Stiliyan Petrov is going to enlist the help of Geoff Thomas as he looks to overcome Acute Leukaemia. The former England and Palace midfielder was diagnosed with the disease back in 2003 and has successfully fought the illness in the past nine years and can provide the Bulgarian with all the advice he needs to overcome what will be a tough six months ahead with various treatments.
Elsewhere in the news Sir Alex Ferguson has hailed the influence of Wayne Rooney on this United team; Jamie Carragher has called for more time for Kenny Dalglish to turn things round, while Juan Mata is convinced that silverware is in the offing for Chelsea.
Headlines
Sir Alex Ferguson has hailed the growing maturity and influence that Wayne Rooney is having on the Manchester United side – Guardian
Stiliyan Petrov has revealed that Fabrice Muamba has become a source of inspiration to him as he looks to fight Acute Leukaemia – Guardian
Arsene Wenger has accused some of his players for showing a poor attitude and hopes the defeat at Loftus Rd will serve as a wake-up call for his Arsenal team – Guardian
Jamie Carragher has pleaded with the Liverpool doubters to give Kenny Dalglish time to turn around the football club – Daily Telegraph
Juan Mata is convinced that Chelsea can win some silverware this season after an upturn in performances in recent weeks – Daily Telegraph
Harry Redknapp hopes the likes of Swansea aren’t a passing fancy and other clubs will continue to follow their style – Independent
Mario Balotelli was booed by his own supporters as he clashed with teammates at the Etihad Stadium – Daily Mail
Gary Neville has revealed that titles are won in the head at this stage of the season – Daily Mail
Tottenham are favourites to land Argentinian defender Julian Velazquez from Independiente – Metro
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.
Lukas Podolski has reportedly turned down Manchester United in favour of £11m move to Arsenal – Sun
Sir Alex Ferguson is fearful of Lionel Messi given the Argentine will only get better in the future – Mirror
Suspended FIFA Vice-President Jack Warner has denied the corruption allegations made against him and accused Sepp Blatter of bribery.Warner, president of the CONCACAF Federation since 1990, was suspended by a FIFA ethics committee on Sunday along with Mohamed bin Hammam.
Warner and bin Hammam are under investigation for alleged bribes made to Caribbean Football Union delegates at a meeting in Trinidad on May 10 and 11.
Bin Hammam, head of the Asian Football Confederation, withdrew his candidacy for the top FIFA job prior to the hearing on Sunday, but denies any wrongdoing.
Warner denies allegations that he was involved in giving bribes of US$40,000 to CFU members in an attempt to secure their support in Wednesday’s leadership elections.
He also accused incumbent and long-term colleague Blatter of impropriety.
“I denied the allegations that I made statements at the CFU meeting about gifts being given by Mr Bin Hammam,” Warner said in a statement.
“I also indicated that at the Miami CONCACAF Congress on May 3 Mr Blatter made a gift of one million USD to CONCACAF to spend as it deems fit.”
“This annoyed (UEFA) President Michel Platini who was present and he approached Secretary General Jerome Valcke complaining that Mr Blatter had no permission from the Finance Committee to make this gift to which Jerome replied that he will find the money for Mr Blatter.”
“I also indicated at the CFU meeting held in Trinidad on May 10 which was requested by Mr Bin Hammam, FIFA through Mr Blatter organised gifts of laptops and projectors to all members of the Caribbean and no objections have been made today of this to date.”
Warner also extended his accusations to Valcke, claiming the Secretary General admitted to him in an email that bin Hammam effectively bought the 2022 World Cup for Qatar.
According to Warner, Valcke’s email states: “For MBH (Mohamed bin Hammam), I never understood why he was running. If really he thought he had a chance or just being an extreme way to express how much he does not like anymore JSB (Joseph Sepp Blatter). Or he thought you can buy FIFA as they bought the WC (World Cup).”
“The complaints made in this matter are politically motivated against Mr Bin Hammam and me and are designed, among other things, to cause serious prejudice and damage to both Mr Bin Hammam and myself at one of the most critical times for the FIFA.”
Defiant manager Roy Hodgson has vowed to silence his critics following Liverpool's dismal start to the season.
Hodgson has found himself under immediate pressure at Anfield after the worst start to a league season since 1953-54.
The Reds have picked up just six points from the first 21 on offer and find themselves in the relegation places after seven games.
Hodgson has also seen his side dumped out of the Carling Cup at the third-round stage by League Two outfit Northampton Town.
However, the former Fulham boss, who took the unfashionable London club all the way to the Europa League Final last May, has vowed to silence his doubters.
"I don't think you go from being as feted as I was in May to suddenly losing any abilities I have three months later," he told the club's official website.
"It's a question that's going to get asked but it shouldn't really be asked by people who've been in football for a long time, because they know that in football you have good moments and bad moments.
"At the end of May I was having fantastic moments and at the end of September I'm having bad moments.
"But I don't think that after 35 years of coaching I've suddenly lost the abilities that have served me so well."
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.
Meanwhile, Hodgson has admitted he is likely to strengthen his under-performing squad when the transfer window reopens in January.
"We've got to trust in the players because until January we can't do anything about that," he added. "(Against Blackpool on Sunday) we did what we could with the players we have available at the moment, but we are a little bit short of out-and-out front players at the moment, and of course we lost one of the most important ones (Fernando Torres) near the start of the game."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
There’s a lot of misinformation in the world, especially in football. Rumours, speculation and tabloid apologies hidden on page 27 two years after a story – it’s hard to know what’s true and what isn’t sometimes. But more prevalent are the generally held beliefs about certain aspects of our game. Here’s some beliefs I consider to be untrue. So that means that they are.
The Championship Is The Hardest League To Get Out Of
Surely it’s as easy/difficult as any other league? After all, three teams have to go up, so how can it be harder? It would only be harder if every other league had four or five teams going up. For this reason, the Conference is probably the hardest league to get out of, as fewer teams go up. Of course it depends on where any particular team’s journey has taken them prior to being in the Championship. Those teams relegated from the Premiership stand a better chance of getting out of the Championship (via promotion) because of the parachute payments they receive. If you’re promoted from League One, then you’ll probably be looking to consolidate. But then this is true of any league really – those that have come from the division above will probably have the better players and resources for a promotion push. Not that Southampton are struggling that much to try and get out of the Championship this season….
Tottenham Hotspur are the great entertainers
No, no, no. Nyet. Nien. Non. Nae. No. Of course it depends on your definition of “entertainers”, but the fact is that for the last two seasons they have scored fewer goals than Manchester City in total, and also split down have scored fewer goals at home and fewer goals away. They have conceded more too, both in total, and home and away, so maybe this counts as part of being great entertainers. Their record against the rest of the “Top 6” is terrible, their goal difference is 27 goals worse than Manchester City’s, 16 worse than Manchester United’s, they’ve scored fewer goals than “struggling” Arsenal. And yet journalist after journalist proclaims that they are playing the best football in the country.
There’s no doubt they are an entertaining team, due to their pace, and width, with a number of flair players who are comfortable on the ball. They are great entertainers – they are not THE great entertainers.
Decisions even out over the season
They don’t. It’s random. By pure chance your team’s decisions may even out – but the odds suggest they won’t, one way or the other. There’s no magical being, no football god that looks over matches to make sure teams get justice after a wrong-doing. There’s a devil in Sepp Blatter looking over us, but he doesn’t like the one thing that could even things out, namely video technology.
The various myths of the co-commentator (due to a fragile grasp on the rules of the game)
These are all wrong: contact means it must be a penalty; raised hands mean a red card; the referee should apply common sense; red cards ruin games; handball means a penalty; last man, so has to be red; he got some of the ball, therefore can’t be a foul.
Steve Bruce is a (remotely) good manager
Or many of the various other managers that come off the Old Trafford conveyor belt. Playing under Alex Ferguson does not naturally mean you’ll be a great manager. It does mean that various chairmen will think you are though, and continue to employ you whatever your track record. See also Bryan Robson and Roy Keane, to name but two.
Manchester United are stronger over the second half of the season
Well strictly speaking, there is some truth in this. But not as much as you might think. Since football began in 1992, United have averaged 40.5 points in the first half of seasons, and 42.3 points in the second half of seasons. So there is an increase in the second half, but it isn’t much really, under two points.
What this tells us more than anything perhaps is that they are consistent. And as much as they may or may not improve at the “business end” (yuk) of the season, it may be as much a case of them keeping going whilst those around them often falter (I’m looking at you Kevin Keegan). Of course you must also factor in points lost due to dead rubbers at the end of seasons, so there is an improvement, but it’s not a huge swing in form.
[divider]
Continued on Page TWO
[divider]
Good player on Youtube = good player in real life
With skilful editing, even Two Pints of Lager And A Packet of Crisps can look good on Youtube. OK, maybe that’s stretching things, but Georgios Samaras certainly looked the part.
Denis Law’s backheel goal relegated Manchester United in 1974
It didn’t – they were going down anyway, due to results elsewhere – but that doesn’t scan as well, sadly.
The Leeds side under Don Revie were a dirty side
A friend who would know far better than I (a kind way of saying he’s much older) says they were very much maligned, and not as dirty as often made out. The Chelsea side of that era however…..
Revie’s team were lazily labelled “Dirty Leeds”, a tag that still stirs resentment in Yorkshire. “It was amazing that Leeds kept a reputation in the rest of the country as a very hard team,” says Lord Harewood, the club’s president to the Telegraph’s Henry Winter in 2009.
“They tackled hard. They played to win but they were also tremendously good footballers. There were very few better players around than Allan Clarke. Or Johnny Giles. Or any of them really. Don resented the notion that Leeds were a dirty team. They were tough but not dirty. “
The Premiership Is The Most Exciting League In The World, Ever!
As the excellent Arsenal v Spurs match reached its climax, Gary Neville said: “You just don’t get games like this in La Liga, Serie A.”
Ah yes, the myth of the most exciting league in the world. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. It probably isn’t.
Either way, this season, Real Madrid have come from behind to win 6-2, 5-1, 4-2 and 4-1, AC Milan came from 3-0 down to beat Lecce 4-3, Juventus came from 2-0 down to draw 3-3 with Napoli (thank you football365.com). And the day before Neville’s comments: well, there was the small matter of Lyon 4 PSG 4. PSG equalized in the 90th minute by the way. The co-commentator was heard to say, “You wouldn’t get this score in the Belgian leagues….”
Newcastle fans love a number nine.
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.
I’m sure they do. But then so does everyone else. Have Newcastle fans really worshipped their star strikers more than any other club in the country? No, of course not.
The North East is a hotbed of football
I’m sure it is – but no more than some other parts of the country. There’s quite a lot of interest in football in our capital city too, and the middle section of the country, and I hear that there’s a mild smattering of good football in the north-west of England. Some of the fans are quite passionate about it too. But not as much as in Middlesbrough obviously.
Away goals count double
They really don’t. Ever.
Mario Balotelli
Mario Balotelli never let off fireworks in his bathroom (his friend did). He didn’t really drive round Manchester dressed as Santa Claus, handing out presents. He hasn’t really had 2000 parking tickets either. He probably hasn’t done a lot of things you think he has, crazy as he might well be. So the next time you see a crazy story about him, be it paragliding over Old Trafford dressed as Bananaman, or driving his car up the spirals at the Etihad stadium for a laugh (in reverse), statistically there is only a 27% chance it actually happened.
If Celtic and Rangers were in the Premier League, they’d struggle to stay up
They wouldn’t because they’d suddenly be a lot, lot richer, and as we all know, money brings success. Though considering Rangers’ current plight, maybe I’m being a bit presumptuous. Celtic and Rangers are potential cash-cows, but suffer somewhat because of poor television and commercial deals because they are big fish in a small pond. In a bigger pond they’d probably double their income in no time, and whist it would take time to build the team up and compete, I have little doubt they would be competitive in the Premier League before too long. Their home records would be pretty handy too.
And finally of course – ManchesterCity have killed football.
A lot has been made about the need for a massive squad overhaul at Liverpool this summer. Some have even reported that there could be as many as 20 comings and goings over the close season as the Reds start to mould a team capable of competing for major trophies once again. Inevitably then, there have been a vast amount of transfer rumours spreading across newspapers and the internet as to who will be coming in, and who will be departing the club.
One of the most interesting aspects has been the significant split in reports that the Reds are either targeting mainly foreign based players or exclusively British talent. Only a few days ago, it was reported in the Daily Mail that Kenny Dalglish was focusing on bringing in exclusively British talent with Gary Cahill , Phil Jones , Connor Wickham , Charlie Adam , Ashley Young and Stewart Downing all being tipped as potential targets.
In the same measure, in other reports, the Reds have been linked with a vast array of players from France especially. Inevitably this has something to do with having a French Director of Football in Damien Comolli , but it can’t be a coincidence as both Dalglish and Comolli have been spotted at matches in France over the past few months. Sylvain Marveaux, Eden Hazard , Yann M’Vila, Blaise Matuidi , Mamadou Sakho and Hugo Lloris are just some of the names from France that have been linked with the Reds. In addition players such as Diego Perotti, Iker Muniain and Alvario Negredo from Spain, and Ezequiel Lavezzi and Juan Manuel Vargas from Italy have also been rumoured targets.
[ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’right’]
This is of course usual for rumours to start flying around as we head into the final stages of the season, but what is most interesting is there seems to be complete confusion in the rumour mill about whether Damien Comolli or Kenny Dalglish will be the one having the greatest influence on transfers. In one instance you will read, Kenny Dalglish ’s name linked with a British player, while it will always be exclusively reported that Damien Comolli is interested in a foreign player.
No one can really know what the summer will hold for LFC. If King Kenny does get the job full time, he will surely have a final say on transfer targets but the collegial strategy which FSG are going for in regards to transfer decisions means that Damien Comolli will surely have some say too. At the moment it looks as if Kenny is favouring players proven in the Premier League, while Comolli is doing his job by scouring Europe for young talent. Hopefully it means that we get the best of both worlds. While we get some good players from England, perhaps such as Ashley Young and Phil Jones , we will also be hopefully looking at the likes of Eden Hazard and Yann M’Vila .
When John Aldridge named his transfer targets of Young, Adam, Cahill a couple of weeks ago, there was some concern among Liverpool supporters that these players might not be good enough to improve the team. In Charlie Adam ’s case especially, I would be very concerned if we opted to buy the player for a sizeable fee, if it was at the expense of a younger, more promising talent from abroad. Of course, only time will tell what sort of strategy the Reds will employ. If we go for player’s purely based on ability, rather than any preconceived notion about home-grown talent, I will be happy.
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.
Article courtesy of David at Live4Liverpool
[divider]
Listen to the latest episode of our award nominee podcast – The Football FanCast. – Featuring Razor Ruddock, Gary O’Reilly and King Jacks! Don’t forget to help Razor and O’Reilly become award winners in the 2011 EPL Awards
Wolves defender Ronald Zubar has been ruled out for a month following ankle surgery.
The 25-year-old Frenchman made just two appearances before picking up the injury in August and has now gone under the surgeon's knife.
"He went out to see the surgeon in France that he's used before with the club doctor Matt Perry and it was decided that was the best course of action," manager Mick McCarthy told the Birmingham Mail.
"He could have had an injection but the problem would have probably come back. It's the best time to get it done because we've got two weeks without a game.
"We've missed him and it's a blow because he's played very well and he's a good player. It's been frustrating for him because he twisted his ankle in the first friendly and it's been one thing after another.
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.
"Having said that, Kevin Foley has played excellently for us and I thought he was different class on Saturday (2-0 defeat at Wigan)."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
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.
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.
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.
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 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)
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.