Month: May 2019

Andy Carroll, Adrian and Samir Nasri are to leave West Ham this summer, the club have announced.

The trio, along with Spanish striker Toni Martinez, will depart when their contracts expire at the end of June.

West Ham joint-chairmen David Sullivan and David Gold said in a statement on the club’s website: “Andy and Adrian have both been great servants to West Ham United throughout their time at the club and we thank them for their loyalty and commitment to the claret-and-blue cause.

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“Both have provided us and our fellow supporters with some unforgettable moments, whether they were sensational scissor kicks and unstoppable headers in Andy’s case, or penalty saves and goals in Adrian’s.

“They can both be assured of warm welcomes whenever they return to London Stadium and we wish them, as well as Samir Nasri and the young players whose contracts are up this summer, the very best for their future careers.”

Striker Carroll joined the Hammers on a season-long loan from Liverpool in August 2012 and the switch was made permanent the following summer.

The 30-year-old’s time with the club has been significantly disrupted by injuries, and he made only 12 Premier League appearances in 2018-19. Carroll’s overall record for the club is 33 goals in 126 league matches.

Goalkeeper Adrian, with West Ham since 2013, has made 150 appearances in all competitions for the club but only five this season, none of which came in the league as Lukasz Fabianski took over as the number one.

Former Manchester City playmaker Nasri joined on a short-term deal on December 31 and went on to feature six times in all competitions.

West Ham signed Martinez from Valencia in July 2016. After a loan spell with Oxford in the season that followed, he then played three times in the FA Cup for the Hammers in 2017-18, and has subsequently been on loan in his homeland with Real Valladolid, Rayo Majadahonda and Lugo.

In their announcement on Wednesday, West Ham also said midfielders Moses Makasi and Noha Sylvestre, defenders Vashon Neufville and Josh Pask and scholars Mason Barrett, Kevin Dalipi, Jay Mingi and Odysseas Spyridis were leaving.

 

Leicester City defender Harry Maguire insists his main focus in playing well for England amid speculation linking him with Manchester United and Manchester City.

Maguire has been linked with a move to Old Trafford for quite some time, as the Red Devils have been looking to bolster their defensive options. However, a move didn’t come into fruition in the summer, with the former Sheffield United and Hull City man staying put at the King Power Stadium.

He continues to be linked with United but the most recent report in the Daily Mail claimed that City could sign Maguire in a deal that ‘might have to eclipse the £75m price Liverpool paid for Virgil Van Dijk’.

And Maguire was asked about the rumours while on England duty, he responded: “When I’m away with England I don’t think about anything to do with club football.

“As soon as I wear this badge it’s really important for myself to focus on England and nothing else.

“At the moment, nothing’s going through my head in terms of club football. I’m fully focused on the games coming up.”

 

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More Mails, please. Send your thoughts to [email protected]

 

Graeme Souness has rattled my cage
So I’m on holiday in Cyprus and will be watching the Champions League final in a random bar with the family. I’m still giddy with excitement and keep going over all the great games and moments Spurs have given all us Spurs fans in the tournament this season.

What’s rattled my happy cage is that I’ve just witnessed the video where Souness says that Spurs don’t deserve to be in the Champions League final! Mainly due to Spurs losing a lot of games over the course of the season.

I read somewhere on the internet (must be true) that every team we have played during our run to the final have been top of their league. PSV, Barcelona, Inter, Dortmund, City and Ajax. We’ve done it the hard way, shown massive character, and come through it all.

I’ve come to the view that he has now cultivated such a caricature of himself that he no longer feels he needs to have any reason to his arguments and just needs to deliver this macho nonsense and repeat what he would have done in a time gone by. And in doing so, not doing it as well as Roy Keane.

Liverpool lost 19 games in the 2005 season, did they not deserve to get there either Graeme?

Here’s to what promises to be quite an amazing game.
Dave (weirdly probably more able to cope with a defeat than victory) Winchester Spurs

 

Liverpool fan perspective
Got to agree with Wayne Germany about perspective. I saw Ipswich win one playoff final in my time supporting them so far, 20 odd years. Sure they had a couple of entertaining group stages in Europa, never got past the knockouts mind, and in the second of those seasons they got relegated. I had hope they may return mind, for 16 years I had hope. The closest they got was being knocked out by Norwich in the playoff semi-finals.

Still, as noted with my optimistic mail at the start of the season I thought you may see something special this year. You did. They got relegated bottom again and Norwich won the league. Oh rapturous joy of football. A lot of Liverpool fans do think they have it hard, and I do keep them in my thoughts (I have many friends that are Red supporters who don’t fit that description… well not that much) but I’m reminded of Jim Carey in Liar Liar when I hear them complain “Oh Come On!”

Don’t need to put up with it as much now, opportunity has knocked elsewhere.

So for reasons of variety, I’m gonna back the Spuds, and given my record supporting teams, you can now put your house on Liverpool
Chris ITFC, Bourne

 

Fergie & St Mirren
On Sunday there was a massive result for my humble Scottish team, St Mirren.

In a similar system to the Czech playoffs outlined by David Szmidt, 2nd-4th in the Championship have two rounds of playoffs, before the winner goes on to play a two-legged relegation/promotion playoff against 11th in the Premiership. In this case, Dundee Utd from the Championship, vs. St Mirren of the Premiership.

The 1st leg was very uneventful (yes, as is typical of Scottish football, etc) and ended 0-0. The 2nd leg at St Mirren Park saw Dundee Utd get an “I’ve seen them given” hand-ball decision, putting away the penalty to make it 1-0. Within 2 minutes, Danny Mullen capitalised on a defensive error to volley home the equaliser. 1-1. Into extra time and it’s all very tense before substitute Nazon is harshly dismissed for an elbow, when his eyes were on the ball the whole time. This sets up a nervy finish with the dreaded penalty shootout looming.

St Mirren hilariously piss the shootout 2-0 after Dundee Utd missed all four of their attempts. Cue a pitch invasion.

For those who have never heard about or care about St Mirren, they are infamous for being the only team to sack Sir Alex Ferguson.

This young, charismatic manager was well respected for reconnecting the people of Paisley, whom a lot of were travelling into Glasgow (7 miles away) to see Celtic or Rangers, to their local team, which had a big stadium but low attendances. My late uncle, whose back garden shared a wall with Love Street Stadium, described how Sir Alex was drinking in the club bar, when a wee Irish woman (my late grandmother) walked up and pulled on his shirt. As he turned round she said, “Mr Ferguson, my boy has been coming here since he was 12, you better not let him down.” For the next two hours drinks kept getting sent over to her table, courtesy of Mr Ferguson.

Unfortunately the Saints’ beloved Love Street, home since 1894, was sold off to Tesco in 2009 to make way for a bloody supermarket which never even materialised, and the club moved to its new home a mile up the road.

This article does a great job of outlining Fergie’s early career, including his rise and ‘fall’ at St Mirren. His crowning moment was winning the league in the second tier, having implemented a strict regime with exacting standards, and a full-blooded style of football. But by the end, he had lost his relationship with the Chairman and was flirting with the idea of moving to Aberdeen. All the same, he felt he was unfairly dismissed and the case went to a tribunal.

The tribunal went in the Chairman’s favour, with the ruling describing Ferguson as: “possessing neither by experience nor talent any managerial ability at all”.
Brian Badonde, London & Paisley

 

Silly Mail…
Quiet week in the mailbox, maybe a good time for a stupid mail? it’s always a good time for a stupid mail!

So many people seem to like telling us their credentials as a fan such as signing off with the end they watch the game from or stating how they’ve been following their club for many barren years before the glory days – you get the picture…

I think we desperately need some way of ranking fans credentials so we can pass judgement on them based on how loyal they are. Plastic fan writes in, who cares, let’s trash them. So, in way of ranking, I’d suggest the following criteria, maybe whoscored or OPTA can run this on an official basis as I sometimes have to pretend to work.

Criteria 1: Where you lived when you grew up

Walking distance from the ground – 10 pts

A short Bus trip away – 9 pts

10 mins on the train – 8 pts

And there’s no way I can do this all the way down the scale so it just goes all the way down to…

I’ve never even been anywhere near the city this team plays in – 0 pts

Criteria 2: How many games did you go to this last season

All of them, Home and away – 10 pts

All Home games, some away – 9 pts

All Home games – 8 pts

down to…

Bugger all – 0 pts

Criteria 3: How long have you been a supporter (this ones easier, we’ll just give 1 pt per 5 years

50 years – 10 pts

30 years – 6 pts

less than 5 years – 0 pts

Criteria 4: How many games do you consume, including at the ground on the tellybox, radio, biddy printer, whatever you can get to:

All of them – 10 pts

I might miss one or 2 for a family wedding, birth or global event – 9 pts

Down to…

I don’t watch any – 0 pts

I’ll provide my scores so you can see what a shit fan I am – would love to know what the highest score is in the mailbox – I bet there’s a few high ones in there and probably lots as low as mine.

Criteria 1: I only went to Old Trafford once and that was an England game against Greece (2-2, thank you Becks), I grew up in the midlands so I’ll give myself 2 pts

Criteria 2: I live in Cape Town now so I get a big fat 0 there

Criteria 3: 35 years so I at least get 7 pts there

Criteria 4: In the past would have got 9 or 10 here but adulting gets in the way now, as does an often terrible playing style (plastic attitude, I know) means I’m probably an 8 now.

To turn this in an OPTA style, divide my 17 by 4 gives me an out of 10 fans rating of 4.25

I didn’t want to add things like travelling to European games or going to finals as that doesn’t apply to a lot of clubs. And unfortunately, all of us Ex-pats or foreigners on the site are going to score low for number 1 but that’s our fault for prioritising work or lifestyle or circumstances above footy.

How do you score? Did I miss any criteria? It should go without saying but if you’ve ever changed teams or support 2 teams in one city (I once knew someone who claimed to support Everton and Liverpool) then all criteria are overruled and you get 0 unless you can convince or bribe a 3 man panel of lifelong fans, all scoring 9+ on the scale otherwise.
Jon (6,170 miles from Old Trafford but the sun is shining in Cape Town)

 

Death or glory for Newcastle
As a Newcastle fan it’s never easy to remain calm about a takeover but this week has got me thinking that we’re probably looking at the biggest range of realistic fortunes of any Premier League team next season.

Even before this takeover noise I was quietly optimistic about next year. In Rafa stays, we have quite a good core of a team and second half of the season we were genuinely excellent – would have been top 4 since end of Jan. We have one of the best keepers in the league (look at Dubravka’s high claim stats, does so much more than shot stopping), a mean defence (Schar and Lejeune are seriously good), a great academy prospect in CM (Longstaff) and a nice mix of pace and skill in attacking positions (Almiron and Perez). With a Rondon (or similar) striker, some upgrades at wing back and a CM, we might be looking at a comfy top 10 finish and then let’s see… That sounds very optimistic, but remember the form guide since Almiron signed!

Then we get linked with this takeover and some actual money. Fans of opposition teams probably don’t appreciate how starved of investment Newcastle’s team is, but when we played Liverpool (and gave them a real good go), the whole 11 cost about £30m, less than we sold Sissoko for.

We’re not asking for billions, just a normal level of spend. Add that to this core and you start dreaming of top 4- Man U look awful, Chelsea may not have a team and Arsenal aren’t all that and you can paint this glorious picture where it happens (Although Leicester probably fancy it more).

On the other hand, this take over may be nonsense, Rafa may leave and we lose a couple of those players. Schar is a perfect signing for anyone looking for a ball playing CB and you could probably get him for £20m and Longstaff may yet go to Man U. Joselu and Gayle will not keep you in the league but if we don’t buy a striker, that is it. Suddenly you’re in the mix for relegation.

So, two huge parts to Newcastle’s story in the next few weeks – Rafa and Takeover = dream of top 6 versus No Rafa and No Takeover = relegation battle. It’s tenser than watching us play…
James, London

 

Where’s the love?
I’m a United fan and let me just say, I hate United at the moment.

I also hate UEFA.

Hate FIFA

Hate Azerbaijan

I hate City, PSG and their blood-stained Oil cash

I hate Barcelona, Real Madrid, Liverpool and Spurs.

Hate racist fans in Italy and everywhere else

Hate Woodward

Hate the Glazers

I hate Raiola

I hate De Ligt

I hate Football Twitter

I hate football. Because, well, football appears to be broken.

Thanks,
Keenon (up the Proteas for the CWC)

 

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Graeme Souness doesn’t think Tottenham deserve to be in the Champions League final against Liverpool.

Spurs battled through to the final against all the odds to beat both Ajax and Manchester City on away goals but Souness points to the amount of games Spurs have lost to make his case.

Souness believes that Mauricio Pochettino’s side have been “fortunate” and that barely any of their side would get into Liverpool’s.

“Spurs shouldn’t be there,” Souness told Balls.ie. “You say to anyone at the start of the season a team is going to lose 19 games in all competitions, and yet they’ll find themselves in the final of Champions League, you’d say you are talking nonsense.

“But they’ve somehow got themselves there, and I think they are fortunate to be there.

“I think another way to look at it, I’m looking at it through the eyes mostly, of a Liverpool supporter, and I’d pose a question, if you were picking a team from the 22 players that were going to start the game, how many Spurs players would be in that 11?

“I’m thinking as we’re standing here, Eriksen possibly in midfield, and Harry Kane, then you’ve got nine Liverpool players. But the minute you try and attach any logic to a game of football, you come unstuck.”

 

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Sheikh Khaled Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has moved to clarify the status of his attempted takeover at Newcastle.

A statement issued to Press Association Sport by the Bin Zayed Group, of which he is chairman, on Wednesday said: “In consideration of the numerous speculations in regards to the timelines of the acquisition of Newcastle United Football Club by Bin Zayed Group, we feel the need to issue this statement.

“Terms have been agreed between us and Mike Ashley; these terms have been reflected in a document, signed by both parties, which has been forwarded to the Premier League.

“The proof of funds statement was forwarded to Mike Ashley’s lawyers on April 17 2019.

“The so called fit-and-proper Premier League process is a standard procedure which will take time, and we are doing all we can to assist the Premier League during this process.

“We feel the need to clarify this point in order for the fans and the general public to understand the timelines.”

The Bin Zayed Group claimed on Monday that Sheikh Khaled had “agreed terms” to buy out current owner Ashley and was attempting to “complete the transaction at the earliest opportunity”.

As Newcastle fans celebrated, speculation mounted over Sheikh Khaled’s ability to push through a deal with previous bids led by Amanda Staveley and Peter Kenyon having ultimately come to nothing.

It is understood the Dubai-based businessman’s representatives are one of a series of interested parties currently in talks with Ashley, who bought the club for £134.4million in 2007.

 

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Sadio Mane has shrugged off continuing links with Real Madrid by insisting he is happy playing for a Liverpool side who “beat big teams”.

The Senegal international has been a reported target for Zinedine Zidane’s rebuilding project at the Bernabeu for some time.

However, Mane – the Premier League’s joint-top scorer this season with 22 goals – is focusing on Saturday’s Champions League final against Tottenham in Madrid.

“Always this is part of football, so we have to deal with it, but for me the most important thing is Liverpool and I’m happy here,” he said of the speculation.

“It’s always a pleasure that this kind of team wants (you) but don’t forget Liverpool. They beat big teams.

“I’m preparing for one of the biggest games for the club and the fans and the players as well, so let’s focus on this one first and win it.”

After the disappointment of being beaten in last year’s final by Real Madrid in the circumstances they did – losing Mohamed Salah to a shoulder injury and then conceding twice to two freakish goalkeeping errors – there is added motivation for Jurgen Klopp’s players.

And when you factor in that they narrowly missed out on a first league title since 1990, there is even more incentive for them to end the season on a high and bring home a sixth European Cup.

“We know we have targets; we want to win the league and the Champions League. We didn’t win the league but we still have one trophy to play for, so we are going to try to give everything to win it,” Mane added.

“We would love to win it (the league) but we have to take it as a positive. It will give us more motivation and even the fans as well. So let’s do it together and win this trophy.

“I think it’s just incredible and I’m so positive. Of course it (last season’s final) will help with this one because we wanted to win it and it was not the case. That’s part of football.

“At the same time I think it’s positive because many people, even you (the media), didn’t expect us to play this final.

“We did it (and) I think we learned a lot from this and now we can use our experience this season to get what we want.”

Mane was the main man when it came to providing the goals to sustain Liverpool’s ultimately unsuccessful title challenge in the second half of the season.

The 27-year-old scored 17 goals in 22 matches from mid-January and is bidding to become only the second Liverpool player to score in two European Cup finals, after Phil Neal, and the first to achieve the feat for the Reds in successive appearances.

But even taking into account his prolific form he admitted he needed a break, and the week off followed by a training camp in Marbella has re-energised him for Madrid.

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“It refreshed everyone,” said Mane, who could also become just the eighth player to score in more than one final – the others being Gareth Bale, Samuel Eto’o, Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos, Raul, Mario Mandzukic and Cristiano Ronaldo, who is the only player to find the net in three.

“We would have loved to have kept going straight but that is not the case and we understand how this goes in football with different competitions at the same time.

“But we know how to deal with this kind of situation now. We had a few weeks to prepare the game and we are fresh again and go there with fresh legs.

“We expect a very difficult game because Tottenham is a very good team, but we are also good, so that’s an exciting game.

“We’ll see what’s going to happen, but I’m sure we will give everything to get what we want.”

 

Mauricio Pochettino has privately told Adam Lallana that he should think about leaving Liverpool for the good of his career, according to reports.

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The 31-year-old has started just six games in all competitions this season, with injuries taking their toll and Jurgen Klopp’s midfield reinforcements knocking him down the pecking order.

Lallana could still feature in his second consecutive Champions League final with Liverpool next month due to a UEFA rule change, but might leave at the end of the season to pursue regular football.

And Football Insider say a Tottenham club source claims that Pochettino ‘told him not to waste the last years of a career’ by staying at Liverpool.

Lallana has previously said that he would “love to work with him again” but there is little chance of the midfielder moving to Spurs this summer, with the club looking to sign younger players.

Danny Mills recently told Football Insider that Lallana “would be perfect” for Manchester City despite there being no indication of interest.

“You almost forget about him but he is very gifted and a talented footballer,” Mills said.

“I would almost say he more fits the Man City style, he’d be perfect for them with his short, darting runs and clever runs in behind.

“As you start to get older, you realise you are not invincible and your career is not going to go on forever. Liverpool will definitely want to keep him but it might come down to him wanting to reignite his career.

“If that’s the case, he’s going to go. He’s such a good player he won’t be short of interested clubs.”

 

Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt has two transfer demands as Manchester United and Barcelona go head-to-head over his signature, according to reports.

The Manchester Evening News reported on Monday that United do not consider Ajax defender De Ligt a possibility this summer, despite reports claiming he could move to Old Trafford.

The Dutchman is expected to join Barcelona but has also been linked with a £12.3m-a-year contract at United.

Reports last week suggested that De Ligt was heading for the Nou Camp, although a deal has not yet been agreed with his agent Mino Raiola, giving both United and Manchester City hope they could yet lure the teenager to England.

And now Mundo Deportivo claim that De Ligt has two transfer demands and he has ‘cooled his interest’ with Barcelona after listening to Raiola’s suggestions.

De Ligt ‘wants more money’ and ‘requires guarantees to be a starter’ when deciding on his next club.

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The report adds that Barca will not ‘enter into a war of figures’ after expressing their desire to make De Ligt a key player in their future plans.

If United – who won’t be able to offer him Champions League football – can meet De Ligt’s demands it could give them an edge in the battle to sign the 19-year-old.

 

Bruno Fernandes has claimed he doesn’t know his future amid fresh speculation linking him with a move to Manchester United and Manchester City.

The Sporting Lisbon midfielder was one of the players that was involved in the club’s title party on Monday as they celebrated their Portuguese Cup final win against Porto at the weekend.

When questioned about his future by Sporting TV, Fernandes responded: “I spent two intense years here, I don’t know if I’m going to leave, I don’t know the future.”

And on Tuesday Record (via Sport Witness) claimed that of the two Manchester clubs it is City that are ‘best positioned’ to sign Fernandes this summer.

The report in the Portuguese newspaper added that Sporting want €70million if they are going to part with their prized asset.

Another outlet Correio da Manhã also covered the story, claiming that Sporting have only received a bid of €55million so far but they did not specify if the offer came from United or City.

 

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Jurgen Klopp has dismissed rumours that he could become the new Juventus boss as “bullsh*t” and claimed there is no chance he will leave Liverpool.

Sky in Italy claims that Juve are likely to appoint Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri as the successor to Max Allegri but they are still dreaming of Champions League finalists Mauricio Pochettino and Klopp.

The report from Monday added that ‘the club [Juve] are keen to keep all options open to them in the unlikely event a last-minute approach for Klopp or Pochettino becomes an option’.

However, Klopp poured a barrel off cold water over the reports and said there was no way he would leave Liverpool this summer.

“Of course it’s a league that I like, it’s really exciting but all these rumours I hear about Juventus are bullsh*t,” Klopp told Sky Italia.

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“There is nothing true about it. I am not going to leave Liverpool. I know Serie A very well, I follow it and I like it, but I am going to stay at Liverpool.”

On the final, Klopp told reporters: “We feel this as a real European final. Nothing else. It’s a proper European final, nothing else. It’s not the third game we’ve played against Tottenham this season – it’s a European final.”