Seven Sisters Love Football: August 2012

Wellington Phoneix to play in football series in Meghalaya

Top Australian A-League football club Wellington Phoenix will participate in a triangular series 'The North East Lajong Super Series' scheduled to be held from August 24 – September 1.

Shillong Lajong FC and Sikkim United FC will be the other two I-League teams from NE to be participating at the, one of a kind, triangular series in India vying for the title.

Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional club from New Zealand, which plays in Australia’s premier professional football competition, the A-League.

The Kiwi team boasts of four World Cup players, who represented New Zealand in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where they did not lose a single game -- Tony Lochhead, Benjamin Sigmund, Leo Bertos and Jeremy Brockie.

Organisers said the series will be in a round-robin format where in all the three teams will go head to head and the top two teams will play in the final slated to be held in Shillong on September 1.

The team arrived in New Delhi today having practice session in the national capital.

Chhetri to lead attack in Nehru Cup, Jeje dropped

New Delhi, Aug 20 : Portugal-returned Sunil Chhetri will expectedly lead the attack but his strike partner Jeje Lalpekhlua will be missed as he failed to figure in national football coach Wim Koevermans’ 20-man squad for the Nehru Cup amid speculation that the young striker is not match-fit.

Midfielders Joaquim Abranches and Rocus Lamare were the other notable names missing, with the Dutchman preferring to go with promising under-22 players Alwyn George and Manandeep Singh.

Once touted as the future of Indian football after his exploits in the AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers last year, Jeje did not play a full match in the AFC U-22 Championship in Muscat.

In the first game against Lebanon, the talented striker from Mizoram had to be substituted after 20 minutes of play, while he could come only towards the end in the latter matches.

“The coach does not seem to be too convinced about his fitness. Moreover, he could not play as much as he would have liked to in the under-22 championship,” a source close to the team said.

The core squad remains more or less the same with the likes of Gouramangi Singh, Syed Rahim Nabi, Clifford Miranda, Mehtab Hossain and Nirmal Chetri expected to lead the youngsters in the tournament beginning on Wednesday and that includes teams such as Cameroon and Syria.

As far as the formation is concerned, it will be a departure from Bob Houghton’s 4-4-2 configuration. The 1988 European Cup-winning coach is most likely going to employ a 4-2-3-1 formation with Chhetri being the lone man upfront.

“I’m confident in the abilities of my boys,” Koevermans stressed.

“The practice sessions have been good. It’s nice to see the boys pushing each other,” he added.

“It’s a dream come true for me,” said a delighted Alwyn. “The camp sessions have been an education for me and I’m maturing fast as a player.”

Manandeep, who had made his senior India debut earlier this year, said: “This is a new challenge for me. As a player, one needs to be flexible to adjust oneself in different situations. I’m trying my best and learning at every step.”

Defending champions India take on Syria in the opening match of the tournament.

The squad: Goalkeepers: Subrata Pal, Subhasish Roychowdhury, Karanjeet Singh.

Defenders: Nirmal Chhetri, Denzil Franco, Gourmangi Singh, Gurwinder Singh, Raju Gaikwad, Syed Rahim Nabi. Midfielders: Lenny Rodrigues, Mehtab Hossain, Jewel Raja, Francis Fernandes, Alwyn George, Anthony Pereira, Sanju Pradhan, Clifford Miranda.

Forwards: Robin Singh, Sunil Chhetri, Manandeep Singh.

It's official! Arsenal's Robin van Persie to join Manchester United

Dutch forward Robin van Persie set to partner Rooney after securing £22m move after Manchester United and Arsenal agree on a fee.

London, Aug 16 : Manchester United said Wednesday they had agreed a deal to sign Dutch striker from Premier League rivals Arsenal.

"Manchester United is pleased to announce it has reached agreement with Arsenal Football Club for the transfer of Robin Van Persie," said a club statement.

"The deal is subject to a medical and the agreement of personal terms. A further announcement will be made in due course."

Van Persie stunned Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger when he declared immediately after Euro 2012 that he wanted to leave the north London team because he felt the club's ambitions did not match his own.

Robin van Persie is the first player to transfer from Arsenal directly to Man United in EPL era (since 1992-93).

That came after a superb season where the forward scored 37 goals in all competitions, a tally that led him to being voted player of the year by both his fellow professionals in England and the country's Football Writers' Association.

Van Persie's announcement sparked interest from Premier League champions Manchester City, as well as Italian giants Juventus, but it is United manager Alex Ferguson who has won the race for the striker's coveted signature.

It is not expected either a medical or indeed personal terms will prove a barrier to the 29-year-old's move to Old Trafford.

No fee has been confirmed by either United or Arsenal, although it has been reported as around the £20million mark.

Provided the deal goes through smoothly, van Persie could make his United debut in their Premier League opener away to Everton on Monday.

The transfer is set to be the most expensive deal United have done since Dimitar Berbatov's club record £30.75m move from Tottenham in 2008.

Ferguson made van Persie one of his main pre-season targets, despite already having Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez in his squad.

The veteran Scottish boss even went so far as speaking directly to Wenger in a bid to make sure the deal went through.

French boss Wenger did not want to sell prize asset van Persie to a rival Premier League club.

But, with supporters turning against their former favourite during a pre-season match with Cologne on Sunday and van Persie having just a year left on his Gunners contract, he clearly decided it was better to sell him for a large fee than see him leave for nothing in 12 months' time.

But with van Persie having followed former Arsenal stars Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri -- sold to Barcelona and Manchester City respectively last year -- out of the Emirates, questions will be asked about Arsenal's determination to end a seven-year trophy drought.

Manchester United to become most valuable football club in the world

Manchester United's New York floatation was priced at $14 a share tonight, below the $16 to $20 range marketed to investors.

Manchester United's English forward Wayne Rooney celebrates after scoring the fourth goal during the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Everton at Old Trafford in Manchester, north-west England

Before its acquisition by the Glazers, Manchester United was listed on the London Stock Exchange.

However, even at the disappointing price of $14 a share the club is still expected become the most valuable football club in the world, worth about $2.3bn (£1.5bn). In total 16.7m shares are being issued, raising $233m.

In contrast, Real Madrid is valued at just $1.88bn, according to an annual ranking by Forbes.

Having ditched a plan to float in Singapore, Manchester United’s initial public offering in New York has proved controversial because the Glazers, the US-based family that acquired the club in 2005, will collect more than $100m of the flotation proceeds. The club’s supporters’ trust has called for all the money raised to be used to cut the club’s debt of £423m, which stems from the Glazers’ purchase.

“It’s not the most natural place for Manchester United to list,” said Tim Jenkinson, a specialist on IPOs at Said Business School in Oxford. “Most obvious would have been the UK, then possibly Asia. But they do have tremendous brand loyalty.”

Its global status helped the club secure a record $600m sponsorship deal with US car maker General Motors last month.

The Glazers hired a bevy of heavyweight banks, including JP Morgan Chase, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, to pitch the shares to investors in the US, Europe and Asia.
Despite the club’s sporting success, analysts said investors will have to stomach having no control at the club, that was pipped to the Premier League title by local rival Manchester City last season.
Before its acquisition by the Glazers, Manchester United was listed on the London Stock Exchange.