Darren Fletcher has told MUTV that Manchester United are ready to seal qualification into the knock-out stages of the Champions League with another win against Braga next month.
The Red Devils currently have a 100 per cent win record in Europe this season, defeating the Portuguese side last night with a 3-2 comeback at Old Trafford.
United sit at the top of Group H with nine points, meaning that another win will guarantee their place in the last 16 of Europe’s top club competition. Fletcher, 28, believes the away fixture against Braga is the perfect game to secure qualification and rectify the embarrassment of being knocked out in the group stage last season.
“After last year the aim was to get ourselves through the group as quickly as possible. One more victory should see us through and hopefully we can do it in the next game in Braga with two games to spare.
“If you take away the first 20 minutes when we went 2-0 down it was a good performance [against Braga].
“People will talk about slow starts and giving away early goals but the fact we came back to win showed great character. Nevertheless, we know we can’t keep doing it,” he said.
The Scotland international spent most of last season battling Ulcerative Colitis, taking extended leave from his club. He is yet to appear for United in the Premier League this season, but played for a full 90 minutes against Braga which suggests he is back to full fitness.
“I feel fine. It was good to get another 90 mintues under my belt and the more of them I get the better I’ll feel.
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“I’m fully aware there is huge competition for places in midfield. I’ve just got to get as many minutes under my belt as I can and keep taking my opportunities when they come,” the United midfielder added.
Southampton manager Nigel Adkins accepted the blame for his side’s 3-0 Capital One Cup defeat to Leeds.
The Saints chief made 11 changes to the side that lost 2-1 to Tottenham on Sunday, handing starts to the likes of Kelvin Davis and Tadanari Lee.
The Championship side, managed by Neil Warnock, took full advantage of a lacklustre performance by the St Marys’ Stadium-based team to advance to the next round of the competition.
After the game Adkins insisted that he made the right decision to rest his players, shouldering the blame for the loss:
“We didn’t perform anywhere near what’s expected of a Southampton Football Club team,” he told SkySports.
“Forty-eight hours ago we had a high-intensity game and I made the relevant changes.
“I take full responsibility.
“We wanted to play tomorrow, but the powers that be wanted it to be tonight.”
Adkins was positive about the performances of his young players, but criticised the displays of some experienced members of his squad:
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“We gave the players who have not been in the team the chance to show what they could do, and they did not take it.”
Leeds took the lead through a Michael Tonge strike after just over half-an-hour and extended their advantage through El Hadji Diouf on the 88-minute mark.
Luciano Becchio converted a penalty in stoppage time wrap up the 3-0 win after Luke Shaw had been adjudged to have fouled Tonge in the area.
Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna’s return from injury hasn’t helped much so far in improving the team’s quite frankly woeful defensive performances of late, but with reports linking the player with a move away in the future, how much truth is there to be found in digging a little deeper?
The latest rumour doings the rounds about the 29-year-old French international is that in the wake of Robin van Persie’s departure in the summer, and after Thomas Vermaelen was approached to be the club’s new captain, that Sagna was asked by Arsene Wenger to step into the role of vice-captain but turned the position down.
This of course led to Mikel Arteta stepping into the role after growing increasingly influential out on the pitch and in the dressing room over the course of the last year or so, but that Sagna preferred to stay as one of the rank-and-file is a troubling thought. Wenger targeted Sagna because aside from Tomas Rosicky, Theo Walcott and Johan Djourou, he’s the club’s longest serving player having joined back in 2007 from Auxerre.
Moreover, that is not the only rumour doing the rounds with concerns to the player, and given that his contract expires at the end of the next Premier League season, he is thought to be eyeing a new deal and a wage increase on his current £60,000 per week. Sagna will be 30 in February and Arsenal have a well-worn tradition of only handing one-year contracts to players over that age and the likelihood of an improved deal is short, so another long-standing contractual feud looks possible.
However, much of the basis of the thinking behind the belief that Sagna may be the next player heading for the exit door comes from his somewhat surprising yet wholly negative remarks about the club’s transfer business in the summer
“Everyone was expecting Robin van Persie to leave, but Alex Song — that was a surprise. I don’t understand that at all,” the Gunners right back said.
“It is a big loss for the club. When you see two of the best players from last season leave, you ask a lot of questions. I understand why the supporters are nervous. I am the only starting player left from 2007.”
Since returning from a broken leg over the course of the past few weeks, Sagna has taken his place in the starting eleven back four, ushering deputy Carl Jenkinson back onto the bench. A lot as been made of Jenkinson’s form so far this season, far too much if you ask me, but there’s certainly been a noticeable improvement.
Nevertheless, the idea that Wenger would consider selling Sagna simply because he has an able back-up in Jenkinson doesn’t make all that much sense. The aim is to improve the depth of your squad and increase competition for places so just because you have two players capable enough of playing every week in the same position, that doesn’t then automatically mean you will sell one.
Jenkinson is still just 20 years of age and despite his development, is still raw and rough around the edges, and while Wenger leaves himself open to such thinking given his over-reliance on youth in the past, I just can’t see them allowing Sagna to leave any time soon. The constant chopping and changing is doing more harm than good at the club and a period of stability, particularly at the back, is required.
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It appears as if the ground is being prepped for Sagna to leave and the various stories floating out there about him are spurious at best. They look as if they are running out of saleable assets and Sagna remains an attractive proposition, so rumours will inevitably be fabricated out of thin air entirely on the basis of his disgruntled summer comments. Arsenal seem to lurch from one crisis to another of late, but they’ve got some real battles to fight over the coming months and they simply don’t have time for the cosmetic ones.
Fulham manager martin Jol has insisted that he is not worried by his side’s poor form.
The Cottagers slipped to a 3-0 Premier League defeat to Tottenham over the weekend, leaving them winless in their last seven games.
To make matters worse, they have failed to score in three games, but Jol believes that his team should not be discouraged by recent results and that they are on target to achieve their aims for the season:
“We’re still only three points away from 20 and there are still three games to go before we’ve even reached the halfway point of the league program,” he is quoted by SkySports.
“Our target is always – like 10 or 12 other teams – to get to 40 points, so I’m not worried.
Jol is missing the likes of Brede Hangeland and Bryan Ruiz through injury and predicts a return to winning ways once his star names are back in action:
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“Hangeland is coming back, Bryan Ruiz is coming back, so hopefully if everyone is on the board we can try to get back on the winning track.”
Two goals from Jermain Defoe and a long-range effort from Sandro saw the West Londoners slide to a home defeat at the hands of city rivals Tottenham at Craven Cottage.
QPR’s search for a league win entered record territory as they drew with Wigan at the DW Stadium to leave Harry Redknapp still searching for his first victory as manager.
Swindon Town previously registered the longest winless start to a Premier League season in 1993-94 but that was surpassed by the R’s as they made it 16 games without success.
But a point earned on Latics soil is no easy feat and Redknapp will be glad to avoid defeat against Roberto Martinez’s side, who responded to Monday’s defeat at Newcastle with a much improved performance.
And they couldn’t have asked for a better start as they took the lead in the 19th minute courtesy of a stunning volley from James McCarthy. It came from a corner won by David Jones with a novel free kick routine that produced a fingertip save from Rob Green, and when Jamie Mackie failed to clear the resulting aerial delivery, McCarthy arrived to rifle the ball first time in to the far corner.
QPR are firmly under the Redknapp spell and they responded in style when Ryan Nelsen darted past Adriano Lopez in the penalty area to meet Adel Taarabt’s corner and thunder his header past Ali Al-Habsi at the near post.
Franco Di Santo could have put the hosts back in front but couldn’t take advantage of Clint Hill’s mistake just before half time. Green then made three important saves to deny McCarthy and Jordi Gomez twice in a matter of minutes after the break as the visitors found penned into their own half.
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So it was all the more surprising when Rangers snatched the lead with 20 minutes to go. Shaun Wright-Phillips took advantage of a sloppy pass from Lopez to tee up half time substitute Djibril Cisse, who expertly guided the ball past Al-Habsi from 12 yards.
But it lasted just three minutes as Jean Beausejour was allowed to find McCarthy in the area and the Scotland midfielder exploited the time and space afforded to control and fire the ball past Green.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kieran Gibbs, Carl Jenkinson, Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere. Usually such a line-up is indicative of a contemporary boy band but this fabulous quintet is more likely to make grown men swoon rather than teenage girls scream.
A wave of relief must have swept across every Arsenal supporter when the club announced they had collectively tied down their most promising batch of young players. The news provides a timely boost for a team that continues to sail through troubled waters, especially as this sign of commitment would have felt worryingly alien for a side that has been repeatedly betrayed by former fan favourites.
The key message emanating from North London is that plans for the future have a distinct British core, which will undoubtedly help dispel the recurring criticism that the club favours a foreign presence. After watching the likes of Samir Nasri, Robin van Persie and Cesc Fabregas instigate painful exits, Arsene Wenger has perhaps decided to focus on those who share his close affinity with the Gunners.
If there is one man that can rival the Frenchman’s devotion to Arsenal, it’s Jack Wilshere. The resurgent talisman embodies the philosophy of his club, in the same inspiring manner as fellow England internationals Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard. He passes the ball rather than the blame and speaks with a startling understanding of what is expected of both him and his fellow team-mates.
There is certainly an aura surrounding the 20-year-old that evokes a flurry of compliments from everyone associated with the club. If Wenger can mould his aggressive passion into controlled desire then he may have just found his most influential leader since Tony Adams, a man who incidentally acquired the club captaincy at the tender age of 21.
However, Wilshere’s new contract still stimulates a growing sense of risk in amongst the obvious reward. A question mark still hangs over his long-term fitness as he gradually claws his way back to the sensational standards he set almost two years ago. Likewise, stories of late night antics – regardless of their accuracy – threaten the illustrious career waiting patiently before him.
It’s worth deliberating whether his blind loyalty to the club will come back to haunt him further down the line. He was incredibly eager to sacrifice a greater chance of silverware elsewhere, when few fans could have protested if he had postponed negotiations until the end of the season. Only time will tell whether he was right to place his trust in Wenger, when so many around him appear to have lost faith altogether.
Arsenal have effectively assigned £70million to secure the futures of five young players, a bold move considering the club has recently been criticised for harbouring a rapidly inflating wage bill. However, I can’t imagine any of these individuals attempted to hold the club to ransom with their demands, unlike a certain other young English talent.
It will be interesting to monitor how these deals impinge on Theo Walcott’s current ‘limbo’ status. Is this the evidence of ambition he was looking for? Will the commitment of The Ox deter his willingness to sign or will he feel compelled to join this patriotic nucleus at the heart of the team? Negotiations have apparently resumed, but he has little excuse not to push a deal through before the uncertainty of January sends the tabloids into meltdown.
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Speaking of January, Wilshere’s decision to reaffirm his position at the club can only improve the magnetism for potential transfer targets. The gifted array of English starlets will surely be inspired by Wenger’s display of affection towards his young stars, which may just prove vital in the pursuit of Wilfried Zaha.
Perhaps this announcement highlights Wenger’s acknowledgment that his stubborn nature has cost Arsenal dear in recent years and more importantly, that he is keen to reverse their ailing fortunes while his reputation remains intact. Chief executive, Ivan Gazidis has insisted there is money to spend in the New Year and in many ways; the club is as appealing as it’s ever been.
When a club has a great history, it is important that they continue to achieve and improve as there is only so long that they can live off past success as a measure of being a big club.
Now I have a lot of respect for Liverpool FC, their fans, and what they have achieved in the game however I feel they are no longer fulfilling their ambition and their transfer dealings in recent seasons are a huge factor why.
If we look at it in the sense that they are currently a top four challenger rather than a title contender, are they even signing players on a par with Tottenham who currently sit fourth?
The big difference for me is the lack of value for money in Liverpool’s transfers. It is understandable that not being involved in the Champions League in recent years has made it difficult for the club to attract the leading names in the game, however splashing out ludicrous amounts of money on the likes of Jordan Henderson, Andy Carroll, and Stewart Downing isn’t acceptable, and the fans have a right to moan. The money spent would suggest Liverpool’s ambitions remain high and that they should really be making an assault on the title, but the harsh reality is that they are a long way off.
If you look at Spurs’ transfer dealings over the course of this season, they come across as quite schrewd bits of business. The acquisitions of Gylfi Sigurdsson, Jan Vertonghen, Mousa Dembele, and Hugo Lloris for a collective amount in the region of £45million. This to me is wise spending and still fits into Liverpool’s action plan of signing players for the future with the latter 3 listed already looking like they will have big parts to play in the clubs future, while it could be argued Sigurdsson still has the potential to as well.
Since finishing second in the league in the 2008/09 season, four points behind Manchester United, Liverpool have collectively spent over £50million more than the Red Devils have on players, so it has to be questioned as to why they are languishing 22 points behind them in the current table.
Last season Dalglish brought in Henderson, Adam, Downing, and Enrique for a combined total of around £50million. Enrique is the only one out of those who can be regarded as a success so far and if you add on the £35million wasted on Carroll in the January window the season before, this is money that if spent wisely, I believe could have seen Liverpool making a serious assault on breaking the top 3 at least.
Dalglish is a Kop legend and rightly so for what he did in his playing days, as well as his first stint managing the team. However, he along with former director of football Damien Comolli need to shoulder a fair share of the blame for the clubs current situation. Admittedly former managers, Hodgson, Benitez , and even current boss Rodgers have wasted money themselves but not to the extent of spending over £100million where only one or two out of that money invested can be regarded as a success.
Comolli was recently quoted by the Daily Mail as defending the deals which he made with Dalglish, saying “We did 26 deals and to think we wouldn’t make any mistakes in such a huge number of deals in and out would be totally unrealistic.”
It can be argued that the likes of Henderson who has improved in recent weeks, is one for the future, but will he ever be good enough to take Liverpool and their fans to what they want to achieve? I think it’s questionable and will probably prove a gamble that doesn’t pay off.
It has left Rodgers in a position where he is having to cover for the mistakes that have been made, and has turned to the clubs youth products, with the likes of Raheem Sterling and Andre Wisdom being blooded into the first team this season. Luckily for Liverpool, Rodgers is renowned for his work with bringing through young prospects so they are in safe hands as far as this goes. He has also spent though, bringing in the likes of Fabio Borini, Joe Allen, and Daniel Sturridge in for 10, 15, and £12million respectively. These all still need to prove themselves, although Sturridge has started well.
One which has worked for the Reds from the Dalglish reign is the capture of Luis Suarez, and this is the bit of business that may make his failed signings slightly easier to forgive. The Uruguayan has built up his reputation as one of the most lethal strikers in the game, albeit a controversial one. Unlike Balotelli at Manchester City though, who often finds himself in the headlines for the wrong reasons himself, Suarez is producing on the pitch, which makes the negatives easier to look past.
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It is vital that they hold onto him and build the team around him now, something which Champions League qualification will only help. The best players want to be performing on Europe’s biggest stage, and there is only so long Suarez is likely to accept playing for an under achieving side.
While the philosophy of signing young players for the future has to be commended, Liverpool need to wise up with their transfer dealings in terms of how much they deem a player is worth if they are to get back to the status they want and avoid making a loss on players who are signed for too much, but fail to produce the goods.
Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas admits that qualifying for the Champions League is a necessity to keep Gareth Bale at the North London club.
Gareth Bale is on the most highly regarded wingers in Europe at the moment and Real Madrid are top of the list of clubs who want to sign him. He has scored 13 goals already this season and he is in the best form of his career. The Welsh winger has previously expressed admiration for the Spanish club but he signed a fresh contract with Tottenham in the summer, ending speculation then that he would leave.
And if Tottenham achieve Champions League football, AVB believes they can hang onto the club’s star player.
“It’s difficult for us to have a player of this dimension playing so well, calling the attention of other teams,” Villa-Boas told the The Guardian.
“I think we can reach our objectives with him at this level and if we reach our objectives, we can hopefully continue to have Gareth in our club. He’s a player we rate very, very highly and aren’t willing to let go.
“The Champions League is where most of the clubs want to be, and where most of the players want to play.”
AVB has been playing Bale in a central striker role and will be continuing that on Saturday against Newcastle as Adebayor hasn’t made it back from the AFCON in time for today’s training session and Defoe is still out injured with ankle ligament damage. The Portuguese expects Defoe to be out for between two and four weeks which might be optimistic as the striker still has his foot in a protective boot.
Villas-Boas also took a moment to talk about Gareth Bale in comparison to Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, telling the press that the two aren’t too far apart in ability.
“Both of them are extremely technical players, extremely powerful and pacy. It is funny to see how, in some way, they compare,” he added.
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“Gareth started at left-back and moved to a winger position…now going to a more advanced role, Ronaldo is also able to play that role up front. Ronaldo is now 28, he has achieved so much and he is an example to what Gareth wants to achieve in his career.”
What makes a great champion? Is it the ability to produce the goods even when the performances haven’t been quite there? Or perhaps even the ability to not just attain success, but to sustain it, too? When evaluating the merits of Manchester United’s seemingly inevitable 20th league championship, it seems both of the above have played a prominent part.
With 15 points now separating United with second placed Manchester City, bar what would be something of a cataclysmic disaster, Sir Alex Ferguson’s side are all but guaranteed the Premier League crown this season.
In fact, should the gulf between themselves and their Manchester rivals increase even further, the men from Old Trafford only need another three more points to equal the record 18 point gap they amassed between themselves and runners-up Arsenal during the 1999-2000 season.
Yet in spite of such potentially record-breaking feats lying in wait for the Red Devils at the end of this campaign, such achievements seem to contradict the background of doubt and the underwhelming aura that seems to have underpinned their 2012-13 season. Should – perhaps that should read ‘when’ – they lift the trophy, the feeling is that it will be heralded more as business as usual, rather than a victory for the ages.
So why is it that Manchester United’s potentially historic league-winning season is being greeted with such dampened enthusiasm?
Given the fact that Ferguson’s team ambled on with one of the leakiest defenses in the entire top ten of the Premier League for the first half of the season, it feels truly remarkable that they can find themselves sitting on such an unprecedented cushion of points.
United entered the New Year having conceded a staggering 28 goals after 21 games – more than anyone else in the top ten within the league. Indeed, before their 2-1 win over Liverpool at Old Trafford back in January, the clean sheet total stood at an alarming five. So chastising was their habit of going behind in games, Sir Alex Ferguson described his side’s lack of concentration as their ‘Achilles heel’ in the aftermath of coming from two behind to beat Aston Villa 3-2 back in November.
And a mere seven days after that inspired comeback against Paul Lambert’s men, United suddenly found themselves a point behind City, after their disastrous 1-0 defeat to Norwich saw them throw away a mini five point lead in a matter of days. Far from looking like a record-breaking season, Ferguson’s men were heading into Christmas enduring what many observed to be a campaign beset by defensive flaws and inconsistency.
But in amongst the raft of clichés that surround Manchester United within the Premier League, the most prevalent ones remain clichés for good reason. And alongside the one denoting how they usually start to kick on after the festive period, is the observation that they have a rather consistent habit of winning football matches without playing particularly real; not so much a clever knack, rather a mastered art.
In their final game of 2012, United proved exactly what champions were made of in what feels like something of a fitting motif for the season that they’ve enjoyed so far. For large spells of their 2-0 home win over West Bromwich Albion, while the side looked confident going forward, they were given a real run for their money by Steve Clarke’s side at times. Whereas in past campaigns, this was the sort of game they would have eased to victory in, here, they made hard graft of winning all three points.
But the only thing that ultimately mattered was the three points, and tellingly, it was them who finished seven points clear of City come the end of 2012, despite the usually-well oiled outfit often grinding their way to victory, as opposed to easing to it.
Yet while their strength in the face of defensive adversity – not to mention what’s been a searing improvement in their rearguard over the last few weeks – it’s perhaps the looming spectre of a fading City side that have inadvertently played their part in raining upon their rival’s parade.
Where as their record 18-point winning margin over Arsenal in 2000 was achieved with the glittering bulk of their treble-winning side the season before, amongst a cascade of goals – a stunning 97, to be precise – their 15-point gap has perhaps owed as much to the futile title defense that Mancini’s men have produced, as much as their own searing efforts.
As much can be said for sustaining glory, as there can be in initially attaining it and for Manchester City to find themselves so far out of reach of their rivals when United have hardly been enjoying a vintage season themselves, feels woefully disappointing.
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Mancini may feel that the signing of Robin van Persie has been the difference between the two sides, but for as good as he is, he’s not been the sole catalyst for a staggering 15-point improvement on a team that finished level on points with The Citizens last term. And in conceding the title this season, perhaps the Italian has witnessed first-hand what it takes to retain it.
Regardless of whether Manchester United break the all time margin of victory record for a league title, their campaign will never be remembered as a classic and as much as they owe that to some of their early season performances, it’s their rival’s fate that has also made that a reality.
But in managing to lift the title amongst such a torrent of relatively meagre praise, Ferguson’s team have perhaps reminded us that grit, steel and efficiency are just as valuable traits in a champion, as headline winning last-gasp finishes. Certainly, their 20th title won’t be as memorable as City’s third, but it may just be all the more impressive.
Easter weekend is one of the most vital weekends in the football calendar.
With two games being played in three or four days it usually leads to teams confirming promotion or relegation, unless you’re a Championship team of-course, where absolutely nothing changes.
Friday’s game at Leicester saw the Lions pick up a massive three points thanks to a late Alan Dunne goal. To be honest, on paper Leicester’s team should easily beat us every time, especially with the likes of Wood and Kane upfront.
Even though Wood was in Danny Shittu’s back pocket all game…
Then came Monday’s game at home to Ipswich. This really should’ve been three points, but after the Lions missed a hat-full of chances, it ended goallesss.
One thing that annoyed me with this game is KJ’s use of formation. He used 4-5-1 with two strikers on the wings, yes he says it’s 4-3-3 but it’s not. The 4-5-1 formation works at away games but don’t play it at home where he have to go out and win the games. This can also highlight Jackett’s bad dealings within the transfer window, only bringing in strikers on loan, and all over the age of 30. Maybe he does not trust his signings to deliver the goods?
One positive to come out of the game was Jermaine Easter. Yes he did miss a couple chances, but once Jackett went to 4-4-2, he looked lively.
Plus, he’s already got more league goals for ‘Wall then Tyson and Hulse, even if he’s only got one!
This division is so tight, the difference between the bottom three and Leeds in 12th place is only five points. 50 points would usually secure a team Championship football for another season, the way the division is going it could be 60.
The Lions will be confident though about staying up as they have games in hand over all other teams, and to be honest, if they cannot stay up with the amount of home games ‘Wall have left, they deserve to go down.
With Bristol City rooted to the bottom of the table it seems that up to 12 teams to attemot to avoid the final two spots. It looks like there could be at-least one team that suffer a second successive relegation with both Blackburn and Wolves looking dangerously over their shoulders.
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Lets just hope the F.A. Cup semi-final against Wigan will have a positive effect on the team. Yes the Lions have not lost since going through, but the performances have not been the best, lets not forget the Lions play on the Tuesday night before Wembley. So expect the players to maybe not give it 100%, after-all, which player is going to risk not playing in a F.A. Cup semi-final by being injured or suspended?