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Villa Park to host Community Shield
Villa Park will host this season's FA Community Shield between Manchester City and Chelsea, it has been confirmed.
The curtain-raiser for the new season will take place at Aston Villa's ground the day after the Olympic football Final at Wembley - which is the reason the national stadium is not being used.
Alex Horne, FA general secretary, said: "Villa Park is one of English football's most iconic grounds and has a wonderful tradition of hosting some of the game's biggest matches".
"Once we knew the Olympic football schedule, we worked hard to secure a suitable alternative venue for The FA Community Shield 2012 and are delighted that Aston Villa have agreed to host the season's traditional curtain-raiser."
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6 players released by Everton
Everton have released 6 players whose contracts expired at the end of the season, including midfielder James McFadden and goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann.
McFadden made just 8 appearances during his second spell at the club, having joined as a free agent in October, while Hahnemann failed to make a first-team appearance having agreed a short-term deal in September.
On-loan striker Denis Stracqualursi has gone back to Argentinian club Tigres while Royston Drenthe, who did not play the final month of the season after being disciplined by manager David Moyes, is looking for a new club as his contract with Real Madrid expires shortly.
Goalkeepers Adam Davies and Connor Roberts, defender Aristote Nsiala and winger Femi Orenuga have been all released having never featured for the first team.
Cahill accepts 3-match ban
Everton midfielder Tim Cahill has accepted a 3-match ban for being sent off against Newcastle on Saturday.
However, he has accused opponent Yohan Cabaye of using language which has "no place either on or off the football pitch".
The Australian's club Everton announced earlier on Tuesday that their appeal against his red card had been rejected by the Football Association.
Cahill was sent off by referee Andre Marriner during his side's 3-1 win over Newcastle on Sunday and French midfielder Cabaye who issued an apology on the Magpies' official website at the weekend.
"I would like to apologise for the cross words I exchanged with Tim Cahill which resulted in his red card and my booking on the final whistle", he told nufc.co.uk.
"It was unnecessary and, regrettably, the result of frustration and disappointment, all in the heat of the moment."
"It is out of character and for that I am sorry."
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Gordon among 9 to leave Black Cats
Goalkeeper Craig Gordon, once Britain's most expensive goalkeeper, is among 9 players to be released by Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill.
The Black Cats broke the British record for the highest fee for a goalkeeper when then-manager Roy Keane paid Hearts £9 million for the Scotland international in 2007.
However, he made just 95 appearances in 5 years and joins fellow stoppers Trevor Carson and Lewis King, defenders Liam Bagnall and Jordan Lavender, midfielders James Brace and Brett Elliott as well as strikers Jordan Cook and Oumare Tounkara out of the exit door.
A succession of injuries and inconsistent form contributed to Gordon failing to fulfil his potential at Stadium of Light.
He broke his arm twice, and suffered niggling injuries on a constant basis, while a knee tendon and anterior cruciate ligament injury picked up in April last year meant he was ruled out for 8 months.
Belgian Simon Mignolet has established himself as the first choice goalkeeper in Gordon's absence with Keiren Westwood, signed last summer as a result of Gordon's injury woes, understudy.
Gordon made just one appearance all season - against Bolton last month - and Martin O'Neill has decided the Scot, who has represented his country on 40 occasions, no longer figures in his plans.
Meanwhile, Nicklas Bendtner, Wayne Bridge and Sotirios Kyrgiakos have all returned to their parent clubs after loan spells.
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Worst Signings of the Season
There are many ways a signing can be considered a flop - an underwhelming season, being under-utilised or overpriced, just to name a few criteria.
We've tried to make it easy - these are players who failed to justify their transfer fees. So, in no particular order of merit (or demerit), here is the list of cringe-worthy signings.
Stewart Downing - Liverpool (£20 million, from Aston Villa)
Front-lining the list of worst signings is Downing. The poor (not financially) winger isn't helped by Liverpool chairman Tom Werner's admission on Liverpool's official TV channel that Downing's signing was supposedly decided on a doctored YouTube video.
Yes, the above was just a rumour, but the truth is about as brutal.
The fact is that Liverpool lost out in the race to sign Ashley Young from Aston Villa and settled for the far less effective version. It's a bit like missing out on the dream girl and settling for her not-so-desirable friend instead.
After ending the entire season assist-less and goal-less despite making 36 appearances, it's mind-boggling how the lynch mob hasn't targeted Downing the way they have done Torres.
Charlie Adam - Liverpool (£7.5 million, from Blackpool)
Manchester United fans should be relieved that Liverpool managed to sign Adam before Sir Alex Ferguson went on to sign the player whom he described as having a left leg worth £10 million.
Just the thought of him combining with Michael Carrick to form possibly the least mobile midfield partnership can drive any football enthusiast to tears.
The tone for Adam's season horribilis started when he was bullied by Scott Parker in Liverpool's 4-0 defeat against Spurs. From then on, the sight of Adam in the Reds midfield would elicit a loud groan of despair from most Reds supporters.
Charles N'Zogbia - Aston Villa (£9.5 million, from Wigan Athletic)
Touted as Aston Villa's Next Big Thing after the departure of Ashley Young and Downing, N'Zogbia failed to leave up to expectations in almost every aspect of the game.
Most midfielders would relish working with Agbonlahor, but N'Zogbia actually found a way to nullify his team mate.
30 appearances this season ended with only 2 goals and 3 assists.
Scott Dann - Blackburn Rovers (£7.7 million, from Birmingham City)
Blackburn fans were excited by Dann's arrival, given that he was signed despite the attentions of Liverpool after an impressive season with Birmingham.
Touted as the next Phil Jones, Dann had a reputation as a defender who would bust a nut to keep a clean sheet for his side. Sadly, he was later sidelined after he literally bust his nut, overstretching his lower parts to end up with a ruptured testicle.
As if it wasn't enough, Dann's horror injury occurred while scoring his first and only Blackburn goal.
Park Chu-young - Arsenal (£2.7 million, from AS Monaco)
With AS Monaco relegated, the Korean captain had one last throw of his dice with another club before spending 2 years in the army.
Park ended up making perhaps his worst career choice when he stood Lille up, leaving the former French champions waiting for him to appear for his medical while he crossed the channel to the Emirates Stadium.
His signing was much-hyped but it ended up for naught, with his few League Cup appearances not enough to warrant a spot in the starting XI despite the attacking slump the Gunners had in the middle of the season.
Connor Wickham - Sunderland (£13 million, from Ipswich Town)
Any signing from the lower leagues is bound to catch eyeballs - Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are prime examples.
Wickham's capture from Ipswich had the Black Cats' fans abuzz as a brilliant prospect but it turned out to be a damp squib.
It's rather unbelievable that Wickham cost Sunderland £13 million and ended up making only 6 starts and 12 substitute appearances with only one goal to show for it.
How bad was it, really? Well, Wickham didn't start a single game from December till the end of the season. Enough said.
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Drogba confirms Chelsea exit
Didier Drogba has confirmed that he will not be staying at Chelsea beyond this summer.
The 34-year-old Ivory Coast international has spent 8 years at Chelsea, scoring 157 goals in 341 appearances, and helped the Blues win 10 titles.
One of those titles was Saturday's Champions League victory over Bayern Munchen, where Drogba scored a late equaliser in normal time and then netted the winning kick in the penalty shootout.
Drogba has been a talisman for Chelsea, spearheading their drive for success and delivering crucial performances in the matches which mattered most.
The former Olympique Marseille forward, who has been linked with a lucrative move to China, maintained Chelsea would "always be in my heart".
Chelsea are set for some major decisions how to take the side forwards next season.
The Blues have yet to resolve firm plans for who will take charge of the team, with interim manager Roberto Di Matteo having done his claims for the fulltime job no harm by following up an FA Cup Final win at Wembley with landing the biggest prize of all following a penalty shootout in Munchen.
Chelsea will wait until Di Matteo's contract expires at the end of June before deciding on the Italian's future, which could yet be back in the dugout on a one-year deal should owner Roman Abramovich put his faith in the man West Bromwich axed in February 2011 for fear of relegation.
Elsewhere, Chelsea also need to placate striker Fernando Torres, who hit out at his treatment last season, as well as look to secure their main transfer targets, said to include Lille playmaker Eden Hazard and Sao Paulo's Lucas Moura.
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Best Signings of the Season
From the bargain signings who went on to play a competent part as squad members, to the big-money arrivals who immediately established themselves as stars, here is our list of the top 10 players who justified their transfer fee.
10. Ben Foster (West Bromwich) - loan
When Birmingham City were relegated at the end of last season, it seemed only a matter of time before Foster was snapped up by another Premier League team. And after Scott Carson decided to leave for Bursaspor, the Baggies quickly moved for the one-time England international in a season-long loan deal.
While the Baggies did concede 52 goals in the campaign, it was a marked improvement from the 71 they let in last season and Foster's presence in goal ultimately helped them finish in the top-half of the table.
9. Mikel Arteta (Arsenal) - £10 million
When Arsene Wenger decided to spend a reported £10 million on a 30-year-old midfielder from Everton in the final day of the summer transfer window, Arsenal fans firmly believed their manager was going about the wrong way in finding a replacement for the departed Cesc Fabregas.
Fast forward 9 months, Arteta has established himself as a Gunners favourite and a key member of the first-team squad, despite being hampered by a number of injuries.
While his goal and assist tallies aren't fantastic, his main contribution has been his ability to fluently link up defence with attack and he constantly brings other players into the game.
Whenever he did score however, they were normally memorable or important strikes, none more so that the 87th-minute winner he scored against Manchester City in April.
8. Craig Bellamy (Liverpool) - Free
While Bellamy hasn't had too many games to impress under Kenny Dalglish, he was the hero of a Carling Cup winning campaign that gave the Anfield faithful their only reason to cheer in an otherwise forgettable season.
The volatile Welshman laid on both goals in the Reds' quarter-finals win over Chelsea, before scoring the equaliser that gave them a 3-2 aggregate win over City in the semis.
On other fronts, Bellamy grabbed a memorable brace in the 3-1 win over Newcastle to alleviate the mouting pressure on Kenny Dalglish after Liverpool's woeful home form and also provided an assist for Andy Carroll's winner in the FA Cup semi-finals win over arch-rivals Everton.
7. Anthony Pilkington (Norwich City) - £2 million
Not many people were aware who Pilkington was when he made the jump from League 1 side Huddersfield Town to Premier League after Norwich secured his services in the summer.
Fast forward 10 months, the 23-year-old has established himself as one of the most dangerous wingers in the English top flight after netting 8 goals in 30 appearances.
His exciting displays went a long way in helping the Canaries finish comfortably above the relegation zone in 12th.
6. Paul Scholes (Manchester United) - Return from retirement
While certain members of the City camp labelled Scholes' return as a desperate move from United, there is no denying that he singlehandedly dragged their title bid back on track.
After he returned at the start of January, the Red Devils only failed to win 2 of the 14 league games he started in, and despite being out of the game for 6 months, he immediately re-established himself as one of the best passers in the game and has already decided to play on for another year.
5. Michel Vorm (Swansea City) - £1.5 million
Swansea fans must have been sweating at the start of the season after Dorus de Vries, who had been the first-choice goalkeeper in their promotion-winning campaign, decided to leave the club on a free transfer and join Wolverhampton.
His decision now seems a tad foolish after he made all of 2 league appearances and will now be playing Championship football again after Wolves were relegated.
On the other hand, his replacement Vorm, who cost the Swans just £1.5 million, went on to become one of the best shot-stoppers in Premier League and is now renowned for his penalty-saving abilities.
Vorm wasn't the only shrewd signing by Swans manager Brendan Rodgers this season, with on-loan midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson coming real close to getting selected in this list.
4. Juan Mata (Chelsea) - £23.5 million
When Andre Villas-Boas began his ill-fated spell in charge of Chelsea, he promised to usher in a new era at Stamford Bridge.
By the start of March, it all came felling apart as he was booted out after an inconsistent campaign but the one bright spark that emerged from his reign was Mata.
The dimunitive Spaniard has been one of the stars of the season and is the latest in a new breed of foreign players who have excellent technical ability but are savy enough to cope with the physical nature of the English game.
Mata ended the season with 6 goals and 13 assists in the league, but it was the way he contributed to Chelsea's overall play that made him really stand out.
3. Scott Parker (Tottenham Hotspur) - £5.5 million
It was not a watershed for Tottenham by any means they just managed to finish 4th in the table.
The way Spurs ended the campaign was a far cry from how they started it; at one point they were even viewed as genuine title contenders.
And that was mainly because they had Parker controlling matters in the middle of the park.
The England international not only provided an impenetrable shield in front of his backline, but also dictated the tempo of the game for Spurs and regularly knew when best to put them on the front foot and when to keep hold of possession.
2. Demba Ba/Papiss Cisse (Newcastle) - Free/£10 million
Cisse's performances probably stand out more because they came at the back end of the campaign and are fresher in the mind. The fact that he scored some absolute crackers helps too, but we shouldn't forget that in the first half of the season, it was Ba who set the foundation for what turned out to be a brilliant campaign for Newcastle.
In total, both of them combined for 29 goals and with Yohan Cabaye and Hatem Ben Arfa regularly weighing in, the future looks very bright for Alan Pardew's charges.
1. Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) - £35 million
We finally arrive at our best buy of the season and it may seem slightly peculiar we've gone for a man who cost a whopping £35 million.
However, this is the same man who scored the decisive 94th-minute goal that handed City their first title in 44 years and also finished the league's top scorer for the club with 23 goals, many of which came at decisive moments.
Considering he played a key part in ending over 4 decades of hurt for the City faithful, we believe Aguero has already repaid every cent of his massive transfer fee.
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Kalou & Bosingwa set for Chelsea exit
Chelsea are to announce that neither Salomon Kalou nor Jose Bosingwa will be retained by the club ahead of the new season, it is understood.
Kalou, 26-year-old and Bosingwa, 29-year-old, both started for the Blues in their Champions League Final success against Bayern Munchen at the weekend but will be omitted from the retained list submitted on Wednesday, alongside Didier Drogba who has already announced he will be leaving Stamford Bridge at the end of his contract.
Ivory Coast international Kalou was signed from Feyenoord in 2006 by Jose Mourinho and has featured as a squad player for most of his stay.
Bosingwa was signed following his performances for Portugal at EURO 2008 after his then-national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari took charge of the club but Chelsea did not take up their one-year option on the full-back.
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Lambert named Aston Villa manager
Paul Lambert has been appointed the new manager of Aston Villa after leaving Norwich City.
Lambert tendered his resignation this week in an attempt to push through a move to Villa, who have been looking for a manager since Alex McLeish was relieved of his duties last month.
Norwich prohibited Lambert from talking to Villa earlier this week and therefore refused his resignation in light of not being allowed to discuss a move to the Villans.
It appears, though, that a compromise has been reached which will see the Scottish manager move from East Anglia to the Midlands and take charge of a side that finished perilously close to the relegation zone, in 16th place, last season.
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Rangnick joins Baggies
Former Schalke and VfB Stuttgart coach Ralf Rangnick has agreed to become West Bromwich's new manager, according to reports in Germany.
Albion held talks with Rangnick last month as they continued their search to find Roy Hodgson's successor.
And the 53-year-old is believed to have agreed a deal to take the managerial reins at The Hawthorns, having first met with Albion officials when a guest for the final home Premier League game against Arsenal on 13 May.
Compensation was not an issue as Rangnick has been without a club since leaving Schalke 8 months ago because of exhaustion.
He nudged ahead of Birmingham City manager Chris Hughton after it emerged Blues were looking for around £2 million in compensation.
Rangnick had 2 spells at Schalke, leading them to the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2010/2011, in addition to a 4-year stint at Hoffenheim.
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Hughton appointed manager of Norwich City
Norwich City have confirmed the appointment of Chris Hughton as their new manager.
The 53-year-old replaces Paul Lambert at Carrow Road, following the Scot's decision to leave for Barclays Premier League rivals Aston Villa.
Hughton was in charge at Birmingham City but had been granted permission by the Championship side to speak to the Canaries.
Hughton has penned a 3-year deal at Carrow Road and takes three members of his Blues backroom staff - assistant manager Colin Calderwood, first-team coach Paul Trollope and chief scout Ewan Chester.
The former Newcastle manager admits the offer of a return to Premier League football with the Canaries was too good to turn down.
Hughton took Birmingham to 4th in the npower Championship but his team were knocked out in the play-off semi-finals by Blackpool.
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EPL television rights sold at £1 billion per season
The Premier League have sold their domestic live television broadcast rights to Sky and BT for a total of £3.018 billion.
Sky have bought 5 of the 7 available packages for the seasons 2013/2014 to 2015/2016, totalling 116 matches per year.
BT have acquired the rights for 32 matches that season but their package includes 18 of the 38 first choice picks.
The Premier League have secured a remarkable £1.254 billion increase on the current deal, which is shared between Sky and ESPN.
Di Matteo proud of Chelsea appointment
Roberto Di Matteo admitted his pride at being appointed Chelsea manager on a full-time.
The 42-year-old, a fan favourite during his playing days at Stamford Bridge, was confirmed as the latest manager to take the helm at Stamford Bridge, on a 2-year deal, yesterday evening.
The announcement came just 3 weeks after Di Matteo, as interim coach, guided the club to arguably their greatest triumph in the Champions League Final in Munchen.
In beating Bayern Munchen on penalties, and claiming the one trophy owner Roman Abramovich sought most, Di Matteo completed a remarkable rejuvenation that saw him also claim the FA Cup after just 11 weeks after he took over from sacked manager Andre Villas-Boas.
Those successes left Blues fans calling for his permanent appointment and Abramovich to seemingly shelve plans to woo Pep Guardiola out of his year-long sabbatical after leaving FC Barcelona.
While Di Matteo, who becomes the eighth permanent coach of Abramovich's ownership, said he would have accepted the club's decision should they have opted to look elsewhere, he admitted his joy at being able to continue his "legacy" after Chelsea's stunning end to last season.
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Bale signs 4-year deal with Tottenham
Gareth Bale has agreed to a new 4-year deal with Tottenham that will keep him at White Hart Lane until 2016.
The Welsh star has long been linked with a move away from the club with both Manchester United and FC Barcelona reported to be interested in signing the 22-year-old, but he has now committed his future to the north Londoners.
Bale joined Tottenham in 2007 from Southampton and has gone on to become one of their most influential players.
He made 47 appearances last season, scoring 15 goals, as Spurs finished 4th in Premier League.
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