What The Soccer Guys Are Reading – August 30,2010

Ronaldo could miss up to three weeks after injuring his ankle while playing for Real Madrid on Sunday. Courtesy Leslie Bay

Sky Sports — Injury blow for Ronaldo

The world’s most expensive player will be out for three weeks after getting injured during Real Madrid’s 0-0 draw with Real Mallorca on Sunday. Ronaldo picked up a right ankle injury and is expected to miss Portugal’s two upcoming EURO 2012 qualifiers against Cyprus and Norway as well as two league matches and the opening round of UEFA Champions League play for Madrid.

BBC — Villa to seek manager with Premier League experience

Caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald has Aston Villa in fourth place in the Premier League table after three weeks, but the club is looking for a more permanent replacement for the departed Martin O’Neill.  Villa’s management will be looking for a manager with Premier League experience to take the helm of the club as it looks to try and improve on last season’s results despite the loss of star James Milner and the resignation of manager Martin O’Neill. MacDonald has done a fine job leading the club, but a 6-0 thrashing a week ago to Newcastle was not a good showing the caretaker.

Boston.com — Hannover signs US midfielder DaMarcus Beasley

The former Rangers player was let go by the Scottish Premier League champions after his contract expired at the end of last season. Now, the U.S. international is set to join his compatriot Steve Cherundolo at Bundesliga club Hannover on a two-year contract. Hannover narrowly avoided relegation last season and has been looking to bolster their squad depth with inexpensive players.

The Guardian — Milan may bid for Manchester City’s Robinho, says Silvio Berlusconi

Silvio Berlusconi, AC Milan’s owner, has just signed Barcelona’s want away striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic on a loan deal and he is still looking for a few more parts to help bolster the Rossoneri squad. One possible move the the Italian club would be to try and strike up a deal with Manchester City for Brazilian Robinho. Robinho has fallen out of favor with City’s manager Roberto Mancinni and he is looking for a move out of England as he has not adapted to the style of play in the Premier League. While Milan are lining up more moves to improve their squad before tomorrow’s deadline, they could be seeing one of their best players from last season look for the exit. Striker Marco Borriello may be looking for a new club because the signing of Ibrahimovic means the Italian striker will have limited opportunities to play for the club this season.

Bradley Should Stay in Charge of USMNT

U.S. Men's National Team coach Bob Bradley guided the team to a the knock-out stages of the World Cup this year. Courtesy USSOCCER.Com

By Ryan Fleming

Those who watched last week’s United States, Brazil friendly may have seen Bob Bradley’s last game in charge of the U.S. Men’s National Team.

Despite the Yanks’ 2-0 loss to Brazil, the headlining story was whether or not Bradley had coached his last game for his country’s team. Bradley has been linked with various positions in Europe this summer, such as Fulham and most recently, Aston Villa.

The former Aston Villa skipper, Martin O’Neill left his post earlier this week under mysterious circumstances. The former Celtic boss, we now know, left his post because he didn’t agree with the team’s transfer policy.

O'Neill leaving Villa behind

Courtesy Dagur Brynjólfsson

By Kevin Koczwara

Randy Lerner has not had the best reputation as an owner in America. His Cleveland Browns bumble and fumble annually in the National Football League and the team looks to be on the bottom half of the NFL’s power rankings yet again this season. Lerner’s dealings in England get overshadowed in the states by his minimal presence in the owner’s box in Cleveland, but that is soon too change as Aston Villa fans and close to the whole of the population in Birmingham should soon be up-in-arms.

Martin O’Neill announced his resignation from the managerial post at Aston Villa yesterday reportedly because of disputes with management, specifically Lerner and the board, about the future of the club and the direction it was heading in. O’Neill managed and moved players on a limited budget while pushing the Birmingham club into contention for a top-four spot, European competition, and league cups. Now Villa will need to find a suitable replacement for one of the best managers in England who found himself in need of a change.