Poor Gianfranco Zola. The likeable Italian trots into his first management job at West Ham, and as soon as he’s slid into the hotseat, the club begins to crumble. The Tevez scandal has whirled back into view, and this time it is threatening to leave the Hammers up a creek without a paddle. [Read the rest of this entry »]

After finishing off the 2008 campaign with the Premiership and UEFA Champions League titles, one would wonder how Manchester United could improve on a squad that is considered by many to be the best in the world.

Well If United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has his way, he may yet add another piece to the puzzle that would surely make every team in the Premiership quake in their boots.

The be-all end-all paper that is The Sun is reporting that United are prepared to use the chaos going over at Blackburn to their advantage. The club is planning a massive bid to take Paraguayan ace, Roque Santa Cruz, out of the turmoil and into the loving arms of SAF.

Manchester United are planning to bid £15 million to lure Santa Cruz to Old Trafford, after Sir Alex Ferguson was persuaded to give up on a bid to sign Thierry Henry. (The Sun)

Surely this is just paper talk, but if this deal were true, could you imagine how scary it would be to go up against a strike group that included Tevez, Rooney and Santa Cruz? I think I see four or five Premiership teams wetting themselves as we speak.

So what’s your take United supporters? Is Santa Cruz the man to push United even further ahead of the pack? Or would you rather see SAF spend the £15m elsewhere?

Goodness me, this would be a coup for one of the biggest clubs in the Premier League. United and Chelsea have been involved in a recent title race, as well as going toe-to-toe in an attempt to win the Champions League. According to Setanta, they could well be clashing horns by having a bidding war to try and land the signature of Robinho.

The Real Madrid forward has hinted that he may leave the Bernabeu in the summer and has revealed interest from the best two teams in England. Perhaps he can act as a makeweight when Cristiano Ronaldo finally decides to leave Manchester for Spain in the next few days.

Real Madrid star Robinho has revealed that he has been offered the chance to join both Chelsea and Manchester United.

The striker has told Brazilian reporters that he will leave El Santiago Bernabeu subject to a suitable offer being made by one of the Premier League giants.

There’s no doubt that the Blues need would be more pressing, especially if Deputy Drog is to leave as expected. While United have Rooney, Tevez and (if he stays) Ronaldo in their artillery, Chelsea will look desperately short, even if Anelka finds the form which has previously made him one of Europe’s most lethal marksmen.

What an impact the little Argentine has made in the Premier League since signing for West Ham. It’s strange to think that the Hammers struggled so much with him and Javier Mascherano in the squad, although it took both a while to settle in England and the latter didn’t play that much for his first English club.

Carlos Tevez has been tearing it up for Manchester United this season, scoring nineteen goals, although his Old Trafford future appears far from certain according to the Manchester Evening News. They report that fellow striker Wayne Rooney is desperate for the Red Devils to sign a permanent deal with his partner in crime, rather than continue to farm him out on loan.

“It is crucial to get him signed and I am sure that will happen,” he said.

“Carlos loves playing football here, he’s enjoying it so I don’t see why it will be a problem.

“We saw him at West Ham what a great player he was and how hard he works for the team,” said the England international.

“I had no doubts that we could play together and from training with him when he first came you could immediately see the qualities he had. I couldn’t wait to play with him.

“Towards the end of the season we didn’t play together a lot, but when we did, we did really well.”

Tevez scored a number of crucial goals for Man United last season, in particular the equalisers in the lleague at Ewood Park and White Hart Lane. Surely it’s a long shot that he’s going anywhere else in the summer?