Premier league 2007/2008: Pre-season

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Five clubs named in Stevens probe

Seventeen transfers and five Premier League clubs have been named in Lord Stevens' final report into alleged transfer irregularities.
Deals involving Chelsea, Middlesbrough, Bolton, Portsmouth and Newcastle have been highlighted in the report.

They may face a further FA probe but there is no evidence of irregular payments to club officials or players.

Stevens has also expressed concern about 15 agents and managers Sam Allardyce and Graeme Souness.

There was a perceived conflict of interest with Newcastle boss Allardyce and his former agent son Craig and Bolton Wanderers.

Stevens also reported "inconsistencies in evidence" provided by the former Newcastle manager Souness and Kenneth Shepherd, son of Magpies chairman Freddy Shepherd.

Of the 17 transfers, four relate to Newcastle signings (Emre Belozoglu, Jean Alain Boumsong, Amady Faye, Albert Luque), four to Bolton (Ali Al-Habsi, Tal Ben Haim, Blessing Kaku, Julio Correia), three to Chelsea (Didier Drogba, Petr Cech, Michael Essien), three to Portsmouth (Collins Mbesuma, Benjani Mwaruwari, Aliou Cisse) and two to Middlesbrough (Aiyegbeni Yakubu and Fabio Rochemback) while one transfer has not been disclosed.

Lord Stevens said in a statement: "Many lessons have been learned and strict adherence to and enforcement of the recommendations should ensure that the game and the transfer market can proceed in an untainted and transparent manner."

The Premier League will now send the findings to the FA and Fifa.

An FA spokesman said: "Following the final report of the Premier League's Quest Inquiry, the FA will give full consideration to its contents and the documentation that is due to be passed on by the Premier League and Quest.

"The FA has provided full co-operation and support to the Premier League and Quest and will now go through their information as part of our governance and regulation process. This will determine what action is required."

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Finally some sense:

June 16, 2007
Blades know nothing about playing fair


THE Campaign for Fairness in Football gets its day in court tomorrow.

High on publicity and puffed up with righteous indignation, Sheffield United will hit town to demand reinstatement to the Premier League at the expense of West Ham, for a breach of the infamous rule U18. It is only fair, they will argue.

So let us look at what else Sheffield United would appear to believe is fair — because now it gets interesting.

Sheffield United think it is fair that they can sell striker Steve Kabba to Watford for £500,000, yet keep him.

Sheffield United think it is fair that he should play against three of the teams that were in the relegation mix in the last month of the season, but not them.

Sheffield United think it is fair that they should paint themselves as whiter than white, while officially admitting entering into an arrangement contravening the third party interference ruling that is at the heart of tomorrow's arbitration hearing.

Sheffield United have some serious questions to answer.

Ethics

Like at what point were they going to explain the strange circumstances surrounding Kabba's deal.

Like how they account for official club information stating Kabba could not play against his former club because of a clause that was part of his permanent transfer and would, therefore, be illegal.

Like how they can keep up the pretence that there is one set of villains in this story, West Ham, and all the other characters display the business ethics and demeanour of the lovechildren of Bob Cratchit and Mary Poppins.

In reality, they are motley crew, this Campaign for Fairness in Football.

Mohammed Al Fayed, chairman of Fulham, is a supporter. His transfer market activities were believed so fair that in January 2004, his club was temporarily suspended from the international market by FIFA over unpaid debts on the Steve Marlet deal.

Similar action was threatened over the transfer of Louis Saha. "I am a man of principle," he says.

Then there is Wigan Athletic chairman Dave Whe*an. He would know much about the boundaries of fairness having been fined £5.5m by the Office of Fair Trading for fixing the price of England and Manchester United shirts at his company JJB Sports.

Finally, spearheading the movement is that vested interest on legs, fair-minded Sheffield United plc chairman Kevin McCabe, who wants to re-referee the match after it has been played, to achieve the precise result needed for his team to win.

It is no longer suggested that West Ham should merely have points deducted, because a two-point penalty would not save McCabe's club.

A very specific punishment is required now — three points — the amount needed to keep Sheffield United up on goal difference and send West Ham down. McCabe has sanctimoniously demanded the league be adjusted on moral grounds in June, forgetting the skeleton in his own cupboard — 5ft 10in of striker, sold by Sheffield United to Watford on the condition he could not come back to haunt them.

March

Kabba played 14 out of 15 games for Watford immediately after his move. He played in a 1-0 win against West Ham, and 1-1 draws with Wigan and Manchester City.

But he couldn't feature in the defeat to Sheffield United on April 28 — because, according to Sheffield's website, his former club would not let him.


Manchester United insisted on a similar arrangement when goalkeeper Tim Howard moved to Everton — but at least chief executive David Gill did not march on Parliament bleating about fairness, when all the time his club had bent the rulebook until its spine snapped.

West Ham's actions over Tevez were wrong and the club was found guilty and punished.

Yet what is equally wrong is to pretend this is a rogue institution, out of step with its compatriots, when the merest scratch at the surface reveals an industry that is rife with suspicious discrepancies and transgressions.

Fairness, it seems, begins at home which, if he is to leave the Premier League with his credibility intact, is perhaps where McCabe and his fellow campaigners should stay tomorrow

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Op zondag 17 juni 2007 20:55 schreef Erasmusch het volgende:
fuck off northern monkeys

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Op vrijdag 22 juni 2007 23:48 schreef DiegoArmandoMaradona het volgende:
Hij is toch daar met kop en schouders de beste voetballers

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Op vrijdag 22 juni 2007 23:54 schreef Dubnobasswithmyheadman het volgende:
Een speler met flair kunnen ze ook wel gebruiken.

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Op vrijdag 22 juni 2007 23:52 schreef Public_NME het volgende:

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Beste voetballer wil ik niet zeggen, maar zeker wel de beste afmaker...

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Op zondag 17 juni 2007 20:55 schreef Erasmusch het volgende:

[..]

fuck off northern monkeys

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Op zaterdag 23 juni 2007 00:27 schreef Grimm het volgende:

[..]


Wie van Liverpool/Manutd/ Chelsea kampioen wordt durf ik niet te zeggen, Liverpool en Man utd hebben grote bedragen uitgegeven ( Of gaan dat doen).

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Op zaterdag 23 juni 2007 10:39 schreef Dubnobasswithmyheadman het volgende:
Henry dus niet meer in de PL.

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Op vrijdag 22 juni 2007 23:58 schreef DiegoArmandoMaradona het volgende:

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Wie mag dan in zijn schaduw staan?

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Op zaterdag 23 juni 2007 11:58 schreef Grimm het volgende:

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Hing al een jaar in de lucht, erg jammer voor Arsenal dat ze weer een boegbeeld kwijt raken. Hopen voor ze dat Persie de stijgende lijn doortrekt en arsenal wat op sleeptouw kan nemen voorin

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Op zaterdag 23 juni 2007 11:58 schreef Grimm het volgende:

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Hing al een jaar in de lucht, erg jammer voor Arsenal dat ze weer een boegbeeld kwijt raken. Hopen voor ze dat Persie de stijgende lijn doortrekt en arsenal wat op sleeptouw kan nemen voorin

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Op zondag 24 juni 2007 20:50 schreef Public_NME het volgende:
Ja maar TH met zijn goals is toch wel belangrijker dan een Vieira die als leider op het middenveld fungeert. Arsenal moet echt een goalgetter aantrekken imo...

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Op maandag 25 juni 2007 12:51 schreef Ofyles2 het volgende:
Ik vrees dat Arsenal dit seizoen voor het laatst CL speelt. Het elftal moet nu vechten tegen Bolton en Portsmouth.

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Op maandag 25 juni 2007 12:51 schreef Ofyles2 het volgende:
Ik vrees dat Arsenal dit seizoen voor het laatst CL speelt. Het elftal moet nu vechten tegen Bolton en Portsmouth.

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Blades set for relegation verdict

Sheffield United will learn from a Premier League arbitration panel on Tuesday if they have won the battle to regain a place in the top flight. The Blades claim West Ham should have been docked points for breaking transfer rules over the signings of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano.

West Ham stayed up at the Blades' expense on the final day of the season, leading to Sheffield United's appeal. West Ham had earlier been fined £5.5m for their handling of the duo's deals.

The panel cannot order the League to deduct points from the Hammers - but they do have the power to insist that a fresh independent disciplinary commission looks at the case. Such a ruling would throw the league into disarray - because it would be impossible for a new disciplinary hearing and any subsequent appeals to take place before the start of the new season.

A third option would be for the tribunal to declare that there are no grounds to order a new disciplinary commission for West Ham but that Sheffield United could have a case for compensation. However, that verdict too would open a can of worms by effectively saying that the original commission acted inappropriately. The Premier League maintains it handled the affair by the rulebook.

It has consistently argued that the independent commission's original decision to fine West Ham rather than dock points should not be overturned simply because another club does not agree with it.

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Op dinsdag 3 juli 2007 09:36 schreef M0NTANA het volgende:
Wat verwacht men hier van het nieuwe seizoen? Ook al kunnen er nog veel mutaties plaatsvinden in de selecties, ook nu al kan er aardig gespeculeerd worden over het komende seizoen. Persoonlijk verwacht ik dat Chelsea en Manchester United gaan uitmaken wie er kampioen worden, daarachter komen Liverpool, Arsenal en hopelijk nog wat subtoppers, zoals de Spurs, Portsmouth, Newcastle United en Aston Villa.

Maar goed, wat verwacht de rest hier van het komende seizoen?

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Op dinsdag 3 juli 2007 11:13 schreef BliksemSchigt het volgende:

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Man Utd is de favoriet voor mij, met daarachter Liverpool en Chelsea. Denk dat Arsenal wel eens buiten de top 4 zal kunnen vallen en ik ben benieuwd naar Man City met Eriksson. Tottenham en Bolton zullen het ook wel weer leuk gaan doen.

Op basis van wat verwacht je Newcastle en Aston Villa?

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Op dinsdag 3 juli 2007 19:06 schreef Public_NME het volgende:
Torres is op weg naar Pool voor de medical schijnt... Torres en Dirk samen in de spits?

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Op dinsdag 3 juli 2007 16:54 schreef mcyodogg het volgende:
Liverpool Gillett en Hicks. Thaksin Shinawatra van City is nog niet helemaal rond volgens mij. Verder zit Al-Fayed bij Fulham en Mandaric bij Portsmouth.

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Lita Wants International Breakthrough

England Under-21 star Leroy Lita has spoken of his desire to break into the senior side, but not just in order to become a one-cap wonder, but to be a fixture in the England set-up.

Lita recovered from an early missed penalty to net three goals for England in the recent European Under 21 Championship and is now setting his sights on the senior side where manager Steve McClaren is lacking in strikers that have proved their worth at international level.

"I don't want one full senior cap, I want loads of them," Lita said in an interview with Zoo Magazine.

"But I still think I've got a lot more work to do yet, so I've just got to continue working hard at my game and scoring goals and we'll see from there."

Regarding his coming season with Reading, Lita fears the second season will be tougher, but insists he is looking forward ot the challenge.

He said: "Next season's going to be a tougher year for Reading. We're still young in the Premiership but we're looking forward to the challenge.

"Steve Coppell's the most honest guy you can get and I've got all respect in the world for him."

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Op woensdag 4 juli 2007 16:18 schreef Grimm het volgende:
Zoo magazine

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Arsenal geeft Henry een trap na
door onze Telesportredactie
LONDEN - Arsenal geeft Thierry Henry een trap na. De club zou Henry naar FC Barcelona hebben laten vertrekken omdat de Fransman ‘over the hill’ is. Dat zou zijn gebleken uit een analyse van zijn fysieke conditie, zo schrijft De Britse krant The Daily Mirror.

Arsenal-baas Arsene Wenger zou op basis van cijfermateriaal akkoord zijn gegaan met een transfer. Ook de Franse middenvelder Patrick Vieira mocht twee jaar geleden vertrekken omdat hij zijn piek had bereikt.

Henry tekende onlangs in Barcelona een vierjarig contract bij de club van Frank Rijkaard.