Micah Richards is out to prove his worth to Fabio Capello, having been snubbed by the Italian in his recent squad. The Manchester City full back has been in fine form in the Citizens rise to the top of the Premier League but has been continually been ignored in the recent squads. Richards claims he will just look to maintain his form in the hope that he gets noticed ahead of the Euro Championships.
Elsewhere in the news Jack Wilshere pledges his future to Arsenal; Aguero saddened by Tevez saga, while the FA backs John Terry’s inclusion.
News
Richards out to show Capello his worth
Agger slams woeful performance
England reveal Euro 2012 base
Vidic gives his backing to Ferdinand
Jack Wilshere pledges future
FA backs John Terry inclusion
Aguero saddened by Tevez saga
Transfer Talk
Turks target Berbatov – Sky Sports
Villa set to make January move for Hamburg defender – Talksport
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Arsenal and Spurs to battle it out for Le Havre teenager – Mirror
Spurs target £10m Fulham striker Dembele after star showing in defeat – Daily Mail
Wigan’s mini-revival was brought a stuttering halt as Arsenal scored four without reply to run out convincing winners at the DW Stadium and move to within two points of the Premier League top four.
Following last week’s dramatic late win at Sunderland the Latics went in search of back-to-back victories for the first time season but were brought thumping back down to earth by the clinical Gunners. A promising start from Roberto Martinez’s side gave way to an Arsenal side who are still undergoing an renaissance of their own and they displayed their class with Mikel Arteta and Thomas Vermaelen scoring within a minute of each other to send the visitors into the break with a two goal advantage. Gervinho extended that lead in the second half before Robin Van Persie continued his prolific form in 2011 with his 37th goal in all competitions during the calendar year. The win saw Arsene Wenger’s men climb to fifth in the table behind Chelsea who beat Newcastle earlier in the day.
The home side will be disappointed that they were beaten in such a manner on their home turf as they slipped back into familiar territory with this defeat sending them back to the bottom. Still brimming with confidence following their first win in 10 games Wigan looked bright in the opening stages with Victor Moses and Connor Sammon causing the away side a few problems. Still they look impoverished in attack and were made to pay for some substandard finishing as the Gunners raced into a two goal lead before the hosts even had time to blink. Firstly, Arteta opened the scoring on 28 minutes lashing a long range a shot towards goal that passed through the hands of goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi. The Oman stopper really should have done better and he found himself picking the ball out of the net just a minute later after Vermaelen powered in a header via the post to give his side a nice cushion going into the second half.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Wigan briefly threatened a comeback after the break with Moses flashing a shot across goal before Mohamed Diame went close with an effort. Arsenal started to dominate again and felt they should have had a penalty after Aaron Ramsey was fouled by Steve Gohouri in the penalty area. They didn’t have to wait long to increase their lead with Gervinho making it 3-0 just after the hour stabbing home from close range after Al Habsi had spilled Van Persie’s effort. There was still time for the Dutchman to grab a goal waiting till the 78th minute before scoring his 13th of the season sweeping the ball home after being set up by Theo Walcott to make it six wins in seven games since their defeat against Tottenham in October.
Newcastle recorded an impressive 3-0 win over Manchester United on Wednesday night, with Demba Ba continuing to impress his boss Alan Pardew and all other onlookers.
The Senegal international scored the opening goal, before a superb Yohan Cabaye free kick doubled the Toon’s lead; Phil Jones put through his own net late in the game to compound the Premier League champions’ misery.
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew will now be without Ba, as the striker goes to compete in the African Cup of Nations, but was happy with his team’s performance.
“We won because we controlled the game in terms of what we wanted to do, we wouldn’t let them play,” he told Sky Sports.
“Physically and aerially today we had an advantage. It was a great victory for us – we beat the champions 3-0 and we probably deserved that scoreline.
“You’ve got to have brave players who are going to push on – we had some outstanding performances individually,” he stated.
The result leaves United three points behind cross-town rivals Manchester City at the top of the Premier League, but Sir Alex Ferguson refuses to panic after the defeat.
“It’s advantage to City, of course. But it’s not a time to panic – we have the experience to cope with that,” he commented.
“We started reasonably well. But they scored a fantastic goal and it really picked everyone up in the stadium.
“The second was a killer for us. We didn’t make enough of our possession,” he concluded.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Wales have unveiled Chris Coleman as their new manager, but the coach’s former club Larissa are set to challenge his appointment reports the Daily Mail.
Coleman has become the national side’s boss after the tragic suicide of Gary Speed, leaving Greek club Larissa to join up with his country.
The Greek team are unhappy with Coleman’s appointment however, saying he is still their boss and have threatened Wales with legal action.
“On January 8, 2012, Chris Coleman gave his last interview as head coach of Larissa, saying the causes of his departure were unrelated to the national team of his country; today, 11 days afterwards it has been announced officially that he will be the new national coach of Wales,” an official Larissa statement reads.
“Once it became known that Chris Coleman, who has a contract until next June, would be leaving, the club has been heavily criticised despite the president saying publicly he did everything to keep Coleman at the club.
“Instead of asking for an apology from all those who criticised us, we instead feel the need to apologise for our choice in appointing Chris Coleman.
“We have started legal proceedings in order to claim compensation from the Welsh FA.
“We are also prepared to take the matter to FIFA,” it concluded.
Despite this, Coleman’s appointment has been widely stated as a positive move for the country, with fellow Welsh coaches Mark Hughes and Tony Pulis hailing his arrival.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Borussia Dortmund accrued an impress roster of youngsters on their way to last season’s Bundesliga win, and none have impressed more than Shinji Kagawa.
These performances have drawn attention from far and wide, and with Dortmund out of the Champions League, Liverpool, Man Utd and AC Milan are set to tempt the striker away.
Dortmund paid just £300,000 to the J-League’s Cerezo Osaka for the player but his value has risen dramatically, and Italian site ITA reports AC are set to offer €15 million for the player, a move talkSPORT believes will likely prompt similar action from at least one, if not more, Premiership clubs.
As well as a great young player, these clubs may also have an eye on the possible financial benefits that come with signing an Asian player. Man Utd have long been cashing in on Park JI-Sung in the Korea market, But China’s Dong Fangzhou shows the limits to these transfers. Liverpool will be hoping Kagawa has more in common with the former than the latter.
Man Utd’s interest reflects their current rebuilding phase, and SAF’s policy of snapping up the best youngsters across Europe to build a United team that can go on challenging Man City and others for years to come. Kagawa would fit nicely slongside the likes of De Gea, Jones, and Smalling in this future team.
Kagawa, just 22, looks set to make these clubs wait however as he recently told German paper Die Welt “”Right now, it’s just about me being successful here with Dortmund”, and went on “For a player like me to come here and win the championship is really an honour”.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
His contract runs until 2013, and the player doesn’t seem like he will force a move away, but will Dortmund be able to resist cashing in on the player for a big profit?
Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick has stated that he feels the nature of his side’s comeback against Chelsea on Sunday will represent a physiological blow for their title rivals.
The Premier League champions found themselves 3-0 down at Stamford Bridge early in the second half, but two Wayne Rooney penalties and a Javier Hernandez header salvaged a point for The Red Devils.
Carrick feels that the likes of Manchester City and Tottenham will have been rubbing their hands together after seeing Andre Villas Boas’ men race into a comprehensive lead, but that United’s refusal to lie down will be a dent to their confidence.
“I think other teams who were watching that and seeing us go 3-0 down, would have been thinking what a good afternoon it’s been for them,” Carrick stated to The Telegraph.
“Then for us to come back in the manner we did might give them a little dent and a boost for us.
“We were slightly disappointed in the end. Obviously, when you’re 3-0 down and have your backs against the wall, if someone offers you a point then you’ll be happy with that.
“But getting a third goal with a fair bit of the game to go, we fancied ourselves to go on and win it. There’s a lot of positivity but there’s still that little tinge of maybe we could have won,” he concluded.
United face Liverpool at Old Trafford next, with the Premier League giants going head-to-head at Old Trafford on Saturday.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
It’s been coming for nearly 20 years now, but finally the money men of the Premier League have finally won the power battle with the FA. Last Wednesday the FA gave their ‘private’ response to the government recommendations about the structure of the FA and it’s governance and it’s widely thought that the FA have handed over all governance of the league over to Premier League chiefs.
In 1992, the FA allowed the top clubs to share the new money coming in from Sky between them and not between the 92 clubs that make up the football league, allowing rich owners to get richer and poor clubs to get poorer or end up bankrupt. Fast forward twenty years and that is exactly what has happened, although now the Premier League wants more power and has got it.
The document is thought to have been a reshaping of the FA’s board, however plans to reduce the number from 14-10 is still a sticking point the FA seem unwilling to budge on.
It will also reshape the maze of decision making structures, which is where the Premeir-League will gain most of it’s powers. The FA will not have a say in the decisions made by the Premier-League, although they will be able to veto some changes.
The FA chairman David Bernstein was pleased with how well the FA and Premier League have got on while dealing with these new reforms, probably because Bernstein and the FA have given up trying to hold their own against the might of the Premier-League and have basically bent over for them.
Now that the Premier-League has won this power battle, what’s to stop them wanting even more, a majority of top flight clubs want B teams like they have across Europe to help them blood new talent, what if the Premier League created their own B league with Sky paying money for the television rights. How many football league clubs would try and jump ship? Leaving the FA with nothing but memories of it’s glorious past?
The problem has always been the poor running of the FA and it’s now too late for Bernstein to save it.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Are the FA right to give the Premier-League power? Tweet me your view @deanmears.
In recent weeks, displays from the majority of the Premier Leagues ‘big sides’ have dropped off, prompting some to ask the question: has the Premier League lost its mojo? The likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool have all suffered a downturn in performance levels, with Newcastle and Manchester City being the only teams that can claim to be in good form.
After witnessing the definition of the ‘bore draw’ between Chelsea and Arsenal, it was clear to see that level of performance being produced was well below what should be expected of such talented squads. Yes, Chelsea had a mentally and physically draining encounter with Barcelona, re-shuffling their squad as a result, and Arsenal were missing a few key men through injury, namely Mikel Arteta, but that does not detract from the dyer spectacle produced.
These sides were not alone, as Liverpool, predictably, dominated a home tie, failed to score and were punished by a comical goal on the break, whilst Manchester United temporarily forgot how to defend and Spurs continued their current slide from title contenders to Europa League qualification spot contenders. Although Manchester City managed victory, their performance was slightly subdued, and obviously nervy, making Newcastle the only truly impressive outfit at the upper end of the table last weekend.
Its understandable to see performances drop off occasionally at this end of the season, with the physical demands of the modern game weighing heavy of players across the division, but there has been a noticeable slump for many of the top clubs for a period of time now. In truth the top level sides have been fairly poor across the majority of the season, struggling to find both form and consistency, which, no disrespect to Newcastle, has allowed outsiders to sneak up the table and disturb the normally established order. Liverpool’s failures in front of goal have seen local rivals Everton ghost ahead, and the likes of Swansea and Fulham come within touching distance of their coat tails.
Tottenham’s woes have been perhaps the most shocking, as the London club have slipped further and further from the top of the table, after an initially promising campaign. The disturbance of Harry Redknapp due to the vacant England management role may be a contributing factor, but the main issue remains a lack of tactical know how on the part of the former Southampton and Portsmouth boss. He has a core of talented and strong players who play every possible league match when fit, and the lack of rotation, coupled with the club’s fast and furious style of play has led to a real issue in terms of fatigue to key squad members, such as Luka Modric and Gareth Bale.
[ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’left’]
Manchester United have proved that they are far from immune, almost forgetting that to secure the title, they must obtain results, rather than relying on their noisy neighbours stuttering. The defeat to Wigan summed up their recent stroll towards the line, with an apparent lack of interest being shown up by the battling Premier League barnacles. As a result the upcoming Manchester derby no longer presents the chance to lift the trophy in their enemy’s back yard, but the scenario of waving the Citizens past, due to their superior goal difference.
As displayed by Tottenham, tiring players is a contributing factor to a drop in displays. It can’t be a coincidence that Arsenal have surged back up the table after many of their star men missed long periods of the early season. Spurs haven’t suffered serious injuries to key men, Aaron Lennon aside, resulting in major players becoming ever present, leading to fatigue.
In the cases of Chelsea and Liverpool, cup success appears to be gaining importance. The Blues now face the possibility of a cup double, after eliminating the Kings of Europe, Barcelona, to claim a spot in the Champions League final, whilst also having the little matter of the FA Cup final to consider, where they will be taking on Liverpool.
The lack of quality this term should not really come as a shock, with star names over the past few seasons heading for sunnier destinations across Europe, swapping their apartments in the rainy England for villas in Spain. Cristiano Ronaldo was quick to leave, arguably, England’s biggest club for Real Madrid, following Xabi Alonso, and encouraging former Arsenal star Cesc Fabregas to return to his homeland. Away from the top sides, clubs across the Premier League now struggle to compete in terms of attracting star names, with many opting to either stay put, or head to other leagues across Europe, whether that be to Spain for footballing reasons, or some areas of Eastern Europe for the vast financial rewards.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Although there has been a noticeable drop from the top-sides in recent months, it shouldn’t be a real surprise as the quality of England’s domestic top-flight slowly reduces. Success around Europe tends to operate in cycles, with Italy becoming the all conquering force during the mid to late 1990’s, before surrendering their crown to England during the mid 2000’s, during which time Liverpool claimed victory and reached another final, while Manchester United and Chelsea turned a Premier League fixture into a European final. Although the Premiership remains one of the elite world leagues, it is no longer the Goliath among Davids.
What are your thoughts? Comment or follow @Alex_Hams on Twitter to have your say
There has been a lot of question marks over the credentials of Andy Thorn and whether he is the right man to take Coventry as a club forward. At the age of 45 he is a man that does lack managerial experience but he is not lacking in football experience.
He had a relatively good career as a football player in which he began playing centre half for the ‘crazy gang’ alongside the likes of Dennis Wise and Lawrie Sanchez. He experienced two FA cup finals, the first with Wimbledon in which he came out a winner and the second with Crystal Palace which unfortunately for him he came out a loser.
Despite this he was probably best remembered as a player for his time at Crystal Palace. He made an immediate impact on his debut helping the Eagles who hadn’t won away from home all season to an away win at old Trafford. He was described as tough, unrelenting and a fearsome opponent with the ability to subdue even the nation’s best strikers and after taking over the captaincy he won the Player of the Year award in 1993.
Unfortunately though a troublesome knee injury kept him out for a long period and he then returned to his first club Wimbledon. The knee injury kept coming back and after two more moves to different clubs he eventually retired at the age of 31.
He didn’t leave the football world altogether though and ended up being at Everton as a scout. In 2006/2007 he moved to Coventry and became our chief scout. He held this post for three seasons and was instrumental in the signings of players such as Scott Dann, Danny Fox, Keiran Westwood, Lukas Jutkiewicz and Richard Keogh to name a few. He clearly has an eye for talent and he was doing a great job.
In the 2010-2011 season Aidy Boothroyd was sacked as Coventry City manager and to the surprise of many people Andy Thorn was appointed as caretaker boss. He led the team to safety and was rewarded with the permanent job as Coventry City manager and the initial response from fans was good as our general play had improved and the passion had been brought back into the players.
But then came the summer that we would all like to forget. We lost the likes of Westwood, Turner and most notably King and then Thorn was given minimal money to replace them. He didn’t complain though despite the fact he would clearly have been frustrated and just got on with the task in hand which we all then knew was to try and keep us in the Championship.
We could see from the off that this was going to be an extremely difficult task. We were still in the fight come January but then the inevitable happened and we lost Jutkiewicz; our top scorer; and didn’t replace him. Thorn again stuck at it though when other managers would of walked away and I think we have to commend him for that. I don’t know who else would have been brave enough to take on what was clearly a sinking ship. He kept the players motivated and we kept battling away, then finally a bit of luck came our way as we managed to sign both Nimley and Norwood who to my understanding were having all of their wages paid by their parent clubs on either side of Manchester. These two gave us a chance and were brilliant but it wasn’t to be and despite Thorn’s efforts we eventually slumped to relegation to League One.
In the year and a half that Thorn has been in charge he has been getting his coaching badges and after getting his level 2 at the start of last season has now just began his UEFA B license. I think it has been clear that he has been learning his trade as he goes along but one thing he cannot be questioned on is his passion and commitment to the cause.
He seems to have many critics based on a multitude of different factors. At times he has been tactically suspect but personally I think Steve Harrison has to take some of this blame in that he is an experienced coach and should be advising Thorn. I also think he has been harshly criticised in relation to his inability to change things. We have to take into account not only the fact we have a small squad which lacks quality but that when we have had players on the bench who may be able to change things, they have been injured and not really fit enough to play.
In terms of his portrayal of himself he doesn’t sound like the smartest guy but you don’t need to be the smartest guy to be successful in football. We have to keep remembering that he is still learning, as are the majority of the SkyBlues squad. He clearly has the backing of the players who have given him their all and more since he has been in charge and surely that is the important thing.
They believe in his ability and the fact that the two best clubs in England allowed for two of their youngsters to come on loan to us means they must have at least some faith in Thorn’s ability which has to count for something.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Personally I think given the financial situation we are in we should stick with Thorn and I think given a little bit of backing from the owners along with an attempt to keep some of our more important players we can have a real go next year. He along with the young players have had a valuable seasons experience in the championship and both will have learnt from their mistakes and I think we will come back much stronger for it next season
Well what a season it has been, despite being close to the drop zone for the majority of it, surely finishing above Palace counts as a successful season right?
This was always going to be a transition season with the loss of Steve Morison to the high flying Canaries of Norwich City, but after surviving it the Lions should be looking to push up the table, and hopefully KJ has seen where improvement is needed.
A position that is in dire need of help is left back. The left backs this season have been average to say the least, we need someone who is more focused about playing than designing (Jordan Stewart) whereas LB Tony Craig is a powerhouse of commitment at but his abilities let him down. And Scott Barron? Less said about Jedward the better. What KJ should be looking for is a strong LB who’s not afraid to bomb forward, as with the partnership of Smith and Henry on the right.
If Stevenage do not go up I would be aiming for Scott Laird, a player who has got better and better throughout the divisions, and anyone who saw his goal against Sheffield United will see he certainly has one eye on the goal. Despite the left back position I think we have a defense more then capable of competing.
Another position that needs improving is left midfield. The Lions have had really only one option, the enigma that is Hameur Bouazza. He said he could get into the team with his eyes closed, well for the majority of the season he has surely been playing like it, and upset the Den’s faithful at you’re peril, the sooner he’s gone the better. A player I would like to see come in is Gary Mcsheffery, a proven quality at this level, plus he could be available on the cheap due to Coventry’s deepening financial worry and relegation. Whatever player comes in will have to do what Bouazza didn’t, actually put in effort, or you’ll be out very, very, quickly.
The Lions may have a sturdy defense, but having an unconfident goalkeeper shakes the solid foundations of a good team. This is what happens with David Forde. A line of horrible mistakes cost his place in the team, KJ called on the unlikely hero of 40-year-old Maik Taylor from Leeds. Many Lion’s fans thought he would be little more then a sub warming the bench, but impressive display after impressive display started to make him a fans favorite. Plus saving two penalties in two games to earn six vital points will always help. With him being released from Leeds United theirs three words for you KJ, sign.him.up.
With loanees moving on and certain circumstances affecting players (Henderson) one or two more strikers will need to be added. One player that has to come back is Harry Kane. He came here as a boy and left as a man, a strong, confident footballer with an eye for goal, with 9 goals in a half season, he should be back to further his development surely? One striker who I’d love to see at the den is Luke Freeman from Stevenage. Despite only moving to Stevenage permanently in January from Arsenal, he has coped better then expected, a young player who is only going to get better, and hopefully another KJ diamond in the rough into a gem.
With hopefully players coming in, some of the deadwood that’ll be left in the squad can leave. Some have left already with Ryan Allsop and Jordan Stewart being shown the door, with less then 10 games between them this was not a surprise.
One player that can leave is Darren Ward, despite being a firm part of the Millwall squad of the years, he is now 33 and lost the pace he had. He would be a vital part of the team in the lower leagues but not in the Championship, another player to leave should be Chris Hackett, who has been on loan most of the season and is simply not good enough.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
The final part of the leaving part should be John Marquis, but this one should be a loan. Despite a strong start of the season he’s performance dwindled and dwindled, plus a Twitter rant after defeat to Crystal Palace didn’t exactly endear himself. But I believe that he has the potential to be a good player, a club such as Leyton Orient or Brentford would be a good fit if he is willing to learn.
That’s what I think should be done in the summer to push the Lions up the table, good luck KJ it’s all down too you.