Premier League Report

Man United 2-1 Liverpool: Kenny Dalglish's Full Interview With Sky Sports Geoff Shreeves

2012-02-11T09:24:00.000-08:00

Kenny Dalglish in his after match interview with Geoff Shreeves from Sky Sports said his team deserved credit after giving United a 2-0 lead. He said, "I thought that, obviously, with the two goals coming as close as they did that it made it really difficult for us to get anything from the game.

"To the boys credit they got one back when Luis knocked one over the line from a free kick and then De Gea has a good save. Overall, I think they were the better side but you'd expect that with them at home.

"Five minutes, two goals. It gave us a mountain to climb."

Shreeves then asked, "Did you have a view on the incident just before half time when Luis Suarez was through and Rio Ferdinand got there, Who got the first touch on the ball, we still can't decide?

The Liverpool boss replied in good humour, "well if ye have 24 cameras here and 34 repeats and you can't decide then there's no chance for me to have a valid opinion."

He then added, "I thought maybe he nudged the first one, but I don't know if Ferdinand played the ball first or not."

The conversation then moved onto Dalglish's substitutions with the interviewer saying "they had a terrific effect" and asking"what were you trying to change?"

"We were trying to get back into the game," he replied, "and everybody just needed a wee change and sometimes they work and sometimes it doesn't. We scored a goal but still lost the game.

"We left ourselves with a mountain to climb and we couldn't get over it."

With all the questions on the match all but answered, Shreeves moved to the obvious one and asked "As you know the football won't dominate the headlines tomorrow. Firstly, your reaction to Luis Suarez refusing to shake Patrice Evra's hand and did you have an inkling that he was going to do that?

"I never knew he never shook his hand," Dalglish answered.

"He refused to take his hand," Shreeves probed.

Dalglish, beginning to get unhappy with the line of questioning replied, "I'll take your word for it. But I don't know. I wasn't there. I never saw it. That is contrary to what I was told."

"But now that I have told you that he did do it Kenny, your reaction to that?" said Shreeves still looking for his answer.

"Well, we'll ask him and we'll take it from there.

"Do you think you have to take a serious look at his refusal to shake his hand and the way it subsequently set the tone for elements of what happened here today?

"I think you're very severe," he told Shreeves before adding, "and I think you're bang out of order for blaming Luis Suarez for anything that happened here today. "I think predominately both sets of fans behaved really well. They had a bit of banter between each other - no problem. Right, how many bookings was there?" he said turning the question on the interviewer.

Shreeves coolly answered, "Kenny, I'm not not talking about the fans. I wasn't asking about that, I was..." before Dalglish cut him off repeatedly asking "how many bookings was there?

"Kenny, I'm not talking about the fans," the interviewer answered.

"How many was there?" the Liverpool boss demanded.

"A couple of bookings Kenny," answered Shreeves. "Right okay, you know you know Manchester United Liverpool games,that's not bad."

"Yes, but Kenny," Shreeves pushed, "you also know about the controversy in the tunnel. The police were called and the stewards were called before and after the game because of the tension during the game and a lot of that was down to the fact that they didn't shake hands."

"You know something else? asked Dalglish. "You see when we had the game, the FA Cup tie, right, because there was no 24 hour news channel in the build up to the game nothing like this happened."

"So now, you're blaming the news channel? retorted Shreeves.

"No, said Dalglish growing more and more unhappy as the interview progressed, "I'm just saying that it was a bit tight getting through there [the tunnel] but I didn't see anything. I was here. Right. So if you want to know what happened in there ask somebody else who was there because I wasn't. Okay."

The conversation ended with Shreeves thanking Dalglish for the interview.

Arsenal 7-1 Blackburn: 7 Things We Learned from the Gunners' Win

2012-02-04T02:38:00.000-08:00

Arsenal have moved back into Champions League contention after a stunning seven-goal haul against a very poor Blackburn Rovers squad at the Emirates.

Robin van Persie claimed a hat-trick, young starlet Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain bagged a brace with Mikel Arteta and Thierry Henry scoring one each as a rampant Gunners took full advantage over a 10-man Blackburn Rovers team.

The game, played at 13:00 to help Arsenal fans with traffic congestion as the Victoria Tube Line was closed, started off frantically with Robin van Persie scoring after just 90 seconds. Blackburn equalized through a barnstorming free kick from Morten Gamst Pederson, his 10th free kick since August 2005, but after Gael Givet was sent away, there was only ever going to be one winner.

Here we look at seven things we learned from the mauling...

1. Robin van Persie is Simply Brilliant

While Robin van Persie may have looked like he had one in the oven as he carried the match-winning ball up his jersey after the game, the only pregnant thing about the Dutch striker are the pauses between his goals.

With this hat trick, he only became the fourth Arsenal player to score 20-plus goals in a single Premier League season.

He may have only scored in 14 of 24 Premier League games so far, but Van Persie has scored a stunning 22 goals and contributed a healthy eight assists.
To put that in Fantasy Football terms, he has given an amazing 180 points to your team, if you had him...

His form over the last 13 months has simply been phenomenal and it is no surprise to see many now rating the Arsenal striker as the third-best player in Europe behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Will he sign that new shiny contract though?

2. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: 2012, The Year of the Ox?

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, the 18-year-old kid from Portsmouth, is already an Arsenal favourite.

The youngster, signed in August for a staggering £12 million, has perhaps been forced into first-team action rather more quickly than many at Arsenal had planned. However, in his 12 appearances so far, he has shown such an incredible level of maturity and good decision-making that the team almost miss him when he is not playing.

Gunners fans reacted angrily when Arsene Wenger took the youth off early against Manchester United after yet another good performance. He is fast becoming one of the only shining lights of this stop-start season for Arsenal.
So far he has played just 12 games, but he has scored four goals, including his double today.

Definitely one for the future, but we've all heard that before about almost every kid ever to make the breakthrough at Arsenal.

Will the Ox be any different?

3. Paul Robinson Does Not Like Playing Against Arsenal

If you could look past Robin van Persie's and Theo Walcott's healthy showing of man love as they celebrated the Dutchman's hat-rick of goals and the Englishman's hat-rick of assists you could see Paul Robinson on his knees pleading with his defence.

This is a position that has become second nature to Robinson when playing against Arsenal.

If there is any goalkeeper and any team who are the perfect fodder for Arsenal to play against, it is Robinson and Blackburn.

The stats back it up...

Paul Robinson has conceded an amazing 53 goals against Arsenal whilst playing in the Premier League. More than any other keeper.

The 7-1 mauling was the 11th time that Robinson has conceded more than three goals in a single match against the Gunners.

Most withering of all, despite scoring seven goals, Arsenal only had eight shots on goal.

4. Despite a 7-1 Win, the Gunners Haven't Turned the Corner Just Yet...

There are so many positives for Arsenal fans to take out of this game that it is almost too easy to get carried away.

When all is said and done, the Gunners won 7-1 against one of the worst Premier League teams of all time.

The positives are good and should be taken for what they are—a very good day at the office.

However, at 1-0 and at 1-1, Arsenal's midfield and defence looked quite shaky and while they may never have actually been on the ropes, the nervous tension in the air could have been cut with a knife.

This current incarnation of Arsene Wenger's philosophy are very much a work in progress but they are severely imbalanced at the back and need strengthening across midfield if they are to move back into being considered title contenders.

For the moment, they are where they should be—on the cusp of a Europa
League position, but as push comes to shove, Chelsea, Spurs and Liverpool may just have too much for this team to handle.

5. When Will Gunners' Fans Protest Again?

As attendances continue to fall, certain supporter groups at Arsenal had decided to show their outrage with the management by staging a black bag protest at the Emirates today.

The protest was to highlight two issues:
1) falling attendances caused by poor team displays;
2) to try and pressurise the board into spending more money to strengthen the team.

Last year the Gunners made profits of over £50 million but a distinct failure to invest intelligently has seen the team drop from the Champions League, projecting them to potentially miss out on Europe altogether.

Missing out on Europe would also come with missing out on the massive finances and riches the Champions League offers, a potential £30 million plus.
The protest never really got the chance to happen today as Robin van Persie fired the Gunners ahead after just over one minute and then Arsenal went on the rampage and scored another six.

One thing is for sure, though: The protests may have been muted today, but they have not gone away.

6. More Than Ever, Steve Kean Looks Doomed

You can make excuses that Blackburn were unlucky, that they hit the post, missed sitters, scored goals that weren't offside, conceded goals that were offside and so on and so on, but a seven-goal mauling rips right through the heart of any excuse.

Quite frankly, there is nowhere left to hide for Steve Kean.
The biggest criticism of Steve Kean this season is not just Blackburn's lowly position in the English Premier League; it is the very fact that Rovers have not managed to keep one clean sheet all season.

Now, Kean faces the potential of the rest of the season without his captain and best defender, Christopher Samba, but this week he also OK'd the cancellation of Ryan Nelsen's contact.

The 34-year-old defender was immediately swapped his relegation battle with Rovers for a title chase with Tottenham Hotspur.

While Nelsen's best days may be behind him, there is little doubt that the New Zealander was the most influential voice at Ewood Park. It is worth noting that the last time Blackburn kept consecutive clean sheets, Nelsen was captaining the team.

Losing one player of such influence is bad enough. Losing two is nothing less than sinful.

For a perfect example, all Steve Kean had to do was look across at Arsene Wenger as the Gunners boss lost both Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas this summer full in the knowledge that neither player will ever fully be replaced.

7. Arsenal FC: Seven Games to Define a Season

The Gunners next seven fixtures read as...

Sat 11 Feb - Sunderland v Arsenal (EPL)

Wed 15 Feb - AC Milan v Arsenal (UCL)

Sat 18 Feb - Sund/Midd v Arsenal (FAC)

Sun 26 Feb - Arsenal v Tottenham (EPL)

Sat 3 Mar - Liverpool v Arsenal (EPL)

Tues 6 Mar - Arsenal v AC Milan (UCL)

Mon 12 Mar - Arsenal v Newcastle (EPL)

There are no two ways around it; Arsenal's next seven fixtures are about as tough as they could get, yet there is always optimism.

Sunderland are the form team in the EPL and have taken more points (7-2-2 record) than every other team since Martin O'Neill took over in December. AC Milan are perennial Champions League contenders while Spurs, Liverpool and Newcastle are all battling it out with the Gunners for the European spaces.

Looking ahead, it is very conceivable that Arsenal could easily pass Milan to the quarterfinals of the UCL, but taking full points from the four EPL games during this period will be an almost impossible task, especially given current form.

The best I can predict is a possible five to eight points from the 12 points available, which may not be enough come the end of the season with progress in the Champions League and the FA Cup, unless Middlesbrough beat Sunderland this Wednesday.

When all is said and done, the 7-1 win was very much needed, but it might only paper over the cracks before the real nitty-gritty starts next week...

2011 January Transfer Window: Day by Day Guide to Every Single Transfer

2012-02-01T09:19:00.000-08:00

While the 2011 January Transfer Window may have been no where near as compelling, exciting or as interesting as the summer transfer window. It is undoubtedly one of the most important parts of the season.

Struggling teams are given a second chance to put records straight. While clubs with ambitions of winning trophies can really make a huge statement by either taking key players from rivals or by signing that one player who may turn out to be the one who gets them over the finishing line.

Here we take a quick look at every single transfer and offer some analysis on what could be the key moves this winter, or indeed this season.

Click here to read more.

Frank Lampard Has No Future at Chelsea Under the Misfiring Andre Villa Boas

2012-01-08T15:58:00.000-08:00

Frank Lampard's future at Chelsea under Andre Villa Boas has been up for debate since the start of the season. As his manager puts his own personal stamp on the club and shifts the shape of the team in favour of his own footballing philosophies it looks like the England international will be surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge.

The soon to be 34-year-old midfielder has seemingly struggled in his 34-year-old managers 4-3-3 system this term, and if rumours are to be believed the club legend is now available for transfer.

It has been an amazing fall from grace for Lampard. Since joining the Blues from West Ham for £11 million in 2001 he has been never less than brilliant, every single season.

He had made breaking from deep an artform and his goal scoring exploits are such that he has a better strike rate than many strikers operating in the game today. Indeed, if you look at his stats you can see that he has scored 123 goals in 361 games and contributed 90 assists in the Premier League over the last ten years, a quite remarkable rate for a midfielder. Across all competitions he has scored 179 goals in 534 games with 114 assists.

While his goal scoring prowess is remarkable it is probably his physical prowess that is at the centre of all that is good about Lampard.

If you take a look at Robin van Persie's statistics you see that the Arsenal striker has only averaged around 24 games a season for Arsenal, up until this last year, since 2004. Whereas a quick glance at Lampard reveals that the player has only twice played less than 35 games in a Premier League season of 38 and even then he managed to play 24 games, equal to the Arsenal striker.

However, Lampard's statistics become all the more amazing when you add in cup and Champions League matches. Here the player averages 51 games a season, this includes an amazing 63 game haul in the 2006/07 season when Chelsea finished 2nd to Manchester United in the Premier League and won both the League and FA Cups. Add in nine internationals for England and you have the player playing a phenomenal 72 games in one season.

Having established that Lampard is a player with a goal scoring knack that few other midfielders or strikers can compare with and that he is a physical freak regarding injury and fitness we can now look at him as a player.

He boasts a very good first touch, has a great engine, and reads the game remarkably well - especially going forward. Each and every Chelsea manager since 2001 has built his team around the strengths of his key midfielder be they Claudio Ranieri, Jose Mourinho, Luis Felipe Scolari or Carlo Ancelotti.

Each manager has used similar systems and shape to get the very best out of the now 33-year-old where the pro's of his game have been taken advantage of to a huge degree while the cons of his game have been covered by other players.

The best examples of this are Jose Mourinho's preferred 4-2-3-1 formation or Carlo Ancelotti's 4-4-2-Diamond formation where Lampard was utilised just behind the main strikers in a role where he could break into the box with aplomb.

These formations allowed Lampard the ability to merge with the attack while the team were going forward and also afforded the team the full knowledge that the England international would drop deep to help his team out when they needed it most.

It is a highly disciplined role which requires huge tactical knowledge and awareness of the shape of his team mates at all times because a wrong run forwards or backwards could end up with either section of the team becoming outnumbered quite easily. When you look at how many times this has happened to the Blues since 2001 and how much success they have enjoyed you realise that Lampard is far more than just a goal scorer.

As a central midfielder Lampard does not fit the bill of an old-fashioned player in that particular position. He cannot dictate the ebb and flow of a game at the highest level through passing and positioning. It must also be said though that in Lampard's ten years at Chelsea, the Blues have never had a player of that type at the club and they have built a system that has surrounded the strengths of all of their players.

Andre Villa Boas, upon joining the club in June for a world record fee of £15 million for a manager, quickly established that he wanted to change the shape and system at the club by moving for Tottenham Hotspur's Luka Modric.

Modric is exactly the kind of player to dictate games. The main problem here is that it now seems that Andre Villa Boas has decided that Frank Lampard cannot play beside such a player and that he is now being pigeon holed as "just" a goal scoring midfielder.

There is so much more to Lampard as a player than just goals and he is one of the most disciplined midfielders playing in the EPL today in terms of positioning, work rate and following orders.

Earlier this season Villa Boas experimented with Lampard at the base of his preferred 4-3-3, he then moved the player further forward and replaced him with Meireles at the base. In each position the player put in excellent performances.

The major turning point in the Lampard's relationship with Villa Boas seems to have happened in the 3-1 defeat to Manchester United in September where the player was unceremoniously substituted at half time with his team trailing 3-1.

Chelsea using Villa Boas' 4-3-3 formation were out run through midfield and bypassed on the wings as United exposed their defensive frailties. Lampard paid the price for his manager setting the team up wrong and in the second half Villa Boas utilised a 4-2-3-1 formation with Nicolas Anelka replacing the England midfielder.

It was a huge statement of intent by the new Chelsea boss as not only did he take off his talismanic midfielder, after getting his tactics wrong, he then used the formation that perhaps utilises his midfielders strengths to their best, with him off the pitch.

Lampard was then dropped the following week against Swansea before returning with a hat trick against Bolton in a 5-1 win in October.

From there the relationship seems to have soured somewhat as the before ever present Lampard has now only played the full 90 minutes twice in Chelsea's last eight games and those were against relegation candidates Wolves and Wigan.

While you can read a number of things from Lampard being dropped from the first XI over the last eight games, only one thing can be taken from Andre Villa Boas' comments after Lampard's late winner against Wolves on January 2.
When asked by Match of the Day what he thought of Lampard's winning contribution the manager tellingly avoided naming Lampard in person and referred to the strength of mind of the squad instead.

MOTD; "Frank Lampard did what Frank Lampard has been doing for the last decade and popped up with a valuable goal. [Is he] still a valuable member of your squad?"

AVB; "Yeah, well it's always been like that.

"I always keep saying the team unity and team spirit is fantastic and it is much more important than individual spirit and I think it's important for the team to continue to produce for each other no matter who scores."

This short exchange of less than 80 words speaks volumes of where Villa Boas sees Lampard both as a player and more importantly as a person. His frank refusal, no pun intended, to acknowledge the midfielders contribution shows that their has been a breakdown in communication and that Andre Villa Boas would probably be happier with Lampard out of Stamford Bridge than within it.
As it stands, Lampard has 18-months left on his contract of around £150,000 per week.

From the outside it seems that Andre Villa Boas is blaming the veteran players at the club for Chelsea's poor form this season. Nicolas Anelka was unceremoniously dumped out to pasture in China with Shanghai Shenhua which came as a major surprise as the player was arguably one of the Blues better performers under Carlo Ancelotti last season.

As Andre Villa Boas imposes his preferred 4-3-3 system upon a squad that do not seem capable of playing it at the highest level it appears that the player are taking the blame for its failure rather than a manager who is using square pegs in round holes.

Two of the main reasons Chelsea have been potent in attack this season have been Daniel Sturridge and Juan Mata. Both have been excellent going forward and have really given the team a wide outlet on either flank.

However, their lack of defensive work has seen both full backs exposed badly which in turn has seen the centre halves exposed though long balls into the space created by moving the full backs out of position.

This has also had the domino effect of neutralizing the midfield trio, whoever they may be, as they are locked in a central position and are quite easily bypassed out wide.

This allowance to let both Mata and Sturridge shirk their duties looks like it has caused a split as Villa Boas has dropped other players to shore up the holes left by this duo.

If you can think back to the early days of Jose Mourinho where he employed two out and out wingers in Arjen Robben and Damien Duff and the defensive workload he insisted upon you can see why some Chelsea players might possibly be angry. Especially if they perceive that the manager is blaming them for poor results and letting others get away with it.

This allowance and constant use of a system that does not suit this current Chelsea squad shows that Andre Villa Boas is a manager who does not recognise his own mistakes and that given that the Blues have played some 30 games this season it looks like the manager is incapable of realising he has made more than one mistake in his selections.

There is no arguing that Frank Lampard at 33, John Terry at 31, Nicolas Anelka at 32 and Didier Drogba at 33 all need replacing soon. However, it is also quite obvious that each and every player is capable of playing at the highest level for another couple of years at least and that the early signings made by Villa Boas of Raul Meireles, Romelu Lukaku, Oriel Romeau and Ulises Davila have all flattered to deceive thus far.

Even at 33, Lampard would be a remarkable signing for virtually every single team in the Premier League. His track record, professionalism and injury record guarantee interest from all of the top managers so it will be very interesting to see what happens next regarding this situation.

Manchester United could use a player of his calibre but the recent return from retirement of Paul Scholes would seem to have poured cold water on that particular move.

He would not fit in at Liverpool where Steven Gerrard has just returned from a long term injury and with Luis Suarez in the mix Kenny Dalglish is unlikely to want another player running into the same channels as his two best players.

That leaves Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. City are unlikely to be interested in such a player although their is no doubting that the Citizens could do with a few more goals from midfield if they are to push on towards the next level and at 33 Lampard is just too old to interest Roberto Mancini for this role.

Leaving Spurs and Arsenal as the favourites to capture his signature.

Again his age may become a factor, especially where Arsene Wenger is concerned. However, Lampard is nothing if not a leader and one thing the Gunners do not have too many of is leaders. He may interest Wenger with the fact that he would bring a superb professional attitude with him on top of the fact that he could streamline quite easily with Alex Song, Mikel Arteta, Jack Wilshire and Aaron Ramsey. Add in the fact that the player may be interested in helping the next generation develop and his signing for Wenger could become a very real possibility.

When all is said and done though, Spurs remain the most realistic option for Lampard if he is to stay in the Premier League.

His uncle, Harry Redknapp, knows all about the player and what a fantastic attitude he has and would surely love to bring the player to White Hart Lane. However, Lampard joining Spurs may come at a price as Luka Modric would almost be sure to go in the opposite direction.

Given Spurs' position in the table it would be more than reasonable of the White Hart Lane outfit to demand players like Lampard, the misfiring Fernando Torres, Josh McEacheran or Oriel Romeau in return for the Croatian's signature.

Whatever the outcome, one thing is clear; Frank Lampard's days at Chelsea seem to be coming to an end.

Hold the BackPage – Team of the Year 2011

2012-01-06T15:59:00.000-08:00

Hold the BackPage - Team of the Year 2011 by bpfootball

It’s the first Hold the BackPage of 2012 and Neil Sherwin is joined by Ger McCarthy and Willie Gannon to sift through the festive period’s Premier League action, while the lads also pick their Team of the Year for 2011.

The first part of this week podcast looks back at the Premier League action of the past week or so. Neil is understandably relieved that Manchester United slipped up following City’s defeat to Sunderland, something that Ger took great pleasure in. There’s a look at all the big talking points on the field including Stephen Ireland’s return to form against Chelsea and the continuing great form of Spurs, while Sir Alex Ferguson’s reluctance to delve into the transfer market also provokes some discussion.

In the second half of the show, the lads discuss the best Premier League players of 2011 following Willie’s article on the website this week. There’s some surprise inclusions, not least one Spurs player, while some decisions were easy and unanimous. This week’s FA Cup Third Round also gets a preview with the potential for a couple of shocks on the cards.

In our best of 2011 news, the BPF Top 50 series is coming back and you can have your say on who were the best players in the world for the last 12 months. Simply click here to get all the details for how to vote!

Don’t forget, you can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or RSS!

Also if there is anything you would like to hear on the show in future simply drop us an email, tweet or comment on Facebook.

The first part of this week podcast looks back at the Premier League action of the past week or so. Neil is understandably relieved that Manchester United slipped up following City’s defeat to Sunderland, something that Ger took great pleasure in. There’s a look at all the big talking points on the field including Stephen Ireland’s return to form against Chelsea and the continuing great form of Spurs, while Sir Alex Ferguson’s reluctance to delve into the transfer market also provokes some discussion.

In the second half of the show, the lads discuss the best Premier League players of 2011 following Willie’s article on the website this week. There’s some surprise inclusions, not least one Spurs player, while some decisions were easy and unanimous. This week’s FA Cup Third Round also gets a preview with the potential for a couple of shocks on the cards.

In our best of 2011 news, the BPF Top 50 series is coming back and you can have your say on who were the best players in the world for the last 12 months. Simply click here to get all the details for how to vote!

Don’t forget, you can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or RSS!

Also if there is anything you would like to hear on the show in future simply drop us an email, tweet or comment on Facebook.

The first part of this week podcast looks back at the Premier League action of the past week or so. Neil is understandably relieved that Manchester United slipped up following City’s defeat to Sunderland, something that Ger took great pleasure in. There’s a look at all the big talking points on the field including Stephen Ireland’s return to form against Chelsea and the continuing great form of Spurs, while Sir Alex Ferguson’s reluctance to delve into the transfer market also provokes some discussion.

In the second half of the show, the lads discuss the best Premier League players of 2011 following Willie’s article on the website this week.

There’s some surprise inclusions, not least one Spurs player, while some decisions were easy and unanimous.

This week’s FA Cup Third Round also gets a preview with the potential for a couple of shocks on the cards.

In our best of 2011 news, the BPF Top 50 series is coming back and you can have your say on who were the best players in the world for the last 12 months. Simply click here to get all the details for how to vote!

Don’t forget, you can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or RSS!

Also if there is anything you would like to hear on the show in future simply drop us an email, tweet or comment on Facebook.

English Premier League: Team of the Year 2011

2012-01-01T16:41:00.000-08:00

Who have been the best players in the English Premier League during 2011?

We all know there have been a number of outstanding individual displays over the past year ranging from Wayne Rooney's wonderful performance against Manchester City last February to Yakubu's four goal haul for Blackburn against Swansea in December to any number of performances by Newcastle's goalkeeper extraordinaire Tim Krul, who has been outstanding since the beginning of the current season.

However, when all is said and done the cream always rises to the top although picking a Premiership XI is no easy task. There are numerous factors to consider when putting together any list, particularly one as divisive a best team of the year, so in gathering together my XI I have considered consistency, general all around play, whether the player has improved over the last 12 months significantly and last but not least their skill level.

So without further adieu, the EPL 2011 Team of the Year...

Goalkeeper: Joe Hart (Manchester City)

No other 'keeper has impressed as much as Manchester City's net-minder Joe Hart over the past 12 months. Since City made him first choice ahead of Shay Given, a move many pundits questioned the wisdom of, he has grown into being the definitive England No.1 as well as being the most consistently brilliant shot stopper in the Premier League.

Given, no pun intended, the level of maturity in Hart's performances over the past 12 months it is hard to believe that the youngster is still only 24 and that he yet to hit his peak and that realistically he still has another 10 to 12 years left at the highest level.

It says much that at this very moment he is probably the most under rated player at the Eastlands. Admittedly, he does play behind one of the leagues best defences and is the beneficiary of having the outstanding Vincent Kompany organise his back four but Hart never shirks his duty and has developed into his country's best 'keeper since David Seaman...

Runner-Up: Ali Al-Habsi (Wigan Athletic)

Right Back: Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur)

Kyle Walker, Tottenham Hotspur's 21-year-old flying fullback, seems to have come from nowhere during the last 12 months. At the moment he is rightly regarded as one of Fabio Capello's best options for the vacant right full position when England travel to Ukraine for Euro 2012 next June.

The youngster was initially signed for Spurs as part of a double deal for £10 million involving Kyle Naughton in July 2009 but was immediately sent back on loan to Sheffield United in the Championship. The following season he went back to the Championship again but this time it was to promotion chasing QPR where he quickly established himself as one of the best players in England's second tier.

Such were the phenomenal level of his performances that as soon as the QPR deal ended Aston Villa took him on loan for the rest of last season and it is here that he really began to make people take notice. Walker's impact at Villa Park was immediate as he offered attacking penetration and defensive positioning to such a high degree that he was called into the England squad in February and March to face Wales and Ghana respectively although he never made it onto the pitch.

This term his form has gone up another notch again and he has been instrumental in helping turn Spurs into outside bet title challengers. Harry Redknapp has brought the best out of Walker and has improved upon his player’s defensive duties to such an extent that Walker has played in England's last two internationals against Spain and Sweden. Incidentally England won both games 1-0.

Runner-Up: Micah Richards (Manchester City)

Centre Half: Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United)

If there is any player, other than Wayne Rooney, that is an automatic choice for Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford it is his captain Nemanja Vidic.

Vidic signed for United for just £7 million in 2006 and will surely go down as one of Ferguson's best ever buys when the Scot does eventually retire. The giant Serbian defender has been the defensive rock that has provided all the foundations Manchester United have needed in recent years where they have won the Premier League four times, the FA Cup three times and have appeared in the Champions League final three times taking the trophy with the big ears home in 2008.

To say that Vidic is a great defender is to do the centre half a huge disservice. Since joining United he has featured in the EPL Team of the Season every year and has been named EPL Player of the Season twice.

Like Kompany, Vidic is a superb man marker, is brilliant in the air, reads the game beautifully and is also incredibly strong in the tackle. However, in terms of greatness, Vidic is a notch or two above his Manchester City counterpart when all is said and done.

Tragedy struck in Manchester United's shock Champions League defeat to Basle in December when Vidic basically ruptured every ligament possible in his knee. He recently underwent an operation to repair the injury but he is expected to be sidelined until the start of next season at the earliest.

His absence in Ferguson's defence will be a huge factor in where the title goes this season as not only is Vidic an incredible defender he also has an uncanny ability at bringing the very best out of his fellow defenders.
He will be badly missed...

Runner-Up: John Terry (Chelsea)

Centre Half: Vincent Kompany (Manchester City)

It is no exaggeration to say that Kompany is now probably the best defender plying his trade in the Premier League today.

Initially signed as a central midfielder in 2008 from Hamburg, Kompany has really developed into a top class defender over the last three years.

He is powerfully built, reads the game superbly, is a fantastic man marker and has become the leader that Manchester City needs as they look to become a super power of European football. Last season was without doubt Kompany's best and him play 50 games in all competitions including 37 appearances in the Premier League and win his first trophy with City as they claimed the FA Cup in May with a 1-0 win over Stoke City.

He was then named in the PFA Team of the Season and was also named Manchester City's Player of the Season.

This year he has started up where he left off in terms of level of performance with one significant difference. He is now club captain after Roberto Mancini stripped Carlos Tevez of the honour.

The Belgian international has become ultra important to the title chasing Citizens and marshal's their defence brilliantly and is the true leader in the City team.

Runner-Up: Phil Jones (Manchester United)

Left Back: Benoit Assou-Ekotto (Tottenham Hotspur)

Benoit Assou-Ekotto is without doubt the most interesting professional footballer plying his trade in the Premier League today. The candid left sided defender may not actually be the left sided defender in the EPL today but in terms of consistency and improvement over the last year no one comes near.

When Harry Redknapp took over Spurs in October 2008 the two players in most danger of being shipped out of White Hart Lane were Assou-Ekotto and Gareth Bale. Today, both are automatic choices for 'Arry and have improved in leaps and bounds almost every single season since 2008.

Defensively, the Cameroonian international still has some way to go if he is to be regarded as one of the best defenders in his position. He is still prone to the odd lapse in concentration but where those lapses used to happen in every single game they now only happen in fits and bursts and he has gone from being regarded as a Premier League level player to a top six player such is his constant improvement.

Going forward, Assou-Ekotto offers an out ball every single time for his defensive colleagues and provides added width and back up that Gareth Bale welcomes every single week. If he can keep growing Spurs will have the two best full backs in the Premier League and in a game where fullbacks are more important than ever this will be of huge advantage to the Lilywhites.

Runner-Up: Jose Enrique (Liverpool)

Centre Midfield: Scott Parker (Tottenham Hotspur)

To say that Scott Parker has been a revelation for Spurs this season is something of an understatement.

The all-action midfielder is a throwback to the days of old where players in his position were expected to be jacks-of-all-trades and in the last 12 months he has shown an incredible level of performance and maturity that few other players are capable of.

The Football Writers Player of the Year last season was languishing in the Championship with West Ham following their relegation with no apparent suitors interested in obtaining his signature. In came Spurs with a miserly £5 million bid and all of a sudden Harry Redknapp had signed the most influential central midfielder in the country for a song.

This term Parker has been simply incredible but his greatest influence is probably seen off the pitch rather than on it. In every respect Parker is Spurs' captain. He sets the tone on and off the field of play. He cajoles players in training, demands nothing but the very best in every situation, sets the tone with his high level of training and performances and has helped instil a healthy fear of defeat that has seen Spurs come from nowhere to being title challengers.

Runner-Up: Yaya Toure (Manchester City)

Centre Midfield: David Silva (Manchester City)

The little Spanish maestro is the epicentre of all that is good about Manchester City. He dictates Roberto Mancini's style of play from defence to attack and shows up in virtually every single sector of the pitch to dictate the ebb and flow of virtually every single game he plays in.

Always a creative player with incredible vision, Silva's game has gone up a level in the last year and it is no mere coincidence that the rise in his game has seen City go from top four contenders to title chasers in just on season.
Comfortable in virtually any position across midfield Silva has the uncanny ability to bring the very best out of his fellow players but most importantly he is unselfish in that he doesn't mind them looking better than him.

While Silva may not score too many goals nor claim that many assists, his initial pass is usually the one that either starts off the move or that sets up the assist. He is now incredibly important for Roberto Mancini and it speaks volumes of how his game has improved that a superb player and international of the class of Samir Nasri has been reduced to little more than cover for the Spanish star this term.

Runner-Up: Charlie Adam (Liverpool)

Centre Midfield: Luka Modric (Tottenham Hotspur)

To put it simply, the little Croatian genius from Zadar is one of the best players in his position in the world today. He would grace any midfield from Barcelona to Real Madrid to Manchester United to Chelsea but for the moment Tottenham Hotspur's fans are enjoying his every move.

As far as the Premier League is concerned Modric is unparallelled in terms of passing, vision, control and dictating a game. When he releases the ball it is always to a player in space and when he takes the ball in it is always with the confidence of a man who knows exactly where it is going to next. He is never afraid to take on responsibility in tight situations and as a result every single Spurs player knows he has an out-ball to Modric regardless of pressure.

Again, like many of his contemporaries in the final XI, Modric's game has improved upon yet again. This despite interest, that upset Spurs preparations, from Chelsea at the start of the season. It says much about the man and the player that Modric has helped propel Spurs to such high levels this year.

The problems may come in the Summer though when Modric is expected to leave. With no shortage of suitors Spurs may be in a position to get themselves a trade which could elevate the club even higher.

Runner-Up: Clint Dempsey (Fulham)

Left Midfield: Gareth Bale (Tottenham Hotspur)

The flying Welshman has been one of the Premier Leagues most outstanding players over the past 24 months.

The converted left back has enjoyed being pushed into left midfield and with his incredible athleticism he has gone on to terrorise right backs right across Europe.

Without doubt, Bale is easily the best left sided player in the Premier League today. Physically and athletically he is virtually perfect and playing wise he is improving with every single game. So far this season he has even eclipsed Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of creating chances and with goals starting to come his way Spurs possess the most exciting 22-year-old in the Premier League today.

Runner-Up: Matthew Etherington (Stoke City)

Right Midfield: Luis Nani (Manchester United)

Many expected Luis Nani to fade into the shadows and move on from Old Trafford following Cristiano Ronaldo's £80 million transfer to Real Madrid. But if anything, he has gone from strength to strength without his Portuguese compatriot.

Last season was Nani's best ever in a red shirt. He waded in with nine goals and 18 assists and was many peoples Player of the Year ahead of Scott Parker. He was the one creative spark in a United midfield that has continued to struggle this term and has continued the same high level of performances so far.

He has pace to burn and is comfortable with the ball on either foot and his delivery from wide positions is improving all the time, but he really needs help from a static midfield.

With half the season gone he has scored a healthy six goals and has contributed with eight assists but he will never reach the levels he is capable of unless Sir Alex Ferguson adds a central midfielder of the highest calibre.

Runner-Up: Rafael van der Vaart (Tottenham Hotspur)

Centre Forward: Robin Van Persie (Arsenal)

As far as centre forward is concerned there can be only one and that is none other than Arsenal's Robin van Persie.

The Arsenal hit-man has been in the form of his life over the past 12 months and has firmly established himself as the best striker in Britain today.
As a player, van Persie is technically superb, deceptively fast, positionally brilliant and has vision that most midfielders would die for. He has single-highhandedly guided Arsenal into the top four last season and into top four contention this season and without him one can only wonder at how far down the Gunners would finish.

Over the last year Robin van Persie has scored 44 goals in 54 matches across all competitions for club and country. With his injury problems of old seemingly behind him his game has shot to another level completely and comparisons with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are not without merit.

The problem that Arsene Wenger faces with his mesmeric Dutchman is that he is out of contract next summer and has refused to enter negotiations with Arsenal until then...

Runner-Up: Demba Ba (Newcastle United)

Hold the Back Page PODCAST: EPL Winners and Losers of 2011

2011-12-28T11:54:00.000-08:00

Hold the BackPage - The year that was... by bpfootball

In the final Hold the BackPage podcast for the year, Neil Sherwin, Ger McCarthy and Willie Gannon look back at 2011 in the world of football, while the latest Premier League action also gets dissected.

The podcast begins talk of Christmas presents before the lads move onto a round up of the festive Premier League matches. (2:30) Ger McCarthy and Willie Gannon share their thoughts on Tottenham Hotspur's rich vein on form but Neil isn't too convinced that Harry's side can maintain their current good run.

Will wax's lyrical about the latest Gareth Bale show and wonders about the lack of media pressure on Harry Redknapp's team being a major factor in their current form.

(6:30) The Pod also question why nobody took a chance on Scott Parker during the summer leaving the door open for Redknapp to sign the English international.

(7:45) Neil Sherwin continues with to complain about teams rolling over against Manchester United, while there’s a look at the other big talking points from the Christmas fixtures including some shocking refereeing decisions. However, Willie and Ger disagree with Neil to some degree...

(11:00) Ger doesn't like Wigan or Roberto Martinez though and absolutely slaughters them for their lack of effort at Old Trafford last weekend.
Just to prove his point though, Neil predicts Blackburn Rovers rolling over at Old Trafford this coming weekend.

(18:45) The pod then turn their attention towards the current situation at Liverpool and Kenny Dalglish with the general consensus being that the Reds have stood still this term after spending a lot of money with Andy Carroll's future at the club being questioned on all levels. Willie then goes on to make a bold prediction that pressure will heap upon Dalglish and the club if they don't improve significantly towards the end of the season.

(24:00) Ger feels that while the Reds have handled the Suarez debacle terribly he can see the skeleton of a very good top four side but that they'll need a number of top class players to do it. He doesn't feel Dalglish will be the man to bring the great days back to the club though...

(27:30) With referees being under the spotlight yet again the pod rehash the age old debate about the future of the men in the middle with Ger and Willie agreeing on video referees while Neil would prefer corporal punishment to improve their decisions!

Part two of the pod is all about reviewing 2011 and the lads sift their way through ten different categories to discuss the high points and lowlights of the past 12 months.

The catagories being...

1- Manager of the Year (31:30)
2- Team of the Year (34:00)
3- Player of the Year (37:30)
4- Surprise of the Year... (39:00)
5- Big Winner of the Year (41:30)
6- Big Loser of the Year (43:00)
7- Moments of the Year (44:50)
8- Matches of the Year (47:45)
9- Pundit of the Year (50:30)
10- Best Movie of the Year! (54:00)
11- Best Goal (54:00)

Some bold predictions for 2012... (61.00)

Don’t forget, you can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or RSS!
Also if there is anything you would like to hear on the show in future simply drop us an email, tweet or comment on Facebook.

You can listen to the Pod here.

Hold the Back Page - Remembering Gary Speed - Man City / Liverpool / Luis Suarez / Rio Ferdinand / Euro 2012 Draw / Steve Bruce / Sunderland

2011-12-02T12:01:00.000-08:00

Hold the BackPage returns for another edition with Willie Gannon back on board to join Neil Sherwin and Ger McCarthy in assessing the game’s recent talking points including the tragic passing of Gary Speed, the antics of Luis Suarez, Rio Ferdinand and Steve Bruce's sacking at Sunderland and, of course, no pod would be complete without a mention of the one and only Mario Balotelli...

It’s a rather sombre opening to this week’s podcast as the lads discuss the tragic passing of Gary Speed and share their memories of a fantastic player who has excelled for both club and country during a career which spanned more than two decades.

Hold the BackPage - Remembering Gary Speed by bpfootball

Attentions then turn to the midweek League Cup action where Manchester United were unceremoniously dumped out at the quarter final stage by Crystal Palace. Liverpool suffered a blow with Lucas Leiva sustaining a season ending ACL injury in their win over Chelsea, while Manchester City and Cardiff City make up the other semi final sides.

After jumping the gun in part one, Ger gets his chance to have a weekly rant about Mario Balotelli to kick off the second half of the podcast. There’s also some much deserved criticism for Liverpool striker Luis Suarez before Willie fires out all sorts of facts about Steve Bruce’s tenure as Sunderland boss which came to an end this week.

To round off the lads look at Giovanni Trapattoni’s contract meaning Neil can look forward to another scintillating qualifying campaign for Ireland.

Don’t forget, you can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or RSS!

Also if there is anything you would like to hear on the show in future simply drop us an email, tweet or comment on Facebook.

Gary Speed 1969-2011: Football Legend Dies at 42

2011-11-27T18:15:00.000-08:00

Manchester City's great run in the Premier League and poor run in the Champions League, Robin van Persie's unbelievable form, and Lionel Messi's and Cristiano Ronaldo's domination of the game we all love was all put into perspective yesterday after Gary Speed passed away at just 42-years-of-age.

The former Leeds, Everton, Newcastle, Bolton and Sheffield United player and current manager of the Welsh international team was found dead at his home in Huntington, Cheshire, by Police at 07:08 GMT. They said there were no suspicious circumstances in the death.

Sources have said that Speed had been found hanged.

Gary Speed is survived by his wife and his two children.

In terms of trophies, Speed's career was not as successful as many of his peers in the game. However, few have ever or, will ever rival him in terms of discipline, professionalism and determination.

In a career that lasted over 23 years as a player, coach and a manager, Speed played over 800 matches as a professional with some 535 of those coming as a Premier League player at the elite level of the English football.

Speed signed professional terms with Leeds United on a Monday morning on June 13 1988. The addition of the youth was one of Billy Bremner's last acts at the club before the Leeds playing legend was sacked the following October with the team languishing in the relegation zone of Division 2.

The footballing world was a very different one before the advent of the Premier League and few took notice of the signing other than well wishers and Leeds fans hoping for the next big thing to walk through their doors.
He made his debut for Leeds within a couple of months of his signing but Howard Wilkinson, the Leeds manager at the time, who was also new to the job at Elland Road, decided to leave the left sided player with the youths and reserves for the rest of the season before gradually introducing him to the first XI the following season.

Wilkinson initially became aware of the left sided player while he was playing left back for the youth's but seeing that Speed had superior technique and stamina he recommended that the Welsh starlet be pushed into midfield.

Speed's notable rise as a force to be reckoned with also meant that he was fast tracked into the Wales team by Terry Yorath where he made his debut against Costa Rica in a 1-0 in May 1990.

Few would have thought back then that the Leeds youngster would go on to become his country's record caps holder of all time with 85.

However, Kevin Ratcliffe, the Wales captain at the time and friend of Speed, remembers talking with the youngster as they traveled home together with Speed telling him that he could go on to become the record holder if he was lucky with injuries and treated his body right.

Within two seasons, Speed was an essential part of one of the best midfield's in the old First Division with Gordan Strachan, Gary McAllister and David Batty.

The quartet were perfectly balanced with Strachan out on the right showing incredible industry, Speed out on the left offering penetration and pace, while McAllister pulled the strings as Batty provided the iron and defensive qualities needed for any top midfield.

Even by today's standards the Leeds midfield of the '91-'92 season fits the template perfectly of how a balanced side should look with each and every player being an expert at their specific job in the team.

If you take a look at the group even closer you can see who were probably the biggest influences on Speed as a professional and as a player, the Scottish duo of McAllister and Strachan.

As Speed's career advanced his style of play was almost an exact replica of the duo combined as he took all the best attributes from both players (Strachan - industry, honesty, professionalism) (McAllister - technique, vision, playmaking ability) and made them his own. Perhaps the most important attribute learnt at Leeds though was his willingness to take on responsibility.

Speed's longevity in the game, the fact that he was still playing at 40, can also probably be attributed to his time with the duo where he learned the important arts of hydration, proper diets, yoga, and how to treat his body right. Strachan, in particular, was a huge influence regarding these facets.

At every club there are players who are leaders without having to wear the arm band. Players you can trust to dig the team out of a hole when the chips are down, players who will guide the younger players with no fear of passing on lessons or being replaced, players who will always do the right thing at the right moment. Speed was one of these players.

Writing a tribute in the Guardian newspaper, Speed's manager at Leeds, Howard Wilkinson, spoke of his devastation upon hearing the sad news.

"Gary Speed was honourable, trustworthy and a joy to manage. He was honest, he was a role model and he was a great bloke. An avid learner, he recognised responsibility and he was always fully committed. Above all, he was a lovely person. Out of all the players I've have had under my wing, he remained a real favourite.

"The players I worked with represented all colours of the rainbow in terms of character but, as the ultimate professional, Gary was a star in the true sense. For him to leave us at 42 is such a tragic loss. As a manager he had a life of success to look forward to, I'm sure. He had started so promisingly in charge of Wales, I imagined his managerial career would follow a steadily upward curve.

"His horrendous passing represents an unbelievable loss to his family and the football world. He leaves a huge, huge void and I can't begin to try to think what his parents, his lovely wife, Louise, and his boys are going through at this time. I'm finding this very, very difficult to come to terms with. It's unbelievable. I'm still struggling to get my head round it."

From Leeds, Speed moved to his boyhood team of Everton FC where he enjoyed two decent seasons as captain before Kenny Dalglish brought him to the North East and Newcastle United for just £5 million.
Under Dalglish, Speed seemed to regain the enthusiasm for the game that some had felt had started to falter and he became a key component of the side as they challenged for trophies and the top four over the following six seasons.

Despite being an integral part of the squad, Speed chose to leave Newcastle for Bolton in 2004. It was at the Reebok that Speed won, perhaps, one of the greatest achievements of his career when in December 2006 he became the first player to play 500 Premier League matches.

To this day his record of 535 games has only been beaten by two players, David James and Ryan Giggs.
His Premier League career effectively ended in Christmas 2007 when he left Bolton for Sheffield United in the Championship. His time at the Blades was blighted with injury, which is hardly a surprise when you consider that he joined them at 39-years-of-age!

He played on for three seasons but only managed to take to the pitch 36 times before continuing his life in football from the dug-out.

Speed always believed in player education. It is perhaps the main reason why his career lasted for so long. He would watch and analyse players he played with and take their best lessons for himself. As a deep thinker on the game he had no problem moving towards coaching and attaining his badges as he readied himself for life after playing and armed with this superior tactical knowledge he extended his career far beyond the realms of normal men.

His death has seen a sudden out pouring of grief from across the football world and beyond.

Former Wales team mate, Robbie Savage, tweeted: "The world has lost a great man in Gary speed I'm devastated spoke to him yesterday morning why ! Why. Why !! I'll miss him so much x

Another former Welsh team mate Ryan Giggs said: "I am totally devastated. Gary Speed was one of the nicest men in football and someone I am honoured to call a team-mate and friend."
"Words cannot begin to describe how sad I feel at hearing this awful news. It goes without saying my thoughts are with his family at this tremendously sad time."

Current Leeds manager Simon Grayson added: "We signed on the same day and played in the youth and reserve teams together.
"We also did all our coaching badges together. He was a good friend and this is a very sad day. Gary was such a popular person and this is a hard time for everybody."

Robbie Savage then went on BBC News to talk about the passing of his friend.

"I spoke to him yesterday and he was in high spirits... I just can't believe it... He was my mate and he's gone."

Savage, so obviously devastated by the loss, found it hard to hold back the tears as he was asked if there was any inclination as to why Speed would take his own life.

Howard Wilkinson was also left bereft by the loss and was equally shocked.

"Gary's death is a mystery – Gary McAllister says that, on Saturday, he seemed his normal, bright self – but these men are not born footballers. Like everyone else, they had a talent and football became their job but basically they are born human and subject to all the stress and strains and the good things that happen to people in life. My thoughts are with his family."

What makes the tragic death of Gary Speed, a man so obviously loved by so many, so sad was that he touched so many lives throughout his short time here and had just embarked upon a career where communication is so vital yet he felt so bitterly alone and took the ultimate step to end his own life.
The inquest into Gary Speed's death will begin tomorrow and will be an incredibly painful experience for all those who loved him dearly.

Nobody knows why he took his life but one of the main reasons for taking one's own life in modern society is depression.

Although most people who are depressed do not kill themselves, untreated depression can increase the risk of possible suicide.

Allaboutdepression.com informs us:

"It is not uncommon for depressed individuals to have thoughts about suicide whether or not they intend to act on these thoughts. Severely depressed people often do not have the energy to harm themselves, but it is when their depression lifts and they gain increased energy that they may be more likely to attempt suicide."

Recent studies from the site suggest that suicide is the eighth leading cause of death in the U.S.A. with 72 percent of people taking their own lives being men. These figures match up with studies in Ireland where suicide is the No.1 cause of death among young men.

If you look at the suicide of Gary Speed and take the fact that he was a footballer out of the equation then the instance of a 42-year-old man dieing in such circumstances becomes an all too common occurrence.

The death of a professional athlete in such circumstances can be confusing to many as there is usually a perception that the person in question has everything they could ever dream of, so why could they be so such a thing?

Stan Collymore admitted to suffering from depression whilst still playing professional soccer with Aston Villa and was ridiculed by many for being so weak.

Last week on Twitter the TalkSport pundit issued a heart felt plea;

“Around 10 days ago, I started to feel anxiety, which grew into irrational fear and insomnia for three days (little sleep and an incredibly active, negative mind) that turned over last weekend into hypersomnia, whereby my energy levels dipped to zero and my sleep went from eight to 18 hours overnight.

“So fit and healthy one day, mind, body and soul withering and dying the next.

"This to me is the most frightening of experiences.

“It’s me, bed and increasingly despairing thoughts of how long this one will last, a desperately tired but wildly active mind burns through its own blue touch paper until the paper ends and there is simply nothing left.”

It is usually at this stage of suffering that someone suffering from depression will start to have thoughts of suicide.

There are varying types of depression but those who suffer from bipolar depression are more likely to attempt suicide than those without.

Samaritans labels the following amongst the symptoms cited in cases of major depressive episodes.

"It is worth noting that these usually develop over days to weeks. In diagnostic terms, five of these should be present during the same two-week period and have caused a change from previous functioning. For a major depressive episode, symptoms must appear on a daily basis and last most of the day or all day.
Depressed mood (such as feeling sad, empty).
Markedly diminished pleasure in all (or almost all) activities
Insomnia (or hypersomnia)
Increase / decrease in appetite or significant weight loss
Fatigue / loss of energy
Feelings of worthlessness
Excessive or inappropriate guilt
Diminished ability to think, concentrate, and/or take decisions
Recurrent thoughts of death, suicidal ideation, having a suicide plan or making a suicide attempt.
Manic depressive episodes typically occur suddenly and symptoms escalate over the course of a few days or hours. In diagnostic terms a person should be experiencing persistently elevated mood for at least one week with three or more of the following symptoms persisting:
‘Racing’ of ideas’
More talkative than usual
Inflated self-esteem
Significantly reduced need for sleep
Great difficulties concentrating
Engagement in activities which appear pleasurable but can lead to painful consequences."

Depression and suicide are real problems for society. Unfortunately, those who suffer from depression often do so alone as they feel there is nobody out there to talk to.

In professional athletic circles the ability to talk these problems out with friends becomes very difficult as dressing rooms are not the kind of place where people can let their defences down.

This can be for a number of reasons, including ridicule from team mates, but perhaps the most important reason is not wanting to appear weak to the club and manager who hold your potential future contracts.
There are many organisations specifically set up to combat loneliness and depression and to give someone a sympathetic voice to talk to in tough times when talking to friends or relations is either not available or an option.

The Samaritans are perhaps the best known charity for dealing with such instances and have 201 24-hour clinics across the UK and Ireland.

"Samaritans provides completely confidential emotional support 24 hours a day by telephone, personal visit, email, and letter. Their purpose is to enable persons who are experiencing feelings of distress or despair, including those who may be at risk of suicide, to receive confidential emotional support at any time of the day or night from appropriately trained Samaritans in order to improve their emotional health and to reduce the incidence of suicide."

People contact Samaritans about a wide range of issues including depression, relationship and family issues, loneliness, physical and mental health issues, alcohol, drugs, self-harm, debt, illness and exam pressures as well as suicidal thoughts and feelings.

Speed was a well liked footballer and manager. His untimely passing is made all the more sad because of the life, potential and family that he has left behind.

Out thoughts and prayers are with his family during this awful time.

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney...Robin van Persie?

2011-11-06T17:12:00.000-08:00

Arsenal striker Robin van Persie is in the best form of his career. So far this season, he has bagged 11 goals in 13 goals in 16 games across all competitions including 11 goals in 12 English Premier League games.

Such is the Dutchman's phenomenal run of form over the last 12 months that many analysts are now comparing Van Persie to his contemporaries; Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.

But how do these favourable comparisons hold up?

Since January 1 2011, Robin van Persie has been on fire. The very fact that he was left out of the 23 players making up nominations for the 2011 Ballon d'Or is a crime against football in itself. How can players like Eric Abidal, Karim Benzema and Samuel Eto'o, amongst others, rate a nomination over a player who has scored 36 goals in just 45 games over the last calendar year?

This point is further pushed home when you realise that Robin van Persie is plying his trade for Arsenal in the Premier League which is arguably the toughest league in the league.

As a player, van Persie possesses superb technique as you would expect from any Dutch international. He has incredible awareness and vision which combined with his superior technique offer him the ability to pick out passes that other players would not even attempt. Van Persie is also deceptively quick over short distances and he has used his pace and intelligent positional play to score all but ten of his Premier League goals inside the 18-yard-box.

In recent times, Arsene Wenger has played van Persie up front as the lone striker in a 4-5-1 formation. However, while there is no doubting the Dutchman's ability as a centre forward, many feel that his best position is just behind the striker where he would be able to marry his creative and predatory skills to better effect.

While there is no doubting his skill set, the biggest question against van Persie as a player over his Arsenal career has always his fitness, or lack of it.
Since joining the Gunners for £2.75 million in 2004 from Feyenoord, as the long term replacement for Denis Bergkamp, van Persie has only played 245 games.

That's an average of 35 games per season across all competitions. If you break that figure down further, van Persie has played only 167 Premier League matches, that's an average of just 20 games a season.

A quick glance across the next two tables reveals many aspects of Robin van Persie as a player.

Total Games Played by Robin van Persie for Arsenal since 2004.

2004/05 - Played - 41 / Goals - 10 (average 1:4)
2005/06 - Played - 38 / Goals - 11 (average 1:3.4)
2006/07 - Played - 31 / Goals - 13 (average 1:2.3)
2007/08 - Played - 23 / Goals - 09 (average 1:2.5)
2008/09 - Played - 44 / Goals - 20 (average 1:2.2)
2009/10 - Played - 20 / Goals - 10 (average 1:2)
2010/11 - Played - 33 / Goals - 22 (average 1:1.5)
2011/12 - Played - 16 / Goals - 13 (average 1:1.2)
Total - Played 246 / Goals 108

Premier League Games Played by Robin van Persie for Arsenal since 2004

2004/05 - Played - 26 / Goals - 05 (average 1:5.2)
2005/06 - Played - 24 / Goals - 05 (average 1:4.8)
2006/07 - Played - 22 / Goals - 11 (average 1:2)
2007/08 - Played - 15 / Goals - 07 (average 1:2.1)
2008/09 - Played - 28 / Goals - 11 (average 1:2.5)
2009/10 - Played - 16 / Goals - 09 (average 1:1.7)
2010/11 - Played - 25 / Goals - 18 (average 1:1.3)
2011/12 - Played - 11 / Goals - 11 (average 1:1)
Total - Played 167 / Goals - 77

The most obvious thing that stands out is the gradual improvement in van Persie's goals to games ratio over the last eight seasons.

At 28, the Dutchman is now at the peak of his powers, as is evident from Arsene Wenger’s recent assumption of his star.

The Frenchman said: "Robin is on fire at the moment and his class means he is taking advantage of being in a team that wants to attack a lot and create chances. The intelligence of his movement and the accuracy of his finishing is exceptional."

But when he joined from Feyenoord as a 20-year-old in 2004 he was far from the finished product. His progress is testament to Arsene Wenger's incredible vision and faith in the player and his phenomenal coaching ability.

Van Persie's gradual improvement since 2004 also shows that the player is extremely intelligent and that he not only works on his game, but that he also studies, analyses, and puts great thought into how his game can improve.

However, the most negative aspect against the strikers game is his weakness against injury. His average of just 20 EPL games a season from a maximum of 38 shows a stark reality for Arsenal fans; that Robin van Persie cannot be relied upon to push their team towards the title because he body always breaks down. And that if the Dutchman is ever going to be considered as one of the best players in the world he is going to have to put as much thought into his physical preparation as he does into his mental preparation.

During the exact same period, between 2004 and 2011, Wayne Rooney has established himself as one of the best players in the world.

The ex-Everton forward joined Manchester United in 2004 and has gone on to score 158 goals in 336 games for the Red Devils over the last eight seasons.
A quick comparison shows that Rooney has played almost 100 more games and has scored 50 more goals than the Dutchman over the same intervening period.

Rooney keeping his fitness has also contributed to United winning Premier League titles in '07, '08, '09, '11 and a Champions League title in 2008 where Arsenal have won nothing since the FA Cup in 2005.

There is little doubt that Wayne Rooney is a world class talent but even he pale's in comparison to Cristiano Ronaldo's and Lionel Messi's records over the last number of years.

Last week was a monumental week for both players as Ronaldo scored his 100th goal in just three seasons for Real Madrid while Messi bagged his 200th goal for Barcelona since making his debut in 2004.

Van Persie, the eldest of the four players at 28, made his debut for Excelsior in 2001. Ronaldo, 26, began his playing career for Sporting Lisbon in 2002.
Rooney, also at 26, also started his career in 2002. Whereas Messi, the youngest at 24, only made his debut for Barcelona in 2004.
A quick look at their vital stats reveals:

Robin van Persie (2001 - 2011) Pld - 322 Gls - 130
Wayne Rooney (2002 - 2011) Pld - 413 Gls - 175
Cristiano Ronaldo (2002 - 2011) Pld - 429 Gls - 226
Lionel Messi (2004 - 2011) Pld - 287 Gls - 203

Rooney and Ronaldo have both played around 100 more games than van Persie even though they began their careers one year later while Messi, who started his career three seasons after van Persie made his debut, has played just 35 games less than the Dutchman.

Goals can be an unfair method at comparison as both Ronaldo and Messi play in La Liga and their respective teams, Real Madrid and Barcelona, regularly beat teams by huge scores.

A further look at van Persie's record during his most prolific period (2009 - 2011), the same period that Cristiano Ronaldo played for Real Madrid shows that the Dutchman has an impressive record with 47 goals in 68 games.
However, once again we must compare his time on the pitch to his rivals. During the same three year period Ronaldo has scored an amazing 103 goals in just 106 games while Messi has scored an even more incredible 123 goals in 126 games. Rooney for his part has played 98 times and has hit the back of the net 61 times.

Basically the moral of the story for Robin van Persie is the exact same as it is for Arsenal's title chances.

If van Persie ever wants to be considered as one of the best players in the world he must improve his fitness and if Arsenal ever wants to win the league then Arsene Wenger must find a way to protect and improve his star player’s physical attributes.

The elephant in the room for Wenger and for the Gunner’s many fans though is the Dutchman’s contract situation. At 28, van Persie is facing the big pay day of his career and as of yet he has nothing to show for it as far as major trophies are concerned.

With his contract up in 2013 and his being available to negotiate a free transfer away from the Gunners in little over 12 months, Wenger is in the awkward position of facing his second successive captain leave the club after Cesc Fabregas left for Barcelona during the summer.

As a player, van Persie would have no end of suitors wishing to meet his demands but his current run of form combined with his incredible technique, intelligence and skill mean that every major club from Barcelona to Real Madrid to Manchester City and United will be interested in prising Wenger’s star asset away from the club.

It is a frightening thought for Arsenal fans as they are relishing this rich vein of form.

Will it be a double edged sword?

Does Wenger improve van Persie’s fitness? Knowing that it is the one aspect that will guarantee his team a top four finish while it may also guarantee a move for his star pupil…

Peamount United Optimistic Ahead of Champions League Return Clash With PSG

2011-09-30T11:28:00.000-07:00

Peamount United will travel to France to take on the financial might of PSG on Monday morning with the winds of hope flying their sails. The Dublin side trail their counterparts 2-0 after losing the first leg in Shamrock Rovers Tallaght Stadium on Wednesday night.

The Pea's, the first Irish side ever to make the latter stages of a European club competition, provided very good value for their partisan home crowd and matched PSG woman for woman until the French professional side's superior stamina and physicality kicked on as the game wore on.

In fact, Peamount should have been ahead before substitute Nora Coton-Pelagi's speculative shot found the bottom corner of Linda Meehan's goal after taking a huge deflection off Louise Quinn who had tried to block the shot.

Sara Lawlor and Quinn both went close in the space of a couple of minutes in an extremely tight first half. Firstly Lawlor, who put in a sterling performance as the Pea's loan striker, forced Veronique Pons into making a smart save at her near post after she had ghosted past the tackle of PSG's captain Lea Rubio.

The resulting corner was whipped in at incredible pace by the impressive Steph Roche and with the goal at her mercy Louise Quinn seemingly headed over with Pons beaten.

However, after talking to the midfielder after the match it became apparent that Laure Lepailleur had reached the ball just a fraction of a second before the Irish international to make a dramatic clearance.

After the match Quinn said "I wished I had touched it because I know I would have scored, but she just got there ahead of me."

It was just one of a whole string of last ditch saves by Lepailleur during the match with the French star easily standing out as PSG's best player on the night.

Quinn for her part was equally as impressive and patrolled midfield superbly with the aid of Roche, on loan Doncaster Belle, Aine O'Gorman, Ruth Comerford and Wendy McGlone.

The Pea's manager, Eileen Gleeson made a couple of early changes in the second half in an effort at introducing some more energy to her side but the phenomenal exertions of a match against a professional side eventually took their toll as PSG went on to dominate the late exchanges with two late goals.

"We knew what their shape would be like and what they would do and we set our tactics out to get to them. But the two late goals really caught us, especially the last one in added time. We're unhappy at falling asleep with that one."

Getting to the knock out stages of a European competition is an historic achievement for Irish football, no other side has ever progressed as far and despite the loss, that this is where she and Peamount will aspire to be from now on.

"It was great in playing in a game like this. We've never seen such a big crowd except in an international game. Playing against teams like that [PSG] was just so special. You'd love to be playing against teams like that every week, this is the highest level you can get at club level apart from the final.

Looking forward to the return leg in Paris on October 5 and upbeat Quinn remained confident of turning the tie around saying;

"It's only half-time and I know it's 2-0 and we should have kept it 0-0 or 1-0 but it'll be a huge game next week and we'll come out all guns blazing because we have a chance."

Eileen Gleeson, the Pea's manager spoke at length after the game and said that the second goal in injury time had really taken its toll on her team after its fantastic effort.

"Overall we're very disappointed with the second goal. It came three minutes into injury time and I was saying to the girls to just lock it up. But we were a little nervous and just got caught out.

"The girls are so disappointed with the second goal. It would have been so much easier to go away with just one goal behind but we're going to throw everything at them [in the return leg].

"But I thought we showed great strength and stamina against a professional side and to get caught so late... Their quality showed and we're coming off the back of a long season while they're just finished pre-season.

While Gleeson was thoroughly impressed with the overall performance of her own team she reserved special praise for Sara Lawlor who plowed a lone furrow up front all night.

"She was really excellent, she covered a lot of ground and that pitch is really big when you're out there on your own. She got caught out with a few off-sides but overall she was excellent."

The crowd, a record 2,109 for Peamount really made a difference when PSG started to gain a foothold in the game and Gleeson was quick to heap praise and thanks on their support.

"The support was really just phenomenal. To get over 2,000 at a game is just amazing and I'd just like to say thanks to everyone."

Eventually the conversation gets around to the growing shadow that Irish teams have always had to compete with, bigger teams coming in to poach their players.

While a game like this Last-32 against PSG brings huge prestige to the league and Peamount in particular it also represents an opportunity for scouts from professional leagues in America and England to watch the talent on show.

"That's always there," she says. "We'll always be competing with scholarships to America and with girls going over to the Super League in England but our own National League will be critical and now that is in place. So that gives our players more of a chance to play at the elite level in the future."

"But, the best players are going to want to play with the best clubs and with [our] excellent facilities, excellent structure and brilliant underage section, we are going to attract those kind of players [in Ireland].

Just like her captain, Quinn, Gleeson remains optimistic about the Pea's chances next week.

"We'll watch the game and go over things that we can improve, little mistakes like off-sides and things, those are things we can correct straight away and we'll look to improve in the areas where they were stronger."

"We matched them in a lot of places and we can get at them next week."

Peamount may be down, but they are definitely not out of this tie just yet.

Hold The Back Page - Skinheads in Skirts - Man City / Tottenham 4-0 Liverpool / BRFC 4-3 Arsenal / Shamrock Rovers / The Rooney Rule / Gasperini

2011-09-21T23:53:00.000-07:00

Hold the BackPage - Skinheads and Skirts by bpfootball

Hold the BackPage returns for another edition with Neil Sherwin again taking the lead and he is joined by Ger McCarthy and Willie Gannon to sift through the latest Premier League action.

The lads discuss Manchester City losing their 100 percent record, Tottenham hammering Liverpool 4-0 and Blackburn beating Arsenal 4-3 as well as a number of other hot topics including Shamrock Rovers in Europe, the Rooney Rule, Gasperini being sacked at Inter Milan and Turkey’s innovative new measures to combat hooliganism...

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There were some big weekend results in the Premier League and Ger is understandably pleased with Spurs’ resounding win at home to Liverpool. There’s also a look at where things are going wrong for King Kenny before the focus turns to the battle of the relegation candidates as Blackburn Rovers took on Arsenal.
Manchester City’s slip up at Fulham comes under scrutiny as Manchester United see off Chelsea in another confident performance that sees them clear at the top of the table.

The second half of the show is very much a mixed bag as the lads get their teeth into a number of topics in Shamrock Rovers’ Europa League adventures, the sackings of Peter Reid and Gian Piero Gasperini, Barca’s return to form and the Rooney Rule before finishing off with a look at the Turkish FA’s latest bid to curb hooliganism in their domestic game.

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Also if there is anything you would like to hear on the show in future simply drop us an email, tweet or comment on Facebook.

Asamoah Gyan Transfer Leaves Sunderland and Steve Bruce Up The Creek...

2011-09-16T17:33:00.000-07:00

The season may be just four games old but Steve Bruce and Sunderland's season is already on a knife edge. Having lost Asamoah Gyan to Al-Ain in one of the strangest loan moves the English Premier League has ever seen, the Black Cats have lost their focal point up front and now face a long cold wait until the January Transfer Window opens up...

Last season Steve Bruce guided Sunderland to 10th place in the EPL, this despite his star striker, Darren Bent, leaving for Aston Villa in January for £18 million after putting in a transfer request. The sudden move by his main player left the Black Cats reeling and it came as no surprise to see them struggle and only win three games from 12 after Bent had left.

However, when the chips were down, and at one stage Sunderland really did look like relegation contenders, Asamoah Gyan popped up with some good performances and some more important goals to stave off the drop.

Gyan had joined for a club record £13 million from Renne in September after impressing during Ghana's ill fated run during the World Cup and had initially struggled to adapt to the rigours of the Premier League.

Happy that the Ghanaian World Cup hero had stepped into the breach when he was needed most, Bruce happily consigned the 2010-11 season to memory and immediately set about rebuilding his team for an assault on European football in 2012.

Backed by the Chairmanship of Niall Quinn and the money of American Ellis Short, Bruce tore into the transfer market as soon as it had opened in June and immediately set about building his new look team around his record signing.

Ahmed Elmohamady was snapped up on a permanent deal following his impressive loan period and was joined by fellow wide players Sebastian Larrson, James McLean and David Vaughan as Bruce looked to inject penetration and pace into a new look 4-5-1 formation.

In came Wes Brown, John O'Shea and Craig Gardener to shore up the gaps through central midfield and central defence while Conor Wickham, Ji Dong-Won and the much maligned Nicklas Bendtner were all brought in to back Gyan up and to offer different options.

Optimism was at an all time high at the Stadium of Light after spending almost £20 million on strengthening the squad with many tipping Sunderland to push the established EPL teams all the way for Europe.

However, the wheels started to come off almost as soon as the Black Cats lost their first game of the season against fierce rivals Newcastle United. A shock defeat to Brighton in the Carling Cup followed before a 0-0 draw against Swansea in Wales preceded a poor performance and home defeat to Chelsea.

The big news going into the Chelsea game though was the shock loan move of Asamoah Gyan to Al-Ain in the UAE after the striker forced the deal to go through. The move came as a complete shock to Bruce and Sunderland especially as the striker had just celebrated one year at the club following his £13 million transfer last summer.

The day before the Chelsea match and the subsequent transfer Bruce had actually gone public to quell the fears of Black Cats fans;

"We have had a discussion with him and he needs now to focus and get himself back on track again and be the Asamoah Gyan we know he is capable of," said the Sunderland boss.

"These things affect these players, and it has affected Asa.

"I had a conversation with him two days ago to say, 'Look, the window as now closed, Asa. Right, we need to see you back playing again and back the way you know you can play'."

Bruce obviously felt the matter was closed but just 24 hours later he was back out to tell the media that Gyan had left the club on a season long loan deal. Not wanting to have a player whose mind was elsewhere and who did not want to play for the club, Bruce reluctantly agreed to let the Ghanaian join Al-Ain. It must be said though that Sunderland is earning a staggering £6 million from the loan fee alone.

"I had a conversation with him 48 hours ago and he shook my hand and assured me he wanted to stay at Sunderland.

"Within a few hours things changed. It's disappointing and the whole thing has left a bad taste in my mouth.

"It baffles me how he can leave the best league in the world to play in the United Arab Emirates. I'll let people make their own conclusions why."

Bruce had earlier claimed that following Gyan's impressive display against England in March that his striker had been turned by "parasites" who wanted to earn money by engineering a transfer away from Sunderland for the player.
Speaking on the deal, Niall Quinn shed some light on the saga, "Steve Bruce, our owner and the board all found the football decision baffling, but I as chairman, with everyone's full support, decided that this deal was in the best interests of our club."
Quinn has already given Bruce his full support and has said that the £6 million loan fee will be his to do with as he wishes come the January Transfer Window but that may come as too little too late for Black Cats fans.

As it stands, Bruce now only has three strikers to choose from at the Stadium of Light. One is an unknown entity, 20-year-old Ji Dong-Won, and in its 20 year history one two Asian players, Park Ji-Sung and Chung Yong-Lee, have flourished in the notoriously tough league and both needed time to settle.

While even though Nicklas Bendtner has played over 200 games across seven seasons, six with Arsenal and one on loan to Birmingham, he is still precocious plays like a player incapable of gaining experience at the highest level often making poor decisions during the course of a game.

That leaves 18-year-old prodigy Connor Wickham. The striker joined Bruce in an £8.1 million deal that caught the rest of the EPL by surprise. The England youth international had long been courted by both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur and was also on Damian Comolli’s radar at Liverpool.

In the end he chose Sunderland, presumably because he perhaps thought first team football would come quicker in the North East than in North London.

With Gyan in his team Bruce had the cushion of being able to carefully select when he blooded his two new recruits with Bendtner being the link between them all. However, with Gyan leaving all of Bruce's tactical and philosophical plans has been realistically thrown in the bin.

There is now no two ways to look at it, but Bruce now has to start with Bendtner while rotating Wickham and Won.

This is less than ideal given the apprenticeship he had envisioned when he first signed the pair and now both players will be allowed to make mistakes and get away with them that otherwise they would not have as Bruce cannot drop or punish his players because he has no back up.

In the long run this could be severely detrimental to the development of both players but Wickham in particular because he had the previous option of joining a club where all his old faults and habits would be ironed out. Now with Sunderland in their current situation, Bruce simply does not have the time or the man power to iron out the undoubted creases that will show with time.

Speaking to the Sunderland Evening Echo Bruce had this to say on the duo;

“We’ve had to look afresh at things in the wake of Asamoah leaving for the season.

“My plan was to bed the young forwards Connor and Dong-won in slowly, build up their experience and confidence and then look to get the best out of them further down the line – we have to remember that they are only 18 and 20.

“When you look at big talents in the Premier League who came into it young with big reputations, it has taken Theo Walcott to this stage to finally establish himself as a first-team regular while Gareth Bale also took a long time to settle in before we started seeing the best of him.

“It’s the same with Connor and Ji – they’re still learning – and I hadn’t wanted them too exposed too soon because inevitably if they don’t play well there’s a danger they’ll get stick from the fans and that’s going to affect them and set them back.

“Unfortunately in some ways, we are where we are in terms of perhaps having to draft them in earlier than we would have hoped, but we need everyone to get behind them and hopefully they’ll rise to the occasion.”

Sunderland's fans will have to show super human levels of patience as the season rolls on, not with Wickham or Won, but with the team in general. Having only taken two points from the opening four games, the Black Cats now embark upon a 15 game run, before the window opens, where they will be tested on every level.

Starting with Stoke (Sep 18), before Norwich (Sep 26), West Brom (Oct 1), Arsenal (Oct 16), Bolton (Oct 22), Aston Villa (Oct 29), Man Utd (Nov 5), Fulham (Nov 19), Wigan (Nov 26), Wolves (Dec 3), Blackburn (Dec 10), Spurs (Dec 17), QPR (Dec 20), Everton (Dec 26), Man City (Dec 31).

At the beginning of the season the Black Cats, with European aspirations, would have hoped to take between 20 and 25 points from the 45 on offer. That points total would have put them on target to finish in the top eight as the season turned.

However with recent events they could now realistically take something between 14 and 18 points which would put them in line with a season long relegation battle. Their current run of form is abysmal, only fives wins from the last 22 and losing their main striker has done nothing to ease the pressure on both Bruce and Niall Quinn.

The international break could not have come at a better time for the beleaguered Black Cats boss and if he is to make a success of Sunderland's season he is going to have to dig deep through the depths of his playing and managing experience.

Tactically he is going to have to come up with solutions that he has never figured out before and he is going to have to bring the best out of Nicklas Bendtner, something even Arsene Wenger has failed to do.

In short, this will be a long, long season for Sunderland.

Hold The Back Page Podcast - Champions League / Manchester Domination of the EPL / Spurs / Dalglish and Liverpool / Peamount Utd

2011-09-15T02:31:00.000-07:00

Hold the BackPage - Manchester Mania by bpfootball

The podcast is back for another edition as Neil Sherwin is joined by Ger McCarthy and Willie Gannon to discuss the opening round of Champions League action as well as the latest goings on in the Premier League as the Manchester clubs continue to lead the way.

With no vested interest in this year’s Champions League, Ger McCarthy is the perfect man to discuss the opening round of the competition as both Manchester sides picked up points. City were very much hit and miss at home to Napoli while, as Willie Gannon explains, United were far from convincing in their clash with Benfica. There’s also a look back at last night’s results for Chelsea and Arsenal as well as a round up of the rest of the games played.

Part 2 sees attentions turn to the Premier League with the possibility of a two horse race for the title developing. There’s a look at Liverpool who faltered against Stoke, while questions are asked about the possibility of Tony Pulis’ side qualifying for Europe this season through the league. Asamoah Gyan’s money grabbing antics also come under scrutiny and to round off the pod, Willie gives us the heads up about a massive game for Peamount United in the UEFA Womens Champions League.

Don’t forget, you can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or RSS!

Also if there is anything you would like to hear on the show in future simply drop us an email, tweet or comment on Facebook.

10 Things We Learned From Wayne Rooney vs. Kun Aguero and EPL Week 4

2011-09-11T10:04:00.000-07:00

Manchester United and Manchester City dominated proceedings once again as the two sides continued their own private "anything you can do..." battle as both Wayne Rooney and Kun Aguero scored hat-tricks for their respective teams.

Liverpool traveled to Stoke for what many regarded as Kenny Dalglish's first real test of the season, which says a lot about how Arsenal are now perceived.

Speaking of the Gunners, they entertained Swansea at the Emirates as their struggling North London neighbours, Tottenham Hotspur, took on Wolves at Molineaux with Harry Redknapp entrusting his future to Emmanuel Adebayor and Scott Parker...

As with every Premier League weekend there was a multitude of talking points, so lets begin by going to the Emirates...

Arsenal 1-0 Swansea City

Having been trounced 8-2 by Manchester United in Week-3, the international football break really couldn't have come at a better time.

It gave the Frenchman a chance to bed in his three panic buys, Mikel Arteta, Per Mertesacker, and Yossi Benayoun.

Over the course of one transfer window "slamming-shut" evening, Wenger eventually managed to bring in the three aforementioned players but only after failing with bids for Yoann Gourcouff, Mario Goetze, Yann M'Vila and, of course lest we forget, Gary Cahill.

Mertesaker has been available for transfer from Werder Bremen for the last three seasons while Arteta has always been there if Wenger was really that interested before. As for Benayoun? Who knows?

Anyway, as expected Arsenal were very very nervous and they never really managed to get their game going at all.

They managed to beat the manager-less Swans thanks to a freak mistake by Michael Vorm after the Dutchman threw the ball against the back of one of his defenders legs and into the path, of the otherwise distracted, Andrei Arshavin who passed home with ease.

From there the nervy Gunners had Wojeich Szczesny and the crossbar to thank as Swansea pushed for an equaliser.

As the weeks roll by the young Polish 'keeper seems to be growing towards his potential. However, it will be at least another three to four seasons before his experience, strength, stamina and concentration levels reach the levels expected of a top class 'keeper, and that is only if he keeps doing the right things.

In the end debutant Mikel Arteta, speaking to BBC Sport, probably summed the game up best;

"It was important to get the three points and we've done it. It was important to forget about what happened two weeks ago [the 8-2 defeat against Manchester United]."

In other words: the result was more important than the performance as far as Arsenal was concerned.

Across to North London and up to the Black Country...

Wolves 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur

Make no mistake, this was a crucial result for Spurs and Harry Redknapp.

Last year Tottenham's season floundered against teams from the bottom half of the table where they only took six points from a possible 24.

While the defeats to Manchester United and Manchester City were probably expected the manner of them was not and the performances betrayed a Spurs squad who were bereft of confidence and any fight whatsoever.

With that in mind, Redknapp parachuted both Scott Parker and Emmanuel Adebayor into the side and the difference was immediate.

Wolves can no longer be regarded as relegation candidates as Mick McCarthy has built a side who are experienced in all the wiles of the Premier League and they do not just roll over, perhaps unlike Spurs, because they are playing against heavyweight opposition.

The game was an open affair with numerous players impressing for either side. Kevin Doyle, fresh from his heroic exploits with Ireland was immense up front for Wolves while both Luka Modric and Parker seemed to enjoy playing with each other as their best games started to show for the first time this season.

In the end it was inevitable that Emmanuel Adebayor would score. The Togo international has scored on his debut for Manchester City, Arsenal and now Tottenham after he rounded the outstanding Wayne Hennessey after collecting Scott Parker's deft through ball.

Jermaine Defoe added a late second after the wind had been taken out of Wolves but perhaps the more important factor to note was that Spurs kept a clean sheet and their two strikers scored on the same day in a 4-4-2, all without the injured Rafael van der Vaart...

Stoke City 1-0 Liverpool

The Reds tasted defeat for the first time this season as they were beaten by Stoke at the Britannia Stadium.

This was always going to be a tight affair as the two busiest "transfer-window" managers went head to head.

Stoke is never an easy place to go to and that task has become even harder after Tony Pulis added numerous top class Premier League players to his squad during the window. Confidence is now at it's highest ever for Pulis' side and it says much about their constant growth that many expected them to turn Liverpool over.

The two sides were separated by a Johnathan Walters penalty after some dreadful defending by Jamie Carragher allowed the Irish international to get goal side of him in the penalty area. In the ensuing tussle referee Mark Clattenburg awarded the spot kick to Stoke after Carragher hauled the striker down.

Before the Potters took the lead the game was all Liverpool with Luis Suarez, once again, pulling the strings. The sheer speed of the Reds attacking play was impressive and they opened up Stoke on numerous occasions but failed to pull the trigger.

Perhaps, the key moment of the game for Liverpool came when Jordan Henderson broke from midfield and failed to beat Asmir Begovic with three quickfire shots after the 'keeper had saved his first efforts.

However the most worrying aspect of this phase of play was not Henderson's wayward shooting, it was his complete lack of vision as Luis Suarez was completely free on the left hand side of the box. The Paraguayan international would have had an open goal if the English U-21 had looked up.

It is in little moments like this that you can see the potential of players laid bare and from here it looks as if Henderson will never reach the heights hoped of him of Anfield unless he learns rapidly.

As it was, and this perhaps shows the self-inflicted pressure Kenny Dalglish is under, the Liverpool manager blamed the defeat on the referee showing disrespect to his team by awarding Stoke their penalty.

And while the old saying of "these things even out over a season" may be true, it was most definitely true for the 90 minutes at the Britannia where the referee could have given up to five penalties.

One for Skrtel hanging out of Shawcross at a corner, a possible hand ball against Delap in the Stoke box (the one with Upson would have been harsh in the extreme), one from Etherington on Skrtel after the Slovak had a rare shot at goal, and of course Carragher hauling Walters down.

In the end blaming the referee is just an excuse, Kenny Dalglish knows his team came up short and that they really should have won.

Manchester City 3-0 Wigan

The Sergio Aguero show continues to roll, and continues to get rave reviews after he scored a hat-trick to bring his goal tally to six goals in just three Premier League games. The little Argentinean was simply superb again and once again he was at the centre of everything that was good about Roberto Mancini's attacking side.

Yes, you read that right.

In the space of one summer, or more probably one signing, Manchester City have become what everyone always wanted the lavish spending side to be - entertaining.

Mancini's side were already the meanest team in the league with 18 clean sheets last season and this year the Italian has started putting the final pieces into play as the Citizens begin their assault on Europe and the hearts and minds of the football public.

Surprisingly Mancini started with a straight forward 4-4-2, although perhaps when you consider the opposition it wasn't surprising at all.

Tevez, who had a penalty well saved by Al Habsi, joined Aguero up front in a fantasy football front two while, this season's big Fantasy Football points earner, Edin Dzeko who scored a four last week was left on the bench.

The incredible work rate by their two strikers combined with their undoubted talent set City up perfectly for the game and once they scored early it was a case of damage limitation for Roberto Martinez's relegation candidates.

Bolton 0-5 Manchester United

Kicking off with the evening kick off Manchester United knew that they needed a victory to put them back level on points at the top with Manchester City and that only a win of four goals or more would give them outright leadership.

Just as was the case in the last weekend, United set about trying to win two battles. One was against their opposition and the other was against City.

Poor old Bolton just never knew what hit them and were 3-0 down after just 25 minutes as a Hernandez strike and a Rooney double put them in control.

In past years with the game dead and buried Alex Ferguson may have been tempted to make some early substitutions, especially as much of his team played over the international break, but knowing that momentum in the league is important he instructed his team to be even more ruthless.

They added two more goals, a second from Hernandez who tellingly played his first 90 minutes of the season before Rooney put the icing on the cake with a hat-trick.

As it currently stands Rooney is playing like the complete striker. He has everything you could want in a player, an incredible work rate, superb technique, magnificent vision, with strength and stamina to match. However, and like all great players, his greatest asset is his ability to make his team mates look brilliant.

Elsewhere on Saturday...

Daniel Sturridge was given a first start to the season as Fernando Torres found himself dumped the bench. Which was hardly surprising given he has only scored two goals from 22 games.

The ex-Manchester City striker helped Chelsea to a 2-1 win over a dreadful Sunderland side who already look like they're in all kinds of trouble. His goal was improvised brilliance as he back flicked the ball into the bottom corner after running onto a through ball. He could have a great future at the club unlike Fernando Torres.

Everton were unlucky not to take all three points against a very lucky Aston Villa side as Richard Dunne brought his incredible international form to the Premiership.

David Moye's team, using a patented 4-6-0 formation, played all the best football and were denied by a late Agbonlahor strike.

The Scot's standing in the game is unquestionable and he is arguably one of the best managers in the league if not the best. Given the protests at chairman Bill Kenwright before the match, the potential sale of their top players and the complete lack of future finance at the club, the Toffees will do well to hold onto him going into next season.

On to Sunday...

Peter Odemwengie scored after just minutes and then missed a penalty as Roy Hodgson's West Brom claimed their first win the season with a 1-0 over Norwich City at Carrow Road.

The Baggies were just too Premiership savvy as they bossed the game and they really should finish the season comfortably this year.

As Euro 2012 edges closer and with it the England managers job when Fabio Capello's contract ends, Roy Hodgson will be more than keen to challenge Harry Redknapp for the job as their country's number one.

Tony Soprano handed a debut to Bryan Ruiz as Fulham entertained Blackburn at the nicest stadium in the world, Craven Cottage.However, on this evidence the Costa Rican centre forward has a steep learning curve ahead of him as far as the EPL is concerned.

With his side beginning to get on top he dawdled on the ball and allowed Rovers to break quickly. The ball eventually ended up at the feet of Ruben Rochina who fired home an absolute rocket of shot to relieve some of the mounting pressure from Steve Kean.

The Cottagers hit back almost immediately through Bobby Zamora after some poor defending by Gael Givet.

As with all things, you make your own luck in this game and Blackburn can only have themselves to blame for another three points missed, despite a very strong late penalty claim.

When you're under pressure as Steve Kean is, the God's don't smile on you.

10 Things We Learned From EPL Week 4:

1) Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better...Does that make Wayne Rooney Betty Hutton?

2) Liverpool's great start to the season depends upon them beating Spurs next week and what has bloody ear-flicking got to do with morale?

3) Roberto Mancini is growing into being an outstanding manager after he demanded improvement from his high flying team.

4) Wayne Rooney is only the fourth player to score a consecutive hat-trick in the Premier League after Les Ferdinand, Ian Wright and Didier Drogba.

5) Javier Hernandez's movement for his first goal was world class and made a very good defender in Tim Cahill look very ordinary indeed.

6) Was Michael Vorm auditioning for a job at Arsenal?

7) Arnold Schwarzenegger was coming out of retirement for the next Terminator film when he met Richard Dunne he said "ah no, its already done!" Thanks to the best Twitter trend in months, step aside Chuck Norris.

8) Emmanuel Adebayor has scored on his debut for Arsenal, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Spurs (but only if you count his home debut for Real) and if he hits the ground running Redknapp's side could finish as high as third.

9) Sergio Aguero isn't half bad.

10) What in God's name was going through Asamoah Gyan's mind when he left Sunderland for the UAE?

"The Older I Get The More I Love It" - Interview with Australian International Footballer Richard Garcia

2011-09-05T13:59:00.000-07:00

"The older I get, the more I love it," says Richard Garcia when I ask if he still loves the sport he has played for near on a lifetime. The Australian international moved halfway around the world at just 15-years-of-age to learn his trade at the famed Academy at West Ham. He has seen the game from more angles than many professionals ever get the chance to see and is still as enthusiastic as he was on the day that he first pulled on a pair of boots.

From League One to the Championship and the Premier League to playing at the World Cup in South Africa, to suffering career threatening injuries, there is very little in the game that Garcia has yet to see.

I caught up with the midfielder, currently recuperating from a serious knee injury, to find how he is coping whilst out, how he views the game, and what he sees in his possible future after he finishes playing.

-) You're currently out injured until December. This is the second time you've suffered a major knee injury. How are you coping physically with rehabilitation and, probably most importantly, how are you coping mentally? Is it tough getting up every morning to work out knowing you can't play football? Or do you concentrate on the positives (IE you're only 29 and you still have a good career ahead of you.)

I'm coping well. Of course, it's hard watching football and watching training, but I've been through it before. I know I can use this time to my advantage and work on the things that you might not normally get time to during the regular season.

It's just about staying positive and setting small goals for yourself so that you have something to focus on, rather than the fact you're not playing.

-) What are you doing in your spare time? Studying? Reading? Rehabilitation? DVDs? Helping out around the house?

Most of my time is spent doing rehab, but when I'm not at training I have my hands full with my son who keeps me well entertained!

If I'm not playing with him I like to relax and watch a bit of TV.

-) It's been mentioned on forums and on websites that Hull did not give you a new contract because of the injury. Could you clarify this? If so, are you still rehabilitating with the club and are you hoping to sort something out when you prove your fitness?

I'm signed to the club until November, and then we will take it from there.

-) You're one of a handful of players who have played through League 1, the Championship, and the Premiership. The obvious aside, what do you feel are the biggest differences between the leagues?

Just the quality of Football played.

Any team from League 1 can give a Premiership team a run for their money, and might even win on a one off game, but it's the consistency and the quality that shines the higher up you play.

You don't get seconds chances in the Premiership and you're usually punished for your errors.

-) I've heard that scouts saw you playing when they went to see your brother. Is this true? If so, how did your family deal with it?

It was actually my brother who invited the scout to come and watch me while they discussed his future!

So I was very lucky my brother had my future in his in mind as well. We both came to the UK, but unfortunately my brother got injured and had to return home, and I was lucky enough to stay.

-) When you first arrived in London, it was as a 15-year-old with West Ham. Was it hard upping sticks and leaving Perth? Did anyone travel over with you or did you end up in a Craig Johnston type situation and having to live in a bedsit by yourself and phone home every couple of months?

It was tough. But at 15, I was so excited at the challenge ahead that I didn't really think about it.

Homesickness would hit when things weren't going well, if I'd had a bad game or picked up an injury and it was hard just speaking to your loved ones over the phone.

-) Having left Australia, did you feel under pressure to succeed for yourself or for your family?

Not at all, my parents and family always reassured me that there was no pressure and that I could come home when I liked.

I think it was a huge sacrifice from my parents to let me leave home and travel across the world to pursue my dreams, and I thank them greatly for that.

-) While with the Hammers, you were part of what is widely regarded as their best youth team of all time. If you could have been kept together, do you think the team could have achieved something more substantial than the FA Youth Cup?

You never know. But we, as players, all develop at different times and at different paces so it would have been hard to keep everyone together. We had a great bunch of players in that team and we had a great team spirit and I think that showed when we played together.

-) You seemed to enjoy three great seasons with Colchester, jumping from League 1 to Championship promotion contenders in a short time. This was obviously an exciting time to play for the U's. What made that period so good for them and for you?

We were all hungry players who wanted to succeed. Most of the players had come from clubs in the Premiership or Championship. Again we had a great team spirit, and mixed with our drive to be successful we had three great years.

It is the most successful period in the clubs history, so it was great to be a big part of that.

As the new boys in the Premiership there was always focus on us and a lot of the time it was hard to ignore it.

Things that you might not want drummed in like losing streaks and win / losses, were now in your face constantly and especially when things weren't going well, the pressure mounted on the team.

I think we as a team dealt with it quite well, but I'm sure it must of had an effect.

-) Many analysts now feel that Champions League football has overtaken International football in terms of quality. Do you feel this is a fair assumption or will international football always be the most pressurized type of football, particularly the World Cup, on the planet?

Not really, the quality would be the same as the same players are playing in both.
Spain are World Champions and Barcelona are European Champions is there much difference there?

The difference between the two would probably be national pride and that the World Cup is such a big event that the whole world takes part in.

-) When you played for Australia in South Africa you became not only the first Hull City player to ever play in a World Cup but also the first ever Western Australian I believe. What was it like for you, personally, as a player, and as a representative of your country, to play against Germany and Serbia? In the end was it tough going out on goal difference?

It was a very proud moment, and one I will never forget, it's such a great honour to represent your country. It was unfortunate that we didn't get through as four years earlier on the same amount of points we progressed.

-) What do you feel about tactics? Are they over-valued over players?

They go hand in hand.

In my opinion good tactics with average players can be just as effective as bad tactics with good players.

The difference being you might get away with bad tactics occasionally with great players.

-) Agents always come in for bad publicity. Are they actually needed or are they an essential part of the game?

I think they are essential. As always you only hear about the bad, so the good agents get stuck with the tag also.

-) At 29, you have a good number of years ahead of you in the game. Do you ever think of life after football? What interests you? Is this something most players don't like to think about until it happens, in case they take their eye off the game? (IE like a boxer thinking about defeat?)

It's something that's in the back of your mind, but for me I feel like I want to give all my attention and effort in to my playing. Personally I would like to coach or manage when I finish.

-) Some professionals actually grow to hate the sport when it becomes a job, because it can be monotonous combined with a Spartan lifestyle. Do you still love playing?

I do still love playing, but there have been times when I haven't liked it so much.

For me the older I get, the more I love it.

When I was in my teens it sometimes felt like a job, and that was hard to deal with because you can lose your passion for it and that reflects in your performance.

-) Footballers have extremely short careers so do you think players owe it to themselves to play at the highest level possible or to make the most money possible? Does it go hand in hand or does there have to be a compromise?

It's a fine balance and it can go hand in hand if you are a playing in a top league in Europe.

People only hear about the guys at the top earning millions and don't hear much about guys in the lower leagues...

Sometimes you have to do what is in the best interest for you and your family.

-) What goals to you still have in mind? The Asian Football Championships in Australia in 2015? Brazil 2014? A coaching career?

I definitely want to play in the next WC and the Asian Champs.

Eventually when I retire from playing I would love the opportunity to coach. I feel like it would be something I would really enjoy.

Would you ever consider playing in the A-League?

Playing in Australia in front of friends and family would be fantastic.

So yes, I would love to go home and play at some stage.

Best of luck Richard, hope the injury heals well and you're back playing soon.

You can follow Richard Garcia on Twitter - @RichGarcia19

Tottenham Transfers: 5 Last Minute Harry Redknapp Targets

2011-08-31T08:15:00.000-07:00

He may not like being called a "wheeler dealer" but no transfer window can go by without Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp pulling a deal out of nowhere.

The window still has another eight hours to go and Spurs have already pulled off some of the best deals of the window as Emmanuel Adebayor, Brad Friedel, Scott Parker and Souleymane Coulibaly have all joined the club for less that £10 million, albeit with Adebayor only joining on loan from Manchester City.

Heavy defeats against Manchester United and Manchester City in their opening two games of the season guarantees that the White Hart Lane fax machine will be working right up until 23:00 GMT.

Here we look at some of the transfer targets Harry Redknapp is more than interested in...

Name : Gary Cahill

Team: Bolton Wanderers

Position: Centre Half

Value: £12m-£15m

The 14-year-old England international was the centre of attention earlier in the transfer window as Arsene Wenger tried to bring the defender in to shore up his leaky defence.

That bid seemed to crash and burn as Bolton's chairman, Phil Garside, tweeted that the bid was derisory. In the end Arsenal moved for Per Mertesecker while Harry Redknapp jumped right in and offered Owen Coyle a deal involving players and payments.

The big question now is whether Owen Coyle will accept the deal or not.

Redknapp may be able to sell him Sebastian Bassong as a replacement centre half easily enough but the deal may hinge on whether Coyle accepts players like Bentley, Jenas, Kranjcar, or perhaps one or two of Tottenham's Academy team.

There is no doubting that Redknapp is trying to buy characters rather than supreme players as he feels his dressing room has become too quiet following the release of Jonathan Woodgate and the sale of Wilson Palacios.

Both Parker and Cahill fit exactly into the profile of the player Harry is looking for so expect Spurs to push this deal as far as they can.

Name : Craig Bellamy

Team: Manchester City

Position: Forward

Value: Free

Kenny Dalglish and Neil Warnock are the two main interested parties that Harry Redknapp will have to hold off if he is to bring Craig Bellamy into the club.

Having just signed Emmanuel Adebayor and announced to Sky Sports News that Peter Crouch may move to Sunderland to free up space in the squad the move for Bellamy would be purely opportunistic and tactical.

Redknapp has settled on a 4-5-1 formation to suit Rafael van der Vaart but he has no cover for either the Dutchman or Adebayor who will presumably play at the top of the formation.

Bellamy would immediately give Harry a player of Premier League quality who could cover both positions brilliantly for free. Hence the opposition for his signature.

As mentioned before, Redknapp is looking for leaders on the pitch and in the dressing room and as Bellamy has matured he has grown into the kind of leader few would have predicted.

The main problem here is that Bellamy's signing may be predicated by the sales of other Tottenham players like David Bentley and Jermaine Jenas.

Name : Leandro Damiao

Team: Internacional

Position: Striker

Value: £15m-£20m

Spurs and Harry Redknapp have been linked with the 22-year-old ever since they signed Sandro from Internacional and as part of that deal they also linked up with the club with a view to getting first preference on their youth production line.

As a player Damiao is a perfect fot for Redknapp and his preferred 4-5-1 but both he and Levy have reservations about the price tag of the inexperienced youth.

The 6'1" striker has only played for one season in Brazil making 42 appearances and scoring a healthy 15 goals into the bargain. Such was his good form that Menezes, Brazil's manager, has drafted him into recent friendly squads with a view to a measured introduction towards international football and possibly Brazil 2014.

Make no mistake about it, Spurs have money to burn having bid huge sums for centre forwards based in Spain last January but they are keen to only buy the right fit, Leandro Damiao could possibly be it.

Name : Yossi Benayoun

Team: Chelsea

Position: Attacking Midfielder

Value: £1m-£4m

The little Israeli seems to have been frozen out at Stamford Bridge and is believed to be available for transfer. Spurs and Arsenal were both monitoring his availability earlier in the transfer window and now his agent has confirmed that the player will leave for either Spurs, Arsenal, or return back to Liverpool.

At Spurs he would immediately provide competition for Aaron Lennon as well as providing cover for Rafael van der Vaart while at Arsenal or Liverpool he would be only used sparingly as a reserve back up so the deal has to be sweet as it is likely to be his last major contract in football.

Again he fits the profile of a player able to play 4-2-3-1, 4-5-1, or 4-4-2 so he would be highly sought after wherever he goes.

He is a model professional but is not what you would consider a "character" and this seems to be the main requisite for Harry Redknapp in this transfer window.

However, we know that Harry is interested and he is never one to turn down a cheap deal, and Benayoun would most certainly be that.

Name : Lassana Diarra

Team: Real Madrid

Position: Central Midfield

Value: £7m-£10m

Redknapp faces stiff opposition for Lassana Diarra as AS Roma have entered the race late on.

For a long time Spurs were pretty much the only team who were negotiating with Real Madrid and for that reason the talks have dragged on for the last six weeks or so.

The stumbling block in the talks for Spurs is Diarra's prohibitive wages. Currently he is on around £120,000 per week but the Tottenham wage structure's peak is an estimated £70,000 per week.

Levy and Redknapp are willing to pay the player that amount but want Real Madrid to pick up the rest while Real Madrid want to get the player and his hefty wages off their wage-bill and are almost willing to forego a transfer fee to do so.

Having sold Wilson Palacios and now signed Scott Parker and with Tom Huddlestone, Luka Modric and Sandro still at the club central midfield is already congested so Redknapp's interest may have cooled somewhat.

However, Spurs have a previous relationship with Real Madrid after the transfer of Rafael van der Vaart so if they two sides can compromise this deal will still be very much alive until 23:00.

Name : Luka Modric

Team: Tottenham Hotspur?

Position: Central Midfield

Value: £25m-£40m

The Luka Modric transfer saga has been one of the longest running stories of the summer as Chelsea pursued their target. And the ripple effects of the chase has been felt as far as the Tottenham training ground.

Daniel Levy's refusal to sell a player, who just signed a new six year contract, on principle if fine but holding onto an unhappy player could have a detrimental effect on the clubs Champions League ambitions this year.

If Spurs can hold onto the player they will have one of the best protagonists in the game at what he does but the question remains; will he play well?

And if Spurs do sell him it would give them the money to bring in up to four or five players to improve the squad.

Its a Catch 22 situation for Spurs as they don't really want Modric to be so unhappy that his game falters but at the same time if they do sell him they will also have to move other players on as they have a very large squad and wage demands are the key element in football finances these days.

Keeping while he's on good form and playing in the Champions League is a no brainer but will Spurs be in the Champions League next year?

Harry will have to work some magic today if they are to make that far.

Owen Hargreaves: Manchester City Snap Up Ex-Manchester United Star on Free Transfer

2011-08-31T04:17:00.000-07:00

Owen Hargreaves is to join Manchester City in one of the most dramatic and sensational transfer deals of the summer after the ex-Manchester United player agreed to undertake a pay-as-you-play deal for the Champions League debutantes.

Fresh from signing Sergio Aguero, Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy and Stefan Savic it would seem that the free transfer of Owen Hargreaves to the club will gazump them all in terms of interest and,hopefully pray City fans, value.

"Shock signing" and Manchester City seem to go hand in hand since Sheik Mansour took over the club in 2008 and no one in their right minds would have suggested to add Owen Hargreaves to that list, expect perhaps for the midfielder himself...

Hargreaves joined Manchester United from Bayern Munich in 2007 after the club's agreed upon a £18million deal but his career was blighted by his injury problems.

Acute tendonitis left him as a peripheral figure in Carrington, and he spent much of the last four seasons on the treatment table.

United's doctors tried numerous times to diagnose the midfielders knee problems but came up blank such were the complications they faced. Hence Hargreaves seeking other opinions in Europe and America with knee specialist Dr. Richard Steadman.

He went from making 37 appearances between club and country during his debut season in 2007-'08 to making just five appearances over the next three seasons as his horrendous injury problems made him a firm fixture on the operating table and the physio room.

It has now been that long since Hargreaves donned a football jersey; it is almost impossible to remember him as a player.

As a midfielder he was blessed with a good engine and was a simplistic passer of the ball, letting the attack minded players instigate United's, Bayern's and England's forward thrusts. Position-wise he was very defensive minded and was similar in type to Javier Mascherano in that he broke up attacks rather than directed them, providing good forward cover for his central defenders.

Before the start of last season, many United fans felt they would never see Hargreaves in a red jersey again, so when the player was released you could count the amount of people who thought he might play in the Champions League again with one hand. This move to Manchester City certainly opens up that door.

His career at Manchester United effectively ended on November 6 2010 against Wolves when he lasted just four minutes before pulling his hamstring. Even though it was such an innocuous and regular injury a hush immediately fell over the Old Trafford crowd as a dawning sensation grew over the fans as the realized that this could actually be the last time they would see Hargreaves in a United jersey.

To rub salt into the wounds, Hargreaves was replaced by Bebe...

Given his past injuries, it is fair to estimate that Hargreaves has a powerful personality. He does not give up easily and has had more than one chance to call time on his career over the last couple of years.

The hamstring injury was hopefully only a setback for him, but he did take solace in the fact that he actually started the game and received the chance to take to the pitch. With that in mind, his efforts to get back playing were doubled and despite offering to play for Manchester United for free it did come as something of a shock to the player to be released from the United family.

The release, however, did spur Hargreaves into an otherwise untried form of communication.

Twitter has become synonymous with professional athletes in recent years while YouTube has rarely been used other than putting up videos of great goals or prodigious children.

Hargreaves took the unprecedented step of placing videos of him training up on the social video site in an effort at proving his fitness. Considering that his last injury at United was a hamstring injury he was keen to show that his knees could still take substantial impacts while training.

Initially West Bromwich Albion and Roy Hodgson were in the driving seat to secure the midfielders signature and were very close to capturing Hargreaves on a pay as you play deal but somewhere along the line the deal went cold so when Hargreaves was seen coming out of the Bridgewater hospital in Manchester late Tuesday night the football rumour mill went into overdrive.

Having satisfied Manchester City's doctors with his fitness and his knees, described as the worst his specialist had seen in 35 years, it now looks like Hargreaves will sign up for a nominal fee with a pay as you play clause built in.

City's doctors would have been extremely stringent as Roberto Mancini is renowned for his focus and attention towards his teams physical and mental fitness.

Last season he introduced double training sessions on certain days of the week that were initially met with scorn by some of his players and then he installed a steep training hill at City's training ground as he wanted to increase his teams stamina further.

Hargreaves will be expected to compete in and complete the same amount of trials he sets for the rest of his first team squad so it would seem strange for the club to sign the player if could not satisfy their demands.

His addition to the squad, as presumably back-up to the central midfield regulars of Nigel De Jong and Gareth Barry, will add some character and experience to the Manchester City dressing room as they begin their exploits in the Champions League for the first time and it would not be beyond the realms of fantasy to see the star play against his old team Bayern Munich at some stage of the group games.

Even the most hardened Manchester United fans would not begrudge their ex-player getting a second chance at the cherry even if it is with City so it will be interesting to see how they greet him when the two clubs come face to face with each other in October.

If the deal does workout then Roberto Mancini may just have picked up the EPL's most expensive signings of the summer as well as the best bargain of the summer.

10 Things We Learned From Manchester v North London and EPL Week 3

2011-08-29T18:25:00.000-07:00

We're just three weeks into the new English Premier League season and we have already seen two of the greatest team performances of recent times, two of the worst team performances of recent times, and two clubs in crisis.
All in all it was a good day for Manchester as they beat North London 13-3 and the scary thing is, Wayne Rooney and Sergio Aguero are only going to get better as the season goes on.

The obvious place to start either White Hart Lane or Old Trafford as Manchester United destroyed a decimated Arsenal side 8-2 while Manchester City travelled to London and beat Spurs 5-1 with Edin Dzeko scoring four. But we won't go there just yet.

We'll start at Anfield where Liverpool put in a performance every bit as special as either of the Manchester sides.

Liverpool 3-1 Bolton

It is hard to believe that Kenny Dalglish only took over as Liverpool boss eight months ago. Since then Liverpool have literally rocketed up the table and with certain Champions League rivals in disarray the Reds really do have a great chance to put some daylight between them and Spurs and Arsenal.

In recent seasons a 15:00 kickoff on a Saturday at Anfield has become a rare thing so it was fitting that Liverpool pit on a performance for their fans.

Andy Carroll was surprisingly dropped for Dirk Kuyt which is really saying something because when your first touch is worse than the frantic Dutcman's you know you're in trouble.

As it was, Luis Suarez once again ran the show. His positional sense and intelligence on and off the ball is phenomenal to watch and in his current form his movement and use of the ball is an education to any youngster who is interested in football.

He tore Gary Cahill apart all day long and dragged the Arsenal transfer target around so much that he must have wondered what sport he was playing at time. Goals from Jordan Henderson, Martin Skrtel and Charlie Adam were the difference on paper as Liverpool beat Bolton 3-1 but that couldn't be further from the truth.

Liverpool absolutely hammered Bolton and could easily have won by more but what is most impressive in the Reds is their attitude. They want to do the right things all the time and Kenny Dalglish deserves huge credit for the job he is doing there. They won't challenge for the league and will still have to hold off Spurs and Arsenal but the start is more than encouraging.

Oh, lest we forget. Following the win, Liverpool moved to the summit of the Premier League for the first time in years. It won't be the last.

Blackburn 0-1 Everton

Steve Kean welcomed the giant Christopher Samba back into the fold for the visit of David Moyes and Everton. Unbelievably Blackburn missed two penalties after Tim Howard saved the first before Formica hit the post with the second. To rub salt into the wounds Mikel Arteta then scored an injury time penalty for the Toffees after Samba had been harshly adjudged to have climbed upon Marouane Felliani's shoulders.

Judging by Blackburn's awful start to the season, it is right that they are many peoples favorites to go down. They lack penetration up front and are very slow across midfield and without Ryan Nelson or Samba in the team they are lost defensively.

Chelsea 3-1 Norwich City

Believe it or not, Norwich are just one of three sides who have an actual better record against Chelsea than the Blues have against them. The other two being Arsenal and Oldham...

Anyway, the first 20 minutes of this match was a stoll for the Pensioners and after opening the scoring through the revitalized Jose Bosingwa on six minutes it really did look like Andre Villa Boas' side were going to win by a cricket score.

However, Paul Lambert made a few tweaks and put two big men up front, Morison and Holt, and they really caused havok across the back for John Terry and co. They scored a deserved equalizer before the best penalty taker in the business, no not Robbie Keane, Frank Lampard scored to ease the growing pressure on the home team. Before Juan Mata scored his on his debut.

The game was marred by an injury to Didier Drogba after the Ivorian leaped and headed goal-wards only for John Ruddy to misjudge his flying punch as he caught the centre forward fully with both fists. Drogba was instantly knocked out and probably received as much damage from the fall as he did from Ruddy.

I know the punch was accidental but two things should have happened here.

1. Chelsea should have won a penalty and
2. Ruddy should have been given a yellow card.

For Andre Villa Boas the win was much needed. The Portuguese is only in his third game in charge of Chelsea and you can already see the pressure he is under. He will have to sort his teams' formation though because for long periods they were outplayed by the promoted team.

Nothing else really worthwhile happened on Saturday...

The ever improving Wolves traveled to Birmingham to take on Aston Villa in a derby or sorts and the game proved to be a real tactical battle. Initially Mick McCarthy got on top as Wolves probed and penetrated the Villa rearguard at will with Kevin Doyle impressing once again. However, McLeish made a few changes and the game swung like a pendulum in Villa's favour. The 0-0 draw was probably the fairest result in the end.

Wigan beat QPR thanks to two goals from Franco Di Santo and their five points from the opening three fixtures is their best ever start to a Premier League season.

On a side note, we are still waiting for the first Premiership goal to be scored on foreign soil as Swansea and Sunderland had a boring 0-0 draw. The big news for the Black Cats was the first appearance of the season for ex-Man Utd defender John O'Shea and that's about as much as you can say about that particular game.

On to Sunday...

The third weekend of the 2011-'12 season is one that will live long in the memory of fans of the Manchester teams...

Tottenham Hotspur 1-5 Manchester City

Manchester City travelled to White Hart Lane to take on Spurs in a game that many thought would be very tight.

Since Spurs pipped City to the Champions League at the end of the 2009-'10 season Roberto Mancini has spent somewhere in the region of £150 million improving his side so it was little wonder that City went into this game as favourites.

Spurs for their part started well again with Luka Modric and Nico Krancjar pulling the string in central midfield and they actually carved out the best chances of the opening 30 minutes. But once Edin Dzeko scored his first, he would score four altogether, Harry Redknapp's team literally fell apart.

Credit to City to brushed Tottenham aside without breaking sweat as Gareth Barry impressed in midfield while Samir Nasri and David Silva provided all the ammunition Dzeko could ask for.

In the end their 5-1 win was well deserved. But Spurs were embarrassing in the way they just rolled over and had their collective bellies tickled.

Manchester United 8-2 Arsenal

make no mistake about it, this was one of the greatest Premier League performances of all time.

You may argue that Arsenal had little more than a B-Team out there and you would be right but the way Manchester United went about their business and the speed, skill, precision and attitude they showed really has set a high bar for the rest of the season.

In short, Arsenal were shocking but Manchester United were sensational.

As with any great Manchester United performance of recent years, Wayne Rooney was at the very epicentre of it. His hat trick was phenomenal even if it did include a late penalty.

There is no two ways about it this is the lowest point in Arsene Wenger's time as Arsenal manager and he is now learning that his transfer policy is a very flawed piece of strategy.

Elsewhere on Sunday...

Stoke City continued their impressive start to the season with yet another win over West Brom at the Hawthornes. With Wilson Palacios signing from Spurs on Sunday evening it looks very much like Tony Pulis' side will improve once again and they are a very real threat to teams ranked from 5th to 8th especially if he can add one or two more players by the end of the transfer window.

Newcastle also won on Sunday after they beat Martin Jol's expansive playing Fulham side thanks to a brace from Leon Best and from an inspired display by their goalkeeper Tim Krul. Fulham have attacking options all over the pitch and someday they will hammer somebody.

10 Things We Learned From Week 3 of the EPL Season.

1. Arsenal are the dirtiest team in the EPL with three red cards in just three games.

2. Wayne Rooney is back to being...Wayne Rooney.

3. North London is at Defcon 5 and both Redknapp and Wenger will have to splash the cash before the transfer deadline on Wednesday to save their seasons.

4. Blackburn are doomed.

5. Wilson Palacios is a fantastic signing for Stoke. With him in the team Spurs won 55 percent of their games, without him they only won 34 percent.

6. Emmanuel Adebayor must be wondering why he left Manchester City for Spurs...

7. Daniel Levy should let Luka Modric go to Chelsea and take Daniel Sturridge as part of the deal.

8. Luis Suarez is phenomenal and it will be more than interesting to see how Dalglish accommodates Steven Gerrard when he comes back from injury.

9. Wayne Rooney is Manchester United's record Premier League goalscorer with 107 goals. And his hair actually looks good too.

10. The main reason for Arsenal's poor start to the season is the size of their crest. It is so big and heavy that their players aren't balanced correctly...

Alex Ferguson Defends Wenger From Arsenal Supporters Before Dealing Knockout Blow

2011-08-28T01:29:00.000-07:00

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has leaped to the defence of his rival Arsene Wenger and has hit out at the Arsenal managers recent critics by saying the "work he has done is the best in Arsenal's history." However, as always with Fergie there is more here than just meets the eye because the United supremo has also lashed his rival for allowing a five year barren run at the Gunners to happen.

On the eve of what is already looking like a crunch game for Arsenal and Arsene Wenger, Sir Alex Ferguson questioned the wisdom of Arsenal's supporters booing and calling for Wenger to be replaced.

"I would like to know who is going to replace him

"The work he has done in the 15 years he has been at the club is the best in Arsenal's history.

"Yes, he has not won a trophy for six years but what does that mean? The quality of his side has not been reduced. The competition is far greater now.

"When Arsenal and ourselves were going head-to-head, that went on for about eight years.

"It is a bit unfair of course, [the criticism] but who understands fairness and unfairness today?

"It is quite a cynical world. Supporters are far less easy to please than they were 20 years ago. But Arsenal answered everybody back on Wednesday [beating Udinese to qualify for the Champions League]. A lot of people thought they would go out. I didn't. I thought they would win it. The game on Sunday will be another stepping stone for them."

In recent years the rivalry between Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger has tempered somewhat and in 2009 they actually came across as long time friends such was the cordiality between the two veteran managers.

Of course, this friendship seems to have blossomed the further Arsenal has slipped from the title picture as neither manager has had any real or fake reasons to have a pop at each other.

However, just as Ferguson seems to have softened up Wenger he has come back and hit the Arsenal manager with something of a knockout blow by declaring that he would never have allowed Manchester United to go five years without a trophy.

"I would not have allowed it to happen," Ferguson told the Observer before Sunday's home game against the Gunners.

"The press would have played their part and you expect that, but I could not have contemplated these things."

"Arsène has got his way of managing and I have got mine

"You do the best with what you believe in and that is what Arsène is trying to do.

"I don't know exactly what his philosophy is but for a long period he had a group of good young French players but that seems to have dried up a little bit.

"Teams go in cycles and you just have to hope that you are part of that cycle.

"For years it was Arsenal and ourselves competing for the title.

"Then it was Chelsea and now Manchester City are on the map.

"We have always been part of that cycle."

When the United legend was asked could he go five years without a trophy he simply replied;

"Not at this club."

Arsene Wenger has come under increasing pressure over the last three seasons as his tactics and philosophies have been questioned at almost every corner by Arsenal's fans.

Recent polls by the Arsenal Supporters Trust suggest that Gunners fans are beginning to fall out of love with the Frenchman.

A whopping 69 percent of Arsenal fans reckon that Wenger's football philosophy takes too much precedence over winning trophies while 42 percent of fans feel that if the club finish the 2011-'12 season trophy-less Le Prof will have taken the club as far as he can.

There is no way around it: This is a make-or-break season for the club.

Arsenal got over their first major hurdle of the season last Wednesday when they beat Udinese in Italy to qualify for the Champions League.

As in any dark period heroes come from otherwise unseen sources and that was very much the case in Udine as new signing Gervinho and Wojiech Szczesny literally played out of their skins and played like the Champions League qualifier was the very last game they would ever play.

They duo came through for their manager when many, including Arsenal fans, were expecting the Gunners to fail. And now Arsene Wenger has learned a little bit more about his team; about who accepts pressure and uses it to further their game and who freeze under the spotlight.

It speaks volumes about the kind of pressure that Wenger is under that here we are in just week three of the new Premier League season and already some Arsenal fans are calling for his head.

Last week in the defeat to Liverpool at the Emirates a massive contingent of Arsenal fans chanted "spend your f***ing money Wenger" while another section in front of the press box called for Wenger to be replaced with Bolton's Owen Coyle.

As it stands Arsenal have just one point from their opening two fixtures while United have taken all six including a demolition of Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford last Monday.

The upcoming Manchester United-Arsenal game will give all and sundry a chance to observe the two great managers philosophies first hand.

Both bosses can read the direction of the wind beautifully and seem to have a second sense for when it comes to signing potential stars. However a major difference arises where veterans are concerned.

Sir Alex Ferguson recognises how important an old head is on the training ground, the dressing room and, more importantly, on the pitch.

Fergie knows that he does not have all the answers and that some solutions can only be passed on by players who have suffered in the white hot heat of battle. This is the very reason he keeps players like Giggs, Scholes, Neville, and Ferdinand around, players who have gone past their best days and who will now only be used as squad players, but players who have decades of experience that simply cannot be replaced.

Contrast the current set up at United where Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans have begun second apprenticeships if you will under Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic to Arsenal's current midfield situation where Frimpong has to look to Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey for advice.

In one simple swoop all the frailties of Wenger's transfer policy is laid bare while Ferguson's looks astute, wise and most importantly it looks as if United do not care about the bottom line.

This, of course, could not be further from the truth but whereas Arsenal seem to use players to drive their profit margins United use trophies to drive theirs.

Defeat on Sunday to Manchester United would virtually rule Arsenal out of the title race before August has even ended as it would mean they would almost have to go the rest of the season unbeaten to claim the title. That simply won't happen with this current inception of the Wenger model so expect things to harder for Wenger than easier over the coming months.

The Arsenal transfer philosophy so often hailed as the right model has been shown up exactly for what it is. It is a profit making system for clubs without the ambition of winning trophies and right there the flaws in are revealed because football fans don't understand any language other than "winning."

Wilson Palacios to Stoke City? Why Tottenham Should Not Sell Their Hidden Gem

2011-08-27T16:17:00.000-07:00

If rumours are to be believed Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur have entered advanced talks about the transfer of Honduran international Wilson Palacios from White Hart Lane. The combative midfielder signed for Spurs from Wigan in 2009 for £12 million and it is thought that Tony Pulis will pay Harry Redknapp around £6 million to secure his services.

It is highly surprising to see that Harry Redknapp has lost complete trust in the player and is happy to see him go. During the 2009-10 season Palacios was nothing less than outstanding for Spurs as they qualified for the Champions League in style.

His all action displays in midfield provided the perfect foil for Luka Modric to push on and his ability at offering defensive cover meant that Spurs were always balanced when they attacked down either flank. Palacios' brilliant reading of the game gave Spurs an option that had not been seen at White Hart Lane since the heady days of the '80s.

The high level of Palacios' performances in the 2008-'09 season are made all the more amazing when you realise that his 16-year-old brother had been kidnapped in Honduras. In May as Spurs readied to play Everton in a crunch game for European qualification Palacios received a late night phone call from his mother to tell him that the youth, Edwin, had been found murdered.

He would not play again for Spurs that season.

In short, Palacios had two outstanding seasons before the World Cup kicked off in June.

Coming back to White Hart Lane he was short of fitness and missed the opening game of the season against Manchester City. Then he played three games in a row before injury and poor form reduced him to only starting two games in the following ten but in both games he was removed at half time.

He was restored to the team for the 2-1 win over Liverpool in November and remained in the side as they only lost twice in the following 13 games. Amazingly, Redknapp surprisingly dropped Palacios for the Everton game, and lost.

Following a 3-1 defeat to Blackpool in late February where Palacios was hauled off at half time he was more or less left out of the team for the rest of the season. Only making a 31 minute cameo against Manchester City in the third from last game of the season. Meaning that he only played 31 minutes from the remaining 11 fixtures.

When you sit down and analyse the win / loss statistics comparing Spurs with and without Palacios you come across some stark differences.

During the 2010-11 season Wilson Palacios played 21 times for Harry Redknapp with a record that reads:

PLD-21 W-11 D-5 L-5 PTS-38 (points average of 1.8 pts per game with a win average of 55 percent)

Without him Spurs record reads as:

PLD-17 W-5 D-9 L-3 PTS-24 (points average of 1.4 pts per game with a win average of 34 percent)

Overall Tottenham's record was:

PLD-38 W-16 D-14 L-8 PTS-62 (points average of 1.6 pts per game)

In the end Spurs missed out on the Champions League by just six points. The very same six points they may have taken if Palacios had played. Statistics show that Spurs fared far better with Palacios in the side that without him so it is more than perplexing to see Harry Redknapp allow his only bit of midfield steel to leave.

In August 2009 Harry Redknapp spoke very highly of the player:

“Palacios has made a massive difference to this club,” the Tottenham manager said.

“He gets on with it, he’s strong, he’s aggressive—he’s what Tottenham haven’t had.

“I always felt you could bash Tottenham up when they used to come to Portsmouth. We always felt you could get after them and beat them.

“I don’t feel that now. He has been a major part in changing that because he closes down and is strong. That has rubbed off on other people.

"You need people like him if you are going to be successful. He walks round like he is pleased to be here and appreciates everything."

While Palacios may be unfit at the moment it was apparent for all to see against Manchester United last weekend that Tottenham's centre pairing were too lightweight.

To play in any league players like Palacios are essential. Players who do the donkey work who sacrifice their own game for the benefit of more skillful players and from the outside it would appear as if the relationship between the player and manager has broken down.

It may be understandable to allow Palacios to leave if Spurs have signed another player of his ilk in recent times but a quick browse through Harry Redknapp's options reveals a midfield that would not "tackle a good dinner."

Players like van der Vaart, Modric, Lennon, Bale and Krancjar are more renowned for what they achieve in the final third of the pitch rather than battling in the trenches not to mention Townsend, Livermore, Pienaar, Huddlestone, Jenas, Rose, and Sandro.

If anything only Sandro would be capable of replacing Palacios but he is more an intelligent defensive covering player rather than a roll-up-yer-sleeves combatant like the Honduran.

Leaving Palacios out of the team was the difference in Spurs not qualifying for the Champions League last season.

Selling him and not replacing him properly will be the difference between finishing in Europe or outside it.

Unfortunately for Spurs they need to get players off their wage books. Their squad is full of deadwood to the extent that you could use half the players to make a raft to row the Thames and Harry Redknapp has to sell before he can really buy.

However, selling Palacios is definitely the wrong thing to do.

Samir Nasri: New Manchester City Star Hits Out at Arsenal's Fans and Philosophies

2011-08-25T08:32:00.000-07:00

Samir Nasri has left Arsenal for the cash laden pastures of Manchester City as expected....In one of the longest running transfer deals of the summer the French international - out of contract next summer - signed on the dotted line for Roberto Mancini around the very same time his old team were playing Udinese in the Champions League Qualifier with manager Arsene Wenger's future firmly in the balance.

The creative midfielder took pains to thank Wenger for turning him into the player he is today but also stressed that he was disappointed the deal could not have been completed earlier. Nasri also took a swipe at Arsenal's fans, many of which who booed the star in the defeat to Liverpool last weekend, by saying that one of the main reasons he was joining City was because of their higher passion for the game.

Speaking to Manchester City TV, Nasri was quite blunt and unusually honest for a footballer when it came to answering the saccharin coated questions and more often than not he gave answers that were quite unexpected.

"It is a big relief [to join City] because there were long, long negotiations between the two clubs."

He said in relation to the length of the drawn out negotiations. At one stage Roberto Mancini even had to warn Wenger not to cup tie Nasri by playing him in the crunch Champions League 2nd Leg against Udinese.

His relief at leaving the stagnation at Arsenal was obvious. In recent seasons the Gunners has gone backwards every season while Manchester City sit on the cusp of domestic and possible European domination for years to come.

"Now I am finally a City player and that's all I wanted since the start. It is a big day for me. It is a new start.

"I was a little bit frustrated because I said to the manager I wanted to leave.

"'I' stayed for the whole pre-season..."

Nasri is obviously delighted that the deal went through but it is also obvious that the attack minded midfielder was also frustrated by the length of the negotiations.

Initially Arsene Wenger backed himself into a corner by stating Nasri would not leave for any price and that he would prefer to lose the player on a free transfer at the end of the season. However, wisdom eventually took hold and now the Frenchman has £25 million in his back pocket where 12 more months would have seen him empty handed.

The big question, with Wenger, as always is whether he will spend the more, or not.

Nasri then perhaps veered off course for the first and took something of a swipe at Wenger and his old team's transfer philosophy.

"I wanted to do the pre-season with Manchester to know my team-mates."

"When you arrive at the club you want to play with big players [like Aguero, Tevez and Silva].

"I love this kind of player. They have quick feet, good technique and like to play. You are looking to have a connection with them."

The obvious point being made here is that Nasri now sees Arsenal as a selling club and as a team who have lost their best players or in other words the very type of players Nasri likes to play with. The potential loss of Cesc Fabregas obviously played a huge part in Nasri's decision to move away from the Emirates.

Seeing your best players sold is difficult to accept for any professional footballer especially when they have formed an almost telepathic bond as Wenger's teams seem to do.

The Frenchman's transfer philosophy seems to take precedence over his footballing philosophy and it has become common place to see good young players come in, see their game progress, and then be sold at a profit while the team steps backwards.

Later on Twitter Nasri went to pains to row back on his earlier comments and praised his old club:

"I want [to] thank Arsenal FC for everything this club has done for me. I will always be grateful and I wish all the best to the club."

"And thank you Mr Wenger and all the staff you were amazing with me and I become the player I am today because of you."

However, while the comments are compliments, they do come across as somewhat backhanded and refer to Arsenal's transfer philosophy of selling developed players rather than holding onto them.

Nasri's final parting blow was made at the expense of the atmosphere in the dressing room and in the stands of the Emirates.

"I'm happy to be there in this dressing room."

"I can see they are really passionate and it reminds me a little bit of Marseille."

Nasri joined Marseille as a nine-year-old and over the following eight seasons he became a player of some promise. From making his debut in 2004 at 17, Nasri saw how Marseille's unique togetherness was developed in the face of European expulsion. It helped create a binding atmosphere and one where players would literally run themselves into the ground for their team mates.

The same cannot be said of Arsenal in recent years.

He also chose to voice his displeasure at Arsenal's fans. This, perhaps, is understandable given his treatment by the Gunners faithful in their Premier League defeat to Liverpool.

"Arsenal have good fans but not that passionate since they moved from Highbury to the Emirates (Stadium).

"I remember when we played against City, when we lost 3-0, the crowd was amazing.

"That is what I want.

"When you play football it is for a good atmosphere."

There can be little doubt that Arsene Wenger and Arsenal have made a grave error by allowing such an important player to enter the final year year of his contract without a good offer on the table. However, they must also be complimented on taking in £25 million when he could have left for free next season.

Nasri, it must be said, has played an absolute blinder in this situation. He has read Arsenal's transfer and financial situation perfectly and has left a team that many feel will not challenge for a title for many years to come. He has seen the direction of the wind and has chosen to leave Arsenal for Manchester City at a perfect time.

There can be little doubt that City are in the middle of becoming one of the dominating forces in world football never mind England and that sooner rather than later Sir Alex Ferguson will regret calling them his "noisy neighbours."

QPR Set to Sign Joey Barton on Free Transfer From Newcastle as Club Refunds Season Ticket Holders

2011-08-24T11:55:00.000-07:00

QPR seem to have pulled off something of a major coup after Joey Barton confirmed that he is to have a medical in Shepards Bush on Wednesday night after Newcastle and Rangers came to an agreement over the midfielder.

Barton, so often a dividing figure throughout his career, fell out of favour with the hierarchy at the club after a number of outbursts during the summer. With one year left on his contract and with the club having just sold his midfield partner Kevin Nolan and, striker, Andy Carroll the Liverpudlian questioned the ambition and transfer policies of the club.

The club seeing his comments as little more than a tool to further his wage demands immediately placed Barton on the transfer list and intimated that he would be allowed to leave the club as a free transfer should any other team contact them about his availability such was their desire to remove his presence from the training ground and dressing room.

The midfielder then began something of a war of words with the club on Twitter where his comments had further impact as clubs began banning and censoring their players from the social networking site.

Newcastle's refusal to give in to Barton's wage demands and to remove him from the transfer list caused something of a transfer frenzy amongst the media, especially as Liverpool had just signed Jordan Henderson for £20 million with many feeling that Barton was a much better option.

Clubs like Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Everton, Aston Villa, Malaga, and Paris St. Germain were all immediately linked with potential moves for the player. However, only newly promoted Queens Park Rangers would contact the North East side over Barton's availability and with Newcastle still refusing to offer him a new contract it looks as if the midfielder could become Neil Warnock's first major signing of the season.

As the Premier League season kicked off Barton was sensationally returned to the team by Alan Pardew as Newcastle readied themselves to face the latest crisis club in the EPL, Arsenal.

True to form Barton was never too far from controversy.

Firstly Alex Song should have been sent off for stamping on the midfielders calf as he lay prone on the ground but the referee missed the incident. Before new Gunners signing Gervinho was tripped in the box as the referee waved play on.

In something of an ironic twist an irate Barton ran over to the prone Arsenal forward and dragged him up off the floor for diving. Gervinho then brushed his hand across Barton's cheek with a very feint slap but the Newcastle player immediately hit the ground as if he had been shot by a sniper.

Considering his actions just ten seconds previously this was an extremely bad show of form by the QPR bound player.

Many cynics believe that the entire episode at Newcastle was expertly orchestrated to get the player a free transfer to a larger club but as the potential move to QPR nears it looks as if the player could well be fighting in the relegation trenches come the end of the season.

The move comes as a huge surprise and has moved at such a pace that very few journalists had time to find out about the potential move. In the end, it was Barton's Twitter account, so often a well for stories, that revealed how far the move had gone.

He said; "Going for a medical now, still no contract offer from NUFC.......think that just about makes my mind up."

"Don't want to leave Newcastle........I've made that clear but my hands are tied."

As far as QPR is concerned they are getting a good player who just had, most probably, his best season of all time. His previous record on and off the pitch ruled that European chasing clubs had little or no interest in the player but he will definitely bring a certain bite to Warnock's midfield as they look to stay in the Premier League.

In a side story to the Barton move but one that could have far more significance as far as QPR is concerned the clubs new owner Tony Fernandes has announced "significant reductions and refunds on ticket prices throughout the club.

The size of the reductions have yet to be finalised but many feel the price of a season ticket at Loftus Road, which had increased by 40 percent, will be reduced dramatically.

The clubs newly appointed CEO, Phillip Beard, announced that;

"These changes show how serious we are about taking the fans' views on board."

"Ticket prices are imperative to the business structure and we are confident our supporters will react positively to the news and help make Loftus Road a fortress on match-days."

Beard then went one step further by announcing that match day tickets would also be reduced and that in certain sections of the ground children under 8-years-of-age would now gain entrance free of charge as long as they were with a paying adult.

All in all it has been a very good day for your average QPR fan.

Premier League Predictions: Champions, Top Four and Relegation

2011-08-13T04:35:00.000-07:00

The 2011-'12 Premier League season is already promising to be one of the most exciting of all time. For the first time ever there are six teams who can actually win the title and there are at least ten teams who could end up getting sucked into the relegation zone thus making the league one of the most competitive in recent years.

Here we take a look at the title race with Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea and the race for fourth with Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur as well as the relegation battle which could in all reality almost involve the rest of the league!

The Title Race:

As it stands, there are only really three viable contenders for this seasons Premier League title. Those being; Manchester United, Chelsea, and Manchester City.

Arsenal have declined since 2005, Liverpool just aren't of title chasing quality - just yet - and Spurs have stayed still after making huge progress since 2008.

United will, once again, be the team the best. They have a squad packed with experience, vitality, youth, and drive and they may just about have too much for an aging Chelsea squad and an inexperienced Manchester City squad to match.

If there is one weak spot it is the goalkeeper. Over the last two decades only two goalkeepers have cost more than £10 million and they were (Buffon £30 million, Peruzzi £10.5 million) both over a decade ago. Now, in 2011, Sir Alex Ferguson has chosen to sign 20-year-old David De Gea for £20 million. In short, never in the history of football has so much been spent or so much trust been placed on someone so young.

The pressure on the youngster will be immense. Last season he conceded more goals from outside the box than any other 'keeper in La Liga and if early form is any judge he will have to improve for United to claim the title.

If he doesn't, then Chelsea and Manchester City will be much closer to the title than they should be.

While De Gea may be under pressure, the very same can be said of Andre Villa Boas and Roberto Mancini.

Both managers will have hefty demands from their clubs respective billionaire owners and anything less than second place or significant progress will be deemed as failure.

The Blues boast the best defensive unit in the league, two of the best strikers in the world, a couple of teenage wonder-kids, and a midfield that is the teams strongest and weakest point at the same time.

Villa Boas utilised a 4-3-3 or 4-5-1 style formation while at Porto but in recent games he has experimented with a 4-2-3-1. However, the main thing to note of all these formations was that Frank Lampard played a much deeper role than usual.

Central midfield is where Chelsea are strongest but their game breaks down when "wide" teams attack down the flanks and it will be interesting to see how the Portuguese manager remedies this aspect of the team.

Last year, everything fell apart in November when the Pensioners' "spine" all got injured at the same time. That won't happen again this season, but it is too much to expect these aging players to go the whole season without missing the odd game here or there. If that happens, they just don't have the strength in depth to hold off potential challengers.

Manchester City's problems will all be caused by Roberto Mancini's negative tactics. Sheikh Monsour could not have bought the club at a better time. Liverpool were in the middle of imploding whilst Arsenal were decling slowly and without a huge amount of effort, the Citizens are now guaranteed top four material.

They are an incredibly tough unit to break down and have made a habit of brushing weaker opposition away but they still seem to be missing that vital x-factor to win the title. Kun Aguero may just have it but it is too much to ask the mercurial Argentinian to produce world class performances every week in his first season. Maybe next year...

The Battle For 4th:

There are only really four challengers for 4th spot. Arsenal are the current favourites to hold on, despite the imminent sales of Fabregas and Nasri. Liverpool seem to be coming from the back like a train and have built huge momentum since Kenny Dalglish took over eight months ago. While Spurs and Everton remain the outside bets to upset the applecart.

Arsenal have dropped away from the front runners over the last couple of years and will be further separated from the contenders if and when Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri leave. With Fabregas in the side the Gunners have averaged 2.01 pts per game since he joined in 2003. Without him they average 1.65 pts per game. Tallied up and over 38 games that would leave Arsenal with 62 pts, just outside the top four.

It is for this very reason that bookmakers have placed a top four without the Gunners at 11/4.

Liverpool seem to be every body's favourite to take 4th place from Arsene Wenger's side but defensive frailties and a lack of pace through midfield may detract from the beginnings of a fine squad.

The signing of Jose Enrique from Newcastle will do wonders to shore up the problem left back area while Martin Kelly's progress remains one of the highlights of Dalglish's excellent time at the club.

The Reds are the best equipped club to break back into the top four but they will still need to play to their full capacity and rely upon Arsenal having another poor season.

Kenny Dalglish now boasts the largest collection of midfielders this side of Jupiter and one wonders who is going to miss out. Whichever way you look at it the canny Scot can only pick four players considering he must play Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez in his team.

So who out of Adam, Henderson, Downing, Lucas, Gerrard and Kuyt will miss out? Never mind the cast of thousands sitting in the bench. (Aquilani, Shelvey, Spearing, Meirales, Cole, Rodrigues, Poulsen, El Zhar)

In Luis Suarez they possess a mercurial talent. He has been in phenomenal form since joining in January and is already the heartbeat of the team. However, the striker has not rested now in almost three seasons and Liverpool will need to rest him adequately after his heroics in the Copa America this summer and the World Cup last summer.

Spurs are in a similar position to Liverpool in that they have a squad capable of getting the top four but they will also need results to go their way elsewhere. Defensively they are solid enough. Brad Friedel's signing makes a lot of sense as he will undoubtedly improve upon Heurelho Gomes' disastrous season last term. He will provide the foundation for a defence that should include Kyle Walker, Michael Dawon, Benoit Assou-Ekotto and the walking injury that is Ledley King.

If Harry redknapp can get these four out every week his team will have a great chance of doing well this year. Midfield wise they will always create chances with players like Bale, Modric and Lennon in the set up but it is very surprising to find Wilson Palacios linked with a move away from the club. With the Honduran in the team last year Spurs won 55 percent of their matches. Without him they only won 35 percent.

The forward line is causing all kinds of headaches for Redkapp. Rafael van der Vaart is too good to leave out of the team so he has to play every week. However, the Dutchman cannot play in a traditional 4-4-2 so that means playing a lone striker beside him. Peter Crouch has no pace, Jermain Defoe does not have the right link up skills and Roman Pavlyuchenko does not seem to be trusted, even though he has the best striking record of all of Tottenham's forwards, so 'Arry is scouring Europe for a big man with pace.

Given Chelsea's recent signature of Romelu Lukaku and their want to sign Luka Modric it is very surprising to find that Spurs have not requested a swap deal involving Daniel Sturridge or Didier Drogba plus cash. If they got either or both of those two players they would push Arsenal and Liverpool all the way for fourth and maybe even push for third.

At this moment in time, Everton are the only side in the Premier League not to have spent any money. Everyone knows the restrictions David Moyes is under at Goodison and season after season he produces teams that push for Europe very very hard.

This however could be his last year as Everton manager.

Rumour has it that Harry Redknapp is guaranteed to take over from Fabio Capello after Euro 2012 and the Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is a huge fan of Moyes...

The Relegation Zone:

Gravity has a way of making even the strangest man weak and the old saying of what goes up must come down is not too far away in describing this years relegation battle in the EPL.

You can find QPR, Norwich, and Swansea to be relegated at 16/1 with most bookmakers and on paper it looks like an excellent bet. None of the sides have strengthened significantly during the summer and much will be asked of the three respective managers.

This season, most probably, represents Neil Warnock's last tilt at the Premier League and having won promotion on eight different occasions he will do everything in his power to avoid an eighth relegation. Unfortunately, QPR just don't have the funds and they should struggle all season.

The challenge for Paul Lambert and Brendan Rogers is completely different. Both are hailed as up and coming talents in the game and both are seen as the main reason for their respective teams' promotions. They are both ambitious managers who will want to see their reputations rise but to do that they will have to play good football and keep their teams in up.

This will be no easy task given the finances on offer but Lambert does appear to be in the best position as Norwich are a very well run club who have accepted life as a yo-yo club with the obvious aim of securing Premiership status when it happens.

Outside of the promoted trio there are a number of clubs who could struggle. In recent years the relegation battle has sucked in as many as ten teams before the dust finally settled, and expect more of the same this term.

Blackburn, Bolton, West Brom, Wigan, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Wolves will make up the rest of the relegation zone this year with Bolton offering exceptional value at 11/2 to go down.

Owen Coyle did very well last year but his team struggled to score goals, 52 across 38 games, and since then they have lost Johan Elmander and Daniel Sturridge who contributed 18 goals between them. Neither has been replaced and now their best creative midfielder, Lee Chung-Yong, is out injured for nine months.

Wolves and West Brom are easily the two best sides of the bottom grouping and both managers have added astute signings during the summer. Shane Long will score goals for Roy Hodgson while Roger Johnsen will keep them out for Mick McCarthy. Both teams should avoid relegation with Wolves in particular showing they have the ability to push into the top half of the table.

Blackburn boss Steve Kean is facing another tough season. The 1995 Premier League champions have a poor to average squad and face an uphill battle if Christopher Samba joins Spurs or Arsenal as expected. And from there it is hard to see Rovers scoring enough or keeping goals out.

Alex McLeish is already on rocky ground as Aston Villa manager and having lost Ashley Young and Stewart Downing they could struggle to score goals. However, Mark Albrighton and Charles N'Zogbia should provide the chances for Darren Bent to score and they should have enough to avoid being sucked into battle come May.

Newcastle seem to be gambling upon the promoted teams being significantly weaker than they are but selling their best players is not the way to confirm this. Last seasons spectacular success has been undermined by the sales of Kevin Nolan, Andy Carroll, Jose Enrique and the impending departure of Joey Barton and now they go into the season without any real striking options and a significantly weakened midfield, not to mention an incredibly low morale.

Roberto Martinez and Wigan have flirted with relegation for the last couple of seasons are they are heavily reliant upon keeping their main players fit and healthy. Should they lose Hugo Rodeallega, Ali Al Habsi or even James McCarthy for a significant part of the season they could go down.

Predicted Premier League Table May 2012

C. Manchester City (Manchester United)

2. Manchester United (Manchester City)
3. Chelsea (Spurs)
4. Liverpool (Spurs) (Arsenal) (Chelsea)

5. Arsenal (Liverpool) (Spurs)
6. Spurs (Liverpool) (Arsenal)

Midtable: 7 - 14

Stoke City , Everton, Sunderland, Fulham, Wolves, West Brom, Aston Villa

Relegation Zone:

Wigan
Newcastle
Norwich
Swansea

R. QPR
R. Bolton
R. Blackburn

Cesc Fabregas, Arsene Wenger and Pep Guardiola Sing "Wish You Were Here" As He Signs For Barcelona

2011-08-12T06:08:00.000-07:00

The Cesc Fabregas Arsenal/Barcelona love triangle/transfer saga which has run for nigh on three years now finally looks to have come to an end. The Spanish midfielder put the last nail in his career as an Arsenal player when he chose to forego a £5 million bonus from the North London side. From there, negotiations were easy.

Here is a transcript of the final transfer negotiation between Arsene Wenger, Pep Guardiola and Cesc Fabregas to the tune of "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd.

Wenger: So, so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell,
Guardiola: Blue sky's from pain.
Wenger: Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?
Fabregas: A smile from a veil?
Guardiola: Do you think you can tell?

Wenger: And did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts?
Guardiola: Hot ashes for trees?
Wenger: Hot air for a cool breeze?
Fabregas: Cold comfort for change?
Guardiola: And did you exchange walk on part in the war?
Fabregas: For a lead role in a cage?

Guardiola: How I wish, how I wish you were here.
Wenger: We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl,
Fabregas: Year after year,
Guardiola: Running over the same old ground.
Wenger: What have we found?
Guardiola: The same old fears.
Fabregas: Wish you were here...

EPL 2011/12 Preview: Arsenal May Struggle To Stay Top Four

2011-08-01T16:43:00.000-07:00

Under normal circumstances the old Gunners' cry of "this will be our year" would be on the tips of many Arsenal fans' tongues. However, the likelihood of Arsene Wenger leading his troops to the title looks to be about as far away as it ever has, if not further.

Since 2005, Arsenal has slowly slipped backwards every season. Their decline from greatness has even become something of a perverse form of Chinese water torture for many of the Gunners fans, as they are now significantly lagging behind not only Manchester United and Chelsea but Manchester City too.

For the last two seasons running, the Gunners has finished 12 points behind the eventual winners.

For the fans this is hard to take. Unfortunately, the same can not be said of the board, and maybe even Arsene Wenger, who all seem more than happy to see the North London outfit perform well in the profit margins. In short, there is a diametric difference between the fans and board.

In May, Wenger said that despite everything the season had still been a successful one for the Gunners. This of course, was the Frenchman's last throw of the dice with his squad as he tried to psychologically stimulate his shell-shocked troops. When his words had no effect he eventually admitted that the 2010-'11 season had been the toughest of his career.

He said; "The last (season) was the toughest season in my career.

"Emotionally, it was very difficult because we were on a low and then you could see the last three or four weeks were very difficult."

Arsenal only won three from 15 after losing to relegated Birmingham City in the Carling Cup Final.
To put it succinctly, the Gunners season crashed a burned after March 1.

Now, as we head towards the 2011-'12 season and turn over a new leaf, Arsenal should be chomping at the bit ready to go.

Instead, we have had to endure a summer of transfer speculation as players refused to commit their futures to the club and in doing so they have sapped the confidence of the club. And when you play a style of football where confidence is its very foundation, it means the following season is already looking like an uphill battle.

Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, arguably the clubs two best players have both stated their intentions to move on to try and win something while they still can. For Fabregas, that means his on/off transfer/love affair with Barcelona is back on the cards and realistically it should be wrapped up before the transfer window closes.

The problem for Arsenal here, and Wenger knows this, is that Barca have the required £40 million in their bank accounts ready for the deal. But they will drag the negotiations on as long as possible in order to reduce the fee by as much as possible.

This leaves the Gunners in an awkward place, there is no guarantee that the deal will go through so; do they replace Fabregas now with money they don't necessarily have? And face his fee being negotiated down as a result of now needing to sell him.

Or do they wait until deadline day for the £40 million and hope to replace their captain with whoever is available?

Because no matter which way you look at Wenger's squad, there is no ready made replacement for the Spaniard.

Then we have Nasri, Eboue, and Bendtner's potential transfers, before we even mention the departure of Gael Clichy to Manchester City or Denilson's loan move to Sao Paulo in Brazil.

All is not well at the Emirates.

Last season Arsenal was some way behind their rivals in terms of squad strength and there were numerous areas of the pitch that needed strengthening. Not one player of stature was added to the team last year and the Gunners found themselves slipping backwards.

This summer has only seen two arrivals, Carl Jenkinson from Charlton and Gervinho from Lille for a combined fee of £11.5 million between them.

Again, they both look like classic Wenger signings, but neither will improve the team enough for a title bid.
And if you believe everything you read, Gervinho had already stated his intent to improve under Wenger before moving on to bigger and better things!

The More Things Change The More They Stay The Same

Like every season since 2003, Arsenal needs a top quality goal keeper.

In previous years the thinking was that if the Gunners were going to challenge for the title they needed to have someone of stature between the posts and since 2005 that has not been the case. Last season the goalkeeping issue was a major point of concern for football pundits and Arsenal fans alike and the lack of depth in that position was one of the deciding factors in the Gunners eventual 4th placed finish.

However, when all things are considered, Arsenal do not need that player this because they will not win the league. Many openly questioned the wisdom of selling Clichy to Manchester City without taking Shay Given plus cash but why bring in a top class 'keeper when the rest of the team is not up to scratch?

His arrival would only stunt the development of Wojciech Szczesny. Last term the young Pole was one of the season’s great positives and he has done enough to warrant his inclusion for the foreseeable.

Defence was a problem last year and once again it will provide more than its fair share again. A quick glance at the Gunners squad reveals only six players of regular first team quality, and only two of those are full backs.
Thomas Vermaelan will return to bolster the defence and in all probability he will also take the captains armband should Fabregas decide to leave, while Sagna and Kieran Gibbs will provide the width on either side of the four man defence.

The only real question Wenger has to ask of his defence at the moment is who to go with between Djourou, Squillaci and Koscielny. Thankfully Squillaci seems consigned to the bench while a blind man could tell you to go for the reliable Swiss.

However, the haphazard Koscielny started both games in the recent Emirates Cup so the only real thing you can take from that is that Wenger isn't sure about who to trust with Vermaelan and he may yet look to bolster his backline with a centre half of Gary Cahill type qualities, especially if he is nervous about dropping out of the top four.

That may come to pass if Spurs or Liverpool can strengthen significantly in certain areas, for Tottenham that means a new centre forward while the Reds will be looking to improve a one-paced defensive unit.

Midfield wise, the arrival of Jack Wilshire solved many problems but no sooner has the 19-year-old bedded in and it looks like his preferred partners, Nasri and Fabregas are both moving on. This will leave Wenger with significant ground to cover. Wilshire, phenomenal talent that he is, is still learning his trade and badly needs some experience beside him to help him out when times get rough.

Alex Song is not that kind of player, and if Fabregas moves on much will be expected of the Cameroonian in terms of leadership and most importantly, creativity. Nasri may stay and rotate with Aaron Ramsey or Abou Diaby but that will still leave the Gunners extremely light weight through the middle, especially if, as expected, Theo Walcott and Andrei Arshavin are positioned out wide.

So once again, midfield will be a problem area.

In the longer term, Wilshire's arrival may mean Wenger could revert to a 4-4-2 away from the 4-5-1/4-3-3 that he has used over the last couple of seasons.

Up front, Arsenal fans will have great hopes for Gervinho.

The Ivory Coast international is not the most prolific of strikers, he only scored 50 goals in 160 games in France, a much weaker league, but he is physically strong, if not tall - he stands at 5' 10", and he may be just what Arsene Wenger needs if the Gunners are moving towards a more counter attacking style of football with van Persie dropping off as a link.

But when all is said and done, Arsenal has not improved enough to win the league and they still face the prospect of moving ever backwards again, if they lose certain players.

Arsenal's Most Important Player 2011/12: Thomas Vermaelan

The Belgian international has not featured for Arsenal in the EPL since making his 50th appearance for the club last August against Blackburn Rovers and since then a lot of water has passed under the bridge.

Manuel Almunia is no longer first choice 'keeper, Gael Clichy has joined rivals Man City, and the clubs best two midfielders have stated their intentions to leave so Vermaelan does not return to a happy dressing room.

However, his level of assured performances and leadership skills could have a huge effect on the younger players in the Arsenal dressing room and the 25-year-old may just be the leader the club has been crying out for over the last six years.

If Wenger can keep his prized defender off the treatment table and make significant additions then Arsenal will have a great chance of progressing well in the cup competitions and perhaps sneaking past City if the Champions League takes too much of the Citizens attentions.

Arsenal's Player to Watch 2011/12: Wojciech Szczesny.

If Wenger does not strengthen his defence and midfield the 21-year-old from Warsaw will have an incredibly tough season. And even if Wenger does bring in the required reinforcements the youngster will still be his team’s last line of defence.

Wenger likes his "kids" growing up over the course of a couple of seasons before they are introduced as first team regulars, Szczesny will have to do that and more this year. So far he has only played 15 games for the Gunners but in that short time he has shown that is far more adept in the dark arts of goalkeeping that either of his chief rivals Manual Almunia or Lukasz Fabianski. A big season beckons, especially with Euro 2012 kicking off in Poland in June.

Arsenal Prediction 2010/11: 4th to 6th

The Gunners have stood still this summer. Perhaps the paralyzing effect of Fabregas and Nasri wanting to leave has helped stay Arsene Wenger's hand in the transfer window but instead of needing three to four players to challenge for the title Arsenal now face the prospect of needing five or six.

Confidence has been allowed to ebb away from the team, as their recent performances in the Emirates Cup prove, and if Arsene Wenger thought last season was challenging, well he hasn't seen anything yet.
On their day, Arsenal is a match for anyone. Having only lost by the odd goal to Barcelona in the Last-16 and having seen the EPL Champions Manchester United decimated by Barca in the final, hopes should have been high for the new season.

Instead there is a dark ominous cloud hanging over the club. A whopping 69 percent of Arsenal fans reckon that Arsene Wenger's football philosophy takes too much precedence over winning trophies while 42 percent of fans feel that if the club finish the 2011-'12 season trophy-less that the Frenchman will have taken the club as far as he can.

There is no way around it, this is a make or break season for the club.

Spurs and Liverpool are hot on Arsenal's tails while Manchester United, Chelsea, and Manchester City can all either boast more experience, more money, or bigger squads.

For Arsenal to win the league they need three to four clubs to collapse while their own players go the season without any major injuries or mistakes. Looking at their defence and Robin van Persie, who averages 23 to 24 games a season, that just isn't going to happen.

4th place should be guaranteed unless Spurs can add a Didier Drogba style striker to their forward line while Liverpool badly needs some wide midfielders and perhaps one or two defenders. Because if Harry Redknapp and Kenny Dalglish can do the business in the transfer market then this could be the first time since 1996 that Arsenal finish outside the top four.

Manchester City Etihad Stadium Deal: Evading Financial Fair Play?

2011-07-17T16:16:00.000-07:00

Liverpool's managing director Ian Ayre has joined up with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and Liverpool's owner John W. Henry in criticising Manchester City's recent £400 million sponsorship deal with Etihad Airlines.

All three have now called for the sponsorship deal to be investigated by UEFA as it now looks as if the stadium sponsorship monies will allow Manchester City to balance their books, thus falling in line with UEFA's new Financial Fair Play rules which will come in from next season.

Under FFP, UEFA hope to instil financial discipline upon its members as "it seeks to curb spiralling transfer fees, player salaries and other outgoings that have endangered European club football for some years now."

The rules have been implemented in a phased basis over the last couple of years with the main body of rules coming into effect at the end of the financial year 2012. 2012 is especially important as this is the date that UEFA have stated that teams must begin to "break-even" and that clubs who do not fulfil this requirement can be sanctioned by 2013 on the basis of financial information garnered by UEFA over the previous two seasons.

Concerns have now been raised in numerous corners of the game that Etihad's sponsorship deal of the Eastland Stadium is nothing short of "financial doping."

When the news of the City deal was announced it was put to Arsene Wenger while in Kuala Lumpar with Arsenal on a pre-season tour.

As one of the leading clubs in the EPL, the Gunners recently signed a 15-year deal with Emirates Airlines worth £90 million.

"It raises the real question about the credibility of the Financial Fair Play," said Wenger.

"That is what it is all about.

"They give us the message they can get around it by doing what we want.

"It means the Financial Fair Play will not come in. It is as simple as that.

"I can understand how they do it but it raises the real question - the difficulty and the credibility of the Financial Fair Play is at stake.

"The sponsorship has to be at the market price if the Financial Fair Play is to have a chance."

Manchester City's £400m 10-year deal with Etihad dwarfs Arsenal's £90 million 15-year deal with rival airline Emirates. Although investors are now wondering about the financial validity of the Arsenal deal which sees them tied up until 2019.

The Arsenal manager continued "The sponsorship has to be at the market price, it cannot be doubled, tripled or quadrupled. That means it is better we don't do it and leave everybody free. That can be defended as well, but if they bring the rules in they have to be respected.

"He [Platini] is very strongly determined on that. He is not stupid; he knows that some clubs will try to get around that.

"At the moment I believe they are studying, behind closed doors, how they can really strongly check it.

"That is his big test, yes. I don't know if it is the market price."

Manchester City immediately hit back at Wenger's comments and denied his assertions rigorously.

"The financial details of the comprehensive agreement announced last week between Manchester City and Etihad Airways remain confidential and figures being speculated about are not accurate," said a club spokesman.

"Manchester City is a pro-active member of the European Clubs Association and is working actively and with transparency with regard to financial fair play.

"In light of these facts, recent comments about the partnership by some observers are unfounded and regrettable."

Wenger, however, found some allies in the unlikeliest of sources as John W. Henry waded into the war of words by backing the Arsenal boss on his Twitter account.

Asking firstly "How much was the losing bid?"

And then adding, "A club's best player has to be worth at least 10% of your naming rights. Mr. Wenger says boldly what everyone thinks."

Under the terms of their deal with Emirates, Arsenal will receive £48 million for shirt sponsorship and stadium naming rights worth £2.8 million per year. While Manchester City already receive £2.3 million per year for shirt sponsorship from Etihad. Thus making the stadium deal worth £40 million per year, just over 14 times greater than the Emirates deal.

Ian Ayre, also in Kuala Lumpar with Liverpool spoke with The Independent and also offered frank views on the City deal.

"Is Etihad, Manchester City and Sheikh Mansour a related party?" asked Ayre. "If they are, then it's up to Uefa to rule on them."

Etihad are run by the Abu Dhabi government who have extremely close links with the Abu Dhabi royal family of which Sheik Mansour is a part.

"When I spoke at Soccerex earlier this year, I was on a panel about financial fair play. The guys from Uefa who are managing it said there would be a robust and proper process about related-party transactions."

Ayre went to draw comparisons between sponsorship deals on new stadiums, like Arsenal's, and the frivolous payment of monies to sponsor stadiums already well known to the public. In short the sponsorship is wasted as the general public will always refer to the stadium by its old name.

"It hasn't happened anywhere in Europe," he continued, "where a football club has renamed its existing stadium and it's had real value. It was called the City of Manchester Stadium or Eastlands for the last nine years and now it's going to be called something else? And someone has attached a huge amount of value to that?

"I find that odd because there is no benchmark in football that says you can rename your stadium and generate that amount of value.

"Mike Ashley tried it at Newcastle [calling his stadium Sports Direct.com@ St James' Park]. But nobody calls it that and it doesn't have that kind of value."

Considering that Manchester City have posted yet another loss since the Abu Dhabi United Group took over in 2008, some £121 million and that Etihad have yet to post a profit in their brief history since 2004 it would seem that UEFA must act in this latest case of sponsorship.

On the surface it looks as if Sheik Mansour is artificially inflating Manchester City's finances to bring the club in line with UEFA and FFP. Close study of the rules would suggest that UEFA will have grounds to investigate the deal. But how they decide to rule is anyone's guess.

Back in October David Conn of the Guardian newspaper met with Garry Cook and Brian Marwood at Manchester City with a view to talking about their finances. The general consensus from these meetings was that City were quite happy with their current squad and were making moves towards financial stability.

Cook stressed; "The plan is to grow the financial revenues further, control costs, and have young players come through eventually to replace some senior players.

"We want to be sustainable, and intend to comply with financial fair play."

Indeed, Victoria Kloss, Manchester City's Chief Communications Officer, even met with UEFA officials to explain Sheik Mansour's investment strategy for the club and to explain their most recent losses.

However Gianni Infantino of UEFA, albeit speaking on FFP and Not City individually, issued this chilley warning.

"There may be intermediate measures [before the rules are completely set up]; we would have to ask why, maybe there would be a warning, but we would bar clubs in breach of the rules from playing in the Champions League or the Europa League. Otherwise, we lose all credibility."

Then in speaking on the award winning Football Weekly Pod-cast with James Richardson it was put to David Conn that the Abu Dhabi United Group were so rich that they could sponsor the club to incredulous amounts to by-pass FFP.

He replied that he had gone through UEFA's 85 page rule book and that the rules stress that clubs must live within their means and then he offered an example...

"If suddenly Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, one of City's sponsors, decided to sponsor City to the tune of £100 million a year. Then UEFA can clearly say that that is not the market value and [that] it's not real and genuine."

The lines seem to have been drawn on both sides of the divide. UEFA are clearly intent on stopping clubs from spending outside their means. Think Leeds United, Portsmouth, and Mallorca. All these clubs vastly over spent and could not meet their debts.

However, Manchester City offers something else. They are the richest club in the world and are basically debt free while spending their owner’s money. It is a vastly different situation than the previous examples and UEFA are going to have to find a way to enforce the rules while, most probably, letting overspending but rich clubs go free.

Because some commentators feel that FFP is just the latest tool to keep the distance between the haves and the have nots...

Liam Gallagher Sings Blue Moon to Promote Manchester City's New Jersey

2011-07-16T00:01:00.000-07:00

Everyone already knows that Manchester City has more money than every other team on the planet put together and just to prove it; they've hired Liam Gallagher and Beady Eye to sing "Blue Moon" in an MTV style video to promote their new jersey for the coming season...

Unsurprisingly, the ex-Oasis front-man gives a moody vesion of the Rodgers and Hart 1934 classic before launching into Beady Eye's 'The Beat Goes On.'

Some fans even went as far as to say that the music video was Kubrickesque, although how they jumped to that conclusion is anyone's guess. Maybe they had their 'Eyes Wide Shut' when they should have been concentrating on City's 'Paths to Glory'...

Anyway, for those who are interested. The jersey is still the exact same as last season and is still sponsored by United. (Etihad's meaning.)

The Premier League Changes Its "Weakened Teams" Rule

2011-07-15T11:05:00.000-07:00

Premier League clubs have voted to change the rules regarding "weakened teams" in competitive EPL matches. After the June EPL AGM, clubs have now decided that any manager can field any combination of players once they are named from their initial 25-man squad.

This move follows Wolves and Blackpool being fined and for fielding so called weakened sides during games in 2009 and 2010.

Last season Blackpool were fined £25,000 after manager Ian Holloway made 10 changes for a match at Aston Villa having drawn 2-2 with Everton in the previous game.

Back in December 2009 Wolves were handed a suspended fine after boss Mick McCarthy rotated his entire squad for their game at Manchester United.

Both managers were pilloried by Arsene Wenger at the respective times. The Gunners boss took particular exception to Wolves fielding a weakened side at Old Trafford and even went as far as to say that the very credibility of the league was being called into question after McCarthy's selection.

Wenger said, "We will have to compete with Manchester United over 37 games instead of 38. I believe it is a problem for the international credibility of the Premier League, but it is not my problem, it is a Premier League problem."

The decision by McCarthy to change his team caused a major head-ache for Premier League bosses as Wenger's incendiary comments started something of a war of words that took in managers like Tony Pulis, Carlo Ancelotti, Phil Brown, Sir Alex Ferguson, and Owen Coyle, who all backed McCarthy's decision to do what he saw best for his team.

"Wenger is moaning like a drain because it doesn't suit Arsenal," said Tony Pulis, the Stoke manager. "He ain't moaning because it doesn't suit Stoke.

"The players Mick played, most of them are seasoned professionals -- he hasn't played the youth team."

Wenger's criticism of Wolves and McCarthy came across as somewhat contradictory and hypocritical as the under pressure Frenchman regularly plays weakened sides in cup competitions.

Blackpool were fined £25,000 in 2011 after Holloway was found guilty of repeating McCarthy's earlier crime, with many managers, once again, criticizing the ruling as it did not take the new 25-man squad rule into account.

At the beginning of the 2010-'11 season the EPL governing body enforced a 25-man selection squad upon managers but then deemed to forget about the "weakened side" rule. So when Ian Holloway named a much changed side for the Villa defeat he stayed inside the greater ruling but seemingly broke the minor one, thus incurring a penalty.

The decision to fine Blackpool was quite rightly ridiculed as the Seasiders unluckily 3-2 to Aston Villa.

Manager Ian Holloway was incandescent at the time and defended his selection rigorously saying "I've got every right to do what I like. Who are they to tell me my players are not good enough?"

The vote to change the rule was unanimously passed with, EPL head of communications, Dan Johnson confirming that every club voted in favour of the rule change.

The rule, however, has not been completely changed. Clubs will still be at risk of receiving a fine if they select players outside their initial 25-man squad.

This latest change to the ruling will go someway to alleviate the confusion of having to name a definitive 25-man squad when many clubs have up to 40 or 50 players on their books. Although, it will be interesting to see how the EPL reacts when clubs select U-21 players.

Under the 25-man squad rules clubs can play an unlimited amount of U-21 players outside the original named players. In the view of this clause, clubs like Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Arsenal will be in a position to exploit the rule by signing up youth level players of international calibre and will be able to leave them outside the named squad thus giving their respective clubs a huge advantage over other clubs in the Premier League.

For example, Mario Balotelli was signed by Manchester City for £24 million just weeks before the squad deadline last season but as he was 20 at the time he was able to play for City without impunity. Effectively his signing gave Roberto Mancini a larger squad.

By installing the 25-man squad rule, the EPL has taken the first step towards more home grown talent making the breakthrough to professional football. Of course, Premier League teams can circumvent this by buying young foreign talent, of the likes of Arsenal signing Cesc Fabregas at 16, and by the time the player comes of age the youngster will be naturalized and will count as a home grown player as far as the league is concerned.

If clubs flagrantly abuse this loop-hole the EPL will have no other choice but to narrow this avenue and all the while British teenagers prices will almost definitely continue to rise.

Bayern Munich Set to Sign Tranmere Wunderkind Dale Jennings

2011-07-04T12:27:00.000-07:00

While the world and its sister watches Cesc Fabregas and his on/off Arsenal/Barcelona transfer with the kind of scrutiny one could associate with a microscope, Tranmere youngster Dale Jennings has stolen a jump on the Spanish star and now sits on the verge of completing the summers most amazing transfer deal.

With the two sides having agreed on a transfer fee of something in the region of £1.8 million, the youth will now travel to Munchen to undergo his medical at and within the next 24 hours the ex-Liverpool winger should become the latest player to join German giants Bayern Munich.

Jennings began his football career at Liverpool where he represented the Reds at schoolboy level. Unfortunately he was released at 15 years of age and after trials with a number of clubs he was snapped up by Super Whites.

In October, Tranmere Youth Coach Shaun Garnett told BBC Radio Merseyside that

"Dale has a great story for any boy who suffers rejection. We picked Dale up when he was 15, having been released from Liverpool and having down the rounds at other clubs.

"He came to us on trial and right away he was as good as we had and you could see the potential from the start..."

One of the most amazing aspects of Jennings transfer to Bayern Munich is that he only made his debut against Charlton Athletic in September. Such were the levels of performance by the teenager that he went on to play 29 games in the 2010/'11 season with just four of those games coming from the bench.

In October, he went on to win the "Apprentice of the Month" award from the PFA before claiming the award again in March. He then won the League One "Apprentice of the Year" award at the seasons end. Following his impressive early displays, that saw him score four goals in just 11 games, Tranmere tied Jennings down to a professional contract in October, but only until June 2012.

After Jennings claimed the October award Tranmere Youth Coach Shaun Garnett told BBC Radio Merseyside that "Dale has a great story for any boy who suffers rejection. We picked Dale up when he was 15, having been released from Liverpool and having down the rounds at other clubs.

"He came to us on trial and right away he was as good as we had and you could see the potential from the start..."

Interest in the prodigious youth began to rise in November following his wonder goal against Plymouth Argyle and all of a sudden scouts from the Championship, Premiership and across Europe started to frequent Prenton Park. Considering that scouts from Sunderland, Fulham, Watford, West Brom and Everton were all at that faithful match shows just how far Jennings had come in just a handful of games.

In January, Tranmere turned down an undisclosed an offer from an unnamed Premier League side and then rebuffed a couple of low bids from the Championship. So with no signs of interest in the player waning, Bayern Munich contacted the club in May about the availability of the youngster.

Jennings was immediately keen on the deal being pushed through and from an early bid of around £500,000 negotiations were easy and rose to £1.8 million including add-ons.

"Dale is keen to go over there," said Tranmere manager Les Parry.

"There were more scouts than home fans at games [and] Dale is an exceptional player. He scores goals and runs at people at pace, and defenders don't like that.

"Bayern have made us a very good offer for Dale and we don't want to stand in his way of making this incredible move.

"When a club with the size and history of Bayern come in for you it's the opportunity of a lifetime and I wish Dale all the best should the transfer happen.

"It also says a lot about the club's youth system that one of the giants of European football is interested in signing one of our players.

"If you look back at the number of young players who have had the chance to go abroad to one of the giants of Europe, there's very few English players who have done that.

"It's a fantastic opportunity for him.

"You don't pay that sort of money for a player and don't look after him so he'll be well looked after."

Jennings, reminiscent of a young Thomas Muller, is a powerfully built winger with good technique, great maturity and is blessed with an impressive work ethic to boot. And while the temptation in England is to move powerfully built players inside, Bayern will allow the player to naturally develop his wide playing skills regardless of physical size.

Think Emile Heskey as one of the best young wide players in the game before he was told to bulk up to become a lumbering centre forward.

It is very surprising to find that Bayern Munich have snapped the youngster up without having to fend off interest from Premier League sides as Jennings undoubtedly personifies the kind of youth player that almost every team are looking for.

When you consider that Liverpool and Everton would have been more than aware of Jennings as a player it is quite incredible that they allowed the youngster to leave their incredible sphere of influence.

There can be little doubt that Bayern Munich will coach and train Jennings in the correct manner and that the expectations placed upon his young shoulders will be immense when compared to those at Tranmere or indeed at lesser Premier League teams.

The demands at Bayern

Jennings, in his brief 29 game career, has already shown that he has the patience and attitude to succeed and that he also has a never say die approach. All of which are evident from his release from Liverpool at 15 to when he dropped down a couple of leagues to make his debut with Tranmere at 17.

He now moves onto the next phase of his career and the great beyond and adventure that is life in Germany with Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller, Paul Breitner, Uli Hoeness, and Jupp Heynckes.

Hold The Back Page PODCAST: Robbie Keane / Andre Villa Boas / Ashley Young / Luka Modric / Cesc Fabregas / England U21's

2011-06-25T16:35:00.000-07:00

Willie Gannon’s two part feature on Robbie Keane attracted a lot of attention on BackPage Football during the week and the lads chat about the pros and cons of Ireland’s record goalscorer. Keane has always divided opinions, and those of the podcast are no different!

In the second segment of this week’s show, there’s chat over Ashley Young’s move to Manchester United from Aston Villa, the appointment of Andre Villa Boas at Chelsea, and the latest from the ongoing Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona saga.

To round off this week there’s a look at the England under 21s and their dismal European Championship campaign and how it reflects the bigger picture of the nation’s international set up.

Don’t forget, you can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes.

Old Alex Ferguson to Sign Young as he Builds His Final Team at United

2011-06-22T15:35:00.000-07:00

Ashley Young's long proposed transfer from Aston Villa to Manchester United has moved one step closer after the England international passed a medical at Old Trafford on Wednesday. The attack minded midfielder is already said to have agreed terms with the Red Devils and it is now only a matter of time before he is officially unveiled as a United player.

The final stumbling block is the protracted negotiations between the two clubs where the issue is more or less closed with only the "i's" to dot and the "t's" to cross before the expected £17 million exchanges hands.

Initially seen as something of a "one trick pony," Young has been primarily used as a winger during his five years at Watford and during the Martin O'Neill regime at Villa. However, upon taking over Gerard Houllier changed the system slightly and moved the 25-year-old inside to much critical acclaim.

This increased level of performance and new found tactical flexibility immediately aroused the interest of some of some of the Premier League's top managers and it was not long before Young was being linked with potential moves to long time admirers Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Manchester United.

Gareth Bale's and Rafael van der Vaart's emergence at Spurs meant that Harry Redknapp's interest had dwindled substantially and with Kenny Dalglish and Liverpool registering an interest in the player it only seemed a matter of time before Sir Alex Ferguson became involved in a transfer tug-of-war involving the player.

The Red Devils had already gazumped the Reds to the signature of Phil Jones earlier this month when the Blackburn prodigy agreed upon a £16.5 million deal despite an 11th hour bid to swing the deal back in their favour by Liverpool.

Young's signing is seen by many as the final nail in the career of Luis Nani at Old Trafford. Despite having his best season ever in a red jersey, rumours of his transfer to Inter Milan as part of a swap deal for Wesley Sneijder have been rampant in Portugal since the Champions League final.

The move could also signal the departure of Dimitar Berbatov. The Bulgarian has also just enjoyed his best ever season in at United, top scorer in the Premier League with 21 goals, but it is abundantly clear that Sir Alex Ferguson does not trust the player as he is always dropped for the big games. The latest of these public snubs saw the striker dropped from the match squad completely for the Champions League Final defeat to Barcelona in May.

The arrival of the ex-Watford star will provide Ferguson with added tactical variations in the potential set-up of his team as he is comfortable on either wing and as an advanced attacking midfielder.

The one question mark against Young is his experience. At 25 his knowledge of top level European and international football is limited and in this regard he is something of a large gamble by Ferguson as he continues this transitional period at the club.

A deal has also been put in place for the Spain Under-21 international goalkeeper David de Gea to join from Atlético Madrid although recent rumours suggest that the transfer has hit some kind of snag that either suggests that the deal may not go through before the season starts or that the young replacement for Edwin van der Sar may decide to stay for one more year at Atlético.

If the 'keeper does sign then Ferguson's spending will have already reached £50 million before a cone is even kicked in pre-season training. And when you consider that Darron Gibson should be a Sunderland player by the time the transfer window opens and that central midfield remains a priority, it is not beyond the realms of imagination to see that United could yet become involved in the Chelsea/ Luka Modric/ Spurs transfer saga.

The signings are a clear statement by Manchester United that they are preparing for life beyond Sir Alex Ferguson as the three players are 19, 20 and 25 respectively. With the Scot hitting the big 70 in December it is evident that all three could enjoy at least 10 years at Old Trafford and that Ferguson is beginning to build his final team at the club.

Robbie Keane Biography: 14 Years of a Legend Being Taken for Granted

2011-06-17T17:49:00.000-07:00

To say that Robbie Keane is much maligned would be something of an understatement. The ex-Leeds, ex-Inter Milan, ex-Liverpool and quite possibly the soon to be ex-Spurs striker has had to suffer more than his fair share of "slings and arrows" during his 14 year career.

It is, however, more than worth noting though that Keane is his country's top scorer of all time with 51 goals in 108 games for Ireland.

He is also the ninth highest goal scorer in Tottenham Hotspur history with 121 goals from 291 matches and the 10th highest scorer of all time in the English Premier League with 123 strikes.

Keane is the 10th highest scoring European international footballer of all time, the 27th highest scoring international footballer of all time, and, probably, most importantly he is the most prolific international striker of all time from the British Isles.

Which isn’t bad for someone who many feel isn't exactly a great player.

Keane has literally travelled the seven seas as a footballer. Between six transfers, nine teams, 14 managers and 14 years he has accounted for £70.3 million worth of transfer fees. He has travelled from the Auld Sod to the Black Country to Lombardy, Liverpool and London and has played some 657 matches and has scored some 261 goals (1 goal :2.6 games).

He has lived the life of an ordinary decent pro to the fullest and has fought back from the dead of being taken for granted so many times now that he can only be possessed of hope in Andy Dufresne sized quantities.

In short, Robbie Keane never gives up.

His career is well worn tale. From a schoolboy footballer in the working class urban sprawl of Tallaght he was picked up by Crumlin United before Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers came stalking the young striker.

He chose Wolves and Steve Bull over Liverpool and Roy Evans because he felt first team football would come sooner at Molineaux, and he was right.

He made his debut within two years of moving over to England and within one season, the 17-year-old would become top scorer of the club while a number of Premiership teams lurked in the stands as his star began to rise.

He made his international début for Ireland against the Czech Republic in Olomouc the same season and then followed this up with impressive performances against Argentina, Paraguay, Sweden, and Mexico before he scoring his first goals for his country with a brace against Malta in Dublin.

So it was surprising to see that it was Gordon Strachan and Coventry City who made the first move for the youngster.

All of a sudden Keane was the most expensive teenager in British football history with a £6 million price tag sitting on his head.

The Sky Blues had taken advantage of Wolves' growing debt after years of chasing the Premier League and had picked up the hottest young prospect in British football for what they considered a snip at half the price.

Once again, the move to a team without high expectations and little pressure paid off as Keane added to his 24 goals in 73 games for Wolves (1 goal : 3 matches) with 12 goals in 31 games for Coventry (1 : 2.6). Perhaps though, the most important statistic was his four goals in just eight games for Ireland.

This impressive jump in statistics at a higher level prompted many leading Premier League managers to re-evaluate him as a player and it became common place for them to be asked about the young striker as a potential transfer target. One such question prompted Sir Alex Ferguson to state "I wouldn't pay £600,000 for the lad never mind £6 million!"

That didn't put Marcelo Lippi off though, and less than 12 months after joining Coventry for a record fee, the young Irishman moved to Inter Milan for another record fee, a cool £13 million.

The Sky Blues saw the chance to double their money on Keane as the opportunity to consolidate their Premiership status and make some major money into the bargain, but in reality his sale was the main reason behind their relegation the following season. Without his presence and goals, Coventry sank without a trace ever since.

The wisdom of Keane accepting the transfer to Inter was questioned on all fronts as virtually every Premier League and Irish pundit had their say. Conventional wisdom being that Keane had moved to Italy too early in his fledgling career.

In the end it looked like the pundits were right as he returned home to Dave O'Leary's title chasing Leeds United after just four months. However, the truth was very different.

Lippi was under increasing pressure from Massimo Morati, Inter's owner, after they were knocked out of the Champions League at the qualifying stage by Helsingborg. They then lost their opening match of the Serie A season to lowly Reggina and Morati decided to axe the legendary manager and replace him with the untried Marco Tardelli who had just guided the Italian U21's to European success.

Keane had just began to eke out an understanding of Inter's style of play as Lippi had made the youngster an essential part of his plans and saw him as a vital cog in the future of his team.

This inclusion by Lippi was no small statement as Inter possessed some phenomenal talents at the time. Players like, Christian Vieri, Ronaldo, Hakan Sukur, Ivan Zamarano, and Alvaro Recoba were all chief rivals to the slight 20-year-old from Tallaght.

However, despite a goal after just two minutes against Lazio in the SuperCopa Italia, Marco Tardelli decided that Keane was just not going to be part of his plans. Right from the start of the new regime Keane was basically ostracised.

Armed with the knowledge that he was never going to be part of his managers plans, the Irishman chose to return home to Leeds.

It is now one of the great questions about both Tardelli's and Keane's careers that their futures may have worked out differently if their working relationship had been better. Keane's time at Inter was short-lived with only three goals to show from just 14 games. (1 : 4.6)

Also, in an ironic twist in February 2008, Tardelli became Assistant Manager to Giovani Trappatoni when the former Italian boss was appointed Ireland manager. Like true professionals who recognise the game for what it is and how simple opinions can shape destinies, Keane and Tardelli have since forged a superb working relationship.

Leeds' 2000-'01 season, from a point of offering so much, was looking like going belly up before Keane joined the club in late December. His addition to the squad seemed to rejuvenate the club almost immediately.

Before his first start, Leeds had only won nine games from 22, including just three wins from the previous 13. Keane helped turn that around as he waded in with nine goals from 18 matches and from the time he made his first start against Middlesbrough, Leeds only lost twice from the next 18 games and rocketed from 13th to 4th in the table.

Unfortunately, in 2001 a 4th placed finish in the Premier League could only guarantee UEFA Cup football and Leeds having tasted success, in the Champions League, wanted more.

Despite losing to Valencia in the semi-finals of the Champions League and having just missed out on the competition for successive seasons, Leeds decided to gamble yet again as O'Leary spent another £18 million to bring their spending to an staggering £93 million in just four seasons since 1998.

Robbie Fowler fresh from his battles with Gerard Houillier at Liverpool, was added to an already packed forward line and, quite remarkably, Robbie Keane found himself falling down the pecking order.

Without game time, his form dipped from 9 goals from 18 matches to 9 in 33 and just three games into the following season he was sold to Spurs to help aid the financial difficulties of the Yorkshire club. His goals for games rate at Elland Road had improved from his time at Inter though to 1 : 2.9.

The one respite during this poor period at Leeds for Keane was international football.

He scored seven goals in 15 games during this period for Ireland including three goals in four games as Ireland crashed out of the 2002 World Cup to Spain on penalties in the Last-16.

In scoring in three games in a row in Japan, Keane became only the 10th player to achieve the feat in World Cup history. In doing so he joined the likes of Pele, Jairzinho, Ronaldo, Eusebio and Mario Kempes amongst others.

Tottenham Hotspur would become Keane's fifth club in just six years - he was still only 22 years of age - and White Hart Lane became a home for the travelling Irishman for the next six seasons.

Initially under Glenn Hoddle, his time at Spurs started well. In a side that was listing badly, Keane became the one constant that fans could look to as the club struggled to cope with expectation whilst dealing with life in the middle reaches of the league.

From the fans point of view; Spurs were a sleeping giant but in reality they were a mid-table club who weren't particularly run well and for players such as Keane, expectations weren't high and were certainly no where near the levels expected of a club in the higher reaches of the league.

Despite all this, and with Hoddle being replaced by Jacques Santini and just 13 games later Martin Jol, Keane would become Tottenham's top scorer for the third season in a row. Yet somehow he found himself being taken for granted yet again and being relegated to fourth choice striker behind Jermain Defoe, Mido and Frederic Kanoute.

Jol started off the 2005-'06 season with Defoe and Mido whilst selling Kanoute to Sevilla, with Keane the odd man out yet again. The giant Dutchman had decided that the Irish striker was no longer part of his plans and made him train with the reserves while letting every EPL team know that he was available for transfer.

Spurs wanted around £12 million, for the player but there were little or no offers as life in the shadows began to play with his confidence.

It was international football for Ireland, once again, that would lift Keane from the doldrums of little or no club football. Since joining Spurs, his output for Ireland improved from 14/38 to 24/57. It was this impressive form for his country that would make Jol stand back and reassess the player.

Instead of selling him, Jol was forced to drop Defoe as his form dipped badly and Keane found himself in a new partnership with Mido. The new strike force hit it off almost immediately as both reached double figures with Keane, once again, finishing as the clubs highest scorer for the fourth season in a row.

Jol ended up being so impressed with Keane's professionalism, honesty, and decision not to play his troubles out in the media, that not only was his faith restored in the striker but he went one step further by making him vice-captain of the club.

This move by Jol is not without significance.

Ledley King's chronic injury problems are well documented during that particular period are well documented and by making Keane vice-captain Jol was basically issuing a statement that Keane was now one of the first names on his team sheet.

The season ended on a miserable note for Spurs and Keane though. On the eve of their last game of the season against West Ham, and after holding onto 4th place for the previous 23 weeks running, the entire Tottenham Hotspur first team were struck down with gastroenteritis. The end result was a last day loss to the Hammers and Arsenal overtaking Spurs into 4th.

The following season after literally hitting the crossbar of Champions League qualification, Spurs would push on yet again and Keane was paired with Dimitar Berbatov despite the two players sharing many of the same qualities. Their partnership blossomed into one of the most effective in the Premier League.

Keane went on to become only the 13th player to score 100 goals in the Premier League and was then rewarded with a new five-year contract for his endeavours. During the same period, Keane also became the first Premier League striker to hit double figures six seasons in a row. Once again, all of this was achieved while turmoil reigned off the pitch. Martin Jol was sacked from the bench during Spurs' 2-1 loss to Getafe and replaced by Juande Ramos just a few days later.

The same season he also won the very first trophy of his career when Spurs beat Chelsea in the Carling Cup Final.

The 2007/08 season was a hugely successful one for Keane. Not only did he win his first major trophy but he also picked up the Spurs Player of the Year award for the third time, making him the only player in the clubs history to achieve the feat.

With Keane and Berbatov up top, having claimed their first trophy in nine years, and with a growing belief amongst the players, Spurs was expected to challenge for the top four the following season. But some teams had other ideas.

Liverpool and Manchester United courted Keane and Berbatov respectively and the pair were sold for a combined fee of almost £51 million as the transfer window closed. Their sales effectively crippled Ramos and the team and by October the Spaniard was replaced by Harry Redknapp.

Keane's move to Anfield came about after the Irishman met Phil Thompson at an after match dinner and within hours Liverpool and Rafael Benitez were looking at possible ways to bring him to Anfield.

The major spanner in the works was that Gareth Barry was Rafa's first choice signing and having limited funds to spend he wanted to sign the midfielder first. A major problem arose when Aston Villa demanded £18 million for the player when Liverpool and Rick Parry would only go as far as £15 million plus Steve Finnan.

With Parry in charge of negotiations and the purse strings and in receipt of Benitez's proposed shopping list, he next approached Robbie Keane.

A protracted transfer saga where Spurs made claims against the Reds tapping up the player ended in late July when Keane signed on the dotted line and in doing so he was handed the famous No. 7.

When Keane's time at Liverpool is analysed it is clear that he did not enjoy the best of times nor did he do himself justice.

He started 23 games of his 34 games in red (including friendlies), but only completed the 90 in five of those. His first goal for Liverpool came after a disappointing 11 games and overall his competitive record reads played 28, scored 7 (1 : 4).

From these simple stats you can see that he was always looking over his shoulder to be taken off and as time progressed it became apparent to all that Rafael Benitez was waging a war behind the scenes at Anfield against Rick Parry, and that Robbie Keane was the stick he used to beat him with.

Keane has always been a player who relies heavily on confidence and while it is fair to say that he never reached the heights expected of him at Liverpool, it is also fair to say that he was also never allowed to reach those heights.

His career, already at a low, hit the lowest point possible when Benitez dropped him from the FA Cup squad to face Merseyside rivals Everton. It was clear to everyone that Keane was unwanted at Liverpool.

The sudden injury to Jermain Defoe, a recent re-signing for Harry Redknapp at Spurs, opened up a position that needed to be filled immediately if the Lilywhites were to maintain their early progress under their new manager.

From there the negotiation were easy, and within six months of leaving White Hart Lane Robbie Keane was back.

Redknapp immediately restored Keane to his previous role of vice-captain and his return, while he kept the impetus moving in the right direction, he could only guide his new club to eighth. However, Spurs' final finishing position was to prove to be a huge advantage. Without European football to contend with they mounted a concerted challenge for the Promised Land that is the Champions League.

This was to prove a problem for Keane who was moved onto Celtic just six months after returning.

During the close season, Harry Redknapp signed Peter Crouch and partnered him up front with Jermain Defoe. This new forward line gave Spurs a very defined way of playing that relied upon swift attacks and the two strikers playing as high as possible.

Keane, just simply did not fit in with Redknapp's philosophy or tactics. He likes to drop off and instigate attacks and play a part in the build up whereas both Defoe and Crouch are entirely focused on the penalty box.

On top of not playing, Keane then organised a Christmas trip to Dublin for the Spurs team without his Redknapp's knowledge and just days after his manager had gone public stating that his players would not be having a party.

This was to prove a major stumbling block in their relationship and with the trust between them seemingly broken, Keane found himself out in the cold at Spurs.

Seeing that he was not going to play, Keane's form dipped to its lowest level, 11 goals from 41 games (1 : 4) and rumours of a further breakdown in communication between the player and a manager began to surface. Having enjoyed something of a miserable 12 months few Premier League teams were willing to take a chance on the player so the striker moved north of the border to Celtic in February 2010.

There, he scored 12 goals from 16 games but it was not enough to see the Celts overtake Rangers who went on to win the league.

Keane was now in the middle of his worst period as a footballer. Assailed from all sides, both at home and in England his form and confidence hit their lowest ebb.

However, as always, somehow Giovani Trappatoni always seemed to bring the best out of his captain and without doubt Ireland offered respite from club football. His goal scoring record for his country kept on course and in the time since Trap had taken over (32/79) Keane's record read 43 goals from 99 matches.

He returned back to Spurs who had just qualified for the Champions League for the first time having slipped down the pecking order considerably. The moved even further down the ladder when Rafael van der Vaart joined the club from Real Madrid.

As the Dutchman was more midfielder than forward, he was able to slot perfectly into the position that Keane craved so much, the link behind the striker and once again he was surplus to requirements and was only used sparingly before he moved to relegation struggler's West Ham.

The move started well with a début goal. But less than one week later he got injured and was forced to miss the next month of action and with it his fitness dropped considerably.

With West Ham suffering the ignominy of relegation, the proposed permanent transfer of Keane to the Hammers never materialised. From his nine games involved at Upton Park, he only finished two, and he only managed to score one other goal and that came in a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa. (1 : 4.5)

Keane has since returned to Spurs, somewhat with his tail between his legs, but that has not stopped him from continuing his phenomenal international goal scoring record. In 2011, during his time at West Ham, he scored a superb six goals in four games to bring his international tally into record waters 51/108.

In the last of these games in June, Keane played on with pain killing injections for a damaged groin that had never fully recovered from the initial tear in February and still managed to score twice and inspire his team to a vital win. One other little record was achieved that night as he joined Jurgen Klinnsmann, Bobby Moore, and Zinedine Zidane on 108 caps.

When you stand back and look at Keane's achievements you can't help but be impressed. No, he is no Ryan Giggs or Paul Scholes and cannot boast about his trophy haul. Nor is he anything like Matthew Le Tissier who never won anything but is revered in every football conversation that whispers his name.

But in some ways he is more than they are. Keane in many ways is boxer like in his career.

He is not a great footballer, he would never worry the very best of defenders, nor is he a creative genius in the mould of Rafael van der Vaart or Teddy Sheringham, and neither is he the best footballer his country has ever produced.

But one thing he has in world class amounts is honesty.

Honesty is something fans do not concern themselves with. It is hard to measure, hard to understand, and even harder to see. But it is something that every professional respects profoundly.

However, one look at Robbie Keane's career and the one facet of his personality that stands out is his honesty. He never gives up, he never quits, and he always tries his hardest.

Sure, some pundits may point back to him choosing Wolves over Liverpool as the pivotal moment in his career. Had he chosen the Reds one wonders if the obvious rough edges to his game would have been shaved off. Would he have turned into a better player? Would he have formed a fearsome partnership with Michael Owen? Would he have scored 51 times in 108 games for Ireland?

Ifs buts and maybes.

Keane is good player and a better pro. And for this reason he is taken for granted so often. Whereas players with better skills and lesser attitudes moan and groan and make things public, he prefers to weather the frequent storms and win managers and fans over with honest performances.

He might not be flavour of the month at Tottenham Hotspur any more and he may never play again at White Hart Lane, but he will step into any breach if Harry Redknapp was to come calling.

His future, most probably, lies away from Spurs. And while some managers may focus on the last two years of his club career and decide to give him a wide berth they may be better served taking a closer look at his overall career to see that he can still make a telling contribution to the game at the highest level.

As unlikely as it seems now, Spurs may yet hold onto Keane next season. His rich past ensures that he will be mentioned in boardrooms up and down the Premier League but It would come as no surprise to see him move across London to join Fulham and their new manager, Martin Jol.

At 30, and with the style of footballer that he is, Keane could yet have another four or five seasons as a Premier League footballer left in him. Will someone take a chance on him? Or will he be taken for granted and left on the shelf?

Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure, Keane won't go down without a fight.

Full List of 123 Players Released by Premier League Clubs Following 2010-11 Season

2011-06-16T14:51:00.000-07:00

With the transfer window just open and with Liverpool and Manchester United having spent somewhere in the region of £40 million on two English U21 internationals. One could almost be forgiven for forgetting about the small number of players who have been released from the respective clubs on free transfers.

Each facing the very real prospect of never playing again.

Here is the full list of all 123 players released from duty by Premier League clubs following the 2010/'11 season.

(Prominent players in bold)

Arsenal

Thomas Cruise, Roarie Deacon, Mark Randall

Aston Villa

Durrell Berry, John Carew, Ellis Deeney, Calum Flanagan, Harry Forrester, Arsenio Halfhuid, Isaiah Osbourne, Robert Pires, Nigel Reo-Coker, Moustapha Salifou

Birmingham City

Marcus Bent, Lee Bowyer, Sebastian Larsson, James McFadden, Mitchell McPike, James O'Shea, Stuart Parnaby, Kevin Phillips, Daniel Preston, Luke Rowe, Robin Shroot, Maik Taylor

Blackburn Rovers

Jordan Bowen, Jason Brown, Zurab Khizanishvili, Benjani Mwaruwari, Michael Potts, Maceo Rigters

Blackpool

David Carney, Daniel Coid, Ishmel Demontagnac, Rob Edwards, Jason Euell, Marlon Harewood, Richard Kingson, Malaury Martin, Paul Rachubka, Andy Reid, Salaheddine Sbai

Bolton Wanderers

Tamir Cohen, Johan Elmander, Ricardo Gardner, Joey O'Brien, Jlloyd Samuel, Samuel Sheridan

Chelsea

Samuel Hutchinson, Carl Magnay, Danny Philliskirk, Jan Sebek, Michael Woods

Everton

Kieran Agard, Hope Akpan, Nathan Craig, Gerard Kinsella, Lee McArdle, Iain Turner

Fulham

Zoltan Gera, Edward Johnson, Diomansy Kamara, John Pantsil, Matthew Saunders

Liverpool

Jason Banton, Deale Chamberlain, Douglas Cooper, Sean Highdale

Steven Irwin, Nikola Saric

Manchester City

Javier Garrido, Scott Kay, James Poole, Shaleum Logan, Andrew Tutte, Javan Vidal, Patrick Vieira, James Wood

Manchester United

Conor Devlin, Owen Hargreaves, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Edwin van der Sar

Newcastle United

Sol Campbell, Shefki Kuqi, Patrick McLaughlin

Stoke City

Abdoulaye Faye, Eidur Gudjohnsen, Ibrahima Sonko

Sunderland

Michael Kay, Nathan Luscombe, Daniel Madden, Robert Weir, Nathan Wilson, Mvoto Jean-Yves, Bolo Zenden

Tottenham Hotspur

Jonathan Woodgate

West Bromwich Albion

Giles Barnes, Marcus Haber, Dean Kiely, Abdoulaye Méîté

West Ham United

Anthony Edgar, Holmar Eyjolfsson, Daniel Gabbidon, Lars Jacobsen, Filip Modelski, Jonathan Spector, Adam Street, Matthew Upson

Wigan Athletic

Steven Caldwell, Daniel De Ridder, Joseph Holt, Jason Koumas, Thomas Lambert, Thomas Oakes, Francis Pollitt, Abian Serrano Davila

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Adriano Basso, Jody Craddock, John Dunleavy, Marcus Hahnemann, David Jones, Nathan Rooney

Last Eight For UEFA U-19 European Championships Finalised

2011-06-06T08:51:00.000-07:00

Last years runners up, Spain, and Turkey have won through their UEFA Elite Phase Groups to complete the last eight the UEFA U-19 European Championships.

They will join, hosts, Romania, Serbia, Belgium, Greece, Czech Republic and Ireland when the competition begins in earnest next July.

With so many teams and matches to played, UEFA had taken the decision to split qualification for the U19 Championships into two distinct group phases. The second phase of which was run as a mini competition over three games across seven groups of four teams.

Serbia became the first team to qualify, after the host nation, when the strolled through Group 6 of the Elite Phase despite losing their opening fixture to Wales. A hat-trick from Lokomotiv Plovdiv's Nenad Lukic - the young midfielder scored six goals in just five games - in the decisive game against Norway was the highlight of their qualification.

The Czech Republic qualified in dramatic fashion, despite going unbeaten in their group, as with eight minutes to go in their final game against Israel they were in second place behind Russia. However, a late goal from Martin Sladky was enough to put them 2-1 up on Israel and see them leap frog the 2018 World Cup hosts.

One of the biggest shocks of qualification came from Greece when they knocked out the reigning Champions France with one game to spare. The Ethniki will head to Romania unbeaten and will provide a stern test for whomever they are drawn against.

In the first game of Group 1 Belgium beat Portugal while Croatia beat Estonia, so game two was always going to be a winner takes all issue. A late strike from Thorgen Hazard was enough to beat the Croats 3-2, Marin Mic had just equalised for the in the 86th minute before Hazard fired home on 89 to take all three points and guaranteed qualification for Romania 2011.

Elsewhere, Spain qualified on goal difference over England with a 1-1 draw in the final game of the group. While Turkey accounted for Germany with a superb 1-0 victory. The young Turk's were trailing Christian Ziege's team on goal difference heading into the last game so anything less than a win would have seen Germany qualify.

The two teams were only separated by a superb captains performance from Muhammet Demir who scored a 22nd minute free kick from just outside the area.

With the most powerful nations crashing out unexpectedly, Italy headed into the final game of their qualification only needing a draw against Ireland. However, Paul Doolin's team had not read the script and, needing a win, tore into their opponents from the off and recorded an astounding 3-0 win to qualify for the finals for the first time in nine years.

2010/11 UEFA European Championship elite round
Qualifiers in bold
Group 1: Belgium, Portugal, Croatia*, Estonia
Group 2: Spain, England, Switzerland*, Montenegro
Group 3: Greece, France, Slovakia*, Belarus
Group 4: Republic of Ireland, Italy, Ukraine, Poland*
Group 5: Czech Republic*, Russia, Netherlands, Israel
Group 6: Serbia, Wales, Norway*, Moldova
Group 7: Turkey*, Germany, Macedonia, Hungary

*Hosts

The draw for the finals, which begin on 20 July and culminate on 1 August, takes place at the headquarters of the Romanian Football Federation (FRF) on Wednesday at 17.30 local time (16.30CET).

Madjid Bougherra to Expose Transfer Loophole and Leave Rangers Under FIFA's "Webster Ruling"

2011-06-05T03:01:00.000-07:00

Five years after benefiting from the "Webster ruling," Rangers look set to lose out on one of their star players after Madjid Bougherra signalled that he wants to leave the SPL champions.

It is widely believed that the Algerian defender, a signing from Charlton in 2008 for £2.5 million, has told the club that he will not only will turn down their recent contract extension offer but that he will now most likely invoke Article 17 of the FIFA transfers and contracts rulebook if he is not sold. Under the ruling players over the age of 28 can buy out the remaining years of their contract, regardless of length.

In 2006 Andy Webster made football transfer history when he became the first player to invoke a loophole in Article 17 of new transfer regulations FIFA had adopted to bring football's transfer system into line with EU working time law.

This enabled the centre half to cancel his contract with Hearts in the third year of a four-year deal, with the main proviso that he join a club in a foreign country and that he issue sufficient notice to his former club about the impending transfer.

Webster's transfer to Wigan Athletic was then ratified by FIFA on 4 September 2006, thus creating a legal precedent for the conduct of international football transfers.

The ex-Hearts defenders stay with the Latics was a short one though, as after just four games he amazingly returned to Scotland on loan to Rangers. Unfortunately for the player though his time with the Gers was devastated by injury and he only managed to play three times over the following two seasons.

It is generally accepted that the "Webster Ruling" could hold the same kind of significance as the "Bosman Ruling" as far as football is concerned but as of yet no major player has chosen to use the ruling to his benefit.

In October 2010 as Wayne Rooney began contract negotiations with Manchester United it was revealed the Red Devils striker had informed the club that he would look into using Article 17 if contract talks did not go as he and his advisor hoped. Under the ruling, it is believed that Rooney could have bought out the remainder of his contract for as little as £5 million.

This time last year, Rangers Old Firm rivals Celtic benefited from a similar contact loophole when they signed Joe Ledley from Cardiff City on a free transfer. The midfielder was out of contract but as he was under the age of 23 Cardiff could claim compensation but only if he moved to a team in the same jurisdiction. Stoke City had already agreed upon a transfer fee of £3 million with the Welsh club only for Ledley to choose to move north of the border to Celtic where no compensation would have to paid.

As far as Bougherra is concerned his potential loss will come as a major blow to the champions as they prepare for life in the Champions League next term. Since joining in 2008, the skillful centre back has won many admirers for the manner of his impressive performances and he has become something of a fixture in the Rangers rearguard with 79 appearances over the last three seasons.

In the title run in the 28-year-old defender had signalled his intentions at extending his stay at Ibrox, but with QPR having won promotion to the Premier League and seemingly interested in signing him, Bougherra has now said he wants to leave.

Should Bougherra decide to invoke the ruling it is understood that he will have to pay the club an estimated £1 million, so Rangers are now faced with either having to sell the player now for a similar amount, taking the £1 million from the player, or the worst case scenario where the player sits out the next year of his contract before leaving for free in June 2012.

Having given Rangers the required notice of 15 days and his intention to leave, it looks as if the 2011/12 SPL season has already gotten off to a tough start, and a ball has yet to be even been kicked.

Qatar 2022: Exclusive Interview with Bid Inspection Project Manager

2011-05-30T07:08:00.000-07:00

FIFA awarding the World Cup to Qatar in 2022 has certainly caught the imagination of the footballing public. For the first time ever the competition will make its way to the Middle East, where a vast untapped footballing community awaits with baited breath.

Jon Sinigaglia was Project Director for the FIFA pre-qualification bid inspection of Qatar and was an integral member of their winning bid team.

Here he exclusively answers my questions about Qatar’s plans, ambitions, and ability to host such a prestigious tournament and about the legacy they wish to leave behind.

These replies are Jon’s personal responses from his unique position as Project Director for FIFA’s inspection and bidding team member. They do not represent any official response from the Qatar FA or any other official body.

WG- Temperature (mean temp for June is 40C) has already raised itself as one of the biggest issues facing Qatar 2022, especially as prominent football people like Platini, Beckenbauer and Peter Verlappen have all suggested moving the competition towards January to combat the heat (April can be ruled out due to Ramadan). Is this a feasible option?

JS- This is a personal bug-bear of mine. Yes, Qatar is hot and humid in the summer. Nobody denies this.
But when you look at the average temperatures of some of the competing cities for the 2022 World Cup, they have the same, if not similar, temperatures. I cite, for example, Seville in Spain, Russia, and Texas to name but three.

(WG-World Cup matches in Dallas and Orlando in 1994 were played in temperatures of 45C to 50C)

Having said that, Qatar was the ONLY country to address the issue head-on with a programme of developments and technological advances – and the will, of course – already set in place for the bid.
As regards moving the tournament to winter, it is certainly feasible from a logistical perspective, but as to the political issues and world football schedules, that is clearly out of my zone.

WG- Would playing the matches at slightly later times in Qatar suit? As the country is three hours ahead of Europe is this viable either?

JS- I could certainly see this being feasible from an indigenous viewpoint. As in most hot countries, their daily schedules tend to be later, as the afternoon heat is taken with a Siesta.

What’s more in the summer it is only two hours ahead of Europe.

WG- Arups has committed itself to coming up with a solution for the temperatures by 2019 (air conditioned stadia) Will there be something similar for fans outside the stadiums watching on big screens?

JS- Not only A/C in the fan zones, but in all publicly-accessed areas. In the bus stops, on the walkways to the stadia etc.

The fan’s and the players’ comfort HAS to come first.

Qatar’s abundance of sunshine affords it the chance to be a net-contributor to the world’s fuel reserves through very intelligent usage of solar power to generate electricity which pumps INTO the national grid more than it needs itself and thereby makes the entire World Cup operation carbon neutral.

WG- Qatar has a very high GDP and one would almost come to the conclusion that the standard of living must be equally high. Will this be an “affordable” tournament for the average fan?

JS- The ability to offer affordable lodging across a range of hotel star ratings and other tourism amenities is a pre-requisite for acceptance of a bidding nation’s candidacy to host a World Cup.
Yes it’s true that the Gulf is largely slanted towards the business community. Qatar is VERY aware of the shortcomings of this approach and is making steady progress towards developing itself in a different manner to some of its neighbours in the region.

WG- Qatar 2022 has been heavily criticised because of the small size of the country (4,416 sq. miles) and will easily be the smallest country ever to host the competition. Is this criticism fair?

The fears of the compactness of Qatar and how it will be able to handle everyone n such close proximity – be they fans or teams – just doesn’t wash with me.

Yes, it WILL be different for many; however when you have a chance to easily see two games a day without having to travel 1,000 miles to get there, simply it HAS to be an appealing prospect.

The logistics will not be a problem either. I have enormous affection and respect for Qatar’s Interior Minister – Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser. He personally takes the time to run a tight ship and I know they already have plans in place to not only send their safety and security people to the forthcoming Word Cups and Olympics – not as observers, but as actual operational folk on the ground.

He takes enormous pride in what they do I have no doubt that he and his team will do whatever it takes to get themselves into a proper shape for the 2022 World Cup. I know they already have provisional plans in place that include an immediate extension to their HQ in order to accommodate the numbers of people who will need to be involved.

Qatar’s compactness will be nothing but an advantage.

WG- Deutsche Bahn are also committed to linking the entire country through rail by 2029, will this time frame be brought forward with the impending World Cup?

JS- The rail infrastructure necessary to host and manage the World Cup will be ready for 2022. Some of the more conceptual or remote connections will take longer, but that won’t affect the games at all. Each stadium will be served by a dedicated station, with easy access for all, with multi-lingual ATM-styled information points, ticketing systems etc.

All of this has been taken VERY seriously into account. A games this compact simply couldn’t function without it.

WG- Is it hoped that the Aspire Sports Academy will play a major part in the further development of the game in Qatar and the Middle East in general?

JS- ASPIRE is at the very heart of Qatar’s football – and sports – strategy and that will only grow. It must not be forgotten, moreover, that part of ASPIRE is the Aspetar sports medicine and injury hospital. It was the first one of its type in the region and is only one of about 12 FIFA accredited sports medicine facilities in the entire world.

ASPIRE on the whole is very much in growth mode, and the folks there are doing a tremendous job. This year was the first time in four years of their youth programme, where a native Qatari progressed to play for the national side.

WG- Under the Emir, Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the country has undergone a great period of liberalisation and modernization. However, the World Cup will represent something that no Middle Eastern country has ever had to contend with before. Is it expected that other countries in the Middle East will follow Qatar’s lead either before or after the World Cup?

JS- I guess you’d have to ask the Arab League that one!! What I have heard, however, is that both Abu Dhabi and Dubai are keen to get involved in World Cup-styled football and sports in general. Who knows where that will lead in the next 12 years – It’s a long time in the Gulf.

Just 12 years ago Qatar was a slither of what it is today. Part of what we were showing to FIFA was the vision of where we saw Qatar as a nation and as a hosting country in 2022. It was a relatively easy sell as we said – look where we were 12 years ago. Now you can see that we are proposing for 12 years time is perfectly deliverable from a Qatari perspective.”

All of this has been taken VERY seriously into account. A games this compact simply couldn’t function without it.

WG- There has been mention of “flat-packing” stadiums and then sending off the remains to developing countries and building 22 new stadiums. On paper this is an incredible idea and could change the face of the game throughout the developing football world. How does Arups as stadium designers plan to execute this aspect of their task?

JS- Firstly this wouldn’t be Arup’s task to execute these plans. It would probably fall to the stadium management team to manage on behalf of the Qatar Olympic Committee which heads-up the stadium ownership in Qatar.

My own personal feeling is that the idea would need to probably be passed through a committee at first, which would decide on who would be a worthy recipient. The masses of extra spare capacity after a World Cup is way more than Qatar would ever need, so why not put it to better use? I think it’s an inspired idea quite honestly, and I am sure that it won a lot of support within FIFA.

WG- Why does Qatar want to host the World Cup?

JS- The question – why does ANY nation wish to host the WC?

On the wall in the VIP suite of Khalifa Stadium in Doha there is an old black and white photo of four young boys playing football. The pride and pleasure is written on their faces. The boy in the middle is a very young Emir of Qatar. He has been football mad since his youth, and this has permeated everything.

Additionally, Qatar as part of its National Vision 2030 has placed sports as the central theme for developing tomorrow’s youth and giving them the right outlook on life.

Football, as a result, is central to this whole national development plan.

I don’t know how familiar you are with the Arab world, but walk down ANY souk from Morocco through to Iraq, and you will ALWAYS see loads of fans in their bars sitting watching football passionately. It genuinely is THE major sport in the region by a VERY long way.

WG- What legacy does Qatar 2022 want to leave behind?

JS- The legacies of a WC in Qatar are numerous.

They focus very much on the ability to assist less financially secure countries with the benefits that it will bring the whole region. From the technology which will be exportable to the stadia which will also be exportable.
A pride in the region, at having hosted a Word Cup

A force for unification amongst the various nations in the region. As has been re-stated in Qatar’s closing presentation to FIFA last week, football has the ability to unite differing groups in a way that no other method can.

It is also hoped that the 2022 WC in Qatar will help open-up a host of other non-Arab countries to the game. Asia is an area ripe for development, with India and also China being potentially enormous markets. By hosting close to their region and in a country that has a foothold in those countries, it is hoped that world football will benefit enormously through market development.

The legacies also stretch to opening up Women’s football in the region. Qatar has launched its own Women’s Football League and is hoping that this trend will span the region in the not-too distant future.

It is also a goal of 2022 to develop the whole commercial economies as well as sports and marketing related activities through this unique tournament.

Qatar is at the forefront of developing a non-fuel based economy and is keen to be the leader in this area throughout the region. Even though it has enough gas reserves to generate substantial incomes for at least 200 years, Qatar is keen not to be beholden to this as quickly as is possible.
Further to what I have mentioned above I will re-cap the development of Women’s football in the region.
It is also planning to use the impetus of 2022 to greatly enhance the standards of its’ own domestic league national team and also assist others in the region – in terms of both performance and also live attendance.
There is the impetus that 2022 will have on the development of eco-friendly A/C systems and other technologies that can advantage the less fortunate as well.

On the political legacy, I will quote from the official documentation. In the voice of any other nation, this might seem trite. The Emir, however, and not forgetting his wife Sheikha Mozah (a VERY influential lady in her own right) are genuinely and deservingly at the forefront of world politics and global decision making. As a nation – and very much under the guidance of The Emir, Qatar regularly punches way above its’ weight – 2022 being a case in point.

So the legacy item states:

“Through greater communication and understanding, Qatar 2022 will encourage the world to embrace and celebrate diversity. The shared experiences of the FIFA World Cup TM, the demonstrable reach of football and the world’s simple love of a football will inspire unity and cohesion, giving hope for peace and harmony.”

Many thanks to Jon for taking his time to answer these questions.

Mohamed Bin Hammam Resigns From Presidential Election On The Eve Of FIFA Ethics Questions

2011-05-29T06:40:00.000-07:00

Mohamed Bin Hammam has sensationally pulled out of the race to become the next President of FIFA, leaving Sepp Blatter as the only candidate left in the field ahead of the June 1st election.

The withdrawl comes just hours before the 62-year-old was due to face the FIFA Ethics Committee over allegations of collusion between his bid team and members of CONCACAF ahead of the 2022 election.

Bin Hammam is the current head of the Asian Football Confederation and masterminded Qatar's bid for the 2022 World Cup.

In March he confirmed to the Guardian newspaper that he was set to run against Blatter in the next Presidential election, advocating change at the highest levels of the organisation and a more transparent method to its labyrinthine business practices.

His election bid seemed to be going well, despite polls saying he was still behind Blatter, until early May when Chuck Blazer wrote to Jerome Valcke, FIFA general secretary, to complain about alledged violations in FIFA's code of ethics pertaining to Qatar's bid for the 2022 World Cup.

With mounting evidence against the bid and his proposed election and Bin Hammam summoned to appear before the FIFA Ethics Panel, the Qatari then went on the attack and seemingly admitted possible guilt in the matter by declaring "if I'm guilty then so is Blatter."

The Qatari businessman then took the step to also write to Valcke to ask that his investigation be extended to include Blatter as well.

Just one week ago, world respected football journalist, Keir Radnedge, wrote that Bin Hammam was caught between a rock and a hard place and would most probably be forced to resign from the Presidential race if Qatar were to stand any chance of retaining hosting permissions from FIFA for the 2022 World Cup.

Today, just hours before he was to stand before the FIFA ethics committee to explain the allegations from Blazer over Qatar and fellow CONCACAF members, Bin Hammam resigned from the race.

He released the following statement:

"I made the decision to run for the FIFA presidency because I was and remain committed to change within FIFA. I set out my goals and ambitions clearly - to further the cause of democracy within FIFA - through a commitment to transparency and accountability; through a commitment to expand the number of officials and nations involved in decision-making processes.

"In addition to this, I wanted to spark a debate about change in FIFA. For the good of football, I wanted the future to be bright for our world’s governing body and for it to adapt to the ever-changing world we live in today.

"However, recent events have left me hurt and disappointed - on a professional and personal level. It saddens me that standing up for the causes that I believed in has come at a great price – the degradation of FIFA’s reputation. This is not what I had in mind for FIFA and this is unacceptable.

"I cannot allow the name that I loved to be dragged more and more in the mud because of competition between two individuals. The game itself and the people who love it around the world must come first. It is for this reason that I announce my withdrawal from the presidential election.

"I will not put my personal ambition ahead of FIFA’s dignity and integrity. Besides, I believe my candidacy has been a catalyst for debate within FIFA and has brought change to the top of the agenda.

"I pray that my withdrawal will not be tied to the investigation held by the FIFA Ethics Committee as I will appear before the Ethics Committee to clear my name from the baseless allegations that have been made against me.

"I promise those who stood by me that I will walk with my head held high and will continue to fight for the good of the game. I would like to offer my thanks and appreciation to all member associations and individuals who supported me. I hope that they will not receive my decision with disappointment and frustration.

"I have a special thank you to my friend and colleague Jack Warner for his unlimited support. I am sorry to see that he has to suffer because of me, but I am promising him that I will be with him all the way through thick and thin.

"I look forward to working closely with my colleagues to restore FIFA’s reputation to what it should be - a protector of the game that has credibility through honesty, transparency and accountability."

Barcelona 3-1 Manchester United : Highlights From the 2011 Champions League Final

2011-05-29T05:38:00.000-07:00

Barcelona, inspired by the magnificent Lionel Messi, has beaten Manchester United 3-1 in the 2011 Champions League Final in Wembley tonight. But in truth, La Blaugrana destroyed the Premier League champions in one of the most one sided finals of all time.

The game saw four fantastic goals scored as Pedro and Wayne Rooneyexchanged efforts before Lionel Messi and an inspirational goal by David Villa gave Barca the trophy their dominance and play deserved.