Next month we have the small matter of the Manchester derby to look forward to. This is no ordinary Manchester derby (if such a thing exists), as Manchester United and City will be going head-to-head in the FA Cup semi final at Wembley, with the winners one step closer to climbing the steps at the home of English football. However, you don’t have to wait until April for a Manchester invasion of London…
On Tuesday 29th March, Manchester’s finest Elbow are heading down to the capital to play a gig at the O2 Arena. Like football in Manchester, Elbow are most definitely on the way up and the 2008 Mercury Music Prize winners, led by Guy Garvey, are not to be missed.
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Win tickets to see Elbow at the O2 with Football FanCast
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Following the immense success of the double platinum selling ‘The Seldom Seen Kid’, Elbow are pleased to announce that the release of their fifth studio album will be on 7th March 2011 and massive UK Tour – the biggest in their history!
The band will be playing at Manchester Evening News Arena (25/03/2011), Brighton Centre (27/03/2011), O2 arena (29/03/2011).
To celebrate the band’s UK Tour in March, we have teamed up with Shoot Promotions for an almighty competition! We have 2 pairs of tickets to be won to see the band live at the O2 Arena on Tuesday 29th March 2011.
For a chance to win a pair of tickets to see Elbow all you have to do is answer this simple question…
What is the name of the band’s current single?
A. Neat Little Rows
B. Neat Little Floodlights
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C. Neat Little Pitch
Email your answer to [email protected] to be in with a chance of winning this fantastic prize!
The competition closes on Monday 28th March at 9am so make sure you get your answers in now!
For the FootballFanCast.com Competition Terms and Conditions click here. Please note that the competition prize is a pair of tickets only, no travel expenses incurred will be paid.
Cesc Fabregas’s proposed move to the Nou Camp looks as though it is petering out with each day the midfielder looking more and more likely to be staying put- for now.
While that may be great news for the Gunners, it’s not for the rest of the Premier League with Arsenal starting the season, arguably for the first time in four years with as just as strong a squad- if not stronger than the one before.
Every season for the past four, the Gunners have lost some of their best players in the summer, with the likes of Patrick Vieira, Ashley Cole, Thierry Henry, Alexandr Hleb and Emmanuel Adebayor all departing.
This summer though, Arsene Wenger has managed to not only keep hold of his prized asset but can also look forward to the return of some players who were not readily available last time round.
Jack Wilshere has looked impressive in pre-season and had is coming off the back of a superb season at on loan at Bolton, Wenger has said the midfielder has shown him enough to stop him entering the transfer market for a similar player. There’s a lot to be said for loaning out a younger player to a Premier League club and Wilshere will not face any surprises when the season kicks off.
Theo Walcott is another player who’s impressed in pre-season and following his World Cup omission and rather disappointing time last year may have something to prove. There’s no doubting Walcott’s talents, and if he can find any form of consistency he could be one of Arsenal’s leading lights over the next ten months.
There’s also the case of Robin Van Persie, who’s absence last season arguably cost Arsenal a real shot at the title. Like Walcott, RVP having missed the majority of last season and being fairly anonymous during the World Cup- despite Holland’s run-will be keen to show he’s capable of challenging the Wayne Rooney’s and Didier Drogba’s of this world for the golden boot.
Defensively Arsenal still have certain frailties, particularly in the centre back department.
A lot will depend on new signing Laurent Koscielny and whether he can fit straight into the team, although if his debut season is as good as Thomas Vermaelen’s was then he may be good enough to be part of a title winning side. Wenger has made comments that he may sign another defender and with time running out he will have to act soon. This is the one area I can see being a real Achilles heel for the Gunners, as if they face injuries and suspension, they may have to either play someone out of position or throw a youngster into the fray and centre back more than anywhere else on the pitch is the one place you cannot hide. Recently there have been rumours of German defender Per Mertesacker joining the club- well at least it’s a change from the ubiquitous Mesut Ozil- which if prove to be true could well be the difference between success and failure in the Gunners title bid.
Wenger’s took a step in the right direction by getting rid of some of the older defenders in his ranks. Former centre-spot warmer William Gallas has taken his sulkiness elsewhere, although where that will be is still unknown, and has been joined by Sol Campbell, Mikael Silvestre and former world footballer of the year Phillipe Senderos. While these departures may rob Arsenal’s defence of experience it has also relieved them of three players who all struggled at times to be reliable. Gallas’s problems, including the infamous day at St Andrews, not to mention his criticism of his younger colleagues and subsequent stripping of the captaincy will surely not be too missed in the Emirates dressing room. When it comes to Silvestre the fact that Sir Alex Ferguson was willing to sell one of his defenders to one of his main rivals should have made Wenger see the warning signs. While Silvestre has always been capable of putting in a decent shift, he’s never been a truly world-class player and is at least 3 years past his best, which is about the same amount of time as Campbell. As for Senderos, there are still Italians sitting in the San Siro wondering how on earth the Swiss defender ended up on loan there, and no doubt their bafflement will be shared by a few Fulham fans this season. While Wenger has signed an array of unearthed gems in his time, Senderos surely falls into the Pascal Cygan, Igors Stepanovs school of mistakes.
In the full back departments if Gael Clichy can stay injury-free on his day he’s up there with Patrice Evra’s and Ashley Cole’s as not just one of the Premierships best left back’s but arguably one of the world’s. Bacary Sagna is one of the more reliable right backs around, while in Keiran Gibbs and Emmanuel Eboue- when he’s called to that position, Arsenal have ample cover.
The one position which could make or break the Gunners title aspirations is undoubtedly between the sticks. Manuel Almunia is about as consistent as David James’s barnet and often cited as reasons why Arsenal have failed to in their attempts to finish above Chelsea and Manchester United these past few years.
There’s been talk of Wenger replacing the bleach-haired blunderer with Mark Schwarzer of Fulham, whether this is likely is debatable and at 37 years-old the Australian would certainly be no long-term solution, however for this season he could well be the reliable ‘keeper needed for a championship.
If Wenger does stick with Almunia, then all is not lost, after all, the Spaniard, while never joining the likes of Pepe Riena, Edwin Van Der Sar or Petr Cech in the list of premiership’s best is still capable of turning in enough decent performances that if the defence does it job Arsenal may just get away with it. The same cannot be said for Lukas Fabianski however, although his inept performances last season may have inadvertently done the Gunners a favour as Wenger must have realised he needed to strengthen the goalkeeping department, or at least find a better understudy.
As almost any Gooner will tell you, Arsenal failed to last the title distance due to a list of injuries that would make Owen Hargreaves blush. The quality of some of the fringe players was at best very high and at worst far too inconsistent. While almost every player at the Emirates is capable of top-drawer football, some more than others cannot be relied upon to string a run of good performances together. One such culprit is Niklas Bendtner who the term ‘from the ridiculous to the sublime’ could almost have been based on. Champion’s League hat-tricks are all well and good but if you cannot put away at least one chance in six against average PL opposition then that simply isn’t good enough.
Bendtner, like everyone else at Arsenal is young though and will surely only improve as time progresses, and in new signing Marouane Chamakh, Wenger may have found a useful different option should anything happen to RVP.
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The point is, Arsenal are looking in good shape for the coming season and may now finally be poised to end the Chelsea/Man U recent dominance. There hasn’t been a great deal of improvement at either Old Trafford or Stamford Bridge this summer, while the likes of Javier Hernandez and Yossi Benayoun will no doubt provide goals and excitement at their new employers both Chelsea and United contain a fair amount of squad players the wrong side of 30, who may struggle this season. The same cannot be said for Arsenal who’s almost exclusively young side is looking more and more ready for the task ahead.
The five year trophy drought will also be hanging like the sword of damocles over the heads of many associated with the club and while a League or FA cup would be a good way to end it, winning the title would eclipse either one and justify both Wenger’s transfer policy and his faith in youth. With the prospect of this being Fabregas’s last season at the Emirates, Wenger may know it might just be both his best and last chance to finally silence his critics and give the fans more than just the pride of playing attractive football. The question is if Arsenal should finish yet another season trophy-less will pretty football still be enough?
Read more Justin Mottershead’s work on his excellent blog ‘Name On The Trophy’
Two teams who have never met in a Premier League fixture go head-to-head at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday with Stoke desperate to halt a run of three successive defeats against mid-table QPR.
It’s been a testing month and a half for Tony Pulis and his men who have seen their Europa League campaign catch up on them with detrimental results. Despite results in Europe appearing positive their domestic campaign is faltering with the Potters managing to win only one of their last eight since beating West Brom at the Hawthorns at the end of August. Since then it’s been a mixture of disappointing defeats and mundane draws with their exploits on the continent taking the sting out of their performances on home soil. Consistency has been a problem with Pulis’ policy of rotating his squad to keep his players fresh not working as well as he’d hoped with members failing to get a long enough run in the side to strike up a chord with the rest of the side. Summer signing Peter Crouch has failed to have the desired impact with the England striker playing up front with several different partners including Cameron Jerome, Jon Walters and Kenywyne Jones during the course of this season. Stoke’s game is built on pressurising their opponents and using their supreme physical advantages to intimidate, terrorise and bully teams into submission. But their European exploits have left them looking jaded and unable to put their game plan into action. Their 3-1 defeat at home to Newcastle and 5-0 hammering away at Bolton saw the Potters out battled in every area and Pulis must be wondering if the Europa League is worth bothering with if it continues to harm his teams league performance.
QPR on the other hand are enjoying a superb first season back in the Premier League following their relegation back in 1996. The R’s are sitting a place above Saturday’s opponents, albeit on goal difference, and will be confident of moving clear of them when they travel to the Potteries. Neil Warnock’s side have picked up half of their 12 points on the road and another three will move them firmly into the top half of the table. The club have benefitted substantially from the investment of new owner Tony Fernandes with new recruits Joey Barton, Luke Young and Shaun Wright-Phillips giving them an extra dash of Premier League experience which is something they were severely lacking in the opening weeks of the campaign. That knowledge of how to win games and overcome adversity will be key against Stoke’s bruising tactics with Barton likely to relish mixing it up in the centre of midfield. His performances since signing from Newcastle have been nothing short of superb with his fiery temper being tamed by Warnock with the odd-couple proving there is enough room in the Loftus Road dressing room for the both of them. Despite losing the last two games one positive that has emerged form the defeats to high-flying Manchester City and Tottenham and that has been the goalscoring displays of Jay Bothroyd. The England striker has struggled since his summer move from Cardiff but finally broke his duck at White Hart Lane before hitting another against the league leaders a week later. The international break killed that momentum but Warnock will need him to get back on the goal trail if they are to come away from Stoke with points under their belts.
Stoke – 12th
Last Five
Lost 5-0 v Bolton (A), W 2-1 v Tel Aviv (A), Lost 3-1 v Newcastle (H), Lost 2-1 v Liverpool (H), Lost 3-1 v Arsenal (A)
Potential Starting X11
1. A. Begovic 28. A. Wilkinson 17. R. Shawcross [C] 39. J. Woodgate 12. M. Wilson 16. J. Pennant 40. W. Palacios 24. R. Delap 26. M. Etherington 19. J. Walters* 25. P. Crouch
Injury News
Tony Pulis has no new injuries to worry about with Mamady Sidibie out long-term with a knee tendon problem.
Key Player
Jon Walters – It’s been a solid year or so in Stoke colours for Walters who has become an integral part of Pulis’ side and has forged himself a reputation as a consistent Premier League performer. His work ethic and willingness to run himself into the ground for his teammates has endeared him to the Britannia faithful and the physical aspects of his game will be key to unsettling a timid QPR defence.
Match Fact
This fixture will be Stoke’s 22nd of the season and first against QPR in the Premier League. That last time these two met was in the Championship in March 2008 just a few weeks before the Potters were promoted to the top flight.
QPR – 11th
Last Five
Lost 3-2 v Man City (H), Lost 3-1 v Tottenham (A), Won 1-0 v Chelsea (H), Drew 1-1 v Blackburn (H), Lost 6-0 v Fulham (A)
Potential Starting X11
1. P. Kenny 18. L. Young 35. A. Ferdinand 6. D. Gabbidon 13. A. Traore 11. A. Faurlin 17. J. Barton [C] 4. S. Derry 10. J. Mackie 32. S. Wright-Phillips* 10. J. Bothroyd
Injury News
Neil Warnock has no fresh injury concerns with Kieron Dyer, Rob Hulse, DJ Campbell and Matt Connolly all out expected to be in the treatment room for long periods.
Key Player
Shaun Wright-Phillips – The former Man City winger has seen new life breathed into his career since moving to the R’s and is benefiting from a regular run of first team football. With Stoke’s back four not renewed for being the quickest over long stretches his combination of pace and skill will be a vital component to unlocking one of the toughest defences the Premier League has to offer.
Match Fact
Rangers comfortably beat promotion hopefuls Stoke the last time these two sides met in 2008 with a Mikele Leigertwood double and a second half Akos Buzasky goal giving them a 3-0 victory at Loftus Road.
Last Time at the Britannia Stadium
Championship, 27th November 2007
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Stoke 3-1 QPR
Cresswell, 5 Lawrence, 19, Cort 77
Vine 63, Blackstock S/O, 47
Attendance: 11,147
Referee: Uriah Rennie
PREDICTION
Stoke have been poor of late and it seems that their Europa League campaign is catching up with them. Their last two league games has seen them concede eight goals which will have set alarm bells ringing in Pulis’ mind. The way they were brushed aside so easily by Newcastle in their last home game was extremely surprising and he’ll be demanding a much improved performance this time around. QPR have been decent on the road and will go into the game with confidence after narrowly losing against leaders Manchester City before the international break. However if the Potters are at their bruising best then Warnock’s side better batten down the hatches and prepare for an aerial assault.
It’s 1:43am and I’m struggling to conceive one positive sentence about either of Arsenal’s fit goalkeepers – Jens Lehmann and Manuel Almunia. I suppose the idea is to weigh up the facts and decide which is least awful but the mere fact that both ‘keepers are yet again competing against each other for Arsenal’s number 1 jersey, at a time when the Gunners’ Premier League campaign hangs unnervingly in the balance, is keeping me awake.
Don’t get me wrong, seeing Lehmann push an opposition striker for the crime of lingering near the German brings me far greater pleasure than the wet, apologetic look Almunia wears on his face each time he mopes back to the dressing room following a game of dropped balls and dropped points. Especially, that is, when the irritant striker is Robbie Keane (2004) or Didier Drogba (2006).
It’s pretty obvious that Lehmann, when he eventually hangs up his gloves for the last time, will be able to revisit his career with more fond memories than his Spanish counterpart. That’s not to say Lehmann hasn’t been privy to as many glaring errors as Almunia, but the current holder of squad-number 1 will strain to recall any significant contribution made during seven seasons with Arsenal. Lehmann has recently admitted that the decision to bring down Samuel Eto’o in the 2006 Champions League Final, a prerequisite for his early dismissal, is his biggest regret in football. Despite this oversight, it was Lehamann who in stoppage-time of Arsenal’s semi-final second leg against Villarreal saved Juan Roman Riquelme’s penalty to send his team to the Stade de France.
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In spite of the disappointment in Paris, Lehmann was awarded the UEFA Club Goalkeeper of Year, helped Germany to third place at his home nation’s World Cup and was selected in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team later that summer. Almost five years have passed since his halcyon days and the German is now 41.
‘Mad Jens’ marked his first return to the Arsenal side he left in 2008, playing for a reserve XI against Wigan, with a less than inspiring goalkeeping demonstration. Arsene Wenger did not attend the match at the Robin Park Arena in Wigan but will do well to avoid the widespread criticism Lehmann faces for his farcical performance. The former Stuttgart ‘keeper confessed he was surprised to receive a call from Wenger, but the 200-strong audience which included Arsenal goalkeeping coach, Gerry Payton, will not have been shocked by Lehmann’s erratic and error-laden display.
Wenger’s alternative is to re-promote Almunia to the position of Arsenal’s number 1, but the Spaniard has spent most of the current campaign injured or playing up-front for West Brom, so represents an uncertain option. One diminutive spec of encouragement for Wenger is the solidity Almunia exhibited when called upon to replace the injured Wojciech Szczesny at the Nou Camp earlier this month. The Gunners were sent inauspiciously back to London following a 3-1 defeat but their stand-in goalkeeper didn’t put a foot, or hand, wrong.
The fact that Wenger attends training this morning unable to escape the deja-vu of his own making emphasises a wider issue that has frustrated Arsenal fans since the departure of David Seaman. It is truly remarkable that at this stage of ‘Wenger’s Young Guns’ development the Frenchman faces the prospect of choosing between the two goalkeepers who have both produced the extraordinary and held Arsenal back in equal measure over the last seven years. I would have thought Almunia provides the greater security heading in to the final few matches of Arsenal’s fading title campaign as the lesser of two evils, or rather the least comedic of the two clowns.
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Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has ended his interest in Sol Campbell after agreeing a deal to sign Titus Bramble.
Bruce had held talks with the veteran Arsenal defender last week over a free transfer move to the Stadium of Light.
However, he has since returned to former club Wigan Athletic to sign fellow centre-half Bramble in a £1million deal.
The 28-year-old former Newcastle United defender will join the Black Cats subject to passing a medical.
"Now that we've got Titus, I think that's it for Sol," Bruce told The Journal.
"We had a chat with him and we talked about it, but we've got a better deal with Titus coming in.
"We're not looking to sign Sol Campbell anymore."
Speaking about Bramble, Bruce added:"He was absolutely outstanding for me for two years at Wigan and it is a fantastic deal for this football club.
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"He has done extremely well over the last couple of years and I think he is going to be a big success at Sunderland.
"He was certainly the right player at the right price for me."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Every fan loves to see their players kissing the badge. Every fan wants to feel as though the players feel the same way about the club that they do, that they’ll give everything they can and that they genuinely want success for the club as much as they want personal success. Obviously there will always be movement between clubs; some players want to move abroad, move to a bigger club to achieve success or move to the club they supported as a boy. But it seems that in the last fifteen years player loyalty is on the decline, almost as though it’s going out of fashion. Sol Campbell’s “Spurs is the only club for me” was swiftly followed by a move to their bitter rivals, Wayne Rooney’s “once a blue always a blue” was hastily followed by the image of him in a red shirt and Ashley Cole’s abandonement of the club that he had supported as a boy are just some of vast swathes of examples that exist within the Premier League.
I think that you can definitely find a correlation between the injection of cash from super rich owners and the decline of loyalty too, funny how that works. However I think the problem runs deeper than that. I think the culture of football has changed and everyone: ther media, the fans and the players have all been caught up in it.
Money
It would be unfair on players to suggest that the only reason why some of them wish to jump ship is for money. But then again it would be foolish to deny the obvious pulling power of a double-your-wages offer from some non-specific oligarch. People may now be joining Man City to win trophies as well as the money but originally you can be pretty sure it was just for the money. Did Robinho join the Manchester club because he thought he had a better chance of winning titles their than in Madrid? Probably not. The same applies to Carlos Tevez, Ashley Cole and every other mercenary at those clubs.
The fact is that whilst the players may begin their careers with good intentions the money that certain clubs are able to offer would turn even the noblest head. Who, realistically, could turn their nose up and the £200,000+ per week that some of the City players are on? No, money is doing its bit to destroy player loyalty within our league and others. Players should be able to earn what they can, but within reason. Football is about more than just winning, it is also about having a connection with your club and the fact that the players are feeling less and less sentimental towards their employers will certainly have an effect on the relationship between clubs, players and fans.
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Patience
Money however is, as I said, not the only reason for a decrease in loyalty. The culture of wanting everything instantly has taken over football as it has the rest of society. Consumerism has lead be to abandon patience in favour of debt in society in the never ending pursuit of things that we want. The same has happened in football. Instead of being happy to wait and work for success at their current clubs players look to move as soon as things aren’t going exactly as they wish.
Obviously there are exceptions where truly exceptional players need to leave their clubs to grow as footballers but even within the top clubs there is no loyalty. How can we go from having legends like Matt Le Tisser slogging it out at Southampton for all those years and then have players like Samir Nasri who isn’t prepared to wait a more than three years.
Steven Gerrard is testament to the fact that if you stay and work hard at your club you can win the biggest trophies. Gerrard could have left on numerous occasions during his Liverpool career but he didn’t and he has lifted the Champions League, The Uefa Cup and the FA Cup and the League Cup in his time. Had he left it is arguable whether Liverpool would have won nearly as much. They definitley wouldn’t have won the FA Cup against West Ham.
Bosman
The Bosman ruling is another problem in that it highlights the way in which power has shifted from the clubs to the players. In the past the players, knowing they were at the whim of the club, would not have been able to even consider forcing a move away. Now examples such as Rio Ferdinand’s to Man Utd or Nasri’s to Arsenal are demonstrative of the power that players have. And with more power they seem less responsible, less considerate and less loyal.
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I know that many people will argue that these players have the right to look after themselves, after all it is their career we are talking about, but you cannot ignore the reasons for their disloyalty. Many of these players are abandoning the clubs and managers that made them what they are today, and the gratitude shown is minimal. Player loyalty is on decline, there can be no doubt, but how far will UEFA let it go before they introduce stronger financial rules to curb the temptations that billionaire owners can offer?
Follow Hamish on Twitter @H_Mackay
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Gent missed a chance to close the gap on Belgian First Division leaders Genk and Anderlecht when they were held 1-1 at Mechelen on Saturday.The third-placed side could have drawn within five points of both teams, who are split by goal difference at the top of the league table, with victory.But they were forced to settle for a point when David de Storme nabbed an injury-time equaliser for the hosts.Senegalese striker Elimane Coulibaly had earlier put Gent into the lead with his eighth goal of the season, finding the net in the 77th minute.Elsewhere, Kortrijk ended a run of four straight league losses thanks to a visit from bottom-placed Charleroi, running out 3-0 winners to climb to ninth on the table.Davy De Beule scored a first-half brace for the hosts, interrupted by a rare goal from defender Sven Kums.Lokeren consolidated their place in the top six with a 2-1 win at home over 10-man Zulte-Waregem.Alfredh Finnbogason and Benjamin de Ceulaer scored within the first 10 minutes for the hosts, before Zulte-Waregem threatened a second-half comeback with Thomas Matton’s 49th-minute goal.But the danger quickly passed as defender Miguel Dachelet was sent off for a second caution in the 56th minute.Finally, Sint-Truiden defeated fellow relegation battlers Germinal Beerschot 1-0 on Gregory Dufer’s 61st-minute winner, and Westerlo triumphed 1-0 at Cercle Brugge courtesy of Dieter Dekelver.
Wenger clearly believes that if you can’t beat them, then join them, as he has openly declared his interest in Cole, Schwarzer and Pienaar this past fortnight. It does appear the best way to sign up players in the modern football, as the game’s morals and common decency continue to go out of the window.
This week at FFC we have seen a mixed bag of Arsenal blogs which has included…Wenger should move for £30m quartet; Van der Wiel welcomes Arsenal’s interest and Emmanuel Eboue’s unofficial World Cup Diary.
Plus we have taken a look at the best Arsenal stories on the Web this week.
The £30m question that Arsenal fans will be asking
Should Arsenal break the bank for Cole?
Emmanuel EBOUE’s unoffical World Cup Diary – PART II
£30 million quartet is just what Mr Wenger should order
Spain are the international equivalent of Arsenal
Van der Wiel welcomes Arsenal’s interest
How ‘Championship Manager’s’ finest failed to make the big time: Part Two
Why is 11-a-side football dying a slow death in this country?
**
Best of Web
**
2010/11 Fixtures And Arsene Goes Bah Humbug! – A Cultured Left Foot
Where are the signings? – Online Gooner
Why don’t Arsenal report Barcelona to FIFA? New winger on the horizon? – Le Grove
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Almunia’s Not Worried As Goalkeeping Targets Fail Their Auditions – A Cultured Left Foot
Who was the greatest home grown player we’ve ever had, and who is it now? Read on… – Le Grove
Click image below to see a gallery of the Argentinean babes at the World Cup:
Whilst many of us would dream of being paid to play football week-in week out for our clubs, for a number of the world’s top footballers this is not the only passion or, for some, the only career path that they have shown an interest in. We are not taling about things like playing golf, or partaking in other common sports, but genuine hobbies or interests outside of the world of sport that these footballers find the time to pursue seriously. I have compiled a selection of 10 footballers with ‘another life’, most of whom I am confident are relatively unknown to the general public, though one or two are certainly familiar.
Click on Daniel Agger to see the 10 players and their secret second lives
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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson praised surprise starter Javier Hernandez for his eye for goal in their 4-0 rout of Wigan on Saturday.
The Scot gave the Mexican striker a chance to impress at the DW Stadium, opting to bench Golden Boot leader Dimitar Berbatov, but Hernandez vindicated his manager’s decision by scoring United’s first two goals to increase their lead at the top of the table to four points.
The brace earned Hernandez his eighth and ninth goals of the league season, and Ferguson praised the efficiency of the 22-year-old.
“He is very, very good. You’re hoping he gets those chances and he does put them away, his percentage is very high and we’re very pleased with his performance today,” Ferguson said.
Wigan had several decent chances of their own early in the first half, and it was only in the final 10 minutes that United were able to establish a comfortable buffer.
“The first 20 minutes it was all Wigan, (they had) some great attempts. We’ll have to thank our goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar who was terrific, he stood up very well and made two or three very good saves,” Ferguson said.
“We got the goal from a little breakaway, it was a terrific finish from Chicharito (Hernandez), of course, that’s what he’s good at.”
“Second half I thought we played really well. Excellent performance in the second half – we could’ve scored a few more goals.”
Wigan coach Roberto Martinez said the scoreline, which included three goals in the final 20 minutes, flattered the league leaders.
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“If you watch the game I don’t think it (the scoreline) reflected the performance at all, but when you play against a Manchester United side and you want to win the game you need to take the chances and create,” he told Sky Sports.
“I felt the first-half performance was very, very good. You go into the half-time 1-0 down and sometimes it’s really hard to take, (but) Man United today were clinical in their counter-attacks and they took advantage of it.”