The media are suggesting that Calum Chambers is going to join Arsenal from Southampton, with some sources claiming that he demanded a move. Lovren is on the verge of a move to Liverpool and Schneiderlin appears to be moving to either us or the Goons. Anyone left? I told the only Southampton fan that I know that their team would be pulled apart this summer and he wouldn't believe a word of it. Oops.
Is it just player power or do the Southampton board think they're better off raking in £100M in transfer fees and cutting the wage bill?
Both, probably. There was some talk of the change in their ownership having very different ideas, which saw Cortese leave and mention of £27m of transfer debt. With Pochettino coming to the Lane there was always going to be something of a shake-up, so perhaps Koeman's being allowed to make major changes? Having a bunch of players that don't want to be there wasn't going to help him, but too many changes will hurt him, too.
West Ham have continued their spectacular form in the Southern hemisphere, following up their 2-1 loss to Wellington Phoenix with a 3-1 loss to Sydney FC. The Spammers are up in arms, with Allardyce's popularity at an all time low, but results in pre-season are bloody irrelevant, frankly. Newcastle have managed a 5-0 aggregate in the same two fixtures, though.
Wenger is going to have to up his game to remain whiner in chief in the PL. Van Gaal has thrown his toys out of the pram for having to play 45 minutes in a Cleveland afternoon. He seems to have mistaken it for Death Valley. Weak. It's certainly interesting we've got a coach known for his emphasis on hard running, a packed schedule, and a squad notable for having a lot of players of very similar level. I wonder if we might see a lot more rotation than most teams use, and not just in midfield. On the other hand, the most sensible approach for next season would arguably see Poch take as much time as he needed to pick his starters and frequent subs, followed by a lot of frantic activity late in the transfer window, which might include a massive exodus and a couple of big signings.
Surprised he hasn't been kvetching about the club's online store selling their home kit for £22 this week. Yet...
Seeing as they probably cost about 50p a unit to make in some Bangladeshi sweat shop, I don't think their profit margins will be too squeezed by that.
It does mean the club lost some valuable revenue that may be needed for when Van Galling is given his marching orders. Which he will complain about in the press, of course.
I'm tipping Fat Sam and the two pornographers for the drop, this season. It would be poetic justice if our beating them convincingly on their own turf was the game that ended their brief return to the top flight.
I can wait for The Smug One to start trying to play his mind-games with Van Baal-Ache. It will be fun to watch the latter each the former for breakfast.
Could have been 2-0 Roma over Man U after two minutes. Destro bounced the ball over the bar after successfully lobbing the keeper, then he blazed over from a good position. Whipping the LA Galaxy does not mean this is a very good team. I could see Van Gaal wanting to change half the starters. Smalling, Jones, Cleverly and Shaun the Sheep are not strong PL players. Meanwhile, however will Man U stand the heat which is more or less general to US summer afternoons? Pittsburgh has about the same temperatures as Miami, or Cleveland or for that matter Brazil. It's only the northwest coast that doesn't normally get to 32 degrees on summer afternoons. But after dominating the first half hour, Roma is 3-0 down at the half. Great strike by Rooney for the opener. I remain unimpressed with most of Man U's players. They just showed some repulsive ginger dude carrying a banner reading "Rooney: the white Pele." Crikey. That by itself should put the US off Man U. Pjanic lobs Amos from behind the halfway line! Priceless how Amos points his finger and yells angrily afterwards. How could a keeper who got lobbed from behind the halfway line be angry at anyone but himself? No Destro for me. He's no Lamela. Pjanic, on the other hand... Who says US fans are football idiots? They just booed Ashely Cole for no reason other than being Ashley Cole. 3-2 Man U in a game Roma had much the best of. Van Gaal will certainly not be happy.
"Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal is not happy with Jose Mourinho's claims that the £120,000-a-week wages that 19-year-old Luke Shaw receives at Old Trafford would have "killed" Chelsea." (Mail on Sunday) Looks like it's started! Surprised that Van Baal-Ache has been suckered-in so quickly. He's obviously not the brightest tool in the box.
Mick Channon has complained about the lack of loyalty in today's footballers, following the transfer of several Southampton players this summer. Channon played for Southampton (twice), Durban Celtic, Man City, Cape Town City, Newcastle KB United, Gosnells City, Caroline Hill, Newcastle Utd, Bristol City, Norwich City, Durban City, Miramar Rangers, Portsmouth and Finns Harps. You can't buy that sort of loyalty nowdays, can you?
years ago I used to read Shoot! magazine. Each week a player was interviewed - one of the questions was "what's the best goal you have ever seen?". He chose one of his own.
Loic Remy appears to have failed his medical at Liverpool. No surprise, really. They must've known about his issues, though.
I haven't read much on Remy - what are these 'issues'? There are people saying we should jump on this and get him in...
