Talks will start between Man United and Wayne Rooney in January. Rumours today are that Man United will offer Rooney £170,000-a-week to keep him at Man United. The deal will include a £45,000-a-week image rights deal to become Old Trafford's poster boy
There has been speculation stating that Barcelona has put Rooney at the top of their transfer list. Click to continue reading...

Really good interview with Mark McCullers by Columbus Alive's Chris Deville. Are you watching, Grant Wahl? The whole thing is pretty good, particularly if you're a Crew fan, but the best part for me was the comment on youth development:

But if [the youth we develop] sign other professional contracts and they haven't signed a contract with MLS, then yes.

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Argentine youngster Angel di Maria has quashed speculation linking him with a move to England, saying that he has never spoken to the English press and has never "dreamed of" a move to English shores.

The Benfica midfielder was linked with potential moves to some of the Premiership's top clubs including Manchester United, Manchester City, and Arsenal, but the Europa League standout now insists that the reports are all fabricated.

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Bacary Sagna's agent has stressed the France international is happy to stay with Arsenal following renewed speculation of interest from Juventus.
He was courted by Real Madrid during the summer, while reports have recently suggested that Juventus have revived an interest in the 26-year-old. Click to continue reading...

Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas has told his Spanish fans he is happy in London.
Back in Spain for international week, Cesc has been forced to answer the frenzied speculation about his future with the Gunners.
But as part of the Esport Club show this week, Cesc said he felt "comfortable" at Arsenal. Click to continue reading...

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique joked with Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas on Spanish TV this week about moving to the Nou Camp.
Back in Spain for international week, Cesc has been forced to answer the frenzied speculation about his future with the Gunners.
And Pique, joking with his Spain teammate, told the Esport Club audience, "Hello, I present to you Cesc Fabregas, the future of FC Barcelona. Click to continue reading...

Is to wait and see how this one plays out. To the Columbus fans, welcome to the silly season.
Lest we forget, everything in the transfer window is dramatic with Guille. Remember when he first came to Columbus? It took forever to get the deal signed, McCullers was back and forth, the deal was announced before it was finalized, and yours truly was beside himself:

So McCullers can introduce this guy to the press.

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So another weekend has passed with another story linking Javier Mascherano with a move to Barcelona.
It was good to read in the ECHO yesterday that Liverpool quickly dismissed the speculation, as he is an important player.
But the time has now come for Argentina's captain to back up the faith many have shown in him with a string of top displays for the Reds at this most crucial period. Click to continue reading...

According to Goff, the Crew want him to take a massive pay cut:

In a meeting this week, the Crew told the 2008 MLS most valuable player that, in order to remain with the club, he would have to agree to cut his salary by at least 50 percent, the Insider has learned. The decision was apparently made by upper management.

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John Terry has stoked the fires surrounding the current rumour mill that surrounds Chelsea since the CAS suspended the UEFA Ban that had been imposed on us. Ever since the ban was suspended alot of focus has been on the fact that Chelsea will be spending in January and JT has done his bit to continue the speculation right through from now till the end of Jan. Click to continue reading...

When will this end!

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Former Manchester United defender Gerard Pique believes Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas will eventually return to European champions Barcelona and not join arch-rivals Real Madrid.

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Rumours of the potential transfer of Javier Mascherano from Liverpool to Barcelona during the winter transfer window are understood to be without any concrete foundation, according to Spanish publication Sport.
Speculation surrounding the Argentina captain has continued throughout the season after he was strongly linked with a summer move to Camp Nou and recent reports suggested that the players representatives had reached an agreement on the personal terms of a winter move. Click to continue reading...

Long running rumour is back on the table.

Portsmouth Vs Tottenham Tickets Still Available!
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Any Tottenham fan with a working pair of eyes will have remembered how Spanish winger Diego Capel was repeatedly linked with a move to White Hart Lane in the summer of 2008 well it appears that the speculation about just such a move is beginning to start all over again, but perhaps now the timing is in fact right for such a deal to become a reality.

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Well, it had to happen, didn't it? The Interlull had been so dull and tedious the only thing that could spark a bit of life into it was an injury to one of our players. It certainly wasn't going to be the football as anyone who sat through the Sunday park football shitstravaganza that was Ireland v France last night will tell you.

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Fantasy #1
The Roar women are champions and so far are in the champion position this season as well. To be accurate and fair, and to avoid being too hubristic, they have some serious competition this year in Sydney, Melbourne and Central Coast. Yesterday I reckon they barely outplayed Melbourne at Ballymore, but it couldn't be said that Melbourne didn't deserve their point (1:1). Click to continue reading...

! Article Start >Quiet man turned motormouth, Chris Hughton, has calmed speculation on a Newcastle United move for Jermaine Beckford in January, and expressed confidence that the recently troubled Peter Løvenkrands will return to form. Speaking of the 25 year old Leeds goal machine, Hughton said: "It's obvious that we will be mentioned with players [. Click to continue reading...

Ukraine international Andriy Voronin, brought to Liverpool in 2007 from Bayer Leverkusen, is yet to challenge for a consistent first-team role in Rafael Benitez's side, but the 30-year-old hopes that the goal ratio he secured while on loan last season will help elevate his status in his manager's mindset. Click to continue reading...

He´s the new young pearl of FC BARCELONA who got a run lastWednesday night in the SPANISH CUP. GAI ASSULIN is an 18 yearold who is already a full International for Israel & has capturedthe observations of Premier League Club Manager Arsene Wengerfrom ARSENAL.According to local sports daily "Mundo Deportivo", the alarm bellshave sounded at "Camp Barça" because there is speculation that Arsenalare Click to continue reading...

Hard to keep him out of the headlines at the moment:

They had hoped to dissuade Robinho from reporting for international duty but relented after agreeing to send their own doctor with him so the injury could be assessed by Brazil's medical staff.

City had hoped Robinho would then fly back with them but have had to relent further, agreeing to him staying with Brazil – although they did not expect him to fly on to Oman for next Tuesday's match.

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The announcement today came after several days of rumors and speculation that Preki could be fired and just days after he had failed to guide the club past the first round of the MLS playoffs for the third consecutive year.

Despite assurances earlier this season that the club didn't want to disrupt the team's slow "building" process under Preki, many fans believed the club was stagnating and change was needed.

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I'll clarify one thing. Missing the cut and thrust of league football is a big negative but the good thing about International week is that it provides for ample reflection. Maybe too much of it sometimes. Perhaps that comes with age.

Watching the La Liga review I learnt a bit more about age.

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Like leaves fall from the trees in Autumn, it seems every year some chairman in the Premier League wants to try and get the Old Firm into it. This time Phil Gartside, the Bolton Chairman once again tried to get the League to agree to invite Rangers and Celtic in to the fold. Thankfully, the request has been voted down.

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Ever since joining Man United in 2007, Owen Hargreaves has been having a terrible time with injuries. Hargreaves finally joined United in 2007 after almost a year of speculation and negotiations between United and German side Bayern Munich.
The first season he was at United was successful; he helped United win the Champions League and the Premier League. Click to continue reading...

It's the offseason in Columbus, and that means rumors about players and contracts and whatnot are as easy to find as a Buckeye hoodie. Robbie Rogers seems to have become the first player to fall victim of fan speculation.

First, to grease the wheels of gossip, Robbie himself tweetered that he was on his way out of Columbus.

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Tomorrow at the Wizards Swope Park Training Complex, the team will announce their new head coach in a press conference at 2:30 pm. There's been speculation on who the new head coach would be since the end of the season. With many of the other favorites only recently finishing their season (Preki), or still being in the playoffs (Spencer, Hamlett, Sarachan), I think the announcement is not going to be very surprising. Click to continue reading...

The Kansas City Wizards are expected to announce their new head coach on Tuesday. I think they will likely make Peter Vermes the Head Coach, removing the interim from his title. This is speculation because nobody will say anything other than the announcement will be tomorrow.Head Coach Peter Vermes?There has been a lot of speculation about possible coaches, including former Wizard and current (at Click to continue reading...

Newcastle United's Jonas Gutierrez did not celebrate his goal on Saturday with his trademark 'Spiderman' mask. This has already been covered, but it also appears he wasn't too keen on the anti-Ashley demonstrations. According to report in the Telegraph, Jonas did indeed leave the mask behind because he was unhappy about press speculation related to him [. Click to continue reading...

Rafa wants Dutch youngster as soon as possible.

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Liverpool's owners are preparing to scoop £100m with a new rights issue, and will fund their manager's transfer-based desires, which include the 22-year-old Dutch midfielder Eljero Elia, who only joined Hamburg in August from FC Twente.

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There is a growing section of Liverpool fans who believe that sacking Rafa Benitez is the way forward at the moment. TAF MCDONALD disagrees, and explains why he believes there is no real possibility that this is going to happen.
Before Rafa's future can even realistically be called into question at least two of the following three things need to happen. Click to continue reading...

Happy Friday to you all,

we should probably start with the news that Stan Kroenke is on threshold of the 30% which would require him to make an offer for all the shares in Arsenal. We've watched him draw ever closer in the last few months, his intentions remain very much a mystery. What you can say though is that with the 100 shares he bought from Peter Hill-Wood what is happening is being done with the full knowledge of the board.

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Wenger revealed that Merida had agreed a new contract deal at Arsenal Football Club, but he has not yet signed it.
Major speculation loomed this week on the future of Arsenal's promising young midfielder, with his current contract expires next summer, and rumors has it that Atletico Madrid is keen to keen to bring Merida back to Spain. Click to continue reading...

I have struggled with whether I want to continue writing for The Offside. My recent posts indicate my frustrations, which may appear to be a little acrimonious. The truth isn't as harsh as I make it out to be, honestly.

A few days ago I contacted the powers-that-be and proposed a new page for The Offside.

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Dieter, Dietmar . . . close enough.

Dietmar Beiersdorfer, the new sporting director for worldwide Red Bull soccer operations, has descended upon New York and has brought with him a cloud of speculation. Is he here to hire a new GM? Perhaps weigh in on the coaching situation?

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The news that Gael Clichy is out for up to two months is unfortunate and may harm Arsenal's trophy ambitions. When he first started his career at Arsenal, he was very injury prone, with continuous operations on his broken metatarsals. He always seems to get injured at an awkward time for The Gunners, and will return in the New Year.

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Arsenal verses Alkmaar 2009: this was not a beery, blood and guts affair of Tottenham in the League or a high energy, alcoho pop fuelled Carling Cup encounter with Liverpool, this Champions League game was a fine red wine for the football connoisseur.

An excellent selection by Wenger: a blend of player that complemented each with the depth of Gallas and Vermaelen and the much anticipated combination of Fabregas, Arshavin and Nasri.

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