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Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Where is Alan Smith headed to?

What really happened to Alan Smith? He was part of the star-studded Leeds United team which made it to the Champions League Semi-Final some years back. At Leeds he was a teen idol for supporters. Smith was the poster boy for the club for the 2002-2004 seasons, winning the "Supporter's Player of the Year" award two years running, a first in Leeds history.

He was almost single-handedly trying to ensure that Leeds avoided the relegation drop in 2004. But after Leeds were demoted – Smith made it clear that he wanted to move.

His transfer to bitter rivals Manchester United, led to controversy and his exit was marred by accusations of treachery going from hero to villain from the view of Leeds fans in the space of a day. Leeds fans were not angry at Smith for leaving to further his England prospects and fully understood this. Their anger was at him going to the club most hated by Leeds fans.

Smith never did settle down in Manchester. A stint marred with injuries, Smith managed only 7 goals in his entire stay (61 games). With Manchester adding several new players to star in their mid-field, getting a regular playing spot would be highly impossible.

He has reportedly been given permission by Manchester United to find a new club for the coming season and apparently a lot of them are interested…

Everton have apparently made a vacancy for Alan Smith to arrive on Merseyside after accepting a £4million bid from Sheffield United for striker James Beattie.

Apart from David Moyes' side, Aston Villa, Newcastle United, Manchester City and Middlesbrough are all linked with the former Leeds United ace.

Though I wouldn’t mind seeing him play at Newcastle, it doesn’t really make sense as to why Sam Allardyce would be willing to pay £6 million for him. They already have Ameobi, Owen, Viduka and Martins. Unless of course Big Sam feels he might end up losing Martins or Owen before the season or perhaps has a mid-field role in mind for Smith.

Manchester City are considering 7m bid for Smith. With Shakhtar Donetsk beating City in Castillo from Olympiacos, chances of Smith swapping stadiums in Manchester itself is quite a possibility.

Well the bottom line is that Alan Smith is definitely not going to start the season at Old Trafford and any team which pays up anything more than 5m should be able to land him.

Monday, July 30, 2007

Arsenal win inaugural Emirates Cup

[You might be viewing old results on this page. To view the results of latest EPL Pre Season Friendlies, CLICK HERE.]

Robin van Persie scored a superb late goal to give Arsenal a 2-1 win over Italian champions Inter Milan and victory in the pre-season Emirates Cup tournament.

Arsenal's hopes of winning the two-day event, played at its Emirates Stadium, suffered a setback in the 62nd minute when Hondura striker David Suazo headed Inter in front.

But Belarus midfield player Alexander Hleb soon equalsied and Van Persie won it with a fine solo goal, firing home an angled shot to match the 2-1 win over Paris St Germain on Saturday.

In other pre-season friendlies, Newcastle United had an impressive 2-0 win over Juventus at St James's Park, while Celtic beat another Serie A side, Parma, 1-0 at Parkhead.

Via - Fox Sports

Sunday, July 29, 2007

EPL08.com - Weekend Wrap-Up

[You might be viewing old Transfer News on this page. To know the latest on EPL Transfers - CLICK HERE]

Santa Cruz signs for Rovers
Blackburn Rovers have confirmed the signing of Paraguay striker Roque Santa Cruz from Bayern Munich.
Santa Cruz, 25, has agreed a four-year contract at Ewood Park after spending eight years with the Bundesliga club.
Rovers announced Santa Cruz has joined for "an undisclosed fee", but reports in Germany suggest the Premier League club have paid £3.5 million for his services.

Gilberto Silva set to retain captaincy at Arsenal
Wenger told the club's official website Arsenal.com: "The captain last year was Gilberto and there is no reason to take it away from him.

City closing in on Chiellini
Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri revealed he will let defender Giorgio Chiellini move to Man City.

Heinze transfer saga carries on
The Argentina defender has taken the extraordinary step of seeking legal advice to see whether he has grounds for pursuing a complaint against his club over their refusal to sell him to Liverpool.Heinze's action is staggering and will almost certainly signal the death knell on his time at Old Trafford. Personally I can't seem to re-call any player this adamant to leave Manchester United! The theater of many a dream.

Real Madrid have their eyes on Ballack
If not Robben then let's try to get Ballack! "With his class, he fits perfectly to Real Madrid. I can very well imagine him playing for my team," said Real Madrid's new coach Bernd Schuster.Though according to some reports in Spain, Arjen Robben is close to a £20 million move to Real Madrid too.

In other transfer news...

Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate is hopeful of being able to persuade Manchester United striker Alan Smith to move to the Riverside.

Kia Joorabchian believes the Carlos Tevez saga completed as early as next week.

Birmingham City boss Steve Bruce has admitted that the deal to sign Tottenham Hotspur striker Ahmed Hossam Mido has run into difficulties, but remains hopeful that the transfer will eventually be completed.

Newcastle United striker Obafemi Martins has pledged his future to the Magpies after a summer of rumours suggesting he could be leaving Tyneside. The 22-year-old Nigeria international had been linked with both Arsenal and Juventus.

Review of Satuday's Friendlies - Chelsea Fall. Arsenal Win.

[You might be viewing old results on this page. To view the results of latest EPL Pre Season Friendlies, CLICK HERE.]

Arsenal 2 - 1 Paris St Germain
Arsenal completed a 2-1 victory over Paris St-Germain in the Emirates Cup - a friendly tournament in the mould of next week's Amsterdam trophy.Goals from Mathieu Flamini and Niklas Bendtner were enough for the Gunners before Peguy Luyindula pulled a goal back.

Rangers 2 - 0 Chelsea
Nacho Novo and Filip Sebo hit late goals to sink Chelsea and set up Rangers perfectly for their Champions League second-round qualifier against FK Zeta.

Halifax 0 - 4 Wigan
Nigerian Julius Aghahowa came off the bench to score two in Wigan's 4-0 win at Halifax. Emile Heskey and Jason Koumas, scoring for the first time for Wigan, were also on target.

Orlando Pirates 0 - 3 Spurs
Big-money signing Darren Bent struck twice as Tottenham ran out 3-0 winners over Orlando Pirates in their latest pre-season outing in South Africa.

Hibernian 1 - 0 Middlesbrough
Ross Campbell struck a last-minute winner to give Hibernian a win over Middlesbrough. Julio Arca and Stewart Downing both came close for Boro, but could not break through and Campbell eventually stole the game with his last-gasp strike.

Southend 1 - 3 West Ham
New signings Craig Bellamy and Freddie Ljungberg both found the net as West Ham eased to a 3-1 friendly win at Southend.

Tranmere 0 - 1 Bolton
An 83rd-minute goal from Ricardo Vaz Te gave Bolton a 1-0 victory over Tranmere at Prenton Park.

Walsall 0 - 2 Birmingham
First-half goals from Mikael Forssell and Cameron Jerome gave Birmingham a comfortable friendly victory over neighbours Walsall.

Other Results:

Charleroi 2 - 0 Manchester City
Brighton 1 - 3 Reading
Mansfield 2 - 0 Derby
Bohemians 0 - 1 Sunderland

Via: Sporting Life

Portsmouth beat Liverpool. Lift Barclays Asia Trophy

Portsmouth beat fellow English team Liverpool 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out Friday to win the Barclays Asia Trophy in Hong Kong.

A goalless yet entertaining game could not be settled in 90 minutes and went straight to penalties without any extra time being played.

Portsmouth's John Utaka missed the first shot at goal. This was followed by Matthew Taylor, Lomana Lua Lua and Hermann Hreidarsson scoring before Nico Kranjcar scored the deciding shot.

Liverpool got its penalties from Steven Gerrard and Dirk Kuijt while recently signed Fernando Torres (who made his much awaited debut) and Yossi Benayoun missed their shots.

Portsmouth goalkeeper David James was awarded the Man of the Match.

In an earlier match, Fulham beat South China 4-1 to grab third place of the pre-season tournament.

Via - ESPN

Saturday, July 28, 2007

John Terry commits future to Chelsea

Chelsea captain John Terry has signed a new five-year contract worth £135,000 per week with the Premier League club.

Terry still had two years left on his existing contract but is delighted to commit his long-term future to the west London side.

With this John Terry has become the highest-paid player in Premier League history.
Terry, who had two years to run on an existing £67,000-a-week deal, will see his weekly wage packet double to £135,000. The salary eclipses those of £121,000-a-week currently enjoyed by the midfielder Michael Ballack and striker Andriy Shevchenko.

He told the Blues' official website:

I'm really happy this has now been concluded. There's been a lot of speculation but these things take time and I never had any doubts that I wanted to stay at Chelsea and that the club wanted me to stay.

I hope the fans can see that we're all trying to build something here, both for now and for the future, and I want to be a part of that.Now it's time to look forward to the new season which we're all very confident about.

Terry has spent his entire career at Stamford Bridge, making his debut for the club almost nine years ago in the League Cup victory against Aston Villa.

Friday, July 27, 2007

Chelsea insist Robben is not moving to Real Madrid

[You might be viewing old Transfer News on this page. To know the latest on EPL Transfers - CLICK HERE]

Arjen Robben's proposed move to Real Madrid took a further twist last night when Chelsea revealed the Dutch winger was omitted from the squad which drew 1-1 with Feyenoord because of a knee injury.

Chelsea assistant boss Steve Clarke confirmed: 'He's got a small problem with his knee. He stayed behind for treatment. It's not major - we've decided to rest him for a week to 10 days, and he'll be fine after that. He's still a Chelsea player.'

Chelsea have shrugged off all previous attempts by Real Madrid to land the Holland international.

This comes just days after BBC reported that Chelsea winger Arjen Robben had agreed personal terms over a move to Real Madrid.

Robben has two years left on his Chelsea contract and is going to face stiff competition for a place in the side after Chelsea signed Lyon’s winger Florent Malouda.

Manchester United still upbeat on signing Carlos Tevez

[You might be viewing old Transfer News on this page. To know the latest on EPL Transfers - CLICK HERE]

Manchester United believe that they will still be able to sign Argentine striking sensation Carlos Tevez before the transfer window slams shut on August 31.

The transfer of the 23-year-old is still under question and the latest development has seen Tevez’ advisor Kia Joorabchian issue High Court proceedings against West Ham United in a bid to resolve the thorny issue of the player's ownership.

Joorabchian acted just hours after Fifa recommended that the case should be referred to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

World football's governing body 's decision was welcomed by the Premier League, Football Association and West Ham.

Manchester United will just now have to wait for the dispute to be resolved, knowing if any judgement came down on the side of the Hammers, it would almost certainly scupper any hope they have of securing Tevez before the transfer deadline.

Red Devils chief executive David Gill is confident the matter will eventually be resolved to the nine-times Premiership champions' satisfaction.

Gill said:

"I have not been involved in this and it is not Manchester United's decision. Clearly, it is a dispute between Tevez, the owners and West Ham. Hopefully, that can be solved relatively quickly and he can come to join us. I would have thought they have taken this decision in the belief that he can join us."

But would Tevez and Rooney be able to strike up a fruitful striking partnership at Old Trafford? Aren’t the two players a little too similar?

Via – ITV

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Review: Wednesday’s Pre-Season Friendlies

[You might be viewing old results on this page. To view the results of latest EPL Pre Season Friendlies, CLICK HERE.]

Chelsea 1 – 1 Feyenoord
Substitute goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini helped Chelsea maintain their unbeaten pre-season campaign as the Blues emerged with a 1-1 draw against Feyenoord.
The Italian keeper produced a fine performance - topped by a superb save from Roy Makaay’s penalty.

Goal Scorers: Kevin Hofland (Feyenoord), Frank Lampard (Chelsea)

Salzburg 1 – 0 Arsenal
Arsenal new boy Eduardo da Silva starred in their friendly at Red Bull Salzburg but could not prevent the Gunners falling to a narrow 1-0 defeat.
Vladimir Janocko’s winner 15 minutes from time ensured Arsene Wenger’s men ended their Austrian training camp on a losing note but the game was not without its positives.

Goal Scorer: Vladimir Janocko

Hibernian 3 – 0 Bolton Wanderers
Hibernian inflicted an emphatic 3-0 defeat on Bolton Wanderers in a lively pre-season game.

Blackpool 1 – 2 Wigan Athletic
Antonio Valencia and David Cotterill scored as Wigan Athletic claimed their third successive pre-season victory with a 2-1 win over Blackpool at Bloomfield Road.

By the way, Ex-Chelsea defender Mario Melchiot has been named as the Wigan Captain for the upcoming season.

Brentford 1 – 6 Reading
Shane Long scored twice as Barclays Premier League side Reading claimed an emphatic 6-1 victory over Brentford at Griffin Park. Nicky Shorey, Seol Ki-Hyeon, Simon Church and Andre Bikey also converted for the Royals - while Sammy Moore scored a stunning long-range goal for the Bees.

MK Dons 3 – 2 West Ham United
Matthew Upson celebrated his first full 90 minutes for West Ham United with a goal but Alan Curbishley's side were beaten 3-2 by an MK Dons side managed by former Hammers midfielder Paul Ince. The game also witnessed Freddie Ljungberg’s debut for the Hammers.

A glance at Tuesday’s friendlies:

Dean Ashton scored his first goal for West Ham United in almost a year as the Hammers recorded a 1-1 draw in their pre-season friendly against Leyton Orient

Darren Bent scored for Tottenham Hotspur as the Barclays Premier League side edged to a 2-1 win against Orlando Pirates in Cape Town.

A largely second-string Middlesbrough side won 2-0 against local rivals Darlington, with two goals from Tom Craddock.

Via: Premier League

Premier League offers £90m to Smaller Clubs

The Premier League is to give more than £90m to the Football League over the next three seasons.

This 'solidarity package' will be distributed down the football pyramid, with £31.8m handed out next season.

The funding includes £5.4m for Football League youth development, plus £11.2m to be split between Championship, League One and League Two clubs.

Championship clubs will have an extra £11.2m or £22.4m in seasons with one or three spare parachute payments. Clubs in the second tier of English football will receive an extra £11.2million next season because Sunderland and Birmingham, who made an instant return to the Premier League, will no longer receive parachute payments.

I feel this is actually a nice move and smaller clubs will have the ability to increase investment in critical areas such as youth development.

Though will this money make a real difference?League One clubs will receive £103,480 each, with £68,987 going to League Two clubs?! Top players of Chelsea and Manchester United command more than £100K per week.

Via - BBC

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

A tribute to Thierry Henry - The Departed God Of Arsenal

Frankly speaking, I pretty much dislike Arsenal. That’s mainly because of the London rivalry they share with Chelsea (A place where I spent a good 2 years of my early life).

But if there’s one man who continued to mesmerize me and the whole world with each passing footballing day – was Thierry Henry.

Henry was to Arsenal, what Tendulkar is to India.

December, 2006. Thierry Henry said:
"Regarding the recruitment in the summer, my confidence was not betrayed. I am at Arsenal for life. I will not go to Barcelona or anywhere else."

Well on June 25, 2007 Henry was transferred to FC Barcelona for a paltry fee of £16.1 million. He signed a four-year deal for a reported £6.8 million per season.

His move to Barcelona would have shattered a million Arsenal hearts all over the world but rather than just Arsenal, the upcoming season just won’t be the same without the brilliance of Thierry Henry.

It’s a loss for English Football. We’ll miss you Henry. Here’s a fitting tribute to the Departed God of Arsenal:



10 Best Goals of English Premier League 2006-07

Let’s get into the mood for the next season, by looking back at the top 10 goals of last season.

Many of you might have missed the best goal of the season, netted by Matthew Taylor for Portsmouth against Everton! Be sure to check it out.

The others include:

10. Xavi Alonso for Liverpool against Newcastle United
09. Wayne Rooney for Manchester United against Bolton
08. Peter Crouch for Liverpool against Bolton
07. Didier Drogba for Chelsea against Liverpool
06. Paul Scholes for Manchester United against Aston Villa
05. Robin Van Persie for Arsenal against Charlton Athletic
04. Thierry Henry for Arsenal against Blackburn Rovers
03. Didier Drogba for Chelsea against Everton
02. Michael Essien for Chelsea against Arsenal
01. Matthew Taylor for Portsmouth against Everton

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

West Ham snap up Freddie Ljungberg

[You might be viewing old Transfer News on this page. To know the latest on EPL Transfers - CLICK HERE]

West Ham United have completed the signing of Arsenal midfielder Freddie Ljungberg in a deal that could eventually rise to £3million.

The Sweden international, 30, had been the Gunners’ longest-serving player after costing Arsene Wenger’s side £3million in 1998 The midfielder played 325 times for Arsenal, scoring 72 goals, but lost his grip on a starting spot last season.

Ljungberg said he left Arsenal because he felt like Henry’s move represented the end of an era.

'Two years ago when I signed my last contract we talked a lot about the future and about bringing great players to the club. Despite building the new stadium we wanted to stay top in England and do well in Europe. For me that didn’t really happen.'

Ljungberg and Pires were the pillars of the Arsenal 'invincibles' of 2003-04. Freddie with the central portion of his hair dyed red was a favourite amongst fans.

Via - PremierLeague, SportBox

A Freddie Ljungberg video compilation (Added by Praneeth):

The EPL 2007-08 - Fantasy Premier League Challenge

League Code: 225874-47670

[Click Here for Fantasy Premier League Tips - Tips that will ensure you beat your friends by a healthy margin.]

Are you serious about the game? Do you have it in you to compete with managers from all over the world?

Then be sure to join us @ Fantasy Premier League – the battle of the managers. We’ve already got more than 30 members already signed up.

What is Fantasy Premier League all about?
You get to pick a team of players and are awarded points according to their performance. It’s not as easy as it sounds! You are allotted a limited budget and can’t load your team up with all superstars! It’s got to have the balance to superstars, newcomers, utility players etc.

It’s time to test out your managerial acumen.

Step-by-step instructions on how to join in:

  1. Go to http://fantasy.premierleague.com/
  2. Register and select your team3
  3. Once done, on the right hand side amidst the various links (My Team, Points, Transfers…) you’ll notice Leagues. Click on it.
  4. You’ll see an option of joining a Private League.
    Put in this code there: 225874-47670

Welcome aboard the EPL08.com Fantasy Premier League.

We’ll be posting some tips and tricks here soon.
For more tips, tricks, team, formation and strategy discussions join our Orkut community.

[Click Here for Fantasy Premier League Tips - Tips that will ensure you beat your friends by a healthy margin.]

Sunday, July 22, 2007

EPL08.com - Orkut Community

Join the EPL08.com Orkut Community

We’ve set up a community on Orkut. You’ll need an Orkut (Google) ID to join in.
(Orkut is Google's Social Networking platform)

Do use the Forum platform there to interact with other crazy EPL lovers. Interactive polls, games, events are all lined up.

Join us ASAP.
Community URL: http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=35886974



Kick Off – The EPL 2007-08 Blog

The English Premier League is just around the corner and we are kicking off the EPL 08 blog right away.

Over the next few days, leading up to the season, we will be bringing to you – news which you could definitely use.

Whose been transferred? Whose been brought in? Management changes? Key players and players to look out for. We will take you through a squad analysis of all the teams leading up to the day of the real kick off.

Once the season is on it's way, we aim to make this blog the One Stop Destination for all EPL fans. Things you'll find here include the League Standings, Game Reviews, Previews and Highlights. Latest Team News, Transfer Rumours. Live Game Updates, polls, contests and absolutely everything else related to the English Premier League

We'll be setting up a quite a few new things on the blog in the next few days. Including a Free - Score Update facility via your Mobile phone.

You can access this blog either via EPL08.com or EPL08.blogspot.com.

Be sure to subscribe to the feed of this blog and add this to your favourites.

Whats a feed? Click here for a tutorial on What is a Feed? and How to use it to simplify your online life...

Hope to have you aboard for the entire season and Cheers to the beautiful game!

- EPL08.com