England may have qualified for the Euro 2012 finals, but it was a game of mixed emotions as all the headlines will be focussed on Wayne Rooney’s sending off.
What has been an uncomfortable few days following the arrest of his father, the 25-year-old talisman took 73 minutes to really express his emotions. After being questioned about Rooney’s state of mind, Capello responded “calm” and “relaxed”. Think again Mr Capello.
UEFA have told the FA that Rooney will receive a minimum of a 1 match ban, therefore missing the opening game of the Euro 2012 group stage. Not the best preparation to start a tournament when your best player is banned and could possibly miss all three games of the group stage depending on what UEFA decide. England always have to do things the hard way, don’t they?
Rooney will be again questioned about his temperament, as we all thought he was past his reckless behaviour. Up to now he had been playing with a smile on his face and looking like a player who was really enjoying his football. Yet we find the red mist once again appearing on his face when things turn sour. Like they say what goes up, must come down.
So with Rooney’s dismissal capping what has been a terrible and unforgettable few days for the Rooney household, this will not have helped their situation by any means? Once again the Rooney name will be hitting the headlines for the worse.
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The game had started very brightly for England with the team oozing in confidence. It took 10 minutes for Ashley Young to score the opener, with Bent adding the second. Montenegro were able to bring one back before the break and in the dying seconds of the match Andrija Delibasic headed home the equaliser. Ultimately a point was still good enough to take England through, but will that make the back pages of the newspapers tomorrow? I wouldn’t bet on it.
The Asian Champions League campaign is expected to be Robbie Kruse’s farewell to Melbourne Victory, with the striker set to move to Germany.German newspaper Bild has said a deal for Kruse’s services is as good as done with a move to Bundesliga II club Fortuna Dusseldorf in the European summer set to be finalised.Kruse’s manager John Grimaud has strong contacts in Germany and secured a dream deal for another promising Victory youngster, goalkeeper Mitchell Langerak, to current Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund 12 months ago.Kruse’s contract with the A-League club expires after the Asian Champions League group stages – which begin for Victory on March 1 against Japanese club Gamba Osaka – upon which time the club appear resigned to his departure.Kruse impressed with 11 goals in 19 matches in the Victory’s recently completed A-League campaign, strengthening his credentials for a European move when given his chance for the Socceroos in January’s Asian Cup.While Kruse’s departure from Victory appears a fate accomplit, the club will fight hard to try and retain Marvin Angulo after the Costa Rican’s impressive finish to the season.Angulo’s loan deal runs out in June, with Melbourne needing to have to either convince home club CS Herediano to continue the loan or buy out his contract, as happened with Carlos Hernandez.At Australia’s other ACL entrant Sydney FC, North Queensland Fury loan striker David Williams is hoping his stint at his new club will put him in the shop window for a ‘dream’ move back overseas.Williams had his first training session with the Sky Blues on Tuesday since signing a six-month deal with Sydney which takes in the group stage of their ACL campaign, beginning on March 2 against South Korean club Suwon.While Williams, who is the only player contracted to the Fury for next season as doubts over the their future continue, remains committed to the long-term future of the club. But he admitted he had a strong desire to move to a big overseas club – especially if North Queensland fold.”For me it’s all up in the air at the moment and I’ve got to weigh it all up,” Williams – who tasted life abroad with Danish club Brondby from 2006 to 2009 – said on Tuesday.”But hopefully (the ACL) opens some doors for me. It will be a good experience for me and maybe create something I hope.”Meanwhile, Sydney coach Vitezslav Lavicka will have to finalise his final squad for the ACL later on Tuesday, with one unlucky visa player needing to be left out.ACL rules only allow each club to have three foreign players and one Asian player in their final 30-man squad’s for the tournament, with out-of-contract Korean defender Sung Hwan Byun already left out after Japanese midfielder Hiro Moriyasu was given the nod for the Asian spot.Lavicka will have to cut one of Brazilian Bruno Cazarine, Finn Juho Makela, Northern Ireland’s Terry McFlynn and Swiss Stephan Keller, with Wellington defender Andrew Durante signed and Perth’s Jamie Coyne being chased. In other news at the club, former Socceroo Hayden Foxe has announced his retirement.Foxe, who had a decorated career in leagues in Japan (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Holland (Ajax), and England (West Ham, Portsmouth and Leeds), informed his team-mates at training on Monday.
Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Mick McCarthy has set his sights on a number of further signings, having already drafted in Anderlecht defender Jelle Van Damme and Burnley striker Steven Fletcher.
McCarthy is happy with his first two pieces of summer business, while he is also preparing to allow some fringe players to move on, with striker Chris Iwelumo having already swapped clubs with Fletcher.
“There is a bit of business still to be done and there will have to be a few move on as well,” McCarthy told the Birmingham Mail.
“There are players who have helped us, but it comes to a natural progression that they will move on – you can’t just keep them here for back-up.
“We’d been trying to do Jelle Van Damme for quite a while and now Steven Fletcher. It makes us a better squad already with two very good players.
“I’m really pleased to have got two done as early as we have done, like we did last year. But we’re still looking for more and still looking to improve.
“It’s something that myself, Jez Moxey and Steve Morgan sat down and spoke about and said we were going to spend in the best way that we could to improve the team.
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“We’ve already done that with Jelle and Steven and we’ll continue to look.”
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Manchester United goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard has stated that he is not happy playing second fiddle to David de Gea at Old Trafford, and wants a starting spot in Sir Alex Ferguson’s team.
The Danish goalkeeper looked in line to take over from the retiring Edwin van der Sar, but the signing of Spanish stopper De Gea has sparked increased competition for the number one jersey.
De Gea has started the Premier League games so far this season, but Lindegaard was preferred in Europe against Benfica on Wednesday, and is targeting more first team action.
“If you expect me to say I am happy to be No 2, that is not how it is. I am here because I want to be No 1. If you’re good enough, you are going to play. And in the end, if I am good enough, I am going to be No 1,” he told The Telegraph.
The Scandinavian continued by stating his respect for Ferguson, and claiming that De Gea’s large summer transfer fee should not automatically provide him with a starting berth.
“He has proven he is the best manager in the world and I will always respect and accept his decisions. I have not had many opportunities to show who I am, but this [Benfica] was one of them and it was a big game.
“It shows how good the competition is because it is not as clear as last year who is first choice and who is second. I think we have good competition. We have at least two top goalkeepers and Ben Amos as well, who is very promising.
“It is like that in all positions with United and that is how it should be,” he concluded.
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De Gea looks set to be reinstated for United’s Premier League clash against Chelsea on Sunday, but Lindegaard helped his cause with a solid showing in midweek.
It turns out today that Nile Ranger was close to being banned for a Newcastle game after he pulled out of an England under-20 through injury without being assessed by team medics. In the four squads of England sides this week, 24 players pulled out due to injury.
It appears that the FA is going to start banning players from playing for their clubs if they try and get out of international matches with phantom injuries. Apparently the only reason they have not banned Ranger is because they could not single him out as Chris Smalling had also been allowed to miss his match without being checked.
The first thing that annoys me about this is that the FA seem to be scared of the bigger clubs. Why not just ban both of them? Is it because Smalling plays for United? How many times have players from the top 4 missed England games due to injury and then played the following week for their club? I think the FA decided to choose Newcastle’s Ranger, because he is not from a top 4 club.
But the fact is, none of the players want to play. You can see why; club football is their main focus. It is intense and hectic, and it is the clubs that pay their money. Further, with the injury of Steven Gerrard in a friendly earlier in the year, and Dean Ashton’s injury while training with England, you can see why clubs are sceptical of these games.
Would it it be better for the FA to force players to appear against their will, or scrap international friendlies?
I can’t remember the last time I watched an England friendly and enjoyed the match; including on Wednesday. Games that are meaningless just don’t seem to capture my interest, if that means I lack patriotism then so be it. These games never really get going as neither side wants to fully commit, and there is no cohesion on the pitch because there are so many substitutions (which there have to be to appease the clubs). The fact is that international friendlies just don’t work.
You might think that the dilemma for the FA is that they can’t scrap friendlies because they have to try and improve the England team. You might say that without friendlies the team have no chance to develop. But I think friendlies actually make us worse.
They hardly allow players to gel because they only get 45 minutes to play together. Every friendly brings negative press to the side because they never play well, and often are not fun to watch. This is caused, mainly, by the fact that either the top players are missing due to injury (because it is a friendly) or because the players don’t look fully committed (again, because it is a friendly). All this does is reduce the morale of the England camp and the players start to believe they can’t play together. So when they come to play in qualifying games that actually mean something they have no confidence.
These lacklustre friendlies also frustrate the fans and get them in a negative frame of mind before the whistle has been blown. So the pressure on the players to perform is actually increased because of friendlies, not reduced.
I want to see our national side succeed at the highest level but I don’t think forcing players to play in international friendlies is the answer. I would prefer to see them scrapped, this way fans and the media might start to look forward to watching England play, not dread it.
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Should Arsenal face losing Alex Song to Barcelona, they could consider a move for Celtic’s defensive midfielder Victor Wanyama as a replacement, reports the Daily Mail.
Both the Gunners and Manchester United are believed to have been keeping tabs on the Kenyan, who is unhappy inScotlandhaving been frequently played out of position in central defence.
Speculation has been rife in the last couple of days linking Song to the Nou Camp, and having ruled out a move for Yann M’Vila despite the reported closeness of securing a deal, Arsene Wenger could now look to Wanyama as cover for the Cameroonian.
At £7 million, Celtic could make a substantial profit on the 21 year old they signed from Beerschot AC last summer for just £900,000. Having appeared 29 times and scoring 4 goals in least year’s campaign, Arsenal and United will both be hopeful Wanyama’s year in the British game gives him enough experience.
Both Premier League sides started the summer well, securing two early signings, but no transfer market action has taken place for either club since. Arsenal however, could also be close to the signing of Santi Cazorla, as they look to close last seasons 19 point gap between them and second place Manchester United.
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Those who defend the August 31st deadline of the transfer window cite that it gives managers a chance to make some final adjustments to their squad, having seen their respective performances three games in.
While others believe it to be a total distraction and that is why AVB is travelling to Nyon this week to fight the case about bringing the deadline day forward before the season starts. Whether his pleas get heard remain the be seen, but in the meantime the circus that is the last few days of the transfer window will kick on in the next few days and there will undoubtedly be an array of comings and goings within the Premier League.
The media clearly believe that some clubs have simply bided their time in the transfer market and are looking to take advantage of some last minute shopping in order to improve their current squad. One of the clubs is arguably Arsenal, who have already stated their interest in Gary Cahill, but will he be the only new arrival at the Emirates come Wednesday night?
So has Wenger still got much to do in the transfer market – if so who would you like to see him bring in at the Emirates in the next 72hrs?
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When Kevin Keegan quit as the manager of England back in October 2000 I was one of those highly in favour of Roy Hodgson being his successor. At the time, he was the only English manager to have a multitude of experience unlike any other candidates, having managed in the Premiership as well Europe and also at the International level. Now a decade later Hodgson finally landed one of the ‘big jobs’ as Liverpool manager but after a poor start in charge of the Merseyside club he left under mutual consent. But was he the cause of the problem or a victim?
On 1st July 2010 Hodgson was appointed Liverpool manager succeeding Rafa Benitez’s six year reign at Anfield in which he won two major trophies and finished 2nd in the Premier League, the clubs best league finish in decades. Hodgson had big boots to fill which would’ve been a different experience from his recent job in charge of west London side Fulham. After 31 games in charge at Liverpool he had won 13, drawn 9 and lost 9 which was poor in terms of the Reds’ standards. After finishing 7th in the EPL last season under Benitez, the club was hoping for an instant impact with their new manager but everything that could have gone wrong for Hodgson, went wrong for Hodgson.
The problems at Liverpool started off the pitch with the whole Hicks and Gillett debacle which had an influence on Benitez’s demise. The quality and depth of the squad had declined and despite inheriting the likes of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, it was apparent that Hodgson needed money to invest if he was going to guide Liverpool back to the ‘top four’. It was clear that Hodgson’s signings were not of the quality needed to challenge but without efficient transfer funds, what was Roy supposed to do? He had to try and make the most of what he had at his disposal. After the club finally changed owners in October 2010, there was hope that there would be some sort of transfer fund for Hodgson to use in the January transfer window – but he wasn’t given the chance.
Perhaps it was Roy Hodgson’s man management skills that let him down. There is no question that he is a good coach, it was his impressive spell in charge of Switzerland in the mid 90’s that earned him the job at Inter Milan. More recently he managed to turn Fulham from relegation fodder into Europa League finalists in 2 and a half seasons. However, he failed to get the best out of Fernando Torres, a world class striker who hasn’t been on form in the last 12 months, and Roy failed to show support for the striker during press conferences. His comments over Joe Cole also bring to question his man management qualities when he stated that he has something to prove and that he had not personally asked to sign the player.
On the other hand his man management skills were not in question at Fulham. He managed to build a team of journeymen together on a small budget that finished 7th in the Premier League in 2008-09 and the following year were able to beat the likes of Juventus, Shakhtur and Wolfsburg in European competition. Perhaps it was just a case of the wrong man at the wrong time?
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One thing that may leave bitterness in the mouth of Hodgson is that Kenny Dalglish has now taken the reign with a view to a permanent move. It was Dalglish who had met with Managing Director Christian Purslow prior to Hodgson’s appointment, to draw up a shortlist for possible managerial candidates. Dalglish put himself forward for the role after being unimpressed with the shortlist but his application was rejected. Now several months later he is in charge of Liverpool FC for a second spell and he comes in with nothing to lose after Hodgson’s infamous reign, had ‘King Kenny’ got the job back in the summer and had the same start as Roy, would he have been given more time considering his status on Merseyside? I think so.
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Having a pop at a professional footballer is akin to shooting fish in a barrel, you’d have more chance of finding someone who thinks Bob Diamond was actually deserving of his £20m bonus from Barclays than you would a person who is sympathetic to a footballers plight. Nevertheless, are footballers offered enough care and support after they’ve hung up their boots?
The big white elephant in the room when this topic rears its head is of course, Paul Gascoigne, a tortured soul if ever there was one. Football was his release, his form of escape, but not a week goes by now without pictures emerging of him in some state or other, or some other ‘wacky’ story about the former England international.
It’s preying on the weak, that’s all it is – here is clearly a man struggling with some well-documented mental health issues, beset by past troubles of alcohol and drug addiction and a known sufferer of depression, yet it seems as if he’s treated as little more than the new Kerry Katona for quick and easy copy. It’s shameful, but do we dislike seeing him in such a state because of the impact it has on us, or is it really out of genuine concern?
Nobody wants to see a childhood hero in such a state. Reports of Gascoigne getting his life back on track have been doing the rounds for as long as I can remember, so something is clearly amiss. Is it simply that the support structure isn’t there? Should the PFA be doing more to help?
Once you become a professional footballer, you are of course looked after by the PFA, but they appear to wash their hands of you once you have retired. Technically, it is the ‘Professional Footballers Association’ so with finite resources and an ever-increasing body of members to look after, you can forgive them to an extent for focusing on the needs of the present as opposed to the troubles of the past, but surely some form of halfway house has to be there to make the transition into ‘normal’ every day life less bumpy.
Footballers go from a climate of chumminess, where everything is spoonfed for you, to nothing. The camaraderie is clearly there and by and large it seems a pretty enjoyable job to have for the most part, but they are thrown by the wayside somewhat once they’re no longer of any use to the profession. In no other industry aside from professional sport is a person virtually retired once they reach the age of 40, left on the scrape heap to twiddle their thumbs for another 30 years or so.
Like I said earlier, many will not sympathise with the struggles of a former pro, they’ve had their cake and they’ve eaten it and then some. The mess is of their own making, but struggles aren’t strictly the reserve of retired footballers, with Tony Adams, Paul Merson, Matthew Etherington and Adrian Mutu all suffering from various forms of addition, whether it be gambling, alcohol or drug-related while they were still playing.
Mario Balotelli is often made out to be this zany character, which completely ignores that the majority of stuff written about him isn’t a) true at all or b) actually a complete non-story. The lack of context is startling, it completely ignores the difficult upbringing he had when his parents had to request foster care for him because their living conditions were so poor. But sure, he does crazy stuff sometimes, so let’s all laugh at him.
Former Blackburn centre-half Colin Hendry was declared bankrupt in June 2010, a year after his wife died of an infection caused by cosmetic surgery. The root cause of his gambling addiction is of course intertwined with the difficulty of his home life, since she was first taken ill in 2002. Rumours persisted in late March that Steve Kean was set to offer him a coaching position at the club as he sought to protect himself from the fans’ ire with the return of a club legend, but no such move materialised and he last worked in football in 2008 as manager of Scottish club Clyde, which he had to resign from to take care of his wife. A desperately sad story.
Football does not owe you a living, but it should owe you a duty of care, for a time after you leave the game at least. There are various ways to make a quick buck once you retire, with many (although some of them really shouldn’t be) taking to a media career, while others stay involved in the game through coaching and management. But it’s those that slip through the net and that do none of the above where the problems are likely to arise.
It’s not practical to ‘look after’ and keep monitoring players long after they’ve quit the game, but the sheer amount of stigma’s associated with the sport need looking at. Things like depression and whether a person is gay or not are still hugely taboo subjects and it’s clear that while these players are still playing, that they don’t feel comfortable enough to talk openly about their problems and preferences with either their team-mates or their club and more needs to be done to address this in the future.
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Being mentally prepared for the next stage of your life is a bigger cause for concern than most will let on, and without the right support structure around you, it’s simply a recipe for disaster. This isn’t a preachy diatribe aimed at sympathy for those that squander their talent due to ill-advised and poorly thought out decisions, but rather a call to arms for more to be done to help those less adjusted to the rigours of modern life. Football can be a release, but once it lets you go, it can be an awfully lonely place out there all by yourself.
As the new season gets underway, there is a lot of debate on whether Liverpool will be able to make a return to the Top Four and add some silverware to their trophy room or not. Many fans have adopted a rather critical opinion of Liverpool’s pre-season displays as well as their summer activities in the transfer market with the club spending heavily on players such as Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson. However, there have been plenty of reasons to believe that Liverpool is indeed, on the way up and a return to the Big Four is imminent.
1) Luis Alberto Suarez is one of the key factors which led me to believe Liverpool will indeed be a force to reckon with this campaign. For a player to switch club and country mid-season and still manage to make a sizeable impact come May is truly remarkable. The Uruguayan filled the gaping hole left by Fernando Torres’ departure almost instantly. “El Pistolero” as he is known in his native country, will also be in good spirits following his explosive performances in the Copa America and the striker will be hoping to emulate his International form in Liverpool colours this year. Moreover, after enjoying a successful first season in England, Suarez will be much more accustomed to the English style of play and with the new summer recruits settling in well to support the striker, who’s to say Liverpool’s number 7 won’t be at the top of the scoring charts come May.
2) Transfer activities at Anfield this summer have been nothing like they were last year. A total shift in the club’s transfer policy has seen an influx of money invested in proven Premier League players with the best of their years ahead of them. Stewart Downing, our most expensive summer signing, has been under the club’s radar for many years now. His playmaking abilities and versatility has convinced the club’s new American owners to spend big on him and keeping his pre-season performances in mind, he could very well be a bargain. To add to it, summer signings of Charlie Adam and Jordan Henderson can both fill the void left by Steven Gerrard’s injury and will go a long way to strengthening our midfield. Recently acquired Jose Enrique can solve our left-back problem which has been the club’s Achilles heel for many years. Moreover, with Raul Meireles and Alberto Aquilani along with others providing the necessary squad depth, Liverpool now have a squad capable of challenging for the European spots.
3) No European football this term could be just what Dalglish needed in his first full season as Liverpool’s manager second time around. The club is going through a rebuilding process and the added pressure that comes along with European football could very well be a distraction the Scot could do without. Liverpool just isn’t ready to compete against top European teams and with the club now focusing solely on domestic competitions, a top four finish seems more likely.
4) Arsenal, who are in direct competition with Liverpool for a Champions League spot have had a turbulent summer with the Gunners resigned to losing club captain Cesc Fabregas and quite possibly Samir Nasri, putting an end to a long running saga. Having already lost Gael Clichy, things at Emirates seems to have taken a turn for the worse and with a number of key players gone, Arsene Wenger’s refusal to revolutionize his ideology and transfer policies have been the cause of some serious unrest among the Arsenal faithful. After constant reports linking most of their big name players with moves away from the Emirates this summer, Wenger has been kept busy to say the least, on guarding the exit doors and thus, Arsenal’s inability to spend big in the summer to sort out their defensive woes as well as to strengthen their midfield has led many to believe that Kenny Dalglish’s men can successfully overtake the North Londoners in their bid for a Champions League spot.
5) Stability is perhaps the most important change brought upon by the club’s new American owners ever since taking over from the much hated duo of Tom Hicks and George Gillett. By bringing in the likes of Kenny Dalglish, Steve Clarke and Damien Comolli to the backroom and managerial staff, FSG have created a solid foundation on which they will need to build on. After many years, Liverpool will be going into a season without any kind of negativity surrounding ownership troubles or unhappy big name players. Kenny Dalglish and Director of Football Damien Comolli have received tremendous support from the boardroom level and all the good work they have put in has been translated onto the players and fans alike, bringing the Anfield romance back. Hence, things are finally looking on the up for the Merseysiders and a long due return to the Top Four is back on the cards again.
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