Tamworth: Back To The Future

[Chief Rum]

Saturday, June 20 To Monday, June 22

It may be a short weekend, but a surprising lost happened in the early going. Here's the rundown.

Player Called Up For International Duty

Most of my international players are back in the fold, with Louis Saha, Giovanny Hernández and Johnnier Montaño in Colombia for the Confederations Cup.

I got yet another call for Yakubu, though. It feels like Africa must always be in competition.

Yakubu will play again for his native Nigeria, this time against the Ivory Coast in World Cup qualifying on June 27.

Tamworth Embarks On Own Champions Tour

Given the opportunity, I decided to have a little fun with the preseason schedule this year. My European readers may not care one way or another, but I'm guessing you Yanks will enjoy it enough.

I have worked out two tours of the United States, one in which I play Eastern Conference teams from July 10 to 19, and then Western Conference teams from July 22 to 31. I received notification from all eight clubs on Saturday.

I start off with D.C. United on July 10, the Chicago Fire on July 13, the New York-New Jersey Metrostars on July 16, and the New England Revolution on July 19. Then the next tour starts with the San Jose Earthquakes on July 22, the Kansas City Wizards on July 25, the Dallas Burn on July 28, and then I wrap things up with a visit to the L.A. Galaxy.

I'm looking forward to seeing how these clubs are holding up.

I also have scheduled a match with the Tamworth Reserves on August 3 at the Lamb Ground, as I traditionally do.

Manchester City Offers Flood

And it begins...

This is the part of the season where I get deluged with offers of players I have on my shortlist. Sometimes I am even interested when it happens, which is why I don't generally take players off of my shorltist unless I am convinced I won't ever use them.

Anyway, on Saturday, I was offered midfielder William Flood by Manchester City. Flood is an old acquaintance, having played a role with us one loan in the First Division, and then been offered to us numerous times the past couple offseasons. Really, it wouldn't be the offseason without constant offers of Flood from City.

I turned down the offer again, as Flood still doesn't quite meet what I need (nor his price, they want $8.5 M?!?), and he was way too inconsistent when he was with us anyway.

I Make Offers...And The Players Speak

Having entered the new offseason, I began what I said I would--a purge of the roster. And as I also said I would, I started the process by offering players around to interested clubs or squads recommended by my assistant manager Terry Gennoe.

I did this with several players, and most of them were offered to numerous clubs (an average of 9-10 per player). Here are the players I offered, mostly to league teams, and for their current stated values (Carl Motteram, though, I offered for a little more, $10 M instead of $8 M).

Strikers: Yakubu, Orri Freyr Oskarsson, Adam Wilde
Midfielders: Giovanny Hernández, Yoann Bigné, Carl Motteram, Mark Hicks
Defenders: Mark Phillips, Hermann Hreidarsson, Jarl Ander Storbæk, Tieme Klompe, Peter Castle, Jon Otsemobor
Goalkeepers: Jon Masalin

Yakubu is the biggest ticket. I offered him around at $17 M. Motteram was the only other double-digit $10 M offer. Hicks was next at $9.75 M, while everyone else was generally below $5 M.

I was attempting to circumvent the problems that come with outright transfer listing players that may still end up being important (if I can't move them) by simply offering them around, figuring that would keep things quiet. Uhh...wrong.

I got a number of messages from indigant players late Saturday and Sunday when the news got out that I had been offering them around. Hicks, Masalin and Klompe complained on Saturday, and Wilde, Hreidarsson and Oskarsson complained on Sunday. They didn't complain to me. They complained to The Times, The Daily Observer and The Daily Star. They all felt I didn't provide them with any support.

The biggest complaint, though, came from Motteram. He told a local newspaper that I was "unprofessional", on top of laying on the same claim that I wasn't giving him any support.

No turning back now, I guess.

The Offers...And 'No's'...Start Pouring In

On Monday, I got hit by an avalanche of responses, some 130 or so. Almost all of them were negative. But not all of them. There were a handful of legit offers, and there were also indications from some that they would be interested if I lowered my demands. I took note of it all and planned a new round offers.

Here's a player-by-player look at what interest I got:

Yakubu: No one took me up on the $17 M, but West Bromich Albion, Newcastle, Liverpool and Arsenal all said they would be interested if I dropped the price. I offered him at $13 M to all four.

Phillips: West Bromich Albion made a $1.2 M offer, which I accepted. I also re-offered at $1.2 M to two other clubs who wanted lower demands in Man City and Fulham.

Hreidarsson: Blackburn gave me a full value offer ($375K), while Chelsea checked in at $300K. West Bromich Albion, Newcastle and Leicester felt my offer wasn't a good value for the money, which is just another why of saying drop the price. So I accepted the Rovers' offer, and re-offered Chelsea at $375K. Since the latter three were already protesting that price, I didn't bother to re-offer it to them.

Storbæk: Birmingham City offered $75K for the fullback and winger. They were the only club interested. The offer was fairly small, so I re-offered at a higher level.

Klompe: Chelsea weighed in with the best offer here--a measly $50K. Birmingham City only offered $14K. Blackburn, West Bromich Albion, Newcastle and Leicetser City all said the deal wasn't a good offer. I countered Chelsea's offer at a slightly higher level, and re-offered that deal to everyone else, including Birmingham.

Masalin: The goalkeeper just got one possibility when Leeds said they would consider an offer if I lowered my demands. His value was about $1.6 M, so I dropped it to about $500K.

Castle: The young centreback got a lot of interest. West Bromich Albion offered $1.6 M, Birmingham City $1.3 M, and SHeffield Wednesday $1.1 M. Leeds wanted us to lower our demands, while Tottenham, Leicester City and Nottingham Forest questioned the value of my offer. I accepted West Bromich Albion's offer, upped the other offers, and re-offered at $1.6 M to all the others.

Otsemobor: Apparently West Bromich Albion needs defenders, because they have gotten invovled with nearly all of them. They were the only one to give a straight offer for Otsemobor, at $1.3 M. Leicester City and Leeds also showed interest, but no offers. I accepted West Bromich Albion's offer again, and re-offered the same amount to the other clubs.

Motteram: The winger/forward got a ton of interest as I expected, but they almost all wanted me to lower my demands. The one team that didn't was 1860 München, and that's because they were the one team that was already interested anyway. They offered me $10 M, much of it deferred like the Montaño deal, but there it was. I accepted it with glee.

Hicks: Longtime Lamb Hicks got a lot of interest as well, but every team wanted me to lower my demands. I'm not surprised--I never understood how Hicks' value got up to almost $10 M in the first place. I dropped my demands to $7 M and re-offered to Man City, Newcastle, Everton, Tottenham, Liverpool, Leicester and Sheffield Wednesday.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a wisp of interest for Hernández, Bigne, Oskarsson or Wilde. That's particularly bad for the last two, as they aren't happy with my offering them around in the first place.

League News

Liverpool Signs Cartier

On Sunday, the Reds bought young French fullback Jérôme Cartier from Aston Villa for $6.5 M.

Liverpool makes a solid buy here, as Cartier pretty much exploded on the scene as a rising young talent this past season. Cartier was a member of that deep Villan backline last year that also included all-league performers like Gareth Barry and Luke Young, not to mention another talented youth in Rincón.

Cartier, 21, made 44 appearances for Aston Villa last year, 38 of them starts. He finished among league leaders for defenders with eight goals. He also had two assists, three men of the match, and posted a 6.98 rating.

Cartier hasn't yet broken into the French national squad, but he is very much a veteran of the U-21 team, with 22 U-21 caps and six goals in international action. He can play both fullback and midfielder.

Cartier originally came out of Rennes and did a stint with Troyes, both in Le Championnat, before being bought by the Villans last summer for $5.25 M. He was also on France's Olympic gold medal winners in Shanghai last summer.

Liverpool Keen To Move Lynch

Liverpool boss Alex McLeish, at the same press conference announcing the signing of Cartier, said that he was ready to listen to offers for young 20-year-old midfielder Dave Lynch.

Lynch, a product of Liverpool's youth system whom has hever appeared in a regular season match with the Reds, has recently drawn interest from Sheffield Wednesday.

CR

[Chief Rum]

Confederations Cup Group Phase

While the European football world goes nuts over the beginning of the new offseason, eight of the best national teams in the world meet in Colombia for the Confederatiosn Cup. As I said before, these eight squads represent that six continental cup winners, the Confederations Cup holder and the host--which is by rank the second best squad at the competition.

Here's a quick look at the teams present.

Group A

Colombia (#3 FIFA) Colombia may be the host of this tournament, but they also have to be considered a favorite, as the second-highest ranked squad in the tournament. Colombia's best players up front are Tamworth's Johnnier Montaño and Deportivo's Jeffrey José Diaz. The leading goalscorers on the team, though, are part of a strong midfield. Betis's Rafael Arles Castillo and Lens's Oscar Eduardo Villareal are the true stars on this squad from both the middle and on the wing. The backline is fortified by the presence of strong veteran centrebacks in Inter's Iván Ramiro Córdoba and Nantes' Mario Yepes. They may be needed--goalkeeper Líbis Andrés Arenas of Las Palmas is talented, but still cutting his teeth at this level.

United States (#5 FIFA) The American team got into this competition by winning the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, and they have steadily risen to become one fo the best squads in the world. They are currently transforming from an older squad to a younger one, though, as past leaders like Bordeaux's Kevin King, PAO's Edwin Alvarenga and midfielder Claudio Reyna of Arsenal make way for Parma winger Connor Roberts, GAK striker Steve Jackson and 1.FC Köln's Landon Donovan. Donovan and Jackson join Olympiakos forward Edson Buddle in a strong front line. Roberts is the star of the midfield, but he is the only starter under 30. John O'Brien of Wolfsburg and Carlos Bocanegra of Fulham provide veteran support on a backline that features rising talent Jonathon Spector of Leverkusen. The strength of the U.S. squad's defense is in net, where Deportivo goalkeeper Tim Howard is in his prime.

Argentina (#7 FIFA) Most countries wouldn't slouch at seventh in the world, and yet that is a low point for Argentina, traditionally a top five squad. With arguably the most talent of any squad entered in this tournament, Argentina got its ticket punched by winning the 2008 Copa America. They aren't as all around fast as the Colombians are, but an Argentine squad will never be slow, and they are a tested veteran team that may be th emost naturally skilled here. The forwards are very dangerous, led by rising superstar Carlos Tevez of Boca and Schalke 04's Javier Saviola. You know you have a good frontline when Premiership Player of the Year Hernán Crespo of Arsneal is on the bench. Superstar Pablo Aimar of Valencia heads the midfield, next to steady veteran Juan Román Riquelme of Barcelona. Veteran centreback Walter Samuel of Roma pairs with the agressive Martín Demichelis in a rock-and-pop backline combo. Steady longtime goalkeeper Pablo Oscar Cavallero of Celta is tested and experienced in the net.

China (#16 FIFA) It almost seems unfair that China has to be included in a group with three of the top seven squads in the world. The Chinese are busy preparing for hosting the World Cup next year, so they see this as a helpful tuneup in preparation for their showcase event next summer. China got into here by winning the 2008 Asian Cup. China has some solid players, but few of them would start for any of the other three clubs, even coming from the 16th-ranked squad in the world. Qu Bo of Qingdao is a dangerously speedy scorer up front in the squad's 3-5-2. The central midfield has a heady leader in Everton's Li Tie, and Zheng Zhi of Shenzhen is an exciting player in the midfield. Man City's Sun Jihai is the most accomplished player on the team, and a leader of the three-man defense. The unspectacular but decent Liu Yunfei of Tianjin is in net.

Group B

France (#2 FIFA) Not only is France the defending Confederations Cup champion, they are also the defending World Cup champion, finished runner up in Euro 2004 and are widely regarded as the most well-rounded superstar squad in the world. Only Brazil is ranked higher internationally, and they aren't in this tournament. As usual, some of the world's true superstars are present on France's roster. Speedy Arsenal superstar Thierry Henry still pairs with scoring master craftsman David Trezeguet of Juventus. Midfielder Kapo of Barcelona is in his prime and is one of the top players in the world. He is grouped with underrated Steed Malbranque of Aston Villa to provide offense, while old reliable, Patrick Vieira of Milan, still handles the central defense. In France's 3-5-2, Vieira's teammate Mikaël Silvestre handles one defensive wide midfield spot, while Dortmund's Willy Sagnol works the other. The backline is still headlined by Roma's William Gallas, where he is joined by Liverpool's Djimi Traoré and Inter's Jérémie Bréchet. Parma goalkeeper Sébastien Frey took over for longtime star Fabien Barthez of Manchester United at last season's Euro 2008, but he hasn't impressed yet.

Australia (#9 FIFA) The Aussies tend to get overlooked a bit because they play in the world's weakest region, but they have too much talent to be ignored. Having gotten in by winning the 2008 OFC Nations Cup, Australia is led by one of the world's best midfields, including Liverpool's Mark Bresciano, Milan's Harry Kewell, and Brett Emerton of Blackburn. Emerton's teammate Lucas Neill is a star at one fullback spot, and Austria Vienna's Steven Legg is a rising star in the central defense. Longtime Aussie netminder Zeljko Kalac of Perugia remains a strong presence in net. This squad is weakest at the front, where 1860 München's Paul Agostino and Man City's Mark Viduka both appear to be well past their prime. They need scoring help from younger options like Danny Invincible of Milwall and Colchester's Joshua Kennedy--neither of whom are all that young themselves (30 and 26, respectively).

Senegal (#12 FIFA) As good as Africa is as a football playing continent, it can sometimes be overlooked. It shouldn't be, though, and Senegal is a primary reason for that. Liverpool's El-Hadji Diouf might be the highest avlued player in the world, and is a creative force up front. He is usually paied with steady veteran Mamadou Diabang of Wolfsburg. Monaco's Souleymane Camara is a lethal supersub up front that can inject instant offense. Perugia's Diomansy Kamara is a speedy playmaker from wing, and Ousmane N'Doye of Strasbroug is the glue in the middle of the squad's midfield defense. The versatile longtime Senegalese fullback Diope still plays a role on both the wing and at wingback, and Pape Malik Diap of Guingamp can still play well at central defense at a spry 34 years old. Troyes' Tony Mario Sylva is in net, where he has been for this squad for a decade now.

Croatia (#21 FIFA) The Croatians' stunning run to the Euro 2008 champion has suddenly made them something of a media darling and a darkhorse candidate to win the Cup at China 2010. That said, they still have somewhat questionable talent next to some of the other squads in this group. Can the magic carry here to Colombia? The midfield remains Croatia's strength, led by Schalke 04's defensive midfield star Jerko Leko. Genoa's Dario Srna and Sampdoria's Anthony Seric add top notch talent on the wings, with Man City midfielder Jurica Vranjes a sound partner for Leko, not to mention very strong midfield sub Igor Biscan of Liverpool. The front doesn't have too many standout stars, but they are generally effective. The best of the bunch are younger rising players like Cibalia's Ivan Zgela and Osijek's Goran Ljubojevic. The defense, despite being a three-man front in a 3-4-3, is very strong, with good defenders and a strong defensive midfield. The backline star is rock solid centreback Igor Tudor of Juventus, who made himself into a star at Euro 2008. Veteran defender Dario Simic of Napoli is still around to play the role of the cagey older veteran. With all due respect to Howard, goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa of Marseille might be the best netminder at this eventm and he is in his prime.

June 17

Colombia vs United States
Argentina vs China

Group A starts off with a bang, with the top two squads in the group squaring off.

Colombia flashes its superior talent and dominates the pitch, outshotting the shellshocked Americans 23-3 (12-1 on goal). Unfortunately for Colombia, that isn't chop suey in the net over there. Howard turns in an incredible performance in net, as he puts up an amazing clean to keep the score at 0-0.

Argentina sometimes takes a while to show up for tournaments, and it seems that might be the case here. They outplayed the Chinese, but not by much. The Chinese had possession fo the ball more (almost 60%), and Argentine only outshot China on-goal by 5-3 (11-4 overall). Neither squad scored as the group produced its second scoreless draw of the day, 0-0.

Tamworth's Giovanny Hernández started on the wing for Colombia and posted a 7 rating. Montaño did not play while serving a one-game infraction suspension.

The group table after the first round: Argentina 1 (0 GD), China 1 (0 GD), Colombia 1 (0 GD), United States 1 (0 GD)

June 18

Australia vs Senegal
Croatia vs France

Tournament organizers were probably worried after Day One that dull defensive matches wouldn't sell tickets. Fortunately, they also have Group B.

The Senegal-Australia match will go down as one of the craziest matches this tournament has ever seen. Diope scored in the 33rd minute to give Senegal a lead that looked like ti would hold up for the whole match. Alas, aging striker Viduka put in the equaliser in the 74th minute, and the even older Agostino capped a terrific run to the lead with the go-ahead in the 82nd minute. The Aussies seemed to have it won--until the young Legg accidentally got in the way of a Senegalese crossing pass and deflected it past Kalac for the own goal...in the death! This one wrapped 2-2 and left the Aussies spitting mad and frustrated.

Before Euro 2008, France was tabbed as the favorites, so they have some motivation going into this one against the upstart Croatians. The powerful French smacked the Croatian squad, scoring two first half goals, by Gallas and Vieira, to take a commanding lead. Trezeguet finished it off with the squad's third goal in the 70th minute. It wasn't all good news-- star midfielder Kapo suffered a vicious kick to his shin and the deep bruise will likely keep him out for the rest of the tournament. France takes it, 3-0.

Tamworth's Louis Saha was not selected.

The group table after the first round: France 3 (+3 GD), Australia 1 (0 GD), Senegal 1 (0 GD), Croatia 0 (-3 GD)

June 19

China vs United States
Argentina vs Colombia

With draws all around in the first round, this set of matches become all the more important.

The United States needs to bounce back from a horrible performance against Colombia, and China is just the squad they needed to face. Still, it was a very even match, as China was just as competitive against the Americans as they were against Argentina. The Americans made the most of their opportunities, though, getting a 32nd minute goal from VfB Stuttgart winger Robbie Russel, and then padding their lead with a 51st minute Jackson tally. China wouldn't go away, though, outshooting the United States 12-8 (5-5 on goal) and getting within one after Zhi scored in the 71st minute. It wasn't enough, though, as China fell, 2-1.

It's never anything but a brutal battle when two bitter continental rivals like Colombia and Argentina get together. Hernández upended Riquelme in the box in the 19th minute, allowing the midfielder to give the Argentinians the early lead with the ensuing penalty kick. The match was hard and physical throughout, but things bubbled over in the 39th minute. Demichelis pushed away Castillo on a throw-in, and Esteban Cambiasso pushed away Hernández in the following scuffle. Demechelis was sent off, and Cambiasso shown a yellow, putting Argentina a man down as it tried to defend a bare one-goal lead from one of the world's most dangerous strike forces. Despite that, Argentina proved to be good for it, holding Colombia down to a manageable nine total shots, four on goal, and keeping them out of the net to preserve the 1-0 win. Colombia's bad day was capped off when Castillo himself was sent off in the 85th minute for tripping Boca defender Nicolás Burdisso.

Neither squad set themselves up well for the next match, as they will both be missing key players as Demichelis and Castillo sit out their required additional match for picking up red cards, and both could pick up longer suspensions with their professional fouls. Despite his antagonizing presence and the fact his tackle led to the only goal of the match, Hernández garnered a 7 rating. Montaño also got a 7 rating in his return to the pitch.

The group table after the second round: United States 4 (+1 GD), Argentina 4 (+1 GD), China 1 (-1 GD), Colombia 1 (-1 GD)

June 20

Australia vs Croatia
France vs Senegal

Croatia comes in desperate to win in this one, while Australia hopes to take the lead for second place. France can virtually clinch a spot in the next round with a win--but they will have to do it without Kapo.

Whatever magic Croatia had last year, they most certainly did not bring it here. Or the Aussies were still pissed about losing two extra points because of a late own goal. Australia dominated the match, outshooting Croatia 12-2, and controlling the ball 53% of the time, holding the ball in Croatia's own zone 31% of the time. Like Colombia against the United States, though, Australia didn't count on a hot goalkeeper. Pletikosa stopped all four shots he faced and preserved the 0-0 draw.

Either France needed to take this match more seriously after winning their first one easily, or they really missed Kapo. They got off to the early lead with a 17 minute penalty kick by Trezeguet, but they did not dominate this match as you might expect. Senegal drew level with its own penalty in the 37th minute, converted by Diope. Just 12 shots were taken in the match, and only six of them were on goal, as the two squads ended up in a draw, 1-1.

Saha came on for France in the 80th minute, and posted a 7 rating.

The group table after the second round: France 4 (+3 GD), Senegal 2 (0 GD), Australia 2 (0 GD), Croatia 1 (-3 GD)

June 21

China vs Colombia
Argentina vs United States

China and Colombia both need to win, and they both need the second match to finish with a winner, and not a draw. Argentina and the United States are looking at tickets into the next round with either a win or a draw, and even a loss doesn't necessarily eliminate them.

China has spent most of this tournament so far being surprisingly tough against strong opponents. That tenacity finally broke away in the third match, when Colombia took out its second round frustrations on the Chinese. The South American side obliterated China in shots, 30-6, with a 15-2 on-goal advantage. Villarreal made up for the lack of his fellow suspended winger in Castillo by scoring two goals, in the 30th and 87th minutes. Diaz also scored in the 57th minute, as Colombia ran away with a 3-0 win.

Hernández put up his third straight 7 rating from the wing, and Montaño assisted on Diaz's score and posted an 8 rating.

Colombia did its part; now it needed anything but a draw. What it got was a match almost as nutty as its own showdown with Argentina. After Aimar pushed Bocanegra in the box, Racing Santander winger Hector Benitez got a chance at a penalty in the 13th minute. Cavallero was up to the challenge, though, saving the penalty to keep the score at zeroes. Argentina kept on making it hard on itself, though--Valencia centreback Roberto Fabián Ayala, who was in for the suspended Demichelis, became the second Argentinian in two matches to lash out in anger. He kicked at Donovan and was summarily booted from the match in the 22nd minute. Despite that, Tevez tallied for Argentina in the 26th minute, and they were once again trying to protect a one-goal lead with a man-disadvantage. The United States put a lot of pressure on Argentina, outshooting them 9-4 (6-1 on goal), but it looked like they wouldn't solve Cavallero. Finally, in the 70th minute, Donovan managed to beat the keeper to score the equaliser. That's how it would end, 1-1.

The draw was the worst thing that could have happened for Colombia, as the single point handed to each squad put both ahead of the host in the final table.

Final group table: United States 5 (+1 GD), Argentina 5 (+1 GD), Colombia 4 (+2 GD), China 1 (-4 GD)

June 22

Croatia vs Senegal
Australia vs France

This one is still wide open to everyone, including last place Croatia. France could have clicnhed a spot in the last round. They didn't, but they will get another chance if they can take the tough Aussies. Speaking of whom, Australia itself is in a desperation situation, as it seems likely Senegal will beat Croatia. If they do, Asutralia would need to beat France to advance, never an easy prospect.

The Senegal-Croatia match was a very even affair. Senegal edged out Croatia in shots, 10-9, but lost the on-goal tally, 3-4. While much of the match was spent in Croatia's end of the pitch, the ball possession was close to 50% for each side. In keeping with this, the entire first half went by without a score. Senegal's Diomansy Kamara finally beat Pletikosa in the 58th minute to take the lead. It was short-lived, though- Zgela knocked in a penalty in the 65th minute to draw level. At this point, it looked like that's how it would end, especially with score still tied entering the last ten minutes. Senegal's best player finally came through to put that to an end, though. Diouf scored in the 84th minute for what would porve the difference, 2-1.

The pressure is on Australia now, in Group B's highest profile match. As expected, France was the better squad on the pitch. They dominated the shots in a defensive match, 8-3, with a 6-2 on-goal advantage. While the ball possession was even, Australia was struggling to keep France out of its end, at more than a two-to-one time percentage. But it was the Aussies that struck first. G. Birligi midfielder Josip Skoko kicked in a penalty in the 11th minute after Bréchett brought down Invincibile in the box. Then five minutes later, star midfielder Bresciano hit a beautiful long shot into the top corner of the net for the two-goal lead. The Aussies slammed on the breaks and kept France out of the net to finish off an amazing victory for the ilsnad nation.

The combination of wins by both Senegal and Australia have done the unexpected and actually eliminated powerful France. The French had their chances after starting off strong, but they failed to win either of their last two matches and that cost them.

Saha was selected as a substitute, but he did not get brought into the match.

Final group table: Australia 5 (+2 GD), Senegal 5 (+1 GD), France 4 (+1 GD), Croatia 1 (-4 GD)

Setting Up The Playoffs

Senegal will meet up with the United States on June 24 in Medellin, while Argentina plays Australia on June 25 in Baranquilla.

A third place match between the losers and the final for the Confederations Cup will follow, although strangely enough, the final will be played on June 28, three days before the third place match on July 1. The final will be played at El Campín in Bogotá.

Asian World Cup Qualifying Wraps

Even as the Confederations Cup was in its group phase, Asia was wrapping up its first round of qualifying for China 2010. The last round in the group fixtures was scheduled for June 21.

India, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq have all already clicnhed spots in the next round, with the remaining seven groups to be decided today.

Group One

Table going into June 21: Saudi Arabia 15, Lebanon 12, Nepal 3, Laos 0

June 21 Results

Saudi Arabia 3, Lebanon 1
Nepal 3, Laos 0

Final table: Saudi Arabia 18, Lebanon 12, Nepal 6, Laos 0

Lebanon entered their match with Saudi Arabia with a shot to upset one of the top squads in Asia. Unfortunately for them, the Saudis proved too tough, even on the road.

Group Two

Table going into June 21: Hong Kong 13, Bahrain 12, Indonesia 4, Bangladesh 0

June 21 Results

Indonesia 3, Bangladesh 0
Hong Kong 2, Bahrain 1

Final table: Hong Kong 16, Bahrain 12, Indonesia 7, Bangladesh 0

This one came down to a visit from Hong Kong to Bahrain for the group. Surprising Hong Kong won a tough road match to edge out Bahrain and keep alive its hopes of advancing to the World Cup in homeland China.

Group Three

Table going into June 21: Japan 11, Thailand 10, Maldives 4, Chinese Taipei 3

June 21 Results

Thailand 2, Maldives 1
Chinese Taipei 1, Japan 1

Final table: Thailand 13, Japan 12, Maldives 4, Chinese Taipei 4

daedalus is going to be jazzed. Thailand beat out the hated Japanese for the group spot when Japan managed to draw at home to weak Taiwan. Although Japan is not the top ranking squad in football you might expect, they were the favorite here, and this does qualify as a bit of an upset.

Group Four

Table going into June 21: India 15, North Korea 7, South Korea 6, Macau 1

June 21 Results

South Korea 5, Macau 0
India 2, North Korea 0

Final table: India 18, South Korea 9, North Korea 7, Macau 1

This group was a lot more interesting before India clinched it. South Korea's removal from the Asian field is a huge upset in continental sports. They were by far the highest regarded international squad in Asia. India is no slouch, though--this was just a brutal draw for all clubs involved.

Group Five

Table going into June 21: Qatar 10, Singapore 9, Kuwait 8, Mongolia 1

June 21 Results

Qatar 5, Mongolia 1
Singapore 2, Kuwait 2

Final table: Qatar 13, Singapore 10, Kuwait 9, Mongolia 1

As much as this group was very tight to the final round, it would have taken a phenomenal upset for Mongolia to beat Qatar, or even draw them. Even had that happened, Kuwait needed a win for sure, and Singapore could have used one, too. This was one of the top groups in the first round of qualifying.

Group Six

Table going into June 21: United Arab Emirates 15, Jordan 9, Malaysia 4, Cambodia 1

June 21 Results

United Arab Emirates 3, Cambodia 2
Jordan 1, Malaysia 1

Final table: United Arab Emirates 18, Jordan 10, Malaysia 5, Cambodia 1

This one was done with the June 7 fixtures, making today meaningless. Even if it did have meaning, U.A.E. was playing the worst squad in the group.

Group Seven

Table going into June 21: Tajikstan 13, Uzbekistan 10, Myanmar 3, Kyrgyzstan 3

June 21 Results

Uzbekistan 3, Myanmar 0
Tajikstan 4, Kyrgyzstan 0

Final table: Tajikstan 16, Uzbekistan 13, Myanmar 3, Kyrgyzstan 3

Although it wasn't official until this last round, this one was in the bag last time. It's clear that both Tajikstan and Uzbekistan are much better than their group mates, and those were their opponents today. With both looking at easy wins, Tajikstan as the leader going in was pretty much set.

Group Eight

Table going into June 21: Iran 13, Oman 10, Vietnam 4, Phillipines 0

June 21 Results

Oman 2, Vietnam 1
Iran 4, Phillipines 0

Final table: Iran 16, Oman 13, Vietnam 4, Phillipines 1

Iran was tested by Oman, but in the end, the smaller country was unabel to pull off the upset. Oman has a solid squad anyway, but Iran is one of Asia's best. As in Group Seven, this one may as well have been decided before today, with the top two clubs both facing lightweights.

Group Nine

Table going into June 21: Iraq 15, Syria 5, Yemen 4, Bhutan 2

June 21 Results

Syria 2, Bhutan 0
Iraq 3, Yemen 1

Final table: Iraq 18, Syria 8, Yemen 4, Bhutan 2

This group was finished a long while ago. Iraq was easily the class fo the four squads here, and should join Saudia Arabia and Iran as favorites to get to China 2010.

Group Ten

Table going into June 21: Palestine 9, Turkmenistan 6, Guam 0

June 21 Results

Turkmenistan 4, Palestine 0

Final table: Turkmenistan 9, Palestine 9, Guam 0

Palestine's run to a shot at China 2010 ended badly today when Turkmenistan rather soundly thrashed them. Although they two squads ended up tied, Turkmenistan was by far the more dominant team. They got the edge courtesy of a +9 goal differential, a good +10 better than Palestine.

The ten group champions will be placed into two groups of five for the second round, to be held in the fall. The draw will be held next week.

CR

[daedalus]

WE BAD! Yeeeeeeee-HAW!

[Chief Rum]

Tuesday, June 23 To Monday, June 29

Now that we have gotten past the very beginning of the new season, the offseaosn begins in earnest.

Contracts Up In One Week

I got notice that several contracts are up in just one week, and once again, the announcement shook the tree enough to make me give one player another offer.

Reserve striker Stephen McGowan doesn't seem to mind being a reserve, he's just 24, and he has high Finishing (17) and a good combo of acceleration (13) and pace (17). Basically, he's nothing spectacular, but he's fine as an emergency sub. I still wouldn't bring him back if he wasn't willing to get paid peanuts--he only wants $60,000 per year. I make the offer for four years and figure to have him in the fold in the next couple days (indeed, he took just a day to accept).

I didn't change my mind on anyone else. That group includes winger Luke Rowlett, midfielders Matt Darby and Darren Birchall, fullbacks Jamie Fullarton and Justin Skinner, centrebacks Reinder Hendriks and Mark Warren, and goalkeeper Casper Nelis. All will be ex-Lambs in a week.

We Are Offered Uche, Johnson

We have an extensive shortlist, and the computer knows by that what players we may have an interest in. As I mentioned last week with Manchester City's resumption of their efforts to unload William Flood on us, we will be drawing a bunch of offers--often repeatedly--from teams wishing to move players surplus to their requirements. Occasionally, I will have an interest in these players. Usually, I won't. So when I am first offered a player, I will mention that fact and say what I have decided to do. I won't mention the repeated offers I get for a player unless I change my mind, or the offer changes to become more interesting.

On Tuesday, we got our first new offers of the midseason, from AC Milan involving Nigerian midfielder Kalu Uche, and from Austrian Premier Division squad Sturm Graz involving Liberian midfielder Dulee Johnson.

Milan is seeking $10.5 M for Uche, which is actually a drop from his $16 M value. Apparently, they have been trying to get rid of the 26-year-old Nigerian international for some time now, and have dropped their demands to the lower tens of millions. Uche has been a little-used reserve for years now, first with Aston Villa and now with AC Milan. He seems to have good talent; he just can't catch a break.

I may give him some consideration depending on how my squad is looking as the offseason progresses, but right now, the price is a little too high. He is fast, smart, creative and a good ballmover, sorta like a younger David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro. At this point, I am serious enough to give him considerable thought later in the season, which is unusual for a player offered out of the blue. Usually, there's something I don't like about them that makes them unattractive or not a good fit.

I decide to make a counteroffer for Uche at a good deal lower level, about $5 M, with a 25% future transfer fee clause.

Johnson I don't even remember putting on my shortlist, but then, this list was first started in 2003, and I am at best inconsistent at doing a list cleanup. Sturm Graz is seeking $8.5 M for the forward/midfielder.

Johnson is a solid player and just 24. Plus, he's Libyan, which tickles my exotic side (sometimes I like to go after players from unusual countries; get that eclectic mix ). I'm not sure he's up to my standards, though. He is pretty fast (14 Acc/16 Pace), but not "elite" fast, which is a pair of qualities that often allows me to glaze over weaknesses in other areas (see Bertelsen, Trond Erik). Johnson is the type of player I like--works hard and works well with teammates, but he is average in his mental handling of the game and simply technically proficient rather than excellent in any one area that might make him stand out.

Clearly, $8.5 M is well beyond what I would be willing to pay for him (his current value is $7.5 M).

I turned down both offers today, and am unlikely to revisit Johnson.

Limerick Dismisses Ward Enquiry

One week after having a full-value $65,000 offer turneds down for David Ward, the centreback's employers, Limerick of the Irish Premier Division, turned down my enquiry as to an asking price. They insist Ward is staying with the Shannonsiders.

Ward has been a star for their backline now since he was about driving age. He was brought to my attention two weeks ago when Liverpool made an offer for him, which was also rejected by Limerick. The Reds are no longer interested in the player.

I have scouted the 21-year-old and seen some qualities I like, although he still has quite a bit of developing to do. He is solidly speedy (like Johnson) and is overall a very solid physical player. He is average mentally, including as a hard worker and teammate, but his defensive skills are fairly advanced. HE also plays very tall, which is a good quality for a centreback.

Having had my initial offers rebuffed, I decide to aim high and offer some significant cash. I start off with a $500,000 offer for Ward.

W.B.A. Signs Otsemobor

Johnnier Montaño's departure may already be in the books, but Jon Otsemobor will be the first Lamb to leave the club this offseason.

The speedy centreback whom I had decided was surplus to requirements agreed to a contract with new Premiership squad West Bromich Albion on Tuesday. He will join them immediately, completing a $1.3 M transfer agreement.

The Otsemobor deal was one of several I accepted from my first round of offers for several players I plan to move this offseason.

1860 München Signs Motteram

The exodus begins?

This was terrific news to greet Wednesday, as Carl Motteram was ticketed for the largest transfer offer we received, a cool $10 M (much of it deferred, though).

Motteram was also the player that reacted the most strongly to me shopping him around, so I am not unhappy to move him so quickly.

Well, not quite so quickly--the deal won't officially go through until July 1. But with the deal wrapped up, he shouldn't have a deliterious effect on the morale of the squad.

Motteram was a disappointment for me. He has terrific skills and seems to be very talented. He's fast, smart, very technically skilled (including Beckham-level crossing ability) and talented. And he's just 23. Moving him may end up being a big mistake, especially since it seems most other clubs see him as a striker more than a winger. Fact is, though, at this level, Motteram was easily my poorest starter and two assists from a regular playmaking winger role is well short of what I need. He never truly showed me that he can consistently reach the level I need him to.

I hope he does better work in the Bundesliga.

Leicester Makes Bid For Helstad, And I Soon Follow

On Wednesday, the Foxes approached a significant player on my shortlist in pacey veteran striker Thorstein Helstad. They have offered $9.25 M to Austria Vienna for the 32-year-old Norwegian international.

I have many such interesting potential strikers, but here was one being offered by a major Premiership squad, and one I might have a use for myself. So I made an offer myself--for much less. The fact is, Helstad was valued at aroun $3.9 M (his value was hurt by his older age and by the fact he was playing the Austrian Premier Division). I made a full value offer for Helstad and wondered why Leicester would offer so much.

Helstad has some eyepopping numbers in the APD. He has five straight 20-plus goal seasons for Austria Vienna and never averaged less than 7.53 in rating. He also has had double-digit assist values for five straight years as well. Ratings-wise, he is a fast striker with a good mental approach to the game, a strong grasp of play on the pitch and decent technical skills with one outstanding one-- a 17 in Finishing.

Helstad is a regular with Norway, with 35 caps and 11 international goals.

Leeds Makes Masalin Bid

I almost wanted to move Jon Masalin as much as I did Motteram. I have nothing against the goalkeeper (other than his occasionally really stupid on-pitch gaffes), but I knew he wouldn't be happy as a backup goalkeeper. I didn't want a guy around who might be a problem, and I generally like to give solid players like this a shot elsewhere anyway.

Last weekend, newly promoted Leeds United was the only squad to show interest, and they wanted me to drop my price (originally $1.6 M). I dropped it to $500,000, which apparently was close enough to entice them to make an offer.

On Wednesday, they offered to pay $475,000 for him. Close enough, I think, so I agree.

Offer Back-and-Forths

Along with the Masalin offer, I was also getting responses back from second round of offers from late last week.

Birmingham City and Sheffield Wednesday, who both originally made offers for Peter Castle, withdraw from bidding on him at $1.6 M (the offer I have accepted from West Bromich Albion).

Birmingham actually did a lot of withdrawing. They also backed away from Tieme Klompe and Jarl Ander Storbæk.

Chelsea wouldn't make the jump from $300,000 to $375,000 for Hermann Hreidarsson.

The strangest decision, though, involved cventreback Mark Phillips. I had already worked out a transfer agreement with defensively-strapped West Bromich Albion. Unfortunately, Phillips had his own ideas. On Thursday, Phillips snubbed W.B.A. and its contract offer, saying he felt the move was a step in the wrong direction. He doesn't seem to understand he won't be playing much for me, if at all.

Hreidarsson Signs With Rovers

I wasn't too concerned about Chelsea withdrawing their interest in Hreidarsson, because I knew I already had a deal in place with Blackburn.

On Wednesday, the veteran leftback agreed to a deal with the Rovers, completing a $375,000 move to Ewood Park.

The 34-year-old Icelander was a very solid player for us, and were it not for the presence of Bertelsen and Gaël Clichy, I would likely have kept him around.

Hreidarsson is now the fourth Lamb to leave the club (including impending departures scheduled for July 1). He joins Otselmobor, Motteram and Montaño out the door.

Wisla Offer Kus

On Wednesday, Polish First Division club Wisla offered us Polish international fullback Marcin Kus. They were seeking $4.9 M for the 27-year-old player, a bit higher than his listed $3.6 M value.

As with Uche from AC Milan, this wasn't an offer to necessarily just throw out. Kus is a fast defender with strong defensive skills and solid mental qualities. He also plays tall enough to be a centreback, although he isn't elite at it, and is listed as a fullback. He is decent as an attacking fullback, but not great.

As of right now, I feel a little barren at fullback. Hreidarsson is gone, leaving Bertelsen and Clichy on the left, and Mike Duff and Kevin Gorman on the right. I also still have Storbæk, but I am actively looking to move him. Plus, given Duff is over 30 and Bertelsen is somewhat "troubled" at times, I don't feel particularly confident about my options out there.

Still, $4.9 M is an awful lot for Kus, a solid depth player, but no more, IMO. I turn down the offer, but, like Uche, I will keep him in the back of my mind as a possibility.

Portugal Tour Set Up And Then Dropped

Oops...

I forgot to tell assistant manager Terry Gennoe to lay off scheduling our preseason friendly fixture. On Thursday, we got acceptance messages from four Portuguese clubs, including Sporting Lisbon, as Gennoe set up a tour of the Iberian country.

It immediately fell apart, though, when the schedule ran up against the already set up tours of the United States.

So I felt a little dumb about that. It was always seemed like it takes the assistant manager so long to do this anyway, so I usually just do it myself. This is the first time he went ahead and tried to schedule something anyway.

Masalin Agrees To Deal With Leeds

On Thursday, Masalin became the fifth club player to agree to leave the Lamb Ground when he came to a contract agreement with Leeds United.

With Thomas Heaton tabbed as the #1 goalkeeper (short of us bringing in a star in the net), and new backup goalkeepers in Kasper Schmeichel (arriving July 1) and Yves Makabu Ma Kalambay, keeping Masalin made no sense. I am happy I was able to not only move him, but to also keep him in the Premiership. Hopefully, he can find a strong role with his new team and "prove me wrong."

The 23-year-old Finn will join the Whites for $475,000.

Castle Agrees To Deal With W.B.A.

On Friday, Castle became the second backup defender on my squad to leave for West Bromich Albion, following closely in the footsteps of Otsemobor.

The 22-year-old centreback will move over to The Hawthorns for $1.6 M.

I wouldn't have moved Castle if I didn't feel I needed to cut some room ont he back end of the roster. He is just 22, after all, and still had some growing to do. He's a good physical player with the speed to tsya with all but the quickest players. He has great technically defensive skills already, including elite tackling and man-marking. He also works well as a teammate. Otherwise he was just decent in offensive abilities and in height for the ball, and he was way too timid (3 Aggression). He has a future, a bright one even, but I wasn't ready to hand him a bigger role than as a backup defender, and he has been unhappy with his lack of playing time for a couple seasons now.

The resignings of Leon Cort and Mike Duff, really, assured I would have to move Castle. I am glad I was able to get something for him. Wouldn't it be neat of he and Otsemobor both start on W.B.A.'s backline?

Milan Negotiates For Uche

Apparently my $5 M offer with a take in future transfer fees for Uche wasn't satisfactory to AC Milan. On Friday, they again offered $10.5 M, which was their original offer. I upped my counteroffer to $6 M and 50% of future transfer fees.

We'll see where that goes.

Klompe Signs With Chelsea

On Friday, Klompe became the second Tamworth defender to leave the club that day. He agreed to a contract with Chelsea, completing a $45,000 deal.

Klompe was deemed surplus to requirements, given his age (33) and poorer performance (he was my lowest rated regular defender).

He was a bit of a disappointment, considering that he is still rated very strongly. He's fast and strong and plays tall. He's a hard worker and an excellent mental defender. He's aggressive and a good tackler. He has the best technical defensive skills on the squad, and he even had decent offensive abilities. He should have been capable of much more than he was.

Were he not 33, I would likely give him another chance. But his age and my need to cut the roster down some made that impossible. With my luck, he will regain his form with the Blues and make me pay for this.

Austria Vienna Rejects Helstad Bid

I heard back from Austria Vienna on Friday. They turned down my $3.9 M offer for Helstad. I wasn't too surprised, given they have a $9.25 M offer from Leicester for the Norwegian striker. I'm just not willing to go higher than that for Helstad, though. He's a very good player, but he's 32 and unproven at this level.

Nottingham Forest Goes After Tamworth Scout

The Reds have made an offer to one of my longer-tenured scouts, Torgeir Algeroy. The 34-year-old scout has been with us for two years, signing in July, 2007.

He is top rated in both judging potential and ability, so I decided I would rather keep him around, as opposed to losing him to Forest for $16,000 (the fee that would have to be paid).

So on Friday I make him a contract extension to keep him around.

Limerick Counteroffers On Ward

Now we're talking. On Friday (a busy day), we got a response to our $500,000 offer. Apparently, Ward isn't so untouchable--Limerick said they would let him go for $575,000.

That suits me just fine, so I accept it and wait to hear more.

Will Fulham Suit Phillips?

A couple days after rejecting a contract from West Bromich Albion, Phillips will get a chance with another team.

The Cottagers offered me $450,000 for him on Friday. Unfortunately less than what a deal with W.B.A. would have gotten me, but them's the breaks.

I accept it and allow Phillips to begin contract negotiations with Fulham.

Celtic Offers Moore

On Saturday, Scottish Premier League power Celtic offered me a player I have kept my eye on for a while.

They offered me pacey 25-year-old striker Stefan Moore, a goal scorer who seems to be coming into his own finally after getting limited chances. They are seeking $3.2 M for him, which isn't far off of his current value (2.1 M).

Moore scored 13 goals in 33 matches this season for Celtic, in his first serious stint as a starter. Moore is listed as Very Ambitious so I wonder if this offer is as much motivated by the striker as it is by the Bhoys' management.

In any case, Moore has some skills I like. He is very fast--as in, elite, Pereplyotkin-Oskarsson fast. He has some terrific technical skills, too, as a crosser, dribbler, finisher and header. He's a solid passer and decision-maker as well. Where he falters is that he has the hops of a snail, limiting the use of his fine heading abilities, he average to below average as a teammate and is timid and not much of a leader. He also didn't rate too well in his breakout season and has yet to prove anything on as high a level as the Premiership.

He seems like a decent value for what Celtic is offering and can be depth at two forward spots I am undecided about in that respect, the target man spot and the right forward spot. He is also more youth up front where much of my talent is either older (Saha, Olisadebe, soon to arrive Mora, Wilde) or bitchy (Yakubu).

So I accept the offer (see, it does happen! ).

More Offers

The same day I got the offer for Moore, I also got three other offers.

The most significant offer came from Chelsea, whom offered us Danish defender Mikkel Bischoff for $11.75 M. First Division Coventry offered us midfielder Isaac Osborne for $3.5 M, and Bimingham City offered us Grenadan striker Jason Roberts.

I had to seriously consider Bischoff, as he is 27 and in his prime. He doesn't ahve top speed, but he isn't a slouch either. He's a smart player with good defensive skills and the ability to do some damage as an attacking fullback as well.

Chelsea was asking for far too much, though, and I decided I wanted to hold off for a bit and see what else might come up for fullback and centreback depth.

Osborne is a rising young 23-year-old talent, but slower foot speed and my lack of a true attacking midfield position anymore meant it made no sense for me to take him on at this time. Roberts is 31 and had a decent season for the Blues. He has terrific speed as well. I didn't need to add more older strikers, though, and I wasn't sure he was worth what Birmingham City was asking for.

So I declined to make an offer for any of the three, sticking with just an offer for Celtic's Moore.

York Rejects Offer For Staley

While casting about for central defense depth, I found a guy I like dthe look of in Second Division York City's Michael Staley. The 21-year-old wouldn't be an immediate answer, but another talented youth to add to my reserve team.

My $40,000 offer, though, was not received favorably by York, and I wasn't ready to go higher at this point.

Deal For Uche Falls Apart

Milan came back again with their third offer of the week for Uche on Sunday. They dropped their asking price a little, down to $9.75 M.

It still isn't enough, though. At this point I am at just over a $20 M transfer budget. It will go higher when I get the initial payments in for Montaño and Motteram, but not enough to turn almost $10 M into an insignificant amount. I just can't see spending that much of my budget on a player I don't really need right now. So instead of countering, I cancel the deal with the intent to perhaps revisit it down the line.

Also, I am figuring if AC Milan is willing to drop it below $10 M, they will eventualyl seek to move Uche for even less. I can afford to wait it out.

Ward Offer Accepted

Limerick accepted my $575,000 offer for talented youth defender Ward on Monday. We immediately started working on contract negotiations with the 21-year-old Irish centreback.

Hopefully, we can get Ward under contract soon. I suspect he will spend this season on the reserve squad, but he will be a nice insurance policy to have around.

Leicester Signs Helstad

Well, I knew when I didn't counter for more earlier in the week, that this had a good chance of happening.

On Monday, Leicester City added a nice player to their already solid offense when they signed away Helstad from Austria Vienna for that still staggering amount of $9.25 M.

Helstad signed a three-year, $1.5 M deal. Hey, power to him and them--I just couldn't afford to throw out that much cash at a guyw ho would liekly be a reserve striker for me.

League News

Here's a quick look at the other goings-ons in the Premiership this week.

Leeds Targets Southampton's Mason

The Whites weren't after just Masalin. Leeds United is also reportedly looking at Southampton's Gary Mason.

Mason, a steady and smart defensive midfielder who is currently unsettled at his lack of playing time with the Saints, rated decently well for both the Saints and on loan with Sheffield Wednesday, although he is definitely more defensive than offensive, based on last year (just two total assists in 26 matches).

Mason is currently transfer listed by Southampton, and the Saints have dropped their asking price from his listed value of $2.6 M all the way down to just $675,000.

Mason is unsettled by his inability to break into a regular spot in the first eleven lineup.

On Saturday, Saints' boss Steve McClaren told Rivals.net that Mason is available. In fact, he said he is waiting for a club to come along and take the midfielder off of his hands.

On Monday, Mason himself spoke to Rivals.net, and told the sporting Web site he wanted the matter handled as speedily as possible. He said that he would have to consider his options in light of the interest from Leeds.

Hreidarsson Will Finish Career At Ewood

On the day he left Tamworth in a $375,000 move to Blackburn, Icelandic leftback Hermann Hreidarsson said he plans to end his career at Ewood Park.

The 35-year-old longtime international for Iceland told the Chester Evening Leader on Thursday that, despite the doubts of some, he believes he can still play at a high level.

Hreidarsson posted a 7.19 rating in 31 matches with Tamworth last year. He is also the captain of Iceland's national team, and has 82 career caps with them.

Legwinski Makes It Official

Following up on last week's announcement of his impending retirement, 35-year-old midfielder Sylvain Legwinski reiterated that he will be leaving football after the 2009-2010 season. Fulham boss Micky Adams asked the French midfielder to consider staying on, but Legwinski stuck to his guns.

Legwinski remains one of the smartest players in the Premiership, but he is both losing a step on the pitch, and isn't as strong in his technical skills as he used to be. Legwinski rated 6.94 in 36 matches, scoring two goals and passing for an assist.

Legwinski still has another problem--his contract with the Cottagers is about to run out, so he needs to find another club if he wants to wrap his career by actually playing football.

Relegated Bristol City Loans Liverpool's Lynch

The Robins may be leaving the Premiership, but they are trying to take some of the league's talent with them.

On Saturday, Bristol City has agreed to loan Liverpool's promising 20-year-old midfielder Dave Lynch. Lynch chose Bristol City over a similar offer from another First Division squad, the Queens Park Rangers.

Lynch is a product of the Reds' youth system, but has never appeared in a professional football match for a top team.

Lynch will be with Bristol City for three months.

Man Utd Fights Off Interest In Smith

Promising young Irish striker Paul Smith isn't going to break into Manchester United's lineup anytime soon, so he is drawing interest from other clubs, including Serie A squad Napoli.

On Sunday, Man Utd manager Joop Hiele warned clubs to stay away from the 18-year-old striker. The Ireland Under-21 regular already has 12 caps for his native land's youth squad and he has scored three international goals.

The Red Devils brought Smith over from the Primera Liga's Zaragoza in 2007-08. In six career matches with Man Utd, Smith has two goals.

Smith's contract runs out in October, and is eligible for a Bosman offer (although it would bring with it a $2.1 M youth development fee to Man Utd).

On Monday, another Primera Liga squad Málaga made a contract offer to Smith. Apparently, they aren't scared away by the development fee.

Leeds Loans Cochrane

It has been a busy week for the Whites.

On Monday, Leeds United agreed to loan Fulham midfielder Justin Cochrane for three months. Leeds knows Cochrane well, as the 27-year-old figured as a solid player on a competitive Coventry squad last year. Cochrane was loaned to the First Division squad for the season last year, and he posted a 7.00 rating in 29 starts.

Cochrane has a lot of history in the Championship (the First Division's new name), but he has seen little regular time in the Premiership.

Helstad Plans To End Career With Foxes

Norwegian striker Thorstein Helstad told the Sunday Times on Mondya that he plans to play out the rest of his career at Leicester's Walker Stadium.

Leicester signed Helstad away from Austria Vienna for $9.25 M on Monday. Helstad said Leciester would provide a fittign end to his illustrious career.

Helstad is a 32-year-old fixture on Norway's national squad, for which he has 35 caps and 11 international goals.

Helstad scored 26 goals, passed for 10 assists and put up a 7.74 rating for the Austrian Premier Division squad last year.

Tamworth Weekly Offseason Recap

There's often so much going on an offseason that it can get a little confusing. So here's the Quik notes of what happened this week to Tamworth.

--Several players have worked out transfer agreements to leave the squad, including winger Carl Motteram (1860 München, $10 M), centrebacks Jon Otsemobor (W.B.A., $1.3 M) and Peter Castle (W.B.A., $1.6 M), Dutch defender Tieme Klompe (Chelsea, $45 K), fullback Hermann Hreidarsson (Blackburn, $375 K) and goalkeeper Jon Masalin (Leeds United, $475 K).

--Tamworth countered the defensive exodus with the signing of Limerick's young centreback David Ward ($575 K).

--Tamworth is in the contract negotiation phase with quick Celtic striker Stefan Moore ($3.2 M), and has been in heavy negotiations with AC Milan for Nigerian international midfielder Kalu Uche.

--Tamworth tried to sign Austria Vienna's star Norwegian striker Thorstein Helstad, but lost him to Premiership squad Leicester, who made a singificantly overvalued offer for the veteran scorer.

CR

[Chief Rum]

Confederations Cup Playoffs

This week the Confederations Cup wrapped up its playoffs. Here's what happened.

Semifinals

Senegal vs United States
Argentina vs Australia

Senegal hasn't been beaten yet, and that includes a match against powerful France. They drew with Australia and France, and edged out Croatia at the end of their third match. It could have been worse, though--they needed a stoppage time own goal to equalise the Australia match and didn't dominate either of the other two matches.

Like Senegal, the United States could be said to be fortunate to be where they are. Colombia thoroughly dominated them, but couldn't solve goalkeeper Tim Howard of Deportivo. The United States outplayed, but did not dominate China as they perhaps should have, and they drew with strong Argentina, even though the South American side was down a man most of the match.

The Americans decided they didn't want to wait to see how this one would play out. They started off strong and aggressive, putting immdeiate pressure on Senegal's defense and goalkeeper Tony Maria Sylva of Troyes. Edson Buddle of Olympiakos took a ball past defender Pape Malik Diop of Guingamp in the 5th minute and put a shot on goal. Sylva defelcted it, but wasn't able to gather it cleanly. Nîmes forward Jason Jack stepped up and banged it home for the first goal of the match.

It didn't take the Americans long to get on the board again, striking on the counterattack. In the 11th minute, defender and midfielder Robbie Russel of VfB Stuttgart cleared a Senegalese attack and sent a ball long to the other side of the pitch for Buddle on the run. Buddle went in on goal and smashed in a low shot that beat Sylva for the United States' second goal of the match.

With the Americans sporting a two goal lead and a top notch goalkeeper in Howard, this one was pretty much over after that. They put a shut down defensive effort and the Senegalese only got five shots for the whole match (although all were on goal). The United States advances to the Confederations Cup final, 2-0.

The higher profile match was the second one, with surprising Australia leading one group, and powerful Argentina meeting them out of the other.

Argentina's fight throught he group stage was rather brutal. They started off with an underwhelming scoreless draw with China. That was followed by a brutally physical match with rival Colombia, in which Argentina had to survive both Colombia's offensive talent and playing a man down after FC Bayern centreback Martín Demichelis was sent off in the first half. They did, though, winning the match of the tournament so far, 1-0. Then in the final showdown with the United States, centreback Roberto Fabián Ayala was sent off early, putting Argentina down again. This time they finished with a draw.

Argentina will miss Ayala for this one as a result, but Demichelis is back from his one-match suspension.

The Aussies needed a stoppage time own goal to escape Senegal with a draw, and it didn't get much easier from there. Their second match was a scoreless draw with Croatia they should have won easily, but they were then outplayed by France in the third match--but won. So the Australian team enters this contest with more than a little uneven play.

Australia scored early against France, keying their surprising victory there, so it makes sense they felt a need to start strong here, too. In the 7th minute, Austria Vienna centreback Steven Legg beat Demichelis for a Harry Kewell freekick and headed it past Pablo Oscar Cavallero of Celta for the score.

That would hold up for the entire first half, as neither squad could break the other's defense. The second half, though, was another matter. After knocking on the door for a good while, the Aussies got another great chance in the 51st minute. Australia earned a corner off of a Cavallero tip over of a shot from Liverpool's Mark Bresciano. Blackburn winger Brett Emerton lifted a corner directly into the area. G. Birligi midfielder Josip Skoko beat Valencia midfield star Pablo Aimar in the air and put Australia's second header into the net for the two-goal lead.

Argentina isn't used to playing with deficits, but that doesn't mean they don't know how to handle it. They soon got on the board themselves, using their tremendous quickness. Australia's netminder Zeljko Kalac of Perugia had to make a fine save to stop a goal by Javier Saviloa of Schalke o4 in the 63rd minute. He wasn't able to stop it completely, though, and Arsenal star Hernán Crespo got to the loose ball and blasted it into the open net to get Argentinma back within one.

It was shortlived, though, as Australia struck right back, and in a very similar fashion. In the 68th minute, it was 1860 München's veteran striker Paul Agostinoa that got in on goal. Cavallero was on the shot, but it skipped away from him, allowing Blackburn's Danny Invincibile to collect the abll and kick it home to put Australia back up by two.

Argentina refused to give up. They kept pressing on the Aussie defense to give them opportunities in the final minutes of the match. It paid off in the 82nd minute. Argentina won a corner after Parramatta Power centreback Simon Colosimo made a terrific tackle to save a goal. Aimar sent a high ball into the area. Boca's Nicolás Burdisso outjumped Colosimo for it and headed it on goal. Kalac was unable to get to it and the ball slammed into the back of the net to cut the lead back down to one.

Was it too late, though? Argentina couldn't crack Australia's defense in the minutes following, as the match rolled into stoppage time. Argentina got one last chance. Fully four minutes into stoppage time, Argentina was pressing hard on the goal. Kalac cleared one crossing pass, and then clutched an Aimar soft chip shot. Crystal Palace defender Tony Popovic ended the next run with a clear out of a crossing pass by Maxi Rodríguez of Espanyol. That set up the critical play. River fullback Juan Ramón Fernández got to Popovic's clear out and centered it up to Burdisso outside of the area. Milan star forward Andres D'Alessandro slipped behind Popovic as Burdisso floated a soft pass over the defense. The Milan star volleyed the ball in the air, even as Kalac charged out at him. The shot sailed right past Kalac and into the net for the amazing last gasp equaliser, a full four-and-a-half minutes into the death!

This one needed extra time to solve. Australia refused to get down and they got the one good chance in the first 15 minutes of extra time. In the 102nd minute, the Aussies received a freekick from the center of the offesnive pitch, after a rough tackle by D'Alessandro on Bresciano. Skoko drifted the ball up into the left end of the area, where it was retrieved near the goalline by Kewell. The Milan winger sent a sharp, low cross back across the box. Burdisso jumped out and flailed at the passing ball, but missed his clear out attempt. Man City striker Mark Viduka was on it and volleyed a high shot at the goal. It sailed over Cavallero's head and high into the net for the gamewinner! Australia wins a brilliantly close match on the golden goal by Viduka!

So wraps the match of the tournament, a heartbeaker for the Argentinians, as they struggled back to within range. They will play Senegal for third place, while Australia will meet the United States for the Confederations Cup.

Third Place Match

I have to think third place matches are the most difficult ones to get up for. It would be even more difficult for Argentina, after coming so close in the semifinals. They get Ayala back from his suspension, although he isn't a regular starter anyway.

Argentina appeared to be the stronger team for much of the match, although they didn't out-and-out dominate. Their first terrific opportunity came in the 17th minute. Diop took down Boca star forward Carlos Tevez in the box, and the ref signalled to the spot. Argentina gave the penalty kick to Inter striker Fernando Cavenaghi. The striker kicked a hard shot right at Sylva, but the goalkeeper was ready for it, clutching the shot to end the threat.

That proved to be the best shot for a good while. Neither team gave up much room in their own end, particularly Argentina, which limited Senegal to just two shots on goal for most of the math. Entering the final ten minutes, it appeared this one would be going to extra time as well, with the score knotted up at zero.

Senegal would take one good chance at it, though, before time expired. In the 86th minute, they forced a corner kick on Argentina. Marseille midfielder Sylvain N'Diaye sent a corner in at the near post. Metz' Babacar M'bay Gueye rose up above Burdisso and hit a glancing header at the net. Cavallero couldn't reach it and the ball sailed into the net for the go ahead score, much to Argentina's dismay.

Argentina pressed hard to equalise as they had against Australia, but the magic wasn't there this time. Sylva cleared out an Argentina scoring chance in stoppage time and initiated a counterattack. Forward Moussa N'Diaye got to the ball and moved it forward to Gueye on the run. Gueye was in on goal. Cavallero tried to rush out on him, but the Metz striker skipped beside the goalkeeper and put in an easy score to put it away. Senegal takes third place, 2-0.

Confederations Cup Final

You could argue that both of these teams caught some breaks to get this far, but here they are.

Neither squad started this one off dominating the other, as the match began to play out very evenly. The first half came and went with just limited shots and no goals.

That changed quickly in the second half. In the 46th minute, Bresciano fired one of his patented long shots in on goal. Howard beat the ball away, but was unable to contain it, as it skipped back out into the open. Agostino was first on it. He charged closer to the net as Howard closed, unleashign a low and hard shot past Howard. The goalkeeper flailed at the shot but missed it, and it went into the net for the first score of the match.

The Aussies didn't rest on the ir laurels, soon going on the attack again. In the 53rd minute, Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathon Spector pushed Agostino just outside of the area, drawing a foul and giving the Aussies a close freekick. Emerton sent a curling shot at the left post from just beyond the edge. Howard leaped over to it and almost got it, but the ball ricocheted off of his outstretched hands up and over into the net.

Australia went into cruise control for a good way after that, as the Americans desperately tried to claw back into it. The United States didn't solve Kalac until the 78th minute. Russel took a forward pass from Chicago Fire's Demarcus Beasley and headed it across the goalmouth. Buddle won free of his defenders and smashed the cross at the goal on the volley. His shot went top corner and blew past Kalac to bring the United Sttates within one.

It was too late, though. The Americans pressed, but they couldn't break through again, and the Aussies put it away with a stoppage time goal by Agostino, his second of the match.

Australia won the Confederations Cup, 3-1.

Despite the score, the match was shot very even, with Australia getting a bare 14-12 shot advantage, with an even closer 8-7 on-goal tally.

World Cup Qualifying, Africa

Africa played their third-to-last round of World Cup qualifying on June 27.

Group One

Table going into June 27: Senegal 13, Cameroon 12, Egypt 9, Sierra Leone 3, Guinea 2

June 27 Results

Egypt 3, Sierra Leone 1
Senegal 3, Cameroon 2

Table now: Senegal 16, Cameroon 12, Egypt 12, Sierra Leone 3, Guinea 2

You can't say Senegal didn't work for it. The West African nation played a brutal schedule in and around their win over Cameroon, one of the best teams in Africa. Senegal won through to the Confederations Cup semifinals in mid-June, and then lost to the United States in that semifinal in Colombia on June 25. Then they flew to Yaoundé, Cameroon, to play the 10th-ranked squad by FIFA in the world on June 27. Then they flew back to Colombia to play the third place match against Argentina on July 1. Three top ten squads in six days, flying thousands of miles between them--and they won two of them. Cameroon's loss allows Egypt to catch up with their win, but with only one spot to China 2010 open, both second place squads really needed Senegal to stay within range.

Group Two

Table going into June 27: South Africa 16, Zimbabwe 10, Algeria 6, Angola 6, Kenya 1

June 27 Results

Zimbabwe 3, Angola 3
Algeria 3, South Africa 1

Table now: South Africa 16, Zimbabwe 11, Algeria 9, Angola 7, Kenya 1

Despite underwhelming in a loss to Algeria, South Africa got the best result possible when second-place Zimbabwe scored just a draw. With a five-point lead going into the final two rounds, it would take a major collapse by the South Africans to keep them out of the World Cup.

Group Three

Table going into June 27: Nigeria 14, Ivory Coast 13, Liberia 5, Guinea-Bissau 4, Togo 2

June 27 Results

Togo 2, Liberia 1
Nigeria 0, Ivory Coast 0

Table now: Nigeria 15, Ivory Coast 14, Togo 5, Liberia 5, Guinea-Bissau 4

Today's showdown between Nigeria and Ivory Coast looked to be the pivotal match of the fixture--but neither squad secured an advantage in this one. This race remains tight, with just one point's difference between the top two teams, after a scoreless draw in Nigeria. Ivory Coast might be down, but they also have the advantage, because they have a match in hand on Nigeria.

Tamworth's Yakubu had an awful match, putting up a miserable 4 rating in this one. His ineffectiveness was a primary reason Nigeria failed to score in this one.

Group Four

Table going into June 27: Tunisia 18, Ghana 12, Libya 9, Rwanda 3, Gambia 0

June 27 Results

Tunisia 0, Ghana 0
Rwanda 1, Gambia 0

Table now: Tunisia 19, Ghana 13, Libya 9, Rwanda 6, Gambia 0

Ghana came into this one desperately needing to win to give them the best shot at catching Tunisia, and needing at least a draw to stave off elimination. They managed to draw the Tunisians on the road, so the North African country will have to play through the next round at least before they can clinch their spot in China 2010.

Group Five

Table going into June 27: Morrocco 18, Cape Verde 7, Malawi 6, Namibia 5, Equatorial Guinea 3

June 27 Results

Equatorial Guinea 1, Namibia 1
Morocco 3, Cape Verde 0

Table now: Morocco 21, Cape Verde 7, Malawa 6, Namibia 6, Equatorial Guinea 4

Morocco has yet to lose and had their spot in China 2010 wrapped up with the early June round. All five teams are pretty much playing out the string now.

After the June 27 matches, Morocco is still the only African nation to clinch a spot at China 2010. The last two rounds will be held on July 11 and July 15.

World Cup Qualifying, CONCACAF

On June 28 and July 1, the six finalists for North and Central America, and the Carribean Football Federation will play a match of fixtures, reaching the halfway point of their ten-match group sets.

Coming into the action, United States has the top spot with 10 points, followed by Mexico with eight. Still surprising Jamaica is in third, with six points. Central American nations Guatemala and Honduras are tied in that critical fourth spot with four points each, while Haiti brings up the rear with just one point. The top four clubs in the final will earn automatic spots in China 2010.

June 28-July 1 Fixture

Honduras at Mexico (June 28)
Haiti at Guatemala (June 28)
United States at Jamaica (July 1)

Honduras doesn't get a good match to solidify a spot to advance, with a tough road match against top ten FIFA squad Mexico. That could give the advantage to the other fourth place squad, as Guatemala plays lowly Haiti at home. The United States don't get an easy match either with a road test at third place Jamaica. The last match had to be delayed three days because of a scheduling conflict with the Confederations Cup final, in which the American team played.

Results

Mexico 2, Honduras 2
Haita 3, Guatemala 1
United States 3, Jamaica 1

Well, this one went pretty much against form almost across the board.

Mexico needed an 84th minute goal by Querétaro forward Carlos Ochoa to draw even with Honduras, and the Mexican team is ruing its chances after C.A. Oaxaca's José Luis Gómez missed a penalty in the 29th minute.

Haiti shocked Guatemala, blitzkreiging the supposedly strong squad with three goals in the first half.

The United States didn't seem to be showing any dropoff from playing its third match in six days, and handily beat the Jamaican squad in Kingston, behind a three-goal first half keyed by two tallies from 1.FC Köln's LAndon Donovan.

Table now: United States 13, Mexico 9, Jamaica 6, Honduras 5, Haiti 4, Guatemala 4

The United States win did two things to the table, giving the Americans a comfortable lead at the halfway point, and keeping Jamaica away from Mexico in second place. This round also makes for an incredibly tight battle down the stretch for the last two spots, assuming the Americans and Mexico won't be caught. Just two points separates the four contenders here.

The region returns to action in August.

CR

[Chief Rum]

Inter-Toto Cup, First Round

International play wasn't the only matches for major league squads during this time. The Inter-Toto Cup competition also kicked off in late June. Sixty-one teams will eventually find their way into this competition, but only three finalists will still be standing in late August when the Inter-Toto ends. Those three clubs earn automatic entries into the UEFA.

Aston Villa started last year as an Inter-Toto squad, won through to the automatic spot, and then proceeded to make it all the way to the UEFA Cup final before falling to Newcastle. So Cinderella dreams can happen for clubs that start off here.

Here's a look at the first round, featuring 21 matchups between 42 clubs. The first half of the two-leg round was played on June 20-21, while the second was wrapped up on June 28-29.

The Matchups

Jeunesse Esche (LUX) vs Heusden (BEL, 5)
Trans (EST) vs Ekranas (LTU)
Puchov (SVK, 4) vs Ceahlâul (ROM)
KA (ISL) vs Real Madrid (ESP, 5)
Linfield (NIR, 4) vs Krylja Sovetov (RUS, 6)
Mallorca (ESP, 4) vs Siroki Brijeg (BOS)
Slask (POL, 5) vs TPS (FIN, 3)
Norrköping (SWE, 3) vs Metalurgs (LVA)
Visé (BEL, 4) vs Naftex (BUL)
Dinamo (CRO, 6) vs Fenerbahçe (TUR, 5)
Robotnicki (MKD) vs Badajk (HUN, 3)
Sogndal (NOR, 5) vs FC Kärnten (AUT, 4)
SC Irony Ashdod (ISR, 4) vs Schaan (LIE)
Carmarthen Town (WAL, 3) vs Smartno (SVN)
Omania (CYP) vs Delémont (SUI, 3)
Teuta (ALB) vs SKA Khabarovsk (RUS, 5)
Agro (MDA) vs Torpedo Minsk (BLR)
Kolkheti Poti (GEO) vs Dinamo Bucarest (ROM)
Brno (CZE, 6) vs Vukovar '91 (CRO, 5)
Sligo Rovers (IRL, 4) vs Sigma Olomouc (CZE, 5)
Molde (NOR, 6) vs G. Birligi (TUR, 4)

There an unusually strong number of solid level squads in this group. The two eyebrow-raisers are Real Madrid and Brno. The Galacticos remain regarded as a worldwide superpower, but the fall of both the club and the Primeral Liga as a whole has dropped them to an opening round match in the Inter-Toto. Brno was one of the surprise squads of the Champions League last year, reaching the quarterfinals.

Other top clubs here include Real Madrid league mate Mallorca, Croatia's Dinamo, Fenerbahçe and G. Birligi of Turkey, and Molde and Sogndal of Norway.

Results

Jeunesse Esche 0, Heusden 8
Trans 1, Ekranas 5
Puchov 6 Ceahlâul 2
KA 4 Real Madrid 4 (2-0 away goals)
Linfield 3, Krylja Sovetov 5
Mallorca 6, Siroki Brijeg 0
Slask 3, TPS 2
Norrköping 3, Metalurgs0
Visé 9, Naftex 1
Dinamo 3, Fenerbahçe 4 (silver goal)
Robotnicki 2, Badajk 3
Sogndal 2, FC Kärnten 2 (2-1 away goals)
SC Irony Ashdod 5, Schaan 1
Carmarthen Town 4, Smartno 0
Omania 1, Delémont 5
Teuta 0, SKA Khabarovsk 4
Agro 1, Torpedo Minsk 5
Kolkheti Poti 1, Dinamo Bucarest 3
Brno 3, Vukovar '91 2
Sligo Rovers 0, Sigma Olomouc 4
Molde 5, G. Birligi 2

There were few surprises in this round, although one could argue Real Madrid and Brno both should have won their rounds with greater ease than they did. Unfortunately, four of the best clubs (Dinamo and Fenerbahçe, Molde and G. Birligi) drew each other, and so two were eliminated.

The most dominant clubs in the round were both from the Belgian First Division, with Heusden and Visé both winning by commanding eight-goal advantages.

The second round, which will introduce 11 new clubs to the 21 first round winners, will be held on July 4 and July 12.

CR

[Chief Rum]

Tuesday, June 30 To Monday, July 6

With the end of the month, we are hitting a major date in expiring contracts which will likely put the offseason in overdrive. The market is about to be flooded with higher quality free agents, on top of the usual transfer speculation.

Southampton Offers McConnell

On Tuesday, the Saints offered us rising star striker David McConnell for $17.25 M. McConnell was brought over to Southampton from First Division Ipswich Town in January for a tidy sum of $7 M.

What first got my attention was the announcement of that original transfer deal. What locked it in and made me put the 19-year-old on my shortlist was how he had dominated the First Division with Ipswich, despite being all of 17 years old. He scored 17 goals in 2006-07, 27 goals in 2007-08, and was on his way to scoring 21 goals in a little over half of a season when he was moved to Southampton (and summarily moved to the reserves or as a little used sub).

So when the Saints offered him here, I paid attention. Their price was significantly higher than his listed value, though ($9.75 M), and I don't have all that large a transfer budget. Plus, I still don't have him scouted (I put him on the list to make that happen, but my scouts haven't checked him out yet).

So I declined the offer, checked again with my scouts to be sure to have him scouted and bided my time.

Celtic Accepts Offer For Moore

On Tuesday, we got official notification from Scottish power Celtic that they were accepting our bid for 25-year-old striker Stefan Moore. This is no surprise, of course-- we accepted the very offer they made to us, so this was a mere formality. Celtic asked for $3.2 M for the English forward

We immediately begin working on a contract with Moore, and get a deal wrapped up by Saturday.

We signed Moore to a three-year, $1.2 M contract, completing the transfer with Celtic.

Moore, 25, is a speedy English striker who came into his own with the Bhoys last year. After toiling for the Aston Villa reserves and on loans for the bulk of his career, Moore finally got a chance to start last year for Celtic. He scored 13 goals for the Scottish club last year in 33 appearances.

Moore is very fast, in the mold of strikers that I like. He doesn't have the jumping ability I want in a target man (just 6, ugh), but he has the technical skills to play at any of the front three spots. He crosses, dribbles, shoots, heads, and long shoots at 15-plus, and he passes at 14. His Aggression and Teamwork are lowe rthan 10, but that's the limit of solid over all mental abilities.

Moore is a bit of a risk, as he did well but did not dominate with Celtic, and he didn't rate too good either (6.76). But he has the skills to be a fine quick striker in the mold of Andrei Pereplyotkin, and he adds some youth at 25 to a frontline that has a lot of key players who are older (David Pizarro, Louis Saha, Emmanuel Olisadebe, and Mora are all over 30).

Contracts Expire

As long awaited, on Tuesday, several Tamworth Lamb players' contracts came to an end.

Most of the new free agents chose to leave the club, as I expected. They included goalkeepers Casper Nelis and Kees Kostwinder; centrebacks Reinder Hendriks, Mark Warren and Patrik Schultz; fullbacks Justin Skinner and Jamie Fullarton; winger Luke Rowlett; midfielder Brett Darby and forward Phil Smart.

None of them played a critical role for us this past season. In fact, Warren and Skinner are the only two of the group that actually stayed with the first team, and Nelis the only other player to appear in a first team match with us.

The contracts of versatile midfielder Darren Birchall and striker David McDonald also ran out, but they have chosen to remain with the club on a month-to-month contract for the time being. Since neither of them are making even as much as $100,000 per year, I have no problem with this.

In fact, I welcome keeping Birchall around, as he played a useful role for us this past season, and was the only even remotely significant player whose contract came to an end.

Tamworth Offers Contracts To Four Players

I wasn't the only club which had players reach the end of their current deals on Tuesday. Some players I had my eye on also became free agents, and I immediately approached to make offers.

Celtic defender John Walsh, Nottingham Forest midfielder Bruno Pedretti, Tottenham winger Claudio Ercoli and Fulham fullback Carlos Bocanegra all are now free agents, and I made offers to all four, along the lines of what they were seeking.

Here's what happened with them all this week.

Walsh

Walsh is one of the three highly-regarded youngsters in the group, and is listed as a "wonderkid".

He is a 20-year-old Irish centreback with good speed and defensive skills (if not great), and elite height and tackling abilities. Ercoli's sole standout quality is his "wonderkid" status, although he has some great skills in other areas.

On the same day I offered Walsh, he also attracted an offer from Primera Liga squad Mallorca. That was just the beginning.

In oirder, Walsh received offers from AS Roma, Barcelona, Deportivo, Valencia, Celta, Arsenal, Alavés, AC Milan and Schalke 04, besides our own.

The week ended with Walsh still considering contract offers from a number of teams.

Ercoli

Ercoli is the other "wonderkid" in the group.

The 20-year-old Italian has decent speed and all around terrific technical skills. His detractions are in the mental part of the game, as he does not work well with his teammates and is very timid on the pitch.

He played with Tottenham last season.

Like Walsh, Ercoli would soon attract interest from a bevy of world superpowers. Not including ourselves, he received offers this week from Valencia, Deportivo, Napoli, Celta and Chelsea.

The shotgun courting of Ercoli ended on Saturday.

After three days of flying around checking out the grounds of all his suitors, the former Spur accepted the contract offer from Deportivo de la Coruña on Saturday.

He signed a three year, $2.325 M deal with Deportivo. He had four assists and a 7.05 rating in 21 matches with the Spurs last year.

Pedretti

Like Walsh and Ercoli, Pedretti is a highly-regarded younger prospect, although he wasn't a "wonderkid".

Pedretti is a smart and creative playmaking midfielder with top notch speed. His technical skills need some work, but he is already far along in his football education. In fact, the 19-year-old Italian player posted a 7.00 rating to go along with four goals and two assists in 21 appearances for Forest, and why such an offensively strapped club would let him go to free agency, I couldn't even begin to tell you.

Pedretti also quickly received interest from Bundesliga second division club Nürnberg. If he had stayed around longer, he might have attracted more offers, but Pedretti proved to be the quickest on the trigger.

On Thursday, just two days after leaving White Hart Lane, Pedretti chose to sign with Nürnberg. Why he would choose to sign with a lower-league squad in Germany as opposed to the English league champs, I couldn't tell you.

Pedretti signed a three-year, $540,000 deal with the German club.

Bocanegra

Among these four players, only Bocanegra sought a deal for as much as $1 M ($1.1 M to be exact) for his annual salary.

Bocanegra, 30, has been a regular on the United States' backline for years now. He has been with Fulham since 2003-04, when he was brought over to England from the Chicago Fire. Although Bocanegra seems to be average as an attacking fullback, he has an established pedigree as a defender, and consistently posted around four assists and a high-6's rating since joining the Cottagers.

Bocanegra has 83 caps for the American squad, including six international goals. His qualities certainly model his career. While not an elite physical prospect, he is very solid. His defensive skills are also pretty strong, but shor tof top notch. His offensive skills are mostly pedestrian to just decent. His strongest attributes relate to his understanding of the game. He is a master on the pitch and a leader in the engine room. He is aggressive, a good teammate, very determined and a hard worker.

Bocanegra didn't getting the flood of offers Ercoli and Walsh are getting, but he apparently felt slighted by my initial offer, rejecting it on Thursday.

He felt he was more deserving of a better basic salary, and his agent was saying he would need a "significantly improved" offer to consider signing with us.

I feel I was pretty close, so I offered again at my highest level ($1 M per, $100,000 less than Bocanegra wants, but the most I can give, stupid board), maxed out the bonus (also $1 M), and gave him a 25% annual wage increasde as well. And I added a year to take him to 2013 (when he would be 34).

Two days after that, Bocanegra turned that deal down, too, breaking off negotiations with us. That is pretty disappointing, of course, but this guy was showing no give at all in his contract demands. And no one else is calling right now.

Late in the week, on Sunday, we received a message that the fullback had officially left the Cottagers--apparently he had elected at first to do the same mont-by-month schedule with Fulham that Birchall is currently on with us.

His decision to leave the club coincided with a contract demand under $1 M. Unfortunately, on Monday he turned down my third offer as well--which was exactly what he wanted. Really, I don't have a clue what this guy's problem is.

Phillips Rejects Fulham Deal

Mark Phillips doesn't seem to especially want to leave us. For the second time in a week, he rejected a contract offer from a transfer bidder.

On Tuesday, the 27-year-old centreback turned down a contract offer from Fulham, saying the basic salary offered was lower than he deserved.

Last week, Phillips turned down an offer from West Bromich Albion because he felt moving to the new Premiership squad was "a step in the wrong direction".

This doesn't change the fact that he is not in our plans for next year, and he will be on the transfer list as long as he's with us. He should take any deal he can get to move out of here.

Algeroy Accepts Offer

One of our scouts, Torgeir Algeroy, agreed to our three-year contract extension on Tuesday.

I offered the scout a new and improved deal (from $16,000 to $35,000 per year) because of reported interest in him by Premiership club Nottingham Forest.

As I have found elite level scouts to be difficult to find at times, I offered the contract extension to keep the 34-year-old Norwegian at the Lamb Ground. Algeroy was a general scout for us, usually scouting Scandinavia and Central Europe.

Board Confidence Update

With July 1, of course, came the start of a new month, and an update on the board's satisfaction with me as a manager.

New season, same tune. You would think if they were so happy with me, they would give me a bigger piece of the financial pie to use fo rtransfers. Oh well...

I suppose it should be fair to note that last month (unannounced), I received a sizable increase in my salary. Up until May, I was still being paid $85,000 per year, the salary I was drawing when I first took over Tamworth--a lowly Conference squad--in June 2003. I am now being paid $2.5 M per year, and am signed through June 2013.

Milwall Offers Ellington

It was only a matter of time.

Last offseason and in January, First Division Millwall delighted in constantly offering us striker Nathan Ellington, a player on my shortlist because of his tremendous speed, good height as a striker and all around solid skills. On Wednesday, we got our first Ellington offer for this transfer window.

Ellington, 28, hasn't been the focus of my attention because I haven't really needed more players with his skills, and he's too old to bring on as a prospect.

Millwall was seeking $6.75 M for him, a $1 M higher than his current value. I turned Millwall down, as I still don't need him, and think the price is too hgih anyway.

Ellington did have a fine season in the First Division (12 G, 9 A, 7.89 in 27 apps).

Players In, Players Out

Where June 30 is the last day of contracts, July 1 is the first day of new ones. We were involved in a handful of such deals, completing full bid financial transfers in some cases.

Forward Johnnier Montaño and winger Carl Motteram officially reached the end of their Tamworth careers. Montaño was officially transferred to Serie A's Piacenza, and Motteram went to the Bundesliga's 1860 München.

The transfers, which total $22 M and future transfer percentage takes, give the transfer kitty a kick, although the initial fees are only $6 M. We will receive the remaining $16 M over the next two years, in monthly payments.

Montaño and Motteram officially makes it ten Tamworth first team players to leave the club since the beginning of the offseason.

We also officially brought in Manchester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel and Leverkusen forward Emilio Mora on Wednesday.

Schmeichel, 22, is a former Denmark U-21 netminder that has never played for anyone but Man City. He has seen only sporadic first team play the past couple seasons, although in 2006-07, he appeared in 12 matches and played impressively, conceding just nine goals. As of right now, he's ticketed for the backup keeper spot behind Thomas Heaton.

Mora is a Mexican international whom has been looking for more playing time since Leverkusen dropped him into a reserve role last year. Mora, who was one of the stars in Mexico's surprising run to the Germany 2006 final, was a top player for Leverkusen two years ago (23 G, 11 A, 7.83 in 36 apps), but he barely played last year (3 G, 2 A, 7.00 in 7 apps). He is a fast and technically excellent football player with decent mental skills on the pitch, and the 30-year-olkd should fit into the frontline picture somewhere.

Ward, Smith Sign

Centreback David Ward agreed to a $24,000 contract through June 2012 on Wednesday, completing a $575,000 transfer from Irish Premier Division club Limerick, the only squad for whom he has played.

Shortly before Ward signed, Tamworth successfully negotiated a deal with promising Manchester United striker Paul Smith. Smith is in his Bosman phase, but the deal will require a $2.1 M youth development fee.

Our deal with Smith came just a day after the young striker told Planetfootball.com that transfer speculation was having a bad effect on him

Strangely enough, his comments were in regard to a potential move to Napoli, so I would guess his decisiont o sign with us caught the media with their pants down.

Both Ward and Smith are Ireland Under-21 players. Ward, 21, has three appearances with the national youth team, while Smith, 18, is a bit of a regular already, with 12 appearances and three international goals.

Ward moves over to the Lamb Ground immediately. Ward is technically deficient right now, and doesn't have the other skills to compensate. That said, he looks to have a bright future.

Smith's contract runs out on October 9. Smith's best abilities are encapsulated in a fast striker who can score package. He isn't a very strong play mentally, though, and that could mean a long learning curve.

When Smith joins the Lambs in October, he will likely go to the reserve or youth squad, while Ward will go to the reserves.

Our Interest Youth Prospect Staley Is Denied

Division One (formerly Second Division) York City turned down our enquiry for young 21-yera-old centreback Michael Staley. I don't plan on further continuing pursuit of him, which was only as a youth player. Ward's acquisition ended that.

Boca Rejects My Interest In Tevez

Earlier this week, I turned down a $17.25 transfer offer for Southampton's McConnell. That doesn't mean I don't have my eye on a player worth that kinda cash.

On Friday, the Boca Juniors of Argentina turned down my enquiry for a price for star Argentinian forward Carlos Tevez. It stunned me that the premier offensive talent on Argentina's frontline--the guy who puts Hernán Crespo on the bench--was still playing in South America, and wasn't in Europe.

I figured if there was a guy I would spend a high percentage of my budget on, it would be this guy. He has elite, explosive speed. He is an extremely talented mental player, who works hard, is determined on an exceptional level and coordinates well with others. He has superior creativity and decision-making. And there is no critical technical skill that this guy doesn't do at or close to elite level--crossing, dribbling, finishing, passing, long shots, wow.

Tevez is just 25, but he has scored 20 or more goals in five of the last six seasons in the Argentine Premier Division, with regular high-7 ratings. He has 14 international goals in 25 caps for Argentina.

Boca may not be interested in moving him, but that doesn't mean I will give up easy. I made a $15 M offer for the striker, including a good-sized percentage of future transfer fees.

Boca would turn that deal down, too, on Sunday. That did not meet well with Tevez, who apparently is anxious to move to a bigger club. He reacted angrily to Boca's rejection of my interest, according to a report from a Brazilian national newspaper. That's always good to know, since maybe I can amp the pressure up a bit.

Of course, I don't need to do much for that pressure to go up anyway--on Friday, the same day I put in the $15 M bid, super-rich Chelsea checked in with an offer that dwarfed mine, at $32 M.

I made a new offer for $18 M, and a significant take of any future transfer fees (I believe I offered 40%). This was probably as high as I could go.

When the week ended, Tevez was already in contract negotiations with Chelsea, while I awaited Boca's response for a chance at him.

Newcastle Offers Perrin

On Friday, the Magpies offered us their well-regarded reserve striker Sylvain Perrin for $16.25 M.

Perrin was a player I had put on my shortlist after I saw him getting frustrated at his lack of playing time at St. James Park. When my scouts checked him out in May, they told me he would be an excellent signing. Checking the 22-year-old French striker out, I found that he had some of the best offensive technical skills I had ever seen, and his height would make him an excellent target man. But he was slower than I liked (16 Acceleration, but 11 Pace), and his Aggression, Bravery, Determination and Teamwork--all stats I keep an eye on--were lower than 10.

So $16.25 M was well beyond what I was willing to pay. Heck I didn't even offer Boca that much for Tevez. I turned the Magpies down.

Leverkusen Negotiates Over Spector

I watched Jonathon Spector play well for the United States in the Confederations Cup, and I need young centrebacks (he's 23), so I made an enquiry about the young American defender, currently toiling with Bayer Leverkusen of the Bundesliga.

On Friday, Leverkusen offered him to me for $9.5 M--this for a guy valued at $2.7 M. Ridiculous.

I wouldn't give up, though--after all, they are at least willing to move him. I have had so many enquiries simply turned down, so this is a step in the right direction.

I counteroffer at $4 M, with a percentage take of future transfer fees.

On Sunday, Leverkusen turned down my $4 M offer. I upped my offer to $5 M with a similar take on future transfer fees.

At the end of the week, the German power was still considering my offer.

Yakubu Called Up

We got a request from Nigeria that Yakubu appear for the national team again, this time for the World Cup qualifier on July 11 against Guinea-Bissau.

That's fine by me--we'll be on our tour in the United States, but I have enough players not to be concerned about this.

Yakubu and Nigeria aren't yet into CHina 2010. They are currently in Africa's tightest fight for a spot with Ivory Coast, so this lats match is going to be huge.

River Turns Us Down For Costanzo

I said I might pursue River's goalkeeper Franco Costanzo, and on Saturday, I got an official response from his employers, powerful River of the Argentine Premier Division.

Not surprisingly, they are no more interested in moving him than Boca is to move Tevez.

Costanzo, 28, is a terrifically skilled goalkeeper, with a 10 in Tendency to Punch his only skill below 15. Well, Eccentricity is just 1, but that is a selling point--I don't like my goalkeepers to take chances. That's why Jon Masalin is at Elland Road now.

While I am pretty satisfied if I have to go with Heaton in goal, I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask about this guy. He has dominated in the Argentine Premier Division and also has 11 caps with Argentina.

I delay making an offer, which would be made despite River's reticence to move him. so that I can see how the Tevez situation will work itself.

But I may come back to this one.

Tamworth Signs Conteh

Seeking more depth at right fullback, on Sunday we succeeded in signing Sierra Leonean rightback Kewullay Conteh away from recent Serie A relegatee Palermo.

Conteh, 31, is a veteran defender with a solid set of skills at both ends of the pitch. He has the speed and strength to be a strong defensive factor, and he has good enough height to play the middle, although that's not a natural position for him. His technical defensive skills are excellent, and he couldn't be a better man-marker or tackler. Offensively, he has decent stats and can contribute with his ball movement skills, although he is much mroe of a standout in his own end. While he has few elite mental abilities and is a bit too timid, he is a very hard worker, and is no slouch in any individual mental talents outside of Aggression.

Conteh is coming off of perhaps his best ever season. Last year, he posted a career 7.41 average rating in 29 starts, and also put up two goals and two assists. He has posted a 7.00-plus rating the past two years after several seasons in the high 6.00's.

Conteh has been capped for Sierra Leone 34 times, and he has three international goals.

He accepted a two-year, $1.2 M deal from us over a contract extension offer from Palermo. He will officially join us on August 1, and the Bosman transfer requires no compensation to Palermo.

Conteh will be tossed into the mix on the backline, where he could go anywhere from a regular starter to a reserve.

League News

Here is the league news roundup.

Barcelona Makes Alex Bid

I don't usually mention news items involving players on my shortlist whom I don't have a direct tie with, but I think of Alex as one of the top players in the world.

On Tuesday, Barcelona offered $24 M for the Brazilian winger, currently playing for German superpower FC Bayern Munich.

I am certain this won't be the only offer tendered by major clubs in Europe, should the interest become serious.

Alex, 31, is one of the standout stars of the world's top national team, and is one of the most recognizable players in football.

Saints Sign Izzo

On Tuesday, the same day they offered me McConnell for almost $20 M, Southampton signed Italy Under-21 player Alessio Izzo from Lleida of the Primera Liga.

Izzo, 20, has been capped six times for Italy's youth team, and was a regular for a Primera Liga squad before this year. Lleida turned the winger into a reserve this past season after he started for them the four previous seasons (two of them at the Primera Liga level), ever since he was just 15 years old.

This past season, Izzo posted a 6.62 rating in 13 matches, only one of which was a start. He didn't get a goal or an assist, but looking at his numbers, that doesn't appear to be a strenght of his game, even when he was starting. In 2007-08, Izzo posted a respectable 6.88 rating with a career-high six assists in 33 matches, 31 of them starts.

I don't have Izzo scouted, so I have no idea right now if the Saints will actually use him or stick him on the youth squad for now. Izzo signed a three-year, $1.5 M deal with the Saints.

Milwall Signs Blackburn's Invincibile

Danny Invincibile may be a starter for Confederations Cup winner Australia, but apprently he isn't good enough for Premiership football.

On Wednesday, the 30-year-old striker signed with Championship squad Millwall, just a day after leaving his old employers, Blackburn.

The move is not much of a shock, considering the Rovers haven't used him ina Premiership match since 2006-07. Invincibile was loaned out to Charlton Athletic last year on a three-month stint, and he played very well (5 G, 2 A, 7.50 in 10 apps), but he spent the entire 2007-08 season on Blackburn's reserve squad.

In the last season he saw significant time (2006-07), Invincibile had a solid six goals, three assists and 7.21 average rating in 33 matches, 21 of which were starts.

The striker has been capped 33 times for Australia and has scored 10 international goals.

Southampton Sign Vaughan

Also on Wednesday, the Saints completed the Bosman signing of Bristol City fullback David Vaughan.

Vaughan was a regular for the Robins last season, putting up a very solid 7.03 average rating in 34 matches, with 33 starts. He was credited with four assists.

The 26-year-old Welshman is a regular with his homeland's national squad, with 29 career international appearances. He has one international goal with Wales.

Vaughan and earlier signing Izzo should make the Saints significantly stronger along the touchlines.

W.B.A. Sign Lasley

West Bromich Albion poached a player from a fellow Premiership promotee on Wednesday, completing a Bosman transfer for Scottish midfielder Keith Lasley, formerly of Leeds United.

Lasley, 29, put up a 7.00 rating with the Whites last season as a semi-regular. He appeared in 25 matches, and started 20 times, putting up two goals and two assists.

Forest Signs Ochs From Wolves

Tireless defensive midfielder Patrick Ochs was yet another Bosman transfer that was completed on July 1.

Ochs moves over to Nottingham Forest, where he will get the opportunity to compete directly against his former employers, recent promotee Wolverhampton.

The 25-year-old German was a semi-regular last season with Wolves, starting 19 and appearing in 33 overall. He put up a 6.97 rating, two goals and one assist. Although he wasn't a consistent starter last season, Ochs was a key starter for the Wolves in the three pevious seasons, including 2005-06, the last season the Wolves played at the Premiership level. That season, Ochs played well, with a 7.03 rating, two goals and three assists in 40 matches.

Wolves Sign Stewart

Wolves brought in former Leciester starter Jordan Stewart on a Bosman transfer on Wendesday.

Stewart, 27, has seen a sharp reduction in his playing time with the Foxes the past couple of seasons, but always did play a solid game when he did play.

The winger never appeared on the pitch last year for Leicester's first team, but he had a goal and two assists to go along with a strong 7.05 rating in 20 appearances in 2007-08. This followed a campaign in the Championship for Leciester that was his best ever, with seven goals, 10 assists, and a 7.29 rating in 51 starts.

Stewart seems likely to provide a significant boost to Wolves' offensive potential this season.

Owls' McGregor Wants To Move Up

Scottish international goalkeeper Allan McGregor wants to move to a bigger club, according to a report in the Daily Star Sunday on Thursday.

McGregor has asked to meet with the board of his employers, Sheffield Wednesday, to discuss leaving Hillsborough.

The 27-year-old netminder has been considered one of the brighter talents in net in the league, but he was inconsistent this past season, conceding 51 goals in 34 appearances, while posting a poor 6.62 rating. It would have looked better had not the Owls loaned in Chelsea's Yves Makabu Ma Kalambay, who played much better than McGregor behind the backline. Sheffield Wedneday tried to bring the Chelsea youth back, but he signed with Tamworth instead.

McGregor has given no indications what clubs he would like to move to. He has 12 career appearances with his native Scotland.

Arsenal Sign Gilberto Silva From Manchester United

The Gunners made their first big signing of the offseason when they brought over Manchester United midfielder Gilberto Silva for $7.5 M on Friday--two years after selling him to Old Trafford for $24 M.

The veteran Brazlian defensive midfielder has been a semi-regular for the Red Devils the past two seasons, but he never played as much as he did originally in his first stint with the Gunners.

The 32-year-old Brazilian international had a goal and four assists in 35 appearances, with 22 starts. He posted a 6.94 rating.

Silva has 48 appearances for mighty Brazil, scoring four international goals. He signed a three-year, $13.5 M deal with the Gunners.

The next day, Silva told The Times that he believes he will see out his career at Ashburton Grove.

Silva would stay in the news all weekend, telling media on Sunday he believed he could be the catalyst that will see the Gunners to glory, and that he sees a bright future for the club.

Manchester United Signs Placente

It didn't take Manchester United long to use the money they received for Gilberto Silva.

On Saturday, the Red Devils bought Chelsea fullback Diego Placente for $7 M. They signed the 32-year-old Argentinian left back to a two-year, $7.6 M deal.

Placente's move to Old Trafford comes just a year after he was brought in to Stamford Bridge from Deportivo--and for much more, at $19.25 M.

Placente had a solid defensive season for the Blues, posting a 6.91 rating in 28 starts, with five additional subs. While he has never been an attacking fullback, Placente's one lone assist was lower than he usually puts up.

Placente is a regular with Argentina's international squad, with 63 career caps.

Like Silva, Placente said he believed he would finish his career with Manchester United, according to a report in Sunday's Daily Star.

Also like Silva with his new club, Placente said he sees future success for the Red Devils, and that he would be a key part of it.

HSV Makes Bid For Perrin

Just a couple days after I rejected an offer for Newcastle striker Perrin, German power Hamburger SV has offered the Magpies $21 M for the young French player on Sunday.

Perrin has complained in the last couple months about his lack of playing time at St. James Park, so his departure seems to be all but a foregone conclusion.

Perrin did play well when given the chance, scoring four goals and adding three assists to go along with a 7.15 rating in 13 appearances, incuding six starts. Some obervers believe the 22-year-old forward might be France's next great striker, in the mold of Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet and Nicolás Anelka.

Two years ago, Perrin, as a 20-year-old rising star, dominated Le Championnat with 24 goals and a 7.89 rating in 38 matches with Auxerre. He was brought over to Newcastle last summer fopr $13.5 M.

Newcastle is expected to accept HSV's offer.

Tamworth Weekly Offseason Recap

There's often so much going on an offseason that it can get a little confusing. So here's the Quik notes of what happened this week to Tamworth.

--With the passing of June 30, we saw some previously agreed deals go through, with winger Carl Motteram (1860 München) and forward Johnnier Montaño (Piacenza) leaving the club, and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel (Man City) and forward Emilio Mora (Leverkusen) joining us at the Lamb Ground.

--The passing of June 30 also saw several Tamworth players' contracts coming to an end, including first teamers goalkeeper Casper Nelis, fullback Justin Skinner and centreback Mark Warren. Versatiel midfielder Darren Birchall elected to remain with the club on a month-to-month basis until a better deal comes along.

--The club signed some youth talent in Limerick centreback David Ward and Manchester United striker Paul Smith. Ward has already joined the club, while Smith will move to Tamworth on a Bosman transfer in October. They also came to terms with veteran defender Kewullay Conteh, currently with Palermo. The fullback will be a part of the backline rotation after he moves over on August 1.

--Tamworth has been mentioned prominently in several possible transfer deals, including efforts to bring in Leverkusen defender Jonathon Spector, Boca star forward Carlos Tevez and River goalkeeper Franco Costanzo. They are also one of many clubs int he bidding for young wonderkid centreback John Walsh, formerly of Celtic.

--Tamworth swung and missed for some young talent in Tottenham winger Claudio Ercoli and Nottingham Forest midfielder Bruno Pedretti. Ercoli signed with Deportivo, while Pedretti joined German second division club Nürnberg.

--Former Fulham fullback Carlos Bocanegra has rejected the Lambs' advances over the past week. The signing of Conteh likely means an end in Tamworth's pursuit of the American defender, who is currently a free agent.

CR

[daedalus]

Tough to compete for players with some of these teams when you don't want to spend ridiculous amount of money.

Have you considered scoutinging around Sweden and South America more often?

[Chief Rum]

Tuesday, July 7 To Monday, July 13

In this week, we progress with the continuing offseason, as well as begin our first tour of the United States, all involving Eastern Conference Major League Soccer squads. This week, we play D.C. United on Friday, and the Chicago Fire on Monday.

Unfortunately, top Chicago player Demarcus Beasley is with the United States national team at the Gold Cup, so we won't be playing him.

Tevez

In the early going of this next week, the wooing of Boca Juniors' star Argentinian forward Carlos Tevez is in full swing now.

First off, my $18 M offer is rejected. That was supposedly my last offer, but I seriously considered making a full $28 M offer, which would have essentially been my entire transfer budget. I can be crazy sometimes, but I decided that would be too crazy, so I talked myself out of that.

One of the reasons I was able to talk myself out of it was because Boca apparently rejected Chelsea's $32 M bid, so it makes me wonder what good a $28 M bid would do. I knew this because Chelsea came back with a $36 M offer!

Juventus then entered the fray with a $32 M bid themselves.

As we already discovered, $32 M isn't enough, and sure enough, two days later, the Serie A superpwer exited the bidding.

That left it all up to Chelsea, and Boca did indeed accept Chelsea's $36 M offer.

On Saturday, Tevez came to an agreement with Chelsea, rejecting a contract extnesion from Boca as being too low his basic salary needs.

Tevez signed a three-year, $14.4 M offer, not including bonuses. With his signing, Chelsea has secured perhaps the biggest move of the offseason, and have finally replaced Hernán Crespo, the ill-fated move to Arsenal last year perhaps sealing Chelsea's fate as just a UEFA Cup squad after last season's sixth place finish.

I described Tevez's talents before, and I'll do it again here. I think this is a frightening move for the rest of the league, really. He is elite-level fast. He is technical star, with high Finishing and Crossing skills, and elite Dribbling moves. With 18 Passing, 17 Creativity and 16 Decisions, he is a preeminent playmaker, and combining that with an 18 Flair is just deadly. In fact, the only thing this guy can't really do is be a target man (at least not the header sort), as his 14 Heading/11 Jumping are merely decent. For me, what turns this guy into a complete star, though, is his 20 Determination, 16 Teamwork and 16 Work Rate.

Tevez should combine with Adrian Mutu and Arjen Robben to form a lethal top line in the Premiership. Tevez also has 14 goals in 33 international caps with Argentina, and he's just 25. He scored 22 goals in 33 matches last year with Boca in the Argentine Premier Division, to go along with a 7.67 rating.

In a mere formality, Tevez must go through the work permit process. On Sunday, it was announced he would be scheduled to be considered by the British Labor Board on July 26.

Walsh Bidding

Young wonderkid and former Celtic centreback John Walsh is still out there taking bids. On Wednesday, he added Napoli to a list of suitors that includes AS Roma, Barcelona, Deportivo, Valencia, Celta, Arsenal, Alavés, AC Milan, Schalke 04, and, of course, Tamworth.

Walsh finally settled down late in the week and made a decision, though.

On Friday, the 20-year-old Irish rising star agreed to a three-year, $5.4 M deal with Valencia, and dooming us to oh-for-three on the top prospect target list we went after on the first day of new contracts, going along with winger Claudio Ercoli (Deportivo) and midfielder Bruno Pedretti (Nürnberg).

In reality, Wlash turned down a ton of offers, but the news message specifically pointed out that he turned down offers from Barcelona, Arsenal and Milan. That tells me they were probably the closest in bidding outside of Valencia (and, wow, what a list).

I was disappointed I didn't get him, but I suspect I didn't really have a chance in this one. Heck, he wasn't even going to start for me (although I don't know that he will necessarily break into Valencia's backline either).

And then a day later, I discovered that perhaps Walsh had quickly discovered he had made a mistake, too. Valencia was already listing him!

The centreback, now valued at more than $15 M, was being badnied about for some $10 M or so, and Walsh was saying he feels he was brought to the club under false pretenses.

I made an offer, some $6 M or so with a 50% future take on transfer fees. I thought it wa spretty good, but apparently Valencia wants to make quite a bti of cash on him, so they counteroffered at $13.75 M on Sunday. That was way beyond what I felt he was worth at this point, so I cancelled further negotiations.

Walsh and Valencia both will just have to lie in the bed they make.

Birmingham Offer Wood

This excited me for a second. Until I looked closer and realized the player offered was Michael Wood from Birmingham City, not young centreback Richard Wood from Sheffield Wednesday, who I originally tried to get with Johnnier Montaño last month.

Not that this Wood is really a bad player (well, really, I don't know, don't have him scouted).

Anyway, the Blues have offered the young Scotland Under-21 winger to me for $5 M on Thursday. Since I don't have him scouted and his performance thus far doesn't give me enough on which to base any evaluation of him otherwise, I turn down the offer.

Wood, a natural left winger and forward, posted a decent but not great 6.64 rating in 11 matches with Birmingham City last season, and didn't produce a goal or an assist (although, to be fair, only two of his appearances were starts).

Wood is a five-time Under 21 player for Scotland. He has one international goal and is just 19.

D.C. United

On Wednesday, we fly across the Atlantic out of Birmingham and arrive at Ronald Reagan Airport, prepared to bring the Tamworth name to the unwashed "soccer" heathens of the United States.

I have allowed for an extra day of acclimation to the Eastern Time Zone before our friendly against D.C. United on Friday.

This D.C. United should look somewhat familiar to MLS fans, although Freddy Adu has been in Europe for years now. Also, in this version, Clint Dempsey and Bobby Convey are both still with the squad.

Convey is on one wing, and Dempsey on eof the midfield spots. Other notable names in the startting eleven are Alecko Eskandarian and Santino Quaranta up front, fullback David Stokes and centreback and captain Mike Petke on the backline, and goalkeeper Nick Rimando in net.

We are goign with our expected starting lienup, although this isn't set in stone. As per usual, I will do a complete eleven switch at halftime. The starters are Thomas Heaton in net, Kevin Gorman and Trond Erik Bertelsen at wingback, James McEveley and Leon Cort in the middle fo the defense, Michael Stewart centering the three-man midfield, with Richie Partridge ont he right and Lionel Morgan on the left, and Andrei Pereplyotkin returns to the pitch for us for the first time as our target man. He is flanked by Louis Saha on the left and Orri Freyr Oskarsson on the right.

On the second team, goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel and forward Emilio Mora are set to make their debuts in a Tamworth kit, although they won't be making official debuts until the real season starts, of course.

I don't plan on spending a lot of time describing the action in friendlies, so here goes.

More than 21,000 fans packed RFK Stadium on a mild summer day in Washington. Glad we didn't get a humid day.

Even in a friendly, this one wasn't very competitive at all. Of course, as our first friendly opponent, D.C. United got the unfortunate "opportunity" to play our complete first team with some rest in them.

The first goal in the 31st minute was created by a wonderful run by Partridge. Eskandarian was trying to take the ball down the touch when Partridge made an excellent intervantion at the centreline. He went on a run down the right touch, skipping past fullback Chris Wilson and running to the goal line wing before proceeding inside. He took the ball all the way to the box before hoisting it up into a crowd of players in front of the net. Morgan was on it first and blasted a high, hard shot at the net. Rimando was right on it, but the shot ate him up, blasting over him and into the net for the score.

We didn't get our second score until the second eleven was on. In his first action with the Lambs, happily enough, Mora got involved in the scoring. Denny Landzaat got to a clear out in the center of the offensive pitch in the 46th minute and fired a dart of a long shot right on goal. Rimando was ready for it, and defelected it off to his right. Unfortunately for him, Mora was right there and blasted the ball behind Rimando and into the right corner of the net for the two-goal lead.

The third and last score came in the 60th minute. Landzaat gave up a ball to David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro, who took the ball into the area to the right of tyhe right post. He found an angle on goal and fired a high shot, but Rimando pushed it over. The ball clanged off of the crossbar and bounced out toward the other end of the goal. Emmanuel Olisadebe stepped up for the easy tap in goal.

It was brutal. We outshot them 24-1. It's sad what becomes of MLS teams when they don't have a league to play in.

Next, we fly to Chicago for a match with the Beasley-less Fire.

Coventry Offer Osborne

On Friday, as my players were warming up for the match with D.C. United, I got word of an offer from Championship squad Coventry involving their young defensive midfielder Isaac Osborne.

They are seeking $3.5 M for the player, a 23-year-old talent who is on my shortlist.

Osborne doesn't have the speed I like (12 Acceleration, 15 Pace), but he's not far off. And in fact, he hardly has any elite skills--he doesn't dribble or corss or pass at a high elite level either. But the fact is, he has no single digit talents--that's right not a single one. And where he is on an elite level is in mental stats I like-- Aggression (17), Determination (18), Influence (15), Teamwork (15), Work Rate (16).

Basically, I feel he is your classic overachiever type of player, and I had some interest in him. Osbourne has started for Coventry for three seasons now, and has averaged a 7.00-plus rating each year. He had his highest rated year last season at 7.12, although he only put up two goals and two assists. The years before that, he had eight assists and seven assists.

I like Osborne, but $3.5 M is quite a bit too much for him, a $2.7 M player at the moment. I counteroffer for $2 M.

Coventry shot that one down a few days later on Monday. They didn't counteroffer, nor do I feel strongly enough about bringing him in to pursue it further myself, although I will listen to future offers.

Bocanegra Snubs Us Again

I won't go into too many details, but it seemed like Carlos Bocanegra had dropped his money demands a little. Once again I matched exatcly the offer he wanted.

On Friday, he turned me down again. Very annoying.

Raven Seeks Contract Extension

There seems to be something wrong with the game logic on contract extensions.

On Saturday, centreback David Raven revealed he is concerned that an improved contract has yet to be tabled despite being promised one last season. Uhh...David? I signed you to an improved contract extension in June, m'kay?

I hate stupid bugs like this. Anyway, I clicked on Offer New Contract anyway to see what it would say. It basically offered him the same contract he has now (the same new contract he just signed a month ago), but with a new $850,000 bonus (I think that's the same as well as before).

I figure if I have all this money in the bank (and I do), and I can get around a dumb bug just by dropping another $850,000 on a guy, why not? So I go ahead and offer him a "new" contract.

Hopefully that will shut him up.

He signed the deal on Monday, just before the week ended.

Tamworth Sign Ceccarelli

Wow, I made a huge signing on Saturday, and one that was unexpected as well.

I forget what the circumstances were of my finding him, but sometime early in July or late in June I came upon a young Italian defender named Alessandro Ceccarelli with an expiring contract that looked like he might be pretty good. I didn't have him scouted, but he was already capped nine times for the Italy Under 21 squad, and also had an international goal for the youth team already. Plus, as a hybrid midfielder/centreback, he scored four goals, got two assist and posted a 7.07 rating in 44 appearances, mostly substitutes--with a strong Parma team! Even breaking into that lineup is an indication you aren't a slouch. Sure, they're not Juventus or Milan, but they are one of the top five to ten clubs in Italy.

Anyway, when I originally approached him, I expected there to be a significant youth bonus to sign him. Shockingly, the 20-year-old player commanded no such bonus at all. He could be Bosmaned out for "free" essentially. I went to offer him a contract, even without knowing his ratings, but his agent said they didn't think we had the resources to sign him.

I decided to scout him anyway to see how he showed up, and then went on my merry way during the offseason.

That brings us to this week. On Friday, our top scout Johnny Walsh scouted Ceccarelli and said he would make an excellent addition. When I checked out his ratings, I wa ssuitably impressed. He is very fast (16 Acceleration/18 Pace) and tall (15 Heading/18 Jumping) and solidly strong (15 Tackling/13 Strength). He has superior offensive abilities for a defender, with 17 Crossing, 14 Dribbling and 17 Finishing. But the best part was his defensive skills, with Marking 20 and Positioning 19. You don't get much better than that. His mental skills were average to just below solid only, but not enough to dissuade my interest.

So I went back to making him an offer. I still got the same message as before, that we didn't have the resources. I offered anyway, at $950,000 per, with a healthy 25% yearly wage increase and about $1 M in bonus. My assumption was that it wouldn't be accepted.

A day later, I happily discovered I was wrong. Ceccarelli liked the deal after all. On Saturday, he signed a deal that, without bonus, is worth around $5.48 M over four years, with the 25% wage increase figured in. Ceccarelli will officially join us on August 1, and definitely be in the mix on the backline.

Mark Hicks Not Drawing Interest

A month ago, when I started offering Tamworth players around, several of them took offense to this. For the most, this was shortlived. Oskarsson and Wilde, for instance, returned to their normal happy levels inside of a week.

the only player he continued to harp on my giving him no support was longtime winger Mark Hicks. He remained unhappy.

I tried to move him, but no one was buying, even at discount prices. Since he wasn't getting any happier, I figure he isn't going to improve in this respect, so I transfer listed him. Still, I have received no interest.

On Saturday, another round of clubs pretty much said no way to even lower discounted prices on Hicks. His value is dropping like a rock, down to around $7 M, and I am thinking of offering him for as low as $3 M.

I will eventually take him off of the transfer list again, since I see no prupose in continuing to aggravate the situation, but he already wants to leave the club anyway. I would oblige him if I could, but I don't plan on giving him away.

Besides, he has done a lot for this club, and I am disappointed in myself for letting it come to this. Really, my only desire to move him is because I think he can still be a top player somewhere, but he isn't going to start for me.

Beveren Dismisses My Enquiry Into Zoundi

I made an enquiry into the availability of explosive striker Zoundi of Belgian First Division club Beveren.

Zoundi, 27, is a Burkinabe striker terrific quickness and dribbling skills, and he is a smart, heady player. Coming off of his best season, Zoundi would be a nice depth option to pick up. Zoundi scored 19 goals in 31 appearances last year, posting a 7.39 average rating.

He is valued at $1.5 M, which to me sounds like a fairly reasonable deal.

On Sunday, Beveren dismissed my enquiry for the striker. I haven't decided if I will pursue the matter, but probably not.

Birmingham Enquire About Booth

On Sunday, I received an enquiry for an asking price on younger England Under-21 winger Chris Booth.

Heretofore unavailable, the match on Friday made me question whether maybe I should move the 19-year-old promising talent.

Booth has been with us for a long time, and I have long slated him as having a primary role in Tamworth's future. But I have come to realize some things over time. First off, we have switched to a tactic that deemphasizes true wing play in favor of central midfielders, and Booth is much more a natural winger than a midfielder. Second, his low Teamwork (8) and Bravery (6) and my questioning if he will truly reach a top level in some of his technical skills make me question his true longterm value. Third, Partridge looked terrific on Friday against D.C. United, and he is just 28, as is primary right midfield backup Jim Corbett. Booth is much younger, but these guys aren't exactly old. And fourht, when putting my lineups together Friday, I once again realized I still have a ton of players, even after cutting a lot or transferring some out.

So instead of turning down the offer, I instead make a high return offer for Booth. He is only listed at $625,000, but I counter for $5 M, with a percentage take of future transfer fees. That's probably a little high, of course, but I feel if Birmingham wants him, they are going to have to pay me well to make it worth my while.

Booth had two goals and seven assists to go along with a 7.41 rating in 17 matches for us last year.

Motherwell Dismisses Clarkson Enquiry

At the same time I was looking at Beverin's Zoundi, I was also looking at young Motherwell striker Dave Clarkson, again because I felt he might be a good value.

Clarkson, 23, is a Scottish striker with fine speed and terrific crossing. His overall ball moving abilities as a crosser and passer are what attracted my attention, as he looked like a solid longterm option at the right forward spot.

He also has good qualities in areas I watch for, including high to elite levels in Teamwork and Work Rate, and can score when he needs to (although he has much more of a playmaking forward look to him).

Motherwell played in the Scottish First Division last year, so it's not so easy to get a bead on his actual performance levels for the Premiership, but Clarkson had 12 goals and 8 assists in 33 matches last season. He's actually done much better before that, with 17 goals/13 assists in 2007/08, 19 goals/8 assists in 2006/07, and 16 goals/11 assists as a 20-year-old striker on 2005/06--on a Scottish Premiership club.

My scouts said Clarkson would be an excellent signing, and he was only worth $150,000 according to his value, so I thought he would be an excellent value.

Motherwell, though, isn't interest in moving him apparently, turning down my enquiry on Monday.

Bertelsen Requests Transfer

Well, I knew it could be a possibility, considering this guy's sourpuss attitude since we brought him on. I see why Mallorca moved him as they did.

On Monday, before the match against the Fire, fullback Trond Erik Bertelsen asked to be placed on the transfer list. The Norwegian international defender is upset that he isn't a first team regular (even though he is, and is going to see an increase in his time this very season).

I'm pretty much sick of him, so I grant the request and will do my best to move him. What he has provided on the pitch and especially in the engine room doesn't really match his supposed value anyway.

I start offering him around the league.

Chicago Fire

The Fire are a much different squad than in present times, and that difference is accentuated by the loss of Beasley to the national team.

The wings still feature familiar names with Craig Capano and Justin Mapp starting there. Nate Jacqua is a star up front whom has been with the team this whole time. After that, though, you would be hard pressed to find anyone you know. The team has three Williams, for instance, but none of them are Andy Williams. The squad also has a Lalas-- Dan, not the retired Alexei.

For us, this is a match of hopefuls, backups and guys whom I want to see how they fit into the tactic. These are all players who didn't appear in the match against D.C. United.

Yakubu is probably the most prominent player in the lineup, as he missed his customary spot int he first match because he was away with his native Nigeria over the weekend. Rising Under-19 talent Mark Hooper is at the right forward spot, and Birmingham City target Booth is at the right midfield spot. Giovanny Hernández hasn't attracted much attention, so he returns to try and battle for a key spot with the squad. In net, Yves Makabu Ma Kalambay starts in his first ever match with the Lambs. The most notable player in the second half squad is Stefan Moore, who will play his first match with the Lambs today.

We are playing in front of some 17,500 fans at Solider Field on a brisk but clear day in this one.

In the 13th minute, the Lambs were pressing for the first score of the match. Midfielder Danny Prutton had the ball near the middle of the pitch. He saw that Adam Wilde had timed a step on centreback Tony Johnson, and he placed a perfect pass on the forward's foot. Wilde blasted the shot over goalkeeper Adam McDonald's left shoulder for the first score.

The Lambs' next score came on an amazing shot by Hernández in the 20th minute. The midfielder was first on a ball that ricocheted off of Jacqua on a clear out near midfield. Hernández was far awy from the goal, and a trio of Fire defenders were closing in on all sides, so Hernández decided to take what shot he could. He unleashed a beautiful curling long shot from well beyond the area, some 25 yards out, and the shot swung around McDonald and sailed inside the right post for the score.

Wilde would add his second goal in the 24th minute. Jarl Ander Storbæk took the ball away from Capano along the left touch, allowing centreback Péter Kiss to jump on the loose ball. Fire fullback Brian Dias made the odd decision to jump forward from the penalty area to take on Kiss, allowing Wilde an open field toward the goal. Kiss sent the ball forward to Wilde easily, who took the ball into the left end of the area. Wilde unleashed a shot from a tight angle to the left of the post, and it flew over McDonald and into the back of the net for the three-goal lead.

In the 50th minute, the match got ugly. Lalas elbowed striker Stephen McGowan in the face, and was escorted off of the pitch, red card in hand. McGowan shook off the pain and immediately made the Fire pay. After Dias barely pushed the balla way from McGwoan on one scoring opportunity in the following mminute, the striker found a hole to exploit in the defense in the 51st minute. Midfielder Stephen O'Brien got the ball from the touch and immediately fired it inside to McGowan. The striker had a look on-goal and fired a shot right at McDonald. The ball shot off of McDonald's hands and slammed into the back of the net for Tamworth's fourht goal of the match.

The match would end that way, 4-0, and we didn't allow a single shot to the Fire. I certainly hope my guys are at least getting used to the tactic and playing with each other, because they certainly aren't being tested by MLS teams just yet.

League News

Here's a look at what's been going on with Premiership squads and other major news in the football world.

Leicester After Stuttgart's Fletcher

Perhaps sensing that their time has arrived, the Foxes have been very aggressive this offseason. On Thursday, more indications of this came out, when the Bundelsiga club VfB Stuttgart had to warn Leicester City boss John McDermott away from Scottish international midfielder Darren Fletcher.

Fletcher, 25, has played a key role with the German club in the past three seasons, but his playing time dropped a bit last year, despite putting up his best rating of the three years (6.75). Leicester may be going after him because VfB Stuttgart got the drop last season, and might be inclined to move its pricier players.

VfB Stuttgart manager Jürgen Klopp denied that on Thursday, though, saying he would not allow Fletcher to leave the club.

According to scouts, Fletcher is a competent and intelligent football player, if not spectacular. He has 18 international appearances with Scotland.

Fletcher himself wasn't so reticent over the prospect of leaving the German club to return to his native United Kingdom, though. On Saturday, he told a German national newspaper that he was very flattered by the interest the Foxes were shwoing him, and would have to seriosuly consider any offers they make to him.

Alex Interest Heats Up...Does He Sign?

Star Brazilian winger Alex drew the interest of AC Milan last week. Is a move coming?

If it is, it won't be with Milan--the Serie A superpower withdrew from bidding on Thursday. But the call was out, and others came to make their offers. Even as Milan pulled out, mighty Arsenal weighed in with a similar $24 M offer for the 31-year-old international star.

Currently the property of FC Bayern Munich, Alex has been one of the more recognizable football stars in the world, and is one of the top players ont he world's top national squad, Brazil. Last season, Alex scored 10 goals and passed for 11 assists in 44 appearances, with a 7.41 rating. He is just two years removed from a 22-goal, 15-assist, 7.68 avergae rating season. He also has 19 goals in international competition, with 73 caps with Brazil.

Like many of Brazil's top stars, Alex is a very fast player with excellent technical skills. He is one of the world's top playmakers, and can handle the wing, the midfield or the frontline with equal skill.

On Saturday, something both predictable and unpredictable happened. The predictable was the entrance of Manchester United into the bidding for the Brazilian star. The unpredictable was the price--they offered half of what Arsneal did, at $12 M. And strangely enough, FC Bayern accepted the tender, putting at risk the $24 M Arsenal had staked to the player.

Alex met with representatives from both clubs and gave due consideration to contract offers over the weekend. Finally, on Monday, Alex announced he had decided to go with the Red Devils, spurning Arsenal's offer and also burning his old employers, who now get half of what they would have gotten from the Gunners. Alex also turned down a contract extension from FC Bayern themselves.

Alex signed a three-year, $13.5 M deal to move to Old Trafford. Alex will certainly be in Manchester United's opening lineup, but the question currently is where, as the Red Devils are deep with stars at all of their frontline, midfield and wing positions.

Even as Alex was putting pen to paper, red-wearing Red Devils fans were ecstatic by all accounts over the signing. They showed up in droves outside of Old Trafford to greet the new signing. In brief comments to the crowds in his halting English, the winger thanked the fans and said he hoped to repay their enthusiasm with strong performances on the pitch.

Newcastle Signs Freidrich

On Friday, Newcastle came to terms with Valencia fullback Arne Friedrich, completing an $11.5 M transfer deal with the Primera Liga squad for the German international's services.

Friedrich is one of the top defenders on Germany's national team, for which he has appeared 46 times in his careers.

The 30-year-old wingback didn't score last year nor get an assist, but he put a respectable 7.00 rating in 38 starts. He has always been much better known for staunch defense rather than offensive skill.

Friedrich signed a three-year, $5.7 M deal to move to St. James Park.

Chelsea Sign Van Bommel

As is the way with Chelsea, they certainly did not limit themselves in gunning after Tevez.

On Friday, they made another high profile signing when they worked out a $17.25 M transfer for PSV Eindhoven's worldclass midfielder Mark van Bommel.

The 32-year-old Dutch international star is in the latter stages of his career, but by most considerations, remains a top notch player. In fact, last season was a career year for him, as he put up 10 goals, 16 assists and a 7.34 average rating in 44 appearances for PSV.

Van Bommel signed a three-year, $8.4 M deal with the Blues.

Van Bommel remains one of the smartest and steadiest football players and team leaders in the world. Outside of a 10 in Jumping, which is of little concernf or a midfielder, Van Bommel does not have a single other stat below 13, and most of the ratings are far higher than that. In 45 international appearances with Holland, the midfielder has scored seven international goals.

On Saturday, van Bommel told The Daily Star that he plans to end his career at Stamford Bridge. He also said over the weekend that he is anxious to get going and to meet his new teammates. He said the opportunity to work with top quality players was a major factor in his decision to sign with the club.

HSV Signs Newcastle's Perrin

Having failed to move him to us, the Magpies successfully negotiated the transfer of young talent Sylvain Perrin to the Bundesliga's Hamburger SV on Friday. It is rumored the deal was a contingency of Newcastle signing Friedrich from Valencia, as HSV's initial $15 M offer more than covers that other signing involving Newcastle.

Perrin's days at St. James Park were certainly numbered after he complained about playing time late in the season. He only played sporadically for Newcastle this past year, although he played well when given the chance (four goals, three assists, 7.15 average rating in 13 matches, six of them starts). Some believe the 22-year-old striker is a talent on the rise for France's frontline, a future Thierry Henry in the making.

Perrin dominated Le Championnat two years ago with Auxerre, scoring 24 goals and psoting a 7.89 rating before moving over to Newcastle last summer in a $13.5 M deal.

Last week, Newcastle offered Perrin to us for $17.25 M, but I turned them down.

The deal could go up to $21 M based on appearances. Perrin agreed to a three-year, $6 M deal with the Bundesliga power.

Fulham Goes To Spain For Irish Midfielder

Late Friday, Fulham announced it had come to a Bosman arrangement with Osasuna's Liam Ward, a 19-year-old Irish midfielder who can also play on the wing.

Osasuna was a Primera Liga 2 squad before earning the drop this past season. Ward had just four appearances for them, putting up a goal and two assists, along with a 7.50 average rating.

Ward will officially join the Cottagers on December 15 when his current contract ends.

It is likely Ward will be headed for Fulham's youth squad. Not exactly Tevez or Alex, is he?

Make It Three--Chelsea Signs Sagnol

On Saturday, Chelsea wrapped a great week for them when they signed Borussia Dortmund's commanding fullback Willy Sagnol.

The French veteran defender comes over to Stamford Bridge for $5.75 M. with Tevez and van Bommel, he forms a triumvirate of top signings by the Blues this weekend, courtesy of almost $60 M in total transfer fees.

The 32-year-old international for France put up a 6.97 rating with Dortmund last season, including two goals and an assist. He came over to Dortmund from FC Bayern, for whom he had long been a star, last summer for $17 M.

Sagnol, a right back, remains a solid defender, although his skills are a little worse than they once were in years past. He has appeared in 49 matches for France, scoring one international goal and winning the World Cup in 2006, and the Euro in 2000.

The fullback signed a three-year, $9 M deal with Chelsea.

Sagnol told Daily Star Sunday the next day that he firmly believes he is still capable of playing at the highets level for a while yet, despite the doubts of some. Like van Bommel before him, the defender said he hopes and plans to end his career at Stamford Bridge.

In the wake of Chelsea's spending spree, media decried the wasteful use of money by the club, and fans of other clubs grumbled of "buying championships" and Sagnol's "easy pay day." Responding to such accusations in The Observer on Monday, Sagnol scoffed at the rumors of the reasoning behind the move. He said he would not slough off, and would in fact lead by example in the club's quest for honours in the coming seasons.

Tamworth Weekly Offseason Recap

There's often so much going on an offseason that it can get a little confusing. So here's the Quik notes of what happened this week to Tamworth.

--This was a week of mostly failure, unfortunately. We didn't sign former Celtic centreback John Walsh (Valencia) or Argentinian star forward Carlos Tevez (Chelsea). We failed to drum up responses for several players, like Motherwell's Dave Clarkson and Beveren's Zoundi. Former Fulham defender Carlos Bocanegra continues to treat us like lepers, and Coventry turned down our counteroffer for young midfielder Isaac Osborne.

--We did make one major signing when we inked young talent-on-the-rise Alessandro Ceccarelli on a Bosman transfer away from powerful Serie A club Parma. He will join us in August.

--There was trouble in Tamworth's engine room, as defenders David Raven and Trond Erik Bertelsen both upped the ante on private grievances with me, while Mark Hicks continues to sulk about my shopping him. Raven pined for a contract he already actually has--I have him almost a $1 M to shut up. Bertelsen demanded to be transfer listed, to which I obliged. And I am continuing to dangle Hicks around the league, hoping to land a respectable offer for the Irish winger.

--Birmingham City made an official enquiry into the availability of Chris Booth. I decided he could be had, but I demanded a very high price for him, as if I am going to move him, I want something substantial for his budding talent. I doubt the Blues will step up.

CR

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by daedalus

Tough to compete for players with some of these teams when you don't want to spend ridiculous amount of money.

Have you considered scoutinging around Sweden and South America more often?

Heh...it ain't a matter of "want". More like "can't".

I have to have the money first before I can spend it.

I scout in Scandinavia and in South America regularly. Unfortunately, getting talent out of South American is very difficult because few of the players there can get work permits, and the ones who can are either already over here, or so good they will get a ton of bids a la Tevez.

I haven't noticed that Sweden produces anymore talent than anywhere else, although I have heard that before. I have found a good number of decent players from all corners of Europe, so I try ot hit all spots when I can. This is a primary reason why I have a five-man scouting staff.

CR

[daedalus]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

I haven't noticed that Sweden produces anymore talent than anywhere else, although I have heard that before. I have found a good number of decent players from all corners of Europe, so I try ot hit all spots when I can. This is a primary reason why I have a five-man scouting staff.

It isn't so much the issue of producing more talent but of available cheap talent. Trying to get young talent out of Italy or Spain is a pain but it's far more possible to do so from Sweden.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by daedalus

It isn't so much the issue of producing more talent but of available cheap talent. Trying to get young talent out of Italy or Spain is a pain but it's far more possible to do so from Sweden.

True, but there is also less of it, I have found. Just less leagues (and lower) in Sweden, sot he talent doesn't come out hot and heavy, and when it does, I'm not the only one combing Scandinavia for talent.

Still, I have been and will continue to look all over Europe for talent (both in "big football" countries and otherwise).

CR

[Chief Rum]

Tuesday, July 14 To Monday, July 20

We are now fully into our preseason fixture, as well as continuing to pursue improvements to the squad in the open transfer window.

On Thursday, we play the New York-New Jersey Metrostars at the Meadowlands, and then on Sunday, we travel up to Foxboro and play the New England Revolution.

Hopefully they will give me better tests than D.C. United and the Chicago Fire did.

Birmingham Withdraws Offer For Booth

Well, that's why I set the price so high, right?

I knew I didn't really want to move winger Chris Booth, even though I'm not sure how well he fits in here with the current tactic. He's been a young talent I have been nursing along for years now, and it would be nice to be there when he realizes his full potential.

The Blues felt that $5 M plus a take of future transfer fees was to rich for their blood, so they withdrew their enquiry on Tuesday. That's understandable, considering Booth is valued at just $625,000. My asking price was probably a good deal higher than they expected.

Booth, 19, had two goals, seven assists and a 7.41 average rating in 17 appearances as a key backup and fill-in player on the right wing. He has also been capped twice for England's Under 21 team.

Mora Resumes Full Training

When forward Emilio Mora came over to us from Bayer Leverkusen two weeks ago, he was rehabilitating a serious groin injury. He tore it in May and was out two months.

He was just wrapping up training when he got into the match on Friday against the D.C. United. Although he wasn't at full health, he was close.

Mora officially resumed full training on Wednesday.

I don't expect the injury to have any longterm effects on the 31-year-old Mexican star.

Tamworth Investigating Bringing Aboard Puyol

With fullback Trond Erik Bertelsen requesting to leave, I felt I needed to bring in another top defender to be sure I had my bases covered.

I started fanning about for options. One of the defenders who stood out after I went through my extensive filters was longtime Spanish star defender Carles Puyol. Puyol, 31, is a worldclass fullback like Bertelsen was when I brought him in. He has been a fixture on Spain's backline for a decade now, and even I recognized his name.

Puyol has the ability to play fullback and centreback, although he seems to be cast more easily into the fullback role. Although not at the very elite level for speed, he is very close (17 Acceleration/18 Pace). His defensive skills were indeed elite--to the point they could get no better (20 Marking/20 Positioning). He's also a powerful tackler (20 Tackling/18 Strength), and a good header (17 Heading), although it's clear from his Jumping (12) that he is better suited to the fullback spot that requires less height.

Another indication of his leaning toward fullback status was his very strong offensive technical skills. He has 15 across the board in Crossing, Dribbling and Passing.

What I really liked, though, was how smart of a player he was. He had a squad captain's Influence (17). He was aggressive (20), brave (20) and determined (18). His Anticipation (19) and Team Work (17) combined to make him a powerful teammate and ally on the backline. With 18 Work Rate and 19 Stamina meant he not only never stopped putting out max effort, but that he could continue doing it all match long.

He was pricey, of course, some $7 M, and I figured it would cost a lot more even than that. His current employer was Barcelona, and they don't do small, from what I coudl tell. So I put him out of my mind and looked around elsewhere. I did put him on my shortlist. That turned out to be key.

On Wednesday, the Spanish international star became the target of a $12.75 M bid from Roma. Since I had him shortisted from my earlier interest, I was informed of this offer as well. This showed me two things--that he could be had, and that the price seemed to be reasonable. So I weighed in with a full value $7 M transfer offer myself. It was a good percentage of my transfer account, of course, but a star like this seemed worth it to me.

Later that day, FC Bayern Munich put in a $10 M bid for the defender, and it appears the race is officially on.

On Thursday, Barcelona came back to me with a $10 M counteroffer, to which I agreed. They accepted the offer later that day, and we submitted our contract offer to Puyol.

Knowing the interest in him was from some big name clubs, I decided I shouldn't just stick with the player's request. He was seeking around $3 M per year, and surprisingly, the board was willing to give me all the way up to $4.7 M per year. I offered him close to the max, with $4.4 M per year and a touch higher than that in bonus money as well.

On Friday, Manchester United made a big splash with a $19.25 M offer for Puyol. I'm sure Barcelona was hoping Puyol would accept their contract offer.

For some reason, they had to change their offer on Sunday, changing it up to $6.25 M plus young midfield rising star talent Lee Martin.

Dortmund wrapped up the bidding on Monday with their own $19.25 M offer.

So at the end of the week, the defender was considering contract offers from Tamworth, Roma, FC Bayern, Manchester United and Dortmund--and who knows what would happen next week.

Puyol Not Lone Target

Puyol wasn't the only defender we targeted when Bertelsen requested his transfer.

I also made enquiries into the availability of Liverpool's Djimi Traoré and Dinamo Kiev's Andriy Nesmachnyi.

Traoré, 29, is a solid French international defender who has been a key player on the Reds' backline for years now. He had a 7.05 average rating in 37 appearances, 25 of them starts, last season. He also had two goals and three assists. He has been capped 12 times for France.

Nesmachnyi is a player I have been keeping my eye on for the past couple years, ever since I ascended to the Premiership. He consistently came up in my lists for top defenders, but Dinamo Kiev always turned down my interest.

Nesmachnyi, 30, is a mix defender-midfielder who usually plays a defensive midfield wing for Dinamo Kiev, the only club he has ever played for. The Ukrainian international star has been a force at both ends of the pitch for more than a decade now.

Although he lacks some of the truly elite ratings that some others, like Puyol has, Nesmachnyi has the amazing characterisitic of having just one rating lower than 13 (Flair 12), and few of them are 13 either. I have never seen so many 14's, 15's, and 16's in one place.

Last season, Nesmachnyi put up a 7.34 average rating in 32 matches, along with three goals and six assists.

All of this talk is for naught, though. Liverpool denied my interest in Traoré on Thursday and Dinamo Kiev, again, denied me on Friday.

Bertelsen Not A Hot Commodity

Having just transfer listed him, I began offering Trond Erik Bertelsen to teams suggested by assistant manager Terry Gennoe.

Bertelsen is still young (25) and skilled like a top player. He has his weaknesses in a handful of the mental departments, and it's clear his attitude in general is one of those weaknesses as well. I had big plans for him, but he seems intent on being an ass.

Anyway, I start offering him around at full vale ($11.75 M). On Wednesday, I got all 'no's' from the some 10-12 clubs I approached. Some said they would consider lesser offers, so I offered him again, this time at $9 M. That was still too high, according to the clubs that got back to me on Friday. So I offered again, at just $7 M. That only led to another round of rejections on Sunday.

This is pathetic. Why is this guy making me do this? As of the end of the week, I had another set of offers out, this time for the paltry request of just $5 M.

Shakhtar Offer Lysyts'kyi

On Wednesday, we received an offer from Ukrainian High League power Shakhtar for Ukrainian international defensive midfielder Vitaliy Lysyts'kyi, for a princely sum of $7.75 M.

Lysyts'kyi, 27, is a player I have on my shortlist, but that doesn't mean he's automatically a quality player. I have an extensive shortlist and, really, the only qualification to be on it is that I have thought a player might somehow end up being useful to me, or because I was interested in following that player's career path.

Lysyts'kyi is hardly a throw away, but he doesn't appear to be worth the pricetag Shakhtar is putting on him. His value is $5.25 M. He has very few single digit ratings, but there isn't a uniform excellence to them either, such as there is for his countryman, Nesmachnyi. They are also on average a good two points at least below that latter player's skills as well.

Basically, while Lysyts'kyi is no slouch, he is a depth pickup at best. I put him on the list, I think, when I was still uncertain of how my club would fare coming into the Premiership.

Anyway, paying more than 1.5 times his listed value is not the way I envision this player coming to the Lamb Ground. I turn them down, knowing full well they will continue to offer him every few days for the rest of the close season.

Booth Wanted For Loan

Just a day after Birmingham refused to pursue an enquiry they made into the availability of Booth, Championship club Coventry City came in with a three-month loan offer for the young right winger.

In the past, I had turned these down for the most part, as Booth was a key part of the squad, despite his tender 19 years of age. This time, though, I felt he was just one more midfielder on a squadf clogged with them. Best he leave the Lamb Ground for a bit to pick up some regular playing time.

So I agreed to the loan offer with Coventry City, in which they will pay all the wages he accumulates from his $75,000 annual salary during his stint with them.

Booth only took a couple days to decide, agreeing to the short term loan on Friday. Booth joined Coventry immediately and will remain with them through mid-October.

McConnell Bid Rejected

On Wednesday, my scouts finally got a chance to check out Southampton's young uber-scorer from the Championship when they rated David McConnell.

The 19-year-old striker was offered to us for $17.25 M a couple weeks ago, almost twice his listed value. I declined such a ridiculous offer, but I asked my scouts to check him out, and on Wednesday they got back to me.

As I suspected, Northern Irish striker is a budding star, which seemed obvious to me, given how he dominated the Championship with Ipswich Town for three seasons, from the time when he was just 16. He posted 64 goals and 29 assists in 128 matches in two-and-a-half seasons at Ipswich Town, before being bought up by the Saints last January. He was putting up a shocking 8.19 rating when he moved over to St. Mary's Park.

While I disliked the 7 Teamwork and was relatively unimpressed by his footwork (13 Acceleration/15 Pace), McConnell certainly appears to be the real deal. I have seen plenty of top notch scorers make a living with average speed (Leicester's James Graham comes to mind), and McConnell's is higher than that. He is incredibly tall (20 Heading/19 Jumping), which must make him a truly superior target man. He is a technically excellent player, with skills like 15 in Dribbling and Finishing, and 20 in Crossing. He also has a 20 in Creativity, and that Teamwork stat is his lone single-digit rating.

So McConnell does attract my interest, especially since he would seem to be a perfect target man in my 4-3-3, what with his height and all around offensive abilities. I offered $10 M, plus a nice transfer percentage take for him.

The Saints' response came fairly quickly. Early on Thursday, they turned down the offer, despite the fact it topped his actual listed value, and that the future transfer monies could be huge (although I never purchase a player with the intent to sell him off).

They offered again on Saturday, for the same $17.25 M, to which I responded with the same $10 M offer, and upped the percentage take. By the end of the week, they had yet to respond to my latest offer.

MetroStars

On Thursday, I took time off from the busy transfer haggling to manage the squad in its friendly against the New York-New Jersey MetroStars, meeting them at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands.

For our squad, the first half eleven was a strange mix of kids and little used vets whom hadn't been in a friendly yet, and some players from the expected frist team at less deep positions. The second half eleven was almost entirely composed of first eleven players or the best backups, as we cycled through the roster once more.

The MetroStars had a surprising number of remaining players from current times, although not as many as D.C. United did.

The most notable was American international defender Eddie Pope, still contributing at 35. He doesn't start for the squad here (or at least not against us), but he's still with the team. Although he has 112 caps with the United States, Pope has not been featured with the national team in international action this offseason, and I don't know that he has for a while.

At least he was selected. Also missing from Thursday's squad sheet, but listed on the roster was Eddie Gaven, Tenywa Bonsei, Amado Guevara and Zach Wells. I'm pretty sure Bonsei was with his Ugandan teammates for the last round of World Cup qualifying, and I know Guevara, who seems to be the lone top star on the team, is away with Honduras at the Gold Cup. Why Gaven and Wells weren't selected, I couldn't tell you--maybe these versions of them aren't good enough.

Known players who did make the first eleven for this one were defender Seth Stammler, fullback Juan Forchetti, midfielder Ricardo Clark, and Bolivian forward Joselito Vaca. Other than Pope, no one on the substitute's list is a current member of the MetroStars.

The MetroStars turned out to be very tough, especially in the early going. They kept us out of the net through nearly the entire first half. Their defense was tight, and in fact, they outshot us up until the final minute, 3-1 (2-1 on goal). We finally broke through just before first half stoppage time, though. After a throw in from the left touch by the MetroStars, Bertelsen freed up the ball from Vaca. Darren Birchall was first on it, and tried to send a pass in to reserve striker Ged Kimmins. He overshot, though, and the ball fell into the middle of the area. MetrosStars goalkeeper Steve Cronin stepped forward to intercept the accidental shot, but it fumbled away from him and back out toward the edge of the area. Striker Roman Boldyrev was streaking into the area, and he leaped onto the ball, firing it into the right end of the net, away from the suddenly out of position Cronin.

We didn't wait so long to get our second tally. although even at the point of our second goal, in the 54th minute, we were still being outshot by the American club. Michael Stewart collected the ball in the middle of the offensive pitch, and then fired a pass into the left end of the area for David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro. Pizarro took it to the goal line before lofting a soft centering cross back into the box in front of the net. David McDonald won the ball in the air from Pope and fired a header above Cronin. The goalkeeper couldn't collect it, and the ball slipped by over his head for the second Tamworth goal.

We wrapped up our scoring in the 66th minute. Stewart collected an attempted clear out just in front of the centreline, and sent a sharp pass into the area. Andrei Pereplyotkin broke past the defense to get on the ball first. Cronin scrambled to intercept, but the Ukrainian striker fired before he got to him, and the ball sailed past and into the back of the net for our third goal. Incidentally, it was also the first time we had taken more shots than the MetroStars.

It was all Tamworth after that. Although we didn't score again, we took all the remaining shots, winning the shot battle overall 13-6 (11-4 on goal) and finishing with the 3-0 win. Pope came on at halftime, taking over at one of the centreback spots and posting a 6 rating.

A nice crowd came to see us for this one, at a listed attendance of more than 34,000.

Goalkeeper Search

At some point early in this week, I decided I was uncomfortable with just Thomas Heaton, Kasper Schmeichel and Yves Makabu Ma Kalambay as my only netminders. Well, I wasn't concerned for the first team, but I thought I would like to have a fourth goalkeeper for emergencies and to give Makabu Ma Kalambay competition for the reserve team's #1 jersey, and also perhaps bring in a fifth goalkeeper, a player with potential who would be eligible to lead our Under 19 squad, which currently doesn't have a prospect in net.

So I started checking out well-regarded young goalkeepers, starting at 21 and younger. There were some interesting prospects out there. The standout was Arsenal's Michal Postulka. The 19-year-old Czech is valued higher than most starting Premiership goalkeepers (including all of ours, and the departed Jon Masalin besides), and he is pining about playing time from Arsenal's reserve team. Another possibility was Southampton's Jason Ryan. Ryan is just 17, but he is already two years removed from wearing the #1 jersey for the Spurs in 2006-07--and he did pretty good. He has only gotten better, but seems stuck behind Owain Fon Williams in Southampton. Parma has a terrific looking 17-year-old Russian netminder named Yury Tikhomirov who looks like a keeper, with some terrific stats.

These squads all moved quickly to deny my interest, though, with all turning down my enquiries by Friday.

I sent out another round of enquiries for another group of young goalkeepers, including Wimbledon's Steven Garner, Blackburn reserve Kevin Harrison, Celtic reserve David Dodds, Club Brugge backup Sven Nuyts and Córdoba starter Fernando García Sánchez. By Monday, the first four had all been turned down by their employers.

The guy with the best pedigree, though, the 20-year-old Sanchez turned out to be the one who was available. Córdoba offered the Spanish player to us for $1.2 M, which we accepted on Monday. We immediately began to work on a contract (which where we finish the week).

At the end of this week, Sanchez is as yet unscouted, so we are going in blind. But the price is low enough, and it's hard to argue with the results. Starting in net for a Primera Liga squad, Sanchez allowed just 42 goals in 38 matches, posting 14 clean sheets and a 7.26 avergae rating.

Super Cup Draw

On Friday, the draw for the European Super Cup, matching the Champions League and UEFA champion, was held. As the defending European champion, we were tabbed to participate in our second such event.

We were drawn to play UEFA champ and familiar foe Newcastle United, and will meet the Magpies at the Stade Louis II on August 28.

Last season, we appeared in the Super Cup as the defending UEFA champ and beat powerful AC Milan, the 2007/08 Champions League holder, 3-1 in the same venue.

Like last year, the addition of the Super Cup to our fixture has required us to juggle a league match. Our home match against Blackburn on August 29 was pushed back to September 2.

Newcastle Offer Djordjic

Two weeks after failing to pawn off Sylvan Perrin on us, our future Super Cup foes have offered us another little-used first teamer in Swedish backup left winger Bojan Djordjic on Sunday.

The 27-year-old winger was decent in 15 appearances with Newcastle United last year, with three assists and a 6.80 rating, but it appears he won't ever break into their first team. I'm not sure why they think he will break into ours, although I do have him on the shortlist (thus, the offer).

Djordjic is of the classic Chief Rum wing variety, although he doesn't have more than solid speed and acceleration. His 16 in Dribbling and Crossing, though, move him a bit closer to the mark. Still, he is no more than a backup for us. We wouldn't pay his full value $7 M, much less the $10.5 M Newcastle is requesting.

We shoot down the offer without a counter.

Revolution

On Sunday, we finish up our tour of the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer with a match against the New England Revolution at Foxboro.

With not every position featuring the same depth, any semblance of similar lineups are now gone. You're as likely to find Orri Freyr Oskarsson paired with Yakubu, as he often was last year, as you are Stephen McGowan or Adam Wilde or Ian Collins. So I will bring up the lineups only where there is some relevant facts to bring up for the remainder of the friendly schedule.

The Revolution have a lot of players who are real, including several that have been with the Revolution the whole time. They also have guys from other MLS teams, a player who started in Europe, it seems, and a couple guys who are apparently real, but appear to have been either out of football or playing at such a low level that their stats weren't worth recording.

The goalkeeper is still Adin Brown. The backline are all known players, led by longtime Rev players Shalrie Joseph and Joe Franchino. Longtime MetroStars fullback Jeff Clarke is also in the lineup, as is Canadian veteran Carl Fletcher.

Richie Baker is still around on one wing, and he is paired with former Crew winger Eddie Hernandez on the other side. Chris Black, also formerly of Crew, spent three seasons with Greek power Iraklis before returning to the Unitewd States and joining the Revolution to play the midfield.

The frontline, unfortunately, is entirely given over to grayed out backups. There were some significant missing names that are listed on the roster, but are, for whatever reason, not selected for this match. It's particularly pertinent up front, where Taylor Twellman is missing. Twellman is a lot better than the little known players they used as strikers today. Leo Cullen is also on the team, and seems to be one of their best wingers. But he isn't playing. Then midfielder Marshall Leonard is also off of the list for today's match.

The only notable sub was midfielder Felix Brillant, also a longtime Revolution player.

Despite not playing all of their players, the Revolution gave us a tight defensive match. We did openm the scoring relatively early. It took a couple of minutes to set up, though. Fletcher dispossessed Oskarsson of the ball after a brilliant run across the pitch in the 14th minute before clearing it. Seconds later, Franchino cleared out a dangerous Mora cross into the box. The Revolution kept just making the plays they needed to to keep the ball away from Brown in net. Finally, in the 16th minute, Denny Landzaat took a short pass from Richie Partridge just in front of the centreline, and then fired a pass right up the middle and into the area. Oskarsson split the defense and fell onto the ball on the run. Brown went out to intercept him, but Oskarsson sidestepped the goalkeeper and put the ball into the open left end of the net for the goal.

After that early goal, both sides fell into a tough and physical battle. The Revolution repeatedly made great defensive play after play to keep us out of the net. But they couldn't push their way past our defense either, in either half. So we ended up winning a very close one, 1-0.

The Revolution only ended up with a 4-3 shots taken-on goal tallies, but they did a strong defensive job on us, keeping us to 12-6. I would really be worried if they started more of their regualrs (of course, to be fair, I would be starting more of mine, too, I am sure).

League News

Here's a rundown on the Premiership news outside of Tamworth.

Alex Raring To Go

On Tuesday, new Manchester United star winger Alex said he is looking forward to meeting his new teammates and getting the season started.

Alex was signed by the Red Devils from FC Bayern Munich last week for $12 M. The 31-year-old Brazilian international said the chance to play with top quality players at Old Trafford was a primary reason for his decision to go with Manchester United (although, Alex, the club you left is no slouch).

Alex had 10 goals, 11 assists and a 7.41 average rating in 44 matches for the Bundesliga superpower last year. He has 73 caps with powerful Brazil, and has scored 19 international goals. He is one of the most well-known players in the world.

Assuming he will playing in Manchetser United's very next regular match, his first English action will come in the Community Shield against none other than ourselves.

Leicester Make Bid For Fletcher

On Wednesday, Leicester City put in a $10.75 M bid for VfB Stuttgart midfielder Darren Fletcher.

The offer cames just a week after Stuttgart boss Jürgen Klopp warned the Foxes and other clubs to stay away from the 25-year-old Scottish midfielder.

Fletcher, a Scotland international regular, is thought by some to be available because Stuttgart just suffered a relegation season and are now a part of the much less lucrative Bundesliga.2.

Strangely enough, Fletcher wasn't a consistent starter for the German club last year. He appeared in 24 matches, with 13 starts. He put up solid offensive numbers for his time, with a goal and five assists. Although his 6.75 rating isn't all that great, it was the best rating he put up with Stuttgart and could be the sign of a young player coming into his own.

Fletcher has 18 caps with Scotland.

Klopp rejected the Foxes' initial offer a day later, but Leicester manager John McDermott won't give up so easy. On Monday, he put in an improved $12.75 M offer for the midfielder.

Leeds Sign Arsenal Youth Product Papadopoulos

On Friday, Leeds United as some youthful talent in Arsenal reserve striker Michal Papadopoulos.

The 24-year-old Czech forward had been chafing as a little used reserve for the Gunners after coming over to them as a teenager from Czech First Division power Banik Ostrava. From 2005-2007, Papadopoulos was a key frontline reserve for Arsenal, but he has only appeared in seven total matches in the last two seasons.

In four matches last yer, only one of which was a start, Papadopoulos had a horrible time, with just an assist and a 5.50 avergae rating. His best season was in 2005-06, when he scored seven goals in 30 matches, only four of which were starts.

Papadopoulos has appeared in eight matches with his native Czech Republic, scoring one international goal.

The Whites bought Papadopoulos for an initial fee of $1.4 M, although that could go up to $2.8 M with appearance fees.

The forward agreed to a three-year, $1.05 M deal with Leeds.

Aston Villa Brings On Newcastle's Blondel

On Saturday, Aston Villa completed a transfer for Newcastle midfielder Jonathon Blondel, at a price of $7.25 M.

The 25-year-old Belgian international playmaker worked mostly as a key reserve for the Magpies last year, starting just one match, but appearing in 21. Disappointingly, Blondel did not get a goal or an assist, although he did post a respectable 6.90 rating.

Blondel came over to Newcastle from Manchester City in the open window of the 2007-08 season. He had been a starter for City, but never really broke into a regular role in the liittle over a year he has been at St. James Park.

The Belgian international has had a more accomplished career with his native Belgium than he has in his club career. Despite his tender age, Blondel already has 38 caps, and three international goals.

When he left the City of Manchester Stadium for Newcastle, Blondel was having his best English league season, with three assists and a 7.27 avergae rating in 26 matches.

Blondel signed $6.6 M deal with the Villans for three years.

McClarens Warns Off Suitors For Neville

Southampton boss Steve McClaren told Planetfootball.com on Sunday that burgeoning England Under-21 talent Shaun Neville is not for sale at any price.

Neville, 21, has reportedly come under the covetous eye of Joop Heile and Manchester United.

McClaren said Neville is an important asset of the club, and that he would not allow him to leave.

Neville is thought to be one of the top young talents in the league. Neville had a breakout season last year in his first season with the Saints. He put up four goals and 10 assists, to go along with a 6.74 rating, in 38 starts with Southampton.

Neville was brought over to St. Mary's Park last summer in an exchange with Sheffield Wednesday for striker Francis Jeffers.

In a prelude to his breakout season, Neville posted a 7.20 rating and got four assists in 35 starts for the Owls in 2007-08. Neville has nine U-21 appearances, and two international goals.

Graham Hurt In Training

Leicester City's Premiership hopes took a huge hit on Monday when superstar striker James Graham tore a groin muscle in preseason training.

It is Graham's fourth groin injury in the last year and a half, becoming a troubled area for the young Scottish star.

Graham will be out at least until mid-September and maybe longer.

When Graham, 22, is on the pitch, he is one fo the most exciting players in the Premiership. Despite missing four months with groin injuries last year, Graham still finished the season as a member of the English Premier Select squads, and his return keyed Leicester's run to mid-table and to the final fo the FA Cup.

He finished with 15 goals and eight assists in 32 matches last year, along wiith a dominating 7.91 rating. That followed an 18-goal, 8.03 average rating season in his first year in the Premiership in 2007-08.

Graham has 18 capd with Scotland, and already has eight international goals.

Leicester, an up-and-coming team, has been loading up for a run at the top end of the Premiership table this season.

Tamworth Weekly Offseason Recap

There's often so much going on an offseason that it can get a little confusing. So here's the Quik notes of what happened this week to Tamworth.

--The big news this week is that the Lambs are in competition with some heavyweight clubs for the rights to Barcelona worldclass fullback Carles Puyol. This one is still unresolved going into next week.

--Birmingham pulled out of their bid for Chris Booth, allowing Championship squad Coventry City to come in and pull off a loan offer for the promising winger. Booth is already in Coventry.

--The efforts to unload the unsettled Trond Erik Berterlsen goes not well, despite our steadily dropping transfer demands. We haven't even gotten a hint at what level he would become acceptable to other clubs, even though he is a very skilled player.

--We are currently in contract talks with Córdoba goalkeeper Fernando García Sánchez after working out a $1.2 M transfer deal with the Primera Liga club. He would be another option for the reserve team, and will likely be eligible for our U-19 squad as well.

--We sent out a number of enquiries for other top defenders to replace Bertelsen, but Puyol was the only one that bore fruit. We had enquiries turned down for Liverpool's Djimi Traoré and Dinamo Kiev's Andriy Nesmachnyi. We also had a number of goalkeeper prospect offers turned down, including for Arsenal's Michal Postulka, Southampton's Jason Ryan and Parma's Yury Tikhomirov. Southampton also turned down our counteroffer for striker David McConnell.

CR