King Kenny is back! After a 18 year hiatus, the man many hail as Liverpool’s greatest ever player, Kenny Dalglish, will rejoin Liverpool Football Club.
From the club’s official site:
“Dalglish will assume a senior role at the Liverpool Academy and will also act as a Club ambassador working with the commercial side of the business around the world.”
Jamie Carragher had already sparked Liverpool supporters’ hopes for this possibility when he suggested the idea of Dalglish’s return in his 2008 autobiography:
“After the takeover was complete, I’d argued to friends there needed to be a greater Anfield connection on the board to balance out what Tom Hicks and George Gillett openly accepted was their limited understanding of our game and Liverpool in general.”
Carra also talked about Kenny being able to act as a go-between when tension and issues arose between manager Rafa Benitez and the owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett. It is unclear if King Kenny will be in a position to do this from his position within the youth academy or as club ambassador working “around the world,” but, in any case, the Dalglish presence at Liverpool should prove to be a healthy and inspiring one.
Read the rest of this story>>
£56 million here… £80 million there… this summer has been dominated by the outlandish spending of a select few, with transfer records tumbling at every turn. But one deal that will grab most of the headlines could well be a free transfer.
Michael Owen, labelled a fallen idol, a faded star, even a has-been by the media, looks set to complete a dramatic move to Manchester United.
Just a week ago Owen’s options looked far more limited, he had admitted in an interview with Sky Sports that staying at Newcastle wasn’t an option, but the only two clubs publicly declaring an interest were Stoke and Hull.
Were they serious contenders? I guess we will never know, but as soon as United came in I doubt Owen will have taken long to make his mind up.
Talk has immediately been about Eric Cantona and Teddy Sheringham, two aging players who seemingly had their best years behind them but were inspired by Ferguson at Old Trafford and helped the club to numerous trophies. Similarly the likes of Scholes and Giggs have continued to flourish at the club despite being well into their thirties.
Is Owen another Ferguson masterstroke? Or is it a desperate move in the wake of failed moves for Benzema and Ribery, as well as the departures of Ronaldo and Tevez?
Read the rest of this story>>
Barcelona winning everything last season could have deeper repercussions for the Premier League beyond felling Manchester United in the Champions League. They’ve awoken the sleeping spending giant that is Real Madrid. Desperate to overtake the unstoppable Barça, Real Madrid have obliterated all transfer records and don’t look anywhere near stopping. The super nova has exploded and now every big English transfer prospect looks at risk of sliding into an Iberian black hole before United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, City can grab their targets by the shoestrings and heave them across the channel.
As EPL Talk’s Rory Tevlin reported here, Real have just scooped up Lyon’s Karim Benzema who had been a big transfer target for Manchester United. Real have also been linked with Maicon (wanted by City and Chelsea), Ribery (sought by Arsenal), and David Silva (believed a Liverpool target). Just about all the top talents who have been linked to Premier League clubs seem to be on Real’s radar. Except David Villa. He will supposedly only leave Valencia for Barcelona.
I know, I know… it’s Real Madrid (cue Death Star dirge). They are supposed to buy up all the best world talent. It’s not exactly a brand new modus operandi. Real are going to snatch up your Zizou, your Ruud, your Arjen. It’s what they do. But prior to the Benzema coup, they’ve already outdone themselves beyond belief this summer alone. They spent a reported £56m on Kaká and £80m on Ronaldo. Weeks later, I am still getting over the shock of such numbers.
Read the rest of this story>>
Just when you thought Real Madrid had sated their appetite for extravagant attacking ability in the transfer market, with the signings of Ronaldo and Kaka, they swoop for one of French football’s most prized assets in a deal reported to be worth up to 41 million euro. The signing of Karim Benzema from Lyon takes Real Madrid’s summer spending past the 200 million euro mark and into the realm of pure fantasy, if it had not reached that point already!
Returning President Florentino Perez has left no doubt as to his intentions with the signing of three massive attacking talents, at different stages of their respective football development. The potential options available to manager Mauricio Pellegrini are now quite staggering but one gets the impression Perez will add some pragmatism to his project. Real have already secured Spanish defender Raul Albiol and they are also being heavily linked with a move for Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso.
Real Madrid have sent a clear message to their domestic rivals Barcelona but Perez has also fired a broadside at the hegemonic position of the English Premier League clubs as he looks to eclipse the glamour of the previous ‘Galactico’ period at the club.
Read the rest of this story>>
