Former Crystal Palace player and coach John Salako has heaped praise on manager Roy Hodgson for providing the stability at Selhurst Park. The former England manager was recruited by the south London side last season when they were without a point or goal after the opening four matches but he managed to transform their fortunes as they finished 11th on the table with 44 points.
It is a decade this weekend since Sheikh Mansour took over the ownership of Premier League champions Manchester City. It has been real transformation since then for The Cityzens.
Bristol City have been linked with a move for experienced winger Aiden McGeady, as per reports. The player is set to exit his current club Sunderland after they were relegated to the League One. Sunderland are set to make further changes after their fall from grace to grass. They left the top flight and could not cope in the stressful Championship. Even former Wales manager Chris Coleman could not stop the bleeding.
The captain of Togo national team, Emmanuel Adebayor has joined the last season Turkish Super League runners-up, MedipolBasaksehir of Istanbul, who suddenly outburst as the league contenders last season and ultimately ended as the first runners-up, just four points behind the champions, Besiktas.
It was announced by the club through their official Instagram page that the former Arsenal, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Tottenham Hotspurs and Crystal Palace striker was joining, by posting a picture of the Togolese undergoing a medical.
The chairman of the club, Mustafa Seral announced to the news agencies that the 33-year old forward was signing on a one and a half year deal which will see his contract till 30th of June, 2018 and will see him making a “major contribution” to his side while financial details remain undisclosed.
Adebayorhad been a free agent since departing Crystal Palace at the end of last year. He however skippered Togo at the Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon where the country exited at the group stage after losing to DR Congo in 3-1 defeat. (more…)
Arsenal have unveiled their latest acquisition Alexandre Lacazette after years of chasing the now former Lyon striker.
The Premier League side have taken a massive show of commitment towards rebuilding the side after reaching new lows last term.
Arsene Wenger is expected to tie up outstanding deals and get set for the pre-season in a time where many expect more. Wenger seems to have gotten his replacement after the exit of Robin van Persie. Since the exit of the Dutchman, Arsenal have managed other strikers but none was quite at that level.
Wenger chased Luis Suarez but it ended in the Merseyside club laughing out and being embarrassed at the £40 million and £1 bid. The hunt for Gonzalo Higuain, Alvaro Morata, KarimBenzema and EdinsonCavani all ended futile.
Through the wait, Lukas Podolski, Olivier Giroud, YayaSanogo, Danny Welbeck and recently Lucas Perez have played in the role that used to have marquee signings. Welbeck is the likely one that would remain past this summer to help Lacazette settle down in his new role.
Podolski and Sanogo are out. Giroud seems headed for West Ham, Everton or Lyon as he would want where he can get regular football ahead of the 2018 World Cup. Perez has not repaid the faith in him after Wenger splashed £17 million last summer so he seems headed back to Spain. (more…)
The Brazil national team is progressing well according to their coach Tite. He believes that the national team has put the disappointment of the last World Cup behind them and that they are playing again as a team that can win trophies.
Indeed they have become the first country to qualify on the pitch for the next World Cup in Russia, and they are back at the top of the FIFA World Rankings after an absence of 7 years. There are signs that the squad is developing well and that they may become one of the favorites of the next World Cup.
Tite said that he inherited a team that lacks confidence and that was humiliated from the defeat against Germany. He said that he had to work really hard to rebuild the team and build a good team spirit within the team.
He believes that he has succeeded in his job and this why the team has been playing so well in recent games. He said that the current team does not rely on a single player only and that they play as a team. (more…)
Former Premier League striker Emmanuel Adebayor has taken his goalscoring prowess to Turkey.
Adebayor hoped to get a contract with a Premier League outfit but he could not. He had to move to Turkey as a free agent as he opted to continue playing professional football.
The 33-year old former Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur striker was released by Crystal Palace at the end of last season. He was rumoured to be on his way to France to play for Lyon during the summer but the deal failed to materialize. (more…)
Despite his tribulations at club level, it will not stop Emmanuel Adebayor, former Crystal Palace player, from captaining Togo this month to the African Cup of Nations.
The 32-year old, who has previously played for notable teams such as Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester City and Real Madrid, amongst a few others, had posted a picture to his Snapchat. The picture was captioned: ‘Tea Time, Have a Nice Day #TeamSea’.
Currently, the squad members of the Togo side are in Saly, Senegal where they are undergoing training. Later, they would be heading into Gabon for the AFCON tournament.
Since 2000, Adebayor has played for the national team and has now been rewarded with the captain position. This is despite his lack of playing time this season.
Since the season, the striker has spent more time in his home country as he looks forward to being signed in by a club. However, no Premier League sides have shown interest in him. (more…)
Emmanuel Adebayor has criticized French team Lyon before saying that they did not sign him because of his intention to participate in the Africa Cup of Nations.
He said that Lyon should know that he is the captain of the Togo team and that he will be naturally be playing at the African Cup of Nations. He believes that the club did not have any intention of signing the player and that they are just using this as an excuse.
Emmanuel Adebayor said that he was frustrated with the questions asked by the coach. He said that instead of focusing on how he could help the team the coach was asking him questions about his personal life.
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Some big accusations have been brought against Togo boss Claude LeRoy, but, his employer Togo association is not leaving him alone in the crisis and has stood firmly by him.
The matter is in court and amidst the arguments and cross arguments, the 68-year old is on the back-foot.
His lawyer tried his hardest to convince the jury in the last hearing that the mishandling in the deals occurred because his client did not have the proper idea of legal system and he did not realize that he was not taking care of the legality of the deals.
But, it did not seem to be a strong enough argument for the jury to tilt in the favour of LeRoy.
The prosecution, on the other hand, insisted that everything was deliberate as LeRoy ensured the third parties involved in the deals got the maximum benefits.
Apart from LeRoy, another man who is under the microscope is Patrick Proisy who was the chairman of Strasbourg at the time the transfers in question took place.
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