“I am delighted to accept this hugely exciting opportunity,” said Pellegrini, who will begin his new job on 24 June. The club has a clear vision for success both on and off the pitch and I am committed to making a significant contribution. Roberto Mancini did a great job here in Manchester, especially to win the title after so many years. We now start a new cycle.

“I had other important offers from important clubs. The most important thing for me is I am sure we can make a great management team. I’m sure we have the best squad in the Premier League, wonderful players and can win more titles in the next three or four years in Manchester.”

Although Pellegrini will struggle to build up the same relationship with the fans that Mancini established, after his sacking he posted an advert to them in the Manchester Evening news, and the fans returned him one in an Italian magazine, a touching gesture.

Samir Nasri believes the appointment will be good for the team, and they will play better football as a result:

“All his teams play attractive football, that is what people want to see. You pay for tickets to go to football to see something great, and he is the kind of manager who can do it.”

Meanwhile Wigan have also announced their new manager, choosing former Bolton and Burnley manager Owen Coyle, who has made it clear he will be focusing on returning to the Premier League and the Europa League is not his priority:

“It’s unusual to be FA Cup winners and in the Europa League, but Wigan have lost their place in the Premier League. That’s a huge blow. The aim is to get back into what I consider to be the best league in the world at the earliest opportunity. We will do everything in our power to do that.”

Chairman Dave Whelan has also made it clear the focus will be on return to the Premier League:

“I’ve told him returning to the Premier League is the total and utter priority. It’s fantastic that we are in Europe but that comes second and he knows that the Premier League is where we have to be. It’s been no easy task but Owen has shown enthusiasm and passion from the moment I met him. He’s been there and done it with Burnley. He wasn’t so successful at Bolton but he had a lot of injuries and bad luck. People forget that. You need luck at times but he’s certainly got the passion, energy and enthusiasm I was looking for.”

“Chelsea Football Club and Bayer Leverkusen have reached an agreement for the transfer of Andre Schurrle. The deal is subject to the completion of legal documentation and related matters, including personal terms and passing a medical.”

Schurrle has been a long term target for Chelsea and they had a bid for him rejected last summer, given Chelsea’s long standing interest in him one cannot help but wonder if this was Mourinho’s decision or Abramovic’s. This will also put more pressure on Fernando Torres, or is he heading to the exit door?

Meanwhile Aston Villa have continued their summer signings, announcing the signings of Denmark Under-21s defender Jores Okare and Netherlands Under-21 midfielder Leandro Bacuna, as Lambert continues to build a young squad at Villam Lambert has spoken about his excitement over the signings, saying that despite their young age they still have a lot of valuable experience:

“Jores is only 20 years of age and that’s good but he’s also an international player at a really young age and he’s played Champions League football as well. I’m pleased that we’ve signed a player of his stature. He is someone who can come in and make a huge impact. He has played in big games but he’s a very humble lad and he will be a really good addition to our team. There’s a great opportunity for him here.”

“Leandro’s energy and versatility will be really good for us. He’s another player we believe will do well for us. He has played in big games and he has lots of experience for a player so young.”

Wigan meanwhile are closing in on a new manager, according to Chairman Dave Whelan:

“I expect to announce something on Friday. I still have two more lads to see. I’ve seen some great lads, top managers and it could be we have to speak to one or two of them again. The total priority is for the manager to get us into the Premier League,” he added. If he can do that then he’s done his job and he’ll be with us for a long time. I don’t like the thought of appointing someone just because they have specialised in the Championship though. That would be short term and I don’t want to bring someone in like that. You need to have them with you for five or six years to be successful.”

He has however said that those applying which are already at clubs will be less likely to get the job due to the financial implications:

“That’s something we have to take into consideration. Some of the managers I’ve spoken to are under contract and that means compensation, which would not be ideal.”

This is no way for the best player in the game to play, and it’s damn sure no way someone being compared to the great Michael Jordan is supposed to play! The media isn’t mentioning it, but James has looked mighty similar to the LeBron James who failed to show up in the 2011 Finals.

We all know that the moment was too big and that there was too much pressure for James in that 2011 Finals defeat to the Dallas Mavericks. He was destroyed by the media for the next year until they thought he got the monkey off his back with his first championship series victory over Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

But now that monkey is climbing up on his back again, and that monkey will be entrenched there if the Spurs go up 3-1 on Thursday.  The Spurs demolished the Heat in game 3 by a score of 113-77, winning by 36 points. James will have to step up big in game 4 by playing with more urgency, and by being more aggressive from the start of the game, if the Heat want to even this series up.

It would be one thing if James was just missing his shots … but he is just simply deferring, and then also missing when he does decide to shoot (7-21 in game 3). He didn’t attempt a free throw for the first time as a member of the Heat in the playoffs. That means that he isn’t being aggressive attacking the hoop and that he’s just settling for jumpers. That’s unacceptable for a player of his caliber. This is the reason so many people question his clutchness and ability to handle pressure. His play of late has done nothing to quiet that talk.

And you can bet that, that talk will get even louder if he isn’t more assertive in the remaining games in this series. I expect LeBron to come out gunning trying to put the team on his back in game 4, and I expect him to have a big game after being humiliated in game 3. But if that doesn’t happen then he deserves all of the criticism that’ll come his way, and this series will be over in 5 … maybe 6 games at the most.

Where are you at LeBron? We’re still waiting for you to show up and we’ll be tuned in Thursday night to see if you do!

The Spurs missed numerous open shots, threes, and layups. They got any shot they wanted all night…they just missed them. The Heat hit eight three’s, most coming in the first half, that won’t continue at that same pace the whole series. Tim Duncan can score at will downlow in the post. The Heat have no answer for him. The same goes for point guard Tony Parker, as we saw in the 4th quarter that he took over.

The winner of game 1 in the Finals have gone on to win the series 71% of the time. The series 2-3-2 format is also an advantage for San Antonio … especially after winning game one. You have to figure that the Spurs will win at least 2 in San Antonio, which would give them a 3-2 lead…assuming Miami wins game 2. This makes game 2 a must win for Miami, if they go to San Antonio down 0-2 this series is good as over.

Miami had the lead for a majority of the game but the Spurs never got rattled when they were down, they’ve been here before. They have the confidence, demeanor, and heart of a champion. They aren’t intimidated by the Heat like many teams are.  The Spurs also don’t beat themselves, they only had 4 turnovers in game one…zero by Tony Parker.

Of course Miami can come back and win the series, anytime you have the best player in the world and another top 10 player, you have a very good chance.  Miami led most of the game without LeBron having to do too much scoring. He was probably a little too conservative and needs to look for his shot more. They have a better chance if he is more aggressive.

Another positive for Miami is that the role players are showing up. They hit open shots. And Wade, while not completely healthy, looks better than he has a majority of the playoffs. Chris Bosh will have to be more of a presence in the post.

So you can’t count Miami out, but they are in trouble. The Spurs are a better overall team because they play better team ball. The Spurs aren’t afraid or intimidated by the Heat like most teams are. Miami played just about as good as they possible can, the Spurs played ok but pulled ahead when it counted like they usually do. The Heat played great and lost, the Spurs played decent and still won …yeah the Heat are in trouble.

“Of course we could do that. We could do more than that.”

He then went onto say that it would come down to whether or not manager Wenger thought the player was worth the fee:

“It is going to be the players that Arsene believes in. He is pretty blind to price tags, he looks at what he sees with his eyes and makes judgements based on that, not on reputations and prices.”

It’s well known that Arsenal have huge reserves of cash from the sales of key players over the last few seasons, and Gazidis says this will be added to with other revenue streams to create a transfer treasure chest for Wenger to spend:

“We have a certain amount of money which we have held in reserve. We also have new revenue streams coming on board and all of these things mean we can do some things which would excite you, but what excites Arsene isn’t necessarily what excites you. This year we are beginning to see something we have been planning for some time – the escalation in our financial firepower.

Although he has warned it may not be for a couple of seasons that the club will truly start reaping the benefits:

“That is going to happen partly into next season, it is part way available now in the summer, but the following season as well. It is a progression over the next two seasons and is quite significant for the club.”

He was also keen to end speculation that Wenger would be leaving at the end of his contract and would like Wenger to stay on in the long term:

“We have got a fantastic manager. We hope that he wants to do what he is doing for the long term. I believe he does. Quietly and at the right time I think we will make an announcement on a new deal when things are put in place. We have a great relationship and he has a great relationship with the board as well. We have got a lot of confidence in Arsene that he is the right person to take the club forward.”

“It was an easy decision. I asked the boss ‘do you want me back?’ and the boss asked ‘do you want to come back?’ – after a couple of minutes the decision was made. I’m very happy. I had to prepare myself to not be too emotional on my arrival at the club, but obviously I’m very happy.”

He has said that his priority at the club will first be to “improve the team” and the players which are already there

“By that, I mean work with the team. My work has to improve the players and the team. If I don’t do that I won’t be happy with myself. If after that we can further improve the team by buying couple of players, then fantastic – but I have to improve the team with my work.”

He will be beginning work on his squad immediately.

“I don’t need a holiday. I’m sorry that we aren’t beginning training tomorrow. I say to the players during the season when they are tired that victories make miracles. When you win, win, win, you are never tired. In my case, it’s about moving to a place I love. Happiness is stronger than tiredness.”

“I think it was a difficult moment because you know I love it here and I have a big connection with the club – it wasn’t easy for the club either. But if you analyse it, in a cool way, and leave your emotions aside, I think it was fantastic. I got what I aimed for in my career, while Chelsea also won more important trophies. We are now back together which is a great moment for both. We are ready to marry again and be happy and successful again.”

Frank Lampard will no doubt be delighted about this as he has a great relationship with Mourinho, and it makes his Chelsea future look a lot more secure:

“He’s a great manager, I’ve said it a million times to the point of boring people, but I’m very fortunate to have worked under him before. He took my game on a million miles, and my personality in terms of football on a million miles. A lot of the reasons I moved on in the game is because of him. He’s taken that winning mentality everywhere he’s gone with him. He creates a spirit in his squads that you can see from the outside is very, very strong. He’s a top-class manager, we all know that.”

Of course he may not be missed much in Spain, as he fell out with fans and players alike before his departure, Barcelona vice-president Carles Vilarrubi has also spoke about this, believing it is bad for English football:

“It is not good for English football. If Mourinho behaves like he did in Spain it will only be an unhappy relationship. In his three years in Spain he only created disagreements and arguments. I am happy he is leaving and so is everyone in Spanish football.”

It will be interesting to see how he reacts when he plays Manchester United next season, as everyone knows how much he wanted the United job, it wouldn’t be surprising if he developed the same resentment for United as he has for Barcelona, whatever happens, other teams should be worried after how well he did during his first period as Chelsea manager. The special one is back.

“We had lots of inquiries about the job, including some very interesting names, but we decided Mark Hughes was a fit for us. His record speaks for itself. He has done excellently by anyone’s standards. He’s also a thoughtful, intelligent man with an intense desire to win.”

Of course no one can forget Hughes’ disastrous stint as QPR manager, when despite spending a lot of money he was unable to get them out of the relegation zone, they failed to win any of their first 12 Premier League games last season and Hughes was sacked in November. Many are already claiming this is a bad appointment after his catastrophic failure at QPR, Hughes claims he will use this to motivate himself:

“I have listened to what people have said about my managerial ability and I can assure you I will use that as a motivation. If I am honest, we all tried to run there before we could walk. That was the mistake that we made. I made mistakes I will learn from.”

He said the solid ownership of the club was different to that at QPR:

“There is solid ownership at the club and you need that behind you to give yourself an opportunity to be successful. It’s not a case of wiping away all the hard work that’s been put in place in previous seasons. That would be crazy. But I would like to think I can make them a bit more offensive and maybe that’s where the club hasn’t helped itself in the past by not scoring enough goals.”

Of course the fans are not happy about this and have already organised protests before Hughes has even played a single game, Chairman of Stoke City’s Supporters Club, Bryan Shaw has said:

“From all the people available, he would not have been my first choice, although he has a reasonable record apart from at QPR. Not a lot of supporters wanted Tony Pulis back when he was brought back for a second spell in charge. That wasn’t a popular decision because of his style of football. Probably half of the fan base was against him at first but he won the majority over. There is a feeling Hughes is similar. If you ask the majority of Stoke supporters, Mark Hughes would not be their first choice. That said, whoever the chairman appoints we have to get behind. We just have to hope he proves us wrong.”

So are Stoke making a mistake? Well maybe, but probably not, if you don’t take the last couple of years into account, Hughes has a very strong managerial record, especially at Blackburn. He also did well at Fulham, which is a similarly sized club to Stoke, so Stoke fans may not be happy about the appointment, but protesting would be silly, they should get behind their new manager and hope he can lead Stoke onto bigger and better things.

“It all starts now for me because the minute we kick off next season we’re on a hiding to nothing. We’ve got to make sure we can compete and I want to stay there.”

When asked what he was going to do he replied: “scratch my head and wonder ‘just how are we going to stay in the Premier League?’”

“How much you spend on your group isn’t always what gives you success. It’s what’s inside their hearts and how much they work for you. To me they’re Palace heroes.”

He also commented on the future of Wilfred Zaha, as Palace may be able to loan him for another season now they can offer him first team Premier League football:

“I think he’d be silly to give me him back. Now we’re up it might be realistic, but who knows? Moyes will know the task he’s got. Mine will be staying up, his will be winning every week. Good luck to him and good luck to us.”

Zaha also said he was glad he could leave with a clean conscience after giving his all for Palace and getting the job done:

is all I wanted. I have been at the club for 10 years. I have nothing but love for the club. Going to Manchester United is good for me but I had to stay at Palace and get the job done. I was too nervous at first but after that, I thought it was just a game. I played how I know.”

The match winner Phillips also spoke of the joy of finally winning a play off final:

“It was magnificent to score the winning goal. I have experienced three losses in this game [play-off finals], so it was great to win. This promotion, with the money in the Premier League, means everything. The club can build to the future with some good young talent. This club can go from strength to strength. I do not know if I will carry on.”

So congratulations to Crystal Palace, but they will have a lot of work to do if they want to stay in the Premier League, as based on yesterday’s performance, they simply aren’t good enough at the moment.

Duncan has been the man the whole time and his Spurs haven’t missed the playoffs and have been one of the top teams in the loaded Western Conference annually. Now Duncan definitely had help from an aging David Robinson, an absolute clutch player in Manu Ginobili, and now one of the top players in the game in Tony Parker who is in his prime.

But anyone who knows the game knows that a dominant presence in the paint is always an advantage.  And it’s not like Duncan is just going along for the ride right now in his 16th season at age 37. He is still playing at a high level, averaging 17 points and 9 rebounds per game during the playoffs, having many question what he did to find the fountain of youth.

He just outplayed much younger all star caliber players in Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol as the Spurs rolled to a 4-0 sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies.

Now Duncan and the Spurs are headed to the NBA Finals for the fifth time. If they win and Duncan wins his fifth ring then there should really be no debate or arguments from the Kobe stans…I mean fans. But we know there will be. Duncan would be undefeated in the Finals compared to Kobe’s two Finals defeats and Kevin Garnett’s one Finals defeat. And let’s not forget that Duncan has been a great team leader, teammate, and defensive player his whole career.

And that fifth title will most likely come against the favored Miami Heat led by LeBron James, the greatest player in the game today. That would make Duncan and the Spurs 2-0 against James in the Finals…which will just add to the legacy of Duncan.

Duncan is undoubtedly the greatest power forward ever and a top ten greatest player in NBA history, although he rarely gets that acknowledged because of his “boring” style of play and personality. Being a class act doesn’t get you far when it comes to media hype and attention. But if he wins his fifth ring then they will have no choice but to acknowledge his greatness and give him his props as the best player of his generation.

For the record Allen Iverson should be mentioned with Duncan, Bryant, and Garnett as legends of that era. It’s just too bad he is being blackballed from the league right now which doesn’t allow him to cement his legacy and continue to showcase his skills.

“You don’t want the stamp of a loser. There was all the disappointment of last year but I personally also had the World Cup. That was three finals. It wasn’t so much pressure. I tried to make it into positive energy. I couldn’t start thinking negatively, otherwise it would be too difficult. Tonight I scored the goal. We did it and we can forget about the other things.”

Munich boss Heynckes says the foundations are in place for an era of dominance from the team:

“My successor will be able to take over a perfectly functioning team. We know Mario Gotze will be joining us and I don’t think Robert Lewandowski will be hanging about too much either. Of course Bayern Munich will have to prove they can continue to achieve these things but possibly a new era might have begun for the club.”

Germany captain Philipp Lahm was also delighted with the win:

“It’s incredible. A huge joy and huge relief,” “The pressure was enormous after losing in the Champions League final twice. We all felt that in the first 20 minutes but after that we played much better. If we lost a third final we didn’t know if we’d get another chance even though the club is in good shape and we’re all in the prime of our careers.

“The pressure was big all day but it was really enormous when the match started, something I’ve never experienced before. We said that if we want to be the golden generation then we have to win some international titles. That’s what people remember. Finally we succeeded in getting that.”

Dortmund manager Klopp vowed he would rebuild his team and come back stronger at some point:

“We will come back, maybe not to Wembley but we will try to come back to another final,” the head coach said. I have much work to build a new team. I think we’ll get a pretty decent team together, I wouldn’t worry about that. Now we have to go on holiday, and buy some players because others clubs want our players.”

“The team played a great game, they gave everything they had. They really deserved to equalise. I feel pride comes up in me and sadness goes away. It was a great season from my team and a really great match, perhaps the best match against Bayern in the Champions League this season. ”

He was also annoyed that Bayern defender Dante hadn’t been sent off Dortmund were awarded their penalty:

“I saw it in the game and I was sure you can give a second yellow card and when I saw it on television I thought you had to give it. But in the history of football there were refereeing decisions worse than this. 11 against 10 after that we are the winner? I don’t know.”

This is obviously great for Bayern, but how will incoming manager Guardiola view it? He left Barcelona because managing them was too easy and he needed a new challenge, he now finds himself taking over at the team which have just won the treble? Surely that will be even less challenging now that many view Bayern to be the best team in the world now?