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Benfica's left-winger Angel Di Maria revealed he was very close to join Arsenal and was looking
forward to learn from Arsene Wenger, only that the transfer never took place. The 21-year old
Argentinian is quoted as ... Click to continue reading...
Benfica's left-winger Angel Di Maria revealed he was very close to join Arsenal and was looking
forward to learn from Arsene Wenger, only that the transfer never took place. The 21-year old
Argentinian is quoted as ...
Welcome to another edition of Groan in Brief, the weekly look at the world of football in bullet
point form. Today, we tackle the Worst Handball Ever in History And Time Itself ™, and the
curiosity of Egypt's continued absence from the grandest stage of international football.
'That' handball
Whenever the media decide to jump on a story, what transpires is the most unsightly of feeding
frenzies, each reporter seeking to trump the last.
Winger offends his own boot suppliers as he clutches at straws Damien Duff has claimed that the
Republic of Ireland's controversial World Cup qualification play-off defeat to France was the
result of a conspiracy between FIFA and Adidas. The Fulham man, who picks up £100,000 a year for
wearing Adidas boots (for now at least), reckons [. Click to continue reading...
Spurs and Portsmouth both want to sign Marseille's Hatem Ben Arfa who has fallen out
with Didier Deschamps and his shiny black leather jacket. Ben Arfa has accused Deschamps of
"breaking his balls". Deschamps says he didn't break his balls, they were already broken and
actually he was only trying to fix them and he may have slightly chipped one while he was doing it
but it's not his fault if his balls are actually quite badly made and frankly quite cheap in the
first place.
According to Simon Bird at MirrorFootball, Chelsea are interested in signing
£4million Middlesbrough winger Adam Johnson. The plan is to
purchase him in January and then loan him back until the end of the season.
We're doing well. We're fourth in the league with a few weeks before the winter transfer window
and Christmas. But it's hard not to feel that there's a anxiousness about all of it, and that with
our current lack of creativity and consequential goals mean that as fans we always feel that we're
surfing the crest of a wave comprised of excrement.
SEE YOU IN SEATTLE It's MLS Cup Weekend - So come and party with your friends on Friday night! The Designated Players - du Nord, Soccer by Ives, The Original Winger, This Is American Soccer and
The Offside Rules - will be hosting a get together on Friday night in Seattle at Kells Pub. Click to continue reading...
Something fishy is going on at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea's marquee signing
of the summer – 18-million-pound-man Yuri Zhirkov - has yet to play a league
game for the club and has played less than a combined 90 minutes for them in all competitions. Ever
since his big money move from CSKA Moscow in July, the Russian winger and fullback has
been trying to shake off a mysterious rash of injuries that have even baffled club doctors.
There is a great piece over at The Original Winger; an interview with Gino Rossetti of Rossetti
Architects. Get inside the head of one of the people who is shaping --somewhat literally-- how
soccer is perceived in America. Click to continue reading...
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Mark Hughes could save David Bentley from his Tottenham nightmare with an £8m move in
January.
A report in The Mirror today suggests that Hughes could be willing to bring the sometimes
England winger to Manchester City in a deal which could see Martin Petrov move in the opposite
direction.
I thought Daniel Levy was the Tottenham Hotspur Chairman? I was mistaken. It now seems that Mr.
Pavlyuchenko is the Chairman of the Board. "I am prepared to accept any decent offer from Russia", said our new Chairman. Coming back to reality; it looks as though our Cameron Diaz lookalike is so eager to leave us, he's
bypassed all forms of control at White Hart Lane. Click to continue reading...
Benfica winger Angel di Maria has revealed he should already be an Arsenal player. Manchester City are now prepared to pay Di Maria's £36 million buyout clause to sign him from
Benfica. But it could have been all so different, as the Argentine reveals: "I don't know exactly what
happened with my proposed transfer to Arsenal. Click to continue reading...
QUICK PROGRAMMING NOTES:TIAS, Du Nord, The Original Winger, Soccer By Ives, and The
Offside Rules will be hosting a party Friday night 9pm in downtown Seattle at Kell's Irish Pub (FYI
- bar charges $5 cover, which is not going to us). It's a true soccer bar I'm told, should be a
good time.Click to continue reading...
Eastleigh 1-0 Lewes (14:11:09) - click photos to enlarge image - It's hard to curb your enthusiasm watching Lewes on the road, especially as this particular match
had captured the attention of mainland Europe. Lewes supporters branches from both Berlin and
Antwerp had flown in especially. Click to continue reading...
Nani, who turns 23 today, needs to toughen up mentally if he wants to make the grade at
United.
When Nani broke into the Sporting CP first-team he was seen as the next big thing to come out of
Portugal, after Cristiano Ronaldo that is. After his big move to Manchester United he has lived in
the shadow of his more glorified countryman.
Aston Villa 1 (Platt) Bradford City 0. Old Second Division. 1988. This was the first football
match I ever watched and I instantly fell in love with Villa's goal scoring hero, a fish shaped man
called David Platt. I later came to realise he wasn't that good but the point is that, at the time,
I thought he was a footballing god.
The Past few weeks have seen the worst crisis period of your wonderful career. There are times I
used to think what made you quit as a Valencia coach and join Liverpool. You had two La Liga titles
and a Uefa cup glory with a meek Valencia side.
Ryan Babel has once again dismissed suggestions he wants to leave Liverpool FC in the summer while
reiterating his desperation to regain a regular first-team role and safeguard a World Cup finals
berth. Despite the Anfield outfit's poor start to the season, Babel has made just two starts in the
Premier League. Click to continue reading...
Finally there is an official statement from the club on the extend of RVP's injury and it's 6
weeks. That's a total of 11 matches that the Dutchman will miss. 8 Premier League games, 2
Champions League games and 1 Carling Cup game (which I doubt he will feature in anyway). That spate
of matches includes Sunderland (A), Std Liege (H), Chelsea (H), Man City (A), Stoke (H), Olympiakos
(A), Liverpool (A), Burnley (A), Hull (H), Villa (H) and Portsmouth (A).
Manchester United currently sit third in the Barclays Premier League table level on points with
Arsenal (who have a game in hand) and 5 points behind league leaders Chelsea. But how much is Sir
Alex relishing this most recent International break?
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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.
Martin Petrov is facing a couple of weeks on the sidelines after picking up a knee injury in the
current international break.
The winger has a slight sprain of the inner ligament in the left knee and could be out for up to
two weeks.
Petrov was with his national squad preparing for a couple of friendlies when he was forced to
return back to City's Carrington training ground, where he is now undergoing rehab work.
Atletico Madrid winger Jose Antonio Reyes says it's time for Arsenal's young players to deliver on
their promise. Unlike his own career, which has seemingly gone into terminal decline since leaving the Gunners,
Reyes believes the Gunners are finally poised to reclaim a major trophy this season. Click to continue reading...
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Here we find ourselves slap bang in the middle of another damn international break, only this
one is even more torrid than others as there are barely any meaningful internationals to hold our
attention.
2 days. That's the time Fergie took to seal the fate of Nani. Recently, Nani had a stupid public
outburst against Sir Alex Ferguson and it is rumoured that the Portuguese may be on his way to
Italy. The Portuguese winger did not mince his words in an interview with a newspaper and that has
probably left Ferguson furious. Click to continue reading...
The first legs of the European World Cup play-offs took place yesterday (Saturday) and Russia,
Portugal and France all take slender advantages into their second legs.
Portugal managed to beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-0 in Lisbon in their first leg. With Cristiano
Ronaldo ruled out of the tie through injury the Portuguese had to rely on the likes of Simao
Sabrosa, Liedson and Deco for their creative spark but all three were guilt of below-par
performances.
Liverpool winger Ryan Babel has dismissed reports that he is looking to leave the club in
January. Babel has struggled to hold down a regular place in Rafa Benitez's plans, making just two starts in
the Premier League this term. While the 22-year-old is keen to be playing more regularly as he looks to seal a place in Bert van
Marwijk's Holland squad for next summer's World Cup finals, he insists he does not want to make a
move away from Anfield in search of more first-team action. Click to continue reading...
Juan Mata has finally agreed to a new contract with Valencia after widespread interest in his
services. The 21-year-old has received a significant increase in salary but the length of the contract has
not been extended while the minimum release fee clause remains the same of 90million Euros. Click to continue reading...
Fran Merida says his future is tied to Arsenal. The Spain U21 midfielder has been linked with Atletico Madrid, but told Spanish reporters today: "I
am committed to Arsenal and I am only thinking of playing there. "I feel I am improving every day and the manager is now involving me more in first team training. Click to continue reading...
