North America
+ A federal mediator will be at the bargaining table when Major League Soccer’s labour talks resume next week in Washington, D.C.
+ Jeff Carlisle: A glimmer of hope in the CBA talks.
+ Carl Robinson has been released by TFC and will go on trial with the New York Red Bulls.
+ Paul James: While the release of Carl Robinson to the NY Red Bulls will be a disappointment to some, it now frees up some valuable salary cap space for a further transition with the Toronto FC team.
+ The Yorkies: 2010 Toronto FC ad slogans.
+ Marc Weber: Slimmed down Martin Nash has MLS in sights.
+ Duane Rollins: Can you hear the Whitecaps sing?
+ The Crew will be without Chad Marshall (hamstring), Jed Zayner (knee), Frankie Hejduk (suspension) and Guillermo Barros Schelotto (suspension) for their Champions League match on Tuesday against Toluca.
+ Landon Donovan would be happy to extend his loan deal at Everton a little longer before he returns to the Los Angeles Galaxy.
+ The Fire will continue to look at striker Collins John until the end of preseason, at which time they will make a decision on whether or not to offer him a contract.
+ The Colorado Rapids have signed forward Conor Casey to a new three-year contract.
+ FC Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman heading to Uruguay to scout an unnamed player.
+ The San Jose Earthquakes announced today that the team has placed defender Aaron Pitchkolan on waivers.
England
FA Cup: Reading 2 Aston Villa 4
FA Cup: Portsmouth 2 Birmingham 0
+ Henry Winter: FA Cup victory shows Avram Grant is restoring pride at Portsmouth.
+ A "Plan B" has been drawn up whereby, if Portsmouth go into liquidation, they will drop down to non-League football in a groundshare with near neighbours Havant & Waterlooville.
+ Manchester United are lining up a sensational free transfer move for Joe Cole this summer with the Chelsea midfielder looking ever more likely to quit Stamford Bridge.
+ Wes Brown fears his World Cup dream is over after breaking a bone in his left foot and leaving England and Manchester United lurching into a defensive crisis.
+ Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has said the Wembley pitch is likely to keep his star striker Wayne Rooney out of Wednesday night’s Champions League tie.
+ The battle for control of Manchester United is expected to intensify this week with the appointment of official banking advisers to the Red Knights, the group of City financiers who are trying to seize control of one of the world’s biggest football brands.
+ Simon Kuper: The Red Knights cannot restore United’s innocence.
+ Rafael Benítez has sought to reassure Alberto Aquilani over his long-term Liverpool future despite admitting that he cannot afford to risk the club’s pursuit of the final Champions League slot by granting the Italian the playing time he needs to adapt to the Premier League.
+ Jamie Carragher would have ‘no problem’ moving to another club if Liverpool decide against offering him a contract extension. There are no negotiations currently taking place.
+ Oliver Kay: Liverpool must find a way to keep Carragher.
+ Cesc Fabregas is out of the Champions League showdown with Porto after failing to train with the rest of the Arsenal first team today.
+ Arsenal are tracking Palermo’s imposing striker Abel Hernandez, 19.
+ Arsène Wenger believes the threat of injury from reckless challenges has impeded the development of Theo Walcott’s game.
+ Abou Diaby has warned that serious injuries such as Aaron Ramsey’s double broken leg will continue unless Arsenal get more protection from referees.
+ Dara O’Briain: Spare us the sanctimony about Ryan Shawcross being a nice lad.
+ Stoke legend Denis Smith on the Shawcross tackle: ‘It’s not ballet – injuries will happen.’
+ Wigan are weighing up a move for Egypt’s marauding right back Ahmed Al Muhammadi after he impressed last week against England. Roberto Martinez sent scouts to the game.
+ The Football Association will relay the pitch at Wembley for the 10th time in less than three years at a cost of £90,000 after criticism of its condition during Sunday’s Carling Cup final involving Manchester United and Aston Villa and Wednesday’s international between England and Egypt.
+ Paul Wilson: David Beckham’s inclusion no longer makes sense for England.
+ Tony Cascarino: Peter Crouch is more important to England than Wayne Rooney.
+ Stuart James: Charlie Austin pinches himself on road from bricklayer to football hero.
+ Newcastle winger Jonas Gutierrez bagged his second goal for the club in yesterday’s 6-1 thrashing of Barnsley and donned his trademark Spiderman mask in celebration.
Spain
+ Real Madrid climbed to the top of La Liga after a dramatic last-gasp 3-2 victory over Sevilla in the Bernabeu.
+ Sid Lowe: Rafael van der Vaart the Real deal as dramatic winner lights up summit.
+ Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain has revealed he received a valuable piece of advice from former team-mate Ruud van Nistelrooy when he arrived at the Bernabeu – to treat goals like ketchup. "Ruud told me that goals are like ketchup,” he told La Sexta. "Sometimes as much as you try, they don’t come out, and then they come all of a sudden.”
+ Barcelona twice came from behind to claim a point at Almeria in a match that finished 2-2 after being blighted by some bizarre refereeing decisions from Carlos Clos Gomez.
Italy
+ Serie A leaders Inter Milan were held to a goalless draw by Genoa at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium.
+ AC Milan dominated but had to settle for a point against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.
+ Roma boss Claudio Ranieri has confirmed he is keen to sign Arsenal defender William Gallas.
+ Juventus president Jean-Claude Blanc insists "there is no possibility" of Raymond Domenech taking charge of the Serie A giants in the summer.
+ Andrea Ranocchia has expressed he welcomes links with Inter Milan, but stressed that his future is in the hands of Genoa.
+ Palermo striker Fabrizio Miccoli has asked why Italy boss Marcello Lippi continues to ignore him.
Germany
+ Bayer Leverkusen, unbeaten in their first 24 outings, finally lost their first Bundesliga game of the season when they went down 3-2 at lowly Nurnberg on Sunday.
+ Bayern München missed the chance to extend their lead at the top of the table as Lukas Podolski’s first-half piledriver secured a point for home side 1. FC Köln.
+ Bayern Munich chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has re-iterated the club’s intentions to keep hold of star man Franck Ribery and promising youngster Toni Kroos at the end of the season.
+ According to a report in Bild, highly rated attacking midfielder Piotr Trochowski is far from happy with his situation at Hamburger SV and the German international could be on his way out of the club.
+ Michael Kempter, the referee at the centre of sexual harassment allegations against former German Football Association refereeing advisor Manfred Amerell, was suspended from officiating last weekend.
France
+ Alberto Costa grabbed an injury-time equaliser for Montpellier at Bordeaux as the top two sides in Ligue 1 played out a 1-1 draw which also featured two missed penalties and a red card.
+ Paul Doyle: Belief in Arsene Wenger protégé Claude Puel is reaping rewards for Lyon.
Portugal
+ Benfica went three points clear at the top of the Portuguese league Sunday after beating Pacos Ferreira 3-1.
+ Portugal and Chelsea right back Jose Bosingwa has been informed he requires a second knee operation and as a result will miss the rest of the season and the tournament in South Africa.
Netherlands
+ PSV Eindhoven suffered their first defeat of the season, losing 2-1 at NAC Breda.
+ FC Twente moved two points clear at the top of the Eredivisie thanks to a 1-0 win over bottom side RKC Waalwijk.
Scotland
+ Rangers have confirmed that majority shareholder Sir David Murray has begun discussions with London-based property developer Andrew Ellis regarding a takeover.
+ Tony Mowbray has not given up hope of keeping Robbie Keane at Celtic beyond the end of the season. Keane took his Hoops tally to five with both goals in the 2-0 win over Falkirk.
Ivory Coast
+ Ivory Coast have revealed they are in talks with Sven-Goran Eriksson about coaching the team during the 2010 World Cup.
Brazil
+ Brazil striker Adriano has a drinking problem, according to a Flamengo club director.
+ Roberto Mancini has been accused of managing with "a lack of ability" in the latest demonstration from Robinho that he does not want to go back to Manchester City when his loan arrangement with Santos ends.
+ Internacional midfielder Sandro is not going to Real Madrid according to his agent, after the Brazilian was linked with a move in the Spanish press.
+ Striker Fred scored in the second-half to help Fluminense rally to a 2-1 win over Botafogo on Sunday in the Rio Cup, the second stage of the Rio de Janeiro state tournament.
Argentina
+ Boca Juniors continued to struggle in the Clausura as they slipped up 2-1 at home to Racing Club.
+ Tim Vickery: Argentina boost World Cup credentials.
Fifa
+ Fifa hope the decision not to use goal-line technology does not come back to haunt the governing body in the World Cup finals this summer.
+ James Lawton: As long as Fifa goes on ignoring the need for technology we can be certain of only one thing. It is that the ludicrousness of its policy will continue to be exposed by the consequences of refusing to face a whole list of realities.
sharman, it must be frustrating to hear Rafa talk about the Aquilani situation like that
I’d love to see Cole at united. I have always thought he was a great player, and don’t really understand his recent lack of playing time at Chelsea. While he would be a free transfer, his wages would be fairly substantial though, and I don’t know how this fits with their other needs (one more quality striker to back up Rooney, a great keeper to replace the excellent but aging VDS, etc.).
As for Wenger, I am truly sick of his excuses. Now it is Walcott’s fear of being tackled that has stifled his development. I guess he should have played cricket. Soccer is a contact sport.
I liked Carl Robinson’s on-air personality, but he took up a lot of cap space for providing, at least last year, only average performances for TFC. If the space is used to make some great signings up front and at the back then it will be worth it. Buf history is any indication the odds of any new signings being ‘great’ are fairly slim. It is discouraging to see TFC tread water while a lot of the other MLS teams seem to be adding some fairly serious quality. It doesn’t bode well for the upcoming (?) season unless some serious moves happen between now and kickoff.
The kicker is (if you believe some reports) is that TFC is only partially saving by releasing Robinson. Some of his salary we are stuck paying against the cap.
Ironic that 6 months ago Mo Johnston’s “performance” warranted a contract extension. What were they thinking? This isn’t an old boys club.
How does cutting Robinson and picking up $200,000 of his $315,000 salary make sense for TFC? For $100,000 it is worth having a leader like Robbo on a wafer thin roster.
“I try to put myself on the sidelines and remember when I was a child and supported my team. These supporters deserve someone who will fight for them.” -Avram Grant
Portsmouth deserve someone with that kind of mindset. Take note Neil Warnock.
The Robinson move is a travesty. This team has no loyalty to the people who have given them so much. Release Serioux but keep Garcia, They treated Danny like crap and it was only the fan furor that partially resolved that fiasco in the making and now this…. Clear how much cap space for a guy that gives so much in terms of leadership and effort on the pitch? The man moved across the pond for a pay cut and set up his family here with the intention of staying with the club after his playing days and then they pull this crap. You want to clear cap space, sack Garcia and Gerba. Want to save money? Sack MO.
they don’t even have the decency to post a press release on the site.
As far as the Serioux/Garcia thing goes, I think the only reason they picked Garcia over Serioux is that Garcia is on a guarenteed deal and Serioux was out of contract.
When I made my first post, I was under the impression that TFC was merely ‘subsidizing’ Robinson’s wages at NYRB – not paying 2/3′s of it. Robinson for $315,000 is not worth it anymore. Robinson for $115,000 (the difference between what he would be paid at NYRB and what we would be paying them) is an absolute bargain. He is a good defensive mid (I’ve never been impressed with his abilities going forward, but he is good at shutting down opponents) and can slot in at centre back if needs be.
The only difference-maker is if the full $315,000 comes off the books for the purpose of the salary cap. If that is the case, and we have the full $315,000 to reinvest, then it is only MLSE that is out the 200k, and this is probably a good bit of business. But if the 200k is still applied against the salary cap, and we are basically saying that Robinson isn’t worth $115,000 then this is the dumbest bit of business since signing nick garcia to a guaranteed contract.
Does anyone know whether or not the 200k counts against the cap?
Nam – As far as I know Garcia goes againist the cap. Can’t see why he wouldn’t. Allocation money can only be used for new contracts.
I had the pleasure of playing against Dobby’s team last night, if this is the same team that he’ll be playing at KJ’s tournament with, watch out. They move the ball well and he scored a cracking goal. But vengance will be Hells Satan’s in the playoffs Dobby!
Also, props to Pompey making the FA Cup semi finals and earning a bit of cash for their Wembley visit
Shame that TFC treats their players and fans the way that they do but I’ll reserve judgement on any moves until (if and when) the season starts and we get a chance to see what kind of a side they put out, although they’re not filling me with too much hope.
did i imagine an article about crouch being more important to england than rooney? or did someone actually write that article? i won’t even bother wasting time reading that garbage even if the author points out interesting facts or reasons.
Serie Ahh – I meant does the 200k of Robinspon’s salary that TFC will pay to NYRB count against TFC’s cap space.
Any time you’re talking about an MLS player, you’re talking about value, not quality. At $315K, Robbo has to be among the highest earners in the league, but far from one of the best players. He’s not even among the best players at TFC.
Paying any of his salary is foolhardy. I don’t know exactly what they got, but a couple of draft picks for $200K is insane. Better off to give him away.
Joe Cole – the interesting case of a guy who plays better for country than club. As was stated earlier, while left side isn’t 100%, there are bigger holes to fill. I’d hadd holding midfielder and centre half to the mix.
Wenger is crossing the tipping point from genius to crackpot. If he thinks he’s protecting his players by harping on how soft they are and how easy it is to knock them off their game, he’s sadly mistaken. If anything, he’s on his way to proving himself right with this open invitation to hammer away on his kids. The “that wasn’t football” arrogance that meets a loss has worn thin too.
SB