shanyi

UNITED LOOK TO STEEL UP DEFENCE

Argentine central defender Martin Demichelis has agreed a £9M move to Manchester United from Spanish club Sevilla. United's defence has looked shaky without the assured presence of Gabriel Heinze, who left the club before the start of the season. Demichelis said that playing for United was a personal dream come true for him, and he hoped his performances would be up to the high standards demanded at Old Trafford. In other news, promising Wigan defender Leighton Baines has signed for Lille for £2.2M. The player had asked for a transfer after Wigan were relegated from the Premier League last season.

shanyi

CHARLTON LOSING PATIENCE WITH CURBISHLEY

Once tipped for the England job, Charlton Athletic manager Alan Curbishley is said to have been told by the club's board that the next few games may be decisive for his fate with the team. Curbishley has been Charlton manager for ten years, guiding them from a mid-table old First Division outfit into a strong Premiership side. However, last season the team underperformed badly and were threatened with relegation almost up until the final game and this season, Charlton have started with a loss. Although Curbishley is a popular figure with the fans, many think he has done all he can with the club.

podoooo

Good work Shanyi :thup: Nice to see you continuing it

shanyi

CHELSEA DEFENCE IN POPULAR DEMAND

Chelsea's now famous back four, comprising of Paulo Ferreira, John Terry, William Gallas and Asier Del Horno, which conceded just four goals in the Premiership last season, is in high demand from the top international clubs. Paulo Ferreira, the Portuguese right back, has been the subject of several offers, including a recent £10M bid from Internazionale. Milan, Barcelona and Real Madrid are also thought to have made offers in the region of £7.5M. William Gallas is a target of Spanish clubs, with Valencia, Real Madrid and Deportivo (who earlier signed Chelsea defender and Percy-alike Ricardo Carvalho for £12.5M) all competing to acquire the player's signature. Chelsea say the last recorded bid came in at a shade under £15M. John Terry, the Chelsea captain, seems to be safe but Asier Del Horno has been subject to an Atletico Madrid enquiry, with the club believed to be ready to pay over £10M for the defender. Manchester United have also offered £5M for Wayne Bridge. So far, manager Shanyi has refused all advances and none of the players have declared any interest in moving away from the London club.

One player who can't get an offer to save his life is Steven Watt, the reserve team defender whom Shanyi described as 'arrogant' in an interview earlier this week. Watt, who came into the team on several occasions last season, was set to be considered for the top squad this season but his contract demands were 'excessive'. Despite being placed on the transfer list, no offers have yet been registered.

Jiri Jarosik, Chelsea's tall midfielder, has been centre of attention again and looks to be heading to either Strasbourg or Blackburn for a fee in the region of £2-3M. After a potential move to Birmingham collapsed, his chances with the champions have been limited. Young midfielder Anthony Grant has also refused an opportunity for a loan at Sunderland.

A Chelsea player returning to the Premiership is Samuele Dalla Bona, one time hot prospect sold to Milan for £3M. He failed to carve out a career in a talented midfield and now will move to Everton for £1.7M. Southampton have signed highly rated South African forward Benni Vilakazi for £140k. The deal represents excellent value for the young striker, rated as one of the World's top talents.
Birmingham have completed the double signing of Alan Mahon from Wigan for £3M and Jon Macken from Crystal Palace for £1.5M. The two players will likely play in the team's upcoming weekend match.

shanyi

IMPRESSED PARDEW INFURIATES FANS AS HAMMERS CAN'T NAIL CHELSEA

1st Chelsea 2-0 West Ham 12th

Despite being a game which many fans felt would be a comfortable win for the home side, Chelsea looked creaky against a West Ham side who could have claimed all three points with better finishing. Arsenal will certainly be encouraged by the Blues' performance, as they will be out for revenge in Wednesday's encounter at Highbury. Aguirre, who has often claimed that the delays incurred on the corresponding fixture last season threw off his team's plans (both the home and away games between his and Shanyi's sides were delayed by upwards of three months due to cup ties and international call-ups) and he hoped to finally be able to collect the scalp he has wanted since arriving at the club.

Chelsea manager Shanyi was certainly not in a diplomatic mood, describing the team's performance as 'shambolic' and dismissed the injuries suffered to Michael Essien and Frank Lampard as 'no excuse'. Lampard will be fit in time for the Arsenal game, though Essien will have a late fitness test and is doubtful. Alan Pardew, the much loath'd Hammers manager, went against the grain and said he thought that his side was outplayed, much to the further infuriation of the Hammers' fans who have a deep ingrained loathing of all things Chelsea and Elijah Wood.

Chelsea started brightly, Duff in particular causing havoc down the wing and Drogba's aerial prowess testing for the home defence. Despite a glut of early chances, it was Lampard's high ball on the 19th minute with which Drogba lobbed the despairing Roy Carroll with a delightful header. From them, Chelsea's influence faded and West Ham had the best of the chances. Nigel Reo-Coker, excellent as always, set up Ian Moore from five yards out and though an equaliser seemed inevitable, he shot tamely into Cech's arms. John Terry mistimed a tackled on Mark Noble from which Reo-Coker again tested the Czech stopper and, in the final minute of the half, ex-Ajax centre back Yakubu headed in from a Chris Cohen corner, only for the referee to rule it out for a foul.

In the second half, Lampard was soon replaced by William Gallas, with King heading to midfield and Cole going central. Didier Agathe wasted a great chance from Konchesky's cross, somehow nudging the ball past the far post when in acres of space and with Cech stranded. Crespo came on but to little avail, his one strike mishit and he suffered the ignominy of watching it dribble pathetically wide at a Sheringham pace. Chelsea tightened up midfield to secure the win and somehow, in the 80th minute, Carroll made his second mistake of the night punching clear a weak Robben cross and Joe Cole hit a cracking volley past the out of position keeper, through the two defenders on the line and in off the post.

CHELSEA (4-3-2-1): P Cech, G Johnson, J Terry, L King, A Del Horno; F Lampard (W Gallas), C Makelele, M Essien (S Wright-Phillips); J Cole, D Duff; D Drogba (H Crespo).

WEST HAM (4-4-2): R Carroll, T Repka, A Yakubu (C Dailly), H Mullins, P Konchesky; D Agathe (P Mikolanda), N Reo-Coker, M Noble, C Cohen; I Moore, B Zamora (M Etherington).

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EVERTON GET BENT

9th Charlton 2-0 Everton 13th

Charlton responded in the best way possible to the news that manager Alan Curbishley was in danger of the sack, with an impressive win over an uninspired Everton side. Darren Bent, whose authority in the Charlton side has been slowly growing, scored an impressive solo effort to give the home side a crucial lead after 18 minutes. Everton had no reply and it was left to Nigel Martyn to parry a Darren Ambrose 30 yarder away for a corner. Matt Holland was supreme in midfield, directing the play and putting in one terrific pass to Jonatan Johansson, who volleyed well over from close range. Everton reinforced with the arrivals of Davies and Ferguson, but when Jason Euell popped up at the near post to head home a Kishishev cross, there was only going to be one outcome.

CHARLTON (4-4-2): D Kiely, R Kishishev, El Karkouri (Sorondo), Fortune, Hreidarsson; Rommedahl (Euell), Murphy, Holland, Ambrose; Johansson (Hughes), Bent.

EVERTON (4-4-2): N Martyn, P Neville, J Yobo, P Kroldrup, A Pistone; A van der Meyde (R Wallace), L Osman, T Cahill, J McFadden; M Bent (D Ferguson), J Beattie (S Davies).

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OTHER RESULTS

17th Aston Villa 0-1 Arsenal 2nd
7th Blackburn 2-0 Man City 18th
3rd Bolton 4-2 Portsmouth 11th
8th Liverpool 1-0 Stoke 19th
5th Man Utd 2-0 Middlesbrough 14th
15th Newcastle 0-0 Birmingham 6th
10th Southampton 1-0 Leeds 16th
20th Tottenham 1-2 Fulham 4th

shanyi

ARSENAL FINALLY MAKE THEIR POINT

3rd Arsenal 1-1 Chelsea 1st

Humiliated in all the five previous encounters, Arsenal finally regained some dignity to become just the fourth side to take points away from Shanyi's Chelsea with a superb goal from Aliaksandr Hleb. The midfielder picked up a loose ball from William Gallas' challenge and curled his shot past the stranded Petr Cech. Hleb, who has been one of Arsenal's star performers since his arrival two seasons ago, was a constant threat in a very even match.

Outspoken Arsenal manager Javier Aguirre once again took the opportunity to take a broadside at Shanyi, saying that the Blues didn't derserve the point and that their goal, scored in the 43rd minute, shouldn't have stood due to an infringement on the goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand.

The goal was indeed controversial. Drogba won a corner when his shot was deflected wide from Kolo Toure's block. Lampard swung the ball in and Robert Huth, one of the surprise starters in this game, seemed to nudge Hildebrand back before heading into the empty net. Shanyi responded that Aguirre should have spent less time complaining and more time honing his defence. "I thought it was a legitimate goal" he said, "The keeper came out and make a bad judgement. He ran into Huth to try and claim a foul but the referee thankfully did not fall for it. If I were Mr. Aguirre, perhaps it is time to talk less about his sufferings and start working on his defence."

Chelsea also had their lapses. Ledley King has not yet settled into his new environment and although his performance was solid, a stray pass to Thierry Henry also embarrassed Petr Cech, who had his worst night in a Chelsea shirt for a long time. Lampard and Drogba tested Hildebrand at the other end, an inswinging curler forcing a top class save out of the erratic German international, while Ljungberg missed a clear opportunity from a header late on.

ARSENAL (4-4-1-1): T Hildebrand, E Eboue, Toure, Campbell, Simunic (Clichy); Ljungberg, Gilberto, Flamini (Pires), Gray (Reyes); Hleb; Henry.

CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): P Cech, W Gallas, J Terry, L King, A Del Horno; C Makelele, R Huth (J Keenan); S Wright-Phillips, F Lampard, A Robben (D Duff); D Drogba (H Crespo).

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OTHER RESULTS

12th Aston Villa 3-0 Newcastle 16th
9th Everton 3-1 Tottenham 20th
6th Fulham 0-1 Birmingham 2nd
10th Middlesbrough 2-0 Southampton 15th
11th Portsmouth 2-2 Blackburn 7th

shanyi

JIRI FINALLY GETS THE BRUM DEAL?

Long abandoned Chelsea midfielder Jiri Jarosik may be set to complete the move which collapsed at the beginning of the transfer window to Birmingham. However, while the original deal was for £2M, Jarosik's value rose after several good performances for the Brummie side and provided Jarosik picks them ahead of Blackburn and Strasbourg, the deal will be worth an extra million to Chelsea. The midfielder has taken his time in deciding his next destination since a surge in interest as the end of the transfer window beckons, with HSV also taking a tentative interest. Chelsea recently rejected a £12.5M bid for goalkeeper and fellow Czech international Petr Cech today, but signed promising youngster Joel Speight from Villarreal for £500k.

shanyi

EUROPEAN SUPER CUP

PIDGELEY INSPIRES YOUNGSTERS TO SHOOTOUT WIN

Inter 1-1 Chelsea
(Chelsea win 4-3 on penalties)

Lenny Pidgeley, who rose through the ranks to be Chelsea's second choice goalkeeper, made a big claim to keeping that place with an impressive set of saves during a one-sided penalty shootout against Italian underachievers Inter. Pidgeley had started nervously, and barely moved when Adriano headed in from a Pizarro corner, but his confidence grew throughout the match and his two penalty saves secured the Cup for the young side, which included starts for Carlton Cole, Joe Keenan and Robert Huth, and a first appearance for Argentine Leo Messi up front. Inter fielded a strong team and were a constant threat throughout, but Huth's aerial prowess and King's positional sense made the going difficult, restricting the Italians to inaccurate long shots. At the other end, Hernan Crespo curled in his second of the season to equalise from a deft Joe Cole flick, and Toldo was also on fine form, keeping out Huth, both the Coles and Keenan on seperate occasions.

INTER (4-5-1): F Toldo, J Zanetti, N Burdisso, W Samuel, G Favalli; L Figo (I Cordoba), J Veron, D Pizarro, D Stankovic, S Solari (A Recoba); Adriano (Martins).

CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): L Pidgeley, G Johnson, R Huth, L King, W Bridge; M Essien, J Keenan; S Wright-Phillips (Kerlon), C Cole, J Cole (L Messi); H Crespo.

shanyi

RONALDO SECOND GLAZER CASUALTY AS FANS RIOT

Fans were rioting outside Old Trafford yesterday with the news that young superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has agreed a £24M move to AS Roma. The young winger, brought in to replace David Beckham, endured a tough first season but soon endeared himself to the United faithful as they watched him grow into a terrifying prospect for any defence. The Glazers had promised to keep the best talent at United, but with Heinze and Ronaldo now departing to cover the club's £500M debt, fans are becoming more and more restless.

"It's an absolute disgrace" said Martin Hollis, holding a large picket sign representing Glazer's face on a rump steak, "The Glazers are stripping the club and no matter how many promises they make, they're encouraging bids from other clubs for our top talent because they know we'll sell if the price is right. Today, it's Ronaldo. Tomorrow, it could be Ruud or Rooney." The Glazers and Sir Alex Ferguson, United hairdryer, have refused to comment. Upon his arrival at his new club, Ronaldo thanked the United faithful for their wonderful support but said that he felt the Italian club represented "a new challenge for a growing and evolving player like himself."

shanyi

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DRAW

RONALDO TO RETURN TO OLD TRAFFORD

In a bitterly ironic twist, former Manchester United hero Cristiano Ronaldo will be playing again at Old Trafford this season after they were drawn against his new club AS Roma, as well as Monaco and surprise Scottish package Hibs. United are expected to win the group, but the Portuguese winger, who today laughed that such a draw was "inevitable", will be looking to impress his new teammates and cause an upset. Liverpool will also have a tough time, with AC Milan, Anderlecht and Werder Bremen competing in Group D. Arsenal and Barcelona will battle it out for Group A, surely leaving Porto and FC Basel to pick up the scraps. Chelsea, meanwhile, have a well balanced group with the London club up against Bayer Leverkusen, Parma and Besiktas. Manager Shanyi described the group as having "three very solid teams, who can hurt you if you take your eye off the ball." Arsenal manager Javier Aguirre said that he was looking forward to the match against Barcelona, calling it an "intruiging contest".

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TRANSFER LATEST

Everton have signed Arsenal centre forward Jeremie Aliadiere for just under £2M. The Frenchman, who had disasterous loan spells at Celtic and West Ham, said that he hoped the move could revive his career and Everton's form.