Arsene Wenger and Andre Villas-Boas are both under the spotlight this morning after far from convincing performances in the FA Cup. Arsenal’s long wait for silverware appears to be continuing, after they crashed out against Sunderland, while Chelsea failed to beat Championship side Birmingham at Stamford Bridge. It is reported that Didier Drogba gave the players his own teamtalk in the tunnel at half time to further undermine the Portuguese manager.
Elsewhere in the news Harry Redknapp has conceded Tottenham’s interest in Hazard; Poyet issues warning over Suarez, while Steve Bruce has turned down the chance to manage Wolves.
Headlines
Andre Villas-Boas admits that he has the full support of the Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, despite the shock 1-1 home draw against Birmingham City in the FA Cup – Observer
Harry Redknapp has conceded that Eden Hazard is a transfer target for Tottenham Hotspur this summer, having failed to have captured him in the January window – Observer
Ian Holloway reveals that top managers get sacked from football largely down to the fact that chairman know very little about the game – Independent
Football clubs have come under fire from Government ministers over the way they are dragging their feet in dealing with homophobia in football – Independent
Pep Guardiola is preparing to move to Arsenal and become their new manager, with Arsene Wenger moving upstairs into a director of football role – Daily Mail
Gus Poyet reveals that this country is in danger of driving Luis Suarez out of the Premier League if it continues to persist in alienating the Uruguayan striker – Daily Mail
Steve Bruce turned down the role of managing Wolves because it was only a short term deal until the end of the season – Daily Mail
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Chelsea are set to move for Serbian starlet Lazar Markovic , whose £14m price tag reportedly scared off Liverpool striking a deal back in January – Mirror
Arsene Wenger is reportedly interested in signing up Benfica’s Nicolas Gaitan. The Argentine is wanted by the Manchester clubs also and Arsenal’s scout Gilles Grimandi has revealed that Arsenal are also interested – Mirror
Arsenal’s resurgence continued this week with a well fought, scrappy, old fashioned 1-0 win away at Everton that lifted them above fierce rivals and into the Premier League top three. The Gunners have enjoyed a miraculous renaissance since beating the old enemy at the end of February winning seven games in a row and putting themselves back on course for automatic qualification to next season’s Champions League. Confidence is booming inside the walls of the Emirates Stadium with Arsene Wenger delivering a huge back hand to the critics who tipped him for the sack after disastrous start to the campaign.
This week at FFC discussion has arose over Wenger’s summer transfer targets and whether two of Belgiums hottest prospects will end up plying their trade in North London next season….alongside a veteran Italian legend.
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Best of FFC
Arsene Wenger’s transfer priorities for this summer
A ‘crisis’ in North London? Do me a favour!
Hazard continues to flirt as Premier League elite lay in wait
Belgian star talks up Arsenal move
Del Piero coy on Premier League move amid Arsenal link
Four transfers to do the trick for Arsenal?
Foreign rule brings domestic bliss to the Premier League
A Transfer Gamble Worth Taking By Arsenal?
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Best of WEB
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One of us speaks, keep looking forward – A Cultured Left Foot
Keeping complacency out will be Wenger’s biggest challenge – Gunnersphere
From Wenger boys to Wenger men – Online Gooner
Frankly Mr Shankly You’re Wrong – Arseblog
‘We have regained credit with the fans’| Vermaelen is a frustrated striker – Le Grove
Do Arsenal fans want Aaron Ramsey sold? – Highbury House
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Why Arsenal MUST pursue this CSKA playmaker in the summer – Gunnersphere
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Quote of the Week
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“We are always confident [of staying third], especially if we keep winning games as we are. But we won’t be looking at Tottenham, only ourselves. That’s the important thing for us, not what other clubs are doing.
“Yes [Arsenal are favourites to finish third], we just have to keep the focus on our own performance. At the moment we have had some good results against some difficult teams. We have shown good mentality.” Thomas Vermaelen on Arsenal’s fight for third spot
There is an indelible image from last season’s Manchester-themed FA Cup semi-final. It is a photo taken just after the final whistle, of a bare-chested Pablo Zabaleta screaming with delight into the camera lens. It was reminder, if one was needed, that here was a man with cult-hero status at Manchester City football club.
But what makes someone a cult hero? Well for starters, their football ability is paramount, the rules stating that it must be pitched at a certain level for the squad in which they perform. The cult hero won’t be the best player in the world. They probably won’t be the worst in the world either. But what they may lack in natural ability they tend to make up for in effort and application. A cult hero may well end a match bloodied. The cult hero that gained approval through effort will never stop trying, even if the team is 4-0 down with a minute to play. He will put his body on the line.
Some are just nice guys too. In a world where footballers are perceived as aloof, detached mercenaries, a player who seems as normal as the average fan is revered. They say the right things, they interact with fans, they have a bond with the club. But ultimately there are a hundred paths to cult-hero status, most involving being different from the norm. The player might be a one-club man (though this suggests legend rather cult status), he might be plain crazy, he might watch matches in the stands when injured with the fans, he might annoy opposition players to the point that cult-hero status is attained due to his hatred by other clubs’ fans.
And speaking of crazy, there’s Mario Balotelli. If Balotelli just came to training every day then went home and watched television, a few fans would now be questioning the level of his recent perfomances. A few still do of course, as there is merit in this discussion, but in some ways his day-job has been overshadowed by his off-field antics, and turned him into a cult-hero for fans of many clubs. It’s just a shame that most of the stories about him are fabricated.
There is a fast-track route to cult-staus – scoring a vital goal. Be it the goal to secure promotion, win a title, avoid relegation, or just beat a hated rival, one vital goal can be enough. Paul Dickov springs to mind, though he had effort and application too, but there’s no beating Jimmy Glass. Score a goal to avoid relegation from the football league? Check. Do it in the last minute? Check. What’s that, he’s a goalkeeper? Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner.
Often, the cult-hero comes from foreign climes, bringing with them exotic ways, a different approach to life, and if you’re lucky with a cult-hero, a crazy haircut. Imagine if Carlos Valderrama had played for your football club. I’d say it would be pretty likely he would have attained cult status.
But a few years ago, the BBC’s Football Focus programme conducted a poll amongst fans to find an all time Cult XI. The results were disappointing, as the list was basically a group of great players, but not ones that you’d associated with a cult following. After all, Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole and Cristiano Ronaldo were on the list.
But cult heroes can also be borne from disaster, thus achieving their status with fans of other clubs. Take Jamie Pollock, scorer of one of the most spectacular own-goals of all time, a beautiful header that deprived his Manchester City team of victory in a relegation “six-pointer” against QPR. Soon City were down, whilst QPR stayed up. Pollock had cult-hero status, but with the wrong set of fans, and QPR fans hijacked a poll to find the most influential human being of the past two thousand years, thus ensuring Pollock won, pushing Jesus Christ and Karl Marx into second and third place. And talking of City, the juvenile humour commonplace in a football crowd during uneventful matches saw Salzburg’s Alan get his own series of chants due to the Englishness of his name. Even City’s official website penned a tribute.
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So here’s to football’s cult heroes, the lifeblood of the game. Every teams needs supreme effort, a wind-up merchant, an eccentric, a man who stands out from the rest, or who truly serves the club. A mohican hairstyle is just a bonus.
He’s a canny old so and so that Monsieur Wenger. After the Frenchman delved deep into the memory banks to pull out such a memorable gem of a comment this weekend stating ‘They (the Stoke fans) have a relationship with me, but I don’t have one with them’ the Arsenal manager has irked the overtures of Team GB boss Stuart Pearce by stating midfielder Jack Wilshere might not be fit even for the start of the next Premier League campaign. It has been a disappointing season of toil and struggle for the 20-year-old who hasn’t been able to build on his burgeoning reputation after suffering a recurring stress fracture, following a sparkling full debut campaign.
Whilst Wenger knows the state of his players more than most, you just can’t help the sense that he is building up the situation simply for the good of his team next time out. And who can blame him? Wenger has had a previous number of run in’s, like many managers with international bodies surrounding their treatment of his domestic stars, no less than in 2009 when Robin Van Persie was cleared to play in a Netherlands friendly with Italy, only to suffer ligament damage after a challenge by Giorgio Chiellini and he missed the rest of the entire season, proving costly in Arsenal’s title charge.
Whilst Wilshere must be itching to detach himself from his keyboard and Twitter in particularly, and embrace a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at London 2012, it cannot be overstated how much care needs to be employed when dealing with his comeback. As expectant fans, we all want to see the best talents playing for our country as soon as possible but patience is certainly a virtue we don’t always possess and you can see why Wenger has been displeased by Wilshere’s presence on Stuart Pearce’s 80-man provisional Team GB squad list. Wenger told BBC Sport.
‘I do not want to set the Olympics as a target because I do not know whether Jack will be fit to start at the beginning of the season’.
There’s not always been enough careful precaution taken with specific talents over the years with fans impatience transmitting to the management to fast-track them back into competition. We all saw in the case of Dean Ashton how temperamental long-term injuries can be with his anticipated involvement in the England squad being scuppered most famously in August 2006 where he broke his left ankle in training, proving to be a setback he just couldn’t shake fully before retiring early in 2009. Although Wilshere is younger, perhaps more hungry and itching to display his patriotism and camaraderie at national team level, you just cannot put the pressure on a young man’s head to come back and deliver immediately.
Whilst Arsenal fans and England onlookers hope and pray Wilshere’s injury troubles aren’t as deep-rooted as Ashton’s, what is true is that he must overcome this first injury successfully before any real talk of resuming a successful-looking future can surface once more. I don’t aim to scaremonger, but it would be an incredible shame if Wilshere’s legacy was to be remembered as just one full season. Wilshere has arguably been the greatest and flamboyant English talent to emerge since Wayne Rooney’s breakthrough and the latter is evidence that injury troubles can be defeated if hard work and dedication are to be employed.
But back to Wenger and international-domestic disputes in general; it is an aged truth of football nowadays that Premier League bosses are often riled by the careless selections from international realms. It is evidence of the lesser attachment to international football that many fans of respective clubs still condemn decisions to select their pros whose well-being at home isn’t considered fully first. The role of an international manager is often scrutinised as popping between ground to ground, casting a slender eye over a handful of performances and selecting a squad based on a lack of in-depth knowledge.
Using this complex, Pearce’s information surrounding Wilshere’s condition has been at odds with Wenger’s assessment but the latter will inevitably always put his club first. Given Wilshere’s potential long-term and expectation to flourish once more if he overcomes injury, it is imperative that he receives the utmost care and attention this summer. It may be painstaking for the youngster to miss out on Euro 2012 and London 2012 this year, but at 20, Wilshere shouldn’t be naïve in that he has plenty of years ahead of him and has an adequate period of time to remind football fans just how talented a footballer he is.
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Was Stuart Pearce ill-advised to select Wilshere in his provisional squad? Follow me @ http://twitter.com/Taylor_Will1989
Group C underdogs Ireland face their toughest test of the tournament tonight, when they face current World and European Champions Spain in Gdansk. Aware that a loss would see them crash out of the tournament at an early stage, Trappatoni’s team will have their work cut out in trying to get the result they require.
Meanwhile, Spain have been a little shellshocked after not claiming an expected opening game win against the Italians. Accusations that the pitch was unplayable in their first game have fallen on deaf ears, with some seeing it as an excuse to cover their own backs. The fact is that Spain will be looking to finish the job tonight and a comfortable win over comparative minnows Ireland should be acquired.Team NewsSpainVicente Del Bosque is likely to stick with his much criticised decision to play with no recognisable strikers on the pitch. Despite having Fernando Torres, Alvaro Negredo and Fernando Llorente at his disposal, Del Bosque’s now infamous 4-6-0 formation will probably be the tactic used, allowing Fabregas and Silva to roam around the box and make darting forward runs. Expect the same XI that played Italy to begin this game.IrelandDespite so much pressure from fans to include Sunderland youngster James McClean in the starting XI, Trapattoni looks unlikely to listen and will start with Duff and McGeady out wide. Impressive substitute appearances from Jonathan Walters and Simon Cox mean that the duo are pushing for a start. Darron Gibson may be drafted in after recovering from an injury, replacing either Whelan or Andrews. Finally, after concern earlier in the week, Richard Dunne has been cleared to play after sitting out a training session with blisters.Key PlayersSpain- Cesc FabregasThe man who converted Spain’s only goal of the tournament so far, will likely lead the line for his team. With criticism of Del Bosque and his refusal to use strikers in his formation, many expectant eyes will be on Fabregas; relying on the midfielder to be the paramount goal scoring threat. The former Arsenal captain will find the Irish defence more penetrable than the stubborn Italians so should find himself a handful of convertible chances.Ireland- Robbie KeaneWith calls from many sections of the Irish support to demote their captain to the bench, Keane will need to find his shooting boots if he is to end his disappointing form. With the weight of a countries expectation on his shoulders, the LA Galaxy striker will need to convert any chance he finds. Keane has the credentials but needs to find the back of the net, should his side stand any chance of qualification.Prediction – Spain 2-0 Rep. Of Ireland
Chelsea have unveiled new signing Eden Hazard, who joins the club from French side Lille.
The Belgian international is adjudged as one of the most exciting and talented young players in Europe, and was linked with a move to both Manchester United and Manchester City also.
With even Real Madrid and Barcelona thought to have considered a bid for the playmaker, Hazard has explained his decision to move to Stamford Bridge.
“When they won the Champions League I told myself, Why not Chelsea?” the attacking midfielder told French radio station RMC, translated to English by Sky Sports.
“There was a struggle between Chelsea and United but, for me, Chelsea has the best project.
“The team is young and I have a better chance to play there.
“At 21, Real or Barca would have been more difficult for me.
“If I play well enough at Chelsea, I could win my place in the starting team,” he concluded.
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Hazard is the latest new face at the west London club, with Marko Marin and Kevin De Bruyne also joining the Blues this summer.
Manchester United target Lucas Moura’s valuation is set to increase by £4 million, as Sao Paulo look to get the best price for their star player according to The Daily Mail.
The Brazil international playmaker is one of a generation of exciting young attacking players coming out of the South American nation currently, with the Red Devils fighting against Real Madrid and Inter for the prospect’s signature.
Moura is thought to be valued around the £30 million mark, with the player entitled to 20 per cent of any potential transfer fee.
However, on August 1 the player’s share is said to be ready to increase to 30 per cent, which would take the cost of the player up another £4 million.
United have sent chief scout Jim Lawlor to Brazil in an attempt to broker a deal, however Moura will be in the United Kingdom soon to compete for his country in the Olympics.
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Pre-season friendlies are a terrible barometer of how the season will pan out but, win or lose, supporters still get carried away. By Will Strauss
OK, it’s time to lay my cards firmly on the table: I hate pre-season. There, I’ve said it.
Pre-season is important for players as they get to focus on fitness, tactics and getting to know their new teammates.
Supporters, unfortunately, get no such benefits. For us pre-season results in: two months of completely hypothetical and rhetorical conversations about transfer policy; inane discussions about the merits or otherwise of the new home shirt; totally unfounded predictions for the new season; and a string of ultimately pointless (pun-intended) football matches.
The latter are particularly galling.
Even if your club has arranged a glamour tie against a big Premier League team or a European footballing giant, the pre-season friendly is a fairly grim experience. Partly because most games are played at walking pace but mainly because supporters have to attempt to watch their team play without caring about the score or, to a certain extent, the performance. Which kind of takes away the whole point of a going to a game of football in the first place.
Chesterfield manager John Sheridan said this week: “I’ve played and managed teams that have won every game in pre-season and got off to a poor start, so the most important thing in my eyes is keeping everyone fit.”
I am a rational man. I know he is right. Yes I can’t help but look at the results and what they might tell us.
In the last couple of weeks Chesterfield have thrashed Staveley Miners Welfare and Matlock Town but failed to beat Telford and lost to Alfreton. On paper the results do not inspire confidence. But, at the same time, they’ve played some very encouraging looking attacking football, created loads of chances and scored plenty of goals.
So I now find myself worrying that the season is going to get off to a bad start. Which is totally insane because these are just friendlies. But I cannot help myself. This is why no good can ever come of pre-season.
Perversely, prior to these first few friendlies, I was desperately reining in my expectations.
Having been relegated last season I was hoping that they’d bounce straight back up. And, with the signings that Sheridan has made, they might do that. But such are the vagaries of pre-season that I now haven’t got a clue how they’ll get on.
With friendly results going awry I’ve even started comparing and contrasting the team with its potential opposition. I don’t usually concern myself with the fortunes of other teams until we get to about Christmas but that’s another curse of pre-season.
There are other clubs, notably newly promoted Fleetwood Town and local rivals Rotherham United, that are also bringing in interesting players and all three clubs have spent well when it comes to wages.
Chesterfield have signed five new players on free transfers and re-signed several more that were at the club last season. The impressive looking Sam Hird has arrived – despite Doncaster Rovers’ best efforts to keep the defender – as has midfield enforcer/water carrier Sam Togwell, a player that they could’ve done with last season.
The Spireites have also gone big on Marc Richards, the former Port Vale striker, reputedly paying him very good money in a division where the average wage is £747 a week.
At the same time Rotherham have signed 11 new players – again, all on frees – thanks, at least in part I would guess, to a wage budget bolstered by the income that will come from their excellent looking new stadium.
Fleetwood are famously wealthy and have made some interesting signings too including players that have previously earned a crust at a higher level such as Damian Johnson and Jon Parkin. According to recent media reports, they’re also going to sign Joey Barton. If that is true it would take them into a completely different realm from the rest.
With all three clubs upping the wages ante the League Two salary cap may play a part in deciding who comes out on top.
For the uninitiated, no club in League Two can spend more than 55 per cent of its turnover on employee wages. To police this rule, budgets are provided to the Football League at the beginning of the season. This information is updated as the campaign progresses and any club breaching the limit will be subject to a transfer embargo.
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In my opinion it is an excellent ruling that stops clubs from buying their way to the title with money they don’t actually have but I can also see how it may cause problems if clubs get their strategy wrong.
According to the Sheffield Star “the annual player wages budget has been reached” at Chesterfield. This shows ambition. But what if Richards, on whose form and goals a lot rests, gets injured for example? Where do we go from there? Is there a contingency plan for a replacement? Presumably the answer is no, unless the club can increase turnover mid-season.
As you can see, this is the kind of hypothetical nonsense that is going on inside my head right now. Ultimately I am none the wiser for the last two months. Curse you pre-season. You’ve sent me mad again.
Perhaps we’ll know more once we’ve played friendlies against Huddersfield Town and Derby. But I doubt it. The football season proper cannot come soon enough.
By Will Strauss. As well as writing about his first love, Chesterfield FC, he is currently coming up with articles about freezer spares for the Leeds-based appliances company ASD.
Everton assistant manager Steve Round expects new signing Kevin Mirallas to keep improving as the season continues following a man-of-the-match performance in a 5-0 Capital One Cup victory over Leyton Orient last night.
Belgian international Mirallas converted two and provided two assists on his full debut for the Merseyside club in what proved to be a one-sided affair over League One Orient. Mirallas, 24, joined Everton in the summer from Greek side Olympiakos for £5 million and has impressed the Goodison Park faithful with a string of exciting displays from the bench.
Round told the club’s official website that he was impressed by Mirallas’ performance: “Kevin gave us an example of what he’s about with his speed, movement and finishing. He showed why he was one of the top goal scorers in Greece.”
The Toffees’ assistant boss believes that once Mirallas reaches full fitness, there will be even more to come from the wing-forward: “He tired quite badly in the second half but we expected that. He missed quite a chunk of pre-season with a knee injury. He’s not really up to speed yet but he is getting there.”
The 5-0 victory for Everton continued what has been an excellent start for a club who are notoriously slow starters. Everton currently lie in 3rd place in the Premier League after victories at home to Manchester United and away at Aston Villa.
Round believes the key to Everton’s early success this time around has been their ability to keep most of the squad fit; a luxury they haven’t enjoyed in previous seasons: “The players all want to play; they’re fit, injury free and enjoying playing with each other. Because of that we are getting some real flow and cohesion.”
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For most professional footballers, playing for one of the world’s greatest football clubs would be considered a huge honour. Yet spending four years at Manchester United and winning two league titles all under the stewardship of one of the greatest managers of all time clearly means very little if you are Dimitar Berbatov.
Having spent pretty much all of last season warming up the Old Trafford bench, Berbatov has finally been given a glorious opportunity to play first team football again having completed a £5m move to Fulham. Yet his reputation as a sulky brat has once again got the better of him. Rather than express his delight at signing for one of the Premier League’s most up-and-coming teams, he has decided to focus on being shunned by Sir Alex Ferguson and the negative treatment he received by his former employees.
But can anyone really blame Fergie for overlooking him for over a year? Is it any surprise that he fell further down the pecking order as one of Old Trafford’s main strikers? Not really.
Firstly, when you spend over £30 million on a striker you expect goals and lots of them. Berbatov’s record at Manchester United reads just over a goal every three games. Not a poor record by any means, but when you compare that to Robin Van Persie, who scored approximately one goal every other game at Arsenal and cost Manchester United £6 million less than Berbatov, it comes as no surprise that he was overlooked.
Secondly, for £30 million you want a striker who is consistent. Berbatov was by no means a flop at Manchester United, but he never came close to justifying his price tag.
On one day, he would be unstoppable, just as he proved when he scored five goals in a 7-1 win over Blackburn in November 2010, but the next, he would be completely ineffectual. It was becoming more obvious that Fergie was only really using him against weak opposition, but when it came to the big clashes, Fergie deemed that there were other players more suited for the occasion. This was proven in May 2011 when Berbatov was completely left out of the squad for the Champions League final against Barcelona.
Thirdly, you want a striker who is adaptable to change. Sir Alex was looking to play a faster and more direct style of football last season, a style that Berbatov openly admitted wasn’t his. If this is the case, what did Berbatov expect other than complete neglect? What was he hoping for, that Fergie would build the team around him?! And if he knew that this was happening, why did he choose to sit on the bench for an entire season instead of looking for a new club?
Fourthly, look at Berbatov’s age. He’s not by any means close to retiring, but at 31, he is not in the prime of his career either. When you compare him to the striker’s that Ferguson has at his disposal and the pace and ability they have, it’s no wonder he kept finding himself going down the pecking order.
Finally, look at his attitude. On the pitch, regardless of who he has played for, he has developed this lazy mentality of standing in the six yard box waiting for somebody to provide a decent cross. His desire to help out his team-mates has never really been there, but in his eyes, it didn’t matter because this was justified by his goalscoring record. Unfortunately for him, this has certainly never been Fergie’s style and quite frankly, no striker who has ever been considered as ‘world-class’ has adopted a similar attitude.
His attitude off the pitch speaks for itself. He has always had this negative attitude, even when he was at Spurs. When it was clear that he was about to leave to join Manchester United, Spurs put in a complaint against the Red Devils, which culminated in Berbatov sulking and being dropped for the start of the 07/08 season.
His recent outburst against Sir Alex Ferguson is typical of Berbatov. Rather than look back at his time at Old Trafford with positivity and pride and focus on the exciting prospect of starting with a new club, he uses the move as an opportunity to criticise Fergie for ignoring him for a year. Quite frankly, it’s an insult to both Fulham AND Manchester United.
Yes, one could argue that Ferguson’s treatment of Berbatov was a little disrespectful. But that’s modern football for you. A decent manager puts the needs of the team first, not the individual. If you don’t want to adapt, move on. Berbatov’s ignorance and his failure to accept this has been his downfall and he has nobody to blame but himself.
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Personally, I believe that this transfer is the perfect opportunity for Berbatov to rejuvenate his career. He needs Fulham and I think Fulham need him. At least at Craven Cottage, he has a considerably better chance of playing regular first team football. And as far as the club is concerned, he is a more than adequate candidate to fill the goalscoring void left by Clint Dempsey.
I just hope that as the season progresses, Berbatov realises this and eventually he will look back with pride and remember that he once scored goals for one of the greatest clubs in the world.