There comes a time in every footballer's life when they need to play regularly if they hope to
develop or retain their skills. But in reality this isn't always possible to do, especially for
youngsters because there are so many more players than positions available. This is why we see
players loaned out to other teams on a regular basis.
In mid-July, Michael Owen announced on Twitter that he was "getting closer to finding a new
club" after being released by Manchester United. "Had a good deal of interest but just need to pick
right!" he added. At 32 years old, Owen is coming off yet another injury-plagued season in which he
made just four appearances (and scored three goals), down from 17 the year before.
One of the most difficult things for Arsène Wenger over the last couple of seasons has been
looking over at his bench and asking himself just who he could bring on to change the game.
To be fair to Arsène this wasn't a problem in the early days of his reign he had a first eleven
so much better than the rest of the Premier League that when he turned to his bench he was looking
to give a rest to the players who had already put the game out of sight.
One of the most difficult things for Arsène Wenger over the last couple of seasons has been
looking over at his bench and asking himself just who he could bring on to change the game.
To be fair to Arsène this wasn't a problem in the early days of his reign he had a first eleven
so much better than the rest of the Premier League that when he turned to his bench he was looking
to give a rest to the players who had already put the game out of sight.
Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly inquired about the availability of Russian play-maker Alan
Dzagoev, who is also believed to be a target of German champions Borussia Dortmund.
Dzagoev scored three goals over the course of Russia's somewhat surprising Euro 2012 group stage
elimination and it has since been believed that potential suitors must be prepared to bid at leastÂ
£15 million for the 22-year old's services.
Former Bayern Munich wing-back Danijel Pranjic has hinted that he is closing in on a move to
Everton as he took time away from a family holiday to acknowledge the Toffees' interest as an
honor.
Pranjic spent most of his time at Bayern on the bench last season but despite a frustrating club
season that he ended as a free agent, the 31-year old managed to feature for Croatia in Euro 2012
group stage last month.
By all accounts Didier Drogba has told his Chelsea teammates that he is leaving to go to
China.
Drogba is expected to link up with former team-mate Nicolas Anelka at Shanghai in China in a
£200,000-a-week deal.
Drogba said:
"Even though it's been three years since I said that I wanted to leave, I find it hard to admit
that it's over with this club — especially since I did not want this end.
The red half of Manchester are finally happier than the blue half, perhaps for the first time in
the 2011/2012 season. United reaching the top of the table has inevitably sparked debates and media
coverage all over the football world. The point I'm making in this post is that we're so used to
united topping the table that the achievement of them finally overtaking big-spenders Man City has
been completely overshadowed and even ignored.
If you're looking for a rundown of today's friendlies, we had you covered earlier aside from
late-breaking news that Scott Parker and not Steven Gerrard would be England Captain. But for those
more interested in the latest Liverpool news than watching fearfully through their fingers, worried
that one of Liverpool's players might end the day with an injury they didn't head into it with,
these notes are for you.
It is no secret that Frank Lampard and Villas-Boas do not read from the same page. In fact, only
last week, Â the veteran Chelsea midfielder make it clear that their were problems between
them.
"I think, from the outside, you can probably see that it's not been ideal but the important
thing is not to focus on individual relationships too much.
I'm not a hard hearted man. When a player I cared for over many years leaves Arsenal, I don't
immediate forget him. I don't shut off the part of me that cared for him and worried about him and
nurtured his talent. I continue to follow his development and remain emotionally invested in his
fortunes.
Bridge practising his 'sitting on the bench' technique
More famous in recent seasons for the whole sorry John Terry shagging-his-ex palavar than his
performances on the pitch, ex-England full-back Wayne Bridge has left Manchester City in a loan
deal with bright young things of the Championship, Brighton & Hove Albion.
Dimitar Berbatov is leaving United this summer but insists he would never behave like Carlos
Tevez has since leaving the club.
"Tevez did ​​it out of spite," Berbatov told BG TV. "But I wouldn't do
something like that. I had the opportunity to sign for City but I chose United.
The deal on Robin Van Persie is that Sir Alex went public to pressurize Arsenal on loosening
their grip on the striker for a cheaper price. RVP has not been an easy sell and there is a growing
belief in certain camps that he maybe persuaded to stay on. His logic of a club without ambition
was pre-empted to a certain degree with the influx of quality signings made.
I'm not a mind reader, but would assume there is one of two trains of thoughts going through
Arsenal striker Robin van Persie's head at the moment. He's looking upon manager Arsene Wenger's
impressive signings of Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud as proof that Arsenal wants to help him
out up front, or he realizes they've been brought in to replace him.
The Montpellier striker who scored 21 goals in the Ligue last season to lead his club to their
first ever Championnat is now officially a Gunner having passed his medical. This is good news
because the Gunners obviously need someone who is excellent in the air because RVP and Theo Walcott
aren't exactly aerial sharpshooters.
The young Welshman Aaron Ramsey was regularly critized by Arsenal fans last season as he just
seemed to get slower and weaker the longer the season went on, and Wenger even played him on the
left wing towards the end, while the young and fit Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was sitting on the
bench. During these games [.
Liverpool's Dutch striker Dirk Kuyt is ready to quit the Reds if he Kenny Dalglish does not
offer him more playing time. Kuyt has only featured for Liverpool 29 times this season scoring a
paltry 4 goal in the process.
Speaking to MirrorFootball, Kuyt made it clear that it was disappointing sitting on the
bench.
Caleb Porter announced a 19 man training camp roster for the US U23 team ahead of Olympic
qualifying in 10 days. Porter will add a 20th player after he is cleared by his club. Sporting KC
forward, Teal Bunbury has been included as one of 5 forwards on the roster. Bunbury joins Juan
Agudelo, Terrence Boyd, Joe Gyau, and Brek Shea as the forward line for the US team.
It's safe to say that Lionel Messi would rather be playing football than sitting on the bench. His role as a substitute during the first-half of last night's Champions League clash with PSG generated some interesting GIFs, not least the one above. Such was Messi's boredom, he even started pretending to be on a teenage [.
Aston Villa completed the transfer of 22-year-old defender Joe Bennett from Middlesbrough and
instead of a standardly joyous and exuberant photoshoot of the England U-21 international at his
new home, the club opted for a more restrained and thoughtful portrayal.
With all of the talent PSG have gobbled up over the last two years since beginning their Qatari
revolution, it's assumed to be a foregone conclusion that the club will dominate in Ligue 1 and
Europe this season. But, even with all the money in the world, things don't always go according to
plan.
LeBron James is halfway to his first championship ring. In a game that featured a ton of missed
perimeter shots, the Miami Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder by a final score of 91-85.
LeBron led the way with 29 points and 14 rebounds for the Heat, who now lead the series 2-1.
Mario Gomez scored a wonder header as Germany beat Portugal 1-0 in Group B tonight and had the
ball been put out of play before the deflected cross Gomez would have been sitting on the
bench.
SkySports has confirmed on the website that according to France Football Magazine, Didier
Drogba has told his Chelsea team mates he is leaving. He said in their interview:
"We will not be together next season, As I have decided to leave, I wanted to tell them
(my team-mates) to their faces.
Man City beat Man United 1-0 to gain the advantage in the title race and perhaps a bit more
respect from their local rivals. Though Man United couldn't muster a single shot on target during
the match, we still must ask that old question we keep coming back to: What if it continued?
97' -- Carlos Tevez stifles a maniacal laugh as his plan to get Man City as close to winning the
title as possible before scoring an own goal to lose it in their final match before giving Roberto
Mancini the finger and then flying back to Argentina with a jet pack he has stashed behind an
advertising board nears completion.
Liverpool is putting Brad Jones on standby for a first-team call as Kenny Dalglish faces up to a
goalkeeping crisis.
The Australian was pulled out of the Anfield side's reserve team on Monday night and will be in the
frame to replace Pepe Reina during the Spaniard's three-game ban.
Brazilian Doni is expected to step up to face Aston Villa on Saturday after sitting on the bench in
recent weeks, but he has never started a game for Liverpool.
At 35 years old, former Germany captain Michael Ballack is nearing the end of a long and very
impressive career as a footballer. Yet, instead of admitting that age is catching up to him, as it
does everyone, Ballack has decided that his diminishing place as a footballer is due to a series of
conspiracies that may or may not involve aliens (OK, he didn't say that.
