Vote for the African Premier League player who has been the best ambassador for Africa here...The winner will be declared on the 30th of November 2009
Drogba signed a new advertising contract with Pepsi and pledged the entire £3m he earned from the deal to the setting-up of a hospital and orphanage in Ivory Coast.

Click to continue reading...

There seems to be a lot of confusion over how much Liverpool paid/will eventually pay Roma for the services of Alberto Aquilani. Figures such as £20m, £17m and £5m (!) have been bandied about, but the truth is the total outlay could (potentially) turn out to be much more.
On the 8th August 2009, Roma released official details of Aquilani's transfer fee. Click to continue reading...

It is widely believed that Liverpool acquired Jan Kromkamp for free as part of a player-exchange with Josemi. Every official source that has looked into Liverpool's transfer dealings has stated the same alleged fact. Well, after some research, that myth can now be debunked - Liverpool actually paid a surprisingly large transfer fee for the ineffective Krompkamp, the amount of which some may find surprising
According to Liverpool's annual report for 2005, Kromkamp cost the club £4. Click to continue reading...

Misfiring striker Andriy Voronin has told of his determination to help Liverpool get this season back on track. Does he have anything to offer or is he a lost cause?
The Ukraine striker has yet to find the back of the net in eight games this season, and to be fair, hasn't even looked remotely like scoring. Click to continue reading...

No decision will be taken over the future of the indoor York Road Market in Southend, until a comprehensive consultation has been carried out, longpier.com understands.
The 90-year old indoor market was suddenly closed on October 17, after a structural report on the building revealed potentially dangerous health and safety issues. Click to continue reading...

Marlon King was once infamously described as being a £60m footballer by Watford, what with him being their key to Premiership involvement. Turns out he was neither the key nor was he worth that amount of money. Rather he was worth £3m two years ago before delving into journeyman loan status, which puts him as [. Click to continue reading...

Some Lovely Links Just For You!

Portsmouth Vs Liverpool Tickets Still Available!

Portsmouth Vs Manchester United Tickets Still Available!

Subscribe to CaughtOffside!

Subscribe

Join Us on Twitter!

Click to continue reading...

There has been a lot of heated debate about Rafa's signings and overall effectiveness since the ‘leaked' conversation between George Gillett and a member of the ‘Spirit of Shankly' group. How much cash has Rafa really spent since becoming manager and how much has he brought back in through sales? Click to continue reading...

This week saw the annual release of the club's financial reports (The full report may be downloaded here). After much speculation for the last six months, especially from groups with their own agendas (i.e., Red & White Holdings, the media, and "Arsene Out!" supporters), we can finally see the true state of the club's finances.

Click to continue reading...

Former Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan has won £2M compensation plus interest, in damages from a Premier League arbitration panel, after his constructive dismissal claim against Newcastle United of � £10M. Kevin Keegan - gets £2M plus interest sttlement We estimated earlier this morning that Kevin would get� � £3M but this is good news for the [. Click to continue reading...

Redknapp looking to seal deal for troubled midfielder.

The 25-year-old has fallen out of favour at Villa Park and is reportedly keen on a move back to London.

Tottenham are also thought to be interested in the former England U21 international.

Villa manager Martin O'Neill paid West Ham £8.

Click to continue reading...

Los Cules strolled to a comfortable 4-1 win over Racing last night thanks to a double from the Messiah and two additional goals from Pique and Ibracadabra. What else did you expect? For Puyolita to bag a hat-trick of own goals? That won't be happening anytime soon!

Click to continue reading...

In the old days, Reid loved doughnuts more than corner kicks
I was leaning all week towards Everton's Steven Pienaar - his goal last night in the Europa League only further confirming his chance as a Funny Feeling Friday� selection - but, having selected Everton's Rodwell just a few weeks ago - and seeing as Pienaar is already owned by about 7% of managers - I went with an unlikely selection, the less than 1% owned Andy Reid. Click to continue reading...

We're heading into a new season of European football, which for most people really only means Champions League football. The big question ahead of every Champions League season is of course not who wins it - Stuttgart won't, Wolfsburg won't and most probably Bayern won't either so why bother - but who earns how much.

Click to continue reading...

I've refrained from discussing the whole Paul Pogba/Le Havre thing for a few days, because I'm still not entirely sure what to make of it. My goal is to do a fair amount of research and lay it out as best I can. For now, I thought you all might enjoy this gem that was uncovered over on RedCafe.

It seems that Pogba originally played with Roissy-en-Brie before joining U.

Click to continue reading...

Bayern Munich right-back Christian Lell went missing when Stoke City Tony Pulis wanted to sign him in the last few hours of the summer transfer window. A £3m deal was negotiated swiftly between Stoke and Bayern but the German club could not � located the defender in time to finalise personal terms. With less than a couple [. Click to continue reading...

As our currently absent Miss Spur alluded to some time ago, Niko Kranjcar finally completed his move to Spurs yesterday. It's a Croatian to replace a Croatian by the looks of things after Luka Modric picked up a significant injury at the weekend.

After being linked with a number of targets on deadline day, some good and some worryingly bad, we ended up with just the one signing and probably the best of the bunch at that.

Click to continue reading...

.Arsenal Transfered In: Thomas Vermaelen (Ajax, £11m), Damian Martinez (Club Athletico Independiente, £1.3m), Jamie Edge (Cheltenham, undisc) Transfered Out: Abu Ogogo (Dag & Red, free), Amaury Bischoff (Academica de Coimbra, free), Emmanuel Adebayor (Man C, £25m), Kolo Toure (Man C, £14m), Jay Simpson (QPR, loan), James Dunne (Exeter, free), Rui Fonte (Lisbon, free), Rene Steer (Oldham, free), [. Click to continue reading...

In the end, it was a damp squib of a transfer deadline day, hyped to the nines but delivering nothing of interest, and nothing at all for Arsenal.

The whole absurd day, which has become a newspaper-selling website-hitting phenomenon all of its own, with Sky Sports News the very worst culprit, is summed up for me by this one entry from the Guardian's live transfer deadline day page:

5.

Click to continue reading...

We said in the match preview that if Coloccini starts tonight he will be staying on Tyneside well guess what? � He's not even on the bench. That probably means a deal's in place for Coloccini to leave Tyneside so maybe the Fenebahce story that he'll be sold for 3M may be true [...] Click to continue reading...

There are mixed reports about whether Bolton Wanderers are about to sign Croatian international Ivan Klasnic from recently relegated Nantes. It is thought that Klasnic has been flown over to sign with The Wanderers today, but whether he will be on loan from the Ligue 2 side or signed permanently for a reported £3m is uncertain.

Click to continue reading...

News today that Everton want £3M for 21 year-old striker James Vaughan that has alerted Premier league clubs like Stoke, Hull and Bolton, make it unlikely we'll be able to capture. James Vaughan Newcastle bid in trouble Although James could still want to come to Tyneside, because he'll get his chance this season, that's for sure, [. Click to continue reading...

With Joleon Lescott gone seeking Arab riches at Manchester City, Everton were left with a sizable void in defense - until they completed the purchase of Sylvain Distin from Portsmouth.
Distin is our funny feeling Friday� selection this week - an underrated, out of form, or unpopular (in fantasy terms) player who should start producing in the short term. Click to continue reading...

According to Italian Sports media "La Gazzetta dello Sport" &announced as official here in Spain by Spanish daily "Marca",REAL MADRID midfielder WESLEY SNEIJDER has understoodthat REAL MADRID will not count with him for this season,or any other, & has finally accepted to be transferred toINTER MILAN. Click to continue reading...

Not to be confused with Georges W. Buckley, CEO of 3M corporation, Peruvian referee Georges Buckley was arrested in connection with his failure to appear in court for smoking pot while a student in Chile 12 years ago. Can someone run a similar check on Stuart Atwell? I bet you'd find some plants accidentally growing [. Click to continue reading...

With the signing of Joleon Lescott yesterday for for £24million, Manchester City have now spent £216.5m in transfer fees in the last 12 months.

Mark Hughes' incredible spree on 13 new players, plus Stuart Taylor and Sylvinho on frees, has rocked English soccer and newspaper reports say that City's Arab owners have pledged even more if boss Sparky can identify anyone else he wants before the deadline, plus another £100m in January!

Click to continue reading...

Jose Enrique could be the next big name to leave Newcastle United according to� The Mirror. Apparently Atletico Madrid are hoping to table a £3m million bid for the defender we signed from Villarreal two years ago for £6.3m. Enrique has also apparently piqued the interest of Real Zaragosa but only as part of a loan deal. Click to continue reading...

He looked terrible against Wigan but brilliant against Liverpool.
Go figure.
Is he back to his best?
In a World Cup year you could do much worse than taking a punt on Aston Villa's Ashley Young.
With a price of just 8.3M (down from 8.5M at the start of the season) and favorable fixtures coming up over the next month, this surely would not� be a case of "chasing last week's points. Click to continue reading...

Rafael Benítez is unlikely to approve any further sales of Liverpool players as his team struggles to cope with a growing injury list.
The Anfield manager has dismissed speculation that the winger Albert Riera and striker Andriy Voronin could be leaving, with Barcelona and Hertha Berlin, respectively, showing interest. Click to continue reading...

French Ligue 1 holders Bordeaux have rejected a €5m offer from West Ham United for ace forward Marouane Chamakh. The Hammers had tabled a £4.3m (€5m) + a 50% on next sale clause bid for the Moroccan, but Bordeaux turned the offer down saying it was not acceptable. Arsenal have also had a £6m bid for [. Click to continue reading...

The summer transfer period is almost over. Rafa brought in Johnson and of course Aquilani to strengthen the team after Hyypia, Arbeloa and Alonso, among others, left us.

The question that most fans are asking is whether there will be more signings before the start of the season this weekend.

Click to continue reading...

This match-up would of course have been a Premier League one last term but both sides were relegated and looking to bounce back at the first attempt. Newcastle United showed some grit and determination to fight back from a goal down and are indebted to substitute keeper Tim Krul who pulled off a string of fine saves.

Click to continue reading...

Fernando Torres has spoken of his sadness following the death of former teammate Dani Jarque on Saturday.
The Espanyol captain, who played alongside Torres when Spain won the European U19 Championships in 2002, died of a heart attack following a training session in Italy.
Torres said: "In these hard times I want to express my sincere condolences and I offer all my support to Dani's family, friends and Espanyol teammates. Click to continue reading...

Bolton Wanderers are reported to be making a double midfield swoop for Aurélien Capoue and Miguel Ángel Angulo.

The French 27 year old, Aurélien Capoue, was almost certainly going to Blackburn Rovers, on loan from Nantes for a season. Now it looks like Bolton's manager, Gary Megson is in direct competition with former Bolton boss, Sam Allardyce.

Click to continue reading...

After a quiet couple of days with most of the media focused on their season predictions and the like, transfer rumours and reports appear to be back in swing. And, with us supposedly leading the way (surprisingly).
The Guardian is reporting that we are set to tie up a deal for Matthew Upson from West Ham should we put in a bid of around £15 million:

Manchester City will encounter little resistance from West Ham United if they follow up their interest in Matthew Upson with a bid of around £15m.

Click to continue reading...