Chelsea won’t be able to register any new players in the next two transfer windows as UEFA have found them guilty of inducing French teenager Gael Kakuta to breach his contract with Lens.
The 18-year-old winger joined Chelsea in 2007, and was the youth team top scorer and academy player of the year in 2007/08. He has been held “jointly and severally liable” in this case.
The French club had lodged a claim with FIFA seeking compensation for breach of contract from the player and requesting also sporting sanctions to be imposed on the player and the English club for breach of contract and inducement to breach of contract respectively.
The DRC found that the player had indeed breached a contract signed with the French club. Equally, the DRC deemed it to be established that the English club induced the player to such a breach.
Current system comes under criticism from Prem gaffers
At 11.55pm on Monday night, Harry Redknapp should be tucked up in bed dreaming of money in his opulent Dorset mansion. Instead, he will undoubtedly be manning the phones, and furiously making sure a last-minute transfer deadline deal goes through. However, ‘Arry may be afforded a little more shut-eye in the future, as a meeting is being held next week to discuss the possibility of scrapping the current window system. The Daily Mail says:
Premier League clubs are to discuss closing the January transfer window for good - a dramatic move that could put England’s elite on a collision course with UEFA and FIFA.
The ill-feeling stirred up during the current window, with managers publicly condemning rival clubs for unsettling their players, has strengthened the belief that allowing transfers all year round would be a better option.
Plenty of managers have expressed their disgust with the current system - Barry Fry says it’s in illegal restriction on trade, Steve Bruce says it only benefits the big clubs who can afford to adopt a fire sale mentality and pay over-inflated prices, and Gareth Southgate refers to it as a nonsensical distraction to the season.
While plenty of managers have complained about the current system, scrapping the window all together wouldn’t keep them happy. Imagine how incensed Steve Bruce would feel if a big four club took away his star player with two or three matches remaining in a season.
So, should the window system remain, should it be scrapped all together, or should it return to the old system, whereby players could be exchanged all through the season with the exception of the last few weeks? Let us know your thoughts below…
The Potters dedicate their entire website to their new winger
Looking at the homepage to Stoke’s official site you’d be forgiven for thinking they had signed Leo Messi rather than Matthew Etherington. The Potters have only just confirmed the capture of the West Ham winger for an undisclosed fee but they already have six separate stories dedicated to their “star” signing.
Unsurprisingly, Etherington’s departure isn’t the top story on West Ham’s website, with the rather more pressing concern of the thousandth inquiry into Carlos Tevez’ season in East London taking precedence.
The FA and Premier League have announced that they will investigate the most recent tribunal’s verdict that West Ham misled the Premier League to get permission to play Tevez in the final three matches of the season. It’s been almost four months since the tribunal findings became public knowledge so you have to question why it has taken them so long to come to this decision to investigate and whether it is fair to announce it in the middle of the transfer window, when it is bound to unsettle some of West Ham’s stars.
Could it be that the FA and Premier League are desperate to finally clarify the third-party ownership rules in case a certain Argentine striker becomes available in the summer? Tell us what you think with a comment below.
The least shocking of this morning’s revelations is that “friends” of Sam Allardyce have confirmed that he is interested in the Sunderland job. Considering these “friends” have already told the press that he would be interested in managing Blackburn, Portsmouth and his local corner shop (probably), it should now go without saying that will take any job he can get.
Gallas: I feel humiliated
That’s the headline in today’s Sun for a story where a close relative of William Gallas (his aunt’s stepson’s second cousin?) revealed that he has no friends at Arsenal, feels humiliated and hopes to join Milan in January.
The Spoiler Truth-o-meter: Arsenal can’t afford to lose their best centre-back unless there’s a replacement lined up
If The Spoiler were inclined to campaign for a worthy cause, we would fight tooth and nail to stop The Sun taking the words of footballers hideously out of context in their headlines.
The back page of today’s edition runs with “I know how to get out of here warns Drogba,” suggesting the striker is stuck in the middle of an episode of Prison Break. The actual quote reads “It’s been really tough for me. But I’ve been through difficult moments before so I know how to get myself out of these.” Clearly, relieving one’s self from a difficult situation and proposing an escape are two different things.
Despite this, the Ivory Coast man has hinted at leaving approximately seven thousand times during his stay at Chelsea, and has not been completely subtle about a possible move to Inter Milan.
So, should Chelsea get some money for him in the transfer window and bring in someone who actually wants to play for the club, or is it worth keeping him on and potentially letting him go for free next year?
Votes and comments below, please…
Spoiler bonus: Check out our top four Drogba replacements here
The January transfer window offers the chance for Arsene to fix his flawed squad. Here’s some free advice from The Spoiler
The next transfer window will be crucial for the short-term future of Arsenal. Arsene Wenger may have assembled a squad boasting some of the hottest young talent in Europe, but it’s clear that his team lacks a few crucial ingredients: experience, physical toughness and leadership, to name a few.
Wenger’s boys also rank as one of the least charming groups of players ever to grace the Premier League: Van Persie, Bendtner, Eboue, Adebayor, Gallas… it’s very difficult to love players like these, even for hardcore Gooners.
With this in mind, The Spoiler has drawn up a list of five players who would transform Arsenal into genuine title contenders, plus five players he desperately needs to get rid of…
Robinho wants to make it quite clear that he didn’t move to Manchester City for the money, which is why he took a helicopter to training this week
[The Offside]
Abbey Clancy looks rather good in her latest photoshoot
[FHM]
Video: Skateboarding on the Autobahn, anyone?
[Grid Crasher]
Has Michael Ballack kissed and made up with Oliver Bierhoff?
[Bild]
US Open tennis: Andy Murray must end the curse of debuting semi-finalists
[chickendinner]
Chaos at Portsmouth as Harry Redknapp forgets to close the transfer window
[The Gaffer]
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