Barcelona and Real Madrid both face UEFA charges following the fall-out of Wednesday’s Champions League clash at the Bernabeu. Both Carlo Ancelotti and Arsene Wenger have dismissed the talk of conspiracies, although I am sure the likes of Jose Mourinho will beg to differ.
In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that include Ferguson claims United lack a Ronaldo; Houllier leaves hospital, while Arsenal fans beg Kroenke to halt ticket prices.
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Real and Barcelona go to war again after Uefa charges – Guardian
Wenger won’t sell star names – Sky Sports
Ferguson: United lack ‘Ronaldo’ factor – Daily Telegraph
Newcastle join hunt for Leeds’ winger Snodgrass as Pardew looks for pace – Daily Mail
Arsenal fans beg Kroenke to halt price rises – Daily Telegraph
Gabbidon charged with improper conduct by FA for X-rated Twitter rant – Daily Mail
Houllier leaves hospital – Sky Sports
Carroll told to expect Newcastle abuse – Guardian
Redknapp is a goer for Asamoah – Sun
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Mancini: Tevez could quit even if we reach Champions League – Mirror
Etherington likely to miss Cup final – Guardian
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Joey Barton was signalled out for treatment last Saturday against Wolves. Regardless of what Mick McCarthy would have us believe, there was a plan amidst Wolves’ tactics and it was to rile Barton, in the hope that he would react and that maybe Alan Smith would follow. Half the challenges that Barton felt the brunt of were fair; they were tough but ultimately what we like to see in the Premier League and one of the reasons we love it.
To McCarthy’s credit, it was a ploy that could very easily have worked; Barton’s moustache may have gone, but his temper remains, or does it? Barton waited until the final whistle had gone to remonstrate with the Wolves boss, and although he was vocal during the game about his treatment, there were no overzealous actions on his part.
Joey Barton’s struggles with his aggression are hardly a secret, but if anybody was unaware, here goes (deep breath):
Dec 2004: Stubs a cigar in youth player Jamie Tandy’s eye and tries to set fire to his shirt while on tour with Man City.
May 2005: Breaks a man’s leg while driving his car through Liverpool’s city centre.
July 2005: Assaults a 15-year-old Everton fan in Thailand.
Mar 2007: Arrested and cleared of assault and criminal damage.
May 2007: Assaults Ousmane Dabo during training at Man City. Fined £100k and given a 4-month suspended sentence after pleading guilty in court to the charge of assault.
Dec 2007: Arrested for common assault and affray for an incident in Liverpool. Sentenced to 6 months in prison.
Dec 2007: Admits to suffering from alcoholism.
May 2009: After being sent off in a match crucial to Newcastle’s relegation from the Premiership, Alan Shearer calls him “a s***.” He replies that Shearer is “a s*** manager with s*** tactics.”
It is prolific at the very least. The thing is, Barton remains a Premier League player because he is rather good. More than just a tenacious hustler, he both energetic and creative. As valuable as an attacking force, as he is helping the likes of Butt and Smith with his midfield defensive duties. Barton, along with Kevin Nolan, Smith and Sol Campbell are the Premier League experience that most promoted teams simply don’t possess. When Barton kept his nose (relatively) clean during his time at Man City he was one of their best players. Under both Kevin Keegan and Stuart Pearce he was a key part of the side, but there was always the next potential explosion simmering away.
Three games into the season may be jumping the gun, but what Barton showed at Molineux is that he is capable of self-control. It must go against all his natural instincts not to lash out, and yet under immense and relentless pressure, he kept his temper in check. While Newcastle’s squad has good players, it is not the largest, and lengthy and unnecessary suspensions will be the last thing that Chris Houghton needs in his quest to ensure Premier League survival.
An in-form Joey Barton will help take Newcastle onto better things. His goal against Villa, although afforded far too much room, was an example of his quality. Some may argue that he doesn’t deserve to play professional football, that he is an awful role model for children, and while this may or may not be true, it is a debate for another day. But Barton is playing professional football, and playing it well. If it continues then Geordie fans will reap the rewards.
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Click on the image below to see the gallery of Valon Behrami’s stunning girlfriend
The January transfer window is imminent, moves are being planned and pre-planned and in swift attempts to shift deadwood for “transitional phases”, players are being told they can leave. One player to already fall victim to age discrimination in the workplace, is 32-year old Nicolas Anelka , who has been told he doesn’t feature in Chelsea ’s long term plans under Andre Villas-Boas , stating that, “the club has decided to work with Chelsea’s players of the future and I have accepted this.” Just how long Villas-Boas has to regiment his troops, fluctuates with the week and whether or not his vice-captain on the field of duty, Frank Lampard , is starting, or if his captain’s racially slurring his way through games next to an incompetent David Luiz.
However, as the fashionable debonair critic slayer continues to slay critics fashionably, whilst remaining debonair, “ the talent of this team is not in question,” he told reporters a week after having to defend his team’s talents, “this has been a continuous persecution of Chelsea, continuous aggression of one club. We have become your target. We have to accept it,” in the background, he’s been ushering players out of the door quietly. Some are, understandably, reluctant and are holding on to the door frame Winston-Bogarde-style.
A further five players could be set to follow Nicolas Anelka out of Stamford Bridge, however unlikely to do so in the wage-increasing style the Frenchman is, with a new path in his career in China with Shanghai Shenhua starting in January. Ivorian pair Drogba and Kalou have apparently been offered a way out, as well as the already transfer-listed Alex and Portuguese defensive duo, Paulo Ferreira and Jose Bosingwa. One player not aging, not cheap and not expected as potentially on the transfer list is Fernando Torres .
This isn’t because he’s top class, banging goals in week-in-week-out, or because he’s in high demand, this is because he cost Chelsea £50m less than a year ago. However, over thirty appearances later, Fernando Torres has spent much of his playing time in a pedestrian manner and has only scored five times. In a career that could be valued at £395,480.00 a goal, spreading his total transfer fees over his total goal count, he has cost Chelsea over twenty times that, at £10m a goal. If they do want to get shot of him, it’s to cut their losses, not make a profit.
The rumoured fee for the European Championships and World Cup medallist is as little as £20m, £30m less than Chelsea acquired him for from Liverpool , and the same fee at which the Merseyside club brought him for, before enjoying his services 81 times in front of goal in 142 appearances. At 27-years old, his career is far from over, and many a player has slumped mid-career, before reinvigorating themselves elsewhere.
It should be no different for a player that was arguably up there with the best just a few years ago. Signing him would be a gamble, but it could be a gamble that could see a player with class, just no form, signed at a cut-price deal with the ability to quickly prove his weight in gold.
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Another player with just as many goals, as well as the same price-tag, as Fernando Torres in the past two months is Carlos Tevez . The difference is that one has been frozen out by his own accord, and the other has been frozen out, making just one start in his club’s last 8 games, by his manager. For Carlos Tevez , there is no questions being asked of his quality, or whether he still has it, it is over his attitude. The Argentine has managed to steal much of Manchester City ’s limelight in a season that has seen them spend the majority of it at the top. His refusal to take to the pitch, whether it happened or not, his failure to return from Argentina and countless claims and counterclaims of defamation, have hindered all the good work going on at the Etihad. January may provide both parties with a way out.
The only deliberation left, is how to get rid of him. Carlos Tevez is wanted, make no mistake about it. His clash at Manchester City is very much on a personal level, and while he is lambasted as a mercenary, a sap to the game, a bad tag to the game even, a move away is the only feasible way a reasonable judgement can be made on the player. This is where the problem lies: Mancini only wants him to leave on a permanent transfer and to a club abroad; the interest is with other English clubs or loan offers.
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There is no denying that these two performers have ability in abundance. One is a shell of a former self. One currently lives in a shell. However, with reasonable fees on their heads, in a time of unproven English starlets selling for £10m, a cut-price quickfire double bid for the both of them could make a club’s season. A team such as Tottenham , a team such as Manchester United if Paul Ince is to believed on his views of Manchester United , could benefit tenfold by signing these two strikers.
However, as easily as the players could make a club’s season, they could break it. Torres has only scored 5 goals in the past 11 months and Tevez hasn’t been playing football since September. His attitude could turn on any team that takes a chance on him, and together, if both players were to act as they are currently, one club would quickly become broken.
Rangers closed the gap on Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premier League to two points after a 1-0 win at Hamilton on Sunday.Hamilton’s last league victory came way back in November when they won 1-0 at Motherwell. Amazingly, they have not won a home fixture all season, meaning Walter Smith’s side entered the clash as red-hot favourites.
But the reigning champions were given a test by the SPL cellar-dwellers, with the first half almost entirely non-eventful until Nikica Jelavic scored on the stroke of half-time.
Jelavic’s strike was of the highest quality, with his free-kick from the edge of the box curling past the wall and leaving Hamilton shot-stopper Tomas Cerny with no chance.
Throughout a tense second half, Rangers failed to get the all-important second half and left themselves vulnerable to a late equaliser from the hosts.
But it never materialised as Rangers kept the pressure on their arch-rivals Celtic.
Hamilton remain 12 points behind their nearest competitor St Mirren and have amassed just 16 points in 32 league fixtures this season.
If Tottenham fail to get planning permission for their new stadium at White Hart Lane then there is only going to be one real loser in this piece and that is Haringey Council and the N17 area as a whole. Defeat in their application will see the Lilywhites explore other options out of the borough and away from its spiritual home for good.
I’m actually amazed that permission is yet to be granted and having appeased the conservationists at the Victorian society, by giving up the proposed open square and walkway to ensure the four listed buildings (apparently they are an important layer of local history) that the club planned to demolish remained; the Haringey Police have now intervened with a document outlining their concerns about the proposed stadium due to lack of segregation between home and away fans outside the ground. I may be somewhat naive but I have never been outside a stadium in the Premier League that I have been unable to walk around prior to kick-off in my colours, so what’s the difference? If they are really that concerned then how come the current away end of the ground at White Hart Lane is only manned by a handful of stewards and policemen along with four or five police barriers? It is hardly the kind obstacle that will keep warring factions apart? Surely the solution for the new stadium is to simply put up temporary fencing like they do at Eastlands, to steer supporters towards the coaches and car-parks.
It is like any obstacle that they can put in front of Tottenham’s development is being put in front of Haringey Council in order to ensure that they turn down our application. I don’t know how thin the Tottenham board’s patience is becoming but you cannot blame them for reconsidering other options and perhaps relocating away from N17. Here is a club who on top of building a new stadium is attempting to plough millions into regenerating the whole area that will be create jobs and bring business to the local shops and companies within the vicinity. All they have faced throughout this process is obstacles, and petty ones at that. You would think that they would be biting our arm off to get this project moving, not potentially dragging us out of the borough for good
Tottenham Hotspur is the only positive aspect of the area and brings a lot of wealth to neighbouring businesses as a result. Those causing obstacles need to realise that it is the football club that is keeping this area together and they should be embracing change. Tottenham needs a new stadium in order to compete and if Haringey Council and other factions think our plans are a hindrance to the local area; then I’m sure there will be plenty of neighbouring boroughs who will beg to differ and will only be too happy to accommodate.
Written By Roy James
With the PL season nearly upon us, let’s see the WAGS that will be keeping the players on their toes. Click on image to VIEW gallery
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After Manchester City produced their financial reports – or more accurately, losses last week, it resulted in the very predictable outcry around football and indeed the world. Much the same with Chelsea when Abramovich took over, or what PSG and Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala have to look forward to, the influx of money cannot suddenly balance the books, and although they are not in actual financial jeopardy, on paper they record staggering losses and are technically in grave danger.
However, this is not a ‘real situation’ and the clubs are in no danger of going into administration, rendering the figures basically useless, as they will almost certainly continue to spend and get into a ‘worse’ situation. Cue UEFA attempting to increase the financial fair play rules and do something about this – specifically preventing clubs who breach said rules from entering the transfer market.
In reality, any excuse for football’s governing bodies to create another useless rule that can easily be worked around seems to be welcomed, and in a time where there are much more pressing issues – racism anyone – as per usual the focus is on something far more trivial.
Yes, there will always be the people who say the billionaire owners are destroying football and making it untenable for the rest of clubs, but it is a fact of life now that such people exist in football, and no amount of good character tests or fair play rules are going to stop them from buying a club and pouring billions into it.
The latest proposals by UEFA have been placed on the shelves in Nyon for the time being, and will be collecting dust along with the files on racial chanting, bribing referees and Jose Mourinho’s latest misconduct, as they quite simply cannot legally enforce them.
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To impose a transfer ban on clubs who breach said fair play rules is flawed to say the least, with the EU and issues of restraint of trade being the most likely to be employed by a club or player affected by these rules, and would be laughed out of court. Not to mention the small fact that UEFA do not actually have any say over player registrations – it is a combination of FIFA and national associations who hold all the cards here, and UEFA can actually do very little.
The ‘sliding scale’ that Platini and Uefa wished to adopt – a range of sanctions before a club is barred from the competition all together – would range from the proposals above to stopping an individual player from participating in the competition or withholding prize money. Cue a huge range of lawsuits ranging from Human Rights issues, restraint of trade etc things that the ECJ love ruling on and take very seriously.
Although the idea from UEFA is commendable on some scale, and supported by clubs such as Arsenal, it is a non-starter, and would bring much more trouble than it would solve should it be implemented.
Yes without such sanctions the new proposals loses validity, but in reality did it really have that much anyway? To lose a maximum of £38 million over the next three seasons is nigh on impossible for clubs such as City, and even reducing losses will not achieve this – Chelsea, despite former exec Peter Kenyon’s claims had not broken even on schedule, and the way they are going a Roman revolution and more losses will be inevitable.
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For clubs with billionaire owners, the fact of the matter remains that they can and will buy players both their balance sheets and UEFA tell them they cannot afford, and UEFA’s proposals will end up putting them so far into debt with court cases and legal challenges should they come to pass that the whole sorry affair will end in tears.
Sir Alex Ferguson has reproved the decision to host this season’s FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley, in lieu of travelling “chaos” and financial outlay fans of the four northern participants will face. United’s fans are unlikely to be affected by Ferguson’s concerns, seeing as the majority of them are based in the Capital, but the Scot’s suggestion that a Manchester derby to decide an FA Cup finalist should take place at Anfield provides a farcical alternative. Albeit Ferguson proposed Villa Park as a secondary option, I would feel personally disappointed as a Stoke City or Bolton fan to relinquish a rare trip to Wembley due to travelling costs which are incurred on most Premier League weekends.
A growing concern amongst a number of fans and pundits alike is the fading ‘magic’ of England’s oldest Cup competition. In my view, the recent hosting of FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley have preserved at least some of the tournament’s gloss, as they have provided a handful of smaller clubs a unique opportunity to perform for up to 90,000 spectators in one of the world’s most recognisable venues. Barnsley fans may have been similarly content to feature in a semi-final at say Old Trafford in 2008, but the opportunity to feature at a stadium of Wembley’s prestige, however recently developed, occurs quite literally once in a lifetime for a club of that calibre.
Staging three FA Cup ties a season instead of one increases the odds for small clubs to realise such a unique opportunity, and certainly improves their chances of causing an upset as Portsmouth proved last season in beating Spurs. A regular reappearance at Wembley seems implausible for both Stoke and Bolton fans, but it is understandable that Ferguson, who has led his team out on eight occasions since the stadium re-opened in 2007, feels aggrieved at the heightened importance of such a fixture with a tense culmination of United’s Premier League and European challenges also occupying his thoughts.
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It is possible that Ferguson is attempting to alleviate some of the pressure on his squad and undermine the progress Roberto Mancini has made since his instalment as City manager. I have no doubt that City will be competing with their neighbours on all fronts before long, but next month’s semi-final affords the Sky Blues a first return to Wembley since the 1999 Second Division Play-Off Final. Two injury-time goals thrust City towards what is now referred to as the Championship just four days after their rivals had completed an unprecedented European treble with two stoppage-time goals of their own. The difference in stature provides evidence of just how far City have advanced since the turn of the century, as they are presently able to entice World Cup winning stars to a state-of-the-art 50,000 capacity stadium.
The chance to showcase that wealth of talent at Wembley and the incentive to humiliate their neighbouring adversary in front of a global audience should not be undermined by Ferguson. For City, April 16th provides a glimpse at the rewards their extensive and expensive project will soon repeatedly reap and the prospect of ratifying the Abu Dhabi regime against United at Wembley is an occasion no amount of Ferguson mind-games will dampen.
Football fans are susceptible to travel ‘chaos’ each and every weekend, but no supporter would dispute Wembley as a destination whether as a semi-final or show-piece venue. It is worth remembering that Ferguson refrained from similar rambling when, in 2008, fans of Manchester United and Chelsea embarked on a round-trip of over 3,000 miles to see their teams compete in the Champions’ League Final in Moscow. Perhaps on that occasion UEFA could have taken the logical step to re-locate the match to Birmingham’s St Andrew’s Stadium to allay Ferguson’s fear that supporters spend too much money following their clubs, but somehow I suspect the supporters would not have concurred.
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Caretaker manager Ray Lewington believes Fulham will appoint a top-quality new boss to replace Roy Hodgson.
Lewington was placed in temporary charge of the Cottagers following Hodgson's departure to Liverpool last month.
A string of top names have been linked with the Craven Cottage job in recent weeks, including former Spurs boss Martin Jol, ex-England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson and veteran German Ottmar Hitzfeld.
Jol is the favourite for the role and Lewington fully expects a quality name to get the job ahead of the new Premier League season.
"I really don't know if I'll be in charge for the Sweden tour. All I know is that I'm in charge up until the new manager is appointed," he said.
"We don't know if it's Martin Jol. It's just another name that has been plucked out of the air as far as we are concerned.
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"What I do know is that they are going to try to go for a top-drawer manager. We are a big club and we should be attracting a big-name manager now.
"We go for the top now. Having had Roy, you need to bring in someone of that stature to match him."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
There have been plenty of highs and lows at Upton Park over the past ten years or so, with managers and players coming in and out on a yearly basis have made it extremely difficult for consistency and stability for the Hammers fans. A second spell in the Championship in the space of 7 years for West Ham has made the supporters more passionate and loyal than ever.
Areas of the media and rival supporters brand Hammers fans hard to please and fickle, something that is an understandable opinion but they will find it hard to back the statement up. With the farce that has been the running of the club since the Icelandic group took over in 2006, it has been tough to watch at Upton Park, but the clubs’ fans have never turned their back on their side and turn up week in week out.
This season has been a prime example of the support that is one of the best in country. The East-End club do not have the biggest stadium in the Championship but do have the highest attendances in the league. For a club that has been relegated after a dismal show last season that takes loyalty to consistently turn up each week and get behind your team. Away from home it is a similar story that has been the real positive from relegation in my opinion.
West Ham will consistently sell out their away end at opposition’s stadiums but this season has seen the club take that to another level. Once the allocation is sold out, the co-chairman applies for more tickets and that is something that the poorly supported clubs with bigger grounds are more than happy to accept.
For example a record breaking 6,800 Hammers will be at the Ricoh Arena on Saturday for the league visit to Coventry after there were 5,000 at Hull a week ago. The club have confirmed that the 4,700 tickets available for Reading away in two weeks time have also been snapped up, emphasising the terrific support this season for the promotion favourites.
Newcastle United had a similar situation when they were in the Championship a few years ago, going on to become a strong Premier League force once again and that is the long term aim for West Ham. For a team in the Championship to be supported as well as the Hammers have been this season is remarkable and people questioning their loyalty should rethink that.
The majority of supporters I have spoken to are fully behind Sam Allardyce and the owners; despite what the press may tell you; and with the club sitting second in the Championship table, there are reasons for optimism for all Hammers fans and it is the start of something special at Upton Park with everyone singing from the same hymn sheet once again.
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Arsenal forward Robin van Persie is a shock inclusion in his side’s squad that will take on Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Van Persie injured ligaments in his knee in the club’s 2-1 Carling Cup defeat to Birmingham just eight days ago and quotes at the time from Arsene Wenger indicated he would miss at least three weeks.
“I am not a specialist but he overstretched his knee at the back when he made the volley (to score against Birmingham),” Wenger said after the Carling Cup final loss.
“It is a ligament at the back of the knee, a tear in the ligament. It is three to four weeks, I take the short delay because I am an optimist but it could be four.”
But Van Persie has made a remarkable recovery and – after being photographed in full training on Monday – has been included in Wenger’s squad for the second-leg of the Champions League last-16 tie.
Van Persie scored to bring Arsenal level in the first leg at the Emirates Stadium before they won 2-1 thanks to Andrey Arshavin’s late strike.
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The result has set up a fascinating second-leg encounter in Barcelona, with van Persie and his fellow strikers hoping to make the most of the absence of Barcelona captain Carles Puyol and suspended defensive partner Gerard Pique.
Arsenal squad: Manuel Almunia, Wojciech Szczesny, Johan Djourou, Gael Clichy, Emmanuel Eboue, Kieran Gibbs, Laurent Koscielny, Bacary Sagna, Sebastien Squillaci, Cesc Fabregas, Andrey Arshavin, Jack Wilshere, Tomas Rosicky, Samir Nasri, Abou Diaby, Denilson, Nicklas Bendtner, Marouane Chamakh, Robin van Persie.