Adebayor’s feet working faster than his head

Despite shoring up their credentials as a serious Premier League contender with a convincing victory over Champions League rivals Arsenal on Saturday, the Manchester City headlines are once again focussed on off-pitch distractions.

An entertaining match marred by the provocations of Emmanuel Adebayor, the FA has subsequently declared it will carry out an investigation into the conduct of the Manchester City striker, a £25 million signing from the Gunners this summer, after his new team beat his old team 4-2 on Saturday.

If Arsenal fans were not overly disappointed to part with Adebayor after last season, any remnants of affection will surely have evaporated as he served as a catalyst in an emotion-charged affair at the Eastlands stadium.

The Togo captain first appeared to stamp on Robin van Persie before he riled Arsenal supporters with an exuberant goal celebration, for which he was booked, by charging across the field an away from his own team mates in order to celebrate in front of away supporters. If found guilty, he could miss up to six games, as each offence would merit a three game ban.

Adebayor told the Sun newspaper “I don’t know what I have done wrong to get banned”.

The 25 year old first incited opposition fans’ anger when his right boot made contact with van Persie, on the floor, after he had evaded the Dutchman’s wild sliding challenge.

Following the match, he protested his innocence to Sky Sports and claimed his actions were not meant maliciously.

“I was trying to kick the ball,” he said. “I see him tackling and I don’t have time to take my feet back because I’m trying to kick the ball. My feet touch his head. I feel sorry for him and even straight away, and at the end of the game, I said sorry.”

Van Persie, who suffered cuts to the face and needed considerable treatment from a physio, rejects this version of events and heavily criticised his former team mate.

“He set out to hurt me. I do feel lucky that I have not received a greater injury. I knew he was aiming for a collision because he changed the angle of his body to allow contact to be made.

“The contact was only centimetres from my eye. I have not received an apology from him, there were no words exchanged afterwards. He had his own agenda today and that is bad for football. It’s bad for the game we all love. He has shown a real lack of class, to me and the fans.”

While Arsene Wenger refused to comment before seeing a replay, City boss Mark Hughes defended his player, citing a “tremendous amount of personal abuse from kick-off”.

“We expect high standards of behaviour from our players and it is easy in the cold light of day, when the adrenalin has died down, to talk about what players should and shouldn’t do in that situation. Ade again immediately apologised but we know the FA will be reviewing the matter.”

Adebayor’s second moment of controversy came courtesy of his goal celebration on 80 minutes, for which he apologised and said it was a spur of the moment reaction.

“The emotion took over me,” admitted Adebayor. “Now I just have to say sorry.

“It was silly to run up in front of the Arsenal fans but these people have been insulting me all game. Even in the warm-up they were insulting me. They were saying things that are not nice to hear, personal things.

“I didn’t plan it, not at all. I didn’t even know that I would score. The way things were going from the warm-up, at the end it came into my head.”

Adebayor may escape further punishment for the goal celebration, as he was booked at the time by referee Mark Clattenberg, but the FA stated that it will “take a close look” at both incidents, which have left them “unimpressed”. A verdict will be announced later this week.

Chelsea must learn from heavy sanction

The world football governing body FIFA has banned Chelsea FC from signing any players for the next two transfer windows, following a ruling that the club illegally approached Gael Kakuta to induce the player, now 18, to break his contract with Lens in 2007.

This means that the London side cannot register any new players “nationally or internationally” until January 2011 and must additionally pay the French side “training compensation” of €130,000

A brief Chelsea statement explained that they intend to “mount the strongest possible appeal” and believe the punishment does not merit the “alleged offence”.

Chelsea will make an appeal via the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas), but added “We cannot comment further until we receive the full written rationale for this extraordinarily arbitrary decision.”

FIFA’s announcement explained:

“The DRC found that the player had indeed breached a contract signed with the French club. Equally, the DRC deemed it to be established that the English club induced the player to such breach.”

FIFA’s dispute resolution chamber also extended the punishment to Kakuta as an individual. The top scorer and player of the season in the Chelsea Academy last year despite a double ankle fracture in February 2009 must pay his former club compensation of €780,000 and cannot participate in any official matches for four months. He is yet to make an appearance for the Chelsea first team, but is returning to full fitness with the reserves this season.

Lens had made an official complaint to FIFA in 2007 when Kakuta, 16 at the time, decided to leave after Chelsea approached and President Gervais Martel declared his satisfaction with the verdict as it will discourage clubs.

“We expected this kind of decision. The player was under contract with us and they came and stole him away from us,” he said.

“Chelsea didn’t follow the rules. They contacted the player when he wasn’t even 16 and while he had been contracted to our training group from the age of eight.

“The financial sanction isn’t over the top given the nature of the infringement, but it’s really quite significant when it comes to not being able to recruit players.

“It’s an important message given that protecting up-and-coming youth players who are contracted to clubs is an issue being followed closely by Uefa president Michel Platini.”

This is not the first instance of Chelsea apparently tapping up the players, which may well have had an effect upon the ruling. The Premier League fined them £300,000 in 2005 following the capture of Arsenal defender Ashley Cole after a bitter transfer saga. However the severity of this punishment will be much harder felt than the small amount that will not have dented Roman Abramovitch’s pockets.

Manchester United have also recently been accused of tapping up a French youngster after signing Paul Pogba from Le Havre, who say the 16 year old had agreed to play for them this season, but a Manchester United spokesman rejected the suggestion: “It is complete nonsense. Everything has been done within Uefa (European governing body) guidelines.”

Defoe double earns England draw

Jermain Defoe came to England’s rescue last night by coming off the bench to salvage a draw against the Netherlands at the Amsterdam Arena that had seemed unlikely at half time.

England quickly found themselves facing a 2-0 deficit as terrible defensive errors gifted the Dutch a host of chances, and left the field at half time very much outplayed by Bert van Marwijk’s side.

On several occasions in the early stages, England failed to deal with Dutch pressure and when Rio Ferdinand’s loose pass was intercepted by Dirk Kuyt, the Liverpool striker was able to go round keeper Rob Green before cutting back again to fire into the near post roof of the net via John Terry’s outstretched leg.

England had already had one let off from defensive lapses: Kuyt’s 10^th minute goal was the result of the second dangerous backpass after Ferdinand allowed Glen Johnson’s ball to casually roll through to Green despite Kuyt lurking.

They did, however, manage to create some good opportunities, as Lampard and Young had long range shots on target and Barry fired narrowly over the crossbar. Rooney also looked dangerous with shots in quick succession, one of which was straight at Stekelenburg and the other marginally wide.

England had a penalty appeal dismissed: Gareth Barry’s backheel, aimed for Heskey, bounced up and struck De Jong on the arm, but referee Nicola Rizzoli ordered play to continue.

But defensive problems persisted and England were fortunate not to concede again when Van der Vaart’s free kick caught Green in no man’s land with two unmarked attackers at the back post. Green checked back and saved Kuyt’s header at his feet.

Lampard was then at fault for allowing former Chelsea team mate Arjen Robben to intercept a loose pass and the Dutchman’s pacy run ended in an explosive shot tipped over by Green.

The second goal was just as disastrous as the first for England. Deep in the England half, Barry gave the ball straight to Robben, who raced through on goal. Green saved the one on one, but the defence was woefully exposed with three orange shirts outnumbering the two English ones and Rafael van der Vaart had the simple task of smashing the rebound into the empty net.

The match was billed by captain John Terry as the start of the World Cup in South Africa next summer, citing the necessity to build momentum ahead of the tournament, but manager Fabio Capello will doubtless have had concerns about the ease and speed with which the Netherlands built a commanding lead due to basic errors.

Nevertheless he can be pleased by the manner in which his side fought their way back into the game, with Defoe leading the comeback.

Several changes were made at the break, Fabio Capello introducing Defoe in place of Emile Heskey to devastating effect. Michael Carrick and Shaun Wright-Phillips also were brought on for Beckham and Barry while Van Persie, Van der Vaart and Robben were withdrawn by their opponents.

Four minutes into the half, a clearance from Green was turned into a swift counter attack by Frank Lampard’s long ball, collected by Defoe as he outpaced the Dutch defence. The Tottenham striker produced a beautiful finish to beat oncoming keeper Maarten Stekelenburg by curling a well disguised shot with his left foot that clipped the post on its way in.

Suddenly with increased threat and incentive, England’s substitutes combined once again for the equaliser when Rooney’s replacement Carlton Cole, who caused problems for Holland’s defence, played a part in the goal when he managed to find James Milner on the left wing.

The Villa winger escaped Jonny Heitinga’s challenge, racing down the channel to slide a dangerous ball across goal from just inside the box, which Jermain Defoe was able to finish from close range with 13 minutes remaining.

England finished the stronger of the two sides and could even have won the game.

Everton determined to cling on to Lescott

Everton have rejected a transfer request from unsettled defender Joleon Lescott, who has been the subject of three large bids from big spending Manchester City.

Having failed to attract John Terry, Manchester City are clearly keen to boost their defensive options, and are now turning their attention towards luring the 26 year old England international to pair in central defence with new Arsenal signing Kolo Toure. However, the Toffees have dismissed each offer, thought to be £15m, £18m and £22m.

It is hardly surprising that Everton would willingly relinquish one of their prize assets to a club with which they are competing for a Champions League place and manager David Moyes stated on Everton’s website that Lescott is simply unavailable.

“I have always said that we are not selling any players and that has not changed.”

Moyes enjoys strong backing from his chairman and has so far refused to be bullied by Lescott or his suitors. The club’s admirable stance is supported by the fans, who applauded Lescott every time he touched the ball in Friday’s friendly against Malaga, despite making it clear that he wants to leave.

Upon receiving the second bid, which was “rejected outright,” Moyes claimed that nobody would be leaving the club without his blessing, and that Everton did not need to sell any of their stars.

Many will argue that Lescott may do well to show some loyalty, having transformed his career at Everton, whom he joined for £5m from Wolves in 2006. He has been a constant presence in Moyes’ team in the last two seasons and helped the Toffees qualify for Europe once more, establishing himself as an England international and one of the most respected Premier League defenders in the process.

City’s forward conduct has been susceptible to criticism on many fronts, and has angered Everton captain Phil Neville.

“The club have turned down two offers and the manager is not prepared to sell him. Let’s move on and let’s look forward to the new season.

“Will City get the message? The way they are going about their business, I don’t think they will. There are ways and means of doing things – and Everton do it the right way.”

There is certainly a world of difference between Manchester City and Everton’s transfer policy!

Siege of the City: Ferguson launches an attack

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has begun a stinging war of words on big spending local rivals Manchester City.

The master of mind games has launched an astonishing verbal tirade on several fronts and claimed within the space of a week they are “not a threat” and labelled them “a small club with a small mentality”.

Manchester City’s spending has been well documented this summer, making the eye-catching signings of Carlos Tevez, Roque Santa Cruz, Emmanuel Adebayor and Gareth Barry for a total of about £80 million. Mark Hughes’ side is also chasing Joleon Lescott and tried to prise John Terry from Chelsea, but Ferguson does not believe they will challenge at the highest level.

“It won’t be easy for them to win anything, even with the players they have bought. I can’t look at them as our main competitors. Liverpool and Chelsea are our main competitors.”

However, the United boss still admires old rival Arsène Wenger’s ability to shape a team and suggested the Gunners are more of a force to be reckoned with, despite struggling last season and their apparent lower budget than the top three.

“Arsenal have the biggest job to do because they have sold Adebayor and don’t seem to have the money the rest have. How Arsène develops his team will be his biggest test.

“The one thing we know about Arsenal is that they will play some of the best football you will see and create chances. They could easily re-establish themselves and challenge for the league again.”

City have may been outranking United in terms of media attention recently, but Ferguson questions whether Mark Hughes will be able to fit so many egos into the dressing room, although he would follow a similar policy if he had such resources at his disposal.

“They have bought a lot of high-profile players but they have 10 strikers”.

“That is a hell of a lot. I have not spoken to all the managers but the one or two I have are saying ‘Who are they going to leave out?’ How does he pick a team? We are all interested.”

His outburst may serve as retaliation to the provocative poster of Carlos Tevez, whom Manchester City recently acquired from the Red Devils, displayed in the city centre with “Welcome to Manchester” written on a sky blue background.

“It’s City, isn’t it? They’re a small club with a small mentality. All they can talk about is Manchester United; they can’t get away from it,” he flamed.

“They think taking Carlos Tevez away from Manchester United is a triumph. It is poor stuff.”

Despite claiming Manchester United made an offer for the Argentinean international that was never acknowledged, the 68 year old says he was not willing to meet the financial demands of agent Kia Joorabachian and later stated City paid an inflated price.

Ferguson recognises Tevez’ unquestionable value and does not deny his popularity at Old Trafford, as supporters clearly wanted him to stay, but Ferguson, not easily swayed by anyone, has a reputation as a ruthless boss and this has proven to be true once again.

“The fans quite rightly have their heroes and I respect them, so I was happy to go along with a deal as long as it was the right one – but he was simply not worth £25m.”

Ferguson also alleged that Adebayor’s only option was to sign for City.

“At the last minute, from what I can gather, either Emmanuel Adebayor or his agent phoned us after they had agreed a deal with City and then did the same with Chelsea. He was desperate to get to either Chelsea or us.”

Continuing to occupy the headlines, Ferguson finally suggested that Ronaldo may eventually return to Old Trafford.

“He may come back, you never know… He loved United.”

In one final piece of Manchester United related fun and games, Gary Neville reportedly welcomed former Liverpool striker Michael Owen to the Carrington training ground by introducing him to academy graduate old Danny Wellbeck. Neville said of the youngster “This is Danny. He’s 18 and he’s won the league”.

Beckham booed on Galaxy return

David Beckham received a hostile reception from the LA Galaxy fans on Saturday as he played in his first match since his loan spell with AC Milan.

The England international, 34, rejoined the Galaxy mid-season for the friendly match with a capacity 27,000 crowd, ironically against AC Milan, but was jeered every time he touched the ball by a section of his own supporters.

Many fans had brought banners to the stadium with slogans such as “Go home, fraud” and “Repent” and Beckham needed a security escort at half time as he went to confront his tormentors.

“The majority of fans have been great. It was only one or two that, you know, it was to be expected”, Beckham explained.

“Sometimes it goes beyond it. I tried to shake one of the guy’s hands but he didn’t want any of it. That’s the way it is.

“I’m not disappointed because it doesn’t affect me,” he said. “A lot of people predicted the vicious kind of reaction that would be here, and they were right.”

Manager Bruce Arena condemned the fans’ reaction.

“We regret the incident that happened at the end of the first half. While it is important that our fans remain free to voice their opinions, they must do so in an appropriate manner.

 ”We appreciate our players’ and fans’ passion for the team and the game, but we all must aim to hold ourselves to higher standards.”

Beckham had been warned by team mate Landon Donovan that certain fans might not take too kindly to his reluctance to return to the MLS and had earlier in the week accused him of lacking professionalism.

He reportedly tried to buy his way out of his Galaxy contract to further extend his spell with AC Milan, who paid a loan fee of £5 million.

His work for the team ultimately paid dividends as he was involved in both goals, making a cross field pass for Landon Donovan who then set up Alan Gordon for the first goal from which Bryan Jordan headed in the second.

Beckham ironically shrugged his shoulders at the fans that had criticised him following the second goal and applauded those that had supported him when he was substituted towards the end of the game. Donovan also welcomed his value to the team.

“There’s not another player on this team or in this league who can make those kinds of plays,” stated Donovan. “That’s going to be crucial for us.”

Beckham’s future beyond the end of the current MLS season, which finishes in October, is very much in the air and he has made it clear what is likely to be his final tournament in South Africa 2010 is a priority.

“I will do everything possible. I’ll always regret it if I didn’t do everything to give myself a chance to be involved in that.”

Fabio Capello has suggested Beckham would improve his chances of making England’s world cup squad with a move back to a European league. Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti will make a move for him while the Sun speculates on potential offers from Tottenham and Manchester City, despite Mark Hughes dismissing alleged interest.

 Neither did Leonardo do much to quash rumours linking Beckham with a return to the San Siro and the new AC Milan boss had nothing but praise for the former loanee.

“His charisma is very important for other players. We are really happy with his situation.”

A farcical friendly

Primera Liga side Villareal played their first a pre-season friendly against Catalonian minnows Navata, a tiny club on the Spanish side of the border near Perpignan.

Needless to say, the Yellow Submarines, who qualified for the Europa League by finishing 5^th last season, were convincing winners and notched up an astonishing score of 27-0, which equates to a goal approximately every three or four minutes. Jonathon Pereira was top scorer with 7 goals.

New manager Ernesto Valverde, recruited from Español to replace Madrid bound Manuel Pellegrini, elected to play an entirely different set of players in each half.

Vilamalla, another regional side, are next in the firing line and meet Villareal on Wednesday.

Pellegrini’s Real Madrid also take on lesser opposition this week with a training programme and friendly in Ireland to play Shamrock Rovers.

Barcelona and Inter Milan agree an extraordinary swap deal

Barcelona have made an agreement with Inter Milan to sign striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic in exchange for Samuel Eto’o plus a fee of around £35 million and a one year loan deal for Alex Hleb.

Both teams won their respective leagues last season, but with heavy spending rivals Real Madrid making waves in the transfer market, Barcelona are now looking to make their first big signing.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta said that all the remains is for the players to agree terms. “The signing depends on Ibrahimovic, on Eto’o and all parties.”

The agreement seems a remarkable imbalance: given Manchester City’s bid of approximately £20m for 28 year old Samuel Eto’o, some may argue that the combined fee for Ibrahimovic, just one year younger, is highly inflated and not justifiable.

Inter boss Jose Mourinho describes the Ibrahimovic as “the most talented player he has ever worked with” and “better than Cristiano Ronaldo”. Ibrahimovic has impressed at Europe’s premier clubs, which boasts spells at Ajax and Juventus after beginning his career in his native Malmo.

However, many remain unconvinced by the Swede, despite finishing top scorer in Seria A last season with 20 goals and a goals-to-games ratio higher than 1 in 2 in the last two seasons, due to his failure to shine in European competition In contrast, Eto’o has a proven track record on every level, scoring more than 100 goals in five seasons at Barca as well as goals in two Champions League finals.

But the Cameroon international, whose contract expires in 12 months time, had been strongly linked with moves away from the Champions League winners, notably Manchester City before they ran out of patience at delaying tactics.

Another player the Catalans are being strongly linked with is Valencia’s David Villa, but they may well face competition from Real Madrid and Liverpool.

This is the second deal arranged between the two clubs this year, as full back Maxwell has also joined Barcelona for £3.9 million.

Pardew in at the helm of the good ship Southampton

Southampton will begin life in League One with Alan Pardew in control at the St Mary’s Stadium. The former Reading, West Ham and Charlton boss has signed a three year contract and was looking forward to returning to football, having left Charlton in November 2008.

“I’m proud and very excited to be joining a club with an immense history and huge potential,” said the 47 year old.

The appointment seems a solid one in naming a manager with has a proven track record. He led West Ham to the 2006 FA Cup final, although his popularity at Charlton came into question as the club struggled and were eventually relegated after his departure.

Nevertheless, fans can be pleased with the quality of manager that the new owner Markus Liebherr has recruited, since Pardew, whose principles generally produce teams that have played good, attractive football, has wealth of experience in the Premiership and Championship and will surely be aiming for an eventual return to those heights.

The chairman confirmed “We are delighted to have been able to attract Alan to St Mary’s from a very strong field of candidates.”

The Saints’ future had looked in doubt when a consortium headed by Matt le Tissier fell through, but the Swiss businessman saved the club from very nearly going out of business and made rapid changes, immediately replacing Dutchman Mark Wotte upon his arrival.

Southampton will start the year at bottom of the table as 10 points have already been deducted as a result of having gone into administration. Pardew’s first game will be a friendly against Ajax.

Be ready to raise your eyebrows: the Manchester City show has opened!

Manchester City have made a clear statement of intent this summer by capturing Carlos Tevez, with Emmanuel Adebayor likely to follow and John Terry a possible further addition.

After a high profile takeover last summer, Mark Hughes swiftly added Craig Bellamy to his ranks and has this year acquired Roque Santa Cruz, whom he coached at Blackburn, following a drawn out transfer saga, in addition to the sensational last minute capture of Robinho for a British transfer record. However, it is City’s renewed quest this year for the biggest household names that have set the wheels in motion and worried some of the biggest names in European football.

An audacious £100 million bid to purchase Kaka in January was not far from becoming a reality, although the player rejected terms, and had Barcelona’s Samuel Eto’o accepted the contract offer, he would have become the highest player in the world. Despite these rejections, it showed that City can compete for the most sought after names and suddenly football’s superstars are turning their heads towards Eastlands. City’s galactic ambitions are materialising.

Carlos Tevez, 25 year old Argentinian international, feared by defences across the Premiership and wanted by Liverpool and Chelsea for around £25 million, if sources are to be believed, was lured away from bitter rivals United in favour of the blue half of the Manchester.

Emmanuel Adebayor has today passed a medical at Manchester City and looks to be leaving the Emirate Stadium in the coming days, provided he is granted a work permit. Arsène Wenger rarely unwillingly releases his top players, and it remains to be seen whether the departure of the Togo striker, whose suitors twelve months ago were allegedly Chelsea, AC and Inter Milan, is a welcome one.

Gareth Barry’s story is a similar one: Aston Villa managed to block the England international’s transfer to Liverpool a year ago but he now moves for £12m.

Chelsea, having practiced similar tactics when Roman Abramovich took over, no longer enjoy such superior wealth and now find themselves in the unusual situation of fighting to keep one of their most valuable assets to stay. City’s £30 million bid for captain John Terry has clearly unsettled the player and doubt has crept in where none was before.

It is an ominous sign that the Premier League’s wealthiest club is flexing its financial muscles and with seemingly limitless funds, the trend will most likely continue. Having successfully prised two high quality players from England’s top clubs, Tevez and Adebayor will be precisely the calibre of player that Mark Hughes is looking to attract, and it may now become easier to bring more to Eastlands.

The challenge for Hughes will be managing a dressing room that contains several high profile players whilst satisfying his chairmen. An improvement on last year’s 10th position will surely be expected, or the Welshman may find some heavy pressure being exerted upon him.