Andy Carroll heads to West Ham

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After much speculation that the Liverpool striker Andy Carroll would be heading back home to Newcastle, the story took a surprise twist today with the news that he will be instead pulling on a West Ham shirt for 2012/1 season. The Hammers have signed Carroll on loan for the season for a reported £2, and could sign him permanently if they stay in the Premiership.

Carroll, on the other hand, has been reported as saying that he want to go home to the Toon, and that he also wants to stay in Liverpool, so where he really wants to play is anyone’s guess. Liverpool have already apparently rejected an offer from Newcastle, who sold Carroll in January 2011 for a Liverpool club record of £35. After being the darling of St James’, he has struggled at Anfield scoring only 11 goals in his 56 appearances.

When Carroll left the north east for the north west, a social media campaign branding him a ‘Judas’ swept across the nation, and many posters displaying his face with the word Judas beneath it were waved at matches. The fickleness of sport, however, is evident as in recent weeks, staunch Toon supporters have said they would welcome the 23 year old’s return to a team looking to further improve on the top 5 finish they enjoyed last season.

Ex Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce is the man in charge at Upton Park, and has spoken of welcoming Carroll into his squad. Allardyce was just one of many managers Newcastle went through in a very short period while they tried to settle into a routine of winning ways. Alan Pardew is the man at the helm now, and he is credited with turning the club around and once again making them a team to be reckoned with

Brian Kennedy insists that his offer for Rangers is still valid

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Brian Kennedy reinforced that his offer to purchase the new Rangers is still good after its present owners spent a day claiming that the rumour was true and then stating that it was not. Charles Green the chief executive of Sevco denied that the owner of Sale Sharks had placed a bit on the team, despite the fact that earlier in the day he had said that the bid was real. Kennedy stated that he has officially submitted proof that his bid was real on the table and now the offer will remain good until it can be considered.

He explained that while he respects the fact that controlling investors have the right to reject or accept any bids that come in for the shares, he wants to make it a matter of public record that he is willing, ready, and financially able to support the Rangers Football Club in the future if his bid is accepted.

He added that his lawyers submitted the details of his original bid to Zeus Capital who are handling the sale of the football club. His solo bid failed, but he is hoping now that he could take a controlling arm of the shares with his new bid for 51% of the shares of the club.

The bid was rumoured to be about £5.6m and therefore quite intoxicating no doubt for the owners of the Rangers. Kennedy also stated that he has had several meetings over the past month with a man that represents the Sevco shareholders to discuss why he is interested in buying the club and what he would do with the football club if his offer is accepted. He added that the details from each meeting have been disclosed to club members so that full disclosure protocols are followed.

Rangers set to be stripped of titles after secret document leaked

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A secret plan has been produced by football chiefs that will strip four Scottish Cups and five SPL titles from Rangers. The Daily Record saw the bombshell document after it was drafted following talks between the Scottish Football League, SFA, SPL and Sevco representatives.

A range of punishments are outlined in the plan for dodging Employment Benefit Trust tax, which the club did during Sir David Murray’s regime in order to pay players. If penalties are enforced they would be the harshest seen in football. They not only include stripping five league titles from the club and wiping out four Scottish Cup triumphs; but an a one-year transfer embargo will be upheld and Green’s newco will be forced to pay the clubs old football debts.

Clearly the plan has been drafted by the football authorities to force Rangers to drop to Division One in the SFL and protect the TV and marketing revenues of Scottish football. Chairmen from the SFL overwhelmingly voted to drop Rangers to Division Three last Friday, however it is understood that the punishments in the secret plan may be imposed at a later date.

On August 10 the SPL will decide whether or not Rangers broke rules by using ‘dual contracts’ and EBTs, the document simply shed light on what could be used as penalties for the club. An agreement on the document is yet to be reached, although it appears that Green’s firm would be willing to accept some of the draft

The list of penalties will horrify the club’s supporters, many believing that the document undermines the judicial process of the SFA. Possible the worst part in that the club could lose the status of Champion Club, which is defined in the rules of the Scottish Premier League.

Patrick Vieira reacts angrily about supposed Man United comments

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Patrick Vieira has recently reacted to what he thinks is a misinterpretation of comments he made about Manchester United. The Frenchman, who plays for Manchester City, recently created a great deal of controversy and upset the fans of Manchester United when he said that their attempt to bring Paul Scholes out of retirement in order to play was the club desperately trying to improve its game.

He says that the quotes have been taken out of context when they were used during an interview. They were initially made in order to be part of a campaign Vieira does as part of his charity work. They were made for a video about supporting the fight against starvation in Africa.

A statement released by Manchester City has read, “He gave the interview to the BBC and people have been misinterpreting the statement. Mr Vieira also feels that during the interview which was done with Dan Roan, from the BBC, the questions from the reporter were very misleading with regard to seeking comments from him about Manchester United.

They were especially leading in regard to Manchester United being given preferential treatment by referees at matches.” Mr Vieira maintains that is comments have been taken dramatically out of context.