What’s Arsene Going To Do Next?

About a year ago, I wrote an article suggesting that Arsene Wenger’s policy of acquiring young players and trying to mould them into world beaters was fatally flawed. The full article is here, but the essence of my argument was that if an experienced player leaves, Arsenal have no ready made replacements of a similar [...] http://cli.gs/RjN3e

Bobby Robson Dies

Ex-Newcastle, Ipswich and England manager Bobby Robson has died of cancer at the age of 76.
Robson, who had been battling cancer for a number of years, died at his home in North East England with his family around him.
Although as a player, Robson was capped 20 times for England in a career that saw him [...] http://cli.gs/S3q0N

Bent ‘Investigated’ Over Twitter Rant

Darren Bent has apologised to Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy for comments made on his Twitter page.
Bent was expected to complete a transfer to Sunderland earlier in the week and felt the hold up was due to Spurs’ chairman Daniel Levy.
In a succession of Tweets, Bent told his chairman to “stop f***king around” and stated he [...] http://cli.gs/L3tQJ

Portsmouth Sign Finnan

33 year old former Liverpool right back Steve Finnan has signed a one year deal with Portsmouth FC.
Finnan, who was released from his deal with Spanish club Espanyol, is new permanent manager Paul Hart’s first signing.
Hart commented :
“It whetted my appetite to think that we could get a player of Steve’s calibre here. He’s really [...] http://cli.gs/1DWZH

Xabi Alonso and Other Rumours That Make You Go ‘Hmm…’

The protracted on-off move of Xabi Alonso from Liverpool to Real Madrid seems to have got a little more confusing.
While the Liverpool Echo says that Alonso handed in a transfer request this week, the player’s own agent denied this.
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez apparently wants £30million for the player, but Real are trying to do a [...] http://cli.gs/YS4PL

Elano Moves To Galatasaray

After two seasons at Manchester City, Brazil international Elano has moved to Galatasaray in Turkey.
The 28 year old midfielder had a number of fallings-out with City boss Mark Hughes and it was thought inevitable the player would move on this summer.
A brief statement on the Manchester City website reads :
“Everyone at Manchester City would like [...] http://cli.gs/9LU38

Toure Signs 4 Year Man City Deal

Kolo Toure has signed a four year deal with Manchester City and is the second Arsenal player in a week to move from the Emirates Stadium to Eastlands.
The deal is believed to be for £14million and new manager Mark Hughes pronounced himself “delighted” with his new acquisition.
Quoted on the official Manchester City website, Toure himself [...] http://cli.gs/0EG4n

Boa Morte Out With Knee Injury

West Ham midfielder Luis Boa Morte will be missing for a number of months after sustaining a serious knee injury in a clash with Spurs’ left back Benoit Assou-Ekotto.
A statement on the official West Ham United website reads :
“West Ham United can confirm that Luis Boa Morte could be out until 2010 after suffering anterior [...] http://cli.gs/V4RpA

Maradona Not Going To Pompey

No sooner has Sulaiman Al Fahim taken over at Portsmouth, than rumours start linking Argentina legend Diego Maradona with a role at the club.Al Fahim, you will remember, was the face of the group that took over Manchester City. He was the man that declared City would sign Cristiano Ronaldo for £134m and other similarly ridiculous things. He was soon sidelined by the group behind the Manchester http://cli.gs/z8Bh6

Some More Transfer Rumours

OK, well, it looks almost certain that Kolo Toure will be moving to Manchester City. In fact, I’m surprised it hasn’t been announced yet.
Also, Liverpool have agreed a fee to sell Arvelo Arbeloa to Real Madrid and the defender is discussing personal terms.
Additionally, in the ‘ongoing discussion’ department is Darren Bent’s probable move from Tottenham [...] http://ub0.cc/15/32

Taylor Extends Bolton Deal

Midfielder Matt Taylor has agreed a new contract with his current side, Bolton Wanderers.
Taylor has extended his current deal by a further 12 months, meaning he will be at the Reebok Stadium until the summer of 2012.
Wanderers boss Gary Megson, who signed Taylor from Portsmouth, paid tribute to the player, saying :
“Matt’s agreed to sign [...] http://cli.gs/8t1mr

Crouch Signs With Spurs

Peter Crouch has signed with Tottenham Hotspur for a fee believed to be around £9million.
Crouch, who recently turned down what was reported to be a £12million move to Sunderland, has returned to the club that he joined as a trainee ten years ago.
Spurs boss Harry Redknapp, who had previously signed the player when manager of [...] http://cli.gs/1temm

Tabloid Transfer Roundup

OK, it’s Sunday, so the tabloids have been printing their very bestest, most truest rumours today.
Let’s start with John Terry. The Mail on Sunday is confident that a £35m deal will take him to Manchester City while the Sunday Express is equally sure that a new contract will keep him at Chelsea.
Meanwhile, over at Arsenal, [...] http://cli.gs/jaPMU

The Players Premiership Clubs Should Be Looking At

Typically, in the transfer window, players are linked with your club that you’ve never even heard of. Of course, we all Google them, watch a few clips on YouTube and pronounce ourselves experts, but really, we don’t know much about them.
Would it not be better for Premiership football clubs to cherry pick already proven talent [...] http://cli.gs/TrQVE