Footballers on holiday

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With the Barclays Premier League 2013/14 season just around the corner, Ashley Cole could be forgiven for making sure he basked in the bright sunlight of the Spanish climate right till the end before he started pre-season training this week. The footballer, currently plying his trade for Chelsea FC is on a holiday with his mates in Marbella. The fashion conscious among you would have spotted his weird combination of underwear beneath his Gingham swimming shorts.

As is custom among the young, rich and single footballers of the modern game, none of them can escape the glares of the media, as well female attention wherever they go, and this holiday was no exception. No one can blame the 32 year old Ashley for taking full advantage of his current relationship status and chatting to as many bikini-clad ladies as he possibly can.

“Ibiza here we come!” Chelsee Healey whisks her good friend Tulisa away on holiday as they bid to put the X Factor star’s recent troubles with the law behind her. Supermodel Heidi Klum brightens her Twitter followers’ day by tweeting a cheeky picture of her in a strapless bikini whilst on a beach during her holiday

No doubt it was a celebratory occasion for Ashley Cole and his friends as evidenced by them taking a couple of large alcohol bottles with them into the Ocean Club. For his sake, we hope the girls he was speaking to had not mistaken him for Daley, a contestant on the current edition of Big Brother, but rather the fact he is a footballer.

Last week the star tweeted his frustration at being constantly mistaken for the Big Brother contestant: “Apart from his thick eyebrows, Daley looks nothing like me”. He was one of the most played members among his colleagues after making 51 appearances in all competitions for his club last season. His return this week will coincide with the return of the Special One as he aims to the highs of their premiership prowess.

 

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Mohammed Al Fayed takes the FA and Premier League to task

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Both the Premier league and the Football Association are pondering their next moves after Mohamed Al Fayed, the chairman of Fulham, launched a scathing attack on both bodies. The Egyptian businessman is demanding a review of the refereeing practice as well as the decision making process. He has written to the Premier League and the FA on behalf of all the football clubs and is seeking quick and decisive action.

Mr Al Fayed spoke out after Fulham suffered their recent 0-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester United, the game where Danny Murphy was knocked over a minute before the end but Michael Oliver, the 27 year old referee, waved away the claims for a penalty.

Al Fayed has become increasingly frustrated by the recent errors and inconsistencies that have occurred, as well as the whole way in which matches are officiated, as he believes that the decisions made on the pitch are all too readily accepted by the governing bodies of football.

In his statement, Al Fayed says the FA’s main problem in addressing the situation that currently exists is that it has too much power and there is no where else where decision makers, such as referees, escape all responsibility from having to admit blatant errors but the protesters are fined and charged with serious misconduct.

He added that the losses that clubs are suffering from such careless decisions are having a huge impact on them, and the consequences can be calamitous. He also feels that referees are far too easily influenced by the more powerful clubs and the individual, high powered owners, which calls into question both the integrity of the officials as well as the governing body that they report to.

Al Fayed is also urging the bodies to embrace video technology as he believes that in this aspect, English football is lagging behind the rest of the world

Premier League and Football League media talks go into extra time

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Premier League and Football League media talks go into extra time Talks that were going on between the Premier League, the Football League and various media organisations regarding match coverage are finally back on after a standoff  which has lasted a week, leaving very little tile to get a deal hammered out before the new premier league season starts. The two sides effectively spat their dummies out last Wednesday and broke of all contact with each other.

This was after talks regarding an agreement broke down acrimoniously when the two footballing bodies walked away from the table. This included details about where the news media outlets were allowed to syndicate their material, the speed in which they could publish photos and to what extent readers could engage with the online content during a live match.

The media coalition including most of the national newspapers as well as worldwide agencies such as The Press Association, Getty Images and Reuters had cut back on their coverage opening weekend of the new football league season as well the Carling Cup first round matches. This was after they were locked out of the grounds after they refused to sign a temporary extension to their existing deal.

According to two separate sources with inside knowledge of the discussions, negotiations have now recommenced It is also thought that, despite their being an acrimonious dispute, common ground still exists between the two factions, and this increases the chances of a deal being agreed before the Premier League starts on Saturday.

The coalition, who are being represented by the Newspaper Publishers Association, have put forward demands that surrounding such things as a new deal picture and news agencies, a change in live match reporting and also the use of the social media networks, and these are thought to be not exactly poles apart from what the sport’s governing bodies have deemed acceptable.

They both agree that the existing deal is outdated, not surprising since it dates back to the 2003/4 season, two years before twitter even existed. A source, who is close to the footballing bodies, angrily dismissed the claims that they were old fashioned and trying to hold the game back from taking its place in the rapidly rising world of digital media coverage.

Liverpool may become Chinese football club

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Liverpool may become Chinese football club Chinese investor Kenny Huang has been rumoured to have shown interest in buying Premier League team Liverpool. Though Huang has yet to make an official offer, it has been speculated that any offer he does make will be backed by the Chinese government.

Richard Scudamore, chief executive of the Premier League, doesn’t foresee any problems with Huang buying the club even if he does receive his funding from the Chinese government. Scudamore admits he will investigate the situation further if the rumours are confirmed but also states that it would not be much different to Manchester City receiving funds from Abu Dhabi.

Current owners Tom Hicks and George Gillet along with Chairman Martin Broughton are reportedly in talks with six other bidders but a formal decision of the new owner is to be made next week.

Manchester United still top club money wise

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Manchester United still top club money wise Manchester United may not have earned a place in the Champions League and will have to scrape to keep their Premier League title, but they still have been able to keep the lead as one of the most valuable clubs globally.

In this year’s Forbes Magazine list of the top twenty football teams, the Old Trafford club held onto top position with a value of £1.19bn, which is a two percent decrease from last year.

England landed seven clubs on the list, although the Premier League is known as the most indebted club league throughout Europe.

Showing up on the list was Arsenal in third, Liverpool in sixth place, Chelsea in ninth, Tottenham Hotspur in 12th, and near the bottom in 19th place is Manchester City.

The last team on the list was a surprise as Newcastle United made the list even though they are currently in relegation for the Championship.

Forbes business sports writer, Peter Schwartz, stated that Manchester United deserves a bit of praise for its continual resilience and its place as one of the largest global sporting brands.

Schwartz continued to say that the club has made itself one of the first class brands out of all world sporting brands with great marketing and new kit deals that have helped them continue to hold their status even in the face of the global recession.

Over the last season the twenty most valuable clubs together generated a total of £422m in operating income and combined revenues of £3.57b.