Arsenal are believed to be on the verge of signing Spanish winger Santi Cazorla, The Daily Mail reports.
The Gunners are eager to add strength in depth to their squad this summer and have already acquired Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski during the transfer window.
Cazorla, who was part of Spain’s squad for Euro 2012 but did not get the chance to shine, has impressed for Malaga in his first season with the club, helping the Andalusians to Champions League qualification.
However, the La Liga side are thought to be under financial pressure and the sale of their star winger is on the cards.
Arsenal are believed to have agreed a £16 million fee with the Romaleda club, with personal terms also already concluded too.
Cazorla now only has to pass a medical to become the third new Gunner of the transfer window.
However, Cazorla’s signature would cast more doubt over the future of Theo Walcott, who only has one year left on his current deal and is stalling on a new contract.
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Tottenham defender Ledley King has spoken of his happiness at being able to play for the club again, but feels he is not yet firing on all cylinders.
The veteran centre back has had an injury plagued career at White Hart Lane, and had a particularly frustrating time last term, but has been able to play at the start of this campaign.
With Arsenal the next opponents in the league and King set to start, he has spoken of his desire to feature for Harry Redknapp’s side.
“This is my biggest season at Spurs yet,” the defender told Mirror Football.
“It is the first time I have been in a situation like this – when my contract is up. So it is a big season. I have to prove I am still worth it. I can’t see myself pulling on a shirt for anybody else at this stage of my career – although a player can never say never.
“At the end of the day, I just want to stay fit and if I can play, let’s see what position that puts me in at the end of the season. It is down to me to play the games. If I don’t play enough games, it is a difficult position.
“We will see what the situation is when all is said and done. If I get to 20 [games], I am not going to stop! I will keep playing as many as I can. At the moment I am just trying to bed in, get a bit of fitness and hopefully not get any niggles. If I can do that, I can get stronger and keep playing,” he concluded.
Tottenham have won their last three games with King in the team, and will look to take advantage of Arsenal’s vulnerable start to the campaign on Sunday.
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Aston Villa boss Gerard Houllier will hold talks with Nigel Reo-Coker at the end of the month in a bid to keep the midfielder at Villa Park.
Reo-Coker has made over 100 appearances for Villa since joining from West Ham United in 2007.
The former England Under-21 captain fell out of favour with former Villa boss Martin O’Neill and was thought to have no future at the West Midlands club beyond this season, when his contract expires.
But he has found himself a regular starter under Houllier, who made Reo-Coker stand-in captain after regular Villa skipper Stiliyan Petrov was sidelined through injury.
Now, the French boss has hinted a new deal could soon be on the table.
“Nigel will play probably against Blackpool (on Saturday) and he is my player until the end of the season,” Houllier said.
“Funnily enough, he is improving but there is not the situation where there is 11 players and the rest are not involved.”
“To me when you have a big squad they should be united. You don’t have sulkers and moaners.”
“This is very important and Nigel plays a part, not only in the dressing room, but every time he steps on the field.”
“I think Nigel’s performances from the beginning of the season compared with now have been different.”
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“He is more calm and more composed and does things simple. He is a ball winner and gets forward when he can.”
“I like his discipline, I like his commitment and his aggression. I said to him and to his agent that we will have an assessment from the end of February to the beginning of March.”
“But I know also there are clubs after him because he is a free agent.”
Sao Paulo vice-president Joao Paulo de Jesus Lopes has confirmed that Paris Saint-Germain have been in touch in regards to Lucas Moura.
The Brazil international is currently on international duty for the Selecao in the Olympic Games, and has emerged as a transfer target for Manchester United.
With the Old Trafford side on the verge of agreeing a fee with Sao Paulo for the midfielder, PSG have come in with a last minute bid, which is believed to be more than United are offering.
Lopes has confirmed that contact has been made by the French side, but that the player will make the final decision over his future destination.
“We have been probed by PSG about Lucas,” Lopes told Le 10 Sport, translated to English by Sky Sports.
“Leonardo has a very good relationship with Sao Paulo. But for now nothing is definite.
“The possibility exists but it is down to the player’s interests. The policy of Sao Paulo is to follow the desires of the player. If the player wishes to leave, Sao Paulo will not create any obstacle. But we must receive a proposal that is appropriate.
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“It’s a financial issue. Paris Saint-Germain is a big club in European football and if the player’s interests and also the club’s are met, I do not see why it would not happen,” he concluded.
Aaron Ramsey’s unfortunate own goal to open the scoring for Liverpool last weekend was just one of many embarrassing incidents that have befallen footballers at the wrong end of the pitch. Most own goals are horribly comical with everyone including the offending player wondering what had just happened but luckily for fans of the game, most of these gems eventually end up on the internet for our entertainment.
One search of the player’s name normally brings up the own goal straight away, especially for the lower league stars who find that their unfortunate own goals end up being the one moment everyone remembers from their career. Ramsey found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time against Liverpool but was the young midfielder’s own goal the most unfortunate in history?
10. John Arne Riise
This own goal may not have been as spectacular as others but Riise’s decision to head the ball into his own net rather than clear it away was made worse because he made the mistake in the 95th minute of a Champions League semi-final against Chelsea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGxmIEVWafU
9. Tony Popovic
Crystal Palace defender showed the skill of a world class striker in this goal, catching the ball with the back of his heel and lifting it past the keeper. Unfortunately for Popovic and Palace this came at the wrong end of the pitch.
8. Gary Neville
An own goal that I can just about manage to laugh at now as Neville puts past his own keeper for England in a crucial game against Croatia. At first it looked like goalkeeper Paul Robinson had horribly misjudged the back pass until you look closer and see that a small bump in the pitch was to blame.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEuyfJGg7AA
[divider]
Continued on Page TWO
7. Carl Jenkinson
Another recent Arsenal blunder saw new signing Jenkinson get his clearance so wrong as the ball flies into the air and perfectly over the head of the goalkeeper. It was an unfortunate mistake from a young defender looking to make his mark at his new club.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XrK-NOwqTs
6. Djimi Traore
Former Liverpool defender Traore showed off his secret skills that the Reds’ rarely saw, unfortunately Traore attempted this elaborate trick standing in front of his own goal and it unsurprisingly backfired on the defender.
5. Lee Dixon
Playing the ball back to your keeper is always a slight risk but Dixon gave his goalkeeper no chance when he beautifully lifted it over his head and into the goal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpSo1aciPqU
4. Aaron Ramsey
Arsenal midfielder Ramsey was the unfortunate culprit when he was caught out by Miquel’s clearance, the ball smacking back against Ramsey and into the net from close range.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCL-2-hT9Kg
[divider]
Continued on Page THREE
3. Mike Elwood
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A goal that looked as painful as it did unfortunate, Elwood was caught in the line of the clearance and the huge deflection completely changed the direction of the ball as it dropped perfectly over the head of the keeper.
One of the more famous own goals as Manchester City’s Jamie Pollock beats one player with a delicate chip and finishes off the move by heading past his own keeper. If the unique piece of defending had come off it would have looked amazing but unfortunately for Pollock this goal is famous for all the wrong reasons.
1. Chris Brass
Unfortunately for Bury’s Chris Brass no other own goal comes close to this blunder. Looking to clear the ball Brass’ own head gets in the way as he thumps the ball against his face and past his own keeper.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1csQG0ZciFQ
Do you think these are the top ten own goals? Have I missed any other embarrassing own goals out? If you want to read more of my bite size, 140 character views and thoughts follow me on Twitter @jennyk5
Anderlecht shot out to a six-point buffer atop the Belgian First Division with a 2-0 win over Standard Liege on Sunday.
Few chances were on offer for both sides at the Stade Constant Vanden Stock, with the first half finishing scoreless.
The league-leaders, however, took charge of the match in the 49th minute when Mbark Boussoufa’s cross evaded Standard goalkeeper Srdjan Blazic, allowing Guillaume Gillet to prod into an empty net.
Two minutes later, Gillet was felled in the area by Standard defender Jelle Van Damme – in his first appearance against his former club since returning from a short stint with Wolves in the English Premier League – and winger Jonathan Legear converted the penalty to ensure Anderlecht keep a healthy lead on top of the table.
Gent moved into outright third place on the table with a 2-1 victory over Lokeren at Jules Ottenstadion.
Francky Dury’s men went ahead in the seventh minute when Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Soumahoro netted, before Christophe Lepoint made it 2-0 to the hosts in the 25th minute.
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Lokeren striker Nill De Pauw pulled a goal back for his side four minutes later, but Gent held on for their 13th win of the league season.
Liverpool, unlike fellow decadent, former stars Leeds and Nottingham Forest, have had to endure a demise that has spread out over twenty years. Liverpool have descended from the most successful, feared side in Europe with a rich history and worldwide popularity to a team of perennial underachievers. That’s not to say that the current crop of Liverpool’s players are underachievers, they are probably achieving what most of us expected they would, but that the club itself is underachieving is not in doubt.
When Fenway Sports Group bought Liverpool it would be fair to say that they underestimated just how difficult it would be to restore the club’s former glories. Damien Commoli’s take on the American ‘Money-ball’ philosophy was bought into, as was the suitability of Kenny Daglish as manager; in retrospect neither decision was right.
Now, with the Fenway group having played their hand, spent their money, and failed, former Swansea boss Brendan Rodgers has been brought in to rebuild an expensively assembled but worryingly disappointing squad. Whilst the suggestion that, considering Liverpool’s recent strife, things can only get better may have an element of truth to it, Rodgers’ task is immense.
Rewind twelve months and consider the objectives laid out before Andre Villas-Boas as he began his ill-fated career at Chelsea. The Portuguese manager was faced with rebuilding a side whose two most iconic players (Terry and Lampard) were perceived to have too much power and well past their prime, and whose record signing was struggling for any kind of acceptable form whatsoever. The former Porto man came in with a reassuring bravado as he went about his business, culling certain stars and thrusting his ethos down the throat of a team who were very much set in their ways.
Rodgers is facing a similar problem. With Carragher and Gerrard entering the twilight of their careers and Andy Carroll still failing to justify has quite remarkable price tag Rodgers must transform this team quickly and effectively whilst simultaneously worrying about the problems that such sharp change can bring.
Villas-Boas faced two major problems. The first was that he ostracised certain key members of the squad in the name of progress. Secondly: he tried to instil attacking tactics and a fast style of play on a selection of players who had enjoyed success in their careers playing, for the most part, in the exact opposite style.
Rodgers will have to combat this problem. Will it be possible for him to change the way Liverpool played last season in to the style of attacking football that got him the job in the first place? Daglish’s tactics might not have been as negative as Liverpool’s goal tally suggested but they’re certainly some way off being Barcelona-esque.
Regardless of the style they were playing last year, some critics have been suggesting that Liverpool’s players are simply not up to playing fast-paced, passing football. Were this to be the case then Rodgers may well have to axe some prominent squad players; could this then be as damaging as it was for Villas-Boas?
Now, many Swansea fans will point to the speed at which Swansea’s squad adopted Rodgers’ attacking brand of football; however, Swansea’s previous two managers were Paulo Sousa and Roberto Martinez, both of whom coached attacking football. At Liverpool, Rodgers will not have the foundations laid down for him as he did before.
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Rodgers’ undeniable talent as a manager should be reassuring for Liverpool, yet the same was true of Villas-Boas when he arrived in London having won every single trophy that Porto had competed for the year before. For all of Swansea’s impressive performances, Rodgers has not enjoyed nearly as much success as the man who will act as a warning to him. There is potential in Liverpool’s squad, there is potential in their owners and Rodgers could well be the man to take this club to the heights of European football; but first he must tackle the paradox of instilling immediate change without the dangerous consequences that such transformations invariably bring.
AC Milan captain Alessandro Nesta is confident his team’s defence is in good form ahead of the Supercoppa Italiana clash with rivals Inter.The Serie A champions conceded three goals in two games at the Audi Cup last week as they finished last in the four-team tournament, which also featured Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Internacional.
But Nesta, 35, said he was confident the defensive line was playing well ahead of Saturday’s game at the Beijing National Stadium.
“I think AC Milan’s defence played very well last season, together with the rest of the team. In the second half of the Italian league, our rivals only scored seven times against us and not many teams can say the same,” he said on Wednesday.
“Furthermore, this year we were joined by (Philippe) Mexes, who at the moment is not well but is recovering. We also have (Taye) Taiwo and Thiago Silva, who is a world-class player.”
“Therefore, I think AC Milan’s defence is in good form as it is.”
The fierce rivals have never met in a Supercoppa final, but Inter – having won the Coppa Italia – will be aiming for their sixth title. League title holders Milan are also out for their sixth Supercoppa trophy.
It is the first competitive Milan derby to be played outside of the city’s iconic stadium, the San Siro.
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AC Milan begin their Serie A title defence at Cagliari on August 27, while Inter start their season at home to Lecce a day later.
Whiz, bang, crunch, pop, wow, zing, whoosh, krang, smash, ding. Just some of the sounds that will have gone through the heads of Sky executives when planning the latest installment of their Super dooper mega whacky manic mental Sunday madness.
As usual, their unswerving dedication to ramping up the hyperbole for their televised matches to somewhere between a Fox News military bulletin and the straight to DVD Steven Segal sequel of another straight to DVD Steven Segal movie got the better of them, although at least this time there was the legitimate excuse – and tantalizing prospect – of three passionate local derbies (of which Sky had two) and two of the most attack minded teams in the league going at it in a top of the table mega mental super whammy title clash. Boom!
Introducing us to this pleasatronic spectacle was – as always – waxed handed presenter-droid and Andy Gray’s personal pet Richard Keys and stalwart rent-a-pundit and shirtless Thomas Cook rep Jamie Redknapp, for some reason dressed in a 19th Century gentleman’s low cut tuxedo waistcoat, but unfortunately still in some unavoidably distracting 21st century shiny skinny trousers. Joining this duo, who’d arrived at White Hart Lane a full five hours early to sit uncomfortably on plastic chairs and watch the preceding matches on presumably small monitors, was Dwight Yorke, dressed as a kind of garish curtain and with an orange chocolate liquor wrapper sticking out of his top pocket, in a presumed attempt to look like a sophisticated dapper Englishman about town.
After some precursory promotional whiz banging, we were whisked off to St Andrews where the second City derby was about to commence, before quickly bleeding into the Merseyside one with as little rent-a-punditry as possible. This quick tracked relay approach to football broadcasting does at least come with that blessed upshot, allowing the viewer to relax quite comfortably in front of a days worth of action without being literally-ed to death (but not literally) by Redknapp and whatever vaguely connected former – or possibly injured – player they’ve managed to cajole onto an uncomfortable looking plastic bar stool for five hours. The insight of these guests rarely stretches beyond how “well the lads done there”, and despite the infrequent exception of some surprisingly analytical players (Jamie Carragher and Andy Cole spring to mind) they’re preferably ignored all together, along with Redknapp. Literally.
After a lively Brum derby in which a smoke bomb and a streaker added more neutral enjoyment to a game in which Villa hit the home bar four times -a feat they haven’t achieved since Paul McGrath was in the side – the attention fell on Anfield, where the return of King Kenny was being hyped up to suitably excitable levels.
No whooshing or clanking or zoomed close ups cut in sequence to the theme music from Requiem for a Dream could possibly have made adequate replacement for the real emotive moment of the afternoon however, as Dalglish stood parentally in the dug out being serenaded by his faithful crowd to the tune of their favorite Rogers and Hammerstein number. There are still few spectacles in football better, and all the more poignant for its complete antithesis to Sky’s Americanized whiz pop presentation values.
The game itself was all you’d want from a Merseyside derby, except perhaps in terms of actual quality, with Liverpool fans perhaps starting to realize that it might not be all evil uncle Woy’s fault after Everton overturned a their one goal deficit within what seemed like seconds of the second half. Liverpool drew level from the penalty spot but it was Everton who pushed forward for the winner later on, albeit almost entirely in the style of an Allardyce side, with Marouane Fellaini acting as a sort of fuzzy beacon for up field hoofs. The performance of Fernando Torres will have given Dalglish some comfort however, and it was an entertaining spectacle for it’s openness alone.
After some brief reflection from Jammers in which we were reminded helpfully that there were “some positives in there for Liverpool… and some negatives too” which was almost certainly literal, we were whisked off yet again, this time to where we were anyway, and had been all day, back to White Hart Lane.
Unfortunately what was supposed to be the show stopping headline act turned out instead to be a rather damp squib, which are always at least partially enjoyable just to see how Sky attempt to put a positive spin on it.
As little as three games into the season Andy Gray had wasted no time in telling viewers how much better the Premier League (that Sky had) was already than the World Cup (which Sky didn’t) and even during the most lackluster of games he finds it excruciatingly hard to admit they might have picked a duffer, instead relying on admirably stubborn phrases like “fascinating” “delicately poised” or “still anyone’s game”
As it happened this game had started well, which Gray had wasted no time in telling us, but it died down into a bit of a mess by the second half, as both teams forget completely how they’d scored so many goals this season, and so thus it remained ‘delicately poised’ for the duration. Most of the highlights came from United’s mop headed mentalist full back Rafael, who seemed to be playing on far too much caffeine, like an excitable puppy on heat who’s accidentally been given coffee and then pointed in the direction of a group of females. After receiving one booking mid-way through the second half, it was obvious to pretty much everyone watching that he’d eventually go, though few foresaw the second booking being so tame, such was the reckless abandon with which he was approaching both defending and attacking.
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The cliché of the Brazilian fullback is thankfully alive and well. And so is the giant walking, talking, whizzing, popping and banging cliché of Sky Sports television. But hey, it could be worse, it could be iTV!
You can follow Oscar on Twitter here http://twitter.com/oscarpyejeary for hot fun late night cha….err….innocent public discourse on a number of topical matters.
It was a frustrating 90 minutes as England spent a lot of time without the ball, camped in their own half against France in their opening Euro 2012 fixture. It is a less than desirable tactic but one that is frequently proven to provide results. In an attempt to encourage the England team to become more forceful in possession Martin Keown suggested in The Daily Mail that Steven Gerrard and Scott Parker should rotate in the midfield in a similar manner to that with Sami Khedira and Bastian Schweinsteiger did to devastating effect for Germany against Netherlands. But these are very different players and would it really be to England’s advantage to try and replicate this tactic?
Khedira and Schweinsteiger played as the deep-lying midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 formation for Joachim Low’s side but did not restrict their attacking movements. In fact, the Bayern Munich midfielder supplied the assists for both of Germany’s goals in the 2-1 wins. While it proved to be a success for Low’s team, Gerrard and Parker lack the dynamism of the German duo possessing a combined 11-years more.
Gerrard himself recently admitted in an interview with ITV that his years of bombing forward to join the attack are beyond him. Instead he must make his influence known from a deeper position, aiding the forward momentum with his wide array of passing.
In terms of his midfield partner, while Parker may have added the odd attacking injection during his time at Charlton Athletic, he lacks the finesse in the final third to make a telling contribution to the attack. He should not be encouraged to get forward simply because it worked for Germany. Even Khedira as a typically defensive player is a far better playmaker than the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder. That is not to disparage Parker, he is exceptionally good at what he does, so why change it?
We should not focus on emulating other countries and instead make the most of what he have in abundance: pace. Players such as Theo Walcott, Ashley Young and Danny Welbeck all possess terrific acceleration, as does Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. England would benefit most from using this to stretch teams and get in behind. In the current 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 there is too much pressure on Gerrard and Parker to get forward with James Milner on the left it limits the options available when going forward.
The problem that comes with relying on speed however is that most teams defend against it by setting their defensive line deep, reducing the room for players to make the piercing run in behind. With the main complaint of England that they sit back too much and do not control the ball, the use of fast players in the wide areas could help over turn this.
By forcing the opposition to defend deep Steven Gerrard would be more readily able to help join the attack, adding an extra bit of class on the ball that is so frequently needed to forge the best of openings. In a 4-3-3 formation Scott Parker could sit and hold while the hard-working James Milner and Gerrard rotate in the responsibility of joining the attack.
In a 4-2-3-1 England could really make the most of their pace. When Wayne Rooney returns for the final fixture against Ukraine he could be used behind the striker as he so frequently likes to drop behind the play and pick up the ball. He could be supported from deep by Gerrard who would be required to attack less, enabling him to use his experience to pick the most opportune moments to venture forward.
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While the excellent displays of Germany and Spain in the this round of fixtures have been particularly inspirational, England should not pretend to be something they are not. It is unwise of Keown to suggest so and instead we should make use of what is so readily available to us.. When you are trying to loosen a bolt you pick up the spanner, not the hammer.