TBL: Beckham Considers Staying in Milan, MLS Should Let Him

Here is my latest post for The Big Lead.  The title explains fairly, what the article is about.

Filed under: Football, MLS, Serie A, Soccer, AC Milan, David Beckham, England, LA Galaxy

Will Robert Kraft Purchase Gillett’s Share of Liverpool? | EPL Talk

 Will Robert Kraft Purchase Gillett’s Share of Liverpool? | EPL Talk.

Here is my latest post for EPL Talk

Filed under: Football, Premier League, Soccer

A “Social Experiment” Fools the Soccer Media

The Big Lead » Blog Archive » A “Social Experiment” Fools the Soccer Media.

My latest post on The Big Lead about the Masal Bugduv affair.

Filed under: Football, Soccer

Manchester City Star Robinho Implicated in Sexual Assault

Robinho’s tenure in England keeps getting better, for those quasi-humorously writing about it.

West Yorkshire Police arrested the 25-year-old Brazilian, over allegations of “serious sexual assault” Jan. 14 at the Space nightclub in Leeds.

Robinho cooperated, and was released “pending further inquiries.”  He returned to training and was in the lineup for today’s match against Newcastle.

The arrest comes a day after Robinho returned from an unauthorized jaunt home to Brazil, for which he was fined the maximum £320,000.  His trip was not a coincidental flit of fancy.  His birthday was on Sunday.  He also had expressed frustration about City’s failure to land Kaka.

Rare for a Brazilian footballer, Robinho is known to like the ladies.  At an October 2007 party for the Brazilian National Team party, he reportedly asked a subordinate to bring him 40 condoms.  Presumably, (or hopefully) the sheaths were not entirely for his personal use.

Robinho’s involvement in the assault case is unclear.  What is clear is that, despite performing well on the pitch, 12 goals in 19 appearances, he’s not the happiest camper at Eastlands, and the club hasn’t been particularly enamored with his antics.

Unfortunately for both, he will be at City for a while.  No club, in this economic climate, will approach his £32.5m transfer fee.  No club will pay nearly £160,000 per week salary.  Such is the folly of paying top dollar.

Filed under: Football, Soccer, Brazil, Manchester City, Robinho, Sexual Assault

Roman Abramovich is Suing The Sunday Times

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has taken legal action against the Sunday Times  for libel.

The British paper published this story, written by their business editor John Waples, claiming that Abramovich was considering selling Chelsea.  The club wants an injuction to prevent repetition of the report. 

Waples accused Abramovich of meeting with wealthy Arabs to gauge their interest.

Abramovich has been trimming expenses at Chelsea, after reporting billions of pounds worth of losses in the latest credit crisis.  The club received a miniscule transfer budget compared to previous years, he has also been allegedly charging players for their lunch.

Filed under: Football, Premier League, Soccer, Cheslea, Roman Abramovich, Sunday Times

Thursday Headlines: Fergie Gets Frisky at Man U Semi-Final Celebration

Sir Alex Ferguson acts like he’s been there before after the Carling Cup Semi-Final Win. (Off the Post)

Maurice Edu blames US Soccer for placing too much pressure on Freddy Adu. (Tribal Footall)

Arsenal will make the Emirates Stadium much more technology-savvy. (Arsenal Mania)

Emerson thinks Kaka should move to Real Madrid (The Beautiful Game)

MLS is not pleased with Sports Business Journal over wording. (LA Times)

Filed under: Football, MLS, Soccer, Arsenal, Emerson, Emirates Stadium, Freddy Adu, Kaka, Manchester United, Maurice Edu, Real Madrid, Sir Alex Ferguson, United States

Fernando Torres Gessbra Commercial

I must agree with Kickette.  The smooth shoulder roll at the beginning is amazing.

Filed under: Commercial, Football, Premier League, Soccer, Fernando Torres, Liverpool

Goal: Julio Baptista Winner vs. Torino

Bicycle kicks are normally overrated.  This one was pure skill.

Filed under: Football, Goal, Serie A, Soccer, Julio Baptista, Roma, Torino

Tuesday Transfer Twaddle: Pennant to Portsmouth

Oft-troubled Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant has accepted a temporary loan move to Portsmouth, to play for former Arsenal teammate Tony Adams.  Pennant deflected interest from AC Milan and Real Madrid, originally preferring to stay at Liverpool, despite not playing.  Who wouldn’t want a player with that type of ambition?

Bayern general manager Uli Hoeness’ raging jealousy of AC Milan has lingered after the Dubai trip.  Upset by the audacity of Milan’s 120 million euro valuation of Kaka, Hoeness has tried to one-up them, by claiming Franck Ribery is worth 150 million!  Unfortunately for Bayern, Ribery does want to leave eventually, possibly for free when his contract expires in 2011.

Talks between Arsenal and Zenit St. Petersburg for Andrei Arshavin have hit an impass, with Zenit demanding that the London club raise their bid from £10m to £15m.  Five million pounds is a substantial sum, of course.  So is the £40m they would lose by not qualifying for the Champions League next season.

Lukas Podolski will return, as speculated, to his former club FC Koln, with Koln essentially returning the £10m Bayern paid for him in 2006.  However, there’s still a solid six months of awkwardness before that happens, as the clubs will not consummate the deal until July 1.  The 23-year-old should have a fabulous sulk party on the bench with new signing Landon Donovan. 

Filed under: Football, Premier League, Soccer, Transfer Rumor, Andrei Arshavin, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, FC Koln, Franck Ribery, Jermaine Pennant, Lukas Podolski, Portsmouth

Tuesday Headlines: City Blame Milan for Failed Kaka Transfer

Manchester City believe AC Milan spoiled the Kaka transfer by going public. (101 Great Goals)

Manchester United’s new home shirt. (EPL Talk)

Arsene Wenger doesn’t want to talk about winning the title, which is convenient because everyone knows they are out of the race. (Arsenal Mania)

Can Hoffenheim continue their dream season without Ibisevic? (Unprofessional Foul)

Manchester United have only come from behind in a second leg once. (Chickendinner)

Filed under: Football, Soccer, AC Milan, Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Hoffenheim, Manchester City, Manchester United, Vedad Ibisevic