The Daily Telegraph are reporting that Chelsea are set to make a £17.5 million bid for Porto wing back.
New boss Andre Villas-Boas is interested in bringing the 25-year-old Uruguayan to Stamford Bridge as he looks to stamp his mark on the team.
The Portuguese coach was Pereira’s boss at Porto last season and the pair could be reunited in West London.
However the Primeira Liga champions value the Uruguay international at around £26 million after his star performances in the Copa America.
They have already signed a replacement in the form of £8.3 million Alex Sandro from Santos but aren’t willing to let one of their key players leave on the cheap.
Villas-Boas is keen to fill the gap left by the recently departed Yuri Zhirkov and held talks last month only to back away when hearing of Porto’s demands.
The Chelsea boss keen to bring a player in from his former club as they understand the way he works.
It will certainly leave question marks hanging over the head of some players in the current squad.
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The 33-year-old coach could sacrifice the like of Alex, Joe Boswinga and John Obi Mikel to raise the funds capable of bringing Pereira to the club.
The dictionary defines Underachieving as ‘do less well than expected’ and that isn’t a difficult thing to do in football. There are a ton of players who have fallen by the wayside and failed to make the strides expected of them during their career. They come in all shapes and sizes from expensive foreign talents to fresh faced youngsters preparing themselves for first team football only to suddenly become aware of the fact it’s 15-years into the future and they’ve failed to live up to their potential.
Since the birth of the Premier League in 1992 you could argue there has been more underachieving players than there has been successful ones. Obviously that is down to the fact only Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Blackburn Rovers have managed to lift the famous trophy but success isn’t always measured on the trophy scale. Even those clubs have had certain players who have failed to make the grade and underachieved to a frightening level. All too often you see players like this who are labelled as ‘dependable members of the squad’ or ‘great characters in the dressing room’ where in reality they are actually mediocre out on the pitch but too good to let go.
They are players who divide opinions in the stands with one half admiring his dedication and 100% effort out on the field whilst the other half see lack patience and see him as someone who will never improve or harness the talent that was once afforded to him. Unfortunately in the unforgiving realm of top flight football it is all too easy to be float effortlessly into obscurity and end up with a career showed in what might have beens.
Click on Fernando Morientes to see the top 10 great underachievers
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Putting together a list of 10 underachievers was a challenge in itself so if you think my choices are unsuitable and you have a better suggestion please drop by my twitter and we’ll enter into a discussion about it. Follow me @Kajynnep
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With Spurs having moved into pole position and after manager Harry Redknapp has openly confirmed that he has held preliminary talks with the England international over the past few days, one of Roy Hodgson’s first moves as Liverpool manager must be to follow suit and step up the club’s interest in the player to something approaching concrete rather than the rumour and conjecture we’ve all been subjected to the past few weeks.
The main problems facing Liverpool are well known to every man and his dog by now, the issue over new owners, the new stadium and the respective futures of messrs Gerrard, Torres and Mascherano are all of paramount importance, and whilst these all obviously and quite understandably remain of top priority, the issue of the playing staff and the reinvestment that is needed must not go unnoticed, no matter how cheaply it needs to be done.
The figures being bandied about in the press at the moment all point towards Hodgson having a transfer kitty in excess of £15m to spend, which may be somewhat buoyed by the departure of Yossi Benayoun to fierce rivals Chelsea for roughly £6m this week.
It was telling that in the press conference presenting Hodgson as the new Liverpool manager, that Chairman Martin Broughton pointed out that Hodgson’s qualities were what were needed in the current climate, and that he had been appointed ‘to steady the ship’ and it’s telling that he’s only been offered a two-year deal. He’s seen by most as a necessity for the problems that lay ahead for the club and his CV does show that he’s able to deal with the challenges that await him – namely uncertainty, unenviable odds and the ability to work within a budget.
This bring us to the issue of Joe Cole future, the mercurial winger capable of providing a spark out of nothing, something the Anfield outfit have long since sought after with numerous costly purchases to little or no lasting effect, with only really the departing Benayoun capable in this respect.
Cole labelled the reasons for his rather acrimonious departure from Chelsea as being ‘politically motivated’ and that it has nothing to do with manager Carlo Ancelotti or the fact that he had become a relatively peripheral figure since returning from injury under his tenure.
Man Utd have already, and rather surprisingly considering that Cole would seem to be a useful player to have about Old Trafford and is available on a free transfer, ruled themselves out of the running for his signature. Arsenal’s interest has been lukewarm and ‘Arry has done little but state on a number of occasions his strong interest, which to his credit he is at least following up now.
The assumption has always been made that Cole desires Champions League football above all else and that his wages demands are astronomical. The Champions League is obviously the pinnacle of European football and a place where any right minded player would wish to ply their trade, but please forgive me, it must be the cynic in me, but at the moment at least, Spurs have yet to fully qualify for the group stages and they may even have to negotiate a tricky tie to get to that stage before the champagne can truly be popped.
This would go some way to at least understanding the patience and unfamiliar fiscal prudence currently on display this summer down at White Hart Lane and whilst last season’s fourth place was a momentous achievement for the club, unless they finish it off, then all of last term’s hard work will have been undone and they will play their season out in the second-tier Europa League where Liverpool will find themselves next season.
One trump card that Spurs do possess is the fact that they are London-based and with a new sprog in tow, the likelihood of Cole being willing to uproot his family all the way to the North-West would present quite a bold move on more fronts than just a football one and a major stumbling block.
Liverpool do remain a big club despite their troubles, and the prospect of playing with the likes of Torres and Gerrard, should Hodgson be able to secure assurances of their loyalty to the club for the upcoming season, could be a deciding factor in Cole’s decision.
Like I conceded earlier, Spurs obviously remain the frontrunners and the fact that a reunion with Redknapp, the geographical location of the club and the fact that he’d be joining a growing team on the brink of Champions League football make them strong favourites and a salivating prospect for any footballer looking for a rebirth.
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But Hodgson will do well to follow up the rumours with some strong interest, for whilst it may be a long shot at the moment, it’s an avenue worth exploring and would go some way at least to showing the fans that whilst testing times undoubtedly lay ahead, Liverpool have not quite yet lost every semblance of ambition that they once possessed.
It would signal a statement of intent of sorts and would also be in keeping with the new manager’s intention that the club need to buy British for the future to keep in line with UEFA and Premiership rules – luckily for Hodgson, a deal for Cole presents a very real possibility and one that he’d be mad to ignore.
The mid-70s were a simpler, care free, less responsible time. Much so for me as I’d failed to be born yet, an excuse for irresponsibility which unfortunately doesn’t work nearly as well now. For those that had been however the joy of moustaches, the Nolan Sisters and football hooliganism awaited. Manchester United had been relegated, Brian Clough had spent 44 days at Leeds, Liverpool’s relentless era of dominance was about to begin and George Best had left English football to play for the Jewish Guild in apartheid South Africa for reasons absolutely no one understands even now. If you lived in America however, the glitz and glamour of swinging sixties football was coming to your shores in the form of the North American Soccer League.
The USA’s first attempt to lure the great and the good of World football to a succession of preposterously monikered clubs was in part a bizarre failure, but in part a surreal success, most notably in the caliber of stars it attracted. Johan Cruyff, Gerd Muller, George Best, Eusebio, Gordon Banks, Johan Neeskens, Alan Ball, Peter Beardsley, Geoff Hurst and many others graced the league during it’s 16 year tenure, and none more notably than at the New York Cosmos, where the likes of Carlos Alberto, Franz Beckenbauer and most famously Pele, spurred them on to five “Soccer Bowl” titles (though not all with that prestigious line up.)
Mostly due to Pele’s involvement, the Cosmos became a relatively famous name in football, playing to a regular crowd of over 45,000 at their peak in a strip designed by Ralph Lauren. However the success of the NASL never quite matched that of its flagship side. Whilst the Cosmos sold out Giants stadium’s 73,000 capacity for their 1978 championship victory, the league itself never averaged over 15,000. When the League collapsed in 1983, the Cosmos moved to the Indoor Leagues, but soon disbanded completely.
However general manager G.Peppe Pinton – who sounds like the kind of man that runs a malt liquor business and never takes his cowboy hat off – continued to run the club’s youth camps (which they’d begun in ‘77 as an attempt to move the side – and the league – away from it’s reliance on ageing foreign stars) and operated them under the Cosmos name. Despite several post MLS attempts by clubs in the New York area to resurrect the name – specifically by the MetroStars and Red Bulls, who are actually the same club, which is admittedly confusing, but the nature of American sports franchises – Pinton held fast and refused, believing they simply wouldn’t respect the legacy of the name. Or perhaps change it to something else at the behest of a soft drink peddler a season later.
In 2009 however, a ragtag group of English businessmen, which included Tottenham’s former vice Chairman, Liverpool’s former CEO and David Beckham’s personal manager and a former England masseuse, managed to secure the rights from Pinton with a view to resurrecting the club wholesale. In August 2010 Pele was announced as the club’s honorary president and the reboot was made official. To further strengthen the historical link his 70s Cosmos strike partner and NASL all time top scorer Giorgio Chinaglia was named as International ambassador, a role that might prove problematic for Chinaglia, considering he’s currently hiding out in the States from an Italian arrest warrant for fiddling Lazio shares.
Fast-forward six months and nothing much had emerged from camp Cosmos. Until Wednesday that is, when in the true spirit of their original galactico incarnation, they appointed Eric Cantona as Director of Soccer in a blaze of slightly ironic publicity, and announced their goal to enter the MLS in 2013 (the earliest a new franchise – which would be the 20th – could potentially join under MLS rules.)
King Eric’s return to football has long been heralded by the kind of idiotic fans who think the playing traits of their former heroes are in any way indicative of their managerial skills, but the man himself has always been rather aloof on the subject. Cantona retired in 1997 to spend more time pondering existential matters with a beard and occasionally popping up in films but said recently that it’d need something “extraordinary” to rekindle his love for the game. Putting aside all my deeply cynical instincts, it’s possible that this could be it. In his statement on the club website – aside a gloriously regal picture of him posing gallicaly on a throne – he’s claimed the opportunity presents itself as a “kind of mix between football and art” and a “wonderful project…beautifully made.” He continues by saying that “In addition to my artistic engagements, I will do everything that I can to help us find our way to regain the number 1 position in the United States, and then for us to become one of the best clubs in the world over the coming years.”
Despite the rather obvious comic potential of his closing argument, one does tend to wonder what these “artistic engagements” may be. Have they promised to let him re-design the club logo? Will he be painting player portraits? Is he going to be making some kind of surrealist avant garde documentary film on the nature of resurrection to be played in an as yet to be built cubist club museum? Who knows, but part of his remit does include player recruitment, so this grande projet d’art most likely consists of his assembly of the world’s most beautiful football team, which knowing Cantona may well extend to a few ballerinas, circus gymnasts and experimental performance artists to boot.
So this is how the Cosmos have re-introduced themselves to the 21st century, as a galactico team with a legacy. There are even rumblings that Beckham himself, free from his Galaxy contract by 2012, will join the circus that already includes his personal manager and boyhood mentor. Florentino Perez would be proud. But would G. Peppe Pinton? Ironically the one thing the Cosmos were trying to distance themselves from at the time of their extinction is the one thing that’s brought them back.
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If King Eric can learn anything from his time at Manchester United, it’s how well the kids who grew up around him looked after the house after he’d gone, and how well they continue to – in the form of Giggs and Scholes – two decades later. He, and they, and we should hope, for the sake of the Cosmos themselves, and any hope they have of standing the test of time as a lasting brand, let alone one of the “biggest clubs in the world”, that there’s more Pinton than Perez in the resurrection of this once iconic club.
You can follow Oscar on Twitter here http://twitter.com/oscarpyejeary where you can claim to have known him before he becomes rich and famous ….and then claim to have known him when he was rich and famous before he becomes bloated, big headed, drug addled and washed up….And then you can throw stuff at him and say “you’ve changed man”
England has failed to provide a single player on the 23-man shortlist for this year's FIFA's Ballon d'Or award.
Spain's World Cup winning squad dominates the list of nominees, with Barcelona quartet Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Carles Puyol and David Villa headlining their seven entrants.
Three Premier League players in Sunderland's Ghana international Asamoah Gyan, Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba of Chelsea and Arsenal's Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas are in the running.
However, there are no English players on a shortlist which will be whittled down to just three candidates next month.
FIFA's Ballon d'Or award is a new combination of the traditional France Football magazine Ballon d'Or accolade and its World Player of the Year award.
Barcelona and Argentina star Lionel Messi currently holds both following a glittering last 12 months.
He alongside the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid and Internazionale's Wesley Sneijder are the frontrunners for this year's prize.
Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho headlines the candidates for the inaugural World Coach of the Year award after guiding Inter to Champions League glory last season.
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World Player of the Year nominees: Xabi Alonso (Spain), Daniel Alves (Brazil), Iker Casillas (Spain), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast), Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon), Cesc Fabregas (Spain), Diego Forlan (Uruguay), Asamoah Gyan (Ghana), Andres Iniesta (Spain), Julio Cesar (Brazil), Miroslav Klose (Germany), Philipp Lahm (Germany), Maicon (Brazil), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Thomas Muller (Germany), Mesut Ozil (Germany), Carles Puyol (Spain), Arjen Robben (Holland), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany), Wesley Sneijder (Holland), David Villa (Spain) and Xavi (Spain).
World Coach of the Year nominees: Carlo Ancelotti (Chelsea), Vicente del Bosque (Spain), Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United), Pep Guardiola (Barcelona), Joachim Low (Germany), Jose Mourinho (Inter Milan/Real Madrid), Oscar Tabarez (Uruguay), Louis Van Gaal (Bayern Munich), Bert van Marwijk (Holland) and Arsene Wenger (Arsenal).Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Chelsea playmaker Juan Mata has thanked Andre Villas-Boas for all his help after the Portuguese coach was dismissed as the club’s manager on Sunday.
With The Blues sitting in fifth place and risking missing out on Champions League football for next season, Roman Abramovich gave the 34-year-old the axe.
Mata was one of Villas-Boas’ signings at Stamford Bridge, and the Spaniard was quick to wish his former boss the best of luck in the future.
“It hasn’t been an easy day for those who, like me, are part of Chelsea,” he stated on Facebook.
“I would like to thank the manager and wish him luck. We have to keep working hard and better days will come. Thanks for your support,” he commented.
Roberto Di Matteo is set to assume control of the team to the end of the season before a new permanent boss is appointed, and former Blues assistant manager Ray Wilkins feels this is the right move.
“Di Matteo has managed in the Premier League, he’s been around quite a while and I would say it’s probably better Robbie takes over until the end of the season than somebody coming in until the end of the year,” he told Sky Sports.
“Robbie’s the right guy to do it, along with (first-team coach) Steve Holland, that would be the perfect match. We’ll see where they go at the end of the season.”
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Rafael Benitez has emerged as the favourite to succeed Villas-Boas, but there have also been links with Pep Guardiola, Harry Redknapp and former boss Jose Mourinho.
Newcastle carried on their impressive start to the Premier League season with a comprehensive 3-1 victory at St James’ Park.
Demba Ba was the hero with a hat-trick in what was a relatively comfortable afternoon for Alan Pardew’s men as Blackburn rarely threatened to upset the Magpies throughout.
Steve Kean went into this game confident after last week’s impressive victory at Ewood Park, however his Rovers side never got going and their defence was the victim of their own downfall. Demba Ba time after time found himself with acres of space in and around the area and the Senegal striker could have added a few more to his name this afternoon.
The first came via a run by Leon Best who centred for Ba who spun round and smashed it past Robinson. The Rovers defence was in generous mood and when they failed to clear Steven Taylor’s headed centre Ba got ahead of the flapping Rovers keeper. Hoilett gave Blackburn a lifeline against the run of play, but the result never seemed in doubt given the dominance of the home side.
The second half was played out in much the same vein and Demba Ba finally completed his hat trick after more sloppy play in the Rovers backline. Alan Pardew was disappointed that Newcastle didn’t make their dominance pay with more goals, although I am sure he is secretly delighted at the result and the performance of his Magpies side.
Are you in the money tonight? Have you become a millionaire? The Results are in…
Dark, ominous clouds have become a permanent fixture at Villa Park in recent times, as evident from the club’s recent kit launch. The aftermath of Martin O’Neill’s resignation coupled with huge financial losses and the departure of key players has seen the club plummet towards the foot of the table. Even the appointment of promising manager Paul Lambert has failed to lift the spirits of fans still reeling from the soul-destroying reign of Alex McLeish.
The recent activity from the summer transfer window offered more questions than answers, as the club steered clear of experienced Premier League professionals and instead decided to supplement their already significant number of promising youngsters. However, the return of striker Gabriel Agbonlahor – without wanting to endorse an overused cliché – will feel like a new signing.
Agbonlahor can no longer hide behind his tag as ‘a star in the making’, instead the onus will be on the 25-year-old to act as a talisman as Lambert begins his rejuvenation process. Incredibly, this will be his eighth season as a member of the Villans first-team but few could argue that he has reached his full potential. His lightning speed is his best and sometimes only positive attribute, with many supporters acknowledging that a vast improvement is needed if he is to torment the league’s best defenders.
In recent weeks, the former England international has voiced his desire to play a central role in the heart of Villa’s attack. In order to fashion these claims into a reality he must first match or perhaps better the strike-rate of team-mate Darren Bent, a tall order for a player who struggles to nudge his goal tally into double figures. Furthermore he will have to fend off the challenge of Andreas Weimann and new signing Jordan Bowery, who have replaced Agbonlahor as the talented youngsters trying to infiltrate the starting XI.
The fortunes of Aston Villa will rely heavily on Lambert’s ability to coax the very best out of his players, especially as the squad is littered with individuals desperately clinging onto former glories or struggling to fulfil their much-publicised promise. The former Norwich manager is also renowned for his love of big, burly target men as evident from his affection towards Grant Holt and Steve Morison. This may also highlight why he decided to spend £7m on Genk’s 6 foot 6 inch behemoth Christian Benteke on transfer deadline day.
Whereas Darren Bent harbours the capability to be deployed as a lone striker, I can’t see Agbonlahor effectively shielding the ball away from the physically more dominant defenders. Despite his reluctance to do so, he may have to give up the limelight and begin reinventing himself as winger who can also operate as an inside forward. He may currently lack the creative flair to conjure up an inch perfect cross but his pace and trickery is far more likely to be effective up against a lone full-back. It’s no secret that Villa have failed to replace the attacking wide players of Ashley Young or Stewart Downing and even with the emergence of Marc Albrighton, there is still a vacant role on the flanks waiting to be filled.
If Agbonlahor is gifted his chance to operate as Villa’s fixed point of attack, he must reproduce the sort of displays that previously raised fans to their feet. If his shooting boots desert him then he must continue to hound the opposition with tenacious displays, even if it means letting someone else hog all the goal-scoring headlines. In the absence of Stilian Petrov, the club has lost its influential leader and who better to take up the mantle than a local lad and lifelong fan of the club.
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I still believe there’s a world-class footballer desperate to break free from within Gabriel Agbonlahor; I just hope this is the season we finally get to see him.
Stoke defender Andy Wilkinson has been charged with violent conduct by the Football Association following an incident with Manchester City’s Mario Balotelli.
Wilkinson is alleged to have elbowed Balotelli during Stoke’s 1-1 draw with champions Manchester City at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday. The incident was missed by the match officials, but after reviewing television footage the FA has decided to charge Wilkinson, who has until 6pm on Wednesday to respond to the charge.
If he is found guilty Wilkinson is likely to be handed a three-match ban. The FA’s statement read:
“Stoke City’s Andy Wilkinson has been charged by The FA with violent conduct following an incident in his side’s game against Manchester City on Saturday 15 September 2012.
“Wilkinson was involved in an incident with City’s Mario Balotelli, which was not seen by the match officials but caught on video. Wilkinson has until 6pm on Wednesday 19 September 2012 to respond to the charge.”
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Stoke face a tough fixture at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, and Tony Pulis will need his defenders fully focused against an in form Chelsea side.
Liverpool and Stoke played out a 0-0 draw at Anfield on Sunday.
Neither side could break the deadlock, with the visitors putting in a stern defensive display to deny Brendan Rodgers’ men.
Stoke boss Tony Pulis criticised Reds forward Luis Suarez after the game for what he perceived as a dive by the Uruguayan international in an attempt to win a penalty.
“You have got Suarez falling over in the box second half which was really, really disappointing,” Pulis told Sky Sports.
“I think that should be highlighted, as I have said before.”
However, the Potters’ trainer did praise Glen Johnson for his attitude and reaction to a Jonathan Walters challenge.
“There was a challenge in the first half in front of us, Jon Walters and Glen Johnson both went up for a header, it was a proper old-fashioned challenge.
“Glen Johnson did absolutely fantastic, just bounced back up on got with the game, it was a proper, proper challenge.
“I went over to him and said ‘well done, brilliant’ – not only did he play exceptionally well but his behaviour was fabulous,” Pulis concluded.
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The result leaves Liverpool with one solitary win this season, down in 14th place.