After all the good work West Ham had done over the last few matches, defeat at Sunderland on Sunday set alarm bells going again around Upton Park. Whilst a defeat away from home against one of the league’s form sides should not be a major shock, it will be the lack of creativity in front of goal that will have concerned Avram Grant the most.
If there is to be some good news, ahead of a clash with Champions League chasing Manchester City, it is that old fan’s favourite, Carlos Tevez will not be making an appearance against his former club.
Without him, City have been unpredictable at best so far this year, however with the Hammers struggling to string performances together, the ‘lesser’ lights should have more than enough in the tank to see off Tevez’s past employers.
Prediction: 1-2
[poll ]
Use your FREE £20 Bet – Get odds of 7/1 on a 2-1 win for City
It is no secret that Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is looking to bolster Spurs’ attacking options and the Daily Mirror is reporting that he is considering a move for Serie A striker Edinson Cavani. A £24 million move is being touted for the Napoli striker who has been in top form this season.
The 23-year-old, who is on loan from Palermo, has hit 10 goals in 18 Serie A appearances for Napoli this season, in addition to 7 goals in Europe, and has a buy out clause of 30 million Euros.
Cavani is a player with international experience, having played in the 2010 World Cup for Uruguay and netted in the 3rd place playoff match against Germany. Interest from Inter Milan and Cavani’s desire to stay in Italy may rebuff Redknapp’s attempts to sign the striker and in turn force him to turn his attentions towards Cavani’s Uruguay teammate Luis Suarez.
A new striker will be at the top of the list for Harry Redknapp in January, despite Jermain Defoe netting twice in the FA Cup match against Charlton at White Hart Lane yesterday. With Robbie Keane looking set to leave, neither Peter Crouch nor Roman Pavlyuchenko performing consistently and Redknapp getting nowhere in attempts to sign Newcastle’s Andy Carroll, Cavani could solve Tottenham’s striking worries as they look to compete in both the Premier League and Champions League in the coming months.
[divider]
[youtube dQ_pcUP8oaM]
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 transformation of Nani at Old Trafford has been quite unbelievable. No longer is he the frustrating winger who fans wanted to love but couldn’t trust him to be consistent. How things have changed, changed so dramatically in fact, to the point where he is fast becoming Manchester United’s most important player. Nani is now the man to be relied on to score important goals. His superb strike against Stoke is another example of how far the winger has come.
If we cast our minds back a year, it seemed his days at Old Trafford were numbered. He had a very public falling out with Sir Alex Ferguson, and his performances were at best inconsistent. Something changed in 2010, and Nani has got better and better. He announced himself as the player for Manchester United’s future with his superb performance against Arsenal. That game was the turning point and Nani has not looked back. It shows the immense faith that Sir Alex Ferguson has in the winger that he was not sold, and Nani has not let his manager down.
It was clear that Nani needed Cristiano Ronaldo to leave the club. The departure of Carlos Queiroz as well did not help Nani, in his struggle to settle into Old Trafford. Queiroz was a father figure to Ronaldo, helping him in his first years at the club. For Nani not to have that father figure must have delayed his development, but his ability was never in any doubt. Nani will always be judged against Cristiano Ronaldo. For two players who are so different, it is unfair on the winger. Ronaldo played his best years at Manchester United through the middle but I can’t envisage Nani having that ability. He is an out and out winger, Ronaldo wasn’t.
Manchester United fans must be very excited to have two out and out wide men when Antonio Valencia returns. It is the way Sir Alex Ferguson prefers to set his team out, and it is an exciting brand of football. Nani can carry United over the finishing line this season without a doubt. Imagine if this Manchester United team really fired in the second half of the season. If Wayne Rooney finds his goal scoring touch and Antonio Valencia returns the same player, United could stroll to the Premier League title. If that was to happen, the importance of Nani can’t go unmentioned. Nani is fast becoming the most important man at Manchester United.
Like what you read? Follow me on twitter
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.
[divider]
Love fantasy football? Love live footy? You’ll love live fantasy football! Take part in the Arsenal v Leeds match and play Picklive for FREE Go on, give it a go!
Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has spoken highly of new recruit Emmanuel Adebayor ahead of their La Liga clash with Osasuna on Sunday.
The retired Togo international has been included in Mourinho’s squad for the match at the Bernabeu, and the Portuguese boss is hopeful Adebayor can have an immediate impact as the Mallorcans aim to recover from their shock 1-1 draw with strugglers Almeria last weekend.
Mourinho bought Adebayor to shore up his quality goal-scoring stocks, given the layoff of Gonzalo Higuain to injury.
“Obviously I am very happy. I always wanted it and I consider it important for the team to have three strikers, so that when we lose one like (Gonzalo) Higuain we have cover in two great forwards,” he said.
“The situation is calm for the team now that we have two attackers like Adebayor and Karim (Benzema). It is often difficult for a striker to come into a new team, but he has a lot of quality and experience. He has played in big clubs and knows what it is like to play under pressure to win.”
Questioned whether or not the 26-year-old would fit in at Madrid, both on and off the pitch, Mourinho said he had no doubt Adebayor would settle in without a fuss.
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.
“He is an option here, he is loved and has responsibility, but also pride in playing for Real Madrid. He is going through a change of team, team-mates and manager, league and country, culture and opponents,” he said.
“I think that he will not have problems with the squad, I like him and he has a lot of experience – despite being young. He will do well for us.”
Brazilian-born midfielder Thiago Motta could make his Italy debut in the friendly international against Germany on Wednesday.
Inter Milan’s Motta, 28, last represented Brazil at under-23 level in 2003 but is eligible to play for Italy through his Italian grandfather.
Centre-forward Alessandro Matri, who joined Juventus on loan from Cagliari in January, received his first call-up to the national team, as did attacking midfielder Sebastian Giovinco, who is on loan at Parma from Juventus.
First-choice goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon returns for the first time since recovering from the long-term back problem he sustained on international duty at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Striker Giampaolo Pazzini, who moved from Sampdoria to Serie A champions Inter in January, has also been recalled.
Germany will be without Bayern Munich front-man Mario Gomez after he tweaked a knee ligament in the 3-2 Bundesliga defeat to Cologne on Saturday.
National coach Joachim Loew has not selected a replacement, leaving fellow Bayern forwards Miroslav Klose and Thomas Mueller and Cologne’s Lukas Podolski to choose from in attack.
Loew has included five players from runaway Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund, but former Germany captain Michael Ballack, who has only made two appearances for Bayer Leverkusen since returning from a broken leg, was not selected.
Both sides were in friendly action in November, when Italy drew 1-1 with Romania and Germany were held 0-0 away to Sweden.
The last meeting between the countries came at the 2006 World Cup, where Italy accounted for hosts Germany 2-0 in the semi-finals on their way to winning the competition.
Defenders: Davide Astori, Leonardo Bonucci, Mattia Cassani, Giorgio Chiellini, Domenico Criscito, Christian Maggio, Andrea Ranocchia.
Midfielders: Alberto Aquilani, Daniele De Rossi, Sebastian Giovinco, Stefano Mauri, Riccardo Montolivio, Thiago Motta, Antonio Nocerino, Angelo Palombo.
Strikers: Marco Borriello, Antonio Cassano, Alessandro Matri, Giampaolo Pazzini, Giuseppe Rossi.
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.
Germany squad:
Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer, Rene Adler.
Defenders: Dennis Aogo, Per Mertesacker, Philipp Lahm, Holger Badstuber, Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels, Arne Friedrich, Heiko Westermann, Marcel Schmelzer.
Midfielders: Bastian Schweinsteiger, Sami Khedira, Mesut Ozil, Christian Traesch, Mario Goetze, Sven Bender, Kevin Grosskreutz.
Forwards: Miroslav Klose, Mario Gomez, Thomas Mueller, Lukas Podolski.
A late-winter break is a no-brainer. This week I learned that Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott will both miss this weekend’s League Cup Final Against Birmingham. Arsenal are still in 4 competitions this year, an impressive feat, but could fall victim to their own success. They have already played 43 games this year, and sadly for them, could still play another 23. The amount of games will surely put pressure on players and will not only lead to injuries but also burn-out. This could be solved by a winter break.
Their fixture list for the rest of the season is a bizarre one. They will have a 13 day break between the end of March and the beginning of April, only to go into April having to play 8 games. Similarly, Tottenham have more than 10 days off until their next game, but could also have 9 games in April.
The timing of these two ‘natural’ breaks at this stage of the season is an odd one. No doubt it was planned by the FA to allow players to recover. But such sporadic breaks will no doubt affect every club in a different way, depending on when they come in a season. Would it not make more sense to have an organised break at the same time, for every club, every season?
The idea of a winter break is a contentious one. Although almost every other league in Europe does it, the FA have always been reluctant to follow suit. And I can see why.
The Boxing Day and New Year’s day football matches are synonymous with Christmas for many families across the UK and the festive period just would not be the same without them. It is tradition in English football and not something I would want to see changed.
Arsene Wenger agreed recently but stressed the need for a winter break. He proposed that a break should come in January, following the festive frenzy. I can’t argue with a single word he said.
“I would like a winter break but after Christmas. Create a break after January for two weeks. We can go on holiday for one week and prepare for one week.”
[ad_pod id=’fox-mpu’ align=’right’]
There would be no league or domestic cup games for two weeks, giving the players a chance to recharge their batteries. This seems to make so much sense.
A club should not get a break, depending on how well or badly they do in a cup. This will only give the smaller Premiership sides, whose main focus is to retain their league status, a reason to not try and win their cup ties.
It has been reported that there are four times as many injuries in the Premiership between April and May than leagues that do have winter breaks. Furthermore, Wayne Rooney highlighted that “Towards the end of the season the intensity in some of the games which is normally there is missing”. A winter break could reduce injuries and keep the intensity of matches high.
Another alternative to a festive break has been to scrap international weekends. This is something I would love to see happen. International weekends do little but reduce my interest in the national side. Players do not seem up for it, and if they are the opposition are not. They are just not fun to watch.
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.
A break in January would be beneficial in a commercial way too. Steve Bruce highlighted this week that clubs manage to draw in their biggest crowds of the season over the festive period. January on the other hand is not a busy time at matches as people are recovering from the excesses of Christmas. A January break would allow the Christmas period to carry on how it is, but then give payers a rest after a frenetic month. It just seems to make sense to me.
The other option, as proposed by Sir Alex Ferguson, is to have the winter break and then extend the season on into June. This might reduce the summer holiday, but would also reduce the accumulation of fatigue on players. All these reasons give a very strong case to a break in January. Surely it is only a matter of time before we see it come into existence?
You can follow me on at www.twitter.com/joeaustin8
Tottenham defender William Gallas is now in the middle of his tenth season as a Premier League defender, a long period of time for any player to consistently perform in the top flight it has to be said, which leaves me with the thought – does Gallas receive the plaudits that he so richly deserves?
Gallas signed for Chelsea back in 2001 for £6.2m from Marseille as a young, pacy centre back with raw potential. Over the years his game has developed and he’s proved to be one of the league’s most consistent defenders of the last decade. When talking about the best defenders to have graced the Premier League over the past decade or so, Gallas is rarely, if ever, mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Ferdinand, Carragher, Vidic, Hyypia and Campbell, which I find somewhat puzzling.
Part of the problem when discussing the merits of William Gallas as a player is that it inevitably leads to questions on Gallas the person, something which has proved to be his downfall over the years. The perceived lack of loyalty he has shown to his former clubs over the years has gone a long way to courting negative headlines, something which live longer in the memory than his exploits on the pitch rather unfortunately do.
He left Chelsea under a cloud back in 2005, with the West London club even issuing a statement saying that Gallas threatened to score own goals unless allowed to depart for Arsenal. It was a sad way to end a 5-year spell at the club, during which he became praised for his versatility, calmness when in possession and pace, as he became a vital ingredient to Chelsea’s back-to-back title winning sides.
His controversial move to Arsenal saw him eventually rewarded with the captain’s armband in 2007 after Thierry Henry’s departure to Barcelona, ahead of the likes of Gilberto Silva and Kolo Toure.
[ad_pod id=’fox-mpu’ align=’right’]
But yet again, after the horrific leg break suffered by Eduardo away at Birmingham, Gallas was criticised for his petulant behaviour and refusal to leave the pitch at full-time after a late Birmingham equaliser left the player deflated, emotional and lost for words. Most observers thought that this sort of behaviour simply wasn’t befitting of an Arsenal captain and Gallas lost the captaincy the following season after revealing tensions within the Arsenal squad to the media, while also simultaneously criticising the hunger of some of the squad’s younger players.
Gallas was also sighted as a motivating factor behind Kolo Toure’s move to Man City in 2009, with the Ivory Coast defender later divulging that the pair were barely on speaking terms. It appeared that instead of uniting the dressing room, Gallas was playing a pivotal part in dividing it.
Injuries played their part as he wound down his time at Arsenal and amid rumours that the player was thought to be demanding £80,000 a-week in a proposed new two-year deal; a ludicrous sum of money for an injury-prone 32 year old defender, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger allowed him to depart on a free transfer at the end of last season.
Spurs manager Harry Redknapp then snapped him up, describing the move as a “no brainer” and during his time at White Hart Lane so far, Gallas has proved to be an astute signing, forming a solid partnership at the heart of the Spurs defence alongside Michael Dawson.
He’s also gone some way to displaying the leadership qualities that saw Arsene Wenger place so much faith in him during his captaincy spell at Arsenal. With the other centre-halves in the Spurs first-team ravaged by injury for much of the campaign, Gallas has been involved in 20 of the club’s 28 league fixtures, with his fitness proving a valuable asset to Harry Redknapp in times of need.
Controversy always seems to lurk just around the corner with Gallas though, such is the tempestuous nature inherent in his personality, and were it not for these public fallings out, he’d surely be regarded in much higher esteem among his peers than he already is now.
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 280 league games in the Premier League Gallas has scored an extremely helpful total of 24 goals. He’s quick, decent in the air and fantastic on the recovery, not to mention his reliable distribution skills. Gallas is often overlooked for praise by most, which is a shame; he’s been a fantastic servant to the English game, if not the clubs that he has played for.
He remains a divisive figure, of that there can be no doubt, but the Frenchman is often overlooked when it comes to the debate about the greatest centre-halves to have graced the Premier League over the course of the last decade. A questionable character, most definitely; but a questionable player – not a chance.
Luis Fernandez has been allowed to return to managing Israel after a ban from all football-related activity was lifted by FIFA.The former Paris Saint-German and Espanyol coach was handed the ban in February after becoming involved in a dispute with former club Al Rayyan, who claimed the Frenchman owed them 400,000 euros after quitting the Qatari outfit for Beitar Jerusalem in 2005.Fernandez was told he had until March 4 to settle his dispute with Al Rayyan, with FIFA announcing on Monday that they were satisfied the matter had been put to rest and the 51-year-old could resume his duties with Israel.”FIFA has announced officially that all the restrictions imposed on Israel’s national coach have been lifted,” a statement on the Israel Football Association’s website said.”We wish Luis success in the upcoming challenges against Latvia and Georgia.” Fernandez said he was looking forward to resuming his role with Israel, stating that ‘we all need to concentrate on one thing – winning all six points in the upcoming games against Latvia and Georgia’.Fourth in Group F of European Championships qualifying with four points from four games, Israel will play Latvia on March 26 and Georgia on March 29 in Tel Aviv.
Should we sell Cesc Fabregas in the summer? Could we cash in on Gael Clichy? Will Arsene Wenger wring the deadwood? Will Jack Wilshere become lethargic?
To be honest with you, I couldn’t give a flying frisbee about those matters right now. All I want is a win. I want Arsenal to record a victory this Saturday so I can writhe in my footballing self-righteousness.
Losing sucks, and as you can guess, I am a very sore loser. I slept on the sofa around this time last year because my girlfriend beat me at Monopoly. A pointless freaking board game based solely on the luck of the dice. I remember it well. The sun glistened on the iron’s handle as my property stack grew quicker and stronger every minute. Unfortunately it all went to pot, and the iron, along with the flea ridden yelping dog, ended up decorating the floor.
Amazingly, we’ve had several rematches since then and I have won them all. Interestingly, I cannot remember a single thing about any of these games. Apart from maybe the very unattractive gloating that followed.
[ad_pod id=’unruly’ align=’right’]
You’ve probably figured out the point of this tangent and the parallels that can be drawn about the current crop of players. If not, then I should really give up on this whole writing business and find a new hobby. But for those of you who aren’t following, these Arsenal players must be sick to the back of their teeth of memories that, like the Monopoly club, end in tears and petulance.
The Gunners faced West Brom, Newcastle, Birmingham City, Barcelona and Manchester United and guess what, they lost. Just how long will it be before this group of players learn that it is not okay to feel sorry for themselves, whilst others parade before them?
I truly don’t care how we win any more, I really don’t. I don’t care if Robin Van Persie needs something specific by his side when travelling to away games, and I don’t care if Arsene Wenger is found to have ordered a box of Werther’s Originals. All I really want, and care about, is a victory over Blackburn at the Emirates this weekend, and a further 8 victories to follow. Then, and only then, can I forget about Monopoly.
Read more of Gavin’s articles at Gunnersphere
[divider]
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.
He may have gotten his revenge, but Roy Hodgson said he took no extra pleasure in watching his West Brom side beat Liverpool 2-1 on Saturday.The Baggies beat the Reds for the first time in the Premier League era after two penalties from Chris Brunt overturned Martin Skrtel’s opener at The Hawthorns.
But Hodgson said the win had no extra significance despite his acrimonious departure from the Merseyside club after an ill-fated stint as manager.
“I get no extra pleasure from beating Liverpool. I made a lot of friends when I was at Liverpool,” Hodgson said.
“The players, I have a lot of time and respect for, and the coaching staff, many of them worked with me and worked very loyally.”
“I don’t take any particular pleasure in that (victory).”
“The great pleasure I take is beating Liverpool because it is not something West Brom do very often.”
The victory rockets West Brom to 12th place on a congested Premier League table and Hodgson praised the character of his squad to keep fighting for their survival.
“I am more than satisfied, I am really happy with the performance. I thought apart from the first 15 minutes, we took the game to Liverpool and played some really good football,” he said.
“When we went a goal down, it was very much against the run of play, but it was a great achievement for the players to put that behind them and score two goals.”
“We’ve come back a couple of times against Stoke, Wolves and now.”
“I don’t doubt the commitment of the players and their ability to come back from being a goal down.”
“We do have a considerable goal threat in the team and it was nice to see the team pass the ball so well against a quality team like Liverpool.”
Liverpool’s loss was compounded by injuries to defenders Daniel Agger and Glen Johnson, with skipper Steven Gerrard already sidelined after reinjuring his groin during training this week.
“We’ve lost Steven before the game, lost Glen and probably Daniel Agger as well so we just need to get on with it and do the best we can with what we’re left with,” Hodgson said.
“Steven got injured in training, we’ll just assess it, we’ll know later on in the week how he is and what the damage is and the length of time.”
“They did look a bit leggy, but West Brom had 14 players away, and they looked a wee bit short as well.”