There's very little that surprises us here at Inside Left Towers these days. When we first heard SFA Chief Executive Gordon Smith blithely announce only days after he sacked his national team manager that those pariahs of the Scottish game, Alan McGregor, Barry Ferguson and Kris Boyd would be eligible for selection by any [. Click to continue reading...

According to ESPN Soccernet, Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie expects the club's transfer ban to be lifted before the January transfer window. He said,

"My understanding is that we would expect the transfer ban to be lifted in good time for us to continue trading in January.

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Goal video highlights from the New Zealand vs Bahrain second leg OFC/AFC FIFA World Cup 2010 playoff. Final score :- New Zealand 1-0 Bahrain ( Rory Fallon 45′ ) Result:- New Zealand win the two legged playoff 1-0 on aggregate, and qualify for their first World Cup since 1982. For Bahrain, it is another case of [. Click to continue reading...

AC Milan thinks it's being nice by offering tickets at a discount rate to win back disgruntled fans.
I hate it when stories try to portray teams are being nice in these circumstances.
The team is just trying to make as much money as possible. With less demand, you have to lower the price. Click to continue reading...

This week� saw the news that Chelsea have joined Newcastle United in openly stating that they are considering selling the naming rights to� one of� England's � most established stadiums.

Opening myself to accusations of being overdramatic� I� believe that� if today's announcement to tinker with the name of Stamford Bridge for commercial rights goes ahead it will be one of the biggest events in the clubs history.

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The bald one, Peter Kenyon, set a goal of winning two Champions League crowns within a decade when he took over as Chelsea chief executive in 2004. Our new chief, Ron Gourlay is upping the stakes.

"Over the next five years we've still got to shoot for the stars," Gourlay said. "I'd still like to think we can win the Champions League twice in the next five years.

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Via the official Web site...

Tell us your background as a player in Scotland.
My footballing background goes back many years. I was a player in my younger days and I had a number of trials around some of the local teams, but never really made it onto the big stage. I was a big fan of football as well.

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According to The Shields Gazzette, Middlesbrough have no intentions of selling winger Adam Johnson despite interest from Sunderland. Chief executive Keith Lamb was quoted as saying,

"We have had no approach from Sunderland, nor would we welcome one .

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When the story first broke that Newcastle United's Mike Ashley had decided to sell the naming rights to St James Park, it seemed unlikely that he was doing it with the best interests of the supporters of the club at heart. However, the confirmation made this week that for the rest of this season St James Park will be known as "sportsdirect.

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I did not think that any team could outdo Newcastle for their off-field antics, but Portsmouth is determined to outdo even Mike Ashley. Portsmouth's season has descended yet further into chaos with news that the Premier League have hit them with a transfer ban.

The Premier League confirmed reports by the DailyMail that they had taken the drastic action because of Portsmouth's debts to other English clubs that remain outstanding.

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Good news for the Premiership as Barclays have extended their global title sponsorship of the Premier League for a further three years.

The new £82.25m deal is a 25 percent increase on the previous three-year contract, will run from the 2010/11 season to the end of the 2012/13 season.

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Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis is expected to detail the club's transfer policy at today's AGM.
The Times says Arsenal made a £28 million profit on transfers in the summer, the third time in the past five years that manager Arsene Wenger has generated a surplus.
Gazidis, the chief executive, will be asked to explain the reasons for the low level of spending on players, compared with other top clubs, and why the board rejected a proposal to raise fresh transfer funding through a rights issue in July. Click to continue reading...

Here is more of my ongoing investigation into why the Somerset Premier Cup continues to be played even though no one wants to play in it (If you have not you would probably be best off reading my previous posts entitled Cup Kafkaesque and The Blue Blazers Speak first).
After Somerset FA Chief Executive Jonathan Pike's surprising response where he implied that the Somerset FA puts on the Somerset Premier Cup only because they are forced to by the FA, I sent him another email just to definitely make sure this is what he meant. Click to continue reading...

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis declared waiting time for the Gunners should end this season as the squad is strong enough to challenge for silverware. Gazidis, who accepted the post with Arsenal in 2008, added that ... Click to continue reading...

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis declared waiting time for the Gunners should end this season as the squad is strong enough to challenge for silverware. Gazidis, who accepted the post with Arsenal in 2008, added that ...

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Chief Executive speaks out.

Arsene Wenger has been informed that the Arsenal hierarchy expect him to deliver a long-awaited trophy this season.

The Gunners have failed to land a piece of silverware since tasting FA Cup glory in 2005.

There have been numerous near misses over the course of the past four years, but there is a growing sense of frustration around Emirates Stadium at the lack of success.

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How can you not love these guys? That run in the '06 World Cup was a blast.
And led by awesome-dude Tim Cahill the team is going to help out the earthquake and tsunami victims in Samoa and Indonesia.
Not just a neat goal celebration.

Football Federation Australia (FFA) said it will donate one dollar for every fan who attends the Socceroos' matches against the Netherlands in Sydney on Saturday and against Oman in Melbourne next week.

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Los Angeles Galaxy star David Beckham has had a successful return to Major League Soccer this summer. Last winter, Beckham went on loan to AC Milan for the second half of the Serie A side which helped to keep him in form for the English National Team. There has been speculation about whether he will complete a similar move to improve his chances being on the World Cup Finals roster.

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Avram Grant has been named director of football at Fratton Park. My apologies for twittering prematurely that Paul Hart had been sacked this morning- I watch sky sports with groggy eyes. But I think the writing is on the wall and my guess is that recent financial insanity at Portsmouth probably has the funds needed to send Hart on his way tied up. Click to continue reading...

I had a response to my email (see Cup Kafkaesque) to Jonathan Pike today.
Here it is:

The Premier Cup is, as the name would suggest, the premier competition in Somerset; however I am aware that it has lost some of its lustre among the competing clubs in recent years and I know that a number of the clubs have at times questioned the relevance of the competition, especially in comparison with league fixtures or lucrative FA competition matches.

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According to ESPN Soccernet, Wolverhampton have filed a complaint to the Premier League and Football Association against Bolton as they are accusing them of making an illegal approach for one of their players. The player involved in this accusation is Mark Connolly who was purchased by Bolton for a fee between £400,000 and £1.

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According to Neil Allen and Jordan Cross at The News, Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie admitted that the club can now look towards the future and spend now that Ali Al Faraj took over the club. Storrie said,

"Ali Al Faraj wants to take the club forward, he wants to build a stadium and training ground and obviously he's got to fight a few fires for the next week or two and put those out.

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Update: Ali Al Faraj has completed his takeover of Portsmouth, acquiring a 90% stake in the club. Sulaiman Al Fahim retains a 10% share.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

After Sulaiman Al-Fahim pulled the wool over the Premier League's eyes once during the Manchester City takeover by pretending to be the owner and making pre-posterous claims on who Manchester City could sign, the actual owners quietly sidelined him and brought in a more measured representative.

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Big Story
What is it acceptable for fans to chant at football matches? I (hope!) we can all agree there are clearly some things that should always be out of bounds anywhere in the world, such as racist chanting/abuse, and some countries (hello, Italy and Spain) have more work to do than others.

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Ireland will face a daunting World Cup play-off clash against one of Europe's top teams after FIFA made a dramatic u-turn and confirmed they will use a seeding system for the European play-offs.
After a FIFA meeting in Rio de Janeiro last night, President Sepp Blatter confirmed: "We have decided on seeding the teams into two groups of four, taking the Fifa world rankings into account, with the top four in one pot and the others in another pot. Click to continue reading...

Since 1990, many things have conspired to rob Liverpool of the league title, but one thing in particular has brought with it extraordinary bad luck. Liverpool fans should rejoice though as it looks like this long-running jinx could be lifted very soon.
I am, of course, referring to Liverpool's sponsorship deal with Carling, which is reportedly set to end in mid-2010. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool legend Graeme Souness was tough-tackling monster of a player who combined prodigious talent with a ferocity that made him feared by the opposition. It seems that this mean-streak continued into his managerial career, with one of his own players on the receiving end of a deadly Souness special. Click to continue reading...

Last Friday, Chelsea Football Club received FIFA's written rationale behind its recent decision to impose a two-window transfer ban on the London club.� With the football world� now fixated on� the issue of tapping-up youngsters,� you would've thought that Chelsea would be keeping a low profile when it comes to young recruits.

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Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has agreed a two-year extension to his current contract with the FAI.
Speculation had been rife that a new deal was near completion, and it is now understood that the Italian has signed a two-year extension to his current deal, which was due at the end of the present campaign. Click to continue reading...

As you probably know, in recent years, Arsenal has dramatically strengthened its ties to the United States. Arsenal hired Ivan Gazidis, who was born in South Africa, grew up in England, but worked as an attorney in the United States before becoming deputy commissioner of MLS, as its chief executive in 2008.

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"I have got two season tickets at Old Trafford and sit in the main stand in a normal seat," said Cole. "I am a United fan and just mingle in, paying my money like everybody else – though United's chief executive David Gill usually sees me. I saw him at halftime during the Arsenal game recently and he shouted: 'Get your boots on, we need some goals.

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Chelsea� announced today Peter Kenyon will resign his role as chief executive of the club at the end of next month. Following his full-time departure on Oct. 31, Kenyon will remain with the club as a non-executive director for an unspecified amount of time.

"I am extremely proud of my time at Chelsea and of the friendships I have forged with everyone here," Kenyon said.

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The Premier League have introduced a home-grown player rule which will come into effect from next season, alongside a limit on squad sizes.
From the 2010/11 campaign, the 20 Premier League clubs have voted to introduce measures which will see all teams required to have eight home-grown players out of a squad of 25. Click to continue reading...

Sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe has welcomed the Premier League's new rules on home-grown players and club finances as being good for the long-term health of football.
The 20 clubs have agreed to name 25-man squads with at least eight players 'home-grown' - trained for three years under the age of 21 in England or Wales. Click to continue reading...

The Premier League today gave the illusion that they are working their way towards the "6+5" rule. Unfortunately for those of us who believe the rule would better European football, the Premier League does not seem to be taking the issue of domestic talent seriously. Let us look at the new rule:

The rule that was announced today states that from next year on every team must name a squad of 25 players, of which 8 must be home grown.

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