The Soccer Blog: Talks

Showing posts with label Talks. Show all posts

Monday, 11 April 2011

Dannii Minogue In London For Emergency X Factor Talks

Dannii Minogue has arrived in London for talks with X Factor bosses, to decide if she will feature in the eighth series of the show later this year, it has been revealed.

Auditions are set to begin next month but, as of yet, a line-up for the judging panel has not been decided. It is widely expected that Simon Cowell and Cheryl Cole will not be on the next series, as they will be busy working on the US X Factor. Louis Walsh and Dannii Minogue have not yet signed any contracts.

This year’s X Factor Live Tour came to a close this past weekend in Cardiff, with more live shows set to take place next year, featuring the finalists from the upcoming series.

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Wednesday, 23 March 2011

Damien Comolli Talks Suarez, Carroll, and Dalglish

By: Noel | March 23rd, 2011
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There’s a long and interesting interview with Damien Comolli over on LFCtv today to mark his official ascension to Director of Football. So, now that Liverpool officially has a Director of Football–a rare breed in the English game–what exactly is his outlook on life, the universe, and everything? And more importantly, what’s his view on some of the football related matters therein?

Well, right off the top he says a lot of nice things about Kenny Dalglish, but that’s the sort of stuff one rather expects and as such it doesn’t give any great insight–all previous appearances are that they can work together and that this doesn’t change Dalglish’s long-term job prospects, and there’s nothing said to suggest otherwise. More interesting is when he starts to talk about players and transfers, starting with Luis Suarez:

Firstly, we never thought he would be available because the amount of money Ajax wanted for him after the World Cup was absolutely phenomenal and a lot higher than what we’ve paid.

The groundwork and intelligence coming out from the scouting team was very good. Everything you look at with Luis – his character, his attitude, his commitment–on top of all the football skills–made us feel he was the right person and the right individual. He had opportunities to join other clubs, including in the Premier League, during the window, but as soon as we started talking to him he was very committed and was saying “I only want to play for Liverpool, I only want to come to Liverpool.” The more the player gives you this feedback then the more you are inclined to do the maximum to get him. It’s an extra motivation. He was saying “please come and get me, I want to play for Liverpool.” The more he was saying that the more motivated we were to get him. Since he arrived he has shown his talent and everything else from the personality point of view.

Now if that isn’t a whole bundle of awesome to break down, I don’t know what is. For all the confusion at the time over whether Ajax was demanding £30M or Liverpool wasn’t willing to go above £14M, whether one fee was robbery and the other insulting and all the rest, that Ajax had originally hoped to manage a much greater windfall from his sale after the World Cup goes some way to explaining why he was still there in January. Then again, if his performances for Liverpool to date are anything to go by, tacking another £10M on top of what Liverpool did pay in the end might not have been the most unreasonable expectation for Suarez’ former club.

It’s heartening to hear, too, that he really did want to come to Liverpool above all others, which does match with the rumours and rumblings throughout January that it was his dream destination in England. Of course, Liverpool can’t expect to live off a history of continental success and attractive football that has long made it a desirable destination for foreign born players and staff forever, and even with the boost given to it by Rafa Benitez’ European success throughout the past decade that luster isn’t what it might have once been. Still, for some–for Suarez, obviously, while in the past there have been similar rumours of affection amongst the likes of Sergio Aguero and Arda Turan–there still seems to be an obvious draw, and that appeal is part of what Liverpool needs to get back on top to preserve. It’s still early days, certainly, but Suarez definitely looks the sort to help make that happen, thereby helping to ensure that the next Luis Suarez wants to play in Liverpool Red.

As for Comolli’s take on Liverpool’s second major January signing, he had this to say about Andy Carroll’s arrival:

[I was] very, very pleased for two reasons. First, because we were getting a top player. He’s young, English, with all the attributes you want from a modern centre-forward in the way we want to play. Secondly, because getting two players triggered the fact that we could sell one player who didn’t want to be here and get two who did want to be here. That was really a relief for those reasons.

I think they showed on Sunday that they will click together very quickly. They didn’t have too much time to train yet because with our schedule we’ve been in Europe and Luis hasn’t been eligible for Europe. He could only play in the league. So training has been difficult for Kenny to set up with his staff. It was difficult to get them together but I think on Sunday they showed at Sunderland in their first game – at a place where it’s never easy to get the three points. If you hear what the other players are saying, they are very positive because they see what is happening at training and see that Andy is very difficult to handle for defenders and that Luis is so clever. You could see in several situations on Sunday that they were really looking for each other on the pitch and starting to click.

I think most of us were quite relieved–and quite frankly surprised–when Torres’ sudden departure demands days before the end of the window somehow ended with the arrival of a second major signing to replace him with, and the speed with which Comolli and all involved managed to react to the situation was impressive to say the least. Some might say that Andy Carroll’s fee was almost double what it perhaps should have been, but that Liverpool managed to finalise the Suarez deal and both begin and end the Carroll deal under that kind of pressure, rather than resorting to paying twice the going rate for the likes of Carlton Cole as a panic buy, made most everybody watching feel a whole lot better when the window closed on Monday than when Torres handed in his request the Friday before.

It’s also a quite interesting behind the scenes tidbit–at least from where I’m sitting–about training practices and that despite both being with the club for a little more than a month when they first played together, Suarez’ Europa League ineligibility appears to have been a major limiting factor in the time they’ve trained together.

As for January windows and summer windows and what to expect moving forward:

When we prepare for the next season it’s difficult to say we work to the January transfer window. We work from summer to summer. When the window shuts in September we are preparing for the next summer window, not the one in January because, as people say, usually not much goes on in January. We proved that wrong. As soon as it shuts on 31 January we are thinking about the summer and what we are going to do. We talk about different targets, about players we thought about in January but couldn’t do and keep the scouting team working… So I expect a busy summer.

Well then, time to queue up the the rumour mill.

There’s also some good stuff about the academy and the importance of being in Europe, so go give the whole thing a read and/or watch if you’ve got the time. Then maybe come back and tell me why I’m an idiot for skipping the best parts. In any case, we haven’t heard a whole lot from Comolli before now, and it’s good to finally get a bit of insight into his views on players and managers and transfer windows and all the rest. Rather than simply knowing him as the man who brought the greatest player in the history of the multiverse since Ryan Giggs (that’d be Gareth Bale to the rest of us) to White Heart Lane.

Some Related Liverpool Posts:Damien Comolli Joins Liverpool and Previewing NapoliRaul’s Kicks, Suarez’ Tricks, and Other Monday NotesSuarez Says Goodbye, Torres Says Hello, and Other Monday NotesHappy Birthday Kenny Dalglish, Redeveloping Anfield, and Other Friday NotesVideo: Andy Carroll v. Sporting Braga

Category: Miscellaneous, Premier League, Team News

Tags: Andy Carroll, Arda Turan, Damien Comolli, Gareth Bale, January transfer window, Kenny Dalglish, Liverpool youth academy, Luis Suarez, Miscellaneous, Premier League, Ryan Giggs, Sergio Aguero, Team News, This is Not News about Fernando Torres
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Monday, 21 March 2011

Dalglish talks a private matter, says Liverpool owner

Liverpool owner John W Henry has refused to be drawn on Kenny Dalglish’s future, saying the matter will remain behind closed doors.

Dalglish, whose caretaker role is due to expire at the end of the season, led Liverpool to a 2-0 win at Sunderland on Sunday that saw the Reds move within four points of fifth-placed Tottenham.

The Liverpool legend has led the ailing club to 20 points from 10 games in charge since taking over from Roy Hodgson, and is believed to be a frontrunner to nab a long-term position at Anfield.

But Henry is remaining coy on the subject, saying talks with Dalglish would not be played out in public.

“What’s going on in that regard is private,” Henry said when asked if he had opened discussions with the manager.

“It’s something called the Liverpool way and you do these things behind closed doors.”

“I’m not going to talk about these things, but he’s done very well. It’s all very positive. Someone was saying that people weren’t happy here, but I think since that person left, people are happier.”

“We are working on the future. We will have to have a lot of days like today to do that (finish fifth). This was a big three points, because this is a tough place.”

“Tottenham are fifth and look very good, so we will have to play extraordinarily well. We will have to win when they come to Anfield to have a shot at that.”

Dalglish took time in his post-match press conference to shoot down rumours he had demanded a four-year deal from the Liverpool boss, saying contract discussions are still in their infancy.

“As regards the job, I’ve seen in the papers I’ve asked for a four-year contract, but I don’t know who I’m supposed to have asked,” Dalglish said.

“I also saw that I was offered two but I don’t know who sent that in.”

“Somebody asked if I’d spoken to the owners. Of course I have, I speak to them every week. They’re fantastic and supportive but there have been no detailed discussions about next year.”

“Until there’s something to be said we can’t make it up for you, until then, there’s nothing.”

“For me that’s not a problem. The club has always been the most important thing. I don’t have a problem with that. There’s no pressure on anyone.”

Mon 21 March, 2011

Wednesday, 16 March 2011

Verma Talks About His Injury Woes; Martin Makes His Podcast Debut

By: Sairax | March 16th, 2011
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Things are pretty quiet today on the Arsenal front. We’re still waiting for confirmation of Jens Lehmann’s emergency signing. Then again, the official website tends to lag behind the rest of us on these matters so expect confirmation from them sometime in May. In any case, it looks to be set and Keown thinks it could be good for us, so expect the mad German to be on the bench this weekend.

On the injury front, we thought yesterday that Djourou would be fit sooner than later due to reports coming out of Switzerland. Turns out, we’re not that lucky. I blame all of us for thinking we could catch a break on injuries. Djourou will be undergoing shoulder surgery this weekend after dislocating it in the Man United game. After the Swiss started speculating about Djourou being back for the upcoming Swiss international friendly, Arsenal came out and strenuously denied any claims that he would be fit soon and that he will be having scans after his upcoming surgery. Thank you for crushing my hopes and dreams yet again Arsenal. Though maybe Djourou should be more careful during his extracurricular activities so as not to aggravate any existing injuries.

Thomas Vermaelen has come out and talked about his lengthy spell on the sidelines this season:

“I feel no trouble in the Achilles tendon itself, but the muscles around it still need to be made stronger,” he said. “I do not know when I will be back.

“At first they said I would need four or six weeks after the operation. But it soon became apparent that it would last longer. I’m not even in training. I’m still working on my exercises to come back. This is a tough mental test.

“I relapsed six times,” Vermaelen told the Belgium paper Het Nieuwsblad. “That was hard. Every time I had a goal to come back, but that was then broken again and again.

“I am now cautious. It is frustrating that I cannot play. I had never been injured for so long. On some days it’s mentally very tough but I see this as a test. Perhaps it is also good for my career and it will make me stronger mentally.”

The problem with Verma was that they couldn’t figure out what was causing all of the pain in his Achilles. Turns out there was a “small tendon in the same area of his leg which has no function and not all people have”. It has been removed, but he is still struggling with his fitness. Basically, don’t expect to see him this season. It ain’t happenin’. That leaves us with Kos and Squillaci. It looks like Iggy will be put in the squad as well since Arsenal are running a feature on him on the main website, which they usually do when a player is about to come into the first team. I know what you’re all thinking and all I can say right now is, take deep breaths. Inhale. Exhale. Repeat.

On Sunday, Ryo Miyaichi, who is currently on loan with Feyenoord, played on Sunday and wore a black armband in memory of all of the victims of the disaster in Japan. He has obviously been affected by the events that have been ongoing in his homeland and he had a message of support written on his shirt, which he revealed after the game. I think I speak for all of us when I say that we are all thinking of the people of Japan, including Ryo’s family and friends, and hoping for their situation to get better soon.

Last, but not least, our very own Martin of Arsenal Offside has made his podcast debut as a guest on the Arsenal Review USA pod. In this week’s edition they talk about the Barcelona match and the Man United match. You know. All that good stuff that’s been happening over the last couple of weeks. I haven’t listened to it yet, but I’m sure Martin was great, as he is every week on this blog. You can check it out here, and feel free to share it with all the gooners you know. We’re moving on up in the world!

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Some Related Stories:JET in Talks to Go to QPR on Loan; Vermaelen Injury Now “Long Term;” Cesc, Rosicky Talk Ahead of Man City ClashArsenal Deal With Injury Woes While Competing On Four FrontsAre We Seeing the “Real Arsenal”?; Verma To Have SurgeryGibbs is Back, but Verma Remains a MysteryGood Injury News on Djourou; Bendtner Calls Future in Doubt; Barcelona Give Up Pursuit of Cesc, Skeptical Question Mark?

Category: Arsenal News, Injury Report, Johan Djourou, Thomas Vermaelen

Tags: Arsenal News, Ignasi Miquel, Injury Report, Johan Djourou, Thomas Vermaelen
Tweet « Djourou to Return? | Home | Homey_MillsAnyone want to discuss the Ferguson 5 game ban? I don't think it will really hurt their results, but it made me laugh anyway.MartinGiven what happened over the course of the week since they asked me to do it weekend before last, and we actually recorded it, last weekend, I'm pretty sure I'll never be asked back, so enjoy it while it lasts.

In all seriousness, I have that thing where I can't listen to my own voice on a voice message or whatever, it makes me cringe, so I won't be able to listen to it, you guys will have to let me know how it went. My mentally-handicapped cat was being a pest the whole time and walking all around the computer -- you can probably hear his bell jingling at a couple of points. And at one point he freaked out and started chewing loudly on some plastic in the background away from the computer, so I was trying to simultaneously lean back and take the plastic away from him and keep talking close enough to the computer, so I'm sure that segment was fantastic... But Joel and Kyle were both very nice and fun to work with, so definitely keep up with them.Homey_MillsSo you really cringe when you hear your voice? That's ok. I cringe when I hear your voice too. Whhaaahahaha.MartinMy ex used to say the same thing.SairaxJust finished. Dammit you didn't give me shoutout! *shakes fist*MartinWell, I did give you a big plug at the end, and my funniest line was a cheap dig at Canada, but they must have edited it because the question and answer type stuff was over and we were kind of just talking at that point -- but I said they should definitely try to get you on at some point, and they said probably would.SairaxCouldn't resist a dig at Canada eh? ;)Sairaxhahaha my cat bothers me when I write the blog sometimes so I feel your pain!

Listening right now, you're doing great. And whoever said you had a thick accent is a weirdo. It's like that time this girl told me she doesn't use ketchup because she finds it "too spicy". Seriously though, I'm enjoying it, well done!MartinFor background, she was from New Jersey, and claimed that people from New Jersey did not have accents. So that probably explains a lot.Homey_MillsPodcast? Wow. Pretty soon the Martin won't be able to walk down the street without being mobbed by fans.RedCapedWonderThe Martin just sounds so cool.SairaxHappy 22nd Birthday Theo!blog comments powered by Disqus