Monday 27 June 2011

Three More For New/Old Look Rooks

Lewes may have just lost David Wheeler to Conference South side Staines Town but good news for Lewes fans was just around the corner as Lewes made three new signings in Stuart Robinson, Jamie Cade and Ian Draycott.

Jamie Cade
Jamie Cade is a fans favourite as he returns to the dripping pan having had a good spell with Horsham. Cade joined Horham in January after leaving Hastings, managed by Jason Hopkinson and he scored 11 goals in his time there being a huge influence in saving Horsham from relegation.

Stuart Robinson is the fith player to join Lewes from King's old club Farnborough, he has also played for Lewes before however just once. There were a number of interested clubs at a higher level interesting in hijacking the deal which was set for last week, however King, to his delight, managed to get his man. Robonson is a very tall young keeper with bags of potential.

Stuart Robinson
And finally the third signing is the lively 22 year old striker Ian Draycott who has signed from Bedford Town of the Zamerotto Premier, the equivilent to Lewes's new league, where he managed to score 24 goals last season for a side which finished 17th. He is also a proven goalscorer at Conference South level, where Lewes were recently relegated from. Draycott was one of the players who played alongside Wheeler in the England school boys team.
Ian Draycott

On the subject of Wheeler, King has expressed his dissapointment of losong the Sussex youngster, but hopes that one day, after university, Wheeler will return in red and black for the Rooks.

The Lewes squad is now starting to take shape and this is the squad so far which we will update you on as it changes:

GK Stuart Robinson
CB Steve Robinson
CB Max Hustwick
D/ML Nic Ciardini
CM Gary Holloway
CM Lewis Ide
ST Paul Booth
ST Jamie Cade
ST Ian Draycott

Still Waiting on...

RB Anthoney Barness
CB Chris Breach
LB Lewis Hamilton

Confirmed Departures:

GK Chris Winterton- Whitehawk
CB Andy Pearson- Whitehawk
RM David Wheeler- Staines
CM Jack Walder- Hastings
CM Jamie Crellin- Hastings
LM Sonny Cobbs- Eastbourne Borough

We would like to thank all these players for what they have done for the club and the efforts they put in during their time here, we wish them luck at their new clubs.

Sunday 26 June 2011

Wheels Of To Staines

Today is a very sad day in the history of Lewes FC as young winger David Wheeler has signed for Staines Town of the Blue Square South. Wheeler had been offered a contract by Lewes FC however he decided that he would rather be at a club a league above and a lot closer to his University.
Good Luck Wheeler

Wheeler has been at Lewes for his whole career so far since he was just 16 when he came through the clubs successful youth system.  This afternoon he arrived in Staines and signed the paper work. Crawley Town who have recently been promoted to league 2 were also interested in Dave Wheeler but eventually decided that he was too "light weight". Lewes were desperate to keep him.

Steve King is well known to have wanted Wheeler for a long time and Wheeler rejected a deal with his Farnborough side 2 seasons ago, also rejecting Eastbourne Borough who were then a conference Premier side, to stay with Lewes, a team that he loves however just couldn't keep making the journey sometimes three times a week and take his university course seriously.

Lewes fans now hope that he will be back in a Lewes shirt one day, possibly after his university course is over in 2 years time. The Staines youngster has been capped for England school boys and has played with Lewes in the Blue Square Premier.

The Lewes Board of Directors, who were particularly saddened to see Wheeler leave said: "The manager and club have been very keen to hold on to David. He is a special player and much loved by all the fans."

"But David has decided that the travelling distance, sometimes three times a week, is too much to fit in with his University course and has opted for a more local option in Staines Town."

"We are very sad to see him go, but we wish him every success in his studies and at his new club. He goes with our absolute best wishes."

Lewis Ide
Lewes can also confirm that recovering midfielder Lewis Ide will be coming to pre-season with Lewes so that Steve King can "have a look" at him. He is still recovering from a serious knee injury he obtained playing for Lewes in a friendly last season. However Lewes have also confirmerd the departures of Chris Winterton and Andy Pearson who have both gone to Whitehawk, a league below and Jack Walder and Jamie Crellin have both departed to Hastings under the management of Jason Hopkinson. Sonny Cobbs has left to join Lewes rivals Eastbourne Borough in the conference South.

Lewes are still waiting on news from Chris Breach, Lewis Hamilton and Anthoney Barness who King is still interested in signing as well as some more signings expected shortly.

Thursday 23 June 2011

Young Moves To Manchester

Good Young signing
The summer transfer window is really hotting up after Manchester United have made their second signing after Phil Jones they have now signed Aston Villa winger Ashley Young. The England international is only 25 years old and is the second English player Utd have signed so far this summer and he has signed for the same price as Jones at £17 million puonds taking Utd's total so far to £34 million.


Young had his medical last night, he has been a Villa player for four years since making the move from Watford to Villa park and has established himself as a fans favourite there. Young has made 15 appearances for England, the latest one being in the 2-2 draw with Switzerland where he managed to score a goal after coming on as a secoond half sub, earning himself man of the match.

New Villa boss Alex Mcleish was aware that Young wanted to move before he signed for the club however now the deal has been made oficial.

"It's not confirmed yet but it does seem likely," the Scot told talkSPORT.

"In my humble opinion it will be very difficult to keep hold of him."

Villa have made a good profit for Young as four years ago they signed him for just under £10 million from Watford. Since the signing he has scored 30 Premiership goals for Villa.

United striker Michael Owen said on Twitter: "I see Ashley Young has undergone a medical. Let's hope everything goes well as he would be a great signing for us."

The title wining squad is quickly changing next season as midfielder Scholes resigned at the end of the season and now Jones and Young have been brought in. A new goalkeeper is also on the shopping list as Van Der Saar also retired at the end of last season. It is believed Utd will sign De Gea for the same price of £17 million, clearly a popular number in that part of Manchester. 

Wednesday 22 June 2011

Hughton Birminghams Next Boss

Ex-Newcastle boss Chris Hughton has become the next Birmingham boss after signing the deal moments ago. Hughton took over as boss of Newcastle as caretaker but was installed as full time manager as he lead them to Championship victory before being fired after Newcastle were mid table quater of a way through last season. Birmingham now hope he can regain the Championship title with Birmingham as they try to get back into the Premier league.

Birmingham were relegated to the Championship on the last day of the season after losing to Tottenham. Manager Alex Mcleish was told he could stay on and try to regain their Premiership place, however he  made the infamous switch to Villa which Birmingham are still chasing compensaion for.

Ex West Brom boss Roberto Di Matteo was also a candidate however the Blues preffreed Hughton who has been out of football since December after he was sacked, seemingly unfairly by Newcastle.

However Birmingham chairman says that there is a lot of pressure to lead Birmingham back to the promised land on first attempt and has made it clear that this is what he expects, anything less will be a failure.

Hughton has also previously been assistant managers at The Republic of Ireland and Tottenham, he was expected to become assistant manager to Martin Jol at Fulham however he has instead taken up the managerial role at Birmingham.

Monday 20 June 2011

Hustick Makes Move To Pan

Lewes FC have added to their defensive options by signing versatile defender Max Hustwick from Kingstonian.

Versatile defender
Hustwick made over 250 appearances for Kingstonian and is 28 years old, having played in a ryman play off final before he is looking to take Lewes up to further his career as well as the clubs. Hustwick has played for Lewes before when he was a key player in the side that got in to the play offs in 2005 and 2006 but both time Lewes were barred from the play offs due to ground irregularitys.

King told Lewesfc.com : "He's an outstanding defender and he knows this league, having played 40 or 50 games a season with Kingstonian in the last two years."

"More importantly for me with the small squad I'm going to have, I need versatile players and Max can play at both right back or centre half."

Lewes boss Steve King has told us that more signings are expected this week so stay tuned for more news we will bring to you as quick as we can. 

The New Mourinho

The New Special One?
Chelsea Football club are set to sign Porto boss Villa-Boas within the next hour, despite it being widely thought that Turkey boss Gus Hidink would sign for a second spell at Chelsea.

There has been much speculation as to who would be the next Chelsea boss as many thought that it would be Harry Redknapp but he has shown no interest of leaving Tottenham. It was then thought that Mark Hughes was in the running after leaving Fulham to go to "bigger things" suggesting that he left for Chelsea, however he still finds himself out of work.

This lead fans to believe that Gus Hidink would be back for a second spell having lead Chelsea to an F.A cup win and saying that he would love to be "back in England". However, he did stil say the time is not yet right but the Turkish F.A contradicted him by saying they were shore that he would leave his post to go the Chelsea.

However after a long wait Chelsea will finally have the next boss to take over from Carlo Ancelotti who was sacked after just two years in charge in which time he managed to win the F.A cup and the Premier league. However he failed to find Chelsea their first Champions league title and so lost the job.

At Chelsea there is always speculation that the manager is overridden by Roman Abramovic and it is beleieved that he brought in Torres for £50 million and ordered Ancelotti to play him to make the signing worth while. It has been confirmed that Roman does get involved with transfers at Chelsea after he had a £22 million bid for Modric turned down and the club is in talks with Lukaku despite having no manager.

The 33 year old guided Porto to Europa league victory last season, as Mourinho did with Porto in the champions league before he joined Chelsea. Chelsea are now hoping that he will be the man to finally bring them the European success that Roman has so desperatly waited for.

The Porto man still has years on his contract but the deal has a clause in it which allows him to sign for another club if they pay Porto £13 million which Chelsea have not yet done but intend to do.

A Chelsea statement said: "We hope to be able to make an announcement regarding the new manager in the next few days or so, but until then we will not be commenting further on the speculation surrounding that appointment."

Porto also won a league and cup double last season, wjile Chelsea failed to claim any silverware in a dissapointing season. However the news is not yet finalised and some sceptics are still expecing Hiddink to make a last minute move and become the next boss.

Villa has been at Chelsea before as he was a translater under Jose Mourniho as he can also speak fluent English and taught Mourinho everything he knows about the English language. He also worked with Sir Bobby Robson as a translater during his spell at Porto.

To make his CV even better, Porto finished last season completly unbeaten and in the league won 27 out of 30 games, becoming only the second team ever to be able to finish a season unbeaten.

Sunday 19 June 2011

Ba Bye West Ham

West Ham have sold striker Demba Ba to Newcastle just one day after Kevin Nolan made the switch the other way . Ba is 26 and played for West Ham 13 times, scoring 7 goals before completing the switch to Newcastle.
Didn't stay long

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew said: "Demba made a great impression at West Ham last season and is a great signing for the club.

"He has pace, excellent technical ability, is good in the air."

It was well known that Newcastle boss Pardew wanted a striker having sold Andy Carrol to Liverpool for £35 million in January.

The Magpies boss added: "And, it goes without saying, [Demba] has the ability to consistently find the back of the net.

"Moreover he has a great passion to play for Newcastle United."

Stoke were set to sign Ba but a knee injury prevented him as he failed a Stoke medical, however the physio's at Newcastle deemed him fit enough to sign and so Newcastle have taken the risk. Ba only signed for West Ham in January but moved on as he had a release clause in his contract that meant if he was relegated he could leave, and West Ham were relegated at the end of the season, allowing Ba to join Newcastle.

"Everything has been sorted out and now I'm happy because I can start to focus on playing and scoring goals for Newcastle," Ba stated.

"This is a great club and a very good team so to sign here was an easy choice to make.

"I have spoken to [winger] Hatem [Ben Arfa] about the club and he told me how happy he is here and how big Newcastle are so I'm really happy and I can't wait to start playing.

"I know a lot of famous strikers have played here before and I will do my best to win games for the club."

Thursday 16 June 2011

Wheeler Linked To Crawley

Lewes's young hot prospect and key player, David Wheeler has been linked with free spending Crawley Town.
Lewes Youth system success

Wheeler made his debut for Lewes in their Conference South winning season in 2008 in the 3-0 win against Weston Super Mare. However it was Kevin Keehan who gave Wheeler his full debut in the Conference Premier. wheeler was a product of Lewes's succesful youth system and is now a first team key player.

He rejected offers from Farnborough and Eastbourne at the beggining of last season. And that Farnborough manager Steve King, long term admirer of Wheeler is now at Lewes and has offered Wheeler a new deal which he wants him to sign. However it has now emmerged that Crawley Town, who have just been promoted to the football league, are interested in signing the Lewes youngster which is why it has taken a while for him to sign any sort of deal.

Stay tuned for any other news we will bring you from Lewes as soon as it happens.

Big Names Leave Clubs

Viera- A big name released
Patrick Vieira and Jonathan Woodgate are among the list of players to have left Premier League clubs this summer and become free agents.
Former France captain and Arsenal midfielder Vieira, 34, leaves Manchester City after only 15 months.
Spurs were unsuccessful in persuading injury-plagued centre-back Woodgate, 31, to agree a pay-as-you-play deal.
Birmingham, West Ham and Blackpool - all relegated to the Championship - have offloaded 32 players between them.
A dozen players have left Birmingham, including Lee Bowyer, Sebastian Larsson, James McFadden, Kevin Phillips and Maik Taylor.
West Ham's England international defender Matthew Upson, Wales centre-back Danny Gabbidon, defender Lars Jacobsen and Jonathan Spector are all on the open market.
Blackpool midfielder David Vaughan's rejection of a new contract means he joins 11 others leaving Bloomfield Road.
Premier League Free Transfer List

Nolan No Longer At Newcastle

West Ham's New Man
West Ham have made a big signing as they attempt to get back in to the Premier league. they have signed Newcastle midfielder Kevin Nolan. He has signed a 5 year deal at the club.

Nolan played under Hammers boss Alardyce at Bolton and has now linked up with him again to try and lead West Ham back to the premier league.

"Having the chance to link up with Sam again is a massive thing," said Nolan on the West Ham website.
"West Ham have shown a certain hunger and desire to make sure that I became their player."

Newcastle had wanted to keep Nolan and he was happy to stay there but Newcastle couldn't offer him a long enough contract whereas the Hammer were willing to offer him a five year deal.

"I am aware that the club made Kevin a good offer to stay, but could not agree over the contract," Magpies manager Alan Pardew told the Shields Gazette.

"I would like to thank Kevin for his sterling efforts as a player and captain of this club, especially since I took over last season.

"He displayed admirable leadership qualities, and I wish him every success at West Ham. It's a great club and I'm sure he will thrive there."

Nolan has promised that he will repay the faith West Ham have put in him to offer him such a long deal. Nolan is expected to be the Hammers captain for the next season as he was for Newcastle as he lead them to Championship victory under manager Chris Hughton.

"The be all and end all was that this club wanted me and the owners put faith in me and have given me a security of contract," added Nolan.

"Now it's my time to repay them and hopefully I will do that.

"I'm very sad to leave Newcastle but I'm coming to another massive club in my eyes, and hopefully I can be as successful as I was there [at Newcastle].

"I've come to West Ham because of the tradition of the club and everything about it. I've always enjoyed playing at Upton Park."

Nolan does have an ankle injury at the moment but he expected to be fine for pre season training. The midfielder managed to score 12 goals for Newcastle in the Premier league last season. Nolan joined Newcastle from Bolton for £4million in 2009. It is thought Newcastle have got all their money back and that West Ham also paid £4 million for him although the fee is undisclosed.

Faye has also been signed for West Ham from Premier league side Stoke City.

Mcleish Makes Villa Switch

"We Don't Want Him!"
Alex Mcleish has today had successful talks with Aston Villa, Birminghams hated rivals and has now been unveiled as the Villa boss to replace Gerard Houllier who resigned at the end of the season due to health problems.

Mcleish led Birmingham to Carling Cup glory last year however Birmingham were also relegated from the Premier league. Mcleish was then told his job was safe and was expected to stay on until he sent Birmingham an email a few days ago leaving Birmingham in shock as he had resigned.

It is not only Birmingham unhappy with the deal. Villa fans are furious about his appointment and have been protesting. Especially when the club decided not to appoint Steve Mclaren because the fans didn't want him. So why have Villa made such a change of opinion for Mcleish?

"There are no problems and it's looking as though it'll be confirmed later today," said BBC Radio 5 live's Pat Murphy.

Birmingham are demanding over £5 million compensation for the deal which they felt the email was very unfair and unproffesional . Birmingham are now in the hunt for a new manager themselves.

500 fans protested outside Villa park to try and sop the board appointing the Scot. They did not hire Mclaren because the Villa fan forum were going mad and did not want him at the club.

"They gathered at North Stand just before 1700 BST then they moved onto Holte End," said BBC 5 live reporter Phil Mackie. "At 1900 BST they moved back to North Stand, broke through gates and sat on steps. It was fairly good-natured."

Mcleish returned from holiday early on wednesday to hold the talks with Villa and it has now emmeged that they were successful and the Scot is the next Villa boss.

Birmingham have started a fresh row with Villa as they claim that they "tapped up" Mcleish. Birmingham feel everything was in place for Mcleish to prepare to get back in to the premier league before Villa came and disrupted that. Birmingham are unhappy that Villa made an announcment that they would like to meet Mcleish to interview him before they had even told him or Birmingham. However, at the time they did this, it was already known that Mcleish had resigned.

"The club feel this will taint football and give the game and the footballing authorities a bad name if this is allowed to materialise," added the Birmingham statement.

"We will lodge a formal complaint as there is now not the slightest doubt remaining about this tap-up attempt.
"This conduct, if condoned, will open up floodgates and set a very bad precedent. It is also an attack against the intelligence and integrity of not only the Villa fans, but most importantly our fans who are badly let down after relegation."

Despite the Villa fans protests, the Villa board claim they have taken the fans thoughts on board. "In deciding to interview McLeish, the board has taken his tenure at our local rivals and the strong emotions associated with this very seriously," the Villa statement added.

Mark Hughes, still jobless since his resignation from Fulham was at first expected to get the job until it emmerged that Steve Mclaren was Villa's faveroute choice. Howver due to the fans unrest at this decision they made an approach for Wigan's Roberto Martinez who turned Villa down because he had "unfinished business" at Wigan which is what lead Villa's search to local rivals Birmingham for Alex Mcleish. 

Tuesday 14 June 2011

King Makes First Signings

Nic Ciardini
Today Lewes FC started their journey to rebuilding a side in the ryman Premier by King making his first four player signings, all coming from his former squad Farnborough.

The first of the signings to be announced was Nic Cardini, he can play at left back or in left midfield. Nic has been at Farnborough for 12 years having come through the youth system there. He will join up with King at Lewes after being unable to go full time at Farnborough who are believed to have wanted to keep him.

Steve Robinson
The next signing was Steve Robinson. Robbo is well known to Lewes fans having captained the team to the conference south title in 2008 under Steve King. Since King left Lewes Robbo followed him to Farnborough where he won the ryman Premier with him. He was aa key part of the Farnborough squad last season as they finished runners up in the conference south before losing a play off final to Ebbsfleet. Robbo is a tough centre back and will be welcomed back by Lewes fans.

Gary Holloway
Another ex-rook returning is Gary Holloway. A midfielder who was also part of Kings team to lift the conference south title in 2008 . Holloway joined Havant after Lewes due to the amount of money they had after drawing Liverpool in the FA cup they signed numerous Lewes players and Holloway was one of them. Gary then joined up with King at Farnborough where he won the ryman premier and was a key player for them in the heart of midfield last year. So much so that Holloway attracted a lot of attention from Woking FC who are thought to be putting in a big promotion push this season having already signed Farnborough midfielder Jack King.
Paul Booth

The final signing is Lewes legend Paul Booth. Booth finished as the conference South top scorer during the conference south winning year for Lewes before leaving along with Holloway to sign for Havant. Again Booth joined up with the rest of the lads at Farnborough where he also won the Ryman Premier.

It is also thought that Farnborough goalkeeper Stuart Robinson will sign for Lewes within the next few days at most.

Monday 13 June 2011

Mcleish Bound To Birmingham

Thwarted
Alex Mcleish's attempts to resign from Birmingham have been thwarted after it has now emmerged that Birmingham have rejected his resignation. Birmingham are now seeking financial compensation from him.

The Scot has been linked with a move to Aston Villa and it has now been confirmed that Aston Villa have approached Birmingham about him. However Birmingham told Villa that he was not available for talks and are now seeking legal advice.

Mcleish resigned by email which has been deemed "irresponsible from the Birmingham chairman. The former Rangers manager still had at least 2 years left to complete on his contract before he resigned yesterday.

Pannu told the Daily Express: "He is still our contracted staff and Birmingham City FC does not grant him any right to speak to any outsiders until the matter is resolved.
"It's about time discipline is instilled into this game and I am not a person who gets pushed about."

Worms Back At Lewes

Back at the Pan

Simon Wormull has joined Lewes FC for the third time in his career, as Kings first signing, this time however, he will be the youth team manager. Wormull wa in the Lewes squad that won the conference South in 2008 under the management of Steve King.

Wormull then joined Eastbourne Borough, Lewes's rivals before signing for Farnborough, back under King's managment he was part of the squad that won the Ryman Premier in 2010. After this season Wormull resigned for Lewes at the beggining of last season with Ibbo as manager and graced himself scoring a delightful goal from the half way line and another fantastic free-kick, quickly rising to the top of Lewes scorers.

However, Tim O'Shea decided to release Wormull not long after he turned up due to fitness problems. Wormull then moved to Three Bridges FC but was still a regular spectator at Lewes throughout last season.

It is known that Wormull applied for the Lewes job this year but was beaten to the job by his former manager Steve King. King has now appointed him as the youth manager. Wormull retired from playing football at the end of last season due to a career ending injury.

King said: "I've brought him on board because I think he's a great example to kids of how to play the game. His coaching style will mirror that of the first team. In fact, he'll also be working with the first team so that we can have really close links between the two sides."

Wormull takes over from Chris Rivers who resigned at the end of the season and fans are welcoming him back to the club with loving arms. 

Sunday 12 June 2011

McLeish Resigns

Where next?
More managerial changes over the summer are to follow as Birmingham boss Alex McLeish has resigned.

It is thought that he must have a better job lined up as at the end of the season Birmingham assured him and everyone else that his job was "safe" and they were looking for him to lead them back in to the Premier league. There are jobs available in the Premier league such as Chelsea and Aston Villa, Birminham's fiery rivals. However, Villa already rejected Steve Mclaren because of the bad response from the fans so surely he will not be signed considering he comes from Birmingham, Villa's hated rivals.

Birmingham won the Carling cup this year by beating Arsenal 2-1 in the final meaning they will be one of the only clubs to play in the Europa league at championship level next season. However they were also relegated from the premier league and it, until now, was Mcleish's job to get them back to the promised land.

It is an odd ime to resign considering his job was safe and would have surely left earlier if he knew he wanted to which is why there are so many rumours that he already has a job lined up somewhere. Chelsea and Villa have been managerial less since the end of the season however Chelsea are expected to hire Gus Hidink shortly.

"Birmingham City Football Club can confirm that Alex McLeish has resigned as manager," said a statement on the club's website.

"Acting chairman Peter Pannu received an e-mail resignation from McLeish earlier today [Sunday] while away on business in Amsterdam.

Alex took over the Birmingham job in November 2007 and in that year the club were also relegated from the premier league, however the club decided to keep him as he had not had a full season. Birmingham were promoted back to the premier league at the first time of asking which is what they wanted Alex to do again next season.

"There is talk that Alex McLeish is now the number one target for Villa," said BBC Radio 5 live's Midlands football reporter Pat Murphy.

"This is fascinating because if McLeish is the number one target, Randy Lerner, the owner of Villa, is fully aware there will be a backlash from some Villa fans even in terms of approaching him.

"Lerner was concerned about a backlash in terms of possibly appointing Steve McClaren last week. I'm not sure what the fans would say about the manager of the Blue Noses going across the road to Aston Villa."
He added: "McLeish, in my opinion, should be in the Premier League as a manager. I'm told that Villa like him, they respect him.

"I've heard from various sources that he is very much in the frame for Lerner. I'm not saying that it's a given but that's an intriguing name to throw into the mix, isn't it?"

Villa have already made an approach for Wigan's Roberto Martinez but he decided to stay at Wigan as he had "unfinished business" there meaning Villa's search to replace Houllier continues. 

Rushdens Diamonds All Out


Rushden and Diamonds football club have been banished from the conference due to financial reasons. They have a winding up order set for monday which could be a day where Rushden and Diamonds FC finish forever.

"The primary reason why we've been expelled is because of the financial issues with the winding-up petition," said chief executive Steve Beasant.

Because of the decision to punish Rushden in this way, the leagues needed a bit of jolting at the AGM of the football conference. Due to there now being less teams in the Conference Premier, Southport stay up rather than being relegated to the conference North, this would usually mean that a conference North club would also get a reprive but as they only had 21 clubs with two going down last year anyway, it was only fair that Thurrock of the conference South stay up instead.

However, this has meant that to even out the teams, the furthest north club, Bishops Stortford will have to move to the conference North. However, this decision has not been met gratefully by Stortford, who's travel expenses will be sky high next season on the North, so they have lodged an appeal against the decision which could see Lewes staying up and Chelmsford moving across to the North.

Rushden had hoped to be saved as it looked like there may have been a take over from the Glenn Hoddle acadamy but these hopes were dashed on friday. The club did make a presentation at the AGM showing what they were going to do about their financial problems but the conference decided to come down hard, something thbey have been criticised a lot for not doing.

Rushden will feel hard done by as in the past teams have got away with 1 point penalty for the same thing, a mere slap on the wrist.
"We've had two investment consortiums show interest in taking over the club and injecting money," Beasant told BBC Radio Northampton.
"We needed more time to get that interest confirmed.
"We've got a business model and we had investors but the conditions put on us by the Conference made the deal impossible."

Rushden will now look to find a place in next seasons Zameroto league a drop down of at least 2 divisions, but fans would just be grateful to still have a club.

"We'd have to make representation to them to be included, so we'll deal with that on Monday," he said. "But the priority is to make sure that the club isn't wound up on Monday.
"We've got to deal with the winding-up petition. We're looking for an adjournment."

For their financial position, just last month they were fined £2000 and docked 5 points by the conference meaning that they dropped down one place to 13th.

Rushden were created in 1992 when club founder Max Griggs merged Rushden Town and Irthlingborough Diamonds.

He was then at the helm for 11 years, building a new home at Nene Park, during which time he took the club into the Football League in 2001.

But Griggs stepped down at the age of 65 in October 2003, deciding that he has done all he could do for them.

He gave the stadium and 22 acres of land to the club's Supporters Trust in 2005.
But the former owner resigned as life president in January 2007, following an argument over land.

Thursday 9 June 2011

Utd sign Blackburns Jones

Big things lie ahead

Blackburn defender Phil Jones is on his way to Manchester Utd. after the two clubs agreed a £17m deal.

The england under 21 player also had offers from Arsenal and Liverpool, the club he was expected to join, but has instead decided to go to Manchester Utd. Jones only made his premier league debut in March last year but has made a big impact since and being a regular in the Blackburn defence alongside Samba.

Jones is travelling to the U-21 Euero Championship with England this summer. It will not be easy for Jones to break in to the Utd. squad as they already have a brilliant pairing of Ferdinand and Vidic as well as Chris Smalling and Johnny Evans who are all cometing for places. Jones was influencial in keeping Blackburn in the premier league this season.

Jones started his career at Blackburn and stayed there until now. United striker Wayne Rooney reacted to the news by writing on Twitter: "Phil Jones is a good young English player. One of the toughest defenders I played against last season. Can play midfield too."

Jones made 35 appearances for Blackburn but didn't score once for the club.
Rovers striker Jason Roberts said losing Jones would be a big blow to the club.
"He has been fantastic for us since he has come into the team but how do you stop someone going to Man Utd?" Roberts told BBC Radio 5 live.

Liverpool Snap Up Henderson

Liverpools new £20m man
Liverpool Fc have agreed to sign Sunderlands Henderson in a deal worth £20 million.

"A fee has been agreed with Liverpool for Jordan Henderson and he travels to Anfield with the club's blessing," said a Sunderland statement. Liverpool had already had an offer of £16 million rejected but their new offer is enough to tempt Sunderland in to selling.

Henderson is set to play in the England under 21 squad for the European cup this summer and Liverpool hope to complete his medical before he leaves for this. It is thought that Ngog may be going to Sunderland as part of the deal but this is yet to be confirmed.

Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn was full of praise for Henderson: "Jordan is a credit to himself, his family and Sunderland's Academy and everyone here wishes him the very best for the future.
"I'm pleased that we got the deal to a level that we felt was right for our club.
"We know the areas that need strengthening and the type of player we need in order to progress, and the job of bringing those players to the club is continuing at a pace."

Henderson had a five year contract at Sunderland before he made the switch.

Henderson has played for the England squad before, and although his form dipped towards the end of the season he is still regarded as one of Englands brightest young talents. It was expected that Henderson would move to Old Trafford, however Utd are now after other midfield targets due to his drop in form.

It is believed that Connor Wickham is next on Liverpools list as Dalgish looks to sign up and coming English prospects. 

Farnborough Full Time Club

Farnbrough FC have made the decision to go full time. They, along with Eastleigh are the first ever clubs at this step in the football tree to go full time. However, the decidion has not been made because of the clubs having lots of money and wanting to go up and up and up. Infact, in Farnbroughs case, next season they will be playing on a lower playing budget.

Farnboroughs new full time management team, Gary Haylock
The idea is that to compete with the leaders of the diviosn the clubs feel that they would be better off having full time players that are cheaper than full time players. But to do this the clubs will have to employ young players from the local area as older players need to earn enough to make a living if they are going to be playing football full time.

Farnborough have lost over 12 players because of their decision to go full time including Michael Jordan, Mcmahon and Smith all to Boreham Wood, Jay Conroy to Sutton, Barett to Havant, Steve Robinson, Gary Holloway, Dale Binns and Paul Booth have all left and are expected to sign for Lewes in the near future, Bubb to Aldershot and Ibe to Chelmsford including many more such as Jack King who are without clubs yet.

Histon tried the same thing in the Conference Premier last season, and they ended up relegated however Farnborough and Eastleigh believe they can make it work.

O'Shea After Hayes Job

Give me a job?
Tim O'Shea is not giving up football management without a fight, after being fired by Lewes he then tried his luck to get the Farnborough job which failed as they decided to take on the man who left Conference Premier club Hayes and Yeading, Gary Haylock. However it has now emmerged that Tim O'Shea has applied for the Hayes job, a club in the conference Premier, a league above the Conference south where Tim lead Lewes to relegation.

O'Shea was not particulalry a fan faveroute during his time at Lewes after using 65 players during the course of one season. If he were to get the Hayes job then it would be an odd decision and if he takes his usual players with him, surely they would not be up to it considering they couldn't save Lewes from relegation.

However O'Shea is keen to get back in to management and feels that he could do a good job with Hayes. He did also have a successful spell managing Croydon until he decided to leave when it emmerged that the money was coming from a illegal cricket scam.

It is belived that Tim needs money to do well and it is believed that Hayes do not have much of the M word. However, O'Shea is not the only man in the running for the job, ex-hammer Julian Dicks is also going for it.

The King's First Interview

Currently "talking"
Steve King has had his first interview since rejoining Lewes. He looked around the dripping pan lovingly, clearly happy to be back. Some things that he mentions are that he is "in talks" with some players, the players he means are thought to be Steve Robinson, Gary Holloway, Dale Binns and Paul Booth, but he has missed out on the signings of Michael Jordan and Jay Conroy, who have stayed in the blue square south and have gone to Boreham Wood and Sutton  Utd. respectivly.

All these players are from Farnborough but all played for Lewes under Steve King before. King also states that there are a "few already here" that he wants to keep who he has already spoken to. One of these players is thought to be David Wheeler who is expected to leave the club to be closer to university. However, it is well known that King has always wanted Wheeler and tried to sign him for Farnborough during his time there. Also it is well known that Wheeler shares a great love for Lewes.

The other major point of interest for Lewes fans is that they have a pre-season friendly booked with St Neots town, a club in Camberidge with a new stadium and wonderful facilities.

Tuesday 7 June 2011

Jol Back In England

Back In England
Fulham FC have today announced that Martin Jol is to be their next manager. It has been rumoured that Chris Hughton will become his assistant manager in the near future, the roles they had together while at Tottenham. Since being fired from the Tottenham job, Jol has been managing Ajax in the dutch league.

Jol said: "I am very happy to join Fulham. It is a club with good, solid foundations and a great fan base.
"I am looking forward to being part of the Fulham family and thank the chairman for the trust shown in me."

Sunday 5 June 2011

Poor England Fight Back

I would have got ten if I started...

England came down from two goals down to secure a 2-2 draw with Switzerland meaning that they stay top of their Euro Qualifying group on goal difference with three games left to play. The game largely had an end of season feel to it, after all the season did finish a month ago.

England started the brighter side and Glen Johnson almost gave England a brilliant start when he met a corner at the back post but was easily saved.

Joe Hart had an eventful first half which started when he saved well from a Derdyok shot but then had to scramble as Inlers shot quickly followed and deflected of Ferdinand sending the young England keeper scrambling.

Hart was having a tough time and was constantly being tested by intelligent player, Shaquiri. Once again Hart made a smart save to deny him but Switzerland had control of the game and fans at Wembely could tell a goal was coming.

However it was England with the chance next as Ferdinand glanced a header narrowly over the bar.

Not long after Ashley Cole had to be replaced by Baines after a challenge from Cole on Behrami left himself injured and in need of a replacement. However, moments after this change, there was nothing Baines could do as some poor England defending gifted Switzerland their first goal. The first goal came from a free kick just outside the area which was floated across the goal aiming for a head just to tap it in. However no England player could deal with the ball, including Ferdinand who jumped and completly missed , imparing Harts vision and allowing the ball to find it way in to the bottom corner of the net, Barnetta the goalscorer.

Only moments after the first goal England showed their lack of ability when it comes to dealing with set pieces again leaving Capello infuriated in his touchline and giving Barnetta his second goal from a free kick in just two minuets.

This time, the free kick was from a much tighter angle, to the left of the penalty area, in line with the 6 yard box. Barnetta swung the ball in hard at the near post and would off it the two man wall, but Milner was distacted by Inlers run and so broke the wall, much to the annoyance off Walcott. The ball went through the broken wall and Hart desperatly spread his legs to make the block but it was too late and Hart failed to keep the ball out as it squeezed between his outstretched leg and the post, leaving England in dire trouble.

England knew they would have to get a goal back from half time as they knew Switzerland had heeld for a clean sheet against Spain at the world cup, so a goal before half time was neccissary. Djourou provided a huge chance for England as the game approached half time when Wilshire used his guile and skill to creep in to the box and his Arsenal team mate slide in on him, clearly catching him and giving England a stone wall penalty.

Lampard stepped up to take the kick and sent it calmly in his usual way to the bottom left, the keeper guessed the right way but was unlucky as the ball crept under his arm, giving England a lifeline going in to half time.

The players were too tired...
The atmosphere at Wembley was not a happy one at half time and Cappello reacted by giving England extra attacking options by replacing Lampard with Ashley Young, who many had expected to start.  Once again, England started the half very brightly. Immediatly from kick off Young and Walcott exchanged passes, sending Walcot through on goal where he was brought down again by Djourou just outside the box a clear foul, the referee just had to decide whether it was inside or outside the box, but insteadd the referee faultered and waved play on.

England were rewarded for bringing Ashley Young on just moments later, when Milner sent a cheeky chip in to the box which Baines chested down perfecly in to Youngs path, who hit the ball sweetly on th volley drawing England level, no long in to the second half and with plenty of time to look for a dramatic winner.

The beautifully crafted goal seemed to make England more comfortable and they were retaining possesion more. Darren Bent recieved a golden opportunity not long later when Wilshire showed why he is rated so highly whn he danced past three Swiss midefielders before sending a wonderful ball on the ground which curled round Djourou and in to Bents path but he went for goal with his right foot being parrried extremly well by the Swiss keeper who spread himself expertly, but Bent may have been better off going around the keeper with his left foot.

Bent, usually so reliable in front of goal, especially since his move to Aston Villa, somehow recieved another chance that he once again blew. Villa teammate, for now, Ashley Young sent a hard shot at goal that the keeper could only parry straight to the onrushing Bent who, with the keeper stranded, managed to blaze the ball over the bar from inside the area with an open goal in front of him, leaving England wondering if they would ever be able to do it.

Ashley Young was having a great game and nearly got his secind goal with fifteen more minuets to play as Milner cleverly glanced past two defenders and cut the ball back in to Young, who was unluck as his shot went over the bar due to great pressure from Djourou.

Both teams were to have one more chance to take the win, Switzerlands coming first as Mehmedi took a shot from just outside the area which had Hart well beaten but was just inches wide of the post. Englands last chance fell to Stewart Downing, yet another Villa player to have a chance in that second half. The ball came back to him from a tight angle free after a corner, but he sent a wild shot smashing in to the side netting with the last kick of the game.

Although the England performance was poor they are still on top of their group after Montenegro failed to capitalise as they dre 1-1 with Bulgaria, leaving England top on goal difference.

The game was a qualifier to reach the Euro 2012 which will be held in Poland and Ukraine in the summer of next year. Wayne Rooney was suspended for the game after picking up his fith card against Wales at Cardiff so England were left with just three striking options in just Bent, Zamora and Crouch.

Young was mysteriously kept on the bench after he made a game winning display against Wales and only proved Cappello's ignorance when he came on and was man of the match after just one half, he completly changed the game.

England have now failed to win at Wembley for the last four games, their longest streak for thirty years. Switzerland however, deserved at least a point.

Englands next Euro qualifier will be against Bulgaria in September.

Saturday, 4 June 2011
Euro 2012 qualifying
Home Team Score Away Team Time
England 2-2 Switzerland FT
(HT 1-2)
  • Lampard (pen) 37
  • Young 51

  • Barnetta 32
  • Barnetta 35

England

Substitutes

Switzerland

  • 01 Benaglio
  • 02 Lichtsteiner
  • 03 Ziegler
  • 04 Senderos
  • 20 Djourouyellow card
  • 07 Barnetta (Emeghara 89)
  • 08 Inler
  • 11 Behramiyellow card (Dzemaili 58)
  • 23 Shaqiri
  • 09 Derdiyok (Mehmedi 74)
  • 17 Xhaka

Substitutes

  • 12 Wolfli,
  • 05 Von Bergen,
  • 15 Dzemaili,
  • 16 Fernandes,
  • 22 Margairaz,
  • 14 Emeghara,
  • 18 Mehmedi
Ref: SkominaAtt: 84,459
ENGLAND
SWITZERLAND

Possession

  • England 52%
  • Switzerland 48%

Attempts on target

  • England 5
  • Switzerland 9

Attempts off target

  • England 9
  • Switzerland 6

Corners

  • England 7
  • Switzerland 2

Fouls

  • England 11
  • Switzerland 15

Saturday 4 June 2011

The Lewes Saga Continues- Return Of The King

Return Of The King
Today Lewes FC finally announced the decision that had been taken on their new manager. The decision had been delayed by over a week due to suspected difficulties with getting contracts signed. Rumours have been flying around as to who the manager would be and there were some big names involved such as John Maggs, Simon Colbran and Danny Cullip. However it has been announced this morning that Steve King will be the next Lewes manager.

King was Lewes manager back in 2007 and lead them to wininng the Blue Square South title in his time at the club before being sacked by then director Martin Elliot just one week after winning the title. This lead to a mass exodus of Lewes playeers and meant that they have suffered twice from relegation in just three years, dropping down to the Ryman Premier league.

Since leaving Lewes, Steve King joined Conference Premier side Northwhitch Victoria where he resigned just a few months in to the job as wages were not being payed to him or the players and it was an extremly long journey not to be paid for.

King then joined up With Farnborough who he lead to winning the Ryman Premier and then last season came runner up in the Blue Square Bet South, only to find himself out of  job again, howeveer there are conflicting views as to whether he resigned or whether he was fired over a fall out with the chairman over full time status.

The decision to puyt Steve King in charge has been a contoversial one as it is rumoured that he applied late and according to an ex-assistant manager recieved "special treatment". It is rumoured that Steve first applied for the Braintree job but this was turned down and so he moved on and tried the Lewes job late.

King had been rumoured to other clubs such as Braintree and Lewes's rivals Eastbourne Borough who are in the league above Lewes. Howver King has ended up at Lewes one way or another to the delight of the Lewes fans who are now looking forward to good times at the club again.

Lewes FC have quickly moved to quash rumours that King will put the club in financial misery again by making a statemenat that all candidates were rigerously interviewed and that all of the them would have to be on the same playing budget which they all agreed to. There was also a worry about the cost of Kingys wages but that has been quashed also, King has taken a significant pay cut to take the Lewes job, such is his love for the club.

The selection panel also assesed the level of manager and how each one has done and what their plans would be. They also feel that King will make sure that the club progress and aid the strong youth level of Sussex players that the club are aiming to build a centre for at the club.

King has stated that he is delighted to be back: “I’m really happy to be back. Now I want to build something going forward. It’s going to be an amazing time.”

Steve Ibbitson just wanted to make something clear: “This has been a challenging process and we’ve interviewed some very good people.  Our supporters have been great over three difficult years and they deserve to see us winning more matches as well as playing good football and we think this gives us the best possibility of that." 
"Of course, we will also continue to operate on a sound financial basis, whilst at the same time building for our future, especially through our Youth set up.”

And Alex Leith, a member on the Lewes community board had this to say about the appointment: "We're delighted to welcome Steve King back as manager of Lewes FC, after carefully considering his profile against what was a surprisingly strong list of candidates."
"We chose Steve because we felt that the positive footballing style his teams tend to espouse epitomizes and underpins the forward-thinking community-oriented nature of the club, as it moves forward into a new era.”

King will also be joined by his assistant manager Justin Skinner who also played a vital role with Lewes and plays the same role as assitant manager whever King goes.

It is still rumoured that Tim O'Shea may take over the reigns as Farnborough boss over the weekend, howevr Haylock from Hayes is a more likely option. If Tim O'Shea were to take over it would be a straight swap for the two managers.

Friday 3 June 2011

Friedel Moves To Spurs

Aston Villa goalkeeper, Brad Freidel, who's contract ran out at the end of the season has agreed a deal to join Tottenham, prompting suggestions that flukey goalkeeper, Gomes will leave the club.

The American international aged 40 has signed a two year deal with the London club after speculation surrounded over his future at Aston Villa. Friedel has plenty of experience in the Premier League having joined Liverpool from Columbus Crew, then becoming a fans faveouite with Blackburn before finally moving to Villa and now moving to current club Tottenham.

It is now expected that Gomes will leave, however Redknapp has suggested that he is there to add more experience and provide "competition" for Gomes and Cudicini, who has also just signed a new contract with Tottenham.

"It is good to have three such experienced top goalkeepers at the club in [Heurelho] Gomes, Carlo [Cudicini] and now Brad.
"It means we have competition for places, particularly with the number of games we'll hopefully face next year." Said Redknapp of his new signing.

Thursday 2 June 2011

Hughes Next To Go

On his way to Villa?
It is vastly known that premier league managers have a very short life span in charge of a club, but usually this is due to sackings, this time however, we have had to resignations in just a day. This time Fulham boss Mark Hughes resigned from Fulham following Gerard Houlliers resignation from Aston Villa because of health problems.

Mark Hughes took over the Fulham reigns from Roy Hodgson at the beggining of the season after he joined up with Liverpool, but a season on and he is now with West Brom, showing you the pressures of being a premier league club.

Mark Hughes decision to resign makes Fulham the fourth premier league team to have lost their manager come the end of the season this year.

Mark Hughes took Fulham on an impressive season, placing them inside the top ten, despite an early wobble with the club. Fulham also gained a place in Europe next season after finishing runners up to Chelsea in the fair play system, with Chelsea already having qualified for the Champions league.

Hughes was the first manager to  oversee th Manchester City's riches and he managed to bring in key players to the club such as Adebayor, Lescott and Tevez. However he was sacked as Manchester City boss after he failed to do any wonders with Manchester City, failing even to get them in to Europe. However, the players were not happy when he left and there is still speculation that Mancini is still not a particulaly liked figure in the dressing room, however it has improved since he got the club FA cup success and a 3rd place finish meaning automatic qualification for the Champions league.

There has been a lot of speculation that Hughes will take over as the next Aston Villa boss, who are also rumoured to want sacked Chelsea manager Carlo Anccelotti. However Villa and Hughes deny talking to each other. Hughes claims that the only reason he has left it because he wants to improve and go on to bigger things:


"As a young, ambitious manager I wish to move on to further my experiences," he said.
"I believe my management team and I have done a good job and the club has a strong foundation from which they can go forward.
"I would also like to take this opportunity to clarify that neither myself nor my representative have approached or have been approached by another club.

He denied speculation that anyone at all had spoken to him: "This decision to leave Fulham has not been influenced by any outside party."

Confirmation: Colbran Not Next Boss

The announcement as to te next manager of Lewes FC has been delayed for the fith time. It is now reported that the annoucement will be made on Saturday, over a week since were were supposed to know "at the latest".

However, it appears that a decision on the next Lewes boss has actually been made, however, the reason for the delay is that there are still papers to be signed and the board do not want to risk making a premature announcment.

New Redhill Boss
Today however, it emmeged that Simon Colbran, a known candidate and was in the top three of candidates has now taken the Redhill job which means that he has failed to get the Lewes job. This is a big announcment as it is now expected taht Steve King has been given the job but just needs to sign the contract which he couldn't do because he was away.

Howver, this is not set in stone as the job could also have been given to Danny Cullip or John Maggs who were both also rumoured to be inside the top three candidates.

Some Lewes fans are angry taht Steve King has been given "special treatment" in his application for the job because it is rumoured that he did not apply in time, but only applied after he was rejected the Braintree job. However these are rumours and some people suggest he did not apply for the Braintree job at all.

Wednesday 1 June 2011

Houllier Forced To Resign

Sad Day
Gerard Houllier sadly had to resign today due to being to unwell to return to the Aston Villa dug out next season. He has only been at Aston Villa for 9 months after taking over from Martin O'Neale who suprisingly resigned at the beggining of the season.

Houllier had heart problems that had kept him out for the end of last season, and has now had to leave the post after undergoing tests earlier on in the week. From the results, the doctors advised that he would need further time to recover and so would not be able to be involved in the stress of pre-season.

Aston Villa asked him to resign because they felt that going back to the dug out after pre-season would have a major risk on bringing his heart problems back which they did not want to be responsible for.

In 2001 Houllier had a heart operation after he experienced chest pains during a game and that time he managed to come back and remain Liverpool manager for another threee years.

Although Villa did not have a very good season, experiencing some relegation worrys. Houllier managed to turn that around with his aquisition of Darren Bent for £18million from Sunderland.

Houllier had been hoping to keep his job however despite resigning:

"I am extremely disappointed that I will not have the opportunity to manage Aston Villa next season.
"My health has improved considerably since I was taken ill on 20 April. I now intend to take the next few months to concentrate on recuperating fully before I may return to football.
"I was very much looking forward to the prospect of my first full season as Villa manager and returning for pre-season training.

He added: "It has been an honour to manage this great club and I wish everyone connected with Aston Villa every success for the future."

Hammers Hope Allardyce Has The Right Tools

This is a ball lads, it is what you kick.
Sam Allardycde has taken over as manager of West Ham following their relegation to the Championship. He will take over from Avram Grant who was sacked after his second relegation in as many years. Sam Allardyce was relieved of his dutys for Blackburn in December who then appointed Steve Keen, who has only just managed to save Blackburn from relegation, something Allardyce was in the position to do anyway.

The first challenge for Allardyce will be to make sure West Ham keep as manay of their stars as possible with it being expected that numerous players will leave such as; Scott Parker, Rob Green, Mathew Upson and Carlton Cole, all important players in the West Ham squad.

West Ham are due to move in to the Olympic Stadium after next season and the West Ham directors including Alan Sugars aide, Karen Brady, have set Allardyce the challenge of returning West Ham to the premier league in time to fit in with the move to the new stadium.

It is believed that Allardyce wants to sign several players for West Ham to ensure they gain promotion at first attempt.


"It's a fantastic club with a great tradition and loyal supporters," said 56-year-old Allardyce.
"I wouldn't have taken this job if I didn't think we could bounce straight back into the Premier League."

"I couldn't have contemplated the job if I didn't think there was the opportunity to build something substantial at West Ham," he added.