Sunday 28 December 2014

John Terry: Deal a formality for Chelsea captain, says Mourinho

  OOJ - John Terry


Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says a new contract for long-serving defender John Terry is a "formality".
Terry's current deal expires at the end of the season and Mourinho believes his captain, 34, is playing as well as when Chelsea won the Premier League in 2005.
Mourinho said: "There are no doubts that he is going to get another contract. I know that, he knows that.
"He's a very important player in the team, so the next contract sooner or later will come."
Terry has spent all of his career at Stamford Bridge and has played almost 650 games for the club.
The former England captain is bidding to lead Chelsea to a fourth Premier League title and a first since 2010.
He scored for the second game running in Chelsea's 2-0 win over West Ham on Boxing Day, which kept Mourinho's side three points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table.
Chelsea, who face fourth-placed Southampton on Sunday, have a policy of offering only one-year deals to players over the age of 30.
Meanwhile, former Liverpool striker Fernando Torres, 30, is ending his three-and-a-half year stay at Chelsea, with his loan move to AC Milan set to become permanent from 5 January.
BBC Sport understands the Spain international will then be loaned out to his boyhood club Atletico Madrid.

Gossip/Aproko

Gossip column: Berahino, Borini, Vidic, and Palace job contenders

For a list of all the latest deals, check out the transfers page.

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Arsenal are preparing a fresh bid for Sporting Lisbon's Portugal midfielder William Carvalho, 22. (Mail on Sunday) 
Saido Berahino
Saido Berahino is under contract with West Bromwich Albion until 2017
Tottenham are lining up a £10m offer for West Bromwich Albion striker Saido Berahino, 21, which could prompt the Baggies to bid for Burnley's Danny Ings. (Sunday Telegraph) 
Liverpool have offered striker Fabio Borini to Lazio in exchange for Nigeria midfielder Ogenyi Onazi, 22. (Sunday Express) 
Manchester United want to bring defender Nemanja Vidic, 33, back to Old Trafford from Inter Milan. (Star on Sunday) 
Chelsea are ahead of Arsenal and Manchester United in the chase for Corinthians forward Malcolm Silva, 17. (Sunday Express) 
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is targeting experienced St Etienne captain Loic Perrin, 29, to increase his defensive options. (Sunday Mirror) 
Manchester United midfielder Adnan Januzaj, 19, is a loan target for Everton as boss Roberto Martinez looks to increase his Belgian contingent at Goodison Park. (People) 

OTHER GOSSIP

Alan Irvine could become the second Premier League manager to lose his job in a matter of days if his West Bromwich Albion side lose badly at Stoke City on Sunday. (Sunday Telegraph) 
Star on Sunday's back page

Thursday 25 December 2014

West Brom V Man City - Preview

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MATCH STATS

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TEAM NEWS

Manchester City again have no fit recognised strikers, with Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic still on the sidelines.
Captain Vincent Kompany is also out with a hamstring problem, but Gael Clichy is fit after a foot injury.
West Brom captain Chris Brunt returns following a hamstring problem, while Georgios Samaras is back in training.
Victor Anichebe and Boaz Myhill are both doubtful through injury and illness respectively.

MATCH PREVIEW

The West Brom players will have Christmas Day afternoon off after training in the morning. 
The Doctor Who yuletide special might help them prepare. No doubt it'll be about beings from another planet and how simple earthlings combat them with some special help from the Doctor. 
From his Tardis-like Hawthorns office, Alan Irvine will need more than a sonic screwdriver to stop Manchester City who, at times recently, have looked worlds apart from most Premier League teams. 

Lawro's prediction

West Brom worry me. To be 2-0 up at QPR and then throw it away shows that, mentally, there is a problem there.
Their run of eight wins on the spin in all competitions has drawn scant praise. They've not been at their fluent best. But they have been effective, ruthless and tidy at the back with four clean sheets in a row.
But Doctor Who never takes a likely beating lying down and West Brom showed enough at QPR in their thrilling 3-2 defeat to suggest they could yet create something of a surprise here. 
The title chasers have to make the most of games like this against lowly opposition. Manuel Pellegrini has learned his lesson from last season when dropped points at the likes of Cardiff, Aston Villa and Sunderland nearly cost them the title. 
Even without Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and Vincent Kompany, City brushed Palace aside on Saturday. 
This will be more difficult. Their defence won't relish West Brom's pace in wide positions. 
It'll be a test for City and they may even struggle at first. I also think West Brom are due a change in fortune and a couple of big results going their way. 
They are a decent footballing side, but they need to think about picking up a few bargains in the New Year Sales. 
Otherwise not even the Doctor might not be able to save them.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head
  • West Brom are without a win against Manchester City in nine games since winning at The Hawthorns on December 2008.
  • Sixty two of the 145 meetings between the two clubs have produced four or more goals (43%). 
West Bromwich Albion
  • West Brom have won just one of their last seven matches.
  • They have failed to score in seven of their 17 league games this season.
  • The Baggies have won just four home league games in 2014. 
  • Craig Dawson is the only West Brom player, other than leading scorer Saido Berahino, to have scored more than once in the Premier League this season. 
Manchester City
  • Manchester City have scored in 14 successive Premier League matches, which is the longest run in the top flight this season.
  • They have lost just one of those 14 games.
  • Manuel Pellegrini's side have won the last 18 league matches when Yaya Toure has scored.
  • Frank Lampard (175) needs one goal to move outright fourth in the overall Premier League all-time scorers list. He is currently joint-fourth with Thierry Henry.
  • Leighton Baines is the only defender (10) to provide more Premier League assists since the start of last season than Pablo Zabaleta and Aleksandar Kolarov (both on nine)

The League Leaders in Boxing Day Battle

 


Boxing Day 

Build-up on BBC Radio 5 live from noon; commentary of Manchester Utd v Newcastle from 15:00 GMT and Arsenal v QPR from 17:30.
Live text commentary from 10:00 GMT on BBC Sport website; Final Score 14:30-17:25 GMT, BBC Red Button and 16:30-17:25, BBC Two; Match of the Day 23:00-00:35, BBC One.
Chelsea's bid to retain their place at the top of the Premier League kicks off a full Boxing Day programme across England's top four divisions.
The Blues, who have a three-point lead over Manchester City, host fourth-placed West Ham United at 12:45 GMT.
It will be Chelsea's second match in a busy sequence of four games in 11 days.
"It doesn't matter - English or not English - the moment you are a football player in this country, I respect you a lot," said Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.
"At this moment the German guys are on the beach, the Spanish guys are in the Maldives getting sun - everybody else is doing that.
"But in this country you play on the 22nd, you play on Boxing Day, you play on the 28th, you play on New Year's Day. There is no Christmas - just football, and I think the players deserve respect.
"The supporters all around the country give them that respect because every stadium is sold out. And I think the way to do it is with the kind of professionalism my players have shown."
OOJ- Eden Hazard
After the match with the Hammers, Chelsea visit Southampton on 28 December and Tottenham on 1 January, having beaten Stoke 2-0 on Monday to stay three points clear at the top.
On the continent, Spain's La Liga does not restart after Christmas until 3 January, while Germany's Bundesliga is on hiatus until Friday 30 January.
Play media
Dan Walker's 'Football Ding Dong'
"Chelsea can beat you five or six-nil on their ground," said West Ham boss Sam Allardyce.
"But we're enjoying our football this year and enjoying our Christmas a lot more than we enjoyed Christmas last year.
"We've got the two hardest games over 48 hours over Christmas - Chelsea away and Arsenal at home in the space of 48 hours is a big demand for us, even though we're on top of our game at the moment.
"Getting through these two games is going to be a tremendous effort for all the players selected, and hopefully they'll come through for us as they have done for most of this season."
Manchester City visit The Hawthorns to play West Bromwich Albion,with boss Manuel Pellegrini in bullish mood.
"We are not thinking about leaders Chelsea," said Pellegrini, whose team have won six successive league games. "You never win the title in December.
"We have a long five months to continue playing as well as we are doing so far and we will see at the end of the season which team has most points."
City have what seems on paper to be the more attractive festive fixtures of the top two, with the trip to West Brom followed by home matches with Burnley (28 December) and Sunderland (1 January).
Third-placed Manchester United are at home to Newcastle United.
Bottom club Leicester City welcome Tottenham Hotspur while Hull Citygo in search of a first win since 4 October when they travel to Sunderland.
Nigel Pearson's Leicester have taken only two points from the last 33 on offer to drop to the bottom of the table but the boss is confident of an upturn of fortunes.
"I can honestly say I look round the dressing room and I've not seen anybody who has given in to our current circumstances. I think that's a real positive," said Pearson.
"We are capable of turning it around. Clearly we've got to start winning games pretty quickly."
The Foxes welcome a Tottenham side with three wins from their last three matches in all competitions.
Four points from the last 30 available has also increased the pressure on Hull manager Steve Bruce - and the Tigers boss will travel to former club Sunderland eager for a response from his players after last weekend's home defeat by Swansea.
"There is always scrutiny on Premier League managers and if you go six, seven, eight weeks without a victory then it is your turn, but I'm still convinced we will be OK," said Bruce.
Liverpool visit third-bottom Burnley with boss Brendan Rodgers hoping Martin Skrtel's late equaliser against Arsenal on Sunday will inspire his side.
"The goal and the performance can help turn things around because there has been a lot of criticism of us and I hope it will change and be better in the second half of the season," said the Reds boss.
Man City goalkeeper Joe Hart has conceded just one goal in five matches played in December so far
Elsewhere, Arsenal host QPR, Everton play Stoke, Swansea welcome Aston Villa and fifth-placed Southampton face Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
Rangers boss Harry Redknapp has made it clear that he will not sell striker Charlie Austin , who scored a hat-trick in Saturday's 3-2 win over West Brom to move to 11 goals this season.
"If we sold Charlie Austin we might as well go home," said Redknapp. "We need Charlie to keep doing what he's doing."
In the Championship , leaders Bournemouth are at home to Fulham while Ipswich Town, in second, visit third-placed Brentford.
There will be an interesting match-up at Bournemouth, with Cherries midfielder Harry Arter set to enjoy Christmas dinner with brother-in-law Scott Parker before the two face each other on Friday. 
League One leaders Bristol City welcome Yeovil Town, while League Twopacesetters Wycombe Wanderers entertain third-placed Luton Town.

Wednesday 24 December 2014

Atletico Madrid hint at move for Chelea striker

Fernando Torres


OOJ - Fernando Torres

Chelsea striker Fernando Torres could return to boyhood club Atletico Madrid after their president hinted at a deal.
The Spain international joined AC Milan from Chelsea on a two-year loan in August but has yet to re-discover his form.
Enrique Cerezo has refused to rule out the possibility of re-signing the 30-year-old, who left Atletico for Liverpool in 2007.
"He is not here but that does not mean that he won't be," said the president.

Southampton have agreed a deal to sign Werder Bremen winger Eljero Elia

Eljero Elia


OOJ - Eljero Elia

Southampton have agreed a deal to sign Werder Bremen winger Eljero Elia on loan until the end of the season.

The Netherlands international, 27, will join on 3 January. The transfer likely to become permanent in the summer.
Saints need Elia because Jay Rodriguez has had cruciate knee ligament surgery and Sadio Mane is going to the Africa Cup of Nations.
Speaking before the move was confirmed, Saints boss Ronald Koeman said: "He will be a good option."
Ex-FC Twente and Hamburg man Elia made 33 appearances for Bremen last season.
He has 27 international caps and was part of his country's 2010 World Cup squad.

Louis van Gaal grateful for Sir Alex Ferguson 'belief'

Louis van Gaal

Man Utd: Louis van Gaal grateful for Sir Alex Ferguson 'belief'

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal says the "confidence and belief" former boss Sir Alex Ferguson has shown in him has made his job easier.
In his first season at Old Trafford, Dutchman Van Gaal has led United to third in the Premier League despite injuries to a host of players.
Ferguson this week described Van Gaal as "a great coach" who "will do well".
"He has belief and I'm happy with that," said Van Gaal, 63. "Then you can work in an easier way."
United have suffered more than 40 injuries in the five months since Van Gaal took charge.
They are set to be without Daley Blind, Marcos Rojo, Luke Shaw, Marouane Fellaini and Ander Herrera for the Boxing Day match against Newcastle United at Old Trafford.
Ferguson is now a United director after stepping down in 2013, having won 38 trophies during his 26-year reign.
"You hope that he shall support you," said Van Gaal. "He showed a lot of confidence and belief in me and that I need as a coach.






"As manager of Manchester United, you need belief and support of managers such as Sir Alex.
"But it is also a pressure because he believes in you and it gives you that pressure that you have to get results."
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew says Van Gaal's treatment contrasts with that of predecessor David Moyes, who was sacked in April after 10 months in charge.
"There's just a little bit more stability," Pardew said. "There was a lot of unstable reporting and messages coming out of there last year.
"This particular manager has had more patience and more time and certainly more reassurance from above." 
Van Gaal revealed he has given his players Christmas Day off.
It is normal practice for United to train the day before a game and stay overnight in a hotel.
"I have given them free time," Van Gaal told MUTV. "We shall come together the next day here at our training complex."

Tuesday 19 August 2014

Manchester United confirm Marcos Rojo is moving from Sporting Lisbon, with Nani returning on loan

Marcos Rojo: Confirmed for Manchester United move
Manchester United have confirmed they have reached an agreement with Sporting Lisbon to sign Marcos Rojo, with Nani returning to his former club on a season-long loan.
Argentina international Rojo, 24, had hinted last week that he was poised to move to England and become part of Louis van Gaal's squad before Sporting rubber-stamped his departure on Tuesday.
A United statement read: "Manchester United is delighted to announce it has reached an agreement with Sporting Lisbon to sign defender Marcos Rojo, subject to a medical and agreeing personal terms. 
"A further announcement will be made when the process is complete."
Rojo had returned to training with the Portuguese giants only after apologising to them for previously refusing to play, as he looked to force through a transfer.
In a recent interview, Rojo had said: "It's a dream to play at Manchester United and I am very proud of having the chance of working with [Louis] van Gaal.
Rojo, who can play at left-back or centre-back, claimed he always wanted to play for United, after speaking with former United star Juan Sebastian Veron earlier in his career.
"I spoke with Juan Sebastian Veron about Manchester United when we were at Estudiantes," he said. "I have always liked English football, and I should adapt to this new playing style easily."
Nani rejoins the Portuguese club that he left for Old Trafford in 2007 having scored 25 goals in 147 appearances for United. 
United, who lost their opening league game against Swansea on Saturday, have been frustrated in their quest to strengthen a squad that has seen no new recruits since Luke Shaw and Ander Herrera arrived in June.

Monday 18 August 2014

Today's gossip/aproko

Gossip logo


Gossip column: Di Maria, Gonzalez, Lavezzi, Holtby, Mexes

For a list of confirmed transfers, check out the transfers page.

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Daily Mail
Manchester United are preparing a £100m package to bring Real Madrid winger Angel Di Maria, 26, to Old Trafford, which would cover the Argentina international's £50m transfer fee and wages. (Daily Mail) 
Southampton manager Ronald Koeman wants to make Lazio midfielder Alvaro Gonzalez, 29, his eighth signing of the summer and is preparing an £8m offer for the Uruguay international. (Daily Mirror) 
Manchester United have reignited their interest in Roma's Dutch midfielder Kevin Strootman, 28, with Juventus confident they will hold onto 27-year-old Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal. (Express) 
Tottenham are willing to listen to offers for Lewis Holtby, who they signed from Schalke for £1.5m in January 2013, as QPR and Crystal Palace line up moves for the 23-year-old midfielder. (Daily Mail) 
Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool are on alert after Paris St-Germain's contract talks with their 29-year-old Argentine winger Ezequiel Lavezzi broke down. (Daily Star) 
Manchester United are eyeing up a move for AC Milan defender Philippe Mexes, 32, as a cheaper alternative to Roma's £24m-rated centre-back Mehdi Benatia, 27, according to Corriere dello Sport. (Football Italia) 
Marseille midfielder Morgan Amalfitano, 29, is eager to secure a move to West Ham United following a training ground bust-up with Les Phoceens coach Marcelo Bielsa. (Sky Sports) 
Napoli appear to have beaten Swansea City to the signature of Dutch midfielder Jonathan de Guzman, 26, who has spent the last two seasons on loan at the Liberty Stadium from Villarreal. (La Gazzetta - in Italian) 
Tottenham are ready to reject a £10m offer from Southampton for 23-year-old England winger Andros Townsend, who is also attracting interest from QPR. (Daily Express) 
Barcelona manager Luis Enrique says he is still in the market for new signings despite spending £115m on five players, including £75m on Luis Suarez, 27, this summer. (Marca)  

OTHER GOSSIP

Daily Mirror
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, 41, received a text message from Suarez wishing him and his former Reds team-mates luck ahead of their opening-day win over Southampton. (Telegraph) 
Former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood, 45, has emerged as a leading candidate to replace Tony Pulis at Crystal Palace after a favourable interview. (Guardian) 
Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, 28, has been offered a new five-year deal by manager Manuel Pellegrini, which is set to be signed this week. (Daily Express) 
QPR, who lost 1-0 to Hull City on their return to the Premier League, will have to learn hard lessons if they are to survive in the top flight, says Hoops midfielder Joey Barton, 31. (Times - subscription required) 
Brazil forward Neymar, 22, who scored four goals in five games at the 2014 World Cup, will not be a true footballing star until he wins the tournament, says Brazil coach Dunga. (Daily Mail) 
Everton manager Roberto Martinez is eager to take the pressure off the club's £28m record signing Romelu Lukaku, 21, who failed to score in the opening day 2-2 draw with Leicester City. (Guardian) 
Senegal striker Demba Ba, 29, who left Chelsea to join Besiktas in the summer, insists he only struggled at Stamford Bridge because manager Jose Mourinho picked players on reputation rather than performance. (The Sun - subscription only) 

BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Daniel Sturridge thanked his Liverpool team-mates after scoring the winner against Southampton
Daniel Sturridge thanked his Liverpool team-mates after scoring the winner against Southampton
Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, 29, stripped down to purple underwear to take part in the Ice Bucket Challenge craze on Twitter and raise money for charity.
Liverpool match-winner Daniel Sturridge took to Twitter  to declare himself "a happy fella" after the 2-1 win against Southampton and thanked his team-mates for helping him to his first goal of the season.

AND FINALLY

An over-eager fan ran onto the pitch and kissed Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero after he sealed a 2-0 win at Newcastle United and then asked for his shirt. (Daily Mirror) 
A Real Madrid fan, dressed as Ronaldo, infiltrated Los Blancos' 2-1 friendly loss to Fiorentina and chatted with striker Karim Benzema, 26, on the pitch. (Marca) 

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