O Roberto, why?

Goodbye Roberto. Thanks for bringing your sultry Italian looks and your beautiful football to the normally dull Chelsea side.

I am afraid 4 league games without a win and probably (but not definitely) being knocked out of Europe was too much for Roman Abramovich and his many Rubles.

So, what can we make of Di Matteo’s dismissal after last night’s 3-0 trouncing by the Old Lady Juventus? Well, harsh would be an understatement, despite their quite rocky recent form, Chelsea probably were playing the best football of any club in England this season. In fact, had it not been for some decidedly iffy calls against Manchester United a few weeks ago, they might still be sitting pretty at the top of the league.

What this does show us is the lack of faith the owner had in the former West Brom manager. Despite the fact that he won them their first European crown last season, one always got the feeling that the re-signing of Di Matteo was more due to the lack of other options as opposed to true faith in the manager. It is no secret that the Blues have been sniffing around former Barca boss Pep Gaurdiola for months and perhaps Roberto was always working on borrowed time.

So the question is, why fire him now? After all,  Gaurdiola has stated on numerous occasions that he wants to take a year off to “find himself” in New York City – the reason they weren’t able to nab him in the summer. If you plan on waiting for him (which seems to be the general consensus), is it really wise to bring an interim manager in now? What is this person – likely to be Rafa “facts” Benitez – going to be able to do in less than a season? Who would want this job knowing that Senor Pep is waiting to take your place next year? And is there really anyone better out there? (Sorry Rafa)

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Tottenham’s midfielder Scott Parker who was recently voted England Player of the Year by fans will captain England in their friendly against the Netherlands at Wembley on Wednesday.

Interim England manager Stuart Pearce selected Parker ahead of contenders like Steven Gerrard of Liverpool and Manchester City‘s James Milner and Joe Hart.

Parker, 31, has won 10 caps since his debut in November 2003 and featured in seven of England’s nine games in 2011 and is renowned for his energy and stamina on the field.

Between 2003 and 2010, he won three international caps while playing for three different clubs – Charlton, Chelsea and Newcastle. Parker has been instrumental in the rise of Tottenham to third place in the Premier League.

At a pre-match news conference on Tuesday, Pearce had declined to reveal his captain and only said that he would inform his players of his decision on Wednesday morning. He then continued to outline the qualities an England captain should possess.

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English Premier League football club Manchester City are looking to expand its brand presence into Japan by having recruited a firm to build a local mobile website in the country.

The deal will give mobile development company, MLJ, the rights to create the club’s official mobile site for Japan’s i-Mode mobile Web. i-Mode is supported by the majority of devices in the Asian country. The site will be similar to the club’s official website, with visitors having access to club information, merchandise, scores and fixtures. There will also be an opprtunity to purchase tickets for those who are willing to travel the 5,000 miles to watch the club in action at the City of Manchester Stadium.

Ian Cafferky, chief brand & commercial officer for Manchester City, commented that “This deal marks another chapter in the club’s digital strategy to engage with our international fan base, bringing supporters as close as possible to the match-day experience, through greater interaction online and on mobile.”

Man City is emerging as a digital pioneer in the world of Premier Football having been the first English team to agree a content agreement with YouTube, where it became one of the earliest professional channels. Man City also experimented with twitter, displaying fans’ tweets on the big screen in the stadium.

The club’s on-field activities are stronger than ever after being taken over by the Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008.

Source: The Next Web

Tottenham Hotspur manager, Harry Redknapp, has been cleared on Wednesday by a court in London of tax evasion charges after a long investigation into allegations of financial corruption in British football.

Redknapp, who is tipped to be the next England team manager, was charged with cheating the public revenue in relation to payments totalling $295, 000 made to his bank account in Monaco during his time as manager of Portsmouth.

After hearing the verdict, Redknapp who had to fight back tears of relief, said that the strain of the investigation had been “horrendous”.

Since being cleared, Redknapp applauded the Tottenham directors and supporters for backing both him and former Portsmouth chairman Milan Mandaric. ”I have to thank the fans, especially, the fans of Tottenham. The other night, the Wigan game, was the most moving I’ve ever felt for me personally to have them singing my name throughout the game,” he said.

The verdict clears the way for Redknapp to replace Fabio Capello as manager of the England team when the Euro 2012 tournament comes to an end this summer when the Italian is due to step down. Capello’s imminent replacement comes after clashes between him and the Football Association who recently stripped John Derry of his English captaincy.

The tax authorities have defended their actions stating that, ”We’ve no regrets about pursuing this case because it was vitally important that the facts were put before the jury for their consideration,” said Chris Martin, Assistant Director of Criminal Investigations at HM Revenue and Customs.

Source: Reuters

Chelsea defender John Terry has been stripped of his England captaincy by the Football’s Association chairman, David Bernstein. Bernstein delivered the news to the player in a phone call on Friday morning.

This is the second time that Terry has been stripped of his title as captain for off-pitch reasons. In this case Terry faces charges for his alleged racist remarks against Queens Park Rangers player Anton Ferdinand, the trial for which has now been scheduled for the 9th July so as not to interfere with this summer’s European Championships.

Because the Euro 2012 takes place a week before the trial date it is possible that Terry could captain the national side during the championship. However, Anti-racist campaigners have displayed disapproval of allowing a man accused of racism to lead his country a sporting event. Piara Power, executive director of Football Against Racism in Europe said that ”The seriousness of the allegations mean that he can’t lead the nation. The FA must do the right thing.”

England manager, Fabio Capello, who is currently out of the country and will be returning to watch a Premier League game tomorrow, had selected Terry for the matches against Spain and Sweden last November despite the allegations.

Since the criminal charge was announced in December 2011, Terry has consistently denied that he ever racially abused the QPR defender saying that “I will fight tooth and nail to prove my innocence. I have campaigned against racism and believe there is no place for it in society.”

Terry was first stripped of his England captaincy by Capello when it was revealed that the defender was having an affair with his team mate and friend Wayne Bridges’s wife. Capello felt it was best for the squad that he not lead them as captain.

Source: The Guardian

19-year-old German midfielder, Thomas Eisfeld, was in London recently with his agent Reza Fazeli negotiating a switch to Arsenal FC. The premier league team are closing in on signing the Borussia Dortmund player for around  £400, 000.

Eisfeld, who is a product of Dortmund’s academy and has found his path to the first team blocked by the likes of German sensation Mario Gotze, is set to to complete a move to Arsenal in the next 24 hours if he passes what is expected to be a stringent medical examination. The young player’s development has been held back by a knee injury when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in 2009. It’s is no surprise then that Eisfield will have to prove his fitness at the club’s London Colney training ground.

Arsenal, who are likely to have to pay a compensation fee of around £400,000 to Dortmund for developing Eisfeld , have taken advantage of the young player’s availability as he will be out of a contract in summer.

Had he chosen to remain in Germany, Eisfeld would have faced strong competition for a place, with the Bundesliga champions having signed midfielders Moritz Leitner, Leonardo Bittencourt and Mustafa Amini over the course of the last 12 months.

Source: Goal.com

Queens Park Rangers Football Club has sacked its manager Neil Warnock on Sunday after the team has been left without a victory in their last eight Premier League matches and on the very edge of the relegation zone.

Warnock, who was appointed in March 2010 and won 33 of his 84 matches while in charge, has guided the West London club back to the Premier League for the first time in 15 years last season.

QPR owner, Malaysian Tony Fernandes commented in a club statement that the board felt it was the right time to make a serious change as recent poor form has seen the team slip down the table. Fernandes continued to say that “Neil Warnock has acted with honesty, professionalism and integrity throughout his time at the club and I would personally like to thank him for his significant contribution to Queens Park Rangers over the last 22 months.”

Philip Beard, Chief executive, told Sky Sports television that staying in the Premier League was key to the club’s ambitions and that they would move as quickly as possible to appoint a new manager.

In total, QPR have only won four of their 20 League matches with only one victory at Loftus Road, when they beat Chelsea 1-0 in October.

QPR said assistant manager Mick Jones and first team coach Keith Curle had left with Warnock.

Source: Supersport