Tag Futebol

With all the foreign superstars scattered among Premiership clubs it’s refreshing to see young British footballers being thrust into first team action throughout the league. There’s no better baptism than having the opportunity to pit your wits against the likes of Gerrard, Terry, Vidic and Fabregas. It’s exactly what a young professional needs in his quest for a successful career. More and more gifted young players are coming off the academy conveyor belts throughout the league and, as far as Newcastle United are concerned, the latest addition to this trend is Shane Ferguson.

Ferguson, now a full Northern Ireland international, started his career at his hometown club Derry City, before joining Newcastle’s youth academy in 2007 as a 16 year old. Ferguson made his first team debut last August in a League Cup encounter with Accrington Stanley. He has only featured four more times since then, most recently as an impressive substitute in place of Jose Enrique against Everton and Stoke. With the Spaniard’s participation in the impending fixture with Wolves in doubt Ferguson could yet be called into action for the crunch clash on Saturday. Once more, Enrique’s future at the club is currently in limbo amidst rumours he is waiting until the Magpies assure their Premiership status before entering negotiations on a new contract. It is also rumoured that Kenny Daglish is monitoring Enrique’s situation; Ferguson’s time may well be nigh.

Regardless if Ferguson steps into any potential breach left by Enrique this summer, going on his latest cameo performances he appears to have the ability to materialise into a fan’s favourite in the North East. Ferguson produced the only real memorable moment of any significance as far as Toon fans were concerned in the 4-0 drubbing at The Britannia. He announced himself to the Geordie faithful with a superb dribble in which he deceived three Stoke players before placing his shot into the grateful arms of Asmir Begovic. If the young Irishman can reproduce moments of magic of that ilk on a regular basis then his prospective future in the famous black and white stripes appears bright.

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Former Newcastle left back John Beresford was part of Kevin Keegan’s entertainers in the ’90s and he knows the attributes required to be a success at St James’ Park. In an interview with The Evening Chronicle Beresford was optimistic about Ferguson’s potential. He was quoted as saying “Shane’s got pace and movement, he works the ball and likes to take people on, one-on-one. With all of that at his disposal I think he could go a lot further in the game.” Whether or not you rate Beresford’s opinion as credible or not is a matter of choice, but what is true is that Ferguson has caught the eye on Tyneside recently and he may well be one to look out for.

Newcastle’s academy isn’t distinguished with producing an array of stars, and when placed alongside academies such as West Ham’s and Manchester United’s it is outshone. Andy Carroll, Shola Ameobi and Steven Taylor are the only notable products of the academy in the last decade that I can recollect, this isn’t a great return and one the club may well need to address. So does the early promise shown by Ferguson represent a change to this habit? Well that remains to be seen. Ferguson has only represented the first team on five occasions so we can only speculate on whether or not he will progress into a first team regular.

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In my opinion the early promise of one player isn’t enough evidence to suggest that there is a high calibre of top quality youngsters waiting in the wings at Newcastle. Nor does it confirm or deny that Shane Ferguson will have a bright future at the club, or indeed in the game. What is evident is that the youngster has raised a few eyebrows on Tyneside with his performances and any future he has in the game is down to his own hard work, commitment and desire.

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His arrival may not have sent shockwaves around Liverpool but Roy Hodgson has brought an air of calm around Anfield and more importantly a sense of realism.

While you couldn’t blame Liverpool supporters from salivating at the prospect of big name signings arriving, should either consortium manage to take control in the coming weeks, Hodgson is right to curb such talk and play down expectation and more importantly dismiss the prospect of unnecessary last minute buying. It is a sensible move to bide time and ensure that the right players are brought in.

“We have made a couple of signings so far, we have brought in Joe Cole, Danny Wilson and we hope to bring in at least another couple. We’ve done our research on the players we are able and capable of signing, on players that Liverpool wants right now and you have to remember it is not how much they cost but how good they are.

“The danger would be in a late takeover that the money would be available and we wouldn’t have the chance to do our research. If a lot of money did become available as happened at Manchester City and Chelsea in the past, we would make sure we did our research before we started splashing the money around.” (Guardian)

All we have heard from the media this week is what the prospective owners can bring to the football club and that Hodgson will have millions at his disposal and be able to bid for any player that he so wish. While it is an exciting prospect, Hodgson is right to show caution and use the likes of City as an example of the pitfalls of rash last minute spending. Liverpool’s squad needs strengthening no question, but it is about buying the right players and not bringing in new faces for the sake of it. Robinho was exciting for the first few months at Eastlands, but it didn’t take long to realise that it wasn’t the right move for him.

While Liverpool fans will probably be sitting there fingers crossed hoping that a deal can be resolved sooner rather than later, they should also back Hodgson’s call to be patient and careful in the transfer market. Spending vast sums of money doesn’t guarantee you anything in this world and Liverpool would be wise not to fall into the same trap that others has in recruiting high profile players on high wages, who subsequently add little value to the football club.

Written By Jim McKendry

With the PL season nearly upon us, let’s see the WAGS that will be keeping the players on their toes. Click on image to VIEW gallery

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Barcelona president Sandro Rosell has stated that he is unsure whether his club are interested in signing Tottenham winger Gareth Bale, and fears that the Premier League club’s asking price would stall any potential deal.

The Wales winger has been a revelation over the last 12 months, and excellent performances domestically and in the Champions League led the wideman to win the PFA Player of the Year award last season.

Reports in the press have linked the Catalan giants with a move for Bale, who allegedly feel that the Spurs man would provide an excellent attacking option at left back.

Despite this, the European champions’ executive has refused to state an interest in the former Southampton starlet.

“I do not know if Bale interests us,” Rosell told Al Jazeera.

“If he did, I would not say, because his price would go up. [Tottenham] would not ask for €40million [£33.2m], but €50m [£42.8m].

“In any case, even if we wanted him, we would never pay €40m for him,” he concluded.

Bale is currently in contract at White Hart Lane until June 2015, after putting pen to paper on a new deal back in March.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Newcastle eased their relegation worries but intensified Wolverhampton?s with a 4-1 win at St James? Park.The home side had the first chance after just five minutes after Joey Barton was fouled by George Elokobi in his own half. The midfielder picked himself up to float in a deep free kick that Mike Williamson headed towards the bottom corner only for Wayne Hennessey to palm the ball away.

Hennessey was in the right place at the right time again, as Barton found Kevin Nolan with another free kick but the captain?s header was directed straight at the Wolves stopper.

Hennessey was finally beaten on 22 minutes after Williamson’s free kick from well inside his own half was flicked on by Ameobi to find Kevin Nolan, who ghosted between both centre halves and poked the ball through the goalkeeper?s legs.

Newcastle doubled their lead just before half-time when Peter Lovenkrands crossed from the left and Ameobi rose highest to power home a header.

The hosts had a pair of chances to kill the game off after the interval. Barton’s shot from six yards was deflected wide, and Lovenkrands hit the post from a tight angle after going around Hennessey.

Lovenkrands did not have to wait much longer to get his name on the scoresheet, however. Fabricio Coloccini did well to steal the ball on the halfway line before feeding Barton, who crossed for the Dane to complete the move.

Wolves found a way back into the game on the hour mark, with England winger Matt Jarvis crossing for Sylvain Ebanks-Blake on the edge of the six yard box to steer past Steve Harper.

But it was a case of too little too late, as Newcastle added insult to injury with a fourth goal in injury time by Jonas Gutierrez.

Barcelona star Lionel Messi has joined the chorus of voices calling for Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas to rejoin his former club.

Fabregas was part of Spain's successful World Cup winning squad, but his time in South Africa was overshadowed by continuing speculation surrounding his club future.

The 23-year-old midfielder was the subject of one unsuccessful bid from the Catalan giants before the summer after reportedly telling Gunners boss Arsene Wenger of his desire to return to the Camp Nou following seven years in north London.

Wenger has vowed to fight hard to keep hold of his influential skipper, who was used mainly as a substitute by Spain during the World Cup.

But now Messi has added his weight to previous calls from the likes of Barca players Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol for Fabregas to join them this summer.

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"I would be delighted if he came," said the Argentina forward. "We played together as kids and he knows the club."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

United picked up a valuable three points this afternoon to keep the pressure on at the top of the table. It was the perfect tonic for Sir Alex Ferguson who today celebrated his 25th anniversary at Old Trafford.

At FFC this week we have seen a mixed bag of Manchester United blogs that includes a reason to love Phil Jones; a luxury Fergie can do without, the answer to the Red Devils mess.

We also look at the best Manchester United articles around the web this

Three youngsters causing a stir at Old Trafford

The answer to Manchester United’s mess?

A luxury that Manchester United can do without?

An unfortunate trend in football that shows no sign of dying

Sir Alex’s ‘Greatest XI’ in his 25 years…well in my view!

The Football media needs to end this continual farce

Fergie considering £20m move for Dortmund ace

Does Fergie’s transfer interest suggest an answer to the Giggs conundrum?

Another reason to love Phil Jones

Should Fergie and Wenger take this transfer punt in January?

Best of WEB

The Fans’ Responsibility – Red Flag Flying High

Ole takes first steps on long road to Old Trafford – United Rant

My Favourite Fergie Era Moments – The Busby Way

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Did Sir Alex Ferguson Nearly Jinx Ole Gunnar Solskjaer? – The United Religion

Women are football educated too, y’know – 7Cantonas

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Click on image below to see Gigi’s latest lady

Real Sociedad’s hopes of a European berth have taken another blow after they fell 2-1 at Deportivo La Coruna in Monday’s lone La Liga match.Sociedad have taken just one point from their past three league outings, following a 1-1 draw at home with Levante and a 4-1 loss at Espanyol, and came undone at the hands of an improved Deportivo at the Riazor, who stretched their unbeaten run in La Liga to six fixtures.Substitute striker Riki, who was introduced in the 13th minute to replace the injured Nouioui Lassad, looked lively in the first half and produced a brilliant finish to put Deportivo ahead in the 41st minute.Diego Colotto nodded a free kick towards Riki near the penalty spot, and the Tunisian turned and fired an acrobatic volley beyond Sociedad custodian Claudio Bravo.There was more pain to come in the second half as Adrian stretched the hosts’ lead in the 57th minute, the former Spain Under-21 international threading his shot through Bravo’s legs after being put into the clear by Michel’s sublime through ball.Socieded forward Imanol Agirretxe kept the contest lively by pulling a goal back for the visitors in the 65th minute, but their efforts to find an equaliser were thwarted by Deportivo goalkeeper Aranzubia.Deportivo rise to 13th on the table, four points clear of the drop zone with 11 games left in the season, while Sociedad remain ninth and five points adrift of the Europa League places.

With Spurs having moved into pole position and after manager Harry Redknapp has openly confirmed that he has held preliminary talks with the England international over the past few days, one of Roy Hodgson’s first moves as Liverpool manager must be to follow suit and step up the club’s interest in the player to something approaching concrete rather than the rumour and conjecture we’ve all been subjected to the past few weeks.

The main problems facing Liverpool are well known to every man and his dog by now, the issue over new owners, the new stadium and the respective futures of messrs Gerrard, Torres and Mascherano are all of paramount importance, and whilst these all obviously and quite understandably remain of top priority, the issue of the playing staff and the reinvestment that is needed must not go unnoticed, no matter how cheaply it needs to be done.

The figures being bandied about in the press at the moment all point towards Hodgson having a transfer kitty in excess of £15m to spend, which may be somewhat buoyed by the departure of Yossi Benayoun to fierce rivals Chelsea for roughly £6m this week.

It was telling that in the press conference presenting Hodgson as the new Liverpool manager, that Chairman Martin Broughton pointed out that Hodgson’s qualities were what were needed in the current climate, and that he had been appointed ‘to steady the ship’ and it’s telling that he’s only been offered a two-year deal. He’s seen by most as a necessity for the problems that lay ahead for the club and his CV does show that he’s able to deal with the challenges that await him – namely uncertainty, unenviable odds and the ability to work within a budget.

This bring us to the issue of Joe Cole future, the mercurial winger capable of providing a spark out of nothing, something the Anfield outfit have long since sought after with numerous costly purchases to little or no lasting effect, with only really the departing Benayoun capable in this respect.

Cole labelled the reasons for his rather acrimonious departure from Chelsea as being ‘politically motivated’ and that it has nothing to do with manager Carlo Ancelotti or the fact that he had become a relatively peripheral figure since returning from injury under his tenure.

Man Utd have already, and rather surprisingly considering that Cole would seem to be a useful player to have about Old Trafford and is available on a free transfer, ruled themselves out of the running for his signature. Arsenal’s interest has been lukewarm and ‘Arry has done little but state on a number of occasions his strong interest, which to his credit he is at least following up now.

The assumption has always been made that Cole desires Champions League football above all else and that his wages demands are astronomical. The Champions League is obviously the pinnacle of European football and a place where any right minded player would wish to ply their trade, but please forgive me, it must be the cynic in me, but at the moment at least, Spurs have yet to fully qualify for the group stages and they may even have to negotiate a tricky tie to get to that stage before the champagne can truly be popped.

This would go some way to at least understanding the patience and unfamiliar fiscal prudence currently on display this summer down at White Hart Lane and whilst last season’s fourth place was a momentous achievement for the club, unless they finish it off, then all of last term’s hard work will have been undone and they will play their season out in the second-tier Europa League where Liverpool will find themselves next season.

One trump card that Spurs do possess is the fact that they are London-based and with a new sprog in tow, the likelihood of Cole being willing to uproot his family all the way to the North-West would present quite a bold move on more fronts than just a football one and a major stumbling block.

Liverpool do remain a big club despite their troubles, and the prospect of playing with the likes of Torres and Gerrard, should Hodgson be able to secure assurances of their loyalty to the club for the upcoming season, could be a deciding factor in Cole’s decision.

Like I conceded earlier, Spurs obviously remain the frontrunners and the fact that a reunion with Redknapp, the geographical location of the club and the fact that he’d be joining a growing team on the brink of Champions League football make them strong favourites and a salivating prospect for any footballer looking for a rebirth.

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But Hodgson will do well to follow up the rumours with some strong interest, for whilst it may be a long shot at the moment, it’s an avenue worth exploring and would go some way at least to showing the fans that whilst testing times undoubtedly lay ahead, Liverpool have not quite yet lost every semblance of ambition that they once possessed.

It would signal a statement of intent of sorts and would also be in keeping with the new manager’s intention that the club need to buy British for the future to keep in line with UEFA and Premiership rules – luckily for Hodgson, a deal for Cole presents a very real possibility and one that he’d be mad to ignore.

Written By James McManus

The reasons for a team losing a game of football vary. Sometimes a team does not play well, sometimes they lose to a better side. But usually the manager does not take the blame, instead an outside influence is ‘at fault’.

Considering the amount of pressure managers are under these days, it is no surprise that they have to justify every loss with an exact reason. But when there is no reason, managers and players are often guilty of creating them out of thin air, and they have become very good at it.

In the list that follows are some of the most unlikely excuses and some of the most ridiculous excuses that have been used in the world of football.

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Click on Pepe Reina below to see the Top TEN

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Call me the ultimate football pessimist, but I would like to try and bring a little order to the English game. After listening to a certain new football show hosted by a couple of ex pundits, it suddenly dawned on me that football fans have started to lose the plot a little bit. In the wake of some outrageous reactions to events on the field, I question –  where has our perspective gone?

Allow me to clarify. As recently as two days ago, I heard some Everton fans phoning in to talkSPORT questioning whether David Moyes had come to the end of the road as manager. A successful nine years in charge meant the caller wasn’t as harsh as asking the Scot to be sacked, but replaced that with saying, “maybe Moyes has taken Everton as far as he can.” Bless him, he’s trying to the old ‘cruel to be kind’ trick. After all, he was obviously looking out for Moyes, right? Wrong. If somebody could tell me a manager who would be prepared to take over from Moyes and do a better job than him, I’ll give up writing and admit to what many of you may think, that I know very little about anything at all. The fact is Moyes has done a terrific job on a very small budget. Yes, he’s made some poor signings but who hasn’t? You could even question his decision making, but again I’d argue that he wouldn’t be the only one to get things wrong now and again. If we put things into perspective, (there’s that word again) Everton are having a bad season – by their standards. These standards didn’t exist until Moyes was on the scene. If you look at how small their squad is, you could even argue they have been punching above their weight for quite some time.

Secondly, I would like to invite you all to turn your attentions to the man everyone loves to hate at the moment (apart from Chelsea fans): Fernando Torres. A Liverpool fan phoned in and proposed the idea that instead of wondering why such a talented player is struggling to find form at his new club, maybe, just maybe, Torres is now playing to his level because he’s not actually a world-class player. He was even likened to Andriy Shevchenko. Am I the only one who finds this ridiculous? A month ago, scoring or not, the Spaniard was a hero at Anfield but now he’s just an average Joe? I’m not calling people with this opinion fickle, but well, actually I am – it’s incredibly fickle.

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It’s been proven on several occasions that signing players in January doesn’t make for a great start. Signing somebody in the summer on the other hand, allows for a pre-season and some time to get to know your team-mates, on and off the pitch. Torres has gone to Chelsea, unfamiliar with the faces and the way they play. It takes time – Edin Dzeko is experiencing the same problem at Man City. Cast your minds back to when Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic first joined Manchester United. They were ripped apart, especially in their first game at Man City. If I’m right in recalling, Evra was dragged off at half-time to spare further embarrassment. They haven’t turned out too bad now, have they? I wonder how Torres’ doubters would react if the striker fired them to their first ever Champions League win. Probably with the old anecdote “I always said he’d do a job for them.” Whatever the case, I’d put good money on the former Anfield idol being back to his best soon. Maybe not this season, but certainly come August.

Now I come to the most recent of events. Arsenal overcame a brilliant Barcelona side the other night, and for that, I congratulate them. But can I remind everyone that it is only a job half done. In fact, with that all-important away goal, I’d still have the Catalan giants as favourites. So it’s more a job quarter done, really. They always score at the Nou Camp, meaning Arsenal have to do the same. It’s still an uphill task, and that’s being generous. I take nothing away from the result, but I’d also like to point out a couple more things. If Arsenal are as good as everyone says they are, why are we all so excited that they beat Barcelona? Arsene Wenger would have us believe that they can win the Champions League outright, so surely they would need to beat the best?

It’s a radical approach I know, but stick with me on this on. Maybe, we trust David Moyes to continue to maximise the minimal potential at Everton and let him bring his side back up the Premier League where they now belong. Why not give Torres a little longer than two games before we allow him to go and play ‘heads and volleys’ with Shevchenko and Adrian Mutu on that football scrapheap. And as far as Arsenal’s ‘great’ victory is concerned, call me a pessimist but can we wait until they’ve actually made it into the next round at least, before we start comparing them to the all-time best football team?

I don’t mean to rain on the parade of English football, but I feel that someone should provide a forecast at least before the heavens open and catch us all off guard. The Premier League has never looked so good, and the success our teams are having in Europe is great to see. But before we all go buying t-shirts with ‘Tottenham v Arsenal – Wembley 2011’ on, can we all just gain a little perspective?

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Want to join me in bringing people to their senses? Follow me on Twitter @Joino

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