Manchester City missed a golden opportunity to close the gap at the top of the Premier League after a controversial penalty saw two points dropped at St Andrews. Roberto Mancini was left fuming at the decision that could cost the Citizens dear at the end of the season.
In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that includes Gary Neville looking set for a career in TV; Avram Grant believes Robbie Keane will prove West Ham’s saviour, while John Aldridge lays into Fernando Torres.
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Pardew’s striking concerns – Sky Sports
Neville retires – and considers TV career – Guardian
Glazers shift ownership of United to Delaware – Daily Telegraph
Grant: Robbie can save us – Sun
New King blow for Tottenham – Daily Telegraph
Dalglish’s foraging foursome to fear – Guardian
Angry Aldridge lays into ‘fraud’ Fernando for abandoning Liverpool – Daily Mail
Fàbregas in clear over tunnel bust-up – Daily Telegraph
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The delight of a last gasp Play-Off Final victory lasted for around a week for Hammers fans, until the realisation of what was to come sunk in. The required work in the transfer market, the improvement of certain individuals and the relationship between manager and fans had to be the aims ahead for everyone related to the club this summer.
A squad that at times showed a real lack of qualityand desire in the Championship, not being helped by expectation levels at UptonPark every week clearly wouldn’t be strong enough to survive. As we all know,West Ham will never do things the easy way and as much as the board and players may tell you otherwise, the supporters rather enjoyed their tour of the Football League, picking up some very rare away wins and having a manager that actuallyknew what he was doing, but a different attitude will be needed this season.
The summer so far
Joint chairmen David Gold and David Sullivan have backed boss Sam Allardyce this summer, as they have in the previous two transfer windows, without going over-board on wages and big money deals. Constant speculation seems to follow the Hammers around with plenty of ‘Big Sam’ type players being linked with the club. A fairly low-key transfer saga broke about Andy Carroll earlier this month, but with a deal dead, more realistic targets are always being bounded about. Cheap arrivals such as Jussi Jaaskelainen and Mohamed Diame have brought out the shrewd side of the Hammers’ exaggerated big money mentality and French European Championships midfielder Alou Diarra has added to an extremely talented midfield.
Mali striker Modibo Maiga also joined from French club Sochaux for around £4.7million, but the centre forward position is still up for grabs. The latest signing, James Collins from Aston Villa returns to Upton Park for a second stint and I would say the fans are pleased with the business done so far this summer, even if they feel more is needed.
On the pitch it has been a woeful pre-season. Defeats to the likes of Oxford and Ipswich with full strength teams fielded, disappointing tours of Germany and Portugal haven’t really given the fans or players much confidence but as they say, you can’t read too much into pre season results.
Transfers out
Pablo Barrera (Cruz Azul) Undisclosed
Ravel Morrison (Birmingham City) Loan
Frank Nouble (released)
Freddie Sears (Colchester) Free
Rob Green (QPR) Free
Abdoulaye Faye (released)
Papa Bouba Diop (released)
Julien Faubert (released)
Marek Stech (released)
In
James Collins (Aston Villa) £2million
Mohamed Diame (Wigan Athletic) Free
Alou Diarra (Olympique Marseille) £3million
Stephen Henderson (Portsmouth) Undisclosed
Jussi Jaaskelainen (Bolton Wanderers) Free
George McCartney (Sunderland) Free
Modibo Maiga (FC Sochaux-Montbeliard) £4.5million
Raphael Spiegel (Grasshopper Club Zurich) Undisclosed
What can we expect?
Any promoted clubs main aim should always be to stay up and West Ham are no different. However, there is a real feeling of long term ambition running through the club at the moment, with the Olympic Stadium, decent transfer budgets and a spirit in the camp that was missing when Avram Grant sent us down.
Allardyce has his critics, but he has to, and will be given time to achieve something special at the club as he did with Bolton Wanderers all those years ago. In a strange way, West Ham could be a lot more exciting going forward this season compared to last as not many teams will see West Ham as their ‘cup final’, as they did in the Championship and so wont just stick 10 men behind the ball and play for the draw.
Fair enough, at times West Ham simply weren’t good enough to break teams down, but with a bit more creativity, who knows this time out. I fully expect West Ham to be fighting relegation, but there are certainly three squads in the league with less quality than the Hammers and so although it may be nail-biting, you can expect some better quality football than the media will have you believe and a few shock results along the way.
One to watch
Future England captain James Tomkins was a rock last season for West Ham and really came out of his shell to lead the team from the back. After a disrupted pre season after deservedly earning a Team GB call up, Tomkins will be thrown straight in against Aston Villa on Saturday to mark Darren Bent out of the game.
Last seasons Player of the Year at Upton Park, as well as featuring in the Championship Team of the Season, Tomkins showed his class and glimpses of a young Rio Ferdinand when he broke through in East London were evident. A stylish, yet tough centre back who is brilliant in the air will give any striker in this league a tough game. Some fans would argue that Ricardo Vaz Te or Mark Noble would be West Ham’s one to watch, but after dismissing a move to Newcastle in January to stay at his beloved club, the sky is the limit for James Tomkins and he will earn many admirers during this campaign.
Breakthrough year for…
Being a newly promoted club, it isn’t ideal to throw youngsters straight into the side and West Ham don’t currently posses another Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick who are thought of as being the next big thing, so this was a tough one.
One youngster who may get a chance however, is pacey winger Rob Hall. A few successful loan spells last year resulted in him being in and around the squad at the end of last season and during the summer. Not many people outside of the club will know much about him, but his trickery and direct approach are a breath of fresh air in Big Sam’s team. It may take another loan spell to keep his first team fitness up, but everyone is expecting big things of Hall in the near future. Surely not another Freddie Sears.
Predictions
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Like I said I fully expect West Ham to be in the relegation mix, but am confident they have enough to avoid the bottom three. Experience will be key and that is something the Hammers are not short of, on and off the pitch that stands them in good stead compared to the likes of Reading, Southampton and Norwich.
I also expect the likes of Swansea and Wigan to be in and around the bottom six, so games between the sides in this mini-league could prove decisive. Defensively, West Ham need to improve, but I feel they will. Scoring goals is going to be the hard part. Depending on how unknown quantity Maiga gets on, the Hammers have very little in reserve with Carlton Cole simply not good enough and Nicky Maynard unable to play in Big Sam’s 4-5-1 system.
Prediction: One or two more signings before September and although it will still be tough, I think West Ham will stay up. 16th
Odds
via SkyBet
West Ham to finish in the top half – 11/2
Premier League top goalscorer – Modibo Maiga – 66/1
The Hammers to finish bottom – 7/1
West Ham to be the top London club this season come May – 400/1
A solid season is all we ask for, just survival. For all West Ham news and views, follow me on Twitter: @Brad_Pinard
Fulham manager Martin Jol has revealed that he declined to tell new signing Bryan Ruiz that he was ineligible to play in Europe this season, as he felt it could hurt the London side’s chances of landing the attacker.
The Costa Rican joined the Craven Cottage outfit from Dutch side Twente in the recently closed transfer window, and ironically Fulham have been drawn in the same group as Ruiz’s former employers, with the teams going face-to-face on Thursday night.
The £10.6 million signing will not feature however, as he is ineligible; Ruiz featured in Twente’s Champions League qualifier against Benfica, and will now have to watch the game from the sidelines.
The former Tottenham and Ajax coach admits that he may have kept the knowledge of Ruiz missing out under his hat.
“If he’d known before it maybe could have been a problem. I don’t agree with this rule. I’d like all my players to be available. Maybe if they were playing in the same competition it would be OK , but this is a different competition,” he told The Daily Mail.
Ruiz will now need to make do with English domestic football, and made a slow debut against Blackburn last weekend.
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Birmingham signing Curtis Davies has revealed he was ‘happy to see the back’ of former club Aston Villa after his January transfer move.
Central defender Davies had not made a league appearance for Villa since the 2009/10 season and had spent the earlier part of this term on-loan at Championship club Leicester City.
Davies appeared destined to link up with Leicester again before a swoop on January 28 by Villa’s rivals Birmingham kept the 25-year-old in the English Premier League.
“It’s good – good to be here. They’re a good set of lads and it seems a good club so I’m just ready to get going and try and play Premier League football again,” Davies said.
“I was on my way to Leicester and had got the paperwork done really and Villa called my agent late on in the evening and said Villa hadn’t signed off the papers and said the Blues had put in a permanent deal. I was obviously happy to come across and talk to Blues and happy to get the deal done.”
And there is no love lost between Davies and former club Villa, where he had been frozen out first by manager Martin O’Neill and then his successor Gerard Houllier.
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“At the end of the day I hadn’t played a league game for Villa for eighteen months, so maybe if I was a regular in the side and had jumped ship to come to the Blues then that would’ve probably been a different thing,” he said.
“But it was more a case that they were happy to see the back of me and I was happy to see the back of them really. I wasn’t playing for them – I was just sitting there doing nothing and I wanted to go and play.”
Stoke have confirmed that Robert Huth has been taken to hospital with a suspected case of meningitis.
The German centre back complained of feeling unwell on Monday after a mystery virus, and has been taken in for further tests to determine the severity of the illness.
Tony Pulis has confirmed the news but is hopeful that the player will not be sidelined for too long.
“The club can confirm that Robert Huth has suspected meningitis and that they are awaiting the outcome of further tests,” the Welsh boss told the club’s official website.
“It’s a major concern so close to the start of the new season because Huthy is such an important figure for us.
“It takes a lot to knock Huthy back, but he was clearly not well, so we have sent him to hospital and will hopefully have the results of the tests on him tomorrow. We’re just hoping he will be OK and it’s not too serious,” he concluded.
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We often see arguments and fights on the pitch involving opposition players but what seems all too common in the beautiful game are managerial disagreements with the fierce action on the pitch regularly spilling onto the sidelines.
The recent Manchester United v Arsenal tie brought out the usual animosity between the two managers before the game although Ferguson was more reserved after his team handed out the brutal stuffing.
This long term rivalry is just one of many and these repeatedly provide an interesting sideshow ahead of high-profile clashes and the media just love to fan the flames by asking managers difficult questions in a mission to get headline quotes while causing controversy.
Inevitably some managers feature heavily as we take a look at some of the more acrimonious clashes between these passionate managers in recent years. Whether it is a war of words in the national media or even a good, old fashioned dug-out scrap, they all make the list.
Click on Mancini and Moyes to reveal the top 10 managerial bust-ups
Two teams that find themselves at the bottom of the form table, meaning this fixture can go either way. The Baggies have recorded impressive victories earlier this season at Arsenal and Everton but have only won once in their last six games, losing the other five. Wigan on the other hand have only a single victory to their name in their last 11 games; this is a game both teams will be looking to start a winning run of form.
Baggies boss, Roberto Di Matteo, could give a debut to new loan signing from Arsenal Carlos Vela, whilst the versatile Steven Reid could make a comeback from injury. A win would be very useful for the Albion as they face other teams around them at the bottom of the Premier League table in their next few games.
As far as Wigan boss Roberto Martinez is concerned, he should be able welcome back his first team regulars who were rested for their FA Cup tie at the weekend. A win would lift Wigan ahead of their hard run of fixtures that remain this season; if they are to try and keep their status in the top division victories are vital.
There has never been a goalless draw in a fixture between both clubs but West Brom have one of the worst defensive records this season, while Wigan have one of the worst records in regards to putting the ball in the back of the net.
Prediction: 3-1
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With the summer transfer window fast-approaching, many football fans will be deliberating over who their club should swoop for.
Tottenham Hotspur supporters have been doing just that on social media, and for once the focus is away from current players who could be on their way out of the club.
The futures of Toby Alderweireld and Mousa Dembele have been major talking points among the fans over the last few months.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino will want his strongest possible team heading into the new season, particularly as they will be competing at the club’s new state-of-the-art stadium.
This season, the North London outfit have been unable to sustain a Premier League title challenge due to Manchester City blowing everyone out of the water.
However, the club are closing in on a top-four position as they currently occupy the final Champions League spot with a seven-point advantage.
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The team also have an opportunity to win silverware for the first time since the 2007-08 season as they remain in the FA Cup, with a semi-final clash against Manchester United on the horizon.
On Reddit, fans have been discussing who from outside of the top six clubs would they like Tottenham to sign this summer, and an array of players were thrown into the pot, some even from the Championship.
Comment from discussion If you could sign anyone outside of the top 6 at Spurs, who would it be and why?.Comment from discussion If you could sign anyone outside of the top 6 at Spurs, who would it be and why?.Comment from discussion If you could sign anyone outside of the top 6 at Spurs, who would it be and why?.Comment from discussion If you could sign anyone outside of the top 6 at Spurs, who would it be and why?.Comment from discussion If you could sign anyone outside of the top 6 at Spurs, who would it be and why?.Comment from discussion If you could sign anyone outside of the top 6 at Spurs, who would it be and why?.Comment from discussion If you could sign anyone outside of the top 6 at Spurs, who would it be and why?.Comment from discussion If you could sign anyone outside of the top 6 at Spurs, who would it be and why?.Comment from discussion If you could sign anyone outside of the top 6 at Spurs, who would it be and why?.Comment from discussion If you could sign anyone outside of the top 6 at Spurs, who would it be and why?.Comment from discussion If you could sign anyone outside of the top 6 at Spurs, who would it be and why?.Comment from discussion If you could sign anyone outside of the top 6 at Spurs, who would it be and why?.Comment from discussion If you could sign anyone outside of the top 6 at Spurs, who would it be and why?.Comment from discussion If you could sign anyone outside of the top 6 at Spurs, who would it be and why?.Comment from discussion If you could sign anyone outside of the top 6 at Spurs, who would it be and why?.Comment from discussion If you could sign anyone outside of the top 6 at Spurs, who would it be and why?.
Manchester City have sunk from title winners into a squad fighting just to hold onto fourth place in recent months. The Citizens started their campaign strongly, pushing league leaders Chelsea every step of the way, but with key players now underperforming City have quickly seen their fortunes take a turn for the worse.
Manchester United, though, have seen a drastic improvement in all areas of their game, particularly when going forward.
United have won six or their last seven matches and have only lost six times all season. It took longer than expected fort manager Louis van Gaal to turn the squad into top four contenders but, true to his word, the Dutchman has done just that. And now there are only a handful of games between them and Champions League football.
Van Gaal’s men have been steadily picking up points all season but that has at times been down to the heroics of goal keeper David De Gea. When United were shaky at the back or not prolific enough up front, the Spaniard ensured that his team went away from the match with at least a point.
But in the last couple of weeks the Red Devils have organised their back line to be capable of dealing with even the most dangerous of forwards, cutting them off before they can do any real damage.
Then there is the attacking midfield trio of Ashley Young, Marouane Fellaini and Juan Mata, which has been United’s most successful grouping. Even expensive new signing Angel di Maria has had a tough time breaking back into the hugely confident squad. Together with Wayne Rooney excelling up front, United have become one of the best teams when going forward.
[ffc-gal cat=”manchester-united” no=”5″]
Keeping their best XI injury free and performing as a cohesive unit has shot United up the table and once again clubs are beginning to fear playing them, something unknown since the glory days of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Where Van Gaal knows his best squad, City’s Pellegrini now appears unsure. Key players who were vital for them last season could now be on their way out of the Etihad this summer. The powerful Ivorian Yaya Toure has been linked with a move to Inter Milan, as has Steven Jovetic, and Samir Nasri is reportedly on Juventus’ radar.
All three have underperformed, so perhaps they wouldn’t be greatly missed. But the worry is that lack of Champions League football next year may tempt their better players like Sergio Aguero and James Milner to go elsewhere.
The situation has declined so rapidly that even Pellegrini, just 12 months after leading City to their second Premier League title, may not have his job for much longer. Several replacements have been mentioned, such as Napoli’s Rafa Benitez and Borussia Dortmund’s Jurgen Klopp who has recently announced that he will indeed be leaving theBundesliga outfit in the summer.
City may look very different with a batch of new players and a new man in charge next season. United, on the other hand, look likely to stick with Van Gaal and are only in the market for a few key additions to help boost their return to the top four.
If City fail to handle the next few months correctly they may find themselves unable to compete successfully next season, and therefore potentially forfeiting their top four position.
They are a club in transition in a league that takes no prisoners. United went through it last year when they changed managers and ended up in seventh, but after a few good decisions and patience from supporters, the club are back to where they belong climbing the table and turning Manchester red once again.
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Tonight’s clash between European powerhouses in Paris will not disappoint international football fans. Prestigious teams rarely compete in qualifying matches of such a high magnitude. With Spain in danger of missing out on automatic qualifying, Les Bleus hope to widen their 2-point lead over the reigning World Cup and European Champions.
French manager Didier Deschamps plans to take advantage of Spain’s possession style and capitalise on counter-attacking opportunities. Deschamps told the Daily Mail, “We will have to use the ball well when we have it; we will have to force them to defend.”
The manager went on to say fighting for possession against Spain is “useless.” He will count on veteran defender Patrice Evra, who was an unused substitute in Friday’s match against Georgia, to limit Spain’s scoring opportunities. The Manchester United defender will help French captain and Tottenham Hotspur Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris keep Spain’s attack uncharacteristically quiet.
Spain will enter the Stade de France unusually uneasy. The teams had quite different results on Friday. While Spain only managed to pick up one point in a disappointing home draw against Finland, France dominated Georgia 3-1. Combined with home advantage, French fans believe current their hot streak could lead to the end of Spain’s current unbeaten run.
Also, Spain will be without Jordi Alba and David Silva. Nacho Monreal is expected to fill in at left back. He will be part of a back line faced with the daunting task of slowing down his Arsenal teammate Olivier Giroud or Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema. Although Giroud has been in rough form during recent Premier League appearances, the Frenchman played a critical role in Spain’s last match against France. In October, his 94th minute equaliser earned France one all-important point during their away leg of this tie. The striker also netted France’s first goal against Georgia on Friday.
Deschampes alluded that Giroud’s aerial attack would be valuable late in the match to take advantage of a tired Spanish defence. The Daily Mail quoted the manager saying, “He has that ability, and that’s a weapon I can obviously use at any time.”
Spain hope to gain freshness with the addition of Xavi and Xabi Alonso, who were out with injuries during the Finland match. Both midfielders have been seen training and should be fit for Tuesday night.
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Don’t miss out on the opportunity to watch this amazing match. It will be streaming live here at 8 pm…