Vive la revolution

Crossing the Channel

Three years ago, Newcastle United were gearing up to play in the second tier of English football, after an own goal by Damien Duff at Villa Park led them to suffer relegation from the top flight. But the end of the 2011/12 season saw them finish in fifth place, after a close run fight for a Champions League place, which also guarantees Europa League football for the next season. It will be the first time the North East club will be playing in a European competition since 2006, and it has been seen as a fantastic season for a side that, in August of last year, some tipped to be flirting with relegation. Which wasn't an entirely unrealistic prediction, considering Captain Kevin Nolan had been sold to West Ham, as well as the release of Joey Barton and Jose Enriqué's switch to Liverpool - leaving the Tynesider's without three of their key players. Not to mention the record breaking sale of Geordie born Andy Carroll to Liverpool in the season's winter transfer window.


.But Newcastle didn't flirt with relegation. They weren't even lost in mid table mediocrity. Some of the Toon faithful were even mildly disappointed at so narrowly missing out on Champions League qualification. Manager Alan Pardew had already been rewarded with his success by being named Premier League and LMA manager of the year, becoming the first Englishman to win both in the same season. There is no doubt that the Newcastle Supremo deserved the prestigious awards, with the signings and tactics he made leading Newcastle to a truly memorable season.

With the loss of key players, Pardew had to replace them to strengthen the squad he inherited from now Norwich Manager Chris Hughton. And that he did. Following West Ham's relegation, the striker they obtained only earlier that season was released, due to a clause in his contract, and Demba Ba arrived at Newcastle on a free. Adding to that, in came midfielder Yohan Cabaye - who had captained Lille to a league and cup double in France. Winger Sylvain Marveaux added to the French contingent, and with Ben Arfa returning from injury - the Newcastle side began to shape up.

With an unbeaten start stretching to eleven, until they met eventual champions Manchester City at the Etihad, Newcastle had an almost unbelievable start to the season. The media and fans alike expected the Magpie's bubble to eventually burst, and despite a slight bump towards the end of 2011, it didn't come. With the addition of another French speaker, Ba's Senegalese strike partner, Papiss Cisse. Scoring on his debut from the bench against Aston Villa, Cisse scored 13 in 14 games, including a sensational strike against Chelsea. Cisse helped Newcastle to challenge for the Champions League places, and their eventual fifth place finish - proving to be a very shrewd signing for Pardew, likely based on the apparent boundless knowledge of Chief Scout Graham Carr.



With a new season on the horizon, it remains to be seen if Newcastle can hold on to their stars, with midfield destroyer Cheick Tiote being continuously chased by Chelsea, and Cabaye's name being linked with Manchester United and Spanish Giants Barcelona. As well as holding on to their key players, Newcastle will also be looking to improve their squad, notably the depth of quality. With European qualification comes the possibility of competing on four fronts, which would stretch the already paper thin squad. The Toon have already brought in two players this window, Burundi born Coventry midfielder Gael Bigirimana, and French midfielder Romain Amalfitano. These are unlikely to be the only additions, with several adventures into the transfer market already coming up short, with interest in FC Twente pair Luuk De Jong and Douglas going cold.

It would come as no surprise that after their successful season, Newcastle would again choose to dip into the French market. One of Newcastle's main transfer targets is Yohan Cabaye's close friend and former team mate, French fullback Mathieu Debuchy. The attacking right back, 27, has been on Newcastle's radar for some time - and after impressing for his country in the Euro's, other clubs have been interested, notably Chelsea and Inter Milan. But Newcastle look to beat off any interest, with the right back apparently keen on a move to the north east of England. Debuchy's arrival would certainly spell the end of Danny Simpson's career at Newcastle, with the former Manchester United trainee entering the final year of his contract, and yet to agree on an extension. Replacing Simpson wouldn't be the only key area of the squad needing to be reinforced. With the sale of Leon Best to Blackburn, and the release of Peter Lovenkrands - who has since signed for Championship side Birmingham, now managed by former Newcastle favourite Lee Clarke, the club will now be on the lookout for another striker to bolster their ranks. With their Senegalese hitman potentially out for several weeks in the new year, representing their country in the African Cup of Nations, Newcastle will be left with brothers Shola and Sammy Ameobi as the only out and out strikers. 

The last few weeks have linked Andy Carroll for a return to the Toon, but this has hit several bumps. Notably new Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers taking a u-turn and denying any interest in letting Carroll go out on loan, as well as the original Newcastle offer being rejected. With bringing the Geordie target man looking unlikely, and the deal for De Jong falling flat, Newcastle will be looking at other targets. Continuing in the French tradition, a player linked to the black and whites is Marseilles striker Loic Remy. The 25 year old is considered a bright talent in Europe, and currently valued at around £15m - however with his club apparently in financial difficulties, and with Remy entering the last year of his contract, Newcastle will be hopefully of negotiating a cheaper price for the in-demand striker. And with interest from both Tottenham and Arsenal, the frugal northerners will face stiff competition if they want to land the six foot Frenchman.

At times last season, Newcastle struggled due to lack of cover in the centre of defence. The defeat away to Norwich being a prime example, with all three senior centre backs being injured - forcing the club to play diminutive fullbacks James Perch and Danny Simpson to fill the void. In January, Newcastle pursued and eventually failed to sign former Watford Captain Adrian Mariappa, who has since signed for Reading. Towards the end of the 2011/12 season, and the first few weeks of the transfer window, Newcastle were heavily linked with FC Twente defender Douglas. After several weeks of to and fro with the Dutch club, as well as somewhat confusing comments from the player himself in the press, Newcastle have apparently cooled their interest in the Brazilian born centre back.

Recently, Newcastle have been linked with Paris St. Germain's Mamadou Sakho, who has been tipped as a future captain for France. The young centre back has had a poor season, with manager Carlo Ancelotti removing him from the starting line up - Sakho has recently stated that if the club sign another central defender, he would seriously consider moving away. And with AC Milan defender Thiago Silva making the switch, it's looking likely that Sakho will leave the French Capital. With Newcastle recently being linked to Welsh centre back Ashley Williams, it remains to be seen if they will make a move for the left footed defender remains to be seen. Depending on how Newcastle operate in the transfer market could have a huge effect on how they perform next season, but regardless of that - after such a successful season, other clubs will be more prepared for the Geordie Giants this time around.

No money please, we're British.

£51.5 million

Yes please. I'll take the best box in the stadium whilst you're at it.

Who would say no to that? Not many people if we're being honest and so it was that Silvio Berlusconi said please and thank you to Paris Saint-Germain when they put forward what was either a singular or two connected deals depending on whatever publication takes your fancy. Bye bye, Thiago Silva - bye bye, Zlatan.

Truthfully it could be well argued that these sales are part of an overdue overhaul at the San Siro (the well-respected Gabriele Marcotti has certainly put that point forward) but for the most part, especially in Italy the overwhelming opinion of this blockbuster transaction is seen as Milan bowing to the power and might of the nouveau riche. It is seen as a sign that Italy are the latest to fall victim to the money-centric animal that football has become - arguably the loss of a Champions League spot to Germany holds more weight for that argument, but that involves coefficients so we won't go there - and whilst the sensible thing to do would be to look at how Italy are particularly well equipped to compete even without money the fact is that it is impossible to get away from the events of the past week: the same "type" of money that has fuelled the latest powerhouse in the EPL, as well as an intriguing project or two in the Primera Liga has reached into the heart of Italy's most respected club and ripped out what most people agree were their sole-surviving world class talents.

So what does this mean? Does money rule all indefinitely? Does Michele Platini's trumpeted Financial Fair Play policy mean absolutely nothing?

These are questions better answered by more knowledgeable people or at the very least on the back of some in-depth research into the specifics and details of not only FFP itself but how it intends to restrict mega money, which in turn will need a look at the factual details of finances at the top level of the game.

As things stand to the average fan it doesn't look as if there are many surprises to come in terms of money not having the power it appears to. For fans like myself we can only hope that Monsieur Platini and his friends have got such surprises up their sleeves.

Money makes the world go round

Penny for your thoughts?

It's no secret that sports stars are on wage packets that makes the run of the mill labourer green with envy. Argentine maestro Lionel Messi, arguably the most talented player in the world, allegedly rakes in over £8m per annum in salary alone. Advertisements and endorsements would no doubt further bulk out the Barcelona star's wallet by no small amount. Other top players, such as Real Madrid's flamboyant winger Christiano Ronaldo, or former England Captain David Beckham are also lucky enough to bring home inordinate sums of money after a hard day's kicking a ball around. And the inflated wages are by no means limited to the worlds upper echelon's of footballing talent- with Blackburn Rover's former player Christopher Samba reportedly on a weekly wage of around £100,000 at new club Anzhi Makhachkala. Despite the high wages, the Congolese central defender claims the move to Russia was not financially motivated. As it is, the 28 year old stated that his reasons for moving were to link up with respected manager Guus Hiddink, and to further his career - a career he felt had stalled at struggling Blackburn.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been in the news almost incessantly over the last few days, with Paris Saint Germain keen to add another to their marquee acquirements. Former Napoli winger Ezequiel Lavezzi and Zlatan's old AC Milan colleague Thiago Silva already making the move to Ligue 1. Reports coming out on Tuesday indicate that the big Swede has agreed personal terms with the French giants. Personal terms that would quite possibly make the 30 year old forward the highest paid player in football. It has been suggested that, with an annual salary of almost £12m a year, Ibrahimovic will be earning almost £25.5k in just one day - which is more than his average countryman would make in an entire year.

The UEFA Financial Fair Play rules are due to come into effect some, but some clubs do not seem overly worried by the restrictions that will come into place. Both Chelsea and PSG have been spending money like it's going out of fashion. Whether or not teh new rules will put a curb to the spending or not remains to be seem, but for now players like Zlatan can enjoy their football, content in the fact that their bank balance could fund a small country.

The inflated wages and transfer fees on offer from some of the world's richest clubs seen these days are becoming more and more common. It is a stark contrast to Cyprus' first division side APOEL FC. The diminutive club represent their country in the Champions League, Europe's most elite competition. APOEL had their most successful run in Europe last season, progressing as far of the quarter finals - topping their group and knocking out Olympique Lyonnais, becoming the first Cypriot club to ever make it that far in the prestigious competition. They were eventually knocked out at the quarter finals by an aggregate score of 8-2 in favour of Real Madrid. Even though their fairytale was at an end, it was no small feat by the club - whom most fans of European football may not have even heard of before hand. APOEL may not have any Messi's or Ronaldo's in their ranks, but they shown to the European community that sometimes it's not the dog in the fight, but the fight in the dog.

APOEL's impressive journey did well to illustrate that money is not everything in the world of football. While the more successful clubs do tend to be the one's with the money, with mega-rich Manchester City winning teh English Premier League for the first time in the club's history being just one example. The Cypriot's proved that this isn't always teh case, top earning talents don't always equate to victory. In fact, the club's entire yearly budget - not just for player wages and transfers, but for pitch maintenance, medical fees and any other expenses - tallied up to around £10m. For an average person, that's an awful lot of money, yet still less than some of footballer's highest earners. Kudos to APOEL on a job werll done, achieving so much on so little, proving that it's not always just about the money.

Title push for Chelsea?

Russian spending strengthens blues

After a disappointing first season in England for former Porto manager Andre Villas Boas, the Portuguese was removed from his position as Chelsea manager and replaced by assistant, and former player, Roberto Di Matteo. The caretaker manager guided his team to a sixth FA cup win, and finally wining the coveted UEFA Champions League. However, despite the cup double - Chelsea, a perennial title challenger, struggled in the league and only managing a disappointing sixth place finish. They qualified for next seasons Champions League by virtue of being the defending champions, at the cost of London rival's Tottenham, who will be forced to compete in next seasons Europa League instead.

Switzerland born Italian Di Matteo has a herculean task ahead of him to defend the two cups his team holds, and improve in the Premier League itself. The London outfit have a talented squad, including Euro 2012 winners Fernando Torres and Juan Mata, the Czech Republics world glass Goalkeeping star Petr Cech, and arguably one of the best left back in the world in Ashley Cole. However, if they want to get back on track and compete with oil-rich Manchester City and experienced Manchester United - owner Roman Abromavich clearly believes that what they have simply isn't enough.

Chelsea have already spent big, bringing in Belgian playmaker Eden Hazard for 32m - but this appears to be just the start for Di Matteo's side, with the Italian, newly installed as Chelsea's permanent manager, having his eye on some of world football's most expensive talents. Rumours linking Chelsea to marquee moves for Europa League cup holder's Athletico Madrid's Falcao - as well as Porto's colossal forward Hulk have been going on for some time. Chelsea's pursuit of Hulk has somewhat cooled, with Porto reportedly wanting a fee in the region of £40m, a cost the Di Matteo clearly does not agree with. As for Radamel Falcao, there is still possibility of Chelsea signing one of the hottest strikers in Europe - especially since Athletico are reportedly suffering financially - and Falcao may need to be sold on to fund moves to elsewhere strengthen the overall squad. Chelsea may find stiff competition fom rivals Tottenham Hotspurs, however - with the lilywhite's new manager Villas Boas keen to link up with the young Columbian forward he managed while in charge at Porto.

While Spur's may very well manage to take the striker from the nose of the Champions League winners, Chelsea may be comforted by the fact they appear to be set to do the very same thing to their close rivals. Internacional's Brazilian midfielder Oscar has been the subject of interest€25 million (£19.6m) from both London clubs, but more recent reports have him more likely to more to Chelsea, in a deal worth upwards of £23m. Chelsea have allegedly already had a £19.6m offer for the player rejected, with the club wanting more money from the big spending Londoners. With the creative talents of Eden Hazard, Juan Mata, Frank Lampard, as well as youngster Gael Kakuta and new 8m signing Marko Marin already present at the club - it remains to be seen if Chelsea are willing to spend big to bring another Brazilian to aid in their title challenge.

He's coming home, he's coming home, Andy's coming home.

Former club in for £35m Striker

Reports coming out over the last few days have indicated that new Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers will consider allowing Liverpool's most expensive signing, Striker Andy Carroll, 23, out on loan. The Gateshead born English international has had a difficult 18 months on Merseyside, scoring just 11 goals in 56 appearances. However, towards the end of the 2011/12 season - the big target man seemed to discover some of that spark that prompted former manager Kenny Dalglish to shell out a record breaking sum on the Geordie Hitman. Goals against Chelsea in both the league and FA Cup final, as well as the winner against City rivals Everton in the semi's have prompted interest from several clubs in Carroll. 

One of the more interesting potential suitors is possibly Seria A giants AC Milan. With their own Ibrahimovic with one foot out of the door, they may see the young Englishman as an eventual long term replacement for the six foot five Swede. As well as the links to Italy, there have been several interested parties a little closer to home. West Ham, Aston Villa and Fulham have all expressed interest in taking the unsettled striker on loan - maybe with the option to purchase. West Ham themselves are apparently interested in offering around the 15m mark at the end of any loan deal, provided they maintain Premier League status. And Carroll, while not suiting Brendan Rodgers passing philosophy, could fit in well with West Ham Manager Sam Allardyce's longball approach. As well as this, linking up with former Newcastle colleague and close friend Kevin Nolan could be a further incentive for Carroll.

Although linking up with his former Captain may well not be enough. It was revealed on Sunday that former club Newcastle United had made an official bid to Liverpool to take their former number nine on loan - with a view to buy. The bid was denied by Liverpool, who likely do not want to farm out an asset to a team that finished above them last campaign, and will perhaps be a main competitor in the coming season. It's entirely possible that Newcastle Manager Alan Pardew will make an improved bid that may well be accepted. After selling Leon Best to Blackburn, and releasing Peter Lovenkrands, Newcastle will be on the lookout for talent to add to the fire power of Senegalese Strike partnership Demba Ba and Papiss Demba Cisse. And with a deal for FC Twente's Luuk De Jong looking unlikely, a move for the boyhood Newcastle fan could seem very attractive to the Magpies.

Summer Spending

Europe's Juggernauts splash the cash

The transfer window is open and already the financial powerhouses of Europe have begun flexing their muscles. Backed by the fire power of Roman Abromavich, Chelsea were the first club to splash the cash wit the acquisition of Lille's highly rated Belgian playmaker, Eden Hazard. Costing a reported thirty two million sterling, the 21 year old international has come at the kind of expense that is to be expected of a player labelled one of the brightest talents in EUropean Football. Hazard adds flair to Chelsea's already creative midfield - with Spaniard Juan Mata and England's Frank Lampard already in the blue's setup. Euro 2012 golden boot holder Fernando Torres will hopefully be getting top level service from Hazard to turn him into the Premier League Assassin he was during his Liverpool days.

Chelsea are not the only moneybags club in Europe to open the cheque book so far this summer. Former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has certainly shown that he has real ambition with his new club Paris Saint Germain - after interest in AC Milan star due Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. With defender Thiago Silva already heading to the French Capital for 42 million euro (£33m), it remains to be seen if the Swedish striker will follow suit. Whilst yet to be confirmed, it seems likely that the ageing Ibrahimovic will seek further challengers and follow his former colleague to the oil rich French giants. It is quite possible that these two stars could be just the tip of the ice burg for PSG. With the aim of becoming the first French side to win the Champions League in nearly two decades, Ancelotti's side will give the defending champions a run for their money.