11/12 Football Thread

[mcgaffer]

Nicolas Anelka has lost his first match as player-manager of Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua following his appointment on Thursday.
The former Chelsea striker, who moved to Shenhua in January, saw his side lose 1-0 at home to Tianjin Teda.
The final whistle was greeted with boos and the defeat leaves Shenhua in the bottom five of the league with four points from six matches.

[mcgaffer]

Arsenal are likely to bid for Ajax pair Jan Vertonghen, 24, and Christian Eriksen, 20, after Arsene Wenger was assured by the club's board that funds will be made available to him for a significant bid.

The Gunners are also thought to be interested in 26-year-old Valencia defender Adil Rami, who is allegedly wanted by AC Milan.

West Bromwich Albion are expected to sell Peter Odemwingie, 30, in order to fund a bid for Fulham striker Andy Johnson, 31.

Fenerbahce are thought to have made a £10m bid for Milos Krasic, 27, of Juventus, a long-term target for Spurs and Chelsea.

Fulham boss Martin Jol has reportedly been given permission to begin a move for Trabzonspor forward Burak Yilmaz, 26.

Wolfsburg are lining up a £8m move for QPR playmaker Adel Taarabt, 22.

Peterborough United manager Darren Ferguson has slapped a £2m price tag on striker Paul Taylor. The 24-year-old has refused to sign a new contract with the Championship outfit.

Gael Givet is to demand he is given a summer exit from Blackburn Rovers after the defender was frozen out by manager Steve Kean. The 30-year-old last featured in the 7-1 defeat by Arsenal on 4 February.

Former Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager Louis van Gaal, 60, is interested in the vacant director of football post at Liverpool. (Looks like your about to find out what you made Roy Hodgson feel on a daily basis Kenny)

Taxpayers could face costs in excess of £1m after Port Vale's creditors revealed their intention to recoup three pence for every £1 they are owed.

The average cost of going to football has risen by 45% over the last six years to £112, according to a new survey.

[Captain Clarkie]

Arsenal have demanded all their squad speak french as a first language - Daily Mail

M6 shuts down as Giant Bull faces down Scottish Matador hiding in the clown stalls part of the Bullring - Brummie Post

Chippy Scot living in Bristol says "FAYBAN" - , poster finds language uncomfortable, prefers getting pissed at the Thekla, Mob justice. Mobb Deep Justice - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb_jG-hasSY
KTBFFH!

[king mob]

Arsenal have demanded all their squad speak french as a first language - Daily Mail

M6 shuts down as Giant Bull faces down Scottish Matador hiding in the clown stalls part of the Bullring - Brummie Post

Chippy Scot living in Bristol says "FAYBAN" - , poster finds language uncomfortable, prefers getting pissed at the Thekla, Mob justice. Mobb Deep Justice - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb_jG-hasSY
KTBFFH!

Have you been on the pop again?

Last time I went to the Thekla I think I was the only person there who'd finished puberty.

[king mob]

Watched the Southampton-Reading game last night and it hopefully both sides get promoted so we can see Lambert and Sharp in the top flight, and of course George Dawes is doing a wonderful job managing Reading.

[thehod]

You knew something like this was coming after yesterdays news that Birmingham Legend Trevor Francis was in hospital after suffering a heart attack.

Its a shame that there was so little footage of him playing for Blues, especially the four goals he scored against Bolton when he was sixteen.

[king mob]

You knew something like this was coming after yesterdays news that Birmingham Legend Trevor Francis was in hospital after suffering a heart attack.

Its a shame that there was so little footage of him playing for Blues, especially the four goals he scored against Bolton when he was sixteen.

Bloody hell, I hadn't heard that. Francis isn't that old either.

[Puma]

Bloody hell, I hadn't heard that. Francis isn't that old either.

The name was a bit familiar so I did a quick check; yup. played a season in the NASL which means I saw him play at least once although I don't remember. Damn shame about the heart attack, he is fairly young.

[mcgaffer]

Wishing Trevor Francis a speedy recovery.

Ruddy hell, imagine how City's season could of gone if Tevez hadn't sulked for the majority of it.

[Puma]

They are a much better side with him in it. Had he not had a temper tantrum I think they would've wrapped up the title in January.

[mcgaffer]

Liverpool's in the final. Really wanted to see David Moyes get his Cup Final. Still, well done Liverpool. Looks like Carroll might be finding a bit of confidence.

[thehod]

Bloody hell, I hadn't heard that. Francis isn't that old either.

Dad saw him down at Edgbaston on Thursday and thought he was looking a little pale. Apparently he's OK and had a stent fitted, but for a man in his 50s who is still increadibly fit (by all accounts) its still a shocker.

[Puma]

Terrible news from Italy's Serie B

Four weeks after Bolton's Fabrice Muamba improbably survived a cardiac arrest on the pitch during an FA Cup match, a similar scenario has played out in Italy -- but this time without the happy ending. Livorno midfielder Piermario Morosini collapsed on the pitch after suffering a cardiac arrest in the 31st minute of a Serie B match against Pescara (as with the Muamba incident, we will not be showing video of this).

Medical workers attempted to resuscitate the 25-year-old on the pitch, but according to the AP, a cardiologist at the hospital to which Morosini was taken reported that he was dead upon arrival and never regained consciousness. The match was abandoned as players left the pitch in tears.

A defibrillator was used on Morosini on the pitch, but the ambulance was held up by a police car blocking its path. From the AP:

''He looked at me in the eyes when he was taken into the ambulance,'' Pescara's general manager, Danilo Iannascoli, told Sky Italia. ''We are living through a drama.''

Italian media reports said a car belonging to traffic police blocked the ambulance's way into the stadium and a window had to be broken so the car could be moved.

''I don't know if the ambulance was late, but I know that the entrance onto the pitch was blocked by a vehicle,'' Iannascoli said. ''Morosini collapsed, he tried to get back up but then collapsed again.''

Pescara president Daniele Sebastiani said that Morosini suffered "three cardiac arrests in quick succession."

Morosini, a former Italian youth national team player, was on loan at Livorno from Serie A side Udinese. The Serie A club informed Italian football's governing body (the FGIC) that they would not be able to play their scheduled match against Inter on Saturday evening after such a devastating shock and all Italian matches across all divisions scheduled for this weekend were suspended a short time later.

[thehod]

The name was a bit familiar so I did a quick check; yup. played a season in the NASL which means I saw him play at least once although I don't remember. Damn shame about the heart attack, he is fairly young.

One of the things that people tend to forget about Francis is that in the mid 80s he played at Sampdoria alongside Graeme Souness, Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini.

Souness. Vialli. Mancini. Francis.

Any opposing side would crap themselves the moment they saw those names on a team sheet.

[king mob]

Liverpool's in the final. Really wanted to see David Moyes get his Cup Final. Still, well done Liverpool. Looks like Carroll might be finding a bit of confidence.

The bookies near me was offering 10-1 for Carroll to score the winning goal. I didn't take it even though I spent all of Friday night ripping the piss out of an Evertonian saying that Carroll would score the winner.