Week 16

Spartikus47 · Cult Status

Week 16

Football Academy · Cult Status

Brescia announce friendly

The assistant manager of Brescia has confirmed that if no manager is appointed at either Brescia or Middlesbrough before the end of the season, that they have both provisionally agreed to play a friendly against each other. The decision is no doubt driven by Brescia following comments by ex-Boro' manager Tony Wood suggesting they would stand no chance against his old team. "Our players are more experienced and will be more tired, but myself and the chairman have confidence we can put Boro' in their place.

FA Managers Association backs Wood

The association that looks after the needs of managers especially when out of employment has moved to back Tony Wood after he confirmed he would remain out of work until the end of the season while considering options. Wood has been caught in a row between Boro' and Brescia recently having turned down a number of offers.

"We have corresponded with Tony recently and oversaw an initial 3 offers be put to him. He felt they didn't match his ability so we compiled another 3 offers. Tony has now turned down 6 offers and while we back him to return to management, we encourage managers to consider their actions carefully. Stating "I will not manage until I get a good team with youth and staff in place and low expectations" is asking for a lot, everyone wants youth and staff without pressure for results. However such a stance is likely to leave you clubless. All managers get at least one good offer in this situation and we urge managers to be careful or they will regret turning that one offer down."

One radio station in the North of England has suggested unless Wood has a U-turn before the end of the season, that he will follow the likes of Kevin Keegan and put his management career in the past in favour of punditry for the UKs 'second' biggest TV organisation.

Reports in Spain have previously suggested that Dale Price turned down approaches from the Championship, ending up in the Segunda as a result and that Simon Newcombe has reportedly turned down offers from Palermo and Espanyol ending up in the Segunda.

Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs have confirmed they are investigated a club regarding mismanagement of finances. It is believed an unnamed club were brought to the attention of HMRC by an inside source and initial enquiries have raised some "questionable financial irregularities". They refused to comment on the club which will no doubt spark fear in the hearts of fans from England, Italy and Spain. It did confirm that if the suggested holes in the accounts were proved to be as significant as claimed, that the club would face "serious consequences". Football has recently split with the rich investors spending large sums of money on buying new players while less wealthy chairmen have to scrape funds from where ever they can. The lack of clarity from the officials however has meant both rich and poor clubs fans can't rule out their club being involved.

-- Edited by Football Academy on Saturday 7th of August 2010 10:40:33 AM

JOP · Cult Status

JOP to stay if a big club comes in

So Jop, a massive win this week against a promotion rival and a friend, feel good?

"Of course it does, it helps us a lot beating Ascoli and we have benefited more with Atalanta losing too, we have a 14 point gap now which I believe is enough to see us through the season"

Van der Vaart has left this week, disappointed?

"Stupid question, he has stormed this league and I think he would've carried on storming it."

Where is he going?

"Real Madrid, he deserves it he's to good for this league and he's not getting any younger. We had an amazing deal for him which allows us to build up our squad even more"

Some other managers think your doing another "Phil Neville", talk us through that.

"A few seasons back with Sunderland we were do well at the top, Phil was playing out of his skin and I sold him because the offer was too good, this time around the offer for VDV is even better and we're in a position where I honestly believe 3rd cannot catch us"

Maybe you didn't need to sell Vaart now there are rumours of chinese investment, if the chinese come in will you stay at Reggina?

"If the chinese come in with money or chicken balls i'm staying at Reggina, regardless of if they come in, i'm here for the long run, the chairman knows that.

So how will you replace Van der Vaart?

"To be honest its been hard so far, I have enquired about 30 players, to name a few big names Messi, Dos Santo, Nasri and Asier but the managers either want to keep their players (regardless of the offer) or wait until the end of season to see what happens. I am however awaiting replies from unmanaged clubs"

So you havn't got anyone, do you think the fans will be happy?

"We have a couple of players, I have CM Roman from Genoa coming in to replace Cana leaving last week and Poli on loan from Inter thanks to my mate Gareth, wehave also struck a deal for a young centre mid with Inter who will be arriving in a few weeks, he's attacking so hopefully can get a few goals. Lets not forget we have Rob Davies coming back from Southampton at the end of the season, he's scoring for fun in that league"

pricey · Cult Status

Sky sports news caught up with Recreativo Huelva manager Dale Price after this weeks game with Celta Vigo

SSN. Mr Price fantastic win that must feel good yeah?
DP. Its a game that we thought we should be winning but it is always good to get the 3 points in the bag.

SSN. After quite a successful time at Sunderland you came here with a lot of pressure on your shoulders after the amount of investment that the team has had how do you feel you have coped with it?
DP. To be honest with you I dont think we have been under much pressure. The club was only promoted last season and with the Spanish league being a very hard league I dont think anyone would have been surprised if we had gone right back down. I am really pleased with how the lads have went about their business and virtually secured 7th and that means a European place which is something that people at the club never thought they would see that again.

SSN. Another massive game this week against Mallorca how do you see that game going?
DP. Well its another game that I have earmarked for us to win so here is hoping that we can do it.

SSN. Fans have been moaning that not much transfer action has happened for a few weeks how do you respond to that?
DP. My transfer policy is that what is the point of spending for the sake of spending I will only try and get players that I think will help the team you get teams that seem to be doing transfers every week that cant be good for team morale. We done a deal this week and its a deal that I think will bring us that little extra we need and give us the chance to rest players if we need to.

SSN. Can you tell us who is coming in?
DP. No youll have to wait

SSN. Mr. Price thanks for your time and good luck for the rest of the season
DP. Thank you

Liam · Cult Status

Liam Riste sat down in front of the gathering journalists for questioning on Sevilla FC Television after their 2-1 win over Real Mallorca.

SFCTV: You scraped a 2-1 win against Real Mallorca in the 87th minute, how does this narrow win make you feel?

LR: I took a gamble and rested some big players which was probably not the wisest move, we didn't really deserve to win the game but that's football. Klose's last gasp winner is key to our campaign and keeps us in second place, ahead of Barcelona. I was confident we could always snatch a winner but it I must admit, it was closer than I had expected, although credit must go to Real Mallorca and their new manager!

SFCTV: Real Valladolid beat Atletico Madrid 3-0, what are your thoughts on that result?

LR: I was a bit surprised that they won by such a margin! I don't know if Paul rested players or not, but I hope that next week we can win as comfortably. Valladolid are doing what they have to by winning and we are still chasing and applying the pressure by winning!

SFCTV: Barcelona won but Real Madrid were held by Espanyol 2-2, leaving them trailing you by 6 points in 4th. Your views on this too?

LR: Barcelona are hot on our trail and having to play them still is sure to add spice to the game if they remain two points behind us. As for Real Madrid, they are falling off the pace and need to start to put together a run of form if they are to break into the top 3.

SFCTV: Ashley Harris, a good friend of yours, saw his Real Zaragoza team draw 1-1 with Osasuna, his 5th consecutive draw!

LR: He'll hate me for commenting again but I have full confidence that he can pick up 9 points in his next 3 or 4 games and then the fact that they can win the league in the remaining games should be inspiration enough for his players to perform like they can!

SFCTV: Okay, well thanks once again.

LR: That's okay, cheers.

Spartikus47 · Cult Status

Everton take "Dim-sum" view on speculation

Everton FC have moved to deny reports suggesting they have tailored the corporate menu for this weeks away trip at Leeds to suit a Chinese gaming tycoon. As is customary with the clubs away travel policy they have booked two private suites for the game, with one set aside for board room members, and one for players and staff not featuring in the match day routines. A leak on the clubs message board suggested that the board room meal requirements took on a "distinctly oriental feel", fueling speculation they may be expecting head of the gaming group Zhu Jun for talks over possible investment. A club spokesman for the club issued the following statement.

"Everton FC can confirm that their away day travel policy has been adhered to as is customary, and this has not been knowingly influenced by any external factors. As is typical we have received menu instructions from Bill Kenwright and these will be put in place in accordance with his requests and the abilities of Leeds United FC's catering team. Although we can confirm their is a Oriental "feel" to the menu, we have no reason to assume that this is in any way influenced by any other factor other than Bill's taste in food."

Leeds United refused to comment on the matter, citing client confidentiality agreements prohibited them disclosing any such information. However an inside source moved to brand reports suggested the hospitality management team had received "special requests" to screen Takeshi's castle at half time in the suites as "mere speculation".

richj363 · Cult Status

Spurs Manager Richard Jefferies has become very frustrated in his search for new players.

Speaking at the training ground on Monday morning he made the following statement.

We have been searching far and wide in the search for some quality players but seem to only get negative responses from clubs, if indeed we even get a reply at all. Most clubs do not even have the decency to reply and we have been offering top prices for the right players. It is very frustrating when you have funds but cannot do the deals.

Even the scouting was a complete waste of time this year as nothing anywhere near the quality we require was there.

We have one superstar playing coming in this week but have had to offload a promising younster to do the deal.

We will keep looking in the hope of finding someone before the window shuts.

Bluebird99 · Cult Status

Nottm Forest 3-2 Southampton

Davies-Evans "shell-shocked" after Forest defeat

Southampton manager left The City Ground wondering how his team lost a game that they dominated from start to finish. Speaking to media after the game, Davies-Evans was quick to focus on their next game against Charlton.

Media - Steve, You must wonder how you lost that game?

SDE - Yeah the boys are abit "Shell-shocked" to be honest. I thought we were atleast worth a draw and probably a win but this is football, we have to pick ourselves up and move on.

Media - How damaging is this defeat to you?

SDE - Well it's only damaging if we let it be. These sort of defeats happen in football. We just need to make sure we don't dwell on it and move on. Forest were clinical today, more clinical than us infact so well done to them. They are a decent team and they took their chances when they came up.

Media - No Ronaldinho again this week, do you regret that now?

SDE - No not at all, we need to make sure he's fresh and he's played 8 games in a row before last week so we needed to give him a rest.

Media - So will he be back this week?

SDE - We'll assess his fitness on Thursday and then a decision will be made then

Media - Charlton is a winable game for you, how important is it to get back to winning ways?

SDE - Well it's a test for the boys now, if they want to be promoted, they need to show it. Obviously, we will be looking for a reaction from a few of them.

Media - What do you make of Richard Jeffries comments in the media that it's hard to negotiate with some managers?

SDE - Well, it's a dog eat dog world. Transfers aren't easy in this game. Buying managers want to pay as little as possible, selling managers want as much as possible. You need to find that common ground which is easier said than done. We've all been there but Richard will be ok. He will find that he does one deal and then they all fall into place. The important thing is not to get desperate, just stick to your guns and get the right deal thats right for the club. If it's not, dont do it and hang on to the money.

Fletch · Cult Status

Andy Fletcher Comments on Changing Face of Transfer Dealing

" I have every sympathy with Richard at Spurs with his frustrations in the transfer marlet, I too have spent countless hours contacting clubs to have them not bother on the transfer day or not reply at all."

"I think we have since learned at Napoli that to grow your own talents can be a sustainable long term objective. If you get the right scouts and trainign in place you can nurture your own talent and play them rather than loaning them out, I think many teams will switch to this approach over the coming seasons. Prices for players are exaggerated in most cases and there are only a small handful of clubs that wont worry about spending £20m on a player that may or may not work out for them"

" I would advise Richard to look at his backroom staff and set up and perhaps nurture the hidden gems."

-- Edited by Fletch on Monday 9th of August 2010 01:49:34 PM

pricey · Cult Status

PRICE TO HOLD PRESS CONFRENCE

News making the rounds is that Recreativo Huelva Manager will be holding a press confrence at 7pm to anounce his new job. Excitment is in the air in Andalucia and fans have started gatering around the ground. one hint that has come out though is that the job is a lot closer to his North Londonshire home

pricey · Cult Status

PRESS CONFERENCE FROM REREATIVO HUELVA

With the press gathered in a small room at the Estadio Nuevo Colombino at a little past 7pm manager Dale Price entered the room. The press were told that no questions would be answered there would just be a short statement would be read out by Mr. Price. As the room fell silent Mr. Price started reading his statement I can confirm that I have a new job closer to home I will be leaving the Sainsburys Finchley road and moving to the Winchmore Hill store it will cut down on my traveling time and save me alot of money I would like to thank everyone who has supported me in this decision and if youll excuse me I have to prepare my team for the upcoming league game With Price finishing the Huelva fans breathed a sigh of relief as they thought he was leaving their club

JOP · Cult Status

LOVE IT!!

Sinky2707 · Cult Status

We've got nothing to lose now

It was more of the same old for Parma losing and not scoring and Jonny Sinclair admitted that it's looking more and more likely relegation is going to happen. Skysports got to the chance to speak to the Parma boss.

'We just can't score Sinclair stated simply, the midfield either can't create the chances or when we create them the strikers don't put them away we have the 4th best defence in the league and find ourselves bottom of the table again its ridiculous.'

So you've got a game against Lazio this week how will you approach it?

'Well we're 7 points behind them so its safe to say we've got nothing to lose in going for the win we do we're back within a chance of getting out of the relegation zone if lose well we're 10 points behind them with only a few games left and we've only managed to win once so we've got to attack them and hope it pays off. They have a good side but for sure they are beatable if we lose then I think it's safe to say we will be looking at Serie B and making sure we'd get back up at the first attempt.'

Will you be disappointed if you do go down from Serie A for what will be your third time in your management career?

Well firstly thanks for being that matter to light haha and it's a stupid question of course I would be disappointed if we were to go down of course like the previous two times with Ascoli but we have a young talented squad that are still learning with some experienced war heads and would hopefully help us to come back up at the first attempt of course I would like us to survive this season and look ahead to another campaign in Serie A.

Any transfer news for you to tell about?

'Well in the last couple of weeks we have had a few bids in for our better players Levi Porter, Ioime Rafaelle, Tomas Ghinassi and Francesco Pambianchi all of these bids have been rejected because I don't want to sell any of our young talent Ioime Rafaelle and Francesco Pambianchi were interesting a fellow Serie A team, a Serie B team were extremely interested in Levi Porter and they very nearly tempted me to sell with a £12million bid however I believe Parma fans wouldn't be too happy with me selling him they then came in with a £15million bid however they pulled out of that bid as soon as they tabled the bid which to be honest I'm glad because Levi is a nice lad and always works hard in training and makes everyone laugh with some of the one liners he comes out with. Finally Tomas Ghinassi was interesting a League One club who offer three players for him but I didn't think they were any benefit to club to be honest.'

Anything more you would like to share with us at all?

'Well of course recent media about how hard it is in the transfer market I completely agree I've found impossible to sign any loan players before and during the season and with transfers more managers like me seem intent on keeping the players they have rather than sale also some are looking to see if players improve at the end of the season before deciding whether to sell which an be frustrating but sadly it's part and parcel of football I'm afraid and we all have to get on with it at the end of the day but I do agree with Richard that in the current climate it's very difficult.'

'Also on the topic of Reggina apparently getting a Chinese investor. 'It'd certainly be interesting to see how Jonathan Petty would do with investment he has a lot of money as it is with the sell of Van der Vaart and it would give them perhaps that extra level needed to survive Serie A. If they were to get promoted however investment doesn't always work it Sheffield Wednesday a good while to get in the Premiership and they look to be going straight back down Genoa got promoted then stupidily sacked their manager. They haven't achieved the success they did under their old boss so he would have to make sure he spent wisely and for the investor to expect results straight away because it rarely ever works out that way anyway I'll be off now '

Thanks for your time

-- Edited by Sinky2707 on Monday 9th of August 2010 06:31:02 PM

Tezza · Cult Status

Atalanta News

This weekend will see Atalanta travelling to Cagliari for what could be a very interesting encounter. Cagliari are 8 places below Atalanta in the league but Terry Manifold is taking the match very seriously having underestimated opposition in the past, "I dont think I have met Neil Parker yet,"said Terry, " I look forward to seeing him and the set up there, and what could be a close match."

"I can tell you," Terry said, "the adding of the experienced, and lightly played, Darren Carter to the midfield should give the line up a much more solid look," "I think he will give us that little bit extra during the run in to the play-offs."

"I have accepted that we will be playing in the play off matches, I know Emploi and Napoli are closing in," Terry said, "but after this week the rest of the season will be about keeping the whole squad at peak level. this may well lead to some bad results, but I am looking at finishing strongly and not necessarily getting as many points as we can."

"I can also tell you that we have secured the loan of 18 year old Jack Rodwell from Liverpool for the rest of the season, "Terry informed us, "I see that as being a major step in my preparation for those play off matches." " We are assured he will join us possibly in a couple of weeks." " I am really pleased that Mark Galeozzi has allowed him to come to Atalanta."

"See you all at the weekend."

-- Edited by Tezza on Monday 9th of August 2010 09:55:52 PM

Fletch · Cult Status

I was born in Winchmore Hill mate and know the store very well, if you head down Green Lanes the church set back is where my parents got married and I was christened.

Football Academy · Cult Status

News breaking from Spain is that Cadiz have avoided liquidation this season. Celebrations will no doubt ring out around the fans of Segunda club Cadiz this afternoon as the club spokesman confirmed they would not be liquidated at the end of the season. Fans were aware huge debts were crippling the club with their old chairman penniless and manager Johndaniel Jaques quitting for a break from management however figures weren't clarified in public. Chairman Mark Galeozzi bought the club for just £5 million at the end of the year and fans were hopeful of managing the debts considering he started management at Preston, steering them to improvements following administration themselves when no other manager would touch them. The first surprise was Galeozzi's reappointment of Johndaniel Jaques as manager, one of the biggest surprise returns to management in football.

However things seemed grave when the club confirmed a meeting between a Spanish bank and the chairman was required to clarify the debts thought to be reaching a staggering £50 million. The spokesman today for the club confirmed an agreement then was reached in which Cadiz had to pay £25 million before the close of this season, or they would be closed with assets liquidated. Fans will be shocked at this news of how close they came to losing their club but it seems the money has been paid with months to spare. The statement read "Manager and chairman have worked tirelessly to raise the funds demanded from the bank. A new interest rate was agreed for next season if we met the £25 million pay off required. The club will endeavour to reduce the debts as much as possible this season before the new interest rate comes in. For any club of our size to raise figures of this magnitude is a great success and the whole club wishes to thank the banks for their patience and also the chairman and manager for their hard work. We hope to continue to put Cadiz onto a stable footing."

Football Academy · Cult Status

Deportivo star to leave?

Reports suggest highly rated 25 year old Deportivo leftback Jonathan Bottinelli has been spotted boarding a plane bound for Italy causing rumours he is heading out for a medical ahead of a move on Friday. No news has come from Deportivo although they are thought to be in negotiations to sell their prospects and attempt a rebuilding programme to redesign the whole squad, which could require stars like Bottinelli, Aythami, Portilla and Siedlarz all being sold. No news at all from Italy can hint at Bottinelli's destination but it is thought the Italian press are on high alert, with reporters heading to possible airport destinations to see if they can spot him.

Football Academy · Cult Status

Cattermole demands transfer

Lee Cattermole has handed Newcastle a formal transfer request in a bid to hasten his move away from the Championship high flyers following almost a year of intense speculation linking him to top clubs across all three countries, with some of the biggest names in European football being mentioned. It is believed the club has received two bids recently in excess of £16 million and the interest has encouraged Cattermole to seek a swift exit.

Lee Cattermole has recently been linked to Liverpool as the replacement for new Juventus signing Javier Mascherano while other names linked this week have been Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona, who are both thought to be rebuilding for next season following failed title challenges.

Football Academy · Cult Status

Liverpool winger Robinho spotted in London ready for a medical ahead of proposed move away from Anfield this week.

Football Academy · Cult Status

Lee Catterole has turned down the chance to join Liverpool as replacement for Javier Mascherano.

Football Academy · Cult Status

Jonathan Bottinelli is stranded in Genoa Cristoforo Colombo Airport after negotiations between high spending Genoa and Deportivo broke down.

Football Academy · Cult Status

Roma defender Rodrigo Defendi has refused to move to an unnamed Spanish club due to family reasons.

Football Academy · Cult Status

Reggina have launched an audacious bid to sign Liverpools main target Lee Cattermole from Newcastle.

bigwave1927 · Cult Status

Football Academy wrote:

The FA has a day off today to release all this media, great work. However can i have a mention please. Wether it being sacked or something. LOL

mg1 · Cult Status

Liverpool admit defeat in Cattermole auction.

Following a number of media reports that Cattermole was set to join Liverpool, a source at the club has revealed that whilst Liverpool have been tracking the player for sometime it would seem that the midfielder's future lies elsewhere.

Our source confirmed that talks have been ongoing throughout the week but unfortunately a deal that suited both parties could not be agreed and as such the club have reluctantly decided to look elsewhere for a CM to replace Mascherano.

JOP · Cult Status

Reggina confirm reports

Reggina has announced reports surrounding them making a bid for Lee Cattermole are true. We caught up with manager Jop at the training ground.

"Yes its true, I have the money there to spend and needed to bolster the midfield. I can also confirm that there are better bids on the table from other clubs so we will not be pursuing our interest"

He then talked about other deals.

"Well I have Garcia coming in from Inter in a few weeks and just got of the phone to the Barca manager Mr Goble and Alcantra will be joining us too. both forward pushing centre midfielders which allows Roman to sit back and do what he does best, defend."

"We have two new strikers coming in too, Feriestiera from Real Madrid and a hot talent Aquino from Real Murcia. I am also waiting replies for a top, top keeper which we have a bid in for and also a very young talented striker."

"We are also looking for one other centre midfielder but that will probably be in the new season"

Raymond · Cult Status

Farnell enters Cattermole chase......
Ray is the breaking news true that you have spoken to the FA and Lee's agent?

Chievo and I have not yet disclosed anything to date but in the coming hours we will speak with Newcastle and the FA regarding the transfer.

What can Chievo offer Lee when we are hear of Super Clubs wanting his services?
Its quite simple, the chance to captain this club and take this club forward. Lee is a born captain and you can see he is working his socks off to be successful, we want to give him that chance.

You look doomed to Seria B, do you believe this is a deal that can be done?
Why not..... we are a tight outfit regardless of our position with an inner strength, we are Chievo and our seige mentality suits us well - its us against the rest hence wanting the combatative qualities of Mr Cattermole.

Football Academy · Cult Status

The agent of Blackburn centre back Phil Jones is in discussions with Real Madrid representatives.

Football Academy · Cult Status

Barcelona have approached Palermo about making defender Simon Kjaer captain of next seasons new look side.

Football Academy · Cult Status

Reggina are in talks to sign young Espanyol midfielder Javi Marquez as replacement for van der Vaart.

Football Academy · Cult Status

Huw Evans has left the relegation threatened Welsh club with immediate effect. The managers position has come under much scrutiny in recent weeks with results going against him since promotion to the Premiership. The ex-Brescia boss has struggled to transform the clubs potential into top flight survival and despite no comments from the board it was believed pressure was growing both from within the club, and from its fans. Luke Coakley the AC Milan manager has already positioned himself with the sale of Fulham to allow him to manage in the English leagues. However speculation has been rife linking the recently successful Craig Radford to the job after guiding Manchester United to 2nd in the league above holders Chelsea. Other managers linked have been Gareth Gardner and Paul Harrington, with outsiders Chris Hanton and Dave Davies Evans also thought to be interested.

It is believed Evans and Peter Ridsdale have been in discussions throughout last night and this morning and the agreement was that Cardiff would end their association with their old manager. More news on the situation is expected to break throughout the day.

Luke_C · Cult Status

Milan crash out of Europe

Luke a tough night in Europe against your former club Manchester City?

Well it clearly didnt go to plan but the players gave everything they had.You only have to look at the squad Manchester City have and it was always going to be a tough tough game and that it was.

We tried to play good football and it worked but some of our defending was a little naive at times. I wont have a go at the players though, they are good honest pros who like to play good football and they have done this for the large majority this season.

Now out of Europe and out of the Italian cup, all focus will be on the league for you?

Yes we will be chasing down Juventus and it is still in our hands but we will have to win every game now, im certain of that. We are not favourites to win the league so its going to be a hard battle but one we cant give up on. It does show how far Milan have come recently though, it wasnt long ago we couldnt get into Europe and now we have a gooddistance between us and third place and still keeping the pressure on top spot.

You said if you didnt win a trophy then you would offer your resignation at Milan, is this still the case?

I can confirm this season is my last season at Milan and it saddens me that we have been unable to win a trophy.I would say in my time at Milan we won the battle but not the war.

In what way have you won the battle but not the war?

Well the battle was to reduce the age of the squad while still being competitive in all competitions and returning to Europe.Milan are now regularly getting to the European quarter finals and are in the top two best teams in Italy.I think the average age when I took over was around 32 and that has been reduced and we also have some very good youngsters to balance them against the older players. For me it was also important to get the fans back to Milan by playing good football, crowds of 1000 when I took overgave the San Siro and sad feel but now the place is rocking on a match day with regular sell outs.

My personal overall aim though was to win a trophy at Milan and while we came one penalty away from doing that ultimately we failed so for that I apologise to the Milan fans.

You have been linked with the Cardiff job, any news on that?

Cardiff City have a manager in Huw Evans and I am currently manager of Milan so I have no further comment to make.

BBC would like to confirm this interview was made after the Manchester City V Milan match. After hearing the breaking news Huw Evans is to leave Cardiff City we contracted Luke Coakley for further comments.

"I have made my position clear with regards to Cardiff City and my thoughts remain the same."

Football Academy · Cult Status

Ex-Cardiff manager Huw Evans has already flown out to Italy for talks with an unnamed club.

Fletch · Cult Status

Napoli set their sights on 3rd Spot

Napoli manager Andy Fletcher thinhs its still possible for his young Napoli team to achieve 3rd spot, despite being pointless at the bottom of the league when he took over.

"It would be an ambitious target to achieve but we keep re-inventing ourselves every week, a superb win against Atalanta has given us fresh imputous and the lads are talking about 3rd in the dressing room"

"A couple of wins and we could be up there, although we have to rely on Empoli and Atalanata to slip up a bit."

"We will give the run in the best shot we can, no one expects us to go up this year but expectations will be high from everyone next season, from me, from the players, the fans and the chairman. To go up this year may be a bridge too far at this stage."

-- Edited by Fletch on Wednesday 11th of August 2010 01:46:12 PM

-- Edited by Fletch on Wednesday 11th of August 2010 01:47:11 PM

Football Academy · Cult Status

Brescia are in discussions with bringing 'club favourite' Huw Evans back in a surprise move reuniting the hall of famer with his old club.

Football Academy · Cult Status

Cardiff have ruled out unemployed Tony Wood as next manager but with no applications yet, have stated interest in Craig Radford.

Rhino · Cult Status

Hanton not Interested in Cardiff City

Real Madrid boss Chris Hanton was quick off the mark to state he has no interest in the vacant managers role at Cardiff City the Madrid boss spoke to press on his way home this evening and this is what he had to say

" I have no interest in talking to Cardiff about being there next manager as i work for one of the greatest teams on the planet and i want to see out the rest of my contract, i will then sit down with the board and see what happens"

CRadford7 · Cult Status

Radford dismisses Cardiff speculation

Today, current Manchester United manager Craig Radford has quashed speculation of him being interested in the vacant Cardiff City job!

"I would just like to state that I have absolutely no intentions of becoming Cardiff City manager. I am fully focused and committed to my role at Old Trafford. Being the gaffer at a club like this, doesnt come any better. Being a United fan, it is my dream job."

Radford was then asked who would be the ideal candidate....

"Luke Coakley. The guy has done a fantastic job at Milan, and he is a Cardiff City fan through and through"

-- Edited by CRadford7 on Thursday 12th of August 2010 09:24:53 AM

mg1 · Cult Status

Rafaello to join the reds

Sky Sports news believe that Liverpool FC are set to sign young midfielder Davide Rafaello from Spurs

The 23-year-old, it is expected to play his last game for Spurs tomorrow before travelling to Anfield to undergo a medical.

As yet there has been no comment from either club but a source at Anfield as told us that Rafaello has already agreed terms with the club and subject to a medical Davide will be Liverpool player in time for their game against Chelsea next week.

Football Academy · Cult Status

Jonathan Petty spotted in Middlesbrough for talks with chairman of the currently unmanaged club.

JOP · Cult Status

Jonathan Petty confirms he was in Middlesbrough

Rumours have it you were in Middlesbrough, true?

"Yes I was in Middlesbrough, I had been to Cardiff for a couple of days and when we took of to fly back to Italy we had to take an emergency landing in Teeside Airport, while waiting for the new flight (5 hours later) I took te opportunity to see Juan Cozar train just in case we wanted to make another bid"

Why were you in Cardiff?

"No comment"

-- Edited by JOP on Friday 13th of August 2010 02:05:33 PM

Football Academy · Cult Status

Brescia have sold out their away allocation for the match against Empoli with returning favourite Huw Evans set to be unveiled on the pitch as returning manager.

Football Academy · Cult Status

Deportivo wingback Jonathan Bottinelli has passed a medical for Genoa this lunchtime.

Football Academy · Cult Status

Midfielder Juan Santos Cozar "unconfident" over reported talks with Reggina.

Football Academy · Cult Status

Gareth Gardner's proposed move to Middlesbrough has hit a stumbling block in the form of desires Alberto Paloschi moving with him as part of the deal.

Football Academy · Cult Status

Espanyol want Thiago Alcantara in any proposed deal for highly desired midfield prospect Javi Marquez.

Football Academy · Cult Status

Deportivo centre back Aythami is in talks with Juventus, Real Valladolid, Roma and Barcelona after demanding his club sell him.

Football Academy · Cult Status

Atletico Madrid have jumped in as favourites to sign Lee Cattermole after topping all other bids.