Look at his face. Just look at his face. While the temptation to forego a round-up of the day's tabloid tittle-tattle in favour of a good old fashioned caption competition instead (the winning entrant will be chosen at 2.30pm and receive their choice of - Rumour Mill writer scans desk for free tat to give away - In The Shadow Of A Giant: The Autobiography of Arsenal and Wales Legend Mel Charles or Nobody Beats Us: The Inside Story of the 1970s Wales Rugby Team or a partially chewed blue biro missing its lid or the apparently discarded bicycle helmet of the Rumour Mill's colleague Mikey Stafford*), it would be a gross dereliction of journalistic duty not to list the contenders queuing up to plant their rumps in the managerial hotseat at Anfield: Jose Mourinho.
Yes, yes, it's well documented that Waldorf and Statler can't afford to sack Rafa Benitez and the Rumour Mill doesn't want to see any man lose his job in these difficult times, but in the wake of Saturday's comedy of errors at Craven Cottage and the run up to Wednesday's humiliation at the Stade Gerland, it's becoming increasingly apparent that Liverpool's American owners can't afford not to sack him, even though such a move could well ruin the fun for those of us sitting by the guillotine with knitting in hand, waiting to see exactly how much gas there is in this particular explosion/mixed metaphor. Whatever about finishing in the top four come season's end, at the rate they're shipping goals, players and points, Liverpool will be lucky to finish in the top 10 of the Premier League this season.
As you'd expect on a Monday morning following one of the more fascinating weekends in recent Premier League history, tabloid transfer tell-all is fairly thin on the ground, what with the papers devoting the lion's share of their column inchage to match reports, thundering opinion pieces and The X Factor. That said, the Mirror has made room for the obligatory whispers linking Valencia striker David Villa with a £33m move to Chelsea, a football club that is not prepared to let the small matter of a transfer ban curtail their spending on new talent during the January transfer window. While the Mirror reports that Villa would rather go to Manchester United and rejected Chelsea's advances during the summer, the Rumour Mill has it on good authority that he's quite the homebird and has no desire whatsoever to leave his nearest and dearest in Spain for a cold, wet, foreign country where he can't speak the lingo.
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Monday, November 2, 2009
Football transfer rumours: David Villa to Chelsea ... again?
Monday, July 27, 2009
Manchester City test John Terry's loyalty with £40m bid
Manchester City will make an increased bid of £40 million for John Terry, although any transfer is likely to be dependent on the England captain’s willingness to force the issue.
Chelsea suspect that Terry may be using City’s interest as leverage in an effort to secure an improved contract, but if he is serious about leaving Stamford Bridge, the club will insist that the defender submits a transfer request as they are determined not to be painted as the villains in any prospective sale.
City would not have pursued Terry so rigorously had they not been given grounds for encouragement and are refusing to concede defeat despite having a £30 million bid rejected last week.
Terry would stand to earn about £200,000 a week at City — compared with his existing wages of £135,000 a week at Chelsea — and is said to be impressed by the scale of City’s ambitions, although the club must be aware that they could be being used as a bargaining tool.
Chelsea would consider opening talks with Terry, whose present contract has three years left to run, about a new deal, but they will not be held to ransom and know that £40 million is a lot of money for City to offer for a player who turns 29 in December.
The tone of the statement Chelsea released last week, confirming that they had “completely rejected” City’s offer, reflected their frustration, but despite encouraging Terry to reiterate his commitment to the club, the defender has yet to do so.
City lodged an initial bid for Terry in January, despite being warned off by Chelsea before that, but the situation is intriguing not least because it pits the two of the richest owners in world football against each other for the second time in less than a year.
Sheikh Mansour, the City owner and Arab billionaire, won the previous battle of wills in September last year, with Roman Abramovich, his Chelsea counterpart, refusing to match City’s £34.2 million British record bid for Robinho, the Brazil forward.
Mark Hughes, the City manager, has made it clear that he covets Terry over most others and believes that his leadership qualities, along with his defensive nous and goalscoring prowess from set-pieces, will greatly strengthen a rearguard that still has a fragile look.
Reports that Hughes and Terry were on holiday at the same hotel complex in Dubai last week will only add fuel to the heated speculation.
Hughes wants to pair Terry and Joleon Lescott, of Everton, in central defence next season, although the City manager may wait to see how the Terry situation pans out before stepping up his efforts for Lescott. Everton’s £20 million-plus valuation of Terry’s England team-mate may prove a sticking point.
If a second bid for Terry fails, Hughes is likely to turn to Kolo Touré, the Arsenal defender who is out of contract at the Emirates Stadium next summer and who would be available for about £14 million.
City are still awaiting a decision from Samuel Eto’o, the Cameroon striker, who is locked in a dispute with Barcelona.
Manchester United also inquired about Eto’o this summer but it seems unlikely that Sir Alex Ferguson, the United manager, will sign another striker now that Michael Owen has joined on a free transfer.
Despite the uncertainty over Terry and Eto’o, however, Carlos Tévez’s £25.5 million transfer to City should finally be ratified this week, with the former United striker rejecting suggestions that a cross-city move would be an act of betrayal.
“If I play for Manchester City I don’t think the United fans will feel I am a traitor,” Tévez said.
¤ Christopher Samba has put Manchester City on red alert by refusing to pledge his future to Blackburn Rovers (Graham Chase writes). The centre back was brought to Ewood Park by Mark Hughes in January 2007 and the City manager wanted to take him to Manchester last summer.
The 25-year-old defender has also been linked with Everton and West Ham United and has left himself open to a move away from Blackburn.
“I am still at Blackburn, so I can’t comment,” he said. “Whoever wants me will need to talk to Blackburn Rovers and we will see. I am calm and waiting.”
Source
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Chelsea Sign 'The Russian Ronaldinho' For £18.5million
Russian International Yuri Zhirkov has signed for
25-year-old Zhirkov was understood to have been one of the recommendations made by interim Blues manager Guus Hiddink to Chelsea owner Roman Abramovic. The Dutchman knowing all about the talents of the left-sided winger, who has been dubbed ‘The Russian Ronaldinho’ in his homeland after working with Zhirkov while in charge of the Russian national side. A job Hiddink will return to after Chelsea’s
Zhirkov is now set to join Chelsea on a four-year deal, with Abramovic understood to have shelled out a fee in the region of £18.5million to lure his compatriot to Stamford Bridge. His agent revealing that Zhirkov will link up with the
“Yury [Zhirkov] has signed the contract with Chelsea just a day or two ago," Zhirkov's agent told Tvoi Den.
“He will join his new team this summer.”
Capped by Russia 30 times, Zhirkov scored 15 goals in 139 league appearances for CSKA during his time at the Luzhniki Stadium. The Russian now set to follow Roman Pavlyuchenko and Andrei Arshavin, who signed for
Source
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Kaka and Pirlo on wishlist as Ancelotti prepares to join Chelsea
David Beckham shares a joke with Carlo Ancelotti in Tirana yesterday ahead of AC Milan's friendly against Albania
Chelsea remain confident that Carlo Ancelotti will become their new manager and are already discussing their summer transfer plans with the Italian.
The Serie A veteran has signed a pre-contract agreement on a three-year deal to take over at Stamford Bridge at the end of the season and, as part of those talks, Ancelotti has told Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich that he would like to bring players with him from AC Milan -- in particular Andrea Pirlo and Kaka (below), who is likely to leave the San Siro.
While those discussions are at an early stage, and no specific moves have been made as yet, sources close to Ancelotti last night dismissed suggestions the 49-year-old was having second thoughts about joining Chelsea or had been set an ultimatum by Abramovich.
With AC Milan trailing Inter by seven points in Serie A, Silvio Berlusconi, who is in Egypt as part of his duties as Italian prime minister, is reported to have told tourists at the Sharm el Sheikh resort that it is "all Ancelotti's fault" that the club will not win a trophy this season.
While conflicting comments have swirled around Ancelotti for months, and should be treated with caution, Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani did little to refute the claims yesterday.
Abramovich has pursued Ancelotti for some time -- despite the fact that the coach has worked only in Italy -- because of his pedigree of winning the Champions League.
Abramovich has already made clear to Ancelotti that he will bid for Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor -- who the Italian wanted at Milan -- as well as Carlos Tevez and CSKA Moscow's Yuri Zhirkov.
Some of Ancelotti's most important players at Milan can be added to that wish list.
Pirlo, who is 30 next week and has two years left on his contract, has attracted interest from Chelsea in the past and has been key to Ancelotti's plans at Milan, where he has evolved into the club's playmaker. The Italy international has indicated in the past that he does not want to leave Milan but could be tempted this time.
Monday, April 13, 2009
CL quarter finals, day 2
What is it, the 6th time on the trot, this fixture? But whatever it is, you also know it means pace, passion and goals! And what a great first half it was. High paced passing football, tough challenges, and did I mention pace? Torres scored the 1-0 after a nice backheel flick from Kuyt and a Abelardo cross in. Unmarked, Torres said muchos gracias in the 6th minute. It appeared The Reds would have a field day, but quickly in the match Liverpool started to make mistakes. Bad passing and simply losing the ball. Gerrard never got in the game, Xavi Hernandez had many stray passes and Kuyt and Torres were continuously closed down. Chelsea position-played themselves slowly but surely into the game. Lampard at the Blues’ side didn’t play great either but Ballack stepped up to the plate and Kalou and Drogba were constant threats. It would take two corner kicks to get Chelsea back in the game. Hiddink couldn’t play Bosingoa at right center back and started with Serbian Ivanovich. The defender started very well - I’m not even sure Riera played for ‘Pool - and the debutant scored the 1-1 with the head in the first half.
In the second half, Chelsea started to string more good passes together and the Liverpool back four - in particular Skertl, Abelardo and Aurelio started to lose it. Ivanovich scored his second header to take the lead and Drogba finished a cool and snappy attack led by Ballack to score his first and Chelsea’s third: 1-3.
A great aggregate score for Lucky Gus, who will need to finish the job next week at Stamford Bridge.
Dirk had a good start this game, but slowly disappeared. Babel got on the pitch in the last 10 minutes and lost possession a lot, but obviously, Liverpool was in a hurry and precision and aesthetics didn’t matter anymore.
The main course of the day: Barca - Bayern. I personally figured Bayern would be able to hurt Barcelona. Yeah, right! They did score a record 12-1 aggregate in the last round against Sporting, and the Germans are known to be able to disrupt anything. How wrong I was…
In the first 12 minutes it was 2-0 already. Some Bayern players hadn’t even touched the ball. And it became a super exhibition of modern football. Four forwards, four midfielders and four defenders…hang on… That’s 12 fieldplayers… Well, that’s what you get with Daniel Alves in your team. Messi can move centrally, Alves takes over. Toure plays destroyer as if Barca has both De Jong and Van Bommel in midfield and Sneijder/Van der Vaart…oops… I mean Iniesta/Xavi can have a ball making the play. It’s hard not to compare this Barca with the potential of Oranje.
During the first half, we saw some close-ups of the distraught Bayern players and Mark van Bommel can expect a call by Quentin Tarantino for his next movie…
Will Barca thunder forward in the second half? And another question: who will stop this team?
What a tremendous whoopin’ for Klinsmanns’ boys. Their defense looked like a Jupiler league team and Toni wouldn’t even be able to outrun my grandma. And she’s dead! I think Klinsi didn’t put the right team on. Barca is on form, Bayern isn’t. Don’t play a static striker with two wide players (Ribery, Pigclimber) but do it the traditional Bayern way. 5 Defenders, four midfielders and one quick runner up front a la Rummenigge. Anyway, who cares :-)?
Barca made their point. And inspired me to a new post to be published soon… Can Oranje copy Barca like Barca copies Oranje?
So, Chelsea - Barca in one semis and Porto - Arsenal the other one?
Another Arsenal - Barca finals?
SOURCE
Monday, April 6, 2009
Liverpool, Chelsea renew Champions League duel
Of those eight matches, the Premier League sides have played out four draws and won two apiece. Before Chelsea won last year's semifinal series, the previous six Liverpool-Chelsea meetings in European competition had produced just three goals.
The teams know each other so well that even Rafa Benitez, Liverpool's master tactician in Europe, will be struggling to produce a surprise element at Anfield.
Although praising Benitez as a "very smart manager," Chelsea's interim manager Guus Hiddink said there were no secrets in modern football.
"The players are known by the managers, the players know each other very well, the managers know how they play, so it's very, very tight," Hiddink said. "I'm looking forward to this battle, but in the end we can plan what we want -- the players, they have to execute it and it always depends on those little details in the execution."
The only constant in recent years has been Benitez, who was in charge when Liverpool edged Chelsea in the semifinals and then lifted the trophy in 2005 with a win over Milan. Hiddink is Chelsea's fourth manager in that period. Unlike Jose Mourinho and Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari did not last until the end of the season to face Liverpool in Europe.
The big difference this season is the threat Liverpool is finally providing domestically, shifting Europe to second in Benitez' priority list. The Reds are just a point behind league-leading Manchester United and have completed a double for the first time since 1989-90 over third-place Chelsea -- inspired by Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard.
"This is probably the worst time to be facing Gerrard," said Chelsea captain John Terry, part of the team that lost last season's Champions League final to Manchester United. "He's one of the best players in the world, that's for sure. He's in great form at the minute. I'm sort of dreading going there to play him because he is different class."
The one certainty is an English semifinalist for the sixth straight season. The mission facing FC Porto and Villarreal is to prevent another two Premier League clubs reach the semis.
"There could be three English teams in the semis again, that's how strong we are," Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said ahead of Tuesday's home match against Porto. "Because of the competitive nature of our Premier League I think an English team will win the Champions League again this year and it could be another all-English final."
History is against United winning, though, as European club champions since 1992 -- when Champions League format began -- have never managed to defend their title.
Portuguese league leader Porto will be drawing inspiration from their victorious trip to Old Trafford in 2004 en route to winning the competition under Mourinho.
"They are a good team with lots of attacking power," United striker Carlos Tevez said. "They are going through a very good period at the moment. It won't be easy to beat them, but we have confidence in ourselves. We are dreaming of returning to the final and winning the Champions League once again."
Arsenal or Villarreal meet in Spain on Tuesday.
Villarreal will be without star forward Santi Cazorla, who has been sidelined for the remainder of the season with a leg injury. But his side is unbeaten at El Madrigal in European play, including the return leg of the 2006 semifinals against Arsenal, which ended 0-0. Arsenal reached the final due to its first-leg goal, but lost in Paris to Barcelona.
Barcelona has been matched with Bayern Munich in the only quarterfinal without an English side.
The Spanish leaders host Bayern -- fourth in the Bundesliga -- on Wednesday on the back of five straight La Liga victories.
While Samuel Eto'o scored his 26th goal of the season in Saturday's 1-0 win at Valladolid, coach Pep Guardiola will be looking to repair Barcelona's leaky Champions League defense against the German club.
Barcelona has conceded 11 goals -- the most of any of the eight quarterfinalists and has yet to keep a clean sheet at the Camp Nou.
