benali-shorts

I can barely live with the suspense of having to await AR10's next revelation.

I'm slightly unnerved by his track record, as opposed to our (currently perfectly acceptable) mid table league position. Monaco: won the title in his first year (but to put in context, they'd finished in the top 3 9 of prev 12 seasons, winning title twice), before then finishing 11th and 15th. Sacked Puel, then finished 2nd and 3rd. Lille: took team who had finished top 5 in prev two seasons to 14th and 10th, then up to 2nd and 3rd, then back down to 10th and 7th. Lyon: had won the title 7 years in a row, finished top 3 but no title in his three years. Nice: took mid table team to 4th / 17th / 11th / 4th. They have finished third this season after his departure. It feels like 5 good managerial seasons out of 16, and strangely familiar ring to this observation on his time at Lyon (who admittedly have a deluded sense of entitlement that they should have continued winning la ligue indefinitely): "Puel was handicapped by his poor communication skills and his apparent lack of enthusiasm during media events. His tactics were perceived as negative and for the first time in decades, Lyon were being associated with boring football. His relationship with players was equally poor, to the point that during the 2010–11 season, no one would speak out in defence of him when he was criticised by fans or the media. Several players, including Yoann Gourcuff,[18] hinted that their poor form could partly be explained by disagreements with the coach's tactics". Overall, difficult to see he has done sufficiently badly to warrant the sack this season, but definite alarm bells ringing that over his proven ability to take the club forward based on his track record. Not impossible that the club are releasing the possibility of dismissing him to weaken his leverage over transfer budget for the summer too. He's bound to be either a) acquiescent to small budget if he fears the sack or b) belligerent to point of resigning and saving the club money.

Article in full: Southampton look set to become the second Premier League club to pass into Chinese ownership after receiving an improved offer from Lander Sports Development to buy a 100 per cent stake in the club for £190 million. The Chinese property development company has proposed a phased takeover in which it would initially buy into the club before going on to take full control. Katharina Liebherr, the club’s owner, rejected an offer of £180 million in January, as revealed by The Times, but Lander’s improved bid is much closer to her valuation and negotiations are believed to be at an advanced stage. The sale is being handled by the Zurich office of the investment bank UBS, which has been retained by Liebherr since she inherited Southampton after the death of her father, Markus, in 2010. Liebherr intends to keep some of her shares in the short term to provide continuity before selling up completely if Lander’s promises of additional investment materialise and the buy-out goes well. Lander and Southampton have been talking for more than a year, although a six-week period of exclusive negotiations ended in January without an agreement. Lander appears to be happy for Liebherr to stay on as a minority shareholder and is not planning any significant changes at the club if it secures a majority stake. The chairman, Ralph Krueger, and chief executive, Gareth Rogers, are likely to remain in place, although Lander will seek representation on the board. Liebherr’s willingness to sell stems from her belief that Southampton require additional investment to cement their position as a top-ten Premier League club and a desire to spread her assets across a wider portfolio. The Liebherrs’ wealth was reported to be £3 billion after Markus’s death, although that figure is understood to have referred to the entire family’s assets rather than the trust that Katharina inherited. Southampton posted healthy financial results for the year ending 2015-16 last week, with post-tax profits of £4.9 million and an increased turnover of £124.3 million, although the club retains debts of almost £50 million, a factor that is believed to have played a part in the protracted negotiations. Lander is seeking to become the second Chinese owner in the Premier League after Guochuan Lai’s takeover of West Bromwich Albion last year.

Bit more in the times today: Southampton have rejected an offer of £180 million from Lander Sports Development to buy the club, The Times has learnt. Negotiations with the Chinese property company are continuing despite considerable irritation inside the club at Lander’s announcement on the Shenzhen stock exchange yesterday that an agreement had been reached in principle, but the two parties are a long way apart in their valuation of the club. Katharina Liebherr, Southampton’s owner, is understood to value the club at £270 million so a sale is unlikely to be completed imminently. Moreover, it is unclear how much of Southampton Liebherr is willing to sell. In an open letter to the fans yesterday the Swiss heiress referred to a “potential partnership” whereas Lander’s aim is to buy the club or secure a controlling interest. Liebherr inherited Southampton as part of her late father Markus’s £3 billion trust after his death in 2010, a year after he had bought the club for just £14 million after they had been placed in administration. Under the family’s stewardship Southampton have risen from mid-table in League One to become a top-ten Premier League club, and on Wednesday reached their first leading final for 14 years courtesy of their EFL Cup semi-final win over Liverpool. Lander’s announcement came shortly after Southampton’s 2-0 aggregate victory, with club insiders suspicious of the timing and speculating that it was an attempt to speed up the deal. Industry experts have valued Southampton at between £160 million and £220 million, as the club’s sound financial footing and huge success in player trading is offset by a seemingly limited potential for significantly increasing its match-day and commercial revenue. I can assure you that any steps we do take will be in the best interests of the club In the club’s most recently published accounts to June 2015, Southampton recorded turnover of £113.7 million and profits of £14.9 million, down almost £15 million from the previous year, almost exclusively because of a reduction in the value of player sales. The club’s revenue from television rights has increased significantly from £84 million in 2014-15 to a minimum of £105 million this season, although the wage bill will also have increased. Southampton have debts of £62 million, £32.7 million of which is owed to Liebherr, with the rest split between two separate bank loans. Liebherr wrote to fans yesterday to say that she would act in the best interests of the club, but insisted that greater commercial growth was crucial to its future. “I can assure you that any steps we do take will be in the best interests of the club,” she wrote. “The Premier League is increasingly competitive; we need to keep moving forward and look to new markets for commercial growth, innovation and to share our journey.” Southampton and Lander were unavailable for comment last night.

Brilliant, must mean we've got a replacement sorted. Is it Jon Gittens?

since the first day of suspension. See details in the company in 2016 December 30 in the "China Securities News", "Securities Times" and the huge influx of information network (http://Http://www.cninfo.com.cn) published on the "eighth session of the Board of Directors forty-fifth meeting of the public Notice "and" Notice on Convening the Shareholders' General Meeting to Consider Continuing Suspension Planning and Significant Asset Restructuring " Notice of the Second Extraordinary Shareholders' General Meeting held in 2017 "and other announcements. January 12, 2017, the company held the forty-sixth session of the Eighth Board of Directors, the meeting agreed to four votes, 0 votes against, abstained from voting on the adoption of the >. because This transaction is related to the actual controller of the company and its consistent action between Gao Jisheng or the controlling shareholder of the company Of the connected transactions, the company's controlling shareholder sent directors Gao Jisheng, Tao Chun, Xu Zhongping, Gao Jianping, Li Qi to avoid vote. January 12, 2017, the company and the company's actual controller Gao Jisheng, Rhine Holdings Limited (Hereinafter referred to as the "controlling shareholder") signed the "Laiyinda Sports Development Co., Ltd. and Gao Jisheng, Laiyinda Holding Group Co., Ltd. on the transfer of assets of the Cooperation Framework Agreement "(hereinafter referred to as" Framework Agreement " "this agreement"). Second, the framework of the main content of the agreement (A) the main body of the framework agreement Party A: Rheinland Sports Development Co Party B: Gao Jisheng, Laiyinda Holding Group Co The following parties, collectively referred to as "parties to the transaction", "parties" (B) the transaction program Party A intends to issue shares or cash purchase, etc. to purchase the major assets involved in the reorganization of the underlying capital The underlying assets of the Company are all or part of the equity of the subsidiaries (hereinafter referred to as the "Target Company"). The two sides will further details of the restructuring plan for further communication, consultation and demonstration, including but not Limited to the specific programs of this transaction, the underlying asset pricing, the transaction price of payment and transaction approval and process Order. (3) The underlying assets The major assets involved in the reorganization of the underlying assets of subsidiary companies under the B all or part of the equity, standard Of the company's actual control of the high-Jisheng. The company is currently in the process of acquiring third-party sports assets. (4) Transaction price The appraised value of the asset appraisal report issued by the asset appraisal institution with qualification of securities business shall be Reference basis, by the parties involved in the transaction involved in the reorganization of the consultation. The final transaction price is signed by the parties to the transaction Of the formal agreement shall prevail. (5) Payment methods Party A shall pay the consideration for the acquisition by way of issue of shares or cash purchase. The final consideration of the purchase price to The parties to the transaction signed a formal agreement shall prevail. (6) follow-up work and arrangements 1, the work schedule In order to facilitate the smooth progress of this restructuring, the parties agreed to follow the following schedule to gradually move forward All aspects of the matter. No. Working time 1 Signing of the Cooperation Framework Agreement 2 due diligence, negotiation of specific matters within the validity of this agreement 3 to sign a formal asset purchase agreement within the validity of this agreement 4 Assets delivered in accordance with the terms of the formal asset purchase agreement signed by the parties 2, the details of consultation After the signing of this Agreement, the parties shall immediately consult on the details of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement, During the term of this Agreement, a formal Asset Acquisition Clause is reached. Details of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement include, but are not limited to: (1) the acquisition of a third party sports asset by the subject company; (2) the transaction price of all or part of the equity interest of the subject company; (3) Party A to Party B as the price of this transaction in a specific way; (4) the board of directors and the management arrangement of the underlying company after the completion of the transaction; (5) other relevant matters which the parties consider to be consulted. 3, the official transaction documents Parties in the details of the transaction on the basis of agreement, the formal signing of the legally binding asset acquisition agreement In the terms of the agreement agreed under this agreement transactions specific issues. (7) The term of the agreement This Agreement is valid for six months from the date of this Agreement. One month before the expiration of this Agreement The duration of this Agreement may be renewed for a period not exceeding three months, subject to agreement between the parties. Third, the independent directors prior approval and independent advice The independent directors approved in advance that the "Proposal of Signing the Reorganization Framework Agreement and Connected Transaction" to the Company The Eighth Board of Directors of the forty-sixth meeting to consider and express their independent opinions are as follows: The company intends to control the company with the actual high-Jisheng, the controlling shareholder of the signing of the "Rhine Delta Sports Development Co., Ltd. Company and Gao Jisheng, Rhine Holdings Limited on the transfer of assets of the cooperation framework agreement "to send Line shares or cash purchase, etc. to purchase the major assets involved in the reorganization of the underlying assets, the underlying assets Subsidiary or wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. Due to the transaction involving the company's actual controller Gao Jisheng and its Concerted action or the controlling shareholder of the connected transactions between the parties, through voting on the "reorganization of the signing of the framework agreement Proposal on Connected Transaction of the Company ", the directors of the Company's controlling shareholder sent Gao Jisheng, Tao Chun, Xu Zhongping, Gao Jian Ping, Li Qi to avoid the vote. The review process is in compliance with relevant laws, regulations and the Articles of Association of the Company, and there is no loss Harm to the company and the interests of small and medium shareholders. The decision-making process under this framework agreement follows an open, fair, Fair and impartial principles, there is no damage to the company and the interests of small and medium shareholders. In summary, we unanimously agreed that the company and the company's actual controller Gao Jisheng, the controlling shareholder of the signing of "Rhine Sports Development Co., Ltd. and Gao Jisheng, Lai Yinda Holding Group Co., Ltd. on the transfer of assets Framework Agreement". Fourth, risk tips The signing of the framework agreement on the major asset restructuring of the listed companies reached a preliminary meaning of the matter To the specific details of the program and the transaction to the parties to the transaction after the signing of a formal agreement shall prevail. The major asset restructuring is still uncertain, the majority of investors to draw attention to investment risk. Fifth, for reference documents "Lai Yinda Sports Development Co., Ltd. and Gao Jisheng, Lai Yinda Holding Group Co., Ltd. on the capital Cooperation Framework Agreement on Transfer of Production ". Special announcement. Board of Directors of Rheinland Sports Development Co., Ltd

The entire translation below, but the salient parts which may be relevant: During the term of this Agreement, a formal Asset Acquisition Clause is reached. Details of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement include, but are not limited to: (1) the acquisition of a third party sports asset by the subject company; (2) the transaction price of all or part of the equity interest of the subject company; (3) Party A to Party B as the price of this transaction in a specific way; (4) the board of directors and the management arrangement of the underlying company after the completion of the transaction; (5) other relevant matters which the parties consider to be consulted. Entire translation: Securities Code: 000558 Stock name: Rhine Sports Bulletin No.: 2017-006 Rheinland Sports Development Co Announcement on Signing Reorganization Framework Agreement and Connected Transaction The Company and all directors warrant that the information disclosed is true, accurate and complete False representations, misleading statements or material omissions. First, the signing of the agreement In view of the company's controlling shareholder Rhine Holdings Limited is planning may involve listed companies Significant events, the company's application, the company stock (securities referred to as: Rhine Sports, securities code: 000558) Was opened on October 17, 2016 from the suspension. After the company and the parties to demonstrate and verify the above plan Significant events constitute a major asset restructuring, according to the relevant provisions of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, the company application, the public Division of stock since October 31, 2016 opened a major asset reorganization into the matter continue to suspend business. The company had originally estimated in the accumulated no more than 3 months time, that is, before January 17, 2017 in accordance with the "open Guidelines on the Contents and Formats of Information Disclosure of Companies Issuing Securities - Major Asset Reorganization of Listed Companies Disclosure of major asset restructuring information. As the Company is unable to disclose the reorganization plan within the aforesaid time limit, Examined and approved at the 45th meeting of the Eighth Board of Directors and will be convened at the shareholders' general meeting on January 16, 2017. In case of suspension of trading, the suspension period shall not exceed 6 months since the first day of suspension. See details in the company in 2016

Sunday Times reporting that we've agreed to let Jose go in jan.

His contact really is amazingly forthcoming given he hadn't seen him for ages a few days ago. Remarkable. Almost as if he was making it up as he goes along......

That's the whole point to make it seem plausible. It's clearly a wind-up. People over-eager to believe there's a mole. There isn't. Apart from kBilly. And maybe that bloke who was going to build the petting zoo.

I'm with you. Nothing he's said isn't in the public domain, or simple supposition. People's 'gratitude' to him for sharing is most amusing. Hope it is Pellegrini regardless of the charlatan.

Pahars also got me off my seat when he was running with the ball. Mane more exciting though, would agree our best attacker since MLT. I wonder if Mane's inconsistency won't be tolerated at his next higher level club, but when he's hot, he's almost unplayable. Wherever he ends up, I hope he's sufficiently supported through the inevitable lean spells to still have the confidence to play like he has for us. Great speed, good finisher, and, revealingly, delivers against the best teams. Could be a really top player, agree he could reach Bale levels. Current value - if Sterling = £50 but overpriced, we should hold out for £35+.

mazzarri has got the watford gig.

Tricky for him (and Pellegrini for that matter) when your employers confirm they're making plans without you mid-season. Difficult to see how any manager can expect to stay for 5 years. If they do well, the vultures will surely circle like they have for Pochettino and Koeman after a couple of seasons.

I think he's decent. Good at Valencia (successive top 4 finishes before harshly sacked in season 3), ok at Atletico Madrid (9th then 5th (plus UEFA cup & Copa del Rey win); looks less good post Simeone's Atletico but was decent at the time). Good at Watford. Quirky spell in UAE. Looks like Hugh Laurie. Dapper clothes taste. Allegedly delaying Espanyol decision having been contacted by Sevilla and one other unnamed club this week. I think he'd be good, suspect people may think being ex-Watford makes him a downgrade but I thought he got them over-performing last season which is the mark of a decent coach.

Quique Flores at 16-1 is a great bet....

Dunn or Burke from Surrey? v difficult to get any quality and either of those would help, although hard to imagine surrey releasing either. let's hope fidel only a minor injury.

Plus Fidel injured in the warm up this morning..... Yorks 13-2, Vicar just got Ballance.

Alsop the best of the young batsmen at the club, very difficult to open in Div 1 in April, hopefully he may get another chance further down the order if Vince away with England next month after Jimmy back to open. Weatherley less impressive.

wood and vicar with the new ball. mclaren is going to have to bowl a lot of overs in the next few weeks, hope his body's up to it......

From The Times. The gist being average crosses per game now 28 vs 42 in 2003. And average cross accuracy diminished too (33% down to 20%). Saints achieve 23.5% crossing accuracy, an impressive 3% higher than any other team. Tadic and Soares good stats, Tadic highest number 102 @ 24%, Soares highest accuracy 83 @ 29%. Width our friend. Less good than the Death of grass, but worth a read nevertheless. http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/football/article4672267.ece The death of crossing: why teams all now want to get the ball to ‘Zone 14’ instead that once defined our game Sir Alex Ferguson was unequivocal. Certain things, the Scot always felt, were non-negotiable. “We like wingers at Manchester United, and we always have,” he once said. It was a proud tradition, and one he did his utmost to maintain. Over the course of his reign, from Kanchelskis to Ronaldo by way of Giggs and Beckham, he produced teams illuminated by dazzling wide players. That has all changed now, and not only at Old Trafford. Across the English game, what one of the beneficiaries of Ferguson’s tastes, Dwight Yorke, describes as the “classic style of football” is fading from view. Width has gone out of fashion, replaced by an obsession with possession, lone strikers and inverted wingers. With it has gone a defining feature of the English game. The art of crossing, it seems, is dying. According to figures provided to The Times by Opta, there has been a staggering decline in the number of crosses in the Barclays Premier League in the last decade and a half. In the 2003-04 campaign, an average match produced not far off 42 crosses. So far this season, that figure has slipped to 29 — a reduction of a third in little more than 10 years. That is coupled with an even more marked drop in just how effective crossing is. In 2003, roughly a third of crosses found their target. This season, only a fifth of balls played in from wide areas have picked out a team-mate. Nowhere is that more notable than at Manchester City. Despite spending almost £100 million on Raheem Sterling and Kevin de Bruyne, only 13 per cent of Manuel Pellegrini’s side’s crosses so far this year have been successful. No team in the Premier League have been more profligate in their delivery, and yet they keep trying. Only Southampton and Crystal Palace cross more often than City. “If you’re a full back, when you get into a wide area, you’re looking to see your striker and maybe one of your midfield players in the box,” says Andy Hinchcliffe, who found himself in such a situation thousands of times for City, Everton and England. “But what if that striker is Sergio Agüero and the midfielder is David Silva, and they’re surrounded? You know crossing will not be effective. So you check back in, play a pass, conserve possession.” There is no question, in the minds of those who know the subject, that the profile of centre forwards has changed in recent years. As Hinchcliffe notes, there are few of the old bulldozers left, replaced by craftier, more gifted — but substantially smaller — strikers. It is an assessment supported by Les Ferdinand, as fine a header of the ball as English football has seen in the past 30 years and now director of football at Queens Park Rangers. “Every forward that comes to me now is a No 10,” he says. “That is how they see themselves. They are not No 9s who want to head the ball. Most teams play with one up front and three rotating behind them; the forwards are not trying to win headers and the players behind them are not looking to cross the ball.” Indeed, instead of seeking to reach the byline — as Ryan Giggs might have done — or attempting to whip a ball in from deep, like David Beckham, players are now largely instructed to cut back inside. “In a lot of the coaching literature, the focus is on what they call Zone 14,” explains James Scowcroft, the former Ipswich Town forward now coaching at the club’s academy and studying for his Uefa A Licence. “It’s the part of the pitch about as wide as the six-yard box, around 25 or 30 yards out from goal. A lot of studies have been done to show that is where most goals come from, where through-balls are most likely to be successful. Players are encouraged to get into those positions and wait for an opportunity. That is seen as much more effective than crossing.” Hinchcliffe’s instinct is the same. “Crossing is gambling with possession,” he says. “A lot of coaches, inspired by Barcelona, don’t want to give the ball away. There is a risk-free approach; you don’t want to lose the ball and find yourself exposed, with your full backs high up the pitch, to a counterattack. So you play inverted wingers, whose first touch brings them inside, and everything is focused through the middle.” This is a shift from the way that generation of players were taught to play. “As a kid, I was told to get five crosses in per half, ten a game,” says Kevin Kilbane, formerly of Everton. “That was your job as a winger. That was the primary thing you were judged on. I’m not sure that’s the case now. Players are encouraged to be what they used to call inside, not outside, forwards.” There is an element of self-fulfilling prophecy about all this. Statistics do show that games with more crosses from open play tend to have fewer goals; one study suggested only one out of every 91 crosses leads to a goal. Teams have interpreted that to mean it is not a reliable method of scoring; they play with only one striker in systems that seem designed to prove how ineffective crossing has become. Far better, they feel, to keep the ball, to wait for the perfect opportunity to score, to consign that classic style to history.

The Times reports we had a bid rejected for Coventry's 19 year old midfielder James Maddison but Spurs favourites to sign him, and that Stoke and Everton interested in Long.

Great cross from David Lee at 7'30", didn't know he had that in his locker.

I think that Lallana becoming available for transfer is somewhat more likely to occur than your two examples, and due to both its feasibility and the emotiveness the possibility of his return would elicit, I thought it reasonable to explore and discuss. However do feel free to stick to other threads if this one irritates you by not conforming to your online message board ideology. For what it's worth, like you I'd assess him as per any other transfer and if he'd improve the team, I'd get him in. But i appreciate that others feel differently and it's interesting to see the mix of views, and may of course be even more interesting in the future if Lallana ends up leaving Liverpool and the media link him with a return to Saints - hence raising the topic.

I apologise that discussions on theoretical situations which are a) feasible, b) saints-related and c) provoke discussion do not qualify as relevant in your forum ideology.