Newcastle owner Mike Ashley is offering his non-playing staff a share of a £1million bonus if they beat Arsenal in this afternoon's match. Ashley is reported to be a Spurs fan, and a Newcastle win would secure Champions League football for Andre Villas Boas' side providing they are able to beat Sunderland in today's other [.
Arsene Wenger is being linked with a move to take Schalke midfielder Lewis Holtby to Arsenal.
And there are even some suggestions that a deal has already been done for the German-born
21-year-old to join the Gunners in the summer. His contract in Germany ends next year.
A source with close ties to Arsenal has told Arsenalinsider that the transfer has already been
agreed for the midfielder, whose Scouse father is a former Brit soldier based in Germany.
Nasri leaves for £24M, to add to the departures of Cesc £35M, Eboue £4M and Clichy £7M. That
is £70M so far, with Bendtner (£9M), Arshavin (£7M) , Squillaci (£1M) and Almunia (Free) to
follow. Arsene's total sales could generate nearly £87M. Yes Arsenal fans look at that number
£87M generated through sales this summer.
In under a month, Arsenal embark on one of the most vital August's under Wenger's reign. Some
may argue it is the most important August under Wenger.
The arrivals of Carl Jenkinson and Gervinho mean that we have added a couple of new faces to the
squad, this isn't where the question marks are hanging though they are hanging over the heads of
Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, Nicklas Bendtner and Manuel Almunia.
Note: If you don't know what all the hullaballoo is about, click here.
de·stroy
–verb (used with object)
to reduce (an object) to useless fragments, a useless form, or remains, as by rending, burning,
or dissolving; injure beyond repair or renewal; demolish; ruin; annihilate.
With the current financia crisis that is engulfing La Liga clubs, never has the development of
academy players been more important.
The academy players can provide a steady stream of fresh talent to the first team, as we see in
Barcelona, or they can provide a stream of talent that can then be sold off to pay down as club's
debt.
Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez is reportedly willing to swallow his pride and offer
Brazilian midfielder, Kaka for a reduced price of roughly €10 million, a €55 million loss after
buying the player from AC Milan in 2009 for €65 million.
Manager Jose Mourinho spoke to the player and told the Brazilian that he will not be featured in
the club's plans for next season, as they continue to look for a possible suitor, while at the same
time continue negotiations with his successor, Tottenham's Luka Modric.
Real Madrid's latest win (4-2 over Levante) gave Jose Mourinho's squad a 10 point lead (and a
comfortable margin of error) over Barcelona in the race for the La Liga title. It would fair to say
that Los Blancos are nearing on the league title after years of dominance by their bitter rivals
from Catalonia.
Some weeks back, I had written a post about how well I thought the management of my birthplace
club Blackpool had handled the club's financial affairs despite some scathing criticisms from local
supporters. On Friday last week, we saw the other end of the spectrum as iconic Scottish Old Firm
club Rangers was demoted to the Scottish Division Three for next season as punishment for their
shambolic financial state.
On Tuesday evening, after a good few months of tortuous legal faffing, Kuwaiti businessblokesÂ
Fawaz, Abdulaziz and Omar Al-Hasawi finalised their takeover of Nottingham Forest after agreeing
terms to buy late chairman Nigel Doughty's controlling stake in the club.
Season end approaches and once again the phantom shopping trolleys are being pushed around the
blog world by deluded supporters expecting their clubs to go to market. Well sorry folks, in most
cases it isn't going to happen the coffers are empty; the players have had it on their toes with
the bread and many of them too, are in for a nasty shock.
Season end approaches and once again the phantom shopping trolleys are being pushed around the
blog world by deluded supporters expecting their clubs to go to market. Well sorry folks, in most
cases it isn't going to happen the coffers are empty; the players have had it on their toes with
the bread and many of them too, are in for a nasty shock.
Kenny Dalglish has revealed Liverpool have the funds to delve into the transfer market once more
this summer.
Liverpool have spent big since Dalglish took over the club last January, and splashed over £100
million on the likes of Andy Carroll and Jordan Henderson in 2011.
However despite that heavy investment the Reds have failed to make an impact on the Premier League
table and currently occupy eighth spot, although they have secured a place in the FA Cup final to
go along with their Carling Cup success in February.
Last Saturday I went to see Newcastle United play Stoke City. 26 quid a ticket but at least the
game kicked off when it said it would. The kick off was clearly stated on the match ticket as well
as the match programme, the Newcastle website, the Stoke website and the Premier League
website.
Today I planned to go see Persipasi host PPSM at Ciracas Field in the official Divisi Utama.
Today, Aston Villa reported a record loss of $85 million (£54m) for the last financial year,
because finishing ninth just isn't as lucrative as finishing sixth.
I kid. Three places in the table doesn't fully explain Villa's losses any more than Randy
Lerner's passport determines his ability to be a good owner.
Now, with the cat out of the bag, strategy becomes the tallest of orders. FOX Sports has won the
World Cup broadcasts for 2018 and 2022 and now must figure out how to engage sports fans to ensure
they tune in.
Former England manager Steve McClaren quit Nottingham Forest after just 111 days, but at
least he did it the right way, without getting or seeking compensation from the already
cash-strapped club, unlike certain other former England managers cough, cough Sven.
McClaren who was promised millions to improve the squad before signing for the club in the
Summer stated: 'The club didn't share the same ambitions he came to the club for'.
The question is clearly a gross oversimplification of the complex chain of negotiations involved
in football transfers, but many supporters are prepared to believe that Arsène Wenger means what
he says and intends to keep Samir Nasri whether he signs a contract extension or not.
Personally I find it hard to believe that the club would let him go on a free in a year's time
when he could add £20m (or thereabouts) to the coffers this summer.
The old 'fake sheikh' bit is tried and true, but that hasn't stopped La Liga side Getafe finding
themselves duped out of € 10 million's worth of investment due chiefly to the fact that the man
promising them the cash didn't actually exist!
In which, during an Argentinian amateur game between San Lorenzo and Libertad de Charata on a
delightfully sparse pitch lovingly referred to as 'The Quarry' by locals, an overhanging tree
interferes with play by not letting a ricocheted shot go out of play.
It's perhaps overly harsh to label FIFA gladhander Sepp Blatter and genocidal Zimbabwean nutcase
Robert Mugabe as being 'two peas in a pod', though 'two peas from adjoining fields' should
suffice...
Add these snaps to the 'Sepp Blatter looking like a dick' file.
At least that's what the media would have you believe. Months of speculation, poor performances,
and incendiary quips have led us to this 'inevitable' conclusion- that AVB has lost the plot, the
players, and the respect of his self-appointed staff. So that's that, then? If you're so willing to
accept the world wide web at face value, then perhaps.
I guess with the club losing the vote against buying the freehold off of the CPO the other week,
one way to get more money through our coffers would be to sell the naming rights of Stamford
Bridge.
This has been mentioned before in passing but would have taken a massive step forward after the
vote result.
35,000 fans turned up to the quietest Melbourne Victory I've ever heard.
Big Boo to Promoter Lou Sticca. Imagine taking a team to play Celtic, Man United or Liverpool and
saying your home supporter end, The Jungle, the Stretford End or The Kop are not allowed to sit in
their usual places. Call yourself a football fan Lou - think not.
So, you'll soon be reading my two-post series at FoxSoccer about the US, and US soccer, and our
twisted, bizarre, schizophrenic, and bipolar relationship with Mexico and Mexican Americans. I give
Fox credit for letting me be candid, honest, and frank about both sides of the equation I address
how and why Hispanics have been somewhat excluded in the current US setup.
According to a story that broke in the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday evening, the Galaxy are set
to announce a 10 year, $55 million deal with two new Time Warner Regional Sports networks to
televise Galaxy games. The new networks (one in Spanish and the other in English) are fighting
for content in the crowded LA Sports market and this deal guarantees live programming from March to
October.
AFC Bournemouth supporters staged an impromptu 'protest' after the final whistle of their 3-0
home defeat to Chesterfield on Saturday, which basically involved a mass haranguing of owner Eddie
Mitchell for his decision to flog off seven of the players that saw the Cherries reach the League
One play-offs last season after being promoted from League Two the season prior.
"If I want to play for the money, I would accept the Manchester City offer or Chelsea,.The red shirt is the really big thing for me. I want to play for the biggest club in the world.
I am 27 now, I am at the biggest club in the world and maybe this could be the last step in my
career.
"Where's the party at?"The only question is "how did it take so long?" Reports
emerged this afternoon that Toronto FC and portly Chilean "defender"/ tequila aficionado Miguel
Aceval have "mutually parted" ways. Brought in to TFC during the off-season alongside equally
successful Ecuadorian Geovanny Caicedo, Aceval was touted to be one half of a South American
centreback pairing that would solve The Reds' six-year defensive crisis.
Brandon "The Hammer" Barklage, to be exact! The DC outcast, told by Benny Olsen that he couldn't
hack it at MLS level, scored two spectacular golazos to lead the Red Bulls past their hated rival.
A much-needed 3-2 victory, to be sure, and it puts us right back in the Supporter's Shield
hunt.
DC was 1-0 up, just 30 seconds into this one, after Roy Miller was turned inside out by DeRo,
then Cruz, who prompty crossed to Pontius.
The result I wanted even less than a win, a nil-nil bore draw in the bore draw leading to a replay.
Something we could do without from every position except perhaps fiscal after all, I imagine a
healthy sized home crowd for the return fixture will boost our coffers considerably given the
apparent popularity of the fixture down the A46.
A plum FA Cup tie away at Tottenham Hotspur, an unbeaten run away from home
and whispers of a
promotion push when did all start going so right
 for Cheltenham Town?
From the dark months of the Martin Allen era which saw the manager
 leave under a cloud after
unproven accusations of racism levelled at him by a nightclub bouncer and a precarious escape from
the drop zone
the Robins (or the Rubies are they are known this season due to their special 125th anniversary
kit) have had a remarkable change in fortunes both on and off the pitch.
Our transfer business continued a-pace yesterday as we provided another signing for another
club. As expected Jay Emmanuel-Thomas joined Ipswich for around £1m. It's an unsurprising move
considering his career trajectory and his age. If he'd stayed at Arsenal this year he would have
had to be included in the 25 man squad and with Arsene Wenger clearly not considering him a player
of that stature a move was the only realistic option.
Time for a couple of quick hits from around the world of American soccer business. As has been
the case over the last couple of weeks, we'll start with the Womens' World Cup with some more
information on television ratings from the Brazil match. According to multiple reports, the
telecast was seen by almost 3.
Steve Harper Beckham? Victoria Beckham has given birth to the Beckham's fourth child and first
daughter. Apologies for the lack of photo above, but OTP was unfortunate to lose out in the bidding
process for exclusive first photo rights. Just not quite enough in the coffers. The child will be
named Harper Seven Beckham, with [.
