ChippKG

Today is a great loss to football. Gary was a fantastic player and manager and ended up being a true Icon to Wales. Gary started his career in a Leeds united shirt where over his 248 caps he achieved 40 goals and was really considered a legend after 8 glorious years at Leeds. M aking his debut when he was aged 19. He went on to play a key role as they won the   Football League First Division   championship title in 1992 as part of a midfield that also comprised   Gordon Strachan ,  Gary McAllister  and  David Batty .    Gary then moved to Everton where he spent 2 years and scored 15 goals in 54 appearances.   He was installed as captain of the club by then manager  Howard Kendall  prior to the  1997–98 FA Premier League  season. Everton was his boyhood club. After leaving in controversial circumstances at Everton Gary signed for Newcastle   Speed featured in the club's...

After a fascinating few days of International I've decided to focus on 4 of our teams Republic Of Ireland, Wales, Scotland and of course England (excluding Northern Ireland as they did not play) Over the weekend some of you may have seen a strong national display of a team that is beginning the produce a few high quality youngsters. A team that wore their badge with pride at the weekend. I am of course talking about Republic Of Ireland who reached the Euros on Tuesday with a 1-1 draw against Estonia in what can be described in  a bit of a party atmosphere. But how will Ireland fair at Euro2012 against great teams such as Spain, Holland, Germany and England? With an average age of 28.4 for some of Ireland's squad this will be the last European Championship they will be involved in and are very capable of a few upsets at these Championships. No doubt that Ireland's main attacking threat will be coming from the wings with Damien Duff, Aiden McGeady, Shamus Coleman and Steph...

I think by now we all know the race to sign Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (otherwise known as Neymar) the talented teenager from Brazil is on. However, is this kid really worth 57m which Real Madrid have offered according to the BBC? There is no doubt that Neymar is one of the most talented teenagers on the planet. His incredible scoring record of 32 goals in 82 games for Santos at the age of 19 is something to really be admired. This summer there have be a host of clubs chasing Neymar including Real Madrid,Chelsea,Man City,Barcelona and others. Credit where it is due to his home club Santos though who are determined to keep the 19 year old and create a bigger club. But £57m is just too much for a club like Santos to turn down surely? Firstly can Neymar compete with the physicality of the Premier League? The Premier League is certainly one of the most strongest leagues around and time on the ball is really limited especially for Strikers so would Neymar have what it takes? Althou...

INS: Danny Graham (Watford, £3.5m), Wayne Routledge (Newcastle, £2m), Michel Vorm (Utrecht, £2m), Leroy Lita (Middlesbrough, £1.75m), Jose Moreira (Benfica, free), Gerhard Tremmel (Red Bull Salzburg, free), Federico Bessone, (Leeds, undisc), LOAN: Rafik Halliche (Fulham). OUTS: Shaun MacDonald (Bournemouth, £80,000), Dorus de Vries (Wolves, free), Darren Pratley (Bolton, free), Albert Serran (AEK Larnaca, free). Expected Starting XI:                                   Vorm Monk           Taylor              Williams           Rangel                  ...

INS: Roger Johnson (Birmingham, £7m), Jamie O'Hara (Tottenham, £4.4m), Dorus De Vries (Swansea, free). OUTS: Greg Halford (Portsmouth, undisclosed), David Jones (Wigan, free), Geoffrey Mujangi Bia (Standard Liege, free), Marcus Hahnemann (released), David Jones (released). LOANS: Steven Mouyokolo (Sochaux), Danny Batth (Sheff Wed), Nathaniel Mendez-Laing (Sheff Utd), David Davis (Inverness), Andy Keogh (Leeds). Expected Starting XI:                                   Hennessey Ward               Johnson             Stearman           Elokobi               ...

INS: Ali Al Habsi (Bolton, £4m), David Jones (Wolves, free), Albert Crusat (Almeria, undisclosed), Shaun Maloney (Celtic, £1m). LOAN: Patrick van Aanholt (Chelsea). OUTS: Charles N'Zogbia (Aston Villa, £9.5m), Antonio Amaya (Real Betis, undisclosed), Daniel de Ridder (Grasshopper, free), Steven Caldwell (Birmingham). LOAN: Mauro Boselli (Estudiantes). Expected Starting XI:                                    Al Habsi Van Aanholt           Caldwell           Alcaraz          Figueroa                              ...

INS: Connor Wickham (Ipswich £8.1m), Craig Gardner (Birmingham, £8m), John O'Shea (Man Utd, £4m), Ahmed Elmohamady (ENPPL, £3m), Ji Dong-won (Chunnam Dragons, £2m), Wes Brown (Man Utd, £2m), James McLean (Derry, £350,000), Keiren Westwood (Coventry, free), Sebastian Larsson (Birmingham, free), David Vaughan (Blackpool, free). LOANS: Nicklas Bendtner (Arsenal). OUTS: Jordan Henderson (Liverpool, £20m), Steed Malbranque (St Etienne, undisclosed), Nathan Luscombe (Hartlepool, free), Michael Kay (Tranmere, free). LOANS: George McCartney (West Ham), Cristian Riveros (Kayserispor), Anton Ferdinand (QPR). Expected Starting XI:                                      Gordon O Shea              Brown    ...

INS: Wilson Palacios (Tottenham, £8m), Peter Crouch (Tottenham, £10m), Cameron Jerome (Birmingham, £4m), Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham, free), Matthew Upson (West Ham, free). OUTS: Carl Dickinson (Watford, undisclosed), Eidur Gudjohnsen (AEK Athens, free), Abdoulaye Faye (West Ham, free), Ibrahima Sonko (Ipswich, free). LOAN: Andrew Davies (Crystal Palace). Expected Starting XI:                                           Begovic Wilkinson          Shawcross           Woodgate         Huth                         ...

INS: Shaun Wright-Phillips (Man City, £6.5m) Armand Traore (Arsenal, £3.3m) DJ Campbell (Blackpool, £1.2m), Danny Gabbidon (West Ham, free), Jay Bothroyd (Cardiff, free), Kieron Dyer (West Ham, free), Brian Murphy (Ipswich, free), Bruno Perone (Tombense, free), Joey Barton (Newcastle, free), Anton Ferdinand (Sunderland). OUTS: Mikele Leigertwood (Reading, undisclosed), Georgias Tofas (Anagennisi, free), Josh Parker (Oldham, free), Joe Oastler (Torquay, free), Lee Brown (Bristol Rovers, free), Kaspars Gorkss (Reading, undisclosed). LOANS: Peter Ramage (Crystal Palace), Angelo Balanta (MK Dons). Expected starting XI:                                     Kenny Young            Gabbidon       ...

INS: Steve Morison (Millwall, £2.8m) James Vaughan (Everton, £2.5m),  Anthony Pilkington (Huddersfield, £2.5m),  Daniel Ayala (Liverpool, undisclosed),  Elliott Bennett (Brighton, £1.8m),  Bradley Johnson (Leeds, free). LOANS: Ritchie de Laet (Man Utd), Kyle Naughton (Tottenham). OUTS: Cody McDonald (Coventry, undisclosed),  Owain Tudor Jones (Inverness, undisclosed),  Luke Daley (Plymouth, free),  Steven Smith (Plymouth, free),  Matt Gill (Bristol Rovers, free),  Sam Habergham (Tamworth, free),  Stephen Hughes (released).  LOANS: Tom Adeyemi (Oldham). Expected Starting XI:                               Ruddy Naughton          Barnett        Martin          Tierny                           Fox  ...

INS: Davide Santon (Inter Milan, £5m) Yohan Cabaye (Lille, £4m) Gabriel Obertan (Man Utd, £3m) Mehdi Abeid (Lens, free) Sylvain Marveaux (Rennes, free) Demba Ba (West Ham, free) OUTS: Jose Enrique (Liverpool, £6m) Kevin Nolan (West Ham, £4.5m) Wayne Routledge (Swansea, £2m) Joey Barton (QPR, free) Ben Tozer (Northampton, free) LOANS: Kazenga Lua Lua (Brighton), Fraser Forster (Celtic). Expected Starting XI                                     Krul Simpson            Taylor           Coloccini         R.Taylor                        ...

INS: David De Gea (Atletico Madrid, £17.8m) Phil Jones (Blackburn, £16.5m) Ashley Young (Aston Villa, £16m). OUTS: Gabriel Obertan (Newcastle, £3.25m) John O'Shea (Sunderland, £4m) Wes Brown (Sunderland, £2m) Owen Hargreaves (released) Joe Dudgeon (Hull, £80,000) Corry Evans (Hull, £500,000). LOANS: Bebe (Besiktas), Ritchie de Laet (Norwich). Expected Starting XI                                 De Gea Fabio          Ferdinand           Vidic            Evra                     Fletcher              Andersen Na...

INS: Sergio Aguero (Atletico, £35m) Samir Nasri (Arsenal, £24m) Gael Clichy (Arsenal, Man City, £7m) Stefan Savic (Partizan Belgrade, £6m)  Costel Pantimilimon (Poli Timisoara, £6m) Owen Hargreaves (free agent). OUTS: Craig Bellamy (Liverpool, undisclosed) Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich, £10m) Shay Given (Aston Villa, £3.5m) Felipe Caicedo (Levante, £880,000) Jo (Internaticional, undisclosed) Shaleum Logan (Brentford, free). LOANS: Michael Johnson (Leicester), Emmanuel Adebayor (Tottenham), Dedryck Boyata (Bolton), Roque Santa Cruz (Real Betis) Expected Starting XI                                      Hart Richards         Lescott           Kompany        ...

INS: Craig Bellamy (Liverpool, undisclosed) Jordan Henderson (Sunderland, £20m) Stewart Downing (Aston Villa, £20m) Charlie Adam (Blackpool, £9m) Sebastian Coates (Nacional, £7m) Jose Enrique (N'castle, £6m) Alexnder Domi (Roma, free) Villyan Bijev (California Odyssey, undisc). OUTS: David Ngog (Bolton, £4m) Christian Poulsen (Evian, undisclosed) Paul Konchesky (Leicester, £1.5m) Raul Meireles (Chelsea, £12m) Emilano Insua (Sporting, undisclosed), Daniel Ayala (Norwich, undisclosed), Milan Jovanovic (Anderlecht, free), Sotitios Kyrgiakos (Wolfsburg, free), Tom Ince (Blackpool, free). LOANS: Stephen Darby (Rochdale), Joe Cole (Lille), Daniel Pacheco (A Madrid), Albertto Aquilani (AC Milan), Villyan Bijev (Dusseldorf) Starting XI:                              Reina Kelly       ...

Ins: Bryan Ruiz (FC Twente, £10.6m), Orlando Sa (Porto, free) Pajtim Kasami (Palermo, £3m) John Arne Riise (Roma, £2.4m) Marcel Gecov (Slovan Liberec, £600,000), Dan Burn (Darlington, undisclosed) Csaba Somogyi (Rakospalotai, free). Outs:  Jonathan Greening (Nottm Forest, £670,000), Kagisho Dikgacoi (£600,000, C Palace), Zoltan Gera (West Brom, free), Diomansy Kamara (Eskisehispor, free), John Pantsil(Leicester, free) Expected Starting XI                                  Schwarzer Baird             Hangeland            Hughes          Riise                  ...

Ins: Eric Dier - Sporting to Everton Roysten Drenthe - Real Madrid to Everton Outs: Mikel Arteta - Everton to Arsenal James Vaughan - Everton to Norwich Ian Turner - Everton to Preston Kieran Agard - Everton to Yeovil Expected Starting XI:                               Howard Hibbert         Distin           Jagielka         Baines                      Rodwell     Bilyaletdinov                    Fellaini            ...

Ins: Juan Mata - Valencia to Chelsea Romelu Lukaku - Anderlecht to Chelsea Raul Meireles - Liverpool to Chelsea Thibaud Courtois - Genk to Chelsea Lucas Piazon - Sao Paulo to Chelsea Ulises Davila - Chivas to Chelsea Oriol Romeu - Barcelona to Chelsea Outs: Michael Manciene - Chelsea to Hamburg Slobodan Rajkovic - Chelsea to Hamburg Yuri Zhirkov - Chelsea to Anzhi Fabio Borini - Chelsea to Parma Yossi Benayoun - LOAN Chelsea to Arsenal Patrick Van Aanholt - LOAN Chelsea to Wigan Gael Kakuta - LOAN Chelsea to Bolton Expected Line Up: (If all fit)                             Cech Bosingwa       Alex          Terry         Cole            Lampard     Mikel     Essien Anelka             Drogba                  Torres ...

Ins: Scott Dann - Birmingham to Blackburn David Goodwillie - Dundee Utd to Blackburn Simon Vukcevic - Sporting to Blackburn Myles Anderson - Aberdeen to Blackburn Radoslav Petrovic - Partizan to Blackburn Brunoi Riberio - Gremio to Blackburn Outs: Phil Jones - Blackburn to Man Utd Frank Fielding - Blackburn to Derby Nicola Kalinic - Blackburn to Dnipro Jason Brown - Blackburn to Aberdeen Brett Emerton - Blackburn to Sydney Benjani - Blackburn to Portsmouth  Expected Starting XI (If all fit)                              Robinson Salgado        Dann        Samba     Olsson                      N'Zonzi     P...

Ins: Shay Given - Man City to Aston Villa Charles N'Zogbia - Wigan Athletic to Aston Villa Alan Hutton - Tottenham to Aston Villa Jermaine Jenas - Tottenham LOAN to Aston Villa Out: Jean Makoun - Aston Villa to Olympiacos LOAN Jonathon Hogg - Aston Villa to Watford Luke Young - Aston Villa to QPR Stuart Downing - Aston Villa to Liverpool Ashley Young - Aston Villa to Man Utd Brad Friedel - Aston Villa to Tottenham John Carew - Released Robert Pires - Released Isahia Osbourne - Released Nigel Reo-Coker - Released Expected Starting XI (if fully fit)                           Given Hutton        Collins        Dunne      Warnock                    Jenas ...

Ins: Mikel Arteta - Everton to Arsenal Per Mertesacker - Wender Bremen to Arsenal Andre Santos - Fenerbahce to Arsenal Park Cho-Young - Monaco to Arsenal Joel Campbell -  Saprissa to Arsenal Alex Oxlade-Chainberlain - Southampton to Arsenal Carl Jenkinson - Charlton to Arsenal Gervinho - Lille to Arsenal Yossi Benayoun - Chelsea LOAN to Arsenal Outs: Cesc Fabregas - Arsenal to Barcalona Samir Nasri - Arsenal to Man City Emanuel Eboue - Arsenal to Galatassary Joel Campbell - LOAN to Lorient Nicklas Bentner - LOAN to Sunderland Henri Lansbury - LOAN to West Ham Expected Starting XI (if all fit)                                     Szczesny      Sagna        Vermaelen        Mertesacker   ...

Man City's Argentine duo I'm sure the majority of football fans have noticed that Manchester City have splashed the cash once more! This time they've coughed up around £45m just this summer on two players! One of these that have been brought in is Athletico Madrid starlight Sergio Aguero who is definitely the ideal replacement for the likely departing Carlos Tevez. After Tevez revealed his desire to return to Argentina/Spain, Man City then stepped up their pursuit for Sergio Aguero by offering 38m which Athletico Madrid could not refuse. The other signing from Man City was left back Gael Clichy from Arsenal for around 7m after being named the best left back of the season. Sergio Aguero had a very successful couple of seasons in La Liga attracting much interest from Man City, Chelsea and Real Madrid before deciding to opt for the big money at Man City. Aguero who is incidentally Diego Maradona's son in law has scored 75 goals in 175 appearances for Athletico and fo...

Stuart and Ashley! N'Zog's hear though! This summer has definitely been a big summer for Villa with a few positives and negatives, A few positives for Villa have been a new manager, the signing of Shay Given. However Villa have had a few damaging blows in their team with the departures of Ashley Young, Stuart Downing and Brad Friedel. (Friedel was quickly replaced by Given which is why his not in the title) Ashley Young made a big move to Man Utd where I think he will fit in perfectly with the way Man Utd play.I also think that 20m is exactly what his worth and is at the right club to maybe take his career to the next level. The so me really applies for Stuart Downing who I think definitely is one of England's best winger's and impressed me whilst he was at Middlesbrough and his move to Aston Villa wasn't a particular big one but has again shone in what has been a dismal season for Aston Villa. in 2011 he made a big money move to Liverpool where he will again be...

Charming Charlie Charlie Adam after recently making a big money move from Blackpool to Liverpool for around 7m which i think is a very reasonable price for a midfielder with maybe the same qualities as Steven Gerrard. After 3 successful seasons at Blackpool Charlie has had much speculation about his future since Christmas. However can he show his true potential in a Liverpool shirt. The 28 year old centre midfield has a fantastic wide range of passing, a tough tackle and a eye for goal has impressed in the Premier League and has been one of the brightest players in a Blackpool shirt. Although I do have doughts over Charlie Adam's move to Liverpool as if he may struggle in a ever improving Liverpool side which in the centre of midfield  is particularly strong with Gerrard, Lucas, Poulsen, Spearing, Raul Miereles and Aquilani . I don't think that Charlie Adam will have to much of a problem getting into the Liverpool side as he does offer a bit more to the side then the likes ...

No More for Nasri Arsene Wenger this week has underlined his target to keep key duo Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri. I've already discussed Cesc Fabregas on this blog so I thought I'd spend a bit of time talking about Arsenal quick-footed Frenchmen. After 3 years at the Emirates, Nasri this year showed why his one of the best in the Premier League and attracted much attention from the two Manchester clubs which has sparked rumours and doubts about his future at the Emirates. The 24 year old Frenchmen who only has 1 year left on his contract won't be sold on the cheap it would seam with Man Utd making a 20m bid as rumours suggest. I do think though that Nasri is worth every penny of that 20m as he has shown desire, skill, talent and has been one of the main positives for Arsene Wenger this season. The indecisive midfielder hasn't come out and made a proper statement like his teammate Cesc Fabregas and both let their agents do the...

Captain's Loyal or Disloyal After seeing Arsenal at the weekend achieve a draw against Fulham away I couldn't help notice that captain Cesc Fabregas wasn't anywhere to be seen for the Gunners. This was because Captain Cesc was at the Spanish Grand Prix. Whilst Carlos Tevez has refused to take part in a open top bus parade following Man City's victory over Stoke in the FA Cup Final and flew back to Argentina to simply visit his family and have a 3 month break over there instead of honoring the Man City fans who have supported Tevez through thick and thin. Are Premier League captains becoming disloyal? I always associate a captain as a loyal, whole hearted sort of player with a never say die attitude such as Scott Parker and John Terry. These are players that have a lot of respect for the club, fans and of course their team mates. What kind of example does this set to youngsters coming through? Something that needs to be fixed in the Premier League.

 Potential? Bags of it! I expect that most of you guys have heard or read about Sunderland boy wonder Jordan Henderson and Blackburn's versatile defender Phil Jones who have both made big money moves to two of the biggest clubs in football. Lets start with Jordan Henderson who I think has had a stormer of a season for the black cats and bagged 7 goals inside 71 appearances in a relatively decent Sunderland team. As a result of his superb form he was rewarded with a move to one of the best teams in England. Liverpool FC. Despite making the "harded decision of his life" Jordan will be taken under King Kenny's wing and hopefully prove that 20m pricetag Liverpool payed for the 20 year old who will start training with the squad after the Under21 Tournament Denmark. My only worry with Jordan Henderson is that he hasn't bitten off more then he can chew, with that 20m pricetag under his name I do hope that he can handle the pressure which I'm sure Kenny Dalglish w...

Last chance for Owen! Good old Michael Owen... All those great years at Liverpool scoring at will and literally had England fans on the edge of their seats. Soon after that a move too the great Real Madrid was on the cards for the young England star! Unfortunately it all went downhill after only making 31 appearances and scoring 13 Goals for the La Liga side Owen decided to return to England to Newcastle and made a good 71 appearances scoring 26 goals for the Jordies in a injury hit 4 years up Tynside before departing them for Manchester United. The move to Man Utd did anger a few Jordy fans but lets be fair. What doesn't anger the Jordy fans when it comes to football! However is siting on the bench for Man Utd really the best option for Michael? is he still capable of first team football at 31? To me it certainly sounds like Michael Owen would be better off at a club like Blackburn, Stoke, Sunderland, West Brom... Mid table sides basically. Seeing as his value has gone down s...

Don't Bank on Bale! Another player that has caught many peoples eye this season was Tottenham's Skillful and pacey winger Gareth Bale. Gareth turned out to be another surprise package along with Jack Wilshere and Mark Albrighton and with performances away at Inter Milan and away at Stoke City Gareth looked like his was on fire. However I have heard quite a few people say that he is seriously over rated. I for one can see both sides of Gareth Bale like that stunning hatrick at the San Siro against Inter Milan and followed up with two goals at Stoke one of which was that stunning volley into the top corner of the Stoke net. Other times this season he has looked very promising but his final delivery has been a bit off at times. I'm not sure if others remember but a couple of seasons ago after signing from Southampton, Bale looked very average and took a while to settle down in a Spurs shirt under Juande Ramos. Neverless rejuvenated by Harry Redknapp, Bale soon looked like a...

Cesc Fabregas Move or No Move? The off form Arsenal skipper has had only what can be called a miserable season in red and white. A possibility for this may be that his heart is still at Barcelona with the knowledge that he would be welcome at the Nou Camp which of course is his boyhood club. If that is the case (which I think it is) Do Arsenal really want him at the Emirates? Could Samir Nasri or Jack Wilshere fill his boots? Okay let's be fair to the guy he is only 24 and has had his fair share of injury's, but the games he has started in he hasn't looked himself. Maybe I'm over exaggerating but he is 24 and is on about £180,000 a week wages! For a player on those sort of wages I would expect him to be playing like Xavi, Iniesta, and Kaka but can you really compare him to those great players? Maybe he is just over rated for his age? If Arsenal were to ever let him go where would it be to? Man City? Barcelona? Real Madrid? Cesc doesn't strike me as a player...