A truly terrible week for the gunners, blowing a two goal lead to lose to their north London rivals followed by defeat in Portugal to Braga. A result which leaves their qualification to the last 16 from a group that was originally perceived as a formality now far from certain, going into the final group game. Talk of the title returning to Arsenal for the first time since 2004 have also quietened.
This week at FFC we have seen a variety of blogs which has included; A sign of football’s moral and financial depravity, Chamack vs Bendtner and a few Arsenal stars from yesteryear appearing in The Premier League DREAM team of all time?
We also have a look at Arsenal’s best stories on the web.
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Hallå Underbar – Christian’s lady puts Premiership WAGS in the shade
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Should Arsenal fans be overly concerned by his exit?
FIVE things we learnt from Arsenal today
Is this the Premier League team from HELL?
Will Morimoto swoop really provide the missing piece for Arsenal?
Arsenal FC – A Ferrari chassis powered by a Ford engine
Time for an Arsenal clearout?
The Nicklas Bendtner Poser
The Premier League DREAM team of all-time?
Who provides the backbone in Arsenal’s Ultimate XI?
A sign of football’s moral and financial depravity
Chamakh vs Bendtner
Are football fans slowly being shafted?
Why SOME Arsenal fans need to put away the pitchfork
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Click here to see the Best ARSENAL BLOGS around the Web this week
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£17 Million for two teenagers, how silly is that? – Highbury House
A poor team in a poorer league – Online Gooner
The Good, The Bad & The Downright Ugly – A Cultured Left Foot
Cesc crocked, Good, now we can get on with our game!! – Highbury House
In response to Ranting Morons – Online Gooner
The Invincibles Would Have Gone TWO Seasons Unbeaten These Days! – Wrighty7
Manchester City defender Pablo Zabaleta has stated that he is ready for the derby fixture against Manchester United, and admits that his side are lucky to have the chance to get back in the title race.
With Roberto Mancini’s men trailing the champions by three points, the sides meet at the Etihad Stadium on Monday in a crunch clash.
The Argentina international has admitted that his side are looking forward to the game, and must go into the fixture without fear.
“To be honest, after the Arsenal defeat I thought our chance was probably gone,” he told The Sun.
“We’ve been five points clear before so we know how it feels.
“But United losing against Wigan and dropping points against Everton shows that in football you have to believe because you never know.
“If we have another chance for the title it is because we deserve it. We kept going and we will continue to do that and see what happens.
“We know how important this game is. United are the team we want to beat — especially because it gives us a chance to go back to the top of the table.
“For the race for the title, it’s very important. That’s why it is probably one of the biggest derbies ever.
“We need to be strong mentally, focus on what we do and give it our all. We’ve got the talent and the quality — we’ve got everything.
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“But the mentality and the attitude for that game has to be more then 100 per cent. If we put everything into it, with the quality we have got it can make a difference,” he concludes.
As we reflect upon the Premier League’s twentieth season, FootballFanCast caught up with Yorkshire’s perennial nomad of the Football Leagues, and everyone’s favourite TV pundit, Chris Kamara, to hear his views on a extraordinary season and the challenges that face England over the next month and a half.
The last twelve months of Premier League football have been widely touted as the ‘best’ ever. Defining a season as the ‘best’ raises various problems, whose subjective view of ‘best’ are we talking about? What constitutes a brilliant season? “Entertainment and controversy” says Kamara animatedly. And, for the record, Chris is of the opinion that we have witnessed the most entertaining and controversial season for the last twenty years.
“Personally I don’t think there has been a better one. For a start I’ve never seen three teams come up and play as well as Queens Park Rangers, Norwich and Swansea have, not in a million years.”
“Promoted teams are normally frightened of the Premier League and even when they have managed to play reasonably well they’ve usually struggled in the second half of the season and end up either going straight back down or down the year after. You can’t tell me that it’s a given the QPR, Norwich and Swansea were gonna go back down given the manner that they play, so that was fantastic.”
“Then you’ve had the battle between Manchester City and Manchester United, which towards the end was just so intense. It was Hollywood, you couldn’t write the end. If someone was to write a decent movie about football it would end like that – with United thinking they’d won the title but City winning it in injury time. You think: ‘that’ll never happen in real life’ and it did! It was just amazing to watch; you’ll never see the likes of that again.”
As well justifying its tag as the most dramatic league in world football, this season’s events have, Kamara says, also provided lessons for next year.
“I think there’ve been more refereeing mistakes than ever before, more controversial goals and more confusion, which has certainly enhanced the debate for goal line technology.” Something that Premier League chief Richard Scudamore has also been keen to highlight in recent weeks.
In many ways, the managers and players who have drawn the highest acclaim this season have been those who were written off in August (Norwich, Swansea, Newcastle) and Kamara says that he can’t speak highly enough of the Barclays manager of the season Alan Pardew.
“Alan Pardew has been the really impressive. When he walked in to Newcastle he wasn’t taken on board by the fans because of the fact that Chris Hughton had done such a good job and wasn’t treated very fairly but you know in football you’ll always have managers looking at other managers’ jobs regardless of whether the fans do or don’t want you.”
“If you just look at the way that Alan’s transformed that football club, the players that he’s brought in. Demba Ba, who had injury problems, went up there and proved himself to be a fantastic centre forward, even better than he was at West Ham.”
“Then after the African Cup of Nations he [Pardew] went and bought his strike partner [Papiss Demba] Cisse who has got the best portfolio of goals I think I’ve ever seen from a striker in their first season. He’s looked at what people thought were average players and seen really great players so I think he deserves real credit.”
However, not every team will be quite so enthused about their manager’s performances and Chris was quick to highlight there are tough times ahead for the relegated clubs.
“It’s looking bleak for one or two of them. At this moment in time, you’d have to say that Blackburn, as a football club, is going downhill a little bit. To arrest that slide they’ll need to have a complete makeover, will they get it? It’s hard to tell.”
“Wolves have taken a complete gamble with somebody who is a relative unknown [new manager Stale Solbakken] and it’s always going to be difficult for a manager coming to a new country, especially to a club that’s in Wolves’ situation. Then again, obviously everybody deserves an opportunity and I hope he can prove me wrong.”
Two years ago we saw Newcastle win promotion at their first attempt, this year either Blackpool or West Ham are guaranteed to match that feat and Kammy thinks the Owen Coyle’s Lancashire club have a reasonable chance of doing the same.
“Owen Coyle’s had success winning promotion with Burnley. It happens though [relegation]. We’ve all got black marks on our CV but thankfully Owen’s being given the chance to put things right at Bolton and I think they could be alright next year.”
Kamara’s time working on television has endeared him to fans in a way not often seen. His work mate, Gary Neville, might not have the same common touch but his approach to football has earned him a place in Roy Hodgson’s England set-up. So, what does Chris think the former England international will bring to the table?
“He brings a bit of everything. I think the first reason Roy Hodgson has brought him in is that the players can identify with him as he’s only just finished playing. He retired himself because he was no longer able to play at the level he was used to; a lot of players would have gone down a division. Gary could have played in the Championship or even in the Premier League and he’ll be able to use his experience.”
“The second thing that he brings is that he won’t be afraid to tell the players when they’re not performing well enough and I think that’s something that Roy Hodgson needed.”
“Gary can close the gap between Roy and the players. Gary can tell the players if they’re not performing to an international level and I think the players will respond to that.”
“He’s also got an incredible knowledge of the game. Obviously he was quite shy when he started with Sky, as everyone is when they’re put in front of the cameras, but I think he’s come through that and proved to everyone that he knows exactly what he’s talking about. I think he brings a hell of a lot.”
In many ways it is a similar appointment to Bryan Robson’s for Euro ’96. Terry Venables brought Robson in to act as a link between himself and the players and he proved to be invaluable. For many, when England were knocked out at the semi finals in 1996 it was an unmitigated disaster, fans considered that tournament to be ours for the taking. How times have changed. What, I wonder, would fans consider a successful tournament in light of the unusual build up to this year’s tournament?
“We have to at least get through the group stages,” says Kamara. “I think if we don’t make through the group stages, whether the FA have given him [Roy Hodgson] a four year contract or not, he will be under a lot of pressure almost immediately.”
“Having said that I think we will, and I believe we have an excellent chance of winning it. We haven’t done that well in recent times and as a result there’s less pressure on the team coming in to the tournament.”
“A lot of people have lost a bit of belief in us and I’ll admit that I was behind Redknapp before the end of the season but the decision has been made and it’s important we all get behind Roy.”
“One thing we know that Roy Hodgson will do is organise the players, he’ll make England very difficult to beat and if he does do that then we have the players capable to win us big matches.”
Kamara’s optimism is refreshing, yet whether you regard us underdogs or potential champions the fact England will be without Rooney against both France and Sweden is something we must all take into consideration. So, who exactly are England’s goal scoring hopes going to fall upon for the group stages?
“That’s a difficult one really, we started off with Sturridge playing really well for Chelsea, Welbeck too started really well for United but as the season went on they both lost a little bit of form.”
“Towards the end of the season you’re looking at Andy Carroll. I know he only played well over the last few games but if he were able to produce that during the tournament it would be fantastic.”
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“In terms of a natural goal scorer obviously Darren Bent springs to mind but Fabio Capello was never really that big a fan of him. We are waiting for someone to emerge and prove that they’re good enough. Personally I think Steven Gerrard playing in behind Andy Carroll could be a good move for us.”
Kamara was also keen to talk about the FA’s official song for the European Championships. ‘Sing for England’, in which Kamara stars, is hoping to surpass the, somewhat mixed, success of previous football songs and, Kamara says, hopefully make it to number one in time for the Euros. Chris’ share of the money will all go to the Marie Curie Foundation.
“Since [The Lightning Seeds’] Three Lions I’ve seen people try [to make a good England song] and you need a song that people are going to sing on the terraces and from the first minute I listened to it I thought it had a catchy tune and thought straight away it would be popular with the fans.”
“From then on The FA have taken it on as the official song for the Euros. Hopefully people will buy it too because some of the proceeds from the song go to.”
Sing For England is available to download from iTunes.
Follow me on Twitter @H_Mackay
Chris Kamara was promoting Sportsdirect.com’s Euro 2012 clothing range. Buy your England gear at any Sportsdirect.com store or visit www.Sportsdirect.com.
Uruguay striker Diego Forlan has ruled out the possibility of returning to the Premier League with Tottenham.
Forlan has been in impressive form during the South Americans' march to the semi-finals of the World Cup.
The 31-year-old has bagged three goals in South Africa and has caught the eye of several Premier League managers.
However, after a disappointing two-year spell with Manchester United which was ended by a move to Villarreal in 2004, Forlan is not interested in returning to England.
Speaking last week, Spurs boss Harry Redknapp confirmed his interest in the now Atletico Madrid frontman.
"Tottenham are a club who are going in the right direction, but I have no interest in joining the Premier League with any club," said Forlan.
"For a start, Spain is much hotter and also it is my home now.
"We have a great team at Atletico and next season we will be aiming for a top-four finish.
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"We have some very exciting young players and I'm excited for the season.
"I will never play in England again, but I still actually look back with fond memories at some moments."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
As certain players continue to perform week in and week out, others begin to find themselves more and more on the sidelines. This is the case with a number of players earning their wages at Tottenham. This is not because they are bad players – they just can’t keep up with the likes of Rafael van der Vaart and Gareth Bale – and let’s face it, few can. I’ve singled out four players for whom I think it’s time to move on. These are good players who I think could re-ignite their career at new clubs. Furthermore, their sale will add funds to Harry Redknapp’s transfer kitty as he hunts for the signature of two further ‘world-class’ players to help Spurs compete for trophies.
One such player who hasn’t made the impact that he may have hoped for is Niko Kranjcar. He joined Spurs for £2 million in 2009 and has only played sporadically since then. Newcastle United, Everton and Liverpool are all thought to be after the Croatians signature, which is valued by Spurs at £7 million. If Spurs move on Kranjcar for this kind of money it will be a piece of very good business. It’s unlikely that Newcastle and Everton will shell out that kind of money and Liverpool’s spending is being monitored very heavily right now. If Kranjcar engineers a move to Liverpool then he may find himself in a similar position to the one he’s currently in at Spurs. If Tottenham are willing to come down on their price, then moving Kranjcar onto Everton or Newcastle would be the best option for everybody involved.
Robbie Keane is another who has struggled to get game-time this season. The same state of affairs saw Keane shipped off to Celtic last season, where he was a success, winning the Celtic Fan’s Player of the Year Award. This season it’s likely that Keane’s plight will see him moved on for good. Juventus are thought to be monitoring Keane’s circumstances with interest. At one stage Keane looked set to be a real Spurs legend, so it’s a little sad to see him go, but it feels as though the time is right. Despite being 30 years old, you still feel as though he could do a job in Serie A.
Despite a good start to his Spurs career, David Bentley’s form soon faultered and he saw himself drop down the pecking order. Bentley cost Tottenham £15 million in July 2008 when purchased from Blackburn. It’s unlikely that Tottenham would be able to recoup this money in his sale. But with Aaron Lennon and Luka Modric both keeping him out, it’s time for him to seek football elsewhere. A move back to old club Blackburn Rovers could be on the cards, and if Spurs can get about £7-8 million out of the sale, they’ll have done a good piece of business.
Another player frozen out by Redknapp over the last year or so is Jamie O’Hara. The 24-year-old midfielder spent the last season on loan at Avram Grant’s Portsmouth, where he impressed. It’s now thought that West Ham (now managed by Grant) are looking to add O’Hara to their squad. If West Ham can match Spur’s £6 million asking price, this would be a good move for both teams.
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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
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Transfer Talk
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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
Liverpool could owe a debt of gratitude to former manager Rafa Benitez for his part in revamping the Liverpool youth academy that has been in decline in recent years. In the summer of 2009 Kirkby was transformed with the help of Rodolfo Borrell and Pep Segura, who were key figures in the set-up of Barcleona’s academy. Benitez also brought back one-time chief scout Frank McParland to oversee the progression of Liverpool’s rising stars.
It is hoped it won’t be long before the next wonder kids are coming through and breaking into the reserve and first team. If the foundations that Rafa has put in place start to bear fruit then Liverpool stand to save millions on transfer fees. Who will be the next Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher or Michael Owen?
There have been places in the first team squad this season for the highly rated duo of Jay Spearing and Martin Kelly. So it appears there is already evidence that Liverpool can start to produce their own players again. The excellent youth and scouting system that has been put in place is not purely reserved to British players. Take the example of Daniel Pacheco, who is currently on loan at Championship side Norwich City. Pacheco was playing for the Barcelona academy before being recruited into the Liverpool reserves and then the first team. It remains to be seen how good of player he will be, but he certainly has a lot of potential.
[ad_pod id=’unruly’ align=’right’]
The bottom line is the future for Liverpool looks bright and there is plenty of evidence to suggest Liverpool can produce some real stars. There is something about seeing your club’s youth players breaking into the first team and you just know these youngsters are thrilled just to play for the club. You do sometimes wonder with these foreign signings how much they value playing for the club and how much they really care. However, when a player has come through the youth system (even if they aren’t British) you feel they have become part of the family of that great club. They just want to go out there and impress the fans and you can be sure they value the opportunity they have been given.
The Premier League needs the next crop of young and hungry British players and I am delighted to see that Liverpool are doing all they can to produce them. Rafa Benitez did many great things for Liverpool and I am pleased to see even after he has left his legacy will live on through the next crop of Liverpool’s rising stars.
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Tottenham are ready to make a summer move for Chelsea forward Salomon Kalou, according to The Daily Mail.
The Ivory Coast international is a free agent at the end of the season due to an expiring contract, and the White Hart Lane club are ready to try to sign the African attacker on a Bosman ruling.
Kalou has largely been a bit-part player in the Blues set-up this season, but has been given a lease of life by Roberto Di Matteo, and is featuring more regularly in fixtures in Europe and the Premier League of late.
Chelsea are said to be keen to offer Kalou a new deal, and will re-open talks with the player’s representatives next week over a possible extension.
Italian giants AC Milan are also believed to be keeping an eye on the situation, and are ready to make a move to sign Kalou if contract talks with Chelsea fail.
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Everybody loves a cheeky backheel and the finest examples stay long in the memory. There was Zola’s magical flick against Norwich in 2002 and Kanu’s delightful finish against Middlesboro in 1999. Now Daniel Sturridge’s gem of a backheel against Sunderland on Saturday has joined these classics.
There are a surprising variety of ways to score a backheel as this top 10 shows, none more unique than Laurent Robert’s effort for Newcastle, but despite this variety, all the goals are united by a deftness of touch and speed of thought.
While 9 times out of 10 a player is likely to get a rollicking from his manager for “Mickey Mouse football”, the moments when it comes off are priceless.
Now, the general standard of backheeled goals is pretty darn high so selecting a top ten is inevitably going result in a few classics going unheralded. The most notable absentees are Lee Sharpe’s flick against Barcelona in 1995 and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s finish against Italy in Euro 2004. But hopefully the final 10 will blow your socks off. Enjoy.
10. Thierry Henry (Arsenal Vs Charlton)
Standing with his back to goal and a man up his backside, Henry stabs it with the heel straight into the bottom corner. As with most of these efforts the keeper has absolutely no chance.
[youtube xKOHq4za9bM]
9. Gianfranco Zola (Chelsea vs Norwich)
One of the finest imports of continental flair, Zola showed everyone what the phrase really meant with this delightful finish at the near post. Also some classic congratulatory player bum slapping in the video too.
[youtube 1Z4DAaQe7Q4]
8. Kanu (Arsenal Vs Middlesboro)
Nwankwo Kanu has always had good feet for a big man, never better than this stunning finish against Boro. This is the most classic type of backheeled goal which in no way detracts from how difficult it is to get right.
[youtube w4Fk2v49NBg]
7. Coridon (PSG Vs Porto)
In at number 7 because it’s slightly untidy, this acrobatic effort really is perfectly executed playground stuff that shouldn’t really be attempted in the Champions League, still I’m sure he was glad he went for it.
[youtube 7heyW6vmnYI]
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Continued on Page TWO
6. Roberto Mancini (Lazio Vs Parma)
Before the Man City manager became a huge scarf he did actually play football. Here he does everything exactly right, catching the ball perfectly and sending it straight into the top corner.(Very disappointing effort from the man on the front post though).
[youtube iW5WvVcMYCY]
5. Rafael Van der Vaart (Ajax Vs Feyenoord)
This is a stunning way to react when the ball’s played in behind you, the automatic reaction to throw yourself headlong past the ball and catch it with your feet isn’t particularly logical but it sure is effective.
[youtube aKiJLvOlXpQ]
4. Daniel Sturridge (Sunderland Vs Chelsea)
This certainly didn’t seem like the easiest way to get the ball in the net but it was definitely original and has the ever enjoyable bonus of the defender ending up in the net. A fantastically deft finish.
[youtube 9kmSxRHL3EM]
[divider]
Continued on Page THREE
3. Amantino (Roma Vs Lazio)
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This video has everything, fantastic goal in the local derby, classic dance anthem soundtrack and commentators going crazy, what could be better?
[youtube shoM-n4ec5o]
2. Laurent Robert (Newcastle Vs Fulham)
It’s hard to explain what the hell Laurent Robert is doing when he attempts this as there is no way this is the easiest way to hit the ball. Nonetheless he manages to put it away in breathtaking fashion. Not one to try in the playground.
[youtube sOiubzg_2_s]
1. Matty Burrows (Glentoran Vs Portadown)
Definitely from the Mickey Mouse school of finishing Burrows seriously risked looking like a prat with this effort but it came off and 5 million views later it’s still wowing people. Entirely intentional and inch perfect, it’s your textbook backheel lob. Very special.
Former Everton goalkeeper Neville Southall believes it was “pointless” to rest Tim Howard for Tuesday’s Capital One Cup clash with Leeds.
Southall, who holds the record number of consecutive league appearances, revealed he used to have arguments with his management if they ever attempted to leave him out of the side.
The Welshman’s record of 212 consecutive league appearances is being chased down by Everton’s current shot stopper Howard, who finds himself on 189, a run that stretches back to September 2007.
Southall told the Liverpool Echo: “I hated missing games. I used to have a row with Colin Harvey and Howard Kendall if they ever wanted to leave me out, because you’d lose a bit of momentum. I liked to stay in the zone.
“When I looked at the game against Leeds on TV I was looking to see if it was Tim playing, then thinking: ‘Why have they left him out?’ It’s pointless. Outfield players I can understand, but once a goalkeeper gets in that groove you want to leave him in there.
“If you’re No. 1, you’re No. 1 and it’s up to you to play yourself out of that position. I hated missing any game, even a Simod Cup tie against Millwall with 3,000 inside Goodison because I was looking forward to playing in a young team. I think Howard Kendall left me out because he didn’t want to be in the competition anyway!”
Southall was also full of praise for the man who could end up surpassing his record, claiming Howard has become a better goalkeeper since arriving at Goodison Park from Old Trafford.
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“Tim’s a good goalkeeper,” he continued. “His distribution could be better. Sometimes he kicks it too high and too far, which is okay when you’ve got Fellaini on the end of it but not always, but other than that he’s a very good keeper.
“I think he’s done well and he’s improved since he’s been at the club.”