Archive for July, 2008

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Liverpool releases Crouch to join Portsmouth

July 9th, 2008

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has finally given a nod to Portsmouth bid for their striker and England international Peter Crouch. He agreed to sell him in order to pursue other transfer targets.

Now, Crouch will be one of the two players to be sold this transfer season by the English Club along with Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso’s yet-to-be finalized move to Juventus, which again is being delayed for transfer fees.

Crouch ended 2006-07 as Liverpool’s top goal scorer in all competitions with 18 goals.

According to reports, Portsmouth will be required to pay an 8 million pound down payment, and a further 3 million as add-ons. Having joined the Reds for 7 million from Southampton in 2005, ‘Crouchie’ is leaving them with a good margin to join ‘Pompey’, the club he played for during 2001-02.

The money accumulated from transfers of Crouch and Alonso will be used by Benitez for getting further additions to his squad, which may include Villa midfielder Gareth Barry and Spurs forward Robbie Keane. His other potential targets for Anfield are Valencia’s David Silva, Real Madrid’s Ruben De La Red, Espanyol winger Albert Riera and Borja Valero from Real Mallorca.

Liverpool has already bought Switzerland’s Philip Degan and Italian Andrea Dossena as Wing backs, and Nikola Saric, a Denmark under-18 international. Saric is a 17 year old with all the ingredients for making it big at major events.

Now, Crouch, with over hundred league goals under his belt, is sure to be seen rubbing shoulders with the likes of David Nugent, Nwankwo Kanu and Jermian Defoe at Fretton Park.

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Posted in Football Transfer Market, General, Liverpool, Portsmouth

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Ballack not in hurry to extend his contract with the Blues

July 8th, 2008

German captain and midfielder Michael Ballack has his contract at Stanford Bridge ending next year. However, he has stated that he has no plans to get it extended as of now and does not want to hurry into a decision in regard to this decision.

This is the second season for the star player, when he has finished runners up in four major titles with his club and national side. The last in the list of being second best for the midfielder was the Euro Cup 2008 final, in which Germany lost to Spain 0-1 a week ago.

He has stayed away from the Chelsea Camp with a vacation in Germany, when the rest of the Blues are training for this season, clearly verified the non-interest in his part. On his part, he has said that there is still plenty of time to consider.

Ballack also said that Chelsea has an excellent squad and even without any new additions, they are looking strong to win the Champions League this season. He further added that his reason for choosing the London Club was for associating with a strong team in the world’s best league.

The three times German Player of the Year has revealed that being a player with 10 titles in England and Germany, he thinks that he has been successful this far in his life as a footballer.

It seems that the midfielder might continue his role strengthening the midfield of the Blues. However the scenario prevailing in the current transfer market with most English Club players, it is too early to make a prediction.

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Posted in Chelsea FC, Football Transfer Market, General, Premiership

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Advocaat: Arshavin set to leave Zenit St Petersburg

July 8th, 2008

Various reports claim that the 27-year old Russian striker Andrei Arshavin, who can play as a winger and target man, is ready to jump to English Premiership or at least waiting for an opportunity in the coming time to do so, according to a statement released by his current coach coach Dick Advocaat.

These speculations arose in the recently concluded European Championships, when Russian side, which was tagged as a dark horse in the tournament, defeated teams like Netherlands, Sweden and the defending champions Greece and made their way into the final four. A great role in Russia’s success was played by the previously unknown commodity Arshavin, who scored goals against Sweden and Netherlands.

Advocaat has said that he himself suggested the star player to stop playing for Zenit St Petersburg for a while, so that he can decide his future. With talks to be held with Chelsea and Arsenal, he fully understood the Russian Star’s decision to leave and that the club will never come in between.

While it seems unlikely in any case that the Russian player of the season will dawn Zenit colours this season, his statement regarding an approach by Spanish giant Barcelona about a fortnight ago can only add to all the ongoing rumors.

Now, every European football fan will be hoping to see one of their nation’s clubs giving an opportunity to this sensation, as he will surely be instrumental in the coming season carrying his great form from the Championships.

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Posted in Arsenal, Barcelona, Chelsea FC, Football Transfer Market, General

Peter Crouch: Fretton Park might see some Robotic Dance this season

July 7th, 2008

Peter Crouch, the tall 27-year old forward, who ended the season 2006-07 as Liverpool’s top scorer in all competitions with 18 goals in total and scored his first hat-trick in the same season against Arsenal, has expressed concerns to leave the side and join Portsmouth at Fretton Park.

Turning down a $9 million deal from Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp, Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez seems to have ideas of his own. Liverpool seems to be desperate of getting a good price for the England forward, so that they can get more players during this transfer season itself, including Gareth Barry from Aston Villa.

Initially Liverpool will be getting $16 million in the Football Transfer Market as a part of the deal today itself, if the deal goes on well and Portsmouth can work out the details with Crouch. England international seems to be in a hurry to get away from the club for joining Portsmouth, as he was not on the starting lineup for most part of the previous season with Spaniard Fernando Torres in full flight.

The move from Portsmouth manager comes from his previous experience with the Liverpool forward during his stint at.

According to Liverpool boss Benitez, Crouch cannot keep playing every week as he’ll be getting competition from players like Dirk Kuyt, Xavi Alonso, Steven Gerrard and Spanish forward Fernando Torres. So, it is unlikely that Crouch will get a place in the starting lineup, if the club decides to keep him.

It is too early to say whether the famous ‘Robotic Dance’ will be continued at Anfield or Fretton Park, still fans will be hoping to catch the glimpse of the lanky forward display his talent!

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Posted in Football Transfer Market, General, Liverpool, Portsmouth

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Ronaldo to go for surgery in the coming week

July 6th, 2008

Cristiano Ronaldo, from the state of being undecided to go for a surgery will finally go through a surgery on his ankle. The Portugal striker got his thigh injured around a week back when he was playing against Holland. In response, the Manchester United, 23-year old star, chose to keep silent and did not comment anything on his future.

A News sources in Portugal, A Bola, reported that the Man United star (keeping his word ‘I’ll be back’, when he called the club officials during his Sardinian holiday) returned from Italy after a holiday to his homeland. The footballer said that he must be back within three weeks. He then consulted the doctors of the national team to set a date for surgery in the coming days.

Medical staffs from Portugal have been reported to say that Cristiano Ronaldo will undergo a surgery on his right ankle preferably in coming two to three days.

The 23-year-old Portugal winger has however denied any certainty over his future. He said: “I can only say that I will spend the period of my recovery in my house at Sintra, but regarding my future I cannot say anything.”

Ronaldo is the winner of the 2007 English PFA player of the Year and has been clouded with rumors of his move to Spanish Giants Real Madrid. After a disappointing time at the EURO 2008, fans will be expecting him to make a grueling comeback after he recovers from the surgery and starts playing, be it at Old Trafford or Santiago Bernabeu.

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Posted in General, Man U

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Fight for ‘The Hunter’ is on

July 6th, 2008

With clouds of uncertainty hovering over the head of the Manchester United club, it has been put on a Red alert after it was apprehended that the Ajax striker Klass-Jan Huntelaar is not likely to move to Italyp.

The Dutch footballer, 24, was shown a green signal to join Italian Serie A, a seemingly plush offer for the striker but on account of the exorbitant money that the footballer demanded the deal seems illusive, the price tag being the biggest barricade for Klass-Jan’s entry to Italy. The money demanded is reported to be in the range of $US38 million.

United Boss Sir Alex Fergusson though has been a long term admirer of the ‘The hunter’. According to him, the striker would make a good frontline. He therefore could still make the move on account of the indifference that the Italian holds for the money, which has to be thrown in case Cristiano Ronaldo leaves Old Trafford.

According to the Huntelaar’s Italian agent, the chances that Klass would join Italy were low going by the equation that Juventus, Milan and Inter had either already bought new strikers or were following others for the move. He said “It’s more likely he will go to Spain or England.”

Manchester United more goes to the region of uncertainty, as they face competition from Real Madrid, which has also registered their open admiration for the playmaker in the world of football.

Klass-Jan Huntelaar has been named both, the Dutch Football talent and the Ajax player, for the year 2006. He was also the highest scorer for Netherlands-U21 squad having scored 18 goals in 22 matches, besides being the top scorer in 2007-08 with his goal count striking 33 in 34 appearances.

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Posted in General, Man U

Torres owes his success to Liverpool’s captain and coach

July 5th, 2008

Liverpool striker Fernando Torres have recently said that he believes that Liverpool’s coach Rafael Benitez and captain Steven Gerard has helped him transformed him to a superstar that he is today. He said that pressure from his coach and inspiration from his captain has lead to his success in the past one year.

Torres, 24-year old Spanish playmaker, recently scored 33 goals in his debut season campaign for Liverpool and also geared his national side to win the title of Euro 2008 by scoring a lone goal. Torres added that his manager Benitez’s demand and pressure for constant improvement has made him achieve greater heights after he was transferred from Athletico Madrid last summer.

He told Champions Magazine about his coach’s inspiration, even after scoring 20 goals to do well, allowed him to make such a daunting figure in his first season for the club.

Torres even said that he wants to progress in life without relaxing and being complacent. In order to achieve that he really wanted someone close to keep telling him and it was his coach, who did this for him.

Torres was also full praise for Steven Gerard, Captain of the Reds, saying that he had an extraordinary ability to deal with high pressures. This ability has always inspired Torres and the whole side in trying situation. This is what helped him during his heroics in the European Championships, which his side eventually won.

The gifted Spaniard also expressed his desire to one day become a captain similar to Gerard and was looking forward to repeat his performance of the previous season in the coming BPL season.

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Posted in General, Liverpool

Barton shown leniency over assault

July 5th, 2008

Joey Barton was treated with consideration after attacking Dabo, his former Manchester City teammate, while both clashed in a training ground. The midfielder is reported to have punched his hitherto Manchester Colleague five times, which left him unconscious and bleeding on the ground.

The Newcastle player, who had erstwhile vigorously denied the allegation claiming that the committed act was in self defense, finally changed his plea to the state of guilty. According to Newcastle United, a meeting has been planned to discuss Barton’s future.

A statement published on the website of the club said ‘Until such time that this meeting has taken place, there will be no further comment from the club on the player’. Today, the player was sentenced suspended for 2 years for his misconduct.

The pair clashed on May 1, 2007. The eyewitnesses of the clash recalled Joey repeatedly hitting Dabo violently. According to Georgio Samarasm, a player, the act was extremely violent and it was unforgettable. Barton was sold to Newcastle United by City for £5.8m last year, which signed a five year contract with the player.

After entering the premiership scene in April 2003, Barton has been the talk of the town both in and out of the field. Having involvement in several violent incidents, including the one with an old man and another involving Everton’s 15-year old fan, this former Manchester City player has been a ‘Bad Boy’ in football.

For the current scuffle, Police released the CCTV footage of the scuffle after Barton admitted the allegation.

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Posted in General

Shevchenko likely to play for Barca

July 5th, 2008

London Club Chelsea is looking all set to release Andriy Shevchenko, their struggling striker, to Former Spanish & UEFA Champions, Barcelona.

Barcelona, Catalan giants, has also shown keen interest in bringing the Blue’s striker to play for them on loan at Nou Camp.

With the star of the club, Samuel Eto, showing signs of being unavailable for the upcoming season, Catalans were looking for an appropriate replacement. Ukrainian Striker, Shevchenko, is more than likely to fill the void boots of Eto, if the latter eventually makes his way from the Nou Camp.

Sources say that Chelsea striker will utilize this opportunity to play in one of the hottest clubs is Spain to come back in form and once again get recognized amongst the lethal strikers in Europe after spending a torrid spell with the London Club.

He never showed any signs of his class for Chelsea, for which he was transferred from AC Milan, where he was the star striker. With the blues, he mostly played second fiddle to forward Didier Drogba and ven was left on the sidelines in some games.

There were rumors in the Chelsea Camp that Shevchenko would again move to AC Milan, his former club. However, with Roman Abromavich, Chelsea owner, demanding massive transfer fees, the deal seems more than impossible.

Barca might be making a smart move in the process of bringing the Ukrainian for loan. This will avoid them to squabble with Blues over his transfer fees.

Luiz Felipe Scolari, new boss of Chelsea, is unimpressed with the striker’s talents and might leave him on sidelines again should he remain at Stanford Bridge.

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Posted in Chelsea FC, General

Robbie Keane: Looking forward to have a stint at Anfield

July 4th, 2008

After the Christiano Ronaldo fiasco between the Portuguese striker, Real Madrid and Manchester United, it is now the turn of Tottenham Hotspur to face trouble with their star playmakers.

Irish forward and skipper of Hotspurs, Robbie Keane has asked the club boss that he is looking forward to have a stint with the reds at Liverpool. These developments just came after the club from Anfield expressed their interest in the striker.

Striker has been linked with Anfield side for many seasons now. However, they never made a realistic approach to him for his services.

There are speculations in the Liverpool Camp that this season, they will be looking forward to get the services of the Irishmen. Again, Keane is also expressing his interest in moving to the club.

However, Keane’s demand of moving from White Hart Lane to Anfield totally depends on the impending departure of Dimitar Berbatov to Old Trafford.

These two players have been the main strike force for Coach Ramos. Between them, they shared a massive tally of ninety one goals in the previous two seasons together. Experts feel that coach is not looking forward to loose both of them simultaneously. They feel that without knowing the future of Berbatov in his side, Ramos will not leave Keane for anything. Benitez is offering the services of Peter Crouch & Yossi Bennayoun along with a hefty amount for acquiring the services of Irish Captain from the London Side.

If Berbatov will make a move to Old Trafford, there is no chance of Lilywhites Captain to leave them, as White Hart Lane will be without any striker barring Darren Bent.

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Posted in General, Liverpool, Man U, Premier League, Premiership, Tottenham