Archive for May, 2007
United Get Chelsea Transfer Revenge
Last summer we saw the resolution to one of the most tiresome transfer battles of all time. John Obi Mikel, who had signed a contract with Manchester United only later to change his mind and try to get a deal with Chelsea, was allowed to go to the blues. The unproven teenager cost Chelsea £16 million, with £12 million going to Manchester United. Unfortunately for Mikel, it was United who won the league this year, and the teenager had to make do with the domestic cups.
Mikel was not the only player the two clubs were tracking and prepared to fight over though. Anderson, the nineteen year old wonder from Brazil, is a player Chelsea have been particularly keen on for the past two years. Back in May 2005, Anderson was playing for Gremio, and his agent, Baidek, reported the blues interest.
“The assistant coach of Chelsea has asked me for some videos of Anderson so they can see him in action and then make an offer to Gremio,” said Baidek.
Manchester United confirmed the signing of the player last night, despite Chelsea’s continued interest. This player is nicknamed the “new Ronaldinho”, and only time will tell which team signed the better of the youngsters available.
Read More >>Inter To Poach Chelsea Star
AC Milan vice president, Adriano Galliani, has today said that the club is ready to bring Chelsea flop Andrei Shevchenko back to Serie A.
He admits there will be an issue with the cost, having sold the player for a whopping £30 million just a season before. Milan can not afford to spend close to that figure, and with Abromovich unlike to be willing to throw so much money away, this could pose a problem for the European Champions.
Arch enemies, Internazionale, have been said to be big fans of the striker, and have more financial backing than their rivals. Galliani is worried that Shevchenko might be on his way, with Inter president Massimo Moratti keen to sign.
“I know how to forgive betrayal. I just hope he does not speak to Moratti,” Galliani said.
“The only problem is the price.”
Read More >>Milan Ready For Sheva Bid
Andrei Shevchenko, despite his efforts, has been considered a flop in the Premiership this season after his £30 million move to Chelsea from Milan. He has scored just 13 goals in 51 games.
It has been rumoured since January that Shevchenko is on his way back to Milan, who are more than happy to take him back. However, it is unlikely that Abromovich will be happy to see his £30 million go down the drain.
Milan vice-president has spoken out about the situation. “With the right conditions, as we have said for weeks, we are ready to buy him back,” he said.
“The only problem is the price.”
Read More >>Classless Bitter Blue: We Are Better Than United
Chelsea defender Ferreira has comically claimed today that despite finishing second by six points, that Chelsea actually are better than Manchester United.
Jose Mourinho has whipped the media in to a frenzy, emphasising the point that injuries have crippled his team. This has lead small details like Manchester United being without both captain Gary Neville and defender of the season Nemanja Vidic for a longer period of time than Chelsea were without John Terry. It is also forgotten that Louis Saha has spent all of 2007 battling with injuries, and has not played a match since the first weekend in March.
Manchester United really were a side crippled with injuries the season before, and finished eight points behind Chelsea. Neither Alex Ferguson or any of the players relied on the injury excuse, and would not have dreamed of claiming to be the best side.
Paulo Ferreira, however, does claim that Chelsea are the better side, despite winning four less games than the reds and obtaining a goal difference worse by 16.
“I insist 100 per cent that United are not a better team than Chelsea,” he said.
“When all our players are fit then we’re still the best in the country.
“We played United three times this season and they did not win any of those games.”
Read More >>Shock Swap: Crouch For Owen
It has been rumoured today that Sam Allardyce is planning to lure Peter Crouch away from Liverpool, and Michael Owen could be part of the deal.
Owen, who has played just a handful of games for Newcastle in the two seasons he has been there, left Liverpool the season before they won the Champions League. At Real Madrid he played very little and won nothing, and has since had two injury packed seasons with Newcastle.
Peter Crouch was dropped for the Champions League final last Wednesday, despite being the club’s highest scorer in the competition this season. Dirk Kuyt offered very little to the attack, whereas Crouch, who was brought on with just ten minutes to play, had a great shot on goal within moments of coming on to the field.
The Times claimed Allardyce is planning a £10 million offer for the Liverpool striker, who he tried to sign twice when at Bolton. However, Benitez would be unlikely to sell on Crouch without replacement. If Owen is seeking a move away from the North East, an agreement between the two clubs seems ideal.
Read More >>Luis Nani - Manchester United Move
Manchester United have had their eye on Luis Nani for some time, who currently plays for Cristiano Ronaldo’s former club, Sporting Lisbon.
The young player has stated his desire to play for United several times, and has again today requested to make a move to the Premiership.
“Sporting know my opinion about this subject. If an offer arrives which offers a good opportunity then I want to talk about it,” Nani said.
“Going to England is one of my options because the Premier League is one of the best leagues in the world and it will be a big challenge. But I have not spoken or made up my mind about any one club.
“I am prepared to go to England because I believe I would progress there.”
Read More >>Rafa Reveals Crouch’s Future Plans
Peter Crouch would have every right to feel frustrated about being dropped last Wednesday night. He scored six goals in seven starts for the reds, yet was left to watch his team play from the bench. It was clear Kuyt was not having the desired effect, but Benitez waited until there was only ten minutes to play before Crouch made an appearance.
The striker has been linked with a move away from the club, however Crouch has revealed today that he is part of the manager’s plans.
“He’s (Benitez) told me I’m part of his plans and that’s good enough for me,” Crouch said.
“At a club like Liverpool there’s going to be competition for places, especially as the manager likes to chop and change.”
Read More >>Liverpool Fans Behaving Badly In Athens
Liverpool lost 2-1 to AC Milan in last night’s Champions League final, however many reds fans were not inside the ground to watch it happen.
Thousands of Liverpool fans travelled to Athens without tickets, and gained entry to the ground through forged tickets, or with none at all. This left some fans with genuine tickets stranded outside after being refused entry to an already full stadium.
UEFA’s head of communications, William Gaillard, has pinned the blame of the Liverpool fans. It comes as a surprise that Liverpool fans would behave this way, after they have two incidents of deaths caused from overcrowding at their matches.
“It was a suitable venue. It is the stadium where the 2004 European Championships were held and where all the games of the (Greek) national team are held.
“Unfortunately in Britain it is the behaviour. Liverpool fans are responsible for the problems before, during and after the game.
“(They were) trying to go over the barriers to get into the stadium without tickets, which is not the behaviour we can condone. It is very easy to say ‘this is not a football stadium’.
“Milan supporters didn’t face the same problems because they didn’t behave the same way.”
“In terms of fans pushing and attempting to get over the barriers, with turnstiles there could have been a tragedy.
“At one point the police were overwhelmed and it is much to their credit that there were no dangerous incidents.”
Read More >>Liverpool Shock Transfer Hijack
Sylvian Distin, who has had a good season for Manchester City, signed for Portsmouth yesterday. City have struggled in front of goal for most of the season, and it has therefore been the club’s impressive defence that has kept them in the Premiership.
Portsmouth boss, Harry Redknapp, has today announced that Liverpool came in with a late bid, trying to hijack the deal for the defender.
However, Distin stayed true to his word, and put pen to paper for the blues whilst Liverpool faced defeat in Athens.
“I panicked when Liverpool came in with a late offer,” said Redknapp.
“But, thankfully, we’d struck an agreement.”
Read More >>Rafa Names Players Who Face Axe
Liverpool were defeated in last night’s Champions League final, despite looking like the best team for large portions of the match.
Rafa Benitez has wasted no time in announcing which players will be on the move. Whilst Liverpool have progressed significantly in Europe over recent years, the cost of this has been their title challenge, finishing some 21 points behind the Champions, Manchester United, this season.
Mark Gonzalez, who Rafa signed last season, and Boudewijn Zenden, who was signed the season before, are the two players mentioned as moving on.
“We must not waste this moment,” said Benitez. “We must move quickly to sign our number one targets.
“If we wait we will be chasing the players who are second and third on our list. We need to change the structure of the club on and off the pitch.
“We must make progress, and make it now to take us up two or three levels straight away.
“There will be several players leaving,” he added, with Gonzalez tipped to join Real Betis. “We will wait for offers.
“We have a deal nearly completed for Gonzalez and I have told Bolo that he can talk to other clubs. We know the situation we have now.”
Read More >>
