Black Cats striker wants a new partner

Darren Bent thinks that new faces are needed at Sunderland before the transfer window closes if they are to climb the Premier League table.

The England striker saw Steve Bruce sell Kenwyne Jones ,his strike partner from last season, to Stoke City for £8 million before the start of the Premier League season.

Sunderland have only managed one draw in their opening two Premier League games and Bent fired both goals as the Black Cats secured their first win of the season in the Carling Cup over Colchester. Indeed, the Carling Cup betting suggests that competition is Sunderland’s only real chance of silverware.

Bruce will be looking for his Sunderland side to improve on their finish last season and break into the Premier League top ten, but he will need some new strikers to take some goalscoring pressure off Bent. The football betting odds make the former Spurs man one of the favourites to be the top English goalscorer in the Premier League this season, but he can’t do everything himself.

In the absence of Jones, he only has Fraizer Campbell, Martyn Waghorn and Danny Wellbeck to get the goals this season. And Bent is hoping there may be more signings coming into the Stadium of Light before the transfer window closes.

“Hopefully the gaffer can make one or two additions to the squad before the transfer window closes next week,” Bent said.

“I think we have got a strong squad to take into the new year, but one or two new faces never do any harm and I’m sure the manager has his targets.”

Along with Bent, Sunderland fans will be praying that Bruce splashes the cash on new forwards before the end of the month.

However, they could be in for a disappointment as Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn has told the BBC there will not be any big spending as there are no value-for-money deals around in the Premier League at the current time.

Even an evergreen loses its leaves one day

Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, and Gary Neville embody the dedication required to be a hero at Manchester United, and also to survive at the club under the ruthless Sir Alex Feguson. However, despite the former two players enjoying yet another fantastic start to the Premier League, even these three evergreens are all too aware that the end of their careers is not that far away…but does Sir Alex agree?

Normally, it would take a very naive fan to suggest that Sir Alex is a sentimental manager; just ask David Beckham whether the boss will forgive players for mistakes. However, in the case of Giggs and Scholes, the United manager seems to be ever more reliant on them despite their increasing age.

With no real replacement ever found for Giggs, and no upcoming youth players expected to replace him in the near future, Ferguson inadvertently displayed his reliance on him by admitting he was unsure why one of Giggs’ potential replacements, Nani, took (and missed) the crucial penalty at Fulham this weekend. With United’s only goal scorer on the day being Paul Scholes, another still not properly replaced by Ferguson, it is questionable according to those who look at Premier League odds how United will cope when these two step down.

What must be even more infuriating for United fans is that, with the exception of a few iffy games, Rafael has successfully been brought into the United side to replace the increasingly crocked Gary Neville.

Having shown he can replace his aging stars, and in good time to allow their replacements to adjust to the Premier League, Red Devils and those who bet football money on United will be hoping that the evergreen duo continue to be just that.

Parker Ironing out details of new five year contract

With Spurs at last seeming to get the message, and Liverpool looking increasingly likely to keep hold of Javier Mascherano, West Ham United supporters appear close to receiving a huge boost as Scott Parker gets set to sign a new five year deal with the club.

Having become the heartbeat of the team since his transfer from Newcastle, Parker had been attracting the unwanted attention of several other Premier League clubs, despite the owners’ insistence that he was the only West Ham player not up for sale. However, it now looks as if the club have fended off any lingering interest in their star man and Irons fans will be hoping that this boost sees their team enjoy a far more successful season than last term. Some still make West Ham betting tips for relegation, but they will be looking to mid-table.

With Parker being a key reason why the Irons managed to avoid relegation last season, West Ham fans will be fully aware that should Parker sustain a long term injury or suspension, they will probably experience another season of struggle. That said, with Parker a player who always appears 100 per cent dedicated to the cause, and an individual who has shown himself to be highly talented. New manager Avram Grant will be looking to get the best out of a man who can be the midfield engine that propels the Irons to safety. The Betfair Specialists certainly agree he’s the man for the job.

However, with Parker not afraid of moving clubs to further his career development, having moved from Charlton to Chelsea earlier in his playing days, and players’ contracts often seeming to be limited in their worth, West Ham fans may choose to greet any new contract with a relief borne from the fact that their club will be compensated should he leave, rather than from a peace of mind that their top man is tied down for another five years.

Toon Me Toon You

Newcastle United midfielder Joey Barton seems as confident about the clubs chances in the Premiership this season, as fans do of him staying out of a referee’s book during 90 minutes of football.

The controversial Barton is currently donning a ridiculous moustache as part of a bet with his Newcastle teammates, stating ‘not to shave it off until we win’. This is no Tom Selleck by any means and the new tash on the toon looks about as convincing as the players hopes of Premier League survival sounds.

The bet that stemmed from his colleagues claiming, he couldn’t grow a beard, escalated into the outcome seen at Old Trafford on Monday night, (16.08.10), when Manchester United hosted Newcastle’s Premiership return.

Barton admitted after the game his facial hair been getting some flak and “hoped it’ll be gone soon”. I don’t think he’s alone in that sentiment either.

It was like watching the third Chuckle brother trying to get to grips with the classy Paul Scholes, it’s just not good viewing, especially in HD.

I’m not sure what will be more demoralising for the Geordie faithful, Barton’s ‘optimism’ for the season or them having to cheer on a man who seems to be wearing a dead slug underneath his nose.

Newcastle host an inform Aston Villa side this coming weekend and will be hoping to get off the mark after last season’s dominance at England’s second tier. The club have strengthened over the summer, most noticeably in the defensive department picking up James Perch and Sol Campbell, with the latter yet to make his debut pending fitness.

Dan Gosling was also brought in to St James Park but he too will have to wait before deputising in the famous black and white jersey. A serious knee injury picked up on his last appearance for Everton means it will be early 2011 before the Toon army get to see him in action.

Starting at Old Trafford was never going to be an easy return to the English top-flight but with Wolves and Blackpool following Villa on the fixture list, Manager Chris Hughton will be ear marking those games as the winnable ones.

The opening 3-0 defeat, shown on Sky sports first ‘Monday night football’ of the new season, will mean Barton continuing to look like an extra from a Harry Enfield sketch for at least another week.

I’m sure it won’t just be the referees telling him to calm down, calm down.

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Are Blackburn back in the game?

Since the spending of former chairman Jack Walker lifted Rovers to the Premier League title in the 1994/95 season, Rovers have suffered the ignominy of being the only to have won the Premier League and later be relegated from it.

However, with the club officially confirming that the owners are in discussion with Indian businessman Ahsan Ali Syed Rovers fans will be hoping that it won’t be long before the club are back challenging for the title. He has reportedly offered to give current manager Sam Allardyce a transfer kitty of £100 million.

With the odds of Syed taking over before the transfer window closes slim, it appears that this season may bring mid-table mediocrity to the Ewood faithful. However, should Syed secure his takeover before then, it is possible that Rovers will be able to secure the signings required to make them contenders for a Europa League position. They may not be football betting tips for a top six finish now, but they soon could be.

With the influx of foreign owners, and UEFA’s decision to ban clubs who are in unmanageable levels of debt, Blackburn fans may be forgiven for questioning the motives of a man who has himself confessed he has never visited the ground. Still, with Syed talking about 15 year plans, including the redevelopment and expansion of Ewood Park and investment in the club’s training facilities, Syed does not appear to be an owner in the same league as the infamous Glazer family.

Still, even without a cash injection Blackburn got off to an excellent start, beating Everton in their first game. The Everton betting suggests they will be challenging for Europe this season, so something is go right for Blackburn.

For the time being, Rovers fans will have to sit back and see how things develop, but with youngster Phil Jones proving his versatility as well as confirming his undoubted talent in the weekend’s opening fixture, it appears that the future may well be bright for the Ewood Park outfit.

Wolves forward reveals season’s objectives

Wolves striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake thinks his side can avoid Premier League relegation and the dreaded second season syndrome.

A lot of clubs since the inception of the Premier League have had a downturn in fortunes during their second season in the top flight, most recently Reading, and Wolves boss Mick McCarthy will want his side to go in the right direction this season. The Premier League betting suggests they could go down, but there are a lot of bad teams around.

Last season’s 15th placed finish was seen as success for Wolves and now the side will be looking to climb the table rather than be embroiled in a relegation dogfight in the coming campaign.

McCartyh has spent money this summer improving his squad by bringing in Jelle van Damme, Steven Mouyokolo and Stephen Hunt together with spending £7 million on Steven Fletcher.

He impressed during his first season in the English top flight, getting 12 goals as he attempted to help Burnley avoid the drop and Ebanks-Blake, now a rival for a striking spot, has said the new signing is “a good player”.
Ebanks-Blake told BBC West Midlands there are clear objectives for Wolves this season, and goals will be needed as they struggled last campaign getting only 13 goals at home.

“We didn’t do badly last year – we stayed in the league, finished in a respectable position, and we played some good football at times and turned some teams over,” the forward said.

“All we want to do this year is stay in the league and build on what we did last year.”

The online football odds suggest they have a chance of doing that, but it will be a tough fight.

Scottish striker Fletcher told the Express and Star earlier this week that he was “looking forward” to the coming season and Wolves should have enough to avoid Premier League relegation as they have some “great talent” among the squad.

Moyes happy to have Arteta on board

David Moyes thinks Everton can push on from the Premier League top eight thanks to the benefit of a focused Mikel Arteta.

The Scottish manager was overjoyed when his Spanish playmaker signed a new five-year deal at Goodison Park last weekend.

Arteta originally joined Everton on loan from Real Sociedad in January 2005 and Moyes then made that deal permanent during the following summer for £2 million – which in recent seasons has looked an absolute bargain as his consistent impressive displays have seen him linked with the likes of Arsenal, Barcelona and Manchester City.

Moyes has told the Liverpool Echo it is “nice to get rid of the speculation” surrounding Arteta and how he wants to midfielder to provide the inspiration for Everton to get into the Premier League top eight this season and bring European qualification to Goodison Park. However, the Premier League 2010/11 odds suggest they will need to dig deep to make an impact on the league.

“Hopefully his focus will be a bit better now. He has been a little mixed up in recent weeks with different things. He got married and there’s been the stuff about his contract,” the manager said.

“But now we can start getting him focused and get the proper Mikel back.”

Moyes has also issued an ultimatum to his Premier League rivals by stating that Everton have no need to sell any of their stars has the club does not “need money”. Still, the FA Cup odds suggest they could go on a run in that competition and the revenue would no doubt be well received.

Everton start their Premier League campaign with a trip to Blackburn Rovers on August 14th and Moyes will be looking for his side to make a much better start to this season than their 6-1 opening day loss to Arsenal 12 months ago.

Ancelotti keeps his fingers crossed

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti is confident that his side will be ready for the start of the season as they look to defend the Premier League title they won back in May.

The Blues had a fantastic season last time out, winning their first-ever league and cup double, but have had a patchy pre-season losing to both Ajax and Eintracht Frankfurt.

Chelsea have only just welcomed back a number of their big stars who played in the World Cup – meaning Ancelotti only has a week to prepare these footballers before the Blues face Manchester United in the Community Shield at Wembley next weekend.

The goalkeeping situation is going to be a big worry for Ancelotti as number one Petr Cech is struggling with a calf injury.

In the 3-1 defeat to Ajax, reserve goalkeeper Ross Turnbull failed to cover himself in glory with a number of howlers so the Italian manager gave Hilario a full 90-minute run out against Frankfurt, results that upset the online betting.

The loss of Cech for either the Community Shield or opening weeks of the Premier League would be a big blow to Chelsea, but their managed is keeping his fingers crossed his number one will win his race against time to return.

Speaking to the club’s website, the manager said: “We have some problems with the goalkeepers but it can happen in these moments of the season.

“Now we have to maintain these keepers and we hope Petr Cech can recover well before the start of the season.”

According to the Premier League 2010/11 odds, the Blues are set to retain their title but they could struggle without a good keeper.

The manager is also working hard to ensure he does not lost left back Ashley Cole before the Premier League title battle gets underway in a fortnight’s time.

There have been reports the England man wants to move abroad, with Real Madrid his most likely destination, but Ancelotti has stated Cole is now a Chelsea man and “will remain” at Stamford Bridge.

Eriksson targets Premier League job

Following his spell as Ivory Coast manager for the 2010 World Cup, it has been revealed that Sven-Goran Eriksson believes he has “unfinished business” in the Premier League.

The former England boss is now the front runner for the vacant Fulham manager’s position following Martin Jol’s decision to remain at Ajax and it is clearly a role he would be interested in.

Eriksson’s agent has spoken about the situation and admitted that he has “known for some weeks Sven’s one of the managers under consideration”. However, there has been “no contact whatsoever” from Fulham at this stage.

This will probably change very soon if Eriksson is the next man on Fulham’s list. They were extremely keen on securing Jol and would have worked tirelessly on that, but now they can move on to other targets. Betsplayer.com will keep you up to date with their next move.

The Swede has been involved at club level in England twice before of course, for Notts County and Manchester City. Neither of these spells finished particularly well though, so he will want to prove a few people wrong about his ability to be successful.

The dismissal from Manchester City was particularly painful for Eriksson, with his agent claiming that he was “outrageously sacked from his position” after doing a “first-class job” at Eastlands.

All of this is in the past though and as always with Eriksson, he will be looking ahead to the next challenge in his managerial career. Whether that turns out to be Fulham, remains to be seen.

United relief as Real rule out Rooney

by Simon Sparrowhawk

Get ready to breathe a huge sigh of relief Manchester United fans, because Real Madrid are not going to try and take Wayne Rooney to Spain, yet.

After months of speculation surrounding a possible bid for England and United’s star striker it has finally been confirmed that Real will not make a move for Rooney this summer. Despite, Jose Mourinho being a huge admirer of the former Everton hitman, it seems the price is too steep now.

Florentino Perez told the gathered media yesterday that the Bernabeu club will not move for Rooney or Barcelona’s Lionel Messi before the new season, but that may not end the speculation.

However, the Real Madrid president was not so clear on potential offers for Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard, Arsneal’s Cesc Fabregas and Chelsea pair Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard. It seems that at least one, and possibly more, of these will be playing in the white of Madrid in August.

There are fresh rumours this morning of a £32m bid from Madrid for Liverpool captain Gerrard. If true, then it’s a sign of real intent on behalf of the La Liga runners-up.

It seems that United can plan for the future with Wayne Rooney but the future is less certain for the rest of the Premier League big boys.