The race for promotion to the Premier League is well and truly on, with eight runners and riders in contention for promotion this campaign – either through an automatic promotion spot, or a playoff position. Bournemouth are currently second in the table with two games remaining and are red hot favourites to secure automatic promotion.

Their supporters will be excited for Saturday’s clash at Dean Court and the stadium will be packed to the rafters. Although the capacity is just 12,000, Bournemouth have turned their ground into a fortress this year and will hope that, if they are promoted, their supporters will be equally as supportive during their time in the Premier League. We discuss the financial implications if the club decide to expand their stadium, and whether or not it is completely necessary…

Additional TV revenue
The club can avoid expanding their ground because of the additional television revenue that Bournemouth will receive for featuring in the Premier League. It used to be estimated that a club would earn, on average, £80 million more in England’s top flight than the Championship, but the latest gigantic television deal will surely mean that figure has risen.

Either way, there will be potential to invest additional funds into the stadium but their primary aim must be to avoid relegation and bring in experienced Premier League players to help the club stay in the top flight. If they can avoid relegation at the first time of asking, they should start to consider expanding the stadium.

More people will buy shirts
Naturally, more people will purchase Bournemouth shirts because they are in the Premier League. Local citizens will buy the jerseys as a way of showing that they support their local community and to show that they are proud of their team.

Home matches will sell out
It would be a worthy investment to expand the stadium as the majority of home matches next season would sell out. Bournemouth’s supporters have been excellent over the last few years, and the Cherries would find it very easy to fill another couple of thousand seats. If they installed another 6,000 seats – as proposed earlier in the season – then they would have a capacity of 18,000, which they would more than likely be able to fill on a weekly basis.

Verdict
Bournemouth don’t need to expand, as the increase in revenue through television rights, merchandise and season ticket sales should help to cover wage costs. However, they have the option to – and they should certainly consider it. It is extremely likely that they could fill their ground on a weekly basis and the increased support may help them in their tough first season after promotion. Their first aim, however, is to secure automatic promotion and avoid the lottery of the playoffs.

It’s almost certain that the Barclays Premier League is going to find a new winner this season as the reigning Champions, Manchester City, seem to be out of contention after their recent surprising defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace.

City has actually slipped to the 4th position in the points table and for them to be able to defend their crown from here on in would be an absolute miracle.

The manager Manuel Pellegrini knows it well and thus, he has forgotten the title for the time being.

All he is looking to do at the moment is to try and make his team secure more and more points and hope for the best. The latest betting at marathonbet.co.uk suggests that the bookies don’t think they will manage to get back to the top of the table.

City, mathematically, still has a whisker of a chance, but, they are dependent on the top two teams playing poorly and losing most of their games and that’s highly unlikely to happen.

Pellegrini came out in the press conference yesterday and he tried to be as realistic as he possibly could.

Speaking to the journalists, about the betting at marathonbet.com which gives City little hope of finishing the season as champions, the Chilean said, “I don’t have title in my mind at the moment. It’s just about securing as many points as we can and then, see where we finish off.”

“You can’t worry about things which you cannot control. We just have to make sure that we don’t lose too many points. The remaining game days are vital to say the least. We have to make each of them count.”

There is hardly anyone who is not surprised with the downfall of City off late. They have not looked the best side in the season, but, they were always tipped to be going to end at the no. 2 slot. However, the resurgence of the Gunners and also of Manchester United has turned the tables all around.

Tottenham Hotspur has had to deal with a lengthy court battle with Archway in order to try and solve some of the issues that the football club has been experiencing concerning their plans of building a new 56,000 seater stadium.

Earlier in the month of March, the English club announced that they had agreed to a deal where they have officially acquired the piece of land that was interfering in the stadium expansion process.

The Premier League club released a statement which read: “Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, Archway Sheet Metal Works Ltd and the Josif Family (Archway) are delighted to announce that a private agreement has been reached for the purchase of Archway’s property on Paxton Road by the Club.In order to allow Archway to relocate its business appropriately, the Club will not take possession of the land until later this year.”

The new 56,000 seater stadium will cost around $596.84 million and during the process when it’s being built, Tottenham Hotspurs will have to search around for a temporary place where they can play their home matches of the 2016/17 season. The Olympic Stadium and Wembley are some of the potential locations where Mauricio Pochettino and his men could be moving into in the near future.

The Archway Sheet Metal Works’ company was the only thing that was delaying the development of the stadium but now that it has been acquired, construction is expected to begin in a few months’ time as the Premier League club will give the company enough time for them to relocate all of their things before beginning construction and everything else.

Tottenham is planning to have everything constructed and ready in time for the 2017-18 season and it should be accomplished unless they face with a few more obstacles along the way.

Tottenham Hotspur is receiving a string of good news as the club has recently securing the services of Harry Kane at least until 2020 after the young player signed a new contract but there is also something else that is occurring which will benefit the club but it has nothing to do with the actual squad, it has to do with the stadium.

The English club has had plans since 2007 on increasing the capacity of the White Hart Lane stadium and it has now been revealed that the final roadblock that was interfering with this process has now been removed.

There was a piece of land that was preventing construction from being initiated but it has now been made official that Tottenham Hotspur has been granted the right to buy this remaining terrain that was standing in their way.

Re-development of the White Hart Lane can now officially begin and the club has predicted that this expansion from having a capacity of 36,284 to 56,000 will cost around €400 million and could be completed just in time for the 2018/19 season.

Archway Sheet Metal Works was the last piece of land that was preventing everything from kicking off but now Tottenham Hotspur have the freedom on acquiring it after having faced a lengthy legal dispute which initiated after the family owned business had rejected the idea of moving away from the piece that was interfering with the plans of the English club.

During the time that the stadium is being upgraded, Spurs will have to find a temporary stadium where they will be able to play their home matches and it still remains uncertain as to where they will be moving although there have been a few suggestions such as: Wembley, Milton Keynes, Upton Park and the Olympic Stadium.

Manchester City might not have managed to reduce the points’ margin between them and their title challengers Chelsea the other day at Stamford Bridge, but, Manuel Pellegrini walked out of the arena with his head held high.

The Sky Blues boss was all praise for his boys for their performance in that game which was sort of must win for the reigning champions. Now, with only fifteen matches to go, it’s still possible for City to be able to reach the top of the table, but they have to hope Chelsea slip up.

Chelsea just has to play one tough away match now and that is versus Arsenal. The rest are relatively easy. Yes, at Stamford Bridge they have to face a couple of strong opponents, but, they have been untroubled in front of the home crowd for most parts of the season. So, they should be fine in those matches – and their current Premier League odds of 1/5 reflect that!

In the game versus City, Chelsea, quite clearly, adopted a defensive style of play, but that was fair enough if you try to see from their point of view – they did not need a win, and a draw would keep them 5 points clear.

City, on the other hand, were firing on all cylinders as they had to, though it was all in vain as the result was a draw.

Pellegrini was disappointed not to have made the opportunity count, but, he looked happy with the fact that the effort was made. He refused to pass on any comment on Chelsea’s tactics though.

When asked about Chelsea focusing more on defence, the Chilean manager said, “That’s on you to analyse how they played. I would not talk about it. As far as we are concerned, we were there to win and we tried our hardest.”

David Villa believes his former side Barcelona will face a tough task when they face Manchester City in the Champions League last 16.

The two sides go head-to-head for the second year in a row at this stage, and City will be looking for revenge after the 4-1 aggregate defeat to Barcelona last season.

Villa, who scored 41 goals for Barcelona between 2010 and 2013, believes the tie will be a lot closer this time around after City struggled to cope with Barcelona’s dominance on the ball last season. The former Spain international told Manchester City’s official website: “I think it is a very close tie.”

Villa called the two sides “two of the best clubs in the world”. City are new to Europe’s top table, appearing for the first time in the Champions League in 2011, while opponents Barcelona are steeped in history, having won the European Cup four times.

If the English champions are to progress past Barca, it would be the first time they have been to the quarter-finals of the Champions League. That is a feat that the club’s board will be hoping for soon.

City’s owners have invested heavily in their squad in recent seasons, paying the price under the Financial Fair Play rules, in order to compete with Europe’s big clubs. City may have the financial clout to compete in Europe but their results on the pitch have been disappointing.

Manuel Pellegrini paid around £28million for striker Wilfried Bony in the January transfer market and the City boss will be hoping the Ivorian, fresh from the Africa Cup of Nations triumph, can spearhead the attack to European success.

The first leg of the last-16 tie is to be played at the Etihad Stadium on February 24 with the return leg at the Camp Nou on March 18.

At the time of writing, Barcelona were in the region of 21/20 to beat City. That suggest City have their work cut out in a similar scenario to their hopes of retaining their Premier League crown (7/1). It will be worth keeping an eye on for betting news and tips with blue square.

Lionel Messi got a goal in each of the games last season and the Argentinian has 37 goals in 33 games so far this season.

But Pellegrini will hope his new signing Bony can score the goals to take his side through, with the striker is 3.00 to score his first Champions League goal for City next week.

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has labelled Dirk Kuyt has one of the most underrated players he has played with.

The former Dutch international represented Liverpool for more than five years between 2006 and 2012.

He is right now playing with Turkish club Fenerbahce. Even though his Liverpool spell only brought him one major trophy in the form of a League Cup, he is widely remembered for the selfless work he did in his time at the club. Gerrard has played with a variety of top players during his time at the club. They include the likes of Fernando Torres and Luis Suarez.

For a player like Gerrard to give rich compliments to a striker who only scored 71 goals in close to 300 appearances speaks volumes about the performances. Liverpool recognised the contribution thatKuyt made over the years and allowed him to leave for a nominal fee of just £ 1 million in the summer of 2012. He has been part of the Fenerbahce team that won the title last season.

They do not seem keen on relinquishing the stranglehold they have on the title, as they once again lead the table after nine matches of the season. Their lead over second placed Galatasaray, though, is not substantial, as it is only on goal difference.

“Good question. Er… Didi Hamman, although everyone knows he is class, a lot of his work was for the team and not stand-out work.Dirk Kuyt was also someone who was very selfless, so probably Dirk and Didi, two quality footballers who put the importance of the team first,” said Steven Gerrard in a recent interview when asked about the best players he has played with him, but those who have gone unnoticed. Gerrard’s future at Liverpool is subject to debate as he has only a few months left on the contract.

Tottenham are reportedly close to finalising a short-term move to MK Dons while the new stadium gets ready for use in 2017. Tottenham have been looking at various alternatives in order to stage their home matches when the new stadium comes close to completion.

Spurs are set to enter into the elite clubs once the new 50,000 plus seater stadium is ready for use. The club will be spending major portion of the money through the sales of sponsorships and prime real estate in London. Spurs have considered the possibility of sharing the ground with the likes of West Ham.

Even though there are major rivals across Europe, some of them share the ground with the most famous being the Milan teams. AC Milan and Inter Milan play their home matches at the San Siro. Hence, the possibility of playing the home matches along with West Ham appeared to be a distinct possibility. Stumbling blocks in that deal seems to have forced to Tottenham to look elsewhere. Despite MK Dons’ stadium being almost 50 miles away from North London, it looks like being the short-term home for Tottenham. Around 18 matches will be played as part of the deal.

West Ham’s reluctance to not share the Olympics stadium with Tottenham is undoubtedly a major blow since it would have been ideal for fans. The possibility of sharing the ground with arch rivals Arsenal had been ruled out from the first instance. MK Dons’ stadium has a capacity of just over 30,000. It is slightly smaller than the White Hart Lane, which has a capacity of just over 36,000.

Despite the small capacity, it is understood that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy was very much impressed with the facilities on offer. “As we have said, we will not be commenting on speculation concerning any individual venues and continue to explore all options,” said a Tottenham spokesman.

Shinji Kagawa’s decision to make a move away from Manchester United was influenced by the statements made about him by the new Red Devils’ manager Louis Van Gaal.
Kagawa’s teammate at Borussia Dortmund, Sebastian Kehl, disclosed that in an interview of his yesterday.
As per Kehl, United actually never gave a home like feeling to Kagawa, but, he still pursued his career there somehow and was willing to get his contract finished, but, after hearing what the new boss thinks, it was almost impossible for him to prolong his stay there at Old Trafford.
In that interview, Kehl, who is a German play maker, said, “Shinji is certainly relieved to have come to Dortmund. He had been finding it a bit awkward at United of late and also, a few statements were made about him by the manager there. So, there was no choice left for him at the end.”
“He is a bit of a confidence player. He needs backing which he was obviously not getting at United. But, it will be a little different here at Dortmund. He will be backed and given all the confidence here and I am sure he will come up with some smashing performances.”
The Dortmund bosses have secured the Kagawa deal at just 6.3 million Pounds. It’s too low a transfer fee for somebody who is as talented as Kagawa and is also in his mid twenties only and people can’t quite understand how the Red Devils let the Japanese midfielder go at such a small amount.
Kagawa never lived up to the reputation with which he had come to Old Trafford, but, it would also be fair to say that he could have been managed a bit better during his 2-year tenure.

Tottenham Hotspur had been waiting for almost 2 years for the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles to approve the purchase of the Premier League club as they acquired the last piece of land that was needed for them to actually begin working on building the new stadium.
Spur has wanted to increase their stadium as well as offer their supporters something fresh and new for them to experience on every visit to their matches and the plans of the club include making a huge evolution and change with a stadium that is expected to have a capacity of around 56,000 seats.
In order to accomplish this, Tottenham has worked out for the past few years trying to buy up and move around local businesses located around the area where they are trying to implement and build the new infrastructure which will also offer all of the people that travel there a new supermarket, hotel, megastore and other projects that are still being worked out.
Tottenham announced news of their progression in relation to the new stadium through their official website as it said: “The club is pleased to announce that the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has confirmed the Compulsory Purchase Order made by Haringey Council in respect of the remaining land required for the Northumberland Development Project. The club has used the intervening period productively and has refined detailed design of the stadium in order to ensure it is future-proofed and optimized’’
If everything goes according to plan, the stadium will cost around £400m and its expected to be done in 2017.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said: “This scheme is supported by the locally determined development plan for the area and has received strong local support.”
With this final chunk of ground that was bought by Tottenham they can start working on building their project as the club had already secured more than 95% of the area that was needed.