Blackburn sign Jacobsen

Blackburn have signed experienced defender in the form of Lars Jacobsen from Everton.

The Dane spent the last season at the Merseysiders but had only four opportunities throughout the season.

The contract is for two years.

Blackburn faced competition from Premiership newboys Burnley for the player as well but Big Sam was able to get his man in the end.

This is Blackburn's third signing of the season after Elrio van Heerden and Gael Givet.

He would try to reduce the void created by the exits of Andre Ooijer and end of loan contract for Danny Simpson.

Givet signs for Rovers

Blackburn Rovers have made the signing of defender Gael Givet permanent.

The Marseille player arrived at Ewood Park in the January transfer window and played 14 games for them.

The 27 year old Frenchman has signed a four year deal which would run till end of 2012.

Manager Sam Allardyce had this to say about the permanent signing :

It is a critical signing. Gael made a massive impact last season while on loan here and I think he can get even better,

A player coming from abroad would usually need a fair amount of time to adjust to the different culture, the different climate and the different way of doing things.

So much so,the manager lamented the players ability to keep the club from going down.Thats some praise coming from a veteran manager like Allardyce.

Birmingham sign Johnson from Cardiff

Birmingham City are making some transfers thick and fast. Latest to be part of Alex Mcleish's squad is defender Roger Johnson who joined in from Cardiff City worth £5million.

The deal has been signed for 3years which would mean he is under contract till 2012.

He is the third centre back to join City since the arrival of Scott Dann and Giovanny Espinoza.

Johnson proved his ability last season with Cardiff as he was also named in the Championship team of the year and has a lot of experience albeit with Wycombe in the lower league.

Speaking to the Blues' official website, he said :

I am really pleased to be here. Birmingham are a massive club and I am looking forward to putting the shirt on to be honest.

Premier League football is the dream at the start of any footballer's career so I am pleased I have been given that chance with Birmingham and I can't wait to get started.

The aim is to stay in the Premier League with Birmingham and hopefully I will have a big part to play in that.

Birmingham sign Espinoza

Birmingham City have signed 32 year old,Ecuadorian defender Giovanny Espinoza from Barcelona Sporting Club on a two year deal.

He's played 80 times for his country and been part of two world cups.

The tall(6'2) defender is known for his speed and strength.

Speaking to the official website he said :

I'm very much looking to playing for this club. It's a new step in my football career and I hope I can help the team.

I think I can bring experience to the defence as I've played a lot of games at club level and for the national team.

My objective is the same as the team, to first of all help the club remain in the Premier League.

He becomes manager Alex Mcleish's fifth signing this summer following Christian Benitez,Scott Dann,Stephen Carr and Joe Hart.

Hart goes to Birmingham on loan

Joe Hart will be dawning the colour Blue of Birmingham instead of the sky blue of the Mancs for the next season.

England U-21 joined Birmingham City on loan after he saw his place first being taken over by Shay Given in the January transfer window and only yesterday,Stuart Taylor arriving from Villa as the second choice goalkeeper for Mark Hughes.

Hughes told City's official website :

His contribution to the team prior to Shay Given's arrival was fantastic, but by loaning him to Birmingham, he will add invaluable experience to that already gained here at City.

I know he will relish the prospect of regular Premier League action, which is vital at this stage in his career.

Due to lack of opportunities at City,Hart also lost his place in the England senior squad and is currently with the U-21's in the European Championship.

He was clearly frustrated with the whole situation and said :

It has been tough. It's frustrating, but there's only one person can play in goal and Shay's doing that at the moment.

I've had to deal with it the best I can. It's not been ideal, but it's not the end of the world.

Its a good thing in my opinion for the youngster to get some talent exposed rather than be part of the reserves of a club.First team action is what a player should be after and not be expectant of a place where everyday there is a new signing.

Matt Derbyshire signs for Olympiakos

Greek club,Olympiakos have signed Rovers' striker Matt Derbyshire on a four year deal.

He arrived in Athens on Tuesday and passed a medical there and then.

The striker spent the latter stages of last season with the Greek club on loan and was overjoyed with the deal being made permanent.

He said :

I am very happy with this transfer. I wanted to stay at Olympiakos. I hope to improve myself and become much better next season. I want to score more goals with Olympiakos.

With Roque Santa Cruz and now Matt Derbyshire leaving for Manchester City and Olympiacos respectively, Rovers are in a crunch situation as far as attackers are concerned.

Manchester City sign Villa's GK Taylor

Manchester City have completed yet another signing to indicate that they are not going to wait for other clubs to create any interest in their chosen targets.This time they have strengthened their goalkeeping options by bringing in Stuart Taylor from Aston Villa.

Taylor,former Arsenal goalie would now be part of the revolution taking place at Manchester City with not big money signings as was expected but players who can make their mark.

He would compete with Shay Given for the number 1 stopper at Eastlands.

Manager,Mark Hughes showed his delight in acquiring the former England U-21.

We are delighted to be able to add a goalkeeper of Stuart's undoubted calibre to the squad.

Stuart is still a fairly young goalkeeper at 28 but he provides a wealth of experience and reliability.

This would mean Joe Hart can be loaned out or can move on to Birmingham City as he's failed to be part of the team since Given's arrival in January.

West Ham sign Jimenez

West Ham have signed 25 year old Chilean,Luis Jimenez on a year loan from Serie A champions,Inter Milan.

He will undergo a medical on 1st July at the London based club.This would be manager,Zola's first signing of the summer.

Delighted to complete the move after not getting enough opportunities at the San Siro,he told the official website :

I am a player who loves to play football, to be in a team that keeps the ball, to create opportunities and also score goals. I can't promise anything but I am going to do everything possible to do a good job for the club.

From what I've heard he is a great signing for the Londoners as Jose Mourinho wasn't able to make place for him in his lineup.

Newcastle United's HORRIBLE new kit

So Newcastle United were relegated at the end of the season and would play in the Championship in 2009/10. Then their financial records were revealed as to how they've been paying insane amounts of money to their players as image rights(worse still to people like Joey Barton!) and Mike Ashley wanting to sell the club for 100million pounds.

Things came to a different category when their official website released the new kit,which removes the black and white strips associated with the Jeordies.



Steven Taylor trying desperately to smile in this hideous hideous kit which they called "stylish". UGH.

Johnson signs for Liverpool

Portsmouth's Glen Johnson has snubbed Chelsea's fat salary to sign for Liverpool.

Both Chelsea and Liverpool were trying to sign the English defender from Fratton Park based Portsmouth.

Portsmouth had agreed to the £17.5million fee for him and allowed the player to negotiate with the clubs.

However, he chose to sign for the Merseysiders and not go in for a second spell with Chelsea.

A statement by the club read :

Liverpool FC confirmed this evening that they had reached an agreement with Portsmouth Football Club and with Glen Johnson for the transfer of the player to Anfield.

Are Liverpool fans happy to see this deal through?

Santa Cruz joins City from Rovers

Manchester City have made their second big signing this summer by acquiring the services of Paraguayan striker, Roque Santa Cruz from Blackburn Rovers for £17million.

He reunites with his manager Mark Hughes who managed him a season ago at Ewood Park.

Santa Cruz had to prove his knee injury had healed with a lengthy and a stringent medical test after he missed the end of the season due to it.

City had earlier signed Gareth Barry from Aston Villa for £12million.

Hughes had brought the then out of favour hitman from Bayern Munich and he showed his mettle with 23 goals in 43 appearances. Although the last season would be one to forget with just four finishes in the back of the net.

This brings the number of strikers under contract with Manchester City to a mind boggling 10.Jo,Robinho,Craig Bellamy,Bojinov,Caicedo,Ched Evans,Benjani,Sturridge and Vassell being the other 9.To make matters even complicated for them is their inclination towards bringing in Tevez too.

An interesting question which a fellow blogger and tweeter,Craig Decker asked,Will City be able to find room for all of them on the pitch.What do you think?

Ben Sahar joins Espanyol

Israeli striker, Ben Sahar has brought his agonising ordeal at Chelsea to an end by signing a four year deal with Spanish side,Espanyol.

The 19 year old joined Chelsea in 2006 but made only 3 appearances for The Blues with no goals.The remaining spells included 5 terms loaned out to Queens Park Rangers,Sheffield Wednesday,Portsmouth and De Graafschap.

He would like to avoid the situation which he suffered at Chelsea and would like to impress at Espanyol,especially when he's young and has loads to learn.

Tevez to leave Manchester United

Manchester United have made it official, Carlos Tevez won't be renewing his contract with The Red Devils.

The Sun had reported yesterday(which we covered in our Gossip of the day) about Tevez's representatives and Manchester United reaching an agreement over the permanent transfer but couldn't agree on his weekly wages which the Argentine wanted increased to match with the high earners Rio Ferdinand and Dimitar Berbatov.However that seems to have been the tumbling block between the two parties.

The matter had been going on for quite some time and we had covered it ourselves.Read here.

The statement on United's official website read :

The Club agreed to pay the option price of £25.5m and offered Carlos a five-year contract which would have made him one of its highest paid players.

Disappointingly however, his advisors informed the Club that, despite the success he has enjoyed during one of the Club’s most successful periods, he does not wish to continue playing for Manchester United.

The Club would like to thank Carlos for his services over the last two seasons and wishes him good luck for the future.

Tevez had rubbished reports linking him with Liverpool and the other interested party looks like Manchester United's local rivals,City who would be able to pay the money to bring in the "Energizer bunny". Are the Man U fans happy to see him go or wish Sir Alex had done more earlier than later?

Vermaelen signs for Gunners

23 year old,Thomas Vermaelen has signed for Arsenal for an undisclosed fee from Ajax.

The Belgian who captained the Dutch club throughout last season plays in the center midfield and is capable of playing as a full back as well where he would bolster the defence of Arsene Wenger's goal which tends to take a tumble at crucial junctures.

Speaking to Arsenal's official website, manager Arsene Wenger said :

Thomas is a great signing for Arsenal Football Club, and we are all delighted that he is joining us. Thomas is a solid performer with good experience of Champions League and UEFA Cup football and is also a regular with the Belgium national team.

Vermaelen also set his sights on achieving silverware for the London club and his delight at the switch to the English Premier League.

I’m just so happy to be joining Arsenal. This is a great Club with a world class manager, high quality players and a fantastic stadium. Everything is set up for Arsenal to be very successful for years to come and I joined this Club because I know Arsenal will be challenging for trophies.

Arsenal fans would be happy to see strengthening happening in their defense.Would do the fans feel?

Friday's Transfer Gossip

Not everything in the paper can be believed,right? So why not try to distinguish the "Oh yeah that might be true!" from "What crap!".

Manchester United,Chelsea,Real Madrid,Inter Milan make bids for Lyon's striker - Karim Benzema [The Independent]

What we think? : It would be very hard for Lyon to deny a 40million euro bid for the striker. It always happens with the smaller leagues who develop a player at a young age and the bigger fishes in the sea swoop in with their money might. Manchester United have been long admirers of him over the years but haven't made any offers but all this could change with Ronaldo going to Madrid and Sir Alex could use that money.Manchester United seem the front runners for me.

Chelsea pip Liverpool for Portsmouth's Johnson [The Sun]

What we think? : Liverpool bid £17million. Chelsea bid £17.5million.Its not a matter of big money between the two clubs.Glen Johnson had a bad time with Chelsea at London and that could be the big difference between his preference in the two clubs despite Chelsea's lucrative offer and bigger pay packet.

United agree on Tevez's permanent price,fail to agree on personal terms [The Sun]

What we think? : With the response Tevez received at the end of the season and his reaction when substituted at Old Trafford shows he most definitely wouldn't stay. Manchester City seem the way to go for the Argentine.

Manchester City have agreed an £18m deal to sign Blackburn forward Roque Santa Cruz. [Daily Mail]

What we think? : Mark Hughes would be elated to reunite with his goal scoring machine who he brings in from Rovers to Eastlands after an injury spell for the Paraguayan. He would definitely give prospective City signings Eto'o and Tevez a run for their money.

Bayern closing in on Chelsea's Boswinga [The Times]

What we think? : Chelsea might see Carvalho leave for Inter Milan and neither Paulo Ferreira or Beletti have been impressive under Hiddink at least.Things might change with Ancelotti at the helm now but Chelsea would look for a replacement for the former Porto man before they would allow him to leave to Germany.

Scharner set for a move to Fulham from Wigan [Daily Mail]

What we think? : Scharner would be better off in moving to a side who would be playing Europa League next season.While new Wigan boss Roberto Martinez wants to sign Jordi Gomez,who he managed at Swansea earlier. The Austrian has quality to play for a team who would play in Europe and Fulham will give him that opportunity.

Drogba given a six match ban

Following Chelsea players' disgraceful actions at the end of semi final with Barcelona in the UEFA Champions league,UEFA has slapped a six match ban on Didier Drogba and four match suspension for Boswinga.

Drogba ran an ugly rant towards referee Tom Ovrebo and was caught on TV cameras calling it a "fuc***g disgrace".Boswinga on the other hand labelled the Norwegian referee as a "thief" at the end.

Chelsea were also fined 100,000 Euros for not handling their players and fans who threw missiles in the 1-1 ended game with Barcelona winning the tie on away goals and progressing to the finals where they were the eventual champions.

Chelsea and the players have three days to appeal against UEFA's decision and The Blues have not made any comments on the matter.

Premiership Fixtures 2009/10

The season kicks off on August 15 and the fixtures for the opening weekend look like these.

August 15
Aston Villa v Wigan Athletic

Blackburn Rovers v Manchester City

Bolton v Sunderland

Chelsea v Hull City

Everton v Arsenal

Manchester United v Birmingham City

Portsmouth v Fulham

Stoke City v Burnley

Spurs v Liverpool

Wolves v West Ham


For complete list click here.

The battle in the top four for the season include (subject to change due to the television audience) :

Battle of the TOP FOUR

Manchester United v Arsenal (29th Aug)

Chelsea v Liverpool (3rd Oct)

Liverpool v Manchester United (24th Oct)

Chelsea v Manchester United (7th Nov)

Arsenal v Chelsea (28th Nov)

Liverpool v Arsenal (12th Dec)

Arsenal v Manchester United (30th Jan)

Chelsea v Arsenal (6th Feb)

Arsenal v Liverpool (9th Feb)

Manchester United v Liverpool (20th Mar)

Manchester United v Chelsea (3rd Apr)

Liverpool v Chelsea (1st May)

Final Day Fixtures

Arsenal v Fulham

Aston Villa v Blackburn Rovers

Bolton Wanderers v Birmingham City

Burnley v Tottenham Hotspur

Chelsea v Wigan Athletic

Everton v Portsmouth

Hull City v Liverpool

Manchester United v Stoke City

West Ham United v Manchester City

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Sunderland

Eagerly await the start of the season!

Fulham sign Kelly from Birmingham

Roy Hodgson has signed young Irish full back, Stephen Kelly from Birmingham City to bring in his first signing of the summer.

Kelly who earlier has been part of Premiership sides with Spurs and Birmingham.

The 25 year old Irishman would stay with Cottagers till 2012 and would officially become a Fulham player from July 1.

Fulham who finished their best league position earlier in the season and have qualified for the Europa League would welcome a youngster to bolster their squad.

Same sentiments were expressed by Kelly who was delighted to be part of an improving team.

I'm happy that my transfer to Fulham has been finalised today (Tuesday) and I can look forward to meeting with the rest of the team for pre-season preparation in July.

he told the clubs official website.

Hodgson also maintained that this was one of the many signings this summer.

I am delighted that Stephen has become our first signing of the summer transfer window.

He is a talented young full-back with experience of playing in the Premier League as well as competing at international level.

He will be a useful addition as we look to improve our squad ahead of the start of next season and I am hopeful that we will be able to announce further additions in the coming weeks.

Wigan finally confirm Martinez as boss

After Steve Bruce accepted the post of Sunderland's manager, Wigan were looking for a manager to take over at the DW Stadium(formerly JJB stadium).

After weeks of speculation and announcements by the board,Swansea City's Roberto Martinez has been officially announced as the manager to take over.

Originally the official declaration was to come on Thursday but Wigan couldn't resolve the back staff issue with Martinez and have now come to an agreement with Swansea too.

Former Wigan player,Martinez, has signed a 3yr contract with the club.He would be unveiled to the media on Tuesday.

The Spaniard told the official website :

The club has always been close to my heart. I am looking forward to getting stuck in and taking on teams in the best league in the world.

I cannot wait for my first game, it seems like a long time away but there is a lot of work to do before then.

Are Wigan fans happy with the move?

Everton release Van der Meyde and Nuno Valente

Everton boss,David Moyes has made his intentions of keeping a fresh squad perfectly clear by releasing Portuguese,Nuno Valente and Dutch,Andy van der Meyde.

Valente arrived from Porto to Everton in 2005 but failed to make steady appearances for the Merseyside club owing to injuries and his place being filled very well by Leighton Baines.

Van der Meyde on the other hand came from Inter Milan in the same season but has to be let off due to injuries,poor discipline and personal problems.

Fabianski signs a new deal

Arsenal's number two behind Almunia, Fabianski has extended his deal with the Gunners.

He established his place as a backup for Arsene Wenger in case of Almunia's absence.Made 8 first team appearances and took Almunia's place when the Spaniard was injured in the latter stages of the season thus making high profile starts against Liverpool and in the semi finals of the FA Cup.

The Pole had this to say on the Official Arsenal website :

It's a big motivation for me to keep working hard and it shows that the club believe in me.

I'll be doing everything I can to repay that belief by helping Arsenal to win trophies in the coming years.

Birmingham sign Coventry City defender

New entrants to the Premiership,Birmingham City, are taking big strides on entering the big stage.

After their most expensive purchase in the transfer market ever they have signed Coventry City's captain and England U-21,Scott Dann for a reported fee of £4million.

Birmingham would want to avoid relegation and go back into the Coca Cola Championship as is the case with many entrants into the Premier League.Hope Alex Mcleish's tactics pay dividend and additions in the squad prove worthwhile.

Cristiano Ronaldo : 5 Personal terms

After Real Madrid's bid to acquire Ronaldo was confirmed today by Manchester United it was only down to resolving the personal terms between the club and the player himself. From our very secretly placed sources inside the Bernabeu board room we present to you the top 5 personal terms he wanted the club to agree upon.So here we go.

1.50 Condoms a week.Ok make that Weekdays only. More on weekends and for every goal scored over the weekend.

2.Prostitutes to be sent to the apartment as an after practice "cool down" effect.

3.$10,000 for every penalty earned.Money is hard to get!

4.Pink caps and lilies for goals against Barcelona and Manchester United(if it were to take place).So that makes it condoms + lilies + caps. A great day at the office!

5.He can go on a "rampage" like Pepe and the club would be liable to get him out of being banned.He can do what he wants!

If we get more information from underneath the table where Perez sits with his chequebook leafs already signed and it looks like the next cheque is to pay Valencia for a player whose name starts with a D.Its hazy!

Manchester United accept £80mn bid for Ronaldo

At last the Ronaldo saga with Real Madrid is set to end.Manchester United's official website has confirmed that they have reached an agreement with the Spanish giants for the Portuguese winger.

The fee quoted for the world's biggest transfer is £80 million which beats the previous transfer fee (in terms of Great Britain Pound) which Real Madrid paid for Kaka earlier in the week.

This ends the flirtatious summer of 2008 where Manchester United denied any interest in selling the World player of the year who then went on to score 26 goals in the season.Which further led to Manchester United reporting Madrid to FIFA, who then cleared the Los Blancos. To make matters worse and send the media into a frenzy, Ronaldo himself seemed to be interested in the move to Bernabeu this year.

The statement on the website read :

"Manchester United have received a world-record, unconditional offer of £80million for Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid.'

"At Cristiano's request - who has again expressed his desire to leave - and after discussion with the player's representatives, United have agreed to give Real Madrid permission to talk to the player.

"Matters are expected to be concluded by 30 June. The club will not comment until further notice."

This could prove to be a setback for Sir Alex Ferguson and his wonderful squad who most definitely lose Carlos Tevez to local rivals,Manchester City.It would also give Rooney the role of main man upfront which he takes up with the national team.

Manchester United have been linked with some quality players this summer already and could use this money.Benzema has been long admired by Sir Alex and to fill Ronaldo's shoes,Wigan Athletic's,Antonio Valencia is the leading candidate.

Reds would want to complete one signing before they head to Asia in five weeks time.

The Summer's just begun!

Real Madrid - Galactico Era Part II

With summer comes the transfer speculation and some other baseless and senseless rumours which actually make for great entertainment if you're a fiction lover. Real Madrid had a shockingly disappointing season with yet another loss in the last 16 of Champions league to Liverpool where they were mauled 5-0 on aggregate,Went out in the last 32 in the Kings Cup and were truly pathetic in the final few games of the league starting with the bashing by Barcelona at home. There has been change at the top. Florentino Perez has taken over the presidency,Zizou is back as an advisor to Perez and Valdano is back as director general. Along with the change in board there would be change in playing style and staff too with former Villareal manager, Pellegrini taking over. Obviously with the change in administration there are bound to be changes in squad too.

The managers used a total of 33 players in the 2008/09 season. An astounding number showing the club has a huge squad and might need some trimming down considering the huge wages they would be accumulating in these economic crisis. With Perez being the creator of "The Galacticos", the legendary workforce for Madrid with players like Zidane,Figo,Beckham and Ronaldo all playing on the same pitch for the same team. He has returned and would want to reignite the same period and bring the same glory that the club has seen missing ever since. A Galactico Part II. Let's get to the candidates shall we?

Kaka
This 27 year old Milan faithful has pledged his future to the club and has spent 6 seasons with the Rossoneri. Carlo Ancelotti has left the San Siro club and his exit has left many players in the squad with unanswered status over their future. Kaka is a player with good feet and a good vision to spot lapses in the defense going forward. Its been reported that Madrid have bid £65million for the player with Chelsea also on the fray to claim the services of the Brazilian. However, Chelsea have since denied the reports but nothing can be said in the strange world of football transfers. His decision about his future is expected to come out soon.

UPDATE : AC Milan announce Kaka's switch to Real Madrid for world record fee of £56million. [BBC]

Ronaldo
After the whole summer was spent(read wasted) by the club to acquire the Portuguese winger last time around, the saga has started again. £75 million is the quoted price. Add to that the huge wages he would take home which would most definitely be more than £150,000 a week.This flamboyant, highly motivated and skilled player has the ability to turn the game on its head almost single handedly.He is good not only with his feet but also in the air and his prowess with free kicks is very well known.Although many Madridistas are not in the favour of the club spending huge amounts of money for him due to his arrogance.It is also expected that he would definitely move on from Manchester United after their loss to Barcelona in the Champions League final. The club would also expect him to replicate what Beckham did for the club when he joined that is to sell T-shirts and bring in revenue in terms of his popularity all over the globe.

UPDATE : Manchester United accept an unconditional bid for Ronaldo worth £80million. [Man Utd's official website]

Ribery
The Frenchman currently with the Bayern Munich has also raised Perez's interest which also goes to show the club has moved beyond their dependance on facial features as compared to the footballing skills which was shown when they withdrew from the race to sign Ronaldinho who ended up going to Barcelona and being a huge force for the rivals. Zidane is good friends with Ribbery so the deal might come through after all and prefers to play on the left as a winger.Along with Real Madrid, Barcelona,Chelsea and Manchester United are in the picture to sign him over the summer.He's not quite the household name as the two above are but the situation would most definitely change if he arrives at the Santiago Bernabeu.

David Villa
Valencia are in turmoils with their financial situation and have ambitions of building a new stadium but would want funding for that. Villa is young,talented and has a nack of scoring goals. With David Silva looking like heading to Liverpool, Valencia look set to lose two talented parts of their squad. Last year,Real Madrid had been reported to have placed a bid for €35million but it didn't take place.Chelsea are also interested in 'El Guaje' after snubbing their interest in Kaka.The Spaniard could well take Raul's place in the team as the legendary striker doesn't have the legs now to play week in,week out and looks more of a burden than an asset.

Xabi Alonso
Reports in Spain suggest the player has agreed to a £22million deal with the club and Liverpool has also given the nod with manager Rafa Benitez showing interest in a cash + Gabriel Heinze deal or Alvaro Negredo,who is with Almeria but under a buy back clause.Alonso has the ability to control midfield both in an attacking sense and in the defensive sense.His ability to spread the ball upfield also creates chances for the strikers.His partnership with Lass would also make it difficult for the opposition to bother the defence.


Other players linked with Real Madrid are Carlos Tevez(Manchester United) and Antonio Valencia(Wigan Athletic) who would be great for the club but I'm not sure they would form the part of the Galactico II.With Cannavaro leaving for Turin there is an urgent need for good quality defence personnel who could prevent Casillas some very jittery moments.

Who would you like to see part of Real Madrid?And are you happy with the contenders so far?

AON to sponsor United shirts

Manchester United's shirts would bear the logo shown above for the season 2010/11 in a deal worth about £80million.

The company deals in Risk Management,reinsurance and human capital consulting.

The deal is to run for four years and no terms and conditions have been revealed as yet.

Steve Bruce is new Sunderland manager

Sunderland have announced Steve Bruce as their new manager. The deal has been signed for three years.

The "messiah for the lower placed teams" joins Black Cats after two seasons at the JJB with Wigan.

Sunderland were lucky to narrowly escape relegation which eventually saw Newcastle United,West Brom and Middlesbrough go down to the Championship.

Sunderland chairman,Nial Quinn said :

Steve will bring a professionalism and strength of character to this club that will really help to bring us forward to where we all want to be.

He knows more than anyone what football means to people of this region and I'm confident that he will be able to instil into our players exactly what it means to play for this football club.

Bruce follows Ricky Sbragia as the manager for the club after Sbragia resigned on the final day of the season after steering the club to safety.

Its been suggested that Bruce would be given £60million to spend in the summer and bring in quality recruits.

He is already linked with Spurs' Darren Bent and Wigan trio of Antonio Valencia,Paul Scharner and Titus Bramble.

First and foremost he would have to prove to Sunderland fans about his commitment to the club with his Tyneside roots.

Birmingham break transfer record

New boys to the Premiership, Birmingham City have broken their transfer record and signed Ecuadorian striker Christian Benitez on a three year deal from Mexican club Santos Laguna.

The fee is believed to be in the region of £9million which is far higher than what Heskey was acquired for in 2004(£6.25million).

The player has scored 31 goals in 58 appearances for the Mexican side spread over two seasons.

He has also made 17 appearances for the national side but so far has no goals to show of it.

Don't believe Wikipedia!

Everyone relies on Wikipedia for their doze of information and fact file.It should not be forgotten that people can play around with its content and in the following cases its visible.Now as of right now,Kaka is with the Brazilian national team preparing for the international games.But reports are coming thick and fast about his move to Real Madrid and not to Chelsea.

Milan's Adriano Galiani is in Madrid for the inaugural dinner for the new president,Florentino Perez.A radio channel in Spain reports the deal is done and the player would be unveiled soon.

However,there has been no official confirmation either from Madrid or from Milan but Wikipedia doesn't seem to care as the following images show.Actually we don't know who he plays for.Chelsea?Real Madrid? Heck,Saudi Arabian club, Al Hilal could be the prospective landing place too!

Enjoy!






Click image for a better view.

Gareth Barry signs for Man City

Manchester City's website confirms the reports that have been emerging throughout the day about English midfielder, Gareth Barry's switch to the Citizens.

Manchester City have signed the Aston Villa player for a fee of £12million which is lesser than what the Villans demanded for a year back from Liverpool following which the deal fell through and the player stayed for the 2008/09 season.

The deal has been signed for five years which comes in the wake of Steven Ireland's agreement to a long term with Manchester City thus ensuring a formidable midfield along with Robinho.

Only thing that bothers me from Barry's point of view is why did he sign for a club which has in the near past only finished in the mid table.Whereas, Liverpool who have publicly shown interest in the player would have made him part of the top four clubs in England and not to forget the opportunity to play in Europe. Why would a 28 year old join a club which might not even achieve those credentials?

On the other side, do Manchester City fans think its a great deal and worth the money?Especially after the bag loads of money the owner's got?

Lucas Neil likely to exit Hammers

West Ham captain, Lucas Neil has snubbed the opportunity to extend his contract with the Londoners for 3 more season.s

His agent however has ruled out that the player is going to exit for sure as the Australian wants to remain with the club for the next season.

Neil is the highest earning West Ham player who takes home £60,000 per week. Despite the large wages the player asked for more. West Ham board however wanted him to accept a 50% cut in his wages.

The demand was not met by the defender who has rejected the contract extension for now and is most likely to exit the club after he returns from international duty until the end of the month.

The interested parties for him include Manchester City and Greek side, Olympiacos as reported by The Sun.

Ancelotti signs a 3yr deal with Chelsea

After Ancelotti and AC Milan parted ways on mutual agreement , Chelsea have officially announced he would be taking over at Stamford Bridge.

Ancelotti has been linked with Chelsea for quite some time, this season as well as the last but after Gus Hiddink's short stint came to an end after winning the FA Cup, the London based club would be looking for the Italian to create wonders for them as he did for AC Milan.

He would be officially taking charge on July 1.

Chelsea's official website said :

Chelsea Football Club is delighted to announce that Carlo Ancelotti has agreed to become our new manager.

He has signed a three year contract and will start on July 1, 2009.

Carlo was the outstanding candidate for the job. He has proved over a long period his ability to build teams that challenged for, and have been successful in, major domestic and European competitions.

Despite his long list of honours and awards, I personally have apprehensions about his ability to be hit in the Premiership.Luis Felipe Scolari also came to Chelsea with a great record but couldn't be a hit as everyone expected him to be.Would Ancelotti follow the same path? What do you think?