All posts by h79snht.top

It has been a quiet weekend on the transfer front, with most of the weekend reports focusing on the qualifying draw for the 2014 World Cup. England have avoided a potential group of death with France, although there is certainly no guarantee that Capello’s men will have it their own way with the draw.

Elsewhere Harry Redknapp has revealed his interest in Juan Mata; Paul Scholes reveals that Fergie could have kicked him out, whole Alex McLeish shows concern about the three tiered Premier League.

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Harry reveals Mata interest – Sky Sports

Capello warns England against World Cup complacency – Guardian

Lampard’s England career ‘is over’ with Wilshere set to become Capello’s main man – Daily Mail

Paul Scholes: Fergie could have kicked me out – Mirror

Goalline technology decision delayed – Guardian

N’Zogbia tells Villa team-mates: I’m here to create something special – People

McLeish concerned by ‘three-tier’ Premier League – Guardian

Ferguson denies Sneijder offer – Daily Telegraph

Show us the money! No loans or swap deals – City want cash for Tevez – Daily Mail

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John Terry: Villas-Boas must be trusted – Mirror

Redknapp plots Zamora swoop with Crouch offered in part-exchange – People

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Football fans are often accused of having a short memory and it’s never as short as when it comes goalkeepers. Never has the potential to go from hero to zero been more possible than when playing between the sticks. Not only are individual errors remembered for all time (Massimo Taibi, Rob Green, Paul Robinson, etc) but it takes an age for their good form to be recognised. Much like the defensive midfielders in the game they are often the unsung heroes of the team. They rarely grab the headlines and you’d struggle to find many people willing to buy a goalkeeper’s jersey given the choice. However that doesn’t make them any less important, keeping out goals is just as important as scoring them and there’s no substitute for a world-class goalie.

One way you can prove this is by the defensive records of the Premier League winning teams. People tend to forget the defensive side to title winning teams more often than they forget their scoring exploits but since 2000 the team that has conceded the least in the league has won the title seven times, the same amount of times as those teams that have scored the most. And whilst the defence obviously plays its part in that behind every good defence is a world-class keeper. In that period the goalkeepers behind those league titles have been Edwin van de Sar, Petr Cech, Jens Lehmann, Fabien Barthez and David Seaman. All national goalkeepers, all world-class players.

But what is even more interesting is that the defensive side to the game appears to be becoming more important than ever. If we compare the league winners since 2000 to those in the ten years previous then we can see a remarkable difference. In the decade before 2000 only two of the title winners had the best defensive record. All this denotes a huge change in tactics over the last two decades in England and as big a part as the defenders have to play the goalkeeper is vital to how they play.

Take Arsenal’s unbeaten season for example; yes they had a good defence but the authority with which Jens Lehmann organised the defence was vital. Similarly at Newcastle this season, their defence is far from world class but having Tim Krul behind them makes their job that much easier. Newcastle have only conceded fifteen goals so far this season, a record that only the Manchester clubs can better and a lot of the praise has been heading Collocini’s way but after watching Krul’s performances against Chelsea and current champions Man Utd can you really say that their position would be as healthy without the Dutchman. His performances throughout the season have been remarkable yet it has taken until now for pundits to pick up on it at all.

Similarly Joe Hart has been on the form of his life this season. Manchester City’s defensive record is the best in the league so far this year but player for player their defenders are not the best in the league. What makes them so effective? Joe Hart. Before Szczesny Arsenal were enjoying a torrid time defensively in domestic competitions and as much as that was down to their style of play it was also down to their goalkeeper. Their defenders during this time were actually very good (Toure, Gallas, Vermaelen, Clichy, Sagna) but the lack of confidence that they played with was born out of a mistrust of the abilities of Fabianski and Almunia. Similarly Ledley King recently spoke about how although Parker is getting most of the credit for his defensive work at Spurs new keeper Brad Friedel has done wonders for the team. King championed both his calming presence and his experience as vital factors is Tottenham’s defensive stability this season. It’s not just at the top of the table either where it counts. Does anyone really think that Wigan would have stayed up last year had it not been for the season-long heroics of Ali Al Habsi who, game after game, made vital contributions to the cause; far more than Wigan’s strikers did arguably. Goalie will always be the position that no kid wants to play in the park, and who’d blame them, but that doesn’t mean we should go through life ignoring their applaudable exploits and scrutinising every mistake they make. Hart, Krul and Szczesny are proving themselves to be three of the best young keepers in world football at the moment, perhaps it’s about time fans started to take notice.

For more news and stories follow me on Twitter @H_Mackay

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Antonio Valencia’s agent has confirmed that Juventus are interested in signing the South American in January, but he has no thoughts of leaving Manchester United.

The Ecuador international has found first-team opportunities more of a commodity this term due to the summer signing of Ashley Young, and reports in Italy have detailed that the Turin giants will make a move for the winger come the new year.

Despite this, the former Wigan wideman’s representative has confirmed that the player has no intentions of leaving Old Trafford, and is eager to fight his way back into Sir Alex Ferguson’s starting XI.

“I am aware of rumours of Juventus’ interest, but he is very happy in Manchester and I see it as very difficult that he leaves United,” Diego Herrera Larrea told Mirror Football.

“Antonio recently signed a new four-year deal, and both he and his family are settled and well living in the city, and playing for a big club.

“For my part, there is nothing concrete. There has been interest from Italy, but I don’t think that Juve has spoken with United because I was not informed – though I cannot exclude it as a possibility,” he concluded.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Aston Villa have accepted a £20m bid for Stewart Downing in a deal that will take Liverpool’s summer spending close to the £50m mark. Kenny Dalglish clearly is looking for the best of British, as he aims to restore the Reds back to their former glories.

In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that includes Patrick Viera taking up a coaching role at Manchester City; Arsene Wenger accuses Barcelona of a lack of respect, while Sneijder reportedly has agreed terms with Manchester United.

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Modric hands in Spurs transfer request – Guardian

Villa offer £7m for Parker to rival Chelsea’s shock loan swoop – Daily Mail

Villa accept Liverpool bid for Downing – Mirror

Villas-Boas was like a 12th man – Sun

QPR line up Taarabt replacement – Sky Sports

Vieira to take up City role – Sun

Liverpool striker set to join Anderlecht… on his wife’s orders – Mirror

Wenger accuses Barça of disrespect – Guardian

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Sneijder agrees terms with United – Mirror

Spurs eye Greek starlet – Sky Sports

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After a couple of indifferent performances, we finally got our first win under Graham Westley with a 1-0 win at home to Hartlepool. A Danny Mayor thunderbolt with just 15 minutes left settling a game which lacked much in the way of entertainment.  However it there was a large amount of effort and determination from a North End side where a lot of the players had made less than 20 appearances for the club and a handful of them were making their debuts for the team.

For the first time this season I wasn’t particularly nervous as we defended the one goal lead apart from a really hairy moment in stoppage time when Hartlepool should have scored had it not been for Nicky Hunt, the goalpost and wasteful finishing (in that order!).

After seeing games where the opposition has scored late on to nick points (Scunthorpe United in August and Oldham Athletic in October) it is really encouraging to see us close out a 1-0 win. Teams with aspirations of the top 6 do this and it shows how Westley has been improving the fitness levels of the squad although there is still a long way to go but the early signs are encouraging so far.

With Sheffield United away on Saturday, who are in formidable form at the moment, it was crucial that we got the three points last night. Westley wouldn’t want to have been waiting too long for that first win as after a while it can start to be a massive pressure. It took previous manager Phil Brown to thirteen games to get his first win and this was one of the main reasons why we were relegated. When he was appointed manager we were 4 points from safety but by the time we won 3-0 at Scunthorpe in March we were almost 13 points from safety, something we would fail to claw back before May.

Being realistic I think we will be very lucky to come from a ground where only 2 teams have won this season with a result, but at least there are signs that Westley is turning the rot around. However it is a very long turnaround and it is important we don’t get ahead of ourselves and think we are bound for the play offs because of a 1-0 win. Hartlepool were one of the form teams and on a good unbeaten run before the game, but with time the team will gel and become more tactically aware and with that comes better performances. Then the results will start to come which at the very least gives fans reason to believe that next season could be a fantastic one.

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By Preston North End blogger Sean Marshall. You can read more of his work on his personal blog. 

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Goals will be at a premium for Sunderland when they tackle Fulham at home on Saturday.The Black Cats go into the match without a recognised senior striker, after Asamoah Gyan and Danny Welbeck picked up hamstring strains in the 4-2 win over Wigan last Saturday.

They join long-term casualty Fraizer Campbell on the injury list, leaving boss Steve Bruce with 19-year-old rookie Ryan Noble, who has yet to start a first-team game, as his only available out-and-out striker.

“It looks like we will be without Welbeck and Gyan for the rest of the season now, which is a massive blow,” Bruce told the Sunderland Chronicle.

“Danny has already gone back to Man United because they want to assess him.”

“He will not come back to us unless they can get it 100 per cent right, say in time for the last game of the season against West Ham, but that is unlikely given how close to the end of the season we are.”

“Gyan has had a scan and we are still waiting for that report.”

But on-loan Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha insists there is no need to panic despite the striker crisis.

Onuoha points to the performances of Stephane Sessegnon and Steed Malbranque, who were pressed into action as emergency forwards against the Latics, as a sign that Sunderland will cope.

“Being at home on Saturday, the emphasis is on us to win the game, whether we have any of the big-name strikers or not.”

“It’ll be the time for someone to go and step up because we’ve relied on the strikers too much to score goals this season.”

Fulham, meanwhile, can contemplate another season in the top flight after beating Bolton 3-0 at Craven Cottage on Wednesday.

On New Year’s Day Fulham were 18th in the Premier League table and looking bound for the Championship.

But since defeating West Bromwich Albion on January 4 they have not returned to the relegation zone and now hold ninth position.

“I’ve always said my teams are always stronger in the second half of the season,” manager Mark Hughes said.
“That’s because of the work we do [with the players] on a daily basis. I’ve said before that we are a top-10 team and now it’s up to us to stay there.”

A goal in each half from Clint Dempsey and a third from Brede Hangeland gave the home side the points in their first outing at the Cottage since a 3-0 win over Blackpool at the start of the month.

Dempsey is confident his team can continue on their winning ways against Sunderland.

“We’re in the top half and it’s always better to be looking up than looking down,” the US international told the Fulham website.

“Hopefully we can keep pushing on from here and finish in the top half, because I think we’re a top half team and if we’d have had a few more results we’d be even higher than we are.”

“So we just need to keep pushing, keep working hard and hopefully we can add some away wins to help us in that aim.”

“There are still four games left and you don’t want to be stressing come the last game, so we’re trying not to think about slipping down the table.”

“We’re trying to look up because we feel that we have the quality to be a team in the top half, and that’s the main goal now with four games left.”

Luka Modric will not travel to Old Trafford ahead of tonight’s clash as Harry Redknapp said the Croatian’s head isn’t right. It is thought that a new bid by Chelsea is imminent and subsequently the player is trying to force a move, despite having 5 years still remaining on his current deal.

Elsewhere in the papers this morning Mancini reveals he may pull the plug on Nasri deal; Warnock plans signings after QPR takeover, while Fergie believes that Wayne Rooney’s problems are finally behind him.

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Mancini may pull plug on Nasri move – Guardian

Modric ‘problem’ tests Redknapp – Independent

Warnock plans signings after QPR takeover – Guardian

Pulis poised to Stoke up squad – Sun

Berbatov could leave United for free – Daily Telegraph

Debts threaten to undo a decade of Moyes’ work – Independent

Spurs join race for Bolton’s Cahill as Redknapp considers using Bentley as bait – Daily Mail

Sir Alex: Rooney has put his problems behind him – Mirror

Wenger finally admits it’s time for his struggling team to grow up – Daily Mail

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Big Mick blasts Europa League – Sun

Villa may offload flop midfielder – Mirror

Aquilani moves closer to Liverpool exit as Milan confirm interest in misfit – Daily Mail

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West Bromwich Albion have signed former loan striker Marc-Antoine Fortune on a two-year contract from Celtic for an undisclosed fee.

The 29-year-old spent the second half of the 2008-09 season at The Hawthorns, scoring five times in 18 games before opting to head north to join the Bhoys.

However, Fortune is now back in the Black Country, with boss Roberto Di Matteo telling the club's official website:"I'm delighted to welcome Marco back to the club.

"The great thing about this signing is that it won't take him long to settle in because he knows the club inside out. He also knows what this league is all about.

"Marc got on really well with the other players during his loan here and they're all delighted to see him back.

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"He is a powerful striker who can hold the ball up and bring others into play and having also signed Peter Odemwingie last week, we now have plenty of competition up front."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

The Red Knights group have confirmed that they are not about to launch a formal bid to buy Manchester United from the Glazer family.

It had been thought that the group were on the verge of making an offer but the Glazers issued a statement last week confirming that they had no intention of selling the club.

The American owners also revealed that they had rejected a £1.5billion bid from a Far East consortium for United.

A statement released on behalf of the group read:"The Red Knights remain committed to pursuing their efforts to try to help bring ownership of Manchester United to its supporters, and under a structure with materially less debt.

"As we have maintained however since news of our ambitions first emerged in March, we will only attempt to purchase the club at a sensible price, consistent with the long-term interests of the club.

"Persistent speculation in the media of inflated valuation aspirations has made our goals less attainable, as potential investors have strongly reinforced our views that we should not move forward at a price uneconomic for the future of the club.

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"We understand that many supporters were hoping that we might be in a position to make a bid before the season ticket renewal deadline.

"However, our approach is best served by long-term interests of all. We have never taken a stance on season ticket renewals, it is a personal choice for all supporters. We have spent some considerable time assessing the value of the club."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Martin O’Neill will be hoping he can maintain Sunderland’s renaissance by leading his side to victory at Chelsea in a similar manner to that of his predecessor Steve Bruce last season.

The Black Cats ran out 3-0 winners at Stamford Bridge last season hammering the first nail into the coffin of former Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti. His replacement Andre Villas-Boas has endured a testing start to his tenure in West London seeing his side exit the title race before the New Year and perform way below the expectations of owner Roman Abramovich. Their form over Christmas was indifferent once again with three wins followed by a similar number of draws before the home defeat at the hands of Aston Villa put more pressure on the shoulders of Villas-Boas. However his side started 2012 off in the best possible manner as winning at Wolves to stay in touch with Tottenham in third. Despite securing victory the game highlighted their defensive vulnerabilities once again with David Luiz failing to inspire confidence yet again although Gary Cahill’s imminent arrival should push the Brazilian to the sidelines. Still, they’ll need to improve at the back if they are to avoid another embarrassing defeat at the hands of rejuvenated Sunderland.

Relegation is a forgotten term on Wearside after the arrival of O’Neill after he led them to four wins from six over Christmas to catapult the Black Cats into the top half. The Irishman has worked wonders since agreeing to replace in Bruce bagging the manager of the month award for December and providing a huge lift to both football club and city. Whatever the former Aston Villa man has done at the Stadium of Light the effect has bred instant results giving supporters cause to look up rather than down in 2012. Their rapid change in fortunes has stunned a lot of doubters who predicted O’Neill’s task would be harder than he had anticipated. Despite losing against Tottenham in his second game in charge wins over Blackburn, Wigan, QPR and sandwich the stunning victory over league leaders Manchester City on New Years Day. The sheer grit and determination displayed by Sunderland in that game was indicative of the effect their new manager has had on the players. His decision to promote youngster James McLean into the starting lineup has been inspired whilst his well-documented man management skills are now getting the best out of Lee Cattermole. The Black Cats skipper has been instrumental in the clubs rise up the table in December and will be expected to rough Chelsea up on Saturday.

Chelsea 4th : 37 points

Last six: W L D D D W

Team news: Chelsea will be without leading scorer Daniel Sturridge who has a thigh injury. Jon Obi Mikel and Branislav Ivanovic also remain out.

Key Player: Juan Mata

A terrific start to life in England has seen Mata become one of the most feared wide men in the Premier League and he’ll be hoping 2012 will be just as good. His intelligent movement from his left midfield berth causes mayhem and Sunderland will need to be wary of his penchant to drift inside.

Sunderland 10th : 24 points

Team news: Martin O’Neill will be without key defenders Wes Brown and Titus Bramble meaning Matt Kilgallon is likely to keep his place.

Key Player: Lee Cattermole

We’re seeing a new side to usually ill disciplined Cattermole with a change of management bringing the best out of Sunderland’s skipper. His bulldozing displays in a withdrawn midfield role gives the back four some much-needed protection that will be vital against a rampaging Chelsea side.

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PREDICTION

Although their title hopes are all but shot Chelsea still harbour ambitions of a top four finish and should have enough to see off a Sunderland side born again under Martin O’Neill.

Score: 2-1

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