4688: Lions of Mesopotamia triumph

by : Matthew Knott

The 2007 Asian Cup, incident packed and surprise filled, has ended with the most fairytale-like ending. The Iraq team, unfancied at the start and beset by difficulties, pulled off an historic victory that was a show of national unity. Defiant revellers poured onto the streets of Baghdad to celebrate the remarkable achievement.

The so-called ‘Lions of Mesopotamia’ arrived at the tournament having suffered kidnap threats and the loss of their physiotherapist in a bomb blast. Due to the violence in Iraq most of their preparation and training was done in Jordan and Syria. And then of course there were the horrific car bombing scenes in Baghdad following their semi-final victory. Yet the Iraqi players overcame all this adversity to secure a 1-0 win against Saudi Arabia in a final they dominated and could have won far more comfortably.

The winning team truly represents all of Iraq, with Kurds, Sunnis, Shias and Turkomans in their side. After the final, stylish midfielder Nashat Akram said “In our Iraq team we played with one unity regardless of our beliefs and sects and that is what should be the case back in Iraq.” In celebration Iraq’s president referred to the players as “a true symbol of national unity”.

It was a far from straightforward route to the final. The Group stages saw them draw with hosts Thailand and Oman, but their most creditable performance was a stunning 3-1 victory against Australia. That result truly confirmed Iraq were a threat in this competition, a fact that was underlined with a comfortable 2-0 defeat of Vietnam, the Asia Cup’s other surprise package. Penalties were needed to progress at the expense of South Korea in the semis, but after tight, defensive 120 minutes the Iraq team kept their nerve.

Saudi Arabia started the final as favourites after beating holders Japan in a thrilling 3-2 semi-final win. Yet as the game got underway it was Iraq that settled and created the early chances, while keeping the previously free-scoring Saudi forwards at arms length. Saudi goalkeeper Al Mosailem had done much to keep his side in the match, but badly misjudged a 71st minute corner and Younis Mahmood scored the header that sent a nation into raptures.

All of the team will return home as conquering heroes, but a few stars have undoubtedly emerged. The defence deserves immense credit for conceding only twice in the tournament, and those goals came in the first two games. In midfield Nashat Akram pulled the strings with some inventive passing, and picked up the man of the match award in the final. Up front Mahmood finished as joint top scorer with four goals, and has an impressive record of 24 strikes in 35 games at international level.

Elsewhere in the tournament Korea Republic guaranteed automatic qualification next time around with a penalty victory over Japan in a scrappy 3rd place play off. Vietnam, one of the host nations, delightfully confounded expectations to make the knock out stages, while co-hosts Thailand and Indonesia did themselves proud. Yet there is only one story that will stay long in the memory. Against all odds the Iraq team have delivered the country’s greatest sporting achievement.

4683: Rangers v FK Zeta- A Professio

by : Hugh Larkin

Rest of the Top 30

11 AC Milan – up 1 place 12 Sheffield United - up 1 12 Blackburn Rovers - down 1 14 Juventus - up 3 15 Real Madrid – up 9 16 Barcelona – down 2 17 Fulham –up 12 18 Charlton – up 2 19 WBA - down 3 20 Manchester City- down 2 21 Bolton – down 6 22 Inter Milan - up 14 23 Rangers –up 4 24 Wigan – down 3 25 Bayern_Munich – no change 26 Birmingham – up 8 27 Portsmouth- up 5 28 Middlesbrough –up 2 29 Chievo Verona - down 6 30 Watford – down 8The structure and importance of the Champions League means that Rangers are playing one of their most critical games of the season before July is finished. On Tuesday (31st July) the Gers host FK Zeta of Montenegro in the 2nd Qualifying Round.

Finishing runners up in the SPL forces Rangers to go through two rounds to reach the lucrative Group stage and while the next stage will bring in many big names, the second stage contains some less familiar clubs.

None more so than Zeta, who are Montenegro’s first representatives since their Football Association became constituted separately from Serbia. They have already caused a surprise by eliminating FBK Kaunas, a Lithuanian team experienced in these qualifiers.

This is one of those matches in which Rangers have very little to gain and an awful lot to lose. The Scottish side are seeded and expected to make their way through to the final qualifiers. It is up to Walter Smith’s side to do a professional job but this is effectively still the pre-season and a few new players are being bedded in.

This is not the first time Zeta have been in Europe. They performed well enough in the old Serbia/Montenegro combined league to finish in 3rd spot behind the Belgrade giants Partizan and Red Star. Many of that side were snapped up by Partizan and Red Star and their star man went to Olympiakos in Greece.

Montenegro has a decent record at producing quality footballers like most of the former Yugoslavia. The Montenegrins actually won their first ever full international in March 2007 beating Hungary 2-1, so this is not a side to be taken lightly. Having said that, the loss of half a team to bigger clubs in 2006 means Rangers should prevail.

Midfielder Janko Tumbasovic is the only Zeta player in the current national squad because most of the country’s best players are in foreign leagues. He’s been with the club for 6 years. The squad is wholly Montenegrin apart from a single Serbian.

The venue and timing of the second leg are not decided at time of writing. Zeta play at the Tresnjica Stadium is a suburb of the capital; it holds only a modest 5,000 at best and may have difficulty meeting UEFA standards. A swap to another venue could be on the cards.

Rangers have made fewer additions to their squad over the summer than in some close seasons, so integration of new players is less of a problem this time. Beating Chelsea in yesterday’s (28th July) friendly is an excellent confidence booster.

Rangers are aware of Zeta’s spirit. Assistant Coach Ally McCoist spoke admiringly of their efforts in the second leg against Kaunas, when the Montenegrin champions went 3-0 down but fought back to qualify with a goal in the 89th minute.

Whatever Zeta’s spirit though, a reasonable form guide might be Rangers win over Partizan Belgrade in last season’s UEFA Cup group game; the Gers won the game comfortably with a weakened side and Partizan were well clear of Zeta in the last combined championship in 2005/06.

There are big challenges ahead- the sort of teams that Rangers could get in the Third Qualifying Round include Arsenal, Lazio, Ajax and Valencia. For the moment though, Walter Smith’s side just need to avoid the banana skin in their path, especially as the game is going out live in Scotland.

If the Gers required any motivation for this one the coaching team need only mention the name of Artmedia Bratislava, the Slovakian team that upset Celtic’s hopes so spectacularly two years ago. Forewarned is forearmed though and Rangers should be taking their place in the next stage.

Prediction- Rangers 4-1 over two legs

4686: Italy: Grosseto’s Triple Jump

by : Paul Grech

What next for the Serie B now that the big boys of Juventus, Napoli and Genoa are gone? After last season’s notoriety, the spotlight has been switched off and last season’s record breaking crowds will soon be a fading memory.

But it is not all bad: there will at least be a more balanced competition with Bologna, Lecce, Ascoli and Mantova all looking like a good bet for promotion.

And then there’s Grosseto. The club hailing from a village with a population of just 75,000 are facing a season in the cadetteria (that’s the second division) for the first time in their ninety five year history and my, don’t they deserve it.

For two consecutive seasons they made it to the play offs but first got beaten in the semi-final by Pavia and then in the final by Frosinone.

After those highs, the whole fairy tale looked to be derailing last season when a sloppy start to the season when the team picked up just nine points from as many games. That meant the end of manager Massimo Allegri, with Antonello Cuccureddu taking his place.

The former Juventus midfielder – where he won six league titles and a UEFA Cup – already had quite a positive reputation at Serie C level where he had won one promotion with Crotone in 1999-00 and a play-off semi-final defeat the previous season (ironically enough, against Grosseto).

With the side eleven points off the pace, he immediately transformed the team primarily by changing from Allegri’s 3-5-2 system to a more traditional 4-4-2. Twenty five games and fifty four points later and Grosseto were heading for the Serie B.

For the club, and they city, where football has traditionally played second fiddle to baseball (where Bbc side has even won the Champions Cup), it is quite an achievement. The pivotal moment in their history came seven years ago when Piero Camilli took over a club struggling in the Serie D.

A local businessman, he isn’t known as Il Comandente (the commander) for nothing and his reputation as being a mangia allenatore (manager eater) is well earned. Suffice to say that once promotion had been achieved it was goodbye to Cuccureddu with whom there was never an easy relationship.

The appointment of Ermano Pieroni - a former Ancona president and sporting director at Arezzo who was banned from football because of his dealings with Luciano Moggi - as his personal consultant caused some perplexity but not really any unrest. Camilli has presided over three promotions and stabilized the club’s finance, so it will be a long time before someone in Grosseto complains about his attitude.

Certainly not whilst they’re dreaming of another promotion.

4685: Longest Serving Player 2007: B

by : Hugh Larkin

“People have short memories. We have had several players with links to them up the road and I'm sure there will be more in the future. The lad obviously knows that he'll need to do a bit more than the other players to be classed as a success but if he works hard, scores regularly and gets a hat-trick in each of the Tyne & Wear derbys then I'm sure opinions will change. The people who are against his signing are the same ones who were happy to pay £6million or so for David Nugent who has zero Premiership experience and scored fewer goals than Chopra did last season. I'm happy to give Chopra a chance and see how he does.”

Mike Groark was against Chopra’s arrival at first, partly due to his strong links with The Magpies, but Mike is now willing to give him a chance to prove himself.

”I was definitely in the "anti" camp when I heard about it, partly because he has been such a demonstrative Black and White, but more because he didn't seem to have the pedigree to succeed at the highest level. Having thought about it though, I am willing to reserve judgement and wait and see. His record outside the Premiership is as good if not better than Nugent, Bent, Lita, Beattie and a host of others. I don't want to see him carrying the goalscoring burden alone and think we need another striker to supplement what we have got, but I do think if he gets a good start, he can do well for us. I just hope the lunatic fringe don't get the chance to boo him off too often!”

Probably the biggest qualm for Sunderland fans regarding Chopra is the fact that Cardiff signed him from Newcastle for £500,000 and yet they paid £5 million to secure his services just 12 months later. However Keane has possibly made the steal of the season by signing Russell Anderson from Aberdeen for £1 million. A lot of eyebrows were raised when Anderson joined the club, as not too many people south of the border had heard of him, but once he gets up to speed with life in the Premiership he could be a real hit. He’s a no-nonsense defender who’s comfortable on the ball and is great at attacking set pieces. He should definitely prove his class among the game’s elite.

Following the euphoria of winning the Championship a lot of pundits, myself including, were tipping great things from Sunderland. However maybe we were being too optimistic. Sunderland haven’t signed an established Premiership striker who can score 20 goals a season while the majority of top flight clubs have been strengthening their squad with proven internationals. The Black Cats struggled badly in their last foray in the Premiership and, despite Roy Keane’s influence on the club, most fans are expecting a hard season ahead of them, but believe that they will have enough about them to avoid a relegation battle.

“Any newly promoted club has an uphill struggle to be successful in their first season back and this season especially will be harder than normal because of the Sky money creating inflated transfer prices and every club having extra money to spend,” said Kris Read. “I am just as confident now as I was back in May that we can be successful this season and avoid relegation then build for the future. While many of our fans have had their heads in the clouds over the success of last season and the turn around at the club created by Drumaville, the majority I believe always knew that this coming season would be a tough one regardless of the players we brought in.

“I think we'll do alright. I'd be happy with coming 17th and above Newcastle, but I think we'll finish 12th."

A view shared by Mike, whose greatest moment was seeing Sunderland beat Manchester City 3-1 in the fifth round of the FA Cup in 1973, on their way to clinching the trophy.

”I think our realistic aim has to be 12th to 15th and I think we shall be solid citizens right in the middle of that group. I would be ecstatic if we finished higher than 10th.”

Sunderland will not be a team to take lightly this season and will ultimately do much better this time around than they did under Mick McCarthy. Staying up will be their main priority and I believe they should achieve this. However, Roy Keane is a born winner and I’m sure he’ll be telling his troops to aim for a European spot. And you never know, with a full house, Keano’s experience and a bit of luck, the Black Cats could be this season’s Reading.
In summer 2005 Squarefootball looked at the longest serving player with each of the Premiership clubs. Now we revisit the subject to find out what has changed and who has moved on.

Two summers ago when the article was complied, Garry Flitcroft was still on the books at Ewood Park. The tough tacking midfielder had been a fixture in the Rovers squad since 1996; he wasn’t a part of the Premiership winning side but arrived when the club were still title holders in March 1996.

The ex-Man City man made over 250 appearances at the club, which could have been more if injury hadn’t intervened. He left in January 2006 for a short spell with Sheffield United.

Another player desperately unlucky with injury was second in seniority to Flitcroft in 2005. Matt Jansen has battled back from the dreadful injuries he sustained in a motorcycle accident in 2002. The striker came from Crystal Palace for £4 million at time when Rovers were big players in the market.

Unfortunately he never regained the sharpness he had before the accident and he moved to local rivals Bolton in January 2006. It didn’t work out for him though and he was released before last season.

These departures leave American goalkeeper Brad Friedel as the player with the lengthiest continuous service at Ewood. He’s been performing with consistency and no little brilliance since November 2000 and now has well over 300 games in all competitions.

It’s strange to think now that he struggled to get games at Liverpool and was on the point of being denied a work permit to play in the Premiership because he couldn’t always dislodge Kasey Keller from the US national side. Now he’s one of the league’s fixtures, respected at every venue.

His time at Blackburn doesn’t go back as far as one of his colleagues though. David Dunn returned to the club from Birmingham in January this year. Dunn was a brilliant product of the junior system who signed pro terms as far back as 1997.

Because of a falling out with Graeme Souness, the local man from Great Harwood was allowed to go to the West Midlands in 2003 but injury wrecked his time at St Andrews. Blackburn took something of a gamble to bring him back but if he can get on the park enough, they have a high quality addition to the team.

Friedel and Dunn were both a part of the Blackburn side that pocketed the club’s last major trophy in the 2002 Worthington Cup Final at Cardiff. Spurs were beaten 2-1 and the unlucky Jansen was one of the Rovers scorers- current Ewood boss Mark Hughes was also on the park that day having arrived at the club a week before Freidel.

One of Graeme Souness more inspired signings is ranked three in longevity at Ewood Park. Turkish international midfielder Tugay completed six years with the club just last month and despite reaching 35, he’s still able to do a job for the team. Lucas Neill had also been around since 2001 before his move to West Ham midway through 2006/07.

4684: Sunderland: Fans keep faith in

by : Colin Illingworth

A few months ago Roy Keane could seemingly walk on water. He could do no wrong. He transformed Sunderland into a winning side and watched them storm to the Championship title. The Keane factor had gripped the club and there was real optimism ahead of their Premiership return. However, after a summer of shall we say less than inspiring signings, a few of the natives on Wearside have started to question the former Manchester United and Ireland midfield enforcer. “How dare he sign a former Newcastle player?” “Who is Russell Anderson?” “Who is going to score the goals to keep us up?” have been some of the complaints. But after what he achieved last season the majority of Sunderland fans are willing to keep the faith in Keano.

“Having Roy Keane as manager doesn't automatically equal success but it gives you a good head start with his commitment, work ethic, experience and respect in the game, so for anyone to lose confidence in him just because he hasn't managed to get Ruud Van Nistelrooy to sign yet is an idiot,” said Kris Read, 25, whose hero is Niall Quinn. “I think Roy Keane’s judgement on players is a lot better than mine so I'm happy with the signings we've made so far. I want to see players sign for Sunderland because they want to come and play football and do well for the team, not because they want to pick up 70k a week and be a superstar.”

Mike Groark, 52, whose favourite player of all time is Charlie Hurley, echoes that sentiment and has been hugely impressed with the way Keano has taken to management.

“I think he has shown remarkable acumen to compete so well in such a short space of time with the sharks swimming in the big league, from agents to managers to players. No one can judge how well he has done until Christmas at the earliest. However, the signs are that he is a very quick study, and the board, for once, are properly backing their manager.

”Realistically I don't think we are ready to sign Van Nistelrooy or Riquelme. I had hoped for some solid top division performers like Butt, or senior pros like Hyppia to supplement what we have and bring experience. Instead what we have gone for is in the main talented, pacy and youth. There is a clear plan or philosophy about the sort of player we are bringing in. It doesn't seem haphazard but deliberate and that does give me confidence that we have a direction in mind.”

Roy Keane has spent about £17 million so far on six new faces. Defenders Russell Anderson, Greg Halford and Paul McShane have joined the club, along with former Norwich City midfielder Dickson Etuhu, but it’s Kieran Richardson’s £5.5 million move from Manchester United and Michael Chopra’s arrival from Cardiff City that has got the fans talking.

Kieran Richardson knew his time at Old Trafford was up following the arrival of Nani and Anderson and decided the time was right to move on and play regular first team football. Roy Keane knows all about Richardson from his days at Manchester United and believes that the 22-year-old England international can do a job for them, as does Mike Groark.

”Richardson is a flair player with genuine pace. With a run of games in a team where he is one of the stars, he will thrive. Manchester United could never give him that opportunity and I think he now knows it is time to deliver.”

Richardson, who shone while on loan at West Brom in their Great Escape season, has plenty of class and Kris Read believes that he could be a huge player as they aim to avoid relegation.

“I think Kieron Richardson could do well for us and become a big player. Look at the way the fans have taken to Carlos Edwards because of his runs down the wing and the spectacular goals he scores. With those two on the wings I think we could be in for an exciting season, but as with any player, you never really know how they'll settle into the area or into the set up of the team so we'll have to wait and see.”

However, the one signing that has caused a bit of a controversy on Wearside is that of former Newcastle United striker Michael Chopra. The youngster, who was the Championship’s second top goalscorer last season with 22, has strong links with the Black Cats’ main rivals and a number of fans have voiced their anger at the signing. However, Kris, who thinks Keano needs to buy a top class goalkeeper to have a real impact on the Premiership, believes he can be a hit for the Black Cats and is a much better option than David Nugent.

4682: Squarefootball Zeitgeist - Top

by : Hugh Larkin

Liverpool held their position as the most popular club with Squarefootball readers, as their losing Champions League appearance kept the Reds in the spotlight. The really big news though was the onward march of Sunderland. The Black Cats broke into the Top 10 in April and with the Championship title secured they rocketed up to 5th spot a month later, passing clubs like Chelsea, Everton and Newcastle on the way. Champions of Europe AC Milan maintained their position as the top overseas club but Motherwell lost their surprise status as Scottish top dogs to Rangers.

1 Liverpool (4,389 page impressions, no change)

Liverpool were still unchallenged at the head of the Squarefootball Zeitgeist and as Rafa Benitez recruits to build a serious title challenge, their popularity is unlikely to slacken off.

Liverpool

2. (Manchester United (3,379 no change)

United’s title success helped them secure a comfortable second place in the Zeitgeist- not that Red Devils fans like to be behind Liverpool in any table. The gap to the Anfield team is relatively large though- something that a decent run in the Champions League might put right next season

Manchester United

3. Arsenal (2,756 no change)

The Gunners held on to third but a long way back from the two Northwest giants. That probably reflects the fact that Arsenal’s season had little to play for towards the end of the campaign

Arsenal

4. Tottenham (2,640 no change)

Spurs are always popular on Squarefootball and they reached the top four position in this table that they would have loved to secure in the actual Premiership. The top four were the same as April but Spurs added a few more numbers despite their defeat in the UEFA Cup.

Tottenham Hotspur

5. Sunderland (2,229 up 5 places and top Championship club)

The big movers. The Black Cats carried forward the trend begun since the New Year. As well as the passionate Sunderland support the character of Roy Keane has a fascination for many football supporters- the man makes news even without trying to. Just sheer box office.

Sunderland

6. Chelsea (2,050 down 1)

The Blues found themselves demoted a slot by Sunderland. Despite their achievements Chelsea can’t compete with the other members of the ‘Big 4’ in the Zeitgeist and Spurs are always well ahead of them too.

Chelsea

7. Aston Villa (1,837 down 1)

Villa drop one slot thanks to Sunderland’s rise. But maintaining this position in a period when their season was basically winding down bodes well for the future. There’s tremendous interest in what Martin O’Neill can achieve with a squad moulded to his liking.

Aston Villa

8. Newcastle United (1,732 down 1)

The Geordie club are rarely out of the news one way or another. With both the Toon and their Mackem rivals in the Top 10, supporters believe that North-East soccer will be anything but boring next season

Newcastle United

9. West Ham United (1,687 down 1)

The Hammers have been newsworthy for months and their late run to avoid relegation and the controversy it generated, kept them in the spotlight in May. All the signs are that this will continue as they spend big to consolidate

West Ham United

10. Everton (1,649 down 4)

The Toffees slipped down the pecking order in May but that probably reflected their low key finish to the season. UEFA cup qualification was achieved with a bit to spare

Everton

Highlights

Top Scottish- Rangers at 23rd, overtaking Motherwell who dropped from 19th to 32nd

Top Overseas – AC Milan, going up one place to 11th; just holding off a resurgent Juventus at 14th

Lowest Premiership – Reading at 31st

Top Spanish- Real Madrid (16th), beating Barcelona by just 4 pages

4681: The right time for a clear out

by : Antony Melvin

The Manchester United squad is starting to balloon alarmingly. This sounds odd considering the injury crisis that surrounded the defence in the run-in and arguably cost the club a third European Cup Final appearance - but it is a reasonable premise. Many of the younger defenders were away on loan at the end of last season - but have now returned to fight for a place. Their enhanced first team experience means that Phillip Bardsley (if he stays), Craig Cathcart (only denied United games by injury), Adam Eckersley, Jonny Evans, Gerard Pique and Danny Simpson will be looking to force their way past Evra, Ferdinand, Vidic, Brown and Neville.

Add to these the impressive Chris Eagles, the goalscoring of Giuseppe Rossi and the potential of Lee Martin means that the sheer volume of loanees returning coupled with three or four big money signings suggests that United could comfortably lose five senior players this summer.

As The Sun (30.06.2007) pointed out there are so many United players available right now that Mikael Silvestre was missed off the team photo as Manchester United unveiled their new kit. It may have been oversight - but it also pointed up the fact that United could lose the Frenchman with little real problem. The Daily Mirror (27.07.2007) today suggests that a £3m offer has been lodged by Lyon.

Gabriel Heinze definitely looks likely to leave, but that does not necessarily mean in a £6.8m move to Liverpool. The suspicion remains that if Juventus or Real Madrid offered £5m for his signature United would jump at the chance to get rid of him.

Kieran Richardson has already moved to Sunderland in a very profitable £5.5m switch; a move that is a clear indication of the transfer inflation pressures driving the market this summer.

Alan Smith made a difference after returning from injury last season - but with United's transfer activity largely based on attacking players he seems likely to switch to Middlesbrough, Everton or Aston Villa for between £6m and £8m.

Finally there are too many strikers at United and when Carlos Tevez eventually signs Giuseppe Rossi or Louis Saha will be surplus to requirements - Rossi has already been the subject of a £6m bid from Parma and despite Saha's injury problems he would be a great gamble for anyone with around £8m to spend. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer seems unlikely to figure much except in an emergency.

Quite rightly the press has focused on the headline figure of £50m spent recruiting Anderson, Nani and Hargreaves - with more to come for Carlos Tevez; but quietly United are re-energising by introducing a large number of young players into the first team squad whilst potentially generating over £30m by moving on a significant number of players falling short of the required standard. A quiet revolution at Old Trafford - but a significant one.

4680: West Ham United; Summer 2007

by : Stephen Orford

Had West Ham United been relegated at the end of last season, then manager Alan Curbishley could justifiably have argued that it was not ‘his team’ suffering that fate.

Months before Curbishley arrived at Upton Park the seeds of a miserable season (albeit with a happy if controversial ending) were well and truly sewn. Alan Pardew presided over a quite staggering run of poor results considering the heights achieved a year previously, and it was always Curbishley’s mandate to try and turn that situation around with more or less the same playing staff.

The former Charlton boss was busy in January of this year trying to draft in what help he could, but in truth the likes of Matthew Upson, Luis Boa Morte and Nigel Quashie were not the reason that the Hammers avoided the drop. But for Carlos Tevez’s late-season heroics, the east London side would have been playing Championship football in 2007/08.

So it will be with much relish then that Curbishley gets another crack at the Premiership with his new club, and that he will be given the chance to do so with a squad which contains considerably more of his own men. All of Scott Parker, Craig Bellamy, Richard Wright and Freddie Ljungberg have been recruited in the off-season, aswell as Bordeaux’s French international midfielder Julien Faubert. The latter will miss the first half of the season having suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in a pre-season friendly in Austria, leaving fans to wait a little longer to see the £6million man in action.

If the recruits are an eclectic mix of the unfulfilled, the loud and equally unfulfilled, the bench straddling and the ageing, those being shown the door at Upton Park represent far less risk. Both Paul Konchesky and Nigel Reo Coker have seemed unsettled of late. Indeed, it was Curbishley who pointed Konchesky in the general direction of the exit door at Charlton in the latter part of his reign there. It is therefore little surprise to see him join Fulham for a fee of over £3million. Despite some rather grandiose talk of a regular international berth, Konchesky seems recently to have reverted to type and become the clogger of old. As such, the money now residing in Eggert Magnusson’s biscuit tin as a result of the deal seems a fair enough recompense.

Word is that every Hammer from Barking to Canning Town wanted rid of Reo-Coker shortly after the 2006/07 kick-off. Sulking like a French striker in an Arsenal shirt, Reo-Coker was accused by many of not offering his all following the club’s failure to sell him to the Gunners that summer. The former Milton Keynes Dons midfielder travelled the long journey from midfield pivot to berated luxury player in record time. His £8.5million move to Aston Villa is a transaction likely to suit all concerned with all things claret and blue. Ok, maybe not Burnley.

Joining him at Villa Park will be former Nottingham Forest striker Marlon Harewood. Harewood is a player who puts one in mind of a troubled racehorse. Possessed of blistering pace, Harewood also has chronic tunnel-vision and often emits the impression that he has little understanding of why he is required to parade in front of thousands of loud, often angry folk at weekends. Harewood moves to Villa Park for an undisclosed fee, but his loss should be more than offset by the return to fitness of former Crewe and Norwich man Dean Ashton.

And so to the ones that Curbishley might have preferred not to lose. Up first is Israeli wingman Yossi Benayoun, on his way to Liverpool for another secret amount. Benayoun’s guile and trickery might not have been quite the thing for last season’s battle against the drop, but in a more flourishing side he would have been a key option. As, naturally, would divine saviour Carlos Tevez. The Argentine star rescued the Hammers from relegation almost single handedly, but looks set for a move to Manchester United once the legalities are ironed out. Quite how his partnership with Ashton would have blossomed is likely to be something we will never know. Perhaps that’s a matter for debate on a Sky Sports special, chaired by Richard Keys and involving Ray Winstone and Warren Mitchell.

For now Hammers fans and Curbishley are entitled to a little quiet optimism ahead of the 2007/08 campaign. A repeat of last year’s disasters seems unlikely, and whatever the weather the manager can always go to Magnusson for a new year top-up. Should West Ham struggle again there will be no doubt as to whose team this is.

By Stephen Orford

26 July 2007

4679: Sheffield Wednesday: When shar

by : Jeff Gold

Dave Allen is frustrated. Middle-aged and suited, with white hair smartly parted, he leans back in his chair and shakes his head at the TV cameras.

“You know, you can’t believe these people.”

Allen is chairman of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club. Together, he and fellow directors Geoff Hulley and Keith Addy own a controlling interest of 30% of the shares. Their latest attempt to sell those shares has failed. A bigger chunk of shares might be more attractive to a potential buyer. Allen knows where he might get some, maybe cheap.

Wednesdayite are the Sheffield Wednesday supporters’ trust. They run coaching courses for primary school children; their “smile” initiative buys match tickets from the club at full price and gives them to deserving people who would otherwise be unable to afford them; they donate money to local charities. Wednesdayite receive no funding from the club and no individual member can profit from their activities.

Allen works under no such limitations. Six years ago, he gave Wednesdayite a 10% shareholding saying, “The Sheffield Wednesday supporters are our greatest asset. They come to the matches, buy our shirts and do everything possible to support us. Their loyalty and commitment holds the key to our future. It is in recognition of this that myself, Mr Hulley and Mr Addy wish to make this gift.”

Now he wants it back. In return, he is offering to put £500,000 towards the acquisition and payment of players. The value of Wednesdayite’s shares is not clear, but is estimated to be in the region of £1.9m. Wednesdayite have declined.

Allen is displeased and has called a press conference.

“Ninety to 95 percent of fans of this football club are very happy with what’s going on, it’s just that lot that'll never be happy. You only want to come to the AGMs and listen to them…”

***

Cutlers’ Hall sits in the heart of Sheffield. A Monday night in November and people are gathering outside its extravagantly decorated main hall. They pause, blocked by the crowd. Squeezing through, they emerge into an aisle between two blocks of seating.

Above them a large chandelier dominates the elegantly corniced ceiling, while all around them giant formal portraits of past Master Cutlers are separated by marble-effect Corinthian columns. They scan the seats, 500 in total. All are taken. They return to the back of the hall and burrow in, standing wherever they can, facing a stage at the far end. There sit the directors.

This is the home of the trade guild of metal workers. Built in 1867 it is tonight the location of the Annual General Meeting of Sheffield Wednesday, a club formed in that same year and winners of four league championships and three FA Cups.

They have just sacked their manager, the ninth in as many years. They are £27m in debt. They are mid-table in the second tier of English football.

***

Dave Allen remembers: “By the way we were doing well.”

***

The meeting begins with the perfunctory execution of administrative tasks before questions are invited from shareholders.

Darryl Keys is the unpaid chairman of Wednesdayite. He was once a merchant bank director with responsibility for sports finance. Keys is concerned that, commercially, Wednesday are not as agile as they could be. He presents statistics illustrating how Wednesday’s revenue is significantly lower than comparable clubs at the same level. He provides examples of how those clubs maximise their income. He wonders whether Wednesday have room for improvement.

In reply, Wednesday’s finance director, Bob Grierson, rejects his advice, referring to the failure of Keys’ own business. He addresses none of the issues raised. Jeers rise up from the floor and a shout is directed towards the stage. “Shame on you.”

***

Dave Allen remembers: “These people who call themselves fans are nothing but a bunch of cretins, and I hope you’ve got that word right, cretins, cos that is what they are.”

***

A dark-haired woman walks, head down, to the front. Small and middle-aged, she tentatively approaches the microphone. Her eyes dart around the room, down to her hand-held notes, then around the room once more. She gives a small cough. Initially her voice is quiet and hoarse but soon she is speaking eloquently and passionately. Irma Kennedy has supported Wednesday for 40 years. She is not there to represent Wednesdayite. She talks as a supporter and as an individual shareholder.

“He (Allen) has told me I know nothing about football. While I do not profess to be an expert, I think I have earned the right to have an informed opinion and to have that opinion respected. It’s time you put aside your petty views and looked to rebuild your relationship with all fans.”

Her speech is reported in the Sheffield Star as “the most impassioned plea of the night”.

As she makes her back to her seat, applause fills the hall. Shouts merge together into an indistinct rumble of encouragement.

“You must stop insulting people like me,” she said.

***

Dave Allen remembers: “There was one woman stood up, the most venomous bitch I’ve ever come across in my life, she’d got three pages of diatribe to read out about me, it was just absolutely appalling.”

Allen again shakes his head and searches for the right word to describe his customers and fellow shareholders.

“Scum.”

Dave Allen remains as chairman of Sheffield Wednesday.

Jeff Gold
25 July, 2007

Dave Allen’s comments can be seen in this news clip, the recollection of the AGM is the writers own.

4678: Manchester United; Argy Bargy

by : Stephen Orford

Having wrestled the Premiership title from the grasp of Chelsea at the end of last season, Manchester United is not a club about to rest on its laurels.

One might think that a period of feet-up inactivity would ensue following the side’s all-conquering efforts of 2006/07, but one would be wrong. Instead of larging it at the beach, basking in the glory at having rebuilt his squad for the 453rd time, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is leading the club in not one, but two legal battles over summer transfers.

Enough effort went into securing the services of Owen Hargreaves from Bayern Munich, but the fight to sign Carlos Tevez from West Ham United and to keep Gabriel Heinze out of the clutches of Liverpool grows ever more fierce. United’s record with Argentine players is not exactly spotless (Juan Sebastian Veron, anyone?), yet still they toil away in a bid to sign a man who is admittedly one of the most gifted players currently displaying his talents in England. As they do so they scrap equally hard, scrambling around frantically in a bid to find a reason for Heinze not to make the short but controversial trip to Anfield.

Hargreaves’ move to Old Trafford took its inevitable course soon after the end of the season when Bayern finally admitted that the England midfielder wanted out of Bavaria. The three-time European champions got their pound of flesh in the shape of an officially undisclosed fee thought to be in the region of a Michael Carrick-sized £18million
So what is causing the delay with Tevez? Surely fat-cat United just shove the little guy out of the way while they take exactly what they want? Like a latter-day Gripper Stebson, United will stomp over any obstacles in their way and trot off with the lunch money, won’t they? Probably, but there’s a snag.

The Premier League are still refusing to budge as they desperately bid to save face in the recently titled ‘Tevez affair’, with Iranian businessman and MSI deal-broker Kia Joorabchian still laying claim to the player’s registration. Yet the Premier League insist that any transfer fee must be paid to the Upton Park club rather than the shadowy Joorabchian, with the argument going all the way to FIFA and the High Court.

The Premier League’s motive lies in the fact that they have already ruled that Tevez was eligible to play his spectacular part in West Ham’s great Premiership escape. To allow Joorabchian and MSI to claim the dough at this point would be tantamount to admitting that Tevez’s registration was illegal. All of which would prick up the highly sensitive ears of Sheffield United and their chairman Kevin McCabe. They recently lost an equally protracted battle against relegation after arguing that the Hammers should have had a points deduction rather than the £5.5million fine handed out in respect of the whole messy saga.

Yet the powerful clubs do seem to get their way more often than not, so expect Tevez to turn up at Old Trafford without Joorabchian any time soon. But what happens when two heavyweight Premiership clubs are at loggerheads over a player? Liverpool claim to have matched the £6.8million fee thought to trigger a release clause in Heinze’s contract, yet Ferguson is adamant that he will not sell to a Premiership rival. Especially that one.

In response Rafa Benitez throws up his arms and offers a passable impression of the mystified. To his mind the fact that the Liverpool bid matches the asking price should precipitate talks over a deal for the left-back. Yet that blissful, quaint notion ignores the fact that these two foes have trouble exchanging pre-match pennants, let alone international footballers. Benitez has been on Merseyside long enough to have more than a rudimentary understanding of the rivalry between the two, and can hardly be surprised when United are reluctant to play ball over a transfer. No player has made such a move since 1962, and it’ll be another 45 years before it happens if Sir Alex gets his way.

That so many transfer sagas (particularly of the summer variety) seem to end in the projected deal going through, it seems likely that the United squad will see one Argentine in and one out by time of the August deadline. Should that happen Ferguson may one day admit to a grudging satisfaction at developments, especially since he already has the improving Patrice Evra to cover for Heinze. Creative players of the Tevez ilk are few and far between, while rugged, accident prone defenders such as Heinze seem more widely available.

One has to wonder whether it is all worth it from a Liverpool point of view, given that they already have a sturdy defence which is the envy of many. Incumbent left-back John Arne Riise may be nobody’s idea of a rock-solid stopper, but has enough defensive nous to add to his more creative qualities to perhaps offer him an edge over Heinze. Yet with Fabio Aurelio injured once more and Alvaro Arbeloa not convincing as a left-back, there is a place in the squad there for somebody.

Perhaps a shopping trip to somewhere a little more customer friendly, is in order?

By Stephen Orford

24 July 2007

4677: Nery Castillo can finally give

by : Antony Melvin

Gilberto Silva

A quiet but diligent presence in the ‘Invincible’ side, the Brazilian has opened his game out as more responsibility has come his way. He’s pushed forward more, filled gaps at the back when required and skippered the team with purpose, proving the quality that Arsene Wenger saw in him back in 2002. Close to 200 club starts which would have been more but for serious back problems.

Patrick Vieira

Arguably if the muscular French international and club skipper had stayed, his fellow countrymen Pires and Henry might still be at the Emirates too. It became an annual sport watching the papers to see which clubs were trying to prise him out of Highbury.

Eventually Juventus managed it- Vieira’s final act had been to lift the FA Cup and score the final penalty in the shootout. At first it seemed a bad move as Wenger’s young side dumped an ageing Juve side out of Europe. However, a move to Inter Milan has brought the ex-skipper a Serie A title and his club look in better shape than the Gunners for a tilt at the Champions League

Thierry Henry

After several seasons of ‘will he -won’t he’ sagas about Vieira the mantle transferred to Henry. The rise of Chelsea appeared to seriously unsettle the striker as he railed about the club’s inability to compete.

In his role as captain he could never seem to decide whether his role was to inspire his charges or to berate them for not being up to scratch. Injury soured his mood too as he became a victim of being required to play far too much football. At the end he chose to go to Spain, although subsequent revelations indicate it wasn’t football alone that made him leave.

Dennis Bergkamp

The only one of this team who reached his natural retirement age with Arsenal. The 2003/04 season was his final reward for his years of excellence at the club and in two more campaigns he played less and started just 8 League games in 2005/06. His final appearance in the red shirt was against Wigan when he came on for 11 minutes to take the crowd’s appreciation.

Freddie Ljungberg

Left for West Ham this week, with the modern player’s claim that the club weren’t matching his own ambition. In 2003/04 he was a roving presence down the flanks and cutting inside to good effect but his performance over the past two seasons means Arsenal may well feel £3 million from the Hammers is good deal.Manchester City have been linked with a number of strikers in recent weeks. This is understandable given the fact that City scored the fewest goals of any team in the top flight last season, their leading scorer has been sold to Newcastle and their new owner is not afraid to spend his cash.

Rolando Bianchi has been recruited from Reggina for £8.8m - and has been scoring goals in some style in pre-season; Emile Mpenza grabbed three goals and looked quite lively in the 10 games he got towards the end of last season. But after that the forwards on offer are rather average; City may start the season with these two - although Bernado Corradi has struck up a decent understanding with Bianchi.

Vassell (£2m), Corradi, Dickov and Samaras (£6m) as individuals do not however look to be long-term Manchester City players. It could be that Bianchi will strike up an understanding with one of the striking options already at City, but if he has the money it seems more likely that Sven Goran Eriksson will buy in a partner.

Manchester City League Goal Scorers 2006/7
6 Barton (33 games) - now at Newcastle United
4 Samaras (36 games)
3 Mpenza (10 games)
3 Beasley (18 games) - on loan from PSV Eindhoven
3 Corradi (25 games)
3 Vassell (32 games)
2 Distin
1 four players
0 Dickov (16 games) and others

Last week The Times (19.07.2007) reported that Eriksson was moving for Olympiacos and Mexico forward Nery Castillo, for around £10m. A story repeated in the Daily Mirror (24.07.2007), today. Nery has been scouted by many teams over the years and was reportedly close to signing for Manchester United when he was 16, but due to work permit problems joined Olympiacos instead. Castillo is an international quality forward with 5 goals in 10 internationals - but given his size there must be misgivings about his effectiveness in England. Roque Santa Cruz (Daily Mirror, 24.07.2007) has also been linked in recent days - and he is a touch more robust.

Castillo would offer the nippy small man (5'7") to the first choice big man (Bianchi is 6'2") and both are good goal scorers with a big future in international football. Although there will be difficulties with international call ups to CONCACAF games Castillo is good enough to follow the trail blazed by Jared Borgetti at Bolton and become a truly successful Premiership forward.

If Eriksson can pair Bianchi and Castillo in attack then City have a strike force that can drive them into contention for a top six finish. Heady times at Eastlands.

4676: Where Are They Now? Arsenal’s

by : Hugh Larkin

All great teams are in a constant state of change and even champions sides break up quite quickly. Even Arsene Wenger couldn’t have anticipated how swiftly his 2004 ‘Invincibles’ would separate though- Freddie Ljungberg’s exit leaves just three of the regular starters in the golden season at the club.

Jens Lehmann

One of the three remaining, Lehmann didn’t look like he would be there too long when he first came. Was prone to some rushes of blood and developed a temper that made him a pantomime villain with opposing fans.

He’s still at the Emirates because he’s very good at his job and he obviously cares about it- a real 100% man who battled back from a spell when Arsene Wenger toyed with other options. Ready to defend his place again.

Lauren

A steady presence down the right of the defence- the full back spot was his for the keeping till serious injury undermined his tenure. By the time the Cameroon international was fit again Emmanuel Eboue had emerged as a younger, ultra progressive alternative for his slot. Moved to Portsmouth for a modest fee in January

Ashley Cole

His exit was a simple tale of player bumps in to Chelsea rep, player is fined, player claims it’s an accident, player gets angry. The left back claims this undermined his relationship with the club but he forfeited much sympathy with one scene from his autobiography.

Claiming that he nearly had a car accident when he heard Arsenal wanted to offer him only £55,000 a week, hardly endeared him to the fans and proved he should have had a more sympathetic editor. Inevitably moved to Chelsea last summer, with William Gallas heading the other way.

Kolo Toure

The unbeaten season was his coming of age as a Premiership star but he had to take over the organisation of the defence much earlier than expected. The Ivorian has proved to be the kind of man to build a team around and become a huge favourite with Gunners supporters.

Sol Campbell

One moment Campbell was a colossus the next he seemed to have been totally drained of confidence, to the point where he left a match at half time. The full details of his mid-season collapse have remained guarded but he showed great character to battle back and play in a Champions league Final.

It was mutually agreed that he should leave Highbury (as it still was) at the end of 2005/06 and the plan was to go abroad. Harry Redknapp worked his persuasive magic though and Portsmouth got a bargain.

Robert Pires

The cultured Frenchman wanted two more years on his contract but Arsene Wenger would only offer one and Pires left the club last summer to join Villarreal. Disaster struck though with serious injury ruling him out from the start of the season. He was limited to just 14 appearances for his new club and he will hope to get off to a flying start this term.

4675: He Should Do Well: Kevin-Princ

by : Paul Grech

If the deal does go through, it will mean another step towards securing Tottenham’s long term future because Boateng does look like he’ll become quite some player. He’s already proven his talent at the top level of German football and, even though it might take him a bit longer to do so, he’ll prove more than capable of handling the English game.

Spending some time on the sidelines as he gets to grips with the pace of the game won’t do him much harm, even if he’ll be eager to keep on playing games that will help him gain both experience and maturity.

Yet the basic talents are there. Strength on the ball, pace and vision are his strong-points: in the long term he could end up in a role similar to that played by Michael Carrick a couple of seasons back. At Hertha he’s often played in an advanced role, as can be expected of a player who names Pele, Zinedine Zidane, Jay Jay Okacha and Rivaldo as his heroes.

Then again, for the national side he is used in a deep lying role, just in front of the back four from where he can dictate the pace of the game with his imposing physical build helping him act as a shield for the defence.

The combination of those skills explains why many in Germany see in him the natural heir to Michael Ballack.

Having played for Hertha since he was seven years old, Boateng was destined to become a footballer. His paternal uncle played for Ghana (whom he turned down when they asked him to join their World Cup squad) whilst German legend Helmut Rath – who scored the winning goal in the 1954 World Cup final – is also a relative.

Yet his skill isn’t simply down to his genes. His coaches in the Hertha youth set-up were deeply impressed by his determination and willingness to train hard, something that helped him fit in with the first team squad when he was drafted to make his debut at just eighteen.

That sort of determination will be valuable as he tries to dislodge Tom Huddlestone and Didier Zokora from Spurs’ first team. Because that has to be the target in the short term, despite his young age.

4674: Derby County season review 200

by : Jeff Gold

Derby have five points from four games and the next game is important. The opponents are Colchester United. While in League One last season they knocked Derby out of the FA Cup. Now in their first season in the Championship they have lost their manager, many of their best players, and all their matches. It’s a game Derby should win. They are thumped, two late goals lending a respectable air to the 4-3 scoreline.

Next they face Sunderland, another team that lost their first four. Derby lose again and sit second from bottom, their only victory against the team directly below them.

Nine months later, Derby fans line the streets, cheering, as the players wind through the city aboard a green and white, open-top bus. They are celebrating victory in the play-offs at Wembley. They are celebrating promotion to the Premiership.

So what happened in between? Well, those early-season setbacks weren’t as embarrassing as they first appeared. Derby were the first team to lose at Colchester but they weren’t the last, the next ten visitors also leaving pointless, conceding 29 goals between them. Colchester finished tenth; Sunderland won the league.

Derby also improved. A win at Wolves and a draw with Preston were followed by a trip to Chesterfield in the League Cup. With 20 minutes remaining Derby were 3-0 down. They recovered, Arturo Lupoli, on as a substitute, scoring a last minute equaliser before being sent off. The ten men won on penalties.

A few days later they repeated the trick. This time, at Sheffield Wednesday, Giles Barnes was the sent-off sub. This time the ten men were 1-0 down with 20 minutes left. This time they won.

November brought six straight victories. By the end of the month they were in the top four, a position they maintained for the rest of the season, missing out on automatic promotion by just two points.

Derby’s major summer signing, Steve Howard, ended the season with 16 league goals, but their recovery wasn’t just about him. It was also about youth. Lupoli was 19 when he joined on loan from Arsenal for the season. A year younger, Barnes is Derby’s own. In November, 22 year old David Jones arrived from Manchester United.

Lupoli contributed a hat-trick in the FA Cup and seven goals in the league, Jones scored six goals from midfield and Barnes illuminated games with pace and technique, with back-heels and trickery that weren’t just for show but led to goals. Spectacular ones. The trio were responsible for six of Derby’s goals of the season.

The recovery was also about money. Only Derby prevented all three relegated clubs returning straight to the Premiership, but they were hardly a small club battling bravely against the giants of the division. They spent heavily. Howard cost £1m, Jones the same. Craig Fagan and Stephen Pearson were each £750,000, Gary Teale and James McEveley £600,000.

And it was also about the manager. A passionate man with a fierce demeanour and a face like a crumpled sack, Billy Davies took Preston to the play-offs two years running before being invited to rescue Derby from the other end of the table. He created a team in his own image. They weren’t pretty and they weren’t flamboyant, but they were solid, organised and determined. They won 25 games, 20 of them by a single goal.

A reader of this site commented that Derby’s only attribute was their ability to hold teams before nicking a last-minute goal. It was a bit like Johan Cruyff dismissing the talents of Gary Lineker on the basis that all he did was score. Even if true, it’s a handy knack to have.

In one game Derby cut loose. It was March. After three straight defeats, Derby were under pressure. The game was televised live. It was the only the second time they’d won by three goals. It was the only time they scored more than three. Derby won 5-1. The opposition were Colchester United.

4673: Is Mido Worth £6 Million?

by : Hugh Larkin

Everyone knew that the transfer market has become very inflated this summer but the £6m deal to take Mido to the West Midland still raised a few eyebrows. The signing is certainly a bold move by Steve Bruce.

Birmingham fans are going to give their manager the benefit of the doubt on this one because he had a stellar run in the market last season and delivered quality with almost every player he brought in.

However, most of them will remember three summers ago when Emile Heskey came to St Andrew’s for a similar amount and failed to make the impact he would have hoped for. Since then Bruce has been responsible for bringing Nicholas Bendtner on loan so his reputation on recruiting strikers is restored.

Any criticism of the signing has to take into account the market that Birmingham work in. Top quality strikers guaranteed to deliver 15-20 goals a season in the Premiership are very rare and all destined to end up with the top 4 or 5 clubs in this country or abroad.

Clubs like Birmingham have to pitch at lower level- either gather up an up and coming striker and develop them, or sign a player of proven quality but who hasn’t delivered for some reason. Mido fits that category.

On the plus side Mido has always been considered an excitingi7rel8nd talent and he has an impressive range of clubs on his CV already. Ajax, Roma. Marseilles and Celta Vigo all enjoyed his services before Tottenham.

The negative side is that he spent little time at some of those clubs- he only actually played 4 competitive matches for Roma and never scored in Italy. He had an excellent scoring rate during his early career at Ajax but his strike rate has not been as impressive since he left the Dutch side.

Looking again at the positives, Mido is a physical presence and good in the air; he can score explosive goals, has the ability to shield the ball and a willingness to take on defenders.

However, there are negatives which changed some Spurs fans opinion of him. There were matches last season when the forward just didn’t appear fit enough and at times his touch was frankly abysmal. Often he attempted passes and moves that were overly complicated and failed to take account of the needs of the team.

The player has a reputation for being difficult but then again, strikers who aren’t playing should be annoyed about it and Mido slipped well down the pecking order at White Hart Lane. He does have that certain something about him that can spark a team, just as Christoph Dugarry did when he joined the Blues.

The reality is that Birmingham couldn’t compete for a striker like Darren Bent- the Egyptian’s replacement effectively- so like all the medium-sized clubs they have to be prepared to take some gambles on players.

In the Blues' case, it paid off handsomely with Dugarry and Bendtner but came unstuck with Heskey. If Mido reaches anything like the form that he showed in his early Spurs stint then Steve Bruce might at least have a double figure striker- and in today’s going rates, £6 million for a ten Premiership goal man isn’t bad value.

4672: Five Championship Strikers Loo

by : Hugh Larkin

Most of the summer headlines have focused on the overseas stars being stockpiled by Premiership clubs with big cash to spend but there are still clubs trawling for recruits in the Football League. Five top strikers from the Championship are hoping to prove themselves at the top level.

David Nugent- Portsmouth

When Preston dipped out of the play off picture it became certain that their new England cap would be moving up to the top flight. All manner of sides were supposed to be keen but Pompey and Sunderland followed up their interest.

The player apparently wanted Everton to come in and he was prepared to annoy Roy Keane while he waited on David Moyes, which says a lot for his self-confidence. Keane lost patience and Harry Redknapp stepped in to land the forward reinforcement he needed.

Nugent will probably be an immediate starter at Fratton Park and if Pompey can continue their vibrant home form he looks to have decent chance of reaching a 15 goal target.

David Healy- Fulham

So which David Healy will turn up at Craven Cottage- the predatory international striker who registers at a phenomenal 1 every 2 games or the Football League performer who scores at barely 1 every 4 matches?

Lawrie Sanchez obviously has confidence in the man who did so well for him with Northern Ireland and it was about time some manager gave Healy a chance at the top level.

£1.5 million looks like a very worthwhile punt on a player who has looked distinctly special under Sanchez’s guidance and just a double figure haul in the League would be good value at a club where no one achieved that mark last term

Michael Chopra- Sunderland

The big question about Michael Chopra is did Newcastle release him because he wasn’t quite up to top level standard or did they make a clear error? Roy Keane thinks he knows the answer and the coming season will tell everyone whether he’s right.

Chopra has done everything he can to prove that he’s worth another chance at the big time- 22 goals in 42 games for Cardiff is sharp play and he had a similar scoring rate during a loan at Barnsley. He notched just 3 in 20 plus games on Tyneside but only started ten of those.

The £5 million fee raised a few eyebrows and this is probably the biggest call Roy Keane has made in his short managerial career. Chopra has looked mobile and bright for Cardiff though and looks to have decent chance of making it.

Robert Earnshaw- Derby County

The Welshman returns to the top flight with unfinished business. Like Healy, he made a name for himself at international level while he was outside the Premiership but life soured for him at West Brom.

Bryan Robson chose to see him as an impact player from the bench for much of the time, when the player thought he should have played more in an Albion team not brimming with scoring power.

In January 2006 he returned to the Championship with Norwich and he’s done better than a goal very other game. That form has encouraged Billy Davies to take him and if Earnshaw gets a run in the team he could be a success, although Rams fans will still be looking at his consistency

Diomansy Kamara- Fulham

Another ex-Albion man, Kamara has international pedigree and was a standout performer for the Midlands side last season. He has pace, balance and delicate ball control but there are question marks over his stamina and his team play. Occasionally drove team mates to distraction but more often than not followed up with a wonderful piece of skill.

Surprising to see him at Fulham under a boss who upset a couple of the players he inherited with his supposed long ball style but Lawrie Sanchez is aware that teams need some creativity to open up Premiership defences. A real wild card, whose season could produce just about anything.

4671: Mauritania On The Rise In Afri

by : Cody Strunk

As one of the world’s poorest countries and with many of its population of around 3 million being nomadic, it’s perhaps not surprising that Mauritania (or Al Jumhuriyah al Islamiyah al Muritaniyah to give the country its official name), is not somewhere one immediately associates as a footballing hotbed. Slavery was only officially abolished in 1981 (there are still some claims of its existence) and the country’s first democratically elected President since independence was only appointed in March of this year.

Under the circumstances, it’s some achievement that Mauritania’s current FIFA world ranking is 136, sandwiching them between Lebanon and Kenya. There could be further improvement to come judging by recent results.

Last month they managed their most impressive result to date, holding the current African Cup of Nations holders, Egypt, to a 1:1 draw in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, in a qualifier for next year’s finals in Ghana. Significant though that result was, their hopes of a place in those finals were extinguished a couple of weeks later when they went down 2:1 away to Botswana, but the signs of progress in recent years are clear.

Prior to the Egyptian game, the first sign of an upturn in fortunes was probably the 2:1 win at home to Zimbabwe in a qualifier for World Cup 2006, although there were also a couple of impressive results in Lebanon in a pre-qualifying tournament for the 2009 Arab Cup of Nations earlier this year, with a 0:0 draw against the host nation and an 8:2 victory over Somalia. There was also a 2:0 defeat at the hands of Sudan, although coach Moustapha Sall regarded his team’s performance in that game to be their best of the trip.

As might be expected of a country that only gained its independence from France in 1960, many of Mauritania’s players not only ply their trade in France (albeit generally at levels well down the league scale), but a number of them were actually born there.

Their star player is probably Reunion-born winger Yoann Langlet, who plies his trade with Liechtenstein-based FC Vaduz in the Swiss Challenge League (the second tier of Swiss league football). The fact that Langlet is frequently used as a substitute by his club side gives a fair indication of the limited pool of players that current coach Moustapha Sall has to call upon. Other notable players include centre forward and captain Ahmed Sidibe, who is based in France with Narbonne and Senegal-born central defender Moise Kande at Orleans.

Domestically, the current league champions are NASR who edged out SNIM by virtue of having a better head-to-head record. The previous season’s champions, Mauritel, were eliminated in the preliminary round of this year’s CAF Champions League, although they were far from humiliated in going down 5:2 to Morocco’s WAC Casablanca, winning the home leg 2:1. Likewise, Concorde were also eliminated at the preliminary stage of this year’s CAF Confederation Cup, going down 3:1 on aggregate to Algeria’s ASO Chief.

Mauritania has yet to appear in a major finals, although their cause has not been helped by their habit of either opting to withdraw or simply not entering qualifying tournaments for both the World Cup and the African Cup of Nations. It might be a few years yet before Mauritania gain wider recognition, but then few would have expected to see the likes of Togo and Angola grace the finals of a major competition just a few years ago.

4670: The Japan vs Australia clash s

by : Matthew Knott

The 2007 Asian Cup has thus far produced a few scares for the supposed big guns, and a few pleasant surprises for the host nations to confound expectations.

Disappointing Australia have struggled to live up to their billing as pre-tournament favourites, but made the cut in Group A. After needing a late Tim Cahill equalizer against Oman in their inaugural Asian Cup game, the Aussies were stunned 3-1 by an impressive Iraq. Several changes, including Harry Kewell dropping to the bench, livened up the team and a 4-0 victory against Thailand, with a double for Mark Viduka, secured second spot behind the Iraqis.

In Group B two-time reigning champions Japan also got off to a sluggish start. Bosnian Coach Ivica Osim was allegedly so incensed after conceding a late equalizer to Qatar that he reduced the translator to tears! Further crying was averted with a cruising 3-1 win over UAE, while Celtic’s Shunsuke Nakamura dazzled in a 4-1 defeat of Vietnam.

Saudi Arabia have had no such trouble in remaining unbeaten at the top of Group D. Their finest result was a stylish 4-0 thumping of Bahrain to secure top spot. That result allowed a struggling Korea Republic to sneak into quarters with only four points, edging out Indonesia by the only goal in front of a sell-out crowd.

Iran also looked comfortable with two wins and a draw to top Group C, but China, runners up in 2004, were devastated by a second half blitz from Uzbekistan in the group decider, a result that sends the Chinese home early for the first time since 1980.

Yet hosts Vietnam have undoubtedly been the success story of the group stages. Buoyed by a fervent home crowd and playing exciting, high-tempo football, an opening 2-0 defeat of UAE was backed up by a draw with Qatar. Despite the 4-1 reverse to Japan, the Vietnamese had done enough. Of the other hosts Thailand and Indonesia could hold their heads high, registering wins against Oman and Bahrain respectively. Both went into the final round harbouring hopes of qualification, and Thailand took the game to the Aussies, before conceding three late goals. Only Malaysia failed to shine, disappointingly being hammered 5-0 and 5-1 and finishing rock bottom.

Several critics had questioned the viability of hosting the tournament across four different nations, due to the perceived lack of competition from the hosts and questionable local interest, but these performances have provided some pleasant counterarguments. Question marks remain about how full stadiums will be, but the quarter finals promise a few more sparks yet.

Kicking off on Saturday July 21st, Vietnam have a chance to secure further glory against Iraq, but will have to leave home and travel to Bangkok to face a team making their fourth consecutive last eight appearance. Iran will start as favourites against the Koreans on current form, while Saudi Arabia will look to draw on extensive tournament experience, but Uzbekistan offer a stern test. However, the mouth-watering tie will be Japan and Australia. Revenge will be on the minds of the Japanese after last year’s World Cup humbling.

The winners of that contest will probably emerge as tournament favourites, but will need to hit top gear to go all the way.

4669: Squarefootball- Popular in Mau

by : Hugh Larkin

“Koumas was a tremendous team player last season and will be very hard to replace,” said Amanda. “He is a great player and has tremendous vision. He did not do as well with his free kicks last season, but other than that he will do well for Wigan. But how long will they be in the Premiership?”

Rich added: “Koumas is a Premiership player and he should be playing in the Premiership. I would have wanted that to be with us, but we didn’t go up, so I suppose it was right for him that he left. He will score and create goals wherever he goes, even in the Premier League. However I would suggest that he would have done better at a club such as Blackburn or Everton, more creative attacking sides, than Wigan who, from what I’ve seen, are pretty much a Championship side in the Premiership still.”

And 76-year-old season ticket holder Cyril Randle believes that Koumas is that good that he could easily line-up for Manchester United.

“Koumas could have been rated in the top 10 in Europe, that's the skill level he has in my view. But if Wigan think they have another Paul Scholes, they are in for a shock. He's not rough, tough or dirty, all things that Scholes is. However, get a ball-winner alongside him prepared to do his hard work and he can open any defence anywhere. Add the set-piece goals and accuracy of his shooting, he should be vying for a place at Manchester United.”

So who can replace the enigmatic figure of Koumas? Rich believes that his replacement is already at the club.

“I think if anyone has the ability to replace Koumas and create things for this club it’s Robbie Koren. He is a very good player, technically probably on par with Koumas. I’d suggest that he won’t score as many as Koumas, but he will certainly set goals up, and is a much better all rounded player than Koumas is.”

Mowbray has already started his rebuilding process by raiding former club Hibernian for defender Shelton Martis and snapping up Celtic and Scotland striker Craig Beattie. Not the big name signings that some Albion fans were hoping for, but Celtic fan David Shearan, from Tyneside no1 Celtic Supporters Club, believes that at £1.25 million Beattie could be the buy of the season.

“I was always impressed with Beattie. When he first broke into the first team squad there was talk of Spurs wanting to pay £2m for him. He showed glimpses of class at some stages, especially in the big games, but I remember him coming on against Rangers in the cup in March 2004, made a big contribution, only to leave the field injured. That just about summed him up.

“Under Strachan he was given a chance and I was pleased to see him play quite a bit under him at the start of the 2005/06 season. But he was taken off with what looked like an innocuous hamstring injury against Dundee United in October 2005 and missed the rest of the season. I don't think he ever recovered from that because he had a pretty poor campaign last season. He hit a purple patch around February, but in other games, a poor touch let him down.

“Baggies fans can look forward to him having a bit of pace about him. He can hold the ball up too, but I don't think he'll bang in as many as Diomansy Kamara. I hope he stays fit for them because I think he needs an injury-free season for people to see the best of him because £1.25m is a lot of money considering his injury record. I don't think he was quite worth that much but you never know it might turn out to be a bargain this time next year.”

Amanda though has heard conflicting reports about the Scottish international, but has faith in what Mowbray is doing.

“All I know is that my Celtic-supporting mate here is laughing his head off so that's a worry! I hope that Mowbray has seen something that others haven't and can bring him on. Likewise with Martis – a very cheap purchase but Mowbray has generally shown he knows what he's doing so I trust him on that one. Nothing lost if it doesn't come off.”

And Cyril, whose favourite Baggies of all time are Ronnie Allen and Ray Barlow, is in full agreement.

“Beattie could well be what we need, powerful and brave and an International to boot. Does he get enough goals per game ratio though? Maybe Hartson will pass on a few tips but I doubt he'll get in the team except when we are down to bare bones. Martis I'd never heard of so I'll have to reserve judgement but I do have faith in Mowbray who seems to know what he's doing.”

The vultures are circling The Hawthorns in hope of picking up a bargain and those in the frame of a move away include Curtis Davies, Zoltan Gera and Kevin Phillips. Davies has given up the club captaincy as his campaign to leave The Hawthorns gathers pace, with Tottenham apparently leading the race for his signature. Middlesbrough and Manchester City have been keeping tabs on Zoltan Gera while Kevin Phillips has been linked with a £1 million move to Sheffield United. But Cyril is confident that all three will start the new season at the club.

“Davies should stay another year for his own good. He still has a lot to learn about crosses and tough centre forwards. He could be England's centre-half for years as he has class in bucket loads. Zoltan Gera was a dream player when he arrived, then started to believe all the publicity, coasted a bit, couldn't get his 'edge' back. Still hasn't. No one will bother to buy him before January unless he starts like an express train. Phillips has enough sense to know he's at a good club for his final season(s). He won't play every match or every match in full. I think all three will start with Baggies as Jeremy Peace won't be bullied by anyone.”

However, Rich believes that there’s no chance of Kevin Phillips leaving The Hawthorns, but wouldn’t be surprised to see the club cash in on Curtis Davies.

“I think from the three Davies is most likely to go and to be honest it wouldn’t really bother me if he did because he obviously doesn’t want to play for us, having handed in two transfer requests. If we did get £10 million for him then we would have surely got the best deal in history because he certainly isn’t worth that much. I’m not sure about Gera. I’m sure if someone offered £2 million we’d sell, but I can’t really see anyone offering for him at all at the moment.”

Tony Mowbray was used to having his best players at Hibernian poached by the Old Firm, but he had a knack of unearthing and signing quality replacements. He’s already signed Koren, who has become a big hit with the fans, and I think the Baggies are right to give Mowbray their full backing. He loves his teams to go out and entertain and I for one believe the Albion will be challenging for the title come May.Looking at the statistics about who reads the articles on the Squarefootball site one fact stands out at the moment- per head of the population the site is more popular in Mauritius than any other country.

3.3% of the visitors to this website come from a country with a population of just 1.2 million, which is an impressive demonstration of global communication. Nations that were once relatively isolated geographically are now an active part of football’s worldwide audience.

It’s logical that small nations like Mauritius would be actively interested in world soccer; with under 1.5 million to choose from Mauritius are unlikely to qualify for World Cups or African Nations Cups (though they are bigger than Trinidad & Tobago), so the fans will look elsewhere to view high quality football. There is a Mauritius branch of the Manchester United Supporters Club (Mauritius Reds)

Mauritius has a domestic competition in which there are 12 sides in the top division. The national team have the nickname ‘Club M’ or inevitably, ‘Les Dodos’ and were good enough to beat South Africa in the COSAFA Cup in 2004- a competition for teams in southern Africa.

Their current world ranking is 144- while it is low there are at least 11 other African nations ranked behind them, some of them with far larger populations. Although struggling in their African Nations Cup qualifying group, the team did manage a hugely creditable draw with African powerhouses Tunisia.

Mauritian sides do participate in the African Champions League although they have never progressed to the group stages. This season Pamplemousse FC put a up a strong fight against the Highlanders from Zimbabwe before going down to defeat.

The other standout stat at present is for Singapore. The 4.5 million citizens who live in the South East Asian country, deliver an impressive 7.9% of Squarefootball’s readership.

The figures are probably less surprising than Mauritius because Asia has long been a key market for Europe’s top clubs including the Premiership elite. As Squarefootball does not cover the domestic leagues in Africa and Asia in depth, it’s clear that these readers are mainly logging on to read about the goings on in the Premiership.

Singapore is home to fan clubs for Manchester United, Liverpool (East of Anfield) and Arsenal which are well established and keep the Premiership to the fore in the country, plus there is a large UK expat community that must contribute to Squarefootball’s popularity.

Singapore stand slightly higher than Mauritius on the world stage at 132. The side were not able to qualify for the Asian Cup taking place at the moment but they are the holders of the ASEAN Cup between the South-East Asian nations.

The S-League has 11 competing teams including one side made up of players from African countries- Sporting Afrique. S-League champion sides play in the AFC Cup- the second tier competition to the Asian Champions League (roughly akin to the UEFA Cup). Both S-League entrants have reached the 2007 last eight- Singapore Armed Forces and Tampines Rovers.

Squarefootball’s readership is dominated numerically by the UK but is made up of visitors from many other nations across the globe, though not in the numbers from Mauritius and Singapore. No player from either nation has appeared in the Premiership but if it ever happens, our readership figures might go through the roof.

4667: Waving Goodbye- The Premiershi

by : Hugh Larkin

Every close season brings a number of retirements but also players who want to carry on playing and are still motivated enough to drop down a division or two to continue. Square Football spotlights the most high profile exits.

Teddy Sheringham

Not content with being the Premiership’s oldest outfield player, the former England star is still keen for action and he’s going to give Colchester United the benefit of his vast experience.

The signing tells you everything about Sheringham’s enthusiasm but it also says a lot about the progress at Layer Road in the past few seasons. 41 he may be but this is still a coup for the Essex club. His arrival sparked an immediate boost in season ticket sales.

The forward never had pace as one of his assets so he could still do some damage as the quickest thinking forward on the block

Trevor Sinclair

The wide man is another former England cap settling back to life in the Championship. In 2002 Sinclair played a big part in England’s World Cup campaign which represented the peak of his career.

At 34, Manchester City released him at the end of 2006/07 after he played in only a third of City’s League programme. Cardiff City hope his experience will help steady the ship after their promotion campaign fizzled out badly last season

Svetoslav Todorov

The Bulgarian has been a real favourite of Harry Redknapp at both West Ham and Portsmouth but injuries have taken a real toll on the striker in the past few seasons. He barely featured for Pompey last year and missed the whole of the 2004/05 campaign.

Charlton have taken a punt on him as a free transfer and certainly if he gets anywhere near back to his best, Todorov could help fill the gap left by Darren Bent.

Mark Crossley

Mark Crossley has been around an awful long time. The Welsh international keeper began his professional career with Nottingham Forest all of 20 years ago. His last start for Fulham in the Premiership was back in May 2006 and he spent part of last season at Sheffield Wednesday.

Now he’s heading into League One with Oldham after a career at the highest level that ha also taken in Middlesbrough and Stoke City. The highlight of his 13 years at Forest proved to be the 1991 FA cup Final.

Gary Naysmith

The international defender with 36 Scottish caps will have high hopes of being back in the Premiership after just a single season away. He joins Sheffield United after 7 years and well over 100 League games with Everton.

In the last 3 seasons he hasn’t had a secure place in David Moyes line up while still being a regular in Scotland selections. Should be guaranteed a safe first team berth at Bramall Lane under Bryan Robson and will bank on an early return to the top flight.

Nicky Weaver

After 10 years with Manchester City Weaver is another player planning on just a season in the Championship. He joins Todorov in Charlton’s promotion push as the Addicks needed to replace Scott Carson who returns to Liverpool after year’s loan.

The Sheffield born keeper finally got the No 1 jersey back at City last season after a couple of desperate years wiped out by injury and then a period on loan at Sheffield Wednesday. Could have stayed at City but the prospect of being the definite first choice at the Valley proved too tempting.

Arjan De Zeeuw

One of the old warhorses of English football, even at 37 there were always going to be offers for his combative qualities after Wigan decided to release him.

Coventry City won his signature, though sadly his competitive debut for the Sky Blues will be delayed after he damaged knee ligaments a few days ago. He’s only been at the club a short time but already his absence is being felt- manager Iain Dowie praised his attitude and commitment since his arrival.

4668: Mowbray has Baggies believing

by : Colin Illingworth

Losing your top scorer is a blow, but to lose your midfield maestro as well in the same week is a catastrophe. However, most West Brom fans believe that the departure of Diomansy Kamara and Jason Koumas will actually strengthen their promotion hopes.

Kamara bagged 23 goals last season for the Baggies but a number of fans, and team-mates, became increasingly infuriated with his selfishness. The Senegal international is blessed with amazing pace and can make defenders look like statues, but his awareness of those around him is virtually non-existent and is much more of an individual talent than a team player.

Koumas meanwhile is sheer quality. Creative, pacy and driven to win, the Welsh international was a huge hit with the Albion support. However, he made no secret of his desire to play in the Premiership and after losing the play-off final to Derby his departure was inevitable.

Kamara and Koumas were key men for West Brom and their exit has forced a number of pundits to write off their chances of automatic promotion this season. But Albion fan Rich Jones has absolute faith in Tony Mowbray and believes that the Baggies will be bouncing back to the top flight come May.

“Looking from the outside, and even I’m sure for some Albion fans, this looks like the worst thing possible thing that could happen to the club, and to our hopes of promotion next season. However, I am not of that opinion. Yes those two players were immensely talented and they will be missed, but, looking at it another way, we have gained £11 million from the sales of two players who don’t want to play for us. I fully trust Mowbray with signings, as he has shown he is capable of bringing in talent (i.e. Koren and MacDonald).

“Last season we were said to have the best team in the league, a side full of ‘Premiership players’, Koumas and Kamara being two such players. But these players failed to get us promotion did they not? Therefore how can it really be such a loss that they have gone? I do think that instead of a group of quality players that we were last season, Mowbray will build the quality TEAM that he wants, and that will stand us in a much better position for promotion out of this league.”

Fulham boss Lawrie Sanchez paid £6 million to secure the services of Diomansy Kamara and Amanda Hume, secretary of the Sutton Coldfield branch of West Brom supporters, thinks that that is a great bit of business by the chairman, Jeremy Peace.

“Before the start of last season I'd have happily sold Kamara for anything, as he'd been so indifferent the season before. He is not a team player and although we were glad of his goals he is a very frustrating player to watch and play with. He had no particular affinity with the fans and I think we'll be happy with the fee we've got for him. He thinks he is on a par with Henry but he is not. I'm not convinced he can make it in the Premiership but am happy if he proves me wrong.”

Scoring goals is one of the hardest skills in the game and anyone who gets more than double figures in a season is going to attract a lot of attention. But season ticket holder Rich believes that Fulham have paid way over the odds for the former Portsmouth man.

“When I saw that we’d got £6 million for Kamara I was shocked. There is no doubt that he is a quality player, but that figure in my opinion is much above how much he is actually worth. He is very much a greedy player and I can’t see him getting more than 10 goals for Fulham next season, due to the fact he generally needs about five attempts to score. He got that amount of chances with us, but with a club like Fulham in the Premier League, he won’t. I may be proven wrong, but I think we have got a very good deal out of Kamara.”

And while most Albion fans aren’t shedding a tear over Kamara’s exit, they are all sad to see Koumas join Wigan Athletic.

4666: Fulham; Sanchez Revives Irish

by : Stephen Orford

When any recently appointed manager takes his place at the helm, rumours immediately start about which of his former colleagues will be joining him.

And so it is with hardly a raised eyebrow that four of Lawrie Sanchez’s first six signings for Fulham are part of the Northern Ireland set-up. The former Wimbledon midfielder (it’s almost like some kind of journalistic version of the Japanese game show Endurance to resist mentioning THAT goal at this point) has only been in situ at Craven Cottage for three months, but has already set about recreating the kind of team spirit in evidence with Northern Ireland.

Under Sanchez a previously mocked and derided international outfit once again became major contenders for qualification for major tournaments. It’s not quite the glory days of Pat Jennings, Gerry Armstrong and....er.....Billy Hamilton yet but new Norn Iron boss Nigel Worthington has a fine platform on which to build. That’s thanks largely to Sanchez, who has masterminded a remarkable revival in recent years and whose tenure in charge included victories over England, Spain and Sweden in competitive internationals.

It’s clear that Sanchez knows who he trusts most in football. Joining him in west London for an assault on something a little headier than staving off relegation are defenders Aaron Hughes and Chris Baird, aswell as central midfield man Steven Davis and Northern Ireland’s all-time record goalscorer David Healy. That familiar quartet will be joined by the pacy former West Bromwich Albion striker Diomansy Kamara, aswell as ex-Charlton Athletic and West Ham defender Paul Konchesky.

For a combined total of around £18-20million Sanchez has set about building a squad capable of holding its own in the increasingly congested mid-section of the Premiership. It’s hardly stretching things to suggest that just about any one of around 10 or 12 clubs could rise from their current slumber to mount a challenge for European qualification. This is a target that Sanchez has already murmured under his breath, while stating rather more loudly that he would like to better Fulham’s best ever Premiership finish of ninth.

Of particular intrigue to those watching their football at the Cottage next term will be how the new strike pairing fares. Neither Kamara nor Healy can lay claim to the tag of proven Premiership quality, but both have shown enough on the international stage to suggest that they can make the side a more potent threat than in recent years. Both possess the kind of pace and skill that was never the trademark of the honest but limited Brian McBride, and the goal threat which was provided in the latter part of last season by the on-loan Vincenzo Montella.

The ex-Aston Villa pairing of Hughes and Davis will also be monitored keenly by their new fans. The former is a strong and reliable defender despite criticisms of his displays while with the defence-phobic Newcastle United, while Davis carved out a reputation as one of the most promising central midfield enforcers before Martin O’Neill’s arrival at Villa Park. The former Celtic manager adopted the Sanchez policy of employing old friends, recruiting former Parkhead hero Stillian Petrov and leaving Davis in the wilderness. It may take a month or two, but there is every possibility that Davis can recapture the form of old. He could yet form an exciting midfield partnership with the colourful, energetic Jimmy Bullard.

Among those who will not survive the Sanchez revolution at Craven Cottage are Claus Jensen who has been released, aswell as former Everton pair Mark Pembridge and Tomasz Radzinski and ageing goalkeeper Mark Crossley. Radzinski was perhaps the most disappointing of these players during his time at the club, that after displaying dazzling speed and an eye for goal during his stay at Goodison Park.

This first, busy foray into the transfer market is a clear indication that Sanchez is not about to accept the mediocrity that has almost enveloped the club over the last few seasons. Since earning promotion to the Premiership amid much talk of big spending, the Mohammad Al-Fayed-owned club have consistently flattered to deceive. All of which almost came to an abysmal head last season under Chris Coleman, when the Cottagers spent much of the campaign in the bottom six. Only Sanchez’s arrival and a 1-0 home win over an under-strength Liverpool preserved their top-flight status.

Talk of European qualification remains rather fanciful. Like speculating on the arrival of the sunshine this summer or boldly predicting a full-scale and long-lasting Spice Girls revival. Yet it would be no surprise to see Sanchez’s Fulham, moulded from his successful model on the international stage, show a significant improvement in the weeks and months to follow.

By Stephen Orford

16 July 2007

4664: Beckham Returns to the Quarter

by : Hugh Larkin

”Our problems last season stemmed from dressing room unrest, so it's obviously a worry that it's going to happen again when you add someone as volatile as Bellamy to the mix,” said Matthew. “But he's apparently good friends with Gabbidon and Collins from being their international captain, so hopefully he'll fit in ok. If not, I'm sure big Lucas Neill will sort him out”

“It is a worry and he is definitely the type of player everyone loves to hate,” said Richard. “Hopefully Curbs will control him and we will now see a more mature player, though I would suggest seating Bowyer on another table at the Christmas party!”

It is looking increasingly likely that West Ham are going to start the new season without their saviour Carlos Tevez. The Argentine ace played a heroic part in the Hammers’ relegation battle and already has his place in West Ham folklore, but he looks destined to leave with Old Trafford seemingly being his preferred destination. So can Bellamy fill his boots and have the same sort of rapport with the Upton Park faithful?

“Bellamy and Tevez are similar players but obviously Tevez is a bit special and is already a legend at Upton Park. He will be sorely missed. It remains to be seen if Bellamy can reach those heights. I believe he will be a fans’ favourite due to his tenacious attitude and hard work. He is a good team player and will hassle defenders, which always goes down well. Tevez is a good example because he became a firm favourite before he scored his long awaited first goal. His hard work and passion won over the fans long before the goals came. In fact he was ridiculed in the press for his lack of goals and neither Pards nor Curbs were convinced. The fans kept chanting his name and the rest is history.”

And Matthew believes that Bellamy has the potential to become a bigger name than Tevez.

“Obviously he can’t replace the skill that Tevez brought to the team, but with a good attitude and some important goals he could make himself a bigger part of the history of West Ham than Tevez – on the playing side at least.”

Alan Curbishley paid Liverpool £7.5 million for Bellamy, which is a good bit of business in the current climate, especially when you consider that Tottenham have spent £16 million on Darren Bent who isn’t even an England regular. Bellamy has Champions League and international experience to his name and could play a vital role in guiding the Hammers up the table. Whether he can stay out of trouble though remains to be seen, but Curbishley believes it’s a risk worth taking and after guiding the Irons to safety last season who can argue with him?Back in the dog days of Sven-Goran Eriksson’s time as England supremo the Swede finally tinkered with his beloved 4-4-2 as a way of keeping his untouchable captain at the centre of the action. Together they came up with the ‘quarterback’ role.

The terminology was borrowed from Gridiron and it envisaged David Beckham sitting deep in midfield spraying passes around and generally bossing the game. The move didn’t work, principally because football is a game of movement and unpredictability.

Once teams know the ball is going through a certain player they close him down- aspirant soccer ‘quarterbacks’ don’t have a phalanx of team mates surrounding them to physically block the opposition.

Even in teams where one player does monopolise midfield possession- Pirlo at Milan comes to mind- alternatives are always available (Gattuso, Seedorf) and the playmaker collects in subtly different positions.

However, the quarterback role can be revived at LA Galaxy to deal with two of the big issues facing Beckham and those who brought him to California;

1 How to best use him to lift the Galaxy after their mediocre start to the season?

2. How to market Beckham to the non-soccer audience in the States?

One man doesn’t make a team but with the money invested in the England midfielder the Galaxy have to get the maximum from him. American fans dropping into coverage out of curiosity are likely to be surprised to find the new star roaming away out on the right.

In this standard of football it’s definitely correct to bring the star in from the wing and avoid a Beckenbauer situation- watching the peerless German sweeping at New York Cosmos in the 1970s a Cosmos backer was unimpressed and delivered the pithy advice – ‘Tell the Kraut to get his ass up front”.

So Beckham should come inside and pull the strings but he can take the analogy to a quarterback much farther than other European signings to American soccer because of his dead ball prowess.

Gridiron fans understand the idea of ‘delivery’. In American Football every play starts from a dead ball situation and the pressure is on the quarterback to execute a ‘play’. With Beckham’s ability to score spectacular goals or deliver free kicks/corners with pace and accuracy to his colleagues, Beckham is ideal material to be marketed as a soccer version of the quarterback.

His natural showmanship suits him to the role. This is a player who has scored in three World Cup Final tournaments- each time from a dead ball situation. His supreme moment is the last minute strike against Greece that ensured qualification for the 2002 Finals.

Just about every dead ball will be shovelled Beckham’s way and if all goes to plan he will be able to make a contribution in a role that will be much more familiar to the average gridiron fan- when the English recruit steps up to the ball it will offer a sense of theatre to the casual watcher that even the efforts of the great Pele couldn’t match.

And if the Galaxy can get through to the play offs- and 4th place from 6 in their conference will do it- then the destiny of the MLS title is decided in knockout format. It should be an ideal stage for a man for the big occasion like Beckham.

Whether David Beckham can help soccer finally ‘crack’ America is one thing but at the very least he could become the most famous soccer player ever to play in the USA. For a decade he’s been at the cutting edge of football’s zeitgeist and he could finish off his career by defining a new position. Beckham- soccer’s first specialist quarterback.

4665: He Should Do Well: Bacary Sagn

by : Paul Grech

Arsene Wenger knows French football so well and has been so successful at spotting players there that whenever he signs someone from the Ligue 1, people no longer ask whether he is any good: they assume that he is.

And, of course, they usually are. Despite other clubs monitoring the French market closely, he still manages to move faster than anyone else when he feels that there is a player good enough to improve his side. That is what happened last year with Abou Diaby and that is what he has done this summer with Bacary Sagna.

Despite being called up by France for their European qualifier against Ukraine and Georgia, aw well as being chosen as the league’s best right back last season, Sagna is still relatively unknown in the rest of Europe. The 24 year old right back came through Auxerre’s famed youth system where he has been a regular for the past three seasons, winning a French Cup back in 2005.

The rationale behind his transfer appears to be rather straightforward. At the turn of the year Arsenal are likely to lose Kolo Toure and Emanuel Eboue with the two Ivorians off to represent their country in the African Nations Cup. Arsenal cannot afford not having good enough replacements hence the arrival of Sagna to ensure that their departure isn’t keenly felt.

Yet, even in today’s crazy transfer market, £6 million is too high a price to pay for a player you will be using for a couple of months only.

Because, of course, Wenger has no intention of doing such a thing. Eboue, impressive as he is going forward, has occasionally let the side down defensively to such an extent that the need for someone better suited to play as a traditional right back has been clearly felt.

Gradually, because he will have to get used to playing in the Premiership fist, Sagna might be able to do just that allowing the Ivorian to play in a more advanced role where his excellent crossing could be relied on without having to worry what is happening the back

4662: Coventry City: Can Iain Dowie

by : Alex Wolstenholme

A year ago, Iain Dowie was preparing for the new season as the freshly-installed manager of Charlton Athletic.

A well-established, well-run Premiership club with money to spend in the transfer market, an excellent stadium and healthy crowds.

Despite his Crystal Palace side having been relegated from the Premiership at the first attempt and then been defeated in the 2005/06 play-offs, Dowie's stock remained high both in the game and in the media and the move to Charlton was seen as the chance to take his managerial CV to the next level after some good early work at Oldham Athletic and that incredible run upon taking over at Selhurst Park to get the Eagles into the top-flight.

One year on and Dowie is preparing for the new season in charge of a Coventry City side that finished in the 17th in the Championship and who are awaiting the confirmation of a drawn-out takeover that will provide him with funds in the transfer market.

Sacked after just 12 league games in charge at The Valley and shouldering a large percentage of the blame for Charlton's relegation, the path to the top level of management has become more difficult for Dowie.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Mihir Bose stated after Dowie's sacking: 'I am told concern grew as a result of Dowie's alleged behaviour both on the training ground and the dressing room. This involved, it is alleged, much ranting and raving at players and staff, creating a very difficult situation for the club.

'Following complaints, the board decided to set up an internal inquiry which involved talking to members of the coaching staff and the players.

'The result of this two-week inquiry was considered by Peter Varney, the Charlton chief executive, and Richard Murray, the chairman, last Friday. It was then that the decision was taken that Dowie had to go.'

The former Northern Ireland international has also been ordered to pay both his and Crystal Palace's legal costs after Eagles chairman Simon Jordan took him to court over the manner of his departure and may yet have to pay compensation for what a judge ruled were "fraudulent representations" to be freed from his Selhurst Park contract.

For Coventry though, the recent court case may be something of a blessing in disguise. Dowie will be determined to restore his reputation, both as a manager and as someone who will stick to his contract.

He told the Coventry Telegraph recently: "Everyone talks about reputations and my reputation starts when we go to Barnsley for the first match.

"You build a reputation. I had a good run at Palace but it changes and football is about the future, not the past, and it is important what we do now."

The delay in securing transfer funds for the manager as the club wait on a takeover by a US-based consortium, might, in other circumstances have led to the manager calling it quits this summer.

Dowie has after all seen Leicester City, the club he reportedly turned down to go to the Ricoh Arena, be the Championship's most active club in the transfer market so far although he himself has brought in a number of new faces.

Now he looks in it for the long-haul and at present has the backing of his club and the vast majority of Coventry City fans.

4660: He Should Do Well: Julien Faub

by : Paul Grech

How did Julien Faubert become such a highly sought after player? When he joined Bordeaux three seasons ago from Cannes he was simply an average right back who didn’t look anything special.

But then came an inspirational move by Ricardo Rocha when the manager moved Faubert to midfield. Where his previous tendency to move forward had opened gaps at the back that could be easily exploited he could now move forward much more assured that the team wasn’t being unduly repressed.

Confirmed as a right winger, Bordeaux started challenging for the league title even though Lyon’s dominance was hard to break.

It is that lack of competition, that has forced him into looking to which country he would move. Initially there were Rangers who were happy to meet Bordeaux’s valuation but when West Ham emerged as a possibility there was always going to be one destination: the allure of playing in the Premiership was too much.

Yet the lack of knowledge about him makes it more complicated to determine just who West Ham are getting for their six million.

Strong and fast, his past as a defender will also offer Alan Curbishley more alternatives as he has the possibility of playing him at right back should the need arise. Last year he emerged as one of the better players in the Under 21 championship, helping France to the semi finals before losing out to Portugal. He’s not as technical as the man he’ll be replacing – Yossi Benayoun – but will make the side more balanced.

He is also a good kicker of the ball, scoring five times last season – where he also made it into Ligue 1’s best eleven – as well as a debut goal for France against Bosnia Herzegovina.

4663: If Craig Bellamy keeps his nos

by : Colin Illingworth

Craig Bellamy is never going to win any popularity contests but at 28 years old he wants to win trophies and believes that West Ham United and Alan Curbishley have the ambition to fulfil his dream. The Welsh international has played for seven clubs in as many seasons and has been a controversial figure on and off the field. He’s fallen out with team-mates, managers and coaches and has never endeared himself to the opposition. Considering the amount of money that Curbishley has at his disposal many Hammers were hoping to see a really huge name arrive at Upton Park, but most seem to believe that the fiery forward will be a success in the East End.

Richard Dicken, 34, think Bellamy is a good signing and is particularly excited about the skills he will bring to the club and his potential partnership with Dean Ashton.

“I think that Bellamy will bring pace and a high work rate to the forward line. He has pace to spare and can operate on the wing if required on occasion. He is not what you would call prolific but will probably get 12-15 goals.

“The most exciting thing is the partnership with Ashton. The classic big one, small quick one. It could be a very successful partnership in theory. We still have Zamora too, who also played that target man role towards the end last season with Tevez the quick small one. I remember Bellamy and Shearer teaming up well at Newcastle and see Ashton as the closest thing to Shearer in the Premiership at the moment. On paper the partnership could be ideal and I know that other Hammers fans feel the same.”

And he’s right. Matthew Beeby, 28, also points to Bellamy’s partnership with Shearer at Newcastle and he believes that Bellamy will become a fans’ favourite due to his boundless energy.

”Hopefully he'll bring a bit of bite to our forward line. Apart from Tevez last season, we were lacking strikers who would run themselves into the ground. Harewood and Zamora can be infuriating to watch as they frequently go missing for long periods of play, particularly if they aren't seeing the ball. It’s hard to imagine Bellamy wondering aimlessly around, just hoping the ball might come to him.

“I hope he becomes the kind of player that home fans love and opposition fans hate, like Robbie Savage or Cristiano Ronaldo. If the opposition hate you, then you must be doing something right. I think he'll bring the kind of attitude that will endear him to the Upton Park crowd, especially if he gets a few goals early on.”

However, both Richard and Matthew concede that they are a bit gutted about not securing a really big name signing, but fully understand the reasons why.

“Of course it is disappointing that some of the big name targets we were looking at have failed to materialise, though I think a reality check was in order,” said Richard, who doesn’t believe that Alan Curbishley and West Ham have been given enough praise following their Great Escape. “We did only just stay up last season and were a Championship side three seasons ago. Curbs is right to strengthen the squad and I think he is trying to give it more steel and experience by bringing in players like Parker, Bellamy, Upson, Neill, Boa Morte.

“We still have to convince the big name players that we are going places and I think it is important to get a top half finish this season to show progress. I think the fans are excited that we have a chairman who is convinced of the club’s potential and is willing to back it with spending power never seen before at the club. I do think he maybe trying to run before he can walk though, but his enthusiasm is infectious (record season ticket sales). I do fear we will lack the invention and flair that the likes of Tevez and Benayoun (soon to go) bring to the side. So if Curbs does splash out it would good to see it spent on a flare player.”

However Matthew Beeby would have loved to of seen Curbishley put in a “cheeky bid” for Michael Owen or Saviola.

Some people attributed West Ham’s problems last season to indiscipline in the dressing room and with Bellamy’s past record you can understand why some fans are a bit dubious about his signing. Even Matthew and Richard have their concerns.

4659: He Should Do Well: Adam Hammil

by : Paul Grech

Southampton had been hoping to get a player on loan from Liverpool ever since the season ended, yet it wasn’t Adam Hammill they were thinking of.

Back in March, Danny Guthrie came in initially for a month’s loan as the team struggled to contain injuries and missing players. His role appeared clear: play a couple of games until the more experienced players come in at which point he would return to the sidelines before going back to Liverpool.

Only things didn’t proceed according to that plan. So good was Guthrie that he became a fixture in the Southampton team that suddenly found form and results to make it to the play-offs.

So it was him that Southampton initially tried to sign, enquiring whether Liverpool were willing to let him join on a season long loan deal. Unfortunately for them, Bolton had also noticed the midfielder’s displays and the possibility of Premiership football was more alluring.

But Burley wasn’t to be dissuaded and eventually turned his attention to another promising midfielder in the form of Hammill.

And, whilst the club’s fans won’t know too much about him at the moment, they need not be disappointed. For Hammill is a genuinely exciting player who can dribble past players and make things happen for the side.

Like Guthrie he spent the second half of last season out on loan – to Dunfermline in Scotland – and he too enjoyed the experience. Two years ago, as one of the stars who helped Liverpool to the youth cup final. At the time he was considered as a talented player but also one who had attitude problems. He didn’t take to substitutions well and tended to hog the ball too much.

Six months in Scotland seems to have cured him of most of most of those bad habits. He seems to have matured and can share the ball much better: he has much more respect for his team mates and is a better team player.

That loan deal also proved that he could score goals - including a fantastic effort against Celtic – as well as create them. During the run to the cup final he won a number of crucial penalties that helped get them through. His creativity and eagerness to run with the ball helped him shine despite playing in a side stuck at the bottom of the division and which was ultimately relegated.

So impressive was he in Scotland that both Celtic and Rangers seemed to be interested in taking him for a season long loan. Both teams would have given him a taste of European football but in the long run the Championship will probably guarantee him a better degree of competition on a weekly basis.

If he is allowed to play and express himself, he’ll end up the season as one of the division’s better young players.

4657: Wolves Season Review 2006/07

by : Hugh Larkin

A season that started with Wolves fans resigned to another campaign without achieving promotion ended with the club within touching distance of the big prize. After getting over the disappointment, Molineux supporters can consider the 2006/07 season one of real progress.

A new broom came in, in more ways than one. Mick McCarthy is a different coach to Glenn Hoddle (though not as different as some would make out) and the days of lavish spending were over. A lot of the big names on hefty salaries had moved on.

In some pre-season games even regular supporters were baffled by some of the names appearing on the team sheet and as a consequence, expectations were lowered before the big kick off. McCarthy was honest and blunt about the club’s prospects, a dose of reality that had been needed for some time.

The manager is well versed in this division and his recruitment reflected this. Gary Breen on a free from Sunderland, Jamie Clapham also a free from Birmingham to provide solidity; a punt on Jay Bothroyd from Charlton and Jemal Johnson from Blackburn- two young forwards looking for a chance to prove themselves.

However, if these were solid buys based on providing a good base, Mick McCarthy revealed another side to his thinking in January. He went out and bought Michael McCindoe from Barnsley- a player who has long been one of the most talented left siders outside the Premiership- and for another wide man he pulled a rabbit from the hat with Michael Kightly.

Kightly came from Grays on loan in November, looked like he belonged at this level and was snapped up after the New Year as McCarthy gave the lie to critics who think of him as a cautious, long ball type of manager. Kightly adapted so well he was arguably player of the season.

Immediately the new season kicked off the new look Wolves were tough to beat. The football wasn’t as exciting but Wolves fans were ready for a team that could grind out the results at this level. In their first nine games only Preston scored more than once against them- Cardiff then beat Wolves 4-0 but only after Breen was sent off harshly after 23 minutes.

The Cardiff defeat could have been a morale sapper but the team bounced back to force back to back home wins. Both were 1-0 victories but in the context of Wolves erratic home form in recent seasons it was exactly what was needed. Freezing in front of a demanding Molineux crowd has bedevilled Wolves prospects for nearly as decade or more.

October and November were sticky with several away defeats- including a mortifying 3-0 at West Brom- but good results were still happening in December, as Wolves won at Derby and QPR in the run up to Christmas.

In the New Year Albion came and won again, this time in the FA Cup but League form was consistent. Four successive away wins really put McCarthy’s side into the promotion race with a bang and in March there was a satisfying home win over the Baggies.

Like most of the other sides chasing a play off berth, Wolves went through a dramatic downturn in form. They gave up a freakish 6-0 home loss to Southampton to be followed by a narrow defeat at resurgent Sunderland. This Wolves squad has spirit though and they battled back into it with wins over Hull, QPR and Leicester.

It took them to the play offs and the fourth and fifth games of the season with their bitter Black Country rivals. Though Wolves gave it everything Albion had a bit too much quality and ran out winners over two legs.

Though the midfield delivered a decent rate of goals – 8 from Kightly and a big contribution from Sefi Olofinjana- the absence of a 15 goal a season striker probably made the difference. Olofinjana was equal top man in the League with Bothroyd on just 9. The team scored less than all the teams around them in the promotion battle.

Since the season closed McCarthy has been working to put this right by bringing in Freddy Eastwood. With McIndoe and Kightly to work the flanks he should be well supplied and Darren Potter can provide good craft to complement them.

Wolves need a little more resilience at the back and a touch more goal power. The base has been laid and ironically Mick McCarthy has now raised expectations again- but this time Wolves might have the squad to live up to them.

4658: He Should Do Well: Ryan Babel

by : Paul Grech

Sometimes, it is difficult to understand football fans. The reaction when, some eighteen months back, Rafael Benitez admitted that he had been interested in signing Theo Walcott but couldn’t offer the money Arsenal were willing to pay Southampton was of frustration at Liverpool’s perceived lack of financial clout.

Even earlier this summer, before the arrival of Fernando Torres, there were those doubting whether the new American buyers were as cash rich as they had been let to believe.

No such doubts remain, but the same cannot be said for the complaining even if of a different tone. For now, the doubts being raised are about the reasoning behind Liverpool’s reported willingness to pay Ajax’s £13.5 million asking price for Ryan Babel.

Given that this is just a shade less than what was paid for Liverpool’s previous transfer record (the £14 million waste…erm…paid for Djibril Cisse) perhaps such beliefs are well grounded. Yet that is the current transfer market, one where a player who has just one good season in the Serie A can cost £8.8 million (Rolando Bianchi to Reggina) and where a player untried at Premiership level can be bought for £6 million (David Nugent to Portsmouth).

Ultimately it is the success achieved by the player that determines whether the amounts paid were inflated or not. With Babel’s transfer fee only reaching the oft mentioned £13.5 million depending on performance, it is unlikely that Benitez has gone against his nature and overpaid for a player.

Apart from whether the transfer fee is justified or not, the other doubt surrounding Babel is where he actually plays whether it is a striker or as a winger.

The answer is the former, but with a difference. He loves falling deep to get the ball and run at defences, often moving on the wing so as to exploit his strength and speed. It will help that in Dirk Kuyt or Peter Crouch there are two players capable of stretching defences and allowing Babel space to run into.

Naturally, his ball control is such that he would create problems in any case. The Ajax mentality of total football can be seen in the way he plays, where he often move to the left wing despite being right footed giving him the possibility of cutting in sharply with the opposing left-back wrong footed.

Good as that may sound, it would be foolhardy to expect Babel to be the finished player at his age. Too often he looks lazy and disinterested, waiting for play to come to him.

Yet that won’t be too much of a problem if he can provide moments of inspiration because that would give Liverpool the variety in play that Benitez craves so much. In Babel, Andrei Voronin, Fernando Torres, Peter Crouch and Dirk Kuyt he now has five strikers each with his own characteristic but who can all play with any other forward in the squad.

4652: Gretna Season Review 2006/07

by : Hugh Larkin

So they made it. At the end of a hard fought campaign Gretna completed their journey from Unibond League to the SPL in just five years but it turned out to be far more difficult than many expected.

Inevitably, after destroying teams for fun in the lower divisions of the Scottish League, Gretna finally found a level where sides could compete with them. The Black and Whites came into the season as Scottish Cup runners-up but were given a rude awakening by Derry City in the UEFA Cup- the opposition weren’t afraid of them any more.

Backed by the generous funding of owner Brooks Mileson, Gretna did start the campaign as favourites to win promotion. Apart from the 5-1 home caning from Derry, everything went according to plan as the team were unbeaten in the first four League games, including wins at Clyde and Queen of the South.

Then came a nasty jolt; Dundee came to Raydale Park and thumped Rowan Alexander’s outfit 4-0. Across the season Gretna would leak ten more goals then the year before and they scored over twenty less. They were still the best side in the division but the margins would be much reduced.

In previous seasons Gretna had delivered goals from all over the park and from a variety of strikers. In 2006/07 they would be indebted to the consistency of Colin McMenamin, signed from Shrewsbury, who banged in 22 goals in 33 League games.

The new man proved to be the only Gretna player to net double figures in the League. Next highest was Steve Tosh with 8 and he left for Queen of the South in the January window.

Of the big hitters from the promotion campaigns, Kenny Deuchar went on loan to Northampton, while James Grady and Ross McGuffie each played only about half the League games.

Gretna suffered three more defeats up to Christmas, including two to Airdrie but the team were still good enough to secure top spot in the table. Periodically, Alexander’s men still handed out some canings and crucially, they took 4 points from 6 against St Johnstone. This would be critical in the long run.

Gretna entered the New Year in prime position with a reasonable cushion to the Perth side who had emerged as the only real challengers, though the Saints had a backlog of matches to get through.

27th January was the day when St Johnstone re-opened the title race by beating Gretna 2-1 at McDiarmid Park. Airdrie followed it up by frustrating the Black and Whites again with a 0-0 result. Though Ross County were seen off 4-1 the team then lost at Clyde. Worse still, Queen of the South came away with the points from Raydale.

Crucially, Gretna then lost the manager who had taken them from non-league to their current status. Rowan Alexander had to take a leave of absence due to health reasons in March and Number 2 Davie Irons took over. Since the close of the campaign the manager has revealed that exhaustion after 6 years continuous work caused him to step down.

After the home defeat to Queen of the South, Gretna’s form shored up with two wins and two draws- including another goalless draw with bogey team Airdrie. The stage was set for the visit of St Johnstone.

Two goals by on fire Trinidadian Jason Scotland saw the Perth side home and Gretna’s season seemed to be caving in. They now endured two goalless games with Hamilton and Clyde which meant an unprecedented four games without a goal.

The last day of the season was tumultuous. If Gretna won they would be promoted as their goal difference was 7 superior to their pursuers. The Black and Whites travelled to bottom club Ross County while St Johnstone went to Hamilton.

The Saints were 3-1 up at half time but suffered a stirring Hamilton fight back. They eventually escaped with the required victory by 4-3. Life proved even tougher for Gretna at Ross County- the teams were locked at 2-2 with time almost done and Gretna had been overhauled by St Johnstone.

At the final moment Grady came up with his second goal of the game- his first double of the season- to snatch the prize from Saints and ensure promotion with virtually the last action of the season.

2006/07 proved to be less of a fairytale for Gretna with the news that it seems Alexander will not be returning to take up his post for the SPL debut. Also the club can’t play SPL games at Raydale, so until the new stadium is in place it means 130 mile round trips to Motherwell for the fans.

It will still be fascinating to see Gretna take on the elite clubs, although there are fair few fans of lower division sides that will be happy to see the back of the Black and Whites, such has been their relative spending power in the lower leagues.

In the SPL they are back to being the minnows and with Mileson making money available for strengthening, there is every chance that Gretna will still be members of the SPL elite this time next summer.

4656: He Should Do Well: Olivier Kap

by : Paul Grech

In over thirty years as manager of the club, Guy Roux transformed Auxerre from an amateur side to one of France’s best outfits. His philosophies were simple: good football and plenty of investment on the club’s youth system.

Over the years, Auxerre became a production line of talents with Laurent Blanc, Basile Boli and Eric Cantona all taking their first steps there before being sold to bring in money to fuel the club’s development of players.

One of the best sides that Roux ever brought up was the one that started to emerge at the beginning of this decade claiming the French cup in 2003 and twice coming close to winning the French league title. But that side suddenly disintegrated in the summer of 2004 when the four leading players decided that it was time to leave.

Within the space of three months, Roux lost defenders Philippe Mexes and Jean Alain Boumsong, midfielder Olivier Kapo and striker Djibril Cisse. Tellingly, of those four none has gone on to confirm their talent and fulfill their potential with the possible exception of Mexes and even he had to endure some tough months in Rome where the fans turned against him.

Kapo, however, has been the worst off. His move to Juventus would make or break his career and, unfortunately, it has been the latter. Stuck behind Pavel Nedved and Alessandro Del Piero, he was only limited to an occasional appearance. Used as he was to regular football, he failed to impress on the rare instances he was given a chance and by the end of his first season, the Turin giants had decided to cut their losses.

A loan to AS Monaco, set up in the belief that it would be made permanent at the end of the season, didn’t work out well as the club went from one manager to another. So it was off to Levante, a small Spanish side struggling to survive in the Primera Liga.

Away from the spotlight, he rediscovered his form, playing with confidence in the advanced midfielder role. Five goals scored and plenty of good play brought him to the attention of Steve Bruce who moved to sign him as soon as promotion was confirmed. That urgency hints at just how highly he rates the player that he’s compared to Christoph Dugarry, quite a good analogy seeing that both players exert their influence in roughly the same manner: by dropping deep and then helping exploit the gaps that emerge.

But what really made Dugarry such a success during his stay in Birmingham is that he settled in so quickly. If Kapo manages to do the same, then Bruce will have found himself a player truly worthy of being compared to the World Cup winner.

4655: Tottenham Hotspur – Summer Tra

by : Kieran McHugh

Tottenham’s transfer activity in recent seasons has often been viewed as the “scattergun” approach. Buy enough players and some of them must, by the law of averages, turn out OK. Spurs though appear to have beaten the odds to find themselves with one of the most promising squads in England. In this summer transfer window to date though, there has been far more method than madness at White Hart Lane.

As well as breaking their transfer record, (with the £16.5m capture of Charlton’s Darren Bent), Spurs have also registered two other deals high up in the clubs’ list of top transfers. Tottenham got out of the blocks early, announcing that they’d signed Gareth Bale from Southampton for £6m, (with additional performance related clauses making him potentially the 4th most expensive signing in the clubs history), and followed these two headline deals with an £8.2m deal for Auxerre’s French u-21 defender Younes Kaboul, (joint 5th with Didier Zokora).

For a side not playing in the Champions League, with all the money that comes with it, £35m represents a massive investment. However, as has been the case of late Tottenham have been bold enough to invest in highly rated youngsters when others have dawdled. Michael’s Dawson and Carrick were both well known to Premiership scouts before Spurs bit the bullet. Aaron Lennon was a snip at £1m in the Leeds fire sale and of the recent signings Bale and Kaboul have been viewed as excellent prospects for some time.

Darren Bent has already proved he has what it takes to score regularly in the Premiership. Hence the price tag. But have Spurs bought well, and do they need to strengthen further to realise their ambitions?

In Bale they have a player with the world at his feet. Well, foot. The left one. This is handy since Spurs played last season without a genuine left footer in the side on many occasions. There is some debate as to whether Bale will be deployed at left back or further forward. This is in response to Spurs pressing need for a left sided option going forward to balance the creativity of Lennon on the opposite flank.

It may be that Bale is given run outs in both positions at some stage in the season, with other factors, (notably the form and fitness of Lee Young-Pyo and Benoit Assou Ekotto), likely to determine where and when he figures. The consensus on Bale is clear though. Spurs could have picked up a bargain, even at £10m. If the conditions to the transfer are met, and Bale contributes to meeting them, Spurs will be only too happy to cough up.

On the face of it the signing of Darren Bent looks superfluous. Having scored hatfuls of goals last season with three forwards the envy of much of the rest of the division, Spurs might have been inclined to stick. However there appear to be sound reasons for this acquisition, and not just to annoy near neighbours West Ham, who had agreed a deal with Charlton, only to be snubbed by the forward.

Bent has pace, the attribute most feared by defenders. He also has an uncanny knack of putting the ball in the back of the net, and has two seasons under his belt at Premiership level. Whilst Berbatov and Keane are likely to remain the preferred choice, Bent is more than just an impact player from the bench and could quickly establish himself in a rotation policy of three.

Jol clearly favoured Berbatov and Keane from his three strikers last season, but even when Defoe was used, he was rarely used alongside Keane. This meant Berbatov featuring in every attacking combination, except those occasions when Jol gambled with the hapless Mido.

For my money I can see Darren Bent forming partnerships with both Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane. Able to play as a target man, with the added threat of being quick enough to exploit the ball over the top, alongside Keane, but also feeding off and linking with Berbatov if paired with the Bulgarian. It will also have been noted that Bent has played on his own up front and scored goals. Unfortunately for Jermain Defoe, the writing could be on the wall.

At the back Spurs have, it seems, made another sound investment in Younes Kaboul. Whilst Ledley King is still regarded as first choice at White Hart Lane, there will for some time now be the caveat of “if fit” appended to his name. Last season Tottenham struggled at the back and lacked composure despite the swashbuckling nature of many of Dawson’s individual performances. Ricardo Rocha was signed in January but took his time to settle in and so Spurs have made their move for a player that should be a commanding presence for many seasons.

All three major signings at White Hart Lane have the look of calculated moves to address specific problems. They look intelligent not only from a footballing perspective but financially as well. Whilst these are big outlays, the rewards for success could be bigger. Spurs should also recoup their fees on these signings if looking to sell, as these players are young enough, (and good enough), to at least retain their value, especially in an English market awash with cash.

There are still some issues outstanding. There remains a pressing need for a left sided midfielder of some standing. Adel Taraabt is a central player and Gareth Bale cannot be guaranteed to hit the ground running. Steed Malbranque had a hit and miss season in 2006/07. There will also at some stage be a requirement to balance the books. Spurs need to offload many of the failures from the “scattergun” approach. Mido, Murphy, Ghaly, Gardner et al., will have to be moved on to bring the squad numbers down to a manageable level. However, there are nearly two months to go until this window shuts and Spurs can so far be pleased with their efforts.

4653: Blackburn Rovers Season Review

by : Hugh Larkin

Blackburn Rovers ended 2006/07 in 10th place which appears a comfortable state of affairs except compared to last season- Rovers dropped 11 points from 2005/06 and fell 4 spots in the table.

The fans did have the interest generated by another run to the FA Cup semi-finals but as in 2005, the club came unstuck against one of the ‘Big 4’, this time Chelsea. In the UEFA Cup Rovers hurdled the group stage easily enough but Bayer Leverkusen eliminated them in the last 32.

The team could never quite get into the UEFA Cup places but did grab the English place in the Intertoto Cup, which hopefully should deliver a return to the UEFA Cup. It was that kind of season-one that never really ignited.

Blackburn fans must have feared this when it became clear that Craig Bellamy was on his way out of the club. However, Mark Hughes engineered the signing of a top class replacement in South African Benni McCarthy and he finished behind only Didier Drogba in the Premiership hot shots.

So Bellamy’s replacement delivered more goals (they bagged 52 to 51 last year) and yet Rovers slid down the table. The answer lay in the goals against column where the squad let in 12 more than 2005/06.

Part of the explanation didn’t lie with the defenders though. Stephen Reid was missing for nearly the whole campaign and Robbie Savage played in only just over half the League games. Without this pair the centre of Blackburn’s midfield could look tidy and composed but lacking vigour and power at times.

The defence also had to undergo some reorganisation. Lucas Neill finally did depart the club, although Hughes signing of Stephen Warnock to replace the Aussie looked a real winner from the off. Dutch international Andre Ooijer took time to settle in and then Blackburn lost him to serious injury in January.

When Rovers had their full squad available they looked a side well capable of a top 6 finish. David Bentley and Morten Gamst Pedersen looked as good as most wide players in the division and Matt Derbyshire showed great progress to back up McCarthy and Shabani Nonda.

Warnock and Brett Emerton are progressive in the full back berths and Brad Friedel is still a top class keeper. Injuries in central defence – Ryan Nelsen only became available just when Ooijer was out- provided chances for Chris Samba and he showed that he could become a very imposing centre back at this level.

In January Hughes was able to bring back a prodigal son. David Dunn returned to his local club and if he can get back anywhere near his old form, he’ll be a valuable addition. Unfortunately it’s by no means certain that Dunn can attain his old levels.

Rovers ended the season unbeaten in their last 6 League games to provide good heart for the campaign ahead. Before that though, they endured a miserable four game slump that put paid to automatic qualification for Europe.

Well before the end of the campaign this had become one of those seasons when the supporters are already looking forward to the next one. Everyone at the club just wanted to get a full squad back on the park- only then will we able to judge just how far this Rovers team can go.

The potential is there but the real question is whether Mark Hughes will be able to get them all together. The predators are circling to try and take McCarthy and Pedersen, two players who Rovers desperately need to hold on to.

The signing of Dutch under-21 star Maceo Rigters is an excellent sign. If Rovers can add some more quality back up men and keep their top players, 2007/08 may bring the push forward that was undermined by injury this season.

4654: Manchester City: Don't Mention

by : Paul Grech

Believe it or not, transfers like the one taking Rolando Bianchi to Manchester City can send Italy into a panic. The Italians still hang on to the notion that the Serie A is the centre of the footballing universe that it was in the eighties and nineties, the place where any player who is a player has to be in order to prove himself.

Slowly, they’re getting used to the idea that English and Spanish clubs now have the financial means to compete with them in attracting the best players. But seeing a young local player move to abroad remains something that they cannot live with, considering it as a sure sign of the diminishing value of Italian football and resulting in endless discussions about what should be done to stop the hemorrhage.

That’s what happened when Massimo Maccarone moved to Middlesbrough. He hadn’t yet played in the top division at the time but was considered one of the country’s most talented players. His sudden transfer came as a shock.

Bianchi will elicit similar feelings. One of the best scorers last season, his goals helped save Reggina even though they started the season with a massive eleven points deficit: without that penalty they would have been challenging to play in the Champions League. He was expected to move to a bigger club, but the smart money was on Napoli or Juventus.

Both, but especially Napoli, were genuinely interested but Reggina’s demands – made in the knowledge that there were cash-rich Premiership sides interested and ready to be milked - forced them into a re-think.

Which is how Rolando Bianchi ended up on his way to Manchester. For his ₤8.8 million, Sven Goran Eriksson is getting a typical Italian poacher in the mould of Paulo Rossi, Toto Schillaci and Pippo Inzaghi: someone who hangs around the penalty area not doing much waiting for that one slip to put the ball in the back of the net. There is little aesthetically pleasing about Bianchi’s game but he is effective and scores goals.

Or, at least, he did last season. Because in five previous Serie A campaigns he had totaled just three goals, five in total if you take in the time he spent in the Serie B. That’s a goal every thirteen games.

Worryingly, such statistics draw out unavoidable parallels with Francesco Tavano – top scorer in his debut Serie A season two years back who flopped after a big-money move to Valencia and is now back with Livorno – and even with Maccarone himself.

City have added reason to fear how this transfer will turn out having just had to endure (for there isn’t a better word) one season of Bernardo Corradi’s ineffective, lumbering attacking play. Contrary to Bianchi, few who had examined his track record expected Corradi to finish among the Premiership’s top scorers but, even so, he made not scoring look like an art form.

The difference this season is that there’s Eriksson in charge. A lifetime spent coaching in Italy will translate itself not only in his ability to communicate with Bianchi in Italian but also in the knowledge of how to deal with him.

It means that Rolando Bianchi has a better chance of being a success at the City. Even so, it’s better not to mention Maccarone too much for the time being.

Paul Grech is squarefootball’s regular correspondent on Italian football.

4651: Manchester United: Tevez Dodgy

by : Kieran McHugh

In the next few weeks it appears that Carlos Tevez will become the latest addition to Manchester United’s star studded squad. Whilst this news would always be worthy of blanket coverage, this season it is the subject of huge interest, and not just because United are signing one of the best young strikers around.

The Premier League have decided to inform all and sundry that the transfer will have to be conducted directly between West Ham and Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson, a man who has dealt with more comings and goings at old Trafford that the turnstile operator has also spoken out about how “the outcome will be that we, (United), will be taking him, (Tevez), with complete clarity in the deal, with no suspicions or anything dodgy about it.”

Let’s be perfectly clear about one thing. Sir Alex Ferguson has operated in the transfer market for longer than he may care to remember with absolute impunity. The man is whiter than white when it comes to his financial dealings. Forget the Rock of Gibraltar business and disregard the fact that his son is also a football manager, there has never been a question about Fergie’s integrity.

In his autobiography, “Managing My Life”, Ferguson told a tale of dark dealings and shady operators long before Panorama started digging around. Representatives of Andrei Kanchelskis offered Ferguson a cash advance of £40,000 to sell the winger. The incident was logged with the Club Secretary and Chairman Martin Edwards and the money sat in the Old Trafford safe untouched until the powers that be finally got around to dealing with the issue. On opening the safe, lo and behold, £40,000 remained.

Ferguson has no need to issue these kinds of caveats to any potential signings. The fact that he went on to state that United’s solicitor, Maurice Watkins, had been working on the deal for a month and that an agreement had been made with the Argentinian’s advisers only added to the sense that he was aware there was more to it than whether Tevez was good enough to play for United.

In claiming he wants a deal free from anything “dodgy” is Fergie unwittingly suggesting there might have been something dodgy about any previous arrangements with the player? Although it’s obvious that it’s neither his nor United’s concern. They are blameless in wanting to sign a player who can do a job for them.

Despite Watkins work, the Premier League have claimed that the deal could take some time yet to complete. Why? Why should they care how long it takes for a striker to move from one club to another? It should only be a matter for them when it comes to registering the player. Ah! We could be onto something.

The Premier League is also in the process of covering its back. They must ensure that this deal, more than any other, is 100% above board. If necessary Chief Executive Richard Scudamore should sit in the security van ferrying the money from Salford to East London. It is said that the Premier League wants to ensure that the bulk of any fee remains at Upton Park. If too much leaves the club for a third party the Premier League is, frankly, kippered.

Who decides how much is too much? Well, that’s a fairly handy device to ensure that everything gets brushed under the carpet once again. United will get their player, Wets Ham will get rid of their problem and Kia Joorabchian will get his money. The men in grey suits will claim that a fair deal was had by all and pray that everyone forgets that day last August when Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez rolled into town. It smelled fishy then and it’s stinking the Premiership up now.

Sheffield United will, of course, be keeping a careful watch on the whole sordid tale, but they’ve been sold down the river already. Alan Pardew will doubtless have a view on a deal that he could not control and players that might never have truly been West Ham’s. West Ham? There’s precious little coming out of them at the moment and who can blame them?

They are sitting tight, sitting on their hands and sitting pretty. They’ve got away with it and they are now getting rid of the evidence. Thanks to a complicit and toothless governing body West Ham have retained their place amongst the elite. Whether we like it or not in the money orientated Premiership there are numerous other clubs that would have acted in a similar fashion had they found themselves in West Ham’s position. It’s a joke and everyone is laughing at Sheffield United.

4649: Liverpool: Pennant Proving He’

by : Paul Grech

Twelve months into his Liverpool career, Jermaine Pennant still struggles to shake of the depiction that he’s only a second choice. Because, after all, that is what he really was. It was only when became clear that Liverpool’s pockets weren’t deep enough to tempt Seville into letting go of Daniel Alves, the man he really wanted, that Rafael Benitez turned his attention to getting Pennant.

Nor can he shake off the baggage that he’s been carrying thanks to the misdemeanours of the early years of his career. That of a troublemaker with an inflated opinion of himself who struggles to keep out of the spotlight for all the wrong reasons is how he is still widely seen.

The prejudice is so ingrained that not even a man of the match display in the Champions League final, where he was the best player on a pitch that included the talents of Kaka and Clarence Seedorf, is enough to get people to consider the possibility that he has started to mature both on and off the pitch.

That he even got the chance to start that final, however, should be considered proof enough that the player who was once England’s most expensive teenager is finally starting to come good.

Not that he hasn’t found it hard at Liverpool.

Initially, it looked like Benitez had gone for the cheap option and was getting what he had paid for. Pennant struggled to imposed himself and regularly let himself down with an uncharacteristic lack of confidence that manifested itself in his apparent unwillingness to take people on.

That he coupled a series of abject performances with whingeing about everything that didn’t go his way hardly helped endear him with the fans.

And then something suddenly seemed to click. A goal against Chelsea in February – his only one in a red shirt so far - seemed to kick-start his season and all of a sudden he was playing with the same confidence that he had shown at Birmingham. From that point on he never looked back and his inclusion in the final eleven for Athens was richly deserved.

His challenge, now that he is very much a regular starter, is to keep up his game. Already, in Liverpool’s first pre-season friendly he helped set up two and a half of the goals scored. It may have been ‘only Wrexham’ but his skill and speed at such an early stage of the season is proof of someone so determined that they kept on training during the summer.

Benitez will keep on looking for more wide payers to bolster his squad – that is something that Liverpool need to compete for the title - but for Pennant any new arrivals will simply mean challengers to his first team spot rather than replacements.

4650: Liverpool; Forward Thinking

by : Stephen Orford

For seemingly longer than it takes Rafa Nadal to complete a men’s singles match at Wimbledon, Liverpool’s strike force has been heavily criticised.

And rightly so, frankly. This shot-shy rabble have flattered to deceive year on year under Rafa Benitez who, despite elevating himself into Anfield folklore by delivering the 2005 Champions League and reaching the final in 2007, is accused by his detractors of being a negative manager. Not only that, but he likes a tinkle far more than is healthy. Sorry, a tinker, not a tinkle.

All of which has led to the continued and by now tortuous failure of the Merseyside outfit to break their 17-year title drought. At a certain point even the doggedly stubborn Benitez has had to accept that his team needs fresh firepower if it is to mount a serious domestic challenge, and has recognised this by spending serious, almost Chelsea-like amounts of cash on a new front-man.

To much pomp and indeed fanfare Fernando Torres arrived from Atletico Madrid for something in the region of £20million (exact figures depend on which newspaper you read and where you obtain your main source of television news). The Spanish star had been coveted by many of Europe’s top clubs, and Liverpool’s ability to get their man ahead of Manchester United in particular represents a significant coup.

Yet the arrival of El Nino is not in itself likely to bring about an immediate end to Liverpool’s goalscoring problems. After all, no fewer than seven men scored more goals in La Liga last term than the 22-year-old, and there are those who suggest that he is not the out-and-out goalscorer that Benitez requires. Nor will you find a picture of Peter Crouch should you look up ‘goal machine’ in the dictionary, while Djibril Cisse’s move to Marseille has served only to confirm the suspicion that Benitez wanted rid of the Frenchman shortly after the Spanish coach walked through the Shankly Gates to replace Gerard Houllier in 2004.

With this in mind there may be those left scratching their heads at the decision to allow Craig Bellamy to leave for West Ham United. The former Newcastle United striker was another who failed to convince Benitez that he was worthy of a regular place in the starting line-up, and his £8million plus move to Upton Park seems almost certain to go ahead. Bellamy registered only nine goals in his 42 appearances for the Reds after a £6million move from Blackburn Rovers last summer, but without the opportunity to string a run of consecutive starts together he was always going to struggle. Mind, swinging a golf club in the general direction of John Arne Riise on a mid-season trip to Portugal hardly helped. At his best the Welshman possesses bucket-loads of that most cherished of modern commodities, raw pace, and is no mean finisher. He seemed the perfect foil for the industrious Dirk Kuyt after the Dutchman’s arrival from Feyenoord, but it was a combination which was never really given time to gel by Benitez.

Benitez has re-iterated his desire to hold on to Crouch for a while longer, prompting fears among many that his potential partnership with Torres could push Liverpool yet further into the long-ball drudgery which was the eventual undoing of Houllier. Torres has pace, but is also renowned for his prowess in the air meaning that the likes of Jamie Carragher may find the temptation to hit and hope all too powerful. Perhaps Benitez will go for one or the other of Crouch or Torres alongside Kuyt, but neither seems likely to stick around should regular first team football be anything but guaranteed.

That’s why a touted move for Ajax’s Ryan Babel muddies the waters even further. The Dutch club are holding out for an extra £3.5million in the negotiations, but the star of Holland’s European Under-21 Championship campaign could yet make the move to Merseyside rather than the previously suggested switch to Arsenal. Ukrainian Andriy Voronin has arrived from Bayer Leverkusen and already seems set for the recently vacated Robbie Fowler role, that of coming off the bench for the last 10 or fifteen minutes in situations filed under brown stuff or bust.

And so it is, whatever happens with the Bellamy deal in the next few days, a vastly altered Liverpool strike force which will bid for Premiership glory in 2007/08. At this point it seems that much of the goalscoring burden falls on Torres and Crouch, with Kuyt better known for work done for the benefit of others . Whether Babel can come in to provide the option lost by the sale of Bellamy is now a key question in assessing Liverpool’s title credentials, but he too is likely to need the settling in period which many feel will be required by Torres at the start of his Anfield career.

With neck firmly stuck out a full month before a ball is kicked in anything resembling mild annoyance, let alone anger, it seems that the Reds will once again fall short of rivals Manchester United and Chelsea domestically. Benitez’s front-line re-shuffle is not dissimilar to Gordon Brown’s first Cabinet appointments, in that the faces have changed but few should expect anything other than what they have seen in the past.

A little more faith in Bellamy or the capture of the highly-rated Babel could alter the picture markedly.

By Stephen Orford

July 9 2007

4648: Liverpool/Manchester United: G

by : Alex Wolstenholme

In 1964, Liverpool paid £25,000 to Manchester United (managed by Sir Matt Busby, a former Anfield player) for their inside-right Phil Chisnall.

The switch did not prove a fruitful one for Chisnall who made only a handful of appearances for Liverpool before going on to give good service to Southend United.

His move was the first transfer between Liverpool and Manchester United since the war but few may have thought that 43 years later no other player would have made a direct move from Old Trafford to Anfield or vice versa.

Players have appeared for both clubs of course after moving somewhere else in the interim (Paul Ince being the most high-profile example) but not too many.

In fact the closest anyone has come to emulating Chsinall is Welsh striker Ramon Calliste.

Released by United in the summer of 2005, he then impressed in a trial for Liverpool and was given a one-year deal although he left Merseyside when that expired and at the time of writing is again a free agent after being freed by Scunthorpe United.

All of which makes the recent newspaper speculation about a potential move to Liverpool for Gabriel Heinze all the more surprising.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was reported to be 'horrified' at the stories linking the Argentine with Anfield while Liverpool themselves played down the reports.

It is extremely unlikely that Heinze will be plying his trade at Anfield next season. Manchester United would surely never sanction such a move (even if Liverpool's interest is genuine) and for all the talk of invoking FIFA rules to buy-out his contract, that aspect of the transfer market is shrouded in uncertainty, especially for players looking to move clubs within the same country.

Udinese goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis for instance is hoping to become the first Italian player to cancel his contract under Article 17 of the FIFA transfer regulations as he is over the age of 28 and has been with his club for two years (players under the age of 28 can buy-out their contract if they have been with a club for three years).

The 30-year-old Sunderland target however cannot sign for another Italian club for 12 months even if successful and the same restriction would apply to Heinze (although conceivably that could be challenged by any player who wanted to join another club in the same country).

The legal moves surrounding Andy Webster's move from Hearts to Wigan show how murky the waters are with regards to players breaking their contracts. FIFA ordered the Scotland defender to pay £625,000 to Hearts for leaving the club early but he now faces a civil action from the Edinburgh side, who want a figure closer to £4m.

So the 43-year wait for a direct transfer between Manchester United and Liverpool could go on for some time yet.

4647: He Should Do Well: Paul Anders

by : Paul Grech

One of the unexpected – to a certain extent – benefits of appointing someone like Roberto Martinez as manager is that he has an extensive contacts’ list and isn’t afraid to use it.

Already this summer has seen the Welsh club signing , Angel Rangel as well as striker Guillem Buaza "Bussy" Mayol who apparently considers himself to be a better striker than Fernando Torres, his partner in the Spanish youth team’s attack some seven years back.

But Martinez isn’t focusing solely on Spain to get new players. Or, rather, he’s also looking at that bit of Spain that’s closer to home: Liverpool.

It was only natural for Martinez to be identified as a possible friend to Rafael Benitez due to their nationality, regardless of the fact that the two probably had never met before their arrival to England. Yet it really does seem as if the two share similar philosophies about how the game should be played.

This has facilitated the discussions to take reserve winger Paul Anderson on a season long loan at Swansea. Apparently also wanted by Blackpool, it was the Spanish connection that won it for them.

Martinez has been quick to praise the new addition, describing him as “young, has fantastic ability and able to play on either wing, although he is more right-sided because he is right-footed.”

“He will give us an extra dimension because he has the ability to go on the outside. He is an excellent crosser, sees the game well and has great quality on the ball. We have said all along that we needed a bit of pace out wide and hopefully Paul Anderson is going to provide us with that.”

Praise indeed by the Spanish manager, but his words aren’t misplaced. Signed by Liverpool from Hull for a fee that could eventually rise to £1.5 million, he was the star of the side that won the FA Youth Cup against Manchester City two years ago. Last season was more subdued, due largely to an injury that kept him out for several months but there are few at Anfield who doubt his ability.

At this stage of his career, however, spending the next twelve months training and playing occasionally for the reserves was hardly going to do him any good so a loan move was always likely. Swansea is a better destination than most. The club is hugely ambitious, there’s a good squad already in placed and he’ll get to play in front of passionate fans. And that’s without mentioning that he’ll get to learn a thing or two about Scouse culture from Lee Trundle.

It will also offer him his first opportunity to play real football on a regular basis and determine whether he can reproduce his form in the reserves at a higher level something that, ultimately, will determine his future at Anfield.

For all the high regard with which he is held by the Liverpool coaching staff, there are some doubts that he is somewhat too slight. If Anderson shows that he can handle the physical challenge of playing at this level, he’ll be proving that he could also make the step up to the Premiership.

4646: Aston Villa: Patient Approach

by : Paul Grech

For a moment there, Aston Villa fans must have wondered whether Randy Lerner had turned to Doug Ellis for advice on how to run the club. Not only were they not buying any players, they weren’t even being linked with anyone.

The arrival of Nigel Reo-Coker significantly eases those fears.

Visibly relieved to finally leave West Ham, Reo-Coker comes from a traumatic season that saw him being blamed for the club’s struggle against relegation. The fans remembered his apparent desire last summer to move to a bigger side when the club started to struggle and with Reo-Coker’s form dipping well below what they had been used to, the association that he was trying to play his way out of the club quickly took hold.

For the twenty two year old who has just missed out of making it into England’s World Cup squad, it was quite a come-down not to mention a vital lesson as to how quickly fortunes can turn in football.

That West Ham held out for a fee of ₤8.5 million for a player that they clearly felt they could do without, and that Villa were prepared to pay that amount, proves that his abilities are still greatly valued. And it could hardly be any other way.

Strength, determination, athleticism, good passing vision and an excellent leader mark him out not only as one of the better players of his generation but as one of the finest midfielders in the Premiership. Frighteningly, he can become much better.

Which Martin O’Neill, a manager famed for his ability to get players to perform to their best, will surely sees that he does.

This transfer offers further valuable insight on how O’Neill plans to build his side. Rather than load the club with a number of average and ageing players that might produce better results in the short term, he has been carefully choosing who to buy going largely for young players who have already reached a good level but who, crucially, have the potential to become much better.

Anyone who watched Ashley Young tear the Italian defence to shreds at the recent U21 championship will have understood why O’Neill was so willing to spend in excess of ₤10 million to get him from Watford. The Bulgarian midfielder Stilian Petrov is another who falls in this category, even though he has yet to produce the kind of football he regularly showed in Scotland.

There is, however, a substantial risk in this strategy. Villa’s perilous dip in the second half of last season hinted that the squad needs greater depth in order to compete at the highest level and whilst O’Neill’s careful additions might have the first eleven pushing for at least for a top ten finish, he would have problems should there be injuries to any of those regular players. More players of a better quality are needed.

The implied message to Randy Lerner is simple: keep that cheque book open.

4645: Meet The New Boys- The Premier

by : Hugh Larkin

Even this early in the summer there's been massive influx of talent to the Premiership. Square Football spotlights four more arrivals led by new Brazilian cap Anderson of Manchester United .

Anderson- Manchester United

Anderson Luis de Abreu Oliviera is Manchester United’s latest big addition from Portuguese football. The Brazilian comes with a pedigree having won the Golden Ball at the World Under-17 Finals, plus he’s part of the Brazilian squad in the Copa America at the moment.

United bought Anderson from Porto, where he has already won two League titles and the domestic ‘double’, though a broken leg limited his appearances. The teenager has been identified as a potential great for many years- he actually joined the famous Gremio club at the age of 5.

Anderson is an attacking midfielder who has played mainly on the left side for Porto and he’s just won his first 2 Brazil caps in the Copa America group matches. Porto snapped him up after he had made only 5 starts for Gremio and have used him in the Champions League.

Touch and close control are what identify Anderson as a star in the making; possibly a long-term replacement for either Ryan Giggs or Paul Scholes.

Sulley Muntari – Portsmouth

The Ghanian international arrives at Fratton Park from Udinese in Serie A, where he has played since his teenage years (he’s 22). Muntari also played in last year’s World Cup Finals in Germany.

The midfielder is known for his physical presence, being compared to Edgar Davids in some quarters. Certainly his combative instincts have got the player into some disciplinary trouble during his time in Italy.

Muntari actually had a trial with Manchester United before he moved to Udinese- he’d attracted much attention after Ghana’s storming performances in the World Under-20 Finals where he played left midfield. For Ghana he forms an awesomely powerful midfield with Michael Essien and Stephen Appiah.

Portsmouth got their man despite interest from Roma. The player had indicated a desire to play in the Premiership for some time and it should suit his more robust style, just as it has Essien.

Julien Faubert- West Ham

Bordeaux midfielder Faubert was on his way to Rangers before West Ham nipped in and used their new financial muscle in the market place to divert him to East London.

Yet another of the posse of midfielders coming into the Premiership this summer, Faubert made his debut for France last year after the World Cup- he scored against Bosnia/Herzegovnia too but Faubert hasn’t added to that single appearance yet.

When he came to Bordeaux from Cannes Faubert was a right back but converted to midfield; he brings useful options and solid defensive awareness, as well as his attacking qualities. He starred in the French under 21 side that reached the semi-finals if the European Championships.

He’s reputed to have a thunderous shot from range and Bordeaux have used him as an out and out winger as well as a more central role.

Maceo Rigters- Blackburn

With other middle rank Premiership sides adding talent to their squads, Rovers needed to be active in the market too. The capture of Rigters from NAC Breda has been relatively low key compared to some of the big names but it could be significant.

Rigters has just been part of the Dutch Euro under-21 Finals success where he won the Golden Boot as top scorer. Celtic were strongly interested in him before Rovers stepped in.

He began his football career in the Ajax academy before spells at Heerenveen and with Dordrecht in the second tier. Rigters scored the last minute equaliser which kept Holland in the under-21 semi-final against England. He has 6 goals in 9 starts for the Under-21 side.

Known as a hard grafting striker prepared to close down defenders and make runs for his colleagues, his scoring rate for NAC Breda has not been impressive but coaches have identified him as a player of the future, which he proved at under-21 level.

4644: Sheffield Wednesday Season Rev

by : Jeff Gold

It was a rough season for Yorkshire football. Sheffield United, Leeds United, Bradford City and Rotherham United were relegated. Leeds went into administration. Scarborough went bust. Now all 11 league clubs have a different manager from the one who started the season. And Yorkshire, home to three of the five most populous cities in England, is a Premiership-free zone.

Yet amid the wreckage, there were stories of success. Scunthorpe United steamed into the Championship, Barnsley’s survival at that level was something of a triumph and Sheffield Wednesday continued their slow and painful rehabilitation.

For Wednesday, the season promised stability. Mid-table was the target. Instead, they began as they usually do.

As usual, they had injuries: despite having played no competitive fixture for three months, seven players were unavailable for the opening-day trip to Preston.

As usual, they were rubbish: in the league they were bottom after 10 games, while in the League Cup they were spanked by Wrexham, who only survived the drop to non-league football on the final day of the season.

As usual, they sacked their manager: a series of torturous performances culminating in a 4-0 drubbing at Colchester United was enough for Paul Sturrock to be given his “do one” badge. Some people weren’t happy.

Then something unexpected happened. Wednesday began to play football of the bring-it-down, pass-it-round, progressive variety. Wednesday began to score goals, 30 in the next 14 games. And Wednesday began to win, first under the youth team coach, Sean McAuley, then under their new manager, Brian Laws.

By the turn of the year they were ninth, just three points from the play-off positions and facing an unfamiliar problem. After years of offering players for sale, after years of hawking them around to the highest, or indeed any, bidder, after years of trying and failing to give them away before harrying them out of the door at the end of their contract, suddenly Wednesday had a valuable player.

As soon as Madjid Bougherra, who cost three hundred thousand pounds just eight months previously, became the subject of a £2.5m bid from Charlton Athletic, his departure was inevitable. For Wednesday it was good business but the January transfer window coincided with a slump in form. The next seven games brought a single point. It looked as though the new manager’s influence would be fleeting.

Then, just as the season was drifting into nothing, Wednesday won again. And again. They went on a charge, a run of 11 games unbeaten meaning that, with two remaining, they had a chance of reaching the play-offs.

It wasn’t to be. Nevertheless, a season that threatened to be characterised by failure and recrimination became instead a riot of entertainment. Wednesday’s games contained 136 goals, the most in the Championship; nine were scored in injury time; six games finished 3-2 and one 3-3.

Some of the goals were quite good. At Leicester there were three long-range belters in the space of 20 minutes, and if Jermaine Johnson’s goal at Leeds was “a fair approximation of the one scored by Brazil's Carlos Alberto in 1970” (The Guardian), then Chris Brunt’s 45 yard chip from the touchline in the same game bore comparison with the one scored by David Beckham in 1996. Kinell, against Southampton, even the goalkeeper bagged.

It was also a season of accomplishment. Having four goalscorers reach double figures, selling a player to the Premiership and finishing as one of the top 30 clubs in the country are all moderate achievements. For Wednesday they are signs of progress.

Their three-year plan for the Championship – survival, consolidation, promotion – remains a possibility, and with Sheffield United descending into a period of post-traumatic self harm (the only possible explanation for the appointment of Bryan Robson as manager), Wednesday might just be Yorkshire’s best hope.

4643: He Should Do Well: Younes Kabo

by : Paul Grech

Whisper it, but Tottenham might just about be copying Arsenal.

For their search for young talent with which to bolster their squad – and build foundations for the future – has been increasingly taking them to France, a market that director Damien Coboli knows all too well having been Wenger’s chief scout there.

It is to France that they turned to bring in the talents of Adel Taarabt and Didier Zokora, two players on whom they are counting on and who will now be followed by Younes Kaboul

Unfortunately for Kaboul what will turn heads, at least initially, is the price paid by Tottenhman. Blame it on inflation, but their acceptance of Auxerre’s asking price of £7.5 million (or £8.2 million, depending on which source you believe) for the French U21 international defender seems excessive whichever way you look at it.

Not that the player is without talent. An imposing figure, his natural strength, tackling skills and timing caught the eye, as did his ability to score crucial goals.

His big chance came following Auxerre’s mass exodus of players in the summer of 2004 that saw them lose defenders like Jean Alain Boumsong and Philippe Mexes, not to mention others like Djibril Cisse and Olivier Kapo.

Most other clubs would have been crippled by such departures but Auxerre’s policy has always been that of investing in youth and giving players their chance when the opportunity arises.

Still eighteen, Kaboul suddenly found himself being increasingly involved in the first team, ending his first season with twelve appearances. Injury the following year restricted him to just nine games but last season he finally nailed down a first team spot playing thirty one of the club’s thirty eight games.

Despite playing for a side that ultimately failed to deliver, Kaboul’s skill shone. Auxerre turned away bids of around £6 million from Inter and it was this interest from some of the continent’s biggest clubs that pushed their asking price up.

That Tottenham were willing to pay so much says a lot about the faith they have in the defender earmarked by some as the next Lilian Thuram. Last season’s long term injury to Ledley King exposed their lack of depth in defence, a frailty that Kaboul will help rectify.

But Tottenham are not looking simply towards the coming season – although, admittedly, it would help make the move seem like a wise investment if Kaboul helps them to the Champions League – but have a longer term plan in place, one where Kaboul will play a fundamental role.

4642: Meet The New Boys- The Premier

by : Hugh Larkin

Fernando Torres and Eduardo Da Silva have attracted the most attention but even in the first week in July, some tremendous talent has been bought up by the top English clubs. To start with we look at Claudio Pizarro (Chelsea), Olivier Kapo (Birmingham), David Rozehnal (Newcastle) and Tuncay Sanli (Middlesbrough.

Claudio Pizarro- Chelsea

Currently playing for Peru in the Copa America and in good form; his two goals ensured that his nation qualified for the quarter-finals. Pizarro arrives on a free from Bayern Munich where he has extensive experience in the Champions League.

Signed by Werder Bremen from Allianz Lima, the striker contributed a goal every two games which won him a transfer to Germany’s top club. In 6 years in Munich Pizarro contributed 71 goals in 174 games and was a popular member of the squad.

He can play as the most forward striker or in a role slightly behind a partner. Known as the ‘Bomber’, or more exotically the ‘Inca God’, Pizarro has 3 Championship medals from his time in Munich.

Olivier Kapo- Birmingham City

Birmingham have been especially active in the market since the end of the season and Kapo is one of their more significant signings. He comes from that great nursery club Auxerre and has been on Juventus books since 2004.

However, he’s never been able to cement a place in Turin and has spent two seasons on loan at Monaco and Levante. He dropped a strong hint in the media that he wanted to play in the Premiership and Steve Bruce has tied up the deal.

Though Ivorian born, Kapo has 9 caps for France. He didn’t make last year’s World Cup squad unfortunately and he got the first of his caps as far back as 2002. Like a lot of players, he has found playing in Spain more to his liking.

Kapo had many clubs after him and his agent has warned Birmingham that the player may move on to meet his long-term ambitions. He will give Steve Bruce options because he can play wide left, or just behind a central striker, or in a more central position.

David Rozehnal – Newcastle United

Everyone knew major surgery was required for the Magpies defence. Possibly Tal Ben Haim would have been Sam Allardyce’s first choice but he’s also been firm in his pursuit of the Czech international.

Rozehnal was part of the Czech side at the 2006 World Cup, appearing in all three games and also went to the Euro 2004 tournament. He began his career at Sigma Olomouc before a transfer to Club Bruges where he was part of title winning side.

From 2005 he’s played for Paris St Germain where he has been voted Player of the Year and was voted into the Team of the Season for the French League. He now has 34 Czech caps after serving an 8 game apprenticeship with the under 21 side.

Tuncay Sanli- Middlesbrough

Tuncay Sanli is a seasoned Turkish international with 43 caps to his name and 13 international strikes. Boro have bought him from Fenerbahce where he’s won 3 titles. Tuncay has a more than respectable 59 goals in 154 games at that club because he hasn’t always played as a full striker.

The player is known for his 100% effort- his nickname among Fenerbahce fans is ‘Brave Heart’ or ‘Heart of Fenerbahce’. In 2004 he scored a hat trick against Manchester United in a Champions League encounter and he’s also bagged one in an international play off game with Switzerland.

He’s an adaptable player because with Sakaryaspor, his first club, Tuncay played on the right. At Fener the coaches switched him to the left and down the centre.

4641: Asian Cup 2007 Preview

by : Matthew Knott

While most international football eyes are turned towards the Copa America, another continental tournament is about to kick off on the other side of the world, and the 2007 Asian Cup features plenty of familiar faces and a few intriguing contests.

Running from the 7th to the 29th of July, a total of 16 teams will contest the competition, joint-hosted by Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. Two nations will qualify from each of the four groups into the quarter-finals.

The early favourites are debut entrants Australia. The ‘Socceroos’ have only recently joined the Asian confederation in order to achieve more regular competitive football, but are much fancied due to their buoyant displays at last year’s World Cup and a squad heavy on European experience.

Harry Kewell and Tim Cahill have been declared fit, despite missing much of last season, while Newcastle's summer signing Mark Viduka reversed an earlier decision to retire from international football. Their strong selection also comprises of Premier League stars Mark Schwarzer, Lucas Neill and Brett Emerton, along with Mark Bresciano and Vince Grella of Serie A.

Australia will be expected to comfortably progress from Group A, which is completed by Iraq, Oman and Thailand. However, it remains to be seen how they will handle the transition from usual underdogs to expected trophy lifters.

In order to triumph at the first attempt the Australians will most likely need to dispatch double reigning champions Japan. The Samurai Blue have been the dominant force in the Asian Cup over the last two decades, and will be looking to avenge last year's World Cup defeat in a potential showpiece final.

Coach Ivica Osim has chosen a largely young, domestic-based squad, rounded out by Celtic playmaker Shunsuke Nakamura, and Eintract Frankfurt attacker Naohiro Takahara. However, with the J.League continuing until the weekend before the opening game, Osim has been rather scathing about his limited preparation opportunities and has downplayed his team's chances.

Nonetheless, the Japanese should comfortably emerge from a group containing Qatar, UAE and Vietnam, and will be one of the teams to beat.

China and Iran look to be favourites in Group C, which also features Malaysia and Uzbekistan. The Iranians are three-time winners of the tournament, but haven't tasted success since 1976. However, they achieved third place in the 2004 competition, and topped their qualifying group ahead of Korea.

With a burgeoning economy and a huge interest in football, China appeared to be one of the emergent nations in the global game. However, since their first World Cup qualification in 2002, and a run to the final as hosts of the last Asian Cup, the Chinese have stagnated somewhat. A crushing 4-1 defeat to the United States was far from ideal preparation for a squad including Sun Jihai and Dong Fangzhou.

Finally, in Group D Korea Republic are deprived of the Premiership trio of Park Ji Sung, Lee Young Pyo and Seol Ki-Hyeon, although Middlesborough’s Lee Dong Gook is included. The Taeguk Warriors looked in good shape without them as they downed Iraq 3-0 recently. They will face a stern test in the shape of Saudi Arabia, looking to make amends for an extremely poor showing in 2004. Prior to that, the Saudis had a formidable record of reaching the final in every competition since their entry in 1984. Competing with them will be Bahrain and Indonesia.

The winners will have to negotiate several sets of partisan crowds baying for upsets and particularly stifling conditions, not to mention the renewal of a few rivalries in the knock out stages.

4640: 20 Handy Facts About Eduardo D

by : Hugh Larkin

So Arsene Wenger did it again. He kept his counsel while speculation mounted about what effect Henry’s departure would have on the team and delivered a signing that the media hadn’t seen coming. So who is the new Gunner with a big responsibility on his shoulders?

1. Eduardo Alves Da Silva was born in Rio Janiero but moved to Zagreb, capital of Croatia at the age of 15.

2. He has a mightily impressive 73 goals in just 104 senior games for Dinamo Zagreb. He was named the Croatian First League’s Player of the Year in 2006.

3. On international duty he has 7 goals in his 12 appearances including a hat-trick away in Israel. He took Croatian citizenship in 2002.

4. One of those goals was the looping header that went over Paul Robinson in the Euro 2008 qualifier in October 2006.

5. The previous Croatian coach did not select Eduardo for the 2006 World Cup, considering him too young. Slaven Bilic has made him a first choice since he took over

6. Last season in Croatia Eduardo delivered an impressive 34 goals in 32 appearances and he has been top scorer in the First Division for two years running. Three of these were a hat-trick against massive rivals Hadjuk Split- the first ever in that derby game.

7. Arsenal fans should remember him. The striker scored the first goal at the Emirates Stadium is a Champions League qualifier in August 2006. Arsenal won the tie 5-1 on aggregate though.

8. Eduardo showed his class early in his career when Dinamo loaned him to Inter Zapresic in 2002/03. The then 19 year old bagged 10 goals in just 15 starts.

9. The player is nicknamed ‘Dudu’ and will wear the No 9 shirt for the Gunners.

10. In the 2006 European under-21 Finals he scored in all three of Croatia’s games.

11. As well as the goal against England and hat-trick v Israel, Eduardo has scored the winner in both of Croatia’s last two qualifiers.

12. The player prefers to be called Dudu or Eduardo- Da Silva is his mother’s maiden name.

13. Eduardo plays as a left sided attacker, though he is adaptable. He’s noted for close control and positive runs at defenders.

14. When he arrived in Croatia he hated the cold, plus he didn’t speak a word of Croatian. Dinamo arranged a loan spell back in Brazil before bringing him back to the reserves. The loan period at Inter Zapresic advanced his claim to a first team berth.

15. Reports of the transfer fee vary. The BBC rates it at £7.5 million but sources at Dinamo claim it will go much higher.

16. Whatever his other qualities, Eduardo has been bought because of his reputation as a consummate finisher- which Arsenal have lacked.

17. There is another Brazilian striker called Eduardo Da Silva in European football who currently plays for Basle in Switzerland.

18. Arsenal beat off strong interest from Spartak Moscow to land the player. Juventus, Ajax and PSV were said to be ‘monitoring’ him

19. Earlier this year Eduardo was quoted as saying that Sevilla were his favourite club and his preferred destination if he left Zagreb

20. He has won 6 major trophies during his time with Dinamo, including two titles.

4639: Reading Season Review 2006/07

by : Hugh Larkin

Manchester United may have taken the title but in many ways the most impressive performance in the top flight was Reading’s. Finally in the highest division for the first time they carried on where they left off in the Championship and ended in a stunning 8th position.

The Royals had dominated the Championship and came up with a squad that had changed very little. Seol Ki Hyeon of South Korea and Ecuadorean Ulises De La Cruz were virtually the only real additions to Steve Coppell’s team.

By the end of the season though, there was one player capped for England and another signed by Chelsea, such was the quality already at the Madjeski Stadium - many of the squad are internationals for their countries anyway, so this wasn’t a shoestring effort by any means.

Coppell’s team demonstrated the value of application, solid organisation, work rate and a willingness to play on the ball. The Royals competed for everything and defended like professionals should but they also had a spark which meant they had ambition beyond settling for 17th place.

Reading pocketed a win in their first outing- an exciting encounter with Middlesbrough. There was some concern when they lost the next two but wins over Manchester City and Sheffield United put nine points on the board after 5 games.

When the team then forced a highly creditable draw with Manchester United, pundits were already talking about the team easily avoiding the drop, a prediction that proved to be entirely accurate. For some time Steve Sidwell had been spoken of as a Premiership player of the future but many of his colleagues were equally unfazed by the new challenge.

In October there was the controversial game with Chelsea and the fallout from that game seemed to affect the team. This became the only crisis point in their season as they hit a run of four League defeats on the bounce. Happily, Coppell’s men stormed back to beat Spurs 3-1 to begin a run of 5 consecutive wins.

Entering the Christmas period Reading were sitting pretty with target number one- survival- as good as guaranteed. To confirm their standing they forced a draw at Chelsea and went down by just the odd goal in five at Old Trafford, before caning West Ham 6-0 to celebrate New Year.

Kevin Doyle proved a handful for opposing defences and finished with 13 League goals in his first top flight season. Leroy Lita also looked a top prospect and Steven Hunt, Seol and Sidwell all chipped in a few.

At the back the defence was sound, protected by a grafting midfield. Ivar Ingirmirsson played all 38 League games and proved what a great investment the £100,000 Reading paid for him had become; Nicky Shorey had come from Orient and ended the year as an England cap and US keeper Marcus Hahnemann was ever present and always solid.

By the turn of the year, the emphasis had changed from survival to a possible UEFA Cup spot, though boss Coppell was always ambivalent about whether this would be good for the club.

In the event, a understandable strand of inconsistency infected Reading’s game as the spring approached- there were defeats at Middlesbrough, Arsenal and Spurs, plus a home reverse to Liverpool. However, the squad rallied impressively to deliver three wins on the spin.

Just a single point from the final two games scuppered their European ambitions but overall it did little to dampen the celebrations after a stunning first campaign. Ever the realist, Coppell was already trying to bring down expectations for the difficult second season.

Before the campaign ended, Reading were aware that Steve Sidwell would be leaving and some of their other stars have been attracting unwanted attention from other clubs. Given the cash being spent around them, the Royals would probably settle for the same finishing position next year.

Reading’s task now is to avoid the fate of Wigan, who only clung on to a Premiership place at the death after enjoying a brilliant first season. With Coppell in charge no one will be resting on their laurels and 2007/08 should be another enjoyable one for Reading fans.

4638: Middlesbrough: July 2007 Trans

by : Cody Strunk

With a season in charge under his belt, Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate is now looking to take the club to the next level with a revamp of the squad that he inherited from Steve McClaren. According to the estimable Steve Gibson, the onus now is on “flair, pace and strength”, with the belief that they “have the chance of pulling off one or two spectacular signings”.

The priorities for Southgate would appear to be in attack, where the departure of Mark Viduka has already deprived him of one regular goalscorer, while rumours continue to circulate surrounding the future of Yakubu Aiyegbeni. Were the Nigerian international also to depart, Middlesbrough would look decidedly lightweight in terms of their goal threat, even allowing for the signings of Jeremie Aliadiere and Tuncay Sanli (the latter perhaps coming under the aforementioned category of “spectacular signings”?).

A £6 million bid for Alan Smith was apparently deemed acceptable to Manchester United, although it seems that the England international was less agreeable to the deal. With Sir Alex Ferguson said to be looking for a new striker, it would appear that Smith’s days at Old Trafford are numbered, so a deal could yet materialise. Whether any combination of Smith, Tuncay, Aliadiere and Lee Dong-Gook would be capable of compensating for the combined loss of Viduka and Yakubu in terms of goals has to be open to serious doubt. Jermain Defoe or Nicolas Anelka would probably be capable of filling the void, but whether either would fancy a move to Boro is another thing.

Right-back is another area that Southgate has been looking to strengthen, with the two names apparently in the frame at present being Charlton Athletic’s Luke Young and AZ Alkmaar’s Icelandic international, Gretar Steinsson. The latter would appear the more likely as things stand, with the recently announced pre-season game with the Dutch side perhaps being arranged as part of an imminent deal.

Southgate is also looking for greater quality further forward on the right-flank and his luck could just be in were he make a quick move for Swedish international Christian Wilhelmsson, whose proposed move to Roma appears to have fallen through after his loan deal from Nantes for the second-half of last season. With Nantes having been relegated from Ligue 1 in France, both club and player are likely to be keen to do business. West Bromwich Albion’s Zoltan Gera is another long-term target that would fit the bill. A move for Tuncay’s countryman, Trabzonspor’s Gokdeniz Karadeniz has fallen through after Boro were unable to reach agreement with his club.

In midfield, Portsmouth’s Gary O’Neil has been mentioned as a possible target, with Pompey’s interest in Yakubu leading to speculation of a player-plus-cash deal. With Manchester City now seemingly in pole position for the striker, the chances of luring O’Neil to the Riverside look remote. Being Middlesbrough, there is also the obligatory link with a Brazilian player. Thiago Motta, surplus to requirements at Barcelona, being the most recent.

Right-back aside the defence looks reasonably solid, especially now that Jonathan Woodgate has been brought in on a permanent basis. The future of goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer seems less clear, so a move for Craig Gordon at Hearts would seem sensible.

The key to Boro’s season looks largely dependent on the future of Yakubu. If he stays, Southgate has a proven Premiership scorer to rely on. Should he move on, Boro will need to move quickly to secure a suitable replacement. With no such player capable of filling that role currently on the books, the hunt will be on for another big name recruit.

4637: Liverpool will miss Garcia's B

by : Paul Grech

There won't be the eulogies that followed Thierry Henry's exit from English football, but Luis Garcia's return to Spain deserves a lot more than a simple passing mention.

And he’ll be getting that from the red half of Merseyside. It says a lot of the high regard in which he was held that the sadness of his departure overshadowed the news that Fernando Torres had passed his medical to edge his move to Liverpool closer.

Stories of his possible move back home had long been making the rounds. Earlier this year it had been reported that he was willing to move back to Atletico Madrid, a story that was later partially rejected by the player. When Liverpool made a move for West Ham’s Yossi Benayoun, a player with similar characteristics, it started to transpire that Garcia’s time at the club was coming to a close.

That Liverpool allowed him to leave so easily, not to mention cheaply – especially given the high regard that Garcia is held by Benitez – and the fact that his deal was completely separate from the one that should bring Torres to Anfield hint that the rumours that he wanted to move his young family back home were true.

Whatever the reason, he will be missed.

Yet not everyone at Anfield has been appreciative of Garcia. Indeed, there were many more than willing to moan each time he misplaced a pass or tried a bit of trickery that didn’t come off. And of course, he was all that and more. Frustratingly inconsistent, Garcia could not only be anonymous when off form, he was actually a problem with the ease with which he lost possession.

But there was also the other side, when he was on form and giving defenders headaches. Brilliant moves, fantastic talent and one of the few capable of turning the destiny of a game with one move, he was perhaps the most talented individual to put on the red shirt since Steve McManaman. How Liverpool could have used him during the Champions League final when they couldn’t find a way through a stubborn AC Milan defence. As the song went, he had really come from Barca to bring joy.

There were also the goals, over thirty in two and a half season is a great return for a midfielder especially as most of them are of the kind that will be forever etched in Liverpool’s history. His goal against Buffon in the Champions League quarter final or the one, later in the same competition, that according to Mourinho never was. Garcia loved playing, and scoring, against Chelsea and another superb effort during last year’s FA Cup semi-final would make the final cut for the best goals scored in recent years.

Perhaps the saddest aspect of the transfer is that Garcia never got the farewell he deserved from the Anfield crowd, that the sangria song didn’t get one proper final airing. It will do so when the two cross paths again and, whenever that happens, Liverpool’s appreciation for King Luis will be played out.