With time running out before the transfer window closes, Manchester United hope to engineer a breakthrough in their pursuit of Dimitar Berbatov in the next 48 hours.
Sir Alex Ferguson and his squad travel to Monaco today in advance of the Champions League draw this evening and the European Super Cup tomorrow, but there is also the possibility of face-to-face negotiations between the United hierarchy and Tottenham Hotspur officials in Monte Carlo.
Dialogue between the clubs has been minimal since United first expressed interest in Berbatov at the start of the summer, but Tottenham, having lined up a deal to replace him with Roman Pavlyuchenko, now appear ready to talk. The expected £28 million deal for Berbatov should move closer over the coming days, with a strong possibility that David Gill, the United chief executive, will discuss the matter with Damien Comolli, the Tottenham sporting director, while they are in Monaco, the latter as part of the London club’s delegation for the Uefa Cup draw.
Tottenham maintain that they will not sell for less than £30 million and believe that their bargaining position has been strengthened by the formal complaint they have made to the Premier League regarding an alleged illegal approach for Berbatov.
United, while vehemently protesting their innocence, accept that the complaint has added another unwelcome dimension to a complicated deal, but they firmly expect to complete the transfer and for Tottenham to drop their complaint once an agreement has been reached, as they did with Liverpool over Robbie Keane earlier in the summer.
What is certain is that Berbatov will have more of an eye on this evening’s Champions League draw at the Grimaldi Forum than tomorrow’s Uefa Cup equivalent. The Bulgaria forward has no intention of staying at White Hart Lane, having formally requested a transfer 13 days ago and since been left out of the squad for the home defeat by Sunderland. He has been shunned by some of his team-mates since returning to training this week and, with Juande Ramos, the head coach, having seemingly captured Pavlyuchenko from Spartak Moscow, Tottenham’s stance is no longer anything like so defiant.
Tottenham also maintain an interest in Andrei Arshavin, the playmaking star of Zenit St Petersburg, United’s opponents at the Stade Louis II tomorrow evening. That, after the Community Shield, is the second of seven trophies that Ferguson has talked of winning this season, but, as ever, the Champions League is a top priority.
This evening’s draw will give some indication of the task ahead for England’s contingent, with United and Chelsea having been installed as the bookmakers’ favourites, three months after contesting the final in Moscow. Celtic’s place in the group stage, as Clydesdale Bank Premier League champions, was already assured, but not so Rangers, who fell to FBK Kaunas, of Lithuania, earlier in the qualifying campaign.
There is a strong chance that Celtic, among the third group of seeds, could be drawn against any of the Premier League entrants, who will be eager to avoid clubs such as Fiorentina and Atlético Madrid, who are lurking among the lower seeds.
This evening’s draw will be preceded by an awards ceremony from last season’s Champions League, won by United. Ferguson is firmly expected to win the coach-of-the-year award and Cristiano Ronaldo the club footballer of the year, while Edwin van der Sar, Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes and Ronaldo will be among the favourites to win their respective categories.
Of the 20 players nominated for awards, no fewer than 17 play for Premier League clubs, with six from United, five from Chelsea, four from Liverpool and two from Arsenal, reflecting their domination of last season’s tournament.
The only other candidates are Manuel Neuer, the Schalke 04 goalkeeper, Carles Puyol, the Barcelona defender, and Lionel Messi, the Barcelona forward.
How the draw works
Pot one Chelsea, Liverpool*, Barcelona, Arsenal, Manchester United, Lyons, Inter Milan, Real Madrid
Pot two Bayern Munich, PSV Eindhoven, Villarreal, AS Roma, FC Porto, Werder Bremen, Sporting Lisbon, Juventus
Pot three Marseilles, Zenit St Petersburg, Steaua Bucharest, Panathinaikos, Bordeaux, Celtic, FC Basle, Fenerbahçe
Pot four Shakhtar Donetsk, Fiorentina, Atlético Madrid, Dynamo Kiev, Standard Liège*, CRF Cluj, AaB Aalborg, Anorthosis Famagusta, BATE Borisov
* Extra time being played
Clubs are drawn in eight groups of four, with teams playing each other home and away and the top two clubs progressing to the last 16, at which point the tournament reverts to a knockout format. Clubs from the same country cannot be drawn against each other in the group stage.
FROM:TIMESONLINES
Thứ Năm, 28 tháng 8, 2008
Thứ Sáu, 22 tháng 8, 2008
Thaksin Shinawatra offers to resign as pressure grows
“The term 'fit and proper' is a pretty broad one. I mean, is he a nice guy? Yes. Is he a great guy to play golf with? Yes. Has he got the finances to run a football club? Yes. I really care about those three things. Whether he is guilty of something over there, I can't worry too much about that.”
The man in question is Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Prime Minister of Thailand, who is holed up in Surrey, seeking political asylum in Britain, after refusing to face corruption charges in his homeland earlier this month. The man doing the talking and, one suspects, the caddying, is Garry Cook, appointed by Thaksin as executive chairman of Manchester City with the mission of delivering his vision of a club that is the equal of its neighbour.
First things first: according to Cook, Thaksin is “embarrassed” about the damage that his legal, political and financial circumstances have inflicted upon City of late; Thaksin has offered to resign from the club's board in order to alleviate growing pressure from the Premier League, whose “fit and proper person” test he no longer seems to satisfy; Thaksin is close to selling a significant minority stake in City to another Asian tycoon who will help to bankroll the club while £800million of his own assets remain frozen in Thailand.
The financial picture at City is far healthier than it appears from the outside, despite a recent flurry of borrowing from the banks and from John Wardle, the former chairman. Thaksin recognises that he made mistakes last summer and is prepared to be realistic, rather than ruthless, with Mark Hughes, the new manager. Even if no outside investment is forthcoming before the transfer window closes in nine days, Hughes has money to spend on new players.
Cook's intention was to assure the media and, by extension, the club's supporters, and holding court at the City of Manchester Stadium this week, he did that. But he also talked about the pressing need to sign a superstar in order to satisfy his and Thaksin's global ambitions and expressed disapproval of a City veteran team's use of the club's “intellectual property” in a Masters tournament.
He also predicted that the club not only could, but would, become as big as Manchester United and, to the horror of the traditionalists among us, declared that, in order to embrace the challenges of globalisation, he would favour a 14-club breakaway Premier League with no promotion and no relegation. With City in it, presumably.
Football is changing and, in Cook, an intelligent, dynamic executive who was born in Birmingham but has spent much of his working life in the United States as a creative force behind the expansion of the Nike brand, Thaksin has found a man to help City embrace those changes.
Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Put it this way, Richard Scudamore, the Premier League chief executive, has found a kindred spirit. Where he and Scudamore differ is on the subject of Thaksin, but Cook and the owner are in constant discussion with the league to try to find ways around the “fit and proper” hurdle.
“Dr Thaksin has been really open about this,” Cook said. “The man is embarrassed about the indignity brought on the club and on the league. He never intended for this to be the case. He has said to me: ‘If you need me to resign as a director to serve the needs of the Premier League, I'm fine with that as long as it doesn't change anything else.' There is this fit and proper person's test and that's one of the reasons why we would maybe look to take him off the board as a director.
“We're talking about a lot of things. We've talked about restructuring the board and selling part of his stake to an equity partner, who could come in and take some of the pressure away.
“Three months ago, the situation was very different and then it took a turn [the corruption charges and Thaksin's refusal to face them] that changed the whole aspect of it. We've talked about many different options. One thing we're adamant about is not giving up the majority stake-holding. And we're not looking at [selling to] institutions. It's a friend of a friend.”
Cook suggested that investment could be secured within days, giving Hughes further room for manoeuvre before the transfer window closes on September 1. Hughes would be forgiven for regretting his decision to leave the comfort of Ewood Park for the madness of City, but Cook said that he did not mislead the manager about the situation that he was coming into.
“I actually painted a picture of instability for Mark,” he said. “We told him there was plenty of money to spend on players, but that we had taken in some players that weren't right for the club. Our acquisition and disposal strategy was wrong and it is still coming back to bite us a little bit.
“We have talked about the need to sign a superstar, a global franchise entity. We went after Ronaldinho and we nearly got him. We told Mark not to come here if he thought we didn't need a superstar. I know people are going to say: ‘Here we go again, another guy from America telling us how it should be'.
“But in the intellectual property world of running a football club, when you have 3.7 billion people looking at you, you have to move away from football the way it is. It's reality. China and India, 30 per cent of the world's population, are gagging for football content to watch and we want to try to tell them that Manchester City is their content.”
These grandiose plans invite the inevitable question: can City ever become the equal, in global terms, of Manchester United? “We will,” Cook said. “If I didn't have that goal, I wouldn't be here. Can we? Yes. Will we? It might take a bit longer. At Nike you don't sit around saying, 'Can we?' you say, 'We will'. I've got to change that here. I call it the cultural cascade.
“I talk to my employees and I get: 'This is England, not America, you know,' 'This is Manchester, not London, you know,' 'This is Manchester City, not Man United, you know.' We have to change that culture.”
Before they can even think about that, City must change the culture of self-harm that has hindered the club for about four decades. Things seemed to be changing under the previous board until Thaksin came along last summer with his plans for global domination.
Time will tell whether he is the long-awaited saviour of Manchester City or whether the club, with a megalomaniac owner at the wheel, is hurtling towards oblivion in a golf kart.
Blue Moon with stars in its eyes: big names who would fit the bill
Ronaldo (AC Milan and Brazil, aged 31): No longer the force he was but still a marketing man's dream, despite the goofy teeth and the spare tyre around the waist. Manchester City have inquired about him in the past and will no doubt do so again. Cook's associations with Nike, the player's sponsor, could help.
Thierry Henry (Barcelona and France, 31): Another Nike client and another who, as he finds himself on the wrong side of the hill, might return to the Premier League for one final pay day.
Carlos Tévez (Manchester United and Argentina, 24): A long shot, but not quite as outlandish as it might sound. United are not guaranteed to pay the £32million required to buy out his contract from the businessmen, such as Kia Joorabchian, who “own” him. Joorabchian has close links with Thaksin Shinawatra, the City owner.
Ronaldinho (AC Milan and Brazil, 28): A persistent chase may have ended in predictable failure this summer, but at least he now knows there are two clubs in Manchester. A realistic option if things do not work out in Milan.
FROM:TIMESONLINE
The man in question is Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Prime Minister of Thailand, who is holed up in Surrey, seeking political asylum in Britain, after refusing to face corruption charges in his homeland earlier this month. The man doing the talking and, one suspects, the caddying, is Garry Cook, appointed by Thaksin as executive chairman of Manchester City with the mission of delivering his vision of a club that is the equal of its neighbour.
First things first: according to Cook, Thaksin is “embarrassed” about the damage that his legal, political and financial circumstances have inflicted upon City of late; Thaksin has offered to resign from the club's board in order to alleviate growing pressure from the Premier League, whose “fit and proper person” test he no longer seems to satisfy; Thaksin is close to selling a significant minority stake in City to another Asian tycoon who will help to bankroll the club while £800million of his own assets remain frozen in Thailand.
The financial picture at City is far healthier than it appears from the outside, despite a recent flurry of borrowing from the banks and from John Wardle, the former chairman. Thaksin recognises that he made mistakes last summer and is prepared to be realistic, rather than ruthless, with Mark Hughes, the new manager. Even if no outside investment is forthcoming before the transfer window closes in nine days, Hughes has money to spend on new players.
Cook's intention was to assure the media and, by extension, the club's supporters, and holding court at the City of Manchester Stadium this week, he did that. But he also talked about the pressing need to sign a superstar in order to satisfy his and Thaksin's global ambitions and expressed disapproval of a City veteran team's use of the club's “intellectual property” in a Masters tournament.
He also predicted that the club not only could, but would, become as big as Manchester United and, to the horror of the traditionalists among us, declared that, in order to embrace the challenges of globalisation, he would favour a 14-club breakaway Premier League with no promotion and no relegation. With City in it, presumably.
Football is changing and, in Cook, an intelligent, dynamic executive who was born in Birmingham but has spent much of his working life in the United States as a creative force behind the expansion of the Nike brand, Thaksin has found a man to help City embrace those changes.
Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Put it this way, Richard Scudamore, the Premier League chief executive, has found a kindred spirit. Where he and Scudamore differ is on the subject of Thaksin, but Cook and the owner are in constant discussion with the league to try to find ways around the “fit and proper” hurdle.
“Dr Thaksin has been really open about this,” Cook said. “The man is embarrassed about the indignity brought on the club and on the league. He never intended for this to be the case. He has said to me: ‘If you need me to resign as a director to serve the needs of the Premier League, I'm fine with that as long as it doesn't change anything else.' There is this fit and proper person's test and that's one of the reasons why we would maybe look to take him off the board as a director.
“We're talking about a lot of things. We've talked about restructuring the board and selling part of his stake to an equity partner, who could come in and take some of the pressure away.
“Three months ago, the situation was very different and then it took a turn [the corruption charges and Thaksin's refusal to face them] that changed the whole aspect of it. We've talked about many different options. One thing we're adamant about is not giving up the majority stake-holding. And we're not looking at [selling to] institutions. It's a friend of a friend.”
Cook suggested that investment could be secured within days, giving Hughes further room for manoeuvre before the transfer window closes on September 1. Hughes would be forgiven for regretting his decision to leave the comfort of Ewood Park for the madness of City, but Cook said that he did not mislead the manager about the situation that he was coming into.
“I actually painted a picture of instability for Mark,” he said. “We told him there was plenty of money to spend on players, but that we had taken in some players that weren't right for the club. Our acquisition and disposal strategy was wrong and it is still coming back to bite us a little bit.
“We have talked about the need to sign a superstar, a global franchise entity. We went after Ronaldinho and we nearly got him. We told Mark not to come here if he thought we didn't need a superstar. I know people are going to say: ‘Here we go again, another guy from America telling us how it should be'.
“But in the intellectual property world of running a football club, when you have 3.7 billion people looking at you, you have to move away from football the way it is. It's reality. China and India, 30 per cent of the world's population, are gagging for football content to watch and we want to try to tell them that Manchester City is their content.”
These grandiose plans invite the inevitable question: can City ever become the equal, in global terms, of Manchester United? “We will,” Cook said. “If I didn't have that goal, I wouldn't be here. Can we? Yes. Will we? It might take a bit longer. At Nike you don't sit around saying, 'Can we?' you say, 'We will'. I've got to change that here. I call it the cultural cascade.
“I talk to my employees and I get: 'This is England, not America, you know,' 'This is Manchester, not London, you know,' 'This is Manchester City, not Man United, you know.' We have to change that culture.”
Before they can even think about that, City must change the culture of self-harm that has hindered the club for about four decades. Things seemed to be changing under the previous board until Thaksin came along last summer with his plans for global domination.
Time will tell whether he is the long-awaited saviour of Manchester City or whether the club, with a megalomaniac owner at the wheel, is hurtling towards oblivion in a golf kart.
Blue Moon with stars in its eyes: big names who would fit the bill
Ronaldo (AC Milan and Brazil, aged 31): No longer the force he was but still a marketing man's dream, despite the goofy teeth and the spare tyre around the waist. Manchester City have inquired about him in the past and will no doubt do so again. Cook's associations with Nike, the player's sponsor, could help.
Thierry Henry (Barcelona and France, 31): Another Nike client and another who, as he finds himself on the wrong side of the hill, might return to the Premier League for one final pay day.
Carlos Tévez (Manchester United and Argentina, 24): A long shot, but not quite as outlandish as it might sound. United are not guaranteed to pay the £32million required to buy out his contract from the businessmen, such as Kia Joorabchian, who “own” him. Joorabchian has close links with Thaksin Shinawatra, the City owner.
Ronaldinho (AC Milan and Brazil, 28): A persistent chase may have ended in predictable failure this summer, but at least he now knows there are two clubs in Manchester. A realistic option if things do not work out in Milan.
FROM:TIMESONLINE
Cristiano Ronaldo will be given time to recover
Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, will not rush Cristiano Ronaldo back into action, despite the sight of the Portugal forward jogging at the club’s training ground fuelling reports that he may return to fitness sooner than expected.
Ronaldo has been given the green light to step up his recovery from ankle surgery, but Ferguson is cautious about the prospect of an early reappearance. The manager has suggested that the club’s leading scorer last season will be out until the beginning of October, but the speed of the 23-year-old’s recovery has led to claims that Ronaldo will return sooner.
“If a player is out for a certain period there is no point rushing him,” Ferguson said. “You may as well wait the extra week or two to make sure they don’t suffer any setbacks. Cristiano may get back quicker, but we are not putting him under any pressure.”
FROM:TIMESONLINE
Ronaldo has been given the green light to step up his recovery from ankle surgery, but Ferguson is cautious about the prospect of an early reappearance. The manager has suggested that the club’s leading scorer last season will be out until the beginning of October, but the speed of the 23-year-old’s recovery has led to claims that Ronaldo will return sooner.
“If a player is out for a certain period there is no point rushing him,” Ferguson said. “You may as well wait the extra week or two to make sure they don’t suffer any setbacks. Cristiano may get back quicker, but we are not putting him under any pressure.”
FROM:TIMESONLINE
Window Watch: Andrei Arshavin, Roque Santa Cruz, Philippe Senderos, Nikola Zigic
Andrei Arshavin, the Russia playmaker, could finally be on his way to Tottenham Hotspur after Zenit St Petersburg agreed to lower their £20 million asking price. Arshavin, who is keen to move to London, has been left out of the Zenit squad for the match against Krylya Sovetov Samara this weekend.
Zenit need the money to buy players before the transfer window closes on September 1, but are worried that Tottenham have lost interest in the 27-year-old. However, Dick Advocaat, the Zenit coach, seems confident that a deal will go through.
“The transfer period is yet to finish and things can still change,” Advocaat said. “Last year we sold Martin Skrtel to Liverpool for £10 million, and now probably Arshavin will go to Spurs.”
Roque Santa Cruz, the Paraguay striker, has ended speculation about his future by signing a new four-year contract with Blackburn Rovers. The 27-year-old has been the subject of failed bids from Aston Villa and Manchester City this summer. The new deal will tie him to Blackburn until June 2012 and his wages will rise to around £60,000 a week.
Santa Cruz has been a huge hit since arriving at Ewood Park from Bayern Munich for £3.8 million last summer and scored 23 goals in all competitions. The forward is thought to have been keen to repay the faith Blackburn showed by signing him from Bayern, despite his poor injury record, while the arrival of his 18-year-old brother, Julio, at the club was another reason to stay.
West Bromwich Albion have signed Borja Valero, the Spanish midfield player, from Real Mallorca for a club-record fee of £4.7 million.
Shaun Maloney has returned to Celtic from Aston Villa in a deal that could rise to £2.5 million. The midfield player moved in the opposite direction 18 months ago for £1 million.
Decent bets
Everton are in pole position to sign Nikola Zigic, the Serbia forward, from Valencia. Zigic was available only on a permanent transfer but his club are now willing to let him go out on loan.
Daniel Arismendi, the Union Atletico Maracaibo and Venezuela striker, has arrived in England for talks with Wigan Athletic.
Long shots
Philippe Senderos’s father has claimed that Newcastle United and AC Milan are trying to sign the Arsenal defender. “If his dad is right, he’s got two tremendous clubs to choose from,” Kevin Keegan, the Newcastle manager, said. “We need another defender.”
Arsenal are not interested in signing Gareth Barry, according to Martin O’Neill, the Villa manager.
One of Thiago Neves’s representatives has said that Manchester City are to sign the Brazil midfield player from Fluminense. Neves is said to have caught the eye while playing for his country in the Olympic Games.
FROM:TIMES
Zenit need the money to buy players before the transfer window closes on September 1, but are worried that Tottenham have lost interest in the 27-year-old. However, Dick Advocaat, the Zenit coach, seems confident that a deal will go through.
“The transfer period is yet to finish and things can still change,” Advocaat said. “Last year we sold Martin Skrtel to Liverpool for £10 million, and now probably Arshavin will go to Spurs.”
Roque Santa Cruz, the Paraguay striker, has ended speculation about his future by signing a new four-year contract with Blackburn Rovers. The 27-year-old has been the subject of failed bids from Aston Villa and Manchester City this summer. The new deal will tie him to Blackburn until June 2012 and his wages will rise to around £60,000 a week.
Santa Cruz has been a huge hit since arriving at Ewood Park from Bayern Munich for £3.8 million last summer and scored 23 goals in all competitions. The forward is thought to have been keen to repay the faith Blackburn showed by signing him from Bayern, despite his poor injury record, while the arrival of his 18-year-old brother, Julio, at the club was another reason to stay.
West Bromwich Albion have signed Borja Valero, the Spanish midfield player, from Real Mallorca for a club-record fee of £4.7 million.
Shaun Maloney has returned to Celtic from Aston Villa in a deal that could rise to £2.5 million. The midfield player moved in the opposite direction 18 months ago for £1 million.
Decent bets
Everton are in pole position to sign Nikola Zigic, the Serbia forward, from Valencia. Zigic was available only on a permanent transfer but his club are now willing to let him go out on loan.
Daniel Arismendi, the Union Atletico Maracaibo and Venezuela striker, has arrived in England for talks with Wigan Athletic.
Long shots
Philippe Senderos’s father has claimed that Newcastle United and AC Milan are trying to sign the Arsenal defender. “If his dad is right, he’s got two tremendous clubs to choose from,” Kevin Keegan, the Newcastle manager, said. “We need another defender.”
Arsenal are not interested in signing Gareth Barry, according to Martin O’Neill, the Villa manager.
One of Thiago Neves’s representatives has said that Manchester City are to sign the Brazil midfield player from Fluminense. Neves is said to have caught the eye while playing for his country in the Olympic Games.
FROM:TIMES
Luiz Felipe Scolari expects to seal deal for Robinho
Chelsea expect to sign Robinho in a matter of days after the Brazil forward told Real Madrid that he wanted to move to Stamford Bridge. Luiz Felipe Scolari is worried that his team will be too predictable without some Brazilian flair this season and the Chelsea manager has told his employers to do whatever it takes to sign the 24-year-old from the Spanish champions.
Real are holding out for £31.7 million for a player who has failed to live up to expectations at the Bernabéu, but Chelsea believe that they can reach a compromise quickly after Real turned down offers of £19.7 million and £25.4 million. “I dream of playing in the English league,” Robinho said. “Chelsea have a great squad and a great team. My objective is to play there. I've got nothing against Madrid, but I want to resolve this as soon as possible. It's not about money, I simply want to leave.”
Chelsea have offered to double the Brazilian's wages to about £70,000 a week and are confident that they will have signed the two players that Scolari wanted - Deco and Robinho - when he agreed to replace Avram Grant last month. Peter Kenyon, the Chelsea chief executive, met Scolari and Frank Arnesen, the director of scouting and youth development, yesterday to update them on developments after flying back from Madrid.
Robinho has become disillusioned in Spain after Real tried to use him as a makeweight in their attempts to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United this summer and after he was refused permission to play for Brazil in the Olympic Games in Beijing.
“I like Robinho because his style is different from what we have,” Scolari said. “We need one player who can make a difference. To change our system we need a different type of player. If we only use one system it will be easy for other teams to beat us.”
Scolari trained with his first-team squad yesterday morning to prepare for tomorrow's match away to Wigan Athletic and the Brazilian made a point of having a quiet word with Frank Lampard after the England midfield player was booed by his own supporters during England's 2-2 draw with the Czech Republic at Wembley on Wednesday. Scolari advised Lampard to try some retail therapy. “I asked Frank if he was upset and he said no,” Scolari said. “I told him that now he had renewed his contract he should go out and spend some money.”
Lampard was happy to stay at Stamford Bridge after the club agreed to give him a five-year contract worth about £140,000 a week, but there are still question marks about the futures of Shaun Wright-Phillips and Andriy Shevchenko. Portsmouth are trying to sign Wright-Phillips on loan and Scolari will not stand in the winger's way if he decides to move to Fratton Park.
“I have 26 players in my squad so to lose one or two would not be a problem,” Scolari said. “I don't know what Shaun thinks about offers from other teams. I have three or four wide players so if we sell one it will not be a problem for me.”
Shevchenko stopped off in Milan on Thursday on his way back from Ukraine's 1-0 victory over Poland in Kiev but his hopes of returning to the San Siro appear to have been dashed temporarily after AC Milan insisted that they would sign him only on loan. “He was having negotiations in Milan on Thursday but he trained on Friday and everything is normal,” Scolari said. “I am happy if he stays because he will be one more option for me.”
Didier Drogba has an outside chance of playing in the home match against Tottenham Hotspur next weekend. The Chelsea forward has been sidelined with a knee injury but Scolari expects him to return to full training this week. “He is getting better and his knee is very well,” Scolari said. “Maybe he will play against Tottenham but whatever happens he will be ready in 15 days.”Steve Bruce, the Wigan Athletic
manager, goes into the match at home to Chelsea tomorrow having suffered humiliation at the hands of one of the London club's players this summer. Bruce, a keen golfer, could not resist a round with Andriy Shevchenko when the pair bumped into one another while holidaying in Barbados.
“I got hammered,” Bruce said. “Shevchenko's partner was the pro at Wentworth, while I was left with Stephen Hunt, from Reading. I have to say, Shevchenko is one hell of a golfer. We were beaten by the 9th hole, but I blame Stephen. He was hopeless.”
Four months ago, Emile Heskey delivered a devastating blow to Chelsea's title hopes with an injury-time equaliser as relegation-threatened Wigan came away from Stamford Bridge with a 1-1 draw. It has been a summer of change at Chelsea, but Bruce believes his former club, Manchester United, will make a successful defence of the title.
“I knew when we came away from Stamford Bridge that we were safe,” Bruce said. “But last season has gone. We've got to go and do it again, and make sure we're ready for the challenge. As for the title race, United are going to be formidable again.”
FROM:TIMESONLINE
Real are holding out for £31.7 million for a player who has failed to live up to expectations at the Bernabéu, but Chelsea believe that they can reach a compromise quickly after Real turned down offers of £19.7 million and £25.4 million. “I dream of playing in the English league,” Robinho said. “Chelsea have a great squad and a great team. My objective is to play there. I've got nothing against Madrid, but I want to resolve this as soon as possible. It's not about money, I simply want to leave.”
Chelsea have offered to double the Brazilian's wages to about £70,000 a week and are confident that they will have signed the two players that Scolari wanted - Deco and Robinho - when he agreed to replace Avram Grant last month. Peter Kenyon, the Chelsea chief executive, met Scolari and Frank Arnesen, the director of scouting and youth development, yesterday to update them on developments after flying back from Madrid.
Robinho has become disillusioned in Spain after Real tried to use him as a makeweight in their attempts to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United this summer and after he was refused permission to play for Brazil in the Olympic Games in Beijing.
“I like Robinho because his style is different from what we have,” Scolari said. “We need one player who can make a difference. To change our system we need a different type of player. If we only use one system it will be easy for other teams to beat us.”
Scolari trained with his first-team squad yesterday morning to prepare for tomorrow's match away to Wigan Athletic and the Brazilian made a point of having a quiet word with Frank Lampard after the England midfield player was booed by his own supporters during England's 2-2 draw with the Czech Republic at Wembley on Wednesday. Scolari advised Lampard to try some retail therapy. “I asked Frank if he was upset and he said no,” Scolari said. “I told him that now he had renewed his contract he should go out and spend some money.”
Lampard was happy to stay at Stamford Bridge after the club agreed to give him a five-year contract worth about £140,000 a week, but there are still question marks about the futures of Shaun Wright-Phillips and Andriy Shevchenko. Portsmouth are trying to sign Wright-Phillips on loan and Scolari will not stand in the winger's way if he decides to move to Fratton Park.
“I have 26 players in my squad so to lose one or two would not be a problem,” Scolari said. “I don't know what Shaun thinks about offers from other teams. I have three or four wide players so if we sell one it will not be a problem for me.”
Shevchenko stopped off in Milan on Thursday on his way back from Ukraine's 1-0 victory over Poland in Kiev but his hopes of returning to the San Siro appear to have been dashed temporarily after AC Milan insisted that they would sign him only on loan. “He was having negotiations in Milan on Thursday but he trained on Friday and everything is normal,” Scolari said. “I am happy if he stays because he will be one more option for me.”
Didier Drogba has an outside chance of playing in the home match against Tottenham Hotspur next weekend. The Chelsea forward has been sidelined with a knee injury but Scolari expects him to return to full training this week. “He is getting better and his knee is very well,” Scolari said. “Maybe he will play against Tottenham but whatever happens he will be ready in 15 days.”Steve Bruce, the Wigan Athletic
manager, goes into the match at home to Chelsea tomorrow having suffered humiliation at the hands of one of the London club's players this summer. Bruce, a keen golfer, could not resist a round with Andriy Shevchenko when the pair bumped into one another while holidaying in Barbados.
“I got hammered,” Bruce said. “Shevchenko's partner was the pro at Wentworth, while I was left with Stephen Hunt, from Reading. I have to say, Shevchenko is one hell of a golfer. We were beaten by the 9th hole, but I blame Stephen. He was hopeless.”
Four months ago, Emile Heskey delivered a devastating blow to Chelsea's title hopes with an injury-time equaliser as relegation-threatened Wigan came away from Stamford Bridge with a 1-1 draw. It has been a summer of change at Chelsea, but Bruce believes his former club, Manchester United, will make a successful defence of the title.
“I knew when we came away from Stamford Bridge that we were safe,” Bruce said. “But last season has gone. We've got to go and do it again, and make sure we're ready for the challenge. As for the title race, United are going to be formidable again.”
FROM:TIMESONLINE
Thứ Ba, 19 tháng 8, 2008
John Terry is ready to lead England from the back again
Martin Samuel, Chief Football Correspondent
When England's players arrived at the team headquarters near Watford this week, Fabio Capello gave them a lecture on respect. He said that everybody in football would be watching their behaviour and their attitude towards referees extra closely this season and that it would be hard for him to select those that continued to attract bad headlines. John Terry did not take this as a positive sign in his quest to retain the England captaincy.
The next day, it was announced that Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, would be leading a government initiative against teenage knife crime and several England footballers, those perceived as good role models, were required to be the public face of the campaign. Rio Ferdinand, captain of Manchester United's double-winning team in many matches last season, sat next to Smith as she faced the cameras and he later spoke with feeling as a community leader and a longstanding anti-knife campaigner, who had helped to establish the Damilola Taylor Trust after the fatal stabbing of the ten-year-old from Peckham nearly eight years ago. Again, Terry did not see this assured display of statesmanship as of great help to his cause.
Frankly, he had long given up hope of leading out England at Wembley against the Czech Republic tonight. Terry had heard the same rumours as the newspaper journalists, the same insider information that has been circulating in football for the best part of six months. It began with a rumble that certain figures within the FA did not see Terry as captaincy material. Always officially denied, of course, but resurfacing from time to time, nonetheless. Chelsea were fined £30,000 for their protests when John Obi Mikel was sent off in a match away to Manchester United on September 23; later they were charged with failing to control their players away to Derby County on November 24. Terry was captain in both games.
There were other issues, too. One too many lurid Sunday newspaper headline, it was said. Not the sort of thing that reflects well on the English game with all those Fifa dignitaries to impress in time for 2018. Then Terry's £150,000 Bentley turned up in a disabled parking space. Brendan Behan wrote that there was no such thing as bad publicity; but he did not spend much time trying to catch Terry a break towards the end of last season. By March 19, when Chelsea drew 4-4 away to Tottenham Hotspur, the whispers had grown to a roar of banner headlines. The lack of respect shown by Terry and his team-mates for Mike Riley, the referee, was the final straw. The next week, Terry was overlooked by Capello as Ferdinand was handed the captain's armband for a match in France, and whole sermons about standards of behaviour were read into the manager's pidgin English and translated answers.
The brusque manner in which Capello announced Ferdinand's elevation at a team meeting was also said to indicate his displeasure at Terry's conduct, rather than his rudimentary grasp of a foreign tongue, and from there the Ferdinand-for-captain rollercoaster went at speed down the rails. Even when Terry was made captain against the United States in May, and scored, it was perceived as a morale-building sop to get him over the agony of missing what would have been the winning penalty in the Champions League shoot-out. Unlike Ferdinand, he did not travel with the team to play Trinidad & Tobago in June. The lines of communication continued to buzz with predictions of a demotion.
Hear the same sentence enough times and you start to believe it, and Terry will have lost count of the number of times he has heard, or read, that Ferdinand was to be Capello's captain. According to his agent, Aaron Lincoln, he was resigned to listening as the manager read out Ferdinand's name at the team gathering after training yesterday when it was known the decision would be revealed.
He did hear the clipped pronunciation of Ferdinand, but as his understudy, not his replacement. Steven Gerrard was the biggest loser, usurped as vice-captain, Terry the biggest winner, reinstated to the position he held under Steve McClaren. What he won was something that was technically in his possession, but it must still have felt like locating a prized item of jewellery down the back of the sofa having long written it off as lost. And successfully claimed on the insurance.
“I was surprised, actually,” Terry said. “You hear little things and with the form Rio has been in and what Manchester United have achieved I thought he would get it.”
So what swung it? Capello has talked of a captain in the mould of Franco Baresi, his leader at AC Milan, and right down to his central defensive position in the team and his penalty miss at a final of a leading tournament, there are similarities. Capello admired Baresi's ability to command the players under pressure, to stay calm and give instructions, to execute the game plan. This is Terry's forte, too. It is no coincidence that he was missing from the two matches in which England fell apart at the back at crucial moments, in Russia and at home against Croatia.
As for Ferdinand, it has been argued that responsibility has brought the best out of him, that it has made him more focused during matches. Yet is that truly an attribute? Why should it need an armband to get a man's head straight? Surely, awarding the captaincy is not about what the job can do for you, but what affect your appointment has on the team. Yes, Ferdinand may appear the better role model, but where do the moralists draw the line? Ferdinand's behaviour after United played away to Chelsea last season was hardly exemplary and he did miss that drugs test. We all know what you get for that these days: a gold medal.
Captive audience
John Terry's second coming as England captain will be witnessed by the biggest football crowd in Europe this evening. The FA has sold more than 65,000 tickets for the first international of the season at Wembley and with ticket offices open throughout the day it hopes that the attendance could be in excess of 70,000. Tickets remain available priced between £30 and £60.
FROM:TIMESONLINE
When England's players arrived at the team headquarters near Watford this week, Fabio Capello gave them a lecture on respect. He said that everybody in football would be watching their behaviour and their attitude towards referees extra closely this season and that it would be hard for him to select those that continued to attract bad headlines. John Terry did not take this as a positive sign in his quest to retain the England captaincy.
The next day, it was announced that Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, would be leading a government initiative against teenage knife crime and several England footballers, those perceived as good role models, were required to be the public face of the campaign. Rio Ferdinand, captain of Manchester United's double-winning team in many matches last season, sat next to Smith as she faced the cameras and he later spoke with feeling as a community leader and a longstanding anti-knife campaigner, who had helped to establish the Damilola Taylor Trust after the fatal stabbing of the ten-year-old from Peckham nearly eight years ago. Again, Terry did not see this assured display of statesmanship as of great help to his cause.
Frankly, he had long given up hope of leading out England at Wembley against the Czech Republic tonight. Terry had heard the same rumours as the newspaper journalists, the same insider information that has been circulating in football for the best part of six months. It began with a rumble that certain figures within the FA did not see Terry as captaincy material. Always officially denied, of course, but resurfacing from time to time, nonetheless. Chelsea were fined £30,000 for their protests when John Obi Mikel was sent off in a match away to Manchester United on September 23; later they were charged with failing to control their players away to Derby County on November 24. Terry was captain in both games.
There were other issues, too. One too many lurid Sunday newspaper headline, it was said. Not the sort of thing that reflects well on the English game with all those Fifa dignitaries to impress in time for 2018. Then Terry's £150,000 Bentley turned up in a disabled parking space. Brendan Behan wrote that there was no such thing as bad publicity; but he did not spend much time trying to catch Terry a break towards the end of last season. By March 19, when Chelsea drew 4-4 away to Tottenham Hotspur, the whispers had grown to a roar of banner headlines. The lack of respect shown by Terry and his team-mates for Mike Riley, the referee, was the final straw. The next week, Terry was overlooked by Capello as Ferdinand was handed the captain's armband for a match in France, and whole sermons about standards of behaviour were read into the manager's pidgin English and translated answers.
The brusque manner in which Capello announced Ferdinand's elevation at a team meeting was also said to indicate his displeasure at Terry's conduct, rather than his rudimentary grasp of a foreign tongue, and from there the Ferdinand-for-captain rollercoaster went at speed down the rails. Even when Terry was made captain against the United States in May, and scored, it was perceived as a morale-building sop to get him over the agony of missing what would have been the winning penalty in the Champions League shoot-out. Unlike Ferdinand, he did not travel with the team to play Trinidad & Tobago in June. The lines of communication continued to buzz with predictions of a demotion.
Hear the same sentence enough times and you start to believe it, and Terry will have lost count of the number of times he has heard, or read, that Ferdinand was to be Capello's captain. According to his agent, Aaron Lincoln, he was resigned to listening as the manager read out Ferdinand's name at the team gathering after training yesterday when it was known the decision would be revealed.
He did hear the clipped pronunciation of Ferdinand, but as his understudy, not his replacement. Steven Gerrard was the biggest loser, usurped as vice-captain, Terry the biggest winner, reinstated to the position he held under Steve McClaren. What he won was something that was technically in his possession, but it must still have felt like locating a prized item of jewellery down the back of the sofa having long written it off as lost. And successfully claimed on the insurance.
“I was surprised, actually,” Terry said. “You hear little things and with the form Rio has been in and what Manchester United have achieved I thought he would get it.”
So what swung it? Capello has talked of a captain in the mould of Franco Baresi, his leader at AC Milan, and right down to his central defensive position in the team and his penalty miss at a final of a leading tournament, there are similarities. Capello admired Baresi's ability to command the players under pressure, to stay calm and give instructions, to execute the game plan. This is Terry's forte, too. It is no coincidence that he was missing from the two matches in which England fell apart at the back at crucial moments, in Russia and at home against Croatia.
As for Ferdinand, it has been argued that responsibility has brought the best out of him, that it has made him more focused during matches. Yet is that truly an attribute? Why should it need an armband to get a man's head straight? Surely, awarding the captaincy is not about what the job can do for you, but what affect your appointment has on the team. Yes, Ferdinand may appear the better role model, but where do the moralists draw the line? Ferdinand's behaviour after United played away to Chelsea last season was hardly exemplary and he did miss that drugs test. We all know what you get for that these days: a gold medal.
Captive audience
John Terry's second coming as England captain will be witnessed by the biggest football crowd in Europe this evening. The FA has sold more than 65,000 tickets for the first international of the season at Wembley and with ticket offices open throughout the day it hopes that the attendance could be in excess of 70,000. Tickets remain available priced between £30 and £60.
FROM:TIMESONLINE
Thứ Hai, 18 tháng 8, 2008
Total result matchs
Arsenal - Wesbrom 1 - 0 (Ars: Samir Nasri 4')
Boltol - Stoke 3 - 1 (Bol : Steinsson 34 Davies 41 Elmander 46 - Sto : Fuller 91)
Everton - Blackburn 2 - 3 (Eve:Arteta 46 Yakubu 64 - Bla:Dunn 22 Santa Cruz 66 Ooijer 91)
Hull city - Fulham 2 - 1 (Hul:Geovanni 22 Folan 81 - Ful:Ki-Hyeon 8)
Middlesbrough - Tottenham 2 - 1 (Mid:Wheater 71 Mido 86 - Tot: Huth o.g. 91)
Sunderland - Liverpool 0 - 1 (Liv: Torres 83 )
West Ham - Wigan 2 - 1 (Wes:Ashton 3, 10 - Wig:Zaki 47)
Middlesbrough - Tottenham 2 - 1 (Mid:Wheater 71 Mido 86 - Tot: Huth o.g. 91)
Sunderland - Liverpool 0 - 1 (Liv: Torres 83 )
West Ham - Wigan 2 - 1 (Wes:Ashton 3, 10 - Wig:Zaki 47)
Chelsea - Portsmouth 4 - 0 (Che:J Cole 12 Anelka 26 Lampard (pen) 46 Deco 89)
Villa - ManC 4 - 2 (Ast:Carew 47 Agbonlahor 69 ,74 ,76 Manc:Elano (pen) 64 Corluka 89)
Man Utd - Newcastle 1 - 1 (Mu: Fletcher 24 - New: Martins 22 )
Đăng ký:
Bài đăng (Atom)
