Manchester United are keeping tabs on Porto’s James Rodriguez with negotiations over a new contract with Nani yet to be concluded, according to the Sun.
The Portuguese winger’s current deal is not due to expire until 2014 and he is yet to commit his long-term future to the Red Devils, despite the club offering a reported wage hike to £130,000 per week. Therefore United have begun lining up contingency plans, with the 20-year-old topping their list of targets.
James earned a glowing reputation whilst playing for Argentine side Banfield and was brought to Europe by the Porto in 2010. But this season has served as his breakthrough year as he scored 13 goals in 26 league appearances as Portuguese outfit won their second consecutive league title.
Despite his youth he has already forced his way into the Colombia team and has represented his country five times at senior level, scoring his first goal in the 1-0 win World Cup qualifying group win over Peru.
Sir Alex Ferguson has frequently had scouts watch the energetic winger and he has been impressed with his development since moving to Europe. Should the Red Devils wish to launch an official bid to bring him to Old Trafford however, they could expect to pay no less that £20m.
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Let’s commence with a player enjoying a remarkable start to life in England. He may not even be able to speak English but this hasn’t hindered Papiss Demba Cissé’s goal scoring ability. The Senegalese now has seven goals in seven games in the Premier League. The striker netted a double against a lacklustre Liverpool side. It meant Newcastle went 11 points clear of their opponents on Sunday. If Cissé’s recent goal scoring exploits continue in the next eight games, the Magpies can certainly challenge Spurs, Arsenal and Chelsea for a Champions League place.
Goal of the Weekend
It’s been another odd week for Manchester City what with Sergio Aguero’s bizarre injury and Mario Balotelli turning up at an Inter Milan press conference on Wednesday. Saturday brought disappointment with a dogged Sunderland claiming a draw at the Etihad. It did see the man who cannot keep himself out of the headlines net a blinding second for City. Mario Balotelli may have argued over a free-kick in the second half but his curving effort which helped to pull City back into the game was sublime. Having scored a spot-kick in the first half, he unleashed what Sergio Aguero might describe as a blistering effort past Simon Mignolet from just outside the penalty area.
Miss of the Weekend
Firstly Wigan deserve credit for turning in another fantastic display as Roberto Martinez’s side continue in their fight for survival. However, even though it’s been a while since the “Miss of the Weekend” section has been used, Jean Beausejour’s performance gave enough reason for it to be revived once more. The winger signed from Birmingham City should have celebrated two goals on Saturday but instead, he conspired to miss two gilt-edged chances for the Latics.
In the first half, the Chilean managed to let the ball roll up his shin from just over four yards out with the goal gaping whilst in the second period, he arrowed an effort straight at Asmir Begovic from a similar distance under no pressure from a Stoke player. Yet when it came to crossing, Beausejour was on much better form as he provided the assist for Wigan’s first goal. Maybe it’s best then that Beausejour is kept out of the opposition’s penalty area.
Dive of the Weekend
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It just hasn’t worked out for Andy Carroll at Liverpool. Perhaps then at St. James’s Park (or the Sports Direct Arena – for all the pedants out there), we saw a late audition by Carroll for the Team GB Diving team with the Olympics just months away. As much as Kenny Dalglish may protest otherwise, the former £35 million forward dived having taken the ball past Tim Krul early on in Sunday’s encounter.
He could have actually scored had he stayed on his feet but matching the efforts of Tom Daley seemed higher on his list of priorities. Newcastle’s James Perch was eager to challenge Carroll late on, judging by his reaction to Pepe Reina’s headbutt. He dramatically flung himself to the floor after the Liverpool goalkeeper brushed his nose albeit not in the most affectionate manner. For someone of Reina’s experience though, it was silly to lean his head in as he did but had Perch displayed a little more sportsmanship, the Spaniard would have remained on the field.
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Barcelona centre-back Gerard Pique has propelled his status from United reject to arguably one of the best defenders in the world over the past 6 years, and lifting the World Cup this past weekend with Spain has only enhanced the defender’s reputation further.
The 23-year-old Spaniard started his career in Barcelona’s youth academy in 1997 and was primarily a defensive midfielder before being converted into a centre-back. Pique continued his development up until 2004, but before signing his first professional contract with Barca, the defender opted for a move to Premier league titans Manchester United, which cost the Red Devils nothing in fees due to the player’s age at the time. However his decision to leave Barcelona proved a costly one.
The defender made a total of 10 appearances in his first 2 years at the club, and made none in his third. Instead the Spaniard was offloaded on a season long-loan to Real Zaragoza in the 2006/07 season where he managed to make a better total in one year in Spain than he ever did in England. In the 2007/08 season, Pique made a further 9 appearances in the colours of United before eventually being sold back to Barcelona (for an undisclosed fee) in the summer of 2008.
His time in England proved to be a waste of time. In his 4 year spell at United, the Spanish international accumulated a total of 23 appearances and was regarded by many fans and pundits alike more as a reject than a flop at the Manchester club.
Returning back to Barcelona in 2008 was the best decision of Gerard Pique’s professional career. Since his return, the centre-back has steadily cemented a regular first-team place alongside Carlos Puyol in the Barca back-line, and has regained his confidence which went missing in England. So far the Spaniard has had two solid seasons for Barcelona notching up a total of 94 appearances for the Catalan club and in doing so has already achieved a number of honours. Pique lifted the Primera League title, Copa Del Rey and the Champions League trophy all in the 2008/09 season. Furthermore, the centre-back also aided the club to a UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup success in 2009 as well as lifting the Primera League title last season. The Spaniard has impressed immensely in Europe and domestic competitions which no doubt earned him a shot in the Spanish national squad.
Pique featured in every World Cup game this summer for his country, and performed exceptionally well considering the player’s age. The centre-back was a solid performer throughout the tournament, and along with his club team-mate (Carlos Puyol) beside him, Pique certainly showed he is no flop, but a world beater.
The defender has completely turned his career around in the past 2 years. Gerard Pique is now considered by many football fans around the globe (including me) amongst the best in the world at what he is paid to do. The Spanish international may always be remembered as a United reject, which may be warranted, but Pique is far from this these days. At 23 years of age, Gerard Pique can only get better and enhance his already reputable status even further as the years go by.
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Click on image to see a gallery of the BEST BABES at the World Cup this summer
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Surprisingly, Arsene Wenger is reportedly ready to splash out £30 million this summer to recruit new players as he prepares to launch yet another assault on the Premier League next season.
Wenger’s wish-list this summer consists of four players, Fulham’s veteran goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, Everton’s Phil Jagielka, Chelsea’s Joe Cole and Lorient’s Laurent Koscielny, all of which are realistic targets. However, are they the correct players to be targeting with a £30 million transfer kitty? Personally, I don’t think so
Not to say Wenger doesn’t know what he is doing because in my opinion, the man is an Arsenal icon who has accomplished great things for the North London club since his arrival in 1996, but I, (maybe along with some other Arsenal fans reading this) feel that he is targeting the wrong players in the right positions. I for one am actually very surprised to hear that Wenger is willing to splash the cash, as he hasn’t done this in several years. Although, I sense that at least 2-3 player’s that Mr. Wenger has targeted this summer won’t adapt well into the Arsenal squad.
If I were in Wenger’s shoes as Arsenal boss, my aim would be to acquire at least four players with the £30 million transfer funds available (one of which is free) and Le Professeur has already expressed an interest in. Nevertheless, here is what I would spend the £30 million on this summer, enjoy:
Joe Hart (Manchester City)
My first protocol would be to acquire a young, talented and reliable goalkeeper and Joe Hart fits that description perfectly. He would be a definite transfer target for me without a doubt.
Arsenal suffered severely in this department last season and many will agree (along with me) that if the Gunners had a great keeper guarding the net, then they could have gone further than they did. Too many goals were conceded, and although people will say that the defence contributed to this (which evidently they did), however, its Manuel Almunia with the gloves on, and as such, needs to keep the ball out of his net…its what he’s paid for after all. Lukasz Fabianski is still young so I can’t really bad mouth the lad, but he proved with his performances last season that he lacks confidence and can’t handle pressure well, he is simply not ready.
With this all being said I would look to acquire Joe Hart from City this summer. The 23-year-old had a fantastic season on loan for Birmingham City, but is now back in Eastland’s after his long loan spell expired in May.
The shot-stopper’s future remains in the balance at City with Shay Given the obvious no.1. Hart is a great keeper who can only get better with time, and with his future unresolved, I would certainly look to buy the England international for sure. A bid of around £9 million would acquire his services, which is a real bargain in my opinion.
Cash Spent: £9 million
Total Funds Left: £21 million
Turn to page 2 to see the 3 other players on the list
Simon Kjaer (Palermo)
Having watched the 21-year-old Danish defender against the Netherlands the other day, I would certainly say that he is another player to obtain this summer. The Palermo youngster is a highly-rated centre-back in European football today, and as a result, has attracted a number of clubs in recent weeks.
Sol Campbell, William Gallas, Philippe Senderos and Mikael Silvestre seem to be all looking towards the exit doors of the Emirates, so a purchase of a top defender this summer is a must for the Gunners in my opinion.
I feel Arsenal need a young centre-back in their ranks, someone capable of playing for a big club and can handle pressure as well…all signs point to Kjaer. The defender would adapt well to the English game and would fit well into the current Arsenal squad without much hassle. Kjaer has great positional, aerial and tackling ability, attributes that need improving in the Arsenal back-line.
The defender has a release clause within his existing contract of £12 million, so if I were the Arsenal boss, I would certainly offer the amount in order to break the clause and discuss personal terms with the Danish international as soon as possible. Arsenal fans may think that they need a more experienced centre-back, they maybe right, but for a player of his age and ability, £12 million would go down as a great piece of business.
Cash Spent: £12 million
Total Funds Left: £9 million
Joe Cole (Chelsea)
I agree with Wenger’s pursuit of the out-of-favour Chelsea winger Joe Cole, although this would not affect my budget at all. Cole would be a great asset to Arsenal, as the North London club need some injection of English blood in their squad. The midfielder has great ability and trickery to suit the style of the Gunners and I’m sure many Arsenal fans will welcome the 28-year-old with open arms. Cole would sign on a free, and as a result would be a remarkable signing for the club. However, his salary demands may cost the club in the excess of £120,000-a-week, still he would require no transfer fee, so it’s all good in hindsight.
Cash Spent: £0
Total Funds Left: £9 million
John Heitinga (Everton)
£9 million left in the kitty, why not spend it on Everton’s John Heitinga? Wenger has shown interest in Heitinga’s Everton team-mate Phil Jagielka, but I feel, although Jagielka is a decent defender, the Englishman just doesn’t look the Arsenal type…John Heitinga on the other hand is.
The Dutchman is strong, quick and not afraid to get stuck in. Even more so, the Everton man can play in the centre-back position as well as sit in front of the back-line, so evidently, it would be like signing two players for the price of one. He already has Premiership experience, and if he were to play with Thomas Vermaelen next season, they would make one hell of a defensive partnership for the Gunners. Incidentally, Heitinga is valued at £9 million, which is what is left in my transfer budget.
Cash Spent: £9 million
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Total Funds Left: £0
£30 million spent, four new arrivals, job done.
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Walter Mazzarri has declared Napoli’s intention to win the Coppa Italia following Tuesday’s victory over Bologna.Napoli trumped Bologna 2-1 at the Stadio Sao Paolo to set up a quarter-final meeting with resurgent Inter Milan.
Algeria international Hassan Yebda and Argentina forward Ezequiel Lavezzi combined to put Napoli two goals ahead in the first half, before Inter youth product Riccardo Meggiorini pulled one back for Bologna from the penalty spot 10 minutes after the break.
Speaking after the match, Mazzarri said he was pleased by the energy and enthusiasm shown by his side but disappointed by Emilson Cribari’s foul on Meggiorini that gifted Bologna their only goal.
“We wanted to do well this evening,” Mazzarri told RAI Sport.
“We intend to do well in this competition – and all the others.”
“I decided to play a team that was more rested, knowing how much energy my players had. And our start to the match reflected this.”
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“We pressed a lot and constructed many chances until we scored our two goals. Once we had the lead, we relaxed a little, and this was my only gripe from the match.”
Mazzarri’s men host Leonardo’s Inter next Tuesday, with the winner assured of a trip to the semi-finals.
Its fair to say that this has been one of the most exciting Premier League seasons in quite some time, and there’s one good reason for this, goals, goals, goals.
So far the various nets around the Premier League have bulged 713 times, 24 more so than at the same stage of the 2009/10 season. Of course with goals come big scorelines, and there have been no shortages in this department, with Manchester United thrashing Arsenal 8-2, Bolton avenging their FA Cup defeat of last season with a 5-0 victory over Stoke and this weekends 5-0 defeat for Newcastle at the hands of Tottenham.
This isn’t just a freak season by any means; there are a few reasons for such high scoring, the first being the form and quality of strikers throughout the league. The standout candidate is Arsenal’s Robin van Persie, who simply cannot stop scoring at the moment with a staggering 22 in 25 league games. Demba Ba at Newcastle is in, arguably, the form of his life while Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero can feed from the wealth of creative talent in the Sky Blue’s midfield. It’s not just strikers from the Premier league’s ‘big boys’ who are firing on all cylinders, Grant Holt and Steve Morison have 17 between them for Norwich, while Steven Fletcher of Wolves is already in double figures.
Many teams are now changing their defensive philosophies too. Full-backs are becoming second wingers, encouraged to get forward at any opportunity. This allows for greater numbers in an attacking sense, but leaves gaping holes at the back for the counter attack. Kyle Walker and Benoit Assou-Ekotto are the epitome of the modern day full-back combination, with bags of pace, plenty of technique and various defensive frailties. As well as Tottenham, Chelsea employ attack minded defenders in the shape of Ashley Cole and Jose Bosingwa and even teams further down the division such as Fulham allow John Arne Riise to get forward at almost any opportunity.
Injuries to various teams across the league have prevented many established sides from creating a settled back line. Manchester United have seen Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling all sidelined, forcing the likes of Michael Carrick to fill in at centre-back. This of course means goals, and the defending champions have shipped 25 so far including three at home Blackburn. Arsenal have also suffered, with first choice full backs Andre Santos and Bacary Sagna both missing long periods of the campaign.
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As well as injuries and changing philosophies there has also been the death of the ‘Makalele’ in midfield. Many of the top sides are no longer employing an out and out destroyer to sit in front of the back-line and mask his defenders. As a result centre-backs are often exposed and playmakers have the added space to create mayhem, which has clearly benefited the likes of David Silva, Juan Mata.
Alan Hansen may be tearing his hair out on a regular basis at the sight of so many goals, but for the fans it’s been a fun filled campaign. Long live the goal.
With just one week to go until the start of Euro 2012, the England boys have been relaxing ahead of their opening encounter with France.
Roy Hodgson and his players have been on the golf course, playing in the England Vauxhall Golf Day at The Grove Hotel in Hertford.
Here is Chelsea defender Gary Cahill with Liverpool and England captain Steven Gerrard, as the pair share a joke.
Can you come up with a funny caption for this picture?
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Leave your suggestions in the comments section below…
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The football shirts have been signed by the 2011/12 Chelsea and Liverpool squad respectively, a perfect gift for any Blue or Red.
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midfielder Darren Fletcher has admitted that he cannot wait to step out for Scotland again, and that he is fit to feature in both of their World Cup qualifiers over the next five days.
The Red Devils battler has returned to health and fitness after being diagnosed with a bowel condition that threatened his career.
After making a return to action for the Old Trafford outfit, Fletcher is now relishing the opportunity to represent his country once more.
“I feel ready to play both matches. I feel fit, I feel strong and I feel ready for the games. It’s great to be back,” he confessed to reporters, published in The Daily Mail.
“It’s been a while and I’m just desperate for the game to start. Hopefully I’m playing and I can do my part in getting a good result for Scotland.
“I always believed I would be back and fortunately I’m here today.
“It proves that I always had the belief that one day I would be back and helping the lads qualify for a major competition,” he continued.
In-form striker Steven Fletcher has also returned to Craig Levein’s squad to add quality, but the United man feels that a team effort will be needed for the side to beat Wales on Friday.
“If we beat Wales on Friday it won’t just be because me and Steven are named in the team.
“It will need a good team effort. If it can be a boost to the rest of the players that’s great. You look for any small margin you can.
“But knowing the players, they will be ready for this game irrespective of whether me and Steven are in the team.
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“We’ll be looking to win the match and whoever is playing will give their all and hopefully we can get a positive result for Scotland,” he concluded.
Aston Villa striker Darren Bent has admitted he is frustrated with Paul Lambert’s rotation system but is working hard for his place in the team.
Bent has scored just two goals in 10 appearances this season and at an open training session at Villa Park today he confirmed that he’s unhappy with the situation.
He told Sky Sports: “Obviously any player who values themselves wants to play week in week out and when you start playing rotation systems it is difficult to find a rhythm, especially when you’re a front man.
“But that’s the manager’s decision and we live by that. We have to keep working hard in training and show him that we want to play.”
Villa have suffered a poor start to the current season having won only one of their opening eight Premier League matches and find themselves just a point above the bottom three following their 1-0 defeat away to Fulham at the weekend.
But Bent is confident that Paul Lambert’s side can improve and begin climbing the table sooner rather than later.
“Sometimes you will run right and the ball will go left, but that is just one of those things. I’m sure that once we blend as a team and start creating chances I’ll start finishing them,” he added.
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Aston Villa’s next top-flight game is at home to fellow early season strugglers Norwich City on Saturday before a difficult November sees them travel to Manchester City in between home ties against Manchester United and Arsenal.
It doesn’t matter at what level of football you play, being a goalkeeper can be a really unpleasant job.
Even on the school playing field, it has always been the position that nobody wants to play. You pick sides one player at a time. You slowly pick off the best players until eventually your team is left with the weakest, least competent member of the group. So what do you do with them? Well, it’s obvious. You stick them in goal in a vain attempt to keep them out of harm’s way. Then when your team wins, the focus is on the goalscorer and the goalkeeper’s efforts go unnoticed. When your team ends up losing, there is only one person to blame, isn’t there?
But in the professional game, is it any different? When people think of the greatest goals of all time, they think of Diego Maradona vs England (not the first goal, obviously!), Marco Van Basten vs USSR, Cantona vs Sunderland, Bergkamp vs Newcastle, Henry vs Manchester United, Zidane vs Bayer Leverkusen, Di Canio vs Wimbledon… the list goes on.
On the other hand, when people think of the greatest saves of all time… well, you’ve got Gordon Banks vs Brazil… and that’s about it. Take nothing away from goalkeepers such as Schmeichel, Zoff, Yashin, Khan, Van Der Sar, Buffon and Casillas. They have all produced mind-blowing saves during their careers, but it’s only ever Banks’ physics-defying save from Pele’s header that truly sticks out in the minds of the footballing public.
Sadly goalkeepers are rarely remembered for their heroics in front of goal. If anything, they are remembered for the exact opposite. If you type ‘great goalkeeping saves’ into YouTube, you will receive over 18,000 videos in response. But type ‘goalkeeping errors’, and the number of responses is almost trebled!
Yes, we all enjoy watching the old blooper every now and again (as long as it doesn’t happen to your team!), but it’s of little wonder or surprise that being a goalkeeper is one of the most stressful jobs in any sport. There is simply no margin for error. If a team has an off day and fails to score, the best they can hope for is a draw. But if the keeper has a bad day, his team could end up with nothing at all.
And the pressure just doesn’t go away. The new Premier League season is only just over a week old, and yet we have already witnessed no fewer than seven goalkeeping howlers. Even the League’s most reliable goalies, most notably, Petr Cech, David De Gea and Shay Given are amongst those to have fumbled already this season.
In the modern era, when every single match that is played is scrutinised right down to the finest details, goalkeepers always remain subject to criticism, scepticism and mockery.
The cynics amongst us might say that ‘they’re only job is to stop shots from going in to the back of the net. How hard can that possibly be?’ But being a goalkeeper is about so much more than that. It is about being a master of your own state of mind. It is about conquering your own self-doubt. It is about not letting your mistakes affect your ability as a player.
The question is how does a goalkeeper deal with all of these issues? Well, nowadays the biggest clubs have all kinds of facilities to help players psychologically, however most players are apparently too reluctant to commit themselves to dealing with their own self-doubt, for fear of what their manager and team-mates would think of them.
One of the biggest fears for a footballer is rejection. One week, you think you are playing well, but the next week you find yourself on the bench. This can have a massive psychological effect on any player, but for this to happen to a goalkeeper, where there is only one place in the team up for grabs, the thought that your manager favours another player over yourself can be very damaging to the psyche.
Back in March, former England goalkeeper David James wrote an article in the Observer about the lack of psychological support in football:
‘There’s a misconception that all footballers are very confident, but it is the opposite for most.
‘It is a great irony that in a game where we routinely talk of confidence on the pitch, psychological support off it is so appallingly neglected. When I was going through a bad time at Liverpool I approached the club for some support. Back then, I was told, “Shut up and deal with it”. Sadly, I don’t think football has moved on from that position.’
Every goalkeeper suffers from self-doubt, even if they won’t admit it. Even Edwin Van Der Sar, one of the greatest keepers of all time, has admitted to being prone to this. But the best thing they can do is simply try to brush it off, learn from that mistake and try not to let it happen again. Some are able to brush off their mistakes and move on even if their reputation takes a hit as a result.
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Robert Green’s reputation has been completely tarnished by his error during England’s match vs USA at the 2010 World Cup. Massimo Taibi seemed to completely disappear off the radar following his howler for Manchester United against Southampton in 1999. Even David James has suffered a similar fate, inheriting the nickname ‘Calamity James’ during a torrid spell at Liverpool. But the truth is all of these players did not let their mistakes get to them. Despite another error recently, Robert Green is still a top flight goalkeeper at QPR, Massimo Taibi went on to have a successful career in Italy, and David James, despite not currently being attached to a club, is still playing in his 40s.
Sadly, some goalkeepers are never able to fathom the amount of responsibility that they have to deal with. The most prominent and tragic example being that of German goalkeeper Robert Enke, who committed suicide in November 2009. In Ronald Reng’s book, A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke, we examine the life of a man struggling to battle with his own personal demons and are given an insight into the pressures and fears of playing sport at the highest level. Enke’s story is a shining example of how it could all go wrong for today’s professional goalkeeper.
It’s easy to say that clubs could do more to support their players psychologically, and there is no doubt in my mind that they should. But players need to take it upon themselves not to let their self-doubt get the better of them. Thankfully, the example of Robert Enke is one of a kind. But all goalkeepers, regardless of how good they are, should learn from him.
Goalkeepers simply need to learn one thing: they are only human. The chances are extremely high that a goalkeeper will make more than one mistake in his career. But this doesn’t mean that his reputation has to suffer. One mistake or one bad performance doesn’t define a goalkeeper. It’s how they bounce back from this mistake that defines them.