Jom Football

As we come to the end of the year one group of people who must be feeling a little confused are Newcastle United fans. 2008 has certainly been a year of mixed emotions for them and 2009 looks as though it will be little different.

Uncertainty

As we all now know, owner Mike Ashley has confirmed the club are no longer for sale and says that he hopes his decision will end the uncertainty over the Magpies’ future. Ashley had initially put the club on the market back in September when former manager Kevin Keegan’s sudden departure led to the fans turning against Ashley and Dennis Wise in all sorts of ways. The ‘Cockney mafia out’ campaign meant that neither man felt welcome at St James’ Park.

However, despite the media and Ashley’s people themselves claiming that there was plenty of interest in buying the club, it would appear that no suitable offers were actually forthcoming meaning that Ashley has now taken the decision to remain in charge.

Ashley said in Newcastle’s matchday programme,

“I am happy to end the uncertainty fans may have had about the future direction of Newcastle United. I know just how important that is to you. I have withdrawn Newcastle United from the market, and for me 2009 will be the year in which we drive the club forward together. Even when I haven’t been at games I have remained a keen supporter, kicking and heading every ball and cheering the team on TV and being the first to congratulate Joe whenever there’s a good result. When I took the decision to put the club up for sale in September I made a point of saying two things were very important. Firstly, any potential buyer would have to show they had the best interests of Newcastle United at heart and had both the commitment and finance to be worthy custodians of such a fine football club before I would even consider doing a deal. And secondly, I gave you my word that as long as I remain owner, this club would continue to be run responsibly at all levels. I hope you will accept that I have stood by that pledge.”

Mike Ashley originally bought the Magpies in the summer of 2007 and in January this year he brought the fans idol Kevin Keegan back to manage the club. This was a popular move and one that was sure to win over the Toon Army. Some sceptics suggested that was the reason for the appointment rather than it being a carefully planned football decision, but either way, it was an appointment that went down well on Tyneside.

The Messiah

So 2008 started pretty well for Newcastle fans with the return of ‘The Messiah’ although early results under Keegan were disappointing. This was not too much of a problem however because firstly, Keegan would be given as much time as he needed to turn things around by the fans, and secondly, as far as they were concerned, anything was worth getting rid of Sam Allardyce.

However, what did become an obvious problem fairly quickly was the fact that Keegan wasn’t happy with his role and the role of others at the club. In particular, he was unhappy with the role of Dennis Wise and the club’s transfer policy in general.

Hate campaign

Keegan left just a few weeks into the current season when the row over the club’s transfer policy, spiralled out of control. The fans were distraught at the loss of Keegan who had managed to turn things around sufficiently last season but was struggling again now. A hate campaign ensued against Ashley and he decided he had no option but to sell the club.

Sceptics were at it again when the sale was announced. Ashley had priced the club at a level whereby a sale seemed unlikely. Was the sale just a ploy to give Ashley some breathing space from the Keegan furore before returning to the club?

Those who said so at the time will be feeling pretty smug with their ‘I told you so’ smiles at the moment, but we’ll never know if that was really the case.

Genuine

Clearly, something had to be done before the transfer window opened as Newcastle are in need of players and who would go to a club in turmoil and officially for sale? What ever anyone thinks about Ashley, I believe that we all know he is a genuine Newcastle fan and he would have known that he had to make a move now.

Whether this is a spur of the moment move or one that he had always planned is open to conjecture. Whether he will be welcomed back with open arms by the Newcastle fans or not is also open to conjecture.

The one thing about which I am relatively certain is that Dennis Wise will never be accepted by the fans and if Mike Ashley really wants to stay and drive the club forward, he will have to do so without Wise.

Hatred

I don’t know what to believe about the current situation and I still feel that if an offer was made to buy the club that was financially sensible for Mike Ashley he would take it. He is a Newcastle fan but he can’t ignore some of the hatred that was directed towards him and his family after the Keegan affair.

If he is genuine in his desire to stay with the club, backs Joe Kinnear with some funds and sacks Dennis Wise, it is just about possible that the old wounds could be healed. I just fear for the club that all three of those points may be questionable.
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Written by Graham Fisher · Tags: Editorial, English Premier League

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has been arrested after a fight in a bar on Merseyside, reports and a police source said Monday.

The fight took place overnight in Southport, near Liverpool, in north-west England.

“Six men were arrested on suspicion of section 20 assault on Lord Street,” said a spokesman for Merseyside Police, without officially confirming England midfielder Gerrard's identity.

Written by SoccerNews · Tags: English Premier League

Wayne Rooney’s agent Paul Stretford on Monday lost an appeal against an 18-month ban imposed by the Football Association in July for breaking regulations when signing up the England striker.

Stretford was also fined 300,000 pounds (then 377,000 euros) in July after being charged by the FA following his troubled appointment as Rooney’s agent in 2002.

Seven of the nine charges brought by the FA against Stretford for breaches of world football governing body FIFA’s players’ agent regulations were proved.

The charges included failing to protect Rooney’s interests and failing to respect the rights of third parties.

Stretford was also hit with an improper conduct charge in relation to the “making of false and/or misleading witness statements to police and giving false and/or misleading testimony to Warrington Crown Court” in a case about the circumstances of how he came to represent the England striker.

Stretford made it clear he would lodge an appeal but an independent appeal board here Monday upheld the original punishment.

“The board dismissed Mr Stretford’s appeal in its entirety and the decisions of an independent regulatory commission in July 2008 were confirmed,” said a statement on the FA’s official website.

Stretford can now go to an arbitration panel to challenge this latest ruling and his ban will be suspended until he has made that decision.

Written by SoccerNews · Tags: English Premier League

In goal, there are a few decent candidates. Chelsea’s Petr Cech was really good but won nothing and made a mistake that cost his country dearly at Euro 2008. Without him, we need to look at keepers that won things.



Pepe Reine won the Golden Gloves award, but remained as second choice behind Casillas for Spain. Van Der Sar wan the Premier League and the Champions League and Iker Casillas won La Liga and the European Championships.

It’s a tough choice but Casillas gets my vote.

Back four

The back four has no end of contenders. Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra from Manchester United’s double winning side are all worthy of a place in the squad as are John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho from Chelsea’s nearly double winning side.

Sagna and Clichy at Arsenal made many ‘team of the season’ selections last Summer and Bosingwa at Chelsea might make quite a few at the end of this season.

Maicon at Inter, Daniel Alves at Carles Puyol at Barcelona and Sergio Ramos at Real Madrid are all screaming for selection as is Philipp Lahm from Bayern Munich.

That list is only scratching the surface. Chiellini had a great Euro 2008 and it seems very strange to select a list of the world’s great defenders without nominating anyone from Italy, the home of the magnificent defender.

Anyway, my back four looks like this:

Ramos, Ferdinand, Puyol, Lahm.

Midfield

Into the midfield and I am sure there was some fellow at Manchester United who did quite well this year! Yes, it would be a strange selection if we weren’t to include the Portuguese wing wizardry of Cristiano Ronaldo. Forty-two goals, fantastic skill and tricks and the ability to produce Olympic style tumbling at the faintest of touches make him an automatic choice!

Strangely, after winning the double, it is difficult to think that any of the other Manchester United midfielders that would be nominated in this category. Carrick, Anderson, Scholes, Hargreaves, Nani, Giggs all played their part, but none of them stood out enough to make this squad.

At Chelsea, Lampard, Ballack and Essien were all excellent for their club and Essien may well have made this team if he hadn’t been injured for most of this season so far.

For Liverpool, Mascherano and Gerrard were superb and at Arsenal, Cesc Fabregas came of age.

Pirlo and Gattuso continued to produce the goods at the ageing Milan side and Frank Ribery has developed into the world class player at Bayern Munich that we all thought he would as an under twenty-one international.

The European Championship winning midfield of Barcelona’s Xavi and Iniesta and Villarreal’s Marcos Senna probably all deserve to be in the team, but are difficult to accommodate in my rigid English 4-4-2 system!

Other players who could have made the squad include Wesley Sneijder, Kaka and Quaresma.

It’s a very, very tough choice but I’m going with the following:

Ronaldo, Senna, Xavi, Ribery.

Strikers

The strikers sort of pick themselves. I know that Lionel Messi isn’t a striker but give him a free role playing off the main striker and he will be more effective than anyone else in the world.

The main striker is probably between the two Spaniards who led their country to European glory. Fernando Torres and David Villa.

Many other strikers deserve a mention. Benzema, Rooney, Tevez, Drogba, Ibrahimovich, Klose, Arshavin and even the evergreen Ruud Van Nistelrooy.

For me though there are only two names for the team. Messi and Torres.

So there we have the SoccerNews representative team:

Casillas

Ramos, Ferdinand, Puyol, Lahm

Ronaldo, Senna, Xavi, Ribery

Torres, Messi

Written by Graham Fisher · Tags: Editorial, General Soccer News

Here we go with some more predictions. They come thick and fast at this time of the year. Can I beat the four out of ten I managed on Boxing Day?

Sunday, 28 December 2008
# Arsenal v Portsmouth

Arsenal have slipped up at home a couple of times and managed to throw away a two goal lead at Villa, but Portsmouth don’t look too threatening at the moment. A 4-1 defeat at home to West Ham will hardly be worrying the Gunners.

It will be strange for Tony Adams to take a side to Arsenal and try to beat them. He is a Gooner through and through.

I think Adams will be celebrating tonight. Only because his favourite team has won mind, not the one he manages.


# Blackburn v Manchester City

Blackburn with a new manager take on shortly managerless Manchester City unless Mark Hughes can start to get some decent results, building on the 5-1 win over Hull.

Blackburn are a decent side and their ‘up and at them’ approach is not one that will sit comfortably with the flair loaded City side.

Blackburn’s recovery starts here. Although a 3-0 win against Stoke and a 0-0 draw at Sunderland might just be regarded as something of a recovery already.


# Bolton v Wigan

The dour derby. For anyone in the world who doesn’t come from Bolton or Wigan this must be the least exciting of all Premier League fixtures.

Sadly, it is likely to be amongst the least exciting games of football as well.

# Everton v Sunderland

Decent team playing poorly against a poor team playing OK. Could go either way this one.

I fancy Everton to just about have enough. Probably a last minute goal. Probably Tim Cahill or Aaron Lescott. It’s a fairly safe bet.

# Fulham v Chelsea

The West London derby doesn’t have the same sort of image, reputation or glamour of most of the other big derby games around the world. I guess that is because for many years, Chelsea have been so much better than their neighbours.

It is possible that the gap is beginning to close. Nowhere near enough for Fulham to get any sort of result in this one though.

# Newcastle v Liverpool

Michael Owen gets the chance to put one over his former employees and put himself in the shop window.

Liverpool are a tighter unit than they have been for sometime but I fancy Owen to bag one against them. Unfortunately for Michael, I expect Liverpool to bag a couple too.


# West Brom v Tottenham

West Brom are nowhere near as bad as Derby were last season, but they must be beginning to wish the season would end. There is no let up in the tests they face and Tottenham will be too strong for them at The Hawthorns.

# West Ham v Stoke

Gianfranco Zola’s beautiful football against Tony Pulis’ get it in the mixer football. For the neutral it would probably be best to see a Hammers victory, but then again, it is always good to see the underdog do well.

I’ll sit on the fence.



Monday, 29 December 2008
# Manchester United v Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough are a bit of a bogey team for United and I well remember them beating United over the Christmas period a few years ago.

United are looking pretty formidable at home and as long as they manage to take at least one of the many chances they will create I suspect they will be alright here.


Tuesday, 30 December 2008
# Hull v Aston Villa

Another stern test for Hull as the exciting Villa come to town.

This game should be good to watch with both teams liking to play attractive, attacking football at pace. I’d certainly rather be watching this one than the game at Bolton!

I reckon Villa might just come out on top, but they’ll know they’ve been in a game.


Written by Graham Fisher · Tags: Editorial, English Premier League

Fabio Capello insisted on Saturday that he does not yet deserve to be compared to Sir Alf Ramsey, the man he hopes to emulate by transforming England into world-beaters.

Ramsey coached England to their only World Cup success back in 1966 but Capello's impressive first year in charge of the national squad already has many observers tipping the Italian's team as champions in South Africa in 2010.

But Capello says there is plenty of work ahead if the England of Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Theo Walcott and Wayne Rooney are to be kings of the world.

“Someone spoke to me about this big manager (Ramsey) but we have to wait. He's up here - I'm still down here,” said Capello.

“It's a very long way to arrive at the level of Sir Alf Ramsey - it is difficult and very, very long.”

Capello has overseen a dramatic improvement in the national team's fortunes in 2008.

After the low of failing to qualify for Euro 2008 under Steve McClaren, England have reached the end of the year on course for the World Cup finals boasting a perfect record in the qualifiers.

For good measure, they ended 2008 with a 2-1 friendly win over Germany in Berlin with their only loss in the year coming against France.

“It's been step forward, step forward,” Capello said.

“I'm very happy because the last game against Germany we played very well. The first 11 was new players, some players who hadn't played a lot of games, and we won and this is very important for the future.

“We had another (stepping) stone for the future.”

Capello added that, unlike McClaren, he was determined to maintain barriers between himself and his players.

“It's not important to play cards or games with the players. It's not important to me to be one of the lads,” said the Italian.

“The important thing is respect. I always say a manager is one against 24 always - there is one boss, one leader being judged by 24 players, in every moment he is under scrutiny and it's important the players know that is my role. The leader is the leader.”

Written by SoccerNews · Tags: English Premier League, World Cup

Four out of ten in the predictions yesterday. That’s pretty good for me! You can’t predict into the future though. Who could possibly predict the results for future? Who could possibly know where a player is going to be by the end of January?

We are just a few days away from the silly season that is the January transfer window. It is silly because everyone will be linked to a move from everywhere to anywhere and the media will heighten the tension and speculation by reporting on every time a player sneezes in a manner likely to mean he is on the move!

Semblance of truth

I just want to point out that this site will be no exception! We will tell you about every rumour, whether it is based on a semblance of truth or whether it has come about because the friend of one of my mate’s cousins works in Rochdale and he says that one of his mate’s sister’s friend’s auntie definitely saw Lionel Messi going into the Rochdale players entrance in disguise!

The rumours annoy me and interest me in just about equal measures. The stories very often turn out to be totally untrue but the fun is in trying to spot the ones that actually are possibilities.

In the week before Christmas alone, I saw the following rumours:

Carlos Tevez from Manchester United to Arsenal
Diego Lopez from Villarreal to Manchester City
Adriano from Inter to just about anywhere
Arsenio Halfhuid from Excelsior Rotterdam to Aston Villa
Eljero Elia from FC Twente to Ajax
Andrei Arshavin from Zenit to Barcelona
Andrei Arshavin from Zenit to Real Madrid
Andrei Arshavin from Zenit to Tottenham
Andrei Arshavin from Zenit to Arsenal
Massimo Donati from Celtic to Milan
Roque Santa Cruz from Blackburn to Manchester City
Gokhan Inler from Udinese to Arsenal
Gianluigi Buffon from Juventus to Manchester City
Didier Zokora from Tottenham to Portsmouth
Stewart Downing from Middlesbrough to Tottenham
Matthew Upson from West Ham to Manchester City
Any top player in the world from anywhere to Manchester City

That is just a very few of the hundreds and hundreds of rumours that are wildly circulating around the media fuelled transfer frenzy in football as the window prepares to open.

Most likely

As I say, the exciting bit is to work out which of them might be based on truth. From the above list, the most likely move seems to be the last one. Any top player from anywhere to Manchester City!

Robinho proved that top players may be prepared to move to an under achieving club rather than a Champions League club if the money is right. Having said that, Robinho couldn’t establish a regular place in the Real Madrid team and they hardly set Europe alight in his time at the club.

Well renowned

Other likely moves in England I think will invole Tottenham who may well ship out a few and bring in a few. Harry Redknapp is well renowned for his transfer dealings and he will be looking to stamp his mark on the team. I also think it likely that Santa Cruz will leave Blackburn.

In Italy, I would expect Jose Mourinho to expand his Inter squad although whether he will raid his old Stamford Bridge hunting groundis less certain.

I would also expect Juande Ramos to try to strengthen his Real Madrid team with more signings than just Lassana Diarra.

Square root

So there we have it. Although most of the rumours will be based on the square root of bugger all, the transfer window always leads to some interesting and exciting speculation.

SoccerNews will be bringing it all to you as it happens and we can all dream that the signing that will make all the difference to our team is going to be the one that makes the headlines.

As a Watford supporter, I am told by the board of the club that we will be selling in January to ensure that the club balances the books and manages to survive. I accept that, but I’m sure we’ll make one big signing that will see us roaring up the table towards the Championship play-off places.

In fact, my brother told me that a friend of his in Watford was shopping in WH Smith in the town the other day and he had spoken to a bloke he used to work with who told him that a friend of his uncle’s had been told that one of his mates had seen Thierry Henry walking towards Watford’s Vicarage Road ground.

Written by Graham Fisher · Tags: Editorial, General Soccer News, Transfer News & Transfer Rumours

Friday 26th December 2008

# Aston Villa v Arsenal

The battle for fourth place hots up with this one on Boxing Day. For those people who feel that there shouldn’t be football over the festive period, this is a mouth watering game to prove them wrong.

I’m not happy about the Summer break so I certainly wouldn’t support a Winter one. All year round football I say!

I think Arsene Wenger’s knowledge of how to get in and stay in that top four will see them through against the young pretenders to their fourth placed throne. They might have had a poorish season but wins against United and Chelsea and a ten man draw against Liverpool show that they are still one of the best four.

SoccerNews prediction: 1-2
# Chelsea v West Brom

I’d love to give West Brom some Christmas cheer but it just isn’t possible with this fixture.

On the plus side, teams that have ‘shut up shop’ at Stamford Bridge have shown that Chelsea can be frustrated and have managed to get decent results. On the negative side, West Brom have absolutely no idea how to ‘shut up shop’.

SoccerNews prediction: 3-0
# Liverpool v Bolton

Stuttering at home Liverpool against unpredictable away Bolton. That’s an easy one to predict then!

I think the Reds might keep their title dreams alive for a bit longer here and maybe make Gary Megson wonder if his team could be in trouble after all.

SoccerNews prediction: 3-1
# Manchester City v Hull

One of Manchester City’s last games before they spend goodness knows how many millions of pounds in the transfer window.

I have consistently predicted that the Hull bubble will burst but even I have been convinced that it might not. Having said that of course, the 4-1 defeat at home to Sunderland might be the start of things to come. They need to bounce back and I fancy them to get something here by attacking City’s fragile looking defence.

SoccerNews prediction: 1-2
# Middlesbrough v Everton

Just when Middlesbrough looked as though they were returning to type and slipping down the table, they turned in a great performance against Arsenal a couple of weeks ago. After that though they produce a dreadful performance at Fulham and they are now the only Premier League side without a win in their last six games.

Everton are back in the race for fourth or fifth place and they have done so without playing well and without any strikers. It’s a good effort by them.

SoccerNews prediction: 0-1
# Portsmouth v West Ham

The eleven Portsmouth players are still only looking half the side under Tony Adams than they looked under Harry Redknapp. I still haven’t worked out why that is.

West Ham are beginning to fight a little more now that they have realised that they really might be in a relegation scrap.

SoccerNews prediction: 1-1
# Stoke v Manchester United

Stoke have upset Arsenal and Liverpool this season and they will be looking to do again against the might of Manchester United.

They’ve got no chance.

SoccerNews prediction: 0-2
# Sunderland v Blackburn

This looked as though it would be the battle of the poor sides without a manager. Blackburn acted very quickly to appoint Sam Allardyce but Sunderland are still dragging their heels.

No doubt both sides will for inexplicable reasons continue to play better without the old Manchester United influence of Roy Keane and Paul Ince.

I don’t think this will be a game for the lover of pass and move football, that’s for sure!

SoccerNews prediction: 1-0
# Tottenham v Fulham

Two teams that have continued to surprise. Tottenham are so much better than they were at the start of the season and Fulham are so much better than they were last season.

The two managers are very different. Harry Redknapp is full of personality and Fulham have got Roy Hodgson.

SoccerNews prediction: 2-1
# Wigan v Newcastle

Wigan are a decent side but Newcastle are definitely getting better under Joe Kinnear. Many of their injured stars are back and things are finally beginning to look ever so slightly up for the Toon Army.

Written by Graham Fisher · Tags: Editorial, English Premier League

Christmas day is here. To all of you who celebrate Christmas I wish you a very merry one and I hope that you have a great day. To all of you who don’t celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a good December 25th as well!

Peace

At a time such as this it is worth remembering just what a power for peace and good, football is. In a world of famine, fear and violence. In a world of hatred and jealousy, football is one of very few things that can unite us all.

Take this simple football site. I write things about world football from my home in Southern England. The few hardy readers come from all over the globe. Many of you disagree with much of what I write and many of you disagree with each other. It is rare for anyone to agree on matters about the clubs we actually support. You can attack me or my family, but don’t criticise my football team!!

Love

Despite our differences of opinion on the game and our different backgrounds, lives and cultures, we all agree on one thing. We love football.

So at this festive time of year we should never under play the importance of the game. Some strange people say they can’t understand why people get so excited by watching twenty-two grown men (or women) chasing a ball around a field. Well, whilst not quite agreeing with the famous Bill Shankley quote about football being more important than life and death, the game is so much more than just a game.

Joy

It gives us excitement, frustration, joy, anger and despair. In fact, you name an emotion and football can, and does, produce it.

Written by Graham Fisher · Tags: Editorial, General Soccer News

It also has the unique and incredibly important ability to transcend politics and arguments and loathing to bring the people of the world together.

Football is an important piece of all of our lives and long may it continue.

To football fans everywhere, have a wonderful day.

Written by Graham Fisher · Tags: Editorial, General Soccer News

World football body FIFA announced it has lifted its suspensions on the federations of Kuwait, Samoa and Peru.

Kuwait was suspended in late October for political interference and the lifting of its ban is only provisional to allow them to play in Asian Cup qualifying starting in January and the Gulf Cup.

Whether the ban returns will be reviewed at FIFA’s Congress in March.

In the case of the Samoans, they were suspended for “repeated management problems” in October, but this has been resolved following meetings of the FIFA executive committee on the sidelines of the Club World Cup here.

A row with the government over alleged political interference in Peru saw that federation suspended last month, but they too are now in the clear.


Written by SoccerNews · Tags: World Cup

Impractical

In a week whereby the Scottish managers have agreed an extremely laudable but impractical deal in which they will refuse to comment on refereeing decisions after games, and a season that has been dominated by the FA’s ‘respect agenda”, the reaction of the manager’s becomes more and more interesting.

Let’s start with the most famous of the allegedly blinkered manager’s, Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger. On Sunday he probably was dealt a harsh blow when referee Howard Webb sent off Emmanuel Adebayor for a second bookable offence. The first yellow card was fairly clear cut and there were few arguments about it. The second card was, having seen the incident in slow motion and from several different angles, a little bit harsh.

Over the ball

What referee Howard Webb saw was that the striker had his foot raised as he competed with Alvaro Arbeloa and caught the defender with his elbow as he spun. On first view it looked like he had gone ‘over the ball’ and had also raised his arm. In fact, he probably did neither of those things but it was obvious to everyone watching, why Howard Webb produced the card. Everyone that is except Arsene Wenger.

“It was very soft. If we get red cards like that from opponents away from home then I’m very happy. It was not a red card, it was not a second yellow card. I don’t know what it was for and I’m sure he (the referee) doesn’t know.”

I can understand Wenger being bitterly disappointed by the decision, despite the fact that his side were so much better with ten men than they had been with eleven, but to say he doesn’t know what it was for is stretching the truth.

Leg breaking

The second incident involved Middlesbrough’s Julio Arca. As I said yesterday, Arca is not a dirty or malicious player, but the awful challenge he put in on Fulham’s Andrew Johnson on Saturday was a potential leg breaking disgrace. There is no doubt that it should have seen the player given a red card and facing at least a three match ban.

Unbelievably the referee, despite having seen the incident clearly, decided it was worthy only of a yellow card. Middlesbrough were incredibly lucky to keep eleven men on the pitch but went on to lose 3-0 anyway.

At 1-0 down, Middlesbrough conceded a harsh penalty for handball when the ball clearly struck a hand but there was little the defender could have done to get out of the way.

Try to guess which incident Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate wanted to talk about afterwards.

“There was huge decision given against us when we were 1-0 down when they were given a penalty and scored from it. We have had three unbelievable decisions against us in the last three weeks. We refuse to criticise referees but it is there for everyone to see.”

What a shame that Southgate didn’t also criticise the decision not to reduce his team to ten men and condemn the tackle made by his player.

The third incident involved Plymouth player Simon Walton being sent-off in their Championship defeat at Barnsley. Walton has a chequered disciplinary past and is Plymouth’s record signing. He has only just forced his way back into the team after falling out of favour.

Criticise the referee

Did his manager Paul Sturrock criticise the referee or look to other decisions in the game to blame his side’s defeat on?

No. He spoke very clearly about his own player’s lack of discipline.

“I just cannot believe the boy’s mentality to get back in the team and then show that kind of stupidity, it will cost him dear. He’s cost us dear as far as the game’s concerned. It’s very difficult to play with 11 men in this league never mind 10.”

Well done to Sturrock for his honesty. So who else has been honest and accepted the sending-off of one of his players?

I know it is hard to believe but despite losing his immense defender Nemanja Vidic for the first leg of the Champions League battle with Inter, Sir Alex Ferguson calmly accepted the referee’s decision to send him off in the Club World Cup final.

“It’s a soft sending off but he swung an elbow. When you do that in front of the referee you’ve got no chance. He gave the referee no option.”

Now surely if Sir Alex can be that mellow, anyone can! Maybe the Scottish managers have got it right and managers should not be allowed to comment on referee decisions.

Written by Graham Fisher · Tags: Editorial, English Premier League, General Soccer News

This morning’s Sunday Mirror newspaper goes with a remarkable story that Arsenal are preparing to sign Manchester United’s loan star Carlos Tevez in a deal that will shatter their previous £11m record transfer fee. Whilst the idea of Arsenal signing a Manchester United player who struggles to get a regular first team game seemed absolutely ludicrous to me until I remembered Michael Silvestre.

Pecking order

The twenty-four year old Argentinian striker has been pushed down the pecking order at Old Trafford with Sir Alex Ferguson preferring the combination of Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov in his forward line this season so far. Tevez will get another chance to stake a claim for a regular place in the team when the club world cup final gets underway later but he would willingly swap that for a place in the United line-up against Stoke on Boxing Day.

When Carlos Tevez arrived at Old Trafford back in 2007 a new United hero was born. He signed from, well, nobody really knows, but his last club was West Ham! After scoring the goal for West Ham against United at Old Trafford that kept West Ham in the Premier League, Fergie stepped in to bring him to Manchester.

110% effort

His all action, hard working, 110% effort style of play is always going to make him a crowd favourite and he quickly established himself in the side alongside the likes of Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo. In fact, those three became a mainstay of United’s wonderful double winning season. As the Summer break began, Tevez had no reason to fear for his future at the club.

The arrival of Dimitar Berbatov at the last minute of the transfer window deadline day will have been a blow to Tevez. He said all the right things about, ‘welcoming the competition’. ‘looking forward to the challenge,’ etc, but it must have been a severe blow to him in reality.

Goal spree

Since the start of the season, Tevez has been a bit part player and despite performances like his four goal spree in the Carling Cup victory over Blackburn, he is still the current third choice striker. For a man who is not on a permanent deal and is an Argentina international looking forward to playing and starring in the 2010 world cup under Diego Maradona, a bit part role will surely not keep him happy.

It doesn’t seem likely that he would move to North London, but if he was offered the chance of a permanent deal and regular first team football, it might be a difficult move to refuse.

What would Arsenal be getting for their money if the deal became a reality? This compilation shows what he can do.

At United, assuming that Wayne Rooney’s role will continue to be pretty secure, the other striking berth is a straight choice between Tevez and the mercurial twenty-seven year old Bulgarian, Dimitar Berbatov. You get great quality from both of them but that is where the similarity ends.

Worker

Tevez is a worker. He chases everything, hassles defenders and regards nothing as a lost cause. He can produce moments of brilliance but what he will always produse is ‘blood, sweat and tears’. Berbatov, on the other hand is a completely different character.

In contrast to Tevez, he always appears to be strolling through games. I often wonder if he even bothers to shower afterwards as he hasn’t actually broken out into a sweat at any stage. Having said that, he can also produce moments of footballing magic that have rarely been seen in the game. His first touch and his vision and awareness are second to none.

Infuriate

I like them both as players but Berbatov would infuriate me with his workrate. I would have to put up with it though, because he can produce things that nobody else can. It is a fact that although Berbatov would make me pull what is left of my hair out with his apparent lack of effort, I would almost certainly select him ahead of the wonderful, hard working, but slightly less talented Tevez.

Obviously I have no idea if there is any truth in the Sunday Mirror story, but I would imagine a move for regular first team football would appeal to Tevez at this stage of his career. Sir Alex wouldn’t want to lose him but he has to pick his best side and at the moment, that doesn’t include him.

I’ll be watching this one unfold with more interest than most of the transfer rumours, because I like Carlos Tevez. In fact, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like him.

Written by Graham Fisher · Tags: Editorial, English Premier League, Transfer News & Transfer Rumours, Videos

West Ham United manager Gianfranco Zola believes his former club Chelsea will beat Juventus in the Champions League.

The Bianconeri was paired with the Blues in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Zola has been voted to greatest player of all time at Stamford Bridge.

“I think Chelsea will win but only just,” Zola told Tuttosport.

“I think the match between the Blues and Bianconeri will be very interesting.

“On one part there is the prestigious Chelsea of my career and, on the other, you have Claudio Ranieri who gave me so much. I am sure the game will give some good and spectacular for everyone.

“I think it will all come down to whoever is in the best form physically.”

[Source: Tuttosport]

Written by Hakon Hoyland · Tags: English Premier League, General Soccer News, Transfer News & Transfer Rumours

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard does not believe the Blues need to make a January move for Michael Owen.

Owen, who is out of contract in the summer, has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge.

The midfielder told The Sun: “Obviously, it’s the manager’s decision. Michael’s a top player - he showed that with the goal he scored against Portsmouth last week, it was an unbelievable finish, top quality.

“If he is fit, which he’s struggled with a bit, he’s a top, top player.

“At the right price, whether it’s for us or not, he’s going to be a good buy for someone for sure.

“But with Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba fit, I’d look at us and say we’ve got enough.”

[Source: The Sun]

Written by Hakon Hoyland · Tags: English Premier League, General Soccer News, Transfer News & Transfer Rumours

David Beckham will get plenty of headlines when he arrives in Milan on Saturday but his new temporary employers will probably be wishing he could take to the pitch against Udinese a day later rather than watching the game from the stands.

AC Milan have been beset by injury problems to key players this season and are sweating over the return of Kaka ahead of this weekend's match.

And with Andrea Pirlo forced off at half-time during Wednesday's 2-2 UEFA Cup draw against Vfl Wolfsburg and Gennaro Gattuso out probably for the rest of the season, now would be a good time to blood the former England captain.

However, Beckham cannot start playing for Milan until the January transfer window opens and in the meantime, coach Carlo Ancelotti shows no sign of letting up his complaints about injury problems.

“This is a difficult time for us because we've been decimated by injuries which prevents us from taking to the pitch with the team we want to or from playing our best,” moaned Ancelotti.

As well as Pirlo coming off against Wolfsburg, on-loan Switzerland centre-back Philippe Senderos lasted only eight minutes.

“Senderos had a classic back spasm, Pirlo felt a muscle problem and, given the current emergency, it was better not to risk him after the break, and on top of that (Clarence) Seedorf (who played the full 90 minutes) hurt his knee.

“We need to stand strong and deal with these problems and the next few days will be very important to prepare for the Udinese challenge.

“Individually everyone is giving his all but it's very difficult to play under these conditions because we're forced to play several players out of position.”

However, Kaka, Pirlo, Seedorf and even France midfielder Mathieu Flamini all look likely to be fit at the weekend leaving only long-term absentees Alessandro Nesta, Gattuso, Marco Borriello and now Senderos missing.

But while Ancelotti has bemoaned his sick-list, midfielder Massimo Ambrosini had a more sober assessment of Milan's predicament.

“If we want to win things, this team has to overcome this difficult period,” he said.

Sunday's visit of Udinese is thus a must win game for Milan, although with a nine point deficit to champions, leaders and bitter city rivals Inter Milan, every match will be until they have drastically shortened the gap.

The plus side for Milan is that Udinese are the team in the worst current form in Serie A having not won in seven matches since topping the table in early November.

However, they did show glimpses of returning to form by sprinting out to a 3-0 lead over Lazio last week, before their defensive frailties came back to haunt them and they were pegged back to 3-3.

In other matches Inter travel to Siena on Saturday night while second-placed Juventus face a trip to Bergamo to play Atalanta.

AS Roma defend an eight-game winning run, including five in Serie A, as they travel to Sicily to face Catania hoping to put more pressure on the teams holding European qualification places.

Third-placed Napoli have a tricky trip to Torino while fifth-placed Fiorentina travel to Genoa to face Sampdoria.

That match will pit Serie A joint-top goalscorer Alberto Gilardino against Sampdoria captain and mercurial genius Antonio Cassano, a challenge Gilardino is looking forward to.

“Antonio Cassano is an exceptional talent, a player who in any moment can produce something incredible. In my opinion he should be in the Italy squad,” said the former Parma and AC Milan forward.

Italian league fixtures

Saturday

Lazio v Palermo, Siena v Inter Milan

Sunday

AC Milan v Udinese, Atalanta v Juventus, Cagliari v Reggina, Catania v AS Roma, Chievo v Genoa, Lecce v Bologna, Sampdoria v Fiorentina, Torino v Napoli

Written by SoccerNews · Tags: Serie A

New Real Madrid boss Juande Ramos has admitted that he would like to sign a new winger in the January transfer window.

The Spanish giants have been linked with Ashley Young and Aaron Lennon.

He told AS: “It is true that the market for wingers is limited and the clubs that you call raise the price because they know that we need the player.

“It is important that we bring in a right winger to help us in the UEFA Champions League and in the league.

“There are some interesting players in the English market and I know clearly who they are. I have told the club what I think and now it is a question of money.

“It seems to me that with (Arjen) Robben on the left and another player on the right we would be complete. Although Robben can play on the right, I prefer wingers to play on their strongest side and not switch over.”

[Source: AS]

Written by Hakon Hoyland · Tags: General Soccer News, La Liga, Transfer News & Transfer Rumours

Bayern Munich goalscorer Tim Borowski admitted the defending Bundesliga champions were bitterly frustrated at dropping two points in Saturday's 2-2 draw with VfB Stuttgart.

Bayern had been leading 2-1 away from home with time almost up as second-half goals from Italian World Cup winner Luca Toni, his sixth in consecutive league games, and Borowski cancelled out a first-half header from Stuttgart's Sami Khedira.

But Munich had Italian defender Massimo Oddo sent off with five minutes left just before Germany Under-21 midfielder Khedira struck again in the 90th minute with a devastating volley to equalise for the hosts.

The single point was enough to put Bayern top of the table on Saturday night before Hoffenheim's Sunday game against Schalke 04, the final German league game of the year ahead of the winter break.

“Obviously, we shouldn't be conceding an equaliser like that, that's totally frustrating,” Borowski told the Bayern website.

“We could even have made it 3-1 or 4-1 on the break, we should have been far more ruthless.”

Oddo was shown a straight red card when he appeared to kick Stuttgart's Christian Traesch in the head while challenging for the ball and Bayern coach Jurgen Klinsmann said the dismissal was crucial.

“The red card turned the game,” said ex-Germany boss Klinsmann, whose side had gone from 11th in the league at the start of October to first.

“We took a 2-1 lead after a very convincing second half, so it's obviously a shame we were pegged back in the last minute.

“We really don't understand Massimo Oddo's sending off.

“Massimo was just getting up to play the ball.

“He had no intention whatsoever of injuring his opponent, he just didn't see him coming.

“Giving a red card for that is a mistake.”

The draw with Bayern was an impressive result for Stuttgart coach Markus Babbel, who was given his first senior coaching job just three weeks ago when Armin Veh was sacked.

Babbel's side is unbeaten after his first three games in charge and have taken seven points from a possible nine.

“I saw a sensational team performance out there,” said Babbel.

“My team did everything they could to win the game.

“We more or less deserved to take the lead, but we were careless and tossed it away.

“It took unbending resolve to earn the equaliser.”

And Stuttgart captain Thomas Hitzlsperger said the team are showing the fighting spirit which has put them a healthy tenth in the league.

“We made a fight of it right until the final seconds and our heads never went down, even against as good a team as Bayern,” said the ex-Aston Villa midfielder.

“It shows how determined we are, and we need to keep that going.”

Written by SoccerNews · Tags: Bundesliga

Inter Milan went nine points clear at the top of Serie A ahead of Sunday night's late match between pursuers Juventus and AC Milan after a nervy 4-2 home victory over rock-bottom Chievo.

Inter looked to be coasting two minutes into the second half when they led 2-0 but the Flying Pigs staged an unexpected fight-back to level things at 2-2 before Sweden forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic netted a late brace.

It leaves Jose Mourinho's champions nine points clear of Juve, Milan and Napoli, who beat Lecce 3-0 on Saturday, and able to watch Sunday's big match in the knowledge that at least one of their main rivals will drop points.

Inter were off to a dream start on three minutes as Brazilian full-back Maxwell cantered down the left on the overlap, took a pass from Dejan Stankovic, cut inside and rifled home right footed.

It was a similar story at the start of the second period as the champions fashioned a brilliant goal through Stankovic.

The Serbian midfielder fed Maicon galloping down the right and he crossed into the box where Ibrahimovic's deft flick fell perfectly for Stankovic to fire home.

Leading 2-0 at home to the bottom side, Inter would have been expected to win at a canter but instead Chievo mounted an unlikely comeback.

Sergio Pellessier started things off with a stunning shot from distance that gave Julio Cesar no chance in the Inter goal.

And on 65 minutes the San Siro was stunned into silence as Andrea Mantovani got to the byeline on Chievo's left and crossed for Simone Bentivoglio to bundle home from barely two yards out, and courtesy of a deflection off Maxwell.

Mourinho didn't waste much time in trying to kick-start his team, throwing on strikers Hernan Crespo and Mario Balotelli as well as winger Luis Figo.

But it was Ibrahimovic who made the difference, rising highest to head home a cross from Maicon with 11 minutes left.

Chievo's Santiago Morero was sent off for a second booking and then the Swede smashed home a stunning right foot shot two minutes from time to put an undeserved gloss on the victory.

AS Roma won for the fifth match in a row to continue their recent resurgence with a come from behind 3-2 success at home to Cagliari.

Roma have been upwardly mobile since a disastrous start to the season in which they lost six of their first nine matches and they now find themselves in the top half of the table for the first time this campaign.

Things looked good as Francesco Totti put them in front but goals from Daniele Conti and Brazilian Jeda turned the match on its head before Simone Perrotta's acrobatic finish restored parity.

Roma threw everything but the kitchen sink at Cagliari and Mirko Vucinic scored the winner in injury time after a scramble in the box.

Adrian Mutu and Alberto Gilardino scored as Fiorentina went fifth with a 2-0 home win over Catania.

Udinese's slump continued as they blew a 3-0 lead at home to Lazio to draw 3-3 and extended their winless streak to seven games.

Written by SoccerNews · Tags: Serie A

Barcelona captain Carles Puyol admitted Saturday's 2-0 win over Real Madrid in 'El Clasico' at Camp Nou was a major step in the title race but said there was no way reigning champions Real would throw in the towel despite being 12 points adrift of the leaders.

Barcelona scored twice in the final seven minutes in a sensational finale with Samuel Eto'o netting on 83 minutes before Lionel Messi scored with a 91st minute chip to secure a first Clasico win since November 2005.

Sevilla and Valencia are now Barca's closest rivals lying eight points behind them in the standings with Villarreal and Real, last season's top two, both struggling.

“We worked very hard and that drained us, but the most important thing is the three points,” said Puyol. “The gap of 12 points is important, but Madrid would never consider giving up.

“The hype is something that we cannot control. We were not that bad before and we are not that great now, everyone has to look for the middle ground.”

Spanish international Puyol helped set up the opener for Eto'o and revealed it was a training ground move.

“We practiced the move for Eto'o's goal with me arriving to meet the cross and look what happened!” enthused Puyol.

Eto'o, who had missed a penalty 13 minutes earlier, celebrated by tearing off his shirt and running to the touchline.

Messi then sealed the game with a brilliant chip that Fabio Cannavaro could not clear off the line and wild celebrations followed.

“Barcelona are already celebrating the league title but for us the important thing is to beat Valencia and get to January in good shape,” said irritated Real defender Michel Salgado.

“There were a lot of jokes about how many goals Barcelona were going to put past us but we had our chances.”

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola dismissed Salgado's suggestions that his side were already celebrating the title pointing out that there were other teams in the title race besides Real.

“Only 15 games have been played and there are a lot of other teams around us to play, like Villarreal and Valencia,” said Guardiola.

“In January we will play in three competitions again and that will take a lot out of the side.”

Guardiola also took a swipe at Real for their harsh treatment of Argentine Messi who was fouled throughout the match.

“I have no doubt that forms part of the game plan,” Guardiola seethed. “There were three consecutive fouls on him that could have done a lot of damage. I was worried that the game was going to carry on like that.”

Real coach Juande Ramos, who replaced Bernd Schuster four days ago, said Messi's habit of running with the ball accounted for the fouls rather than a malicious tactic.

“Messi will always play with the ball at his feet and is therefore more likely to get injured,” said Ramos. “There was no form of aggressiveness in this match.”

Winning a third consecutive title looks a big ask with Ramos admitting Barcelona's lead would take some overhauling.

“It's a substantial lead, but there is still a lot of games to be played and it depends a lot on how others teams do,” declared the former Sevilla coach.

“Barcelona are in excellent form, but let's see what happens in the second half of the season when there is also the Champions League to be played.”

Both Barcelona and Real have qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League and await the draw on December 19.

Written by SoccerNews · Tags: La Liga

Wayne Rooney insists Manchester United are relishing the fixture congestion that the Club World Cup has brought the Old Trafford side.

With United's march to the semi-finals of the Carling Cup adding to their commitments, the club face a hectic schedule in December and January.

But despite the task of making up two Premier League matches on main rivals Liverpool and Chelsea on their return from Japan, Rooney says he would not have it any other way.

“I think we're prepared,” he said before United's departure for Japan.

“We're coming up to nearly halfway through the season and we all feel pretty fit and although there are a lot of games, they're games that you want to be playing in and I think as a footballer you want to play games every week and midweek.

“It will be a good experience for us all. Many of us have never played in this competition before and if we can go there and win the trophy that'd be great, so I'm really looking forward to it.”

United, who play their opening game here on Thursday against Japan's Gamba Osaka, qualified for the tournament of continental champions by winning the Champions League last season.

Having played in Japan on pre-season tours before, Rooney, facing disciplinary action from UEFA for an incident in last week's Champion's League draw with Aalborg, said there was a special atmosphere in the country.

And he is determined to put on a show for Japan's army of United supporters.

“It's amazing because when you go to the hotel there are hundreds and hundreds of fans outside the hotel that have come to support you which is brilliant,” the striker said.

“We want to try to entertain them as well, to put a good show on for them.

“When you go out to warm up, the stadium's full and they've all got horns and it's really loud so it's a great atmosphere and when I've been there, they've been good games so I'm really looking forward to it.

“The fans in Japan are brilliant towards all the players and obviously it's a tournament that we want to win.”

Rooney is also determined to follow the advice of experienced teammate Ryan Giggs and make the most of experiences such as the Club World Cup. United last played in the competition in 2000.

“It's very important. I heard Ryan Giggs say after we won the Champions League this year that he enjoyed this one more than 1999 because when he was younger he didn't take it in as much as he did this year,” said Rooney.

“After hearing that, I'm trying to take everything in and enjoy it as much as I can and hopefully I can do that in Japan.”

Written by SoccerNews · Tags: English Premier League

Chelsea boss Big Phil Scolari has targeted Emile Heskey, Kenwyne Jones and Kevin Davies for the January transfer window.
Scolari will be forced to make bargain signing after being told that the Blues needs to save money.
It is believed that with a £9million transfer tag, Kenwyne Jones, will be the most expensive of the three players.
A Blues insider told News of the World: “All three are similar players who would give Chelsea a totally different option and that’s something we desperately need.
“Okay, they might not score a lot of goals themselves but they are all a handful and can create havoc in any defence.
“The fact is, the days of big spending are over . . . and they won’t be back for a while.”
[Source: News of the World]

Written by Hakon Hoyland • Tags: English Premier League, General Soccer News, Transfer News & Transfer Rumours