Today’s pieces of fluff are written in smoke signals

The Mill often gets letters of endearment from our beloved, leeching readers wondering just how we manage to churn out such sub-par rumours, day after day, season after season, year after year. Well in the age of Leveson inquires and in the spirit of open journalism, it seems the time has come to elaborate upon just how the Mill does what it does.

Our first port of call is often the painstaking research done by the top brains of other such rumour-generating websites, which is assiduously copied, pasted and dressed up in the house style to delude our readers into thinking it is our own work. If that fails to produce the do-you-get-paid-for-this quality expected of this website, the Mill will make the 33,158-step journey to the Yaghan reserve deep in the north-west corner of Epping Forest, where it will cover itself in animal grease and drink peyote until the smoke signals transmogrify into the shapes of the Premier League’s finest and their intended destinations. It was there, in a miasma of smoke and fire and wild hooting, that the Mill first learned of Roberto Mancini’s latest move in transfer market.

There are plenty of deserving projects around the world on which the Italian could lavish the 25m pound coins currently weighing down his hand-crafted-from-the-finest-Sicilian-leather wallet. He could help nature reserves in east Sunderland, he could help fund racoon patrols to ensure that the streets of Coventry are safe at night. Hell, he could even donate it to the Arsenal foundation to help Arsène Wenger’s side become a big club once again. But instead of that, he is going to swap it with Milan for everyone’s favourite ponytailed striker since Roberto Baggio, Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

It has always been the Swede’s dream to play for Manchester City ever since he was a kid growing up in Malmo so the £300,000 a week that Mancini is going to offer the striker – not to mention the “massive signing-on fee, huge bonuses and lucrative image rights” – is just purely incidental. If for some reason that deal does not go through, Mancini will divert his attentions to the Patrick Swayze in Road House impersonator and sometime Athletic Bilbao forward that is Fernando Llorente.

Sir Alex “we invest in young players. That is what we are good at – we’re not like other clubs who can spend fortunes on proven goods” Ferguson is set to offer the young and up-and-coming striker Robin van Persie the outside chance of winning a trophy by paying stupid money and a silly salary to bring the Dutchman to Old Trafford in time for next season. Van Persie will be holding the Manchester United scarf above his head and kissing the devil crest just as soon as the Scot vanquishes the competition from Juventus and Real Madrid.

In even more would-you-believe-it news, professional bench-warmer Michael Owen is going to be given another shot at, eh, warming the bench next season when he has his contract extended by another year. Lord knows he has earned it.

Meanwhile, over in Barcelona Pep Guardiola Light has decided that the best way to catch Real Madrid and alleviate the ever increasing pressure on Lionel Messi’s 15-year-old-teenage-girl shoulders is to sign the Uruguayan goalpost-hitting sensation Luis Suárez from Liverpool. The Catalans are hoping to exploit the mess left behind at the city’s third biggest club after the sacking of Kenny Dalglish but the soon-to-be-appointed new boss of Anfield, be it Brendan Rodgers, Alan Pardew or André Villas-Boas, may have something to say about that.

And finally, David Moyes has ordered all of the Everton backroom staff, from the cook to the laundry ladies, to look under fridges, search down the back of sofas and check the thumb pockets in all their trousers in an effort to scrape together enough pennies to keep hold of Steven Pienaar. Tottenham Hotspur want £5m for the South Africa midfielder but Everton are struggling to pay that, which may just push Pienaar into the welcoming, comforting and outstretched arms of Martin O’Neill.

Football transfer rumours: Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Manchester City? football

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Top Five Bayern Munich v Chelsea Betting Tips – originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Chelsea and Bayern Munich go head-to-head in this season’s Champions League final on Saturday at the Allianz Arena, in what should be a mouth-watering clash. The Germans are favourites due to playing at home, however the Blues have upset Barcelona and are in great form in Europe. With two-evenly-matched sides taking centre stage it is sure to be a great Champions League final; here are five betting tips worth looking into.

Ladbrokes are offering a £50 free bet for all new customers registering for the service; all you have to do is enter the FB50 promo code and make a bet!

Chelsea to win the trophy

Roberto Di Matteo’s men have a double incentive to win the trophy this year, as a sixth-placed finish in the Premier League sees them ready to miss out on Europe’s top tournament next season if they lose on Saturday. The Stamford Bridge club are looking to make amends for losing at the last stage in 2008, and have conquered adversity this season on the continent. Back the Blues to win the trophy at 7/4.

Full-time Score 2-2

Finals are usually cagey affairs and in plenty of instances in the recent memory extra time and penalties has been needed to decide a winner. There is every chance that this game could go down to the wire, and may not be decided in 90 minutes. Add to this that both sides are missing key defenders due to suspension and there could be goals in this one. Back a 2-2 draw at full time at odds of 16/1.

Drogba to score first

Didier Drogba is potentially playing his last game for the west London side, as his contract runs out in the summer and negotiations have not yet been fruitful. The Ivory Coast international is sure to lead the line for the Blues, and has scored important goals this term, especially in the FA Cup final against Liverpool and Champions League semi-final against Barcelona. Pick the African forward to score first at odds of 8/1.

Chelsea to be winning on the 75 minute mark

Bayern are a stubborn opponent, and at times this season have won fixtures or points by scoring a late goal. A classic example of this is Mario Gomez’s winner against Real Madrid in the semi-final first leg, and at home the German side will be motivated to play to the final whistle. Back Chelsea to be winning at the 75 minute mark however at odds of 3/1.

Chelsea to score first and last

The Blues may well need a couple of goals to win the trophy, or one goal and dedicated defending could be enough to claim glory. Chelsea too have the heart to come back from a deficit, and have scored the first goal in every knockout round of the tournament this year. If you think Chelsea will score first and last, odds of 5/1 look favourable.

So what are you waiting for? With the Champions League the last club game before Euro 2012, look to Ladbrokes for the latest and betting odds ahead of Saturday’s crunch fixture.

From Soccerlens.com – Football News

Top Five Bayern Munich v Chelsea Betting Tips football

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Euro 2012 Odds Suggest Spain team to beat at Euro 2012 – originally posted on Soccerlens.com

If the incredible drama of the Premier League has made you wonder how you are going to cope without football until August fear not football fans – Euro 2012 is just around the corner, and of course, there are plenty of Euro 2012 odds to study, as punters across Europe decide on which team to back, or who will pick up the golden boot.

A four week feast of top-class competition awaits, with the best players in the world, including Portuguese sensation Cristiano Ronaldo, amongst others, set to lock horns. Fans, players punters and television pundits all contribute to the excitement as bookmakers offer Euro 2012 free bets to pick up. It’s at tournaments like this that great players become legends and exciting youngsters have the platform to catapult themselves onto the world stage.

A couple of players to watch out for in the youth department are Mezut Ozil of Germany, who has progressed into a top player since joining Real Madrid last season and young Spanish midfielder Juan Mata.

He has been the shining light in a Chelsea side that has reached the Champions League Final and is a perfect fit for the style of play that the reigning champions Spain suffocate their rivals with. Look out for his partnership with Fernando Llorente – it could take the tournament by storm.

It is Spain that head the betting markets going into the tournament, as bookmakers across the board have Vicente Del Bosque’s as the side to beat. They won the last European Championships in 2008 before going on to rubber-stamp their authority at international level with a brilliant World Cup success in South Africa.

Their intricate, unique passing style make them a joy to watch at times and it will be immensely exciting to see whether they can continue their incredible form in international tournaments. The likes a of the vibrant German side, expertly managed by Jochim Low, and World Cup finalists Netherlands, will be looking to hijack the Spaniards campaign.

And sides such as two time European Champions France and the unpredictable England will also feel they have enough quality in their locker to land, what is shaping up to be, one of the most intriguing major international tournaments for a long time.

Sit back, relax and enjoy the ride – it’s going to be an excitable one.

From Soccerlens.com – Football News

Euro 2012 Odds Suggest Spain team to beat at Euro 2012 football

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The Premier League Betting Awards – Season 2011/2012 – originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Another Premier League season has come to an end. For serious punters, the football season can be a grind. An enjoyable grind but a grind nonetheless. A perpetual routine of updating spreadsheets, adjusting ratings, pricing up match after match coupled with the somewhat schizoid experience of one week begging for heaven that a particular club wins only to find yourself hurling equal hope that they lose the next.

So with the season now concluded, it’s time to take a look back and see which clubs were those to bet on and which clubs were those to bet against in season 2011/2012. Since the odds for a given football match represent the expected probable outcome, doing such a post-season analysis is a good way of assessing which clubs performed over and above expectations and which clubs sunk below over the full duration of the season.

Obviously an article such as this, a betting retrospective, would have been of far more value about nine months ago. Regardless, let’s do a little reverse-crystal-balling and hand out the Premier League Betting Awards for 2011/2012.

(Even Stakes? You’ll often see me refer to ‘even stakes’ throughout this article. Those unfamiliar with conventional betting terminology might find it a little puzzling, so here’s a quick explanation. To bet at ‘even stakes’ simply means to bet the same amount on each bet. You can imagine it as betting £1 on each bet. So for example, when I say that betting on Arsenal to win in each of their 38 matches in season 2011/2012 would have returned you a profit of 5 units at even stakes, it means that had you bet £1 on Arsenal to win in each of their 38 matches in 2011/2012, you would have made an overall profit of £5.)

Best Teams to Back to Win

The chart below shows the profitability of each club when backed to win across the course of the season at even stakes.

The Green : The clubs in green are those that recorded an even stakes profit at both home and away over the course of the season. In this camp there were just three clubs in 2011/2012 – Newcastle, Manchester United and Arsenal. As might be expected from their more or less unexpected form, Newcastle record the most consistent profits for punters this season. At home they were 6 units above break even while away from home they collected an even stakes profit of almost 10 units.

The Blue : The clubs in blue were clubs that recorded even stakes profits at home in 2011/2012 while recording a loss away from home. Seven clubs featured in this category – QPR, Manchester City, Tottenham, Sunderland, Fulham, Everton and Swansea. It was QPR that recorded the most erratic form of this group, collecting almost 11 units of profit at even stakes at home while delivering a loss of just over 3 units when visitors.

The Red : The clubs in red were clubs that recorded an overall even stakes profit in away matches this season while delivering an overall loss in home matches. Six clubs featured in this group – Wigan, West Brom, Norwich, Blackburn, Bolton and Liverpool. It was Wigan that displayed the most skewed performance of the season, giving punters a tremendous return of over 20 units profit at even stakes when on the road and giving a slight loss when at home in season 2011/2012.

The Black : The clubs in black were clubs that gave punters nightmares in 2011/2012, recording both a loss at home and on the road. Four clubs feature in this group – Aston Villa, Chelsea, Stoke and Wolverhampton. It was Wolves who were, as we might have expected, the worst team of the season to back to win, giving punters a loss of over 12 units at even stakes at home while not doing much better away from home, returning a loss of just over 11 units. Had you backed them to win at even stakes for the entire 38 match campaign, they would have sunk you over 23 units.

Best Teams to Bet Against

Let’s now look at which clubs were the best to back against. The chart below shows the profitability of each club had you bet on their opponents to win in each match at even stakes across the course of season 2011/2012.

The Green : The clubs in green were those that had you backed their opponents to win, would have given you a profit in both home and away matches over the course of this season. Three clubs feature in this group – Liverpool, QPR and Chelsea. It’s perhaps no surprise to see Liverpool far and away the best club to bet against this season. With their home and away form combined, had you bet on their opponents this season at even stakes, you would have walked away with a profit over their 38 matches of 24 units.

The Blue : The clubs in blue were those who while playing at home gave backers of their opponents a profit over the course of the season while delivering a loss to such sceptics away from home. Seven clubs featured in this group – Aston Villa, Everton, Manchester United, West Brom, Bolton, Blackburn and Wolverhampton. Aston Villa were perhaps the surprise of the group. Backing the visitors in Villa home matches this season would have seen you collect an even stakes profit of just over 3 units while betting against Villa away from home would have seen you in the hole over 10 units.

The Red : The clubs displayed in red were those that were great to bet against away from home in 2011/2012 but not so good to bet against when playing at home. Five clubs feature in this group – Manchester City, Fulham, Sunderland, Stoke and Arsenal. The clear outlier here was Manchester City as betting on their opponents to win in City home matches this season would have seen you go under on each occasion, suffering a 100% loss of 19 units. In City away matches however, betting on their opponents would have seen you clear a profit at even stakes of just over 3 units.

The Black : These clubs were those that you didn’t want to find yourself betting against in 2011/2012. Doing so would have seen you take a loss in both home and away matches over the duration of the season. Five clubs feature in this group – Newcastle, Norwich, Swansea, Wigan and Tottenham. It’s no surprise to see the likes of Newcastle, Norwich and Swansea in this group as they perpetually undermined doubters throughout season 2011/2012.

Best Teams to Bet the Draw

So which clubs were those that gave the best value for those who were backing the draw in 2011/2012? The chart below shows us.

The Green : These were the clubs that delivered an even stakes profit for the drawn at both home and away over the course of the season. Three clubs feature in this group – Aston Villa, Norwich and Sunderland. Aston Villa the clear oddity of the group as they collected almost 15 units of profit for the draw at even stakes in away matches this season, while gathering a profit of over 4 units at home.

The Blue : Five clubs gave punters draw value at home this season while delivering a loss on the road. They were – Liverpool, Stoke, Swansea, Wigan and Arsenal. Liverpool is the club that stands alone in the group as they drew at home on 9 occasions in 2011/2012 while just once away from home.

The Red : These clubs have draw value away from home in season 2011/2012 while giving draw backers a loss in home matches. Six clubs feature here – Wolverhampton, Everton, Chelsea, Fulham, Tottenham and Blackburn. Blackburn in particular struggled to find results at home this season, collecting just one draw on home turf while managing to find a drawn result on 6 occasions when visitors.

The Black : So which clubs were the worst to bet on for a draw in 2011/2012? Six clubs feature in this group – Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle, West Brom, Bolton and QPR. The two Manchester clubs weren’t the sort of clubs you wanted to be backing for a drawn result this season. Doing so over the course of the season for their combined 76 matches would have seen you leave with a loss over almost 34 units. Disastrous.

Best Team to Bet Over 2.5 goals

So finally, let’s take a look at the Over/Under 2.5 goal markets. The chart below shows which clubs were the best and worst to bet the Over in 2011/2012.

The Green – These were the clubs that exceeded goal scoring expectations both home and away this season, returning a profit for punters backing the Over 2.5 goals. Five clubs feature here – Bolton, Wolverhampton, Blackburn, Norwich and Newcastle. Both Bolton and Wolves were the clear best clubs to bet on the Over 2.5 goals in 2011/2012. Doing so across the course of their combined 76 match season would have seen you collect a profit of 23 units for your 76 units invested.

The Blue : These were the clubs that gave Over 2.5 goal punters great return at home while delivering a loss over the season when playing away. Four clubs feature in this group – Fulham, Manchester City, Chelsea and Sunderland. Fulham was quite perverse here as they gave Over punters an even stakes return of almost 7 units profit in home matches, while away from home thumping Over backers with a loss of over 9 units.

The Red : These were clubs that gave Over backs a profit across the course of the season when playing away while delivering a loss in home matches. Four clubs feature here – Wigan, Arsenal, QPR and West Brom. Wigan matches showed discriminating goal scoring tendencies in 2011/2012, giving Over backers a loss at even stakes of almost 6 units at home while away Wigan matches delivered Over punters a profit of almost 6 units.

The Black : These are clubs that gave Over punters great frustration in 2011/2012, delivering a loss at both home and away and of course, in process delivering Under supporters much delight. Seven clubs feature in this group – Everton, Swansea, Liverpool, Tottenham, Stoke, Aston Villa and Manchester United. Everton was the only outlier here, giving Over punters much grief in 2011/2012, delivering a combined loss at even stakes over their 38 matches of over 12 units.

Concluding thoughts

So there you have it, the Premier League Betting Awards for 2011/2012, the clubs that defied expectations and those that lived up to them. Which clubs will be next year’s big earners? I’ll tell you that the same time next year.

For more betting tips, visit the BettingExpert blog or follow Andrew on Twitter.

From Soccerlens.com – Football News

The Premier League Betting Awards – Season 2011/2012 football

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Today’s fluff shook Roy Keane’s hand

Pep Guardiola might have won the La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League. But has he won the Carling Cup? Has he been to an FA Cup final? Has he been involved in the unrelenting scrap to finish above Everton and nab that prestigious seventh spot? No, no and no. Sure, at Barcelona he could sit back and watch Xavi pull the strings in midfield with his one-touch passes, vision and close control. But there’s no challenge there. No, the real challenge would be to make Steven Gerrard cut out his Hollywood balls and develop a sense of positional discipline. The real challenge would be to make Luis Suárez likeable; to go to Westlife gigs with Andy Carroll; to false Stewart Downing’s nine. All that, and more, would be Pep’s at Liverpool.

Yes. Really. They actually think they can get him. Guardiola is top of Liverpool’s wish list to replace the dethroned King Kenneth. Top of the Mill’s wish list is a laser gun, Mila Kunis and the power to deny Grandma’s House a third series. Failing that, Liverpool will go for Wigan Athletic’s Roberto Martínez. He’s Spanish, so it’s basically the same. Or Swansea City’s Brendan Rodgers. He likes tiki-taka. Even better. Or Fabio Capello. Even worse.

With Villa Park offering up about as much entertainment as Kamp Krusty when it was run by Mr Black, Randy Lerner has decided to go for one of those hip young foreign managers those blasted kids on Twitter keep banging on about. Former Manchester United striker and current Molde FK manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is in talks to take the Aston Villa job. He’ll be given a transfer budget of 3p to make Villa fun again. Otherwise he’ll just have to make do with the comic stylings of Alan Hutton and Emile Heskey.

Manchester City want to sign Robin van Persie. But you knew that already. They also want to sign the Mill. You didn’t know that. Or that they’re going to fling £16m at Juventus in exchange for defender Giorgio Chiellini, Roberto Mancini having grown tired of Joleon Lescott’s troublesome predilection for slapstick. Athletic Bilbao’s Fernando Llorente is also tickling their fancy. In other old new news, City and Chelsea are also going to do battle for Napoli’s Ezequiel Lavezzi. With all this Ctrl C and Ctrl V action, today’s Mill could be brought to you by Joey Barton.

The Mill recently stumbled across a channel called Chelsea TV. Showing on it at the time was a programme called “The best of Kalou”, in honour of Chelsea striker Salomon Kalou. It lasted 30 minutes. That’s a full 30 minutes of hot Salomon Kalou action. How on earth did they manage to fill that up? Presumably it was just the same clip played on a loop. Anyway he’s a free agent this summer and plans to hotfoot it back to his old club Feyenoord. He might change his mind once he sees that programme though. Or maybe he already has.

Having got rid of Louis Saha, Everton have a vacancy for the busted flush role and want to sign charisma vacuum Michael Owen, recently released by Manchester United. He never did get that important goal he was banging on about, unless you count his destruction of Aldershot in the Carling Cup. Another striker on his way out of Old Trafford is The Berb, who could be heading off to Roma. United will console themselves by signing Fulham’s Clint Dempsey. Hmmm. While City make off with Eden Hazard. Love United, love Glazer.

Harry Redknapp has noticed that Benfica’s Oscar Cardozo is a t’riffic little player. As is Sevilla’s Bakary Koné, who is available on a free transfer and wanted by Tottenham Hotspur. Managerless Liverpool are after the CSKA Moscow striker Seydou Doumbia. Borussia Dortmund have decided to make things fairer in Germany and sign Nicklas Bendtner. Steven Fletcher will turn his back on an offer from Sunderland and stay at Wolves, while Leicester City have agreed a £1m fee with Fleetwood Town for Jamie Vardy. And the Mill now has to get ready for its date with Mila.

Football transfer rumours: Manchester City want Robin van Persie? football

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“Fans Without Borders” Spend €35bn Playing Away Each Season – originally posted on Soccerlens.com

To celebrate the 2012 UEFA Champions League final between Bayern Munich and CHelsea FC, UEFA sponsor Mastercard has conducted research into football fan behavior and unearthed some very interesting statistics on team following, spend and the increasing globalisation of football brands.

Football fans in Europe are collectively spending a staggering €35bn each season supporting clubs from foreign countries. Whether it’s funding their overseas match attendance and PayTV subscriptions or buying merchandise, Fans Without Borders notch up a combined spend per season that would fund the construction of 100 Fußball Arenas München (Allianz Arena to you and me), or buy 372 Cristiano Ronaldos or even 562 Fernando Torres’.

The results show one quarter of Europe’s football faithful (41 million) are classed as Fans Without Borders, with FC Barcelona the most popular foreign team (29%), followed by Real Madrid CF (10%) and Manchester United FC (8%).

How They Spend It

Fans Without Borders ring up €35bn worth of spending each season and here’s how:

• One fifth of the total spend, or €7.5bn, is on Pay TV.
• Merchandising (club-branded goods) earns 13% of our far-away follower’s money.
• Actual match attendance consumes 10% of Fans Without Borders’ spending, with an additional €2.5bn allocated to food, drink and other goods purchased when there.
• 6% of spend is given over to visiting a pub or sports-bar to take in a game on the big screen, and subscription to a club’s own TV channel takes 5%.
• One in four fans attends home matches abroad. Accommodation and travel relating to match attendance, or visits to their favourite stadia, cost Fans Without Borders €8.75bn each year – one quarter of the total spend.
• The impact on tourism is positive; one third of all Fans Without Borders have booked a trip for the sole purpose of watching a match or visiting a stadium. One fifth intentionally combine match attendance with a short city break, or integrate the game into a regular holiday.
• In total, cities hosting Fans Without Borders at live matches, benefit by around €4.5bn per season.

Categories of Fans

The report suggests that Fans Without Borders have been categorised into three groups:

Lead Photo Credit: Hassan Rai.

From Soccerlens.com – Football News

“Fans Without Borders” Spend €35bn Playing Away Each Season football

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Nike: “My Time Is Now” Ad – originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Nike Football “My Time is Now” campaign features a global roster of the world’s best players, and celebrates the hunger and impatience of young players ready to tear up the rule book to make their mark in football’s elite ranks.

The film will also be on TV on May 19th during the European Club Final features many of the elite players who will battle it out in Poland and Ukraine, and later this summer, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Andres Iniesta, Wesley Sneijder, Franck Ribery, Mario Götze, Mesut Özil, Yann M’Vila, Javier Hernandez and Danny Welbeck. Special guest appearances are made by Pep Guardiola, Lauren Blanc and basketball superstar LeBron James.

My Time Is Now

As the action unfolds, viewers can experience content in a unique interactive way through hidden tunnels designed to share athlete insights about their hunger to succeed and inspire young athletes to be better footballers.

We first join a France v Holland match that is suddenly interrupted by wave after wave of young players, who invade the pitch, ready to show they have the skills and hunger to take on the world’s best. Defined by their impatience and distinctive black and white uniform, they reflect the players Nike is looking for through “The Chance” which is a global talent search for young players to prove themselves on an elite stage and take their game to the next level.

As the young players take their chance they are joined by football’s new generation and iconic stars as the game heats up. Neymar dazzles with his blinding skills and faints, Gerard Pique and Andres Iniesta, complete in corporate suits from a stuffy boardroom meeting, join the play on pitch. Even Cristiano Ronaldo is ready to pull on the distinctive black and white uniform sported by the young players, but he’s out of luck as the last remaining jersey is a small size. He wears it anyway, ready to join the game.

Also unveiled in the campaign is the Nike Clash Collection of boots worn by elite players for the biggest moments on pitch and clash of rivalries and games this summer. Nike’s Mercurial Vapor VIII, CTR360 Maestri II, T90 Laser IV and Tiempo Legend IV boots will feature performance innovation and color clash design of traditional white with a bold second color signifying each boots style to stand out on pitch.

Nike has a history of great football advertisements, and on first viewing this is set to be another Nike classic.

Image 1 of 10

From Soccerlens.com – Football News

Nike: “My Time Is Now” Ad football

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Today’s tittle-tattle is still recovering from Monday’s exit

The following tale of rumours is true. And by true, the Mill means false (mostly). It’s all lies (mostly). But they’re entertaining lies (mostly). And in the end, isn’t that the real truth? The answer is no (mostly).

The Mill begins its story in a little town called Manchester where Yaya Touré has decided that it is time to saddle up at Manchester City and move on. When a man is tired of being drenched by rain and playing alongside superstars such as James Milner, Gareth Barry and, erm, Adam Johnson he is tired of life, and Touré is exhausted. He needs some “new motivation” says his Mr 15%, smiling hard and gleefully rubbing his hands together.

Thus, next season expect to see the Ivorian traipsing the pitches of either Spain, in the pristine white of José Mourinho’s Real Madrid, or Germany, in the roguish red of Bayern Munich. In more good news for City fans, Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli are staying at the club.

Roman Abramovich is not like the rest of us. When he wants to transfer money he doesn’t have to go through the exacerbating rigmarole of entering names, membership numbers, the last four digits on his card, before having to abandon the entire process because he can’t find the blasted PINsentry which results in him falling to his knees with great, soppy Amazonian tears streaming down from either glazz. Oh no. Roman, accompanied by a dapper gentleman perpetually raimented in a smart, spirited suit, replete with silver pocket watch and chain, is whisked to a special room under the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street where (when everyone isn’t looking) he pulls back the fourth book from the right in the middle shelf, slides down a pole, turns a key and enters into a different room where one of his flunkies does the work for him.

Roman will be sliding down that very pole this very day as he wants to send £7m big ones to Newcastle in exchange for Demba Ba. The Senegal striker will be a replacement for Chelsea’s Didier Drogba who is going to garner one final pay day on the Catalan coast playing for La Liga also-rans Barcelona. However, Barça fans shouldn’t get their hopes up just yet as Tito Vilanova’s side face stiff competition for Drogba’s signature from Milan.

The Mill used to think that the “dreams” of your garden-variety mega-star footballer revolved around bling-drenched jewellery, chrome-crammed cars and playing one of Georg Philipp Telemann’s 12 Fantasias for a solo flute alongside the local drum and bugle corps in a thickset community theatre in Great Bend, Kansas. But apparently that ain’t the case no more.

Sometime footballer, full-time Joe Jordan antagonist, Rino Gattuso has been talking to the papers north of Hadrian’s Wall and dropped the bomb that footballer’s “dreams” in fact revolve around returning to Ibrox. The 34-year-old hot-headed has-been is available on a free after being told to sling his hook by Milan but even that may prove too expensive for a club wearing the slim line straight jacket that the Gers are currently sporting.

The newly crowned manager of the year, Alan Pardew, has reassured Newcastle fans that they will still have a side to be “proud of” next season, if indeed they were proud of a team that won nothing this season but an early exit from the FA Cup and a place in the Europa League. Pardew, who has a smile that could host a game show, plans to do this by offloading chauffeurless Danny Simpson and replacing him with the Lille right-back Mathieu Debuchy. Sir Alex Ferguson is also hot under the collar for the tri-capped French international.

Now that the season is over, Stoke’s manager, Tony Pulis, will be off for a two-week holiday at Pontins with the kids. But when he gets back, his first task will be to take out a big, red felt-tip pen, a list of all the players at Stoke and cross off those he can no longer afford. Top of said list is Kenwyne Jones who will be swapping the cultural delights of Stoke for either Southampton or Dagestan’s finest, Anzhi Makhachkala. Having visited both, the Mill is not sure which is worse.

Football transfer rumours: Yaya Touré heading to Real Madrid? football

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England Euro 2012 Squad – originally posted on Soccerlens.com

England manager Roy Hodgson (he with a 0% England win record) announced the Euro 2012 23-man squad today. His selections (and explanations) were largely pragmatic and determined in some cases by injuries, although the team is strikingly similar to what the previous England manager, Fabio Capello, would have picked.

With news surrounding the England Euro 2012 squad leaked last night, there were no surprises in the selection, although the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Micah Richards, Michael Carrick and Peter Crouch would have been very dissappointed to be overlooked.

England squad for Euro 2012:

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Man City), Rob Green (West Ham), John Ruddy (Norwich)

Defenders: Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Phil Jones (Man United), John Terry (Chelsea), Joleon Lescott (Man City), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Leighton Baines (Everton)

Midfielders: Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Stewart Downing (Liverpool), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Gareth Barry (Man City), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Scott Parker (Tottenham), Ashley Young (Man United), James Milner (Man City)

Forwards: Wayne Rooney (Man United), Danny Welbeck (Man United), Andy Carroll (Liverpool), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham)

Standby players: Jack Butland (Birmingham City), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Johnson (Manchester City), Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea).

Roy Hodsgon on England’s Euro 2012 Preparations

Roy Hodgson summing up England’s preparations ahead of Euro 2012: “We have to be careful with what we do with the players in preparation. You can end up taking more out of them on the training field particularly after a long season without a winter break. I’d like to think we have enough players to deal with any injury situations. He (Wayne Rooney) got suspended and I’m not suggesting the suspension is wrong. But it’s not very nice going into the first two games without a player who is world class.”

England boss Roy Hodgson on John Terry, who was selected for Euro 2012 despite a July court case awaiting him regarding allegations that he racially abused QPR defender Anton Ferdinand, which Terry denies: “If we take the court case first of all, that’s obviously very unfortunate for him but we must emphasise he is an innocent man until such time as he is proven guilty.

“My decision with John Terry was based purely on footballing matters, I was given a free hand as to the squad I picked. I realised that when I selected him there would be people who would raise eyebrows but that’s the decision that I’ve made, that’s the decision I shall live with.”

Roy Hodgson on John Ruddy’s forthcoming marriage and the absence of Micah Richards from the squad: “He still is I hope (getting married). He offered to postpone the wedding but personally I think it’s dangerous to postpone a wedding. I was considering Kyle Walker before he dropped out. In Phil Jones I have a player who is capable of playing right-back and centre-back. It was going to be one of Phil Jones or Micah Richards and I chose Jones.”

England manager Roy Hodgson on Rio Ferdinand’s omission from the Euro 2012 squad: “It’s a football decision. He’s only played for England once in the last year. It was a hard phone call to make, but it’s based on football – nothing else.”

England manager Roy Hodgson on his Euro 2012 squad: “It’s not been an easy squad to put together but I’m pleased with the squad I’ve put together and I think it’s a well balanced squad.”

Steven Gerrard will captain England at Euro 2012. England manager Roy Hodgson: “I know him as a player and a person and how committed he is to the England cause. He will help me build the team unity and environment we need to thrive in a tournament.”

England Euro 2012 Squad Review

As expected, new boss Roy Hodgson omitted Rio Ferdinand, Micah Richards and Peter Crouch but found places in his 23 for former skipper John Terry, uncapped Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Liverpool’s Andy Carroll.

But it was the inclusion of Carroll’s Anfield team-mate Stewart Downing – seemingly at the expense of QPR striker Bobby Zamora – that was the real surprise of Hodgson’s first selection decision.

With Wayne Rooney suspended for the opening two games against France and Sweden, Hodgson did indeed name just seven defenders, with Glen Johnson the only out and out right-back although Phil Jones has played there more than his preferred central role for Manchester United.

Hodgson, though, named just four strikers, Rooney and Carroll joined by Jermain Defoe and Danny Welbeck.

That decision hints that Hodgson plans playing with just one up, in either a 4-2-3-1 formation or flanked by Theo Walcott and Ashley Young in a 4-3-3.

Even so, the selection of the 27-year-old Downing was unexpected given his horrible first season since his £20million move from Aston Villa.

Downing, who was a member of Sven Goran Eriksson’s 2006 World Cupo squad, did not contribute a single goal or assist to Liverpool’s Premier League campaign, despite 34 appearances.

Zamora, who played under Hodgson for Fulham, was thought likely to get the nod but the England medical team were concerned about the state of his fitness.

The 18-year-old Oxlade-Chamberlain is not the only uncapped member of the squad, with Norwich’s John Ruddy picked as the third goalkeeper behind Joe Hart and Robert Green.

Hodgson also named a standby-squad of five players: Birmingham’s under-21 keeper Jack Butland, Phil Jagielka of Everton, Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson, Adam Johnson of Manchester City and Chelsea’s Daniel Sturridge.

From Soccerlens.com – Football News

England Euro 2012 Squad football

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Dalglish Gone As Liverpool Count Heavy Losses – originally posted on Soccerlens.com

The Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has left Anfield after talks with the club’s American owners.

Dalglish had traveled to the US to meet with the Liverpool owners, where he presented his end-of-season review, outlined his plans for next season and answered questions from John Henry and Tom Werner about the missed targets this season.

The owners were left deeply unsatisfied with Liverpool’s eighth-place finish in the Premier League despite the Carling Cup win and FA Cup final appearances. Liverpool’s shocking home form and the inability of new (and expensive) signings to fire under Dalglish also added to the pressure.

With Liverpool’s owners signing significant sponsorship deals on the back of their takeover and investment into the playing squad, the minimum expectation was for Liverpool to return to the Champions League (which, while only offering 10 to 20 percent increase in revenues, has great knock-on effects in terms of other sponsorships).

Liverpool have already dismissed part of the club hierarchy they felt was responsible for Liverpool’s on field and off field troubles. Damien Comolli (director of football and responsible for negotiating transfers and contracts), Liverpool’s head of sports science, Dr Peter Brukner, and head of communications, Ian Cotton, have all been dismissed in recent months.

Liverpool end the season without a manager and with no transfer strategy in place, which will surely hinder the club’s progress as rival teams have already begun the process to sign targeted players. In addition there has been no decision on whether to rebuild Anfield or proceed with a new stadium on Stanley Park since FSG replaced Tom Hicks and George Gillett as owners in October 2010 – although the move also hinged on on-field success that Dalglish and Liverpool have failed to deliver.

Who will manage Liverpool next? Will Rafael Benitez make a return? Will Liverpool move for one of Rodgers, Lambert or Martinez (or even Di Matteo)? Whatever FSG decide, they need to make a decision quickly – Liverpool may not finish behind Everton and Newcastle again next season but even catching up to the top five would have represented a significant challenge for a stable management team.

Now, it seems unlikely.

From Soccerlens.com – Football News

Dalglish Gone As Liverpool Count Heavy Losses football

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