Sir Alex Ferguson has said it is advantage Manchester City in the race for the Premier League title. Two defeats in the matter of days has seen United now trail their great rivals by 3 points and seen a significant swing in goal difference. The Scot isn’t overly concerned about the back to back defeats, but believes they need to get winning again sooner rather than later.
Elsewhere in the news Suarez apologises for his actions; Mata backs AVB and Fernando Torres, while Harry Redknapp warns Gareth Bale.
News
Suarez apologises for his actions
Arsenal to open up contract talks
Defoe enjoying pressure at the top
Mata backs Villas-Boas and Torres
FA stand firm over Barton dismissal
Redknapp warns Gareth Bale
Jelavic keen on Premier League amid Liverpool’s interest
[divider]
Transfer Talk
[divider]
Chelsea run rule over £35m Cavani as AVB eyes Drogba replacement – Daily Mail
Prem pair fight it out over Chelsea starlet – Mirror
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United join Chelsea in Cahill hunt – Sun
Blackburn could sacrifice Hoilett to survive – Mirror
Sow’s what we want! Arsenal and Spurs consider £20m Lille striker – Daily Mail
QPR have come back from two goals down against Liverpool to win 3-2 at Loftus Road on Wednesday night.
After a goalless first half, Sebastian Coates and Dirk Kuyt gave the Reds a 2-0 advantage, and what looked like all three points.
However, Mark Hughes’ men fought back admirably, levelling things up through Shaun Derry and Djibril Cisse, before Jamie Mackie grabbed the winner in injury time.
Kenny Dalglish was left shell-shocked by the defeat, but gave QPR credit for their comeback.
“I think for us, we were a little mindful of opinions about how we would play after getting into the semi-finals [of the FA Cup] but I think they started fantastically well,” he told Sky Sports.
“For most of the game they controlled it, they passed it, they moved it. They scored two goals and could have been four or five up by half-time and they weren’t.
“They came out for the second half and started quite brightly again, and they went on and got two goals and out of nowhere they have got three.
“For us, we don’t really have an explanation other than to say they deserve a bit of credit for what they did.
“We should have been out of sight before it even got to that stage. It’s a difficult one to take because there was so much that was very positive about the game,” the Scot concluded.
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Liverpool remain in seventh place, whilst QPR move out of the relegation spots and up to 17th position.
The Rangers Charity Foundation have once again joined forces with Football Aid, allowing football fans the opportunity to play on the hallowed turf at Ibrox in 2012, while raising vital funds for charity at the same time.
Football Aid offers fans the opportunity to Live the Dream of an authentic match day experience; to gain exclusive access to the pitch and tunnel areas, pull on their own personalised shirt in the official changing rooms, walk down the tunnel to the sound of a cheering crowd and ultimately to step out onto their Field of Dreams and represent their club in a never to be forgotten 90 minute match.
The matches have also been supported by a host of Gers legends down the years, with the likes of Ally McCoist, Trevor Steven, Derek McInnes, Billy Dodds and Gordon Durie all lending their valuable experience, by acting as Manager or playing alongside supporters in the hugely enjoyable match at Ibrox.
Booking your position couldn’t be easier, just visit www.footballaid.com and choose your club, then you’ll have two ways to secure your Fixed Price position: Option 1: ‘Buy Now’ – Our quickest and most popular option, or Option 2: ‘Sponsored to Play’ – Pay a non-refundable £100 deposit to secure your position and then simply pay off the remaining balance anytime before 13th December.
So if you’re keen to secure your place on your Field of Dreams early this season, why not visit www.footballaid.com today to make sure you’re ahead of the crowd! Alternatively if you’d like any additional information, you can call Football Aid on 0131 220 5999 or email [email protected].
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Football Aid celebrated their 10th anniversary in 2010 and have allowed over 12,225 football fans the chance to Live the Dream in more than 460 matches. They are a groundbreaking organisation which generates funds annually by hosting charity football matches at iconic stadiums all over the UK. The unique concept was the brainchild of businessman and Football Aid Chairman Craig Paterson and funds raised from the event will benefit the work of a charitable project nominated by the club, as well as projects nominated by Football Aid’s parent charity Field of Dreams.
Milan Jovanovic has been restricted to just four Premier League starts for the Reds and has failed to make an impact on Merseyside since joining the club on a free transfer. The big Serb striker initially agreed to join Liverpool while Rafa Benitez was in charge at Anfield but joined up with the club after the Spaniard had been replaced by Roy Hodgson. With a change in management it would seem the Liverpool man is in no way part of Hodgson’s plans.
It would be fair to say that he has struggled to demonstrate to the Liverpool boss that he is worthy of a place in the starting line-up but – despite interest in his signature from abroad – the 29-year-old maintains he will fight for his place at Anfield. With this admirable attitude im left surprised as to why the Serb has still been restricted to appearances from off the bench – would it be out of the question to think the striker is being badly treated?
Jovanovic comments “Since I moved to England I’ve done everything regarding my job the way the coach wants from me. I was really focused on not making many tactical mistakes. I’ve not done things my way. I didn’t do things my way, I didn’t take risks with my moves and actions. I’m just thinking about Liverpool. I’ll stay here because I’m no quitter or a person who doesn’t fight.” With such a positive attitude I can’t help but feel Hodgson is poorly treating the former Standard Liege man.
With Hodgson keen to offload players in order to acquire new ones come January, it would not surprise me if Hodgson is giving Jovanovic the cold shoulder in a bid to force the Serb towards the Anfield exit door. It is thought that the Liverpool boss is in the market for a more potent striker, maybe in the mould of Carlton Cole or Johan Elmander.
Am I alone in thinking that this is rather harsh as Jovanovic has hardly been given a chance to prove that he could be the ideal striking partner for the classy Fernando Torres? For me, the Serb has most definitely been unfairly treated and the situation that he currently finds himself in is no fault of his own.
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Merseyside rivals Liverpool and Everton, in addition to Arsenal, are reportedly all attempting to bring Hungarian star Balazs Dzsudzsak to the Premier League in the summer. Dzsudzsak, who currently plays for PSV Eindhoven in Holland, is looking to move to a bigger club to progress his career and has already sounded out a move to England.
The 24-year-old told origo.hu that “I think the Premier League is one of the best, or maybe the best, football leagues in the world so it would be a great thing to play there. But it would be too early to think about this possibility. I want to sign to a bigger club than PSV. I haven’t made it a secret that this is my intention. But my coach, Fred Rutten, said honestly that I’m still not ready for the change.”
Dzsudzsak has been in fantastic form for PSV this season, helping them to the top of the Dutch Eredivisie table with 18 goals and 8 assists in the 33 appearances that he’s made in all competitions for the Dutch giants. The left-winger has been capped 33 times for his country, netting on 5 occasions, and is seeking a move after spending three years in Holland.
A number of European clubs are scouting the young Hungarian and if a firm bid was made in the summer it would be difficult for his manager to stand in his way. While question marks remain over Everton’s funds for a potential deal, Arsenal and Liverpool both have the budget and both have a good experience of shopping in Holland, as Robin van Persie for the Gunners, and Dirk Kuyt and Luis Suarez for the Reds have all made the move to the Premier League.
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In the last four seasons I have watched literally everything about my club, Plymouth Argyle, drastically change. Attendances for matches have dropped from around the 13,000 mark to just over 6000 for most home games, our players have been sold for a fraction of what they are really worth to make quick money and now play at a much higher level than the club. A club that used to be comfortably mid-table in the championship now finds itself in its third relegation battle in a row, the last two of which have resulted in the Pilgrims dropping like a stone into League Two. And the slide may not quite yet be complete for Argyle, and the now severely depleted Green Army.
This of course has all happened due to yet another case of mismanagement of a football club that spiralled Argyle into millions of pounds of debt and the longest administration process seen in recent years. What happened to my club has been well documented, so I won’t break down everything that happened. However the most important thing is that we were saved by local businessman James Brent and the Green Army still have a club to support.
Cast your eyes down the League Two table and you will find Argyle 23rd of the 24 teams and encased in the relegation battle. Should the Pilgrims fail to stay up this season it will represent the first time the Devon club has ever played non-league football. The sheer thought of seeing Argyle play in the conference sends a shiver down my spine.
The majority of Argyle fans, including myself, know that if we go down to the conference it is very unlikely we will return to the football league at the first, or even second time of asking. The standard of football at conference level is actually very good, and I believe that at about half of the teams in that league could do well in League Two. None of the teams that have been promoted from the conference in the last 7 seasons have since been relegated back down. This shows the quality that exists there and with only one automatic promotion spot, it is extremely tough league to get out of. Which is why Pilgrims everywhere know that if we go down, we may spend quite a few seasons languishing in the conference before finally returning to the football league.
The fact that Argyle are not as good as down already is something for us Argyle fans to take heart from though. After nine games we had only one point to show for our efforts, and had only scored four goals. At that point Peter Reid was replaced temporarily by central midfielder Carl Fletcher as manager, who has since been handed the job permanently. Ever since that point results have gradually got better and better for Argyle. Fletcher has won five games and drawn six, leaving us at the time of writing on 22 points – only two from safety. We were even briefly out of the relegation zone for a week, but a poor result against Port Vale coupled with a win for Dagenham sent us straight back under the dreaded line.
With 19 games left of the season, Argyle are yet to play all the teams in the bottom half of the table and will believe that they can pull of the greatest of escapes. No team is safe in the bottom half of this league; you only have to look at what happened to Lincoln last season to see that.
If Argyle stay up you will not find a happier set of fans anywhere else in the country. We won’t have won a league, a trophy or even been promoted, but we will have survived the most terrible of times as a football league club. We will have beaten administration and all that it entailed and not let the idiotic behaviour of the past board ruin our club. We will be a normal football club again and hell, if we survive this year, next season could well be a promotion push as James Brent has indicated he wants the club back at League One level at the very least.
If we stay up, it will be a victory for football.
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Tottenham Hotspur set the example for the other Premier League clubs in the Champions League to follow last night as they went to the San Siro and beat AC Milan 1-0 thanks to a Peter Crouch goal. Spurs clearly got under the skin of their Serie A opponents, something Arsenal will need to do against Barcelona tonight, as Gennaro Gattuso lost his rag with Joe Jordan.
Much of the focus in the newspapers today is on Tottenham’s achievements in the Champions League, but elsewhere it is being reported that Manchester United are lining up a move for German wonderkid Mario Goetze, Chelsea face an inquiry over a past signing and Liverpool youngster Raheem Sterling could be set to break a record tonight.
[divider]
Gattuso faces lengthy ban after Champions League antics – Telegraph
Nasri passed fit to face Barca – Guardian
Fergie targets German wonderkid – Daily Mirror
Chelsea face inquiry over signing of Dutch youngster – The Sun
£21 million price tag slapped on Eden Hazard – Daily Mail
Sterling to break Liverpool record tonight – Daily Mirror
Lyon goalkeeper keen on Old Trafford move – The Sun
Man City boss wants more from Dzeko – Telegraph
Sunderland suffer huge losses – Daily Mail
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Government intervention in football is inevitable – Guardian
Although they are not fully introduced until next season, Uefa’s Financial Fair Play rules have already changed the financial outlook for Premier League clubs. They are no longer taking their situation for granted and are instead trying to securing their long term future at the top of the English game.
Alarmed with the massive amounts of debt carried by Europe’s leading clubs, and the fact that only 20% of them turn a profit, Uefa President, Michel Platini has introduced the FFP rules to encourage a more sustainable business model. The rules, designed to ensure clubs live within their means over a rolling three-year period, prohibit clubs sustaining losses of more than £40 million during this period.
Football has become more of a business than ever before and as a result the recession and economic downturn are really starting to have an affect with most clubs experiencing a decline in revenue with ticket and merchandise sales falling. The consequence is that these clubs are looking at new ways to keep their costs down while still maximising their revenues.
While millions more was spent during this year’s summer transfer window than in the last, it still feels like the wind is changing in Premier League with a widespread policy of buying now as an investment for the future.
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This can been seen with the fact that more money was spent on English players that ever before and a higher percentage of transfer fees went to clubs based in England with an increasingly trend to buy young English players. Manchester United’s Phil Jones, Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sunderland’s Connor Wickham were just some of the young English talent purchased in the summer by top clubs in the country. As they fit into the new home grown rule and also have a higher resale value in the future, these signings make perfect sense. I think we have now seen the end of big wages and relatively high fees for footballers in their late 20s and early 30s especially at the top clubs in Premier League, minus the odd exception.
Despite the £485 million lavished by Premier League clubs during this summer’s transfer window, there was still an increased financial restraint on managers with numerous clubs attempting to reduce their wage bill by clearing out surplus players on loans and free transfers in an attempt to cut their overinflated squads. Loans moves like Adebayor’s and Benayoun’s were rarely seen previously and are yet another example of club directors trying to balance the books.
Not only are clubs cutting down their wage bills but they are also signing players on reduced contracts. Mikel Arteta took a pay cut when agreeing his ‘dream move’ to Arsenal but in return he got stability with a long term contract and this sort of deal is the future of the Premier League. No longer can clubs pay ridiculous wages to average players and instead a balancing act must take place which will help stabilise the game.
Cost cutting measures have already been introduced in the Premier League and the FA are now looking at ways to bring in appropriate cost cutting measures which will introduce more prudence into the division. UEFA’s rules have changed the business of football in the Premier League and we can expect a different landscape, where clubs only spend when they earn, to emerge in the next few years.
Let me know you what think below and follow me on twitter @aidanmccartney for more thoughts about the beautiful game.
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In the last couple of years Glasgow Rangers have really carried Scottish football at home and abroad. Domestically they have been unrivalled and in 2008 they reached the final of the UEFA Cup losing 2-0 to Zenit St.Petersburg. With the current state of Scottish football and Rangers recent successes are they punching above their weight?
In light of their 3rd place finish the Champions League group stages it must be said that they have done extremely well, in that they have had quite significantly limited funds in recent times. However, many would argue that this has proved beneficial as the squad has been galvanised by the limited changes and consequently improved team spirit.
It must be said that there is a considerable step up in pace and technique when Rangers are enjoying Champions League campaigns or even the said lesser Europa League. If you look at the so-called bigger leagues, with the clubs’ financial investments and the millions they are spending on players, then that can make a difference at European level. It is always going to be harder for Rangers to compete financially with that. To an extent Rangers have held their own and have not embarrassed themselves at all whilst competing with the so-called bigger teams.
Having said that, if you look at the games Rangers have played so far this season in Europe, I think the Scottish Champions have shown that they are still able to compete at that level, you only need to look at their draws with Valencia and impressively away to European heavyweights Manchester United.
It can be said that the achievements in the Europa League in 2008 were nothing to do with luck, with Rangers finding themselves in the latter stages of the competition once again it will be their skill and ability that will prove whether Rangers have or have not been punching above their weight in recent times. However, with the club consecutively playing in Europe each season it must be acknowledged that Rangers are not punching above their weight and they deserve their place in either European Cup competitions.
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Roberto Mancini has lamented Manchester City’s fixture pile-up ahead of their trip to Fulham on Sunday.City’s trip to Craven Cottage is the first of three fixtures in a week.”We are not machines,” Mancini said.”I have never seen one team play every two days in February or March.””It’s not just impossible for us, it is for every team.””I think that here we should change something because for all players, for English players and every time after England play World Cup, European Cup it is a problem because all the players are tired.” “I think we should have more respect for the players because it is impossible.””We should use these two days to recover very well and I hope we can be fresh against Fulham.””We should try to win every game that’s possible, we will try to win but it is very hard to play so many games.””I think that we are very tired, it is important some players recover for Sunday and it will be a difficult game because Fulham play very well at this moment in time.””It will be a different game but I hope we can play like we did at Fulham.””Bobby Zamora is fit again and is an important player for them. It will be very difficult for us.”Reserve goalkeepers Shay Given and Gunnar Nielson both sustained long-term injuries this week, leaving just Joe Hart and the unfancied Stuart Taylor as cover.City faced a similar crisis last season when they were forced to sign Marton Fulop on an emergency loan after receiving special dispensation.”Last year we were unlucky, it is impossible that we are as unlucky again, we have Stuart Taylor but I hope Joe Hart can play every game,” Mancini said.”We have I don’t know how many players injured; I hope that Joe doesn’t have any problems. He is young and I hope that he can be strong.”Vincent Kompany (hip) and James Milner (hamstring) are both doubtful. Nigel De Jong (ankle), Adam Johnson (ankle) and Micah Richards (calf) are all definitely missing.