The Great Football Experiment - Video

Episode 2 Trailer - Have a regular Sunday League team got what it takes to take on a team of England legends? Watch episode TWP of the Great Football Experiment to see how Ivory FC cope with their first training session.

Arsenal eye Alvarez as Fabregas replacement

London - Cesc Fabregas will head to Barcelona on holiday next week and may never return to play for Arsenal again. The Catalan club believe they are close to doing a deal to sign the 24-year-old Gunners captain and end one of football's longest running tranfers sagas. 

Arsenal are still playing hardball over their star player and have warned Barcelona hierarchy to stay away from Fabregas when he returns to Catalonia to visit family. But after failing with a 27-million pound bid this week, the European champions are preparing an improved offer of around 30-million pound. Even though that is still way below Arsenal 44-million pound valuation., Barcelona believe they are not far from sealing a deal and Arsenal have even lined up a potential replacement, with sources in italy claiming the Gunners have done a deal to sign Argentina playmaker  Ricardo Alvarez.

Cesc Fabregas is taking a short break in his native Barcelona before he reports for pre-season training on July 5. But senior officials at the Emirates know there is already a media blitz under way in Spain hailing him as the signing of the summer. They know the European Champion are keen to exploit the situation to take Fabregas back to the club where his career began as a junior.

The clubs have had regular dialogue over his possible move, culminating in a verbal offer from Barcelona on Wednesday. Nou camp president Sandro Resell insists they will not pay over 35.5 million pound but sources close to the Spanish giants last night said they were increasingly confidents of sealing a deal before the end of next week - Latest Football News 

Women game set for big kick-off

World Cup fever has gripped Germany as the stars of the women game prepare to chase the ultimate prize in football in the Fifa women World Cup which kicks off here on Saturday. Brazil five-time player of the Year Marta and all time World Cup top scorer Birgit Prinz of Germany are among the big names who will headline the 51-million extravaganza which take place over there weeks in nine cities. 

Sixteen teams are battling for the top prize with over 670,000 tickets of the one million on offer sold. Five year after the successful hosting of the men's event, expectations are high that the German women game can bring glory to the host nation and capture an unprecedented third successive title. The tournament kicks off with Germany taking on CONCACAF champions Canada in Berlin 75,000 seater Olympic Stadium on Sunday with the final set for Frankfurt on July 17.

Interest in football women is higher in Germany than in many other countries and coverage for this year edition looks set to exceed all previous tournaments being broadcast to more than 200 countries worldwide. "The World Cup in Germany is going to be spectacular" said Brazil striker Cristiane. 

 "I played there and i know just how much passion they have for the sport and the structure they have at their disposal". 

Ridiculed in the past particularly for the poor quality of goalkeeping the women game has developed since the first World Cup in 1991 largely thanks to the technically sophisticated styles of players such as Marta, Prinz and former US star Mia Hamm. She earned 275 caps in her 17-year career, believes Germany will be difficult to beat.  

"I think they are really looking forward not only to putting on a great show but also to competing at the highest level in front of their home fans" said Hamm. Group women game matches run until July 6 with the top two teams advancing to the knockout rounds starting there days later.

Scholes blames himself for England failure

Paul Scholes blames himself for failing to make an impact on the international stage and has ridiculed suggestions he ended his England career because of Sven-Goran Eriksson. Scholes announced his retirement this week at the age 36, just over one year after Fabio Capello failed with an audacious bid to persuade him to make himself available for England's World Cup campaign.

If there are some who feel Scholes has hung up his boots too early, the belief that his England career ended before time is unanimous. The midfielder was just 29 when he called time on his International involvement having just accumulated 66 caps, a very low number for a player of such talent. " Maybe for half the games i played for England, I was all right," said Scholes. " My England career started quite well. In the first 20 to 25 games i scored quite a few goals. From then on it just didn't go as well as i would have liked. It was my fault for not playing as well as i should have done.

Scholes scored nine of his 14 England goals within two and a half years of making his debut and of the four he bagged during Sven-Goran Eriksson time in charge, three came during the Swede first six months in the job. As Scholes quit in the wake of Euro 2004, when he was moved into a wider position on the left, it was felt a resistance to being used in a role he did not like was a major factor.

However, he now declares that was not true. " That was rubbish," he said. "Some people said i fell out with Sven because he played me on the left, but that was never the case. I'd played on the left at Manchester United for a couple of seasons done well and scored a lot of goals. That was never an issue. It was just, for one reason or another it didn't work out.

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United off to West Brom for EPL opener

London - Champions Manchester United will kick off the defense of their Premier League crown at West Brom before facing Tottenham and Arsenal at Old Trafford, fixtures for the 2010/2011 season showed yesterday. United will travel to The Hawthorns on Aug 13 before consecutive home games against Spurs and old rivals Arsenal. Sir Alex Ferguson team will complete their domestic campaign with a trip to Sunderland on May 13 next year.

Arsenal meanwhile will open their season against Newcastle at St. James Park, where the Gunners squandered a 4-0 lead earlier this year as the Magpies battled back to draw 4-4. Arsene Wenger men then have a daunting home fixture against Liverpool before traveling to Old Trafford for their tie with United. Chelsea meanwhile open their campaign at Stoke before facing West Brom at Stamford Bridge.

Liverpool new signing Jordan Henderson will meet his old club Sunderland on the opening day at Anfield while newly promoted Swansea have a baptism of fire against Manchester City at East-lands. Swansea first home game will be against Wigan, meaning an emotional return for Latics boss Roberto Martinez who left the club two years.  

Swansea season concludes against Liverpool at home on May 13. Of the other Premier League new-comers, QPR make their return to the topflight after a 15-year absence at home to Bolton while Norwich travel to Wigan. QPR boss Neil Warnock said he was relishing the opportunity of leading a team in the Premier League once more. It just fabulous to be involved he told Sky Sports News. " When you see the fixtures it's so exciting. It doesn't matter who you play, the Premier Leagues is where we all want to be. It's just fabulous to be involved.

It other opening day games, Tottenham and Everton meet at White Hart Lane, Fulham and Aston Villa meet at Craven Cottage and Blackburn entertain Wolves at Ewood Park.

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Platini : Clubs losing local identity

Nyon - European clubs should produce their own talent and not buy in bulk from other countries, UEFA Presidents Michel Platini said on Thursday.

The Frenchman said he was not happy about Qatari investors buying a 70 percents stake in Paris St German, nor by last month's Europa League final in which Porto and Braga fielded 14 South Americans between them in their starting line-up.

I'm in favour of ( local ) identity, "the Frenchman said If Porto are in Portugal they should play with Portuguese players instead of buying left, right and centre from other countries. "You would think that the young players from Brazil and Argentina would be better playing off in their own championships," he added.

Asked if he approved of the South American influence on the Europa League final, Platini shrugged as he said "No, no and no." Platini one of the world's top players in his day, spent a good part of his career with provincial French clubs Nancy and St Etienne before moving to Italy's Juventus. This would be unthinkable in the modern game where nearly all the leading players move to big clubs in their late teens.

Platini was also unenthusiastic about the idea of foreigners owning clubs, including his homeland. Colony Capital the American owners of the capital city's only Ligue 1 Club, said last mouth it had drafted an agreement under which it would keep a 30 percents stake in the club and an unnamed Qatari investment company would by the rest.

I'm not so keen on foreign owners but they are the laws of England and France there nothing i can do, "he said. " You can have an owner from Qatar a general manager from italy a French coach and players from 25 countries."

"Football has always been based on identity, regions, countries, so I'm not a great fan of this idea and i played in a regional club, but then maybe I'm a bit old-fashioned," he added. 

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Qataris deny plans to buy Manchester United

Doha - Qatar Holding has denied reports it is planning to buy Manchester United, a statement from Qatar state-run news agency said. Qatar Holding Chief Executive Officer Ahmed Mohamed Al Sayed told Qatar News Agency that the fund was not and never had been, in negotiations to buy the club.

Qatar recently acquired a 70% stake in French top-flight team Paris St Germain. The Gulf state will host the 2022 World Cup.