Won the League 1 title in style under the excellent management and stylish football of Gus Poyet. A move into the fantastic new Amex Community Stadium has ended 12 years of exile at the ramshackle Withdean Stadium.
2010/2011 Final Finish:
1st in League 1
Who’s New:
Craig Mackail-Smith (Peterborough Utd), Will Buckley (Watford), Will Hoskins (Bristol Rovers), Kazenga Lua-Lua (Newcastle Utd, loan), Roland Bergkamp (Excelsior), Romain Vincelot (Dagenham & Redbridge)
Who’s Out:
Glenn Murray (Crystal Palace), Elliott Bennett (Norwich City), Jim McNulty (Barnsley), Chris Holroyd (Rotherham), James Tunnicliffe (Wycombe Wanderers), Fran Sandaza (St. Johnstone)
Who to Watch:
Craig Mackail-Smith – Brighton’s record signing and last season’s top scorer in League 1. The signing was a real coup for Poyet, who was able to pinch his man from under the noses of Leicester and West Ham. If the former Peterborough man can continue his form into the Championship, Brighton could have a shot at the playoffs.
Look out as well for Dutch under-21 forward Roland Bergkamp, nephew of Arsenal legend Dennis.
Who’s going up:
West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Burnley
I’m going to go slightly against the grain in not tipping Leicester for promotion. In the battle of the former England managers, I think it will be Steve McLaren who wins out. No doubt you will be able to pillory me for this later. I would like to see Eddie Howe do well at Burnley after his frankly stunning achievements with Bournemouth, and their form late last season suggests they could be a threat.
Who’s going down:
Watford, Peterborough and Doncaster Rovers
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Watford are broke and have lost half their squad and their manager. Peterborough have got Prince Ferg back at the helm, but the loss of Mackail-Smith’s goals will be a big hurdle to overcome. Doncaster struggled last season, finishing 21st, and will quite probably struggle again.
Where will you finish:
A playoff push might be a bit too much, but the club is ambitious and will certainly be aiming high. Fans will be happy with comfortable mid-table. Some have suggested that Poyet’s brand of good football might be found out in the rough and tumble of the Championship, but I disagree. Swansea have reached the Premier League playing passing football, and League 1 is also a tough division.
Whilst they will score goals, Brighton’s one weakness will be at the back where they have a tendency to concede sloppy late goals. But their performances against Portsmouth and Watford in the FA Cup last season show that they can cut it at this level, and the quality of reinforcements that Gus Poyet has brought in will ensure an enjoyable season.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says his side are showing all the signs of genuine title contenders after their 3-0 win over of Wigan.
Wenger watched his men dismantle Wigan at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, with Robin van Persie firing a hat-trick and missing a penalty in an eventful afternoon.
The result saw Arsenal remain just two points behind Manchester United at the top of the Premier League table, which Wenger says his side are in with a good chance of topping.
“We know we now have eight home games and it’s important to win the home games – then we have a good chance (of winning the title),” Wenger told SkySports.
“We are up for it. We are hungry, we want to do well, we play well so it will be interesting.”
Wenger also admitted he would rest some players for Arsenal’s second-leg Carling Cup semi-final against Ipswich this week, despite the fact his side trails by a goal.
“We rotate from game to game. We play nine games in January which is a historical record for Arsenal.”
“We have a strong squad, some great players have not played today. Some of them might play on Tuesday,” Wenger said. “When you are in many competitions you just think about your next game.”
“We have some knocks and bruises. Fabregas, Nasri, Djourou has a shoulder problem – we will have to assess that on Sunday and Monday.”
“(Lukasz) Fabianski will still be out for Tuesday, (Manuel) Almunia maybe is coming back into the squad on Monday so he will be available.”
Wigan boss Roberto Martinez was disappointed with the referee’s decision to send Gary Caldwell off in the second half, when he was adjudged to have fouled Cesc Fabregas in the penalty box.
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“I know Cesc very well. He is a wonderful player and very clever, and he knows how to buy decisions off referees,” Martinez said.
“There is contact, but you do not know how much of that comes from Cesc looking for it, or from Gary’s leg. I don’t think that contact is intentional to bring Cesc down.”
“Cesc comes from different culture – you do not cheat, if you take a decision from the referee it is because you are clever and you are getting something for your team.”
British transfer records, unreasonably high wage bills and levels of frivolity that could only be perpetrated by Russian oligarchs – it doesn’t sound like a recipe for a football club looking to comply with UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations. But then again, you never know. When he arrived at Chelsea in 2003, Peter Kenyon claimed it was his aim to turn Chelsea in to a profitable club. A somewhat outlandish statement you might think, but, even after everything that has happened in the last two years, it is more than just a pipe dream. Chelsea can adhere to the FFP rules, but it will be a struggle.
Aims of FFP
As agreed upon in 2009, UEFA have a set of core objectives, which they hope FFP will help them achieve within European football. These aims are: to reduce the inflationary nature of wages and transfer fees, to introduce more discipline and responsibility in club finances, to ensure that clubs compete within their financial means, to encourage long-term investment in clubs’ individual youth programmes and infrastructure, and to ensure the economic future of European football as a whole.
Some of these measures have already been taken into account and acted upon at Chelsea, others have not.
The goal for UEFA is that by 2018/19 all clubs will be spending no more than their revenue each year. Before that point some leeway is allowed.
In theory, the first season in which a club could fail in their application to take part in a European competition due to FFP is 2013/14. However it is unlikely that such actions will be taken at this stage
The rules stipulate that a club wishing to enter into a European competition for 2013/14 must have lost no more than €45m for the previous two seasons.
For the 2014/15 season that figure of debt allowed remains at €45m but is calculated over three seasons instead of two. For the 2015/16 season the maximum shortfall is €30m over the three years. This format continues until 2018/19 when there are no more allowances made.
Whilst these figures for the near future may seem unattainable, allowances can be made if the excess shortfall (i.e. debt exceeding €45m within this period) is a result of player contracts signed before 1st June 2010. However, this will only be accepted as an excuse if the club can prove that there has been, and will continue to be, an upturn in the financial health of the club.
Chelsea’s efforts
Contrary to popular belief, Chelsea have been making considerable efforts for some time now in order to prepare for FFP. For example, they have a clear long term transfer policy, as demonstrated by the signings of Romelu Lukaku, Lucas Piazon, Kevin De Bruyne and Marko Marin. Despite being ‘in charge’ at the time, Andre Villas-Boas admitted to having no involvement in the signing of De Bruyne and made it perfectly clear that signing Lukaku had not bee his idea either.
Whilst signing players without asking your manager might not appear a constructive action, providing they were all thoroughly scouted, buying young and reasonably priced players is a sensible move for the future. Buying Fernando Torres for £50m during the January transfer window reeked of short termism inspired by desperation to hold on to the title. Chelsea have learned from their mistakes. There is a plan to avoid having to make such signings again. Whether Abramovich will stick to it is another matter.
The decision to initially only offer Roberto di Matteo a one year contract (and then a two year contract) was another big step for Abramovich. However mean it may have seemed and whatever Abramovich’s motives for doing so were, it is a serious issue. If Roman wishes to continue dispensing with his managers quite so regularly then he needs to refrain from handing them long, costly contracts. Redundancy packages to former managers are a major issue at Chelsea, one that appears to have been recognised.
New stadium
Having the Chelsea Pitch Owners turn down Abramovich’s approach to redevelop the stadium was a blow for the club with regards to FFP. Yes they would have had to take on a certain amount of debt to build the stadium, but it needn’t have been that costly. Providing they did it this year it might have been possible to raise the money through a combined effort from the council, sponsorship deals for naming rights and a nominal donation from Abramovich. Arsenal may have built their stadium the hard way but Tottenham and Chelsea can look to buy a new stadium whilst incurring minimal costs themselves.
Moreover, the money Chelsea could have received from a larger stadium would have gone far, far further than the modest returns currently provided by Stamford Bridge. It’s worth pointing out that since the Champions League’s creation in 1993 Chelsea have the smallest stadium out of all the clubs who have ever won it. This shows just how much Abramovich has had to stump up in order to get Chelsea where they are today, and how far they have to go before they can realistically support themselves at this level. Obviously there are other sources of income but it is an issue that the club need to address.
Turn debt in to equity
Easily the most effective way for Chelsea to solve their debt problem is to turn the club’s debt, which is owed to Abramovich, in to equity for the owner. Not only is this a good way to decrease the current debt but there are also rules within FFP that state that an owner may lend up to €45m to their club over the course of the three season period as long as they then turn that debt in to equity. If an owner wishes to simply lend money to the club without turning it in to equity then the limit is €5m.
The problem with this is that it is not good value for money for Abramovich. If he never has any intention of selling the club or of recouping his losses then it’s an excellent plan, but if that is not the case then it is an unattractive move for him, especially considering he already did this 2009.
Other options
There are a host of other options available to Chelsea. First, they can go down the route of Arsenal with The Emirates and Man City with Etihad and rename their stadium. Arsenal received £100m in 2006 for the naming rights to their new ground whilst City’s recent shirt and stadium deal gained them £300m. The problem with these long-term deals is that towards the latter stages of the agreement sponsorship deals have normally progressed so fast that the money is no longer competitive.
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This is a problem Arsenal has been suffering from for the last few years and will continue to until 2014 when some of their deals expire.
Chelsea can also raise ticket prices. Fans at some point have to realise that if they want success as a result of massive financial investments they may, at some point, have to contribute to such actions. Man City fans will almost certainly discover this over the next few seasons. The problem for Chelsea is that their tickets are already relatively expensive. Nonetheless, as the current Champions of Europe playing regularly in a relatively small stadium there will never be a lack of competition for tickets. Such is the price elasticity of tickets to see big clubs.
The future
The next few years look undeniably difficult to navigate for Chelsea. The latest financial figures released by the club indicated that their debt was around £91m, their turnover was just over £222m and their wage bill was over £189m. A net loss of £60m on player trading for the year is a shockingly bad return but things are changing.
The club set up a Club Financial Control Panel to ensure that the requirements of FFP are met and if the club’s hierarchy can dissuade Abramovich from rushing out and buying a marquee player every single transfer window then there may be hope for the champions of Europe. UEFA being UEFA it seems certain that FFP will not be a watertight set of rules, but regardless of loop holes Chelsea, given discipline from the owner, can achieve this seemingly impossible goal.
Will he stay or will he go has been the theme this summer at Arsenal as the future of Cesc Fabregas remains uncertain. Barcelona are clearly sticking by their plans to drag the deal out to the last knockings of the transfer window, much to the frustration of Arsene Wenger.
At FFC this week we have seen a mixed bag of Gunners blogs that include fans booing has nothing to do with pre-season; Wenger’s plans show a lack of priorities, while it is time to give up on Fabregas.
We also look at the best Arsenal articles around the web this week.
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Caption Competition: An Arsenal Collector’s Item
Arsenal fans aren’t booing simply down to one pre-season result
Wenger paying the price for towing the financial line
Does Arsene’s transfer plans show a lack of priorities?
2 players for the price of one
Is missing out a genuine concern for Arsenal fans?
Is it time for Arsenal to give up on him?
Doomed whatever we do Arsenal?
Arsenal set to sign Real youth star
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Best of WEB
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Fickle Fans and Mistakes made by Arsenal…… -Highbury House
Should Arsenal play Fabregas in their Champions League play-off to spite Barcelona? – Gunnersphere
Arsenal concede 2 leads, lose own silverware and booed off by the home fans. Good times! – Le Grove
The beginning of a beautiful anti-climax? – Online Gooner
One Of Us Speaks: Brothers in Arms – A Cultured Left Foot
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Arsenal legend believes Barton is a possibility for Wenger…but only if he can control him – Gunnersphere
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Click on Miss Suric below to see her in all here glory
Someone, somewhere does not like Avram Grant. After taking Chelsea to within a flea’s eyebrow of a fantastic treble, the Israeli was cruelly denied on three separate coronation days in 2008. Similarly at Portsmouth, Grant inherited a sinking ship when he took over the reins at Fratton Park, only for another missed penalty to dog his attempts to break his English silverware duck in last year’s FA Cup final.
Now, with his West Ham side only 90 minutes from Grant’s third Wembley final, the former Maccabi Haifa man finds himself facing a fixture the English press have decided he dare not lose. After an extensive board meeting this week, it was decided that the perennially unfortunate Grant would be given a little more time to arrest the Hammers’ slide down the table.
Arsenal arrive at Upton Park on the back of a bizarre Carling Cup defeat away at Ipswich. Much has been written about how poor Arsene Wenger’s charges were on Wednesday, and they will be aware that another defeat against their struggling London rivals could be terminal for their season.
FA chairman David Bernstein has admitted that he wants to forget the Rio Ferdinand selection issue, and is eager to focus on England and hopefully a successful Euro 2012 campaign.
The Manchester United defender has been overlooked for the Three Lions squad on two separate occasions, with his brother’s court case against John Terry thought to be a key reason for this.
Despite the media frenzy, Bernstein wants to focus on the competition in Ukraine and Poland and not bring up the issue again.
“It might be an issue,” Bernstein admitted to The Telegraph.
“It’s an issue I’m happy to talk about when the tournament is over – maybe. We want to be looking forward to do the very best we can with positive thoughts looking ahead and not dwelling on all these frankly historical, extraneous issues.
“I sat next to Roy for two hours on the plane coming here. He is extremely confident. He has done a really good job. There is a very good feel about the squad,” he concluded.
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England open their Euro 2012 campaign against old enemies France on Monday night.
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.
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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
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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.
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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.