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A forum about football, for football fans
At 3.00pm GMT, today, it will be exactly 12 days until the first round of Premier League fixtures get underway.
At Ewood Park, Craven Cottage, Anfield, Loftus Road, White Hart Lane, The DW Stadium and at St. James' "We-don't-know-quite-what-the -stadium-will-be-called" Park, the first whistle of the season will blow, and with it, absolute joy will wash over millions of football fans up and down the country!
After the (shorter-than-it-seems) Summer period where limited football is played and the back pages become filled with news of Cricket and Golf, we will finally start to see normality return as football will start to dominate
The fixture list in full, then, for the weekend of 13th-15th August:
Saturday, 13 August 2011
Blackburn v Wolverhampton, 15:00
Fulham v Aston Villa, 15:00
Liverpool v Sunderland, 15:00
QPR v Bolton, 15:00
Tottenham v Everton, 15:00
Wigan v Norwich, 15:00
Newcastle v Arsenal, 17:30
Sunday, 14 August 2011
Stoke v Chelsea, 13:30
West Brom v Man Utd, 16:00
Monday, 15 August 2011
Man City v Swansea, 20:00
John O'Shea, the 30-year-old Republic of Ireland international, and Manchester United defender, is reportedly in Sunderland undergoing a medical.
This morning, he left for Wearside for his medical, following in the footsteps of United team-mate, Wes Brown, who was in the north east for his medical on Wednesday night.
Should O'Shea and 31-year-old Brown sign for the Black Cats, they will become Steve Bruce's 7th and 8th signings of the pre-season, with hopes of a 9th to be confirmed also- that of Darren Gibson, also from United.
They won't need to change their ties...
A £12million joint bid was made several weeks ago, which was accepted by Bruce's former manager, Alex Ferguson. The deal for Gibson has proven to be the most problematic, despite Gibson indicating his willingness to consider a move to the Stadium of Light early on.
Whether only Brown and O'Shea, or Gibson as well, sign for Sunderland, it will, as well as adding stability and experience to a weak defence, bring United fans everywhere to reluctantly bid farewell. O'Shea particularly is one of those players that has given his all, worn his heart on his sleeve, and any other number of clichés you can think of, for his club, and has adapted to any role given to him.
They will both, or all, be missed by United, and Sunderland will shore up a squad that has been all about change in recent weeks.
Sunderland continue to add to their squad today, with the signings of two new players. Having signed Connor Wickham from Ipswich on Wednesday, Bruce has secured the signatures of Craig Gardner, Birmingham's 24-yr old midfielder, and Ji Dong-won, the K-League's 20-yr old Chunman Dragons' striker.
Having scored 10 for Birmingham last season, including winning the Carling Cup as a Blue, Gardner makes the switch for an undisclosed-fee. Despite his efforts, Birmingham failed to avoid the drop and Sunderland were only too happy to swoop.
Ji himself has a habit of scoring, hitting 6 in 11 international appearances for his native South Korea. He is the second Korean that Bruce has signed as manager, having signed Chon Won-hee for his former club, Wigan Athletic, in 2009.
Bruce told the Sunderland website:
"The boy has been in fantastic form for both club and country and he was one of South Korea's stand-out performers at the Asian Cup so we are delighted to bring him to Sunderland.
The Barclays Premier League is very different to the K-League so there is hard work ahead but you just have to look at players like Park Ji-sung and Lee Chung-yong to see how well Korean players are adapting to its pace and physicality.
I believe Ji can be an excellent acquisition and he has certainly impressed us over the long period we have been watching him."
In addition to Wickham, Ji and Gardner, Sunderland have signed Sebastian Larsson from Birmingham, and goalkeeper Kieren Westwood from Coventry City.
Following my last report about Wickham, and the fact that a matched bid from Liverpool could have scuppered the Black Cats, well... one never came.
And today as a consequence, the 6'3", 18-year-old striker made the switch to the Stadium of Light for an initial fee of £8 million, possibly rising to as much as £12m over the course of his four-year contract.
Steve Bruce, Sunderland manager, said:
"A number of top sides have been chasing Connor for some time now, so naturally we are absolutely delighted he has chosen to come to Sunderland. He's still very young, but at 6'3" he's a physical presence. With his height and style of play, he will offer us a threat in front of goal and complement our existing strikers.
We have been watching him for a while now and he is improving and developing all the time. He's a great prospect and I'm sure our supporters will love watching him play."
As much as Liverpool were reported to have had Wickham in their sights for some time, Wickham is believed to have preferred a move to the north-east due to the increased likelihood of playing regularly. Given Darren Bent's switch to Aston Villa in January and Danny Welbeck returing to Old Trafford after the completion of his loan period, Asamoah Gyan is the only recognised first-team striker, increasing further the chances for Wickham of a place in the starting line-up.
According to reports, a respectful £13million bid made by Sunderland for England U21 striker Connor Wickham has been accepted by Ipswich Town.
Steve Bruce and Niall Quinn will now team up in an attempt to persuade the 18-year-old forward to make the switch from Portman Road to the Stadium of Light.
Since making his debut as a fresh-faced 16-year-old towards the end of the 2008-09 season, he has scored 15 goals for the Tractor Boys, first finding the target in August 2009.
However, Liverpool are the preferred destination for Wickham, with them already having signed his England U21 colleague, Jordan Henderson, from Sunderland themselves for £20m. A matched bid from the Reds would therefore be a double blow for the Rokerites (although Sunderland are no longer called that!).
Until Liverpool do match Sunderland's bid, however, discussions with Sunderland are allowed to happen.
Scotland to Sheffield?
Having been relegated from the Championship at the end of the 2009-10 season, Sheffield Wednesday finished only 15th in League One last season. This season, they'll hope to 'do a Southampton' and win promotion back to the Championship- perhaps their rightful home.
This year they'll be joined by city rivals, Sheffield United, who were relegated in 23rd place last season.
To signal their intent, the Owls have joined the hunt for Ipswich Town striker Jason Scotland. The former Wigan striker has provoked interest from Brighton, newly promoted to the Championship themselves, and, whilst they can offer a higher grade of football, Wednesday chairman, Milan Mandaric is attempting to tempt him to Hillsborough.
Blackburn interested in a 4th Cissé
Blackburn have made a fresh bid for Freiburg and Senegal striker Papiss Cisse, a 26-yr old who finished 2nd top scorer in the Bundesliga last year.
If he joins the Rovers, he will become the 4th Cissé to play in the Premier League, joining Édouard Cissé (West Ham), Aliou Cissé (Birmingham, Portsmouth), and the most famous, Djibril Cissé (Liverpool, Sunderland).
The German club insist they won't accept anything less than €15million for him, which is believed to be double Blackburn's initial offer. However, Steve Kean, Blackburn Rovers gaffer, has upped his offer, to above the club record transfer fee.
There are a number of clubs interested in Cissé, however, and Blackburn will have their hands tied financially to offer the expected fee. Zenit St Petersburg, Dynamo Kiev and Lokomotiv Moscow and all keen on Cissé, and the wages on offer in Russia and Ukraine could hamper Blackburn's bid. In addition, Arsenal, Liverpool and Fulham have all been believed to be 'keeping tabs' on Cissé.
Sunderland set to sign Gardner
Craig Gardner, 24-yr old Birmingham midfielder, is close to a switch to the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland boss Steve Bruce has long been interested in bringing lifelong Birmingham City fan to the North East, and is poised to make a significant transfer breakthrough as he closes in
It is understood the 24-year-old is close to agreeing a move to the Black Cats following Birmingham's relegation from the Premier League at the end of last season.
Part of the side who lifted the Carling Cup in February with a famous 2-1 victory over Arsenal, Gardner began his career with Birmingham arch-rivals, Aston Villa. However, he and his team-mates were unable to prevent Birmingham from slipping out of the top flight on a dramatic final day of the season, and following manager Alex McLeish's departure, Gardner looks set to exit St. Andrews.
Sunderland AFC have unveiled a new Umbro away kit design for the 2008-09 Barclaycard English Premier League.
The away strip features a V-necked shirt with broad royal and navy blue stripes teamed with navy shorts with a royal and white trim. The socks are royal and navy hoops.
An official launch for the kit has been planned for July 8 at the Stadium of Light but the club store is already accepting pre-orders.
[Source: safc.com]
Premiership club Sunderland has unveiled a new home kit for the upcoming English Premier League season.
Manufactured by Umbro, the shirt is designed to be both visually imposing and performance enhancing, being anatomically cut to enhance the athleticism of the player. The red and white striped kit of last season has been replaced with a predominantly red and white kit with black inserts in the collar and shoulder areas. There are now four red stripes - instead of five - down the body of the shirt. The twill mesh body fabric is lightweight and breathable and the neckline has no exposed seams for added comfort.
After flirting with relegation last season upon making their Premier League return, Roy Keane's men will look to improve their league position for season 2008/09.
[Source: safcstore.com]
Sunderland celebrates their return to the English top-flight by launching a new home kit that will be available to fans on July 26.
The new home kit is designed by Umbro and will feature prominent red and white stripes with a V-neck collar.
Pre-orders are available NOW!
[Source: SunderlandFC]
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