Everton manager David Moyes is concerned that he may be forced to sell Marouane Fellaini next summer, and has urged the Belgium international to sign a new contract at Goodison Park.
The 23-year-old midfielder has become an integral part of The Toffee’s first team, but his contract expires in June 2013, and the Merseyside club do not want to lose him on a Bosman ruling.
“Felli is young and you have to think about what he will be like when is 26 and 27,” he stated in a press conference.
Everton’s financial problems have been well documented, and Moyes has been forced to sell Steven Pienaar and Mikel Arteta in the last two transfer windows; the Scot hopes Fellaini is not the next big name departure.
“Yes, there is a danger that selling Mikel could set a precedent, but I hope not. I would like to think we can hang onto our best players.
“But there is always a danger when someone goes after saying they want to leave that it could set a precedent, and we will have to be careful of that,” he concluded.
Everton have picked up four points from their first three games in the Premier League, and take on Wigan at Goodison on Saturday.
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Chelsea’s suffered a dismal afternoon in East Anglia as their faint hopes of a title challenge took another hit after being held to a goalless draw by determined Norwich at Carrow Road.
Andre Villas-Boas’ side dominated much of the game but just couldn’t find a way past a resolute Canaries back four as Fernando Torres’ barren run continued in front of goal. The Spaniard cut a dejected figure throughout as Paul Lambert’s men kept their first clean sheet of the season after an inspired performance from goalkeeper John Ruddy in the second half. Chances came and went for the Blues as their aspirations of challenging for the Premier League trophy this year all but evaporated leaving Villas-Boas with only the Champions League and FA Cup as his best chance of winning some silverware in his debut season as manager at Stamford Bridge. Norwich, on the other hand, will be delighted with a point that leaves them firmly entrenched in the top half of the table and well clear of the relegation zone.
Defending hasn’t been the Canaries’ biggest strength this season and they were on the back foot almost immediately as the visitors roared into life during the early stages. Frank Lampard floated a few early balls into the box that were dealt with well by Zak Whitbread whilst Torres’ first touch let him down after being found by John Terry as the Blues continued to press without making any clear cut chances. In fact it was the hosts who went closest to breaking the deadlock after 10 minutes with Grant Holt flashing an effort just wide of Petr Cech’s post after easily shrugging aside David Luiz. Chelsea responded with Juan Mata acrobatically firing over from Lampards corner before sa brilliant effort from Torres with the outside of his was pushed wide by Ruddy.
The away side continued to press forward in numbers after the break to no avail as Ruddy, Whitbread and central defensive partner Daniel Ayala proved solid in the Norwich penalty area. When they were breached the Blues failed to take advantage with Torres woefully poking low ball into the box wide from just eight-yards before Mata was denied by a fine save from Ruddy at his near post. The Canaries keeper then did well to hold onto Ramires fierce strike after Raul Meireles then fizzed an effort just over the bar as Chelsea continued to attack the home side with vigour. Villas-Boas then through Romelu Lukaku into the mix in search of a winner withdrawing Torres with 13 minutes remaining as he made it 15-hours without a goal. The young Belgian failed to make the necessary impact as the West Londoners struggled to find an end product to their late pressure.
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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted that he expected local rivals Manchester City to challenge for the title this season, which puts a bigger impetus on the derby matches between the two teams.
Both clubs have only dropped two points from their first seven games, and sit joint top of the Premier League on 19 points, but the Scottish coach has not been surprised at the Etihad Stadium outfit’s strong start.
“I’ve said all along that would happen,” he told Inside United.
“They are a good team and they were always going to be there or thereabouts.
“Sergio Aguero was bound to do well, coming into the Premier League, because he is such a goal threat around the penalty box. David Silva is also a very good player.
“We just have to make sure we are ready for City when we meet them,” he continued.
With small margins likely to separate two excellent sides, Ferguson knows the derby matches against Roberto Mancini’s men could be all important.
“All derbies are big now, that is the nature of the landscape.
“The impetus City now have – they have a huge squad of players and the financial power to attract some of the best footballers in the world – actually changes the focus of the derby these days.
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“The talking point isn’t so much the actual game but the dynamics of how Manchester City have changed football and what we do to compete with that,” he concluded.
England’s impressive display in Bulgaria last week has pushed the nation closer towards qualification for Euro 2012, a major tournament that could mark a time for change for our perennial under-performing team. The 3-0 win last week was not only impressive for its score line but also the ages of the players that are finally been given a chance to shine under Capello.
The golden generation’s failure to deliver during a number of frustrating tournaments combined with their ageing legs means that new blood is finally being given the reigns to lead England to face the best across Europe. The main talking points to come out of Bulgaria were not only the result and fresh faces but the fact it looked like the end for one of the main golden generation, Frank Lampard.
But with the Euros only a year away and many of the youngsters’ experience still limited, is there any room for the oldies like Lampard in Capello’s ideal starting line-up come next summer?
Click on Jack Wilshere below to see England’s likely line-up for Euro 2012
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Who do you think should be in the starting line-up for England at Euro 2012? If you want to read more of my bite size, 140 character views and thoughts follow me on Twitter @jennyk5
During the long summer months, the big four have been going about strengthening their side for the upcoming season but have a quick look at teams outside the top four and you will notice a distinct lack of summer transfers. Are these teams suffering in the transfer market because they cannot get shot of the unwanted players at their club?
A perfect example of a team in this situation is at Tottenham whose only summer capture has been 40-year-old Brad Friedel on a free transfer from Aston Villa. They have numerous players who are unwanted by the club but they have had no success in trying to offload many of them with only one high paid payer Jonathan Woodgate being released in the summer.
They must trim the side in order to fit in with the Premier League’s 25-man squad limit and while Daniel Levy is commanding large transfer fees for these unwanted players it is easy to see why they have not been able to offload them. David Bentley has three years left on his contract at White Hart Lane and Levy is asking for a huge transfer fee or large loan fee for the unwanted winger.
Niko Kranjcar, Jermaine Jenas, Peter Crouch and Alan Hutton all seem to be unwanted by Redknapp for the new season but until Levy drops his asking price it is unlikely that the club will move these players on especially when large wages are involved. After they are excluded from the 25-man squad announced soon the players may realise their future lies away from White Hart Lane and then Spurs could get rid of them.
Redknapp is anxious before the end of the transfer window to secure a world-class centre-forward who would give him the option of playing either 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3. However Levy’s wage ceiling of £75,000-a-week is preventing such a transfer occurring as big name players can get more than double that at Manchester City and the like. This ceiling while financially viable is actually preventing Spurs from becoming a genuine top-four club as the quality they require will not arrive for these sort of wages. I think they got very lucky with the Van Der Vaart deal and unless Redknapp can pull a similar deal out it could be a hard battle to reach fourth place.
Redknapp knows he has to get rid of these players before he can bring fresh blood into the team but thus far he has not managed to get any of them off the wage bill, so he has not been able to strengthen his team. Without Levy reducing the asking price of these unwanted players it is unlikely that they create the space for new players who would represent value for the club.
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One option that Harry may look into is to include these players as part of a transfer to bring players into the club as this would kill two birds with one stone by getting them off the wage bill while also bringing in new talent to the club.
It looks today that Robbie Keane will be soon off the wages with striker set to join LA Galaxy but this is just one of the many players the club must clear out before they can strengthen.
Unless Redknapp can find a solution to this problem, it is doubtful whether or not he would be able to bring in the players he wants in this transfer window. Wouldn’t it be wise to sell players like Hutton and Jenas at a reduced price to remove their wage bull while generating transfer fees that could be used to sign new players? Until Levy sees this the club may be stuck with unwanted squad players and no new signings.
Let me know your thoughts, is Levy holding back the club or is it the right policy to under-take?
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According to the Mirror, Aston Villa have given Charles N’Zogbia a transfer ultimatum as the winger continues to stall over a move to Villa Park.
Villa boss Alex McLeish has made the Wigan Athletic winger his top transfer target after losing Stewart Downing to Liverpool.
The Scot met the £10 million asking price but the Frenchman continues to drag his feet over joining the Midlands outfit.
Villa are offering N’Zogbia £50,000 and McLeish is fears he may be getting messed around by the player for the second summer in a row.
McLeish wants to get the deal done and dusted before flying out to Hong Kong with the squad on Saturday, but both N’Zogbia and Wigan are seemingly holding out for more lucrative offers.
The events are unfolding in a similar fashion to last summer, when McLeish was Birmingham City boss, with the deal collapsing at the 11th hour Aston Villa have told the winger to make up his mind.
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The club have already started looking at alternatives should N’Zogbia decide a move to Villa Park isn’t for him.
If cab drivers, tabloid newspapers, radio phone ins and Carlsberg adverts have taught me anything, it’s that the one thing an England captain needs to be, is passionate. In fact, if any of those things have taught me anything at all, it’s that all an England captain need be is passionate. Actual footballing ability is an added but non essential luxury, somewhere down the pecking order below bravery and not being a total bastard. And so it was, to great fanfare, that Sky Captain Flight Leftenant Scottsforth “Scotty” M. Parker was tasked with the brow beating, chest thumping honour of leading out his country, almost 20 years since he earnestly tried to convince us that takeaway McDonalds was the surefire path to professional sports excellence. Rewarded no doubt for his commanding performance in the North London derby last week, Scotty was all blood and thunder kamikaze heroism and no nonsense football. Imagine Carlos Tevez but without most of the skill, none of the unbearable arsery and only some of the facial scarring. At one point he even tried to win back a ball he’d lost with his face! And in the end, isn’t that all we really want from an England captain? Well, no. But it’ll do for now.
Tomorrow’s Children – Staying true to his edict of showcasing things we wouldn’t normally see in an England team, Stuart “Psycho” Pearce manfully led from the front by showing us what he’d look like as a proper, grown up manager in a suit, complete with imitation Scott(y) Parker hair do. This had the unfortunate side affect of making him look ever so slightly like a right wing politician vying for mainstream credibility, though it did at least dampen his previous unfortunate resemblance to Bradley Walsh’s permanently kitted, over eager assistant from Mike Bassett England Manager. And the pervading notion that he was always secretly hoping to be brought on. On the field his mantra took shape in a number of ingenious ways, most notably playing Danny Welbeck as a lone target man, and then instructing everyone else to play as far away from him as possible. Daniel Sturridge’s introduction provided some needed impetus, though his slightly baffling man of the match performance mainly consisted of a nice wriggle and shot early in the second half, and a lovely cushioned pass back to Stekelenburg. Meanwhile the youthful defence were nothing short of admirable in their consistent ability to look more composed, assured and effective going forward than they ever did defending, which was thankfully aided (or perhaps encouraged) by the fact that Scott(y) Parker spent most of his time playing as a kamikaze sweeper.
Yesterday’s Men – Despite this brave new world approach in defence and attack, the ethos obviously failed to fully stretch to midfield where, for reasons that continue to escape my fragile mind, the mighty talents of Barry, Milner, Downing and Young were yet again given their bi-monthly chance to under whelm us all into tedium. To Ashley Young’s credit, he has at least conspired to gather a rather impressive goal tally, which – by the law of Crouch – entitles him to a prolonged presence. The others however continue to be considered as “still promising” or “settling in” despite for all intents and purposes being relative mainstays. Pearce qualified his exclusion of the good old boys (i.e. the mainstays we actually know are quite good, but getting on a bit) on the grounds that we all already know what they can do. Paradoxically, he continued to pick players who we’re all very well aware of what they can’t. This slightly schizophrenic approach was given an added dimension by the simultaneously indulgent and undermining inclusion of Steven Gerrard for 30 minutes. If giving new blood a chance was the aim, surely playing Welbeck and Sturridge together from the start would be more preferable than playing a knackered Gerrard for a token cap whilst very publicly giving the captaincy to someone else? Oh Psycho, to know your mind.
Mind the Gap – Despite what was actually, despite my nit picking, quite a spirited performance, the one stark contrast at play was just how large the gap was from Holland’s impressive front three to anyone in England’s roster. Arjen Robben in particular did his best to ram home just what the difference was between some decent well meaning try-hards and a genuine world-class player. This despite the fact his first goal was aided by some of the best English defensive retreating since the American Civil War and the fact he continues to run like a ballerina trying not to step on a hot floor.
You’re sh*rt, and you know you are – All in all though, it was an enjoyable game, and not an embarrassment of any kind for England for once. For one, we were playing a World Cup runner up of genuine class rather than a collection of semi professional firemen, and many in the side are young and learning enough to write off the defensive frailties as youthful exuberance. In fact the only truly offensive thing on display last night worthy of scorn and derision was the new and completely unneeded kit, and indeed, everything it stands for. For shame. If only we had some brave, passionate, no nonsense kit makers, everything would be alright.
You can follow Oscar on Twitter at Twitter/oscarpyejeary where he will gladly offer to dye the crest on your England top red for £50. Shipping not included.
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The spoils were shared at St James Park as Newcastle twice pegged Tottenham back to grab a late point.
Shola Ameobi was the hero with an excellent turn and shot that thwarted Tottenham’s hopes of taking the three points in a game that the visitors will feel slightly aggrieved they didn’t win.
Harry Redknapp’s men arrived on Tyneside in a rich vein of form and were determined to end Newcastle’s unbeaten record this season. Alan Pardew has turned the Magpies into a different proposition and on this form they will certainly be challenging for a top six finish come the end of season.
Alan Pardew will have been relieved that his Newcastle team came into the break with 11 men after Steven Taylor was fortunate to stay on the pitch after bringing Adebayor down in the penalty area when through on goal. Some referees would have shown a straight red but Lee Probert gave Taylor the benefit of the doubt, despite awarding the penalty. Rafael van der Vaart duly converted the penalty to give the visitors the half time lead.
Harry Redknapp would have drummed into his side to hold tight in the second half but the Magpies found themselves level in the opening minutes when Demba Ba struck his 5th goal in three games, following good work from Gutierrez.
The game ebbed and flowed, but then a fantastic strike from Jermain Defoe, who was unfortunate to have been left out of the starting line-up, put the visitors back ahead in the game. It was a gentle reminder to Fabio Capello as to his striking ability having been crazily overlooked in the past two squads.
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It seemed like that was going to be the end of the scoring until Shola Ameobi pulled out a fantastic strike of his own that gave Brad Friedel absolutely no chance and maintain Newcastle’s impressive start to the season. The Magpies huffed and puffed to try and force a winner late on but Tottenham were able to hold on.
Both managers would have taken a point before the game and both seemed delighted and relieved at the final whistle.
The laughing stock of the Premier League over the past year or so has undoubtedly been the inept forward play of big money signings Fernando Torres and Andy Carroll. The strikers moved for a combine fee in excess of £85million last January and have equally been in dreadful form since the high pressure, hefty transfer fee move.
There is no way that you can hide from the form of the pair, but with a slight improvement in recent weeks with Didier Drogba and Luis Suarez absent, despite not hitting the net, I feel the pressure on the strikers may be easing and performances rising. But until the goals begin to flow, Torres and Carroll will not be let off the hook and time will tell whether they will ever turn into good signings for the amount of money that was spent.
But this season I feel we have seen another calamitous big money transfer that has made absolutely no impact at all on his club since arriving in the summer. Samir Nasri disgraced Arsenal fans by demanding that he moved to the interested Manchester City; who love taking a player from North London; in the summer and unfortunately for Arsene Wenger and the club, there was nothing they could do.
The Frenchmen had his best ever goalscoring season last time out at the Emirates with 15 goals in all competitions from midfield and was one of the Gunners best players in a side that is entering a stage on transition once again under Wenger. The 24-year-old wide man joined City for just over £25million late in August last year but has failed to impress at the Etihad stadium so far since the transfer and is certainly not first choice in his position under Roberto Mancini.
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Only eleven league appearances this season for Nasri has confirmed that the likes of James Milner, David Silva, Gareth Barry and Yaya Toure are most definitely ahead of the former Marseille youngster in the pecking order and in my opinion deserves a similar amount of criticism as Torres and Carroll for greed and performances.
One goal from open play this season; in a team that has scored 57 in the league already and we are only in January; is not a great return for more than £25m, even if it seems City can afford to lose that amount of money. The fact that when Nasri does get in the City team he is playing with the likes of Silva and Sergio Aguero has allowed him to go unnoticed for the majority of games so far and while Manchester City keep winning, that will stay the same. Torres and Carroll will play up front on their own when selected in their respective teams and so will have plenty of attention on them throughout the game, with their clubs depending on them to score goals at crucial times. Nasri, like in last night’s 1-0 win away at Wigan, can play for an hour and lose the ball regularly, create nothing for his side and still not one mention of his poor performance and big money transfer was highlighted in this morning’s press.
Nasri’s decision to join City, in my opinion, was made for all the wrong reasons and the fact that he is happy to sit on the bench each week in order to win trophies is something that Torres and Carroll certainly can’t be accused of. He was one of the best players in an improving Arsenal side that gave him big opportunities in the past. Yes, a player can’t be blamed for the ridiculous transfer fee, but his performances have been nowhere near good enough so far in this campaign and it is about time that was noticed.
Is Nasri still a good piece of business for City? Let me know on Twitter: @Brad_Pinard
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Serie A giants Juventus are looking to spend big this summer and are weighing up a couple of options in the Premier League, according to TalkSport.
The President of the Italian giants, Andrea Agnelli, has spoken of his desire to buy big in the summer, so to restore the Old Lady to its former glories. One of his known targets is believed to be Arsenal’s top goal scorer Robin Van Persie who is still reluctant to sign a new contract with his club and is set to assess his options in the summer.
The Serie A giants are also said to be interested in Liverpool striker Luis Suarez, who has experienced quite a mixed season on Merseyside and who maybe open to move to get away after growing frustrated with the media attention he has recieved in light of the Patrice Evra affair.
Juventus have been undergoing somewhat of a resurgence in Serie A this season and currently sit in second place, four points shy of leaders AC Milan and its clear they see strengthening their strikeforce will go some way towards cementing their place back among Serie A’s elite in the seasons to come.
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