Tag: Portsmouth

Aiyegbeni Joins Coventry City On Short Term Deal

Yakubu AiyegbeniFormer Super Eagles forward, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, has joined league one side, Coventry City until the end of the season.

Aiyegbeni, who also has premier league experience with Middlesbrough, Portsmouth, Everton and Blackburn Rovers, has now penned a deal that would see him stay at Coventry until May 2017.

The 34-year-old recently returned to England, following a spell in the Turkish Super Lig side Kayserispor.

However, Coventry are looking to avoid relegation to the fourth tier of the English football.

Former Stoke City Winger, Jermaine Pennant Signs For Bury

Stoke City, Jermaine Pennant, BuryFormer Stoke City winger, Jermaine Pennant, on Thursday put pen to paper on a contract that will see him wear a Bury shirt for the remainder of the current season.

The Shakers, who confirmed the deal on their website, described the former Arsenal player as one “with Premier League, Europa League and Champions League experience, (and) who has commanded transfer fees of over £10 million”.

The 33-year-old began his career with Notts County in 1998 where he quickly progressed to earn a £2 million move to Arsenal in the January 1999 transfer window.

After five years at the Emirates, where he was loaned out to clubs such as Watford, Leeds and Birmingham City, he was eventually signed by Liverpool for a fee that was reported to be £6.7 million.

At Anfield, Jermaine also had time with Portsmouth on loan, before leaving to join Spanish side Real Zaragoza.

Following a two-year spell in Spain, he returned to join Stoke City with another £2 million fee being paid for his services.

Jermaine also spent time with Wigan and Wolves before heading abroad to play in India and Singapore.

He recently returned to the UK, training with Bury for a number of weeks before being offered, and accepting a short-term deal with the club.

During his career, Jermaine has made over 360 appearances, scoring 22 goals.

Jermaine will take squad number 38 while with Bury, as they wait on International Clearance before he can wear his first Shakers shirt.

Chelsea Sign Asmir Begovic From Stoke City

chelseaChelsea Football Club have announced the signing of Asmir Begovic from Premier League club, Stoke City.

Goalkeeper, Begovic, who is 28, has signed a four-year contract, and he becomes the team’s second signing of the summer, following the arrival of Radamel Falcao on a season-long loan.

Begovic told Chelsea website, “I am very happy to be joining Chelsea FC. After speaking at length to the manager, I feel like I can develop here and be an important part of this team. I am looking forward to meeting up with the team on Wednesday for the pre-season tour.”

Begovic had spent the previous five-and-a-half years with Stoke, having joined from his first professional club, Portsmouth, in early 2010.

Playing with Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium, he made 172 appearances, quickly establishing himself as first choice. He scored the Premier League’s longest-ever goal when he netted a clearance from inside his own penalty area against Southampton in November 2013.

Born in the former Yugoslavia, Begovic spent his childhood in Germany and Canada, representing the latter at the Under-20 World Cup before opting to play at senior level for Bosnia-Herzegovina.

He was their first-choice goalkeeper at their 2014 World Cup finals debut in Brazil, and has accumulated 41 caps so far.

Former Chelsea goalkeeper, Petr Cech joined Arsenal on a long-term contract for an undisclosed fee in June.

Begovic takes over the vacant number one shirt while Thibaut Courtois will retain his number 13 shirt.

Chelsea has also announced that Radamel Falcao will wear the number 9 shirt during the 2015/16 campaign.

Kanu Rallies Support For Super Eagles Coach; Keshi

Kanu Nwankwo has called for support for Super Eagles Coach Stephen Keshi from Nigerians for him to excel.

Touted as one of Nigeria’s football legends, Kanu made this comments after the Super Eagles encounter with the Harambee Stars of Kenya last weekend, a game that ended in a 1-1 draw.

He said the Eagles did well against Kenya as the boys did well enough to get a draw out of a game that was almost lost and also the pressure was on the Super Eagles and not Kenya.

The Super Eagles were able to get a draw in their 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers clash against Kenya, a clash its return leg will holding in Nairobi by June.

A former Portsmouth and Arsenal star, who during his days was known for his deft moves and mouth opening goals, said even as it stands the Super Eagles will qualify for the Brazil 2014 World Cup because if they can get a draw with this performance and after so much improvement they get a good game plan to add to it before the return leg then the eagles will be unstoppable

Kanu said the Kenyans came with a mind-set of playing a defensive game and this was difficult for the players to break apart.

He said Stephen Keshi needs the support of Nigerians in terms decision making with regards to players either for call-ups or substitution.

Portsmouth to punish Kanu for his absence in club

Portsmouth is considering punishing former Super Eagles captain Nwankwo Kanu for his continued absence from club activities while he stays in Nigeria.

The veteran striker missed training for a second day on Tuesday as his teammates took part in a double session at Fratton Park.

The reason for Kanu’s action is yet unclear to the club which he led to an FA Cup victory in 2008.

Administrator Trevor Birch said, “Kanu is back in Nigeria, that is the understanding from his legal adviser, who I have been speaking to. I don’t actually know why he hasn’t come back. You will have to phone him and ask him.

“What I do know, though, is we have not reached a compromise and he was due back on Monday along with the rest of the contracted players. Then he just didn’t turn up.

“Kanu must turn up for training, or this is a breach of contract.

“Whether it is sufficient enough to terminate his contract I don’t know at this stage, we will have to wait and see.

“He will have to be disciplined, though. What we intend to do is an internal matter. I cannot talk about that.

“However, if it is a continued absence we will have to bring in the PFA.”

 

Kanu,Yakubu Invited for Benjani Testimonial

Benjani Mwariwari the former Zimbabwe captain his made his plans on his testimonial match public.

The match which will be between the National team and an African all-star team made up of both retired and active players.

The game will be played on 26 May in Harare and invites were sent to players like Nwankwo Kanu, Yakubu Ayegbeni and Michael Essien to take part in the game.

So far the Zimbabwean footballer who last played for Portsmouth, where he played as a striker till he left in 2010 has invited about 25 players but hopes to have a total of 40 African players even though he said not everyone one of them will be able to make it.

Emmanuel Adebayor, El Hadji Diouf, Christopher Samba, Aaron Mokoena and Steven Pienaar are all likely to be asked to take part as well.

After playing for Auxerre in France, Benjani spent five seasons in the English Premier League with Portsmouth, Manchester City, Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers, where he rubbed shoulders with many top African players.

Benjani, 33, began his career at Lulu Rovers, Zimba Africa Rivers, University of Zimbabwe teams in Zimbabwe’s Division one and Air Zimbabwe Jets in the country’s Premier League in 1999. He moved to South African club Jomo Cosmos in 1999 where he met his mentor Jomo Sono, after impressing in the friendly match between South Africa and Zimbabwe that was played to commemorate the inauguration of Thabo Mbeki as the president of South Africa.[citation needed]

In 2001, he was voted PSL Player of the Season and PSL Players’ Player of the Season in South Africa.

Kanu’s Pompey Wages Deferred

Kanu Nwankwo the former Super Eagles Captain and other ex-international players who has played for English Championship side Portsmouth wll have to wait weeks to draw out their wages due to the club going into administration.

The Nigerian who joined Portsmouth in the 2006 summer will always be remebered for his key performances for the club during his period of lacing boots for the club

This will be the second time in three years the club will go into administration as the club’s financier, Vladimir Antonov, was charged in Lithuania for asset-stripping.

PKF Accountants & business advisers’ partner and joint administrator of the club; Trevor Birch announced that wages of certian employees of the club are to be defered on an on-going basis and are asking several members of staff to move from a full-time to a part-time role.

The move is to see to the redundacies in the club’s administration and to see to the survival of Portsmouth as a club.

It is not known when the players will be able to collect their full wages.

The club is currently in the 22nd spot on the 24-team log after they were deducted 10 points on account of entering into administration.