Edin Dzeko Transfer to Manchester City May Not Happen if Bayern Munich Become Involved

According to a number of sources, Manchester City seems to be in the driving seat as far as signing Wolfsburg's Edin Dzeko is concerned.

The striker is one of the few top class strikers in the world today not residing in what would be regarded as a top club. However, the deal may not be as simple as a mere £25 million bid and buy.

Premier League Sack Race: Odds for Every Manager, Hodgson-Wenger-Mancini-Ancelotti-Grant

Who will be the next manager to get the sack in the English Premier League? Are Avram Grant’s days numbered? Does Wenger have to win a trophy? Can Roy Hodgson turn Liverpool around?

You wait around all season for the first EPL manager to be sacked and then two happen within the space of a week.

Chris Hughton’s and Sam Allardyce’s removals were both strange to say the least, as neither man was doing what would normally be considered as a bad job.

Whichever way you look at it, the money is the owners at the end of the day and they have the right to decide upon who takes the key roles in their organisation.

In the end, they make their own beds and have to lie in them…

Here we take a look at the odds for each manager and assess whose job is safe, or not.

Qatar 2022: The ASPIRE Academy Is Its Very Heartbeat

FIFA's decision to award the World Cup to Qatar in 2022 has received its fair share of criticism.

Most commentators seem to be condescendingly focusing upon the fact that the country is too small to host such a major tournament. There has also been mention that the country has no past footballing pedigree. The Middle Eastern peninsula does however have a growing reputation within professional sporting circles as being one of the locations of choice for major events over the last 20 years.

At the very epicentre of Qatar's hopes for 2022 will be the ASPIRE Academy. Since its inception in 2004, the Academy has risen to the forefront of leading sporting centres around the world. While Dubai and Abu-Dhabi have moved to attract the world’s business clientele, Qatar has taken quite a unique step and has looked to improve its name by becoming a centre for sporting excellence.

Keane And Owen Face Uncertain Futures After Being The Future Ten Years Ago

As the January transfer window closes, Michael Owen and Robbie Keane in particular face uncertain futures at their respective clubs, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

Rewind 10 years and these two players represented the future of the English Premier League. Owen was in his third full season as the main striker at Liverpool, while Keane had just finalised a dramatic transfer to Inter Milan after finishing top-scorer for Coventry City in his first year in the Premier League.

Both strikers represented all that was good about English football. Owen was the hottest prospect in the game and had held talks with Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal before signing for the Reds.

Keane was his English counterpart’s equivalent in Ireland and also had every major club scouting him before surprisingly moving to Wolves.

Now at 30, each player is surplus to requirements at their club...

Italian football is at a crossroads. Every direction is fraught with with danger.

However, one man can bring the glory days back and steer Italian society towards a new era. That man is probably the most important Italian footballer of all time—Mario Balotelli.

Trains, Planes & Automobiles: A Messi Trip to Osasuna for Barcelona

Barcelona’s most recent great run of form almost came to a "Messi" end tonight after the Catalan club almost failed to show up against Osasuna! The La Liga champions had believed that their game had been postponed until Sunday because of the wildcat strike by Spanish Air Traffic Controllers.

However, and much to Pep Guardiola's dismay, La Blaugrana found that the game had not been re-scheduled, and they had to leave the Catalan capital by high speed train with just hours to spare before kickoff.

In a mad dash, Barcelona's first team high tailed it to Zaragoza by train. They left their home city at 14:00 with the match scheduled to kick off at 19:00. Fortunately, the game was put back to 19:45, as Lionel Messi and Co. only arrived at the Reyno De Navarra at 19:00, leaving the travel weary team just 45 minutes to limber up for a crucial encounter.

World Cup Bid Reaction: Were Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022 the Right Choices?

The morning after the afternoon before and the dust has finally settled on Russia and Qatar's respective wins for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup finals. England's bid team is waking up from the mother of all hangovers wondering what exactly happened yesterday, and now the recriminations can finally begin.