Ban For Rooney, Smile For Dalglish :FA is Biased ???

So then, according to reports "King Kenny" Dalglish will not be punished for swearing in front of a TV camera. What a surprise, not.

Daglish told Arsene Wenger to P*ss off during Sunday's clash with Arsenal in front of a global TV audience of millions. And yet the Liverpool manager will escape any further action. Compare and contrast the punishment dished out to Wayne Rooney who swore into the camera and yet the United striker was given a two game ban; one which conveniently meant that he missed last weekend's FA Cup semi-final with Manchester City. No wonder United fans are asking if the FA is rotten to the core and corrupt because David Bernstein just happens to be Man City's former chairman.

Following the Rooney incident there was a media campaign to get the player banned. It seemed the FA went looking for reasons why they could ban Rooney, but there was nothing which specifically stated anyone should receive a ban for swearing. It has been the exact opposite where Dalglish is concerned; the FA is looking for reasons why the Liverpool manager should NOT be banned... this is clearly selective and arguably unfair justice. 

United fans don't want Dalglish banned and we didn't want Rooney banned, because as every sensible commentator said at the time, this would open up a can of worms and so it has.

As things stand, the FA stand charged as a bunch of double dealing / self serving hypocrites. If Rooney was banned for swearing then surely there has to be consistency and so Dalglish has to be banned too. But do not hold your breath. 

Here's a prediction: The FA will eventually ban another player or manager, but it will be an act of tokenism and when it happens it will be someone with a lower profile. This action - if ever happens - will not justify the FAs unfair selective justice on this issue. As things stand, it is one rule for United and another for the rest.

Manchester United are named world's most valuable club with David Beckham leading highest-paid players list in Forbes magazine

Manchester United and David Beckham continue to lead the Forbes lists of the most valuable teams and highest-paid players.

Arsenal are third behind Real Madrid but Barcelona have slipped one place to fifth, trailing behind German champions Bayern Munich in the renowned American magazine's rankings which take income, profitability and debt levels into consideration.

England midfielder Beckham continues to dominate the list of highest-paid players thanks to recent endorsement deals with Pepsi and Electronic Arts.

Top of the pile: Manchester United are valued as the world's most valuable club for the seventh year in a row

His earnings last year were estimated at 40 million US dollars (£24m), ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo (£23m) and Lionel Messi (£19m).

United, meanwhile, are valued at around £1.15billion topping the list for the seventh successive year with the Gunners worth £731million behind Spanish giants Real who are rated at around £911m.

Speculation continues to swirl that the club will be sold in the near future with a Qatari investment group said to be seriously interested, although the owning Glazer family insist they will not sell United, despite recording losses of £104m in the year to June 2010.

Becks appeal: David Beckham is named the highest-paid player by Forbes magazine

Two other Premier League clubs are in the top 10, with champions Chelsea rising from ninth to seventh place replaced by Liverpool who have dropped three slots from sixth as its value collapsed from £500m to £335m in the wake of the enforced sale to John W Henry's Boston Red Sox ownership group last October in a deal worth £290m.

The Reds missed out on the lucrative Champions League this season which considerably dented their coffers and Kenny Dalglish's side are unlikely to qualify for next season's competition.

Fall guys: Liverpool have dropped in the rankings despite American John W Henry's recent takeover

'The top soccer teams that can consistently qualify for the big European tournaments are increasing in value in large part because they reaping the benefits of higher broadcasting and sponsorship revenue,' said Forbes executive editor, Mike Ozania.

In a separate study released Wednesday, Barcelona and Real Madrid were shown to have overtaken the New York Yankees as the best-paid global sports teams.

The review of average first-team pay in 14 of the world's leading sports leagues showed that was £4.8m at Barcelona and £4.5m at Real Madrid during the 2009-10 season

Sir Alex May Sell Upto Dozen Players This Summer

Sir Alex Ferguson has recently admitted that he will be making some tough, but quick decisions this summer about which players he will keep at Manchester United next season. Not wanting any complacency to set in, Sir Alex knows that he cannot allow any "sentimental" feelings come into his decisions, which is why he has to make them hastily.

The United manager already knows he has a couple of players who are pondering retirement, but Ferguson also knows that there are few players that he needs to make a cold-blooded decision for.

Gary Neville has bowed out of the game, Edwin van der Sar has claimed he is playing his last season and there is heavy speculation that Paul Scholes, who will miss the next three Barclays Premier League matches, will be following these two into retirement.

While Sir Alex has probably done all that he could to convince van der Sar to play another season, he might not be having that conversation with the Ginger Price. Over the last month of the season, two silly challenges will see Scholes miss five matches. No matter how good or loyal a player is, Ferguson has an arbitrary decision as to whether Scholes can contribute at a positive level.

That is not to say that the ginger-headed midfielder cannot still have a commanding presence, because he is still one of the best players in the Premier League, but the problem is that you cannot rely on him to not get that red-mist and put the Reds at another disadvantage. Scholes has only scored one goal this season, a trademark stunning strike that marked his 150th goal for the club, but even he knows that he must maintain a certain standard, which, unfortunately, has not been there this season.

A couple of other long-term servants of the club, Wes Brown and Darron Gibson, could make way for fresh faces next season. Brown, who has been at the club for more than 15 years, has fallen to wayside after his poor choice of words directed at Ferguson last summer. The 31-year old has only 15 appearances this season, and his captain-for-the-day against Crawley Town was more of a punishment than a reward.

Despite being a Red for his entire career, Gibson has not been able to prove that he is a long-term solution to Ferguson's midfield issues. The Irish midfielder has been encouraged by his national team coach, Giovanni Trapattoni, that he needs to leave Old Trafford to realize the potential of his career, but Gibson refuses because he knows anywhere else is a step down.

Ow-ver

Michael Owen, who has only made 12 appearances this season and Owen Hargreaves, who has played a total of five minutes in the last 12 months, are both out of contract at the end of the season, and it would take a very brave person to think that either one of them will be at Old Trafford next season.

Hargreaves has caused Ferguson the most gray hair, because just when he thinks he has him available, something goes wrong with him. Finally recovering from career-threatening knee problems, the multidimensional midfielder has succumbed to a serious groin injury and then a shoulder injury, and it looks like Ferguson's patience has finally wore thinner than the cartilage in Hargreaves knees.

The other Owen, Michael, has been a frustrating one to deal with as well, because as soon as he gets into form, he suffers an injury setback. However, over the last month or so, the United No. 7 has endured a tough time finding a chance to fit into Sir Alex's team with the form of Dimitar Berbatov, Javier Hernandez and Wayne Rooney, but he did nothing in his 18-minute cameo against Fulham to warrant a chance.

Even when United were in desperate need of a goal to keep their slim treble chances alive against Manchester City, Owen was overlooked in favor of Fabio, a young, inexperienced defender, which allowed Nemanja Vidic join Chicharito in the attack, instead.

Out

There have been two players that have already stated their desire to leave, one later reneged his request, but either way that type of mentality, or lack there of, will not sit well with Ferguson. Back in January, there was a rumor that Gabriel Obertan was frustrated at his lack of first-team opportunities, so he apparently had his transfer request denied by the club. The young French winger has been more miss than hit since arriving in a shock transfer from Bordeaux.

Hours before Reds' match with West Ham United a couple of weeks ago, Tomasz Kuszczak, amazingly announced that he will not be sticking around Old Trafford for another season. In four seasons with United, Kuszczak, who is best known for having the best Scrabble name, has only made 60 appearances, which is equal to the total of matches that Reds could play this season if they make the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final.

No manager likes to make hard decisions, but Sir Alex Ferguson knows that for Manchester United to move forward in a positive direction he must make and stick by them without any regret.

Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea And Liverpool New Kits Leaked Out

So it's the battle of the kits, as all the big 4 have had 'leaked' pictures of their new kits revealed and here we look at who potentially has the best kit of them all.

Manchester United's New Kit

This year's leading candidate for the Premier League title are seemingly intent on keeping their current jersey for next season. The colours seem relatively the same, with them keeping the general colour patter of red and white.

There was a leaked picture of their long sleeved home shirt and this is probable the shirt that Wayne Rooney will don for next season's home fixtures, with the Englishman being a fan of the long sleeved shirt. A bit similar to their kit from this season, especially considering the fact that Manchester United have just changed to this design this season. Nothing notable that was added to the kit for this season.

Arsenal's Home Kit

Arsenal's brand new kit looks spanking for next season and they will certainly hope that it will be the jersey that will bring success to the London-based club. Once again, I shall say that this kit does seem a bit similar to their kit from this season, although reusing an old crest was a smart idea for the folks at Nike. Looks pretty good and I'm pretty sure the Arsenal fans will be excited to wear this kit next season.

I wonder whether there will be any superstars donning this red and white jersey though, with many apparently desiring to leave Arsenal, players like Fabregas and Arshavin.

Chelsea's Home Kit

More of a case of what was taken away rather than added to Chelsea's new home jersey, as they have taken away their red colour collar, which in all honesty does make this kit look better now. Although the red was probably Torres' reason for the move, joking, joking.

Chelsea fans will certainly hope that the new white collar will bring some luck back to the Chelsea team, along with some form to their misfiring strikers.

Liverpool FC's New Away Kit

Perhaps the most interesting new kit for the new season, with Liverpool FC going for this black and white theme for their away kit for next season. The white really stands out here and this will certainly be one that Liverpool FC will hope will change their fortunes from this season, with a horrendous start to the Barclays Premier League campaign.

Sevilla want to snatch Dimitar Berbatov

Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov is being looked at by Spanish La Liga side Sevilla. The Bulgarian who got off to a fine start this season has dropped in the pecking order and Sevilla are looking to take advantage of this by making a £12 million offer to the Red Devils for his services according to The Sun.

They report that Sevilla have already contacted Berbatov's agent Emile Dantchev about a possible move, and with just 12 months remaining on Berbatov's contract, Alex Ferguson will have no choice but to sell him if Berbatov decides to move to get some more regular first team action.

The 30-year-old forward is Man United's top scorer this season but finds himself out of favour with Javier Hernandez now preferred in more important matches. The Bulgarian's failure to convert some clear cut chances in the FA Cup loss against Manchester City is also thought to be a contributing factor in Sir Alex Ferguson's wish to offload the player.

Berbatov has scored 22 goals this season but the return of 48 goals in 123 games isn't thought to be good enough for a striker who cost United £30.75 million when he was bought from Spurs in 2008.

Man United will be happy to recoup some of that transfer fee for an older player who only has one year left on his contract. Javier Hernandez seems to be more consistent in his scoring and seems to have a better partnership with Wayne Rooney, and Sir Alex Ferguson has already said that they are his preferred pairing for the forseeable future.

Manchester United at last getting rid of Glazers

The Red Knights' dreams of rescuing Manchester United from the grips of the Glazer family look to have come to a dead end.

It was expected the Red Knights group would launch a formal bid for the Old Trafford outfit at some point before the World Cup.

However, the Glazer family last week stated they had no intention of selling the club and previous claims the American owners had rejected a £1.5billion bid from a Far East consortium already seem to have led to a belief amongst the Red Knights that there is little point making a substantially lower offer that was also certain to be rejected.

"The Red Knights remain committed to pursuing their efforts to try and help bring ownership of Manchester United to its supporters, and under a structure with materially less debt," said a statement released on behalf of the group this morning.

"As we have maintained however since news of our ambitions first emerged in March, we will only attempt to purchase the club at a sensible price, consistent with the long-term interests of the club.

"Persistent speculation in the media of inflated valuation aspirations has made our goals less attainable, as potential investors have strongly reinforced our views that we should not move forward at a price uneconomic for the future of the club."

It effectively means the Red Knights will not move forward until they get an indication United would be sold for around £1billion, a sum they believe is realistic given current market conditions.

The news will come as a major disappointment to fans opposed to the current owners and those who have mounted a major campaign against them.

However, the likelihood is that the Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) will now call for a boycott of season tickets and other club merchandise in an effort to damage revenue streams and undermine the Glazers' business plan.

Whether this has any effect is another matter.

United chief executive David Gill recently claimed season ticket sales were roughly in line with previous years and the club's satellite London-based commercial arm recently topped £200million in new deals alone.

With American insurance giant Aon about to begin a four-year shirt sponsorship deal, there is no sign of a reduction of United's pulling power, even though they ended last term with only the Carling Cup as silverware, having missed out on both the Premier League and Champions League trophies.

Club officials have repeatedly stressed Sir Alex Ferguson has the funds to strengthen his squad this summer, although so far, the only arrivals are Mexican striker Javier Hernandez and Fulham defender Chris Smalling, both of whom have been bought with an eye on the future.

"We understand that many supporters were hoping that we might be in a position to make a bid before the season ticket renewal deadline," continued the Red Knights' statement.

"However, our approach is best served by long-term interests of all. We have never taken a stance on season ticket renewals, it is a personal choice for all supporters.

"We have spent some considerable time assessing the value of the club.

"If the fundamentals lead to a more realistic re-assessment then, along with our co-operation with MUST and other Manchester United supporters, we will aim to achieve our goals."

Mourinho ‘goes nuclear’ with £95m Rooney bid

Jose Mourinho hasn't barely got his feet under the desk at Real Madrid, but already the Special One is causing palpitations amongst the managers of some of Europe's biggest clubs as he goes after their stars.

Although he has yet to come out and say publicly who his targets are Mourinho has already been linked with Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and Maicon - although he has played down the speculation.

Now the website caughtoffside.com is reporting that he could be about to 'go nuclear' and put in a world record £95m bid for Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney.

Sir Alex Ferguson will be bound to experience some 'squeaky bum time' as he waits to see if the club's owners, the unpopular Glazer family, decide that the offer is too big to refuse and pull the carpet from under Ferguson's feet and force him to accept.

Whether Sir Alex would accept United selling their most valuable assets for two years running is another matter. But Mourinho is apparently hoping that the widely-reported financial difficulties at Old Trafford will influence Ferguson's difficult decision.

If Rooney was to do the unthinkable and up sticks to Madrid then Ferguson could try and replace him with Serbia's 19-year-old Barcelona frontman Bojan Krkic, who would cost him £12m. 

With a new look front line of Krkic and Javier Hernandez, Fergie could well favour souping up his underpowered midfield with the rest of his transfer kitty.

Brazilian midfielder Paulo Henrique Ganso of Santos has been mooted as the man to help him do it, although intriguing whispers from the Mirror suggest it could also be the talented if injury prone Everton star Mikel Arteta.

England Final Squad for Worldcup 2010 Southafrica

England Squad:


Goalkeepers: David James (Portsmouth), Robert Green (West Ham), Joe Hart (Manchester City).
Defenders: Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), John Terry (Chelsea), Matthew Upson (West Ham), Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Ledley King (Tottenham), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Stephen Warnock (Aston Villa).
Midfielders: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City), James Milner (Aston Villa), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Gareth Barry (Manchester City).
Strikers: Peter Crouch (Tottenham), Emile Heskey (Aston Villa), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham).

4 Reasons Why Rooney Wont be Leaving United this summer

Rooney is United, Rooney is for United, Rooney is Ever United





1. Rooney IS Manchester United, and is set to extend his contract after the World Cup.


2. He loves the life in England and has no desire to move to ’sunnier’ climes like other footballers.


3. He is already playing for a great club, it’s not like he needs to make the step up for his career.


4. Mourinho doesn’t want to mess around with Manchester United, given that he’s openly auditioning for a job as their next manager.

United Have £180mn for Transfers but Debts made it only £25mn Available

Manchester United have a staggering £180 million in their transfer coffers but the club have told investors that the kitty can be guaranteed only £25m each financial year.

United’s latest set of financial figures released last Friday revealed that the £80m Cristiano Ronaldo windfall has not yet been spent.

In a conference call to investors later that afternoon, United chief of staff Edward Woodward reiterated that the club’s guidance figure of £25m for net transfer spending remained valid.

Given that the Old Trafford club also have a further £75m credit facility available, in theory there is £180m available to spend on players, which would give Sir Alex Ferguson budget to rival Manchester City’s.

The reality, though, is somewhat different. The quarterly results for the period January to end of March 2010, which take in the first nine months of the financial year, showed that the Glazers are continuing to increase the debt burden on the club despite the healthy growth in matchday, media and commercial revenue.

Although the overall debt in the club has decreased from £543.3m year-on-year to £520m, it has increased by £12m since the Glazers took out a £500m bond in January to refinance what the club calls their “senior debt”.

The accounts of Red Football Ltd, United’s holding company, show a cash balance of £95.9m, but around £45m of it will be paid in interest. The figures also disclosed that the club lost £40.7m in a disastrous interest rate swap secured as part of a 2007 financing arrangement.

Digging deep? | Glazers could open up transfer funds

The greatest hindrance to United’s transfer plans could lie in the payment in kind (PIK) loans, which, although not revealed in the results posted by the football club, are estimated to have grown to £225m. They are due to increase to 16.25 per cent in August because of the firm’s high debts.

The fear of many United supporters is that the Glazers will dip in to the Ronaldo money to partially repay the PIK debt.

When the bond was issued, the club said that net spending would average £25m. During the current financial year, the net spend on players is £26.4m following the transfer last month of Ben Foster to Birmingham City.

This takes into account the purchases of Antonio Valencia, Gabriel Obertan, Mame Biriam Diouf, Chris Smalling and Javier Hernandez but not the sale of Ronaldo, who moved to Real Madrid at the end of the 2008-09 financial year.

Given that Sir Alex Ferguson appears to have reached his limit for the current financial year, it suggests that any summer spending will come after June 30.