Fabio’s First Squad

The Italian has selected his first 30 players as part of a preliminary sqaud for next weeks friendly with Switzerland;

Carson (Aston Villa), James (Portsmouth), Kirkland (Wigan); Bridge (Chelsea), Brown (Manchester United), A Cole (Chelsea), C Davies (Aston Villa), Ferdinand (Manchester United) G Johnson (Portsmouth), King (Tottenham), Lescott (Everton), Richards (Manchester City), Shorey (Reading), Upson (West Ham), Woodgate (Tottenham); Barry (Aston Villa), Bentley (Blackburn), Carrick (Manchester United), J Cole (Chelsea), Downing (Middlesbrough), Gerrard (Liverpool), Hargreaves (Manchester United), Jenas (Tottenham), Wright-Phillips (Chelsea), Young (Aston Villa); Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Crouch (Liverpool), Heskey (Wigan), Owen (Newcastle), Rooney (Manchester United).

Notable exclusions include;

Paul Robinson, not getting a game for Spurs doesn’t help.

David Beckham, see below.

Alan Smith, hasn’t been in form since leaving Leeds United all those years ago.

More analysis tomorrow….

Fabio Drops Becks

Fabio Capello has not selected David Beckham for his first squad to face Switzerland next Wednesday. Why Fabio hasn’t selected the 32 year old , who hasn’t played quality club football since, June and who played his last competitive game in the Euro qualifying defeat by Croatia on 21 November, we just cannot fathom out…. link

Liverpool: Fans Buy Out

Liverpool fans are so taken by their American ownership, that they are looking to follow MyFootballClub, the organisation that brought fans together to buy Ebbsfleet United. The organisation put together to bid for Liverpool would be asking fans to cough up £5,000 each to get investment of £5 million. Wouldn’t it be great if the fans could decide whether Crouch starts this weekend? link

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to Brian Barwick and the caterpillar he carries around on his upper lip. The Chief Executive of The FA has been in the throne for 3 years now, which explains why their website feature him on the frontpage! Brian who’s biggest achievement was deciding to employ Steve McClaren, commented on England’s failure to qualify for Euro 2008 “There are no excuses, we didn’t perform in key games.” He’s on the ball then our Brian…. link

Transfer Deadline Day

Jermain Defoe is off to Pompey

Fulham have signed Jari Litmanen

Derby have signed defender Alan Stubbs from Everton and Roy Carroll from Rangers on loan

Arsenal have loaned out youngsters Kieran Gibbs to Norwich and Mark Randall to Burnley

More are likely to happen this evening before the deadline…..

African Cup of Nations

Cameroon and Egypt join Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Nigeria in the next round of the ACN. Cameroon beat Sudan 3-0 and Egypt drew 1-1 with Zambia to progress.

Tonight the final group game fixtures are; Senegal v South Africa, and Tunisia v Angola. Its possible that any team in this group can qualify, depending on tonight’s results.

WAGs (wives and girlfriends)

Cheryl Cole and loving hubby Ashley are still on the tabloid front pages. The Sun, still squeezing the juice out of the story, today comment on how Cheryl hasn’t eaten since they headlined about Ashley’s fling with the hairdresser. Meanwhile Ashley was again dropped from the Chelsea team that beat Reading last night. So whilst Ashley is dropped at Chelsea, Cheryl may have to be dropped as a WAG. WAGs

Send your comments to “a.stud@footy-boots.com“

The New England Away Shirt will be revealed on Monday, but sales of the new shirt are likely to be much lower than anticipated.

Umbro the UK based football boot brand, and shirt manufacturer, will be unveiling the New England Away Shirt on Monday, with the New England Away Kit being aired for the first time in England’s friendly against Switzerland on the 6th February.

With England’s failure to qualify for the forthcoming Euro 2008 tournament, it looks ominous for the sales of this shirt. Although the launch takes place on Monday 4th February, the shirt cannot be purchased until the 12th Ferbuary, a date that has already been delayed, despite adverts being published with the original date. To add to the woes of the launch, JJB Sports, one of the major retailers selling the shirts, said that it will buy record low numbers of the New England Away Shirt because it is poorly designed.

Before the shirt is unveiled, we do know that Umbro have created a unique feature. The New England Shirt is the first to feature Umbro’s QR technology. The shirt will contain a code, which can be activated by a mobile phone and will take the owner of the New England Shirt to a unique WAP site featuring exclusive content.

Let’s hope it brings England better fortune on the pitch!

Pre-Order the Shirt Now

Football boot brand Puma hopes for huge sales growth in 2008.

Jean-Francois Palus, Chief Financial Officer of German sportswear group Puma has predicted an increase in sales throughout 2008.

The 2008 footballing calendar has kicked off in Ghana with the African Cup of Nations, to be followed by the 2008 European Football Championships in Austria and Switzerland, before the Beijing Olympics, making 2008 a huge year for sports brands worldwide.

Palus commented: “Puma will use the opportunity of these upcoming sporting events to enhance investments in strengthening its brand. We expect a further increase in our sales and profits in 2008 and we already see positive indications of further growth in our order books.”

Puma is currently sponsoring nine of the 16 teams taking part in the African Nations Cup. The German football boot brand will also sponsor five teams at Euro 2008 and 17 teams will wear Puma kit at the summer Olympics in Beijing.

Their flagship football boot, the V1.08, has also been launched recently to high acclaim, which should put Puma in a good position this year.

Psycho Returns to England

Former England left back Stuart ‘Psycho’ Pearce has been given a role with new England manager Fabio Capello. The Italian wanted an Englishman as part of his backroom staff, and said “As well as being involved in all of the planning ahead of games, he will sit next to me on the bench during the matches.” Got it, so he’s your protection Fabio? link

KK Stamps His Authority

KK has made it clear who’s boss at Newcastle “He reports to me,” said KK in an early demonstration of his dominance. The two little guys (KK is actually 2″ taller than didi Dennis), next face Middlesborough at home on Sunday. Early days, but already the pressure is mounting.

Rafa: Champions League is Harder

Rafa Benitez, the Liverpool manager has come out and claimed it is harder to win the Champions League than the Premier League. “How many teams have won the Champions League? That is a massive trophy and it is more difficult to win than any other trophy,” Benítez said. Sure Rafa, nothing to do with the fact that you have no chance of winning the title again this year? link

Quickfire Transfer News

Tottenham have finally signed Alan Hutton from Rangers for £9 million, he follows Jonathan Woodgate and Chris Gunter to the Lane.

Up the road, Arsenal have completed the signing of another youngster, Luke Freeman from Gillingham. The 15 year is the youngest player to feature in the FA Cup!

Staying at Arsenal, Abou Diaby has signed a new contract that will keep him at the Emirates Stadium until 2012.

Not moving is Iraq midfielder Nashat Akram, wanted by Manchester City, he was refused a work permit.

African Cup of Nations

Egypt face Zambia and Cameroon take on Sudan in the final round of matches in Group C. Two from this group will be looking to join Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Nigeria who have all qualified.

WAGs (wives and girlfriends)

Cheryl Cole has left her and Ashley’s home to think things through. Meanwhile Ashley may be involved tonight when Chelsea are at home to Reading. Avram Grant still hasn’t decided whether to play him or not, as he think Ashley is better at playing away. Boom Boom. WAGs

Send your comments to “a.stud@footy-boots.com“

In this week’s Coke Column, Giles talks about scoring his first goal for Northampton and the romance of the FA Cup.

Hi everyone, I’m pleased with the way the last few games have gone. We got a 1-0 away win against Gillingham last week and then on Friday beat Leyton Orient 2-0 at home. Orient were flying at the start of the season and they’re still in the play off mix so it was a good result for us. I also scored my first goal for the club in my second home game. I felt unlucky not to score against Hartlepool a few weeks back so I was pleased to get off the mark against Orient. Poul Hubertz flicked on a header about 35 yards out and I pushed it on with my left foot to knock it past the defenders into the area, before flicking it past the keeper with my right foot from just inside the box.

That goal was for the gaffer and the physios really. I’m very grateful to Stuart Gray for giving me the opportunity to step up a level and putting his faith in me, and also to the physios for all their help in getting me back from injury. It was good to get off the mark, and I thought we played well as a team.

Our next home game is against Brighton and I don’t see why we can’t go out there, play with confidence, and pick up another three points. My fitness is improving match by match and I’m only going to improve my sharpness by getting out on the pitch and playing.

Who says the romance of the FA Cup is dead?!

With playing on Friday, I was able to watch the live FA Cup games over the weekend, including my old team Mansfield take on Middlesbrough. Mansfield did well, playing like that it’s amazing to think they’re at the bottom of League Two. They dominated play in patches, especially at the beginning of the second half and Mickey Boulding hit the bar. On another day, it could have been a different result.

I was really chuffed for my mate Richard Pacquette. I played with him at QPR when I was younger and he now plays for Havant and Waterlooville. He scored to put the non league side 1-0 up at Anfield and he called me straight after the game. What an amazing performance it was by the part timers, in the first half it seems with a bit more luck they could have gone 2-0 up, then it would have been interesting! But ultimately, in the second half, Premiership class told and Liverpool ran out 5-2 winners. Richard was certainly buzzing though, and the team rounded the weekend off by going to the Man Utd v Spurs game at Old Trafford.

Your questions:

Hi Giles, What do you think of the situation at Newcastle? Do you think it is a good move for Keegan to go back there and to bring in Dennis Wise? From Danny P

I think if anyone can turn the situation round at Newcastle, Kevin Keegan can. He did a good job last time, and he certainly knows the club inside out. I was a bit surprised when I heard Dennis Wise was going there. He seemed to be building something at Leeds and has brought quite a few players in during the transfer window, including Brad Johnson from Northampton. I guess the opportunity was far too good to turn down. I’m not sure exactly what role he will have, but I reckon the fans will appreciate him and the players will respect him, due to what he did at Leeds and the combative, never say die attitude he had as a player.

See you in 2 weeks!

Return of the Mac

After four years out of football, Gary McAllister returns as manager of Leeds. The former Leeds player, follows the departure of Dennis Wise to Newcastle, and picks up the baton with Leeds in 5th place in League 1. Gary was no doubt chosen for results achieved in his only full season as manager, Coventry playing in the equivalent of the Championship ended up in 20th place. link

Wise Decision

Former Wimbledon hard nut Dennis Wise, has been appointed to sign players and develop the academy at Newcastle. Titled executive director (football) the appointment has shocked everyone but has pleased Joey Barton. Barton now aims to make Chairman of Newcastle by the time he turns 30. link

Show Me The Money

Patrice Evra wants £120,000 a week to stay on at Manchester United. His agents have said that he should be in line with the top earners at the club, and that has caused a major stand-off. Having left a copy of the Daily Mirror hanging around the Footy Boots reception, the cleaner is now refusing to empty the bins until we promise to pay her the same as the CEO. link

Quickfire Transfer News

Jonathan Woodgate settled for a move to Tottenham in the end. It’s said he was stalling for a move to the Gunners, until Wenger came out in the press and said he wasn’t interested. And of course, Woodgate is currently injured.

Mohamed Sissoko has finally left Liverpool for Juventus for £8.2million in one of the most drawn out transfers of the winter.

Andy Cole has left Sunderland on loan to join high flying…. Burnley.

African Cup of Nations

Guniea and Ghana progressed from Group A last night. Hosts Ghana made it three wins in three with a 2-0 win over Morocco whilst Guinea drew 1-1 with Namibia.

Due to the late publication of this edition, Group B previews are too late. instead we can tell you that The Ivory Coast and Nigeria have qualified from Group B. The Ivory Coast won 3-0 against Mali and Nigeria beat Benin 2-0.

WAGs (wives and girlfriends)

The Ashley Cole crucifixion story in The Sun, continued.

Ashley and Cheryl Cole seemed to be thinking about having children. Cheryl Cole stated that she wanted to become a mother, even after finding out that Ashley had played away with ‘the hairdresser’. link

Meanwhile, Ashley was sure that everything was in order downstairs. He allegedly told another conquest of his, “I don’t need to wear a condom because Chelsea give us check-ups.” I hope the tax man charges him for that perk! link WAGs

Send your comments to “a.stud@footy-boots.com“

The Adidas Wawa Aba football may be one of the major contributing factors for the flurry of goals we have seen so far at this year’s African Cup of Nations.

Already 54 goals have been scored following the conclusion of the second round of matches in the group stages, surpassing the number of goals scored at the same stage in the last four tournaments. At the 2006 tournament in Egypt, 33 goals were scored in the four groups after the second round of matches. The figure for the same stage at the 2004 tournament in Tunisia is 49 and that of the 2002 ACN in Mali is 15. So far in Ghana, 15 goals have been netted in Group A, 7 in Group B, 18 in Group C and 14 in group D.
Football analysts say the increasing number of goals may be a combination of more attacking play and the Adidas Wawa Aba football that is being used. The football is made of 14 panels produced with revolutionary thermo bonding technology. A thick inner layer enable perfect flight features enabling players to optimally control the ball and shoot with incredible power and precision.

Read article on the Adidas Wawa Aba

Magic of the FA Cup

So then, 16 teams remain in this season’s FA Cup and astonishingly, just 6 of those are from the Premier League. Another five were left to ‘concentrate on the league’ at the weekend with two of them, Manchester City and Derby County getting the heave-ho from sides in the Championship. And following Monday’s fifth round draw, at least 3 non top flight clubs are guaranteed to make it through to the quarter finals. Add to that the fairytale journey of Havant & Waterlooville which ended at Liverpool, the balloon factor which accounted for Sven’s men at Sheffield United and the pairing of Manchester United and Arsenal next time out and all talk about the Cup’s demise in recent season’s looks to be as accurate now as ‘that Wembley shot’ by Geoff Thomas back in 1992.

ITV & Setanta Drool Over the FA Cup

Talking of the FA Cup, ITV and Setanta must be rubbing their hands at the thought of getting their hands on the competition from next season. The pair paid £425 million to take the Cup rights, along with home England International matches, off the Beeb and Sky in March last year. Whilst probably thinking that the England games would be ‘the jewel in the crown’ the way this season’s FA Cup has panned out will give ITV and the Irish satellite company plenty of scope to crow about their coverage as they plan to show over 40 games per year between them from the 2008 / 2009 season.

US, UK Club Ownership

Derby County have become the latest Premier League club to be taken over by an American consortium. General Sports and Entertainment are the new guys in charge at Pride Park after agreeing an investment partnership with the club. Derby becomes the fourth top flight side in American hands, along with Manchester United, Liverpool and Aston Villa. Which got me thinking. How about if English companies or individuals ventured across the pond to take over a few sporting franchises in the good old US of A? It only seems fair. The Ramblers Association would be an ideal match for the Green Bay Back Packers, David Sullivan and David Gold could consider leaving Birmingham and taking over at the New Orleans Saints and Sinners, JK Rowling’s a certainty for the Washington Wizards whilst judging by the donations scandal affecting the Labour Party at the moment, any current or former front bencher might want to take a look at the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Burley Scot

Good luck to George Burley in his new role as Scotland coach. The last time he took charge of a team in Scotland, Heart of Midlothian, he guided them to the top of the SPL with 8 wins from 10 matches before walking away from the club in despair. Burley must be mighty relieved that the Scottish FA is headed up by Gordon Smith and not Vladimir Romanov.

Send your comments or questions to OhKay@footy-boots.com

Wise Move

Dennis Wise has resigned from Leeds and is set to take up a role at Newcastle. The deal has been completed and Leeds are expected to receive a substantial compensation package, some people are suggesting its almost as high as Ashley Cole’s crisis management fee’s. link

Sweet FA Cup

An interesting weekend of cup action culminating in the fifth round draw, which throws Manchester United and Arsenal together.

Bristol Rovers v Southampton
Cardiff City v Wolves
Chelsea v Huddersfield Town
Coventry City v West Brom
Liverpool v Barnsley
Manchester United v Arsenal
Preston v Portsmouth
Sheffield United v Middlesbrough

So the two at the top of the Premier League go head to head in what will be a mouth watering tie on the 16th or 17th February.

Who will end up with bragging rights and a pumped up chest going into the final third of the season? Don’t say Aimee Walton… mail your answer

Fabio to Leave Beckham Waiting

Fabio Capello is ready to leave a mark, clearer than the one Ashley Cole’s wedding ring made on Aimee Walton’s back side. He’s reportedly dropping David Beckham out of his squad for England‘s game against Switzerland on the 6th February, which will keep Beckham hanging on 99 caps. link

Where Woody Go?

Jonathan ‘Sick Note’ Woodgate turned down a move to Newcastle and it was suggested in the tabloid press this morning, that Arsenal were looking to nip in and pinch the ‘Boro centre back from underneath Spurs‘ nose. However, Wenger has come out with a statement straight out of Ashley Coles book on media management, which denies the move, “I do not know where that story came from, there is no truth in it at all.” Perhaps the Sun will run an inside exclusive on it. link

Quickfire Transfer News

Portsmouth have completed the loan signing of Milan Baros from Lyon until the end of the season. link

Aston Villa will be receiving around £4.5 million from Bolton, for 22 year old defender Gary Cahill. link

Wayne Routledge could be on his way into Aston Villa. link

Juande Ramos is set to land Alan Hutton from Rangers in a £2 million deal. link

African Cup of Nations

Weekend Results;

Senegal 1-3 Angola; Tunisia 3-1 South Africa; Cameroon 5-1 Zambia; Egypt 3-0 Sudan

This evening, the hosts Ghana play Morocco and Guinea take on Namibia in the final games of Group A. Ghana have six points, while Morocco and Guinea are on three, Namibia are yet to win a game. So its all to play for this evening.

WAGs (wives and girlfriends)

Ashley Cole is not having a good time of it at the moment. After getting the captains armband ripped off him, during a match, he was then dropped at Chelsea. Then, Ashley was on the front pages of The Sun last week, when hairdresser Aimee Walton sold out about his one night stand with her. Now The Sun reveals that Ashley’s representatives met with Aimee Walton last week to discuss aborting her baby. Only for her to reveal she wasn’t pregnant. Cheryl Cole had said that she knew about the night her husband spent with Aimee Walton, during which he vomited, but believed he had not had sex with her. We don’t think flowers will smooth this one over Ashley… WAGs

Send your comments to “a.stud@footy-boots.com”

Football boot brand Umbro have agreed a five year kit deal with Championship club Southampton.

Umbro will supply all Saints’ playing and training kit for the next five seasons from 2008/09 through to 2012/13. The sportswear company will replace Southampton’s own brand kit which has been the club’s official supplier since 1999.

Umbro certainly seem intent on adding to its portfolio of sponsored football clubs and increasing its share of the football shirt market; the company announcing last week that it would be extending its kit deal with fellow Championship outfit West Brom (link to article).

Saints Head of Retail Leighton Mitchell said: “We are delighted to be teaming up with a quality sportswear manufacturer such as Umbro. “They are without doubt one of the market leaders in kit design and innovation and the quality of their products is first class.

Saints chairman Leon Crouch added: “It is a great testament to the club that Umbro were keen to become our official kit supplier. We both share the common goals of producing innovative and high quality kits for our players and supporters alike. We look forward to a long and successful partnership both on and off the field.”

The tie up between Umbro and Southampton is a welcome distraction from the current speculation surrounding the vacant manager’s position at St Mary’s since the departure of George Burley for the Scotland post. The smart money is being heaped on a return for Glenn Hoddle, as the club seeks to elevate itself back into the Premiership.

Links already exist between the two organisations, with Southampton midfielder and Xai V wearer Andrew Surman being an Umbro sponsored player.

Serie A Roundup by Allan Oliveira

So this is the first of many weekly Serie A updates. We’ll cover the results of the league matches played over each matchday, as well as a look at the business end of the standings. Matchday 20 seemed to be the matchday for ten a-side soccer, a great number of teams forced to play with a man down.

Week ending 27th of Jan 2008, matchday 20

Atalanta vs AC Milan (2-1)
This week Milan played the first of it’s three mid-week matches required to catch up to the 19 games played by almost all of the other teams. Ancelotti surely saw this as a chance to get Milan back on track after a torrid start to the season that sees them currently sitting mid table. Unfortunately for Milan, Atalanta weren’t willing to miss out on any points.

Milan controlled the first half and went ahead through Gattuso but Antonio Langella was able to equalise before the break. The Milanese attack missed a lot of chances and ultimately paid the price for not being more clinical in their finishing. Tissone sealed the scoreline for Atalanta on 68 minutes, handing his team the 3 points.

Sampdoria vs Siena (1-0)
Sampdoria were able to snatch a win thanks to the ex-Roma, ex-Madrid starlet, Cassano. Although the visitors were playing better football, Sampdoria’s goal just before the break proved to be enough to seal the win. Not good news for Siena who are now in serious danger of getting pulled into a relegation battle with the bottom three.

Roma vs Palermo (1-0)
Roma have taken advantage of a slip by league leaders Inter who could not defeat Udinese. Another three points with a win over 9th placed Palermo has opened up the title race again. Totti was back in action after missing two matches because of the flu but it was Mancini who was the hero for the home fans. Soon after Palermo defender, Rinaudo was red-carded, Mancini headed in off a Taddei corner. Pizarro had a couple of good chances throughout the game and Roma could have added to the tally but they also were lucky not to share the points with Palermo after Cavani just missed in the dying minutes.

AC Milan vs Genoa (2-0)
Brazilian wonder kid, Alexandre Pato is living up to the immense hype surrounding him. Two second half strikes by the 18 year old, dubbed “Pato-mico” gave Milan a win to help them forget about their mid-week defeat. The home side started slowly but by the second half they were full-throttle. First was a header on 68 minutes, just before Genoa’s Scarpi was sent off for a hand-ball, and then a second followed after a burst of pace and a goal resulting from the rebound after his first strike.

Atalanta vs Reggina (2-2)
Atalanta threw away some of their good work from mid-week to let relegation-battling Reggina pull back two goals and share the points. Rivalta put Atalanta in front with a fine strike and then Ledesma doubled the score immediately after the break. Perhaps Atalanta got a little too relaxed and let Vigiani pull one back and then shortly after, Barreto levelled the score and the visitors rode the ensuing pressure to hang on for a point.

Cagliari vs Napoli (2-1)
Cagliari were able to pull off one of the most amazing comebacks to claim all three points. Although the home team had a good start, it was Napoli’s Hamsik who found the back of the net on 57 minutes with some calm finishing. The dramatic turn of events happened in injury time when substitute Matri levelled the scores from a long-range shot. One minute later it was Conti who grabbed the win for Cagliari. They will surely be happy with the points as they continue to sit dead last on the table. Are you sure you can’t return to help out your old team one last time Zola?

Catania vs Parma (0-0)
There wasn’t a lot of action in this middle-table match apart from a goal by Spinesi just before half-time that did not count because the ref judged a foul to have occured beforehand. Although Catania appeared to have more fire after being denied, Parma dealt with the extra pressure. Their inability to win away continues and Parma return home with just one point.

Empoli vs Fiorentina (0-2)
Fiorentina hold on to their champions league spot with a two-nil win. Empoli started stronger but couldn’t finish their plays and the first half ended goalless. It was Fiorentina that almost got in front in the second half with an Ujfalusi header but it was ruled out for offside. The visitors had to wait until the 85th minute for Mutu to score. He soon turned provider for Pazzini and now Fiorentina sit ten points above Milan who are chasing after that CL spot.

Torino vs Lazio (0-0)
Although the scoreline was lacking, the action and drama wasn’t. Both teams finished the match with ten a-side with Barone sent off at half-time for a second booking and then Lazio’s Bianchi for his second yellow on 65 minutes. Quite a heated and scrappy affair with only chances from Di Michele and Pandev that could’ve resulted in a different scoreline.

Udinese vs Inter Milan (0-0)
Inter played 74 minutes of this match with ten men and probably consider themselves lucky to hold on for a point and maintain their unbeaten record. They had an early chance that was uncharacteristically wasted by Cambiasso, shooting over the bar some ten metres from goal. The man to have an early shower was Cesar for two rash challenges and two yellow cards within the same minute of play. Ibrahimovic was left isolated and did little to trouble the home side. He found the net once but was judged to have fouled Felipe before scoring and so the goal didn’t count. Inter can’t afford many more mistakes with Roma biting at their heels.

Livorno vs Juventus (1 - 3)
Two goals from David Trezeguet and a third from Alessandro Del Piero, gave Juventus the win they needed to maintain 3rd place in the Serie A. Livorno playing with ten men for almost the entire second half, scored a messy consolation thanks to Bogdan. Six bookings and the sending off, underlined a busy weekend for the referees.

The standings
1st Inter 50pts 20played
2nd Roma 45pts 20 played
3rd Juventus 40pts 19 played
4th Fiorentina 37pts 20 played
5th Udinese 33pts 20 played
6th AC Milan 27pts 18 played

Nomis football boot wearer Harry Kewell may be on the verge of signing up to American sportswear brand Nike.

Australian winger Kewell has been the figurehead of Nomis’ campaign to increase its share in the football boot market, but has recently been pictured wearing Nike Air Legend’s whilst playing for Liverpool, prompting speculation that his boot deal with Nomis has expired. The loss of such a high profile endorsee would be a huge blow for Nomis, especially as their only other featured endorsee in English football over the past few years is veteran Peter Beagrie, a now retired former winger, who wore the Nomis Glove during his footballing swansong at Scunthorpe United and Grimsby Town.

Kewell famously ditched his lucrative football boot deal with Adidas, in favour of wearing Nomis boots for free. The Liverpool winger famously wore them for the first time in Liverpool’s dramatic European Cup win against AC Milan in Istanbul in 2005. Kewell has recently been wearing the Nomis Spark MS, a football boot made of K-leather, with a two density outsole offering improved comfort, flexibility and stability. The Spark MS is ideal for a quick player like Kewell as it offers a new foot position by elevating the heel slightly, putting your foot in a better position for sprinting. The injury prone Australian will also have benefited from the raised heel reducing the impact force on his heel, helping to reduce the likelihood of heel injuries.

A spokesman for Nike said: “Harry Kewell is free to choose which football boots he wants to wear. He is not a Nike contracted athlete but has been wearing Nike football boots out of choice.”

23 men were killed in one of football’s worst tragedies ever, 50 years on football boots are being used to help commemorate the the anniversary.

Munich on the 6th February 1958, a plane carrying journalists, supporters and the Manchester United football team, known as the Busby Babes, crashed on its third attempt to take off. Twenty-three of the 44 passengers on board the aircraft died in the disaster, including eight United players and one former Manchester City player.

As a tribute to those who lost lives 50 years ago, Manchester United’s home game on the 10th February, against arch rivals Manchester City, will be used to remember the tragedy.

The players from both sides have been united in their support and in something which will not have happened for some time now, both teams have said they will wear commemorative kits, with the players in plain black football boots.

A fitting way to mark the date, with traditional looking football boots!

Shearer Will Not be No. 2

KK has confirmed that Alan Shearer will not be his assistant at Newcastle. He may land another role, but that is to be decided. Suggestions are, that Shearer didn’t want to give up his BBC pundits job. Take note Geordies, Shearer would rather cosy up on the couch with Hansen and Lineker than come and learn how to run your club. link

Woodgate to Spurs

Jonathan ‘Sick Note’ Woodgate looks to be on the move, again. Spurs are said to have had an offer of around £7 million accepted. With Ledley King back from injury and Michael Dawson pairing up well, its an odd one, particularly as they have both Younes Kaboul and Ricardo Rocha in reserve. But then Spurs go through phases of collecting players in the same position. link

Chimbonda the Modern Day Footballer

Pascal Chimbonda, the Spurs and France full back wants out of Tottenham, in exchange for a windfall move to Newcastle. The Sun reports, with a great picture, that Chimbonda said “I am definitely leaving Spurs. It’s all about the money. I don’t care about the final, I don’t care about the cup.” Chimbonda’s career has a distinct trend of upping and leaving when he wants to, but that’s the way the game is nowadays. Spurs let the chump go, pass the problem on. Newcastle beware! link

Quickfire Transfer News

Rafa Benitez joined the queue of top managers wanting to take a risk on Theo Walcott. Wenger, Sven and now Rafa must all see something in the 18 year old, shame he can’t show the fans on the pitch. Arsenal rejected the bid from Liverpool.

Middlesbrough look to be very close to signing Afonso Alves from Heerenveen. An agreement on a transfer fee is all that is holding this up, said Southgate. All? Not much then Gareth, just a few million quid!

‘Arry is after Milan Baros on loan from Lyons, ‘Arry has seen that Baros has played in the Premier League and not quite made the grade. So he looks a perfect signing for ‘Arry.

Liverpool have the cash now to sign Javier Mascherano permanently, after the club’s American owners secured the loan to refinance their takeover. Tom Hicks and George Gillett will be flavour of the month with the Kop now….

African Cup of Nations

Anyone who has followed the fist few games in this tournament will know that African football is very entertaining. It’s packed with goals, its fast football, and the platers play with commitment and passion. And of course match fixing……

The big news in Ghana centres around a match fixing allegation made by the German manager of Benin. The German told the BBC that he was asked if he would help fix the result of his side’s match against Mali, and said he would be willing to give Caf details of the man who made the approach. link

Last night Guinea upset Morocco, 3-2. That leaves Morocco with an uphill task to qualify, although a win against Ghana in their last match would guarantee progression. Ghana are on the back of two opening wins, last night they took the points against Namibia 1-0.

Tonight Ivory Coast take on Benin, but the tastier fixture is Nigeria v Mali. The Nigerians were tipped by many to feature well in this competition, but would go out tonight with a game to go, if they lose and the Ivory Coast win. But then Berti Vogts is the manager.

WAGs (wives and girlfriends)

OK, we’re coming clean. Some of the WAG stories this week have been lame…… But not this cracker!

Ashley Cole once Arsenal and England’s finest, has been on a slippery slope since his mega bucks move to Chelsea, no more so than today. The Sun have headlined with a story about Ashley cheating on his wife Cheryl Cole, with a hairdresser. The hairdresser said “He’s wild - really rude in bed. He knew exactly what he was doing and was pretty good, despite not being very big.” Chelsea responded by barring a Sun reporter from attending a press conference today after the tabloid ran the story. Chin up Ashley. link

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