August 28, 2008
AC Milan has signed Philippe Senderos as a part of a loan deal for one full season from Arsenal.
The transfer was approved by Arsenal, as Senderos was not getting chances to utilize his skills at the club owing to the presence of a large number of players, who could play at the center back position.
Senderos, who plays for Switzerland, has been playing with the London Club for quite sometime now. The defender had a wonderful stint with the Gunners for the past five years.
His former teammates wanted him to have a wonderful season with AC Milan. It is expected that the temporary move could become a permanent move for the Swiss player, if he performs well in the coming season at AC Milan.
23-year old has appeared in 115 games during his last five years of stay with the Gunners. He arrived at the club in 2003, before which he played for FC Servette.
Arsenal Manager, Arsene Wenger, said that the player is currently visiting AC Milan where he will be having a medical test.
According to Wenger, the player was being lent to AC Milan so that he could play and utilize his skills and not let it rot on the bench.
Meanwhile, Arsenal secured a place in UEFA Champions League by defeating FC Twente 4-0 at the Emirates Stadium. With goals from Samir Nasri, William Gallas, Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner, Gunners crushed the hopes of former England Coach, Steve McClaren’s side. McClaren will now have to be contented with a place in UEFA Cup.
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August 28, 2008
After a series of fresh faces in Roy Keane’s side, Anton Ferdinand is the newest player that will be drafted in Sunderland.
Ferdinand, who is currently playing for West Ham United, has been looked upon as an excellent addition for his side’s defense by Keane.
According to former Red Devil’s midfielder, the young player is a good central defender and can be a breath of fresh air in their defense that has been vulnerable in the recent past.
23-year old Ferdinand, who is also a member of the England Under-21 squad, is believed to have signed a contract according to which he will have to play for Sunderland for the coming four years.
The deal between the Black Cats and the Hammers is rumored to be worth £8 million.
Roy Keane believes that Ferdinand has a good experience to back him up. Again being a young player, he will add to the energy of the team.
The manager stated that he had full faith in the young player and adding him to the team will help in developing the overall performance of the Black Cats.
On being asked about the transfer, Anton Ferdinand said that it was not easy on his part to leave West Ham United. Ferdinand had a long tryst with the club and has been playing for them for almost sixteen long years.
The player also said that he feels his game will develop at Sunderland and was looking forward to be playing for the team under the watchful eyes of Manchester United’s Roy Keane.
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August 27, 2008
Manchester United’s winger, Cristiano Ronaldo, who made headlines in the previous seasons for wrong reasons, has clearly spoken about his frustration for being a sideliner.
The manager of Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, suggested that Portugal Star will not be seen in action till the first week of October. But on another side, Ronaldo is eager to return before October.
Cristiano Ronaldo, in one of his press conference, told the Portuguese broadcaster SIC that he has never experienced such a situation in his football career having two months of complete rest without even kicking a football.
He also highlighted his disappointment by adding that he is such kind of a player, who is never used to be on the sidelines. However, he strongly said that he realized the worst period has already gone and in the present scenario, losing patience is not an option.
The excitement was clearly noticed in the player’s eyes, while he was stating that he is feeling much better then earlier. He currently feels that kicking the ball is not much far away from him.
Again, Ronaldo has been extensively touted as one of the strong candidates for the award of FIFA Player of the World for this year. He also believes that he has an excellent chance of winning this award on the back of an impressive performance that allowed his club to win BPL & UEFA Championships.
Meanwhile, Sir Alex Ferguson was looking for a better performance from his side after a scrappy 1-0 victory over Portsmouth at Fratton Park. Although Fletcher’s performance in both the games has impressed him, he felt that his side can do better.
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August 27, 2008
Among the various ups and downs of this transfer season, there is a latest development at the Barclay’s Premier League.
Having failed to sign over Ronaldinho from Barcelona, Manchester City officials are now ready to focus on Ronaldo, the Brazilian striker, who is currently playing for AC Milan.
The unfortunate Ronaldo, who had an injury wrought World Cup, has been on the free agent list since last summer when Milan had dropped him from their side.
Garry Cook, the executive chairman of Manchester City, said that they had been looking for an experienced campaigner to their side.
He thinks that Ronaldo, the Brazilian star, now at 31, is the perfect fit to the side and will be a great asset to the club. Ronaldo, on the other hand, is still healing from the knee tendon severed during last February.
Ronaldo is set to return this November, but Manchester City officials are looking into the matter and want to know how serious the problem is.
The club is also insisting that if the Brazilian star were to join them,after release ,then he would have to get rid of the excess fat, which he has put on. Either way, this is going to be more interesting as the player would be paid on his individual match basis and not for the entire season.
Meanwhile, after a comprehensive 3-0 victory over West Ham United, Manchester City will be looking to work on with their goal scoring form and create an impact in Premier League table.
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August 26, 2008
Red Devils picked up their first win of the Premiership, as they defeated Portsmouth 1-0 in close match at Fratton Park.
Manchester United won on the back of a Darren Fletcher goal in the 33rd minute of the game.
It was a better performance from the home side, as Portsmouth showed better defense in better part of the game. They showed no signs of vulnerability, which was visible in their 4-0 defeat at the hands of Chelsea last week.
Harry Redknapp, Portsmouth Manager, said that his side gave a fighting effort against Premier League title contender, Manchester United.
He felt that Chelsea and Man United are currently looking the toughest side of the lot. According to him, they will again be the ones, who are going to fight it out for the Premiership title during the final stages of the season.
Meanwhile, Sir Alex Ferguson was impressed with Fletcher’s performance in both the opening games. He has been all praise for the young Scottish midfielder.
Darren Fletcher has been the lone goal scorer for the Red Devils in the first two games and is looking forward to improve his performance in the coming games.
In this game, the midfielder was able to claim the goal after Frenchmen Evra’s cross was rebounded from Pompey defender Sol Campbell. Scotland Star Fletcher’s shin then came in the way of the ball and directed it past a stranded David James.
With this 1-0 away win, current UEFA and BPL Champions will be looking forward to get back into the form that won them glory in the previous season.
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August 26, 2008
It has been a long summer for the English club coaches in the Barclays Premier League.
Rafa Benitez has had his fight for Gareth Barry, which turned sour as the club owners decided against the transfer. Arsene Wenger, on the other hand, might make a move into the transfer market yet again to pursue the same Gareth Barry. However, Sir Alex Ferguson is treading a different path altogether.
Ferguson, who has already made his intentions clear of signing in Berbatov over from the Tottenham side, has mentioned that he would not give up on the Barcelona striker Thierry Henry.
After a scrappy performance by his team last week, Fergie has made it a point to strengthen his side into a formidable barrier to break down. He surely looks confident to defend the Championship title at every cost.
On the other hand, Dimitar Berbatov is to be put on the Spurs bench while his teammates are to take the field. This may be an opportunity for Fergie to get one deal out of the two.
If Fergie does pullout Barcelona striker, Henry, it will be a major transfer of the season. Manchester United, already known well for their counter attacks, would then have an attacking line, which would be tough for the best of defenders to cope.
Now, only time can tell what is in stored for Fergie and his men? However, it does not seem that he would have to encounter any misfortune like that of his fellow Liverpool Coach Benitez.
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August 25, 2008
Although the flair with which they rotted Portsmouth 4-0 was missing in this encounter, still Chelsea came up with the goods by defeating Wigan Athletic 1-0 in a Sunday matchup at The JJB Stadium.
It was another excellent performance by their new draftee Deco, who scored his second goal in his second game at the London Club.
The Portuguese midfielder, who has already been tagged amongst the best European transfer of the season, scored within three minutes of the game from a free kick, as the Blues barely came home with three points against a strong Lactics side.
There were several attempts from the Stamford Bridge Side with Terry, Anelka, Ballack and Deco all gunning at opponent’s goal. Still, a strong show by Wigan on their home ground gave very little scope for Chelsea to show the same wrath that had Pompey crawling on the ground.
Luiz Felipe Scolari was happy with the performance of his side, even though they failed to make the score beyond 1-0.
He felt that his side was unlucky at stages. He also praised Wigan for their determined defense throughout the game and gave very little to the Blue to work upon.
Meanwhile at City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester City romped to a 3-0 win over 10-men Hammers, as they removed the shadows of their disappointing performance at Villa Park. It was Brazilian Elano, who struck twice, and Petrov, both of whom were instrumental in City win. West Ham’s Mark Noble was sent off in the first half, after he received his second yellow card of the game.
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August 25, 2008
After a disappointing loss to Aston Villa in the first week of the Premier League, Manchester City fought back with an impressive 3-0 victory over West Ham United in the City of Manchester Stadium.
West Ham never looked threatening for the home side and when midfielder Mark Noble was sent off in 39th minute for getting two yellow cards, they were only waiting for final whistle to go up.
Two goals were scored by Brazilian Elano and one by Petrov, as City had the away side on the mat in the second half with a string of attacks. They gave full pressure on the hammers goalie Robert Green and never allowed him to have a breather in most parts of the second half.
The only worry on the day for City and English supporter was to see the England International Micah Richards sent off the ground, when he collided with his teammate Tal Ben Haim only a minute into the second half of the game.
Richards was treated for 8 minutes on the pitch. However, his condition could not improve and hence, he was taken to dressing room by medics.
Now, everyone will have their fingers crossed for the player’s recovery, as he has an important role in the success of the club.
Meanwhile at JJB stadium, Chelsea continued their winning run with a goal from their new draftee Deco, which took them past Wigan Athletic 1-0. It was a second goal for the Portuguese midfielder in as many games.
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August 24, 2008
Arsenal today failed to impress in an away match against supposedly ‘tame’ rivals Fulham with a disappointing 0-1 loss to the home side.
The away side had it all to win the game, but was without the adequate firepower when it mattered to get the ball beyond the home goalie Mark Schwarzer.
Fans at the Craven Cottage witnessed a great match, as it was the home side that took the game to their control from the start and scored the only goal of the match.
Norway defender, Brede Hangeland, hammered his first goal for the Whites, a header in response to a corner by Jimmy Bullard in the 21st minute.
After this goal, the match went on in a frantic fashion, but it was the Whites’ defense that was calm throughout. They responded with well crafted possession based moves, much to the Gunners’ frustration.
As the game progressed, the intensity of the attacks by Arsenal increased, but it was too late as the damage had already been done.
Emanuel Adebayor was too lazy in the first half, and Samir Nasri, unlike the last match, was lacking his usual touch. Robbie van Persie took five pitiful free kicks, hitting four on the wall and one well above the bar.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, in the post match press conference repeatedly pressed on the fact that his team was the ones with more determination, before praising Fulham as the better team!
Meanwhile, Newcastle United defeated Bolton Wanderers 1-0 at St. James Park much to the delight of Coach Kevin Keegan. Again, Stoke scored an upset by their 3-2 victory over Aston Villa in a nail biting encounter at Britannia Stadium.
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August 24, 2008
After winning their opening matches, both Liverpool and Middlesbrough looked promising for their clash at Anfield on Saturday.
Middlesbrough looked a formidable side after their 2-0 victory over Tottenham last week.
From the beginning, the away side seemed confident with their attacks in the first half putting aside the occasional counters by Liverpool. It was the combination of Torres and Kuyt that saw the first shot on the opponent goal in the beginning. Both the teams kept attacking to no avail, as the first half closed at 0-0.
It was only in the second half of the game when Mido, goal scorer from the last game, was brought into the game by the Middlesbrough coach. He seemed to enchant the fans with his skill and speed soon after taking the field.
Moments after he made an opening for Tuncay, Mido scored the first goal of the match, which silenced the home crowd. With one goal ahead, Middlesbrough had the upper hand and was not letting the Reds strikers to sneak in.
However, the persistent Liverpool side did not give up their attack and soon scored from a jarring Carragher shot, which deflected of the Middlesbrough captain Pogotez in the 86th minute.
At 1-1, the match looked to be equally poised. However, the finale was yet to come, as Gerrard hit the hammer on the nail with a goal in the stoppage time, which shattered the hopes for Middlesbrough.
The classy performance by Mido was not enough to let his team achieve the upset, as Liverpool finished with a 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough.
Meanwhile at White Hart Lane, Tottenham Hotspurs suffered their second defeat in as many games with a 2-1 loss at the hands of Roy Keane’s Sunderland. Blackburn Rovers also dropped points, as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Hull at Ewood Park.
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