Soccer Central

Nadir Belhadj has signed a permanent deal with Portsmouth, having proven himself at Fratton Park during his loan spell at the club. Belhadj has signed a four and a half year contract with Portsmouth, and has signed from Lens for a fee of £4.4 million.

Belhadj has already made 23 appearance so far this season, helping his team with two goals in the process as well as playing brilliantly in his position at left back. He’s evidently done enough to impress manager Tony Adams and has been rewarded for his fine form with a fantastic four and a half year contract.

Nadir Belhadj will officially become a Portsmouth player when the transfer window re-opens on January 1st.

Michael Owen is today being linked with a move to Manchester City. The England striker has hesitated over signing a new contract with Newcastle, and it would seem that Man City now intend to make a move for the player whose Newcastle contract expires at the end of the season.

A lot of players have been linked with a move to Manchester City of late, and Michael Owen is now the latest rumoured to be heading for Eastlands in January.

The Telegraph is reporting that £6 million is the figure that City is likely to shell out for Owen, and with £20 million looking likely to be spent on Blackburn’s Roque Santa Cruz; Manchester City is certainly looking to spend large amounts of money on new forward players this coming January.

Brazilian Jo has failed to make too much of an impact at Manchester City so far this season, and with Benjani now out for the next three months; attacking options are currently rather slim for City. There are the rising talents of Ched Evans and Daniel Sturridge to consider; Mark Hughes is obviously keen to bring established strikers into the club however rather than relying on youth to bring about change at the club.

So Michael Owen is the latest player to be linked with a move to Manchester City, and with the club currently sitting in 13th place in the Premier League, just two points above the relegation zone; things need to improve fast at Eastlands if Mark Hughes is to keep hold of his job as manager of Manchester City.

Aston Villa went 2-0 down against Arsenal at Villa Park today, falling behind after 40 minutes due to a Denilson goal, and then going even further behind just after half-time when Abou Diaby slammed in a second for the visitors.

Gareth Barry came to Aston Villa’s rescue in the 65th minute as he slotted home a penalty, and it was then Zat Knight who scored the eventual equaliser for Villa in injury time. Villa left it late, still managed a point from the match though, and that will no doubt have been Martin O’Neill’s happiest point of the season so far.

Villa now lead Arsenal by 3 points, and having played the same amount of games as Arsenal now sit happily in fourth place in the Premier League. We’re only halfway through the season and there’s still a lot of work for Villa to do yet if they’re to finish in the top four; right now they’re doing it though, and if Villa can keep up this kind of form until the end of the season then we could have a different English team in the Champions League next season for the first time in a long while.

Right now Aston Villa is the team most likely to break the top four; Everton is only three points behind Arsenal however, and without a known striker even present in the team at current; Everton could most definitely be a top four threat as well when the team’s forward players are once more fighting fit.

Aston Villa battled hard today, and was ultimately rewarded for a tenacious display of football with a much deserved point against Arsenal.

Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United don’t look like giving up any of the top three positions; right now fourth position is up for grabs though, and Arsenal currently looks like missing out on playing in the UEFA Champions League next season.

Aston Villa 2-2 Arsenal

It’s Christmas day today and there’s therefore not a lot going on within the football world at current. Tomorrow (Boxing Day) will be another matter altogether however, and the wonderful world of football will once more spring into action as games galore take place all across the world.

There’s a full fixture list tomorrow in England, and come Sunday the clubs will once more be in action. There are a lot of big games taking place tomorrow, and the week after Christmas is always a very busy time for football teams. The January transfer window is fast approaching, and there are a lot of things to be done at football clubs across the land.

Christmas is here and for the time being everyone is relaxed; tomorrow the busy period begins as far as football is concerned however, and this is certainly not the time for slacking. Today may be Christmas day, a time of good will and happiness; tomorrow the post-Christmas busy period begins however, as teams push for points in a quest to climb the league.

Bring on the Boxing Day football frenzy.

Just two days after Gary McAllister was sacked from the club; Simon Grayson has been named the new manager of Leeds United. Grayson had been managing Blackpool for the last three years, he handed in his resignation this morning however, and although the resignation was not accepted by the club; Grayson has moved on and been named the new manager of Leeds United.

There is now a statement on the Blackpool FC website which reads ‘Club Considering Legal Action’, this comes due to the manner in which Simon Grayson chose to leave the club, and an article posted on the website today reads that “The resignation was not accepted by the board of directors, and the club are now considering legal action against both Simon Grayson and Leeds United”.

Grayson actually began his playing career at Leeds back in 1988, making only two first team appearances at the club in 4 years before moving on to Leicester City in 1992. He played his trade as a defender, finishing up at Blackpool where he became caretaker manager in November 2005, and having been able to avoid relegation he was then later given the job on a permanent basis for the start of the 2006/07 season.

Simon Grayson did a brilliant job at Blackpool, guiding his team to victory in the League One play-offs in the 2006/07 season, and able to keep the club up in the Championship last season, finishing in 19th position. Blackpool sits 16th in the Championship at current, Grayson has once more made a strong start to the season with the club, but has now moved on to Leeds United where fans will be hoping he’ll be able to weave his magic also.

Both Simon Grayson and Leeds United may have legal action to look forward to yet; it would seem that Blackpool FC is well within its rights to take action if it wishes; the club has lost its manager at a crucial time, and after refusing permission for Leeds to speak with Grayson, and rejecting Grayson’s request for resignation also; it wouldn’t be too surprising if legal action is indeed taken.

Whether action is taken or not; Leeds United fans will now be hoping that Simon Grayson is the man to get Leeds United promoted back up to the Championship, and once the club reaches the Championship it can then look to once more return to the Premier League. Leeds United is a very big club with huge dreams and aspirations, and as the club’s ninth manager in ten years; it’s now Simon Grayson’s job to bring success to Elland Road.