Gallas Watch: Will He Stay, Or Will He Go

As Arsenal step up their efforts to secure the future of key players and up-and-coming talents, there have been speculations about a few players who have yet to put pen to paper on new contracts. Gilles Sunu and Fran Merida make up part of this list (whose contracts are yet to be renewed), but the major concern has been on a veteran key player in the heart of Arsenal’s defense. William Gallas has been the subject of growing speculation as his contract runs out in the summer of 2010.

Amidst all the uncertainties, the latest piece of rumour reports that Claudio Ranieri, the current Roma manager is extremely interested in bringing the French international to the Stadio Olimpico on a free transfer. Gallas’ past working relationship with Ranieri at Chelsea before joining Arsenal seems to have contributed to the high possibility of this rumoured transfer. Having said that, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger will not easily let Gallas go. After all, the French tactician is still a huge admirer of Gallas’ intelligent defensive display week in week out for the North London club.

However, the rollercoaster ride endured by the 32 year old defender during his time at Arsenal might also have an influence on his future. William Gallas first joined Arsenal from Chelsea on a swap deal involving Ashley Cole going the opposite direction after an intense war of words between him and the then Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, claiming that he would “score an own goal” if he wasn’t allowed to leave the club. During his tenure at the Emirates Stadium, he have reached the climax of his Arsenal career by earning the captaincy of the club during season 2007/2008. He led the team to the top of the Premier League for months until the Eduardo incident at St Andrews occurred and took away his captaincy.

Despite that, he stayed on at Arsenal in the following summer and slowly rebuilt his confidence and enhanced his performance for the club. But it was without another controversy, where it was reported that he has fallen out with former Gunner Kolo Toure. This incident has been speculated as the reason for the departure of the Ivorian centre defender. This season though, he has formed a very solid partnership with newly signed Belgium defender Thomas Vermaelen.

Currently, Gallas is still nursing a calf injury for a month after Wenger announced that he has suffered another setback on his journey to recovery. Some Arsenal fansites/blogs speculate that this injury might be the beginning of the end for his Arsenal career but today’s news contradict this speculation. Quoted from the latest article on the club’s official website (as of Thursday), Wenger said the club will try hard to find a solution to the Gallas situation.

Whether he will be at Arsenal in the summer of 2010, it is still a bit early to say. There might be some twists along the way and it now entirely depends on how much the club wants him to stay.

Article By Kelvin

AC 4Eva: Kaka To Madrid

As much as I am disapointed with Kaka’s move I wasn’t as suprised as most and I didn’t really think he’d stay after Lenardo announced we would be playing a 4-3-3 formation. Kaka was pritty much forced out so I forgive him.

New AC Milan Shirt

Despite others saying our new home strip looks horrid , I rather like the white collar. I mean it could be worse, look at Chelsea’s bra strap, which now shows it really is a female club. I really do love our other two kits as well.

The Home jersey is all class for me and reminds me of a Bayern Munich shirt a few years back. I believe the white collar highlights the red and the black sinks into the backround. I also love the fact that the black “box” surrounding bwin is now gone for good. But the Adidas symbol could be moved to the left instead of being in the middle.

The Away jersey to me is very Madrid and vintage like and pays homage to the old Milan teams of the CL. It’s always been white and I hope it never changes but like the home jersey I would like the Adidas symbol on the left.

The 3rd jersey I’m still very undecided about. I wouldn’t normally complain about a jersey but it’s just plain and simple and nothing’s really been changed about it. They didn’t try anything wacky or knew. I would really have liked a white jersey with black and red vertical lines striped on it.

But hey these are just my thoughts why don’t you tell me what you would like???

Azzmilan

AC 4Eva : Ronaldinho; Milan has bad attitude

The Brazilian feels the Rossoneri lost their focus after Seedorf’s opener and let Juve back into the game.Despite Seedorf scoring and helping Milan to the lead on Sunday night , Juventus hit back and both sides went to a 1-1 draw.

“It was a beautiful match, but unfortunately we did not manage to get the three points we wanted,” Ronaldinho told the AC Milan website.

“However, if we work hard we will be able to end the season well. After going ahead, there was a bit of euphoria and we lost our focus. We conceded an equaliser and that demoralised us a little bit.”

“This has to serve as a lesson for the future so that we avoid committing this kind of error.”

Milan still trail Inter by seven points with three games to go and who will be champions if they defeat Siena next Sunday. The Rossoneri will play away to Udinese on Saturday night.

Azzmilan

AC 4Eva: Milan vs Juventus 1-1

I thought I would do this player review differently, and tell you a bit about the game instead.

Azzmilan

http://azzmilan-ac4eva.blogspot.com/

AC 4Eva: Who Should Milan Buy & Lose?

Note To Reader: All this information was based at the time of writing which was 2 days ago.

Who Should Milan Buy & Lose?

Who Should Milan Buy & Lose?
AC Milan may be second but they are far from settled.We currently have an ageing squad and their will be a few players on their way out, a few retiring and a few coming into this wonderful club. This summer will be key for how Milan perform next season as we didn’t recruit properly after Athens and next thing you knew, we didn’t make the 4 or Champions League!That can’t happen again for such a big club as Milan.Thats why we must buy properly and make it worthwhile.

Who Should Leave?

Željko Kalac

The big “Spider” may have performed rather good for Milan two seasons ago but that is the past. His 36 now and with Abbiati taken the number 1 spot I doubt big Kalac even deserves the bench place. Maybe I wouldn’t be saying this if Dida had stuffed up in his return but he hasn’t. When Abbiati got injured either Dida or Kalac would battle out for the number 1 goalkeeper spot, the winner will get the glory and another chance of first team football while the second will surley go….

Giuseppe Favalli

Now some might argue that Fava hasn’t been that bad and his been quite good! But his why Milan have been on the decline.AGE! 37 years old and at one of the top clubs in the world, says it all. His either really good, or the clubs really on a decline. For the moment its a bit of both, but we don’t need Favalli next season and for that reason only, he must go or retire.He can hand the torch over to to some young gun or for someone else to step up to the platform.

Andriy Shevchenko
I never thought I’d see the day when I didn’t want Sheva at Milan but right now, his just taking breathing space up. Whenever I see Sheva on the field he looks miserable and almost hunchbacked. His according to wikipedia at the time of writing , made 16 appearances for Milan and not 1 single goal. Not good enough. Not good for a striker of Milan. He doesn’t even look dangerous. The only reason his not been jeered at yet as what his done for Milan in the past which is fair enough, sorry Sheva but please for Milan, go …

Clarence Seedorf
For a player who has been in the first team all season and scored a few vital goals 3 of the 5 being matchwinners, it might seem funny that I suggest Milan be rid of him. He is able to slow down the play to his pace and dedicate how the match goes and win it for Milan normally or set others up. So why get rid of him you ask? Coz his simply, the weakness. Unless his on purley his best, his one of the worst footballers to watch as he makes mistake after mistake and the opposition takes control. Even small teams like Bologna can easily take over the match. Without Gattuso, Seedorf breaks and looks even worse. Seedorfs cons outweight the pros and his on the wrongside of 30 (33) so he must go.

Massimo Oddo
Now heres the one player which perhaps doesn’t deserve the boot but we need him to go for the good of the club and himself, if he wants gametime. From what I’ve seen his a great defender for Milan and we could possibly rack around 8-12 million for him. His just on the wrong side of 30 (32) but would still be a great addition to any club, we just need him to move on so we can grab some youth. The only reason he isn’t in the first team is because Zambrotta is just a little bit better. Thanks for the service Oddo but better luck next time.

Who Should Come?

Yoann GourcuffThe player we should never have let go of! His now staring for Bordeaux and it is being stated he doesn’t wanna come back, yet it’s not been stated through him yet. He is stated as being the new zidane and he has showed potential for Milan like against Athens scoring a goal from outside the box in his Champions League debut! He has gone onto play 28 something games and scored 7 goals and helped Bordeaux to first place and the French Cup. He would do fine playing behind Kaka and Pato.
I firmly believe with this formation Milan could easily be one of the best in Europe again. Kaka may not like being a striker but he has succeeded and plays his best there and Pato well his a natrual CF and when Kaka backtracks that means Pato is in his best position. Gourcuff sets plays up like Kaka, and scores impossible goals, like Kaka again. So if we get Goucuff back, Kaka could play to his best and Pato could go up another level. On May 31, 2008, Milan would loan Gourcuff to Bordeaux for the 2008-09 season, to allow him more playing time. Which means we could get him for free right back.

Antonio Cassano
Even though his known for his short temper, his been the best in the Serie A this season. Which means he will be very expensive but if we can buy him, we could rotate him on the left wing as he can play there,rotate through the attack force or even attacking midfield. If we don’t get Gourcuff back which is looking more likely. The 26 year old is a must,as his Italian so the 6+5 rule coming in will suit us and we can keep Kaka is an AM/CF and Antonio can partner up with Pato and be one of the best strike forces. His scored 11 goals in 32 games and made 13 assits which is one of the best in the league. He would be very expensive though at 15 million to 25 million.

Daniel Agger

Now your probaly wondering why a player who’s not even in the first team of his club should come to Milan but that is because him and Rafa do not get along. Which could be key insigning him . His only got 18months left on his contract so Liverpool will have to sell, which means we could get him for quite cheap. Milan need him as Sendros probaly will go back to Arsenal, Maldini is retiring and Favalli won’t have much long to go and with Nesta coming back from injury, its foolish not to sign another quality CB. At 24 Agger is young and could partner Thiago Silva at the back for many future years. Which would put Kaladze under pressure to actually perform good for a position as Janku and Zambrotta or even Antoini could be handling the flanks. So his transfer will benefit the whole club and I firmly believe we could get him for under 10 million.

Domenico Criscito

Now young domenic has been making a name for himself at Genoa and helped them to 4th spot all season.He has been very impressive since re-joining Genoaand has proved to be very versatile and of very high quality, maintaining a starting position and playing in the center of defence, the left side of defence, as well as left midfield.Paolo Maldini is just one of several Serie A stars that have named him to be one of the best future defensive talents of Italy. He can overtake Janku & Kaladze on the left and can even be played at centreback which is quite useful. His only 22 and will only get better but his pace and tackling would be vital for Milan especially with Gattuso out at the moment. Also since Juve seem to lack the knowledge of really how good he is, I believe we could get him under 8 million.

Emmanuel Adebayor

Would be a very good buy as we seem to have a transfer link with Arsenal through Flamini and Sendros. But I really doubt we could get Adebayor for cheap so that might stop the transfer. He would be the perfect foil for Kaka & Pato to do the dirty work as he would be the number one striker by a mile and will be on his toes because of Inzaghi’s renaissance which can only benefit Milan. His sprinting and being there at the right moment will make Milan’s strike force very feared as not many defences can run with Kaka,Pato & Adebayor , also Adeb could take all the punishment from Pato. With Adeb in , just like with Cassano, the defence won’t know who to mark the most and wil always be on the backfoot. The only problems though would be that his not Italian and I doubt Arsenal will give him to us for under 15 million.From some quotes from SFB (http://soccerfanbase.com/index.php) that we would be lucky to get him under 30 million which therefore makes him overrated and a little scary to buy.

Víctor Valdés

You may be asking why should the second best goalkeeper in La Liga even think about leaving Barcelona for us? Simple, we rate him they don’t. Barca are all skill and with Kalac having to leave, if we get Valdes we could even afford to get rid of Dida as well or keep him as back-backup. Abbiati will be tested to the fulliest of his abilities. Also Victor has great leadership abilities and can communicate with his defence fabusoly. If he came though , it will only be till Abbiati is fully fit and then I think he will have to go to bench and battle Abbiati from then on as Abbs has earned that right. Also great is that his contracts only got 18 months left which could mean we steal him anyways. But lets be fair to Barcelona and rip them off say about 13 million for him?

Now with at least a couple of those buys, we should be very powerful squad to face and Europe will be much easier to conqueror. But the old ways must go out the door and from now on every 30 year old will only be giving 1 year contracts at a time as their form dips and Emerson saga went on far too long.

With this starting 11 I believe we will be unbeatable but Flamini can come in for Pirlo everytime Andrea loses form.Cassano has enough attacking ability to be a threat on the left every match and Gattuso is more than enough to to cover for Cassano but if needed we can always shove on Flamini for Pirlo and theres enough defensive pressure but this Milan is very offensive and should bring back the glory days. Also half our age goes away as, Kaka 27 , Pato 20, Gourcuff 23,Cassano 26,Gattuso 31,Pirlo 30,Zambrotta 33,Agger 25,Silva 24,Cristico 23 and Abbiati 32 all next season so no longer do we look that old and we now have a mix of youth and Europe requries that level next season. No longer can we 2007 the Champions League where we use mainly 28+s. We must use youth to and skill and expirence. Also this formation allows Cassano to assist , Gourcuff,Kaka & Pato with wonderful balls which has made Cassano a monster this season and we can always shove him forward if need be and we will have depth in our squad. Also Inzaghi can come off the bench for any of our forwards. Basically in this formation it will be very offensive with a solid backline needed for counter attacks but it also shows off the prowless of some of our key players now and for the future. So with this formation we could see another Champions League.

Azzmilan

AC4Eva

Who’s the number 1 now?

Now with Abbiati injured , AC Milan must look towards a new number 1 goaly. But just a little bit about Abbiati before we do that. Before this season he was only once Milan’s number one but that was before Dida came  in on his then world class form. Abbiati this season has destroyed every team. His goalkeeping have saved Milan countless of times. Especially when Maldini was out Abbiati stepped right up and has saved 4 /6 penatlies so far this season. He was easily our second best player and maybe you could argue he has been better than Pato this term. But he was in exceptional form , especially since November last year. In the match against Siena, Abbiati suffered cruciate ligament damage, possibly sidelining him for up to six months.

So now the contenders…
Up number one is Dida. Now around 2004 you could of said Dida was the number one keeper, he was Buffons rival for best keeper, but right now, Milan fans shit themselves when we see his name on the sheet. He lost us potentially the UEFA Cup and has lost us another 3 Serie A games so far this season. He does have great history but he recently has been playing god awful. He strikes fear in Milan fans these days unlike the old days when the fear was in the strikers. He no longer commands the respect of the Milan defenders and you can see it. Hopefully now that Abbiati is injured he can return to the form for Milan that won us 2 champions league title and 1 serie a title. Unfortuely for him, his form started on the decline when, Inter Milan fans threw a flare at him in a local derby. Since then he has slowly declined till last season he rapidly declined.Hopefully he sees Milan will really drop him for good and now he will return to form.

The second option and my personal favorite Auzzie Kalac. Up til this season he was in best career form and you could actually see him trying his heart out for Milan. He was guinely frustrated when he let a goal in and slowly became a fan favorite. He has never been a number one at a club or the national team for Australia but if it wasn’t for the rise and rise of Abbiati he would easily be number one. He is very weak though on crosses but in the italian game it doesnt happen much so it shouldn’t really matter.  I really would like to see his great performances like last term again but  I doubt it will happen one game in. He has basically been behind Dida all season based on Dida’s inglorious past. Personally I favor Kalac but it would never happen.

I’m going to hope for Kalac to be goaly. But it really doesn’t matter as both keepers on their worst day are horrible. Look at Dida all last season and for Kalac look at his Australia performances from the World Cup 2006. Dida will get the nod as he has been number 2 all season and been on the bench all season just based on his inglorious past. Admitingly if both of them were to recapture their greatest form again, Dida would easily get the nod.

Azzmilan

AS Roma and Arsenal: More than just Opponents

So, the Champions League draw have been over, and I have to admit one of the most anticipated matches is Inter vs Man Utd. Italian champions vs English champions. I’m an Arsenal fan, so I’m rather happy about it. Man Utd think they are the best, well eat this! Let’s see how you get past Inter.

But there is another fixture I’m very much looking forward to. Roma vs Arsenal. Why? Both are my favourite teams, and they are 2 very similar clubs. Mirror image in other words.

Firstly, both clubs are having some financial problem. Which is the reason why both clubs doesn’t spend big. Look at the players Arsenal and Roma have signed in the past few seasons: While big stars like Cristian Chivu left, instead of getting a big money replacement Luciano Spalleti got Juan for a mere 6.3 million euros. When the legend of Arsenal, Thierry Henry left, many people was thinking whether his replacement could lived up to expectations. Arsene Wenger chose to fork out only 8 million to sign Eduardo Da Silva, and although he’s injured at the moment, his future looks bright.

Secondly, both clubs have been praised for their brilliant attacking football. Arsenal was believed to have played the best football ever seen in England during their “Invincibles” season (2003/04), and up till today they do just that. Roma have been praised by pundits for playing exciting, attacking football since Luciano Spalleti took over and deployed the 4-5-1 formation. Normally in football it’s “the beauty vs the beast”, but I believe in this match, both clubs will be known as “the beauties” and will be fighting their asses off.

Roma's golden boy, Francesco Totti

Lastly, both clubs have their own “star talisman” of the team. Francesco Totti have always been associated with AS Roma, and up till today the fans still “worship” him. Francesc Fabregas, although only 21 years of age, has been one of the most popular players in Arsenal at the moment, and seeing how similar both players’ style of play are, it’s certainly a battle of the golden boys. However years ago this could be even more intense, when Thierry Henry was still at Arsenal. I’m sure about 4 years ago everybody wanted to see the 2 best strikers at their peak facing each other on the football field. What a match it would be.

Arsenal's club legend, Thierry Henry

Dariano

Do you agree with me that arsenal and Roma are actually very similar? Or do you feel there’s actually another Serie A club that is even more identical with Arsenal (eg. Juventus?)? Tell me below in the comments box or register at our forum, it’s fast and easy. Thanks for reading.

Former Manchester City Owner Thaksin Shinawatra Jailed

Former Manchester city owner and Thailand’s premier minister has been sentenced to 2 years imprisonment.

Thailand’s supreme court ruled yesterday that the former Manchester city owner Thaksin Shinawatra had violated a conflict-of-interest while still in office in his home land and had been sentenced to two years in prison.

The nine judges ruled by five to four that Thaksin, who has been at the heart of Thailand’s political crisis over the past three years and now lives in exile in Britain, had got involved in his wife’s purchase of land from a central bank fund.

“The defendant is guilty of violating the anti-corruption law, and the punishment is two years in prison,” a judge said, reading out the verdict.

Thaksin, speaking to Reuters by telephone, said the case was politically motivated. He has said before that he could not expect a fair trial from Thai courts. “I have been informed of the result. I had long anticipated that it would turn out this way,” he said.

He denied British media reports he was seeking asylum in Britain. A Thai prosecutor said he would urge Britain to extradite Thaksin now that the court had sentenced him to prison.

The ruling is the first on a spate of corruption charges against Thaksin and his political associates prepared by graft investigators appointed after a military coup in 2006.

It will do little to lower the political temperature in Thailand, where Thaksin still commands wide support outside the capital, and will be seen as a further blow to the government of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, who is his brother-in-law.

An elected government came to power this year but the main party in the coalition, the People Power Party, is seen by opponents as a mere proxy for Thaksin.

The extra-parliamentary People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) has been waging a street campaign since May to force the government out and has occupied the prime minister’s official compound since August.

Two people were killed and hundreds injured in clashes between PAD supporters and the police on October 7.

NO CLASH

The court area was plastered with signs warning Thaksin supporters and opponents they would be in contempt of court if they caused any disturbance.

About 300 government supporters were seen around the court, which was guarded by 100 uniformed police officers, a third of the number the police had earlier planned to deploy.

The PAD opted not to go ahead with a plan to march to the court. “We are staying where we are. We don’t want to create any trouble,” PAD spokesman Parnthep Pourpongpan told Reuters.

The political crisis dates back to 2005 when the PAD launched street protests against Thaksin, alleging corruption and abuse of power. It has meandered through a coup to elections and back to protests and shows no sign of resolution.

The army removed Thaksin from power because of allegations of rampant corruption during his five years in power. Nearly $2 billion of his family’s assets have been frozen in Thai bank accounts.

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