All the very latest football news and gossip across Europe!

With the January transfer window in full swing, there is plenty of transfer talk and a few deals have been done! Many clubs across Europe are doing their best to strengthen their squads as the second half of the season gets underway. Some clubs are trying to push on in an attempt to lift some silverware, others to consolidate their current situation, and needless to say their are plenty of clubs busy looking to bring in new personnel as they attempt to save their seasons!

Here is a round up of all the latest football news/gossip across Europe today, which includes the likes of: West Ham, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Dimitri Payet, Jack Wilshire, Alvaro Morata, Real Madrid, Lyon, Atletico Madrid, Virgil van Dijk, Patrice Evra, Robbie Brady, Southampton, Everton, PSG, Michy Batshuayi, Robert Snodgrass, Morgan Schneiderlin, Carl Jenkinson, Liverpool, Sevilla, Middlesbrough, Fulham and Slaven Bilic to name but a few!


Dimitri Payet will be sold by West Ham this month. The Hammers will hold out for the highest price they can get for the 29-year-old, who is refusing to play for the club, according to manager Slaven Bilic. Payet has reportedly told West Ham he wants to return to France for "personal reasons" - Daily Mirror

Premier League leaders Chelsea will move for 29-year-old West Ham playmaker Dimitri Payet, who Hammers boss Slaven Bilic says is refusing to play for the club - The Sun

PSG want to sign Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi. The Belgian, who signed from Marseille for £33m in the summer, is yet to start a Premier League game for Antonio Conte's side, making 12 substitute appearances - L'Equipe (French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport)

Manchester City, Everton and Italian side AC Milan are monitoring the future of Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere. The 25-year-old is on loan at Bournemouth and his contract with the Gunners expires next season - Daily Star

According to latest rumours coming from Italian sources, Liverpool and German international defensive midfielder Emre Can, who turned 23 just yesterday, has become a main target for Juventus. Can is currently on a deal with The Reds until June 2018, the player is likely to cost about 16 million euros - transfermarketweb.com

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been speaking to Mesut Ozil's agent, and says he's very relaxed about the contract situation with the German - skysports.com

Crystal Palace are close to signing former 35 year-old Manchester United left-back Patrice Evra - Sky in Italy, via Sky Sports

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is preparing to make a bid for 24 year-old Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata - OK Diario (Spanish digital newspaper Okdiario.com)

Jeff Schlupp has joined Crystal Palace on a four and a half year deal from Leicester City. He will be available to play in Palace’s match at West Ham tomorrow - skysports.com

Everton have confirmed the signing of Morgan Schneiderlin from Manchester United - skysports.com

Crystal Palace striker Christian Benteke will block any efforts by manager Sam Allardyce to offload him to West Brom - Daily Mirror

Sevilla are the latest club to cool their interest in signing Liverpool's Mamadou Sakho. The Reds are thought to want around £20m for the French international centre back. However, several clubs, including Southampton and Swansea, have been unwilling to match his wages, understood to be around £105,000 a week - skysports.com

Jesse Lingard has agreed a new Manchester United contract worth £95,000 per week- skysports.com

Eddie Howe has said there have been no talks with Chelsea about John Terry going to Bournemouth on loan - skysports.com

Lyon are the only club trying to sign Manchester United winger Memphis Depay, 22, on a permanent deal but have offered substantially less than the £15m asking price - ESPN and skysports.com

Arsenal full-back Carl Jenkinson looks set to go on loan to Crystal Palace, with a deal expected in the next two or three days. Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said: “With Carl, yes, there is a possibility that he will move, in the next two or three days.” - skysports.com

Stoke manager Mark Hughes has revealed talks have reopened with West Brom in a bid to finally thrash out a deal for Saido Berahino. West Brom Head Coach Tony Pulis says it's not just Stoke interested in signing striker Saido Berahino - skysports.com

Burnley have made an offer worth up to £13m for Norwich winger Robbie Brady, 24. The Republic of Ireland international is also wanted by Crystal Palace and Sunderland - Daily Mirror

Burnley and Leicester have bid around £10m for Norwich midfielder Robbie Brady. The 24-year-old is reportedly valued at £13m by the EFL Championship side, with Hull City due 25 per cent of any deal. Crystal Palace, Sunderland and Aston Villa are also reportedly interested in Brady - Daily Mail

Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk, 25, is believed to be a transfer target for Everton - Daily Star

Dutch international winger Luciano Narsingh (26), has officially joined Swansea City from PSV Eindhoven on a deal until June 2019, after four seasons with the Eredivisie club - transfermarketweb.com

Wolfsburg are weighing up the chance of signing 29 year-old Argentinian forward Mauro Matias Zarate from Fiorentina. The former Inter Milan, Lazio and West Ham player has a contract with Fiorentina until June 2018, and has recently started new contract talks with the Serie A club - Corriere dello Sport - Stadio (Italian national sports newspaper)

Simone Zaza has accepted an offer from Valencia, according to Sky in Italy. The Juventus striker, currently on loan at West Ham, will move on loan to the Spanish side for 2m euros, with an obligation to buy for an extra 16m euros - Sky in Italy

Crystal Palace boss Sam Allardyce has made an initial £6m bid for Sunderland full-back Patrick van Aanholt, 26, who is rated at £10m by the Black Cats - Daily Mail

David Moyes has admitted Sunderland have knocked back a bid from Crystal Palace for Patrick van Aanholt. Sky sources understand the bid to be in the region of £6-7m - skysports.com

Hull City have announced the signing of Everton's froward Oumar Niasse on a six-month loan and midfielder Evandro Goebel on a permanent deal from Porto. Everton forward Niasse will be available for the clash with Bournemouth tomorrow, while the Goebel deal is down to international clearance.
Niasse, who has had a torrid time since joining Everton from Lokomotic Moscow, will be at the KCOM Stadium until the end of the season - skysports.com

Aitor Karanka would like to keep Ben Gibson at Middlesbrough for his entire career amid speculation in the British press that Chelsea are lining him up as a £30m replacement for John Terry - skysports.com

Middlesbrough are closing in on the signing of Bojan from Stoke. It's understood Stoke would want around £12m if the deal were to be a permanent move. West Brom made an enquiry earlier in the transfer window. Daily Star and skysports.com

West Brom are set to join West Ham in the race for Hull's Robert Snodgrass. The Scot, 29, has rejected a new contract offer at Hull, while West Ham have had a bid rejected for Snodgrass - Daily Mirror

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino admits Tom Carroll could be set to leave the club, due to a lack of first team opportunities - skysports.com

Derby County midfielder Will Hughes has signed a new contract with the club until 2020 - skysports.com

Championship side Leeds have rejected offers of £7m for full-back Charlie Taylor, 23, from Premier League sides West Brom, Middlesbrough and Crystal Palace - Guardian

Atletico Madrid midfielder Tiago has revealed that he turned down three offers from elsewhere after coach Diego Simeone told him to stay at the club. Recent reports from Spain claimed that the Portuguese midfielder, who is out of contract at the end of the season, was contemplating leaving the club to head to China- skysports.com

Sheffield United have announced the signing of Daniel Lafferty from Burnley with the defender penning a two-and-a-half year deal at Bramall Lane for an undisclosed fee - skysports.com

Norwich boss Alex Neil has been chatting with the media and has confirmed the club are in talks with Swansea over the transfer of Martin Olsson - skysports.com

Brentford’s valuation of striker Scott Hogan has still not been met, despite bids having been received from more than one club. Hogan trained yesterday and today and will be in the squad to face Newcastle at Griffin Park tomorrow. It is understood the club value him at around £15m, with a 30 per cent sell on clause due to his former club Rochdale - skysports.com

Aston Villa are eyeing up a bid for Fulham's Tom Cairney. The midfielder, 25, is valued at around £10m, and was sold by Villa manager Steve Bruce while at Hull three years ago. Newcastle are also reportedly keen on Cairney - Daily Mirror

Fulham midfielder Jozabed has joined La Liga side Celta Vigo on loan for the remainder of the season - skysports.com

Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic has confirmed that Chris Martin is available again for selection after refusing to play since Boxing Day - skysports.com

David Davis has signed a new three-and-a-half year deal with Birmingham City, the club announced this afternoon - skysports.com

Aberdeen have rejected a reported £500,000 bid from Cardiff for winger Jonny Hayes - skysports.com

Doncaster Rovers have signed goalkeeper Ian Lawlor from Premier League giants Manchester City. The 22-year-old failed to make a senior appearance during seven years at City, although he has gained first-team experience during loan spells at Barnet and Bury - skysports.com

All the latest transfer gossip across Europe!

The January transfer window is open in just over a week and Clubs across Europe and North America are busy targeting new players to bolster their season.
Whatever their agenda, it is a crucial time for many clubs as this transfer window could mean the difference between success or failure come the end of the 2014/15 season!

Here is a round up of all the latest transfer gossip across Europe today!

Is your club involved?

Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Manchester City, Wolfsburg, Barcelona, Paris St-Germain, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Galatasaray, Aston Villa, Bayer Leverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt, Borussia Dortmund, Red Bull Leipzig, Crystal Palace, Lille, Fiorentina, Spartak Moscow, FC Karpaty Lviv, Lyon, Corinthians, Hull, Nottingham Forest, Wigan, AS Roma, Tottenham, Seattle Sounders, Olympiakos, Werder Bremen, Southampton, Everton, Red Bull Salzburg, QPR, VfB Stuttgart, Stoke City, Newcastle, Swansea City, Benfica, Napoli, Aston Villa, Standard Liège and Charlton................are all caught up in the latest transfer news/rumours across Europe, as we speak.

Liverpool and Arsenal have joined Manchester United in the race to sign Real Madrid left-back Fabio Coentrao, 26, after it was made clear he was unwanted at the La Liga side - Daily Express and skysports.com

Inter Milan are keep tabs on the situation at Liverpool of winger Lazar Markovic - Tuttosport (Italian sports newspaper)

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini has made Wolfsburg's £20m-rated midfielder Kevin De Bruyne (right), 23, one of his top January transfer targets just 11 months after the Belgium international left Chelsea for £18m - Daily Star

Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United are interested in signing Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets, 26, but Paris St-Germain are also keen on the Spanish international - Diario AS (Spanish daily sports newspaper) and Daily Express

Manchester City and Southampton look set to miss out on signing Galatasaray midfielder Wesley Sneijder, 30, in January after the Turkish side promised to meet all the Dutchman's contract obligations - Daily Mirror and skysports.com

Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert is keen to make Manchester United's on loan midfielder Tom Cleverley's deal a permanent one. The fee for the 25 year-old is thought to be in the region of around £7m - transfermarketweb.com

Arsenal look likely to miss out on highly rated Bayer Leverkusen holding midfielder Christoph Kramer's coveted signature.The Germany international, who was heavily linked with a £20m move to the Emirates in the January transfer window, has now extended his contract with Leverkusen until 2019 - skysports.com

Arsenal are ready to submit a £4m offer in order to purchase 24 year-old German goalkeeper Kevin Trapp (right) from Eintracht Frankfurt in January. Currently on a deal with KSV Hessen Kassel until June 2016, the player is also of interest to Inter, Napoli, Borussia Dortmund and Red Bull Leipzig - transfermarketweb.com

Out-of-favour Tottenham Hotspur and Romania international centre-back Vlad Chiricheș, 25, will be leaving the North London club to sign for Serie A outfit AS Roma when the January transfer window re-opens, initially on loan with a view to a permanent deal - skysports.com

Crystal Palace have made a £2.5m bid for Lille left-back Pape Souare, 24, but the French side will not let him go for less than £3m - Daily Mail

Slovenian internatinal central defender Gregor Balažic, 26, is on the radar of Crystal Palace who are keen to sign the who becomes a free agent at the end of December - skysports.com and Daily Mirror


Crystal Palace are ready to make a January move for Arsenal's 6'4" striker Yaya Sanogo, 21, (below) a French U21 international - The Sun

Fiorentina president Andrea Della Valle fears losing Norberto Neto with the Brazilian goalkeeper strongly linked with a move away from Florence in January, with both Roma and Liverpool touted as potential destinations - sportinglife.com

Spartak Moscow are obviously keen on signing out-of-favour Chelsea winger Mohamed Salah next month, at least judging by manager Murat Yakin's comments on the Egyptian - skysports.com

Chelsea are monitoring the progress of Brazilian Malcolm Silva. The 17 year-old Corinthians striking sensation is also interesting Barcelona, Arsenal and Manchester United - Daily Star and The Sun

Arsenal have been handed a boost in their pursuit of Lyon midfielder Nabil Fekir, 21, after his father admitted he will only leave France for the Gunners - Le Parisien (French daily newspaper)

Hull manager Steve Bruce is considering recalling Tom Ince from his loan spell at Championship club Nottingham Forest and Maynor Figueroa from his loan spell at Wigan - sportinglife.com and The Sun

USA international right-back DeAndre Yedlin (right) will join Tottenham Hotspur in January after securing a work permit. Tottenham announced in August that Yedlin had agreed a four-year deal to move to White Hart Lane from MLS franchise the Seattle Sounders for a fee of £2.5m. He will be officially unveiled as a Spurs player when the transfer window reopens.

Recently appointed Inter Milan head coach Roberto Mancini has ruled out making a move for Tottenham Hotspur winger Aaron Lennon when the transfer window reopens for business next month - skysports.com

However it appears Queens Park Rangers are lining up a swoop for the 27 year-old Tottenham Hotspur winger in the January window - Daily Telegraph

Newcastle United midfielder Moussa Sissoko, 25, has responded to interest from Arsenal by admitting he loves the Gunners and says it is his dream to play in the Champions League - L'Equipe (French sports newspaper), Daily Star and The Sun

Greek champions Olympiakos are chasing Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky. The 34-year-old has made just eight appearances this season - The Independent

Former Inter, Lazio, Napoli and Macedonian international striker Goran Pandev, 30, could leave Galatasaray during the next transfer window - Fanatik (Turkish newspaper)

Southampton have moved a step closer to landing £4m-rated Werder Bremen and Dutch international wide man Eljero Elia, 27 (right) - The Sun

Southampton will sign Ryan Bertrand permanently from Chelsea in 2015 - The Sun

Barcelona are ready to loan out teenage prospect Adama Traore and Everton could be in pole position - Daily Mirror

QPR manager Harry Redknapp is trying to sign free agent Lassana Diarra. The French midfielder played under Redknapp at Portsmouth - The Sun

Stoke City and West Ham are ready to try signing Romanian international offensive midfielder Alexandru Maxim, 24, from VfB Stuttgart in January - Ziare (Romanian newspaper)

Swansea City are being heavily linked with a loan move for Benfica's Nelson Oliveira (right) as Garry Monk searches for a striker - skysports.com and South Wales Evening Post

Tottenham Hotspur and Napoli are interested in signing Aston Villa left-back Aly Cissokho in January - The Sun and sportinglife.com

Bundesliga strugglers Borussia Dortmund have agreed to sign Slovenia international Kevin Kampl from Red Bull Salzburg in January - sportinglife.com

Standard Liège's Scottish striker Tony Watt wants to leave Belgium in an effort to kick-start his stuttering career with a surprise move to Charlton Athletic - Daily Express

All the latest transfer gossip across Europe!

With the regular season all but complete, and the World Cup just seventeen days away, you might expect Clubs to take their foot of the gas for a few weeks, but you couldn't be more wrong. The transfer rumour mill is in full swing as Clubs begin to prepare for next season.

Here is a round up of all the latest transfer gossip across Europe today!

Is your club involved?

Queens Park Rangers, Liverpool, AC Milan, Arsenal, Southampton, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Tottenham, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Besiktas, Chelsea, Paris St-Germain, West Ham, Juventus, Valencia, Cardiff City, Sunderland, Hamburg, Roma, Hull City, Wigan, Leicester City, Nottingham Forest and Panathinaikos...........are all caught up in the latest transfer news/rumours across Europe, as we speak.

Queens Park Rangers manager Harry Redknapp is poised to move for midfielder Frank Lampard and defender Rio Ferdinand, also 35, as he prepares for a return to the Premier League. Ferdinand was released by Manchester United at the end of the season, while Lampard is out of contract at Chelsea - The Sun and sportsmole.co.uk

Liverpool are set to make a £40m double swoop for Southampton duo Adam Lallana and full-back Nathaniel Clyne (right) - Daily Star and transfermarketweb.com

Liverpool have been told they must increase their offer to £25m for Southampton midfielder Adam Lallana, 26, if they want him to move to Anfield - Metro

Arsenal and Liverpool are again being linked with striker Mario Balotelli - skysports.com

Arsenal right-back Bacary Sagna is poised to pen a bumper contract thought to worth in the region of £120,000 a week to join Manchester City - Daily Express

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has dropped hints he might be ready to make a move for Real Madrid and French international striker Karim Benzema - Daily Star

Manchester United Striker Danny Welbeck, 23, has spoken about his frustration at being played out of position at United and that will alert Tottenham, among others, to his potential availability - Daily Telegraph

Manchester United's Nani will move to Inter Milan on loan until the summer with an option for a permanent deal - O Jogo (Portugal)

Atletico Madrid will fight to keep Diego Costa and Thibaut Courtois at the club this summer despite interest from Chelsea - Daily Mail

Turkish side Besiktas are keen on Chelsea striker Demba Ba, 29, after cooling interest in unsettled Blues forward Samuel Eto'o - Daily Mail

Chelsea have made an enquiry for Paris St-Germain striker Ezequiel Lavezzi (right).
It is understood the Argentine, 29, is keen to play in a more competitive league outside France - Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail

St-Etienne's Kurt Zouma has decided to join Chelsea but probably only in the summer. However, both sides are yet to agree terms - L'Equipe (France)

Liverpool have reportedly shown their hand in the pursuit of striker Loic Remy by offering a bid to Queens Park Rangers.
While reports have claimed that the striker has held talks with both the Reds and Arsenal, it is believed that Liverpool have made their move - footballdirectnews.com

West Ham have agreed a three-year deal with Argentine forward Mauro Zarate, 27, who has had spells in Europe with Birmingham City in 2008 and more recently with Italian giants Lazio and Inter Milan - Daily Star and skysports.com

James Milner's Manchester City future is hanging in the balance with the player undecided on his future - Manchester Evening News

Juventus are close to signing Dani Osvaldo (right) from Southampton on a permanent deal,  but Valencia are also interested  The Argentinian born striker has been on loan at the Turin club since January - Gazzetta Dello Sport (Italy) and Corriere Dello Sport (Italy)

Championship-bound Cardiff City are set to sign free agent Federico Macheda, 22, this week after the striker was released by Manchester United - Daily Mail

Sunderland are leading the chase to bring Michael Mancienne back to England. The 26-year-old former Chelsea defender wants to head home after a three-year spell in Germany with Hamburg - Daily Mirror and The Sun

Roma will turn their attention to Southampton central defender Dejan Lovren if their Moroccan international Mehdi Benatia is lured away to Manchester City - The Sun

FA Cup finalists Hull City are being linked with a £3million move for Southampton defender Jose Fonte - The Daily Echo

Hull City are reportedly preparing to begin discussions with Tottenham Hotspur over the permanent capture of midfielder Jake Livermore (right).
Despite the clubs being quite a distance apart with regards to the initial fee, it is believed that Hull are hopeful of securing Livermore's services for next season - Hull Daily Mail

Tottenham's promising midfielder Alex Pritchard is wanted on loan by Wigan boss Uwe Rosler - Daily Mirror

Leicester City have announced they have signed defender Matthew Upson on a one-year contract along with highly-rated young striker Jack Barmby, 19 from Manchester United on a two-year contract - Leicester Mercury

Nottingham Forest are reportedly tracking Panathinaikos goalkeeper Stefanos Kapino. The 20-year-old, who has been selected in the Greece squad for the World Cup, was the subject of a bid from Napoli last season - Nottingham Post

All the latest transfer gossip across Europe!

Here is a round up of all the latest transfer gossip across Europe today!

Is your club involved?

Chelsea, Sporting Lisbon, Arsenal, Tottenham, Juventus, Inter Milan, Corinthians, Napoli, Liverpool, Hamburg, Aston Villa, West Ham, Everton, Hull, Crystal Palace, Newcastle, Manchester City, Malaga, Manchester United, Sevilla, Real Sociedad, Lyon, Stuttgart, Borussia Dortmund, Schalke 04, FC Groningen, Valencia, Arsenal, Southampton Watford, West Brom, Barnsley and Tranmere Rovers.........are all caught up in the latest transfer news/rumours across Europe, as we speak.

Sporting Lisbon have placed a £6m price-tag on winger Diego Capel (right), 25, a target for Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham - Daily Express, The Sun and sportsmole.co.uk

Inter Milan are weighing up the chance to try signing 24 year-old Brazilian international Alexandre Pato from Corinthians next January, but face opposition from both Arsenal and Tottenham for the forward - transfermarketweb.com


Juventus' general director Giuseppe Marotta has responded to fresh rumours by reiterating that Fernando Llorente (right) is not for sale. Reports in Italy continue to suggest that Arsenal hold an interest in the 28 yer-old Spain international and are plotting a January raid - sportinglife.com, transfermarketweb.com and skysports.com 

The Championship Play-Off Lottery!

The gloves are off!

Promotion to the English Premier league (EPL) next season and the huge financial windfall that goes with it is oh so close that clubs and their fans' can almost taste the sweet smell of success! It is akin to dangling a scratch and sniff card in front of a host of clubs, except that this season, for some inexplicable reason the clubs in the race for promotion seem to have lost their sense of smell!

With just eight games to go in the npower Championship there are seven teams that are in with a realistic shout of going up automatically. For those clubs that fail to make the two automatic places and with it a guaranteed place in the top flight of English football next season, four of them must face the drama and potential pain or elation that is part and parcel of the play-off lottery!

Cardiff look almost certain to go up automatically, probably as champions, but that still leaves one automatic promotion spot available, and six teams to fight it out for the right to take their place in the English Premier League at the start of the 2013/14 season.

The teams that fail to take that final automatic spot following a ten month season spanning 46 games will then have the outcome of their season defined by just two, possibly three matches. There is no single sporting event in the world more valuable to the winners, than the victors of the play-offs, who will end up approximately £85million better off, predominately made up from the commercial television revenue that the English Premier League generates. However, by convention the two finalists agree that the loser will keep all the gate receipts from the game, so as to very slightly soften the financial blow of missing out.......(at a guess i would say a figure in the region of £3million - peanuts in comparison).

The Football League Championship play-offs are a series of matches contested by the teams finishing from 3rd to 6th in the Football League Championship table. The semi-finals are played over two legs, with 6th playing 3rd and 5th playing 4th, with the return fixtures following. The final is played at Wembley Stadium and the winners are promoted to the English Premier League.

Cardiff have been top for sometime now, and although they have had the odd wobble over the last few months, so have everyone else around them. Taking Cardiff out of the equation as they are nine points clear of dropping out of the top two places, the battle for the second automatic spot is between Hull, Watford, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, Leicester and Brighton with Bolton and Middlesbrough in a position to pounce should the wheels fall off of any of the aforementioned clubs in the final month of the 2012/13 season.

As I write only two points separate 2nd placed Hull from 3rd placed Watford, just three points separate Hull from 4th placed Crystal Palace, while six points separate Palace from 6th placed Leicester. Brighton lie 7th on the same number of points as Leicester, but with an inferior goal difference.

Looking at the run-in:

Hull still have to play Watford, Middlesbrough and Cardiff, but face difficult games against Barnsley, Bristol City, Ipswich and Wolves, who are all fighting for Championship survival at the bottom.

Watford's fixtures obviously include Hull, but also Cardiff and Leicester and potentially tricky games against Peterborough and Blackburn who are both fighting to stay in the division.

Forest's run in includes games against Brighton, Cardiff, Middlesbrough and Leicester along with struggling Barnsley and Blackpool.

Leicester's fixtures include games against Brigthon, Bolton, Watford, Palace and Forest and they like Hull and Forest face Barnsley.

Brighton's run in includes matches against Forest, Leicester,and Middlesbrough, along with relegation candidates Wolves and Peterborough and struggling Blackpool.

Crystal Palace would seem to have the easier of the run-ins, but as anyone who watches Championship football knows, there are no easy games in this league hence why no teams have run away at the top or been cast adrift at the bottom. Four points separate the bottom four clubs, and only eight points separate the bottom eleven.

Palace only play Leicester of the current top ten teams, but face a plethora of fixtures against struggling sides, namely Blackpool, Barnsley, Ipswich, Blackburn and Peterborough on the final day.

You can argue that it's better to play teams around you at the top as you are in control of your own destiny, but at the same time they are the form sides. On the otherhand playing the bottom sides may seem a better option, but they will be fighting for their lives and definitely won't role over easily. Perhaps fixtures against mid-table teams with nothing to play for is the best option, but to be honest this is not a division where any one team has the 'right' to beat another team, and the higher you finish the more that club earns financially.

There will also be players at all clubs in the division playing for new contracts or looking to impress the powers that be at other clubs. At the end of the day as a club you firstly need to get out and win your own fixtures, then you will have done everything in your power to put yourself in a the best possible position come the end of the season. What will be will be, but at the end of the day you cannot rely on other teams to do you so called 'favours.'

When the Championship play-offs were first introduced for the 1986/87 season, they originally featured a top flight team as well as the three second tier clubs. This format was continued for the 1987/88, but discontinued afterwards to include only the four teams who finished behind the team or teams winning automatic promotion. As before, the semi-final and final were both two-legged.                                              

                                                              

        The New Wembley Stadium

Since 1989/90, the final has been a single game, played at Wembley Stadium, although from 2001 to 2006, it was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, while Wembley was being rebuilt.              

Ipswich Town have been in the Championship play-offs a record seven times: 1987, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000, 2004, and 2005, making the final only once and winning it in 2000.

Leicester City have reached the Championship play-off final four times, losing two in 1992 and                 1993 and winning two in 1994 and 1996.

Crystal Palace have also appeared in the final four times, losing in 1996 and winning in 1989, 1997 and 2004.

Birmingham City have reached the Championship play-offs four times consecutively from 1999 to 2002, losing the first three attempts before, in 2002, reaching the Play-Off Final at the Millennium Stadium, and finally winning promotion to the Premier League.

The team finishing highest in the league (third) has succeeded in winning promotion ten times out of twenty-six seasons up to 2012, with the 4th placed team managing four promotions, the 5th six promotions and the 6th five promotions.

The play-off winners have managed to finish above the Championship winners and runners-up in the subsequent Premier League season on five occasions: Blackburn Rovers in 1992/93, Leicester City in 1996/97, Ipswich Town in 2000/01, West Ham United in 2005/06 and Swansea City in 2011/12.

Championship Play-Off Records:

Most play-off promotions: 3 – Crystal Palace (1989, 1997, 2004)

Most play-off finals: 4 – Crystal Palace, Leicester City

Most play-off final defeats: 3 – Sheffield United (1997, 2003, 2009)

Most play-off participations: 7 – Ipswich Town

Most unsuccessful play-off participations: 6 – Ipswich Town (from 7 in total)

Teams without any unsuccessful play-off participations: Notts County (1991), Hull City (2008), Burnley (2009), Swansea City (2011)

Biggest aggregate win: Chelsea 6–1 Blackburn Rovers (1988); Leicester City 6–1 Cambridge United (1992); and Hull City 6–1 Watford (2008)

Biggest home win: Leicester City 5–0 Cambridge United (Semi-final, 1992)

Biggest away win: Birmingham City 0–4 Barnsley (Semi-final, 2000)

Biggest win in a final: Bolton Wanderers 3–0 Preston North End (2001); Sheffield United 0–3 Wolverhampton Wanderers (2003); and Leeds United 0–3 Watford (2006)

Highest scoring final: 8 goals – Charlton Athletic 4–4 Sunderland (1998)

Highest scoring play-off match: 8 goals – Charlton Athletic 4–4 Sunderland (Final, 1998); Ipswich Town 5–3 Bolton Wanderers (Semi-final, 2000)

Highest scoring tie (aggregate): 12 goals – Ipswich Town 7–5 Bolton Wanderers (2000)

Highest attendance: 86,703 – Bristol City vs Hull City (Final, 2008)

Lowest attendance: 9,225 – Cambridge United vs Leicester City (Semi-final, 1992).

The English Premier League:

The competition formed as the FA Premier League on 20 February 1992 following the decision of clubs in the Football League First Division to break away from The Football League, which was originally founded in 1888, and take advantage of a lucrative television rights deal. This deal will be worth £3 billion as of 2013–14, with BSkyB and BT Group securing the rights to broadcast 116 and 38 games respectively.

The Premier League is the most-watched football league in the world, broadcast in 212 territories to 643 million homes and a TV audience of 4.7 billion people.

The Premier League distributes a small portion of its television revenue to clubs that are relegated from the league in the form of "parachute payments". At the end of the current season 2012/13 those clubs relegated from the EPL will get a proposed £23m in the first year after relegation and £18m in the second, followed by £9m a year in years three and four!

In contrast Championship clubs that are not in receipt of parachute payments will receive around £2.3m in solidarity payments. This ridiculously one sided financial divide is currently being looked into by The Football League as they attempt to look at ways of mitigating the advantage of parachute payments handed to clubs relegated to the Championship. Some Football League Club owners who attended a summit meeting last Wednesday (20th March 2013) claimed they may have to walk away from the game if they were forced to compete with clubs that received more in parachute payments than their entire budget for the year.

Attached is a link to The Guardian's article on the subject right here!

Fantasy Football 2011/12 - The npower Championship. Update!

With just two months of the 2011/12 season remaining, I thought I would take this opportunity to update you all on my progress in this seasons Texaco sponsored Championship Fantasy Football league.

In August I selected eleven players from the second tier of English football that I felt would excel for their respective clubs this season, as I pitted my wits against friends and football fans around the country, in a 'foolish' attempt to convince myself that my knowledge of Championship football was equal to or maybe even superior to that of other football fans.

As the months have gone on, my last update was back in October, I have delved in and out of the transfer market as players have lost form, moved clubs, suffered injury or been suspended.

A lot was expected of some players this season, some have delivered whilst others have failed. There are a lot of 'experienced' players in the Championship such as West Ham's Kevin Nolan, David James of Bristol City, Leeds United's Luciano Becchio, Blackpool's Kevin Phillips and Kenny Miller of Cardiff. This season has also seen a lot of exciting young talent emerge. The likes of Birmingham's Nathan Redmond and Crystal Palace's Wilf Zaha to name just two.

Perhaps unsurprisingly Southampton and West Ham sit at the top of the league. The Saints, although a League One side last season are looking for back to back promotions, and are the Championship's top scorers. The Hammers spent heavily in the summer and are looking good for an immediate return to the Premier League.

The other relegated sides from the 2010/11 season, Birmingham and Blackpool sit 3rd and 7th respectively, and will both have a keen eye on promotion. Birmingham who started the season slowly have been in cracking form since Christmas. In fact they last lost a league game at Selhurst Park on the 19th December!
Reading like Brum started slowly but now sit 4th. Also in the play-off places are Middlesbrough, who have been up their all season and Cardiff, who take on Liverpool in this Sunday's Carling Cup Final at Wembley.

Hull, Brighton and Leeds occupy those places just outside the top six, and will be looking to take advantage of any slip ups by the teams above them as they press for a an end of season place in the play-offs.

So how has this reflected on the Championship fantasy football team since I last updated you back in October?

In October my team was as follows:


Goalkeeper: Kelvin Davies (Southampton).

Defenders: Ian Evatt (Blackpool), Jason Shackell (Derby), Anthony Gerrard (Cardiff), Jonathan Parr (Palace).

Midfield: Matt Taylor (West Ham), Ben Davies (Derby), Robert Snodgrass (Leeds and right), Adam Lallana (Southampton).

Strikers: Rickie Lambert (Southampton and Captain), Rob Earnshaw (Cardiff).


I have made twelve transfers since October and seventeen out of a possible thirty since the campaign kicked-off in August. Only the free scoring Southampton striker Rickie Lambert and Leeds United's midfield maestro Robert Snodgrass have been ever present in my side since the start of the season.

Finding a strike partner for Lambert has been a problem! I selected Cardiff's Rob Earnshaw at the start of the season, and stupidly stuck with him until around Christmas time, when I replaced him with Glenn Murray, the Palace striker. Earnshaw scored just three times and fell out of favour at his club. Murray started the season well but lost his form and starting place at Palace and scored just twice for me before I replaced him a month ago with Billy Sharp. Sharp a proven goalscorer, moved to Southamton in January but he too is struggling to hold down a starting place alongside Lambert. I had to sacrifice Kelvin Davies and bring in Birmingham's Boaz Myhill to accommodate Sharp. I think on reflection 16 goal Ross McCormack would have been the answer. Hindsight is a wonderful thing!

I brought in Derby duo Jason Shackell and Ben Davies at a time when Derby where flying and looking like a good bet to be play-off candidates come the end of the season. However their season has badly fallen away, and the club now lie 15th in the league. As a result both players had to go.

In their places I transferred in Hull duo Liam Rosenior and Robert Koren. Both signings have been outstanding, with Rosenior keeping eight clean sheets in ten appearances, and Koren scoring three times and claiming three assists in his ten games. Matt Taylor has had an injury ravaged season, making just 17 appearances for West Ham and scoring just once. I replaced Taylor with the ever reliable Peter Whittingham, and the Cardiff midfielder has scored six times and claimed nine assists in his 19 games for me. Happy days!

Recently I replaced Adam Lallana the Southampton midfielder player with his team-mate, the exciting French midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin to freshen things up a bit. Lallana has had a cracking season, but lately he seems to have lost his spark.

I also brought in Birmingham's Curtis Davies to replace Cardiff's Anthony Gerrard, who is seemingly unable to hold down a regular first-team place with the Bluebirds. In his thirteen appearances Gerrard kept four clean sheets. In just five starts Curtis Davies has already kept three clean sheets. Finally I replaced Blackpool's Ian Evatt who did an 'average' job keeping six clean sheets in twenty games, and I replaced him with the underrated Alex Pearce and the Reading man has already delivered, with five clean sheets and a goal in eight games. Enough said!

As it stands today my current team is as follows:

Goalkeeper: Boaz Myhill (Birmingham).

Defenders: Alex Pearce (Reading), Liam Rosenior (Hull), Curtis Davies (Birmingham and captain), Jonathan Parr (Palace).

Midfield: Robert Koren (Hull), Peter Whittingham (Cardiff and right), Robert Snodgrass (Leeds), Morgan Schneiderlin (Southampton).

Strikers: Rickie Lambert (Southampton), Billy Sharp (Southampton).


I am 393rd overall in the whole competition, 2nd of 28 players in the 'Holmesdale Radio' private league, 9th of 752 in the 'Official Crystal Palace FC' private league and 3rd of 99 in the 'Where Eagles Dare' private league.

Between now and the end of the season............good luck!