4631: Histon FC: Not Bad for a Villa

by : Paul Grech

With money increasingly becoming the over-riding concern in football, fans only seem interested in getting a rich owner capable of spending his way to fulfilling their dreams. Even when this money is burdening the club with debt they will never be able to service thus putting its existence on the line. And any notion that this belief is limited exclusively to Premiership clubs is made redundant by Weymouth’s financial implosion after they overspent in a bid to make it to the Football League.

Thankfully, there are still clubs willing to progress through the time honoured British way of slowly building a side capable of delivering success. Teams capable of showing that patience and planning are ultimately more important than budget.

Twelve years ago, Histon FC were relegated from the Premier division of the Eastern Counties League. For the side from the village of Impington it was a disappointment. In hindsight, however, it was also the start of their success story.

Two years later, they won promotion and after a further three years they won the Premier league title to gain promotion to the Southern Football League. Two seasons of consolidation followed but in the third they placed second in the Eastern Division to go up to the Premier division which they won at the first attempt.

This meant promotion to the Conference South division, a league which they went on to dominate last season winning the title with four games to spare and finishing nineteen points ahead of second placed Salisbury. Significantly, the previous season Weymouth had won the same division by eight points (albeit with the same number of points as Histon: 94) despite their heavy outlay.

The turning point came in December when Histon trashed neighbours Cambridge United 5-0 in the FA Trophy. For them to win so easily against a professional side playing in higher division was a momentous result.

It also helped boost the belief that the club could achieve promotion even when they slipped to fourth. Not least as that had come about through bad weather which had forced the postponement of a number of games.

When Histon finally got to play those games, they embarked on a run of ten games that saw them win nine and drew the other one. Suddenly they were clear at the top and kept pulling away. A 1-0 win against Welling United – on the same day that their Glassworld Stadium was certified as being adequate for the Blue Square Premier – finally saw them clinch promotion.

Histon’s dramatic rise is captured by their changing rivalries. Just a few years back, a game against Ely City was considered their derby. Next year, however, it will be the games against former Football League outfit Cambridge United that will deserve that title.

4630: Could Giuseppe Rossi be the pi

by : Antony Melvin

Of the ‘big four’ clubs it is clear which one has the money and the nerve to actually spend it in the early part of the window. But their moves have left Manchester United financially stretched and although they would like to move for a top European striker like Fernando Torres there is little chance that funds would be released to buy a £25m striker. But could United be starting the process to offload some players to play in this game?

The other three teams in the big four have different agendas.

Liverpool probably have as much money as United to spend this summer, somewhere between £40m and £50m – but that is where the similarity ends. Sir Alex Ferguson has never been concerned about the cost of his big money players and has a good track record in spending big. The list of £10m+ players (three more may arrive this summer) - Ferdinand, Veron, van Nistelrooy, Carrick, Yorke, Stam, Rooney and Ronaldo - contains only Veron as a rank bad decision; and even he was sold on for £15m.

Whilst the rumours that Liverpool are ready to spend £27m on Fernando Torres gather pace – until it happens there remains a doubt that Rafa Benitez is prepared to put his job and reputation on the line for one mega signing. Rafa Benitez does give the impression that he would be more comfortable getting in three £10m players to improve the squad than chucking the majority of his pot on one player.

Chelsea have been building up their youth team over the past few years and after spending over £300m on first team players in barely four years it is probably appropriate to now take stock, trim the floppy fringe and allow the youth players recruited from around the country (some after paying significant compensation charges) some room to move into the first team.

Arsenal having sold Henry for £16m are building a transfer pot of up to £30m – but Arsene Wenger hasn’t made his reputation through big money signings and there must be doubts about whether he will even have spent £16m before next season. Unless he makes a signature signing other targets may be reluctant to sign up given the doubts over Wenger's tenure in any event.

Back at United there has been considerable fuss about the possibility of Fabio Quagliarella moving to Old Trafford. But the pundits have consistently ignored Giuseppe Rossi. The fact that United already have a young Italian (American) striker knocking about on one of the myriad of loan deals that have successfully reduced the wage bills at Old Trafford is significant especially given his ability. Giuseppe Rossi matched Quagliarella in the second half of Serie A last season, and scored nine Serie A goals for Parma after a less successful loan switch to Newcastle.

Rossi was originally on Parma's books but moved to Manchester at 16 and after returning to the Gialloblu last season he is now thought to be worth about £6m. The Guardian (27.06.07) echoed The Times (26.06.07) is suggesting that striker has been subject to a £6m bid from Parma. Other than the interest from Parma there have been some rumours of interest from Juventus (Various 17.06.07), a vague Spanish loan deal (Various 12.06.07) and The Daily Mail (18.06.07) also suggested that Rossi was a target for Sunderland.

Rossi himself is widely quoted as wanting to return to Old Trafford to prove himself and with Alan Smith moving towards the exit and Louis Saha constantly unavailable Rossi could return with his reputation intact as understudy to Wayne Rooney - or even paired with him in attack. Parma struggled to avoid relegation last season and if Rossi has to choose between a relegation candidate and one of the best teams in Europe it is a choice based on how much first team football he wants. If he wants 40-50 games then he needs to move on, but if he wants 20 games to prove himself at the top then he must stay.

If Rossi remains at Old Trafford then a move for Torres looks unlikely. A set of forwards containing Rooney, Saha, Ronaldo, Rossi, Solskjaer and Dong looks strong enough for the new season.

Three players are likely to leave Old Trafford in the coming weeks, Alan Smith for about £6m, Kieran Richardson for about £3m and Phil Bardsley for £2m. And that money could purchase a player like Quagliarella or Gudjohnsen. But add in the sale of a few of the lesser lights for nominal fees amd a couple more big money possibilities like Pique returning to Spain (£7m) and Rossi to Italy (£6m) and United could build a £25m transfer pot. All in all United could raise £25m in the coming weeks sparking the possibility that a big money bid for Fernando Torres or Samuel Eto'o can still be made.

But the future of Rossi is the pivot, if he stays then there is no reason and little money to fund a big money move.

Fernando Torres returns from his holiday in Polynesia on 10 July - his transfer is unlikely to be concluded before then. If United can free up £25m or so in the next two weeks then the transfer snatch of the summer becomes a possibility.

4610: West Bromwich Albion Season Re

by : Hugh Larkin

Make no bones about it, 2006/07 was a very unsatisfactory campaign for West Bromwich Albion. Failure to win immediate promotion means that the Baggies are gong to lose a lot of quality players, although some of them didn’t perform to their potential this season anyway.

By common consent Albion had the squad that looked most capable of automatic promotion. Some experienced men left when they came down from the top flight but the core remained. Kamara, Koumas, Greening, Robinson and Gera for example are all Premiership quality. Chris Perry and Kevin Phillips came in to add their experience and there were bright prospects like Curtis Davies and Paul McShane.

The team were unbeaten in their first four League games but then came unstuck at Sunderland. This was followed by another loss to Preston in the next away game and a pattern that lasted up to New Year was established.

Albion were fluent and predatory at home but massively inconsistent away from the Hawthorns. In October the team caned Ipswich 5-1 at Portman Road and came up with a win at Crystal Palace to back it up. Unfortunately these successive away triumphs were followed by 4 defeats in a row on their travels.

The team were blistering at times in front of their own fans but underwhelming on the road. A mediocre start cost Bryan Robson his job as early as September and after a caretaker period Tony Mowbray arrived from Hibernian.

The new boss came with a reputation for playing attractive football but quickly became exasperated by the intermittent form shown by some of his players. In the period up to Christmas a lot of speculation flew around about what changes he might make in the January window.

In fact, all the big hitters stayed put and Albion added the neat skills of Slovenian international midfielder Robert Koren. The policy to keep the squad together certainly paid dividends as Albion roared through January after a humiliating defeat at Southend on New Year’s Day finally shook the team out of their torpor in away games.

The Baggies began gathering in away points at difficult places like Colchester and Southampton (a 1-1) while still seeing off most teams at home. Automatic promotion came back on to the agenda until disaster in March. Like several other promotion-chasing sides Albion hit a serious wobble.

Sunderland sparked matters by winning 2-1 at the Hawthorns and then Albion lost at Molineux of all places, where they had won 3-0 in the FA Cup. Three days later Crystal Palace emulated Sunderland and Mowbray had a full blown crisis on his hands.

Ironically, it was the club’s away form that sneaked them into the play offs as their excellent home record crumbled- wins at QPR, Norwich and Coventry were crucial because there were two more home defeats on the run –in.

Typically, Albion then made certain of a play off berth by thrashing Barnsley 7-0 in the final game of the season, which set up another confrontation with bitter rivals Wolves. They went into the two leg affair confident on the back of 81 League goals scored- but the Baggies had also leaked more than all their nearest rivals.

After a tough first leg at Molineux, Wolves were beaten in some comfort to set up the Final with Derby County, a team that were the opposite of West Brom. The Rams weren’t favoured by the bookies before the season, lacked star men and played a conservative style of football- yet they also extracted the maximum from their resources.

On the day Derby’s organisation, workrate and professionalism proved enough to deliver a 1-0 victory and while the Rams may be less well prepared for life in the Premiership, Albion could hardly complain. Promotion had been squandered over 46 games rather than this one off shootout and County had finished 8 points above them in the table.

Kamara and Philips had over 35 League goals between them and at times the Senegalese international and Koumas has looked the best two attacking players in the division, yet consistency and application had been lacking at crucial times.

Now there will be a fire sale of Albion’s key assets and Mowbray will have to create a revamped squad. His reputation suggests that he will still want creativity but expect to see more grit and perspiration alongside the inspiration.

4629: Serie A: Torn Between Two Club

by : Paul Grech

It was the perfect crime, done in the middle of the night by those least suspected.

For weeks, David Suazo looked set to join Inter. He had already agreed personal terms and a fee had been agreed in principle between the two clubs. All that remained was for some loose ends needed to be settled.

So confident were Inter of concluding the deal that they started focusing on other transfers, primarily that of Cristian Chivu from Roma, to the public irritation of Cagliari owner Massimo Cellino who wanted answers about when the transfer was going to be concluded.

One sticking point was the move to Cagliari of young defender Marco Andreoli. Whereas Massimo Moratti was privately assuring Cagliari that Andreoli would agree, the highly rated prospect was decidedly set against the move and a season spent struggling against relegation especially when the alternative was a move to ambitious Fiorentina. For days, as Inter continued to drag their feet about doing something, Cellino became increasingly annoyed. And Cellino, not a man to act rationally when he’s calm, is not someone you want to cross paths with when he’s angry.

It was at this point that Milan stepped in. Over one night, they made a straight cash offer for the player, one that Cagliari accepted, and from being a certainty to join Inter David Suazo suddenly found himself an AC Milan player.

Milan had something of a history with the player. Last summer they were on the verge of signing him but, distracted as they were both by the corruption investigations and their attempts to take Ronaldo off Real Madrid they failed to push the deal through.

It was an oversight for which they paid dearly. When they finally gave up on Ronaldo, Cagliari had convinced their striker to stay so Milan ended up buying third choice (if you’re in a generous mood) Ricardo Oliveira in the final days of the transfer windows. As panic buys go, it wasn’t a bad choice as he had a good record at Real Betis but the Brazilian struggled to settle and had a torrid season.

So Milan toiled with two strikers – Alberto Gilardino and Oliveira – apparently trying to outdo each other on who played worse. It was only when Ronaldo finally joined during January that their season really took off and gained some momentum.

This year they don’t want to make a similar mistake. They know that they can’t keep on relying on Pippo Inzaghi and need at least one other striker. Suazo, with his speed, fitted the bill perfectly.

Fortunately for Inter, the player wasn’t that certain he wanted to move to AC Milan. They worked hard on getting the player to ask Cagliari to let him join Inter and whn he did so AC Milan decided that the gentlemanly thing to do was to back out of the deal.

So now everyone is happy again in the Inter household. Well, almost for this is Inter we’re talking about after all. Roberto Mancini, who had pushed hardest for the deal to go through so that he could finally rid himself of Adriano, isn’t all that pleased with Marco Branca.

The one time Middlesbrough player (yes, I’m feeling generous again) is the man Inter look at to take care of transfers. So naturally he is the one taking the blame for the deal almost failing to go through especially when it emerged that the person who actually convinced Suazo was Mancini’s close friend Giorgio de Giorgis.

With rumours that Branca has also botched a potential deal for Fernando Torres by allowing Liverpool to make the initial moves and the Chivu deal in balance, he could be replaced, naturally enough by de Giorgis.

4618: Scarborough FC: Steve Bull, Th

by : Hugh Larkin

This week brought the sad news that Scarborough FC have gone out of business and yet just 20 years ago their fans were eagerly anticipating a first campaign in the Football League. The Seadogs were the first side promoted from the Conference and what a baptism is proved to be for the town.

Scarborough welcomed Wolverhampton Wanderers for their first home game, which is one of those fixtures that everyone can see is a bad idea, except the men in suits who run the game.

Wolves suffered a dramatic descent to the lower division in the 80s but retained a huge following. In the 1980s this meant a large proportion of hard cases out to prove that they were still First Division in a ruck, if not on the park. An August weekend at the seaside was bound to attract them in droves.

I had no real intention of being there until one of those phone calls I’ve often received from Andy- school friend, diehard Wolves fan and fully paid up ‘92 Club’ member. These calls have instigated trips to Darlington, Halifax, Macclesfield on a freezing midweek and Rochdale on a Friday night, so it wasn’t unexpected.

This is one I should have dodged but the magic words ‘I’ll drive’ settled matters. After all, how bad could it be?

We had an inkling when we drove into town at about 12.30 and someone had already spray painted ‘Wolves on Tour’ over the first signpost we saw. Around the town itself, groups of Wolves fans were roaming about in the sunshine, taking in much alcohol and looking fairly mean.

Being experienced I refused to go in the Wolves end- I don’t even like Wolves anyway, due to obscure family logic. A distant cousin once scored twice in a Cup Final and broke Dave Whelan’s leg in the same game but we grew up as an avowedly non-Wolves household (why, I have no idea)

I lived fairly close by and wanted Boro to win. However, the local constabulary were on the case and checking fans. They did this by the ingenious method of saying ‘Scarborough? to anyone coming through the turnstiles. I had every confidence that I could reply ‘Yes’ in a Yorkshire accent.

I also had a trump card. Four years earlier on a training course in the town for 3 weeks I’d spent an evening at a testimonial game. Emlyn Hughes came along with Hull City and if necessary I was prepared to chat to the policemen about how I hadn’t seen a crowd like this since Harry Dunn’s benefit game.

I had less confidence in Andy who was engaged in a furious argument with a local reporter who came up to people in the queue asking what chance there would be of trouble today. This incensed Andy who felt it was provocative and tarring Wolves fans- the subsequent riot undermined his argument somewhat.

Quietening him down, we made it through the stiff questioning at the entrance. Standing (yes standing) behind the goal confirmed the decision because at the other end the Wolves fans were a swaying, baying mass, busy knocking hell out of the general fabric.

At one side a wire fence separated them from the Scarborough fans. I say Scarborough but the presence of the tough lads from the Midlands had attracted a choice assortment of North Yorkshire’s ‘head the balls’. One in particular stood out for his ferocity and dress sense.

Northern Soul had long past its zenith but this guy was still flying the flag- in fact he could have flown literally if a gust of wind has made it inside his unfeasibly wide trousers. Modern ground regulations would have seen him banned under dress code alone.

He stood out too for his absolute determination to cross the fence and mix it with the Black Country visitors. If that fence had given way he’s have ended up in tins of dogfood but it didn’t bother him.

4628: He Should Do Well: Yuri Berchi

by : Paul Grech

It has been a dismal season for Basque clubs. For the first time in over fifty years, Real Sociedad have to plan for life outside the Primera Liga whilst rivals Atletico Bilbao avoided a similar fate by just one point.

For two of the proudest clubs in Europe it is a galling situation, one that puts into sharp focus their particularly selective recruitment policies that discriminate in favour of players of a Basque origin.

Up till the early nineties, both clubs considered those coming from the rest of Spain as foreigners and therefore not fit to play for either one of them. With the arrival of John Aldridge among others, Sociedad finally started relenting but it took much longer for Bilbao to do likewise and even then Frenchman Bixente Lizarazu was allowed to sign because of his clear Basque origins.

Then again, both clubs could afford to act that way because they could rely on a highly productive cantera (youth system). Their problems started when richer clubs started picking off their most promising players before they could even sign a contract.

It is a problem that still afflicts them as the transfer of Yuri Berchice to Tottenham Hotspur proves.

At least in this case they will be getting something for their efforts with Tottenham accepting to pay a token fee that will ensure that they keep a healthy relationship with the club.

Regardless of the amount, they were undoubtedly more than happy to pay it for a highly promising player, one that was wanted by a host of clubs not least Manchester United and Chelsea.

Basques are traditionally know for the toughness and strength with their style of football mirroring that reputation. Berchiche, schooled in that style, will therefore have little difficulty integrating into English football. But he will also bring with him that extra bit of skill, and that confidence when going forward, that is occasionally lacking in local players.

At Bilbao, he was so highly rated that people were expecting him to break Joseba Etxeberria’s record of playing for the senior side by the time he was seventeen. With Gareth Bale ahead of him, he might have to wait a little bit longer to do that at Spurs, but not if he continues to progress as expected.

4614: He Should Do Well: Yassin Mout

by : Paul Grech

Yassin Moutaouakil is the perfect antidote to those who complain about clubs’ apparent lack of willingness in signing young English players.

For a club like Charlton, just relegated from the Premiership, to sign a comparative local player would be virtually impossible. The captain of the national U21 side, he might move to the Championship but it would take substantially more than the £400,000 that Alan Pardew has just paid Chateauroux for Moutaoukil. The fee Tottenham had to pay to get Gareth Bale is ample evidence of this.

But this is quite a coup for other reasons. Lazio, for instance, were heavily interested in the player they saw as the heir to Massimo Oddo who was sold to AC Milan last January. There were also others, like Everton, Aston Villa and Celtic all vying for him.

What won it for Charlton is the greater probability he has of playing regular football and the possibility of getting to the Premiership as a regular within twelve months.

Having witnessed out promising players’ career stall after a move abroad because of lack of playing time, that was a mistake Moutaouakil didn’t want to make once a long standing argument had led to the decision to leave Chateauroux.

Another factor that brought about that decision is the player’s determination to succeed, something that Pardew also mentioned when he presented the player. Back in France, he is seen as the possible successor to Willy Sagnol as the right-back for the national side. Charlton now have the responsibility to help him fulfill those expectations.

4627: Frank Rijkaard’s Jigsaw Puzzle

by : Hugh Larkin

The capture of Thierry Henry has been a matter for great rejoicing among the fans of Barcelona FC but while they can dream about the galaxy of attacking talent at the club, it’s Frank Rijkaard who has to work out how to fit the pieces together.

Barca were hardly short of goal power before Henry arrived- this is a team that ended 2006/07 with a plus 45 goal difference. Now by common consent they have four genuine attacking superstars in the squad. Henry, Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi are all on the books and Barca play just three up front.

To add to the Dutch coach’s complications, he also has Ludovic Giuly and Eidur Gudjohnsen on the staff; neither are ‘galacticos’ but both are first rank forwards who would find a berth at most top European clubs. The arrival of the new French star means one or both will surely be leaving Catalonia very soon.

So can Rijkaard get all four of his superstars on the park at once? If he chooses to play the Brazilian way, he can. A typical Brazilian pattern of the past decade had been to put two midfield anchors in front of the back four and allow four forwards to operate with wide freedom to cause havoc. It’s a way that he can go but there are problems.

This system requires exceptionally adventurous full backs which may mean altering his first choices for those roles. Secondly, the two midfield players need to be disciplined and strong defensively. From the current Barca squad that could mean Thiago Motta and Edmilson but that would leave no place for the talented Deco and Andres Iniesta.

Most importantly, this system may be ideal at the Nou Camp but it would be a major risk to use it away, especially in European ties. On big nights in the Champions League, one of the ‘Big 4’ will surely be starting on the bench.

So if three only are playing, who would have to sit out? In a sense Messi is the most junior of the four in terms of experience but he has a potential advantage. Of the quartet, the Argentinian prodigy is most firmly at home on the right side, while the others tend to favour coming from a leftish or central berth.

Messi is also the man who bagged a hat-trick against Real Madrid- the first by a Barca player since 1993-94 against their greatest rivals. He also scored the most stunning of goals against Getafe that brought comparison (again) with Diego Maradona. It would be very brave of Rijkaard to ditch the darling of the Nou Camp crowd.

This is why there has still been talk of Eto’o leaving the club, though the player himself has confirmed loudly that he wants to remain. In fact, he and Henry have made much of their friendship and desire to line up together- it makes for some interesting speculation about how that goes down with Ronaldinho.

It was only very recently that Eto’o and Ronaldinho engaged in a very public row. The rough edges have been smoothed over but the two may still be wary of each other. Ronaldinho is also the official vice-captain at the club after local hero Carlos Puyol.

The coach could opt for rotation but these are not players used to that process. They may sit out the odd Primera Liga fixture with equanimity but all four will want to be in the Champions League matches and the ‘El Clasico’ fixtures with Real Madrid.

Injury or suspension may ease the pressure but sooner or later the coach will have to make a critical decision (unless someone does prize Eto’o away). At the moment the Cameroon international does look the man most likely to be upset because Ronaldinho has more strings to his bow in the way he plays.

Teams lined up to play Barcelona in the pre-season can expect to run into a steamroller as the quartet battle to prove themselves. It’s clear that any dip in form could result in a sub’s role.

This sort of ‘creative tension’ can be brilliant for the squad if it is handed correctly or create dangerous fissures in team morale if it goes wrong. Watching the outcome is going to be keep everyone on the edge of their seat when the 2007/08 season opens.

4625: Manchester City – Are good tim

by : Colin Illingworth

Are the good times set to return to Manchester City? It’s been more than 30 years since City won a major trophy but that could all change under the guidance of former Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The City board has accepted Mr Shinawatra’s £81.6 million takeover of the club and they are urging shareholders to give the bid their full backing. Under the Thai, debts at the club are set to be covered, money will be made available for transfers and he wants to see City competing with their city rivals United within three years. Everything points towards the good times returning but nothing is ever clear-cut when it comes to City.

Mr Shinawatra has had more than £1 billion in assets frozen by the current Thai government as part of an investigation into corruption allegations and it’s claimed that it may take a further three weeks before the takeover can be completed. With such uncertainty hanging over the club, some City fans don’t know whether they are coming or going, but Jonathan Capehart, secretary of the Huddersfield Manchester City Supporters Club, believes that something major has to change at the club to revive its fortunes and he is right behind Shinawatra’s bid.

“City need to roll the dice if they are to challenge for honours again. We will not get anywhere without taking some risks. Shinawatra offers hope and we need that. As someone who was well aware of Shinawatra before this takeover, I have no qualms about him at all and know he has been a success at everything he has done. So it is very much a calculated risk as I see it rather than a reckless one. I also know that the allegations against him are politically motivated and have no worries on that score either.

“I’ve been very impressed with his interviews to date and he is a likeable man. He is aiming high but recognises that it is a long road to success and that is important. I'm confident he will do his very best for us and I think we have a fair chance of him achieving his aims, in part at least.”

Don Barrie, news editor for the Manchester City newsletter MCIVTA (Man City Information Via The Alps), has had his doubts about Shinawatra but admits that if the deal goes through then it could be the turning point for the club’s fortunes.

“Initially I was highly sceptical about the man. Allegations of corruption, human rights abuses and tax evasion gave a very poor impression of him. I remember the protests a few years back when Liverpool fans demonstrated against Shinawatra taking over their club, they weren’t too keen on him. Also if the man’s bank accounts are frozen, how on Earth can he fund the purchase of our club in any event? And yet part of me is just relieved that someone is prepared to inject funds and some new life into the blue “sleeping giant” of Manchester.

“I first heard Shinawatra speak last Thursday evening, on that tumultuous takeover day. He was on the radio and I have to say, he came across very well. He made all the noises City fans would want to hear – he’ll try and bring in five top players to the club, the club debts are covered, we need to be challenging United within three years and so on. He was quizzed about the allegations of criminality being laid against him. He stated that these claims are politically motivated, and are attempts to discredit him. He was very polished, which is no surprise considering his career as a politician."

He really appears to be on a charm offensive at the moment. Whether City fans are won over by this tactic, remains to be seen.

“If the takeover does go through, I think it could be a turning point in the club’s history – and the whole atmosphere around the club will inevitably change if we become a rich man’s plaything. And there’s no guarantee yet that this takeover will be a success. If the bid fails, or if Shinawatra returns to Thailand to face charges, the club will be in an even bigger mess than before – leaderless, clueless and facing a highly uncertain future.”

Former England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson is being strongly tipped to be the man to transform the team on the pitch and this has led to much debate amongst City fans. England’s lifeless and spiritless showing in last year’s World Cup is still fresh in the minds of some fans and Jonathan Capehart, 46, part owner of www.mancityfanc.net, thinks that there are better candidates out there.

4626: Manchester City; Sven and the

by : Stephen Orford

“I am not in favour of Sven and think we can do better. I certainly prefer him to Mark Hughes though if that is the choice! Ramos would be better, but my number one from those on offer would be Co Adriaanse. He could be installed quickly and cleanly and his sides play good football. He also has an excellent record of bringing young talent through, just what we need with our top class academy. Eriksson isn't first choice with many, but a poll on our fan site showed 97 per cent would prefer him to Hughes or Strachan and about 905 would find him an acceptable choice and a good appointment.”

Prior to taking the England job, Eriksson was one of the game’s top and most respected coaches. He’s won silverware at almost every club he’s been at and is the only manager to have won the double in three different countries. He’s an ambitious manager and would surely love to make it four with success in England. Don Barrie, 46, whose first City game was a 4-1 demolition of Stoke City in 1971, remembers the exciting brand of football Eriksson had Lazio and Sampdoria playing in Italy and believes that if he can reproduce that form at the City of Manchester Stadium then the fans would forget all about his torrid time as national boss.

“In order to raise the club out of it’s current malaise, a high profile manager is definitely required and not bosses of the calibre of Paul Jewell or Chris Coleman either! I’m trying not to let my memories of Sven’s last years in charge of England influence me either. I am clinging to my recollections of watching Italian football in the 90s on TV, when his teams played successful, bright attacking football. Both Sampdoria and Lazio, when under Eriksson’s stewardship, played an attacking 4-3-3 formation. Some of that would go down very well at the City of Manchester Stadium.

“If Sven does join the Sky Blue ranks, he’d soon win the fans over by ensuring (a) that City sign some prestigious players (b) that City score goals – lest we forget, we scored a measly 10 at home last season and (c) that City win a few games as well.”

One of the first players linked with a move to City was Newcastle United’s Michael Owen. At 28, Owen has missed the majority of the past two seasons through injury and he may have lost a bit of his blistering pace but this is the kind of signing that would get City fans back in their droves. A proven goalscorer is what they have been crying out for, especially after their dismal 10 goals at home last season. The former Liverpool and Real Madrid striker has a good relationship with Eriksson and may be prepared to end his injury-ravaged time on Tyneside to lead City into a new era. However, more recent reports have linked West Ham’s Marlon Harewood with a move north – I know who I’d prefer to sign – but one thing’s for sure, City need an out-and-out goalscorer.

“It doesn’t take a genius to work out that a proven goalscorer should be top of the shopping list,” says Don. “It was gratifying to see City immediately being linked with Michael Owen. Even if this just turns out to be speculation because of the Sven-England connection, how refreshing it is to see a transfer target that isn’t a Bosman! Even young Master Owen would struggle with no decent supply – and last season City’s play from wide midfield was pretty inept. For most of the time it was made up of the old, the bad and the lightweight, or Trevor Sinclair and Georgios Samaras if you prefer!

“To correct this deficiency I’d love to see Shaun Wright-Phillips back down the right in a City shirt, with a skilful left-sided player like Mortem Gamst Pedersen of Blackburn on the other side. Having Shaun Wright-Philips come back “home” would be a dream for most City fans, although I’m not sure Shaun might see it was a backward step.”

And Jonathan, who said the highlight of last season was the day the club said Joey Barton would never play for them again, believes they need to sign at least five new players.

“We need two strikers and at least two midfielders. Nedum can replace Distin but we will need cover, so one defender. Get Ball signed up too! Realistic targets that I would like to see are Reo-Coker and Lita. Shaun Wright-Philips would be great if he would come. Would be a big boost to fans to see him back.”

After City’s brief flirt with the drop last season something had to give and Stuart Pearce was given the axe. But despite some truly dire performances Jonathan Capehart, 40, whose favourite City player of all time is Colin Bell, is confident that the club can push on for a top eight finish.

“I look at other clubs with problems and think we would have been ok with or without the takeover. Bottom six maybe but not bottom three. The takeover enables us to set our sights higher. The middle third now looks most likely and I would be very happy if we could get back to top eight next season when I think we can contend for UEFA Cup places but will possibly just fall short.”

City fans have lived in the shadow of their rivals for far too long and a return to the good old days is long overdue. Shinawatra wants to see City competing for the game’s highest honours and if he can help bring silverware back to Eastlands he will become a City legend.Manchester City fans permanently reside on the edge of their seats, yet if I were one right now I would be particularly uneasy about events at the City of Manchester Stadium.

The two-pronged search for new investment and a new manager has thrown up all sorts of possibilities since Stuart Pearce’s sacking at the end of the recent season, many of which have failed to convince City fans that their side are finally heading in the right direction.

Initial suggestions regarding the appointment of either Claudio Ranieri or Gerard Houllier as the new boss were a worry, even if the former talked up his chances of guiding the side to the heights currently occupied by rivals United. Yet Claudio Cuckoolandio opted for the Old Lady of Juventus rather than the withered hag of City, while Houllier’s resignation from Lyon remains shrouded in mystery amid rumours of more poor health.

The likes of Louis Van Gaal tried not to laugh too loudly when linked with the Eastlands gig, but there never seemed any real possibility of the former Barcelona and Holland tactician filling Pearce’s shoes. All of which has led us to today’s announcement that uber-charmer and England flop Sven Goran Eriksson is on the verge of getting his hands on another under-achieving rabble. The Swede looks set to sign a three-year deal before the weekend, assuming that the buy-out cash of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is not exposed as Monopoly money.

This is where it starts to get really worrying for City fans. If Eriksson failed to get the best out of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney during his time with the FA, the notion that he will turn Bernardo Corradi or Paul Dickov into Premiership hotshots is somewhat flawed. Sven might just aswell request the (blue) moon on a stick, or else quit football altogether to oversee Tim Henman’s endless bid to become Wimbledon champion.

The only plus side for either party appears to be that Sven will be just across the city from his pal Owen Hargreaves, that after the Bayern Munich midfielder signed a Michael Carrick-sized deal at Old Trafford. For all the talk of £50million war chests (Sven likes a big chest), it is difficult to imagine any amount of money being truly persuasive enough to attract the game’s top stars to Eastlands. Names like Michael Owen have been linked by an optimistic press, but a more realistic rumour is that Eriksson will make West Ham’s tunnel-visioned goal-getter Marlon Harewood his main man in attack.

If that doesn’t feel like replacing Lewis Hamilton with David ‘diddy’ Hamilton, then consider that this is a City squad now shorn of its best midfielder, nuisance-in-chief Joey Barton. His move to Newcastle has left a gaping hole in the City engine room, and those who would trust Eriksson to fill it would trust Colin Montgomerie to fill the 18th hole at a major in less shots than it took Ollie Reed to feel tipsy. More comment on Sven filling holes seems entirely superfluous at this point.

That edge of my seat feels just that little bit slippier.

By Stephen Orford

June 26 2007

4624: Copa America 2007 Preview – Gr

by : Cody Strunk

ARGENTINA
PARAGUAY
COLOMBIA
USA

Argentina travel to Venezuela as favourites for the Copa America, based largely on the fact that while Brazil are missing key players, the Argentinean coach Alfio Basile has selected a strong looking squad. There is a wealth of experience throughout Basile’s squad, the central defensive pairing of Roberto Ayala and Gabriel Milito looks imposing, while with the likes of Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez, Juan Sebastian Veron and Juan Roman Riquelme available, Argentina certainly shouldn’t be lacking in terms of creativity, while Hernan Crespo should thrive on the chances created. The one possible weakness is a lack of width, but Argentina still look the team to beat.

Other than Brazil and Argentina, Paraguay is the only team from South America to make it to each of the last three World Cup finals. Their success in recent years has been built around their defensive solidity, but the retirement of the estimable Carlos Gamarra leaves a major gap to fill. Coach Gerardo Martino was only appointed in March, so his main aim here is likely to be one of preparation for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers. Julio Cesar Caceres is now the key defender, while Julio Dos Santos will be orchestrating things in midfield. Although the defence is no longer the formidable unit it once was, Martino does have a greater number of attacking options than his predecessors, with the likes of Salvador Cabanas, Oscar Cardozo and Nelson Cuevas all perfectly capable in front of goal. Roque Santa Cruz is also due a big tournament.

Though no longer the power they once were on the continent, there are signs that Colombia could be on the way back. There are a number of promising young players coming through and with Cucuta Deportivo performing admirably in the Copa Libertadores this season, new coach Jorge Luis Pinto will be hoping that the Copa America brings further proof of progress ahead of the World Cup qualifiers. The team’s greatest strength is at the back, where Ivan Cordoba, Luis Perea and Mario Yepes provide quality and experience. Scoring goals could be a problem though, with Mexican-based striker Hugo Rodallega yet to live up to his early potential. Pinto will need the likes of Rodallega and Bordeaux striker Edixon Perea to find some form if the Colombians are to progress beyond the group stage.

The USA come to the Copa America on the back of victory against Mexico in the Gold Cup final back home in the United States. Like the Mexicans, the proximity of two major tournaments so close to each other, the travelling involved and the number of games played in quick succession is unlikely to be conducive to a successful tournament in Venezuela. The squad for this competition looks far inferior to that used on home soil, with key players such as Landon Donovan, Carlos Bocanegra, Tim Howard and DaMarcus Beasley all missing. Kasey Keller, Ben Olsen and Eddie Johnson provide a core of experience, but it would be a major surprise were Bob Bradley’s team to progress beyond the group stage.

Copa America 2007

Copa America 2007 Preview – Group A Copa America 2007 Preview – Group B Copa America 2007 Preview – Group Argentina The Class Act In Copa America

4621: Arsenal: Wenger was right to a

by : Colin Illingworth

On Friday night Spanish media reported the news that Arsenal fans had been dreading for weeks, Thierry Henry has signed for Barcelona. The enigmatic Frenchman’s eight-year spell at Arsenal had come to an end but, following rumours of unrest, his decision to quit the Emirates came as no surprise to most Gooners.

The Catalan giants had been strongly linked with the legendary number 14 more than 12 months ago but Henry decided against such a move to pen a new four-year deal at the Emirates. However, following an injury-hit and trophyless season, and the exit of David Dein, rumours began circulating that Henry was not happy with life at Arsenal and wanted out. The Frenchman refused to commit his long term future to the Gunners, as the likes of AC Milan, Liverpool and Barcelona became linked with him, and it soon became a case of when, not if, Henry would leave the club. However, despite bracing himself for the inevitable, Mark Brindle was still shocked by the news.

“Personally I felt a bit numb about the whole situation. It did still surprise me, but then again nothing in football should really surprise. I totally back Wenger’s decision. If he feels it is right then we have to back him. If it proves to be the wrong decision then Wenger knows what the consequences will be.”

But Will Cormack, 25, who felt that it was time for Henry to leave, wasn’t surprised in the slightest to see Henry call time on his Arsenal career.

“I didn’t really find the news unexpected. Henry has been looking for this move since the Champions League final in 2006. He never looked happy in our shirt last season and I find that disappointing. As I’ve said before, I firmly believe Henry thinks he is bigger than The Arsenal and it is time for us Gooners to find another hero.

“I am very glad all the speculation is over, as it brings Arsenal down and creates unwanted speculation all the time. As with so many of our ex-players, they don’t leave Arsenal and become a success. I back Wenger all the way with this decision – Henry had to go.”

Thierry Henry is one of the game’s true superstars. He can turn a game on its head with one bit of skill and can light up the crowd with an electrifying burst of pace. He is without a shadow of a doubt the best striker in the world, which makes it all the more surprising that Wenger has agreed to sell him for just £16 million. However, Tony Attwood, 59, a silver level member at Arsenal, has faith in Wenger’s decision to let Henry go and can’t believe that The Gunners have been made favourites to drop out of the top four.

“Wenger has done this before. Overmars and Petit went to Barca for £20m. Vieira went, Pires went and now Henry. What Wenger does is buy cheap and sell high – particularly when the player has a problem with injuries. And each time he was right – Overmars retired with injury, Petit retired with injury, Vieira has had a load of injuries since leaving and Pires was out for almost the whole season with injuries.

“So, we've lost Henry, and brought no-one in. That leaves us fairly much where we were last season when Henry was out for much of the time, not playing well when on the pitch, and arguing with the boss. Which presumably means that we are still in contention to come fourth and score just about the same number of goals as Chelsea. Not a bad starting point.”

Transfer activity in the Premiership had been relatively quiet until Friday’s revelation and has put some potential deals in perspective, most notably Darren Bent’s proposed £17 million move to Tottenham. Is Bent, who hasn’t made an impact on the European or international scene, really worth more than a former World Cup, European Championship, Premiership and FA Cup winner? Not to mention a record goalscorer? Season ticket holder Mark Brindle believes that Barcelona have made the steal of the century by securing Henry for £16 million – after all Chelsea paid £30 million for Shevchenko last season – but fellow Gooner Will Cormack thinks that Arsenal have done well to get £16 million for Henry and, like Tony, Will is confident that the club will be fine without the Frenchman.

“I’m not surprised Henry has left for £16 million. He hasn’t played all year, he’s not in great form anyway and he is coming up to 30 years of age. I just pray that Arsene buys 3-4 new players, even if they are young, we just need some new faces to improve team spirit and to make the team stronger as a whole.

“I still feel the team will qualify the Champions League. Even without Henry we are still a force to be reckoned with. Last year we didn’t lose to any of the top four, we only drop points against teams who just defend all the time. But as we found out when our 49-game without defeat run came to an end against Manchester United, teams only beat The Arsenal when they sit back and don’t play attacking football. This frustrates me greatly when teams play with this attitude. Everything Julio Baptista said about Northern teams is completely true.”

4623: Copa America 2007 Preview – Gr

by : Cody Strunk

BRAZIL
MEXICO
CHILE
ECUADOR

Brazil is, naturally enough, the favourite to win Group B. It does look to be the toughest of the three groups though and with Brazil travelling to Venezuela without several of their star turns – most notably Kaka and Ronaldinho – they will need to be on their guard. Werder Bremen’s Diego is set to take centre stage as playmaker in the absence of the aforementioned pair, while Manchester United’s new recruit, Anderson, is also included. This is also a tournament where Robinho will be expected to live up to the hype that has surrounded him for several years now. With neither Adriano nor Ronaldo in the squad, Robinho is likely to lead the attack. Brazil won the Copa America in 2004 with a below-strength squad, so coach Dunga will be given little sympathy should the current crop fail to produce the goods.

Like the Brazilians, Mexico coach Hugo Sanchez has opted to rest some key players for the Copa America, including the VfB Stuttgart pair of Pavel Pardo and Ricardo Osorio and PSV Eindhoven defender Carlos Salcido. On the plus side, they do finally have Olympiakos striker Nery Castillo on board and there is sure to be interest in the performances of the highly-rated Andres Guardado on the left-flank. Fatigue could be a big factor against the Mexicans, with their participation in the CONCACAF Gold Cup ending just a few days before their opening group game with Brazil.

Chile could be the dark horses of the group, although even they are not quite at full-strength, with Lazio midfielder Luis Jimenez absent as a result of alleged problems between the player and his model wife. There is still reason for optimism though, with Villarreal’s Matias Fernandez and Jorge Valdivia of Palmeiras providing the creative spark in midfield, with Claudio Maldonado - regarded as the best holding midfielder in Brazilian league football – tidying up behind them. Colo Colo’s Humberto Suazo is expected to lead the line, possibly as a lone striker or with Reinaldo Navia as a partner. The one major concern is the defence, where coach Nelson Acosta has left out Bayer Leverkusen-bound teenager Arturo Vidal to enable him to play at the U-20 World Cup in Canada. With the Chilean rearguard being the team’s weakest area, that decision could backfire.

Given the quality of the teams drawn with them, Ecuador find themselves regarded as the outsiders to win Group B, despite their recent progress. With strikers Agustin Delgado and Ivan Kaviedes both omitted from the squad of Luis Fernando Suarez, the star of the show for the Ecuadorians now is Edison Mendez. The PSV Eindhoven midfielder is noted for his fierce long-range shooting and could be pushed into a more prominent position in a 4:3:2:1 formation behind a lone striker. There are also high hopes for 18-year-old Basle striker Felipe Caicedo.

Copa America 2007

Copa America 2007 Preview – Group A Copa America 2007 Preview – Group B Copa America 2007 Preview – Group Argentina The Class Act In Copa America

4622: Copa America 2007 Preview – Gr

by : Cody Strunk

With Henry gone the talk has now turned to who can fill his boots? Nicolas Anelka, Michael Owen and Carlos Tevez have been linked with a move to North London in the past few days but Tony Attwood believes that Henry’s successor may already be at the club.

“Our forward line now is Adebayor, Van Persie, Walcott and Bendtner. The question is simply this. Has Wenger seen something in one of those four that we have not seen yet – something that makes one of them the new striking sensation? Or is he about to bring in a 5th forward?

“My guess, for what it is worth, is that Theo Walcott is ready and he'll take the world by storm – but only because this is the pattern for much of the time already – Wenger gets the others in place before he lets someone leave. (Interestingly both Vieira and Henry were re-signed on extended contracts to up their value before Wenger sold them – he sold neither during the height of the media frenzy to sell).”

Losing Thierry Henry is a blow, there’s no denying it. But to lose Arsene Wenger as well, which Henry has hinted may happen, would be absolutely devastating. The former Monaco boss has said that he will see out his contract at the club but he’s refused to look further ahead. Arsenal fans are understandably worried about his future and Will Cormack believes that if the club isn’t pushing for honours this season then Wenger may decide to say au revoir as well.

”I feel that Wenger will stay for one more season, he will expect the team to perform. I do have faith in Arsene, he must be seeing the players perform in training and there is still time for him to make some significant signings before the start of the year. If we end up third or fourth and we don’t challenge for league, I believe he will go.”

Tony Attwood feels that it would be almost impossible to replace Wenger but remains confident that the foundations for a great future have been laid at the club.

“As for Wenger going – that is a worry – not because we couldn't now get ourselves another top European manager, obviously we could, but because Wenger is unique because of his style of play. We've not only had a club that wins stuff, but wins so beautifully. It would be sad to lose that.

However, let's not forget that the production line continues – we've just signed a Norwegian central defender and Polish goalkeeper, both young and exciting, and there will be others coming through.”

As long as Arsene Wenger is at the helm Arsenal fans will be served up some of the best attacking football in the game. However, after two seasons without success, winning a trophy has to be high on his priorities. If they fail to do so, it might be Wenger’s turn to walk away for a fresh challenge.

VENEZUELA
URUGUAY
PERU
BOLIVIA

Venezuela, the host nation, were the perennial whipping boys of South American football until recent years but, having benefited from the obligatory easy draw that has long since been customary for host nations in major tournaments, they could well feature in the latter stages of the competition. Coach Richard Paez has been in charge since 2001, so takes huge credit for the enormous strides made during his tenure. On the pitch, the key man is likely to be Mallorca playmaker Juan Arango. The bulk of the squad will be made up of home-based players though, with Caracas and UA Maracaibo both likely to be well represented.

The main group rival of the host nation is likely to be Uruguay, considered as a good outside bet in some circles (largely on account of their group draw it has to be said). There is a good deal of experience in the Uruguayan squad in the likes of Alvaro Recoba, Pablo Garcia and Diego Forlan, while in Oscar Washington Tabarez, back for a second spell in charge of the national team, they have a coach with plenty of know-how at the highest level of the game.

Peru are the potential party-poopers of the group, with strikers Claudio Pizarro, Jefferson Farfan and Paolo Guerrero providing decent attacking options for coach Julio Cesar Uribe (another in his second spell as national team coach). The problem is that Peruvian football has been in the doldrums both at national and club level for years now and there are few signs of any imminent upturn in their fortunes. The absence of Nolberto Solano will do little to help their cause.

While Venezuela’s fortunes have improved significantly since the turn of the millennium, Bolivia has sunk to bottom of the FIFA rankings in CONCACAF. The recently announced FIFA ban on playing games at altitude is unlikely to help them, although even playing at 3,600 metres in La Paz has proved of little benefit in recent years anyway. Erwin Sanchez (who appeared for Bolivia in the 1994 World Cup finals) was appointed national team coach whilst still serving an 18-match ban for head-butting a referee when playing for Oriente Petrolero. Former Middlesbrough striker Jaime Moreno was recently recalled to the squad, a move that is more an indication of Bolivia’s lack of options than his own form. If Bolivia is to spring a surprise or two, then midfielder Joselito Vaca looks the most probable source of inspiration.

Copa America 2007

Copa America 2007 Preview – Group A Copa America 2007 Preview – Group B Copa America 2007 Preview – Group Argentina The Class Act In Copa America

4617: He Should Do Well: Massimo Don

by : Paul Grech

Massimo Donati is a strange choice for Celtic. Occasionally brilliant, often inconsistent is the best description of a player who promised to deliver so much but never really fulfilled expectations.

In retrospect, that might be a bit too harsh on him. Yet there will always be a feeling of unfulfilled potential about Donati. A product of the rich Atalanta youth scheme – one that is based around the schooling of good football and with a tradition of selling players to let younger ones come through – he was a regular by the age of 19.

More than that he was the star of the side as they gained promotion to the Serie A at the end of the 1999-2000 season. Twelve months later, he had established himself as one of the brightest talents in the Italian game and apparently on the fast track to the Italian national side.

Then came the turning point of his career. Traditionally, Atalanta held close ties with neighbours AC Milan (to whom they had sold Roberto Donadoni in the mid 80s) but Juventus had managed to muscle their way in, buying among others Pablo Montero, Alessandro Tacchinardi and Bobo Vieri.

The fear of missing out on another potential star probably played a significant part for Milan as they moved in to buy Donati for ₤10million. Because, given how little they eventually used him they clearly hadn’t included him in his plans.

Not playing stunted his development. Subsequent loan spells at Parma, Torino and Sampdoria were all disappointing and the player who had promised so much looked lost to the highest level of Italian football.

But then came another turning point: his move to Messina. Surprisingly promoted to the Serie A, the Sicilian club was looking to strengthen its side on a very tight budget. Donati fitted the bill perfectly. Milan quickly agreed to another loan deal and this time things surprisingly clicked for Donati.

For two seasons he was Messina’s guiding light where lack of goals was the only disappointment. Playing as a classic regista he oversaw everything that went through their midfield. In the first season they just about missed making it into Europe, the second saw them relegated (although they were eventually given a reprieve) but in both years Donati excelled.

Not enough for Milan to take him back, however, and last season he was back on loan this time back at Atalanta. Again, his was another satisfying season with the team missing out on Europe by a couple of points.

That dream of playing in a European competition to which he had come tantalisingly close on a couple of occasions was also one of the principal motivating factors that got Donati to agree to the move to Celtic. Playing in the Champions League was not an ambition he was going to achieve with the seasonal loans he was being subjected to at AC Milan but at Celtic he is virtually guaranteed of regular European action. With fellow Italian Enzo Maresca – another player who found it hard to get games back home with Juventus – showing what can be done by leaving Italy after winning two UEFA Cups and Copa del Rey at Seville, there’s every reason for Donati to look forward to finally come close to fulfilling his full potential.

4620: Four Reasons Why Arsenal Can S

by : Hugh Larkin

Now that Thierry Henry has left for Barcelona there are those who say that Arsenal will go into certain decline. That view fails to understand how a football team operates and assumes Arsene Wenger has been standing still hoping Henry would stay, which he hasn’t. There are reasons for optimism at the Emirates.

Arsenal Have Been Changing for Several Seasons

While Henry’s move will always be big news it is just one more in a series of departures that Arsene Wenger has been grappling with since the ‘invincible’ season. Dennis Bergkamp’s retirement was predictable but the manager did not expect to lose Ashley Cole and Sol Campbell’s sudden loss of confidence was unexpected.

Robert Pires could possibly have played two more years at Arsenal but wanted more than a one year deal initially and this forced Cesc Fabregas to the fore much earlier along with Patrick Vieira’s departure. Despite the early evidence that Vieira may have left at the right time, he’s since become a scudetto winner in Italy.

Most teams would struggle to cope with these losses and it altered the balance and experience of the side behind Henry dramatically. Because of this the time may have come for Arsenal to play in a different way (with two full strikers for instance) rather than with so much dependent on Henry’s wide ranging style and pace.

Like Ian Wright’s time before him, Arsenal were set up to make use of one extraordinary individual. The balance of the Gunners midfield beautifully complemented their French genius and vice versa but without Pires, Bergkamp, Vieira and a declining Freddie Ljungberg, a more varied system is appropriate.

Injuries

When commentators disparage Arsenal for their mediocre campaign in 2006/07 (by their own standards) for some reason the absence of their first choice strike force seems to get minimal attention. Henry appeared in just 17 League games and Robin Van Persie in only 22.

That left Emanuel Adebayor carrying a great deal more responsibility in his first season in the Premiership. He should be better for it in the long term but it did leave Arsenal severely weakened. Take any two strikers from the other top four teams and a similar effect would occur.

With a full squad to choose from in 2007/08, even without Henry Arsenal are likely to be a much more potent attacking force.

Talent At the Club

Arsenal may well have the resources within the squad to pick up much of the slack. There are many clubs who would want the names Van Persie, Adebayor, Walcott and Bendtner on the books.

None of these players has the same talent as Henry but as a group they constitute a wealth of developing talent. They offer the option to operate in various ways too.

Walcott delivers searing pace, especially from wide positions while Bendtner is a more traditional central striker; Adebayor drifts across the line and uses a combination of strength and control; Van Persie is less of an out and out front man and more a second striker linking to midfield.

None of them is Henry but then who can be? What they do represent is a tremendous group, well capable of keeping Arsenal safe from some of the more dire predictions coming the Gunners way.

The Replacement

Here we enter the realm of speculation but it would beggar belief that Arsene Wenger has not planned for this eventuality. In fact he has been quietly restocking his forward options ever since 2003/04- the problem is that neither Jose Antonio Reyes, nor Julio Baptista have adapted to English football in the way that Adebayor has.

So Wenger still needs to find another forward – preferably an experienced one- to knit together the relatively young bunch he already has at the club. David Trezeguet and even Nicholas Anelka are names in the frame.

Past results show that Arsenal fans can be confident that the manager will deliver the player he needs.

Verdict

All of the above does not mean Arsenal will be winning the Premiership or reaching another Champions League Final soon but it should allow the Gunners to maintain their position in the top four of English football.

The FA Cup and Carling Cup might have to be the limit of the trophy ambitions in the short term but the Arsenal squad is still in relative good health. The really critical departure would not be Thierry Henry’s but Arsene Wenger’s if it happened.

4619: Fulham: Summer 2007 Transfer O

by : Cody Strunk

Those around him were posturing in that way that teenagers do, hurling abuse and provocation while glancing to ensure the police were close by. Not the ‘Northern Soul Nutter’ though, who tore at the fence with the mournful air of a man who realises that he should have packed a hacksaw for the day.

A football match broke out and there was a very significant event- though we didn’t know it at the time. Steve Bull was on the scoresheet to begin his journey into Black Country legend.

The Tipton striker had bagged 19 goals in 1985-86 but this was the campaign when he banged in the sort of total associated with the era of centre partings and Woodbines. We witnessed goal number 1 of 52 in 58 games.

The game was hard to concentrate on though. Andy got steamed up again when a Yorkshire TV crew raced across the field at half time to cover the disturbances- encouraging the violence in his opinion. I think it was the second half when the signature event occurred.

Some Wolves fans had climbed up one of those old corrugated roofs that acted as cover over standing areas. One of them unwisely decided to jump up and down and suddenly disappeared from view. At the time we weren’t certain but the news confirmed that the fan went through the roof on to the terrace below. The injuries were serious but not life threatening.

The game finished 2-2 and we exited at speed to avoid trouble. We’d parked in a housing estate and had the bizarre experience of switching on the radio and hearing a description of the ongoing riot while we were in an area so lacking in life that it would have been no shock to see a tumbleweed going past.

Naturally Andy waxed lyrical again about what a disgraceful part the media were playing in hyping things up. If he’d become a QC he could have defended Crippen and Hitler.

We braved the seafront later. There were many Wolves fans out drinking but the trouble seemed to have calmed. The Molineux club were using a white away kit that year and one beer bellied, bellicose fan had a blood red stripe straight down the front, courtesy of a headbutt or a fist.

He appeared quite happy with his wound which seemed to give him kudos among the group around him. I couldn’t help wondering if the Northern Soul guy had given it to him.

I visited the McCain Stadium just once more for a League game some years later. The terraces were replaced by stands and the regular crowd had dwindled to a hard core support. Perhaps a fair few were put off by that first day.

Scarborough has 12 seasons in the Football League and never left the bottom tier. They never had a day to match that opener until they were back in the Conference and Chelsea came to visit in the 2003-04 FA Cup. Maybe they will be back in another 20 years.
The big-spending days under Mohamed Al-Fayed are long gone so, despite being promised “significant funds”, Lawrie Sanchez is going to have his work cut out in trying to build a squad capable of improving Fulham’s fortunes and keeping them clear of the drop-zone.

The manager recently told Fulham’s official magazine that there would “probably having six or seven players coming in”. That seems a fair assessment in terms of numbers, especially with Claus Jensen, Tomasz Radzinski, Mark Crossley and Mark Pembridge all being released at the end of last season and Vincenzo Montella, Jan Lastuvka and Wayne Routledge all returning to their parent clubs after loan spells at the Cottage. Whether Al-Fayed will provide the funds required to secure players of the requisite quality is another matter. It could also prove difficult for Sanchez to recruit the players he would ideally want, given the spending power of so many of his Premiership rivals these days.

It already seems that where the squad under Jean Tigana had a distinctly French feel to it and Chris Coleman’s team had a strong American influence, Sanchez’s Fulham could well be heavily reliant on players from Northern Ireland, with David Healy (Leeds United), Southampton defender Chris Baird and the Aston Villa pair of Aaron Hughes and Steve Davis all strongly linked with moves to Craven Cottage.

Lee Cook, the Queens Park Rangers winger, is another who has long been mentioned as a potential target. With the QPR board recently announcing that their financial predicament will necessitate the sale of Cook, Fulham will be among the front-runners for his signature.

Further additions seem likely in attack, even if the proposed signing of Healy goes through, with Marlon Harewood, Diomansy Kamara, Mido and Walter Pandiani all being put forward as possible recruits. The Cottagers have already had a double bid (believed to be in the region of £7 million) rejected by West Bromwich Albion for Kamara and his midfield colleague, Jason Koumas, but a fresh bid for Kamara alone appears to be on the verge of going through according to reports. There has also been speculation surrounding a loan move for Lee Chun-soo, the South Korean international winger currently plying his trade with Ulsan Hyundai.

A new goalkeeper is also on the agenda, although talk of moves for Craig Gordon or Scott Carson seem a tad unlikely, particularly with Antti Niemi seemingly set to stay. A long-term loan deal would probably suffice as competition and cover for the Finnish international.

In addition to those that have already left, there has also been reported interest in Michael Brown, Zat Knight, Collins John and Heidar Helguson. Further departures are likely although, given the squad’s current lack of depth, it would seem sensible to start recruiting before any more players are allowed to leave.

The return of Jimmy Bullard after a long-term injury absence will be a major plus point, but key for Fulham is likely to be whom Sanchez brings in to bolster his defence and to provide more firepower. Should they fail to bring in players of the requisite quality, Fulham will be serious contenders for relegation. Much is going to depend on just how much “significant funds” equates to in Al-Fayed’s book.

4615: Tottenham Hotspur: Are Spurs W

by : Paul Grech

It might seem harsh to criticize the transfer strategy of a club that in recent years has shrewdly signed up Aaron Lennon, Paul Robinson, Michael Carrick and Michael Dawson for virtually next to nothing, or who believed in Dimitar Berbatov when the rest of the Premiership thought they were paying an inflated fee for a wasteful striker.

Yet Tottenham’s insistence in pursuing Darren Bent seems odd nevertheless. And not because of the transfer fee involved.

That Bent is an immensely talented striker is in no doubt – even though there does seem to be some skepticism about this - and the fact that he rejected West Ham’s highly lucrative contract because he wanted to join a club capable of immediately challenging for the honours has to be a huge point in his favour. Ambition, in an era where greed dominates, is a rare and highly appreciable value.

In virtually any other side in the Premiership, Bent would be a great addition. But not at Tottenham who not only have the sublime Berbatov but also Robbie Keane and Jermaine Defoe. Unless they’re getting ready to sell one of those three or Marin Jol is preparing to play more than two up front, adding Bent will only result in a headache for the manager who will end up with one – and possibly more – unhappy players at the lack of playing time they’re getting.

Attack is not an area they need to improve, certainly not one where they have to throw so much money at.

For Tottenham have more pressing needs. The left of midfield, for instance, remains a major issue and one that caused a lot of worries last term. With left sided players being so thin on the ground, they will have to spend heavily if they are to register an improvement next season.

Then there is the centre of midfield. No real replacement has been bought for Carrick as the combination of Tom Huddlestone and Didier Zokora might offer a lot more defensive qualities but the side has missed his vision.

Last season also exposed how vulnerable Spurs are to injuries. Any side would struggle to contain the number of missing players that Jol had to contend with last year but a bigger squad with more quality in depth would have helped handle the situation better.

With Thierry Henry leaving Arsenal, this might be the perfect year for Tottenham to break into the top four. For that to happen, however, they mustn’t waste money on players they have no real need for.

4616: An Arsenal return for Anelka w

by : Antony Melvin

With Thierry Henry about to be consigned to Arsenal's past - a bit like an eloquent Ian Wright - the speculation surrounds a replacement. Not many commentators hold much truck with the notion that Theo Walcott (18), Robin van Persie (23), Emmanuel Adebayor (23), Nicklas Bendtner (19) and Jose Reyes (24) can form a first team attack, despite costing over £25m in transfer fees. So thoughts turn to the transfer market.

Both van Persie and Adebayor are good enough to play up front for most Premiership clubs, but neither is yet a convincing 20 goals a season threat. Last season van Persie bagged 13 goals in 31 games, Adebayor 12 in 44 - which are fair enough returns for a support striker, but suggests that both are not yet ready for the pressure of being considered the main source of goals. At a push you could say that given 50 games that van Persie would get to 20 goals, but with his injury record that is a push.

Theo Walcott got a lot of experience last season in starting 13 games and and coming off the bench another 19 times - but just one goal suggests that his future may not be as an out and out goalscorer. Bendtner scored 13 in 48 games at Birmingham and could start the new season ahead of Walcott in the Arsenal striking pecking order.

With £16m banked from the sale of Henry and maybe another £6m available from selling Reyes Arsenal should have some elbow room in the transfer market. So what do Arsenal need from a striker?

Firstly they need an experienced forward; there are a lot of young forward players at The Emirates and they could do with an experienced professional to play off. Secondly they need a guaranteed 20 goals in a season, which is not an easy prospect. Thirdly Premiership experience would be useful. And finally a price tag no higher than £10m would probably be the clincher.

So a player around 27 years old, with a proven record of scoring 20 goals a season, preferably with Premiership experience and available for £8m-£10m. That would seem to be a tall order but both Michael Owen and Nicolas Anelka fit this profile in England, and Fredi Kanoute and possibly Diego Forlan are available in Spain.

Of the English based players Anelka may be more difficult to manage, but Wenger has experience of taming Le Sulk and really if he can keep Anelka in line for a couple of seasons this would allow time for the young strike force already in place to mature and push themselves forward. But perhaps Anelka has matured, his time at Bolton has been largely free of complaints - he has knuckled down and done a job for the team. And in a low scoring side that does not create too many chances Anelka's 12 goals in 40 games can be put into some persepctive. In the more free flowing Kevin Keegan era at Manchester City he scored 46 goals in 101 games, showing how much threat he retains. Incredibly Anelka has not played 100 club games for any other club Given the number of chances that he would get at Arsenal 25-30 goals would be a reasonable return per season.

Owen's injury record would make any kind of move a gamble until his fitness is confirmed. Kanoute is a former Spurs and West Ham player and would not be a popular move for the fans, and Forlan convinces few people that he is a Premiership top scorer.

All things considered a 28 year old Anelka ticks all the boxes and his quick recruitment would do much to quell the nervous energy being lost in north London. Bolton could be forced into a sale due to transfer get-out clauses and the money raised may be useful to Sammy Lee as he rebuilds following the departure of Sam Allardyce.

Anelka comments clearly suggest that he believes that he should be in a team challenging for the title and the Champions' League and Arsenal would offer him a very real chance to prove his worth. An Arsenal return for Anelka would make sense.

4611: Premiership Clubs Certain To L

by : Hugh Larkin

In April on Square Football we carried an article pointing out the influence that the 2008 African Nations Cup tournament could have on the Premiership title chase and the race for Champions League places.

Most of the leading teams in the top flight have key African players and the way that the qualifiers for the tournament are shaping up will leave the Premiership’s managers with a lot of headaches.

For instance, Chelsea finished the FA Cup Final with 4 Africans in their eleven- Drobga, Essien, Mikel and Kalou and Arsenal could regularly be expected to field Toure, Eboue and Adebayor in their starting line up. Outside the Big 4, Harry Redknapp has just signed Ghana’s Sulley Muntari but could lose him for 5 weeks in the New Year.

Ghana are the host nation, so that means Michael Essien is certain to be out of Chelsea’s squad for much of January-February 2008. It is also food for thought for those English clubs who have been linked to a move for their captain Stephen Appiah.

Ivory Coast are topping their group which has slimmed down to just 3 countries after a withdrawal. Only a massively unlikely series of results by Gabon can prevent the Elephants going to Ghana so Drogba, Toure, Eboue, Didier Zokora and possibly Kalou will be absent.

The news that several Premiership clubs are chasing Freddie Kanoute is a reminder that during his time with Spurs the striker switched his allegiance to Mali- something that Tottenham were none too keen on at the time.

Only last week there was a row between Mali and Seville over Kanoute’s availability for a qualifier. FIFA actually sided with Seville and sent the player back to his club for a key League game but Sepp Blatter had admitted that they were wrong and that such an outcome won’t happen again. Any side signing Kanoute would have to bear this in mind.

Mali are in the tightest qualifying section- a three way fight with Togo and Benin. Arsenal have Emmanuel Adebayor on the Togo side and Liverpool will be keeping a close eye as they employ Malian cap Mo Sissoko. Unfortunately for the two Premiership sides, there is a qualifying route for some second placed sides, so both nations might make it.

After the shocks of qualification for World Cup 2006, the established order is returning for these qualifiers. Cameroon are already home in their group and Nigeria are very close to putting their section to bed.

Chelsea could lose Mikel to Nigeria (if they square their differences) and Geremi (if he stays at Stamford Bridge) to Cameroon. Spurs defender Benoit Essou-Akotto could also win a place in the Indomitable Lions squad. After missing the last Nations Cup Finals, Middlesbrough’s Yakubu is restored to the Nigeria squad and he could line up with Newcastle’s Obafemi Martins.

DR Congo currently lead their group but it is a tight one. Lomano Lua Lua of Portsmouth could be missing if they qualify and Blackburn are still trying to bring back Roma striker Shabani Nonda, who is also a DR Congo international.

It’s probably a comfort to Harry Redknapp that Zimbabwe are way out of contention so he’ll keep the hard grafting Benjani. Rovers also have two South African caps on their staff- Benny McCarthy and Aaron Moekena. McCarthy may not be involved for the Bafana Bafana but Makoena is the current skipper. South Africa need just a point to be safe in Group 11.

Senegalese participation can cause discomfort for a raft of clubs. Sammy Lee could have to get by without El Hadj Djouf; many of his fellow internationals like Amdy Faye, Abdoulaye Faye and Papa Bouba Diop may be on the move but clubs seeking their services will have to factor in the Nations Cup.

Diomansy Kamara of West Brom is a hot target for many clubs but as Senegal just need a win over Burkina Faso to clinch their berth, his suitors should be planning cover from mid January.

The powerhouse squads from North Africa like Egypt and Tunisia will be in Ghana in strength. This will have slightly less impact on the Premiership in numbers but Spurs could lose Hossam Ghaly

Overall the qualifying tournament looks like delivering most of Africa’s powerful nations to the final stages. It promises to be bad news for most Premiership sides but until the international calendar can be aligned it’s a fair price to pay to have players of this calibre in the squads.

4612: Argentina Clausura Weekly Revi

by : Cody Strunk

Newly crowned champions San Lorenzo finished their season with a 2:1 win at bottom of the table Quilmes, a result that left them six points clear of Boca Juniors in the final standings. Second half goals from Osmar Ferreyra and Nestor Silvera enabled San Lorenzo to end the season on a high after they had been behind at half-time.

Boca Juniors only drew 0:0 at Lanus, although their focus has been primarily on the Copa Libertadores for a few weeks now (they went on to secure the trophy against Gremio in midweek). Outgoing champions Estudiantes finished their campaign with a point after drawing 1:1 away to Arsenal de Sarandi.

A disappointing season for River Plate ended on a positive note with a 3:2 win over Velez Sarsfield. Diego Galvan and Danilo Gerlo gave River Plate a healthy first-half advantage, only for two goals within 10-minutes of the restart from Emiliano Papa and Damian Escudero bringing the visitors level. A goal from Matias Abelairas on 58-minutes eventually proved decisive for Daniel Passarella’s team, although they had to hang on following the late dismissal of Paulo Ferrari.

At the other end of the table Belgrano joined Quilmes in dropping automatically down in Nacional B (to be replaced by Olimpo and San Martin (San Juan), despite seeing off Banfield 3:0. Two goals from Marcelo Delgado and another from Andres Rios were academic due to Nueva Chicago’s 2:0 win away to Newell’s Old Boys, where two second-half headers from Mariano Donda and Lucio Filomeno ensured that they live to fight another day in the promotion/relegation play-offs.

Joining Nueva Chicago in the play-offs will be Godoy Cruz, who lost their final game of the regular campaign 4:2 at Racing Club, despite being 2:1 up at half-time. Godoy Cruz will face Huracan in the play-offs (they have already lost the away leg 2:0), while Nueva Chicago take on Tigre (Tigre won their home game 1:0).

Elsewhere Argentinos Juniors drew 0:0 with Gimnasia La Plata, while Colon ended an impressive campaign with a 3:1 win over Rosario Central. Gimnasia Jujuy began brightly with a Marcelo Quinteros penalty after just two minutes, but a brace from Daniel Montenegro helped Independiente battle back for a 3:1 victory.

Veteran striker Martin Palermo finished as the season’s top-scorer, netting 11 times for Boca Juniors, one more than Paraguayan Oscar Cardozo for Newell’s Old Boys. Both have already been rewarded for their exploits, with the former having just extended his contract with Boca, the latter having just been announced as a new signing for Benfica.

4613: The Celtic Cup Could Be a Winn

by : Hugh Larkin

2007 is one of those years when football fans have to struggle along without an international tournament to enjoy during the summer. If the Celtic nations have their way though, 2009 could be the first year of a new international competition.

The old Home International Championship breathed its last in 1984, basically because England weren’t keen on it anymore. The truth is that with the growth of all year round football and a crowded international calendar, there was a declining appetite among fans too.

However, since 1984 there have been some big changes that favour the return of a newly constituted competition, without the English. For one thing, even though the Home Championship was discontinued the British nations have continued to play international football in the years when international tournaments aren’t on.

In addition, back in the 1980’s Scotland and Northern Ireland were qualifying for World Cups but in recent seasons only England have been making the big events. There now appears to be a place for a 4 team competition to give the Celtic nations competitive matches to prepare for international qualifiers.

Another factor is the status of the Republic of Ireland. Since the 80s the Irish team under Jack Charlton and Mick McCarthy have become a much respected international side, regularly qualifying for World Cups and Euro tournaments. The team are a bigger draw card for spectators and have a much enhanced following within the Republic itself.

There is also the political situation running in favour of the new competition. Cross border contests between the Republic and the North are mow a much less fraught proposition since the Good Friday Agreement and the ongoing peace process.

Another crucial difference to 1984 is the spiralling growth of digital broadcasting. It’s an absolute certainty that the Celtic Cup would find a home away from terrestrial television, if the BBC and its terrestrial competitors felt unable to offer the required coverage.

Setanta in particular, has a major presence covering the national leagues of the nations but Sky could be expected to want a piece of the action as well. Their involvement could underpin the financial success of the competition.

The biggest departure would be that the contests would not be run as an end of season league but rather fitted in on designated international dates through the season. It would be a semi-final and then a final, rather than a league, thus reducing fixture congestion.

Crowds had been dwindling for the old Home Championship- apart from the England-Scotland encounter- but the mid-80s were a nadir for football viewing figures in the UK. Since 1990 the game’s popularity has gone through a major recovery offering the hope that stadiums can be packed for these matches.

Wales and Northern Ireland never wanted to see the Home internationals end anyway, so both Associations can be expected to be firmly in favour. Scotland were more ambivalent two decades ago but the national squad went through a severe decline and few young Scots play outside the SPL compared to 20 years ago. This is a great chance to broaden their experience.

The non-participation of England would take away the huge fan base and level of interest that follows the English national side but there are advantages to this. In the Home internationals there was a massive focus on the Scotland-England collision to the detriment of the other fixtures.

There was also an undercurrent (understandable) that the competition was all about beating England whereas a Celtic competition would be a far more balanced affair.

The time seems to be right for the Celtic Cup. No longer do the nations have to assume that England’s participation is necessary to make the competition a success. In fact, if it gets off the ground in the way its proponents hope, England might even be applying for entry in 2011.

4608: Watford Season Review 2006/07

by : Hugh Larkin

2006/07 proved to be a season of struggle for Watford and ultimately the predictions were confirmed. The Hornets had been favourites to go straight back to the Championship and they ended bottom of the pile- however, they never lost their pride and won a lot of admirers for their attitude.

Arguably, Watford’s slim chances of surviving in the top flight were gone before the campaign had barely started. The loss of striker Marlon King to injury after only 8 League games took away Adi Boothroyd’s main attacking weapon. King didn’t reappear until April when Watford’s fate had been settled.

In his absence, the Hornets didn’t have a goalscorer who could convert a decent proportion chances or unsettle defences consistently at this level. Hameur Bouazza ended the season as top scorer in the League with just 5 goals.

Defensively Watford performed creditably, not least because they all took responsibility as a team- midfield and forwards grafted manfully to protect the back four. Watford only shipped 4 goals in a game to three teams, two of which were Manchester United and Chelsea.

Behind the back four Watford had Ben Foster on loan from Old Trafford and throughout the season he proved why good judges count him an England international keeper for the future.

The likes of Jay Demerit, Danny Shittu and Jordan Stewart never gave up the fight and made top sides work for the points. This application allowed Watford and their fans to enjoy a decent run in the FA Cup which dispersed some of the inevitable gloom. Only Manchester United could end their progress at the semi-final stage and even then Watford made a fight of it.

Though the team were never outclassed, a first win in the Premiership didn’t arrive until the 11th attempt against Middlesbrough. By New Year that was still the only 3 pointer despite some brave draws with teams like Newcastle, Reading and Fulham.

Late January/early February brought some hope as West Ham were beaten in both League and Cup and three points also came courtesy of Blackburn. It proved illusory unfortunately, as the team slipped back to a run of draws and narrow defeats. Just to prove their fighting spirit though, on 31st March Chelsea only escaped from Vicarage Road with a 1-0 win pinched by a last minute goal.

Bouazza was one of the players who enhanced their reputation in the campaign with his vigorous attacking play. During the January transfer window Watford had to bow to pressure and sell their other midfield starlet Ashley Young. Over £9 million was an excellent fee though and can only help with rebuilding.

During 2006/07 Watford had a host of virtues- organisation, commitment, team spirit- but ultimately it couldn’t make up a for a lack of real Premiership quality in the squad, particularly in the forward positions.

Like Crystal Palace under Iain Dowie, Watford paid the price for over performing under a charismatic manager to win promotion with a relatively modest bunch of players. Survival was always a tough ask but without King it became impossible.

Adi Boothroyd had little money to spend when he brought his team up but there has been some useful recruitment since relegation and more new arrivals should be on the way. Watford came out of the Premiership beaten but with morale still high.

There seems every chance that the Hornets could be challenging to come back over the next couple of seasons and with a lot more experience of what it takes to stay in the top flight. With Boothroyd at the helm Watford will remain a squad able to produce the maximum from their resources.

4609: He Should Do Well: Danny Guthr

by : Paul Grech

The last thing Liverpool need at the moment is another central midfielder. With Xabi Alonso, Momo Sissoko and Steve Gerrard all securing extended contracts, the arrival late last season of Javier Mascherano will make Rafael Benitez’ job in selecting the ideal formation extremely complicated.

His job could get even harder next season if a player who had, so far, been on the hinges of the squad starts to prove that they are good enough for inclusion.

For that is what Danny Guthrie will do during his annual spell on loan at Bolton. Last season he enjoyed a similar experience at Southampton whom he joined as an emergency back-up and ended up as a regular in the side that lost in the play-off semi-final.

Those three months proved just what a talent Guthrie really is. He had already shown glimpses of his ability when handed the occasional opportunity by Benitez to play.

One of the things that to look out for when a young player gets the chance to play with the senior side is his attitude. Some players tend to fade away, almost afraid of getting the ball. Others rise up to the opportunity and, when Guthrie was asked to play, that is what he did. Irrespective of whether asked to play in his favoured central position or elsewhere he was instantly confident and at ease. That he immediately started looking for the ball – and always knew what to do with it – was equally impressing.

At Southampton he kept up that attitude, playing with an Alonso-like confidence that his passes were going to find the intended recipient on most occasions and, whilst lacking the ability to make that mazy dribble, his vision can put defences under pressure.

Having overcome the challenge of Championship football with relative ease, a taste of Premiership football was the logical next step. At Bolton he will initially start as a squad member, just as at Southampton, with the objective of forcing Sammy Lee into playing him on a regular basis. And, at the same time, forcing Rafael Benitez into acknowledging that his problems on who to choose to play in midfield are about to increase.

4607: He Should Do Well: Danny Guthr

by : Paul Grech

The last thing Liverpool need at the moment is another central midfielder. With Xabi Alonso, Momo Sissoko and Steve Gerrard all securing extended contracts, the arrival late last season of Javier Mascherano will make Rafael Benitez’ job in selecting the ideal formation extremely complicated.

His job could get even harder next season if a player who had, so far, been on the hinges of the squad starts to prove that they are good enough for inclusion.

For that is what Danny Guthrie will do during his annual spell on loan at Bolton. Last season he enjoyed a similar experience at Southampton whom he joined as an emergency back-up and ended up as a regular in the side that lost in the play-off semi-final.

Those three months proved just what a talent Guthrie really is. He had already shown glimpses of his ability when handed the occasional opportunity by Benitez to play.

One of the things that to look out for when a young player gets the chance to play with the senior side is his attitude. Some players tend to fade away, almost afraid of getting the ball. Others rise up to the opportunity and, when Guthrie was asked to play, that is what he did. Irrespective of whether asked to play in his favoured central position or elsewhere he was instantly confident and at ease. That he immediately started looking for the ball – and always knew what to do with it – was equally impressing.

At Southampton he kept up that attitude, playing with an Alonso-like confidence that his passes were going to find the intended recipient on most occasions and, whilst lacking the ability to make that mazy dribble, his vision can put defences under pressure.

Having overcome the challenge of Championship football with relative ease, a taste of Premiership football was the logical next step. At Bolton he will initially start as a squad member, just as at Southampton, with the objective of forcing Sammy Lee into playing him on a regular basis. And, at the same time, forcing Rafael Benitez into acknowledging that his problems on who to choose to play in midfield are about to increase.

4604: Middlesbrough Season Review 20

by : Hugh Larkin

Herein lies the problem for Spurs. A good season it was, undeniably. The league campaign ended with the final day victory over Manchester City securing 5th place, the highest position they held all season. However, it won’t be long before the progress made requires something tangible if Jol is to continue his Spurs project.

For the realists amongst the Spurs faithful, 2006/07 brought genuine joy at seeing Berbatov and Keane provide some fantastic moments. Michael Dawson grew in stature the longer the season went on, as did Didier Zokora. Other positives are the fact that a second 5th place in succession was achieved whilst Spurs made strides in all the cup competitions and played attacking, some might say gung-ho, football along the way.

For those Spurs fans usually highlighted by the press, the fickle few, no silverware will always mean failure. Whether that failure should bring about a change of management is a complete non starter really. Jol achieved enough in 2006/07 to be confident of taking his side on again in 2007/08.

With the players available, new signings reportedly on their way and a commitment to an attacking game, it should at least be interesting to watch. Although those Spurs fans of a nervous disposition might need to look away from time to time.2006/07 proved to be a season of transition at the Riverside as Gareth Southgate replaced Steve McClaren and began the process of refashioning the squad inherited from the England manager. That process will continue throughout the coming campaign.

The England boss took Boro to a major trophy in 2004 and very nearly added the UEFA Cup in his final game but the defeat to Seville created the sense of a squad that had reached the limit of their collective potential. Southgate came in with a brief to add more energy and vigour to the playing staff.

The transition was embodied in the position vacated by the new boss. Southgate’s replacement turned out to be Jonathan Woodgate- initially on loan and then permanently as the season wound down. Boro now have one of Europe’s best centre backs in his prime. If injury permits- and it is a big ‘if’- Woodgate to be at his best, this is Boro’s most significant signing since the Ravanelli/Juninho coup back in 1996.

With Southgate moving to the dugout, several of his former playing colleagues also left. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Massimo Maccarone, Doriva ,Ray Parlour and Ugo Ehiogu were among those who said their goodbyes and for the whole season there was a feeling that players like Gaizka Mendieta and Fabio Rochemback weren’t part of the long term plan.

Boro have an exciting crop of young players to follow England cap Stewart Downing and it’s essential that space is made for the likes of Lee Cattermole, James Morrison and Matthew Bates.

Not surprisingly, the team were a bit inconsistent early in the campaign but reserved their best for the big clubs. Chelsea were beaten early on and the team came away with a battling draw at Arsenal- these two top results sandwiched a 4-0 home defeat to Portsmouth.

Defeats to Blackburn and Sheffield United were disappointing yet were followed by wins over Everton and Newcastle. That set a pattern for the whole season really- some days Boro could rip into teams and play exciting soccer or they could be limpet-like in defence, only to follow it up with mediocre displays.

At home Boro were fairly tough to beat, though six teams went away with the points. The away record was simply unacceptable with just two wins all season and they came at Charlton and Wigan.

Like Fulham in previous seasons Middlesbrough were one of those teams that always did enough to stay away from the relegation zone without ever looking like they would seriously challenge for the top half of the table. There was an FA Cup run to bring a little excitement but Manchester United ended Boro hopes in the 6th Round after replay.

The positives from the year included the number of games played by Cattermole, Andrew Taylor, Morrison and Andrew Davies. Julio Arca brought spirit and intelligence to midfield and of course Yakubu and Mark Viduka were good for over 30 goals between them.

Viduka gambled that Newcastle will finish higher in the table and left, so Jeremy Aladiere has come in, which could indicate a more mobile, pacy strike force at the club. Gareth Southgate will continue to reshape the squad to give it more zest, spirit and motivation because there were still times when Boro underperformed.

George Boateng has been the driving force at the Riverside since he arrived from Aston Villa but there is even doubt about his place in the manager’s plans. In a short time there may be few of McClaren’s senior players left at the club.

2007/08 is likely to be another consolidating campaign. The main ambition will be to push on to the top half of the table and possibly sneak a way into Europe, while rebuilding the squad. Woodgate should offer a focus to make the team hard to beat but the fans will be hoping to see consistent levels of performance and more passion to wear the shirt.

4605: Can Arsenal Cope Without Henry

by : Victor Tay

He is a living legend at the Emirates Stadium and rightly so. Since joining the club during the summer of 1999, Thierry Henry has grown from strength to strength. From a winger going nowhere at Juventus, the French international was transformed into a striker who found a renewed purpose in his career.

Scoring has often been classed as a form of art and if that is so then Henry is certainly a great artist for he is currently Arsenal’s all-time leading scorer having surpassed Ian Wright’s record a few years ago.

So seeing Arsenal struggling for goals in the 2006/07 campaign was to be expected for their talismanic hitman missed a big chunk of the season through injury. While the younger generation of Arsenal players acquitted themselves well with some breathtaking football, however, without the cut and thrust of Henry, they were unable to transform delightful passing football into goals which cost the club valuable Premier League points.

That explained why the Gunners were a staggering 21 points behind eventual Premier League winners, Manchester United, in the final standings. Frankly, most Arsenal supporters were glad to see the back of the season just past as they await the start of the new campaign with their very own ‘Captain Marvel’ leading their charge for their first league crown since 2004.

That hope though has been severely tainted by talks of Henry seeking greener pastures. The shock departure of vice-chairman David Dein seemed to force Henry into a re-think of his own future. To add more spice to the rumour the Frenchman admitted recently that he was ‘flattered’ by links to Spanish giants Barcelona and current Champions League winners, AC Milan.

Arsene Wenger, whose association with Henry goes way back to his Monaco days, is also thought to have met Ferran Soriano, the Barcelona's financial director, in Paris for preliminary discussions regarding the sale of Henry. While the club has strongly denied it, the writing is already on the wall and it seems only a matter of time before Henry leave the club to seek one last big challenge.

Based on their poor return in front of goal in the previous season, the hope would then be replaced by doom and gloom when the players re-convene for the upcoming pre-season training, if as expected Henry bid the club au revoir.

Or should that be the case?

Not necessary so for what Arsenal really need is a goalscorer. Not easy to find but nonetheless not the end of the world as Arsenal have a couple of players from within who could help to chip in with the goals.

One reason why Theo Walcott was signed from Southampton from a tender age is because he is expected to find goals for the club. The former Saints trainee has shown in his short time with the North Londoners that he does have the ability to convert chances coming his way but was unable to do it last season because of injury.

In the case of Robin van Persie, fracturing his fifth metartarsal while celebrating his goal against Man Utd curtailed his otherwise fantastic campaign. In the early part of the season, the skilful Dutchman, who has often been compared to Dennis Bergkamp, scored a terrific goal against Charlton Athletic. Five goals in four games against Blackburn Rovers, Watford and Charlton illustrated his growing importance to the team. So it was unfortunate when the freak incident happened on the 21st January 2007.

With the return of the duo, Arsenal might still be a force to be reckoned with or without Henry. Also, now that Charlton are relegated, the Gunners could also join in the fray to sign Darren Bent, the £18m-rated striker.

At just 23-year-old, the former Ipswich forward, with a proven scoring record at Premier League level, could represent good value for money on the long run. In other words, there are options available for Wenger and co. if the inevitable happens.

4606: He Should Do Well: Lukasz Fabi

by : Paul Grech

As Steve McLaren struggles to find three English keepers who play fairly regularly, Poland seem to be awash with excellent goalkeepers.

Forget Jerzy Dudek who, despite his imminent move to Real Madrid is winding down his career, there are the likes of Artur Boruc who was so fantastic during the last Champions League that it is surprising no club has come in for him whereas Tomasz Kuszcak remains an excellent keeper despite spending most of last season warming Manchester United’s bench.

Both those keepers made it to the World Cup squad last year and are now being joined in Britain by the third Polish goalkeeper in Germany, Lukasz Fabianski.

For the 22 year-old, it is a career determining move as well as a brave choice. Jens Lehman looks set to be the regular first team starter with Manuel Almunia rarely disappointing when called upon and certainly believing that he will be the one to replace the German once he decides to quit.

Fabianski doesn’t think so. He’s already hinted that he intends to force his way into the side immediately and, although Wenger might be cautious about that, the young Pole certainly knows how to make the most of any opportunities that come his way.

At Legia Warsaw he got his break when Artur Boruc was transferred to Celtic. Fabianski, then barely twenty, looked like a stop gap solution but a determined debut in a 0-0 draw at Arka Gydna hinted that he had the potential to fill the spot recently vacated.

Which is what he did over the next two seasons where he was twice voted the Polish league’s best goalkeeper, an accolade borne of his dominance of the penalty area that belies his young age as well as an instinctive talent at stopping the ball.

For all his talent, the true test will come when he has to play in the Premiership where the speed of the game and the physical side to it will be nothing like he’s used to. If he quickly manages to adapt to his new surroundings, then his comment that “he wants to be number one immediately” will sound less like idle boasts.

4602: Sheffield United: winners all

by : Alex Wolstenholme

In one of the summer's most surprising transfer deals to date, Sheffield United winger Colin Kazim-Richards has joined Turkish champions Fenerbahce in a deal worth up to £1.275m.

Perhaps unusually for a transfer deal, there are no losers in this one. Not only will Kazim-Richards get the chance to play in the Champions League next season but the 20-year-old will also be lining up alongside Fenerbahce's other new signing, Brazilian legend Roberto Carlos.

Sheffield United get a decent fee for a player who was not a first-team regular and former club Brighton also get a bob or two.

The London-born player has certainly benefitted from his Turkish roots over the past year or so. He was called up firstly by the under-21's and then to the national squad by coach Fatih Terim, making his senior debut against Brazil of all teams in May 2007 and sparking interest from both Fenerbahce and Besiktas.

"I know I have made the right decision to come to the biggest club in Turkey," said Kazim-Richards after agreeing to the move.

"I can't wait for the season to start and for Fenerbahce to go on to win another Turkish title."

Signed by Bury as a 15-year-old, Kazim-Richards made 30 league appearances, mostly as a substitute for the Shakers before Brighton paid a 'six-figure' compensation sum for him June 2005 using the £250,000 won by a supporter in the Coca-Cola win a player promotion.

Seagulls boss Mark McGhee said at the time: "Since it was announced that we had won the money, I had been determined that the money should be invested and not spent without any return.

"I think Colin represents exactly that: an investment. Colin is a player for the future of this club and hopefully we will benefit from this signing in the long term."

That has certainly proved to be the case, although Kazim-Richards failed to make an impact at Brighton as they dropped into League One and had even been dropped from the first-team going into the 2006/07 season as McGhee clashed with the player who he felt had a less than professional attitude.

Sheffield United boss Neil Warnock surprisingly made him a Premiership player, paying £150,000 on deadline day in August 2006 while Brighton now benefit to the tune of up to £280,000 from the sell-on clause included in that deal.

Although not always a regular at Bramall Lane, the chance to play in the Premiership seems to have put Kazim-Richards on the straight and narrow.

"I always told Colin that he could go as far as he wanted to providing he sorted out his attitude and approach," Warnock told The Sheffield Star after the move was confirmed.

"And, to his credit, he's done that.

"Don't get me wrong, Colin still has his moments, so it's probably a good thing that he's gone somewhere where not everyone will speak very good English!

"But, seriously, he's worked hard at what he does and has become a lot more aware of those players around him.

"You could always see he had the talent. It was just a case of channelling it in the correct manner."

4603: Tottenham Hotspur: 2006/07 Sea

by : Kieran McHugh

Spurs began the season looking to break into the top 4 and many observers were tipping them to do just that. A new big money striker had been signed in the shape of Dimitar Berbatov, with Mido also getting a permanent deal. Two new full backs, the highly prized Didier Zokora and the welcome return of European football at White Hart Lane gave Spurs fans hope of a memorable season.

It took fully 9 minutes for perennial bubble bursters Bolton Wanderers to bring Tottenham back to earth and a further 4 minutes for the more familiar furrowed brows to return to the foreheads of the Spurs faithful. A fairly comprehensive 2-0 defeat at the Reebok quickly reminded the fans that their side was still a work in progress. Moreover it illustrated just how pivotal Michael Carrick’s contribution had been the previous season.

Spurs opened their league campaign in dismal fashion, losing 4 of their first 6 Premiership games, beating only Sheffield United and contriving to lose at home to 10 man Everton. If the home performances were mediocre, Spurs’ away form was appalling. Their first away goal was scored by Villa’s Juan Pablo Angel and, penalties aside, they would wait until the week before Christmas before one of their own registered an away league goal in their first away league win at Eastlands. Hardly form to rattle the Big 4.

However that win away to City followed two solid home wins and lifted Spurs to 7th in the table by about the halfway point. 3 days later a dramatic late winner from Jermain Defoe saw off Championship strugglers Southend as Spurs progressed to the semi finals of the Carling Cup. A two legged affair a month later against Arsenal, with a smattering of more experienced players complementing their youngsters, started well before the disappointment of an extra time defeat at the Emirates.

By that time Tottenham had also advanced to the knock out stages of the UEFA Cup, winning every game they had so far played. It was in those group games that one Dimitar Berbatov first began to announce himself as a player of genuine talent in a Tottenham shirt. Goals in all of the group games against Besiktas, Bruges, his old club Leverkusen and Dinamo Bucharest told only part of the story.

Despite a lack of real pace, the fluency of his technique and the spatial awareness to bring in those players around him made him the perfect foil for the players already at Martin Jol’s disposal. A burgeoning relationship with Robbie Keane offered glimpses here and there of the potential in Spurs attacking play.

However, Spurs’ form over Christmas and New Year, in fact right up to the start of February gave cause for concern. For the first time in his reign Martin Jol faced serious questions about his ability to take Spurs forward. His tactical nous was derided in some quarters after his side won only 1 in 8 and slipped into the bottom half.

Often in this period Spurs appeared to have the upper hand in games that they subsequently went on to lose or draw. Newcastle were categorically outplayed at White Hart Lane, but left North London wearing sombreros, pocketing the points thanks to Obafemi Martins and some lacklustre finishing from the home side. Spurs grabbed a late draw away to Fulham after the home side lost Heidar Helguson for most of the second half.

Spurs though did have enough about them to overcome a faltering Cardiff side after a replay in the FA Cup before beating Southend to reach the fifth round and another trip to Craven Cottage. It was perhaps here that Spurs’ finally began to realise some of the potential they had going forward. Robbie Keane scored the first two with stunning volleys. Dimitar Berbatov came off the bench to also grab a brace, the second of which was both eloquently crafted and sublimely executed.

Five straight wins in the league followed including a wonderful 4-3 win at Upton Park, full of incident that was as good an advertisement for the English game as you are likely to see. Carlos Tevez scored his first West Ham goal; Noble made it two before half time as West Ham’s thoughts turned to salvation. However, Spurs came back to level before the Hammers grabbed what looked to be a winner through Tottenham old boy Bobby Zamora. In a dramatic late twist though Spurs levelled again before Paul Stalteri became an unlikely goalscoring hero, poking home the winner in front of Spurs’ delirious away contingent.

Following this there was a dizzying spell where Tottenham beat Portuguese side SC Braga 3-2 away in a stadium carved out of rock, drew 3-3 away with Champions Chelsea in the FA Cup, completed the job against Braga, again 3-2 before finally bowing out of the FA Cup in the replay at White Hart Lane.

The next league match brought a 90 yard strike from ‘keeper Paul Robinson, widely believed to be having a bad season, but in fact not getting anything like enough protection from an ever changing and often makeshift defence. Tottenham, for once, were the team to watch for thrills and spills at both ends.

The UEFA Cup quarter final brought the hardest possible draw. An early advantage in Seville was undone by an opaque interpretation of refereeing. In the return leg the game was up early on as the Spanish side took control and eased into a 2-0 lead. A stirring comeback fell short of the required 4 goals.

The detractors would obviously point to the fact that Spurs went out and to the naivety of the first half at White Hart Lane. Those of a “cup half full” persuasion might focus on the opponents Champions League and La Liga credentials whilst taking heart from the rousing second half.

4601: Hearts; Season Review 2006/07

by : Hugh Larkin

Unfortunately for Hearts supporters and everyone connected to the club, 2006/07 was a season of bitter disappointment, with many of the problems self-inflicted. A fall from 2nd to 4th in the SPL represents a considerable backward step for the Edinburgh club.

2005/06 had ended with the Scottish FA Cup gathered in- albeit after the toughest of battles with Gretna- and Champions League football on the horizon after Hearts had won the race to finish behind champions Celtic.

There was some apprehension about the amount of involvement owner Vladimir Romanov would want to have in team affairs- three managers had been used in 2005/06- but Jambos fans were prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt, given that Hearts were in an infinitely better position than when the Lithuanian businessmen came on board.

The troubles began early because Hearts return to Europe’s top table had ended by 23rd August- and they were out of the lesser UEFA Cup before the end of September. As a consequence, coach Valdas Ivanauskas only lasted until 23rd October, although he did go into a sort of limbo and reappeared to take the team on again later in the campaign.

August had seen an exodus of 8 players, seven of then British, which seemed to further weaken the home-based element of a squad that had become noticeably multi-national under the new regime. However, there was still a core of home-based quality players with a long history at the club.

After defeat in the Champions League qualifiers to AEK Athens and then removal by Sparta Prague from the UEFA Cup consolation, relationships within the club imploded. In October, a disgruntled Romanov announced that the whole team would be up for sale if they did not get a satisfactory result in a game with Dunfermline Athletic.

This upset senior players at the club who had sent a delegation to see the owner last season after he was perceived as interfering with team selection and tactics. To the fore was club captain and Scottish international Stephen Pressley, a much-respected figure. This time the players called a press conference to air their views.

The upshot was Pressley stripped of his captaincy and before the end of January he and fellow Scottish international Paul Hartley had both been allowed to join title rivals Celtic- an extraordinary state of affairs.

In the meantime, after Ivanauskas had been placed on indefinite leave, the owner had brought in Eduard Malofeev, a coach of a Lithuanian club also controlled by Romanov. The hapless newcomer failed to deliver a single victory in his brief stay- as did yet another coach who took over for just a couple of matches-which brought Ivanauskas back into the hot seat by December.

The returned coach won 7, drew 4 and lost 3 in the period up to March, which was enough to get him shunted aside again. Hearts ended the campaign under Anatoly Korobtcha. If anything his record was even worse- he had ten games in charge and Hearts lost 4 and won just 5.

The upshot of it all saw a determined Aberdeen side pip Hearts for third place and a spot in the UEFA Cup. The Jambos had beaten the Dons at Pittodrie back in September when the club was still vaguely stable- significantly, in three subsequent meetings the Dons won two and took a crucial draw away from Tynecastle in May. Only 4 points separated the teams at the death.

A priority will be to find a regular goalscorer as Andreas Velicka ended as top marksman in the League with only 8 goals. Last year’s double figure men Hartley and Rudi Skacel wee both allowed to leave the club.

Obviously Hearts are still in better shape than when their owner rescued them but to make more progress the Romanov family will have to accept that football professionals- both coaches and players- need to be left to operate without undue interference. It remains to be seen if the Vladimir Romanov is prepared to accept that.

4600: Middlesbrough: Steve Gibson sh

by : Alex Wolstenholme

Another round of takeover speculation is sweeping English football with Birmingham City and Blackburn Rovers the latest clubs to be linked with new overseas owners rushing to snap up a piece of the Premiership.

Manchester City remain constantly in the news as they await the arrival of Thaksin Shinawatra while Newcastle are also the subject of interest, albeit from inside the UK.

Amidst the frenzy, Steve Gibson remains firmly in charge at Middlesbrough and more to the point still energised by the challenge of taking the club forward despite the fact that in the current market, his club would be an attractive propositon for any potential buyer.

"Yes, I do. I really do," said Gibson, when asked recently if he still enjoyed the role of club chairman.

"I really enjoy it.

"I am selective who I have around me because I don't take anything out of the club except enjoyment and fun.

"If you can do that then the camaraderie can be brilliant."

The early years of Gibson's reign when Bryan Robson was spending plenty of money on successes such as Juninho and flops such as Branco provoked a sneering attitude from some but they can be seen now as a necessary part of the chairman's future plans to establish the club in the top-flight.

Middlesbrough now have a thriving academy system at Rockcliffe Park and a first-team squad with a number of home-grown talents, Stewart Downing being the most high-profile.

They have an articulate, bright, young English manager and, although still very much competitive in the Premiership and the transfer market, are moving away from throwing big money at ageing stars.

There has been some criticism of the way the club allowed Mark Viduka to run down his contract but they did make the Australian a very competitive offer to stay, one that Gibson himself admitted had caused him a bit of concern.

The capture of Jonathan Woodgate proved that 'Boro can now sign players who are at the right age and who are wanted by other clubs.

"It is no more difficult for us than it is for our peers in football to attract players," said the chairman.

"We are on a virtually level playing field once you get outside the big hitters.

"Those clubs can only take so many players, and then we have got to fight our corner and make sure we deliver the players we want."

As one of the few clubs outside the top four to win a major trophy in recent years and with a Uefa Cup final appearance to boot, Gibson's reign can only be judged as a massive success.

'Boro are unrecognisable from the club they were 15 years ago and most crucially, their progress has been built on solid foundations.

No matter how much money the current crop of new owners have to spend, there can still only be one Premiership winner and four Champions League places.

If Middlesbrough are missing out on anything by not having a super-rich new owner (and that is questionable) it is more than made up for by the knowledge that the club is not subject to the demands of the stockmarket or the whim of one investor who wants instant success.

"I have seen some of the deals which have gone through in recent weeks and I am glad we haven’t been involved in them," said Gibson in an interview with the Daily Mail.

"We all have the same money coming in from TV revenue and it is how you angle that and run your club. We don’t have shareholders or a board of directors who need paying, we run it very efficiently so every last penny goes into the club and we feel we can compete outside the top
four.

"It has become a game of resources and we are aware that we have to produce the resources to give Gareth Southgate a fighting chance.

"I’m not saying we will win the Premiership or the Champions League, because we won’t."

4598: Whatever Happened To Kim Grant

by : Paul Grech

Traditionally, British players haven’t travelled well. Starting from David Beckham’s failure to learn Spanish despite his 4 year stay in Madrid – he still needs translators at press conferences – going back to Ian Rush who famously quipped that his stay at Juventus was ‘like living in a foreign country’.

Perhaps it is something in the British character that has been inherited from the empire building days when those being colonised were expected to adapt rather than the other way round.

Whatever the reason, most find it hard to adapt to a foreign culture. Few, however, will have gone through an experience as shocking as Kim Grant.

The thirty four year old striker had been winding down his career in Singapore with Geylang United when he was sacked for a serious breach of discipline. His offence? Swearing.

Whilst a clearly surprised – as would, admittedly, be anyone coming from a European culture – Grant said that “I admitted it was an error and I apologised for it. It is part of my culture and I did not say it to anyone's face. I looked down and exclaimed angrily. I did not think it would hurt anyone”, the club’s official position was “Grant breached the rules when he used the language at the office in front of a few other players as well as other staff. The vulgarity was targeted at the club... we felt it was unacceptable.”

Grant played over 170 games for Charlton in a four year spell in the early nineties before moving on to Luton, Millwall, Notts County, Scunthorpe, Yeovil and Gravesend. He had one previous experience abroad with Belgian side Lommel.

4599: Sheffield United; Season Revi

by : Stephen Orford

Sheffield United’s stay in the Premiership was all too brief, but they made their presence felt both on and off the field.

The suggestion that season 2006/07 would end in relegation for the Blades was never that fanciful, but the circumstances surrounding their exit comes straight out of a Hollywood script.

So too, it seems, does the thought that the team will no longer be led by arch wind-up merchant and all round bad egg Neil Warnock. Yet just days after a final day defeat at home to Wigan Athletic confirmed United’s return to the second tier, Warnock walked away from Bramall Lane citing his ambition to manage at the top level. He’s still waiting for the phone call.

Before that 2-1 reverse to Wigan, and before all the hoo-ha and hum-drum surrounding the eligibility of the West Ham United playing register, Warnock’s men were making a pretty good fist of life among the big boys. Notable highlights included victories over Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at home and Newcastle United at St.James’ Park, while none of Liverpool, Everton, Bolton Wanderers, Middlesbrough or Blackburn Rovers could win in South Yorkshire.

The mark of 30 points was reached relatively quickly, but it was in the run-in that United floundered fatally. Just eight points were gained in their final 10 league fixtures, with wins over West Ham United and Watford adding to draws with Charlton Athletic and Everton during that period. The 3-0 success over the Hammers in April looked to have offered salvation, but the Hammers own blistering run saw them claw safe while United were downed by Chelsea, Bolton, Newcastle, Manchester United and Aston Villa before the final blow against Paul Jewell’s men.

United enjoyed little success in the cups this past term, bowing out of both the FA Cup and the Carling Cup by early January. Birmingham City won 4-2 at Bramall Lane in October’s League Cup clash, while a 3-0 home pounding by Swansea City in the third round of the FA Cup was another of the season’s major disappointments. Provisionally, the Blades face a first round derby in the 2007/08 Carling Cup at home to Chesterfield in mid-August, but discussions elsewhere could affect that fixture.

At the time of writing the Blades are still contesting West Ham’s £5.5million fine for irregularities in the registrations of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano in August, arguing that only a points deduction represents a suitable punishment. If the Premier League are swayed by those legal arguments then Sheffield United could yet be spared from a return to the Football League. Any deduction applied to West Ham effective in season 2006/07 would plunge Alan Curbishley’s men below United in the final table, thus saving the day for the Blades.

Yet so unlikely is this scenario that both the Blades and the Hammers have started planning for life in their respective divisions according to the current league standings. Bryan Robson has come in from the cold for another crack at management, and brings with him a reputation as a promotion specialist having gone up with both Middlesbrough and West Bromwich Albion during his chequered coaching career. He will have to do without Colin Kazim-Richards after the 20-year-old striker took up an offer from Turkish side Fenerbahce. Kazim-Richards qualifies to play for Turkey through his mother, and will bring around £1.75million into the Bramall Lane coffers.

Robson might be well advised to resist the temptation to use that money to bring in a straight replacement for Kazim-Richards, and instead strengthen elsewhere a squad that is already decidedly striker-heavy. Yet prospective transfer targets seem thin on the ground, yet another consequence of the continuing legal battles between United and the Premier League.

And so 2006/07 could still be a success, but it remains unlikely that United will be reinstated to the Premiership. Their Championship fixtures have been announced and published, albeit amid whispers from some cynics that their home and away dates are remarkably similar to those on the West Ham schedule. Just a quirk of the computer or evidence of an administrative contingency plan? Blades fans including Sean Bean will hope for the latter, but may be forced to accept that in the end, they just weren’t quite good enough to survive among the English elite.

By Stephen Orford

19 June 2007

4597: Leicester City: Allen looks to

by : Alex Wolstenholme

After sacking Rob Kelly towards the end of last season and deciding not to appoint Nigel Worthington on a permanent basis, new Leicester City owner Milan Mandaric opted for Martin Allen as the man he hopes will take the Foxes back into the top-flight.

"I needed someone with hunger, drive, commitment and potential to aspire to our dreams and Martin ticked the boxes," said Mandaric, who had been linked with the likes of Chris Coleman and Neil Warnock.

"His undoubted ability is matched only by his infectious enthusiasm which will inspire the club.

Having grafted in the lower divisions of the Football League with Barnet, Brentford and MK Dons, the 41-year-old is now looking to show that there is more to him than the 'mad dog' tag he picked up as a player and the reputation as a managerial eccentric.

That has served him reasonably well to date. Certainly at Brentford, combined with a couple of excellent FA Cup runs it brought both Allen and the club to the attention of a much wider audience and the media were keen to hear what gems the manager had for them pre and post-match.

Arguably however that made chairmen in higher divisions wary of him and when Allen quit as Bees manager in the summer of 2006 he was forced to drop down to League Two with MK Dons despite taking Brentford to the play-offs for two seasons running.

He repeated the feat with Milton Keynes last season before being chosen by Mandaric to take over at the Walkers Stadium and knows now that it will take more than crazy stunts and plenty of passion to get the best out of players who have either played in the top-flight or want to get there.

"I picked up the nickname as a player and sometimes I do get tired of it," he said after being installed at Leicester. "There is a lot more to me than that.

They say there is a fine line between madness and genius and I'd like to be the nutty professor, not a mad dog. I've done all my homework, all the courses."

The new manager has certainly been busy, signing Bruno N'Gotty and Carl Cort among others to revive a squad that did not ensure their Championship safety until the last couple of weeks of last season.

Money is being made available and more new faces will be added before the start of next season.

A number of the MK Dons backroom team have joined the new manager and Allen has also brought across his unique style of direct contact with the fans.

Visitors to Leicester's official website get personal updates from the boss telling them what has been happening on the transfer front, in training and so on.

Mandaric was not noted for his patience when he took over at Portsmouth and went through a number of managers before hiring Harry Redknapp.

Now he has gone for a manager with plenty of experience but who is still hungry to show what he can do at a higher level.

Next season will certainly not be dull for Foxes fans.

4596: Forget The Price, Benayoun Is

by : Paul Grech

The internet is a wonderful creation: how else would you have ever ended up reading my wise words? But, nevertheless, there are times when I wish no one had ever thought of it. And this is one of those them.

For there is nothing more depressing these days than chancing upon a Liverpool forum. Should you have the misfortune to do so you would find post after post complaining about the lack of transfer activity and how this has already killed off Liverpool’s hopes for next season.

Given this situation, you would have thought that the news of a bid for West Ham’s Israeli midfielder Yossi Benayoun would have brought some relief. Instead it has done the opposite. For, the masses seem to have decided, Benayoun is not good enough. Or, rather, he doesn’t cost enough because that is apparently the way you judge players these days.

It all stems from Rafael Benitez’s comments in the aftermath of the Champions League final defeat, where he urged the club to act fast in order to secure the players that he had in mind rather then end up with the second or third choices later on during the summer. That he had already identified two players costing in the region of £10 million sparked frenetic speculation as to who these two must be. No one costing less will do.

Which is why the Benayoun transfer rumours have been met with skepticism at best. It is symptomatic of a generation of fans who value players by hype, rating in football management games and youtube clips.

None of those needs to be checked to establish that Benayoun is an excellent player: that is something for which you have to see him play. Surprisingly few seem to remember last year’s the FA Cup final when Benayoun literally ran rings round the Livepool defence.

His flair and technique would come in pretty useful in a Liverpool squad that last season lacked a creative outlet once Luis Garcia was ruled out injured. He might not fall in the £10 million bracket that Benitez mentioned last May – probably because his contract is running out - but he remains a player who the Spanish manager values very highly since his time in Spain. And that should be all that really matters.

4595: Celtic season review 2006/07

by : Alex Wolstenholme

After the nightmare start to his time as Celtic manager in 2005, Gordon Strachan went into the 2006/07 campaign in a position of much greater strength having delivered the SPL title and CIS Cup to Parkhead.

The summer saw more of the players associated with the Martin O'Neill era leave Glasgow, with John Hartson joining West Bromwich Albion and, ahead of the August transfer deadline, Stilian Petrov re-joining his former boss at Aston Villa.

Roy Keane, Mo Camara and Dion Dublin also departed.

In their place came a host of new signings. Scotland internationals Kenny Miller and Gary Caldwell completed their Bosman moves and were joined by Lee Naylor from Wolves, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink from PSV Eindhoven and Thomas Gravesen from Real Madrid among others.

"Thomas has shown great desire to play for Celtic and it is very clear that he is looking forward to joining the club," said the manager after snapping up the Danish midfielder.

"He is a player with great ability, experience and character - qualities which could enhance any team."

The champions opened the SPL campaign with a 4-1 win at home to Kilmarnock and, Petrov aside, the line-up was indisputedly Strachan's team with 8 of the players having been signed by him.

After defeat at Hearts in their second game, Celtic embarked on a lengthy unbeaten run which had virtually guaranteed them the title by the turn of the year.

Although Rangers and Hearts faced problems of their own throughout the campaign that shouldn't take away from the fact that the Bhoys had lost only three games in the league by the time Shunsuke Nakamura sealed the title with a late winner against Kilmarnock in April.

In Europe too Celtic were excellent. Beating Manchester United at home to help secure a place in the knockout stages of the Champions League and the running the eventual winners AC Milan mighty close over two legs.

"I'm very proud of them," said the manager after extra-time heartache at the San Siro. "If there was a Champions League trophy for guts and determination then we must be in with a chance of winning it.

"There were two great teams - one with more technique, one with incredible heart, will and determination.

"If we can improve on technique we'll be a good side. That's the vision - we've got an incredible will to win."

Inevitably after the European exit and the procession to the title, Celtic's form did dip. The end-of-season games highlighted a lack of goals from the frontmen which fans may not be convinced that new signings Scott McDonald and Chris Killen are the answer to.

£4.4m midfielder Scott Brown from Hibs has also been snapped up while rumours persist of a big-money capture such as Stephen Appiah or Italian international Gennaro Delvecchio to augment the mix of young talent and solid professionals in the squad at present.

Strachan's wariness of signing players who have little left to prove in the game may be heightened by the failure of Gravesen to make a real impact. His signing in particular was intended to showcase Celtic's ability to buy players in the face of competition from the Premiership but as it turned out the Dane never quite seemed to fit into the manager's style of play.

The Milan game however highlighted the quality of young defenders Darren O'Dea and Stephen McManus in particular, who progressed throughout the season to become key members of the first-team squad.

Also impressive were summer signings Naylor and Evander Sno, a Dutch midfielder. Vennegoor of Hesselink contributed 18 goals and plenty of know-how while next season will see the best of January signings Steven Pressley and Paul Hartley.

Nakamura proved his quality on the biggest stage with some excellent Champions League displays as did goalkeeper Artur Boruc.

Anyone wishing to take the title away from Celtic will have to show formidable consistency in the SPL while in Europe, the knockout stages of the Champions League must again be the target.

4594: 20 Handy Facts About LA Galaxy

by : Hugh Larkin

Suddenly the Galaxy are a team everyone the world over is talking about because of their coup to sign David Beckham- but what is the background of the side and who will the England star be playing alongside?

1. The Galaxy were one of the 10 founding members of Major League Soccer in 1996. At that time they played in the famous Rose Bowl which hosted two World Cup Finals- 1994 Men and 1999 Women.

2. They are not the first professional side in LA. Previously there were the well known Aztecs in the 1970s NASL and the less renowned Kickers and Skyhawks.

3. LA Galaxy is twice winners of the MLS Cup and once of the CONCACAF Champions Cup- the regional version of the Champions League.

4. Former US international Alexei Lalas is the Club President. He played for USA at the 1994 World Cup and famously scored against Graham Taylor’s England in a 2-0 win in 1993.

5. Among the players on the roster at LA is former Liverpool, Middlesbrough and Everton defender Abel Xavier, who has just joined the club.

6. Also at the club are two familiar US stars- Landon Donovan and the evergreen Cobi Jones- Jones has no less than 164 caps for Team USA and has played all 11 MLS seasons with the Galaxy. He played for Coventry City in the Premiership.

7. In 2005 the Galaxy performed the US ‘Double’, landing the MLS Cup and US Open Cup.

8. The MLS Cup is effectively the deciding game for the MLS Championship. The League season is about qualifying for the play offs. The Open Cup equates to the FA Cup and involves teams from outside the MLS structure.

9. The Galaxy name refers to the ‘galaxy’ of celebrities for which Los Angeles is famed.

10. LA share their Home Depot Center Stadium with fellow MLS side Chivas USA. This creates the first real ‘derby’ game in the MLS dubbed the ‘Superclasico’. Chivas look to the Mexican community for their fanbase but they have one English player- John Cunliffe from Bolton.

11. As well as their two MLS Championships, Galaxy have lost 3 times in the Final.

12. The LA Galaxy coach is Frank Yallop, a Canadian who played 385 games for Ipswich Town between 1982 and 1996. He has coached the Canada national squad for whom he won 52 caps.

13. Famous fans of the club reportedly include Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Samuel L Jackson and Donald Trump

14. LA play in the West Conference of the MLS. Their rivals in this section are Chivas, Colorado Rapids, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo and Real Salt Lake.

15. In 2006 they finished 5th of the 6th sides and missed out on the play offs- the top four go forward,

16. The Home Dept Center Stadium has a capacity of 27,000. The average home gate last season was around 20,000, so with Beckham on board the club will hope to fill it for every game.

17. There are no other British players on the roister but there are two experienced Canadian international midfielders- Ante Jazic, who played at Hadjuk Split and Rapid Vienna and Kevin Harmse, once employed in the Slovakian and Norwegian leagues,.

18. LA have not made a great start to the 2007 campaign with just one win 8 games. Goals have been very hard to come by- only 8 so far

19. Keeper Joe Cannon has twice won the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year award with other clubs. Brad Friedel and Tim Howard are both former winners of this award.

20. No LA player appeared in the MLS Best XI for 2006.

4593: He Should Do Well: Jon Otsemob

by : Paul Grech

Crewe’s recent success has been built around Dario Gradi’s ability to develop players – both those coming through the club’s own youth system and those let go by others – before selling them with the money being invested back into the club.

But that was before the Bosman ruling. For the first time this summer they’ve seen a number of key players leaving on a free after they let their contracts run out. For the fans it is a frustrating and worrying situation that threatens the club’s future on as well as off the pitch.

It also hurts them to see players like Bill Jones, who has been at the club for over a decade, act this way. The player must surely be aware of how much effort was put into helping him develop for this to merit some form of reward.

That someone like Jon Otsemobor would decide to act that way is perhaps less surprising. After all he had joined the club just over a year ago and probably felt that he owed them nothing.

Whether that is the case is contentious. He joined Crewe in January of 2006 having been released by Roterham and immediately made an impact. Following his, and Madjid Boughera’s, arrival a side that looked doomed to relegation suddenly put together a streak of positive results that nearly saved their status in the Championship.

That didn’t happen but Otsemobor was at last getting regular football. Having been let go by Liverpool a year earlier, he had joined Rotherham confident that it would be the move to get him progressing. It wasn’t.

Earlier in his career he had enjoyed loan spells at Hull and at Crewe, doing well on both occasions. It wasn’t enough to convince Gerard Houllier to play him regularly but many were starting to take notice of the former England youth international. The spell at Rotherham had been a step a backwards.

In that sense, Dario Gradi and Crewe saved his career. His attitude was a problem from the very start – he came late for pre-season training because he said that he thought there was a longer holiday period – and a good game against Manchester United in the Carling served only to inflate his ego.

At that stage, however, he was starting to deserve all the praise coming his way. Very good going forward, he is very fast and doesn’t mind taking people on.

Unfortunately, for him, this willingness to advance often leaves a gap at the back something which has ends up tried to make up for by frantically running back into position.

There were many at Liverpool who thought that Otsemobor was good enough for the Premiership. Perhaps not for the Anfield club but certainly for a side with slightly lower expectations. Those he leaves behind at Crewe will certainly believe that if not the talent, he has the attitude of a Premiership player.

4591: Michael Essien- The Modern Uti

by : Hugh Larkin

Inevitably the Player of the Year accolades went to Christiano Ronaldo, with Didier Drogba running him close but there can’t have been a manager in the Premiership that didn’t envy Jose Mourinho having Michael Essien in his side.

The Ghanaian star at least won the BBC African Footballer of the Year accolade for a season of astonishing adaptability. In an age where top players have become increasingly specialised in their positions Essien brought back an epithet so beloved in the 1960 and 70s- the ‘utility man’.

There are- or were- two types of utility man. Ones who could fill in most positions but weren’t quite good enough to make a single position their own and a second rarer type who took over any position and did it better than most of the specialists- Michael Essien is one of these.

Not that Essien intended to make a name for himself in this regard but his superb athleticism, rugged approach, excellent technique and willingness to play for the team, proved a godsend to Jose Mourinho in an injury strewn season at Chelsea.

The ex-Lyon player came to Chelsea as ostensibly a central midfielder but quickly showed that he had different facets to his game. He was often utilised playing on the right side of Chelsea’s formation or to provide the power and destructive element in the centre. For the most part, Essien played things simply in a side full of talent.

Then in last summer’s World Cup he showed another side of his game, taking a deep lying role to allow Stephen Appiah to roam further forward, In Ghana’s less direct style he also showed more of his playmaking qualities that he kept to a minimum at Stamford Bridge.

Having demonstrated superbly rounded skills as a midfield player, Essien took his flexibility to even greater levels in the 2006/07 Premiership campaign. The catalyst was problems with Chelsea’s defence.

Right back has been a relative weakness in the side, especially coming forward. Paulo Ferriera has been competent but lacks dynamism in the final third- his counterparts Ashley Cole and Wayne Bridge look far more progressive on the left.

In addition, Mourinho is a coach given to occasional sweeping tactical changes to turn a game and removing a defender is often part of his gambit. Michael Essien is the ideal man to have on the park to make these dramatic decisions work.

The standout example came in the away Champions League game at Valencia when Essien produced the winner in the last minute of normal time from his wide right wing back role.

This repeated a reorganisation that took place during an earlier game with Barcelona when Essien went to right back (roughly, because he covers that much ground it is difficult to define his role) after beginning in midfield.

Right back though wasn’t the only defensive role Essien took on with aplomb. Extreme problems with Chelsea’s centre back resources saw Jose Mourinho choose his Ghanaian midfielder as an emergency stopper.

Moving around the fringe positions is one thing but slotting into a totally different role in the spine of the team is another level of flexibility. John Terry has gone on record to express his astonishment at how quickly his colleague began taking up the right positions as if centre back had been his position all his life.

There were blips of course- paired with Ferriera against Liverpool, the team were vulnerable to crosses and against Spurs the defence was racked by indecision before a magnificent fightback kept Chelsea’s Cup hopes alive.

Nevertheless, by the season’s end, Essien had convinced everyone that should he decide to, he has the capacity to make central defence a regular position. That won’t happen as Chelsea will be only too glad to have his drive back in midfield but what a bonus it turned out to be for the club.

At £24 million plus, some may have thought that this was an inflated price to pay for him back in summer 2005. In the event it’s proved to be more than good value for a signing who has become the backbone of the squad and effectively three players in one.

4592: Chelsea: Transfer Targets June

by : Cody Strunk

It’s been a relatively low-key summer for Chelsea to date, with their transfer plans largely based around securing cover for established first-team players, particularly with the African Cup of Nations early next year likely to impact on Jose Mourinho’s squad more than most.

The recruitment of the out-of-contract Steve Sidwell from Reading was a sign of the more restricted transfer budget that Mourinho is seemingly working with these days. Other signings on the cheap have included Alex, who will provide some much needed cover at the heart of the defence. The Brazilian central defender will be joining courtesy of Chelsea’s cosy little relationship with PSV Eindhoven, while January transfer-target, Tal Ben Haim, has now secured his move to Stamford Bridge on a free transfer. There seems little prospect of Michael Essien being asked to cover at the back next term.

Bayern Munich’s Peruvian striker Claudio Pizarro was another low-cost recruit, while Mourinho could still turn to his former Porto striker, Benni McCarthy (Blackburn Rovers), to further bolster his attacking options. The South African is currently boycotting national team duty, so would provide quality cover for Didier Drogba during the African Cup of Nations.

Teenagers Jacob Mellis and Danny Philliskirk have signed from Sheffield United and Oldham Athletic respectively, as the Blues continue the policy of building for the long-term by securing the most promising youngsters in the game wherever possible. Leeds United’s 16-year-old left-back Ben Gordon seems set to be the next such addition.

A new right-back still seems a distinct possibility, with Micah Richards (Manchester City), Pascal Chimbonda (Tottenham Hotspurs) and Daniel Alves (Sevilla) being the names most frequently linked, although Glen Johnson is also available following his return from a season-long loan at Portsmouth.

There could yet be a minor dent in the Roman Abramovich bank balance should the Russian sanction a move for a big-money signing or two, with a top-notch partner for Drogba (particularly should Andriy Shevchenko return to Italy) such as David Villa (Valencia), Carlos Tevez (West Ham United/Kia Joorabchian) or Fernando Torres (Atletico Madrid) being the most likely reason for any major expenditure. Lyon winger Florent Malouda is another possibility, particularly with doubts remaining as to the future of Arjen Robben.

In terms of departures, the priority for Chelsea is still to secure the long-term services of John Terry and Frank Lampard, with the pair still seeking pay parity with Michael Ballack and Shevchenko. Other than the Ukrainian striker and Robben, other players linked with moves away from Stamford Bridge include Shaun Wright-Phillips, Paulo Ferreira, Claude Makelele and Geremi, while it is difficult to envisage Khalid Bouhlarouz ever donning a Chelsea shirt in competitive action again.

The one certainty is that Chelsea look unlikely to be caught short of cover when it comes to injuries and international call-ups in the coming campaign.

4590: Argentina Clausura Weekly Revi

by : Cody Strunk

With one round of matches remaining, San Lorenzo claimed the title in Argentina with a 4:2 win at home to Arsenal de Sarandi. Ramon Diaz’s team looked to be coasting to victory after goals from Cristian Tula and Ezequiel Lavezzi put them two goals to the good after just 17-minutes, but a brace from Ivan Obolo in four minutes just after the midway point of the first-half brought the visitors level. It was left to Gaston Fernandez (one of the players of the season) with two goals just after the break to put San Lorenzo back in the driving seat and to ensure a first title since 2001.

An under-strength Boca Juniors – their main focus being on the Copa Libertadores final against Brazil’s Gremio - saw off relegation-threatened Belgrano 1:0 with an early Bruno Marioni goal. Belgrano now need to beat Banfield in their final game of the season to have any hope of avoiding automatic demotion.

Belgrano would have already been relegated but for Nueva Chicago’s inability to beat River Plate, despite being 2:0 up with 10-minutes remaining. River Plate battled back to secure a point, with their equaliser coming from a hotly disputed penalty that led to a confrontation between Nueva Chicago players and the match officials that delayed the spot-kick by more than 20-minutes. Paulo Ferrari eventually dispatched the penalty, but only after it had to be retaken. There was still time for Cesar Carranza to be sent-off for Nueva Chicago before the referee eventually blew for time.

Outgoing champions Estudiantes saw off Argentinos Juniors 2:0, for whom Pablo De Muner was sent-off just after the hour mark. Argentinos Juniors now need a point from their final game of the season at home to Gimnasia La Plata to be sure of avoiding the relegation play-offs. Godoy Cruz missed out on the chance to apply further pressure on Argentinos Juniors by only managing a 1:1 draw at home to Newell’s Old Boys.

An Emanuel Centurion goal was enough for Colon in a 1:0 victory at Banfield that ensured that they avoid the relegation play-off places. Independiente handed out a 4:1 beating to the long since doomed Quilmes, with a Daniel Montenegro penalty on two-minutes setting them on their way. Damian Musto’s red card for the visitors after just 27-minutes ensured that there was no way back.

Elsewhere, Velez Sarsfield and Lanus drew 1:1, with an injury-time goal from Cristian Fabbiani securing a point for the visitors. Ricardo La Volpe was later sent-off, as the Velez coach saw his team’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s Copa Libertadores diminished. Gimnasia La Plata went down 2:1 at home to Racing Club and Rosario Central beat Gimnasia Jujuy 2:0.

4587: Do Manchester United really ne

by : Antony Melvin

Fabio Quagliarella sounds like a regional Italian dish - and in these image obsessed times he has probably already been described as such with no hint of irony. The rumours of a £10m-£14m-£20m switch to Manchester United are interesting in as much as they sound totally fabricated on all but the oddest levels.

A little background is needed here; Quagliarella has spent most of the last few seasons in the lower Italian leagues, but last season got a proper shot at Serie A and scored 13 goals in 35 games for Sampdoria. He is owned by both Udinese and Sampdoria (go figure) and both would need to be happy with any transfer. He has been capped three times by Italy and recently scored twice against Lithuania.

Sampdoria do seem interested in £10m for the 23 year old, as their Sports Director Beppe Marotta was quoted yesterday as saying:

“I can now confirm the offer from Manchester United, but it only represents one of several possibilities. We will have to do our accounts with Udinese, the joint owner of his contract, and consider the will of the player ahead of such important offers.”

Whereas his Udinese counterpart, Pietro Leonardi, was simultaneously saying that no club "not Italian, nor foreign" had asked Udinese about Fabio Quagliarella's situation.

So rumours of a move for the player have been half ratified, but are very similar to the same rumours that connected Arsenal with the striker 10 days ago. Then it was widely reported that Quagliarella was to replace Henry at Ashburton Grove - rumours that proved to be without substance.

After signing three players United have made some contradictory noises about whether there is any more money available. With David Gill saying the bulk of business is done, but that there is always money available for a player who will improve the team. Chief Exec speak for 'if the new Zidane's available for a fiver we're interested'.

Given the availability of Owen and Anelka for less than £10m – Quagliarella would be a gamble.

However there have also been some rumours suggesting that the Anderson transfer is not the done deal that was originally reported. If the Anderson deal falls through there is money for another player that needs to be developed like Quagliarella - but he still seems to be some risk at that price for a United team that has limited transfer funds.

As a side note the £50m in transfer deals was superbly timed by the United suits who also contrived to have season ticket renewals land on fans doorsteps on almost the same day – with barely a fortnight allowed for renewal. As the majority of United Season Ticket holders face paying over £1000 to cover the ‘new definition of a season’ the timing was a triumph of serendipity!

But as United increasingly play with one main striker and three attacking midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 formation is there even room for a new striker?

Whilst Quagliarella was bagging 13 for mid-table Sampdoria, Guiseppe Rossi stuck in 9 Serie A goals in half the time for relegation threatened Parma - on the face of it £10m for Quagliarella does not look like a bargain now that Rossi is starting to come good. There is also Alan Smith available as a striker, with Louis Saha set to return from injury ahead of next season. Solskjaer is past his best but is good for a dozen games; and Giggs and Ronaldo may well be pressed into service up front. And this is all behind Wayne Rooney who would be the man in possession.

I can see only three scenarios where this transfer stacks up:
1. United look to offload Smith and Rossi to cover the cost.
2. The Anderson deal falls through
3. Quagliarella is available for less than £5m rather than £10m-£20m

But otherwise as United are likely to play with just one striker most of the time and with Rooney, Saha, Smith and Rossi available for that place there seems to be no room for Quagliarella. If United really need a new striker then surely a known risk like Anelka or Owen would be better value in any event.

4589: Portsmouth Season Review 2006/

by : Hugh Larkin

“The only way we would cope would be to bring in a very big name player. Eto'o or Torres are just about the only players I think could potentially do as well, but I would still be thinking Thierry is a better player due to the number of assists if nothing else. I think bringing in a player like that would be the only way to soften the blow to the team and the fans. A bit like Gallas softening the blow of Cole going.

“The only way I would allow Henry to leave would be as part of a swap deal. I believe that we lack true goalscorers beyond Henry so we would have to attempt to replace like with like. I also believe that due to his status we would be looking at some money coming to us as well. The problem is that Wenger doesn't spend big money and the limited number of players available of a suitable quality is increasingly diminishing. Ribery has gone to Bayern for nigh on £20m which shows that £30m could only bring in 1.5 decent players and I think that the amount of rebuilding that needs to be done is fairly minimal anyway. We really just need a world-class winger.”

Meanwhile Tony Attwood, 59, a silver level member at Arsenal, believes the decision ultimately lies with the manager but claims that there are already suitable replacements at the club.

“Vieira has gone, so why not Henry? Much depends on what Wenger has got lined up as his replacement. With Vieira we could see that he was getting tired at Arsenal, that Fabregas was a genius and that we had Diaby and Denilson waiting, while Gilberto was still the wonderful invisible wall. Something had to give. So, what about Henry? We have Van Persie who, as every Dutch supporter knows, is becoming an amazing player. And Theo Walcott? We haven't seen enough to know, but although the English press and fans love to portray Wenger as myopic and a certain Mr Erickson as an idiot, both have seen something extraordinary in the player. Maybe that's the trick. Maybe Wenger wants Henry for one more year before he sells him, by which time Walcott is ready?

“We don't know because of another difference between Arsenal and other clubs – Wenger is far less available to his players than Ferguson, for example. Wenger is endlessly watching and reviewing games, finding (as the joke in the North Bank used to go) a Peruvian under-16 goalkeeper who is going to become our next wide midfielder. Wenger doesn't talk much to his players, so his players don't always know the deeper plans – they don't know what new wonder kid is suddenly going to emerge. What we do know is that, by his own admission, Henry is difficult and arrogant, and so he might well be playing his own game.”

Henry has enjoyed so much success at Arsenal since he arrived from Juventus eight years ago but some pundits believe that the time is right for him to embark on a new challenge. He has won almost every accolade in the English game but he is a born winner and wants more. However, it’s alleged that Henry is getting increasingly concerned that Arsenal are slipping further behind the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool by refusing to sign top established players. Arsenal have to qualify for the Champions League every season to warrant their move away from Highbury, but Henry’s ambition is a lot higher than just finishing fourth in the Premiership. He wants to win trophies.

Arsene Wenger has the best crop of youngsters in the world and it’s widely believed that if they remain at the club they could dominate the game for years. But that’s no use to Henry. He turns 30 in August and wants success now. The major trophy that has eluded him, and the one which he desperately wants, is the Champions League. And despite reaching the final two years ago there are question marks over whether he can achieve his dream with the Gunners. Barcelona and AC Milan are clubs with great European pedigree and a move abroad would almost certainly benefit his personal goals. Henry’s admission that he is flattered by AC Milan’s interest only fans the flames and until he comes out and says, “I’m staying” the rumours will persist.

And Will Cormack, whose favourite Arsenal player of all time is Dennis Bergkamp, believes the blame for all the transfer rumours lies solely at the door of Henry.

”Henry never seems to be happy and the way he is personally, he gives the impression he wants to leave. But as I said before, we should of sold him in 2006 and give people who want to play for the club a chance. Adebayor and Van Persie is a better combination than a sulky Henry.

”Henry saying he is flattered by interest from Milan makes me quite happy actually. He needs to go, his presence is having a negative effect on the team. As I said before he believes he is bigger and better than the club. I mean why would you want to go to Milan? Empty stadiums? Cheating? Police getting killed? A bad standard of football? I would love Henry to go to Milan and then he would see what he is missing. One thing about players that leave Arsenal is that they never turn any better or have more success. Petit, Overmars, Anelka, Vieira, Pires, Reyes to name a few. I bet they all regret leaving.

”I don’t feel Henry has an effect on the team any more, well at least when it comes to matters on the pitch. The team are good enough now to compete in the league, we have proven that we can win without Henry. He only has a bad effect on the team; him sulking on the sidelines does nothing for team morale. The teething problems with the new stadium didn’t help but next year will be a different story.”

However James Leslie feels that the Spanish media and the way Spanish clubs are run is responsible for the unsettling the famous number 14.

“The clubs feed stories to papers like La Marca and they print this rubbish. It is to unsettle players and it works. When the Spanish clubs run their presidential votes, the candidates come out making all sorts of promises that are now becoming very close to the lines of illegal approach, but they somehow get away with it.

“Thierry did repeatedly say for the past two seasons that he would be an Arsenal player, he still is. Arsenal have equally said that they won't sell him and they haven't. There is only so many times you can repeat the same thing without going blue in the face.

“Thierry has always been faithful to the club and kept his word to the fans, so until that changes I will believe him. I think the main problem comes from the rumours unsettling fans – when we should be thinking about how to build the team up for next year, we are in fact worrying about having a weakened team to start the summer with.”

Mark Brindle, who names Liam Brady and Dennis Bergkamp as his top two Gunners, also points the finger at the media, but believes Henry has done nothing wrong by declaring his pleasure at AC Milan’s interest.

“I think the press are largely to blame. I'm not really sure how many times a person can say 'I am under contract to Arsenal' or words of that ilk and still get it spun around to say that 'I am leaving'. Of course Henry should be 'flattered' by AC Milan suggesting an interest, after all they are the European champions. It’s like someone coming to you and rumouring that Sports Illustrated were interested in you joining them to cover the swimsuit edition – that’s probably not a very good analogy but you know where I am coming from!”

However, Tony Attwood, who missed just four home games last season, believes that Henry’s revelation about AC Milan was perfectly executed to pose Wenger a problem.

“I suspect that is more directed at word games with Wenger – the subtext reads: "You sold Vieira out of the blue, you refused to let Pires have a two-year contract despite the obvious need for him in the club – so what are you going to do". That's the point – you can interpret everything as Henry about to leave or Henry talking back to Wenger. The sadness of the UK press is that by and large the editors like a simplistic line only – the subtlety of negotiation is beyond them.”

It’s not exactly the best thing for the club captain to be coming out with – you would never have heard Tony Adams say it – but James Leslie hopes it is a case of misinterpretation but believes that he is trying to say something.

“His grasp of the finer points of the English language is good enough for him to know what headlines would come out when he said that. Is he trying to paint the board as bad guys so that the fans get behind a Dein/Kroenke takeover? I believe that Thierry is concerned how the teams around us buy proven quality world-class players whilst we buy promising 18 year olds.”

Henry will always be a hero amongst Arsenal fans and if he decides to honour his contract there won’t be any happier people in the world than Arsenal fans but if he did move it wouldn’t be the end of the world for Tony Attwood or Will Cormack.

“We know for sure that Wenger gave us eight years of unprecedented glory, and that last year, even without Henry for much of it, and with an unfit Henry for the rest of it, Arsenal scored only one less league goal than Chelsea and over four games got 13 goals against Liverpool without Henry,” said Tony. “That's not a bad starting point. Which suggests that things would not too be too bad without Henry.”

”If Henry left we would be fine, the problem is now we wouldn’t get £30 million for him, maybe £15 at the most,” said Will. “Henry isn’t young anymore, so we can live without him. I can see why Henry may be annoyed though, Wenger needs to buy some players over 23 years old and show to Henry that he listens to his problems. If Henry leaves I believe that Cesc may leave also, but if Cesc starts to believe that he is bigger than the club he should be sold anyway, and personally I can see him thinking he’s bigger. He is already moaning saying he will leave if Wenger leaves.

”I believe that the solution to this whole saga is let Stan Kroenke buy Dein’s share. By doing this he could employ Dein back to the board and hopefully all will be back to normal.”

If Henry decides to leave the Emirates it wouldn’t just be a blow for Arsenal but a blow for the Premiership as a whole. We want to see the best players in the world playing in this country and I for one hope that Henry decides to honour his contract with the Gunners and gets them challenging for trophies again.

* Well you’ve heard the views from a few Arsenal fans, now how about sharing yours? Should Henry stay or should he go?
Portsmouth fans have to be satisfied with a 9th place finish in the Premiership after the near-oblivion of life under Alan Perrin just a short time ago. Pompey even threatened to get into Europe before slipping back a little. The foundations were laid though, for a push toward that goal in 2007/08.

Harry Redknapp has a deserved reputation for his work in the transfer market and he really struck gold this season. The signature signing proved to be Sol Campbell, a player good enough to have been in the Champions League Final a few months before.

When Arsene Wenger still decided to let the England man go, the expectation was that he would reappear abroad. When his destination turned out to be the South Coast it was the sort of signing to give the whole club a lift.

On top of the Campbell coup Redknapp also brought in David James, who turned out to be the Premiership’s form keeper, plus another Arsenal man, the Nigerian striker Kanu. He also produced some of his best form for years after losing his way at West Brom.

Pompey actually got off to a flyer in the League- so much so that for much of the autumn they were challenging for a Champions League berth. Kanu hit the ground running alongside the hard working Benjani and Matthew Taylor looked one of brightest young midfielders in the country, with dynamite in his left boot.

The team won 4 out of their opening 5 in the League including two away wins and then two more after a first defeat at Bolton, including a home victory over Spurs.

Campbell and James brought stability at the back although the hugely underrated Linvoy Primus was equally impressive. It was unfortunate that Pompey lost Dejan Stefanovic for a large chunk of the campaign after November, disrupting a very effective defence.

Pompey had solid performers in midfield. Taylor caught the eye but Sean Davis, Pedro Mendes (who had his campaign upset by Ben Thatcher’s cynical intervention) and Gary O’Neil were all consistent performers. Croatian Nico Krancjar showed glimpses of why he is rated so highly without being able to establish a regular place.

Life became tougher in the New Year and there was a five game streak without a victory in January. Pompey ended that run with a win over toothless Manchester City but then embarked on another 6 game winless sequence. Though there was a rally in the last few games, Portsmouth’s modest finish took them out of the UEFA Cup running.

In the January transfer window, the manager had concentrated on shoring up his defence by bringing in Djimi Traore and another Arsenal refugee in Lauren. The club weren’t able to make the sort of signing that could really boost them toward Europe.

Missing out on Europe could be a blessing though, as many sides have over stretched themselves by getting into the UEFA Cup with a modest squad. Pompey can concentrate on domestic action and they have already been very busy in the market, acquiring defensive reinforcements in Sylvain Distin and Hermann Hreidarsson. Sulley Muntari looks a potentially exciting forward to have on board.

While people often concentrate on Harry Redknapp’s ‘Delboy’ image, the key is that he encourages sides to play good football and allows seasoned performers to operate with a certain freedom. Players always seem to enjoy being part of his teams and flair players do get opportunities.

The real trick for next year will be to keep the pre-Christmas form for the whole 9 months and it looks as though the squad will have greater depth. 2006/07 saw Fratton Park become a very difficult place for visiting teams to come again after indifferent form in 2005/06 but Pompey’s away form after the New Year was very average.

Overall, the verdict on 2006/07 has to be a positive one but expectations have been raised and the club can also compete at a higher level in the transfer market. At the very least, an improvement on 9th will be the target.

4588: Thierry Henry: Should he stay

by : Colin Illingworth

Despite signing a new four-year contract at Arsenal last season, Thierry Henry is the subject of intense transfer speculation yet again. Arsenal fans were ecstatic last May when the Frenchman turned his back on Barcelona, but after an injury-hit and trophyless season, combined with unrest in the boardroom, could Henry be about to leave the Emirates?

Barcelona still have him in their sights and he recently admitted that he was flattered by interest from AC Milan. He has also allegedly been spotted house hunting in Liverpool and with neither player nor manager prepared to quash the rumours the Arsenal fans face another summer of discontent. But is it time for Arsenal and Thierry Henry to part company?

Henry is one of the best players in the world and could arguably walk into any side in the world. He’s guided the Gunners to two Premiership titles, three FA Cups and a Champions League final appearance. He is Arsenal’s all-time record goalscorer and is worshipped by the fans, but Will Cormack, 25, believes it’s time for Henry to move on.

“I feel that with all the uncertainty over Henry’s future, Arsenal should have sold him after the Champions League final. In my view Henry has the attitude where he believes he is bigger than the club and better than any other player in the team, you can even see it in his celebrations. As soon as this happens a player should be sold. It isn’t fair for a club to have all this speculation all the time, and like Vieira, Henry should go.

“I love Arsenal, and always will, but it frustrates me when people think we can’t get rid of Henry, Fabregas and Wenger. All these people have done wonderful things for the club and stuff I will never forget, but as with Wrighty, Adams and Bergkamp there are new heroes around the corner.”

However not everybody agrees. Season ticket holder Mark Brindle, 43, rates Henry very highly and claims that it would be near impossible to replace him.

“I would not be happy to let him go though unless Wenger felt that his attitude etc is to the detriment of the team, and only Arsene is in a position to know that. The fact of the matter is that Thierry is a world-class striker who can score 20+ goals a season and there are very few out there who can offer that. Maybe Eto’o, but are Barcelona really going to let him go? I can’t see it, and maybe the only reason they would let him go is because he carries a lot of baggage with him and do we want that?

“If Henry left it would be a terrible loss but life would go on. Players have always come and gone, fortunately Arsenal do seem to engender quite a high loyalty level even from the overseas players. If he leaves it will be a case of 'thanks for the memories, Thierry' but The Arsenal will go on.”

And James Leslie, 32, who wants Henry to stay and is confident that he will, believes that the inspirational striker is in a league of his own.

4586: Bolton Wanderers: Transfer Tar

by : Cody Strunk

It was always going to be a summer of intense transfer speculation at the Reebok Stadium following the departure of Sam Allardyce, with a number of Bolton’s key players being routinely linked with moves to either join up directly with their former boss at St James’ Park or being deemed unlikely to stay at Bolton without having the long-serving Allardyce around to guide them.

Sammy Lee obviously has a tough act to follow, but he has been quick to make his mark in the transfer market. Deals have already been concluded to sign Aston Villa midfielder Gavin McCann and former Villa Park left-back Jlloyd Samuel, while Gerald Cid has also been snapped up from Bordeaux (a deal that was completed under Allardyce) as a replacement for the out of contract Tal Ben Haim.

Other rumoured targets in recent weeks have included Gelson Fernandes, the Cape Verde-born midfielder at Swiss club Sion, Ghanaian attacking midfielder Derek Boateng (Beitar Jerusalem) and Paris St Germain forward Pegguy Luyindula. Fulham midfielder Michael Brown and Portsmouth’s Sean Davis have also been linked, primarily as possible replacements for Kevin Nolan should the latter be lured to pastures new it would seem.

With doubts surrounding the futures of Nicolas Anelka and El-Hadji Diouf, Lee has also been targeting forwards. Djibril Cisse, surplus to requirements at Anfield, is one possibility, although much could depend on how much Liverpool want for his services or whether they could be persuaded to send him out on an other long-term loan. Izale McLeod, having recently been given permission to leave Milton Keynes Dons, has also been mentioned as a possible target. Watford’s Marlon King and Robbie Fowler, recently released by Liverpool, have also previously been suggested as attacking options.

At the back, Real Madrid’s Francisco Pavon and Liverpool veteran Sami Hyypia are both central defensive options that have long been associated with moves to Bolton. Another player that could apparently be bound for the Trotters is Lille right-back Mathieu Chalme. Lee also seems keen to increase his options on the flanks, with Reading’s Stephen Hunt and Guinea international Fode Mansare (Toulouse) both said to be under consideration.

If Lee can keep the core of the squad he inherited together (Sunderland’s apparent interest in goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen is another concern) then, with a couple more new faces to bolster a squad that will be competing on both domestic and European fronts, Bolton should be capable of securing a mid-table finish. Were there to be any major exodus of his top players though, Lee could be facing an uncomfortable season battling for both Bolton’s top-flight and his own managerial survival.

4585: He Should Do Well: David Rozeh

by : Paul Grech

Regardless of what he does throughout the rest of the summer, in most people’s eyes Sam Allardyce has already made the most significant step to solving Newcastle’s major headache: letting Titus Bramble go.

But that is oversimplifying matters. Bramble made far too many errors in a Newcastle shirt for him to deserve any reputation apart from that of being a liability, yet he hardly played in a world class back line: his mistakes stood out because they were often calamitous but his fellow defenders rarely covered themselves in glory.

Steven Taylor and possibly Peter Ramage aside, Newcastle have no defender of Premiership quality forcing the new manager to bring in at least three new players. That is the real problem Allardyce is trying to rectify albeit in his own manner. One of the traits that undoubtedly endeared him to the Newcastle board was his ability to spot a good player who might not be valued that much by his current club.

Virtually all of his Bolton squad was made up of outcasts and while at Newcastle he’ll have more money to spend, the extent of his rebuilding task means that he’ll have to use that money wisely.

For Allardyce that often means looking at Europe to see what is available. And one of the first names to crop up has been that of David Rozehnal. Paris St. Germain’s dismal season – only a late surge saved them from relegation - would have been enough to drown out any individual talents so it is all the more impressive that Rozehnal has not only been voted as the club’s best player but also selected in the best Ligue 1 team of the season.

It was an amazing turnaround for the fast defender who had often been underused at his previous club Club Brugge. Seen as the sort of commanding defender Newcastle were so lacking last season, he has the experience – having also played in the Champions League - to handle the demands of a league like the English one.

4582: Rangers Season Review 2006/07

by : Alex Wolstenholme

Of the four players mentioned at the opening of this article, Ajax’s Huntelaar would perhaps be the cheapest option at around £10million. The 23-year-old Dutch international has an outrageous goalscoring record having bagged 34 in 46 games for Heerenveen, followed by 37 in 48 for his current club. United have been linked with him in recent weeks, yet the Gunners also know all about him – Huntelaar scored the first ever goal at the Emirates Stadium during a friendly last year.

Torres is believed to have been on Ferguson’s radar for over two years now, and last summer he was reportedly willing to pay Atletico Madrid £25million to bring him to Old Trafford. One thing that favours United is that the 23-year-old will not cross Madrid to sign for Real and he does appear to favour a move to England, where he will no doubt be flattered by the long-term interest shown in him from the league champions. As much as Torres adores the Vicente Calderon club, it is widely considered a transfer from Atletico is a case of when and not if.

The possibility of Eto’o leaving the Camp Nou this summer remains a very real one, despite his insistence that he wants to stay in Catalan. Should he depart, a move to The Premiership could well be on the cards. All of the ‘Big Four’ have been linked with the Cameroon international in recent months, and there is even suggestions he could be on his way to North London in a deal that would finally see Barca land Henry.

The race for Valencia’s Villa seems to be a three-way war between Chelsea, Liverpool and Real Madrid. With Che reluctant to part with the Spanish international for less than the reported whopping buyout of £45million, the Blues would appear firm favourites. Yet with the memories of the £31million splashed out on Shevchenko still very much fresh in the mind of Roman Abramovich, Mourinho may have to wait a year or two before a similar bid is sanctioned.

Closer to home, Bolton Wanderers’ Nicolas Anelka is said to be an £8million target for United who would happily pay four times that amount for Berbatov; Benni McCarthy could be reunited with Mourinho at Stamford Bridge if Blackburn Rovers can be persuaded to sell; Arsenal would love to turn the clock back twelve months and sign Andy Johnson who is now rated in the £20million bracket by Everton; and Liverpool continue to ponder re-signing Michael Owen from Newcastle United or meeting Charlton Athletic’s £18million valuation of Darren Bent.

It will be interesting to see which of the ‘Big Four’ makes the first move.
A season that started with plenty of optimism at Ibrox ended in much the same vein, tempered only by what happened for most of the months in-between.

Paul Le Guen had been confirmed as manager before the end of the 2005/06 season and arrived last summer to take up the post with a formidable reputation as the man who had moulded Lyon into one of the top clubs in European football.

"I am pleased Paul has agreed to join Rangers, " chairman David Murray said. "His track record speaks for itself and hopefully he will bring future success to the club."

Unsurprisingly the new boss used his knowledge of French football to sign the likes of Jeremy Clement and Lionel Letizi while also buying a trio of players from Austria Vienna, Libor Sionko, Sasa Papac and Filip Sebo.

Initial results were ok with a 2-0 win at home to Hearts the pick of the early season games and one that led Le Guen to say "from this we can compete for the title."

Performances were patchy and certainly gave no sign that Le Guen was the miracle worker he had been built up to be.

Defeat at Hibs in the middle of September set the alarm bells ringing and Le Guen then proceeded to lose his first Old Firm game in fairly tame fashion at Celtic Park.

"I will do my best, but there are no miracles in football," said the manager afterwards.

"I was aware that it would be a difficult task, but we must keep our heads up and be ready.

"We must stick together and, if the players keep this state of mind, we will find the solution."

European results stood up well with the win in Livorno the first ever by a Scottish side on Italian soil and just reward for an adventurous team selection by the manager.

However, domestic form continued to frustrate with particularly bad defeats at home to Inverness in the league and St Johnstone in the CIS Cup.

Chief among the criticisms of the new manager was that he had understimated the Scottish game and that his signings were ill-prepared for the kind of battles they would face week in week out in the SPL.

A late equaliser at Ibrox in the second Old Firm game followed by a win at Aberdeen looked to have bought Le Guen some time but it turned out that his reign was coming to an end.

The Frenchman 'enjoyed' a difficult relationship with captain Barry Ferguson, one that eventually came to a head when the midfielder was stripped of the captaincy for the game against Motherwell at the start of 2007.

Rangers won 1-0 but the manager still departed a few days later after showdown talks with chairman David Murray over the Ferguson incident.

Claim and counter-claim was made, with Le Guen thought to believe that Ferguson had undermined his position with other players while the midfielder was not a fan of Le Guen's tactics and training.

A number of names were mentioned as potential successors but Walter Smith was the man Murray turned to try and bring the glory days of his first spell in charge.

After a very public battle with the SFA, Smith left his job as Scotland manager to take charge of the club for a second time, assisted by former Rangers' star Ally McCoist.

"I've great respect for both men and their achievements and I am convinced they will take the club forward," said Murray.

Smith brought a common sense approach to the Scotland side when he took over as national team boss in the wake of a foreign manager's much-maligned reign and repeated the trick at Ibrox.

He moved quickly to sign David Weir and Ugo Ehiogu and at a stroke made Rangers hard to beat with players playing in positions that they were suited to, knowing their jobs and working hard for the team.

Celtic were defeated twice as second place and Champions League football were secured, with the final Old Firm game of the season in particular giving plenty of cause for optimism at Ibrox.

Kirk Broadfoot of St Mirren has already been signed and another centre-half may be on the way in the summer to provide cover for the golden oldies.

The signings of Broadfoot, and Alan Gow of Falkirk may highlight the new financial reality in the SPL but they are also indicative of the fact that good young Scottish players can now be found in every top-flight team, including the Old Firm.

Smith should however have some money to spend in the summer and has already moved quickly to replace Dado Prso with Bordeaux striker Jean-Claude Darcheville.

His short reign to date has shown that at SPL level at least, Rangers can challenge Celtic at the top of the table.

4584: Wigan Athletic; Season Review

by : Stephen Orford

The heights of a top-ten Premiership finish and a Carling Cup final appearance must seem like an awful long time ago to fans of Wigan Athletic.

Tell any Latics fan before the start of the recently ended campaign that they would be starting the 2007/08 journey without Paul Jewell at the managerial reins and you would have received snorts of derision or looks of bewilderment. Yet that is exactly what awaits after the former Sheffield Wednesday and Bradford City boss resigned his post just 24 hours after helping the club survive on the last day of the season.

A hair-raising, nail-biting, nerve-shredding 2-1 win at Sheffield United on the last day was good enough to seal the fate of the South Yorkshire outfit, and to preserve Wigan’s top-flight status at the end of a particularly rocky road. Season 2006/07 was Wigan’s tricky second album after the multi-platinum success of their first a year earlier, and they were lucky to avoid falling off the chart altogether.

Alarm bells should probably have been ringing for Wigan fans when many of the men who made 2005/06 such a great season leave for pastures new. Midfield dynamo left for Fulham where an early-season knee injury put paid to the rest of his campaign, while Pascal Chimbonda got the move to Tottenham Hotspur that he went to such lengths to secure. Jason Roberts was allowed to join Blackburn Rovers, while Graham Kavanagh became part of Roy Keane’s promotion-winning Sunderland side also.

The replacements never really cut the yellow stuff. Emile Heskey toiled bravely as he is wont to do, but his return of just eight league goals offers an insight into the limitations that have plagued his career. Denny Landzaat’s wonder goal at Arsenal was an obvious highlight of his first year in Wigan, Jewell seemed to struggle to make up his mind about whether to trust Ecuadorian midfield man Antonio Valencia. Kevin Kilbane was signed from Everton to add a bit of experience at a crucial time, but if anything his presence in a struggling team only exacerbates his inability to provide a creative spark.

Relegation was avoided by goal difference only, and that by just the one goal from the unfortunate Blades. No Premiership side conceded more goals at home in the league than Wigan (30), while they conceded almost as many on their travels. Only Fulham and Charlton Athletic managed to concede more league goals overall this term. It’s an equally sorry tale at the other end, where only the relegated trio of Charlton, Watford and Sheffield United aswell as the impotent Manchester City were less prolific.

A repeat of last year’s Carling Cup heroics was off the agenda by mid-September after a 2-0 defeat at Crewe Alexandra of League One. Fortunes hardly improved in the FA Cup, where Jewell’s men crashed out at the initial hurdle that is the third round stage following a 2-1 defeat at Portsmouth.

All of which added to the pressure which eventually forced Jewell to quit his post. That he has been replaced by long-time assistant Chris Hutchings is slightly perplexing, given that the same arrangements were made upon Jewell’s exit from Bradford City and with disastrous results. Those willing to give Hutchings another chance to prove his worth will be ducking behind the sofa at news that Hutchings recruited Newcastle Nightmare Titus Bramble almost immediately, along with another former Toon under-achiever Antione Sibierski.

Passing those two on the way out of the JJB Stadium are defender Matt Jackson who has joined Watford on a free transfer, and the released and currently clubless pair of Arjan De Zeeuw and David Unsworth. It was Unsworth’s penalty against his old club at Bramall Lane which eventually saved Wigan from the drop, proving that sentiment holds little sway in the modern, cut-throat Premiership arena.

De Zeeuw’s loss will be keenly felt as he was one of the rocks on which the 2005/06 was built. Though fading as his years advance, his experience may have been preferable to that of Bramble, for whom standing up straight can often be a challenge. Hutchings’s second crack at management is going to be an interesting affair, and he will need all of chairman Dave Whelan’s financial backing if he is to secure a third successive season in the big league for Latics.

By Stephen Orford

12 June 2007

4583: Fulham; Season Review 2006/07

by : Stephen Orford

Teeth well and truly skinned, Fulham avoided relegation to the Championship by just one point at the end of a dismal campaign.

Survival was actually assured with a game to spare following an unlikely 1-0 win at home to a suspiciously under-strength Liverpool, yet Cottagers fans will be grateful of another crack at the top flight nonetheless.

Results were so unsatisfactory that manager Chris Coleman was relieved of his duties in early April after a run of seven consecutive defeats. Lawrie Sanchez was borrowed from the IFA for the run-in, and his appointment has now been made permanent after he relinquished his position with the Northern Ireland team.

Results to date suggest that he may yet live to regret that decision. The Irish are on the verge of what would be a famous achievement in qualifying for Euro 2008, sitting as they do just two points behind Group F rivals Sweden and Spain with a game in hand on the latter. Meanwhile, the victory over Liverpool was Fulham’s only one during Sanchez’s five games at the helm. Some major rebuilding work is necessary if the west London outfit are to avoid another lengthy battle against the drop in 2007/08.

Though we didn’t know what lay ahead at the time, Fulham’s opening day thrashing at Manchester United was a clear example of the chasm which exists between the top and bottom of the Premiership. United were four up in 20 minutes displaying football seemingly from another planet, going on to win 5-1 at a snoozy, second half canter. That United regained their Premiership crown from Chelsea in such fine style offers some mitigation for Fulham’s obliteration that day, but the game also highlighted the defensive frailties which would cost Coleman his job.

Fulham conceded a whopping 60 goals in the league, 42 of them away from Craven Cottage. No team conceded more on their travels, with only Charlton displaying an equal propensity to leak goals overall. Away form has been the problem for several seasons under Coleman, and another 10 defeats on the road contributed tellingly to the end of the Welshman’s four-year reign. At the Cottage, only Manchester City, Manchester United, Reading, Wigan Athletic and Chelsea came away with all three points, again highlighting the Jeckyll and Hyde nature of Fulham’s campaign.

Indeed their worst home defeats came in the cup competitions. The fifth round of the FA Cup saw a Robbie Keane-inspired Tottenham hand out a fearful 4-0 spanking to deny Fulham progress to the last eight. Coleman’s side had shown reasonable form in the cup until Spurs came to town, having come back strongly to beat Leicester City 4-3 in a thrilling third round replay, and cruised past Stoke City 3-0 in round four. Meanwhile, Wycombe Wanderers won 2-1 in the Carling Cup on their own journey to the quarter finals.

And so to Sanchez’s rebuilding job for next year. He has begun by releasing former Everton striker Tomasz Radzinski, while midfielder Claus Jensen also departs along with Welsh internationals Mark Crossley and Mark Pembridge. With the loan periods of Wayne Routledge and Vincenzo Montella at and end also, Sanchez knows that he must bring in quality replacements in time for the August kick-off.

Leeds’ Northern Ireland international striker David Healy has been heavily linked with a move south, while a £2.5million bid for another Northern Ireland man in the shape of defender Chris Baird has been rejected by Southampton. Gossip continues over yet another of Sanchez’s former charges Chris Brunt, who could be available from Sheffield Wednesday after an impressive season in the Championship.

Chairman Mohammad Al Fayed has promised to back the new manager with significant funds, that after several years of criticism regarding his frugal ways. The bid for Baird is a start in this regard, but a cash-plus-players bid for West Bromwich Albion pair Diomansy Kamara and Jason Koumas could indicate that Sanchez will still have to wheel and deal for the most part.

It should be a busy summer at the cottage.

By Stephen Orford

12 June 2007