Jul 01

Premier League countdown: Where to see your team in pre-season

Pre-season fixtures for the Premier League teams ahead of the 2010-11 season

Arsenal

17 July v Barnet (A) 3pm

21 July v Sturm Graz (A) 6pm

27 July v SC Neusiedl 1919 (A) 6pm

31 July v Milan (H, Emirates Cup) 4.20pm

1 August v Celtic (H, Emirates Cup) 4.20pm

7 August v Legia Warsaw (A) 3pm

Aston Villa

24 July v Bohemians (A) 3pm

27 July v Walsall (A) 7.45pm

31 July v Feyenoord (A) 9.15pm

1 August v Benfica (A) 9.15pm

6 August v Valencia (H) 7.45pm

Birmingham City

18 July v Hong Kong League Selection Team (A) 3pm

21 July v Beijing Guoan FC (A) 7.30pm

24 July v Liaoning Hongyun Football Club (A) 8pm

31 July v Derby County (A) 3pm

3 August v MK Dons (A) 7.30pm

7 August v Real Mallorca (H) 3pm

Blackburn Rovers

10 July v Sturm Graz (A) 5pm

17 July v Fleetwood Town (A) 3pm

20 July v Preston North End (A) 7.45pm

21 July v Huddersfield Town (A) 7.45pm

25 July v Rangers (N, Sydney Festival of Football) 3pm

28 July v AEK Aens (N, Sydney Festival of Football) 6pm

31 July v Sydney FC (A, Sydney Festival of Football) 7.15pm

7 August v Hearts (A) 3pm

Blackpool

16 July v Tiverton Town (A) 7.30pm

20 July v Accrington Stanley (A) 7.30pm

22 July v Kilmarnock (A) 8pm

27 July v Crewe Alexandra (A) 7.30pm

31 July v Bristol City (A) 3pm

Bolton Wanderers

14 July v Charlotte Eagles (A) TBC

17 July v Charleon Battery (A) TBC

17 July v Bamber Bridge (A) 3pm

21 July v Toronto FC (A) TBC

23 July v Chorley (A) 7.30pm

24 July v Rochdale (A) 3pm

27 July v Curzon Ashton (A) 7.45pm

28 July v Morecambe (A) 7.45pm

30 July v Fleetwood Town (A) 7.45pm

31 July v Falkirk (A) 3pm

2 August v Johnstone (A) 7.45pm

4 August v AFC Fylde (A) 7.45pm

6 August v Osasuna (H) TBC

7 August v Barrow (A) 3pm

Chelsea

17 July v Crystal Palace (A) 3pm

23 July v Ajax (A) 8pm

1 August v Eintracht Frankfurt (A) 3pm

4 August v Hamburg (A) 8pm

Everton

10 July v Sydney FC (A) 7.30pm

14 July v Melbourne Heart (A) 7.30pm

17 July v Brisbane Roar (A) 7.30pm

24 July v Preston North End (A) 3pm

31 July v Norwich City (A) 3pm

4 August v Everton Chile (H) 8pm

7 August v Wolfsburg (A) 4pm

Fulham

14 July v Brentford (A) 8pm

17 July v Bournemouth (A) 3pm

31 July v Portsmouth (A) 3pm

Liverpool

17 July v Al Hilal (A) 6pm

21 July v Grasshopper (A) 6.30pm

24 July v Kaiserslautern (A) TBC

1 August v Borussia Mönchengladbach (A) 1.30pm

Manchester City

23rd July v Sporting Lisbon (A, New York Football Challenge) 8pm

25 July v New York Red Bulls (A, New York Football Challenge) 3pm

28 July v Club America (A) 8pm

31 July v Internazionale (A) 8pm

4 August v Borussia Dortmund (A) 8pm

Manchester United

16 July v Celtic (N) TBC

21 July v Philadelphia Union (A) 7.30pm

25 July v Kansas City Wizards (A) 5pm

28 July v MLS All-Stars (N) 6pm

4 August v League of Ireland XI (N) TBC

Newcastle United

17 July v Carlisle United (A) TBC

24 July v Norwich City (A) 3pm

31 July v PSV Eindhoven (H) TBC

7 August v Rangers (A) TBC

Stoke City

22 July v Nantwich Town (A) 7pm

22 July v Notts County (A) 7.45pm

24 July v Newcastle Town (A) 2.30pm

27 July v Derby County (A) 7.45pm

31 July v Burnley (H) 3pm

3 August v Bristol Rovers (A) 7.45pm

6 August v Wrexham (A) 7.45pm

Sunderland

17 July v Darlington (A) 3pm

Tottenham Hotspur

10 July v Bournemouth (A) 3pm

17 July v San Jose Earquakes (A) TBC

29 July v Villarreal (H) 8pm

3 August v Benfica (A) 7.45pm

7 August v Fiorentina (H) 3pm

West Bromwich Albion

20 July v Crewe Alexandra (A) 7.30pm

24 July v Bristol Rovers (A) 3pm

West Ham United

24 July v Burton Albion (A) 3pm

Wigan Athletic

20 July v Oldham (A) 7.45pm

4 August v Real Zaragoza (H) 7.45pm

8 August v Dundee United (A) 3pm

Wolverhampton Wanderers

17 July v Bohemians (A) 3pm

20 July v Walsall (A) 7.45pm

24 July v Charleroi (A) TBC

27 July v Reading (A) 8pm

30 July v Cheltenham Town (A) 7.45pm

31 July v Leeds United (A) 3pm

3 August v Hearts (A) 7pm

7 August v Athletic Bilbao (H) 3pm

Premier LeagueArsenalAston VillaBirmingham CityBlackburn RoversBlackpoolBolton WanderersChelseaEvertonFulhamLiverpoolManchester CityManchester UnitedNewcastle UnitedStoke CitySunderlandTottenham HotspurWest BromWest Ham UnitedWigan AthleticWolverhampton Wanderersguardian.co.uk

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May 05

Football transfer rumours: Fernando Torres to Chelsea for £70m? | Barry Glendenning

Today’s tell-all wants you to join it, to form a new kind of government for Britain

With just one day to go before polling begins, the Rumour Mill has finally launched its manifesto, which is critical to persuading a wavering readership that we should remain the go-to source of daily football speculation for discerning football fans, despite our occasional tardiness, that controversial decision to do away with the comments section and an occasional over-reliance on spurious hearsay linking Bordeaux’s Marouane Chamakh with a big-money move to assorted high profile English clubs.

We appreciate that a football transfer rumour column is at its best when the bonds between speculation-purveyor and reader are strong and when the sense of purpose is clear. Today the challenges facing those who round-up and regurgitate the world’s football transfer tittle-tattle five mornings a week are immense. Liverpool are in turmoil, Manchester City’s financial resources are bottomless and Hull City are potless. But these problems can be overcome if we pull together and work together. If we remember that we are all in this together.

Some football transfer news columns say: ‘read us and we’ll reveal that Chelsea are on the verge of sticking it to Manchester City by launching a £70m bid for Liverpool striker Fernando Torres. We say: relations between Torres and Rafael Benitez are at such a low ebb that the only slight chance Liverpool have of holding on to their striker is if their manager leaves, at which point he could be temporarily replaced by a Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush dream-ticket.

Yes this is ambitious. Yes it is optimistic. But in the end all the talk linking Manchester City striker Valeri Bojinov with a permanent £4m move to Parma after his successful loan spell, 25-year-old Sampdoria striker Giampaolo Pazzini with Arsenal and West Brom midfielder Graham Dorrans with a £5-10m move to West Ham is just that: talk, without you and your involvement.

How will we deal with the debt crisis unless Rafa Benitez brings Ajax’s well-travelled Serbian striker Marko Pantelic to whatever club he’s managing at later this summer? How will we raise responsible children unless Bolton manager Owen Coyle quickly decides whether or not to make on-loan-from-Bordeaux striker Ivan Klasnic a permanent fixture at the Reebok Stadium before his recently relegated French owners Nantes flog him elsewhere? How will we revitalise communities unless people stop asking ‘Is Steve Bruce really prepared to give Wigan Athletic £9m for Chris Kirkland and Maynor Figueroa?’ and start asking ‘Is Ipswich Town captain and midfielder Jon Walters worth the £4m Stoke manager Tony Pulis is ready to pay for him?’ Britain will change for the better when we all elect to take part, to take responsibility – if we all come together. Collective strength will overpower our problems and possibly result in watercooler gossip linking Tottenham outcast Robbie Keane with a move to Everton in exchange for Steven Pienaar.

Only together can we can get rid of this government and ease the passage of 20-year-old Icelandic goal-getting midfielder and dead-ball specialist Gylfi Sigurdsson from Reading to Newcastle United. Only together can we get the economy moving. Only together can we encourage pub chit-chat linking Manchester United with bids for CSKA Moscow midfielder Milos Krasic or Tottenham’s Croatian dynamo Luka Modric. Improve the chances of Benfica winger Angel Di Maria agreeing to move to Real Madrid, leaving Sir Alex Ferguson and Carlo Ancelotti feeling rejected. Mend our broken society. Together we can even convince goalkeeping legend Gianluigi Buffon to move to Arsenal if their move for Joe Hart falls through, because his own club Juventus has failed to qualify for the Champions League. And if we can do that, we can do anything. Yes, together we can do anything.

So the Rumour Mill’s invitation today is this: join us, to form a new kind of government for Britain.

ChelseaLiverpoolSunderlandArsenalWigan AthleticTottenham HotspurReadingNewcastle UnitedIpswich TownStoke CityWest BromBarry Glendenningguardian.co.uk

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Apr 25

Chelsea 7-0 Stoke City | Premier League match report

The tension will have to wait. Chelsea cut loose here, developing their advantage in goal difference to eight and leading Manchester United by a point in the Premier League. The afternoon turned into a lull in the drama of the title race after Salomon Kalou had scored the first couple of goals in a hat-trick. The victors’ purpose never slackened, with the substitute Daniel Sturridge and Florent Malouda both hitting the net in the closing 10 minutes.

Stoke City’s capacity to protect themselves had been impaired by injuries that meant the captain Abdoulaye Faye and their goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen had to be replaced. The Dane’s prospects of representing his country in the World Cup finals now seem in doubt after damage to his elbow.

By contrast, a return to international action in South Africa is entirely likely for Ashley Cole now that the left-back has come through this comeback from a broken ankle. He had one enterprising run in the second half and this outing was good preparation for next Sunday’s game at Anfield.

John Terry served his suspension here on an afternoon that Chelsea used well. The value of some figures was underlined in the win. This Chelsea squad is to be revamped next season, with an eye to establishing younger players, but there have already been more subtle changes in this campaign. Malouda is fast becoming the key to the team’s attacks because he now has the confidence to attempt the telling pass more often.

Even before playing a part in the opener, the Frenchman had released Didier Drogba only for the striker to lash an attempt off-target. Disconcertingly, there was no goal for Drogba in this spree. Chances, all the same, came with a reassuring regularity and Sorensen was soon making a splendid save from the Ivorian.

The breakthrough for Chelsea arrived after 24 minutes. Malouda swept the ball to Drogba on the right and Kalou headed in the cross for the first of his goals. For the next Drogba’s lay-off set up Frank Lampard for a drive that Sorensen could not hold and Kalou bundled home the loose ball. In the melee, the goalkeeper was hurt and he had to be replaced by Asmir Begovic.

By then the injured captain Faye had given way to Ryan Shawcross. The Stoke manager Tony Pulis has complained of favouritism towards Chelsea by referees, but he must have been disappointed more than angered at this match. A third goal was conceded as Lampard converted a penalty in the 44th minute after Robert Huth had pulled down Kalou.

Lampard released Kalou after 68 minutes and the attacker, having smashed his first attempt against Begovic, turned in the rebound. There was another goal for Lampard in the 81st minute when he converted a cross from the substitute Sam Hutchinson with a deft volley off the outside of his right foot. This rout has put Chelsea in a cheerful mood for the critical days ahead.

Premier LeagueChelseaStoke CityKevin McCarraguardian.co.uk

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