English Premier League new boys Queens Park Rangers have signed former Cardiff striker Jay Bothroyd on a three-year deal.Bothroyd, 29, has been without a club since leaving Cardiff at the end of the 2010/11 season, and is QPR boss Neil Warnock’s first off-season acquisition.

“I spoke to the manager and he told me how much he wanted me,” Bothroyd told the QPR website.

“He convinced me that this was the right place to be. He told me the direction that he wants to go in and the way he wants to play.”

“I think this club is heading in the right direction and has got a lot of ambition.”

Bothroyd said he was hopeful that good form with QPR could relaunch his England career after he made his debut in a friendly against France last November.

“I want to be playing against the best players in the world, and I got a taste of that when I joined up with the England squad. Hopefully I can do well for QPR and get back into the squad,” he said.

Elsewhere, Wolves have completed the signing of defender Roger Johnson on a four-year-deal from Birmingham.

The 28-year-old has signed for an undisclosed fee after successfully completing a medical on Monday.

Johnson is Mick McCarthy’s third permanent signing of the summer following the arrival of midfielder Jamie O’Hara from Tottenham and former Swansea goalkeeper Dorus de Vries.

“We tried to sign Roger two years ago when he moved from Cardiff to Birmingham and have been tracking him ever since,” Wolves chief executive Jez Moxey told the club’s official website.

“We are pleased to have signed what we believe to be an excellent player who represents excellent value for money for us.”

“He fits the bill perfectly – a British centre-back in his prime, one with Premier League and cup-winning experience, a vocal, determined, leader type who has played consistently well for a long time.”

“We stressed that we would not rush to do deals this summer and would have to be patient in the pursuit of our targets, which has proved to be beneficial for us.”

Championship side Leicester City have signed full-back Paul Konchesky from Liverpool for an undisclosed fee.

The defender, who has signed a three-year contract, is the latest player to join Sven-Goran Eriksson’s team as he looks to build a side capable of mounting a push for promotion.

Liverpool signed the left-back last summer after an impressive season for Fulham in which he helped guide them to the Europa League final, but he failed to settle at Anfield and spent the second half of last season on loan at Nottingham Forest.

“Paul has been a Premier League player year in and year out throughout his career so he represents a very big signing for us,” Eriksson told the Foxes’ website.

“He wanted to come to Leicester City and it means a lot that proven, established top flight footballers want to be part of what we are building here.”

The 30-year-old also has previous history with the Leicester manager, as Eriksson was the man who gave him the first of his two England caps in 2003.

Konchesky is set to join up with the squad on their pre-season tour of Sweden later this week.

And former Hamburg SV goalkeeper Frank Rost is set to join New York Red Bulls after 18 years in the Bundesliga.

The 38-year-old, who also played for Werder Bremen and Schalke 04, saw his contract with Hamburg run out at the end of the season and is set to join the MLS team this week.

“We are excited that Frank has decided to join us midway through the season,” team sports director Erik Soler told Bild newspaper.

When lads meet other lads after a few boring ‘what do you do?’ and ‘where are you from?’ questions the conversation usually leads on to the inevitable ‘who do you support?’ question.

This was something that, during my early to mid twenties I always used to dread. That’s because, in order, my answers would have been ‘a student, Cardiff, Man Utd.’

For the millions of working non-Utd fans I was as bad as it gets! A tax dodging glory hunter!

However, I was neither. Well, that’s a lie. I was dodging taxes (through no fault of my own – that’s just the way that the UK education system is set up) but I certainly wasn’t a glory hunter. It just so happened that glory had, through fate’s will, hunted me out the day I decided that Utd were the team for me.

All of my friends were Liverpool fans and a small minority were fans of our local club – Cardiff City. However, during the early 1990s they were in the bottom divisions and weren’t on TV. We, as skint young men, were too poor and scared to brave the terraces of Ninian Park. Christ, we were too young to go it alone! For that very reason we, like many other boys in the South Wales area, followed a TV team. Liverpool were the glory team of the late 80s and, as such, all of my friends chose them as their team.

I was different though. I wanted to be different. I heard that Liverpool’s rivals were Utd so I decided to follow them. And that, as they say, was that. I was a Manc, a red, a Red Devil.

Just because I’m not from Manchester doesn’t devalue my support of them however. I truly resent any accusation of the kind. As a friend of mine once said (admittedly about Jamie Carragher) if you cut me open I’d ‘bleed red’.

I remember the 1990 Cup Final, the 1993 Premier League and the 1994 double. I was in my early teens for these so my supporting was relatively naive and innocent – limiting itself to cheers followed by a little gloat to friends.

It was as I got older that my supporting evolved into a defence of my position. I knew the reserve team, I knew the youth teams, I could reel off any Utd stat you wanted. This was because I was becoming aware of the glory hunter title and, quite frankly, it pissed me off! I felt that I had to defend my position as a Welsh Man Utd fan so I revised United and I become a ‘statto’ to prove my support.

United became, as I entered my late teens, who I was. I would ensure that I wore one of my many shirts on matchday as I listened to matches on 5Live or waited, with baited breath, for CEEFAX’s latest score page to refresh. I began to wear my collar upright at all times, regardless of the shirt. I implored my parents to only buy SHARP electrical goods. Shit, I even believed Fergie when he said they couldn’t see each other in their grey shirts!

Even the 1999 treble was tainted with a feeling of shame. I remember that as my greatest ever sporting year and I will never be able to hear or remember the words ‘and Solskjaer has won it’ without getting goosebumps! But, as I went off to university the following year I was aware, almost ashamed of the fact that, I was going to have to battle off all ‘glory hunter’ accusations.

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And I shouldn’t feel shame supporting my club. I’ve been to Old Trafford several times to see them. My debut game was 3rd December 1994 vs. Norwich City. The night previous I was playing five a side football and, without realising, broke my metatarsal (before Beckham had told the world what a metatarsal was!). I spent the following day hobbling around Manchester flowing through seas of red, looking on in awe at the sheer volume of fans that hit the stadium to see ‘Five Cantonaaaaaaaas’ score for a 1-0 victory.

It was only as I hit my mid-twenties that I realised that it didn’t matter where you were from. You could support, with the same ferocity as a Mancunian United fan, Man Utd. I could delight in their victories and wallow in their losses with equal passion. I did and still do. The first thing I do every morning is check the BBC gossip column on my phone in the hope that Sneijder has been spotted at Old Trafford, whenever I play Football Manager I manage United – never anyone else – and live out my dream of managing the greatest team ever, I’ve realised that being a United fan isn’t where you’re from, it’s who you are.

Read more of Matt James’ articles at Red Flag Flying High

Borussia Dortmund begin their title defence at home to Hamburg when the 2011/12 Bundesliga season kicks off on Friday.Dortmund lifted their first title in nine years last season, finishing seven points clear of Bayer Leverkusen.

Jurgen Klopp impressed in orchestrating that triumph during his third full season as head coach and Dortmund have thus far managed to ward off any interest in the 44-year-old’s services.

They have also retained the bulk of the club’s championship-winning squad, with deep-lying playmaker Nuri Sahin the only exception.

Turkey international Sahin succumbed to the advances of La Liga runners-up Real Madrid in May for a reported fee of nine million euros.

In capturing the title last season, Dortmund were the beneficiaries of below-par league campaigns by traditional heavyweights Bayern Munich, Schalke and Werder Bremen.

Bremen were third in 2009-10, but stumbled to 13th the following term, avoiding the relegation zone by five points.

Schalke were runners-up to champions Bayern in 09/10 and did manage a credible run to the semi-finals of the Champions League last season, accounting for holders Inter Milan along the way.

They also lifted the German Cup, but could only finish 14th in the Bundesliga, four points outside the bottom three.

And while Bayern mounted a late rally to come third, a poor start meant they ended up 10 points behind Dortmund, effectively conceding their title with months of the season still to play.

Bayern’s failure to compete cost coach Louis van Gaal his job, with Jupp Heynckes making the switch from Leverkusen to fill the hot seat at the Allianz Arena for the coming campaign.

The Bavarian giants have shipped out Miroslav Klose, Hamit Altintop and Thomas Kraft, with Germany internationals Manuel Neuer and Jerome Boateng among their high-profile replacements.

Bayern begin their campaign at home on Sunday to Borussia Monchengladbach, who earned a reprieve last season after winning their relegation playoff against Bochum.

Also on Sunday, surprise contenders Mainz, who led the table early last season before slipping to fifth, play host to Leverkusen.

Schalke, German Super Cup winners against Dortmund last week, kick-off on Saturday away to Stuttgart, who were 12th last season.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Bremen host Kaiserlautern, Hoffenheim travel to Hannover and Cologne await the visit of Wolfsburg.

Of the two promoted teams, Hertha Berlin start life back in the top flight with a visit from Nuremburg, while Augsburg will play the first Bundesliga match in their history at home to Freiburg.

Those who defend the August 31st deadline of the transfer window cite that it gives managers a chance to make some final adjustments to their squad, having seen their respective performances three games in.

While others believe it to be a total distraction and that is why AVB is travelling to Nyon this week to fight the case about bringing the deadline day forward before the season starts. Whether his pleas get heard remain the be seen, but in the meantime the circus that is the last few days of the transfer window will kick on in the next few days and there will undoubtedly be an array of comings and goings within the Premier League.

The media clearly believe that some clubs have simply bided their time in the transfer market and are looking to take advantage of some last minute shopping in order to improve their current squad. One of the clubs is arguably Tottenham, who have already stated their interest in Scott Parker, but will he be the only new arrival at White Hart Lane come Wednesday night?

So has Redknapp still got much to do in the transfer market – if so who would you like to see him bring to White Hart Lane in the next 72hrs?

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FFC this week investigates the state of women’s football and whether significant strides have been made this summer to increase its popularity.

There have been a number of fantastic sporting events for fans across the world to get excited by this summer. The Rugby World has kicked off in New Zealand, audiences got to watch the best athletes from across the globe at this year’s World Championships whilst English cricket fans in particular enjoyed a good summer as they watched their team become the best test team in the world. But the surprise sporting event of the summer and one of the most talked about was the FIFA Women’s World Cup held in Germany.

For a sport that has often suffered from a lack of interest and investment, this year’s tournament must be seen as a resounding success across the globe. The quality of the football was of a much higher level than previous years whilst in first time winners Japan, the women’s game had a fairytale story that captured the attention of the world. But FIFA, the national teams, players and fans must not let the renewed attention drawn to the sport thanks to the World Cup drop and the success of the summer must be something that women’s football takes advantage of.

This year’s tournament began with some minor buzz surrounding the event. 16 teams arrived in Germany and whilst there was the usual mix of potential winners in Brazil, England, Germany, USA and teams there with less of a chance, each of the four groups threw up some potentially mouth-watering ties. In particular both France and Germany, and USA and Sweden were both pitted against each other in the group stages. Across the schedule there was exciting encounters worthy of the increased TV audiences and stadium attendances. Eventual runners-up USA and South American favourites Brazil clashed in the quarter-finals where the Americans eventually prevailed on penalties but the game itself included all the excitement of a men’s World Cup game. The quality may still and probably will always be well below the men’s but beyond the unrealistic comparison, the quality of football on show was of a very high standard. The final itself, which saw favourites USA and underdogs Japan clash, was again decided on penalties after a match worthy of being the showpiece game of any major tournament.

Whilst the quality of the football may have been a notable improvement, it was the attention the tournament drew across the world as the competition progressed that marks the start of potentially a new era for the women’s game. Across the 16 teams that competed there was stand out personalities as the interest in particular players as celebrities grew, in particular that of US goalkeeper Hope Solo, whose dramatic performances at the tournament stole a lot of the headlines despite her team coming up just short. The World Cup also drew record TV audiences; in host nation Germany alone 17million tuned into see Germany crash out to Japan in the quarter-finals. Despite the hosts and home favourites leaving the competition early, the interest in the tournament in Germany and around the world remained strong.

The UK’s coverage of the tournament was somewhat restricted by the BBC’s decision to limit the coverage to the red button or online but the pressure to show England’s quarter-final encounter with France live was a sign of the growing interest in the game for TV audiences in this country.

But the most impressive stat of them all was that on one of the most popular forms of communication across the globe Twitter, the Women’s World Cup final became the most tweeted event in the website’s history. No one could have anticipated the online interest in a game between players few outside the women’s footballing world would recognise.

The success of the tournament has not gone unnoticed. Last week marked the arrival of the 2011 European Women and Sport conference in London. The conference saw UEFA announce plans to invest €23.6 million (just over £20 million) between the member national associations between 2012 and 2016. This level of finance and attention that Europe alone is putting into the women’s game and over a number of nations that have varying levels of participation and interest is a good sign for the future of the women’s football. It is hard to look past the 2011 World Cup has a major selling point for UEFA and hopefully world organisations to really push the game forward.

In England alone the FA looked to capitalise on the attention of the World Cup as England’s now slightly more famous players returned to action in the Women’s Super League (WSL) after a mid-season break. Arsenal were the eventual winners of the league format and whilst the buzz surrounding the World Cup did quickly die down (partly due to England’s failure to progress past the quarter-finals in Germany), the WSL and World Cup are a much superior format to any that women’s football in England has seen in a long time.

Qualification has already started for the next major tournament on the women’s calendar, the European Championships in 2013. Whilst early big wins (including Portugal beating Armenia 8-0 and Spain’s 10-1 destruction of Turkey) indicate that problems with consistent quality still remain, all the European heavyweights including England, Germany and France are in the mix as UEFA will look to replicate the success of the World Cup in Sweden in two years time. This year’s UEFA Women’s Champions League knockout stages are also due to start soon and UEFA will be hoping the competition better promotes the club game, something that women’s football needs to do during the wait for another major international tournament.

The success of the World Cup may have been impressive but it would soon be no more than pointless if those in charge of the game around the world didn’t pay extra attention to one of the largest growing sports. The tournament in Germany not only set a benchmark for the players, FIFA and fans but also proved how good the women’s game can really be.

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Do you think women’s football can build on the success of the World Cup? If you want to read more of my bite size, 140 character views and thoughts follow me on Twitter @jennyk5

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For a player who is bettered only by David James when it comes to consecutive appearances, and is used to playing every minute of every game, since huge questions over his future AVB took the reins at Chelsea , Frank Lampard has had more than a little shock.

On the back of an injury hit campaign last time round, where only 11 goals were scored by the midfielder – a dramatically reduced amount from his usual 20 plus – Lampard has worked hard to regain fitness and a place back in the starting line-up.

After several lack luster performances by both Lampard and Chelsea, not to mention the arrival of Juan Mata and Meireles, Lampard found himself being the player to make way on more than one occasion, if he made the team at all. The low point for the player came against Swansea, where youngster Josh McEachran became the third Chelsea sub, thus meaning Lampard played no part in the game. The player subsequently went down the tunnel and huge questions over not only his future but just how much he featured in the plans of a manager who is slightly younger than him.

Much of the press attention pre match tonight focused on that specific issue, to the contention of the Chelsea manager, who was adamant that Lampard had a role to play for the blues, and included the 33 year old in his starting line-up.

After a decent performance first half, Lampard managed to score the only Chelsea goal of the game, in which Chelsea were lucky to come away with a draw after Valencia finally got a deserved equalizer courtesy of a Soldado penalty in the 87 minute after a foul by Kalou.

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The Spanish side suffered from a lack of clinical finishing which also cost them points against Barcelona and Sevilla, with more than a couple of chances coming their way. That is not to say Chelsea did not have their own opportunities, with Lampard setting up Torres, who of course failed to convert, and Ramires missing a one on one with the keeper that should see him serving a life sentence for his finishing skills – or lack of them.

Lampard’s goal came on the 56th minute, and will be a comfort to the player, who still failed to last the duration of the match, being replaced late in to the second half, yet will be glad that Meireles replaced Ramires, and not himself. Lampard will see this as a small response to the critics who have plagued him his whole career, and must now be at peace with the fact that no matter what he does, whether it be at West Ham, Chelsea or for England, it will not be enough for some people.

What Lampard will not take lightly is suggestions that he is finished at the top level, and is under the firm belief that he has a great deal more to give, albeit as a midfielder who plays slightly deeper than he has previously done, but with the vision the player possesses and his ability to read the game, this is not an impossible role for Lampard to take up, in a similar fashion to Paul Scholes during his last couple of seasons at United.

As the player showed in midweek, his career is far from over, and there is a great deal to come from Lampard yet.

Article courtesy of Rebecca Knight from This is Futbol

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Newcastle winger Jonas Gutierrez has applauded his side for their unbeaten start to the Premier League campaign, and feels his side deserves their current league standing.

Four wins and four draws in their opening eight domestic fixtures sees Alan Pardew’s men hold fourth place in the standings, with a fightback against Tottenham on Sunday maintaining their unbeaten start to the season.

The Argentina international has been impressed with how The Magpies have played so far, and feels their place close to the summit is warranted.

“We deserve to be fourth. Nobody has beaten us yet, so we deserve it,” he told Mirror Football.

“It will be hard to stay in the top four, we know that. There are a lot of good teams in the league. But here at Newcastle we are all about trying to play good football and keep the ball.

“I don’t care about what people think about Newcastle, or if they say we will never keep it up or that we have had an easy start. All I am bothered about is making sure that we improve with every game and stay focused.

“Last season, we did well against good teams and lost against the poorer teams. This season we have drawn against the top teams so far, like Tottenham and Arsenal, and we are beating the teams that we should be beating.

“We look strong, but we have to keep that up.

“The fans have helped us. They are enjoying it now more than they have before while I have been here. In the past, when we have been losing, they have not liked it. Now we are winning games they are clearly happier. It is great to see lots of smiling faces,” he concluded.

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Newcastle host struggling Wigan at St James’ Park next weekend, and with Roberto Martinez’s men losing their last five games, Pardew will identify it as a game to pick three points up from.

By Gareth McKnight

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Luis Suarez has been nothing short of a revelation since arriving in the Premier League last January from Ajax for £22.7m. His pace, inventiveness and work rate have stood out in particular and marked him out as one of the Premier League’s true star performers. However, while Suarez was signed with the intention of being a key performer, are Liverpool in danger of becoming a one-man team by relying on him too much?

The disparagingly used ‘one-man team’ remark is often levelled at teams with a perceived over-reliance on one player. This very same criticism has been levelled at Liverpool for years, with Steven Gerrard often being made to look head and shoulders above the rest of the side he’s been playing in – which when it includes the likes of Djimi Traore, Josemi and Antonio Nunez is really no wonder really.

But aren’t most teams in the Premier League overly-reliant on one player or another? Arsenal rely on Robin Van Persie a huge amount, so much so that he’s scored 29 of Arsenal’s 56 goals in 2011. You could by that same very token argue that Man Utd are heavily reliant on Wayne Rooney, whether he’s scoring goals or plugging a gap in midfield.

Only Man City and Chelsea, to my knowledge in the Premier League at present, are capable of sharing out the workload, mostly because they are the league’s two biggest spenders in the transfer market.

Swansea goalkeeper, the quite brilliant Michel Vorm had this to say on the matter after his Swansea side’s recent 0-0 draw at Anfield last weekend: “Maybe they rely on Suarez too much. He is a player with incredible qualities. He’s a world-class player. But maybe they rely too much on him. He is a player who can make a difference, you know that. But he didn’t, and they didn’t score. Maybe because we kept him quiet they didn’t have other options.”

For anyone that has watched Liverpool closely over the past few months will tell you, while the side has been overhauled, and at great expense, the side often look to one man to break the deadlock – Suarez.

This is as much an indictment on the success of Dalglish’s other signings as it is on Suarez’s quality in the final third. Andy Carroll has struggled for form and fitness and looks miles off being a natural finisher, let alone the physically dominant striker that he was purchased with in mind. Stewart Downing has contributed the root cause of sod all and Charlie Adam and Jordan Henderson’s roles dictate that they provide and instigate moves rather than finish them off themselves.

Since his move, Suarez has scored eight and assisted eight goals in 24 Premier League games. Liverpool’s best performances have come when he’s spearheaded a fluid attack alongside the likes of the criminally underused Craig Bellamy and Dirk Kuyt. Alongside Andy Carroll, though, while their partnership is in it’s relative infancy, they still resemble a duo going through teething problems.

It’s worth noting too, though, that Suarez has played just eight games alongside Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard since he signed for the club, with Gerrard being dogged by his own injury demons.

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Having an over-reliance on one player in particular is not necessarily a bad thing, as Arsenal have proven in the case of Robin Van Persie recently, it’s just that it’s not entirely conducive to the sustained success of a side. You may challenge for trophies, but you’re unlikely to win them.

When you factor in that while Suarez is undoubtedly a naturally creative player, he is far from being a natural finisher. He has struck 51 shots in the Premier League this season, the most of any top flight player, yet has just 4 goals to show from it. Suarez most probably created half of those chance himself out of nothing, such is his skill, but his profligate nature in front of goal has mirrored that of the struggles of the rest of the side.

What is clear is that Liverpool haven’t had their fair share of luck. They’ve already struck the woodwork 11 times in the league this season. Had each of those strikes gone in, they would be sitting comfortably in third. They are a side, which barring the Swansea and Spurs fixtures, is creating chances in bundles.

They often say the sign of a good striker is that he finds the space to get on the end of a chance. Well with Liverpool criticised heavily last season for a failure to create, it’s somewhat ironic that just six months later they are being criticised for a failure to finish after creating so much. Their luck will surely turn soon.

What would Liverpool fans kill to have Suarez alongside a fully-fit and in-form Fernando Torres now? As was originally intended before his late move to Chelsea. It’s clear that Suarez, while he will be constant source of productivity for this Liverpool side, lacks the requisite finishing ability to punish opposing teams in the Premier League, on the evidence so far.

To an extent, Liverpool are far too over-reliant on Suarez. What first started out as a rich vein of form which filtered through to his team meats has now crept into the underlying suspicion that he’s the team’s go-to man, particularly in the continued absence of Gerrard.

The true measure of whether a side is especially over-reliant on one individual and in danger of crossing over to that dreaded ‘one-man team’ territory is if you take the player in question out of the side, how would that side then do? With concerns to Liverpool and Suarez, perhaps Michel Vorm has a point.

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Despite Martin O’Neill being the odds on bookies favourite to take the Sunderland post, it is another respected out of work manager who the Sunderland Echo say is having an interview with the board – including Short and Quinn today – and is their preferred candidate to take the job.

Hughes’ most recent club was Fulham, whom he left as he felt they ‘could not match his ambition’, yet in Sunderland, he sees a club who can do exactly this, and have money to spend as well. As a manger, Hughes did well at both Wales Blackburn and was deeply unlucky not to be given more time at Manchester City, and is seen as the man who can halt the alarming slump Sunderland have been on.

BBC Sport say that the board also feel that Hughes is the man to bring the players together and will be able to integrate the players who arrived in the summer, and finally get the players working together and gelling as a team.  It is not surprising that they think this of a man who is so renowned for his man management skills, and has the backing of defender Michael Grey, who also played under Sparky at Blackburn calling him ‘a perfect fit for the club right now.’

With a whole host of high profile quality candidates linked to the post not to mention being desperate to get back into management, Hughes will be hoping that the board really do feel he is the man to bring a club who have only won twice this season forward.

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Fernando Torres has stated that there is no truth in the rumours linking him with a move away from Chelsea in the January transfer window, and feels the British media should give him more respect.

The Spain international has been in poor form since joining the Stamford Bridge club from Liverpool for £50 million back at the start of 2011, and is out of favour with Blues’ boss Andre Villas Boas.

Despite a reduction in time on the pitch and concerns by Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque over his form, Torres has vowed to stand and fight.

“When I read something in the Spanish press, I think it could be true. When I read it in the English press, I know that it’s a lie,” the forward told Canal+ Liga TV.

“It’s true that Vicente Del Bosque is worried about me and my form for Chelsea. It’s up to me to go back to being the striker I was before.

“If I go back to how I was a few years ago, I will again play an important role in the Spanish national team.

“I am going to try to be very humble and get back into the Chelsea starting line-up. My form has not been good but I am world and European champion and I deserve more respect.

“It’s hard being on the bench but I respect the players who are playing. I’m going to support the team and get back in,” he concluded.

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By Gareth McKnight

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