Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho has revealed he was unaware of the attempted airport knife attack that left a security guard injured.Mourinho was signing autographs at La Coruna airport on Friday when a man tried to attack the Portuguse manager with a blade.The incident left a bodyguard with a four-centimetre wound, but Mourinho apparently had no knowledge of his lucky escape.”I don’t know anything,” Mourinho said.”I haven’t seen or felt anything. I got there, arrived at the hotel and went back to Madrid… I didn’t see anything. If something happened, then I didn’t see it.””There is no story … we had the normal security that we always have. It isn’t to protect against attack, rather against the passion of the fans. Nothing happened to me.”Mourinho also confirmed that Kaka will not be rushed back as the Brazil midfielder struggles to regain form following a knee injury.”That is something for Kaka and the medical department,” Mourinho said.”I got the information from the player about a small problem that limits his movement and agility, that he doesn’t feel happy when he isn’t at his best.” “For that reason, he and the medical department have decided that -for his self esteem as much as anything- that he will return when he is convinced of being 100% better.”Real travel to Racing Santander on Sunday without injured star Cristiano Ronaldo and Mourinho admits the team will be weaker without the Portugal captain. “Cristiano is too important for us to say that we won’t miss him,” Mourinho said.”We won’t have the same power without him.” “We aren’t going to be hypocritical and say things that we don’t mean. We know that it will be difficult – more difficult without Cristiano – but we still have the same aims for this match.”
With news trickling in that Rio Ferdinand might be injured for four months, and it would be longer before one can expect Ferdinand to be fit enough to play again. It raises huge questions for Sir Alex, should he buy another Centre back to cover for Rio or does he have sufficient cover if Evans or Vidic were to be unavailable. There has been a sudden rise in centre backs linked to join United, with Gary Cahill being the latest. So does Sir Alex really need to take a plunge into the transfer market?Rio Ferdinand has along with Vidic formed one of the best central defensive pairings in the world. Their presence at the back is reassuring to any manager as he knows he has two world class centre backs playing for him. But Rio has been plagued with a spate of injuries lately, his availability has been severely limited last season. He made only 21 appearances for United last season, with only 12 of them in the league. His back has been giving him incessant problems over the last two seasons and not healing properly. He missed the World Cup after Emile Heskey landed heavily on his knee, sure to injure any player actually!Well when Rio isn’t available, United have Jonny Evans to fill in and Evans has shown that he is more than capable of filling in for Rio without any problems. Backup for Evans would be Wes Brown, John O’Shea, Chris Smalling and Ritchie De Laet, these players are quite good bench players for any team in the World. Wes Brown has been injured a lot off late, but he is decent in the air and is a good header of the ball. He has shown that he is more than capable of playing in the heart of United’s defence. John O’Shea, United’s utility man can play anywhere in defence, though centre back might not be his best position but he isn’t a push over either when he plays there, he’s quite capable of doing a good job. Ritchie De Laet is another one who can play at Centre back if needed, very similar to O’Shea in his Versatility, he also provides Sir Alex with cover in the position.Chris Smalling, the most interesting of them all, has shown that he can play at the premiership level, having made 12 league appearances for Fulham last season. Smalling can step in if needed too and should be behind Wes Brown in the Pecking order next season at United. Smalling performed well for Fulham whenever he played. He did however make some mistakes which can be expected from a lad who is only 20. Chris has a bright future ahead and can easily be expected to partner Jonny Evans in future as United’s starting Centre Backs. But next season is a good chance for Smalling to show that he can be banked upon to cover the defence in case of injuries or suspensions, and show his real potential to the world.So with so many options available for Sir Alex, it would be unrealistic to expect him to take a plunge into the transfer market for a centre back, unless of course Nemanja Vidic were to leave. But until that happens, the rumours of any central defender joining United will remain just that, a Rumour!Click on image below to see the Dutch babes at the World Cup
Manchester City appear to be reluctant to drop their asking price for Carlos Tevez, despite Corinthians claiming that a cut-price deal to bring the South American back to Brazil in January is close.
The Argentina international was found guilty of breaching his contract after refusing to enter the field of play against Bayern Munich back in September, and his club have subsequently fined him four weeks wages.
With a January move looking increasingly likely, Corinthians president Andres Sanchez has claimed that the Premier League side are ready to offload the temperamental forward at a lower price.
“Although many people do not believe it, Tevez is much closer to the Corinthians than you can imagine. The initial offer was €40m and that is now €18m (£16m) because of all the problems he has faced back in England,” the Brazilian executive commented.
Despite this, The Guardian details that City’s owners will stand their ground over their asking price for the former Boca Juniors attacker, and want to recoup the superstar’s market value.
City owner Sheik Mansour is one of the few people in the world than would be unfazed by the waste of £250,000-a-week on Tevez’s wages, and has stated that Roberto Mancini can select the forward is so required.
Despite this, due to Mancini and Tevez not being on talking terms, a move does look probable come the new year, with a raft of European clubs also keen to land the forward’s signature.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
New Roma boss Vincenzo Montella says he will focus on the side’s psychological problems rather than make wholesale changes to the squad.Montella was appointed as an interim replacement for Claudio Ranieri, who resigned after watching his side throw away a 3-0 lead before succumbing 4-3 to Genoa over the weekend.The defeat left last year’s Serie A runners-up in eighth position on the standings.”I think the team’s main problem is above all a mental block,” said Montella during his official unveiling on Tuesday.”The players are sensitive and they are carrying inside them this big weight.””They need to free themselves from this burden, and this is the first step we need to take so that they can play to their true potential.”The 36-year-old Montella is the youngest manager in the Serie A but does not think his inexperience will be an issue.”This was not my idea but I have accepted this role with calmness.My aim is to do well until the end of the season, when my contract expires.””I will bring out my best to help the team, but the future does not interest me. I’m just concentrating on the task at hand.”Montella’s first game in charge will be Roma’s Serie A encounter at Bologna on Wednesday.
England’s unceremonious exit from South Africa was surprising to say the least, a team that qualified for the World Cup with such ease, was underwhelming in their two weeks in South Africa to say the least. England’s bad performances on the pitch were mostly down to bad team selection by Fabio Capello, but then Capello lamented the lack of English talent for him to choose from. Well, time for him to maybe rethink his tactics? Maybe its time he selected his formation based on the best he has available, rather than try to fit the best he has into his fixed formation?A 4-4-2 has been a classic formation, used for ages by several managers, but for a 4-4-2 to work you need to have 2 really good wingers who can cross really well, 2 strikers who can work well in tandem and the midfield pairing requires one with a defensive mindset and the other more attacking, and of course your fullbacks should be able to attack while ensuring they do their defensive jobs properly. Now if we check out the English team, the only ‘winger’ who showed some capacity to put in a decent cross was James Milner, Aaron Lennon and Wright-Phillips failed miserably in that department. The only other wingers who can cross that England could have picked were Ashley Young, Adam Johnson and Stewart Downing, Capello ignored all three of them surprisingly.England played Steven Gerrard as their main Left Winger in the last 2 games, why? well because he had to play Barry to cover for the defense, but then he could not drop Lampard, so Gerrard had to be moved out wide, and still Gerrard managed better performances than Lampard. Barry happened to be the only defensively able midfielder England had in the squad, Carrick can’t tackle, so he can’t be expected to do much defensively. Other than Barry, England’s options were Scott Parker, Owen Hargreaves and Nigel Reo-Cocker?! Not really good enough, Hargreaves would have been ideal, if he hadn’t been injured for 2 years.Then in defense, Glen Johnson happens to be the No.1 Right back at the moment, but he seems inept in defending, and been caught out of position on several occasions. He’d be an ideal Wing back but not a full back who is expected to do a lot of defensive work too. England’s cover at right back is also not that great. Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Wes Brown, etc are the best they have at the moment.While England have two of the best attacking midfielders in Gerrard and Lampard, also Joe Cole isn’t far behind either and they too have some pretty good Centre backs too and one of the best Left back’s in the world i.e., Ashely Cole, also his cover Leighton Baines and Warnock aren’t that bad, plus Kieran Gibbs looks an excellent prospect. England also have the likes of Wilshire and Shelvey coming through as Attacking Midfielders, Cleverley, Henderson and Eastmond coming through at the Central Midfield and also several good young strikers like Wickham, Welbeck, etc.So maybe its time England change their formation, depend less on Wingers and maybe comsider playing a formation similar to the one that Germany used to decimate them. Maybe its time Capello learnt that he can’t expect to play a 4-4-2, play players out of position and still expect them to win trophies too!If you liked my writing you can follow me on Twitter here
Leaving Old Trafford last night following United’s lackluster draw with Basel, feeling somewhat dejected, I immediately recieved two texts almost simultaneously.
The first text read: “Didn’t see owt of Carrick all night!” The second read: “Carrick MOTM IMO”.
It was the same when I visited twitter later that night, with some claiming Carrick was a “disgrace, waste of space, passenger again etc.” Others were tweeting “superb, brilliant, best player on the pitch, the only bright light in midfield.”
Looking at various match reviews it was the same contradictory tale, the Manchester Evening News’s Stuart Mathieson gave Carrick five out of ten describing his performance with the sentence: The midfielder was pretty anonymous and his usual protection of a defence as anchor man was non-existent
United fans who rated the players via the MEN website went even further, giving Carrick an average of 3.9 -the worst of any United player.
The United Religion had a different view, their player ratings noted: Michael Carrick 7- Was great with the ball at his feet, and Carrick showed that he could offer much more to the United attack if he could get forward, but limited capabilities from his teammates prevent that.
The Busby Way’s Facebook page was another example of paradoxes: Carrick was our best player tonight in my opinion and I wouldn’t trade Carrick for a pizza.
My own personal opinion of Carrick’s performance was that he played well, my only criticism was his attempted tackle on Xhaka on the way to Basel’s third goal was pitiful.
I’ve never been one for examining stats to see if a player’s performed well, I much prefer to simply watch a game and make a judgment. As I left the ground last night, I felt Carrick had been, behind Danny Welbeck , our best player.
The stats -which were all over twitter from the Carrick supporter’s brigade seem to back this opinion up with a high number of forward passes. That doesn’t tell the full story of course as many people will point to Carrick’s inability to fully protect the back four- as Mathieson did. I think this is being harsh as it wasn’t Carrick’s fault United conceded three goals last night- bigger fingers needed to be pointed at the likes of Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra who were both well below par.
The question is Michael Carrick: ‘Brilliant’ or ‘Anonymous’ in midweek?
Article courtesy of Justin Mottershead from Red Flag Flying High
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Well, well, well. All the pundits are going crazy at the moment, discussing just how long it will take Fernando Torres to settle in with the Blues, after already causing somewhat of a dressing-room uproar by shifting Didier Drogba to the bench on Monday night’s derby against Fulham.
Chris Baird already warned Chelsea that the Cottagers were not afraid of the Spaniard, as they had tactics to contain him the same way they did at Anfield. Torres lasted just five minutes longer than his debut spell against Liverpool last week, and wasted two very good opportunities to score.
There is no doubt that the 26-year-old will come good, but the recent performances of Daniel Sturridge, who is currently on loan at Bolton Wanderers for the rest of the season, is showing that he can also score goals.
Of course, it would be absurd to say that Chelsea made a mistake in splashing £50 million on Torres and should have kept Sturridge because of his recent run of good form, but the England U-21 man is doing exactly what he should be doing: keeping his head down and proving his worth.
[ad_pod id=’fox-mpu’ align=’right’]
The youngster has scored three goals in three appearances at Bolton so far and has produced worthy displays in each match. Of course, there is already speculation that Bolton want him on a permanent deal, but it would be surprising to see him make the switch as he is one of the Blues’ best youthful prospects, right behind 17-year-old Josh McEachran of course.
However, whilst Torres, Drogba, Anelka and Malouda all battle for a place in Carlo Ancelotti’s XI, Sturridge has slipped in nicely with the other Bolton strikers Johan Elmander and Kevin Davies. Some suggest that the kid was merely in the right place at the right time, but I disagree as he has produced his best form of the season so far at Bolton.
Sturridge does not need to do anything else at the moment apart from stay out of the drama and let his feet do the talking on the pitch. There was no way in hell that he would push into the starting line-up at Chelsea at 21-years-of-age, but there is a good chance that, should he prove his worth at Bolton and has a good season next year, he could push one of the aging strikers out at Chelsea by the summer of 2012.
So keep up the good work Daniel, because scoring is exactly what gives any striker in the world his starting position.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Michael Dawson finally got justice this week when he was called in by Fabio Capello to replace the injured Rio Ferdinand. It was an absolute travesty he wasn’t in the original 23, given the outstanding season he has had with Tottenham and now Dawson finds himself where he belongs; I believe it could prove the actual making of the centre half and allow the rest of the Premier League see what a top class defender he really is.
It is not often I find myself agreeing with Phil Thompson but his assertion that Dawson was in the top three English centre half’s in England at present is a fair one. Although King rightly gets the plaudits for his performances, Dawson was equally as assured and made a massive contribution in our push for a top four finish. If you compare his season with someone like Upson, it would have been absolutely criminal if he wasn’t in South Africa.
So why has it taken so long for Dawson to get the recognition? Yes he is prone to the odd rush of blood (which defender isn’t?), but there appears to be this perception within the media that he is little more than an old fashioned centre half who simply whacks the ball into Row Z.
Little credit is actually given to Dawson for his abilities with the ball at his feet and his range of short and long passing; an attribute that Daws is far better than say the likes of John Terry and Jamie Carragher. Maybe the media have failed to realise the stark improvement in Tottenham’s defensive record in the past few seasons and therefore fail to give credit where it is due. Dawson’s form over the past 18months has played a massive part in that, and certainly with the injury problems that have hit King and Woodgate, Dawson has become Redknapp’s defensive rock.
Fabio Capello has come out yesterday and stated that Dawson has a big part to play in England’s campaign and you do sense given our rotten luck with injuries that could well prove the case. Dawson deserves his big chance and being given the recognition could provide him with the self belief that will take this talented young defender to a different level.
Written By Matt Wright
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has stated that Andy Carroll will not be going on loan.
The England international has been linked with a move away from Anfield, but the new Reds manager has stated that he will not be allowed to leave on a temporary basis.
“There has been a lot written and spoken about him but first and foremost Andy is a Liverpool player,” Rodgers told the LFC official website.
“To consider a loan period for someone the club spent £35million on isn’t something we’re looking to do at this moment in time.
“Andy will be the same as every other player – if there’s ever an offer that comes in we’d look at it as a club and see if it’s going to be worthwhile for the club and the team as a whole.
“The club invested £35million in him. People talk about whether he can fit into my style or not, but if you’re a club and you spend £35million on a player you’d like to think he can fit into whatever style the team plays.
“He’s a good player. He’ll join the rest of the group next week and we’ll take it from there,” he confirmed.
Meanwhile, Rodgers has also admitted that his side are interested in Fulham forward Clint Dempsey.
“Clint is a player we’ve enquired about, it is as simple as that.
“Ian Ayre, our managing director, has spoken with the club to see what the position is. That is where we’re at.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
“He’s a very talented player but we don’t like to talk about other clubs’ players,” he concluded.
The Europa League as a tournament is getting increasingly unfavourable reviews over the past couple of years, with many managers at the top clubs in the group stage complaining of too many fixtures (although there are only two more games to be played in the Europa League than in the Champions’ League) and long away journeys across Europe, with teams from Ireland to Greece to Sweden to Russia taking part.
Those complainants, though, are missing the point. To a football romantic, away trips to Malta or Slovenia (sorry, Rangers fans) are what European football is all about – playing football around Europe. Tell me, how boring and hypocritical would it be to stage a European Champions’ League just for the clubs of England, France, Holland, Spain, Germany and Italy? Ask some of the biggest names not in Europe this season: Liverpool, Roma, Sevilla, Galataseray, Rangers. They’ll all tell you they’d rather be making the trip to Legia Warsaw than watching it on TV.
For Tottenham Hotspur, this year’s Europa League was clearly initially viewed within the club as a distraction, an obstacle on their path back to fourth place in the more important Premier League. And while everyone appreciates their need to force their way back into the Champions’ League if they are to advance, Spurs themselves are waking up to the beautiful opportunity the Europa League has presented them with.
Harry Redknapp stated at the start of the season that the Europa League was not a priority for Spurs, and re-affirmed his stance by leaving both first-choice ‘keeper Brad Friedel and star playmaker Rafael van der Vaart out of his 25-man senior squad. Although clubs are required to select a 25-man squad from which they are to choose their Europa League teams, they may also register a B-list of players under the age of 21 who have been with the club more than three years. Redknapp’s extensive B-list has so far provided the bulk of the players he has used in Europe.
[ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’left’]
Spurs’ youngsters are benefitting massively from this precious opportunity. The team which featured in the second leg of the playoff with Hearts was built around youth-team players. Young striker Harry Kane somewhat outperformed his disinterested strike partner Roman Pavlyuchenko. Andros Townsend was a bundle of energy down the left flank. Jake Livermore and Ryan Fredericks controlled the midfield. There were opportunities for several more of the next generation in the away tie with PAOK, in which Giovani, Iago Falque and Tom Carroll started.
Tonight’s clash with Shamrock Rovers at White Hart Lane will see this trend continued, although this time Redknapp will seek to gain two advantages from the game – not only will he give his starlets more invaluable European experience, he will also use the game to give some fringe senior players, and a few returning from injury, a chance to show themselves worthy of a place in the squad for the North London Derby on Sunday.
Steven Pienaar, Aaron Lennon and Danny Rose are all set to feature alongside the likes of Kane, Townsend et al as Redknapp checks their progress in their return from injuries. Pavlyuchenko and Sebastien Bassong are also expected to appear, having played alongside the youngsters in both the Hearts and PAOK games.
The Europa League may be viewed as a distraction by many, but at Spurs, it is starting to be seen as a more important competition than the club had expected. Redknapp can rotate his squad, evaluate promising talents and reserve players in competitive scenarios, while still bringing in some extra revenue from gate receipts and prize money. Perhaps being part of Europe’s second-tier tournament isn’t such a drag after all.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.