All posts by h79snht.top

Nottingham Forest are currently without first choice left-back Max Lowe, who is out until the end of April with a groin injury, leaving 32-year-old midfielder Jack Colback to fill in at that spot as they seek a spot in the Championship play-off places.

However, if the East Midlands club acted on their interest five years ago in James Justin, they would have not only have had a 19-year-old Premier League potential defender on their hands back then, they would have had a more than adequate replacement for Lowe right now too.

According to The Sun back in 2017, Forest tabled a £1m bid for the then-Luton Town star, with former manager Mark Warburton of the belief that he was ready for Championship football.

However, that move failed to materialise, and Justin remained with the Hatters for another two seasons, helping them to extraordinary back-to-back promotions, leaving them with Championship football when he joined Leicester City in 2019 for a fee worth around £6m.

Establishing himself in his first season as one of the league’s biggest bargains that season, he ranked among full-backs in the Premier League across his debut campaign in the top flight in the top 4% for successful pressure percentage per 90 (36.5%), top 9% for successful dribble percentage per 90 (76.5%) and top 7% for ball recoveries per 90 (11.12).

Now aged 24 with a market valuation of £15.3m, a whopping 1430% more than the £1m fee Forest offered, the defender has become a versatile option for the Premier League side. He is able to fill in at both left-back and right-back when required, as well as possessing the intelligence and ability to play as a defensive midfielder.

Once described by Journalist Liam Canning as “class” and “first rate”, the Foxes full-back has begun to re-establish himself as a key man within Brendan Rodgers’ squad, having just returned from a cruciate ligament rupture injury, which kept him out of action for 331 days.

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It’s clear that Forest made a monumental mistake not to sign Justin from Luton when he was a bargain pick-up for the club, and even if he couldn’t have helped the club towards promotion, he would have had an excellent re-sell rate that the Championship side have missed out on.

In other news: Cooper can finally axe Forest “bulldog” by signing “very impressive” £135k-rated gem

Manchester City are set to offer Tottenham a cut-price deal to sign on-loan Emmanuel Adebayor on a permanent basis in January the Metro understands.

The Togo international has been a revelation at White Hart Lane with his arrival and goalscoring exploits coinciding with Harry Redknapp’s side going seven games unbeaten in the Premier League.

Spurs are currently paying half of the 27-year-old’s £175,000-a-week wages and have an option to buy him outright for £14 million once his loan deal concludes at the end of the season.

Three goals in seven starts has convinced Redknapp that the striker is worth tying down sooner with Adebayor also keen to make the move long-term after expressing his desire to leave City.

Boss Roberto Mancini is willing to let the striker leave the Etihad Stadium for good after his troublemaking last summer as he eyes up a swoop for Napoli pair Edinson Cavani and Marek Hamsik.

It’s thought the club will accept a bid of around £10 million for the player as they look to bankroll a bid for the Serie A pair who Mancini see’s as the final piece of the jigsaw in his quest do deliver the clubs first top-flight league title since 1968.

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Arsenal’s injury list is growing, and the North London outfit will have to do without Theo Walcott, Gervinho and Laurent Koscielny for their Champions League clash against Olympiakos on Wednesday night.

The news was confirmed by club boss Arsene Wenger, who admitted that he hoped the players would be fit in time to take on Spurs in the Premier League on Sunday.

“Koscielny, Gervinho and Walcott are not fit,” he told reporters at a press conference.

“All three have a chance for the weekend. Walcott could make the derby. He has more than a 50-50 chance,” he continued.

England winger Walcott pulled up whilst sprinting for the ball against Bolton at the weekend, and it was initially feared that he had pulled his hamstring.

It has been revealed that he actually has a knee injury, but a scan on Tuesday showed that the injury was not as bad as initially feared.

Gervinho has a muscle strain that will keep him out of the clash with the Greek side, and Koscielny picked up an ankle injury in a tackle with Nigel Reo-Coker against the Trotters.

Arsenal drew their opening Champions League fixture 1-1 with Borussia Dortmund, and will look to get their first win of the campaign at the Emirates.

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It’s been an interesting start to the Premier League season, rounded off by Manchester United thrashing Arsenal 8-2 at Old Trafford last weekend. The excitement was definitely ramped up over the course of the three weekends, but now top flight domestic football takes a break as international action takes centre stage.

England face Bulgaria and Wales in qualification for Euro 2012, and Fabio Capello will be looking for six points from those two games. While he has plenty of youngsters to choose from, the England manager will still be looking for his more experienced players including Man United’s Wayne Rooney and Chelsea duo John Terry and Ashley Cole to lead by example for the Three Lions.

Here are Rooney and Terry sharing a joke, but is it at Cole’s expense?

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This week you can win a copy of Squeaky Bum Time!

He is simultaneously the most admired and feared manager in British football.

During almost forty years in the dugout, and over half a century in the professional game, he’s torn up the record books, amassed a treasure trove of silverware, and unleashed the hairdryer – as well as the odd football boot – on countless players, rival managers, referees and journalists.

But amid the sound, the fury and the mind-games lurks one of sport’s greatest wits.

So here we present Sir Alex Ferguson: uncompromising, unrivalled and uncut.

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Check out our Caption Competition Gallery for some inspiration and to see the winners so far.

Last week’s winner: David Regan – click here to see all entries

The past 18-months have brought to light what a magnificent footballer Robin van Persie is, as he rightfully repaid the faith shown in him by Arsene Wenger through his most troubled years on the treatment table at Arsenal. By surpassing the 30 goal mark in 2011, van Persie laid to the rest the suggestion that he was a striker best deployed in a supporting role – similar to that of Dennis Bergkamp. His creative abilities are undeniable and his comfort in the ‘No.10’ role is well documented, but he is also a huge asset in an advanced strikers role, able play as the lone striker with relative ease and utilise his vast array of attacking talents.

What we’ve seen from Robin van Persie in recent seasons is a consistency to remain at the top of his game on all fronts. It would be difficult to imagine a game where van Persie is unlikely to get himself on the score sheet—something which has been extremely rewarding for the club due to failure to replace the goals of departed players.

Signed from Feyenoord for a fee close to £3million, Arsenal’s club captain has quickly regained his composure from a number of injury hit seasons to equal and surpass fellow Dutchman Dennis Bergkamp’s scoring record for the Gunners. His extremely low transfer fee represents a player who was at a crossroads with his career; one who had the potential to succeed but could have been significantly held back by a poor attitude. His role as club captain is testament to the way he has matured and the guidance he has received since arriving at Arsenal.

Perhaps the most natural leader during the club’s time at the Emirates, he has complemented his newly-acquired role with a number of outstanding strikes this season, as well as the many accrued in previous years. Undoubtedly, one of the red half of London’s favourite sons.

Inter Milan

Blackburn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_YYFmuFdSI

Sunderland

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnA-GwnsDuI

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Liverpool

Fulham

Wigan

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Everton

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okltbBh2JR4

Charlton

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4TzzKu2UGw&feature=related

Southampton

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BLkgdDBQwg

Barcelona

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It has certainly been one of the happier fortnights in Arsenal’s campaign thus far, and the delight reached another peak yesterday with the news that the club have agreed a £10 million deal for FC Koln’s Lukas Podolski at the end of the current season yesterday. The capture of the 26-year-old Germany international turned heads not only in North London but the world over with Wenger swooping for one of the higher calibre names in the international game. A policy not always adopted by the Frenchman.

Gunners fans have been purring at the thought of a potential pairing with the formidable Robin Van Persie in the teams striking ranks next term, and a wave of new found optimism has swirled around the camp, following the impressive showing against AC Milan. For all connected to Arsenal, they will just hope the 95 cap German will not be a direct replacement for the Dutchman.

With the Gunners transfer dealings’ already in action before the 2011/12 season is out, this directly contrasts the policy of Wenger’s ideologies last term whereby he left many signatures until deadline day through the hope that he was going to be able to keep at least one of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri. Wenger’s judgement upon this issue has been questioned since and it seems he has realised and taken on board this error in time for the next campaign.

So let us examine whether Wenger has finally woken up to a new transfer policy, whereby players can be bedded in much earlier and the names brought to the club are much more worthy in the eyes of the Emirates Stadium faithful.

The new man; Podolski is a head turning signing in the fact he is vastly experienced despite being only 26, an age recognised as a players ‘prime’ in modern day football. Furthermore, his goal scoring exploits speak for themselves with the Polish-born frontman striking 16 league goals this term, and in a struggling Cologne team. The player who will be able to play off the left hand side in the Gunners 4-3-3 formation, is likely to be presented even more chances to score, based upon Arsenal’s impressive assist tallies.

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What’s more is that the striker is reported to be signing a deal worth some £100,000 a week. Whilst the £10 million capture of Podolski represents an ‘Arsenal’ signing in terms of its last year of contract affordability, the wages have certainly been anything but Arsenal-like.

With the clubs current top earner; Van Persie on £80,000 a week but set to be boosted to £100,000 in the summer, Podolski’s arrival on the highest wages reflects Wenger’s change of stance in that he is indeed willing to break the bank in some cases.

This news will be refreshing for Gunners fans everywhere with the arrival of a big name on big money, as opposed to a lesser name, on lesser wages with more time needed to develop in the English game. Whilst it remains to be seen how quick Podolski will adapt to the Premier League, it must be conceded that the Bundes Liga is much stronger than Ligue 1 and the flop signings of Marouane Chamakh and Park Chu Young have certainly been trumped by the new arrival.

The mark of any squad is indeed the strength and depth of it, and on Tuesday night, Chamakh and Park offered little when they were expected to give Arsenal more impetus in the search for that fourth equalising goal. Beyond Arsenal’s first eleven, the replacements haven’t always been up to scratch, but if we surmise that Van Persie will stay, the Gunners forward ranks will appear impressive next term with Podolski, Gervinho, Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain forging the choices available to Wenger.

There might be another attacking arrival too if either Chamakh, Park or Arshavin depart and Arsenal fans have mooted moves for the much coveted Eden Hazard and Mario Gotze. Moves for such players of high calibre will not only impress fans but also might have the ability to keep the captain; Van Persie in North London.

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It will certainly be an interesting summer yet again at the Emirates, and Lukas Podolski’s arrival maybe the first sign that an alarm clock has gone off in Arsene Wenger’s head in that he realises the club need to kick on and have a transition free campaign next time round.

What do you think of the Podolski signing? Will the club be able to keep hold of Van Persie with similar high calibre arrivals? Follow me @ http://twitter.com/Taylor_Will1989

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Arsenal have had a pretty bad time in the last 6 months losing Fabregas and Nasri before having to deal with more stress at the thought of losing their captain Robin Van Persie. I think we can all be quite certain that he would like to stay if he felt the club could match his ambition; we can be equally certain that he would be prepared to move on to another club if he doesn’t think this is the case, otherwise he would have signed by now. So, putting any bias you might have as an Arsenal fan, or as a non Arsenal fan, to one side let’s weigh up the pros and cons for the man himself.

Reasons to go?

Graeme Souness: “It’s going to be difficult for Arsenal to hold on to Robin Van Persie. I fear they could lose the Dutch striker, just as they lost skipper Cesc Fabregas to Barca for £33m and fellow midfielder Samir Nasri for £25m to Man City in the Summer…Top players look for two things – what they are going to be paid and if they can win things. Van Persie will probably discover he can earn more money elsewhere, at a club with more chance of lifting trophies.”

I think it is obvious that the most important factor for Van Persie would be trophies. Robin has had an unfortunate career in this department and his total of a UEFA cup, an FA Cup and the Community Shield is nowhere near sufficient for a player of Van Persie’s calibre. I think Robin knows he could win trophies at Arsenal but a) it’s not guaranteed, and b) they might not be the trophies he wants (i.e. the league title, the Champions League).

Money is an issue for everybody, but particularly when you’re approaching what will be your last big contract. Yes players earn outrageous amounts of money but considering that they retire in their early/mid thirties that money has got to last them a long time. Van Persie will be looking to get as much money as he can out of his last contract and whilst Arsenal could offer him a large amount (Henry’s last contract saw him take home around £120,000/week) there will always be people who can offer him more.

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Reasons to stay?

Marco Van Basten: “Robin must not leave Arsenal. You can’t compare my situation at Ajax. The big difference is that Robin is already at a big club. Robin has been in London for six years. He can’t help it if Arsenal have won nothing in that time…And I still think Arsenal are the most beautiful club in England. At Man City and Chelsea they will never have that class and style…Arsenal have the most amazing stadium, they have a style of play, they have a beautiful shirt – in every way I consider arsenal as the ultimate football club. It is the club where Robin belongs.”

I think there are three main reasons why Robin would consider staying. Firstly, he loves the club. You always do if you spend so much time in one place. However this doesn’t mean he will necessarily stay – Cesc, Vieira, Henry all loved the club.

I think he knows that he can win trophies at Arsenal and I think he will be tempted to do so as long as he thinks he can win the right trophies. Lastly the team is centred around him at Arsenal and I doubt his form would ever be as good as it is now if he left. We only need to look at Torres or Henry or Anelka to see the possible damage moving club can do. He is in the form of his life and surely loves his football at the moment. I genuinely think this could be a major reason for him staying at Arsenal beyond this summer.

I, like many Arsenal fans, can’t think of many things I would like to see less than Van Persie waltz off to Manchester but we have to be realistic about his options. You can’t say he’s one of the best strikers in the world and then deny that he deserves the opportunity to play somewhere he can win major trophies. All Arsenal fans want him to stay but he has always worked hard for the club and I think that, should he decide to leave, he can hold his head high on the way out.

For more Arsenal news follow me on Twitter @H_Mackay

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For most people, the presents of time with the family are their favourite things about Christmas, yet for Harry Redknapp, his favourite part must surely be the opportunity to use his wheeler dealer skills to their best in the January transfer window, and this season is no exception. According to the Metro, Redknapp has his eye on both Chelsea striker Nicholas Anelka and soon to be out of contract Rovers youngster Hoilett.

The Spurs boss has held a long standing affection for Anelka, saying ‘I have always liked him.’ Both Anelka and Chelsea wish to be free of each other’s company, with the Frenchman clearly not what AVB wants or needs, and Anelka wanting to be able to play football during the final stages of his career.  As far as a move to Spurs goes, as Harry says, ‘It’s not a bad shout.’

Junior Hoilett is the other player Spurs are looking closely at, and along with a host of other Premier League clubs, are considering making bottom of the table Rovers an offer in January for a player they would otherwise lose for free in the summer.

For his part, Hoilett wants to further his career and will not sign a new contract at a club where he feels this will not happen, and has looked disinterested of late. The 21 year old versatile forward would cost around £7 million, although this could increase should a bidding war commence.

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The new football season is upon us and while enjoying the thrills of a matchday is a fantastic experience, the rising cost of doing so is putting great pressure on the wallets of fans around the country.

The links between football and money have been well documented for years. Clubs are spending millions on players and wages whilst fans are forking out more and more for the privilege to see these players in action.

The Price of Football survey by BBC revealed what each club charges for crucial matchday components including the ticket (non season ticket holder), programme, a pie and a cup of tea. Whilst not all fans would indulge in all of these on one day, the added cost that some clubs are charging fans is worrying.

The survey was taken across the leagues and so some difference between a top Premier League team’s prices and that of a League Two side would be expected. But in the top tier it is hard to explain how Blackburn can provide a single ticket for £10 (their cheapest option) when Arsenal’s most expensive reaches a staggering £100. It is this disparity (with clubs like Blackburn unable to compete with the top teams on the pitch or financially) and high prices that are not only hitting the clubs but the fans as well.

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Beyond the tickets fans are being forced to pay out up to £4 for a programme (at Leeds), £4 for a pie (at Arsenal) and often over £2 for a single cup of tea. Paying nearly £50 for a day out at the football per person is hindering supporters, families and fans of the future. In the Premier League Swansea and QPR are rewarding their fans for promotion with high prices, both now charge just under £43 for their cheapest day out (figures only surpassed by Liverpool and Arsenal).

But do spiraling prices put loyal fans off going to the football? For the fan looking for a one-off day out with their family, a cost reaching nearly £200 for four people is an obvious deterrent. But last season an average of 352,260 fans attended Football League fixtures each weekend with a total of over 16 million fans enjoying Football League games over the whole season. The popularity of the game is not decreasing and whilst fans can bemoan the extra charges that clubs are making, it is the high demand for football that continues to fuel the large amounts of money seeping through the game.

The survey published this week has also been met with club’s disapproval despite the fact that each club submitted the data. The results highlighted that Leyton Orient were the most expensive day out in League One. However the club has since commented that the results don’t highlight all the good value matchday options. The costs of football are also more likely to affect the regular rather than one-off attendee and many of these take advantage of very good season ticket offers that many clubs offer.

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Whilst the results for clubs like Leyton Orient may look worrying for the interested fan keen on watching the occasional match, rising prices are widespread and unlikely to put off the loyal supporter intent on supporting their team throughout the new season.

Do you think football is too expensive? If you want to read more of my bite size, 140 character views and thoughts follow me on Twitter @jennyk5

Manchester City have recorded their first win in the Champions League, as a 93rd minute winner from Sergio Aguero downed a stubborn Villarreal side.

The 2-1 victory was much needed by the Etihad Stadium outfit, who had only collected one point from their first two games in the tournament.

Roberto Mancini’s men had to come back from conceding an early goal, as visiting midfielder Cani opened the scoring for the Spanish side after only four minutes.

A Carlos Marchena own goal two minutes before the interval gave City parity, as the former Valencia defender put a Aleksandar Kolarov cross past his own goalkeeper.

Despite a largely unimpressive display by City, substitute Aguero saved the day for the home side, tapping in a Pablo Zabaleta cross from close range to give the Premier League outfit the three points.

City boss Mancini feels the group has been ‘re-opened’ by the result and claims a win was the most important thing.

“I told you before the game it was important only to win this game and we won,” he told Sky Sports.

“I think we deserved to win because we had a lot of chances to score but Villarreal on the counter-attack were very dangerous because they play football very well.

“I think it was an important goal – an important goal because now I think that everything is re-opened, also for the first place (in the group),” the Italian concluded.

The only downside for City was the fact that their fans were guilty of throwing objects at the Villarreal players during set pieces, with the club now likely to face a disciplinary process.

In the other match in Group A, Napoli and Bayern Munich shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw in Italy. Toni Kroos had given the German side the lead early on, before a Holger Basturder own goal levelled things up.

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The visitors had a glorious chance to take all three points back to the Allianz Arena, but Mario Gomez missed a second half penalty.

By Gareth McKnight

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