Roberto Mancini talked up Owen Hargreaves following his debut strike and performance at the Etihad Stadium last night. The Italian believes that on this sort of showing an England call-up will be inevitable, providing he can remain injury free.
Elsewhere in the papers Joey Barton suggested that his ruckus with Gervinho prevented a move to Arsenal; Andre Villas-Boas suggested his players were superhuman, while FIFA are forced to backtrack over Hayatou.
United eye Scottish starlet – Sky Sports
Mancini tips Hargreaves for England recall after City debut – Guardian
Barton: Gervinho ruckus halted Arsenal move – Daily Telegraph
My players were ‘superhuman’ – Sun
Owen is a scorer of great goals who, sadly, fell short of greatness – Independent
Deplorable chants of sick Manchester United and Leeds yobs branded disgusting – Daily Mail
Arsenal eye £10m Fiorentina winger (plus video) -Mirror
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Fifa forced to backtrack over Hayatou – Guardian
Tottenham plot January striker swoop (plus video) – Mirror
Wenger not in the mood to meet Gunners fans after disastrous start – Daily Mail
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With player power playing a more significant role in transfers these days it’s not common to hear of a footballer forcing a move for himself for those so called ‘football reasons.’
It’s becoming all too common seeing a player cry on in a newspaper or tweet he’s ‘gone as far as he could’ or ‘wants a bigger challenge’ in an attempt to engineer a transfer to a desired club. In a few rare circumstances these reasons are valid but 99% of the time money is the key motivation for moving.
Players crave the highest wage possible and clubs are struggling to meet their sky high demands. It makes better financial sense to give a player the move he wants rather than having him linger round a stadium he doesn’t want to call home any longer.
The lengths that some players go to in an effort to force through a transfer are at times comical. Scanning twitter to find a player beaming widely into a camera whilst lugging his expensive bag off an airport conveyer belt or spotting them having a secret meeting with the manager trying to sign them then walking out none the wiser when the flashbulbs are glaring are funny.
But 99% of the time their actions could pop the blood vessel that is quickly becoming more and more prominent on the brow of fans. Threats of striking, ridiculous twittering and lacklustre performances are all traits of a player who wants out. Fans crave loyalty in an age where players pledging their allegiances to a side means absolutely zilch. It all boils down to money and players engineer their moves to get the best deal for them even if it means moving to a team lower down the league.
So here you have it the Top TEN rogues who engineered their own transfer!
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Chelsea’s on-loan goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has claimed that he would like to play for either Tottenham Hotspur or Fulham in the future.
Courtois, who has been identified by Chelsea as the long-term successor to Petr Cech, is currently on a year’s loan with Spanish outfit Atletico Madrid.
The 19-year-old claimed that he is likely to spend a further year with Atletico before hopefully landing a temporary deal with Spurs or Fulham.
“Chelsea told me that I would spend two years in a team like Atletico. At the moment it is only one year, but if they want me for a second Chelsea are fine with that,” Courtois told Onda Cero.
“After that I would then spend one more season with an English club, like Fulham or Tottenham, to allow me to adapt to the English league.”
Courtois has kept five clean sheets in seven La Liga games this season.
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Article courtesy of Matt Wood from the excellent Clean Sheets All Round
Arsenal got a confidence boosting victory at the Bridge this afternoon in an absolute thriller in West London. While the Gunners have only lost one game in eight, an away win against the Blues could be the kind of result that could give supporters and the players the belief they can challenge this season.
At FFC this week we have seen a mixed bag of Gunners blogs that include a grave oversight by Arsenal; a long time coming for supporters, while Arshavin has been badly treated at the Emirates.
We also look at the best Arsenal articles around the web this week
Slowly becoming a scratched record at Arsenal?
Vermaelen and Mertesacker the ideal combination for O’Leary
A long time coming for Arsenal fans
A significant oversight by Manchester United and Arsenal
The lack of Plan B is hurting Arsenal most
Arsenal and Van Persie – What Could have been?
Bad player or badly treated at Arsenal?
Double deals suggest Arsenal have finally woken up and smelt the Coffee?
In defence of Theo Walcott
Why Dunk should think twice before being tempted by Arsenal and City’s advances
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Best of WEB
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PHW puts in a poor AGM performance, Wenger puts in a solid one + some exclusive tidbits! – Le Grove
Face like a Chamakh-ed arse – Online Gooner
Transparency Or Board Stupid? – A Cultured Left Foot
Wenger’s S.O.S – same old story? – Gunnersphere
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Meet The €9M Man At The Center Of Arsene’s Midfield Merry-Go-Round – Transfer Tavern
Thank Goodness Wenger isn’t English……. – Highbury House
Arsenal’s Transfer Radar Locks On To £3M Spanish Eye Catcher -Transfer Tavern
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Click on Mrs Van der Vaart to unveil the Premier League Wag XI
QPR and West Brom meet for the first time in the Premier League with both teams desperate to maintain their mid-table position after suffering disappointing defeats last week.
Neil Warnock’s Rangers men were beaten in a close game with fellow promoted side Norwich at Carrow Road last Saturday failing to build on their impressive win over Stoke seven days prior. It’s been a good start to life back in the Premier League for the R’s who sit pretty in 11th after being tipped to struggle after spending 15-years out of the top flight. The late recruitment drive from Warnock at the end of the transfer window bolstered the squad with some much needed experience from the likes of Joey Barton and Luke Young. Their influence and knowledge has proved invaluable in such a short space of time with the West Londoners already picking up some memorable results with the win in the Potteries and their victory over Chelsea ones that stick in the memory. However that win over the Blues stands as their only home success of the season with their form at Loftus Road a constant worry for Warnock with performances on their own turf proving to be drab. It’s a mystery as to why Rangers perform so poorly on their own turf with with three draws and two defeats from their six games at home not good enough if you want to stay in the top flight. Goals have been hard to come by at Loftus Road with a measly return of five goals at Loftus Road giving supporters hardly anything to celebrate. Summer signing Jay Bothroyd has struggled to make the step up to the Premier League despite scoring goals for fun in the Championship with Cardiff last season. It’s a problem that will need to be addressed with games against Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal on the horizon.
West Brom have a similar problem to their hosts with goals coming in short supply this season despite possessing a strike force of Shane Long and Peter Odemwingie. The latter has been out injured for most of the season and when he has stepped out for the Baggies he’s looked a shadow of the player that took the Premier League by storm last season. Long, on the other hands, has weighed in with his fair share of goals scoring four times as he continues his top flight education following his record breaking move from Reading in the summer. However boss Roy Hodgson will be unhappy with his side after they threw their lead away at home to Tottenham last week before going onto lose 3-1 dropping to 14th in the table having started the day in 10th. The Baggies have been frustratingly inconsistent this season losing or drawing very winnable games despite easily beating Aston Villa away and Bolton at home in the last month. Scoring goals is the main issue at the moment with Albion finding the net just 12 times in 13 games this season. Creating chances has never been a problem for them with James Morison, Jerome Thomas and Chris Brunt in midfield although the latter was the main culprit blazing a glorious opportunity over the bar against Spurs. The old adage of ‘goals win games’ comes into play and if West Brom could take half of the chances they create then they wouldn’t be sitting just five points above the drop zone. Despite that their form on the road is one of the big positives of their season so far and they’ll be confident of getting something out of QPR having won two and drawn three of their games away from the Hawthorns.
QPR – 11th
Last Five: Lost 2-1 v Norwich (A), Won 3-2 v Stoke (A), Lost 3-2 v Man City (H), Lost 3-1 v Tottenham (A), Won 1-0 v Chelsea (H)
Potential Starting X11: 24. R. Cerny 18. L. Young 35. A. Ferdinand 6. D. Gabbidon 3. C. Hill 11. A. Faurlin 4. S. Derry 7. J. Barton[C] 10. J. Mackie 32. S. Wright-Phillips* 10. J. Bothroyd
Injury News: Warnock has been dealt a serious injury blow with key players Paddy Kenny and Heidar Helguson joining Matt Connolly, DJ Campbell, Kieron Dyer and Rob Hulse in the Loftus Road treatment room.
Key Player: Shaun Wright-Phillips
The former Manchester City winger has become an essential part of the QPR side in such a short space of time since moving to Loftus Road at the end of August. His pace and directness gives the R’s an outlet every time they go forward whether it’s chasing a ball over the top or beating a man one-on-one. He’ll be expected to get at West Brom at every opportunity when they meet on Saturday.
Match Fact: Despite meeting each other 31 times in over 60 years QPR and West Brom have never contested a Premier League fixture. Their last encounter came in March 2010 with the R’s coming out on top with a 2-1 victory against the Baggies who finished runners-up in the Championship a few months later.
West Brom – 14th
Last Five: Lost 3-1 v Tottenham (H), Won 2-0 v Bolton (H), Lost 3-0 v Arsenal (A), Lost 2-0 v Liverpool (H), Won 2-1 v Aston Villa (A)
Potential Starting X11: 1. B. Foster 12. S. Reid 3. J. Olsson 33. P. Scharner 20. N. Shorey 14. J. Thomas 21. Y. Mulumbu 7. J. Morrison 11. C. Brunt[C] 5. S. Tchoyi 9. S. Long*
Injury News: Albion lost Zoltan Gera to a serious knee injury last week and it looks likely that the Hungarian playmaker could be out for the rest of the season.
Key Player: Shane Long
Despite scoring just two goals in his last nine games the Republic of Ireland striker has become a key player for the Baggies since his move from Reading. His tendency to play on the shoulder of the last defender and intelligent movement give West Brom’s creative midfield something to aim at which will come in handy against a relatively sturdy QPR defence.
Match Fact: The Baggies were victorious on their first ever trip to Loftus Road in 1948 winning 2-0. However their last 10 visits to West London have yielded just three wins, one draw and six defeats and with their last victory coming in 2008.
Last Time at Loftus Road
Championship
QPR 3-1 West Brom
Simpson, 13 Connolly, 18 Buszaky, 67
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Brunt, 36
Attendance: 14,578
Referee: Stuart Attwell
PREDICTION
Both teams are frighteningly inconsistent and struggling to score goals on a consistent basis which is alarming going into the hectic festive schedule. QPR have struggled to get going at home this season and will need to start wining games at Loftus Road if they are to maintain their lofty mid-table position. West Brom have similar problems although their form on the road has kept them well away from the relegation zone. A win for either side could spur them onto better things although a draw is the likely outcome.
Christmas can be a stressful and tense time for everybody, not just those involved in football. How you react under these conditions depends on your character. For example, Wolfsburg boss Felix Magath threatened to cancel his squad’s Christmas if they failed to overcome Stuttgart at home on the Saturday. You’ll be glad to know (unless you’re a sadist) that there’ll be celebrations in Lower Saxony after they edged out Bruno Labbadia’s side 1-0 at the VW Arena. One man though didn’t seem to coping so well with added pressure.
Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery would have been angered by events earlier on Friday where he was ordered to pay €2.66 million to his former agent. The former Marseille man appeared to let his frustration spill onto the pitch. After a fairly innocuous tangle with Cologne’s Henrique Sereno, Ribery earned himself a pair of yellow cards in under a minute as the Frenchman failed to control his emotions.
The Bavarians needn’t have worried as Stale Solbakken’s Cologne were insipid despite being handed a fantastic opportunity at the Allianz Arena. The game was goalless but the Billy Goats seemed content enough with the score line.
In hindsight, a big mistake as Heynckes side effortlessly cruised past the visitors with three second half goals. This epitomised Bayern’s season to date. At times, there have been some shaky moments both at home (Dortmund and Gladbach) and away (Hannover and Mainz). However, otherwise they’ve been ruthless as their impressive goal difference suggests. Mario Gomez’ remarkable knack of being in the right place at the right time has helped contribute to this significantly.
Nevertheless, just three points behind the leaders are fierce Ruhr rivals Borussia Dortmund and Schalke who both grabbed convincing victories on the weekend. The Black and Yellows made the long trip south to Freiburg who were dispatched 4-1. Despite being beaten in the derby three weeks ago, Schalke had the upper hand result wise this time round. The Royal Blues thrashed a hapless Werder Bremen 5-0 including a hat trick from Raul. Both Jurgen Klopp and Huub Stevens will be confident of challenging their Bavarian rivals in the new year.
Will either be able to catch Germany’s most successful club in 2012? The statistics would argue against it. This is the 17th time Bayern have been top at the halfway stage of the season. Only twice before have they failed to go on to become champions. It would certainly be a major shock should they not win with the players they have available to them.
Their mettle will be tested immediately in January with a trip to old adversaries Borussia Monchengladbach. The Foals ensured they’re still in the title shake-up sneaking past Mainz. Marco Reus, a man who will move to either Dortmund or Munich come the end of the season, returned from injury. He broke his toe in their derby victory against Cologne but Reus limped off towards the end after catching his foot in the turf.
This could be what decides the destination of the title – injuries. Three of the top four have certainly had key players missing recently and strength in depth is not abundant amongst the top teams in the Bundesliga. Of the title chasers though, Bayern Munich look best set, especially with Bastian Schweinsteiger returning. The winter break will ease any stress and tension amongst Jupp Heynckes’ ranks however, they should be warned. This is the Bundesliga and Bayern Munich have looked susceptible to the occasional implosion, even if it looks unlikely in 2012.
If you’d like to read more Bundesliga musings, then why not follow me on Twitter – @arhindtutt
Matchday 17 Results:
Bayern Munich 3-0 Cologne
Bayer Leverkusen 0-3 Nuremberg
Freiburg 1-4 Borussia Dortmund
Hamburg 1-1 Augsburg
Hoffenheim 1-1 Hertha Berlin
Wolfsburg 1-0 Stuttgart
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Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has stated that the club’s fans who booed Arsene Wenger in the club’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester United on Sunday should remember what he has done for the club.
The French manager replaced Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain with out-of-form Andrei Arshavin in the second half of the loss, much to the distain of some of the supporters.
The Poland international is full of respect for Wenger, and has stated that the Emirates Stadium faithful should stand by their coach’s convictions.
“No one will ever forget [what he’s done],” Szczesny told The Telegraph.
“I think he’s still doing a fantastic job and that’s not a question, really, his position at this club. He’s done a magnificent job over the 15 years and he’s still doing it now.
“So I don’t think his position at this club should ever be questioned. Fans have their opinion. They’re entitled to their opinion and they show it in the way they do. That’s fine with me.
“I think this club should be in the Champions League, year in, year out so I understand the manager’s point, absolutely.
“We’ve been there before and we’ve reacted very well. I think we’ll do the same thing again and make sure that this club goes in the right direction and we finish the season where we should.
“There’s a lot of pressure. Obviously, fans expect us to do better than what we’ve been doing. I’m confident we will pick ourselves up, we’ll win games and we’ll get our position in the Champions League.
“I’m not worried. I’m disappointed, obviously, but I’m still confident we can do it. It should be a big confidence boost for us, the likes of Jack Wilshere and Bacary Sagna coming back, Kieran Gibbs as well. They’re very important players for us.
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“Hopefully, we can deal with all the pressure that’s around us at the moment and live up to the expectations because these fans and this club deserve better results than it is has got in the last few weeks,” he concluded.
Harry Redknapp has suggested in the past that the level of abuse players are now receiving in the game is vicious and has begun to step over the line. Players like Emmanuel Adebayor are the constant subject of vile chants and abuse from ‘fans’ and it appears that although supporters should be entitled to express themselves, many are simply going too far.
Hurling abuse in football has long been considered acceptable as a form of passion. There has always been pretty shocking stuff chanted at football grounds, but of late the issue has come into the spotlight, with constant abuse and heckling of players in the most disgusting fashion. A few months back we saw the youtube video of the ‘fan’ teaching their four-year old to sing the crudest song about the Munich air crash emerged, highlighting the appalling behaviour that has become second nature to a lot of football ‘fans’. Of course not everybody goes about acting like this, and it is probably just a minority that are acting so atrociously, but it needs to be stopped, and clubs and the powers that be need to do more to cut stuff like this out of the game. Football is a beautiful game, but elements like this take the shine off and show its ugly side.
I’m not suggesting that fans shouldn’t be allowed to express themselves, booing an opposition team or player on the field is fair enough, it is part of the theatrical nature of the game, but the constant taunting and negative chanting is embarrassing for football, as well as clubs, and the areas the fans represent.
The constant ferocious stick that some players receive from supporters is simply too much. The level of abuse shown is simply pure hatred and footballers, as human beings, shouldn’t have to take some of the disgusting abuse hurled their way. How can you insult someone that you don’t even know?
It is difficult for players not to react to abuse, but it is a long established part of the game so they must try to ignore it. A player must be sensible in the situation and the worst thing they can do is react and incite it. We have seen players in the past, like Emmanuel Adebayor and Gary Neville, running the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the opposition fans after receiving abuse. Sure they had been getting horrendous stick all afternoon, but they have a role to play in the game and should have reacted with sensitivity, instead of further inciting the fans.
It has now become common for supporters not just to vent fury at the opposition, but also their own side. Alex McLeish and Arsene Wenger have taken the full brunt of fans criticism so far this season, with boos often ringing out around their respective stadiums. Having spent their hard earned money to watch the game, fans are perfectly entitled to express themselves and perhaps it is the only way they can get their voices heard, although I don’t see how it can be anything other than self-destructive.
Football is passionate, and displays of emotion are a vital part of the game we all love, but some of the abuse these days has stepped over the mark and the game doesn’t need to be ruined by this kind of behaviour. Booing is fine, but the kind of personal insults we often hear nowadays are too much.
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It can be difficult for players not to react when they are getting outrageous stick, human nature will scream at them to give a bit back to the supporters who are taunting them, but common sense must prevail, and they must continue to go about their game professionally and try and shut the fans up with their actions on the field. Supporters are perfectly entitled to vent their opinion and their frustrations, but it needs to be within reason. Some of the abuse currently hurled at players is disgusting and there is simply no place for it in the game.
Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish has stated that he understands Darren Bent’s frustration at picking up an injury late in the season, but has backed the striker to return in time for Euro 2012.
The England international suffered ankle ligament damage at the weekend, pulled out of the squad to face Netherlands and will now miss the bulk of the remainder of the campaign.
However McLeish has stated that Bent will return stronger, and in time for the tournament in Ukraine and Poland.
“I have texted Darren a couple of times and I’ve also spoken to him. Right now he’s not at the training ground and it will be a couple of days before we see him,” he told Sky Sports.
“But I know he is suitably gutted. It would appear to be the case that he may miss the European Championships, as the suggestions are he’s going to have to possibly get an operation.
“This would definitely rule him out of the Euros, but he’s still a young man and still has a big career ahead of him.
“He’s got a lot of life left in him yet. It’s a setback for everybody but I am sure he will come back strong and determined to get back among the goals on his return,” the manager concluded.
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Manchester City defender Micah Richards has backed Carlos Tevez to return to first-team action, and help the club in the race for the Premier League title.
The controversial Argentine forward has been on the sidelines this season at the Etihad Stadium, with his refusal to come off the bench against Bayern Munich compounded by his decision to go AWOL.
However, with Tevez returning to fitness and City struggling to find the net of late, Richards wants the South American back in contention.
“I’m a big fan of Tevez. I’ve always said that I love him,” the England international told reporters, published by The Daily Mail.
“There were games last season when he carried us on his own; games like this where he would get a 1-0 win for us.
“Ultimately, it’s up to the manager but I’d love to see him back.
“We need to go back and see where we’re going wrong, and why we’re not scoring as many goals as we used to.
“Teams seem to be defending better against us. We were scoring four, fives and sixes and now we’ve gone through a spell where we’ve been struggling to score,” the full back admitted.
Despite slipping down to second in the standings at the weekend, Richards is still confident over City’s silverware charge, and knows that the race will go down to the wire.
“It’s not over but with United it’s always going to be hard to pip them. That’s the most disappointing thing. Having been first for so long, we’ve now slipped down to second.
“The result against Swansea has made that game even more massive now. But Chelsea is the next one and that will be tough – it’s a game we have to win now.
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“We won’t give up until the end of the season. Everyone was saying last year when we got to the FA Cup Final that we wouldn’t win and it would be 20 years before we won a trophy, yet we did it. I still think we can do it again,” he concluded.