"The Championship is not an option" - I Love Football off-season and transfer speculation thread 2012

"also rocking boobs"

The embattled Blackburn Rovers manager, Steve Kean, appeared to have survived his latest crisis meeting with the club's owners Venky's, the poultry company, in India yesterday, having convinced co-owner Anuradha Desai that he remains the man to lead the relegated club back to the Premier League.

Whether Kean will make it through the summer without losing his job remains to be seen but his efforts yesterday are understood to have centred upon telling the key figures who own Rovers he would be crucial to persuading Junior Hoilett to re-sign for the club.

The Canadian winger, who is highly-regarded by many Premier League teams, is out of contract next month and the club are still trying desperately to persuade him to sign a new deal. While this prospect seems remote in the extreme, Kean has long told the owners Venky's that his future at the club is crucial to how Hoilett regards his own future.

lol idiot

which?

Think what Hoilett is saying is "Kean out".

How good is Hoilett exactly? I get the feeling that if he were all that, Venky's would've flogged him already.

Maybe they don't know about the "Bosman Rule" and think out of contract players can't go anywhere.

Is Kean in one of those jobs where you get to write your own appraisals?

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02224/cech_2224878k.jpg

nyerrrrd

Hoilett looks v good to me, anytime I see him.

How good is Hoilett exactly? I get the feeling that if he were all that, Venky's would've flogged him already.

― Ismael Klata, Wednesday, 23 May 2012 11:19 (5 hours ago)

Well he isn't worth a penny, regardless of talent, thanks to his contract being up. Wouldn't mind him to replace Benny Noon tbh

Lille's highly sought after star Eden Hazard has agreed terms with Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea, according to the player's agent.

The Belgian is now deciding which team to join, and will reveal his decision after Belgium's international friendlies against Montenegro and England.
"We are no longer in the negotiations stage," Hazard's agent John Bico told the Telegraph. "We have reached agreement with all parties. There will be no higher bid.

"Eden has already said he wants it to be fixed before June 2. He will decide after the Red Devils' (Belgium) games against Montenegro and England, then go on holiday with peace of mind.
"Eden is in the reflections stage and a decision will be taken quickly. Those who have come forward have a one-in-three chance (of signing him)."

The attacking midfielder has so far been non-committal with regards to who he will join and has dropped hints over the possibility of signing for all three clubs in the past.
However, Chelsea are now understood to be favourites to secure his signature, with the Manchester clubs apparently reluctant to meet his reported £200,000-per-week wage demands.

It is understood that City will only sign the player on wages worth £110,000-per-week as the club's hierarchy believe that, after winning the Premier League title, they do not have to pay over the odds to attract top players.

United, meanwhile, have similar issues over wage demands, and also the £35 million price tag which Lille are likely to demand for their player.

sick to fuck of this cunt already

got eventual Real Madrid player written all over him

Utd also apparently "in talks" with Everton about Baines. Would be delighted with him, Kagawa, plus another midfielder

http://i.imgur.com/bZbw2.jpg

Haha, that's excellent. The headline I mean, not the transfer. Let Everton alone.

oh noes 12 matches without a certain stupid cunt ;_;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCmAjbTSTOg

think of joey while u watch this

sick to fuck of this cunt already

― pet tommy & the barkhaters (darraghmac), Wednesday, May 23, 2012 12:18 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

bears repeating

Who was the last player to come to the Premiership with this level of hype/interminable transfer saga behind him? I'm thinking possibly Arshavin and we know how that worked out.

aguero?

i guess he was more hype than 'transfer saga'

Robinho was a good one, p sure he didn't know who he'd signed for until the press conference

Mata too, I think. He could have easily ended up at 4 different clubs and was crazy hyped.

nah, not really. I know Liverpool were mentioned but it felt like Chelsea kind of snuck in for him

iirc spurs failed with the levy hardball, arsenal didnt get their shit together before his release clause ran out and then he was too expensive, lolverpool thought downing was the way to go, chelsea came in and did it in a day

even still he was hyped but not interminable hazard hyped

Hazard's good. I liked Mata better but it's easier to look exciting playing at the Mestalla imo.

The Suarez deal took ages to get tied up, but I don't recall anyone else showing any interest.

feel like hazard's just gonna be a lot of this in the end

http://i.imgur.com/ldK12.gif

He was fouled more than any other player in Europe this season, but he also lead Ligue 1 in successful dribbles, and assists, and scored 20 goals.

led*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuoQK1EN0O8

i was third in ligue un for dribbles fwiw

would feel more sorry for barton had he done the job properly on aguero.

Yeah, this really seems like something that needs addressing

Referees are set to be subject to drugs tests, Fifa's medical chiefs have revealed.

Match officials now have to pass stringent fitness tests and the world governing body's medical experts say they should also be tested to make sure they are not taking performance-enhancing substances.

Fifa's chief medical officer, Jiri Dvorak, told a conference in Budapest: "We have to consider referees as part of the game.

"We have started to discuss this and this is something for the future which will be discussed to include possibly an anti-doping programme for referees.

"We do not have an indication that this is a problem but this is something we have to look at. The referees are a neglected population."

Michel D'Hooghe, the chairman of Fifa's medical committee, added: "The referee is an athlete on the field so I think he should be subjected to the same rules."

Meanwhile, the World Anti-Doping Agency's director general, David Howman, told the Fifa medical conference that it may change rules to allow players from team sports who are banned for doping offences to return to training – though not playing – earlier. He said: "We are looking for ideas on how reductions for an early return to training can be done."

D'Hooghe said players in team sports were hit harder by drugs bans than individual athletes such as runners, who are still able to train and therefore return to competition as soon as their ban ends.

they should be providing them with complimentary drugs

So the guy in charge of drug-testing has said he needs to be given more work = more responsibility = bigger pay deal? Standard issue politics, but honestly, how exactly does the referee having nandrolone biscuits before every game give anyone a competitive advantage?

I should stop being surprised every time someone from fifa says something idiotic, but I'm not quite immunized against puzzlement just yet. ffs fifa.

Was there anything else on the agenda at this conference?

there was a nice buffet apparently

somebody shd stop Clattenburg dropping acid tbh

There was a sour note to Blackpool's defeat, with Ian Holloway having a screaming row with doping-control officials after the match.

Dave Jones, a loser here with Cardiff two years ago (against Blackpool), made the point in the match programme that as a manager "you have to choose your words carefully [when talking to the team post-match] because it can have an effect when the players come back."

Holloway had similar thoughts as he tried to gather his squad together "to tell them how proud I am of them", only to find Kevin Phillips and Barry Ferguson whisked away for drug tests.

"Don't give me that bullshit," he screamed. "Your rules are just so much bullshit. Use your discretion. I want all my players in one room – now!"

There was a sour note to Chelsea's defeat, with Didier Drogba having a screaming row with offical doping-control officials after the match.

Jose Mourinho, a loser here with Real Madrid two years ago (against Barcelona), made the point in the match programme that as a manager "you have to choose your words carefully [when talking to the referees post-match] because it can have an effect when the players come back."

Drogba had similar thoughts as he tried to gather the referees together "to tell them it was a fucking disgrace", only to find Tom Henning Øvrebø whisked away for drug tests.

"Don't give me that bullshit," he screamed. "Your rules are just so much bullshit. Use your discretion. I want all my referees in one room – now!" Meanwhile John Terry was reported to have put on a Barcelona kit to celebrate with the winning team.

Haha, gold. I've been very disappointed to find out that even Øvrebø thinks he had a stinker that night. I seem to be the only person standing who thinks he not only made the right calls, but that they were the correct decisions too.

be srs

Manchester United skipper Patrice Evra has told Eden Hazard to make the move to Old Trafford.

The Lille star is presently considering offers from United, Manchester City and Chelsea.

It is understood that the highly-rated Belgian has agreed terms with all three Premier League heavyweights.

Evra said: "I'm not his father but, if he comes to Manchester, I assure him that he will win titles. That's if he joins my Manchester not the blue side."

"I'm not his father but I might be his brother; it's hard to keep track."

Can't let myself believe this yet

We may rename a section of the website 'The Daily Eden Hazard' because it seems that everyday there's a new snippet of information suggesting he's closer to joining a certain club over the others interested. Sky Sports News today were still reporting today that Manchester United is his favoured destination and now some outlets in the French media are backing that up.

Le10sport.com, a major football based website in France, claim that Eden Hazard made a decision last weekend to join Manchester United. They cite relatives of the Belgian player as the source and say he was even ready to announce his decision to the wider world.

However, his agents wanted him to hold back as they were still negotiating deals with both Manchester City and Chelsea. Le10 claim that Eden Hazard is prepared to take a lower salary at Manchester United because it's where he wants to play.

They say he is ready to make a 'financial sacrifice' because Manchester United is the 'choice of his heart'. A personal meeting with Sir Alex Ferguson, where the United manager explained an exciting project to Hazard, is said to have made his mind up and if it wasn't for the intervention of his agents he'd have signed a contract already.

Nevertheless they report that an agreement is very close on a five year contract with Manchester United

ive not seen that much of him but he doesnt seem to be a 442 winger at all

sooo

If I were Eden Hazard and I'd made my mind up, I'd be signing before turning out as prime Shawx magnet in Belgium's imminent friendlies.

he doesn't really seem to fit into any of the prospective teams too well. City have Nasri and Silva for that role, Utd have Rooney, and Chelsea have Mata. Don't really care though, getting one of the most exciting young players in world football would be quite a coup. Setting myself up for a major disappointment here i know