With the Luka Modric situation still unresolved and Scott Parker out through an achilles injury for up to two months, Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas is keen to solve his midfield problems with the signings of Etienne Capoue from Toulouse and Yann M’Vila from Rennes.
Tottenham scouts observed Capoue play against Montpellier on Friday and then analysed M’Vila’s performance against Lyon on Saturday. Spurs have tabled a £12m bid for M’Vila, but Rennes are keen to hold out for £17m for the defensive midfielder. Both Capoue and M’Vila have represented France at under-21 level.
Playmaker Luka Modric has been linked with a move to Real Madrid, with the Spanish champions submitting a £25m bid for the Croatian international, who Spurs have valued at £40m. Croatian manager Igor Stimac has blasted Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy, as he tells The Mail Online Levy “promised a year ago that if an offer came from Madrid, he would let him go. And when the offer came, he changed his mind.” Stimac says that Modric “hopes to move to Madrid. That’s all he wants – to go to Madrid.”
The latest Merseyside derby this weekend highlighted a lot of issues. Are our referees really the best in the world, and if not, when are they going to be held accountable? Are we starting to see the ugly side of fans, creeping back into our stadiums, and are clubs doing enough to combat those disgusting individuals who throw missiles directly at players? And is the Liverpool side that finished the game (with the exception of Jordan Henderson) the ideal starting XI for Kenny Dalglish? Let’s take a look.
Little more than 20-minutes had passed on the clock when Martin Atkinson foolishly flashed a red card in Jack Rodwell’s direction after the Everton midfielder committed a tough, but clean challenge, but it took Liverpool until the 71st minute to break the deadlock. Both club Captain Steven Gerrard and Craig Bellamy had been on the pitch barely 4-minutes when the latter was involved in some neat build-up play which saw Andy Carroll break Everton’s resolve. There should be little doubt that the injection of pace and quality that Liverpool introduced at that time, in the sweltering, unseasonable weather, against a tiring 10-men helped change the game once more.
Bellamy replaced the anonymous Stewart Downing and looked instantly more threatening down the left-hand side of the pitch, combining well with left-back Jose Enrique. The former Villa man had a promising start to the season, but in recent weeks has become something of an invisible man. Bellamy on the other hand is the perennial pain in the neck to whatever opposition he faces. His constant harrying and buzzing around the pitch, coupled with his mouthy, moaning ‘charm’ never leaves supporters wondering if he is on the field of play. Charlie Adam had performed bright in spells but has not been as consistently influential on the pitch as he would have liked – or many would have expected. The return of iconic Captain Gerrard will now threaten Adam’s place in the starting line-up. There could be a case to partner both midfielders together and thus replacing the much maligned Lucas, which is what many fans want to see. It would certainly provide a more offensive option, however the balance of the team may suffer as the much improved Brazilian provides an effective shield in-front of the defensive line, and defensively, Liverpool have struggled at times this season.
Injuries have prevented Liverpool from having a consistent back-line this season but there can be little doubt when fit, Agger, Carragher and Jose Enrique should be first choice (alongside keeper Pepe Reina). The only question mark is at right-back with young Martin Kelly forever impressing, injury prone England international Glen Johnson seems to be a forgotten man at Anfield, and many believe his poor defensive positional sense should see young Kelly keep his place.
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One option could be to play Johnson further forward and join the midfield unit – he certainly has the attacking quality and composure. However the ever-dependable Dirk Kuyt now seems to have won his place back in the starting line-up after initially losing it to new signing Jordan Henderson at the start of the season. Many were mystified by Dalglish’s preference for youngster Henderson over the experienced Kuyt, but it now seems the Dutchman has worked his way back into the starting line-up at the £20 million man’s expense. Henderson can have little complaint due to his performances thus far, but maybe it is a slight on the management team for rushing the youngster into the first team instead of allowing him to acclimatise slowly – was there pressure from above to play him, with his huge price-tag? Either way Henderson is not yet ready for the starting line-up, especially whilst there are other more experienced, proven options available who have also contributed more on the field of play this season than the former Sunderland man.
That just leaves the front-line which was made up of £58 million pair Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll for the entirety of the derby. The two striker’s were bought together back in January to form a dream ‘little and large’ partnership, but of the two, only Suarez has shone. The Uruguayan has been far and away Liverpool’s best player since pulling on a red shirt and his place in the starting line-up is cemented. Contrast that with Carroll’s very inconsistent, stop-start career at Anfield so far which has seen the Geordie giant’s abilities called into question every time he plays. A severe lack of goals has added to the scrutiny, but Dalglish is standing by his man, publicly defending the youngster from the media’s criticism. Carroll repaid the managers faith with a derby goal, and there is little doubt he is still a huge ‘work in progress’. But both strikers scored on Saturday in a 2-0 win, their jobs done. Will the team that was on the field of play whilst both goals were scored be given a chance from the off?
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Chelsea captain John Terry has rejected speculation that coach Carlo Ancelotti is set to be dismissed by owner Roman Abramovich.
With the side underperforming and a distant fifth on the English Premier League table, speculation has mounted throughout the season that Ancelotti may pay the price for poor results on the pitch.
A penalty shootout defeat to Everton on Saturday that ended the club’s defence of the FA Cup has reportedly pushed the Italian manager further towards an exit from Stamford Bridge.
But centre-back Terry insists the players have no doubts about the long-term future of their coach.
“I don’t know why I’m answering the question really because there’s no speculation,” Terry said.
“The players are 100 percent behind the manager, he’s got total confidence in us and that will remain the same.”
“We believe in the manager and the players that we have can go on and win the (Champions League) competition.”
Ancelotti also remained defiant, insisting the press would be wise to defer judgement until the end of the campaign.
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“I say to you journalists wait, because the season is not finished yet and a lot of times I have been able to manage these situations,” Ancelotti said.
“I’d like to remind you of 2010 – it was the same situation and the Italian journalists know this. Wait, the season is not finished. This could be the best season in the memory, it could be the worst. I don’t know, but wait. Chelsea has not died, it is still alive.”
Rangers striker Kris Boyd has held talks with Kayserispor about a possible move to Turkish football.
The Scotland striker is out of contract at Ibrox this summer and has already confirmed he will leave for pastures new.
Boyd has been strongly linked with moves to Premier League trio Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers and Wolves, but has held talks with Kayserispor, according to their manager Shota Arveladze.
"I have had conversations with Kris and we will talk some more," the former Rangers striker told the Sunday Mail.
"I'm hopeful he will decide to come here but I know he has other options.
"I really want him to join me. I've made this a priority and hope the personal touch I've added to the move will work in my favour.
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John W Henry has spoken openly about the huge financial challenge he’s been facing at Liverpool, admitting that Fenway Sports Group is still trying to repair the damage caused by the club’s previous owners, reports the Daily Mail.
It is just under two years ago that FSG took ownership of Liverpool, taking control after a disastrous reign in charge from Tom Hicks and George Gillette, who took the club to a high court battle and the brink of administration.
In that time, Henry and Liverpool chairman Tom Werner have done well to stabilise the club, and have injected large amounts of money for transfers. Now Henry has gone on record, explaining just how bad the situation was when FSG took over, and how much work there is still left to do.
“The best analogy is that you can’t turn an ocean liner around like you can turn a speedboat,” Henry explained.
“You could say it was a bigger challenge than [when we bought] the Boston Red Sox.
“When you look back from this vantage point: the rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United – Liverpool isn’t holding up its side of the rivalry.
‘That is the way it was with the Red Sox and the Yankees. The Yankees were just completely dominant when we arrived here 11 years ago. We knew we could never be on an equal footing financially with The Yankees.
“But we had to do everything in our power to get on a level footing with them on the playing field. That was a tremendous challenge. As we started to close the gap, they built a new stadium. That was a quantum leap forward. This is an even bigger challenge.”
FSG has shown its shrewd business sense off the pitch in little under two years in the Premier League, and recently secured a £25 million-a-year kit deal with American brand Warrior. However, Henry admits this is just another step on the road to recovery after the damage caused by their American predecessors.
“Looking back at the very first day, I was trying to make a point then about how much of a challenge it was going to be because of the issues we inherited.
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“We had a lack of depth in the squad and some really high payrolls. We also had issues with the age of the players and so forth. We knew it was going to be very difficult. Tom and I went for a long walk and we had to make the decision ‘are we going to buy Liverpool?’
“We had to decide whether we really wanted to take this on, as we knew this was a huge challenge. A much larger challenge than any supporter could know. We had done due diligence and looked at how the situation was financially, with the player contracts and the youth system.”The further we went into it, the more sobered we were.”Liverpool chairman Tom Werner was also keen to dispel the myth FSG are at Anfield to make a quick buck, and offered his assurances that both him and John Henry are in it for the long haul.When asked if they were planning to stay for the long term, Werner said: “Absolutely. I know there has been some speculation about that. We read that.”We feel that we have work to do. We feel that we are behind – but we are on it. Do we feel that it is possible to get on a level with [the top European] clubs? Absolutely. We can close that gap and compete at the very highest level. Absolutely.”
Arsene Wenger is set to continue his spending at Arsenal as he lines up a bid for Juan Vargas after missing out on him in the summer the Mirror reports.
The Gunners boss was interested in signing the versatile Peruvian before the transfer deadline as a replacement for Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas but opted to continue scouting him during the season.
Capable of playing at anywhere on the left and also in central midfield he could be a huge asset to Arsenal who are currently going through one of their worst periods under Wenger,
With the Frenchman worried about his sides ability to cope mentally and physically during an arduous winter schedule a bid for Vargas, who also has a reputation as a tough nut, is likely.
The 27-year-old isn’t one to shy away from a physical battle and he would certainly add a fighting mentality to a side that has so far failed to show any sort of battling qualities.
Wenger is prepared to put his faith in the current side until January but a move to bring Vargas to the Emirates Stadium could happen if results don’t improve by then.
They could have a rival for his signature with Juventus are also keeping tabs on him and have been linked with a £10 million bid when the window opens at the start of 2012.
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Claudio Ranieiri is under no illusions about the threat Napoli pose to Roma ahead of their clash at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday.
Napoli are second on the Serie A table, just three points behind league leaders AC Milan and seven points ahead of Ranieri’s Roma.
But they lost their last match 2-0 at Chievo, leading former Chelsea and Juventus boss Ranieri to detect a potential weakness in Napoli when they are playing away from home.
“I’m expecting a very difficult match,” Ranieri said.
“Napoli have got to where they are in the table because they deserve being there, they are playing excellent in the league ? not as well away from home, but they know how to counterattack and use spaces that most others don’t.”
“We have a great team and they will manage (to) stop them.”
Roma lost 5-3 away to defending champions Inter Milan last time out, but Ranieri insists the reverse had little effect on the morale of his squad.
“Luckily, we don’t read too much into a result and manage to resist whatever gets thrown at us,” Ranieri said.
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“We don’t win a match and think we have won the championship and when we lose a match, we pick ourselves up and move on.”
“We have the right balance and have already shown that. The team is in good shape, we are focused, we are determined and it will be a great match.”
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted that he is ready to let Dimitar Berbatov leave the club, and may well be upping his efforts to sign Robin van Persie according to The Daily Mail.
The Bulgarian forward has largely been a fringe figure at Old Trafford of late, and the Scot has confessed that he will be open to selling the eastern European forward.
“I do not need to herald the abilities of Dimitar Berbatov, he is a fantastic talent,” Ferguson stated.
“Last season he didn’t quite get the amount of football he wants. At his age, it was difficult for him to accept his position in the forward line.
“He had Rooney, Welbeck and Hernandez in front of him, and they are all young men. The boy has a future, but if he wants to leave it is a different matter.
“I am easy about it if he stays. I would be happy with that. But if someone comes in and Dimitar wants to leave, we will assess it,” the trainer confirmed.
Meanwhile, United are thought to have contacted Arsenal over the possible purchase of Van Persie.
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David de Gea’s struggles continued last weekend as the new Manchester United goalkeeper let a very saveable shot from West Brom’s Shane Long past him. In the grand scheme of things it didn’t matter for Man United as they still beat the Baggies 2-1, but for the Spanish ‘keeper it’s the second game in the row where he’s been at fault for one of the goals. This will be of concern to de Gea and his manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who will be hoping that his big money signing comes good. One ex-Manchester United goalkeeper who knows all too much about high profile mistakes is Ben Foster, de Gea’s opposite number last Sunday. Here are Foster and de Gea embracing, but what words of wisdom are being shared?
Leave your suggestions below…
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Jose Mourinho admits it will be ‘difficult’ for Real Madrid to win the La Liga title after their shock 1-0 loss to Osasuna on Sunday.
Javier Camunas was the hero for Osasuna at the Estadio Reyno de Navarra, with his second-half winner meaning Real have now slipped seven points behind league leaders Barcelona.
Barca have lost just once this season and seem destined to claim their third straight title, and even Mourinho admits his side have a mountain to climb if they are to resurrect their championship hopes.
“This is our second defeat in La Liga and we are in a very difficult situation with respect to the first-place team,” Mourinho said.
“I don’t like to lose when you give the match away by not playing, not fighting or not being committed or focused. That is not the case.”
“Tonight the other team played its heart out and had a week to prepare for the match. They played to the brink.”
“My players have done their jobs with dignity and I have nothing to reproach them for, they fought to the end. We lost three points that we didn’t deserve to lose.”
“Tomorrow is a new day. There will be another match and we will be there.”
Mourinho paid tribute to struggling Osasuna, who broke an eight-game winless run with their victory on Sunday.
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“Osasuna are a tough team and the crowd was fantastic,” Mourinho said. “I don’t think many teams win here.”
“We had opportunities to score in both halves, but we haven’t done it. And if the opponents score first it is very difficult. Congratulations to Osasuna.”