England boss Roy Hodgson has announced is England squad for this summer’s European Championship and there is no place for Manchester United‘s Rio Ferdinand, while Chelsea‘s John Terry has been included.

There are some new faces in Hodgson’s squad including uncapped Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Norwich goalkeeper John Ruddy and some surprises.

Up front Hodgson has went with Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck, Andy Carroll and Jermain Defoe, who has not played a competitive match for England since September 2010.

There is no place for Manchester United’s Michael Carrick as Gareth Barry, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Scott Parker took the central midfield berths.

With Rooney suspended for the first two games of the Euros, England will go into those games with only four strikers, a massive gamble by Hodgson, considering he could have easily taken Peter Crouch, Daniel Sturridge or Bobby Zamora.

With the omission of Rio, the only big surprise amongst the defenders is that Micah Richards did not make the squad, especially since Kyle Walker is injured.

In midfield, the inclusion of Stuart Downing and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are gambles, as is James Milner, who cannot get into the Manchester City side, but is viewed as good enough for England.

England squad:
Goalkeepers – Joe Hart, Robert Green, John Ruddy.

Defenders – Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole, Glen Johnson, Phil Jones, Joleon Lescott, John Terry.

Midfielders – Gareth Barry, Stewart Downing, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Scott Parker, Theo Walcott, Ashley Young.

Strikers – Andy Carroll, Jermain Defoe, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck.

Standby – Jack Butland, Phil Jagielka, Jordan Henderson, Adam Johnson, Daniel Sturridge

Some Manchester City fans are no doubt still celebrating winning their first title in over 40 years, but the comments from Yaya Toure’s agent could end the party atmosphere.

Toure’s agent Dimitri Seluk’s was interviewed on Spanish radio on Tuesday and this is what he had to say:

“Toure has done all he can do at City and needs new motivations. He would like a new challenge. He would not cost much.

“He could sign for many big clubs, like Chelsea or Bayern Munich. We would like to see Barcelona join the race.”

Toure, along with Carlos Tevez, are believed to be the highest paid players in the Premier League at around £260,000 a week. Toure still has three years left on his City contract, so I disagree with Seluk’s quote that he would not cost much.

And I am sure that Man United fans will get some enjoyment out of Seluk’s implied statement that the Premier League champions are not as big a club as Chelsea.

To me, Toure has been one of Man City‘s best signings. When he drives forward from midfield, like he did in the derby match a couple of weeks ago, he is unstoppable. Nobody has his power and strength. For City to lose Toure would be a massive blow, not only in trying to replace him, but also what kind of signal does it send to other stars that City are looking to sign, that Yaya Toure wants to leave Man City already?

Series of interviews with Manchester City players on the pitch after today’s dramatic final last minute title win

Roberto Mancini

Mancini told Sky Sports 1:

“It was incredible – they deserved this. To win it like this is incredible. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a finale like this.

“We didn’t deserve to lose, we had a lot of chances and we deserved to win the game and championship.

“It’s fantastic for the club and the supporters after 44 years. It’s been a crazy season and a crazy last minute.”

“Five minutes from the end, I didn’t think we’d win this game. But we deserved to win this and deserved to win the title. We were on top for 20 games.

“I think for us it was really important to start winning this championship, Manchester City can have a big future now.”

Joe Hart

Nigel De Jong

Manchester City Legends Mike Summerbee & Francis Lee

David Platt

In the most dramatic five minutes in Premier League history, Manchester City scored twice in added time to beat QPR 3-2 today and win their first league title in 44 years.

Going into today, Man City and United were tied atop the Premier League. City had a vastly superior goal difference so they knew that as long as they matched United’s result at Sunderland then they would be crowned champions.

Th he title looked to be heading to Manchester United for the 20th time as Wayne Rooney gave the Red Devils a 1-0 win at Sunderland.

Knowing a win would almost certainly be enough to end their long wait, City went ahead through Pablo Zabaleta’s 39th-minute strike before the home side were stunned by a 48th-minute equaliser from Djibril Cisse.

Despite the sending-off of former City man Joey Barton on 55 minutes, QPR went ahead through Jamie Mackie in the 66th minute, and looked set to cling on for the points until the injury-time drama.

But substitute Edin Dzeko headed an equaliser with 91 minutes on the clock then Aguero fired home three minutes later to send a disbelieving Etihad Stadium crazy.

It was not all bad news for relegation-threatened Rangers as Bolton could not hold onto it lead at Stoke and ended up drawing 2-2 draw, a result that relegated Owen Coyle’s side.

Arsenal held on to third place and a guaranteed Champions League place with a 3-2 win at West Brom, who saved farewell to their England-bound boss Roy Hodgson.

Yossi Benayoun’s early opener was cancelled out by goals from Shane Long and Graham Dorrans, before Andre Santos struck a long-range equaliser and Laurent Koscielny’s 55th minute effort proved enough.

Tottenham must wait and hope Chelsea lose next week’s Champions League final in order to book their place in Europe’s top competition after the 2-0 win over Fulham. Emmanuel Adebayor and Jermain Defoe scored for Harry Redknapp’s men as they finished fourth.

Newcastle‘s fine season ended on a low note as they were forced to settle for fifth place after a 3-1 loss at Everton. Steven Pienaar, Nikica Jelavic and Johnny Heitinga scored for the hosts before a Tony Hibbert’s own goal late on.

Chelsea warmed up for their date with Bayern Munich with a 2-1 win over already doomed Blackburn. John Terry and Raul Meireles put them 2-0 up at half-time and Yakubu grabbed a second half consolation.

Danny Graham ensured Swansea‘s season ended on a high with the only goal of the game at home to Liverpool, while Grant Holt and Simeon Jackson goals gave Norwich a 2-0 win over Aston Villa.

It has been an unbelievable season in the Premier League with twists and turns seemingly every week. So it is not a surprise that as we enter the final weekend of games, that the title, Champions League places and the relegation battle are all up for grabs.

Title Race
The two Manchester clubs are level on points but City’s goal difference is eight superior to United’s, so effectively Sir Alex Ferguson’s side must better City’s result. Put simply, if City win at the Etihad, they win the title which is what I expect them to do.

Champions League Battle
Technically two places in next years Champions League competition are up for grabs, although that could become one, if Chelsea beat Bayern Munich to win the Champions League next weekend.

Leaving that aside for the moment, there are three team vying for the two Champions League places:

• Arsenal 67 points
• Tottenham 66 points
• Newcastle 65 points

Arsenal, who travel to West Brom control their own destiny. Win at the Hawthorns and they will clinch third place and the final automatic qualification spot for the Champions League.

However, if Arsenal draw against the Baggies, they will be overtaken and pushed into fourth place if Tottenham beat Fulham, meaning the Gunners would have to enter the qualifying round for the Champions League and Spurs would go straight through.

If Arsenal lose at West Brom, then they can be overtaken by both Spurs, who will only need a draw if Arsenal lose by two or more goals, and Alan Pardew’s Newcastle, who would need to beat Everton.

A win at home to Fulham guarantees Tottenham at least fourth place, while a draw would also be enough if Newcastle fail to win at Everton.

For Newcastle to make the Champions League they must beat Everton and hope that either Arsenal lose or Tottenham fail to win at home to Fulham. If all three of those outcomes occur, then Newcastle will finish in third place.

Pretty confusing, but basically if Arsenal win at West Brom, and Spurs beat Fulham at home, games that both sides should win, then they will be playing in the Champions League next season. And that is what I expect to happen.

Europa League Battle
The team that finishes fifth will go into the Europa League. So whoever out of Arsenal, Spurs or Newcastle does not qualify for the Champions League final will play in the Europa League next season.

Relegation Battle
One team out of Aston Villa, QPR or Bolton will be joining Wolves and Blackburn Rovers in the Championship next season.

Current Standings:

• Aston Villa 38 points
• QPR 37 points
• Bolton 35 points

However given their goal difference is currently 17 superior to Bolton’s, it would take a miracle for Aston Villa to be relegated, so we can effectively discount them immediately. so that essentially leaves the relegation battle between Bolton and QPR.

As mentioned earlier, QPR travel to the Ethiad to face a Manchester City who need a win in order to win the title. I cannot see City blowing the title at home on the final day which means a loss for QPR.

That leaves Bolton away to Stoke City. Bolton must win against Stoke City if they are to stay up. Can Bolton, who have really disappointed all season, go the Britannia Stadium, which is a difficult place to win in the best of times and win? I don’t think so, and I expect QPR to stay up despite losing at City on Sunday.

Former Liverpool managing director Christian Purslow says that the club was one day away from administration before being sold to current owners Fenway Sports Group.

Purslow said on Radio 5 Live’s Sportsweek programme:

“People have short memories, it’s only 15-16 months ago we were a day away from being in administration. We are now stable financially.

“It’s year one of what they (Fenway) said when they bought the club would be a long journey.”

Purslow was appointed by former joint owners Tom Hicks and George Gillette in June 2009 with a brief of finding new owners, and left his post shortly after Fenway completed their takeover in Oct 2010.

Purslow believes the Fenway Group should be given more time, but stressed the importance of Champions League football and a move to a new stadium if Liverpool’s fortunes on the pitch are to improve.

“The club has had some investment (under Fenway) and it will take time for that to work,” he said.
“I think everybody’s disappointed with the league performance but it’s year one.

“One thing I will say about American owners is the idea that there is some emotional connection is obviously rubbish.

“It’s an investment game, Liverpool is an investment and the value of that investment will hang largely on two key planks in the strategy they would have put in place when they bought the club.

“The first was to get the team back into regular Champions League football.”

That would not only increase profits by £20-30million a year but also help the club retain and hire the best players, Purslow explained. But he revealed his disappointment the club had not made any progress towards building a new stadium, the second part of that strategy.

“If I am disappointed about one thing under this new ownership is that they’ve got nowhere on the new stadium,” he said.

Chelsea‘s announcement this week of plans to build a new stadium on the site of the Battersea Power Station would put them in a stronger financial position than Liverpool.

“It’s critical. If you look at Chelsea’s news in the last few days, Arsenal have already stolen a march on us,” added Purslow. “If Chelsea get that stadium up and running then it’s another team that’s ahead of us in the queue.”

That a club as big as Liverpool was only a day or so away from going into administration, shows how dire things were in the last days of the Hicks/Gillette reign.

But while the administration quote got all the headlines, the bigger story is the new stadium. As Purslow points out, Chelsea are gong ahead with plans to build a new stadium in London as our Spurs. Those are two Champions League contenders of Liverpool’s who will make more money than Liverpool with every home game. Unless Liverpool gets their own stadium, they will soon find themselves unable to match the financial buying power of their rivals.

Chelsea has announced that they will play mega-rich French side Paris St Germain at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, July 22. This will the first soccer game to be held at the new Yankee Stadium.

Chelsea’s USA tour will now include four games, as they had previously announced fixtures against Seattle Sounders at CenturyLink Field on July 18 and Philadelphia on July 25 where we will meet the MLS All-Stars at PPL Park.

Chelsea have not played in New York City since the summer of 1954 and the game brings Chelsea a first reunion with former manager Carlo Ancelotti, who was in charge at Stamford Bridge for two years from 2009 until 2011, winning the Premier League and FA Cup Double in his first season. He is assisted in Paris by Chelsea legend Claude Makelele and former coach Paul Clement.

Chelsea have enjoyed a resurgence under Roberto Di Matteo winning the FA Cup on Saturday and reaching the final of the Champions League.

PSG are currently top of the French Ligue 1 on goal difference with two games to go, and are heavily favored to win the title. They are led by Argentina playmaker Javier Pastore who is expected to make the trip to the US.

Chelsea USA Preseason Tour 2012
July 18: Seattle Sounders v Chelsea FC – Buy Seattle Sounders v Chelsea Tickets
July 22: Paris St Germain at the Yankee Stadium
July 25: MLS All-Stars v Chelsea in Philadelphia-  Buy Chelsea v MLS All-Star Tickets
July 28: Chelsea v AC Milan at Sun Life Stadium in Miami

To be notified when tickets become available for this match, please leave your name and email address below:

Chelsea have announced that they will Italian giants AC Milan during their US Tour this summer. The game, which was originally scheduled for FedEx Field near Washington D.c., will instead take place at Sun Life Stadium in Miami on Saturday, July 28. Buy Chelsea v AC Milan Tickets

Not sure why the game got changed, but happy that it is going ahead though.

AC Milan will be familiar opposition on Chelsea’s first ever visit to Florida in what promises to be a keenly contested game. Chelsea played Milan in the summer of 2009 in Baltimore, when goals from Didier Drogba and Yury Zhirkov earned Chelsea a 2-1 win in front of more than 70,000 fans.

Sun Life Stadium has a capacity of 75,540 and I expected this game to sellout. It is rare that a English team ventures to Florida to play a preseason game and that should help drive up interest in the game.

Chelsea will come to America as FA Cup winner, and they have the chance to add Champions League winners to that mantle, if they can beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League final in less than two weeks.

AC Milan, who finished second in Serie A this season will bring some of their exciting Brazilian talent to South Beach including Robinho and Pato.

“We are very excited to announce these two final fixtures in our summer tour,’ said Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay. Southern Florida is a hotbed of football support and we cannot wait to resume our friendly rivalry with AC Milan at a packed stadium.

“The four fixtures we have lined up in the US offer an exciting schedule and as a club we cannot wait to sample the ever-growing appetite for the game in America.”

Tickets are expected to go on sale later this month, and I expect that AC Milan will announce further tour games in the next week or so. To be kept up to date on all the tour details, please leave your name and address below:

Chelsea‘s ambitions of a top-four finish were ended in emphatic style after they lost 4-1 to Liverpool at Anfield tonight.

The convincing win and performance by Liverpool had to have Kenny Dalglish and the Liverpool fand wondering why they had not played like that on Saturday in the FA Cup Final when Chelsea beat them 2-1.

As for Chelsea, this was one of the Blues worst performances in the Roman Abramovich era. John Terry and Branislav Ivanoic in particular where terrible. Terry was directly responsible for two of Liverpool’s goals, was nutmegged three times in the opening 20 minutes and suffered through probably his worst outing as a Chelsea player.

Chelsea had no answer to Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll. Carroll picked up where he left off at Wembley, physically dominating the two Chelsea center halves while nobody in a blue shirt could get close to Suarez.

It was Suarez who was responsible for Liverpool’s first goal when he cut in from the sideline, nutmegging Terry before squaring for Michael Essien to put through his own net.

Six minutes later Liverpool doubled their lead when John Terry fell over trying to clear Maxi’s harmless ball forward, and Jordan Henderson capitalised on his slip to calmly slotted past Ross Turnbull.

Two minutes later Andy Carroll beat Terry at the back post to head Shelvey’s corner back across goal to the unmarked Daniel Agger who headed home to give Liverpool a 3-0 lead.

It was one of the best 45 minutes of football that Liverpool have played at Anfield this season and they should have gone into half-time four up after Ivanoic elbowed Carroll in the chest but Stewart Downing missed the resulting penalty on the stroke of half-time.

Roberto Di Matteo must have given one hell of a team talk as Chelsea started the second half with a lot more energy and desire, and quickly cut the deficit to 3-1 when Florent Malouda’s devious delivery was bundled past Pepe Reina by Ramires.

But any thoughts that Chelsea had of getting back into the game were killed in the 61st minute when a horrible clearance from Turnbull allowed Jonjo Shelvey to score into an unmarked goal.

With the loss, Chelsea can no longer catch Newcastle or Spurs for that fourth and final Champions League spot. Their only hope of Champions League football next year is to beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League final later this month. If they cannot do that, then Chelsea will be in the Europa League next season with Liverpool and Newcastle or Spurs.

Former Premier League champions Blackburn Rovers have been relegated after losing 1-0 at home to Wigan tonight. Antolin Alcaraz’s goal in the 87th minute was enough to keep Wigan in the Premier League for another season.

There were ugly scenes at the final whistle when some Blackburn fans ran onto the field at Ewood Park in further opposition to the club’s management and owners on a night of protest at Ewood Park.

Rovers went into the game knowing that anything less than a win would mean relegation, and yet they were dominated completely by Wigan.

The poisonous atmosphere at Ewood Park did not help the Blackurn players. From the opening whistle, Rovers fans were venting their anger towards both manager Kean and the club’s owners.

Venky’s, Blackburn’s owners, have been a joke ever since they bought the club. There were stories going around that they did not realize until after they bought Blackburn that they could get related! They thought they were buying a franchise like we have in the U.S.

After purchasing the club, the Venky’s issued stories that they were going to attract the likes of Ronaldhino and Beckham to Ewood Park. Those fantasy stories followed the firing of Sam Allardyce and the hiring of Steve Kean. There is some irony that on the day that Allardyce guided West Ham to the Championship play-off final at Wembley that Kean saw Rovers get relegated.

I am not a big Fat Sam fan, but he does know how to keep a team in the Premier League. It was obvious from the first game that Steve Kean had no right being a Premier League manager. In his 65 games in charge of Blackburn his record is W17, L34, D14.

But it was not just the appointment of Kean that upset the Rovers fans. It was the apathy and invisibility of the club owners that turned the fans against the team. It will be interesting to see what the Venky’s do now. Do they take the parachute payments from the Premier League and reinvest them in the team, or do they instead take the money while simultaneously gutting the club?

Going into Sunday’s season finales, three teams are at risk of joining Blackburn and Wolves in the Championship next season. Aston Villa (7-13-17) has 38 points, one ahead of Queens Park Rangers (10-20-7) and three in front of Bolton (10-22-5). Aston Villa is at Norwich, Bolton at Stoke and QPR at Manchester City.