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Sneijder Staying at Inter

June 11th, 2011

He has been the subject of intense transfer speculation throughout the last few weeks, yet it looks as though Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder is in fact going nowhere.

The former Real Madrid man has apparently caught the interest of Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United but following the reports, he has now confirmed that he is happy at current club Inter Milan and has no ambitions to move away. Speaking to Inter’s official website, Sneijder said: “Milan is marvellous, picturesque and full of elegance. I love it.

“At the moment I am very happy here and I don’t see why I should leave.”

Interest in Sneijder of course comes as no surprise, with the Dutchman establishing himself as one of the world’s best midfielders through his ten year career. He has played for three of the most prestigious teams in the world in Ajax, Real Madrid and Inter Milan, making himself a fixture in the Netherlands national squad in the process.

Overall his time at Inter Milan can be classed as nothing but successful, with the San Siro outfit winning the title, the Champions League and Coppa Italia during his first season there. However, this year has been less fruitful and while Inter did manage to lift the Copa Italia again, Sneijder’s involvement was minimal. Injury hindered him significantly and in the end he managed just twenty five appearances, notching four goals in the process.

This has resulted in many of England’s biggest teams being linked with a move although following these comments, it now looks unlikely for a transfer to materialize. Sneijder’s contract still has another four years remaining and while Inter have relied on him less this year, it’s thought that they still consider him a key player.

However, with the three sides supposedly tracking him possessing such vast finances, Inter may still opt to cash in on the former Ajax man if the bid proves too tempting.

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Posted in Chelsea FC, Football Transfer Market, Man U, Manchester City

Boateng wants City Exit

June 11th, 2011

He was one of a number of players who joined Manchester City last summer in big money transfer deals. However, following just one year at the Eastlands outfit, Jerome Boateng has decided that the Premier League is not for him and he wants a return to Germany as soon as possible.

Despite being versatile across any of the back four positions, Boateng’s preferred position is that of centre half but City boss Roberto Mancini has opted to utilize the 22-year-old mainly on the right side. This has frustrated the German and following interest from Bayern Munich, he says that he now wants to move on and return to his home country.

Speaking to BBC Sport, he said: “I have already told Roberto Mancini that I want to play in central defence and not at full-back.

“Bayern have indicated I will play in the centre. To play there regularly is important for me because I will have a better chance of playing in the national team.

“Bayern are bigger than City, they are one of the top six teams in Europe. To play for them would be an honour.”

His comments follow a fairly successful season for City, who ended the campaign having won the FA Cup and also qualifying for the Champions League.

However, Boateng’s success has been limited and as well as frustrations with his position, he has also struggled with injury. He made just 24 appearances for City and with that, it looks as though he is ready for a fresh start.

Boateng is certainly no stranger to the Bundesliga, having played for both Hertha BSC and Hamburg in recent years. It was during his time at the latter where he really flourished however and after managing to break into the German national squad, he earned a move to Manchester City which was worth over £10m.

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Posted in Football Transfer Market, Manchester City

Big Four through

September 24th, 2009

The renowned big four of the Barclays Premier League are through to the last 16 of the League Cup. Liverpool and Arsenal were already through the previous night, while Manchester United and Chelsea joined them the following tonight.

United were playing newly promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers at Old Trafford in front of 51,000 supporters. Sir Alex Ferguson started the match with a 4-3-3 formation. Macheda, Welback and Owen had been allotted strikers positions. Carrick, Nani and Gibson covered the midfield, and the defense was formed by Neville, Brown, Evans and Fabio and Kuszczak adorned the goalies position.

The win didn’t come easy for United as they were left with 10 men in the 30th minute when Fabio was shown a straight red card for a foul on Kightly. Kightly was running straight towards the United goal post when Fabio came from behind and slipped in front of Kightly. Fabio was then seen bringing Kightly down with his hands and was red carded by referee Peter Walton. Ferguson soon replaced his young striker Macheda with young defender Ritchie De Laet to make the defense strong.

United kept attacking and finally the breakthrough came in the 66th minute with a superb one-two between Welbeck and Owen which saw Welbeck scoring his first goal in his first match this season for the club. The match ended at 1-0 for the home team.

In London, Kalou scored the only goal of the match in the 52nd minute which was enough to see Chelsea through to the next round. Neighbors, Tottenham Hotspurs defeated Preston North End 5-1, and Everton won 4-0 against Hull City. Extra time was needed to decide the result between Fulham and the big spenders of Premier League, Manchester City. The match ended 1-2 to City with Toure scoring the winner in the 111th minute. Villa is through to the next round as they defeated Cardiff City 1-0.

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Posted in Arsenal, Articles, Aston Villa, Chelsea FC, Football Post Match Review, Football Results, General, Hull City, Liverpool, Man U, Manchester City, Premier League, Tottenham, Wolverhampton Wanderers

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Bellamy faces Ban

September 22nd, 2009

Manchester City striker Craig Bellamy who was hero of the match against city rivals Manchester United has been put in a tight spot by the FA and Manchester Police. Bellamy has been charged with improper conduct as he was found slapping a fan after his team was defeated by Manchester United.

The match proved to be a battle as both teams were desperate to win. Much was at stake for Manchester United as they were out there to prove that they were still the better side in Manchester. Prior to the match, Ferguson had revealed that it was not possible that he will lose the title of being the better side in Manchester in his time as coach.

Manchester City was there to prove that they were the new champions and were here at Old Trafford to overthrow the champions from their throne. City had the backing of their Dubai owner who has spent a huge amount of money to make City a formidable side.

Craig Bellamy had helped City twice to come from behind and equalize in the Derby. The second goal from Bellamy came in the 90th minute which made the score 3-3 and City seemed be more than happy with the draw. But the 90th minute equalizer was not meant to be the last goal of the match, as in the 6th minute of injury time, Ryan Giggs proved his worth again and sent a pass to substitute Michael Owen who was waiting for the ball in the penalty box and scored the winner which triggered celebrations at Old Trafford.

The goal ended the game at 4-3 and everyone started celebrating. When Bellamy was heading towards the tunnel he saw a United fan running on the pitch heading towards him. Bellamy was already angry as he had already thought he had pulled a point back for City in the 90th minute. Angry Bellamy who was full of emotions at that moment lost his cool and slapped the fan.

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Posted in FA Cup, Man U, Manchester City, Premier League

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Manchester City v Arsenal

September 10th, 2009

With the resumption of the English Premier League after the international break, Manchester City face their first major test of their new-found status as genuine top four challengers when Arsenal come to town on Saturday afternoon. City have started the season positively and have recorded three victories from their first three games so far.

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Arsenal on the other hand had started the season in rampant style, knocking in ten goals in their first two games, but the reversal at City’s bitter rivals United last time out, albeit rather unluckily, may have taken the wind out of their sails. Nevertheless, the game is eagerly anticipated by not only the fans of the two teams involved, but also fans from the rest of the country so they can gauge for themselves just how high City’s credentials are this season under Mark Hughes.

Manchester City and their team of superstars in the making couldn’t have asked for a better start to the new campaign. They have played three games so far and won each of them – one at home and two away, all without conceding a single goal. Saturday’s game though will be the sternest test they have faced so far, with all due respect to Portsmouth, Wolves and Blackburn who have all tried to match City and failed this season.

For their part, Arsenal were flying until they played at Old Trafford last time out. Despite playing well enough, they ended up losing the game to Manchester United by 2-1 and it remains to be seen what affect this will have on team spirit ahead of this Saturday’s game at Eastland’s.

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Posted in Arsenal, Football Pre Match Review, General, Manchester City, Premier League

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Updates from Premier League

September 2nd, 2009

On its last day, the transfer window saw Everton successfully sign 25 year old Dutch footballer John Heitinga. A regular in the Dutch national side, Heitinga signed a five year deal with the blue side of Merseyside on 1st September. He selected the no 5 jersey which was previously worn by Joleon Lescott who left the club last month and joined Manchester City. Everton Have reported paid £6.2m to Atletico Madrid for the Dutch defender.

Manchester United’s wonder kid, Macheda who rose to fame after his 93rd minute winner against Aston Villa in a league game has again expressed his desire to return to his home country Italy.

26 year old Swedish striker, David Elm has successfully signed a one year contract with Premier League old timers Fulham for a reported fee of £500,000.

It is still not clear whether Portsmouth have signed 28 year old Aston Villa left back Nicky Shorey. Though, sky sports claims that the deal has completed successfully before the transfer window closed.

Finnish footballer Teemu Tainio will play the new season with newly promoted Birmingham City. Teemu joined City from Sunderland on loan.

Newly signed Niko Kranjcar of Tottenham Hotspur has revealed that he was also approached by Everton, before signing for Spurs from Portsmouth for a reported fee of £2.5 million.

The summer transfers saw Manchester City as the biggest spender in England as they approximately spent £120 million after deducting the money gained from selling five of its players for a seven figure price tag. Manchester United were seen the biggest gainers as they sold their star player Ronaldo for £80 million.

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Posted in Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Everton, Man U, Manchester City, Portsmouth, Premier League, Tottenham

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Sylvinho returns to England

August 24th, 2009

Brazilian defender Sylvinho, who helped Barcelona clinch the Treble last year has agreed to play for Manchester City this year. Although it’s a free transfer, and the contract is for only a year, signing Sylvinho gives City the much needed experience in their defense. City had already signed the likes of Tevez from Manchester United, Adebayor and Toure from Arsenal and Gareth Barry from Aston Villa. These signings makes City’s attack dangerous but this wasn’t enough until they add some experience in their defense, and Sylvinho certainly fits in perfectly.

The last match Sylvinho played for Barca was the Champions League final against English champions Manchester United. Sylvinho played the full 90 minutes of the game and saw him tackling the likes of Ronaldo, Rooney, Berbatov and Tevez effectively. Sylvinho has already played in England. In 1999 he joined Arsenal, and became the first Brazilian to do so. He did well the first season but eventually lost his place to Ashley Cole, the next season. This made him leave the club in 2001 for a Spanish second division Celta Di Vigo before joining Barcelona in 2004.

Manchester City now looks a complete team which has a mix of creativity and experience in their players. It all depends on Mark Hughes now to get the best out of his players and ensure that Sylvinhos addition is used to optimum. Everyone will be waiting to see how well the team gets along now and what newer moves they can try having signed on a strong name in defense.

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Posted in Arsenal, Barcelona, Champions League, Manchester City, Premier League

Latest From The Premier League

August 22nd, 2009

Latest from the premier league coming from the Chelsea bench, with the premier £18million ace striker Zhirkov dispelling all the rumors surrounding his knee injury by clearly stating that he wont be going under the knife for fixing his injury.

He is supposed to have incurred this injury during the leagues pre season tour to America.

More news from the league with Fulham finally making the deal with Jonathan Greening, joining from West Bromwich Albion on a loan deal.

Also coming straight for the Manchester city striker Santa Cruz, his much awaited return is finally over as the player has recovered from his injury and is expected to return back to first class football in September.

The celebrated footballer is expected to make his return with the Manchester Derby staring from the 20th of September.

The star Paraguayan performer was advised complete bed rest after a serious knee injury in April and has been out of action ever since. This was the reason for his not being able to participate in any of the matches with the Citizens ever since his £15million pound arrival from the Blackburn.

With all the big transfers going on Atletico Madrid striker Sergio Aguero has ruled out any possibility of his leaving Spain.

Well, with the Premier league heating up and all the teams gearing up to put together there best. The soccer fans across the world are in for a treat.

Hope the teams don’t disappoint there fans and put up a great show.

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Posted in Chelsea FC, General, Manchester City, Premier League

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Argentina’s Carlos Tevez Will Be Playing For Man City

August 13th, 2009

Argentina’s Carlos Tevez Will Be Playing For Man City

The wealthy Eastlands club (Manchester City) have signed on former Manchester United’s forward striker Carlos Tevez and speculations indicate that Tevez may not be the only high profile player being signed on to Manchester City. Talks are being held to acquire John Terry who happens to be Chelsea’s captain as well as Arsenal’s striker, Emmanuel Adebayor.

Carlos Tevez seems to be happier at Manchester City and this he communicated through an interpreter. He is quoted having said the following after signing what is believed to be a five-year contract with Man City, “I was there [Manchester United] for two years and Sir Alex never called or sent me any text messages in that time.” His remarks seemed heartfelt and albeit bitter, continuing to say that there wasn’t really much communication with him while in the club and that was no way to treat a player who’s been there for two years. He however thanked the entire Manchester United Club and the fan base for his time there.

Mark Hughes, City’s manager admittedly said that having the 25 year old Argentinean on the team was a great value added and they would pose a great challenge in the coming season. Hughes however refused to comment about plans of acquiring other high profile players for the club, stating that “it’s not the place, nor time – to discuss players they haven’t signed on yet.”

All people can do is wait and see what will become of the aspiring club!

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Posted in Chelsea FC, Football Transfer Market, General, Man U, Manchester City, Premier League, Premiership

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Will Adebayor Exit Emirates Stadium?

August 13th, 2009

Will Adebayor Exit Emirates Stadium?

After the acquisition of Roque Santa Cruz and former Man-U’s forward striker Carlos Tevez, Mark Hughes, Manchester City’s manager seems to be on a roll and unstoppable as he seeks to revolutionize the club by signing on Arsenal’s ‘hit man’ Emmanuel Adebayor.

After his 30 goal spree in the 2007 – 2008 season, the Togolese international player became the most in-demand striker with clubs such as AC Milan and Barcelona offering bids as high as £30 million!! His failure this past season to perform an encore with such goals may see him exiting the Emirates Stadium.
Reports claim that Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger is more than willing to let the striker join the Manchester City club, proving that Arsenal might be more receptive to selling him now (before summer) than would have been in the 2008 – 2009 season.

Mark Hughes seems highly in demand for the £22 million-rated striker’s services as he sees a lot of potential in the 25-year old targetman. The Daily Mail speculates that the temperamental aspect of the former African player as well as his unruly behavior both on the pitch and in the dressing room might have resulted to his downfall and faded goodwill he once held in the fans.

All the same, his transfer to City would result in a great hope for him and the Man-City revolution.
Arsene Wenger would be able to use the price tag to acquire some of his new selection resulting in a
win-win situation if you may.

The deal is almost sealed!

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Posted in Arsenal, Football Transfer Market, General, Man U, Manchester City, Premier League

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