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Premier League Hot Gossip: Manchester United, Tottenham, Arsenal, Blackburn, Chelsea, Everton, Aston Villa and Ipswich

Sportingo.com’s Mark Apostolou brings daily coverage of the Premier League’s hot gossip. 

The footballing press has a habit of holding up players, especially young talents, and making comparisons with the greats of the game. Apparently Sir Alex Ferguson has landed an Irish wonder kid by the name of Rob Brady, and lo and behold he is being touted as the next George Best (Sunday People).

Few players have ever rivalled the late Manchester United legend and If 19-year-old Brady is indeed destined for greatness, drawing parallels such as these can end up doing more harm than good. Still, I am sure Old Trafford fans will be keen to see his talents on display some time soon.

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Albert Luque: I Moved To Newcastle For The Money

Former Newcastle striker Albert Luque, the biggest waste of 7.5 million since we burned that much earlier this morning for warmth, has explained how he ended up at the club in the first place and shed some light on the amazing transfer policy Freddie Sheperd had in place,

“I gave Newcastle a negative reply when they called,” he explained to Voetbal International.

“I was having a great time at Depor, (but) they came in with an offer too good to refuse.

“I had a talk with then-chairman, Freddie Shepherd, and told him how much I wanted to earn. It was a ludicrous amount but he didn’t bat an eyelid.

“I was going to earn lots and lots of money at a club I had never paid any attention to before and move to a town I knew nothing about,” he said.

So much for the idea Luque came to Newcastle because the Toon Army’s reputation spanned the globe and probably explains why other big names like Damien Duff and Michael Owen have chosen the club despite it not winning anything since 2000 B.C.

Arsenal Boss Insults Rafa Benitez’ Life’s Work At Liverpool

Maybe sensing that this year might not be his again, Arsene Wenger has played down the importance of the Champions League to his club, him and perhaps to football’s history books.

“Is that bigger than the championship? I am not sure. How many games do you need to win it?

“I can name managers who have won it and you would be surprised where they are now.

Ohh take that, Rafa Benitez! A beard and a Champions League title means nothing!

“It is a cup game and is not a championship. The team who wins that over 38 games is the best team.

“Was AC Milan the best team in Europe last year? I am not convinced. “It becomes so difficult in the championship and a lot of teams do not turn up in the Champions League.”

“The Champions League is still a cup game. Of course I want to win it - but I cannot say at the moment that the team who wins it are the best in Europe. “The Premier League is the hardest competition now. You don’t have to win as many games in the Champions League as you do in the championship.”

Wenger is right, the Champions League is a cup competition but it is still matches against 13 teams who would probably spank every Premier League team other than a select few. Does thumping Derby 6-0 or eventually cruising past the likes of Wigan and Birmingham really mean you’re a better side than a team who can do the business against AC Milan or Barcelona over two legs? You could easily argue that while the Champions League is less matches, you’ll face more difficult matches than you would in the league.

And if the Premier League is harder than the Champions League, the obvious question is why Wenger has couple league titles and none from Europe despite playing his full team in both. Hopefully Rafa will continue his desire to fight everyone possible and respond.

Tottenham Striker Not Sure Why He’s Become A Bit Crap

One of football fans’ favourite past times is to turn on their best players when things go wrong, and so Spurs fans have already been questioning Dimitar Berbatov’s performances and place in the side after he and the club have started the season with what is medically known as ‘a bit of a ‘mare’.

Berbatov, though, isn’t sure he’s just become all crap,

“Maybe that’s it,” Berbatov said. “But it doesn’t mean that I should not score, and that’s why I work hard to improve myself, because last year was really good for me, and nobody knew me.

“But now maybe everyone knows how I play it’s more difficult for me but that’s not an excuse for me and I will keep working harder and harder to push myself and the team.”

“Not only me, just everyone who wants to develop stays after training to do a shootout and some exercises.

“The thing is the gaffer and (assistant boss) Chris Hughton are always trying to teach us.”

New players will find things going a bit tougher once they’ve been sussed, but Berbatov has had a handful of great chances to score the last few matches and just failed to put them away. Results against Manchester United and Arsenal could have been very different had he kept his shooting boots on.

As for the team doing extra shooting practice, it might do them a bit more good to take another look at those set pieces.

Abramovich’s Second Chelsea Revolution Is A Lot Crapper Than The First

After another hilariously eventful match, resulting in a hilariously ironic 0-0 draw given that one of the reasons  that Mourinho was sacked was in order to see more attacking football, Chelsea’s second Abramovich-inspired revolution looks to be a bit crapper than the first.

The Guardian is reporting a host of awful and/or embarassing events from the West London derby:

- John Terry needs surgery on a fractured cheekbone

- Didier Drogba, saviour of the club, is sent off in his first match back

- Roman Abramovich sat amongst the fans in the Shed End and was promptly mocked and abused the entire time. Peter Kenyon was allegedly spat on.

- Chelsea couldn’t score against the leakiest defense in the league

- Abramovich has been at all Chelsea training sessions since Mourinho left and picked the highly unsuccessful team that faced Manchester United

- Players and coaches have no faith in Avram Grant

All in all, a fantastic series of events at the mere cost of losing of your most successful and popular manager ever. Good times.

Premier League Prediction Mayhem

Edward tries to be a bit less crap with the predictions:

After only partially disgracing myself with last weeks predictions, here are this weeks attempts at fortune telling:

Saturday, 29 September 2007

Birmingham 0-2 Man Utd - I’m going for a Man Utd win on this one, by a not so sneaky two goal margin.

Chelsea 2-1 Fulham - Let’s go for a Chelsea win here, they are a chaotic shambles of a club, but should surely beat Fulham at home, shouldn’t they?

Derby 1-0 Bolton - Billy Davies is constantly rabbiting on about his teams steel at home, that they aren’t a soft touch etc. I think they’ll beat little Sam’s little Bolton.

Man City 1-0 Newcastle - Sven’s men often flatter to deceive but not against the barcodes.

Portsmouth 2-1 Reading - Harry and Co. will win this tight encounter.

Sunderland 2-2 Blackburn - I think Blackburn could buck a recent downturn and grab a point here.

West Ham 0-2 Arsenal - Arsenal are an irresistible team right now.

Wigan 1-2 Liverpool, Yes, that is TWO-ONE, stick that in your pipe and smoke it. With Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres loitering, they won’t have a problem.

Sunday, 30 September 2007

Everton 2-1 Middlesbrough - Everton’s defence, although good on paper, doesn’t feel that they have played a proper game of football unless they concede a goal.

Mourinho played Russian Roulette with Russian Billionaire, Smart Man.

Rather like challenging Oliver Reed to a drinking contest, playing Russian roulette with a Russian Billionaire is never advisable, but that is exactly what Mourinho did according to The Independent.

The Independent’s Jason Burt writes:

“Jose Mourinho left Chelsea after a chance meeting with Roman Abramovich in which he dared the club’s owner to sack him. Although his departure had been brewing for almost a year, with Mourinho threatening to quit and Abramovich considering when to sack him, events unravelled in a matters of hours last week. It shows just how low – and how petty – relations between the two men had become.”

The Independent’s sources say that the two passed each other in a Stamford Bridge corridor after their 1-1 draw with Rosenborg. Abramovich apparently told Mourinho how disappointed he was and that he thought the team ‘could do better’ (one would hope so). Mourinho, offended by these remarks apparently fired back with: “If you are not happy with me, then just sack me,” Abramovich then said that if he wanted to go he could go – Mourinho agreed and he left.

Such a small bitchy way of disposing of your manager, would be surprising at any other club, but this is Roman Abramovich’s club, so the matter of a few million in severance pay is nothing to him. The fact that cocksure Mourinho dared Roman to sack him, and then was summarily told that he was welcome to go…which he did…all in a coridoor at Stamford Bridge, seems ridiculous…

Predict The Scores And Prove Everyone Else Is An Idiot

C’mon, throw your hat in the ring, tell us what you think is going to happen in the premier league this weekend. There is no phrase in the English language as powerful and as satisfying as “I TOLD YOU SO!!!” , especially when you are bellowing it in a mates ear after his team have been royally mullered.

Are West Ham ready to shame Arsenal again? Can Chelsa prove that you can win with The Undead as your manager? Will City or Newcastle’s upstart new boss keep their season going strong? Can Spurs not be crap?

Whatever the case, the fixtures are below just cut and paste them into the comments and fill in your predictions.

Birmingham v Manchester United:

Chelsea v Fulham:

Derby v Bolton:

Manchester City v Newcastle:

Portsmouth v Reading:

Sunderland v Blackburn:

West Ham v Arsenal:

Wigan v Liverpool:

Tottenham v Aston Villa:

Martin Jol’s Tottenham Boast #2: Only Arsenal can think of matching Tottenham’s youngsters

In his twice daily attempt to justify his existence to the scheming Tottenham board, Martin Jol has claimed that Tottenham’s youngsters, bred like fine cattle, with advanced coaching techniques and the rarefied pure Tottenham air - are at least as good as Arsene’s young ‘uns.

Although Spurs are currently languishing in the basement of the Premier League whilst Arsenal are at the top Jol insists his crop of youngsters are equalled only by Arsenal’s. Jol told The Sun:

“I feel we have more talented players at Tottenham than any other club. Maybe only Arsenal have the same but their approach is different to mine.If you were fickle you would say it is the same for both clubs, but it isn’t. It’s totally different.”

Jol continued:

“Gael Clichy has been playing at Arsenal for years, getting used to his role behind Ashley Cole before he moved on. Then he comes into the team after a couple of years of preparation.Cesc Fabregas was there for three or four years. They were all on the bench and came on when things were going well.If your team is in a position where you are playing well and then you bring on, for example, Kevin-Prince Boateng or Adel Taarabt, it’s an easy decision to make.Sometimes you have to play them no matter what.I felt I had to play Gareth Bale because he is a good option. The same goes for Younes Kaboul. Against Middlesbrough I played Michael Dawson, 22, Kaboul, 20, Bale, 18. That is probably the difference with the big clubs.”

Perhaps Arsenal aren’t the best example, Wenger has selected teams this season with an outfield age of 26 in the Premier League. Couldn’t this boasting have a detrimental effect, after all Arsenal are playing their youngsters all the time?

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Didier Drogba Starts Plotting His Chelsea Move

The Guardian is reporting that although Didier Drogba is staying put at Stamford Bridge, for now , he may consider a reunion with his idol and spiritual leader Jose Mourinho when he takes on his next managerial job.

Mourinho’s departure was met with a tear-stained fairwell from the Ivory Coast international, who fell to his knees and wept like a toddler when Jose left. But the tears have now turned to anger, and he is joined by fellow teammates in bellowing for the good times that have left Chelsea so suddenly.

Surely a sign of how low Chelsea have slumped are the quotes coming from John Terry after their glorious win over Hull City:

“It was a great win and certainly well needed as we hadn’t won in four games. Hull is a tough place to come but we played well and scored goals which we had not been doing. We knew they would get in our faces for the first 15 minutes but we matched them and then our football did the talking.”

Despite this huge victory over mighty Hull City The Guardian’s David Hytner reports that:

“Drogba is receptive to the idea of playing under Mourinho again and were the Portuguese to take another job before the end of January and the closure of the winter transfer window, Drogba could have a decision to make. But he will not quit Chelsea lightly or on a whim.”

The journo then tells us that Drogba could be tempted by another European culture, Hytner continues:

“Having sampled those of France and England, he would be tempted by Italy or Spain, where Real Madrid would like to sign him, despite voicing concern about his age. ‘Totally independent of his situation with Chelsea, you have to accept that he’s 29 turning 30 and that needs to be taken into consideration for us,’ said Predrag Mijatovic, Real’s sporting director.”

So Real it is then…

Martin Jol’s Tottenham Boast #1: No Manager Could Have Done Better Than Me, Not Even Mourinho

The Sun has woken us all up today with a glaring foghorn of a story, according to fiction department the wise sages  at The Sun:

“MARTIN JOL hit back at the Spurs board last night, roaring: I’m better than Jose Mourinho!”

Jol puffed out his chest and exclaimed:

“No one could have done better than me here — not even Mourinho. I have to cope with the situation I am in. I have to come up with the goods and that is what I did.”

Ex-Chelsea boss Mourinho won five trophies whilst at Stamford Bridge, whereas Martin Jol is still frantically hunting for his debut trophy with Spurs. But Jol’s comments could be a veiled swipe at the board, warning them that should they sack him, they would be hard pressed to find anyone better.

Jol continued:

“To be fifth in the league with Spurs two seasons running is not bad — it’s very good! There are football people on our board and I think they realise it otherwise they probably would have made a decision already. I feel top five was probably more than we would have expected when I started.”

So is Jol right to be tooting his own horn about his league performances. He got 5th with the 5th best squad, surely if a manager was to overachieve at Tottenham they could have won 1 match more they needed to finish 4th two seasons ago or 3 matches to finish 4th last season (two if you count beating Arsenal for once). And no mention of their atrocious for in the Cups, then again getting knocked out by Grimsby and Leicester isn’t anything you’d want to scream from the rooftops with your job on the line. Is this Jol’s last gambit with the board, telling them that they wouldn’t be able to do any better, or is this the best the Spurs squad could have achieved under any manager?

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Dodgy Russian gobbles up another piece of Arsenal pie.

Russian Billionaire Alisher Usmanov, likes the thrill of the hunt, he has upped his stake in Arsenal to 23%. Usmanov’s investment company ,Red and White Holdings Limited, is now the Gunners’ second biggest shareholder. We already know that Peter Hill-Wood isn’t exactly chuffed about this eastern European hungry hippo slowly but inexorably eating his way through Arsenal shares.

A statement read:

“Red and White Holdings Limited today announces, in accordance with its intentions stated on August 30, that it has increased its shareholding and now holds a 23% stake in Arsenal Holdings plc,”

Although the fact that once any individual or company reaches the 30 per cent threshold, they would be required to launch an official takeover, points to Usmanov grabbing power, it is thought that they aren’t planning an imminent takeover.

Arsenal fans must be wondering why this shady figure is putting his considerably large frame into the ring, after all Arsene Wenger has sad umpteen times that he doesn’t need money, and the club are flying high financially and crucially on the field. Will this weighty Russians presence upset the perfect balance they currently have on the field?

Fernando Torres Flourishes At Liverpool While Thierry Henry Struggles Without Arsenal

Peter brings the latest Two Men Enter… by comparing a surging Fernando Torres against a flailing Thierry Henry.

Fernando Torres or Thierry Henry? That’s right sports readers, it’s a Carling Cup midweek and frankly I’m fed up of reading about how everyone loves Jose now that he’s gone and how everyone feels sorry for Jol now that he’s going to join Mourinho on the doll.

I was watching the Barcelona vs. Real Zaragosa last night and one thing was evident, Thierry Henry couldn’t buy a goal right now. He’s making all the same runs as he was and play the same as he was in England but when it comes to the one on one or the shot from distance, they seem to either hit the keeper or go hopelessly wide. This isn’t to say he hasn’t contributed to goals as he’s come up with assists and you can’t measure the benefits of having a player like Henry in your team as he can take 2 or 3 defenders away and create openings for his team-mates. I wouldn’t say he was the same player as he was last season for Arsenal but he doesn’t seem to have lost his touch or speed it’s just a matter of confidence.

That and the Arsene Wenger factor, a manager who gave him license to play anywhere on the field and express himself freely and it’s not to say that Rijkaard isn’t allowing him to express himself but you get the feeling that at Arsenal it’s encouraged while at other clubs it’s just not discouraged! You also measure a player’s success by how well he’s done in previous years and his achievements prior to joining a club and for Henry he’s had to live upto the expectations he created for himself. He arrived at Arsenal, a Juventus reject lacking in confidence and went onto become the most prolific Arsenal player ever, scaring the life out of opposing defenders with his pace, passion and finishing touch.

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Premier League Hot Gossip: Chelsea, Arsenal, Everton

Sportingo.com’s Philip Smith brings guest coverage of the Premier League’s hot gossip. 

In the aftermath of Jose Mourinho’s departure, I guess it’s inevitable that Chelsea are going to be at the centre of transfer speculation in both the managerial and player departments.

Yesterday we were led to believe that Marco van Basten was in the No.1 slot, thanks to his relationship with Chelsea’s technical director, Frank Arnesen. Today, Guus Hiddink has given the boat a slight rock by claiming that Roman Abramovich has asked him to take over as coach.

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Another Day, Another Dutchman for Chelsea Owner

Ahhhh…So that’s who you wanted! After Chelsea launched a fierce denial that they ever wanted Marco VanBasten, another Dutchman, Guus Hiddink has stepped out of the shadows to proclaim - I am the messiah that Stamford Bridge needs! Another day, another Dutchman linked to the Chelsea job almost certainly because Roman heard of some ‘Total Football’ lark that sounds like it might be fun to watch.

Hiddink said:

“Abramovich asked me ‘What do you want?’. I told him that right now I want to do nothing else except concentrate on Russia. I want to see this through now and then see what happens. We like living in Moscow and they seem to like us,”

All this is very murky indeed considering that Roman pays half Hiddink’s 1.2 million pounds-a-year wages for Russia. Chelsea may have to wait quite a while for Hiddink and is Abramovich, who is increasingly resembling spoilt brat Veruca Salt, prepared to wait that long?

The Russian has been seen exclaiming “I want him now!” and even breaking out into song:

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