Taarabt hints at QPR exit

Taarabt: Looking for better contract

QPR playmaker Adel Taarabt has admitted the failure of talks over a new contract could see him leave the club this summer.

Taarabt had committed himself to the Loftus Road cause earlier in the week, but his comments suggest a shift in that stance - and has also tipped the club to be relegated next season.
"I helped QPR win promotion but they will not offer me a better contract. They say I am already on big wages," Taarabt said.
"They want me to stay four years on the same terms. But I don't want to sign for four years then after one year I am going to be back in the Championship.
"No disrespect, but if we keep the same players, it will be very difficult to stay in the Premier League when you are playing Man United and Chelsea."
And he welcomed links with a move to Newcastle, who were previously rebuffed with a £5million offer, adding: "People say Newcastle will be good for me, that the fans love players like me.
"It is fantastic to play in front of 50,000 supporters every week. I do not need one of the very big clubs at this stage."

Welbeck expects United chance

Welbeck: Expects to stay at United this season

Danny Welbeck has all but ruled out a return to Sunderland by saying he has been promised the chance to prove himself at Manchester United.

Danny Welbeck has revealed Sir Alex Ferguson has promised he will be given the chance to prove he can become a Manchester United regular next season.
Like many youngsters at Old Trafford, Welbeck has been forced to wait for his big break, spending the majority of his career out on loan.
But the 20-year-old will return to United after England's European Under-21 Championship campaign with an assurance he will be able to show how much he has improved.
"The manager said I'll get decent opportunities and hopefully I'll take them and progress from there," said Welbeck, who admitted he would be forced to consider moving on if he failed to make it into Ferguson's first-team plans.
"It gets to the stage where you have to decide on your future but I'm still only 20 and looking forward to my opportunity."
Welbeck made his United debut two months short of his 18th birthday and scored on both his Premier League and FA Cup debuts.
It got even better for him when he started the 2009 Carling Cup final win over Tottenham.
But that was arguably the peak of his Old Trafford career so far and he has not played for his parent club for almost a year and a half.
Instead, he has trodden the same path as many United hopefuls before him by attempting to prove himself while on loan.
And he has largely done that, both at Preston and - last season - Sunderland.
"Going on loan really benefits you," said Welbeck, who is set to lead the line again in England's must-win European Under-21 Championship clash with the Czech Republic on Sunday.
"You learn massive amounts. It's experience you can't gain from being at United on the bench.
"I was playing with top strikers. Darren Bent was there at the start and then Asamoah Gyan came.
"I learnt a lot from Darren in training as well every day.
"It was the same with Asamoah as well and I'll always take that into my learning process."
That process continues in Denmark, where Welbeck's bid to impress Ferguson has yielded mixed fortunes.
He scored England's only goal of the tournament so far in their scrambled 1-1 draw with Spain but missed when clean through against Ukraine.
But his big problem has been a lack of support from midfield, leaving him all too often isolated up front.
"The team's not really had great possession of the ball at times so I've not really got onto the ball as much as I'd like," he said.
"We need to get on the ball a bit more, actually take control of the game and make them chase the ball more."
Head coach Stuart Pearce revealed his players may have been paralysed by nerves in their opening two draws against Spain and Ukraine, but not Welbeck.
"I don't see any need to be nervous," he said ahead of Sunday's final Group B match.
"It's different with every player but I go into every game like I'm playing at school, looking forward to getting on the pitch."
England's performances have been frustrating for their fans and also Pearce, who has nevertheless managed to keep his own temper in check.
Welbeck said: "I've not seen that side yet and don't plan on seeing it either.
"He's cool, calm and collected, lets you know his thoughts and he's really motivational, so you really know once his words are out of his mouth, it goes into your brain and stays there."
Never more so than when Pearce hauled Welbeck off after introducing him as a substitute against Greece early in his under-21 career almost two years ago.
Pearce said: "I spoke to him after the game and said that when you enter the pitch for England, you have to work harder than you did.
"He's rolled his sleeves up and his work rate is sensational and he's got goals.
"I know Fabio's a real big fan of his."
Indeed senior boss Fabio Capello handed Welbeck his first cap in March's friendly against Ghana.
The striker's debut came after he snubbed the chance to represent England's opponents, who jeered him mercilessly when he came off the bench at Wembley.
"I even had a few cousins in the stands and they said they were booing!" Welbeck joked.
"It was fine. We all had a little laugh at the end of the game.
"I've still got aunties and uncles back in Ghana and they were all really happy for me having made my debut for England so it was all sweet."

Swiss seal top spot, Danes miss out

By ESPNsoccernet staff


Iceland beat Denmark 3-1 but missed out on a place in the semi-finals of the Under-21 European Championships to Belarus on head to head record.

GettyImagesAdmir Mehmedi slots home for Switzerland.

Two goals in the space of two second-half minutes from Kolbeinn Sigthorsson and Birkir Bjarnason put the bottom of the group Icelanders (who had not scored in their first two games) in command but a header from Bashkim Kadrii with nine minutes left threatened to get the Danes back into the game.
Another goal would have sent Denmark through but Haraldur Bjornsson in the Iceland net was in inspired form to keep the scoreline down and a great run and curled shot from defender Hjortur Valgardsson put Iceland 3-1 ahead.
Switzerland made it three wins out of three as they beat Belarus 3-0 thanks to a brace from Admir Mehmedi. The first, a penalty, came after Innocent Emeghara was fouled by Oleg Veretilo after just five minutes and the second saw the striker net from just inside the box.
A late strike from Frank Feltscher from a tight angle made the table interesting, but it was of little consequence to the Swiss who had already claimed a place in the semi-finals after their first two games.
Iceland and Belarus both finished level on Goal Difference, Goals Scored and Goals Against, but went through on superior goal difference from the group matches played between the teams in question (Belarus +1, Iceland 0, Denmark -1).

Daniel Levy tells Chelsea to forget about signing Luka Modric

Tottenham Hotspur's chairman Daniel Levy says Luka Modric is not for sale. Photograph: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto

Daniel Levy has warned Chelsea that Luka Modric is not for sale "at any price" to any club, despite the midfielder indicating that he wants to move to Stamford Bridge. Modric's comments came two days after Tottenham turned down Chelsea's £22m offer, but the Spurs chairman is adamant the Croatian is staying.
In a statement which appears to leave little room for manoeuvre, Levy also took aim at Chelsea for going public with their interest in the midfielder, who is widely regarded as Tottenham's best player and has attracted interest from Manchester City and Manchester United.
"I wish to make it absolutely clear, as I have said previously, that none of our key players will be sold this summer," Levy said. "We are building a team for the future to consistently play at the highest level and retaining quality players is crucial to that.
"In respect of Luka Modric, we are not prepared to sell, at any price, to Chelsea or any other club. We made our stance on this issue abundantly clear in writing to Chelsea. They chose to ignore it and then subsequently made the offer public."
However, Chelsea denied they had leaked details of their bid for Modric on Saturday, branding Levy's claims as "nonsense".
Harry Redknapp backed his chairman's stance, but also warned Levy that Tottenham risk ridicule if Modric is sold now.
"The chairman has made a statement," the Tottenham manager told TalkSport. "He can't backtrack on that. He means that - I know he means that. Luka's not going.
"Daniel has made that statement - he can't come out and suddenly sell him. Everyone will go, 'What's the use of listening to what he says?' It's a happy thing to have a player like Luka Modric. We aren't selling him, that's what the chairman says and that's good enough for me. It's not easy to keep a player who's not happy, but the chairman has said we're not going to sell him so we've got to stand by that now. He can't be saying that and then we sell him.
"If we sell Modric where are we going as a football club? We'll have to accept that we're a middle-of-the-table team. That's not what the chairman wants. It's not what I want. It's not, most importantly, what the fans want.
"You've got to keep your best players. I don't see Liverpool wanting to sell Steven Gerrard or Chelsea wanting to sell Frank Lampard, John Terry or any of their top players. Arsenal don't want to sell [Samir] Nasri so you've got to keep your best players if you want to be successful.
"He's such a great player for us we just don't want to lose him. He's a great guy, top-class boy and obviously his head's been turned a little bit by the fact that he's wanted by all these clubs and he could probably go and get a fantastic contract.
"It's difficult but we certainly don't want to lose him. Daniel's made the statement and I'm sure he's determined to stand by what he's said."
Even so within White Hart Lane, there may be an acceptance that they will find it difficult to keep hold of Modric, who joined Tottenham from Dinamo Zagreb in 2008, now he has expressed a desire to leave. Furthermore, although Spurs reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League last season, they fell short in their attempt to qualify for next season's competition, finishing only fifth in the Premier League. Modric's ambition to experience the Champions League again is behind his wish for a transfer.
"It's a short period [your career] and you want to fulfil your personal ambitions as a football player, win trophies, play Champions League football every year," he said. "I would like to play in it this year – it's going to be difficult to play without the Champions League."
Tottenham have been in this position before. In 2006, they were unable to prevent Michael Carrick joining United for £18.6m. Two years later United came calling again, this time for Dimitar Berbatov, and after Levy initially rebuffed them, United eventually stumped up £30m for the striker.
Modric and Berbatov are viewed differently, however. Whereas Berbatov, who left for £30m, was close to being able to buy out his contract under the Webster ruling, which would have meant Tottenham losing him for next to nothing, Modric, 25, still has five years left on his contract. While Berbatov ultimately became a hindrance at the club, The player has promised he will not hand in a transfer request as he wishes to depart on good terms.
The dilemma for Tottenham is that if they do allow Modric to leave, it could spark an exodus of other key players, such as Gareth Bale, who has long been linked with Internazionale and Real Madrid. For the time being though, Levy is refusing to budge.
"For the avoidance of any doubt, let me reiterate that we shall not enter into any negotiations whatsoever, with any club, regarding Luka," he said. "We now consider this matter closed."

http://www.guardian.co.uk

Fellaini keen to move on from Everton

By ESPNsoccernet staff


Everton's Marouane Fellaini has insisted that he will move on in search of Champions League football, claiming the club are not at the right level for him.

GettyImagesMarouane Fellaini saw an ankle injury ruin his season

Fellaini, 23, cost Everton £15 million three years ago and has attracted the attention of Europe's elite with his performances for the Toffees, as Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid have all been linked. An ankle injury ruined his prospects last season, but the Belgium international is adamant that he can do better than his current surroundings.
"One thing is certain, I want to play in a team that wins trophies and play in the Champions League,'' he told Belgian media. ''Everton is a team of sub-top."
The midfielder has a contract which expires in 2013, although talks have broken down over a possible extension.

Gabby pleads with Villa fans

Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor has pleaded with disgruntled fans to give new manager Alex McLeish time to prove his ability.

Villa's decision to appoint McLeish less than a week after he quit arch-rivals Birmingham has incensed supporters.

Agbonlahor: Wants fans to give McLeish time
It is not only the 52-year-old Scot's association with Blues which has been a source of consternation - and even protest - but the perception he advocates a direct style.
Agbonlahor, 24, said: "At Birmingham his team had to play a certain way and some Villa supporters seem to be worried about that kind of style because it's not Villa's way.
"But with the talented group of attacking players he'll have at his disposal here, it will be a lot different and I'm sure that's another reason why he's taking this challenge.
"He will have a really good group of players to work with here, a strong squad and I see exciting times ahead, I really do.
"To those Villa fans who don't seem to be happy with his appointment, my message is simply to give him a chance and see what he can do.
"He'll do well here. He'll do a good job for the club."
McLeish's appointment was confirmed yesterday but the controversy it has caused seems far from over.
McLeish accepts he must win over supporters while Birmingham are also determined to maintain their legal challenge.
Blues accused Villa of tapping up McLeish earlier in the week and they insist they are entitled to compensation for the two years that were remaining on his broken contract.
A statement read: "The fact that Alex McLeish has been appointed as manager of Aston Villa does not, in any way, mean that the legal dispute is over and Birmingham City Football Club maintains its stance and shall vigorously pursue the matter.


"We are very disappointed with how the club and its fans have been treated by Mr McLeish, given the way we have supported him over the years and we are still looking into whether Aston Villa's conduct has been in line with Premier League rules.
"As the club is currently enforcing its legal right with Mr McLeish the matter is in the hands of our lawyers."
McLeish, a former Scotland and title-winning Rangers boss, suffered his second relegation with Birmingham last month but did win the Carling Cup earlier in the year.
He said: "I know that some of our fans have voiced concerns and I can understand why.
"It will be up to me to convince you that I am the right man to drive the club forward and I intend to give absolutely everything to prove that I can be a success at the club."

Toon announce Marveaux capture

Newcastle's French revolution is to continue after Alan Pardew won the battle for Rennes midfielder Sylvain Marveaux.

Marveaux: Joining Newcastle United

The 25-year-old will formally complete a Bosman free transfer move to St James' Park on July 1 after signing a five-year deal.
Marveaux had been heavily tipped to head for Liverpool this summer, although reports on Friday suggested the move had broken down because of a problem with his medical.
The former France Under-21 international has been out of action since November with a groin injury suffered during a 2-1 Ligue 1 victory over Brest.
However, the Magpies carried out their own checks and are confident that will not be an issue, and have snapped up their third close-season signing.
Pardew said: "It's a great coup to have signed Sylvain, who has received interest from a number of other clubs.
"He may not be well known to many of our fans, but he is a real talent and a player we have been keeping an eye on for some time.
"It's been a good couple of days for us on the transfer front."
Marveaux is a left-sided midfielder and the third Frenchman recruited to the Newcastle engine room in the last year or so after Hatem Ben Arfa and recent signing Yohan Cabaye.
Confirmation of his capture comes just a day after the Magpies unveiled Senegal international striker Demba Ba as their second summer arrival, following in Cabaye's wake.
His signing will help to offset the loss of skipper Kevin Nolan, who joined West Ham in a move understood to amount to £4million on Thursday, while Alan Smith has also been told he can leave.
With Joey Barton having been informed that he will not be offered a new contract, there is a school of thought which suggests he too will be sold this summer rather than be allowed to leave for free when his current deal expires in 12 months' time.
Newcastle's swoop for Marveaux has come somewhat under the radar with speculation this week linking them with the likes of Bayer Leverkusen's Tranquillo Barnetta and St Etienne's Blaise Matuidi, both players in whom they have had an interest, though it remains to be seen how strong that interest is.
However, chief scout Graham Carr has made a detailed study of the talent available in continental Europe and having achieved such success with former FC Twente midfielder Cheick Tiote last season, the Magpies will hope for a similar return from their latest acquisitions.
Pardew is also edging closer to completing a move for Swansea full-back Neil Taylor, while Ba's arrival is unlikely to end his search for strikers with Leon Best and Nile Ranger both surplus to requirements.