Sven has interviewed for the Aston Villa job, and as ever The Subs Bench has its finger on the pulse and managed to snare an exclusive talk with the Swede. He talks about his career highlights, how he wants to be remember, his feelings on potentially leading Aston Villa and of course his history with women!
Matt Wooding by .
Watch out Chelsea, because here come Liverpool. Scousers everywhere are celebrating with the lucrative capture of superstar left back Paul Konchesky. Forget fourth, Liverpool must surely be aiming for the title now!
Arsenal’s title hopes were dealt a massive blow with the news the Manuel Almunia will be between the posts until at least January.
It was a great day for Robinho as he finally got his move away from Manchester to the warm, sunny climate of Milan. Hope you packed your swimsuit for that beautiful February weather Robinho!
Asamoah Gyan has moved to Sunderland in a deal worth £13 million as he looks to put his World Cup nightmare behind him. In unrelated news, local rivals Newcastle has signed Uruguayan reserve goalkeeper Luis Suarez on loan.
And finally, Tottenham are awaiting confirmation they have strengthened their only weak point by finally signing a creative attacking midfielder in the form of Van der Vaart.
Matt Wooding by .
We are very proud and honoured to bring you all an EXCLUSIVE Blatter Control as we sit do with the FIFA President and dicuss his life, his understanding of the game and how he sees the game moving forward. Don’t ask how we got the interview, just accept it for what it is and enjoy our chat with Sepp Blatter
Matt Wooding by .
The fallout has continued. What a week it has been! I never realised I was such a vital cog in the English football machine. Somewhat unsurprisingly Capello has decided that Becks no longer has a role to play, there is no point having him out wide without me in the middle banging home the headers really. What did catch me off guard was Martin O’Neill deciding he could no longer manager Villa due to my retiring from England. I can only assume the thought that I have only a few years left scoring at the top level was too much for him to handle. I am not surprised he hasn’t spoken to the media yet, he is clearly a broken man. The difference in opinion on how to take the club forward mentioned by the chairman is clear, Mr. Lerner foolishly thought the club could move on after I eventually leave, while Martin in all his wisdom and years of experience knew the time was now to invest in cloning so we have the perfect replacement when I leave, me!
-General by .
It has been about 24 hours since I first found out that Martin O’Neill had walked away from Aston Villa. My initial reaction of shock was quickly replaced with anger as to why he would have done this so close to the season starting. After all, it was fairly evident at the end of last season that James Milner had played his last game for Aston Villa and that the previously free-spending ways (at least by Aston Villa standards) of Randy Lerner were coming to an end. This is what led to reports this summer that O’Neill had quit, reports that were very quickly corrected by the club. It would appear now however that while O’Neill did not walk away then, it should have been obvious to Randy Lerner that if it was not then it was going to be sometime soon. If the stories about the potential sale of Friedel to Fulham being the breaking point, then O’Neill was looking for a way out of the club. The sale of a 38 year old goalkeeper with one year left on his contract and a very capable replacement in Brad Guzan already at the club is an excuse rather than a reason to walk away. Lerner must have known he was not going to be able to support O’Neill financially this summer as he had in the past and perhaps the time was right for the two parties to shake hands and walk away at the end of last season. This after all would almost certainly have given Martin O’Neill the chance to manage Liverpool, while Villa could have had the summer to get in a new manager and have him work with the team in pre-season. Who knows, Villa could even had got in a certain Roy Hodgson to work with a good young team on a limit budget.
As the saying goes though, no man is bigger than the club. O’Neill’s style of play is effective but ultimately limited. The time was perhaps right for a change of manager at Villa Park to help a good team progress into a potentially great team with a more rounded game. There is no denying that Martin O’Neill was terrific for Aston Villa, the club is in much better shape now than it was when O’Neill took over. There is a strong playing squad in place and they have been in a cup final and won at Old Trafford, all of which seemed a long way off while battling relegation four years ago. Thanks for the memories Martin.
Matt Wooding by .
Well, well, well. Robbo and Brownie have quit England. I am hardly surprised. It is next to impossible to motivate yourself to play for England now that its biggest name has gracefully retired after a glittering career (I am talking about me). I remember when I got my first call-up thinking how there were no role models in the squad, no real superstars in the team. Now that I have left I look at what is left and get the same feeling. I can only hope that the young England players of the future can watch video of me playing, of my wonderfully taken goal against Germany in Munich, or any of my other 5 goals and draw inspiration, or else the future of English football is very bleak indeed.
-General by .
Cheekbones, or James Milner as he is also known has had a busy summer. I was lucky enough to spend some quality time with him in South Africa which was nice. Despite both playing for Aston Villa we don’t get much of a chance to hangout. Cheekbones tends to hang out with the ‘cool’ guys like Carew, Gabby and Ash, they always go to fun places like the strip club and McDonalds. It’s not like they don’t ask me to go with them, it’s just if I did my wife would hit me. Anyhow, Cheekbones has had a lot of speculation around him, will he or won’t he move to Manchester City. Well, if there is one thing I am an expert on it is moving clubs, I am such a hot commodity (though for some reason my transfer fees keep going down, financial crisis has truly hurt us all). Since he can never hear me when I talk to him in the locker room (tip for Man City medical staff, I think he has bad hearing so maybe check that during the medical), I will take this forum to offer my advice. Cheekbones, Aston Villa already has a small squad and by you leaving it improves my chances of playing regular first team football, so I think you should take this opportunity. After all, sitting on the bench isn’t all that bad and at least you still get paid! That’s all for now, but stay tuned to the Subs Bench for my thoughts as the new season goes into full swing.
Emile Heskey
Matt Wooding by .
England
Titus Bramble today completed his move from Wigan to Sunderland on a three-year deal in a deal believed to be worth £1million.
Bolton Wanderers are on the verge of landing the highly-rated Real Madrid teenager Marcos Alonso.The 18-year-old defender will undergo a medical at the Reebok Stadium this weekend before moving to Owen Coyle’s side in a £1.6million deal.
According to ESPNsoccernet sources, Benfica midfielder Ramires will join Chelsea next week in a £20 million deal.
Manchester United have agreed terms with defender Nemanja Vidic on a new “long-term” contract with the club, chief executive David Gill has confirmed to MUTV.
Europe
Olympiacos have completed the transfer of Liverpool midfielder Albert Riera in a deal worth £3.3 million.
Spanish club Villarreal have been informed by Europe’s football governing body UEFA that they will replace fellow Primera Division club Real Mallorca in the Europa League in 2010-11. Mallorca were disqualified from the Europa League on Thursday by UEFA, who stated that financial factors were the reasons for the expulsion.
France have suspended their entire 23 man World Cup squad for one game, meaning none of them will be eligible for selection for the upcoming friendly against Norway. Laurent Blanc had requested the suspension to the French federation as he attempts to rebuild the team after the disastrous World Cup campaign.
South America
Fluminense coach Muricy Ramalho has confirmed he expects to be named as Dunga’s replacement as Brazil boss. The Brazilian football federation is expected to make a formal announcement later today.
England
Ashley Young has hinted that he might sign a new deal at Villa Park. The winger told Sky Sports, “If the contract talks are put forward to me, then of course I will sit down and talk.”
Tottenham have become the first Premier League club to ban vuvuzelas from their own ground ahead of the new season. West Ham, Arsenal, Birmingham & Sunderland have all followed suit.
Wigan Athletic midfielder Olivier Kapo is on the verge of leaving the Latics and moving to an unnamed French side. Martinez told the Wigan Observer: “Olivier has expressed a desire to play in France and we will not try and change his mind.”
A major row has erupted over Martin Jol’s move from Ajax to Fulham. Soccernet is reporting that the Dutch club have refused to discuss any compensation for the loss of their manager.
Liverpool have a £5 million deal agreed for Rangers defender Danny Wilson. 18 year old Wilson had been linked with a move to Anfield for months and will cost Liverpool an initial fee of £2 million with various add-ons taking the total possible outlay to £5 million.
Europe
Harry Kewell has revealed that his special relationship with Galatasaray’s passionate fans and attack-minded coach Frank Rijkaard were behind his decision to snub a host of other offers and remain in Turkey for one more season. The 31-year-old Australia star rejected overtures from three English Premier League clubs, the Bundesliga, Japan, Korea, the UAE and a ‘mind-boggling’ approach from Gold Coast United to extend his stay in Istanbul.
UEFA will decide on Thursday if Spanish side Mallorca will be allowed to take part in the 2010-11 Europa League due to continued financial issues surrounding the club.
Sebastian Giovinco will leave Juventus in the summer after not being guaranteed first-team football, according to the player’s agent. “It is normal that the boy wants to play,” Andrea D’Amico told Sky Italia. ”His desire was to do it at Juventus, but if the plans of the coach don’t involve him, it is necessary that he leaves and plays elsewhere”.
Arsenal is believed to have agreed a fee with Shakhtar Donetsk for the Eduardo. The Croatian was missing from the squad that flew out to Austria on Monday for the club’s pre-season training camp to allow him to hold talks with Shakhtar.
AC Milan has confirmed the signing of defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos from Genoa. The 22 year old is said to have cost around €5 million. Milan has also allowed Gianmarco Zigoni, Nnamdi Oduamadi and Rodney Strasser to join Genoa on a co-ownership arrangement as part of the deal.
MLS
Chivas USA captain Jonathan Bornstein will join Tigres of the Mexican First Division following the 2010 MLS season.
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