Transfer Talk

[fineintent]

Ahhh not Barry. Pay over the odds for Downing, he's quality.

There's also rumours about Spurs and Zokora, so it could be a good little summer.

[ONO]

Pires has agreed a 2 year deal with Villarreal for definite.

[Lineker]

Fernando Morientes has ended his disappointing spell with Liverpool by joining Valencia for an undisclosed fee.

The 30-year-old failed to impress after moving to Anfield from Real Madrid in a £6.3million transfer in January 2005 and netted just 12 goals in 61 games for the Reds.

His poor form saw him make just 20 Premiership starts last season and the lack of first-team action was a factor in his omission from the Spain squad for the World Cup finals.

Although Morientes' time with Liverpool was less than satisfactory it at least ended on a high, as his last appearance came in the dramatic FA Cup final victory against West Ham United.

[Mj3]

I hope you sign Pennant. Just to take a talented player off the Blues.

[fineintent]

The only problem is he was the best player at either club when they went down. Had he been given a go at Arsenal, we'd most likely be seeing him in an England shirt.

[TMM]

The only problem is he was the best player at either club when they went down. Had he been given a go at Arsenal, we'd most likely be seeing him in an England shirt.

He was given god-knows how many chances, and he blew every single one of them by fucking up off-pitch, so Wenger had enough and told him to bugger off. He had his chances, he just screwed them all up.

Edited May 26, 2006 by TMM

[fineintent]

If by chances you mean Carling Cup games, then I'm sure he had loads. He barely played a league game, especially compared to the time the likes of Reyes, Flamini, Fabregras, Senderos, Eboue and Van Persie have been given.

He obviously had off the field problems (I have no doubt he's an absolute cunt), but part of being a manager is to deal with that and nuture his obvious talents.

[Guest Heresy]

I rate Pennant. He's a great crosser of the ball and dangerous from set pieces.

[TMM]

If by chances you mean Carling Cup games, then I'm sure he had loads. He barely played a league game, especially compared to the time the likes of Reyes, Flamini, Fabregras, Senderos, Eboue and Van Persie have been given.

He obviously had off the field problems (I have no doubt he's an absolute cunt), but part of being a manager is to deal with that and nuture his obvious talents.

He scored a hat-trick in one game that made everyone take notice, and WAS going to get games from then. How did he follow on from that? By getting drunk, missing training, crashing cars, going to prison. Basically, he thought he was better than he was and pretty much believed that he should've played.

[lafunky xxvii]

If by chances you mean Carling Cup games, then I'm sure he had loads. He barely played a league game, especially compared to the time the likes of Reyes, Flamini, Fabregras, Senderos, Eboue and Van Persie have been given.

He obviously had off the field problems (I have no doubt he's an absolute cunt), but part of being a manager is to deal with that and nuture his obvious talents.

He scored a hat-trick in one game that made everyone take notice, and WAS going to get games from then. How did he follow on from that? By getting drunk, missing training, crashing cars, going to prison. Basically, he thought he was better than he was and pretty much believed that he should've played.

[Lineker]

AC Milan have announced that Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko is leaving the club this summer due to 'family reasons', opening up the possibility of a move to Barclays Premiership champions Chelsea.

Shevchenko broke the news by saying: "I'm leaving for family reasons. It wasn't a problem of relations and there is no economic problem." He is married to an American, and has previously explained that he wants to live in an English-speaking country. Milan's vice-president Adriano Galliani admitted: "It's a victory of the English language over the Italian language."

Galliani continued: "I've tried to convince him to stay - even one minute prior to the press conference. This is certainly the most painful divorce since I have been at Milan. We will begin negotiations with Chelsea and it will not be easy."

Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon revealed earlier this week that Chelsea were still chasing the prolific striker: "We have evolved to the stage where we are back-to-back champions and we should not underestimate what an achievement that is, particularly in a domestic league like the English Premiership. How do you improve on that?

"It was felt what we wanted to do was bring in a different type of player. Michael Ballack fits that bill, the likes of a Shevchenko fit that bill. That type of player comes with an age and comes with an experience, probably outside the Premier League."

Ukrainian superstar Andriy Shevchenko has confirmed that he plans to leave AC Milan this summer, with Chelsea his likely destination.

The 29-year-old striker met with Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani on Friday to thrash out his future, having recently revealed he is not happy in Italy.

The Rossoneri had hoped the offer of an improved contract would tempt him to stay on, but Shevchenko insisted money was not an issue for him.

"I'm leaving for family reasons," he told the Serie A club's official website.

"I thank the club for all they've given me. There's no relationship problem and there's no economic problem."

It is believed the reason for Shevchenko's decision is that his American wife is keen to move to London.

A disappointed Galliani said: "It's a victory of the English language over the Italian language.

"I tried to convince him to stay up until the minute before the press conference. It's certainly the most painful separation since I've been at Milan."

Negotiations with Chelsea are set to start in the next few days, but Galliani warned the Premiership champions that Milan do not intend to allow Shevchenko to leave on the cheap and added that negotiations "will not be easy".

Shevchenko joined Milan from Dynamo Kyiv in 1999 and has since found the target 173 times, making him the club's second highest scorer of all time.

[alldaws1]

Chelsea have apparently accepted a £5.5m bid for Robert Huth from Wigan. He says he'll decide where he wants to go after the World Cup.

[TMM]

If by chances you mean Carling Cup games, then I'm sure he had loads. He barely played a league game, especially compared to the time the likes of Reyes, Flamini, Fabregras, Senderos, Eboue and Van Persie have been given.

He obviously had off the field problems (I have no doubt he's an absolute cunt), but part of being a manager is to deal with that and nuture his obvious talents.

He scored a hat-trick in one game that made everyone take notice, and WAS going to get games from then. How did he follow on from that? By getting drunk, missing training, crashing cars, going to prison. Basically, he thought he was better than he was and pretty much believed that he should've played.

To be fair though, he did only make 6 starts in 5 years at Arsenal. I'm not saying he's not a waste of a space in the squad because he's a twat, but to say he got a fair chance is a bit much.

He was given a fair enough chance. He was given the chance to impress on-loan with Leeds and he did, would've played more the next season, played seven league games (maybe not starts but whatever) but then he managed to screw up again so Wenger cut his losses and sold him. He was on-loan with Watford as well and did well, but the problem was that whenever he came back, he seemed to think that he should be starting, and then managed to cock it up. The whole point of the Carling Cup games for Arsenal is for players to make their mark, and he did that some times, but when ever he managed to get a "proper" Arsenal game, he managed to somehow blow the chance that he got.

Edited May 27, 2006 by TMM

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

If Chelsea get Shevchenko they're going to be flying next season if I'm being honest. Drogba and Crespo are all good but Shevchenko is on another level, easily one of the best strikers in the world. If it happens, which is likely now, got to admit Chelsea are going to be a super team next season.

[TMM]

If Chelsea get Shevchenko they're going to be flying next season if I'm being honest. Drogba and Crespo are all good but Shevchenko is on another level, easily one of the best strikers in the world. If it happens, which is likely now, got to admit Chelsea are going to be a super team next season.

Thing about it is, he's currently playing in Italy, a league which, by all accounts, really is nowhere as good or as fast as the Premiership, so it's a question of how well/quickly will he adapt to the game. Crespo never did, Veron never did, and they were hailed as brilliant players in Italy. Shevchenko is leagues above those two, but I still think he'll have a few months of adapting to the league.

[Lineker]

The AJ saga goes on...

Everton have become the third club to have an £8.5million bid for striker Andrew Johnson accepted by Crystal Palace.

Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic had already had offers of the same value accepted by the Eagles, with the Toffees now back in the race for Johnson's signature after upping their previous bid.

The 25-year-old, who is on standby for England's World Cup finals squad, netted 17 goals for Palace last season despite injury problems, while he managed 22 the season before as the club narrowly failed to avoid relegation from the Premiership.

He moved to Selhurst Park in the summer of 2002 for just £750,000 from Birmingham City and has scored 74 goals in 140 league outings for the Londoners.

Palace chairman Simon Jordan has always said that Johnson would only leave the club on his terms, commenting: "Everybody has a price, but he will be sold for the money I value him at.

"Would another season for Andrew in the Championship do him any good and, if we're talking money, would it do the club good if he's not setting the world alight next season?"

[TheArsenal]

I don't think AJ is worth that much to be honest.

[therockbox]

If he wasn't English they'd get about £3 million max.

[Guest muddatrucker]

True, I've never been that high on him.

[TheArsenal]

Even when he was in the Premiership and everyone was ranting about how amazing he was, I didn't think he was that good. I think something like 12 of his 22 goals came from the penalty spot, meaning he really only scored 10 goals in open play all season. Ok, maybe that's good for a team like Palace who were fighting for relegation, but thinking about it that way hardly makes me think "England form". Only netting 17 this year in the Championship makes me thinkeven less of him, as you'd expect more in what should really be considered an easier league to play in.

Whatever people think, I reckon that £8.5 million is horribly overpriced.