It will come as no shock to anyone that Mr Bargain Deal himself Harry Redknapp is looking to enter into the January transfer window. What may come as a shock is that instead of looking to get a cut price deal for a player, Harry is considering what can only be described as a marquee signing – someone who is a little bit ‘special’ and who would cost the big bucks.
Yet do Spurs really need such a big signing to show people the progress that they have made in the recent seasons – becoming actual title contenders this time around. The progress that Spurs have made since Redknapp took charge, and even since the signings of Parker, Friedel and Adebayor in the summer have meant that the North London side have begun to wake up from being one of football’s biggest sleeping giants, and can make a claim for a top four spot this season with ease.
The special player that has been talked about is Carlos Tevez, yet Redknapp seems doubtful over this, and that can only be described as a good thing, with Tevez a disruptive force where ever he seems to go, and Spurs need that like a hole in the head.
It is partly their collective mentality and team ethos that has seen them do so well, and the signing of a big name – and with that will come big egos – could well rock the boat in a way they do not want.
Another thing that must be acknowledged is the fact that they managed to retain Luka Modric in the summer, and this is more of a signal of new times to come for Spurs – being a club that no longer has to sell big names – than a big January signing which could more than likely be a flop – just think back to Carroll and Torres!
Spurs this season are not only financially secure but are also more than looking decent prospects in the league. Couple this with the fact that they are playing good football in attack and have finally learnt how to shore things up at the back, and you have a very good team and a very bright future.
People are sitting up and taking notice of Redknapp’s side, and adding an overpriced and overpaid ‘star’ in January will not make much difference to this. Yes, if the right player at the right price comes along, Spurs are more than entitled to go for it, but buying for the sake of having a ‘star’ on their books is something that would do far more harm than good.
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South Africa international Benni McCarthy is finally out the door at West Ham United after having his contract terminated by mutual consent.McCarthy, 33, arrived at Upton Park in a 2.2-million-pound move from Blackburn Rovers in last January’s transfer window but proved a costly failure at his new club.
The Bafana Bafana striker went goalless in 14 appearances with the Hammers, was fined 200,000 pounds for ongoing weight issues and soon found himself down manager Avram Grant’s pecking order.
He was left out of Grant’s 25-man squad for the second half of the English Premier League season following the transfer-window arrivals of Robbie Keane and Demba Ba, spelling the end of his short, fruitless spell at the East London club.
“West Ham United have mutually agreed with Benni McCarthy to part company with immediate effect,” a short statement on the club’s website read.
“The club would like to wish Benni the best for the future.”
According to English media, McCarthy would have received a further 2.3 million pounds had he opted to sit out his contract until its expiry in June of next year, but instead will walk away with a lump sum payment of 1.5 million pounds and the chance to restart his career elsewhere.
West Ham had attempted to send the former Porto attacker out on loan in January but failed to attract a suitor in the Championship.
Chelsea come into the season looking to continue their impressive form which saw them wrap up a domestic double for the first time in club history. This off-season has seen much change at Stamford Bridge with notable players such as Michael Ballack, Deco and Joe Cole leaving Chelsea and Ramires and Yossi Benayoun the only two players of note that Ancelotti has brought in.
With free-spending Manchester City assembling a star-studded squad along with usual suspects Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal sure to be in or around the top come May, this season is shaping up to be as exciting and as close as last season. Here are 5 things Ancelotti and Chelsea must do to ensure that success is maintained at the Bridge.
1. Stay injury-free
Injuries were the bane of Chelsea last season with several key players out for extended periods and this season the injury bug has struck again with Jose Bosingwa still absent following a long-term knee injury and Petr Cech and Alex rushing in a race against time to be fit for the season opener against West Brom. With all of the departures at Chelsea this season, it is essential that key players in the squad are kept injury free for Chelsea to be able to mount a successful defence of their Premier League title.
2. The supporters must get behind John Terry and Ashley Cole
I’m sure this won’t be a problem for Chelsea fans but we must get behind John Terry and Ashley Cole. Terry and Cole’s confidence must be at an all time low following England’s dismal performance in South Africa and the two have carried their World Cup hangover into Chelsea’s pre-season. The boo-boys have definitely been out in force for the duo and their performances against Manchester United will have given them much pleasure. We all know the quality that Cole and Terry possess and it is up to us fans to ensure that they have all of our support so that they can put in the quality performances that we know they can produce.
3. Give youth a chance
Much has been made about Chelsea’s ageing squad but there are some quality youngsters coming through the ranks at Stamford Bridge and Ancelotti would be wise to use the club’s quest for trophies on all fronts as a means of blooding some of his young charges. Gael Kakuta has been drawing rave reviews as a result of his Golden Ball winning performance at this summer’s European U-19 Championship and has shown the potential to be a future star for Chelsea. Daniel Sturridge played excellently for Chelsea on Sunday after coming on in the second half and looks to be a livewire of a player. Other players such as Jeffrey Bruma, Fabio Borini, Patrick van Aanholt and Josh McEachran are highly-prized at Stamford Bridge and some first team action, maybe in the Carling Cup would prove hugely beneficial to the development of these young players.
4. More from some of the squad players
With a number of experienced players leaving Chelsea this season, it is more important than ever that some of the squad players at Stamford Bridge look to raise their game. Salomon Kalou has managed to frustrate and delight in equal measures in his time at Stamford Bridge and this season, Ancelotti must look to get more of the latter out of the enigmatic Ivorian. Kalou has shown flashes of brilliance during his four seasons in West London, most notably during the tail-end of last season where Kalou scored a hat-trick in Chelsea’s rout of Stoke City. Kalou has attempted to carry over this good form into this season and impressed during Chelsea’s disappointing 3-1 defeat to Manchester United on Sunday. Hopefully, he can maintain this form and be a weapon for Ancelotti in the upcoming season.
Ancelotti will also be looking at Yuri Zhirkov to show more for Chelsea after failing to impress in pre-season with the Russian culpable for a suicidal back pass which led to Chelsea’s eventual defeat to Hamburg.
5. Draw on the experience in the squad
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Chelsea’s core squad has remained together and they have experience of winning trophies that cannot be underestimated. Chelsea have bred a habit of winning and many of the players have won multiple honours while at the club. This has fostered a strong team unity that has shown through the team’s ability to bounce back after defeat to Inter last season threatened to derail our title push. Only Manchester United can draw on the experience of that kind of success that is present in the Chelsea squad.
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With the PL season nearly upon us, let’s see the WAGS that will be keeping the players on their toes. Click on image to VIEW gallery
The morning after the night before and Ellis Short now has the task of finding the right man to take the reins at Sunderland following the dismissal of Steve Bruce yesterday. Mark Hughes and Martin O’Neill are the early favourites for the post with polls suggesting that supporters would prefer the Mackems to move for the latter.
Elsewhere in the news Carragher is keen on Wembley appearance; Newcastle in war of words, while Wenger wants to remain patient with Oxlade-Chamberlain.
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News
Sunderland sack Steve Bruce
City owner wants Premier League title
Carragher wants Wembley appearance
Wenger wants to give Oxlade-Chamberlain time
Ancelotti slams Chelsea team
Newcastle in war of words
Gunners ready to make club record bid
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Transfer Talk
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Hoilett and Anelka on Spurs New Year wish list – Metro
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City lie in wait as Paul Pogba stalls on new United deal – Independent
Moussa tells Arsenal to reunite him with Gervinho – Daily Mail
Lucho Gonzalez looking for move – Sun
Rovers and QPR eye PAOK midfielder Fotakis – Daily Mail
Chelsea defender John Terry has been reinstated as captain of the England football team.Terry, 30, lost the armband last year after reports he was involved in an affair with the former partner of his England and former Chelsea team-mate Wayne Bridge surfaced.Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand filled Terry’s void, but England boss Fabio Capello said Terry has endured enough and proved he was a natural leader in his time in the side when he was not captain.”After one year of punishment, Terry will again be the permanent captain,” Capello said on Saturday.”I think one year’s punishment is enough. John, when he played without the armband, was every time a leader on the pitch, a leader in the dressing room. He was really good every time.””Always he is the same. He is a player that is himself a leader. This is really important. He is the biggest personality in the dressing room.” The decision was made ahead of the Euro 2012 qualifier against Wales on March 26, and Capello said the decision is not a risk and should please the players.”Sometimes the leader can make mistakes – not only him but I, you, all the people,” he said.”It is not a risk making Terry captain again. He understood the mistake and he learnt from his mistakes. He will be a very important captain for us because when I choose him, I know he is a leader.””I also think the players will be happy. I think so. They respect John Terry as a leader, absolutely.” It means that Ferdinand will revert back into the vice-captain role when he is fit again, with Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard, who will also miss the Wales match through injury, Capello’s third choice for captain.Capello explained that Ferdinand ‘preferred not to meet’ him when the Italian manager was in Manchester on Wednesday, with reports earlier this week suggesting Ferdinand was upset to be losing this captaincy.
If Nicolas Anelka’s international career wasn’t over with the 18-game ban he has been issued with by the French Football Federation (FFF), then his comments in reaction to them certainly sealed the deal. Anelka said today:
“For me, this whole commission thing is a nonsense, a charade not to lose face. The so-called punishment has no relevance whatsoever because, for me, the French national team was an issue which ended on the 19 July when I was kicked out of the training centre at Knysna. This is just to entertain the public, to turn the page because Laurent Blanc needs to be able to work in peace. These people are clowns, I am dying with laughter.”
Only the people involved during France’s camp in South Africa will really know what happened, but what we know is what the rest of the world saw: an embarrassment of the greatest proportions. What started as a fall-out between a player and his coach – Anelka had told Raymond Domenech to ‘Go f**k yourself, you son of a whore’ – during half-time in France’s game with Mexico, turned into a state of affairs where Anelka was sent home, the players went on strike, the head of the FFF resigned and eventually the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, stepped in to enquire as to what on earth was going on.
Whether Nicolas Anelka was willing to play for France after the incident is ambiguous, the issue seems to have been with Domenech, and as he no longer resides as the French coach, Anelka may have been happy to play under Blanc. However, the cold truth, regardless of Anelka’s intentions, is that the FFF had to make an example of someone simply to save face. Raymond Domenech’s reputation is in tatters (although it was pretty ropey to begin with) and so simply laying the blame on him would not have washed. If the players involved had got off scot-free what sort of example would that set in terms of dealing with in-house arguments? Anelka was the original offender and so suffered the brunt of the punishment, Evra got his ban (5 games) for his role as captain, Jeremy Toulalan (one) for writing the statement and Ribery (three) for I’m not quite sure why – maybe because he was vice-captain, maybe for allegations of underage prostitutes, or maybe because even amongst that squad, he stood out as particularly terrible at the tournament .
Laurent Blanc needed a clean slate, and after dropping every player for his first game in charge, he needs a sense of authority that exudes over his players i.e. that sort of behaviour will not wash regardless of whether you agree or not. By the same token, the FFF needed to get a grip on matters after they spilt out so disastrously in South Africa. Anelka is a good player, but at 31, he is expendable in the eyes of the FFF for their next qualifying campaign. Had it been England and Wayne Rooney, or a player of that importance to the French side, there is no way that player would have received that punishment.
Overall, the FFF had no choice but to make a big, public show of the punishment that they dished out. I will be very surprised if any French players do something similar again in the near future, although stranger things have happened in football, and the team now has an opportunity to leave this incident behind. Maybe this will be a stark reminder to players of what a privilege it is to be asked to play football for your country. Anelka has to accept that he is, rightly or wrongly, the fall guy. If his country is to get back on track, then they must now try to rediscover the success that they had at the turn of the century. This is the right step forward and Anelka is a sacrifice for the greater good.
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While Samir Nasri arrived at Manchester City as one of the brightest talents in Europe and with an array of experience at the highest level from his time at Arsenal, he also brings with him one of the tennis world’s gems in girlfriend Tatiana Golovin.
Nasri may not be one of the Premier League’s most decorated players, nor did he feature in the 2010 World Cup for France, but as one of the most gifted attacking players in the league he adds another dimension to Manchester City’s already seemingly flawless attack.
Tagging along for the almost limitless City adventure is Nasri’s stunning girlfriend Tatitana Golovin – a native of Russian who was known for one of the best forehands in tennis.
Currently an inactive pro, she’ll give Nasri enough company as he settles into his new home in Manchester.
Click on Tatiana below to see her gallery
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Birmingham City will welcome back five key players for their English Premier League relegation battle against Wigan Athletic on Saturday.Birmingham boss Alex McLeish should be able to call upon defenders Roger Johnson, Martin Jiranek and Stephen Carr, midfielder Barry Ferguson and on-loan striker Obafemi Martins.All five have trained in the past week and their return should provide the team with a boost after an FA Cup quarter-final exit at the hands of Bolton Wanderers in their last match. “We had a right few missing last week and I said at the time if they had played there could have been a danger of them incurring muscle injuries and being out for the next month or even longer,” McLeish said.”It was good for them to get a regeneration of the batteries and also to get some much needed treatment.””Johnson, Ferguson, Carr, Jiranek, Martins all trained today and were declared fit by the medical staff.””(Nikola) Zigic, (Keith) Fahey, (Lee) Bowyer, (David) Bentley did some separate work with the physios so they are the doubts. It is good to get the experienced guys back.”McLeish believes the availability of certain players could dictate whether Birmingham survive in the top flight.”You need to persevere right to the very end but the experience could help as well, could be a factor, and we have that as well,” he said.”It would be nice to get the other players back on track as well … It would be good to have everyone available in the run-in.”McLeish does not expect Wigan to spring any surprises in regards to team selection or tactics at the DW Stadium. “We’ve got a pretty good idea of what side we are going to face,” he said.”(Wigan manager) Roberto (Martinez) will try and get his strongest team out.””We know he can change the system a bit but we know by and large how they are going to play and he will know the same about us.””There are no real secrets in the Premier League.”While a victory over their fellow strugglers would be invaluable, McLeish insists the clash with Wigan is not a must-win game.”There are a lot of big games this weekend and as a league we have come to the real business side of the season,” said McLeish.”We know that winning this game would give us fantastic confidence for the run-in.””If we don’t get the result we are looking for, the league is not finished. There will still be plenty of points to be played for.”
Winger Chris Brunt has signed a new three-year contract with West Bromwich Albion.
The 25-year-old Northern Ireland international is the latest player to pledge his future to the Baggies ahead of their return to the Premier League.
Team-mates Graham Dorrans and Youssouf Mulumbu have recently penned new deals at The Hawthorns and Brunt is delighted to have followed suit.
"I'm delighted to sign this new deal because I feel really settled at the club, just like my family does in the area," he told the club's official website.
"The club is heading in the right direction and this is a nice bonus ahead of what I hope will be a big season both for the team and on a personal level.
"I've won promotion with the club twice now and I want to top that by helping to establish Albion in the Premier League.
"That's the challenge facing the coaching staff and players and if we all pull together I believe we can have a successful season.
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"The fans have been great to me during the past three years and I'm sure they'll get right behind us next season when we will need them more than ever."
Brunt joined the Baggies in a £3million deal from Sheffield Wednesday in August 2007.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Spain slipped to an unlikely 1-0 defeat at the hands of Fabio Capello’s under-strength England side at Wembley on Saturday. While England’s limited yet encouraging performance has dominated the back pages, and rightly so, little attention has been paid to the quite frankly petulant response of Spain’s players in the aftermath. Tiki-taka has had fans creaming themselves all over the world for the best part of six years now, and while it is certainly a fantastic way to play if you have the requisite players at your disposal, it is not the only way to play. The eulogising over this style of play has now given way to a warped and bizarre state of affairs by which all over styles of football are measured. A hierarchy has been established, with tiki-taka as its sovereign master.
Barcelona are most football fans second team. When they’re at their best, it’s doubtful that we’ll ever see another team quite like it. In full flow, they are the epitome of what most footballers aspire to. Effective, possession-based football is the Holy Grail; it’s the in-vogue style of the decade.
However, what has begun to irritate me is the fact that most people see victories lessened if they are not done in that very same style. To use an extreme example, if England somehow managed to win the Euro’s playing like they did against Spain for the entire tournament, by that very same token, their victory would be somehow less worthy as it flies in the face of the only apparent accepted footballing principles of our times. This all begs the question, when did we begin to trade substance for style? Or more pertinently, perhaps, when did we begin to rank styles of football based on their aesthetic quality?
Spain’s success at international level has been built primarily around Luis Aragones insistence that they replicate Barcelona’s domestic success, style included, on the international stage. It has worked a treat – Spain are unquestionably the best international side of the last 25 years or so and Barcelona are now arguably the best club side ever. There‘s clearly something to this tiki-taka, then.
But what does bother me, is the way that these footballing deities react when it all doesn’t go their way. Simply because they are sticking to their principles despite it becoming abundantly clear during the duration of the match that their style isn’t working, that they attempt to take the moral high ground. It’s a get-out clause to fall back on in defeat that we’ve seen time and time again.
Cesc Fabregas stated after the England game: “We made England defend nearly the whole 90 minutes. You want teams to have a go at you and test you and see what happens.”
“We saw two completely different styles of football. The more defensive one won but we know that the only way they could score was from a free-kick or a corner and we conceded a not very intelligent free-kick. We paid for it but, basically, we are happy because we played very well.”
For anyone that actually watched the match, Fabregas’s version of events is a generous way of spinning it. Spain lacked penetration, width and invention. They were slow on the counter and were by and large predictable. They were the worst kind of tiki-taka – passing for passing’s sake.
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When Fabregas argues that he wants teams to ‘have a go at you and test you and see what happens’, in lamens terms what he is actually saying is ‘we want them to play openly, because we know that we have the better players, it’ll make us look good and we’ll definitely win.’
Whenever Barcelona or Spain lose, the opposition is always derided for having played ‘negative’ or ‘defensive’ football. But when you consider the quality of the opposition, how the hell else are they supposed to play?
Spain and Barcelona are in possession of some of the best players in the world, in a system that they’ve been trained in for the entirety of their footballing education and subsequent careers. England on the other hand were a side missing arguably their three best players (Rooney, Gerrard and Wilshere, not to mention Ashley Young) while in the midst of experimenting with new players in unfamiliar positions.
To play an openly attacking brand of football without the players necessary to carry it off would have been absolutely brainless (just look at Wigan). England were well within their rights to play defensive football if they felt that it was the best way to go about getting the desired result.
Spain have a fierce commitment to passing football, so much so that it has spawned an ideology practiced and imitated all over the world with varying degree of success. While their style of play is easy on the eye, without the necessary spark like Barcelona have with Lionel Messi, it can become somewhat, dare I say it, boring to watch.
Spain manager Vicente Del Bosque said after the game: “England played very deep and did what they had to and are very physical.” while the deplorable Sergio Busquets offered in direct contrast to the all-knowing Fabregas: “We weren’t expecting England to play so defensively, with 10 behind the ball but we also have to respect that style of play.”
The subtlety of their language cannot fail to portray their patronising tone. England may have been the victors on the pitch, but somehow, amidst all the fawning over their abilities, a degree of faux moralising has crept into football – so much so that Spain will probably see themselves as the real victors of the match because they tried to play football ‘the proper way’, therefore completely contradcting the point of football in the first place – to win.
Spain and Barcelona are both fantastic sides. At their best they exemplify all the best qualities that you’d possibly want from a football team. However, their style of play, as admirable as it may be, is not the only way for a successful side to operate.
Somewhere amongst all the hyperbole we’ve lost our perspective. Part of what makes football an inherently absorbing game is the plethora of contrasting of styles; the beauty of it is that it has no formal hierarchy in terms of accepted principles – a scrappy 1-0 can mean just as much as a 5-0 trouncing.
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The over the top praise often attributed to tiki-taka has distorted the playing field. To decry a style as ‘defensive’ or ’negative’ simply because it contradicts with your own smacks as little more than an excuse trotted out when the likes of Fabregas don’t get their way and steamroller the opposition into submission. Spain and Barcelona are the standard-bearers of our times, however amongst all the mythologising and moralising, it’s worth remembering that to be successful, there are other ways to play the game aside from tiki-taka, as blasphemous as that may sound.