Arsenal are on the verge of bolstering their defence, with Per Mertesacker and Andre Santos completing medicals at the Emirates.
Mertesacker flew to London on Tuesday and successfully underwent his medical, with a £10 million transfer from Werder Bremen set to be completed on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old will add a wealth of experience to the North London outfit, and is set to sign a three year contract. The Hannover born defender has made 75 appearances for his country, and has featured in two World Cups.
Santos meanwhile has been identified as the replacement for Gael Clichy, who moved to Manchester City earlier this summer.
The Brazil international is to join in a £6.2 million deal from Fenerbahce, and will give Arsene Wenger an extra option at left-back.
With the sale of Armand Traore to QPR and Kieran Gibbs struggling with injury, it has been a problem area for the French manager; the 28-year-old also completed his medical at the Emirates on Tuesday.
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Arsenal have been the busiest of the top six sides in the run up to the transfer window closing, and have also been linked with moves for Chelsea trio Yossi Benayoun, Alex and Florent Malouda.
The mayor of London Boris Johnson has this week urged Tottenham to accept a £17 million package to drop their legal battle with West Ham United over the future of the Olympic stadium, and instead stay in North London. Is this really enough of an incentive to end their Olympic fight?
Spurs have been embroiled in a long running battle with West Ham over who should move into the Olympic stadium, once the London 2012 games are over. There is a court hearing set for October 18th in an effort to overturn a decision to let West Ham move in. The case is based around the issue of whether West Ham United receiving a £40 million loan from Newham Council to finance the move, constituted state aid. In terms of the amount of money West Ham look like they will receive for the move, and the amount of financial help other clubs have received when developing in deprived areas, the package of £17 million offered to Spurs is almost an insult, but in the current financial climate it is better than nothing.
The whole reason Spurs looked into moving into the Olympic Stadium in the first place was due to financial reasons, with the Olympic Stadium move potentially saving them half the amount of the Northumberland Park project. If they are to back out now, then the whole campaign would have been a huge waste of time and money. If Spurs were to overturn the Olympic stadium decision then they would save more than the £17 million offered by the Mayor of London, but there are other factors that need to be considered.
Tottenham have always had the option on the table of regenerating their own White Hart Lane ground, however this stumbled after problems with the local council and suggestions by Daniel Levy that the deal was no longer financially viable. If the deal wasn’t finacially viable, then I’m not sure how £17 million is going to ease their worries, especially when the whole package could cost them upwards of £400 million.
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The Northumberland Park Development, would help to regenerate one of the most run down areas of London and kick-start a much wider scale of regeneration that would boost the local economy, as well as create jobs in the area. The stumbling block on the development has been with financial matters and transport issues, which could in some ways be resolved with the package offered to Tottenham. The deal on the table from the Mayor of London, would see him pay £8.5 million, with the other £8.5 million coming from local Haringey Council. This package would be used on infrastructure and for the improved transport links around the new 56,000 seat stadium. It would be disastrous for the area were Tottenham to pull out, and it has always been their first intention to stay in the area, if it could be achieved. If the deal can ease some of the problems that caused them to look into making the Olympic stadium bid, then they should take it.
With the new regeneration likely to cost Spurs upwards of £400 million, the £17 million offered on the table is probably of little comfort, however the fact it is being offered at all in the current financial climate is a bonus. Some would suggest that football clubs are rich enough, and shouldn’t receive any financial aid at all, however the development does offer a huge amount for the local community and this has to be taken into account. The deal on the table is clearly better for Spurs than them coming out of this whole sorry affair with nothing at all. It would relieve the club of all community infrastructure payments that planners normally require as well as fund the regeneration in Tottenham itself. If the deal eases some of the problems they originally encountered with the development then they should accept it.
Considering the majority of fans were not too keen on the move out of North London, and the fact that they have already invested considerable time and money (£85 million) on assembling land and planning for the Northumberland Park project, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to just take the deal and draw a line under the whole sorry Olympic stadium fiasco.
Do you think Spurs should take the deal and end their Olympic Stadium battle? Let me know your thoughts by commenting below or following me on Twitter @LaurenRutter for more comment and debate.
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Boca Juniors have confirmed that they will make an attempt to re-sign Carlos Tevez in January, as the striker’s time at Manchester City comes to an end.
The Argentina international is under-fire as he refused to come off the bench against Bayern Munich in the Champions League in late September, and after a two-week suspension has been training by himself.
With the Etihad Stadium club ready to cut their losses and offload the troubled attacker for £20million in the new year, the Buenos Aires side may make a move to bring him back home.
“We’ll make an attempt to get Carlos Tevez. I know it will be difficult but we will try,” vice-president Jose Beraldi is reported to have said in The Daily Mail.
The forward started his career at La Bombonera, making 76 appearances and scoring 26 goals in three years between 2001 and 2004, before moving to Corinthians.
With the South American’s obvious abilities, a raft of other European clubs are thought to be interested in acquiring Tevez’s services, with Juventus, Inter and Real Madrid been linked with a January move for the 27-year-old.
Corinthians director of football Edu is said to have met with Tevez’s aide Kia Joorabchian also, and the Brazilian club have confirmed that they too will be in the running to sign Tevez in the next transfer window.
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It was once the hallmark of a club going through hard times. A dawning realisation as it were as to a club’s real place in the pecking order. A phrase that supposedly signalled the end of a club‘s ambition. The term ‘selling club’, while it may have been applicable even as recently as 3-4 years ago, now looks somewhat outdated. The reasoning behind this – a very clear separation of powers from those clubs at the very top, to the rest of those in the league. The rich are getting richer and with it, every player at almost every club has its price.
Arsenal have come in for some severe criticism this summer about the way they have conducted their transfer business, or rather lack of it, until the supermarket-sweep trolly dash of transfer deadline day. Many sighted the departures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri as further proof that the North London side were now little more than a ‘selling club’.
However, when you actually look at the nature of the deals, it’s extremely unfair to classify Arsenal as that. Cesc Fabregas departed after eight seasons of loyal service to the club. The Fabregas deal was like a ticking time bomb from the moment he arrived from Catalonia. This summer was just the logical conclusion to the most inevitable transfer in recent memory, no more than that.
Samir Nasri was a different case in point too. Man City’s riches (yes, sorry to go on about them all of the time, but they are the proverbial elephant in the room, to ignore them would be folly) have changed the ball game completely. Whereas Chelsea are comfortably rich (if that’s a phrase?), Man City’s wealth dwarves even theirs. It’s as simple as that. If they want something, they can pay hugely over the odds for it without even a second thought. Samir Nasri was bought for over £20m despite having just a year left on his contract – a huge outlay considering the circumstances.
Of course, a newly mega-rich club does often signify a club with a growing ambition and intent. Man City and PSG are quite possibly the only two clubs in the world that could offer wages of up to £250k a-week without having to adjust their budgets. Man City are the most exciting footballing project in the world right now, but it’s fair to say that the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow may have tempted Nasri just a tad more than normal as well. These are exceptional circumstances.
Sunderland fans were apoplectic with rage after they saw their star striker Darren Bent depart, in what at the time represented a sideways move, to Aston Villa for £24m last term. However, it was a price Villa were willing to pay, safe in the knowledge that Bent’s goals would most probably steer them clear away from the relegation mire. It was a short-term gamble and the unusually large fee paid out by a mid-table club should be seen as nothing more than a down payment ahead of the expected departures of both Ashley Young and Stewart Downing this summer.
Every player, perhaps more than at any time before, has their price, as the group of mega-rich clubs at the top grows smaller and smaller by the season?.
Spurs held off the advances of Chelsea in their dogged pursuit of midfield maestro Luka Modric for the majority of the transfer window. But at what cost? At what point does holding onto an asset such as Modric become negligible when balanced against the potential profit to be gained from such a deal?
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Chelsea had bids of £22m, £27m and £30m plus Alex turned down. Is Modric really worth more than £30m plus Alex? With Spurs obviously requiring another centre-half, only to be further exemplified by the club‘s late move for Gary Cahill. It became clear that Redknapp’s stance had weakened towards the end of the window and he was all for using the funds from any proposed sale to try and revitalise his squad, but Chairman Daniel Levy’s stance, while commendable, appears to have been aimed squarely at getting the supporters back on side in a deal that threatened to mirror that of Dimitar Berbatov’s switch to Man Utd in 2008.
Levy was willing to forsake any potential windfall, no matter how large, simply to make a point. Was it wise? The unbalanced nature of Spurs squad at the moment may tell you otherwise and you wouldn’t bet against Spurs selling their man in either January or next summer if a fractionally larger offer comes their way. Levy has saved face – which was undoubtedly the main object behind the whole saga.
Everton are another who have been termed a ‘selling club’. They sold Joleon Lescott to Man City for £24m, Mikel Arteta to Arsenal for £10m and Wayne Rooney to Man Utd for £30m. Does this make them a selling club? Of course it doesn’t. It merely makes them both practical and realistic. The club’s main prerogative is to balance the books, and as a result they are well known for driving a hard bargain. While the vultures may begin to swarm around the likes of Ross Barkley, Jack Rodwell and Marouane Fellaini, are Everton likely to sell any of them on the cheap? Not on your nelly.
In France, Lyon Chairman Jean-Michel Aulas has often attracted criticism from supporters, much in the same way Daniel Levy has at Spurs, for running the club like a business. However, he is also renowned for driving a hard bargain (Michael Essien £24m, Karim Benzema £35m, Mahamadou Diarra £20m). He’s fully aware of French football’s place in the European pecking order and that some players will move on to pastures anew given the chance and so he makes their suitors pay top whack for their talent. In today’s day and age, with a clear hierarchy built around the club’s with most financial clout, it begs the question, is there really any other way to run a football club than like a business?
The age of the selling club is over. The arrival of a new type of owner, a mega-rich owner with infinite income, has made the rest of the league sit up and take notice. The majority of clubs in the Premier League now operate with a more pragmatic approach in mind, as it’s simply impossible for them to compete on a financial front any longer.
James Milner’s £24 move to Man City from Aston Villa. Fernando Torres’s £50m from Chelsea to Liverpool. Andy Carroll’s £35m move from Newcastle to Liverpool. Can you honestly tell me that the ‘selling club’ in any of these transfer deals hasn’t profited more from the move than the buyer so far? Or perhaps more to the point, have any of these moves even begun to approach being considered value for money for their new clubs? Now all of a sudden, being a ‘selling club’ doesn’t look so bad after all.
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For many years now the Premier League has been regarded as the best on the planet, with a passion and quality that no other league around the world could compete with, and after reading an article on this very topic last week – more specifically why the Premier League was better than La Liga – it got me to thinking if that was actually the case anymore.
Certain arguments get brought out time and time again in support of the Premier League – it is more competitive, more physical, there are better players, less diving and a more passionate fan base. Yes some of these may well be the case, but in other respects, La Liga can more than compete with the Premier League.
One of the reasons people claim the Premier League has the edge on La Liga is the competitiveness. In Spain it is claimed that the big two of Real and Barca sweep all before them, always have and always will, where as in England there is a much more even race for the title, and the ‘best of the rest tag doesn’t apply here.
Well sorry to bust that bubble, but since the beginning of the 90’s there have been four winners of the Premier League – United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Blackburn Rovers. In the same time, there have been five different winners of La Liga – Real, Barca, Valencia, Deportivo and Athletico Madrid. Look further back and you’ll also see Bilbao, Sevilla and Sociedad in the mix. Perhaps more winners than you might have expected?
Yes more often than not it has been Real or Barca at the top of the pile, but in England this is not so different, with United dominating since the Premier League began, having firstly Arsenal to challenge them and then Chelsea in more recent times. Anyone who will tell you the Premier League is an open race is either deluded or lying to you.
To claim that La Liga is disappointing because you can predict the top two or even four before the season has even reached half way is somewhat strange – City, United, Chelsea, Arsenal / Spurs. No I am not moonlighting as mystic meg, I am simply making the point that the Premier League is not that different in terms of competitiveness.
This season again will be a two horse race, albeit with Manchester City as the challenge to the ever present United, yet City have won nothing yet, and despite adding themselves to the mix, this does not mean the Premier League is now more competitive than before. To claim the title will be a six horse race is quite frankly as believable as John Terry claiming to be an upstanding member of society. Teams such as Liverpool and Spurs are not challenging for the title, they are trying to get back into the top four, and secure a place in the Champions League. In actual fact, there is already a bigger gap between the top of the Premier League and third place than there is in La Liga.
This brings us on to the ‘best of the rest’ argument, with Premier League supporters claiming that the English league is more competitive with the strength and depth of our Champions League teams, with the top four being an open race whereas in Spain the places are pretty much guaranteed to go to the same teams.
Again, this is a misguided assumption. Until Everton managed to pip Liverpool to the final Champions League spot the tag of ‘top four’ applied firmly to Arsenal, Liverpool Chelsea and United. Yes Newcastle may count themselves as a former representative in Europe, and may well fancy their chances of repeating this again, but despite Everton and Spurs making cameo appearances in the top four, the English ‘best of the rest’ is no more or less shocking than La Liga’s is.
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Clubs like Valencia, Sevilla, Villarreal, Deportivo, Betis, Atletico, Mallorca and Zaragoza have all finished in the top four in the last ten years, and to say that the Champion’s league places are thoroughly predictable in Spain when compared to England is wrong. In any league there will always be certain teams who frequently feature in the top half, just as there will always be teams who flirt with relegation.
Where I would concede that the Premier League has a slight edge over La Liga is with the teams at the bottom and their ability to beat the top teams. In every league there will always be a couple of whipping boys who do not belong in the top division, but in general the Premier League do have a stronger ‘bottom half’ of the table, with the ability to always throw up a couple of shock results over the course of a season.
Now La Liga are not incapable of this, and for anyone who says that a home game for Real or Barca mean an automatic win, so what’s the point in watching – I would ask you this – how often do United lose at Old Trafford? Chelsea under Jose Mourinho did not lose a home league game, nor did Arsenal in the 2003-2004 season. The difference here comes during away trips. During the English nightmare periods of Christmas and Easter where the fixtures come thick and fast, there is a much greater chance of an upset for a top team away from home than there is in La Liga.
Something that La Liga does have, undeniably, is the best two players in the world currently playing their trade in Spain, and I would argue have more ‘special’ players than the Premier League do. There are 13 Ballon d’or nominees from La Liga on the short list, 8 Barcelona ones and 5 from Real. England cannot compete with this by a long shot. In the Premier League there is Rooney, Silva and a couple more at a push, yet do these players hold a candle to Higuain, Messi, Ronaldo, Xavi, Kaka or Iniesta? There are some exceptional players in Spain at the minute who make the game a joy to watch.
Along with the best players, La Liga also has by far the two best teams in the world at the minute, and I defy anyone to disagree with that. If you put Barcelona in any league during the past 5 years, they would win it four out of those five times – if not five. Arguably the best club side the world has ever seen, no side in the Premier League can come close to both playing the way they do and making a clean sweep of the trophies.
The gulf in class between the Champions of each respective league was clear to see last May, with the Barca team passing around the United team like they were school boys. At this point, if any City fan wishes to say their team has a greater strength in depth than Barcelona this I suggest that before you compare yourselves to them, getting out of your group in a competition Barca have won 3 times in the last 5 years would be a good start. Chelsea and City may have money to burn, yet despite this, pale in comparison to Barcelona.
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Real Madrid, despite last season amassing more points and goals than any other Jose Mourinho team – something that would have meant that they won any other league in Europe, finished a distant second to Barcelona – showing just how good both are. This does not mean La Liga is less of a competition than the Premier League, it just means these two are that good, and would finish heads and shoulders above anyone in any league across Europe.
There is one area that I hands down feel the Premier League does out do La Liga in however, and that is the fan base. Even teams fighting for their lives in the relegation zone record brilliant attendances and half full stadiums are not something we are accustomed to seeing in England. In Spain however, this is an all too familiar sight, with the atmosphere and passion of the Premier League being heads and shoulders above the majority of La Liga.
That is not to say that La Liga lacks any kind of atmosphere, and anyone who has been to the Nou Camp or smaller stadiums such as El Madrigal or the Mestalla will tell you that the stadiums are both vastly impressive and atmosphere is fierce, and the fans do care passionately about their teams, yet for the mundane league games, it is in England you will find the louder and more passionate set of fans.
Perhaps it is just personal preference – I would chose to watch a La Liga game over a Premier League game nine times out of ten, for a variety of reasons – I prefer the Spanish style of football and the amount of technical talent and ability in La Liga is a joy to watch, yet it would come as no surprise to me that someone could completely disagree with me and would rather watch a Premier League game.
By no means am I trying to say that the Premier League is not worth watching, of course it is, and over the last ten years the players who have graced our shores and the level at which football has been played is nothing short of extraordinary, I just feel that in the last couple of years the balance of power has begun to shift and now La Liga just edges the premier League in terms of world class players, not to mention a very special manager.
I never thought I would say it, especially given their fortunes over the last decade, but Chelsea are on the slide. Just as fast as they gobbled up trophies and talent at the beginning and middle of the last decade, it seems to be all slipping away with an equal decline. Just what is causing Chelsea to stutter as much as they have this season?
Knee-jerk reactions point the finger directly at the man in charge; André Villas-Boas. At thirty four, he’s only twelve months older than his most senior players, with egos as big as Didier Drogba , Frank Lampard , and John Terry (especially John Terry ), can the guy really command his dressing room with the intimidation of a Alex Ferguson , or a Kenny Dalglish ? Sure, supporters of Villas-Boas will argue that age is not an issue in the modern game; Pep Guardiola and José Mourinho are glistening beacons to the idea that you don’t have to be old enough to attain Lordship in order to be a successful manager.
He’s certainly learnt from the best, being a protegé of Bobby Robson and Mourhino, but the key ingredient in the successful managerial cake that Villas-Boas lacks is that he has the omnipotent, but mind-bogglingly fickle Roman Abramovich constantly watching over his every move. Guardiola and Mourhino have the full backing of their owners, even if results go a bit Fred West from time to time. Villas-Boas is constantly referred to as “the under pressure Chelsea manager”, a tautology; anyone who has been at the helm of the West London club over the past eight years will testify that every single one of them has been under pressure to perform well from their perma-stubbled Russian owner.
I’d be willing to bet that every single one of them too would admit that if the pressure was off, and they were allowed free rein of the club they were managing, the trophies would have fallen into place in time. Abramovich is too wrapped up in the idea that pumping money into something will grant him instant success, and the moment results start turning against him then the manager simply isn’t good enough. Surely a World cup winning coach, a treble winner, and a two time European cup winning manager have the capabilities, given the time, to bring success to the club. Evidentially not under their Russian rule.
On the subject of Russian rule, it probably hasn’t helped that Abramovich has intermittently stepped in and decided that he wants to direct where his money is going. Much like Man City now, when Chelsea first started buying up scores and scores of talent, I didn’t like it one bit. But whilst Man City are in the business of buying up talent to purposely push out their opponents, Chelsea were actually intent on setting up a team who would compete (key word; COMPETE) for their success, and that’s where my respect lies with Chelsea and not Man City in the sugar daddy stakes. That said, Abramovich has stepped in on occasion and just as easy as it is to do on the latest Fifa or Football Manager game, he has decided that he wants to buy a name; regardless of price.
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Alarm bells are ringing and the name that comes to mind in every Chelsea fan’s mind immediately is Fernando Torres. Fifty million pounds, for a player who hasn’t been remotely decent for around two and a half years; the guy could have bought fifty solid gold statues of the most desirable women in the world to get jiggy with for that kind of money. Abramovich doesn’t care, fifty million is pittance to him, but fifty million pounds that Chelsea fans, deep down in their hearts will know has been wasted (especially when they could have saved fifteen million for a nice swimming pool and bought Sergio Aguero instead).
Abramovich should have learned from the last time he stepped in and demanded to buy one Andriy Shevchenko that he doesn’t have the wisest footballing knowledge. It’s this that remains one of Chelsea’s biggest flaws; admittedly the guy is entitled to do whatever the hell he wants, Chelsea is his plaything and it’s his money that’s being spent, but for the most part if the guy does want to spend ridiculous amounts of money on players, then give the money to the guys that know what to do best with it; the managers.
One thing that seems to be somewhat of a positive from Villas-Boas’ reign at Chelsea , however long it may be, is that he’s giving the youngsters a chance to shine through. For too long now, Chelsea have been reliant on the same system involving what is now referred to as their “old guard”; the three lynchpins of their team in Drogba, Lampard and Terry. Whilst these three have been reliable in their positions for the last eight or so years, and undoubtedly been key to bringing success to the club, efforts must be done to find suitable replacements. Terry is going to prove to be the one most difficult to replace; whilst the guy lives and breathes Chelsea , he’s fallen into the Rio Ferdinand situation of being more of a liability than he’s worth. David Luiz, for all his qualities is not the man to replace him; his heavy footedness and ability to put himself hilariously out of position have been a contributing factor in Chelsea ’s hiccups this season.
Don’t worry Chelsea fans, I can sympathise being a fan of Leeds United and watching Patrick Kisnorbo week after week heading into tackles with all the grace and guile of Jade Goody when she run that marathon that one time. Josh McEachran will prove in time that he is Lampard’s replacement; the flashes that I’ve seen from him show a great deal of promise, and he’s still only seventeen years old. Strikers come and go, and I’m sure it won’t take long for Chelsea to find a decent replacement for Drogba.
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Hell, someone might coax Torres out of his self imposed exile and inspire him to score again; Abramovich could hold his family hostage and threaten to send bits of them in the mail unless he starts scoring, although that might be a touch in the extreme region. Whatever they do, they need to get doing it fast; the old guard isn’t getting younger, and young sprites like City and Spurs will quickly overtake if Chelsea don’t do anything.
Overall, it’s a nervy time for Blues fans; it’s getting to that time of year again when the manager is more than likely going to be given a pledge of support in December then heavy heartedly parting company come January. There’s no reason why Chelsea can’t refresh what they have in their reserves and continue with their success of the past few years. What it does take however, is less input from Russia, more freedom with the manager and a serious sort out of the playing staff. In the meantime though, I’m quite fancying my two pound bet at the bookies for Villas-Boas to finally go in January.
Article courtesy of Arron Fellows from This is Futbol
Newcastle United put a huge dent in Manchester United’s title challenge producing a stunning performance to win at St James’ Park for the first time in 2012.
Defeat against Blackburn on New Years Eve allowed rivals City to take advantage and move three points clear at the top making victory on Tyneside a necessity of they were to stay in touch. However they were brushed aside by a swashbuckling performance from Alan Pardew’s side who took the lead when Demba Ba hooked the ball past Anders Lindegaard just before half time. The Dane had not conceded in his five previous games but was picking the ball out of the net again following Yohan Cabaye’s stunning free kick just after the break before Phil Jones headed in an own goal to compound Sir Alex Ferguson’s misery. It was the first time Newcastle had beaten the Red Devil’s since 2001 when Sir Bobby Robson was in charge and there is no doubt he would have been proud of the current crop of players sporting black and white.
Just two wins in their last eight games had seen the home side drop out of the top four with local rivals Sunderland breathing down their necks after victories over Wigan and Manchester City. With Rio Ferdinand, Phil Jones and Wayne Rooney returned to the United side after missing the defeat against Rovers with the latter starved of service up front alongside Dimitar Berbatov. It was the Toon Army’s front two who impressed the most with Ba and Shola Ameobi causing havoc all night as the visitors struggled to cope with their physical presence. The former should have scored twice inside the opening quarter of an hour failing to make contact with Ryan Taylor’s low cross and shooting low at Lindegaard before Berbatov saw his head strike the foot of Tim Krul’s post. Newcastle continued to attack in numbers and broke the deadlock on 33 minutes with Ameobi flicking the ball onto Ba who held off Ferdinand to loop the ball first time into the net.
Two minutes after the break United found themselves two down with Cabaye scoring a contender for goal of the season striking a superb free kick over the wall and in off the cross bar from all of 30-yards. That seemed to wake the visitors up and they should have equalised with Nani putting in a series of dangerous crosses from the right but just couldn’t get the better of a stern Newcastle defence. The best chance fell to the Rooney who saw his shot from four-yards blocked by former Red Devil Danny Simpson who will have taken great pleasure in beating his former club. With the clock ticking down towards it’s conclusion the Magpies’ night got even better in stoppage time after Jones calamitously headed in Krul’s long punt upfield to make it 3-0 and provide a big boost to their European aspirations.
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Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye has appealed the FA’s charge of violent conduct, relating to the game against Brighton at the weekend.
The France international was cited for kicking out at Brighton’s Adam El Abd in the 1-0 defeat for the Tyneside club.
An FA regulatory commission will now hear Cabaye’s appeal on Wednesday, before making a decision on the incident.
Magpies boss Alan Pardew is standing by his player, and feels that there was no malice in the incident on the part of the Newcastle man.
“I am absolutely livid about it, if I am honest, because firstly, when the incident happened, I didn’t see anything wrong with it,” the Toon trainer told Sky Sports.
“I have reviewed that about seven or eight times and seriously, he (Cabaye) is trying to stop the boy (El Abd) falling on him.
“He does make a gesture to push him away and in doing so, catches him just on the lip.
“If you find that that was a malicious attempt to do that then, my goodness, you have never played this game,” he stated.
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Martin O’Neill has saluted Sunderland goalscorer Frazier Campbell, after the striker bagged the equaliser against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday.
A Barry Robson goal had given The Championship side the lead in the local derby at The Stadium of Light, but Campbell popped up in the second half to force a replay.
O’Neill praised his returning attacker, and is glad to have him fit and available for selection after serious knee injuries.
“I am really, really delighted for him, and I think everybody is around here – it’s hard not to be with the injuries he has sustained,” the trainer told Sky Sports.
“He took it brilliantly as well – it may well have been his first or second touch.”
The Bantams looked to have equalised just before half time when Craig Gardner found the Middlesbrough net only for the goal to be disallowed; the Northern Irish manager feels hard done by.
“I have been told it was given for offside, and it wasn’t offside.
“The referee is adamant that’s what the linesman gave it for. There is supposedly a suggestion of handball beforehand, which I don’t think he saw.
“I said to the referee at half-time, ‘Was it handball or offside?’, and he said, ‘I never mentioned handball’, so if it was given for offside, it should have stood,” he ranted.
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The replay at The Riverside Stadium is set to be played on Tuesday 7th February, with the winner hosting Arsenal in the next stage.
Now a lot of you may have been surprised by the move of Samuel Eto’o to Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala at the start of the season, especially with him being linked to some of the best teams in Europe.
Having said that, when you have played for some of the biggest teams in Europe and you reach the pivotal age of 30, as soon as a club comes to you with a three-year-deal worth 20 million Euros per season you don’t really take time to think twice.
Straight out of Kadji Sports Academy in Cameroon, Samuel Eto’o found himself plying his trade in Spain with Real Madrid’s B team. Unable able to break into the first team in 1997 he secured loan moves to various other La Liga clubs and eventually parted company with Real Madrid and joined Mallorca on a permanent deal in the year 2000.
The Cameroon striker was their all time leading scorer with 54 goals, later rewarding him with a move to Barcelona in 2004, where Eto’o accumulated 130 goals in 200 appearances for the Catalonians winning a Champions League trophy with Barcelona, making him one their top ten greatest goal scorers of all time.
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As we all know, his time at Barcelona lasted until 2009 which saw the prolific striker move to Italy with Inter Milan where he managed 53 goals in 103 appearances while also bagging another Champions League trophy with the Italian Giants.
Now, I’m not one to pass judgement on players who do their job well, but surely the sheer dominance of of Samuel Eto’o leading the frontline of any superior team in Europe would have been an excellent prospect. The Former Barcelona player was linked with moves to Arsenal, AC Milan, Manchester City and Manchester United.
The Cameroon international would have been no stranger to the Premier League or even the Bundesliga; two leagues in which he evidently didn’t play in. His stats show that he has an over 50% goalscoring ratio, no matter where he goes.
Eto’o at any top European club would have been a huge asset to many potential buyers, for the very fact of the matter is he guarantees you goals. Although the price range would have been off-putting for some clubs, especially with his age to consider, it would have been a risk worth taking due to his experience and footballing ability on the pitch. You don’t win three Champions Leagues for nothing.
The only issue I would have with him in the Premier League at this stage is maybe his ego; he’s always been known to fall out with players and staff, but in some cases that can be used as a positive if handled correctly. Samuel has always been known for his controversy; it was only last year that the Cameroon Football Federation handed him a 15 match ban for his role in the national teams strike.
So far, for Anzhi, the 30 year old has bagged eight goals in 12 appearances, so it’s quite hard to say he is not worth what he’s being paid, ok, maybe just a bit much but you understand where I’m coming from. Will there still be time for him to perform at the highest level after his contract is up? I doubt it; Anzhi looks to be the last straw for Samuel in a very successful career.
In his defence you’re going to get a little bit of arrogance with every good player, and it can pay off once a player is delivering the goods at the highest level, and that’s what he continues to do.
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So although I am disappointed to not see him in the Premier League especially, I do understand his reasoning behind resisting the chance.