Schalke are set to win the race to sign out-of-contract Chelsea forward Salomon Kalou, according to Mirror Football.
The Ivory Coast international was largely a bit-part player at the west London club in 2011-12, but did get more chances to play once Roberto Di Matteo took over from Andre Villas Boas.
Despite this, with the Blues on a recruitment drive to bring in a host of new young players to Stamford Bridge this summer, Kalou has seemingly been overlooked and has not been offered a new deal.
A number of Premier League sides have been speculated as having an interest in the African attacker, whilst a move back to former club Feyenoord has also been rumoured to be on the cards.
However, Schalke are thought to have negotiated terms with Kalou, who will move to the Bundesliga club once the transfer window opens.
The Gelsenkirchen club are looking to bolster their attack after seeing legendary Spanish forward Raul leave the club this summer.
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Manchester United are well known and celebrated as the most famous team in all of
English Premier League football betting but what has not been so celebrated has been the other local EPL team, Manchester City, who are leading the EPL standings with a 2 point advantage over Manchester United.
Manchester City rather than Manchester United have been the most dominant team in English Premier League football action this season with a perfect record of 12-0 at home and a +44 goal differential based in large part on a defence that had allowed just 19 goals in 24 games. That goals allowed mark was the best in the EPL but Manchester City was also the highest scoring team in the league with 63 goals.
Sergio Aguero has been the scoring machine for Manchester City as he had a team best 15 goals to go along with 5 assists. Edin Dzeko has also been a valuable asset with 11 goals and 4 assists. Joe Hart has been the stingy heartless goalkeeper with a 0.83 goals against average and 9 shutouts. Aguero hails from Argentina and at age 23 had become one of the world’s deadliest and most feared strikers. This is his first season in the Premier League after playing for Atletico Madrid in La Liga.
Manchester City are coming off a strong 3-0 win over Fulham at home that followed a surprising 0-1 loss to Everton. Perhaps the loss at Everton should not have been a surprise as Manchester City had just 1 win in their previous 13 visits to Everton. Aguero got Manchester City back on track though against Fulham as he had a goal and an assist.
Manchester United have been in good form as of late with 3 wins and a draw in their last 4 games to stay within striking distance of Manchester City. Wayne Rooney, who is often in the news for the wrong reasons, was atop the team stats with 13 goals in Premier League action. Manchester United are coming off a thrilling 3-3 draw with Chelsea as Rooney had 2 goals in the effort. Chelsea outshot Manchester United 20-16 in that contest.
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Speaking of contenders, Chelsea was in 4th place behind Tottenham with a record of 12 wins, 7 draws, and 5 losses while Tottenham had 15 wins, 4 draws, and 4 losses.
The quality of play and amount of good teams has made the EPL season an excellent one with the two Manchester teams battling for the top spot.
Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas believes Chelsea defender Ashley Cole will join him at Real Madrid next season.
Full-back Cole has been linked with a £30million move to the Spanish giants this summer.
The England international would be reunited with former Blues boss Jose Mourinho following his own move from Internazionale to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Casillas, who captained Spain to World Cup glory in South Africa, believes a fresh start in Madrid is exactly what Cole needs.
The 29-year-old is currently in the middle of divorce proceedings following the break-up of his marriage to pop star Cheryl Tweedy.
"From what I am hearing the signs look good," Casillas told The Sun."I have only briefly spoken to people at the club but I am confident that he can be a Real Madrid player next year.
"I think it will be the right move for him both professionally and personally.
"A clean break from England is hopefully something he is very interested in.
"It will be his last big contract and who better to sign for than his old coach Mourinho at Real.
"He will know better than anybody this club will be successful under Jose.
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"Jose has proved he buys players and makes them the very best in the world in their position.
"With Ashley he doesn't need to do that because he's already the best left-back in the world.
"Jose knows all about him and it comes as no surprise to me he is very much on Madrid's radar."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
There wasn’t much to say about England’s performance against Algeria on Friday, but Westwood managed to describe it in three words, and as you can imagine he wasn’t exactly complimentary! You won’t find the phrase ‘free-flowing football’ anywhere in his second 2010 World Cup article for the News of the World, something that England failed to produce in the whole 90 minutes in Cape Town. After time to reflect on the match, Westwood comes up with his own reasons for the Three Lions’ dreadful display that leaves them on the brink of an early exit from South Africa.
He feels that the England team are scared. Scared of failure, scared of being criticised, scared of taking the bull by the horns and really going for it. This fear is something that the Fabio Capello and the whole England team have to banish on Wednesday afternoon if they’re to have any chance of triumphing over Slovenia. Westwood thinks that to be successful you have to take risks, something England simply haven’t done so far and time is running out for the Three Lions to do so. The 2010 World Cup is passing England by and we just don’t seem to be ready or to be able to do anything to stop it drifting away.
The big dawg is at as much a loss as the rest of us. He doesn’t buy the ball excuse and refuses to lay blame with the manager, as it’s the players who ultimately have to take responsibility for their shocking performances. Where’s the passion? Nobody is stepping up to the plate and the team is letting the whole nation down. In terms of booing, the Radio 1Xtra DJ thinks that the fans have a right to express how they feel and it’s important that they players hear the criticism. But Westwood still believes, even if he is getting rid of all his England team Panini stickers!
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To read Tim Westwood’s second NOTW World Cup article in full head to: http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/world_cup/852867/Tim-Westwoods-second-exclusive-World-Cup-blog.html
Arsenal moved to the top of the Premier League table thanks to a 2-1 victory at home to Fulham, while Chelsea had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Everton at Stamford Bridge.
Samir Nasri put the Gunners in front on 14 minutes but they were pegged back on the half-hour mark when Diomansy Kamara levelled matters for the visitors.
Nasri grabbed his second goal of the game 15 minutes from time to take Arsene Wenger's men above Manchester United and into top spot.
Chelsea looked to be on their way to three points thanks to Didier Drogba's 41st-minute penalty but Jermaine Beckford struck five minutes from time to earn David Moyes' men a deserved point.
Manchester City remain in the title hunt as Carlos Tevez's 10th goal of the season helped them to a narrow 1-0 win over Bolton at Eastlands.
Tottenham's run of four straight Premier League wins came to an end as they drew 1-1 at Birmingham. Sebastien Bassong put Spurs in front but a late header from Craig Gardner salvaged a point for the Blues.
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Elsewhere, Blackburn bounced back from their 7-1 defeat at Manchester United to send Wolves bottom with a 3-0 win. David Dunn, Brett Emerton and Ryan Nelsen got the goals.
Wigan fought out a 2-2 draw at home to Stoke with all the goals coming in the first half.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
For someone who has provided us with two consecutive summer transfer sagas, you would think most Madridistas would be preparing to welcome Luka Modric with open arms, however you would be about as right as when Ronaldo decided to be penalty taker number five in the Euros.
After watching yet another pre-season game involving Real Madrid, and yet again being impressed with the performance Kaka produced – despite being told he is not wanted, the linking of Luka Modric to Real Madrid is stronger than ever, with Mourinho stating that the Spurs player is the only one he wants this summer, and will happily get rid of Kaka to enable this.
It makes you wonder if Mourinho has been drinking too much fine wine – or not so fine if you take Fergie’s account of the stuff Jose drinks – over the summer, because it seems strange that Jose should want Modric so much when he has a player who is a great deal better in Ozil and one who is about the same in Kaka – if you had a Ferrari, it is perhaps understandable to buy a Range Rover in case the Ferarri breaks down, but why would you do that if you already had a BMW X5 sitting in the garage?
Luka ‘tug of love’ Modric is no stranger to these summer fights for his affection and time – even Cesc Fabregas must think Luka has a hard time in the summer months, and we all know how the battle between Arsenal and Barcelona took its toll on his health, so perhaps if Modric is so in demand – being the top of Jose’s wish list no less – he is better than I am giving him credit for.
Now do not get me wrong, I have not been on the wine, I know Modric is a brilliant player, and can make a difference in games, certainly against the lesser teams in the league, but it is hard to see the point of luring a player for so much money when you already have a couple who can do the same if not better.
Obviously there must be something in the playmaker that Mourinho feels could add something to his side and help them not only retain the title but also get that Champions League trophy, yet in 159 appearances for Spurs the player has managed 15 goals – if Real Madrid want goals clearly Modric is not the man to go for, and it seems strange they want someone who will provide assists, but not as many as Ozil or Di Maria.
Modric has provided 24 assists in 159 games with last season being a stellar one producing 5 goals and 6 assists– Ozil alone produced 8 goals and 21 assists last season. Kaka, with his paltry amount of games produced 8 goals and 13 assists in all competitions last season. Even Di Maria with all his injury issues produced 9 goals and 16 assists alone. This is not even considering the Castilla boys such as Morata and Jese who have been so prolific pre-season, or Callejon who had a brilliant season last time out and will be fully expected to build on this.
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For the money Real Madrid are offering it seems surprising Spurs are trying to hang on to such a want away player who has now resorted to training on his own, and if Levy had any sense he would be packing both Luka’s bags and the player on a one way flight to Madrid, which seems the most likely outcome to the saga, and I more than anyone would love to be proved wrong in thinking that whilst Modric could be a star at United or Chelsea, even AC Milan, Real Madrid simply do not need him.
As the ink now dries on Jack Rodwell’s newly signed Manchester City contract, the obituaries are already being written in some quarters for the 21-year-old’s immediate career prospects. A move to the Etihad brings with it a serious roadblock of world-class talent to the now ex-Evertonian’s development. No one expected Rodwell to turn down the overtures of Roberto Mancini. But the task ahead now involves trying to displace the likes of Gareth Barry, Yaya Toure and Nigel de Jong in the City engine room. Welcome to Manchester, Jack.
As Roy Hodgson announced the likelihood of having to pick players for the national team that weren’t necessarily club regulars, you couldn’t help but wonder quite what the England boss made of Rodwell’s summer switch. His comments of course weren’t aimed at Rodwell in particular, but it seems as if a concerning trend is making an emergence. Jack Rodwell has certainly placed himself on the cusp of being part of it.
Roberto Mancini’s feelings about his central midfield haven’t been of any secret to anyone. The Italian has craved investment in his side all summer and he’s been pining for a central midfielder in particular. The challenge for a team defending the title is to improve on what you’ve got and for Mancini, it was thought he could purchase an upgrade on Nigel de Jong and someone to push Barry and Toure in the engine room.
Whom Mancini really wanted and craved more than any other, were the services of dynamic Roma enforcer, Daniele de Rossi. He ended up with Jack Rodwell. To fall short of the quality of a payer such as De Rossi is by no means a shameful thing but however David Platt may like to frame it, Rodwell is a compromise. Albeit a highly talented and very young one, but he’s a compromise, nonetheless. No one can necessarily dispute the City hierarchy’s decision to reign in the spending and Mancini must live with the realities. Signing Jack Rodwell is one of them.
And there’s nothing to say that Rodwell can’t have an impact next season. If Mancini really is keen on getting rid of De Jong, then instantly Rodwell’s first team chances have increased. He will likely feature prominently in the cup competitions, maybe even the Champions League and if Barry’s injury woe continues, then he will get his chance to prove himself for City in the Premier League. But more pressing questions lie ahead.
At the age of 21, there is no denying that there is still plenty of time for development and nurturing in Rodwell’s game. Under the likes of Mancini and especially Platt, Rodwell is only going to improve playing with the galaxy of talent that abides within the City ranks. But the onus for Manini at the moment, is on the present. He’s here to defend a league championship. And any chance that Rodwell gets in the first team isn’t going to be in some developmental environment where the pressure’s off. He will be coming into a side where he is expected to play well and win. There’s no time for complacency and rookie error when you’re part of a well oiled machine.
The question is, is Rodwell up to it? This is, so to speak, the £12millin question. Not a lot in City’s world, but if you consider the silverware that they’re chasing, it could prove to be quite a lot. The answer to such a question is difficult to negate. Rodwell suffered a frustrating season last term with injury and he was restricted to making only 14 league appearances for the Toffees. But since he burst onto the scene in his breakthrough term of 2008, he hasn’t quite lived up to all the heady expectation put upon him.
Jack Rodwell has all the technical tools to survive in this Manchester City team, but he needs to have a bit more about him. Because at the moment, it’s difficult to define where his real stand-out assets lie in central midfield. He’s very adaptable and solid in his positioning plus he can string a sequence of good passes together too. But he never massively imposed himself when he played for Everton. He always participated with plenty of neat work in midfield but it’s difficult to recall a string of games where he’s come out and really left his mark on the occasion.
At this stage of his career, he doesn’t seem to possess any real, standout eye for goal and his nine goals in 109 appearances for Everton seem to back this up. His passing is very neat and accurate, but he doesn’t possess a hugely eclectic range. And again, his tackling and positioning is relatively faultless but you wouldn’t imagine opponents find him outlandishly imposing. He needs to add a little spice to his game and create a niche for himself in the Premier League. The thing is, it feels hard to perceive that Manchester City is the best place for him to do that.
One thing’s for certain, the last thing Rodwell needs at his age is to spend half a season sitting on the bench. The need for game time isn’t just vital to his development but after enduring such a stop-start season as he did last term, he is desperate for a long run of games to get his Premier League sharpness in order. He’s going to make mistakes along the way. But whilst the pressure of playing in front of the masses at Goodison Park is one thing, doing it for the champions of England is quite another. Everything Rodwell does will be under the microscope and every mistake will be magnified in column inches. It’s an awful lot to ask for a player in his position.
Mancini is no mug and whilst it may have been Brian Marwood who struck a deal for the youngster, the Italian must have seen something that has caught his eye. Rodwell has some of the attributes that remind you of the old-school mould of Italian footballer; technically primed, tactically faultless and defensively minded. If he can craft Rodwell into anything resembling that sort of player, City could be onto a winner. But it will take a lot of time and time isn’t something you get a lot of at the top.
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It’s foolish to write off Jack Rodwell’s chances in this Manchester City team. He has the skillset to flourish at this level and that isn’t really in any doubt. Whether Manchester City is the platform where he can achieve his goals, only time will tell.
How do you feel about Jack Rodwell’s prospects at Manchester City? Destined for the top or a terrible career move? Let me know how you view it on Twitter: follow @samuel_antrobus and bat me your views.
‘Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.’
Everyone knows the above quote is from the mouth of the great Bill Shankly, one of the best managers to grace the game and someone with whom the self-styled Special One, Jose Mourinho draws a huge amount of comparisons to – and both of whom share a similar ‘win at all costs’ attitude to football.
On more than one occasion, both overstepped the line and went too far either during or after a game because of their intensity and desire to win – in fact, name me a top manager who hasn’t at one time or another lost control due to a game of football. Even players get in on the act; crying or getting overwrought on the field, or even getting a little bit emotional off it and showing exactly what winning does mean to them.
As fans obviously we can understand this, as our hearts and emotions are tied so deeply to our teams that we get frustrated when we think they are making the wrong decision (think Arsenal fans with the Arshavin sub) and get emotional if a game goes the wrong way. More than one of you reading this will have been in tears at one point due to a failure in a massive competition and get elated and beyond words when a huge trophy is won – Liverpool fans in Istanbul for me take the plaudits here, yet just how much does football really matter and is it really ok to genuinely use the mantra of winning at all costs?
Of course this totally depends on how far you take the ‘at all costs part.’ If this means throwing everything including the kitchen sink at a game in order to get the goal and go all out to win – literally having nothing left at the end of the game, then of course this should be the case in every single game, not just cup finals or derby matches, but week in week out.
There is nothing a fan dislikes more than a player who cannot be bothered and is half hearted in his attempts to change a game. Likewise with a negative manager who would rather go for the draw or lose by a single goal than really go for it and risk conceding more.
However, should the ‘at all costs’ bit become more than that, then there is a problem. Even as an ardent supporter of Mourinho, I would struggle to defend his conduct at certain times, none more so than in El Clasico when poking Tito Vilanova in the eye – something that Mourinho may have done in the heat of the moment and in the desire to win, yet is still not acceptable.
A certain amount of mind games is a given, yet lines can be crossed and this is something that should not really be allowed to happen. Managers like Fergie who are renowned for their passion and will to win have often crossed the line, and at times fined accordingly.
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On occasion however, they can lose sight of the fact that football is at the end of the day just a game. A fantastic one don’t get me wrong, but just a game, and there are ways to win – and crossing the line is not necessarily one of them.
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Porto’s march to the Liga Sagres title continues unabated after the runaway leaders toppled Nacional 3-0 on Wednesday.
Benfica won the league in 2009/10 to end four consecutive title-winning years for Porto, and Andre Villas-Boas’ side seems intent on making amends this season.
With their comprehensive win over Nacional at Estadio Do Dragao, Porto are now 11 points clear on top of the league table.
They were set on their way in just the fourth minute, when irrepressible frontman Hulk scored his 27th goal for Porto in all competitions this season.
He improved that tally when he doubled his side’s advantage in the 33rd minute, with 19-year-old Columbian midfielder James Rodriguez – a 5.1 million euro signing from Argentinian club Banfield in July 2010 – rounding out the scoring 12 minutes later.
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Despite the loss, Nacional’s season remains a positive one. The Madeira club remain sixth on the table, though they have played one more game than many of their closest rivals.
1. Julian Speroni – Another good season from arguably the best ‘keeper in the Championship. Didn’t hit the heights in terms of form as other season, but still seemed to pop up with a world class save every other game.
2. Nathaniel Clyne – His season was limited by injury which restricted him to 28 league games. Continued to look like an impressive young right back. Having run down his contract, a summer move to the Premier League is almost a certainty, although those that have championed the Palace academy will be hoping it is a move to a Manchester United rather than a Bolton.
3. David Wright – Anchored the midfield in the early, more successful part of the season, including in the victory at Old Trafford, injury has restricted him since December but he seems to be a Freedman favourite and his versatility and experience should be enough to see him retained over the summer.
4. Jonathan Parr – Something of an unknown quantity when he arrived in the summer, the Norway international started slowly, but really grew into the team and looked more comfortable at left back than as a wide midfielder. He’ll need a good rest over the summer as he’s effectively played 2 seasons without a break.
5. Paddy McCarthy – I’m a fan of the big Irishman, whilst sometimes he lacks technical ability and pace, he is a strong and courageous defender that has grown into the role of captain.
6. Anthony Gardner – If McCarthy’s the brawn, then Gardner’s then brains. My player of the season. He was a real rock at the back and showed his international pedigree. Prone to the odd gaffe last season, he seems to have ironed this out of his game. twenty clean sheets this season is testament to all the defenders.
7. Darren Ambrose – I wrote at length about Ambrose in my first blog, and he frustrates and delight, in not quite equal measures. That said, the attacking midfielder did finish top scorer.
8. Kagisho Dikgacoi – Made 31 appearances and bagged a couple of goals, but KG has not really lived up to his loan spell from last season. He’s been carrying some extra weight towards the end of the season. Freedman has mentioned there are a few players that he’s not happy with and the South African international could be one of them.
10. Owen Garvan – It feels like Garvan had fairly limited opportunities to showcase his midfield wares, and 23 appearance backs this up. He did get three goals, but never really got a decent run in the team and could well be on his way in the summer. The boy definitely has some talent, but probably is not the all round midfielder that is needed in the hustle of the Championship.
11. Sean Scannell – This season promised to be a big one for the dreadlocked forward. Initially employed as a striker alongside Murray, many Palace fans feel this is his best position, but spent most of season operating wide in a front three. He only managed a return of 4 goals which really isn’t enough for a forward. Unless he gets a proper run in the team down the middle, I’d expect him to move on before too long.
15. Mile Jedinak – A complete unknown quantity when he arrived, Jedi took time to adapt to the pace of the English game, but emerged as a contender for Player of the Season by the end. He’s strong in the tackle and the air, and has a decent pass on him too. A great free transfer and will look to have a big impact next term.
16. Wilfred Zaha – The Palace academy has churned out another gem. Only Paddy McCarthy played more games for the Eagles this season and Zaha showed frequent flashes of his undoubted potential. Usually employed wide, Zaha still finished as second top scorer, scoring on the final day to take his tally to nine. If Palace can hold onto the boy over the summer, expect him to kick on again next season.
17. Glenn Murray – Murray arrived with a splash last summer, probably Palace’s biggest signing. He took a while to secure his place in the side, but towards the end of September he scored 3 goals in 4 games and it looked like his season was ready to explode. But it didn’t quite happen for him, finishing the season on seven goals. However, two of those goals will be remembered for decades, the winner at Old Trafford and sealing victory against rivals and his former club Br*ghton. Murray!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz94prjruuI
19. Jermaine Easter – Easter was Freedman’s first signing last January and hasn’t really achieved much. He finished with 6 goals, and it will be interesting to see what happens to him over the summer.
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20. Jonathan Williams – Joniesta burst onto the scene before Christmas, being given run outs in Palace’s thrilling Carling Cup run. A heart breaking leg fracture stunted his development, but he was back before the end of the season before getting injured again. Could be an important player next season if he can stay injury free.
21. Dean Moxey – Another injury prone player, Moxey only made 28 appearances but looked good when active. Ended the season covering for all the other injured centrebacks. Might struggle to get into the team ahead of Parr next season.
28. Stuart O’Keefe – Used sparingly, O’Keefe struggled to oust KG, Jedinak and Wright from the centre of the midfield, but when he did he impressed and was often voted MOM. The pinnacle was his outstanding performance at Old Trafford.
34. Lewis Price – made 10 appearance in Speroni’s place and always looked impressive. He was given a run out in the cups, and covered on the odd occasion when Jules was injured. Can’t be too many championship teams with an international keeper on the bench. Palace might struggle to satisfy his needs if he doesn’t get more appearances next season.