arrival of Andriy Voronin signals departure of Aleksandr Kerzhakov from Dinamo Moskva

As previously reported, English Premier League side Liverpool have formally announced the sale of striker Andriy Voronin to Dinamo Moskva for €2 million. In a brief statement, Liverpool noted that, "paperwork for the deal (is) set to be completed over the weekend".

The journey to the Russian capital marks a fresh start for Andriy Voronin after an unsuccessful run at Anfield. Arriving in February 2007 from Bundesliga side Bayer 04 Leverkusen, the thirty-year-old Ukrainian international rarely found his goal-scoring form and subsequently written out of manager Rafa Benítez's plans. However, with the "White-Blues" he will be immediately be ushered into Andrey Kobelev's starting eleven, who equally feature the rapidly emerging teenage stars Fyodor Smolov and Aleksandr Kokorin.

The arrival of the new Dinamo striker surely marks the departure of Russian international Aleksandr Kerzhakov, with most suspecting he will return to Zenit Saint Petersburg where is playing career started, though neither club or player have publicly commented. Presuming new Zenit manager Luciano Spalletti sticks to the tactical styling whilst leading Roma, the new man will feature as the lone striker in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Additionally the arrival of Aleksandr Kerzhakov in Saint Petersburg will cause Zenit to back off from a potential move on Roman Pavlyuchenko, presently looking for a route from Tottenham. Though Spartak Moskva is still actively pursuing his return to the Krasno-belye, the Tottenham asking price, said to be no less than £11 million is beyond their ceiling.

Prepared by J. Davies
©Joga Bonito Renegade Style, a division of Renegade Style Productions, 2010.
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Tottenham play Everton to draw in scoreless yawner

With Aston Villa dropping 3-1 to Fulham, Everton missed a chance to climb to fifth in the table with a quiet scoreless draw against Tottenham. With much of the season already decided for the Toffees given a Europa League spot has already been earned and the FA Cup final still three weeks off, David Moyes is without question tinkering with his lineup in the last three weeks.

Using Dan Gosling and Jack Rodwell in the starting eleven, with both Lars Jacobsen and Leon Osman on the bench, Everton lacked the finishing touch and less than a tight defensive battle, the match basically was lacking intensity and quality for the most part. If the match wasn't challenged enough with debatable motivation, a heavy rain before the break slowed the pacing considerably. As the match wore on a few scoring chances opened up, likely none better when Dan Gosling rattled the post with roughly twenty-five minutes left but still they couldn't find a way through in route to a scoreless draw.

Andrei Arshavin is now a Gunner

After what seems like an eternity, the deal to send Andrei Arshavin from Zenit Saint Petersburg to North London's Arsenal is complete. Following the move the Russian international:

"I am so happy to be joining Arsenal. They are one of the leading football clubs in the world, with a group of fantastic young players and a great manager."

In a interesting turn of events, Arsenal face Tottenham on Sunday who feature former Spartak Moskva man and Russian teammate Roman Pavlyuchenko.

snap up Giovani Dos Santos

Prior to Giovani Dos Santos coming to Tottenham from Barcelona, there was some talk of the then-eighteen year-old coming to Man City. Unfortunately at that time the Nery Castillo situation didn’t look very favourable and it played a role in the El Tri capped youngster signing with Juande Ramos. However after recovering from a early ankle injury that plagued the start of his career with the Spurs he still has not fared under Harry Redknapp system and accepted as “expendable.”

Yet the young striker / midfielder is a brilliant talent and within the lofty prices that seem bantered around, his relative modest fee would be a bargain. The original deal the brought him from Barcelona was an incentive laced contract of £8.6m that additionally included a back-end deal in which the La Liga powerhouse would receive twenty per-cent if he was to be moved in the first two years. While Chivas of the México’s La Primera División was very aggressive in trying to bring him to the club, their Vice-President Néstor de la Torre, has revealed to Medio Tempo that their offer has been rejected by Tottenham.

Of the many acquisitions planned, Manchester City should try to snap up Giovani Dos Santos. He is a brilliant young talent and this opportunity should not be squandered.

Roman Pavlyuchenko and Andrei Arshavin to pair up in Tottenham?

While the thought of Andrei Arshavin leaving Zenit Saint Petersburg is something I prefer not see happen, the painful realization that it is likely to occur has long since settled in the pit of my stomach. However one very unique situation would certainly dull the pain, not to mention have me visiting north-London a morsel more, as rumours of Russian internationals Roman Pavlyuchenko and Andrei Arshavin teaming up with Tottenham. While the Spurs bank vaults are a bit bare, the duo would be one of the deadliest in England.

Since Juande Ramos and his draconian training and diet regime were given the heave-ho, the ex-Spartak Moscow man Roman Pavlyuchenko has lit up the score sheet with six goals in eight matches.

Could we see these two together in Tottenham?

Louis Saha injury update

Stretchered off in the weekend match against Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham the first reports of Louis Saha’s injury were far from optimistic. With talk of either a grade two or the more serious three rupture, many were concerned that the Les Bleus capped attacker would be out for quite a long time.

However Everton head physiotherapist Mick Rathbone was the bearer of great news as he commented:

“Louis Saha had a muscle spasm in his hamstring. It doesn’t look too serious and we will be evaluating it over the next few days.”

David Moyes 300th match in-charge ends with style

The surging run the Harry Redknapp-led Tottenham met its match today as Everton, in the three-hundredth match with David Moyes in-charge, defeated the Spurs 1-0 at White Hart Lane. As mentioned the way to defeat Tottenham’s powerful attack was to lock them down in the physical match and apply a tad of bulldog grit. To perfection, David Moyes approach worked perfectly as the Toffees handed Harry his first defeat at home in North London. Everton packed the midfield with Nigerian international Aiyegbeni Yakubu as the lone striker and strangled off the Spurs attack that included Aaron Lennon, English international Darren Bent and former Spartak Moscow hitman Roman Pavlyuchenko. Possibly the best scoring opportunity before the break was Aussie Timmy Cahill’s cross that was headed on by Louis Saha to Spurs goalkeeper Gomes. However heroics for the day were saved for Steven Pienaar as six minutes after the break his took a welcomed deflection off Vedran Corluka and into the net. While the South African looked to double the score, Tottenham came close as the match wound down with Tim Howard robbing Pavlyuchenko in close and both of Gareth Bale and Fraizer Campbell efforts blocked by the hearty Everton defenders.

Everton faces a surging Tottenham

Everton travels to White Hart Lane today to face Harry Redknapp's surging Tottenham side. Since taking over, Harry has worked magic with the Spurs winning seven matches out of nine. The Spurs will have Ledley King and Jermaine Jenas available as well as a well-rested Roman Pavlyuchenko and Vedran Corluka who were cup-tied for their match against NEC Nijmegen. In his three-hundredth match in-charge (where did the time go?), David Moyes efforts will be further challenged as he will be without Victor Anichebe, James Vaughan, Steven Pienaar and Louis Saha. The Spurs possess a wealth of talent, pace and attacking flourish with Russian international Pavlyuchenko starting to fill the nets. For the Toffees to defeat Tottenham, they need to embody the determined grit and physical play that has suited them well with extremely tight marking. Without a doubt Everton must improve from recent performances if they are to leave North London with points.

I will report on the match as it concludes.

Man City forgets to play Football

It's a interesting contradiction. On the surface today's match of Harry Redknapp's Tottenham against Mark Hughes is simply another Premier League fixture however in-truth it is much more. It is not only the tale of a wily veteran leader who breeds success in Harry versus one of best young managers in the game Mark Hughes but also of how RedknappTottenham has adopted their manager's fighting spirit while another, Man City, has completed abandoned their leaders tenacity.

This was proven out today as Tottenham taught Man City a lesson or two about "want and desire" and playing a bit of fundamental winning Football on the way to a 2-1 victory. To say conditions were satisfactory would be ridiculous but amongst the cold rain the north-London club proved the mettle they were made of and gutted a tough victory out.

The Spurs went on the attack early as ex-Leeds man Jonathan Woodgate, Tom Huddlestone and Croatian international Luka Modrić challenging early. However to the delight of over 41,000 at Eastlands, Robinho opened the scoring sixteen minutes into the match as he pounced upon a poor clearance by Spurs 'keeper Gomes and finished from the center of the box. However the day would turn for City only ten minutes later as Gelson Fernandes received his second yellow of the day and was sent off. Playing a man down, Tottenham thirsted for goals with Luka Modrić on the hunt right away. A minute shy of the half hour mark, Harry's club found the leveler with Darren Bent finding the back of the net, in what would be the first of his two goals for the day. The match went to the break even at one but from the restart the Luka Modrić and Darren Bent created a whirlwind of activity in the attacking end. Finally with twenty-six minutes remaining in the match Darren Bent, who surely must be Fabio Capello's plans, sent a ball into the net from inside the box with Jermaine Jenas being the provider. City had a number of opportunities to find the equalizer with fifteen minutes remaining but slowly the Spurs midfield picked up their defending and halted their advances. With seven minutes remaining Man City went two man down as Richard Dunne was excused with his second yellow and from that moment on the match slowly drifted away with Tottenham earning the 2-1 victory.

With the loss, Man City is only a point from the relegation zone and looking ahead to a tough match against Hull next Sunday.

resurgent Tottenham

To call Tottenham "resurgent" with Harry Redknapp in-charge is a gross understatement as the veteran leader has completely reversed their fortunes and it seems the debacle under Juande Ramos is soon to be forgotten. With the players no longer under a draconian training regime and dietary plan that lacked all sensibility, much less understanding of the modern game (the real reason why the Spurs failed) Tottenham is unbeaten in four matches including the heart-stopping draw against Arsenal, a stunning defeat of Liverpool and a rout of Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Cup. While the north London club is still bottom of the table that is only temporary and soon enough their efforts will see them climb up to mid-table and beyond.

At this stage of the season, Man City is the antithesis of consistency and playing in a manner unlike any Mark Hughes club has in the past. In addition to inconsistent play they play with wanton disregard in the defense and have turned away from playing winning Football to trying to "entertain." While some might consider that harsh, with consecutive losses to Middlesbrough and Bolton, in which they were held off the score-sheet, Mark Hughes needs to emblazon his style of play on the club. While there better days ahead for the club this period should not only be remembered but embraced from a coaching standpoint as teams cannot disregard fundamentals.Key to this match is clinical marking of Harry's troops or they will fill the Man City net with goals. With regards to injuries Manchester City will be without Vincent Kompany to suspension while Tottenham's Jermaine Jenas is questionable.

I will report on the match as it concludes.

late goal by Benjani gives City the victory

On the strength of Benjani's goal just past the hour mark, Man City defeated Twente 3-2 in a UEFA Cup match at Eastlands. The match lacked two way play and at times seemed like the only thing separating it from goal-fest was quality finishing.

Only two minutes from the opening whistle Shaun Wright-Phillips made his way through the lax Twente defender and gave City the 1-0 lead. However fifteen minutes later, in another sign of the day to come a long pass found Eljero Elia alone past what is loosely termed "defenders" and with an efficient strike the match was level. The match stayed deadlocked till twelve minutes after the break with Stephen Ireland feeding Robinho, who then struck a perfect drive from the edge of the area. Two minutes later Benjani entered for Jô and at the sixty-second minute he netted the third goal that was the beneficiary of strong deflection. With a two goal lead, City's defenders decided to give the fans and exciting finish and refrained from fundamental marking, resulting in Rob Wielaert header off a corner. Twente's Stein Huysegems narrowly missed leveling the match on two separate occasions but it wasn't to be and Man City walked away with the 3-2 victory.

Man City returns to Premier League action this Sunday against the Harry Redknapp-led Tottenham.

Spartak Moscow's UEFA Cup efforts

Michael Laudrup's Spartak Moscow has been drawn into Group D of the UEFA Cup.

The competition now enters the Group Stage with the top three clubs surviving to the next round. Divided into eight groups of five clubs, the matches begin on the 23rd of October, continuing on November 6 and 27 and followed-up on 3/4 and 17/18 December. At that time the round of thirty-two will commence with the teams that finished first and third will be paired, with the runners-up meeting the clubs presently competing in the UEFA Champions League.

Spartak Moscow's group includes an intriguing match-up of Roman Pavlyuchenko who left Spartak for Tottenham of England's Premier League, Udinese of Serie A, NEC Nijmegen of the Eredivisie and legendary Croatia club Dinamo Zagreb who are lead by Branko Ivanković.

This will be an exciting group with Spartak Moscow and Dinamo Zagreb likely to be the best within a international style tournament.