From the monthly archives:
December 2007
Pitch tragedy as Motherwell captain loses his life
Earlier this year Sevilla star Antonio Puerta died after collapsing in a normal Spanish League game. This horror tragically moved to the UK this weekend when Motherwell captain Phil O’Donnell lost his life after collapsing during his team’s 5-3 win over Dundee Utd.
O’Donnell was about to be substituted when he fell to the ground. He was treated for five minutes before being stretchered off Fir Park and into an ambulance.
Motherwell Chairman Bill Dickie said:
“Unfortunately I can confirm very, very sad news that Phil O’Donnell has lost his life. We don’t know what it was, but there will be a post-mortem. This is a tragic happening and that’s all I can say.”
Manager Mark McGhee added:
“I don’t want to say anything more than how devastated everyone at the club is for his wife and his young children. That’s what we are all feeling tonight, nothing else matters.
“Obviously from the club’s point of view we’ll gather round to give his family as much support as they need.”
R.I.P Phil O’Donnell
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Liverpool owner struggling with Scouse lingo
It’s safe to say that Liverpool owner Tom Hicks wouldn’t win a popularity contest on Merseyside right now. Not content with clashing swords with Reds manager Rafael Benitez over transfer funds, the American has now potentially incurred the wrath of Liverpudlians everywhere by claiming the Scouse accent is difficult to comprehend.
The Daily Telegraph report that Hicks gave two interviews to Sports Illustrated in America, the first of which accused Benitez of ‘pouting’ his way through a press conference. He said the following about the Anfield manager in the second one.
“He’s Spanish. He doesn’t speak English great. We have guys on our team that speak English that are hard to understand because they’re Scousers. We have Spaniards, we have Argentines, we have Brazilians, we have Norwegians, we have Scots, we have Irish, we have English. So it’s easy to have a communication issue. We had a small one with Rafa. It got blown totally out of proportion. We spent 2½ hours after the game. It’s behind us, and nobody’s looking back.”
Quite what resident Scousers Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher will make of Hicks’ comments is another matter. The former is in the running to be the next captain of England, a position which requires an ability to communicate with the media.
Read more Liverpool rumors on the
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Sunday’s Transfer Rumours Part 2
The second half of our big batch of Sunday transfer rumours…
Liverpool’s interest in Czech Republic defender Tomas Ujfalusi has abrubtly stopped after he rebuffed a £500,00 move to join Rafa’s men…for now… (Observer)
Manchester City’s Sven Goran Eriksson is planning to splash his vast amounts of cash and swoop for Arsenal’s Lassana Diarra, Athletic Bilbao’s Andoni Iraola and Ajax ace Hedwiges Maduro. (News of the World)
Bolton’s Gary Megson is keen to cash in on Nic Anelka, and is awaiting a formal Chelsea offer, but Megson won’t be bringing in another striker; he’s after Sheffield United’s defender Chris Morgan and Dundee’s ‘keeper Grzegorz Szamotulski. (Daily Mail)
Wigan boss Steve Bruce reckons that signing a Derby defender will sort out Wigan’s defensive frailties, and Bruce will attempt to bag Derby’s Tyrone Mears to do just that. (News of the World)
After leading the line brilliantly in Tottenham’s stupendous 6-4 win over Reading, striker Dimitar Berbatov could yet move to Manchester United. (Daily Mail)
…Both Tottenham and Newcastle are leading the chase for Manchester United’s defender Wes Brown. Faced with losing Brown on a Bosman free in the summer, United could look to cash in. (Daily Mail)
…And 21 year old Dutch full back Urby Emanuelson wants to move from Ajax to White Hart Lane. (Sky Sports)
New Fulham boss Roy Hodgson has been given a £15m January transfer kitty and will make Watford’s goal-sniffer Marlon King his first signing. (People)
Everton’s James McFadden is after a move to Celtic and could throw in a transfer request to force Moyes into letting him go. (Sunday Mail)
…But Birmingham’s Alex McLeish has different plans, he wants to keep McFadden south of the border. (News of the World)
…While David Moyes wants to bring Bayern Munich’s defender Daniel van Buyten to Goodison. (various)
Read more Tottenham rumors on the Tottenham section.
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Has Berbatov ended his Tottenham career on an ultimate high?
Whatever Tottenham fans might like to think, the future of Dimitar Berbatov is far from certain - just ask his manager Juande Ramos. The Daily Telegraph have reported that although the Spanish boss undoubtedly wants his superstar striker to stay at the club, it’s entirely possible that the Bulgarian has a few alternatives in mind.
“The chairman knows that I want Berbatov to stay,” he said. “If it was up to me, we would not lose him, but there are different circumstances and factors that we need to take into account, such as the player’s opinion and feeling.”
After a breathtaking performance against Reading, where Berbatov scored four of Tottenham’s six goals, it’s clear that Spurs can add a few million pounds to their original asking price. Will the Bulgarian’s love for the north London club be enough to keep him at White Hart Lane or will he be a Red Devil in a month’s time?
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Sunday’s Transfer Rumours Part 1
If Newcastle owner Mike Ashley wants to rid himself of Sam Allardyce and his staff he’ll have to shell out a whopping £20m in compensation. (Sunday Express)
…And in the face of yet more rumours about dressing room discontent and player rebellion, with some squad members baying for the savior Alan Shearer to come in; Big Sam has still vowed to fight on. (News of the World)
…Big Sam will also have Michael Owen at his disposal after Man City decided to halt their interest in the England striker. (Observer)
Boss Mark Hughes will let both Robbie Savage and Jason Roberts leave Blackburn Rovers for pastures new. (News of the World)
Sunderland and Manchester City are set to scrap it out for the chance to sign Celtic defender Bobo Balde. (News of the World)
Everton, Liverpool and Manchester United are all sniffing around Real Valladolid ‘keeper, Sergio Asenjo. The bidding for 18-year old Asenjo will start at £3.3m which would trigger one of those release clause thingies. (Setanta)
West Ham’s Alan Curbishly will, as has been predicted for weeks now, splash £16.5m on Tottenham striker Darren Bent. (Sunday Express)
…And Tottenham’s other unhappy striker Jermain Defoe is starting an avalanche of clubs who are desperate to sign him, Portsmouth, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Manchester City are said to be leading the frenzied charge. (Various)
…While Spurs defender Antony Gardner could make a £3m move to Birmingham City. (News of the World)
Chelsea and Manchester City have both put their chase for Dinamo Zagreb’s Luca Modric on hold, after the midfielder decided to stay put until the end of the season. (Mail on Sunday)
Read more Tottenham rumors on the Tottenham section.
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Moyes: We played the football, Arsenal just hoofed it!
It was Everton’s chance to attempt to get a victory against one of the “Big Four” yesterday, but after scoring in early through Cahill, Arsenal cured their first-half drought after a half-time chat from their rainmaker Arsene Wenger - and proceeded to smash four past the hapless Toffees. Somewhere is the breakneck second period, there was time for Bendtner and Arteta to get sent off too!
After the game Moyes was still hugely positive after the game, he said:
“What impressed me was the way we played. I thought we played very well and I thought we were better than Arsenal.
“It’s incredible we’ve lost 4-1. We gave Arsenal a really tough game and I thought the better team lost.“It was Everton who passed the ball and tried to score good goals and it was Arsenal who scored off long balls.”
So do you agree with Moyes, did Everton deserve to get three points from this encounter?
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Manchester United gaffer clamps down on party animals
The Daily Mail report that Sir Alex Ferguson has taken a predictably tough stance against any Manchester United players who step out of line again. The Red Devils boss must have been horrified by some of the stories circulating after his players’ Christmas party, although it would take a brave man to risk his Old Trafford career.
Fergie said: “Times have changed but for me as a manager, what you can’t lose is control. When you see anyone interfering with control, they have to go. This club is based on everyone together. When anyone starts going off at tangents, you have to make changes.”
The main organiser of the Christmas outing was thought to be Rio Ferdinand, although it was his brother Anton grabbing all of today’s headlines after helping West Ham defeat the champions on Saturday.
Watch Manchester United live online
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Manchester United boss tells Newcastle to keep faith with Allardyce
Newcastle United currently sit 11th in the Premier League. While they’re unlikely to be playing in Europe next season, they certainly won’t be relegated, having as many wins as defeats so far this campaign. However, you’d think the Magpies were rooted to the bottom of the division given the sheer volume of media coverage devoted to Sam Allardyce’s future at St James’ Park.
Is he teetering on the brink? According to the BBC, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson thinks that would solve nothing and actually believes Allardyce is one of the best Newcastle managers of recent seasons.
“I would be astounded if they got rid of Sam. Of all the managers they’ve had, he’s capable of doing better than most,” he said.
“It seems to me as soon as Newcastle lose a game, the manager’s career is threatened,” he said.
“The worst thing that happened to Newcastle was when they beat us 5-0. How many years ago was that?
“But since then, they seem to think they should win every game 5-0. I am not sure the Newcastle job is one you would want to take.
“I will certainly never understand why they got rid of Bobby Robson given his experience and enthusiasm, plus the fact he is a Geordie.”
It appears that the St James’ Park hotseat is fast becoming a poisoned chalice, with the weight of expectation meaning a new manager is given little to no time to turn things round.
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Toon fans: would you be happy with Martin Jol at St James’ Park?
So the Chelsea v Newcastle game is currently underway, and after a mere quarter of an hour Obafemi Martins’ verbal diarrhoea style of football has already seen him squander a useful looking chance. There is one man, however, that we n be sure is watching events with an eagle eye; Martin Jol. The Sun reports, in an “exclusive” no less, that big Martin Jol is ready to bring his ogre-faced style of management to St James’ Park if things continue to go pear shaped for Sam Allardyce.
Sun journo Mar Irwin writes:
“Martin Jol is ready to take charge at Newcastle if Sam Allardyce gets the bullet. Jol was offered the Toon job before Big Sam was appointed in May but the Dutchman stayed at Spurs. Now he is waiting for another call from St James’ Park and believes he can live up to their expectations.”
The Sun, nearly wetting themselves with the unbridled joy of grabbing a journalistic “exclusive”, seem very excited about the possibility of a Jol takeover at Newcastle. Toon fans: do you feel the same?
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Tottenham Hotspur - perennial underachievers?
In yet another of Times statto Bill Edgar’s “Top 50 Stats of 2007″, statmeister Edgar gives us an insight into Tottenham’s perennial mediocrity for the past 3 decades. Edgar writes:
“In the past 35 seasons, Tottenham Hotspur have never finished closer than 13 points from the top of the table, even though there were only two points for a win in the first nine of those seasons (when gaps in the table, naturally, tended to be smaller).”
Tepid mediocrity seems to be the badge of the entire Tottenham tribe, but will Ramos - with his fitness regimen and tactical nous be able to pull Tottenham’s socks up or will the 35 season statistic keep on growing?…
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