Blackpool manager Ian Holloway can feel a sense of relief around the club following Tuesday night’s 3-1 win over Tottenham.Holloway’s side were one of the pre-season favourites to be relegated back to the Championship this campaign, but the win over Spurs snapped a seven game winless run and pushed them ever closer to safety.
Blackpool take on fellow-strugglers Wolves at Molineux on Saturday, with a seven-point gap between themselves and Wolves at the foot of the table, and Holloway has nothing but sympathy for Mick McCarthy and his side’s perilous position.
“I think Wolves are the most unlucky side I have seen all season,” Holloway said.”Certainly when we played them earlier in the season they didn’t deserve to lose. Mick is a great man; I have the absolute utmost respect for him. “The second season syndrome is kicking in I think, it is all about finding the balance between adding quality and keeping the commitment of the first season. I’m not looking forward to this summer if we can stay up.”
Holloway was naturally brimming with pride following his side’s convincing win over Tottenham, with Brett Ormerod singled out for special praise.
“Nobody I have ever worked with deserves the goal against Spurs more than Brett,” he said.”He is an absolute bundle of energy and enthusiasm daily, and he probably deserves to play more than I let him, there will always be a place at the club for a guy like him.”
Having been rested on Tuesday, striker Luke Varney is likely to be involved on Saturday. “Luke can be a little bit of a worrier when things aren’t happening for him; I just think he needed a physical and mental rest,” Holloway said. “But he will be back; he has been marvellous at this level.”
Blackpool will be without captain Charlie Adam, who begins his two-game ban, and although they are back in training, Saturday will be too soon for defender Stephen Crainey and forward Billy Clarke.
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.
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.
Since Sir Alex Ferguson took charge of Manchester United, there have been some memorable players who have come out of Old Trafford. Admittedly, Fergie has made some dodgy signings over the years – you’ll be pleased to hear that William Prunier and Eric Djemba-Djemba won’t be making my list, but seeing as this week we are concentrating on football’s cult heroes, I’ve decided to put together 10 of Manchester United’s finest.
It was a tough decision to leave out players we would all consider a hero of football, and players who Manchester United fans would consider a legend for their contributions to the cause; Diego Forlan has unfortunately missed out despite his brace at Anfield even though it did confirm his slot in United folk-law. Some of the players included were also winning over the hearts of United fans before Sir Alex’s time.
So here are my Manchester United top 10 cult heroes. You may feel some players have been hard done by, as they miss out. But free feel to argue their case below in the comments section!
[divider]
Click on the image below to see the Top TEN
[divider]
[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.
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
[divider]
Continued on Page TWO
[divider]
Liverpool
Fulham
Wigan
[divider]
Continued on Page THREE
[divider]
Everton
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okltbBh2JR4
Charlton
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 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.
[ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’right’]
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.
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.
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
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.
[ad_pod id=’dfp-mpu’ align=’right’]
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.
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.
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
Tottenham Hotspur face a Birmingham City team fighting for English Premier League survival on the last day of the season at White Hart Lane.Relegation was the furthest thing from the minds of Birmingham’s players and supporters when they won the Carling Cup in February.
An upset 2-1 victory over Arsenal at Wembley secured the Midlands club’s first major trophy since 1963, but it has been all downhill for Alex McLeish’s team since then.
They have won just twice in 11 league matches and are now 17th in the table, level on points with the third and second-bottom teams and clear of the relegation zone on goal difference only.
With four other teams all battling to avoid the drop, Birmingham must pick up points on Sunday or risk returning to the Championship after a two-year stay in the top flight.
They are up against a Tottenham side that need to win if they are to stay ahead of Liverpool and secure a Europa League berth by finishing fifth.
But questions have been raised as to whether or not Tottenham do in fact want to finish fifth.
Spurs boss Harry Redknapp is reportedly reluctant to become involved in a Europa League campaign which may impact negatively on the team’s domestic form.
Tottenham are eight points off fourth place and unable to repeat last season’s Champions League qualification.
They performed well in their first appearance in the revamped European Cup, reaching the quarter-finals before bowing out to Real Madrid.
And rather than get bogged down in UEFA’s second-tier competition, Redknapp may want his team to concentrate their energies next season on returning to the Champions League.
All of which means Birmingham could find Spurs in a more charitable mood than might normally be expected.
The relegation-threatened visitors have no new injury concerns, but continue to miss a number of key men.
Defender Scott Dann and striker Obafemi Martins are definitely out, while towering centre-forward Nikola Zigic is not expected to recover from a groin injury – all absences that have counted in Birmingham’s late-season collapse.
The Tottenham squad is also depleted, with fullback Alan Hutton and left winger Gareth Bale certain to miss out.
Also in doubt are goalkeeper Hurelho Gomes, defenders Benoit Assou-Ekotto and William Gallas, as well as midfielders Tom Huddlestone and Jermaine Jenas.
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.
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 visitors had a glorious chance to take all three points back to the Allianz Arena, but Mario Gomez missed a second half penalty.
Birmingham City midfielder Lee Bowyer has issued an apology following a foul-mouthed rant towards a West Bromwich Albion supporter during Saturday's 3-1 defeat at The Hawthorns.
Bowyer exchanged words with a female Baggies supporter while taking his seat in the dugout following a 68th minute substitution during the local derby.
Sandra Cox, who was watching with her seven-year-old grandson, accused the 33-year-old midfielder of verbally abusing her and immediately reported Bowyer to the matchday stewards.
The flashpoint occurred moments after Blues boss Alex McLeish had substituted Bowyer after he was booked for a dangerous tackle on Gabriel Tamas.
"It was appalling, especially with my grandson sitting next to me," said Mrs Cox."It's terrible to hear such bad language.
"We sit there, in the family enclosure, so Luke doesn't have to hear it, but it's even worse because you hear all the players."
West Brom officials admitted they were in receipt of a complaint but a spokesperson has revealed that they believe the matter is now closed following a swift apology from Bowyer.
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 lady complained straight away to one of our senior stewards that she had been verbally abused, but the club are also aware that Lee Bowyer then made a complete and profuse apology to her," said the spokesperson.
"That is the end of the matter as far as West Bromwich Albion are concerned."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
We have a strong and, I think, unfounded opinion that footballers need to have ‘made it’ by a certain age; and that age keeps reducing due to players like Lionel Messi.
Rinus Michels’ model for Dutch youth development is certainly a marker that this country would do well to reference (even more so considering Sunday’s World Cup exit) because the line between the professional and amateur game is much finer in Holland. Van Gaal’s tweaking of Michels’ model has resulted in the KNVB funding more age group overseers, technical coordinators and more qualified coaches than ever before – all in the amateur game. The repercussion of such a support system is a stance voiced by Arnold Muhren (former Holland international and Ajax coach) that ‘a player can go from non-league and become a professional.’
The rule to becoming a professional player is, invariably, being part of an academy from as young an age as 7. The glaring exception in this country that proves the rule is Ian Wright; though failing to impress in trials at Southend and Brighton it was Crystal Palace scout, Pete Prentice, who happened to see Wright playing in a local Sunday League match and invited him for a trial at Selhurst Park. 239 league goals later and I think it’s fair to say Wright knew how to play his position.
My argument isn’t that any Sunday league footballer can make the grade at Arsenal; it’s more that, in our current system, the chasm between amateur and professional football is positively gargantuan. There are definitely hundreds of very talented players who, after being released in their teens, have only local amateur clubs to join because they are the latest victims of the pro football scrapheap, without any hand to guide them. This is the biggest malpractice in our game; Dutch professional teams are obligated to find released players suitable amateur clubs by an agreement with the KNVB (in Holland the amateur game is highly coordinated, regulated and reviewed – when an amateur club can boast over 70 teams with qualified coaches from the under 6s all the way through to the first team, like OJC Rosmalen, we can see how the gap between professional and non-professional football has become much finer).
This only goes so far in explaining singularities like Ian Wright. A further mystery is the likes of Di Natale, Luca Toni and Arshavin who all arrived on the international scene relatively late and completely unannounced. Luca Toni, now 33, was a journeyman of Serie B and Serie C1 before signing for Palermo (then an ambitious Serie B outfit) in 2003. 30 goals in his debut season brought promotion and 21 goals the following year, his first in Serie A, brought acclaim. For Fiorentina he scored 33 goals and for Bayern Munich an incredible 39 goals in his debut seasons for the respective clubs. Luca Toni went from obscurity to being one of the most prolific goal scorers in Europe for five years (and this all happened after the age of 25 in the topflight). Di Natale just had his most successful year ever by netting 29 goals for Udinese and finishing as top scorer in Serie A and he is 32 years old. Arshavin, now 29, is another player who was brought to the global media’s attention in 2008 by Zenit’s UEFA Cup triumph and Russia’s European Championship semi final run.
These players prove that talent does not run on a time-line. Diego Forlan was laughed at by many English fans yet he’s still in South Africa and could very feasibly be playing in a World Cup semi final – twice European Golden Boot winner with two different clubs in Spain is no fluke either. There are multiple reasons for his failure to impress in England and his subsequent success in Spain (the players around him, the coaches, his role in the team, the playing environment, maturity etc the list could go on) and he was lucky enough – and determined enough – to strike a balance at the right time.
This is why when fans and pundits dismiss 21, 22, 23 and even 24 year olds as ‘not having what it takes’ I am left wondering why, as a people, we look to castigate before we look to encourage. Unlike the question of late bloomers, this is a simpler answer: it is always easier to destroy something than it is to create. The same can be said for talent.
If you enjoyed this, you can follow me on Twitter
Click on image below to see the BRAZILIAN babes at the World Cup
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.