There comes a time in every club’s existence where a player of quality comes along where, regardless of the price, you’d be crazy not to make a offer. Now I’m not condoning throwing millions around for players you don’t really need (Are you listening Chelsea?), but sometimes it’s ok to meet another club’s asking price. For West Ham, this should be one of those times. [Read the rest of this entry »]
Harry Redknapp is well-known for his wheeling and dealing in the transfer market, and looks to have landed a cut-price bargain from Reading this week. [Read the rest of this entry »]
The latest word on the street is that Aston Villa are going to dig their heels in over Gareth Barry, but if he does eventually leave for Anfield, Martin O’Neill will have drowned his sorrows by bagging this ex-Arsenal man. [Read the rest of this entry »]
Reading full back seems destined to leave the Royals and whilst it seemed that West Ham were leading the chase for the England fullback it now appears that two other Premier League sides are in the hunt.
West Ham, Newcastle, Aston Villa and French side Nice are all keen to bid for Royals full-back Shorey, who is eager to leave the club to continue his push to become an England regular. West Ham, Newcastle and Aston Villa are all interested, too.
But Reading chief executive Nigel Howe said of the £5m rated star: “You sometimes get clubs who will fly a kite with a stupid offer, but no one will steal any of our players away.” (Daily Mirror)
Clearly being in the top tier at this stage of Shorey’s career is crucial, he doesn’t seem keen on trying to stick with his side and battle for a quick promotion. All sides mentioned could do with extra creativity from their full back positions and the 27 year old offers that in abundance, whether it’s from set pieces or deft touches helping put strikers in on goal. Who will win the race?
For a long while now Alan Curbishley has been monitoring Reading full back Nicky Shorey and by all accounts the deal to capture the England international has almost been done.
West Ham United will sign Reading fullback Nicky Shorey.
The £6million-rated left-back will leave relegated Reading in the summer. (The Sun)
Shorey is a class act who will surely prove himself at Upton Park, he may be just the kind of addition that takes the east London side from mid table to a European spot. Equally impressive going forward as he is at the back, the former O’s man is apparently just one of a great many signings Curbs would like to bring in over the summer. What do Hammers fans feel about this potential signing? Is it a case of better late than never, or are there better players the boss could have brought in?
On the subject of Reading there are two things that pretty much everyone is in agreement on:
1) They have had the mother of all craptastic seasons with a strikeforce as mobile and likely to score as the lovechild of Douglas Bader and a stuffed gnu.
2) Nicky Shorey is their best player by a country mile.
Armed with these two nuggets of information, Newcastle, Aston Villa, and West Ham are all thinking about making a move for young left-back Shorey. Reading’s Chief Exec Nigel Howe said:
“Nicky has made it clear for a long time that he hasn’t been too happy at the club.
“Well, let’s hope that somebody comes in with a good offer.” (Telegraph)
Out of these three options which should Shorey opt for? Well, if he wants to play in a scandalously porous defence he should hotfoot it to Newcastle and if he wants to get injured then West Ham is the place to go…Villa it is then!
The last time Reading were in the Championship, they collected 106 points and stormed to the title. The Royals lost just two games on their way to automatic promotion and looked for all the world like a Premier League team. Sadly, after one brilliant season in the top flight, they are back in the division from whence they came, although fans will be delighted to see that Steve Coppell has decided to stick around as manager.
There had been speculation that the former Manchester City and Crystal Palace manager would step down at the end of the season, especially after falling through the relegation trapdoor. However, the Daily Mirror report that the scouser has decided to take a massive pay-cut and finish the job he has started at the Madejski Stadium.
He said: “The last thing I want to be remembered for at Reading is for a relegation. I wanted the chance to put it right. Now our motivation is to try to make next season memorable for all the right reasons.”
Are you betting on Reading to repeat their triumph of 2004/5, when they took the division by storm? It llargely depends on keeping hold of Dave Kitson, Kevin Doyle and James Harper but to name a few. You’d certainly expect the Berkshire club to be in and around the top six next term, although Sheffield United and Charlton proved last season that relegated clubs have no divine right to these placings.
The Sun has uncorked yet another of its top Ten lists, this time the Top Ten Signings of the Season. The top three were:
1.Fernando Torres
2.Roque Santa Cruz
3. Anderson
But we’re not too concerned about what The Sun thinks, what is your top 3 Premier League signings this season?
Kevin Keegan came out after Newcastle’s 0-2 loss to Chelsea and said that he could not turn the Toon into a Big Four team again within the three years his contract lasts for. Such talk has landed him in hot water with owner Mike Ashley, who has called him down to London for “crisis talks” today.
Since his emotional outburst though, it turns out that Portsmouth Manager Harry Redknapp and Reading manager Steve Coppell both actually agree with him, with Harry quoted as saying:
“You would need £150million to spend to have any chance of breaking into that top four, Look at Liverpool last summer, they spent £28million on Fernando Torres and he is a fantastic player but who else can compete with that?
I agree with Kevin Keegan, I do not see any way that anyone else can break into the top four. Tottenham came closest for a few seasons but if you look at them now they have fallen back into mid-table. Nothing is guaranteed by spending money and it is getting harder and harder to get there.”
And Coppell today saying:
“I have been saying that for a long time. At the start of the season you know within four teams definitely, probably within three and most betting people would say within two teams who is going to win the league, I contradict myself by saying it is brilliant to watch these teams do well in Europe but they have too much of an advantage on a week-to-week basis for it to be a really competitive league.
There are sub-divisions within the league that are competitive but in terms of winning the division you know who is going to do that at the start of each year.”
Are they right? Is the Premier League boring or just predictable? Should the Top Four be booted into an Elite Euro League? Should the Champion’s League rules be changed? Surely something needs to change or the fans will vote with their feet.
What happens when a team who have won just one home match all season come up against a side who have won one away match in the league this term? All will become clear at Pride Park on Sunday, when Derby host Reading in a match which the visitors need to win if they’re to stay in the Premier League.
The Press Association reports that County boss Paul Jewell is far from happy with some of the comments made by Royals assistant manager Kevin Dillon ahead of the match. The latter has said the following.
“Let’s put it this way, if we can’t beat Derby, it will be hard to take.”
However, the fiery Scouser has not taken these comments lying down and Reading probably could have done without indirectly motivating a team who might otherwise have gone through the motions instead at the weekend.
“Kevin Dillon’s comments lack tact. You would think Reading had been playing Champions League all these seasons instead of down in the Championship and the Second Division where Derby and Wigan also came from.
“At Derby this year we’ve been sneered at, we’ve been laughed at, we’ve been ridiculed and I can accept it after the season we’ve had – but for Reading to say things like that is not right.
“The lads have been speaking about it and if I was Reading, who do you want to come to last game of the season? A side that have won once at home all season – but it’s a dangerous game they’re playing,” Jewell added.
Can Derby go out with a bang and drag Reading into the Championship with them? It doesn’t bode well for Steve Coppell’s men, who have failed to score in their past six matches and will be relegated if Fulham win at Portsmouth anyway. Just what is going to happen at Pride Park on Sunday?
It’s possible that Sky may have missed a trick by not showing Portsmouth v Fulham on Sunday, especially as the Cottagers’ chances of survival (along with Birmingham and Reading’s) rest in their own hands. However, the Sky Sports website reveals that they’ll be televising the matches from the JJB Stadium, Stamford Bridge and St Andrews instead – which game will you be watching?
Sunday’s title showdown is in danger of being a complete anti-climax, especially if Manchester United tear into Wigan from the off as they did against West Ham last Saturday. The ITV website reports that Michael Ballack expects the Latics to put up a decent fight, although it was only a fortnight ago that Steve Bruce was reporting a smooth operator that goes by the name of Sir Alex Ferguson had been calling him up.
“The pressure is on and I hope Wigan are proud enough to give everything in the last game and we have to beat Bolton.
“United have everything in their hands, but we are relaxed now. We did our job. We will give everything to beat Bolton at home and we will see what they do.”
Goodness me, the German captain is really getting into this fighting talk malarkey. One minute he was out of favour with Mourinho, now he’s leading the calls for United’s opposition to give it their best shot! Let’s also hope that the Wanderers play with pride at the Bridge after essentially guaranteeing their Premier League safety against Sunderland.
The match being televised at St Andrews could also be pretty dull, although the Sky cameras are likely to have some gratuitous shots of football fans in tears, with Birmingham extremely likely to be relegated after their 2-0 defeat at Fulham. Watch out for small children sobbing their hearts out – and a few grown men too!
After all, his team looked pretty pretty shabby against Middlesbrough on Saturday, another team who looked like they needed the points more than Pompey. Sky Sports reports that Harry Redknapp is adamant that his team aren’t going to go through the motions against Fulham, alhough exactly how heartening that is for fans of Birmingham and Reading remains to be seen.
Redknapp told Sky Sports: “I will field a full strength side as I owe that to other people in a relegation battle.
“I wouldn’t do that – it is not fair, I wouldn’t want someone to do that to me so I won’t be doing that.
“It will be a tough game against Fulham. I know some people say you have to look after yourself maybe, and if I get injuries they will say I shouldn’t have done it but next week I will be putting out as good a team as I can field.
“They have had a flyer, they have done what we did two years go – everyone wrote us off and everyone wrote Fulham off and now they are right back in the race and it will be a very difficult game again next week but I will make sure we are up for that game – I will make sure of that.”
In a way, fielding a full-strength team may be to Fulham’s advantage anyway. After all, if Redknapp played a bunch of fringe players, they might be more likely to play their socks off in an attempt to get into the reckoning for the Wembley final against Cardiff. Perhaps the first-teamers will be more likely to shun a few tough challenges and make sure they are fit for one of the biggest games of their footballing career.
Today Reading, fighting for their Premier League lives, managed to get soundly beaten by Spurs, who sit in mid-table purgatory with nothing to play for. The score may have been 1-0 to Spurs, but it could have been a lot more with Darren Bent – among others – coming close to adding to Keane’s goal in a silky Tottenham display. Reading were flat in the first half and although they huffed and puffed in the second their best chances came from Liam Rosenior and André Bikey and not their zombie-like strikeforce.
Do Reading deserve to stay up after a limp display against Tottenham?
There’s an almighty scrap at the top of the Championship to determine who will be playing Premier League football next season, which teams will the likes of West Brom and Stoke City be replacing? The bookmakers still don’t give Fulham much of a chance, despite their heroic comeback at Manchester City last weekend. A victory against fellow-strugglers Birmingham on Saturday would mean that their top flight safety could potentially be in their own hands!
Surely Reading fans are a touch on the concerned side, considering their team’s inability to score, let alone win a game. OK, so they managed a creditable 0-0 draw at Wigan last weekend, although the decision to bring back Leroy Lita from his loan spell at Charlton smacked of desperation, while the Daily Mirror report tension in the camp ahead of Saturday’s game against Spurs. The Royals record signing won’t play for his ‘stupid team’ anymore apparently.
“It is not clever at all to suspend your own players, it is stupid,” said the 24-year-old. “The sanction is heavy – two weeks!
“I cannot understand their attitude. I refused to play with the reserves and they said: ‘Okay let us meet on Thursday’.
“But in the meantime I received a letter saying I am axed.
“They are not courageous enough to tell me things in the eyes, man to man, in five minutes.
“I am an adult, I can recognise when I make mistakes. I can also admit to people when I am wrong. The team needs all their players for the last two games.
“For sure my future is not with Reading.”
Not exactly what you need when you’re teetering on the edge of the drop zone, although perhaps this will galvanise the rest of the Reading squad, who face a last-day trip to Derby after the weekend game against Spurs. Bolton are in action at home to Sunderland and will at least have the comfort of the Black Cats having nothing to play for after their 3-2 win over Middlesbrough last weekend.
Despite an impressive 3-2 win at Manchester City, the bookmakers still expect Fulham to go ‘down with the Derby’ this season. However, the fact that they still have a chance of survival is pretty amazing when you consider that they were several points adrift of safety a couple of months ago.
A draw at Blackburn on 8th March seemed to provide the required confidence for the team to go on and record victories at home to Everton, away at Reading and now at Eastlands on Saturday. With Birmingham the visitors to Craven Cottage next weekend, retaining their Premier League status is a definite possibility, with the BBC reporting that manager Roy Hodgson now believes.
“It was a splendid victory for us, one we so badly needed.
“It looked bleak at half-time, and we had a mountain to climb – we didn’t deserve to be losing. But we did it.
“At 0-2 I honestly thought we weren’t out of it. I never lost hope, but to win it was extraordinary. We’ve given ourselves a chance now.”
It’s likely that they’ll need to beat the Blues to give themselves any chance of climbing out of the drop zone. They then face a tricky last game of the season at Portsmouth, although they’ll hope that Pompey have one eye on the FA Cup by this stage and perhaps lack motivation or even rest key players.
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