Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that Patrice Evra will play against Liverpool in the FA Cup on Saturday.
The meeting of the two Premier League heavyweights is the first time the sides have gone head to head since Luis Suarez racially abused the France international back in October, with a heated atmosphere expected at Anfield at the weekend.
Despite reports that the full back would sit out the trip, Ferguson has confirmed he will play, and feels he is a great choice for captain whilst Nemanja Vidic is out injured.
“I don’t see why there is any need for that, to be honest,” he told Mirror Football when asked if Evra would be rested.
“I think one of your players who has been playing all the time should be in the forefront to be captain, and that was the case with Patrice.
“He’s a very popular player with a good personality, which is important to have if you’re captain of a club like ours. He’s very friendly and has got a good humour about him, but he’s also quite a determined lad.
“Rio would have been captain if he hadn’t had all those inconsistencies in terms of his injuries.
“Patrice has got different qualities to Rio. He’s not as voluble, but certainly influences a lot of things, and his own team performance, for instance, is very good,” he concluded.
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Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini wants the club’s FA Cup triumph over Stoke City to lead to greater success.A 75th-minute strike from Yaya Toure gave City a 1-0 win at Wembley on Saturday and their first trophy since the 1976 League Cup.
Mancini said he was delighted for the fans and wanted the club to build on the win.
“I can say only that I’m very happy for all the supporters. After many years, they deserved to win this trophy,” he said.
“I didn’t feel we dominated this game. We need to improve but we are very happy. We did a small piece of history of Manchester City. We start now.”
Toure, the hero of the day, said the focus all season had been on claiming at least one trophy.
“The dream is now… it’s fantastic to win. It’s fantastic for the history of the club,” the Ivory Coast international said.
“We wanted to win something and get through to the Champions League. It’s amazing.”
Striker Mario Balotelli, who was named man of the match, said the players felt they had the advantage over Stoke heading into the encounter.
“I’m happy. I said to the guys before the game, ‘we’re better than them, we have to respect them and give everything and if we do we’re going to win’,” he said.
Defender Micah Richards agreed with his boss in wanting City to build towards great things on the back of the trophy win.
“It’s unbelievable. Words can’t describe it. We’ve worked hard all season. Now it’s happened, it’s unbelievable,” Richards said.
“This is the first one and this is the most important. We’ve got to build on this.”
Goalkeeper Joe Hart said he only cared about City’s result and not Manchester United’s league triumph at Blackburn earlier in the day.
“It’s nothing to do with Manchester United, it’s about Man City. We deserved to win the cup, we’ve beaten the best and we’ve beaten a very good Stoke side today.”
In wake of England’s World Cup exit, Fabio Capello has been forced into making some major calls. The squad’s poor performance in South Africa exposed the need for a “new era” and although the perfect start to the European Championship 2012 qualifying campaign goes some way in diminishing their summer sins, the Italian still has plenty to mull over before England meet Montenegro at Wembley. With Rio Ferdinand, John Terry and Frank Lampard all likely to be fit again it poses questions about a return to the old guard.
Capello must decide whether to play Rio Ferdinand for the first time since his knee injury in England’s first World Cup training session and indeed whether Frank Lampard should partner a Steven Gerrard flourishing in his central role.
But surely the re-emergence of faith shown to these players in South Africa would contradict their qualifying success thus far and put Capello under a lot more pressure?
Phil Jagielka has been fantastic in the two games so far; against Switzerland he commanded the back four in the absence of Terry or Ferdinand alongside former club team-mate Joleon Lescott and displayed that his England career is blossoming with good anticipation and timely interventions. It would hardly lend itself to the initiation of a new era to drop him and instead facilitate the previous central defensive pairing.
Similarly, I believe the doubts over whether Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard can coexist in the same England midfield have been nullified by the pairing of Gareth Barry and the Liverpool skipper. Barry’s calm aura coupled with his ability to sit deep and break up play permits Gerrard to express himself going forward. This was typified by the way he controlled the games tempo, whilst showing a touch of class for the assist to Adam Johnson.
Talking of Adam Johnson, with Milner suspended and Walcott injured, England may have found themselves the perfect answer to that.
The Manchester City winger looked more like a man with forty caps than four as he got on the score sheet and caused problems almost every time he received the ball whether he was cutting inside or dancing past defenders. I for one believed he should have been on the plane. A tricky winger who not many sides would have known about such was his rapid rise to prominence beforehand and he also may yet prove to be one of Manchester City’s best buys, £8million pounds amongst their lavish spending was a real coup.
In Basle, there was nothing faulty about England. They looked like a team again rather than 11 highly talented individuals who have failed to deliver time and time again. And if England are to drive away the familiarity of heartbreak from South Africa, changes such as these have to be made.
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It could also be conceived that such blind loyalty to players such as Lampard, Ferdinand and Terry have been contributory Capello’s descent from “god to monster” and trusting the “old guard” as opposed to blooding England’s youngsters where he can would not constitute a return journey to his former status. If England are to move forward in a dawn, the Italian must be brave. The game against Montenegro offers him a perfect opportunity to do so.
Newly appointed QPR boss Mark Hughes is on the verge of landing one of Brazil’s brightest young talents in striker Henrique, the Daily Mail claims.
The highly-rated striker is said to be on the verge of an initial 18-month loan deal with a view to a £5 million permanent transfer.
The player – who was voted player of the tournament at last years U-20 World Cup – has caught the attention of a number of European clubs, but QPR owner Tony Fernandes looks to have won the race for the exciting striker.
Fernandes will be keen to add to his squad to ensure Mark Hughes has all the necessary tools to avoid relegation, and the signing of Henrique could signal the start of a flurry of new signings at QPR.
Henrique is said to be looking forward to working with the project at Loftus Road and, subject to a work permit, should arrive in London to finalise the deal soon.
The promising striker scored five goals at last year’s U-20 World Cup in Colombia, and with QPR jumping ahead of the queue for the Brazilian’s signature, this could prove to be an incredible coup for the ambitious London club.
(Article Source -Daily Mail)
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Serie A giants Roma are set to be taken over by an American consortium, according to chief investor Thomas Di Benedetto.The consortium announced on Friday that they have purchased a 67 percent stake in the club at a price of 62.1 million pounds, subject to regulatory approval.
Di Benedetto owns 60 percent of the new consortium, with Italian bank UniCredit owning the other 40 percent and the completed takeover will signal an end to months of speculation surrounding the future of the club.
“Good things don’t come easy,” Di Benedetto told reporters in Boston. “I never felt that I would give up on the quest for this team.”
Di Benedetto has been a partner of the New England Sports Ventures group, which owns MLB side the Boston Red Sox and Premier League giants Liverpool, and said he wants to see the Roma side filled with more local players.
“If you look around professional soccer today, there are a number of players who grew up in greater Rome,” he said.
“It’s our goal to have more of them playing for AS Roma. I think we will put in place the people who will make it attractive for these young men to sign with us.”
Di Benedetto also added that he is hoping to replicate the success that AC Milan owner and Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has had with his club.
The American gave no indication whether caretaker coach Vincenzo Montella would be given the job full-time from next season, and Montella himself said he was more focused on this weekend’s match.
Montella said: “We are curious, not anxious. We must only think about Saturday’s game against Palermo.”
So James Milner finally makes his move to Manchester City and brings with it the end to one of the longest transfer sagas of this summer. In homage, we recall some of the biggest sagas in recent memory.
James Milner to Man City (2010) There was nowhere else to start other than the England midfielder, as his £24m move to Eastlands was finally completed. The move probably also played a factor in the departure of Villa boss Martin O’Neill, as he tried to keep a hold onto Milner; when O’Neill resigned, Milner was free to complete his move. O’Neill’s desire for him to stay, disagreement over the fee and Stephen Ireland’s role as a makeweight all helped to draw the deal out over the entire summer. Still, it all gave Milner the chance to say goodbye to his fans with a goal and standing ovation at Villa Park on the first day of this season.
Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona (2009, 10, 11?) Another season at Arsenal without a trophy and another tournament with his Spanish teammates ending in success all looked to be contributing to a move to his hometown club. His role on the bench behind Xavi, Inestia, Busquets and Pedro may have been an indication of what life in the Nou Camp could have been like, or it may just be that he is still in love with Arsenal. Whatever the reason, Fabregas has spent a second summer turning Guardiola’s advances down (along with every other Catalan). What money on Barcelona trying their luck next summer?
Dimitar Berbatov to Man Utd (2008) The last few minutes of 2008’s summer transfer window saw the Bulgarian finally complete his move. Spurs were ready to report United to the FA for illegally chasing their player and compiled a dossier of a year’s worth of evidence to present to the Premier League. The move was further complicated by interest from the then newly-rich Man City, who agreed a fee with Spurs at the last minute on deadline day, only for Berbatov himself to refuse to speak to City due to their lack of Champions League football.
Gareth Barry to Liverpool (2008) Rafa Benitez’s master plan was to forge a side made up of Gerrard, Barry, Robbie Keane and Torres: Benitez stated that Robbie Keane’s unsuccessful spell at the club was down to the fact that Barry wasn’t there also. Villa were holding out for around £18m but Liverpool wanted something closer to £12m, and thus a stalemate ran the entire length of the summer, with Gareth Barry publicly stating he wanted to go. O’Neill and Benitez’s relationship with each other was sour at the best of times, and the following summer the country was ready for the story to end. Barry had other ideas however, and plumped for Man City within a week of the end of the 08/09 season.
Patrick Vieira to Real Madrid/Juventus (2002, 03, 04, 05) There was a time when as sure as fans were that the season would end, they were as certain that Vieira would mute a move to a European giant. For three years it looked as though Real Madrid would be his destination, but problems over the agreed fee, as well as Vieira’s wage demands, meant that Vieira’s Arsenal career continued to run. The Frenchman was after Champions League success and didn’t believe he could achieve it with Arsenal. In 2005, he eventually plumped for a move to Turin, which brought him illegal league titles, but still no coveted Champions League trophy.
Xabi Alonso to Juventus/Real Madrid (2008, 09) The flip side of the Gareth Barry deal. Whether Rafa wanted both players in the same team, or one for the other is only really know to Benitez himself, but Alonso felt compromised with the lack of conviction over his position at the club. Juventus looked the most likely destination, and his move there, with Barry to Anfield, looked like a done deal, but neither happened and Alonso stayed to continue to play great football for Liverpool. Without the backing of his boss, Alonso still wanted to move on and joined the most expensively assembled team ever at Real Madrid.
Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid (2008, 09) And speaking of Real Madrid, none were more expensive than the £80m spent on Ronaldo. Ever since ‘the wink’ in the 2006 World Cup, Ronaldo’s time looked up at Man Utd, but Sir Alex Ferguson wasn’t about to let that keep him from getting the best out of Ronaldo for a further three seasons. Ronaldo never hid his desire to head to Real, and equally the club were vocal in their pursuit of him. It looked as though he would go in 2008, but the saga rumbled on for another year. In the end, United could not refuse such a big offer for their player and Ronaldo got his wish. His comments during the protracted deal about being ‘a modern-day slave’ did himself no favours.
Frank Ribery to Real/Barca/Man Utd/Chelsea (2008, 09) Not being in La Liga or the Premier League means that Ribery is a constant column filler in the sports gossip sections. Moves to England were muted in 2008, with Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge realistic destinations, but the Spanish duo were always a thorn in any potential deals. The following summer, the same candidates again were being linked and Ribery looked destined to leave Germany. As Real bought the best player from each of the PL, Serie A and Ligue 1, they looked as though they’d take the Bundesliga’s most high profile also. Ribery told the press:
“I have made up my mind – I want to leave. It’s Real or nothing.”
So nothing then. Ribery signed a new contract with Bayern last May.
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David Villa to Barca/Real/Liverpool/Chelsea (2008, 09, 10) And maybe a whole host of other clubs? Villa’s unquestionable talent, along with his club’s horrific debt meant that each summer Villa, along with David Silva, looked as though they’d have to be sold to balance the books. Somehow Valencia managed to stave off having to sell their prized assets for a couple of years. How many concrete offers Valencia received is unsure, but Villa’s preference was always to stay in Spain. Just as it looked as though he was willing to give England a chance, Barcelona made their move and completed a deal for just over £30m. Villa, Xavi, Iniesta and Messi in the same team – Europe watch out.
Loic Remy to half of Europe (2010) Not the biggest name in the list, but I almost want to buy this previously anonymous French striker for myself just so I don’t have to hear another story about him. Stoke, West Ham, Liverpool, Everton, Spurs, Arsenal and other clubs across the continent have been linked to the Nice striker. Every day brings another club into connection with Remy, although none look as though they are actually that interested. Come the passing of the transfer window, he may well still be at Nice.
Who else has taken their time over a transfer – completed or not? Dani Alves to Chelsea perhaps? Steven Gerrard’s supposed moves to Real Madrid or Chelsea? Let us know some others.
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Jonas Olsson has admitted that he has not made up his mind whether he wants to stay at West Brom yet, as contract talks with the defender have stalled.
The Sweden international has secured a regular starting spot in Roy Hodgson’s side, and with only 18 months left on his contract The Baggies are keen to extend his deal.
However, with a bigger club and Euro 2012 in mind, Olsson has refused to commit to The Hawthorns-based team just yet.
“We have been discussing contracts during the autumn,” he revealed to Helsingborgs Dagblad.
“The club wants to extend, but I haven’t made my mind up yet.
“I am truly enjoying myself at West Brom and it’s not impossible that I will extend my contract here.
“But at the same time I might be in a good position if I do well at the end of the season and also at the European Championship.
“I am looking forward and would consider a move to another club in England or another league. My dream is to play for a club that fights for titles,” he concluded.
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West Brom need to be careful not to get sucked back into the relegation battle, and host Blackburn at home on Saturday.
Rangers temporarily moved to the top of the Scottish Premier League ahead of Celtic after a 2-1 victory over St Mirren at Ibrox on Saturday.Rangers’ left-sided defender Sasa Papac opened the scoring in the 33rd minute when he turned in a rebound after St Mirren goalkeeper Paul Gallacher did well to deny a Nikica Jelavic effort.
St Mirren took only five minutes to draw level, and did so in spectacular fashion as Darren McGregor volleyed home from Aaron Mooy’s cross.
But Rangers restored their lead in the 52nd minute as Steven Whittaker converted a penalty after Jelavic was tripped by defender John Potter.
Jelavic then missed two chances to put the game beyond doubt while Saints unsuccessfully went in search of an equaliser.
In the day’s other league match, Inverness and Hearts drew 1-1.
Aaron Doran’s volley put the home side a goal up in the sixth minute but his strike was cancelled out by Stephen Elliott, who placed a low shot beyond Inverness goalkeeper Ryan Esson in the second hald.
Inverness defender Ross Tokely was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for a reckless challenge on winger David Templeton.
Craig Bellamy insists there are no hard feelings towards Roberto Mancini following his departure from Manchester City.
Bellamy, 31, joined hometown club Cardiff City on a season-long loan in the Championship on Tuesday after being frozen out of the first-team picture at Eastlands this summer.
The Wales striker was left out of Mancini’s 25-man Premier League squad but claims he bears no grudge towards the Italian coach.
“There’s no ill feeling,” explained the well-travelled former Liverpool, Newcastle, West Ham and Blackburn frontman.
“I hope he does well, he’s a top manager.
“I had the greatest time at Manchester City at a great period in their history.
“I was bought to take the club on to the next stage and I feel I played a big part in doing that. The players they’re signing are incredible.
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“The next couple of years I’m sure they’ll get the Premier League title and I hope they do.”
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Manchester United have been rocked by an injury blow as captain Nemanja Vidic has been ruled out for the rest of the season. The Serbian ruptured his cruciate ligament in their Champions League defeat to Basle and the injury will undoubtedly force Fergie’s hand in the January transfer window.
Elsewhere in the news Dalglish slams the FA for double standards; Mancini eyes the double for City, while Jack Wilshere gives his backing to Arsene Wenger.
News
Milan still hopeful of Tevez deal
Dalglish slams FA for double standards
Manchester United suffer injury blow
Roberto Mancini targeting double
Wilshere gives his backing to Arsene Wenger
Coyle can handle Bolton criticism
Jol rules out Fulham bid for strike duo
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Transfer Talk
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Wiel fight you all the way for Gregory – Sun
Villa target Newcastle’s Guthrie – Mirror
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Tottenham lead Arsenal in chase for £10m Ajax defender Vertonghen – Daily Mail
Hammers out to Nic Chelsea star – Sun
Arsenal eye cut-price deal for Chelsea exile Alex – Daily Mail