Football Talk : Premier League

Football Talk - Bale wins PFA Player of the Year award

Editor — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 14:00:00 GMT

Tottenham's Gareth Bale has been named as the Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year. The adidas F50 adizero football boots wearer has impressed for Spurs in both the Premier League and Champions League this season, becoming one of the most coveted players in world football. ...(read more)

Rooney Escapes Ban - Lucky or Right Decision?

Soccer_Boots — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 16:22:00 GMT

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After all the ''will he'' or ''wont he'' talk hot on the lips of football fans up and down the country, the FA have announced that Wayne Rooney will have no action taken against him for his elbow on Wigan midfielder James McCarthy at the weekend.

At a time when refereeing consistency is seemingly criticised every weekend, this decision will only promote arguments against officials and the FA. Mark Clattenberg, who refereed the match between United and Wigan, has since claimed that he saw the incident and dealt with it accordingly. Clattenburg told the FA on Monday that he feels he took the appropriate action, which means the governing body cannot bring charges against the striker.

Television replays apparently showed Rooney swipe McCarthy on the back of his head with an elbow after the midfielder had appeared set to block the Manchester United striker's run.

The announcement will come as a big relief to Manchester United and their fans, who have been waiting to find out if their star-striker would miss some of Untied's biggest games of the season. Any ban would have ruled Rooney out of tomorrow nights match against Chelsea, along with United's meeting with Liverpool and the possible FA Cup quarter-final with Arsenal.

The decision from the FA will no doubt be a controversial one. There has been a lot of debate amongst journalists and fans discussing whether Rooney did deserve a ban and if the right decision was made not to take further action.

With the FA continuing to promote their 'Respect' campaign, should the FA have made an example of Rooney, or was the right decision made not to punish the striker? Let us know your thoughts....

Football Talk - Uncertainty Over Hodgson Future

Editor — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 13:41:00 GMT

Under-fire Roy Hodgson has refused to discuss his future as Liverpool manager, after another disappointing performance that has left Hodgson's short reign at Anfield in jeopardy. ...(read more)

Newcastle confirm Pardew appointment

Editor — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 15:42:00 GMT

Newcastle have confirmed the appointment of Alan Pardew as the club's new manager on a five-and-a-half-year deal. ...(read more)

Football Talk - Chelsea confirm interest in Rooney - 19/10/10

Editor — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 10:22:00 GMT

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed the club would be interested in signing Wayne Rooney if the striker decides to leave Manchester United.

According to reports, Rooney, 24, has broken off contract talks at Old Trafford and, with his current deal due to expire in 18 months, it is claimed United could be ready to cash in. Ancelotti, has said that Chelsea would be keen to take advantage of the situation should Rooney decide to depart.

"We have to wait to see if Wayne Rooney really wants to leave Manchester United," he said. "If they really want to sell him and, also, if Rooney is on the market, not just Chelsea would be interested but a lot of other teams as well."

Manchester City, Real Madrid and Barcelona are all reported to be interested, but Ancelotti acknowledges that Ferguson is unlikely to allow one of his leading stars to leave without a fight.

"Every top team has a fantastic player and they want to keep them," he said. "If someone asks for one of our top players there is no way - they would have to stay here."

Madrid boss Jose Mourinho also said he expected Rooney to remain at United. "I don't think he will (become available)," Mourinho said on Monday. "I think the big man will persuade him to stay."

Football Talk - Real Madrid reveal Rooney admiration - 18/10/10

Editor — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 13:53:00 GMT

Real Madrid's director general, Jorge Valdano, has revealed his admiration for Wayne Rooney but admitted there may be no place for him in the current team. ...(read more)

Football Talk - Ferguson plays down Rooney rift - 15/10/10

Editor — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 11:45:00 GMT

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has played down Wayne Rooney's comments regarding his ankle injury. ...(read more)

Football Talk - Liverpool return to High Court - 14/10/10

Editor — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 13:25:00 GMT

Liverpool's ownership battle will return to the High Court on Thursday after the club's owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, obtained a temporary injunction to prevent the sale of the club.

The High Court yesterday rejected an attempt by Hicks and Gillett to block the club's directors decision to sell Liverpool to the owners of baseball's Boston Red Sox. The ruling cleared the way for the board to agree a £300 million takeover by John W Henry's New England Sports Ventures (NESV).

But before the board could conclude the sale, Hicks secured a temporary restraining order from a Texas court and the case will head to the Royal Courts of Justice again in a bid to overturn that decision. Hicks and Gillett claim that the English members of the club's board - chairman Martin Broughton, Christian Purslow and Ian Ayre - have failed to act in the best interests of the club.

News of the injunction emerged as Liverpool's directors were meeting with NESV chief Henry in London on Wednesday amid expectations a deal was imminent. The lawsuit filed by Hicks and Gillett is against their major creditor, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), the three members of Liverpool's board and NESV. In the US court papers, Hicks and Gillett allege an "epic swindle" which would have sold the club at a price "hundreds of millions of dollars below true market value". They are also seeking punitive damages of around $1.6 billion dollars.

Hicks and Gillett have claimed that rival bids were not given consideration and it now appears that one of those bids - from Mill Financial - could emerge as a serious contender. NESV's deal seemed to be legally binding, but sources suggest that Mill Financial has acquired Tom Hicks' shares having already taken Gillett's holding after he defaulted on a loan payment. With the group also believed to have bought off Wells Fargo's 25% debt stake, it could now be in pole position to force through a deal.

Football Talk - Lim makes rival Liverpool bid - 12/10/10

Editor — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 12:05:00 GMT

Singapore billionaire Peter Lim has increased his offer to buy Liverpool to £320million, and is offering to inject £40million into Roy Hodgson's January transfer kitty. ...(read more)

Football Talk - Red Sox Deal for Reds - 06/10/10

Editor — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 10:30:00 GMT

Liverpool have confirmed that a takeover deal has been agreed with New England Sports Ventures (NESV), the owners of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, despite opposition from current Liverpool owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks. It's been a long drawn out saga, but what are the views of Liverpool fans over the potential takeover of the club? ...(read more)