Posts Tagged ‘Premier League’
Sol Campbell speaks out on Newcastle move
Newcastle United have completed the signing of Sol Campbell on a one-year contract and the former England international has been speaking about how happy he is with the move.
Campbell was a free agent after his deal with Arsenal expired this summer and he had been linked with a number of clubs, but newly-promoted Newcastle is where he will be playing his football this season.
The 35-year-old seems remarkably happy with this too. He said that at this stage of his career he “couldn’t have wished for a better move”.
He has enjoyed many years at the top level and it would have been one of his ambitions to continue this for at least another year. This comes after many thought his Premier League career was finished when he signed for Notts County last season. You’ll be able to follow his progress with Bets Player.
Arsene Wenger came in for him though and it seems like the Frenchman’s faith has led to Campbell to be more ambitious, especially with regards to what he can achieve within the final stages of his career.
After securing a contract, Campbell has revealed how honoured he feels to join Newcastle United.
The former Tottenham man said: “To join a club such as Newcastle, with its proud tradition, heritage and magnificent support, is absolutely tremendous for me.
“I’d like to thank Chris Hughton for putting his faith in me and aim to repay him and the supporters by giving everything I possibly can to help re-establish this great club in the top tier of English football.”
Campbell - who has been handed the number five shirt will now look to play a big part in Newcastle’s season as they look to avoid relegation.
Tags: Ambitions, Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Bets, England International, English Football, Faith, Free Agent, Frenchman, Heritage, League Career, Led, Move Free, Newcastle United, Notts County, Premier League, Proud Tradition, Sol Campbell, Tottenham Man
Will the dream become a nightmare for Blackpool?
Back in May, on a baking hot day at Wembley, Blackpool stunned the football World by clinching an unlikely promotion to the Premier League with a 3-2 win over Cardiff.
Their plucky underdog tag, plus the presence of the affable Ian Holloway at the helm, should ensure they will be everyone’s second favourite team this coming season. But being popular doesn’t win your points and for a competitive man like Holloway that just won’t do.
The Premier League relegation odds make the Seasiders favourites to go down, but Holloway would at least like his players to give it a good go.
However, with just three weeks to go until the new season the club are yet to sign a single player, although a deal for Israeli defender Dekel Keinan is believed to be close.
Also, many of last season’s loan stars, such as Leicester’s DJ Campbell and Everton’s Seamus Coleman, have now returned to their parent clubs. This means Blackpool could start the season weaker than they ended last campaign.
They are only going to go one way if they fail to add to the squad both in terms of quality and sheer numbers. No one wants to see the team struggle badly and, despite the strong team spirit at the club built up by Holloway, Derby County’s record low points total could be under threat if they don’t add some new faces.
To a certain extent, I applaud Holloway’s patient approach. He has no doubt been offered hundreds of players desperate to claim a piece of the Premier League pie and his reluctance to sign them up is the reason why he has formed such a strong nucleus of a side - he will only buy the right players. However, the football betting suggests they are in for a really tough season.
Now is the time to start taking a few risks, not necessarily to gamble the club’s future but to ensure that if they do go down, they will at least win a few games on the way.
Tags: Derby County, Dj Campbell, Everton, Favourite Team, Football World, Holloway, Hot Day, Last Campaign, New Faces, No Doubt, Parent Clubs, Patient Approach, Premier League, Relegation Odds, Reluctance, Seamus, Sheer Numbers, Team Spirit, Team Struggle, Underdog Tag
Newcastle go for Gosling
After one of the most bizarre transfer stories of the summer, it looks as though Dan Gosling will sign for Newcastle this week.
Gosling was released on a free from Everton earlier this summer. A tribunal decided that although Everton had verbally offered Gosling a new contract, they hadn’t made a written offer for the player.
The result is that Everton have lost one of England’s most exciting prospects, for absolutely nothing and Premier League betting pundits are certainly questioning the club’s policy on contract renewals.
Newcastle are believed to have won the race for Gosling’s signature, ahead of West Ham and Sunderland. He will be Chris Hughton’s second signing this summer, after James Perch was brought in from Nottingham Forest.
Everton have appealed the courts decision over Gosling. The club are trying to claim some compensation from any transfer that goes through. The compensation figure being reported by the press could be as high as £4million.
Everton will need the money to find a player to replace the versatile Gosling. The 20 year old can play in the middle of midfield, as well as right back and on the right wing. After playing for England at U17, U18 and U19 levels, Gosling made his under 21 debut against Portugal under Stuart Pearce.
While Newcastle fans will be happy with the capture of Gosling, they’ll have to wait a while to see him in action. Gosling suffered a serious knee injury for Everton against Wolves in March.
The timescale for the injury is between seven and nine months, ruling him out till around Christmas. The Geordie faithful will be hoping their new signing will be able to defy the Premier League betting odds and help their side cement their place in the Premiership after a year away from the big time.
Tags: Betting Odds, Big Time, Contract Renewals, Everton, Knee Injury, Lost One, Midfield, New Contract, Newcastle Fans, Nine Months, Premier League, Premiership, Pundits, Right Wing, Stuart Pearce, Timescale, U18, U19, West Ham, Wolves
Arsenal and the great World Cup pundit conundrum
It was interesting to hear the thoughts of the so-called experts following Spain’s World Cup final win over Holland on Sunday.
The Spanish were roundly praised for their dominant brand of possession football and were seen as deserved winners of the tournament. Holland, meanwhile, were heavily criticised for their aggressive style as they sought to unsettle the Spanish midfielders.
But one thing struck me as rather odd.
While Alan Hansen and co on the BBC couldn’t find enough superlatives to throw at Spain and had plenty of bad things to say about the Dutch, I wonder what they will be saying about Arsenal in a month’s time.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has a similar footballing philosophy to the Spanish. He has assembled a group of technically gifted players who seek to play an attractive brand of attacking, possession football.
However, their main weakness in the Premier League has been their apparent “soft centre”. It is commonly assumed the Arsenal players “don’t like it up ‘em” and so are subject to rough treatment from opponents.
This weakness is often cited as the reason why they have failed to win a trophy over the past five years and, with the Premier League betting suggesting they won’t challenge again this season, many pundits believe Wenger should adopt a different style of play.
But why is it ok for teams to rough Arsenal up, yet “thuggery” to try and do the same to Spain? The ‘experts’ were calling for more protection for the Spanish players, but they are not so forthcoming about Arsenal.
I know Spain have proven more successful than the Gunners in recent years, but it hasn’t been through changing their style of play, they will keep passing regardless of the opposition.
Personally, I doubt switching systems would change Arsenal’s online odds anyway.
There seems to be a common thought among TV pundits that everything the Spanish do is perfect - proven by how little was said regarding the frequent instances of play acting, diving and card waving that went on during Sunday’s fractious encounter.
I think we deserve as much consistency from our hypercritical pundits as we expect from our players and referees.
Tags: Aggressive Style, Alan Hansen, Arsenal Players, Attractive Brand, Bbc, Boss Arsene Wenger, Conundrum, Different Style, Dominant Brand, Gifted Players, Gunners, Hansen And Co, Midfielders, Premier League, Rough Treatment, Spanish Players, Superlatives, Switching Systems, Tv Pundits, World Cup
Liverpool job is Roy Hodgson’s biggest challenge yet
He may have held 15 different coaching positions in a 34 year career, but Roy Hodgson arguably faces his toughest job test yet at Liverpool.
The Fulham manager has agreed a two year deal to take over at Anfield and will join in time for pre-season training this week.
But he comes to a club still battered and bruised after a disastrous campaign last year which saw early exits from both domestic cups, the Champions League and a lowly 7th place finish. The Premier League 2010/2011 odds suggest they could struggle again.
Added to that is the £350million debt placed on the club by controversial owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, as well as doubts over the futures of star players Steven Gerrard, Javier Mascherano and Fernando Torres. You could have forgiven many a manager for not touching the job with a bargepole.
But maybe Hodgson’s calm assurance is just what they need. With so much drama going on, on and off the pitch, Hodgson’s first job could be to use his vast experience to focus the players on the task in hand.
The futures of Torres, Gerrard and Mascherano remain in doubt despite the appointment. I find it highly unlikely that all three would leave, with Torres the most likely to stay. However, any departure would boost Hodgson’s fairly meagre transfer budget, currently in the region of £15 million.
Stories linking Liverpool with Fulham players have already begun, - though I find Brade Hangeland a more realistic target than the aging if popular Danny Murphy. Hodgson is a canny enough manager to know he will have to buy a better class of player than he did at Fulham if Liverpool are to meet expectations.
He will, of course, have the full backing of the Liverpool fans regardless of whether they saw him as their first choice. But a planned protest by the Spirit of Shankly fans group this weekend highlights the deep divisions between the club and its supporters at present.
A few poor results and the atmosphere at Anfield could become poisonous as the fans direct their anger at the board, making life doubly difficult for the players. Hodgson needs hit the ground running if he is to get the club on the up again. The pressure is well and truly on.
There could even be further complications down the line. England’s World Cup odds made them third favourites for the tournament this year, but they crashed out.
If Capello hangs on, but leaves the job in a year or so Hodgson could be tempted to replace him.
Tags: Anfield, Champions League, Danny Murphy, Deep Divisions, Disastrous Campaign, Doubts, Fernando Torres, First Choice, First Job, Fulham, George Gillett, Javier Mascherano, Liverpool Fans, Pre Season Training, Premier League, Roy Hodgson, Star Players, Steven Gerrard, Target, Tom Hicks