Showing posts with label Other. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Other. Show all posts

Monday, 3 January 2011

Premier League clubs await LA decision on David Beckham


Tottenham are among several Premier League clubs waiting to hear whether Los Angeles Galaxy will release David Beckham this month for a loan deal.
Manager Harry Redknapp says the 35-year-old is keen to join Spurs, while Newcastle and Blackburn are interested.
The Major League Soccer season resumes on 15 March, meaning Beckham could play up to 11 games in a short-term deal.
"Spurs are one of many clubs interested - but we have not yet had detailed talks," said a spokesman for Beckham.
"At the moment we are waiting on the decision of LA Galaxy with regards to a loan move. The loan would be a short one until the start of the MLS season.
"David would then return and play a full season with the Galaxy.
"The loan is part of David's desire to keep fit and make himself available for England again."
Former England captain Beckham had short-team spells on loan at Italian club AC Milan in 2009 and 2010, with the moves designed to improve his chances of being picked to play for his country.
And England manager Fabio Capello, who last fielded Beckham in the 3-0 win over Belarus in October 2009, has recently urged the midfielder to return to Europe to prove his fitness.
With the January transfer window now open, Blackburn boss Steve Kean said on Monday that Rovers would be interested in Beckham while Newcastle boss Alan Pardew indicated the same on Sunday, though he has since admitted the move is unlikely.
Redknapp revealed he first learnt of Beckham's interest via his son Jamie, a former Liverpool and Tottenham midfielder.
"He [Beckham] spoke to Jamie, that's how it all came about," said Redknapp senior. "He said 'I'd like to come back and I fancy playing for Spurs because I like the way they play'.
"I've left it to the people at the club and they're talking to whoever they have to talk to at his club.
"David fancies it. He's a fantastic lad and role model in the way he conducts himself and plays. He'd be a great influence on the younger players."
A move to Spurs would mean Beckham could face his first club - Manchester United - at White Hart Lane on 16 January while he could also line up against another former club, AC Milan, who play Tottenham home and away in the Champions League last 16.
Those fixtures all come before the LA Galaxy's first match of the MLS season against Seattle Sounders.
Chairman of Tottenham Supporters' Trust Bernie Kingsley told BBC Sport on Monday that he felt it would be "dreadful" if Beckham moved to White Hart Lane, while stressing this was his own personal opinion and not representative.
"He's one of the most over-rated players in the game for a long time," said Kingsley. "He's a circus and totally about David Beckham - not [the club] who he plays for. I just don't want to see him anywhere near Tottenham.
"We have a good team and we're having a good season. If we want to continue with a squad of players that are fighting for each other, they don't need the distraction of some prima donna player who is only interested in himself.
"Yes, he's a good crosser of the ball - but his time was years ago. He's let England down in big tournaments. A football team is about 11 men on the pitch, playing as a team. I don't think he's a team player."
Former Real Madrid midfielder Beckham was born and raised in London, and trained at Tottenham before signing his first professional deal with Manchester United.
The six-time Premier League champion has not has previously been tempted by offers of a return to England, turning down the chance to discuss a similar deal with Everton in November while stating that, as a Manchester United fan, such a move was "too close to home".
He also denied any interest in a move to West Ham in July and rejected the chance to be reunited with former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson at Leicester in December.
But Beckham recently told BBC Sport there was an outside chance of appearing for a different English club to United, and that he hoped to continue playing for two or three more years.
"I want to continue to play, I have no interest in stopping," he said. "It might surprise people [now I am 35] but I'm still loving the game and still enjoying it as much as when I was 25.
"I played in the Premiership for so many years with the club I always adored, and will always adore. I always said that I would never play for another English club in the future - but you never know.
"I would hope I carry on playing for another two or three years. I've got a year left in America and then possibly another two after that. My body feels good at the moment."
Redknapp believes that it might be the right time for both Beckham and Spurs, who sit five points behind Premier League leaders Manchester United in fourth place.
"I'm sure he can still do a great job at the top level, otherwise I wouldn't bother," he said on Friday.
"He isn't going to come here and get big money - we aren't massive payers at this club. But he wants to come over here to the freezing cold and play football.
"Doesn't that tell you something about the boy that he lives in Los Angeles and might be a billionaire?"
Blackburn manager Kean, recently appointed until the end of the season following the shock sacking of Sam Allardyce, would like Beckham to be among the new faces he hopes to bring to Ewood Park during the January transfer window.
"I think we will sign at least three, possibly four, we might have one on loan at least at this stage that is the way it is looking," he said.
"Hopefully talks can continue and with someone like Beckham, someone will get a good player if he comes over here. If he does come back to this country, he is someone we would be interested in."
Newcastle boss Pardew said on Monday: "People are suggesting we are in the market for him because I've said I want an offensive player and obviously, he is one of the few on the market.
"I have not dismissed it, but in no way are we in talks or anything like that. It is unlikely, but we have targets elsewhere which give probably more chance of fruition than that one."

Monday, 8 November 2010

Black Ops set for midnight launch


The eagerly anticipated sequel to the biggest selling video game in history goes on sale tonight.
Thousands of gamers are expected to queue at over 400 stores in the UK to get their hands on a copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops.
The title goes on sale at midnight, with special events being held in cities across the globe.
Its predecessor, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, generated more than $1 billion (£618) in sales.
That puts it in an elite club of billion-dollar entertainment giants such as James Cameron's Titanic and Michael Jackson's Thriller.
Call of Duty: Black Ops is the seventh game in the series and the third to be developed by US based developer Treyarch.
Piers Harding-Rolls, an analyst with Screen Digest, told BBC News that he thought Black Ops would do as well, if not better, that Modern Warfare 2.
"We're looking up to 18 million units sold worldwide, putting it in the same league as Modern Warfare 2," he said.
"This edition also has a [Nintendo] Wii version and while the average Wii owner probably won't be that interested, it does mean that the potential market is a bit bigger than before," he added.
Gamers play as a CIA operative or Special Forces agent; members of a clandestine agency tasked with uncovering a Soviet chemical weapon code named Nova-6 during the Cold War.
In addition to standard ground combat, Treyarch have added a mission in which users control a Russian Hind helicopter, as well as flying US spy planes.
There is also a bonus multi player level where users have to defend Washington from waves of flesh-eating zombies.
Stocking fillers
Call of Duty: Black Ops is the last of the big first-person-shooter titles to be released in the run up Christmas.
Halo Reach - the exclusive XBox 360 title released in September - sold more than 300,000 copies on its launch day, according to the games industry magazine MCV.
Medal of Honor, Call of Duty's traditional rival, has also recently had a refresh.
The latest edition courted controversy by allowing gamers to take on the role of the Taliban, prompting calls from soldiers and politicians for the game to be banned. Its publisher Electronic Arts eventually renamed the enemy forces "the Opposition".
Recent figures suggest that, despite the publicity, Medal of Honour sold less than 350,000 units in the UK. By comparison, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 sold an 1.23 million units, according to industry body Elspa.
"Medal of Honour didn't review particularly well and its still the case that those who don't have an average score [in the games press] in the 80 and 90s don't sell as well," said Mr Harding-Rolls.

Saturday, 25 September 2010

Chelsea's unbeaten run comes to an abrupt end

Manchester City ended Chelsea's unbeaten start to the Premier League season as Carlos Tevez netted the solitary strike in a 1-0 win at the City of Manchester Stadium.  The first half was notable only for a Branislav Ivanovic header which struck the crossbar, but a piece of magic from the City captain lit up the second. The Argentine hurtled through the Chelsea half on the hour mark before applying a clinical finish to beat Petr Cech, and Carlo Ancelotti's side could not muster a response.

Roberto Mancini had surprisingly reported prior to the game that the title was Chelsea's, but the Italian was left to enjoy the bottle of red he promised his counterpart if the hosts won as his side inflicted the champions' first defeat of the season.

City made just one change from the team which beat Wigan as Dedryck Boyata came in for the injured Micah Richards, while Chelsea skipper John Terry returned as Paulo Ferreira missed out and Nicolas Anelka replaced Salomon Kalou.

It was a cagey yet frenetic opening as the two richest clubs in the league hustled and harried in a heavily congested midfield with neither side afforded the luxury of being able to enjoy a period of sustained possession.

There were no clear-cut openings mustered, before Ivanovic struck the crossbar with a looping header on the half hour as a relieved Joe Hart watched on helplessly as the hosts were eventually able to alleviate the danger.

Four minutes later, Pablo Zabaleta hauled down the marauding Ivanovic on the edge of the City box, but Didier Drogba lashed the resulting free-kick over the bar as Hart looked on disdainfully.

The last time Chelsea went in at the break with the game goalless was on Boxing Day against Birmingham, but for both sides a circumspect approach was paramount.

Neither manager deemed it necessary to make any changes at the break and, within seconds of the restart, Anelka fired a rasping effort towards the far post which Hart did well to tip away for a corner.

The game was crying out for a moment of decisive brilliance, and it was Tevez who provided it on the hour mark.

The Argentine had scored five goals in his last four Premier League appearances against Chelsea, and he was on target against the champions yet again after he used Silva as a decoy runner before driving a low shot through Cole's legs and beyond Cech into the far corner of the net.

Ancelotti reacted swiftly to his side conceding only their second goal of the league campaign, and surprisingly a frustrated Drogba was one of two changes to immediately follow the goal.

The 19-year-old Boyata was a powerful defensive presence for City all afternoon, but he almost cost his side after he hauled down substitute Yuri Zhirkov with a rash challenge on the edge of his box.

Florent Malouda whipped over a devilish delivery from the resulting set piece, and Alex rose imperiously before heading wide as a glorious opportunity to equalise was squandered 10 minutes from time. It was a frustrated Chelsea side which ended the match, and City preserved their slender lead with a stout defensive display late on.

As a result of the win, City move to within four points of Chelsea, who remain top despite suffering their first defeat of the season. Arsenal and Manchester United can subsequently move to within a point of the champions with victories this weekend.


Source; http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/25092010/58/premier-league-manchester-city-stun-chelsea.html