Troubling Times for Jol if Dembele also Leaves

Fulham fans’ tough pre-season is about to get even worse, with reports Moussa Dembele is attracting overseas attention from Real Madrid.

Having already failed to tempt last season’s loan signing, Pavel Pogrebnyak, to stay at the club, the Cottagers have been fighting tooth and nail to prevent midfield ace, Clint Dempsey moving to Liverpool.

Now, news of Dembele’s proposed departure has left many Fulham fans scratching their heads in great concern about the future of the club. 

The Cottagers are currently 5/4 to finish in the top ten in the football betting tips on Betfair.

Dembele’s agent told Dutch newspaper, De Telegraaf, this week that Madrid were in contact with the player, and are not the first ‘big club’ this summer to have done so.

Such a transfer rumour – no matter how weak it may be – is likely to unnerve fans already bracing themselves for the departure of Dempsey.

Should Dembele also walk with Dempsey, manager, Martin Jol, will have seen five senior members of his attacking unit leave the club.

Their midfield looks incredibly weak already, with Danny Murphy’s transfer to Blackburn earlier this summer, and their forward line now lacks the experienced Andrew Johnson.

Dembele, who can play in attacking midfield or up front, is a central figure to Jol’s plans this season, but there is no way he can resist the lure of the Bernabeu should Jose Mourinho come calling.

Jol must start looking for a replacement now if he is to lose the Belgian star. The manager has already brought in Hugo Rodallega and Mladaen Petric, but these players were meant to boost the squad, not replace it.

Expect the search to continue deep into August, with Fulham’s start-of-season performances to be badly affected by any player loss from now on.

Love football? Keep up with the latest updates online: Betfair’s Michael Lintorn believes that Celtic will only have themselves to blame if another SPL team claims the title, next season.

Consistent Selection is Key to Euro Success - Fergie

Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, puts his team’s poor performance in Europe, last year, down to a lack of consistency in selection.

"Last season we changed the team too much and it backfired," Ferguson said, following his team’s exit from the Champions League in the group stages, and subsequent defeat in the Europa League at the hands of Athletic Bilbao. "It definitely won't happen next season - there is no chance of that,” he added.

Having led Manchester United to the Champions League final in three of the last four seasons, it seems that Sir Alex has now accepted that a change of approach is required, if his team are to regain the trophy, and this could mean fewer opportunities for the less established players at the club. 

"Over the last few years, we have used the group stage as an opportunity to play the youngsters,” Ferguson said.

However, after their failure to defeat either Basel or Benfica in the 2011/12 group stages, both of whom ranked poorly in the online betting, Fergie seems likely to stick with the older heads this year. "Basel were just an ordinary team and they showed that when they played Bayern," he added. 

Last season was the first since 2004/05 that the Red Devils failed to win any silverware, and the sight of arch rivals, Manchester City, winning the 2011/12 Premier League, and Liverpool winning the League and FA Cups is sure to spur Ferguson’s men on.

All at Old Trafford would welcome a strong start to their Premier League campaign; their first fixture is away at Everton on 20th August, and a win against David Moyes’, notoriously slow starting team would certainly give Ferguson’s side a well-needed confidence boost.

The Premier League predictions page on Bet365 indicates that United could struggle to dethrone City in 2012/13.

Can Carroll Shelve Record Curse?

West Ham United’s club record transfer bid for England striker Andy Carroll is a huge gamble for the Premier League newcomers.

The offer, thought to be around £17m, would see the Liverpool frontman become West Ham’s most expensive player; almost £10m more than their current record signing, Craig Bellamy. And should Carroll decide to leave Merseyside for the capital, West Ham’s chances of league survival will hang on one man.

For £17m on one player, unless you’re one of the top six clubs in England, is a huge gamble. Should West Ham sign Carroll for such a large fee, there won’t be much spare cash to throw around anywhere else. Allardyce may be confident that the rest of his squad is up to Premier League level, but clearly his front line is not ready if he feels the need to spend big on the England forward.

Carroll will be expected to hit the ground running, but a brief history of record-breaking transfers proves the price tag can often be too much to bear. Fernando Torres and Jose Antonio Reyes are two strikers this past decade that failed to live up to expectations when making respective big-money moves to Chelsea and Liverpool.

Middlesbrough fans will shudder in horror at the name of £12m flop Alfonso Alvez, while bench-warmer, Michael Owen, broke Newcastle’s bank at £16m in 2005. Carroll himself has failed to deliver at Liverpool, following his club-record £35m fee, and he looks set to continue in the footsteps of numerous flop strikers, should he stay at Anfield.

Upton Park may be the perfect destination for the big striker, who will no doubt fit into Allardyce’s style of play. But another record-breaking price tag may be too much for the forward, who has battled with that curse for the last 18 months, and could spell relegation for the Hammers if it goes wrong.

London 2012 may have gripped the nation, but the Betfair Champions league page will soon be attracting football fans, once again. If you cannot wait until next season for your betting fix, visit the Betfair Olympics Football website for the best picks for the Games.