Week 10

Bluebird99 · Cult Status

Week 10

Turney · Cult Status

BREAKING NEWS

Ascoli Midfielder Parker agrees to go back to Newastle

More details to follow

Turney · Cult Status

Following up from the earlier news regarding Scott Parker. We can now confirm that Scott Parker will return to Newcastle just weeks after leaving the club. Skysports understands that Gianluca Zambrotta and Per Kroldrup will be going the other way as part of a swap deal.

The Newcastle faithful will surely be very pleased at the return of Scott Parker and will hope that this can be the signing that helps keep the club in the premiership.

Football Academy · Cult Status

Dave Allen buys crippled Forest

A possible light at the end of the tunnel has been offered to tormented Forest fans in the last hour. Ex-Sheffield Wednesday owner Dave Allen has been announced they new chairman of the Nottingham club.

Allen, who left Sheffield Wednesday last season with reportedly at least £15 million worth from the sale of his shares in the old club, has agreed to pay out the final few millions of debt that Forest were unable to clear.

Unfortunately, this has still incurred a 6 point deduction from the FA for the club not coming out of administration on their own and leaves the team stripped by the administrators and the club bottom of the table this season. As yet, theres been no announcement of any further backing to tempt a new manager and help rebuild the team.

Sports Selections

A weekly sports magazine has released a New Stars list of managers and players from each league that may have gone under most peoples radar, but who have been lighting up the football world in their own corners of the sport.

English Premiership

Fernando Torres - The Gunners are flying high in the Premiership this season, in stark contrast to last seasons slow start. Torres has 12 goals and 10 assists to his name already and is the key player at the centre of everything good about Arsenal this season.

Phil Neville - The new Fulham signing is expected to step straight into the line up for this weeks league game. After being at the centre of the five man midfield that dominated League 1 for a short time before being sold to Italy, Neville has made a quick return. Fulham fans have expressed their delight at the managers recent acquisitions.

English Championship

Niko Kranjcar - Since his move from being a rotated striker at Portsmouth, Kranjcar has become an almost instant success by bagging a large amount of goals. If his performances continue he is bound to attract the attention of top flight teams again.

Hameur Bouazza - Another striker making a great name for himself this season, he has contributed heavily to Watfords impressive season so far guiding the newly promoted team into the top half of the table.

English League 1

Stephen Wells - Bristol City had struggled for over a season in the bottom few places of League 1 before they appointed inexperienced Wells. That appointment seems a stroke of genius as Bristol have started fantastically this season and look dark horses to grab a promotion without having spent very much money.

Jamie Best - One of the most sought after managers in the lower league Best has already stated his intent at staying with Wolves by turning down bigger clubs. Wolves look strong this season again despite a recent run of dropped points.

Nsofor Victor Obinna - The star of League 1 this season, Obinna is grabbing most of the headlines. With 11 goals and 7 assists he personifies the fast attacking football that has become typical of Bests Wolves team.

Italian Serie A

Rob O'Brien - He has had a few months he will want to forget in a hurry as Notts Forest slipped away from the play-offs last season only to go into administration this season. Moving to Italy and a relegation threatened Empoli side, OBrien has already brought about a big change in the level of performances and may just give the team a chance at surviving this season against all odds.

Italian Serie B

Pietro Arcidiacono - Ascoli look like they could make the play-offs if not push higher this season under their new boss brought in from Cagliari and its the loan signing of Arcidiacono who is leading their line with 6 goals and 4 assists since joining on loan.

Victor Anichebe - He left Juventus in search of first team football and this season he has been repaying the faith shown in him by his new club Sampdoria. Anichebe has 9 goals and 6 assists so far this season helping his new club to the top of the table without dropping a point.

Spanish La Liga

David Cortez - The Valladolid academy player has lit La Liga up with his performances so far and is joint top goal scorer in the league with Barcelonas Portillo. All the Spanish pundits repeat each week that they expect his goal scoring to tail off but the young star has tallied up 13 goals and 2 assists in just 10 games and seems to be forming a great partnership with on loan striker Quagliarella.

Fernando Vaz - Recreativo have produced a potential star in centre midfield. Vaz has established himself in the starting line up for Recreativo this season chipping in with 3 goals so far.

Spanish Segunda Division

Mark Bresciano - Real Zaragozas experienced centre midfielder has wowed fans with his consistency for the club. Zaragoza look set to win promotion back to La Liga and Bresciano has become the linchpin in their midfield.

Ben Alnwick - The on loan Spurs keeper has established himself as the Cadiz number one and helped the new manager stabilise the previously poor Spanish team.

Bluebird99 · Cult Status

"A chance to rest players" - Davies-Evans

Cagliari manager Steve Davies-Evans has today told a press confrence that he will use the up and coming game against Sampdoria as a chance to rest his players in order to save them for the hard season ahead.

"I don't see anyone taking points of Sampdoriafrom this league this season so it's a choice whether to be the first team or preserve my players. I don't think we are at the level where we can go to their place and realistically match them or even beat them so I will use this outing as a chance to bloody some of the fringe players."

When asked if this was a negative approach to the league, Davies-Evans was in bullish mood.

"Some may see it like that but then what good is risking players like Vannuchi and Seol when we have many hard games ahead. We feel that playing these sort of players are going to be completley poinless. We also have an agreement with Arsenal that we are allowed to rest Theo Walcott and Manuel Irrusso for 2 games a season and I will use this as one of them. Although they are young players, it's best not to risk them just for the sake of trying to be a hero.

I think that we will play one or two of the loan players but generally, this will be a very make-shift side compared to the side that beat Siena on Saturday. We have a game plan between now and the end of the season and am therefor not going to risk it and jeapordise our chances".

So Davies-Evans has given a massive boost to the betting punters that were going to back Sampdoria for a home win this week.

CGale · League Player

"This weekend is Palace's biggest game of the season so far"

That is the feeling of Crystal Palace Manager Chris Gale. The normally quiet manager has spoken out for the first time this season about how the season has gone so far, competing against other impressive young managers and where he hopes the season will go from here.

Good Season or Bad Season?

"Well that is a pretty easy one to answer, up until now it has been a good season; actually it has been a fantastic season! We have been one of the most consistent teams in League 1 and although I think we have mainly gone unnoticed here we are in 3^rd and only 1 point behind the leaders, I could not be happier."

Best Player?

"That is slightly harder because I don't like to pick on or talk about individual players too much, but having said that Eidur Gudjohnsen has been a fantastic influence on and off the pitch. A lot of people were surprised with the deal that brought him to the club as Deigo (Forlan) was such a fan favourite and a great goal scorer but I felt that at the time the deal was right for both us and Coventry."

Biggest Game?

"Wolves, without a shadow of a doubt I feel this weekend is Palace's biggest game of the season so far. I thought we were a little naïve against Derby first game of the season but from there we have learnt and progressed as a team. We drew against Sunderland at home and now we play the last of, what I have been calling, the BIG 3 in this league."

Best Managers in League 1?

"There are some very very good managers in this league and I especially looking forward to pitting my wits against Jamie Best this weekend. But you also have to include Petty at Sunderland for continuing to push after just missing out last season and the likes of Stephen Wells at Bristol City for making them a tough and impressive outfit."

Season Ambitions?

"As per most managers I would like to get the club promoted and would preferably like to do it automatically. Targets have been set by the board and those targets match mine however if we finish 3^rd or 4^th and have to go through the playoffs then so be it. I feel we are better prepared than last year and will be able to mount a better challenge on the top two places and as a better team the playoffs will not worry us."

Best player in this league?

"I think that along with the most other clubs I feel we have players here that could fall into the that bracket, Eidur (Gudjohnsen) and Paul (Parry) would fit into most teams in this league and the Championship. But having said that you really can't look passed Nsofor Victor Obinna with 11 in 11 and 7 assists, the boy has been on fire so far this season!"

JOP · Cult Status

Sunderland Manager Jonathan Petty in talks for a young centre back

Rumour has it Black Cats boss Petty is talks with another League 1 club to secure the services of a young promises centre half.

With the sale of Kightly this week and money coming in, it is likely he will spend most of before he has it.

When asked how the talks were going he said:

"A deal is done!"

-- Edited by jop1927 at 20:53, 2008-08-28

JOP · Cult Status

Michael Chopra in Rehab????

BlackCats.com caught up with manager Jonathan Petty to clear up what the latest with star striker Michael Chopra going to rehab. Here is what he said:

"Its true he has signed in to rehab, we are fully behind Chops on this and can see why he has gone there. He's going through a rough patch at the moment with his marriage (if thats what you want to call it after a month!) in shatters, he's now filling his time with gambling. Its mainly on-line poker he's playing, but just recently when he went to visit his old pals at Cardiff the 'south wales eggo' spotted him playing the "tuppany nudger" bandit in coney beach porthcawl. Aparantly some Swansea fans were giving him some jip from there mobile home (Caravan) aparantly thier names were max and paddy and said they don't know where they going and spounging for a living, beats me these gypo's, don't understand them personally."

Is it true that he's put on a few pounds and let himself go? In the 'Glamorgan Brazette' paper he was pictured coming out of Beales Fish and Chip shop stuffing his face with rissols, does this concern you?

"Not at all, knowing Chops he ran that off along southern down afterwards, there is alot of protein in rissols and we tell our players to eat 2 a day if possible, keep them strong and build up their muscles. I believe this is whats making krind out games this year, Rissols"

Will Chops be playing this week?

"What a stupid question, with the goals and assists he has this season so far, it'll be silly to drop him. With Vieri i for his first game this week, we will be looking for more goals again, to kill teams off"

Who do you blame for Chopra's issues of late?

"Wags boutique without a doubt. But whatever they are doing keep doing it as its helping chops on the pitch"

-- Edited by jop1927 at 14:49, 2008-08-29

-- Edited by jop1927 at 15:02, 2008-08-29

Phantom · Semi-Pro Player

Newbie syndrome

Ross Walker has today expressed his awkwardness at having the newbie syndrome, a month after taking the reigns at Sampdoria. He admitted he felt that at times people were targeting Sampdoria to take advantage of any mistakes he could make in his first weeks in charge.

Without naming names he said some managers had tried to take his best players in bad deals by flowering their words to make it sound appealing. He confessed he had sought advice from other managers in the game in his first week when confronted with offers to help make the right decisions and he hoped he could shake off the newbie syndrome in his second month.

Sampdoria confirmed tonight they have turned down two very bad swap offers for Ziegler and Quagliarella from a Spanish La Liga Manager and an English Championship Manager.

Ross Walker looked humbled when he was awarded his leagues manager of the month trophy for August. They have kept a 100 percent record this season.