Wales manager Gary Speed has made the unusual move of telling Gareth Bale to leave Tottenham in search of Champions League football. Speed said “I reckon it’s important for all the players to play as high as possible and Champions League football is the place where Gareth shone this year.”
It is true that Bale showcased his skills on the European stage this season, but is the fact that Tottenham failed to qualify for the Champions League this season really enough reason to demand a transfer? At 21 Bale is still growing and developing as a player and Tottenham is the ideal stage for him at the moment. Bale will be disappointed not to play in the Champions League next season but will be able to perform at the highest level in the Premier League and the Europa League (should Spurs qualify).
Moving to a club involved in the Champions League next season would be a big risk for Bale. It would be a case of either moving to one of the Premier League big four or moving abroad to somewhere like Italy or Spain. By moving abroad Bale would risk cultural shock or not be suited to the style of play in the league. A move to one of the Premier League big four may help his career but only if he can be sure of playing on a regular basis.
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We know from previous interviews that Bale has done with the press that he can sometimes suffer from a lack of confidence in his own ability. At Tottenham he is given the opportunity to go and express himself and use his greatest attacking strengths. Given that role on the left side of the midfield that suits him perfectly. Bale may have started out as a left back, but going forward is a far greater strength than defending. I fear that if Bale moved on he may not get the same respect at a different club by asking him to play roles he isn’t so comfortable with or being in and out of the side too much. So thank you for the advice Mr Speed but I think Bale is best off staying at Spurs at least for now. Besides in 12 months time Spurs may have qualified for the Champions League again and Bale can excel.
Join the conversation on Twitter and tell me if you think Bale should leave Spurs
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The New York Red Bulls came from behind to secure a 2-2 draw against the Colorado Rapids in the MLS on Wednesday.New York’s point enabled them to move back to the top of the Eastern Conference but they could not find the all-important third goal in the second half which would have given them some breathing space over the Philadelphia Union, who only trail Hans Backe’s side by goal difference.
Jeff Larentowicz was a threat all night for the visitors in Colorado, and he opened the scoring after 26 minutes to stun the home crowd.
But former Arsenal legend Thierry Henry quickly restored parity with his 28th-minute finish, representing his sixth goal in as many games for the club.
Larentowicz was quick to respond though and bagged his second just four minutes later, before English striker Luke Rodgers replied within 60 seconds to cap a remarkable seven-minute period where four goals were scored.
No more goals were added as the sides were forced to share the spoils, with Colorado no doubt the happier with the result.
In other matches, the Los Angeles Galaxy still lead the Western Conference by five points after a 1-0 home win over Houston Dynamo, which came courtesy of Landon Donovan’s first-half penalty.
Brek Shea scored the only goal of the game as FC Dallas produced a 1-0 away triumph at the Seattle Sounders.
Toronto’s match with Vancouver was cancelled due to bad weather, with the former holding a 1-0 lead through Erik Hassli’s 17th minute goal when play was halted after 63 minutes.
Rangers have wrapped up their third-straight Scottish Premier League title with a 5-1 win over Kilmarnock on Sunday.Walter Smith’s team scored three times in the opening seven minutes with striker Kyle Lafferty hitting a hat-trick as they claimed their 54th league title, despite Celtic’s 4-0 thrashing of Motherwell.
Rangers claimed the title by one point from their arch rivals.
Lafferty produced two fine finishes in the first seven minutes, either side of a similarly neat strike from Steven Naismith.
The 3-0 half-time lead was match-winning but Rangers ensured they would finish the season in style with two more in the first eight minutes of the second half.
Croatian striker Nikica Jelavic curled in a free-kick and Lafferty completed his treble when he poked home from 10 yards.
Kilmarnock, who finished fifth, did pull a goal back on 65 minutes through winger James Dayton, whose 25-yard free-kick took a deflection and found its way into the bottom corner.
Celtic scored twice in each half in their 4-0 win over Motherwell.
First-half strikes from strikers Gary Hooper and Georgios Samaras set them on their way at Celtic Park, although it meant little with Rangers in full control at Kilmarnock.
Hooper had his initial effort blocked but reacted quickly to open the scoring after 29 minutes and Samaras doubled their advantage when he side-footed Charlie Mulgrew’s cross past Motherwell goal-keeper Lee Hollis.
Shaun Maloney beat two defenders before he placed into the bottom corner to make it 3-0 and substitute Paddy McCourt blasted home from close range to complete the scoring after 71 minutes and condemn sixth-placed Motherwell to a heavy loss.
Irish striker Jon Daly scored the winner as Dundee United finished their season with a 2-1 win over Hearts.
Dundee’s David Goodwillie struck first on 22 minutes but his opener was cancelled out nine minutes later by Gary Glen.
A cross from full-back Sean Dillon found Daly with 20 minutes to play and the striker blasted home the winner.
Hearts finish third despite being winless in their last eight outings, while Dundee United were a place and two points behind.
Last week, Manchester City defender Kolo Touré was banned from all football activities after being found guilty of taking a prohibited substance, contained within a dieting pill belonging to his wife. It was backdated to the date when he was initially suspended, so he will be available again in early September.
As most will be aware, it is now standard procedure for the Football Association to carry out random drug tests on players without giving clubs any notice. The actual sampling officers are independent though, and are accompanied by an FA supervising officer (a doctor or physiotherapist approved by the FA).
As a Manchester City fan, should I be outraged at such a punishment, the result of a seemingly honest mistake by a teetotal, devout Muslim? No, of course not. He deserves to be banned; in fact he HAD to be banned.
You could argue that what he took was not related to football, and not performance-enhancing. That it was an honest mistake, a stupid solitary mistake, which should not be punished so harshly. After all, everyone makes mistakes. But the fact is that he took something that is banned, and he knew what the consequences of doing this would be. All players have it drummed into them by club doctors and management that they cannot take a whole raft of medicinal products, that there is a whole swathe of ingredients that are no-go areas and that if there is any doubt with taking something they should get it checked out first. It’s part of being a professional footballer.
You could even argue that by taking something to slim down, it could be considered performance enhancing. I wouldn’t personally.
Toure was found to have taken a “specified substance”. According to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s “code”, “specified substances” are those that are “more susceptible to a credible, non-doping explanation.”
The code states: “If the athlete can prove that he or she did not intend to enhance performance by using them to the satisfaction of the results management authority, the sanction under the World Anti-Doping code can go from a warning to a two-year ban.”
It’s impossible to say what the correct ban length should be – there’s no rulebook that decides the fairness of these things, it is entirely subjective. One journalist tweeted that Rio Ferdinand and Paddy Kenny got 9 months and Touré only 6 months, so where was the consistency? Yeah, because all drug offences are the same, so it should be the same punishment for everyone.
Paddy Kenny was banned for nine months in September 2009 after testing positive for ephedrine, a prohibited substance found in cold remedies. The FA chose not to punish Paddy Kenny to the full extent of its powers (the aforementioned 2 years) after admitting that he had not deliberately sought to enhance performance when taking an over-the-counter cold remedy without consulting Sheffield United’s medical team, in a case thus very similar to Touré’s. On the other hand, Hamilton midfielder Simon Mensing was banned for just a month after testing positive for another specified substance, methylhexaneamine, in December 2010. This too appeared to be a dietary supplement, and he provided credible evidence to support his case. The Scottish Football Association took that information into account when sentencing him to an unusually short ban, using much more leniency than if he had been up before their English counterparts. There will always be inconsistencies between different FA’s, but within an FA, there will presumably be just reason for differing periods of bans for particular players.
Comment must be made too on Rio Ferdinand. It was milliseconds after the announcement of the six month ban came out that the first United fan complained about the injustice of it all. You see, in many United fans’ eyes, Ferdinand didn’t do anything wrong, and it is a miscarriage of justice that a player we know to have taken a banned substance gets a lesser punishment than a player we do not know to have taken a banned substance. But leaving Ferdinand out of this, let’s look at the general scenario, and cut to the chase – a player who misses a drug test should get the maximum punishment available. If anyone cannot work out the logic behind this, then I would be very surprised.
But perhaps it should be explained anyway – those who decide punishments must presume that someone who missed a test is guilty of taking a banned substance, and a performance-enhancing one at that, and thus pass judgement with that assumption in mind. They must do this because if they did not, any player who had taken a banned substance and was asked to take a drugs test would deliberately miss it knowing the punishment would be less that way. Players must be aware that the test must be taken – and that not taking it will not be in their interest. It is the only logical stance to take.
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As for Ferdinand, I have heard claims from United fans that the player offered to return immediately to take the test, an offer that was rejected by the drug-testers. If this is true then he has claims for unfair treatment, but I have never heard this claim mentioned in an official publication, so it’s mere speculation. I’ve also heard claims he did do the test the day after, but still got banned. Again, if so (and I have no idea if it is), then it does seem harsh on him.
There was extra criticism in many circles to the fact that Touré’s ban covers the summer months – should it not just cover months of the football season? Well it’s not a new rule, but the fact remains is he will miss pre-season, so even when his ban expires in early September, he will still be nowhere ready to return to the first team. Because of this he will probably end up missing five months of playing time anyway. But it is a point worth debating – depending on which time of year a player gets banned, can alter how much football he misses.
There are reports in the newspapers at the moment that Touré is looking to appeal the decision, and hopefully get the ban reduced. If this is true then I am disappointed. There’s no harm in chancing your arm I guess, but personally I would take the punishment and move on. After all, even if Touré did prove to the FA that he only ingested a prohibited substance unknowingly, his punishment according to Wada could still have been as big as a two-year ban.
Drug tests are a serious part of maintaining the integrity of the sport. Stupidity and ignorance are no excuses, and the FA’s disciplinary commission rightly refuses to accept ignorance as an excuse. The best thing Touré can do is accept this and give his all on his return. He is being fully paid during his six month absence, and I would hope this should spur him on more – he made an innocent-enough mistake, but in many aspects he has been very fortunate indeed.
Supporting the greatest club in the world isn’t exactly a difficult experience if we’re completely honest.
Yes, we may have lost our second Champions League final in three years and I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve heard “we always make it hard for ourselves” but by and large being part of Ferguson’s red and white army is a joyous endeavour, where the good times far outweigh the bad.
With a constant stream of trophies, goals and victories its easy for some fans to forget just how fortunate we are and how far we’ve come since the dark-ish- days of Fergie’s early reign.
In the 20 odd years I’ve spent following United I can pretty much count on one hand the times I’ve been ashamed of the behaviour of some of our fans.
In 1996 it was the booing of Lee Sharpe at Old Trafford who had something of a shocker in one of his final games in a red shirt- his substitution was met with a chorus of cheers and applause. 2008 at half time against Villa I watched with disbelief as some fans ran towards the tunnel to give Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo abuse- although I think that may have been more to do with the drugs they were on rather than just passion.
2009/10 saw one of the worst examples of ridiculous behaviour by United fans when Dimitar Berbatov was hounded in the game against Spurs. Before he’d even touched the ball, shouts of “useless, lazy Bulgarian tw*t” etc, could be heard from more than a just a small minority and let’s not forget the treatment Michael Carrick recieved against Bayern Munich.
I digress however, the point isn’t that United fans are ungrateful, in fact it’s the opposite, United fans are the best in the world of that I’m in no doubt, and next season may give us the perfect opportunity to prove it.
In David De Gea United haven’t bought the finished article, a player who’ll make Edwin Van Der Sar seem like a distant memory. What we’ve got is a 20 year-old supremely talented player who will need time to settle into not just at a far bigger club than he’s been at previously but also a whole new country, culture and way of life.
It would be easy if De Gea were to struggle during the first few weeks of his United career for some fans to get on his back, to let him know our disappointment via a few well timed shouts or maybe even chants of “Edwin, Van Der Sar, Edwin, Edwin, Van Der Sar.”
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When the fans are on a players case you can feel it in the air, the end of the 2009/10 season is a prime example, the feeling of anger aimed towards Berbatov by some fans was almost tangible.
This isn’t the norm though, I remember in 1995/6 Andy Cole had started the season struggling for goals after a somewhat mixed first season at United. He’d scored a good amount of goals but the club had finished trophyless and much was made of his failure to convert one of the chances he’d had at Upton Park which would have given United the league.
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With only 2 league goals in the opening twelve games, Cole wasn’t enjoying the best of starts. Cue the United fans. In the game against Southampton at Old Trafford, the crowd chanted “Andy Cole…” throughout the entire game, almost in unison and after an hour were rewarded with a goal from the former Newcastle man who rounded off a four one win.
United fans aren’t all the prawn sandwich eating glory hunters some would have us labelled we can be among the most loyal, understanding and patient fans around people seem to forget we experienced over a quarter of a century without a title, yet still had the biggest crowds in Britain. Next season if De Gea struggles it may be just the sort of test for United fans to show we have a right to call ourselves the best in the world.
I’m not saying he will of course, but it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that the young ‘keeper may take a little while to settle in.
Read more of Justin’s articles at Red Flag Flying High
It would seem that after years of being pushed around by spoilt superstars Premier League Chairmen and Managers are fighting back.
Tottenham ’s Daniel Levy has become the latest Chairman to refuse to let one of his star players tear up their contract and walk out because a richer club has come knocking for them.
If this is going to be a new trend then I say, about time, as we have come to a point in our beautiful game when players’ contracts are not worth the paper they are printed on and the thought that players may show loyalty to a club or its fans no longer even crosses the mind.
Levy is not the first boss to try and make a stand though and let’s hope he won’t be the last. Arsene Wenger is still doing an masterful job of keeping his captain and prized asset Cesc Fabregas , who has looked certain to pack his bags and return to his hometown club for 2 seasons and 3 transfer windows now.
But Wenger has dug his heels in deep and looks like he may have deflected Barcelona’s advances for yet another window, although I would suggest he doesn’t hold his breath.
Wenger’s headache does not end there though, now another one of his star players from last season, Samir Nasri has also had his head turned, this time by the newly super-rich Manchester City but Wenger has other ideas regarding this bit of business also; voicing what is or was becoming something of a cliché “not for sale at any price”. I say this has become cliché as we have all heard this very statement all too often and then when it comes down to it what they actually meant was “offer us a bit more and we will put a bow on his head and send him first post”.
So are we looking at two of the most unlikely comrades in football? Spurs’ Chairman teaming up with Arsenal ’s Manager to wage war against players not honouring contracts that they signed for 5 years just 6 months ago.
Who can blame these poor lads who wouldn’t want to change their job if someone was offering to double their wages? This is fair comment but I find it hard to feel sorry for somebody that gets paid 50k a week to do something they love and then moans because they want to leave so they can get 100k a week.
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The only reason players sign 5 year contracts in the first place is because they are greedy. Despite this it has become an unwritten rule that if a player hands in a transfer request then they are allowed to leave. We’ve all heard the cries of “if a player doesn’t want to be there then no point keeping them”, with the general conception being if the player’s heart is not in it then they will not perform and Fabregas did little to disprove this last season.
Surely the least a Chairman should be able to expect from a player that they are paying the average yearly wage for Britain every week is that they play as well as they can?
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These attempts by the two North London rivals to make a stand and tell their players that they will be staying as they are under contract and that’s that, although heart warming and ambitious I fear that it may just turn out to be money spinning bravado. Only time will tell if they are successful I for one will not be putting any money on either of them being at the same club come kick-off on the first day of the Premier League season.
Article courtesy of Shane Peters from This is Futbol
Recently I was fortunate enough to attend a Harry Redknapp press conference at Tottenham Hotspur’s training ground. The assembled journalists knew the drill. Wait outside the front entrance until you are called, then go straight through to the conference room and wait for Harry. Don’t take any detours and don’t talk to the players. Sky Sports ask the questions for the T.V. section then it’s cameras off and the print journalists get their time. Unless Redknapp himself says something astounding and controversial, (which is highly unlikely in these tightly run affairs, co-ordinated by the Spurs press officer) it is up to the press to find the angle and make the headlines.
The players are unapproachable these days, and heavily PR trained when they are allowed to face the media but has this distance, this inability to get a direct source of quotes, led to an increase in sensationalist journalism? I don’t think so. I think this distancing of the players is a response to such journalism and a response to the increasingly high stakes in football. Players must now be far more careful what they say so it’s best just to keep them away from trouble.
The English media has an ever-worsening reputation for it’s ruthlessness in chasing and generating headlines. As the current News of the World scandal shows, there are no depths they will not stoop to. The pressure in football has been escalating for years. (It is particularly noticeable in World Cup years as papers simultaneously support and undermine the national team). In April 2006 Luiz Felipe Scolari became linked with the England job and ruled himself out because of the media pressure. ‘There are 20 reporters outside my house…If that is part of another culture, it is not part of my culture…. I don’t want this situation involving England because in two days during which I was not coach, I never agreed to anything, my life was invaded. My privacy was totally under siege.” Scolari highlighted the problem of the English media perfectly.
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It is the right choice to keep the players away from this feeding frenzy. Whilst it may force newspapers to speculate endlessly, I feel quite sure that they would do so anyway. If you give them an inch they will take a mile, best not to give them anything at all.
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The media is sensationalist in all aspects, not just football. Keeping the players away from journalists has not escalated sensationalism, it is a response to it.
It was a worrying week for the football press-pack last week. All their worst fears came true when attempts to update an eight-year old agreement and agree what rights reporters, photographers and the like would have to cover Premiership and Football League matches this season broke down. Disagreements sprung up around the new methods of in-match reporting such as live photos, tweets etc. Thus, no journalists or photographers were allowed into matches to report on proceedings.
Left with no matches to report on, and out of ideas on how to re-spin Cesc Fabregas transfer news, they wrote instead on the horror of not being able to attend matches. Replete with a picture of him looking suitably disgusted, Henry Winter was FORCED to pay £25 to watch Nottingham Forest play, and the sporting world held its breath.
Winter and others (such as Sam Wallace at the Independent), argued that this was bad news for all fans of football. Winter argued that “newspapers, whether in print, online or via Twitter, keep fanning the flames of supporters’ interest in clubs.”
“On Sunday morning they will turn to their newspapers for a neutral’s verdict to find an absence of match reports.
“…the report is part of the match-day experience, fans’ reading up on the game, agreeing or disagreeing. I could spend an hour or more a day dealing with tweets, emails and letters sparked by a report of the previous night’s match.”
Sam Wallace said:
“But without us, and the other members of our dysfunctional press family, who is left? The answer is, the clubs’ own media. I have nothing against the website and TV personnel of our clubs, many of whom started life on our side of the fence and are very capable journalists. But are we sure the clubs are going to strive to give us the real, inside, uncomfortable story on their organisations?”
“…..I fear that my industry is getting elbowed out of the way by certain wealthy clubs who dislike not being in total control. I fear that some of these young men and women may end up in a ghastly PR-version of journalism where their questions are restricted.”
“…..I do not believe any football fan thinks that the clubs’ curtailing of press freedom is something to be celebrated.”
Thankfully a deal was struck just in time for the start of the Premier League, a brand that cannot be damaged at any time, or else the world would shift on its axis.
And this was good news for all concerned. Yes?
As already mentioned, when the ban kicked in it covered the Championship and below. But for fans of non-Premier league teams, the question is this? Was there a huge chasm in your life last weekend, a sense that something was missing, that you weren’t as up-to-date and educated with the goings-on of your football team? Or was it business as usual? Probably the latter.
When I was very young, before the days of Premiership football, live steaming, Super Sundays and message boards, I relied on newspaper match reports. Their words shaped much of how I thought about teams and players. Only when I became a regular attendee did I realised what drivel was being written.
Ok, not drivel – but I realised that people were seeing games very differently to how I was, and the match reports were nothing more than opinion pieces much of the time. Many a time you can watch a match with a friend and see things in a totally different way. Your man of the match is someone your friend thought was terrible. Even with 100 slow-mos and multiple angles you’ll still get wildly different opinions on whether an incident was a penalty, or a red card or a dive.
The most reliable of match reports was often the Football Pink, because it was a match report that simply reported what had happened, rather than trying to crowbar in a particular angle or agenda, and without some sub-editor’s misleading headline. On the downside, it did have a tendency to suddenly end after 67 minutes.
In the modern world of access-all-areas, how much do we need match reports? I never read them as one way or the other I will have seen the match, and so don’t need someone else to summarise it for me, but that’s just a personal choice. Sunday papers are known to sell better during the football season, so it seems their coverage is important to many. You may have seen a match, but when your new signing has scored a hat trick on his debut, you may want to read every match report possible. But if you support a small, lower-league club, there will be little of interest in antional newspaper anyway.
But Winter’s theory that fans’ interests in their clubs is kept burning brightly by the press is laughable in the extreme. I, like millions of others, have supported my team for decades, and I managed to do it just fine without having to read newspapers to gee me up.
The problem journalists have is that their reputation is besmirched by the minority. Fans have become tired by lies, false rumours, sensationalizing of minor events, and perceived agendas and injustices. This used to be the style of the tabloids alone, but is is depressing how many broadsheet reporters have been reduced to spreading tittle-tattle and speculation. In the world of 24-hour news, there is not enough proper news to go around. When under 20% of transfer rumours turn out to be true, then it is hard to believe anything you read.
According to journalists, Wesley Sneijder has joined Manchester United five times, the first time being over a month ago. He has joined Manchester City twice. He has snubbed City twice too, United have ended their interest three times, terms have been agreed four times, and a fee agreed five times. Nasri signed for Manchester City three weeks ago, but then he was staying at Arsenal, this all coming after United had closed in on his signing, then he has since signed again four times, and the latest news is he will sign again once more later this week (for City).
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Sam Wallace is probably right in saying the recent dispute is fuelled partly by the desire of clubs to have more control on the release of information, and more power in deciding what stays behind closed doors. The new tradition of players to tweet information will only have increased their paranoia. But the newspapers do not help themselves by writing critically of clubs – often it is deserved of course, but it is no surprise trust breaks down with clubs.
And journalists alone do not have access to breaking news. Twitter will break any story instantly, with or without journalists, and will spread malicious rumours in much the same way. The age of instant news has also put great doubt over the newspapers themselves. Exclusives are no longer the domain of the morning paper, as by then most people will already know the story. Add to this that agents and the truthful “in-the-knowers” can keep fans up to date with transfer stories, and that plenty of normal fans have an inside line to clubs, and what are reporters providing that’s unique? What’s more, quality bloggers like the Swiss Ramble have no constraints on space, and no deadlines.
Even Joey Barton, in a week of tweeting Nietzsche, the musings of Wittgenstein and calling Brian Woolnough a nugget, found time to say that the press won’t exist in ten years’ time. Wishful thinking on his behalf, but you can see the logic of his point.
What football journalists do have is contacts and access to areas we normal fans don’t (Old Trafford excepted). They get interviews with players and managers, get briefed on stories and get into press conferences. They have plenty of worth in what they can tell us. With experience comes relationships with those in the game, which bring sinsight and information that might not otherwise be known.
And many write excellently of course, such as Martin Samuel, Daniel Taylor or the financial investigations of David Conn. Quality football “writers” are plentiful (see also Jonathan Wilson). But this is more about the need for reporters rather than writers.
Times have changed, and the way news is reported has entered a new era that has made many old methods redundant. Newspapers have faced difficult times for decades, and the football journalists are no different, as they are no longer the sole bearers of news. Increasingly they know that times have changed, and have looked to branch out, be it appearing on radio shows, podcasts, or nibbling on a croissant on the Sunday Supplement panel. There will always be a role for sports reporting in newspapers in this country, but in future, it may well be less about exclusives and more about fulfilling a much broader media role. The competiiton for them is now huge, but they still have a vital role to play.
Andre Villas-Boas takes his new-look Chelsea outfit to Wearside this weekend with a few new signings on show but the big news is that first-choice keeper Petr Cech could make his return from injury. Both sides will be hoping to kick-start their season with a much needed victory.
Sunderland have made a disappointing start to the season with only two points from three games, not enough for a side who have top 10 ambitions. They have bolstered their below average strikeforce with the signing of Danish international Nicklas Bendtner from Arsenal and he should make his debut on Saturday. Anton Ferdinand has left to join QPR and John O’Shea is still struggling with an injury so Titus Bramble is likely to be drafted back in the centre of defence.
For Chelsea, Branislav Ivanovic started at centre-back alongside Captain John Terry in their last game but it is thought David Luiz may make his first start of the season. Against Norwich, Torres started up front partnered by Dider Drogba but they again failed to gel. Villas-Boas may bring Anelka in for Saturday’s game as it appears Drogba has not fully recovered from the concussion he suffered in their last game. After failing to secure Modric from Spurs, Chelsea managed to snatch Raul Meireles from Liverpool at the eleventh hour and he will add some creativity to their midfield if he is fit enough to feature while Juan Mata is likely to make his first start in Chelsea colours.
If Bendtner can live up to his self-assured attitude for once to add some impetus to the Sunderland attack then the Blacks Cats may stand a chance but if Chelsea play anything like we all know they can I think Chelsea should have a comfortable away win especially if Petr Cech does return in goal at the Stadium of Light.
Key Player
Juan Mata: The Spanish winger, who netted on his debut in Chelsea’s victory over Norwich and also for his country in mid-week, will cause all sorts of problem for the Sunderland rearguard after his brief but productive cameo against Norwich.
Wes Brown: The experienced central defender has a big game on his hands trying to keep the under-pressure Torres quiet, something he has tried and failed to do during his time at Old Trafford.
Verdict: 1-3
To see the Premier League round-up and preview ahead of the weekend fixtures – download the excellent ESPN Goals App
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One of the most important days of the footballing calendar is nearly upon us – the first Merseyside Derby of the season. As the 216th recorded Merseyside Derby takes place at Goodison Park this Saturday, let’s remind ourselves about all that makes a Derby day special with a look back on the Top 10 Merseyside Derbies of all-time. There’s blood, sweat and with it, the obligatory tears to boot. Let’s take a look.
1. Liverpool 4 Everton 4 (Anfield) – FA Cup Fifth-Round, 1991 – Quite rightly regarded as the best Merseyside Derby of all-time and memorable for the fact that it was Kenny Dalglish’s final game in charge of his first spell at the club with the Scot resigning the next day. Peter Beardsley drew first blood after Ian Rush dispossessed Kevin Ratcliffe and had his shot saved by Neville Southall, with Beardsley banging in the rebound. Graeme Sharp equalised right after the break before Beardsley bagged a spectacular left-footed effort from 25 yards into the top left-hand corner. A mix-up between Steve Nicol and Bruce Grobelaar saw Sharp equalise once more with a tap in from two yards before Ian Rush saw Liverpool take the lead for the third time in the 77th minute with a deft header from a Jan Molby cross. A hopeful punt up field led to Tony Cottee, on as a sub, bagging Everton’s third to make it 3-3. John Barnes handed Liverpool the lead in extra-time until Cottee once again pegged Liverpool back with a 114th minute equaliser. Everton went onto win the replay 1-0. Simply put, one of the best FA Cup ties of all time and a great advert for the Merseyside derby.
2. Liverpool 3, Everton 2 (Wembley) – FA Cup Final, 1989 – Held just five weeks after the shocking, traumatic and deeply upsetting events of the Hillsborough disaster where 96 fans lost their lives, this game went some way to cathartically healing the wounds for many across Merseyside. On the footballing front, the final didn’t disappoint. John Aldridge gave Liverpool a crucial early lead before Stuart McCall struck back in the 90th minute. In extra-time Liverpool sub Ian Rush put his side ahead once more. Stuart McCall, the unlikeliest of scorers, then struck a sensational second before Rush once again, the scourge of Everton fans everywhere, bagged his second and Liverpool’s third and with it the FA Cup on a very moving day for all connected with either club and the city.
3. Everton 2, Liverpool 3 (Goodison Park) – Premier League, 2001 – Both clubs approached the tie with very different priorities in mind. Liverpool were on the cusp of an infamous treble, Everton under Walter Smith, were trying to stave off relegation for a further season. This has to go down as the finest Derby of the Premier League era, notable for the final kick of the game, a 40-yard free-kick by Gary McAllister that crept into Paul Gerrard’s net – a truly astounding goal. This game had everything. Liverpool surged into a two-goal lead courtesy of Emile Heskey and Markus Babbel before terrace favourites Duncan Ferguson and Dave ‘Rhino’ Unsworth reduced the deficit and levelled the tie. Igor Biscan was sent off, there were 12 cards in total and even an uncharacteristic Robbie Fowler penalty miss to throw into the mix until McAllister stepped up with an unlikely and breathtaking winner. Pulsating.
4. Liverpool 0, Everton 1 (Anfield) – First Division, 1984 – The turning of the tide? Everton announced themselves as the new dominant force in English football with an era defining victory over Liverpool at home. Liverpool were the reigning European Cup champions, but on this display, it was to be Everton that were to go onto bigger things that season. Graeme Sharp’s thunderous volley that later went onto be named Goal of the Season was the difference in the score lines, but the difference in performance was startling. Everton went onto claim the league title, European Cup Winners Cup and narrowly lost out on a momentous treble with a defeat to Man Utd in the FA Cup.
5. Liverpool 3, Everton 1 (Wembley), FA Cup Final, 1986 – The first ever all-Merseyside FA Cup final. A close-run league campaign eventually saw Liverpool edge out their close rivals. At Wembley, Gary Linekar continued his only ever campaign in an Everton shirt in predictably prolific fashion giving Everton the lead. However, perennial thorn in the side Ian Rush struck twice and Craig Johnston added the icing on the cake.
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6. Liverpool 2, Everton 2 (Maine Road), FA Cup Semi-Final, 1977 – What is is about the FA Cup that brings the best out of these Merseyside Derby encounters. Perhaps the most controversial on the list, Liverpool fans the world over will still be left wondering quite how they came away from this game with a draw and a replay. Bryan Hamilton had a goal unfathomably disallowed by referee Clive Thomas in the dying moments with the scores level after Jimmy Case and Terry McDermott had scored for Liverpool and Bruce Rioch and Duncan McKenzie had done the same for the Toffees. Liverpool went onto win the replay 3-0 to further add insult to injury.
7. Everton 0, Liverpool 5 (Goodison Park), First Division, 1982 – Ian Rush completely destroyed his boyhood heroes with a four-goal salvo. Everton weren’t helped by having debutant Glen Keeley sent off early on, though. Mark Lawrensen added the other with a tap in from a Kenny Dalglish cross. This game is memorable most for the true finishing masterclass put on by Rush.
8. Everton 3, Liverpool 0 (Goodison Park), Premier League, 2006 – A game personally memorably for me for so many reasons. Could it be the tortuous four-hour long journey home in a car with three Everton fans? Could it be the one-word riposte of Phil Neal in the stands when asked what he thought of the performance…’disgusting’? Or could it be the now infamous chant of ‘Reina drops keep falling on my head’ that was sung in the crowded streets after the game in reference to the third goal of the game? Everton recorded their biggest victory over Liverpool in 42 years with a display of clinical finishing. Tim Cahill notched the first before an Andy Johnson double ended the contest.
9. Liverpool 3, Everton 2 (Anfield), Premier League, 1999 – Liverpool went into this game seeking their first victory over their nearest rivals since 1994 in a run that stretched to 9 games. Olivier Dacourt put Everton ahead inside the first minute with an excellent strike from 30 yards. Marco Materazzi then gave away a penalty after clumsily lunging for the ball and bringing down skipper Paul Ince in the process. Robbie Fowler dispatched the penalty before then celebrating with the now infamous ‘snorting the line’ celebration which manager Gerard Houllier bafflingly laughed off stating that Fowler was “eating the grass”. Fowler added a second with a header before Patrick Berger added a third with a fine volley from the edge of the area. Francis Jeffers got Everton’s second late on with a neat turn and finish. There was still time for more drama, though, as an 18 year-old sub by the name of Steven Gerrard managed to clear off the line from Danny Cadamarteri in the dying embers of the game.
10. Liverpool 0, Everton 1 (Anfield), Premier League, 1999 – A typically feisty Derby day encounter saw Kevin Campbell’s 12th goal in 19 games since arriving back from Turkey prove the difference in the fourth minute. Francis Jeffers and Sander Westerveld were both shown a red card for what can only be described as handbags at dawn and Steven Gerrard was also given his marching orders for a scything (not the first time that could be said of his challenges in a Derby game) challenge on Campbell late on.
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