1. The battle for fourth is hotting up after Tottenham's draw with Everton. It looks like that and one relegation place is what we'll all be talking about on the last day of the season. 2. Harry Redknapp has been saying for weeks that Bobby Zamora would kickstart QPR's relegation fight. We're not sure that's [.
Despite claims this week that Joey Barton's move to Marseille had collapsed, Queens Park Rangers
boss Mark Hughes yesterday indicated that the move was not dead yet. Barton had been clear about
his desire to join the Ligue 1 side on his official Twitter account, but saw the move in jeopardy
earlier this week.
Premier League minnows Queens Park Rangers could be set to complete an unlikely swoop for Inter
Milan goalkeeper Julio Cesar. The Brazilian is one of the most experienced goalkeepers around
Europe, and his experience would give QPR a strong duo of goalkeepers following the summer signing
of former England international Robert Green.
After seeing their massive bid for Germany international Andre Schurrle rejected by Bayer
Leverkusen earlier this week, Chelsea have not been told to end their interest in the starlet
altogether.
Bayer Leverkusen CEO Wolfgang Holzhauser has maintained that the Bundesliga outfit previously
ruled out the sale of their promising winger for around €20 million due to uncertainty regarding
the availability of appropriate replacements.
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has hinted that despite his cautious approach towards investing
in summer signings, he will likely strengthen the current Reds squad with more signings towards the
end of the transfer window.
Rodgers was speaking about the club's transfer strategy in an interview regarding his vision for
the future and the Northern Irishman offered a thorough explanation for his approach.
Everton boss David Moyes has warned Chelsea and Manchester United that he is determined to
retain star players Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines in a bid to secure Champions League
qualification next season.
Moyes has heard the intense speculation surrounding United's interest in Baines and Fellaini,
with the latter also being a reported Blues target this summer.
Aston Villa captain Stilian Petrov has tipped new manager and former Celtic teammate Paul
Lambert to revive the club's fortunes next season following a forgettable 2011-12 campaign.
Former boss Alex McLeish was relieved of his duties the day after last season's conclusion and
Lambert, who guided Norwich to an impressive 12th position last season, was subsequently chosen as
the replacement.
Due to the fact that for the close of the transfer window we had a game following up a few short
days later, we didn't get much of a chance to have a good look at what Arsenal achieved during the
window. Sure, at the moment the team is looking pretty solid defensively, and that just goes to
show that the key to success does not revolve around signing expensive, world-class players
whenever we lose some games.
The conclusion to the frenzy has arrived with less than 8 and one half hours to go, we'll know
exactly who is and isn't an Arsenal player. I'm still holding out hope for that one big signing, I
mean c'mon, I wouldn't be an Arsenal fan if I didn't! I'm not sure how well Blyve liveblog will be
compared to CoverItLive, but at least this will give us some sort of liveblogging forum.
A good transfer window??? Or are we being duped again ?? by LD Yet again as the transfer window
rushes rapidly towards its conclusion Arsenal Fans are left wondering what's really going to
happen, not only before the end of the Month but also by the end of the coming season. We were all
of [...]
On Wednesday night I was writing something for Red News about the pros and cons of signing Robin
van Persie. With the deal having not been done, but the conclusion likely to have been reached by
the time the issue went to print, it was important that a fair summary was given.
I had come up with several reasons why the transfer wouldn't be ideal for United (and I will
address these later) but my reaction last night to learning that we had agreed a fee with Arsenal
gave away my true feelings about the situation.
Young footballers often face a tricky decision: stay on the fringes at a big club or play every
week at a lower level. Scott Sinclair had tried both and had come to the conclusion that getting
the games is definitely better for your development. In fact, just last summer the pacy winger
said: "Leaving Chelsea [.
Young footballers often face a tricky decision: stay on the fringes at a big club or play every
week at a lower level. Scott Sinclair had tried both and had come to the conclusion that getting
the games is definitely better for your development. In fact, just last summer the pacy winger
said: "Leaving Chelsea [.
The dust may well have settled on the season that's just gone, but the disappointment and manner of
the its conclusion will linger on for quite some time. In the intervening weeks, since United
unforgivably handed back what just a few weeks earlier had looked to be league title number 20 to
Manchester City, not an awful lot has happened to suggest Ferguson and his players will be capable
of
If the Chicago Fire are to reach the playoffs and go on a postseason run this season, they will
have to do so without Marco Pappa.
The Guatemalan midfielder's transfer to Dutch club Heerenveen has been expedited, and he will
leave the Fire with immediate effect. The Fire had originally planned on sending Pappa to
Heerenveen following the conclusion of the MLS season after the transfer had been agreed upon
earlier this month.
The Chicago Fire announced on Thursday that midfielder Marco Pappa will be transferred to Dutch
side SC Heerenveen immediately as opposed to at the end of the season.
The idea that a European club would essentially wait half a season to get a player seemed a bit
farfetched at the time. We may never know if this was the plan all along or if Heerenveen made a
last-minute offer that the Men in Red couldn't turn down.
Liverpool has revived their move for Clint Dempsey by opening fresh talks with Fulham over a deal
worth £7 million, Goal.com can reveal.
The Merseysiders are back in negotiations with the Londoners, with discussions centring on the
players who could move to Craven Cottage in part-exchange.
Liverpool are reluctant to meet Fulham's asking price for the 29-year-old even though the Londoners
will settle for a fee of around £6-7m.
Gareth Bale has branded Charlie Adam a 'coward' after another dismal challenge from the
orthodontically-challenged Liverpool midfielder saw his Tottenham counterpart leaving the stadium
in Baltimore on crutches.
Of course, this isn't the first time Adam has butchered Bale with a malicious tackle, with a
frankly disgusting challenge back in 2011 while Adam was still at Blackpool bringing Bale's season
to a premature conclusion and putting him out of action for the best part of three months.
Liverpool striker Andy Carroll could be set for a sensational switch to Sunderland, after Black
Cats boss Martin O'Neill hinted that he would like to bring him to the Stadium of Light.
Carroll, who cost Liverpool £35 million 18 months ago, looks to be leaving Anfield this summer,
after new head coach Brendan Rodgers indicated that the 23 year-old didn't feature in his plans for
the forthcoming season.
Shocking start to the season for Real Madrid, who find themselves five points behind bitter
rivals Barcelona after only two rounds of matches in La Liga.
The champions lost 2-1 to Getafe today, which combined with last week's 1-1 draw at home to
Valencia means Jose Mourinho's side has only picked up one point from its opening two matches.
Shocking start to the season for Real Madrid, who find themselves five points behind bitter
rivals Barcelona after only two rounds of matches in La Liga.
The champions lost 2-1 to Getafe today, which combined with last week's 1-1 draw at home to
Valencia means Jose Mourinho's side has only picked up one point from its opening two matches.
The proposed transfer of Luka Modric to Real Madrid isn't the only move that seems to have
dragged on for the whole of the summer window to date. Two weeks ago, former Real loanee Emmanuel
Adebayor was reported to be on the verge of a permanent deal to Spurs after stories that Tottenham
had agreed a fee with his parent club Manchester City.
Whilst our footballers have been arguing over whether someone called someone else a 'black c*nt',
whislt all agreeing that it was fine to call someone just a c*nt, the one conclusion we can all
draw is that our players are petty, childish and unintelligent. But not all footballers are the
same. Real Madrid's Esteban Granero [.
The world's fastest man thinks he can offer some assistance to one of the world's most storied
soccer clubs.
Usain Bolt, who set an Olympic record in the 100-meter dash with his 9.63-second run on Sunday
to capture his second straight gold medal in the event, claims that he could make a difference for
Manchester United if given the opportunity for a trial, something that he is reportedly serious
about taking on before he departs England after the conclusion of the Olympics.
Mix Diskerud is facing a critical juncture in his young and burgeoning career.
Diskerud has returned to Stabaek after his loan to Gent expired at the end of July with the
top-flight Belgian side electing not to exercise its option to purchase Diskerud's contract
outright.
Oh boy. This could be the start of something or at least some start of mass craziness today on
Twitter.
The North American Soccer League or NASL has announced that in 2013 they will go to a
split-season format.
Beginning in 2013, the NASL's regular season will feature two separate and distinct round-robin
competitions with the winners of each competition meeting in a single game on the weekend following
the conclusion of the second competition.
J.C. Banks' breakthrough season with the Rochester Rhinos has come to a
disappointing conclusion.
The former Milwaukee Riverside and UW-Green Bay standout confirmed Tuesday that he has a torn
ACL in his right knee and will have reconstructive surgery in the near future.
Over the years we have repeatedly written about efforts to build stadium for the Earthquakes in
San Jose. After multiple fits and starts, the team appears to cross the final hurdles and appears
ready to start the construction process.  San Jose city officials approved the Planned
Development permit for the construction of the proposed Earthquakes stadium a number of months
ago.
One of the highlights of our Turmoil Week series of posts back in January was Tom Bourne's analysis
of the financial shenanigans at Port Vale, although Valiants fans will have been little cheered.
Since then, events at Vale Park have become yet more labyrinthine and uncertainty remains ahead of
Barnet's visit tomorrow afternoon.
It's not simply about the amber medal. It's about salvation. Olympic charwomen's soccer couldn't
enquire for a better conclusion: United States vs. Japan in the rubric fit on Thursday a 2011 World
Cup concluding replay.
Stewart Downing is determined to dispel the notion that he is a "confidence player" after his form
divided opinion amongst Liverpool fans.
Downing, 28, was an £18million arrival at Anfield last year after Kenny Dalglish lured him to the
club from Aston Villa.
From such a lavish acquisition, fans expected more than the two goals and no assists that he
returned.
It appears the Shalrie Joseph Era in New England has reached its  conclusion.
According to agent Ron Waxman, the Revolution have traded Shalrie Joseph to Chivas USA on
Wednesday. Terms of the deal were not immediately disseminated.
On Wednesday morning, Waxman tweeted, ".@cdchivasusa acquires DP
@ShalrieJoseph21 from @NERevolution.
It was widely claimed yesterday that the long-proposed deal between Spurs and Everton for Steven
Pienaar was coming to a conclusion with both clubs agreeing on a fee to take the midfielder back to
Goodison.
Only a medical seems to stand in the way of the move which will take the South African
international back to the club he played for between 2007 and 2011 and with whom he saw out the end
of last season on loan.
On a final note, I may be retiring on tonight, but in my heart I'll always be part of the
Seattle Sounders family. I'm really looking forward to joining you in the ranks of the Sounders'
supporters. Whether it's jumping up and down in the Brougham End with the ECS, taking in a game and
the bigger picture from the Green Zone, or sipping on Red Hook's ECS No Equal Amber Lager in a
crowded Starfire beer garden, I'll be right there with you supporting the Sounders every step of
the way!
