Park Wants To Join Another Club

Park, who refrain from international football following the 2011 Asian Cup to help extend his club career, says he has no immediate longing to leave Manchester but would like to play for another club before  retirement.

He said,"I won't be able to show my best after one or two years. I don't know how long I can stay at Manchester," Park is quoted as saying in the Daily Mirror. "I never thought about retirement but it's obvious that I don't have much time left as a player."

"According to circumstances, I might leave Manchester United and retire in another team," he added.
Park joined United  in 2005 and has been a huge success in England.

Manchester City enter race for Modric?

According to British media, Manchester City has entered the race to sign Croatian footballer Luka Modric, who has the same source and the target of Manchester United and Chelsea.

Manchester United and Chelsea both are keen for Luka Modric and are ready to triple the wages of Croatia midfielder Luka Modric to entice him to leave Tottenham.

Modric, 25, would cost about 30 million pounds , with both clubs all set to pay him 130,000 pounds-a-week net .

Latest Transfer in EPL

BLACK BURN defender Phil Jones all set to join Premier League champions MANCHESTER UNITED.

Jones 19 year old young who had a good season 2010-2011 impressed all as a defending wall for his team he has also represented his country at under-19 and under-21 level.

The TRANSFER fee is expected to be 16 million pounds, with a 5-year-deal  in Manchester.
He had been the subject of a war between two well known  rivals Liverpool and Manchester United .
The central defender who made 26  League appearances for Blackburn in the season , but interrupted for almost three months because of knee ligament injury.

Video Highlights: Arsenal vs Manchester United

Game of the Week for EPL Weekend 12:

A typical fiesty clash between arch-rivals Arsenal and Manchester United saw it end in high drama with Gallas grabbing a late equaliser in injury time.

Earlier Rooney put Man U ahead only for Fabregas to equalise minutes into the second half. Ronaldo seemed to have won the points for Man U 9 minutes from time but Gunners' skipper William Gallas had other things on his head and headed in just before the end.

Sit back and enjoy the video highlights:

(We've had to remove this video cos of Copyright issues)

EPL Weekend 7 - Results and Review

[CLICK HERE to view the latest EPL Results]

Apologies for the massive delay once again. But the Indian Cricket Team actually managed to win the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup – so the other site kept me really busy.

Well am back here and following this post would be some posts about Live Scores of Italian Serie A, German Bundesliga, Spanish Premiera Liga and the English Coca-Cola Championship – which would all now be available here.

Well let us look at last weeks results. I got quite a few predictions correct. Arsenal continued their goal-scoring march, Liverpool managed to grab yet another draw and unfortunately Chelsea’s post-Mourinho era got off to a miserable start.

Results - EPL Weekend #7:

Arsenal 5-0 Derby:
(Prediction was: 3-0)
Arsenal continued their charge at the top of the table and continue slotting in lots of goals as they totally ripped Derby County apart. Adebayor scored as Hat-trick as Wegner’s men lie comfortably on top of the league with a game in hand!

Liverpool 0-0 Birmingham:
(Prediction was: 1-1)
As predicted, Liverpool continued their drawing ways and they couldn’t get past a pretty tight Birmingham mid-field and defense. Benitez would be hoping at ending this drawing spree with a victory against Wigan next weekend.

Middlesbrough 2-2 Sunderland:
(Prediction was: 2-1)
Sunderland grabbed a late equalizer and with it a vital point. They had earlier grabbed an early lead only to allow Middlesbrough to comeback and score two goals.

Reading 2-1 Wigan Athletic:
(Prediction was: 1-0)
Reading managed to secure a win and move out of the relegation zone for the time being. This season’s relegation battle is going to be really tight and something I’m sure all of you are looking forward to it.

Fulham 3-3 Manchester City:
(Prediction was: 0-0)
Definitely the most entertaining game of the weekend.
Watch the highlights of this match here.

Newcastle 3-1 West Ham:
(Prediction was: 1-1)
A strong showing by Sam Allardyce’s boys catapulted them above Chelsea and West Ham in the League Table to the 5th position. N’Zogbia was the star after setting up two goals and scoring the third himself.

Aston Villa 2-0 Everton:
(Prediction was: 0-0)
Villa continued with their strong showing in home matches with a solid performance against Everton. Victory saw them leapfrog Everton in the League standings. Both teams are now tied on 10 points with Villa commanding the better goal difference.

Blackburn 0-1 Portsmouth:
(Prediction was: 1-0)
Blackburn’s undefeated Premiership run finally came to an end as Portsmouth managed to register a rare away win at Ewood Park. This culminated a miserable week for the Rovers who had also managed to lose in their UEFA Cup tie.

Bolton 1-1 Tottenham:
(Prediction was: 2-2)
A draw would not be the best result for either of the teams but it was the fair one. Both teams continue to lie in the bottom 3 of the league and it’s just a matter of time before Jol or Lee manage to get the sack!

Manchester United 2-0 Chelsea:
(Prediction was: 1-1)
A disastrous start to the post-Mourinho era for Chelsea as they continued their Premiership slump. Tevez headed in his first goal for United in the Premier League and Saha added another from the penalty spot late on.

We’ll try to get in some more video content from next week. It’s not totally legal – but we won’t be hosting any videos here and would just provide you with links.

EPL Weekend 7 - Fixtures and Predictions

[You might be viewing old Fixtures and Predictions on this page. To view the latest English Premier League fixtures and predictions - CLICK HERE]

EPL Weekend #7:

Saturday:

Arsenal vs Derby:
Arsenal are in great form and though Derby recorded the first win of their season last weekend things are definitely not going to be easy for them at the Emirates Stadium.
Prediction: 3-0

Liverpool vs Birmingham:
Liverpool managed just a draw away at Porto in the Champions League mid-week and they were also held by Portsmouth last week. I expect their drawing spree to continue and think Steve Bruce’s men should be able to take some points off them this weekend.
Prediction: 1-1

Middlesbrough vs Sunderland:
Sunderland manager will look at this fixture and definitely think they can get something out of it and an away win today might catapult them in to the top half of the table. Same holds true for Middlesbrough as they are tied on the same points with the Black Cats.
Prediction: 2-1

Reading vs Wigan Athletic:
Reading would be desperate for a win and would want to get out of the relegation zone. Wigan are surprisingly in the Top Half of the table after a pretty decent start to the season. I expect Steve Coppell’s men to pull off a home victory.
Prediction: 1-0

Fulham vs Manchester City:
Fulham will be looking to record only their second win of the season. They’ve been pretty unlucky so far but Sven’s men would be looking at retaining their position near the top of the table. Scoreless draw on the cards.
Prediction: 0-0

Sunday:

Newcastle vs West Ham:
This ones sure to be a thriller. West Ham are in good form and Newcastle would be looking at making amends for the 3 dropped points against Derby on Monday. Almost half the players at West Ham have played for Newcastle at some points of their career and all of them would be looking at making a statement via this game.
Prediction: 1-1

Aston Villa vs Everton:
This ones going to be a real good game. Mid-field battle is going to win the game, but they might cancel each other out and this game too looks to be headed for a draw.
Prediction: 0-0

Blackburn vs Portsmouth:
After losing mid-week in the UEFA Cup, Blackburn would be looking at stretching their unbeaten run in the Premiership. They did very well to take points off Chelsea last weekend and would be looking at a victory against a pretty strong Portsmouth squad, which took points off Liverpool last weekend.
Prediction: 1-0

Bolton vs Tottenham:
Two teams which played in the UEFA Cup in the mid-week are languishing near the bottom of the table in the Premiership. Spurs lie in the 17th position and Bolton lie rock-bottom 20th. Both teams would be desperate for a win. High scoring match on the cards.
Prediction: 2-2

Manchester United vs Chelsea:
Alex Ferguson vs Jose Mourinho has always been an exciting battle. Animated and heated discussion, war of words, tactical battle both off and on the pitch. I’m sure even Ferguson would miss Mourinho. The exit of the Special One overshadows the enormity of this clash.
Prediction: 1-1

Champions League Draw – All Groups (32 Teams)

Group A:

LIVERPOOL
FC Porto
Marseille
Besiktas

Group B:

CHELSEA
Valencia
Schalke
Rosenborg

Group C:

Real Madrid
Werder Bremen
Lazio
Olympiakos

Group D:

AC Milan (Holders)
Benfica
Celtic
Shakhtar Donetsk

Group E:

Barcelona
Lyon
VfB Stuttgart
Rangers

Group F:

MANCHESTER UNITED
Roma
Sporting Lisbon
Dynamo Kiev

Group G:

Inter Milan
PSV Eindhoven
CSKA Moscow
Fenerbahce

Group H:

ARSENAL
Sevilla or AEK Athens
Steaua Bucharest
Slavia Prague

Super Sub Ole Gunnar Solskjaer retires

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has brought the curtains down on his playing career with Manchester United - but his Old Trafford days are not over yet.

After 11 years and 366 appearances for the club he has had to finally call it a day due to an ongoing knee injury.

Solskjaer joined united for £1.5million from Norwegian side Molde and literally immortalized himself after he famously scored the winner in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich to help the club win the treble in 1999.

The 34-year-old even scored 11 goals last season as United again won the Barclays Premier League crown, but he has never fully overcome his knee problem.

However, the man famously nicknamed 'the baby-faced assassin', will remain at United in a coaching capacity and will continue to represent the club as an official ambassador.

Here’s a tribute to the jersey No. 20 Legend, The Super Sub, The Baby-Faced Assassin – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer:

EPL Weekend 4 – Results and Review: Man United notch first win, Arsenal stop Man City and Chelsea go top.

[CLICK HERE to view the latest EPL Results]

Results - EPL Weekend # 4:

Sunderland 0 – Liverpool 2:
(Prediction was: Liverpool to win 1-0)

Sunderland's misfortunes continued as they fell to their second defeat of the campaign. New keeper Craig Gordon lived up to his £9 million tag and produced a series of superb saves but could not keep Liverpool at bay for the entire match.Goals from Mohamed Sissoko and Andriy Voronin gave the visitors a 2-0 victory.

Arsenal 1 - Manchester City 0:
(Prediction was: 1-1)

Manchester City's 100% start to the season came to a halt at Emirates stadium as they conceded their first goal of the campaign and saw Chelsea overtake them at the top of the table. Kasper Schmeichel's continued his brilliance between the posts as he saved a penalty from Robin van Persie. But he couldn't keep out Cesc Fabregas' fierce shot ten minutes from time which gave Arsenal a 1-0 victory.

Aston Villa 2 – Fulham 1:
(Prediction was: Aston Villa to win 1-0)

An early goal by Clint Dempsey gave Fulham the lead against Aston Villa. Villa claimed a deserved equaliser when Ashley Young's cross was deflected into his own goal by Zat Knight on 50 minutes. Chris Baird was then sent off for a second yellow card before Shaun Maloney scored in injury-time to hand Villa a thrilling 2-1 victory.

Bolton 3 – Reading 0:
(Prediction was: 1-0)

Bolton Wanderers finally recorded a win and with it their first points of the season. Goals from Gary Speed, Nicolas Anelka and substitute Daniel Braaten secured a 3-0 home victory over Reading. Other good news for them is that Diouf is happy to stay back at Bolton for the remainder of the season. Reading must be hoping the same from their defender Shorey.

Chelsea 1 – Portsmouth 0:
(Prediction was: Chelsea to win 2-1)

Chelsea took top spot in the Barclays Premier League thanks to a 1-0 victory over Portsmouth at Stamford Bridge. After scoring for England midweek, Lampard did the same for his club and a fierce shot on the half-hour mark beat David James and secured all three points for the Blues.

Derby 1 – Birmingham 2:
(Prediction was: Derby to win 1-0)

Birmingham City won the clash of the promoted sides at Pride Park with a 2-1 triumph over Derby County. Jerome put the visitors ahead after only 32 seconds. Matt Oakley leveled on 51 minutes but Jerome's second goal twelve minutes later sealed three could-be-crucial points for Birmingham.

West Ham 1 – Wigan 1:
(Prediction was: 2-0 for West Ham)

Two late goals left honours even between West Ham United and Wigan Athletic at Upton Park. Wigan scored when Paul Scharner's overhead kick found the corner of the net in the 79th minute before Lee Bowyer finished from a tight angle two minutes later to leave it 1-1.

Everton 1 – Blackburn 1:
(Prediction was: 1-1)

Goodison lived up to my prediction and saw Everton and Blackburn fight out a 1-1 draw. James McFadden equalized for Everton with his first goal of the season after Roque Santa Cruz's third goal of the season (2nd in the EPL) had given Blackburn Rovers a first-half lead.

Middlesbrough 2 – Newcastle 2:
(Prediction was: 1-1)

Mark Viduka was on target on his return to the Riverside Stadium as Middlesbrough and Newcastle United played out an eventful 2-2 draw. Charles N'Zogbia opened the scoring for Newcastle in the 22nd minute but Mido's second goal in as many games saw Boro back on level terms six minutes later. Viduka netted his first goal for the Magpies and thought he’d secured a win against his former team but Julio Arca’s late strike salvaged a draw for Middlesbrough.

Manchester United 1 - Tottenham 0:
(Prediction was: Man U to win 2-0)

Manchester United chalked up their first win of the season thanks to sensational goal by Nani. The Portuguese youngster drove a spectacular long-range effort past Paul Robinson and into the top corner of the Tottenham Hotspur net. This was only the second goal of United's second till now but it was to give the Champions a 1-0 victory over Spurs.

Have a look at the goal:


Nani First Goal In Man Utd - Subscribe to the EPL08.com RSS feed

PremierLeague.com

Heinze and Robben join Real Madrid

[You might be viewing old Transfer News on this page. To know the latest on EPL Transfers - CLICK HERE]

Real Madrid have completed the signings of Dutch winger Arjen Robben from Chelsea and Argentina defender Gabriel Heinze from Manchester United.

Heinze, 29, has signed a four-year deal with Real after a long drawn transfer dispute between Manchester United and Liverpool over the player.

While the 23-year-old Robben also had a long drawn transfer saga and will now be tied to the Spanish giants for the next five seasons.

Neither fee has been confirmed, but reports in the Spanish media suggest the double swoop could cost Real almost 50million euros (£34million) in total.

Robben said: "For me it was really a big relief when yesterday the final word came that I could join Madrid. I think its a great honour if you're one of the promises of a president. Now I am here I think everybody is happy - the club is happy, I'm very happy."

Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck considers the sale of Robben as a "very good business result".

Robben's move to Spain is worth around double the £12million the Blues paid PSV Eindhoven in 2004 for the Holland winger - a healthy return for a player who did not want to stay at Stamford Bridge. Even though Robben is going to be missed at Chelsea, the arrival of Malouda has softened the impact of his departure.

Meanwhile Heinze who wanted to join Liverpool but wasn’t allowed to do so has admitted replacing the Brazilian Roberto Carlos will be a tough task.

"I think that it is impossible to forget Roberto Carlos. I have come here to give everything. What Roberto Carlos has done is impressive," said Heinze.

Lyon were also in the running to land Heinze but the South American insists Real were the club for him.

Via – Sporting Life

EPL Weekend 3 – Results and Review. Big 4 Slip as Man City top table

[CLICK HERE to view the latest EPL Results]

Sorry for the delay guys. Was out exploring the wild and didn’t have access to the net for the whole week.

Results - EPL Weekend #3

Portsmouth 3 – Bolton 1:
(Prediction was: Portsmouth to win 1-0)

Portsmouth ran out 3-1 winners against Bolton. Kanu and John Utaka put Pompey ahead after Nicolas Anelka had given Wanderers a surprise lead. A Matt Taylor penalty sealed the points for Pommies. Defeat leaves Bolton languishing at the bottom of the table and qualifying for Europe would be a distant dream currently.

Birmingham 0 - West Ham 1:
(Prediction was: West Ham to nick it by a single goal.)

My prediction was spot on and so was Mark Noble – who drilled home a penalty to secure a 1-0 win for West Ham.

Fulham 1 - Middlesbrough 2:
(Prediction was: A nil-nil draw is on the cards.)

At Craven Cottage, Fulham were denied what looked to be a legitimate injury-time equalizer. This was after a second howler in a week by Fulham goalkeeper Tony Warner helped Middlesbrough snatch a 2-1 victory.

Earlier Brian McBride was stretchered off after injuring his knee while scoring the first goal. Mido equalized for Boro on his debut and Lee Cattermole won it them four minutes from time.

Reading 1 - Everton 0:
(Prediction was: An entertaining 1-1 draw.)

Everton started the day at the top of the Premier League table but lacked their usual spark as they went down 1-0 to Reading at the Madejski Stadium.

Tottenham 4 - Derby County 1:
(Prediction was: Finally some points for Spurs. 3-1 in their favour.)

Martin Jol’s Tottenham finally managed to record their first win of the season with a comprehensive 4-0 win at home against Derby County.

Steed Malbranque netted the first with less than 2 minutes on the clock and just 3 minutes later he added another. Jermaine Jenas made it 3-0 with a superb solo run down the middle. Darren Bent added a fourth in the second half.

Victory wasn’t enough to secure Martin Jol’s job and there are talks of Sevilla coach Juande Ramos replacing him soon.

Wigan 3 – Sunderland 0:
(Prediction was: Tight match to end in a 1-1 draw.)

Meanwhile Chris Hutchings' Wigan continued to defy expectations with a 3-0 win over Sunderland that put them temporarily top of the table. Emile Heskey continued his fine form and netted the opener. Two second-half penalties gave the final score an impressive look. Denny Landzaat scored from the spot before the in-form Sibierski netted for the third straight game.

Newcastle 0 - Aston Villa 0:
(Prediction was: 2-0 to Newcastle.)

Michael Owen made yet another comeback but it wasn’t enough to inspire Newcastle to a victory and they played out a 0-0 draw with Aston Villa at home.

Manchester City 1 - Manchester United 0:
(Prediction was: United to continue with their drawing spree. 1-1.)

Manchester City went top of the EPL after recording a shock 1-0 victory against high profile city neighbours Manchester United.

Man United dominated the game but wayward finishing and some desperate City defending kept them at bay. Geovanni fired home from outside the box with the aid of a slight deflection off Nemanja Vidic to get the victory for City.

Blackburn 1 – Arsenal 1:
1 Red Card and 10 Yellow Cards
(Prediction was: A 2-2 draw will continue a weekend full of draws. 1 Red Card and 5 Yellow Cards)

A mistake by goalkeeper Jens Lehmann cost Arsenal two points against Blackburn as the sides drew 1-1 after a very physical match at Ewood Park.

The Gunners were in the driving seat thanks to Robin van Persie's second goal of the season and on course for victory.But with 18 minutes remaining Lehmann allowed a shot from David Dunn to slip through his hands for his second high-profile blunder in as many weeks.

Liverpool 1 – Chelsea 1:
(Prediction was: A 2-1 away victory for Chelsea)

A controversial penalty from Frank Lampard earned Chelsea a point at Anfield as they came from behind to draw 1-1 with Liverpool as referee Rob Styles appeared to have Robbed Liverpool off 2 points. He adjudged Steve Finnan to have fouled Florent Malouda in the 62nd minute, but the Chelsea player appeared to jump into the Liverpool full-back.

Earlier Fernando Torres struck his first goal for the Reds after he beat Tal Ben-Haim for pace and slotted a neat finish past Petr Cech into the corner.

Chelsea's failure to maintain their 100 per cent record leaves Manchester City at the top of the table after 3 rounds of matches.

(Via)

EPL Results – Chelsea beat Reading, Man Utd held by Portsmouth. Review of all Mid-Week Matches

[CLICK HERE to view the latest EPL Results]

Portsmouth 1 - Manchester United 1
Cristiano Ronaldo and new Portsmouth signing Sulley Muntari saw red as Manchester United were held to another battling draw by Portsmouth.

The champions took the lead via a Payl Scholes goal assisted by United debutant Carlos Tevez. Portsmouth leveled in the 53rd minute through Mwaruwari Benjani.

The Manchester derby is up next for United while Portsmouth face Bolton at home.

Reading 1 - Chelsea 2
Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba ensured Chelsea didn’t drop any points at Reading. Both scored shortly after half-time to complete a fine comeback win. Earlier in the match, Andre Bikey capitalized on a mistake by Petr Cech to give Reading the lead.

Chelsea travel to Anfield to face Liverpool on Sunday while Reading play host to Everton.

Man City 1 - Derby County 0
Manchester City continued their perfect start to the season with a 1-0 victory over newly promoted Derby County at the City of Manchester Stadium.

19-year-old Michael Johnson scored a classy goal which was also his first professional goal.

Derby travel to Tottenham this weekend while City play hosts to Manchester United.

Birmingham 2 - Sunderland 2
The Premiership new-boys renewed their Championship rivalry after playing out an entertaining draw. Sunderland continued their late scoring antics as Stern John came off the bench to net the equalizer in the 90th minute.

Birmingham host West Ham United coming weekend while Sunderland travel to Wigan.

Fulham 2 - Bolton 1
Fulham dealt Bolton a second straight defeat after coming from behind to win 2-1 at Craven Cottage.

Ex-Fulham striker Heidar Helguson put Bolton in the front after a mistake by Fulham goalie Tony Warner. David Healy equalized for Fulham and Ex-Chelsea midfielder Alexi Smertin netted the winner.

Fulham play hosts to Middlesbrough this weekend while Bolton travel to Portsmouth.

Wigan 1 - Middlesbrough 0
On a night studded with goalkeeping errors, the costliest one came JJB Stadium when Mark Schwarzer's spill gifted Wigan a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough.

Schwarzer could not hold Antonio Valencia's 55th-minute shot and Antoine Sibierski pounced to bundle the ball home for his second goal in as many matches.

Latest Results – Sunday Review: Chelsea & Arsenal Win. Man Utd held

[For results and reviews of all the games played on Saturday – Click Here]

Arsenal 2 – Fulham 1

The day’s first game saw Arsenal get off to a rather shaky start and Fulham took a shock lead after just 52 seconds through David Healy following a blunder by Gunners keeper Jens Lehmann.

However just as it looked that Wegner’s men were headed for defeat – Arsenal came from behind to snatch a dramatic victory. The first goal came via a penalty from Van Persie after a spirited run by Toure was ended abruptly Carlos Bocanegra. Hleb added the second in the 90th minute as all the Arsenal fans heaved a sigh of relief.

Chelsea 3 – Birmingham City 2

Ex-Chelsea player Mikael Forssell opened the scoring for Birmingham before Claudio Pizarro and Florent Malouda scored on their Premiership debuts for Chelsea. Olivier Kapo levelled matters leveled matters with a sizzling strike before Essien struck the decider five minutes into the second half with a sweet curling shot.

By not losing this game – Chelsea also set an English record for unbeaten league matches at home. Chelsea are now 64 league matches unbeaten at Stamford Bridge, one better than Liverpool's efforts between 1978 and 1981.

Manchester United 0 – Reading 0

Meanwhile Champions Manchester United endured a frustrating start against Reading at home. Marcus Hahnemann was the hero as he saved everything that came his way. The Red Devils had nearly 2 dozen unsuccessful attempts at goal.

Steve Coppell’s side were reduced to 10 men with nearly 20 minutes to go as Dave Kitson was sent-off for a late challenge on Evra. But they held on for a highly commendable draw.

[For results and reviews of all the games played on Saturday – Click Here]

Latest EPL Transfer News - Ballack not leaving Chelsea and many other updates

[You might be viewing old Transfer News on this page. To know the latest on EPL Transfers - CLICK HERE]

Newcastle United have signed Spain Under-21 international Jose Enrique from Spanish side Villarreal for £6.3m.

The 21-year-old left-back, who watched the Magpies beat Sampdoria 1-0 on Sunday, has agreed a five-year deal.

Meanwhile the deal between West Ham and Newcastle for Kieron Dyer seems to have fallen apart over valuation. Dyer was all set to join the Hammers for around £6 million but then Newcastle suddenly realized that they had under-valued the player their playe and demanded a further £2million causing West Ham to pull out of the move.

West Ham were pretty furious after the sudden price hike and still seem to be interested in signing Dyer - but will not go above the £6 million mark.

Mido still seems to be in demand. After not being able to agree personal terms with Birmingham there were rumours that he might have to stick around for some more time at Spurs – but Roy Keane is interested in signing Mido for Sunderland as he gets ready for his rookie season as a Premiership boss.

Sunderland face competition from Fulham – who were linked with Mido at the start of the summer, but a move did not materialize.

At Old Trafford, the transfer saga of Gabriel Heinze continues. due back to training with Manchester United today, and he's held face-to-face talks with Sir Alex Ferguson in a bid to resolve the row over his proposed move to Liverpool.

Over at Manchester City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson's is keen to sign a Goal Keeper soon and The Manchester Evening News claims that Scott Carson and Carlo Cudicini are his top targets.

Everton seem to have won the race to sign left-back Leighton Baines. Baines is expected to complete the switch from Wigan on Tuesday after he agreed personal terms and underwent a medical. The deal is around the £5million mark.

Over at Chelsea – who seem to be a little rattled with numerous injuries topped with the FA Community Shield defeat to Manchester United...
Michael Ballack has insisted that he won't be leaving Chelsea and that he has had "no contact with Real Madrid whatsoever". Reports that Barcelona were mounting a fresh move for Frank Lampard have been denied by the Catalans.

At Bolton, Senegalese forward El-Hadji Diouf is heard to be pushing for a move to Lyon. The 26-year-old joined from Liverpool around two years back but has reportedly been considering his future at the Reebok since the departure of Sam Allardyce, who has apparently even made moves to lure him to Newcastle.

Via: Sporting Life

Review: Latest EPL Pre-Season Friendlies. Arsenal win another tournament.

Ajax 0 - Arsenal 1
In a highly physical and bad-tempered affair, Arsenal came through to record a victory by a solitary goal scored by Robin van Persie – who was then stretchered off.

This was Arsenal’s second Pre-Season tournament victory, after winning the Emirates tournament last week. link

Aston Villa 3 - Inter Milan 0
Aston Villa warmed up for the new Premier League season with a commanding 3-0 win over Italian champions Inter Milan at Villa Park. Villa captain Gareth Barry scored two and set up the third as the Italians crashed to a defeat just a few days after they defeated Man United.

Peterborough 1 - Man Utd 3
Owen Hargreaves finally made his Manchester United debut as the Premier League champions enjoyed a comfortable 3-1 win over Peterborough.

Goals for United scored by Adam Eckersley, Richie Jones and Fangzhuo Dong.

Note: This game was played on Saturday. Before Manchester United’s triumph in the FA Community Shield.

By the way, Peterborough were managed by Sir Alex Feguson’s son – Darren.

Tottenham 2 - Torino 0
Tottenham manager Martin Jol opted for the strike duo of Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov up front and was rewarded with a goal from each in a 2-0 win over Torino.

Man City 0 - Valencia 1
With five new signings in their starting line-up, Manchester City lost to Valencia. There’s plenty of work for Sven-Goran Eriksson to do before the Premier League opener at West Ham next week.

Sunderland 1 - Juventus 1
Sunderland warmed up for their season opener against Tottenham next week with an entertaining 1-1 draw with Juventus.

Colchester 1 - Bolton 2
Ricardo Vaz Te and Gary Speed were both on target as Bolton recorded a 2-1 win at Championship club Colchester.

Middlesbrough 2 - AZ Alkmaar 0
First-half goals from Stewart Downing and Yakubu gave Middlesbrough a 2-0 win over AZ Alkmaar.

Crystal Palace 0 - Everton 0
Everton were held to a goalless draw by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in their final pre-season friendly.

Leeds 1 - Wigan Athletic 2
Jason Koumas scored both goals as Wigan beat crisis club Leeds 2-1 in a pre-season friendly at Elland Road.

Leicester 1 - Portsmouth 3
Portsmouth's new recruit David Nugent was on target as they came from behind to beat Leicester 3-1 in a pre-season friendly at the Walkers Stadium.

Wolves 2 - Reading 3
Reading warmed up for the start of the season with a 3-2 victory against Wolves at Molineux.

Preston 0 - Blackburn 3
Blackburn showed their Premier League class to comfortably see off Lancashire rivals Preston 3-0 at Deepdale.

Derby 2 - Espanyol 2
Steve Howard produced a late equaliser as Derby ended their pre-season preparations with a lively 2-2 draw against UEFA Cup finalists Espanyol.

West Ham 2 - Roma 1
Long-term injury absentee Dean Ashton was back on the scoresheet for West Ham as they came from behind to beat Roma 2-1 at Upton Park.

Via: Sporting Life

Manchester United win FA Community Shield via Penalty Shoot-out

Van der Saar saved 3 penalties in the shoot-out as Manchester United won this years FA Community Shield.

The game saw 2 classy goals in the first half from Man Utd captain Ryan Giggs and Chelsea new signing Florent Malouda. The game proceeded to penalties straight after the 90 minutes deadlock.

Claudio Pizarro, Frank Lampard and Shawn Wright Phillips all missed for Chelsea as Van Der Saar made 3 acrobatic saves. Cech couldn't save any as Rio Ferdinand, Carrick and Rooney slotted home their respective penalties.

Well more often than not the team which wins the FA Community Shield - doesn't go on to win the League! So there's something that the Chelsea fans can console themselves with.

Goals and Penalty Shoot-Out video via YouTube:



(Apologies for the low quality)

EPL08.com will be starting Live Free SMS score updates from the start of the Season next weekend. So be on the watch for a related post.

FA Community Shield - Chelsea vs Manchester United

Formerly known as the Charity Shield, The FA Community Shield is the traditional curtain-raiser to the domestic season between the League and FA Cup Champions.

The 2007 Community Shield match will return to Wembley Stadium. The game will be played tomorrow (5 August, 20007) between FA Cup winners Chelsea and on Premier League champions Manchester United.




Chelsea beat Manchester United in the last Community Shield game at Wembley in 2000.

Dutch duo Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Mario Melchiot scored either side of the break to give the Blues a 2-0 victory.

Both the teams will like to begin the season on a winning note and it’s sure to be an exciting game this time around.

Although Sir Alex Ferguson has signed three new players, Owen Hargreaves, Nani and Anderson, with another to come in Carlos Tevez at some point early next week, none is likely to be in the Premier League champions' starting line-up.

Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs are expected to spearhead United's attack as they look for revenge after losing the FA Cup final to Jose Mourinho's men at the same venue in May.

Chelsea are without Michael Ballack and Wayne Bridge (both ankle) and Salomon Kalou (knee).
Arjen Robben and Frank Lampard are both available along with England left-back Ashley Cole.
Didier Drogba will lead a three-man attack with Joe Cole and Florent Malouda.

Teams:

Man Utd (from): Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Brown, Bardsley, Pique, Simpson, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evans, Silvestre, Evra, Ronaldo, Fletcher, O'Shea, Carrick, Eagles, Giggs, Rooney.

Chelsea (from): Cech, Cudicini, Hilario, Ferreira, A Cole, Diarra, Sidwell, Essien, Lampard, Robben, Mikel, Malouda, J Cole, Drogba, Shevchenko, Ben Haim, Pizarro, Terry, Carvalho.

Referee: Mark Halsey
Assistants: Darren Cann and Martin Yerby
Fourth Official: Chris Foy

Liverpool are the current Shield holders after beating rivals Chelsea 2-1 in Cardiff last year.

EPL Fixtures 2007-08: August

[You are on the page of EPL Fixtures - August. Click Here to view the complete list of fixtures for the month of September]

In this and the subsequent series of posts we'll take you through the fixtures of the upcoming season. But with almost 10 games each weekend, we'll have a look at games which you cannot afford to miss!

Note:
The Fixtures list is a Copyright © and Database Right The FA Premier League and one cannot officially publish the whole list.
It is available at PremierLeague.com

Kick-Off Weekend:

Saturday 11 August, 2007:

Sunderland vs Tottenham Hotspur
Bolton vs Newcastle United
Derby County vs Portsmouth
Everton vs Wigan Athletic
Middlesbrough vs Blackburn Rovers
West Ham United vs Manchester City
Aston Villa vs Liverpool

Sunday 12 August, 2007:

Arsenal vs Fulham
Chelsea vs Birmingham City
Manchester United vs Reading

Other Matches definitely worth watching in the month of August (Apart from those of your favourite team):

Tuesday 14 August, 2007:

Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton
Two teams which have spent a fair deal of money in the Summer and who are sure to push for a top 4 finish.

Sunday 19 August, 2007:

Manchester City vs Manchester United
The Manchester Derby is never short of action. This will be Sven Goran Erikkson's first major challenge.
Erikkson vs Fergusson is going to be a nice battle for sure.

Liverpool vs Chelsea
Liverpool and Chelsea face-off pretty early in the season. In a rivalry which has continued over the last couple of years with Liverpool being responsible for 2 of Chelsea's Champions League exits in the last 3 years.

Last year in the Premiership it was the 2-0 defeat at the hands of Liverpool that realistically ended Chelsea's title challenge. With both teams adding several new players - this game is definitely a must watch.

Mark it in your calendars.

Sunday 26 August, 2007:

Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur
A clash between these two is always a feisty affair. Tottenham have spent lots of money pre-season and now seem to have a pretty strong team on paper. This ones going to be a nice one to see how some of the new stars perform.

The Complete List of all the games in August can be found here.

Latest EPL Transfer News – Tevez joins Man Utd, Alan Smith completes Newcastle move and lots more…

[You might be viewing old Transfer News on this page. To know the latest on EPL Transfers - CLICK HERE]

Carlos Tevez joins Manchester United

The Carlos Tevez saga has finally come to an end and Tevez has begun training with his new Manchester United team-mates. He is all set to make his debut next week.

The Premier League ratified a deal which released Tevez from his West Ham contract.

"We are delighted," Ferguson told MUTV.

Tevez's debut will mark the start of a two-year loan period, which gives United the option to complete a permanent transfer at the end. The two-year loan deal is likely to cost United around £5million a year and a statement from Tevez's representative said: "Carlos is looking forward to being a Manchester United player and his ambition is close to being achieved.

The Hammers meanwhile said in a statement: "The settlement ends the current litigation taking place between the respective parties and provides for a £2million fee to be paid to West Ham.”
West Ham chairman Eggert Magnusson was relieved the affair has finally been concluded.

In other transfer news:

Alan Smith completes Newcastle move

Well as predicted by me, Smith completed his move to Newcastle United and is set to replace the midfield role played by Kieron Dyer (Who is in talks with West Ham).

Alan Smith said the time was right to embrace a new era at St James' Park after signing a five-year deal with Newcastle on Friday for an undisclosed fee - believed to be in the region of £6million.

Bolton sign Daniel Braaten

Bolton manager Sammy Lee has completed the signing of Norwegian international winger Daniel Braaten from Rosenborg for an undisclosed fee.

Lee has made a number of new signings since replacing Sam Allardyce towards the end of last season.

Former Aston Villa duo Jloyd Samuel and Gavin McCann have joined at the Reebok stadium. So to have Christian Wilhelmsson and Heidar Helguson.

Ironically - Bolton open their season with a home game against Allardyce's Newcastle.

Via – Sporting Life

Rhain Davis – The future of Manchester United? A 9 year old Football Whiz

Manchester United signed a 9 year old - Rhain Davis - from Australia after the Man U scouts were left mesmerized by seeing some DVD footage of the kid.

Three weeks back news about Rhain’s skills were covered in a front page story in Brisbane’s Courier Mail. Then The Sun promoted him to their front page, commanding at least 10 million readers.

Why? How? Still confused and want to know more?
Well sit back and enjoy this video…it’s so good that it’s actually scary!:



The video's gone viral and has already garnered over 2 million views on YouTube.

Though Rhain will definitely not make it to the United team this season, with the skills he possesses – the EPL stage is not far away.

Pic Source: Nathan Richter