Transfer Rumours Abound

The July 1 opening of football transfer season is rapidly approaching and with its impending arrival come swarms upon swarms of transfer rumours. But which ones are done deals and which ones are just mere smoke and ashes? Does it really matter? Half the fun is in the speculation. Here's a break-down of some of the top transfer stories..

Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo, Ronaldo, Ronaldo. It seems like Cristiano Ronaldo is all anyone is talking about lately. Real Madrid wants him, and it now appears they are willing to pay out the nose for him. Recent rumours have them offering him a record breaking five year deal worth £300,000 a week. To make things more interesting, Ronaldo has said on more than one occasion that he wants to make the move to Spain. On the other hand, Manchester United says they won't sell him "at any price". However, it has been said that everyone has their price. Only time will tell if Read Madrid is willing to pay United's.

Aaron Ramsey

The seventeen-year-old midfielder is being courted by three premier league teams. Cardiff City appears to be willing to let him go for £5 million, but the young star is still trying to decide which move would be in his best interests. While many people would see Manchester United as the obvious choice, his value at the club is a bit of a question. They plan to sign him but then loan him directly back to Cardiff for a year. The message this sends is that they want to sign him while he is relatively cheap, but that they don't necessarily have any intention of utilizing his skills any time soon. On the end of the spectrum, Everton and Arsenal appear to be offering him a spot on their first teams. It looks like the young Ramsey needs to choose between possibly benching for United or playing for someone else.

David Villa

Valencia is having money issues and needs to unload their star striker at the cost of about £17 million. The key players in the battle over David Villa seem to be Arsenal and Tottenham. But just to complicate matters, Chelsea and Real Madrid have also expressed an interest in signing Villa. To make things more interesting, especially for the other teams, Villa has said that he would like to play for Arsenal, but he won't make a decision until after Euro 2008. It's a risky move on his part; a good showing at the tournament could increase his value, but less than stellar playing or an injury could hurt him in more ways than one.

Ronaldinho

If United was serious about not selling Ronaldo, Ronaldinho's asking price of £200,000 a week would make him by far the highest paid player in the world. While his potential transfer to Manchester City doesn't seem to have the drama of the other trades, it could still change the face of football by pushing prices to never before seen heights. And since no decision is agreeable to everyone, people are questioning whether or not Ronaldinho is really worth it. His performance this season was rife with injuries and time on the bench. Is acquiring Ronaldinho the best move for Manchester City's new manager? It seems a risk he is either willing to take or one that he was given no choice about. Either way, for all appearances, Ronaldinho is probably making the move. Will any or all of them actually change clubs? Probably, but at this point, nothing is certain. While Villa and Ramsey will most likely be signed, the high end demands of Ronaldo and Ronaldinho make their transfers more important, but less likely. It will be an interesting year -football may well change forever.

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English Premier League - Liverpool Maintains Its Lead by Beating Blackburn

The 18-time champion of the Premier League, Liverpool, vindicated its leading position on the table this past Saturday by beating Blackburn Rovers 3-1 on the road in an amazing way. The game was well-played by the two teams but the consistency and determination of the Reds were higher than the Rovers in the second half, when they had trouble on their defense in various occasions.

The Reds for their part, played with conviction and its tactical plan was one that gave positive results to Benitez and his players at the end of the game. The Reds did not score any goals in the past two Premier League matches that finished in draws against Fulham and West Ham, but their effort in this game to find their winning strategies, gave them what they deserved, the victory.

This lost was the 5th consecutive for Blackburn in the Premier League, which remains in the relegation zone with only 13 points. Its coach Paul Ince is trying to find the way to win but some injuries on his key players and the clueless tactical plans in the matches have not helped to get a triumph, even when his players are playing hard.

On the other hand, Liverpool is working hard to maintain their pole position at the table and add more points to achieve their big ambition; winning their 19th title of the Premier League. However, we have to mention that Liverpool has also had struggles and difficulties, but even so they have managed to remain at the top.

In Saturday's game, Blackburn started with more chances than Liverpool during the first 10 minutes of the match, but they couldn't convert due to the fact that "Pepe" Reina was amazingly saving all of the Blackburn's attempts. Even so, the Reds didn't have any clear-cut opportunities during the first 45 minutes and the team's frustration started to show.

Nevertheless, in the second half things turned around for the Reds, who entered more aggressive and with more conviction than ever. Gerrard and Xavi were doing a great job in the midfield to create spaces and convert opportunities of goals. So at minute 68, Xavi Alonso opened the score with a great goal by an assist from Gerrard. Only 11 minutes later, Benayoun scored again for Liverpool placing a 2-0 in the scoreboard. Then at minute 86, Roque Santa Cruz scored the only goal of the match for Blackburn. Finally, to close the game at minute 90, Gerrard wrapped up the victory by scoring the final goal for Liverpool, finishing 3-1. This victory gives Liverpool a total of 37 points in the table, just one point ahead of Chelsea.

Moreover, Benitez was delighted with his team performance, as even when things were not completely on their side; his team took every chance to win. "We know we can play a lot better than we have been but what gives me confidence is that we can come to places like this and get results, even when we are not at our best," expressed the Spaniard Coach. "Clearly it was an important three points for us. We are in a very good position and we want to stay there."

Benitez also stated that players like Mascherano and Gerrard will improve with the time and that key players like Torres and Skrtel will be back to the field soon. That could help to balance the team and given them more support in the attack. The next match of Liverpool will be against Hull City on December 13th at home.

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Fantasy Football (Soccer) 09-10 - A Simple Strategy

It's that time of year again. The British summer is drawing to a close and the majority of Premier League teams have spent their budget for the season and most transfer business is over (well, with the exception of Man City!). Now is the time to put together the fantasy football team, and with the following strategy in, thoroughly thrash your mates and work colleagues.

1. Learnings from last season
2. Goalkeeper and defenders
3. The 'must haves'
4. The bargains
5. Taking risks
6. Transfers

Learnings from last season

In terms of top scoring players, last season threw up few surprises. Ronaldo, Gerrard, Lampard and Vidic all scored well. The big surprise last season though was the emergence of Dirk Kuyt. The Liverpool striker was always admired for his work rate but all too often posed no real goal threat. However, last season he found a new lease of life, reinvented by Rafa Benitez on the right side of Liverpool's three pronged attack that saw Steven Gerrard operating as a 2nd striker. In this role, Kuyt became a consistent provider of assists as well as scoring some important goal, accumulating 177 points along the way. This is a fantastic return for a striker who only cost £5.9m.

The other surprise star of last season came in the form of Man City's free scoring midfielder Steven Ireland. There is a certain irony that the richest club in the world's player of the season was a player who came up through the youth system and had mostly been playing second fiddle to Michael Johnson the year before. Steven Ireland contributed 131 points for a mere £3.4m.

From this it would seem that the big learning from last season is to look to the midfield for the most points for your pound. Strikers converted to wingers playing in a 4-3-3 formation are a must.

Goalkeepers and defenders

The performance of goalkeepers and defenders more than any other position in Fantasy Football is dictated by the team they play for rather than their own ability. Players such as Matthew Upson and Jonathan Woodgate are good defenders in their own right but if the team they play for leaks goals, they will get you many points.

You shouldn't over spend in these areas as goalkeepers and defenders' main source of points is from clean sheets and therefore can only get you so many points. Where possible, go for attack minded full back who can get you a few assists through the season.

Fantasy Football Info recommends: Johnson (Liverpool. £4.0m)

The 'must haves'

Until this summer, there was only one name in this section. But with Ronaldo's departure to La Liga, the title of 'must have' player is up for grabs. For me, it boils down to one of two players - the consistent goal threat of Chelsea's Frank Lampard or the pure inspiration of Liverpool's Steven Gerrard. Both players play every game when they are fit, bother score bags of goals, take free kicks and corners, are the teams' preferred penalty taker.

Last season, Lampard shaved it with 243 points to Gerrard's 202 although Gerrard was injured for parts of the season.

Fantasy Football Info recommends: Gerrard (Liverpool. £6.5m)

The Bargains

The true key to a winning Fantasy Football team is picking up the bargain players. The ability to predict who from the newly promoted clubs will do well and which squad players from the rest of the Premier League will hold down a first team place. Choose your bargains wisely. Had you predicted the injury plagued season of Ricardo Carvalho and selected Alex, this foresight would have gained you 127 points for a player worth just £3.8m.

Fantasy Football Info recommends: Valencia (Man Utd. £3.5m)

Taking Risks

As with picking out the bargain players for the season, it is also worth looking at taking a calculated risk on some of the lesser teams and the newly promoted teams. In most Premier League seasons there is always on surprise team who over achieve - Fulham last Season, Reading in their first season. If you can predict which of these teams will be the surprise, you can pick yourself up some try bargain players.

Fantasy Football Info recommends: Ebanks-Blake (Wolves. £4.9m)

Transfers

The 30 transfer the Daily Telegraph give to each manager can decide how you fair. Use too many, too soon and you risk being left with half a team when the injuries and suspensions start to mount up at the end of the season. Soldier stubbornly on with your original team despite some unexpected poor performers and you'll be a hundred points off the pace before you know it. The best advice I can give for making transfers is don't panic! Give the season some time to unfold, don't jump in and change your strikers just because they haven't score in the first week. Give it three or four games and see how the land lies.

Make sure you also keep an eye on upcoming fixtures. If one of your defenders next four games is Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal then it may be worth taking in him out until after that particular run of games is over.

Injuries also play a key role in the transfer strategy of most Fantasy Football Managers. The important thing with injuries is to monitor the anticipated return date of your injured player. If one of your star players is out for more than 2 weeks, make the change. If it's one of your cheaper bargain players out for a couple of weeks it's not worth wasting a transfer. In general, any player out of action for 3 weeks or more needs to be replaced.

Making transfers at the right time is an art form. Good luck - see you at the top of the league!

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Cancun - Home of Mexico's Newest Champion

In 2007, the Atlante soccer club moved from Mexico City to Cancun. Though many soccer fans thought the team to be an under-funded, under-appreciated group of second-rate players, Atlante endeared itself to locals by winning the Mexican First Division League championship in its first Cancun season. Though the excitement of professional soccer was slow to catch on during the first season in Cancun, the 22,000-seat stadium now regularly hosts sellout crowds and Atlante merchandise can be found throughout the city. As Atlante fans are already known throughout Mexico to be both passionate and welcoming, Cancun's championship soccer club offers a unique travel experience for tourists of all ages.

At the time of Atlante's move from Mexico City, Cancun was hardly known as a soccer Mecca. In fact, despite the overwhelming popularity of the sport in Mexico, Cancun residents were more fascinated with their local baseball team - Tigres de Quintana Roo - than the happenings in soccer throughout the country. Even when the Cancun's first professional soccer club arrived, the reception was initially lukewarm. Though Atlante steadily built a fan base in Cancun and surprised many long-time soccer fans, the team had to overcome an underwhelming history. In Mexico City, Atlante was fourth in line for fans behind far more popular teams such as Club America, Cruz Azul and Pumas. Furthermore, Atlante had not won a league championship in 15 years, having found a perennial home at the bottom of the rankings.

Despite the odds being stacked against Atlante succeeding in Cancun, the team got off to a great start in their new home. Prior to the season, the team worked with the city of Cancun to secure the use of a refurbished 22,000-seat stadium - Estadio Andrés Quintana Roo. After Atlante won a few home games, word spread throughout Cancun that the games provided affordable entertainment, great atmosphere and bountiful refreshments. As the 2007-2008 season progressed, Atlante would lose only three games and come to be known throughout Mexico as one of the country's best defensive teams.

Today, with a championship trophy to their name, Atlante are more popular than ever in Mexico. Jerseys, flags and other Atlante merchandise can be spotted at many of the shops and open-air markets in Cancun, allowing tourists to easily secure this year's most popular souvenirs. Regardless of where you visit in Cancun, pride and excitement in the premier league champions will be on clear display. Atlante has become an indelible part of Cancun culture, meaning visitors will want to experience the excitement of first-rate professional soccer for themselves.

While some soccer teams are known more for their rowdy fans than play on the field, Atlante home games are known for their family-friendly atmosphere. In fact, many visiting soccer fans have noted that the hospitality they experience at Estadio Andrés Quintana Roo seems to match the reputation of Cancun's finest resorts. Despite the friendly nature on display at Atlante home games, the stadium never seems to lack the trademark excitement of Mexican soccer. Atlante fans are known to chant, sing and play drums throughout the games, while visiting families are encouraged to celebrate the action, regardless of their allegiances.

Unlike other resort cities in Mexico such as Acapulco and Mazatlan, Cancun now boasts a taste of big city sporting entertainment. For visitors, Atlante - and the excitement they have generated throughout the city - is yet another example of why Cancun is the most exciting city in Mexico. Whether you visit the stadium for a home game, buy a jersey to remember your Cancun vacation or simply revel in the city's excitement, the champion Atlante soccer club will undoubtedly make an impact on your Cancun experience.

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EPL Team Profile - Liverpool

The formal name of the club is Liverpool Football Club, or Liverpool FC.

Known popularly by their nickname of the Reds, Liverpool's home venue is Anfield, with a capacity of just over 45,000. Founded in 1892, Liverpool have won the most league titles, 18 in all, a record that's jointly held with Manchester United, although none of those titles have come in the Premier League.

Liverpool have American owners in George Gilett and Tom Hicks; their chairman is Martin Broughton, and the manager, Roy Hodgson. Last season, the Reds finished at 7th place in the Premier League rankings.

In three matches played this year, the Anfield outfit have a win and a draw, apart from a 3-0 loss to Manchester City, one of Liverpool's rivals for a top four spot.

Pre-season Review:

The pre-season began for Liverpool in an atmosphere of intrigue. It all started with the departure of manager Rafa Benitez, from the squad. Thereafter, several stories played out as the headlines and rumours were kept alive.

Roy Hodgson took over as the Merseysider's new manager. One of Hodgson's early signings was Joe Cole on a free transfer. Steven Gerrard chose to stick on with the club. Fernando Torres belied rumours of his imminent departure. And the American owners put up the club for sale.

The Merseysiders comprise the following players: Reina, G Johnson, Agger, Carragher, Skrtel, Gerrard, Lucas, C Poulsen, Torres, Jovanovic, Kuyt, Jones, Kyrgiakos, Kelly, Maxi, Spearing, Pacheco, and Babel.

Rafa Benitez did not favour wingers. But having arrived from Chelsea, Joe Cole can give the Merseysiders the additional zing of flank attacks. Liverpool's atatcks have recently been uni-dimensional, in that they have through the middle of the park.

In an early summer signing, Charlton Athletic's Jojo Shelvey was welcomed to the squad. If he could make it to the starting eleven, 18 year old Shelvey would want to emulate his form in League One.

Standard Liege's Milan Jovanovic, an early signing who was spotted by Benitez, has arrived, and his inclusion in the Anfield squad means additional attack options. Glasgow Rangers' Danny Wilson is another promising sign up. Among departures, Albert Riera and Yossi Benayoun are most significant.

There is no pressure of expectation on Roy Hodgson, after the poor showing by the Reds in the 2009-10 season, and the change at the helm can only do good for the team. And if Hodgson has been lucky in retaining Torres and Gerrard, he cannot hope to hang on to Javier Mascherano, and must work on getting a replacement, ASAP.

If they play to potential, Liverpool are capable of doing better than they did last season, but I cannot envisage the Merseysiders finishing any better than 5th.

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Soccer Skills - Practice Makes Perfect

Call it soccer, football, footie or any other name it is known by. It's a popular team sport that's practiced around the world by toddlers to grown men, men and women alike. In fact, it's the most popular team sport in the world. It's a game played informally by the neighborhood kids, an extracurricular sport in schools and professional soccer players rake in just as much income as American football players. Soccer skills can be learned by anyone.

There are a few basic skills needed to play the game, many of which are started at an early age. The most important soccer skill is communication with your teammates. Listening and talking to team mates while on the field keeps you informed as to what is going on around you and where you should be going. Just as important as communication, knowing the rules of the game is key as well. Teams are usually made up of eleven members, but may only have seven people. The only person that is allowed to touch the ball with their hands is the goal keeper.

A great soccer skill to know is passing. When to give up the ball and allow other team mates opportunity to drive and maneuver the ball. Learning how to receive a passed ball is an important skill too. Key to the game is shooting the ball, or kicking the ball to make a goal. There are a few different ways to shoot the ball. You can do an instep drive, a swerve, and a full volley or if you are really good a flying volley. Dribbling is a diversionary soccer tactic meant to confuse your opponent. It's a misdirection move, making them think you are aiming for one direction when you intend to kick in the other. This requires practice, patience and balance. Heading is using your head to move the ball instead of your feet. Like the other skills, it may take some time to learn how to do this properly, but the end result is a great way of gaining control of the ball with it is in the air. If your position is that of the goalie, you will need throwing skills as well as the others already listed. There are many ways you can throw the ball back into play for your teammate depending on the situation.

Developing your soccer skills will take time and plenty of practice. You can expect to practice your basics every day in order to master them. You should practice alone and with your teammates, under the direction of your coach or just with simple messing around. Search the internet to find drills you can use and videos to learn new techniques and tricks to improve your game. In time, you will be shooting goals, passing like a pro and dribbling with ease and confidence. Should be ever have a question about your skills, talk to your coach and he or she can help you with the answer.

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Indian Premier League Teams - Deccan Chargers

The Deccan Chargers are an Indian Premier League team based in Hyderabad-the capital of Andhra Pradesh. Appropriately, the logo of the chargers is a raging bull. Indeed, the chargers hope to raze all opposition on their way to a consecutive IPL title in 2010. Composed of a star-studded line-up and a reputed coaching staff, Deccan are almost guaranteed to reach the semi-finals of the third IPL edition.

Owned by Deccan Chronicle and established in 2008, Deccan's team colours (from 2009) are midnight blue and silver, with blue being the dominant colour. Previously, the team used beige and black. The Chargers have two home stadia in Hyderabad-the Rajiv Ghandi International Cricket Stadium (Home of the Hyderabad Cricket Association/ capacity 55,000) and the ACA-VDCA Stadium (46,000). However, because of a controversial decision to move matches out of Hyderabad for security reasons, the Deccan Chargers will play their home games at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur (Capacity, 45,000) the DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai (Capacity, 55,000).

== Brief IPL history ==

Deccan made their IPL debut in 2008 as favourites to win the title. They had Shahid Afridi, Andrew Symonds, Herschelle Gibbs, Adam Gilchrist and Chaminda Vaas in their 2008 squad. However, in the first season, Deccan failed spectacularly, earning the wooden spoon at the bottom of the IPL standings. 2009 was a year of change for the Chargers-change which started from the top with Australians Darren Lehmann and Adam Gilchrist taking over the role of coach and captain respectively. West Indians Dwayne Smith and Fidel Edwards joined Deccan's ranks, propelling them to the title in IPL 2009.

== Star attractions of the Chargers Brigade for 2010 ==

Adam Gilchrist (captain, AUS), Andrew Symonds (AUS), Ryan Harris (AUS), Chaminda Vaas (SL), Herschelle Gibbs (SA), Scott Styris (NZ), Kemar Roach (WI), Dwayne Smith (WI), VVS Laxman (IND), RP Singh (IND), Fidel Edwards (WI), Venugopal Rao (IND) and Rohit Sharma (IND).

== Deccan Coaching staff==

Head Coach: Darren Lehmann

Assistant Coach: Kanwaljit SIngh

Fielding coach: Mike Young

Physiotherapist: Dr. Sean Slattery

Conditioning coach: Steve Smith

== Players ==

Batsmen: Adam Gilchrist (captain and wicketkeeper), VVS Laxman, Herschelle Gibbs, Rohit Sharma, Rahul Sharma, Azhar Bilakhia, Monish Mishra, N Yadav, DB Teja, T Suman, Anirudh Singh

All rounders: Andrew Symonds, Mitchell Marsh, Dwayne Smith, Venogopal Rao, A Reddy and B Sumanth

Bowlers: Kemar Roach, RP Singh, Chaminda Vaas, P Ojha, Ryan Harris, Harmeet Singh

* Fidel Edwards is currently injured, after aggravating an injury in the 2009 Airtel Champions League

With the biggest hitters in world cricket and a bevy of handy all rounders and strike bowlers, opposing teams might find it difficult to halt the charge of the bulls from Hyderabad in IPL 2010.

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