Manchester United's wing sensation Nani has declared his disappointment after being excluded from the PFA Players' Player of the Year shortlist. The young Portuguese was baffled by the snub, and said his petulance, diving, and feigning injury should have had absolutely no effect on his fellow professionals including him in the shortlist. -- (Daily Mail)
Former Blackburn Rovers boss Sam Allardyce has claimed the club would not be in a relegation fight had he not been sacked by owners Venky's in December. Sources at Blackburn agreed, saying they believe Allardyce was referring to the fact he would have already had the club relegated by now. -- (Daily Mail)
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti insists he isn't afraid of dropping £50m flop Fernando Torress and risking the wrath of Roman Abramovich. The former AC Milan boss revealed that even though Abramovich picks the team, he's the one who hands in the final lineup to Premier League officials before the game. -- (Daily Mirror)
Arsenal supporters have reacted angrily to the news that American tycoon Stan Kroenke will launch a takeover of the club after purchasing a further 32% of the club's shares. The Arsenal Supporters Trust has urged its members to resist any potential offers to prevent Kroenke from single-handedly making the club competitive by injecting cash for high profile, quality signings in the summer. -- (Telegraph)
Under-pressure Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini will allow striker Emmanuel Adebayor to make his loan move to Real Madrid permanent in the summer. The defensive-minded Italian tactician insists City don't need a commanding striker who has the ability to score goals and win games. -- (The Sun)
Newcastle United are preparing an ambitious £19.2m bid for Anderlecht's 17-year-old wonderkid Romelu Lukaku, with first team boss Alan Pardew admitting the club's scouting network had unearthed the gem on Football Manager. Pardew said: "They signed him last week, and so far he looks good." -- (Metro)
Sunderland have revealed they are being sued by one of their own fans who was knocked unconscious by a wayward strike from former player Djibril Cisse during a 2008 training session. The Sunderland legal team will claim the fan was negligent and knew he was taking his life into his own hands by standing 30 yards to the left of the goal when Cisse was practicing shooting. -- (Metro)
England manager Fabio Capello plans to risk the wrath of the Wembley faithful by sending out a team of reserves to face Ghana on Tuesday. Capello insists he will keep the regulars on the bench in reserve for when the regular reserves flounder against the World Cup quarterfinalists. -- (Daily Mail)
Arsenal wonderkid Aaaron Ramsey will resign as Wales captain as early as next week, citing a consensus in the press that his lack of experience, and not the inept tactical gameplan laid out by Welsh manager Gary Speed, caused the team to lose 2-0 against England on Saturday. -- (Daily Mirror)
Wayne Rooney has hit out at the England coaching staff for not reminding him he was on a yellow card before Saturday's game in Wales. Rooney claimed he had "no idea" he had picked up a yellow card earlier in the campaign, and that he "shouldn't have to care" about being booked for petulant challenges. -- (Daily Star)
Disgruntled Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho has ruled out future move to manage Manchester United by saying he would require at least a £20 million salary and a transfer budget in excess of £150 million if he were to return to England. United would only be able to offer a transfer budget of that size by selling their entire first team squad and Old Trafford. -- (Daily Express)
Blackburn manager Steve Kean is keen on bringing Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy back to the Premier League, but the move could be scuppered by Hamburg's asking price for the player. The former PSV hitman has been shopped around on a free transfer, a price much too low to meet Blackburn owners Venky's demands for a headline-grabbing, big money signing. -- (The Guardian)
Manchester United's glass midfielder Owen Hargreaves fears he will be out for the remainder of the season after suffering a shoulder injury in training. The club's medical staff hopes the former England international will be fit in time for the start of the 2013-2014 Premier League season. -- (Daily Mail)
Aston Villa's American goalkeeper Brad Friedel has denied media claims of a player revolt against under-fire manager Gerard Houllier by insisting the Villa players will stand by their manager until he's sacked at the end of the season. -- (Telegraph)
Blackburn owners and poultry magnates Venky's have cried fowl and started looking for a way to demote manager Steve Kean to his old role as first team coach. They claim the vegetarian Scotsman doesn't have the game to move the club forward in the pressure-cooker of the Premier League. -- (News of the World)
New York Red Bulls playmaker Thierry Henry is itching to return to Arsenal sooner rather than later. The 33-year-old former talisman says that even though he's French, he's still capable of outworking Danish flop Nicklas Bendtner. -- (The Sun)
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has admitted that despite wild child Mario Balotelli not listening to him, he'll keep playing the Italian wonderkid as long as he keeps contributing nothing to the team apart from the odd spectacular goal. -- (The Telegraph)
Injury-ravaged England and Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves is set to be offered a new contract in the summer by manager Alex Ferguson after the United boss confirmed he only wants aging, overrated England players patrolling the center of his midfield for the foreseeable future. -- (Daily Mirror)
Ivory Coast star Yaya Toure has leapt to the defence of his brother Kolo after the elder Toure tested positive during a recent drugs test. The Manchester City powerhouse insisted Kolo was sane, and only under the influence of Roberto Mancini's positive tactics. -- (The Sun)
Aston Villa boss Gerard Houllier has defended fielding a reserve team against Manchester City in the FA Cup, claiming his reserves stood a better chance of winning at a near empty Eastlands because they have drubbed the first eleven in several recent games played behind closed doors. -- (Daily Express)
Birmingham's makeshift left back Liam Ridgewell has stressed the value of inspirational DVDs and motivational speakers, claiming the Goal! football film series and a half time pep talk from international lecturer Bear Grylls helped the Blues beat Arsenal in the League Cup final at Wembley. -- (Daily Mirror)
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson is considering a shock summer move
for fan favorite and Manchester City playmaker Carlos Tevez after admitting he
"got it wrong" -- sending sinful striker Wayne Rooney in the opposite direction. --
(Daily Mail)
Blackburn have scoffed at Manchester City's £40m asking price for
mercurial Paraguayan Roque Santa Cruz, with owners Venky's Limited insisting
they won't waste more than half that figure on the injury-prone forward. -- (Daily
Mirror)
Harry Redknapp insists Tottenham Hotspur's failure to secure the riches of
Champions League qualification next season wouldn't detract him from bringing in
at least "ten or twelve" new attacking midfielders this summer. -- (Daily Express)
Manchester United will raid Everton's youth system in the summer with dual
multi-million pound bids for promising midfielders Jack Rodwell and Dan Gosling after giving up hope
of developing their own future England internationals. -- (Daily Mail)
Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas has moved one step closer to joining
Barcelona by thanking them for their second half collapse during the UEFA
Champions League round of 16 tie. It is believed the extra revenue will allow
the Gunners to lower their asking price for the £50m-rated Spanish midfielder. --
(The Sun)
Fernando Torres is hoping to move back to Liverpool when the transfer
window opens in July after failing to settle in rainy, English-speaking west
London. -- (Liverpool Echo)
Newcastle United talisman Joey Barton has planned to engineer a move to
Aston Villa in order to increase his chances for an England call up after a text
message from new Villa signing Darren Bent convinced him Fabio Capello doesn't
believe English players playing in Tyne and Wear are actually English. --
(Guardian)
