The take-over of an English football club by the owner of an Italian club passed somewhat
quietly on account of the European Championships but, as Paul Grech, writes Watfords tie-in with
Udinese owner Giampaolo Pozzo might just end up having a significance that reaches some way beyond
Vicarage Road.
Don Garber's goal to become a top soccer league in the world will take many different efforts.
One of those is likely to be MLS teams attracting strong young talent from other leagues in
CONCACAF. The Seattle Sounders appear to be interested (Goal.com) in one of those, leftback Ever
Alvarado (Football-Lineups).
John Leicester of the AP writes of the lack of dignity that he felt Mourinho displayed in the 2-0
defeat of his Real Madrid side by Barcelona.
Sounding like a stuck record by a lovesick crooner, but repellently sour not sweet, Jose Mourinho
wailed why, oh, why? In the warped view of Real Madrid's coach, the dice are stacked in Barcelona's
favor.
Following on from the post I made earlier in the week regarding foreign players in the
Championship here we have the same information but for the top flight The Premier League. As you
would expect this division features a higher proportion of foreign players than the Championship.
However, it's interesting to note that 68 different nationalities were used in the Premier League
during the 2011/2012 season, one fewer 67 were used in the Championship.
Arsenal have not had stellar English Players As Consistently As Man United. Man U has had
Beckham, Scholes and now Rooney At the Core of their Side for the Last 20 years, More or less.
Man United's Success is mostly a result of these players.
The big-money striker has been largely unimpressive in Didier Drogba's absence and was taken off
at halftime of Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Birmingham in the FA Cup. Now manager Andres Villas-Boas is
rumored to drop the Spaniard to the bench for Tuesday's massive Champions League trip to
Napoli.
The 2012 African Cup Of Nations is set to begin on the 21st of January until the 12th of
February, so we thought with not long to go it may be worthwhile figuring out which teams are going
to be most affected by players departing for this competition.
Players Involved In The African Cup Of Nations
Starting with the teams at the top end of the Premier League, Biram Diouf of Senegal appears to
be the only Manchester United player affected which isn't likely to affect the club much at all as
he is probably their 6th choice striker.
It's Halloween weekend and FC Tokyo's mascot, Tokyo Dorompa (seen
above) dressed to the theme at a J-League match two days ago. Vale vale vale,
the outfit looks like it was put together in less than 10 minutes, but you know
Dorompa wanted all the attention to be on him.
John Nyen ahead of the curve again on EPL and Anfield analysis
Was the real "Brit" missing here?
When Liverpool dipped their toe into the transfer market in the past window, there was a
distinctly British feel to the occasion. Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam, Craig Bellamy and Stuart
Downing all joined the club bringing to the forefront the idea that Kenny was going home-grown.
Guest writer David Bolt takes a look at how the new 25-man squad rule will affect Liverpool, and
considers whether the club has actually prepared well-enough for its implementation.
After the transfer window closes, Liverpool will have to name their 25-man squad for the Premier
League. As it stands, the club has got itself into a bit of a mess with the 25-man squad rule and
is facing the prospect of having to pay some players (and not just Brazil's answer to Mr.
The proliferation of foreign players in the Premier League is an often covered subject on radio
phone-ins and blogs like this one. I thought rather than offering the same glib observations on
foreign players in the 'English game' I'd offer some facts on the number of non-English (and
non-British) players who currently ply their trade in the Premier League today (or to be more
specific last season).
The proliferation of foreign players in the Premier League is an often covered subject on radio
phone-ins and blogs like this one. I thought rather than offering the same glib observations on
foreign players in the 'English game' I'd offer some facts on the number of non-English (and
non-British) players who currently ply their trade in the Premier League today (or to be more
specific last season).
Liverpool's director of football Damien Comolli says a transfer target's experience in the Barclays
Premier League is of the upmost importance, as the club decide who will be wearing the red jersey
next season.
When asked if Liverpool were targeting English players, Comolli said that the experience of English
football was more the direction the club was heading in with new signings.
Ipswich Town teenager Connor Wickham is reportedly keen on a move to Liverpool, as Sunderland enter
the race for his signature.
According to the Daily Express, the Black Cats are ready to table a £9 million bid for the
18-year-old striker, but Wickham still 'favours' a switch to Merseyside.
It has been claimed that Liverpool have already submitted a bid of £7 million for the England
under 21 international, but they are likely to have to up the ante if they are serious about
bringing Wickham to Anfield.
Who knew the Internet would be so polarized because Liverpool's actually able to spend money? Oh,
right, it's the Internet.
The discord seems to be because the Henderson deal aligns with the post-Carroll 'Liverpool are
spending like a drunken xenophobic sailor' narrative. Which is as unfair to Henderson as it was to
Carroll.
Liverpool is once again considering a transfer move for Bolton Wanderers winger Chung-Yong Lee,
according to reports.
The South Korean international originally emerged on the Reds' radar back in the summer, with
former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez considering an £8 million move according to the Daily Mail, as
well as various other sources.
Continuing the theme of looking at the breakdown of Castrol Performance Index Contributions
based on nationalities, I wanted to see how Spain and England compare to each other, particularly
when it comes to domestic players.
Percentage of Castrol Performance Index Contributions by Nationality for English Premier
League
Percentage of Castrol Performance Index Contributions by Nationality for La Liga
In England, Birmingham has the highest percentage of CPI contributions by domestic players with
58.
Previously I posted the number of games played based on nationality for the top 4 clubs in the
EPL. Since the Castrol Performance Index was updated today, I thought it would be interesting to
see how the players from each country contribute to a team's performance.
What's interesting is that while Manchester City led the way in games played by Englishmen,
Manchester United leads the way in terms of Castrol Performance impact.
Michael Moritz wrote a piece for the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) earlier this
week drawing a parallel between open immigration in the English Premier League and how it could
be beneficial to the American tech start-up scene. What Moritz failed to point out (but other
readers noticed) is that the EPL isn't completely open.
Although American soccer is growing in stature and status, many of its top players continue to
ply their trade overseas in foreign leagues, most notably in Europe. There are many reasons why
this happens, but the two main reasons tend to be money, and quality.
Financially, American professional soccer can not compete with the likes of the English Premiere
League, La Liga in Spain, or Italy's Serie A.
Luis Suárez racism ban: PFA head Gordon Taylor supports FA's decision
• Taylor backs 'very strong message' over racist abuse • Lord Herman Ouseley urges
consistent tough stance Luis Suárez's eight-match ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra has been
supported by the head of the Professional Footballers' Association as "a very strong message to the
rest of the world".
**This week's guest post comes courtesy of Tony, who's been commenting
regularly as Tropics Red. He discusses the impact that the surge of young talent
might have on Liverpool's transfer strategy and the squad in general, as well as a look towards
next season.
Leo Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Xavi Hernández have been nominated for UEFA's award for the
best player of the 2010/11 season. The award will be presented on August 25 in Monaco before the
draw for the Champions League group stages.
According to UEFA:
"the award aims to recognise the best player, irrespective of his nationality, who has played
for a football club within the territory of a UEFA member national association during the season to
which the award relates.
Leo Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Xavi Hernández have been nominated for UEFA's award for the
best player of the 2010/11 season. The award will be presented on August 25 in Monaco before the
draw for the Champions League group stages.
According to UEFA:
"the award aims to recognise the best player, irrespective of his nationality, who has played
for a football club within the territory of a UEFA member national association during the season to
which the award relates.
With a transfer window feel 1. What was unusual about Newcastle United target Neil Taylor's last
game for Swansea City? 2. What nationality is Arsenal target Gervinho? 3. From which club did
Newcastle sign Sylvain Marveaux? 4. What is the name of the young defender signed by Arsenal from
Charlton Athletic?
The Daily Mail almost gleefully links some of our best players with moves away from the club but
today they have reversed that trend and suggested that Real Madrid frontman Gonzalo Higuain could
be coming to Spurs in a deal worth around £16m.
Higuan has been at Real since 2007 after joining from River Plate and throughout his club career
he has averaged over a goal every other game.
Arsenal on Twitter @UntoldArsenal Untold Arsenal on Facebook here How the 25-man rule can be
improved (And it is just my opinion) By Nitesh Padhi First of all, let's just clear out the quite
confusing 25-man rule. According to the rule, A home grown player is defined as one who,
irrespective of his nationality or [.
Features a list of the team ages so far this season. Interesting to see that the most foreign and
most domestic teams, NY & SJ, are the two oldest so far this season.
This week, I looked at the significance of Houston Dynamo academy signing Alex Dixon's debut, as
well as a few more notes on the Champions League and the Rapids' excellent start. Check it out!
The nationality of players within the Premier League and Football League is a subject I regularly return to. It's not because I'm a believer that foreign players are a blight on our national sport, but because I find the exotic nature of the nationalities represented an interesting discussion point.
Via a couple of tweets, first by Joshua Mayers of the Seattle Times and then confirmed by Matt
Gaschk from the front office, we learn that Osvaldo Alonso has gained his United States
citizenship. This really doesn't have a Sounders roster impact, since he's had a green card for a
number of years now and hasn't taken up an international slot, but given that he's a Cuban refugee
I'm sure it's a special achievement for him personally.
The New England Revolution has added much needed depth and competition to the backline. German
fullback Florian Lechner has officially signed for the club.
"We believe Flo will be a solid addition to our defensive corps and he adds versatility and
depth to that group," General Manager Michael Burns said in a statement.
Liverpool and Aston Villa are believed to be leading the chase for Manchester City's James
Milner.
The midfielder has been put of favour since City's latest spending spree saw Sergio Aguero and
Samir Nasri brought for a combined total of £62m and chances of first team football appear slim.
With Adam Johnson, Gareth Barry, and Nigel De Jong also ahead of him in the pecking order, a move
before the transfer window closes is highly likely.
Recently, I looked at every team from the past five years in my April 1 column on the subject. I've
since gone back and done it for every year and every team, though I'm still not 100% sure that I
got every single nationality change. At least those from American to foreign, and vice versa.
There's Arturo Alvarez, Jeff Cunningham, Taylor Graham, Pablo Mastroeni, and Preki.
