(Image from here)First off, look how The Times link us to the story:
We think back to other young men who have landed in England: Nicolas Anelka, for whom Arsenal paid Paris Saint-Germain £500,000 (and received £23million from Real Madrid); Fàbregas (goodness knows the profit Arsène Wenger could make on him); and Federico Macheda, the Manchester United striker who, at 17, came on as a substitute to score the winner against Aston Villa at Old Trafford towards the end of last season.
Macheda, a Roman, came through the Lazio ranks but could move to Manchester, where his father has been given a job, at 16, because Italian clubs are not allowed to tie players to contracts until they are 18. The Lazio president, Claudio Lotito, complained that the system was unfair and he will not be alone in applauding any effort by the international governing bodies to ensure more fairness, or at least order. So ignore the spin. Mistrust the paranoia. This is the game trying to put something right.
Manchester United could be the second of the Barclays Premier League's “big four” to be hit by a transfer ban after Le Havre confirmed yesterday that they are pursuing a “very similar” case to that won by Lens against Chelsea.
Alain Belsoeur, the managing director of Le Havre, told The Times that the outcome of the Chelsea hearing was “very important and very encouraging” as they seek Fifa sanctions against United for allegedly “stealing” Paul Pogba, the teenage prodigy.
Le Havre insist that Pogba was under contract to them when he left for United this summer. They claim to have a pre-contract agreement signed by the player - and witnessed by his parents - in November 2006 that committed him to a professional contract from his 16th birthday, in March. Instead, the player allegedly walked away and turned up at Old Trafford.
Our response, the same as last time this was reported:
United have strenuously denied that they made any payments or have done anything against the rules. “It is complete nonsense,” a spokesman said. “Everything has been done within Uefa guidelines.”
But the article continues, open season on the too-big-for-their-boots-premiership-clubs:
Belsoeur said that many clubs in Europe would be delighted at the punishment against Chelsea because they were fed up with rich Premier League clubs poaching the best young talent. “We are not the only club who have had players stolen,” Belsoeur said.
“The reputation of British clubs is that they don't produce many players for their national team but take them away from foreign countries. We hope this [Fifa's ruling] will change the behaviour of English clubs, but we will have to see.”
On a lighter note, The Mail for some reason claim their same story, with the the same quotes is an exclusive. Not sure what their definition of exclusive is...
Elsewhere, Rooney quotes on not diving receive attention:
“I think everyone who watches me play knows I am an honest player who tries to be as honest as they can,” Rooney said. “The ball got played through, I got on the end of it and got contact with the ball and then I got contact [from Almunia], which knocked me off balance. The referee saw it as a penalty.”
Asked whether he had ever dived, Rooney replied: “On holiday, yeah. No, I have never intentionally tried to dive. There have been times when I've stayed on my feet and tried to shoot rather than going down. I don't think it is fair for players to dive and try and cheat the other team.”
"I don't feel I can express myself and impact on a game as much as I can up front," he said. "On the left it is difficult getting up and down the pitch all game."Capello needed to save Rooney from his own diligence. The player talks admiringly of the Italian as "a fearsome man" and admits he gets "shouted at" if he starts drifting towards his own centre-backs. Rooney also gets ticked off if such lapses occur in practice sessions. "Even in training you could be on the video later for mistakes," he said.
The ravenous appetite for possession is one of the traits that makes Rooney a formidable player, but it is also a weakness when he roams into dead areas. Ten of his 24 goals for England have come in a rush since September of last year and all but two were delivered while the target man Emile Heskey was in the starting line-up.
"He's ideal for me to play with because he gives me the freedom to get on the ball and get into good positions," Rooney said of the Aston Villa attacker. Although he has never been a poacher, Rooney, at 23, seems to have ample time left to beat Sir Bobby Charlton's England record of 49 goals.
A club comment on those Wenger chants:
Philip Townsend, the director of communications at Old Trafford, said: "We have gone on the record – several times – about this disgusting chant. We don't condone it and have appealed to fans several times in the past – through supporters' groups, the matchday programme and MUTV, but to no avail. There are many chants that opposing fans find objectionable, and this is certainly one to which all decent supporters should object."
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