Sunderland boss Steve Bruce has cooled any talk of a move for Tottenham star Niko Kranjcar Sky Sports reports.
It’s been suggested that the Croatian was on Bruce’s hit list after he recently confirmed his admiration for the midfielder.
His agent Adrian Aljai suggested earlier this week that a deal between the two clubs could be imminent but the Black Cats boss has poured cold water on that.
“I don’t know where that’s come from.” Bruce told Sky Sports.
“As I have said repeatedly now for a couple of weeks, I am very, very pleased with what we have done and if we don’t do another thing, I will be delighted with what we have done.
He added: “I don’t know where the Kranjcar thing came from. I have seen quotes from his agent – certainly, I have not spoken to Kranjcar’s agent, so I don’t really know where that has come from.”
Bruce has bolstered his squad extensively this summer with 10 new faces moving to the Stadium of Light and it now seems Kranjcar won’t be making the move North.
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He is surplus to requirements at White Hart Lane after starting just two Premier League games last season.
Manager Harry Redknapp is looking to raise funds for new recruits meaning the Croatians time in North London looks numbered.
The usual doubts and pessimistic cries were not out of place when they greeted Laurent Koscielny as he arrived at Arsenal from Lorient. The club were in desperate need of a centre-back who had the strength, presence and authority to not only marshal the back-four, but someone to complement Thomas Vermaelen as well. From first appearances, Koscielny looked anything but all of those: his strength certainly wasn’t telling, despite his 6ft 1in frame, and his huge lack of experience which only amounted to one season in the top flight in France, had most wondering if this was to be another one of Arsene Wenger’s gambles that was about to go horribly wrong.
18 months removed and Koscielny is rightfully praised as the best centre-back at Arsenal – even above fan favourite Thomas Vermaelen. A settling in period was, of course, required. A number of mistakes highlighted Koscielny’s lack of experience at the highest level, but they were broken up by undoubted moments of genuine quality. Koscielny’s second season at Arsenal has proved to be a huge success for the player thus far, in spite of one of the club’s poorest seasons in recent memory. The full-back crisis at the club has seen Koscielny partner new arrival Per Mertesacker for much of the season, while Vermaelen occupied the left-back spot. Interestingly, there were many who believed Koscielny would be playing back-up to the vastly experienced German and club vice-captain Vermaelen. But his qualities shone through, and particularly in high-pressure matches; notably the 5-3 away win to Chelsea. In certainly Arsenal’s greatest night at the Emirates, Koscielny put in a performance of exceptional quality against Barcelona last season, playing a huge role in shutting out Lionel Messi for much of the game and breaking up a Barcelona attack which resulted in Arsenal’s winner.
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Nigel Winterburn expressed his view that people in England are too quick to judge a player and not allow him a settling in period. But once Koscielny noticeably bulked up and became more confident in his own abilities, we’ve seen one of the most consistent centre-backs this season. The qualities that Thomas Vermaelen has been praised for possessing is equally correct in description when referring to Koscielny: he’s comfortable on the ball, able to play out of defence, and, most of all, is extremely calm in dispossessing an opponent. His reading of the game is outstanding, his pace and precision in the tackle is equally impressive, and along with the experience of those around him and the confidence of goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, his game have been allowed to flourish.
Often portrayed as one of the quieter characters in the Arsenal dressing room, the President at his former club Lorient insists that here is a player whose surface is calm, but underneath is a passionate, aggressive winner. His aggressive style of playing, while keeping the attractive art of defending alive, suggests as much. He never looks to shy away from confrontation, and as has been mentioned, is extremely valuable in high-profile games.
Laurant Koscielny’s rise to one of the most important players at Arsenal is hugely impressive. An 18-month turnaround has seen an vastly inexperienced player become one of the best performers in the Premier League. An impressive feat and one which has offered him his first international cap for France.
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Arsenal fans should certainly rejoice at the fact that the much troubled defensive back-line finally has some stability: a mixture of experience, leadership and Koscielny’s undoubted talent that will only greatly increase with each year at the North London club.
Carlos Tevez has been handed a two-week suspension by Manchester City chiefs while the club figures out how best to punish for his reprehensible attitude in the Champions’ League defeat to Bayern Munich. Tevez’ refusal to leave the bench during the second half of an abject performance by his team has drawn strong criticism from all quarters, and City boss Roberto Mancini will be looking to ensure that the club supports the hard line he took on Tevez’ actions in the post-match press conference.
Elsewhere in this morning’s headlines, there’s good news for Darren Bent as the Aston Villa striker nears a return from his month-long injury lay-off; more bad news for Bolton’s Stuart Holden, whose knee injury has not healed as expected – meaning the American is back on the treatment table; and an unrepentant Harry Redknapp plans to once again rest his big names for tonight’s Europa League showdown with Shamrock Rovers as he looks ahead to the weekend’s North London Derby.
Carlos Tevez suspended by Man City
Dirk Kuyt issues warning to rivals
Lampard want to play regularly
Oxlade-Chamberlain stars in Arsenal win
Darren Bent gives Aston Villa a welcome boost
Redknapp to rest big names again
Villas-Boas laments poor finishing
Bolton’s Holdon on sidelines for six months
Doyle signs new Wolves contract
Titus Bramble in hot water
Arsenal in Real fight for Hazard signature
Liverpool and Spurs set to go toe-to-toe for striker
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Three London rivals in fight to snap up Brighton wonderkid
Endorsing a stadium with a corporate name isn’t a new phenomenon. Back in 1912, John I. Taylor, owner of the Boston Red Sox gave the name Fenway Park to their home ground. He claimed it was due to the proximity of the stadium in the Fenway area of Boston. Others have suggested that the family business of Fenway Realty also gave an added incentive.
A businessman such as Taylor must have surely been aware of the commercial value of attaching his company to a successful sporting outfit.
A century later and the issue of ‘naming rights’ is at the fore of the business known as Premier League football. Manchester City have recently signed a deal with Etihad Airways, the chairman of which is Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, half-brother of Sheikh Mansour.
As well as sponsoring the company’s shirt, the airline will now pay £10.2million per year for the next decade to have the stadium formerly known as Eastlands named after them.
This has caused much consternation in the corridors of City’s rivals. Arsene Wenger was the first to call the deal into question, citing the links between Mansour and Al Nahyan. Liverpool ’s commercial director Ian Ayre has also voiced concerns.
The general argument goes like this: Manchester City could never have commanded the amount of money for the naming rights (incidentally a similar amount to what Wenger’s Arsenal is receiving from their naming deal with Emirates) without the links between the two Sheikhs.
Perhaps this is true. After all, despite last season’s success City is still some way from eclipsing the likes of Liverpool in terms of name value.
The deal is being viewed by critics as the easiest way for City to side-step the ‘fair play rules’ being brought in by the governing bodies to force clubs to only spend what they have made, thus eliminating the ability of the so-called sugar daddies to transform a club from mediocrity to greatness.
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For me the argument is a mute one (in much the same way as the argument of the ‘tapping up’ of players). By this I mean that everyone does it. Any club in City’s position would be doing exactly the same thing. Bolton Wanderers play at the Reebok stadium whilst both Liverpool and Chelsea have investigated selling the naming rights to their homes.
Wenger himself was happy to sell the rights for Arsenal’s new stadium. Having left behind one of the most iconic names in European football he realised the need for the income to support the club in the future. All of this is a born out of a need to compete.
Money is the lifeblood of modern football and those without it are destined to struggle for survival. The days of a club needing nothing more than a Brian Clough to inspire them to success are over. Now, they need higher ticket prices, Sky’s TV money and the windfalls of a top-four finish to have a realistic chance of battling for trophies. Their income in turn affects their ability to pay fees for, and wages to, the best players in the world.
Manchester United has been the best team in England for twenty years. And they have done this partly by paying high transfer fees and huge wages. Chelsea’s leap from nearly-men to contenders was only ignited by an oligarch’s spending spree, which brought in a top manager and gave him the funds to transform the club over a single summer. And, whilst the amounts were greatly inferior, Blackburn Rovers won the Premier League on the back of a huge investment by Jack Walker.
The greatest cost of sacrificing history and tradition for the corporate cash is that of football losing what remains of its soul. With the antics of players and the extortionate ticket prices to watch top-flight teams the sport has already haemorrhaged a lot of the affection people felt. Now, to see iconic homes such as White Hart Lane and Anfield possible being replaced with Americanized monikers like ‘M & T Bank Stadium’ and ‘Home Depot Centre’ would be another finger wrenched from the grip of nostalgia.
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The cost of the naming rights to Manchester’s Commonwealth Games stadium is not the issue here. It is the cost on the clubs involved to maintain and fight their corner that is taking the biggest toll.
Read more of Alan Bradburne’s articles at This is Futbol
In an interview with the Guardian newspaper on Saturday, West Ham’s new manager Sam Allardyce said that his side would ‘at least’ make the play offs next year ‘unless I become the worst manager ever overnight and the players become the worst there has ever been.’ Now it’s one thing to be bullish and supremely confident, and another to be arrogant and underestimate the task ahead of you. The West Ham side that toiled dismally through the entirety of last season, at or incredibly close to the foot of the premiership table, has been stripped of 12 of its senior players and could still potentially lose Robert Green and Carlton Cole along with Scott Parker before the season begins. It seems foolish to take a return to the Premiership for granted even if the board are throwing money at it.
Allardyce signed Kevin Nolan from Newcastle United to lead this charge straight back up, an astute purchase. Nolan was talismanic when Newcastle faced a similar task, no doubt his experience will be invaluable. Alladyce has also signed Matthew Taylor and Joey O’Brien from Bolton as well as Abdoulaye Faye from Stoke. He is building a strong core for his new side but to turn this West Ham team around Allardyce needs more. He needs his optimism to be infectious.
The necessity for success in no way guarantees it but it is clear that the West Ham owners are desperate for an instant return to the top flight. Attracting Premiership players to a championship club must require some fairly reckless wages, (Nolan is rumoured to be on £55,000 a week) and Sullivan and Gold evidently feel the short-term gamble is the best approach. They have only two attempts before the move into the Olympic stadium.
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West Ham are currently the favourites for automatic promotion in a very competitive Championship, but Allardyce has yet to do the hard work. The chairmen are applying the pressure just through this impressive spending and West Ham certainly did not respond well to pressure last year. Allardyce has to change the mentality at the club and he has to shake off a season of underwhelming performances. Somehow, he has to convince this squad of his genuine belief that he can take West Ham into Europe, that will not be an easy task. Having a strong squad is not enough.
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If Allardyce fails to convince Green and Cole to stay he could face a very difficult season in the Championship. The last time they were relegated it took two years to come back up, with the reckless spending of this summer, that could cripple the club this time.
England looked to have salvaged a draw against Netherlands after coming back from two goals down, but a late strike saw the visitors win 3-2 at Wembley.
After a scoreless first half, Arjen Robben opened the scoring for Bert van Marwijk’s men just before the hour mark, and Klass-Jan Huntelaar doubled the Dutch side’s lead less than 60 seconds later.
However a young Three Lions side fought back, and goals from Gary Cahill and a last-minute Ashley Young strike looked to have given England a draw, but Robben struck again in injury time to decide the game in the Oranje’s favour.
Interim manager Stuart Pearce stated that his side may have been slightly naive in the nature of the defeat.
“We probably showed a little bit of naivety and a slight lack of belief,” Pearce told ITV1.
“That’s something we’ve got to get into the squad, going forward.
“Once we’d got ourselves back into the game, we’re disappointed to have been beaten. But there were a few good showings, we learned a lot and that was the exercise.
“I’ve offered my services in the summer. I’ve really enjoyed the last few days, it’s been fantastic and the players have been outstanding. Their focus and contribution in training has been very good. I enjoyed tonight.
“I don’t think I took the post to prove anything to anyone. I’m in a situation as Under 21 manager and they needed someone to fill in on the short term and I also said “if you need me to take the team to the Championships in the summer (I will)” and that’s it.
“I’m sure they’ll go through the process of getting someone in place before the summer and if they don’t, then they know they have got me available and all the planning is done,” he concluded.
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Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore has admitted that he is concerned by the number of foreign players in the English top flight, and feels it may be a detriment to the national side in the long run.
Only 38% of the players who participated in Premier League fixtures over the weekend were qualified to represent England, which is much lower than the other major European leagues.
When quizzed whether he was concerned by the figure, Scudamore admitted to wanting more home-grown players.
“In a way they do which is why we have put such an emphasis on the Elite Player Performance Plan,” he stated to Sky Sports.
“We are making huge strides under our director of youth Ged Roddy, with everybody at the Football Association and Football League on board with the development plan which is entirely designed to bring through more and better young players, coached in better environments by better coaches.
“That is not to decry anything that is going on at the moment, but we would like to see that balance reduced. We don’t want it eliminated, we still want to attract the best foreign talent we can. They have graced our Premier League, but certainly we do want to see more home-grown talent.
“You can’t get involved in numbers. I want that number increased and if it was back towards 50% that would be good, if it was higher I would only want it to be higher if the English talent was good enough.
“We’re not going to set high targets on this, it depends on how the rest of the game develops. Say we’re sat here in 10 years’ time with 100% of players English home-grown because football economies in Russia, China and the rest of the world have developed where all of the world’s best talent drains off to these places, it would be a false number,” he concluded.
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Plymouth teenager Matt Lecointe could be about to become the Premier Leagues next young star with Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United all chasing his signature according to the Mirror.
The 16-year-old’s has made 10 appearances for the Pilgrims despite his tender years and his performances on the right wing have caught the eyes of the top flight trio.
Scouts from all three clubs have cast their eye over the Plymouth born youngster with many comparing him to new Gunners midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain due his similar style of play.
With all three interested in securing his services it’s likely the teenager will command a sizeable fee that could provide a financial lifeline for the League two side who are battling to stay in business.
The Devon based side have endured severe monetary problems over the last few years surviving a winding up order before going into administration in March.
All that came before Peter Reid was sacked as manager at Home Park with midfielder Carl Fletcher being placed in temporary charge as interim chairman Peter Ridsdale attempts to engineer a takeover of the club.
Should Arsenal, Liverpool or United step up their interest the potential sum Plymouth could receive for Lecointe would go a long way to putting the club back on a firm financial footing and give him the chance to step up his development.
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Win tickets to Legends Lounge to see the titanic clash at Anfield
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QPR have confirmed that Shaun Derry, Paddy Kenny and Clint Hill will not give evidence against John Terry in the on-going race row.
The Chelsea defender was accused of making racist comments by Rangers’ centre half Anton Ferdinand, and daily newspapers yesterday indicated that the Loftus Road trio were set to tell their story of events regarding the incident.
Despite being caught up the nasty scenes in QPR’s 1-0 win over their London rivals last Sunday, the club have confirmed the players will not be involved in the search for the truth.
‘There is no truth in these stories whatsoever,” an official statement from a QPR spokesman reads
”None of the three players have been called to give evidence or will be called to give evidence.”
The FA continue to investigate Ferdinand’s claims, and have not yet given a ruling for or against the England star.
The allegations have also been taken seriously by the Kick It Out anti-racism group, with it’s head Lord Ouseley calling for severe action against Terry should Ferdinand’s accusations be verified.
Terry was left out of the Chelsea squad that overcame Everton 2-1 at Goodison Park in midweek, but is set to return to Andre Villas Boas’ starting XI for the crunch Premier League fixture with Arsenal on Saturday.
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With Stewart Downing on the brink of completing his £20m move to Anfield, questions are being raised over the future of Joe Cole who, according to the Metro, is set to move in the other direction as a potential replacement for the Villa winger.
Kenny Dalglish has made no secret of his desire to strengthen the Liverpool midfield, and is believed to have spent somewhere in the region of £50m on Jordan Henderson and Charlie Adam as well as Stewart Downing. These signings can only suggest King Kenny is not entirely happy with his current crop in midfield, and players such as Joe Cole and Raul Meireles must surely be considering moves away from the Kop rather than being benchwarmers for those players that have been brought in.
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Having profited significantly from the sales of both Ashley Young and now Stewart Downing, Aston Villa chief executive Paul Falkner has insisted that “there are replacements in the market who can strengthen our squad.” Alex McCleish is said to be keen to bring Cole to the West Midlands, and will be desperate to fill the voids left on both flanks following the departure of Young and Downing. Villa are also chasing Charles N’Zogbia of Wigan and it is thought that should talks between Cole and the Liverpool hierarchy confirm that the 29-year-old is not part of Dalglish’s plans, then this will almost certainly pave the way for Aston Villa to offer him an escape route.