R.I.P. Sir Bobby Robson

Alonso Hands In Transfer Request

Sky Sports is reporting that Xabi Alonso has handed in a transfer request following weeks of speculation about his future.

Liverpool have told Real Madrid that they want £30m for Alonso, but Real will not meet that valuation; however Alonso's transfer request will likely move Liverpool a little on the price.

Yesterday Álvaro Arbeloa moved to Real Madrid signing a five-year deal with Liverpool receiving a £3.5m fee. Now that that business is concluded Real will be certain to open negotiations for Alonso.

Liverpool's pre-season plans will now hinge upon how this saga plays out. Glen Johnson is the only notable new-comer to Anfield and with Mascherano, Babel Dossena all linked with the exit door, Benitez has a tough time ahead ensuring he has a squad willing and capable of challenging for the Premier League in the forthcoming season.

It Begins...

Following up on the news that fantasy football is back for the 09/10 season, and as we all eagerly anticipate something to watch other than cricket, I am happy to announce the formation of the Football Banter Fantasy football league at fantasy premier league

The league number is: 576876-127049

It's open to all and is completely free - you've got til August 15th to get your team in, I know I'm a bit early so I've just done an auto-pick for now (the Yak and Jo currently up front...) - but I thought it was better to tell people earlier than later, and feel free to invite people with that code

The league is a 'classic' format, where your team scores points and whoever gets the most points over a season wins - the alternative is a 'head-to-head' format, which they introduced last year, where 20 teams play 'matches' against each other across the season, I don't like this format as it is mostly based on luck, as you have absolutely no control over how many points you concede - but if people want to play one of those as well then I'll set one of those up too

I have also set up a 'I know the score' tipping competition for us - It's a pretty decent tipping system, you can use the same account to log in to that as well - just follow the link when you're there

The code for tipping is FC32D-AEO

Good luck

Notts County Target A Director Of Football..

In a story I am sure very few people ever though they would read, but I see that Sven-Goran Eriksson is in talks to become the director of football at League Two club Notts County. Current Manager Ian McParland will stay on as manager.

Founded in 1862 Notts County are the world’s oldest football club, and were recently taken over by one of those mysterious “Middle Eastern Consortiums”. County struggled in League Two but survived relegation out of the Football League.

Sven had been linked with roles with the Swedish National Team and Portsmouth, who have now confirmed Paul Hart as manager so that is unlikely now unless they too are in the Market for a Director of Football.

Sven received a nice pay day from Mexico earlier in the year when they terminated his contract, and has been unemployed ever since. The release fee of around £2m is Sven’s third Seven-figure pay-off in the past three years, with £3m coming from England and a further £1m from Man City.

Update: 22-Jul-09: The deal is done

Good News!

I don't know how Dan feels about this but the Premier League Fantasy Football game is back! Yay

For those that don't know, this is the official game and it's pretty good - it's also free, which means the prizes aren't as good, but frankly I've played things like the Telegraph and the Sun ones and they're rubbish

I therefore propose a Footie Banter league, I'll be looking to sort it out by the start of August, but you can set your team up any time between now and the start of the season, obviously watch out for the transfers up til then

Adebayor - £25m Fee Agreed!

The Mail says that Arsenal have accepted a £25m fee for Emmanuel Adebayor from Man City as Mark Hughes continues his summer spending spree.

It looks like Carlos Tevez will sign for City today for a similar fee.

It's going to be a crowded bench at Man City next Season, here are their recognised forwards:

Valeri Bojinov
Robinho
Roque Santa Cruz
Felipe Caicedo
Ched Evans
Benjani
Craig Bellamy
Shaun Wright-Phillips

Carlos Tevez
Emmanuel Adebayor

And Man City have also been linked with Samuel Eto'o!

This is surely the craziest transfer window of all time.

Alonso To Leave Liverpool?

The Times is saying that Rafa Benitez will permit Xabi Alonso to leave Liverpool if he hands in a transfer request. They report that Alonso has stated to Benitez that he would like to leave but has not handed in a transfer request.

As such it is now unlikely that Alonso will be on Liverpool’s pre-season tour in Asia which may allow for the transfer to be completed with time to re-invest the transfer fee which could eclipse £30m if Real are still tempted.

Alonso was in good form for Liverpool last season and his absence will be felt in midfield especially having lost out to Man City who swooped early for Gareth Barry.

Transfer Rumour Mill

SkySports is speculating that Patrick Viera may be in line for a move to Birmingham

The Times is saying that Sunderland have made an £11m bid for Peter Crouch which is being considered by Portsmouth.

Newcastle’s Sebastien Bassong is quoted by ITV as revelling himself to be a target for Arsenal.

The Mirror says that Sir Alex Ferguson is weighing up an unlikely move for Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The Sun says Barcelona will make a £40m move for Cesc Fabregas, but only if they can sell Samuel Eto’o to Man City for mega-bucks first.

Enjoy!

Owen to United

It would *appear* that Michael Owen is set for a spell at Old Trafford

Who guessed that one? Show of hands please

Whatever happened to that animosity between United and Liverpool? Clearly it only works one way in Fergie's eyes

Wikio Top 20 Sports Blogs For July

I am happy to say that he good people at Wikio.co.uk have provided me with the sneak preview of the Top 20 list for Sports blogs again this month, and here they are…

1. Arseblog

2. Gunnerblog

3. BBC Football Blog

4. West Ham ‘till I Die

5. The Times – Line and Length

6. F1 Fanatic

7. Soccer Lens

8. GoodPlaya

9. BlogF1

10. F1 Minute

11. The Times – Formula One Blog

12. Football Banter

13. King Cricket

14. Off The Post

15. Arsenal Insider

16. 4Sportsake.com

17. East Lower

18. The Corridor (A Cricket Blog)

19. Sofa F1

20. The Cannon

Congratulations to everyone!

The official lists will be updated on the Wikio site in the next few days.