Controversial midfielder Joey Barton has revealed that he spoke with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger over a possible transfer to North London before joining QPR in the transfer window.
Prior to moving to Loftus Road, Barton faced Arsenal on the opening day of the season for old employers Newcastle, and clashed with Gunners forward Gervinho, resulting in the Ivorian forward being sent off.
This altercation left a sour taste with the Emirates club, and may have cost the combative midfielder a move to Wenger’s men.
“If I hadn’t played against Arsenal on the first day, I may have signed for them. There were a couple of conversations (with Wenger) but that’s different to actually signing,” he told Sky Sports.
“The Gervinho incident happened and there’s nothing I can do about it now. If it happened again, I’d like to think I’d deal with it differently.
“Things happen for a reason and there’s a lesson to be learned from it. Right now, we sit above Arsenal in the table – hopefully that’s the case in May,” he stated.
Instead of joining The Gunners Barton moved to an ambitious QPR side, and has claimed he is happy to be playing with his new team.
“There were a couple of offers on the table but now I’m really happy to be at QPR and in London. We play an expansive and exciting brand of football and can hopefully surprise a few people this season,” he concluded.
QPR have been competitive so far this campaign since their promotion, and take on Aston Villa on Sunday.
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Kenny Dalglish looks set to reignite his interest in Adam Johnson in January with the hope of sparking some creativity into Liverpool’s midfield.
The Anfield club’s start to the season has been fairly inconstant and Dalglish would see Johnson as an exciting addition, bringing an extra dimension to their wide play.
Liverpool were heavily linked with former Middlesbrough player during the summer and it has been rumoured on footybunker.com that the deal could finally be pushed through in January.
Roberto Mancini has always expressed enthusiasm for Johnson and has said he wants to keep him at the club.
But being on the fringes of the team and only making fleeting substitute appearances has done nothing for the promising wingers career, especially his international hopes with the European Championships in Ukraine and Poland next summer.
When he has played for City he’s been impressive and it seems a waste for such a talented player to not be on the pitch as regularly as possible.
Since taking over at Anfield, Dalglish has actively sought young British players, including Jordon Henderson, Charlie Adam, Andy Carroll and Stuart Downing, therefore Johnson would fit this ethos perfectly.
The asking price is rumoured to be around the £10-15m mark, well worth it for an England international and such a signing would undoubtedly prove popular with the Anfield faithful.
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Read more of Christopher Dyer’s articles at the excellent Transfer Tavern
Manchester City first team coach Fausto Salsano has admitted that the club are keen to sign Marek Hamsik and Ezequiel Lavezzi from Serie A side Napoli the Mirror reports.
Salsano revealed that the pair are top of manager Roberto Mancini transfer hit list with the Italian still desperate to strengthen a squad still fighting for trophies on four fronts.
During their time at the Stadio San Paolo Slovakian playmaker Hamsik and Argentine striker Lavezzi have become regarded as two of the brightest stars in European football and Salsano has admitted City are monitoring their progress carefully.
He said: “Manchester City are watching Napoli very carefully. I can confirm Mancini’s interest in Hamsik because I have been to watch the Slovak.
“Marek has become a very important player with the right experience. Lavezzi, on the other hand, is a devastating player who can hurt you one-on-one. Hamsik and Lavezzi are players we like because our aim is to do great things.”
The coaches comments are likely to infuriate Azurri boss Walter Mazzarri with the Naples club in the same Champions League group as City and news of their interest could potentially unnerve the duo with bid from the Etihad Stadium is expected in January.
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Sir Alex Ferguson will celebrate 25 years in the Manchester United hotseat on Sunday, and has stated that his time at Old Trafford has been a fairytale.
The Scottish coach has had unchartered success with the current Premier League champions since moving from Aberdeen in November 1986, and has applauded the players that he has had at his disposal over the last quarter century.
“It is a bit of a fairytale to last so long,” he stated in a press conference.
“It has been a fantastic spell for me. It is something you don’t think is going to happen and I appreciate that. When I look back I say to myself how fortunate I am to have had these players.
“The list is incredible, going back to the very start with Bryan Robson, Norman Whiteside, Brian McClair, (Mark) Hughes, (Paul) Ince, (Roy) Keane, (Eric) Cantona. What a collection of players. They were fantastic players.
“It is hard to think I controlled all these players for so long.
“Now to the present era of players we see today, different personalities and different cultures.
“It is difficult to put everything in a box. I don’t think you can do that. It is such a varied time in management. Things change as the years go on. There is a different way of managing today than there was even seven or eight years ago,” he stated.
Ferguson had previously intended to step down back in 2002, but changed his mind to continue at the club until the current day; he still has no plans to retire from management.
“I will continue as long as I feel healthy enough to do it,” the 69-year-old concluded.
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The Red Devils take on Sunderland on Saturday, and the players will be keen to record a victory to celebrate Ferguson’s momentous milestone.
The groans could probably be heard two hundred miles away, in the studio where the two balls had just been plucked out of the proverbial hat. In the third round of the FA Cup, both Manchester teams had not been afforded a nice easy introduction to the season’s competition. No, the Cup holders would be playing the League Champions. Again.
I’ve no doubt plenty of fans would have been overjoyed at the news, or at least bullish, defiant, confident even. Bravado was much in evidence on the social media and message board streams. Bring it on, and all that. For United, a chance for revenge, the 6-1 home league humiliation and cup defeat of last season still fresh in the mind. For City, a chance to turn the screw further, to make up more ground after decades of lagging behind with a cigarette in hand, out of breath, the kid at the back of the cross-country run.
Or as Franny Lee rather optimistcally tweeted, a chance to end United’s season in early January.
Plenty like me however, are anything but overjoyed. Many United fans would like nothing more than to avoid a meeting with City right now, for obvious reasons. But on the other hand, City will still have plenty to fear too. This will hardly be another walk in the park for City, it will almost certainly be close, where any team could win. And as I have commented before, I hate derby days with a passion. I would be perfectly happy to never play United more than twice a season, even if in some hypothetical world they became utter dross whilst City ruled the world. I’d still hate it. Football is supposed to be about days like these, the nerves, the tension, the passion, and the upside of victory is greater than against any other side. But to be honest, it just makes me ill and ruins my appetite.
But that’s not the main reason – it’s not about me and my delicate stomach. There is of course the possibility that the tie could go to a replay. And the last thing City needed was having to put out their strongest team for the third round of the FA Cup once, never mind twice. In the period around the match, City must play Liverpool three times. This is coming just after the ever-busy Christmas programme. Then there’s the small matter of a game against Spurs, and the inconvenience of the Toure brothers jetting off to the African Cup of Nations for up to two months (ok, the inconvenience of Yaya Toure jetting off to the African Cup of Nations). City might have strength in depth, but their squad is the same size as everyone else’s and they are only a couple of injuries away from having plenty of problems.
This is not to moan at the fixture congestion of course, it is the price of success, merely to point out that a home tie with a League Two side would have been a lot easier for City to cope with. After all, Liverpool have a straightforward home cup tie to deal with, so will have the opportunity to rest players for their semi-final dates with City. Still, having to play two games in three days didn’t seem to do Liverpool or City much harm the other week.
And United could do without it too. Yes, they managed to skilfully avoid the inconvenience of two January Carling Cup ties, but have just lost Hernandez through injury, whilst the likes of Owen and Berbatov already seek treatment. A home tie to Macclesfield (or Chelmsford) would have suited them just as much. The cup defeat to Crystal Palace perhaps suggested that Ferguson doesn’t have the strength of depth that he had hoped. The new-wave of youth products set to break through to the first team don’t appear to be the real deal just yet. As Ferdinand succumbs to the ravages of time, Evra continues through a run of poor form, the Da Silva brothers appear to be made of balsa wood and an extra Manchester derby is probably not what the doctor ordered. At least United won’t lose anyone important for duties in Africa.
The problem is that neither manager can afford to play a weakened side – they could get away with a few changes and everything would be rosy, but get it wrong and the results would be disastrous and the fans not happy. It will be a difficult balancing act for Mancini and Ferguson to decide what players to pick.
It’s a bit harsh perhaps to view such a big tie in such a cynical and unromantic light. A tie that raises the eyebrows of all viewers when the teams are drawn – the sort of tie that makes a cup draw such a thrilling event, that makes the third round FA Cup draw one of the highlights of the season. It’s the magic of the cup and all that. And the losers can concentrate on the league. But in the cold light of day, it’s a distraction during the busiest time of the season that both teams could probably do without.
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One of the key ingredients for a solid defensive record is consistency. The players and the goalkeeper need to know and understand each other in order to perform effectively, they need to communicate, know what each other will be doing at any individual moment and where their strengths and weaknesses lie. With that in mind you wouldn’t be surprised to read that Arsenal have turned out a total of twenty different back fours this season, some of whom don’t even play for the club any more. However, despite what many people think, Arsenal’s defensive record has been improving dramatically since the beginning of the season. The number of goals they have conceded on the road has been poor but you have to remember that most of those goals came in three games where they conceded a combined total of fifteen goals away at Chelsea, Man Utd and Blackburn. Apart from that Arsenal have only conceded nine goals all season and have conceded the third least number of goals at home.
You could put this down to a number of different things. Thomas Vermaelen being back is a massive boost, every game he seems to play better and better, but he has not played the whole season. Laurent Koscielny is twice the player he was last season; also Per Mertesacker seems to be adapting quickly to life in the Premier League. However the largest contributing factor has to be the rise and rise of Wojicech Szczesny. His performances are not necessarily a surprise to many Arsenal fans who, on his performances last year, always knew that he was going to be good. However the performances of Fabianski and Mannone in the Champions League game against Olympiakos were a stark reminder of just how far Arsenal has come from the brief period last year when Szczesny was yet to break in to the first team. The young Pole’s rise has been nothing short of meteoric and the confidence the defence have in him as well as his own self-belief underpins the defensive performances of Arsenal at the moment. People might say that Vermaelen is the key but, as brilliant as the Belgian is, that night at Olympiakos proved just how vital Szczesny is for the Gunners.
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He is far from the finished article, and he definitely has a touch of the Jens Lehmann about him. By that I mean his eccentricities will get him in to trouble at some point. His penchant for dummying onrushing strikers when he has the ball instead of just clearing, whilst impressive, will surely end in disaster at some point. Just as it did for Lehmann against Mark Viduka in 2004 when Jens was caught just the wrong side of being calm against a striker with good reactions. However these are minor issues that he can iron out of his game and, for Arsenal fans, it must be nice to have a keeper whose problem lies in his excess confidence rather than being totally devoid of any self belief whatsoever as Fabianski and Almunia seem to be.
One thing that Arsenal fans may be surprised to hear however is that Szczesny currently has a better clean sheet to game ratio than any Arsenal goalkeeper who has appeared for Arsenal on more than fifty occasions (i.e. not including goalkeepers who have played 2 carling cup games and kept clean sheets only to never play again). This may well surprise Arsenal fans who may be struggling to remember any clean sheets that their team have kept however there have been a fair few this year and although Arsenal’s defence performed far from admirably last year they tended to collapse and concede lots of goals in the odd game rather than concede every game.
For such a young goalkeeper to have played so well this year is truly remarkable. Whilst the £20m David de Gea’s performances have been excused by his arrival from Spain Arsenal could point out that only 18 months ago Szczesny was plying his trade at Brentford. It may be English football but he has had to adapt to play against some of the best strikers in the world on a regular basis. Something that United’s Goalkeeper knows only too well. For Szczesny to have collected the Arsenal ‘Player of the Month’ award, as voted by the fans, on multiple occasions this season you get the feeling that he must be doing something right. Anybody in a position to take that sort of accolade away from Robin van Persie with his current form has to be.
For more Arsenal news and stories follow me on Twitter @H_Mackay
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Tottenham have made Iago Flaque’s loan move from Juventus permanent, and immediately loaned him out to Southampton for the rest of the season.
The Spain under-21 midfielder has impressed in a temporary deal at White Hart Lane and Harry Redknapp has moved to secure the prospect’s services.
Falque has made six first-team appearances this season so far, mainly in the Europa League, and has been farmed out to The Saints to get more experience.
“I’m very happy to be here at Southampton, and I am looking forward to training with my new teammates who have proved this season that they are very talented,” the youngster stated to The Championship side’s official website.
“I hope that I can help the team to great things this season.”
Meanwhile, Southampton boss Nigel Adkins feels that Falque will be an asset to the south-coast club, and hopes he can help the club back to the Premier League.
“He’s a very exciting player and I’m pleased that we’ve got him on board and I think the supporters will be excited by what he can do on the pitch.
“Like many of our players he’s a player who can play everywhere and he’s someone who can play on the left, on the right and in the number 10 position behind the striker, so he’s a talented footballer and one who I’m sure is going to excite everybody.
“Tottenham rate him highly and have loaned him out to ourselves where he will become another addition to the players that we’ve got to give us that opportunity to get back into the Premier League,” he concluded.
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With the half way point of the Championship season now passed, the table is really beginning to take shape and the runners and riders for promotion have set out their stall in their bid for a shot at the Premier League. The bookies favourites at the start of the season, West Ham, have been solid up until now and sit level on points with league leaders Southampton who have surpassed many people’s expectations.
The business end of the season is now upon us and January will no doubt give the punters a very good idea who they could expect to see earn promotion to the top flight and I feel West Ham will definitely be one of them. The confident and brave owners have given the manager a decent amount of funds to spend in January and some tough fixtures coming up will undoubtedly show if the Hammers have the class and strength to return to where they belong.
Here are the five things that Sam Allardyce and his team have to do to ensure they achieve their aim:
1.) Beat the teams around them – The big games at the top of the table will not tell us who will or won’t win the league but they usually go a long way to showing the best teams. West Ham’s inconsistent form of late has seen them beat play off hopefuls Middlesbrough and Hull away from home, but so far this season have lost too three of the top five sides, Southampton, Reading and Cardiff. Fortunately for the Hammers they have the entire top six; apart from Cardiff; to play at home from now until the end of the season and so will fancy their chances of picking up some vital points in them games.
Big crowds and big atmospheres at Upton Park have not really helped the team yet this season as they look slightly nervous at home, but with teams all around the table now needing to pick up points to achieve their goals, not many will come and park the bus in East London in the way teams have so far this season.
2.) Sign a striker and a winger – Allardyce has; on more than one occasion; told the media that he is desperate to bring in new faces to Upton Park this month but has so far been rejected more times Luke Chadwick on a night out. Bids for Billy Sharp, Jordan Rhodes, Nicky Maynard and Jimmy Kebe have all been reportedly turned down as the Hammers look to add to their firepower with much needed reinforcement.
The likes of Carlton Cole, Freddie Piquionne and John Carew have not been good enough despite knocking in the odd goal and the injury stricken wingers have been sorely missed with players being played out of position in the majority of games. David’s Gold and Sullivan are backing the manager all the way to try and take their club back to the top flight and so as long as Allardyce finds the right targets, there could be a new look frontline in the next few weeks in the East End.
3.) The fans have got to get behind them – Upton Park has been a tough place to play for West Ham this season as it seems the fans are too quick to jump on the back of the players at every opportunity. The negative vibe surrounds the pitch if the team are not dominating their opponents and winning every game.
It is not because the fans are too demanding and impatient; it is just purely frustration; that at times the players seem to have an overconfident attitude against the lower teams that they struggle to overcome. The realistic supporters understand that it won’t be easy to reach the top flight but when they get the chance to sing up and create Upton Park an intimidating place, then the better chance the team have of succeeding.
4.) Give youth a chance – The likes of Kevin Nolan, Carlton Cole, and Freddie Piquionne have not been anywhere near their best in the opening five months of the season, which has resulted in the team dropping valuable points at times. It has been a while since the last youngster came through the ranks to make a lasting impression (James Tomkins 2008) but word is going around that a new crop are ready to hit the big time.
Young left back Danny Potts has impressed in his opening few games for the club after injuries and suspensions gave him a chance and the likes of Robert Hall, Frank Nouble and Cristian Montano have impressed out on loan leading Allardyce to possibly include them in future squads. Why not give them a go?
5.) Improve home form – The Achilles heel of West Ham’s season so far has undoubtedly been their home form this season, as teams arrive at Upton Park and play for a draw, with the Hammers lacking in the required creativity to break them down.
Home defeats to Cardiff City, Ipswich Town, Aldershot Town (Carling Cup) and Burnley have shown the vulnerability to the Hammers play at home and draws with the likes of Bristol City and Leeds United at Upton Park prove the lack of spirit and quality among the players when under pressure at their home.
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Recent weeks have shown an improvement at Upton Park and if they can average two points a game from now until May they will more than likely be hosting the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at the home of football next season.
What do you think West Ham need to do in order to gain promotion? Let me know on Twitter: @Brad_Pinard
West Ham midfielder Ravel Morrison is the latest high-profile footballer to land himself in trouble for comments made on Twitter, The Sun reports.
Morrison, 19, responded to a fans criticism with the following:
“Go suck out u little f****t. Your a guy that talks if u see me you try slap me I’m in manchester every week.”
This is the latest in a long line of incidents from both professional football players and fans that show Twitter can be a dangerous tool, in the wrong hands. Morrison has been heavily criticised for his use of homophobic language, as well as proving he’s an idiot, incapable of using correct grammar.
What Morrison, and many others don’t seem to grasp is that whatever you say on Twitter is treated in the same way as if you said it to the person in ‘real life’.
Take Lee Steele for example. The Oxford City striker was sacked by his club last month, and rightly so. This was after Steele made some disgusting homophobic remarks about fellow sportsman Gareth Thomas (Oxford Mail).
There are many other examples of Twitter being (mis)-used by so called professionals. Joey Barton is the obvious example. The QPR captain recently escaped prosecution for potential contempt of court, after airing his views on the John Terry racism saga (BBC).
QPR owner Tony Fernandes is a prolific ‘tweeter’, and according to ex-manager Neil Warnock, his relationship with Fernandes was ‘slowly poisoned’ due to Twitter, culminating in Warnock losing his job (Guardian). This shows the how far-reaching the effects of Twitter are, and the impact it can have on everyone in football, even managers.
I haven’t even mentioned the fans yet. Some fans using the site have found themselves facing legal action as racism has reared it’s ugly head into the game once more.
On Monday, two Sunderland fans pleaded guilty to sending racist tweets directed at Demba Ba and the Newcastle squad (Guardian). This comes at the time when two 17 year olds were given final warnings for yet more racial abuse on a Newcastle player, this time Sammy Ameobi (Mail Online).
So as you can see, Twitter can be a very dangerous tool when in the hands of certain indivudals. This can happen at all levels of football, be it players, fans or those in management.
It’s not all doom and gloom though. The vast majority of fans using Twitter see it as a great way of communicating with their heroes. Most players use it to air their views and opinions with fellow professionals, pundits and their millions of fans.
It’s just a shame the few idiots who misuse it are tarnishing it’s reputation.
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Newcastle winger Jonas Gutierrez has stated that his side will look to beat Liverpool on Sunday, and if they do they will all but seal sixth place in the Premier League.
Alan Pardew’s men are currently eight points clear of the seventh-placed Merseysiders, and the Argentina international is hoping for three points at the Sports Direct Arena this Sunday to keep their good run of form going.
“We know we can open up a gap over Liverpool. It’s going to be a big game for us, so we’re going to have to be fully focused,” he told Mirror Football.
“We enjoyed ourselves against West Brom, and we know that we have a lot of games and a lot of points before the end of the season. We are taking it game by game and nothing else.
“We need to get as many points as we can before the end of the season, it’s not over yet,” he continued.
Hatem Ben Arfa was the Toon’s star player in last weekend’s 3-1 win over West Brom, and Gutierrez has went on to praise the talented France international.
“We know all about Hatem. We know what he can do when he has the ball, and he did that on Sunday.
“People say that he can’t adapt to English football because it is too physical, too tough, but he found the right moment and the right space to cause problems.
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“He’s an important player for us, he’s learning about English football, it’s different to other leagues. He’s learning that every day,” the South American concluded.