EPL Talk » Fulham

Fabulous Fulham Send The Old Lady Crashing Out Of Europe

Paul Bestall — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:29:17 +0000

European football occasionally throws up the odd freak result, but sometimes you witness a display of football brilliance so sharp it takes your breath away. Tonight, Fulham dazzled and displayed such panache against the tottering giants of Italian football, Juventus, that you had to check that things had really happened.

For a side who are enjoying only their second season of European football, tonight will be remembered as one of the sides greatest achievements. 3-1 down from a first leg that threatened to run away from them and incredibly 4-1 down when Trezeguet shot the Old Lady ahead after just two minutes, Fulham rose to the challenge and surpassed all expectations.

There is no doubt that Roy Hodgson is certainly writing a rather large chapter in Fulham’s history books and his continued success is testament to his ability, so often overlooked in England. After this latest success, there is no hiding from the fact that he has transformed Fulham from also rans to a dynamic football side. In just under two and half years, Hodgson has turned the Cottagers from relegation fodder to a fast improving side challenging for regular Europa League football.

Tonight, the watching Fabio Capello couldn’t have helped to be impressed by Bobby Zamora. He made Cannavaro look like he’d never played the game before tonight, despite his age. It was only a matter of time before Cannavaro, constantly struggling to cope with Zamora’s strength and power, would see red and when it happened, Juventus capitulated.

The cries for Zamora’s inclusion in the England squad will surely grow louder after this display. He’s clearly enjoying his best ever season in top flight football .With Crouch and Heskey struggling for form and goals and Carlton Cole finding fitness hard to come by, he could be a late inclusion for South Africa.

Three months ago, such a proclamation would be greeted with jeers, now it seems like common sense. His only problem would seem to be the lack of international football before now and the announcement of the squad. The newly announced friendly on May 26th would seem to be his only chance, but Capello likes players in form and Zamora is bang in the middle of a never ending purple patch.

The icing on the cake for Fulham tonight was supplied by Clint Dempsey with a wonderful goal to take them 5-4 ahead on aggregate. A sublime chip of real quality, it was a breath taking strike that deserved to win a World Cup final, never mind a last sixteen match in the Europa League. Another red card followed for the shell-shocked I Bianconeri as Duff was spitefully kicked by Zebina. Fulham fans couldn’t believe what they were witnessing, it was a footballing masterclass.

The re-emergence of Damien Duff too, who struggled for so long as Newcastle United slowly died a lingering death shouldn’t be overlooked. Having seemingly lost his way after leaving Chelsea, Duff has rediscovered the form that caused Chelsea to pay £18 million for the left winger back in 2004. It shouldn’t be understated that Hodgson was Duff’s first manager, the relationship now coming full circle. It seems to be a situation that has paid dividends for both of them.

Nights like tonight don’t come around too much for fans who support any other club outside England’s big four and there will be plenty of sore heads tomorrow morning in West London. For a club renowned for its friendliness, it’s a marvelous result that will be etched on every single fans collective consciousness forever. A fabulous advert for football and a complete anti-thesis to the performance seen at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday from the neighbours and rivals.

I truly wish the draw for the Quarter-Finals is kind to them, but after dispatching Juventus and defending champions, Shaktar Donetsk prior to that, I think teams will be wanting to avoid Fulham rather than the other way round. Congratulations to Fulham and I hope their fans soak in every minute of tonight, where can this European adventure take them? It was probably the best game I’ve seen all season and one of the best performances by an English club in Europe I’ve ever seen.

Mid-Week Review Show: EPL Talk Podcast

Richard Farley — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:47:23 +0000

Thursday gives the team of Kartik Krishnaiyer, Laurence McKenna and Richard Farley their first chance to reflect on a banner week for the Premiership in the UEFA Champions League. The team gets together to discuss

Manchester United’s 4-0 (7-2) win over AC Milan,
Arsenal’s 5-0 (6-2) win over Porto,
Thursday’s Europa League match for Fulham at Juventus,
Liverpool at Lille,
Monday’s Liverpool disappointment at Wigan, and
the weekend’s important matches in the Premiership.

Jack Rodwell Puts Himself In Shop Window Again

The Gaffer — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 14:55:10 +0000

If you can’t beat them, buy them. That has often been Manchester United’s strategy when the club has lost pivotal league games against smaller English clubs and/or have been embarrassed by Premier League players who display incredible raw skill. United has often gone on to purchase many of those footballers.

Examples include Everton (Wayne Rooney), Fulham (Louis Saha – after he scored against United and later joined them, and Edwin van der Sar), Tottenham (Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Carrick) and Wigan (Antonio Valencia). It’s a smart transfer strategy because you make sure the smaller clubs will never break into the Big Four. But it also prevents those players being bought by rival clubs, and makes sure that those players won’t embarrass United again.

Based on his display during Saturday’s early kick off between Everton and Manchester United, don’t be surprised if Manchester United takes another close look at Everton midfielder Jack Rodwell with the hopes of signing him this summer. Sir Alex Ferguson was reported to be interested in signing Rodwell last year, but based on his confidence and composure on the ball today when he scored the third and final goal for Everton to beat Manchester United, Ferguson will surely be even more interested now. Sure, Rodwell only had a limited amount of playing time Saturday after coming off the bench, but the way he took his goal gives you a clear indication of the skill he has.

It’s not just the way that Manchester United plucks raw talent to make sure they stay near the top of the Premier League. It’s what they do to these players after they join. It’s incredible to consider how Wayne Rooney has taken his raw talent when he was at Everton, as well as his violent temper, and turned it into a controlled and magic ability to beat the best players and teams in the world. The same can be said for many players who have moved from smaller English clubs and moved to United.

But it’s not just Manchester United who will be on alert regarding Rodwell’s talent. Rodwell is a versatile player who has also been touted as a center back in the making, and which top teams in the Premier League would pass up a player like that who possesses the ability to score up front, command midfield and has the potential to do a brilliant job in the back? In fact, Rodwell has been called the new Rio Ferdinand.

Don’t be surprised if Manchester City or Arsenal try to capture the signing of Rodwell from under the noses of Manchester United. Whoever gets him, expect Everton to get a hefty transfer fee as much as 20-30 million pounds for the player who joined the Toffees when he was a child.

This is a player who has already broken many records including being the youngest ever Everton player to play in European competition and the youngest Everton scorer in European competition. Plus he has an encouraging England career ahead of him after an impressive display for the under-21 England team in the 2009 European Championships.

Photo credit: BackpageFootball.

Two Amazing American Goals In English Football By Dempsey and Harkes

The Gaffer — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:57:43 +0000

Two Americans who will never be forgotten in English football are Clint Dempsey and John Harkes. Nothing is more memorable than scoring one of the goals of the season.

In 1990, John Harkes scored his first goal for Sheffield Wednesday and what a beauty it was. The 35 yard screamer ended up being the goal of the season. And to make matters even better, the goal was scored against legendary England goalkeeper Peter Shilton.

Then just this past Tuesday, Clint Dempsey scored an almost identical goal for Fulham against Stoke. Will this go down as the goal of the season? We’ll have to wait and see. But in the meantime, please enjoy both videos above. Just click the image to have the videos load.

Clint Dempsey Scores Goal Of The Season Contender: Video

The Gaffer — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 02:14:55 +0000

US striker Clint Dempsey is in the form of his life right now with Fulham. The American has solidified a role in the attack for Fulham and to his credit scored one of the goals of the season Tuesday night in the Premier League game against Stoke City.

You could say that Dempsey is showing Landon Donovan how to make a mark in England. Let’s see if Donovan can come close in his debut game against Arsenal this Saturday. But to be fair to Donovan, it took a while for Dempsey to settle in at Craven Cottage.

What a brilliant goal!

African Cup Of Nations Begins The Year With A Bang in Angola

Paul Bestall — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:32:53 +0000

So, if the only time you’ve ever come across this tournament is when certain Premiership managers whine about it, let me welcome to you to one of World Football’s best kept secrets. Over the years, the African Cup Of Nations has grown and grown to be one of the most respected tournaments in World Football. So, as the tournament kicks off in Angola on Sunday, welcome to an overview for the 27th competition.

The influx into European football of African players over the last 20 years has seen the profile of this once derided competition rise far above what even the most biased supporter of African football could have hoped for. My first experience of seeing an African side was Algeria’s incredible defeat of West Germany in 1982 and as I’ve watched football, its reputation has grown and grown. Now it’s a fantastic tournament and one you really need to catch so here’s who to look out for in my first article about it.

This year’s tournament is being held in Angola for the first time and as such will give us the first glimpse of some of the teams who have also qualified for the World Cup in June this year.16 teams participate in the finals, drawn in to groups of four, with quarter finals, semi finals, a 3rd/4th play off and the final.Running over 20 days, this looks set to be the biggest African Cup of Nations yet.

The qualification for this years tournament also doubled up as qualification for the World Cup, which saw the odd spectacle of South Africa entered even though they’re the World Cup hosts along with Angola to try and earn a double qualification. Ironically, Angola haven’t qualified for the World Cup and South Africa failed to reach the African Cup of Nations.

Favourites for the second tournament in a row are of course Didier Drogba’s Ivory Coast but in 2008 they were humiliated in the semi final by Egypt 4-1. They’ll be desperate to try and add to their solitary title won in 1992.With a squad featuring the Toure brothers, Drogba, Eboue, Zakora and Dindane, they’ll certainly be there or there abouts, The Elephants will be certainly one of the teams to beat. Drawn in Group B they’ll be one of the two fancied teams in that group.

The other side in Group B with ambitions to win the tournament will be the Black Stars of Ghana. Ghana are a team that we should have seen so much more of over the last 20 years, especially as they gave us one of the greatest ever African players of all time, in Abedi Pele, who like George Weah of Liberia never made it to a World Cup. They finished 3rd last time, so they’ll be desperate to go at least one better but they lack a clinical striker. With Michael Essien, John Mensah, Kingson, Addo and Amoah in the squad they’ll try and cope with the loss of talismanic captain Stephen Appiah and Sulley Muntari’s enforced passing over.

Group A should be a walk in the park for one of England’s forthcoming World Cup opponents, Algeria. With a fine international pedigree, they’ll be in with an outside shout of getting to the last four this time round. Since bursting on to the world stage in the 1982 World Cup, Algeria have lost their way a little since following it up with qualification for the 1986 World Cup and winning the A.C.O.N in 1990.

Since winning that title, they’ve been disqualified once, gone out in the first round three times and failed to qualify since 2004. Familiar names to watch out for in the Desert Foxes team are Hassan Yebda and Nadir Belhadj of Portsmouth, Kamel Ghilas of Hull City, Hamuer Bouazza formerly of Fulham and Madjid Bougherra of Rangers. They need a good tournament to reaffirm their place in African football.

Group C sees the power of African football, Egypt and the former star, Nigeria drawn together. Egypt who were pipped for World Cup qualification by Algeria, which saw such scenes of sportsmanship for them, have a lot to live up to . As defending champions since 2006, it remains to be seen just how much of a hangover they’ve retained from missing out on South Africa. Yet, without the injured Amr Zaki and the unpicked Mido, Egypt would seem to have it all to do to retain the trophy. Spurs fans will certainly remember Hossan Ghaly and Dortmunds Mohamed Zidan is one to watch for the Pharaohs.

Nigeria qualified for both Angola and South Africa, but they are not the side they once were. The Super Eagles were one of the key sides in African football’s modern growth but the generation that got them there are slowly retiring. Yet the squad is still packed with familiar names. Yobo, Yakubu, Kanu, Obi-Mikel, Martins, Shittu, Taiwo, Etuhu and Olofinjana will all be in the squad and will be looking to try and re-affirm their place at the head of modern African football. An outside chance of winning the title certainly.

Which leads us to another favourite, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon. Lead by one of the worlds greatest strikers, Samuel Eto’o, Cameroon have been one of Africa’s leading lights over the last two decades. After missing out for the 2006 World Cup, they were in danger of missing out on both tournaments this year, but after sacking the manager, former Rangers, Lyon and Paris Saint Germain manager Paul Le Guen rode to the rescue.

Surprisingly though, Le Guen has opted not to pick the impressive Sebastain Bassong for the tournament but joining Eto’o will be Rigobert Song, Geremi, Alexandre Song, Jean Makoun and Andre Bikey. If they can keep Eto’o up the field, then anything can happen and after the 2006 penalty shoot out marathon against Ivory Coast and losing the last A.C.O.N final on penalties, they’ll be hoping to avoid more shootout heartache.IN Carlos Kameni, they’ve probably got the best goalkeeper in Africa. He could be key.

So they’re the main 6 contenders, but there are two outsiders that may catch the eye. Imagine a team with a midfield of Seydou Keita of Barcelona, Real Madrid’s Mahamadou Diarra and Juventus’s Momo Sissoko with Freddie Kanoute upfront. Well, that’s Mali’s main foursome and with a squad with a wealth of European experience and the Eagles have a team with bags of potential still unfulfilled. Of course, Togo also qualified and whilst the side seem to lack quality overall, if a certain Emmanuel Adebayor fancies it, then the Sparrow Hawks could cause some real shocks.

So there you have it. Over here in Europe, Eurosport will be showing every match, with the BBC disappointingly only showing the semi finals and final this time. If you’ve never watched it before, I recommend it highly and it’ll give you a real taste of what’s to come in June this year when the World Cup gets underway. I’ll be dropping another more articles throughout the month for you to keep up to speed with the tournament, so feel free to leave me your comments and questions.

The Worst Premiership Signings Of The Noughties

Paul Bestall — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:42:29 +0000

For every Ronaldo, there’s a Shevchenko. Sometimes, great reputations come at a great cost yet fail to deliver. Shevchenko is a great player to start with. Feared throughout Europe, his performances for Dynamo Kiev and A.C. Milan saw him become one of the most lethal strikers in the world. Once he arrived at Stamford Bridge, his reputation began to fall apart.

Yet these things happen. Sometimes, for a variety of reasons, some players cannot settle. Yet others flourish when they were expected to fail. Now we look at some of the worst signings in the last ten years and ask ourselves, did Juan Sebastian Veron really cost £43 million for English clubs alone!!

Well over the years, especially as the Premiership’s international appeal has grown, we now find ourselves in a situation were probably as case can be made for a large chunk of the best players in the world currently ply their trade in England. From Rooney to Torres, Essien to Mascherano, every team offers us a plethora of international flavour. Now let’s cast our eyes over some of my selections for the worst signings this decade in no particular order.

1. Juan Sebastian Veron £43.6 million

Now Veron’s failure to cope with the Premiership is something I still can’t get to grips with. His international pedigree was assured, he’d pulled the strings for Lazio and Parma during a 5 year spell in Italy, he was a top player. The failure of the Little Witch to adapt to the Premiership still astounds me. Manchester United paid £28.1 million for him, but off loaded him 2 years later to Chelsea, were he continued to under-perform. A return to Italy at Inter Milan never saw him recapture his form and he has now returned to Argentinian football.

2. Andrey Shevchenko £30.8 million

As I’ve mentioned earlier, a striker with one of the most feared reputations in Europe caused Chelsea to change their system and lose their way a little under Jose Mourinho. Rumours abound that the Special One never wanted him at Stamford Bridge but since he joined Chelsea, his career has taken a nose dive. Even a return to A.C. Milan couldn’t recapture his glory days and he has now returned to Kiev. It was like watching a different player when he was at Chelsea, he just couldn’t cope with the game.

3. Sergei Rebrov £11 million

Oddly, Shevchenko’s strike partner failed to adapt to the English game also, but his refusal to accept black players as team mates meant that he was always going to struggle. Perhaps a little more digging in to his personal life would have avoided an £11 million mistake for Tottenham Hotspur in 2000. Made a return to publicity when Spurs signed Roman Pavlychenko, warning him about the amount of “Non-whites” in the Tottenham area. A thoroughly horrible man, the Premiership is better for his absence.

4. Fernando Morientes £6.5 million

Another striker with a fearsome reputation who looked as if he’d been kidnapped and replaced by a stand in when he joined Liverpool in January 2005. It was especially strange as the season before, he’d had a marvelous campaign in the Champions League with Monaco and a solid reputation forged for Real Madrid and Spain. He just never got going at Anfield and returned to Spain after just 18 months.

5. David Bentley £15 million

Bentley had forged an excellent reputation under Mark Hughes at Blackburn Rovers but his spell at Tottenham has seen him under perform constantly. That goal against Arsenal was expected to be the catalyst but Aaron Lennon’s continued excellent form has seen him become a peripheral player at his beloved Tottenham. It’s simply not worked for him and the problem is no one can work out why.

6. Jean Alain Boumsong £8.2 million

This transfer still makes me laugh, as it was a ludicrous amount of money for a centre half who struggled to cope with Scottish football during his spell at Rangers. Yet, if you want someone to pay over the odds, who better than Graeme Souness to come to your rescue. Never coped while he was at St James’ Park, he was moved on to Juventus and struggled in Serie B before joining Lyon.

7. Albert Luque £9.5 million

Another one of Souness’ signings during his awful spell as Newcastle manager, Luque came highly rated but never saw his career take off at all in the North East. He’d had three excellent seasons at Deportivo but since his two year hell at Newcastle his career has collapsed. Another dreadful Souness signing that never recovered to show his early potential.

8. Bosko Balaban £6 million

Was highly rated when John Gregory signed him for Aston Villa but in his 30 month spell he never started a game or scored a goal. The long running joke amongst Villa fans was that they’d actually signed the wrong player but he was signed as a goal getting striker. On leaving Villa he continued to score goals but will always be remembered for the goalless spell at Villa Park.

9. Steve Marlet £11.5 million

The signing that brought the end to Jean Tigana’s reign as Fulham manager and caused a legal battle with the chairman of Fulham, Marlet was an unmitigated disaster. 11 goals in 4 years says it all and he is currently without a club. Though how he was ever valued at £11.5 million after scoring just 13 goals in 2 seasons at Lyon still mystifies me.

10. Robbie Keane £20 million

Poor old Robbie Keane thought he’d gone to heaven when Spurs grudgingly accepted a hefty bid for the Liverpool supporting Irishman. Yet, unbeknown to Keane, Benitez didn’t want him and he became a pawn in an internal battle between Rick Parry and Rafa Benitez. 6 months later he was on his way back to White Hart Lane for the remainder of the fee that Liverpool owed Spurs, so effectively the Reds paid £8 million for a 6 month loan deal. Has never looked the same player since he returned either.

11. Francis Jeffers £8 million

Arsene Wengers most expensive mistake, Jeffers was supposedly the fox in the box the Gunners needed as the long term replacement for Ian Wright. Yet Jeffers’ attitude had caused him to be gladly sold by Everton and his career has seen him fall down the leagues, failing to score or stay fit for than a month a time. A shining example of wasted potential, he scored on his England debut in 2001 and it was all down hill from there. Is frighteningly still 28, currently injured at Sheffield Wednesday.

So, any thoughts on who you feel was the worst Premiership signing of the last 10 years? Please leave your comments below.

Monday Premier League Roundup in 232 Characters

The Gaffer — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 08:23:01 +0000

Because Twitter won’t let me post more than 140 characters, here are my thoughts about the Premier League matches I watched on television Monday:

Sunderland can’t hold on to a lead, Wolves can’t score, Spurs look fast on the break, Bellamy and Tevez are both dynamite when they’re playing together, Darren Bent should start for England, and Fulham looked amazing for 73 minutes.

Did I miss anything?

Bank Holiday Premier League Matches Expose Divide Between US and UK

The Gaffer — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 05:05:43 +0000

It’s this time of the year when it’s most noticeable how many more public holidays the United Kingdom has compared to the United States. Because Boxing Day this year fell on a Saturday, it means that today (Monday, the 28th) is recognized as a bank holiday where the vast majority of the UK gets to stay at home while most people in the States are back at work.

To make matters even better for the UK and to ease the pain of going back to work for US residents (although that’s not the reason for it), there’s a full schedule of Premier League games on today including the London derbies of Chelsea versus Fulham, and Spurs against West Ham United, and many other matches.

While residents in the UK and US will undoubtedly enjoy the full day of Premier League matches, today is another example of how lopsided the amount of vacation days are between both countries. The United Kingdom officially has eight public holidays each year, while the United States has six that most businesses recognize (New Years Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day).

The difference becomes even more lopsided when paid vacation days is taken into consideration. The United States, for example, is the only country in the world where paid vacation is not a right. Businesses don’t have to grant paid vacation, but most companies offer anywhere between five to ten days (above and beyond the public holidays) as part of their benefits package to employees. Workers may receive more than ten days per year if they have been at a company for five years or more or ten years or more. Again, this is at the company’s discretion.

While US workers may get five to ten vacation days or more per year, the UK law stipulates that a worker must receive 28 paid vacation days. However, a study done by the Families and Work Institute found that less than half of American employees take the full amount of vacation given to them. Plus, sadly, 25% of Americans receive no paid vacation or paid holidays.

What does all of this mean? It’s really an example of how the balance between work and life is not in the correct priority in the United States. While work is extremely important, the balance of the weights is tipped way too much in favor of U.S. corporations and not enough to worker’s rights. While that means that U.S. corporations feel they can get more out of employees, the reality is that workers often feel burnt out and unhappy.

What does this have to do with soccer? Not a whole lot, I admit. But it’s a pet peeve of mine which I become more sensitive to during the holiday period especially when my British relatives are enjoying an extra day of festive celebrations while most Americans have to slog away at work. Whether you’re working today or not, I hope you find some time to enjoy the Premier League football either in person or on television (view the TV schedule for US residents).

Where Might Craig Bellamy Land in January?

Dave Warner — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:19:14 +0000

It should be plainly obvious to any football fan with half a brain that Craig Bellamy is looking at the front door.

From the moment that his fellow Welshman Mark Hughes was sacked at Manchester City, reports emerged that Bellamy was preparing to hand in a transfer request. Just days later, Bellamy and new boss Roberto Mancini reportedly clashed over Bellamy’s training regimen, which Hughes created to help Bellamy with a recurring knee problem. Mancini might plead ignorance to Bellamy’s knock and attempt to smooth things out with one of his new side’s top goal scorers, but the Italian’s reputation for being a “no-nonsense” manager would suggest that he won’t tolerate someone as combustable as Bellamy in his locker room for long — especially given Bellamy’s history of falling out with replacement managers.

This combination makes Bellamy a prime target in the January transfer window for any club looking to bolster its strike force. Despite Bellamy’s popularity at Eastlands, Man City has no shortage of attacking options and could use the cash from Bellamy’s sale to bolster its sagging defense. Perhaps the only question is where Bellamy might land.

I can immediately think of three clubs that might be interested in this player’s services.

1.) Tottenham Hotspur.

This appears to be early favorite. Harry Redknapp lost out to Hughes in his attempt to lure Bellamy away from West Ham a year ago, so it’s no surprise that this rumor has already emerged in the press. Redknapp seems keen to sell any striker at White Hart Lane that’s not named Crouch or Defoe, so he’ll need another option at forward. Bellamy’s pace and ability to play on the wings would also give Redknapp a bit more flexibility in team selection. Plus, Spurs’ European ambitions would suit Bellamy just fine, thank you.

2.) Liverpool.

Unlike his departure from Newcastle, Bellamy left Liverpool on fairly good terms and seemed to like Rafa Benitez well enough. He also remains popular with the Anfield faithful — many of whom probably wish they, too, could have a go at John Arne Riise with a 5-iron — so his return would likely be a welcome one. Liverpool remains short on options up front beyond Fernando Torres, and if Benitez could work Bellamy and his scoring into the lineup with Torres and Steven Gerrard, the Reds’ attack might instantly become more formidable than it’s been all season. That just might give the Reds a better chance of finishing 4th and retaining their Champions League status. Much like Redknapp, however, Benitez would have to sell players before he could buy Bellamy, which means if he’s interested in making this move, he would have to act quickly.

3.) Fulham.

Roy Hodgson, meanwhile, hasn’t shown any real interest in Bellamy. Perhaps he should. With Andy Johnson still injured and Fulham still looking for a proven goal scorer beyond the erratic (though currently in-form) Bobby Zamora, Bellamy might fit in quite nicely at Craven Cottage, where he could link up with Zamora, Clint Dempsey, Damien Duff and Danny Murphy to produce a more potent attack. Plus, unlike Tottenham, Fulham could offer Bellamy European football right now. The Cottagers have a date with Shakhtar Donetsk in February and a potential shot at Juventus in March. Those challenges might be appealing to Bellamy.

Of course, all three of these clubs might struggle to come up with the £10 million or more that will likely be required to pull Bellamy away from Eastlands. There’s little doubt, however, that this fiery forward wants out. He was loyal to Hughes where the club’s ownership was not, and a falling out with Mancini — which has potential to be as nasty as his falling out with Graeme Souness five years ago — seems as inevitable as a rainy English winter. Let’s just hope that in the meantime, the new manager has enough sense to hide those golf clubs.