Whoever is appointed the new manager of Tottenham Hotspur has a tough opening to the Premier League season with a visit to St James’Park.
It is a well balanced run of fixtures generally throughout, although November could prove a tough month for points.
Aug
18th – Newcastle (A)
25th – West Brom (H)
Sept
1st – Norwich (H)
15th – Reading (A)
22nd – QPR (H)
29th – Man United (A)
Oct
6th – Aston Villa (H)
20th – Chelsea (H)
27th – Southampton (A)
Nov
3rd – Wigan (H)
10th – Man City (A)
17th – Arsenal (A)
24th – West Ham (H)
27th – Liverpool (H)
December
1st – Fulham (A)
8th – Everton (A)
15th- Swansea (H)
22nd – Stoke (H)
26th- Aston Villa (A)
29th- Sunderland (A)
Jan
1st – Reading (H)
12th- QPR (A)
19th- Man Utd (H)
29th- Norwich (A)
Feb
2nd – West Brom (A)
9th – Newcastle (H)
23rd – West Ham (A)
Mar
2nd – Arsenal (H)
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So, another of this summer’s drawn out transfer window sagas came to an end last night when Aston Villa finally accepted Liverpool’s bid for left-winger Stewart Downing, for a fee of around £20 million. After rejecting the Anfield club’s previous bids, Villa were left with little room to manoeuvre as Downing made it clear he wanted to join the Red’s, handing in a written transfer request. The signing ends what Liverpool have seemingly craved for many a year; a genuine winger.
Much has been made about the apparent need of width at Anfield for a number of years now, but that need intensified once big centre-forward Andy Carroll walked through the Shankly Gates back in January. Wide-men became a necessity, if Liverpool were to take full advantage of their record signing’s main attributes.
Whilst Liverpool seemed to be in the market for their old school wide-man, instead they were linked with a steady stream of central-midfielders. Liverpool were already overstaffed in this department and the addition of Charlie Adam increased the numbers. They had already signed a wide-man of course…well sort of, in Jordan Henderson, but the lack of a genuine winger added to the fans frustrations. Who would supply the new strikers without any width? However, if Liverpool were to just sign wingers, they would risk themselves becoming too one-dimensional. Over the last few seasons, Liverpool have lacked creativity in wide areas – but to solely concentrate on improving that area would then run the risk of not increasing the quality and inventiveness from a central area also. That is what the signing of Adam brings. With the eventual arrival of a genuine winger in Downing, Liverpool are no longer reliant on just one method of attack – they now have two. Also, in Adam they have a new supply line to the wings, and to Downing; the man who they hope will, in turn, supply the strikers.
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But it is Downing’s price, that was (and still is) a major gripe for many Liverpool fans, during the pursuit (and now signing). It is too high for somebody who’s seen as only a ‘slightly above- average Premier League player’, in many a fans eyes. In the normal course of things, this may be true. However, we all know that when it comes to English players, the Premier League market is far from normal. That price-point is now (unfortunately) commonplace (especially when certain clubs are looking to buy), and such fees should now just be looked at as ‘incidental’ if a club really wants a particular player. Many fans also felt uninspired by the apparent interest in Downing, and instead yearned for a more exotic, exciting signing like Valencia’s Juan Mata, who Liverpool seemed to be chasing at one point, and is rumoured to be available for a similar price. Mata, a Spanish under-21 star, is indeed a quality player – creative, full of tricks and has outstanding technique. He can unlock many defences with his repertoire of skills from the advanced attacking roles he is given. However, there lies the main reason Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish chose to pursue Downing over the Mata, and the main advantage the Englishman has over the little Spaniard – he is a genuine wide-man; and Dalglish craved a winger. Mata is intricate in his build-up play and can operate anywhere across the frontline; left, right and centrally – in the ‘hole’, similar to say, Liverpool’s former Spanish bag of tricks, Luis Garcia. But Dalglish wanted a specialized winger – someone with pace, who is direct and whips-in crosses for the strikers; and that is Stewart Downing. Besides, with rumours that it is Comolli who wants to sign Mata, many fans wish may still yet be granted.
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It is also worth noting, and has already been pointed out in many a previous article, that Downing (who turns 27 on Friday) was Villa’s Player of the Year last season, scoring 8 goals from midfield and provided numerous assists, which earned him an England recall in the process. If Ashley Young, who left Villa a month before, cost £16 million, then the market would dictate that a player who was currently rated higher, go for more. The price will obviously be a talking point for months to come, as it is with every expensive purchase Liverpool make. The attraction to debate such things is not unwarranted. They are a club where lots of high-priced signings have been made, only to then see the said player not justify their hefty price-tag during their time on Merseyside. In that sense Downing is yet another expensive gamble – but if he delivers, it will be because he finally gave Liverpool wings.
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Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has hinted that Joe Cole is struggling with his confidence levels.
The former Chelsea star has endured a difficult time at Anfield since moving to the Reds in the summer, being sent off on his debut and now struggling to recover from injury.
Hodgson said:"He isn't a naturally confident character. He suffers when things aren't going his way. Everyone at the club has worked hard to make sure he doesn't take it too hard and take too much on himself, because he's quite happy to take responsibility.
"I'm always wary of answering about people's mental state. It's difficult enough to judge them physically. But one thing is certain is that Joe's desperate to show what he can do.
"Because of where he plays, he is one who plays with small margin and then of course the risk of failure is even greater. For some they can get success just by booting the ball away, but Joe can't do it in the position he plays in.
"I don't know how frustrated he's been. He'd obviously have liked to hit the ground running but it's not been possible, largely because of injuries.
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"But he's a long time with us, a long contract and we know what he's capable of doing. The sooner he produces it of course the better for me, but there is no pressure on him in that respect. He is a quality player who will come good."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
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Louis van Gaal is being lined up as Liverpool’s next sporting director, and will work closely with the new manager, The Guardian reports.
The Merseyside club are reportedly set to change their management structure, with the experienced Dutchman set for a role upstairs at Anfield.
Liverpool have been eager to bring in an experienced football man in a director capacity, after the sacking of Damien Comolli in April.
It is believed that Van Gaal is keen on a position with the Premier League side, and the announcement of his appointment could spark the arrival of a number of new faces at Anfield.
Liverpool are also still looking for a new manager to replace Kenny Dalglish, who was sacked by the Fenway Sports Group after a disappointing Premier League campaign in 2011-12.
Borussia Dortmund’s Jurgen Klopp, Swansea’s Brendan Rodgers and Ajax’s Frank de Boer have turned down the opportunity to speak with the Premier League club, whilst Andre Villas Boas, Roberto Martinez and a raft of other names are still thought to be in consideration.
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As the Luka Modric saga takes yet another twist with the player claiming he has been threatened with reserve team football it is now time for Daniel Levy to be bold once more. This time in the transfer market.
The Tottenham Chairman insists he does not want to dismantle the current playing squad and is adamant that he will not sell the clubs best players at any cost. But if Levy genuinely wants to build and maintain a team capable of challenging for top honors then now will become the defining time under his stewardship. Other clubs like Man City, Man Utd, Liverpool and Chelsea are all investing vast sums of money towards improving their playing squads. In order to maintain momentum Levy now needs to decide if Spurs are financially capable of doing the same, not just to keep up with the Jones’ but to surpass them.
Such intent in the transfer market is not required as contingency to Modric’s departure but to show the player and all of those around him that together they can achieve their footballing ambitions at Tottenham Hotspur. The Chairman needs to forget for the moment about reducing the current squad size, fringe players can be offloaded as and when the right offers come in. I say to Levy that Now is the time to show our ambition by identifying and securing the long-term targets that will take this club to where it wants to be. Now is the time to be brave, to be bold, to truly define your time with our great football club – to dare is to do!
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It was announced yesterday that Liverpool had spent £9million in fees to agents over the last year, second only to Chelsea in the Premier League in the highest amount given to player’s representatives. At lot of this was down to the amount of dealings that Liverpool were involved with over the summer. The arrival of Roy Hodgson as manager led to a clear out of players, with agents being paid to find clubs for some of the Reds’ unwanted stars. Agent fees are involved in signing players, selling players, signing contracts and even when players are sent out on loan. Liverpool have certainly done a lot of all four over the last year.
IN: Maxi Rodriguez, Jonjo Shelvey, Milan Jovanovic, Joe Cole, Danny Wilson, Christian Poulsen, Brad Jones, Raul Meireles and Paul Konchesky.
OUT: Andrea Dossena, Andrei Voronin, Christopher Buchtmann, Yossi Benayoun, Alberto Riera, Krisztian Nemeth, Diego Cavalieri, Javier Mascherano, Alex Kacaniklic, Lauri Dalla Valle and Damien Plessis.
LOAN: Philipp Degen, Alberto Aquilani, Emiliano Insua and Nabil El-Zhar.
Each of these deals will have involved an agent down the line, but it is the scale of the use of agents that is worrying. While Manchester City slashed their agent fees by 54% down to £5.9milllion despite spending over £130million in the transfer market over the same period, Liverpool spent and sold dramatically less but spent £3.1million more. How is this possible? In Liverpool’s case, such a high amount can be put partly down to Joe Cole. It is rumoured that the England international was given £3m-5m signing on fee, with certainly a good portion of that going to his agent. There is certainly no real “free” transfers these days.
The amount could also be attributed, as I have mentioned, to the sheer volume of deals with Liverpool being involved in 20 permanent transfers over the past year. There is also the added complication of agents taken cuts when lucrative new contracts are signed such as in the case of Pepe Reina and Fernando Torres.
Nevertheless, it can be pretty certain that there has to be a conscious effort from any club’s board not to involve agents in transfers unless it is totally necessary. Tottenham spent nearly an identical amount on agents as Manchester City despite spending almost £110m less on players. Certainly John W Henry and the Fenway Sports Group will be focusing hard on reducing this number in the following months and years. To make a club profitable in the long term, £9m lost in in such a needless way will be unacceptable, and whoever is in charge in dealings with agents, whether it is Damien Comolli or the new Chief Executive, some business smarts will be needed to reduce this number.
In total, the Premier League lost £67million to agents in the last year. Many see it as money that will never be seen in the game again and for football club’s to run on a “rational commercial approach,” it is a number that should dramatically fall as some of England’s biggest clubs try to get in line with UEFA’s new Financial Fair Play rules.
Read more Liverpool blogs at the excellent Live4Liverpool website
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Funny isn’t it; build a burgeoning reputation for yourself as a footballer and there is no going back in many ways. What follows impressive performances is usually expectation and when you fail to deliver such faultless or outstanding displays, the football public is out to questioningly shrug their shoulders and ponder ‘just where is that player of old’?
A number of players will probably look back on the 2011/12 campaign with no real essence of fondness; a few heroic displays here and there but an overall feeling of what could have been or regret they didn’t compete as they could or maybe should have. Some usually outstanding performers have flattered to deceive coinciding with managerial changes, some have following an anticipated summer transfer and some have simply because the pressure might just be too much.
For the next eleven pros, they might secretly be taking a look at themselves in the mirror this summer, reluctantly accepting that they need to do better next time round. Modern football is impatient and there is no time to stand still; instead players have to stand up and be counted more than ever before in an increasingly demanding and enduring division. So here are the eleven Premier League ‘let downs’ this season.
Click on Petr Cech to unveil the Premier League ‘Let Down’ XI of this season
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Who has been a ‘let down’ for you this season? I’d like your suggestions @ http://twitter.com/Taylor_Will1989
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Fulham are reportedly keen to bring ex-Liverpool defender John Arne Riise back to the Premier League, and are preparing an offer for the 30-year-old according to Sky Sports. The Norwegian international is entering the final year of contract with current club Roma, and the Italian side are believed to be eager to sell to avoid the Scandinavian leaving on a free transfer next summer.
New Cottagers manager Martin Jol is looking to strengthen his squad, with an extra option at left back needed as Carlos Salcido is expected to leave the club as he is homesick. A move for Liverpool fringe player Paul Konchesky was rumoured, but the London club’s interest has apparently waned in recent weeks.
Riise spent seven years in England with the Anfield club, and may be swayed to move the club as his brother, Bjorn Helge, already plays for the Craven Cottage side. His future in Rome is under threat, as new boss Luis Enrique is expected to bring his own players to the Italian capital, with Sporting Lisbon’s Jose Angel his preferred option at left back.
Wigan Athletic boss Roberto Martinez’s main concern following the 2-0 Carling Cup quarter-final defeat at Arsenal was a nasty shoulder injury sustained by Victor Moses.
Moses had to be replaced shortly before half-time at the Emirates Stadium, with Martinez concerned that the winger may be sidelined for around six weeks.
He told the club’s official website:“We worked really hard to restrict Arsenal but too many things affected us again.
“The injury to Victor Moses, the own goal, it was too much. Up until their first goal I thought we defended quite well.
“Our main concern now is Victor and Mauro Boselli also came out of the game with an injury – the squad is looking quite thin at the moment.
“Victor fell very awkwardly and straightaway you could see that he had dislocated his shoulder. We sent him straight to hospital and we’ll continue to assess him.
“Unfortunately we are looking at anything between four to six week, and that’s a shame because he looked very sharp.
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“He got into a few one-on-one situations and he looked a real threat. We know how much we’re going to miss Victor for the next few weeks.”
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Manchester City legend Joe Corrigan won’t be cheering with Carlos Tevez on Monday night, even if his goals win them the title. City’s former keeper is disgusted at the way the Argentine has held his club to ransom this season and believes that he epitomises everything that is wrong with the modern footballer.
Elsewhere in the news Ivanovic calls on Di Matteo to be given the permanent job at Stamford Bridge; Harry Redknapp remains confident that Bale will stay at White Hart Lane, while Gary Neville believes the result of the Manchester derby could shape the club’s future for the next three years.
Headlines
Roberto Mancini is at loggerheads with Sir Alex Ferguson over Monday night’s Manchester derby – Guardian
Branislav Ivanovic has called upon Roberto Di Matteo to be given the job at Stamford Bridge on a permanent basis – Guardian
Harry Redknapp remains confident that Gareth Bale will stay at White Hart Lane next season but is unsure whether the same can be said of Luka Modric – Guardian
Vincent Kompany claims that the Manchester derby is second only to the El Classico as the biggest club game in the world – Daily Telegraph
Arsene Wenger said he was saddened that Pep Guardiola has decided to step down as coach of Barcelona – Independent
Victor Moses has placed Wigan in sight of safety as the Latics’ incredible run goes on – Independent
Gary Neville believes the outcome of the Manchester derby could have a massive impact of the club’s future in the next three years – Daily Mail
Steven Gerrard revealed that Luis Suarez’s wonder goal saved him from getting a rollicking from the Liverpool skipper – Daily Mail
Chelsea and Manchester City have been warned their Euro places are in jeopardy if they undertake a massive spending spree this summer – Daily Mail
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Manchester United are plotting a £10m move for Gylfi Sigurdsson in the summer, after impressing on-loan at Swansea this season – Mirror
Manchester City are among a host of Premier League clubs tracking Borussia Dortmund striker, Robert Lewandowski, who has bagged 20 goals this season for the Bundesliga Champions – Mirror