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Just Get It Done Already!!!
Saturday, August 2, 2008, 03:44 PM CST
[cristiano ronaldo]
Two of the summer's most drawn out Transfer sagas appear to be nearing completion - God willing.
Liverpool have been told to show their cards with Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill telling Reds they have until the end of the transfer window to get a deal done with Barry. And if anyone says that O'Neill is not one of the nicer guys in the game, they'll get an earful. What other manager would sit down, set a deadline in agreement with his star player for a move, watch that deadline pass and then after meeting with the player again days later, tell him they will let him go if Liverpool meet the valuation by the end of August. That's a classy guy. Now if Liverpool have ANY class at all (and they're serious about Barry) they'll get this deal done ASAP and allow Villa the time to use the money to try to find a suitable replacement. I tend to agree with what O'Neill has said in the past though - if Liverpool REALLY wanted Barry (and they had the cash) they'd have done the deal by now. I guess we'll see where they're at in the coming week. And if reports in Saturday's Telegraph are true, Cristiano Ronaldo is going to demand a move away from Manchester United as early as Tuesday. The online report saying Ronaldo is due back that day and will meet with manager Sir Alex Ferguson and ask the club to sell him. Other reports surfaced early Saturday where RM boss Bernd Schuster said the club were still working on a deal for the Portuguese winger. United have apparently softened their view towards a sale and if Madrid cough up the 136m US being asked, the deal will get done. It could finally be the move that sparks a bit of a domino effect. The sale of Ronaldo would allow Real Madrid to send Robinho to Chelsea for 60m US - the deal already agreed to. United would then use their cash to try and grab Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham. Those two teams also involved in an open dialogue with both trying to find a middle price between the 48m US United are offering and the 60m US Tottenham are asking. It'd just be nice to have BOTH sagas come to an end so we could truly get on with things! Agreed? Tags:
Premier League Preview #7 - Wigan Athletic
Saturday, August 2, 2008, 08:44 AM CST
[Wigan Athletic]
Last Season: Finished 14th in the Premier League - 40pts. INS: OUTS: Possibles: What`s Left in the Kitty - 35m US What Lies Ahead: Possible Starting XI: How They`ll Stack Up: Coming Up Sunday - Middlesbrough Tags:
Premier League Preview #6 - Sunderland
Friday, August 1, 2008, 08:19 AM CST
[Sunderland]
Last Season - 15th in the Premier League - 39pts
Manager: Roy Keane INS: MF David Meyler - Undisclosed AMF Steed Malbranque - Undisclosed ST El-Hadji Diouf - Undisclosed MF Teemu Tainio - Undisclosed RB Pascal Chimbonda - Undisclosed OUTS: FW Andy Cole LB Ian Harte DF Stanislav Varga DF Stephen Wright DF Greg Halford Possibles: FW Andy Johnson - Everton DF Dorin Goian - Steaua Bucharest FW Darren Bent - Tottenham DF Younes Kaboul - Tottenham DF Taye Taiwo - Marseille FW Louis Saha - Manchester United FW James Beattie - Sheffield United MF Darren Fletcher - Manchester United What's Left in the Kitty - Unknown with string of 'undisclosed' deals - started with 90m US What Lies Ahead: Aug 16 Liverpool (H) Aug 23 Tottenham (A) Aug 30 Man City (H) Sep 13 Wigan (A) Sep 20 Middlesbrough (H) Sep 27 Aston Villa (A) Oct 4 Arsenal (H) Possible Starting XI: GK Craig Gordon RB Pascal Chimbonda CB Paul McShane CB Danny Higginbotham LB Danny Collins RMF Grant Leadbitter CMF Teemu Tainio CMF Steed Malbranque LMF Andy Reid FW Anthony Stokes/Michael Chopra/Dwight Yorke FW El-Hadji Diouf/Kenwyne Jones How They'll Stack Up: When I sat down just over a week ago and started hashing out a Sunderland preview, it was pretty easy. No moves in, some moves out and what looked to be a battle to stay near 15th spot - where they finished last year. Now, Manager Roy Keane has had a string of players come in with more on the way and by the looks of it, they COULD get into the top half if everything goes according to plan (it's a 3-year plan by the way). Keane got the RB he wanted in Chimbonda, the attacking guile in Malbranque and the versatility of Tainio (Keane just hopes he stays healthy!). If they can bring in some help up front - Saha, Bent or Beattie - they should definitely get into the mid-table range and perhaps break the top ten. Keane's no-nonsense style as a player has also been the attraction as a manager and I like what he's doing with Sunderland. They have a bit of a tough beginning but if they can get 4-6pts in those first few games, they should be well on their way to a better finish than last term. Coming Up Saturday - Wigan Tags:
Premier League Preview # 5 - Bolton
Thursday, July 31, 2008, 07:28 AM CST
[Bolton Wanderers]
Last Season: 16th in the Premier League - 37pts. INS: OUTS: Possibles: What's Left in the Kitty - 8m US What Lies Ahead: Possible Starting XI: How They'll Stack Up: Coming Up Friday - Sunderland Tags:
Premier League Preview #4 - Fulham
Wednesday, July 30, 2008, 08:01 AM CST
[Fulham]
Last Season: 17th in the Premier League - 36pts (avoided relegation on goal difference) INS: Possibles: What's Left in the Kitty: 13.4m US What Lies Ahead: Possible Starting XI How They'll Stack Up: So as it stands now, things are looking up. One thing is for sure - there is little doubt as to who's team this now is with Hodgson doing the job at ridding the side of a LOT of dead weight. The team is still a little short of quality but Hodgson showed last term that he can get the most out of what he has and still win. He added some skill at the back with Fredrik Stoor from Rosenborg Tuesday - now they need someone who can score. They are close to signing Andy Johnson from Everton and if they can do that, they could be a team to survive relegation. Then again, that may depend on which Andy Johnson shows up.....Aside from Arsenal and United in games #2 & #3, they should get off to a decent start - which will be good for the strong Fulham fan base on this side of the pond. Coming Up Thursday - Bolton Wanderers Tags:
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