Hiddink set to become Turkey coach-Press

February 3, 2010

Guus Hiddink’s future will finally be decided this week. The Russia national coach will soon hear about the future plans of Sergei Fursenko, the new president of the Russian Football Union.

Reports suggest that Fursenko is unwilling to continue paying Hiddink wages in excess of $5 million a year. Turkish media report that the Dutchman is set to take over Turkey’s national team.

Several Turkish media report that Hiddink will succeed Fatih Terim at the the Turkish national team.

Istanbul-based Fanatik newspaper said that Turkey expects the 63-year-old Dutch trainer to sign a contract this Friday so that he could attend the Euro-2012 qualifying draw on February 7 in Warsaw.

Turkey’s National Football Federation neither denied nor confirmed this report or any other media speculations.

Tags: 5 million, dutchman, euro 2012, future plans, guus hiddink, Istanbul, national coach, national football federation, new president, russia, russian football union, Sergei Fursenko, speculations, terim, Turkey, turkish media, wages, warsaw

Portsmouth to sell Kaboul to pay wages

January 30, 2010

Portsmouth are waiting to sell Younes Kaboul to Tottenham in order to use the generated cash to pay the wages of the players and staff at Fratton Park. The two clubs are still in negotiation over the transfer of the French defender.

Pompey are hopeful that the deal can go through soon so that the players will be paid by midnight on January 31 at the latest.

Kaboul, rated at £10 million, was taken to Fratton Park by Spurs boss Harry Redknapp in August 2008 having joined Tottenham the previous summer. It is now clear Redknapp wants to re-sign Kaboul.

“We’re not trying to buy him on the cheap,” Redknapp said. “We’re paying whatever the going rate is for him. I would be keen to bring him back if the deal is right for everybody.”

Spurs are also reportedly in talks over goalkeeper Asmir Begovic. Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie has expressed his dismay that he and manager Avram Grant have not been informed of the negotiations.

Asked if he felt his role had become untenable, he said, “In very many ways it probably has.”

Storrie added, “It makes you wonder what one’s doing here at the moment. My love is for the football club and despite what some of the fans may think, it always has been.

“My interest is in what is best for the football club. I’ll always keep that in mind whatever decision we make.

“But one feels aggrieved that over the years some excellent deals have been done in terms of transfers, both in and out. I’d like to think I’m pretty good at getting the right transfer fees.

“If there is a need to sell a player and get a fee then I feel I am the best person for the situation.

“But I knew nothing about it (the Kaboul reports) until Friday morning. I took a call from Avram and was told there were meetings going on at Spurs.”

Tags: 10 million, asmir begovic, boss, chief executive, dismay, football club, Fratton Park, friday morning, Harry Redknapp, kaboul, love, negotiation, negotiations, Peter Storrie, pompey, Portsmouth, spurs, wages

Palace face drop battle after administration

January 27, 2010

Crystal Palace were left facing a 10 point penalty after the English second division side entered administration on Tuesday.

Palace are currently ninth in the Championship table but the points deduction, mandatory under Football League rules designed to encourage sound financial management of clubs, would leave them in a relegation battle.

South London side Palace have twice been late in paying their players this season despite chairman Simon Jordan’s efforts to bring new investment into the club.

Administrator Brendon Gulifoyle said Tuesday: “This club has been in the spotlight for some months with creditors pressing for payments and players anxious about their wages.

“Our role now is to find a buyer quickly to provide certainty for the employees, players and fans for the future. We are hoping our appointment will be short-lived as we understand there are many interested buyers.”

Palace have reported debts of around 30 million poubds and were due in court tomorrow to face a winding-up order from HM Revenue and Customs, Britain’s tax collecting authority.

Despite financial problems that have meant Neil Warnock has been unable to field a full substitutes bench at times this season, Palace were only two points outside of the play-off places ahead of Wednesday’s match against leaders Newcastle.

But now the ‘Eagles’ face a battle to avoid dropping into English football’s third tier with the likes of highly rated teenage striker Victor Moses set to be sold in a bid to bring some much needed funds into Selhurst Park.

The Football League have yet to impose the 10-point deduction as they have not yet received formal confirmation from either Palace or the administrators that the club have entered administration, but it is expected this will arrive with officials within the next couple of days.

LONDON (AFP)

Tags: 30 million, Administrator Brendon Gulifoyle, brendon, club administrator, collecting authority, couple of days, court tomorrow, crystal palace, football league, hm revenue and customs, interested buyers, london, neil warnock, NEWCASTLE, selhurst park, simon jordan, sound financial management, south london, Victor Moses, wages, winding up order

Stoke pull out of deal for England keeper James

January 15, 2010

Stoke City pulled out of a deal to sign England goalkeeper David James from Premier League strugglers Portsmouth on Friday.

City boss Tony Pulis had hoped to sign James, 39, on loan until the end of the season with a view to the former Liverpool star making a permanent switch to the Britannia Stadium when his Pompey contract expires in June.

But the move appears to have stalled over Stoke’s desire for Portsmouth to continue paying a portion of James’s wages and the club’s chief executive Tony Scholes confirmed to Sky Sports News that the deal is off.

James has made just one first-team appearance for Portsmouth in the past two months due to injury and his departure from Fratton Park would have helped to ease Pompey’s financial troubles, while putting him back in contention to be England’s goalkeeper at the World Cup.

Pulis was also keen to land James after reports that Denmark international Thomas Sorensen, Stoke’s first choice keeper, wants to join German club Bayern Munich.

STOKE, England (AFP)

Tags: Bayern, bayern munich, britannia stadium, chief executive, CITY, city boss, David James, denmark, denmark international, England, england goalkeeper, financial troubles, first choice, Fratton Park, german club, Liverpool, pompey, Portsmouth, premier league, Sky Sports, sky sports news, Stoke City, thomas sorensen, tony pulis, Tony Scholes, wages, World Cup

Storrie hopes Portsmouth players will be paid next week

January 2, 2010

Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie is confident the Premier League club’s players will be paid their December wages on Monday or Tuesday.

For the third time this season financially troubled Portsmouth – the Premier League’s bottom club – have been unable to pay their players.

But Storrie insists Pompey’s Saudi owner Ali Al-Faraj and his directors are close to agreeing a loan that will allow the salaries to be paid this week.

“My understanding is it is additional loans they are currently in the process of dealing with,” Storrie told BBC Radio Solent.

“It is obviously not the best situation in the world that you can’t pay the players’ wages.

“They (the owners) were looking to bring a major bank loan in and that’s what has slowed the process up. They are trying to do that now.

“My understanding from them is that there is a short-term loan coming in to pay the wages and the players’ wages should be paid on Monday or Tuesday, I believe. That is our understanding.”

PORTSMOUTH (AFP)

Tags: Ali, Ali Al-Faraj, bank loan, bottom club, chief executive, faraj, loans, Peter Storrie, pompey, Portsmouth, premier league, radio solent, salaries, short term loan, third time, wages

Finnan reveals Portsmouth players’ worries

January 1, 2010

Portsmouth defender Steve Finnan admits Portsmouth players are worried by the club’s current financial status. Pompey had hoped the outstanding player salaries would be processed on Thursday but the monies will now be cleared after the Bank Holiday.

Avram Grant’s team heads into 2010 bottom of the Premier League and the club has been struck with financial worries.

Pompey issued a statement to deny the club had been formally served with a winding-up petition by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs in relation to disputed VAT, PAYE and National Insurance contributions of a reported £3.5million.

Finnan said the players have to get on with their jobs but indicated that no one at the club knows really what is going on.

“The players obviously talk about what is going on, about getting paid, but as players we have to get on with our job for the club and hopefully things can resolve themselves, but I think no-one really seems to know what is going on,” he said.

“It worries us, it is not nice for the fans, they have obviously been supporting the club for a long time, it is just not fair on them.

“For the players it is the same – we want to play for the club.

“It concerns everyone involved, hopefully it will get resolved, but the players have to keep fighting away.

Finnan added, “I certainly heard the chants (during the defeat to Arsenal), and most of the players heard it.

“They are frustrated like anyone else and you can understand why. They have supported the team a long time. It must be really disappointing for them.”

Portsmouth will play Coventry in the FA Cup at Fratton Park on Saturday. When asked about the fixture, Finnan replied, “A cup run can give us confidence. After a poor start, we have got ourselves in a position where we can still stay up.”

This is the second time this season Portsmouth have been unable to pay players’ wages on time.

A statement from the club read, “Portsmouth Football Club expect to pay their first-team squad’s December salaries on Tuesday, January 5.

“The club has been speaking to the Professional Footballers’ Association and the players have been informed.

“The club has been assured of receipt of funds by Tuesday and the owner and board have been working hard on resolving the short-term delay.”

Tags: arsenal, avram grant, bank holiday, coventry, customs, FA Cup, financial worries, Fratton Park, majesty, monies, national insurance contributions, pompey, portsmouth football club, premier league, second time, steve finnan, vat, wages, winding up petition

Domenech ridicules bonus claims

November 24, 2009

France coach Raymond Domenech on Monday dismissed claims that he had received a bonus of 862,000 euros for successfully guiding the side to next year’s World Cup finals.

The combative 57-year-old – whose team reached the finals in controversial circumstances last Wednesday as Thierry Henry’s double handball set up the decisive goal in the 2-1 aggregate victory over the Republic of Ireland – told France Bleu that France Football’s claims over his bonus were way over the mark.

“The figure they cite is totally astounding,” said Domenech, who has never won over the French fans despite taking the team to the 2006 World Cup final.

“If it really was that, I would be as happy as anything.

“But it is way over the mark. I won’t even try and contradict the information because it is their usual editorial line. It is a lie. Money is not my motivation.

“If I was coach of a club, I would be earning 10-times the amount I am at the moment.

“It is not a question of money. It was Roger Lemerre (France coach from 1998-2002) who said that ‘We have one function, one real role, to be coach of France, that is enough’. I would do it for free, it is an honour to have such a post.”

Domenech said that football treated its best paid people with less respect than other sports.

“In tennis, one hears of this and that tournament with astonishing prizemoney. In motorsport the wages are astronomical. In golf, the more money one wins the more one is respected. In football it is the reverse.

“One is given the impression that those who make money in football are cheating.

“It is astonishing.”

PARIS (AFP)

Tags: aggregate victory, bonus, controversial circumstances, decisive goal, france bleu, france coach, france football, french fans, handball, honour, motivation, other sports, PARIS, raymond domenech, republic of ireland, roger lemerre, thierry henry, wages, world cup finals

Chelsea claims compensation for injured Lampard

November 13, 2009

Chelsea will have to do without Frank Lampard for their Premier League summit meeting with Arsenal on November 29 after the England midfielder was ruled out of action for three weeks.

Lampard suffered a thigh injury while training with the England squad in Qatar on Thursday and flew back to London amid fears he could be sidelined for up to two months.

But after he was assessed by Chelsea’s medical staff on Friday morning, a club spokesman predicted that the muscle tear he suffered will need only three weeks to heal.

Chelsea will claim Lampard’s 151,000-pounds-a-week wages in compensation from the Football Association (FA) while he is sidelined.

The FA has dismissed reports that Lampard’s injury was caused by allegedly cramped conditions on the charter plane England used to fly to Doha for Saturday’s friendly with Brazil.

The same plane has been used by the squad for much longer trips, notably to Trinidad and to Kazakhstan.

LONDON (AFP)

Tags: arsenal, brazil, charter plane, CHELSEA, club spokesman, cramped conditions, England, england squad, fears, fly, football association, frank lampard, friday morning, kazakhstan, london, medical staff, midfielder, premier league, Qatar, summit meeting, thigh injury, Trinidad, wages

Yeung outlines scale of Birmingham ambition

October 17, 2009

Carson Yeung has pledged 80 million pounds over the next ten months in a bid to turn Birmingham City into a more formidable Premier League force.

The new owner is clearly not short of ambition, but he’ll be given an immediate indication of the scale of the task that lies before him when City travel to face Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium for their first game since the Hong Kong businessman formally completed the takeover of the Midlands club.

Yeung stated on Thursday that he was ready to make up to 40 million pounds available to City manager Alex McLeish in the forthcoming January transfer window to strengthen the squad.

And he subsequently revealed that a similar amount will also be allocated for trading in next summer’s transfer market, providing McLeish with an opportunity to make wholesale changes to a group of players that have made a steady, if unspectacular start to life in the top flight following last season’s promotion from the Championship.

“There will be up to forty million pounds to spend for the manager on players and wages in January,” said Yeung.

“We are happy that Alex is the manager and we want to do all we can to support him to get the best players.

“We want to make a commitment to the supporters. We want to spend money in January to make sure we stay in the Premier League this season. Our long term plans are to establish the team higher than that. We want to put more than forty million pounds in for next season.

“We want to buy the best and strongest players that are available to make Birmingham City the biggest team in the world.”

How effective Yeung is in establishing Birmingham as a force in English football will depend largely on how the cash is spent.

Other clubs have embarked on substantial spending sprees and failed to generate long term success, as Newcastle United and Leeds will testify.

But McLeish, who will be reassured to have received an initial vote of support from his new employers, insists that recruitment of players will stay firmly within his remit.

“Will I have the final decision on team and transfer targets? It will be down to me,” said the manager.

“That is the normal remit of a manager and we will pretty much be working that way.”

The manager has cautioned, however, that even with a substantial budget to dip into, City’s transformation will not happen overnight.

“We still have to realise we are not a Manchester United, Manchester City or Liverpool,” he added. “We will still target a certain type of player.

“We are not going to target an Emmanuel Adebayor but there are players out there I know will enhance my first eleven we will try to attract.”

A growing injury list means McLeish would like to be able to dip into the new funds immediately with the Blues heading to face an in-form Arsenal without a number of defensive players with Franck Quedrue joining an injury list that already includes Gregory Vignal, Martin Taylor and Stuart Parnaby.

As Blackburn found out when they were thrashed 6-2 on their recent trip, the Emirates Stadium is no place to visit with a makeshift defence.

Arsene Wenger’s side initially struggled for consistency this season but a run of six straight victories has restored Arsenal’s swagger after successive defeats to Manchester United and Manchester City.

With Tomas Rosicky back to full fitness, Theo Walcott finally ready to kick-start his season and the return of Samir Nasri imminent, Wenger is confident his team will get better.

The main set-back this week has been the injury to Eduardo that will almost certainly prevent the Croatia forward from facing Birmingham for the first time since he suffered a broken leg and dislocated ankle after a challenge by Taylor in February 2008.

LONDON (AFP)

Tags: alex, alex mcleish, ambition, Birmingham, birmingham city, carson yeung, city travel, croatia, Eduardo, emirates, emmanuel adebayor, first game, gregory vignal, Hong Kong, hong kong businessman, LEEDS, Liverpool, manchester city, martin taylor, Midlands, midlands club, newcastle united, premier league, s promotion, sprees, Stuart Parnaby, takeover, term success, theo walcott, tomas rosicky, wages, wholesale changes

Al Faraj company lands majority Portsmouth stake

October 6, 2009

Saudi Arabian businessman Ali Al-Faraj has completed his takeover of English Premier League club Portsmouth, the club said late Monday.

The club confirmed on their website former owner Sulaiman Al-Fahim had sold 90 percent of the shares to Falcondrone Limited, a company owned by Al-Faraj, in a move freeing up funds to pay players and executives.

A statement on the Portsmouth website, www.portsmouthfc.co.uk, said: “The takeover will ensure Portsmouth Football Club’s future is safe and will bring financial stability.”

Al-Fahim only took over the club himself in August, but had said he would relinquish full control in the event of a suitable offer from Al-Faraj.

Ivo Gabara, a spokesman for Al-Fahim, had said earlier: “Sulaiman’s lawyers are engaged in talks with lawyers for Al-Faraj. He expects an offer to be made today (Monday).

“In the best interests of the club he is willing to forego full ownership and if or when an offer is on the table, it will be considered on its merits.”

Al-Fahim has been attempting to refinance the club after banks demanded the television receipts and profits from the last transfer window.

Portsmouth chief executive Pete Storrie revealed last weekend “there is no money left” and that 30 percent of the 50 million pounds package Al-Fahim had pledged to raise is due by mid-October.

Al-Faraj is reported to have been involved in a consortium brought together by Storrie that was beaten by Al-Fahim to the initial takeover.

Storrie brought Al-Faraj back to the table when doubts began to grow that Al-Fahim would be able to raise the required funding in time. Al-Faraj was reported to have supplied the five million pounds bridging loan needed last week to pay the wages of club staff.

Storrie said: “It was imperative that something had to be done to safeguard the future of this club,” adding the club were “completely skint.”

Portsmouth are also enduring tough times on the field.

They prop up the Premier League after losing their opening seven matches – the worst start by an English top-flight club for 79 years – but they did get their first victory at Wolverhampton on Saturday as Hassan Yebda’s goal sealed a 1-0 win.

PORTSMOUTH (AFP)