Premier League club Birmingham City have confirmed they have given up the chase for Tottenham striker Robbie Keane.Keane was linked with a four-million-pound move to St Andrew’s last week that could have risen to six million pounds, with reports suggesting the deal was only a matter of time from being sealed.
But Birmingham have since cooled their interest and confirmed on Monday that they are no longer interested in the forward.
“I met with Alex and Paul today to discuss some new targets – names that we will not be mentioning at this moment in time – as we have decided that the signing of Keane would not be in the best financial interests of the club,” Birmingham City’s acting chairman Peter Pannu said in a statement.
“Everyone knows he is a tremendous player but having considered the overall package (one which certainly wasn’t unfair on the part of his representatives to ask for given his talent and experience), Keane’s age and the length of contract we felt that financially he wasn’t the best option available.”
“This is unfortunate because Keane is a class act but supporters can rest assured we are considering other options and will pursue them where financially viable.”
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Keane has started only two Premier League matches for Tottenham this season and is still expected to move on in the January transfer window, with West Ham the most likely destination.
Aston Villa have confirmed that they have parted company with Alex McLeish after a poor season.
The Scottish coach took over at the Midlands club last summer, but his appointment was treated with reluctance from the Villa fans due to his links with local rivals Birmingham City.
McLeish failed to win over the club’s fans, and only seven Premier League victories this term saw Villa in a relegation scrap come the end of the season.
In the end up the Villa Park outfit avoided the dropzone by two points, but McLeish has paid the price for a slow campaign.
“We need to be clear and candid with ourselves and with supporters about what we have lacked in recent years,” chairman Randy Lerner told the club’s official website.
“Compelling play and results that instil a sense of confidence that Villa is on the right track have been plainly absent.
“The most immediate action that we can take is to look carefully at our options in terms of bringing in a new manager who sees the club’s potential and embraces our collective expectations,” he stated.
Chief executive Paul Faulkner is eyeing a quick appointment of a replacement to give the new man a chance to prepare for next term.
“We’d like to thank Alex for his hard work and efforts throughout this tough season.
“We are mindful of the club’s need to prepare thoroughly for the new campaign and for the new manager to be able to begin working with the board so that he is quickly immersed in these preparations and also in the long-term objectives of the club.
“Our focus now will be driven by these imperatives and we will update when appropriate,” he concluded.
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Early frontrunners for the post are Wigan’s Roberto Martinez and Norwich’s Paul Lambert.
A stunning hat-trick from Gambian midfielder Sanna Nyassi led Colorado to a 4-1 win over New York Red Bulls in Wednesday’s MLS action.The 22-year-old put the Rapids ahead in just the first minute of the match at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, and when Wells Thompson netted after 25 minutes the home side were firmly in control.
Nyassi scored his second on the half-hour mark and completed his hat-trick after passing Carlos Mendes and firing a shot past Red Bulls goalkeeper Frank Rost in the 61st minute.
French star Thierry Henry scored a consolation for New York, but the damage had been done by Nyassi’s masterclass.
The Red Bulls managed to hold onto second place in the Eastern Conference standings thanks to the Los Angeles Galaxy’s 1-0 win over the third-placed Columbus Crew at The Home Depot Center.
The Galaxy had to work hard for the three points, however, with defender Sean Franklin scoring the only goal of the game after 70 minutes to move Los Angeles four points clear of the Seattle Sounders on top of the Western Conference table.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, a 73rd minute strike from Stephen McCarthy was enough to give New England a 1-0 win on the road over DC United, while Break Shea netted three minutes after half-time to hand Dallas a 1-0 win at Toronto.
And the Vancouver Whitecaps twice came from behind to secure a 2-2 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes at Buck Shaw Stadium.
Chris Wondolowski scored both goals for San Jose, but Eric Hassli responded with a brace of his own to claim a point for the visitors.
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The jittery win over Partizan midweek will have the Arsenal fans looking forward to playing away from the Emirates. United may have the best home record in the league so far this season but much like Ryan Giggs’ BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, their success has been based more on past accomplishments than on what they’ve done this season with too many teams giving them more respect than they deserve.
As long as Arsenal don’t do an Allardyce and lay down at the feet of the great Fergie, waiting for a belly rub, then there’s plenty of reason to believe they’ll come good at 3/1.
The Gunners have the best away record in the league, winning their last four on the road including that 3-0 on the blue side of Manchester. United have struggled when on the back-foot this season and the on thing you know Arsenal will do is attack. Samir Nasri has been in inspired form this season and if Andrei Arshavin can wake up from his winter slumber, then the United backline could be led a merry dance. The Frenchman is a tasty 10/1 to score first. Which is much better value than Berbatov at 5/1. His five goals against Blackburn will have used up all his goalscoring credits until sometime in the New Year.
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United do have a tradition of pulling out big performances when they really need them and for all their faults they are unbeaten in the league. Even Fergie’s luck can only last so long though and if they fail to rise to the occasion with their best performance of the season then Arsenal will be going back to London with three points and top spot in the league.
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Lille managing director Frederic Paquet has stated that four teams are in the running to land star winger Eden Hazard this summer.
The Belgium international has been a standout performer for the Ligue 1 side over the last 24 months, but has made it clear that he wants to move on to a bigger club.
With both Manchester clubs known admirers of the playmaker and Chelsea thought to have entered the race for the attacking midfielder also, it is set to be a scramble for his signature once the transfer window reopens.
“I am not sure he knows himself where he will go, so for the moment, we don’t know,” Paquet told Sky Sports.
“From my knowledge he has four teams interested in buying him.
“It is not up to us to tell to him where to go.
“We have a very strong relationship with the player, we will work together and are waiting for him to make a choice between these four teams,” he concluded.
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The Luka Modric affair took another twist yesterday with Tottenham insisting that the Croatian stays at White Hart Lane. It has also been suggested that Chelsea could face a point deduction, should the North London club put a formal complaint into the FA about the possibility that the playmaker was potentially tapped up.
In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that include Redknapp calls on Tottenham to buy big to convince Modric to stay; Barcelona make contact over Fabregas, while Blackburn reveal why they let Phil Jones go.
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Harry makes Modric plea – Sky Sports
McLeish outrage is lazy tribalism – Guardian
Under-21s must provide answers – Daily Telegraph
Chelsea could face point deduction over Modric storm – Mirror
Mourinho under scrutiny as UEFA look to punish deliberate yellow cards – Daily Mail
Chelsea scouting for scouts – Daily Telegraph
Blackburn owners: We let Jones go as we feared legal battle would harm him – Daily Mail
It was my fault I never shone for England, admits retired Scholes – Daily Mail
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Barcelona ready to sacrifice star striker – Mirror
Looking back at Remi Moses’ career you can’t help but think ‘what could have been?’ The feisty midfielder played a lot of his career in the shadow of his more famous colleagues and was the man in your team who would be given the unenviable task of doing ‘the ugly stuff.’ Despite his low-key status, Moses had the ability to become Mr. Dependable. So, what happened?
Lady luck certainly wasn’t looking favourably on Moses, that’s for sure. Injuries plagued his career and he was forced into retirement at a premature age of 28. More frustratingly for Manchester United fans and more so himself, probably, was Alex Ferguson’s admission in his autobiography that Moses ‘could have played an important part of the re-building of Manchester United.’
Moses started out as an academy player at West Brom but soon made it into first team action. Between himself and Bryan Robson, the pair managed to boss most games in midfield and such performances lead the Baggies to three top four finishes in 4 seasons and subsequently a place in the UEFA Cup.
Along with Robson, Moses followed West Brom’s manager Ron Atkinson to Old Trafford in 1981, by which time he was already a permanent fixture in England’s U21 set up. His transfer was over-shadowed by the potential signing of Robson, but this was something he would have to become used to.
His job at United was simple. Win the ball and give it to Robbo. Many fans believed that the only reason he was plying his trade at the Theatre of Dreams was to make sure the Robson deal went through.
It’s worth noting at this point that Moses has more to remember from his game than a tackle. His goal against Middlesbrough in October of 81 wasn’t just his first for the club, but the first scored for Manchester United by a black player. Furthermore, his performances in the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1983/84 really proved his worth. Not content with being the ‘unsung hero’ against Barcelona, where United came from 2-0 down to win 3-2, (which included a brace from Robson) his performance in the next round against the giants of Juventus was something else.
Playing without the suspended Robson in centre midfield, he stuck to Michel Platini like glue and dominated the midfield.
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The next two years saw Moses playing some his best football and he was a regular fixture at the heart of United’s midfield. In 1985, he was even rewarded with a call up to the full England squad.
Sadly, this is as good as it got. At his most popular with the fans, injury ruled Moses out of England’s game in February against Northern Ireland right through to the end of the season, which included the FA Cup final success over Everton. Moses never did play for England.
During the 86 Charity Shield, chants of “Remi’s back” could be heard around Wembley but this proved to premature. Another injury suffered against Liverpool, this time to the ankle, kept him out for 11 months and signalled the beginning of the end.
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For the next two seasons, Moses was ‘on the comeback trail’ but it never materialised. In the summer of ‘88 a knee injury was the final nail in the coffin. At 28, Remi Moses hung up his boots.
Retirement has seen Moses branch out from football and into some unusual hobbies. As well as buying and selling property, the former United hard-man helps coach the Manchester Warriors U20 inline skating side, which has since won the Great Britain inline Hockey League.
As with many former Old Trafford favourites, Moses still has close links to the club and can be found occasionally coaching Old Trafford FC as part of the ‘unity in the community.’
As he approaches his 50th birthday, Remi Moses can’t grumble about his career. But with injury cutting his playing days horribly short, he could be forgiven for sometimes thinking; ‘what could have been?’
Barcelona and Bayern Munich have progressed to the Champions League semi-finals, after winning their quarter-final second legs on Tuesday night.
The defending champions had drawn 0-0 with AC Milan at the San Siro in the first fixture, but triumphed 3-1 at the Camp Nou in the reverse fixture.
Two Lionel Messi penalties either side of an Antonio Nocerino strike gave the Catalans a 2-1 lead at the break, before Andres Iniesta sealed victory early in the second half.
Pep Guardiola has admitted that he is glad his side have progressed, but does not feel that the Spaniards are favourites for the tournament.
“I don’t think we are the favourites, Bayern Munich are there, Real Madrid are there,” he told Sky Sports.
“We have won two Champions Leagues in the last three years and we have reached the semi-finals five times in a row, so we have been very successful for this club.
“The most difficult thing in sport is to be consistent. You can win once or twice, but over many years to win the title is very tough.
“These players are awesome because they have shown the world the way they have to compete. We are so glad to be there and I am so happy to be their coach,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, a first-half Ivica Olic double gave Bayern a 2-0 win over Marseille at the Allianz Arena, making it 4-0 on aggregate.
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Barcelona will face the winners of the Chelsea and Benfica tie, whilst Bayern will play Real Madrid or APOEL.
Italy coach Cesare Prandelli believes his side can still improve despite a comfortable 3-0 win over Estonia in Euro 2012 qualifying on Friday.The Azzurri top the standings in Group C for next year’s tournament after the straightforward win at the Stadio Alberto Braglia in Modena.
They are five points clear of Slovenia, who have played one game more, and eight points ahead of third-placed Serbia.
Prandelli said there was still room for improvement, despite a better than expected start.
“I am extremely satisfied but it’s not done yet,” Prandelli said. “We have not yet qualified.”
“The team has maintained a high level of concentration throughout the game.”
“We are growing in self-confidence and we are convinced that we are a group with good quality. But we can still improve.”
First-half goals from Giuseppe Rossi and Antonio Cassano set Italy on their way before substitute Giampaolo Pazzini sealed the win.
Prandelli said he underlined the importance of staying calm to his players, against an opponent that sits fourth in their group.
“Obviously we have quality players who can push up between the lines and this is a good system to use against a defence like Estonia’s,” he said.
“I told the lads it all depends on us and our enthusiasm. We need to have the calm to put in the right quality.”
Midfielder Andrea Pirlo, who played a full game in the victory, said the players were enjoying the 4-3-1-2 system implemented by Prandelli and they hoped to edge closer to world champions Spain because of it.
“There are many quality midfielders who can start the moves, so we can rotate our positions. It’s a new way of playing for us and we’re really enjoying our football,” Pirlo said.
“The coach has a lot to choose from and we are ready for anything. He has already given us a very positive mentality during this year together. We really want to play football and entertain the fans.”
Italy face the Republic of Ireland in a friendly clash on Tuesday.
This weekend we discovered that Wayne Rooney’s ankle injury was causing the Manchester United striker more hassle than we originally thought. Sir Alex Ferguson told the Sunday Express: “I think Wayne will be out for another five weeks, He will have to pick up his fitness again. I would think five weeks should be about right.” It was originally hoped that Wayne would be back in the space of three weeks and fingers were crossed that he’d be back in time for the Manchester Derby on 10 November. The chances of this happening now are nil.
Now of course there’ll be those who are wondering if something fishy is going on here. Is Sir Alex taking his revenge for Rooney holding his club to ransom during his transfer negotiations? Is the injury quite as bad as reported? Since we’re not likely to find out, it’s more important to focus on the implications, of the news, which I believe could be quite positive for Manchester United.
It’s never a good thing to have one of your best players out injured, but nonetheless, Wayne Rooney hasn’t exactly convinced on or off the pitch this year. He has, let’s face it, been a rather disruptive influence at Old Trafford. It’s unlikely that Manchester United will miss Rooney over the next month or so, since they have two on form strikers currently banging in the goals. One of them is a man everybody had written off and the other is a youngster nobody expected to be so effective so early on in his career.
Berbatov has scored an impressive 7 goals in 12 games so far this season. If he continues at this rate, then this’ll likely be his best season for Manchester United to date (not that this is too hard a feat). Regardless, it’s been a fine start to the season for the dilatory Bulgarian.
More impressive still has been Hernández’s start to the season. Despite his being new to English football, the prodigious Mexican has scored 6 goals in 12 appearances. He’s fast earning a reputation as a quick-footed, assured young striker with an eye for goal.
Whether or not they can keep up their form is another question entirely. For now, it’s interesting to see these two players develop and if they continue to carry the mantle then who knows what will happen when Rooney returns. It’s likely that he’ll slot back in, but if he doesn’t find his form soon and he has these two players breathing down his neck, things might get a little difficult for Wayne Rooney. As things stand, having three viable striking options isn’t a bad situation for Manchester United to be in at all.
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