All posts by h79snht.top

Joe Cole to Lille? Owen Hargreaves to City? Madness, and it’s not even transfer deadline day yet.

If there was a sentence I didn’t expect to hear was: ‘Owen Hargreaves in line for City move.’

And it’s news like this that sum up everything I hate about City.

Don’t get me wrong, they play some sensational football and have a squad of players that, I fully predict, will push Premier League champions Manchester United all the way in this season’s title race. But their never ending campaign to buy players like they’re playing a game of Football Manager simply ruins everything I love about the sport.

Despite being strongly linked with a move to West Bromwich Albion, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa – sensible career opportunities – the former Manchester United midfielder has moved to City; how did that happen?

Why do clubs buy players they simply do not need?  Mancini will have to work out how to fit Hargreaves into a team that already boasts a wealth of midfielders.

Gareth Barry, Adam Johnson, Nigel de Jong, James Milner, David Silva, Yaya Toure and Shaun Wright-Phillips – that’s not to mention City’s £25 million summer signing, Samir Nasri.

The only logic I can find in acquiring Hargreaves is the inevitable call up of Yaya Toure to the African Cup of Nations, but let’s not forget we’re talking about a player who made just 26 starts following his £20.2m move from Bayern Munich in July 2007. Do City not have any youth they can call upon?

Hargreaves, a pretty sound bench-warmer to say the least – but City have a few of those already.

So many players have made the ‘dream move’ to City only to fall by the wayside, failing to make an impact and a hand-full of appearances.

Craig Bellamy, Roque Santa Cruz, Emmanuel Adebayor, even Carlos Tevez, all fantastic players, but players that can’t get a game at City and are either frustrated or have moved on.

I appreciate the need for strength in depth and fully admire Manchester City’s ability to attract such big name players, but I fail to see the desire to need or want a player that has had an injury mired career, a player that has not played in two years, a player they simply do not need.

Doubts over Hargreaves fitness have been rife ever since his move to Manchester United. But any recent doubts appear to have been quashed with a series of YouTube videos aimed at proving the midfielders fitness.

City can afford Hargreaves to get injured and not play; if he’s fit I guess that is a bonus to them and it’s perhaps this that annoys me most.

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Manchester United fans may feel a little let down by a player they held such admiration for and a player they stood by for so many years while he recovered from a number of injuries. For them a move across to the blue side of Manchester is the ultimate insult. But, we are talking about a player that offered to play for free this season – United turned down his offer.

City can’t seem to stop buying players. In August 2010 they spent in excess of £130 million strengthening their midfield and have spent £70 million this summer bolstering their side.

The ‘can’t beat them, join them’ mentality lives strong at City and Hargreaves is just the latest addition.

Follow me on twitter: @iamdanmorris

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Manchester United defender Patrice Evra feels that despite his side’s 3-1 win over Chelsea on Sunday and unbeaten start to the season, they can and must improve.

The France international was not happy with the manner of the Old Trafford team’s victory over Andre Villas Boas’ men at the weekend, and believes they can play better.

“Maybe I am being hard on myself but it is the first time we didn’t control the game,” he told Sky Sports.

“We have five wins. Yes, it is a good start but I always want more. I hope we control the next game against Stoke.

“We shouldn’t rush things. That is why we gave the ball away too easily. That is why I am not so happy. We won a big game. We have scored three times against Chelsea. There are a lot of positive things.

“But when they scored the early goal in the second half I thought ‘we have to be strong to make sure Chelsea don’t come back and maybe even win 4-3’. If we want to win the league we will have to perform better than this,” he concluded.

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Sitting top of the standings, United take on Stoke at the Britannia on Saturday and will look to continue their perfect record so far.

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A massive weight was lifted off Owen Coyle’s shoulders after Bolton won for the first time since the opening day of the season beating Wigan 3-1 at the DW Stadium.

The Trotters have lost six on the trot and started the game at the foot of the table with chairman Phil Gartside telling Coyle he has four games to save his job. However Gartside has been sympathetic to man residing in the Reebok dugout having seen his side play both Manchester clubs, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal in their opening seven games. The 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Chelsea a fortnight ago caused some grumbles in the stands and a win against the Latics was imperative. Coyle’s men responded superbly with summer signings Nigel Reo-Coker, David N’Gog and Chris Eagles all opening their account for the club. Mohammed Diame had brought the home side level in the first period before another collapse saw them succumb to a fifth defeat on the spin.

Roberto Martinez’s side have failed to build on a positive opening to the season and find themselves in familiar surrounds stuck in the bottom three. Individual mistakes cost them dear despite dominating for long periods of the game with the return of Hugo Rodallega providing a boost despite his inability to find the net. It was the visitors who started the better of the two sides and took the lead with only four minutes on the clock through Reo Coker. The former Aston Villa midfielder darted in front of Gary Caldwell and flung himself at Eagles’ whipped cross to turn the ball home. That sparked Martinez’s men into life and the dominated the game until Diame brought the contest level five minutes before half time. A patient build up saw the midfielder pick up possession just outside the penalty area before striking a wonderful effort into the top corner past Jussi Jaaskelainen.

They undid all their good work though as Bolton regained their lead two minutes into first half stoppage time with David N’Gog scoring for the first time since his move from Liverpool. Kevin Davies punished some sloppy play by Steve Gohouri nicking the ball off the defender before finding N’Gog in the box with the Frenchman shifting the ball onto his left and cooly finishing past Ali Al Habsi. Martinez made an instant change at half time bringing Rodallega on at half time and Colombian gave Wigan a much needed presence up front. His link up play with Franco Di Santo was threatening whilst Victor Moses’ pace down the flanks caused Bolton numerous problems down the flank. Despite that they just couldn’t find the elusive second equaliser and had Al Habsi to thank for giving them a fighting chance of claiming a point as he saved Davies late penalty. Dedryck Boyata, who had earlier missed a glorious headed chance, was pushed by Caldwell in the area causing referee Mike Dean to point to the spot.

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Fortunately Al Habsi was able to keep Davies casual penalty out and give the hosts hope of snatching a point. But it wasn’t to be as Eagles struck Bolton’s third in injury time to give his side a much needed lift and move them out of the relegation zone and into 17th with Wigan remaining rooted two places below.

Danny Wilson , at just 19-years-old has already displayed a great deal of ability and has the potential to go on and be a top defender if he’s managed right. It’s finding the youngster regular game-time that may prove difficult for Kenny Dalglish and Liverpool . In total Danny has racked up eight appearances for the Reds, yet he’s found his opportunities extremely limited lately.

So far this season he has made just the one appearance, back in August. He’s just not getting the opportunity to prove himself. Jamie Carragher may be growing in years and Agger may be perpetually injured, yet the 19-year-old doesn’t seem to be any closer to first team football. Most Liverpool fans recognise the need for an experienced defender to join the club this January and don’t see Danny as the answer to their centre-back problem.

His lack of game time this season even saw him dropped from the senior Scotland squad for this month’s Euro 2012 qualifiers. Danny himself is just itching to play:

“There’s nothing worse than not being able to go out on the pitch on a Saturday and play, but I need to just keep my head down and hopefully I’ll either get some game time at Liverpool or get the chance to go somewhere else and try and prove myself.”

Given that chances at Liverpool are extremely limited the only way Wilson can prove himself is with a move to another team. Yet in his few appearances for the club he has shown Liverpool that he has genuine ability and for this reason Liverpool wont want to let him go on a permanent basis.

The best move for both player and club is this surely for Danny to go out on loan. It’s my personal hope that he joins a top Championship side (in the same way that Jonjo Shelvey was recently loaned out to Blackpool). If Wilson went to a club like Middlesbrough or Southampton who are performing well it would represent a chance for him to build confidence. I don’t think it’d help to have him at a club that is struggling to pick up results.

Young players don’t always have the mental strength of experienced older heads. So why not send Danny out on loan where he can develop a winning mentality? Either way I hope that he gets the move he needs to further a promising career.

Article courtesy of Harry Cloke from This is Futbol

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Win tickets to Legends Lounge to see the titanic clash at Anfield

Harry Redknapp is a seldom a man who likes to mince his words. Whether it’s expressing admiration for someone else’s player, or providing a flippant appraisal of Darren Bent’s finishing ability, he rarely leaves anything to the imagination.

The Europa League, the scourge of domestically-inclined managers across the continent, is another subject which has felt the full force and scorn of Redknapp’s tongue. The 64-year-old has certainly not been shy in admitting his disdain for the Champions League’s ugly little sister.

“It is a nuisance,” he cried before Spurs’ recent trip to Salonika.

His condescension is not unreasonable, especially when considering the whirlwind nature of the club’s maiden Champions League voyage last term. The aim, as Redknapp has stated, is for Spurs to feast upon the delights on offer at Europe’s top table once more.

White Hart Lane’s prized assets, including messrs Bale, Modrić and van der Vaart, excelled throughout Spurs’ trips across the continent’s footballing cathedrals last season while Europe’s traditional powerhouses sat up and fluttered their eyelashes. Redknapp is all too aware of this – midfield orchestrator Modrić pleaded with the club to consider Chelsea’s offers throughout the summer – and ensuring another top-four finish is high on his list of priorities.

Despite the prioritisation of domestic pursuits, the Europa League has certainly proved to be more than just a mere nuisance this season.

Mindful of fatigue, Redknapp has, for the most part, eschewed the use of first-choice players and instead opted to go with youth. And this approach appears to be paying off, with Spurs recently installed as the bookmakers’ favourites to win the trophy. Despite last night’s defeat to Rubin Kazan, Tottenham’s European fate is still in their own hands, with their next home game against PAOK Salonika likely to be the decisive tie.

Spurs made the 2,000 mile journey to the “Third Capital” of Russia on the back of a five-match tournament unbeaten run, a sequence which was made all the more impressive by Redknapp’s selective use of his squad.

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The side selected for Spurs’ opening Europa League Group A clash at PAOK Salonika included six players aged 21 or under, with the average age of the starting eleven weighing in at 23 years of age. Redknapp has used the competition to hand club debuts to four Academy graduates (Jake Nicholson, Ryan Fredericks, Thomas Carroll and Harry Kane), and as a platform to allow the likes of Jake Livermore and Andros Townsend to develop and flourish.

Redknapp has been particularly effusive in his praise of Europa League ever-present Jake Livermore. The 21-year-old midfielder has blossomed this season, and Redknapp has admitted that the club paid a premium for Scott Parker in order to keep Townsend at White Hart Lane.

“West Ham wanted to take him and, in the end, he didn’t want to go anyway. It didn’t happen and I’m pleased to have him here because he’s important for us,” he said.

“We paid more money for Scott in the end rather than throw Jake in as part of the deal.”

Like cross-city rivals Chelsea, Spurs have struggled to extract the best from their Academy over the last decade – club captain Ledley King is the only first-team regular to have been developed at the club – with successive managers preferring to buy rather than nurture.

With the impending implementations of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations and the Premier League’s Elite Player Performance Plan, the onus on grooming one’s own products will be greater and more important than ever. Spurs have already taken steps to rectify the quality of their production line, such as actively limiting the presence and prevalence of birth bias and disbanding their reserve team set-up.

However, there is no substitute for first-team exposure, and Livermore’s displays in the Premier League (he has featured for the club domestically too) seem to vindicate his manager’s selection policy in Europe, with Spurs permitted the opportunity to exhibit the finest collection of youth talent they’ve had in a generation.

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Nuisance? What nuisance?

Follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/zarifrasul

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Stoke ended a run of four consecutive Premier League defeats after they saw off a feeble fight from Blackburn at the Britannia Stadium to move into the top of half of the table.

The Potters went into the game desperate not to make it five top flight defeats in a row for the first time since the 1984/85 season and after a nervy opening finally took the lead through the unlikely source of Rory Delap. Tony Pulis’ side had to wait until the second half before securing victory with Glenn Whelan steering in his first goal for 18 months just before the hour before Peter Crouch wrapped up the win with 18 minutes left. It was their first three point haul since beating Fulham in mid-October and kept Blackburn deeply rooted in the relegation zone with boss Steve Kean once again presiding over a lifeless display from his side with Ruben Rochina grabbing a late consolation. Rovers had showed great resilience to claim a point at fellow relegation rivals Wigan last week but that fights spirit was missing at the Potteries as the home side strolled to an easy victory. The pressure is now firmly on Kean who, despite signing a new deal this week, was once again subject of protests from his own fans with the club looking like firm candidates for relegation. Stoke on the other hand moved back into the top half after inflicting an eight defeat of the season on a beleaguered Rovers side.

It was the away side who started the game in the ascendancy though with Kean’s players looking full of running and energy in the early exchanges although a distinct lack of quality in the final third with Rochina’s long range effort on the stroke of half time their only real effort. By the time that came Stoke had already taken the lead with Delap meeting Jermaine Pennant’s superb free kick to power a header past Paul Robinson just before the half hour. After a rather dour first forty five minutes the second half proved to be much better viewing with Blackburn once again starting with vigour only for them to fade as the game went on. They did have a superb chance to equalise just after the restart with Rochina’s dribble and subsequent cross finding Mauro Formica only for the striker to mis-cue his shot from six-yards. The away side’s confidence soon fizzled out allowing Stoke to take control of the game and it was no surprise when they doubled their lead on 58 minutes through Whelan. Some neat build up from Matthew Etherington and Jon Walters saw the ball find the Republic of Ireland midfielder 18-yards from goal and he made no mistake slamming the ball past Robinson via a deflection off Scott Dann.

Two became three soon after with Crouch smashing home a precise finish from 12-yards after Marc Wilson’s long ball had caught the Rovers defence cold allowing the England striker the freedom to pick his spot and wrap the points up for the Potters. The travelling Blackburn support continued to vent their frustrations over Kean’s tenure but did have something to celebrate after Rochina drilled home a consolation with four minutes to go. However a the pressure remains on him to turn things around at Ewood Park with a run of six wins in 33 good enough to get any other manager the sack rather than a new contract. Rovers fans will be demanding improvement in the coming weeks with the club four points adrift of safety and facing games against Swansea, Sunderland, West Brom and Bolton over the festive period.

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Another calendar year is nearing an end and the back of last season and the beginning of this have given football fans some terrific action and moments to get them excited. Records have been broken and some unbelievable foreign talent have flocked to our shores and taken the Premier League to the next level.

However, as good as the majority of the action has been, there has been lots of negatives attached to the best league in the world. Managers have not been given a chance and some managers have been given too long, big name players have decided that they are bigger than the club and mega bucks signings have failed to make an impact.

Here are the top ten let downs from 2011 and hopefully they are learnt from as the exciting prospect of 2012 is looming.

Click on John Terry and Anton Ferdinand to unveil the list

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Wesley Sneijder to Manchester United must be one of the longest running transfer sagas in recent memory, if not the most annoying. It is clear the Dutchman apparent love to come to English football continues to hit a stumbling block; basically nobody fancies agreeing to his wage demands, therefore ensuring he will remain at the San Siro until the summer at least.

I suppose a transfer window would be lost without some sort of saga and we were privy to plenty last summer with the Modric to Chelsea dispute, Cesc Fabregas finally fulfilling his move to Barcelona, while Samir Nasri left both Manchester clubs dangling before the Frenchman decided that he would go for the bigger pay-cheque at the Etihad Stadium. Fleet Street craves these sagas and it helps fill a lot of column inches on a daily basis.

Unfortunately the January window has been quiet so far with the only genuine saga being whether and when Gary Cahill was going to sign for Chelsea. I’m sure we are witnessing the calm before the eventual storm and we are likely to see plenty of activity in the coming week.

The following list focuses on the transfer sagas that have gripped football in recent years and caused something of a stir.

Click on Jon Obi-Mikel to unveil the top 10

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Wigan have confirmed that they have signed Jean Beausejour from Birmingham City for an undisclosed fee.

The Chile international winger has put pen-to-paper on a two and a half year deal at the DW Stadium, with the move being rubber-stamped after the South American passed a medical on Wednesday.

Roberto Martinez is delighted to have added the attacking midfielder to his squad, and feels Beausejour could play an important part in keeping The Latics in the English top flight.

“Jean is a player we have been tracking for a long time since he made a huge impression on us with his role for Chile in the World Cup,” Martinez told the club’s official website.

“Now Jean has 18 months of experience in the British game and his dynamism, technical ability and tactical concepts will bring a different dimension into our squad.

“He is ready to bring his own experience and his energy into the fantastic challenge that as a football club we’re facing in the next 16 games of the season,” the Spanish coach stated.

Beausejour also spoke of his happiness at moving to Wigan, and is keen to get started with his new team.

“Roberto told me about the plans he has for the club and I am really excited to join and meet my team-mates.

“We have a really tough end of the season, but I am really looking forward to the challenge ahead.

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“I want to thank all the supporters at Birmingham and now I have to concentrate on getting in the team and doing my best for Wigan Athletic,” he commented.

By Gareth McKnight

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Arsene Wenger has stated that he will send his Arsenal team out to score against AC Milan on Wednesday night in the first leg of their last 16 Champions League showdown.

The Gunners will be aware of the quality in the Italian side’s ranks, but their coach is looking for all-important away goals at the San Siro.

“The European system is organised to reward audacious action away from home,” Wenger told the club’s official website.

“When you go away in the Champions League, you have to score.

“The best way to score is play in an offensive way and we will try to do that.”

Meanwhile, Gunners playmaker Mikel Arteta is hoping his influence can help to balance the Arsenal team.

“I watch the game from behind [the attackers] and I know that when we become too open we leave many spaces and concede goals,” he told Arsenal Player.

“I just try to balance the team a little bit.

“Sometimes I would like to go forward more, but I’ve still had chances and the goal [against Blackburn] was my sixth this year, which isn’t bad.

“I don’t want to be the main man; we all know who the main man is and that’s Robin [van Persie]. He is the leader, he is the one who makes a real difference.

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“Everyone is part of a machine and we are all just trying to make the machine work as well as we can,” he concluded.

By Gareth McKnight

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