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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Newcastle United captain Kevin Nolan is fit to play at Anfield on Sunday, hopefully against former house guest Andy Carroll.Carroll joined Liverpool from Newcastle in January 35 million pounds – a record transfer for a British player.
But the young striker, who sat out Liverpool’s 5-0 hammering of Birmingham after a knee injury sustained against Arsenal, is rated “doubtful” for the clash.
Nolan had missed two games with suspension, but impressed in the 1-1 draw at Bloomfield Road before being replaced late by James Perch, prompting fears of an injury.
Yet Nolan has quickly allayed those fears.
“I just felt a bit of a niggle,” Nolan told the Newcastle Chronicle.
“It was only a precaution and to get somebody on who could run a bit faster than me really.”
“It’s been horrible to be honest to miss two games. But it is just part and parcel of it all.”
Nolan joked he hopes that Carroll is fit for Sunday so he can “kick” his former team-mate, who was ordered to live with Newcastle captain when released on bail following assault charges in October 2010.
“The big man missed out because of an injury,” Nolan said.
“He missed out and he doesn’t know how long he will be out.”
“Hopefully he’ll be back so I can kick him.”
“There will be a lot of friends and family there in both ends for him. We’re looking forward to it.”
“We’ve been brilliant away from home this season and we’re full of confidence.”
“They had a fantastic result and so they’re full of confidence too. It will make for an entertaining game.”
Carroll netted 12 goals for the Magpies this season before joining Liverpool and has added two more to his tally in a red shirt after his big-money January switch.
“I don’t know if I want him to play or not,” Nolan said.
“I do so I can kick him, but I don’t want to him to play because of the threat he can pose.”
“He’s clicking into gear. You will see the best of him next year I think. But he’ll be desperate to play against us.”
United have not won a Premier League game at Anfield since 1994.
“We don’t worry about anything like that. This is a different team to ones that have gone there in the past,” Nolan said.
Newcastle are in ninth place on 41 points, and trail sixth-placed Liverpool by 11 points.
Manchester United are set to break Liverpool’s record and seal their 19th League title if they gain a point or more against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park on Saturday afternoon. Therefore, United’s final match of the season against Blackpool could prove to be a worthless game. With the Champions League Final set to take place against Barcelona at Wembley on six days later, don’t be surprised if Sir Alex Ferguson fields a weakened team at Old Trafford as he looks to preserve key players for one of the most important games of the season.
However, the final game is far more important to Blackpool and their rivals as they look to preserve their Premiership status. In what is proving to be a close relegation battle, surely the likes of Wigan, West Ham and Wolves would have serious cause for complaint if Manchester United were to field a reserve side and Blackpool won and prevented relegation?
This is not the first time Ferguson has been in such a situation. In 2008/09, United fielded a weakened side against Hull but still managed to win. Of greater notoriety was the final day of the 2006/07 season when West Ham defeated United at Old Trafford and saved their Premier League status at the expense of Sheffield United. A hot-headed manager at the best of times, then-Sheffield United manager Neil Warnock was furious at Ferguson’s selection that effectively consigned The Blades to relegation and refused to accept the latter’s apology.
But squad rotation has become increasingly common in the Premier League as teams look to prioritise European and cup competitions over domestic games. With teams boasting increasingly large squads designed to cope with more congested fixture schedules, surely it is up to managers to select appropriate teams that are capable of winning titles yet durable enough to survive up to and sometimes over fifty games in a season. Teams rest key players and ultimately sacrifice points throughout the season. It is just unfortunate that this example comes at such a crucial stage for the teams faced with possible relegation.
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The Premier League has in place rules designed to protect the integrity of the fixtures. Blackpool themselves have already been fined £25,000 for fielding a weakened team and action would surely be taken if Ferguson was deemed to have selected a second string XI.
But, what if the final game came around and, say, Edwin van de Sar collided with Nemanja Vidic and Wayne Rooney pulled up lame with a hamstring injury? If United lost three crucial players before probably the most important game of the season in an otherwise meaningless game, Ferguson would never hear the end of it. Both fans and pundits would criticise his selection and he then would not be able to field a full-strength team in the Champions League final. Therefore, when put into context, if United faced a fine of a similar amount to that received by Blackpool then surely it would be a small price to pay for protecting their chances of European success. Yes, it could have a direct effect on the other relegation candidates, but at the end of the day teams don’t play football for the benefit of other teams; they play to win themselves and should do whatever is necessary to succeed.
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It has come to that stage in the year, where fans can start to look back on their season and decide which of their players have done well and which were poor. Today I am creating a let-down eleven.
I have had to exclude some pretty poor players. I think Manchester United players Gabriel Obertan and Bebe have been hugely unsatisfactory this season, but we already knew Obertan was bad and Bebe has hardly played enough. Another enormous let-down was Mauro Boselli, but he has since left Wigan who obviously realised this.
Players like Jovanovic and Squillaci were bought as squad players, so I would not class them as being as disappointing as others, despite playing poorly. As for Laurent Koscielny, he has been unfortunate that Thomas Vermaelen has been injured all year, and that his ‘keepers have been dire. All the same, he has not made the impression many expected and misses out narrowly.
The players that follow have disappointed most, in comparison to what is expected of them.
Click on Manuel Almunia below to see the Let Down XI
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Sunderland manager Steve Bruce looks set to make a move for Tottenham Hotspur striker Peter Crouch, claims the Daily Star.
Star striker Darren Bent moved to Aston Villa in January in a deal that could be worth up to £24 million. Bruce failed to replace Bent and Sunderland struggled for form toward the end of the season and eventually finished in 10th place. Loan signing Danny Welbeck has returned to Manchester United whilst Frazier Campbell continues to recover from a long-term knee injury.
Crouch nearly moved to the Stadium of Light from Portsmouth two years ago but chose instead to be reunited with former manager Harry Redknapp at Spurs. The 6ft 7in target man would fetch around £10 million if he was to move on and play for the 10th club of his professional career.
The 30-year old had an inconsistent season despite scoring 12 goals in all competitions and Redknapp is considering cashing-in on the England forward as he looks to overhaul his attacking options.
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Bruce does have cash to spend, particularly if the sale of Jordan Henderson to Liverpool is completed. The Black Cats have also been linked with moves for Crouch’s Spurs teammate Roman Pavlyuchenko and Manchester United pair Wes Brown and Darron Gibson.
Liverpool and Blackpool are no further forward in negotiations for the transfer of playmaker Charlie Adam to Anfield.
The Scottish international impressed in The Seasiders debut Premier League season despite the club being relegated, and has been linked with a move to Merseyside after scoring a penalty against his suitors in the 2010/11 season.
However, with the addition of fellow midfielders Jordan Henderson and Alberto Aquilani, who has returned to England after a loan spell at Juventus, Liverpool are refusing to be held to ransom by the Championship side, who reportedly want £12 million for their talisman.
The former Rangers player will start pre-season with his current club on Monday, and knows his future is out of his hands.
“I go back to Blackpool on Monday and that’s the way it is,’ he told the Blackpool Gazette.
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“Everybody knows the situation – the club have met with Liverpool but that’s as far as it has gone. I had a conversation with the chairman but that will remain private. It’s important that we keep everything in-house – whatever happens will happen,” the 25-year-old concluded.
David Beckham has called Jose Mourinho a genius and backed ‘The Special One’ to lead his former club Real Madrid to glory in 2011/12.
The Spanish capital city side have had to watch as rivals Barcelona have claimed the last three La Liga titles, and Pep Guardiola led his side to Champions League glory last term.
Despite this, the LA Galaxy player feels the Portuguese coach can turn the tide and bring success to the Santiago Bernabeu.
“They have one of the best coaches in the world. Mourinho is a genius and he has proved that with all the teams he has coached,” the former England captain told Marca.
“Madrid are building a powerful side with important players and they can win all the competitions. They are a team that strikes fear (into their rivals) and I have no doubt they will be able to win everything.”
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Los Blancos have added Nuri Sahin, Stephane Varene and Hamit Altintop to their already star studded squad this summer, and are being linked with a move for Brazil star Neymar.
It is without a doubt one of the most addictive developments in the history of football, so much so that it has even been cited as the reason behind about 30 divorces in the UK since its inception in 1982. Football manager games have brought an entirely new dimension to football fandom, the ability to take control of a club and run it the way you want. The games have advanced to a such a stage that you find yourself entirely immersed in this fantasy world, accelerating into a make-believe future with your club, sometimes even losing track of who the club has signed in real life or in the game.
The sense of realism is clearly what sells the games to the fans, because stripped away as nothing more than a spreadsheet and a collection of intricate flow charts it is hardly the most interesting of concepts. But just how close to real life is it?
Scarily close. Let’s use new Bristol Rovers boss Paul Buckle as an example. Buckle joined Rovers on the first day of June, and since then has brought 14 players into the club, quite a haul in less than 2 months. He was recently asked how he managed to accomplish such a feat, to which he replied that he had, over the space of 4 years, created a database of players that he had scouted and assessed, and as a result was able to call upon his research as a source for new players. Whether this was experimented with as a result of playing Championship Manager or another similar title was not explained, but the comparisons between what Buckle has managed to do and what you or I could do with a laptop and a copy of Football Manager are clear.
Yet while Buckle created his own database, others have decided to jump on the back of the likes of Football Manager’s scouting resources for their own uses. In 2008 Everton signed a contract with Sports Interactive to be able to use the company’s network of 1000 scouts in 50 different countries before the game was released, supposedly allowing them the best opportunity to pick up talented players before on the cheap before anyone else can get involved. Whether or not that has worked depends on your view of the Everton transfer policy, although even a highly knowledgeable group of scouts can’t make much difference when the chairman employs a strategy of ‘let’s not buy anyone, ever.’
These games do have a proven track record of pointing-out rather than unearthing gems, particularly in youth squads. The likes of Carlos Tevez, Lionel Messi and David Beckham were all destined for greatness according to previous versions and have successfully gone on to prove the developers and scouts right. There have also been some instances of players on the game out-performing their real-life selves, for example Ramon Calliste who helped this writer catapult his Southend team from Division 3 to the Premier League on Championship Manager 03/04, scoring more than a goal a game throughout his career. Back on planet Earth, Calliste is hunting for a club after being released by Scunthorpe.
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But what could be more realistic than a failed foray into the transfer market? You only need to look at some of Alex Ferguson’s signings over the years to see that even great managers and scouts get it wrong sometimes. Liam Miller, Eric Djemba-Djemba, Massimo Taibi, Bébé… you just can’t win them all.
So you’ve led your team from the bowels of the Football League to the glory of the Premier League title, maybe with a few European and domestic trophies thrown in for good measure. Basically, you’re a legend. Could you cut it in the real world?
Some have tried. In 2006, one plucky football fan took his knowledge of management games, and his experience of managing an under-11s team, put it in a CV and sent it to Middlesbrough, manager-less following Steve McClaren’s ill-advised decision to become England coach. In his covering letter, John Boileau described himself as, “a young, ambitious football manager with vast experience (on Football Manager 2005)” whose greatest achievements included signing Raul, Fernando Torres and Thierry Henry as his strikeforce at Doncaster Rovers. Somehow Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson managed to overlook the talented Boileau, stating in his reply to the former Doncaster manager that, while he was clearly the outstanding candidate, Gibson feared he would be snapped-up immediately by a bigger club.
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So right now it would appear that the transition from fantasy to reality is still a fair way off. But the rate these games advance, how long before we see a real-world rookie in the hotseat at a top club?
Are you a Championship or Football Manager fan? Favourite game in the series? Let me know on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/_tomclose
The 20 ‘Championship Manager’ cult heroes that fell by the wasteside
Bolton boss Owen Coyle announced that he is not interested in signing transfer listed Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton.The 28-year-old was placed on the transfer list by Newcastle on Monday after criticising owner Mike Ashley and managing director Derek Llambias.
Barton was linked to several clubs including Bolton, but Coyle said on Thursday he would not try and sign the one-time England international.
“I think Joey Barton’s best position is in the centre of midfield, that’s not an area we are looking to strengthen,” Coyle said.
“What I do know is whoever does manage to sign him is getting a hugely talented player and I’d imagine a player with a point to prove so it will certainly be good business for someone.”
The Scottish manager has not ruled out a move for Manchester City wingers Sean Wright-Phillips and Vladimir Weiss.
Coyle helped Bolton to 14th in the English Premier League last campaign, but said his team was capable of producing surprises this season.
“I think if you ask anybody at the beginning of the season they would say that the top six places should fill themselves, barring something going horribly wrong any of those elite clubs,” Coyle said.
“But I think it’s also fair to say that on any given day we are all capable of beating whether it be the top six or not.”
“Consistently we know that we’ll not match them over the season but we know game to game we can go and win games and take points and that’s why it’s the best league in the world.”
Bolton meet La Liga outfit Levante in a pre-season friendly at Reebok Stadium on Friday.
Sergio Aguero is aiming to learn from Carlos Tevez’s mistakes in learning English to enable him to settle into life in Manchester. Aguero is determined to be a huge success in England and is prepared to everything he can to fit in and adjust to the different culture.
Elsewhere in the papers Arsene Wenger insists that he is no quitter; Fergie set to make a final Sneijder bid, while Fernandes considers a move away from Loftus Rd.
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I’m no quitter, says Wenger – Guardian
Mata on verge of £23.5m Chelsea move –Guardian
QPR’s Fernandes considers move from Loftus Road – Guardian
Man City ready to let £25m flop striker go for free – Mirror
Fergie to make final bid to bring Sneijder to United as midfielder has Inter time-out – Daily Mail
New boy Aguero is learning from Tevez trouble by studying English – Daily Mail
Life is Tweet again for Barton despite swipe at referee Webb – Daily Mail
Davies: Bolton cannot compete with big spenders – Mirror
Roy Hodgson emerging as candidate for England job – Mirror
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Ben Arfa eyes comeback a year after sustaining injury – People
Capello won’t drop Walcott after wingers comments – People