Benitez gets his man as £8m Riera arrives from Espanyol September 2, 2008 Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez finally ended his long search for a leftwinger last night when he completed the £8m signing of Albert Riera from Espanyol. The Spain midfielder, who spent a loan spell at Manchester City during the 2005-06 season, signed a four-year contract at Anfield after rejecting interest from other Premier League clubs. Riera, [...]
Man City sign £34m Robinho in record deal September 2, 2008 Manchester United last night capped the most remarkable 24 hours in the club’s recent history by signing Brazilian forward Robinho for a British record £34m. The club, bankrolled by new Middle Eastern owners, stunned Chelsea by snatching a player who had seemed destined to move to Stamford Bridge. Robinho himself had wanted a move to [...]
Berbatov granted dream United move while Spurs land trio on deadline day September 2, 2008 Manchester United last night beat the clock by a matter of minutes to finally land Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov for £30.8m and bring a dramatic end to a nerve-jangling transfer deadline day. Old Trafford chiefs were locked in negotiations with Spurs over the Bulgarian hitman right up until the midnight deadline. But the Premier League [...]
Premier appeal for England’s leading football clubs September 2, 2008 Even 24 hours earlier, few would have believed that Manchester City would be the name on everybody’s lips on transfer deadline day. But City, rather than their more illustrious neighbours Manchester United, dominated much of the gossip and discussion yesterday, in the increasingly bizarre world that is modern football. First came the unexpected news of [...]
Arabs snatch Robinho as they buy City from Thaksin September 2, 2008 Manchester City’s new owners Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) showed the rest of the football world they mean business by snatching Real Madrid star Robinho from under the nose of rivals Chelsea for a British record transfer fee of £34m last night. Earlier, ADUG revealed it had agreed a multi-million takeover with owner Thaksin Shinawatra. [...]
Wright-Phillips enjoys dream debut as ambitious City rally September 1, 2008 Shaun Wright-Phillips was hailed by his new Manchester City boss Mark Hughes after capping a dream debut with two goals at the Stadium of Light. The England international struck twice in eight second-half minutes, wasting no time in re-paying the £10m transfer fee paid to Chelsea just three days ago. “I’m delighted for Shaun. It’s [...]
Chelsea hit back as Real point finger September 1, 2008 Chelsea last night hit back at criticism from Real Madrid over their pursuit of striker Robinho as the on-going transfer saga turned nasty. Real earlier lashed out at Chelsea’s behaviour over their public courting of the Brazilian, in particular the selling of replica shirts with Robinho’s name printed on the back. But while the Blues [...]
Resilient Spurs make a point to leave Scolari frustrated September 1, 2008 Chelsea boss Luis Felipe Scolari admitted Tottenham deserved their away draw after he saw his 100 per cent win record come to an end. Scolari’s Blues enjoyed the majority of possession but couldn’t break down a resilient Spurs defence as Juande Ramos’s side earned their first point of the season. Juliano Belletti gave the Blues [...]
Bullard sent in to bring smiles back to England September 1, 2008 Fun-loving Londoner Jimmy Bullard will be looking to put smiles back on the faces of long-suffering England fans this week after being handed a shock World Cup call-up by boss Fabio Capello. The popular Fulham man, 29, has been drafted into the international arena for the first time to strengthen an England midfield which is [...]
Flintoff inspires England as whitewash remains in sight September 1, 2008 Andrew Flintoff continued his devastating form with both bat and ball as England’s hopes of recording a first-ever major one-day series whitewash stayed in tact. Flintoff followed up his brilliant 78no at The Oval on Friday with a swashbuckling 31 from just 12 balls to guide England to a seven-wicket win in a rain-affected fourth [...]