West Ham United's co-owner David Gold retains hope that his club could seal the signings of England midfielder Joe Cole and Barcelona striker Thierry Henry this summer.
Gold and fellow co-owner David Sullivan have installed Avram Grant as the new man in charge at Upton Park and are keen to show their intent in the transfer market.
"We, as much as anyone, want England to do well at the World Cup so there's absolutely no chance of us talking to Joe during the World Cup," Gold commented.
"We wouldn't do that during this very delicate period, but after that, that's a different matter. When it comes to big transfers we don't like to any stone unturned.
"The chance of getting Cole is 10-1 and therefore there is a one in ten chance of us getting him. We probably won't get him but the offer is still there.
"There is the same chance of Henry coming, but we will try. We had a chat with him for a bit, but it looks like he is going to be offered another contract.
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"The offer is still on the table for him too and it will be there for another two or three weeks.
"We have had it in the past where we have thrown the net out far and we will throw the net out again in the future."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
With the World Cup finally beginning to live up to the hype it seems football’s world governing body can pat themselves on the back for a job well done.
Not only are goals finally flying in, but with all the scaremongering about potential robbery rape and murder the fact that there have been relatively few violent incidents also means the safety aspect has been well handled.
Well while the World Cup may be a success- unless you’re English, or an Italian manager- FIFA’s handling of certain aspects has been nothing short of shocking.
There was the whole orange dress girls debacle, where FIFA inadvertently gave the chaps at Bavaria beer far more publicity than the scantily clad ladies did alone. I was at the Holland Denmark game and had my picture taken with a pair of the ladies in question and had no idea what they were meant to be advertising. It wasn’t until they were arrested and the story hit the headlines worldwide that I along with most other people realised they were part of an advertising campaign for Bavaria beer.
Not only did FIFA give the company more publicity they could ever have dreamed of, they also made themselves look harsh and foolish for over-reacting.
Then there are the FIFA fan parks which are scattered around the country. Here you can watch all the World Cup games on huge screens free of charge with entertainment in between games. Simple eh?
Well not when they’re run by FIFA. Before the World Cup thousands of South Africans applied for licences to trade at these parks. The cost wasn’t cheap – around 20,000 rand –around 2000 english pounds as a deposit plus a lot more in expenses.
FIFA promised these traders they’d be given prime locations in the parks and that entertainment would be put on near their stalls to keep punters happy.
In the fan park at Innesfree park I visited the stalls were set so far behind the screen, I almost didn’t realise they were there.
The Coca-Cola stalls as well as other sponsors MTN were in prime locations where you literally couldn’t miss them.
The place was like a ghost town and I spoke to a couple of the traders about their predicament.
Jamiliah Khan was running a food stall with her family, she was quite vocal in her anger at the situation: “My kids education fund, I’ve dug into that, it’s going to take me years to recoup my losses.
They promised that there was going to be a stunning line-up of entertainment that was going to pull crowds.
We thought it was going to be win-win situation for everybody but it’s only a win-win situation for coca-cola and FIFA the small vendors get screwed.”
Joseph Molwatnwa was another trader who was furious with FIFA’s broken promises: “It’s bad, bad, bad, horrible, they’re changing the rules every day- there’s no entertainment it’s terrible. We’ve lost a lot of money.
“The first day this was open people came because Bafana Bafana were playing, but it wasn’t arranged properly, there was only one till open.
“We’ve decided to close down and pack up, FIFA said there would be twenty thousand people a day but there’s been around only twenty people. It’s a disaster.”
While the official fan parks have been something of a total let down that’s not the only area that FIFA have behaved badly.
Recently stewards at five stadiums across the country went on strike due to a pay dispute. This meant that the South African police force has had to step in. While that may seem hardly the fault of Sepp Blatter and his mob, once you scratch beneath the surface you can see it’s again down to the misdeeds of football’s governing body.
Workers were told that they would be given 500 rand per day but then were only paid them 190 causing uproar.
FIFA awarded the security contract to Stallion Security despite several warning signs that this would lead to disaster.
The security company lost their international partner, Securitas from Sweden, earlier this year when they pulled out of the tournament, apparently following financial disputes.
The South African Police Service also had to step in to protect another FIFA tournament in June last year, after the local organising committee and Stallion fell out over money shortly before the Confederations Cup.
According to the FIFA safety guidelines, the local organising committee and FIFA itself, is responsible for safety at stadiums on the day of matches.
While everyone I’ve met here is justifiably proud to not only be hosting the World Cup but also to have done it with a warmth and friendliness I’ve not seen since my raving days ended, there are some major concerns.
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Last week thousands took to the streets of Johannesburg in protest at the amount of money the government is spending on the World Cup when so many people are living in poverty.
FIFA has made record amounts from the South African World Cup and many here, feel the South African bid committee allowed football’s governing body to make far too many stipulations just to have a successful bid.
Here the South African government could be accused of adhering to too many demands, but FIFA should be held culpable for exploiting the situation to their utmost benefit.
South Africa missed out on the World Cup in 2006 by a single vote, after Charles Dempsey- who’s almost as famous as Francois Pienaar in parts of South Africa- abstained from voting despite being told by his confederation to vote for South Africa.
Many of the stadiums here will likely be unused or even demolished after the tournament as some are in areas where there will be absolutely no need for them.
It seems in the nation’s eagerness to become the first African host of a world cup- it was announced that this tournament would be in an African country before the bids were in- the government may have given too much leeway and paid a price that people here will have to live with for many years to come.
The question is did FIFA exploit South Africa, or is this nation’s government to blame?
You may love or loathe the transfer windows but it certainly has most football supporters fixated to the rumour mills on a daily basis. I don’t know many fans that don’t go straight to the BBC’s gossip column as a first port of call every morning, before they move on to SkySports.com. Most of what is written is complete tosh; however it doesn’t stop many buying into what they have read. I guess everyone just loves a rumour, despite how outlandish they might be.
One thing that does amuse me about those who bite at the rumours is their sheer naivety and this belief that the club have a bottomless pit of money and cannot understand why player X Y and Z won’t be playing for their club next season. There is a lot to be said for a little bit of realism and general understanding of the complexity of club finances. Sometimes players have to be sacrificed in order to raise funds to strengthen elsewhere, or clubs have a restricted budget due to incompetent owners or the need to finance new stadia. Money doesn’t grow on trees and therefore clubs have to live within their means.
So what about your club this summer? No doubt you have been taken in by some of the rumours, poured cold water over some and I’m sure there is a long list of players that you will be happy to see the club cash in on during the coming weeks. The transfer window, with the exception of City, has been somewhat constipated up to this point, although I’m sure it won’t be long before the transfer storm starts to erupt.
Who would you like to see arrive at the Anfield during the next five weeks, and equally who should be issued with their P45?
Click on image to see a gallery of the BEST BABES at the World Cup this summer
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The Premier League Season is almost upon us and transfer rumours are surrounding every club including Chelsea. Carlo Ancelotti’s target for this season is bound to involve winning more silverware and the Champions League is the one trophy Chelsea have failed to grasp to date.
The majority of the transfer talk involving Chelsea has included the name Fernando Torres. He’s young, athletic and when he’s not injured he is one of the world’s best strikers. The problem comes with his price tag and the simple fact that Chelsea don’t actually need another striker. Although Didier Drogba and Nikolas Anelka may be heading towards the end of their playing career they are still world class strikers. Florent Malouda, Salomon Kalou and the young Daniel Sturridge can all be called on too if goals are required. However, if Manchester City are serious about signing Didier Drogba then the situation changes and Chelsea will need a new striker who can guarantee goals.
Instead of spending a huge amount on one player Chelsea should bolster up their midfield. With the departures of Joe Cole, Michael Ballack, and Juliano Belletti; Chelsea require at least one player with some finesse and talent. An ideal candidate would be Bayern Munich’s Bastian Schweinsteiger. He had a terrific World Cup which didn’t benefit Chelsea as his price tag as increased but he’s still a worthwhile target. In a recent survey on Goal.com 90.1% chose Schweinsteiger as the man Chelsea should try and sign.
Chelsea have already made one new signing in the form of Yossi Benayoun. The Israeli captain cost a modest £5.5million and the attacking midfielder is likely to replace Joe Cole with a role down the wing. The newspapers have been having a field day with news that Jose Mourinho is after Ashley Cole. The Chelsea left back is a skilled defender who loves to go forward and is a vital player in the Chelsea squad. Losing such a player would create a big hole in Chelsea’s side and finding a replacement could prove difficult. Things could worsen if the Spanish Newspapers are true and Ricardo Carvalho is heading back to Real Madrid to reunite with Mourinho. Another defender would need to be drafted in.
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Ancelotti should concentrate on strengthening his midfield and developing the youth team and forget about Torres. Chelsea spent big money before, remember the record breaking £30.8 million pound signing of Andriy Shevchenko back in the summer of 2006. The hype was huge at the time but his time at Chelsea was less than impressive, he scored 22 goals in 2 seasons and never secured his place in the first team line-up. Chelsea don’t want to make a huge big signing and then regret it. They need to spend where necessary and where needed and just because teams throw money at a problem doesn’t mean Chelsea should.
To say the transfer window (so far) has been uneventful is tantamount to saying the Arctic is a bit nippy, as the majority of Premier League clubs are seemingly being careful with their finances. In some cases clubs simply have to sell before they can buy, much to the frustrations, no doubt, of many managers and supporters.
The lack of spending at the top of the Premier League has surprised many, especially given the open nature of last season’s title race. You would have thought the likes of United and Chelsea would have looked at a big outlay this summer, to ensure the also-rans remain at an arm’s length in their pursuits of the title. Only City have made substantial moves this summer, although you do feel that they may well struggle to strike a balance. This means this season’s race for the title, Champions League and Europa League places are very much as they were last year, unless we witness a major change in the transfer wind in the coming fortnight.
The media is predicting that a transfer storm is set to erupt, but it begs the question as to whether West Ham really need to partake in some last minute shopping, or has the clubs five new additions ensured that the Hammers side is adequately equipped this season?
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Does Avram Grant need to bring any players in before the transfer window shuts in 16 days time and if so who would you like to see him bring in?
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has angrily hit out at suggestions that Bebe has failed to make a positive impression in his first days at Old Trafford.
Ferguson broke with tradition to sign a player without first seeing him in action when he paid £7million to land the 20-year-old striker from Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes last month.
Bebe's absence from a reserve team fixture in midweek led to reports that the youngster had disappointed the United coaching staff.
However, Ferguson has dismissed suggestions that he has made a mistake in the transfer market with a staunch defence of the player.
"Bebe is on a programme doing endurance work because his fitness levels are not near the ones we are at," said the veteran Scot.
"Other than that he has done well. I know he has had a couple of vicious attacks on him for why he wasn't playing in the reserve game but he was never going to be playing on Tuesday.
"The boy did not deserve that.
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"He is a young man trying to make his way in football. They didn't need to do that. It was a really bitter attack. Ability-wise he is excellent. He is a terrific finisher.
"We have been very impressed with that. It is just the fitness levels he needs to get to."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Thank heavens for Birmingham and Liverpool, I was beginning to question my judgement. The goalless draw at St Andrews prevented Blackpool from staying as the only team with a clean sheet for this round of Premier League fixtures. So far this season, the water-tight defences have struggled to create last year’s shut-outs.
Chelsea stand out as the only team to have really been stingy this season. They’re fixtures haven’t been the most taxing, but Scott Parker’s consolation on Saturday remains the solitary goal that they have conceded in the league this term. Manchester United have also kept clean sheets in their two home games this season, against Newcastle and West Ham. But after that, it becomes a bit of struggle to find the fully functioning defensive units.
Last season, the purchases of Richard Dunne and James Collins for Villa were a master stroke, and along with Carlos Cuellar and Stephen Warnock, formed a backline that managed 15 clean sheets over the course of the season. So far they have had two clean sheets (their two home games) but the six conceded against Newcastle was an awful defensive performance – very uncharacteristic.
Everton are another team that boast accomplished defenders, behind solid central midfielders and a reliable goalkeeper backing them up. And yet, the side has yet to record a shut-out so far this season, even against Shrewsbury at home in the Carling Cup. Admittedly, their general form has been somewhat off colour. Newcastle visit Goodison next, and this could be a chance to stop the rot, as long as they can carry the momentum from the fight back against Man Utd, and get to grips with man of the moment Andy Carroll.
Is there a more organised unit than Birmingham City, especially at St Andrews? They have also replaced one good, young, English goalkeeper, with a good, young, English goalkeeper. The game against Liverpool was finally a return to form for Roger Johnson et al. Before that game, matches against Sunderland, Blackburn and Bolton all brought breaches of the defences.
Stoke, a side with a home record that makes visits to The Brittania a very unwelcome event, managed 14 clean sheets last season. Tony Pulis’ recipe of filling his backline with centre-backs worked well for him last season, and should continue to do so. No clean sheet so far this season. Shrewsbury even came to Stoke and got a goal.
And as for Spurs? White Hart Lane only saw 12 goals scored against them last term, helping them to 13 clean sheets in total. With whatever possible combination of defenders that Spurs put together, they haven’t yet managed to create the perfect formula. Wigan came to town on the back of two humiliating defeats, and having shipped nine at Spurs the year before, I was convinced this was a banker. Wigan of course came away with three points, and Spurs only couldn’t add to the one domestic clean sheet again Man City.
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Maybe this is a good thing? We all want to see as many goals as possible, and no one wants to see repeated nil-nils. But there is a definite sense of pride in stopping teams from scoring; when it’s done well, it can still be good to watch. It might be a case of pre-season rustiness, but sides that were so mean last season really appear to be struggling to find their defensive feet again.
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Arsenal were unable to break their hoodoo against Chelsea this weekend in what was another disappointing result for the Gunners against their London rivals. Didier Drogba once again proved to be Arsenal’s nemesis, with his powerful running and cleverly taken goal condeming his favourite opponents to defeat. So what five things have we learnt about Arsenal this weekend?
1. In the big games, a cutting edge is still lacking
Discounting the eventual result, there was not actually a lot wrong with Arsenal’s performance. For long periods they dominated the game, with their technically skilled players passing neatly and quickly to get them into the final third on a number of occassions. Arsenal’s problem against the big teams in recent seasons has not been their general level of play however, it has been the fact that they have been unable to take their chances and have often lacked a real cutting edge. Laurent Koscielny was guilty of missing a sitter, and good goalscoring chances were not in abundance, and it is something Arsene Wenger will need to address if Arsenal are to beat the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United.
2. Arsenal just cannot cope with Drogba
Didier Drogba has been tormentor in chief for Arsenal in recent years, and he has now plundered 13 goals in 13 games against the Gunners, a quite incredible record and one which tells you all about the woe the Ivorian has inflicted upon Wenger’s sides. The weekend was no different, as well as grabbing a goal, Drogba’s physicality and athleticism caused the Arsenal backline problems all day long. Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci had not faced Drogba before, so it seems the new central pairing are finding it just as difficult to deal with Drogba as their predecessors.
3. Arsenal are missing Theo Walcott
Theo Walcott made an explosive start to this season, banging in 4 goals in just 3 games. Unfortunately his form was curtailed by an ankle injury picked up on international duty and Arsenal have really missed him in the meantime. Walcott has blistering pace and is one of the more direct players in the Arsenal squad, he also provides a goal threat especially when cutting into the box from the right. Samir Nasri is a more than capable right-winger but not having Walcott available leaves Wenger with less options on the wing.
4. Chamakh is looking good, but his strengths could be used more
In the first few minutes of the game Bacary Sagna provided a cross that lone front man Marouane Chamakh only narrowly headed wide. When crosses were put in, Chamakh consistently looked dangerous in the air but this kind of service to the Moroccan was all too rare. When your only striker’s main talent is in the air, the midfield and full-backs should be looking to put plenty of crosses into the box, and Chamakh has proven already in his short Arsenal career that he can but these chances away. Arsenal are not used to this style of play perhaps, but the team should look to utilise Chamakh’s strengths a little more in the future.
5. There is improvement from last year
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Arsenal may have lost, and the fans might well be disheartened, but the Gunners’ performance against the champions was certainly better than it was last season. In previous games Arsenal have looked like having no chance whatsoever of winning, but in this match there were some positives and had Arsenal had a little more luck, for instance with Koscielny’s header, things might just have turned out a little differently. Arsenal have looked like getting thumped by Chelsea in recent years, but this was not the case on the weekend and Arsenal can at least take some heart from the fact that they look like an improved outfit.
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Chelsea defender Alex has pulled out of the Brazil squad for the friendly internationals against Iran and Ukraine because of a thigh problem.
The 28-year-old former PSV Eindhoven star picked up the injury after scoring Chelsea's second goal in Sunday's 2-0 victory against Arsenal. It is estimated that he will be out of action for three weeks.
Meanwhile, Michael Essien believes Manchester City will be Chelsea's main title rivals this season.
Roberto Mancini's side followed up their 1-0 win against Chelsea with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Newcastle United on Sunday as they moved up to second in the Premier League table.
Ghana international Essien said:"There is still a long way to go. The season is very long and we have to keep playing like we did against Arsenal and keep getting points.
"We led for much of last season but last season is gone. We have a new season now and it will be decided at the end.
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"Manchester City are our closest challengers right now. You can see they have made good signings and they will be up for it. We will see what happens. I don't know if they will have the stamina but they have the players to go out and do the job.
"Maybe we have an advantage because we know what it takes to win the League but every season is different. We have to keep going. The rest of the teams are there and will be fighting for it. It is up to us to get as many points as we can."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
In the Premier League this weekend it’s all about derbies. There are a couple of tasty ones for you to enjoy as Aston Villa host Birmingham at Villa Park and Sunderland travel to St James’ Park to face Newcastle. Chris Hughton would love to get a win and ease some of the pressure the Newcastle manager’s come under this week, while there would be no better way for Gerard Houllier endear himself to the Villa fans than to get a victory over their Birmingham rivals. Passions are always running high in these games, so fantasy football players should bear in mind that bookings are likely and a sending off may even be on the cards!
Get the full list of predictions here.
Steve Bates is currently second in the predictions table and is enjoying a storming October. The People journalist has thinks that Liverpool will labour to a draw against Bolton at The Reebok:
Do you agree with the Premier League predictions made this week?
Football Writers’ Association Predictions – Week 12
Overall standings
1. Des Kelly – 54 (5)
2. Steve Bates – 53 (6)
3. Martin Lipton – 51 (4)
4. Andy Dunn – 49 (6)
5. Danny Fullbrook – 49 (4)
6. Shaun Custis – 48 (5)
7. Glenn Moore – 47 (3)
8. Patrick Barclay – 41 (4)
October standings:
1. Steve Bates – 25
2. Andy Dunn – 19
3. Des Kelly – 19
4. Glenn Moore – 19
5. Shaun Custis – 18
6. Martin Lipton – 18
7. Patrick Barclay – 16
8. Danny Fullbrook – 16
–
Patrick Barclay (The Times)
Home Team
Away Team
Arsenal
V
West Ham
H
Blackburn
V
Chelsea
A
Everton
V
Stoke
H
Fulham
V
Wigan
H
Wolves
V
Man City
A
Man United
V
Tottenham
D
Aston Villa
V
Birmingham
H
Bolton
V
Liverpool
A
Newcastle
V
Sunderland
H
Blackpool
V
West Brom
A
Aston Villa v Birmingham: Houllier’s Villains to be heroes
Des Kelly (Daily Mail)
Home Team
Away Team
Arsenal
V
West Ham
H
Blackburn
V
Chelsea
A
Everton
V
Stoke
H
Fulham
V
Wigan
D
Wolves
V
Man City
A
Man United
V
Tottenham
H
Aston Villa
V
Birmingham
H
Bolton
V
Liverpool
D
Newcastle
V
Sunderland
A
Blackpool
V
West Brom
A
Arsenal v West Ham: West Ham’s defence just doesn’t look up to coping with the speed and movement of the Arsenal attack. This has to be the banker result of the weekend.
Shaun Custis (The Sun)
Home Team
Away Team
Arsenal
V
West Ham
H
Blackburn
V
Chelsea
A
Everton
V
Stoke
H
Fulham
V
Wigan
H
Wolves
V
Man City
A
Man United
V
Tottenham
H
Aston Villa
V
Birmingham
H
Bolton
V
Liverpool
A
Newcastle
V
Sunderland
D
Blackpool
V
West Brom
D
Fulham v Wigan: Both sides have been inconsistent but Fulham should have enough to win at The Cottage.
Head to the next page for more football predictions…
Andy Dunn (News of the World)
Home Team
Away Team
Arsenal
V
West Ham
H
Blackburn
V
Chelsea
A
Everton
V
Stoke
D
Fulham
V
Wigan
H
Wolves
V
Man City
D
Man United
V
Tottenham
H
Aston Villa
V
Birmingham
D
Bolton
V
Liverpool
H
Newcastle
V
Sunderland
A
Blackpool
V
West Brom
A
Man United v Tottenham: Cracking game obviously. I think Manchester United will win this game – the workload can occasionally catch up on Spurs.
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Martin Lipton (The Mirror)
Home Team
Away Team
Arsenal
V
West Ham
H
Blackburn
V
Chelsea
A
Everton
V
Stoke
H
Fulham
V
Wigan
H
Wolves
V
Man City
A
Man United
V
Tottenham
H
Aston Villa
V
Birmingham
H
Bolton
V
Liverpool
D
Newcastle
V
Sunderland
A
Blackpool
V
West Brom
D
Newcastle v Sunderland: North East passions on display but despite last week’s win at West Ham by the Toon, the Black Cats will be purring
Steve Bates (The People)
Home Team
Away Team
Arsenal
V
West Ham
H
Blackburn
V
Chelsea
A
Everton
V
Stoke
H
Fulham
V
Wigan
D
Wolves
V
Man City
A
Man United
V
Tottenham
A
Aston Villa
V
Birmingham
H
Bolton
V
Liverpool
D
Newcastle
V
Sunderland
H
Blackpool
V
West Brom
A
Bolton v Liverpool: Liverpool aren’t out of the woods yet despite their win over Blackburn and they’ll find the going tough at The Reebok where Bolton held manchester United recently. But a point won’t be a bad result for Gerrard and Co.
Danny Fulbrook (Daily Star)
Home Team
Away Team
Arsenal
V
West Ham
H
Blackburn
V
Chelsea
A
Everton
V
Stoke
H
Fulham
V
Wigan
H
Wolves
V
Man City
A
Man United
V
Tottenham
D
Aston Villa
V
Birmingham
H
Bolton
V
Liverpool
A
Newcastle
V
Sunderland
D
Blackpool
V
West Brom
A
Wolves v Man City: Wolves are on a bad run at the moment and it is not about to get any better
Glenn Moore (The Independent)
Home Team
Away Team
Arsenal
V
West Ham
H
Blackburn
V
Chelsea
A
Everton
V
Stoke
H
Fulham
V
Wigan
H
Wolves
V
Man City
D
Man United
V
Tottenham
D
Aston Villa
V
Birmingham
D
Bolton
V
Liverpool
D
Newcastle
V
Sunderland
D
Blackpool
V
West Brom
A
Blackburn v Chelsea: Rovers’ home form has not been as strong as usual, while Chelsea have been ominously focused and have a full week to prepare. Away win.