With the credit crunch and the ever increasing debt in football, this summer looks set to be filled with a lot of high profile club buyouts. West Ham have recently been taken over by CB Holdings and Portsmouth and Newcastle look set to be the next clubs to be taken over in the English game. However, could these potential club changing decisions actually end up being worse in the long run than good?

Portsmouth’s expected takeover by Dr Sulaiman Al Fahim is one of the summer takeovers that could all end up in disaster. Al Fahim helped in the purchase of Manchester City last year and is the figure head again in the bid to buy Portmouth from Alexander Gaydamak. The deal will releave Portsmouth of their reported dire financial position and allow them to progress once again into Europe.

However, the timing of this purchase seems to be against Portsmouth with several key players out of contract at the end of last season. These players including Sol Campbell, Hermann Hreidarsson, Kanu and Sean Davis. All of whom were vital in their attempt to fight off relegation, but with the club unwilling to offer new contracts to players until the takeover has been completed how long will these players wait before they accept a deal at another club?

To add to Pompey’s problems Glen Johnson is expected to move to Liverpool, along with a cut price Sylvain Distan and Peter Crouch not wanting to commit himself to Portsmouth next season until the situation at the minute has been resolved and he gets answers.

If these players were to leave and look to play football elsewhere Portsmouth would be very short on numbers and would need to start desperately looking for players to balance the outgoings.  You could argue that the older players wouldn’t be that hard to replace, but that’s fine if you’re letting only a couple go but Portsmouth are letting almost a whole squad go. With a total 18 players from the youth to the first team out of contract, no pernament manager and a new stadium to pay for, Portsmouth could be in for a whole lot of trouble next season and could halt their progress as a club.

The takeover is expected to go through before the start of the Transfer Window on July 1st (although Fahim’s people say that it could go into July as well), which gives Portsmouth time to replace the player, but a manager would want to bring in his own signings to the club and if the new owners decide to look to someone else and not Paul Hart, and don’t already have someone lined up, then they could miss the opening couple of weeks of the transfer window.

Then you have to consider the type of players they’d need to look at to bring in, players like Matthew Upson would be unlikely to want to take a sideways step and Miguel also unlikely to choose Portsmouth over a team in Europe in Aston Villa. In the end Pompey may have to look to Championship players and unknown foreign players who would take time to settle and to perform in the Premiership.

Stability at West Ham

Another club with a question mark over their head still is West Ham. Their recent buyout by CB Holdings is supposed to be the end of their financial trouble and no longer need to look to sell players in order to buy. However, when you look at the deal more closely you see a lot still hasn’t changed. CB Holdings is just another branch of Straumer, the previous owners of West Ham.

The difference being that CB Holdings is now completely owned by the Icelandic Government after being nationalized. Previous owner Björgólfur Guðmundsson was the owner of Straumer and by the end of his tenure as West Ham chairman, was supposed to be upto £300 million in debt. CB Holdings may not be as much in debt as Guðmundsson was but they still have debt associated with their name, but it gives the Hammers some breathing room.

With the signing of Jiminez expected to be completed later this week West Ham at least have a leg to stand on when coping with the debt, with valuable players, an almost packed staidum and a youth system always producing good players. They may not have to sell players this summer but next summer is a different story.

Newcastle United in disarray

Third on the list of high profile takeovers is Newcastle United. It’s no secret Mike Ashley wants to sell and he’s given the fans every reason for why he should sell. Singapore-based Profitable Group has confirmed its interest in launching a takeover bid for Newcastle in an expected £100 million purchase. By all acounts this is good news for Newcastle fans and the club in general, they can finally look for some stability in the club which could’ve helped them last season.

However, again the timings seem to be against Newcastle and the team. Mike Ashley will be looking to make as much money out of the club as he can after accepting a £34.4 million loss on what he paid for the club, and with the entire Newcastle team up for sale he is sure to look to this in order to fund the loss he made.

This could end up being another bad decision though, Mike Ashley doesn’t want to appoint a new manager until a deal is sorted so they can bring in their own manager, and without a manager there’s no one out there looking to replace players that Mike Ashley is selling and by the time a deal is sorted and a manager is put in place it could be too close to the start of the season to bring in anyone in the hope of boucning straight back up. Newcastle could end up in the position Leeds are in in a few years time if they don’t sort of areas of the squad quickly.

No one knows what to expect from a club after a takeover deal has been put in place. It could end up being the best thing for the club, as in Aston Villa and Randy Lerner, or the worst thing the club could do, as in Newcastle and Mike Ashley. The recession is biting into clubs hard, with many League 1 clubs and below supposed to be dangerously close to administration. Darlington being the first club to show signs of the recession at the end of last season.

Takeovers will come thick and fast over the next couple of years as owners look to cut their loses and run, and clubs as a result may end up going backwards rather than forwards as a result.

“Portsmouth and Newcastle United summer takeovers could be disasters” was originally published at footballlens.com – football news.

In a summer bereft of football, the release of fixture lists this week provide some form of respite for fans starved of action. Away trips are plotted, long weekends at some of the more far-flung fixtures are planned, and best mates are pleaded with not to hold their wedding on a certain date as it clashes with “the big one”.

But among all this, select fans from League One teams will also be studying the Conference fixture list, specifically AFC Wimbledon’s home games. This isn’t to do with loyalty to the London team, per se, but there are plenty of supporters who will object to visiting the MK Dons and will choose to visit Kingsmeadow when their team is away at the Stadium M:K.

Even though it’s now been seven years since the FA gave permission for Wimbledon FC to be moved to Milton Keynes, many fans still remain angry at the so-called franchising of the Dons and have never accepted the Pete Winkleman-owned vehicle.

But to observers from countries such as USA and Austrlia, where franchising is the norm, the fuss over one team (and not even a large team at that) relocating must seem somewhat confusing.

Not the first, maybe not the last

The MK Dons aren’t the first team to have upped sticks and moved in search of more money. The majority of teams who do this are often at non-league level, usually merging two teams to create an artificial club, as opposed to moving the club elsewhere. Rushden and Diamonds, Hayes and Yeading, and Dagenham and Redbridge (who themselves came from Redbridge Forest, another merged side) have all done this in the past.

But the actual uprooting of a club from one part of the country to another is still rare and, before the Dons, the most high profile move came back in 1913. Woolwich Arsenal from Plumstead were moved from south east London up north to Highbury, right by the tube station, and simply renamed The Arsenal.

At the heart of all this was, even back then, money. The club’s chairman, Henry Norris, also owned Fulham and had originally attempted to merge the two clubs. When that failed, Norris identified prime space in the capital in which to establish a football club and, despite protests from fans at the time, Arsenal moved north. The rest, as they say, is history.

Given that Arsenal were so successful in their relocation, it is fair enough to ask why more clubs didn’t simply move to a more profitable and accepting area if they were struggling for money.

The importance of community

First of all, it’s worth noting that Arsenal’s success didn’t just come about because of the relocation, although this did play a large part in their subsequent growth. Arguably, Norris’ feat of talking Arsenal into the First Division in 1915 had as much to do with fast-tracking them on the way to where they are today.

That year, Arsenal had finished 5th but, for no good reason and with more than a suggestion of dodgy dealing, were promoted at the expense of Wolves and Barnsley, both of whom finished above the Gunners. Norris, somehow, talked Arsenal into the top division.

But the idea that teams can be traded between cities, like players move between clubs, is one completely alien to the English game. Franchising just doesn’t enter the English mentality of football.

Many teams were started as works teams. Woolwich Arsenal was formed by workers at the munitions factory. Newton Heath (later to become Manchester United) was formed by workers on Lancashire and Yorkshire Railways. It doesn’t take a genius to guess at the origin of Horwich Railway Mechanics Institute, another team who relocated (to Leigh) in the belief it would help the club.

If it wasn’t workers looking for a kickabout, then often the church played a large part in forming teams. Aston Villa, Everton, Manchester City and Bolton, among others, were all formed around or by local churches. You wonder what the founders would have made of what the clubs have become today.

The majority of the clubs, then, were so rooted in their communities that it seemed inexpedient to move them to elsewhere. Even with some of the smaller league (and indeed non-league clubs) football was inextricably linked with the community. When the team was doing well, it often coincided with an upturn in the fortunes of the rest of the area.

Even in a short time the history and identity of the football club became interwoven with the history of the area. Rivalries were established, and football teams became badges of regionalistic pride. Liverpool v Manchester United, Swansea v Cardiff, Newcastle v Sunderland, even Exeter v Plymouth were all caught up in something that went beyond football. Franchising these teams and taking away the cultural identity would be unthinkable.

MK Dons mark 2

This may be a slightly simplistic way of explaining why franchising is so contrary to the principles of English football. The length of history and community roots means it would be seen as an abomination if somebody tried to uproot, say, Southampton to a place without a league club such as Cornwall.

It’s also why the football community reacted so strong to Wimbledon’s relocation. The Dons may not have been pulling in the same sort of crowds as other London Premier League clubs, but they had plenty of history, including their rise from non-league to FA Cup winners.

Moving the club to Milton Keynes left 3,000 displaced fans and, ever since the formation of AFC Wimbledon, both teams have argued that they have the rightful claim to the old Wimbledon’s history and trophies (although both, strictly speaking, are new teams).

There’s also a feeling that teams who are ‘franchised’ and take over a team’s league position are interlopers who haven’t earned the right to play at such a level.

It’s why the spectre of Methyr Tydfil moving to Bridgend was met with horror from both Methyr’s fans and the wider footballing community.

Owner Wyn Holloway, who’d taken the club to the brink of liquidation, raised the spectre of the club moving from the valleys to the Welsh town as he looked to offload the club. It wasn’t just the club that was for sale – it was the Martyrs entire place in the football pyramid.

Although Bridgend were in the League of Wales, Methyr, in the Southern Premier, would have been an interesting and attractive proposition for any side looking to break into the Conference or the League. Thankfully, the scheme came to nothing and the authorities appeared lukewarm at best to the idea.

Holloway and Bridgend are unlikely to be the last to try and relocate a club away from its spiritual home, as owners or ambitious businessmen look to do a quick one. Thankfully, the footballing authorities seem reluctant to view the Wimbledon situation as anything other than a one-off at this current point in time, although that’s no guarantee it won’t happen again.

Made in America

This all may come across as a criticism of the current American model of football. It isn’t meant to be. Indeed, if the MLS had tried to replicate the way English football was born, it would have probably died an unlamanted death a long time ago.

If you’re looking to establish a major football league in a country that hasn’t previously been known for its love of the game the franchise method is, at the moment, quite possibly the best way to go about it, as both the States and Australia’s A League are currently showing. It also makes more sense to implement a system that’s closer to what the public are used to with other sports.

And as the game grows and the clubs develop their own history, rivalries and even places in the community then that attachment to an area grows – just look at the current situation with DC United.

The MLS side are having issues over their stadium, raising the spectre that one of the MLS’ best-known teams could be forced to move, or franchised to another city. DC United fans, along with bloggers, are campaigning to keep the club in the capital.

There’s nothing wrong with franchising done in the right time and place. But that time and place isn’t the English game. Moving a club from its roots still feels wrong, and no matter how many years pass, AFC Wimbledon will no doubt continue to get “away” fans partaking in their own small ongoing personal protest against the creation of the MK Dons.

“Football “Franchises” – Right or Wrong?” was originally published at footballlens.com – football news.

We’re already in the middle of June, and though the signings haven’t been coming hard and fast just yet, that doesn’t mean that there’s a shortage of action thus far in the summer transfer window.

In this morning’s transfer news and rumors roundup, we’ve got tidbits from England, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, and Greece, with many big names and big clubs looking to spend, spend, spend. Some of the rumors are pretty concrete, while there is at least one in the bunch that, like Manchester United being linked with a move for Fernando Torres, are a little head-scratching, to say the least.

There are also a couple of signings to report, and remember, to keep up with all of the latest confirmed signings, check out our summer 2009 transfer lists.

England

Manchester United After Valencia Stars

There has been a great deal of speculation over the last few days about what Manchester United are going to do with the money they get from selling Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid, and it could be that a sizable chunk of those funds go towards signing Valencia stars David Villa and David Silva.

United are reportedly set to make a £45m bid for Villa (The Mirror). The competition could wide open between United, Barcelona (Sky Sports), and Chelsea for Villa, as his potential move to Real Madrid appears to have broken down (Daily Mail).

Meanwhile. Rafa Benitez might not like hearing about United making a concerted effort to land Silva, as the winger has been a target for Benitez for a while now but could be the subject of a £25m bid from United. (The Mirror)

Analysis: £25m looks to certainly be enough to land Silva, but even though they could outbid Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Chelsea for Villa, they could be out of luck if Villa prefers the chance to stay in Spain. Of course, if Barcelona land Villa, that’d all but free up the opportunity for a United move for Samuel Eto’o.

United and Boro In Downing Swap Deal?

Middlesbrough are heavily interested in Manchester United duo Paul Scholes and Gary Neville, and there are reports that they could offer Stewart Downing to United to try to make a deal happen. (The Mirror)

Analysis: Both Scholes and Neville could be reluctant for such a move, but even so, it’d seem like United would come out a lot better in this deal, especially if they didn’t have to spend much of that sizable transfer kitty on purchasing Downing.

Costa On Shortlist To Replace Ronaldo?

Along with the moves mentioned above, United could be set to swoop for Gremio starlet Douglas Costa. (Sky Sports)

Analysis: Brazil’s becoming more and more of a hotspot for United, and signing a prospect of Costa’s ability and potential would be worth the fee United may have to stump up. He’s only 18, so he’s more one for the future and wouldn’t be expected to step in and star right away. But as Ronaldo did when he arrived at United, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him earn first-team opportunities immediately.

Bolton Lead Race For Veloso?

Bolton are back in for Sporting Lisbon midfielder Miguel Veloso, and after refusing to overbid for Veloso in January, could be in with a £10.2m offer for the 23-year-old, who’s also been linked with Arsenal. (Tribal Football)

Analysis: £10.2m is still a little lower than Sporting might like to get for Veloso, but it could be a sign that Bolton are willing to fork out a little more in order to land him.

Bentley And Huddlestone To Sign For Villa?

It could only be a matter of time before Aston Villa seal the deal on a couple of new signings, as there are reports that they are close on Tottenham pair David Bentley (Goal.com) and Tom Huddlestone (Birmingham Mail).

Analysis: Considering their interest in Bentley, Huddlestone, and Jermaine Jenas, I’m surprised they haven’t been strongly linked with Darren Bent or Roman Pavlyuchenko, considering a forward should also be on their summer wishlist.

Several Sides Interested In Newcastle’s Martins

Arsenal, Aston Villa, and Everton are all interested in Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins (Tribal Football), but they could face competition from a mystery Bundesliga club (Tribal Football).

Analysis: Everton would be a great fit, considering the familiar faces that would await, but wages would likely be a stumbling block, and that could also be the case with Aston Villa. No telling what the situation could be with the Bundesliga club, but Arsenal may well be the best match financially – but that could all hinge on whether or not they sell Emmanuel Adebayor.

Fulham And West Ham Interested In Acquafresca

It’s a London battle for young Italian striker Robert Acquafresca, as Fulham and West Ham are both interested in the 21-year-old. Acquafresca was supposed to go to Genoa as part of the deal that brought Diego Milito and Thiago Motta to Inter, but he could yet move elsewhere, with even Juventus being linked with a move. (Tribal Football)

Analysis: I don’t have any doubts that Acquafresca could succeed in the Premier League, but if Juventus come in for him, that might be an opportunity that’s too hard to pass up.

Sunderland Bid For Cattermole

Sunderland have made a £7m bid for Wigan midfielder Lee Cattermole. (Tribal Football)

Analysis: Well they sure aren’t sitting on their money, are they? That’s certainly a tempting offer for Wigan, considering it’s double what they paid for Cattermole just last summer. I don’t know if Wigan will offload him right now though, unless he’s just that eager to be reunited with Steve Bruce. If someone’s willing to pay 7m for him right now, they could be in line to get a lot more if he continues to develop well over the next season or two. Besides, the sale of Antonio Valencia will net a nice amount of transfer funds for Roberto Martinez.

Wolves Sign Milijas

Wolves have completed the signing of Red Star Belgrade midfielder Nenad Milijas. (The Guardian)

Analysis: For a little while, the deal looked to be in some doubt, but in the end, Wolves fought off some pretty good competition to land the free-scoring midfielder.

Birmingham Bid For Gomez

Birmingham have made a £1.5m offer to Espanyol for midfielder Jordi Gomez, who starred on loan for Swansea last season. (Tribal Football)

Analysis: With Roberto Martinez set to complete his move from Swansea to Wigan anytime now, Birmingham could face some competition from Wigan for Gomez, so it might be in Birmingham’s best interests to try to get him signed, sealed, and delivered as soon as possible.

Spain

Real Madrid Offer Sneijder For Inter’s Maicon

Real Madrid could be set to offer Inter Milan €20m plus attacker Wesley Sneijder in a bid for right back Maicon. (Goal.com)

Analysis: Sounds like a reasonable deal. Sneijder’s someone that has been linked with Inter, and €20m + Sneijder would meet the €40m asking price that Inter have for Maicon.

Italy

AC Milan Sign Cissokho

AC Milan have completed the signing of Porto defender Aly Cissokho for €15m. (Sky Sports)

Analysis: This time last summer, Cissokho had just made the jump from France’s Ligue 2 to Portugal, joining Vitoria du Setubal, and now, he’s signed for AC Milan. Talk about a quick rise!

Inter Closing In On Double Swoop

Jose Mourinho could be close to being reunited with Deco and Ricardo Carvalho, as Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti spoke hopefully about being able to agree a deal with Chelsea for the duo. (Daily Mail)

Analysis: Seems to be only a formality, really.

Juventus To Swap Trezeguet For Rossi?

Juventus are prepared to offer striker David Trezeguet as part of a swap deal for Villarreal star Giuseppe Rossi. (Tribal Football)

Analysis: £15m + Trezeguet would fall a little short of Rossi’s buyout clause of £40m, but it could get Villarreal to bite, or at least think seriously about the offer. Trezeguet might turn down the chance though, considering the interest that he’s had from the likes of Inter, Real Madrid, and others.

Lazio In Talks For Barnetta

Lazio are in talks with Bayer Leverkusen over a move for Swiss midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta. (Tribal Football)

Analysis: Barnetta’s valuation is reportedly €10m, but even though Lazio don’t exactly have the room to break the bank on summer purchases, it shouldn’t be a problem to spend the right amount on a player who’s certainly worth it.

Germany

Wolfsburg Want Berbatov?

In one of the more interesting transfer rumors of the day, Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov is being linked with a loan move to VfL Wolfsburg. (Sofia Echo)

Analysis: Though things didn’t exactly go completely swimmingly at United last season, Berbatov’s not going anywhere.

Stuttgart Interested In Tottenham Striker

VfB Stuttgart could be targeting Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko. According to Stuttgart general manager Horst Heldt, the Russian striker has come up in discussions within the club. (Tribal Football)

Analysis: After selling Mario Gomez to Bayern Munich for €30m, Stuttgart have money to spend and a big void to fill up front. Replicating Gomez’s 33-goal output from this past season might be a little much to ask, but Pavlyuchenko does have the quality to succeed in the Bundesliga, even though his struggles at Tottenham last season might convince some otherwise.

France

Shevchenko Offered To French Trio

Chelsea have offered striker Andriy Shevchenko to Lyon, Marseille, and Monaco. Lyon have turned down the opportunity to sign the Ukrainian, but Marseille and Monaco are still considering the chance to snap him up. (Tribal Football)

Analysis: Safe to say then that Sheva doesn’t have a future at Chelsea, eh?

Coupet To Sign For PSG

Former Lyon goalkeeper Gregory Coupet could be set for a quick return to Ligue 1, as he has agreed personal terms over a move to Paris Saint-Germain. Coupet moved from Lyon to Atletico Madrid last summer, but after seeing little time last season, will be back on familiar soil if a fee can be agreed. (Goal.com)

Analysis: With current #1 Mickael Landreau looking to leave, PSG needed to swoop for a quality replacement, and Coupet, with his long history of success with Lyon, certainly fits the bill.

Greece

Panathinaikos Close On Drenthe?

Panathinaikos are going all out in their efforts to sign Real Madrid’s Royston Drenthe, as they could offer £11m in order to land the versatile Dutchman. (Tribal Football)

Analysis: That’s about the same amount Real spent to sign Drenthe from Feyenoord in the summer of 2007, so I don’t see them turning down an offer of that amount. Drenthe hasn’t exactly blossomed at Real, and he wouldn’t appear to have much of a future there, so the only holdup might be whether or not he wants to move to Greece or to a more elite league.

“Transfer Rumors (15 June 09): Man United after Valencia stars Villa and Silva, Aston Villa close on Tottenham duo, Berbatov and Pavlyuchenko linked with Bundesliga moves, and more” was originally published at footballlens.com – football news.

The statement reads:

“The board of Newcastle United can today confirm that the club is for sale at the price of £100million.”Interested parties should contact Newcastle United at admin@nufc.co.uk (or Keith Harris at Seymour Pierce) for further details.”The club will not be making any further comment at the present time.”

Mike Ashley is getting desperate to offload the club he bought for £134.4m in 2007. If you got an extra £100m to spend then reply to above email. However don’t take for granted that Alan Shearer, Micheal Owen or Obafemi Martins will stay on in your new Championship club.

Carlos Tevez is out, Dimitar Berbatov is out, Park Ji-Sung and Ryan Giggs are in. The paper claims it’s a real ”insult” to Tevez to be left out, but we’re not sure why as no-one has expected him to play from the start with all the focus on his future.

John O’Shea keeps his place at right-back and Cristiano Ronaldo continues his not-going-to-give-the-ball-away-as-much effort as a lone striker. So it’s pretty much exactly the same team as against Arsenal in the semi. Except Darren Fletcher of course.

Transfer gossip now, and there are some pretty interesting deals going on if you believe the media. Chelsea, for some reason, are being linked with a new right-back. We all thought Jose Bosingwa had done rather well this season, but the Blues are apparently tracking Inter Milan’s Brazilian defender Maicon for £22m.

The Daily Star reckon that when Carlo Ancelotti takes over in the summer, he’d just love to take him along for the ride. Probably wouldn’t please Jose much, but he has given his backing to the Italian for the Stamford Bridge post.

Arsene Wenger, meanwhile, is looking to Fulham for his defensive stability next season. Brede Hangeland has done a good job at the heart of the Cottagers defence, and his extra height and power has caught the eye of the Frenchman, according to the Sun. But would he really spend £15m on him?

The Sun also have the news that ‘Arry Redknapp is keen to raid his old club once again for full-back Glen Johnson. Liverpool are believed to be in the prime position to sign the England defender as they need a player to shout back at Jamie Carragher when he gets in a mood; but Tottenham may swoop for their fourth right-back in the past year.

Once an England player, Dean Ashton gets the treatment (and he’s used to that) in the Daily Mirror. The paper thinks he’d be offloaded to Newcastle or Aston Villa in the summer, but someone would have to take a big chance to take the injury-prone striker anywhere.

However, Newcastle won’t be signing anyone decent if they go down and Sebastian Bassong could be the first to leave, says the Times.

Another team struggling for top flight status, Sunderland, could turn to Hamburg manager Martin Jol next season, according to the Daily Star. Quite why the Dutchman would want to trade a chance at the Bundesliga title and possible qualification for Europe for the drudgery of another relegation battle is beyond understanding. So he’ll probably just stay put.

And finally, Chelsea have cancelled their plans for an FA Cup parade. Not because they haven’t won it yet. Not because it’s a mere consolation prize given they really wanted to claim the Champions League. But because of the CREDIT CRUNCH! We know Roman Abramovich has been cutting costs, but if one of the world’s richest men can’t even get a open bus tour together, we know it’s bad.

Today’s tittle-tattle is off to live in a floating duck house – because we deserve to be safe from foxes too

Forget Manchester United v Barcelona, The New Harry Potter Movie v The New Terminator Movie or Peter Andre and Katie Price v The Possibility That Newspapers Might Stop Writing About Them Soon, the real heavyweight clash of the summer is going to be an all-out three-way tussle between Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez and Glen Johnson for the title of Interminable Transfer Story of the Year 2009.

Today’s updates in brief, because if we’re not sick of these yarns already we certainly will be soon:

1) Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t going anywhere – “at the moment I’m at United and I don’t care what happens in Madrid”.

2) Nobody could be arsed making up anything new about Carlos Tevez yesterday, except for the not entirely surprising revelation that he’s going to start next week’s Champions League final on the bench.

3) Harry Redknapp and Rafa Benítez are giving Glen Johnson a clear choice between cockerel and liver bird. Either way it looks like he’ll have some kind of avian lifeform on his chest next season.

Now, on with the other stuff.

Firstly, an excuse to point you in the direction of the undisputed goal of the season (alright, you can dispute it if you like, but it’s pretty popular here at the Mill): Swindon goal machine Simon Cox is favouring a £1.2m switch to Celtic over rival offers from West Brom, Bolton and Leicester.

Because a couple of them happen to be quite tall, today’s defensive rumours will be brought to you in order of the players’ height: Birmingham City want 6ft 6in Zat Knight to make the long trudge from Villa Park in order to create a dream defensive partnership with coming-on-a-free veteran Bobo Balde. Arsenal – for whom Emmanuel Adebayor looks to have played his last game – are ready to test Fulham’s resolve with a £15m bid for 6ft 5in Brede Hangeland (for that money, the only thing they’ll be testing is Mohamed Al Fayed’s resolve to agree gracefully, rather than dropping to his knees, drooling and crying “yes, yes, yes” repeatedly).

And Chelsea are lining up a sensational £22m swoop for Internazionale’s 6ft 1in Douglas Maicon, although Real Madrid are also interested. If this is true and the deal indeed goes through at this price, it would take Roman Abramovich’s spending on first-team right-backs alone to £57.5m, following the purchases of Jose Bosingwa (£16.3m), Paulo Ferreira (£13.2m) and our good friend, the Rumour Mill veteran Glen Johnson (£6m).

Back to Birmingham, who are vying with Villa for £8m-rated Argentinian midfield starlet Lucas Biglia, currently wowing Belgians with Anderlecht, and plotting a £6m double raid on Derby County for Kris Commons and Giles Barnes.

While Blues are planning for promotion, Newcastle are making contingency plans for relegation. If they do go down, Sébastien Bassong will be off sharpish. “You have to plan for your career and playing in the second division would be a step backwards,” he says in one paper. “I’m an ambitious boy and playing Championship football never crossed my mind – it would be a step backwards,” he adds in another. It’s all in the translation, you see. They would also be happy to loan Alan Smith for the season if they go down – perfect for any club that needs a £60,000-a-week adornment to their treatment room.

Talking of which, West Ham are open to offers for Dean Ashton – perfect for any club that meeds a £7m adornment to their treatment room.

And Sunderland want Hamburg’s former Tottenham manager Martin Jol to replace Ricky Sbragia. “He wants another chance in the Premier League, where he feels he has unfinished business,” says “a source”.

]]> http://www.latestfootballnews.net/football-transfer-rumours-brede-hangeland-to-arsenal/feed/ 0 http://www.latestfootballnews.net/soccerlens-podcast-survival-sunday-manchester-united%e2%80%99s-banner-season-wenger%e2%80%99s-future-at-arsenal-and-more/ http://www.latestfootballnews.net/soccerlens-podcast-survival-sunday-manchester-united%e2%80%99s-banner-season-wenger%e2%80%99s-future-at-arsenal-and-more/#comments Fri, 22 May 2009 11:00:18 +0000 admin http://www.latestfootballnews.net/football-news/soccerlens-podcast-survival-sunday-manchester-united%e2%80%99s-banner-season-wenger%e2%80%99s-future-at-arsenal-and-more/

On episode twelve of the footballlens Podcast, Stephen Darwin is joined by the founder of EPL Talk, Chris Harris to discuss the final day of the Premier League and of course that intriguing relegation scrap.

The show will be looking specifically at Manchester United and their unprecedented success, Newcastle’s woeful season, the future for Wenger and Arsenal, the remarkable work of Roy Hodgson at Fulham and Chris also offers his tips for the drop.Among the points of discussion raised with Chris Harris were:

• What Benitez must do to catch Ferguson
• Emmanuel Adebayor and his value to Arsenal
• Aston Villa, Everton and the Europa League
• Tottenham’s chances of a ‘big four’ invasion
• The promoted Championship clubs and their chances of survival
• Plus more on top of that!

Show Details
Date: Friday 22nd May 2009
Host: Stephen Darwin
Guest: Chris Harris

You can listen to the show below:
Download link (mp3, 28mb, 30 mins)

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Remember to leave your feedback on the show in the comments section underneath this post or alternatively e-mail the show at: podcast@footballlens.com. If you want to make your views heard on the podcast, make sure you email us at the above email address.

“footballlens Podcast – Survival Sunday, Manchester United’s banner season, Wenger’s future at Arsenal and more” was originally published at footballlens.com – football news.

There’s nothing quite like the buzz and thrill of expectancy when your club announces a new signing. Let’s face it, it doesn’t matter if you follow a team in the lowest echelons of the Conference South or one of the European superpowers at completely the other end of the spectrum, you just can’t beat that feel-good feeling of a new recruit.

The problem is that there are invariably times when a manager’s faith in a new signing simply fails to come to fruition and we’ve certainly seen a fair few of them up and down the country this season. I can see you nodding your head now so without me blabbering on for too much longer I would like to welcome you to the not so wonderful world of the transfer flop. 2008/09 Premier League edition!

5. Deco

At £8 million it looked an inspired signing and with two goals and two assists coming in his first three matches, we were all guilty of jumping on the Deco bandwagon. It had looked like a stroke of genius from Scolari and yes I’ll be the first to admit it – I thought Deco was the man who completed Chelsea’s midfield.

Although the Portugal international’s season rapidly derailed thereafter to the point where he is rarely even considered a first-teamer at Stamford Bridge these days.

With just one goal against Bolton to add to those rousing first few displays in a Chelsea shirt, Deco has been one of the biggest disappointments of the season and I doubt he’ll be around too much longer to be given a chance to silence his critics.

4. Fabricio Coloccini

The frizzy haired former Deportivo central defender arrived in Newcastle with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Yes Coloccini would supposedly be the man to rejuvenate the Toon Army’s shoddy defence and he’s ultimately caved in under the pressure.

It would seem that Shearer can’t get rid of this £10.5million Argentine international quick enough and after a nightmarish season that has comprised of a bucket load of mistakes and an array of lacklustre defensive performances, you can’t really blame him can you?

3. Robbie Keane

What can you say about Robbie Keane and his time at Anfield? I mean was it simply Rafa’s fault for failing to play to his £20 million signing’s strengths or did Keane ultimately struggle to produce the goods when he was given a chance to impress?

You could debate what went wrong for the Irishman long into the night but at the end of the day Liverpool splashed the cash on a goal-scoring striker who was supposed to do exactly that. Score them goals. He didn’t, so that’s the fundamental reason why he’s on this list.

2. David Bentley

What on earth has happened to Bentley this season? He was supposed to be Beckham’s heir apparent on England’s right-hand-side but on the evidence of this Premier League campaign, he’d be lucky to get in the B team.

That goal aside, the £15 million signing from Blackburn has endured a frustrating start to life at White Hart Lane culminating in him having played just 18 minutes of first-team football since February.

The form of Aaron Lennon has hardly helped his cause but Spurs fans must have surely expected a whole lot more from Bentley and he could quite plausibly be the first casualty of Harry Redknapp’s summer clearout.

1. Dave Kitson

I don’t know whether Kitson failed to cope under the radiant limelight of being Stoke’s record signing but he has undoubtedly proved to be one of the only blemishes during what has been a terrific season for the Potters.

The 29-year-old failed to find the net in 16 Premier League outings this term and was quickly moved on to Reading in the January transfer window.

The good news for supporters at the Britannia Stadium? James Beattie came in and did a slightly better job for less than half the price. The bad news? Kitson looks set to return to the club this summer.

“Top of the flops: The five worst Premier League signings of the season!” was originally published at footballlens.com – football news.

Ben Johnston can also be read on www.inbehind.com

“Newcastle’s Best Hope Is In Weakened United Team” was originally published at footballlens.com – football news.