Congrats to Portsmouth on winning the FA Cup today. They beat Cardiff 1-0 with a goal from Kanu towards the end of the first half. Harry Redknapp has become the first English manager since Joe Royle in 1995, with Everton, to win the Cup.

Poor Cardiff.

Should this not technically be in 07/08 thread, considering FA cup ends a season not starts it?

Liverpool Football Club today confirmed that Swiss international defender Philipp Degen will sign a contract with the club on July 1.

The right sided full-back - who will represent his country at this summer's European Championships - is out of contract with Borussia Dortmund this summer and has opted to begin a new career on Merseyside from next season.

Degen, 25, spent four seasons in his homeland with FC Basel before his move to the Bundeslga and will provide competition for Steve Finnan and Alvaro Arbeloa in the right-back role at Anfield.

So, official. Degen signs for Liverpool, another freebie.

But again - this is not the type of players who're going to take Liverpool to the other level.

10 Reasons why Liverpool will win the league next season.


1. We are not that far off.

If you were a betting man and a statistics enthusiasts you’d excited after studying Liverpools last few league campaigns. Ask any statistician and they will tell you that trends are everything in their line of work. In 2004/2005, Benitez’s first season Liverpool finished 37 points behind the winners. Since then we’ve closed the gap and in the season just gone we finished just 11 points behind. Not that far off considering if we beat Man United home and away, which would have happened if it weren’t for incompetent refereeing we would have won the league. We are not that far off. - No, really, you are that far off. In the last 5 years you have won 6, drew 6 and lost 18 against the other 3 from the big 4. This is exactly why you aren't competing for the title, they're alot better than you, they don't need the refs help to beat you!


2. The manager.

Rafa’s done it; he knows how to win the league now. This season we’ve seen a dramatic change in tactics seeing us beat teams by six or more goals. We were also in the league right up until April, when United managed to jammy a win over us. Rafa has also got the balance right in his rotation policy. Problems off the field caused us to lose concentration at a critical time. - You were in the league up until April? Whoa, wait a minute! At the end of March you were 17 points off the pace, at the end of January you were 14 points off, even at the half way point you were 10 points off. So no, you were never in it. Rafa's won the league in Spain, since when has that translated into winning the league in England? Hmm.



3. The prospect of getting some DIC.

There’s no doubt that if we went with DIC over the yank words removed we would be chasing a treble right about now. Once we become par with United and Chelsea in terms of spending god help the rest of the league and the rest of Europe. A sleeping giant is about to rise. With a bit of DIC, that will happen next season. - The current owners spent alot of money on players, over £50m and that didn't get you any closer to the title. DIC wouldn't make a difference in terms of investment, you really think they'd give you the £100m you want? HA.



4. El Nino.

For those of you that aren’t aware, Torres has scored the most goals by a foreigner in his first season. Yep, you heard right. More than Van Nistelrooy, Henry and Ronaldo. Considering it usually take foreigners 12-14 months to adapt, the prospect of what Torres will become is simply mouth watering. For me he’s far and away TBPITW. He has more to his game than Ronaldo, who is so vastly overrated it’s not funny. You would expect Torres to get somewhere in the range of 40-50 goals next season. Premiership defenders just aren’t accomplished enough to deal with him. - A great striker he is. Unfortunately for Liverpool, great away form is just as important as great home form. How many goals did Torres score on his travells this season? 3 to be exact, not good enough to win the league.


5. Our Midfield.

Everyone’s heard the song and a few other teams imitate it, but there’s no doubt who actually has the best midfield is the world. With Alonso and Macherano opposition teams just have simply no chance of playing through us. With Lucas, we probably have the most exciting young midfield prospect in the world. With Gerrard driving power in front, we simply have the midfield that is the envy of all Europe. - Gerrard is World class. But Alonso? Who? Does he still play for you? The fact that he starts in your midfield shows why you won't win the league. Mascherano is a good player, but you wouldn't expect anything less for someone you paid £17m for.. yet the other 3 in the big 4 have better players in the middle of the park. Lucas, hottest prospect in the World? Clearly you don't wath any teams other than Liverpool then. Okay midfield, for a 4th placed team, I suppose.



6. Skrtel and Agger.

With these two leading from that back next season expect us to concede few goals, especially in the league, where I’d be surprised if we conceded more than 12. Not only are they accomplished defenders but they can also use the ball as good as any midfielder. With Carragher possibly going to right back we will have the most penetrable wall since Berlin fell. Even the Chinese would be proud of such a wall. - Both good defenders, but again. Skrtel & Agger or Ferdinand & Vidic and Terry & Carvalho. Again, not good enough to compete.


7. The new signings.

All in all we have a great spine. If we went to see a chiropractor, he’d have quick feel and take some photos for his textbook so he could show clients what the perfect posture and spine looks like. Therefore, we just need a couple of players to play ancillary roles along with one or two major signings. We can only speculate at the moment. But you know there’s going to be big names. I would expect someone to partner Torres and I imagine Rafa pulling of the coup of the season for this position. Imagine the damage that Kaka from Milan or Benzemia from Lyon could inflict on the premiership. If I were a manc or a bitter, I’d be shitting myself right now with the though that we could possible sign those type of players. - Kaka'? Are you serious! It's always all talk from Liverpool, how many years do we hear about these World class signings? What strikers have you bought in in recent years. Torres being the classy exception, but Crouch, Voronin, Fowler, Kuyt? If only your talk matched your actions, but it doesn't.



8. The opposition.

On paper the mancs look favourite for next season, but consider this: Only very rarely to teams win three league titles in a row. Have a look through the history books if you like. I’ve done the maths and the mancs only have about a 1 in 15 chance of winning it next season. Arsenal and Chelsea will be going though rebuilding phases. Half the Arsenal team are already off and Chelsea have already lost Drogba and Ambrovich has promised a cleanse. Now is the perfect time for us to take advantage of this and win ourselves a league title the same way Chelsea took advantage of Arsenal and United rebuilding to win there first Premier League crown. - Chelsea may lose Drogba, but you do realise he didn't even net double figures in the league for them this season? I'm sure Chelsea will find it almost impossible to replace his 8 goal haul this season. On paper, and on the pitch, United and Chelsea are miles ahead of you, so far ahead that I'm surprised you can see them - which you clearly can't based on your assesment. I think you have to worry about who's catching you rather than who you'll be catching.


9. The supporters.

Do I need say more? We get ourselves in position to win the league come late April or May next season and the supporters will do the rest. Could you imagine the Kop with us closing in on the league title? Best supporters in Europe. - Liverpools fans really are amazing.. in a Champions League semi-final at Anfield. Where are you in other games? It's easy for fans to be heard in big games, but what about when it's a horrible rainy Saturday against Wigan, where are you then? The 2007 noise recordings had Liverpool placed as the 16th loudest fans in the league, which seems very accurate. Often outsung by the away fans at Anfield, you're only heard in big games. A joke.

10. The status-quo

I see a lot of supporters worrying about United overtaking our league title haul. You can only laugh at these fools. Liverpool have been the top dog in England for pretty much ever and it’s not about to change anytime soon. It’s squeaky bum time, as Fergie calls it, for the mancs right now. They know we are on the verge of getting our act together and they know that as soon as we get that first one the floodgates will open. They know they will never have a better chance to go level with us and you’ll see the nervousness creep in. “Knock us off our perch” yeaaaahh right. Check back in a few years and it will be 25 - 17. - Do you know the history of football, at all? "Liverpool have been the top dog in England forever". Incorrect. You were the top dog from the late 70s until the late 80s, a whole 15 years of dominance - which United have had for the last 15 years - but before the late 70s it was all Arsenal, Villa, Sunderland and Everton. Where were Liverpool? It's easy to pick out the facts that suit yourself, isn't it.

Drogba: Grant not behind Chelsea success
Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Drogba has claimed that Grant, who took over from Jose Mourinho last year, has played virtually no part in the team's success this season and achievement in reaching their first Champions League final.

Drogba told France Football: 'What do you want me to say about him?
'Apart from the fact he brought his own vision of football, he is less charismatic and less argumentative than Mourinho. That creates a gap.

'In any case, Grant did not have a lot to say. He just had to wait for the results to come along or not.

'Like a son after the loss of his father? In our case, we found ourselves with a stepfather we had not chosen.'

Drogba also revealed he is still paying the price for admitting back in 2005 to diving.

He added: 'Since I had the misfortune to say that I occasionally dive because people pushed me and not through simulation, I had the feeling people take me for a cheat.

'The referees in both the Premier League and Champions League come to see me before games to tell me no diving today. I believe they don't listen to me.'

Nothing official, but I think it could be genuine as that is widely rumoured to be our sponsor for next season

Not sure on the away kit yet and the home shirt just doesn't look.. "Villa". Looks like a design Scunthorpe would wear.

the away is very nice, home is ok... just the sponsor isnt great...

i got a couple of pairs of villa shorts btw the 3rd from 06/07 season and the white from 07/08. I'm officially adopting vill as my premiership team!

So like with Juventus at Turin, there are not United fans at Manchester... is this happening with any other team? What about Everton and Liverpool?

I was just wondering... what will happen to post-Ferguson Manchester United? who will replace him? who dares to? will the new coach succeed? [of course not!!!]... etc... etc...

If Tottenham got that whats-his-name for 18 mill to play him on the bench...Villa ought to ask for 25 mill to sell Gareth.

A.Ferguson : There is no doubt, I think Carlos will be here for a long time.

Source

Will Carlos Queiroz be the next Man U coach?

I don't think Queiroz can be United's next manager... the coaches are usually closer to the players and are seen as the nice guys and that's the first thing a manager does not want to be seen as...

250/1 on Man City...?

Might be worth a flutter, new manager, big budget you never know 

Bristol City - Hull -- match report

wat a story!... really happy for them, and hope they make something of the opportunity.

Chelsea will offer up to £50million in an audacious bid to sign Liverpool striker Fernando Torres.

Stamford Bridge owner Roman Abramovich is ready to smash the world transfer record to land the 24-year-old Spaniard.

Abramovich was prepared to pay that much for Thierry Henry when he first took over at Chelsea and he has given chief executive Peter Kenyon permission to offer the same amount for a brilliant marksman who scored 33 goals in his debut season at Anfield.

In sacrificing Avram Grant, Roman finds himself back at the Colosseum
Grant's chance to spill the beans on Chelsea exit as Abramovich begins search for successor

Avram Grant was sacked as Chelsea's manager on Saturday and the search now begins for his successor, with Guus Hiddink and Frank Rijkaard among the favourites to take over.

But it is understood the club will continue to pursue those players Grant identified prior to his dismissal - and Torres was top of his wish list, with the Barclays Premier League and Champions League runners-up happy to take advantage of the chaos at Liverpool.

Chelsea believe they have a chance of pulling off one of the most extraordinary transfer coups in football history which could beat the world record fee of £46m Real Madrid paid Juventus for France midfielder Zinedine Zidane in 2001.

"There is a desire among certain people at Liverpool to sell at the right price," said an insider last night. "It's just a case of whether they have the nerve to incur the wrath of the Liverpool fans."

Disruption reigns at Anfield, with the ownership of the club as well as the future of manager Rafa Benitez and chief executive Rick Parry uncertain.

Tom Hicks says he is desperate to raise funds to take sole control and the sale of Torres only a year after he arrived from Atletico Madrid for £23m could be good business.

Benitez: will raise strong objections if owner Tom Hicks decides to cash in on Torres

Benitez will not think so and agreeing to sell could add more tension. The Liverpool manager claims a lack of resources means his side will again be fighting against the tide for the title next term.

He said: "It's more difficult because after two years of Chelsea winning the league and spending big money, United needed to do the same. They started spending big money, and Arsenal were also spending big money on young players.

"We're trying to do the same but it's more difficult to catch up. We'll do our best. The key is to not talk about the title."

But his objections regarding the sale of Torres may not hold sway and it would represent good business for Chelsea as well as Hicks because striker Didier Drogba is up for sale.

As well as Jose Bosingwa - who has agreed to join Chelsea for £16m - Grant identified AC Milan's Kaka and Real Madrid's Robinho.

Like Torres, Kaka is an ambitious target and someone Milan have said they are not prepared to sell. But Chelsea will attempt to lure the World Player of the Year by offering Drogba, Ricardo Carvalho and possibly even money in return.

Chelsea do not envisage the next manager objecting but they want to make an appointment quickly.

Rijkaard has long been considered the favourite and the football he produced at Barcelona to win the Champions League in 2006 impressed Abramovich.

But there are concerns about the strength of his leadership and Chelsea could turn to someone like the experienced Hiddink.

The return of Jose Mourinho has been dismissed but among other possible targets are Luiz Felipe Scolari, Marcello Lippi, Mark Hughes and Sven Goran Eriksson.

Daily Mail

The worrying thing for Liverpool fans is that Hicks seems to see them as a business, not a football team, especially as he's "looking to raise cash". And he'd be making £27m on Torres, which would be good business. It'd be wonderful if they sold him, just wonderful.

They're Scousers, if Torres got sold for that reason, there would be well you know what they're like...

I'd expect something like this:
Scouser 1: "Wha' tha f*ck is goin' on, like!? You can't do tha, Hicks! Ya b*stard!"
Scouser 2: "Eh boss, calm down, calm down. We can jus' go back an' steal him, like."
Scouser 1: "Oh yeah, sound."

Av dad: It's anti-Jewish

AVRAM GRANT’S father claims Chelsea sacked his son because Roman Abramovich caved in to anti-Jewish critics.

Meir Granat, whose family were victims of the Holocaust, believes Abramovich bowed to anti-Semitic feelings against Grant — despite the Blues’ owner being a Russian Jew himself.

Outraged Granat, 80, said: “I have never met Roman Abramovich and I don’t know him. But I was sure that, as a Jew, he would support Avram.

“Yet Abramovich was probably influenced by the anti-Semites and could not stand the pressure of the negativity against Avram and the publicity against him.”

It was an astonishing attack, though not the first time anti-Semitic claims have been raised.

Grant’s agent Pini Zahavi recently argued anti-Semitism was having an influence on his client’s chances of staying at the club.

And Grant has also received death threats linked to his background.

Grant pleaded for his job at a 2½-hour meeting at Abramovich’s London mansion on Saturday.

A pal said: “He is very hurt and disappointed by what has happened. He knows certain members of the board always wanted to get rid of him.”

The Sun

Yawn. Really pathetic, you're just being petty when you pull the religion card. But I agree, it must clearly be anti-Jewish stuff as to why he's been sacked, that's why no Jewish players like Ben Haim play for Chelsea. Oh, wait..