Former England and Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren was recently sacked by the German club, Wolfsburg. The Englishman said in an interview with SkySportsNews, “At Wolfsburg it was hard, they wanted instant success, I prefer working for clubs who seek long term success.” While Steve McClaren has had great success at FC Twente and Middlesbrough his career is tainted slightly by his poor spell in charge of England, McClaren said his struggle in charge of England keeps him on his toes.
A move back to England could be on the cards after McClaren said that we was happy to come home and that he would be happy to manage a Championship club. Middlesbrough who at the start of this season were favourites to win the Championship are currently 20th and are in a relegation battle. McClaren achieved great success at Middlesbrough, under McClaren’s reign as manager of M‘Brough the club won it’s first major trophy (The League Cup) and qualified for the UEFA Cup, (Now known as the UEFA Europa League) the club also got it’s highest ever Premier League finish.
Will Steve McClaren be the man to turn round Middlesbrough’s ship or will he move to another club that he has not managed before? If Avram Grant fails to keep his job at the helm of West Ham United then maybe that is the type of club Steve would want to manage, in the long term the board and the fans expect great things but I am sure, at least for the first season or so, finishing in the top 15 would be more than enough. Which is just the kind of job McClaren said he wanted. But I am sure that McClaren will not be a free agent for much longer.
Written by Thomas Munson
News and reviews of the Sporting World
Monday, 14 February 2011
Monday, 7 February 2011
Good Kop Bad Kop
Liverpool's majority shareholder, John Henry, has suggested Kenny Dalglish could be in charge of Liverpool on a permanent basis.
Dalglish was appointed as caretaker manager by the owners, Fenway Sports Group, to take charge until the end of the season. Kenny Dalglish has already made a big impact at the club and the manager’s experience going forward has given the strikers at the club a big confidence boost.
However, the new owners have also made an impact in their first transfer window, they took a punt selling Torres, but the owners reinvested the money from the transfer to buy two strikers. (Andy Carroll and Luis Suárez) A punt most people are happy with. The new strikers did not come cheap though, Liverpool had to break the club's transfer record to bring in Andy Carroll from Newcastle for £35m, and signing Luis Suárez for £22.8m was also an extravagant buy. The fans and the pundits would argue that the Liverpool squad is stronger than it was when the transfer window opened, and the club even managed to make a profit on transfers this January of about £10.2m
In an interview John Henry was asked how he felt about his decision to appoint Kenny Dalglish as caretaker manager, "In our case it was very fortunate, but we could not have made a better choice," Henry said. "I know he [Kenny Dalgish], for a long time now, has wanted to be in this position, so it's a great thing for the club, for Kenny and for us."
Henry suggested Liverpool might not build a new stadium, but instead redevelop Anfield. "The Kop is unrivalled," he said. "I was really surprised because we've heard so much about needing a new stadium. We were surprised at how beautiful Anfield was both viewing it as an empty stadium and then with the first game. It would be hard to replicate that feeling anywhere else."
Henry also explained why he sold one of Liverpool’s best players (Torres) "One of things that we talked about from the very beginning was how important it was that everyone was on the same page. No player is bigger than the club, we expect players to want to be here. If they don't want to be part of Liverpool Football Club then we should do everything we can to facilitate them going elsewhere." Strong words from a successful man, the fans of Liverpool have wanted a new stadium for some time now, the failure to build a new stadium is one of the reasons Hicks and Gillett became so unpopular with the fans, the fans will be hoping that this is not déjà vu. The new owners have a lot in common, they both are American, they both own American sports teams and they both promised a new stadium and backed out. Hopefully for Liverpool fans the only other thing they will share is Champions League football.
Written by Thomas Munson
Dalglish was appointed as caretaker manager by the owners, Fenway Sports Group, to take charge until the end of the season. Kenny Dalglish has already made a big impact at the club and the manager’s experience going forward has given the strikers at the club a big confidence boost.
However, the new owners have also made an impact in their first transfer window, they took a punt selling Torres, but the owners reinvested the money from the transfer to buy two strikers. (Andy Carroll and Luis Suárez) A punt most people are happy with. The new strikers did not come cheap though, Liverpool had to break the club's transfer record to bring in Andy Carroll from Newcastle for £35m, and signing Luis Suárez for £22.8m was also an extravagant buy. The fans and the pundits would argue that the Liverpool squad is stronger than it was when the transfer window opened, and the club even managed to make a profit on transfers this January of about £10.2m
In an interview John Henry was asked how he felt about his decision to appoint Kenny Dalglish as caretaker manager, "In our case it was very fortunate, but we could not have made a better choice," Henry said. "I know he [Kenny Dalgish], for a long time now, has wanted to be in this position, so it's a great thing for the club, for Kenny and for us."
Henry suggested Liverpool might not build a new stadium, but instead redevelop Anfield. "The Kop is unrivalled," he said. "I was really surprised because we've heard so much about needing a new stadium. We were surprised at how beautiful Anfield was both viewing it as an empty stadium and then with the first game. It would be hard to replicate that feeling anywhere else."
Henry also explained why he sold one of Liverpool’s best players (Torres) "One of things that we talked about from the very beginning was how important it was that everyone was on the same page. No player is bigger than the club, we expect players to want to be here. If they don't want to be part of Liverpool Football Club then we should do everything we can to facilitate them going elsewhere." Strong words from a successful man, the fans of Liverpool have wanted a new stadium for some time now, the failure to build a new stadium is one of the reasons Hicks and Gillett became so unpopular with the fans, the fans will be hoping that this is not déjà vu. The new owners have a lot in common, they both are American, they both own American sports teams and they both promised a new stadium and backed out. Hopefully for Liverpool fans the only other thing they will share is Champions League football.
Written by Thomas Munson
Wednesday, 2 February 2011
Wenger Out-burst
Last night Arsene Wenger accused Chelsea of hypocrisy after questioning the logic of Roman Abramovich's extraordinary £76.5m spending in last months transfer window, despite the Russian owner claiming to support UEFA's policy of financial fair play. So far this season Chelsea have made a loss of around £140m which is £110m over the allowed loss as of 12/13 season. These new regulations only effect teams competing in the UEFA Champions League, the rules essentially mean that the maximum loss a club can make per season is £30m, making the major European leagues more competitive. Failure to meet regulations will result in expulsion from the UEFA Champions League. Arsene Wenger felt it was ironic that one day Roman Abramovich claimed he was more than happy with the financial fair play rules and within a month he spent £70m in one day. Clubs like Manchester City spend more in wages than they make in turnover on top of the £300m they have spent in the last three seasons. What is the point of spending big money like that when you will get banned from the Champions League anyway.
The English club that should benefit most from these new rules is Arsenal, who are one of two Premier League clubs that ran in profit last season, a £53m profit to be exact. Making profits like these is certainly going to help chip away at the debt of building the Emirates, which is UEFA’s goal. And a new era of football will begin.
Written by Thomas Munson
The English club that should benefit most from these new rules is Arsenal, who are one of two Premier League clubs that ran in profit last season, a £53m profit to be exact. Making profits like these is certainly going to help chip away at the debt of building the Emirates, which is UEFA’s goal. And a new era of football will begin.
Written by Thomas Munson
Andy Carroll, The Most Expensive Brit Of All Time
Andy Carroll has moved to Liverpool for £35m, which means he is the eighth most expensive player in the world and the most expensive Brit. The £35m fee puts Carroll up there with the likes of David Villa and Wayne Rooney. The ex Newcastle striker stated when interviewed, “I didn‘t want to go, I was pushed out, they wanted the money.” The England international has signed a deal worth £80,000 per-week. West Ham must have been distraught when they saw the £35m fee; after all, they did say that Carroll’s asking price of £1m in the summer of 2009 was unrealistic.
Questions have been asked about whether Carroll is worth the £35m paid for him, which is the equivalent of £1.7m per Premier League start for the young Englishman.
When asked Pardew insisted, “You don’t force anyone to do anything and we didn’t twist his arm to put in a transfer request or to get on that helicopter. He had a five-year contract here, a contract we said we would renew yesterday in the summer; but we wanted to renew it straight away and when he made it clear that he wanted to renew it now or he would to speak to Liverpool and that’s when the power shifted. We didn’t want to lose Andy yesterday and if Andy really wanted to stay he could’ve stayed, but he is not here. We don’t want bad feeling for Andy, he’s moved on and he’s moved to a big club, Liverpool are a good club and good luck to him. Nothing was mentioned to his representatives it terms of forcing him out. He indicated to me in my office that he wanted a new deal and if wasn’t going to get a new deal he wanted the option to move to Liverpool and I said you need to put that in writing Andy if your going to do that, and he did. One thing I said to Mike (Ashley) is that if this boy is going to go we have to reinvested the money in the squad.” The new Liverpool number nine has not started is Liverpool career in the best of circumstances, but Kenny knows a good player when he see’s one, and Carroll is just that.
Written by Thomas Munson
Questions have been asked about whether Carroll is worth the £35m paid for him, which is the equivalent of £1.7m per Premier League start for the young Englishman.
When asked Pardew insisted, “You don’t force anyone to do anything and we didn’t twist his arm to put in a transfer request or to get on that helicopter. He had a five-year contract here, a contract we said we would renew yesterday in the summer; but we wanted to renew it straight away and when he made it clear that he wanted to renew it now or he would to speak to Liverpool and that’s when the power shifted. We didn’t want to lose Andy yesterday and if Andy really wanted to stay he could’ve stayed, but he is not here. We don’t want bad feeling for Andy, he’s moved on and he’s moved to a big club, Liverpool are a good club and good luck to him. Nothing was mentioned to his representatives it terms of forcing him out. He indicated to me in my office that he wanted a new deal and if wasn’t going to get a new deal he wanted the option to move to Liverpool and I said you need to put that in writing Andy if your going to do that, and he did. One thing I said to Mike (Ashley) is that if this boy is going to go we have to reinvested the money in the squad.” The new Liverpool number nine has not started is Liverpool career in the best of circumstances, but Kenny knows a good player when he see’s one, and Carroll is just that.
Written by Thomas Munson
Monday, 31 January 2011
€52m Bale A Cabo
La especulación es cada vez mayor sobre un posible traspaso por el Inter al premio Bale lejos de White Heart Lane con una posible £ 40m en las tarjetas, el £ 40m incluso podría aumentar con el Real Madrid para una guerra de ofertas. Un movimiento £ 40m, no sólo haría que la bala que el jugador británico más caro, pero también lo convertiría en el más caro de 21 años en el mundo. Tottenham tendrá un puesto de trabajo en sus manos para mantener la bala en el verano próximo Lane, el Inter de Milán triplicaría los salarios de la bala y el Real es el club que los jugadores encuentran "imposible" para decir que no.
La cuestión no es si el Tottenham quiere mantener Bale en White Heart Lane, pero, ¿pueden darse el lujo? Spurs se encuentran un buen uso con la £ 40m, son después de todo, después de un nuevo estadio que costará Spurs al menos 300 millones de libras. (Y eso si consiguen el estadio olímpico, si no se podía llegar a costar hasta 500 millones de libras.)
Bale no ha expresado su deseo de salir de los Spurs, el factor decisivo en cuenta Bale podría ser la clasificación para la Liga de Campeones de la UEFA. El hecho de no calificar podría significar que el club tiene que venderle a equilibrar las cuentas.
Tottenham hizo una facturación récord de la temporada pasada de £ 119 millones, que hicieron perder una de £ 6.6m, no clasificarse para la Liga de Campeones de la UEFA establecerá los Spurs de nuevo por al menos otros £ 19m sin contar el dinero de televisión y venta de entradas.
Pero en el lado brillante jugador estrella de los Spurs, debe estar en el carril para el resto de la temporada.
Escrito por Thomas Munson
La cuestión no es si el Tottenham quiere mantener Bale en White Heart Lane, pero, ¿pueden darse el lujo? Spurs se encuentran un buen uso con la £ 40m, son después de todo, después de un nuevo estadio que costará Spurs al menos 300 millones de libras. (Y eso si consiguen el estadio olímpico, si no se podía llegar a costar hasta 500 millones de libras.)
Bale no ha expresado su deseo de salir de los Spurs, el factor decisivo en cuenta Bale podría ser la clasificación para la Liga de Campeones de la UEFA. El hecho de no calificar podría significar que el club tiene que venderle a equilibrar las cuentas.
Tottenham hizo una facturación récord de la temporada pasada de £ 119 millones, que hicieron perder una de £ 6.6m, no clasificarse para la Liga de Campeones de la UEFA establecerá los Spurs de nuevo por al menos otros £ 19m sin contar el dinero de televisión y venta de entradas.
Pero en el lado brillante jugador estrella de los Spurs, debe estar en el carril para el resto de la temporada.
Escrito por Thomas Munson
£40m Bale-Out
Speculation is growing about a possible move by Inter to prise Bale away from White Heart Lane with a possible £40m on the cards; the £40m could even escalate with Real Madrid up for a bidding war. A £40m move would not only make Bale the most expensive British player but would also make him the most expensive 21 year old in the world. Tottenham will have a job on their hands to keep Bale at the Lane next summer, Inter Milan would triple Bale’s wages and Real is the club which players find ‘impossible’ to say no to.
The question is not do Tottenham want to keep Bale at White Heart Lane but, can they afford to? Spurs would find good use with the £40m, they are after all after a new stadium which will cost Spurs at least £300m. (And that’s if they get the Olympic stadium, if they do not it could cost them up to £500m.)
Bale has not expressed a desire to leave Spurs, the deciding factor in Bale’s mind could be qualification for the UEFA Champions League. A failure to qualify might mean that the club have to sell him to balance the books.
Tottenham made a record turnover last season of £119m, they made a lose of £6.6m; failure to qualify for the UEFA Champions League would set Spurs back by at least another £19m not including TV money and ticket sales.
But on the bright side Spurs’s star player should be at the Lane for the rest of the season.
Written by Thomas Munson
The question is not do Tottenham want to keep Bale at White Heart Lane but, can they afford to? Spurs would find good use with the £40m, they are after all after a new stadium which will cost Spurs at least £300m. (And that’s if they get the Olympic stadium, if they do not it could cost them up to £500m.)
Bale has not expressed a desire to leave Spurs, the deciding factor in Bale’s mind could be qualification for the UEFA Champions League. A failure to qualify might mean that the club have to sell him to balance the books.
Tottenham made a record turnover last season of £119m, they made a lose of £6.6m; failure to qualify for the UEFA Champions League would set Spurs back by at least another £19m not including TV money and ticket sales.
But on the bright side Spurs’s star player should be at the Lane for the rest of the season.
Written by Thomas Munson

Aguero Chased By Spurs
If Chelsea sign Torres Tottenham will have to up there game in order to retain fourth spot, but is Aguero the answer to their problems? If Spurs sign Aguero it would be the highest fee paid by an English club for a player, Tottenham’s bid (Which was rejected) was worth more than €44m, a statement of intend from a club desperate to achieve.
Spurs will have to go deep into their pockets if they are going to sign the argentine this January, this is because Athletico Madrid are also trying to compete for a UEFA Champions League place and they would not have time to replace their star striker. However, if Spurs are patient and they wait for the summer window, they could sign Aguero for a lower fee.
Harry Redknapp stated when interviewed outside Tottenham’s training ground, “I would be very surprised if there are any transfers involving Spurs between now and the end of the window.”
While this might be a long and drawn out transfer, whatever happens at the end is bound to surprise us all.
Written by Thomas Munson
Aguero Chased By Spurs
If Chelsea sign Torres Tottenham will have to up there game in order to retain fourth spot, but is Aguero the answer to their problems? If Spurs sign Aguero it would be the highest fee paid by an English club for a player, Tottenham’s bid (Which was rejected) was worth more than €44m, a statement of intend from a club desperate to achieve.
Spurs will have to go deep into their pockets if they are going to sign the argentine this January, this is because Athletico Madrid are also trying to compete for a UEFA Champions League place and they would not have time to replace their star striker. However, if Spurs are patient and they wait for the summer window, they could sign Aguero for a lower fee.
Harry Redknapp stated when interviewed outside Tottenham’s training ground, “I would be very surprised if there are any transfers involving Spurs between now and the end of the window.”
While this might be a long and drawn out transfer, whatever happens at the end is bound to surprise us all.
Written by Thomas Munson
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