Florent Malouda has reportedly become a target for Brazilian side Botofogo after it was revealed he will be surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge next season.
The Chelsea winger saw his form dip last time out after previously enjoying two goal filled seasons and the recent signings of Eden Hazard and Marko Marin have left him way down the pecking order in manager Roberto Di Matteo’s plans.
The £13m signing from Olympique Lyonnais has won a plethora of trophies during his five years at the club including the Premier League title and FA Cup while the Blues UEFA Champions League success last season means he has little left to achieve in West London.
Reports suggest there’s also interest from rivals Vasco da Gama, where Malouda’s ex-Lyon team mate Juninho Pernambucano currently plies his trade, but Botofogo appear to have stolen a march in the race for the Frenchman. According to The Mirror, Malouda is currently considering an offer from the Rio de Janeiro based side, who are looking to attract top quality players after recently signing Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf from AC Milan.
Malouda, whose wife is Brazilian, is in the twilight of his career and, at the age of 32, a move to South America would represent an attractive proposition for a player who scored 45 goals in 220 appearances for Chelsea.
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The hype and interest surrounding Iker Muniain is warranted. At Athletic Bilbao, the young forward has been on the scene for a number of years—making his debut at the age of 16. But as Muniain hopes to prepare himself for another string of eye-catching performances at this summer’s Olympics, should there be any reason for the young Spaniard to leave La Liga in the near future?
Muniain, along with the rest of the Bilbao team, gave an outstanding performance at Old Trafford in the Europa League last season. It was a performance and stage that opened up his talents to a wider audience. Yes, he’s probably Spain’s best young talent among their seemingly endless supply, but Muniain displayed the kind of ability and mentality that is needed in English football. Has was hardly fazed by the occasion and the history of the opposing team, and he looked to force his authority on the game as much as possible.
Manchester United will of course hold an interest in the player, as will a number of the other big clubs in the Premier League. But really, what can English football offer a leading product of the current greatest nation in world football? The exposure will naturally be bigger in England, but there are few doubting that Real Madrid would be leading the race should Bilbao decide to part with their forward.
Despite having a deceptively strong frame, there would be questions raised as to whether Muniain could prevent himself being thrown around in the rough and tumble of English football. He’d be guaranteed success at any of the major clubs who are likely to chase his signature, but as the question has been asked of Lionel Messi; could Muniain do it on a cold Monday night in Stoke? The truth is, he’s done it on the rain-soaked pitch of San Mames. A game that resulted in a 2-2 draw against Barcelona. He’s got the talent and mentality to succeed in difficult conditions, but his potential is better than just a comparison to the difficulties of England’s heaviest hitters.
But why would one of the best young talents in football want to be exposed to a league where Stoke are the benchmark for success? In La Liga, whether he stays at Bilbao for the foreseeable future—which is likely—or he moves to one of big two in the league, he’d be allowed to develop his natural ability, rather than adapt his game to a style that is a little more rough around the edges.
Muniain is naturally capable of playing on either flank, with a great tendency to drift inside. His aggressive style of play would certainly not be lost in English football, and he is more than capable of taking care of himself. But in England, he’d become just another one of those expensive imports.
Manchester City—who are sure to exert their power in the transfer market—would snap him up, as they have done with every other flavour of the summer. He’d run out a good season with the club, only to then be cast aside when the next hot thing pops up. At Chelsea, where would he fit in over the long-term? The club have bought ambitiously but also with a great deal of focus on players who play in the same position. Big money awaits Muniain in England, but I’d like to think he’s got a little more integrity than just chasing a weighty pay packet. Most will disagree, unfortunately.
Remaining in Spain, however, would accelerate his progression into the Spanish national team. He’s been selected for the senior squad by Vicente Del Bosque, but his youth and the excellence ahead of him meant there was little chance of a call-up to the Euro squad.
Muniain has admitted to idolising Raul Gonzalez as a youngster—something which could open up another route to the Bernabeu in the future. The likelihood, however, is that Muniain would be greatly appreciated in Spanish football—where he belongs. La Liga’s problems may be rooted to the financial disparity in the league, but Spanish football still holds a large volume of the world’s best players. The quality of football also remains a constant in the league, as well. England may have variety, but Muniain is better suited to the obvious technical aspect that Spain excels in.
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Naturally, however, this is all misguided Spanish propaganda. Because, obviously, all the best players want to play in England, regardless of their nationality and preference.
Does anyone remember a time when Chelsea were not owned by a Russian oligarch, but in fact, a rather unpopular Englishman who has, to put it politely, a very particular way with words. Roman Abramovich is coming up to a decade in charge of the Blues, having gone money crazy after taking over at Stamford Bridge from Ken Bates. Chelsea have changed the face of English football, splashing the cash at every available opportunity and not always wisely either.
Sometimes, they’ve simply thrown big fees at players who never really appeared for the club or merely made up the numbers sitting on the bench. Admittedly, Abramovich’s billions have finally bought the Champions League, but they’ve gone through a serious number of players (and not to mention managers) to find the winning formula. The previous owners aren’t entirely clean in terms of dodgy transfers and there’s certainly been some tripe pull on the blue shirt since the Premier League began. We look back and assess the worst Chelsea signing XI in the modern era of English football:
Click on Tal Ben Haim to unveil the starting XI
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have confirmed that Wally Downes has relinquished current duties as first team coach at Upton Park.
The decision comes as a surprise to both the club and manager Sam Allardyce as the Premier League outfit begin a busy Christmas period. Big Sam has nevertheless allowed Downes, 51, to leave the club almost midway through the season.
The former West Ham first team coach played as a midfielder for Wimbledon’s Crazy Gang, making over 200 appearances between 1979 and 1988. He has been recognised as one of the main characters at the club during the formation of the infamous Crazy Gang spirit.
When Downes’ playing career ended he took up the reins at Brentford for a short spell after Steve Coppell left. He then proceeded to rejoin Coppell at Reading before joining Southampton and then West Ham.
Downes was initially hired in November 2010 serving as the team’s defensive coach under the managerial direction of Avram Grant. Then, when Allardyce was charged with the responsibility of guiding the East London club back into the top flight, Downes was swiftly made first team coach.
His departure signals the end of a successful two-year spell at Upton Park.
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Celtic manager Neil Lennon has jumped to the defence of Rangers midfielder Ian Black after he was jeered playing for Scotland at Easter Road on Wednesday.
The former Hearts man was back in Edinburgh for the first time since joining Rangers and was a late and controversial call up to the national side by Craig Levein.
Lennon said “It was uncalled for. The kid was making his debut. Part of it is probably banter with the Hibs fans but still, it was a very big day for him and a special moment for him.
“I don’t want to make too much of it, I was booed myself but for different reasons obviously, but it is not nice and hopefully that will be the first and last of it.
“I think he is a strong character and listening to his comments after the game he was still very positive.
“With the venue being where it was, there was maybe always a chance that he might take a bit of stick anyway.
“I think if the venue was either Hampden or (elsewhere in) Glasgow, I don’t think that scenario would have popped up.”
Lennon added: “I got booed everywhere – I got booed in the house. We all know the reasons behind that, because he (Black) was a Hearts player for so long and he was a bit of a rascal as it were – and there is nothing wrong with that – and he rubbed people up the wrong way.
“The majority of those fans at the game wouldn’t have been Glasgow Rangers fans, Celtic fans or Inverness fans, the majority of them were probably at Easter Road to give him a bit of stick.”
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It has emerged that Real Madrid have secured the first option of buying Gareth Bale if Tottenham decide to sell their star winger, Mirror Football report.
The Wales international attacker has shot to superstardom over the last 24 months, and is widely recognised as one of the Premier League’s top players.
Bale has been linked with a big-money move away from White Hart Lane over the last number of seasons, with Barcelona and Manchester United potential destinations.
However, it is believed that Jose Mourinho’s men will now have the first refusal on Bale if Spurs do opt to sell him.
Tottenham and Madrid signed a new alliance after the sale of Luka Modric to the Santiago Bernabeu club, which will involve ‘players, coaches, best practices and commercial relationships.’
It is said that Bale’s potential asking price will be in the region of £45 million, with Spurs having the option to bring a number of Madrid players to north London as part of the deal.
Bale signed a new four-year contract back in June.
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Steven Gerrard said he was proud of his side’s performance against Manchester United on Sunday, and is confident a first Premier League win of the season is just around the corner, reports Liverpoolfc.com.
Gerrard once again produced an outstanding captain’s performance, giving 10-man Liverpool an early second half lead after Jonjo Shelvey had been controversially sent off just before half time.
The 32-year-old believes the best team on Sunday lost, and is convinced a repeat performance against Norwich next weekend will lead to that all important first victory of the season.
“We played really well today with 11 men and we played even better with 10, so we’re disappointed to come away from the game with nothing. We showed great determination,” he told Sky Sports.
“You can’t fault any of the players in our dressing room, they gave everything they had. But sometimes that’s not enough against quality teams like Manchester United and they managed to get themselves in front after we took the lead.
“If we keep playing like that and showing that amount of effort and determination, then it will only be a matter of time [before we get our first win].
“If you analyse all of our performances, it’s not that we haven’t been playing good enough – maybe we just need a bit of luck. We’ll keep plugging away and it will come eventually.
“But we know that we need our first win very quickly. It needs to be next week at Norwich.”
Gerrard was also pleased with the pre-game tribute to the victims of the Hillsborough disaster, and the behavior of both sets of supporters on what was an emotional afternoon at Anfield.
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“I thought it was a nice touch, there was a lot said before the game about how the supporters on both sides were going to behave and credit to them both, I thought they were fantastic.
“We’re talking about what happened in the game, which is exactly what everyone wanted. So credit to both sets of supporters,” he added.
Football is a worldwide game, and has always been based on a set of rules, whether set in stone such as three points for a win, or the rules based off sportsmanship, such as kicking the ball out of play if an injury has occurred.
Obvious rules include not fighting on the pitch, while those that are deemed more for respect reasons include not criticising the referee.
Nearly every one of these rules gets broken every season, and in turn, a hefty amount of fines are dished out in return. Here are the top ten fines:
Roberto Martinez
Slapped with a £10,000 fine recently for criticizing an officials performance, for giving Manchester United a penalty against his Wigan side, this punishment may be seen as rather harsh on the Spaniard, as replays judged United striker Welbeck to have dived to win the penalty. While the punishment seems to be a formality in terms with the Respect Campaign for officials, what Martinez said is nothing more than what is on many fans lips, in that United always get favourable decisions at Old Trafford.
Joey Barton
Footballs perennial bad boy made headlines again on the last day of the season, getting sent off in the all important match between Manchester City and QPR, add to that his incredible misconduct after his red card, kicking out at Aguero, and Kompany. QPR fined him six weeks worth of wages, and stripped him of the captaincy. On top of that though, the FA banned him for twelve games and added a £75,000 fine too. A massive overall fine, both in cash and pride, leaving this one of the biggest in the Premier League.
Carlos Tevez
While this incident is more of an internal issue, it still remains one of the biggest total fines. After Tevez decided to go perfect his golf game in Argentina for four months, Manchester City began to fine him of his £200,000 a week wages, with six weeks worth overall, totalling £1.2 million pounds in lost earnings. Including that huge fine, Tevez’s lack of loyalty ended up with him effectively fining himself, losing a total of £9.3 million in lost wages, fines, and voided bonuses.
Joey Barton
So bad I’m including him twice, most people are supposed to mature with age, their actions while younger deemed a simple case of naivety. However, on top of Barton’s recent episode of stupidity, he also committed another daft act in 2007. After a training ground altercation between him and Ousmane Dabo, the latter requiring medical attention, he was banned for 12 games by the FA, six of them suspended, along with a hefty £25,000 fine.
Rio Ferdinand
Talk about inserting foot into mouth, or perhaps it should be fingers onto keyboard. Rio decided to make reference to the racism case between John Terry and his brother Anton Ferdinand, using the term ‘Choc Ice’ on Twitter in regards to Ashley Cole giving evidence in favour of Terry. This simple Tweet resulted in him being landed with a £45,000 fine by the FA, and warned about his future conduct.
Andre Villas Boas
During his stint in charge of Chelsea, Andre Villas Boas criticised referee Chris Foy and his performance in the derby match between Chelsea and QPR. His comments wound up leading him to being charged £12,000 by the FA, after being found guilty of improper conduct.
Roy Keane
After publishing his book admitting that his tackle on Manchester City midfielder Alfie Haaland had been deliberate, the FA decided to throw the book (no pun intended) at Keane, punishing him for four matches, and what was then a record fine of £150,000. A huge amount, but nothing in comparison to what Keane probably earned for the book in the first place.
Arsene Wenger
Near the end of last season, with Arsenals win over AC Milan in the Champions League, yet still eliminated on aggregate, Arsene Wenger confronted referee Damir Skomina, immediately after the match, and then continued to rant about him in the following press conference. This did not go down well with UEFA, who subsequently banned the Frenchman for three Champions League games, and added a £33,000 fine on top for good measure.
John Terry
Despite him being cleared on criminal counts of using racial language against Anton Ferdinand, during the match between QPR and Chelsea, the FA held their own hearing on the matter and found him guilty of racial abuse. Not only was he banned for four games, but Terry also received a massive £220,000 fine for his troubles too.
The FA
Seems fitting that the FA receiving a fine, instead of administering one, is included. During the Euro 2012 match between England and Sweden, several dozen England fans attempted to invade the pitch during the 3-2 victory. This led to UEFA resorting to fining the FA, a small, but still relatively meaningful fine of £4000.
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What do you think were the best/worst fines in football? Leave your comments below.
Liverpool FC boss Brendan Rodgers could be set to make a bid for Turkish striker Burak Yilmaz in the January transfer window.
Last season, Yilmaz netted 33 goals for Trabzonspor, making his total 55 in 74 appearances for the Turkish side. Premier League clubs Fulham, Tottenham and West Ham were all interested in acquiring the Turk’s goal-scoring abilities over the summer.
Yilmaz decided to remain in the Turkish League however, joining champions Galatasaray for €5 million, where he has now scored five in six so far this campaign. It now appears Rodgers will attempt to bring the striker to Anfield.
The Liverpool boss could certainly do with more options up front. With Andy Carroll off-loaded to West Ham, and the Reds pulling out of a deal for American forward Clint Dempsey, Rodgers has been left with Luis Suarez and 21-year-old Fabio Borini as his only options to spearhead the Liverpool attack.
Suarez has been amongst the goals this season, scoring seven in all competitions for the Merseysiders. Borini however, has only scored one in ten appearances since his £10.5 million move from Roma in the summer. The Turkish goal poacher would certainly fit the bill at Liverpool, who have netted just nine times in the Premier League this season, and find themselves in 14th place.
However, it is unclear whether Rodgers will be able to afford to bring the 27-year-old to Anfield. It is believed Galatasaray will want a considerable mark-up on their new striker and value him at no less than £13 million.
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Considering Kenny Dalglish’s over-spending last season and the £28million spent by Liverpool this summer, it is unknown whether American owners John Henry and Tom Werner will make funds available to the Liverpool manager.
Former Liverpool FC midfielder Dietmar Hamann believes the club and its fans must protect young starlet Raheem Sterling.
Sterling made his Liverpool debut towards the end of last season and has become a permanent fixture in the Anfield side’s starting XI so far this Premier League season.
The German, who appeared 253 times for Liverpool between 2000 and 2006, admitted that the 17-year-old has impressed him so far this season but claims that the club must be prepared to support him through times when his form may dip.
Hamann told Sky Sports: “He is very impressive. I think to play at this level when you’re 17 years of age, he scored his first goal on Sunday, and I think it is fantastic to see him being in the first team.
“When these kids come in, you only see how good they are when they start playing for the first team and certainly he doesn’t look out of place. I think he has got a tremendous future ahead of him.
“But at the same time I think the club and the fans have to protect him because there will be a time when his form will dip, because he is only a kid, but at the same time the way he has been playing at the moment has been fantastic.”
Hamann also believes that, ahead of the 219th Merseyside Derby on Sunday, that Everton are now a force to be reckoned with in the Premier League and that Marouane Fellaini is a big threat.
“Everton are playing like a top four team at the moment, there’s no reason to believe they can’t finish in the top four,” he added.
“I think their squad now is bigger and stronger than it has been over the last few seasons.”
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“If Fellaini doesn’t play on Sunday that could slightly swing it in Liverpool’s favour.”