Football Soccer Football Soccer Football Soccer

[D-MiZe]

can you link me?

Too many links to show you!

But we've got Sky Sports fantasy league, but there is going to be another league from the Guardian probably and others.

There will also be leagues for Europa and Champions League.

[Texanballer]

On a side note, does England produce good keepers these days? All the big teams in the epl have keepers outside england.

[Toney Loc]

DM was my position.

I've got a good kick and good vision, able to pick out good passes. But I can still defend well.

But DM really depends on the team you're playing in, whether they actually consider you.

But the best DM I've seen in the past few years is Owen Hargreaves. Did amazing in the World Cup for England, has been injured for United though. But he's a solid player.

Might not be that much highlight videos of him though...

Any highlight videos on you?
That's true though, I feel like I got good passing and a good sense of where I'm at, but I do lack a good kick and I'm still a defender at heart.

[D-MiZe]

Any highlight videos on you?
That's true though, I feel like I got good passing and a good sense of where I'm at, but I do lack a good kick and I'm still a defender at heart.

DM is the big link between defense and midfield.

You should have the pass of a midfielder, but the defensive skills of a defender. When I played in DM I ventured a lot, I'd always run up when attacks were on, I'd be in the box for corners and free kicks.

But then I would always be back in our box to defend, sometimes on the line, because I'm quite tall.

In some respects it's more demanding than just midfield.

But you always feel good when you get a crucial goal!

[D-MiZe]

On a side note, does England produce good keepers these days? All the big teams in the epl have keepers outside england.

Our keepers are ****.

We have David James, before that Paul Robinson.

Robinson was a sound keeper until he made that big **** up, but James has been on form recently.

[Toney Loc]

DM is the big link between defense and midfield.

You should have the pass of a midfielder, but the defensive skills of a defender. When I played in DM I ventured a lot, I'd always run up when attacks were on, I'd be in the box for corners and free kicks.

But then I would always be back in our box to defend, sometimes on the line, because I'm quite tall.

In some respects it's more demanding than just midfield.

But you always feel good when you get a crucial goal!

Excellent assesment, demise. Thanks for this.

[D-MiZe]

WAR JUVE

Arsenal have lost out in their bid to sign Felipe Melo from Fiorentina, with the Brazil midfielder opting to sign for Juventus instead.

Juventus have paid 20.5m euros (£17.6m), plus winger Marco Marchionni.

"I believe a lot in this side. It has been reinforced and can rival any team," said the 26-year-old Melo.

Fiorentina had said they would be interested in selling Melo to Arsenal if they received full-back Emmanuel Eboue in return.

[D-MiZe]

Savino, Lescott is staying!

Everton have turned down an offer from Manchester City for Joleon Lescott.

City tabled the bid, understood to be £15m, for the 26-year-old defender as they hope to pair him with England and Chelsea captain John Terry.

But Everton backed up manager David Moyes' declaration that he will not sell his high-profile players by rejecting the offer out of hand.

And it may be down to Lescott to force the issue if he wishes to join City's other expensive summer signings.

Moyes assured shareholders at a forum at Goodison Park on Wednesday that none of his players are for sale.

He said: "I have already said there will be no players sold at Everton and I do not feel I need to say any more.

"The board have never sold a player from me, it will only be at my discretion. I said it at the end of the season and I do not need to say any more."

Chairman Bill Kenwright supported his manager, adding: "There is no pressure on David to sell anyone. Any decisions are his and his alone."

Chief executive Robert Elstone said: "As a club, we have publicly stated - as recently as Wednesday night - that we do not intend selling any players.

"David Moyes' primary focus is on building a squad so that we can continue to compete effectively in what is the most competitive League in world football."

Lescott has had three successful seasons at Everton since joining from Wolves in a £5m deal but City are homing in on him as their next big-money buy after landing midfielder Gareth Barry from Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers striker Roque Santa Cruz and £25.5m Carlos Tevez.

Moyes, backed by Kenwright, is ready to block any offer and the crucial move may lie with Lescott and whether he prefers the greater riches on offer at Eastlands.

Moyes will also be reluctant to weaken further in central defence, with Lescott's fellow England international Phil Jagielka not expected to return until November after knee surgery.

[D-MiZe]

Barcelona and Inter Milan have started negotiations over a swap deal involving Barca striker Samuel Eto'o and Inter forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Reports suggest Barca will pay about £35m plus Eto'o, 28, for Ibrahimovic, 27, as well as sending Alex Hleb on loan for a season to the Italian club.

Inter president Massimo Moratti told his club's website that he had held talks with counterpart Joan Laporta.

"We will see if it is possible to enter both players in a deal," said Moratti.

Eto'o came close to agreeing a move to Manchester City, before the Eastlands side ended their pursuit on 10 July.

The 28-year-old Cameroon international has scored more than 100 goals in five seasons at the Nou Camp but has been regularly linked with moves away from the club and is out of contract next summer.

Since signing for Inter from Juventus following the Turin side's demotion to Serie B in 2006, 27-year-old Ibrahimovic has become one of the most prized strikers in Europe.

The Swede was top scorer in Serie A last season and has reportedly attracted attention from Real Madrid and Manchester United as well as European champions Barca.

"It was interesting for them to know something about Ibrahimovic, and talk about Eto'o, two players of the same quality," said Moratti.

"If an operation of this kind was carried out, it would regard both players."

Inter and Barcelona have done business once already this summer with Brazilian left-back Maxwell moving to Spain in a £3.9m deal.

If Inter actually agree to this....

[D-MiZe]

Manchester United's Owen Hargreaves is likely to return to action in September, says boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

The 28-year-old midfielder has not played since the start of last season following two operations to cure a tendinitis problem in both knees.

He was ruled out of the current Asian tour but could join the squad for the Audi Cup in Germany in two weeks.

"We are happy with his rehabilitation and while he won't be ready to play in Munich, he will train," Ferguson said.

"I think we are looking at the end of September depending on how he reacts."

A 22-man United squad arrived in Malaysia in Friday ahead of their Far East tour - a trip which has had to exclude Monday's planned match in Indonesia following a bomb attack on the Jakarta hotel they were going to stay in.

Hargreaves will be desperate to reignite his United career, having only started 25 times since a £17m move from Bayern Munich in July 2007.

It has been a frustrating spell at Old Trafford for the Canadian-born midfielder, who last played for United in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea on 21 September 2008.

Hargreaves had surgery on his right knee last November and on his left knee in January, with the procedures carried out under the guidance of American knee surgeon Richard Steadman.

The leading surgeon has previously operated on Alan Shearer, new signing Michael Owen and former Reds striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who is now at Real Madrid.

Hargreaves' rehabilitation has had to be a long and delicate process, with BBC Sport revealing in June that he could be forced to quit top-level football in the next two years if the chronic knee problem were to persist.

His condition, patellar tendinitis, can be described as inflammation of the tendon that attaches the quadriceps (thigh muscle) to the tibia (shin bone).

Hargreaves will be joined in Germany at the end of the month by centre-half Nemanja Vidic and summer signing Antonio Valencia, who have also missed the trip to Malaysia, South Korea and China.

Vidic has not fully recovered from an ankle injury he picked up playing for Serbia last month, while winger Valencia - seen as a replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo - needed to go back to Ecuador to gain a UK visa following his move from Wigan.

Ferguson also revealed that new signing defender Gabriel Obertan would miss the first three months of the season with an injury which was already known about when he signed from Bordeaux.

Four days after stating that United would not be taking on any new players, Ferguson said on Friday that they had secured the services of striker Mame Biram Diouf from Molde.

The 21-year-old is due to attend a medical in Manchester next week and will be loaned back to the Norwegian club until January.

Ferguson, speaking in Kuala Lumpur ahead of their first tour match on Saturday against a Malaysia XI, said: "We've been looking at him for two years.

"We weren't intending on signing anyone else - we feel we have a full squad - but the situation accelerated to a point where other clubs started to make bids. We decided to act and he'll be the last person we sign."

Thank fuck!

Been waiting too long for this guy to get back, for United and England.