Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is set to start his first competitive match for England at Wembley on Tuesday having being warned by manager Roy Hodgson not to let his performance levels slip, reports The Guardian.
Hodgson is planning to hold talks with the Arsenal attacker in an attempt to find out why he allowed an impressive 45 minute display against Moldova to fade in the second half.
The 19-year-old had been one of England’s stand out performer’s during the first half, causing havoc on the left hand side of midfield. However Hodgson was disappointed with the manner in which his performance fizzled out in the opening 15 minutes of the second half.
“I thought he’d been very good through that first half,” Hodgson said. “He’d done what we wanted him to do, and what I’d selected him to do, extremely well. But we’d made it clear to him we intended to take him off after 60 minutes, so I think he forgot to play in those first 15 minutes of the second half. That will be an interesting lesson for him as well. Especially when I tell him.”
Oxlade-Chamberlain had admitted in the build up to the game he still has plenty to learn, having only started playing regular first team football with Arsenal at the start of the year. He also revealed he was the first player to receive a telling off from the England boss, for showboating in a training session during Euro 2012.
“I’m the least experienced player here, so just watching everyone in training is an education,” he said. “This is only the start of my career and I can only watch and learn, and keep working hard.
“I’ve always been a relaxed person, but when I get on the pitch I rely on my ability and trust in myself. I can just listen to everyone and any advice or constructive criticism they have I can just take it into account and try to make my game better. It’s nice Roy has put such faith in me so far, but I don’t consider myself an automatic regular starter yet.”
Whilst Chamberlain is set to start, one player who looks set to miss the visit of Ukraine is Chelsea defender John Terry, who picked up an ankle injury during Friday’s 5-0 victory in Moldova. Gary Cahill looks set to partner Joleon Lescott at centre back, whilst Leighton Baines is set to retain his place at left back after the FA confirmed Ashley Cole will not be rejoining the squad having failed to recover from an ankle injury.
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Sir Alex Ferguson has cooled Manchester United’s interest in want-away Inter Milan playmaker Wesley Sneijder, giving bitter rivals Manchester City the initiative to sign him.
The 28-year-old Dutch international has been unable to resolve a dispute over wages with the Italian club and both parties look to have reached a stage where the only option may be to part ways.
“There is little reason for me to sign (a revised deal).” The Daily Star quoted Sneijder.
This has alerted Europe’s leading clubs of his availability and it was believed that the two Manchester giants were set to battle it out for the Dutchman’s signature.
However United chief Ferguson has played down the rumours after a previous failed attempt to sign the World Cup finalist in the summer of 2011, when he was put off by Inters valuation of the player and his wage demands.
This has seemingly paved the way for Mancini, a public admirer of Sneijder to bring him to the Etihad.
The City boss is keen to add quality to his squad after summer arrivals Jack Rodwell, Javi Garcia, and Scott Sinclair have failed to shine since signing.
Inter president Massimo Moratti however still believes he could have a future with the Italians saying:
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“A lot of this has come from the media. We’re trying to agree on certain things, otherwise he’ll stay at the club.”
Sneijder has not played for Inter since September because of the dispute and through injury and it’s looking increasingly likely that we will see him in England sooner rather than later.
Chelsea need to pick up three points in Saturday’s lunch-time kick-off against West Ham to keep in touch with the league’s pacesetters.
Rafa Benitez’s side travel to Upton Park on the back of two consecutive draws and now find themselves seven points behind league leaders Manchester United and six behind second-placed Manchester City.
Chelsea’s poor form of late – they haven’t won in the league since beating Tottenham 4 – 2 on October 20 – has coincided with a distinct lack of goals, with the Blues firing blanks in their two most recent fixtures against Manchester City and Fulham. It is somewhat disturbing that Fernando Torres remains Chelsea’s joint top-scorer in the league this season, given it seems the Spaniard has been lacking touch in front of goal ever since his arrival at Stamford Bridge in January 2011.
Benitez’s return to the Premier League as a manager was seen as a ploy to reinvigorate Torres, but we are yet to see any of the flair that made him such an explosive player under his current boss at Liverpool. Torres’ last league goal came way back on October 6 at home against Norwich, but don’t expect the underrated West Ham defence to hand the 28-year-old any gifts in this fierce London derby.
West Ham have been one of the surprise packets this season and enter this clash in 10th place on the table with five victories – Chelsea have only two more – and a total of 19 points. The Hammers went down 1-0 to Manchester United during the week, but can take some confidence from that effort on the road. Robin van Persie gave United the lead after just 33 seconds and West Ham were more than just resilient for the remainder of the encounter and could have easily come away with a point.
Only four teams – Chelsea being one of them – have conceded less goals than West Ham in the league this season, but scoring them has also been a problem for Sam Allardyce’s side. West Ham have found the back of the net just 16 times this campaign, with five of those coming from the evergreen Kevin Nolan and Mark Noble the next best with two.
While all the stats point to a tight and low-scoring encounter, it is worth noting Chelsea’s recent good record at the ground. Chelsea were 3-1 winners in their most recent visit to Upton Park in September 2011, while West Ham can’t boast a home league victory over their London rivals since the 2002-2003 season.
West Ham’s form under Allardyce has seen them lose just once at home this season and that was way back on October 6 when they were beaten 3-1 by Arsenal.
Chelsea will be determined to put in a good performance in East London, but a draw seems the most likely result.
Prediction: West Ham 1 – 1 Chelsea
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Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic has refused to suggest the race for the Premier League title is over, despite his side extending their gap over Manchester City to 15 points.
The Red Devils took full advantage of City’s 2-0 loss at Everton by claiming a 1-0 victory at home to old Trafford on Saturday.
With only nine games remaining apiece, many have predicted that United have all but secured English football’s top prize.
But, Vidic is adamant that the battle for the league title is far from finished, citing last season’s late drop in form, where they surrendered an eight point lead, as an example of what can happen:
“It is a big gap and we shouldn’t let that change. We have the title in our hands,” he told Sky Sports.
“What happened last season is the reason why sometimes you can feel the fans get nervous.
“But I don’t think we should allow that to happen again. We can’t allow that to happen again.
“But we still have some tough away games at places that are traditionally hard for us so nothing is finished yet.”
City won the league title with the final kick of the campaign last time out, as Sergio Aguero netted an all-important winning goal against QPR.
Chris Smalling echoed Vidic’s thoughts, stating that nothing can be taken for granted:
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“Last season is a massive incentive to make sure we hold on to this lead.
“We can’t rest on our laurels. We have to make sure we finish it well before the season is over.”
Manchester United are close to finally offloading Dimitar Berbatov, after Fiorentina made a bid for the striker’s services, according to Mirror Football.
The Bulgarian forward has found opportunities at Old Trafford limited due to the attacking talent at Sir Alex Ferguson’s disposal and the summer signing of Robin van Persie has put a nail in Berbatov’s chances with the Red Devils.
A number of European clubs have made enquiries over the eastern European striker, with Fiorentina the latest to show interest.
The Viola have had a busy summer in the transfer market, but are fearful that they may lose skilful attacker Stevan Jovetic before the end of August.
As such Berbatov is on the verge of signing a two-year contract at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, after asking Sir Alex Ferguson personally to lower the club’s asking price for him.
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The news last week that Newcastle manager Alan Pardew had been awarded a whopping new eight-year deal caused ripples around the Premier League. It was quite simply staggering display of faith in the 51-year-old on owner Mike Ashley’s part, but what has prompted them to tie him and his coaching staff down to such long-term deals? More importantly, is it even in the best interests of the club?
Since taking over the club in 2010 from Chris Hughton, it appeared to all that Ashley was once again meddling beyond his knowledge in what on the face of things appeared to be a finely run set-up under a thoroughly likeable manager. However, fast forward two years on and while we may still be able to agree that Hughton was harshly treated by the club hierarchy for perceiveably being too close to the senior players, Pardew’s tenure has been a resounding success and he’s certainly made the most of his resources going on to finish a magnificent fifth in the league last term, ahead of Liverpool, a team which had spent over £50m in the summer and Chelsea, the side that would go on to become the champions of Europe.
The club’s chief executive, the much-maligned Derek Lambias attempted to explain the length of Pardew’s deal by stating: “There is no coincidence that Manchester United with Sir Alex has been there over 25 years and has created stability and with that has come success, and along with Arsene Wenger stability has come success. What we have achieved over the last five years has been tremendous, we have put a lot into the model, financially we are stable and that will continue and now it’s all about stability on the pitch, and having the right managing and coaching staff and chief scout. It is a fantastic move for us and those individuals. You can’t keep changing your manager because you have a bad a run,” he said. “David Moyes for instance has done a fantastic job at Everton – they are going to be right up there, so we are looking for that sort of stability and so to give Alan the eight years is the right thing to do.
“Our model is not rocket science; other Premier League clubs do the same but over a four-year period we have taken them from a very bad financial position to a very good position which will only get better, and we will continue to strive to make football affordable for our fans and to fill that stadium and by having entertaining football is the way of doing it. I would like us to challenge for Europe year on year, and win a trophy. Last year we had a tremendous season – our goal this season is eighth and above but Alan wants to do better than fifth and our players want to do better than fifth.”
This is all very well and good but it still doesn’t quite explain the sheer length of his new contract and judging by Pardew’s reaction in the press the past few days, the issue was hardly pressed hard from his side. No, this has come from the club and Mike Ashley, but it’s still deeply puzzling. In the six-and-a-half years prior to Pardew’s appointment, Newcastle have gone through eight different managers in Sir Bobby Robson, Graeme Souness, Glenn Roeder, Sam Allardyce, Kevin Keegan, Joe Kinnear, Alan Shearer and Chris Hughton.
Along with Pardew, his backroom staff of assistant John Carver, goalkeeping coach Andy Woodman and first-team coach Steve Stone have also all been awarded eight-year deals similar to the one that chief scout Graham Carr received last year for ‘unearthing’ the likes of Tiote, Cabaye and Cisse.
It seems even when the club are trying to be sensible and plan for the future, they leaves themselves open to mockery. Words like ‘stability’ and ‘continuity’ are great to hear from both the fans and managers perspective, but it still doesn’t exactly get to the root of why he was offered a new eight-year deal than say rather a new five-year one which he got when he first took over the club. It’s truly puzzling.
From an outside perspective, while Ashley may have fallen back in love with the club and be in it for the long haul once more, you suspect that if he received a good deal from a billionaire in Asia or the Middle East over the course of the next few years that he’d still likely sell up, thus saddling the new ownership with a management structure on huge long-term contracts – the compensation packages alone would be mind-boggling.
The main reason that has been floated about is that it offers both parties in this deal a degree of protection. Pardew has spoken of his disappointment at not being able to clinch several signings this summer such as Andy Carroll, Luuk De Jong and Mattieu Debuchy which would really have improved his side which still lacks the necessary strength in depth to challenge consistently for the top four. This show of faith brings with it a degree of loyalty from a manager who has greatly impressed on Tyneside so far and has stated that he is eying the England job when this deal ends.
From Ashley’s perspective, he has finally found a manager willing to work within the financial parameters that he’s set out, while continuously backing the club’s transfer policy to the press. Should Pardew be tempted away be a bigger job, the longer nature of the deal guarantees a larger pay-out in terms of compensation for the club.
As good as Pardew is, though, there is surely a glass ceiling in terms of where he can realistically go from here; Newcastle will likely be the biggest club job he will ever have. I can’t particularly see him going abroad like Steve McClaren and Roy Hodgson have done in the past, nor can I see any of the other clubs above him fancying him further down the line, so it must solely be the lure of the England job that has prompted this deal. Hodgson will be 69 by the time his four-year deal with the FA runs out, so an extension is unlikely.
The biggest problem, though, is if Pardew fails to meet the criteria set out by Lambias of challenging at the top end of the league every year while seeking to end their trophy-drought, which currently stands at 43 years having last won the 1969 Fairs Cup, what will the club do?
Both Kevin Keegan and Sam Allardyce were awarded 10-year contracts at Newcastle and Bolton respectively in the past and both failed to see them through. History is not on Pardew’s side here; football isn’t a long-term game these days and the fact that only Arsene Wenger, Sir Alex Ferguson and David Moyes have managed at their current clubs for a period of eight years or longer is well worth considering. They were appointed at a time when clubs gave managers longer to shape the team in their own image, but to pretend the game is like that still seems foolish even if it’s good-intentioned.
What happens if in three years time Pardew finishes 12th, adrift of the European spots and with the side in a downwards spiral? While it’s likely that Ashley has inserted all sorts of exclusion clauses in terms of performance into the contract, they’re still saddled with a manager not doing as while as they would like, but they’re financially bound to him due to the needless risk that the length of this contract comes with. Who is to say that if a bigger club came calling for Pardew, that he wouldn’t just resign, therefore forgoing any entitlement that the club might have to financial remuneration in the process – they’re protected to a degree, but not to the extent that an eight-year deal makes sense.
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We’ve already seen this summer that Newcastle’s transfer policy of scouring Europe for the best and most importantly, cheapest talent that their money can buy is not the most sustainable of policies. The selling clubs now have more of a grasp of what Newcastle are doing and the moment that they sell a Cabaye, Tiote or Ben Arfa for a fee past the £20m mark, their bargaining position becomes weakened because clubs know they’ve got the cash to spend, thus driving any future purchases up in price. This isn’t to mention that it’s going to prove extremely difficult to keep replacing players of the quality of Cisse, Coloccini etc with cheaper alternatives of equal quality.
The club haggled themselves into a standstill this summer on the Debuchy and Douglas deals and while this may be why the club are on such a sound financial footing at the moment, there’s no doubting that they could have done with a few extra bodies this term given that they now have a European campaign to contend with on top of their domestic commitments.
Pardew has done an excellent job so far at Newcastle and he’s proven himself to be a shrewd operator both on and off the pitch, capable of working within the strict budget constraints that Ashley requires above all else. There’s no doubting that he deserves a new deal for his efforts to date, but I’ve yet to hear a convincing explanation about the length of the deal, which seems to needlessly tie them both together in a game where a revolving door policy isn’t only the norm but is inevitable.
Arsenal forward Gervinho is “totally convinced” new signing Oliver Giroud will score enough goals to make Arsenal fans forget about Robin Van Persie, according to the Mirror.
Arsenal are yet to score a goal or record a victory this season, having being held to goalless draws by both Sunderland and Stoke since the sale of their captain to Manchester United.
It is clear Giroud – a £10 million signing from Montpellier – along with fellow new boy Lukas Podolski, have a massive task on their hands replacing the former Arsenal talisman. However, Gervinho is certain that with a little patience the goals will come.
The Ivory Coast international explained: “I hope the fans show patience towards Giroud and also look at his overall contribution to the team.
“We must all support him, because there’s big pressure.
“But there’s no doubt in my mind that the goals will come. I am totally convinced.
“To substitute a player like van Persie who scored nearly 40 goals in a season is not easy.
“Giroud couldn’t score goals in the opening games but that’s to be expected because it will take him time to adapt in the system and style.”
Gervinho is speaking through experience, having taken a while to settle into English football since his move from Lille last summer. He continued:
“It took me a long time to adjust so I know what it is like.
“But Wenger will give Giroud confidence because he believes in his ability and quality.
“A squad like Arsenal’s needs quality players at this level and they must be allowed to succeed without pressure.
“I talk every day with Olivier and he’s not been worried by the absence of goals in his first matches. It’s just a matter of time.”
Arsenal’s quest for a first goal of the season does not get much easier, as they travel to Anfield on Sunday. Last season’s fixture saw the Gunners come away with a 2-1 win courtesy of two strikes from Robin Van Persie. Gervinho admits he wishes the Dutchman had not left the Emirates, but insists Arsenal are capable of moving on without him.
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He told French radio station RMC Sports:
“Personally, I wouldn’t have wanted for him to leave for Manchester United. But our world doesn’t end with Robin.
“We are players with a lot to develop and we can have a good season by which time van Persie will be forgotten. That is the truth.”
Reading boss Nigel Adkins believes the Royals must beat his former club Southampton to keep alive their hopes of staying up.
The Royals slipped to the bottom of the league on goal difference last weekend after Adkins’ first game in charge following the 4-1 defeat to Arsenal, a result which leaves the Berkshire club seven points from safety.
The former Scunthorpe boss admitted it would always be a big ask to get something at the Emirates Stadium and felt Reading’s fight against the drop realistically didn’t start until this weekend’s match with the Saints.
Adkins is set to put aside personal feelings for the clash with his old club in order to make sure Reading get the three points they need to keep their hopes of survival alive.
“We talk about the long term situation that we’ve got, the way I want to go and play, but first and foremost, the here and now – we’ve got to go and win the game on Saturday,” Adkins told Reading’s website.
“We are where we are at this moment in time in the Barclays Premier League and we need to win. The next game is always the most important one, it’s the first home game for myself and Andy Crosby, and we’re really looking forward to the game.”
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Not only did Saturday’s game with Leeds end unfortunately in defeat, it also had a massive shock to some.
It has finally happened, the prodigal son Liam Trotter has not only been dropped from the starting XI, but the entire match day squad.
To non-Millwall fans this will be a surprise, other teams fans would highlight him as one of our, if not our best player. But they don’t know the truth. Yes, Trotts started the season well, putting in great performances consistently, but this seems a long time ago.
Come to this point and Trotter is nowhere near his earlier form. He is known as an attacking midfielder, but now he doesn’t seem to get forward enough, and he cant defend well either. So he’s an a attacking midfielder who isn’t scoring and can defend, a “nothing” player, let’s just say I’ve washed a few quid on Trotter FGS in games…
Some people describe Trotter as a “luxury player” but there is not much luxurious quality about him at the moment.
We all know he has the potential to “change a game”. Yes he does, but one game in six doesn’t cut it, KJ has been quoted in the past in saying he has “Premier League quality” well he needs to hit consistency in the Championship before even thinking of the Premier League.
I still believe he is a very good player; he just needs to find more consistency in the way he plays. Lets be honest, he is our best centre midfielder by far on his day.
Josh Wright, not exactly an attacking midfielder, but not defending either, has a great pass though.
Jimmy Abdou, the best defensive midfielder we have, but can’t go forward for love nor money.
And that’s basically it, I never thought Trotter would be dropped, he’s our best attacking midfielder. But we only have three out and out centre midfielders so what can we do?
Let’s just hope this wake-up call has the desired effect on Trotter, maybe he needs to look at James Henry as a prime example.
Last season Henry was being kept out the team by Liam Feeney, that’s how bad it got.
But he worked hard to regain his place, and he did. Before he was lazy and uninterested. He then became a driving force in the Lions hunt for survival, plus he added a new factor to his game, tracking back helping the defense.
I like Trotter and still think he has the potential to be a Premier League footballer, but he needs to buck up his ideas and fast.
Also, a quick side note to the 160 ‘Wall fans who made the trip to Leeds. We’ve had enough of being treated like dirt due to past reputations. An early kick off, massive prices and having to stop on the motorway services to collect your ticket, how many other clubs suffer this?
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No wonder this was considered a boycott…
Leeds have dealt easily enough this season with a few thousand Everton, Chelsea and Spurs fans, but can’t handle which would be 1,000 ‘Wall if it wasn’t for restrictions?
Motorway services are for petrol, not football tickets…
The best way to describe Arsenal’s last two performances is that they simply turned up, although that’s definitely up for debate. There was nothing of a side who are capable of tearing through a defence and looking well inside that circle of teams who play good football. It was typically un-Arsenal, yet it was something supporters have become more and more used to over the past six years.
A number of people, including me, talked up the decision to move Gervinho into the central role and offer the team a different option going into games. Arsenal’s problem was that they were too predictable, too easy to defend against and had little imagination when nothing seemed to be coming off. Why then wouldn’t the manager opt for something a little different to act as alternative to Olivier Giroud?
The problem is, the game against Southampton, where Gervinho scored two and looked to be moving forward, was a one off, a fluke, a mask for what he really is. The player is not suited to leading the line for a team like Arsenal, nor is he good enough to play in the starting XI each week. But it’s not something that really falls in line with Arsene Wenger failing to land on his ideal XI. With Arsenal, you can never bank on a set of players becoming regulars over the course of the season; the probability for injury is simply too high.
Jack Wilshere, Lukas Podolski, Bacary Sagna and Mikel Arteta are among those who should be in the XI when all available. Abou Diaby might be an option too, and Kieran Gibbs is certainly the better choice over Andre Santos. But Wenger has become so over reliant on players with terrible injury records that it’s impossible to compliment Podolski or Santi Cazorla with quality each week.
When there is one weak link in the side, even while the surrounding players are capable of producing good performances, that one player comes to the fore and it’s obvious to see that they are bringing the rest of the side down. It was an issue when Wenger had Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie in his side and his decision not to supplement their qualities with players who matched up to what they were capable of. Instead, the manager persisted and continues to persist with those who are not up to the task. Instead of players like Santos or Gervinho—and there are a number of others to add to the list—becoming passengers, they act as an anchor which weighs down and slows the rest of the team.
It’s a combination of factors which sees Wenger stand in an unwavering position of confidence towards certain individuals and also not having his best options available. I’m sure the manager is aware that he can’t bank on his best players to stay fit all season, but he doesn’t want to move on those who have clearly not impressed. There are opportunities to strengthen and create a stronger team, but his best XI is a high concentration of good players with hints of those who contribute very little. It’s the classic “I don’t want to kill Denilson by buying a player who is better.”
It’s also worth pointing to the manager’s lack of desire to make the best of the players he does have available. As mentioned, it’s always good to have different options when facing different styles of opposition, and plenty of Arsenal fans have bemoaned the lack of a plan B. But are all these players suited to the current formation the manager wants to play?
Yes, there are a good number of players in the squad who work best to a 4-3-3 formation or some variation of it. However, as mentioned, there is always likely to be one or two who weigh the whole team down by not really fitting into the system. Sometimes you’ve got to wonder if Wenger buys his players with his desired tactics in mind or if it’s just a case of “he’ll do because the price is right.”
There’s no doubt that Arsenal should see an increase in fortunes on the pitch when Jack Wilshere returns and is able to partner Arteta and Cazorla. There’s purpose with those three in the middle; they all know what their roles are, and are all undoubtedly players of excellent quality. But when one drops out, the midfield becomes incredibly weak and lacking in direction. Although, Diaby can be a very good option when available—which is rarely.
Many are still firmly on side with Aaron Ramsey, and the majority are still incredibly sympathetic following his injury at Stoke. But he’s yet to totally convince when playing in the centre in a midfield three. He has plenty of work rate and has a lot of fight about him. But the question should be whether he compliments the other attackers well enough?
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Gervinho, for example, is one of the prime reasons for Arsenal’s slow and sluggish attack. When Arsenal advocate this particular style of play, they need to use a quick and decisive attack to make it effective. But Gervinho doesn’t seem to know what to do at the best of times. He lacks vision to play in others, has awful ball control and doesn’t have any faith in his own ability to shoot. It’s still a shock that he’s currently the team’s top scorer.
Arsene Wenger does know his best XI, of that I’m very much convinced. The problem is his desire to mix quality with not very good. The injuries will always play a part, but he shows far too much faith in players who do little other than drag the rest of the team down. It shouldn’t be a great secret that once you dig past the good players in Arsenal’s best starting XI—Podolski, Arteta, Cazorla, Sagna, Szczesny etc—the rest of the squad doesn’t really raise much confidence.