11/12 Football Thread

[king mob]

Ughh, seriously? England's performance is only disappointing if you believe the tabloid hype about us having one of the best teams in the world.

One of the purposes of establishing the Premier League (and one of the major selling points to fans who were opposed to it) was it was there to help the English national side and improve homegrown players rather than what it actually (and again, there were people warning about this happening) became.

[mcgaffer]

Manchester United have agreed a deal reported to be worth an intial £12m to sign Japan midfielder Shinji Kagawa from German side Borussia Dortmund.
The 23-year-old needs to pass a medical and obtain a UK work permit, but the Old Trafford club expect both to be completed by the end of June.
It is thought the fee could reach £17m depending on success and appearances.

Fifa's chief medical officer has said the "abuse" of painkillers is putting the careers and long-term health of international footballers in jeopardy.

Dr Jiri Dvorak found that almost 40% of players at the 2010 World Cup were taking pain medication prior to every game.

Ahead of Euro 2012, Dr Dvorak has urged football to wake up to the problem.



Footballer Joey Barton has been bailed after he was arrested following a fight outside a Liverpool nightclub.

Mr Barton, 29, was detained after two men were held over the incident, at about 05:30 BST, outside Garlands club in Eberle Street.

[mcgaffer]

New Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has warned the Anfield board to forget about selling striker Luis Suarez, 25.

AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri has reiterated to Manchester City that defender Thiago Silva, 27, is not for sale.

Tottenham's Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart, 29, has refused to rule out the prospect of joining Schalke, in a bid to be closer to his wife who works for a German TV channel.

Tottenham defender Sebastien Bassong is a wanted man, with both Monaco and Russian side Rubin Kazan interested in signing the 25-year-old.

Chelsea target Lucas Moura, 19, won't be leaving Sao Paulo until 2014 at the earliest. The striker has already reportedly been the subject of a £30m bid from the Blues.

Tottenham are planning a double raid on West Ham to sign goalkeeper Robert Green, 32, and defender James Tomkins, 23.

Wigan and Fulham are both chasing Derby striker Theo Robinson, 23, who scored 12 goals last season.

Arsenal are in talks with Anderlecht's Argentine midfielder Lucas Biglia, 26. However, they face stiff competition from Real Madrid.

QPR boss Mark Hughes is eyeing Fraser Forster, 24, as a potential new number one. The goalkeeper has spent the last two seasons on loan at Celtic from Newcastle.

Sunderland want to sign Republic of Ireland winger Aiden McGeady, 26, who is halfway through a four-year deal at Spartak Moscow.

Turkish side Eskisehirspor want Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky, 31, despite him only recently signing a new deal at the Emirates.

Former Chelsea defender Marcel Desailly has emerged as the new favourite to replace Brendan Rodgers at Swansea.

After being forced to pull out of Euro 2012 through injury, Chelsea and England midfielder Frank Lampard, 33, could be in line for a call-up to represent Team GB at this summer's Olympics.

Harry Redknapp's future as manager of Tottenham Hotspur appears increasingly uncertain before he heads into contract discussions with the club's hierarchy this week.

Rio Ferdinand is refusing to quit playing for England, despite his latest snub by manager Roy Hodgson. The Manchester United defender has told friends he has no intention of retiring from international football.

Hodgson does not want Ferdinand to quit England and has texted the player to assure him he wants him to be part of his future plans.

Hodgson is under mounting pressure to justify the omission of Ferdinand after the Manchester United central defender told friends he considered the decision to be "morally very suspect" and fears increased about its capacity to unsettle the team ahead of Euro 2012.

Hodgson has cracked down on his England players' sponsor appearances, telling five of his squad to cancel a proposed Nike event in London yesterday in order to rest ahead of the squad's trip to Poland tomorrow for their Euro 2012 base camp.

[king mob]

Fifa's chief medical officer has said the "abuse" of painkillers is putting the careers and long-term health of international footballers in jeopardy.

Dr Jiri Dvorak found that almost 40% of players at the 2010 World Cup were taking pain medication prior to every game.

Ahead of Euro 2012, Dr Dvorak has urged football to wake up to the problem.

There's always been the pain killing injection, but it seems from looking at this story that what players are doing is playing through pain at the cost of their own health to a ridiculous degree. The simple answer is there's too much football being played, but I don't think it's as easy as that.

[king mob]

Rio Ferdinand is refusing to quit playing for England, despite his latest snub by manager Roy Hodgson. The Manchester United defender has told friends he has no intention of retiring from international football.

Hodgson does not want Ferdinand to quit England and has texted the player to assure him he wants him to be part of his future plans.

Hodgson is under mounting pressure to justify the omission of Ferdinand after the Manchester United central defender told friends he considered the decision to be "morally very suspect" and fears increased about its capacity to unsettle the team ahead of Euro 2012.

Hodgson has cracked down on his England players' sponsor appearances, telling five of his squad to cancel a proposed Nike event in London yesterday in order to rest ahead of the squad's trip to Poland tomorrow for their Euro 2012 base camp.

This is why I feel sorry for Hodgson. Unless a player announces their international retirement then the decision for them to stop playing is made by the national manager, not them, or their mates in the press. The bollocks with sponsors is even worse as he's less than a week from his first game and it should all be about the game now.

[king mob]

Platini has said that games at Euro 2012 will be stopped at the first instance of racial abuse of players on the pitch. Great, now let's hope that not only do ref's do this, but that UEFA stands by them.

[Captain Clarkie]

Former Chelsea defender Marcel Desailly has emerged as the new favourite to replace Brendan Rodgers at Swansea.

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but doesn't he have zero management experience?

[Alan Lynch]

Platini has said that games at Euro 2012 will be stopped at the first instance of racial abuse of players on the pitch. Great, now let's hope that not only do ref's do this, but that UEFA stands by them.

He's also said that any players who walk off as a result of racist abuse - after Mario Balotelli said he'd do just that - would be booked. Which is a silly thing to say.

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but doesn't he have zero management experience?

Hasn't stopped people getting managerial jobs before, and doing well in some cases. Recent examples being Paolo di Canio and (grudgingly) Neil Lennon. Swansea have taken a punt on reasonably new managers too.

[king mob]

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but doesn't he have zero management experience?

Yup, utterly naff all but he's a BIG NAME, which I think is all the rumour is concerned about.

[king mob]

Hasn't stopped people getting managerial jobs before, and doing well in some cases. Recent examples being Paolo di Canio and (grudgingly) Neil Lennon. Swansea have taken a punt on reasonably new managers too.

Oh totally but there's several British managers worth a shout, though Norwich beat them to Chris Hughton.

[DebkoX]

Just heard about the Dutch players being abused with monkey chants, in terms of support, euro 2012 will suck.

[Alan Lynch]

Oh totally but there's several British managers worth a shout, though Norwich beat them to Chris Hughton.

Chris Hughton is a great fit for Norwich, and it's a deserved second crack at the Premiership after Newcastle shit on him. Very good appointment that. And I agree, there are plenty of managers down the divisions doing sterling work. It's no wonder the list of English managers for the England job had 2 names on it.

Just heard about the Dutch players being abused with monkey chants, in terms of support, euro 2012 will suck.

And UEFA are taking "no action". Not sure what they could do off the top of my head, but stopping the Dutch training in front of a crowd would be a start. Hopefully pressuring the Polish and Ukrainian FA's to make sure anyone responsible for racist chants is ejected immediately too. But you're right to worry, there could be some nasty incidents.

[thehod]

Oh totally but there's several British managers worth a shout, though Norwich beat them to Chris Hughton.

I'm having a strop about that.

[mcgaffer]

West Brom have appointed Steve Clarke as their head coach on a two-year deal.
The 48-year-old left his role at Liverpool on Wednesday, where he was assistant manager before Kenny Dalglish's dismissal in May.
It is Clarke's first job as head coach after spells on the backroom staff at Newcastle, Chelsea and Liverpool.
"Becoming a head coach in my own right has always been an ambition of mine and I feel I have served my apprenticeship," Clarke said.

[Captain Clarkie]

Interesting opening game that, Poland just weren't the same team once they conceded.