The Beautiful Game

Kuyt set to seal Liverpool move

thebeautifulgame — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 21:37:10 +0000

Liverpool finally seem to getting there man Dirk Kuyt , who they have been following for quite some time now . The clubs have agreed a fee thought to be around 10 million . Now the player must complete a medical before the deal is done . He was also chased by newcastle and Tottenham but it was Liverpool who got the man finally .

Now it will be interesting to see whether kuyt can sove the Striker problems of Liverpool which they have had since they sold Michael Owen . He seems to be a good striker , did well for Holland at the world cup and his record is also impressive .

Owen may be out for season

thebeautifulgame — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 21:33:57 +0000

Well this is a bad news for the Newcastle fans . Michael Owen may miss the whole season because of the cruciate knee ligament damage he suffered during the World Cup match against sweden . This will be a bitter blow to Newcastle who already have shortage of strikers . With Alan Shearer retired and Owen out for season , they only have Amoebi and Luque as first team strikers .

Owen was the most likely man that could have taken the mantle from Shearer but now i think the responsibility will come on Shola Amoebi who is a decent player . With the transfer window still open i can see them going into the market to get a striker . But still i cant see Newcastle challenging for major honours this season .

England 4 Greece 0

thebeautifulgame — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 21:41:01 +0000

Steve McClaren managerial carrer got of to a great start with a 4- 0 thrashing of Greece . John Terry , starting his first match as captain opened the scoring early on by nodding the ball after it had been headed into the penalty area by Stewart Downing . Frank Lampard , another Chelsea player who couldnt find the net during the World Cup doubled the lead with his deflected shot and it was also his effort which rebounded for Peter Crouch to slot in the third . Crouch then scored another with a header and he would have compleated his hat trick had he not missed some good chances after wards . The chances for Greeks in the first half were rare and in the second half they were denied by some good goalkeeping by Chris Kirkland .

Steven Gerrard was at his best being involved in almost all of the England play . Owen hargreaves being watched by Manchester United manager produced a Man of the Match performance in the holding midfield role and even Frank Lampard got his scoring touch back . Even the subsitutes like Lennon , Richardson did well to impress .Overall Steve McClaren will be pleased by the display of his team which lacked players like Beckham , Rooney , Owen , Joe Cole . Though it was not the sternest test , it proved that the England team has got enough potential .

England: Robinson (Kirkland 45), Gary Neville (Carragher 78), Ferdinand, Terry, Cole (Bridge 80), Gerrard (Bent 78), Lampard, Hargreaves, Downing (Lennon 69), Defoe (Richardson 69), Crouch.
Subs Not Used: Young, Phil Neville, Brown, Dawson, Jenas, Wright-Phillips, Foster.

Goals: Terry 14, Lampard 30, Crouch 35, 42.

Greece: Nikopolidis, Fyssas (Lagos 29), Dellas (Anatolakis 64), Katsouranis, Antzas (Kyrgiakos 45), Vyntra, Zagorakis (Basinas 45), Karagounis, Giannakopoulos (Salpigidis 45), Samaras (Amanatidis 45), Charisteas.
Subs Not Used: Chalkias, Kafes, Gekas, Papadopoulos, Georgeas.

Hargreaves considers Man Utd Offer

thebeautifulgame — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 12:36:42 +0000

Owen Hargeaves , the Bayern Munich England midfielder has revealed that Manchester United has made an “fantastic offer” for his services . He has recently been linked with a move away from Germany with a no of English clubs interested . He impressed playing for England in this recent World Cup . Hargreaves also has wealth of experiance having also played in the Champions League for Munich and he also has been a regular in England side mostly making subsitute apperance.

I think it will be a good signing for United as he is a very good Holding midfielder and may combine well with Carrick . If United sign him , it will also cool there interest in Marcos Senna who has also been linked with United with Sir Alex Ferguson also expressing an interest in him . Lets See what happens .

England Vs Greece preview

thebeautifulgame — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 09:58:42 +0000

The match being the first game in charge of the new England manager Steve McClaren , a whole lot of expectations are there from him . The team which he has selected consists of youngsters as well as experianced players . I was happy to see him drop Beckham and a few more stars like Campbell . This was a bold thing to do and something that the previous manager lacked . Now the new England team has got some potential stars like Lennon , Ashton , Dawson , Downing etc . He certainly looks to be building a team for the future .

Greece have also got a good squad , though they were unable to qualify for the World Cup , they can surprise anyone on there day .

My Prediction : I am very much excited by this new England team and i fancy the youngsters to deliver . England win 2-1 .

Scholes and Rooney To face bans .

thebeautifulgame — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 21:39:50 +0000

With the new season getting closer , things dont seem to be getting right for my fav club Manchester United . First ther new 18 million signing Michael Carrick got injured during the friendly and now there two most influential players will miss three matches as there appeal against the red card which they received during a friendly with Porto was turned down . The ban will start from 23rd August causing them to miss matches against Charlton , Watford and Tottenham

In My personal opinion i dont think Rooney deserved a straight red card as his offence was unintentional but i think his reputation got the best of him . Now lets hope Man U get through without them .

Welcome To My Blog

thebeautifulgame — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 21:24:16 +0000

Hello people , This is Madhur Kapoor . I am a die hard Manchester United and soccer fan and thats is the main reason for creating this blog . The blog will feature news and opinions related to Soccer around the World with special emphasis on the transfers and the English Premier League . For my personal blog please visit www.whoismadhur.com .