With all the gossip surrounding Adebayor’s supposed big money transfer to Barcelona, Arsenal supporters including myself are soiling our undergarments at the thought of an Adebayor-less Arsenal team. A huge chunk of the success the team achieved last season was largely down to his contribution to the attack. His ability to hold the ball up and allow the midfield boys to work their magic was sensational. Quite how we would manage to cope without him would be inconceivable.
 
When Wenger first brought the big man to Arsenal, many (including myself) questioned quite how he would manage to use his physicality to good effect. He took quite a while to adapt, having some brilliant games only to then fail to impress in others. This inconsistency seemed to have a negative effect on the amount of playing time he recieved. It was only until Thierry Henry decided to head to Barcelona, that he took up the mantle and really came into his prime. With a sensational 24 premier league goals this season- level with the brilliant Fernando Torres, he has rightly so transformed himself into a fan favourite.

With this kind of form, it is inevitable that other clubs would take notice. Now, it is strongly rumoured that Barcelona are making him their number one priority in the transfer market. This could be very tempting to Adebayor, who would understandably jump at the chance to rejoin old partner Henry in the Barca attack. If he does indeed decide to leave, it would be quite devastating to Arsenal’s chances. It would have to take somebody really special to be able to fully replace him. Faithful individuals would argue that we have a similar sort of player in Nicklas Bendtner, others would argue that he is much too young and doesnt possess enough ability to do so, i personally think he’s rubbish. A potential replacement would have to have similar qualities to Adebayor, whilst being relatively cheap. Perhaps Klaas Jan-Huntelaar could be our new goal machine- i certainly hope so.
 
Adebayor has grown from a man to king in the space of a season. Quite which castle he chooses to reside has been subject to a lot of speculation. If he decides to leave though, the Emirates will surely fall.

Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Lampard, Drogba, Villa…. few of the many amazing players the world can enjoy in football. They have won hearts and trophies for their team, but now look for new challenges – to become even more successful. Bad news for some, but great for others..  Here we’ll have a look on what’s happening in this summers transfermarket. You will get an overview of the already confirmed transfers, and also the hot rumors about who’s going where..EnglandHottest news
      §         Man. City are inches away from closing a deal with superstar Ronaldinho. He is looking for a new start, apparently in the Prem, but rumors are also saying, that he could head to AC Milan.(;The Guardian, The Independent)§         Chelsea are fighting to capture Franck Ribery from Bayern Münich. The new manager for The Blues, Luis Felipe Scolari, wants to create the best team possible, and surely Ribery will not ruin his plans.. Already having captured rightback Bosingwa from Porto, “Big Phil” is aiming for Europe’s most wanted striker David Villa from Valencia. He has been handed about £100 millions to succeed(;numerous medias)§         The Villains’ leader Gareth Barry is set to join Liverpool. It’s only a matter of time, before the deal has been sealed, but the price is still not agreed, as Aston Villa are desperate to keep their captain.. 

Arsenal   The Gunners are, after a pretty much successful season, looking for more talent and quality. With Wenger still in the seat, he will follow his ro-utines, by capturing amazing talents and evolving them into superstars, such as he has done with Fabregas.. The team lost their Championship-steps, by losing Eduardo in a horrible tackle, late February, a time where Arsenal were laying alone on top of the league.. This pushed the team back, but they managed to hold on to their Champions League spot, while United celebrated the Double..     

Transfer rumorsGK-          Now that Lehmann is set to join VfB Stuttgart in July, Arsenal are searching for a new goalie.Artur Boruc from Celtic is the first priority, while Shay Given is nr.2.DefenseMidfield-          17-year old Aaron Ramsey from Cardiff has signed for the Gunners, where he will wear number 30. Price = £5 million.-          Aliaksandr Hleb is 95% sure, that he will find a new club through the summer. Barcelona and Inter are fighting for the playmaker. -          Young starlet Samir Nasri from Olympique Marseille and the french EURO-squad, is possibly joining the team, after EURO 2008. Price = £12 million.Attack-          There is more and more doubt about Emmanuel Adebayor. Some say that he’ll stay and renew his contract, while others say that he is close to moving to AC Milan.-          Arsenal are looking to sign the 21-year old Ivorian striker Gervinho from Le Mans. -          Wenger will try his best to sign David Villa from Valencia. 

ChelseaThe Blues had a unfortunate, but successful season. They finished 2^nd in the League, and also came in second place in the prestigious Champions League. The former boss Avram Grant got fired though, and the new coach is now Luis Felipe Scolari, who has had enormous succes as a natio-nal team-manager, having won the World Cup with Brazil in 2002, leading Portugal to 2^nd place in EURO 2004 and finishing in the top 4 at World Cup 2006. So now it’s a new time for Chelsea, new dreams, hopes and expectations. Will/can they win the Prem? And what about the Champions League? We’ll see…Transfer rumorsDefensel        Ricardo Carvalho is wanted by Real Madrid, as they want to have a defender, that can cover for injured Cannavaro.Midfieldl        Real Madrid star Robinho is wanted by Scolari, and is possibly his top target(;Daily Star)l        Chelsea want to take advantage of the economical crisis in AC Milan, by capturing their architect Kaká(;Daily Mail)l        Barcelona and Portugal playmaker Deco’s move to Chelsea is more and more close to finishing. Price = £15 million.(;BBC)l        The capture of Deco, can lead the way for Frank Lampard’s exit. Destination = Inter? His former boss José Mourinho has encouraged him to move to Inter, saying: ”You will be nr 1 here”(;Daily Mirror, Tuttosport)l        Michael Essien is also wanted by Real Madrid.Attackl        Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o is another pos-sible target for Scolari. He is also wanted by AC Milan(;Daily Telegraph)l        Top striker Didier Drogba says: ”I am going nowhere. My contract is until 2010”(;Skysports)_________________________________________LiverpoolAnother average season for the Reds. Having bought “the Kid” Fernando Torres , the expectations were high. He certainly proved his quality by netting 24 goals in his first Premier League season. The team, with captain Steven Gerrard as the leader, played some great, but also a lot of bad matches. Again, they landed in a Champions League-qualification spot as 4^th, while they reached the semi-finals in the Champions League, losing to Chelsea. This didn’t surprise any. Through the past years, the team has almost always ended like this. But will the new season be different? Can they challenge for the title? Transfer rumorsDefensel        Left back John Arne Riise is closer to a transfer to AS Roma.Midfieldl        Defensive midfielder Xabi Alonso is moving to Juventus. This is 90% sure. Price = £14 million.l        Liverpool are eager to sign Aston Villa’s captain Gareth Barry.             Price = £12 million.Attackl        Benitez is eyeing Valencia’s David Villa. He is the most wanted attacker to date, which could make it difficult to sign him.                          Price = £25 million, but can rise, depending on his EURO-performance.(;teamtalk.com) 

Man. UnitedThe Red Devils had an amazing season, winning the Double. Sir Alex is of course still the boss, and he will be hoping to retain the titles. The team will most probably not be changed a lot, as the chemistry and morale is great. But one man, their best player Cristiano Ronaldo could be on the move to Real Madrid. Who knows? Will he stay loyal and continue for United, or go for more glory with Real? Only the future can tell, and everyone will have to be patient and wait for the outcome. Transfer rumorsDefensel        United are looking to sign Real Madrid’s defender Sergio Ramos. He has welcomed the interest saying: “It’s a good sign, that such a great team is interested in me, but we will have to wait and see after EURO 2008”. Real are unwilling to let him go, as they see him as their strongest defender, for now and in the future. Price = £44 million(approx.)Midfieldl        Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo is on the move. Real Madrid president Calderon has said, that they will do anything possible to sign Ronaldo, and it is possible that the per-sonal terms are already agreed. Real are re-ady to, once again, break the record for biggest transfer fee, as they are willing to pay £64 million, or even more!l        United has signed 16-year old playmaker Davide Petrucci from AS Roma. He is considered one of the biggest talents in Italy. Price = £200.000.l        “Dribble-king” Robinho from Real Madrid is also wanted by United. He has been quite frustrated with not having his wages improved, and could be on the move. Price = 31 million(approx.)            Attackl        Sir Alex is going for Tottenham’s topscorer Dimitar Berbatov. He has been wanted by Ferguson, since his first great season in England.       Price = £22 million. 

TottenhamFailure! The 2007-08 season wasn’t positive for the Spurs. Even though the team won the Carling Cup, they finished in a 11^th place in the League. The team were hoping to finish in the Champions League-spots, as they had finished 5^th 2 years in a row, before that. The expectations didn’t at all get fulfilled, and luckily they got a UEFA Cup-place be-cause of the great Carling Cup-victory over Chelsea. Martin Jol, the now former manager, got sacked in October, ma-king the way for succesful Sevilla-boss Juande Ramos to take his place. His great success with Sevilla didn’t have the same effect in London, where he couldn’t quite manage to get the team to play, as he wanted. They were knocked out of the UEFA Cup in the round of 16, which was another negative. Now it’s a new season. The team will have more time to try out some new things, on their way to find success again. Having bought young starlets Luka Modric(Croatia) and Giovani dos Santos(Barcelona),  the team is looking bright, and there might even be more qua-lity players to join the Spurs. But there is still a big fear of losing their best player Dimitar Berbatov, as he is wanted by many of the big European clubs.Transfer rumorsGKl        PSV-goalie Gomes is a nr. 1 priority for Juande Ramos, as he is looking for a new man in the goal, where Paul Robinson had a unfortunate season.l        Paul Robinson is on the way out of the London-team. A new English club could be the destination for the goalie, maybe Middlesbrough, who have shown interest. l        Joe Hart from Man. City is also a possible target. The talent had a surprisingly good season. Defensel        Tottenham are looking to sign City-captain Richard Dunne.Midfieldl        16-year old midfielder John Bostock is moving to Tottenham, when the transfer window begins in July.l        Ramos is going for Portsmouth’s Lassana Diarra, as he would be a great defensive part in the midfield. Attackl        Darren Bent is on the move away from Tottenham. Sunderland are interested in the striker, who didn’t have a great season.l        Lyon’s Fred is reportedly close to sign for the Spurs. His brother and agent says, that they will meet with the club to discuss the terms, and if it is satisfying, then he will sign.l        Ramos is looking for more strength in the attack. Sergio Garcia from the relegated side Zaragoza is a target, as he surely doesn’t wish to play in the 2^nd division in Spain.l        The Spurs are also extremely interested in signing David Villa. It will be a hard fight, as many top clubs are interested.________________________________________________________________________________                                                                        by Armin Mujacic

As a Scottish born football fan, I am often asked,
“so do you support Celtic or Rangers?”

The truth is, I support Liverpool. An english club! I am a red through and through, but why, at the age of 8, I chose to support a team who were struggling to stay in the top half of the table, is beyond me. None of my family or friends have any link with the team, so why should I choose them?

I would like to say that it was the history and honour of the club and the passion of its fans, but quite frankly, that would be a lie. I think the reason may well be based on the up-and-coming talent of Michael Owen, and his exploits in the 1998 world cup. This may seem like a “petty” reason to start supporting a club, and to be honest, it is, but I was young and had no real idea about the history of any clubs. . .

People say that a person cannot truly support a team unless they are from the area. This is simply not true. I have not felt the way I do about Liverpool for any other team or player in the world of sport (apart from maybe one or two instances in Scotlands Earo 2008 qualifying campaign this year) and the passion I feel for them can draw many emotions: Joy, Love, Hate, Elation, Ecstacy, Sadness, Depresion and Anger (although this season it has been mostly the latter) and to think that this is simply due to 20/30 players and people and a little ball, is mind blowing!

The highs and lows I have had over the last few years have brought smiles and tears, laughter and a fair share fo bad language. I think that my whole journey can be summed up in one game. The 2005 Champions League final against AC Milan. When those first 3 goals went past Jerzy Dudek I felt true anger deep down inside me. I could’ve hit someone, I just was so fustrated! My team had got this far only to collapse on itself like some hungover 5-a-side team gathered together to make up the numbers in a gala. However, unlike some of my fellow fans, I had not conceded defeat, and felt that my team had at least a couple of goals left in them. Anyway, the referee blew the whistle for the second half and the rest, as they say, is history.

I cannot honesly say that my feelings that night have ever been equalled, or that anything has even come close. This joy that I was feeling is surely as close to heaven as you can come, for the team you love, to win the biggest club competition in the world, it is truly amazing!

I would go through hell or high water for Liverpool F.C, and will stick with them untill the end. Sure the team will change and layers will come and go, but my passion for the side will live on, an insignificant footnote in the clubs illustrious history. They may never chant my name, but I will chant thiers all my days.

Ronnie Moffat

Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Lampard, Drogba, Villa …. few of the many amazing players the world can enjoy in football. They have won hearts and trophies for their team, but now look for new challenges – to become even more successful. Bad news for some, but great for others..   

In this first chapter, we’ll have a look on what’s happening in this summers transfer-market.. You will get an overview of the already confirmed transfers, and also the hot rumors about who’s going where.. 

EnglandHottest news
      §        

§        

§         The Villains’ leader Gareth Barry is set to join

After Hansa Rostock relegated to the 2. Bundesliga there were many headlines in the newspapaers. Speculations suggested that the coach may leave the club and that Beinlich’s new position in the club is in doubt. Barbarez on the other hand was thought to be the first transfer surprise but now that a week has passed things are awkwardly quiet in Rostock. In the meantime Agali left the club and Orestes is on his way to Brazil with his Chinese wife. Pagelsdorf is staying but that is it. Fans may be disappointed to not hear much from their beloved club. The excitement about a possible signing of Barbarez is gone when only one new name is heard around the stadium lately. Robert Lechleiter from Bavarian third division side Unterhaching is supposedly set to join Hansa. A striker that might take Barbarez’ position and will be welcomed in a less exciting manner for obvious reasons. Former managers and presidents used the papers to state that Hansa needs to take some money in their hands and spend it on quality players, money the club actually does not have. All in all the team shall be good enough for the 2. Bundesliga but it is with doubt that fans hope for a bounce back to the top flight next season. As the club stays calm, the fans used the time to protest again against the new stadium name that was introduced before the season. Hansa, in its past, never had a sponsored stadium name and many fans were angry at the change of the Ostseestadion. A name that used to represent the area so well and a stadium that was hand build by volunteers in the 1950’s. Last night a group of twelve men attacked the security who watches the sponsor sign 24 hours a day. The two security men jumped behind a fence to look for safety while the group of masked and covered men dressed in black threw stones and color bombs at the big illuminated sign. So far it is unknown who the men were and who will pay for the sign that has been constantly under attack throughout the entire season. The hefty protest against the sign started in the summer with a march of hundreds of fans through the city centre and still has not stopped. Last gossip of the day is that Hansa might get a new sponsor on the shirt for the news season despite KIK still having one year remaining on the contract. From a merchandise source inside the club, one was told that it is uncertain who will be sponsor on the shirt next season and that KIK might not be the one despite the contract. Good news regarding the shirts is also that Hansa will most likely have the Hansa Rostock writing over the players’ names next season like they used to in the more successful days of the mid nineties. Since Jako and Masita manufactured the shirts, the writing Hansa Rostock or F.C. Hansa disappeared from the shirts which was not a popular decision amongst the fans.

Good news are always welcomed and in Rostock people are waiting for new signings and remain hopeful while summer’s around the corner.