Philosofooty

By Ainsley Jacobs, writing from London

Torres’s transfer request turned down by the Reds but is this really the end of ‘El Nino’ at Anfield?

Liverpool supporters could be forgiven for wondering whether they were coming or going on Friday. After news broke of Chelsea’s bid of £35 million for Fernando Torres, the fans received the news that they have wanted to hear for the past month. After prolonged discussions, Luis Suarez was finally on his way to Anfield from Ajax for a fee of around £22.8 million.  However Luis’s big moment was about to be trumped by the bombshell that Torres wanted out of Anfield and had formally written a transfer request which was subsequently given short shrift by the club. So on a day when Liverpool and NESV have shown their ambition in the transfer market with the acquisition of Suarez; what has turned Torres’s head and can Liverpool cope without him?

Read More

By Eric Beard, writing from Boston

Though Brazil will develop into the decade’s epicenter of South American sport thanks to the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro summer olympics, this summer the spotlight will be on Argentina at Copa América 2011, the continent’s prestigious quadrennial international tournament. Los Albicelestes did not live up to their expectations in South Africa 2010, however, this time around Argentina are on home turf and do not want to disappoint. Lionel Messi said, “2010 was a good year for me personally, but the World Cup didn’t go the way I wanted… Now I have the aim for Argentina to win the Copa America next year, as we’ll contest it at home.”

But beyond the battles on the pitch there is another fight going on in Argentina. CONMEBOL and the Argentine planners of Copa América have to accommodate for the tournament amidst the nation’s double-digit rate of inflation. 10 percent inflation would be disastrous in the economy of your average developed nation, yet the Argentine economy currently has an estimated inflation rate of 26 percent and it is predicted to rise to 30 percent over this next year.

Read More

By Oliver Sparrow, writing from London

Mikel Arteta and his potential eligibility to play for England is one of the hottest topics buzzing around the English media at the moment.

Arteta has now resided in England for five years, after joining the Toffees in 2005, meaning he is now eligible to apply for British citizenship. He has never represented his native Spain at full international level, so a successful application for a British passport would make him available for selection by Fabio Capello. However, his potential inclusion in future England set-ups has been met with derision in some camps. The debate becomes most heated when discussing not whether he could play for England, but rather whether he should.

What riles many England fans is that they perceive Arteta to be Spanish, and not English – the England team should be for English players, not foreigners. There are many ways in which this argument can be rebuffed.

Read More

In the second of a four part series, AFR will be running the rule over every Premier League team in twenty individual nutshells. We move on by having a look at the Premier League’s middle men: Birmingham, Bolton, Everton, Fulham, Stoke City, and Sunderland. (Part One: Contenders)

By Eric Beard

The fight for a spot in the Big 4 is always an enticing one and the challenge to evade relegation always proves to be even more heart-wrenching, but what about the clubs that don’t earn a Europa League spot but also have too much quality to be threatened by relegation? You know who you are. Let’s have a look at the clubs vying for a spot in England’s elite to avoid another year in the Premier League’s purgatory.

Read More