Everyone who watches football remembers at least one game they wish they could erase from memory, one match which was so bad that it made you want to give up watching the sport completely. These are some of those games … games which redefined the word “boring” and put a time and date on it for future reference. England 0-0 Costa Rica, June 2014 England’s dismal World Cup in Brazil finished with an absolutely appalling game of football against Costa Rica, the last game of the group stage. England had already been eliminated from the tournament after 2-1 defeats to…
Author: Tom Burford
http://gty.im/477316938 West Ham’s move for Carl Jenkinson is edging ever close to completion after the England U-21 international snubbed a move to the north-east. Sunderland and Arsenal had agreed terms for a £2m loan deal, but it’s evident that Jenkinson enjoyed his time in East London and now looks set for a return in the club’s final year at Upton Park. It was the first season that Jenkinson had played a major first team role after breaking through Arsenal’s youth set-up, as signings such as Hector Bellerin and Callum Chambers slowly moved him down the pecking order at The Emirates.…
http://gty.im/466503214 The full list of fixtures for the 2015/2016 season in the Premier League and Football League were announced this morning at 9am. It’s an interesting opening day in the Premiership, with 2 promoted clubs (Bournemouth & Norwich) being handed home ties, Watford travel to Everton. Slaven Bilic will be given baptism of fire to Premier League management at the Emirates when he takes charge of West Ham for their first league game. Champions Chelsea host Swansea City. We only have to wait one week for a big moment in the title race as Manchester City entertain Chelsea on 15th…
http://gty.im/476543706 Sources close to West Ham United have been reporting this week that the club are moving closer to a deal for Marseille attacking midfielder Dimitri Payet. It is thus far unclear if West Ham have met the asking price of £12m for the Frenchman, many claiming that Marseille have set the cost too high for the 28 year old. There is no doubting his quality though, providing 7 goals and an astonishing 21 assists for Les Olympiens last term, but the Hammers have to ask themselves if this is too much to pay for a player of his years?…
http://gty.im/474792990 Everton look set to complete a deal to sign young Barcelona right-winger Gerard Deulofeu for a fee of around £3m. Everton fans should hold fond memories of Deulofeu, who completed a short loan deal with the club in 2013/14 making 11 starts and scoring 4 goals, including a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw against Arsenal at the Emirates. A deal was in the pipeline for a permanent transfer to Everton at the start of last season. But a decision was made by the Catalan club to loan him out for another year, on this occasion to fellow La…
http://gty.im/452553850 Talks are currently taking place between Arsenal right-back Carl Jenkinson’s representatives and West Ham over a possible renewing of his 1 year loan deal. Jenkinson had a terrific season at the Boleyn Ground last season, and will be warmly welcomed back by everyone connected with the club. Jenkinson had begun to fall down the pecking order at Arsenal after the signings of Mathieu Debuchy and Hector Bellerin, and with major international tournaments around the corner, Jenkinson will want to make sure he has regular first team football. West Ham are also looking to bolster their attacking options with reports…
http://gty.im/473629864 West Ham have completed their first piece of business since the appointment of new manager Slaven Bilic. Spanish U21 midfielder Pedro Obiang has joined the Hammers from Serie A side Sampdoria for what is believed to be a fee of around £5m. The deal was officially confirmed on the club’s website this afternoon, the 23 year old signed a 4 year contract. This is a deal that has been in the pipeline for some months now, and both club and player are pleased to finally get the deal completed. A box-to-box midfielder, Obiang is definitely a like for like…
http://gty.im/475309362 PSG have offered their Dutch international right-back Gregory van der Wiel to Manchester United after previous target Dani Alves signed a new two year deal with European Champions Barcelona. United manager Louis Van Gaal is desperate for reinforcements in defence as he looks to make a serious challenge for the title next season. And with moves for Dani Alves and Nathaniel Clyne seemingly falling through, they may well be looking to get this deal sewn up and soon as possible. Now 27, van der Wiel was a product of the very famous Ajax youth set-up, going on to win…
http://gty.im/471543358 Atletico Madrid striker Mario Mandzukic is the latest high profile striker linked with a move to Manchester United. It’s been widely reported that the big Croat is keen on a move to England, and has been offered a move from current employers Athletico Madrid after a rumoured falling with their coaching staff. Mandzukic had scored 20 goals for Athletico by as early as February, but slowly began to fall out of favour. He didn’t score another goal for them that season. United were previously linked with him during David Moyes’ reign, while at Bayern Munich. But he opted for…
http://gty.im/475163900 West Ham United officially confirmed today that they’d appointed former Croatia head coach Slaven Bilic as their new manager. It’s been a long, arduous process, but the owners finally have their man. Updates were provided on twitter in the lead up to the official statement from David Sullivan Jnr and later the official twitter page. The 46 year old will be West Ham’s 15th Manager in their 120 year history, returning to the club that he played over 50 times for, scoring 3 goals. Bilic is currently on his holidays, but has reportedly already set the wheels in motion…