Niall Quinn is a surprise contender to replace Garry Cook at Manchester City. Quinn has been undertaking a similar role at Sunderland and City is hopeful they’ll be able to attract him back to the club where he arguably made his name. Whether Quinn will be tempted remains to be seen, given the large amount of work he has already put in at the Stadium of Light.
Elsewhere in the papers Rooney and Walcott give Capello injury worries; Moyes accuses Kompany, while Alan Hutton is happy to be a wanted man again.
Furious Moyes accuses Kompany of deliberately hurting Cahill – Mirror
Niall Quinn is a surprise contender to replace Garry Cook at Man City – People
Rooney and Walcott injury worries for Capello – Daily Telegraph
AC Milan to make a January swoop for Spurs star – Mirror
Theo Walcott: Still haunted by trophy-hunter ambitions – Independent
I’m in for the long haul at QPR, insists new owner Fernandes – Daily Mail
Chelsea, Manchester City and United in £30m battle for Everton starlet Barkley – Daily Mail
Arsenal and Liverpool face fight for Valencia star – Mirror
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Hutton happy to be a wanted man again – Independent
Spanish superstar Raul returns home on Tuesday when his Schalke side visit Valencia in a Champions League round of 16 first-leg match.
The 33-year-old has scored 10 goals for Schalke this season to help them into 10th place in the Bundesliga after ending a 16-year love affair with Real Madrid last July, and said he was looking forward to heading home.
“This game is special for me, because it is the first time that I have returned to Spain in eight months since I moved to Germany,” he said.
“I am delighted with the reception, and the fans have shown me a lot of love. I thank them for that.”
“A Champions League knockout game is always special, and this one is against a great team in Valencia and with a fantastic atmosphere. I am really up for this game, and I hope that we get a good result and are able to seal the tie in two weeks time.”
“I’m here to play a great game, and to play in a great stadium. I will try to do the best I can for Schalke and enjoy the game.”
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“I hope that everything goes well, and that we are able to score a lot of goals. I think that the tie is very even.”
“I am confident that we can hurt them, and the objective is to win and score goals to set up the second leg.”
Sunderland’s preparations for the new season appear to have hit a wall as the club struggle to attract quality players to justify their lofty ambitions. A new chairman, manager and kit sponsor seemed to signal the beginning of a new era at the Stadium of Light but if their efforts so far this summer are an indication of things to come then mid-table mediocrity may be the most likely outcome. For a team that has only recently shaken off their yo-yo tag to establish themselves as a regular part of the Premier League, such reserved targets are not what the terraces want to hear but given the pitfalls suffered by the red and white part of North East in recent seasons, there are plenty of tough realities to be faced if the club is to move forward.
Curb expectation
Every year Sunderland fans embark on a new Premier League campaign with renewed vigour but every season is deemed a disappointment when the team doesn’t qualify for Europe. While fans have every right to demand the very best from their team, it’s clear to onlookers that the Blacks Cats do not yet have a good enough squad to compete with the top flight’s established European challengers. The appointment of Martin O’Neill as manager has supporters dreaming that he will repeat the success he enjoyed at Aston Villa and while that’s a reasonable target, the reality is the Mackems are still a long way of finishing in the top 6 and envious glares at rivals Newcastle United will make any future respectable league finishes seem like an underachievement.
Don’t focus so much on Newcastle
Many a season at the Stadium of Light has been ruined by a failure to overcome the archenemy and such is the importance placed on the Tyne-Wear derby that managers have often seen their careers in the North East judged on how they fared against the Geordies. Ex manager Steve Bruce even cited his local roots and derby struggles as the main catalyst of his demise but while the Corbridge born former defender struggled against Newcastle, he was given a fair crack of the whip by the majority of fans. Still the comparison between the sides was there for all to see last season and seeing their bitter rivals punch above their weight in the Premier League only heightened fans desperation for improvements on the pitch. Had any other team overachieved as Newcastle did last time out then Sunderland fans would have been less inclined to write off their manager and his new players but such is the hatred between fans that they turned on the management and booed the team. Rightly or wrongly, such impatience cannot be repeated next season for if Martin O’Neill is considered to be their messiah then he must be allowed time to mould his team together. New signings are expected but fans must not expect instant miracles, even if Newcastle fans are gloating because they’re playing in Europe.
Stop buying players from relegated teams
As O’Neill slowly stamps his authority on the team during his first full summer in charge, fans are debating the procrastinatory nature of his transfer dealings and wondering how much money there is to spend and who he’s thinking of spending it on. The usual scenario for Sunderland is they have roughly £20m-£30m to spend but often need 5 or more signings and end up bring in a selection of cheap squad players instead of investing in one or two genuine talents. This has led to them snapping up the star performers from previously relegated sides and while players like Sebastian Larsson, David Vaughan and Craig Gardner all represent excellent value for money, they’re not the quality of player needed to take the club to the next level. This summer has seen Steven Fletcher, Matt Jarvis, Steven N’Zonzi and Martin Olsson linked with the club but these players need to be avoided if they harbour any hopes of moving away from the mid-table pack.
Don’t buy Manchester United cast-offs
Another pitfall of previous Sunderland managers has been to wash Sir Alex Ferguson’s hands of his unwanted Old Trafford talent and with little reward. Currently Phil Bardsley, John O’Shea, Wes Brown, Kieran Richardson and Fraizer Campbell fill the quota more than capably but a brief skim down the history books shows a plethora of ex Red Devils brought in by former bosses Bruce and Roy Keane. The stark reality is that while these players may have seemed like they had decent pedigree and to a certain extent they satisfied the needs of an aspiring club on the rise from the Championship, the fact is they couldn’t make the Manchester United first team and are therefore not good enough if Sunderland want to push on to the next level.
Give the lads a chance!
Neutrals peering in on Sunderland’s situation often wonder why supporters demand so much of them given their underwhelming record in recent years. It’s been over a decade since Peter Reid’s side claimed back to back 7th place finishes and the Black Cats have little European pedigree to justify such lofty expectations. This may be true but Mackem fans know the club has a proud history and see their complaints more as constructive criticism then unwarranted condemnation. There are two sets of fans, the group with unrealistic expectations who demand success and the group with a realistic assessment of where the team is but are deemed to lack ambition. These fans needs to find some middle ground and let the team blossom without demanding too much from a side that are clearly worse off on paper than the League’s top teams and will need all the support they can get if their are to progress.
Supporting a so called lesser side is often a hiding to nothing as fans’ aspirations to improve are hampered by the reality of their mid-table predicament. If the Sunderland faithful have learned anything going into next season it should be not to expect success but rather enjoy it, if and when it comes along.
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Should Sunderland fans have more realistic expectations or should they have loftier ambitions ahead of next season?
Let me know your views and opinions by following me on Twitter – Tweet me @Alex_Churcher
As the dust has finally settled, after a huge summer of transfer spending supporters are left to reflect on their club’s performance in the summer months. Peter Storey came out this morning and suggested that Arsene Wenger had lost the plot and his last minute transfer activity was merely papering over the cracks at the Emirates. Whether that is true or not remains to be seen, but to the neutral it does appear that Arsenal made some decent signings on deadline day.
A whopping €521.95m was spent by Premier League clubs this summer and I have set out what I see to be the most significant 10 signings of the summer. I haven’t included loan signings or free transfers within my list, as they hardly represent much of a financial gamble.
Click on Yohan Cabaye to unveil the list
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List compiled by Escapini at the excllent Transfer Tavern
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Tadanari Lee always believed he would be the hero for his side after scoring the winning goal in Japan’s 1-0 win over Australia in the Asian Cup final.
The Blue Samurai needed extra-time on Saturday to claim Asia’s most coveted soccer trophy for a record fourth time courtesy of Lee’s superb volley in the 109th minute.
And the 25-year-old could not hide his delight at his dream coming true to lift his side to victory after being substituted on.
“I feel super. I could not play for such a long time and I had to keep on waiting, believing that there would be a chance for me,” Lee said.
“I could score a goal in the end and I’m really happy. I kept talking to myself, saying ‘I’ll be a hero. I’ll be a hero’ before I went onto the pitch.”
“I’m really happy that I was able to stand on this pitch. I really want to thank everyone. We’ll have to work hard as the Asian champions and I want you, the fans, all to support the Japanese national team.”
Winning manager Alberto Zaccheroni said he had always backed his substitutes to lift the side when they needed it most.
“I knew he (Lee) would do it. What is great about this team is that players, who started on the bench, could produce results on the pitch,” the Italian said.
Australia coach Holger Osieck admitted a number of gilt-edged chances, including opportunities for stars Harry Kewell and Tim Cahill, needed to be converted if they were to leave the Khalifa Stadium with the Asian Cup.
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“We had our opportunities and what is always encouraging is the way we play and we create opportunities,” Osieck said.
“However, it is crucial to convert them and later on in the game it backfired and that is a problem. We had to be more clinical in our finishing and it’s not enough to win a game if you don’t score.”
“We have seen a very exciting game between two very good teams. You can imagine we are disappointed, we definitely had our opportunities but unfortunately we couldn’t convert.”
Tottenham are ready to announce that Andre Villas Boas will become the side’s new manager, after signing a new three-year deal with the club according to The Telegraph.
The Portuguese trainer had an ill-fated stint at Chelsea after domestic and European success with Porto in his homeland, but is still thought to be one of he most promising and exciting young coaches in the game.
After intense negotiations over the last fortnight following Harry Redknapp’s dismissal, the ex-Blues manager is said to have impressed the White Hart Lane club’s board with ambitious plans in the transfer market, and will be announced as the new boss on Tuesday.
Straight away Villas Boas is keen to conclude deals for Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jan Vertonghen, who are both close to agreeing terms on transfers to north London.
A squad revamp is expected, with the likes of Luka Modric, Rafael van de Vaart and Jermain Defoe all unsure over their futures.
Villas Boas will also recall Steven Caulker, who spent last term on loan at Swansea, into his first-team squad and is also monitoring Brazil international playmaker Oscar.
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Newcastle United’s decision to place Joey Barton on the transfer list has plunged the club into fresh turmoil but for the rest of the Premier League, Barton’s availability on a free transfer is a potential bargain.
Barton’s decision to follow teammate Jose Enrique’s lead and criticise the club’s owners on Twitter enraged the bosses at St James’ Park so much that the midfielder has been made available on a free transfer even though he has a year left on his current deal.
If Barton does leave, would Newcastle’s Premier League rivals be getting a good deal by snapping up the 28-year-old on a free? Barton will always come with a warning for managers after a career more notable for his bad behaviour than his achievements on the pitch. Barton’s reputation means any move he makes would be greeted by some caution from fans but if he could replicate his form for Newcastle last season, every top tier manager should be looking at Barton this summer.
Since joining from Manchester City in June 2007, Barton has made 79 league appearances for the club. Last season was his most productive in the famous black and white stripes when Barton made a total of 35 appearances in all competitions, scoring five goals and making nine assists. His performances in Newcastle’s midfield earned him rave reviews and it was his combative and productive displays in games like the 4-4 draw with Arsenal (where he scored twice) that make him so in demand.
Interestingly Arsenal are one of many clubs linked with the player since the news of his Newcastle exit was announced. Others include Tottenham, Aston Villa and Stoke with a few other European clubs reportedly sniffing around the midfielder. But what would these clubs be getting if they decided to try and sign Barton?
Most importantly on the pitch they would be investing in a leader, whether you like Barton or not, he is an effective combative performer in the Premier League and has shown he can create and score goals as well. For a club like Arsenal he would add that much needed steel in their midfield and last season showed that under the right guidance, Barton can finally let his football do the talking. The fact that he is available on a free means that clubs with a limited budget would only have any wage demands as a potential stumbling block.
Unfortunately Barton comes with baggage and whilst Newcastle’s decision to let their best player leave on a free is bemusing, his decision to criticise his employers on Twitter highlights the unpredictable side to Barton. Off the pitch he has faced time in jail and been in altercations with fellow teammates whilst on the pitch Barton’s behavior has lead to FA charges and red cards.
Despite his bad boy persona and troubled history, every Premier League manager should take the time to consider signing one of the league’s best performers last season on a free. But managers beware, despite his undoubted talents on the pitch, signing Joey Barton will always be a risk.
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Would Barton be a good signing for another Premier League team? If you want to read more of my bite size, 140 character views and thoughts follow me on Twitter @jennyk5
Let’s play a game of guess who. First clue: I am a Belgian footballer who played in France and Belgium in the 1980s and 1990s. Second clue: I am best known for the court case, and the subsequent ruling, which bears my surname. Third clue: I have had a bigger impact on the modern game than any chairman, manager or player. Got it yet? I am Jean-Marc Bosman.
If you haven’t heard of him on a first name basis, there’s a fairly good chance that his surname rings a bell. In 1990 following the expiration of his contract, Jean-Marc Bosman fancied a move from FC Liege to French side Dunkirk . In an attempt to stop him leaving, FC Liege slapped a large transfer fee on the player and thus priced Dunkirk out of a move. The legal dispute which followed became known as the ‘Bosman Ruling’.
In a continuation of Football FanCast’s week of reminiscing about football in the 90s, here is a look back at the law which would ultimately change football in England, and the rest of Europe, forever.
For those of you familiar with the fuss surrounding a player who runs down his contract so he can ‘leave on a Bosman’ but can’t quite remember what football was like before the days of super high salaries and player power, the transfer procedure was much more club-focused, yet still rather complicated.
In the early part of the twentieth century a player had to request a transfer in order to move clubs, but if his current side refused to let him leave then that was pretty much it – in essence, clubs really did own their players. Then in around 1960, a player called George Eastham challenged this law in front of the High Court who ruled that the transfer system in place was an unreasonable restraint of trade. The transfer system changed in that a player could now leave for free if his contract had expired, unless he had been offered a new deal in which case a fee would have to be paid. So the freedom imposed was still very limited because the teams’ decision to rehire a player would always keep him at the club. This system remained until the late seventies when the clubs’ power over their players lessened slightly further. A player could still leave a club for free when his contract ran out, but now his club had to offer him a contract with terms equal to or greater than his current deal in order for a fee to change hands. However the biggest change was that the player now had the choice of whether or not to accept the new deal or move elsewhere. Crucially though neither the player nor his agent could initiate a transfer, the interested buyer had to approach the club in order for negotiations to begin. If a transfer fee couldn’t be agreed by the clubs then the matter would be decided by a tribunal.
This was how the footballing world stayed until 1995. Then on the 15th of December of that year the ‘Bosman Ruling’ was passed by the European Court of Justice, this meant that free movement of players between clubs and EU countries was now possible, and crucially a player could now talk to other teams when his contract had expired and move without a fee changing hands. The following day the Daily Express ran with the headline ‘Foreign Invasion’, and the Daily Mirror used the ominous: ‘The rule that will change the face of soccer forever’ – an uncannily accurate assessment of things to come.
Continue to PAGE TWO…
As a result of the case, all of the power was now in the hands of the players and the subject of large weekly wages was quick to come to the fore. With no transfer fee being paid, clubs were now able to afford to pay their players huge wages, so it was often in the best interests of the player to run down his contract, move on, and earn more money elsewhere. One of the first big cases of an English player using this rule to his advantage was the controversial move of Sol Campbell from Tottenham to Arsenal in 2001. Despite being offered a new contract and assuring Spurs that he wanted to stay, Campbell saw out the duration of his contract before deciding to move to Arsenal and earn a reported £60,000 a week plus bonuses – a sum which saw him become one of the world’s best paid footballers at the time.
The fear that this rule would make the rich richer and the poor poorer was initially rubbished, but optimism soon turned to realism as business and money started to rule proceedings. It was thought that lower-league clubs could use the new rule to their advantage by signing their best players to long-term contracts which would mean that they could demand a good transfer fee for their stars. However as money became tighter, smaller clubs couldn’t afford to tie players down to long-term contracts so they were increasingly forced to sell their best young players for a minimal transfer fee in fear that they could soon lose them for nothing. As former UEFA top-dog Lars-Christer Olsson explained: “Those clubs who had access to all the money started to rob the smaller clubs, not just to get stronger themselves but to weaken the opposition”. This meant that money which before would be paid between clubs in the form of transfer fees (thus keeping money in the game and strengthening the footballing infrastructure), was now money was going straight into the pockets of players and agents.
As previously stated, the new Bosman rule allowed freedom of movement for players between European countries. Previous to this ruling, many leagues in Europe imposed a quota as to the amount of foreign players each team was allowed to field (a rule allowing only three foreign players per team was also imposed by UEFA in European competition). But the Bosman rule meant that this was no longer allowed and clubs could now field any number of European players in their team. In England this has undoubtedly increased the quality of the football in the Premier League, but it became clear that this would also have a negative impact on lower-league clubs. While small clubs used to rely on transfer fees for their best players to keep them afloat, the new ease with which teams could sign foreign talent meant that local players were overlooked in favour of signing a cheaper, foreign alternative.
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Jean-Marc Bosman got nothing from the court case which dragged on for over five years other than an entry on ‘www.famousbelgians.net’. He was 25 years-old when he started his legal proceedings and spent much of this time without a club and with no income. He ended up bankrupt and with a collapsed marriage and ironically never benefitted from the rule which he fought so hard to put into place.
There were many golden moments in English football during the 90s, too many to mention here, yet it would be the ruling of a court case in Luxembourg that would change the mentality and infrastructure of the beautiful game for the foreseeable future. Jean-Marc Bosman could never have known what impact his desire to play for Dunkirk could have had, but it’s an impact that we’re still feeling today.
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With the fixtures for the 2012/13 Premier League season having been announced, the Saints have been given a baptism of fire to their first Premier League campaign for nearly a decade, with a tough opening day fixture at defending champions Manchester City.
Roberto Mancini’s champions host the Saints on August 18th, although this looks certain to be a fixture that is a dead cert to be moved for live television coverage.
The fixture list does not get much easier afterwards either, with a home game against Manchester United being followed by a first trip to the Emirates stadium to face Arsenal.
Sandwiched between the two fixtures against the Manchester clubs is a home game against perennial relegation battlers, Wigan Athletic. This will be the very first league meeting between the two clubs, with the only previous meeting coming in the F.A Cup in 1986, with the Saints beating the then 4th division side 3-0. September is completed by a home game against Aston Villa, and a trip to Merseyside to face Everton.
October only consists of three league matches, and strangely all three fixtures are against London clubs, as Fulham come to St. Marys at the beginning of the month, Spurs visit at the end of the month, and in between there is a trip to fellow new boys West Ham.
November begins with a trip to the Hawthorns to face West Bromwich, and this is followed by Swansea City’s visit to St. Marys where the two clubs meet in the top flight for the first time since 1983. Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road and home games against Newcastle and Norwich complete the month.
December is a packed month with six games although only two are at St. Marys. Reading at home is sandwiched between tricky away trips to Liverpool and then Chelsea, whilst out final home game before Christmas see’s Sunderland make the long trip south. Our Boxing Day match is away to Fulham and this is followed three days later by a visit to the Britannia stadium to face Stoke City for our final match of 2012.
2013 begins with a tough home game against Arsenal on New Year’s Day, and after a break for the third round of the F.A. Cup, away games at Aston Villa and Manchester United bookend a home game against Everton at St. Marys.
February like October consists of only three league matches and opening day opponents Manchester City come to St. Marys in between away trips to Wigan and Newcastle. Whilst March consists of four games with three of those at St. Marys, as Queens Park Rangers, Liverpool and Chelsea arrive in town in that order with our solitary road trip coming at Norwich a week after the visit of QPR.
With most people expecting us to be toiling hard against relegation and an immediate return to the Championship, the run-in during April and May does not seem too bad, as by then we would have met most of the bigger clubs. Of course on the flip side that means that these two months have the potential to include a lot of so-called “six pointers”! April starts with a trip to Reading, and this is followed by a home game against another of the clubs who accompanied us in to the Premier League, West Ham. Swansea City away and a home game against West Bromwich complete the month.
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The crucial month of May has three fixtures but two of those are tricky trips to Tottenham and Sunderland, and we finish our first Premier League season in seven years with a home game against Stoke City.
Sir Alex Ferguson conceded that Manchester City are now a thorn in United’s side and represent a huge threat in their pursuit to win honours. It is a huge change in attitude from the Scot and highlights the giant steps that City made last season.
In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that include Lampard relaxed over United’s outlay; Arsene Wenger has a substantial transfer budget, while Tottenham weigh up a cut price bid for Adebayor.
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Lampard relaxed over United’s spending – Guardian
Ferguson: ‘City are a thorn in our flesh’ – Daily Telegraph
I want Chelsea to be untouchable! Villas-Boas aims for European glory – Daily Mail
Wenger has ‘substantial’ transfer budget – Guardian
Cabaye joins Barton and Ranger after being denied visa for Magpies’ US tour – Daily Mail
Toon ’n Toffees have Long shot – Sun
Cole happy to fight for his place at Liverpool after sorry first season – Daily Mail
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Boa closes in on Hammer Parker – Sun
Tottenham lining up cut-price bid for Adebayor – Mirror