Tottenham Hotspur boss Harry Redknapp has described his Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger as a 'nutter', but says that he still gets on well with the Frenchman.
Redknapp was speaking of the changes in Wenger's demeanour on the touchlines, with the Gunners manager having long since cast off his image as a quiet, studious coach.
"When Arsene first came to England I remember reading articles and they said that he was like a professor watching the game," Redknapp said.
"All the other nutters were jumping up and down shouting and screaming, hollering and hooting – and this man is not like those idiots.
"He just sits there and is studying every move that goes on on the pitch like chess. They didn't lose a game all season.
"Now he has joined the nutters, you know. In fact, he is one of the key nutters. That is the tension that you are under. It has affected him now.
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"He is no longer sitting there now. He is up there arguing with everybody and gets into it all. I think he has changed. He was the quietest man of the lot at one point.
"I don't have any problems with him at all, he's always been good. Sometimes I go into his office at Arsenal."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
‘If we had just scored when we had that chance it would have been so different.’ How often do you hear that after a game of football? Nearly every time. It is either a manager, a player or a pundit bemoaning a missed chance – not to mention the media and fans. It may seem an exaggeration to say this, but one chance can change a game, and make all the difference, and whilst I am not in the business of criticising someone for missing a chance during a game, no one can underestimate just how crucial that goal could have been.
Long have Arsenal been accused of passing more times than a cast member of TOWIE gets a spray tan, and failing to score when it counts, and before RVP became the MVP, their lack of clinical finishing cost them.
Anyone with a vague notion of intelligence – and I don’t mean MENSA here, just Wayne Rooney level – you know reading ok, grunting occasionally, that kind of thing – can point out to you after a game where a chance that could have made it all so different was missed.
In the only big game Real Madrid will ever play in a season if you listen to some English people – El Clasico – at 1–0 up, they had a golden chance to go two clear, and that would have made everything oh so different. Instead the chance was spurned and Barca went straight down the other end to equalise. The game was turned in the blink of an eye, and it was clinical finishing down one end, and the lack of it down the other that did that.
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Too many missed chances can see heads dropping and the overall mentality of the team dipping. Not to mention the opposition will be aware of the fact that if they manage to go a goal to the good, they are probably safe and there is little chance of being pegged back due to the mental issues created from being tagged as a team who can’t finish.
Likewise this can happen to an individual player – the number of strikers who down the years have gone through a poor run of form and let this affect them, subsequently struggling to pick both themselves and their form up – they can still have the touch and the movement but simply cannot hit a barn door – Torres is the prime example here, and it is a long time before the player can forget the multiple or in Nando’s case the million missed chances playing over and over in his head.
Whether it be a team or a player who is suffering because of missed chances and a lack of clinical finishing, it is not just that one game and three points it can cost. It is easier said than done for a player to put these things out of their head, and a complex can develop affecting the team and the individual for a long time to come should they let it.
All too often people criticise players for being lazy and not doing anything except be in the right place and the right time to score goals – Van Nistelrooy being a prime example – but I would take a player who stuck the ball in the back of the net every day of the week over one who wasn’t a clinical finisher and cost the team not only goals but points to boot.
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A football fan will defend his team and its players till the cows come home against rival fans, because after all no-one likes to hear anything they love being slated; this doesn’t however stop the fans berating, criticising or judging his team’s own players. I believe the fans do have a divine right to highlight the flaws of players that aren’t justifying their starting eleven position, given the time, effort and money invested into the supporting of their club. There are players however who do appear to experience the anger of their own fans on a greater scale, where constructive criticism becomes a rant, but who are the top ten Premier League scapegoats?
Click on Darron Gibson below to see the top 10 scapegoats of the season
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Listen to the third episode of our brand new podcast – The Football FanCast. – Featuring Razor Ruddock, Gary O’Reilly and singer/songwriter Alistair Griffin, who performs a live version of his cult tribute to Mark Viduka, with Razor on backing vocals!
The Football League have refused to ratify Stoke City midfielder Liam Lawrence's deadline-day switch to Portsmouth, with the Republic of Ireland international now poised for an interim loan move.
The 28-year-old was snapped up by Pompey, along with Dave Kitson, as part of the exchange deal which saw Marc Wilson head to the Britannia Stadium.
However, the Football League say that the relevant document were not received by 6pm last Tuesday, a view refuted by Pompey administrator Andrew Andronikou.
He told The News:"The Lawrence deal has not been ratified by the Football League yet and we are still waiting to hear the outcome.
"Unfortunately, we are not Tottenham and are not allowed to have this issue sorted the next day as they did with Rafael van der Vaart.
"This sort of thing will only happen to us. There is proper brinkmanship going on just because we are Portsmouth Football Club.
"From our end, all documentation was sent on time, well before the 6pm deadline. I was there myself to see it."
City chief executive Tony Scholes added:"We're disappointed that this transfer hasn't gone through.
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"However, it is important that we work with Portsmouth, the player and the authorities to find an expedient solution as if it had gone through.
"That will probably take the form of a loan move until the end of the year and then Liam would finalise his permanent move to Fratton Park in the January window."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Blackburn manager Steve Kean is confident that his side can get the necessary points to avoid relegation this term, and feels that the club have been hard done by in some refereeing decisions this season.
The Ewood Park club sit bottom of the Premier League currently on 11 points, but showed resolve to get a 1-1 draw against Liverpool at Anfield on Boxing Day.
Despite acknowledging that his team were in a bad situation, the Scottish coach feels the Lancashire outfit will get out of the relegation mire.
“Of course we believe, absolutely no question,” he told Sky Sports.
“I believe even now, with our injuries, we can go back and look at some real tough decisions.
“I know everybody can do this, but we can go back and look at a last-minute penalty against Norwich, a last-minute penalty against Everton.
“There have been a number of games where we have just fallen the wrong side of decisions.
“I think we should already have six or seven more points, even though we have got so many defenders out injured.
“We are really confident if we have a good transfer window, which I am sure we will, and get these defenders back, then we will really fly out of the blocks in the second part of the season,” he concluded.
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Blackburn face Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday to complete 2011’s fixture list.
Manchester United’s search for Edwin van der Sar’s replacement has come to an end, well as far as the Daily Mail is concerned anyway. They have reported that ‘Atletico keeper De Gea to sign five-year contract with Manchester United as clubs agree £17.8m deal’.
Its common knowledge that the Spanish stopper is one of Manchester United’s top targets, but reports in The Daily Mail are way off the mark according to quotes from David de Gea published on dbs-football.blogspot.com.
“There is nothing, it is all lies. I know nothing about offers from any team, whether it is other clubs or a renewal from Atletico. I have given my all to this team since I have been here, and that will continue today and tomorrow, I will always fight for this team.”
The young Spanish keeper’s comments mean United have got plenty of work left to do if they want to pull off the signing of the 20 year old. There hasn’t been any public refusal from Atletico to do business with United over the highly rated Spanish keeper’s services, so there is still a strong possibility of a deal being carved out.
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With the introduction of new Premier League legislation this season allowing clubs to name an unlimited number of under-21s in their squads, the Tottenham Hotspur starlet John Bostock may well have been hopeful. The 18-year old midfielder who made his debut for Spurs in a Uefa Cup tie against Dinamo Zagreb in 2008 has not featured much since. He recently bemoaned the chances of youngsters such as himself getting playing time in the cosmopolitan Premier League. Having spent a short spell at Brentford last year he has now committed to a season long loan at Hull City. Bostock now has to use this opportunity to do his talking on the pitch if he wishes to command a more prominent role on his return to north London
The gifted midfielder’s transfer from Crystal Palace to Tottenham Hotspur in 2007 was particularly bitter. The then Palace chairman Simon Jordan was determined to retrieve the highest possible amount for the club’s prized asset. The two clubs failed to settle on a fee which was eventually set by a tribunal at £700,000. Bostock would have felt flattered by an ambitious Premier League club recognising his promise and fighting to secure his services.
The feeling of being wanted by a club, which all players seem to crave was not to last. Bostock has recently hit out at the number of foreign players in the league blocking the path of young players into regular top flight football. He spoke in broad terms about the problem in the Premier League which is harming youth development. “You look at the foreign contingent over here and it’s blocking us. It’s hard because we might have to wait until we are 21 or 22.” But could his sweeping comments be interpreted as a swipe at his club’s Croatian contingent, which Harry Redknapp palpably enjoys working with. Attack minded midfielders such as Kranjcar and Modric are way ahead in the pecking order at White Hart Lane. For an aspiring 18-year old his comments are unrealistic but his eagerness to play for the club which fought for him is admirable.
In comparison to many promising players of his age a scenic route around the grounds of League One and the Championship is the best way of eventually securing first team football. Having spent a month at Brentford last year, Bostock recently agreed to a season’s loan at Hull City. His arrival at the KC Stadium may be the remedy this beleaguered side have been looking for. The financial state of the club remains perilous yet the Hull faithful would have been cheered by Bostock’s match winning performance in their first match of the season against Swansea. He tested De Vries early on before unleashing an unstoppable 30-yard screamer which was always destined for the top right-hand corner. Already being touted as the Championship goal of the season it was not simply this wonder strike that had the fans brimming with delight. Operating in the hole behind the lone front-man Bostock was able to exploit this space despite the increasing pressure placed on him by Swansea’s defence.
Performances of this nature will not go unnoticed at the England under-19 international’s parent club. Players who just want to play must relish their opportunities however unorthodox or unexpected. Frequently players on loan will enjoy encouraging starts before fading away due to frustration at a change of setting, team-mates and tactics. If Bostock adopts the right attitude and develops as a player he will return to Tottenham with a renewed hope of competing with their biggest stars.
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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
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Managerless Sunderland travel to the Midlands to face fellow struggles Wolves at Molineux just 72 hours after sacking Steve Bruce following a disastrous start to the season.
Former Black Cats boss Mick McCarthy suffered a similar fate at the Stadium of Light five years ago and will take great pleasure in adding to the misery on Wearside. The Wolves boss saw optimism levels rise in the Black Country after winning their first two games and putting in some dynamic performances. However their next 11 games saw them win just once and slide down the Premier League table to 17th with that victory coming against Wigan at the start of November. McCarthy has now found himself under increasing pressure to turn things around at Molineux with supporters not prepared to tolerate another morale sapping relegation battle. Defensively they need to improve tenfold with summer signing and captain Roger Johnson failing to provide a stable presence in the back four and stop goals flowing in. Wolves have conceded 23 goals in their 13 games so far and need to get back to basics with their defending with the partnership of Johnson and Christophe Berra proving ineffective against the ruthless Premier League forwards. They also need some big performances in the final third against Sunderland this week with winger Matt Jarvis, in particular, not showing the kind of form that won him an England cap earlier in the year.
The Black Cats go into the game without a manager in the dugout after chairman Ellis Short dispensed with the services of Bruce after two years in charge. Three home wins in 2011 and an appalling start to the season saw the former Birmingham and Wigan manager relieved of his duties with the club lying two places above the relegation zone. Defeat against the Latics last week was the final nail in Bruces coffin with his already sour relationship with the clubs supporters completely evaporating as they turned on him once and for all. It’s no surprise that he find’s himself out a job after seeing Sunderland slip to 16th in recent weeks following a run of one win in their last eight games and a series of displays that fell way below the standard expected on Wearside. It was always going to be a challenge once Darren Bent left in January but to lose Danny Wellbeck and Asamoah Gyan just a few months after left the club without first choice centre forward. £30 million was spent on improving the squad in the summer with the former boss opting to spend £8 million on teenager Connor Wickham and unknown South Korean Ji Dong Won. Nicklas Bendntner was also brought in on loan but has failed to suitably plug the gap and it has ultimately Bruce paid the penalty. His tactics often left Sunderland looking directionless on the pitch at times this season and it has cost them dearly and whoever takes charge for the trip to Wolves will need to get the defence structured and the midfield disciplined. Getting Bendtner scoring and Sessegnon purring in behind the Danish strike will be key to the Black Cats starting the post-Bruce era with a bang.
Wolves – 17th
Last Five
Lost 3-0 v Chelsea (A), Lost 2-1 v Everton (A)Won 3-1 v Wigan (H), Lost 3-1 v Manchester City (A), Drew 2-2 v Swansea (H)
Potential Starting X11: 1. W. Hennessey 23. R. Zubar 14. R. Johnson [C] 16. C. Berra 3. G Elokobi 11. S. Ward 4. D. Edwards 20. N. Milijas 17. M. Jarvis* 29. K. Doyle
Injury News: McCarthy will be without key defender Richard Stearman for the visit of Sunderland whilst Kevin Foley has been ruled out until Janaury with an ankle injury.
Key Player: Matt Jarvis
It’s been a disappointing season from the Wolves winger who has looked a shadow of the player that made his England debut earlier in the year. Jarvis’ performances this season have been well below par and fairly inconsistent with his brilliance on the wing only appearing in flashes. A display worthy of an England cap would be welcomed on Saturday against Sunderland as his club strives to move clear of the drop zone.
Match Fact: This will be only the fifth time Woves have met Sunderland in the Premier League the omens definitely favour McCarthy’s side. Wanderers have won their last three games against the Black Cats and would take great pleasure in making that four in a row.
Sunderland – 16th
Last Five: Lost 2-1 v Wigan (H), Drew 0-0 v Fulham (H0, Lost 1-0 v Manchester United (A), Drew 2-2 v Aston Villa (H), Won 2-0 v Bolton (A)
Potential Starting X11: 24. K. Westwood 16. J. O’Shea [C] 4. M. Turner 6. W. Brown 2. P. Bardsley 7. A. S. Larsson 6. L. Cattermole 16. J. Colback 11.K. Richardson 28. S. Sessegnon* 52. N. Bendtner
Injury News: Managerless Sunderland are still without key players Simon Mignolet and Connor Wickham whilst Fraizer Campbell remains out for the long-term.
Key Player: Stephane Sessegnon
A rare bright spot in what has been an awful start to the season for Sunderland the former PSG midfielder’s importance in the side has soared. The departure of Asamoah Gyan in the summer has left Sessegnon as the only real flair player in the Black Cats squad and has proved a capable partner for Bendtner up front. His agility on the ball and forward thinking nature will come in handy against Wolves on Sunday.
Match Fact: Sunderland first met Wolves in 1890 – a staggering 121 years ago! Since then they have visited Molineux 60 times since then but have emerged victorious from the Midlands just 15 times.
Last Time at Molineux
Wolves 3-2 Sunderland
Foley, 51 Hunt, 81 Ebanks-Blake, 89
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Bent, 67 Wellbeck, 77
Attendance: 25,112
Referee: Mike Jones
PREDICTION
Both sides have struggled to string a decent set of results together this season and find themselves fighting to pull away from the drop zone. Sunderland sacked manager Steve Bruce on Wednesday after their 2-1 defeat to Wigan and the Black Cats will travel to the Midlands without a leader in the dugout – something that could prove disastrous. Wolves are also in a slump and need to start being more ruthless at home having lost three out of six at Molieneux. This could be considered a game that will shape both clubs seasons going into the festive period.
%image% Australia scored a surprising 2-1 victory over European heavyweight Germany at Borussia Park on Tuesday.
Despite Mario Gomez’ first half goal, the Australians rallied in the second half to topple the home side.
A neatly-taken goals by Blackpool’s David Carney, the 1000th goal conceded by Germany, and a penalty from Luke Wilkshire, consigned the Germans to defeat.
A late goal from Asamoah Gyan earned Ghana a 1-1 draw with England at Wembley.
Recent Liverpool signing Andy Carroll put the Three Lions ahead just before the interval but the English were denied a victory over the World Cup quarter-finalists when Sunderland forward Gyan curled in a fine goal for the Africans.
France and Croatia played out a scoreless draw at the Stade de France, in a rematch of the 1998 World Cup semi-final which saw Croatia coach Slaven Bilic controversially have his opposite number Laurent Blanc sent off.
World Cup semi-finalist Uruguay overcame a late comeback to grab an entertaining 3-2 win over Ireland.
A Shane Long headed effort cancelled out Diego Lugano’s goal but then strikes from Edinson Cavani and Abel Hernandez put the Uruguayans 3-1 ahead.
A Keith Faley penalty gave the Irish a chance but the Uruguayans held on.
The hosts of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, Russia and Qatar respectively, played out a 1-1 draw in Doha.
Qatar grabbed a surprise lead through Mohamed Kasoula, but they were denied a famous victory when Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko equalised with a shot that Qatari goalkeeper Meshal Mubarak got a hand to.
Former World Cup champions Italy beat Ukraine 2-1 in Kiev thanks to goals from Giuseppe Rossi and Alessandro Matri.
Greece was held to 0-0 draw by Poland in Piraeus despite a handful of scoring opportunities falling their way in each half.
Portugal beat Finland in Aviero thanks a brace from debutant Rúben Micael.
Canada edged out Belarus at a near-empty stadium in Antalya in Turkey courtesy of a 58th minute strike from Houston Dynamo defender Andre Hainault.
A Michael Krohn-Dehli winner saw Denmark come out on top against Slovakia. Denmark drew first blood after an own goal from Slovakia’s Kornel Salata although the Slovakians drew level Filip Holosko but it was the Brondby midfielder who had the last laugh for the Danes.
A solitary goal separated Bulgaria and Cyprus with the Bulgarians coming out on top courtesy of a contentious Martin Petrov goal.
In Asia, China resoundingly defeated Honduras by three goals thanks to a from goal from Huang Bowen, and a Yang Xu double – all of which were set up by Schalke midfielder Hao Junmin.
In Latin America, Ecuador were held 0-0 by Peru in The Hague, Netherlands.
The Peruvians, who were reduced to 10 men, managed to hold on after goalkeeper Salomon Libman’s saved Ecuador captain Walter Ayovi’s penalty in the first half.
A Matias Fernandez free-kick and Jean Beausejour strike saw Chile beat Colombia 2-0.
A while ago I watched the official FIFA film of the 1994 World Cup. It opened by asking typical Americans what they knew about football. Let’s just say knowledge was scarce, responses ranged from ‘nothing’ to ‘is it that game where they kick the ball?’. Obviously it was moulded to satisfy a certain stereotype, but the message was loud and clear. What do Americans know about football?
Well, that was a few years ago now and things seem to have changed. While, for various reasons, football will never be as popular as the ‘big four’ sports in the US, it is undeniable that Uncle Sam is starting to make a big impression on the world’s game.
The USA are currently thriving in its role as an exporter, rather than a retainer of its best talent. Of its 23 man squad for the World Cup only 4 play in the MLS, with the rest spanning clubs from all over Europe from AC Milan to Villarreal. This is no different to other footballing nations from the Americas. The squads that Brazil, Argentina and Chile took to the World Cup all contained a vast majority of players who play outside of their domestic leagues.
The amount of Americans playing in the top leagues in Europe has a knock-on effect to levels of interest for football in the USA. As the likes of Clint Dempsey go abroad and become better players the national team improves – as shown by the US winning their World Cup group for the first time since 1930. As the national team improves on the World stage football becomes more popular back home, and as a result more people play and watch football at the domestic level. As the levels of interest grow the domestic league gets more exposure and more players go and play abroad.
Much like the other professional leagues in the US, the MLS is very well run in terms of youth and up and coming players. With more and more teams boasting emerging youth teams – led by DC United, the MLS also has what they call the ‘Superdraft’ which was introduced in 2000. As with basketball and the NFL, the teams in the league get to choose the best young players graduating from university. While at university these players play regular, competitive games in a team structured as if it were professional, so that the MLS is the next natural step up. This draft occurs every year and ensures that there is an endless conveyor belt of talented, intelligent, young players coming into the league. Jozy Altidore, Maurice Edu, and Michael Bradley are just some of the players who have gone on to national team level after benefitting from the Superdraft system.
When David Beckham made his shock move to the LA Galaxy he said that he wanted to make a difference and he certainly has. Granted he is now past his best, but would Henry have considered going stateside had Beckham not upped the league’s profile? Henry is a player who is likely to catch the imagination of the American public, a skilful player who scores goals and he has a good chance of boosting the reputation of football in America even further.
It could be argued that the US is now replacing the Far-East as the untapped market for English Premier League teams. Spurs, Man Utd and Man City are all embarking on tours of the States this summer. To show how much the MLS has improved over the last decade and how important the market over there has become, it worth looking at the last time Ferguson took United to the America. In 2004 they played 3 exhibition games against Bayern Munich, AC Milan and Celtic, a tour of America without playing an American team. This year they play Philadelphia, Kansas City and an MLS All-Star XI.
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The USA will probably never win the World Cup and the MLS will never match the NBA, NFL or MLB. But as a nation, they still have a lot to offer the world game.