Sir Alex Ferguson has dismissed question marks about Wayne Rooney’s future at Manchester United, but admitted his selection dilemma in attack are tougher than any other point in his career at Old Trafford.
Ferguson started with Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa in attack in the 3-2 win over Fulham and Rooney came off the bench for the final quarter of the match only to sustain a gash to his thigh that will keep him on the sidelines for at least a month. Although Ferguson stated that he did not want to start with Rooney and Van Persie together due to concerns over the fitness of both, his decision to leave the former out prompted speculation about his future. But the United manager has rejected any doubt about Rooney’s status at the club, saying:
“It doesn’t bother me to be honest with you, I am not in the slightest bit interested. It won’t affect me one bit, it is not a problem. It is only one game.”
Asked whether Rooney can rediscover his previous sharpness, Ferguson said:
“Yes of course he will. He will concentrate on that. He is a boy that needs games you can see that from the frame he’s got. He’s stocky, strong and he really needs games, simple as that.”
West Ham United ended a disappointing season on a high at the London Stadium on Sunday, winning 3-1 against Everton.
The victory means the Hammers end the season in 13th position which, while far lower than fans would like, is at least well clear of the relegation that threatened them a couple of months ago.
With the future of manager David Moyes unclear, this summer could be another one of massive transition at the club and fans are hoping the decision makers at the London Stadium can show some ambition when the transfer window opens.
One player they definitely want to keep around is Manuel Lanzini, who was in stunning form against the Toffees this afternoon. He scored a double on the day, thrilling supporters with his impact in the final third.
Fans are now hoping that he will sign a new contract this summer and commit his long-term future, with plenty of clubs likely to be admirers in the transfer windows ahead.
According to Sky Sports, Southampton are interested in signing Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge this month after a previous report in The Telegraph on December 28 suggested they were keen to bring the England international to St Mary’s on loan.
What’s the word, then?
Well, Sky Sports says that while Saints are tracking Arsenal forward Theo Walcott, they understand that The Telegraph story that said they are keen on a loan move for Sturridge is wide of the mark.
The Telegraph had previously reported that the south coast outfit would be keen to bring the 28-year-old proven goalscorer in this month if he was available on loan, as they look to boost a team that is struggling for goals and only outside of the relegation zone on goal difference.
How has Sturridge done this season?
He has struggled to play regularly.
The form of the likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino have often meant that he has started matches on the substitutes’ bench, although he has scored three goals and provided a further three assists in 14 appearances in all competitions this term.
Injury issues have often overshadowed the 28-year-old’s time at Anfield, and after recovering from a hamstring problem at the beginning of the campaign he has now missed Liverpool’s last seven Premier League matches with a niggle and then through illness.
Should Southampton be in for him this month?
If he is available, they absolutely should be.
The fact is that unless Liverpool are to bring in a new striker this month then Jurgen Klopp will likely want to keep the centre-forward as cover, but if he is sent out on loan or sold permanently then Saints have to be interested.
They have struggled for goals since the start of last season and while his injury record would mean that signing him is a risk, the fact that 75 goals in 194 Premier League appearances and 64 in 133 outings for the Merseyside outfit show the ability he has to find the net.
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That quality in front of goal could be the difference between Southampton going down or staying up this term.
We hate diving in this country. It’s all those foreigners, allegedly, who have brought the evils of going to ground too easily to the Premier League. The same is true for tapping up; it’s a foreign thing that’s widely accepted abroad and we in England haven’t quite caught onto it yet. That doesn’t mean the rest of Europe has to apologise for it.
It was interesting that Pete Jenson of the Independent spoke about his conversation with Sandro Rosell and that the Barcelona president wasn’t too concerned with Manchester United’s persistent and very public pursuit of Cesc Fabregas. And what exactly is he supposed to say? There are absolutely no grounds for him to be angered or perturbed over the English club’s actions. The fact that he batted the question away as being just another part of the game suggests how far England are behind other nations.
And here’s the thing: this whole tapping up tactic is an underhand and mischievous act, but it’s pretty much accepted as the norm. What are UEFA supposed to do? What can they really do? Marca are supporters of Real Madrid, and Sport of Barcelona. Those papers are always going to write favourably of their clubs, and if UEFA steps in on that, it opens up a whole mess of a situation that is better left alone. Of course, the newspapers have direct links into each club and amplify the whispers that originate inside the walls of the Bernabeu and Camp Nou, but there is no way UEFA or any governing body can properly regulate the matter.
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We in England have rightly had enough of the media’s role in luring away the Premier League’s top talents; Cesc Fabregas, Gareth Bale, even Cristiano Ronaldo. So instead of complaining about an issue that will never be resolved, why not play a hand in these tactics ourselves? Where is the English press and its campaigns to keep hold of Arsenal or Tottenham’s best? Gareth Bale had his feathers ruffled at some stage this summer by the press in Madrid, but where is the counter offensive.
A point to be made: tapping up is slightly different to clubs directly and illegally talking to their transfer targets.
It’s a part of the game, as much as we hate it. Italy and Spain have newspapers solely for the purpose of football, with radio also supplementing the myriad of blogs already in existence. In England, we’re a bit short on the offensive. We don’t have papers who are directly in support of certain clubs – at least not to the extent of Rome, Barcelona and Madrid. But then whose fault is that? Should other nations hold their hands up and say sorry for us not being totally prepared for the nuts and bolts that make up the modern day transfer machine? We’re playing the victim in all this.
No, I don’t believe UEFA need to step in and take out that unethical mob – and that’s said tongue in cheek. Maybe clubs need to evolve or find ways to circumvent the tactics used in concert by foreign clubs and their media. Release clauses serve a purpose well enough. Napoli wouldn’t budge until they got what they wanted for Edinson Cavani. Take a firm stand on contracts and give back a little credence to what was agreed between the player and his current club.
But then how about the media in England spend a little less time driving out its own star players and focus more on the playing side of the game. Luis Suarez can write his own headlines for as long as he sees fit, but what’s been done is done. Report on it, fill the column inches and then move on. The same can be said for Arsenal and Fabregas; instead of driving out a big-name player because you’ve got a personal agenda against his club, write about him and the game in England favourably. How easy must the media in Spain find this whole game?
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Should UEFA step in and take action against underhand tactics in the transfer market?
The most recent barometer of Tottenham’s readiness for the Premier League season, was last Thursday’s marquee friendly against Valencia. And whilst it was by no means a complete disaster, it spelt out emphatically the issues that Spurs have yet to address during the summer transfer period.
The way in which Andre Villas-Boas’ side went to the Mestalla and enjoyed such large spells of possession, offered real room for encouragement. Valencia are one of the more technically accomplished teams on the continent and their impressive third placed finish under ex-coach Unai Emery is testament to that. Considering the starting holding pair of Jake Livermore and Jermaine Jenas may not even make the XI on Saturday, it made the feat all the more impressive.
But there was a stark difference between the two sides last week and it wasn’t difficult to distinguish which side carried the greater threat. Valencia looked dangerous whenever they went forward, and although Spurs went down to a couple of fantastic goals, it’s difficult to argue with the final result. Tottenham looked toothless up front and it’s no surprise that Mauricio Pellegrino’s team were happy to let Tottenham see so much of the ball. They didn’t do an awful lot with it.
And the frustrating thing for supporters is that nothing that happened last week was of any real surprise. The situation that Spurs find themselves with up front, has been well publicised all summer. Jermain Defoe is the only recognised striker at the club and as great a goalscorer he may be, he simply does not suit AVB’s new set-up. Some fans may feel bored of the continuous assumption that the well-liked Defoe has no future in the starting line up, but those who watched events at the Mestalla cannot be under any doubts; that was only a sampler.
Tottenham need at least one more frontman and they’ve known that for what feels like a very long time. And it doesn’t matter how you want to frame it, if Spurs go to Newcastle without that striker, they have in some respects, failed themselves in the transfer window.
No one is under any doubts that Daniel Levy will pull a frontman out of the bag before the transfer window slams shut, but there is something macabre in the way in which it appears to be left to the last minute. Some have suggested that what the Spurs supremo is doing is a masterstroke and that there is no ‘value’ in the transfer market before August. However right that might be, the concept of it is deeply flawed.
If that was true, in essence, Daniel Levy is saying to Andre Villas-Boas that he won’t have his first choice XI for the first or arguably the second fixture of the season. Depending on how many changes hinge on the sale of Luka Modric, that could even be perceived as writing the first game off. Regardless of whether you think Spurs already have enough in the tank to get past Alan Pardew’s side on Saturday, it simply isn’t good enough. Nobody needs reminding of how many points Tottenham missed out on guaranteed Champions League football last season. You must be prepared for every game in this league. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail, is an apt little adage.
Levy cannot be panned for his running of the football club and the fact Tottenham Hotspur are looking to push on for another shot at Champions League football this season, is in no small part to the stance Levy has adopted since he became chairman. But that doesn’t mean he’s bulletproof. The Essex-born businessman has invested highly in disposing of Harry Redknapp and acquiring his favoured coaching set-up in Andre Villas-Boas and his team. The Portuguese needs the best possible start; leaving the team woefully short up front for the first game of the season seems a little bit counter-productive to say the least.
It is the responsibility of Levy and his team to acquire the transfer targets, not Andre Villas-Boas. And up front, the excuses are running out for why no one’s been brought in. Emmanuel Adebayor may be flailing around with wage demands but that isn’t an excuse. Spurs should have set a deadline and they should have enforced ultimatums to the Togolese international. Putting all their eggs in the bag of someone like Adebayor is a huge gamble and at the moment, it’s blowing up in their faces. If the ex-Arsenal man couldn’t agree terms with all parties earlier, it should have been a case of thank you and goodbye.
Similarly with another massively rumoured target, Leandro Damiao, Spurs seem to have postured for an eternity with the Brazilian. For near on 18 months now, Tottenham have tracked the Internacional starlet. They knew what the goalposts were going to be. If they are that keen on him, why was it decided to leave it till after the Olympics to table an offer? The odds on him having a good tournament were always high and consequently, his transfer fee would have risen. If efforts are being made to negotiate a lower fee, than they only have themselves to look at in the mirror.
You can never second-guess what has been going on behind the scenes and it would be foolish to suggest Levy hasn’t been working hard. One or two deals have been thought to have been brokered, only to fall apart and who knows who the board were working to acquire. But all of their rivals have done the bulk of their transfer work early and they head into the season more or less there. Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jan Vertonghen were excellent deals that were sorted out weeks ago. The problem is, that could only be the tip of the iceberg.
Tottenham need at least one striker, if not two. Arguably their most talented player has no future at the club and a replacement must be sought out. To top things off, the new manager supposedly craves a new goalkeeper to bring to the fore. The new season starts in a matter of days.
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Levy will sort the problems out at Spurs and things will start moving quicker when, with all fingers crossed, the Modric deal goes through. No one is criticising the chairman for refusing to be bent over by Real Madrid. But if the team struggle to make an impression upon the Newcastle United defence on Saturday, don’t look at Adebyaor, Damiao or Villas-Boas for criticism.
How do you feel about Spurs transfer brinkmanship this summer? The right thing to do or a gamble too far? Let me know how you feel about how the summer’s gone on Twitter: follow @samuel_antrobus and get involved with the Spurs talk.
Having secured their spot in the Champions League for another season, Mauricio Pochettino knew that his Tottenham side could afford to take their foot off the gas somewhat on their final match of the season against Leicester.
That allowed Lucas Moura, the January signing who has struggled for gametime, the opportunity to get a rare start in Spurs’ final game at Wembley before their return to the newly-renovated White Hart Lane next season.
The Brazilian – valued at £25.2m by Transfermarkt – is a clearly talented player but it would appear that Pochettino has reservations over his ability to adjust to English football as he has seldom thrown him in at the deep end since his arrival in North London.
Nevertheless, the decision to start Lucas went down well with the Spurs faithful and we’ve taken a closer look at some of the most enthusiastic reaction on Twitter to the team news…
Crystal Palace confirmed the signing of Connor Wickham from Sunderland on Monday and they through the striker straight into action in their final pre-season game against Dagenham and Redbridge, which ended in a 1-0 defeat for the Eagles.
The game wasn’t important, but the fact Alan Pardew decided to throw the striker straight in to action perhaps gives us a bigger indication to the role the former Sunderland striker will have in South London this season.
The Palace boss has already enjoyed a productive summer, signing Yohan Cabaye, Alex McCarthy, Patrick Bamford and Bakary Sako.
Wickham, who reportedly cost Palace a fee in the region of £8m, struggled to set into life in the North East and hasn’t ever replicated the form he showed for Ipswich when he broke onto the scene in the 2010/11 season, which earned him his big money move to the Premier League.
Pardew said after Palace’s 1-1 draw in a pre-season friendly at Fulham before signing Wickham on Saturday: “Connor is somebody we feel will be great for the club.”
But will Wickham be great for Palace? He hasn’t scored prolifically in his Premier League career so far, though he has scored regularly in the Championship, highlighted by an impressive eight goals in eleven games during a loan spell with Sheffield Wednesday two years ago.
However, replicating that form into the Premier League has been a problem for Wickham.
That same season, he came back and scored five goals in the last eight games to keep the Black Cats up. Other than that, though, Wickham hasn’t delivered the goods in the Premier League and has struggled to find the back of the net on a regular basis, with five goals remaining his best Premier League goals tally to date.
But it is a bit of a mystery that he hasn’t been more of a success as he’s got all the attributes to do it. He is 6ft 4in tall, really strong in the air and on the deck and can bully defences with his size and power.
But he isn’t cumbersome by any stretch. He still has a decent turn of speed to get in behind defences and once there, he is a decent finisher in front of goal.
He is built to score goals at the top level and you can’t help but feel he is yet to deliver his best, and we’ve only seen glimpses of what he is capable of in small bursts of form for Sunderland. Given time and the right environment, he may well produce the form that warranted his big move up north so early on in his career.
And Selhurst Park could well be the perfect environment for Wickham to finally reach his potential. In Pardew he has a manager who will put his faith in the striker and play towards his strengths. Wickham will be the main striker at Palace as he is arguably the best striker at the club, which is something he didn’t always enjoy at the Stadium of Light, and he found himself forced to play out wide on the left on many occasions.
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The move to Palace could well be the perfect thing for Wickham as he would be moving back down south where he is from, and it could be the fresh start he needs to kick start his career and start firing in the goals again.
In the 2012/2013 Premier League campaign at Newcastle there was a lot of vehement criticism thrown in the direction of the club’s manager Alan Pardew. The former Southampton and West Ham boss has reached his lowest ebb on Tyneside in recent months, as his charges decided to surrender to a 3-0 defeat to deadly rivals Sunderland with barely a whimper, whilst the 51 year old still insisted his side were the best team outside of the top six.
The pressure has been mounting for a significant period of time at Newcastle United as the once named ‘Pardiola’ appears to have believed his own hype amongst making a heap of costly errors both on and off the pitch within the last season. The one consistent excuse which appears to have bought the Premier League second longest serving manager a reprieve though appears to be the belief that the business model installed at Newcastle United is failing to provide Pardew with the tools to succeed. Is this a legitimate reason for the club’s drastic fall from grace as they plummeted from 5th place in May 2012 to 16th in May 2013?
This argument is one which several have used to justify the failure of Newcastle United, myself included, but it is one which is falling upon extremely weak foundations. The only way that Alan Pardew can in the short term quell the unrest at St James’s Park is by signing strength in depth in all areas of the side. Even if Pardew fulfils this objective, is this even enough? Or has the tide already turned?
It is clear that several supporters see their manager as a puppet to the club’s owner Mike Ashley. They see the mediation and motivational skills as irrelevant if Pardew can’t ultimately ensure that his playing staff deliver on matchdays. What appears to be far more important is the style of play which the Magpies are offering. The direct style of play was miserable for the fans to endure when Sam Allardyce was the at the helm, let alone when it has been ineffective under Pardew. The use of Papiss Cisse as a target man is a tactic which immediately needs to be disregarded.
The personnel Pardew already has at his disposal have superb potential. Hatem Ben Arfa is a talent that can capture the imagination of all his supporters at any given moment, whilst the ability of players such as Debuchy, Cabaye and Sissoko offer reason to be optimistic that the Magpies can succeed next term. They need to be given direction and licence to develop within the system that suits their playing style.
If Pardew is to have a chance of winning the supporters back around, he needs to silence his pleas for help from Mike Ashley channeled through the media. It is extremely naive for the Magpies boss to think that the fans believe they can influence their owner. There is an acceptance on Tyneside that the Sports Direct Owner has own agenda which he will carry out regardless of whether they approve or disapprove of his actions. Alan Pardew needs to realise that he must handle what is within his control if he is to succeed. That is ensuring that the club play attractive football, which will give the fans a chance to warm to their boss again like they once had.
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It may seem highly unlikely to many in the North East that Pardew can restore his ailing reputation, but it is not impossible. He survived in his first season in charge with Peter Lovenkrands, Nile Ranger and Shefki Kuqi, struggling to as the man at the helm would say “get him over the line”, and the squad has certainly improved since then.
The current business model at Newcastle United may be a discussion relevant to the future of the club in years to come. The brutal honest truth now though is the supporters are far more worried about the desperation on the field of play that they witnessed at the end of this season, than the financial solvency of the club in three or four years time.
As reported by The Yorkshire Evening Post, Leeds United are interested in signing Swansea City defender Kyle Bartley this summer.
Bartley had a successful spell on loan at Leeds last season, striking up a formidable partnership with Pontus Jansson in the heart of the Elland Road side’s defensive line.
Struggling this season to get regular first-team football at the Swans, a return to Leeds could be tempting for the 26-year-old.
Leeds could certainly do with the defensive improvement having conceded more than all 13 of the teams currently above them in the English Championship table.
Fans are eager for the deal to happen, believing signing the defender could be the start of an exciting summer as the club look to build a squad capable of competing for play-off positions next term.
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Will his return see an improvement in Leeds’ fortunes?
Supporters took to Twitter to share their thoughts on it all…
Regardless of whether you believe Harry Kane will go to Manchester United this summer or not, it’s a story doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon.
Some say a £40million move to Old Trafford would be a step up too soon for the England international, who has only had half a season of success in the Premier League so far. Others, though, believe he’s the kind of striker Louis Van Gaal should be targeting in the summer.
So we booted up our copy of Football Manager 2015 to see just how well he does as a Manchester United player, and the results speak for themselves…
The arrival of Kane from Spurs didn’t mark the end of Luis Van Gaal’s summer business, having already secured Memphis Depay from PSV, he also brought in Wesley Sneijder, Jan Vertonghen, Adriano of Barcelona and his Camp Nou teammate Marc Bartra.
Oh, and a dramatic u-turn mid-way through July saw Falcao turn up at Old Trafford again, snubbing Mourinho’s Chelsea to sign a permanent deal at United.
Falcao’s return and Van Gaal’s failure to offload Javier Hernandez meant Kane was seemingly low down the pecking order, with Rooney and Van Persie also vying for first-team opportunities.
So it’s no real surprise that it took Kane until the end of November to register his first United goal, netting the first in a 2-0 win away at West Brom.
Kane then went on to become United’s cup competition striker, and he played a vital role in the Red Devils’ route to Capital One Cup glory. His 72nd minute goal in the second-leg of the semi-final against Sheffield Wednesday ensured his side went through to the final on away goals after a 3-3 stalemate over two legs.
Then Kane banged in the first goal of a 4-1 battering of Chelsea in the final to claim the first piece of silverware of his pro career.
Kane took his chances whenever he could and scored sporadically throughout the rest of the campaign, ending the season with 10 in all competitions (two in the Premier League) – sixth in the Old Trafford charts that season, behind Falcao (29), Depay (17), Rooney (14), Mata (14) and Di Maria (12).
SEE ALSO >> FM15 Stories – Falcao flops at Chelsea, Mourinho sacked
Two of those came in both legs of United’s quarter-final victory over PSG in the Champions League, though they were stopped by Real Madrid in the semi-final.
As you can see above, Kane only managed two starts in the Premier League and was mostly used as a substitute. He ended the season with 25 appearances in all competitions, 15 of which were off the bench, which means his return of ten goals wasn’t particularly disappointing.
His highlight of the season, despite his important goals in the Capital One Cup and Champions League, was being named in one of April’s Team of the Week after helping United to a 3-1 home win over Watford.
Man United wrapped up the Premier League title by beating rivals City to the post by just three points, though Kane will not be remembered as a vital member of that title winning side.
At the end of the campaign Kane is immediately linked with a move back to Tottenham who, despite ending the season in fifth, appeared to have missed his presence up front. They replaced him with Fabio Borini in the summer, but he could only manage three Premier League goals.
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Spurs did bring in Salomon Rondon in January to help chip in with the goals, but he broke his foot soon after arriving in north London and was sidelined for 2 months. Oops.
So it’s little wonder Spurs were keen on bringing Kane back home after he had little impact during Man United’s double winning season. Perhaps a loan deal might be in the offing. Shame we’ll never find out…