FOOTBALL PLAYER | FAT'S BLOG

Man United Need A Player Like Lassana Diarra

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 17:39:00 +0000

We are now a week into the transfer window and with many clubs yet too make their move for the player that they are seeking, we are hearing rumors left, right and centre. It has been very quiet in the transfer window, with the main talking point being the chase to get Beckham on a loan move.

It looks like that saga is coming to an end with Tottenham declaring that they are close to getting the signature of the former England captain. Just like Man City did two and a half years ago, Blackburn are adamant on making a big impression in the Premier League as they are hopeful, actually make that very hopeful, of signing Ronaldinho.

Manchester United have expressed their desire to sign Lassana Diarra for obvious reasons. With the injury prone Hargreaves and the elderly Paul Scholes, Man United are stuck for holding midfielders and on top of that Diarra is under-rated in my view and can show his brilliance at times. He was somewhat unknown until he arrived at the Bernabeu after Real Madrid poached him off Portsmouth. Mourinho has said that he would like to keep hold of the Frenchman and announced that he does have a part to play in his plans.

Scholes isn't getting any younger and with rumors that Hargreaves is on his way out of Old Trafford, United could be stuck with no holding midfielder by the start of next season. But like I said, Mourinho seems adamant that Diarra stays but I'm sure he wouldn't mind a whole lot if he has the likes of Xabi Alonso there already.

There are plenty of defensive midfielders there for United to go after. They might even try and get their hands on one of Man City's holding midfielders. With the presence that they have, they could get anyone they wanted. They might even try and disturb Barcelona and make a bid for Busquets if they wanted to although it would difficult to persuade him away from the Nou Camp

I would love to hear any comments that you may have.

Italian football makes a return, even if some its stars have gone AWOL

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 17:21:00 +0000

Debates about having a footballing Christmas break have been amalgamating over here in Blighty since time began. But the problem with having a three week break over the festive period is that some players might swan off to warmer climes, and possibly not return.

And that's the case with two of AS Roma's most tumultuous South Americans. Both Adriano and David Pizarro failed to report back to training after Christmas, the former citing a slight knee twinge; the latter, an expired passport.

There's no doubt that Adriano has been happy to kick back in the Eternal City for the past six months. His complete lack of anything resembling fitness has seen him become a laughing stock in Italy - being given the Bidone d'Oro award (golden dustbin), for the season's worst player, a record third time - and all this from a player that only a few years ago, looked to all intents and purposes, a world-beater (especially if you played PES 6).

However, in the last game before the winter break at AC Milan, he proved that an overweight striker can cause a defence some problems: using his giant frame to hold up the ball, and falling over in the box any time the breath of a defender was felt. It was only his second start for Roma in what has been a torrid six months for the rotund forward. Having signed a three-year contract back in June, it looks like Adriano better squeeze himself into those snug airline seats, and get back to Rome to spend the next six months eating ice-cream on the bench.

David Pizarro, on the other hand, may not be so lucky. He's fallen out of favour completely with Roma's manager Claudio Ranieri, and may be banished to spend the rest of his days with former boss Luciano Spaletti at Zenith St. Petersburg.

Another Samba Star who's also failed to return to the peninsula is Ronaldinho. He took full advantage of AC Milan's all-expense paid trip to Dubai, before jetting off to Brazil to mull over tempting offers from Flamengo, Gremio and, ummm, Blackburn. Sandy beaches, blazing sun, and not having to wear a wooly hat again are never too far from Dinho's mind. So it's not particularily difficult to see where his future lies.

Still, without him, Milan managed to beat Cagliari in their first game back after the winter break; winning 1-0 with a late goal from debutant Rodney Strasser.

That goal kept Milan five points clear at the top of the league, and 13 points clear of rivals Internazionale. The new man in charge of the Nerazzuri is the ever-charming Leonardo who, after Rafa Benitez was shown the door, entered Inter's training ground at Appiano Gentile like a returning war-hero. And his first game at the helm couldn't have gone any better: 3-1 winners over the eternally-exciting Napoli.

After that loss at the San Siro, Napoli still cling onto 3rd spot in the Serie A table, just one point above Roma who beat Catania 4-2 in a thriller at the Stadio Olimpico; Marco Borriello and Mirko Vucinic with the goals for the Gallorossi.

What with Palermo winning again, and Lazio gaining a hard-earned point away to big-spenders Genoa, this seasons' Serie A title race looks like going down to the wire.

Motty

It's Not All Doom And Gloom For West Ham

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 18:54:00 +0000

Now we here it every year about who is bottom at Christmas, and that it is an almost certainty that the team who end up in that dreaded position will go down. This year, it was West Ham's turn to to take the title of "the club that were bottom at Christmas" but since Avram Grant got a three match warning a month or so ago, he seems to have turned it around for the better.

The Premiership is getting praised more than ever because of the fact that there are three or four teams that can genuinely win the title, but the relegation battle looks more like a battle than ever before. Only two points separate West Ham, who are of course last, and Fulham, who are in 14th position. For some reason, it looks more likely that Liverpool will go down than Blackpool, so it's all to play for, for any team in the bottom half I reckon.

The last time it was this close, West Brom went into the last game of the season rock bottom of the table and somehow managed to survive so the omens aren't looking too bad for the Hammers. Avram Grant's job at Upton Park seems under less scrutiny as the weeks go by and that is an encouraging sign for all Premiership managers I'd say.

Now I know what you're going to say "they just lost 5-0 against Newcastle last night" but don't all teams have as Avram Grant described it himself, a "bad day at the office". A lot of people reckon it'll be the three W's that will go down, West Ham, Wigan and Wolves but I don't think that that is going to be entirely the case. Like I said, it's all to play for and it would be arrogant to make a prediction this early.

So West Ham fans, do you believe Avram Grant can keep your club safe from the drop?

I would love to hear any comments that you may have and predictions on this topic.

The Amazing Transfers That So Nearly Happened

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 17:42:00 +0000

The greatest player of his generation very nearly plied his trade at Ewood Park

The next four weeks are probably the most exciting, and yet the most ridiculous four weeks of the entire season. 'The January transfer window' has become the silly season for football teams. With unhappy players pining for moves. And clubs inflating prices beyond comprehension. The BBC's Transfer Gossip Column will become the go-to place for all fans: whether it be for the well-sourced, likely-to-happen stories (Beckham to Tottenham), or for the 'my uncle's mate just saw Ribery's agent at Hull airport' type of stories. So here at Get the Mott and Buckett, we have decided to look at the transfers that have gone down in folklore that, if they had happened, would have changed the footballing landscape forever.

Zinedine Zidane (Bordeaux to Blackburn Rovers, 1995)

Before 1994, Zinedine Yazid Zidane had been a virtual unknown outside of France. Moving from Cannes to Bordeaux in 1992, his form had been pretty unremarkable. Scoring the odd goal, but showing only a glimpse of his creative genius; he was, frankly, rather lucky to earn a national team call-up. But his debut for Les Bleus was where he introduced himself to the world. And Kenny Dalglish.

Coming on as a substitute, with France 2-0 down to Czech Republic, he scored two magnificent individual efforts, and earned France an entirely undeserved point. Watching that night was Blackburn manager Kenny Dalglish. Having just won the Premiership title the previous season, Rovers were looking to sign a world-class midfielder to add to their ranks, and Zidane, at only 23, seemed the ideal candidate. Unfortunately, Jack Warner, Blackburn's chairman and the original football sugar-daddy, had other ideas. And, in a private chat with Dalglish the next day, utter the immortal words: "What do you want to sign Zidane for? We've got Tim Sherwood". Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Diego Maradona (Argentinos Juniors to Sheffield United, 1978)

Perhaps the ultimate 'what if?' transfer. Back in 1978 a 17-year-old Diego Maradona had been lighting up the Argentinian Premera Division with some mesmeric performances. Such was his form, that it was actually a huge surprise in Argentina when he wasn't selected in their '78 World Cup squad.

Whilst all those in Argentina knew how good this young prodigy was, the rest of the world was seemingly oblivious, and it wasn't until four years later in 1982 that Maradona would actually complete a move to Europe. But, beating everyone in spotting this once-in-a-lifetime-talent was Sheffield United's manager Harry Haslam. Haslam was renowned as a wheeler-dealer, and had a huge metaphorical finger in the South American pie. Spotting Maradona and team-mate Alex Sabella whilst on a scouting mission, Haslam agreed a £200,000 fee with Argentinos for Maradona, but the Blades stalled on the deal, claiming it didn't represent value for money. Instead, they opted to pay £160,000 for Sabella. Who? Well, exactly.

Ronaldinho (Gremio to St Mirren, 2001)

I know it looks like I'm just making this up, but this transfer was literally just one unsent fax away from happening. In the summer of 2001, Ronaldinho had already lined up a move to Paris St-Germain, but was looking for a short 6-month loan deal to acclimatise himself to European football. How playing at Tannadice and Tynecastle was preparing the buck-toothed winger for trips to Marseille and Monaco was never made clear, but the player himself had been persuaded to swap the Samba for the Scottish Highlands.

As Tom Hendrie, the then St Mirren manager tells it, it was only sluggishness on part of the Brazilian FA that meant the move never happened. "He has been playing with Gremio, but he was willing to come and play for us before going on to PSG. We spoke about Ronaldinho but there was a legal problem at the club he was at. Because of the problem, the Brazilian FA would not release the player's international clearance in time for us to register him ahead of the deadline". And thus, Ronaldinho's move to St Mirren goes down as the pinnacle of 'if only' signings.

Steven Gerrard (Liverpool to Chelsea, 2005)

It's amazing how the transfer merry-go-round works. Like a twisted property chain: if one move breaks down, so do the rest. If Patrick Vieira had of moved to Real Madrid - as was reported - in the summer of 2004, Michael Carrick would almost certianly have been an Arsenal player. As it happened, the move broke down, and Carrick ended up on the other side of north London. Or Gareth Barry's move to Liverpool two seasons ago. A deal was reportedly done between Aston Villa and the Reds, but Benitez's failure to off-load Xabi Alonso meant Barry's transfer couldn't be subsidised.

It's an awful feeling when you don't get the one thing you'd set your heart on, yet sometimes the second option turns out to be the best: just as Chelsea found out in 2005. Whether Steven Gerrard turned down his 'nailed on' move to Chelsea out of blind loyalty or something rather more sinister (Liverpool fans sent death threats to Gerrard and his family), we'll never know. But as a result Chelsea bought one of their most influential players: Michael Essien.

Alfredo Di Stefano (Millonarios/River Plate to Barcelona, 1953)

As Diego Maradona says himself: 'Pele was good. I was great. But Di Stefano was the greatest'. An absolute phenomenon in Spain. He has, over the years, become synonymous with the great Real Madrid sides of the 50's and 60's, and is widely regarded as their greatest ever player. He was the key player in the Madrid side that won five straight European Cups and, in his 11 year stint at the club, won nine La Liga trophies. And yet, after all the trophies and all the goals, he could, and probably should, have been a Barcelona player.

After a players' strike in his home country of Argentina, Di Stefano, along with many other players, moved to the rebel league set up in Colombia. Numerous, yet unofficial league titles followed, and in the summer of '53 a move to Barcelona was quickly completed. However, because the Colombian league was a rebel one, it wasn't officially recognised by FIFA. And so began an unbelievably complicated wrangle over who owned Di Stefano. Was it Millonarios? Or was it Di Stefano's parent club River Plate? Whilst Barcelona were meeting with FIFA to try and strike a deal for the player, Real Madrid's president Santiago Bernabeu secretly met with the Argentinian and convinced him to sign for them instead.

A huge row erupted between the two clubs. Eventually the Spanish FA intervened, and allowed Di Stefano four seasons in Spain, two with Real and two with Barca.The Barcelona hierarchy were so incensed by the decision that five board members resigned, and they allowed Di Stefano to play for Madrid for good. And so began what is now called El Clasico.

Matt Le Tissier (Southampton to Tottenham, 1990)

What would have happened if Matt Le Tissier had joined a big club? A Spurs fan as a kid, in 1990 he signed a contract to join Tottenham before changing his mind and ripping it up with the permission of the then Tottenham chairman Irving Scholar. Later there would be constant links with AC Milan - which would have been too exciting to comprehend - and Chelsea. But the ultimate one-club-man found the lure of the south coast too strong.

Some will always deride him as a big fish who could only handle the smallest of ponds. But the man who Xavi Hernandez describes as 'his inspiration' is the sort of player that the big-money of the Premier League has killed off: a loyal one. However you see him, it's ironic to note that the two managers who tried to sign him for Tottenham and Chelsea - Terry Veneables and Glenn Hoddle - were also the ones who ostracised him when managing England. Alanis Morrisette could have a field day with that one.

Johan Cruyff (Unattached to Leicester City, 1981)

The fourth best player in the history of the game had had enough. The North American Soccer League (NASL) just wasn't doing it for him. Washington was not the place for the Cruyff family. But weirdly, Leicester almost was. Having bought himself out of his contract with the Washington Wizards, Cruyff was looking for a club that would guarantee him good money and the opportunity to get back in to the Dutch squad for the 1982 World Cup in Spain.

Sitting bottom of the First Division, Leicester were struggling. Their young, fit squad had all the attributes, but not necessarily the quality. They needed an experienced player who could unlock a defence in an instant. And luckily, Jock Wallace, Leicester's manager, knew exactly who that player was.

Johan Cruyff had been living the footballing high-life for over a decade, and any club that wanted his undoubted talents would have to dig deep. With many top clubs in financial dire-straits, the Foxes were one of very few clubs who were willing to take the economic and personal risk on the Ajax legend (Cruyff was prone to causing huge upset wherever he played).

And so, on Monday 23rd February 1981, Leicester City proposed an offer of £4,000 a game to the Dutchman; a preposterous amount in 1980's football. With the club confident the deal had been secured, the press seized on the story, and one newspaper from the time released this story:

'Johan Cruyff is today set for a sensational move to First Division strugglers Leicester City.

The Dutch Master has lined up a deal worth £4,000 a game for 11 matches – and if everything works out, he will make his debut against reigning European Champions Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

Last night jubilant Leicester boss Jock Wallace insisted: “Johan and I have already agreed terms. He has one or two problems to sort out, but I am very hopeful he will join us on Thursday.”

Cruyff is considering the move for two reasons. He must play competitive football to make his international comeback for Holland, and he wants to try out the English First Division before deciding on a one-year contract with Arsenal next season.

The one barrier to Leicester’s transfer scoop lies with Spanish Second Division side Levante, who could make a late final bid."

Because Levante have wasted so much time Cruyff looks like he may plump for England, though by doing so he would lose £75,000 on any agreement with the Spanish club.

He told me: “I still like the idea of Spain, because the climate suits me and my family.”

“But I cannot wait any longer for Levante. I want a guarantee from them and we have been negotiating for a month but every day they tell me a new story.”

However, by the time this story had been printed, Cruyff had already arrived at Valencia airport. An eleventh hour bid from Levante - including a quarter of all gate receipts for Cruyff - meant he plumped for eastern Spain, rather than the East Midlands.

A tonic for the distraught Jock Wallace was that Cruyff was a disaster at Levante. Despite getting the manager sacked, and having his own man employed, he was an unmitigated failure; being booed off in his final game for the club. Still, Jordi Cruyff got to play in England, so it's not all bad.

Motty

Man City On The Verge Of Improving Their Attacking Options

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 19:18:00 +0000

Man City have announced that they have agreed a fee for Bosnian Edin Dzeko. With Man City also on the verge of losing their only good aerial player up front (Adebayor), this move seems almost vital if City want to have a serious chance of winning the league. Now don't worry Man City fans, he isn't coming to the club with the same reputation that Georgios Samaras had a few years back, good in the air but struggles to finish when the ball is at his feet. Unlike Samaras, Dzeko can score with both his head and feet and has quite a prolific goalscoring record.

Now I'm not trying to be biased but with the signing of Dzeko practically complete, are there many teams, if any, that have more depth to their attacking options.
Matt Le Tissier said it himself. Edin Dzeko does seem to be the type of player that Tevez needs playing along side him. He seems the sort of player that can come in when Tevez is injured or when Balotelli is being a pain in the backside.

But with the proposed arrival of Dzeko, this means that the struggle to keep everyone happy at Man City will increase for Mancini. You only had to watch the news yesterday to see that the Man City camp isn't quite so merry, as two former Arsenal team mates Adebayor and Kolo Toure got into a scuffle at training. As if the pressure on Mancini wasn't high enough by the owners, now with at least three or four players that won't be happy weekly due to lack of games, the pressure will be unbearable.

So with Dzeko coming in and presuming he is going to start more often than not, it is hard to see who will have to make way for the Bosnian. Either way, whatever happens Man City will have a bench that will surely be feared by any team in world football, with most players being able to come on and make a difference.

Man City face Arsenal tonight in a game which will surely decide if City should be taken seriously in regards to the title race. With the game being at the Emirates, I can see Man City getting much out of the game but I'm sure Mancini and the rest of his squad will love to prove the doubters wrong.

I would love to hear any comments you may have.

Don't forget to check out Football Corner if you want more football news.

The Greatest Footballer You've Never Heard Of

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 21:26:00 +0000

Even after his death, Robin Friday was seen as a maverick: Super Furry Animals used this image on the cover of their single 'The Man Don't Give a Fuck'

Robin Friday is the greatest footballer you never saw. A mercurial talent with a taste for the high-life, during the 1970's - the age of the football maverick - Friday shone the brightest. He was voted Reading FC's player of the millennium, despite only being at the club three years. And was also voted Cardiff City's all-time cult hero, paralleled to the fact he only played 25 games for the club. Wherever he went, Robin Friday left a remarkable impression.

Born in Acton, London, Friday began his football career at non-league side Walthamstow Avenue as a loud-mouthed 19-year-old. It was during this time that he worked on a construction site and nearly died falling from scaffolding, being impaled on a metal spike, missing vital organs by inches. It was this accident that he blamed on his subsequent wild lifestyle.

Initially, Friday was reluctant to play professionally, as it was less money than he was earning at the time. Nevertheless, Reading kept persisting, and they eventually got their man in the summer of 1973. In a brief three year spell for the Royals, Friday scored 55 goals in 135 matches, and provided a countless number of assists. It could, and probably should have been more were it not for the injury problems Friday encountered, brought about by his reluctance to wear shinpads and the opposition - unable to get near their man - kicking lumps out of him.

In a game against Tranmere Rovers in March 1976 Friday scored, what is generally considered, 'the greatest goal never seen'. Standing on the left-hand touchline about 35 yards away from goal; a high ball came towards his chest. As his back was towards goal, he, with his chest, flicked the ball over his head, and on the volley, sent the ball crashing into the far top-hand corner. The internationally renowned referee Clive Thomas was officiating that day, and his reaction to the goal was to clutch his face in utter disbelief. Asked later about the strike, he said: 'Even up against the likes of Pele and Cryuff, that rates as the best goal I've ever seen,' In typical fashion, when told about Thomas's comments, Friday replied: 'He should come more often then. I do that every week.'

That year, Reading were promoted to the Second Division for the first time in their history. Without Robin Friday, that would never have happened. Yet, three months later, Friday was sold to Cardiff City. And six months later, he had left the game for good. So how could such a talent never be allowed to play top-flight football?

The answer is simple: if George Best was football's first pop star, then Robin Friday was football's first rock star. He literally ran riot in Reading. Smoking weed, dropping pills, drinking heavily and accommodating every woman that came his way. Friday's off-field antics became so infamous that visiting scouts - of which their were many - refused to gamble on signing a man of such unpredictable actions. The summer-long celebrations he undertook after taking Reading to the Second Division signalled an unbelievably rapid physical decline. Hence the move to Cardiff.

His brief tenure in Wales started badly. Travelling from Reading to Cardiff by train, he was arrested on arrival for travelling without a ticket; leaving the Cardiff City management to wonder where on earth he had got to? His eye for the sublime wasn't lost however, as later that month, on his debut against Fulham, Friday scored two goals in a 3-0 win, celebrating his second goal by squeezing the testicles of Bobby Moore, Fulham's captain. The Welsh fans best remember him for a goal he scored against Luton. Milija Aleksic, the Luton goalkeeper, had constantly tried to foul Friday during the game. So, as he went round the 'keeper to score his team's winning goal, he flicked the 'V's' at the stranded Serbian.

In all, he scored 6 goals in 25 games for the Bluebirds. His last game was marred by a rash sending-off in a game against Brighton: kicking Mark Lawrenson in the face (yes, that Mark Lawrenson) before defecating in his kit bag. After that, he walked out on the game for good.

Sadly, Friday died in 1990, found in his flat having been suspected of overdosing on heroine. He was only 38.

Maurice Evans, Reading's manager during the 70's once told Friday: "If you settle down for three or four years you could play for England". Friday replied, "How old are you?", Evans answered, and Friday duly told him: "I'm half your age, and I've lived twice your life".

Motty

Will Beckham Return To The Premiership?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 16:29:00 +0000

We all know that David Beckham has expressed his desire to return to the Premiership but with Arsenal and Man United both ruling themselves out to sign the former England captain, who will want to sign him? Both Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson have either explained that he is just not at the right age or that there is no room in their respective squads. You wouldn't have to be that smart to think that Old Trafford would be his preferred destination.

The former England captain, has been itching to get his chance to impress Fabio Capello again and prove that he is not too old. He feels that a move to the Premier League will improve his chances of getting that opportunity. Apart from being a few million pound richer, the move to LA Galaxy hasn't really done his career any good. Needless to say, Beckham has had an illustrious career but does he still have "it"? Even if he had half of what he had ten years ago, he would still be a player worth signing.

Can we really blame Ferguson and Wenger for not showing interest in Beckham though? After all, he is 35 years of age and for two teams who are serious challengers for the title this year to sign a player of that age would be a bit unnecessary. So it seems Beckham will have to settle with a team below the top four, although it does seem that Tottenham are very interested in signing Beckham.

But if it isn't Spurs who will it be and will it be good enough for Beckham? Maybe a team along the lines of Bolton or Sunderland would be a suitable choice. Maybe not at the standard of Arsenal or United but like Jordan Henderson and Kevin Davies have shown, you can still get recognised by the England boss.

He received the lifetime achievement award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Ceremony, so that is showing a sign of his age. There is no doubt that he has been great for England, but is he not at the stage where he should think about giving up his pursuit of winning back the number seven jersey for his country?

I would love to hear any comments you may have.

Liverpool seem to be the topic of conversation for all football fans, so why not check out Live4Liverpool for more in depth analysis.

The Best and Worst of 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 01:26:00 +0000

2010 has been a bumper year for Association Football: an African World Cup, a historic Treble for Inter Milan, Chelsea's first ever domestic Double and the greatest performance from a club side ever. So here at Get the Mott and Buckett, we have decided to have a peek over our metaphorical shoulders at the year past and look at the best and worst, on and off the pitch, over the past 12 months.

Alex Mott and Sam Buckett

AM: Best game of the year - There have been plenty of magnificent games over the past year. Honourable mentions have to go to Germany vs Argentina at the World Cup: the best young side in the tournament vs the best attacking quintet of any Argentina side, possibly ever. But Messrs Higuain, Tevez, Di Maria and Messi couldn't stop the wonder of Germany's counter-attacks. And two quick-fire goals in the second half from Miroslav Klose propped the final score up to 4-0. It would be absurd to not also mention last month's El Clasico. A truly wondrous display of attacking football, and already regarded as one of the best performances from any club side. The fact that the team they beat was the most expensive team ever assembled made the 5-0 defeat even more superfluous. On the domestic front: any of Fulham's games in the Europa League, especially their 4-1 win over Juventus. The League Cup final between Manchester United and Aston Villa, with Wayne Rooney's ridiculously sublime winning header. And Manchester City's 4-2 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge were all magnificent. But, my game of the year, has to be Ghana vs Uruguay in the quarter-final at this summer's World Cup. It was a match that truly did have everything. A stunning 40-yard goal from Sulley Muntari. A wonderful free kick from Diego Forlan. A 'Hand of God' moment from Luis Suarez, and a resultant missed penalty (in the last minute of extra-time) from Asamoah Gyan. Uruguay went on to win the match 4-2 on penalties, and deny Ghana the chance to become the first African side to reach a World Cup semi-final.

SB: Best game of the year - As has already been mentioned, 2010 has been stuffed with great games of football. Barcelona’s destruction of Real in La Liga was a highlight of a club’s history, let alone a footballing year. The aforementioned annihilation of Argentina by the Germans was good, but more enjoyable was another 4-0 win earlier in the tournament. Their emergence against Australia signalled the arrival of a new, youthful generation, including players such as Mesut Özil, Thomas Müller, and Sami Khedira. A new golden generation for Deutsch fussball. Domestically, Chelsea won the league via an 8-0 thrashing of Wigan at Stamford Bridge; the biggest victory in the clubs history and perhaps the classiest. A club based only a few miles down the road, Tottenham Hotspur, played a role in providing the most exciting game in Europe in 2010. 4-0 down at half time to the European Champions, with only 10 players returning for the second half, luckily one of these was Gareth Bale. The Welshman couldn’t do enough to save his club, but his 3 goals did more than enough to get him noticed. However, away from the bright lights of top-flight domestic, European, and international football, a fairy tale had come true. A tangerine dream. My game of the year is Blackpool vs Cardiff in the 09/10 Championship Play-Off Final. If there was an award for ‘Best half of football’ this would be it: 3-2 at half time, this remained the case until the final whistle. The scoring was opened by Cardiff’s Michael Chopra in the first ten minutes, which set the tone for the following thirty five. Charlie Adam equalised almost instantly with a free-kick to match his very best. The “we’ll score one more than you” attitude was continued when Cardiff once again taking the lead through Joe Ledley, only for Gary Taylor-Fletcher to draw Blackpool level once again. A breath taking half was then drawn to a close as Brett Ormerod, a focal point of Holloway’s attacking 4-3-3 formation, gave Blackpool the lead for the first time in the game. Into the second half and The Tangerines, rather refreshingly, continued to attack, creating chances, leaving Taylor-Fletcher wondering how he didn’t increase his tally. Cardiff battled bravely, and if Chopra had thrown the sink at Blackpool, his team mates had thrown the rest of the kitchen too. Eventually, a nervy final 10 minutes ended with Blackpool, a team tipped for relegation from the Championship, promoted to the English top flight for the first time since 1971. A real dream come true.

AM: Worst game of the year - Such is the beauty of football, as many great games as there were this year, in equal amounts were the number of truly awful games. The negativity of the World Cup's group stage made this summer's tournament (apart from the odd exception) one to forget. England's 0-0 against minnows Algeria really sticks in the mind as the moment the whole country knew this wouldn't be our year. Another host of goalless draws - France vs Uruguay; Ivory Coast vs Portugal - proved teams were scared to lose their opening group game. And Spain's 1-0 loss to Switzerland was the breaking point of an abject opening week for the tournament. But my worst game of the year isn't an international, but one closer to home: this season's Manchester derby. Hyped by the Sky machine as 'the biggest game of the season so far', it turned out to be the dullest, most awful game of football seen on these shores for some time. Only three shots on goal were seen throughout the entire 90 minutes, and the game trudged into a midfield battle which neither side won.

SB: Worst game of the year – Undoubtedly, Bayern Munich deserved to reach the final of the Champions League in 2010. They saw off many of their opponents in dramatic style; see Fiorentina and Manchester United. But their final performance, led to an ultimately boring climax. As ever, Inter allowed their opponents to dominate the possession, the only problem being Bayern couldn’t do much at all with it. A couple of chances fell to both Robben and Müller, but the outcome, as the pattern of the game, was predictable from the outset. Perhaps not the worst game of the year, but the biggest anti-climax. However, as an Englishman, I am used to disappointment, something which continued throughout this summer’s World Cup, rounded off by my worst game of the year; Germany vs England. As a fan of “the game” this was in no way the worst game of the year, Germany showed some wonderful tactical nous, but more so, ability. However, once again, as an Englishman, this is the game that I consider both the worst and the most telling. Outclassed, outplayed and embarrassed. Note also the worst piece of defending in 2010 from John Terry and Matthew Upson for Germany’s opening goal. A goal described by Mark Lawrenson as “a goal scored in every pub game up and down the country this morning”.

AM: Best player of the year - The Ballon D'or will tell you that the best three players over the past 12 months are Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta. But the France Football award fails to mention a host of other players who, over the course of this year, have lit up world football. Diego Milito was instrumental in helping Inter Milan win their first ever domestic and European treble; scoring the goals to help them win Serie A (including a 1-0 win on the last day of the season against Siena), the Coppa Italia (a 1-0 win over Roma) and the Champions League (both goals in a 2-0 win over Bayern Munich). Wesley Sneijder was much in the same vein, but also helped his country to the World Cup final; scoring five goals throughout the tournament. Honourable mentions also have to go to Cristiano Ronaldo for another fantastic year, Gareth Bale for lighting up not just the Premier League but the Champions League with his pace and refreshing naivety, Thomas Muller for helping Bayern to a Champions League final and Germany to a World Cup semi-final, and Keisuke Honda for an excellent World Cup with Japan and a second-place finish with CSKA Moscow. But the best player of the year has to be: Diego Forlan. Although Athletico Madrid finished a lowly 9th last season, Forlan still managed to finish with 18 goals: the 4th highest in the league. He bagged six goals in the Europa League, including two in the final, as Athletico beat Fulham 2-1 to win their first ever European trophy. And was instrumental in helping Uruguay reach the semi-final of the World cup, winning the Golden Ball trophy for Player of the Tournament, in the process. He was also second-top goalscorer, finishing behind Thomas Muller on assists. He used to play for Man. United, you know?

SB: Best player of the year – Simple really, Xavi Hernandez. The same probably goes for the five or six years prior too. That lad called Messi isn’t bad either. Wesley Sneijder wins most improved.

AM: Worst player of the year - Any one of England's World Cup squad could have won this award - count yourself lucky John Terry. But having a bad four weeks is not the same as having a bad nine months. And that's exactly what's happened to Wayne Rooney. An obvious choice it may seem, but it's hard to look past his complete fall from grace since the beginning of the year. The first few months of the year brought a barrage of goals: four against Hull, his 100th Premier League goal against Arsenal, four over two legs against AC Milan, and the winner in the League Cup final against Aston Villa. But an injury at the end of March against Bayern Munich put a definitive full stop to his goal-scoring exploits. Although he quickly recovered from his injured ankle, the goals just weren't forthcoming. As the domestic season ended with Manchester United finishing second, the upcoming World Cup was seen as a chance for Wayne Rooney to claim his rightful place as one of the best players in the world. But unbeknownest to the public, a string of affairs with prostitutes had been caught on by the press, and a gagging order was hanging round Rooney's neck. This personal misdemeanour and public expectation was too much for Wayne, and culminated in a rant-to-camera straight after England's draw with Algeria. Since the embarrassment that was the World Cup ended, Rooney has failed to score any goals from open-play this season, and continues to struggle to regain the form that won him PFA Player of the Year back in May.

SB: Worst player of the year – One player that not many of you will have heard of is Mauro Boselli, the Argentine forward became Wigan Athletic’s record signing back in June. The 25 year old has since made 6 starts in the league for the Latics, scoring 0 goals. Not bad going in the worst player stakes considering he’d been scoring one in every other for his previous club Estudiantes. A player that you will know better is Jonathon George Terry, in 2010 he not only seemingly lost the ability to defend properly, but was very publicly caught impregnating team-mate Wayne Bridge’s partner. Once forgiven and taken along for the ride in South Africa, minus the armband, Terry then decided to take it upon himself to spark a one man revolt against the manager. If not the worst player, then at least the ‘Worst team-mate’, closely followed by badge-kissing Rooney. However, for being nearly always injured or uninspired in 2010, my worst player of the year is Fernando Torres. Very strange, considering he’s a favourite of mine. But, as the saying goes, ‘the bigger they come, the harder they fall’, and they don’t come much bigger than El Nino. Let down by a club in melt down, frequently crocked and stuttering when fit, still, he did manage to pick up a World Cup Winners medal.

AM: Premier League team of the year - (4-4-3), Reina; Ivanovic, Hangeland, Kompany, Cole; Modric, Nasri, Gerrard; Malouda, Drogba, Bale.

SB: Premier League team of the year - (4-5-1), Reina; Ivanovic, Cahill, Vidic, Cole; Nasri, Gerrard, Parker, Lampard, Bale; Drogba.

AM: Unsung hero - So Unsung, I had to actually google his name to make sure it was correct. It's Bolton's mercurial Korean Lee Chung-Yong. Signed in the summer of 2009 for £2.2million, he has been truly wonderful over the past 12 months. Although not a great scorer of goals - 2 in 18 games this season - he has become instrumental in Bolton's push for Europe. Six assists already this season have seen him win Bolton's Player of the Year, Players' Player of the Year, Best Newcomer, and Northwest Player of the Year awards. And this current run of form has seen the 22-year-old win his first five national caps for South Korea.

SB: Unsung hero – At 23 years old Gerard Pique or “Piquenbauer” has become a rock in the two best teams in the world in 2010. With Barcelona he picked up his new nickname, carrying and passing the ball out of defence, helping the club towards another La Liga title. With Spain in South Africa, he was ever-present in a defence that conceded only 2 in 7. Yet it was elder statesman Carles Puyol who made it into FIFA’s ‘Team of the Tournament’. I shouldn’t worry Gerard, rumour is you’re the new Puyol.

AM: Reasons to be fearful for 2011 - After Panorama's damning exposure of FIFA, and the farcical scenes of the 2018/2022 World Cup host nation announcements, it now seems that everyone, not just ardent football fans, are aware of how disgustingly awful Sepp Blatter's Boys Club really is. And yet, after all the press-hatred towards football's governing body, nobody seems to be able to do anything about it. Whilst a game's ruling body can order an entire country to change its tax and immigration laws over the four week period of a World Cup, I will always be fearful of where the game's going.

SB: Reasons to be fearful for 2011 – FIFA, enough said. Paul the octopus is no longer with us. Chairmen of clubs such as Newcastle, continue to disregard what is best for the club. Little is being done to stop clubs like Chelsea, pinch 14 year olds. England continue to be 20 years behind the rest of the world in developing young players. And most worrying of all, there are murmurs of Joey Barton returning to the England squad. I refer to my previous point.

AM: Reasons to be cheerful for 2011 - England's supposed 'Golden Generation' failed miserably. The time for Gerrard, Lampard et al is unquestionably over. But, by the looks of things, the next batch of English players look more than up for the international challenge. Exciting, young Englishman have taken the Premier League by storm this year. Players such as Jack Wilshere, who only last week came second in Tuttosport's (Italy's biggest selling sports daily) 'Golden Boy' competition. Much to the bewilderment of Mario Balotelli. Other talents that have come to the fore this year are: Jordan Henderson, Kieran Gibbs, Danny Welbeck, Jack Rodwell and Andy Carroll. At this rate, Brazil in four years time could become very interesting.

SB: Reasons to be cheerful for 2011 – It looks like we’re going to have another year of Ian Holloway consistently on television, so things can’t be all that bad. And although ‘the system’ doesn’t appear to be helping much, England will always produce world-class players, many of whom are set to shine next year. But most promising for the game is hopefully the continued pressure from the media for football’s governing body to be properly investigated. Much more than Panorama is needed in 2011.

Barcelona Transfer Targets: Top 10 Players Who Could Improve Barça in January

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 22:28:00 +0000

The term improvement is not one that is heard too often (if at all) these days around FC Barcelona’s Nou Camp. For the club that has won thirteen of their last fourteen matches, including the 5-0 shellacking of bitter rivals Real Madrid last week as well as a 19-0 combined score line over their last four opponents, amelioration, whenever it was initially sought after, has effectively been achieved by the Catalans, their newest goal being that of maintaining their recently attained two-point advantage over José Mourinho’s Blancos.

As they demonstrated in last Monday’s massacre of Real, which some are already calling the club’s best performance ever, Pep Guardiola’s squad cannot get much better. But as the old adage goes, there is always room for improvement, and with the winter transfer window looming, even the indomitable FC Barcelona may find themselves shelling out a few million more Euros on reinforcements to send an already impregnable team’s level of collective talent through the roof. They are, as follows, the top ten transfer targets that could improve Barcelona in January.

10. Emmanuel Adebayor

The wantaway striker has made only two Premier League starts this season for Manchester City and has been restricted primarily to Europa League appearances throughout the first half of this season; it has become almost a foregone conclusion that the Togolese will be sold this coming January.

While mercurial and sometimes difficult to manage, when on, Adebayor is one of the most menacing attackers around with his lightning pace and impressive finishing. Unfortunately, both of these qualities from which his name first began to grow have gone missing at Eastlands.

Therefore, a change of scenery could seriously benefit the troubled forward, and having been a former member or Arsenal, suiting up for Barcelona and playing the beautiful game in a way that Gunners manager Arsène Wenger can only dream of his team one day playing might ultimately rejuvenate Adebayor and give him an re-appreciation of football.

It’s unlikely that Barcelona will be heavy bidders (if bidders at all) for EA9, with Juventus looking like the striker’s most probable destination, but could you imagine a front line of Messi, Villa and a reinvigorated Adebayor? The rest of La Liga (and the world for that matter) will be wishing against its materialization.

9. Landon Donovan

The Los Angeles Galaxy center-forward finally made his mark on European soil last January during a 13-game loan spell at Everton that saw him bag two goals and spark to life a then dormant Toffees club.

Barcelona certainly doesn’t need any kind of a spark right now, but adding Donovan in January on-loan could make sense for the reigning La Liga champs. He is one of the smarter players around with a deft touch and an eye for the back of the net, playing with more a palpable passion than your average overpaid footballers (here’s looking at you, Cheslea).

The greatest American footballer in history is also a superb passer and would excel in the overly-possessive tactical system with which Barcelona torments its opponents. He is also far more intelligent and experienced than Pedro Rodríguez—whom Donovan would likely replace (at least as a substitute at times) in the starting XI—and would thrive in an exciting environment like the Nou Camp, where, just as at the U.S. National Team’s camp, winning, no matter how it’s achieved, is always emphasized over flair.

8. Wesley Sneijder

There was perhaps no human being (other than José Mourinho) more instrumental than the versatile Dutchman in guiding Inter past Barcelona in last year’s 3-2 aggregate Champions League semifinal victory (not to mention their historic treble). With a seemingly clairvoyant eye for the pass and the goal as well as a unique creativity that separates him from most attacking midfielders, the acquisition of the 26-year-old would immediately boost the likes of almost any club.

But the chief reason Sneijder would improve Barcelona is his missile of a right foot. If there was anything the second leg of last year’s UCL semifinal proved, it was that Barça were too dependent on their intricate passing game when it was repeatedly thwarted by the impermeable Inter backline. What became even more evident was that the Catalans lacked someone who could put the ball on target from distance; Sneijder could be that guy.

Although, watching Barcelona tear apart Real Madrid as they did on Monday night suggests their dearth of an outside sharpshooter is one of little to no concern nowadays at the Nou Camp. Sneijder also recently put pen to paper on a new five-year contract to keep him at the San Siro until 2015, so a move anywhere seems unlikely for Inter’s talisman. But you know he’d still love to stick it to Real Madrid—the team that wrote him off and let him go before his breakout campaign last year—and how best to do that than with Los Blancos’ biggest rivals?

7. Gareth Bale

Despite several clubs’ frequent inquiries about procuring his services, Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp has made explicit the fact that Bale is not for sale, and Spurs have reportedly slapped a £55 million price tag on the Welsh left-winger.

Ignoring his potential cost, Barcelona still seems like an unlikely destination for the man Redknapp has called the best player in English football, even if he became available, as a number Serie A clubs are rumored to be interested in securing his signature.

However, Bale is as industrious and workmanlike as they come and can finish with the best of them. Playing as a traditional left-footed player on the left wing has allowed him to maximize his talents and terrorize right backs across the globe—most notably Inter’s Maicon—in this year’s Champions League, and is a big reason why Tottenham have already punched their ticket to the knockout rounds.

On paper, he would undoubtedly be an upgrade over Pedro Rodríguez (who, thanks to my slideshow, is quickly becoming one of the most dispensable players at Barcelona) in the starting XI, but it’s impossible to predict how adapting to the Spanish game might effect Bale in the long run. Would he find the adjustment challenging and then see his fine form debilitate as a result? Or—an even scarier thought—would he become even better than he already is?

6. Ashley Cole

The only Barça player in the starting XI more dispensable than Pedro Rodríguez? How about left back Éric Abidal? The Frenchman who has scored just one goal (and not for Barcelona) at club level during his entire 12-year professional career, has been with the Catalans now since 2007 and has shared defensive duties with his backup Maxwell in recent months as he continues to age a little bit faster than some of his teammates. That’s not to take anything away from Abidal, as the former Lyon defender has been superb ever since joining Barcelona four years ago. The age factor is still difficult to ignore.

Abidal is now 31-years-old, and after succumbing to a muscle injury last February that kept him out nearly two months, it is becoming more and more evident that a permanent replacement for him may soon be in the cards.

Insert Cole.

At 29, though still not young by any means, the English international is a full two years younger than Abidal and, more significantly, is considered by many to be the best left back in the world. His current club Chelsea is presently enduring their worst run of form in recent memory but are still in the thick of things. So it isn’t likely the Blues would part with their dynamic flanker. But if they did, and Barcelona pounced, not only would the Catalans get a considerable defensive upgrade, but also simultaneously, they would stamp out Real Madrid and Mourinho who had been (and possibly still are) after Cole’s services this past summer.

5. David Luiz

A relative unknown in the grand scheme of things, Luiz would make a fantastic addition to the Barcelona backline, if only initially as a substitute.

A physical and imposing figure (6’ 2”) who features primarily as a center back, Luiz contributed significantly to his current club Benfica’s title-winning campaign in Portugal last season and has been the subject of many a transfer rumor these past few months.

While the defensive partnership of Gerard Piqué and Carles Puyol at center back looks set in stone for the time being, the latter is due to turn 33 this April. Barça may want to start considering its future in that department with talent more guaranteed than that of present backups Gabriel Milito, Maxwell or Adriano. David Luiz just might be the answer.

4. Edin Džeko

If you type his moniker into Google, the first thing to appear on the dropdown menu other than his full name is “Edin Džeko Transfer.”

The 24-year-old striker is still hanging around his current club Wolfsburg, but the feeling is that a move away from the German outfit is (and has been) imminent for the Bosnia and Herzegovina international. He has already bagged nine league goals for Wolfsburg this season, which is tied for third-best in the Bundesliga and would almost definitely play a big role wherever he might end up come January.

For the most part, Barcelona appear to be set up front with Villa and Messi, but adding Džeko and his near 6’4” frame to mix would supply the Blaugranes with another fiery attacking option as well as a viable aerial threat to help out Carles Puyol on corners. Barça should be wary of acquiring him, however, as this could be yet another Balkan cognomen whose promise fails to come to fruition.

Remember Zlatan Ibrahimović?

3. Fernando Llorente

Like Džeko, the Athletic Bilbao striker has been the subject of much transfer speculation in recent months. The only difference being that Llorente’s move away from the Basque Country is likely to take place within Spain as opposed to the rest of Europe. And that can only mean one thing—a transfer to Barcelona or Real Madrid.

The Pamplona-born forward has reportedly been linked with an eventual move to Real, and with Gonzalo Higuaín having recently suffered a back injury that will keep him out for several months, Llorente could find himself playing alongside CR7 much sooner than expected.

What a coup (and giant slap in the face, I might add) it would be for the Catalans if Barcelona were to swoop in and steal away the 25-year-old’s services, not to mention his towering 6’ 5” physique with which he has already begun to make his mark for the Spanish National Team as well as Athletic, having already bagged nine goals for the club this season.

2. Javier Pastore

Of all the players on this list, Pastore is without question the one most likely to join Barcelona via transfer this January.

The slender but explosive attacking midfielder has burst onto the scene this year for Palermo and has the Eagles within a point of Champions League qualification for next season, thanks to his seven goals and untouchable run of play.

At just 21-years-of-age, Pastore is only at the start of what looks to be an ever-bourgeoning, successful career, and it is only a matter of time before he is plucked from Palermo by a more lucrative club. The Argentina International has already been linked with a move to Barça, and only time will tell if Guardiola feels the need to reel in the youngster who exudes energy, zest and gusto—three essential qualities to being a member of the world’s greatest club.

1. Cesc Fàbregas

Any conversation about Barcelona transfer targets will invariably involve Cesc Fàbregas.

If you paid any kind of attention whatsoever to football this past summer, you would have heard his last name and Barcelona mentioned in the same sentence at least a hundred times—and that’s after hearing just ten sentences.

During the World Cup, it seemed like everyone but Fàbregas’s dentist was keen on his transfer to the club at which he grew up before he moved to Arsenal back in 2003. And, to be sure, the end result seems inevitable—Fàbregas will in fact at some point down the road move back to Barcelona.

The only question is when that will happen. But more importantly, in a midfield that consists of Xavier Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, where will he play? The club reportedly wants him back, but finding a spot for him in the starting XI may prove to be more difficult than actually reacquiring his services.

Is It A Two Horse Race For The Premiership Title?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 21:09:00 +0000

Today Man United winger Nani, boldly claimed that Arsenal and Man City should not be considered as serious title contenders. I can see where he is coming from to a certain degree but to count out any team at this early stage is a bit arrogant. Even Tottenham have a shout of winning the league. For me, the league table doesn't lie, so why should Man City and Arsenal be ruled out even though they are both ahead Chelsea.

Since the season of the "invincible's" in which they went the entire 2003/04 season unbeaten and picked up the title on the their way, Arsenal have struggled to succeed in any competition. In fact, they haven't won a single trophy since that season. They have come close of course but just fell a little too short. But we all know that they play some of, if not the, best football around today. With their elegance and their lack of "Route One" football, it's almost hard not to watch them play. So although they have been known not to hold their nerve, I think it's harsh to say that they shouldn't be considered as serious challengers for the title.

Now to Man City. Yet again I completely see where Nani is coming from when he says that City shouldn't be taken seriously as Premiership contenders. But at the same time, when you are third in the league at Christmas, and you wasted the chance to go top, to be told that you don't really have a chance, I think this is slightly harsh. But like I said I do see where Nani is coming from, after all, City were only taken over two years ago and we have seen that they are far from the complete package. But they should be taken seriously because on their day, they do look impressive.

As for Chelsea, even though they are the current champions, they have been far from convincing this season. They have lost points on countless occasions when really they should have had the three points in the bag. With the loss of Ray Wilkins, it seems they have lost their rhythm and with players like Drogba and Malouda not on form, they have struggled to grind out victories. They did show an improvement against Spurs though.

So do you think Nani was right to say this? Which teams do you think have a genuine chance of winning the league?

I would love to hear any comments you may have.

11 players that are set to light up 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 16:43:00 +0000

What with the Yule Tide just around the corner, many a publication will be releasing end-of-year lists very soon. But here at Get the Mott and Buckett we have decided to go against the grain, and instead of looking back over the past year, have a glimpse into our crystal ball, and give a definitive list of the 11 young players around Europe who are set for big things over the next 12 months.

NB: this list is not in numerical order (as in number 1 is the most exciting), but purely a list to be enjoyed and debated over.

1) Romelu Lukaku. Nation: Belgium. Club: Anderlecht

This 17 year-old Belgian has already received admiring glances from the likes of Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Manchester United, and it's easy to see why. At 6' 3" he's already been called 'the New Drogba', and with 24 goals in 52 matches for his club side, Anderlecht, we could be seeing this young man in one of Europe's big leagues in the very near future.

2) James Rodriguez. Nation: Colombia. Club: FC Porto

Pronounced Hames, this young south American has made a slow start at Porto, but at only 19, certainly has time on his side. He was a sensation at Banfield in Argentina. His speed and crossing ability made him the player with the most assists in 2008-09, and that class meant Porto splashed out £5million last summer.

3) Christian Eriksen. Nation: Denmark. Club: Ajax

The fact that Arsene Wenger is keeping a close eye on this 18-year-old says it all. Signed by Ajax in 2008, he is an all-round central midfielder; capable of scoring goals, but also making that last-ditch challenge. Along with Luis Suarez, probably Ajax's best player so far this season. And also the youngest player to play at last summer's World Cup.

4) Mario Gotze. Nation: Germany. Club: Borussia Dortmund

Non-Germans looking on with envy at the brilliant young crop of twenty-somethings that demolished England and Argentina at the World Cup will not be pleased to hear that the next crop are probably even better. And heading this renaissance is Mario Gotze. At 18 he has everything an old-fashioned number 10 needs: a low centre of gravity, exceptional acceleration and an eye for goal. He's been Dortmund's best player this season, and for a team that's top of the Bundesliga, that's not a bad feat in your first full season.

5) Javier Pastore. Nation: Argentina. Club: Palermo

Signed in 2009 by Palermo for £8million, Pastore had a quiet first season in Italy, not scoring his first league goal until January. But this season, he's been a revelation. Hat-tricks against Catania and Bari have seen him reach 10 goals for the first time in his career, not bad for an attacking midfielder. Linked heavily in recent weeks with Barcelona, it wouldn't surprise me to see him in Catalunya very soon.

6) Arda Turan. Nation: Turkey. Club: Galatasaray

At 23, the oldest player on this list. The Turkish winger has played well over 100 games for Galatasaray, and 40+ for the national team. His most famous moment came when he scored the winner in Turkey's 3-2 win over Czech Republic in that rain-sodden match at Euro 2008. Recent performance have seen him linked with Juventus and Athletico Madrid. And now is probably the time for Arda to see if he can produce on the highest level of all.

7) Wojciech Szczesny. Nation: Poland. Club: Arsenal

Arsenal's third goalkeeper is almost certainly better than his two, supposed, superiors. At 6' 5" and with fantastic reflexes, he has all the attributes to suggest that he may become a regular in the Arsenal starting XI. His recent performance against Manchester United will do him no harm whatsoever. But will the young Pole stay patient? Only time will tell.

8) Gai Assulin. Nation: Israel. Club: Manchester City

Great things were expected of Assulin when he signed for Barcelona aged 12. He had a fantastic record in the youth team, and made the jump to the 'B' side no problem. He played four games for the first team, but failed to impress in all of them, so by mutual consent, his contract was terminated in the summer. Many clubs, including Tottenham annd Arsenal wanted to sign the midfielder, but he opted for Manchester City. A niggling injury has kept him out for most of this year, but like at Barca, great things are expected in the next 12 months.

9) Steven Jovetic. Nation: Montenegro. Club: Fiorentina

This curly-haired striker/winger has endured a difficult past 12 months; injuring his right cruciate ligament in training last March, he has yet to play since. But before the injury, Jovetic was the most exciting player in Italy. Fast, tricky and with an eye for goal, he scored the winners against Palermo, Sampdoria, Napoli, Udinese and Liverpool in last season's Champions league. And with his injury now behind him, he has plenty of time to make up over the next year.

10) Shinji Kagawa. Nation: Japan. Club: Borussia Dortmund

This 21-year-old midfielder has, along with Mario Gotze, been one of Dortmund's shining lights this season. Having already scored 8 goals in 16 games he is doing his upmost to help the Rhineland club win their first title in 10 years. Having been signed in the summer for less than £1million, many saw his arrival at the club as a gamble that probably wouldn't pay off; but the chips really have come in. Another good 12 months, and a ticket to one of Europe's major clubs could be on the cards.

11) Neymar. Nation: Brazil. Club: Santos

Plenty has been written about Neymar over the past 12 months, the best way to describe the 18-year-old is this: a goal-scorer. He was pivotal for Santos this year as they won the Sao Paulo state championship, scoring 18 goals along the way. He's done so well, that his debut for Brazil came in August this year in a 2-0 win over USA; Neymar scored one of the goals. A move to Chelsea was muted over the summer, but Santos are trying to hang on for one more year. A plane booked for Europe will be arriving very soon.

Benitez's "Holiday" At Inter Comes To An End

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 13:47:00 +0000

After just little over six months in charge, Inter Milan decided to call it a day with Rafa Benitez. After such great success last year for Inter, nothing really materialised under Rafa Benitez. With failure to get top spot in the group stages of the Champions League and a poor display in Serie A which leaves them lying in 7th position obviously wasn't enough.

It seems that the now famous press conference in which he ranted on about Sir Alex Ferguson and other topics, not only had an effect on Liverpool's season but also his career. This might come as a surprise to some after Inter Milan just picked up the FIFA Club World Cup title over in Abu Dhabi. But it seemed it was only a matter of time before he got the sack. But I can't see why Inter fans would expect more of the same from last year because we all know that Mourinho is somewhat in a league of his own.

Benitez, 50, will now be on the minds of many club owners who are manager-less, especially in the Premiership you would think. But how much of a fall would that be, to go from the European champions to the likes of Blackburn. No disrespect to Blackburn fans but I think you would agree that you're not at the same level as Inter Milan. Of course Benitez does have Premiership experience as a manager after being, for the most part, a success at Anfield. Who can ever forget that memorable night in Istanbul back in 2005.

I think it was the right decision, as it didn't look like it was going to get any better, especially now that we're into the Last 16 of the Champions League and a repeat of last years final is coming up. But who will take his place? There aren't that many quality managers that are just hanging around and I'm sure they don't want to go many weeks with a caretaker boss. I just don't get why you would sack a manager half way during the season. Now they have to get a new manager who has to settle in and chances are he won't have enough time to get the results he wants.

So what do you think will happen now with Rafa Benitez and more so Inter Milan? Was it time for him to go or do you think he should have got at least the full season?

I would love to hear any comments you may have.

Chelsea Interested In Tottenham Star....But It's Not Bale

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 19:16:00 +0000

There is just over a week to go till the transfer window for January opens and if we are to believe what we read, Carlo Ancelotti is lining up a move for Luka Modric. Modric, 25, has been under the radar because of the excellence of Gareth Bale this season. Luka Modric signed for Spurs just before Euro 2008, and just as well, as the little Croatian impressed in the tournament. Overall, he has impressed up to now in the Spurs jersey and that seems to be enough for Chelsea and Carlo Ancelotti to be interested in the Croatian.

Chelsea seem to be struggling this season and Ancelotti must feel he is the missing ingredient in the hunt to retain the Premiership title. I don't think it will be a good move for Modric because with Lampard coming back and a whole host of world class midfielders and forwards, where would he fit in? If he did go, there would be a high possibility of it being like the Shaun Wright-Phillips saga way back in 2005. As a result of him going, he got bare minimum when it came to starting appearances and at times he struggled even to get on the bench.

Anyway, why would you want to leave Tottenham at this moment in time. In the last 16 of the Champions League and only seven points off the top of the league in fifth place. Saying that, that's only if Ancelotti is interested in signing the Croatian this January, we might have to wait till the Summer of 2011 for Chelsea to splash the cash. And like every other transfer story it could be just rumours. Although, I wouldn't be 100% surprised if this transfer does go through.

This could hinder Tottenham's season if it did happen. Just because there might not be room for Modric in the Chelsea side, there is more than enough room for him in the Spur's side with many of the midfielders at White Hart Lane being defensive-minded. He links up the midfield to the attack and without him, for me, it would be a huge loss whether people are talking about him or not.

So what do you think he should do should Chelsea offer him a contract? For me, Bale edges Modric overall, but do you agree?

I would love to hear any comments you may have.

He Betrays United, Then City And Now He Wants To Go Back To United?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 18:13:00 +0000

Unless your TV is broken or your mum has confiscated it, you would have seen a lot happening regarding the future of Carlos Tevez. The City front man released a statement a week or so ago clearly declaring that he would like to leave the City Of Manchester stadium. Now, if he wants to go that badly let him leave but now rumours are spreading that Man United would be his club of choice should he go. But like many other people are wondering, not only the fans but the players as well, would he be accepted back?

For me, he has already betrayed Man City. Even though he is still under contract at City, we do know that he would prefer to leave the club and that's enough to count as betrayal. But to supposedly say that he would like to walk a couple of miles back up to Old Trafford, I'd say that would make any Man City fan clench their fist. After months of speculation, Tevez finally put pen to paper in 2009 to sign a contract for City, snubbing United in the process.

So would you (Man United fans in particular) relish the chance see Tevez play in a United jersey again or would you prefer to see Alex Ferguson, in a way, punish the Argentine for not signing back in the Summer of 2009? I can see why Tevez would like to join the Red Devils again, after all they probably do have a better chance of winning the Premiership for this season at least anyway. But if you had to look at the plan that City have for the long term future, which the new owners said that the investment would be, a long term plan, then I think he should play with City.

Man City play Everton tonight at the City Of Manchester stadium. The match will go ahead after the pitch survived the awful, but delightful weather in some respects, that we have been getting over the weekend. It is believed that Mancini will give Tevez a place in the starting line-up but it is yet to be seen if he will lead out the team as captain. It will also be interesting to see the reaction of the crown towards the Argentine. You can see all the action on "Monday Night Football" which starts at 19:00 on Sky Sports 1.

I would love to hear any comments that you may have

The Fat Boy from Bari who made Capello cry

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 15:40:00 +0000

Naturally gifted. Neurotic. It's amazing how many times these two superlatives go together. And both apply in large doses to Italian footballer Antonio Cassano. After weeks of media speculation and court appearances, it finally seems as if Il Gioiello di Bari Vecchia ("the jewel of Old Bari") has played his last game for Sampdoria, and could well be on his way to Milan come January.

Born on the same day that Italy won the 1982 World Cup, Antonio Cassano was always destined to play professional football. A product of Bari's youth academy, he made his debut at the age of 17, and was an instant sensation in Serie A.

Two years later, reigning league champions Roma splashed out 60billion lire (£25million) on Cassano; and the cocky, brash, temperamental player, everyone in Italy loves to hate, was born. Over the next four seasons FantAntonio became more famous for his childish outbursts than his on-field production. The Roma manager at the time, Fabio Capello, called these outbursts Cassanata; each one topped the last, as the player seemed hell-bent on destroying every relationship he had. He clashed with Capello, on numerous occasions, in training. Had a very public spat with club captain Francesco Totti. And was sent-off in a Coppa Italia game against Milan after flicking the V's at the referee.

In 2005, after a row over his contract, Cassano was sold to Real Madrid for £4million. An impressive start for Los Meringues - with a goal on his debut against Real Betis - was soon forgotten, as a couple of months later, he began getting fined by the club for every gram he weighted in overweight. He was quoted, from his biography All the Sins of Fat Antonio, as saying that "In Madrid, I would finish training, find a beautiful lady, take her back to my hotel room, and then, when I'd finished with her, eat pastries all evening". Fast-forward four months and the striker was in trouble again, as the Spanish side appointed his old adversary, Fabio Capello. It took less than two months for the two Italians to come to blows. Cassano was shipped out again in the summer of 2007, this time on loan to Sampdoria.

Another great start to a season seemed to falter when, in a game against Torino, he was sent-off for throwing his shirt at the referee. But Samp held faith, and made the transfer permanent the following June; going further still, and making him vice-captain. Then, the following January, came the arrival of Giampaolo Pazzini, and the two of them formed the best 9-10 partnership Italian football had seen for many years, firing the Genoa club to the Champions League playoffs, and bringing comparisons to Samp's other great strike partnership: Gianluca Vialli/ Roberto Mancini.

It seemed, finally, that Cassano had matured. Fully accepting his exclusion from Italy's World Cup squad. He showed incredible desire to add to his 16 caps, and continued to be Sampdoria's lynch pin. This major improvement both physically and psychologically saw transfer rumours circulating of a possible move to Juventus or Inter.

But, just as it appeared Cassano was reborn, out came another Cassanata.

Reports leaked of a huge row with Sampdoria President Riccardo Garrone, originating from the owners insistence on his star player collecting an award at a hotel dinner. Cassano, wanting to stay with his newly pregnant wife, refused. The argument continued for weeks through the press, with Garrone saying last week that: "One thing is for certain; Antonio Cassano will not play at Sampdoria again. I have already talked about this and I do not intend to go back on my word."

A court ruling last Thursday ordered that Cassano will be contracted until January 31 2011, and then will be free to find another club. Milan, now, are in prime position to add to their number of players with bad-boy reputations.

With Pippo Inzaghi a long-term absentee and Alex Pato never far from the treatment table, Silvio Berlusconi, after surviving a no-confidence vote in Italian parliament, has given the green light to the management to bring in another striker, and boost his reputation as President of the Rossoneri.

As we've seen, Cassano's erratic behaviour has followed him wherever he's been, but Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri is hoping that the fact they are a 'special club' in Italy, which requires a certain standard of behaviour - combined with the fact that a move would represent the player's last real chance to play for a top club, and thus, possibly forge his way into the national side - is enough to change his ways for good.

The only thing casting a shadow of doubt over Cassano's move is Ronaldinho. The buck-toothed Brazilian is out of contract in June, and whispers suggest that Berlusconi has given the go-ahead for his sale, who in the past couple of weeks has been linked with both LA Galaxy and Liverpool.

We've already seen Cassano struggle at big clubs in major cities, but come January, I think the pastry chefs of Milan better be on standby.

Motty

Is He The Greatest Manager Of All Time?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 22:17:00 +0000

Today, Sir Alex Ferguson passed Sir Matt Busby's record of the longest running Manchester United manager of all time. You probably don't need me to tell you this, but this is quite an achievement. How often do we see on the news that a manager has been sacked, especially from one of the big teams. It's almost kind of strange not to hear about a sacking in the Premiership at least once every one or two months but to keep your job for twenty-four years or so is just incredible.

There are a few examples to show you how long he has been United manager. First one would be that he has faced a lot of managers that he had at United as a player. For example you have Steve Bruce, Roy Keane and Bryan Robson, all United legends in their own right. The other obvious one is to see how many Man City managers have come and gone while Sir Alex has been Man United boss. The amount of City managers that have been sacked during Ferguson's time as United boss comes up to a staggering seventeen managers with the longest running, believe it or not, being Kevin Keegan.

Not really known as a player, partly because he played all his football in Scotland, Sir Alex has definitely left his mark on the football world as a manager. He has a long list of achievements with Man United, most notably the season where he led United to the treble in 1999 and who can ever forget the Champions League final against Bayern Munich in the Nou Camp. He has won an unprecedented amount of Premier League titles, winning eleven in total.

So is he the best manager around or even of all time? There is no doubt, for me, that he is the best manager in Premiership history. There aren't many that even come close to his caliber. I can only think of maybe two, and no it's not Jose Mourinho, Franz Beckenbauer or even the inventor of "Total Football", Rinus Michels. It would have to be the greatest manger England never had, Brian Clough and the reason Liverpool F.C are who they are today, Bill Shankly. But I think Sir Alex Ferguson tops the list.

I would love to hear any comments you may have.

World Cup 2022 In January?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 23:46:00 +0000

Michel Platini has announced that there is a chance that the FIFA World Cup in 2022 could be held in January. If the fact that FIFA gave the honor of hosting the World Cup to Qatar wasn't strange enough, it now seems that there is a possibility it will be held the in Winter. Obviously, it won't be snowing in Qatar but with many matches going on in the European Leagues during winter, what are they going to do. Take a break?

I think everyone was baffled to hear that Qatar were the name of the nation that came out of the envelope that was held by the despised Sepp Blatter. I don't want to get into the argument of whether or not Qatar should have won the bid because I think I've already made myself clear that I think it's rather ridiculous that they did. But now with the prospect of the tournament being held in January, I think it's just gotten ludicrous by this stage.

I don't know how anyone can take FIFA and UEFA seriously at times because of some of the desicions they make. Sepp Blatter said the decision to make Qatar the hosts of the 2022 World Cup was purely to spread the game, not for money. I don't see why that would be the reason, I thought it was whoever who had the best proposed bid. Some of the stadiums look like something out of this world, a little bit too good in other words. I can't see them being 100% built the way they were designed.

You can't have the World Cup in January, it's, as you might have guessed, not the norm. The football association's of a lot of countries will have to restructure the format of the league and fixtures for just that season. What happened to the proposed air conditioning stadiums? Already there is, what seems to be be, a bit of a porky pie in the Qatar bid. But it's still early days, so this could just be speculation.

So what will FIFA decide to do? Platini had this to say "The temperature in Dallas during the 1994 World Cup was 45 degrees Celsius, if I'm not mistaken, in 1994 and nobody criticized the USA at the time." So is this a sign that it is just rumors and a bit of speculation?

I would love to hear any comments you may have.

Round Of 16 Draw Doesn't Fail To Disappoint

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 21:54:00 +0000

We found out today the fixtures for the round of sixteen in the Champions League. There are a few, with no disrespect, "mickey mouse" matches such as Copenhagen v Chelsea, which should be one sided in the favour of Chelsea. You also have Valencia v Schalke, which isn't necessarily a "mickey mouse" match but I won't really be paying much attention to it. On the plus side, we have some tasty matches. Tottenham will be facing AC Milan, Inter Milan host Bayern Munich in the first leg, and of course, Arsenal v Barcelona.

If Arsenal fans thought it was ok that their team could only achieve second in their group, they'll think again as the Gunners got none other than Barcelona. We have seen how good Barca can be this season, with the perfect example being their performance against Real Madrid, thrashing the renewed "Galacticos" 5-0 at the Nou Camp. However, we have seen the brilliance in Arsenal's attack. With both attacks second to none, I am really hoping for a classic over the two legs.

A week or so ago, I was discussing about whether or not it was better to get second in the group stages because a few top sides had failed to impress such as Arsenal and Inter Milan. But it seems that Inter are better off than Tottenham, who of course were both in Group A, as they managed to get Bayern Munich while Tottenham have to face Inter's arch rivals AC Milan, even though Spurs managed to get top spot. I don't know about you, but I would prefer to face Bayern Munich rather than AC Milan, even though I would fear facing the German giants.

Typical Man United and Chelsea, but more so Chelsea, got it easy as Man United got Marseille and as I already mentioned Chelsea got the Danish side Copenhagen. I think if Ancelotti fails to get his side through to the quarter final it's bye bye to the Italian. I don't expect them to fail to progress, but you never know with the Chelsea as of late.

The first set of matches will be played in the week of the 15th/16th of February and the second set the week after. Whatever happens, big names are guaranteed to get knocked out, whether it be Arsenal or Barcelona or, Tottenham or AC Milan. Both matches shouldn't be missed.

I would love to hear any comments you may have.

Premiership Managers All Feeling The Pressure

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 18:50:00 +0000

With two Premiership managers, Chris Hughton and Sam Allardyce, both being sacked within a week, is any manager safe from getting the sack? The only manager who I can think of, who more than likely won't get his marching orders is Sir Alex Ferguson. To some extent I would say Harry Redknapp and Arsene Wenger as well, unless they have a huge drop in form. The pressure is on for the managers with top teams, not just the teams in fear of being in the relegation battle.

Mancini has been convincing but some silly lost points surely must have had the owners questioning their decision to hire him last December. Another top manager for a top team who is most certainly under pressure to pick up points is Carlo Ancelotti. After such a great start, the sacking of Ray Wilkins seems to have had a big effect on their performances, and more importantly, their results.

If we are to believe what we hear, Avram Grant has three games to get his teams to winning ways or else he will be a jobless manager. In fairness, he hardly has a lot to work with. I think it's ridiculous to give a threat like that six months after you give the former Chelsea and Portsmouth boss the job. They have shown they can play a bit of football as they were unlucky to get losses against Sunderland and Arsenal, and of course the 4-0 thrashing of Man United in the Carling Cup. But watching West Ham face Man City at Upton Park, Scott Parker was West Ham, he was that influential. I don't know if that's telling us something about how good he is or how poor the Hammers actually are.

Roy Hodgson has been feeling the pressure since he arrived at Anfield but I don't think, like Avram Grant, he has had a lot to work with. There aren't many managers that could have done a better job than he's done. I'm sorry Liverpool fans, you can blame Roy Hodgson all you want but at the end of the day, when your second best central midfielder is at the caliber of Lucas, you know that you are going to struggle at times. If Liverpool did decide to get rid of Hodgson, it will only make things worse.

Who will be the next manager to go? Who knows, I don't know anyone who could have predicted the Sam Allardyce and Chris Hughton sackings. If managers have been given a fair whack at the job and it's just not working out then by all means, it's time to go. But sacking the manager after just a couple of months is just ridiculous.

I would love to hear any comments you may have.

What Have Blackburn Got Themselves Into?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 19:02:00 +0000

On Monday, I was shocked to see that Sam Allardyce had got sacked by the new Indian owners who have just taken over less than a month ago. These lads must think they know what they are talking about, but they must be off their head's if they think they're going to get anywhere without a manager, especially with the Christmas fixtures coming up. With so many matches at this time, it is one of the most important parts of the season.

When I heard the news, I kind of saw it coming, this is always the case when teams get taken over by men who have money growing on trees. But just yesterday they announced that they were looking for a British manager and apart from maybe Harry Redknapp and Sir Alex Ferguson, there aren't many better than "Big Sam". If you don't remember, when the FA confirmed the manager after Fabio Capello will be British, Allardyce was one of the front runners with a lot of the bookies and with a lot of people.

Allardyce, 56, is now the second manager within a week to get the sack. As we all know, Chris Hughton got sacked after a 3-1 loss to West Brom away from home and in fairness he was missing two or three key players. The omens don't look good for any managers that are losing matches. With managers like Roy Hodgson and the likes of Mick McCarthy, who's side are second from bottom, are bound to feel the pressure in the next few weeks unless they get their respective teams to winning ways.

Steve Kean, who if I'm being honest I don't know a lot about, will now take charge of Blackburn for the foreseeable future until they find a manager who they think is fit for the job. However long that is, is for the owners to decide. But if we are to believe what they say, if Kean impresses, he will get the job. No matter how unknown he is, it seems. But I wouldn't take their word for it. Blackburn will face West Ham at Ewood Park and with no disrespect to West Ham and their fans, I don't think Kean could have got a better fixture to start off his new job.

So what are we to expect from the new owners, is it, to the disgust of everyone, Man City all over again? Will they try and "buy" the Premiership? Will they get the same abuse that Man City got for their crazy spending? They've already made a big decision with the sacking of Allardyce, was it the right one?

I would love to hear any comments you may have

FIFA World Cup 2010 - Easy To Forget

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 18:06:00 +0000

Yesterday, Sky Sports News showed a report on how the World Cup affected the people of South Africa and the country itself. The answer, not really. It is easy to say that the World Cup that we saw throughout June and at the start of July was not really at the standard we are used to seeing.

Not even the likes of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo could make any difference. It took my cousin Cathal, (who runs the very successful blog Football Corner) to make me realise how woeful the World Cup actually was. We are now six months on from the tournament that crowned Spain as champions for the first time and it's fair to say that it's pretty much forgotten. There wasn't much to show for it with a lot of matches and teams disappointing.

A lot was expected from nations such as England, Brazil and to some extent France but none of them ever got going. We all saw what happened with England, a Rob Green error and the failure to beat Algeria meant that they could only manage second in their group. They capped off a quite awful tournament by losing 4-1 (should have been 4-2 if you all remember Lampard's disallowed goal) to an impressive Germany side in the quarter finals.

Going into the tournament, they weren't really a liked side after they got through to the finals thanks to the hand of Thierry Henry. Of course I'm talking about France. They made themselves look like more of a joke by refusing to train which resulted in Anelka being sent home.

Spain proved they were the best side in the world. After a shaky start everyone thought, as usual, that they wouldn't have the bottle. But they proved that you have world class players along with the passion and I don't think they're short of world class players. The final normally is the culmination of a great tournament and showcases some of the best football. Instead, we got a boring final in which Holland literally "kicked" Spain around the pitch. So why would it make a massive difference to South Africa? Yes, it's changed for the better but not by a huge amount.

I would love to hear any comments you may have.

Arsenal Aim To Keep Top Spot

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 15:36:00 +0000

Later tonight, Arsenal play Man United at Old Trafford on Sky Sports' "Monday Night Football". This fixture never fails to deliver and as we are getting into the Christmas spirit, hopefully both teams can give us an early Christmas present. Arsenal go into this match with a one point advantage at the top, but Man United can overtake
both the Gunners and City with a win tonight.

I am quietly confident that Arsenal can get a point, if not all three. They have been the team to beat so far this season with United and Chelsea both not reaching their peak. With players like Nasri, Arshavin and Fabregas they can, for me, beat any defence in the world today. We all know that they play some of the best football in the league but sometimes they fail to try and grind out a result.

United have had two weeks off now, so any knocks players might have had after their game against Blackburn, in which they destroyed Sam Allardyce's and his players defence, should be gone. Like their rivals City, their star player has gone on a rant and threatened to walk out on the club. While all this drama has been going on, no player has really stepped up and confirmed his place as United's main man. Yes, some might say "well what about Berbatov" but before the Blackburn game, his last convincing performance was against Liverpool some way back at the start of the season. Nani has been hot and cold as well. One week brilliant, next week not so brilliant.

I am genuinely so excited for this match with both teams, seemingly, really up for this. With Arsenal trying to maintain their challenge for the title and not fade away like in previous seasons, and United who can confirm they are the team to beat. You have Arsenal's attack versus Man United's tough defence, but you also have United's "on-off'" attack, versus Arsenal's defence, who have shown us that they are not that reliable especially for a team who want to win the Premiership.

I'm not going to predict the score because last week I thought Aston Villa would get the three points and then we all saw what actually happened. Liverpool won 3-0. All I can say is that it shouldn't disappoint, so I wouldn't miss it.

I would love to hear any comments you may have.

Carlos. What Are You Doing?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 13:30:00 +0000

Man City have announced that Tevez wants to leave the club after he handed in a transfer request. I'm sure to the delight of every City fan, well me anyway, City rejected the request. But why, when you're the captain of the club that is going places, would you decide to call it a day? I'm quite shocked by this, although I do want him to stay, I will never want a player to stay at the club who won't show his full commitment.

We have seen some worrying signs in the past few weeks between the relationship of Roberto Mancini and Carlos Tevez. Most notably, the row that was the result of Tevez being taken off against Bolton. I think I should add that there was no more than five minutes left, so I think it was Tevez being a little bit immature. It looked more like what you would see at an under 13's match on a Sunday morning. He was clearly showing a lack of respect to the Italian man.

He was City's player of the year last season after quite a slow start under Mark Hughes and confirmed himself as a fan favourite. He doesn't stop running and his goal scoring record ain't half bad either. 30 goals in 50 appearances. My only criticism of the Argentine would be that he hangs on to the ball for a second too long. I would hate to see him go for he is one of the best strikers in the world and would not only be a loss for City but for the Premiership as well.

But I don't know why you would want to keep a player that obviously isn't happy and wants to go and it's, for me, nothing but disrespect especially when your the captain to hand in a transfer request. Mancini will obviously have a lot on his hands with Tevez adding to the list of "keep players happy" along side the not-so-super Mario Balotelli. Balotelli must be giving a bad vibe, players must be thinking "if he can be a pain in the backside, why can't I?".

With the aim of the club being to bring in world class players and get rid of the players that were at the City before the takeover, this must come as a real surprise to the club and the owners in particular. It will be quite an interesting saga, one that will grab most of the headlines during the January transfer window which is less than a month away.

I would love to hear any comments you may have.

Man City Show They Have A Genuine Chance Of Winning The Premiership

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 18:09:00 +0000

Today, Man City convincingly beat West Ham 3-1 at Upton Park. After a few poor performances, even though they were getting a result, it was nice to see they can win comfortably especially without Carlos Tevez. This result leaves City in second place with Chelsea and Arsenal having one game in hand, and Man United having two after there match with Blackpool was called off last week.

Yes it was West Ham, but United lost to them with an embarrassing 4-0 defeat in the League Cup. And don't give the "they didn't have their first team out" excuse. Although a few of the players have disappointed, in fairness, you do have players that have impressed such as Yaya Toure, who scored a scorcher with his left foot and even though it will go down as an own goal by Rob Green, I think he deserves all the praise for the second goal. You also have David Silva who hasn't failed to impress and has been the play-maker in many of City's matches..

Mario Ballotelli continues to show he was quite a ridiculous signing after yet another, quite awful display. He doesn't show any passion and seems to be a bit of a pain in the backside. Today was his big chance to show that he should be starting week in, week out and he disappointed throughout the match with the exception of one or two chances. He reminded me a bit of myself, moaning and complaining when he doesn't get his way, just sub in my mum for the ref.

So overall, I was very impressed. I don't want to get too complacent or put the hex on it, but I am more confident than I have ever been about them getting that fourth spot. It seems after a bit of a rough patch in late October, early December that Mancini has either got his, or the players' act together. Either way, what ever he has done, he has got back to winning ways and in the week where everyone said that they have to score more, they scored three and Tevez wasn't on the score sheet.

And why should they be satisfied with just fourth spot, why can't they win the whole thing. A few new faces in January might help that cause.

I would love to hear any comments you may have.

Why Alan Pardew?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 16:04:00 +0000

Yesterday, Newcastle United announced that Alan Pardew would be taking over as toon boss after agreeing terms. If all goes to plan he should be staying there for five and a half years, but like that's going to happen. In recent times, Newcastle sack managers faster than they hire them. But why Alan Pardew? We don't know, but I'm guessing that he was their first choice.

The former West Ham boss hasn't really done anything too spectacular in his managerial career (or playing career for that matter). The Newcastle board said they wanted a manager that has more experience than Hughton. That is the biggest excuse I've ever seen. You don't sack someone because they lost 3-1. If that was the case, the only thing that would be in the news is managers getting sacked.

I just think if they were going to sack Hughton, they would have got a top class manager with a couple of trophies under his belt. Instead they go, for me, for quite a mediocre choice who just got sacked by a club (Southampton) that are mid-table in League One. He is no better or worse than what they had with Chris Hughton.

You're going to have bad patches in your season. Newcastle should be happy it wasn't later on in the season if they are struggling to get out of the relegation fight. And yes Newcastle fans, last time Pardew was managing in the Premiership, he went down to the Championship and brought Charlton down with him. I'll give him a bit of slack though, he didn't have much time to gain lost ground that was caused by Iain Dowie.

Pardew doesn't have a particularly easy match to start his Newcastle career. Liverpool are travelling to St. James' Park and even though I said that they are not a top-four side anymore that doesn't mean they are not, at times, a force to be reckoned with.

I would love to hear any comments that you may have.