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Mark Hughes has quashed speculation linking him with the manager’s job at Bayern Munich, insisting he is fully committed to Fulham.Reports have suggested that Hughes, who took over at Fulham at the beginning of the season after Roy Hodgson’s departure to Liverpool, is on the shortlist to take the reins at the German club after confirmation current manager Louis van Gaal would leave at the end of the current campaign.But the Welshman denied he was considering leaving Craven Cottage.”I wasn’t aware that I was in for the (Bayern Munich) job,” Hughes said. “I’m not interested as I am quite happy here at the moment.””If an opportunity presents itself in the future then we will see, however, I am not even considering looking at the moment.””I am enjoying my time at the club and I think we are going in the right direction. I think if we can invest more in the players next season I believe we can kick on. That’s certainly my focus at the minute.”Hughes’ side face Everton this Saturday, and the Fulham boss hopes to have midfielder Dickson Etuhu available for the game at Goodison Park.Etuhu aggravated a hamstring injury against Blackburn a fortnight ago, but Hughes may be handed a major boost by the midfielder’s return to fitness.”Etuhu twinged his hamstring last week but he trained today (Thursday). We will just have to wait and see how he does tomorrow,” Hughes said.But despite the possibility of a return for Etuhu, fellow-midfielder Steve Sidwell will not be available for the trip to Merseyside because of a knee injury.The game, which is the Premier League’s late kick-off on Saturday, looks set to be a tight affair with Fulham sitting 11th in the Premier League, only two places behind Everton.However, Fulham are yet to pick up a point at Goodison Park in the Premier League and have only scored five goals in their last nine games at Everton in the league.

Blackpool have completed the signings of four players just a matter of days before their Premier League season-opener against Wigan Athletic.

Seasiders boss Ian Holloway has been frustrated over a number of potential targets, but has finally landed defender Craig Cathcart and midfield trio Elliot Grandin, Malaury Martin and Ludovic Sylvestre.

Twenty-one-year-old centre-half Cathcart joins for an undisclosed fee from Manchester United on a three-year contract, having failed to break into the first-team set-up at Old Trafford.

His only senior experience came during loan spells with Plymouth Argyle and Watford.

French winger Grandin, 22, heads to Bloomfield Road from Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia, with the former Caen and Marseille wideman having agreed a two-year deal.

Martin has impressed during the pre-season campaign with Holloway's side and the 21-year-old has penned a one-year contract to seal his switch from AS Monaco.

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Finally, Sylvestre, 26, has signed a two-year contract to head to England from Czech club Mlada Boleslav, having played twice for Barcelona earlier on in his career.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Italian football hasn’t had a great decade. Corruption, debt, plummeting crowd attendances and a subsequent decrease in league status have plagued a period in Italian football that won’t leave many feeling nostalgic. Champions League victories for Inter (2010) and Milan (2003, 2007) and the brief tenure of Jose Mourinho spiced up life in Serie A for moments in an otherwise uncompetitive era. We can look to our Mediterranean counterparts with a vague sense of sympathy and superiority but the reality is that in this country that we are not a million miles away on many of these issues. Italy is there to serve as a warning for Premier League clubs, in the same way that the Bundesliga should stand out as a positive example. The fate of our league rests with a few laws and attitudes and we would do well to pay heed to the situations in nearby countries.

Whilst corruption may be endemic in football it seems to be arguable that the Premier League is relatively clean cut in comparison to Italy and Turkey, however the other issues are more pressing.

Club debt

The debts of Serie A clubs can be seen as a metaphor for their national economic crisis. For years they have simply borrowed and spent too much whilst doing little to increase their actual revenues. The combined revenue of the top three Italian clubs for last season (as stated in Deloitte’s Football Money League) was €166m which was significantly less than that of Spain’s top three (€295m). English clubs too have a long way to go before they reach the commercial heights they should be. Only Man Utd is anywhere near to reaching its potential but they still lag behind the Spanish giants by around €50m. The astronomical debts of Chelsea, Man City and Man Utd don’t really bare thinking about in comparison to their revenues and although they have wealthy backers the FFP rules will make for uncomfortable times at the top of the English game. Club debt at the end of 2010 reached over £2.5b for the Premier League clubs alone, a figure that has surely risen in 2011 due to increased club spending from clubs such as City, Chelsea and Liverpool (The Guardian). Italy’s combined debt for all three of its top leagues was recorded in 2010 as €2.9b (World Soccer), and they think they’re having a crisis.

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Attendance

Attendance in Italy has been a real problem recently with the average for the league at just over 23,000 for this season, a drop from last seasons tally (ESPN). Although England’s is considerably higher at around 34,000 this figure too has fallen from last season despite the presumed increase in popularity for teams like Man City. Teams like Arsenal and Man Utd make a considerable amount of their money from their stadiums but if we look at the risks we face in domination from the top few clubs whose spending power vastly outstrips the rest of the league then we can see a startling similarity to the reason Italian football is experiencing low crowds. This has been perpetrated by the unequal television rights distribution that was only changed back to collective selling two years ago. People like Liverpool’s Ian Ayre should take a look at Italy and their forced abandonment of individual television rights before they start clamouring for it.

Obviously there are huge differences between the Italian and English leagues; the pace and style of the football here is considered to be more entertaining hence its worldwide appeal. However that doesn’t mean that there aren’t warning signals for us to heed coming from Italy and other nations whose leagues are infested with unmanageable debt and a lack of competition. Instead of waiting for FIFA or UEFA to take action perhaps it is time the Premier League attempted to combat the rising and unsustainable spending in our league.

Follow me on Twitter @H_Mackay

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Swansea’s challenge for an automatic promotion spot took a blow after a 2-1 loss to lowly Preston North End in the Championship.Trailing Norwich by just one point heading into the match, Swansea knew a victory away at bottom-side Preston could move them back into the top two.

Ashley Williams? 24th minute goal looked like it would at least give Swansea a share of the points after Iain Hume scored from the penalty spot on three minutes for Preston.

But a second from Hume in the 83rd minute gave Preston a much-needed three points, while Swansea drop down to fourth.

It was a much different story for Norwich City, who cemented their top-two spot with a 6-0 hammering of 10-man Scunthorpe United.

Scunthorpe were already a goal down when Paul Reid saw red in the 31st minute and Norwich went for the kill after that, with both Grant Holt and Simeon Jackson scoring hat-tricks.

Cardiff City broke their four-game winless streak and moved into third with a 4-1 thrashing of Derby County.

Jay Bothroyd, Dekel Keinan, Paul Quinn and Peter Whittingham were all on the scoresheet for Cardiff, with Robbie Savage’s late penalty a mere consolation for Derby.

Leeds jumped to fourth after a 4-1 win over Nottingham Forest in a heated battle at Elland Road.

The dismissal of Forrest?s Chris Cohen in the first half saw tempers boil over, with several scuffles breaking out across the pitch.

It took Leeds until the 51 minute mark to make the most of their numerical advantage, with Jonathon Howson eventually putting them ahead.

Luciano Becchio doubled their lead soon after only for Garath McCleary to pull one back for the visitors on 65 minutes.

A late double from Max Gradel settled the matter, consigning Forest to their eighth successive game without a win.

A Shane Long double gave Reading a 2-0 win at home to Portsmouth, while Coventry City won by the same margin against Watford.

Ipswich Town won 2-1 on their trip to Burnley thanks to first-half goals from David Norris and Connor Wickham, while a late penalty from James Vaughan gave Crystal Palace a 2-1 win at home against Barnsley.

A last-gasp goal from Shane McManus salvaged a 3-3 draw for Middlesbrough against Leicester City after a Yakubu hat-trick had earlier put the visitors 3-1 up.

Britsol City beat Doncaster Rovers 1-0 courtesy of Nicky Maynard’s 76th minute goal.

You may love or loathe the transfer windows but it certainly has most football supporters fixated to the rumour mills on a daily basis. I don’t know many fans that don’t go straight to the BBC’s gossip column as a first port of call every morning, before they move on to SkySports.com. Most of what is written is complete tosh; however it doesn’t stop many buying into what they have read. I guess everyone just loves a rumour, despite how outlandish they might be.

One thing that does amuse me about those who bite at the rumours is their sheer naivety and this belief that the club have a bottomless pit of money and cannot understand why player X Y and Z won’t be playing for their club next season. There is a lot to be said for a little bit of realism and general understanding of the complexity of club finances. Sometimes players have to be sacrificed in order to raise funds to strengthen elsewhere, or clubs have a restricted budget due to incompetent owners or the need to finance new stadia. Money doesn’t grow on trees and therefore clubs have to live within their means.

So what about your club this summer? No doubt you have been taken in by some of the rumours, poured cold water over some and I’m sure there is a long list of players that you will be happy to see the club cash in on during the coming weeks. The transfer window, with the exception of City, has been somewhat constipated up to this point, although I’m sure it won’t be long before the transfer storm starts to erupt.

Who would you like to see arrive at the Emirates during the next five weeks, and equally who should be issued with their P45?

Click on image to see a gallery of the BEST BABES at the World Cup this summer

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Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has stated that the signature of Scott Parker in the summer was a personal victory for him, as some board members were opposed to his addition at White Hart Lane.

The England international joined Spurs from London rivals West Ham for a fee in the region of £5.5 million, and has been a major factor in four straight league victories for Redknapp’s men.

Despite Parker winning the FWA Footballer of the Year award last term, a number of Tottenham executives were against his signature due to the midfielder’s age.

“The hardest signing for me was Scott Parker,” Redknapp told The Telegraph.

“It wasn’t a deal that the club were crazy about, and I could see their point of view. Scott had a four-year contract at West Ham and he was on big money, by our standards. Tottenham don’t pay the wages that Chelsea or Manchester City do, so there would be quite a gap.

“There was a feeling that bringing in Scott, 31 years of age and with no sell-on value, could be a problem. I argued that it was what he could give us this year and next that could make the difference. Daniel [Levy] backed me on that,” he stated.

Tottenham have a tricky away game against Newcastle this weekend at St James’ Park, who have also had a strong start to the campaign.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Liverpool’s Pepe Reina has been linked with a move to Old Trafford- along with nearly every other goalkeeper on Europe- for the past few months.

With transfers between United and Liverpool about as common as a City trophy win, the smart money is on Reina plying his trade at Anfield next season.

At least if he comes to Old Trafford he won’t have to put up with Giggs scoring past him

However recent comments the Spanish stopper has made to the press indicate that like Fernando Torres, Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano, Reina may not be all that enamoured of Liverpool Football club.

According to a report in the Guardian Reina said: “Liverpool is still Liverpool and always will be bigger than any player. The club belongs to its fans and the fans’ loyalty is to the club – not a player or a passport. Kenny Dalglish was absolutely right: anyone that doesn’t want to be at Liverpool can leave. Players will come and go.”

“I am not, announcing my departure – far from it. I’ve said lots of times I’m very happy in England and comfortable at Liverpool.

“But I’m not prepared to swear eternal love to anyone. That’s impossible. Any player who says that is lying. I can’t say much because I have a contract with Liverpool. But eternal love doesn’t exist. No one is master of his own destiny. When a player is at club he has to give everything – that is all you can ask of him.”

Reina’s refusal to ‘swear eternal love to anyone’ has already been seen as a delcaration that he is willing to move away from Anfield.

With Sir Alex Ferguson desperate to find a replacement for the retiring Edwin Van Der Sar before the beginning of next season, could Reina be the ideal replacement.

With plenty of Premier League not to mention Champions League experience, Reina could arguably be the perfect man to take over the number one shirt.

Would you welcome the Liverpool man at Old Trafford?

Read more of Justin’s articles at the excellent Red Flag Flying High

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Manchester Untied boss Sir Alex Ferguson has dismissed suggestions that a mystery injury was behind Wayne Rooney's disappointing World Cup form.

Rooney failed to find the net during England's dire campaign in South Africa which was ended at the last 16 stage by Germany.

The 24-year-old struggled to live up to his pre-tournament billing as a potential Golden Shoe winner and his below-par performances have led to suggestions of fitness problems.

Rooney missed the end of the last domestic season with ankle and groin injuries but was continually declared fully-fit by England coach Fabio Capello during the tournament.

Capello's assessment of the striker, who has scored 25 goals in 64 international appearances, has now been backed by Ferguson.

"There is nothing wrong with the lad or his fitness," he told The Mail on Sunday.

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"He's relaxing on holiday in Barbados and I expect him to come back refreshed for the new season."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has admitted that Emmanuel Adebayor must take a pay cut if he wants to secure a permanent deal at White Hart Lane.

The Togolese striker is currently on loan for the season at the North London club from Manchester City, and has scored three goals in four consecutive Spurs’ victories in an impressive start to his time with Redknapp’s men.

Despite the fact that he seemingly has no future at the Etihad Stadium and would be available at a cut-price transfer fee, Redknapp has admitted the forward will need to take a drop from his current £150,000-a-week wages.

“If Emmanuel maintains his current form I would love to keep him but his wages are going to be a major stumbling block, that’s for sure,” the coach told The Sun.

“I have no idea how much we are paying towards his wages at the moment as the chairman [Daniel Levy] deals with those issues but I suspect they are massively subsidised by City.

“The only way we can realistically get a deal done is if Emmanuel is prepared to take a substantial pay-cut and put his football before money,” he concluded.

Spurs continue their march towards Champions League football with a trip to St James’ Park on Sunday.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Tottenham missed out on Andy Carroll this January, and the effects of not having an extra striker are yet to be seen. But Spurs have been linked today with a £15m deal for Connor Wickham, 17, of Ipswich Town. He is physical, young and English, much like the former Newcastle striker. He might seem to be a perfect plan B to the recruitment of Andy Carroll, but is he the real deal?

There is no way that Wickham will be as good next season as Carroll has been this. I saw Wickham play a lot at the start of the year, at home and away at Sheffield United, Millwall and Portsmouth. There was a lot of hype at Portman Road over him, mainly due to his performances at the back end of last year and in International youth games. He also scored a great goal which Kevin Beattie described as the best he had ever seen at Portman Road. This definitely put him on the map…

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However, in the early part of this season Ipswich were not playing well, and nor was Wickham. He was more noticeable for his white boots than his performances in the games I watched. He was always good in the warm-up – he impressed me with his first touch, and finishing, but he did not demonstrate this talent during the match itself.

This was partly down to Roy Keane trying to ‘protect’ him (using him as a sub), and partly down to the way Town were playing. But the good thing about this dip in form is that it reminded people that he is still just a kid and not to get carried away with how good he is at the moment, he is certainly not ready to be exposed to the Premier League.

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Let’s face it, £15m is an awful lot of money for a 17 year old. Connor Wickham may be bigger than most full-grown men, but he has only just begun his career in football. Andy Carroll, on the other hand, proved he was good enough for a top side. He was overpriced at £35m, but he will no doubt eventually prove his worth, he could have ten good seasons at Liverpool.

However, under Paul Jewell Wickham has played every game, and he is really starting to come good. Last week he scored his first hat-trick, against Doncaster. He played a good game at the Emirates recently too. I think he has all the potential and attributes needed to be a top striker, he is skilful with his feet, powerful and good in the air.

As we have seen, his form has increased with his pitch-time, the last thing he needs is to be signed by a Premier League club and to be put on the bench. If Tottenham do sign him in the summer, I would like them send him back to Ipswich on loan for another season where he can continue to progress and work at his game on the pitch.

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With this in mind, he may well be the next big thing after Andy Carroll but he is not the next best thing. He will not offer the immediate impact that Carroll would have done. Spurs still need a top-class striker and while Connor Wickham might prove to be one in the long run, he is not ready to play every week in the Premiership just yet.

If Tottenham are going to spend money, I would rather see them spend £30m on one serious striker than £15m on the next big thing. Wickham needs time to develop. Tottenham need an striker now. For what he will cost, I don’t think Spurs can afford to spend their money on a development project.

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