Everton and West Ham are battling to sign Manchester City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Toffees boss David Moyes is hoping to find a replacement for Steven Pienaar, who is expected to leave either in the new year or next summer, and a move for City's England winger could be on the cards.
The former Chelsea winger is set for a January exit from Eastlands as he cannot get a game under boss Roberto Mancini. He is expected to be one of a number of high profile departures from the club.
City are awaiting offers for the player but Moyes may prefer to make a loan move initially rather than a permanent switch and wages could also prove to be a stumbling block for any would be suitors as he is thought to be on around £65,000 a week.
City may be willing to contribute to some of his wages though and this could open the door to an exit.
Meanwhile, Hammers boss Avram Grant knows the player well from their time together at Chelsea and would like to add him to his squad at West Ham for the relegation battle ahead.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Grant, and co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold, are set for a meeting this week to discuss their potential transfer targets and will then decide whether to make a loan move for Wright-Phillips.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
There is no doubt that Scottish football is in decline and has been for a long time. The League boasts two of Britain’s biggest clubs in Celtic and Rangers, yet struggles to conjure up any kind of respectability from the rest of Europe.
Plans for Celtic and Rangers to join the Premier League have constantly been shunned for one reason or another in the past. This is most likely because 16 of the 20 teams in the league would see them as a threat. However, before I get side tracked too much, is now the time for Celtic and Rangers to concentrate on improving and bettering the status and credibility of their own league?
Football fans all over Europe and the world know of Celtic and Rangers, can the same be said for St Johnstone and Hamilton Academicals? Should the Glasgow giants get what they want and make the potential move down south then it would most definitely spell the end of Scottish football as we know it.
Dundee United chairman Stephen Thompson even claims that the Scottish Premier League would be in danger of folding if Celtic and Rangers decided to leave. Thompson then went on to say accuse the Old Firm of ‘undermining’ Scottish football after the chief executives of both Celtic and Rangers reiterated their desire to leave the SPL.
Here we see in black and white that the need for Celtic and Rangers is a great one. From a monetary point of view if Celtic and Rangers were to leave the Scottish league it would most certainly mark the end of the SPL. Thompson adds “it’s very unsettling for the SPL, We’re trying to strengthen deals with commercial customers, TV deals, etc. If you’re talking about the Old Firm leaving, where does it leave us with regards to contracts?”
I assume if Celtic and Rangers went somewhere else, that contract would be null and void. This would have serious consequences on the game in Scotland and seemingly point out, loud and clear that Scottish football needs Celtic and Rangers!
If you like what I’ve written why not follow me on Twitter
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Adelaide United set a new A-League record after thrashing a hapless North Queensland Fury 8-1 at Hindmarsh Stadium on Friday.
Marcos Flores and Sergio van Dijk both netted hat-tricks in the rout, which saw the Reds become the first team in A-League history to score more than six goals in a match.
Flores opened the scoring on four minutes when van Dijk received the ball out wide from Iain Ramsay and whipped in a cross for the Argentine who outjumped his marker to head past Justin Pasfield.
After the opening goal the Fury outplayed the Reds and should have equalised through David Williams who missed when it seemed easier to score.
Just before the half hour Flores was involved again when, after a series of one-twos, he continued running and released Dodd with a delightful through ball.
The Reds skipper ran onto the pass from the top of the box curled his shot into the side net leaving Pasfield no chance to make it 2-0.
In the 37th minute the pair combined again for Flores’ second after some brilliant skill from Dodd.
Dodd baulked his defender before looking up and firing across a cut back for Flores to run on to and slam into the back of the net.
The Argentine’s superb vision and passing created United’s fourth five minutes later, again releasing Dodd down the right.
He muscled his way in front of his opponent and raced towards goal and cracked low and hard only for the Fury keeper to get down low and parry the shot.
Pasfield could only push the ball into the path of Ramsay who stormed in to smash the rebound into the net.
A minute after half-time van Dijk got on the score sheet after another wonderful build up out of defence.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
In the 67th minute, the league’s leading scorer got his 15th of the season after another sublime pass from Flores.
United replaced Francisco Usucar and Nigel Boogaard with Paul Reid and Robert Cornthwaite and the substitutions appeared to upset the tide with North Queensland grabbing a consolation through Panagiotis Nikas.
It mattered little when van Dijk completed the A-League record for most goals in a game by one team with his second-half hat-trick in the 83rd minute.
Flores’ third and United’s eighth equalled the league record for the most number of goals in a game (9).
Palmeiras moved fourth in Brazil’s Campeonato Paulista after they crushed Ituano 4-1 away from home on Thursday.
Striker Kleber netted a brace in the victory, opening the scoring in the 27th minute, before Welton equalised for the home side on the stroke of half time at the Estadio Barao de Serra Negra.
But it was all Palmeiras after the break, with Dinei putting the visitors ahead eight minutes after the restart before Kleber scored his second on the hour mark.
Tinga added an injury time goal to top off an emphatic victory.
Noroeste twice pegged back Botafogo on the road to force a 2-2 draw at the Estadio Santa Cruz.
Rodrigo Pontes got Botafogo on board in the 11th minute to give the hosts the lead.
But Ricardinho equalised for Noroeste in the 56th minute, before Moacir re-installed Botafogo’s lead 12 minutes later.
Not to be denied, Ze Carlos produced the point-snatching goal for Noroeste in the 74th minute to leave both sides on two points after two games.
Paulista’s trip to Gremio Prudente proved a fruitful one, as they walked away with all three points in a 2-1 victory at the Estadio Municipal Eduardo Jose Farah.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Hernane got the visitors off the ideal start with a 10th minute goal, but Rai restored parity seven minutes later to level things up at the break.
Rone Dias scored the winner for Paulista on 59 minutes, and the win leaves them in third place on the table, one of four unbeaten teams in the competition after two matches.
Mick McCarthy is adamant his bottom-of-the-table Wolves side is a force to be reckoned with at home – even against Manchester United.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s league-leading men travel to Molineux on Saturday and McCarthy believes his side poses a threat.
He said: “We’ve proved at home we can beat anyone and we keep everybody honest. Nobody turns up here and gets an easy ride and Manchester United will know that.”
“Sir Alex Ferguson always says this part of the season is the business end and Manchester United kick into gear. Well they did on Tuesday night (in the 3-1 win over Aston Villa) when they got off to a devastating start. “
“Ryan Giggs, Nani, Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov are terrific. They’re worryingly good but they won’t worry me tomorrow.”
Defender Ronald Zubar’s error gifted a last-minute win to Bolton on Wednesday but McCarthy is sticking by his player.
He said: “I wanted to kill him on Wednesday night but he’s one of our players. He runs around and puts his shift in. Do you think he’s the only one who’s made a mistake? I don’t think so.”
“There’s only one bloke who never made a mistake and you know what happened to him. We’re all liable to make a mistake; you don’t cast him aside, you support him.”
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
“I believe I will get the best out of him. He’s been terrific for us and I wouldn’t leave him out on the back of a mistake.”
Adlene Guedioura (broken leg), Stephen Hunt (calf), Michael Kightly and Michael Mancienne (both knee) are all missing for Wolves.
A tense 1-0 win has helped Vitoria Guimaraes put valuable breathing space between them and Uniao de Leiria on the Liga Sagres table.Both sides have performed well this season, with Guimaraes sitting in fifth and just one point above Leiria before kick-off on Friday.The duo can both dream of earning a Europa League place if they can maintain their good form, though Guimaraes now have a handy four-point buffer on their rivals after Joao Alves’ lone strike handed his side the three points.On-loan Everton forward Joao Silva had gone close to giving Leiria the lead in the first half when his well-struck shot glanced the wrong side of the upright, but just minutes later the visitors took the lead when Alves’ effort from distance beat Brazilian goalkeeper Eduardo Gottardi.Guimaraes held on for the win to put them within just one point of third-placed Sporting Lisbon, though the capital club have a game in hand.Leiria’s spot on the table is under threat, with five clubs – including Sporting Braga – now within a win of knocking them from fifth spot.
Manchester City were unable to penetrate a determined Aris Salonika defence and had to settle for a 0-0 draw in the Europa League.
City were looking for a valuable away goal in the first leg on Tuesday, but were denied by several clutch saves from Aris goalkeeper Michalis Sifakis during the round-of-32 clash.
Greek Super League side Aris are undefeated in 24 European matches at the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium, and it was only on rare occasions that Roberto Mancini’s side looked like breaking that streak.
The Premier League outfit dominated possession early but struggled to find any cohesion in the final third despite fielding big guns Edin Dzeko and Carlos Tevez in attack.
It was Spaniard David Silva who produced the first real chance, forcing a sharp save from Sifakis with a dipping effort from the edge of the area.
Dzeko’s first sight on goal came after Aleksandar Kolarov fired a dangerous ball into the penalty area, but the Bosnian scuffed his shot straight at Sifakis.
It was not all one-way traffic for city, with Aris’s Japanese winger Daisuke Sakata causing some problems down the left flank.
A mix-up between Joe Hart and Gareth Barry nearly ended in disaster for the visitors, with a collision between the two knocking Hart out of the penalty area as he tried to clear the ball.
Brazilian Neto went close with the subsequent free kick, but saw his curling effort drift just wide of the far post.
Aris came out searching for a goal after the break, with Ricardo Faty and Juan Carlos Toja both having decent chances to put the hosts ahead.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Dzeko almost broke the deadlock just after the hour mark when his glancing header forced a diving save from Sifakis, and the former Wolfsburg man went close again minutes later with a swerving effort from the edge of the area that flew wide of the upright.
Neto nearly caught the City defence napping at the other end, stinging the palms of Hart with a long-range effort.
Mario Balotelli and Pablo Zabaleta came on in the final 15 minutes as Roberto Mancini looked for new options, but despite a late aerial attempt from Balotelli and a miscued header from defender Micah Richards, City failed to find a winner.
The Championship league leaders, Queens Park Rangers have been charged on seven accounts by the Football Association over player ownership regulations. The Club have since released a statement contesting the charges but it has created speculation over the possible punishment the West London side could face if they are found guilty. With Rangers currently 7 points clear at the top of the Football League, there is a chance that they could face a deduction of points which would seriously harm promotion to the Premier League. The news relates to the saga at West Ham United in 2008 when they were fined by the Premier League for the third-party ownership of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano, but the club escaped any points deduction. Could QPR face a more severe punishment because they are a Football League club?
The charges were made regarding the signing of Argentinean midfielder, Alejandro Faurlin in 2009 which cost the club around £3.4 million, it involved a deal with a third party, reportedly an Italian agent, for the player’s economic rights, and the club failed to notify the FA of the arrangement. Other charges to the club and Chairman, Gianni Paladini involve payment to an unauthorised agent following Faulin’s contract extension last October.
A club statement last night said ‘QPR and Mr Paladini are confident that there has been no deliberate wrongdoing involved’ after requesting a formal FA hearing over the alleged charges. However, if the FA find that the charges are correct the club could face a deduction of points which would please the other high-flyers in the Championship who are also in contention for promotion this season.
[ad_pod id=’fox-mpu’ align=’right’]
In 2008 Luton Town were deducted 10 points over irregular payments made to agents over three players which coincided with two other 10 point deductions and the club started the 2008-09 season on minus 30 points. The penalty was seen as extremely harsh on the club but the Football League looked to use the case as a precedent to warn other clubs of doing the same.
However, West Ham United were not deducted points over the Tevez and Mascherano saga in 2008 which would’ve resulted in relegation from the Premier League. Sheffield United, who were relegated that season contested to be reinstated but their claim was rejected and the club went for a financial settlement. If Rangers are not deducted points, other teams in the Championship could appeal and sue QPR just like the case of Sheffield United.
As a Rangers fan myself, I am gutted to hear that these charges have been made against the club especially in a season that could be one of the best in our recent history. Since supporting Rangers as a very young boy, I’ve seen us relegated twice before a promotion in 2004, and this season is looking to make those odds even again.
Although I am not surprised in the slightest over these allegations as we’re a club that likes to do things the hard way, always shooting ourselves in the foot when it looks like the future is bright. Especially since Gianni Paladini became involved with the club in 2003, there have been an abundance of incidents and rumours that were not positive for the club, however he did attract the big money investors like Flavio Briatore, Bernie Ecclestone and Lakshmi Mittal to Loftus Road and it’s one of the reasons why we are currently top of the league.
The other factor has been the appointment of Neil Warnock a year ago and unlike previous managers, Warnock was given the freedom to do what he does best, manage and form a winning team ready for promotion. It’ll be a huge shame, not just for us R’s fans but also for Neil Warnock, his coaching staff and the players if the Football League do decide to deduct points this season and the chances of promotion are severely damaged.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
However, on the positive side, the initial charges over the Faurlin transfer occurred prior to the FA’s rules about third-party ownership of a player and a fine would seem more likely. Although the charges over Faurlin’s contract extension could receive more punishment as it occurred during the current season. All in all, as a QPR fan, I knew that a successful promotion campaign wouldn’t be smooth and plain sailing given our history but it’s quite comforting to be back biting nails on the fate of our club because in my 25 years of supporting Rangers, it’s all I’ve ever really known.
Dutch international Wesley Sneijder has made the strongest indication yet that he is finally ready to make the move to the Premier League with Manchester United. The player has been a long term target for Sir Alex Ferguson and is seen as the final piece of the jigsaw. Sneijder was a top target for Manchester United last season, but in the end he rejected the move. At the time the Dutch international chose to stay with the reigning European champions Inter Milan.
Ferguson’s strategy for Sneijder was very much a case of all or nothing. When his attempts to sign the Dutchman failed, there was no viable alternative and Man United made no significant summer signing. It appears though that Sneijder is getting itchy feet in Italy and is ready to test himself in the more attacking Premier League – that has always been a lure for him. Sneijder signed a new contract with Inter Milan as recently as last summer, but sources close to the player suggest that he wishes to consider his options at the end of the current season. United have been made aware of the player’s intentions and encouraged to make a good offer to persuade cash-strapped Inter to sell.
Inter’s president, Massimo Moratti, said only last week that he was determined not to sell to the English club, but if the Dutch player remains keen to leave and the offer is good enough then he will have few options – but to relent. Ferguson has indentified midfield as the area to strengthen and is looking for a tough tackling defensive midfield player and someone that can offer some real creativity going forward. Sneijder is now highly regarded as the best in the world at the latter and would be an exciting addition to a forward line that already includes Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez, Dimitar Berbatov, Nani and Antonio Valencia. Jack Rodwell may be lined up for the defensive midfield position, but it’s Sneijder that is seen as the number one transfer target.
Funding the transfer is hardly likely to be an issue, because the Glazer family have already sanctioned a summer spending spree. To get their man it appears Manchester United would be prepared to smash through their transfer record fee of the near £31million they paid for Berbatov. The key to the deal though may not be money, but the desire the Dutchman has shown to have a taste of Premier League football. It is believed Sneijder has become frustrated by the tactically constrained limitations of Serie A; he is now ready to express himself in the Premier League.
Like this article? Follow me on Twitter
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Barcelona booked their spot in the last four of the Champions League with a 1-0 quarter-final second-leg win over Shakhtar Donetsk.A goal from Argentine superstar Lionel Messi two minutes from half-time was enough to hand Barca a win at Donbass Arena on Tuesday, lifting them to a 6-1 aggregate triumph over the Ukrainian champions after their 5-1 destruction at the Nou Camp last Wednesday.
The hosts started brightly and dominated the opening quarter of an hour as Barcelona missed the influence of the suspended Andres Iniesta in the middle of the park.
Dominance of possession should have led to the opener for the Ukrainian outfit in the eighth minute when Brazilian attacker Douglas Costa was played in behind the defence forcing Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes to produce a superb save in the one-on-one.
Valdes was called upon again six minutes later when Costa’s countryman Jadson blasted a shot straight at the Spaniard, and the Brazilian had another fantastic chance in the 24th minute when a cross from Vasili Kobin came in from the right, but his shot was again straight at the goalkeeper
The visitors began to settle into the contest and Messi unleashed a fierce drive straight at Andriy Pyatov in the Shakhtar goal.
On the half-hour mark, Barcelona should have gone ahead with two glorious chances in as many minutes.
First, Adriano had his angled shot cleared off the line before Messi dribbled his way through the Shakhtar defence, striking a shot with the outside of his boot straight to Pyatov.
Iniesta’s replacement Ibrahim Afellay struck a venomous shot at the Ukrainian shot-stopper before Messi finally broke the deadlock a minute later.
Dani Alves strode forward in characteristic fashion down the right before cutting back for Messi, who took two neat touches and placed smartly into the bottom corner to make it 1-0 on the night after 43 minutes.
The home side kept pushing before the break and Jadson forced Valdes to tip his goal-bound free-kick over the bar.
In the second-half, a dazzling run from Messi almost set up another for Barcelona just before the hour mark.
The Argentine wizard drew a player before offloading a neat pass to Afellay on the left hand side of the box, but Pyatov palmed his well-placed shot away.
Valdes produced a superb reflex save after 73 minutes to deny Henrik Mkhitaryan after a flowing move from Shakhtar, and with five minutes to play Mkhitaryan picked out substitute Marcelo Moreno with a great cross, but the striker’s shot was just wide.
The win moves the 2009 European champions to the semi-final stage for the fourth successive season, where they will likely meet their fierce rivals Real Madrid, who lead Tottenham 4-0 heading into their second leg in London on Wednesday.