Managerial changes. News from the English Premier League.

Managerial changes. News from the English Premier League.

E' venerdì e Citysport fa un salto in Ingilterra, in Premier League, per carpire le ultime notizie provenienti dalla massima serie calcistica britannica. Questa settimana, dopo aver analizzato le principali trattative riguardanti i giocatori inglesi, è tempo di parlare di allenatori. Come sempre sarà Gareth, il nostro esperto, a illustrarci le ultime scoppiettanti novità.

It has been quite a busy week in English football. Both Chelsea and Portsmouth have sacked their respective managers with Chelsea already finding a replacement in Guus Hiddink, who will continue in his capacity as Russia’s manager whilst in charge at Chelsea.

Portsmouth boss Tony Adams was the bookies favourites with their sports betting odds to be axed first but Luis Felipe Scolari just about beat him to it by a few hours. There is no doubting Scolari’s ability as a coach but it just didn’t click with him at Stamford Bridge. He has since admitted he had ‘no relationship’ with the players off the pitch and rumours circulated that he had no respect in the dressing room. The tabloid newspapers have reported that Petr Cech, Michael Ballack and Didier Drogba told Roman Abramovich he should be sacked and it wouldn’t surprise me if that happened. Drogba has been frankly awful all season and he is Chelsea’s most influential player when he is on form. His lack of form is the biggest reason for Chelsea’s league position and there chances of winning the league are very slim.

Scolari’s replacement, for the time being at least, is Dutchman Guus Hiddink. Hiddink will continue as Russia’s coach and he has said he expects to stay just until the end of the season but he could stay if he achieves any kind of success at Chelsea. Candidates have already emerged as to who could take on the job full time in the summer but it looks like AC Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti is the favourite, with West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola another name that has been mentioned.

Tony Adams was sacked as Portsmouth manager after just 22 games in charge, he only won two of those games. To be honest I don’t think Adams was ever really management material and Portsmouth are in real danger of being relegated now. There have been a few names mentioned such as former Charlton boss Alan Curbishley but as yet they have not named Adams’ successor so you can still place a bet on who the next Pompey boss will be with your football betting.

Another big story is English football this week was David Beckham’s 108th England cap. He has now equalled the record set by Bobby Moore for the most caps for an outfield player. It is a massive achievement for Beckham and in general most of the people involved in English football seem to think it is a good thing that he is still involved in the national side. In the match itself though Spain really outclassed England and there was little Beckham or anyone else could have done to avoid that 2-0 defeat.

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Gareth on Citysport: Premier League and transfer window deals

Gareth on Citysport: Premier League and transfer window deals

Eccoci, con una settimana di ritardo, al consueto appuntamento con la Premier League, e i vari affari conclusi nel mercato britannico. Tutto ciò ci sarà raccontato, come è accaduto nel suo esordio su Citysport, dal nostro esperto Gareth Freeman. Allora, non dilunghiamoci troppo e lasciamo spazio a Gareth. It's up to you my friend!.

Hi readers, Hi Citysport. I try to explain what happened in this period. The transfer window proved to be a bit of an anti-climax in the Premier League this year. The window is a favourite with the football betting bookies in England as the soccer betting odds seem to change so rapidly throughout the window as new rumours surface. Manchester City were expected to make a big money move for Blackburn striker Santa Cruz but that failed to materialise. Tottenham Hotspur were this years biggest spenders and they brought back three of their ex-players back into the team.

Manchester City brought in Nigel de Jong, Craig Bellamy, Wayne Bridge and Shay Given in January. Bellamy, Bridge and Given are all proven Premier League players but they’re not the massive names expected now City are the world’s richest club. They did move for Kaka and when that fell through there was a feeling they might make a similarly sized move for Juventus keeper Gianluigi Buffon but that move never surfaced.

The surprise big spenders were Tottenham Hotspur. It is the first time since being in charge that Harry Redknapp has been able to dip into the transfer market and he really took his chance. Tottenham have spent around £50million in the transfer window, the whole Premier league spent just over £120million so Spurs take up a massive chunk of that. Among Spurs transfers are Robbie Keane, Jermaine Defoe and Pascal Chimbonda, all players that have played for Tottenham before but not under Harry Redknapp. Attacking midfielder Wilson Palacios have also joined from Wigan along with Carlo Cudicini from Chelsea.

Chelsea have been fairly quiet but they have added Riccardo Quaresma to their ranks. Quaresma had fallen out of favour at Inter Milan and he could be a decent buy for the Stamford Bridge side. Only time will tell if he can adapt to the Premier League but I see know reason why he would not.

Like Chelsea Arsenal conducted very little activity until the closing stages of the window when they began talks with Andrei Arshavin. The heavy snowfall in Britain forced the FA to extend the deadline if the ‘deal had been agreed in principal’ because players could not travel in the weather. The actual deal for Arshavin was not announced until a day after the deadline but it could be the best transfer of the month. Arshavin’s performances in the European Championship and the UEFA cup show his quality and he should fit into the Arsenal side well. Whether Arshavin will be enough to get Arsenal back into the Champions League places is another matter, he will add to their attack though and Arsenal have struggled for goals of late.

Manchester United added two Serbian youngsters to their squad in Zoran Tosic and Adem Ljajic, the latter of which has been immediately loaned back to Partizan Belgrade. These players are two for the future for United and though Tosic may play he is unlikely to feature heavily for Manchester United this season.

Elsewhere Newcastle signed Bolton captain Kevin Nolan in a £4million deal. England international Emile Heskey joined Aston Villa, while Wigan brought in Egyptian striker Mido to replace the departed Heskey. Hull City broke their transfer record by splashing out £5million on Fulham midfielder Jimmy Bullard. Everton eased their injury problems by signing Brazilian striker Jo on loan from Manchester City.

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Citysport & Gareth: Transfer rumblings from the Premier League.

Citysport & Gareth: Transfer rumblings from the Premier League.

                        Premier League, il logo ufficiale

Da questa settimana, una nuova partecipazione a Citysport. Il Venerdì sera ci ritroveremo per un appuntamento importante con le principali notizie provenienti dalla Premier League (mercato, gossip, scomesse ed eventi sportivi), la massima serie calcistica inglese. A fornircele è Gareth Freeman, un esperto conoscitore della materia. Un nuovo interessante spunto per tutti i lettori, ed in particolare quelli stranieri. A Te la parola Gareth:

Hi Richard. I'm happy to be here, in Citysport. I'm going to start with the news for ours readers. 
January transfer window is always one of the more interesting times in the football calendar and this year it has been no different. Premier League attracts players from all over the globe and there has been some shrewed business completed already, and some major stories to break.

Manchester City’s failed attempts to bring Kaka to the Premiership will probably remain the biggest talking point despite the fact the deal didn’t go through. I would have loved to have seen Kaka playing in England but in a way I’m it didn’t happen, it’s good too see a player with that kind of loyalty in the modern game. Man City shouldn’t be too worried though, they’ve added Nigel de Jong and Craig Bellamy to their ranks already and I expect them to be bringing in new faces right up until the deadline.

It is starting to look as if the well-travelled Emile Heskey will be leaving Wigan for Champions League contenders Aston Villa in a £4million deal. Heskey is perhaps a player who would not really work as well in another European league as he does in England but he is a very effective striker in the English game. He might not contribute as many goals as fans and pundits would hope for but he can hold the ball up better than anybody and allow the rest of the team to join the attack. Heskey could well prove to be the ‘missing piece’ in the Villa side and I can see the veteran forward working well with Villa youngsters Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor.

One of the most interesting transfers in this particular window could be Jimmy Bullard’s move from Fulham to Hull City. Bullard is a name most people outside the English game won’t recognise but the 30-year-old is a very talented midfielder. He has just broken into Fabio Capello’s England side and although that was mainly due to injuries and he didn’t play it still shows the recognition he has received. It would be a major coup for Hull boss Phil Brown if he can persuade Bullard to join and he is the type of player whose arrival could stop Hull’s slide down the table. The Tigers went on an unprecedented run at the start of the season but now their form has dipped and the relegation places are edging ever closer, Bullard’s arrival could play a massive part in ending that slump.

That’s all from me and my thoughts on transfers at the moment. I’ll probably do a big round up once the window has closed and point out the decent moves and the not so decent ones. I’m going to leave with a bit of football betting advice though. Next week there are ten midweek Premier League fixtures and a great chance to have a look at some football betting. On Tuesday I’d be tempted to go for both Manchester United and Aston Villa away from home. United face West Brom so it doesn’t really take a genius too pick that one in all honesty. Villa travel to Portsmouth, which is never an easy place to go but I expect Villa too continue their push for Champions League qualification and emerge victorious. On Wednesday I think Manchester City will beat Newcastle United in Manchester, City have fairly good home form despite their position in the league and they should be too good for Newcastle. West Ham should also beat Hull City at Upton Park, I watched West Ham against Fulham and if the Hammers can reproduce that kind of display they should easily beat Hull who are in the middle of a slump.

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