EPL, Premiership, English Premier League

Nikolai Shpilevski, Hleb’s agent, has stated that the Belarus International is already holding talks with another club. “I can officially confirm that a short time ago Alexander decided that he will leave Arsenal and join another club. Of course, Arsenal and Arsene wanted him to stay but they have accepted the player’s choice”. Hleb has been playing with Arsenal for the past 3 years. He transferred from Stuttgart in 2005 for €11.2 million but has not settled down in London. “I can’t tell you anything about where he will be playing yet. Talks are under way, and I don’t have the right to make them public. I think that the issue of his new club will be clarified in the next few days” said his agent.

Arsenal recently lost defensive midfielder Mathieu Flamini and now they’ve lost attacking midfielder Hleb. Hleb and Flamini have both been part of Arsenal’s midfield for some time and losing both will severely impair with the development of Arsenal’s team. Wenger will have to find new starting midfielders to take their places as well. “Alex has spent three good seasons at Arsenal and he wasn’t sure he could maintain the same level that he has been showing if he stayed. It’s also true that he felt uncomfortable off the field. Alexander wants a change of scene. That’s had a large part to play in his decision.”

By the end of the 2007/2008 season Bolton barely avoided relegation by only one point. After Bolton’s miserable season, it seems like several players feel like they no longer belong with Bolton and have decided to leave. Three of the clubs midfielders including Andranik Teymourian, Stelios Giannakopoulos, and Ivan Campo have left. “Ivan, Stelios and Andranik have all done well for Bolton Wanderers and I’d like to express my gratitude to them. It’s time for them to move on and I wish them all the best.” said the Bolton manager Gary Megson.

Not only that but Jussi Jaaskalanen and Ricardo Gardner’s contracts will be expiring at the end of June; Megson, of course will be trying to stem the tide of fleeing players who sense the danger of relegation. “Jussi and Ricardo have both been excellent servants and are still very much part of my future plans for this football club. Hopefully, we can get them secured on new deals as soon as possible.” said Megson.

Chelsea has agreed to sign Portugese International Jose Bosingwa from FC Porto; however, he still has to agree with the personal terms of the contract. Bosingwa joined FC Porto in 2003 and played under Jose Morinho and has been considered by Chelsea for signing for the past few seasons. “Chelsea can confirm it has reached agreement with FC Porto for the transfer of Jose Bosingwa. The player is now in England to discuss personal terms and undergo a medical.” Bosingwa can play either as a right fullback or less frequently as a winger. He will likely sign a 5 year contract for about €16 million. Chelsea already has several competing defenders for the position including Julian Belletti, Michael Essien, and Paula Ferreira (who recently signed a 5 year deal). United have stated their interest in Bosingwa who would replace Gary Neville as an attack minded defender. 25 year old Bosingwa is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo in Kinshasa; however, he moved to central Portugal (Seia) when young and played for Boavista in midfield and later played for FC Porto, he will be playing for Portugal in Euro 2008.

The last few games of the season ended with Manchester United obtaining their 10th League Title. United played Wigan who were at home; some wondered if Heskey could once again cause an upset as e did against Chelsea. Ronaldo scored a penalty kick in the 33rd minute (his 31st EPL goal) and Giggs scored in the 80th minute (his 758th appearance for United). United enjoyed 67% of possession. Chelsea needed to win their own game and have United to lose or tie their game; in the end Chelsea was unable to get the win against Bolton, who they tied 1-1. United obtained the League Title by 2 points with 87, Chelsea had 85, Arsenal 83.

Other struggles were underway on the last day of games in the EPL; Tottenham had the opportunity to reach 10th place in the upper half of the League Table. Tottenham had 46 points in 11th place and West Ham had 48 points in 10th place. Both teams were fighting to earn an extra €720,000 in extra merit payment from the League. Tottenham were unable to secure the coveted upper tier table position because they lost to Liverpool 2-1 with Torres scoring his 33rd goal in all competitions. Benitez was proud of Fernando and exclaimed how his prolific scoring justified his approximately €20 million cost. “Always when you sign a player you do not know if he will settle down and how he will do in the Premier League, but Torres is a young player who is hungry and wanted to do well. Sometimes you sign a player for a free transfer and people say he is bad signing. Then other times you can sign a player for a lot of money and he does well and everyone is happy, so lucky for us he is a good signing. He is one of the best strikers in the Premier League and is the best for us. We had spoken about the record. After the last game he said he wanted to play in this one and score here.” West Ham managed to tie Aston Villa (who were fighting for a position in the UEFA Cup, they needed Everton to lose against Newcastle, however Newcastle lost 3-1) 2-2 in an exciting game with multiple great goals by Nolberto Solano, Dean Ashton, and Ashley Young. The extra money will certainly bolster West Ham for the coming season and transfer season.

For Liverpool this season has been a disappointment, despite all of Torres’ goals they were unable to produce any Trophies. “Torres, he was terrific at scoring and 76 points is a good total for us. There are a lot of positive things from this season, but the most important thing is we did not win a trophy. Our idea is to finish as high up as possible and to win trophies was a priority, but we know this season has been very difficult for us. We are working hard to improve the squad. Throughout the whole season we are watching players and trying to sign the players we need. We want to sign the best players as soon as possible and I think we will get investment from the owners, so we can go forward. Some of the players here are under contract and they are our players and we are waiting now to see if clubs are interested in them.” In the meantime we can certainly expect Peter Crouch to leave Liverpool, he wasn’t even on the bench and hasn’t played very many games this season. At least they finished with a win beating the Spurs 2-0.

In the meantime Fulham was fighting to stay in the Premier League. Reading and Fulham were both tied at 33 points (Fulham had them beat with on goal differential by 3). Fulham played Portsmouth, and Reading played Derby. Reading managed to destroy Derby (probably the worst team to ever play in the EPL) 4-0, and they would have stayed in the EPL if Fulham had lost or tied their game. Unfortunately for Reading, Fulham managed to win the game 1-0 with a season winning header by Danny Murphy.

Birmingham succeeded in winning against Blackburn 4-1 while at home; it mattered little because both Fulham and Reading won their games forcing Birmingham into relegation. However, if either Fulham or Reading had lost their games Birmingham could have stayed in the Premier League.

Sven-Goran Eriksson ended his season in humiliation as Manchester City lost a stunning 8-1 against Middlesbrough. “You can use whatever word you want and I would probably agree.” said Eriksson. “It started badly when Benjani was injured after just a couple of minutes. A little bit later penalty and a red card for our captain. I don’t think he (Dunne) tried to foul him. I think they crossed but it is difficult to be the ref in this case. It was a collision and it was the wrong place. I don’t think the ball has gone to the striker, it has gone straight to Isaksson but I think the referee maybe must send him off in a place like that.” Alfonso Alves scored 3 goals, Stewart Downing scored 2 (one off a penalty where Richard Dunne received a red card for a foul in the box in the 15th minute).

English International Peter Crouch has been unsatisfied with the minute role he’s been allowed to play at Liverpool. “When all is said and done, I don’t think I can have another season like this year where I’ve started nine Premier League games. Out of a 38-game league season, nine games is not the amount you want to be playing.”

In the most recent game against Fulham Benitez didn’t even play Crouch though he made 5 changes on the starting lineup making one think that he’s trying to discourage Crouch from staying. “I’ll have to speak to the manager and see what his plans are. I need to see him and sort things out. I have to find out what he wants from me next season and whether or not I can continue with that. In some ways, I want to feel wanted. So I’d like to speak to the manager and the club before I commit to anything and know whether or not I’ll be here next year. It’s always nice to know that if things did go completely wrong for me at Liverpool, I’d have options to go somewhere else and it’s not the end of the world if things don’t work out for me there.”

French International Mathieu Flamini has agreed to sign a contract to stay at AC Milan until 2012. For over 3 seasons Flamini has been drifting in and out of the starting lineup until this season where he started consistently over Gilberto Silva. Arsene Wenger will be disappointed with the loss but isn’t the first manager to be disappointed with Flamini leaving abruptly. Marseille coach Jose Anigo described Flamini as “He’s a traitor - this is a beautiful treason” when Flamini left Marseille for Arsenal despite agreeing to initial terms at Marseille for a contract renewal.

The 24 year old had been playing at Arsenal in midfield with 39 starts this season and 3 goals. The switch is somewhat intriguing since Flamini will have to battle with Kaka, Gattuso, Massimo Ambrosini, and Andrea Pirlo for a midfield position. In the meantime Wenger will have to look for a replacement who can work well with Hleb. Why Flamini would leave now that he has finally beat Gilberto out as a starting player is interesting. If Hleb leaves, which is a possibility, since Inter Milan has reportedly been interested in him then Wenger will really be scrambling. Arsenal is really turning into a new team with the old timers disappearing; Jens Lehman made his last appearance at Arsenal against Everton. “I had one or two tears in my eyes at the end. The club and the supporters will always stay in my heart.”

Eriksson has been informed by Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra that he is “not the right man for the job”. Shinawatra is the former President of Thailand; he was President until 2006 when a military coup ousted him from power. While he is said to have reduced the amount of corruption in Thailand he was still accused of embezzling money and engaging in corruption.

Ever since the turn of the year Manchester City has lost their form; when Eriksson informed his players about the decision the players were outraged. “I think it is crazy that his job is even being talked about as being in danger - he has been good for everyone at City” said City defender Micah Richards. Thai billionaire Shinawatra decided upon the move when City lost to Fulham 3-2 after having a 2 goal lead. After the game Shinawatra told Eriksson who “Reacted calmly, as usual, but he was very surprised and disappointed. He doesn’t want to leave the club and will not resign. He loves working with the players and his work at Manchester City has only just begun.” He will be in charge of the last 2 away games against Liverpool (which they just lost 1-0) and Middlesbrough according to a City spokesman though no comment was made about what would happen during the summer.

Erikson’s assistant Tord Grip said: “We will be here for the two last matches. They probably think that we haven’t done a good enough job. Sven will receive new offers soon I’m sure.” Erickson took over City 5 weeks before the season; in November they held 3rd place; however, since Christmas they have failed to produce results and have fallen to 9th having won only 4 of their past 15 games. “The team has not been playing as well as it should have or getting the right results since Christmas. But overall it has been a good season. Thaksin agreed a five-year plan with Sven in the summer and the target for the first year was to finish in the top 10.”

Thaksin signed 8 new player during the summer for £46m shortly after buying the club. However, he has had little contact with Eriskon. They met several times personally at the start of the season and then nothing. Sven has had a list of players he wants to sign next summer for several weeks, but he hasn’t been able to get the go-ahead to get them. He talks to Alistair Macintosh (City chief executive), but things break down when he then goes to the chairman”. With Eriksson going out the door City will have to get a new manager; as of now, Portugese Luiz Felipe Scolari may in serious consideration. We can expect the new manager to be able to buy a lot of new players with Thaksin determined to have Manchester City playing in the Champions League in the next two years. The Thai billionaire is currently involved in a lawsuit in Thailand with hundreds of millions of pounds currently frozen; however, he expects to be able to use them by the summer.

Liverpool midfielder John Arne Riise gave Chelsea the advantage in this game with a last minute own goal against Liverpool. Dirk Kuyt scored in the 43rd minute in a scrappy mess that described the entire game. Petr Cech did have to produce multiple fine saves to deny Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres. 5 minutes into overtime Salomon Kalou quickly crossed the ball; it bounced into the 6 yard box in front of Riise. Riise had the opportunity to kick the ball but for some absurd reason decided to try to head the ball out, instead it quickly shot past the Liverpool keeper. Riise certainly needed to clear the ball as Drogba was right behind him and certainly would have put it in but his absurd header cost Liverpool dearly. Liverpool had the lead for over 45 minutes and were looking to get away with a game at home without giving out ‘away’ points for Chelsea until the ridiculous clearance. It could cost Liverpool dearly, momentum will certainly be for Chelsea as they are playing at home with the away goal advantage.

United decided it was an appropriate time to renew its contracts with Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, and Wes Brown. Brown is 28 years old, Carrick 26, and Ferdinand 29.

“They have agreed to new deals. It continues our policy of lengthening contracts at the right time.” said Ferdinand, “We have a strong squad already and this just keeps it going. And I would imagine there is a good possibility of stocking up again in the summer. The strong squad we have built has aided us this season and this latest bit of business is definitely good news.” The details of the contracts have not been revealed; however, Pini Zahavi (Ferdinand’s agent) said his deal would last 5 years (and is suspected to be worth €130,000 a week).

Wes Brown has become instrumental in the United defense ever since Gary Neville got injured. “There’s no other club for Wes Brown. He’s a Manchester player. We were always quietly confident he would sign.” Wes Brown’s deal would have ended this summer; negotiations over his contract were difficult. “Players of today live in their agents’ pockets - it’s a situation which really depresses me. It’s in his hands. It’s not in our hands. We wouldn’t have made the offer if we hadn’t had faith in him.” Paul Martin (Browns agent), advised him not to settle for less than €50,000 a week. “Wes knows this and the other players have told him. Wes has been with us since he was 12 but I don’t think that matters these days. Their agents live their lives for them and if you are happy to go along with that then you get the situation that you have got just now.”

“We have given him his offer. It’s amazing really, given that he has had such a good season and has had such a good run of games while Gary has been injured.

Carrick seemed enthused with the recent contracts. “Talks have been going on for a while now. Things have been falling into place for me here and it is nice to know the club reward you for that.” He joined United in 2006 for a transfer fee of €18.6 million; Carrick was previously playing with Tottenham who obtained him from West Ham for €2.75 million. “Once I heard United were involved in trying to sign me I wanted to come, simple as that. It’s a terrific club and I just wanted to come and improve my game, achieve things and win trophies. I felt I couldn’t turn it down. This is a football decision, a decision not driven by money.”

“He’s a very, very good passer of the ball,” said Ferguson. “The good thing is he’s been playing English football. He went into a West Ham team very young and most players who come through West Ham get a good education.”

Chelsea could be out of the title race as they recently tied Wigan 1-1 at Stamford Bridge. They needed the win to compete with Manchester United for the League Title. Chelsea should have been ahead in the 5th minute when Salomon Kalou crossed the ball to Nicolas Anelka, who headed the ball wide. Minutes later, Essien provided a great through ball to Anelka but Wigan’s keeper Chris Kirkland quickly picked it up. Wigan fired back in the 19th minute with a back heel pass from Palacios Valencia who shot near post; Cech proved that even with his handicap (he received 50 stitches due to a collision with Tal Ben-Haim during practice and wore a protective mask during the game, Cudicini was out with a hamstring injury) he could produce fine saves.

While Chelsea was unimpressive in their game play they still pressured Wigan consistently until in the 55th minute Cole crossed the ball to Anelka who neatly gave it to Essien who capitalized. Cole’s presence was felt the moment he came in at half-time replacing Malouda. Cole almost scored again minutes later but missed by a few inches on a fierce shot. Unfortunately for Chelsea, Emile Heskey volleyed the ball into Chelsea’s goal in the 90th minute leaving them no time for vengeance.

Avram Grant was optimist that multiple wins could give Chelsea the edge. “Pressure can affect anybody. It can take you forward in a positive way but also you can see that even big players under pressure cannot play like they used to. It can be any team, any player. If we win every game I think we will win the title. But it’s not easy to win all the games. I said a week ago I didn’t believe Man United and Arsenal would do it, it’s not easy. I can’t say we are the best in England but I don’t think there is a team stronger than us. I will not say we are the best in the world, even though we want to be, but I can say when we have all our players I don’t see a team stronger than us.”

“I have told the players it has been a very difficult year and I don’t know if other clubs could have done what we have with all the injuries to big players, with the African Cup of Nations and with all the problems we have had. The atmosphere is good and we come to the last stage of the season with a very good opportunity to do the best things - we don’t want to miss it. The players know it’s a big opportunity and if I may say so, we deserve it after what we had this year.”

With only 4 games left, Chelsea now has 75 points to Uniteds 80. Chelsea’s hopes now remain on the game they will play against United Saturday, April 26th. Hypothetically, if Chelsea won they could have 78 points to Uniteds 80; then Chelsea would have to hope that United would lose a game.

• Manchester United’s last 4 games include Chelsea, Blackburn, West Ham, and Wigan.

• Chelsea’s last 4 games include Everton, Manchester United (at Stamford Bridge), Newcastle, and Bolton