Ramos & Ribery to Chelsea & Sven to Benfica?
Comment and analysis round up
Quote of the day: “Coral should have notified the FA and UEFA if they had as much as a hint, or suspicion, that a match had been fixed. They are making up ridiculous excuses not to pay. To suggest these matches were fixed in order not to pay is a disgrace. The company should not be allowed to continue to take money from people. Their licence to trade should be taken away right now. The German investigation found that Mr Sapina has made a fortune from totally legal and unfixed gambling before his conviction and we stress that the bets with Coral were part of this. Coral have grabbed the opportunity not to pay out because he has been convicted of match-fixing.” - lawyer, Stefan Conen.
Runner up: “There are no words to describe the mistreatment Avram is receiving. They are sucking his blood on a daily basis regardless of his victories and what he achieves. You know what, maybe if he hadn’t been Israeli or Jewish, it might have been different. Obviously there is some sort of anti-Semitism here, especially if one remembers who appointed him. Abramovich is not only Jewish but also Russian and Jewish. So the Chelsea fans love him, but the rest of the fans in England certainly don’t.” - Pini Zahavi.
Today’s overview: The headline stories in the papers all cover potential transfers. The Guardian splash with the news that Chelsea have “claimed a deal worth in excess of £50m” for Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos. The same story is picked up by the Daily Express. Henry Winter (Telegraph) reports that in fact the Blues are eying “Franck Ribery not Lionel Messi.” While not so secret meetings between Sven Goran Eriksson and Benfica are publicised in the The Times and Telegraph.
Arguably, the most interesting story in today’s papers is Brian Radford’s piece in the Daily Express announcing that “a sensational match-fixing probe has been launched into five crucial games in Europe’s biggest tournaments, including the most prestigious of all – the Champions League… Bookmakers Coral prompted the international inquiry after they refused to pay out a huge sum on winning bets – £435,905 – placed by a convicted match-fixer. Coral are also refusing to return his £180,000 stake.”
The Sun, who appear to have decided to back Chelsea manager Avram Grant in recent weeks, allowing Ian McGarry to EXCLUSIVELY quote super-agent and fellow Israeli Pini Zahavi, who argues that Grant’s Judaism is a root cause of his unpopularity.
Jason Burt (Independent) reports on Arsenal’s transfer news. After announcing that the Gunners are after a centre half, Burt revealed that “it will not help the mood of Arsenal supporters that it has now emerged that Wenger did indeed attempt to sign Jonathan Woodgate from Middlesbrough in the January transfer window – only to find that the England central defender was already in advanced negotiations with Tottenham Hotspur.”
Going one step further, Glenn Moore (Independent) begins to question Wenger’s management. “The departure of Mathieu Flamini, the possibility that Alexander Hleb will follow him and the refusal to countenance serious spending on a par with the rest of the ‘Big Four’ has left Arsenal fans feeling like heretics. What if ‘Le Professeur’ has got his calculations wrong?”
Looking at Arsenal’s transfer policy from the other side, Richard Godden (Football Italia) lauds AC Milan’s capture of Mathieu Flamini. “Although it’s a tad harsh on Massimo Ambrosini, a midfield trio of Flamini, Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo is as good as any in Serie A. With the hustle and bustle of the former duo allowing Milan’s quarter-back to conduct the play from deep, it looks as though Carlo Ancelotti has found the perfect formula.”
Chris Wheeler (Daily Mail) wonders what the future holds for Dimitar Berbatov. “Berbatov’s departure from White Hart Lane promises to be one of the most significant deals of the transfer window. Rumours were rife yesterday that Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra was lining up a British record £32million offer. However, he is more likely to end up on the other side of Manchester. A year after turning down the opportunity to sign Berbatov for £10.9m, United are prepared to pay twice that after his agent confided he would only consider Old Trafford if he stays in England.”
40 years ago, when the title went down to the wire, Matt Busby’s team failed the test, and Daniel Taylor (Guardian) relives the tale of the “last-day catastrophe that cost United the title.”
On the relegation front, David Hytner (Guardian) speaks with Fulham’s Simon Davies. Money quote: “Portsmouth will be the biggest game of my career, no doubt about it. It means so much being in the Premier League, to the club, the staff, the players, everyone. I’ve played in big matches at club level and for Wales. I played in the League Cup final for Tottenham [in 2002], when it means so much, but in a prolonged relegation battle the pressure is so intense.”
Sachin Nakrani (Guardian) reports of Ebbsfleet United, “online phenomenon to Wembley finalists.” “Then the idea of people spread across 73 countries coming together via the internet to own a club was merely a concept, in November it moved towards reality when Ebbsfleet agreed to be taken over and the purchase was signed off in February, securing MyFootballClub and its 20,000 members a 75% share in the Kent club at a cost of £600,000. Those involved will be able to celebrate on Saturday when Ebbsfleet take on Torquay United in the FA Trophy final at Wembley, their first appearance at the stadium.”
Tom de Castella (Telegraph) also writes on Ebbsfleet United. “The optimist in me likes to see Ebbsfleet as a corrective to the oligarchs taking over British football, a small club that can rise up the leagues through the collective will of its supporters. But the pessimist wonders whether membership will lapse and this experiment will become just another non-league club struggling to survive. But these are philosophical questions for another day.”
As if issuing a rallying cry for the youth of today, Brian Alexander (The Times) interviews Warren Aspinall as an illustration of how footballers can go off the rails. Money quote: “I’ve worked it out that I’ve done at least £1 million gambling over my career. It makes me sick to think about it. I don’t have a house or savings, but I’m working hard to earn a decent wage. But most important of all I have my life back and I have the love of my family and Karen. I haven’t had a drink or a bet for ten or twelve weeks now. I feel very powerful.”
May 8th, 2008 at 11:04 am
Did it occur to Mr Pini Zahavi that people don\’t like Avram Grant simply because he coaches Chelsea? He\’s trying to make Grant into a martyr, like Ali G asking \
May 8th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Did it occur to Mr Pini Zahavi that people don’t like Avram Grant simply because he coaches Chelsea? He’s trying to make Grant into a martyr, like Ali G asking “Is it because I is black?”. Lame.