Chelsea exited the Champions League at Old Trafford last night, as Manchester United completed a 3-1 aggregate victory to leave Carlo Ancelotti’s future at Stamford Bridge in the balance. With Chelsea’s European adventure now over and the Blues currently way off the pace in the race for the Premier League title, it looks like the Italian could be headed for a summer exit.
This morning in the newspapers it is being claimed that Manchester United have swooped for their next goalkeeper, with David de Gea to arrive at Old Trafford at the end of the season for a fee of 20 million Euros. Jack Wilshere has dismissed talk of a move to Manchester City, while the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust have rejected Stan Kroenke’s offer for their shares.
Ancelotti admits his future is out of his hands – Telegraph
Mourinho taunts Tottenham – Guardian
David de Gea a done deal for Man United – AS
Modric insists Tottenham teammates are committed to the club – Telegraph
Arsenal Supporters’ Trust rejects Kroenke’s offer – Guardian
Carroll told Hart he’d score against him – The Sun
Kuyt to stay at Liverpool until 2014 – Daily Mail
Wilshere dismisses talk of move to Man City – Mirror
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West Ham take financial hit on Benni McCarthy – The Sun
Kolarov set for return to Italy – Daily Mail
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Valery Karpin has resigned as coach of Spartak Moscow after the club’s poorest ever start to a season, the Russian club announced on Monday.Traditionally one of the Russian Premier League’s most powerful clubs, Spartak have not won a major trophy since 2003 and bowed out of the Europa League quarter-finals 10-3 on aggregate to Porto on Thursday.
Spartak then fell 2-1 to Anzhi Makhachkala on Sunday – their third defeat in five league matches this season – to plummet to the bottom of the Premier League table.
In an announcement the day after the club’s latest defeat, former Russia midfielder Karpin revealed he would be stepping down as Spartak manager but would remain as the club’s general director.
“Today the board of directors had accepted my resignation,” said Karpin, who has been in the role since April 2009.
“In the current situation I was ready to quit my other job as the club’s general director but the board did not discuss such a scenario.”
Spartak take on Krasnodar in the Russian Cup on Wednesday, with Karpin’s replacement yet to be announced.
Barcelona re-established their eight-point lead on top of La Liga with a comfortable 2-0 win over Espanyol on Sunday.After Real Madrid thumped Sevilla 6-2 on Saturday and closed the gap to five points, Pep Guardiola’s team extended the margin back to eight points thanks to goals from Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique – putting Barcelona within touching distance of a third consecutive La Liga title.
It took 29 minutes for Iniesta to break the deadlock after he cut inside from the left and buried his shot into the bottom corner.
Pique doubled their advantage three minutes into the second half when he headed in a corner from Xavi at the near post.
Espanyol sit in eighth, four points from sixth-placed Atletico Madrid.
Osasuna scored three times in the last 30 minutes to move out of the relegation zone with a 3-1 win over Real Zaragoza.
Camunas, Sergio and Kike Sola struck in the second half after Lafita had given Zaragoza a 15th-minute lead.
The win moved Osasuna into 14th, two points clear of relegation, while Real Zaragoza slipped to 17th, only out of the drop zone on goal difference.
In Sunday’s other game, Mallorca and Villarreal played out a 0-0 draw.
Villarreal remain fourth on the table with Mallorca sitting in 11th.
Blackburn winger Morten Gamst Pedersen believes his relegation-threatened side can beat Manchester United on Saturday and delay their visitors’ title celebrations.Sir Alex Ferguson’s team only need a point to seal their 19th Premier League title, while Blackburn are just three points above the drop zone.
But Pedersen insists his team can pull off a huge shock at Ewood Park and secure their survival.
“It’s a tough game but we’ve done well against the big teams at home this year and hopefully we can do well against Manchester United as well,” said the Norwegian.
“We know they need a point to be the champions but we drew with them last year and we’ve beaten them here before.”
” We just have to work as hard as we can. We need the points as much as United. I’m looking forward to it, it’s always fun to play these games.”
But Pedersen admits that he won’t be upset when United do claim the title, as he grew up supporting the club.
“I was a little bit of a United fan when I was younger,” he said.
” I followed the teams with Norwegian players in but my dad was a Manchester United fan and they were probably my number one team as well.”
“It’s fun to go to watch them when they play the big teams and it’s next door to me as well so I’m lucky.”
“Manchester United are unbelievable. Other teams may be better on paper, player for player, but the team of Manchester United is the best in England.”
“My dad was never a crazy fan and him supporting United has never been a problem for me.”
“When we play, he supports Blackburn.”
“I’ve got other friends who say, ‘You have to do this and that to let United win the league’, but I tell them I have more important things on my mind – to keep Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League.”
Blackburn boss Steve Kean believes he is a ‘better man’ for his experience on Survival Sunday, but hopes never to have to repeat the ordeal.Kean was handed the reins at Ewood Park after the controversial sacking of Sam Allardyce in December, with the new owners saying Allardyce was not the man to take the club to a top-four finish in the English Premier League.
Such optimism from Venky’s Group chair Anuradha Desai seemed misplaced in retrospect as Blackburn plummeted from mid-table to within a point of the relegation places ahead of their final match.
But a fine 3-2 win at Wolverhampton, who also narrowly avoided the drop, kept Blackburn in the top-flight for another season, and Kean is now plotting his raid on the transfer market to ensure the next campaign is not so perilous.
“I know I’ll be a better man for the experience of keeping Blackburn up,” the Scot told the Daily Record.
“When you go on a run of matches without winning it’s only natural you sit down and examine everything you’re doing.”
“How you cope with your problems is to simply work even harder on the training ground. Everything that’s been good for us followed on from doing that.”
“It’s an amazing feeling to have kept the club in the best league in the world. Now my ambition is to buy the players who’ll ensure we don’t have to go through another Survival Sunday a year from now.”
“Relegation affects everything at a club. But now I’m thinking optimistically about getting us into the top half and bringing a trophy to Ewood Park.”
When Stoke City were promoted to the Premier League no one gave them any hope of surviving and establishing themselves in the Premier League. However, that is exactly what Stoke City has done and now surely they provide the inspiration and example for other teams coming up from the Championship to follow.
Stoke are a good example of fortune following the brave and for all the plaudits that Blackpool have received this season – I question if they really gave themselves a chance with of lack of transfer investment. This is certainly not the case at Stoke, but it should be noted that Stoke are heavily backed by the Coates family that have invested £43m into the club and the majority of that money has gone directly into Tony Pulis’ playing budget to keep Stoke in the Premier League.
However, the money that was invested into that team is what gave them a chance. £16m was invested in the 2008/9 season – their first in the Premier League. The biggest fees went on Dave Kitson, Seyi Olofinjana, Abdoulaye Faye, Matthew Etherington and James Beattie. The spending paid off as they finished 12th in the league with 45 points; their survival was comfortable as they finished 11 points clear of relegation.
In the 2009/10 season Stoke looked to cash in on the success they had in the previous season further investing in the team. Dean Whitehead, Robert Huth, Tuncay Sanli, Diego Arismendi, Danny Collins and Asmir Begovic were all signed for a combined total of over £21m but they also recouped some money with the sales of Seyi Olofinjana and Leon Cort. Again it looked to be money well spent as Stoke finished in a comfortable position in the table; this time 11th with 47 points, an impressive 17 points above the relegation zone.
The season that just past Stoke started to calm down their total transfer spend as they had already developed a decent Premier League squad. But it was the season that proved they can spend fairly big sums on one player; when Kenwyne Jones signed for £8m and was joined by fellow new signings Florent Cuveiler, Jonathan Walters and Jermaine Pennant, the combined total was just under £12.5m. Stoke again performed well by finishing 13th in the Premier League but with a little less comfort away from the relegation zone; this time just 7 points.
It will be interesting to see what Stoke’s transfer approach ahead of the new season will be – but I think they have done superbly to establish themselves and next season they can think about having a go of breaking into the top 10. They already have a solid looking Premier League squad but will want to add a few quality additions. Above all though Stoke’s success is reward for being brave and ambitious.
As you would expect from the quality that Stoke have signed, the 2010 wage bill has steadily increased and stood at £45m, 2010 turnover was £59m and debt is relatively low in Premier League terms of £8m, only 0.3% of total Premier League debt. The club looks in a healthy state providing the Coates family continue to back them financially.
The Premier League is a tough division to stay in and unlike some other divisions there is no real escape from quality players. A good manager, decent Championship squad and team spirit can get you so far – but you’re unlikely to really grab this opportunity without that bit of Premier League quality as well. Blackpool was an example of what might have been – if that little bit of extra quality had been added to the team.
Now as we know from the data presented above Stoke spent around £16m in their first season and have spent approximately £49.5m since they have been in the Premier League. Blackpool last season clearly took a different approach to Premier League survival spending only £3.675m. But clearly the act of spending money in itself is not the guaranteed way of surviving; the process is a fair bit more complicated than that. And copying the level of spending that Stoke have done doesn’t give the assurance that a team will finish well away from the relegation zone. Wolves for instance only just survived despite a transfer spend of around £15m; they do have a relatively low wage bill.
But there is clearly something in the Stoke City approach and it seems the right level of spending on the right players can allow a team to progress in the Premier League. However, it’s important that things don’t go the other way and money is just thrown at the problem. West Ham spent £14m this season but perhaps more important than that was the wages they paid out and have been paying out; something that will hurt the club next season in the Championship. Birmingham spent nearly £20m all new players, but both these clubs were relegated.
So it will be interesting to see how QPR, Norwich and Swansea approach the transfer market ahead of the new season. All three clubs know that they will need a level of extra quality in the squad, but will be cautious that any money they do spend will not be guaranteed to keep them in the league. Therefore, they need to consider, if they spend this money and they get relegated – will the club still be in a good financial place.
Making some good quality signings on players that are young and ready for the opportunity seems a good approach to take. Norwich has made an early start with the £2.5m capture of James Vaughan and this appears to be the right sort of signing. In conclusion, have a look at what Stoke have done and try and do a similar job within the financial restraints of each individual club. For any of the newly promoted clubs to have a chance they must add some Premier League quality to their squad – but do so in a sensible way. For instance Stoke’s wage bill was £30m in 2009 but that increased to £45m a year later, because they were now a solid Premier League team. So invest but with logic and common sense.
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Jack Rodwell ’s potential transfer to one of the bigger teams in the Premiership has been mooted for several years now. Speculation has been rife for some time that Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal, and currently Tottenham and Manchester City, will make a £20m plus bid for the Everton man. The question is: is he really worth it?
The first thing to say is that Rodwell certainly has the ability to become a great player. He is quick, strong, tall and capable in both an attacking and defensive role. However, since being given his first run out for the Toffees back in the 2007/08 season, Rodwell has scored only two Premiership goals, and has only two Premiership assists to his name.
So this raises the issue of what role these clubs envisage for the midfielder. Is he a defensive midfielder, an attacking midfielder, or a box-to-box, Steven Gerrard-esque midfielder? Blues boss David Moyes has even suggested Rodwell will eventually make his way back to centre-back, and though this suggests a versatility to Rodwell, which would inevitably add value to his transfer, it also alludes to the fact that the player is not quite sure of his role in the Everton team.
Rodwell was presented with an ideal opportunity to showcase his talents at the recent European Championships with England U-21s, and though he was not alone in terms of the abject nature of his brief performances, he will be very disappointed with his efforts. So too will David Moyes if he harbours any hopes to sell the player.
But this brings us on to a more general point about England’s youngsters. After three disgraceful displays against Spain, Ukraine and Czech Republic, it seems entirely ridiculous for the same players to be the primary targets for the Premiership big boys. Only Manchester United’s Chris Smalling showed anything near the amount of class you would expect for a player valued at £10m.
Smalling is without doubt the most assured player in the Under-21s set-up coming off the back of a superb season for Manchester United. As he had played so few games for Fulham, again Ferguson was paying for potential. So how can Smalling’s U-21 team-mates, namely Jordan Henderson, Phil Jones and Jack Rodwell, justify transfers fees of double that amount?
It makes no sense. Premier League manager’s preference for young English players over ones that have developed, matured and proven themselves is perhaps their biggest weakness. To illustrate the point, Kenny Dalglish recently paid about £25m too much for Andy Carroll – a player who had 31 career goals to his name (mainly at Championship level) at 3.1 games per goal – whereas Darren Bent , whose record stands at 168 career goals at 2.3 games per goal (mainly at Premiership level) went for around £15m less.
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Bent’s consistently impressive scoring return justifies his consistently lofty transfer fees. Put simply, a good season in the Championship, an excellent start to the Premiership and a clear aptitude for heading does not, in any way, justify £35m.
Finally, as much as everyone occasionally bemoans the lack of English talent in the Arsenal team, Arsene certainly has the right idea. Why pay £20m for Rodwell and Henderson, when you can pay a pittance for Fabregas. Fabregas is a one-off, you say? Alright then, £35m for Carroll or £6m for Hernandez? Again, the disparity is laughable.
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The more young English players move for astronomical sums, the more managers will turn to foreign imports to bolster their squads. And, perhaps more importantly for some, the more these young English players move for so much so young, the harder they must try to justify their price-tags leading to more pressure, heightened scrutiny and a more fearful arena in which to develop.
And we wonder why England are so bad…
Article courtesy of Chris Smith at the Transfer Tavern
The whole Carlos Tevez saga seems to be at an end with Roberto Mancini confirming the club have accepted a bid from the Brazilian side Corinthians. The Argentine leaving will be a huge loss to Manchester City, as well as the Premier League as a whole.
In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that include Arsene Wenger calling for the Fabregas saga to be resolved; Steve Bruce baffled by Cattermole to Liverpool rumours, while Andre Villas-Boas warns Chelsea stars to show him that they deserve a place at the club.
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Tevez set to join Corinthians after City finally accept offer – Guardian
Wenger wants Fábregas saga resolved – Guardian
Clarke: Joe Cole has Liverpool future – Daily Telegraph
SWP: Don’t Wright me off – Sun
Villa slam ultimatum on Wigan winger – Mirror
Taarabt left out of Rangers pre-season tour to finalise £12m move to PSG – Daily Mail
Hou: I’m not finished yet – Sun
Bruce baffled by Cattermole to Liverpool rumours – Mirror
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Mancini plays down Nasri and Wenger row – Guardian
Villas-Boas warns Chelsea stars: Show me you’re worth it – Daily Mail
Paolo Guerrero struck a hat-trick to help Peru claim third place in the Copa America with a 4-1 win over 10-man Venezuela on Saturday.Guerrero’s second-half treble, coming after Willian Chiroque opened the scoring in the first half, proved enough to overcome Venezuela, who were a man down following Tomas Rincon’s 58th-minute dismissal at Estadio Ciudad de La Plata.
Peru had their first genuine sight on goal 25 minutes in, when a quick one-two on the edge of the area released Chiroque behind the defence, but his effort from a tight angle was parried by Renny Vega.
A few minutes later, Venezuela had a chance when Miku turned into space inside the penalty area, but Raul Fernandez did well to tip his shot wide.
Despite Venezuela growing in confidence as the first-half neared its end, it was Peru who opened the scoring with a blistering counter-attack.
With three minutes to go before the break, Chiroque picked up the ball inside his own half and broke with pace against the back-pedalling Venezuelan defence.
He found Guerrero on the right flank, continued his run into the box, and stroked the return pass home from two yards.
Venezuela’s task was made that much harder after they were reduced to 10 men in the 58th minute, when Rincon slid in with two feet on Carlos Lobaton.
The tackle may not have been as harsh as Lobaton made out, but referee Wilmar Roldan showed Rincon a straight red, his second dismissal of the tournament.
Things went from bad to worse for Venezuela, as Peru doubled their advantage on 65 minutes.
With gaps appearing following Rincon’s sending off, Guerrero advanced through the midfield and played Chiroque through on the right.
This time he turned provider, laying the ball back to strike partner Guerrero, who had time to control the pass and smash it into the roof of the net.
Venezuela did at least manage to return fire, with substitute Juan Arango finishing clinically on 78 minutes after Yohandry Orozco’s through ball.
But it proved to be nothing more than a consolation, with Guerrero sealing the win for Peru as the clock moved into injury time.
The Hamburg striker showed great skill to evade his marker at the top of the box, and finished with aplomb past the helpless Vega.
Two minutes later, with virtually the last kick of the game, Guerrero completed his hat-trick with a simple finish.
For Peru, the win secures their best finish in the Copa since 1983, when they also came in third.
And while Venezuela must settle for fourth, it was still their best return in 15 appearances at the tournament dating back to 1967.
Sporting Lisbon have dismissed reports they are on the verge of signing Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner, while DJ Campbell appears on the move.The Liga Sagres club were reportedly on the verge of signing the Denmark international after he was allegedly pictured in Portugal.
But director of football Carlos Freitas denied the rumours while unveiling teenager Atila Turan on Friday.
“I have no justification for such news. Bendtner is a player who is as close to Sporting as (Gonzalo) Higuain or (Didier) Drogba are,” Freitas said.
“Those are players who are at the same distance from Sporting. The reports of a move for Bendtner are a fictitious production.”
Bendtner is thought to be seeking a move away from the Emirates Stadium as he continues to fall down the pecking order at the English Premier League club.
Arsenal, meanwhile, are reportedly poised to break their transfer record with a move for Valencia midfielder Juan Mata.
The 23-year-old has been heavily linked with a move away from the Spanish club and Arsene Wenger’s team are viewed as a potential destination for the 2010 FIFA World Cup winner, with an offer in the region of 20 million euros.
The Mirror claimed that the Gunners have come to an agreement with Valencia over the potential sale of Mata, while The Sun reported that the player himself has told friends that he is set to join the north London club.
Elsewhere in the Premier League, Queens Park Rangers have had a bid for Blackpool striker DJ Campbell accepted, with the player to undergo a medical in London.
The forward only joined the Tangerines permanently last term after enjoying a successful loan spell and continued his good form during the club’s first Premier League season, scoring 13 goals in 31 matches in the top flight.
The 29-year-old is set to move to the newly promoted club for an undisclosed fee, and only needs to agree to personal terms with QPR for the deal to go through.
“Blackpool Football Club can confirm that an agreement has been reached with Queen Park Rangers for the transfer of striker DJ Campbell,” Blackpool said on their official website.
“The 29-year-old has now been given permission to discuss personal terms with Neil Warnock’s side and undergo a medical.”
QPR have already secured the signings of Kieron Dyer, Jay Bothroyd and Danny Gabbidon so far this summer, but all three deals were on free transfers.
In other news in England, Bolton Wanderers have completed the signing of Burnley duo Chris Eagles and Tyrone Mears on three-year deals.
Right-back Mears and winger Eagles rejoin manager Owen Coyle, who signed them for Burnley during his time in charge there.
In the Serie A, Genoa have completed the signing of French goalkeeper Sebastien Frey from Fiorentina for an undisclosed fee, with the shot-stopper signing a five-year deal.
In Germany, Bundesliga outfit Schalke have confirmed the capture of former Stuttgart striker Ciprian Marica.
Returning to Spain, the agent of Villarreal attacker Giuseppe Rossi has announced the player will remain with the La Liga outfit – much to the disappointment of potential suitor Juventus.
Rossi had looked on the way out as Villarreal looked to ease their financial problems, but the sale of Santi Cazorla to Malaga has eased the burden and should allow Rossi to remain at El Madrigal.