Corinthians denied that they have reached an agreement with English Premier League club Manchester City over the transfer of Carlos Tevez.The deal for the forward, reportedly worth around 40 million euros, appeared to have been finalised, but a counter-proposal from City is believed to have stalled the transfer.
Corinthians director of football Edu Gaspar had told reporters that he expected the transfer to be sealed by Monday, leaving Tevez free to join the Sao Paulo giants following Argentina’s Copa America elimination on Sunday.
The reports were given further weight still by manager Roberto Mancini, who said an agreement had been reached with Corinthians.
The Brazilian club’s board, however, released a statement on Monday affirming that negotiations were still ongoing, and that a demand from City for an improved offer had delayed confirmation.
“In light of the news published during the early morning reporting an agreement between Corinthians and Carlos Tevez, president Andres Sanchez would like to state publicly that Manchester City have not accepted the Corinthians proposal for the athlete,” the statement read.
“In fact, the club sent Corinthians a counter-proposal this morning, that due to the difference in time-zones only just came to directors’ attention. In this new proposal, the English club have asked for changes in the form of payment as well as in the total value of the transaction.”
“For now, nothing concrete exists with Tevez and that the counter-offer will be analysed by him and by the club.”
Corinthians are keen to seal the return of the Argentine in order to strengthen their assault on the Brazilian Serie A title.
The club are currently top of the standings in Brazil’s top-flight after 10 rounds, and are unbeaten with eight wins.
Speaking recently to Manchester City’s official magazine, Carlos Tevez said that it was time for City to “get their act together” and find a patch of form good enough to see them challenging for the Premier League this season. He added that “It is a case of thinking about it properly and getting our mindset right in order to get those half-dozen wins in a row which will give us that belief that we can be champions.”
Just a minute, Tevez is telling his squadmates to get their mindset right? Despite a decent win over Bolton over the weekend it was his remarkable theatre of dissension that cast a negative light upon both the game itself and City’s title-tilt. In the last minute of normal time, Roberto Mancini had the sheer audacity to substitute Tevez for James Milner. Tevez responded accordingly by seeming to shove Mancini as he walked off the pitch and the two exchanged ‘heated’ words. Exactly what kind of mindset does that demonstrate Carlos?
This comes on the back of a rumoured dressing-room bust up that the Argentine engineered against Mancini earlier in the season. The truth of the matter is that on the pitch, Tevez has been City’s best player this season. But will it be his goals or the damage created by his attitude that will be Tevez’s most telling contribution to City this season?
Bolton captain Kevin Davies who would have witnessed the event first hand, had sensible words on the subject. He took to his Twitter account and argued that “If you have a problem it is best to sort out behind closed doors rather than make an issue in front of millions.” He added, “Seeing Tevez’s reaction to being subbed assures me there [are] problems within at City, great players individually but as a team?”
That’s the problem with City at the moment, they are a collection of quality players, but they are not a team. Tevez’s antics are yet another reminder of this fact. It is this lack of unity that means City are not genuine title contenders this season.
I’ve seen some City fans attempt to defend Tevez’s action. I understand his importance to the team and how vital he will be if City are to have any success this season, but his response to being substituted was petulant at best and disruptive at worse. To use words like ‘passionate’ and ‘committed’ to attempt to defend the Argentine miss the point.
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.
A captain simply should not speak to a manager in that manner. It’s time for City fans to start expecting their players to perform off the pitch, not just on it. No more excuses.
Agree with what I have to say? Or want to tell me why I’m wrong? Feel free to follow me on Twitter: @ThePerfectPass
Holy Crap – its live fantasy football! Become part of the Liverpool v Aston Villa match and play Picklive for FREE Watch and bet live – spices up any game!
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce is believed to be ready to sue Blackburn manager Steve Kean, after a Youtube clip was released with the Ewood Park head coach slating his predecessor.
The incident was videoed by Blackburn fans during the Lancashire club’s pre-season tour of the Far East, with the clip showing Kean making inflammatory remarks over Allardyce’s integrity, operating methods and ability as a manager.
The Telegraph state that the Upton Park supremo has alerted his lawyers, who will look into the footage and potentially take action against Kean.
The under-fire Scot is set to meet with Rovers’ owners Venkys in Pune in coming days to discuss his future, amid the club’s relegation from the Premier League this term.
Kean has maintained that his job at Blackburn is safe, but this has yet to be confirmed by the club’s Indian owners.
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.
Kashiwa Reysol maintained their slender lead at the head of the J.League after coming from behind to beat Sanfrecce Hiroshima 3-1.Hisato Sato put Sanfrecce ahead after just seven minutes at the Kashiwa Hitachi Stadium on Wednesday, but Brazilian attacker Leandro Domingues had the hosts back on level terms three minutes later.
Kashiwa took the lead eight minutes after half-time thanks to a goal from Hideaki Kitajima, before Masato Kudo iced the game with a third in injury time.
The win keeps Kashiwa one point ahead of Yokohama F.Marinos atop the J.League standings, while Sanfrecce slip to eighth.
Yokohama kept the pressure on the league leaders with a 2-1 victory against relegation-threatened Montedio Yamagata.
Kazuma Watanabe scored in the first minute to give Yokohama the perfect start in front of their home fans, and although Kohei Miyazaki grabbed an equaliser for Montedio shortly after the interval, Kim-Kun Hoan found an injury-time winner to grab all three points for the hosts.
Elsewhere, Gamba Osaka moved to third on the table following their 3-2 win over Vissel Kobe, with Takahiro Futagawa, Takashi Usami and Keun-Ho Lee all getting on the scoresheet for the winners.
Australian Josh Kennedy and Montenegrin Igor Burzanovic both scored as Nagoya Grampus came from a goal down to beat Kashima Antlers 2-1, while Kawasaki Frontale slipped to fifth after going down 2-0 to the Urawa Reds.
Bottom side Avispa Fukuoka grabbed just their second win of the season after a 1-0 triumph over Omiya Ardija, while Vegalta Sendai and Shimizu S-Pulse played out a scoreless draw.
Jubilo Iwata twice came from a goal down to score a 3-2 win away to Cerezo Osaka – Hiroki Yamada scoring the winner on 80 minutes.
It isn’t easy to design an all-time Premier League dream team. Everybody will have their own opinion on who is worthy, who deserves a place and who doesn’t. The first thing to note is that the team is dominated by players from Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. This might rile people a little, but could things really be any other way? These are the teams that have dominated the Premier League since its inception thanks to the quality and character of the players found within them. If you disagree with any of my choices or feel like I’ve made an egregious exclusion, feel free to air your views in the comment section. Below are my choices, but who would make your all time Premier League dream team?
Click on image below to see the Premiership Dream Team
[divider]
If you’re interested and want to hear more feel free to 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.
There’ll be no end of season party at Elland Road this year, that is, unless Ken Bates decides he’d rather sell up and move on. Leeds’ season has fallen apart over the last few games; we’ve rocketed to the bottom of the form table and confidence has been shattered. The players look as though they’re already sat on the proverbial beach, Neil Warnock has been more than honest about how the majority of them wont even be here next season and our captain has told the fans how disillusioned life at Leeds has become, asking ”How can you say you’re aiming for promotion and then sell your captain?” in reference to Jonny Howson being sold to Norwich.
Happy days.
This could all come as a shock to some on the outside, those that only ever listen to Ken Bates and his army of puppets. The picture they paint is of a happy Leeds United, with all the fans and players arm in arm singing ring around the rose bush. Unfortunately, when you look a little closer you see that it’s actually just Ken Bates dragging the fans through one, and making them pay for it too. But then again, if you want a Premier League rose bush you’ve got to pay premier league prices.
For those that aren’t aware of the people I refer to as his army of puppets, look no further than former Leeds legend Peter Lorimer, and yes, I did mean former. The reason for this is simple, he’s become an embarrassment to the fans, selling his soul to the devil by reading whatever script Bates happily places in his lap week after week.
This week he decided to tell us how we needed quality over quantity in regards to new players, which makes sense. What doesn’t make sense is selling the quality and then making a statement like that. Quality such as the aforementioned Jonny Howson, who along with Bradley Johnson successfully stopped the usually creative Tottenham midfield from controlling the game against Norwich. Both players deemed surplus by Leeds, but who were never truly replaced. You then look to Max Gradel, the one player that could create a chance from nothing and win a game when all seemed lost, he was also never replaced, though you may say he was practically irreplaceable anyway. At least the new executive boxes are at a quality standard. If you want premiership standard executive boxes…..you get the idea.
Understandably, the fans have had enough. The excuses made by Bates have long worn thin and you can’t help but feel that something really does have to give now. Ken bought himself some breathing space with the appointment of Warnock but the fans are rallying again and a protest is being planned for the game against Leicester, one of the many teams Ken has happily referred to as an example of how spending money doesn’t guarantee success. Leicester are 3 points off the playoffs with a bit of momentum gathering, Leeds are plummeting, and while he may, to an extent, have a point, you could also say that spending no, or little money almost guarantees failure.
It’s now or never for Bates, he’s got a manager who has addressed the flaws and called for big investment in the summer. Let’s hope when he reaches into his pocket next he pulls out his cheque book, rather than his list of excuses.
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.
Manchester United’s title winning squad was greeted by thousands of fans during a parade through the city on Monday.Rain greeted the open-top bus as United showed off their record-breaking 19th English Premier League title, albeit after a 3-1 loss to Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League final on Saturday.
Striker Dimitar Berbatov was part of the parade despite not being included in the squad for the final at Wembley.
Veterans Paul Scholes, who has been offered a one-year contract extension but has not yet accepted, and Michael Owen, whose contract has expired, were also part of the trip from the city centre to Old Trafford.
Forward Wayne Rooney said it was important the players forgot about Saturday’s defeat and turned their attentions to next season.
“Winning the league is a massive achievement. We have to forget about what happened on Saturday and move on,” he told MUTV.
“The idea now is to win the 20th (league title). We will be fighting hard to make sure we are there again next season.”
Defender John O’Shea, who like Berbatov was not selected in the squad against Barcelona, said the parade would help the players move on from the loss.
“With the weather, we wondered if anyone would turn out,” he said.
“We never should have doubted it. It makes you realise how important this club is to people and will help the players get over what happened on Saturday.”
When last questioned about his managerial future, Arsène Wenger told the Mail on Sunday “Ideally I would not want to leave without this generation winning a trophy”. This quote came on the back of rumours over the summer that Wenger could move on to manage Real Madrid in the future. It’s unlikely that Wenger will move on in the near future, but who knows where he’ll be in 2-3 seasons time?
Although a Premier League without Sir Alex Ferguson is unthinkable, it is also somewhat inevitable. Of course, he’s still passionate about the game and any considerations about his future would be based purely on hearsay and rumour. However, he’s 68-years-old now and it may not be too long until retirement beckons. Whilst this question may be a couple of years away from being realised, I still think it’s important to consider: How do you replace two managerial legends like Arsène Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson?
One potential answer comes in the form of Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola. He has a number of qualities that might just make him the perfect solution for Arsenal and United’s pending problems.
Firstly, at 38-years-old, he’s still young. In managerial terms, he’s barely out of the womb. The likes of Arsenal and Manchester United will likely be looking for a fresh face rather than an old, experienced type, since they’ll want to take on somebody who will be with them for the long-term. As a club you don’t want to be changing Managers at the same rate you transfer players – a manager should bring a sense of consistency and control to the squad. Guardiola’s youth means that he has the potential to stay at either club for a long, long time.
That’s not to say that his youth comes without experience. Consider what Guardiola’s already achieved in his short time at Barcelona. In his first season as manager Guardiola won the treble of La Liga, the UEFA Champion’s League and the Copa del Rey. The following season saw Guardiola steer Barcelona towards the clubs first sextuple. He’s the youngest manager to have ever won the Champion’s League. Despite his short time at the head of Barcelona, his list of achievements and plaudits go on and on.
You might argue that Guardiola is blessed with a group of players with whom it would be difficult not to achieve greatness. Yet what’s impressive about Guardiola is his style of management. He came to manage a Barcelona side that was already a huge success and yet was still keen to emphasise an even harder work ethic. Under Guardiola Barcelona have become arguably the best pressing and pressuring side in Europe.
Manchester United and Arsenal are two very attacking sides. Guardiola has ample experience managing a team most renowned for their superior attacking football. He has experience managing players with difficult egos. He has already proven himself at a young age. If he were available at the right time for either Arsenal or United when they find themselves searching for a new manager, you can’t help but feel as though he would be the perfect man for the job.
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.
Of course, we’re dealing with a lot of ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ here, but wouldn’t you like to see Pep Guardiola try his hand in the Premier League some day?
If you’re interested and want to hear more feel free to follow me on Twitter.
Fancy playing your mates every week in a Premium Fantasy Football game?
Jan Vertonghen, who has recently been linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur, has talked up a possible switch to Arsenal, according to the Metro.
The Ajax star has spoken of his desire to leave the Dutch side at the end of the season with the Premier League his chosen destination and North London in particular.
Only two weeks ago Vertonghen was extremely complimentary of Harry Redknapp’s side suggesting a potential summer move was in the offing (Setanta), however the Belgium international appears to have been swayed by his international teammate Thomas Vermaelen in recent weeks and has suggested that he would welcome a move to the Emirates if Arsenal can reach an agreement with Ajax
“Arsenal are a magnificent club and I hear a lot of good things about English football,’
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.
“If a club of Arsenal’s calibre can reach agreement with Ajax, then I will gladly go over – I have instructed my agent carefully. He knows which clubs I want to join and Arsenal are one of them.”
The Premier League is arguably the greatest the league in the world of football, attracting the world’s biggest footballing names, usually producing four teams in the latter stages of the Champions League and showcasing some of the best free flowing attacking football. Like all beautiful things, there is usually a flip side, and this Premier League season, in amongst unbeaten runs and unbelievable ‘tekkers’ there has been sending off’s, dodgy decisions and the odd unnoticed elbow.
Weak FA- This season more than most, has been surrounded in off the ball incidents, goals that should have been and goals that shouldn’t have been, but the main disappointment for me, a lover of the beautiful game, has been the FA’s inconsistency and lack of punishment in dealing with incidents. Wayne Rooney’s WWE style elbow on James McCarthy, whether or not Mark Clattenberg saw the incident or reported the incident, is all irrelevant; an obvious and callous attack on a fellow professional should’ve been punished. Also this season has seen the emergence of Twitter being used by footballers, it is a fantastic way for fans to feel closer to their ‘heroes’. However this season has seen a footballers, regularly being reprimanded for things they have said on Twitter. Ryan Babel, Danny Gabbidon and Carlton Cole are just some of the players who have been fined and warned by the FA this season but there have also been cases this season where the FA haven’t punished footballers for outspoken comments on the website. Jack Wilshere avoided being reprimanded for these comments “Inconsistent refereeing needs to stop, its killing the game.” How will the FA’s respect for referees campaign ever be a success if such things go unpunished?
The standard has dropped- The Premier League is always classed as the greatest league on earth and don;t get me wrong, that is still the case after this season. However many are praising the improvement of the teams outside the top four for taking more points off the ‘big boys’. Being the cynic I am, I just can’t help but think this is because the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea have just dropped in standard. After making a blistering start to the season, Chelsea struggled to eventually claim second, Arsenal failed to hold on to a 4-0 lead at Newcastle, Manchester United drew 11 games and Liverpool still didn’t reclaim their Champions League status. Not exactly attributes of football’s elite.
[ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’right’]
The Title race didn’t go to the last day- It seemed at one point that neither Arsenal, Manchester United or Chelsea wanted to the win the Premiership. All the teams dropped points in the title run in and it looked all set up for a final day rollercoaster. Sadly for us fans of the beautiful game, Arsenal collapsed, Chelsea left it too late and Manchester United did what they do best and claimed their nineteenth league title in the penultimate fixture.
Premiership fixtures on day of FA Cup – This season has well and truly killed off the FA Cup, the cup that represents the spirit of football, where everyone loves the underdog. Last Saturday the Premier League held their fixtures at 12:30pm with the FA Cup kicking off later that afternoon. The FA Cup used to be a special occasion, a sole fixture, that rolled every footballing emotion into one 90 minutes. With fans travelling back from their lunch time kick off’s, the FA Cup was lost in delayed trains and post match pints.
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.
Let me know what disappointed you this season at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Daniel-T-Blazer/185495024836102