Timesofindia.indiatimes.com
John Terry believes the emergence of a young crop of international players augurs well for England's future but has rejected comparisons to the so-called "golden generation."

Ten years ago this weekend England looked poised to usher in a bold new era under Sven-Goran Eriksson when a youthful side featuring the likes of Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard and David Beckham thrashed Germany 5-1 in Munich.

That result ultimately proved to be yet another false dawn for England however, as what had once appeared to be a potentially world-beating group of players endured serial disappointments in major tournaments.

Just over a year ago, and English football hit rock bottom when Fabio Capello's side were dumped out of the 2010 World Cup by Germany, crashing to a 4-1 defeat after a string of abject displays in the group stage.

Yet, improbably, a more optimistic mood has developed around the England set-up in recent weeks, following the form of Manchester United youngsters Phil Jones (19), Tom Cleverley (22), Chris Smalling (21) and Danny Welbeck (20).

With the likes of Arsenal's Jack Wilshere (19) and Chelsea's Josh McEachran (18) waiting in the wings, there are signs that England's future may not be as bleak as it appeared after the humiliation in Bloemfontein 15 months ago.

Jones, Cleverley and Smalling are all part of the England squad for Friday's Euro 2012 qualifier against Bulgaria, and Welbeck and Wilshere would also have travelled had it not been for injury.

While England manager Capello was coy about whether any of Jones, Cleverley or Smalling would start, England captain Terry is convinced that the Manchester United trio would be ready if selected.

"They've come into the England set-up and felt very comfortable and very assured of themselves and rightly so," Terry said.

"They're huge talents, certainly for the present, and the future of the England team. They've got a lot to give.

"You don't get into the Man Utd side if you're not ready and they've shown that they are. I don't think age comes into it at all.

"You need to be given opportunities in life and if that comes around, good luck to them. They're certainly ready."

England are currently in pole position to qualify automatically from Group G, which they lead courtesy of a vastly superior goal difference from second placed Montenegro.

If England do reach next year's finals in Poland and Ukraine, Terry believes the side can travel to the tournament with confidence, offering a mix of experience and youth.

"If we do get ourselves to the Euros we can go there with some young players who have got an an awful lot of games under their belts, a little bit more experience and that mixture of the young and the old that we always speak about, and hopefully we can have a good tournament," Terry said.

Terry sensibly steered clear of comparisons to England's mythical "golden generation" however.

"I don't want to get into that. We've been there and done that before," he said. "What we are looking at is a very good young squad of players coming through. It's great to see for English football all round."

By katie lambeski
So if you believe all the news after last weekend’s round of English Premier League, you would believe that the competition is just about done.

It is between the reigning championss Manchester United and their noisy neighbours, Manchester City. For mine, this title race looks a very exciting one and hopefully will be a season to remember for a very long time.

This year’s league can be won by three teams, Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool; yes in that order. Chelsea can also possibly be in the mix.

Let’s start with the supposed winners already; Manchester United.

If you compare last season’s best XI to the one that took on Arsenal, it is a very different team. This season, players like Ash Young, David de Gea, Phil Jones, Tom Cleverley (back from Wigan) and Danny Welbeck (back from loan at Sunderland) have come in.

All have had an impact, early on in this season. Cleverley has been compared to Paul Scholes by Sir Alex, Ash Young looks to have fit perfectly into the team and Welbeck and Rooney look like forming a great partnership up front.

De Gea, on the other hand, looks far less certain of himself in the posts. He will grow into the position, but will take time.

This Manchester United side keeps on rebuilding, with change going through the playing ranks.

The Red Devils are probably the team to beat this season. They are going to be very hard to beat, particularly at Old Trafford.

Manchester City is definitely up there in terms of challengers for United’s crown. As expected, they have spent quite a lot in the summer transfer window, with huge signings in Sergio Aguero and Samir Nasri.

They look to have added that extra, attacking edge into the side. That was desperately needed as City weren’t all that exciting to watch last season and they needed that attacking flair. With Nasri, Silva, Dzeko and Aguero in their front third, that is a very silky and creative side.

All of this leaves Carlos Tevez in a strange position. After the start they have had, he is not in their best XI. But you can do worse than having Carlos Tevez coming off the bench.

Add some strong defence in Kompany, Lescott and Yaya Toure and you have a well-balanced side and one that can chop and change the way it plays.

I’m expecting Man City to really push their neighbours for top spot.

Also a team, hard to forget is Liverpool. I think they can win the Premiership this season. They seem to have regrouped and rediscovered themselves under King Kenny.

They have gone back to the future in a sense with bringing back Dalglish. It was a great move from the new American owners.

Also important is that they have spent up this year. Suarez and Carroll joined in January, now Stuart Downing, Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam, Jose Enrique and Craig Bellamy signed up in the transfer window.

They have shown some attacking flair and Suarez has been at the forefront of it and with the work-horses Dirk Kuyt, Andy Carroll and Steve Gerrard in there, they can score a few goals this season.

Another important thing is the players look genuinely happy out on the field, and with Anfield behind them, they can win it.

Chelsea is another team that will be up there as the season goes on, but I doubt they can win it. They have also started slowly.

However, if you collect enough points early, you can set yourself up for a challenge for the Premiership. If you are a red or blue Manchester fan, well you wouldn’t be too worried about Chelsea. I haven’t seen anything to start the season to think otherwise.

Andre Villas-Boas has just came in and he has get to them to play the way he wants them to play. The biggest headache he will have is what to do with Torres and Drogba? He needs to sort that out if Chelsea are going to be play any part in the race this season.

I hope Chelsea and Abramovich give Villas-Boas the time needed to make the team his own.

North London isn’t in the best shape at the moment. Arsenal have had a very poor start, on and off field. They lost Nasri and Fabregas and were thrashed 8-2 by Manchester United. It is doubtful if they make top four.

However, they have finally invested a bit of cash in the side, with Andre Santos, Per Mertesacker and Mikel Arteta joining yestrerday.

Where has it been all summer? Who knows. They aren’t that bad a side on paper, but the Gunners just don’t have that discipline needed to fight when needed.

They are in for a long season. As are Tottenham. They have gone backwards. They haven’t bought any players, which is a statement in itself.

Modric is unhappy and they’ve lost Pete Crouch. I hope they prove me wrong because I love the style of football they play and I hope they can charge at top four, but I doubt it.

It looks to be a great season. Bring on this weekend.

Theroar.com.au

Online.wsj.com
Manchester United on Thursday posted a strong set of earnings ahead of its initial public offering in Singapore, recording a 9.6% rise in full-year net profit and an 18% reduction in net debt.

The results will boost the English soccer club, which plans to raise $1 billion in an IPO set for October, with proceeds going toward expanding the club's Asia business, as well as paying down club debt.

Manchester United said that earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization for the year to June 30 were £110.9 million ($180.2 million), compared with £101.2 million last year.

The club also posted record revenue of £331.4 million, up £45 million in 2010 on the back of increased activity from sponsorship deals, attendance and broadcasting.

Over the year, Manchester United became English Premier League champions, reached the final of the European Champions League and the semi-finals of the FA Cup, extending its run of matches and boosting match revenue.

Taken private by U.S. tycoon Malcolm Glazer in 2005 in a deal worth £790 million, Manchester United has struggled to service the £700 million debt taken on to finance the leveraged buyout.

However, Thursday it said that net debt had been cut to £308.3 million, from GBP376.9 million last year and that its cash balance was £150.6 million.

Soccer has a huge domestic and international profile with top-class clubs like Manchester United continuing to generate spectacular revenue on the back of attendance, broadcasting and merchandising sales. Asia, in particular, is seen as a high-growth market for the club, which like other international companies wants to tap into increasingly wealthy consumers and bullish investors.

Manchester United has in excess of 100 million fans in Southeast Asia and is boosting commercial ties in the region, most recently signing a sponsorship deal with Honda Motor Co.

Having originally planned to list in Hong Kong, Manchester United switched to Singapore in June to take advantage of the dual-share listing structure that is available, people familiar with the matter have said.

A two-tier share structure, one with voting rights and one without, enables its owners to effectively retain control of the team. It has raised concerns about corporate governance at the club, which is owned by the Glazer family, headed by patriarch Malcolm Glazer. The family is also owner of the National Football League's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Credit Suisse Group has been mandated as sole global coordinator and bookrunner on the IPO, which is expected to involve a sale of around 25%, valuing the whole company at $4 billion.

Singapore regulations stipulate that at least 12% of a listed company must be in public hands. Hong Kong requires 25%, although it gives companies waivers in certain cases.

Nonvoting preference shares aren't counted as part of the public float, and investors buying into the IPO will have to buy equal numbers of voting and nonvoting shares, two people familiar with the deal said.

Singapore Exchange Chief Executive Magnus Bocker promised an approval of four weeks for the IPO, which was filed with the exchange Aug. 18, essentially putting the club on the fast-track route. Singapore IPOs usually take up to 12 weeks to get a green light for launch.

by Sam Limbert
After the Manchester United match, it was clear that we had to act in the transfer market. In the last two days before the window shut, it was a case of ‘better late than never’ as Arsenal managed to sign five players to bolster the squad after a poor start to the season.

Regular followers of the Arsenal will know that it takes a lot for Arsene Wenger to part with significant amounts of cash, so, regardless of player sales, to see Wenger part with over £50m in one transfer window is unheard of. Unfortunately, a lot of it was spent late, meaning our squad has looked seriously thin over the last couple of weeks, with the lack of strength and depth hideously exposed in the humiliation at Old Trafford.

As much as the 8-2 was horrific and painful to watch, the happenings at the club on Tuesday and Wednesday might not have been so extreme had we not been so badly thumped. At best, I was hoping for three players to arrive after the Manchester United debacle, however five arrivals represented good work from the club.

It’s hard to know whether there were instructions from those above Arsene Wenger to go for it in the last few days and just sign anyone, or if the manager consciously and deliberately changed his stance in the transfer market. If it’s the latter, then questions will inevitably be asked why it took Wenger so long to make significant moves. Also, it could be argued that we missed out on other targets such as Juan Mata and Gary Cahill because we waited so long. As we proved yesterday, a transfer doesn’t have to take long to complete.

However in fairness to Wenger, he predicted that there would be a lot of movement in the final days of the window and that Arsenal as a club would be active with players going in and out. Over the whole summer, we have seen significant numbers leave and arrive at the club. It’s just a shame the arrivals have come late, but finally the squad looks big enough again in size.

Despite being so keen to develop youth, all of Arsene Wenger’s five signings this week are at least 26 and two have a wealth of Premier League experience. The other three are all full internationals and two are international captains. The last couple of days have given me an image in my head of Arsene Wenger dashing round a supermarket before closing time and filling his trolley with anyone he could. However, given the apparent haphazard and panic-buying nature of his late window shopping, I think Arsene and the club have done very well with who ended up in the trolley, and the money subsequently paid at the till, albeit the rush was partly of the club’s own making.

I’m going to briefly assess those who finished at Arsenal after Arsene’s trolley dash.

Chu-Young Park arrived on Tuesday, and will probably become Robin van Persie’s understudy as the main striker. Signed to replace Nicklas Bendtner in the squad, until van Persie suffers his big injury this season, I think Park will mostly be used off the bench. Having not watched much of Monaco last season, it’s hard to comment on his quality, but from the clips I’ve seen, he always looks hungry to score. I’ll think he’ll always work hard for the team as he tries to make the most of his two and a half years at the club. At the moment, he’ll have to go off to military service in Korea in 2013, so could be seen as a more short term option for the club whilst youngsters like Benik Afobe and Joel Campbell continue to develop. Although Monaco were relegated from Ligue 1 last season, the fact the winners of that division, Lille, were interested, shows that Park was well thought of in France. At around £3million, he is definitely cheap enough for an international captain, and hopefully someone that scores important goals.

After selling Armand Traore, we were left with just one left back in Kieran Gibbs, who is already injured this season. Wenger went out and spent just over £6million on Andre Santos from Fenerbahce. He excites me as a signing. Having been mentored by Roberto Carlos while playing in Turkey, I think we could have got ourselves a great bargain in Santos. He’s got 22 international caps with Brazil and has Champions League experience. He’s also 28, old for a Wenger signing. I think the big question mark over Santos will be his defensive ability, as he is clearly good going forward, and has an excellent goal scoring record for a defender. Initially, he could be targeted by opposition teams to see what he’s made of, but I think he’ll cope well. Also, there is something special about having an attacking full back. That was an element missing from Gael Clichy’s game, but is clearly a strong part of Santos’. The days of long range screamers from Nigel Winterburn and Silvinho were fun, so hopefully Santos can contribute some entertaining strikes.

On the last day of the window, after fans had been desperate for one for almost a year, we signed a centre back. Per Mertesacker was brought in for less than £10million from Werder Bremen. While we might look weaker in midfield than we did at the end of the last season, the defence is undoubtedly stronger. At 26, he has plenty of time left to develop further and potentially have his best years at Arsenal, but he’s coming to the club with a lot of experience. He’s played in the Champions League and has 75 international caps for Germany. He should improve our defending of set pieces due to his height, although critics are sceptical about his pace. Hopefully he’ll form a good partnership with Thomas Vermaelen, leaving Laurent Koscielny and Johan Djourou as back up. Unless there are a lot of injuries at the back, which is always possible at Arsenal, I can’t see how Sebastien Squillaci will get a match. Mertesacker is tall, experienced, could get better and was cheaper than Gary Cahill. All in all I think he is a quality signing.

At one point during the evening on deadline day, it looked like Yossi Benayoun would be our only midfield signing. Having lost Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, we were looking thin and lacking in creativity in the middle. Benayoun has been signed on a year’s loan from Chelsea, and arguably his signing shows a change in policy and some slight desperation. Some will say that signing a Chelsea reject shows the club is going in the wrong direction, that we’re relying on a player not wanted by the Blues to overtake them and those above them. If he’d been our only midfield signing and responsible for the majority of the creativity in midfield, then I’d have been worried. But as he wasn’t, he’ll be a good squad player that can do a job for the team on the wing or in the middle. At 31, he’s experienced and has played in the Premier League since 2005. He isn’t as dynamic as Nasri, but can definitely open up a defence. Of the five new players, he is the signing I’m most dubious about, but I’m ready to be proved wrong. He reminds me slightly of Alexander Hleb, so hopefully he’ll have a better end product than the Belarusian.

Our final, and probably most dramatic, signing of the transfer window was completed just moments before the deadline. Mikel Arteta joined the club from Everton for £10million, despite a similar sized bid being initially rejected by the Toffees. He’s 29, and won’t need very long to settle in as he is tuned into the Premier League. Unlike most Wenger signings, given he’s already 29, there will be little sell on value, so he’s been signed purely for footballing reasons. There will be a lot of pressure on him to play in the ‘Cesc role’, and obviously there’ll be comparisons with our former captain. I don’t think he’s as good as Fabregas, there aren’t many that are, but given the transfer situation we were in, I think he’s about as good as we could have got. He brings creativity to the team and can advise and guide younger players such as Ramsey and Wilshere. Like Benayoun, he probably won’t be the long term holder of the attacking midfield position, but he’ll do a fantastic job there before Ramsey is ready. He’s openly admitted he was attracted to the club by Champions League football, making the win in Udinese last week look even bigger. It’ll be interesting to see how he copes in that competition, but in the Premier League I think he’ll prove to be a good buy at £10million.

Without injuries, our first choice XI now looks quite strong: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Santos, Arteta, Song, Wilshere, Walcott, van Persie and Gervinho.

As much as we shouldn’t have left the signings so late, and that deadline day as a concept is quite artificial, Tuesday and Wednesday did at least get some sort of smile back on the faces of Arsenal fans. It has built up some excitement again about the team with the anticipation of seeing new players (players that want to be at the club) wear the red and white. Whether it was panic buying prompted by the 8-2 or not, Arsene Wenger has brought in experience. Even though that was a surprise, it was still done in a Wenger way as he went for some unexpected players, and got them at good prices. There wasn’t one blockbuster signing amongst them with exceptional quality, but all look like solid players that’ll work hard and do a job for the team.

It remains to be seen on the pitch if the new additions are a success or not, but I think they look good at the moment as Arsene pushes his full trolley out of August.

Source: ESPN Soccernet

Hello everybody, I'm Alessandro, I'm 18 and I'm from a little village near Liège, Belgium.

As far as my passion for Man Utd is concerned, I guess it came when I started watching football on TV, when i was 7 or 8. Actually, it's the 2nd team I've become fan of, right after Standard Liège, here in Belgium.

But football isn't actually my favourite sport. The first sport in my heart will always be tennis, which I've been playing for 10 years now .

Well, that's all for me, Go Man Utd