Negredo has Sevilla medical

Atari · Sunday League Player

Week 13

Stu · Cult Status

"We tried our best"

How disappointed are you losing such an exciting game?

"I think the fans will be pleased. We gave them a real game today but Real Valladolid are champions for a reason. We went out there to play our way and I think scoring 5 goals against the league leaders shows our way is a good way it just wasnt good enough on the day"

Did you think you had won it at one point?

"I thought with 5 minutes left we might get a draw. We scored to make it 5 all but they had 20 minutes left then so I expected more goals but when we went 15 minutes with nothing it was hard not to start thinking of a point gained"

How will the rest of the league react to the result?

"It might get pushed off the back pages by the Barcelona result but I hope some managers sit up and take note. We dont want to just make up the numbers in the middle of the league if we can help it. Some managers have blamed their inability to win the league on teams giving the top 2 an easy ride. We gave it everything we had today against the best team in the country and the 2nd best team in the country got beat. Any more excuses like those now will sound very weak"

Stu

Football Academy · Cult Status

(No time to do the weekender this week so will post the pieces I do get time to do as media pieces this week instead.)

Seven heaven for Juventus

This week mighty Juventus travelled to Parma and not only came away with the 3 points but gave Parma a right hammering. At half time though it looked a close game with a shocking 0-0 score line but the second half couldnt be more one sided with Juventus scoring 7 times without reply. Yuri Zhirkov was the star man with 2 goals and an assist to his name. Next week Juventus host Sampdoria is looking to make it 36 wins in a row in the league while Parma travel to Chievo looking to turn around the terrible run that they have been on.

Boring boring boring

Fans were seen falling asleep at the San Siro as Inter took on Chievo with only 2 shots in the whole match. Some people called it boring some called it a defensive master class but I think I would have to side with the fans that called it boring. Inter fans will be unhappy with the result as Palermo losing mean that they had the chance to move up the table. Next week Inter battle AC in the Milan Derby and I have a feeling the Inter fans are only going to get more unhappy. Chievo fans on the other had will be used to this style of football. They will need to change though as they could see themselves back in Seria B next season.

No Manager of the month curse at Atalanta

Last week Atalanta manager Dale Price was named as Seria B manager of the month. Usually when that happens teams lose their next game and Atalanta couldnt have had a tougher game when they travelled to second place Catania one of the few teams to have beaten them this season and the last team to have beaten them 15 games ago. In a very tight game Atalanta came out on top 3-2 but it could have been more to do with the 2 goals chalked off due to Daniel Carvalho being off-side. But on a plus note for the star midfield player, he got his first goal for the club which turned out to be the winning goal. There is still a slim hope of Atalanta getting into the top 2 but it is a very slim hope! I feel they will have to settle for the play-offs again but hopefully they can do better than they did last season.

Thanks to Dale Price for his column this week.

Football Academy · Cult Status

FA Update News

Club Stats and the Hall of Fame have been updated for the mid-season.

Football Academy · Cult Status

FA Update News

Club Stats and the Hall of Fame have been updated for the mid-season.

Jamie Walker (Arsenal), Mark Rollings (Leicester), and Amilcar Vasquez (Catania) have all been inducted into the hall of fame as Fans Favourites mid-season 9 due to their high fan ratings.

Arron Donoghue (Sheffield United) and Andy Fletcher (Napoli) have been inducted into the hall of fame as Club Favourites mid-season 9 due to their high chairman and fans ratings.

Jonnie Adams (Althetic Bilbao) has improved his standing in the hall of fame to Club hero status mid-season 9.

Hoops · Semi-Pro Player

Negredo has Sevilla medical

Almeria agree fee for centre forward

Skysports.com understands in-demand centre forward Alvaro Negredo has flown out to Sevilla Airport to have his medical at the teams training ground this evening.

Almeria have been fighting off interest in the highly rated youngster since he burst onto the scene unexpectedly a few weeks ago. After much hype in the weekender media Alvaro Negredo has attracted interest from all three countries but Sevilla look like the favourites. Almeria have refused to comment on the undisclosed fee but would like to wish him luck if he does leave and thank him for his four goals and one assist in only two games.

-- Edited by Hoops on Thursday 14th of July 2011 06:47:48 PM

Football Academy · Cult Status

Real Valladolid vs Sevilla

Top of the table will play third as one of the crunch games in the La Liga title race this season kicks off. We take a look at the two opposing managers to see just what the big match could have in store for us this coming week.

SebC4 · Non-League Player

Palace Take Action Against Wolves

A message on the official Crystal Palace site has told fans the club are officially taking action against fellow league one team Wolves today. Two weeks in a row Wolves have broken contract agreements regarding the loan of their top scorer Mario Sanchez Berbil who is on loan for the season. Crystal Palace have written to the FA to demand action is taken over the unlawful neglect of their striker. More news to follow.

Adams · Top Flight Player

Adams Praises Best

Athletic Bilbao fans will have been rocked by the news the club has been put up for sale by Jamie best this week. Instead of joining them to criticise the decision the manager has praised the chairman for his hard work.

"The chairman came in when the club was stuck in the bottom league. I came over from Sheffield United on the back of promotion with them because he gave me confidence in his support and showed me how we could succeed here."

Athletic Bilbao have celebrated a high point in many fans memories getting promotion out of the Segunda and finishing high in La Liga qualifying for Europe. Adams have led them in Europe and they occupied the top spot in their qualifying group.

"Lots of people have been surprised by the last two seasons of success here. No one saw this run of form coming and long may it last. Tomorrow it could all go wrong and I could be out of a job but I like to think the success has been down to a good manager and chairman partnership with the right players being picked at the right prices."

Athletic Bilbao could be in new hands before they step out on another football pitch but the manager Adams doesn't seem worried.

"Jamie spoke to me before he went public with the sale and I understand his reasons. I wish him luck at Newcastle and I hope Bilbao get a new owner who has only the best in mind for the team."