Manchester City got one over their neighbours last weekend as they beat United 1-0 at Wembley to set up an FA Cup final with Stoke next month. A Yaya Toure winner was enough for Roberto Mancini’s men to prevail, as they weathered early Manchester United pressure to dominate for large periods. As you would expect there was plenty of needle between the teams, with Paul Scholes getting sent off for sinking his studs into Pablo Zabaleta. The biggest moment of controversy came after the final whistle, though, as City striker Mario Balotelli angered Rio Ferdinand and the Man United fans with his celebrations. Here’s Mario winking at Ferdinand, but what’s Rio saying in response?
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Alan Pardew admits he is targeting a top 10 finish after Newcastle’s 2-1 win over Birmingham lifted them into the top half of the table.Newcastle have two matches in which to stay there this season following a victory over a lacklustre Birmingham side.
Shola Ameobi’s penalty after Liam Ridgewell was sent off for handling on the line and Steven Taylor’s goals were enough to win it for Newcastle, although Birmingham did pull one back through Lee Bowyer.
And Pardew said: “I am very pleased because it has been a very difficult week at the training ground, especially after Liverpool beat us last week.”
“We lost our focus. We had our own little rally and we focused for this game. Losing would have made things a bit jittery and spoilt our good work.”
“But we were focused today and although Birmingham tried to nullify us, we were patient and I knew our time would come. It came with a flurry too – it was a definite penalty but maybe the red was debatable.”
“We could have had four goals. One little lapse from one of our players of the season in Fabricio Coloccini gave them a lift, but we were professional in the second half. We created enough chances for the next goal but it is not too disappointing.”
And Pardew now wants to end the season on a high by remaining in the top half.
“I am delighted with 44 points and we can dream for a top 10 finish now. We have worked really hard,” Pardew said.
Alec McLeish admitted he had no complaints with Newcastle’s penalty but thought Taylor was lucky not to get a red card of his own.
“It hit (Ridgewell’s) arm and he was on the line. The referee has seen the arm go towards the ball and that is a penalty, as that’s the rule,” he said.
“I am disappointed but we were soft at corners. They had too many free headers. Ben Foster worked wonders to keep the header out for the first goal but then we conceded a penalty from it.”
“It was a penalty and that’s the rules. It was going across the face of goal and he handled it.”
But Birmingham manager McLeish was disappointed not to see Taylor sent off for an alleged elbow on Cameron Jerome.
He added: “Steven Taylor should have been sent off for an elbow but the ref didn’t see it, unfortunately. That type of challenge is outlawed.”
West Brom boss Roy Hodgson insists Somen Tchoyi is a big part of his plans for 2011-12 after he bagged a hat-trick in their 3-3 draw at Newcastle.The two newly promoted outfits had already secured survival heading into the clash, but Newcastle looked to be on track for a comfortable win when goals from Steven Taylor, Peter Lovenkrands and an own goal from Jonas Olsson handed them a 3-0 lead.
But a superb second-half hat-trick from Cameroonian international Tchoyi secured a point for West Brom and an 11th-placed finish, with Hodgson stating the midfielder is a required player at The Hawthorns.
“It has taken me a while to get to know him and luckily we have done the job (securing safety from relegation) without him,” Hodgson said.
“But he is obviously going to be a very important figure for us next year.”
“The more I have seen of him in training, the more I have got to see him in games, I have started to realise that he has got a special talent. He certainly brought it out today and got us a very valuable point.”
Newcastle boss Alan Pardew said he had already turned his attention to next season after his side’s 12th-placed finish this term, starting by identifying potential signings to bolster his squad.
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“We have started that process,” Pardew said. “But we had so many first-team players missing today and we need to make sure they are fit and healthy.”
“These big players are important and we want to add to that. We want to take out three or four players and bring in four who are of the same quality.”
Juventus can sign Sergio Aguero, but his price tag is 45 million euros.
That is how much Atletico Madrid want for the Argentina striker, who has scored 74 goals in 175 appearances for the La Liga club since signing from Independiente in 2006.
Speaking to Radio Marca, Atletico chief Miguel Angel Gil Marin rejected claims that Real Madrid wanted the player by revealing that Juventus have come forward.
“I have received no offer from Real Madrid and (President) Florentino Perez has assured me that they are not interested in the player,” Marin said.
“The only side which I have talked to are Juventus.”
“I have been contacted by the Italian club, they have sent me a letter in which they have asked to negotiate for the player.”
“Last Monday we received a fax from the Bianconeri. They showed their interest, but we will only let Aguero go for 45 million – and not a euro less.”
That figure is the same as Aguero’s release clause in his contract. Although such clauses are only valid domestically, in this case to Spanish clubs, it seems that Atletico still expect that sort of figure.
Juventus director general Beppe Marotta did meet with Aguero’s agents in Turin recently, but it is understood that he has yet to make Atletico an offer.
Earlier, the 22-year-old said he felt he needed a move to continue his development.
“I said long ago that when I wanted to go, I would say so publicly. And the time has come,” the statement on his website said.
“So I keep to my word and here I am. I find it hard to leave Atletico. It hurts and saddens me.”
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“I’ve thought long and hard and I am convinced that I must be true to myself.”
“I do not think I put a ceiling on the ability to keep learning, to keep growing.”
“After five intense years, this stage for me personally is over and I have to give way to a new one.”
That’s it for me. After three decades as a season ticket holder starting on the old standing North Bank, I’m out. Today is deadline day for Gold members. I shan’t be renewing. This decision has been agony for me. I’ve been going since January 1968.
The decision to raise prices by an average of 4% plus the 2.5% rise in VAT (the increase for Gold members in the highest category works out to 7.1%) was the final straw for me. I haven’t got the money, I’m not going to beg for charity and at an average of over £75 per game my seat represents a complete rip-off.
I’m not going to try for a soft landing by “renting” my seat out. I have to have the courage of my convictions. I shall become a Red member and take my chances on tickets being available for the odd game I can afford and want to go to. I shall give my custom to my “second teams” Barnet and AFC Wimbledon. It won’t be close to the same but they will be pleasant days out.
Ivan Gazidis was courteous enough to offer me a personal discussion following my open letter to him. I am grateful for that courtesy but nothing I said to him changed his mind or that of the board. Our discussion was before the Kroenke takeover. Clearly that was planned for the end of the season but brought forward due to Danny Fiszman’s ill-health and subsequent death.
We now face the prospect of the ownership of Arsenal resting with men who live in Moscow and Missouri thousands of miles and many time zones away. The future of small shareholders is perilous. It is increasingly likely that there will be insufficient shares available to be traded on the PLUS market for the club to maintain its listing. If this happens any shares in the hands of small shareholders will be worthless unless either Stan Kroenke or Alisher Usmanov choose to buy them. I don’t imagine they’ll be offering £11,750 or £14,000 a share as they are now. We shall see. I don’t trust either of them to put Arsenal first. Why should I? Neither of them have any track record as Arsenal supporters.
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As for the current board, Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith and their role as “custodians” don’t make me laugh. They’ve all cashed in. Not one penny of the £700 million spent buying Arsenal shares has benefitted the club, just the individuals who happened to own them. Former Liverpool chairman David Moores told the world that he was putting Liverpool FC into safe hands – whilst trousering a cheque for over £80 million – when he sold the club to the comedy long-firm duo of Hicks and Gillett. Look how well that turned out.
I suspect Stan Kroenke won’t be so reckless financially but what’s to stop him? Nothing, except Alisher Usmanov’s blocking minority stake. Not a prospect I view with equanimity.
I really don’t pine for the good old days. There was much that was bad about them. I poured my heart and soul and a LOT of my free time into the campaign to get planning permission for Ashburton Grove. I believed the club needed a new ground to secure its future. I now feel like a complete mug having busted my arse for free just so some greedy twats could cash in. How naive was I?
The greed and lack of professionalism of too many of our players has also got on my wick this past season. Some have strolled around like love’s young dream contributing nothing but mindless errors to our performances. I’ll suffer bad performances. I almost saw us get relegated in 1976. At least that team put in some effort and appeared to care. I’ve followed us through thick and thin. I’ve never felt so estranged and alienated.
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I am however still an Arsenal supporter. I shall always be an Arsenal supporter. I’m just not prepared to pay out over seven percent of my take home pay when my other essential bills are all going relentlessly upwards. I haven’t had a proper holiday for three years. I shall next year.
In the meanwhile I shall become a Red member and pick and choose my games where tickets are available. I hope whoever picks up my season ticket gets as much enjoyment out of it as I have over the years.
Read more of Vic Crescit’s articles at Arsenal Insider
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has admitted that star playmaker Luka Modric is confused over his future, and stated he will do all he can to keep the 25-year-old at White Hart Lane.
The Croatian international has been linked with a move to a Champions League club, with Chelsea having a £22 million bid rejected earlier in the transfer window. Despite this the former Dinamo Zagreb man is reported to still be keen to move to Stamford Bridge and his current boss has confirmed the eastern European has mixed thoughts about the season ahead.
“He’s walked in today and is happy, but the kid’s a bit confused at the moment. Other teams want him but we want him here and I want to keep him,” the ex-West Ham coach told The Daily Mail.
“He loves playing here. It’s a difficult situation for him and I understand where he’s coming from. We can’t kid ourselves. He signed a contract here, we love him here and want him here. We don’t want to sell our best players. He’s a special player for us. We want him here and need him here,” the 64-year-old continued.
The Spurs boss also confirmed that the club were looking to add new players to the squad to join incoming Brad Friedel, but may have to sell before they can buy.
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“I’ve had a chat with Daniel Levy and we’re looking to improve – we obviously need to. But it’s not easy. Daniel has always spent money here and he’ll do it again this year. We have to make way with one or two going first, we are overloaded in one or two areas and if we can do that we will bring one or two in,” he concluded.
With the many football academies in the Premier League producing more talent than even before or just by clubs just snapping up the next foreign star at a very young age, it is not every time that these players make a Jack Wilshere style progression into the first team and instead they have to survive with a lack of football. They are usually sent out on-loan to get some valuable experience, something they are not always able to get at their parent club.
At the end of this season with first team chances limited to a few rare Carling Cup appearances, they know that either another loan spell in on the cards or they can secure a move away where they can start their fledgling career.
An example is England U21 international, Jack Cork, who was at Chelsea for the whole of his youth development. He has finally left Chelsea to join Championship new boys Southampton but not before he had spent his young career on loan at six different league clubs in order to aid his development as he tried to become a member of the first-team at Chelsea. However he realised it was eventually time to leave and these selections are players in a similar position to Cork and should look at moving on to help continue their progression.
There are players who have very little chance of breaking into the first team but will still be sent out on loan so that the club can secure the best price for them at the end of the season. Once a youngster reaches the age of 20/21 and they still have not made it into the senior team, it may be time for them to test themselves at a new club.
So here is a list of top ten players who should look at flying the nest in the near future so they can continue their career development…
Click on John Bostock to see the 10 youngsters
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Eric Cantona returned to Old Trafford yesterday, ahead of the New York Cosmos debut in England for Paul Scholes testimonial. The United legend had some choice words to say about the noisy neighbours and questions the motives of some of the players who have since moved to City.
Elsewhere in the papers there has been a mixed bag of stories that includes Kenny Dalglish defending Liverpool’s spree; John Terry hails Andre Villas-Boas, while Alan Pardew rules out making peace with Barton.
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Cantona insists big spenders Man City won’t succeed in quest to dethrone United – Daily Mail
Fábregas returns to training but doubts over future remain – Guardian
Pardew rules out peace with Barton – Guardian
Chelsea convinced Spurs are about to crack over Modric – Mirror
Tottenham face probe over Olympic Stadium bid ‘snooper’ – Daily Mail
Dalglish defends ‘responsible’ spree – Guardian
Man City grant Tevez extended break – Daily Telegraph
Terry hails Villas-Boas’s ‘modern’ way – Guardian
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Atalanta and captain Cristiano Doni are facing heavy sanctions as the investigation into the Italian football betting scandal continues.Serie A club Atalanta – who are tipped to struggle against relegation after promotion from Serie B in 2010/11 – could start the new campaign with a seven-point deduction under recommendations from an Italian prosecutor.
The career of captain Doni, 38, has been placed in jeopardy after prosecutor Stefano Palazzi recommended he receive a three-and-a-half year suspension for his alleged involvement in the ‘Last Bet’ betting scandal that rocked Italian football in June.
La Gazzetta dello Sport claim Palazzi has asked the Italian FA (FIGC) to hand down the sanctions to Doni and Atalanta, while he also made recommendations on other players and administrators linked to the scandal.
Former Italy international Giuseppe Signori faces a lifetime ban from football, while Atalanta’s Thomas Manfredini is looking at a three-year suspension
The sanctions all relate to a criminal case brought forward to the tribunal of Cremona by prosecutors, who claim to have uncovered an illegal betting ring involving a number of footballers and officials.
It is alleged Doni and Signori were part of the ring and took payments from a criminal gang to help fix several matches.
Talk of Liverpool’s supposed new stadium seems as old as the league itself, with more too’ing and fro’ing than a tug-of-war competition between Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks. Just like The Clash once so eloquently asked, their major question, as ever, remains: Should they stay or should the go?
Speaking recently Liverpool supremo and principle owner John W. Henry spoke openly about his first 10-months at the helm of the club and again, seemed to answer honestly when questioned about the future possibility of moving from Anfield and building a new stadium. It has previously been reported that Liverpool may be looking to build a new 60,000 capacity stadium, but with current home Anfield already able to hold 45,000 fans, Henry questioned the financial logic of such a build.
‘If Anfield cannot be expanded a new stadium is wonderful choice. But the fact is we already have 45,000 seats. If a new stadium is constructed with 60,000 seats you’ve spent an incredible sum of money to add just 15,000 seats.’ Henry answered when asked about the progress on building a new ground, adding: ‘If the cost is £300m for an extra 15,000 seats, that doesn’t make any sense at all. Liverpool isn’t London, you can’t charge £1 million for a long-term club seat.’
So is Henry right? For the sake of just 15,000 extra seats would it be wise and logical to place the financial burden on the club for not much extra gain?
Give Henry is due. He seems to have the club’s (as well as FSGs) best interests at heart and answers questions in a straight-forward, open manner. A far cry from many other owners who trumpet their arrival with brash and outlandish statements that leads to unfulfilled promises. Much as many Liverpool fans don’t wish to leave the spiritual home of Anfield, times and football has changed. In order to stay competitive, the extra revenue from the extra capacity will help massively. Whilst there has been talk of staying and redeveloping Anfield (the best option for a lot of fans, I know), Henry seemed to state this was no longer on the cards: ‘We would love to expand Anfield, but there are enough local and regulatory issues to keep that avenue stalled for years with no assurances that once begun it would bear any fruit.’
The next bugbear with many fans is the naming-rights issue. Again, romantically, Anfield means more to most than any new corporate branding with all its financial rewards could bring, however in this day and age in the world of football business, the financial gains are exactly what most now need in order to survive into the future and challenge for honours. Finally, probably most vehemently fought is any potential ground-share with the neighbours across Stanley Park – Everton. Whilst it seems financially logical, it is severely opposed by both sets of supporters as Henry acknowledged: ‘There’s no doubt that if a new stadium were to be built in Liverpool from a financial perspective – which is the major issue – a ground-share would be helpful for both clubs. But there doesn’t seem to be any support for that from Red or Blue fans – at all. So how could that ever happen?’
So, if no ground-share is to happen, Anfield cannot be redeveloped, and a 60,000 seater stadium isn’t financially logical, what options are left? Stay at Anfield, with a 45,000 capacity? Not if the club wants to move forward. That leaves building a new stadium, with probable naming-rights. However, as indicated from Henry himself, the capacity would need to eclipse the muted 60,000 for a build to be viable, but would, say, a 70,000+ stadium reach capacity?
Liverpool FC is one of the best, well known clubs in the world, and in business terms, a world-wide brand with global reach. The waiting list for a season ticket at Anfield passed beyond the 10-year mark some time ago and many have no doubts that this is one of only a few clubs that could regularly fill a stadium of that size. Of course, if building a stadium with extra capacity is sought, the need for more investment is crucial: enter the stadium naming-rights deal, which looks ever more likely. A suitable partner to fulfil this end of the deal is being hunted by the head honchos at the club, indicating that Liverpool, and Henry, are thinking bigger.
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