Newcastle have opened their Europa League campaign with a 0-0 draw against Maritimo in Portugal.
The Tynesiders fielded a scratch side and had young goalkeeper Rob Elliot to thank for keeping the scoreline clear after a number of excellent saves.
Alan Pardew stated that he was impressed with his inexperienced stopper and feels that Maritimo were a tough opponent.
“Rob has waited a long time – since the [Nottingham] Forest game, really – to stake his claim,” he told Sky Sports.
“We know him very well, myself and the goalkeeping coach [Andy Woodman] because of Charlton, and this is a shot-stopper, this is a great goalkeeper.
“What he did at the start of the game is what he does in training every day, and I was pleased for him in every aspect of his game, very, very pleased with him.
“He was outstanding, as well as the back four against a really difficult surface and difficult opponents.
“Maritimo are a team who are going to surprise teams here. They are very, very good – their record suggests that.
“Therefore, taking all that into consideration, I thought a draw was a great result,” he concluded.
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Newcastle face Norwich on Sunday at the Sports Direct Arena.
After the departure of last season’s highest goalscorer Robin Van Persie to Manchester United, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger wants more goals to be shared around his squad.
Lukas Podolski, Olivier Giroud and Gervinho played up front in Arsenal’s goalless draw against Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium and despite a strong performance in midfield, they lacked a vital cutting edge in front of goal. Wenger’s side also battled out a 0-0 draw with Sunderland on the opening day of the Premier League season. Having not scored in their opening two Premier League fixtures following the departure of Dutch striker Van Persie, Wenger remains confident his side will adapt and spread the goalscoring duties.
Talking to Sky Sports, the Frenchman declared his solution to the issues his side face in front of goal:
“We have to find a way to get around that by sharing more of the goals than we did before with Van Persie. Giroud scored 20 (last season), Podolski scored 20. We will get some goals I’m convinced from (Abou) Diaby, (Aaron) Ramsey, (Theo) Walcott, Gervinho, so we have of course to share it around a bit.”
Wenger also threw his support behind French striker Giroud, who made his first start against Stoke, and played down what he called a lack of “understanding” between his front men. Wenger said about the lack of goals,”I think Giroud has not to think he has to replace Van Persie with the number of goals he has to score. We want to play well as a team and if you play well as a team you score goals.”
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The summer transfer window is always massively busy for Premier League clubs, desperate to improve their squad and push-on for a more successful season than the last. But sometimes, it takes a few months of the new season for teams to notice where the money should have been spent – whether that be in defence, midfield or attack – and managers are left anxiously waiting for the January transfer window to roll around so that they may attempt to plug the gaps.
Here is a list of 10 ‘priority purchases’ in the Premier League that I feel are vastly important to improving the respective teams. These are all just my opinion, however, and I would love to hear your suggestions.
Click on the cheque book below to see the Top 10
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Charlie Adam’s first half goal proved to be enough for Stoke to see off Fulham at the Britannia Stadium.
The Potters made it 13 games without defeat on home soil to move level on points with the visitors, who saw they four match unbeaten run on the road brought to an end.
Martin Jol’s men were beaten in their own backyard by Sunderland last Sunday and missed the presence of suspended captain Brede Hangeland, with the hosts seeking to exploit their aerial superiority.
Robert Huth sent an early warning shot across the bow, heading a corner just wide of the post but the Cottagers failed to take heed and were trailing after 26 minutes.
A corner from Ryan Shotton found Peter Crouch and his header set up Adam to touch, swivel and shoot past Mark Schwarzer to score his second goal in three games.
Ryan Shawcross thought he’d doubled the lead after beating Schwarzer with a header from Matthew Etherington’s corner, only to see the ball cannon agonisingly back off the crossbar.
From that Fulham launched a swift counter attack but Mladen Petric was unable to apply the finishing touches before a dangerous delivery from Dimitar Berbatov went unchallenged.
Apart from that they were virtual bystanders for much of the 90 minutes and were lucky not to concede more than one goal with Glenn Whelan firing over in the second half after being teed up by Jon Walters.
The away sides best chance of an equaliser fell to the subdued Berbatov, but his strike was kept out by Asmir Begovic as their late attacking flurry failed to produce the desired result.
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And Kenwyne Jones thought he’d doubled Stokes lead in the dying embers only to be flagged for offside after mistiming his run to connect with Michael Kightlys pass.
Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverley is becoming a regular starter for both club and country, and has admitted that he wants to emulate the goal scoring antics of Paul Scholes.
After a sensational strike against Newcastle at the weekend, Cleverley has described himself as on a mission to get on the score sheet more often.
“It’s amazing that the two goals I have scored for Manchester United have both been against Newcastle, but this season it feels like I am really getting into scoring positions,” he told the Mirror.
The 23-year-old midfielder is proving to be a pivotal player under Sir Alex Ferguson and England gaffer Roy Hodgson, as he sets to banish the memories of a disappointing Premier League season last year.
Cleverley has been tipped to be the next potential home-grown star after Paul Scholes, and has started to add goals to his repertoire, scoring two goals in his last three games.
The midfielder has recently started the last two international games against Moldova and Ukraine and is set to add to his three caps against San Marino on Friday.
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“I’m very excited about the future. We have only had the opening couple of months of the season but I have played at massive stadiums in some huge games already, so it is all very good in terms of gaining experience.
“I am enjoying it massively. Everyone knows I had some injuries last season so to be at United and in the England squad is something I am hugely proud of and I hope this season just carries on,” he added.
Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna has questioned the direction that the club are taking after another summer of high-profile exits at the club and with that in mind, will he be the next key player to leave Arsene Wenger’s side in pursuit of silverware?
Ever since moving from French outfit Auxerre back in 2007, the 29-year-old right-back has been an integral part of the side, making over 150 league appearances in his five seasons at the club so far. His presence was sorely missed last term, during which he sustained two separate broken leg injuries as he bids to keep up his comeback to full fitness this term.
Speaking in French publication L’Equipe, Sagna, rather worryingly for the club’s fans, questioned the wisdom of letting both Robin van Persie and Alex Song go this summer: “Everyone was expecting Robin Van Persie to leave, but Alex Song, that was a surprise. I don’t understand that at all. It is a big loss for the club. When you see two of the best players from last season leave, you ask a lot of questions. I understand why the supporters are nervous. I am the only starting player left from 2007. In May, I watched City’s parade on TV. I saw Samir and Gael lift the trophy. I want that (feeling). For the moment, I want to play with Arsenal, and find my level again.”
The most alarming point to take from that is the declaration of professional jealousy at the likes of Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy for achieving success while at Manchester City, proving that their respective moves to the current Premier League champions for trophies were entirely vindicated last campaign.
Arsenal have routinely been labelled a ‘selling club’ recently under Wenger and the club have been accused of putting fiscal concerns above footballing matters, often choosing short-term financial gain to the detriment of the side out on the pitch. However, what this fails to take into account is that Arsenal under Wenger have always been a ‘selling club’, dating right back to Nicolas Anelka’s move to Real Madrid in 1999, while the likes of Marc Overmars, Emmanuel Petit, Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and then Cesc Fabregas followed a similar path – it’s a far more long-term trend than previously assumed, as opposed to a new idea since the stadium move.
If you look at Arsenal’s expenditure since Wenger took over the club back in 1996, while they may have spent £385m on new players, they’ve also recouped £363m from sales during the same time, to give the club a net spend of just £22m over 16 years, which is a truly staggering statistic.
If Sagna were to leave, the only likely destinations would have to be either Manchester United or Manchester City if he wanted to remain in the Premier League. Real Madrid are in need of another right-back to compete with Alvaro Arbeloa while Barcelona’s Daniel Alves has been linked with a departure for quite some time, so there are certainly options open to the highly-regarded defender.
The summer transfer saga that envelopes the club is almost a yearly ritual now, though, and even if they allowed Alex Song to leave for Barcelona on their own terms, they have acted like a feeder club in recent times for both the Catalan giants and Roberto Mancini’s side and there’s nothing to suggest that this will change in the future. Is Sagna the next obvious player to make the move out of the club over Arsenal’s perceived lack of ambition?
Jack Wilshere is the next logical player in mind other than Sagna and he’s likely to be a player that will be coveted by a whole host of top clubs throughout his career. However, after missing an entire year out through injury at such a crucial stage in his development, it remains to be seen whether he will be able to return to his best this season and he may need time to feel his way back into the side and any sort of form, so Arsenal should be safe for the foreseeable future at least.
Other than Sagna and Wilshere, the club’s next most highly-valued prospect is perhaps Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, with the 19-year-old catching the eye with a series of bright displays last season. His performance against AC Milan during the team’s 3-0 win over them at home in the Champions League last term will have been duly noted all across the continent as he delivered a virtuoso display in a more central role with a maturity well beyond his years which suggests he’s capable of becoming a player of genuine class in the future and big things are expected of him, but whether that will be at Arsenal remains to be seen.
Cast your eye around the remainder of the Arsenal squad, though, and the club’s shift in transfer policy to recruiting more experienced players with proven European experience should see an end for a while at least to the destructive policy of selling on your best player every summer.
Unless the likes of Lukas Podolski, Thomas Vermaelen or Wojciech Szczesny have an absolutely storming season, they are probably at a club that matches their ambitions and talent level. You suspect that Laurent Koscielny, Theo Walcott and Santi Cazorla could attract attention in the future from bigger clubs, but perhaps not to the same extent as the aforementioned trio.
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This myth that Arsenal have only just become a ‘selling club’ is a false one and the club’s fans must come to terms with the likelihood of key players leaving at crucial times unless they start to challenge for silverware more at the end of the season; there’s no reason why that’s not possible, but until the seven-year trophy drought is ended, players like Sagna will always have a wandering eye towards other clubs and the thought in their mind that the grass may in fact be greener on the other side.
Liverpool vice-captain Jamie Carragher’s contract expires at the end of the season, and after admitting that he was considering retirement, his manager Brendan Rodgers attempted to emphasis that the veteran defender still had a role to play in the side – with that in mind, is he deserving of a new deal or is it time for the club to move on?
Firstly, it would be wrong to just take a casual look at Carragher’s age and write him off regardless, especially as his contribution to the tune of 720 senior appearances warrants him a chance to have his case presented for him; his is a one-club man and has been both a fantastic player and loyal servant, adjusting to the chaos around him at times and marking himself out as a player of real character, firmly established in the club’s history.
The 34-year-old has made nine league appearances so far and 21 across all competitions. It’s worth noting that eight of those league outings came off the bench but he has featured nine times in Europe this season, playing in five of the Europa League group games. At the moment, he is an essential part of Brendan Rodgers’ squad whenever he wants to rotate it and keep his starting eleven fresh. He is no longer first-choice, but neither was Sami Hyypia in his final season at Anfield, yet he still made a useful contribution to Rafa Benitez’s side back in 2008-9 as the club were pipped to the title by Manchester United, making 16 Premier League outings. Every squad needs that depth.
The sort of experience that Carragher has gleaned over the years is absolutely essential at the moment with the squad being so young and small. He has played at every top flight ground plenty of times, is familiar with the expectations of the club, the fans and everything that comes with representing Liverpool; he’s used to pressure and every sort of situation and environment imaginable. Is it really worth throwing all of that away?
Of course there are doubts about whether he can seriously contribute consistently in the league, and his performances towards the end of last term under Kenny Dalglish were not pretty to watch, with his lack of pace proving a particular problem, particularly as it means the side has to defend that much deeper so that he isn’t caught out on the break with the ball played in behind.
In Rodgers’ preferred 4-3-3 system, with the full-back’s bombing on, it’s essential to have two centre-backs comfortable running towards their own goal and chasing a striker, something which has never been Carragher’s forte. At the same time, that means that because he never had the quality of pace, that he shouldn’t miss it, but he’s always been a player that’s benefited from a string of games and has notably struggled after coming back from spells out of the side with injury; he’s not the sort that will benefit in the league from being sporadically used and chopped and changed. It’s worked so far in Europe because the pace and flow of the game has been just a few notches slower, but there have still been occasions when he’s floundered.
Carragher told the Daily Express back in December: “There is a chance that I will retire at the end of the season. It is the last season of my contract and the club have not said anything to me yet. I am open-minded, but I would not play on if I was killing the team when I played. I would not be hanging on for money or anything. And I would not go anywhere else. It is Liverpool or nothing for me.”
This prompted Rodgers to respond to reporters last week: “He and I have had loose discussions in terms of where he is at. We spoke before Christmas and decided we’d have a chat after Christmas.
“We had a busy period coming up but there is no doubt I want him to stay as a player because he still has a lot to offer. It is different for defenders as well. The older you get, you are in that firing line at the back and there is no hiding place.
“He has been a pivotal player, a real iconic player for the club — he is still in great condition, he looks after himself.
“He turns out every single day and I’m sure there are days that are difficult for him as a player when you don’t play. But he is a wonderful example to any player, absolutely incredible. And he has still got a few years left in him yet, for sure.”
The 39-year-old boss, only five years Carragher’s senior, is clearly mindful of keeping him involved in some sort of capacity, due to his standing and relationship with the terraces, and he is known to be a real footballing fanatic, who looks destined to move into coaching and management when he does eventually hang up his boots, bursting full of ideas and brimming with knowledge.
He can certainly still contribute in one way or another and he’s accepted his position in the pecking order, but Rodgers hit the nail on the head by referring to the ‘no hiding place’ line with defenders and that’s why it’s so different to the arrangement that both Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes have at Old Trafford – they are rarely exposed in quite the same way Carragher has been at times, seemingly benefiting from the rotation policy rather than being hindered by it.
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Nevertheless, the club’s closely-fought 2-1 victory over Mansfield during the FA Cup third round saw Carragher in his best light and displayed that what he does still has to offer far outweighs all of the negatives at this point in time – leadership. Luckily for the team, the news that dominated the headlines was Luis Suarez’s handball that led to the second and eventually winning goal, as it completely distracted attention away from what a terrible second half performance Liverpool put together with a fairly senior side against a team 93 places below them in the league pyramid. It was abject, awful and devoid of inspiration, with the midfield just disappearing when the going got tough, wilting under the aerial onslaught, but Carragher held that back four together and they scraped through.
With the jury still firmly out on the cumbersome Sebastian Coates after a string of ropey, error-strewn performances this term as the club’s third-choice centre-back, he hardly inspires confidence should Agger or Skrtel suffer a long-term injury and despite arriving with a burgeoning reputation, the 22-year-old Uruguayan has never really kicked on or improved, unable to break up the Agger-Skrtel axis.
Considering the lack of options available, the tight financial constraints placed on the side in terms of finding a replacement and his decent displays so far this season, Carragher is just about worthy of a new deal to extend his stay at Liverpool into its 18th campaign. It’s not always been crystal clear that he should stay, but with a young squad and new manager at the helm, stability at the moment is absolutely key and letting someone of his stature go without a fight would be a mistake.
There may be some in denial, such has the rise of Manchester City been a shock to the Premier League in recent years, but the two Manchester clubs have put some distance between themselves and any other potential title contenders.
In the Premier League era Manchester United have been unrivalled in terms of success. In the 90’s they used to contest with Arsenal for titles. In the 00’s Chelsea decided to join the party, but now the blue half of Manchester has consolidated its place as the main competition.
The ease of the 2-0 victory at the Etihad for Man City against Chelsea on the weekend emanated the difference in quality between them and their 3 London rival pretenders. Man United on the other hand are so far beyond the competition this season that mentioning any other game than the Manchester derby as a title match would be dismissed as lunacy. Robin Van Persie has had a devastating effect. It is clear those at Old Trafford have once again set the standard to chase.
Man City have been weak compared to their showing last season and it does not take a genius to work out that Mancini will invest heavily in the summer to plug the gap between his side and Sir Alex Ferguson’s team. So can any outfit bridge the gulf in class any time soon?
The answer to this lies in the next transfer window. If Wenger still truly believes he has enough to reach the top two this season, maybe he finally has gone mad. The reason why the Manchester clubs have set the precedent in recent years is the ability to call upon several match winners not just one. It is without doubt that Gareth Bale can single handedly win games at the moment but this is not enough. Tottenham may have an outstanding starting XI when all are fit but would you ever expect to see Gylfi Sigurdsson on the bench for Man United. I suspect not.
All clubs are handicapped in their pursuit of the very pinnacle of the Premier League by the financial wealth available to the clubs in Manchester. This applies to all but Chelsea. If we are being realistic the prudence of the chairman in North London will hold back Tottenham and Arsenal from having a real go at winning the title in the near future. If they go for broke then they may just have a chance of a top two finish. The hopes of a wide open Premier League hinge upon the actions of those in charge at Stamford Bridge this summer.
The most important movement of all could be regarding the managerial situation at the Blues. It would take a miracle for Rafael Benitez to remain at Stamford Bridge beyond the end of this season. Abramovich is as ruthless as they come and will be sure to be looking to find a winner. Would he dare go back and try and lure Mourinho to Stamford Bridge once more? I would not put it past him.
The squad the Blues possess has several with star quality in the shape of Eden Hazard, Juan Mata and Oscar. They remain dormant whilst they do not have the potent striker leading the line who can drag defenders from side to side to open up the critical space for these playmakers to work their magic. It is interesting considering the desperation from the top sides in Europe to sign Hazard how he has failed to deliver the star quality that was widely expected, despite a bright start. This could all change very quickly. It finally takes a brave manager too to dispose Fernando Torres to the waste disposal pile where he belongs and not give him even more chances to succeed which he will continue to spurn away. If a confident and truly world class striker came in at Chelsea it could really add a new intensity to the Premier League which would result in there being far greater competition at the top.
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In terms of scouting too the best players simply do not remain a secret anymore, like they did when Wenger used to plot success. If Chelsea can capture a Cavani or Falcao it could make all the difference to what is a squad which already has the foundations for success laid down. Even Roberto Mancini has conceded one transfer in the form of the imperious Van Persie has made the impact required for the Red Devils this season.
If the pattern of Manchester dominance is to change anytime soon and finally unnerve the current top two I suspect the lead character in the latest chapter of the Premier League is Roman Abramovich. The choices he makes this next transfer window will pivotal to the short term future of English future. Over to you now Roman.
The Guardian recently put together an article highlighting what makes the Bundesliga so special. It’s the connection fans have with the club, the knowledge that they’re a part of something big rather than just paying customers. German football is everything the rest of Europe should aspire to be.
On the pitch, however, the talent at Bundesliga clubs are giving the league plenty to stand on if they’re to back up the claim (made by outsiders) that they’re the finest football league in Europe. The big names that line up for the German national team have been well documented, but there’s so much quality through the league that it almost seems unbelievable that Premier League clubs don’t look deeper into German football for their transfer business.
This season has been a great step forward for German football, with every club competing in Europe advancing out of the group stage and into the next round (that’s both Champions League and Europa League). It would be criminal if the Premier League continued to ignore the abundance of talent in German football for much longer.
Click on Kevin Trapp to unveil the 10 Bundesliga stars that should be on Premier League club’s wishlist
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David Moyes sympathizes with Premier League referees, but feels they are being let down by their assistants in games.
The Everton boss, who saw two penalty shouts waved away by referee Kevin Friend against Spurs on Sunday, said that at times it is the linesmen who should be supporting the man in the middle more.
Moyes feels that poor decisions have cost his side points this season. In September Newcastle came from behind to draw 2-2 after the officials ruled out a legitimate goal from Victor Anichebe, which would have put the Toffees 3-1 up.
“Being a referee nowadays comes with a much higher profile and it is also a much more challenging job,” Moyes told Goal. “The cameras and the technology now allow us to analyse every decision and for anyone who has never refereed a game I can tell you that it is very difficult as I do it most days in training.
“However, here comes a ‘but’ from me. What we’ve had in recent games, starting at Reading a few weeks ago, are decisions that have cost us points. I will always be the first person to look at the players to finish better or to defend better and not rely on decisions, but as you can see on a regular basis at the moment decisions are affecting the outcome of the games.
“Some of the decisions that have gone against us have been made by the assistants – Newcastle and Wigan for example.”
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“I do feel that the referees are not being supported by their assistants and are, on occasions, being let down by them.”