Manchester City were right to sack Mancini
Gael Clichy believes Manchester City were right to sack Roberto Mancini after failing to win silverware this season.
The France full-back made 41 appearances this term as the club failed to retain their Premier League title, lost the FA Cup final to underdogs Wigan and were eliminated from the group stages of the UEFA Champions League.
Mancini was sacked by City on May 14 and Clichy said that the manager has to take responsibility for their failings this season.
"It's the first time a manager has been axed while I've been at a club," he said. "So it's a bit of a shock and if you look at his record it's hard to
Category: News
Views: 809
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Date: 22.05.2013 - 18:16
Cole set for West Ham departure
Carlton Cole will leave West Ham after the club decided not to renew the striker's contract.
The 29-year-old has spent seven seasons at Upton Park, scoring 59 goals in 237 appearances since joining from London rivals Chelsea.
Cole scored the opening goal in West Ham's Championship play-off final against Blackpool last season, taking his tally for the campaign to 15 as the club earned promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
Manager Sam Allardyce explained his decision not to retain the man who has won seven caps for England.
"Carlton's need at his age is to be playing football as
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Category: News
Views: 688
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Date: 22.05.2013 - 18:14
Lampard: It was tough under Benitez
Frank Lampard has admitted that Rafael Benitez's tenure at Chelsea was difficult for everyone at the club.
Benitez struggled to gain acceptance from the Chelsea fans when he was appointed interim manager by Roman Abramovich in November.
However, under his leadership the club secured UEFA Champions League football with a third-place finish in the Premier League and also won the UEFA Europa League with a 2-1 victory over Benfica in Amsterdam.
Despite the difficulties, Lampard, who recently signed a new one-year deal, praised the Spaniard for his work in tough conditions.
Category: News
Views: 648
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Date: 22.05.2013 - 18:07
Mourinho branded a failure
Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has labelled Jose Mourinho's three-year tenure at the club "a failure".
The 61-year-old, who held the role between 2006 and 2009, believes that one La Liga title and one Copa del Rey was not good enough from the Portuguese manager, despite competing with one of the strongest Barcelona teams of recent times.
This season Madrid were 13 points behind their Catalan opponents at the top of the league, they lost to city rivals Atletico Madrid in the Cope del Rey final and were beaten by Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League semi-final.
Following an underwhelming campaign, Calderon was pleased to hear current president Florentino Perez's announcement that the former Chelsea boss w
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Category: News
Views: 694
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Date: 22.05.2013 - 18:06
Carroll out of England squad
Liverpool striker Andy Carroll has withdrawn from the England squad for their upcoming friendlies due to a heel injury.
The 24-year-old will miss England's clashes against the Republic of Ireland and Brazil, which will be played on May 29 and June 2 respectively.
In a statement confirming Carroll's withdrawal, the English FA said manager Roy Hodgson was not planning to call up a replacement.
"Andy Carroll has been ruled out of the England squad for the upcoming internationals with Republic of Ireland and Brazil," the statement read.
"Carroll had been named in Roy Hodgson's squad that will take on Ireland at Wembley on Wednesday 29 May and then travel to Rio
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Category: News
Views: 737
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Date: 22.05.2013 - 18:04
Neymar would be a wonderful addition
Lionel Messi believes Neymar would make a 'wonderful addition' to the Barcelona squad should he opt to move to Camp Nou.
Speculation has intensified in recent weeks over where the Santos star will be plying his trade next season, with Barcelona currently attempting to negotiate a deal - despite the player's insistence he will remain in Brazil until 2014.
However, should such a move materialise, Messi feels the starlet would add a different dimension to Barca's attacking threat.
"I do not know if he will end up at the club or not. However, it is true that he is a player who would bring a very different dimension to the team," he told Qatar Alkass. "Of course he would be a wonderful addition."
Category: News
Views: 712
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Date: 22.05.2013 - 18:02
Doll: Dortmund are not underdogs
Ex-Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Doll has declared his former club must discard the underdog tag ahead of the UEFA Champions League final.
Saturday's decider will pit Dortmund against Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich, who dominated the German top tier this season to win the title by 25 points ahead of Doll's former employers.
Following Bayern's 7-0 demolition of Barcelona over two legs in the Champions League semi-finals, plus the Bavarian club's emphatic season in the Bundesliga, Dortmund have been installed by most as the underdog in the first all-German final of Europe's premier continental competition.
But Doll, who was head coach of Dortmund in the 2007/08 campaign
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Category: News
Views: 872
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Date: 22.05.2013 - 18:01
Messi urges Barcelona not to change
Lionel Messi does not believe that Barcelona should change their way of playing just because they struggled in Europe this season.
Barcelona's short 'tiki-taka' passing style had seen them dominate European competition in recent years but this season they were not at their fluent best.
They struggled against Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League.
And although they were able to turn around poor first-leg results against Milan and PSG, Bayern exposed them in the semi-final, inflicting a 7-0 aggregate defeat.
A hamstring injury meant Messi was not always available for the Catalans during that time
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Category: News
Views: 738
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Date: 22.05.2013 - 01:48
Ribery keen to end career at Bayern
Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery has revealed he would like to end his career with the Bundesliga club.
Ribery joined the Allianz Arena outfit in a 25 million-euro move from Marseille in 2007, and has gone on to score 80 goals in 247 appearances.
Ribery could add a UEFA Champions League trophy to his long list of honours won with Bayern when his side take part in Saturday's final against Borussia Dortmund, and the Frenchman is hoping for many more happy years in Bavaria.
"Bayern is an engine. It is really something huge. I am really proud to be part of that club. I am very happy here, just like my family," he told L'Equipe.
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Category: News
Views: 693
Added: Sky
Date: 22.05.2013 - 01:46
Reina plays down Barcelona speculation
Pepe Reina has played down speculation linking him with a move to Barcelona.
The Liverpool goalkeeper began his professional career at Camp Nou before leaving for Villarreal in 2002 and is reportedly one of Tito Vilanova's leading candidates to replace Victor Valdes as his number one ahead of the 2013-14 season.
Valdes has already confirmed his intention to leave the Catalan giants at the end of the current campaign for a new challenge after spending his entire career with the club.
That has led to his Spain international colleague Reina - who joined Liverpool from Villarreal eight years ago - being linked with a return to Barcelona, but the 30-year-old has stated that he is content with life under Brendan Rodgers at Anfield.
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Category: News
Views: 717
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Date: 22.05.2013 - 01:45
West Ham sign Rat
West Ham have secured the signing of Romanian captain Razvan Rat on a free transfer.
Rat, a defender, joins from Shakhtar Donetsk and West Ham boss Sam Allardyce believes the 31-year-old will provide an injection of quality to the club.
"I'm hugely happy that we've got a player of his experience and his character," Allardyce told the club's official website.
"He's been playing Champions League football this year and at the highest level for many years. Shakhtar had offered him a very good contract, but his ambition was to come and try his abilities and skills in England.
Category: News
Views: 679
Added: Sky
Date: 22.05.2013 - 01:44
Turkish Cup: Fenerbahce Vs Trabzonspor - Betting Tip
Fenerbahce v Trabzonspor – This is the final match of the Cup between two great rivals. This match is also an opportunity for both of them to save the season. Fenerbahce was very good in the European league and had reached the semi-finals, while in the championship ended as the second. Trabzonspor has completely failed and ended only in the middle of the table. Form of the both teams was roughly equal in the finish of this championship, but it must be said that Trabzonspor was much more convincing in the semi-finals. In their mutual matches this season Fenerbahce was more successful and won in Trabzon with 3-0, and played 0-0 draw in Istanbul. In last seven matches Trabzonspor didn’t win Fenerbahce. It should be noted that this game will be played on a neutral ground in Ankara. Begins: 22.05.2013 – 19:45
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Category: Betting Tips
Views: 1454
Added: Better
Date: 22.05.2013 - 01:29