Barclays Premier League 2008/2009

[MiCmAsTa]

The Official Thread of the Barclays Premier League 2008/2009 Season

[MiCmAsTa]

Sat 13th September 2008

 

Liverpool vs. Man Utd

Blackburn vs. Arsenal

Fulham vs. Bolton

Newcastle vs. Hull City

Portsmouth vs. Middlesbrough

WBA vs. West Ham Utd

Wigan Athletic vs.Sunderland

Manchester City vs. Chelsea

 

Sun 14th September 2008

 

Stoke City vs. Everton

[MiCmAsTa]

When everyone is thinking that Robinho will sign for Chelsea within this week, Well, he have sign for the eastlanders for a record deal.

 

Man City sign Robinho in record £32.5m deal

 

Updated: September 2, 2008, 12:26 AM UK

 

Manchester City have completed the British record £32.5million signing of Robinho with just minutes to go in the transfer window.

 

He has signed a four-year contract at the City of Manchester Stadium.

 

Manager Mark Hughes told the club's official website tonight: 'I am absolutely delighted to get the opportunity to work with such an incredible talent like Robinho. I have said that in order to compete with the best teams in the Premier League we have to be in the market for players of this calibre, and Robinho is undoubtedly one of the best players in the world.

 

'I am really looking forward to introducing him to the rest of the squad, and to the City fans at the earliest opportunity. This is a real statement of intent as to the ambitions of Manchester City Football Club.

 

Robinho will be in line to make his City debut against, of all clubs, Chelsea after the international break.

 

It follows bids earlier in the day for Dimitar Berbatov, David Villa and Mario Gomez.

 

The Brazilian claimed he wanted to move to England at a press conference yesterday and also criticised Real coach Bernd Schuster for denying him the chance to move to Chelsea. However, London will not be his next destination.

 

Sources suggest that Real were determined not to sell the Brazilian forward to Chelsea but were happy to deal once the Eastlands side moved in.

 

Chelsea had been tracking the player all summer and will be furious to lose out to another English club.

 

Rather than find himself marooned at the Bernabeu until January was prepared to move to the Premier League with Mark Hughes' side.

 

Real Madrid's decision to accept City's offer for Robinho was made for both 'sporting and human' reasons, the Spanish club's president Ramon Calderon has said.

 

'We have sold Robinho for reasons of a human nature and for sporting reasons. The fact that he has accepted an offer from Manchester City says that he is not going for sporting reasons,' Calderon told Spanish television station Veo.

 

'It's an important sum of money. It's not the objective of Real Madrid to sell players, neither do we need the money, but for reasons of human and sporting nature, it has been decided this is for the best.

 

'It's a decision agreed by all the coaching staff, who understand it is best for the player and for the club.

 

'(Coach Bernd) Schuster thought until yesterday that he could recover the player, but that has not been the case. Every time I have spoken with him he was very sad, crying and asking to leave Spain. Real Madrid are more important than any one player.

 

'He's a great kid, but badly advised.'

 

Robinho burst on to the scene as an 18-year-old when he helped Santos win their first Brazilian championship in 2002.

 

His trickery, skills and physique led to comparisons with former Santos great Pele and eventually attracted the attention of Real Madrid.

 

Robinho pressured Santos for a move to Real and after a lengthy tug-of-war transfer saga, the Brazilian club relented and agreed to sell the player to the Spanish giants in August 2005.

 

Classed as the new Galactico when he arrived at the club, Robinho made a dazzling debut as a substitute in the 2-1 victory over Cadiz in the opening game of the season but then went on to struggle for the remainder of his first campaign in Europe.

 

He won his first Spanish league title under coach Fabio Capello in 2007, but often featured as a substitute and only really took off last season when he helped Real to their second consecutive championship, scoring 11 goals in 32 outings.

 

Robinho is a regular in the Brazilian national side and played an instrumental role in their triumph in the 2007 Copa America, finishing as the tournament's top scorer with six goals.

 

City's fortunes were transformed this morning when Abu Dhabi United Group announced they had agreed in principal to buy the club from Thaksin Shinawatra, who will remain on the club's board as a shareholder and honorary president.

 

Prospective new Manchester City owner Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim believes only 'formalities' remain before he can rubber-stamp their takeover of the Premier League club.

 

Al-Farim confirmed that ADUG had also considered investing in City's Premier League rivals Arsenal, Newcastle and Liverpool before deciding to press ahead with a buy-out - thought to be worth around £150million - of the Eastlands outfit.

[RedGixxer688]

Only time will tell if the deal is worth its price. Too bad City dun have a quality striker to complement Robinho/SWP combo.

[J73]

Valeri Bojinov ...

[MiCmAsTa]

Only time will tell if the deal is worth its price. Too bad City dun have a quality striker to complement Robinho/SWP combo.

 

You never know, maybe Robinho is there for "Transit" only... Eventually he will end up in better clubs in Europe. (Sorry Manchester City Fans)

[MiCmAsTa]

Valeri Bojinov ...

 

Young yet with many years of playing experience (8 years) in Italy with Leece and Fiorentina. At his age (22 Years Old) he still have room to mature into a better player for his club and his Country, Bulgaria which have a few other quality players in their under 21 squard.

 

[MiCmAsTa]

Keegan resigns

 

http://www.premierleague.com/javaImages/ad/f1/0,,12306~3797421,00.jpg

 

Newcastle United have expressed their sadness and disappointment at the resignation of manager Kevin Keegan. (Yeah Right, this is pure B.S.)

 

The club legend has stepped down after just under eight months in charge at St James' Park after failing to resolve differences with the board.

 

The Magpies have stressed that they did not sack Keegan and have issued a further statement making it clear they did not want him to go.

 

It read: "Newcastle United Football Club is sad and disappointed that Kevin Keegan has resigned.

 

"Over the last few days the Club has devoted itself to the discussions it has held with Kevin and as a result of those discussions had put together a set of practical suggestions for how to move forward.

 

"Today the Club made it clear to Kevin that if he had any outstanding concerns on its proposals, he should raise them with the Club.

 

"The Club regrets that Kevin has, instead of taking up that offer, chosen to resign."

 

Keegan rejoined the north-east club in January 2008 and oversaw 21 matches which brought six wins, six draws and nine defeats.

[J73]

i tink he resigned cos Newcastle sold James Milner against his wish ...

[DR6]

Only time will tell if the deal is worth its price. Too bad City dun have a quality striker to complement Robinho/SWP combo.

 

I think Jo not that bad.

 

i tink he resigned cos Newcastle sold James Milner against his wish ...

 

I think one of the reason he resigned is because the board sign Xisco against his wish too.

[MiCmAsTa]

Kaka open to joining City revolution

 

Updated: September 7, 2008, 7:48 PM UK

 

http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/images/PH2/Kaka275.jpg

Kaka: A target for the Premier League.

 

AC Milan star Kaka is open to the prospect of joining Manchester City if the club can achieve their initial target of Champions League qualification, according to his representative.

 

The Brazilian, widely acknowledged to be the world's best player, has been the subject of interest from Chelsea this summer; but with City's new-found wealth, the club could easily compete in a bidding war.

 

Milan may be willing to sanction a 100m euros transfer in a year's time and City's new owners the Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), have already made it clear that they want to start recruiting the world's top talent.

 

''Kaká would prefer a club like Chelsea, Real Madrid or Milan, but we never know,'' Kaká's representative Diogo Kotscho told The Observer.

 

''This season Manchester City do not have a team to win the Champions League.

 

''Maybe next season they can get into that competition - they have the prospects to be good enough. What they need to have is a big project to win the Premier League and the Champions League.

 

''It's not just about Kaká, they will only get the very best players if they attain this level. It was the same with Chelsea a few years ago - they had to prove themselves too.

 

''I think Manchester City are headed in the right direction, but they have big work to do.

 

''It's no easy thing to reach the same level as the biggest clubs in the world, and it's not just about money - you have to spend it properly and build a great team. In two or three years they can be there if they do the right things.''

[RedGixxer688]

Haha! What a joke. Seriously, even if Man City gets CL next season, then what? Hello ..... remember Leeds United?

[J73]

last time Leeds Utd dun hv a rich owner mah ...

[MiCmAsTa]

Fergie laughs off big money talk from City

 

Updated: September 12, 2008, 5:26 PM UK

 

Sir Alex Ferguson has scoffed at Mark Hughes' suggestion that Manchester City are now the hottest ticket in town.

 

Hughes had suggested City's 'clash of the cash' with Chelsea at Eastlands tomorrow is a bigger game than Manchester United's encounter with Liverpool after the Blues' takeover by an Abu Dhabi consortium and the £32.5m signing of Robinho.

 

"I had better check what Mark has had for his breakfast because something must be upsetting him," said Ferguson.

 

"How many games did he play for United against Liverpool? Our game is the biggest. It is a great game."

 

Ferguson will wait for the reality to emerge before he makes an assessment of City's genuine spending power amid reports of them bidding £135m for Cristiano Ronaldo.

 

"There has been a lot of talk but it is a different matter when it actually comes to getting those players," he said.

 

"To think they could get Cristiano Ronaldo for instance is absolutely absurd.

 

"Negotiations are not easy nowadays, as we found with Dimitar.

 

"Yes, we have bought big players, but Manchester United is not a cash cow, as people are talking about other clubs at the moment.

 

"At the moment it is all talk. We have seen it before and it will happen again."

 

Ferguson repeated the idea that money does not necessarily mean success, saying: "It depends how much money they want to throw at it but even then it doesn't always work."

 

"You can buy 11 individuals and not have a team as Sunderland proved.

 

"When Chelsea did it we worried because we saw the quality they were bringing in. They got Michael Essien for £27million, which was a level we could not reach. You could tell they would be a handful.

 

"It is very difficult to say what will happen with City but we should not concern ourselves with what people are planning to do because it does not always work."

[hitman]

27/09/08 (Sat)

Everton VS Liverpool 1940hrs Ch27

Man Utd VS Bolton 2155hrs Ch27

Stoke City VS Chelsea Ch22

Aston Villa VS Sunderland Ch21

Fulham VS West Ham

Middlesborough VS West Brom

Newcastle VS Blackburn

 

28/09/08 (Sun)

Arsenal VS Hull City 0025hrs Ch27

Portsmouth VS Tottenham 2025hrs Ch27

Wigan VS Man City 2255hrs Ch27

[hitman]

Round 5/6

 

Everton 0-2 Liverpool

Man Utd 2-0 Bolton

Stoke City 0-2 Chelsea

Aston Villa 2-1 Sunderland

Fulham 1-2 West Ham

Middlesborough 0-1 West Brom

Newcastle 1-2 Blackburn

Arsenal 1-2 Hull City

Portsmouth 2-0 Tottenham

Wigan 2-1 Man City

[hitman]

Big 4 all draw over the weekend.

[diddy the patient]

this year will be,

 

man utd

liverpool

chelsea

 

 

even though i'm not their fan

[who_noe]

west ham leading 1nil against boro

 

hull losing 1 nil to man U

 

villa n newcastle still o-o

 

sunderland n chelsea nil nil

 

look like newcastle have a great chance staying up

[who_noe]

villa 1 castle 0

 

think the final spot is going rite down to the last min