[EN] Premier League 2004/05 (7 Viewers)

Chxta

Onye kwe, Chi ya ekwe
Nov 1, 2004
12,088
Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has revealed Ashley Cole wanted to see his salary tripled in recent discussions with Highbury officials.

And he also raised fears at the rise in "player power" in the wake of the Bosman ruling.

"If you take someone like Ashley Cole, he has another two years to go," Hill-Wood told the Evening Standard.

"He wanted something like three times what we are paying him. We said we can't do that."

Cole, who is believed to be on a salary of £27,000 a week, and his agent Jonathan Barrett have been involved in negotiations with the Gunners.

It is thought the club turned down an inital demand of about £70,000 a week but then put forward a "final offer" of £55,000 to the player, which Cole is reported to have rejected.

The England defender was also recently involved in a two-day hearing into the "tapping up" affair with Chelsea.

Cole is accused of approaching Chelsea and the Blues, manager Jose Mourinho and chief executive Peter Kenyon have been charged with approaching him.

Hill-Wood added: "We have no control over the players now, they control us.

"The Bosman system has meant that the power is really in the hands of the players and their agents now. You can't stop players leaving.

"Talks are still going on with Ashley Cole, as they are with Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Freddie Ljungberg.

"I want to make it clear none of them have been a problem to us, none at all. And they all have two years left.

"Because of that, we have to re-negotiate now. But with Bosman, we haven't got any cards to play if they say they don't want to sign a new contract."

Earlier on Thursday, Wenger said he believed the Cole saga had damaged the club's season, while Chelsea have escaped without any ill-effects.

He told BBC Radio Five Live: "Damage has been done to Arsenal. What happened has influenced our season but it didn't influence Chelsea and we have done nothing wrong."

A two-day inquiry into the meeting between Cole and Chelsea - which allegedly was held at a London hotel in January - ended on Wednesday.

The independent commission will now consider its verdict and announce its decision on 1 June.

Wenger believes that the hearing - and any subsequent punishment - have come too late to have any effect on Chelsea.

When asked what punishment he wanted to see handed out, Wenger said: "It's up to the Premier League to decide that.

"I don't think they will be harshly punished, which should have been done a long time ago. A harsh punishment is first of all a quick punishment."
 

Nicole

Senior Member
Sep 16, 2004
7,561
Ryan Giggs will enter United's top ten all-time goalscorers if he scores against Arsenal in the FA Cup final on Saturday.

Giggs, who has scored 131 goals for the club, is currently the club's 11th highest scorer and will overtake Tommy Taylor in the rankings if he scores at the Millennium Stadium.

Yorkshire-born Taylor, powerful in the air and a lethal finisher, joined United in 1953 and reached 131 goals in just five years with the club before his tragic and untimely death in the Munich air disaster, in 1958.

Paul Scholes (127 goals), and Ruud van Nistelrooy (125) are also close to adding their names to the club's elite list of goalscorers.

But Giggs appears the likeliest current player to break the top ten. The 31-year-old is also the club's third highest appearance maker, turning out 620 times for the Reds. Only Bobby Charlton (753 appearances) and Bill Foulkes (682) have appeared more often.

Giggs returns to Cardiff, his city of birth, chasing another record; he and Roy Keane could become the first players in 114 years to win five FA Cup winners medals.

The pair were involved in the 1994, 1996, 1999 and 2004 cup victories. The record of five winners' medals is held jointly by three players. Blackburn's Jimmy Forrest was the last player to achieve the feat.

Forrest earned his fifth FA Cup medal when Rovers beat Notts County 3-1 in 1891, equalling the record set by Arthur Kinnaird (Wanderers and Old Etonians) and Charles Wollaston (Wanderers).
 

arc

Senior Member
Mar 11, 2004
4,078
++ [ originally posted by m_elayyan ] ++
Today the FA Cup Final , i hope we will see the good match
im exhausted after my 3 hours examination (i guess i failed too)
maybe i should hit the bed instead of watchin the match :down:
 

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