Manchester City boss Mark Hughes has had a £12m bid refused by Premiership strugglers Blackburn Rovers.
Roque Santa Cruz played under Hughes last season at Ewood Park and has impressed since he came to the Premiership in 2007. It is expected that Manchester City will bid again, however with the credit crunch looming in terms of its impact on the footballing world Hughes has no real competitors in his quest to get Santa Cruz.
The Paraguayan striker recently signed up for four year contract at the Rovers in the summer but has attracted alot of interest and speculation in the Premier League.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Carling Cup latest: Derby 1 Manchester United 0 Kris Commons goal
New Derby boss Nigel Clough watched his side from the stands as they managed a euphoric Semi-final victory against Premier League champions Manchester United.
Kris Commons from early on in the first half looked impressive with a real cultured foot - one for the future perhaps spectators possibly thinking...with an expectation of an onslaught from the Red Devils.
However, after 29 minutes it was Commons that scored an absolutely fantastic goal from 25 yards leaving Man Utd 'keeper Tomasz Kuszczak routed to the spot. Make sure you see this one people.
In the second half, Manchester United were wasteful in possession and Derby managed to put together some good passing moves and threaten the Manchester United goal.
After all of the recent negative publicity with Paul Jewell's exit, this was a fantastic night for all Rams fans.
Kris Commons from early on in the first half looked impressive with a real cultured foot - one for the future perhaps spectators possibly thinking...with an expectation of an onslaught from the Red Devils.
However, after 29 minutes it was Commons that scored an absolutely fantastic goal from 25 yards leaving Man Utd 'keeper Tomasz Kuszczak routed to the spot. Make sure you see this one people.
In the second half, Manchester United were wasteful in possession and Derby managed to put together some good passing moves and threaten the Manchester United goal.
After all of the recent negative publicity with Paul Jewell's exit, this was a fantastic night for all Rams fans.
Arshavin linked with Arsenal and Juventus
St Petersburg and Russian international Andrei Arshavin is linked with Arsenal and Juventus for a fee of around £20m.
Arshavin, one of the big stars of Euro 2008 impressed in the recent tournament which led to rival Tottenham Hotspur's interest in the forward but the two clubs couldn't agree on the transfer amount.
Apparently St Petersburg are demanding the whol transfer fee in one amount, whereas this fee is commonly negotiated on the amount of appearances across the contract period and in multiple installments for cashflow reasons.
Arshavin, one of the big stars of Euro 2008 impressed in the recent tournament which led to rival Tottenham Hotspur's interest in the forward but the two clubs couldn't agree on the transfer amount.
Apparently St Petersburg are demanding the whol transfer fee in one amount, whereas this fee is commonly negotiated on the amount of appearances across the contract period and in multiple installments for cashflow reasons.
Rodallega signs for Wigan
23 year old Colombian striker Hugo Rodallega is expected to sign for Steve Bruce's Wigan Athletic by the end of this week for a reported £4.5m.
Rodallega played for Necaxa previously, racking up 15 goals in 36 matches. He is potentially a replacement for soon to be out of contract Emile Heskey. Strikers Camara could also be leaving as well as the Zaki rumours reported back since November although Steve Bruce is denying the latter.
Lactics boss Steve Bruce said: "He is an exceptional player in South America and will be an exceptional player for us.
Rodallega played for Necaxa previously, racking up 15 goals in 36 matches. He is potentially a replacement for soon to be out of contract Emile Heskey. Strikers Camara could also be leaving as well as the Zaki rumours reported back since November although Steve Bruce is denying the latter.
Lactics boss Steve Bruce said: "He is an exceptional player in South America and will be an exceptional player for us.
"I hope we can tie it up. He is only 23 but he is an exciting player and it would be great if we could get him.
"He's fast, he's big, about 6ft 1in, he's good in the air, rangy rather than thick-set, can score a goal. He's just a genuine all-round striker.
"We're close to it (a deal) but when you're dealing with someone from abroad it is already racked with problems.
"We have to go and apply for a work permit. I believe that has been set for some time next week and I believe that's on the agenda.
"I don't envisage there will be any problems, I hope not anyway."
Sunday, January 4, 2009
FA Cup 4th Round Draw
FA Cup Review 2009
After the upset of the weekend at the City of Manchester Stadium where Notts Forest won 3-0, it is fair to say that the magic of the FA Cup is very much alive. As Portsmouth proved in 2008, any team can defy the top 4 Premier League clubs and take this great trophy.
After Manchester United beat Southampton at St Mary's Stadium 3-0, Tottenham fans' fears were confirmed: away at Old Trafford. Fantastic Merseyside derby is the tie of the fourth round draw is Liverpool vs Everton at Anfield. Should Chelase beat Southend away they would face Ipsiwch Town at home and Arsenal are away at Cardiff City.
FA Cup 2009 fourth round draw:
Liverpool v Everton
Manchester United v Tottenham
Hull or Newcastle v Millwall or Crewe
Sunderland v Blyth or Blackburn
Hartlepool v West Ham
Leyton Orient or Sheffield United v Charlton or Norwich
Cardiff v Arsenal
Portsmouth or Bristol City v Histon or Swansea
Chelsea or Southend v Ipswich
Cheltenham or Doncaster v Aston Villa
West Brom or Peterborough v QPR or Burnley
Torquay v Coventry
Kettering v Fulham
Watford v Leicester or Crystal Palace
Derby v Nottingham Forest
Birmingham or Wolves v Middlesbrough
FA Cup 3rd round results
Tottenham Hotspur and Wigan had the first FA Cup match of 2009 at White Hart Lane on Friday 2nd January. Spurs won 3-1 with Ukranian striker Roman Pavlichenko showing good form and scoring twice.
The biggest upset of the weeken so far was Manchester City losing 3-0 at home to Championship team Nottingham Forest.
Southend also managed to scored an equaliser at Stamford Bridge in injury time against Chelsea to secure a tricky away replay for the Blues.
Arsenal looked comfortable against Plymouth Argyle in their 3-1 victory with Robin Van Persie scoring twice and taking the role of captaincy for the first time.
Liverpool were away at Preston North End and took the lead with Rierain the 25th minute and looked extremely vibrant but struggled to get a second goal. Captain Steven Gerrard made his feet do the talking after a difficult week with the arrest regarding an alleged assault on a DJ over the Christmas period. It was Gerrard that broke through in the 93rd minute with no Preston defensive cover and passed generously to a Fernando Torres (just returned from injury) to slot home a second to secure the Reds' progression to the second round.
Today's fixtures in the FA Cup 3rd round:
FA Cup 3rd Round 4th January 2009
Gillingham v Aston Villa 13.30
Southampton v Man Utd 16.00
The biggest upset of the weeken so far was Manchester City losing 3-0 at home to Championship team Nottingham Forest.
Southend also managed to scored an equaliser at Stamford Bridge in injury time against Chelsea to secure a tricky away replay for the Blues.
Arsenal looked comfortable against Plymouth Argyle in their 3-1 victory with Robin Van Persie scoring twice and taking the role of captaincy for the first time.
Liverpool were away at Preston North End and took the lead with Rierain the 25th minute and looked extremely vibrant but struggled to get a second goal. Captain Steven Gerrard made his feet do the talking after a difficult week with the arrest regarding an alleged assault on a DJ over the Christmas period. It was Gerrard that broke through in the 93rd minute with no Preston defensive cover and passed generously to a Fernando Torres (just returned from injury) to slot home a second to secure the Reds' progression to the second round.
Today's fixtures in the FA Cup 3rd round:
FA Cup 3rd Round 4th January 2009
Gillingham v Aston Villa 13.30
Southampton v Man Utd 16.00
Friday, January 2, 2009
Football Transfer Gossip
January 2009 Football Gossip
May I just take this opportunity to wish all Premier League fans a very happy and prosperous new year. I certainly hope to deliver you with great football news and welcome all comments about my footie blog going into 2009.
I absolutely love this time of year, the winter transfer window makes football journalists, forum members and club fans chin wag and speculate on who is coming/leaving all league clubs. So what's happening in the market....?
One of the most obvious transfer rumours linking Jermaine Defoe to his old club Tottenham Hotspur became stronger today when Tony Adams said that Defoe may have played his last game for Pompey. Defoe, loved by the Tottenham faithful has performed teriffically for Portsmouth but is strongly linked with Harry Redknapp who has managed the England international twice at West Ham United and Portsmouth. It was 12 months ago that Defoe went to Pompey, the move was underpinned by a Benjani exit to Manchester City.
Left-back wayne Bridge has agreed a move to cash rich Manchester City for an undisclosed fee which is rumoured to be up to £12m. The 28 year old has struggled to get into the first team at Chelsea with England international Ashley Cole taking the left flank slot full time. Bridge joined Chelsea 5 years ago and has been starved of first team action, so moving to Man City will be a great opportunity to get some first team football and put himself in front of England boss Fabio Cappelo on a more regular basis.
Manchester United have bought two Serbian players from Partizan Belgrade - Zoran Tosic (left winger) and Adem Ljajic (midefielder). Tosic will be straight into the Red Devil's squad and Adem Ljajic will be going straight back to Partizan Belgrade on loan.
Joe Kinnear is denying any sale of Shay Given. The 32 year old has recently been rumoured to be unhappy at St James Park, but the former Wimbledon and Notts Forest boss has ruled any depature out.
"He is our player and he is going to stay our player, it's as simple as that," said Kinnear.
West Ham United have 2 months left potentially until their ownership is in an insolvent position which will probably force Zola to sell players that he we would prefer to keep.
May I just take this opportunity to wish all Premier League fans a very happy and prosperous new year. I certainly hope to deliver you with great football news and welcome all comments about my footie blog going into 2009.
I absolutely love this time of year, the winter transfer window makes football journalists, forum members and club fans chin wag and speculate on who is coming/leaving all league clubs. So what's happening in the market....?
One of the most obvious transfer rumours linking Jermaine Defoe to his old club Tottenham Hotspur became stronger today when Tony Adams said that Defoe may have played his last game for Pompey. Defoe, loved by the Tottenham faithful has performed teriffically for Portsmouth but is strongly linked with Harry Redknapp who has managed the England international twice at West Ham United and Portsmouth. It was 12 months ago that Defoe went to Pompey, the move was underpinned by a Benjani exit to Manchester City.
Left-back wayne Bridge has agreed a move to cash rich Manchester City for an undisclosed fee which is rumoured to be up to £12m. The 28 year old has struggled to get into the first team at Chelsea with England international Ashley Cole taking the left flank slot full time. Bridge joined Chelsea 5 years ago and has been starved of first team action, so moving to Man City will be a great opportunity to get some first team football and put himself in front of England boss Fabio Cappelo on a more regular basis.
Manchester United have bought two Serbian players from Partizan Belgrade - Zoran Tosic (left winger) and Adem Ljajic (midefielder). Tosic will be straight into the Red Devil's squad and Adem Ljajic will be going straight back to Partizan Belgrade on loan.
Joe Kinnear is denying any sale of Shay Given. The 32 year old has recently been rumoured to be unhappy at St James Park, but the former Wimbledon and Notts Forest boss has ruled any depature out.
"He is our player and he is going to stay our player, it's as simple as that," said Kinnear.
West Ham United have 2 months left potentially until their ownership is in an insolvent position which will probably force Zola to sell players that he we would prefer to keep.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Paul Jewell resigns at Derby County
Struggling Derby County have parted company with Paul Jewell today, leaving assistant Chris Hutchings in charge of the Championship team.
Despite leading the Rams to an exciting Carling Cup semi-final tie against Manchester United, their 1-0 home defeat against Ipswich Town was the last straw for Jewell.
Derby County are currently 18th in the Championship and chairman Adam Pearson expected this resignation as Derby County are in danger of slipping down another division.
Despite leading the Rams to an exciting Carling Cup semi-final tie against Manchester United, their 1-0 home defeat against Ipswich Town was the last straw for Jewell.
Derby County are currently 18th in the Championship and chairman Adam Pearson expected this resignation as Derby County are in danger of slipping down another division.
"It was probably one result too far for Paul," said Pearson. "He came to see me after the game and said that he felt it just wasn't working out and didn't want to club to suffer as a result.
"He just feels that the club needs a fresh impetus and a new direction.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Football Transfer Latest : Craig Bellamy being pursued by Spurs and Aston Villa
Tottenham Hotspur have had a £6m bid for Craig Bellamy rejected by cash-flow challenged West Ham United. The bid was made by Harry Redknapp on Christmas Eve and shows Tottenham's priority in this transfer window is to get a fourth striker. It is expected that Spurs will go back to West Ham and bid a second time but Chief Executive Steve Duxbury is insisting that Bellamy is not for sale.
Martin O'Neill is also rumoured to be putting a bid in for £7m, as well as ongoing interest for Bellamy from Manchester City.
Martin O'Neill is also rumoured to be putting a bid in for £7m, as well as ongoing interest for Bellamy from Manchester City.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Christmas Premiership matches 2008
Premier League Football Tips Boxing day 2008 Premier League
The Christmas period can make or break a Premier League club's season. I am really pleased to be visiting West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns on the 28th December with my beautiful girlfriend who is 4 months pregnant. We found out that he is a boy on Monday, so I would like to dedicate this post to him and his second Spurs match (1st one was at home vs Wigan....not a classic). Here are the Boxing Day fixtures:
Friday, 26 December 2008
Barclays Premier League
Aston Villa v Arsenal, 17:15
Chelsea v West Brom, 13:00
Liverpool v Bolton, 15:00
Man City v Hull, 15:00
Middlesbrough v Everton, 15:00
Portsmouth v West Ham, 13:00
Stoke v Man Utd, 12:45
Sunderland v Blackburn, 15:00
Tottenham v Fulham, 13:00
Wigan v Newcastle, 15:00
I fancy Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man City, Man Utd and Tottenham to all win.
Happy Christmas to all!
The Christmas period can make or break a Premier League club's season. I am really pleased to be visiting West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns on the 28th December with my beautiful girlfriend who is 4 months pregnant. We found out that he is a boy on Monday, so I would like to dedicate this post to him and his second Spurs match (1st one was at home vs Wigan....not a classic). Here are the Boxing Day fixtures:
Friday, 26 December 2008
Barclays Premier League
Aston Villa v Arsenal, 17:15
Chelsea v West Brom, 13:00
Liverpool v Bolton, 15:00
Man City v Hull, 15:00
Middlesbrough v Everton, 15:00
Portsmouth v West Ham, 13:00
Stoke v Man Utd, 12:45
Sunderland v Blackburn, 15:00
Tottenham v Fulham, 13:00
Wigan v Newcastle, 15:00
I fancy Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man City, Man Utd and Tottenham to all win.
Happy Christmas to all!
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