Pace yourself Lad.

3 years ago no one would have predicted Alex Hleb would be playing for Birmingham City. Alex Helb was another one of Mr. Wenger's discoveries when in june 2005 he signed for a fee that could rise up to €15 million. Goals where not expected from him, as he was a compliment to a very intricate passing system that saw him develop an almost telepathic relationship with Cesc Fabregas. Helb spent most of his season playing in the right/left midfield where he was able to roam into central positions in attack. The midfield supplied Emmanuel Adebayor with 30 goals in the 2008-2007 season. That same season, the Gunners where in with a shout to win the league until it fell apart on February 24th when they drew at Birmingham 2-2. Despite that, it was still a good achievement for a Gunners side that had been dismissed by pundits in the preseason. Helb went on to join Barcelona in the summer of 2008 for a total fee of €17 million. Helb left the 4-4-2 system for Barcelona's 4-3-3 system which requires its wingers to have agile trickery, elusiveness, and pace (Henry and Messi). Helb possesses none of those attributes leaving his only realistic position for him at the two central midfield positions which where occupied by untouchable midfield combination Xavi and Iniesta. Helb lost his reputation as a talented player and became a fringe player which has led him to go on loan to Stuttgart and now on loan to Birmingham City at 29 years of age. Hleb has openly regretted leaving the Gunners, in what seems like an attempt to save face that he is still capable of performing for big clubs Hleb says "I had a few options - Liverpool, Tottenham and Benfica," and went on to say "But Birmingham clearly wanted to do the deal more than the others, which is why I made my choice."...by that statement he has classified himself as a player that is not as coveted as he once was by the top clubs.

All I have to say is be careful Cesc.

The Alex Hleb story has happend often with players who leave arsenal when they are supposed to hit their primes.

Flamini: now on the fringe at AC Millan

Emmanuel Petit: ended up in a then mediocre Chelsea team

Adebayor: on the fringes at Man City

Patrick Vieira: on the fringes at every club he has been too

Anelka: took 8 years to settle at Chelsea.

To name a few.

By : Babatumi Sodade

Mascherano to Barcelona

Devensive minded midfielder Javier Mascherano has signed for Barcelona for a fee of £18 million. The 26 yeaold leaves the red half of mersyside on a sour note after refusing to play. Liverpool swiftly signed Raul Meireles for FC porto for a fee of £11.5 million. Mascherano should flourish more in Barcelona as he will not have to share the creative burden as he has done with Steven Gerrard.

By: Babatumi Sodade

Zlatan Ibrahimovich signs for Rossoneri

Ac Milan have taken a step into reinstating themselves as a team to be feared. They have signed Barcelona cast away Zlatan Ibrahimovich who cost the Catalan side €46 million plus Samuel Eto'o is on loan for the time being with Milan having the option to buy him for €24 million.

What does this mean?

Zlatan is looked at as one of the premiere strikers in the world. A player that has size, skill, and decent pace is a rare combination. On his day, he is a handful for defenders, but sometimes has an attitude that produce lackluster performances. Barcelona spent money on David Villa (€40million) a Spaniard who stared at the world cup in South Africa. Villa will replace Ibrahimovic as the starting striker, relegating him to a substitutes role. Zlatan has made the right choice of leaving Barcelona because he could face a situation where he would slowly get shifted out of the Barcelona picture while the likes of Bojan and Pedro push for playing time. Zlatan need to now prove his worth and take advantage of a weak Serie A. The fact he is on loan does not mean he is not a definite purchase, it is due to the finiancial state of the club as they have agreed to pay his transfet fee in 3 installments over 3 years after the loan.

By: Babatumi Sodade

Tumi's top 15

Inter Milan

Chelsea

Barcelona

Manchester United

Real Madrid

Bayern Munich

Arsenal

Roma

Olympique Lyon

Werder bremen

AC Milan

Valencia

Manchester city

Benfica

Shalke 04

From Russia Without Love

Racism is horrible: to use more elaborate phraseology is to soften the sentiment. The issue has appeared on West Brom's agenda for the first time in This Blog's memory following the arrival of Peter Odemwingie from Lokomotiv Moscow, which prompted a group of Lokomotiv’s fans to create a banner celebrating his exit, using a banana as a pretty appalling, derogatory reference to his race.

Examples of racism at football grounds like this one demonstrate two sad realities: that tribalism - a player leaves a club and is instantly vilified by a whole group of people - still overrides basic human decency all too often in football and that some people, even in 2010, carry prejudices based on race.

Cautiously, and being parochial, we can take some pleasure in declaring that tribalism is at least under control in English football. Players moving clubs remain objects of derision, but increasingly irony is attached and racial attacks are a rarity, never tolerated or defended, as the Russian federation has attempted to do in the case of the Odemwingie banner. The Hawthorns in particular has always been a tolerant place to play football, with the policy 'if you're good enough, we'll get behind you' brilliantly optimistic and fair.

The second disturbing reality though - that some people say and do racist things for no reason but a failure of logic - is more difficult to glean positives from. These people are still out there - judging others on superficial grounds such as race. And dealing with them is, ultimately, just a sad, seemingly futile, venture that leads to frustration and disappointment.

Logic fails to reach some, but we shouldn't accept it – on principal.

Education is initially a compelling tool against prejudice and, when it fails, punishment, like banning perpetrators from grounds, is the way to rid football of ugly, twisted, embarrassing racism - that depressing blot on its glorious tapestry.

We can but hope that the creators of the banner above will recieve a serious enough punishment as to stop anyone following in their tiny footsteps.

Peter Odemwingie has, happily, come to a place where his footballing ability is what he will be judged on, and his debut goal suggests a pleasing verdict.

posted by Ethan Dean-Richards (http://blogs.soccernet.com/westbromwichalbion/archives/2010/08/racism_in_football_is_horrible_1.php)

Reblogged by Babatumi Sodade

London Town

London is the first city to have three clubs representing it in the Champions League since Athens in 2003. Capital Via Optajoe Twitter

by Babatumi Sodade

Manchester United 2010/2011 preview

Sir Alex Ferguson is going into the 2010-2011 premier league season with a relatively unchanged squad. Javier Hernandez is the most notable addition to The Red Devils squad, the 22 year olds arrival could ultimately spell the end of Dimitar Berbatovs lacklustre career at Old Trafford. With a mixture of experience and youth, United boast a well balanced squad. The problem lies in surrounded by aging players with undeveloped talent. The likes of Darren Fletcher (26), Wayne Rooney (24), Patrice Evra(29), and Nani(23) are players that they can rely on to perform in the big games, united will struggle against the top 7 clubs if any of those players were absent. At this point in their careers, Ryan Giggs(36), Paul Scholes(35), and Gary Neville (35) should be relegated to a substitute role to reduce dependence on relatively tired legs, although still productive they run the risk of over exhausting them. Darren Gibson (22), Gabriel Obertan (21), Anderson (22) are players that Ferguson has to trust if the united are to sustain a strong challenge to regain the title. If players like Park Ji Sung (29), Rio Ferdinand (31) and Owen Hargreaves (29) can stay fit for most of the season, the premiership will likely end up back in Manchester.

One or two more signings could propel The Red Devils back to the level they where during their Cristiano Ronaldo era. Antonio Valencia has displayed one dimension to his game making him predictable (taking the ball to the goal line and crossing), they lack the creativity on the wing that made them one of the most feared teams in Europe. I ask where the Manchester United scouts were last year when searching for a Cristiano Ronaldo replacement, his departure certainly did not come as a surprise so they must have had at least a year to search. Mesut Ozil would have been the perfect replacement; his creativity during the world cup finals in South Africa was a breath of fresh air.

Squad Additions: Javier Hernandez , Chris Smalling, Bebe(£7M) (Vitoria de Guimaraes)

Possible Additions: Mesut Ozil

Recommended Additions: Mesut Ozil, Luka Modric, Karim Benzema.

By Babatumi Sodade

Chelsea 2010/2011 preview

Chelsea supporters should be concerned that Carlo Ancelloti seems to be content with the current squad that narrowly won the title (1 point). The pensioners have only added Liverpool fringe player Yossi Benayoun(30) and lanky Brazilian midfielder Ramires(23)to their squad, while the likes of Michael Ballack(33), Juliano Belleti(34), Joe Cole(28), Deco(32), and Ricardo Carvalho(32) have departed. The departures have signalled an intent by management that they are ready to get younger. In Joe Cole (28) is the youngest of the departed, they have lost a game winner, although his loss will hardly be felt because of his so far injury dogged career he has only appeared 39 times in the last two seasons. Gael Kakuta(19), and Daniel Sturridge (20) are the two youngsters that have to provide quality relief off the bench.

If Chelsea is not careful they could be headed down the same path the national team has taken. They are relying heavily on an aging Frank Lampard who is noted for the goals he scored in the 2009/2010 season (22in total, 10 from the penalty spot), a slower or tired John Terry who put in dismal performance after another in South Africa, Michael Essien who has played a total of 23 games in the last two seasons due to injury. Chelsea needs Lampard, Essien, and Terry to play regularly and put in top performances if they are to defend the championship. Let’s not forget Le Sulk, Nicola Anelka, whose classless antics during the world cup could see his role in the team drop.

Squad Additions: Ramires (€22M), Yossi Benayoun(£5.5M)

Possible Addition: Neymar (Santos)

Recomended additions: David Luiz(23)(Defender, Benfica), Romelu Lukaku (17) (striker, Anderlecht), Rafael Van der Vart(27) (Midfielder, Real Madrid)

By: Babatumi Sodade

Date: August 13th 2010 4:48pm

Chelsea Sign Ramires

Brazilian and now former Benfica star has signed a 4 year deal for an undisclosed transfer fee rumoured to be around €22M. The 2010 world cup star played an integral role in helping Benfica win the Portuguese Liga appearing 26 times and scoring 4 goals. The midfielders move to Chelsea will see him compete with John Obi Mikel for the central midfield position.

By: Babatumi Sodade

SUPER MARIO SIGNS FOR CITIZENS

Super Mario

Now 20, Mario Balotelli is embarking on a new chapter on his already controversial footballing career. He has signed for Manchester City for an undisclosed fee speculated to be around €30M. This is a welcomed move by both parties as Balotelli publicly fell out with the Nerazzurri faithful. He reunites with former coach Roberto Mancini who said on the clubs official website :"I think that Mario is one of the best players of his age in Europe, and I very happy to be working with him again. His style of play will suit the Premier League, and because he is still so young there is a big chance for him to improve. He is a strong and exciting player, and City fans will enjoy watching him." Balotelli will not feature versus Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Saturday when the Barclays Premier League kicks off.

By: Babatumi Sodade

August 13^th 2010 3:01 pm

Lights On

The Shawne Merriman offseason saga is over. The Pro bowl line backer announced via twitter “Just signed my tender and glad to be back with my teammates thanks to everyone #chargers”. Merriman had been holding out until him and the San Diego Chargers could come to an agreement over his contract. Merriman can look forward to reinstating himself as one of the elite line backers in the NFL since his knee injury in 2008.

By: Babatumi Sodade

August 13^th 2010 12:29pm

Knicks come to their senses...somewhat

Earlier this week, the New York Knicks rehired former coach and president Isiah Thomas as a consultant to current GM Donnie Walsh. Thomas had to back out due to violations of certain NBA bylaws.

One would wonder what, Knicks owner James Dolan was even thinking in his attempt to bring Isiah back. Obviously, he does not understand the concept of moving forward, not backsliding. Had Isiah's contract held up, the Knicks would have be bringing back all the bad memories of the past 6 seasons or so.

With Thomas at the helm, the Knicks made one playoff appearance between 2003-2008. As team president from 2003-2006, he made many ill-advised personnel moves including trading future draft picks for the unfit and underachieving Eddy Curry. When he took over as coach in 2006, it only went downhill. During the 2006 season, he had a messy lawsuit hanging over his head and in his last year as coach, they endured one of their worst seasons in team history.

The Knicks, arguably the most recognized basketball franchise is now in rebuilding mode thanks to bad decisions that have cost them dearly. Why James Dolan would even want to be reminded of that experience is beyond me. That is like a woman who has been in an abusive relationship for a number of years then finally breaking away from it only to return a while later claiming that the man has changed. It makes no sense and it just blows my mind. They showed signs of moving on when they hired Mike D'Antoni as head coach and Donnie Walsh as GM. Even though they are not where they need to be, mainly because the players they had were still holdovers from the Thomas era, they have shown signs of gaining the respect of their fans again. They need to continue to move forward and give their fans a team that will come to play on a nightly basis.

Lions sign No. 2 pick, Ndamukong Suh

The Detroit Lions and Ndamukong Suh came to terms today, on a five-year contract worth over $60 million, with $40 million guaranteed. Both sides had been working around the clock getting this deal done to get him in training camp as soon as possible.

The former University of Nebraska defensive tackle won the Associated Press College Football Player of the Year award as a senior, becoming the first defensive player to win the award since its inception in 1998. In addition, he was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. Suh recorded four and a half sacks in the Big 12 title game against Texas and finished the season with 12 sacks.

Once this deal was signed, the 6-foot- 4, 307-pound defensive tackle wasted no time as he practiced with the first team defense today. Suh joins a defensive unit that was bottom of the league last season, so he should provide some much needed help on their defensive front.

The addition of Suh and some key off-season additions on defense should give Lions’ fans a ray of hope for the future. He will be counted on to have a big impact this season along with many of the 2010 1^st round draft picks.

By Dejo Olagbegi

From August 4, 2010

Twitter: @princedejo

Shaquille O’Neal signs with the Boston Celtics

Shaquille O’Neal, one of the greatest players in NBA history, will likely finish his career with one of the greatest franchises in sports. The 7-foot-1, 325 pound center signed a two year contract worth almost $3 million. For Shaq, it was a choice between the Atlanta Hawks and the Boston Celtics. He picked the Celtics because it would give him the best opportunity to win his 5^th NBA championship.

O’Neal, who is on the last legs of his career, has been an all-star in 15 of his 17 seasons in the league, with career averages of 24.1 points and 11.0 rebounds. Although, he will not average anywhere near those numbers this season, he is still a great addition for the Celtics as they will not have the services of Kendrick Perkins for the first few months of the season. Perkins injured his knee in game 6 of the 2010 NBA finals. The Celtics have also added Jermaine O’Neal. He and Shaq will provide more than enough insurance for the team in the absence of Perkins.

Last season, the Big Aristotle, as he is fondly called, joined the Cleveland Cavaliers after an up-and-down season with the Phoenix Suns. He was brought to Cleveland to help LeBron James win his first title, which unfortunately did not happen as they were knocked out of the playoffs by the Celtics. He averaged career lows of 12.0 points and 6.7 rebounds with the Cavs.

The 2009-10 Celtics were not given much of a chance last year because of their aging stars, so they definitely surprised a lot of teams by making it to the finals and pushing the Lakers to the brink. The Big Three, (Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen) are all on the downside of their careers. With the addition of Shaq, much of the discussion about expectations this season will be the same as last, but you can never count out a veteran team, especially one with 4 Future Hall of Famers.

O’Neal has won numerous awards throughout his career including the 1999-2000 NBA Most Valuable Player Award.

He will wear the number 36 in Boston as his previous numbers are either retired or being worn by a current Celtic player.

No word yet on if he’ll be called the Big Leprechaun in Beantown.

By Dejo Olagbegi

Twitter: @princedejo

T-Mac signs one year deal with the Pistons

After months of workouts and tweeting about which team he would like to play for, Tracy McGrady has finally found a team. Tracy McGrady agree to a one-year, $1.35 million contract with the Detroit Pistons. McGrady’s preferred teams were the Bulls, Clippers, Lakers, and the Miami Heat.

McGrady came close to signing a deal with the Bulls and the Miami Heat, although both teams said that he looked good physically, they were not convinced that he would be satisfied with smaller role than he is used to. If he wants to play in the NBA beyond this season, the only thing McGrady should be trying to prove is that he can still compete night in night out and can come off the bench and still be of value to a team. If he is not ready for that then he will be out of the league like Allen Iverson. McGrady is a smart player and he knows better than anyone that his back problems and his surgically repaired knee have caught up to him. He will not be able to wow us with his once ‘jump out of your seat’ explosiveness but he still has formidable passing skills and should be able to make plays that way.

The verdict is still out on if he would be a good fit for the Pistons seeing as they have made some bad personnel decisions in the last 3 years. Joe Dumars traded away Chauncey Billups, then used up most of his cap room by signing Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva to long-term deals. A team once known for its trademark defense is now struggling to find an identity. The signing of T-Mac definitely doesn’t help in that regard, as he has never been a defensive player so right now the Pistons train of thought is yet to be seen. I’m sure the Pistons don’t even know where he will play because they have too many players who only like to shoot. The best thing for McGrady to do would be to show a commitment towards rebounding and defense just to even get on the court.

Being a big McGrady fan myself, I definitely wish him well in Detroit and really hope he is able to contribute in some way this season.

By Dejo Olagbegi

August 11,2010

Twitter: @princedejo

Underappreciated?

11 - England have won all 11 games in which Theo Walcott has played since his debut vs Hungary (May 06), averaging 3.5 goals/game. Talisman.

Via Optajoe (Twitter)

Posted by: Babatumi Sodade

New Era?

England coach, Fabio Capello rings in the changes after a disappointing world cup finals. The Italian took a squad with the average age of 28.7 to South Africa, England’s oldest ever squad at the world cup finals. With aging players like Steven Gerrard(30), Frank Lampard(32) playing as much as 96 games between them over the 10 month season, the Three Lions looked old and fatigued at the finals. The average age of world cup winners Spain was 25.9. Fellow underachievers Brazil, Italy had an average age of 28.6 and 28.2.

The World cup

The young German squad with an average age of 25.0 educated the English on the art of the counter attack with a 4-1 win when they marched England out in the round of 16. The Germans were expected to go as far as the quarterfinals[1], The loss of captain and marquee midfielder Michael Ballack(33) put the Germans odds in further doubt. A relatively healthy England woefully failed to justify the prediction of a semi-final berth[2]. The likes of Mesut Ozil(21) , Sami Khedira(23), and Thomas Muller(20) stepped up for Die Mannschaft, transforming the once perceived robotic Germany into a free flowing attacking team that led the tournament with 16 goals as they got sharper and stronger as the tournament went on. It was Painful watching the likes of John Terry (29), Matthew Upson(31) and Gareth Barry (29) are slowly deteriorate as they are seen trotting after Ozil and Muller as David James(40) hopelessly attempted to save the teams blushes. They exposed the veteran team so ruthlessly that even has Capello questioning the classic Italian philosophy of experience over youthful talent. He is quoted saying about youngster Adam Johnson “He had come a long way in a season, from Middlesbrough to Manchester City to England, but he was too young for the World Cup.” [3]

A not so fresh start

Capello has made a statement with only recalling 10 of the 23 man world cup squad called back for the friendly against Hungary. He is showing a change in direction by introducing Gary Cahill (24), and Arsenal youngsters Jack Wilshere (18) and Kieran Gibbs (20). The big question is why he insists on keeping the likes of Barry, Lampard, and Terry around when Barry and Terry will clock 31 and Lampard 34 by the next major international tournament. One or two experienced heads are definitely needed to lead the team, one of these roles has Steven Gerrard’s name written all over it because he has been a consistent performer and has been a class act for youngsters to follow.

Although Capello takes steps forward with injecting new blood into the three lions’ squad he fails to totally reform the team. Why recall Wes Brown (30) and drop Ryan Shawcross (22) who you felt was good enough for the world cup squad but did not merit any playing time? Where is Gabriel Agbonlahor (23)? Why drop Jermaine Defoe (27) who scored when called upon?

Wilshere, Gibbs, Johnson could have a similar effect Muller, Ozil, and Khedira by injecting new blood into an aging squad. Capello should Groom them in preparation for England’s European championship campaign and not bow to the pressure of picking the big names of the past decade.

How about starting the 2014 preparation now with a balanced team with youngsters and some veterans to steer them in the right direction? Expose them, gel them and keep them sufficiently hungry to be unleashed in 2014?

Full squad: Foster (Birmingham), Hart (Manchester City), Robinson (Blackburn); Brown (Manchester United), Cahill (Bolton), A Cole (Chelsea), Dawson (Tottenham), Gibbs (Arsenal), Jagielka (Everton), G Johnson (Liverpool), Terry (Chelsea); Barry (Manchester City), Gerrard (Liverpool), A Johnson (Manchester City), Lampard (Chelsea), Milner (Aston Villa), Young (Aston Villa), Walcott (Arsenal), Wilshere (Arsenal); Bent (Sunderland), C Cole (West Ham), Rooney (Manchester United), Zamora (Fulham)

By: Babatumi Sodade

Date: 08/08/2010..1:34AM

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[1] http://worldsoccer.about.com/od/internationals/a/Germany2010.htm

[2] http://worldsoccer.about.com/od/internationals/a/England2010.htm

[3] http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=812438&sec=euro2012&cc=5901

The $1M Defensive player of the year

Arguably the best corner in the game today, Darrelle Revis is scheduled to make $1M this year. The New York Jets got a big steal in drafting Revis 14th overall in the 2007 draft. Coming off a career year, Revis stocks rose rapidly when he kept elite wide receivers like Andre Johnson, Randy Moss, and Reggie Wayne under 50 yards. Coach Rex Ryan publicly endorsed Revis as the best defensive player when he was overlooked for the defensive player of the Year in the 2009 season. Revis has definitely outplayed the worth of his current contract. The current highest paid corner back Nnamdi Asomugha makes $15.1M per year. Revis would be looking to get slightly more than Asomugha. Jets owner, Woody Johnson has said his “gut feeling is that Revis won't play this season” because both sides have not budged on their initial stance. If Revis goes on to play under his current contract, it would seem like the relationship between the two parties would be strained and Jets would be delaying the inevitable departure of Revis. The Jets seem to be taking advantage of the situation because if Revis was a free agent he would definitely get the money he deserves.

Babatumi Sodade

August 11th 3:21 am