Reds clear out and buying spree

Kenny Dalglish had a superb impact at Liverpool last season when Roy Hodgson departed making way for the ex-Reds man to take charge. A man of football, Dalglish was judged on results after a long spell out of professional football management and within a small amount of team was given the Liverpool manager position permanently from his original post of caretaker.

Tipped for top 4, Dalgish is continuing to make big decisions. Following on from selling Torres/acquiring Caroll in the eventful winter transfer window 2011 King Kenny is having a clear out. It is rumoured that Jovanovic, Konchesky and Cole could all be on the transfer list and you would imagine that there will be good demand within the Prem for Joe Cole (its that bargain time of the year, 'arry!). Blackpool virtuoso midfielder Charlie Adam nearly moved to Anfield in that last window but has now completed the transfer.

With Liverpool linked with Roma 'keeper Alexander Doni and Aston Villa's Stewart Downing these are exciting times yet again for the Reds. Go on Kenny!

Transfer News pre season 2011/2012

New West Ham boss Sam Allardyce will be pleased to reunited with ex-Bolton skipper Kevin Nolan. Funnily enough this today on Twitter Joey Barton tweeted showing his distaste about the sale, clearly dissapointed in Newcastle. Almost like Wayne Rooney with his hair transpant tweet, this broadcast will do Barton no harm!

After a dissapointing Premier League and Champions League campaigns, Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas is highly rumoured to be leaving Arsenal. That would have to be a mammoth transfer fee as Fabregas has 4 years left on his current Gunners contract. Wenger is apparently keen on signing midfielder Willian from Shakhtar Donetsk, with a potential cash + swap deal of Denilson rumoured to be on the table.

High rollers Man City and Chelsea will go after Barcelona's front man David Villa, which apparently would allow the Spanish giants to fund a purchase of Fabregas. Personally I would be surprised if Barca let Villa go, I still have his Champions League goal at Wembley against Manchester United etched vividly on my football memory.

Tottenham are close £12m for Internacional's Brazilian striker Leandro Damiao. 21 year old Damiao, who made his international debut at the Emirates in March against Scotland.

Alex Mcleish is linked with a move to Aston Villa after resigning at relegated Birmingham City.

Premier League Man U vs Chelsea 7th May 2011

7t/5/2011 Manchester United vs Chelsea

It's great when even at this late stage in the season the title race is still open. Despite their lack of form and 3:1 defeat by Stoke earlier this afternoon, Arsenal's fans can take some comfort that their victory over Manchester United last week has given Chelsea the chance to steal the top spot if they beat Ferguson's men this evening. Great for the neutral, great for those who dislike Manchester United. Could this be the opportunity for Fernando Torres to really earn those millions that Chelsea paid for him? Or will Rooney be the star of the show?

Just about to log out of this blog and Man U are already ahead. Just can't type fast enough. Hernandez has scored in the first minute. This is going to be a great game!

Manchester United 2 Chelsea 1 (agg. 3-1) 2nd leg Champions League quarter final 12th April 2011

Champions League quarter final 12th April 2011 - Man Utd 2 Chelsea 1 Manchester United go through 3-1 on aggregate

Manchester United and Chelsea battled out this gripping quarter final Champions League match at Old Trafford with the home team enjoying a one goal cushion after beating the Blues at the 'Bridge. After an intriguing 43 minutes, Mexican goal poacher Javier Hernández turned in the opener from short range. Hernández in my opinion is a good bet for the Young Player of the Year and arguably the Player of the Year as for both accolades there is no blatant potential winner.

Wayne Rooney has peaked his form just at the right time for the Red Devils. Drifting deep gelling play all over the pitch, showing bullish strength on the ball and showing excellent vision in general. A class act.

I thought that Chelsea looked overall second best. In the second half Frank Lampard missed a half chance and Drogba had a great free kick stopped by Van der Saar. The visitors were stopped in their tracks in the 69th minute when Ramires was sent off.

Then all madness kicked. Drogba scored a sweet goal equalising in the 76th minute and then immediately from the next wave of Man Utd Park Ji-Sung scored with his left foot.

The home team then retained the ball excellently, displaying their European pedigree in the last 20 minutes.

Premier League news 09/04/2011

Premier League football review 9th April 2011

The sun is out, football fans across the land will be getting their bellies out at football matches this afternoon at 3pm. However, the football fixtures to some degree will be overshadowed to some degree by heinous amounts of sports betting on this year’s Grand National (also at 3pm) where the 40 horses will be battling it out on the toughest horse race of the year. Good luck everyone who is having a punt! Of course, don’t forget the US Masters golf and the Grand Prix too. I've found myself reverting back to a teenage hobby of checking out grid iron which is another fun one - American football betting makes you realise that a little knowledge isn't necessarily a bad thing when speculating to accumulate!

So back on to football, it is Premier League strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers that host the first match of the day with visitors Everton looking to push themselves into Europe League contention. For the home team, Adlene Guedioura is back after a long term injury however Molineaux favourite Stephen Hunt is out with a hernia injury making things tough for Mick McCarthy. For David Moyes, he is hoping to get back key men Cahill (Everton’s top scorer with 9 goals) and Rodwell.

West Ham United have a tricky away tie at the Reebok and time is running out for the Hammers as they languish in 18th position. Despite showing good form in the controversial game against Man Utd where they went 2 up they have lost their last 7 games and need to get something against Bolton Wanderers. Avram Grant has a full squad to pick from which is a lift for West Ham but Bolton are a tough nut to crack at their place. Recent England debutant Scott Parker has been nominated for the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) Players' Player of the Year award which has to give the Hammers a confidence boost – they would hope to keep hold of Parker who has been a class act all season.

At the top of the Prem, Chelsea and Manchester United are both at home playing Wigan and Fulham respectively. You would expect these teams that meet on Wednesday in the Champions League to both win but I predict that Wigan will give Chelsea a good game as they are fighting for survival with a real threat of relegation.

Tottenham Hotspur are at home to Stoke and will be licking their wounds after a 4-0 battering against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. Spurs are favourites as Stoke have had a bad run of form, losing their last 6 matches.

Premier League fixtures 09/04/2011

Wolverhampton v Everton, 12:45pm - Molineaux

Blackburn v Birmingham, 15:00 - Ewood Park

Bolton v West Ham, 15:00 - Reebook

Chelsea v Wigan, 15:00 - The Bridge

Man Utd v Fulham, 15:00 - Old Trafford

Sunderland v West Brom, 15:00 - The stadium of Light

Tottenham v Stoke, 15:00 - White Hart Lane

Champions League quarter final - Real Madrid vs Tottenham

What a season for the Spurs as they have romantically knocked out Inter and AC Milan only to find themselves this evening at the glorious Bernabeu to play Real Madrid (and yes I am a Tottenham fan).

2 great managers, Joes Mourinho and Harry Redknapp will battle it out with their attacking football styles. We know the special one well but with Real they are suited better to extravagant attack than Chelsea were. Christiano Ronaldo isn't 100% but will start and his presence will frighten the visiting Spurs backline, no doubt they will show him how much they've missed him in the Prem with a kick or two in the first 5 mins.

For Spurs, they have demonstrated a marked improvement in discipline in away games. Having Sandros in these games has proved invaluable - he has looked more comfortable in the Champions League than in the Premiership. Peter Crouch has also been pivotal to the Tottenham success in Europe, allowing them to play the Christmas tree formation and actually look strong in defence as well as their traditional explosive counter attack.

For the mighty Spurs, Van der Vaart (signing of the season - fact) is key. It has to be said that Ronaldo will be key to the home team's chances but lets be honest - Real Madrid are favourites, especially in this home tie.

I will put it down so that I can never forget it, I will take a 2-1 loss tonight...hopefully nothing really bad happens. Either way, Redknapp has over achieved at Tottenham and it is no wonder people like Mourinho are now tipping him for the England job.

European Championship qualifying fixtures Saturday 26th March

So JT (John Terry - not Justin Timberlake...my little joke) is back in the captaincy position for the qualifying match today against Wales and there is speculation that Capello didn't speak to Rio Ferdinand about changing the leadership role. For England, Ferdinand and Gerrard will miss the match as both are carrying injuries.From Gary Speed's side of things he has to be gutted that the left wing welsh wizard Gareth Bale (OK...admittedly I am a biased Tottenham fan) won't be playing. However it will be great to see Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey back in a Wales strip after a long injury lay off. Ramsey will make history as Speed has given him the captaincy - at 20 years of age he will be the youngest Welsh captain.

Here are the Euro qualifiers for Saturday 26th March 2011:

Armenia v Russia, 3pm
Wales v England, 3pm
Bulgaria v Switzerland, 4.45pm
Georgia v Croatia, 5pm
Cyprus v Iceland, 6pm
Israel v Latvia, 6.05pm
Bosnia-Hercegovina v Romania, 6.15pm
Albania v Belarus, 7pm
Andorra v Slovakia, 7pm
Germany OFF Azerbaijan, 7pm
Germany v Kazakhstan, 7pm
Norway v Denmark, 7pm
Malta v Greece, 7pm
Rep of Ireland v FYR Macedonia, 7.45pm