Tying Ronald Koeman down to a new contract must be Southampton s number one priority in the close-season, according to club legend Matt Le Tissier.
Koeman has impressed since taking over from Mauricio Pochettino ahead of the 2014-15 campaign, with the Saints still in with a chance of qualifying for the Europa League for the second season in a row.
The Dutchman s current deal expires in a little over 12 months time, with chairman Ralph Krueger saying earlier this month that talks over fresh terms were progressing well.
And Le Tissier has urged the St Mary s hierarchy to finalise those negotiations sooner rather than later.
He told the Daily Echo: The number one priority for me is to tie the manager down on a new contract.
I hope we get an anno…
Andrei Arshavin was planning to use dirty tactics to convince his club, Zenit St Petersburg to let him join Tottenham for a reasonable transfer fee, but it has now emerged that the player s action has only decreased the possibility that his club will sell him to Tottenham.
Unlike most football teams around the world, Zenit refuse to be bullied around by their own players. In a report in The Independent, the player s agent describes the relation between Zenit and Arshavin:
This is the Russian way. Nothing will change because this is the old Soviet Union way. For the Russian sports establishment the desires of a player mean absolutely nothing. They are the big bosses. It is a dictatorship. He is a slave.
Tottenham had hoped to buy Arshavin for about £19 …
What is it that means whatever happens, we all have no time for the referee? I’m sure they are not bad people and they make it possible for all of us football lovers to play and watch the game. Without them, there would be no football.
They work hard all week and then take to the field in order to try to officiate in a game that is played and watched with a great deal of passion.
At the lower levels of grassroots football referees are subject to verbal and sometimes physical attacks from players, spectators and parents.
At the top level the possibility of physical assault is reduced but the verbal abuse is multiplied greatly. The fans and players are constantly moaning at the referee and accusing him of not knowing the rules or being biased tow…
Competition: Premier League
Market: Manchester United to beat Newcastle
Odds:
The Premier League continues this weekend with yet another enthralling rounds of games that will surely only see more excitement. The teams in both the top and bottom half of the table are separated by so few points that a single win can often see a side rise a number of places. With this in mind, Manchester United travel to face Newcastle on Sunday.
Newcastle have been struggling massively this season and they desperately need to win their next game or they could sink into the relegation zone by the end of the weekend. After 26 games they have won six, drawn seven and lost 13, scoring 24 times and conceding 36 goals. In their last five they have won just one game, wh…
Vincent Kompany hailed Manchester City s work rate in difficult conditions as they swept aside Basel 4-0 in the Champions League.
Kompany – playing his first game in the competition since injury curtailed his participation in the 2016 semi-final at Real Madrid – and centre-back partner Nicolas Otamendi endured some nervy moments early on in the last-16 tie against livewire forward Dimitri Oberlin.
But after Ilkay Gundogan converted Kevin De Bruyne s 14th-minute corner, the Premier League leaders shifted majestically through the gears, as Bernardo Silva and Sergio Aguero caught out Basel goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik with fine finishes.
Gundogan added a sublime second after half-time, but Kompany s attention turned back towards the foundation City set when it was no…
Dinamo Zagreb have not received any offers for in-demand Croatia international Marcelo Brozovic, according to the club s vice-president.
The 21-year-old midfielder featured for his country at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil and has been linked with a host of clubs around Europe.
Premier League side Tottenham are reported to be keen on Brozovic, while Sevilla are also said to have an interest as they look to replace Barcelona-bound Ivan Rakitic.
Brozovic moved to Dinamo on a seven-year deal in 2012 and, according to vice-president Zdravko Mamic, the player is not set the subject of any offers from elsewhere.
Currently there are no offers for him, he told Croatian TV programme Sport nedjeljom.
A long time ago Inter offered €4 million but we said…
Norwich striker Grant Holt has hit out at the England national set-up, and believes he should have been called up to the squad last season.
The 31-year-old, who scored 15 goals for Norwich City in 2011/12 on their return to the Premier League, had been touted for an inclusion by Roy Hodgson, yet the England boss overlooked the forward.
Holt has since suggested the oversight is because he does not play for a fashionable club, citing Southampton s Rickie Lambert as another player overlooked at international level despite his good form domestically.
It bugs me, Holt told the Daily Telegraph. I should have been there in the summer; if not the Euros, I should definitely have had the chance in the two friendlies before.
It bugs me when a squad is called and I…
There has been plenty of discussion on the subject of Liverpool s midfield options, with many believing another signing in that department would be the right way to go. Sporting Lisbon s Matheus Nunes has been mentioned recently.
The situation has gotten worse with a hamstring strain picked up in the Premier League opener against Fulham set to keep Thiago Alcantara out of action for up to six weeks, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Curtis Jones picked up their injuries before the season had even started.
However, speaking to the press ahead of his team s clash with Crystal Palace on Monday, manager Jurgen Klopp said that turning to the transfer market was only one amid a number of possibilities of tackling the issue.
I m happy with the strength side and qualit…
Barcelona head coach Xavi asked the fans for patience after his side were held to a goalless draw against Rayo Vallecano in the opening match of their LaLiga campaign.
The hosts dominated possession but were wasteful in the final third, hitting the target with just six of their 21 attempts on goal , though they did see two efforts chalked off by the linesman s flag.
It extends Barcelona s barren streak in LaLiga to three games without a goal or win, stretching back to the end of last season – the first time the club have had such a sequence since October 2003.
After weeks of uncertainty, the club were able to register new recruits Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie, all of whom made their debuts in the draw, but the tame perfo…
Cameron Jerome has committed his future to Norwich City by signing a new three-year deal with the club.
The 29-year-old was signed from Stoke City in August 2014 and scored 21 goals in his debut season at Carrow Road, helping Norwich win promotion to the Premier League in the process.
However, Cameron couldn t help Alex Neill s side avoid relegation back to the Championship at the end of the 2015-16 campaign.
With his contract situation sorted,
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Jerome who has also played for Birmingham City, Cardiff City and Crystal Palace is now focused on securing an immediate return to the top tier.
It s nice to get this deal over the line early on so I can come back fully focused for next season, he said.
Within a couple of weeks o…