Less than a week after making his World Cup debut for the United States, Stuart Holden has revealed
that he would have been open to representing Scotland - his country of birth - at the international
level, if he were only given the opportunity. He also urged the Scottish Football Association to
take notice of his younger brother Euan (pictured at right) or risk losing another talented
Scottish-born player to the U.
By Chris Wright
Oh, what a beautiful morning. Here's the round-up...
Rumour No. 1: AC Milan are considering a £20 million raid on Manchester United
for misfiring striker Dimitar Berbatov.
An anonymous spokesman for the Serie A giants has been quoted as saying;
"No contact has been made yet but we admire Berbatov.
You could be excused for being a bit maddened by the fact that many sides this week, have a
massive amount of key players either injured of doubtful ahead of their respective Week 6 fixtures.
Arsenal and Manchester City are hurting the most, both figuratively and literaly. Here's a quick
look at who is lounging in the physio's office:
Arsenal are missing five players ahead of their test with West Bromwich Albion.
Will the guilty party please put us all out of our misery!
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It seems that somehow the identity of the brothel visiting Premier League manager has somehow
remained a secret but it does appear some managers are emerging as front runners in the sleaze race
and the name mentioned most often in chatrooms and other hugely scientific places, appears to be a
certain Avram Grant (although we are not stating that this means he is the guilty party).
Birmingham City continued their fine season with an excellent victory at Goodison Park. Goals
from Cristian Benitez and Barry Ferguson gave Alex McLeish's side a two goal lead that they held
onto until Leon Osman grabbed one back for Everton but the St Andrews' side held on to make it to
round five of the FA Cup.
Below is a list of every Premier League club and the latest transfer news!
spotted at the telegraph
Arsenal
Arsenal will battle it out with Liverpool and Tottenham to sign out-of-favour Manchester City
winger Shaun Wright-Phillips for a cut-price £6 million.
Squad Profiles are available for each of the twenty clubs currently playing in the
Premier League. They are an overview of each club and specifically denote players to highly
consider selecting for your side. Others have been ear-marked to watch out for as they may be new
to the Premiership or returning from injury.
So, guys, here we are, looking ahead to the final third of the Premier League campaign. And what
a season it's been so far.
Birmingham City, much derided as potential divisional whipping boys, have been the surprise
package, currently sitting eighth after Alex McLeish's strictly regimented men have continued to
secure results.
Anybody thinking that Liverpool will be spending big in this summer's transfer window will have to
think again. The signing of Milan Jovanovic from Standard Liège may be a worrying sign of how the
summer is set to pan out for Liverpool, and an insight in to the group of players Benitez will be
looking at.
Upton Park boss lines up move for White Hart Lane forward.
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Russian and Tottenham Hotspur forward Roman Pavlyuchenko looks set for the exit door
this at White Hart Lane this summer with Spartak Moscow and Zenit St Petersburg among the
frontrunners to clinch the Russian's signature.
After the latest round of both the Champions League and the Euro-Disney League, we refocus our
attention on the Premier league for Week 7. There are some good looking fixtures this week, but
none match up to the London-derby between Chelsea and Arsenal on Sunday. But before we get too far
ahead of ourselves, let's take a look at who will not be featuring this week thanks to
their bastardly behavior:
A late and altogether stupid challenge in the dying minutes of Birmingham City's match with
Wigan Athletic in Week 6 saw Craig Gardner (CM) given a straight red.
Birmingham City's manager Alex McLeish has been told that Ryan Babel will consider a move to St
Andrews if a fee can be agreed with Liverpool.
McLeish is understood to have had a £9m offer for the 23-year-old striker rejected, despite the
fact that the Holland international has started just three Premier League games this season and has
primarily been used as a substitute.
A week after Manchester United's shock FA Cup exit, Sir Alex Ferguson fielded a side with
immense respect for Birmingham City's Alex McCleish at St. Andrews. A match that was 1 of only 2 to
survive the inclement weather on Saturday saw a 4-5-1 with Wayne Rooney in a lone striker role
supported by Ji-sung Park and Antonio Valencia on the wings.
Any pursuit of Liverpool forward Ryan Babel by Birmingham City may be redundant as the Netherlands
international has reportedly refused to join the recently promoted outfit, according to The
Mirror.
Blues boss Alex McLeish has built a formidable side capable of grinding out positive results, but
is believed to be recruiting a goal-scorer.
After Saturday's FA Cup exploits – when Chelsea put in a professional performance to see off
Preston North End – Chelsea are now nearing a return to the nitty-gritty of Premier League
action. Wednesday's visitors are Alex McLeish's rapidly improving Birmingham.
It won't be an easy game – just a month ago Birmingham ground out a nil-nil draw with an
uninspired Chelsea who, despite Lampard and Anelka missing good chances, never really looked like
snatching all three points.
At the start of the season, an away trip to newly promoted Birmingham City would be viewed as no
great challenge, but the form of Alex McLeish's team means that they must be treated as a very
serious threat.
Their midweek defeat to Chelsea brought an end to an unbeaten run stretching back 15 games.
Enough bench warming for these two White Hart Lane professional subs.
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Sunderland have turned to Tottenham Hotspur's Alan Hutton as Steve Bruce continues his
search for a new right-back.
Arsenal fans, even those with the poorest of memories, will struggle to forget that fateful day
at St. Andrews. Life though, has come a full circle and while that was a day to forget, this
Saturday could well turn out to be a day to remember. All three title chasers have tricky fixtures.
Will this be the day when Arsenal bury the ghost of Birmingham as United and Chelsea falter!
The Academy of Porn: David Gold and David Sullivan
These two should have stuck to making their porn.
At Birmingham, they did nothing but interfere with Steve Bruce's selection choices. Alex McLeish
hated their guts. Birmingham is better off without the burlesque.
Now they are going behind Gianfranco Zola's back and making bids on players without his
knowledge.
Birmingham fans finally see the back of him. Benitez rejected by Blues Birmingham boss Alex McLeish
will be in the market for a new striker this summer after sending Christian ‘Chucho' Benitez back
to Mexican side Santos Laguna. The Ecuador international arrived on loan at St Andrew's last summer
and Blues had the option of making the move permanent for around £6m.
Emirates boss lines up bid for England international.
Win the Club Shirt Of Your Choice Simply by Speaking Your Mind!
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is ready to make a big money move for Manchester City keeper Joe
Hart. Arsene Wenger is reportedly desperate for new keeping alternatives to serial bunglers Manuel
Almunia and Lukasz Fabianski and hopes that Roberto Mancini is ready to listen to offers in the
region of £8m for the England international.
A choice for Anfield Boss Rafa Benitez to consider during his summer holidays.
Win the Club Shirt Of Your Choice Simply by Speaking Your Mind!
Liverpool and Aston Villa have joined the race for Carlton Cole after it emerged last
night that West Ham rejected a £10million bid for the striker.
It would appear that a certain other Spanish international has replaced 'Cesc
Fabregas at the top of Barcelona's summer shopping list, with Liverpool's recently-shorn
hitman Fernando Torres now reported to be the Catalan's 'numero uno' transfer
priority.
Here's the best of what today's transfer gossip columns have to offer.
According to Sky Sports, Celtic could soon make a move for Birmingham forward James
McFadden.
Aiden McGeady is currently mulling over a 10m move to Spartak Moscow, and even if he doesn't
make the move to Russia, it looks highly unlikely that he'll be at Celtic Park when the summer
transfer window closes, with the likes of Aston Villa also interested in the Ireland
international.
Brum boss Alex McLeish has pulled out of a deal to sign Argentinean born Italy international,
Mauro Camoranesi. The 33-year-old Juventus winger was thought to be close to signing on at St.
Andrews, but after a small delay in contact McLeish backed out.
The former Scotland manager admitted "I have always been a big admirer (of Camoranesi) but
negotiations became protracted and I had a further think.
Belgian international Moussa Dembele has left AZ Alkmaar in Holland and sealed a dream move to
the EPL with Fulham.
The 23-year-old striker signed a three-year deal and will fight for a starting spot with Bobby
Zamora and Andrew Johnson. Dembele had a very successful Four-year spell in Holland, catching the
eye on several occasions in league play and also in European competition.
Barring this evening's late kick-off between Wigan and Chelsea, another Saturday's Premier
League action is in the books already. It goes without saying, this has been yet another eventful
round of fixtures with different clubs experiencing different emotions around the country.
The emotions were certainly running high at the Emirates, where an early sending off for
Blackpool's Ian Evatt opened the floodgates for Arsenal.
Bolton secured an exciting 2-2 draw in front of their home fans on Sunday as they came from
behind to grab a point against Birmingham City. The Blues held a 2-0 lead with just twenty minutes
remaining in the match, but goals from Kevin Davies and Robbie Blake frustrated Blues boss Alex
McLeish.
Birmingham's Roger Johnson got things going early on for the visitors as he scored in only the
fourth minute.
According to Colin Tattum at the Birmingham Mail, Birmingham boss Alex
McLeish admitted that he was interested in Fulham striker Bobby
Zamora and talked to the club privately to see if he could sign him. McLeish said,
"I never went back in for him officially, for Bobby .
Inspired by the great Joe Posnanski, I wondered how good the current crop of Premier League
managers were as players. Using a very clever system that I shall attempt to sell to Sky
Sports for big money in the future, I carefully assessed the field, then ranked it.
Top tier excellent players
1 Carlo Ancelotti Chelsea
2 Roberto Mancini Man City
3 Mark Hughes Fulham
Batch two top pros
4 Alex McLeish Birmingham
5 Steve Bruce Sunderland
6 Chris Hughton Newcastle
7 Roberto Di Matteo WBA
Third rate good careers
8 Owen Coyle Bolton
9 Mick McCarthy Wolves
10 Alex Ferguson Man Utd
11 Sam Allardyce Blackburn
12 Ian Holloway Blackpool
13 David Moyes Everton
14 Harry Redknapp Spurs
15 Roberto Martínez Wigan
16 Tony Pulis Stoke
The nags
17 Arsene Wenger Arsenal
18 Gerard Houllier Villa
19 Roy Hodgson Liverpool
20 Avram Grant West Ham
In short, they're pretty good.
By Ollie Irish
Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish has hailed the impact made by goalkeeper Ben
Foster.
Big Eck says Foster, signed from Man Utd for £6million, has begun his Brum career even better
than Joe Hart the current England No.
>> Click Here To Watch Manchester City Vs Birmingham Live Now <<
Manchester City Vs Birmingham Live Streaming & Match Preview
English Premier League – Manchester City Vs Birmingham Live Online Click Here
Saturday, 13th November 2010
Kick Off : 15:00 GMT
Venue : City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester England
The English Premier League fixture between Manchester City and Birmingham will be played at the
City of Manchester Stadium on Saturday 13th November 2010, kick-off is set for 3:00 PM.
Birmingham manager Alex McLeish is searching for a new forward with the central England club two
points above the three-team relegation zone after scoring just 17 goals in 17 matches.
I had Monday off so no column today (or next week for that matter as I burn up some mandatory
time off), but wanted to play a little catch up and note that:
*Out of contract Galaxy top scorer Edson Buddle, 29, could still join former Galaxy striker
Robbie Findley and sign with an English team after trying out with Birmingham City before
Christmas.
An interesting story coming from Alex McLeish today:
"City will take Joe Hart back at the end of the season," said the Birmingham manager.
"There is no chance of us signing him in January. We asked the question and they said that won't
happen. We never had an option from City to buy him.
High flying Birmingham City make offer for Anfield flop.
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Birmingham City yesterday kicked off the January transfer sales with an £8m bid for
Liverpool's Dutch winger Ryan Babel in the first indication that new owner Carson Yeung is ready to
back his manager, Alex McLeish, with significant funds.
Birmingham have made their first move in the January transfer window by offering Liverpool £8
million for the services of Ryan Babel.
The move for the Dutch winger is the first sign that Birmingham City owner Carson Yeung is serious
about backing manager Alex McLeish with the finances needed to continue the club's run of
impressive form this season.
photo credit: hughelectronic
1) Alex McLeish/Birmingham
That's right folks I have a surprise for you. The other Premier League manager named Alex
has impressed so far this season with his newboys currently residing in 8th place and one single
point behind Liverpool.
Ryan Babel could still become a Birmingham player during the transfer window.
The player's agent, Winnie Haatrecht, has denied claims that Liverpool have rejected a £9million
offer from the Midlands club for Babel and suggests the Dutch international is open to a move away
from Anfield.
According to Colin Tattum at the Birmingham Mail, Birmingham boss Alex
McLeish would neither confirm nor deny that he made an £11 million offer for
Sunderland striker Kenwyne Jones. When asked, McLeish said,
"We've made inquiries about a lot of people .
