It is now time to switch to a new Money AM football blog as the world cup is now over and we all look to the future.....World cup 2010 is over, Bravo Espana, and Forlan, once again and bring on the new season !.....I never expected the last thread to be such a success...thanks all.... so this new one might go on for years without the need to edit the title...we shall see...

I thought he meant Swansea squad should be 80% Welsh! :-)

re - FIFA

The rest of the WORLD think that the Brits are - Sour Grapes -

How much is true?
lets put 80% on the latest figure


On Wednesday, Football Association chairman David Bernstein called on the member associations to stop Blatter being re-elected unopposed but they voted by 172 votes to 17 not to postpone the election.

TENNIS - FRENCH OPEN 2011

Nadal outlasts Murray in three-set thriller 6-4 5-7 6-4

7 June 2011: The pick of today's football transfer rumours

A round up of the pick of the European football transfer rumours for 7 June 2011. Any transfer gossip surrounding Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, Roma, Barcelona and Real Madrid will be covered here.

Real Madrid or Barcelona is the likeliest destination for Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez. However, he will cost 100m and 250,000-a-week in wages.

Funny how it works, isn't it? None of the papers told us that Mark Hughes was going to slink off at the end of last season but now they all want to convince us that they know exactly where he's going next. Today, he is heading to Aston Villa. Just remember, tomorrow is another day entirely.

Over in North London and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has cancelled his summer holiday to "mastermind" an overhaul of his squad.

Nasri (10m) and Arshavin (15m) are both headed for the door marked 'exit' at the Emirates. In addition, Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola is still interested in Cesc Fabregas. He is "anxious" to strengthen his outfit by adding another soft-shoe peddling midfielder to a squad that has an obvious dearth of creativity, he's prepared a bid of 40m for young Cesc.

Expect Wenger to splurge the 70m raised in the fire sale on four waif-like French midfielders, a dodgy centre half and David Seaman.

Not content with signing one youngster from the north-east who "looked good for half a season but then didn't really play that well for the rest of it, eh?" Scottish minstrel Kenny Dalglish will splurge 20m on Sunderland's Jordan Henderson and secure his signature before he heads off to the European Under-21 Championship.

Dalglish will also snap up Blackburns' England Under-21 Phil Jones for a miserly 16m. He'll have competition from Chelsea, Arsenal and the Manchester clubs who also have more money than sense. In addition, Kenny will sign Roma's Brazilian keeper Doni for 1m.

Once the Henderson deal is sorted, Sunderland will have 20m kicking around. They'll add that to the 18m they received for Darren Bent and spend the money on Darron Gibson, Wes Brown and Danny Welbeck, The Guardian reports. They have all played for Manchester United so they must be good, right?

Over at Old Trafford, Jose Mourinho has called lots of times and left a very polite voicemail message enquiring after pint-sized striker Javier Hernandez. United will refuse all overtures by upping Hernandez's wages to 75,000 a week and promising to stop calling him the 'new Michael Owen'.

In addition, Ferguson is in need of another hirsutely challenged No.10 for when Wayne Rooney's new mop-top grows in. But he is likely to see overtures towards Wesley Sneijder scuppered when Guus Hiddink returns to Chelsea for a second spell as manager, bringing the Inter Milan schemer in for 30m.

Instead, United will move for Ashley Young after the England International 'revealed' that he'd like to play in the Champions League, completely ruling out the possibility of moving to any one of the other 584 clubs that UEFA will allow to enter next season's bloated competition.

In today's most unlikely story, American superstar soccer player Clint Dempsey will sign for AC Milan. He wants to play Champions League football, see. "Right now I'm thinking about Europe and playing in the Champions League. That's a goal," he told the Sun. "Everyone wants to play at the highest level." Not going to happen, Clint.

Miroslav Klose can't agree a new contract with Bayern Munich and is ready to set off wherever the wind takes him. Munich will replace him by signing Nicklas Bendtner from Arsenal in a deal that doesn't really suit anyone -- apart from Arsenal, obviously.

Back in Spain and Real Madrid or Barcelona is the likeliest destination for Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez. However, he will cost 100m and 250,000-a-week in wages. According to the Mirror, Tevez is "tied to Manchester City with a 100m pair of golden handcuffs", which goes to show that both clubs haven't heard of the internet.

Real Madrid's Xabi Alonso has hinted that he would consider a move back to Liverpool. "At the moment I don't know what is going to happen, but it could be a possibility. Never say never," the Spanish midfield said.

One player not joining Madrid however, is Benfica defender Fabio Coentrao. The Spanish giants have been told the defender will cost them 25m.

Anybody see the swiss game...caught the last ten, twenty minutes with Bent missing a sitter...got to say that this is the poorest generation of england players that I have ever watched....hopeless in midfield...poor up front...and the less you say about the defending the better....

Sex cheat Giggs fights to preserve his follicles

Stressed Ryan's new hair battle
RYAN Giggs's cheating with two mistresses put him under so much pressure his hair began falling out, The Sun can reveal.

The married soccer star blew a fortune on expensive lawyers in a failed bid to keep his adultery quiet - and another 30,000 to stop himself going bald.

And 14,000 of the bill was for a laser gadget Giggs bought so he could treat himself.

The winger, 37, had already had treatment for hair loss, like his Manchester United team-mate Wayne Rooney.

But juggling football, his marriage to wife Stacey, being a dad to their two children - plus secret romps with Big Brother star Imogen Thomas AND his brother's wife Natasha Giggs - took a toll on him.

The Welsh winger feared his regrown thatch was disappearing and this March he began new treatment. It included laser sessions at a clinic, special shampoos and lotions.

A source said: "Ryan's hair replacement treatment started in June 2009 and was going great.

"But since February he's missed quite a few appointments and his hair noticeably thinned on top. We thought it was because he was busy with his football. Now it looks like he was busier off the pitch. He was told the thinning was due to missed appointments and stress.

"He was recommended to buy a Tricostym machine.

"It has about 20 lasers which increase blood flow in the scalp and promote hair growth. It's painless, you can do it at home."

Hour-long sessions at the Advanced Hair Studio in Salford continued through April, when Giggs obtained an injunction preventing him being named as the player who bedded Imogen, 28.

He was outed after being named in Parliament. Natasha, 28, then went public, devastating her husband Rhodri, 34.

IMOGEN yesterday denied she was seeing Spurs striker Jermain Defoe, insisting she would never date another footballer.

Serial Director Alert!

http://www.bridgingandcommercial.co.uk/newsstory?id=1732&type=newsfeature&title=property-stripped_football_vlub_bought_for_1

Nasri leaving the Gunners but going where ?......

New season coming up soon......ManU favourites once again I suppose....

God - already !

I can't believe the SPL has already started!

No....far too early and Rangers look like they are going out of the champions league already.....this is the trouble when your domestic football slumps like our northern cousins has....it is incredibly difficult to bring it back......now their football calendar is all over the place....

Fabregas to sign for ManU ?...how's that for a title ?.......

So, Ukraine, Poland, Montenegro......it is, ....I would like to think that the top spot is within England's reach as even if we lost a game : the other countries will all be taking points off each other......difficult for Scotland and Ireland and what about Spain and France in the same group !...ouch !.....looks like second place for France and a ball hasn't been kicked yet !...

Missed the draws but I understand that England almost drew France.....

England-Holland game off.....due to riots.....apart from that ...ridiculous to have a game of such prestige at this time of the year.

Totally agreed RF - Premiership Managers will be delighted. Now get rid of Twitter and Facebook give the Police Blackberries close down the Stock Exchange for a period and we may seem calm in our streets and in our pockets.

Chris Carson ... pm me

Sent you email Chris

Cheers Dil, you have mail.