Monday 20 August 2012

Everton Vs Manchester United Today 



Barclays Premier League—Goodison Park; Liverpool, England
Everton vs. Manchester United(kickoff 3 p.m. ET, Monday, Aug. 20, 2012)
Opening weekend is almost over. To cap it off, here's a big one.
Everton host Manchester United in a Monday match full of anticipation for both teams. Dutch forward Robin van Persie is expected to debut for Manchester United. Everton, meanwhile, are celebrating the signing of Belgian forward Kevin Mirallas.
Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET, with American television coverage on ESPN2. Join us for live commentary right here.
Tottenham Tranfer News : Spurs Make Loan Requuest For Arsenal's Marouane Chamakh




Andre Villas-Boas may soon have the striker he's been looking for all summer, and he might not have to go far to find him.
According to the Daily Mirror, Tottenham has sent in a loan inquiry to Arsenal about the rarely used Marouane Chamakh.
Gunners manager Arsene Wenger could potentially jump at the chance to offload the forward who earned all of 19 league starts at Arsenal in two seasons since coming from Ligue 1 side Bordeaux.
However, Wenger could also nix the deal altogether so as to not give an English—not to mention London!—rival like Tottenham the opportunity to fix their situation at forward.
Chamakh wasn't always out of favor with Wenger. After coming over in the summer of 2009 on a free transfer from Bordeaux, the now-28-year-old Moroccan international debuted nicely with his new club—scoring 11 goals in league play and contributing well in Arsenal's Champions League and FA Cup campaigns that season.
But last season, Chamakh scored just one goal in 11 appearances. He's started this season no better, as Wenger left him out of the lineup altogether for Arsenal's opening match (0-0 draw to Sunderland).
Seemingly, Tottenham will have to act quickly to snatch up Chamakh. The Daily Mail is reporting that the striker is the center of loan requests from fellow English clubEverton and Italian club Fiorentina.
If he comes on the cheap, he'd be a great asset on the pitch for Spurs. Besides filling a desperate need at forward, he's strong in the air and would provide some much-needed height and physicality in the box.
He's also a gifted player in possession and technique who unselfishly often looks first to dump passes off to teammates. That could bode well for fellow forward Jermain Defoe, who has been looking for a season to entrench himself as the first-choice at forward for Tottenham.
CHELSEA'S WIN BECAUSE OF EDEN HAZARD!!




Chelsea defeated Wigan Athletic 2-0 on Sunday, solidifying themselves as EPL title contenders.
There was a lot of hype surrounding Chelsea, and they responded by winning in a convincing fashion. Although Wigan aren't the toughest of opponents, this was a big win for the Blues.
Even after the first week, it looks like Chelsea will be hanging around the top of the table all year.

Manchester United Transfer News: Are United Seriously Considering Kaka?

 





The latest transfer rumors suggest that Manchester United are targeting Kaka as a potential loan target this summer.
Yes, that Kaka.
According to  The Daily Mail, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is seriously considering making a loan move for the Real Madrid midfielder. The Spanish club are reportedly looking to offload the out-of-favor Brazilian in order to make way for Luka Modric's transfer from Tottenham Hotspur.
Kaka has been offered to Manchester United on a season-long loan as Real Madrid prepare for the arrival of Luka Modric.
Galatasaray and Kaka’s former club AC Milan have also registered their interest in the 2007 World Player of the Year, but United are the biggest draw for the Brazilian.
The Brazilian's salary is close to the £250,000 a week earned by Van Persie and Wayne Rooney and although Real are reluctant to let Kaka join a Champions League rival, his wages are a burden considering he will spend most of the season on the bench at the Bernabeu.
I can't see this happening.
I might be proven wrong, but I cannot see Sir Alex Ferguson trying to sign the 30-year-old midfielder from Spain during the final few weeks of the summer transfer window.
I can't see it happening now; in fact, I can't see it happening ever.
Hi-res-137846443_crop_exactDenis Doyle/Getty Images
This is a player who is beyond his prime.
At the peak of his career, in 2009, Kaka made a £60 million move from AC Milan to Real Madrid. The transfer made him the most expensive player in the world at the time.
However, he is not that player now.
He is not the £60 million man that Real signed in 2009; he is a perennial bench-warmer at the Bernabeu who is barely considered by Jose Mourinho.
He is not the kind of player that you look for if you're trying to go forward; he's the type of player that you use to fill a gap when you have nobody else to fill it.
Sure, he's talented—his past proves that to be completely true—and if he could recapture that form, he would be a great player to have in any squad. However, that simply isn't the case for Kaka, and he simply isn't worth trying to sign desperately over the final weeks of the summer.
Especially not when he'll cost £250,000 per week.
If his wages are believed to be too high for Real Madrid to keep hold of him, there is simply no way in the world that United will pay it—not when they already have Wayne Rooney and now Robin van Persie on a similar wage scale.
Hi-res-97616826_crop_exactJasper Juinen/Getty Images
The recent signing of Alexander Buttner from Vitesse Arnhem is a better example of the kind of dealings that the Red Devils are looking to do over the summer transfer window.
They needed a new left-back to cover for Patrice Evra, and were believed to be in the market for Everton defender Leighton Baines. However, it was later revealed that the Toffees wanted around £15-17 million for the England international. United were not willing to pay that much, and so signed a younger talent for a much cheaper price than that (per The Guardian).
Manchester United will not throw money at everything that moves, and will not pay the £250,000 per week required to bring Kaka to Old Trafford. He is old, he is no longer in the prime of his career and his past is littered with injuries and inconsistencies.
Why the Red Devils would want to sign a player that cannot keep his place in the Brazilian national squad or the Real Madrid starting squad is beyond me.
Why they would want to sign one that is 30 years old, past his prime and injury-prone simply doesn't make sense.

Sunday 19 August 2012

Wigan vs. Chelsea: Premier League Live Score, Highlights and Recap


Barclays Premier League:
HT: Wigan 0 - 2 Chelsea
Goals: Ivanovic, Lampard
Lineups:
Wigan (3-4-3): Al-Habsi; Caldwell, Alcaraz, Ramis; Boyce, McArthur (79' Watson), McCartney, Figueroa; Moses, Di Santo (66' Kone), Maloney (46' Gomez).
Subs: Pollitt, Jones, Crusat, Boselli, Feroze. 
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Luiz, Terry, Cole; Lampard, Mikel; Hazard (62' Oscar), Mata (82' Meireles), Bertrand; Torres
Subs: Turnbull, Cahill, Ferreira, Essien, Sturridge.
Fernando Torres

Reason to watch: With Didier Drogba gone, can "El Nino" step up to the plate?
Fernando Torres' Chelsea career had been plagued by one fact: They could always turn back to Drogba if the Spaniard wasn't doing the business.
Drogba is gone, so Roberto Di Matteo is putting his faith in Torres and expects him to repay it with goals.
He's made a good start, as the goal he scored in the Community Shield is reminiscent of the striker's finishes he used to produce at Liverpool.
He thrived when he was the main man at Anfield. He's the main man at Stamford Bridge now, and I'm predicting 15 goals or more.
Oscar

Reason to watch: What role and position will he play? How many games will he get?
Oscar was a perplexing signing by Chelsea. He is, quite clearly, an incredibly talented individual, but the Blues' midfield was stacked even before his arrival.
The Olympics have shown the world what he's capable of, and Chelsea fans are very excited about his Stamford Bridge arrival.
It will be interesting to see how Roberto Di Matteo deploys him, which system he uses and how often Oscar will be able to play in his preferred role—attacking midfielder.
He should slot straight into a 4-3-3 like the Italian used last season, and a midfield trio of Ramires, Frank Lampard and Oscar would be fearsome.