Tottenham Hotspur boss Harry Redknapp retains hope of persuading England midfielder Joe Cole to head to White Hart Lane from Chelsea this summer.
The 28-year-old is out of contract at Stamford Bridge, with a number of clubs aiming to capture Cole, with Redknapp having previously stated that he thought he had missed out on his former West Ham charge.
However, Redknapp was quoted as telling the Daily Express:"Yes, I am prepared to declare my interest in Joe Cole.
"Why not? He is a great player, his contract is up and he is on a free transfer. When he returns, I would love to talk to him about coming to Spurs."
Redknapp had last week told BBC Radio 5 Live:"It looks to me someone's going to make a great free transfer, if he doesn't stay at Chelsea.
"I genuinely don't know who that is. I don't think it's going to be Tottenham.
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"I've got a feeling, I may be wrong, that he's already agreed a deal with someone and it's not Tottenham.
"I'm a big fan of Joe's, but the feedback we've had is that he might well have already done something."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Veteran former Hull City midfielder George Boateng is hoping to continue his career with Celtic.
The 34-year-old Dutchman is available on a free transfer after leaving Hull when his contract expired at the end of last season.
Boateng spent two seasons with the Tigers but joined up with the Hoops during pre-season training on Monday in the hope of impressing new manager Neil Lennon.
The defensive midfielder spent 12 years in the Premier League with Coventry City, Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Hull and also won four caps for the Netherlands.
Lennon is already running the rule over another veteran Premier League performer in defender Sol Campbell as he looks to shake up a squad that under-performed last season.
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Defenders Charlie Mulgrew and Cha Du-Ri have already joined the Parkhead club after former caretaker manager Lennon was confirmed as the new full-time boss last month.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Defender Steven Taylor could miss the start of Newcastle United’s Premier League season through injury.
Taylor, who has suffered with shoulder problems in the past, failed to complete Saturday’s 3-0 friendly victory over Carlisle United after an awkward landing.
The former England Under-21 international sustained his latest setback in the second half of the pre-season friendly at Brunton Park.
Taylor was a key player as the Magpies won the Championship title last season.
“Obviously we are aware of Steven Taylor’s shoulder problems in the past, but we will not know the extent of this one until we can assess it properly in two or three days,” said manager Chris Hughton.
“It’s always a worry to have an injury of this sort, especially at the start of the season, but we will just have to wait and see.”
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Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
West Ham have until the end of September to formally submit their plans to take over London's Olympic Stadium following the 2012 Games.
The Hammers have already confirmed their interest in moving to the 80,000 capacity stadium in Stratford.
The Premier League club are believed to be among the frontrunners ahead of Wednesday's official launch of the formal bidding process.
"The stadium is at the heart of the Olympic Park and securing the most appropriate solution is crucial to our long-term aspirations for the area," explained Margaret Ford, chairman of the Olympic Park Legacy Company.
"We have generated a great deal of interest by working with the market to understand how they would use this iconic venue.
"I am delighted that organisations with a serious interest all want a mixed usage – this is in line with our promise to meet the bid commitments and our vision for the stadium to be a focal point for sport and community use.
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"We aim to have selected an anchor tenant by the end of the financial year."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Team supported Newcastle United. My dad was born there so I’ve grown up to support the same team as him. He used to work for Adidas so we used to go to every game and sit in their box. As I play on Saturdays now we only get to the odd game.
I play a bit like… Gareth Barry. I can play a defensive midfield role but I also try and run a lot and get the balling moving with my passing.
Strengths My fitness, passing and determination to win. I used to be a prolific midfielder but haven’t scored too many recently. I’m also a good leader and think that I lead the team well.
Weaknesses I want to win so badly that if things don’t go my way I sometimes get frustrated but I’m working on getting this out of my game. I’d like to score more goals this season too.
Highlights This pre-season I came on for the first team against Hull in a friendly. I got about 25 minutes and came close to scoring so that was obviously a highlight for me. I played a full ninety for the first team in another friendly too which was great. Being made captain for the youth team is also something that I’m proud of.
Lowlights I’ve had a few injuries but nothing major that’s kept me out for long. Touch wood it will stay that way.
Toughest opponent Hull had some really good players. Tom Cairney was good in midfield and Anthony Gardner at the back was a unit. He’s huge and blocks everything.
Biggest influence Probably my parents. My dad is always encouraging me and telling me how well I can do. He watches all the games. I’ve got my driving test soon but he drives me around at the moment.
Films I saw the A-Team the other day and that was quite good. The new Mr T is good – funny and a very big lad. I saw Inception too which I thought was a good film but a bit hard to follow.
TV programmes All the sport ones. Soccer AM of course. I like the Inbetweeners too.
If you hadn’t been a footballer… I’d be a personal trainer or a PE teacher. Something in sport.
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If you could play alongside any player… Steven Gerrard. He always gives everything. Even though England had a poor World Cup I thought that he gave everything he could. He’s Liverpool all over which I think he’s proved by staying at the club when he had a few other options.
In five year’s time… You’ve got to aim high and have ambition so hopefully I’ll be at the best club I can be at and playing football at my best level.
Allegations about the private lives of footballers are nothing new for football fans but the public reaction to Wayne Rooney and John Terry’s recent indiscretions has been markedly different. On the whole, fans have shrugged off the latest news of Rooney’s sordid sex scandal while on the other hand, John Terry was lambasted by fans and the media alike for his extra-marital affair with Wayne Bridge’s ex Vanessa Perroncel. The discrepancy between the reaction to Rooney and Terry’s affairs has got me thinking about whether Rooney enjoys a greater leeway with the public and what the reasons could be for such a reputation.
Both John Terry and Wayne Rooney’s affairs have garnered a huge amount of tabloid coverage. Fleet Street’s finest have been all over Rooney since the story broke that he cheated on his pregnant wife with a prostitute. However, while the front pages are awash with lurid headlines of Rooney’s alleged infidelity, the back-pages are surprisingly absent from any criticism of the Manchester United striker. Rather than drawing attention to the scandal, the sports pages are distancing themselves from the story and focusing on matters on the pitch rather than off it. If there is a mention of the affair, it is only to say that Rooney will be unaffected by the media attention.
If anything, the circus surrounding Rooney has come at a good time for the Manchester United striker. He had been struggling for confidence after his terrible performance in South Africa and the revelations about his private life will have galvanised Rooney to go out and show that he is still the player that he was before the World Cup started.
And he did so on Tuesday to great effect. He scored the opening goal against Switzerland in Basel and left the field to a standing ovation from the travelling England fans.
John Terry has not been so lucky. He has come in for abuse from fans up and down the country with his every touch greeted with a crescendo of boos. The news of his affair was a serious blow to the Chelsea defender’s confidence and he looked shaky at times in the Chelsea backline. Unfortunately for Terry, he carried over his anxieties into the World Cup this summer and was less than assured in England’s disastrous World Cup campaign.
Maybe one of the reasons that Rooney has escaped the boo-boys has to do with the timing of the revelation of his affair. Rooney’s latest revelation comes in the midst of a relatively easy European qualifying schedule with the team attempting to rebuild after their World Cup showing. Terry’s affair however was revealed in the build-up to England’s World Cup campaign. Great things were expected from this England team and they failed to deliver. With the weight of public expectation on the shoulders of England’s biggest players, Terry was unable to perform to his best and was an easy target to blame for England’s disappointment.
There is also the club factor to consider. In recent years, Chelsea have become one of the most disliked teams in all of the nation and John Terry is undoubtedly the face of the club having held the captain’s armband for a number of years. The allegations about Terry’s private life have only added to the many reasons for opposition fans to hate the club.
Rooney has managed to get away relatively scot-free in this whole mess simply because he is the poster-boy for English football. He is the one great hope, tasked with returning England to the top of world football once again. To do this, he has to be the one who scores goals for our team. As a defender, John Terry isn’t likely to score many goals and his contributions in games are less high-profile. Terry is a relic of the international old guard who failed to turn up in South Africa and needs to be discarded if the national team has any chance of moving forward.
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Football these days goes hand in hand with celebrity. With all the gossip that goes on daily in the pages of our newspapers and on our television screens, the footballing public have simply got bored of all of the scandal. It refuses to shock us now. And this is probably the main reason why Wayne Rooney has emerged from these revelations with his reputation relatively intact.
Manager Arsene Wenger remains confident that his Arsenal side can compete with the Premier League's big spenders this season and push for a first title since 2003-04.
The Gunners swept aside Bolton Wanderers 4-1 on Saturday afternoon, moving up to second place in the table behind defending champions Chelsea.
Wenger, who is also a die-hard supporter of open, attractive football, said after that victory:"I just feel we slowly built an offensive style. People come here and see goals, and that's the most important thing.
"We have players who are offensively gifted, talented and we have a collective game that can be played at a high pace so we can create goals and chances.
"I think the Arsenal fans want to win and be entertained – the target is to win and to win with style. I think both go together.
"We went for a change a few years ago to grow a team together and try to create a spirit and attitude which gets everyone on the same wavelength.
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"This season is an important one because we have to show we can win with massive competitors – Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham, Chelsea.
"It will be very difficult, but I believe we will have our word to say."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
The influx of foreign players into the English Premier League has created something of a language barrier for some teams. Tottenham have as many foreign imports as anyone else, but Spurs manager Harry Redknapp has used his renowned man management skills to help build a Champions League quality team at White Hart Lane. It is often said that foreigners have to be pandered to, but this doesn’t seem to be the approach that Harry is using with his talented Croatian international Luka Modric. Here is the old-fashioned English gaffer communicating with his luxury player, but what is Harry and Luka’s unique understanding?
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‘Satisfactory but could do better’ comes to mind as we consider Neil Lennon’s first months in charge at Celtic Park. We cannot ignore early exits from the Champions League and the Europa League as well as a bad defeat at the hands of a less than great Rangers team when you are considering Lennon’s Celtic impact. Arguably victories against other SPL teams only prove Celtic may cope with English League 1 standards!
Having said that, Celtic only find themselves one point behind the Champions Rangers after their draw against Inverness Caledonian Thistle at the weekend. Furthermore, it has to be said that Lennon is still building the foundations of a team that will eventually compete at the highest level. Shrewd signings like that of Emilio Izaguirre and Joe Ledley demonstrate that, in spite of many Celtic fans contrary opinion it would seem that Lennon is serious about taking Celtic to the next level. He has yet however, to see the obvious potential of players like Ki, Juarez, Cha and McCourt materialise. If these players can step up to the plate then Lennon’s team will soon prove to be a force to be reckoned with both at home and in Europe.
Lennon’s biggest worry is arguably the marshmallow central defence which has remained problematic the whole season. Despite having Johan Mjallby, a former Swedish captain and international central defender, as assistant manager there does not seem to be any marked improvement in these players’ performances. Either Lennon is not using Mjallby’s coaching expertise effectively or the present incumbents are just not good enough!
Lennon also has to permanently solve his goalkeeping situation. It is clear that Zaluska is not in his long term plans and current loan signing Forster was found wanting, in spite of some great saves in other games, when it mattered against bitter rivals Rangers. When Celtic could pick up average keepers such as Evan Williams in the glory days of the 70’s are long gone. In those days Celtic had sufficient class throughout their team to allow such signings. However, it is evident that Neil Lennon does not have such a luxury. It has been muted that unsettled Manchester City shot stopper Shay Given is interested in rejoining his former Club. It is up to the Celtic board to ensure that a signing of such calibre becomes a realistic long term solution.
Whilst Hooper and Stokes sound a potent force on paper and indeed have continually provided Celtic with the goals they need, it is still early days to judge whether or not they have what it takes to provide the much needed firepower to win the Scottish Premier League. Samaras, on the other hand, promising much with the ball at his feet, has consistently failed to find the net. Strikers are paid to score goals and it is just not happening for him at the moment. Perhaps Lennon should have a word with Celtic Legend Henrik Larsson who visited Celtic Park on Friday, on how best to guide the big Greek to the opposition’s net.
It would seem having said all this that there is sufficient evidence for optimism for Lennon’s future. On the other hand it is clear that much hard work and some key signings are needed if he is to emulate some of his greatest predecessors.
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Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has told his players that he expects a ruthless showing during their Premier League clash at Blackburn Rovers on Saturday afternoon.
The reigning champions and current leaders have been warned by the Italian tactician that a failure to take all three points at Ewood Park will be unacceptable.
Following last week's workmanlike 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge, he wants to end a two-game run on the road without a goal.
A 1-0 defeat at Manchester City was followed up with a goalless draw with Aston Villa in the Midlands and Ancelotti has asked for a clinical performance.
"We have started the season well but I think we can play better because we played very well in some parts of some games but not continuously," he said.
"We have to play 90 minutes how we want to play. We have to improve our play and our intensity. We can't just play for 45 minutes like we did against Wolves.
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"We want to play well for the whole of the match and we haven't been able to do that so far this season."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email