The plot thickensLast week, the whole world was shocked by the signings of Macherano and Tevez by the unheralded London Club West Ham United…..It quite possibly is the biggest coup since Diego Maradona signed for Napoli in the 80s. Why would these two Argies, who have been the subject of interest from clubs such as Manchester Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea choose to move to a club, whose biggest signing until last week was the 7 million pound capture of Dean Ashton, a gifted player but yet to make his debut for his home country. There was a rant odor to it. Its not everyday that clubs with modest ambitions get two proven players from another country commanding huge transfer fees. As expected the air cleared with West Ham claiming that they were in takeover talks with Iranian born self made millionaire Kia Jobarcheen. It is very clear that he has a vested interest in West Ham and seeing his top stars move to the english capital was favorable if he did indeed finalise his takeover of the club. Kia is a man shrouded in mystery, Not much is known about the reclusive businessman but just that he is close to Russians Roman Abromovich and the shady Boris Berezovsky, Russia’s most famous mafia don. Insiders are convinced that he is acting at the behest of Boris, who was incidentally Russia’s first billionaire.

Kia has huge plans for West Ham if he the takeover comes through. He was CEO of MSI and was in charge of Brazilian club Corinthians but there is only so much you can do in the penury of the brazilian leagues. The money and the fame is in Europe and this move will expedite one of those goals.

What appears is that the deal is more complex that what meets the eye. Many are claiming that MSI have offered the players to West Ham and then after the year whatever profits they expect wil be pocketed by parent organisation . It seems a lot like a loan deal but Kia and MSI have been quick to refute that. Also, Alan Pardew may have his hands forced as far as team selection goes. Apparently there is a clause in their contracts that allows them to be selected automatically if passed fit, regardless of Pardew’s plans. This could prove to be very tricky, especially if the two dont live up to the hype.

It was leaked yesterday that MSI’s attempts to hawk their wares was unsuccessful. Portsmouth and Man Utd turned down moves for the duo. So it left West Ham being the only viable destination.

The next few days will be crucial to clearing up the fuzzy picture we have at present.

V

Technorati Tags: Football, West, Ham, Tevez, Arsenal, ManUtd

Result of the Weekend:

Manchester City 1-0 Arsenal

Arsene Wenger must be hoping that his side can put together a string of good performances after the 2-week break. Perfect example of the unpredictability of sport. City were coming in off a rotten run, nothing has been going right for them and Thatcher’s horrific elbow on Pedro Mendes did not help either. City rode their luck through the match and somehow got home with a 1-0 victory. Special menion for Nicky Weaver. Only god knows how this man is playing football after all the operations. In fact he is making first team appearences after close to three years.

Goal of the Weekend:

Daniel Agger’s absolute cracker against West Ham United.Supposedly the best defender to come out of Denmark since the glory of Euro 92.

Watch the goal here.

Verdict:

Early days but all the signs are pointing towards a very interesting season. The presence of Martin O Neill and a rejuvenated Aston Villa could make the season more interesting. With Randy Lerner ’s (What a name!) imminent take over of Villa, it will be interesting to see the players he signs before the transfer window closes.

Technorati Tags: EPL, Football, Arsenal, United, Chelsea, Keane, Sunderland

Group A: Barcelona, Chelsea, Werder Bremen, Levski Sofia
Group B: Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Sporting Lisbon, Spartak Moscow

Group C: Liverpool, PSV Eindhoven, Bordeaux, Galatasaray
Group D: Valencia, Roma, Olympiakos, Shakhtar Donetsk

Group E: Real Madrid, Lyon, Steaua Bucharest, Dynamo Kiev
Group F: Manchester United, Celtic, Benfica, FC Copenhagen

Group G: Arsenal, FC Porto, CSKA Moscow, Hamburg
Group H: AC Milan, Lille,AEK Athens, Anderlecht

Barcelona V Chelsea

This is bloody sexy! Unlike Chelsea v Liverpool (which are usually snooze fests) you just cannot get enough of Chelsea vs Barcelona. Two great teams, two brilliant coaches and most importantly so many mouth watering match ups all over the pitch. Plus, with Shevchenko and Ballack in the Chelsea starting line up, things will get even better. Barca have significantly strengthened their defence through Zambrotta and Thurram. The only problem is probably the long over-drawn build up to the games.
Rijkaard V Mourinho

Rijkaard probably got the most important footballing lesson in his life when Chelsea scored those 3 quick goals against Barcelona in the at Stamford Bridge two years back. Rijkaard came back stronger and was a lot more pragmatic in his approach. Mixing defensive midfielders with flair players such as Messi and Ronaldinho. He came back last year to trump Mourinho and Barcelona were way better than Chelsea last year in every part of the field.

Arsenal might find it tough (just might!, before all you Arsneal fans get on my back) against Porto, Hamburg and Moscow. Hamburg finished third in the Bundesliga last year and Moscow were UEFA cup champions two years back ( plus, they are bankrolled by Roman Abrahamovich’s  Abramovich’s company)

Manchester United should go through with ease, but the Battle of Britain (Fergie V Strachan) will be fun. Benfica have lost their coach (Koeman) to PSV. But then Man Utd were expected to sail through their group last year as well. Copenhagen should be easy to beat but then they are the reason that Ajax aren’t here!

Verdict: Group stages are usually just a task to be done away with before the real show. Expect all the usual suspects to be around come the knock out stage.
Group to Watch: Group A. Werder Bremen are no push overs. Expect them to give both Barca and Chelsea a real fight. Levski Sofia will have two great match days! When the the Barca and Chelsea teams come into town.

Z

Technorati Tags: Champions, League, Madrid, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester, Football, Barcelona, Roma, Milan, UEFA,

What a day yesterday in England. Lots of action on and off the pitch.

Return of the Supersub!

First, Manchester United defeated Charlton, well the result was no big deal but Mr. Baby Face Ole Solsjkaer scored in the 90^th minute. After three years of injuries and frustration, it looks like Ole is back and every United fan will be hoping that the Norwegian has two good years left in him.

Boro beat Chelsea (again)

What a result for Boro last night! Defeating Chelsea 2-1 at home after getting beaten by newly promoted Reading last week. Aussie Viduka scored the winner in the 90^th minute after Shevchenko scored for Chelsea and Pogatez equalized for Boro. I hope this is the start of a long and hard season for Chelsea (hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things!) Steve McClaren may have left but the fact is Boro are still proving as unpredictable as last year. Expect more of the same from Boro all season, will probably end up 10^th or 11^th.

Why am I making such a big deal out of this? Lets just face it - every Chelsea defeat is a RARE event! All the more reason to celebrate it. Especially when Lampard ends up like that!

Roy Keane to take over Sunderland

It looks like Roy Keane is going to be named as the next manager of Sunderland. The Black Cats might have gotten themselves rid of Mick McCarthy but the club has lost five straight games under new manager-chairman Niall Quinn. Now, it looks like Quinn is set to name former Irish teammate as the new boss of the club. Roy Keane as a manager, now that’s got to be interesting! How will he treat players who don’t give 100 percent everytime. Will we have more hair-dryer and boot incidents? Expect a great deal more interest in the English Championship. Sunderland is going to become a fashionable club. Plus, they will now have a LOT of supporters in the far-east!

Z

Technorati Tags: Manchester, United, Chelsea, Charlton, Boro, EPL, Football, Soccer, Keane, Sunderland

In one of the LONGEST transfer sagas in the premiership it looks like Ashley Cole will finally be heading to Chelsea. Arsenal have left him out of their Champions League qualification games against Zagreb in an effort to ensure that he is not cup tied (thereby drastically reducing his valuation). All Chelsea have to do is to meet the 25 million or so that Arsenal want. Chelsea have the money (tons of it!) and they need a left back desperately. So, what then is the problem? Well, it looks like Chelsea don’t want to be taken advantage of. They are not willing to pay more than 16.5 million Euros. After paying over the odds for guys like Didier Drogba, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Michael Essien and Asier Del Horno, Chelsea don’t want to get mugged again in the transfer market. But then Arsenal know Chelsea are desperate and are playing hardball.

Enter William Gallas. One of the best central defenders in the world, he has been (reluctantly) playing left back for Chelsea all of last season. Now he wants out, wanted a move to Italy or Spain, but that didn’t happen. Gallas has been on strike over the past month and did not go on the pre-season tour of the U.S. forcing Mourinho to banish him to the reserves.

Now it looks like Gallas might end up being the last piece in this transfer jigsaw. The thing is Arsenal need a central defender (you cannot win ANYTHING with Senderos and Toure as your first choice centrebacks and Arsene knows that) and Gallas is the best available defender out there.

Maybe a swap deal is in order? Will Chelsea offer Gallas plus cash to Arsenal for Cole? Or will Chelsea let Gallas rot in the reserves (as only they can do) or maybe even sell him to a “lesser” competitor such as say a Newcastle United? Obviously, the move of Gallas to Arsenal will significantly strengthen their team and title chances. I think all issues will be sorted out by this weekend. As ever, watch this space!

Technorati Tags: Gallas, Ashley, Cole, EPL, Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Soccer,

Z

10. CANNOT accept a draw. Need overtime, Double OT, Triple OT.

9. There are no Cheerleaders

8. Average Yank: “What? I LOVE football. Every year I tune in to watch the Super Bowl!”

7. Not enough goals. Yep, unlike baseball where there is a home run every TWO minutes.

6. Football is a dirty, filthy sport played by the commies.

5. Cannot understand how a WORLD cup has teams from all over the world participating. (Unlike this)

4. They didn’t invent it.

3. The offside rule is just too damn hard to understand.

2. Football is boring. They rather watch Golf.

1. They suck at it.

Z

Technorati Tags: Football, Soccer, America,

The next Maradona, is probably the most bandied about tag in world football. Identifying the ‘Next Diego Maradona’ has become a pastime among commentators and armchair critics alike, but with each passing year, the latest incumbent succumbs to the expectation and a new pretender is thrust forward. The same goes for the ‘Next Pele or the ‘Next Zidane’. Marketing stooges and agents are on the prowl lapping up any young soccer star with just a modicum of talent, with the hope that their gamble will pay off in a few years’ time. There is only a 0.001% chance that this may happen but that is enough for these perpetually hovering vultures. Only a few of these ’starlets’ survive, others quit by the time they reach 15. Those that remain may never reach the heights they were expected to, but ever so often a few filter through the hype. Here is the list of players who are most likely to cause a sensation in the coming years. Don’t call me if they dont become the next Maradona

1. Bojan Krkic: Barcelona

Another product from La Masia , Krkic is just 16 years old and his development at Barca is meteoric. He is rising at a faster rate than his predecessor Messi. He was top scorer in the junior leagues for 3 years and has been earmarked to be a first team player in a season. During most of his years, Bojan has been assisted by the skills of Mexican Giovanni Dos Santos, another hopeful and now member of the first team at Barcelona. Bojan will someday step into the big shoes of Samuel Eto’o and his coaches are confident that he will be upto it.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=DCYzRuOXcuY

2. Sergio Aguero: Athletico Madrid

Another whizkid from the famous Argentine stables. Athletico Madrid have put a lot of faith in him by signing him for 23 Million euros. At 17, with Fernando Torres, Aguero carries the hope of this underachieving Madrid club. Expect a lot from this livewire in the coming season.

3. Kerlon Moura Souza: Cruzeiro

Kerlon is attracting interest from a host of European clubs but for now seems settled at Cruzeiro. He is an exponent of the seal dribble, a move which he is renowned for. Only time will tell if Kerlon is just a one trick pony.4. John Obi Mikel: Chelsea

He is known as much for his skill as for the interminably long transfer saga he was involved in. It looked like he was heading to Man Utd but he quickly reneged on his deal and joined Chelsea (Stupid Question of the day: Did money play a role?!), who ended up paying 12 million pounds in compensation.

(Surprisingly, we don’t have too many clips of him on YouTube. LOT expected out of him)

5. Freddy Adu: DC United

The great American Hope. He has been the touted as the saviour to American soccer but hasnt been able to live up the hype just yet. But having said that, he is only 17 years old and has a long way ahead of him. Missed the World cup bus this time around but few would bet against him being a part of WC 2010.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=DVM6mGaiSXg

V

PS: Messi and Fabregas would be shoo-ins for this list. But they are relatively well established and so I didn’t want to include them.

Technorati Tags: Kerlon, Obi-Mikel, Messi, Adu, Barcelona, Manchester, Football, Brazil, Argentina, Chelsea, Athetico, Madrid,

Well, its finally here. The start of the new season. It doesn’t seem like too long back that Chelsea hammered United to seal the premier league title. After one glorious World Cup, we are back to club football!

The EPL starts this weekend and here are our predictions for the top 5 positions this year. Maybe V and I can go through (and possibly revise) these predictions during Christmas.

#5 Tottenham Hotspur

Strengths: Strong team spirit and good depth

Weaknesses: Too many squad players

Despite two great buys in the transfer market- Zokora and Berbatov, I don’t see Tottenham breaking into the top 4 this season. I don’t know why! Maybe we have just gotten used to seeing Tottenham **** up every single season.

#4: Arsenal:

Strengths: Thierry Henry, Young Squad, Great manager

Weaknesses: Lack of depth and too much depends on one man.

Just don’t see Arsenal doing too much this season. They will easily beat the bottom half teams thanks to goals from Henry. Will struggle against the top teams. They haven’t addressed their problem at the centre of defence or in the strikers and their midfielders role. Let’s see if Wenger can spring another surprise. Will end up 4th and will struggle in Europe.
#3 Manchester United

Strengths: Defence looks solid

Weaknesses: No squad depth whatsoever

If Manchester United can avoid major injuries this season I see them challenging Chelsea all the way. However, over the course of 38 games its stupid not to expect injuries and this is going to prove their biggest undoing. An injury to Carrick means that O Shea and Giggs will be playing in the centre of the park. Not the best bet against Ballack and Makelele right?

Its easy to forget that the team scored 83 points last year. But such was Chelsea’s dominance that it wasn’t enough. A great start is a must. Will end up losing to Milan or Barcelona in Europe.

#2: Liverpool

Strengths:Midfield and a brilliant manager

Weaknesses: Forwards?

Its going to be very interesting to see how Pool shape up this year. They have everything going for them , a great manager, a brilliant captain in Gerrard and some good transfers in the off season. If there is any team that can seriously challenge Chelsea this season it has to be Liverpool. What remains to be seen is how many points they lose against the bottom half teams. That could prove to be the big difference.

#1: Chelsea

Strengths: Squad Depth and Russian Roubles

Weaknesses: None

Same old yes. But this time I expect the title race to be a lot closer than what it has been over the last two years. I don’t think Chelsea will accumulate as many points as they did last season but will still end up doing enough largely because they will have one eye on Europe.

Its going to be interesting to see how Ballack, Makelele and Lampard play together. More interesting will be how many goals Shevchenko scores. Expect more whining from Mourinho about how the whole world is conspiring against him. Finalist in Europe. Will lose to Barcelona!

Verdict:

Chelsea’s obsession with the Champions League might benefit the other teams (much like how Aragorn and Gandalf ensure that Sauron has one eye on Gondor thereby enabling Frodo to walk into Mount Doom! Just had to do this - sorry!) but their squad depth and water tight defence will ensure they will win the EPL this year.

Funnily, if United doesn’t win I would actually prefer Chelsea winning. Why? Because if they win, we can attribute it to the money and it’s going to be no big surprise anyway! Liverpool or Arsenal winning instead of United is going to be hard to swallow. Don’t see it happening though!

Technorati Tags: EPL, Football, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester, Arsenal, Tottenham, Rooney, Gerrard,

-Z