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?
Leave your suggestions below…
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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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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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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.
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 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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Fulham threw away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with OB Odense in the Europa League, in a result that sees The Cottagers eliminated from the competition.
Martin Jol’s men needed to win the match to stand a chance of making it through their group, and looked to be on course as first half goals from Clint Dempsey and Kerim Frei gave the home team a 2-0 lead at the interval.
However the Scandinavians fought back, and a Henrik Andreasen strike made the Craven Cottage crowd nervous.
When it looked that the Londoners would hold on to get the three points, a late Baye Fall goal in injury time broke the hosts’ hearts and forced an exit from Europe.
Jol was disappointed with the nature of his side’s collapse, and feels they should not have conceded two goals at home.
“It was the last cross of the match, so I’m very, very disappointed,” the Dutchman told Sky Sports.
“They scored a goal from a free-kick and the wall was probably not in the right position. We couldn’t get forward, we didn’t do what we did in the first half. It was totally different.
“We dropped deep and tried to protect the lead, but you have to score a goal and try and get in their half.
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“We didn’t do that enough. To give two goals away is very disappointing,” he concluded.
The European exit does mean that Fulham can focus on domestic matters, and they take on Bolton in an important league clash on Saturday.
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!
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Click on the image below to see the Top TEN
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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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Chelsea’s Champions League hopes hang by a thread after they were comprehensively beaten 3-1 by Napoli in the first leg of their last 16 tie in Naples.
The English visitors were handed a blow ahead of the game as John Terry was unavailable for selection due to injury, but took the lead just before the half hour mark when Juan Mata struck.
However, the hosts equalised just before half time, with Ezequiel Lavezzi levelling things up. Napoli scored twice more in the second period, with Edinson Cavani giving the San Paolo side the lead before Lavezzi grabbed his second and his team’s third.
Blues boss Andre Villas Boas believes that his side could have defended better, but feels that The Blues are not out of the tie.
“After the first goal we had a big chance to go 2-0 up, there were some big missed opportunities, and then we should have done better with our defending,” he confessed to Sky Sports.
“There were a couple of mistakes that against Napoli with their attacking strength will get punished. I think that the third goal was perfectly avoidable.
“If we take a one-goal advantage at home it is better. 3-1 is more difficult to recover, not impossible of course, because of the amount of chances that we get and the environment we must create at the Bridge to turn this tie around to get through.
“The first 90 minutes have passed, we have 90 minutes in which we have to turn tie around. We will analyse strongly what we did wrong because there are a couple of things we need to do better.
“We will create problems with our attacking options, because we created problems today,” he concluded.
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The defeat makes it six games in all competitions without a win for the Stamford Bridge team.