Transfer deadline day rages on at a relatively furious pace…
Nicky Shorey to Portsmouth Sky Sports News are reporting that the Aston Villa left-back is on his way to Fratton Park for a medical. Shorey will avoid the prospect of Championship football by limiting his move to the South Coast to a season-long loan deal.
The Carlo Cudicini and David James switch-a-roo
Rumours that Jamo will jump ship to join ‘Arry at the Lane have been circulating for a few weeks, but The Daily Mail suggest Portsmouth have rejected a swap deal with Carlo Cudicini. Despite the rebuff, The Times say Mr Redknapp and Mr Levy are currently at Loggerheads over whether they should bring in the 39-year-old shot stopper.
Gennaro Gattuso to Arsenal
Ian Wright’s latest outpouring of wisdom in The Sun sees him arguing the merits of the AC Milan nutter. The pundit says Arsenal need a surrogate Patrick Vieira/ Tony Adams/ big mean person person to stop them getting bullied in the manner of Saturday’s defeat at Old Trafford. This may be true, but Gattuso ain’t going nowhere.
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Chelsea’s recent freebies haven’t had much success at the Bridge
Chelsea’s decision to bring in Ross Turnbull on a free transfer makes sense: they get to fill the squad place vacated last January by Carlo Cudicini on the cheap and if a year or two down the line they want to upgrade, he’s young enough for them to make a profit on him.
But is the former Middlesbrough keeper going to stay the duration of his four-year contract and prove a shrewd acquisition or will he be swiftly written of as a failure? Chelsea’s recent record at signing out-of-contract players suggest that the latter is more likely.
The last four players that the Blues have picked up for nothing - Steve Sidwell, Tal Ben Haim, Claudio Pizarro and Mineiro - started a combined 21 league
When Carlo Cudicini’s highly convincing impersonation of Heurelho Gomes helped cancel out Tottenham’s opening goal at the KC stadium, it looked as if the visitors would fall apart. Like they usually do. Fortunately for ‘Arry, Jonathan Woodgate leapt approximately 26 feet into the air to put away the winning header, putting Spurs a full five points clear of the drop.
After being knocked back by Kaka and his ilk, it’s becoming clear that Manchester City will have to build their team of superstars from those who hold a big day in greater regard than loyalty and dignity.
Perhaps Robinho, Craig Bellamy and co should look at the example set by Athletic Bilbao’s Joseba Exteberría. The Basque legend - who has notched up over 400 appearances for Athletic Club since 1995 - recently signed a one-year extension to his contract that will see him play for free.
The Spaniard won’t go to sleep tonight on a huge pile of money surrounded by beautiful women (isn’t that what most Premier League stars do?), but he will have earned a helluva lot more respect from the European football community.
With this in mind, take a look at The Spoiler’s Mercenary XI. And before all the City fans start getting their sky blue knickers in a twist, no players from the blue side of Manchester made the cut…
Carlo Cudicini
Cudicini might frown at his inclusion in a list containing such a disloyal and greedy bunch, but we struggled to find a true mercenary to stick between the sticks. Cudicini gets the honour, however, as a player rivaling former Chelsea colleague Winston Bogarde for lack of ambition. Before the arrival of Petr Cech in 2004, Cudicini was Chelsea’s first choice shot stopper and one of the best keepers in the league (acknowledged by his ITV Premiership Goalkeeper of the season award for 2003/04). Since Cech has displaced him as first choice and now the Italian only manages a handful of appearances a season. Chelsea’s number two keeper should have more ambition than collecting a wage for bench warming - a man of his talents would make a decent number one at most European clubs.
Pascal Chimbonda
Chimbonda put in a transfer request at Wigan Athletic straight after the final whistle of their last game of the 2005/06 season, earning him a move – and a pay rise - with Spurs. Last January the Sun reported that he told pals, “Kevin Keegan has approached me and they’ve offered me more money. I am definitely leaving Spurs. It’s all about the money. I don’t care about the final, I don’t care about the cup.” He got his wish joining Sunderland in the summer, and he is now engineering a move away from the Black Cats, with Lyon a touted destination.
Winston Bogarde
Following spells at Barcelona and AC Milan, Winston Bogarde joined Chelsea in 2000. After Gianluca Vialli was replaced, however, he found himself surplus to requirements. Chelsea were keen to offload him but no one would match his £40,000 wages and Bogarde was reluctant to take a pay cut. “Why should I throw fifteen million euros away when it is already mine? At the moment I signed it was in fact my money, my contract,” he protested. He sat it out in the reserves for four years and continued to train with either the youth or reserve teams, safe in the knowledge he would still receive his pocket money. When his contract expired, with 11 appearances in four years and a reputation as the greediest and least ambitious man in football, he retired after a lack of interest in his services. Bogarde clearly has no qualms about his time in West London: “I may be one of the worst buys in the history of the Premiership, but I don’t care”.
A cursory glance at the headlines this morning suggests Garry Cook [pictured above with something very overpriced] and Manchester City have learned nothing from the embarrassing Kaka saga. Several papersclaim the Eastlands side have already failed to land David Villa, David Silva and Gianluigi Buffon, while bids are reportedly being lined up for Shay Given (for whom Newcastle want £!4m!), Carlo Cudicini and Thierry Henry. One of the more feasible deals, however, is a reported swap with Chelsea…
Didier Drogba and Robinho switch-a-roo The Star, The Sun and The Mirror have all noticed that Didier Drogba wants to leave Chelsea, and that Robinho is a little unsettled, so naturally they have put two and two together. Big Phil only has Wayne Bridge’s transfer fee to play with, so will have to offer Le Drog, Alex, Salomon Kalou or Florent Malouda if they want Robinho to come to the club he should have joined several months ago. The Spoiler truth-o-meter: With the amount of players and offers being touted at Manchester City, it’s anyone’s guess as to whether this is real or a fabrication. However, one thing does stand in the way - FIFA rules stipulate that a player must have “just sporting reason” to move to a third club within twelve months. Is “I regret chasing the money and joining an international laughing stock” a “just sporting reason”?
Andrei Arshavin to Arsenal
The quick and efficient transfer of the Zenit star is nearly over, say Sky Sports. Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has said the club will offer absolutely no more than £15m, and insists they maintain a “plenty more fish in the sea” attitude. Hence,
The latest transfer rumours, gossip and damned lies…
If Harry Redknapp gets his way, the Materazzi/ Mourinho ballroom dancing team will be a thing of the past…
Marco Materazzi to Tottenham
If someone has a pulse and can kick a football, chances are ‘Arry has put a bid on them. The latest to receive the honour is Inter Milan centre-back Materazzi, who has eighteen months left on his contract at the San Siro.
The Spoiler truth-o-meter: Spurs are also linked with Nicolas Burdisso, Patrick Vieira and Mario Balotelli - wouldn’t it just be easier for Mr Redknapp to manage Internazionale?
Carlo Cudicini to Tottenham The Daily Mail claim the under-used 35-year-old Chelsea keeper has moved across London to White Hart Lane for £1m.
The Spoiler truth-o-meter: Spurs could really do with a good keeper, although this transfer “exclusive” isn’t reported anywhere except the Mail. And, er, here.
Robinho not going to Chelsea
Despite being in regular contact with Big Phil since his move to England, disgruntled City star Robinho will not be moving to the Bridge any time soon. According to The Guardian, Chelsea only
Hot on the heels of last week’s revelations that Sven-Goran Eriksson was eager to call-up Carlo Cudicini during his reign as England manager, attention has turned to the fact that Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia is eligible for a British passport in July. The debate is now about whether Fabio Capello should call-up the Spaniard if he becomes a British citizen.
Personally, I have never rated Almunia particularly highly and considering he will be 32 years old before he is eligible for a cap, calling him up seems a bit pointless. England goalkeepering coach Ray Clemence is leading the anti-Almunia camp. He said:
“I am sure Almunia would be happy to play for England, but he can’t get in the Spain squad, can he?
“I am for English goalkeepers in the English team - as simple as that. People have been saying for a number of years the English goalkeeping situation is in crisis. But now we have got six or seven, of which only one is over 30. So we are heading in the right direction.
“We have got some promising young lads. Joe Hart is playing exceptionally well for Manchester City week in, week out and Scott Carson is coming back to the form we know he can produce.”
Capello would have to steamroller this through over some considerable opposition on grounds of national pride. Portugal has Deco, Spain has Marcos Senna, and even Poland has Roger Guerreiro. Should we have a more flexible approach to nationality? Have a little vote and see what you think.
Top priority:
Invest in the defence - You can pretty much guarantee this is at the top of Newcastle’s list every summer, but whoever they bring in seems to flop. In Michael Owen, Obafemi Martins and Mark Viduka they have a well-balanced strike trio, although they could use someone new to provide backup alongside Andy Carroll. The midfield may require one or two new faces should Emre, Barton or Milner leave.
Fitting the bill: Anton Ferdinand, Mikael Silvestre (if Barton leaves), Steve Finnan
Sunderland
Top priority:
A new transfer strategy - Sunderland’s last two Premier League seasons saw them relegated with record low points totals (now broken by Derby) and it took over £40 million of spending to finish in 15th this time round. Last season Sunderland spoke loudly about their big budget, which led to them paying over the odds for average players like Michael Chopra, Kieran Richardson and Andy Reid. A bit more tact this summer may see them continue to strength but without being taken to the cleaners, though rumours of a £5 million bid for James Beattie don’t offer much hope.
Fitting the bill: Michael Dawson, Stephen Hunt, Pedro Mendes, Carlton Cole
Middlesbrough
Top priority:
A replacement for Mark Schwarzer - Gareth Southgate’s side aren’t expected to spend as heavily as their neighbours, but they did surprise everyone by bringing in Afonso Alves in January, so they may catch others off guard again. Southgate has admitted he isn’t looking to change things too drastically due to his faith in the squad.
Fitting the bill: Carlo Cudicini, Scott Carson, Tomasz Kuszczak
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