Want-away Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano finally got his wish today as Liverpool have accepted a bid of around £18 million from Barcelona for the Argentina captain. Mascherano’s relationship with the club reached an all time low on Monday when the Argentine withdrew himself from the squad to face Manchester City. Mascherano’s decision to withdraw from the squad came about due to the fact that Barcelona had tabled a bid for his services and both he and manager Roy Hodgson felt that he was “not in the right frame of mind” to play for the club. Mascherano’s refusal to play for the club even though they pay him an exorbitant amount of money to do so is hugely disrespectful and unprofessional.
It is disrespectful to the fans who have paid their hard earned money to support the club and watch their players play, only for one of their best to mock their loyal stupidity by refusing to play and leaving the team severely depleted. It is a huge disrespect to a club of the stature of Liverpool for a player to openly demand a move from such an exalted club; a club which rescued Mascherano from his West Ham nightmare and helped to establish his reputation as one of the world’s premier defensive midfielders.
His selfish actions have threatened to disrupt the harmony of the team. Following his withdrawal from Monday’s squad, reports surfaced that a number of senior players confronted Mascherano in training about his decision to omit himself from the team. I’m pretty sure that if he was available, Hodgson would have played Mascherano on Monday evening. Therefore, Mascherano’s decision to leave himself out would have seriously comprised Hodgson’s tactics and formation for the game- and so it proved as Manchester City ran out convincing 3-0 winners against a disjointed Liverpool team which lacked the steel and intensity that Mascherano would have undoubtedly brought.
Macherano’s decision to effectively go on strike until he gets his move points to how player power is increasingly getting out of hand. This offseason has seen a number of players refuse to play for their clubs in an attempt to engineer a move elsewhere. We have seen it at Stoke City where goalkeeper Asmir Begovic has not featured following interest from league leaders Chelsea. We have also seen it at Fulham where another coveted goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer has found himself out of the team after handing in a transfer request.
Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson deserves huge credit in standing up to the pressures of player power. He refused to be bullied and only agreed to sell Mascherano on the club’s term and not on the player’s.
Mascherano should be ashamed of his actions. He refused to play for the club but still colleceted a sizeable wage packet for his disloyalty. The PFA and FA should step in to curb this problem before player power threatens to spiral out of control.
For more football chat, follow me on Twitter.
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Click on image below to see the gallery of Mario Balotelli’s stunning girlfriend
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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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In a follow up to the TOP TEN Best moments of the season earlier this week, today I focus on the worst moments of the season, so far. These moments are the worst in the sense that I could not really believe what had happened – for negative reasons. These moments are sensational but are not good for the game. They are more lowlights than highlights that football as a whole could have done without.
I am not going to focus on the worst decisions, I will leave that for later in the year. I am sure everyone will want to have a say on which decisions were the worst and which were most influential. The worst moments for me are ones that have made the Premier League a worse division. I am not intending to criticise the league at all, instead I just want to pick out moments of the season that have been bad for the game.
Of course these will not be every team's worst moments. Arsenal fans will probably think the League Cup final or home defeats to Tottenham and Newcastle were the worst moments of the domestic season. Likewise a Tottenham fan will rue picking up only 1 point from 4 games against the bottom 4 sides in the League. Every side will have their own 'worse moment'.
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Click on Rooney below to see the TEN Worst Moments of the season
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Listen to the first episode of our brand new podcast – The Football FanCast. Featuring Razor Ruddock, Gary O'Reilly and Toploader's Dan Hipgrave makes a special appearance!
Blackburn Rovers boss Sam Allardyce has reacted calmly to reports suggesting that his club could be in line for a big-money takeover.
Indian businessman Ahsan Ali Syed is reported to be heading up a consortium aiming to take charge at Ewood Park, with a potential transfer pot worth up to £100million being mooted.
However, Allardyce is aware that even if a deal goes through, the money will not be available to spend in the current transfer window.
He told reporters:"Chairman John Williams tells me we can't get the deal done any sooner than maybe even as far as the end of September.
"This transfer window will be well and truly shut at the end of August, so that will not allow us to do anything between now and then.
"If it becomes a reality, that would be obviously very, very exciting, but at the moment it is still in the process of negotiation.
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"The chairman says to me it would be almost impossible to think that any of that money might be available before the end of this window.
"So we continue down the same line as we have all summer and bring in another frontman if we can find him."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
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.
Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger believes the gap between Europe’s top nations and its minnows is narrowing.Germany continue their qualifying campaign for the 2012 European Championships when they play host to Group A cellar dwellers Kazakhstan on Saturday.
The 2008 European runners-up are five points clear on the group’s table with straight wins over Belgium, Azerbaijan and Turkey, as well as a 3-0 win at Kazakhstan.
But Schweinsteiger cautioned his team-mates not to expect an easy victory when Kazakhstan visit Kaiserslautern, saying minnow nations no longer feel fear at the thought of taking on top sides like Germany.
“It is not easy to scare those teams out of the stadium anymore,” Schweinsteiger said.
“They improve and they learn more these days. Maybe in the past you could go there and devastate them.”
“Today you have to show a good performance in order to achieve a good result.”
“If you look at the match against Azerbaijan last year, we could have only won 2-0 there (Germany won 6-1).”
A visit from Kazakhstan will also serve as preparation of sorts for Germany’s friendly with Asian Cup finalists Australia on Tuesday, though Schweinsteiger said Joachim Loew’s side are more concerned with clinching their berth in the Euro 2012 finals.
“The next three qualifiers (against Kazakhstan and at Austria and Azerbaijan) are very important for us.”
“If we win we can achieve a lead against Austria, Turkey and Belgium. The others will steal points off each other. Therefore it is even more important to win the game on Saturday.”
Schweinsteiger also took the time to defend national team-mate Mirslav Klose, who has not scored a goal for Germany or at club level in almost two months and has fallen behind Mario Gomez in coach Louis van Gaal’s pecking order at club side Bayern Munich.
“He is a very experienced player, who also shows cleverness and knows how to handle certain situations,” Schweinsteiger said.
“Even if it is not very easy for him at the moment, you can see his engagement in the training sessions in Munich.”
“We should be happy to have a striker like him in the background behind Mario Gomez. Gomez and him, they are both quality players.”
Harry Redknapp has committed his long-term future to Tottenham Hotspur by penning a new contract that will keep him at White Hart Lane until the end of the 2012-13 campaign.
The veteran former Bournemouth, West Ham United, Portsmouth and Southampton boss replaced Juande Ramos as manager in October 2008 when the club were in danger of being relegated.
He successfully guided Spurs into mid-table that season before presiding over a fourth-placed finish in the Premier League last term.
A brief statement on the club's official website read:"The club is delighted to announce that we have extended the contract of manager, Harry Redknapp, until 2013.
"Harry guided the side to fourth place in his first full season with the club, our highest league finish since the Premier League's inception, with the prospect of competing in the Champions League for the first time this coming campaign.
"The achievement earned him the Barclay's Premier League Manager of the Season award."
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At the weekend it was reported that the 63-year-old had turned down the chance to manage Dubai side Al Ahli in order to stay with Spurs.
Redknapp's side face a two-legged play-off next month as they attempt to win through to the lucrative group stage of the Champions League.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Real Madrid attacker Lucas Vazquez has told Liverpool that he will not be joining the club this summer following their Champions League final defeat, according to Don Balon.
What’s the story?
The Spanish publication reports that Reds manager Jurgen Klopp has been keen on Vazquez moving to Anfield to provide competition for Roberto Firmino.
However, the Spaniard – valued at £22.5m by Transfermarkt – reportedly decided on Saturday night that he does not want to join the Merseyside outfit following their Champions League misery.
The Reds were beaten 3-1 by Madrid in Kiev, and the collapse began after Mohamed Salah was forced off the pitch 31 minutes into the clash with a dislocated shoulder.
Loris Karius made two big blunders in goal, allowing Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale to strike, while the latter hit a stunning bicycle kick to take the headlines.
Vazquez has struggled for game time at the Bernabeu, and made just 16 starts in La Liga last season.
However, Don Balon reports that the attacker now wants to fight for his position in Madrid.
Will Liverpool struggle to sign stars?
If the Merseyside outfit had won the Champions League, then their position in the transfer market would have been boosted.
Financially, the club would have pocketed a tidy sum, and their reputation would have strengthened.
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It was not meant to be, though, which may cause some players to second guess whether joining Liverpool is the right option.
Klopp’s side have shown throughout the campaign that they are moving in the right direction, but they are not quite at the level to challenge the Real Madrids of the world.
Players that fit the manager’s mould should be excited by the prospect of competing at Anfield, but the club may need to work a little harder to get deals over the line.
West Ham United will have to endure an FA Cup Third Round replay after failing to beat League One outfit Shrewsbury Town on Sunday.
The underdog home side actually dominated large portions of the game and were unlucky not to secure a massive cup upset, but David Moyes managed to hold out to bring the tie back to the London Stadium.
The Hammers failed to create much on the afternoon despite a strong side being named, with only four changes from Thursday’s draw against Tottenham Hotspur.
Fans were disappointed with the result and performance, with plenty of criticism aimed at striker Javier Hernandez in particular.
The Mexican international looked far below his best and now hasn’t scored since October, a run of nine matches without hitting the back of the net.
Supporters are looking for more from the striker but some have lost patience completely, believing he should move on to a new club this month.
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They took to Twitter to share their thoughts on his performance…
While Manchester City continue to wipe the floor with anyone who visits the Etihad, their away form in any competition remains a worry for Manuel Pellegrini.
The Chilean manager will be aware of the pressure he faces to win a trophy in his debut season at City and he will have noted the Capital One Cup as one piece of silverware he has every chance of lifting.
But he his players face an in-form and high-flying Championship side in Leicester City who will have already dispatched Premier League Fulham, and they’ll be confident of an upset at the King Power Stadium.
But where will the key battles be on the field between a team desperate to prove themselves against top-flight opposition ahead of a possible promotion and a City side struggling on their travels?
Kasper Schmeichel v Costel Pantilimon
The former Manchester City keeper failed to impress the management during his time at the Etihad and, after five loan spells, was sold to Notts County in 2009. Since then the 27-year-old Dane has proven to be one of the best shot stoppers in the Football League, and he’ll be eager to prove City that it was a mistake to allow him to leave the club.
Pantilimon has had his first sniff of first team football for City in recent weeks, after Pellegrini dropped Joe Hart, and he won’t want to give his first team spot up easily.
It’ll be a battle between a former Manchester City understudy and a current one, which should prove interesting. Either way, with Leicester looking good for promotion to the Premier League, Schmeichel will have plenty more chances to prove a point.
Anthony Knockaert v Jack Rodwell
Jack Rodwell’s time at City has been a frustrating one, plagued with injury and having to compete with some of Europe’s best midfielders for game time.
But the Capital One Cup gives him the perfect opportunity to show manager Pellegrini that he can be an important asset, although he will have to deal with a French attacking midfielder who is improving with every game at Leicester.
Knockaert is becoming an influential member of Nigel Pearson’s side as they chase promotion back to the top-flight and could provide Rodwell and City with a number of problems if he is given the time and space in front of the defence, with his ability to hit the target from long range a real threat.
Lloyd Dyer v Gael Clichy
Dyer’s pace on the wing has led to him being an important fixture in Leicester’s side since 2008. He’s netted five goals so far this season – two in the Capital One Cup – and can be a thorn in the side of any defender he runs at.
Clichy likes to get forward at any given opportunity but, if Dyer sees a lot of the ball, he could spend a lot of the game defending.
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Dyer’s impact on the wing doesn’t just get him goals, but he regularly turns provider and, if Clichy can keep him quiet all game, Leicester’s attacking threat will take a hit.
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