It promised to be a frantic January window and it certainly didn’t disappoint as two British transfer records were smashed within hours of each other. First Andy Carroll completed his switch to Liverpool in a £35m move claiming that he was being forced out at Newcastle, which is likely to wrangle with the Toon Army, before Fernando Torres secured his expected £50m move to Stamford Bridge.
In the papers this morning there is more fallout from the transfer window as Tottenham reveals their near misses; Giggs blasts Wayne Rooney, while Gareth Southgate is appointed to key FA role.
*
Torres: Joining Chelsea is a ‘big step forward’ – Guardian
For £35m Carroll will have to be Toshack and Rush rolled into one – Guardian
Southgate appointed to key FA role – Daily Telegraph
Shearer: Toon will be furious – Sun
French winger Obertan demands shock exit from Manchester United – Daily Mail
Houllier believes USA World Cup star Bradley will be a Premier hit – Mirror
Edwin expects United input – Sky Sports
Tottenham’s efforts to secure striking reinforcements meet with failure – Guardian
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Giggs swipe at ‘stupid’ Rooney – Sun
Official Massey still stuck on the sidelines as Sky sexism row continues to rumble – Daily Mail
Italy boss Cesare Prandelli has stated that his side can reach the latter stages of the Euro 2012 tournament, after watching his team beat Republic of Ireland 2-0 on Monday night.
A headed Antonio Cassano effort was followed by a Mario Balotelli volley to seal three points and a quarter-finals place for the Azzurri, who will now face Group D’s winners.
Prandelli feels his team played well and is looking forward to the next game.
“We wanted this victory so badly and I think we deserved to win and progress,” he told Rai Sport after the game, translated to English by Goal.com.
“The most important thing was that tonight we understood that we have to put a lot of determination into our game. We can achieve anything with this heart.
“In the quarter-finals we will have to show the same attitude. More important than the situations that we will come across will be showing the same commitment and spirit of sacrifice.
“We will always try to play good football, but we will try to be more clinical in attack,” he concluded.
Italy will face either England, France or Ukraine in the next stage.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Newcastle are set to increase their bid for PSV left back Erik Pieters according to the Daily Mail as they strive to replace Jose Enrique.
Magpies boss Alan Pardew want’s Pieters to replace the Spaniard who left St James’ Park to sign for Liverpool.
His interest in the defender was revealed last week and is now preparing a new bid to bring him to Tyneside.
With the North East derby against Sunderland on Sunday fast approaching Pardew is set to raise his offer for the Dutchman to £7 million.
He wants the 23-year-old in place before the game at the Stadium of Light and is set to use the £5.5 million raised from the Enrique deal to make that a reality.
Ryan Taylor deputised against Arsenal in Saturday’s Premier League opener putting in an admirable shift but Pardew wants a specialist.
PSV are struggling financially and are prepared to reluctantly sell the left back in an order to boost the coffers.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Pieters is keen to move to the North East and is exactly the type of player Newcastle are looking for to replace Enrique.
He certainly holds more experience than the Spaniard with 10 caps for Holland and extensive Champions League experience along with his age and potential resale value fitting into the structure at St James’ Park.
Napoli will meet holders Inter Milan in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia after beating Bologna 2-1 on Tuesday.Algeria international Hassan Yebda headed Napoli ahead nine minutes into the match at the Stadio San Paolo, rising to convert a corner from Ezequiel Lavezzi.
Argentina forward Lavezzi turned goal-scorer on 23 minutes, meeting a cutback from Marek Hamsik before guiding the ball into the corner of the net.
Riccardo Meggiorini won a penalty for Bologna ten minutes into the second half after being fouled Emilson Cribari.
Inter youth product Meggiorini converted the spot-kick to pull a goal back for Bologna, but the visitors proved little threat thereafter and were unable to produce an equaliser.
Napoli, a lofty second in Serie A, will now take on Leonardo’s resurgent Inter side for a place in the semi-finals.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
In other Round of 16 matches, Roma meet local rivals Lazio and Sampdoria host Udinese on Wednesday, while Bari visit league-leaders AC Milan on Thursday.
A dour 1-0 defeat away at Bournemouth signalled the end to a very poor season for North End with the positives coming in short supply.
I’m sure the final whistle at Dean Court was music to Graham Westley’s ears as he is now able to begin to shape the squad into his own side ready for August.
The words of Mr Westley over the past few weeks have been constantly referring to a summer clear out with a rumoured 14 new faces with just as many leaving the club. The Lilywhites fans will all be offering their suggestions of signings and who they believe should go as the manager draws up his shortlist and hands it to his chairman.
In my opinion, there are only four players for certain of the current 44 professionals at the club that have truly earned the right to wear the proud Preston jersey next season. The first would have to be newly crowned player of the year, Thorsten Stuckmann. The big German has kept 10 clean sheets out of his 24 games with a poor back line attempting to protect him which cannot be scoffed at despite the words of his manager this week. Westley stating in an interview that he would be bringing in a new goalkeeper to provide competition which has been received both ways by north end fans. His words of discouragement towards Stuckmann’s player of the year of the award did also not go down too well with the former Stevenage boss stating that ‘winning player of the year in a mediocre team is not much of an achievement’. But personally he would be the first name on my team sheet but I would definitely bring in a new keeper to provide competition for Thorsten.
The second would have to be captain Paul Coutts who has stepped up to the plate this season following an anonymous season last season. The Scot has caused controversy by handing in a transfer request but after settling in to Graham Westley’s regime he has become a key figure in the North End side with some all action performances and some excellent link up play with Danny Mayor. However, Coutts has been the subject of interest from Darren Ferguson’s Peterborough which could see him leave the club should a suitable offer be placed for the midfielder.
Thirdly, despite injury harboring his campaign this year, Iain Hume would be as good as a new signing should he stay at the club. Hume’s all action displays and his deadly right foot have made him a fan’s favourite since he joined the club initially on loan in November 2010. Despite making just over 20 appearances throughout the season, Hume has clocked up 9 league goals leaving him the club’s top scorer and should he be retained in time for next season he would better that tally if he could stay injury free.
Winger Danny Mayor has also made his claim for a place in Graham Westley’s squad for next season with some mesmerising performances towards the end of the season. His undoubted skill and trickery have been apparent since he made his debut in Darren Ferguson’s first league game in charge in January 2010 but it has only been since Westley’s arrival that his good work have become noticed with him picking up a number of assists. Danny has also picked up goal of the season for his brilliant solo strike against Hartlepool back in February and I’m sure that he will certainly begin to carry on his excellent performances in to next season.
Winger cum-emergency left back Paul Parry and ex-Liverpool Striker Neil Mellor are expected to depart with full back David Gray with the three out of contract in the summer. The rest will be a mystery as Westley’s revolution will begin to take place in the coming weeks after the man himself stated that he wanted his squad ready for mid May.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
This certainly does spark excitement for fans with a significant amount of arrivals and departures taking place but it has to work for Westley as the time has come for the words to stop and the cheque book to open. Westley’s confidence in himself could prove to be the making of the club or his own downfall but one thing is for certain, there will be few if any survivors from yesterday’s poor performance at Bournemouth that will appear in the 16 man squad for the first game of next season.
Owen Hargreaves could be handed a chance to resurrect his Premier League career after entering into talks with West Brom.The 30-year-old only managed 27 games during a four-year spell at Manchester United thanks to a litany of injuries, and was released as the end of last season.
Baggies sporting and technical director Dan Ashworth revealed his club are interested in the former England man and added that, if fit, his signing would be a “no brainer”.
“We have been in talks with Owen,” he told West Brom’s official website.
“He’s based over in the United States at the moment so we might try to get to meet him in the next week or so and see if he would consider coming to us.”
“If Owen is fit to play Premier League football, it is a no-brainer.”
“Make no mistake, Owen Hargreaves is a fantastic player. He’s shown he’s a top, top player from his England, Manchester United and Bayern Munich days.”
“Obviously, Owen has had a few medical issues over the last few years. But we would be absolutely delighted to get a fit Owen Hargreaves.”
“That would be a wonderful signing for us.”
Ashworth claimed that his club have the medical department to handle a player that has had more than his fair share of injuries.
He added that while Hargreaves does have other options – with Championship Leicester City reportedly interested – West Brom were the first to make contact.
“The three things we’ve got going for us are: one, we’re in the Premier League, which is attractive in itself; the second thing is we’ve got a fantastic medical team. We had an unbelievable hit-rate last season in terms of player availability,” Ashworth added.
“I think that’s attractive to Owen, that we’ve got a proven track record in the last couple of years of maintaining players and keeping them out on the pitch, which is the most important thing.”
“Thirdly, we were the first club to contact him. He’s told me that, and he appreciates that.”
“I’d like to think we’ve got a chance – but Owen has plenty of other options as well.”
The Arsenal squad has pretty decent strength in depth. If you’re an Arsenal player and you don’t perform over a few games, chances are there’s a youngster ready and waiting to take your place. With quality young players like Aaron Ramsey, Henri Lansbury, Craig Eastmond and Jay-Emmanuel Thomas waiting in the wings, some players may have to move on if Arsenal’s youngest and brightest are to get the chance to develop as best they can within the team. Assessing this Arsenal side, there are two or three players who just don’t seem Arsenal quality. With that in mind, these are the three players I’d be happy to see the back of at the Emirates.
The first is Manuel Almunia. Good thing too considering he’s likely to be the first Arsenal player out the door during the January transfer window. Almunia isn’t a bad goalkeeper by any means – he is, for instance, a good shot stopper – but the consistency of his errors have always been a cause for worry. Wenger persisted with Almunia for quite some time but now seems content to let the Spaniard move on. It’s likely that Almunia will attempt to engineer a move to a Spanish club in January. One benefit of this is that we’ll get to see more of 20 year-old goalkeeping prodigy Wojciech Szczesny.
Buy Arsenal v Barcelona Champions League tickets here!
[divider]
Another player I’m ready to see move on is Nicklas Bendtner. I don’t like to say it, but at the moment he isn’t quite good enough for Arsenal and I’m not sure I can see him becoming a force to be reckoned with any time soon. He has a tendency to lumber around the pitch, he’s slow and he has a bad touch. He’s also not the great goal-scorer people like to make out. Robin van Persie and Marouane Chamakh have the quality necessary to compete at a club like Arsenal. Bendtner, on the other hand, I’m not so sure about.
My final choice is Carlos Vela. I realise that this might ruffle a few feathers. He’s young, talented and looks to be a genuine prospect. However, he’s really struggling to get a look in this season. Arsene already has to contend with Theo Walcott who impresses and frustrates in equal measure. They are a similar age, but it’s clear that Wenger rates Walcott higher.
On the odd occasion we’ve seen Vela this season, he has appeared to be lacking in confidence. Given that Arsenal already have bundles of talent down the wings, perhaps the best thing Vela can do for his career is move on.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
I imagine there will be a few people readying their “but so-and-so is a good squad player” defence. Yes, all these players are decent enough, but the three I’ve listed are players I don’t believe are capable of challenging for a regular first-team position at the moment. There must be competition for places at all times within the squad so that the team avoids complacency. Why settle for second-class squad players?
For more footballing opinion and debate, head over to Twitter and follow @ThePerfectPass
Holy Crap – it’s live fantasy football! Become part of Liverpool v Fulham and play Picklive for FREE Watch and bet live – spices up any game!
In the end there was no final day drama, no slip ups, no excessive nail biting, with the exception of a nervy opening quarter of an hour, there really was nothing to worry about in the end.
I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t nervous before kick-off, but then most Saints fans probably were, the thought of slipping to third on the final day, after being in the top two all season was not a pleasant thought. This day had the potential to turn into a disaster had the unthinkable happened, yet there were early nerves from a group of players who knew that they were 90 minutes away from either fame or infamy.
There were no signs that this was going to be a comfortable home victory in the early exchanges as Coventry acquitted themselves well in the first 15 minutes or so. Then came the early breakthrough that we craved, as centre-back Jose Fonte’s surging Hansen-esque run from deep, helped to set up the opening goal that was cunningly deflected by Billy Sharp, from Lallana’s low shot from the edge of the penalty area.
Jose Fonte then got himself on the score sheet only minutes later with a diving header, and the nerves were all but gone now as the collective sighs of relief by the 32,000 Saints fans present, was probably strong enough to blow the planes passing low over St. Marys slightly off course!
Further goals in the second-half by first, Jos Hooiveld, and then Adam Lallana sparked the biggest celebration the city has seen since at least the FA Cup semi-final win over Watford in 2003. As the players and officials ran for the sanctuary of the changing-rooms at the final whistle, the crowd ran on to the pitch to celebrate what most fans would have thought to have been unthinkable at the start of the season, back-to-back promotions.
Most of us and that includes myself, would have been happy, and were probably expecting, a season of consolidation and mid-table mediocrity after gaining promotion from League 1 the previous season. Yet like Norwich before them, the Saints got off to a fantastic start and despite the odd dip in form, they completed a remarkable journey from Premier League, to League 1, and back again, in 7 years.
After years of suffering at the hands of men who could not run a chimps tea party, let alone a football club the size of Southampton, the long suffering Saints fans have at last something to smile about. The dark clouds have blown away from St. Marys and now there is a bright new horizon in front of us, there is also going to be a lot of hard work to do over the close season, in order to establish the club as a permanent Premier League side once again.
The last thing we want is to be one of the many yo-yo clubs that are constantly up and down, clubs like Wolves, Birmingham, Middlesbrough, and Reading. We need to take our time and not make hasty decisions in the transfer market, as our new found status will inevitably bring us to the attention to every mercenary footballer and their agents, who are in search of one big last pay day.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
The team spirit we have at the club is fantastic and reminds me of the spirit that we had when fighting all those final day relegation battles in the nineties, something we lacked when dropping out of the Premier League in 2005.
Whatever happens over the coming summer months, it is in all likelihood going to be one of the most fascinating close seasons in the clubs history. From a fans perspective, it is also going to feel like one of the longest, Euro 2012 and the Olympics? Pah! We can’t wait for August!
The news that United had made a deal to bring Phil Jones to Old Trafford was met with a wave of satisfaction rather than excitement by most Reds.
A proven Premier League player –of sorts- who was still in his teens could only be a welcome addition to the record breaking title winner’s squad.
Jones had shown for much of the season that he was a capable defender/defensive midfielder who’s peak years were ahead of him so it made a lot of sense for Sir Alex to fork out £16.5 million on him.
The funny thing is that in the space of only a few days Jones has gone from a capable defensive player to a ‘colossus’ -according to that stuffed donkey aficionado Stuart Pearce, thanks to an assured display against the mighty Ukrainian under 21 side.
Then there was the period last week when it looked as though Liverpool may hijack United’s deal, cue lots of deluded Scousers, on phone-ins and forums hailing Jones as the greatest defender in the history of football, a player so good that his Majesty Daglish could build an entire team around him and duly deliver the Premier League to its rightful home of Anfield.
While Liverpool fans have duly changed their tune about a player they are no naturally glad they didn’t get ‘cos he’s not even all that anyway like la’ most United fans and members of the national press- not to mention Pearce, have been getting a tad over-excited at just how good Jones is.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m confident the former Rovers man will have a long and illustrious Old Trafford career ahead of him but some of the praise and expectation being heaped upon him worries me slightly.
Many people both Red and less fortunate, have been quick to predict a similar impact from Jones at Old Trafford to the one Smalling delivered in his debut season.
The former Fulham man was outstanding last season and not even his mum could have envisioned Smalling settling in so quickly and looking so much at ease in a United shirt.
Smalling’s excellence, coupled with Jones’s showing both at Blackburn and for England under 21s has meant that the expectation around the 19 year-old has suddenly increased to almost ridiculous levels.
A player that would do well to reach double figures for United next season is now being touted by some as a possible choice to fill the defensive midfield role already.
I’m not about to be foolish enough to state: “you’ll never win anything with kids” only a total idiot would say such a thing- but I do think a modicum of rational perspective is needed.
Jones has been bought for the long term of that there should be no doubt and if it takes him a while to adjust to life at such a huge club as United then there can be no real complaints.
[ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’right’]
Players such as Gary Pallister, Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham and even Cristiano Ronaldo all took at least a season to truly find their feet at Old Trafford before becoming legends so it’s not too negative to think Jones may take at least a year.
All the recent hype from the media and pundits around just how good Jones is has seaped through to many fans -myself included- whereby it’s easy to lose sight of the fact the lad is a teenager who’s barely played 30 top flight games.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
All of a sudden there’s a sneakiy feeling that with all the money at Old Trafford seemingly being spent on players such as Luka Modric or Alexis Sanchez, we may have to make do with the defensive players we’ve got- particularly in midfield.
Could Jones come into the United side immediately and do a job in midfield? Probably -at least against the so-called lesser teams, but we shouldn’t expect him to. £16.5 million is a lot of mony I admit but it’s an investment and it’s important, as with all investments, we look for the long-term gains rather than the short term rewards.
I’m as excited as most Reds that we seem to have bagged a future star, but I don’t want to see the eagerness for instant success affect how United handle a player who could turn out to be one of Sir Alex’s most savvy signings.
It’s important that not just the club but also the fans remember that Jones needs time to settle into United and that time may be longer than the US tour, not everyone is a Mexican forward after all.
Read more of Justin’s articles at Red Flag Flying High
Chelsea defender Ashley Cole admits he still has the hunger and drive to play for years to come as he approaches his 30th birthday.
The England left-back, who has claimed 86 caps for his country, has no desire to start winding down his career as he prepares to enter his fourth decade next month.
Looking at the club's youngsters pushing through the ranks, Cole admits to feeling his age, but insists everything is still in place to make him stick at the game at the highest level for the foreseeable future.
"You do get a bit reflective at this stage in your career," he told the London Evening Standard."There are a lot of youngsters coming through – we have Josh McEachran, who is 17, and you sit with him thinking: 'How old are you?'
"You do feel your age, but being on the pitch makes me feel young and enthusiastic and healthy. That's what keeps me going every day in training. I am just doing my job – playing as well as I can for Chelsea and trying to win things.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
"I try my best for England, too, and what people think is out of my hands. I can't do anything about it."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email