£80million Messi, Drogba to AC Milan & D-Day in the Championship
Comment & analysis round-up
Quote of the day: “The way Chelsea have been talking is that it’ll be easy up there [at Newcastle] - but we know that’s not the case… [on Cristiano Ronaldo] How many players could score that many? He is improving all the time. Plus he has spent 90% of the season on the wing.” – Alex Ferguson.
Runner-up: “We are one step closer. It was the game we had to win and I thought we did it in some style in front of our own crowd and that’s very, very encouraging. We have got a very important game at Portsmouth next week and I am delighted we are going there with a chance of staying up, but I must warn against too much jubilation and euphoria. We have had two important victories, but we have still got an even more important victory to take.” – Roy Hodgson.
Comedy quote of the day: “I promised them a hamper full of caviar and Viagra and I think it must have worked.” - Fulham chairman Mohamed Al Fayed.
Today’s overview: Chelsea continue to dominate the sports pages of the Sunday newspapers with transfer rumours and Avram Grant’s future being the main topics of analysis. The decision to play the Champions League final in Moscow and Sven’s future at Manchester City is also chewed over by a number of columnists. And the final day of the Championship is analysed, with features on nearly all the main protaganists on what should be a dramatic afternoon.
The exclusive in the News of the World this Sunday is that “Roman Abramovich has authorised an astonishing £80million move for Lionel Messi… The Spanish giants are desperate to keep Messi but have been stunned by news Abramovich wants the Argentine so badly. And with almost £100m on the table, the Barca hierarchy are split on the decision to sell.”
Duncan Castles and Jamie Jackson (Observer) reveal that “AC Milan have opened talks over the summer transfer of Didier Drogba from Chelsea.” But, Real Madrid and Inter are also after the Chelsea striker.
Nick Townsend (Independent on Sunday) writes of the Chelsea renaissance. “You would back even a somewhat off-colour Manchester United against anyone in a European final, except Chelsea; a fully fit Chelsea, and one in which injuries suffered earlier in the season mean that there is now an invigorated look about them.”
Rob Hughes in The Sunday Times adds to the weight of opinions on Chelsea’s manager. “A stone has lifted. Beneath it we see the extraordinary personality whose mournful expression hides a considerable football man juggling with more human perspectives than is the norm in our blinkered, self-obsessed sporting intensity. How witless the Mr Average jibe now seems.”
Duncan Castles (Observer) features the “burgeoning authority” of Michael Ballack. And Stewart Robson looks at how Newcastle can derail Chelsea’s title hopes on Monday. Staying in Newcastle, Jonathan Northcroft in the Sunday Times speaks with Michael Owen about his new role and Chelsea’s title hopes.
Paul Wilson (Observer) praises Alex Ferguson and Avram Grant. “With a win in Moscow he [Grant] would eclipse Ferguson and Mourinho, and, no matter how good a squad he inherited, that could not be dismissed as beginner’s luck.”
Steve Tongue (Independent on Sunday) asks “Will the real Manchester United now stand up and finish a potentially glorious season with a flourish in Moscow?” Roy Collins speaks with Ryan Giggs in the Sunday Telegraph - “I want two more titles.”
Patrick Barclay in the Sunday Telegraph claims it was a “disgraceful decision to award the Champions League climax to Moscow… Why is this madness tolerated? It is all to do with footballing politics and corporate entertaining. Whoever chose Moscow deserves to choke on his caviar. Indeed, after Liverpool supporters’ experiences in Athens last year - remember all those promises to learn from them? - it is breathtaking that once again the venue has been casually agreed in advance without any thought for those who must dig deepest in order to attend it.”
Jim Riorda (Observer) writes of the tragic history of Moscow’s Olympic Stadium which is to host the Champions League final.
Steve Tongue (Independent on Sunday) writes of Sven’s likely departure from City. “Eriksson’s problem in terms of results is that City have done things the wrong way round by having an excellent first half of the season before falling away.”
According to Andy Dunn in the News of the World, “Sir Alex Ferguson is ready to make a dramatic move for England star Micah Richards. The Manchester United boss has earmarked Richards as his No1 target — and the news will push Manchester City into even deeper crisis.”
And Dunn also chips in on events at Manchester City. “Loyalty is a two-way street. Yet every day of the season, managers are angling for other managers’ jobs. Don’t tell me it doesn’t go on - it does. Of course, City’s footballing interests would probably be best served by the continued employment of such an esteemed coach as Eriksson. But there is absolutely no guarantee that if a top Italian club came calling, he wouldn’t up sticks and leave.”
Patrick Barclay also writes about Sven. “Nor is Eriksson likely to fret overmuch. The sillier and more impatient football gets, the richer he becomes. The Swede will never be short of a smile. Or an offer to work somewhere else.”
Rob Shepherd lays into Rafa Benitez in the News of the World. “As for psychological tactics, winding up Didier Drogba was an ever bigger own goal than John Arne Riise’s. Of course, Benitez’s Champions League CV is impressive and European adventure is part of the club’s heritage. Under Benitez, European success has been consistent but at what cost to their title hopes?”
According to Wayne Vesey in The Sunday Times, “Arsenal are ready to make their new managing director the highest-paid executive in football. Director Danny Fiszman has ordered headhunters to scour the worlds of football, industry and media to find the “best person” for the job after Keith Edelman was forced out of his £1m-a-year post last week.”
Jonathan Wilson (Sunday Telegraph) speaks with Luka Modric about his “big fat contract” at Spurs.
Observer Sport Monthly compile a list of the “top 10 worst football managers.” Also, in the monthly sport supplement of the Observer, Tim Lewis interviews Dave Peace, author of “The Damned United.”
David James (Guardian blog) writes of the Arsenal v Leeds women’s FA Cup final, but at the end of the article points the finger at Matt Le Tissier. “The PFA’s Footballer of the Year dinner often holds a few surprises, but this year there was one surprise I think we could have done without; Matt Le Tissier’s after-dinner speech. I was disturbed by his decision to use racist material at such an occasion. His anti-Semitic ‘joke’ about Jewish supporters at White Hart Lane was offensive. I was genuinely shocked that the PFA, whom we regard as ambassadors for challenging discrimination and promoting equality in the game, allowed such material.”
With it being D-Day in the Championship, Spence Vignes (Observer) speaks to Bristol City manager Gary Johnson and in the same paper Arinadam Rej has a feature on Hull City. In the Sunday Telegraph Roy Collins features Stoke City, Andrew Marshaw writes of Milan Mandaric and Leicester’s plight and there is also an article on Teddy Sheringham who plays his last ever professional game today.
Dave Beasent looks at all the possible Championship permutations in the Sunday Telegraph. And in The Sunday Times John Aizelwood features Stoke City, Paul Forsyth writes about Hull City and Joe Lovejoy lauds Teddy Sheringham - “the game may not see his like again.” There are also features on Neil Warnock and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake.
Patrick Barclay describes the Championship as “the modern miracle of football. Little wonder it is beginning to attract as many people as Serie A, because it is more exciting and less predictable and has an atmosphere that feeds off itself.”
The “and finally” story of the day comes from the Sunday Mail who report that Newcastle owner Mike Ashley won 1.3 million pounds on one spin of a roulette wheel.
