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Arsenal are ready to make a shock move for out-of-favour Chelsea forward Salomon Kalou , according talkSPORT.

The 26-year-old Ivorian is out of contract at the end of the season and, with Andre Villas-Boas ’ blessing, is ready to speak to interested clubs.

Kalou has only managed to start four games for Chelsea this season under AVB and looks set to leave Stamford Bridge in the summer.

This has alerted the attention of Arsene Wenger , who is looking to add to his striking options despite bringing back Arsenal legend Thierry Henry on loan.

It is understood that Wenger will offload either Marouane Chamakh , who seems to have lost his way since the return of Robin van Persie last January, or Andrey Arshavin , who has become more and more ineffective as the years have rolled by since his big money move from Zenit in 2009.

Wenger, who has been linked with Kalou in the past, is thought to have made an enquiry about a proposed move this month, with the Frenchman readying a £3 million bid to land him.

However, Kalou’s reported £90,000-a-week wages could prove to be a problem for the Frenchman, and will have to fight off interest from Italian outfit Juventus if he wants to acquire the Ivory Coast international.

Article courtesy of  Tony Merakli from Gunnersphere

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Christoph Daum has parted ways with Eintracht Frankfurt less than two months after taking charge of the Bundesliga club.The former Bayer Leverkusen and Fenerbahce boss took over in March, but only managed to pick up three points in his seven games in charge, condemning the club to relegation.

He announced on Monday he would leave his post after a meeting with club chairman Heribert Bruchhagen.

“Frankfurt should start their Bundesliga comeback with another coach,” Daum said.

“There was no prospect for me despite the club and team being in my heart.”

Eintracht’s relegation was confirmed when they suffered a 3-1 loss to Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, despite taking a second-half lead.

Daum said promotion back to the top flight ‘won’t happen immediately’ and he had given the club a clear message about the problems that needed rectifying.

“I’ve said some things very clearly internally,” he said. “Eintracht now has the chance to take corrective measures.”

Daum, who won the Bundesliga title with Stuttgart in 1992, was appointed with seven games remaining after Michael Skibbe was sacked, but he could only manage three draws to finish the campaign.

Daum’s chances of becoming Germany manager were ended when he admitted to cocaine use and was forced to leave Leverkusen in 2000, while he led Cologne to promotion to the top flight during his second stint at the club in 2008.

Bruchhagen said the club was already in search of a new manager to begin planning for next season.

“The first decision to be made now is the one of who will be the new coach,” the chairman said.

Australia coach Holger Osieck has cautioned against complacency after his team were handed a kind qualifying draw for the 2014 World Cup.The preliminary draw, conducted in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday, saw the Socceroos placed in Group D of Asian third-round qualifying, alongside Saudi Arabia, Oman and Thailand.

Australia begin their campaign – with a place in the final two fourth-round groups at stake – at home to Thailand, a team 96 places below them in the FIFA rankings and seemingly an easy target for the Asian Cup finalists.

But German Osieck, who succeeded Pim Verbeek as head coach in August 2010, dismissed any suggestion that his team were guaranteed a place in Brazil next year.

“There are a lot of strong teams in Asia right now. We know that from experience,” Osieck said.

“You shouldn’t underrate the teams we will play in the group, they all went through the second round, they qualified, so they must have some potential.”

“Take for instance the Asian Cup when we had India … it was important for us to go into the tournament, play well, score a couple of goals and build our confidence.”

“And the same happens here – we will definitely have the best team available.”

While attempting to play down expectations of a swift passage to the fourth round, Osieck did endorse the ability of his players, calling on them to demonstrate their quality with a flying start in the first match on September 2.

“Our target is simply to go through to Brazil,” he said.

“We are at the first stage, so we have to take every single step very seriously.”

“Football is not a wishing well, and you can’t predicate anything. It would be an ideal scenario that we could make the qualification for the second round as early as possible, but there’s a lot of unpredictability.”

“What I don’t like in football is to calculate. First we play, then we go from there.”

“I’m a positive thinker. I want to see our guys play. We have a lot of potential; I want to see them perform. It’s very important to have a very positive start to the campaign and … to really build on the confidence we should be in from that first game.”

Manchester City travel to the Midlands to face West Brom desperate to keep their noses ahead of rivals United at the top of the Premier League table.

They’ll be in for one of their tougher fixtures of the season against Roy Hodgson’s side who will be full of confidence after two successive wins on the road. The Baggies have soared up into the top half table on the back of those two victories and now sit seven points clear of the relegation zone. A mixed start to the season left Hodgson and his players facing a battle to pull themselves away from danger but after beating struggling Blackburn at Ewood Park last Saturday they emerged victorious from their trip to Newcastle four days later to fly into 10th. That win on Tyneside was arguably their finest performance of the campaign as they tore the Magpies apart on their own patch. Shane Long and Peter Odemwingie were the stars of the shower as they terrorised the Newcastle back four with their pace and movement with Odemwingie scoring for the second successive game. Those two will need to be on top form if Albion are to end 2011 on a high against the champions elect.

City have been simply delicious this year and will be hoping to end it in style starting with victory over West Brom to keep themselves ahead in the title race. Roberto Mancini delivered the FA Cup and Champions League football in 2011 but holding the Premier League title aloft in 2012 is the Italians primary objective. Their lead over fierce rivals United has been cut to just two points over the last month or so and maintaining that advantage will be tough going into the New Year. Defeat to Chelsea looked like it could possibly derail their challenge for the title but wins and clean sheets against Arsenal and Stoke in the space of four days has put them back on track. With a squad possessing players like Sergio Agüero and David Silva it’s inconceivable that City could throw away their chance at claiming Premier League glory. They’ll begin the second phase of their mission at the Hawthorns and will be confident of providing the Citizens faithful with a late Christmas present in the Midlands.

West Brom 10th : 21 points 

Team news: Albion will be without key players Youssuf Mulumbu and Steven Reid after both picked up injuries at Newcastle on Wednesday. James Morison could return after missing the trip to Tyneside.

Key Player: Shane Long

What a season it’s been for Albion’s record signing so far with his performance against Newcastle arguably his best since he joined the club. Long’s pace and movement made him unplayable and he’ll be eager to pit his wits against City’s world class back four.

Manchester City 1st : 44 points 

Team news: City are still without Micah Richards and Edin Dzeko but have no other injuries to report.

Key Player: Sergio Agüero

The Argentinean has been in stunning form since his big money summer move and with 16 goals to his name already he is already a shoe in for the Golden Boot. Will be expected to provide more goals in 2012 to ensure his debut season in England ends in success.

PREDICTION

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West Brom will be full of confidence after consecutive wins but come up against a City side who are desperate to keep their place on top of the league. Roberto Mancini’s side should have more than enough to see off Albion at the Hawthorns.

Score: 0-3 

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Birmingham manager Alex McLeish admitted Craig Gardner dived after the midfielder was sent off in a 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers.Gardner was booked for reacting aggressively to a Jamie O’Hara tackle in the English Premier League match at St Andrews, before receiving a second yellow and his marching orders for going to ground easily under pressure from Jody Craddock just 29 minutes into the game.

And McLeish said he was disappointed to lose Gardner to suspension as Birmingham look to ensure their Premier League survival.

“Craig dived,” McLeish said. “But I was thinking he was diving to get out of the way because he had been booted about three or four times just before that.”

“A Richard Stearman tackle on him on the edge of the box never got a booking and then O’Hara caught him.”

“I think he was diving to get out of the way but we don’t condone the diving element, and especially when you are on a yellow card.”

“I was more annoyed at the first yellow card Craig got. It put him under pressure by reacting to a tackle.”

“Craig is devastated in the dressing room and at half-time he has apologised to his team-mates and we now miss him for a couple of games.”

After trailing to Steven Fletcher’s early penalty, Birmingham were fortunate to equalise through Sebastian Larsson in the 27th minute, before holding on for a valuable point.

The draw leaves Wolves second bottom, one point from safety with three matches remaining.

Wolves boss Mick McCarthy paid tribute to Birmingham after they managed to shut out his team, despite being a player short.

“It is a missed opportunity against 10 men but they have stuck at it and not given us too many chances,” McCarthy said.

“If we had had loads of chances after they went down to 10 men, I might have said it was more of an opportunity squandered but we didn’t.”

“We didn’t have what was necessary to break the 10 men down unfortunately.”

“But if I had looked at the four games left and thought we could get a point away from home, I’d not be unhappy and then we’ve got to do the job at home in the remaining games.”

“I still think it’s going to go to the last day of the season.”

Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas is confident his ageing squad can win the league title, but he is keen to sign younger players.The Portuguese manager, 33, is aiming to better their second-place finish in the English Premier League last season after taking the reins following the sacking of Carlo Ancelotti.

Villas-Boas said he was confident his experienced contingent, including captain John Terry (30) and Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba (both 33), could take the London club to their fifth league title.

“The market that we have moved in at the moment, and the players we have shown interest in, they are also of a young age so they are also looking into the future – the future of this club,” Villas-Boas said on Friday.

“You might see similar moves in the future from us because the squad is old – it’s one of the oldest squads in the Premiership.”

“But we respect them and we are happy we have enough quality – we have to be able to challenge for the title. But we are also looking into the future and the options we are looking at in the market at the moment are also looking into the future.”

The Stamford Bridge outfit edged Manchester City to second spot on goal difference last campaign, finishing nine points adrift of champions United.

Villas-Boas said he expected the big six – Chelsea, United, City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham – to contend for the title.

“Manchester United are the title holders and will be a reference for everybody, but you can see the amount of activity that Manchester City have had in the market, which shows pretty clearly that they have a title objective as well,” he said.

“Liverpool did more or less the same (as City). Tottenham want to get back to the first four of the Premiership so they’ll be challenging as well and Arsenal is always a threat.”

Chelsea complete their tour of Asia against Aston Villa in the final of the Asia Trophy on Saturday.

They face Scottish champions Rangers on August 6 before beginning their Premier League campaign against Stoke City eight days later.

The modern day player’s power over his employers is becoming a massive issue within the world of professional football.

It’s an all too common occurrence to see players submitting transfer requests, feeding stories to the media or even plainly refusing to play in a bid to get their own way, whether that be a move to another club or a pay rise.

Sir Alex Ferguson spoke out about this trend, claiming that a player no longer being tied to their club is damaging the game:

“When I first started out in management 37 years ago there were no agents. Imagine that!

“There was no freedom of contract either, so players were totally tied to their clubs.

“A change in that sense was inevitable, though I think that now the scales tipped completely in the other direction and I’m not sure it’s good for the game.”

Love or loathe him, its fair to say that the Scot has a point, with a player’s influence and power at a particular club becoming a dangerous problem.

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Sir Alex knows this all too well thanks to the Wayne Rooney episode of 2010. Rooney declared that he was going to leave the Manchester club due to serious differences with his manager and a lack of ambition on the part of the Red Devils. But, what do you know, a matter of weeks later the striker has signed a new deal on wages of around £200,000-per-week. All of this came with great influence from his agent, Paul Stretford.

Fergie would not have let this happen in the past, as we saw with David Beckham’s departure from the club, but Rooney’s influence and the threat of other clubs, namely local rivals Manchester City, meant that United could not allow their man to move on.

Whether or not Rooney wanted to leave isn’t clear, but the whole episode worked out well for the ex-Everton man, who increased his pay packet, and increased his level of authority around the club. Coincidence or carefully planned between agent and player?

It’s a similar case with Carlos Tevez at City. The Argentine forward wanted to move for personal reasons, so he refused Roberto Mancini’s request for him to come on a substitute against Bayern Munich. This sparked an almighty bust-up between the two, resulting in the Italian claiming he would never pick the striker again. Tevez could not find a club anywhere willing to meet his inflated wage demands, so as a result apologised in a bid to re-enter the Manchester City first-team squad. It remains unclear whether Tevez actually wants to be playing in the sky blue shirt, or whether he is simply looking to showcase his undoubted talents in a bid to manufacture a move elsewhere to secure another big pay day for himself and his representative, Kia Joorabchian.

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Whether we like it or not, players’ influence within clubs is a massive factor. They know their importance, both on and off the field of play, and some cynical individuals will always seek to use this to their advantage. Sir Alex may well have a point.

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Premier League footballers are not always the most reasonable bunch and it often seems like their money goes to their head. There have been a whole host of players who have taken action when they have sought a move in order to ensure that they can go to a bigger club and earn a bit more money. One of the first players to do this in the modern game was Pierre Van Hooijdonk who was after a move to Nottingham Forest and said of his contract dispute with Celtic that “£7,000 a week may be good for the homeless, but not for an international striker.” The Dutch international has set the trend, are here are 10 more Premier League ‘Scallywags’ who forced their transfer moves…

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Click on the image below to see the TOP 10 PL ‘Scallywags’:

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West Bromwich Albion manager Roy Hodgson bares no grudge against former employers Liverpool ahead of their clash on Saturday.Hodgson had a disappointing few months in charge of Liverpool before vacating the Anfield hot seat in January.

“There is no vindication factor with Liverpool at all. I enjoyed my time at Liverpool, well to say I enjoyed the time would not be strictly true. I respected my time there,” he said on Friday.

“I was treated correctly in every respect by the club. I had a very good relationship with the players, who I thought did their very best for me.”

“It did not work out either for them or for me during that period of time and I’m very pleased to see it is working out for them now.”

Kenny Dalglish has since taken over the reins at Anfield – a popular choice as he won three league championships in his previous stint in charge of the club.

Dalglish expressed an interest in taking over and Hodgson admitted it was tough having someone so well thought of waiting to jump in the lead role.

“It’s difficult to compete with an icon. I came into the right club but perhaps I didn’t come at the right time because Kenny did make it clear at the time that he wanted the job. When things didn’t go well, having him in the background wasn’t easy,” Hodgson admitted.

“It wouldn’t have been easy for any manager. There’s always someone in the wings who is a little bit of an icon ready to take over if the results don’t go their way.”

With West Brom just one point clear of the relegation zone, Hodgson stressed the importance of the fixture.

“It’s another game – but it means a lot because we only have eight games left and each one means a lot. Of course I desperately hope it is not going to work out for Liverpool tomorrow afternoon,” he said.

“After those 90 minutes I can go back to wishing them well and hoping they finish as high in the league as possible.”

“My time at Liverpool is over and I’m very happy in my job here. I’m disappointed of course that I did not get the full three years I was hoping for but I have been in football long enough to know sometimes that’s what happens – especially when there is a change of ownership during your time at the club.”

“I was realistic, I knew the risk and I am still disappointed it did not work out but I have no bad feelings about Liverpool as a city. Certainly I don’t have any bad feelings about the football club and the people I worked with.”

Midfielder Graham Dorrans (ankle) will definitely miss the game.

Chelsea look set to beat rivals Arsenal and Tottenham in the race for Bolton defender Gary Cahill when the transfer window opens in January the Metro understands.

Stamford Bridge boss Andre Villas-Boas is keen to strengthen his back line and it’s now being reported that the Blues have an agreement in place to sign Cahill.

The 25-year-old was strongly linked with a move to Arsenal and Tottenham in the summer with both clubs failing with late bids for the player who’s form over the last 18 months has seen him become a regular in the England setup.

Valued at around £15 million by the Trotters boss Owen Coyle described the offers from North London as ‘derisory’ but with Cahill’s contract expiring at the end of the season his price will be significantly reduced come January.

It’s likely the centre back will look to leave the Reebok Stadium at the start of next year with Bolton currently rooted to the foot of the Premier League table.

With Cahill looking to maintain his place in the England squad a move to Chelsea will appeal to him as they can offer Champions League football as well as a chance to challenge for the league.

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