we have Alex Song, William Gallas and Mikael Silvestre now who can play centre-back so we have a congestion there. We want him to play without losing him.

“It has not been decided yet whether the transfer will be permanent.”

Writtend By :AFP

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Ferguson ready for Super Cup revenge

August 26, 2008

MANCHESTER (AFP) – Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will be motivated by revenge in Friday’s Super Cup showdown against Zenit St Petersburg.

Ferguson is still bitter about Lazio’s post-match celebrations when the Italian club beat United in their last Super Cup appearance in 1999 and has no intention of suffering a repeat in Monaco.

“I want to win. I remember the last time we went there I only played half a team because we had a Monday league game against Newcastle,” Ferguson said.

“When I saw Lazio celebrating at the end, it was like they had won the World Cup. I was not too pleased. I thought: ‘That will not happen again’.”

Ferguson has pledged to send out a strong team against UEFA Cup holders Zenit, with England duo Gary Neville and Owen Hargreaves set to feature after injury.

Writtend By :AFP

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Tags: English Premier League, UEFA Champions League

Euro defeat won´t affect transfer plans, says Benitez

August 26, 2008

LIVERPOOL (AFP) – Rafa Benitez insists his spending plans will not be affected should Liverpool crash out of the Champions League in Wednesday’s qualifying tie against Standard Liege.

Benitez’s side go into the second leg on level terms after narrowly escaping with a goalless draw in Belgium two weeks ago.

Only a penalty save by Reds keeper Jose Reina prevented the Anfield team from slumping to a demoralising defeat that would have cast serious doubts over their ability to progress to the lucrative group stages of the competition.

Failure to qualify would cost the club up to 20 million pounds (25 million euros) in lost revenue – and that would come as a body-blow at a time when Benitez is trying to finalise deals for his remaining transfer targets before the September 1 deadline.

Aston Villa’s Gareth Barry remains a target despite his 18 million pounds (22.5 million euros) price-tag while Espanyol have quoted a 16 million pounds fee for winger Albert Riera.

But while the Liverpool manager is refusing to contemplate defeat, he is adamant that even if the Reds did suffer a shock reverse it would not force him to scrap his transfer targets.

“I don’t think, at least for me, that it will make any difference. We know the money is really important but now we are so close to the end of the transfer window it won’t make a massive difference,” he said.

“So the key for me will be to do the right things in the game and have enough confidence so that we aren’t talking about if we have money or not.”

Question marks still remain over the Liverpool futures of Arsenal target Xabi Alonso, defender Sami Hyypia and winger Jermaine Pennant, who has been linked with a move to Blackburn.

But the manager refused to expand on the player’s futures on the eve of the European clash, preferring instead to focus on his team’s recent failings.

Benitez’s side have stuttered through their opening two league games against Sunderland and Middlesbrough yet still managed to claim two crucial victories.

The manager admits that with a number of new players in his squad, his side is still struggling to gel.

But he claims he saw enough signs in the 2-1 weekend victory over Boro to suggest that his new-look strike-force of Robbie Keane and Fernando Torres is starting to click.

“The team wasn’t good enough around them but I think both players were linking well and the understanding is improving,” the manager said. “I think they will get better.

“We know we have enough quality and good players to win this game.

“I’ve seen a lot of areas we need to improve in over the last three games. We have been analysing the games and the reasons why and we need to get back to our form in the pre-season games when we were scoring lots of goals.”

Skipper Steven Gerrard will start against the Belgians after showing no reaction to a groin problem, but midfielders Javier Mascherano and Lucas Leiva are unavailable after recently returning from Olympics duty with Argentina and Brazil respectively.

Writtend By :AFP

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Tags: English Premier League, UEFA Champions League

Real Madrid bid for Villareal´s Cazorla: report

August 26, 2008

MADRID (AFP) – Spanish side Villarreal have received an offer from Real Madrid for their attacking midfielder Santi Cazorla, who helped lead Spain to victory at Euro 2008, according to reports here on Tuesday.

The Spanish champions are willing to pay the 23-year-old player’s buyout clause of 16 million euros (23.6 million dollars), sports daily Marca reported.

“If Madrid came in and paid my buyout clause fee then that would be a great moment for me,” the newspaper quoted the player as telling reporters.

“When Real Madrid are interested in you it is very difficult to take in. They are the best team in Spain and the truth is that it would be very difficult to say no to. I am still in a state of shock,” he added.

Real have offered over 45 million euros for Valencia striker David Villa, the top scorer at Euro 2008, Spanish media reported Monday.

Valencia have so far rejected the offer but a meeting between officials from both clubs and the player’s agent has been scheduled for Tuesday, AS reported.

Real’s German coach Bernd Schuster has insistently demanded that the club recruit a striker if Robinho leaves the club as appears increasingly likely.

The club failed to recruit Manchester United’s Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo and have so far not been very active in the transfer period which ends at the end of the month.

Writtend By :AFP

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Tags: Primera Division

I want three more players, says Paul Ince

August 26, 2008

Blackburn Rovers boss Paul Ince has said that he wants to buy three more players to bolster his squad before the transfer window ends next Monday.

Rumours have it that Ince has made a bid of ₤3.5 million for Manchester City’s midfielder Stephen Ireland as well as Liverpool’s Jermaine Pennant and MK Dons skipper Keith Andrews.

However Ince is playing his cards as close to his chest as possible and will not be drawn into any discussion about his targets.

It is reported that the club does have the funds to make a number of offers within the next few days.

Written by: Dave Cohen

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Tags: English Championship

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How Spurs Got it All Wrong With Dimitar Berbatov

August 26, 2008

Think it’s safe to say that the Dimitar Berbatov situation has gone from “annoying” to “ridiculous”, with Spurs threatening to let the player rot in the reserves unless Man Utd meet their £30 million valuation. So basically, Dimitar Berbatov would be the new Winston Bogarde. Not good. And not very realistic either.

Spurs have come so close to playing this thing right, but have gotten it so very wrong. The blueprint for not selling a player has been laid out clearly by Martin O’Neill with the Gareth Barry saga. You put a massive transfer fee on the players head and you say “this how much we want and not a penny less.”

Then either the buying club pays the massive fee, or they don’t. If they do, then you get an obscene amount of money. If they don’t, then the club clearly don’t want the player that badly and you get to keep him.

But that whole approach goes out the window if you start treating the player like he has a contagious disease.
First Ramos left Berbatov on the bench for Spurs’ opening game against Middlesbrough. They lost. Then Ramos left Berbatov out of the squad entirely for the game against Sunderland. They lost. Now Spurs are threatening to let him rot in the reserves, in which case everybody loses.

Now Spurs have gone nuclear by ostracizing the striker completely there’s a good chance they’ll have to accept a reduced bid from Old Trafford. Maybe around £25 million or so. Tottenham have essentially forced their own hand because now Berbatov is useless to them as a footballer.

Had Spurs played Berbatov from the start of the season, things wouldn’t be so bad. The Bulgarian would be an unsettled Spurs player who Man Utd wanted to buy instead of what he is now: a player who’s already finished at Spurs who Man Utd want to buy. Clearly the former is going to cost more than the latter.

Source TheOffside
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Bellamy not for sale, insist West Ham

August 26, 2008

LONDON (AFP) – West Ham chief executive Scott Duxbury insists Craig Bellamy is not for sale after reports claimed Manchester City were set to bid for the Wales striker.

City are believed to be keen to land Bellamy before the transfer window closes next week but Duxbury is adamant there is no chance of the former Liverpool star being allowed to leave.

“West Ham United have absolutely no intention of selling Craig Bellamy,” he told the club’s website. “He is under contract and is committed to the club. Craig remains a very important part of our plans for the future.

“The club is being run on sound football and business principles in order to develop a squad which can deliver success this season. No player would be bought or sold unless that helped to achieve that aim.”

Anton Ferdinand’s imminent move to Sunderland and Freddie Ljungberg’s recent release had led to suggestion the Hammers were trying to off-load their top earners.

But Duxbury said: “If a player refuses to sign a new contract or is not crucial to the manager’s plans then we will look at offers on a case-by-case basis. It is the only sensible way to build for the future.”

Writtend By :AFP
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Robinho set to leave Real: agent

August 26, 2008

LONDON (AFP) – Robinho is closing in on a move to Chelsea after the Brazilian winger’s agent admitted the Real Madrid star is about to leave the Bernabeu.

Chelsea have had several bids for Robinho turned down by the Spanish champions, but coach Luiz Felipe Scolari wants a deal done and the Blues are ready with another offer of around 27 million pounds (33 million euros).

Robinho, who is desperate to leave Spain, was booed by Real fans during a match at the weekend and his agent Wagner Ribeiro expects the matter to be resolved before the close of the transfer window.

“The deal is about to be reached,” Ribeiro said in the Daily Mirror. “Robinho’s cycle in Spain has come to an end and he is looking forward to a new project.”

Meanwhile, Chelsea are reported to be ready to let Shaun Wright-Phillips join Manchester City to clear space in the squad for Robinho.

Writtend By :AFP
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Tags: English Premier League, LA Liga

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Everton sign Denmark´s Jacobsen

August 26, 2008
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