The Premier League’s global popularity is unquestionable, its total income from foreign rights deals from 2010-13 inclusive will be £1.437bn, or £479m a year – four times that of La Liga, more than six times what Serie A earns annually and almost fourteen times the foreign income of the Bundesliga. So it is perhaps no wonder Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are maximising their potential with pioneering deals that could well see other clubs follow suit.
Manchester United recently announced a deal with Hong Kong-based telecommunications giant PCCW who will broadcast the club’s television channel, MUTV, in addition to making content available online, through mobile phones and its EYE2 portable media centre and the lucrative nature of such a deal could instigate a flurry of similar deals in the future.
United’s commercial director Richard Arnold said: “We continue to support the collective bargaining because it makes the Premier League incredibly competitive,”
“But there are other rights that centre around the club and players, where our access is not paralleled anywhere else. It would be very surprising not to put into place something that allowed you to communicate with fans all over the world.”
And such a deal may well open upon untold possibilities for both the club and the Premier League, as well as alleviating the debt amassed by the Glazer family since their controversial takeover in 2005.
Premier League clubs may be able to inflate their income through hi-tech media in other major countries where there is high demand for coverage and media has certainly become the lion share of ticketing, sponsorship and media.
Meanwhile, Tottenham have announced a sponsorship deal with specialist banking and asset firm Investec who will be their second sponsor for Champions League and domestic cups and this more set a trend whereby other Premier League clubs split sponsorship in order to maximise profits from shirt sales throughout the season.
Spurs fans will now have to purchase a different shirt as a token of their Champions League adventures and cutting their sponsorship cloth a different way may see a change in football shirts over the next few years if the venture is successful. Football shirts may become more like Rugby shirts with numerous sponsors on the sleeves – such is the popularity of the Premier League many companies would be more than happy to participate.
A sponsorship consultant said: “I think that other clubs may now look at ways of increasing the value of their shirt sponsorship.”
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It is highly likely that we see Daniel Levy’s clever ploy to earn more money from sponsorship around the country, the only question that would remain is whether fans would fork out their hard-earned cash on two shirts a season.
Birmingham City fans are dismayed at the lack of availability with regards to their new Xtep shirt due to the China floods and they try to exploit the Asian market with Carson Yeung at the helm and it is likely it will not be in shops until October. Although it is rare, such problems can arise and with the prices of football shirts around £40 for a few months of football before it is inevitably changed come the summer – two shirts may be that step too far.
Steve McClaren has returned to former club FC Twente, signing a two-and-a-half year deal with the Dutch side.
The former England manager led the Enschede-based side to the first Eredivisie title in their history back in 2009-10, before leaving to join Wolfsburg.
Twente parted company with coach Co Adriaanse on Tuesday, and despite reports linking Avram Grant with the vacant post, McClaren has returned to his old stomping ground.
The 50-year-old feels that it is an excellent opportunity for him, and he is looking forward to continuing the progress he made in his first stint with the club.
“I left, obviously, on a high with the title. I said at that time that I would be back. I didn’t know when, but I would be back,” he admitted to Sky Sports.
“The club is still developing, still growing and I think this is an ideal opportunity for me to go back and finish what we were starting.”
“I know the club very well. I know the people at the top. I can work with the people at the top.
“I think that is the most important thing. I had a good relationship with them the last time. I know where the club is coming from.
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“I know what their vision is. I know what their ambitions are. It is still there. That was the key thing for me,” he concluded.
Aston Villa eased their relegation worries and jumped to 14th place in the English Premier League table with a 1-0 home win over Newcastle.A James Collins header in the first half won the game at Villa Park, but in truth there could have easily been more goals as the home side dominated proceedings.
The goal came in the 24th minute, with Ashley Young?s free kick finding Collins, who glanced past helpless United goalkeeper Steve Harper into the top corner.
Striker Darren Bent went close to extending Villa’s lead when he headed over winger Stewart Downing?s cross from close range, while Downing himself almost got on the score sheet with a decent strike from 20 yards out.
Bent thought he had doubled Villa?s lead on the stroke of half-time after he converted Jean Makoun?s pass, but the striker was ruled offside when the decision could have easily gone the other way.
Villa started the second half in similar fashion, with forward Gabby Agbonlahor creating a chance for himself that had Harper at full stretch.
Ashley Young then finished off a patient build up with a shot that flashed inches wide of the goal frame.
Newcastle were a shadow of the side that beat Wolves so convincingly last week, with Brad Friedel in the Villa goal only called upon in the final few minutes.
Striker Nile Ranger had a chance early in the game, but he chose to place rather than use power and Friedel easily saved.
Friedel needed to be aware to deny Peter Lovenkrands twice in the closing stages, firstly stopping a header with two minutes left and then being on hand to save with his feet in injury time.
The result will bring a welcome three points for Gerard Houllier?s side, which is now five points clear of the bottom three with six games remaining.
West Ham United's hopes of signing Everton striker Yakubu appear to be slim, after Irons co-owner David Sullivan put a value of less than £2million on the Nigeria international's head.
The Toffees are reported to want up to four times the amount that Sullivan is prepared to pay, meaning that a deal is highly unlikely.
He told the Daily Telegraph:"We have cooled on Yakubu. When you have a good, hard look at him, we want younger and quicker and better.
"Everything has a price. You want to get Yakubu for £1-2million and they are quoting £8million and that is far too much.
"They have to be more realistic. If they said £1-2million we might go back.
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"We bid more at the start of the summer because we had more flexibility but, at this moment in time, having spent some of our money on other players we want him for £1-2million."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
The rant you’re about to read is usually the classic sign of a paranoid football fan. After all, we all think that the world is against our team, the newspapers are biased, referees have got it in for us, we never get any credit. And as for opposing fans….
But still, despite all that, the ridiculous red card for Mario Balotelli last weekend against Liverpool suggests to me, that just sometimes, that paranoia is justified.
Referees will of course claim that they enter the pitch with no agendas, and make impartial decisions on each particular incident alone. This is clearly poppycock, because they are human beings, and human nature means they have pre-conceived ideas about certain players, and treat them differently as a consequence.
To suggest Wayne Rooney gets away with metaphorical murder on the football pitch is the same as suggesting that night follows day – you could offer many theories as to why some players are allowed to say what they want to a referee with impunity or get the benefit of the doubt over some hairy challenges, but they tend to be English, which is not to suggest a wave of xenophobia from referees in how they deal with players, but a certain leniency to many “stalwarts” of the game, a blind eye to many established Premier League players. Balotelli doesn’t fit this description, he is the crazy youngster from far away who fires darts at youth players, almost burns down his house with fireworks, walks around with bundles of cash in his pocket, gets his friends to chat up women for him, receives 2000 parking tickets in a year and hangs around with the mafia. Well I read all this in the tabloids, so consider it to be 100% true.
When Graham Poll is appearing on Talksport decrying his hairstyle, it gives you a good insight into how match officials enter the field with agendas and preconceived ideas. Maybe Balotelli deserves it then. Hey, he doesn’t smile enough for my liking, throw the book at him.
It’s the reverse of commentators mentioning that Player X is “not that type of player” when he is sent off for a knee-high challenge. That player could throw kittens off bridges every night, he could have been sent off 40 times in his career, or he could have never fouled before in an illustrious 20-year career. It’s all irrelevant – it was either a red card or it wasn’t.
Balotelli’s first yellow card was perfectly justified – an innocuous pull-back on an opposing player, but a text-book yellow card in the modern game. The second card was brandished on reputation alone, by a referee who has a knack of sending off opposition players at Anfield (Balotelli completing the hat-trick). Maybe I am being blinkered – after all I have read a few City fans and journalists write online that he led with his elbow, and thus it was a stupid challenge and he was asking for trouble.
But no, that simply isn’t true. There was no elbow sticking out, only an extended arm which I presume he was using to try and protect the ball from the opposing player, as part of his whole body. Clumsy perhaps, but nothing more. His fate was sealed when the Liverpool player went down as if shot, clutching a head that hadn’t come into contact with anything, whilst five or six of his team-mates crowded round the referee demanding a red card. Has football really become so averse to contact of any sort that Balotelli’s attempt at a tackle for his second yellow card is now considered as fair game for punishment?
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I’m not blinkered to Balotelli’s discretions. His demeanour makes him a target on the field, though a professional referee should be capable of looking beyond this. I can see when he has done wrong – the red card at home to Dynamo Kiev last season was utterly justified and put paid to City’s Europa League chances. A dismissal at West Brom though last season was even more ridiculous than the one at Anfield – we’ve been here before.
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He’s not the only one to be pre-judged on the field either, due to off-field controversies. Joey Barton is one that springs to mind (not that he is always innocent, as seen against Arsenal this season), a man whose reputation on the field is probably confused with what he has done off it. The truth is that there are plenty of Premiership players who have sinned on a football field far more than Barton, but attracted much less attention for it. Likewise, those footballers portrayed as professional wind-up merchants like Robbie Savage also carry a stigma onto the field with them. In 2008, the Daily Mail labelled Savage as the dirtiest player in Premier League history, based on numbers of yellow cards received (87), though apparently he has since been surpassed as the player with the most Premier League yellow cards by Lee Bowyer. And throughout his career, Savage was only sent off for his club side once. Was Savage really ome of the Premiership’s worst ever miscreants on a football field?
Players are the victims of soft red cards all the time – it doesn’t take much to get dismissed nowadays. If you agree Balotelli was hard done by, you’ll also agree that he isn’t the first, and he won’t be the last. But lets hope that in the future, referees have the ability to see through his reputation, and judge him on the foul alone. Otherwise, discussing the disciplinary record of Mr Balotelli could become a depressingly common occurrence in the future.
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