Football Matters

Henry to finish career in style

2008-12-22T12:30:00.005Z

Thierry Henry has said that he wants to finish his career in USA with good friend David Beckham. Henry,31, looks as if he will ignore interest from English clubs to see his career out in America. I'm sure there are a number of clubs that would love to have one of the Premierships all time great goal-scorers back.

The former arsenal man scored 226 goals and assisted 82 in 369 games for the Gunners and was one of the most feared strikers in the world. Now at Barcelona Henry has hinted that his retirement from top-class football is not far away and had this to say:

"When my career in Europe ends I've always said I'd like to play in the United States and it seems that's how it’ll go.
"I've been at the top level for 15 years. My career will end soon and as a striker things go more quickly."

Personally I think Henry was one of the best striker's of all time and a move to USA could be good for him to role back the years and show why he got the reputation he has today.

Reports say Arsenal ready to swoop for £32million striker

2008-12-21T19:34:00.002Z

Reports today have reviled that Arsenal are looking to sign Manchester United striker Carols Tevez. Tevez is currently on a two-year loan deal at United but is reportedly close to securing a full time deal that will cost them £32million which is a lot to pay for a substitute. Wenger looks ready to try signing Tevez from United for £32million as the Argentinean international has found himself on the bench for most of the season after Dimitar Berbatov's arrival in the summer.

If Wenger wants to sign Tevez he will have to fork out £32million which would smash Arsenal's current transfer record of £11.5million which they payed for Sylvian Wiltord. Even though Manchester United are reluctant to sign Tevez I'm sure Sir Alex would defiantly be unwilling to sell such a talented player to such big rivals. Mikael Silvestre was allowed to leave Manchester United for Arsenal but the 31-year old did not look as if he had much of a career left at Old Trafford and even at that he was the first player in 20-years to make the move.

Personally I feel Tevez is a great player and would hate to see him leave Old Trafford as I am a United fan but could understand the decision by both him and Ferguson because of the situation. In other news Arsenal have also been linked to join in the battle to sign Russian play maker Arshavin and £8million rated Udinese midfielder Gokhan Inler.

Spanish sourses say Real complete signing of "Kun"

2008-12-20T13:34:00.003Z

Reports in Spain have today said Real Madrid have signed 20-year-old superstar Sergio "Kun" Aguero. The Argentina international plays for Real Madrid's local rivals Atletico Madrid and Real have reportedly agreed a deal for him to move to The Bernabeau in January. Aguero was strongly linked with a move to Manchester City but Real Madrid look to have beaten them to Aguero just as they did for Portsmouth midfielder Lassana Diarra.

Aguero who has been compared to the legendary Diego Maradona signed for Atletico in 2006 and signed a six-year contract but now looks to be on his way to Real Madrid who are reportedly more than willing to pay off his £40million contract clause. Aguero has scored just under 50 goals in a three year spell at Atletico that's scene him play 112 times.

If the reports are true Real Madrid will have snapped up one of the most promising players in the world with a huge career ahead of him as hes still only 20-years old. I personal find the rumor hard to believe as Real have just signed Ajax striker Klaas-Jan Hunterlaar. It would be a shame to see Aguero go to Real as they have so many world class players and he might not get week in week out football he needs to become one of the best players in the world.

Champions League last 16 draw

2008-12-19T16:32:00.003Z

The Champions league last 16 draw has been announced and has thrown up some brilliant fixtures including the current Champions League holders Manchester United facing Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan.

The other fixtures are :

Chelsea v Juventus
Villarreal v Panathinaikos
Sporting Lisbon v Bayern Munich
Atletico Madrid v FC Porto
Lyon v Barcelona
Real Madrid v Liverpool
Arsenal v Roma
Inter Milan v Manchester United

The fixtures are to be played on the 24th/25th of February and the 2nd legs are on the 10th/11th of March.

Scoalri wins battle to sign a £20million striker

2008-12-18T21:30:00.006Z

Luiz Felipe Scoalri has won his battle with Roman Abramovich to sign either Sevilla striker Luis Fabiano (left) or Zenit St Petersburg's play maker Andrei Arshavin (right). Abramovich said earlier on this month there wont be any funds for Big Phil to sign players in the January. Its now been confirmed that he will have £20million for a striker.

Scoalri has said he doesn't have a forward that can open up defences so Abramovich has provided him with £20million to sign one. Fabiano and Arshavin are both world class players but play completely different styles of football. Fabiano has great goalscoring record especially of late scoring 34 goals in 44 games last season for Sevilla and has a total of 64 in 131 games for them. He has also scored 14 in 23 for Brazil including a hat-trick against Portugal in a friendly last month.

Arshavin on the other hand is completely different, the Russian play maker is a lot more creative and is better playing just of the lead striker. Arshavin's current club Zenit St Petersburg have said Arshavin has permission to talk to other clubs about a January move. Arshavin said he would love to play for Barcelona, Manchester United or Chelsea so it looks like if Zenit are happy with the offer he could well be on his way.

Personally I think Arshavin would be a much better signing if its a forward who can unlock defences Scoalri is looking for because as we saw in Euro 2008 hes one of the best in the world at doing so. Fabiano is also a great player but his main attributes a pace, power and finishing which Chelsea have Anelka and Drogba for. I would love to see either player in the Premiership but as a Manchester United fan would rather it not be Chelsea because if they were to sign either player it would strengthen the squad immensely.

Benzema revals his "dream club"

2008-12-17T13:33:00.004Z

Karim Benzema has revealed that his dream club are Spanish champions Real Madrid. The French International is one of the highest rated strikers in the world and rightly so. The 20-year-old starlet has stated

"My dream is to play for Real Madrid, it's an aim that bit by bit is growing closer."

"I like the white shirt, the stadium and the atmosphere surrounding the Bernabeu."
"I promised my mother that one day I will play for Real Madrid and I want this to come true."

The Lyon star wants to become a part of Juande Ramos squad and now has to wait to see if Madrid show an interest in him. He defiantly will not come cheap and Madrid will have to make a multi-million pound bid to secure the French goal-machine witch could easily break the previous transfer record also held by Real Madrid when they brought Zinedine Zidan from Juventus for around £50million in 2001.

Personally I feel Benzema is one of the best players in the world and would be sad to see him move to Spain after being linked heavily with Manchester United in the summer. Benzema has scored 49 goals for Lyon in 112 games and is still only 20-years-old. Benzema also has International caps after being called up to France's Euro 2008 squad.

Celtic's superstar to leave Parkhead

2008-12-16T22:08:00.000Z

Aiden Mcgeady has been linked with a move away from the Scottish Champions if the right big-money offer comes in for the Irish international. Mcgeady was today given a two week ban and fined two weeks wages after a breach of club discipline following the weekends draw with Hearts. The row between Mcgeady and manager Gordon Strachan erupted when Strachan criticized Mcgeady's performance against Hearts.

Its not the first time the two have clashed and it has added to the speculation of Mcgeadys departure come January. With Celtic supposedly ready to sell the tricky winger some big names have been linked with making a January bid with the likes of Bayern Munich and Newcastle interested. The 22-year-old is rated at around £10million after signing a 5-year contract in July.

It is unlikely that Mcgeady will want a move to the German champions Bayern but he hasn't ruled it out. If Mcgeady was to leave it could be the man who scored the first goal for Hearts in the weekends draw, Andrew Driver. I personally feel its time for Mcgeady to move on even thought he is a huge fan favourite at Celtic Park and I am also a big fan but if he is to improve and become a world-class player he needs to be playing at the highest level possible in the Premiership.

Another name on Redknapp's ever growing want list

2008-12-15T21:37:00.000Z

Tottenham Hotspur have today confirmed a interest in Middlesbrough's captain Stewart Downing. Downing is tipped to be top of Redknapp's targets for January.Spurs have supposedly made a bid of Hossam Ghaly, Gilberto and Adel Taarabt as part of a player-plus-cash deal to bring to highly rated winger to White Hart Lane. Middlesbrough have stated that they want £15million and the only player they want as part of the deal is Welsh Left-wing-back Gareth Bale.

There are lots of other names linked with a move to Spurs with Liverpool's Ryan Babel who is back up if they fail to sign Downing. They have also been linked with a bid to bring back out of form Robbie Keane who hasn't performed at all for Liverpool this season. Redknapp is also looking to strenghen his defence with a double bid rumored for London rivals West Ham's Robert Green and Matthew Upson because of The Hammers financial difficulty's.

Another name linked is Argentinian striker Fernando Cavenaghi. Spurs have made a bid of £8million for the Bordeaux goal-machine. Cavenaghi has hinted he would love a move to the Premiership as its the best league in the world. We'll just have to wait and see if Redknapp will make a move for these players come January 1st.

Everton and Tottenham eye proven goalscorer

2008-12-14T14:09:00.000Z

Micheal Owens future at Newcastle remains in doubt with Everton and Tottenham looking to land the England International in January. Owen will be a free agent at the end of the season and a number of clubs have made it clear they want to sign him in January for as little as £3million. Newcastle manager Kinnear has stated Owen will not be sold because they are in a relegation battle even if it means he will leave for free in the summer. Owens services till then could well keep Newcastle away from the relation zone and prove not cashing in on him now could be well worth it.

The liverpool legend could be tempted with a move back to Merseyside but not to the red end where he proved his goal scoring ability. Everton have expressed a interest in Owen who supported them in his school days. Everton are short of attacking options with Yakubu out for the season and Owen looks to be top of Moye's list to replace him.

Tottenham are also willing to test Kinnear's statements to keep Owen by making a bid of around £4million as Redknapp begins to make changes to the squad he inherited from Ramos. Redknapp wants Owen to replace Pavlyuchenko who hes willing to sell to Madrid he also believes that he will land Owen in January as the striker will have a better chance of breaking back into Capello's England side if hes in a winning squad.

Owen has failed to produce the type of form he did while at Liverpool four and a half years ago only scoring 16 times in 42 appearances for Real Madrid and 28 times in 50 for Newcastle. This is why the injury prone striker could be looking for a fresh start. Owens current contact with Newcastle is around £100,000 a week and this could be a problem for Everton to match with lots of other big clubs like Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham looking to secure his services.

Celtic to bid for Premiership striker

2008-12-11T17:58:00.000Z

Celtic ready to make a £5million bid for West Ham striker Craig Bellamy. West Ham are struggling financially at the moment and manager Gianfranco Zola will be forced to sell players if he wants to bring any one in and Bellamy seems to of attracted the attention of Celtic who will make a cut-price bid of £5million. The offer is not quite what The Hammers would be looking for but might have to settle for it.

Bellamy had a spell at Celtic Park in 2005 on a four month loan under Martin O'Neill. The Welsh international has struggled for West Ham since signing from Liverpool for £8million in 2007 only scoring five times so far.

Zola has been heavily linked with Florentina striker Giampaolo Pazzini having coached the 24-year-old for Italy before he became West Ham manager. Florentina have said they will not sell him but he has lost his starting place to Alberto Gilardino who signed from AC Milan. If Zola wants to sign him he will have to sell players to raise £7million and it looks like Bellamy will be the one to leave.

Ramos ready to raid Spurs

2008-12-10T15:03:00.000Z

New Real Madrid manager Juande Ramos is reportedly going back to Tottenham to sign a winger with David Bentley and Aaron Lennon (pictured) linked with a move to The Bernabeu. Ramos wants a pacey winger to replace Arjen Robben who has had injury problems and of course the departure of Robinho to Manchester City on the last day of the summer transfer window.

Ramos was sacked by Spurs earler in the season and was appointed as Madrid manager on Tuesday. Ramos signed Bentley for Spurs for £17million and its unlikely new manager Harry Redknapp will sell him as he has featured regularly for Tottenham this season. Aaron Lennon on the other hand has failed to hold down a starting place and was linked as part of a deal to bring Liverpool striker Robbie Keane back to Spurs, so Lennon might be sold to Madrid.

I think Lennon and Bentley are both top players but weather they are good enough for the Spanish Champions is a different story but we will have to wait and see come January.

Wenger ready to spend in January

2008-12-08T21:43:00.000Z

Arsene Wenger looks like he will spend this January for a change with a purposed bid for Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso. Arsenal haven't been as impressive at the start of this season as they were last year and that could be down to the fact they sold Mathieu Flamini and are now lacking maturity in the midfield area.

Alonso looked to be on his way to either Aresnal or Juventus last season but Liverpool failed to secure the signature of Gareth Barry. Alonso has been a key player for Liverpool this season and because of this if he was to sign for Arsenal he wouldn't be able to play in the Champions League as he would be cup tied but Wenger might not mind that much as long as they pick up form in the league.

It seems Arsenal will not be able to sign Alonso unless Benitez finds a replacement for him even though he might be looking to make up some money that he wasted on players like Dossena who was £7million who is rumored to be sent back to Italy if possible, Philipp Degen who was given a signing on fee of £2million and a wage of £38,000 he has struggled for a place in the Liverpool side because of injury's and of course Robbie Keane who cost £20million and hasn't pro formed for Liverpool at all.

Harry want's Liverpool flop back

2008-12-08T13:21:00.000Z

Tottenham Hotspur look to re-sign former club captain Robbie Keane. Spurs ready to try a cheeky bid of £5million plus midfielders Aaron Lennon valued at around £10million and Jamie O'Hara valued at £5million.

The Irishman has failed to show any sort of the form he showed when he was at Spurs and this shows with his minutes played and goal stats. Keane has only played the full 90 minutes three times this season and been substituted 15 times he also only has four goals.

Benitez is rumored to make a bid for former Liverpool striker Emile Heskey who is on form so the money for Keane could help with that and Winger Aaron Lennon who is rumored to be offered as part of the deal would do very well in the Liverpool side as they have Dirk kuyt a natural Striker on the right side of midfield this season.

Manchester City eye Spanish Superstar

2008-12-07T14:30:00.000Z

Manchester City are a step closer to signing Valencia's David Villa. Villas agents are flying to England later on in the week to meet City officials. The Valencia goal machine has a contract clause of around £120million but because of finical problems are strongly willing to consider City's offer which will be around £52million.

David Villa is one of the best strikers in the world so his wages will not come cheap either and look to be around £150,000 which would make him joint highest payed player in England with City's Robinho.

David Villa would be a super signing for Mark Hughes side and would defiantly be first choice ahead of summer signing Jo and out of form Benjani. This story is likely to be one of the main ones in January and wont go away till either club confirm something.

Man Utd star could be on his way to Jose's Inter

2008-12-07T13:43:00.000Z

Manchester United midfielder Anderson has stated he wants to leave the champions for Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan. Anderson signed for United in the 2007 summer transfer window for £15.6million and since then has won the Champions league and Priemiership in his first season.

The Brazilian midfielder has said that the Italian League is the best in the world with the most creative football and he would love to play there when his contract with United expires in four years. He then said that he would like to join Mourinho's side because they are the best team in the Italian League and its his dream to play for them under Mourinho. Sir Alex Ferguson defiantly will not be to pleased with the comments Anderson has made.

Anderson has failed to score a goal for United but I feel he is a player of very high quality and could become one of the best players in the world at Manchester United because he has everything you need in the premiership.

Spurs linked with new strike duo

2008-12-05T17:49:00.000Z

Tottenham Hotspur's Roman Pavlyuchenko has said he would love to see Russian strike partner Andrei Arshavin join him at Spurs. Pavlyuchenko joined Spurs at the start of the season because Tottenham sold there old strike partnership Robbie Keane to Liverpool and Dimitar Berbatov to Manchester United. United loaned out young talent Fraizer Campbell as part of the deal for Berbatov. Spurs now only have Pavlyuchenko, Bent and Campbell who will be heading back to Old Trafford at the end of the season as attacking oppitions.

Arshavin has stated he wants to leave Zenit St Petersburg for a bigger club in Europe and Spurs were heavily linked with the play maker in the summer. Freddy Adu has also reviled that he would love to play for Spurs one of the reasons being he followed them as a child. Adu was tipped to be the one of the best players in the world when he made appearances for DC United in the MLS as a 15-year-old boy. Some of Europe's best clubs were trying to secure his signature back then but he has failed to live up to the expiation's he set himself the 19-year-old still has time to prove himself though.

Adu is currently on loan at Monaco from Portuguese club Benifca but said he wants to play for Tottenham. I feel if Spurs could sign both of these players it would really add strength to their squad and avoid problems when Campbell goes back to United.

Keane walks away from Staduim of Light

2008-12-04T19:06:00.000Z

Sunderland have today confirmed the departure of Roy Keane. The Irishman had stated a lot previously that he didn't know if he was the right man for the job after a tough season losing 8 and drawing 3 of his 15 games in charge.

Keane took charge of Sunderland when they were struggling in the Championship back in August 2006 since then he got them promoted and secured Premiership football last season coming 15th which was a good achievement. Keane looked like he was going to do very well this season after spending around £30million bringing in some top class players to challenge for a top half finish. But things didn't go so well for the outspoken manager who's team were not pro forming on the pitch and he was also getting into a few argument's off the pitch.

Niall Quinn has said Keane was brilliant for the club with his winning mentality and would of liked him to stay but had to accept he wanted to leave. Quinn wished Keane the best of look in the future.

Sunderland who of course will be looking to replace Keane as soon as possible maybe have the options of Alan Curbishley and early favourite Sam Allerdyce. As for Roy Keane i feel he did a good job at Sunderland over the two years he spent there and i expect him to be back in football in the future.

City fail with record breaking bid

2008-12-03T17:06:00.000Z

Spanish sources say Manchester City have failed with record breaking offer for for Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas. City's owners Abu Dhabi have promised to spend big in January and with this bid are sticking to there promise. The bid looked ready to shatter the record transfer fee which was set by Real Madrid buying Zinedine Zidane for just under £50million in 2001.

Casillas has a buy-out clause in his contract worth £128million and City were ready to match it. They then offered him £11million a season earning him around £230,000 a week which would make him the highest paid player in the world by a long shot.

However City's efforts to sign Casillas look like they wont happen as the long time Real keeper rejected the offer. But this shows that City's owners will not stop at any measure to sign the world class players they require to take the club forward and challenge the top four.

Hoops ledgend could be on his way to Everton

2008-12-02T18:15:00.000Z

Everton have been linked with striker Henrik Larsson because of injury's to there main striker Aiyegbeni Yakubu who is ruled out for the rest of the season. James Vaughan is also out till 2009. Louis Saha will lead the way for Everton which could be risky as he has been very injury prone in the past.

Swedish striker Henrik Larsson hasn't ruled out a move abroad. The veteran striker is currently a free agent and has stated that he wont sign for most recent club Helsingborgs even though he likes it there unless things change.

Larsson has bags of experience including a loan spell in the Premiership with Manchester United where he won the League and with Barcalona where he won the Champions League. I think he would be a good replacement for Evertons injured strikers and could make a impact if he was to sign for the club.

Real ready to replace Ruud with £20million starlet

2008-12-01T21:17:00.000Z

Real Madrid are close to signing Klaas Jan Huntelaar for a reported fee of £20million.

Madrid are looking to replace Ruud Van Nistelrooy who is ruled out for the rest of the season with ligament damage. Hunterlaar would be a great replacement for his Dutch college as he has a proven goal scoring record with Ajax and a host of other Dutch clubs as well as a decent International record.

Hunterlaar has come to the attention of some of Europe's best clubs including Manchester United but now looks to be on he way to the Bernabeu to join a host of his International team mates.

Drogba not for sale

2008-12-01T19:47:00.000Z

Peter Kenyon has today stated that Didier Drogba will not be leaving Chelsea despite meeting Inter Milan officials. Kenyon dismissed the report Drogba will be linking up with former boss Jose Mourinho as he has 18 months left on his contract.

I feel Drogba is still one of the best forwards around and will get back into the Chelsea team after he has served his ban even though Nicolas Anelka is on top form and the Premierships top scorer.