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..... is exactly what it says on the label.
I come across a lot of stuff that seems interesting to me and that I would like to share, but not everything is worthy of its own thread.
So voila. Enjoy reading and feel free to contribute.
Yes, you!
SCOLARI SPARKS LAMPARD ROW
http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_3796573,00.html
Luiz Felipe Scolari's claim during his introductory press conference that Frank Lampard would stay at Chelsea is reported to have sparked an extraordinary confrontation between the midfielder and chief executive Peter Kenyon that has seemingly made his departure to Inter Milan inevitable.
While Scolari's debut performance in front of the press was composed and confident, his announcement that Lampard would be staying at the club may prove a terrible error of judgement.
Far from settling the issue, the repercussions of Scolari's claim saw Inter Milan table a £8m bid for the midfielder last night and his departure is now depicted as merely a matter of time.
"He wants to stay and to play for Chelsea for many years. I was very happy because I think Chelsea needs Lampard and Lampard likes Chelsea. Now it's a minimum of questions to solve it and Lampard will be with us more time than one year," Scolari declared.
The announcement was immediately countered by Lampard's agent, Steve Kutner, stressing that while his client 'wanted' to stay, that didn't mean he would be staying. "He made it categorically clear that although he would love to finish his career at Chelsea, with the deal he has been offered that is not possible," Kutner's statement read.
Yet while Kutner was issuing his statement, Lampard's reaction is reported to have been even less restrained. According to the Times, 'Lampard, who watched the press conference at the training ground in Cobham, Surrey, between double sessions, confronted Peter Kenyon in the canteen when the chief executive returned from the nearby Hilton Hotel, where Scolari had been speaking.'
An irretrievable breach has apparently opened between Lampard and the club's hierachy, with Chelsea unwilling to meet his demand for a five-year contract worth approximately £135,000 a week. No doubt delighted at the unexpected turn of events, Inter Milan, now under the management of Jose Mourinho, made their first formal bid for Lampard's services last night and saw the odds on the player moving to Italy tumble.
SCOLARI PROMISES CHELSEA EXODUS
http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_3796665,00.html
Luiz Felipe Scolari has promised a massive overhaul of Chelsea's bloated first-team squad that is likely to see around ten players leave before the start of the new season.
While Scolari's assurances during his introductory press conference that Frank Lampard would remain at the club have seemingly rebounded to the extent of making the midfielder's departure inevitable, a host of other established names are expected to be told they can leave after Scolari indicated he wanted to radically trim the size of his squad.
"I want to work with 23, 24, or a maximum of 25 players," the new Chelsea boss confirmed. "Now I have 32 players. But now is the time to change the team. If I have 30 players I can't bring them in from the youth side, which is what I have always done and always will do.
"The players know this. When I spoke to them, I said this: 'There will be 23, 24 or 25 who will stay with me. That is the maximum I will need'."
Scolari is not short of candidates for the cull. Among those set to depart in the next few weeks are Steve Sidwell and Shaun Wright-Phillips, as well as Lampard. However, his remarks could also signal the exit of Andriy Shevchenko, Juliano Belletti, Carlo Cudicini and Claudio Pizarro. Claude Makelele, meanwhile, is thought to be interested in a switch to Paris St Germain.
O`NEILL MAKES BARRY PROPOSAL
http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_3796437,00.html
Martin O'Neill says Aston Villa have written to Liverpool to propose a deal for Gareth Barry.
Liverpool are desperate to sign the Villa captain and last week saw a new bid of £15million rejected.
Villa have already turned down multiple offers from their Premier League rivals, with manager O'Neill valuing his skipper in the £18million bracket.
Reports suggest that O'Neill would be willing to accept £17million, plus Reds full-back Steve Finnan in part exchange.
O'Neill has not confirmed his interest in Finnan, but has revealed that a proposal has been put to his Liverpool counterpart Rafa Benitez.
"Liverpool have come back to us and we have responded to their proposal with a letter," O'Neill told the Birmingham Mail.
"We're still waiting to hear back from Liverpool after putting that proposal to them.
"It's really up to Liverpool. I really don't know how it's going to work out at the moment.
"I'm sure there will be some sort of resolution at some stage or another."
Meanwhile, Villa striker John Carew is 'sad' about the prospect of Barry leaving, but is hoping the club bring in a quality replacement.
"What is happening with Gareth is part of football," said Carew. "I don't think anyone is shocked, although you don't want to lose someone who was one of our best players last year and for all the seasons he has been at Villa.
"That is football and that's the way things work and now we are just waiting to see who comes in to replace him - but I think it will be a good player coming in.
"It is sad that Gareth is going, but I don't use much energy on it. I am focusing on the team we have here, the players we have here, and not all the surroundings."
Crouch agrees Pompey terms
Striker to undergo medical before transfer is sealed
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_3796809,00.html
Portsmouth have announced that Liverpool striker Peter Crouch has agreed personal terms with the club.
The Premier League duo struck an agreement over the England international's fee - believed to be in the region of £10million - on Monday.
Crouch is set to undergo a medical at Fratton Park in the next 48 hours before the transfer is sealed.
Manager Harry Redknapp worked with Crouch during a previous spell at Pompey and at Southampton, and will be hopeful that the towering forward will add firepower to his frontline for the forthcoming season.
Regular football
Crouch endured a frustrating last term at Anfield after he recorded just nine Premier League starts.
The 27-year-old joined Liverpool from Southampton in 2005 and initially struggled for goals.
However, in his second season on Merseyside he finished the club's top goalscorer in all competitions.
Crouch is likely to form a striking partnership with fellow England forward Jermain Defoe next campaign as Portsmouth look to continue their fine form that saw the club land the FA Cup trophy last season.
BENITEZ SORRY TO SEE CROUCH GO
http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_3795851,00.html
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has admitted he wanted to keep Peter Crouch as the England striker prepares to complete his move to Portsmouth.
Crouch has completed a medical at Fratton Park and the finer points of his £11million move back to the south coast are almost complete with Pompey set to formally confirm the move soon.
But Benitez has pre-empted Crouch's final departure from Merseyside by saying: "He is a good professional and a nice person, and we would have wanted him to stay. We offered him a new contract.
"But sometimes you have to understand the player. He wanted to play a lot more, and with Fernando Torres now first choice, that was always going to be difficult.
"I can understand Peter's situation. But he did very well for this club and we always supported him when people doubted the decision to bring him to Anfield."
Benitez made it clear that he will now try to sign a replacement striker, and refused to rule out a possible move for Spanish star David Villa.
He said: "We have Torres, Andriy Voronin, Dirk Kuyt, Ryan Babel and Steven Gerrard, who can play as a second striker.
"But we will try to bring in another option. Villa is a player we know all about and he is on our list. But maybe it will be difficult."
Benitez now hopes to complete the drawn-out saga of Gareth Barry's move from Aston Villa, which the club still hope to have sealed by the weekend.
Whether that will be in time for Liverpool's first pre-season friendly at Tranmere on Saturday is debatable.
But Benitez would wish to have the midfielder on board for the training camp in Switzerland which starts on Sunday and includes three matches before a return to the UK ahead of the trip to play Rangers in Glasgow on July 26.
I come across a lot of stuff that seems interesting to me and that I would like to share, but not everything is worthy of its own thread.
So voila. Enjoy reading and feel free to contribute.
Yes, you!
July 9th 2008
SCOLARI SPARKS LAMPARD ROW
http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_3796573,00.html
Luiz Felipe Scolari's claim during his introductory press conference that Frank Lampard would stay at Chelsea is reported to have sparked an extraordinary confrontation between the midfielder and chief executive Peter Kenyon that has seemingly made his departure to Inter Milan inevitable.
While Scolari's debut performance in front of the press was composed and confident, his announcement that Lampard would be staying at the club may prove a terrible error of judgement.
Far from settling the issue, the repercussions of Scolari's claim saw Inter Milan table a £8m bid for the midfielder last night and his departure is now depicted as merely a matter of time.
"He wants to stay and to play for Chelsea for many years. I was very happy because I think Chelsea needs Lampard and Lampard likes Chelsea. Now it's a minimum of questions to solve it and Lampard will be with us more time than one year," Scolari declared.
The announcement was immediately countered by Lampard's agent, Steve Kutner, stressing that while his client 'wanted' to stay, that didn't mean he would be staying. "He made it categorically clear that although he would love to finish his career at Chelsea, with the deal he has been offered that is not possible," Kutner's statement read.
Yet while Kutner was issuing his statement, Lampard's reaction is reported to have been even less restrained. According to the Times, 'Lampard, who watched the press conference at the training ground in Cobham, Surrey, between double sessions, confronted Peter Kenyon in the canteen when the chief executive returned from the nearby Hilton Hotel, where Scolari had been speaking.'
An irretrievable breach has apparently opened between Lampard and the club's hierachy, with Chelsea unwilling to meet his demand for a five-year contract worth approximately £135,000 a week. No doubt delighted at the unexpected turn of events, Inter Milan, now under the management of Jose Mourinho, made their first formal bid for Lampard's services last night and saw the odds on the player moving to Italy tumble.
SCOLARI PROMISES CHELSEA EXODUS
http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_3796665,00.html
Luiz Felipe Scolari has promised a massive overhaul of Chelsea's bloated first-team squad that is likely to see around ten players leave before the start of the new season.
While Scolari's assurances during his introductory press conference that Frank Lampard would remain at the club have seemingly rebounded to the extent of making the midfielder's departure inevitable, a host of other established names are expected to be told they can leave after Scolari indicated he wanted to radically trim the size of his squad.
"I want to work with 23, 24, or a maximum of 25 players," the new Chelsea boss confirmed. "Now I have 32 players. But now is the time to change the team. If I have 30 players I can't bring them in from the youth side, which is what I have always done and always will do.
"The players know this. When I spoke to them, I said this: 'There will be 23, 24 or 25 who will stay with me. That is the maximum I will need'."
Scolari is not short of candidates for the cull. Among those set to depart in the next few weeks are Steve Sidwell and Shaun Wright-Phillips, as well as Lampard. However, his remarks could also signal the exit of Andriy Shevchenko, Juliano Belletti, Carlo Cudicini and Claudio Pizarro. Claude Makelele, meanwhile, is thought to be interested in a switch to Paris St Germain.
O`NEILL MAKES BARRY PROPOSAL
http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_3796437,00.html
Martin O'Neill says Aston Villa have written to Liverpool to propose a deal for Gareth Barry.
Liverpool are desperate to sign the Villa captain and last week saw a new bid of £15million rejected.
Villa have already turned down multiple offers from their Premier League rivals, with manager O'Neill valuing his skipper in the £18million bracket.
Reports suggest that O'Neill would be willing to accept £17million, plus Reds full-back Steve Finnan in part exchange.
O'Neill has not confirmed his interest in Finnan, but has revealed that a proposal has been put to his Liverpool counterpart Rafa Benitez.
"Liverpool have come back to us and we have responded to their proposal with a letter," O'Neill told the Birmingham Mail.
"We're still waiting to hear back from Liverpool after putting that proposal to them.
"It's really up to Liverpool. I really don't know how it's going to work out at the moment.
"I'm sure there will be some sort of resolution at some stage or another."
Meanwhile, Villa striker John Carew is 'sad' about the prospect of Barry leaving, but is hoping the club bring in a quality replacement.
"What is happening with Gareth is part of football," said Carew. "I don't think anyone is shocked, although you don't want to lose someone who was one of our best players last year and for all the seasons he has been at Villa.
"That is football and that's the way things work and now we are just waiting to see who comes in to replace him - but I think it will be a good player coming in.
"It is sad that Gareth is going, but I don't use much energy on it. I am focusing on the team we have here, the players we have here, and not all the surroundings."
Crouch agrees Pompey terms
Striker to undergo medical before transfer is sealed
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_3796809,00.html
Portsmouth have announced that Liverpool striker Peter Crouch has agreed personal terms with the club.
The Premier League duo struck an agreement over the England international's fee - believed to be in the region of £10million - on Monday.
Crouch is set to undergo a medical at Fratton Park in the next 48 hours before the transfer is sealed.
Manager Harry Redknapp worked with Crouch during a previous spell at Pompey and at Southampton, and will be hopeful that the towering forward will add firepower to his frontline for the forthcoming season.
Regular football
Crouch endured a frustrating last term at Anfield after he recorded just nine Premier League starts.
The 27-year-old joined Liverpool from Southampton in 2005 and initially struggled for goals.
However, in his second season on Merseyside he finished the club's top goalscorer in all competitions.
Crouch is likely to form a striking partnership with fellow England forward Jermain Defoe next campaign as Portsmouth look to continue their fine form that saw the club land the FA Cup trophy last season.
BENITEZ SORRY TO SEE CROUCH GO
http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_3795851,00.html
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has admitted he wanted to keep Peter Crouch as the England striker prepares to complete his move to Portsmouth.
Crouch has completed a medical at Fratton Park and the finer points of his £11million move back to the south coast are almost complete with Pompey set to formally confirm the move soon.
But Benitez has pre-empted Crouch's final departure from Merseyside by saying: "He is a good professional and a nice person, and we would have wanted him to stay. We offered him a new contract.
"But sometimes you have to understand the player. He wanted to play a lot more, and with Fernando Torres now first choice, that was always going to be difficult.
"I can understand Peter's situation. But he did very well for this club and we always supported him when people doubted the decision to bring him to Anfield."
Benitez made it clear that he will now try to sign a replacement striker, and refused to rule out a possible move for Spanish star David Villa.
He said: "We have Torres, Andriy Voronin, Dirk Kuyt, Ryan Babel and Steven Gerrard, who can play as a second striker.
"But we will try to bring in another option. Villa is a player we know all about and he is on our list. But maybe it will be difficult."
Benitez now hopes to complete the drawn-out saga of Gareth Barry's move from Aston Villa, which the club still hope to have sealed by the weekend.
Whether that will be in time for Liverpool's first pre-season friendly at Tranmere on Saturday is debatable.
But Benitez would wish to have the midfielder on board for the training camp in Switzerland which starts on Sunday and includes three matches before a return to the UK ahead of the trip to play Rangers in Glasgow on July 26.