Manchester City are on the verge of securing star playmaker David Silva on a new contract, with the Spaniard set to put pen to paper on a £200,000-a-week deal according to The Daily Mail.
The talented attacking midfielder has been at the helm of the Etihad Stadium side’s rise to become Premier League champions, and has thoroughly impressed since moving to England from Valencia.
It is believed that contract negotiations over an extended deal for the diminutive schemer have been ongoing for some time, with Silva keen to stay with Roberto Mancini’s men.
The stumbling block over a new deal has been the potential salary, with City keen to try and streamline their wage bill with Financial Fair Play regulations on the horizon.
However, the club’s executives will give in to Silva’s demands given the importance the player has to the team, and will pay him £200,000-a-week to stay with the club for the foreseeable future.
It is also thought that Real Madrid are keeping tabs on the situation, but Silva will opt to remain with the Premier League outfit.
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Liverpool youngster Jonjo Shelvey is hoping to establish himself as an England regular after making his debut against San Marino on Friday.
Roy Hodgson handed the 20 year-old his first cap when he brought him on as a second half substitute.
The former Charlton Athletic player was expected to head back to the under-21 squad for their clash against Serbia in their playoff second leg.
Shelvey has impressed the England coaching set up and has retained his place in the senior squad for their trip to face Poland.
“It’s what dreams are made of, Shelvey told the Liverpool Echo.
“I was buzzing to have played my first game for England, especially with it being at Wembley.
“I got told to keep the ball moving and to keep the game flowing, and I think I did that. It was a great team performance and we won comfortably in the end. We could have had more goals but their keeper made some great saves.”
Shelvey is no stranger to Hodgson, who he worked under in Hodgson’s brief time as manager of the Anfield Club.
Shevley signed in 2010 for a fee of £1.7 million from Charlton, who received a further £150,000 as the Romford born midfielder made his England bow.
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Writing was on the wall from an early age that Shelvey would go far in the game. At just 16 years and 59 days old he became Charlton’s youngest ever player. He has previously represented England under -16, under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels, and also captained the under-19 squad.
Arsenal have made it two wins from two Champions League games on Wednesday night with a 3-1 victory over Olympiakos at the Emirates Stadium.
Gervinho continued his recent strong goalscoring form with the opener on 42 minutes, but Kostas Mitroglou equalised on the stroke of half-time for the visitors.
Lukas Podolski put the Gunners back into the lead midway through the second 45, with Aaron Ramsey’s late strike securing all three points.
Steve Bould praised Olympiakos after the game, and was happy with the win.
“It was tough,” Bould told Sky Sports.
“They made it really tough for us and I thought they defended really well.
“We kicked the game off not too badly, but then we looked a little nervous. Maybe the result from the weekend drained us a little bit and we lost a bit of confidence, but overall it was just a fantastic result.
“They’re a good side, technically very sound and they made it really hard.
“We’ve watched tapes and we knew they were very good technically and they set the 4-1-4-1 with the big fella sat in front of the back four.
“Santi [Cazorla] couldn’t get on the ball in the first half and we tried to correct that at half-time, and I thought we improved,” he concluded.
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Arsenal top Group B after Schalke and Montpellier drew 2-2 in the other pool match.
The main thing which annoyed in the aftermath of England’s 5-0 win over San Marino was the amount of people who analysed the performance. I don’t believe for a second that how badly or brilliant you played against a semi-professional outfit will impact what happens when you face real opposition.
The joint worst team in the history of international football set out with their variation of a 10-0 formation hoping and praying to keep the scoreline respectable. While I’m not suggesting for a second the minnows had an obligation to attack the Three Lions, I don’t see the point in allowing an exercise and encouraging a game where only one team have the resources to win. The irritation is it’s a match-up everyone’s seen plenty of times before, when the slightly superior Andorra come to Wembley they are similarly restricted in the ways they can approach the game and often, rarely venture further than 30 yards from their goal in numbers.
I just don’t see the point in continuing to persist with these dreadful events, due to the population of these miniscule nations, they are never going to be at a level where they can compete with the major teams, so make them qualify in a preliminary round and against teams closer to their level to stop these pointless exercises twice every qualification round. Some minnow nations have improved Republic of Ireland travel to the Faroe Islands expecting a tough match today, but some still offer little and can’t provide a stern enough test at international level to anyone, like San Marino.
As a self-confessed football addict, there is virtually no football match I could not find a point of interest in. Whether it’s a lower-league game showcasing a young talent or a chance to see the expensively assembled League Two outfit Fleetwood Town. Nearly all football matches are going to appeal to me in some way. This England versus a team with the population of a big town fixture is a definite exception. I learn nothing more about Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain because he can curl past a goalkeeper standing comically out of position. We are no closer to knowing whether Kyle Walker will emerge as the England right back for the next ten years, because the opposition are far too miserably inept to test him. Plus the San Marino goalkeeper’s recklessness and inexperience injured Theo Walcott. This is another strong case for stopping these miserable match-ups, people can get hurt. How our amateur footballers supposed to cope with players used to playing at a pact they’ve never seen before?
This game seemed to generate more of a buzz than other non-events between England and part-timers perhaps the excitement of guessing how many England should put past San Marino got people through their last day of work that week. Regardless the same people eager to sweepstake the number of goals scored, then moaned about England only winning 5-0 and not looking overly impressive against a team who set out to do nothing but a damage limitation exercise. I’ve been accused of pessimism in the past, but being upset at your team looking unimpressive in a glorified training exercise is simply ridiculous. This game didn’t teach us anything about England or San Marino and shouldn’t be taken any further than that. Those who got angered watching it perhaps need a reminder of the ease at which England swept aside Estonia a month earlier. Only to then be incapable of raising their level against real opposition in the shape of Ukraine.
If you replace these meaningless games with friendlies or even training camps, it will allow younger players to get a greater understanding of the England set up and perhaps, further push through that next generation that England so desperately need to replace the aging stars of the last decade. But welcoming them into the squad in such meaningless fixtures doesn’t benefit them or the national team. Put an end to these pointless fixtures and quickly please.
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striker Emmanuel Adebayor is a target for La Liga clubs Celta Vigo and Athletico Madrid, according to Talk Sport.
The 28-year-old striker signed a permanent deal at White Hart Lane in the summer following a successful loan spell from Manchester City last season, but has found his chances limited to just four Premier League appearances so far this season.
And it is believed the Togo international is becoming increasingly frustrated at his lack of game time under new manager Andre Villas-Boas and is hoping for a move away in January.
La Liga side Celta Vigo are rumoured to be lining up an offer to give Adebayor a new start in Spain and improve their attacking options after netting just 11 goals in their opening 10 league fixtures.
But Atletico Madrid are also thought to be keeping tabs on the striker as they look to add to their impressive start to the season and fill the possible void left by top striker Radamel Falcao, who is the subject of increased speculation of a move away from the Vicente Calderon Stadium.
Meanwhile, Tottenham are thought to be competing with Liverpool for the signing of Schalke’s Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.
The 29-year-old striker, who scored against Arsenal in the Champions League last night, will be out of contract at the end of the season and Andre Villas-Boas is desperate to improve his attacking options and may see him as the perfect replacement for Adebayor.
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Newcastle are set to make a move for Argentine winger Ivan Bella, according to reports from talkSPORT.
The 23-year-old is believed to have caught the attention of the Premier League club’s scouts following a string of impressive displays for his current club Velez Sarsfield.
His mixture of pace and trickery have seen him likened to Real Madrid star Angel Di Maria, who is one of the finest talents to emerge from South America in recent years.
With Velez currently playing in the second-tier of Argentine football, it’s unlikely that they will be able to reject any approach top European clubs, which has led to speculation that a fee of £3m would be accepted.
Portuguese outfit Benfica are believed to be pole position for Bella’s signature according to reports from within the nation.
The wide-man broke into the first-team set-up as his current club during 2008 and has gone on to make over 50 appearances.
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He is not regarded a prolific goal scorer, but his vision and awareness have earned him much praise within the South American media.
Bella is yet to represent Argentina at senior level, but has made eight appearances for the U-20 team.
Long term Manchester United target Wesley Sneijder is reportedly close to leaving Inter Milan after contract negotiations with the Italian club once again have broken down.
Sir Alex Ferguson has expressed an interest in the talented Dutch midfielder on more than one occasion in recent years and it seems he won’t have a better chance at snapping up his man than in January.
“Sneijder isn’t playing because the coach (Andrea Stramaccioni) doesn’t think he’s at his best, above all psychologically,” Inter president Massimo Moratti told the Daily Mail.
“For us it’s natural to look for a way to not be forced to sell him and he has the right to not accept our offer. If it stays like that, the solution will be on the transfer market.”
Inter also released a club statement: “We’ve been negotiating with him for a while and we need to modify his contract.
“We want to give him time to think about it and so we won’t be using him for the time being.”
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Fulham and Tottenham target Dieumerci Mbokani has insisted that he is unlikely to leave Anderlecht in January, report talkSPORT.
The striker has been linked with the Premier League duo following a series of impressive displays in the Belgian league, in which he has netted 16 times already this season.
He will journey to the African Cup of Nations in the New Year, representing the DR Congo team, and believes that he’ll return to Anderlecht following the tournament, so long as a particularly tempting offer is not received:
“Unless an exceptional offer arrives in January, I will remain here until the end of the season.” He told Sporza.be.
“I am doing well at Anderlecht and I will leave soon for the African Cup of Nations.”
The 27-year-old joined his current club in 2011 from AS Monaco after an unsuccessful spell in France.
He cost a reported fee of just over £2m and cited playing alongside ex-Liverpool attacker Milan Jovanovic as a major reason behind his decision to return to Belgium.
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The 6ft. 1” forward has been widely praised for his combination of pace, power and technique and has been previously linked with a Premier League switch.
It’s unclear as to what fee he would command, but Anderlecht would likely look to make a healthy profit on their investment.
After seemingly turning a corner in the season with a few well earned victories, the last few games have made sure our feet have stayed firmly on the ground.
With every defeat comes that feeling of disappointment, and losing to Hull, despite being completely outplayed, was no exception. What was hardest to take was the blatantly obvious difference in class between the two teams. Hull don’t have the strongest team in the division, far from it, but they made us look like relegation fodder.
Understandably, this resulted in mass frustration with a section of the fan base calling for Warnock to step down. The argument here is that with the January transfer window about to open, should we really be letting him spend money when, as it stands, this will be the start of his last few months in the game.
It’s a fair point. The alternative is to get a new manager in on a longer contract and let him start building for next season, or a promotion push at worst. I’m sure if GFH-C decided to do this the majority would understand.
But is that fair to Warnock? This is the guy that stuck with us when we needed him most. Many would’ve walked away over the summer, especially after being promised money to spend only to see a deal worth £400,000 fall through due to a lack of funds.
Warnock’s style of play may not be as pleasing on the eye as some would like, but his hard working ethic has paid off on more than one occasion this season and you cant help but feel that if a few of the lower quality players can be replaced with others of a higher standard then things could change quickly.
It’s easy to look past the facts sometimes, especially in the aftermath of a defeat, but Warnock is a good manager with a good record and he knows what kind of player it takes to get out of this division. For the first time in his spell with us he’ll have the chance to bring in players that he really wants, players that could win us games against any team in the division. Of course, that doesn’t mean that his signings over the summer weren’t players that he wanted in, but you cant help but think that Luke Varney would be playing elsewhere right now had money been available for Craig Makail-Smith.
Regardless of what we all think, the buck stops with GFH-C now and they’re in control of what happens with Warnock, but considering they specifically requested that he stayed on when they took control, it doesn’t look like he’ll be going anywhere soon.
Whether that turns out to be a good or bad move, only time will tell, but with one of the most important transfer windows of our recent history about to open it makes no sense to turn on him now.
As we have done for years now we really need to ‘keep the faith’. If over the next few months we see no progression then it may well be time for Neil to step aside and let someone come in to build for the future, but the season is on a knife edge and a few quality players could make a massive difference, after all, we are only a few points off the playoffs.
2012 has been a year of change for Leeds, but we end it in a good position in the league, new owners who are ready to back the manager financially in the transfer window and a fan base that is slowly but surely reuniting.
It’s early, but I’m quietly confident that 2013 might just be our year.
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This season has been interesting to say the least.
Currently on the lookout for our 3rd manager of the season, having not sacked anyone, it would be fair to question what exactly is going on at Bloomfield Road. On the pitch, we went from absolutely sublime to utterly terrible in the first two months, and have since been stagnating somewhere in the middle. We have also seen a surface go from football pitch to quagmire and now fans, probably rightly so, are starting to get more than a little irritated.
As an outsider looking in, I’m not sure what you’d think of Blackpool at the minute. Having inexplicably lost Ian Holloway to Crystal Palace, Michael Appleton lasted only 10 weeks in the hot-seat before deciding he would rather ply his trade down the road, at the farcically managed Blackburn Rovers. Not surprisingly, Appleton’s time in charge was actually the shortest tenure of any Blackpool manager.
Since then, we lost at Charlton after a pretty dismal performance and then went out of the FA cup after losing to Fulham in extra time. We were hours away from appointing a manager before Sean O’Driscoll decided he would rather manage bottom of the league Bristol City than have a stint with Blackpool.
And now, well, who knows. We are talking to a lot of managers trying to find the right guy. Probably feeling a little vulnerable after choosing Appleton, who decided to walk out, the board are taking longer to weigh up the options and appoint a manager. However, every time we ask for permission to talk to anyone, Sky Sports say that he is going to be named out next manager and messageboards go into meltdown, writing him off before he has even picked up the phone to speak to us.
So yes, things are confusing and frustrating at the minute, but what we need to remember is that this sort of stuff can happen. It’s football, and we all know how detached from reality football is. Stuff happens, we move on and then more stuff happens. That’s football.
Most sane fans know that despite our varied shortcomings, we do things the right way at Blackpool when it comes to transfers. Same goes with managers. We try out best not to disclose information before a deal is done, we ask permission to speak to players and managers, and we pay what we consider to be what they are worth.
Unfortunately, virtually every other club doesn’t. Almost all of them will contact a player without speaking to his club, or chat to a manager before they have spoken to his chairman. Other clubs or players agents are so willing to give out information that we end up with a million “Sky Sources” stories linking every player west of Australia to Blackpool. And when it comes to money, clubs are far too willing to cave in and pay the player and agent whatever they want.
The thing with football fans is that they just want everything, and want it now. Yet, they spend countless hours down the pub moaning about how much it costs to watch football, how much players earn and how certain players aren’t worth their transfer fee. Well I’m sorry but, in my opinion, you can’t stand there and complain that football players are overpaid, and then in the next sentence say we should have offered a guy more money and he wouldn’t have gone elsewhere.
Who is in the wrong here? Is it Blackpool, and by that I mean Karl Oyston, or is it other clubs? Should we move with the modern game and start spending more money, or should we stick to our principals and not get dragged into the overspending that is so criticised nowadays? To be honest, I don’t know. I can see merit in doing both. I’m quite happy knowing that our players don’t earn ridiculous amounts of money and that they remain quite grounded. I take great pleasure in watching players turn us down to take more money elsewhere and then end up playing League 1 or 2 football. On the other hand, it is a shame when our players aren’t rewarded properly, like the team that gained promotion to the Premier League. And it would be nice to sign a player I’ve heard of who is in form and at a good stage in his career. Like I said, I’m not sure which way is the right way, but I don’t mind either.
I’d love football to be more like what we see at Blackpool, where players are paid reasonable wages (extortionate compared to the real-world) and then get performance related bonuses. I’d love to see transfer fees stay mainly in single figured millions, certainly for the majority of players. Is Daniel Sturridge worth £15 million? Of course not. I’m sure we would all like the game to be more rational, but it isn’t. Does that mean it is right?
What can’t be defended here is the lack of investment in the playing surface. Where transfer fees come down to greed, and I’m more than happy to tell players to shove it, but when it comes to the pitch, it is something which should always have investment. I don’t have a craving for a new training ground, or new seats in the ground, or a new stand, but the very basic thing that the players and staff need is a decent pitch. When you’re a kid all you needed was 4 jumpers, a ball and some grass. We have posts, we have footballs, but we have no grass.
Unfortunately, I don’t think it can be fixed this season. Relaying the pitch now would probably mean we have to have a new pitch every game. Nothing will be able to bed-in during this weather. Nonetheless, if it comes to the summer and there has been no investment in the pitch, I will happily jump on the moaning, groaning bandwagon.
My point, in all this ranting, is that I know there are lots of things wrong about our club, but there are lots of things right about it and at the end of it all, it is my club. I don’t mean it should be in my control, I mean this is the club I support.
And that is where a difference lies. Some people, the ‘fans’, believe this is their club and their opinion should carry a lot of weight. If they don’t like a manager, they should be able to get him sacked. When things start to go wrong, on or off the pitch, they boo and protest and eventually, stop turning up.
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‘Supporters’ on the other hand, support the club and the team. They discuss what is going on, get irate about it, argue about it and even shout about it, but when saturday comes, they will still be there. Supporters realise that even if a player or manager or owner is doing something wrong, they won’t be here forever, unlike them.
I think the best way to put it is that I am a football fan and a Blackpool supporter. I just hope there are more like me and that people can get past the politics of it all and remember why they started watching. Nobody ever came to a game based on the infrastructure and financial standing of a club and its owner, so why should that be a reason to stop going?
Let’s see how things turn out, enjoy the ride and support our club.