King Kev Not Sacked Yet

Kevin Keegan has not been sacked as Newcastle United manager, according to a statement issued from St James' Park.

Speculation has mounted all Tuesday that the Geordie idol had been sacked after a row over transfer policy with owner Mike Ashley and director Dennis Wise. However, United said: 'For the avoidance of doubt the Club has not sacked Kevin Keegan as manager.'

The statement was released as a baying mob of Toon fans stood outside St James' Park. Bookmakers had stopped taking bets on the Premier League's next managerial casualty. Many sources suggested Keegan had either left the club or had been removed. Reasons for the parting of the ways had been suggested as lack of movement in the transfer market and a dispute over Joey Barton. The midfielder, recently released from prison, was linked with a number of Premier League clubs prior to the transfer window closing on Monday night.

However, after hours of radio silence from the club the following statement was released: 'Newcastle United can confirm that meetings between members of the Board and manager Kevin Keegan were held both yesterday and today.'

'Kevin has raised a number of issues and those have been discussed with him. The Club wants to keep progressing with its long-term strategy and would like to stress that Kevin is extremely important, both now and in the future.'

'Newcastle United values the effort and commitment shown by Kevin since his return to St. James' Park and wants him to continue to play an instrumental role as manager of the Club. For the avoidance of doubt the Club has not sacked Kevin Keegan as manager.'

Keegan himself did not attend training at Newcastle and is yet to publically speak on the subject.

source: soccernet

Berbatov targets trophies with new club United

Manchester United new boy Dimitar Berbatov has set his sights on winning silverware.

United smashed their transfer record to sign Berbatov, the £30.75million deal to conclude a long-running saga, with Manchester City looking at one stage as though they were about to step in and hijack the deal.

'I don't play for the money,' he told MUTV in an interview.

'Those who know me; my really close friends, know that I play for enjoyment and to entertain the fans.

'If I want to play for the money, I will accept the Manchester City offer or Chelsea.

'But the red shirt is a really big thing for me. I want to play for the biggest club in the world. That is why I am here.'

Indeed, Berbatov feels so strongly about United that he is already talking about staying at Old Trafford for the remainder of his career.

Certainly, no matter how long the Bulgaria striker is around for, he expects to improve.

'I know I can develop here in the way I always wanted. That is the most important thing for me.

'I am 27 now. I am at the biggest club in the world and maybe this could be the last step in my career.'

Despite being stuck in the middle of a stand-off to which there appeared to be no end. And having pulled out of games against Sunderland and Tottenham because he was 'in no fit state' to participate, Berbatov never felt his United hopes would end in failure.

'I always believed,' he said.

'People used to say 'keep the faith'. I went through some very difficult times and it was a long battle, but I was always thought it was going to happen and in the end it did.

'Now I am here and hopefully I will play my part in the team and we can win lots of trophies as well.'

In joining a club that has won the Premier League title for the last two seasons and added the Champions League trophy to their haul in May, Berbatov has a lot to live up to.

Not that the challenge bothers him. Indeed, it is one he is relishing as he bids to add more meaningful medals to the Carling Cup gong he won with Spurs last term.

'Trophies are an important thing in football and I want to help this team win more,' he said.

'I have handled pressure and expectation all through my life.

'I am not scared of it. That is why I am here.

'The most important thing is to enjoy myself, help the team win more trophies and entertain the fans.

'If I do that and play as I have done in my last two years at Tottenham, I don't think there will be any problem.'

Having now gone on international duty, Berbatov must wait for his debut. But at the back of his mind, there remains the expectant thrill to come from that first game - at Liverpool on September 13.

'I would love to play there,' he said.

'We live for the big games and I think this is the biggest. I can't wait to play.'

source: soccernet

Google launches CHROME browser...

Google Inc. launched its own Web browser today, ending years of speculation that the search giant would stake a claim in the browser market.

The company posted its new browser, known as Chrome, to its Web site shortly before 3 p.m. Eastern time, just over 24 hours after it sparked a whirlwind of interest Monday by confirming that it would compete against companies such as Microsoft Corp., Mozilla Corp. and Apple Inc., all of which distribute browsers of their own.

Chrome, which is still in beta, is only available in a version that runs under Windows XP or Windows Vista. Yesterday, however, a pair of Google executives, Pundar Pichai, the company's vice president of product management, and Linus Upson, director of engineering, said that developers are working on versions for both Mac OS X and Linux. Pichai and Upson did not offer a timeline for the release of additional editions.

The download page sports a link to a form where users who want to be notified when the Mac version is done can enter their e-mail addresses. There was no similar link for users interested in a Linux edition.

On the download page, Google has touted Chrome as "a browser that combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the Web faster, safer and easier."

More information about Chrome can be found on the Google Web site, which offers up short video clips of the browser's main features.

Chrome will compete against established browsers including Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Mozilla's Firefox, Apple's Safari and Opera Software ASA's namesake browser.

According to Web metrics vendor Net Applications Inc., IE accounted for 72.2% of the browsers used last month, while Firefox and Safari owned 19.7% and 6.4% of the market, respectively. Opera, meanwhile, accounted for less than 1% of the browser market in August.

source: computerworld

Transfer Deadline... The Day of Spending

Manchester provided the stage for a dramatic transfer deadline day that was headlined by Robinho's unexpected move to Eastlands.

Dimitar Berbatov's switch to United from Tottenham took few by surprise but City's successful courtship of Robinho was kept under wraps until late last night.

Mark Hughes' side even launched an audacious bid to sign Berbatov but when it became obvious the Bulgarian had his heart set on Old Trafford, they ramped up their interest in Robinho.

'I'm absolutely delighted to get the opportunity to work with such an incredible talent like Robinho,' said a delighted Hughes.

'I've said that in order to compete with the best teams in the Premier League we have to be in the market for players of this calibre.

'Robinho is undoubtedly one of the best players in the world.'

Chelsea, who had pursued the Brazilian all summer and remained confident he would join them, found their approach ambushed by City, who were being bankrolled by Abu Dhabi United Group's takeover.

A spokesman for the Stamford Bridge club later revealed they were unwilling to match City's £32.4million offer for the former Santos forward.

The excitement at Eastlands - where bids were also made for Valencia striker David Villa and Stuttgart forward Mario Gomez - overshadowed events in the red half of Manchester.

Berbatov brought a welcome conclusion to his summer-long transfer saga when he signed a four-year deal for a fee Spurs confirmed to be £30.75million.

As part of the deal, Fraizer Campbell moved to White Hart Lane for a year on loan while Spurs will not pursue a complaint against United for making an illegal approach to the player.

Spurs had been the busiest Premier League club earlier today after signing £14million Russia striker Roman Pavlyuchenko and Croatia right-back Vedran Corluka from City.

Defender Corluka, 22, joined Croatia team-mate Luka Modric at Spurs after putting pen to paper on a deal thought to be worth £8.5million.

In the pick of the rest of the day's activity, Liverpool captured Spain winger Albert Riera from La Liga side Espanyol for an undisclosed fee.

The 26-year-old signed a four-year contract after choosing Rafael Benitez's side over several other clubs, including neighbours Everton.

He joined Vitor Flora at Anfield after the 18-year-old Brazilian, who holds an Italian passport, agreed a free transfer.

But striker Andriy Voronin and full-back Steven Finnan departed Liverpool for Hertha Berlin and Espanyol respectively.

Not to be outdone by their Merseyside rivals, Everton broke their club record to sign Belgian midfielder Marouane Fellaini for an initial £15million from Standard Liege.

They also confirmed the signing of French striker Louis Saha from Manchester United for an undisclosed fee.

Saha signed a two-year deal with an option for a third year and was joined at Goodison by Wigan keeper Carlo Nash.

Meanwhile, Newcastle completed the signing of 22-year-old Spain Under-21 striker Xisco on a five-year deal from La Liga side Deportivo La Coruna for an undisclosed fee.

Defender George McCartney rejoined Sunderland on a five-year contract from West Ham for an undisclosed fee, becoming Roy Keane's 10th signing of the summer.

Premier League new boys Hull and Stoke were also busy, with the Tigers bringing in Daniel Cousin from Rangers for an undisclosed fee and Kamil Zayatte on loan from Young Boys.

Stoke brought defender Danny Higginbotham back from Sunderland while young midfielder Tom Soares moved from Crystal Palace for £1.25million and Michael Tonge arrived from Sheffield United in a £2million deal.

source: soccernet

Everton break transfer record to sign Fellaini

Everton have broken their transfer record to sign Belgian midfielder Marouane Fellaini for an initial £15million from Standard Liege.

The 20-year-old has signed a five-year deal, with the Toffees confirming the fee will rise throughout that time.

The deal was completed by chairman Bill Kenwright and manager David Moyes leading up to the midnight transfer deadline and announced in the early hours.

Acting chief executive Robert Elstone told www.evertonfc.com: 'This is fantastic news for everyone connected with the club.

'We have signed one of European football's most exciting prospects, who will have a huge part to play at Everton over the next five years.

'I spoke with Bill Kenwright and David Moyes shortly after concluding the deal and they are delighted we have managed to secure his services.

'It came late on, like a lot of the big deals in the Premier League, but he's with us and we look forward to welcoming him to Goodison.'

Fellaini joined Liege - Everton's forthcoming opponents in the first round of the UEFA Cup - two years ago and made 84 appearances for the Belgian champions, scoring 11 times.

He has also played 10 times for Belgium and represented his country at the Beijing Olympics, where he was sent off in the opening game for two yellow cards against Brazil.

Fellaini's arrival at Goodison Park follows those of keeper Carlo Nash, who signed from Wigan, and Manchester United striker Louis Saha.

source: soccernet

Al-Fahim: I'm the new Abramovich

Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim, the owner-elect of Manchester City, expects his group's takeover of the club to have the same impact as Roman Abramovich's buy-out of Chelsea five years ago.

Subject to due diligence, Al-Fahim's Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) will be the new majority shareholders in the Barclays Premier League club after the two parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the change of ownership.

Chelsea have won the Premier League title twice, lifted the FA Cup once and reached the final of the UEFA Champions League since Russian Abramovich burst onto the scene at Stamford Bridge in 2003.

City have not won a trophy since picking up the League Cup in 1976, but Al-Fahim believes the funds available to manager Mark Hughes should ensure the wait for silverware will soon come to an end.

Asked how ADUG's takeover of City would compare with Abramovich's Chelsea buy-out, Al-Fahim told PA Sport: 'I think it will be the same. We would like to see Manchester City fighting for trophies in every tournament.

'We don't just want Manchester City to be challenging for trophies in England, but also in the Champions League. We want them to be in for every trophy available.'

City, who finished ninth in the Premier League last season, will take a potential glimpse into the future when they face Chelsea in their next league clash at Eastlands a week on Sunday.

And they will do so with Robinho in their ranks after the Brazilian sensationally moved to Eastlands last night in a British record deal.

The 24-year-old had been expected to move to Chelsea but the Blues refused to meet the 40million euros asking price.

Al-Fahim will try to attend that game, and he is keen to travel to England to hold talks with the club and the Premier League in the coming days so the details of the transaction can be clarified and ironed out.

In a statement released yesterday, ADUG said the aim would be for City to compete in the Champions League in the 2009-10 campaign - a feat that would require a top-four finish this season.

However, although the club have started the season in promising form and currently sit third in the table after three games, Al-Fahim appeared to acknowledge the real hunt for trophies would begin next season.

'A place in the Champions League is quite a jump from last season, but we are ready to sit down with the manager, find out the players he would like, and bring the right players into the club,' Al-Fahim added.

'This season we would like to be a lot better than last season, and we are eager for trophies next season.'

Al-Fahim is also keen to explore possible new revenue streams for the club, ensuring City will not have to solely rely on the funds made available by ADUG.

'Our message to the fans would be we promise we are here to sustain the club and make Manchester City competitive for trophies at the highest level,' said Al-Fahim.

'We would also like to bring in extra revenues by introducing new marketing ideas.

'Looking at the club, they have a lot of fans, they are loyal fans, and there is the opportunity to grow there. They also have a lot of history. It was all very attractive to us.

'I think the one thing that has been missing was the right person to provide the right investment.'

Al-Fahim told Sky Sports News that he plans to meet Hughes and talk over future transfer targets.

'I will come to the UK in a few days to meet the manager Mark (Hughes),' he said.

'We will sit down with him and see what it is he needs now.'

Confirming that the bid to sign Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham ahead of city rivals United was a serious one, he added: 'That was genuine. It was very close but we couldn't get him, we were unlucky.'

Of the takeover he said: 'It might take a month, it depends on the final approval of the authorities.'

source: socccernet

Spurs’ Ginobili needs ankle surgery next week

By ELIZABETH WHITE, Associated Press Writer

San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, who helped lead Argentina to a bronze medal in the Beijing Olympics, will need surgery to repair a ligament injury in his left ankle.

The Spurs said Friday that Ginobili will have surgery next week. The team will announce a timeline for his return after the surgery.

Ginobili said an MRI of his ankle showed no improvement from a previous exam two months ago. He led the Spurs in scoring last season (19.5 points) and won the league’s sixth man award.

“They’re going to operate on me,” the 31-year-old Ginobili told Argentina’s La Nacion newspaper Friday. “It’s not worse, which is important. Now, the thing is, it’s not better either, and it seems like the only way to repair it completely is arthroscopic surgery.”

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had urged Ginobili not to compete in the Olympics unless the injury improved. But he was cleared to play and not only competed in the games, he carried the flag for Argentina at the Opening Ceremonies in Beijing.

Ginobili hobbled off the court during Argentina’s loss to the eventual gold-medal winner United States in the semifinal game. He did not play in Argentina’s bronze-medal win over Lithuania.

“My plan was to be part of the Olympic games, and I knew that if I suffered from pain they would have to operate,” Ginobili told the newspaper. “This isn’t something that took me by surprise.”

The injury hobbled Ginobili during the NBA playoffs, particularly during the Western Conference finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, when his signature explosiveness was visibly absent.

At the end of the season, Ginobili had an injection in the ankle. Ginobili wore a walking boot for several weeks starting in June after an MRI showed a ligament to be five times the size of the one in his other foot.

How to install Linux on an Intel Mac with Boot Camp

While Apple's main intention for releasing Boot Camp was to make it easier to install Windows XP on an Intel Mac alongside OS X, This really is the easiest way to install any second operating system alongside OS X. The main advantage of Boot Camp is that it will create a new partition on your hard drive without erasing it. However, before proceeding, I suggest backing up any important data because despite how easy this is going to be, you will be performing a major system overhaul with what is essentially beta software. With that in mind, here is what you'll need:

1. An install disc for the i386 version of your Linux distribution of choice. You can obtain this from the website of your chosen distro.

2. An Intel-based Mac running Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.6 or later. This won't work if your Mac is a PowerPC (G3, G4, G5) or older.

3. Boot Camp (http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/)

Boot Camp was designed to walk you through an installation of Windows, so you won't be following it exactly. Instead, you're going to want to follow these steps:

1. Download and install Boot Camp. You can get it from the above link.

2. Run Boot Camp Assistant, which should appear in your Utilities Folder after the installation. Divide your Hard Drive into two parts, giving your "Windows XP" partition at least as much space as your Linux distro needs. Push the Partition button.

3. Since you won't be installing Windows, you don't need to push the "Start Installation" button. Instead, make sure your Linux install disc is in the drive and push the "Restart Mac OS X" button.

4. When you hear the Mac Booting sound (the "system bell"), hold down the alt (option) key until you see a booting menu. Click on the CD icon that says "Windows." You will boot up in your Linux install. (If the mouse doesn't work for this step, use the arrow keys to select the proper icon and hit return)

5. Run the installation as you normally would.

6. When you get to the partition manager, choose to do it manually. Find the "fat32" partition and delete it. This will be converted to free space.

7. Create two new partitions out of the free space: One should be about 600 MB and formatted as "swap" and the other one should take up the rest of your free space, formatted as "ext3" and assigned either "/" or "root". If you get an error message that you need a boot partition or a bootloader or something like that, ignore it, you already have it in the form of Boot Camp. Finish the installation and remove the install disc.

8. To boot into Linux, hold down the alt/option key at the system bell sound until you see two hard drive icons. One will say "Macintosh HD" and the other will say "Windows." Select the "Windows" icon and that's it!

9. (Optional) Drop Apple a line about how you would like that icon to say "Linux" instead of "Windows."

Please keep in mind that this article is pretty generic, just to get you started. Before you embark on the task of installing Linux, it is highly advisable to read the instructions provided for your chosen distro. With that in mind, good luck, and have an enjoyable Linux experience.

source: Chris Scott

O'Shea Not Interested In Move

The Republic of Ireland international is close to clocking up 300 appearances for the Red Devils, yet has never quite been able to lock down a first-team place.

This inevitably has led to whispers that he is discontent at Old Trafford, but O'Shea insists that he can learn more as a squad player at United than as a main starter almost anywhere else.

"I'll be here hopefully as long as the manager wants me," he told the club's official website.

"That'll be the case for me. It's a squad game and who's to say that if I went to a different team it wouldn't be the same."

He added: "I'm at Manchester United and I'm happy doing what I do.

"It's a case of when I get the chance I've got to make sure I give the manager a difficult choice to leave me out of the team."

source: goal

Buffon Consoles Cassano

Azzurri coach, Marcello Lippi announced his squad that will begin their World Cup qualifying campaign this weekend and although there were little surprises, there was one rather glaring omission: Antonio Cassano.

Now, one of Italy’s main team captains, and inspirational goalkeeper, Gianluigi Buffon has extended a word of comfort to Il Talentino, although the Bianconeri shot-stopper believes the Squadra Nazionale will do fine without him.

“I do not consider it loss and I believe that the coach’s decision is justifiable. He has the right to make his own selection,” he told Sky Sport24 during an interview.

“But he (Cassano) is a key player for the national squad. He has shown in the last Euros that he has matured and progressed a lot in terms of his behaviour,” added Gigi.

The defending world champions will kick off their campaign with a trip to Cyprus on September 6 before a tricky home clash against Bulgaria three days later.


source: goal dot com

Saha signs for Toffees, but Obinna move fails

Everton have confirmed the signing of French striker Louis Saha from Manchester United for an undisclosed fee.

Saha has signed a two-year deal with an option for a third year after passing a medical over the weekend.

The Toffees have also revealed a move for Inter Milan winger Victor Obinna has fallen through after an unsuccessful work permit application.

Saha, whose spell at Old Trafford was beset by injuries, has 18 international caps and scored 42 goals during his United spell.

The 30-year-old will not be joined at Goodison Park by 21-year-old Inter Milan winger Obinna, however.

The Toffees' application for a work permit for the Nigeria international was rejected by the Home Office despite manager David Moyes and chairman Bill Kenwright travelling to an appeal hearing in London today.

Everton had agreed a season-long loan move for the winger.

• Everton have signed goalkeeper Carlo Nash from Wigan for an undisclosed fee.

The Toffees have handed the former Preston goalkeeper, 34, a two-year deal with the option for a third.

'I have known of Everton's interest for the last couple of weeks and there have been a few sleepless nights hoping it would go through,' he told the club's website, evertonfc.com.

'Finally it has and I am over the moon.'

source: soccernet

Juve swoop for youngster Yago from Barca

Juventus have signed teenage midfielder Yago from Barcelona on a four-year deal, the Italian club have announced.

The Vigo-born 18-year-old, who is a member of the Spain Under-19 side, took his medical with Juve on Monday before penning his contract which ties him to the Serie A giants until June 30, 2012.

'I'm happy to have the chance to join a prestigious club such as Juventus,' said Yago.

'I'm excited about the idea of being able to train with huge stars and I can't wait to begin.

'I hope I can make myself useful and show my skills. I wish to thank (Juve coach) Claudio Ranieri for the praise he bestowed on me and I'm committed to honouring his expectations.'

Juve sporting director Alessio Secco added: 'Yago is a very promising youth; we'd been following him for some time. He will need to get stronger and he'll be playing with the Youth Team.

source:soccernet

Anderson Ruled Out for Brazil Qualifiers

Manchester United midfielder Anderson has been ruled out of Brazil's World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Bolivia with an undisclosed injury.

The Brazilian Football Confederation today confirmed that Sao Paulo's Hernanes has been called up to replace him in Dunga's squad.

Hernanes was in the Brazil under-23 squad that took bronze at the Beijing Olympics last month.

'Being called up to the national team is always good,' Hernanes said.

'I'm happy, especially after the frustration (of missing gold) at the Olympics and not being named in the original squad.'

This is the second time Dunga has had to amend his squad with Internacional striker called in last week to replace the injured Rafael Sobis.

Brazil, who lie fifth in the South American qualifying zone, travel to Chile on Sunday, and face Bolivia three days later in Rio de Janeiro.

source: soccernet

Liverpool comples the signing of Albert Riera from Espanyol

Rafael Benitez endured a day of mixed emotions after completing the signing of Albert Riera from Espanyol but also losing the services of star Spanish striker Fernando Torres for two to three weeks with a hamstring injury.

Riera, a 26-year-old winger who has five international caps to his name, signed a four-year deal at Anfield this afternoon for an undisclosed fee.

'Riera has the qualities we were looking for,' said Benitez.

'He's a left footer who normally plays on the left wing, he's good in the air, strong, powerful and a good crosser of the ball.

Meanwhile, Torres faces a race to be fit for the Reds' Champions League opener at Marseille on September 16.

Torres limped off in the goalless draw at Aston Villa yesterday and has been withdrawn from the Spain squad ahead of their World Cup qualifiers against Bosnia and Armenia.

Riera became Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez's number one transfer target after England midfielder Gareth Barry committed his future to Aston Villa.

Although unbeaten this season, Liverpool have been far from impressive. Their lack of penetration was evident in yesterday's drab 0-0 draw with Aston Villa in which they failed to register a single shot on target.

Benitez has been short of options down the left-hand side with Ryan Babel away representing Holland at the Olympics until last weekend, while Steven Gerrard has looked ineffective out of position on the wing.

Landing Riera has left Benitez, therefore, understandably delighted.

'He's the kind of player we have been talking about. He can beat players and get good deliveries into the area for our strikers.

'We've known about him for a long time, since he was at Mallorca and then through his career with Bordeaux, Manchester City and Espanyol.

'He can speak English and of course he knows the Premier League, which is a big bonus. Usually foreign players need time when they go to a new country, but Riera already knows the league and the style of football.

'He also had offers from other English clubs but he said no to them because he wanted to come and play for us. That means a lot to me because it shows the commitment he has to play for Liverpool.'

One of the surprise transfers of the day saw Steve Finnan leave Anfield for Espanyol.

The 32-year-old full-back signed a two-year contract at the club after falling down the pecking order following the arrival of Andrea Dossena and Philipp Degen this summer.

He will take the place of Argentina full-back Pablo Zabaleta, who signed for Manchester City yesterday.

Finnan was followed out the door by striker Andriy Voronin who has joined German side Hertha Berlin on a year-long loan.

He has also seen his first-team opportunities limited after Benitez added Robbie Keane to his striking ranks this summer in a £20million move from Spurs.

Benitez's first move of the day was to sign 18-year-old Brazilian striker Vitor Flora from Botafogo.

Goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi, who spent last season on loan playing for the reserves, also signed from MTK Hungaria.

source:soccernet

United finally complete £30.75m Berbatov deal

Sir Alex Ferguson has hailed £30.75million man Dimitar Berbatov as a 'key signing' in Manchester United's quest for a Premier League title hat-trick.

Berbatov finally completed a four-year deal to join from Tottenham just before the closure of the transfer window last night, bringing an end to one of the summer's major transfer sagas.

And while neighbours Manchester City might have sent shockwaves across the city with their own pursuit of Berbatov and eventual signing of Robinho, Ferguson is intent on ensuring United remain top of the pile in England.

'This is a key signing,' the United boss told www.manutd.com.

'Dimitar is one of the best and most exciting strikers in world football.

'His style and ability will give the team a different dimension and I am sure he will be a popular player with the fans.'

Berbatov was driven away from Old Trafford just before the announcement of his move was made public. But the Bulgarian was clearly happy as he was pictured inside the stadium and is looking forward to becoming a United legend.

'Joining Manchester United is a dream come true for me,' he said.

'I look forward to playing my part in helping this club win more honours in the years to come.'

After a breathless afternoon, in which Berbatov spent time at United's Carrington training complex and then Old Trafford, he was then taken to a south Manchester hospital for a medical.

With no problems reported, he returned to Old Trafford, where he was greeted warmly by Sir Alex Ferguson and chief executive David Gill to begin the long wait to see if a deal could be done that would eventually see Berbatov wear the number nine shirt vacated by Louis Saha, following the Frenchman's sale to Everton.

Forty minutes before the deadline expired, United submitted papers to the Premier League, hoping the registration would go through in time, with the deal, which will see Fraizer Campbell move in the other direction on a season-long loan, being confirmed at 12.40am.

While the fee is more than United ideally wanted to pay, they have gained agreement from Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy that he will not pursue his complaint against the Old Trafford outfit for approaching Berbatov in the first place.

Having agreed an amazing £35million deal with cash-rich Manchester City, Levy knew he might have pocketed even more cash. However, he was also aware Berbatov had his heart set on joining United having unloaded a player who clearly no longer wanted to be at White Hart Lane and was beginning to unsettle other members of Juande Ramos' squad.

For Ferguson, Berbatov's arrival was a matter of extreme urgency.

While United were always confident Manchester City would be seen off as potential bidders, the evidence of the past two weeks, when Darren Fletcher has been the only player to score in the Premier League and the Super Cup was lost to Zenit St Petersburg on Friday when Nemanja Vidic found the target, Ferguson knew he needed another senior striker.

The Scot has won the last two Premier League titles, and the Champions League a man light of his preferred four-pronged forward line.

And he knew this time around, there would be no surprise signing such as Henrik Larsson to help the Red Devils out, or an unexpected seam of goals from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, or, due to his current injury, 42 from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Campbell might have impressed in pre-season but Ferguson realised it was too much to expect the youngster to hold down a regular place should either Wayne Rooney or Carlos Tevez be ruled out for an extended period.

And, though other targets such as Michael Owen, Thierry Henry and David Villa were mentioned, Berbatov was the man Ferguson kept returning to.

At 27, Berbatov is slightly older than most of United's recent major purchases but Ferguson feels his silky touch - which the Scot first experienced when Bayer Leverkusen faced the Red Devils in Champions League combat five years ago.

Ferguson believes Berbatov has the quality to score goals himself and create chances for others.

Some may question the player's temperament in light of his recent behaviour but Ferguson has worked with plenty of highly-strung individuals, including Eric Cantona, and got the best out of them.

He will expect to do the same with Berbatov, starting when United travel to Anfield to face Liverpool on September 13.

source: soccernet

Man City's Fantastic Signing - Robinho

Manchester City have completed the British record £32.5million signing of Robinho with just minutes to go in the transfer window.

He has signed a four-year contract at the City of Manchester Stadium.

Manager Mark Hughes told the club's official website tonight: 'I am absolutely delighted to get the opportunity to work with such an incredible talent like Robinho. I have said that in order to compete with the best teams in the Premier League we have to be in the market for players of this calibre, and Robinho is undoubtedly one of the best players in the world.

'I am really looking forward to introducing him to the rest of the squad, and to the City fans at the earliest opportunity. This is a real statement of intent as to the ambitions of Manchester City Football Club.

Robinho will be in line to make his City debut against, of all clubs, Chelsea after the international break.

It follows bids earlier in the day for Dimitar Berbatov, David Villa and Mario Gomez.

The Brazilian claimed he wanted to move to England at a press conference yesterday and also criticised Real coach Bernd Schuster for denying him the chance to move to Chelsea. However, London will not be his next destination.

Sources suggest that Real were determined not to sell the Brazilian forward to Chelsea but were happy to deal once the Eastlands side moved in.

Chelsea had been tracking the player all summer and will be furious to lose out to another English club.

Rather than find himself marooned at the Bernabeu until January was prepared to move to the Premier League with Mark Hughes' side.

Real Madrid's decision to accept City's offer for Robinho was made for both 'sporting and human' reasons, the Spanish club's president Ramon Calderon has said.

'We have sold Robinho for reasons of a human nature and for sporting reasons. The fact that he has accepted an offer from Manchester City says that he is not going for sporting reasons,' Calderon told Spanish television station Veo.

'It's an important sum of money. It's not the objective of Real Madrid to sell players, neither do we need the money, but for reasons of human and sporting nature, it has been decided this is for the best.

'It's a decision agreed by all the coaching staff, who understand it is best for the player and for the club.

'(Coach Bernd) Schuster thought until yesterday that he could recover the player, but that has not been the case. Every time I have spoken with him he was very sad, crying and asking to leave Spain. Real Madrid are more important than any one player.

'He's a great kid, but badly advised.'

Robinho burst on to the scene as an 18-year-old when he helped Santos win their first Brazilian championship in 2002.

His trickery, skills and physique led to comparisons with former Santos great Pele and eventually attracted the attention of Real Madrid.

Robinho pressured Santos for a move to Real and after a lengthy tug-of-war transfer saga, the Brazilian club relented and agreed to sell the player to the Spanish giants in August 2005.

Classed as the new Galactico when he arrived at the club, Robinho made a dazzling debut as a substitute in the 2-1 victory over Cadiz in the opening game of the season but then went on to struggle for the remainder of his first campaign in Europe.

He won his first Spanish league title under coach Fabio Capello in 2007, but often featured as a substitute and only really took off last season when he helped Real to their second consecutive championship, scoring 11 goals in 32 outings.

Robinho is a regular in the Brazilian national side and played an instrumental role in their triumph in the 2007 Copa America, finishing as the tournament's top scorer with six goals.

City's fortunes were transformed this morning when Abu Dhabi United Group announced they had agreed in principal to buy the club from Thaksin Shinawatra, who will remain on the club's board as a shareholder and honorary president.

Prospective new Manchester City owner Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim believes only 'formalities' remain before he can rubber-stamp their takeover of the Premier League club.

Al-Farim confirmed that ADUG had also considered investing in City's Premier League rivals Arsenal, Newcastle and Liverpool before deciding to press ahead with a buy-out - thought to be worth around £150million - of the Eastlands outfit.

source: soccernet

Gokhan Inler Confirms Arsenal Snub

Inler has been linked with Arsenal almost all summer as, following the departure of Gilberto Silva, Aliaksandr Hleb and Mathieu Flamini, the Gunners’ priority in the summer transfer market has been to sign a centre midfielder.

With just hours until the end of the transfer window, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has still not brought in any replacements.

Last week, Inler’s agent stated that his client had rejected a move to Arsenal, and now the player himself has confirmed this, adding that he never even considered leaving Udinese.

"I never had any doubts, and from the first day I always said I was sure of staying at Udine," the 24-year-old told the club's official website.

"I want to go all the way with this club and play a great season.

“Our objective is to improve upon last year and I feel the team is stronger, while we are certainly not lacking enthusiasm."

Inler only joined Udinese last year from FC Zurich but had a superb first season in Serie A, and then crowned this with a fine Euro 2008 for Switzerland.

The schemer has already started the new season imperiously, and he was outstanding in Udinese’s 3-1 win over Palermo on Saturday in the opening match of the new Serie A season. Inler scored the third goal for his side, and dominated the midfield.

Magpies close to agreeing deal for striker Xisco

Newcastle United could be set to land their second player from Deportivo La Coruna, after launching a bid for striker Xisco.

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The Spanish U21 star could be on the move.

The Magpies brought defender Fabricio Coloccini to St James' Park last month and are now discussing personal terms with the Mallorca-born striker.

A deal worth a reported £5.7million is nearly done with coach Miguel Angel Lotina telling Onda Cero that Kevin Keegan has been in touch over the 22-year-old's availability.

'I have no confirmation that the deal is done but the offer exits,' he said.

Lotina also confirmed it is likely that the transfer will take place with the player expected on Tyneside for talks and a medical on Monday.

Xisco came through the ranks from the Deportivo B side and has two years left on his contract. The Spanish U21 star has already scored 12 games in 44 games for his club.

With Keegan also keen to sign two more players before the midnight deadline, Newcastle have set up a move to sign Ignacio Gonzalez on loan from Valencia.

The Uruguay international is expected to sign a season-long deal on Tyneside and has reportedly already passed a medical.

Valencia vice-president Fernando Gomez told reporters: 'We have many players who can play in midfield and this is an excellent solution for both sides,'

'We expect the formalities to be completed on Monday morning.'

Source: soccernet