United announce shirt sponsorship deal with Chevrolet

Manchester United have signed a new deal to sponsor their shirts with Chevrolet.

The deal was signed for an undisclosed amount and is for a period of seven years beginning from the 2014-2015 season.

Chevrolet, owned by General Motors, takes over sponsorship from the current sponsors Aon.

Forbes magazine recently called Manchester United the most valuable club in sport (worth $2.23 billion, around £1.43 billion).

Chevrolet will become the clubs fifth shirt sponsor in the club's history.

United's commercial director Richard Arnold said that the deal was a "fantastic, long term deal for the club".

He continued to say that they have been a key partner on the club's current preseason tour and that he knows that they have enjoyed the buzz from the club's fanatical support and the sell out crowds on their preseason travels to South Africa, China and Europe. Chevrolet signed the deal to become the club's car sponsor in May of this year and has also signed a similar deal with United's rivals from Mersyside, Liverpool.

Earlier this month, the club applied to be listed on the US stock market in an attempt to reduce the debt that has accumulated at the club since the take over by the Glazer family, who own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers American football franchise.

Hopefully this new sponsorship deal with Chevrolet and the club being listed on the US stock can significantly reduce the debt the has accumulated at the club due to the Glazer family.

Watford on a spending spree after recent takeover

Watford have made seven new signings including former Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia as well as former QPR defender Fitz Hall.

Almunia, 35, and Hall, 31, have both agreed one year contracts with the club and will add experience to Gianfranco Zola's side.

The other five players that have joined the Hornets are on season long loan deals from Italian Serie A side Udinese and Spanish side Granada, which are both owned by the Pozzo family who recently took over Watford last month. Midfielders Daniel Pudil and Almen Abdi as well as forwards Matej Vydra, Steve Leo Beleck and Ikechi Anya have all joined the club.

Watford's technical director Gianluca Nani told the club's website that he expects the new signings to have a positive impact on the team and that the club are constantly looking to add to the side.

Manuel Almunia, who joined Arsenal in 2004 and made 175 appearances for them, will fill the void left by Scott Loach after he left the club to join Ipswich. And Fitz Hall, who joins from QPR and has played for Oldham, Southhampton, Crystal Palace, Wigan, as well as a loan spell at Newcatle, will have the job of replacing Adrian Mariappa who left the Hornets to join Premier League new boys Reading.

Though, from the other signings only Ikechi Anya, who was born in Glasgow, has played in England before with Wycombe and Northhampton before making the move to Granada in Spain.

Daniel Pudil and Udinese midfielder Abdi are both full internationals, the Czech Republic and Switzerland respectively, and have both impressed during preseason.

Though, some fans have had concerns over some of the loan signings as the feel that the Pozzo family, who own Granada and Udinese, might use the club as a 'nursery' to help provide experience and develop Udinese's youngsters.

Aquilani's Liverpool nightmare finally ending!

On his way to Fiorentina!

Liverpool have accepted an undisclosed offer for Alberto Aquilani from Serie A side Fiorentina.

The 28 year old Italian midfielder flew to Italy from Liverpool's pre-season tour of the United States to complete his move to Fiorentina.

If Aquilani's deal to Fiorentina is completed as expected then it is likely that Liverpool will step up their attempts to sign Swansea's talented midfielder Joe Allen, who is currently with Great Britain's Olympic side.

Aquilani has failed to settle and secure a place in Liverpool's starting eleven since his £20 million pound move to the Anfield club from Roma in 2009, and have been sent out on loan for the past two seasons.

Aquilani spent last season on loan at AC Milan and the year before at the current Serie A champions, Juventus which means he didn't play under former Liverpool manager and Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish.

During Roy Hodgson's tenure at Anfield he only made two appearances.

Former Reds' manager Rafael Benitez bought Aquilani as he viewed him as an ideal replacement for Xabi Alonso who departed the club to join Real Madrid, but struggled with injuries and mad only 26 appearances during his first season at Anfield.

And even though Aquilani has appeared for Liverpool during pre-season under new manager Brendan Rodgers, and still has two years left to run on his current contract, it seems as though his unhappy time at Anfield is finally coming to an end.

Ryan Giggs inspires Team GB

Inspired performance the captain!

Yesterday Team GB defeated the United Arab Emirates 3-1 at Wembley and ensured that progression to the quarter finals is only a draw away.

The captain Ryan Giggs headed in the opener and his Manchester United team mate Tom Cleverley hit the post as Team GB went into the half time break in the lead.

In the second half the UAE found an equalizer through Rashed Elisa after a composed finish from the midfielder.

Scott Sinclair then came on and scored almost instantly and a deft chip from Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge sealed the win for Great Britain.

Although the score line seems convincing it was far from comfortable for Stuart Pearce's team, and after the UAE equalized the occasional boo could be heard.

Though there was definitely a better mood in the stadium after GB went up 3-1 though there is room for improvement when they play Uruguay on Wednesday in Cardiff.

Though, Uruguay were stunned 2-0 by a 10 man Senegal yesterday at Wembley. Senegal now sit on level on four points with Great Britain and take on a UAE side that have lost both of their group games thus far. Uruguay sit on three points and a draw for Team GB would see them progress to the quarter finals.

Hargreaves trains with QPR

Owen Hargreaves, a former England international, has not signed with Queens Park Rangers but is currently training with the club in an attempt to recover from injury.

Hargreaves, who has suffered from injury in the last few years, then signed a one year deal last season with Manchester City but his playing time was limited to 13 minutes of Premier League action and was then released by the club in May.

QPR manager Mark Hughes confirmed on the clubs website that Hargreaves is currently training with the club, though there is no obligation for either party.

Hughes aslo said that Owen Hargreaves is keen to remain fit and that him and the club are happy to assist him.

Canadian born Hargreaves spent seven years with the first team at Bayern Munich after joining the club when he was 16 years old. His England debut came in 2001 in a friendly against the Netherlands, and had was arguably one of England's best players in the 2006 World Cup in Germany and the in July 2007 Manchester United paid £17 million pounds for him.

Though, Manchester United decided not to renew his contract in 2011 after failing to play for almost two years due to a troublesome knee injury which he failed to recover from despite United's best efforts.

After his release from United, Hargreaves used YouTube to demonstrate that he was still fit and able to play and because of the video had talks with West Brom and Manchester City.

At the beginning of last season he made a shock move to the blue half of Manchester making a scoring debut in a Carling Cup match against Birmingham, though, struggled to play any major part due to injury and only made three more appearances.

His final appearance for City Was in the FA Cup loss to neighbors Manchester United in January at the Etihad Stadium, though he did take part in City's Premier League victory parade.

Shevchenko retires!

Hangin up his boots!

Former Chelsea and AC Milan striker Andriy Shevchenko has retired from football to pursue a career in politics.

His club, Dynamo Kiev, released a statement in which the 35-year old Ukrainian striker revealed that he would be retiring from football.

In his statement he said that the news could shock everyone and he continued to say that he's future is no longer in football.

He won his 111th and final international cap for Ukraine during Euro 2012, which was co-hosted by Ukraine, where he came on as a substitute during his country's group stage loss to England.

Shevchenko started his career in 1994 at Dynamo Kiev and went on to become one of the most, if not the most lethal strikers in Europe after his move in 1999 to AC Milan. During his time in Italy with AC Milan he won the 2003 Champions League - scoring the winning spot kick in the penalty shoot out - as well as the Serie A title, Coppa Italia and UEFA Super Cup. He also won domestic silverware in England, with Chelsea winning the FA Cup and League Cup in 2007, and Ukraine.

In 2006 the then 29-year old striker signed for Jose Mourinho's Chelsea, for a huge fee of £30 million, and spent two largely unproductive seasons at Stamford Bridge before returning to the San Siro with AC Milan. Though, he was unable to reproduce the deadly form that made him one of the most lethal and feared strikers in Europe. In 2009 he returned to Ukraine with the club where it all started, signing a two year deal with Dynamo Kiev.

Shevchenko was Ukraine's talisman for over a decade and had a national goal scoring record, scoring 48 goals. In 2006 he captained Ukraine to the World Cup quarter finals, he also won the Ballon d'Or in 2004 as the European player of the year and captained Ukraine in Euro 2012.

In his statement he said he will be going into politics and he is expected to elaborate on his plans in the near future.

Shevchenko's honors:

• Ukrainian Premier League: 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
• Ukrainian Cup: 1996, 1998, 1999
• Ukrainian Super Cup: 2011
• CIS Cup: 1996, 1997, 1998
• Serie A: 2003-04
• Coppa Italia: 2003
• Supercoppa Italiana: 2004
• Uefa Champions League: 2003
• Uefa Super Cup: 2003
• FA Cup: 2007
• League Cup: 2007

Hammers make record breaking bid for Carroll!

On his way out?

West Ham United have stepped up their interest in Liverpool striker Andy Carroll by making a record breaking 17 million pound bid for the striker.

The deal in place would see the Liverpooland England striker move to Upton Park on an initial loan deal with a commitment to buy the 23-year old striker after 12 months. However, Carroll doesn't view West Ham as a serious offer and has already spoken of his desire to stay at Liverpool and fight for a spot in Brendan Rodgers team but if he had to leave Anfield he would prefer a move back to the North East with Newcastle United.

The Tyneside club have retained a strong interest in their former striker and are currently monitoring Andy Carroll's current situation at Anfield.

Newcastle United have made an initial bid for the striker which was turned down as Liverpool said it was nowhere near their valuation of the striker and judging by that it seems Liverpool, who bought the striker in January 2011 for a massive fee of 35 million pounds, are not prepared to consider any offers below 20 million pounds. Though, the Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew has said that Liverpool should be prepared to take a big loss on the player instead of keeping him on the bench at Anfield.

Though, it seems West ham United are serious contenders and extremely keen to land the former Newcastle United striker as they are looking to build their team around Carroll but his uncertainty over a move to Upton Park could damaged West Ham's chances of landing the striker despite his strong friendship with former Newcastle United team-mate Kevin Nolan, who made the switch to West Ham last year.

Jack Sullivan, who is the son of West Ham co-owner David Sullivan, added to the speculation surrounding a possible move for Andy Carroll by tweeting: "Dad is working on the biggest signing in the history of the club - twice as big as anything the club have done before!"

Kompany extends stay at Manchester City

Manchester City's captain Vincent Kompany has signed a new six year deal with the Premier League Champions. The influential 26 -year old Belgian defender signed for the Manchester club in August 2008 from Hamburg and last season captained the side and led them to a first league title since 1968.

Kompany told the club's website that, in his opinion, if your "good somewhere then there is no reason to look elsewhere".

He continued to say that the club is not only a project of the owners or the people who the club employ but also his project.

The defender started out in his homeland with Anderlecht before moving to Germany and then later signed by City during Mark Hughes spell in charge.

His arrival came shortly before the takeover of the club by Sheikh Mansour, which then kick started City's massive spending spree which transformed the club's fortunes.

And since the take over by the super wealthy Arab Sheikh, City have already added silverware to their throphy room by winning the FA Cup in 2011 as well as the Premier League title last season.

And considering the fact that City have found success in the past few seasons, its no wonder Vincent Kompany wants to stay at the club and with the wealth of talent and with the backing of Sheikh Mansour City look to be on the up and look like they will continue to challenge for top honours on home soil and in Europe.

And the Oscar goes to Chelsea!



Off to London



Chelsea have secured a deal for the highly rated Brazilian midfielder Oscar, from Internacional.

The attacking midfielder signed a five year deal at Stamford Bridge for a fee in the region of £25 million.

The midfielder who is currently in the Brazilian Olympic squad joins Chelsea from Internacional after previously playing for Sao Paulo and in Brazil has been liked to his fellow countryman Kaka.

The player first said that he would make up his mind about his future after the Olympic Games in London before undergoing a medical and completing his move to the Bridge.

Oscar also said that all Brazilian players have a dream to play in Europe and the Premier League.

Chelsea, who won the Champions League last season, are on a mission to rebuild the club and have shown their intention to fight for the Premier League as well as the Champions League by completing deals for some of the hottest young talents in world football.

The likes of Werder Bremen midfielder Marko Marin, Eden Hazard who was undoubtedly one of the most sought after players in Europe as well as his brother Thorgan who is probably the more talented from the two and now the Brazilian and former Internacional midfileder Oscar, have all joined the club.

Chelsea will be looking to overthrow the dominant Manchester clubs next season and are looking a whole lot stronger after completing deals for some of Europe's and South America's best young talents during this summer.

Mix that in with players such as Lucas Piazon, who has massive potential, and the experience of others such as John Terry and Frank Lampard and you have a team that can challenge on all fronts, domestically and in Europe.

I'd go as far as saying that, even as a Manchester United fan, this Chelsea team has the quality and ability to win the Premier League next season and continue to win silverware for years to come!

Cahill off to the Big Apple

Off to the Big Apple!

Everton have agreed a terms for the transfer of Tim Cahill to Major League Soccer side the New York Red Bulls.

The fee agreed for the 32-year old Australian midfielder is believed to be around £1 million and Cahill has already agreed outline personal terms with the New York based side.


The 32-year old Australian signed for Everton from Millwall in 2004 for a fee of £1.5 million after he impressed in Millwall's run to the FA Cup final in that year.

Cahill made the move to England in August 1997 and joined Millwall from his hometown club, Sydney United on a free transfer.

In Millwall's run to the Fa Cup final the Australian scored three goals which included the winner against Sunderland in the semi-final, though the London club lost 3-0 to Manchester United in the final at the Millennium Stadium.



Cahill with NY Red Bulls team Thierry Henry



He made his international debut in 2004 and has featured for Australia in the past two World Cups in Germany and South Africa.

Cahill, who recently signed a new contract at Goodison Park in May 2010, is a fan favorite at Everton but only had a disappointing three goals last season after not finding the back of the net the whole of 2011.