Marton Fulop

Roberto Mancini said Manchester City will enjoy the cup final they have craved all season when they face Tottenham on Wednesday. There will be no trophy at stake, unsecured loans  but the prize of a place in the Champions League should more than make up for it. After ending the top four hopes of Aston Villa yesterday, City want to do the same to Spurs, who are one point ahead with two games left. "It's a final. We wanted one final this year and now we have it," said Mancini. "It will be another difficult game, Tottenham are as strong as Aston Villa. It's a big game, maybe the most important in the last year and we want to win."

City will need the same character they showed against Villa. A goal behind to John Carew's 16th-minute opener, they did not wilt under the pressure. Their fortunes changed two minutes before the break when, first, Adam Johnson was tripped by Stephen Warnock as he swept past him in the penalty area. The Villa left-back had escaped one penalty appeal when a fierce drive from Carlos Tevez struck his arm. This time there was no doubt. Tevez stepped up and his low finish crept under the dive of Brad Friedel for his 29th goal of the campaign.

Villa went immediately on to the attack and Carew struck the bar. Seconds later City went ahead. Patrick Vieira, in commanding form reminiscent of his pomp at Arsenal, found Johnson in the box who, cleverly, he back-heeled the ball to create space and waited bad credit loans patiently to pick out Emmanuel Adebayor, who squeezed his shot into the net. Mancini praised the providers. "Patrick played a fantastic game," he said. "For him, he deserved this. Adam Johnson is young, but next year he will be an important player for us and for the national team probably.

"But I want to say thank you to all the players. They continue to play football and this is important." Mancini again played down the suggestion that missing out on the Champions League would mean the end for him at the Eastlands helm. "It's not important for me, it's important the squad win the next game and get the fourth position," he said. "I do this job because I enjoy being a manager and enjoy football."

Martin O'Neill, the Villa manager, was also coy about his own future. He confirmed he will have talks with Randy Lerner, the chairman, before next week's final game of the season. "I will sit down with him and discuss all aspects about the season. If it's like he was telling me a couple of weeks ago, he's been immensely proud of the team." So too was O'Neill, but just disappointed Villa did not build on their great start when Carew blasted under the body of Marton Fulop.

Picking the ball out of the net was not the first impression the debutant keeper wanted to make after signing on an emergency loan deal from Sunderland. Fulop was anxious and relieved to see 20-yard drives from Stewart Downing and James Milner fly inches wide. Mancini admitted: "For Fulop it was difficult. He was so nervous in the first half, but in the second half he was very, very good. I hope the next game it will be quiet."
At the other end, Friedel made a good save from Craig Bellamy's curling effort. But the American could do nothing about the 89th-minute strike that settled a tense encounter. Fulop started the move with a long throw to Shaun Wright-Phillips on the left. He left Carlos Cuellar in his wake before feeding Bellamy for a cool finish. It set City up for Spurs, but left Villa deflated. O'Neill said they will look to follow the example of Manchester United.

Everton FC reveals new Purple Kit in aid of Liverpool Unites

Everton FC has unveiled the first official photo of their new limited edition purple shirt - launched as part of their partnership with Liverpool Unites.

The Goodison Park club and Kitbag Limited, Everton’s official retail partner, want to raise more than £100,000 before the end of the season for the Liverpool ECHO and Daily Post charity.

Everton has adopted the purple colour of Liverpool Unites for the shirt, representing how Everton and Liverpool FC came together after the death of schoolboy Rhys bad credit loans Jones.

Melanie and Stephen Jones, parents of 11-year-old Evertonian Rhys, met with Everton manager David Moyes and Russian midfielder Diniyar Bilyaletdinov to unveil the shirt at the team’s training ground, Finch Farm.
Each shirt will be individually boxed, numbered and presented with a certificate of authenticity. unsecured loans

The shirt will be officially launched at a special black tie dinner at Club Everton in Goodison Park on Thursday 29 October 2009.

Members of the Everton first team squad and former players will join more than 200 guests.
It is one of two special evenings held in Liverpool this month to support Liverpool Unites. Reality TV star David Gest is set to host the first Liverpool Achievement In Arts Awards on 16 October, with cash going to Liverpool Unites and the Variety Club.

How to pop up correctly for surfing

Since surfing has been around, surfer's have been doing the pop up or hop up. The pop up or hop up is a full range motion that takes a person from lying down in a prone position (face down) to standing erect (upright) in a surfer's stance over top of your feet. More and more surfer's who learn on their own, and many younger surfers practice the incorrect technique for getting up on their boards (owned or rented). If you go to your knees and then to your feet, you'll be to close to the middle, front on the board and it will allow the nose to dig water and you to fly off the board. If you continue to do this you will allow the surfboard to eventually hit you in the head.

In order to limit being hit in the head a surfer has to make one quick motion into the proper surfing stance. Most of the younger students can't comprehend the right techniques due to an inability to understand what the movement is. Older (over 35 years of age), new surfers may not have the right amount of upper body strength to make it up into the correct position. Whatever the reason is, it's very important to learn the corrrect technique for this manuever. I've seen different techniques on TV and in person,  but they have not worked at all for the persons learning surfing.

The first thing to do is get prepared by increasing your upper body strength. Do some pushups to increase your shoulder and tricep strength. If you are in good physical shape this is not as necessary, but will help train the muscles to get ready. Do as many pushups as possible, if you can do only ten, then try to do twelve the next time. Add more reps each time to help with increasing your upper body ability to thrust you into stance.

From a lying, face down position you will need to make like you're in the pushup setting. In one quick movement to standing in the surf stance. You will have to blast off the ground to complete this quickly placing your feet under your body. This is a one step process, not two, or three. When you practice this you will become more familiar and comfortable. If you go to your knees then to your feet, you will press down on the rear deck of the surfboard, upon unweighting to go to your feet the nose of the board will drop underwater and you'll crash and burn. This is why it is very important to do this in one quick movement. It is very important to unsecured loans on the rails of the surfboard when doing this manuver. If you hold the rails of the surfboard it will cause a whipping affect with your arms flying over you head and making you fall backwards into the water.

The best system is to place your hands under your chest at your shoulders and spring up into either a regular foot stance (left shoulder is aligned to the nose of the surfboard), or a goofy foot stance (right shoulder is aligned to the nose of the surfboard). You must have your head up, shoulder pointed at the nose of the surfboard, and your knees have to be bent in this manuever to have propper success. Any deviation from this will result bad credit loans in unfavorable near misses. Once you get hit in the head, you can not take it back. There is no returning to before it happened. Practice this at home, or wherever you can. When going to try this in the water make sure to use the whitewater (the foam that is a biproduct of the wave breaking and mixing with air) to make it safer for you.

 Once you have got this down you will see better results more and often. Keep those feet under you body and in the center of the board. Pressure on one rail or the other will cause the surfboard to turn in the direction of the rail that's under pressure. Use the right size surfboard, and also choose smaller waves that are less likely to get you into trouble. Practice, practice, practice. You want this to be like riding a bike, a no brainer (it means that you don't have to think about it).

If you find yourself having trouble, contact us and we will show you the proper style for popping up, and guide you into your surfing success making your time well spent. My system is the best for making you happier, and safer when working on riding your surfboard. Happy surfing!!

FA cup final

Chelsea lifted the FA Cup trophy for the fourth time in six years, defeating Liverpool 2-1 at Wembley, but the Reds will claim Andy Carroll’s header crossed the line to level the scores.

When Chelsea scored early in both the first and second halves they seemed to be easing to victory against a disappointing Liverpool outfit, but the introduction of substitute Andy Carroll saw the Blues hanging on at the end after the former Newcastle striker reduced the deficit with half-an-hour remaining.

The Blues went ahead after 11 minutes as Ramires burst clear after a pass from the influential Juan Mata and his shot too easily beat Reds keeper Jose Reina at his near post.

For the remainder of the half it was Chelsea who looked in control as Liverpool struggled to make any sort of impact on the Chelsea defence.

The second half began in much the same pattern and when Didier Drogba collected Frank Lampard’s through ball and drove the ball home it looked as if the team from West London were coasting to a win.
But the introduction of Carroll changed everything and when he pulled a goal back with a lashed left footed effort it was Chelsea who suddenly looked vulnerable.

Wave after wave of Liverpool attacks threatened to overwhelm the Blues with Carroll at the heart of everything, and with eight minutes remaining he looked to have restored parity.

The centre forward’s powerful header was clawed away by keeper Petr Cech against the inside of the post, then scrambled away to safety. The Liverpool player’s claimed the ball was unsecured loans behind the line but video replays proved inconclusive.

Still the Reds attacked but even five minutes of added time was insufficient for them to take the game into extra-time and Chelsea secured the FA Cup for the seventh time.  bad credit loans

mayweather vs cotto

Las Vegas — Floyd Mayweather promised that he would give fans the exciting fights they have always wanted and on Cinco De Mayweather the man known as “Money” certainly disappoint as he endured a rugged twelve round dogfight with Miguel Cotto and earned a unanimous decision victory.
In front of a raucous 16,047 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Mayweather opted to stand toe to toe with Miguel Cotto and perhaps absorbed the most punishment in his career as he bled from his mouth and his nose. However, Mayweather gave back more than he took and delivered a thrilling performance that not only got him to 43-0 but also earned him the WBA Super Light Middleweight Title.



It was the fight he wanted to give fans and Miguel Cotto (37-3) was more than happy to dance with the undefeated pound-for-pound king for twelve hotly contested rounds. If it weren’t for Cotto’s undeniable desire to win and relentless pressure, this wouldn’t have been the exciting war that it became. Mayweather, who had 50 Cent and Justin Bieber accompany him to the ring, wasn’t the fan favorite by any stretch of the imagination but slowly turned his detractors by stepping into Cotto’s wheelhouse and exchanging leather at a freakish pace.

“You’re a hell of a champion,” Mayweather told Cotto afterwards. “You’re one of the toughest guys I have ever fought.”
He was right.

Mayweather started fast and his precision punching and blinding hand speed gave Cotto problems early on. Then Cotto decided to make it ugly and use his size to bull the smaller Mayweather into the ropes and unleash body punches and raked with hooks to the head. The strategy worked as Mayweather looked to slip and counter but was unable to avoid every punch. As the rounds wore on, Cotto’s strategy seemed to be working as he busted Mayweather’s face with left hooks and struck to the body. With blood streaming from Mayweather’s nose, it appeared that “Money” enjoyed the fracas and smiled at the image he saw on the house screens several times. Welcoming the war that Cotto was determined to bring him, Mayweather never once deviated from his strategy of languishing on the ropes and using them as leverage to counter Cotto’s attack. Perhaps eating more leather than even he anticipated, Mayweather was forced to dig deep and use his speed and skill advantage to wrap hooks around Cotto’s gloves and smash him with uppercuts on the inside.



In the championship rounds, Mayweather sensed that Cotto was slowing down and landed some brilliant combinations that rattled Cotto. A smashing left uppercut in the last round wrecked Cotto’s equilibrium and sent him staggering backwards. But Cotto was resilient and refused to be taken out as the crowd roared the blistering exchanges between the two as the fight came to a close. Well aware that it was a defining moment of his career, Mayweather embraced Cotto as the final bell rang and seemed satisfied with his performance.
“When fights are on pay per view you want to give the fans what they pay for and that’s excitement,” Mayweather said after the 118-110, 117-111 and 117-111 scorecards were read.”I had to fight hard. Cotto is a tough competitor and I knew I was going to have to come in, fight hard and execute the game plan. Cotto is no pushover and he came to fight. He didn’t come to survive.”

With another notch under his well decorated belt, Mayweather will prepare for his jail sentence stemming from a domestic abuse case with his former girlfriend beginning on June 1st. Meanwhile, the only fighter left that could give Mayweather a challenge will be fighting Timothy Bradley on June 9th in Las Vegas. Should Pacquiao get past Bradley, the hype for their long-awaited clash will begin. But, if you ask Mayweather, this fight may never happen even though he says he wants it.

“I want to fight Pacquiao but he needs to take the tests before we make that fight,” Mayweather said while also citing the purse split being a sticking point. And speaking of purses, Mayweather took home a record breaking guaranteed haul of $32 million for 36 minutes of action. He certainly doesn’t need the money at this point in career. But boxing needs that fight. Whether it will ever happen is anyone’s guess.

Until then, we can reflect on this epic twelve round clash as one of the most significant moments in the career of Floyd “Money” Mayweather. – Andreas Hale

Alvarez has coming out party, outclasses Mosley

With 36 minutes of boxing in front of a packed house at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez had his coming out party in front of American fans and a worldwide audience. Shane Mosley’s trainer, Nazim Richardson, stated Alvarez would try to win one for Mexico on cinco de Mayo.
That’s exactly what the 21-year-old did.

Facing the biggest name of his career, Alvarez dominated Mosley to take a unanimous decision victory to retain the WBC super welterweight title.
Mosley started out strong, walking Alvarez down in the opening rounds. But it was the counter punching and speed of Alvarez that would make the difference.

“He’s up there with the top, a visibly disappointed Mosley said of his opponent. “Mayweather’s fast, Cotto and all those guys I’ve fought. He’s up there with them.”

Alvarez showed he belonged at the top with grace under fire. The champion suffered a cut near the left eye, the result of an accidental elbow in the third frame. The sight of blood against a veteran didn’t faze Alvarez in the slightest. Each time Mosley mounted offense, he was battered with counter jabs and stiff uppercuts.
Unlike the bout with Pacquiao, Mosley showed no quit. He stood toe-to-toe with Alvarez and often paid for it. A right hand from Alvarez in the sixth was followed by left upper cut and a jab staggered Mosley. As the combinations came, the tide swung permanently to Alvarez.

Though Alvarez ran out of gas in the last two frames, the damage from the earlier rounds paid dividends. Alvarez landed 57 percent of his power punches, compared to 41 percent for Mosley. His total output was also double that of the veteran.

“This is the beginning of my career,” said Alvarez after the win. “Thank you to Mosley for giving me his experience.”

While Mosley didn’t officially retire, he hinted that this may be the beginning of the end.
“When the kids start beating you up it might be time to go to promoter” Mosley said.
The judges scored the contest 119-109, 118-110, and 119-109. – Anthony Springer Jr.

Vargas Decisions Forbes

In a ten round welterweight Jessie Vargas (19-0) had little trouble with the game but overmatched Steve Forbes as he cruised to a unanimous decision victory. The battle tested Forbes (35-11) stepped in as a late replacement for Alfonso Gomez and gave the Mayweather Promotions fighter a test, albeit a relatively boring one, as he refused to go away despite not having a single physical advantage. Early on, Vargas kept Forbes at bay with his long jab, but Forbes continued to press forward and pressure Vargas. As the rounds wore on it was evident that neither fighter posed a real threat to the other. Forbes continued to try and jab with Vargas while the younger Las Vegan seemed content with putting rounds in the bag but seemed disinterested in getting Forbes out of there. Several boos and catcalls cascaded from the swelling MGM as Forbes spent the middle rounds keeping Vargas at bay and occasionally landed a combination to bank rounds. In the end, “The New Generation” earned the decision with scores of 100-90, 97-93 and 98-92.
“It feels great I showed boxing skill,” Vargas said following the win. “I was with a veteran in the ring and out boxing him. It was totally different game plan and it took a week in advance to prepare. He showed me a totally different style.” – Andreas Hale unsecured loans




Quintana Crushes Latimore




Carlos Quintana (28-3) captured the vacant NABO junior middleweight crown in a six round route over DeAndre Latimore (23-4). The Money Team fighter started off well in the opening round. He pressured Quintana and landed body blows at close range. It was downhill from there.
Quintana found his rhythm in the second stanza and dominated the squared circle from there. Latimore exited the second round with a pair of bruised eyes. Latimore was nearly out on his feet in the fifth after a series of barrages, but was cognizant enough to grab a limb to keep the fight going. But Quintana would not be denied.

“I kept going forward for his eye,” said Quintana.
He found his mark. In the sixth frame, the Puerto Rican unleashed a series of left hands that found a home on Latimore’s face. The final sent the Las Vegan collapsing to the mat for the first and final time. Official time of the stoppage was 2:19. “It was a very good fight,” a happy Quintana said after the bout. “I went fifteen months without fighting. It’s good to be back.” – Anthony Springer Jr.

Thurman Throttles Koskins


In a battle of unbeaten welterweights, Keith Thurman proved that his pedigree was far superior to that of Brandon Koskins as Thurman pummeled his way to a 3rd round stoppage. Thurman (17-0, 16 KOs) laid into Koskins beard with power punches with ill intent. After dropping Koskins (16-1-1) in the 2nd, Thurman poured on the punishment as the 3rd round opened and forced referee Russell Mora to call a halt to the fight at the :25 mark. – Andreas Hale

Santos Cruises Past Sandoval


In six round featherweight action, Braulio Santos (6-0, 5 KOs) had little trouble getting past Juan Sandoval (5-9) and earned a unanimous decision victory. Santos was far more busy and sharper than his Californian foe and the judges saw it in his favor with 59-55 scores. – Andreas Hale

Figueroa shoots down Cannon


Omar Figueroa (16-0) short work of Robbie Cannon, dispensing of the Missouri fighter in the second round of their lightweight tilt. Cannon (12-7-2) was outgunned from the outset and acquainted himself with the canvas in the opening round courtesy of a body-head combo. It would get no better in the second frame. Figueroa tattoed Cannon’s face with a left hook. Cannon took the eight count but the referee waved off the bout. Time of stoppage was 2:08. – Anthony Springer Jr. bad credit loans

Orozco flattens Frederick


Antonio Orozco stopped Dillet Frederick in the 1:45 round in the opening bout of the night. Orozco (14-0) battered Frederick (5-4) from close range and finished him off with a final flurry before referee Kenny Bayless halted the bout.

Chicken Blackburn Wigan

Blackburn Rovers fans protested last night as their team lost its relegation battle - by letting a hen loose on the pitch.

The Rovers faithful gave beleaguered manager Steve Kean's players a roasting by throwing a chicken draped in the club's colours on to the pitch before they lost 1-0 to Wigan and were relegated at Ewood Park. unsecured loans

It is thought letting the hen loose was a protest at Blackburn's Indian owners, chicken meat processors Venky's.

Fans have been urging Venky's and Kean to leave since last season, when Rovers narrowly avoided relegation to the Championship.

Wigan shot stopper Ali Al-Habsi and Rovers striker Yakubu managed to trap the bird without committing a foul.

Twitter immediately erupted in an footballing animals-inspired furore, with comparisons to previous cameos by a cat at Liverpool's Anfield and a squirrel at Arsenal's Highbury.

@dommay69 wrote: "kean out, chicken in!!"
@iamcoxhead said: "Whoever smuggled that Chicken into Ewood Park deserves to be the next Mayor of Blackburn. Genius"
@PaulDonlevy joked: "When the ewood chicken put the ball over there was a big scramble in the box."
In imitation of the Anfield cat (@AnfieldCat), a Twitter account purporting to be that of the Ewood chicken itself was quickly set up with the handle @BRFCChicken.

Kean vowed to fight on amid scenes of vitriol and protest at rain-sodden Ewood Park. bad credit loans
The Blackburn boss was barracked mercilessly by Rovers fans throughout a tortuous game, which the visitors snatched 1-0 with an Antolin Alcaraz header three minutes from time.
Kean has withstood protests throughout a dismal campaign and remains defiant despite the considerable hatred being hurled his way and the prospect of npower Championship football next season.
The Scot said: "I am not going to walk away. We're devastated but we'll live to fight another day."

Papiss Demba Cisse Goal

Who said there's no talent to be had in the January transfer window?

Less than six months after sealing the free transfer of Demba Ba, who has scored 16 goals this season for Newcastle United, Mike Ashley secured the arrival of Papiss Demba Cisse from Freiburg in January for a reported £10.5 million.

Since joining, Cisse has notched 13 goals in all competitions for Toon, the latest this magnificent wonder goal against Chelsea on Wednesday. It was his second of the game. bad credit loans

To put that in context, those two strikers, who've combined for 29 goals between them this season, cost a combined £10.5 million to bring to the club. (Note Demba Ba's free transfer.)

Fernando Torres, who started opposite them for Chelsea on the night, cost some £50 million last January to prise him from the Liverpool books. He has 11 goals this season for Chelsea.

You could say Newcastle owner Mike Ashley might fancy his chances against Chelsea's oligarch string-puller Roman Abramovich in that competition.

None of Torres's just-shy-of-a-dozen strikes could rival Cisse in terms of aesthetic quality. It was the kind of goal a player can look back upon fondly for years.

It counted for something significant as well. With the win, Newcastle edged four points clear of Chelsea in the Premier League standings, and currently occupy fifth place, trailing fourth-place Tottenham only on goal differential (plus-23 for Spurs vs. Toon's plus-nine.) unsecured loans

Both teams are one point shy of third-place Arsenal with two games left to play.

Cisse took the glory on the night, whipping his shot in with the kind of dip and swerve that once caused keepers to complain endlessly about the Jabulani.

Just imagine what he and Demba Ba could do with an entire season together. A frightening proposition for opposing Premier League teams looking ahead to 2012-13.

wwe extreme rules

WWE Extreme Rules 2012 went down last night at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois.  The event was broadcast on pay per view and featured Brock Lesnar versus John Cena as the main event.
For Lesnar, the bout was a milestone in his career as it was the first wrestling match he has participated in since his departure from the wrestling world back in 2004.

The PPV event kicked off with the Falls Count Anywhere match between Kane and Randy “The Viper” Orton.  As the match progressed, the two superstars fought their way through the crowd and into the backstage area prior to finishing in the ring.  Kane attempted to execute his infamous Tombstone Piledriver, but was thwarted by Orton who hit his RKO finisher on a chair and pinned Kane for the win.

Brodus “Funkasaurus” Clay went up next against Dolph Ziggler in a match that lasted less than five minutes.  The quick match served as a buffer between matches and unsecured loans helped ease the excitement after the opening bout between Orton and Kane.  The highly entertaining Clay managed to beat Ziggler.

Cody Rhodes went up against his rival, Big Show, in a special Tables Match.  While Show was climbing over the top rope, Cody landed a dropkick on his leg. bad credit loans The dropkick caused Show to stumble backwards through a table which resulted in Cody Rhodes winning on a technicality and subsequently regaining his title.

In the headline bout of the night, John Cena started the match with a heavy elbow to the head, causing him to begin bleeding heavily less than a couple of minutes into the match.  The insane match between the two was certainly a spectacle worthy of headlining WWE Extreme Rules 2012.  The match included high flying action, power moves, bloodshed, and an excessive amount of brawling.  In the end, Cena managed to down Lesnar after he hit the beast with a fireman’s carry onto a steel staircase.

Snooker to cycling

Not so long ago it was snooker rather than cycling which dominated Phil Binch's sporting preferences.
Representing his country was seemingly the last thing on his mind.

1. ​
   best of british: From left, Phil Binch, Alan Woodcock and Steve Grocock will compete in the European Triathlon Championships in Israel

But having taken up triathlon at the age of 36, Binch will head to Isreal later this month in his GB kit for the European Triathlon Championships.
Joining him will be fellow Lincsquad members Alan Woodcock and Steve Grocock from the Brigg-based club after all three finished in the top five of their respective age groups in the country.
"You've got to work hard to qualify," Binch said. "Everyone wants to have a chance to race for their country.
"I was chuffed to bits to qualify.
"It's quite an achievement and quite an honour.
"At my time of life you think things like that have gone.
"I'd done some things at school, but all I did between 18 and 36 was play snooker.
"I took up triathlon very late.
"Last year I represented Great Britain in the quadrathlon team, but it's the first time I've been to the triathlon championships, and it's the same for Steve and Alan.
"All three of us are really looking forward to it. We're very excited."
The Sprint race the trip will undertake in Eilat consists of a 750 metre swim, 20 kilometre cycle and 5km run, which the triathletes will be completing in one hour.
Binch will captain and compete in the 40-44 age group, as well as leading the 35-39 category. Grocock will also race in the 40-44 section, while Woodcock takes his place in the 55-59 group.
For Binch and Grocock, their preparations have been hampered by injury, with the former having suffered a broken collarbone and the latter a foot problem.

"The surgeon won't let me swim at the minute, but I'm okay to bike and run, which I'm doing lots of," said Messingham athlete Binch. unsecured loans

"It's a sprint race in Israel and a 750m swim, which should take about 10 or 11 minutes.

"I'm a fairly strong swimmer anyway so I don't think I'll lose that much time.
"With the training I'm doing on the bike and running, I should be able to make it back up. If I hadn't had my injury and Steve hadn't hurt his foot we'd both have an outside chance of pushing for a medal.
"We'd have to race very well but we'd have a chance. bad credit loans
"But with not being 100 per cent, it makes it a little bit more challenging.
"Alan's got a very good chance. He qualified first or second in his age group.
"There's going to be a good GB field, and then all the European entries as well so it will be tough."

Roy Hodgson potential England Manager

The timing was just right for tomorrow morning’s newspapers, but the name isn’t the one that most had expected to see at the top of their short-list. Earlier this evening, a statement appeared on the Football Association’s website confirming that they have made a formal approach to West Bromwich Albion to speak to Roy Hodgson over the position vacated by Fabio Capello two months ago. We had been starting to wonder whether an appointment would ever be made. After all, it’s unsecured loans only forty days until the start of the 2012 European Championships and the possibility that the FA had somehow forgotten that they should probably have a coach for this tournament – even if in name only – was starting to become a little less implausible than it might otherwise have been.

Hodgson may well of the old school, but he is a damn sight more cosmopolitan than any of the other Englishmen that might have been hoping for a call from Lord Bernstein. He has coached in eight different countries – Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, England, Italy, the United Arab Emirates and Switzerland – speaks five foreign languages and has coached at international level, precisely the sort of qualifications for coaching this particular position that the bookmakers’ favourites for the position do not hold. Yet the very nature of the debate that has surrounded the matter of the next England coach has meant that the next England coach will be a divisive figure, no matter who he is.

There has been an unsubtle narrative in the media since Capello resigned, and it has largely concerned their favourite, Harry Redknapp. The succession of Redknapp into the England manager’s position has treated his appointment as being little more than a process of coronation, and should Hodgson and the FA agree terms it would be unsurprising to see some quarters of the football media looking a little red-faced at having called it so wrong. This in itself may well mean that Hodgson doesn’t receive anything like a honeymoon period should he be offered the position, meaning that that personal attacks may well be under way in around two months time should England not get through the group stages of the European Championships this summer. The editors of the red tops may already be sharpening their knives in preparation for this.
None of this is to say that we shouldn’t have reservations about any decision to offer Hodgson the position that may be made over the next few days or so. His previous spells in high profile positions had mixed results. At Internazionale in Italy, he took the team into the UEFA Cup, but departed after a surprise defeat against the German side Schalke 04 in the final of the competition. At Liverpool, meanwhile, he lasted just a few months during a period within which the tumult within the club meant that any sort of success was always likely to be more or less impossible. In addition to this, that the Football Association may be preparing to offer the position to somebody that will be celebrating his sixty-fifth birthday in three months time could be considered a lack of long-term foresight. How long would Hodgson be employed for, and what does it say about coaching in England that the leading English candidates for the position are both into their seventh decades? More about the stating of coaching in this country than about the calibre of the candidates, in all likelihood.

That said, with expectations tempered by the chaotic events of the last few months (or, we could reasonably argue, years) it could well be argued that Hodgson would be taking the position at just right time. Those that are already sharpening their pencils, however, would have their agenda with his appointment, and while this summer’s European Championships may already be a lost cause, any failure to qualify for the 2014 World Cup finals would be disastrous for the national team and the group stages begin on the seventh of September. The team doesn’t have an insurmountable task to get through its qualifying group, but Montenegro, Ukraine and Poland will provide tricky opposition and getting through these matches successfully cannot be considered anything like a foregone conclusion.
The appointment of Roy Hodgson into the England job would hand the English press a pre-written script on a plate. Indeed, if Twitter this evening is to be believed, some members of the fourth estate are already preparing their best lines in anticipation of what may be to follow. Between those with an agenda and those of the opinion that sarcasm is the highest form of wit, Hodgson will need a thick skin should he be appointed into the position at the very least, but at least he has been here and faced such criticism before. The agendas that will follow him into this position, however, are deeply ingrained and, we suspect in some of some of its expected proponents, highly personal. If the press didn’t even really get the opportunity to move out of second gear in its moves to attempt to systematically discredit Fabio Capello, then we may well see Hodgson on the receiving end of ridicule unseen since the latter stages of the Graham Taylor era of almost twenty years ago.

Ultimately, though, the choice of coach for the England national team remains the biggest red herring in European football. Until the English game sorts out its structural deficiencies it will, broadly speaking, continue along the same, long, downward trajectory that it has been following for much of the last decade, and there seems to be no appetite towards reshaping the club game, training methods and the system for bringing through more and better qualified coaches for the benefit bad credit loans of the national team. If anything, attitudes towards the England national team have never been more apathetic and this is not something that any managerial appointment would fix, no matter how many of Harry Redknapp’s cheerleaders might think otherwise. There may be some furious words written over the next few days over their man not being parachuted gently into the job, but they have one small consolation if this is how things end up playing out – at least they’ll have a punch-bag for the next couple of years.

rasmus elm

Liverpool have reportedly agreed an £8 million deal to sign Swedish midfielder Rasmus Elm from Dutch side AZ Alkmaar.


The 24 year old has scored 10 goals in his last 17 games for the Eredivisie club this season, convincing Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish to unsecured loans make a move. It is reported that Elm will move to Anfield on a five-year contract worth a £40,000 a week.


The Reds manager even made a trip to Holland to watch Elm play against Feyenoord on Sunday. However, Dalglish was left disappointed since the player was absent as his wife went into labour but that did not affect the deal going through. bad credit loans


If this source is to be believed then Liverpool may well have done a good bit of business here. Rasmus Elm is a talented attack minded midfielder who could add more of a goal-threat for the Anfield side than the players Kenny Dalglish currently has on hand in his position.

The 24 year old Swedish international has had an excellent season at AZ Alkmaar and has been tracked by a number of Premier League sides in recent months. The former Kalmar man is a set piece specialist and has a few tricks and turns up his sleeve and is able to beat his man and could be seen as the ‘Gerrard-esque’ player that Liverpool have yet to see Charlie Adam evolve into.
£8m for Elm seems more than a fair price, especially when you take into account the large sums spent on the likes of Jordan Henderson.

tito vilanova new coach

Barcelona's new coach is about to become famous for a whole lot more than having his eye poked by Jose Mourinho.

Tito Vilanova will step up from his role as assistant at the end of the season and replace Pep Guardiola, who announced Friday he was ending his four-year spell in charge.

Until now, Vilanova has been renowned as the man who was poked in the eye by Real Madrid coach Mourinho during a typically heated "clasico" match in August.

Guardiola endorsed Vilanova's promotion, saying he was an integral part of the club's most successful period when it won 13 of 17 trophies since 2008.

"I think the club is right on (choosing Tito), he is more than qualified, and the players know him," Guardiola said on Friday during his announcement he was stepping down. "He will change very little of what we do, and he will give a lot to the players and club."

Vilanova and Guardiola's strong friendship is born out of their time coming up through Barcelona's La Masia youth academy together. But while Guardiola went on to become captain and help the Catalans to their first European Cup in 1992, Vilanova never really succeeded as a player.

The 42-year-old native of the Catalan village of Bellcaire d'Emporda was assistant to Guardiola when he took over as coach of Barca B in 2007. Together they helped the team win promotion to the second division and earned themselves the chance to take over the first team in 2008. bad credit loans

Guardiola backed Vilanova from the moment he decided to step down in December, advising sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta to promote his right-hand man.

"Why Tito?" Zubizarreta said. "Because he represents the game, the analysis, the preparation, he puts the extra hour into preparation, he has the capacity and the personality to be here because we know him. So we decided to look inside our house and it was easy."

Zubizarreta said Vilanova's appeal was his inside knowledge of the club's La Masia youth system, which Guardiola had increasingly relied on over the years.

Vilanova spent six years at La Masia — from 1984-90 — but never made it to the topflight team, going on to play for clubs such as Celta Vigo and Mallorca before his playing career was cut short by a serious knee injury.That injury led Vilanova into coaching and to Barcelona's cadets, tutoring current first-team players Lionel Messi, Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique.

Vilanova moved on from Barcelona to work as sport director at third division club Terrassa before answering Guardiola's call to help him lead Barca B up from the third division.

"I never imagined (coaching) until Pep put the idea forward and then I never doubted it," Vilanova said in an interview with El Mundo Deportivo in 2009. "These things happen this way." unsecured loans

Vilanova has the players to maintain the club's philosophy of play that has seen many label it one of the greatest teams of all time, although he may need his youth academy insight sooner rather than later, with players like Xavi Hernandez and Carles Puyol approaching the end of their careers.

He will also have to combat a rejuvenated Madrid side, led by Mourinho, that is poised to end Barcelona's three-year stranglehold on the league title.

Mourinho, though, is a very familiar foe for Vilanova.