Football Dispatch

Weekend Football
18 May 2007
Arsene Wenger has gone on holiday to consider his future at Arsenal. The Gunners boss is said to be pondering a summer exit from the London club and will make up his mind in the coming weeks. His suddenly tenuous status at the Emirates is part of the ongoing fallout from chairman David Dein's dismissal last month. Dein lost the support of the board after backing American tycoon Stan Kroenke's lucrative takeover offer. Since being hired by Dein in 1996, Wenger has remained on the same page as the former chairman and does not see eye-to-eye with the board of directors. Former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira believes that Wenger will opt to bolt the club. He has also speculated that current captain Thierry Henry will follow him out of the capital.

Roman Abramovich has hurled contract ultimatums at John Terry, Frank Lampard, and Arjen Robben. Each of the Chelsea starlets have two years remaining on their current deals and are seeking long-term extensions. Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack have set the salary benchmark at Stamford Bridge. Both of last summer's signings earn 121,000-pounds per-week. Terry, the club's captain and talisman, has been offered a take-it-or-leave-it deal worth 115,000-pounds per-week and Arjen Robben has been offered 84,000-pounds-per-week. While the contract offered to Robben seems good value for money, both Bayern Munich and Barcelona are keen on the Holland international. Bayern, in particular seem a likelihood. Ottmar Hitzfeld fancies Robben and Batien Schweinsteiger to provide a dual-threat on the wings. Terry, on the other hand, has yet to entertain offers from other clubs. He is hopeful that the club will come to its senses after the FA Cup Final. If not, he is prepared to table a transfer request.

Bryan Robson is poised to return to professional football as the new manager of Sheffield United. The former Manchester United captain last appeared on the touchline as West Bromwich Albion boss when the club was relegated last May. But a full year away from the game seems to have whet the 50-year-old's appetite, once again. Robson has already met with chairman Kevin McCabe; and an announcement is expected before the end of the month.

Atletico Madrid will pursue a change in philosophy during the off-season. Chairman Enrique Cerezo is desperate to turn the club's reputation from a selling-club to a buying-club this summer. He has already made overtures to both Joey Barton and Bobby Zamora. Los Colchoneros rest at 6th-place in La Liga and will, in all likelihood, qualify for the UEFA Cup next season. The goings-on the Vicente Calderon Stadium reinforce the club's claim that star striker Fernando Torres will not be sold in the coming months.
Sammy Lee has shown the exit door to three Bolton Wanderers players. The new Trotters manager will be hoping to stamp a fresh face on the squad after the departure of Sam Allardyce a fortnight ago. Quinton Fortune, David Thompson, and Henrik Pedersen have all been cut. Lee will now turn his attention to retaining the services of Israeli defender Tal Ben Haim.

With Carlos Tevez expected to bolt West Ham in the coming weeks, Alan Curbishley has moved quickly to bolster the striking position. Craig Bellamy is at the top of his list. The Wales international will come to Upton Park for 8M-pounds before next season and another offer for Charlton Athletic's Darren Bent is expected as well. With Andriy Voronin poised to make his Anfield arrival, Bellamy is subject to a numbers crunch at Liverpool and has found himself in Rafa Benitez' doghouse following an embarassinb bust-up with teammate John Arne Risse in February.

Barring a disaster, Juventus will make their return to the Serie-A in August. The Bianconeri could wrap-up the Serie-B honors with a win at Arezzo on Saturday. Despite a 9-point deduction as a result of their part in the Italian match-fixing scandal, Juve have settled nicely atop the ledger with 79-points. Genoa and Napoli are battling tooth-and-nail for second-place and automatic promotion to the top-flight. Arezzo, for their part, were also handed a points-deduction last summer. At 20th-place in the league, they look a good bet to go down. There are four rounds of play remaining in the Serie-B.