Arsenal Target To Sign Contract

Christopher Samba has been heavily linked to Arsenal during this Januarys transfer window, as Arsene Wenger searched the footballing world for a possible centre back to replace the injured Thomas Vermaelen. He will however, still be searching if the Blackburn manager, Steve Kean is to be believed, as he said that he he is hopeful that Samba will sign a new contract with the club within the next 24 hours.

Samba was angry at the dismissal of Sam Allardyce after the Venky's sacked the manager after taking over Blackburn. But despite threatening to quit Ewood Park it seems that, along with Ryan Nelsen, his anger has been calmed and is more settled at the club. Kean said:

"I am hopeful that there will be a contract announcement about Samba in the next 24 hours. I have spoken to the owners and I am hopeful there will be some positive information with Ryan having already come to an arrangement over a new deal.

"There was massive confusion early on [after Kean replaced Allardyce] and now we have the team captain and the club captain signing for us. I have never felt I did not have the players with me but it is only now, after I have signed a new long-term contract as manager, that I can sit down with the players without them asking: 'How long are you going to be here?'

"Now I can start to talk to the senior players, including Ryan, Chris and Michel Salgado, about their long-term futures at Blackburn."

"The players we have are enjoying working together. At the training ground I have never seen a group as tight as they are. As for what we can achieve, whether we can get European football here, I want another three wins and then see how far we can go."

Blackburn have just moved up to seventh in the League table after beating West Brom 2 - 0. Probably a good reason to stay when your team is ascending the heights of the Premier League table.

Ronaldinho's Turned Down England Twice Before - So Why Blackburn?

Now that the new Blackburn owners have confirmed that they have bid £6.2 million for AC Milan star, Ronaldinho, we must think up reasons as to why he would want to join less than glamorous Blackburn Rovers - other than the reported £130,000 a week wages.

The 30 year-old Brazilian has been subject to bids from both Manchester United and Manchester City in his career, and has turned down both of them. He turned a big money United deal down in 2003 when he chose to move to Spain and play for Barcelona, and he turned City down during Thaksin Shinawatra's reign in 2008 after a £25.5million bid - instad choosing a move to Milan. So why Blackburn now?

It would be great to see Ronaldinho playing in the Premier League, and although way past his best would bring a lot of skill and flare to England, just as he has at all the clubs he has been to, but it is understandable that people are a little shocked about Blackburn' interest.

He doesn't seem to suit their playing style, but I think the deal is most probably being done by the owners, and not the manager. The Venkey's have become unpopular among fans after the strange sacking of Sam Allardyce and have admitted that they know nothing about football. There are some names in football however, that everyone has heard because of the universal interest in such good players. Ronaldinho is one of them. Having won prestigious awards such as the FIFA World Player of the Year and the European Player of the Year among so many others, as well as playing for some of the best teams in the world and lighting up the World Cup in 2002 (and winning it), you don't really have to know football to know Ronaldinho.

The signing is one that would potentially bring a wider interest into Blackburn Rovers and one that would make the Venky's a lot more money through shirt sales and merchandise. They see owning Blackburn as a business and nothing more, much like many other owners of football clubs, and are only interested in making money.

Having said that, being the brilliant player he is (or was) will still add more quality to the Blackburn side, and might even attract other players who dream of playing alongside such a footballing legend, and would be a good bit of business - that is if they can persuade him to join over Brazilian club Gremio - the front runners for his signature.

“I had never watched a single football match in my life [before buying Blackburn]"

“I had never watched a single football match in my life [before buying Blackburn]". These are the words of new Blackburn owner, Anuradha Desai - said after taking over Blackburn Rovers. Sam Allardyce has been sacked, with no real reason other than they want "good football and Blackburn to be fourth or fifth in the league or even better" - aspirations that are not only ridiculously high for the outgoing manager, but any other manager coming in.

How then, can they decide as to whether the manager - vastly experienced and relatively successful at the clubs he has managed is not good enough, despite only seeing a few games of football with him in charge. Sir Alex Ferguson, a good friend of Allardyce said:

"I've never heard of such a stupid decision in all my life, it's absolutely ridiculous. I don't know what they're doing up there, but deary me. "

That is coming from a man who knows what it is like being a manager, under pressure - but in a job, as he sits in the position of being the longest serving manager currently still managing in the football league, and he is right of course.

Will the new Rovers' owner be one of those owners of a football club? By those I mean another Mike Ashley - recently sacking the excellent, widely supported boss, Chris Hughton. After all, it was the same Anuradha Desai that said of Allardyce after her takeover:

 "He deserves a chance"

and

"To this end the group have promised manager Allardyce funds to spend in the January transfer window."

That is - if he still has the job - which he doesn't, and so it turns out, both are lies on the part of the owners, as they falsely led Big Sam into a sense of security in his job - something that very few managers have these days.

The League Managers association said this:

"When new owners take over a club, sadly the manager's position often hangs by a thread."

If this is what footballing is turning into for managers, then it really isn't a good advert for any young managers wanting to come through and earn their trade. I think that the owners should only interfere when the situation is severe - or it is suggested that the clubs situation is balancing on that. Blackburn weren't, and a man who was being tipped for the England job finds himself out of a job all together thanks to a poor, poor decision.