There is certainly no love lost between Liverpool and Newcastle United and there has been plenty of activity between the two Premier League clubs both on and off the field.
The Reds have already bought Andy Carroll, a deal that the Magpies have actually done pretty well out of, and Jose Enrique from Newcastle within the last year, and have even been linked with Cheik Tiote in this window.
Liverpool and Newcastle met last week at Anfield where two goals from another former Magpie, Craig Bellamy, helped the Reds to a 3-1 win and gave Liverpool some breathing space in 6th position in the Premier League table.
Here are managers Kenny Dalglish and Alan Pardew on the touchline during that game, with the Liverpool boss having a chuckle, but bearing in mind the £35 million that Newcastle bagged for Carroll, is it Pardew who’s having the last laugh?
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If, on October 23rd 2011, you had a heavy blow to the head and all knowledge of Premier League campaigns were simultaneously erased from your memory, you may have stood aloof at your television/betting slip/friend in the pub and sanctimoniously proclaimed that this year the Barclays Premier League was a one-horse race. However, a one-horse race, by definition, is one in which only one of the competitors has a real chance of winning and, of course, “you can’t write off Manchester United ,” says Newcastle defender Danny Simpson .
Yet, Danny Simpson’s comments came the morning after his side had torn apart a lacklustre Manchester United side at St. James’ Park, meaning that, having failed to pick up any points in their past two Premier League games, Tottenham are only three points behind them with a game in hand. Maybe it isn’t a one-horse race, not even one of those two-horse races you often see in La Liga nowadays, but maybe, this year, the Premier League is a three-horse race. Imagine that: three beautiful stallions, magnificently crowned with the majestic Fergie, devilishly good-looking Mancini and rather plump Harry, galloping powerfully towards their destiny, pulling away from the string of inferior horses playing host to their jockeys in the form of Arsene Wenger, Kenny Dalglish and Andre Villas-Boas.
It might just be though, that the most experienced jockey of them all, Sir Alex Ferguson , is riding a dead horse: last week, Alan Pardew threatened to go gung-ho from the first whistle, “Looking at Manchester United’s recent games, teams that have sat back have got thumped,” said the Toon boss, “They’ve got such talent in their ranks, they’re going to cause you problems but we have a striker in form and a central midfield pairing that I think is as good as theirs,” he added, in the faintest of praise for a midfield partnership that is far outshining one that has been bolstered with the return of a 37-year old that retired over 6 months ago. It worked too; Newcastle United went out, flooded the wings with overlapping run after overlapping run and forced three goals out of a dismal Man. United side that couldn’t reply.
Having lost their first away game in 11, Sir Alex’s Manchester United had to travel to The Etihad to face Premier League leaders, and perfect home form holders, Manchester City . Instead of stoking a fire, much like pundits across the ITV suggested he was probably doing on a personal level with his players in the dressing room and Mancini eluded to by describing them as “angry,” he said absolutely nothing and thus gave out the most vocal of mind game messages according to professional psychologist Nicky Butt: “[bringing back Scholes ] took all the attention off their home record and the bookmakers’ odds and switched all the attention to Paul Scholes and Manchester United.
It was a great little bit of psychology.” For all the brilliance of Ferguson’s psychological mind games, it wasn’t quite as anatomically bright: a massive 4 minutes and 12 seconds after coming on for Nani, Paul Scholes set up Manchester City’s 2nd goal by providing James Milner with the ball on a plate to cross for Sergio Aguero . Nicky Butt obviously avoided mentioning this to try and leapfrog his former Manchester United team mate in a bid to become his new favourite ginger.
However, winner of the best mind game of them all regarding the race at the top of the Premier League goes to Roberto Mancini for his comments before that fateful F.A Cup tie that made that second-half restoration and assault on Manchester United’s pride all the more prevalent. He did something Harry Redknapp hasn’t done directly all season: “I think in this moment, City, United and Tottenham can win this title.”
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Now, despite winning, Manchester United will be licking their wounds after a “careless” second-half display, which saw the chance to really hurt Manchester City and meanwhile galvanise their own season, disappear into the heavy Mancunian mist – and with it came a Kolarov and Aguero goal. Tottenham have a January ahead of them that they will feel is favourable to their title hopes and like I said, this month will be the most vital stage of Spurs’ season.
The Premier League has shown time and time again that the team who run away with it the quickest isn’t always the team that wins the race and no more valid an example can be found than Kevin Keegan and Newcastle United in the 1995/96 campaign, which saw them 12 points clear at the top in February, but eventually fall behind eventual winners Manchester United. However, the “we’ll score more than you,” philosophy that was on display at St. James’ Park under Keegan, isn’t quite the same mentality instilled at The Etihad under Mancini. Much more relevant to City’s current campaign is Chelsea’s title winning season of 2005/06.
The first half of their season saw them pick up 45 points from 48 in a team based on strong foundations in defence, but their steady ship rocked and an eventual 18-point lead in March was cut to just seven late on in the season. Manchester City have gone in to 2012 as consistent as they have been all season, but with a lead of just 3 points rather than the lofty ones of the two above examples, a bit of looking of the shoulder behaviour wouldn’t be unwise.
Roberto Mancini is aware that Harry Redknapp ’s Tottenham are not to be underestimated and his focus on them, equally as strong as his focus on a “dangerous” United, is prudent. Sir Alex Ferguson ’s Manchester United does have the durability factor, but as they are showing this season, they are vulnerable and potentially the weakest Manchester United side the Scotsman has had to manage in the past decade.
As much as they could stick it out and push City until the final day, they could drift away in a fashion never expected of a United side. If they do this, premature celebrations would be foolish: calmly and unassumingly waiting is Tottenham Hotspur, technically creative and quietly threatening.
Article courtesy of Jordan Florit from This is Futbol
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Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has confirmed that he has accepted Carlos Tevez’s apology, will meet with the striker in the near future and may well select him once he is fit and ready to play.
The Argentina international has had a scandalous last year at the Etihad Stadium, between asking to leave the club, refusing to enter the field of play from the bench against Bayern Munich and going AWOL for three months.
After failing to land a transfer to a different club in the January transfer window, the South American has returned to England and apologised for his actions.
Despite being livid with Tevez earlier in the saga, Mancini has confirmed that things are close to being reconciled.
“Yeah, yeah,” the Italian coach confirmed when asked by ESPN if he had forgiven the temperamental forward.
“I checked what Carlos said in his statement and tomorrow I will talk with him.
“One week after Munich I called him and I said ‘Carlos apologise to everyone and it is finished’, I don’t have a problem.
“I think he needs two or three weeks to train, and then he will look at it – that is normal,” the manager concluded.
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Fernando Torres will weigh up his future at Chelsea in the summer according to his agent.
The Spanish international striker has struggled since moving to Stamford Bridge from Liverpool in January 2011, and has recently gone through a long-term goal drought.
Despite El Nino’s performances improving of late, Antonio Sanz has stated that his client will consider his options at the end of this season.
“We’ll evaluate his future in the coming months. Fernando has another four years on his contract at Chelsea and the situation there has changed for him,” the representative told The Telegraph.
“With Villas-Boas, he was not considered, but the arrival of Roberto Di Matteo on the bench has seen him return to have the trust that he deserves.
“He played a great match in the Champions League in Lisbon, assisting the winning goal for Kalou.”
Roma and Juventus have been linked with moves for the misfiring frontman, but as yet there have been no concrete offers.
“We know the new American project at Roma and the philosophy of manager Luis Enrique, but if Roma want Fernando, they will have to talk with Chelsea.
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“The Italian championship is of a good standard, but there are currently no discussions with Roma or Juventus.”
Steven Gerrard is close to fitness and is set to be able to play in the FA Cup final against Chelsea, but Charlie Adam has been ruled out for the season due to injury.
The England international midfielder has had a troublesome campaign, and sat out Liverpool’s home defeat by West Brom last Sunday because of a hamstring problem; however he is back in training and is likely to play a part in the Anfield club’s run-in.
Adam however will not play again until next term, as ruptured ligaments in his knee will keep the Scotland international on the sidelines for the time being.
Kenny Dalglish has confirmed the blow, and also stated that Adam would be unlikely to be able to compete for Team GB in the Olympics because of the knock.
“There is no operation needed but he won’t play this season,” Dalglish told reporters, published by The Guardian.
“And I would think if they had any designs on having him in the Olympics he wouldn’t be fit for that either.”
Liverpool face Norwich at Carrow Road this Saturday.
By Gareth McKnight
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Sitting in second place with 88 points, having scored a record 88 goals, with three games still to play, it is clear that by anyone’s standards this has been a great season for Sheffield United.
After a worrying pre-season that had fans protesting over Danny Wilson’s appointment as manager, the Blades supporters soon changed their minds after an impressive display against Oldham on the opening day of the season.
One player who stood out for me that day back in August and who has carried his fine form throughout is Harry Maquire. Maguire came through the ranks at Shirecliffe making his debut against Cardiff last season with the unenviable task of marking Craig Bellamy. Since then he has never really looked back, notching up 50 starts in a year. In his first full season he’s been a rock in the heart of defence alongside Neil Collins and has only missed two games all season (one through suspension and the other through illness). As a result he is almost certain to pick up the young player of the season award.
After such a great season it is hard to pick out one individual player but for me I think that Kevin McDonald has been excellent. He made his debut against Bradford and showed his potential, firing over after just 90 seconds on the pitch. His unbelievable strength and pin-point passing has made him a key figure in our promotion push. He has missed a few games through injury and his influence has been felt with a draw against Tranmere sticking out as a game where we missed his ability. In fact, just days later when he returned we smashed five past play-off chasing Notts County with the former Burnley man playing a key part in the victory. McDonald also the capacity to pitch in with vital goals and with his contract expired in the summer I’m sure other clubs will be looking to get him on a free transfer. However I’m confident that Wilson will be doing everything in his power to keep ‘Super Kev’ at the club this summer.
After a horrible campaign last season which resulted in our relegation to League One there have been a number of players who have looked like completely different players this term. This includes Michael Doyle who couldn’t hold a ball up and seemed to lose it every time he touched the ball. However this season playing in the heart of midfield alongside McDonald has altered his play and as a result his passing has vastly improved. His wonderful strike against Yeovil may have sent 16,000 Blades fans into shock and his confidence has shoot through the roof this season. I think every United fan will be want him to carry this form into next season, hopefully back in the Championship.
Neil Collins has also found extra confidence after having a poor season during our relegation campaign. He has the ability to pass the ball well up-field and even on some occasions going for looping runs up-field including a memorable one against Bury. Collins has even popped up with goals this term, one of which secured a vital victory in the Yorkshire derby against Huddersfield.
Despite Collins’ fine form I think the biggest turnaround has to be with keeper Steve Simonsen who had to put it fairly had a terrible season last term. After a mediocre start to the season he seemed to have found his old form again but mistakes against Wednesday and Leyton Orient led to him being dropped to the bench which resulted in 17-year-old George Long making his first league start. However ‘Simmo’ was recalled after the Exeter match where Long had conceded four times and since then he hasn’t been out of the side. He came back a better player, making fewer mistakes and running his defence better.
However one man that deserves a special mention after struggling last year is Ched Evans who has a remarkable 34 goals in all competitions. He has been outstanding all season and his form has been noticed by everyone in English football. The Welshman has the ability to do everything on and off the ball, has blistering pace to get him away from defenders and also has a venomous shot to finish with. He’s had all kinds of pressure on his shoulders this season but he coped well to become something of a shining star in the Football League. If he can carry this brilliant form through to next season he could possibly help the Blades’ survive in the Championship, if that’s where we end up in May.
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As this is my first blog feel free to follow me on twitter @jakkUTBveall
Bolton Wanderers’ 11 year stay in the Premier League came to an end after a 2-2 draw away at Stoke. The reason we went down was simply due to a lack of consistency meaning that overall, we weren’t good enough.
Could a spell in the Championship be beneficial for the Bolton Wanderers? As of October 2011 the club were £110 million in debt and this figure continues to rise. This looks quite worrying for a team whose owner, Eddie Davies, is only worth an estimated £60 million.
As a result of this the club is looking to balance its books. A parachute fee of around £50 million and the aim of reducing the wage bill by half will come some way in fixing Bolton’s financial problems. The Wanderers took a step closer to achieving this with no less than 15 players who left the club a little over a week ago. Eleven of these players were released, with 3 returning to their parent clubs and Nigel Reo-Coker who decided to active a release clause in his contract.
Also in the past few weeks Bolton chairman, Phil Gartside, has revealed both him and the owner are fully behind manager Owen Coyle and all three of them are determined to get Bolton back in the top flight, but Is this decision a good or a bad thing? It is a bit of both really in my opinion.
On one hand Owen Coyle has to take some responsibility for the clubs poor performances last season, however, the Scotsman has proven he is more than capable to escape this league as he did with Burnley a few years ago. He has shown a lot of promise as a manager, he is young and he worked wonders with Bolton in the 2010/11 campaign.
On to transfers, out of the players released Ivan Klasnic and Gretar Steinsson are the only two who would have featured in the approving season and these two can be replaced with younger players. Also Ryo Miyaichi has shown an interest in returning to the Reebok on another loan period, the young lad showed some potential in the half a season he was here from Arsenal.
As always there are some ridiculous transfer stories and the one that stands out is Jordan Rhodes to Bolton. With a number of Premier League clubs interested in him, this rumour is one of those. Other rumours include Adam Clayton from Leeds on a free transfer. I’ve not seen too much of Clayton but the little bit I have tells me he would be a great signing for us.
Bolton are also in need of a new centre back after David Wheater was ruled out for 9 months, it’s pretty much guaranteed there will be a defender arriving. A few names have been thrown around, one being Rhys Williams (Middlesbrough) who Owen Coyle tried signing in the January transfer window but was unsuccessful.
There is also a lot of speculation surrounding Zat Knight and Jussi Jaaskelainen. Neither of these have signed new contracts and can leave on a free if they don’t. Jaaskelainen, who has been part of the Bolton set up since as long as I can remember, is rumoured to be attracting interest from a number of clubs including newly promoted West Ham and also West Brom.
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Another player who has been attracting attention is Lee Chung-Yong. The 23 year old, who is highly rated by Bolton, is being target by Trabzonspor manager Senol Gunes who was the in charge of South Korea and handed Lee his international debut. Chungy has only recently revered from breaking his leg in pre-season and made 2 appearances, both as a substitute. This means the transfer could be very risky as there is no guarantee Lee will be the player he use to be, plus the move could prove an expensive one for Trabzonspor as CYL is a great prospect. However, Lee only has only 12 months left on his current contract and maybe this could be deciding factor in him staying or leaving.
This season is a chance to rebuild the team, Owen Coyle has already stated he is after younger players to take the club forward and this could mean if the right players are brought in then Bolton Wanderers could have a bright future.
Chelsea’s run to the Champions League final this season under the guidance of then interim boss Roberto Di Matteo was not the first time that the club have reached the pinnacle of Europe’s premier club competition, having achieved the same feat in 2008 with then interim boss Avram Grant at the helm. Noticing a pattern yet?
No, this isn’t a tirade against the clearly precious bunch that run the dressing room at Stamford Bridge (although that was a bit of a dig, admittedly) but rather a wider look at the influence that a manager has in the modern game.
Sunderland serve as a fine case in point. The much-vaunted honeymoon effect after Steve Bruce was quite rightly sacked for not having the foggiest idea what he was doing at the club, saw former Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill take over thr reins. Bruce, rather bafflingly claimed that he was sacked because he was a Geordie managing in Sunderland, although I’m guessing that after significant outlay in the summer, winning just two of your opening 13 games didn’t help.
When Martin O’Neill came into the club, they lept up to 9th in the table and won four of his first six games in charge. He didn’t especially change the system, the personnel or the style of play early on, so why the sudden upturn in results? The honeymoon effect is directly linked to the point that football manager’s simply aren’t as important these days as they may have been in the past. The job is as much about managing and massaging egos as it is tactical analysis and recruitment. A change in a player’s mind-set is all it takes; give them something to aim for, to play for, and their peformances, both as a collective and an individual will sky-rocket.
Lee Cattermole stated this in the midst of the team’s fine run of form under O’Neill: “Martin brought a massive lift to the place, and if you look at the results after he took over it showed what an impact he had. He gave all the lads the confidence boost they needed and the fans got right behind us. With that we went from strength to strength.”
All seems very simple, right? New manager comes in, says some positive things, gives the players a pat on the back, they in turn go out on the pitch and start to play well.
Conversely, looking at Wolves, the fact that they botched the appointment of Steve Bruce and were left with a mish-mash, half-measure of Mick McCarthy’s assistant Terry Connor in charge had a huge bearing on their future. The mood around the club simply didn’t change, if anything it worsened with the departure of an experienced footballing man to be replaced by a rabit-in-the-headlights first-time managerial novice. The players knew nothing had changed, so their performances and results didn’t.
Half the battle is about perception. Footballers are famously not the brightest bunch of chaps about, by and large they’re quite simple people who think partaking in ‘banter’ is about as much fun as you can have with your pants still on. This is why a figurehead, such as a manager, who tells them what to do, when to do it and why is important, but not because of any real coaching qualities (although this may be solely an English disease) but because players lack leadership at times and need pointing in the right direction.
At some clubs, Chelsea for example, where the dressing room is filled to the brim with strong characters willing to speak up and put their point across, this figurehead becomes less of a leader but more someone willing to ensure that the status-quo is kept. It’s no coincidence that the two times that they’ve reached the Champions League final was with managers who basically changed very little to the team in terms of personnel.
Avram Grant was a penalty kick away from being the luckiest man in football, while Roberto Di Matteo merely restored the old guard and ensured them of their places. If anything, their performances under Andre Villas-Boas deserve even more scrutiny and criticism because of how brilliant they were after he was gone. The fact that they could lurch between two extremes of the scale simply because they liked one manager, and not the other is absurd, yet entirely true at the same time.
Looking back through history, Il Grande Torino serve as another excellent example. They dominated Italian football for nearly a decade, advancing the game with their revolutionary 4-2-4 formation, many of which have credited with being the inspiration for Total Football, until a tragic plane crash killed nearly the entire squad. They won five consecutive league titles, went four straight seasons at home undefeated and went an astonishing 93 games unbeaten in total in the league at one point.
They were at their peak between 1943-1949, but during that period they went through seven different managers. How is it even possible to go on such an amazing run without a guiding influence from above? Essentially, the team picked itself, they had nine of Italy’s starting eleven and each manager was instead not peforming the role we have come to associate with the position today, rather they acted as more of a fitness trainer and team motivator.
West Germany won the World Cup in 1974 beating Johan Cruyff and Rinus Michels’ Dutch side 2-1 in the final. However, how they got there after losing 1-0 to and qualifying in second place in the first group phase behind political, cultural and geographical rivals East Germany is also worth drawing attention to.
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Germany boss Helmut Schon had already coached the side to a World Cup final against England in 1966 and finished third in 1970, but the toll that it took on him emotionally and psychologically, losing to the East Germans, proved too much to take and he’s widely believed to have had a mini-breakdown while at the tournament as the pressure and context of the game proved too much to handle. Franz Beckenbauer, the team’s captain and future World Cup winning manager himself, took over responsibility for picking and selecting the side and they went onto beat Yugoslavia, Poland, Sweden and Holland en route to winning the tournament.
There are of course many examples of a manager having a huge effect on the shape and success of a club. However, the honeymoon effect is an unexplained phenomenon in football. A football manager will always be needed, to pick and select the side, but the influence of the manager has hugely reduced. Tactical advancements are now smaller, the gap between the best and the rest in terms of physical requirements has shortened and as a result, someone who instills the players with confidence will always trump a tactical master over the course of a season. The rest as they say, is history.
The emergence of the digital age has changed the face of the planet in several ways – for better or worse. Globalization has been made possible, social networking has supposedly brought us closer and the exposure of information has even been credited with toppling dictators. But something far more revolutionary and impactful has occurred. Indeed, within footballing circles, the age of the ‘in the know’ is upon us.
Now known to most of us by the immortal acronym ‘ITK’, it’s actually quite difficult to define what makes somebody ‘in the know’. The notion of an ITK is hardly something new, either. The ‘wise old man of the boozer’ doesn’t roll off the tongue quite so easily, although we’ve all been enlightened in our favourite haunt by a man who claims to have the inside track.
Convincing people you’re engineering Terry Venables contract to manage your local club is one thing, but trying to legitimately claim you have a boardroom scoop on a Premier League club is quite another. And one simple scan of the Internet suggests that quite a few people fancy themselves as a modern day ITK. Have fans developed KGB-like surveillance skills or are they just a bunch of chancers looking for a bit of attention?
The answer is usually found within your own footballing community. Football clubs of all levels have substantial online followings and most sites come with something of a hierarchy of trust. Sites that are the best run, by the fans and with a trusted list of seasoned posters, tend to prove your best bet of finding a trusty ITK.
Some will of course be ridiculing the obvious logic in this, but the alarming amount of faith put in the wisdom of Twitter users using a suit and briefcase avatar as some form of ITK certificate, is rife. Speculation and rumours that swirl around football clubs are often founded in truth. No smoke without fire, and all that. There are always going to be people who love your football club that are either well placed as an employee or exposed to someone who is aware of boardroom goings on, who are going to want to share it to other fans. That is the nature of football.
Players, managers, chairman and agents. There are simply too many people involved in football, for a Pringles lid to be sealed over all the gossip and inner workings of the football world. But where as there are a select few who contribute online to the benefit of all supporters, a vast majority seems to be devaluing the notion of an ITK. Self-proclaimed, Twitter peacocks; wearing their ITK title with pride and firing unanswered Tweets out to Gary Lineker, in a pathetic attempt to increase their validity.
And this is where the problem lies. Harmless fun or tedious chancing? You take all transfer based or takeover speculation, at face value. But it feels like there is a staunch difference between fans exchanging a bit of hearsay and gossip and those proclaiming to have information that must be taken as gospel; especially when it is complete fabrication. You may think that you’re too wily to avoid such dubious sources. But the rumor always makes it way round.
But even then, the nature of such ITK information, be it from more esteemed sources or slightly more dubious ones, can be fraught with danger. Those taking the liberty to name a date for a transfer instantly seem to douse their claim with some form of holy credibility. And when it so usually does fail to prove accurate, the ITK’s head is on the chopping block, awaiting the guillotine of fuming posters on the message boards.
Unfortunately though, the harsh annihilation of ITK’s who dare hand out ill-advised transfer tips, is a double edged sword. Because for every kid who is having a bit of a wind on the message boards, there will always be one gentleman who had some genuinely well sourced information.
The way in which football business is dealt with, is of course, highly protracted and often very tedious indeed. There is every chance that an ITK did indeed get the date right, but was shafted by the delayed negotiation of something like an agents fee. Being greeted with a volley of abuse from a series of keyboard warriors isn’t likely to see them come back again too soon. Is there a right way to treat an ITK?
As already mentioned, supporters will know which sites and forums offer the best gauge of opinion and measure of goings on at their football club. And the chances are, if anyone really has any serious news that they think could benefit their club, they’re going to go to one of these sites to share it. Not under a pathetic pseudonym on Twitter.
Yet would it really feel the same without the ITK’s, in whatever guise they come in? However much rubbish some of them speak, it always gets fans talking. Spurs fans sense investment is around the corner – just about every Arabian royal family, government and business syndicate has been touted as either an investor or outright buyer. It could be absolute garbage or it could be solidified fact. But the point is fans feel something is around the corner and it’s got people buzzing.
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Footballing ITK’s are the ultimate footballing paradox. Whether it’s an absolute pearler of boardroom wisdom or a wicked rumor that sets you up for a fall, the ITK is a footballing fixture that isn’t going away any time soon. And whether that’s a good thing, you decide.
Do you have a trusty source that regularly produces the goods on the message boards? Are you sick to death of having your hopes crushed by a serial offender? Or do you just wish to wind me up with a transfer tip? Tell me what you think, follow @samuel_antobus on Twitter
After experiencing relative success in the transfer market already this summer with the signings of Shinji Kagawa and Nick Powell last month Sir Alex Ferguson has hit the buffers in his recruitment drive. Brokering a deal for Brazilian international Lucas Moura has proved increasingly problematic with conflicting reports stating that his move to Old Trafford is imminent whilst others insist the 19-year-old will be staying put in his native land. Moura’s future intentions are unclear at this current juncture and United chief usually withdraws his interest to avoid becoming ensnared in long-winded negotiations. The fact Ferguson is persisting with a move is testament to the midfielder’s talent and the 70-year-old clearly sees something special in the teenager that he wants to harness and develop. Investment in youth has been Ferguson’s mantra this summer as he begins the process of leading the Red Devil’s through another transitional period.
This week on FFC should United think twice about his pursuit of Robin Van Persie and which Bulgarian forward could soon be leaving Old Trafford?
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Why Iker Muniain should ignore Premier League interest
25 of football’s top philosophical quotes
£35m fee slapped on Chelsea and United target’s head
Russians launch £5m bid for United forward
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Best of WEB
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Is There Still Hope For Bébé? – Red Flag Flying High
Ten Years Of Rio – The Best Ever? – 7Cantonas
Sir Alex’ guide to being a “real fan” – United Rant
Lucas Moura Or Robin Van Persie? Sir Alex May Have To Choose – Red Flag Flying High
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
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10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Lucas Moura – RoM
“I think Manchester United would be the better option for him.” – The Busby Way
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Quote of the Week
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“Fair play to City. You’ve got to be a good team to win the league, so I wouldn’t take anything away from them. But if you gave us the last few games of the season and put us in that situation again, it wouldn’t happen. It was just madness. That’s down to us, though. We take full blame for it and don’t look to anyone else.” Rio Ferdinand insists Manchester United won’t repeat last seasons title collapse in the upcoming campaign