As 2010 draws to a close, both Roberto Di Matteo and Owen Coyle will reflect on a very successful last twelve months. For Coyle, the controversial move from Burnley to the Reebok stadium has paid dividends, as he has been able to successfully implement the enterprising style he employed whilst at Turf Moor.
Di Matteo has had similar success since ascending to the top flight with the Baggies. One of the favourites for relegation before the season started, West Brom have shaken off a poor start to record an impressive win at the Emirates, before coming from behind to draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Predicting this match up is pretty difficult, particularly as both sides have shown a propensity to win games the form book suggests they shouldn’t, and throw points away in places where they should emerge victorious.
Bolton will feel at home they should be able to see off the newly promoted Albion, and in clashes of this nature, the Trotters’ ability to play a more direct brand of football, combined with a greater experience of the hectic Christmas Premier League programme should be enough to prevail here.
Kenny Dalglish finally got his first victory in his second spell in charge of Liverpool, as the Reds ran out comfortable 3-0 winners against Wolves in the lunchtime Premier League fixture at Molineux. The win puts an end to Liverpool’s dreadful run of form away from home and lifts them into the top half of the Premier League table, for a couple of hours at least.
The victory against Wolves today was largely down to two men: Raul Meireles, who arguably put in his best performance in a Liverpool shirt contributing a goal and an assist, and Fernando Torres, who got back in amongst the goals with a brace. The Spaniard’s goals will be classed as tap-ins, but Meireles’ certainly wasn’t as the Portuguese midfielder hit a stunning volley. So does the comfortable victory over Wolves mark the start of the Liverpool revival? We’ll just have to wait and see…
What are the FIVE things you learnt about Liverpool today?
The Villa Park faithful will have a first chance to see new recruit Darren Bent in action as the former Sunderland marksman attempts to lift his new employers out of relegation danger.
Manchester City are scoring plenty of goals, but do allow opponents back into games other top sides might have put to bed. City absolutely destroyed Villa in the first meeting between these two clubs, although Mario Balotelli, Villa’s tormenter in chief that day will be absent.
Gerard Houllier’s men have been very poor over the last few months – the late equaliser conceded against Manchester United has had a negative effect on team morale. Houllier will not be able to hide behind a lack of transfer funds as an excuse for Villa’s insipid performances, however I cannot see this being the game to turn their horror trot around.
Prediction: 1-3
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A decision on the future of London’s Olympic Stadium has been delayed following weeks of debate on the tenants of the venue after the 2012 Games .
Premier League clubs West Ham and Tottenham have both submitted bids to use the stadium after the London Olympics, and a final decision was due on Friday.
But the Olympic Park Legacy Company said it needs more time to analyse each bid before making its decision.
An OPLC spokesman said: “Given the detailed nature of both bids received, we need more time to seek further clarification with both bidders in order to identify a preferred bidder.”
“The stadium is a significant public asset and we have a duty to run a robust process.”
“Securing the most appropriate solution for the stadium is vital to our long-term aspirations for the future Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the wider regeneration of the area.”
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Tottenham have tabled a bid which involves transforming the arena into a football-only venue, while West Ham intend to retain the athletics track at the stadium, as was promised in London’s original Olympic bid.
Tottenham have offered to redevelop the ageing Crystal Palace National Sports Centre as compensation for the loss of the athletics track.
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola is not fazed about the venue for his side’s Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid in April.
There had been reports one of the two sides could play at home in the final, which will be played on Wednesday April 20, going against the standard practice of staging a cup final at a neutral venue.
Whatever the authorities decide, Guardiola insists his men will be ready.
“We will go wherever they decide,” Guardiola said. “We will turn up wherever the federation decides that we will play.”
“It doesn’t worry me at all. If it is at the Bernabeu, then we will go there. If it is the Camp Nou, then we will play here – they decide.”
“The normal thing to do for a cup final is to play it at a neutral venue. But the federation are in charge. With the help of (Real president) Florentino Perez and (Barca president) Sandro Rosell, they will decide where we play.”
The Barcelona boss is hopeful of some heavy scoring when his side plays host to Atletico Madrid in La Liga action on Saturday, and said that despite the Europa League champions’ poor form of late, he was looking forward to a tough encounter.
“Atletico Madrid want to beat Real Madrid and Barcelona, but they are professionals who have won the Europa League and the European Supercup,” Guardiola said.
“They are a team who had to perform miracles in order to get a chance on goal four days ago (in their 2-0 home loss to Athletic Bilbao).”
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“They are a very good team on a bad run of form, which happens at times, but they are one of the big sides in Spanish football and they come here tomorrow.”
“With it being a Saturday game against Atletico Madrid, I expect and hope that the stadium will be full.”
“I hope that it is a game like those between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have always been, and that there are a lot of goals. We will do our best to make that happen.”
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp was delighted his side emerged from a Tuesday of controversy with a Champions League victory in Milan.
Redknapp’s side went to the San Siro full of confidence and produced a hard-fought 1-0 victory, thanks to a late strike from Peter Crouch. But the game was not without its flash points, including a two-footed tackle from Milan midfielder Mathieu Flamini and Gennaro Gattuso’s clash with Tottenham assistant Joe Jordan after the final whistle.
Spurs boss Redknapp was pleased with his side’s team performance, but singled out Aaron Lennon and Heurelho Gomes for special praise.
“It was a fantastic performance, the lads were brilliant,” Redknapp said.
“In the first half we were by far the better team. I knew they would press in the second half and it was hard not to drop deep, but the lads at the back were magnificent. We hit them on the break and it was well deserved. For the first 25 minutes we were the better team.”
“We said at half-time to give the ball to (Aaron) Lennon as he had the beating of his man. He did fantastically to square it (for the goal).”
“The whole team were magnificent, every one of them did their job. (Heurelho) Gomes made big saves at vital times. It was a great night for the crowd. It was important to play in the right areas and pick the right ball – and we did.”
But Redknapp was less enamoured with Milan midfielder Mathieu Flamini’s two-footed lunge on Vedran Corluka which forced the Croatian off the pitch.
Remarkably, Flamini was only given a yellow card for the tackle, leaving Redknapp incensed.
“That’s a red card all day – how do you not get a red card for that?” he said.
“It’s an absolute disgrace – they should look at that surely and they should do something about that, that is a dangerous, dangerous tackle.”
Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri bemoaned his side’s mistake in the lead up to the counter-attack that provided the Spurs goal, but says his side can still qualify for the quarter-finals.
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“The mistake with that counter-attack cost us a lot,” Allegri said.
“We were pushing hard at that time, trying to gain an advantage. Tottenham defended well and closed down all the space – it had been a really difficult game for us. We made too many mistakes, especially when we were not in possession.”
“We played better after the restart, even if we were only dangerous from free-kicks. This defeat is a pity because Tottenham didn’t create many chances and now we must overturn this result in London. It will be a different game, but I think qualification is still up for grabs. We have to play with balance and have faith in our quality.”
Hoffenheim dealt Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund just their third loss of the season, while Bayern Munich thrashed Hamburg on Saturday.Ninth-placed Hoffenheim had not won in four games heading into their clash with the runaway league leaders at Rhein Neckar Arena, but Vedad Ibisevic’s goal in the 63rd minute was enough to secure a 1-0 victory for the hosts.Bayern Munich’s hopes of reeling in Dortmund are all but over, but they at least snapped a three-game losing streak in all competitions with their 6-0 triumph over Hamburg at the Allianz Arena.Dutch international winger Arjen Robben scored a hat-trick, netting Bayern’s first three goals in the 40th, 47th and 55th minutes.France midfielder Franck Ribery added the fourth in the 64th minute – assisted by Robben – before Germany attacker Thomas Mueller made it 5-0 15 minutes later.A Heiko Westermann own-goal topped off a rampant victory for Bayern and moved them above Mainz into fourth spot on the table, though Louis van Gaal’s side have played an extra game.Schalke 04 moved into 10th place with a late 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt at the Veltins Arena.Spaniard Jurado put the hosts ahead on the stroke of half-time from the penalty spot, but Georgios Tzavellas equalised in the 70th minute for Frankfurt.Substitute striker Angelos Charisteas took just 60 seconds to have an impact on the game after coming off the bench for Mario Gavranovic, scoring the winner in the 84th minute.Kaiserslautern upset seventh-placed Freiburg 2-1 with a 90th-minute winner to Erwin Hoffer at the Fritz Walter Stadion.Freiburg forward Adam Nemec scored at both ends to leave the match poised at 1-1, before Hoffer’s heroics helped Kaiserslautern out of the relegation zone.Nuremburg came from behind to beat Wolfsburg 2-1 at the Volkswagen Arena.Croatia forward Mario Mandzukic had put the hosts on target for a crucial victory with a 23rd-minute goal, but Nuremburg were level at half-time courtesy of defender Philipp Woolscheid.Swedish centre back Per Nilsson nabbed the winner for Nuremburg at the death to leave Wolves just one point outside the drop zone.
If Fabio Capello thought that he had bought himself a little respite with the media after a shocking World Cup, then he finds himself back in the firing line following his decision to reappoint John Terry as captain. I am not suggesting that Terry is a bad choice, far from it, but is the armband really going to make a huge difference in his commitment for his country? There is no prouder lion than JT, regardless of whether he is wearing the armband or not.
Capello has just created a mess where he didn’t need to and the decision has done little more than rub Rio Ferdinand up the wrong way. The way it has been handled is an indictment of the poor communication that appears to have surrounded Capello’s reign and Rio certainly deserved better than to find out he had lost the role within the media.
Rio has been an absolute gentleman about the decision and has wished John Terry well, and it certainly won’t stop him giving 100% the next time he puts on an England shirt. I think that it is the bottom line of all this and while the rest of the squad won’t mind one iota about Capello’s decision, it is that the honour of playing for your country far outweighs your concerns about leading it, therefore that is why I find it strange to alienate not only Rio, but Stevie G as well by making this decision. It was a headache that Fabio didn’t need to create and only serves to throw further pressure on himself.
But let’s be honest, does the captaincy at any level, mean anything now? There was a time when the captain and vice ran the playing side of the football club and were that only bridge between the players and the manager; whereas now the armband is handed around like confetti and you only have to look back to that England friendly where no fewer than eight players were given the armband and now have the personal recognition of claiming they captained their country. It no longer holds the honour it once did and maybe Capello feels that JT holds the England pennant in a better fashion, or has a stronger handshake for the opposition, but the decision certainly does seem a bizarre. John Terry would have run through brick walls for his country anyway, regardless of the band of elastic around his arm, therefore the point of attempting to fix something that wasn’t broken seems like a pointless task by Capello to me.
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Former Tottenham, Liverpool and West Ham defender Neil ‘Razor’ Ruddock is one of the great characters of English football. Razor has the same no-nonsense attitude off the pitch as he did on it.
Uncompromising, controversial and outspoken, read more of Razor’s thoughts in his weekly column
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Pick over a current world eleven? Easy. Decide upon the worst FA Cup final suit in the history of Wembley clashes? No problem. Choose from a list of classic football video games and identify a winner? Impossible.
I thought this was going to be the most fun article ever. The idea of smashing out hours of qualification drama on FIFA: Road to the World Cup with a fledgling Trinidad and Tobago side and once, just once winning the league title on Pro Evolution Soccer 5 sounded incredible.
Alas, my task was a little tougher than I thought it might be. Can I justify including Steven Gerrard’s Gameboy Advance game in the list, even though no one will have heard of it? Can I possibly get a mention in for ‘Michael Owen’s World League Soccer’ and the painstaking banter between the forgotten Peter Brackley and Ray Wilkins every time there is a lull in play?
I know I can’t possibly please everyone, but all of the games on this list are absolute masterpieces, one way or another- let me know your favourite…
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10: FIFA Street (2005)
Presumably inspired by the Nike advert from the 2002 World Cup, FIFA Street was EA Sports’ attempt at trying to bridge the gap between themselves and the phenomenally successful Pro Evolution Soccer series.
Released in between their 2005 and 2006 editions, the game never really took off, and was a little too complicated, however there was enough about it to admire its inventiveness. Putting Peter Crouch on the front cover, however, was not the smartest move in the world…
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9: FIFA 2000 (1999)
By the turn of the century, the FIFA series was almost untouchable. Helped by a number of turkeys released around the same time, such as; ‘Michael Owen’s World league Soccer’ and ‘This is Football’, the game franchise was a significant force to be reckoned with. This edition, released in October 1999 managed to pack in the first comprehensive season mode and the ability to unlock classic teams.
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8:World Cup Italia 90 (1990)
Not quite the game that started it all off, but one of the first attempts to try and tie in a major tournament with a video game release. Sega’s Mega Drive was not renowned for its sports simulators, however there was much here that later games would build on.
The interface is very reminiscent of arcade soccer games that adorned cinemas, leisure centres and airports throughout the 1990’s, and for a game that is over 20 years old, the concept and graphics hold up well.
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7: FIFA RTWC (1998)
Back when I first acquired a football game for the PC, my main requirements were that the goalkeeper could get sent off and that you could give every player on your side a peroxide blonde haircut in tribute to the Romanian side that donned the look in that year’s World Cup.
Sadly, the holy grail of the goalkeeper getting sent off was still some years away, however this game remains very close to my heart. A meticulous qualification process was available to those with patience, and the database of players and teams from across the world was unrivalled. The commentary of Des Lynam, Andy Gray (R.I.P) and John Motson was also world class.
6: Pro Evolution Soccer 2 (2002)
Who would have known that a game which referred to West Ham as ‘Lake District’ would go on to be such a major success? The Japanese company, Konami, were responsible for the creation of the Pro Evolution Soccer (Winning Eleven) Series and in the early years of the PS2 implementation, rose to become FIFA’s biggest rival.
Games snobs initially refused to play PES because of the lack of licencing on any of the top sides or players, however the addictive nature of the series took off, even with a control system which was in direct contrast with its rival.
Played now, the game feels very dated, but the framework for success was laid here for more illustrious successors.
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5: Championship Manager 2 (1995)
Before the 2004 Eidos/ Sports Interactive split put paid to this top selling franchise, Championship Manager, was a humongous hit for football fans. Like Sensible Soccer, it was the first game of it’s kind with creators Paul and Oliver Collyer, designing the game from the confines of their bedrooms.
Starting slowly, the series exploded with the release of Championship Manager 2. Implementing many of the key features which adorn management games today, the 1995 release remained popular even after more updated versions were made available.
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4: FIFA 2010 (2009)
When the Playstation 3 finally hit shelves in the first quarter of 2007, the big question surrounded how EA Sports and Konami would deal with the transition from PS2 to PS3.
FIFA games from the early noughties had become formulaic and to be honest, pretty dull. As always they were a visual treat, but the ability to bend the ball in on the volley from 40 yards every game quickly became mundane.
When PS3 came along, everything changed. Konami struggled to transfer the fluidity of the PS2 hits when developing a visually more impressive product for the new console. EA Sports were quickly ahead, learning from many of the mistakes they had made in the PS2 era.
FIFA 2010 was an amalgamation of the best parts of the franchise’s visually stunning past, and the addictive playability that had contributed so much to the success of EA’s rivals.
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3: Pro Evolution Soccer 6 (2006)
I once sat down with a friend at university and had a race to 100 (ish) wins on ‘Pro Evo 6’ over the course of a term. It was the sort of titanic tussle that I will look back on with my grandchildren and explain how I gave away a 35-6 lead and recovered from being 95-70 behind to draw level at 99 apiece.
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There was something about Pro Evo 6 that compelled you to keep playing. It had neither the technical wizardry of recent FIFA Playstation 3 versions, nor the endearing loveableness of earlier Konami incarnations, but it was just so damn addictive.
Despite drinking enough Red Bull to believe that Tal Ben Haim might actually be a decent central defender, taking the shoulder buttons out of my controller because I believed it made Michael Ballack run faster, and not showering for three days I eventually lost the series 105-103. Needless to say, I struggled with the ladies that term…
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2: Football Manager 2005 (2004)
After being the product of the Eidos/ Sports Interactive split in 2004, Football Manager has set new standards for sport’s management games. Quite simply, the level of detail and control afforded the armchair fan is insane.
Sports Interactive have done particularly well in creating a consistent interface across each edition which they still release on an annual basis. The biggest advantage over competitors, however was the introduction of the network game, linking armchair fans all over the world. Millions of courses, degrees and exams have been failed the world over as a result of this particular feature.
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1: Sensible Soccer (1992)
When I took a straw poll of my friends’ favourite games on this list, Sensible Soccer was the first name on everyone’s lips.
When you look at the game’s level of invention, it is not hard to see why it remains such a popular title. Originally released for the PC, later 3D versions were released, however, it was this basic, birds eye view of the football pitch that initially won over fans.
The 1994 release of The Sensible World of Soccer was later named as one of the ten most important video games ever created by a Stanford study. Most uniquely, SS managed to transfer it’s charms across all platforms and systems- a feat that both FIFA and PES have yet to manage.
Stoke City boss Tony Pulis believes the Football Association needs to crack down on players trying to get their opponents sent off.After a difficult week for the image of discipline in the English game, it was a less-publicised incident during Tottenham’s thrashing at the hands of Real Madrid which caused Pulis to grimace.
It was the sight of the Madrid players surrounding the referee in a bid to get Peter Crouch sent off following the reckless lunge on Marcelo which earned him a second yellow card and an early shower.
“I’ve watched the game and I have to say that they were two silly lunges from an experienced player, but I always get desperately disappointed today when players roll around,” Pulis said ahead of Saturday’s away clash with Spurs.
“They’ve done their best to make sure the referee is under enough pressure. I’m not condoning what Crouch did but players can help (other) players today.”
The FA have been keen to enforce their Respect campaign this season, culminating in a two-match ban for Wayne Rooney for cursing at a TV camera, but Pulis believes the powers that be have lost grip of the real problems in football.
“We talk about respect for referees, players should respect players as well and it’s something that’s crept into our game and something that’s been accepted because certain people at the top of the game almost cover themselves from incidents that occur when challenges take place,” Pulis said.
“I do think it’s almost a disease that’s gripped English football. I think Gordon Taylor has a responsibility to talk about it and I think the FA and the referees’ association have a responsibility to look at it.”
“You see people feigning injury and you see people diving and I think those players should be reprimanded.”
“We talk about bad challenges and we talk about certain incidents in the game and we got to the top with them, well that’s the worst type for me because it’s cheating.”
Stoke could climb into the top half of the Premier League and put a huge dent in Spurs’ Champions League qualification ambitions with a win at White Hart Lane, but will have to do so without Danny Higginbotham, who has been ruled out of action for up to six months due to a cruciate knee ligament injury.