Premier League - News and Rumors

[rondwisan]

HOLE IN FA FINANCES
FA grappling with £60 million shortfall in TV income
ESPNsoccernet - September 15, 2010



The Football Association are having to cover a £60 million shortfall from the collapse of Setanta and £17 million costs of moving from Soho Square to Wembley, it has been revealed.

The FA published their accounts which reveals a £3 million overall loss in 2009 - but better than the £12 million loss in 2008. Although the FA's turnover has increased, the collapse of Setanta has left the body needing to cover a £60 million shortfall in television income in the 2008-12 period.

The move to Wembley will also incur losses of almost £17 million as there was a 10-year lease on Soho Square, but in the long term the FA should save on costs. The FA have also put into effect a major cost-saving exercise including a pay freeze.

FA chief executive Alex Horne said: "2009 was a difficult year for the FA Group as it was for the UK economy as a whole. The headline was the loss of our domestic broadcast partner, Setanta, as well as one of our overseas broadcasting partners, Gateway.

"We also struggled to find a replacement tenant for our former offices in Soho Square having moved to Wembley in August 2009 and made a significant provision for that situation. But we have persevered and we made new broadcast deals with ITV, ESPN and Supersport and have now exited the Soho Square lease.''

The FA's turnover was up £52 million on 2008 to £314 million, allowing a record £103 million to be invested back into football, £16 million more than the previous year with half of that going to the grass-roots.

Other points of interest in the FA accounts show that staff costs rose from £30.1 million to £34.7 million with the increase almost totally accounted for by the difference in England manager Fabio Capello's salary compared to that of his predecessor Steve McClaren. Capello's annual salary is £6 million while McClaren was on £2.5 million a year.

FA chiefs are still in talks with several companies about succeeding Nationwide as their main sponsors and hope to have a deal done by December. Nationwide had offered £20 million over four years but that was rejected.

The planned National Football Centre at Burton still has a financial shortfall of £8 million-10 million but the FA are still hopeful of raising that from a hotel and executive housing scheme on the site. The accounts also showed the FA last year spent £8 million on England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup.

Meanwhile, Wembley's finances also appear to be improving with losses down from £31.1 million to £15.6 million. Wembley chairman David Bernstein said: "We are not detached from the wider economy and clearly economic conditions are challenging. So although we are travelling in the right direction to break even by 2014 this will be a considerable achievement.''

The national stadium hosted 38 major events - concerts and matches - and Horne said the trial with the new Desso pitch, which uses artificial fibres intermingled with real grass, will end the problems with the playing surface that have plagued the stadium.

[Andi Istiabudi]

Wah kepemilikan asing atas klub Inggris semakin banyak nih ...

Pengusaha India Beli Blackburn

Bola.net - Seorang pengusaha berkebangsaan India diberitakan tengah mencapai kesepakatan baru guna mengambil alih kepemilikan klub Liga Premier Inggris, Blackburn Rovers.

Kesepakatan perpanjangan masa kepemilikan eksklusiv yang diraih Syed Ali Ahsan, pemilik dari Western Gulf Advisory (WGA), dengan klub tersebut dapat diartikan bahwa memang tidak ada pembeli potensial lain lain yang akan membeli Blackburn, meski klub itu tetap mencari pembeli lain.

Statement dari WGA mengatakan, "Western Gulf Advisory mengumumkan bahwa masa eksklusivitas kepemilikan Blackburn Rovers Foot Ball Club telah diperpanjang."

"Hal ini memungkinkan WGA untuk terus memantau situasi keuangan klub tersebut dan memastikan bahwa tidak ada penawar lain yang dapat membeli saham kepemilikan mereka."

"Meskipun proses itu nantinya membutuhkan waktu yang lebih lama dari yang kami bayangkan, WGA tetap berkomitmen untuk mendapatkan kesempatan demi mengakuisisi klub di liga paling bergengsi ini," jelas pihak WGA.

Blackburn sendiri saat ini terpuruk di peringkat 15 dari 20 klub peserta Liga Premier Inggris, mereka hanya meraih satu kemenangan dari 4 laga yang telah mereka mainkan. Hasil positif berhasil El Hadji Diouf cs raih pekan lalu kala berhasil menahan imbang Manchester City dalam laga tandang. (afp/fjr)

Source : http://www.bola.net

[fickarardana]

Daftar Pencetak Gol Terbanyak di Liga Inggris

London, (tvOne)



Berikut ini para pencetak gol dalam kompetisi sepak bola Liga Utama Inggris menjelang lanjutan pertandingan akhir minggu ini.

4: Carroll (Newcastle), Drogba (Chelsea), Malouda (Chelsea), Walcott (Arsenal)

3: Berbatov (Manchester United), Elmander (Bolton), Gardner (Birmingham), Kalou (Chelsea)

2: Anelka (Chelsea), Arshavin (Arsenal), Bale (Tottenham), Bent (Sunderland), Cahill (Everton), Chamakh (Arsenal), Dembeel (Fulham), Downing (Aston Villa), Ebanks-Blake (Wolverhampton), Essien (Chelsea), Fletcher (Manchester United), Harewood (Blackpool), Kalinic (Blackburn), Nolan (Newcastle), Tevez (Manchester City). (Ant)

[rondwisan]

masih aja bad boy nih orang ....
___________________________________

Bowyer apologises for foul-mouthed grandmother rant
ESPNsoccernet - September 20, 2010



Lee Bowyer launched a foul-mouthed tirade at West Brom fans during Birmingham's 3-1 defeat at the Hawthorns on Saturday, but "apologised profusely" for the incident soon after according to Baggies officials.

West Brom supporter Sandra Cox, who was watching the game with her seven-year-old grandson, claimed Bowyer insulted her during a heated exchange that led to her reporting the former West Ham and Newcastle midfielder to the matchday stewards.

The incident ocurred moments after Bowyer escaped with just a yellow card following a dangerous tackle on Gabriel Tamas - a booking that saw the Birmingham player substituted immediately by Blues boss Alex McLeish.

On his way off the pitch, Bowyer became embroiled in an altercation with fans, leaving many shocked by his use of bad language.

"He called me a 'f****** ****' - it was appalling, especially with my grandson sitting next to me," Mrs Cox said. "It's terrible to hear such bad language. We sit there, in the family enclosure, so Luke doesn't have to hear it, but it's even worse because you hear all the players.

"Everybody was having a go because of the tackle on the other side of the pitch. Then he came over and was effing and blinding at everybody, and we were sitting right behind the dugout, so low down, that I told him off. I reported it to the nearest steward."

West Brom officials confirmed that Bowyer had clashed with supporters, but revealed that he had immediately issued an apology to those involved.

"A lady complained straight away to one of our senior stewards that she had been verbally abused, but the club are also aware that Lee Bowyer then made a complete and profuse apology to her," a West Brom spokesman said. "That is the end of the matter as far as West Bromwich Albion are concerned."

McLeish admitted that he was unaware of exactly what happened, but attempted to defend Bowyer, who he claimed was subject to his own share of abuse from the home fans.

"Someone said there were alleged comments by 'Bow', but I could see him getting mouthfuls from angry people sitting in the stand," McLeish said. "The only thing I saw him do was to put his hands up, telling people to calm down.

"Whether there are other versions to come, I don't know, but I just saw him getting pilloried by angry people. It was clearly a very heated situation, and when I looked round there were a lot of verbals coming from that direction, but it looked as if Lee was trying to calm things down."

Bowyer has gained notoriety for his involvement in a number of unsavoury incident over the years, having failed a drugs test for cannabis at Charlton, appeared in court after being charged with assault - though he was cleared of the charges - during his time with Leeds and fighting with then Newcastle team-mate Kieron Dyer on the pitch in 2005.

[rondwisan]

Toffees playing catch-up already
Soccernet, Norman Hubbard - September 23, 2010

The back pages make for miserable reading on Merseyside right now. Similarly embarrassed in this week's Carling Cup, such small consolation as Liverpool can derive comes from the fact that they are three points and three places above Everton.

The pre-season predictions that David Moyes' side, once again, could be the outsiders to break into the top four now appear wildly incorrect, even though they had the heavyweight backing of Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger. Now the issue is underachievement, not overachievement.

Having lost only two of their last 24 league games last season, they have been defeated in three of their first five in the current campaign. The presumption, which is a backhanded compliment, is that Moyes will turn it around: he always has. While other managers seem to lose the dressing room, the Scot appears to have a firmer grasp and a grounding in recoveries. Slow starts are nothing new: in the 2005-06 season, his side took three points from their first eight games and last year, they were just outside the relegation zone in the second half of November.

Adversity can seem to galvanise Everton. Sometimes when they prosper it is as underdogs, and there is already evidence of that; it was astonishing when they snatched two injury-time goals in the dramatic comeback to frustrate Manchester United. That is much their finest result to date.

Expectations, however, have been a burden. The mental strain of comparative poverty may play a part; in 2010, as in 2009 and 2008, Moyes has broken even in the transfer market. The quest to achieve more on slender resources places demands, especially when it is apparent that money would make a difference.

There are two obvious vacancies within the squad, both of which partly explain the early-season malaise, on the right wing and in attack. Landon Donovan's brief stint on Merseyside added another dimension to the side, a naturally right-footed and high-class operator on what tends to be Everton's lesser flank. Whereas Steven Pienaar and Leighton Baines form an excellent alliance on the left, this is an imbalanced side.

The long-serving locals Leon Osman and Tony Hibbert are less penetrative on the opposite side. Both Jack Rodwell and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov have been deployed on the right, attempts to shoehorn gifted players into the team, but neither is a natural. It is telling, too, that the Russian continues to flatter to deceive. Other technical talents such as Mikel Arteta and Pienaar have fared better in their second seasons in England after adjusting to the physical demands and the hope was that the gifted Russian would do the same.

More telling is the shortage of strikers who are both fit and firing. Louis Saha, unsurprisingly, is injured and already Everton's achievement in conjuring 26 league starts and a further seven appearances as substitute last season looks a one-off. Yakubu is yet to recapture top form since rupturing his Achilles tendon 22 months ago and cameo appearances against Manchester United and Newcastle have provided hints of menace, but his season began under the cloud of repeated interest from West Ham.

Struggling most of all is Jermaine Beckford, who is discovering the gulf between League One and the Premier League is vast. So prolific at Leeds, he has given the impression of rawness at Goodison Park, with his awareness and link-up play sometimes betraying his roots in non-league. Displaying a modest streak that wasn't always apparent at Elland Road, he rejected the chance to wear Everton's iconic No. 9 shirt in favour of the less renowned No. 16. Sadly, it seems an apt choice. Thus far, he is no inheritor to the tradition of Dixie Dean, Joe Royle, Bob Latchford and co.

It is tempting to wonder if Beckford would be an Evertonian but for his availability on a free transfer. As it is, he seems less an inspired signing than an understandable attempt at a cheap fix.

Moyes has stressed the mantra of collective responsibility, but the fact remains that his strikers are yet to muster a league goal thus far. Everton were among the many Premier League clubs to have scouted Loic Remy, recognition of the need for more cutting edge in attack.

Without it, there is a reliance on their potential match-winners to perform. Thus far, it is something only Tim Cahill and, to a lesser extent, Pienaar have done while Bilyaletdinov and Marouane Fellaini have been especially unthreatening. Defensive dependability has enabled them to grind out results in the past, but a rare Tim Howard error resulted in the crucial goal at Blackburn while Sylvain Distin was substandard against Manchester United.

Without a swift improvement in their fortunes, Everton will be condemned to spending the second half of another season in a futile game of catch-up. Last season the turning point was the home defeat to Liverpool. This year's desperation derby will be played next month. As it stands, it could be a chance to compare their troubles.

[rondwisan]

Premier League players could lose £100m to taxman
Soccernet, Harry Harris -September 26, 2010



Top footballers in England could lose a combined £100 million to taxes if a loophole involving their image rights is closed, West Ham co-owner David Sullivan revealed.

HM Revenue & Customs suspects the image rights deals are being used by clubs to top up payments to players at the Treasury's expense, because the image rights payments are taxed at a lower rate than normal wage payments.

The Revenue's special civil investigations unit has a team of 20 tax inspectors sifting through players' image rights deals, and it has written to all the top players who receive part of their income through image rights.

Clubs contest that the image rights deals are legitimate licensing payments, which are taxed at 21% or 28%, but if the Revenue determines the payments should be counted as wages, they would be levied at 40%, with a new 50% top rate from April.

Premier League clubs, led by Premier League finance director Javed Khan, have attempted to strike a collective deal with the Revenue. The clubs face a backlash and possible legal action from players who would be receiving decreased net payments compared to what was promised in their contracts.

Sullivan said the Hammers are trying to resolve issues between their players and the Revenue as quickly as possible, and that the club will withhold the image rights payments until an agreement is reached.

Sullivan told ESPNsoccernet: "We are in negotiations with the Revenue and we hope to resolve things within three months, via a global settlement relating to all players of West Ham United.

"If any player can agree things quicker in relation to their image rights payment and any possible tax due to HMRC we will pay them immediately [when] they resolve their position with HMRC. Every football club is in the same position. It wouldn't surprise me if the Revenue are aiming to recoup something like £100 million."

[rondwisan]

Holloway apologises for abusing ref
Soccernet - October 1, 2010



Blackpool boss Ian Holloway has apologised for using abusive language towards referee Mike Dean at Bloomfield Road on Saturday.

Holloway has been charged with improper conduct by the Football Association after he confronted Dean in the tunnel following the Seasiders' 2-1 loss to Blackburn in the Premier League.

The Blackpool boss, who could face a touchline ban, has until Friday to respond to the charge and Holloway admits he was wrong to speak to the official in the way he did.

"I apologise for the abusive language I used," Holloway said. "I should have gone in and calmly said 'I felt this, why did you do that,' because he is trying to do his job.

"My lads need me on the side, so if I am going to be punished up in the stand where I can't help them, what good is that to me and my team? So I have got to learn."

Asked how big a disadvantage he felt a touchline ban would be, Holloway said: "It will be huge, but you are asking me to talk about something I don't know. I might be pre-empting things. But I'll be up front and honest with you - I shouted at the referee coming off.

"I used the word 'useless' because I didn't think he had a very good game, and I put a horrible one in front of it. That was out of frustration and I shouldn't have done it.

"I'm still learning and I have got to learn quickly. I should have learned last week that whatever I shout out at someone because I am frustrated isn't acceptable, not from my position.

"That is not a good example to show to anyone in that tunnel and it is not what I want to say to that referee, because he did his best. I couldn't understand it, but that is not his fault - it's my fault, so I want to get some help."

Holloway hopes the refereeing authorities can clarify for him what does and does not constitute an infringement on the pitch.

"I'd like them to explain to me why that is a foul," Holloway said. "Then I can show my defenders, 'that is a foul and you can't do that at this level.' Then I can move on and I'll stop arguing.

"I've asked for (a meeting). It makes sense doesn't it - if I don't understand something and I am going to fight for my lads, I'd better shut up if I am wrong.

"I was told I was wrong last week, so I would like them to explain why I was wrong - apart from the swearing. You shouldn't abuse anyone and I did, and I am bang out of order."

[Andi Istiabudi]

Kobe Menunggu 20 Tahun untuk Nonton Liga Inggris
Narayana Mahendra Prastya - detiksport

London - Pebasket Kobe Bryant juga menggemari sepakbola. Meski begitu ia butuh waktu 20 tahun untuk bisa menyaksikan pertandingan Liga Inggris secara langsung di stadion. Mengapa begitu, Kobe?

Meski melakoni profesi sebagai pebasket, Kobe juga menyukai sepakbola. Pemain Los Angeles Lakers ini mengaku sebagai penggemar Barcelona, liga Seri A, dan juga Premier League.

"Melalui sepakbola, kita bisa belajar tentang pergerakan bola, membuka ruang, dan hal-hal seperti itu--namun pada akhirnya, saya menonton sepakbola untuk mendapatkan kegembiraan," ujar peraih lima cincin juara NBA itu seperti dikutip dari ESPN.

Meski menggemari sepakbola, namun Kobe boleh dikatakan tidak pernah menyaksikan secara langsung pertandingan di stadion. Alasannya sang ibu melarangnya untuk melakukan hal tersebut.

"Saya pernah menyaksikan laga Seri A dan ketika saya ingin nonton Premier League, ibu saya melarangnya. Saat itu saya ingin melihat Liverpool dan tim-tim lainnya, ibu mengatakan: tidak," jelas pria kelahiran 23 Agustus 1978 itu.

Itu sebabnya Kobe benar-benar memanfaatkan tur pra-musim Lakers di Inggris. Dia bersama rekan-rekan satu timnya menyaksikan laga Chelsea vs Arsenal di Millenium Suites di Stamford Bridge, Minggu (3/10/2010) malam WIB. Setelah itu, para pemain Lakers bertemu dengan para pemain The Blues.

"Akhirnya saya mendapatkan kesemaptan itu setelah menanti sekitar 20 tahun. Menyaksikan Premier League sangat menarik. Sepakbola banyak kemiripan dengan basket. Ini merupakan olahraga tim yang mengandung pergerakan konstan dan kami punya kesempatan menonton aksi dua tim terbaik," pungkas Kobe.
( nar / key )

Source : http://www.detiksport.com

[Redsbusby]

Wah, sayang ente Leverpudlian brow....
Menyesallah dikau musim ini

[rondwisan]

Hughes may change Cottagers' away style
PremierLeague.com


Mark Hughes says Fulham may have to play less attractive football to end their 13-month stretch without an away win.

The Cottagers last win away from home came in August last year when predecessor Roy Hodgson guided the Cottagers to a 1-0 victory over Portsmouth at Fratton Park on the opening day of last season.

The Londoners have failed to win on the road so far under Hughes' stewardship despite taking the lead at Blackpool and West Ham United.

Saturday's stalemate at Upton Park could have been prevented had Brede Hangeland not misplaced a pass on the edge of his box in the build-up to Frederic Piquionne's 51st-minute equaliser.

Hughes is proud of the attractive game he has instilled within the Fulham camp since his appointment as manager this summer but admits he may have to sacrifice that to end the team's awayday hoodoo.

Cold Minded

"We overplayed to our cost unfortunately," said Hughes, whose side went in 1-0 up at the break thanks to Clint Dempsey's goal.

"We are a good side and we want to play a certain way but maybe away from home that attitude and that philosophy has to be tempered a little bit and you have to know when it's right to clear your lines, regroup and get a view of what's going on.

"After the break they changed the shape a bit. At that stage you maybe have to a bit cold minded and realise that maybe it's not the time to play football and you have to clear your lines instead and get an understanding of what the changes the opposition have made but we just continued to play in the same way, which is to our credit."

Sufficent Pedigree

Saturday's draw meant Fulham dropped to ninth in the table but Hughes' side remain unbeaten in their seven matches so far - a feat matched only by Manchester United.

Fulham would have been much higher in the table had the West London outfit not drawn six of their matches this term.

Hughes denies he is becoming frustrated by Fulham's tag of draw specialists and insists that he has a squad with sufficient pedigree to start winning more matches soon.

"It's only a matter of time given the quality that we have got before we turn the draws into victories," said the former Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City manager.

"I have a good group of players. I have a lot of technical players that, certainly away from home, maybe bear the scars of not having won enough times on the road.

"We have to overcome that and we are conscious of it but I'm not scared by it or feeling bogged down by it."