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[Mama Smurf]

Either that or Milan think they've signed Suazo even though Inter have signed him.

 

[Cornballer]

So do Inter think they've signed suazo even though Milan have signed him?

Maybe one of them was duped into buying something else...

Always read the fine print in those contracts!

 

[Falch]

They way Dutch media reported on it was that Inter took to long to complete the transfer, pissing of the chairman of Cagliari. He was then sold to AC.

Still a weird story though, could go either way. I guess it's up to Suazo himself.

 

[Yazan]

Ohh man, it's a war now

Contracts, agreements and bitter recriminations abound as Inter, Milan, Cagliari and David Suazo’s agents give different versions of events!

The Honduran had been on the verge of joining Inter – as confirmed by Cagliari President Massimo Cellino last week – but last night Milan swooped to finalise a £10m deal.

However, the Nerazzurri insist Suazo has already put pen to paper on a contract with them and his agents hinted that this story is far from over.

“Suazo has not had any contact with Milan and he still hasn’t given his consent to the transfer,” noted Carlo Pallavicino.

“At this moment my associate Giovanni Branchini is in Japan and on his return he will be brought up to date on this whole situation.”

Cagliari are adamant that they have nothing more to say to Inter and President Cellino was furious at being accused of an unprofessional approach.

“Someone missed a great opportunity to stay quiet,” said the patron. “I, however, don’t want to break my silence on this matter.”

Milan also reacted to Inter President Massimo Moratti’s claims that they were robbed of the Honduras hitman.

“I have nothing to say. You can work it all out with your own brains,” said Vice-President Adriano Galliani.

In truth, there is another backstory to this chaotic chain of events that involves another club entirely.

Last week Cellino admitted that Roma had asked him for Suazo in February, but that he requested – and obtained – their word not to contact the player until the end of the season to avoid distracting him from the relegation dogfight.

By the time the Giallorossi were allowed to talk to Suazo, he had already reached an agreement with Inter that cut Cagliari out of the loop.

“Unfortunately, it seems as if Roma’s respect for me penalised them,” said President Cellino.

It’s increasingly likely this snub was the Sardinians’ way of getting back at Inter for what they perceived as a slight in contacting their player directly.

Inter chief Massimo Moratti has told Milan that they have not yet landed David Suazo. “The player has already signed for us,” he blasted.

The Cagliari star was expected to join the Italian champions this summer, but the Rossoneri have hijacked the move after striking an agreement with the Sant'Elia outfit late last night.

“There was no reason for this to happen seeing as there was already a deal with the Rossoblu,” noted Moratti on Tuesday.

“Nevertheless, we will have to see what happens now because the player has already signed for us.”

Sardinian chief Massimo Cellino claimed earlier today that talks with the Nerazzurri had collapsed after failing to get hold of Moratti over the last few days.

“He never called me,” responded the oil tycoon. “That’s a lie. I cannot justify Milan’s attitude either, although I know them well…”

Cagliari have defended their sale to Milan and sporting director Nicola Salerno insist they owe no explanation to Inter.

“The negotiations were ongoing and we needed to close the deal as soon as possible,” said the official to Sky Italia.

“The player had not signed and therefore there was no bond. Galliani and Cellino found an agreement and the deal was done.

“I will not discuss the financial details, all I will say is that there were some bureaucratic problems connected to the transfers of Marco Andreolli and Robert Acquafresca from Inter to us.”

Milan will reportedly pay £10m for Suazo after Marco Borriello refused to be included in a player plus cash switch.

 

[hadareud]

no arsenal news, and there's a heavy thunderstorm outside.

somebody hold me.

edit: serious stuff. Never saw something like this in England.

 

[psycho_snake]

The suazo situation is a complete mess.

 

[Mama Smurf]

There was only mild thundering here. I like thunderstorms, 'cos rain is so miserable normally that it just spices things up a bit.

Aaaaanyway, despite saying there'll be a large overhaul of the squad this summer, Lamporta says Barca won't sell Ronaldinho or Eto'o. They're certainly not going to sell Messi either, so the whole thing just got a lot less appealing to other clubs.

Maybe Arsenal can get Thuram a season late.

 

[Manp]

At the moment their strikers are ronaldo, gilardino, inzaghi and suazo. I doubt they'll bring in another striker unless the sell and if someone leaves its going to be gilardino.

they :lol have :lol Oliveira :lol too :lol

It looks like Iaquinta is heading to Juve. Its a decent buy. He isnt the prolific goalscorer that trezeguet is, but his goalscoring record is still quite good. He's scored 14 goals for Udinese this season.

it's now official btw

 

[hadareud]

Maybe Arsenal can get Thuram a season late.

I'd love that, I was really disappointed that he didn't come last year. It was allegedly really close that we signed him.

Can you imagine a defence with Gallas - Toure - Thuram - Clichy?
Best defence in the world.

edit: Toure - Thuram - Gallas - Clichy would be quite ok too.
or Sagna - Toure - Thuram - Gallas.

The possibilities are endless.

 

[Mama Smurf]

Well he's pretty old now, practically dead, so I don't know how much of his effectiveness he's lost.

 

[hadareud]

Well he's pretty old now, practically dead, so I don't know how much of his effectiveness he's lost.

he still has a good 10 strong years in him. or maybe a month.

35 is nothing these days

 

[psycho_snake]

they :lol have :lol Oliveira :lol too :lol

Whats so amusing about it?

I forgot to mention him, but I doubt he'll play a major role for Milan. He is probably the last choice striker. He's had a poor season, scoring only 3 goals in 22 serie A games. His sister was kidnapped during the season, so I guess you could blame the stress caused by that incident for his poor form.

 

[Cornballer]

he still has a good 10 strong years in him. or maybe a month.

35 is nothing these days

He's not nearly as old as Angloma (41).

Quasi-related: Guadaloupe is in the Gold Cup semis using Angloma and a few other old French players. Other guys that would be eligible someday include: "Pascal Chimbonda (Tottenham), William Gallas and Thierry Henry (Arsenal), Louis Saha and Mikael Silvestre (Manchester United), and Sylvain Wiltord (Lyon)."

 

[h0pper]

I didn't see this posted, so...

Gunners board u-turn over Kroenke alliance

Arsene Wenger could see his hand strengthened following news the Arsenal board are now willing to work 'in the future' with American billionaire Stan Kroenke.


The Gunners are facing somewhat uncertain times, with speculation over whether talisman captain Thierry Henry and indeed Wenger himself will remain at Emirates Stadium for the long term.
While reports of a double swoop for both men by Spanish giants Barcelona may be somewhat premature, there are certainly plenty of things for Arsenal to get ironed out before the start of the new campaign.
Top of the agenda for Wenger will be securing the future of Henry, who has again been linked with a move away from England.
That is likely to depend on whether the Arsenal manager can convince his most influential player - who is scheduled to return for early fitness work this week following injury - that the Gunners can indeed deliver.
Arsenal has of yet failed to land any high-profile signings this summer, although Valencia full-back Miguel and Ajax winger Ryan Babel are both reported targets while a deal for starlet Havard Nordtveidt is set to be formalised shortly.
With the current funds available nowhere near the likes American-owned Manchester United, Liverpool and Aston Villa, not to mention Chelsea, will have to spend, there had been growing calls for the club to accept outside help or remain also-rans.
Initially, the board were hostile to any increased involvement of Kroenke, whose Sports Enterprises UK group now hold around a 12% stake.
It was a schism which led to the departure of vice-chairman David Dein, a close friend and ally of Wenger.
Now, though, it would appear that stance has shifted following face-to-face talks between the American, Gunners chairman Peter Hill-Wood and managing director Keith Edelman in New York.
'It went perfectly well,' said Hill-Wood.
'I hope we will be able to work with him in the future just as we would with any interested people.'
A fuller explanation to Arsenal shareholders on the issue is expected to be given later this week.
The warming of Hill-Wood to the American - of whom he once declared 'we do not need his money and we do not need his sort' - is believed to be mainly down to the influence of Wenger.
Despite his belief in the potential of his young squad, the French coach, 57, is all too aware of the need to add 'super super class' to the mix in order to once again challenge for domestic honours and in Europe.
The board have promised to back Wenger in his choices - whether over recruiting new talent or the future of current players, just as they did when then captain Patrick Vieira left for Juventus two years ago.
The Arsenal manager, however, accepts he will need someone to share the burden of the work involved in transfers following Dein's shock departure.
Although director Ken Friar had been 'helping me out', Wenger indicated he would step up his search for a new director of football at the start of July.
Reading's Nicky Hammond - once on the books at Arsenal - is said to have been high on the short-list, but is now expected to remain at the Madejski Stadium.
Wenger knows it will not be a straightforward process.
'It is difficult to find somebody now who is in between the board and me and is in the right position,' he said recently.
'When I work with Ken Friar I know I speak to the board. I say 'okay let's do it and let's finish it with the lawyers' and he does that.
'If we have someone in between the board and me he needs then to report to me again and then the board, so it becomes a little bit complicated.
'The way to work until now was always directly me and the board and I have to find a way to get around that.'

 

[hadareud]

I see nothing but a lot of speculation in these articles. Guesses, and not even educated ones at that.

They have to work with Kroenke, he is no a major shareholder - that does not mean that they are selling the club to him. I believe he even has a place on the board with his percentage of shares.

If anybody thinks that the Arsenal board is considering selling the club or not to please the manager they are delusional, or naive at the very least. Wenger is an influential man at the club, but this is ridiculous.

again, they have to speak to him, they have to work with him - but it doesn't mean anything.

 

[h0pper]

I actually feel that if Kroenke staged a take over, it would be a good thing. He owns teams in the U.S., and they are successful. He knows how to win championships.

He could bring alot of money to Arsenal and would do alot for the club.

 

[Cornballer]

 

[hadareud]

bububu *faints*

 

[Yazan]

they :lol have :lol Oliveira :lol too :lol

Schhh!

 

[hadareud]

anyway, having recovered from the shock of h0ppers takeover approval, let's just look at this quote again:

"we are open to anything that will improve the club, but we will have to be seriously convinced that it actually would improve the fortunes of the club. I joined the board in 92, since then we had tremendous success on the pitch, we built a fabulous young team, we've built the stadium - a great stadium - and we also built a state of the art training ground. And all that's been done with our own resources, we've done everything in a sensible and financially conservative way.

Other than Chelsea we've seen no evidence of big amounts being put into the clubs and in the end all the money that is going to be invested is going to have to be a return - and there has to be a return. I will listen to anything that will improve the club, but I think it's going to be very very difficult to explain to me and to the rest of the board how you can actually make a substential investement, which would be, I dunno 4, 5, 600 million pound, expect a return for that, which could be, you know, if it's just 8 - 10 % return you are talking about 50 million or so, that's gotta come out of the club, otherwise there's no point in making the purchase. So I don't know how they can improve the finances of the club by that sort of amount."

this sums up the whole thing perfectly.

Kroenke is not somebody who will invest personal money because he loves the Arsenal. Not gonna happen. He wants a return.

Now, Manchester United have invested a lot of money this summer and are apparently not done yet - MrPing asked a good question today: Where is all that money coming from? I would like to know too

 

[Mama Smurf]

New TV money. United got £30m for winning the league this year, next year Derby (...well, whoever comes 20th...Derby) will get £27m. It's a ridiculously massive new contract, given the number of teams in the league second only to the NFL.

The latest financial reports on the Premiership have shown that, despite clubs being bought with borrowed money, massive wages and hughe spending...it's all perfectly manageable and the Premiership has never been financially stronger.

 

[hadareud]

so they are spending it a year in advance, fair enough I suppose.

What I would like to know is why everybody thinks there would be so much more extra money available if the club was bought.

Wenger has a transfer budget of 40 million, that's not nothing. Him choosing to not spend it is another story.

How much more than 40 million do you need? Combine that with selling Reyes and already we have over 50 million - that's more than Manyoo spent probably more than anyone in the Premiership will spend this summer.

Without any foreign takeover.

 

[Mama Smurf]

Actually I'm slightly wrong with the above, it's on revenue that it matters how many teams are in the league and we come second. In terms of TV money we're a clear second, ignoring how many teams there are competing.

 

[h0pper]

http://buzznet-00.vo.llnwd.net/media/jj1/2007/06/gisele-ebel/gisele-bundchen-ebel-07.jpg

Looks pretty happy representing Arsenal to me...lol.

 

[hadareud]

:lol

do we know when and where this was taken?

 

[Mama Smurf]

Where's his other hand?

Top tip: unless you're a light blonde, shave/wax your damn arm hair

 

[Mama Smurf]

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/19062007/4/blues-set-sign-malouda-report.html

Some French radio station reckon Chelsea have won the race for Malouda. And Diarra might go to Lyon, either on loan or as part exchange, which makes sense as Lyon are set to lose Tiago and their own Diarra this summer. That'll be the third defensive central midfield Diarra they've had in as many seasons, the French weirdos.

Doesn't really sit with Chelsea's no spending policy this summer of course. Then again, there are rumours that Wright-Phillips is available, and a combination of Wright-Phillips and Diarra might cover Malouda's price. Alternatively, Robben might be sold as they're both left wingers.

Alternatively alternatively, the whole report might be buuuuuullshit.

 

[Mama Smurf]

Couple of other things, apparently Villa are leading the chase for Forlan and Saviola might go to West Ham thanks to their willingness to pay wages that would make Beckham blush.

But anyway, back to my post count. Why do you think it's so high?

 

[Shinobi]

Chelsea getting Malouda would sooooo ****ing figure...

 

[jamesinclair]

I went to a game this past Sunday. It was a surprise really, at 3:30 I was finishing lunch at a restaurant, and my sister said we should go to a game. We got to the stadium at 3:50 for a 4pm kickoff, which was just as we were going up the stairs.

Atlético Paranaense 1 x 1 Fluminense

I dont cheer for either team.

While the stadium is very modern, fully seated and is built to all the FIFA standards as of 1998, I prefer the intimate atmosphere of where my team plays (two weeks ago)

Interestingly, the first stadium is a 2014 world cup candidate, and the second was a 1950 world cup stadium

 

[hadareud]

Top tip: unless you're a light blonde, shave/wax your damn arm hair

I think it looks strange when men, especially footballers, shave their arms and legs.

edit: I like the first stadium, it looks quite cool.

 

[BatiGOOOOOOL]

Pretty stadium.

 

[Mama Smurf]

"Young players are a little bit like melons. Only when you open and taste the melon are you 100 per cent sure that the melon is good.

"Sometimes you have beautiful melons but they don't taste very good and some other melons are a bit ugly and when you open them, the taste is fantastic.

"One thing is youth football, one thing is professional football. The bridge is a difficult one to cross and they have to play with us and train with us for us to taste the melon. For example, Scott Sinclair, the way he played against Arsenal and Man United, we know the melon we have."

ooooookay

 

[hadareud]

:lol

 

[h0pper]

:lol

do we know when and where this was taken?

It was taken today at some watch company press conference or something. Arsenal and the watch co, (Ebel or something?) are now affiliated somehow...

 

[h0pper]

Here is the link for those who care:

http://justjared.buzznet.com/2007/06/19/gisele-bundchen-ebel/

(not really football news, but oh well)

 

[Mama Smurf]

Have any gum companies thought of sponsoring Ferguson? Why do I never have a gum company when I think of these things?

 

[Cornballer]

:lol at Mourinho

 

[h0pper]

Have any gum companies thought of sponsoring Ferguson? Why do I never have a gum company when I think of these things?

lol, yeah he's always chewing.

 

[psycho_snake]

A gum company should also sponser allardyce too.

Young players are a little bit like melons. Only when you open and taste the melon are you 100 per cent sure that the melon is good.

"Sometimes you have beautiful melons but they don't taste very good and some other melons are a bit ugly and when you open them, the taste is fantastic.

"One thing is youth football, one thing is professional football. The bridge is a difficult one to cross and they have to play with us and train with us for us to taste the melon. For example, Scott Sinclair, the way he played against Arsenal and Man United, we know the melon we have."

:lol I wonder if he realises just how wrong that sounds.

He's not the only one making comments that sound sexual.

His balls are fantastic

 

[hadareud]

rumours:

TRANSFER RUMOURS

Spurs have edged closer to signing striker Darren Bent from Charlton for a fee between £12-14m. (Various)

West Ham have been offered Argentina striker Javier Saviola to replace Carlos Tevez. (The Sun)

Newcastle have slapped in a take-it-or-leave-it £2.8m bid for Paris St Germain defender David Rozehnal. (Daily Star)

Sunderland boss Roy Keane wants Wigan skipper Leighton Baines - but will have to pay £6m for the defender. (Daily Mirror)

Former Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira says French striker Thierry Henry will leave unless Arsenal spend big to strengthen their team. (Daily Mirror)

And Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o says he expects Henry to join him at the club next season. (The Times)

Meanwhile, Barcelona winger Ludovic Giuly has angrily denied reports that he is tapping up French pal Thierry Henry. (The Sun)

Middlesbrough have rejected a bid of £10m from Portsmouth for striker Aiyegbeni Yakubu. (The Independent)

Everton are in talks to sign Manchester United defender Phil Bardsley. (Various)

Sampdoria have told Celtic they need to find £3m if they want to land Italian star Gennaro Delvecchio. (Daily Record)

Aston Villa and Birmingham are competing for the signature of West Ham striker Marlon Harewood. (Daily Star)

Swiss midfielder Bruce Lalombongo has turned down a move to Everton. (Daily Mirror)

Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp is still hopeful of snapping up striker Fredi Kanoute. (Daily Star)

Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse is in talks about spending another season on loan with Marseille. (The Sun)

If Cisse is not allowed to leave for another loan spell, Bolton are ready to move in for him. (Daily Mirror)

Everton and Celtic are both chasing 20-year-old Chateauroux defender Yassin Moutaouakil. (The Times)

Wigan and Portsmouth are both keen on Reading's Stephen Hunt. (Daily Mirror)

OTHER GOSSIP

Sven-Goran Eriksson is on the brink of accepting the Manchester City manager's job. (Various)

Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins has told of his terror after a gang of masked gunmen fired at his car in Nigeria. (The Sun)

Celtic are to set up 30 soccer camps in the USA in a bid to unearth the latent football talent in the country. (Daily Record)

AND FINALLY

Reading have been asked by the Premier League to test the latest Hawk-Eye goal-line technology during youth team matches. If it is a success, it could be in the Premier League within two years. (Daily Mirror)

Nottingham Forest are planning to create an East Midlands 'super-stadium' with a 50,000 capacity which will help re-establish them as a leading club - and which can be used for the 2018 World Cup. (The Guardian)

Story from BBC SPORT:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport1/hi/football/gossip_and_transfers/6220782.stm

Published: 2007/06/20 06:15:22 GMT

© BBC MMVII

 

[Steroyd]

Reading have been asked by the Premier League to test the latest Hawk-Eye goal-line technology during youth team matches. If it is a success, it could be in the Premier League within two years. (Daily Mirror)

About bloody time, after seeing how effective it was in Tennis I don't see why not, although there are idiots who want to resist this type of technology for some reason.

 

[Karakand]

Sven-Goran Eriksson is on the brink of accepting the Manchester City manager's job. (Various)

Surely no one would want this gig unless a new owner is all but done.

Spoiler

lol shattered hopes and dreams

 

[hadareud]

the problem with a goal line camera is that it doesn't help if the ball is buried under a player, so just like in the NHL there would still be quite a few controversial decisions. But it will certainly help in most cases and it would be a good start.

I'd probably prefer they did this together with a chip in the ball, that tells you exactly where it is and if it's over the line.

That along with cameras for instant offside decisions and we would be halfway there.

 

[Steroyd]

Couldn't the camera's cut out people and concentrate on the ball, i remember a Liverpool vs Chelsea in the Champions League Semi final in 2005 when Liverpool scored a legitimate goal, Sky Sports News cameras manged to cut out Gallas in the 3D representation, although their technology was raw and inaccurately showed the ball didn't cross the line when it clearly did.

Offside is a harder one to judge you'd literally need a laser going across the pitch, but the defensive line is always moving forwards and backwards, and a lot of the times even camera replays rely on the perception of the angle, plus it happens too frequently, for example what happens when the referee blows the whistle for an offside checks the replay and finds out it clearly wasn't, does he tell all the players to restart the positions before he blew the whistle?

It'd be next to impossible for using technology for offside in practical use.

 

[hadareud]

possibly. if you have 2 cameras you should be able to do that with decent software. I don't know how quickly that would work though.

about the offside:

I thought abou this one quite a bit. You have 2 cameras on each half of the pitch, so you can use something like the Hawk Eye technology to determine if somebody is offside quite easily.

If it can't be done instantaneously, than the referee let's play go on if in doubt and the offside decision is to follow once the situation is over.

If it is possible instantaneously, and I'm sure it is or will be soonish, you just have the linesmen and referees wearing a buzzing device to tell them if the play was offside.

 

[psycho_snake]

Im not quite sure how about an offside system. Wouldnt the camera's need to in the same line as the ball? If thats the case, then wouldnt you need a camera that moves with the ball? It sounds too difficult, if not impossible to do.

 

[hadareud]

nah, I think if you have 2 cameras (one on each side) you should definitely be able to display the play 3 dimensionally, so there shouldn't be a need for a camera to be at the same line as the ball. At least I would think so.

I think the hindrance is how long it would take to review/if it could be done automatically by a good piece of software.

What I am really saying is that Ghost should write the software in his own time to prove his worth as a coder.

 

[psycho_snake]

I doubt city fans are happy about sven's possible appointment as manager, but I think it could work out quite well. Some managers are much better club managers than national team managers and Sven is one of those who can do a very good job with a club. He's won the scudetto with both roma and lazio. He's also the one manager ton win the domestic double in three nations, having won the double with benfica, roma and a swedish club called goteborg. Sven's a capable manager. Things didnt go right for him at england, but if he's given another chance i think he can do a good job.

 

[hadareud]

In other news Freddie wants to stay, will he be allowed to do so?

Ljungberg hopes for role in Arsenal revival

By Richard Bright
Last Updated: 1:23am BST 20/06/2007


Freddie Ljungberg says he has no intention of leaving Arsenal during the summer and is determined to help them challenge for the Premiership title next season.

Ljungberg, 30, struggled to command a regular first-team place last year after a succession of niggling injuries, and there were fears he could leave the Emirates Stadium. There has been interest from Spanish and Italian clubs since the end of the season and, with the uncertainty surrounding the long-term future of manager Arsene Wenger, Ljungberg could have taken the easy option of ending his nine-year association with the club.

However, the Swede says his relationship with Wenger is as strong as ever and he remains confident that Arsenal can challenge at the top of the table.

"This will be my 10th season with Arsenal and I cannot wait to start the season with them," Ljungberg said. "I am very much looking forward to the opening game against Fulham. It is great to start the season with a London derby."

West Ham and Portsmouth have also shown strong interest, but Ljungberg says the speculation is nothing new and he is focused on getting a good pre-season behind him.

Ljungberg's agent Claes Elefalk added: "For the last four or five years there have been teams knocking on the door wanting to buy Freddie. But he has no intention of leaving the club."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/ma...1YourView&xml=/sport/2007/06/20/sfnars120.xml