Beckham takes centre-stage amid Deadline Day madness

 

In a typically entertaining and frantic January transfer window, if not a spending one, there were many sagas and late deals that caught the eye.

Peter Odemwingie tried, but ultimately failed, to take his transfer into his own hands by effectively abandoning West Brom, only to be refused entry to QPR - despite Harry Redknapp showing his desire to flash the cash once again.

Tottenham's chase for a striker was unsuccessful, though north London rivals Arsenal managed to sneak a late signing in the shape of full-back Nacho Monreal, while Anzhi proved their muscle with a deal for Willian which broke the £30 million barrier.

However, there was only ever going to be one winner for the move of the window award when PSG announced that David Beckham was joining them until the end of the season - and is donating the wages from his five-month contract to charity.

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Premier League casualties pile up during week of Cup giant-killings

 

It may well be a cliche but the 'magic of the FA Cup' returned with a vengeance at the weekend as Premier League clubs far and wide found themselves dumped out of the competition by lower league opposition.

Millwall got things started on Friday night, adding to Aston Villa's woes by sending Paul Lambert's men packing with a 2-1 win at The Den.
Saturday saw yet more surprises with MK Dons thrashing QPR and non-league Luton upsetting Norwich at Carrow Road.

And Sunday saw yet more shocks with Leeds humbling Tottenham, Brentford holding European champions Chelsea and Liverpool booted out of the competition by Oldham.

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Bale too hot for Spurs as he begins escape to Madrid

 

It looks like we'll have another never-ending transfer saga on our hands soon as Gareth Bale is primed to tell Tottenham that he wants to join Real Madrid.

Goal.com revealed on Friday morning that the Wales international feels that the time to leave White Hart Lane is next summer, but Jose Mourinho will have to part with £50 million in order to land the winger.

With Luka Modric having already left for the Bernabeu in August, will Andre Villas-Boas be able to keep hold of another prized asset when the Spanish club come calling again?

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MADebayor goes from hero to villain with north London derby red

 

Emmanuel Adebayor went from hero to villain in the space of eight minutes on Saturday, with his sending-off in the north London derby kickstarting Arsenal's 5-2 comeback victory over Tottenham.

The Togo striker had handed Spurs the lead against his former side after 10 minutes, yet was quickly given his marching orders shortly afterwards following a reckless lunge on Santi Cazorla.

Down to 10 men, the floodgates opened as the Gunners romped to victory, leaving Adebayor to apologise to Tottenham fans for his moment of madness...
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Manchester United legends Giggs & Ferdinand crumble against Tottenham

 

Tottenham sent shockwaves around the Premier League on Saturday by beating Manchester United and securing their first victory at Old Trafford in 23 years.

Jan Vertonghen, Gareth Bale and Clint Dempsey got the goals as Spurs overwhelmed their hosts with blistering pace and direct running as the likes of Ryan Giggs and Rio Ferdinand showed their age.

Giggs lasted just 46 minutes before being withdrawn in favour of Wayne Rooney, while Ferdinand endured a torrid afternoon, and was arguably at fault for all three of Tottenham's goals.

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No glove lost between Friedel and Barthez

 

Brad Friedel took to Twitter on Friday to defend himself against comments made by Fabien Barthez regarding new Tottenham signing Hugo Lloris.

"He [Lloris] is faster than Friedel, he jumps higher, and he is very strong mentally," the former Manchester United man said. "What is happening now is incomprehensible, but I am not concerned. He will become the centre-piece for the club."

Exasperated by the former France shot-stopper, the American launched a counterattack on the social networking site.

"Just saw Barthez comments," Friedel wrote. "I normally don't comment on such crap, but when disrespected by someone I don't respect I must.

"Barthez was ignorant, disrespectful and out of order to mention my name."
 

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Rodgers in two minds over possible owen return

 

After Liverpool's 2-0 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday, Brendan Rodgers was left red-faced over the lack of striker options at Anfield.

The Liverpool boss conceded he wouldn't have let Andy Carroll leave on loan had he of known that no replacement would enter his squad. While on Monday, the club's principal owner, John W. Henry, released an open letter which claimed he would not pay over the odds for players.

With Michael Owen still without a club after being released by Manchester United in the summer, Rodgers may be left with no alternative now the transfer window has slammed shut.

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Tottenham jump into bed with Real Madrid

 

The summer's longest transfer saga was concluded on Monday as Luka Modric finally joined La Liga champions Real Madrid for a fee of £33.2 million.

But it was Tottenham's announcement of a partnership agreement with the Spanish club that really raised eyebrows. In an opaque description typical of tie-ups like this, Spurs said: "The partnership agreement will see the two Clubs working together in respect of players, coaching, best practices and commercial relationships."

The cynics will suggest the deal provides the north London club with a venue for an annual friendly, an opposition for Ledley King's testimonial and a high-cost destination for Gareth Bale...

But for now, enjoy Goal.com's take on Tottenham's latest coup.

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The Premier League is back!

 

It's back! After three months of having to pretend to be interested in other sports, football fans can finally relax and indulge themselves in the return of the Premier League this Saturday.

Last year's campaign was one of the most dramatic in living memory, with Manchester City snatching a maiden title victory in the dying seconds of the season.

Yet, with Robin van Persie joining Manchester United, an overhaul at Arsenal, and Brendan Rodgers seeking to kickstart his Liverpool revolution, there is one heck of a stellar cast list for 2012-13 campaign...

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Van Persie & Modric break free at last to land their dream moves

 

Two of the longest-running transfer sagas of the transfer window look to set to reach their conclusion before Saturday's Premier League kick-off, with Arsenal and Tottenham both accepting bids for Robin van Persie and Luka Modric respectively.
The Spurs midfielder's move to Real Madrid has been touted since last summer, and the Croatian is believed to be jetting out to the Spanish capital on Thursday to complete his switch to Santiago Bernanbeu.

Yet Gunners fans will no doubt find their captain's departure harder to swallow, particularly with the Dutchman joining fierce rivals Manchester United...

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Mourinho must splash the cash for Modric

 

In a transfer saga that doesn’t look like ending anytime soon, Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas has rejected Real Madrid’s latest offer for Luka Modric.
As exclusively revealed by Goal.com on Wednesday, the Spanish giants have proposed a player-plus-cash deal involving Nuri Sahin and Ricardo Carvalho plus a lump sum to convince the north Londoners to part with the influential Croatian.

However, Tottenham have turned down the offer as they look for strictly cash to fund a move for a replacement, thought to be Porto playmaker Joao Moutinho.

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Pearce stunned by Bale's miracle recovery

 

Team GB kick off their Olympic campaign against Senegal at Old Trafford, but one player who will not be present is Gareth Bale.
The Tottenham winger was initially named in Stuart Pearce's squad for London 2012, but was forced to withdraw due to continuing problems with his back.

Bale travelled with Spurs on their pre-season tour of the USA however, playing 74 minutes and scoring in the 1-1 friendly draw with LA Galaxy.

If Team GB coach Pearce was tuning in, he can be forgiven for being shocked at the sight of the Welsh star striding around in the California sun...
 

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Madrid-bound Modric ditches Spurs

 

Luka Modric looks set to finally get his move away from White Hart Lane this summer, with the Tottenham man continually linked with a switch to Real Madrid.

New boss Andre Villas-Boas has already conceded he will allow the Croatian to leave the club for the right price, but that does not seem to be enough for the 26-year-old, who is desperate to seal a switch to Santiago Bernabeu.

Instead, Modric has decided to ditch Spurs and boycott their pre-season tour of America as he looks to force his move to the Spanish capital…
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And the Oscar goes to ... Chelsea!

 

Brazilian starlet Oscar is hot property at the moment and Chelsea look to have gazumped Premier League rivals Tottenham with a £20 million bid for the talented teenager, as exclusively revealed by Goal.com.
Andre Villas-Boas had hoped to tempt the Internacional man to White Hart Lane with a £15m bid but their London rivals are now in advanced negotiations with the South American side ahead of a summer move.

The youngster has already been likened to compatriot and Real Madrid man Kaka, a man who has often been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge, but this time it seems that the Blues have got their man

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Villas-Boas first in line for Man City's summer sale

 

With Emmanuel Adebayor edging closer to a permanent move to Tottenham, Manchester City are set to complete the first sale in what is likely to be a large clear-out at Eastlands this summer.

The Premier League champions are keen on significantly shrinking their staggering wage bill by getting rid of several fringe players, with Roque Santa Cruz, Kolo Toure and Adam Johnson all tipped to leave the Etihad Stadium before the end of August.

Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas may have pounced first, but he is likely to be joined by other managers in a summer sale which could offer some real bargains.
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The Greatest Show on Earth

 

All of England was a stage and all the players merely, erm, players, but it was Roberto Mancini's Manchester City side who proved the star performers in the Premier League's most stunning piece of drama yet.

Their stoppage-time triumph to come from behind to beat QPR 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium was straight out of a brilliant script and made for astonishing theatre as Manchester United, winners at Sunderland, had the trophy snatched away at the last second.

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Wenger cooks up another stomach-churning final day for Spurs

North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham are battling alongside Newcastle for a third-place finish in the Premier League, which would secure automatic qualification to the Champions League.
The dramatic last-day chase for a spot in Europe's elite club competition brings back memories of the 2005-06 campaign, when a dodgy lasagna ruled out a number of Spurs players for their final match against West Ham - which they subsquently lost - allowing the Gunners to take advantage and claim qualification.

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Hazard is tailor-made for Manchester

 

Eden Hazard is set to be one of the hottest properties in the transfer window this summer but the Lille ace remained coy on his future when questioned on Monday evening.

Sir Alex Ferguson, Roberto Mancini and Harry Redknapp have all personally scouted the forward, while Chelsea and Arsenal also remain in the hunt for the Belgium international, who has admitted he will leave Lille for the bright lights of the Premier League at the end of the season.

But when asked whether he prefers red or blue, Hazard told Canal+: "I like both. They're both nice colors. I think they both suit me."

Where will he end up?

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Mata's 'ghost goal' spooks Spurs

 

Juan Mata scored a 'phantom goal' for Chelsea when they beat Tottenham 5-1 at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday.

The Spain international's shot didn't seem to cross the line, but referee Martin Atkinson was quick to award the goal that took the Blues 2-0 up early in the second half.

Three more strikes from Ramires, Frank Lampard and Florent Malouda followed, but it was the controversial decision to allow the second goal that had fans up in arms, with John Terry admitting after the game that he didn't think the ball had crossed the line.

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Cisse at the double as Pardew hits the jackpot

 

This time last year, Newcastle United were struggling for goals in the wake of Andy Carroll's £35 million departure to Liverpool, but 2011-12 has been a different story. It was Demba Ba who won all the plaudits in the first part of the season, but January changed all that, as a certain Senegalese striker named Papiss Cisse arrived at St James' Park from Freiburg for a significantly lesser fee than was received for the much-derided England striker.

And Cisse hasn't looked back since, scoring the winner on his debut against Aston Villa. While Ba has struggled to replicate his early form following the Africa Cup of Nations, his countryman has continued to rake in the goals. His most recent double against Swansea meant he has now scored more than once a game - nine in eight matches - delighting manager Alan Pardew and leaving Harry Redknapp and Arsene Wenger to ponder what could have been ...
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