In an eventful festive period of Premier League action, there was controversy at the Liberty Stadium as Swansea City took on Manchester United.
Swansea captain Ashley Williams and Man Utd’s Dutch forward Robin van Persie came to blows after the Welshman kicked the ball at van Persie’s head after the whistle had gone to halt play.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, rather sensationally, said after the match: “Robin van Persie is lucky to be alive. It was a disgraceful act from their player.”
Here is van Persie reacting angrily to Williams, but can you come up with a funny caption for this picture?
Leave your suggestions below…
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Fulham boss Martin Jol has once again stressed his desperation to keep hold of key defender Brede Hangeland.
The Norwegian giant is out of contract at the end of this season and will be available to leave Craven Cottage for free unless he pens a new deal.
Jol has confirmed that the 31-year-old has been offered an impressive contract to stay at the club but he is yet to make a decision.
West London rivals Queens Park Rangers are said to be at the front of the queue to snap up the experienced defender and they may even make a cheeky bid this month.
Jol is clearly worried about losing his best defender but he hopes the clubs ambitious signings such as Dimitar Berbatov and Mladen Petric could convince Hangeland that they are on the same page.
Hangeland is a fans favourite for the Whites but Jol knows that bigger clubs may well be after his signature come May.
“We will try to do everything that we are capable of to keep him,” Jol told Sky Sports.
“There is a contract and the only thing for him to do is sign it.
“Players like Brede, if they have a decent history and are playing well for their clubs, then there will always be an interest.
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“I thought he was quite happy to stay here. Of course, he wanted to know the mission of the club, who is coming in because there were quite a lot of players going out.”
Liverpool FC manager Brendan Rodgers won’t have been best pleased this week, particularly for someone that prides themselves on their relations with the media, that both Martin Skrtel and Luis Suarez, for different reasons, have divulged their thoughts to the press precisely at a time when the whole side needs to present a united front down the home straight.
With just 11 Premier League games left to go until the end of the season, Liverpool sit in eighth place in the table, ten points adrift of Chelsea in fourth place but with a relatively kind fixture list left to come, they must still retain hopes of clinching a place in Europe for next term even if it’s the Europa League as opposed to the preferred pipedream of the Champions League.
Nevertheless, with Bayern Munich circling around the team’s star performer this year, Uruguayan international Suarez, that he’s chosen to bat his eyelids at their overtures so brazenly points to a likely transfer saga in the summer, with the club battling to hold on to him, while Skrtel has unwisely chosen to air his dirty linen in public over a lack of playing time.
Is is thought that Pep Guardiola, Bayern’s incoming new manager for next season, has placed Suarez right at the top of his wishlist in the summer and is willing to use his brother Pere, who represents both parties, to try and help broker a deal, which would likely have to be around the £40million mark to even tempt Liverpool.
Of course, the only questions that Suarez will field from reporters now are about his future, and like a dog with a bone, they won’t let it go no matter how many times he attempts to convey his happiness at Anfield, but there’s been a noticeable softening in his stance of late and there’s real concern that he has had his head turned now.
The 26-year-old told reporters this week: “If Bayern Munich makes an offer I would certainly be willing to listen and think about it. It doesn’t mean I will definitely leave, it just means that I will not automatically reject other clubs.”
[opinion-widget op]
In all honesty, playing for the German champions under Guardiola for a side truly capable of competing regularly for top honours each and every season on the continent is a difficult offer to turn down, but this is the sort of statement that can only lead to more questions in the future and it’s simply inviting pressure.
Meanwhile, 28-year-old centre-back Skrtel has taken to the media to try and get across his dismay that he has fallen behind both Daniel Agger and the retiring Jamie Carragher in the pecking order recently, but it really is as simple as this – if he had been playing well enough, he wouldn’t have been dropped in the first place, but a series of sloppy errors, and a terrible performance against Oldham in the FA Cup appear to have sealed his fate under Rodgers and it would be no surprise if he was moved on at the end of the season now.
Skrtel told Denik Sport this week about his concerns: “We have (spoken) but it is not ideal. He (Rodgers) told me something on this, gave me some explanation, but it’s hard to tell if it was the true reason he gave me.
“I don’t think it was and think there is something else behind it. Anyway, I’m not the type of player who would be chasing the coach and be in his office all the time, asking for explanations why I’m not playing. I have never done this, I’m not doing it now and I never will be.
“If the coach wants to tell me something, he will summon me. The coach has his ideas about the line-up and the question is if I would be in it if I was fit. I would say it’s likelier I wouldn’t. For three years at Liverpool I was playing in almost every match and even in the national team I have played a lot of games. I have had various thoughts but certainly I’m not going to make any hot-blooded decision.”
Considering the faith that Rodgers has placed in him all season despite him being well short of his best, alongside Agger, both as a collective and on an individual basis they have been extremely poor, especially when you take into account that the side is currently going through a phase of transition and needs to rely on the more experienced members of the squad while the younger players have been blooded in.
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He has been a regular all term aside from the last month or so but players are fickle beasts and only think about themselves week to week and were Rodgers to reverse his decision and throw him straight back into the starting XI, he would quickly change his tune. He simply hasn’t adapted to the team’s new style of play this year at all and despite thinly-veiled threats that he would consider a move to either Zenit St Petersburg or Anzhi Makhachkala in the near future, now may be the time to call his bluff.
The longer the club sits outside the promised land of the Champions League, the harder it is going to be to continue to hold on to some of the more recognised and seasoned international players within the squad, but by being so public with their respective agendas, they’ve not only damaged their own causes, they’ve threatened to undermine the manager at a crucial time of the campaign and the less said to the press between now and May, the better.
If the feeling around Lewis Holtby’s arrival at Tottenham Hotspur back in January was one of anticipation, then nearly two months on, it’s now perhaps one of curiosity amongst the Lilywhites’ support.
The 22-year-old German international came to White Hart Lane amongst a cascade of fanfare eight weeks ago, but where as many might have expected the former-Schalke man to be a prominent presence in Spurs’ push down the Premier League’s home straight, he’s remained more upon the periphery, rather than the forefront.
And as Andre Villas-Boas’ side’s recent hiccup in form threatens to turn into a far more sinister wobble, Holtby’s absence from the side in recent games hasn’t gone unnoticed. The Portuguese has come under fire from some for perceived tactical naivety in the defeats against both Internazionale and Fulham, but for as frustrated as fans were with the way the team was set up, it was Villas-Boas’ reluctance to play Holtby that particularly rankled.
But for as frustrating as it may be to see Holtby’s adaptation to English football progress at more of a walking pace rather than a rate of knots, supporters must be keen to not let the hype surrounding the German cloud their judgements. His integration into both this Spurs side and Premier League football is a marathon, not a sprint.
Following his initial burst of appearances in a white shirt, supporters can perhaps be forgiven for scratching their heads in regard to the lack of game time that Holtby has recently been afforded.
His cameos against both Norwich City and West Bromwich Albion away may not have been ground breaking, but in both occasions on his first two outings for the club, Holtby managed to wield a considerable impact. Certainly, he showed enough to whet the appetites of supporters even further, with his exhibition of crisp one-touch passing and positive furrows forward.
Although while impressing in bursts is all well and good, it’s maintaining an impact from kick-off that’s been a slightly tougher nut to crack for Holtby. During starts against Newcastle United and the away leg against Lyon in the Europa League, despite not playing particularly poor, he naturally looked like a man still trying to find his feet within this Spurs side.
But if supporters were in any need of a reminder of the patience needed within Holtby’s adaptation, the 3-2 win away at West Ham United last month, offered something of a reality check to a hype machine that had perhaps got a little carried away in the preceding weeks.
Holtby suffered a tough time against a steely, powerful and unrelenting Hammers midfield that refused to allow the Spurs midfield a second on the ball. It’s easy to revert to stereotype in this circumstance, but a London derby in the East End is a long way away from the technically infused battles that Holtby had been puppeteering back at the Vetlins Arena in the Bundesliga.
It’s going to take time for Holtby to be able to consistently apply his gifts within this league and just because he’s made his move mid-season, it doesn’t mean that he should be instantly expected to hit the ground running.
The counter-argument is of course that Lewis Holtby isn’t going to adapt to the rigors of English football by sitting on the bench, but it was within the success of his substitution on that night at Upton Park, that you understand how difficult it is for Villas-Boas to afford the German the game time he needs.
Gylfi Sigurdsson has been a player that’s also been in desperate need of game time and a run of starts all season, but up until recent games, that simply hasn’t happened. Yet the Icelandic international couldn’t have done more than what he did coming off the bench against West Ham to gain a start and for as much as Holtby needs game time, Villas-Boas has to remain fair.
Dropping Holtby for Sigurdsson in the North London derby was a tough, but ultimately correct decision and the way in which the former-Swansea loanee has reacted to his run in the side has wholly vindicated Villas-Boas’ selection. Had Sigurdsson not taken his chance against West Ham, maybe Holtby wouldn’t have been sitting on the bench so much in recent games.
But the fact is that he did and the problem for Villas-Boas is that he has the task of trying to carefully ease his new signing’s introduction into English football, while fighting an increasingly bitter battle for success on two fronts. Lewis Holtby is only going to get better by clocking up more time in the league, but Spurs aren’t in a position where they can afford any players an induction process.
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And it’s within the timing of his switch from Schalke, that we understand why the club wasn’t initially in any rush to make bring forward a transfer originally penned in for the summer.
Far from the suggestions of penny-pinching towards the chairman Daniel Levy, the fact is there was a reason the club originally wanted him in June as opposed to January and it had little to do with a £1.5million outlay. As his three starts in two months suggest, he arrived at the club during an incredibly difficult part of the season to bed into.
With eight games remaining and Spurs’ lead over fifth-placed Arsenal now down to four points with one more game played, when Holtby does get his chance to restart his process of acclimatization within this league, he’s going to do so under massive pressure.
And this is something supporters most bear in mind when running the rule over their new German acquisition. Regardless of how he fares up until May, next season will be the one in which Lewis Holtby should be measured up against.
Chris Brunt will be missing from the West Brom side against Southampton at St Mary’s on Saturday because of a knee injury.
The 28-year-old Northern Ireland international midfielder picked up a knee injury during last weekend’s 1-1 draw against Newcastle at the Hawthorns and Baggies boss Steve Clarke confirmed that he will not be ready for the Saints trip.
“He’s not going to make it this week and it is fingers crossed for next week,” he said on the club’s website.
Full-back Billy Jones, who scored Albion’s second-half equaliser against the Magpies last week, is also struggling because of a gashed leg he suffered during the game, but Clarke is hoping he will make it.
Youssouf Mulumbu is still suspended, while Clarke also revealed that youngsters Isaiah Brown and Kemar Roofe are also missing due to injury.
However, controversial striker Peter Odemwingie, who scored both goals when West Brom defeated the Saints 2-0 earlier in the season, is set to return to the fold following a two-game absence with a knee injury.
Academy product Donervorn Daniels is set to be one of two youngsters who will be included in the squad for the trip to the south coast.
Meanwhile, loan striker Romelu Lukaku is warning his Baggies team-mates to expect a much tougher game than the home fixture back in November.
He said: “Southampton are playing very good football. I saw the game they played [2-0 win] against Reading.
“They are playing differently to the way they played at the start of the season. At the beginning of the season there was a lot of space to play, now there isn’t.
“They are very close and when they lose the ball they press to recover the ball in six seconds all the time.
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“They are dangerous up front in Lambert especially and Rodriguez, who is scoring a lot. It will not be easy but it’s up to us, we have our own qualities.
“I think they will really get at us but we have to react and take the initiative to win the game. The first goal will be really important.”
After being built up as the biggest south east London derby in years, it didn’t live up to expectation, and I’m sure the Lions are happier with the result as it ends 0-0 between them at Crystal Palace.
We’re still not safe, but I’m a tiny bit more confident than before this game, because of this point Posh and Barnsley now have to win and hope we slip up, and now Sheffield Wednesday are dragged back in.
The game was a stretched one, plenty of tackles flying in but not many clear cut scoring opportunities.
In all honesty I expected Palace to be better with all the hype about them. I thought Bolasie had a decent game, but Alan Dunne showed how to get £15million in your pocket for 90 minutes, as Wilfried Zaha done the bare minimum.
This game basically summed up our second half of the season.
A good display from the back five, but no creativity on the wings, a non-existent midfield and we do not look like scoring, three shots on target in two home games is seriously dire.
Against Palace we also saw what is very likely to be the first of the wage-stealers to leave the club, Dany N’Guessan…
He had a 10 minute cameo, which involved him barely breaking a sweat, and if he did get the ball he’d try and get past three or four players and be the hero, he can barely get past one…
He was then subbed off to massive boos from around the ground…
It was the way he went off that disgraced fans, you know how an opposing player walks off when they’re winning, that slow? Yeah it was exactly that, and then stormed down the tunnel.
Not exactly what you need when you’re in a relegation battle…
Every player gave their all last night, gave absolutely everything for the cause, and then we have DNG just out for a stroll.
Charlton wanted to sign him last summer, let’s hope they want him again…
It was a game that we just could not lose, it puts us now in a very good position, well as good a position as you can be in for a relegation dogfight. This also means that Palace will have to beat fellow relegation battlers Peterborough in order to secure a play-off place.
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Unless an unlikely turn of events happens on Saturday the Lions will stay up, most fans would have been happy with another year secured in this division, especially on our budget; money isn’t everything, just look at Wolves. And then having a cup run which took us to the semi-finals and a day out at Wembley.
Let’s just hope the money gained from the cup run will be used on transfers rather than line Berylson’s pocket…
Arsene Wenger believes Arsenal could push for the title next season as their rivals get ready to start the campaign with new managers.
The Gunners have again been way off the pace in the race for the title this season as Manchester United walked away with it and they need three points against Newcastle today just to guarantee a top-four finish.
Making sure they see out the season with a win against the Magpies is the main focus but Wenger cannot help but look ahead to next season and believes all the chopping and changing at Manchester United, City and Chelsea could play into their hands.
All three clubs will have new managers on board at the start of next season and Wenger says the appointments could go either way.
“There is an opportunity for us,” Wenger revealed. “The change of manager might not work everywhere. So you can have a little advantage on some teams.
“Although Jose Mourinho coming back doesn’t look to be a completely new experience, Pellegrini coming into a new country? It’s difficult, yes. It’s very difficult to predict how it will work.”
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Reports claim Wenger could have as much as £100million to spend on new players in the summer but his chances of landing top class players will hinge on clinching a place in the Champions League.
Two of the most criticised players in Premier League football would have to be that of two Englishman, in Stewart Downing and Andy Carrol, and it appears the duo who played together at Liverpool are set to be reunited once again, but this time in London with West Ham United.
Both of these players were subject to incessant media scathing and social network humour following their under-achievement after their moves to Anfield, but by bringing the two back under partnership with one another, has Sam Allardyce worked magic, or is the combination set for disaster once more.
Clearly, one of the factors which was used to diminish the talent of the two England Internationals were the extremely high transfer fees which were paid for them. Downing was brought to Anfield from Aston Villa for £20 million, whilst Carrol set the club back a startling £35 million. It is only natural for presumptions to be made based on these figures and thus as soon as performances begin to dwindle in the eyes of certain individuals, ratings on these players plummeted despite the class of the men having not deteriorated as much as one may have thought.
Stewart Downing has been ridiculed since his arrival at Liverpool for his lack of contribution, however this has been perhaps over-stated. In the Premier League last season, Downing scored 3 goals, and assisted 5 in the 29 games he played, and whilst this is not a spectacular statistic, it isn’t horrendous. It can easily be argued that there must be some reason for Liverpool having paid such a high figure for the player, having demonstrated his quality at both Middlesbrough and Aston Villa. His last season playing for the Villains for example, Downing mustered 8 goals and 11 assists in the whole campaign.
Carroll equally suffered the same fate when leaving Newcastle for Liverpool back on that famous last day of the transfer window in the January 2011 for an inflated fee of £35 million. Before making the transfer, Carroll had accumulated 11 goals in 20 Premier League matches; however following the transfer there was only two more goals scored that season.
Now, statistics are obviously a crucial thing to assess, but this can not be wholly relied upon, and this was a gamble made by Allardyce when signing Andy Carroll last season, and it turned out to be one of the better transfers made. Despite injuries occurring throughout the season, he managed to accumulate 7 goals in 24 matches for The Hammers. He has now signed on a permanent deal, for £15 million. Not a small transfer by any means, but when compared to the price paid by Liverpool, it signifies a large drop. It means that Carroll can play with less media spotlight attention on him for the forthcoming season and try and recreate his form and talent he proved for Newcastle, and at times England.
Signing Downing to combine with Carroll could well be one of the riskier moves made by Allardyce, but he has been in the world of management for many seasons now, and there must be something which he has seen, or been informed of in Downing which has created this desire to bring the Englishman to Upton Park.
It is a common feature for brilliant players to suffer at the hands of high transfer fees, and many greats have done so as well. Fernando Torres would perhaps be the most obvious one, firing on all cylinders for Liverpool before his £50million move to Chelsea, and since then we have not seen his pace and clinical finishing. This is not to say they do not re-kindle their careers however.
West Ham finished last season in impressive fashion, and secured a 10th place finish, comfortably above the relegation slots, and have already made some decent signings this transfer window already. Carroll has been joined by Razvan Rat, Danny Whitehead and Adrian Castillo. Signing Stewart Downing, and at a meagre price of £5 million would certainly be a wise deal by Allardyce in my eyes, and help lead West Ham to a top 10 finish, if not more.
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A lot of people will certainly feel it is a risk by trying to bring Carroll and Downing together, but there were plenty of those when he first made a move for the striker alone, and that proved to aid The Irons. Whilst it certainly can’t be argued Downing didn’t enjoy his time at Liverpool, his talent is undeniable, and that is why he has been selected for England previously and that Premier League clubs seemingly continuously sign the 29 year-old. In my book, Allardyce has done well, but what do you think?
Is a Downing and Carroll partnership transfer genius, or will it end in disaster?
Paolo Di Canio has hit out at Sunderland’s decision to sack him.
The controversial Italian was given his marching orders following the Black Cats’ 3-0 defeat at the hands of West Brom last month after a woeful start to the Premier League season.
The Stadium of Light-based side still sit at the foot of the table – with caretaker boss Kevin Ball having overseen one game since his predecessor’s departure – with just one point.
Rumours suggest a player revolt had a major bearing on Sunderland’s decision to relieve Di Canio of his duties, with a number of senior member of the squad frustrated by his man management technique and public criticism of poor displays.
Many fans have been buoyed by the ex-Swindon Town manager’s exit, but the man himself believes that he deserved more time at the club after helping them to avoid relegation last term.
“When I joined the club last season with the aim of saving them from relegation I was happy to be offered the opportunity to manage in the Premier League,” he told Sky Sports.
“I walked into a challenging situation but achieved what I was asked to do, the highlight of which was the fantastic performance and win against Newcastle, which is something I will always remember.
“When you bring in 14 new players, many from overseas and very few with Premiership experience it is going to take time for them to adapt to the English game and to gel as a team.
“As I have said many times, I love English football and I feel that my time at the club has been unfairly cut short as given the chance, I am certain that had I been allowed longer, I would have been able to develop the team to achieve the success Sunderland fans desire.
“There has been a lot written in the media in recent days, much of it wholly untrue. There was no training ground bust up as some are reporting and many of the players have since sent me messages thanking me for my time as their manager and helping them to improve as footballers.
“We could see that results had not gone as well as any of us had hoped, but I felt as a team we could turn things around.”
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Was Paolo Di Canio sacked too early? Or did he deserve more time?
West Ham have denied reports that Ravel Morrison will go on strike in order to force a transfer, reports Sky Sports.
The youngster is reportedly interested in a move to Fulham, with Cottagers boss Rene Meulensteen claiming the Hammers have rejected a bid for Morrison. West Ham have since reported Fulham to the Premier League.
With West Ham boss Sam Allardyce busy with transfer business, assistant manager Neil McDonald told the media that Morrison will not be forcing a move by missing training: “It is all media reports and whatever has been said… I think the club and the Premier League are dealing with that so I’d prefer not to dwell on that any more.
“There seems to be a story about Rav every week. The lad comes in and trains, sometimes he has had a little bit of a groin injury, but we’ve man-managed that. He trained on Wednesday with a huge, big smile on his face with the rest of the squad so (reports he may go on strike) are news to me.
“We look forward to him being in the squad on Saturday, he should be fit, he’s been training with the lads and he’s brought a lot of joy, especially with winning against Cardiff – he cheered everyone up when he came back as well.”
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Morrison has been a bright spark for a struggling West Ham side, with his superb individual goal at Tottenham earlier this season a particular highlight.