The Spoiler

Gianfranco Zola takes drastic steps to stop Nigel Quashie relegating West Ham


Relegation-baiting midfielder told to stay away

westhqua.jpg

Like heavy rocks in a bin-liner full of kittens, the dead weight of West Ham midfielder Nigel Quashie’s astounding mediocrity has dragged four of his five previous clubs into the relegation mire in the past 14 years.

With the Hammers currently languishing 19th in the Premier League, boss Gianfranco Zola seems to have finally caught wind of Quashie’s club-damning reputation and is now on a mission to keep the midfielder away from Upton Park at all costs.

According to reports in the News of the World, having already been packed off to Poland, Nigel has now been told to stay away from training completely, being offered the tasty incentive of seeing out his £20,000 p/w contract by sitting at home watching The Wright Stuff:

“The midfielder approached the Hammers last week about a pay-off, after manager Gianfranco Zola ignored his claims for a recall.

Instead Quashie, forced to travel to Poland last week with the reserves, was told he no longer has to report for training.

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Posted: November 9th, 2009 by Richard Gilzene

Portsmouth chase Benitez, Bullard’s return and Zola’s tempting offer


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Fergie’s Space-time continuum

The Guardian Gallery takes a look at Fergie’s space-time continuum

Fergie’s managerial greatness questioned
[DJ Mick]

Portsmouth are unpaid and lovin’ it
[Dirty Tackle]

Are the aforementioned Portsmouth chasing after Rafa Benitez?
[Caught Offside]

David Beckham’s beard inspires a lazy beard compilation that we wish we had thought of first
[Daily Mail]

Hull hope to benefit from the Bullard bounce
[Betfair Football]

Gianfranco Zola could be tempted to Napoli
[The Telegraph]

Darren Bent reveals concern for the ozone and a love of Katy Perry
[ChannelBee]

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Posted: October 7th, 2009 by Ryan Bailey

Manchester Utd target €28m Arjen Robben, West Ham to bring in Serie A striker


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Alessandro Diamanti

Alessandro Diamanti to West Ham
The Mirror believe Gianfranco Zola has flown to Italy to thrash out a deal for the Livorno striker. West Ham scouts - who are absolutely everywhere in the world at all times if the papers are to be believed - have been tracking Diamanti for a long time, and he is described as a ‘cross between Paolo Di Canio and Zola himself’.

The Spoiler
truth-o-meter:
The Hammers are desperate for cover in their relatively small squad, but we don’t quite understand how Zola has flown to Italy when his side have a Carling Cup punch up with Millwall tonight.

Arjen Robben to Manchester Utd
The Dutchman, who nearly signed for Utd in 2004, is a €28m target for Sir Alex, according to Marca.

The Spoiler truth-o-meter: Robben may find it

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Posted: August 25th, 2009 by Ryan Bailey

Liverpool target £10m La Liga defender, Sol Campbell looks to the Championship


The latest transfer gossip, rumours and damned lies

Fernando Amorebieta

Fernando Amorebieta to Liverpool
Rafa’s men are very popular in the Basque region, but this might change if Bilbao’s prized defender heads to England. Marca believe he would cost €12m (£10m).

The Spoiler truth-o-meter: That’s a lot of money for a 24-year-old who has yet to represent his country at the top level. Perhaps Hull’s Michael Turner would be a better option.

Sol Campbell to Newcastle

At the end of his Portsmouth contract, Big Sol said he would like to go somewhere with some stability, so naturally, he has been linked with one of the few clubs that are less stable than his current one.

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Posted: August 17th, 2009 by Ryan Bailey

Karim Benzema is up for grabs, Chelsea plan to sell Bosingwa


The latest transfer gossip, rumours and damned lies…

Lyon striker Karim Benzema

Karim Benzema to Manchester United
Lyon chairman Jean-Michel Aulas has conceded that while they don’t plan to sell Benzema this summer, they may receive an offer that is too good to turn down. Aulas explained his predicament with this rather wonderful analogy: “There is a tsunami called Real Madrid which provokes reactions at Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United.”

The Spoiler truth-o-meter: Sir Alex Ferguson has spoken of his admiration for the French striker before - comparing him to Zinedine Zidane - but he may delay a move until Carlos Tevez makes a decision on his future.

Jose Bosingwa to Bayern Munich
It looks like Chelsea are getting rid of one right-back who is good going forward but occasionally vulnerable defensively for another. Portsmouth have

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Posted: June 19th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn

Maicon, Hangeland and Ashton linked with clubs in the top five


The latest transfer gossip, rumours and damned lies…

Maicon

Maicon to Chelsea
The tabloids have grown tired of linking every current AC Milan player - minus David Beckham - with a move to Chelsea should Carlo Ancelotti takes over. Instead, they have started identifying players at other Italian clubs, with 27-year-old Inter Milan’s right-back Maicon reportedly a £22 million target.

The Spoiler truth-o-meter: Maicon is one of the best right-backs in the world but with the Blues’ ageing squad in need of an overhaul, they can’t really afford to spend that much on a position where they have three options under the age of 26 (Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Mancienne).

Brede Hangeland to Arsenal
Arsene Wenger has identified Hangeland as the standout performer in the Fulham defence that have conceded less goals than Arsenal this season and is

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Posted: May 22nd, 2009 by Michael Lintorn

The Spoiler’s top ten Premiership games of 2008/09


The games that have made this season worth watching

Now that Manchester Utd have pretty much put the final nail in the coffin of the 2008/09 Premier League title race, it’s high time that we start peddling out some end of season lists. Accordingly, here is a top ten of the campaign’s most entertaining matches, which somehow includes a game involving West Brom…

#10: West Brom 3 - 2 West Ham, 13th September

West Brom 3 - 2 West Ham

Gianfranco Zola must have been wondering what he’d signed himself up for, watching his first West Ham game from the stands before taking over as manager. A game with a neutral-baiting mix of awful defending and open attacking play, both teams managed to lose their lead twice before an 83rd minute West Brom counter attack saw Chris Brunt sprint free of the Hammers’ defence and clinically place one inside the far post.

#9: Fulham 0 - 0 Sunderland, 18th October

Fulham 0 - 0 Sunderland

Sunderland’s early visit to Craven Cottage should go down as the best goalless game of the season. Fulham’s goalmouth literally took a battering. Kieron Richardson, taking time off from his usual job of lying on a physio’s table somewhere, had his 25-yard free-kick bounce between the posts twice (before having another free-kick goal disallowed) and Djibril Cisse’s rasping long ranger was saved by the crossbar. However, the Cottagers created their own opportunities in the back-and-forth battle, with Zoltan Gera having a shot cleared off the line from Pascal Chimbonda before spurning his team’s best chance with a Carragher-esque air kick.

#8: Fulham 2 - 0 Manchester Utd, 21st March

Fulham 2 - 0 Manchester Utd

It’s testament to how crap United were

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Posted: May 15th, 2009 by Ryan Bailey

Vote: Who should Chelsea appoint as their next manager?


Carlo Ancelotti is now odds-on to take charge in the summer

Following David Beckham’s revelation that Carlo Ancelotti is learning English, the AC Milan boss has been cut to just 4/6 with Sky Bet to be appointed Chelsea’s next permanent manager.

However, while acknowledging that winning the Champions League twice is an impressive achievement, The Spoiler doesn’t believe that the Italian has had enough success domestically to justify being Chelsea’s first choice.

But what do you think? Let us know who the Blues should go for with a vote and comment below:

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Posted: April 23rd, 2009 by Michael Lintorn