Stoke City are lining up an audacious double swoop for unwanted Tottenham duo Peter Crouch and Wilson Palacios say The Daily Mail.
In a £16 million raid, Stoke manager Tony Pulis will look to strengthen both his midfield with the Honduran international Palacios, who fell out of favour with Spurs last season, and his frontline with giant England international Crouch. If Spurs accept the offer, Pulis would have to convince both parties to take significant wage cuts, as Stoke are unable to match their current lucrative contracts.
Stoke, along with a host of other Premier League clubs, have become alerted to Crouch’s availability after the agent of another Tottenham forward spoke out in believing the England man was likely to leave White Hart Lane this summer.
Oleg Artemov, who represents Russian striker Roman Pavlyuchenko, wants to hold talks with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy over a new contract for his man, and stated: ‘I expect to talk nearer to the transfer window’s closing time. At the moment he [Levy] is too busy. He needs to sell players and to buy new ones. Two or three teams are interested in Peter Crouch. So he is most likely to be the one of the five Spurs attackers to leave.’
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Artemov was referencing the fact that Spurs manager Harry Redknapp has been told he must sell players, before he can bring any new faces into the club.
West Ham United have declared they are committed to embattled manager Avram Grant amid speculation Martin O’Neill has turned down the job.West Ham were reportedly ready to sack Grant and turn to O’Neill to rescue their flailing Premier League season, with the former Aston Villa boss believed to have been tempted with a large bonus should he save the bottom-placed Hammers from relegation.
But reports late on Monday suggested that O’Neill had cooled on taking over at Upton Park after his name was prematurely touted in the media, and with no other suitors on the horizon it appears Grant is safe for now.
English newspaper the Daily Mirror also reported that Hammers vice-chairman Karren Brady had contacted players in an attempt to unsettle Grant, who has made it clear he will not resign.
West Ham released a statement on Tuesday backing Grant and lambasting the latest allegations levelled at the struggling top-flight club.
“West Ham United categorically deny the allegations made in today’s Daily Mirror with regard to Karren Brady, the club’s vice-chairman,” the statement read.
“Karren has worked tirelessly to improve all aspects of the club’s operation and is extremely disappointed by the nature of these unfounded allegations.”
“West Ham fully intend to identify the source of these unhelpful and untrue comments and remove them from the club. West Ham have placed the matter immediately in the hands of their lawyers.”
“The club are committed to retaining Avram Grant as manager and have identified potential transfer targets to give us the best possible chance of retaining Premier League status.”
O’Neill has been out of work since quitting Villa days before the start of the season, and was the frontrunner to replace Grant after the Israeli led the Hammers on their worst-ever start to a top-flight season.
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Reports had suggested O’Neill would take over following West Ham’s clash with Arsenal on Saturday, which the Gunners won 3-0.
Grant apparently believed he was headed out the door at Upton Park and made a big show of saying goodbye to the Hammers faithful, throwing his scarf into the crowd, applauding fans and shaking hands with each of his players following West Ham’s loss.
Liverpool are thought to be the frontrunners to sign Juventus winger Milos Krasic according to Mirror Football.
The Serbian winger had an excellent 2010-11 season in Turin after moving from CSKA Moscow, but was largely a fringe player last term under new boss Antonio Conte.
The wideman was linked with a move to the Premier League in January, with both Chelsea and Tottenham eager to sign him in the last window, but he decided to stay and fight for his place in the Scudetto winners’ side.
However, the Anfield outfit are thought to be the main suitors for Krasic’s signature this time round. Ideally Brendan Rodgers’ men want the attacker on loan, but Juventus would prefer to sell him, with a £6 million fee touted.
West Ham are also being spoken off as a potential interested party, but the Reds are thought to already be in negotiations with the Italian club over a fee.
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New Oman coach Paul Le Guen says he wants his team to dare to dream that they can qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.Former Lyon, Rangers and PSG coach Le Guen took over as the Oman national team boss in June.
Oman won the 2009 Gulf Cup of Nations under Frenchman Claude Le Roy but failed to progress to the final round of 2010 World Cup qualifiers, while they also missed out on the 2011 Asian Cup.
However, Le Guen, who guided Cameroon to the 2010 World Cup finals, told fifa.com his new side needs to believe in the dream of qualification for the Brazil tournament in three years time.
“It’s not so much an aim or target, as a dream: we want to give everything we’ve got and qualify for the FIFA World Cup,” Le Guen said.
“We know that we’re not expected to make it to the finals, and that there are lots of sides better than ourselves, but I believe we have to dream: we have to try to achieve the unexpected.”
Le Guen, who has never coached in the Middle East before, also revealed he had been wooed to the job by Oman’s Football Association (OFA) president Sayyid Khalid Hamad Al-Busaidi.
“I met with the president of the OFA in London in February and then again in April, and we clicked,” Le Guen said.
“I had a number of options open to me, but I took my decision then.”
“It’s a new adventure and an opportunity for me to continue working with my friends, which is something that’s very important to me.”
Oman begin their 2014 World Cup qualification campaign at home to Myanmar on Saturday.
You never know which Everton team is likely to show up and today David Moyes saw his side surrender a golden opportunity to drag themselves away from the lower reaches of the Premier League.
For the neutral it is hard to put your finger on where it is going wrong for Everton at the moment, but something is certainly missing as they seem a shadow of the team that we have witnessed in previous seasons.
So where do Everton fans think it is going wrong, and what are the five things we learnt about the Toffees this afternoon?
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Didier Drogba is rumoured to have agreed terms on a move to Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua, according to The Daily Mail.
The Ivory Coast international was the west London club’s hero in the Champions League final win over Bayern Munich on Saturday, scoring the equaliser in normal time before slotting home the decisive penalty in the shoot-out.
Despite the African forward’s heroics, it is believed that he has kicked his last ball for the Blues, and will now join former team-mate Nicolas Anelka at the big-spending Asian side.
Drogba’s contract is expiring in the summer, and is eager for a two-year deal at Stamford Bridge, however Chelsea are thought to be unwilling to offer anything longer than one year.
Shanghai are thought to have offered Drogba £250,000-a-week, and confirmation of the deal may well be forthcoming.
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Are Everton fans unfairly blaming their long-standing chairman, Bill Kenwright, for the lack of progress at the once great club?
As another summer passes on Merseyside, what has now become par for the course in these parts is occurring yet again during another major football transfer window – Liverpool are seemingly linked with every player under the sun (remember that big yellow thing in the sky?), whilst their neighbours and derby rivals Everton, have hardly been linked with any. In fact, the Blue’s have hardly featured in any of the many major transfer gossip columns around the country – and sadly for their fans, it is not something new.
Lack of transfer action is something which the Evertonian’s have grown accustomed to over the years. Amongst the proud fans of this grand, historic club, frustration and restlessness has been growing for some time towards Kenwright and the board, and this is now in danger of turning into pure anger. Indeed the Chairman is already seen as a hate-figure, by many in the blue half of the city. His crime? That depends on who you talk to, and which blue camp you are sitting in.
The immense frustration has led to a number of ‘groups’ being formed by Everton fans, newest of which and perhaps most interesting is ‘The People’s Group’. Created with the aim of getting the national media to highlight what they see as ‘the failings of the board’, and in the hope of getting answers from them, they have garnered quite the following in a short space of time. Nearly 2,000 members joined the cause in just 10 days, mostly through the medium of social networking sites Twitter and Facebook. They’ve had their voice heard through the national media already; getting a slot on Talksport to promote their cause, and hope more media outlets will start to pick up their campaign and investigate what is going on at the club.
The People’s Group highlight that, to them, Evertons’s size and stature in the English game, should dictate they’re in a better position as a club – both sportingly, and economically, through marketing etc. They point out that when the Premier League was formed, only one club had won more top-flight titles (presently only three clubs still boast a better trophy haul) and no other English club has played more top-flight matches. They say since the Premier League began, their club has stagnated and various opportunities to progress have been missed, especially under the Kenwright regime, who has promised so much but delivered very little, if anything at all. Lack of investment, lack of signings, lack of a new stadium, this group has had enough of the apparent broken promises from the board and the vast majority of the supporters I’ve spoken to want some direct answers. However, as mentioned above, there is another camp…
You see, for all the apparent lack of progress at Everton, there are still some supporters who refuse to blame Kenwright, who is, by the way, a life-long Everton fan. They say, sarcastically, that his only crime is that he is not a billionaire sheikh. They say, as a fan, he has the best interests of the club at heart and doesn’t want to hand over the proud heritage of the club to just any foreign investor that comes along. Others say that Kenwright inherited a club that simply isn’t an attractive proposition for any would-be investor. After all, the club has only won one trophy in 24 years. Kenwright was also responsible for bringing manager David Moyes to the club, who is held in high-regard around the league.
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So, just who is to blame for the current situation at Everton? Are ‘The People’s Group’ right in blaming the current board? Is it all Kenwright’s doing? Is manager David Moyes’ partially to blame for lack of success due to his, sometimes questionable tactics? Should Everton’s historical record give their fans the right to demand they be in a better position? Or do Everton fans feel that the current Chairman is doing a remarkable job, and that a minority are being ungrateful, as other clubs have been in drastically worse positions than the club from Goodison Park? Let the debate commence…
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Cardiff failed to close the gap on Championship leaders Queens Park Rangers as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat away at Middlesbrough.
The Bluebirds remain four points behind Neil Warnock's men after a 40th minute penalty from Julio Arca was just enough to earn struggling Boro all three points at the Riverside Stadium.
In the come back of the day Leeds United moved to fourth spot in the Championship as they defeat Burnley 2-0 at Turf Moor.
Goals from Easton and Jay Rodriquez had put the Clarets in control at the break but Leeds came fighting back to take the win thanks to goals from Max Gradel, Luciano Becchio and Jonny Howson.
Leicester were rampant at home to Doncaster as they ran out 5-1 winners. The visitors were 1-0 up at the break thanks to a goal from Billy Sharp in the 6th minute but goals from Paul Gallagher, Richie Wellens, Kyle Naughton, Martyn Waghhorn and Darius Vassell after the restart completed the rout.
Barnsley won the South Yorkshire derby against Sheffield United 1-0 thanks to a goal from Hugo Colace on 37 minutes and reports suggest it could be Gary Speed's last game in charge of the Blades as he is being lined up to take the Wales Job.
Play-off hopefulls Derby slipped to a 2-0 defeat away at Bristol City as Brett Pitman got a brace for the Robins, while Coventry remain in the top six despite a goalless draw away at Reading.
Norwich also stuttered going down 2-0 at home to Portsmouth as Dave Kitson and Greg Halford got the goals for the visitors.
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And finally Preston gave their survival hopes a boost as a goal by Iain Hume in the 5oth minute earned them a 1-0 home win over Ipswich Town.
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Are we about to witness a cultural shift in English football? It would appear players are increasingly eager to gain Oscar recognition for their performances on the pitch, with an array of theatrics that wouldn’t look out of place in the WWE. You’ll often hear pundits and commentators yearn for the ‘good old days’, when football was comprised from blood, sweat and tears rather than snoods, alice bands and unfortunately, the replacement of sportsmanship with gamesmanship.
Queens Park Rangers’ midfielder Shaun Derry recently declared that play-acting was “very much in fashion at the moment.” His comments were perhaps designed to rile Didier Drogba ahead of their encounter on Sunday but aside from that fact his remarks still carry a certain degree of merit. It’s a sad fact of the modern game that players will resort to underhand tactics if there is even the slightest chance of gaining an advantage.
“It happens, it is part of the game. I really don’t think that footballers go out intentionally to get the upper hand on the opponents. What I do believe is that they try and get an advantage for their team and that is part of the game unfortunately, it is not nice to watch at times.” (Daily Mail)
Manchester United’s Ashley Young has found himself in the tabloid firing line after a series of flamboyant lunges in the area. This prompted his manager Sir Alex Ferguson to have a ‘word’ with his precarious winger, three words in fact, “well done Ashley” or perhaps simply “keep it up.” You see, although the guilty party may get stick from the crowd or rinsed in the papers, by the time the next set of fixtures roll around it’ll all be but forgotten. In fact, if you score the winning goal against the greatest club of the past decade, the 3 minutes 18 seconds you spent on the floor will be nothing more than a comical footnote, aye Didier?
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Speaking of the Catalan giants, perhaps the fact that El Clasico has descended into a derisory drama performance has meant we now accept such incidents as normality. The encounters between Barcelona and Real Madrid are hailed as the pinnacle of club football and yet it quickly transforms into a competition of who can produce the best impression of a fish out of water, starring Messrs Pepe and Busquets. Lionel Messi is arguably the only player who retains any dignity during these matches, which is strange considering he spends the entire match trying to avoid a Galactico’s boot wrapping itself around his knee.
In foreign cultures, such as in Spain, Italy and especially South America, conning the referee is considered an art form. How often do we see players celebrate winning a penalty, as if it’s an achievement rather than simply the chance to regain your goal-scoring opportunity?
Perhaps this mentality is beginning to worm its way into the Premier League, with players striving to sell their phony performance to any nearby official. Arsene Wenger has spoken of his disgust that players often continue their pretence long after the supposed foul has been committed.
“When they roll down the sock, take the shin-pad out like he has been kicked like mad, it’s a bit overboard. Everyone who has played football can understand they try to win the penalty but what he does afterwards to get a bit more, we don’t need that.” (Daily Mail)
The stark reality reveals that officials can no longer trust players, making their difficult job almost impossible. If the incorrect decision is awarded than the blame often lies with the referee rather than the offending player. This leads on an increased amount of pressure to make the right call, meaning officials cannot help but suffer further lapses of judgement, especially when it’s so easy to be swayed by the hoards of incensed supporters.
One issue referees have managed to eradicate is this pretentious waving of the imaginary card. Howard Webb went some lengths to redemption in the eyes of many when he booked Gonzalo Higuain in their recent Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich. What strikes me is that players know how many cameras grace the average Premier League stadium and yet they continue to employ such drastic measures. Perhaps the pressure and expectation that weighs heavily on their shoulders compels them down such an immoral path, especially when they know the punishment of a potential yellow card is insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
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It must be time for the FA to inflict penalties (not the kind from 12 yards) in the aftermath of such blatant incidents. The moment a suspension is successfully implemented, players will perhaps think twice about throwing themselves to the floor. Otherwise if this trend continues, footballers will become more and more like jigsaws, not complex or interesting, but likely to fall to pieces once they get into the box.
Join me on Twitter @theunusedsub where this incident in the Australian A-League final would perhaps warrant a lifetime ban under my leadership.
The Portland Timbers’ grip on the Cascadia Cup is slipping after the Seattle Sounders edged them 3-2 in the MLS on Sunday.Along with the Vancouver Whitecaps, the Timbers and the Sounders play off for the fan-sponsored cup to decide the best side in the Pacific Northwest.
Winners of the trophy in 2010, Portland face a huge task to wrest it from Seattle this season after the loss in Sunday’s match, which exploded to life after an unremarkable first half.
Twice Portland took the lead in front of their home fans at JELD-WEN Field, but twice Seattle pegged them back through goals from designated player Fredy Montero.
Jeff Parke’s own-goal under pressure from Timbers forward Jorge Perlaza handed the hosts the lead just a minute into the second half, only for Montero to cancel it out four minutes later with a perfectly weighted free-kick.
The Timbers restored their advantage in the 69th minute when Perlaza was set away on the left by fellow Colombian Diego Chara.
He opted to shoot when a cross might have been a wiser option, but his effort took a deflection off Seattle defender Tyson Wahl and looped over goalkeeper Kasey Keller.
Not content to let his countrymen have the last laugh, Montero clinched his brace five minutes later when he tapped in Mauro Rosales’ cross.
Drama is never far away when the two bitter rivals meet, and the match was settled in contentious circumstances when Timbers defender Eric Brunner conceded a penalty and was sent off for a high-booted challenge on Lamar Neagle.
Cuban midfielder Osvaldo Alonso dispatched the penalty to make it 3-2, extending Seattle’s unbeaten run to eight matches and moving them into second on the Western Conference table.
Conversely, the Timbers are now winless in seven and need to arrest their form slump if they are to make the playoffs.