Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has been dealt a blow after transfer target Adam Maher revealed he would prefer to stay in Holland rather than join the Gunners.
The AZ Alkmaar midfielder is expected to leave the Eredivise outfit during the summer and AZ manager Gertjan Verbeek who valued the 19-year-old at £8.5m last month expected Maher to join Arsenal, according to talkSPORT.
However that doesn’t seem to be the case with the young prodigy wanting to stay in Holland with both PSV Eindhoven and Ajax seemingly interested in Maher, who has said he is not interested in a move to England.
Speaking to NUSport he said: “I have already said that I do not want to go. I want a good stay in the Netherlands, at least another two or three years- I am only 19.
“PSV is a nice club, but on the other hand I live in Amsterdam. last summer and last winter I indicated I want to go to PSV, but PSV was the only club that wanted to sign me. But I can also play for Ajax (too).
“In the summer i expected there will be a realistic bid. It is certain that I will be leaving.”
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Maher has been capped twice by the Netherlands and scored 18 goals in 77 appearences for AZ Alkmaar, since breaking onto the scene as a 17-year-old.
Arsenal and Newcastle are on watch after it was revealed that Saint Etienne turned down an offer from Fiorentina for their ace Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, reports talkSPORT.
The Gabon striker has become one of the rising stars of the French League this season, having tallied 16 goals and reportedly earning a £10million rating.
Both Arsene Wenger and Alan Pardew have shown interest in the 23-year-old, and following the news that the French club turned down Fiorentina, both Premier League teams are ready to make a move.
The striker, however, is not actively looking for a move, even though he understands his club may consider it.
The forward said: “If people are talking about me then I am not aware of it. But if someone offers £10million to the club, I don’t know if I’ll go or not.
“I am calm because I still have two years on my contract to go.”
With Fiorentina out of the picture, the battle to bring Aubameyang to the Premier League will begin.
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Arsenal hope to strengthen their forward line after Olivier Giroud failed to impress, and since Demba Ba’s departure for Chelsea, Newcastle have been in desperate need of a boost in the forward position, as well.
Manchester United are certainly champions on the pitch, dominating the Premier League era. There have been plenty of world class names that have graced the famous Old Trafford pitch for 90 minutes on a Saturday afternoon to be rewarded with silverware at the end of the season.
Is this where the winning mentality stops? Not quite. When all of us grew up wishing to be professional footballers we wanted all the glitz and glamour that came with it. There are those who like to keep a low profile and carry on about their business away from the media limelight – but you won’t be finding any of that here.
There will be plenty in the United changing rooms past and present who will have a lot more to show for themselves then a collection of medals or engravings on a trophy when their careers come to pass. Sir Alex Ferguson once complained how the modern footballer has often been far more difficult to handle. This may gave you an insight into why when they have so much to distract them off the field of play too.
Eric Cantona may have retired early to try and find his way on the red carpet in Cannes, but this list will show plenty who have something they can parade in Leicester Square for movie premieres that doesn’t involve acting skills.
To see the illustrious list of Man United beauties click on Gemma Atkinson
Eden Hazard is back for Chelsea after missing Sunday’s win over Manchester United at Old Trafford with a calf injury. Jon Obi Mikel (hip) and Ryan Bertrand (knee) are out.
Aaron Lennon his hoping to be fit for Tottenham after he was substituted during the win over Southampton due to a tight hamstring, while Moussa Dembele has recovered from a similar ailment.
Rafael Benitez pre-game…”My job is to do what I have to do this year,” he said. My target is to finish in the top four, top three. Now we’re in the [Europa League] final and trying to win the final. That’s it. That is the situation and we have to deal with that. We will try to keep doing a professional job with integrity until the end.” (FIFA.com)
Andre Villas-Boas pre-game…”In the end, it’s brought them success and sometimes success is what matters in football – independent of the style. I have a different opinion. I think if you don’t have a style, it makes you invisible in football. Only teams with style succeed. But, in the end, success is normally what matters in modern Europe.” (Guardian)
Match Statistic: Chelsea have won their last six home games, while Spurs have failed to score only once on their travels in the league this season.
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If nothing else, it has been a season of consolidation and mild yet crucial improvements for Liverpool. During his inaugural campaign, Brendan Rodgers has lead the club 7th in the Premier League, a place higher than under Kenny Dalgish from the season previous, and even if there is no silverware this year, the Northern Irishman has at least halted the Anfield club’s continual malaise.
Upon his appointment the problems at the club were rife on the Red side of Stanley Park, with a number of big money transfers such as Stewart Downing, Andy Carroll and Jordan Henderson yet to deliver performances anywhere near the expectations of their financial investments, and a squad overall imbalanced in terms of depth, quality and age. Yet Rodgers has emerged over the course of the season as a competent manager, successfully holding the club together during a difficult transition period and bringing along with him a berth of talented youngsters that could well underpin future successes at Anfield in the years to come.
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But the slow and steady pace of change appears to not be enough for the players, the club and fans, whom are all desperate for Champions League qualification next season. Considering the current situation on Merseyside however, is the aim actually achievable or more wishful thinking from an ever-optimistic manager who has announced his ultimate objective for next season is to win the title, according to the Daily Mail.
Just as at the start of Rodgers’ Liverpool tenure, he will have to weave his way past a number of summer obstacles should he continue to improve the club’s position on and off the pitch from the year previous. The Andy Carroll issue has been dealt with swiftly and with minimal fuss, without too much mention of the Reds’ ridiculous £35million investment in the lanky Geordie, however, even with the £12million in additional funds from the striker’s agreed transfer to West Ham on a permanent basis, the budget for the coming transfer window will be incredibly tight at Anfield, with the majority of newspapers reporting a summer kitty of between £20million and £30million.
It will be a transfer period of scrimping and saving for Rodgers whenever possible, considering a number of key departments in the first team need addressing. Although the Reds have an array of central midfielders, and have reportedly signed another in Manuel Iturra, the squad is seriously lacking in quality out wide, with Stewart Downing yet to prove his worth, recording seven goals and 11 assists in 91 Liverpool performances, and the likes of Raheem Sterling, Suso and Oussama Assaidi yet to find any level of consistency to their game.
Similarly, at the back, the Liverpool gaffer faces a serious challenge in finding an adequate replacement for the retiring Jamie Carragher, with the most likely candidate being Swansea’s Ashley Williams at a rather costly fee of around £10million, but furthermore there are question marks lingering over the heads of the roster’s other three senior centre-backs, with rumours that Martin Skrtel and Sebastien Coates could both be sold for scrap in the summer. Furthermore, should the speculation be true surrounding Pepe Reina moving to Barcelona, Rodgers will have to find a talented goalkeeper to fill the void between the sticks.
With the majority of Rodgers’ future purchases being out of obligation and necessity rather than any particular personal preference or attempt to tailor the Liverpool squad in his own vision, and furthermore being restricted in terms of outgoings by the need for senior players and a lack of potential suitors, the former Swansea boss will on the most part have to operate next season with what he’s already got at his disposal.
One the one hand, you’d argue that on paper at least, what Liverpool have is overall not good enough. Players like Stewart Downing, Lucas Leiva, Jose Enrique and Daniel Agger – experienced mainstays in the first team- are of decent quality and exceptional upon occasion, but would any of them feature regularly should they ply their trade with Arsenal, Chelsea, or the two Manchester clubs? Similarly, Jordan Henderson, Fabio Borini, Jonjo Shelvey and Joe Allen are all promising youngsters but yet to fully shine, with all excluding the former proving to be rather ineffectual over the course of the season, and the squad’s back up players, Brad Jones, Assaidi and Coates, are overall below the standard you’d expect at a European club.
Having said that, if there’s one area of the Liverpool roster blessed with strength, it’s in attack. Luis Suarez’s infamous bite of Branislav Ivanovic’s arm may well prove to have a silver lining, as it appears to have turned away potential suitors for the controversial Uruguayan. He’s been a talismanic force for the Reds this season, with 23 goals and five assists in 33 Premier League appearances, making him directly responsible for 35% of Liverpool’s 71 domestic goals, and will no doubt have a similar level of impact during their next campaign.
Similarly, the January purchases of Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho were a masterstroke, with the former recording 10 goals and 3 assists in 14 appearances during the business end of the season, whilst the latter’s performances in attacking midfield have been equally as crucial in Liverpool’s late flurry of form, recording just one defeat in their last 12 fixtures, including a 6-0 romping of Newcastle.
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It will be Liverpool’s attack, along with the consistent form of Steven Gerrard, that will make the difference between victory and defeat and success and failure next season, but is it enough to push them into the top four? The managerial merry-go-round at the Premier League’s summit will undoubtedly be a factor, with Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United all bringing in new figures at the helm, and the consistency Rodgers provides from the current season to the next can only work in their favour.
Yet with all devoted to serious financial investment in summer purchases following a rather dismal one-horse title race and the dawning of a new era at all three clubs, in addition to Arsene Wenger’s pledge to get the Gunners out of their current malaise, it will be a difficult year for Liverpool to compete with them in the transfer market as well as on the pitch.
The Reds finished 12 points off Champions League qualification this season, and next year I expect them to close that gap, at the expense of their local rivals Everton, but in terms of quality, depth, financial backing and experience, they are still a long way off this season’s top four, in addition to Tottenham, who will also look to improve further over the course of the summer. Brendan Rodgers has put the foundations in place this season, but the club still has a long way to go before it comes close to returning to its past glories.
Tottenham Hotspur are set to further their summer spending by another £8.6million with their tabled bid for Toulouse man Etienne Capoue.
But are the Lilywhites actually any better off for acquiring Capoue’s services? By this summer’s standards, a £9million fee is a small amount of money to part with for Daniel Levy, but nevertheless, could it simply be money down the drain?
The Frenchman comes with a preceding reputation from his time in Ligue 1, last season finishing up with eight goals from midfield in 35 domestic appearances. At Toulouse, he partnered Newcastle man Moussa Sissoko in central midfield until January, but had lived in the Magpies man’s shadow previously as the more cautious, sturdy and less explosive element of the two. Never the less, Capoue has been highly regarded for some time, being a regular for France at junior level since 2006, and his development has been slow and steady, rather than spectacular.
By all accounts, he’s ready to cross the channel and jump ship to the Premier League. Cardiff had already entered into negotiations over Capoue’s services before Spurs flexed their financial muscle, and despite the average Ligue 1 player often being a hit-or-miss upon arriving in England, the Frenchman is believed to be the real deal, based on his successful Toulouse tenure and occasional bouts in the France national team after earning his first call-up last summer.
But my initial concern is in regards to the 25 year old’s role in North London. By trade, Capoue is a defensive midfielder, with physical prowess, a great engine and ability on the ball at the core of his game, but with Steven Caulker recently sold to Cardiff City for £9million, and Jan Vertonghen and Younnes Kaboul sidelined with injury for the opening fixtures of the incoming Premier League season, it’s more than likely the Frenchman will play his first games in a Tottenham jersey partnering Michael Dawson in defence.
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And with Tottenham’s midfield already packed with relatively recently acquired talents – Sandro joining in 2010, Moussa Dembele joining in 2012 and Paulinho moving to White Hart Lane this summer for a previously record-breaking £17million fee – there’s every chance centre-back could become Capoue’s predominant position for the Lilywhites. The Toulouse midfielder is capable of playing at the back, he was fielded there regularly for the French U21s and utilised in a defensive vein on occasion last season, but central defense is by no means a position that seeks to get the best out of his particular skills set.
Similarly, Capoue’s anticipated arrival in North London has come at the inadvertent expense of Steven Caulker – a natural centre-back who is four years his junior. Quite why Spurs have scrapped one of England’s most promising young defenders who has already earned his first senior cap remains unclear, but it’s safe to assume that Capoue wasn’t Andre Villas-Boas or Daniel Levy’s ideal replacement.
The Lilywhites management had previously thought they were closing in on Romania defender Vlad Chiriches, with an £8million bid accepted by Steaua Bucurest. But flamboyant owner Gigi Becali, a politician-come-businessman-come-celebrity-come-football-club-owner, who is very much the Romanian equivalent of Silvio Berlusconi, later rejected the offer from his jail cell, where he’s serving a three year sentence for corruption, kidnapping and assault.
If my hunch that the Lilywhites are bringing in Capoue to help out at centre-back is correct, the whole transfer suggests an element of panic buying, especially considering the Frenchman was hotly tipped to be signing for Cardiff City less than a week ago. But as previously stated, even in midfield, Capoue’s services could end up ignored at White Hart Lane.
Scott Parker is expected to leave North London by transfer deadline day, but even so, Spurs are privy to a wide selection of central midfielders. When fully fit, anchor man Sandro is undoubtedly one of the first names on the team sheet for Andre Villas-Boas, and if Tottenham’s formation next season includes a specific holding role, the Brazilian will trump Capoue to a slot in the first team every time. Similarly, even if Sandro undergoes another disturbing injury bout, the Spurs boss still has deep-lying playmakers Tom Huddlestone and Tom Carroll, stocky midfielders Moussa Dembele, Jake Livermore and Paulinho, as well as the more attacking-minded Gylfi Sigurdsson and Lewis Holtby to choose from in central midfield.
Overall, it’s hard to tell quite where Capoue fits in, and considering his versatility, there’s every chance he won’t. Utility men can often excel, but the description can also serve as a double-edged sword – it suggests more substitute appearances than bouts in the starting XI, regular outings in positions that aren’t the France international’s natural trade, and as a result, less opportunities to claim first team status at White Hart Lane.
Perhaps that’s what the Lilywhites need however; someone to bolster the roster, to come on late during intense fixtures to see of the game. £9million is a fair price for a squad player that adds depth, but many had expected more of the promising Capoue. And he in turn will be expecting more from his move to the Premier League than being a regular bench warmer, with the 2014 World Cup less than a year away, and the 25 year old’s place by no means certain in Didier Deschamps’ France squad.
Maybe I am being unkind, unimaginative and short-sighted in suggesting Capoue will struggle to break into the Tottenham midfield and could find himself more often than not filling up injury holes in Spurs’ defense instead, or else end up sitting patiently in the dug-out. But the blueprint in the middle of the park for AVB seems already established and already effective, centred particularly around Sandro, Moussa Dembele and Paulinho, and I personally don’t anticipate Capoue usurping any particular one of the trio based on their previous performances, or in Paulinho’s case, his glowing reputation from the Confederations Cup.
Even if the Frenchman took over cover duty from Tom Huddlestone, who was often Tottenham’s understudy midfielder last season, that still only equates to 21 first team outings, according to the midfielder’s appearances statistics from last term, and there’s no chance he will, considering Huddlestone, along with Carroll and Livermore, outweigh Capoue in terms of Premier League experience.
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So are Tottenham any better off for signing one of Ligue 1’s most promising stars? My initial judgement is no. He almost seems eliminated by default from a regular role in the Lilywhites’ midfield, whilst at centre-back, it remains unlikely that a defensive midfielder from the French top flight can provide better service than a young, talented, English and natural central defender in Steven Caulker.
That being said, Capoue’s quality has been undeservingly underplayed throughout this article, and I have little doubt he will bring added depth to the Spurs roster, even if he is unable to regularly affect the first team. It’s just a shame the Toulouse man, seemingly due to his versatility, will go to waste at White Hart Lane, whilst local rivals Arsenal, as well as Cardiff, could have been far more appreciative and accommodating of the Frenchman’s services.
Will Etienne Capoue see the light of day at Tottenham?
Manchester United’s Round 4 Capital One Cup tie with Norwich City at Old Trafford may not be a must win game for David Moyes, but it is this competition that could do his Old Trafford future a lot of favours.
His stuttering start in place of Sir Alex Ferguson has had many questioning his ability to emulate what Fergie achieved, but Moyes’ job may not necessarily be on the line so soon after taking charge, particularly when you consider his predecessor has publicly backed him and is there to offer advice when required.
Sure, any piece of silverware in his first season would be considered a success. But what is it about the Capital One Cup that is screaming “important” in the face of the Scot?
Perhaps it is the fact that the Capital One Cup is the first trophy, in any season, which is up for grabs. At the time of writing United are in four competitions. Any one of them, in varying order of priority, depending on your persuasion, would mean a successful first season under the former Everton boss. That is, of course, unless United win any of the cups they are in but are relegated.
It is without question, stats do not lie as they say, that United are still trying to get going. No question Moyes has his work cut out, maybe he would have been better advised to have worked with Fergie`s backroom staff, at least for the first season, to ease the massive transition to not only a new manager but a new way of life, a new culture. But he did not, perhaps something he regrets with hindsight though we will all have a long wait if we are looking for such an admission from the United manager.
Moyes has to get on with it and more pointedly the players have too and it is that which underlines the importance of the tie against Norwich. In previous years Old Trafford has been a fortress, it is that no longer. The home crowd has never been so quiet as in recent times.
While the importance of this tie, to United and David Moyes, cannot be underestimated by the same token it cannot be regarded out of proportion and out of context.
Yes, the manager has changed, yes the coaching staff have changed but the players, Fellaini apart, have not. David Moyes, if he hasn`t done so already, could do worse than having a chat with Paul Scholes. No, not about making another comeback, though that might just work, but asking for his take on things.
Maybe too much is being expected of Danny Welbeck, maybe Hernandez needs that run of games he has been asking for. He is without question the best really natural goal scorer on the books at Old Trafford. He is the most unpredictable of strikers in terms of how he conjures a goal out of the merest sniff of a chance and is worth a shout for at least half a dozen games or he could well be on his way to one of the big continental clubs reportedly courting the young Mexican.
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For David Moyes it may not be Capital One Cup or bust but it certainly represents a golden opportunity to put a trophy in the cabinet while the snowdrops are still blooming. Continuity in this competition will not only maintain interest but will also buy Moyes the time to shake United into a more cohesive unit than has been apparent this far.
Sacking statistics in English football are astounding.
In the last year, no less than 100 managers from the 92 professional clubs have felt the full brunt of the proverbial sacking axe, while just 3% of all current managers have been in their current jobs for more than five years. The average tenure of a top flight manager is now just over a year (373 days).
The Premier League still holds a managerial institution in Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger as a lonesome beacon of positivity, but since the summer, eight gaffers from the English top flight have already been ousted from their respective posts. One in particular – Fulham’s Rene Muelensteen – lasted just 13 games in the dugout, before being relinquished of his Craven Cottage duties in favour of Bundesliga title-winner Felix Magath.
There’s now a whole sub-market of the betting industry entirely devoted to predicting who will be the next victim of a trigger-happy Premier League owner, headed by notorious odds-checking site thesackrace.com, and the small period preceding the January window has been dubbed by West Ham’s Sam Allardyce, and resultantly the British media, as ‘sacking season’.
Yet there is surprisingly little evidence to suggest that changing management mid-season is by any means a fruitful venture. According to statistics released by the LMA, a new appointment in the Premier League usually brings a 2.5 points average for the following match, but over the course of the next twelve fixtures the club’s form most commonly deteriorates further.
At the same time, throughout the past five top flight campaigns, at least one club that has changed gaffer mid-season has been relegated. Last term, two clubs that switched managers failed to beat the drop, and in 2009-10, all three teams that were relegated had changed their management staff. That feat looks set to be repeated this year, with the Premier League’s current bottom five of Crystal Palace, West Brom, Sunderland, Cardiff and Fulham, all wielding the axe since the summer.
So why, despite this mound of statistical evidence suggesting sacking managers simply doesn’t work – at least, not in terms of an obvious, positive correlation between new appointments and results – is the Premier League still trapped in this ‘hire and fire’ culture that was once considered a running joke of its foreign counterparts?
Well firstly, there’s more money at stake in the Premier League than ever before. According to The Independent’s Glenn Moore, this season’s relegated clubs will suffer an estimated £40million drop in income, through missing out on the English top flight’s £60million-per-club TV revenue deal.
Furthermore, there have been countless cases of former top tier sides falling into financial downward spirals – Bolton Wanderers for example, were in the Premiership for eleven years, but now face debts of £164million as they struggle for Championship survival.
Along with the Reebok outfit, clubs such as Charlton Athletic, Leeds United, Wolves, Middlesbrough, Leicester, Birmingham and Blackburn Rovers are still yet to return to the top flight since their respective relegations, many even spending more than a handful of seasons in League 1. Parachute payments of £48million over four years clearly hasn’t had the desired effect for the majority of its recipients.
With that in mind, and considering the unprecedented investments the recent influx of foreign owners have made in purchasing clubs such as Fulham – Shadid Khan spent £200million to acquire the West London club back in the summer – chairmen and boards would be rather seen doing something than nothing, and amid the four-month gap between the transfer windows, changing the management staff is pretty much all that’s within their power. The relentless pressure from the media certainly exacerbates the situation.
With such ridiculous sums of revenues at stake, Swansea’s £4.5million compensation pay-out to Michael Laudrup for example is comparatively a more than acceptable loss.
At the same time, the revolving door nature of the management occupation has become incredibly self-fulfilling. Why stick by a gaffer who has overseen six defeats on the bounce when there’s a good ten or fifteen out of work willing to take the hot seat? There’s no guarantees that any of the candidates will be the right man for the job, but a lot of the time it must seem like one of those ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ scenarios.
Then there’s the elephant in the room, the ultimate factor behind sackings that rarely gets the punditry attention it deserves – the ability to make an axed manager the scapegoat for everything bad that happened under his leadership.
Of course, I’m not suggesting that players refuse to take responsibility, or that the buck shouldn’t stop in the dugout. But overall, it’s much easier, quicker and less debasing to blame a side’s form on one man rather than the entire roster, just as it’s much easier and quicker to change that same one man, rather than an entire squad.
Relinquishing a manager and holding him solely accountable means the players can put poor results, disturbing form and bouts of low confidence behind them; I’m sure we’ve all heard the old adages of ‘everybody will get their chance’ and ‘the players are turning over a new leaf’ before. In effect, it’s a sacrifice for the sake of the players as much as it’s an indictment of one’s leadership.
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Yet, the evidence is still compelling that this strategy rarely has the desired effect. In contrast, amid a free-fall of eleven defeats in 16 games, many called for Sam Allardyce to be given his marching orders at Upton Park. But after a recent revival of four consecutive victories, aided by West Ham’s injury list being significantly shortened towards the end of January, the Hammers are now tenth in the Premier League table, just nine points shy of that all-important 40-point safety mark.
Unfortunately, Big Sam’s tale of the current campaign, boasting the benefits of stability, is becoming an ever-rarer occurrence. Richard Bevan, chief executive of the LMA, has urged clubs to take a more sensible stance towards hiring and firing, stating last month; “Verifiable data has shown that the gains from changing football managers are marginal, if indeed there are any at all, and without doubt the sacking of managers is a costly business to football clubs, not to mention the other effects that the upheaval brings. For the good of the game, I believe it is necessary for all stakeholders to take a more pragmatic approach by looking to the medium term.”
But with the level of finance behind the English game continuing to soar, and every season, weekend and match in the Premier League seemingly so much more ultimate than ever before, the chances of a pragmatic wave tiding over the heads of Premiership owners is about as likely as West Brom’s Pepe Mel – one of the top flight’s most recent managerial additions – being in the same job this time next year.
Gary Neville reckons David Moyes will be given time to turn things around at Manchester United, and a huge transfer budget to help him do so, according to talkSPORT.
Moyes has endured a torrid debut season in charge of the 20-time Champions, with United currently 11 points behind Liverpool in fourth spot, and facing the prospect of a trophyless season, bar a miracle triumph in Europe.
But Neville believes Moyes will be given time and money to turn things around at Old Trafford, as the mega contract recently offered to Wayne Rooney proves.
“Everyone always wants to look for the one reason [for failure] and in football these days, if you look at most clubs, it gets put on the manager and they usually get sacked,” Neville said.
“Man United are very different and David Moyes will get the time he deserves to come to terms with things. It’s always been the same.
“Usually the manager is the fall guy for it and he’s the one who will get the most criticism. The club is huge and the task is huge but the club are supporting him by signing Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Maraoune Fellaini.”
And Neville believes the signing of Mata and Rooney indicates there will be further big money signings to come in the summer, despite his belief United will miss out on the Champions League this season.
“There is talk of more serious investment in the squad in the summer,” he added.
“Ed Woodward did his speech to the shareholders a couple of weeks ago and said there was a huge pot of money there to be spent and help Manchester United invest in the team and add to the current players they have got.”
News on Twitter is spreading that a number of Newcastle United fans are planning a mass walkout in the 69th minute of Saturday’s fixture against Cardiff City. After a horrendous run of form since Christmas, years of frustration with Mike Ashley and Alan Pardew appears to be boiling over in an action that has divided the Toon Army.
While some argue that a walkout will make a major statement, others believe that it is unfair on the players and that Ashley won’t be bothered with the matchday revenue already safely secured.
After all of this, Cardiff could stand to benefit the most from a potential walkout. Desperate for three points, the Bluebirds would have already fancied their chances against the struggling Magpies and disarray in the stands could further hand the visitors the initiative.
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