Bayern Munich are determined to keep hold of Arjen Robben, amid rumours that Manchester City and Chelsea are looking to pounce.
According to reports in the Daily Mail, the German giants are looking to extend his existing deal at the Allianz Arena that is due to expire in the summer of 2013.
Robben showed why Bayern are so desperate to keep him after the Dutchman fired in a hat-trick at the weekend, but the German giants are fully aware that unless they can tie him down that they may have to let Robben leave in the summer, for a fee that could be as little as £10m.
The player’s father has conceded that there is firm interest in his son (Mirror) from the top club’s in England and that is why Bayern are prepared to make Robben the highest paid player in their history to ensure he remains in Munich.
Bayern President Karl-Heinz Rummenigge feels that Arjen Robben makes the difference to the side and that is why he is determined to get him to commit to this new £170k a week deal:
“Arjen can make all the difference in a team. That’s why I want him to stay.”
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In a few months time Paul Jewell will be looking over his squad and assessing who he needs to sell and who he needs to sign. Furthermore Jewell has gone on to state that he wants to bring in a new permanent number one and on the face of it this seems to be a reasonable decision. Not having a permanent goalkeeper throughout this season has not helped stabilise the Ipswich defence, which is shaky enough already. However when you look throughout the team and think about where money needs to be invested, the priority should not be in goal.
The first aspect that we need to weigh up is how important a good goalkeeper can be for a side gunning for promotion. Without a doubt every team needs a consistent goalkeeper who is organised and has the confidence to boss the defence around. In terms of actual ability it is highly debatable as to whether you need the best goalkeeper in the league though. Looking at the goalkeepers from the current top 6 teams there is Kelvin Davis, Adam Federici, Rob Green, Matthew Gilks, Boaz Myhill and David Marshall. Although none of those mentioned are bad goalkeepers they aren’t anything different in terms of their ability from what Leicester have with Kasper Schmeichel, what Derby have with Frank Fielding or what Peterborough have in Joe Lewis etc.
The important factor to remember is although you need a good goalkeeper you don’t need anything special. There is no point in spending a vast amount of time and money hunting for a goalkeeper especially when other areas in the team are in need of a major overhaul.
The second aspect that should be weighed up is the quality of Arran Lee-Barrett. It is hard to find anyone who would rate Lee-Barrett as a top goalkeeper even by Championship standards, but it is also clear that he can perform well at this level. He has never been given much praise or a guaranteed role but for the last 3 seasons he has been the man who shows up when we have no one else. Additionally, he never takes any playing time he can get for granted and he never complains about being cut from the team on multiple occasions. Although he receives very little praise he is never receiving much criticism, but to cut a long story short he is just an average goalkeeper.
If you put a decent defence in front of Arran Lee-Barrett he would make all the saves you expect him to and give you a good season. If say Southampton or Reading were using him this season I am sure they would still be in the same positions they are now. Perhaps Lee-Barrett won’t win points on his own through spectacular saves but he will always put a good shift in. Come August and the first game of next season, I for one would not be concerned if I saw the name Lee-Barrett in between the sticks for Ipswich Town.
So does Jewell really need to sign a new number one? I have heard recent rumours that Ipswich are interested in signing Scott Loach and whether this particular rumour is true or not, my main concern is that Ipswich will spend big on a goalkeeper who isn’t any better than what they already have. The key factor now is what kind of goalkeeper Jewell has his eyes on. If a really decent goalkeeper becomes available at a good price then I would love to see Ipswich go for him but Jewell should not make it a priority.
No matter who you sign in goal they will not be able to have the same influence as a good centre back or central midfielder so I would much rather see those positions filled before thinking about a goalkeeper.
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QPR defender Anton Ferdinand has stated that his side will go to Old Trafford to try and cause an upset against Manchester United on Sunday.
The Loftus Road club are submerged in a relegation battle to stay in the Premier League, and are overwhelming underdogs against the champions this weekend.
However, Ferdinand tasted success at Old Trafford with former club West Ham in 2007, and is hopeful of the same this time round.
“One of the highlights of my career was going there with West Ham and beating them to stay in the Premier League,” he told Mirror Football.
“It was fantastic. We defended for our lives – not many people keep a clean sheet there, let alone win the game. Results like that show it can be done.
“Of course, if someone offered me a point [from Sunday’s game] now, I’d take it all day long. We know it’s a difficult place to go but we have shown at Loftus Road that we are tough to beat and we have to take that mentality into the away games now.
“When it comes to a relegation battle, it is not about form, it’s about mentality. As long as we keep it tight at the back, there’s no reason why we can’t unlock their defence at the other end,” he concluded.
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Roy Hodgson has revealed that he will name his England squad for Euro 2012 next Wednesday, Sky Sports reports.
The West Brom man had already admitted that he would take careful consideration in picking the best-equipped players to aid the Three Lions in Ukraine and Poland, and that the contingent would not be named until the end of the Premier League season.
UEFA have set the deadline of May 29th, but Hodgson will pick the squad two weeks early to give the players the relevant notice, and put some out of their misery.
There are a number of key areas that Hodgson will have to make a decision, namely whether to include John Terry, Rio Ferdinand or both given the Chelsea defender’s upcoming court case for allegedly racially abusing the Manchester United man’s brother Anton.
With Wayne Rooney suspended for the first two games, Hodgson will need to formulate a plan of how to cover for his star, especially with Darren Bent injured also.
A final squad list has to named on June 2nd, so alterations could be made in the lead-up to this date.
A press conference for next Wednesday has been arranged for 1pm.
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Rio Ferdinand has stated that he will be supporting England this summer, despite the fact that he was surprisingly overlooked on two occasions for the Euro 2012 squad.
With a feud between the Manchester United man and fellow centre-back John Terry, Roy Hodgson decided to omit Ferdinand for ‘footballing reasons’ in his initial squad.
However, when Gary Cahill was forced to withdraw due to injury, the Old Trafford veteran was again overlooked, this time in favour of inexperienced Liverpool right-back Martin Kelly.
Despite the blow of not playing for the Three Lions in Ukraine and Poland, Ferdinand will be supporting the national side.
“Just so we don’t get it twisted here… I’ll be in a pub somewhere supporting England this summer! Love the lads!” he told his Twitter followers.
Meanwhile, former England boss Steve McClaren has admitted that new manager Hodgson had a really difficult decision to make.
“I think it is a bit of double-take again. There was initial shock when he (Ferdinand) was left out before and now with the injury to Cahill he has not been brought in,” the Twente trainer told Sky Sports.
“That is for obvious reasons. Roy Hodgson has a difficult job to do and he has to make big decisions. He knew when he got the job that this was probably going to be the most controversial and biggest decision he would have to make.
“He is making it for the good of the squad, for the good of the team, and for the good of the tournament coming up. It is always going to be sensitive with the court case coming up. It is a lose-lose situation for any manager.
“You are going to get a nation of opinions. When tournaments come up involving the national team it is always going to be a media circus. You can’t get away from that.
“Roy has been very strong and very firm. He has done his homework, talked to the people involved, he knows the consequences of each decision he would have to make and the decision he has made he has made for the benefit of the squad and the team.
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“I think he has had to choose between the two of them and he has chosen John Terry. In an ideal world without all the controversy around them he would take both of them.
“Only Roy will know the full facts. Only he will have spoken to the necessary people and gathered all the information to make a decision. You make a decision for the good of the squad, that is difficult, but that is one of the things the England manager has to do,” he concluded.
After weeks of rumours and expectation, Southampton Football Club finally revealed the kits that the players will be wearing in the forthcoming Premier League season.
To some surprise, and to certain amounts of revulsion, they unveiled a predominantly red home strip, and an accompanying white change strip, marketed mutually under the motto “red and white army.”
The home strip consists of a red shirt, with white and grey paired pinstripes, red shorts and socks (with white trim), whereas, the away kit is the reverse, white with red pinstripes, and red trim.
The biggest bone of contention amongst fans is the home kit, gone are the traditional broad red and white stripes, and in come pinstripes, a design that was popular in the 1980’s, and made a brief comeback as Nottingham Forest’s first Premier League kit in 1992.
However, it is the omission of our historic black shorts that have got a few fans incensed, and this change is the first change in shorts colour for sixty-two years (the 125th anniversary sash kit excepted, which being a throwback kit was never going to have black shorts). Of course some will say that we have not always sported black shorts, as previous to that we wore Athletico Madrid style dark blue ones, but you would have to be in your seventies to remember a Saints team that took the field sporting those.
Personally I would not be averse to seeing those make a comeback in the future as a one-off, but I don’t know, red shorts, they just don’t seem right somehow. Saints traditional colours are red, white and black, not all red with a hint of white, and this kit has seen comparisons being made with not just Nottingham Forest, but also Liverpool’s kit of the mid-eighties.
A predominately red strip just doesn’t suit the Saints and the whole thing just looks like kit manufacturer Umbro had run out of ideas, in fact I’m wondering what exactly went on in their design department, did a young member of their design team, find an old Nottingham Forest or Liverpool design template down the back of the fridge or something?
Young designer: Hey guys, I found this old Forest kit design from 1992 whilst cleaning behind the fridge.
Design team: That’s great but we’ve already designed Forest’s kits for this season.
YD: Damn! I know we haven’t designed Southampton’s kit yet.
DT: Aren’t they red and white stripes though?
YD: Well this sort of has white stripes on it, oh and we are out of black shorts!
DT: No worries, we’ve got some red ones nobody wants, chuck them in with it.
YD: They need an away kit too!
DT: How about we reverse it, you know, white with red pin stripes?
(Everyone looks at each other and nods in agreement)
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DT: Brilliant, well that’s that done, who fancies the afternoon off?
Of course we have had some non-striped shirts in the past, but as much as the saying goes that, “a change is good as a rest” I can’t help but feel that this could be the sign of things to come. With us ditching our customary two year kit change, and instead bringing out two kits each year, alternating between a version of our time-honoured red and white stripes, followed by a Monty Python kit (something completely different).
I just get the feeling that maybe as this is our first Premier League season for 7 years that we should be wearing our well known broad red and white striped kit, but I guess in the long run, that the sales figures will tell us if the club and Umbro have made a mistake.
At the end of the day, some people with love it, and some will hate it, and you can’t please all of the people, all of the time.
Personally, I don’t care too much for the home kit, and the away kit is nothing more than OK, but at the end of the day, we have nothing to complain about compared to say, Cardiff City fans, and the best part of our kit is seeing the Premier League badges adorn the sleeves after years in the football wilderness, and at least we don’t wear blue!
In recent years the transfer window has represented a time of excitement for Tottenham Hotspur, with Harry Redknapp at the helm it seemed like anything was possible and any target achievable. However, now the wheeler-dealer has moved on, new boss Andre Villas-Boas seems unwilling to comment on speculation or even give interviews from the inside of his car. As a result the Spurs faithful have been left wondering, where are all our ‘triffic players?
It is worth pointing out that the club have signed two very promising players although you may have forgotten given that the deals were completed almost two months ago. Former Ajax blockade Jan Vertonghen and intricate playmaker Gylfi Sigurdsson arrived in moves that essentially trumped rivals Arsenal and Liverpool respectively. Both transfers emerged from an extensive and slightly tiresome process, which inevitably will have seen valuations and wage demands skyrocket. This begs the question, should Spurs abandon any further attempts to sign high-profile players given their devotion to a strict financial mantra?
I realise I am asking to be inundated with comments questioning my sanity and lambasted for my apparent dismissal that Spurs are now a ‘big club’ and should be challenging for a top four spot. However, cast your minds back to February when Lille sensation Eden Hazard lit up message boards claiming he would entertain the idea of moving to North London. Fans were beside themselves with joy, some even claimed a deal was already done but I think it’s now obvious that Hazard used the club as a pawn to generate interest from bigger and better teams.
Fast-forward to the present day and the club are deep in negotiations with another big name, former on-loan assassin Emmanuel Adebayor. Manchester City appear desperate to offload but the tipping point rests entirely on the striker’s wage demands and other financial incentives. Perhaps attention would be better spent elsewhere? Sure Adebayor finished last season as the club’s top scorer but many forwards would have flourished at the peak of Redknapp’s attack minded side. His strike partner Jermain Defoe ended up just one goal shy of Adebayor’s total despite spending the majority of the season perfecting his arse indentation on the Spurs bench.
A quick glance at the gossip columns suggest the club’s current transfer targets include reputable goalkeepers Hugo Lloris and Julio Cesar plus Leandro Damiao, who is currently running riot with Brazil at the Olympics. All of these players are renowned on a global scale and thus cannot be purchased or enticed at a cut price. These individuals may well be the type of players that can propel Spurs further up the league but a lack of Champions League football means the Lilywhites are a far less attractive option, just ask Luka Modric.
The history Villas-Boas shares with Portuguese giants Porto will inevitably see the likes of Hulk and Joao Moutinho cemented in the headlines on a slow news day. Hulk is barely worth mentioning because of the astronomical transfer fees that have been touted in the past, if the likes of Chelsea bulk at an asking price then it’s time to move on. Mountinho on the other hand has been hailed as the replacement for the outgoing Modric but an inspired Euro 2012 campaign could push the playmaker out of reach. It strikes me that all of the players mentioned so far are unlikely to fit into the admirable albeit unconventional, strict financial set-up dictated by chairman Daniel Levy. You can’t force square pegs into round holes, which is perhaps the perfect analogy for the club’s current transfer tactics.
There are a growing number of fans relishing a return for Dimitar Berbatov, the second most famous sportsman to be made an outcast in Manchester. The striker himself declared he could be available for a mere £5m but question marks remain over whether he would suit the high-tempo pressing game favoured by the new manager. The Bulgarian left to join Manchester United on deadline day in 2008, which is coincidently the day Spurs have continued to excel on for a number of years. Perhaps Levy and co are simply biding their time until desperation sets in and bargain deals can emerge from within the furore.
It’s time for Spurs to avert their gaze from the glossy names of football’s elite whilst also avoiding players from within the Premier League. The trials and tribulations of Joe Allen and Steven Fletcher prove overvaluation is a common theme and few fans will want a repeat of transfers like David Bentley and Darren Bent.
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There is much work ahead of the baptism of fire against Alan Pardew’s transfer astute Newcastle United, a team who have thrived on uncovering those rare gems from across Europe. In my opinion things have to change fast or the Geordies could well teach Spurs a lesson on the pitch as well as off it.
Join me on Twitter @theunusedsub where I am helping Arsenal’s Emmanuel Frimpong in his search for loyalty in football.
Tottenham’s wantaway midfielder Luka Modric has apologised to the club after not turning up for the side’s tour of the United Stated, but will not fly out to join his team according to Andre Villas-Boas.
The Croatia international is the subject of interest from Real Madrid, with negotiations ongoing over the playmaker’s future.
Villas-Boas has confirmed that Modric has apologised for his behaviour, but will stay in London to train until his future is solved.
“He has spoken to me and the chairman. His apology comes and it is well welcomed,” Sky Sports report Villas-Boas as saying.
“The player is now training. Hopefully he will make the right decision in the future. We just have to wait on the bidding clubs to offer the right value for a player of big dimension.
“He is an extremely good player and any team or any coach would like to count on a player of that dimension. He is still our player at the moment and at the moment I am counting on him.
“He is in London. We decided for him to stay in London.
“The game against Liverpool is going to be played in tremendous heat. We are going to have three days training for that game and then eventually we have the last game and we don’t have a lot of time to train.
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“With the levels that the others are at the moment, I don’t think it would be sensible to bring Luka back. A decision can still be taken,” the Portuguese trainer concluded.
“Winning isn’t everything,” says Tom Fox, the Arsenal commercial officer. And that is all we needed to confirm that Arsenal are no longer a football club, but rather a business who use the sport as a device to grow financially.
Maybe that’s not always the best way to paint the picture; plenty of clubs, whether they’re football teams or clubs of other sports, drive to become stronger financially. But the need has always been to invest in order to grow on a number of different fronts. It just seems to make very little sense to sell a losing club as a fantastic model for which others should follow.
Where does Theo Walcott come in? Well like every season gone past, and starting with the year Ashley Cole moved to Chelsea, the club have seen little value in rewarding and keeping it’s best players. I’m firmly of the belief now that the Walcott ship has sailed and the player will be off come the end of the season. ‘Its not about winning’ is just a method to paper over the impending disappointment of losing another player for whom many supporters can identify.
Yes the player has been frustrating for so long, but there are very few fans who want to see the player leave. At the other end of the scale, many, many fans want to see the player as a regular member of the starting XI following his good performances up until this point.
Tom Fox is one of the many names currently at the club who have no idea how to run a football club or what it means to be a football club. How much of Arsenal’s identity will be preserved with people openly talking about winning being a secondary to something else? It’s almost as if the club are drawing the landscape for the future, yet one that doesn’t feature the trophies that helped elevate Arsenal’s status in English football.
Naturally, Fox, Ivan Gazidis and Richard Law’s job descriptions are likely to be rife with terms that keep the club’s finances in check, and that just sums up where we are with Walcott.
Arsene Wenger seems determined to keep the player, although it’s difficult to say how much influence he has over the matter of the final wages offered.
There is no ambition other than to sit on as much cash as possible—from the board’s perspective, not Wenger’s—even if it means the best players move on. There’s no concern for strengthening your closest rivals while you continue to decline.
Gazidis came from the MLS and Stan Kroenke owns franchises in America, but do any of them know how to properly run a football club? It’s all about working to a wage structure that is unrealistic of what the club needs: Champions League football.
It worked for so long because players were in place from a previous regime, but slowly and without remorse, the current figures at the club have helped to disband a squad who were the only alternative to the heavy spending of clubs like Chelsea. Now that Walcott and soon Bacary Sagna remain the final few to be forced out the door—because I’m not convinced either of them want to leave—where do the club go next?
There seems to be absolutely no method to the madness, at least from a footballing perspective. Perhaps that is why there is such an emphasis on the club retaining Wenger, for he appears able to keep the club at the highest level. It’s maximum revenue from competitions and match days, but extremely little spend when in comparison to others. At some point or another, the well will run dry and the club will have no answers.
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On the pitch, Walcott is one of the team’s most dangerous players. He makes the team come alive and helps them raise the tempo, something which is absolutely key for the style of football they play. But he’s so much more than just an important figure in the squad. It’s players like Walcott, Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who you want representing your club. Yes there’s the English factor and the sense of connection with the fans, but it’s also the role models and the players who know how to speak in front of the camera.
None of that is taken into account, and yet the club think they’re standing in a reasonable position when offering £75,000-per-week. Theo Walcott may not be worth £100,000-per-week or just shy for his abilities on the pitch, but everything that adds up including the morale at the club is so important. Yes he is worth more than the reported wages he’s been offered, but the club do not see it that way and they never will.
Aston Villa are set to bid £4 million for Genk striker Christian Benteke.
The Belgium international stands at 6′ 5″ and could be brought in to partner Darren Bent.
Villa boss Paul Lambert is set to make a move for the 21-year-old in the next 24 hours, though The Sun claims there is also interest for the Belgian’s signature from league rivals Fulham.
It’s reported that following the West Midlands’ club’s miserable start to the Premier League season, owner Randy Learner is willing to finance three signings before the end of the transfer window.
With other senior striker Gabriel Agbonlahor injured, there is huge pressure on Bent to regularly score for the Villains – who have netted just once in their first two league meetings.
Another attacking option could ease the pressure on the England international; so far unproven strikers Nathan Delfouneso and Brett Holman have partnered Bent.
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The 28-year-old did score his first goal for Lambert last night in a much-needed 3-0 win over Tranmere in the League Cup, though adding another away at Newcastle United this weekend will prove much tougher.