Daniele De Rossi has handed new coach Vincenzo Montella victory on debut, scoring the winner in Roma’s 1-0 result at Bologna on Wednesday.The Italy international, who was lucky to avoid being sent off for a second caution just minutes before scoring, ensured Roma snapped the three-game losing streak that ultimately led to Claudio Ranieri’s resignation from the Serie A club. Montella rang the changes in his first game as manager, promoting Brazilian custodian Doni to number one ahead of compatriot Julio Sergio and dropping iconic captain Francesco Totti to the bench.The midweek game, rescheduled after being abandoned in January due to snow, bizarrely began with a corner at the 17-minute mark – the point at which the original fixture was called off.De Rossi should have earned a second yellow card for clearing the ball with his hand in the 41st minute, and four minutes later he popped up to slot home Mirko Vucinic’s centre past Bologna goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano.Roma rise to sixth on the Serie A table with their first win in a month, six points adrift of fourth-placed city rivals Lazio.
Despite Liverpool’s excellent display against Manchester United at the weekend, I still feel that if we are to compete for the title within the next few years, we will need a player in the guise of Javier Mascherano to really help the Reds break up attacks, not only against the best teams but also against the less talented, more physical opponents in the Barclays Premier League. Lucas has played very well for the last year but it is clear he will never be the most physical of holding midfield players. Although he can break up play and pass neatly, he will never outmuscle opponents. Certainly, this doesn’t mean we have to go for a like for like replacement for Mascherano but for me, to give us a different option to Lucas, we need somebody who is both physically up the challenge but also able on the ball to the pass the ball like the Brazilian. The five options below have all been linked with us in the past couple of months. Who would you pick?
Moussa Sissoko – Probably the prime candidate for the Reds for a few reasons. 1) He is strong and physical, making him the ideal defensive midfielder to break up play and outmuscle opponents. 2) He has played further forward over the last couple of seasons for Toulouse and has scored his fair share of goals, giving the player an added dimension to the rest of the players on the list. 3) He is young, talented and French meaning Damien Comolli will know all about Sissoko, and will no doubt have scouted the player on a number of occasions.
Yann M’Vila – Another young French star who has probably caught the eye of Comolli is Rennes’ holding midfield player M’Vila. Tall and rangy, he is an excellent tackler but lacks the forward thinking ambitions of Sissoko. Despite this though, France coach Laurent Blanc has used the 20 year old regularly in the national team and impressed playing for France against England back in November.
Blaise Matuidi – Another young Frenchman, Matuidi has most likely been linked with Liverpool due to Comolli’s prior association with St Etienne. Still he is the club’s captain at the age of 23 and has already been capped by France. Considering Comolli has stated he wouldn’t buy players off St Etienne however, it is unlikely the Reds will move for the player, although he maybe a cheaper option than the rest of the players on this list.
Lassana Diarra – Probably the least likely player to move to Liverpool on this list as in recent weeks, he has been back in favour with Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid. If the Portuguese manager does depart in the summer though, the French midfielder may opt to leave the Bernabeu if Real’s hierarchy deem him surplus to requirements. A talented holding midfielder with experience of the Premier League, as well as having the capability to get forward, if Diarra was available he would probably cost a significant amount more than the other 4 on this list.
Fernando Gago – More in the mould of Lucas than the rest of the players on this list, the Argentine holding midfielder has been linked with a move away from Spain. His agent today failed to rule out a move away from Real Madrid, and with Gago being both young and talented; the Reds have been linked with the player. Whenever I have watched the player play for Real though, I feel he wouldn’t necessarily be the type of midfield destroyer we would be looking for.
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Read more of David articles at the excellent Live4Liverpool
Alex McLeish said Birmingham can credit their Carling Cup heroics for their poor performance at home to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.The Scottish boss had no doubt his side’s last-gasp 2-1 victory over Arsenal at Wembley last Sunday saw them underperform against fellow relegation-threatened club West Brom, as Roy Hodgson’s men coasted to a 3-1 victory at St Andrew’s Ground.”I believe that entirely. (We made) a lot of changes made to the team, a lot of tiredness if I’m making excuses for my players,” McLeish told Sky Sports.”To lose five or six (players), enforced, was a big hurdle. But I thought some of our play was second rate. I would have liked to see better performances.”McLeish lamented Birmingham’s amateurish defence, but said shipping three goals was partly down to an extensive injury list disrupting his side’s starting 11.”(It was) schoolboy defending in the second half. The goals were lamentable. I’m angry with the defending but there were a lot of changes. It really disrupted us,” he said.Albion boss Roy Hodgson said there were no individual standouts in his side as they moved out of the relegation zone with the victory.”For me, as boring as it may sound and as much as a cliche as it may appear to be, I thought it was a very good performance all round,” the former Fulham and Liverpool manager told Sky Sports.”It’s always the players who score the goals or who do the spectacular things that catch the eye but I thought there were some very good defensive performances from the back players and some sterling work from the two central midfield players.”
Fiorentina’s Alberto Gilardino has revealed frustration over his side’s slow start in this season’s Serie A, but is hopeful of a strong finish.Fiorentina are in ninth place in the Italian top flight, nine points adrift of a Europa League berth for next season, but are unbeaten in their last five league games.
Gilardino believes a turbulent end to Fiorentina’s last campaign, which saw the departure of manager Cesare Prandelli to take over the Italian national squad, and the absence of key personnel have been the reasons behind their inconsistency.
Montenegrin striker Stevan Jovetic has been unable to play after suffering a severe knee injury, and Adrian Mutu also missed a large part of the season after a club-imposed ban in the wake of his doping ban.
“Fiorentina definitely has had various problems this year, both physical and structural, many players couldn’t play for various periods, essential players that would have been able to make a difference,” Gilardino said.
“We definitely didn’t do what we wanted to do and what we said we wanted to do at the beginning of the season.”
“Anyway we will try to do our best in this last part of the championship, seeing as many injured players are back.”
“Of course a player like me found the first half of the championship difficult, because I wasn’t flanked by players who could make the difference and, as I’ve said, Fiorentina suffered from the fact that various players were injured.”
Gilardino is looking forward to playing for Italy in Tuesday’s friendly against the Ukraine in Kiev, and believes such matches are important to try out new players and tactical formations.
“Playing for the national team it’s always an honour for me and I’m always excited and proud to wear the jersey of the national team,” he said.
“Tomorrow it will be a tough game, even if it’s a friendly match. We know we need to play these kind of matches with the right attitude and we really want to play well.”
“I don’t know which line-up the manager will choose, I think he will try to make everyone play a bit, so maybe even those who didn’t play the other night will have the chance to play tomorrow night. Everyone is determined and focused on playing well.”
As we approach the business end of the season, Tottenham’s ambition of finishing in the top four reamins in the balance. Obviously there are many things to do with the club that will be will or won’t happen depending on Tottenham’s potential achievement of 4th place. The calibre of player linked with Tottenham might be lessened if they do not play Champions League football. For example, Edison Cavani is unlikely to move to a club unless they play in the Champions League. Should Tottenham come fifth, it is also likely that Bale and Van der Vaart will be linked with a move away from Tottenham. There will also be some criticism from some people of Harry Redknapp if he fails to build on his fourth place of last year. I don’t look foward to any of those things happening.
After watching Rory McIlroy so painfully crash out of the Masters last night, I can’t help but be in a pessimistic mood. So, as a nervous Spurs fan I want to point out five things that will happen next year and will occur regardless of where Tottenham finish in the Premier League…
1. Kyle Walker. Aston Villa’s Kyle Walker is one of the best young right-backs around. But he is still a Tottenham player. Next season he will be back at White Hart Lane and I for one am very excited about his return. Hutton’s defensive weaknesses have been exploited this year and I expect Walker, along with Corluka, to fill the space at right-back.
2. Fringe Players will leave. With Kyle Walker coming back, I expect Hutton to leave this summer but so will a whole host of other players. Robbie Keane, David Bentley and possibly Kranjcar and Pavlyuchenko could all be sold, even if Tottenham do not get Champions League football. Their new clubs and the amount of money Tottenham recieve, plus the question of whether Tottenham should keep such players, will be something for the fans to take an interest in as the squad is, to use Daniel Levy’s words, ‘stream-lined’.
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3. Rumour mill linkage. If players leave, new players will be bought. Some players might not want to come to White Hart lane if we do not achieve 4th place, but this will not stop the press from linking Tottenham with every player under the sun. Spurs, will contine the hunt for a top striker, there is no doubt there, but two at max. However, I expect as many as 30 names to be linked with Tottenham over the summer months from Roberto Soldado to Michel Salgado.
4. Stadium plans. I can’t remember how many times I must have said this in the last few months, but this story will carry on for the next few seasons. Tottenham will never be able to match the revenue of the other top clubs with a 36,000 capacity stadium. That is what White Hart Lane is. The plans for a move / development have still not been finalised and considering the financial importance of a new stadium, I expect Daniel Levy to be very busy this summer with such plans. Expect development here.
5. Tottenham will only get better. Sandro is 22, Bale is 21, Kaboul is 25. All three of these players are gifted and I expect them to improve next year on their performances this season. Even Gareth Bale. Younes Kaboul is a late developer and I think he will become a towering centre-back over the next few seasons. Sandro has shown at times that he is a player of brilliant quality and, as he finds his feet at Tottenham, will go from strength to strength. If you add Huddlestone, 24, and Lennon, 23, there is plenty to be optimistic about at White Hart Lane.
There is still a case for Tottenham to be optimistic. Before I get too carried away with taking positives out of a negative situation it must be said that there is still plenty to play for this season. Should Manchester City lose at Liverpool the battle for fourth is still very much open. There are some big games coming up, including a showdown against Man City. It will be difficult for Tottenham but they still have a chance.
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Stoke can now prepare for their upcoming FA Cup final appearance after securing their Premier League survival with an emphatic 3-0 win against Wolves.Ryan Shawcross and Jermaine Pennant scored either side of half-time to seal an easy three points after Kenwyne Jones’ early header had opened the floodgates.
A draw was never likely, with both of these local rivals sharing the lowest number of Premier League draws with just six each all season.
And with their unenviable record of being the league’s worst away team this campaign, Wolves never looked likely to grasp the point that would have lifted them out of the bottom three.
In fact, they should thank goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey for restricting the size of their defeat.
It was plain sailing for the Potters once Jones had laid a 16th-minute pass out to Pennant on the right side of the Wolves area before advancing forward to meet the winger’s return cross with a downwards header that Hennessey narrowly failed to block.
Pennant exposed the visitors’ frailties along the left wing again by releasing Andy Wilkinson on an overlapping run and shot that Hennessey beat away with Jones then guilty of a five-yard miss from Jonathan Walters’ inviting cross.
Hennessey’s agility saved his side again as he spectacularly denied both Walters and Shawcross inside the space of 30 seconds in the 45th minute.
But the Wolves keeper could only stand and stare as the slice of luck that Stoke’s dominance deserved arrived seconds later when Karl Henry unwittingly deflected Glen Whelan’s shot straight to Shawcross who had the simplest of back-post tap-ins to seal the points by the break.
Pennant’s lung-busting break out of midfield ended with the winger drilling a third past Hennessey in the 51st minute, albeit via another significant deflection.
And with the relegation-haunted visitors mustering just one shot on target, it was Walters who almost added to the score line with a 25-yard shot that flew inches wide late on.
Wayne Rooney has praised attacking partner Javier Hernandez after the pair put on a show at Shalke in the Champions League on Tuesday.Rooney created one goal and scored the other as United took a handy 2-0 aggregate into the home leg of their semi-final tie, but it was ‘Chicharito’ who nearly stole the show in the first half with some terrific one-on-one battles with Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
The Mexico international has proved adept at finding the net in his debut season at Old Trafford, scoring 19 goals in 41 appearances across all competitions.
His start at the Veltins Arena in place of Dimitar Berbatov meant Rooney could work deeper in attack, and the England international seemed to relish the role with a series of plundering attacks on Schalke’s startled defence.
Rooney, who has previously described Hernandez as the ‘buy of the century’, said he was optimistic of scoring once he knew he would be partnering the 22-year-old.
“I’ve obviously understood and seen the way Chicharito plays, I knew if I was playing in front of him then I’d have a chance and you know, and maybe play a bit deeper and it’s worked for us,” Rooney said.
“He’s been a fantastic signing and scored lots of goals, important goals as well. I’m enjoying getting on the ball and I can play and I’m getting a few goals.”
United’s dominant performance drew praise from veteran Schalke striker Raul, a legend of the game who Hernandez has drawn comparisons to.
“We’ve played against Manchester United, undoubtedly a good team, experienced and with a superb mentality, and they’ve proven in the game how good they are,” the former Real Madrid star said.
“They have been better and I congratulate them for the result. The next week we will try to give a better performance at Old Trafford and do our best.”
David Beckham is relishing the prospect of donning the red of Manchester United once again when he lines up in Gary Neville’s testimonial match.In a measure of how much regard Beckham has for his former United team-mate, he will miss LA Galaxy’s Major League Soccer clash with the Houston Dynamo on Tuesday to take part.
United play host to a Juventus XI at Old Trafford on Tuesday to honour Neville, 36, who called time on his career in February after 602 games for the reigning English Premier League champions.
Spending almost two decades at the club, Neville emerged among a crop of United youngsters that also included current players Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes as well as brother Phil Neville and Nicky Butt.
Beckham said he was looking forward to seeing some old friends on Tuesday.
“It’s going to be interesting seeing Nicky Butt and Scholesy and all these guys,” Beckham said.
“We had so many great memories with the club and with each other. We grew up together and we were part of such a historical team at Manchester United.”
“To have a manager like Sir Alex Ferguson look after us and bring us right through the ranks, gave us a chance when nobody else probably would have given us that chance.”
“To be back in a Manchester United shirt at Old Trafford with the Class of ’92 doesn’t get much better than that.”
Beckham hailed Neville, who earned 85 caps for England, as a Manchester United man through and through.
“He’s a huge fan of the club, but he’s more than that,” he said.
“Manchester United is a religion to so many fans and so many players and people, and that’s what it is to Gary.”
“Fans sing songs about him and they’re all true because he’s passionate about playing for the club and he’s always loved the club and he always will.”
Beckham will pull on a Manchester United shirt for the first time since he left to join Real Madrid in 2003, and joked Neville could expect the same limited service he had given him during their 10 years together at Old Trafford.
“I think our partnership was so strong because we both knew how to work with each other,” he said.
“He also knew that every time he made an overlapping run that he was never going to get the ball. He did that for 10 years and he probably got four or five balls off me in 10 years.”
“Hopefully that will happen again on Tuesday night – I won’t give him the ball again, well maybe one ball.”
Wayne Rooney’s season was similar to the film Alien, at first it seemed a little slow, there was a truly disgusting bit early on, then it quickly became exceedingly entertaining and totally satisfying.
Rooney went from a lone striker figure bereft of goals, to a deep lying centre forward- or false 10 if you will who seemed to be the cog making most of United’s attacks happen.
There’s nothing better as a United fan than watching as yet another one of our player’s throws the media’s criticism of him back in their faces with one stellar performance after another.
Just as David Beckham did in 98/99 and Cristiano Ronaldo did in 06/07, Rooney was able to transform himself from one of the most disappointing players in South Africa, to a misguided, greedy fool, to the team’s superstar again- sort of.
Rooney seemed to find new freedom in having a prolific Mexican in front of him and wide men who loved nothing more than getting on the end of one of his sumptuous passes and converting it into a goal scoring opportunity.
It’s a testament to how far Rooney has evolved as a player that less than a year on from being almost exclusively a lone striker he can slot into deeper role to be arguably even more effective. He may not get as many goals but Rooney’s definitely at the heart of more and fundamentally the team seems less reliant on just his efforts.
Rooney in the false 10 role has been such a success that the question is “will he be reverted back to a standard striker next season?”
Much may seem to depend on the fitness of Chicharito as if the Little Pea was injured then it may be beneficial to push Rooney further up the pitch and allow Dimitar Berbatov the luxury of dropping deep now and again as he often likes to do.
However when Chicharito is fit there’s no denying that both he and Rooney seem to thrive with the Mexican further up field than his Scouse colleague.
With this in mind, you could cast your eye over the potential attacking midfielders being courted by Manchester United and ask “do we really need them?”
Take Wesley Sneijder for example an attacking midfielder in every sense of the word, a truly world class player who would be an asset to any team in world football.
The question is would United really need him if Rooney’s operating in a similar role?
Hayden Shaw wrote on this site over two months ago: “Now, if Rooney is playing that role, being the player who likes to operate in the gap between midfield and defence, making himself hard to pick up, threading the passes and linking the play, then that really doesn’t leave a lot of room for Sneijder.”
I’m inclined to agree.
A similar argument could be put forward for Alexis Sanchez who although able to operate on either wing, is just as adept and some would argue more at home in the false 10 role. With the signing of Ashley Young, plus Antonio Valencia and Nani available for the wide positions it’s questionable as to whether United really need Sanchez, unless he’s to be utilised in a central role.
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The problem with using the Chilean just off the striker is that a certain freshly haired tweeter can do the job arguably better than anyone.
Then there’s Samir Nasri, again a player who when needed can be pushed out wide and can even be played as a bog standard central midfielder if needed but without a doubt an AM if ever there was one.
Again would you need Nasri if you had Rooney occupying the deep striker/ attacking midfielder role? Probably not but I’d still buy him if he was available because unlike Sanchez and Sneijder who’d probably cost the same amount as Andy Caroll- I honestly can’t believe I’ve just written that sentence- Nasri could be bought for the fairly cheap price of £10 million- nor many years ago did I expect to one day be saying that.
Rooney’s excellence in the deep striker role, means that forking out 30-40 million beer tokens for the likes of Sneijder or Sanchez may not be the most savvy of moves by United. I know Sanchez can play as a winger, but again do United need another one of those- especially at such a price? Probably not, nor do we need a player best suited just off the striker, not when we’ve already got one who’s proven he’s more than worthy of the role.
Check out Hayden’s Sneijder At United Thanks But No Thanks article here
Read more of Justin’s articles at Red Flag Flying High
There is a common saying in football that you pay the price for failure but it appears in the case of QPR’s it will be their fans that will be paying the price for their recent success.
When on QPR finally celebrated promotion to the Premier League on 20 April, they probably knew with their new found Barclays Premier League status would come with an increase in prices for the new season.
However I doubt if any of them expected a massive 40 per cent price hike on season tickets from last season with the cheapest adult ticket now at £47 and the most expensive season tickets have increased from £699 to £999.
So despite the club benefiting for a £90 million windfall after being promoted, the owners have still decide to put the prices up and in doing so are helping to take the game away from the real fans who can hardly afford these inflated prices.
A major problem is that despite the increase, QPR’s home Loftus Road will be sold out for nearly every game next season so the owners can rightly charge as much as they feel it is worth.
When the 20th campaign of the top flight starts in August, fans will still turn up and most games will sell out. People can complain about the shocking admission charges, rip off kit prices but they will still turn up every week and buy the new kit, it all part of loving a football club.
The best example of this is in the recent UEFA Champions League final held at a sold-out Wembley where UEFA and the FA agreed to outrageous overinflated prices where the cheapest ticket was £80 and the most expensive £300. But it still easily sold out and probably would have a few times over even with the high price to pay. Simple Keynesian economics explains that as the product demand increases so will its price and this seems to be the situation in football.
Back in 1992 when the format of the Premier League was introduced it was thought that the wealth and power it would create could be used for the benefit of the entire game from the top level to the grassroots as well as making the sport more affordable in the future.
They could not have been more wrong. Vast sums of money that should of been re-invested back into the game is now disappearing to pay for luxury items, super injunctions and the lavish lifestyle that footballers live, instead of being passed down the football pyramid.
At the top level of the game there will be a 6.5 per cent rise at the Emirates for next season, tickets at Stamford Bridge will start at £46 with the cheapest season ticket at £59 and away fans still have to pay £50 at Old Trafford but did you know an adult also has to fork out £17 to see Blue Square Conference side Mansfield Town play?
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However there is some light at the end of a very dark tunnel with Premier League side Blackburn offering £225 season tickets where fans can watch top-flight football for less than £12 a game, actually working out cheaper than most Football League teams.
There are also some positives in the Football League where teams are introducing incentives to attract more supporters. Hartlepool United have so far had success with their £100 season ticket scheme with nearly 2000 supporters so far signed up, which could work out as cheap as £4.34 to watch each League One game. In League Two Bradford City fans have been benefiting from cheap £150 season tickets for recent years and despite having their worst season on the pitch for years they still averaged an 11,127 crowd last season. This shows what can be done if fans are fairly charged to watch their side, however it is just not common enough.
As the money in football increases the top clubs are getting richer leaving the lower clubs further behind and the loyal fans are the people who are paying for this discrepancy at all levels of the game. The real price of the huge success of the beautiful game.