Whatever the motivation for Patrice Evra taunting Arsenal last week, it seems to have done the trick. As the big game between Manchester United and Arsenal drew nearer, there were no shots being fired. There was an uneasy battle for the centre ground, too much respect being shown for one another. Patrice Evra has annoyed Arsene Wenger. Was that the intention or did Evra truly mean what he said?

The comments that Patrice Evra made were highly provocative and only on Monday night will we know if they have done nothing but spur Arsenal onto victory. Patrice Evra has previous for winding up other players and managers, has Wenger made his first error by rising to them?

The Frenchman told Canal Plus, the TV station: “For me Arsenal is a football training centre. You watch the match, you enjoy it, but are you going to win a title afterwards? That’s what people remember. It has been five years since they won anything and for a big club like Arsenal that is a crisis.

Whether Patrice Evra’s intention was to disrespect Arsenal his comments have clearly hit a nerve. The game at Old Trafford will go a long way to decide where the title will end up this season, and Arsenal have a great opportunity. Failure to win at Old Trafford would dent their confidence no doubt – Evra is merely putting the pressure onto them.

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Arsenal fans and players do not like to be reminded that they haven’t won a title for five seasons. It is not a record that anyone likes, nor wants to be reminded of. However, if this Arsenal team does not win the league this season – will they have missed a glorious opportunity to put this record to bed. Is Partice Evra so wide of the mark when suggesting that if this Arsenal team does not win anything they will not be remembered.

Arsene Wenger has clearly been irritated by the comments and has publicly hit back at Evra.

“I don’t place any importance on what Evra said. He takes responsibility for what he says. I think that when you want to be a big player you have always got to respect your opponent and not say remarks that are below the belt and disrespectful and possibly based more on fear than self-confidence.”

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They are harsh words, not only with regard to the team but also towards the club, which I will treat with a little disdain. In sport everyone must respect their opponent.”

Arsene Wenger should have stayed away from the comments, however his reply was dignified. The Arsenal manager will not need to use these comments as motivation – the players already know how important the game is. However, the comments made by Patrice Evra may make Arsenal doubt themselves. The only reason for this could come in the form of pressure. Can Arsenal handle the pressure – we will find out this evening.

Patrice Evra’s comments give the game another edge – the first flashpoint. Did Evra’s comments hit a nerve with Wenger? Personally, I feel they have, but that is not  necessarily a negative. Wenger is passionate about Arsenal and is willing to defend his club against doubters. Wenger is very similar to Sir Alex Ferguson – and it is good to see the new found respect between the two. Arsene Wenger mustn’t take his eye off the prize by trading insults with Patrice Evra – if he has lost focus, Manchester United will win. Tonight’s game at Old Trafford should be a classic. The gloves are off.

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Roy Hodgson’s time at Liverpool has been a disaster for one reason or another. He looks a manager out of his depth, devoid of tactical knowledge and Liverpool are a club lacking an inspirational leader. Liverpool’s new owners, NESV have accepted that it will take time to rebuild Liverpool, and the vast majority of fans agree that this is a fair assessment. However, will Liverpool continue to take steps backwards, rather than forwards, if they continue with Roy Hodgson at the helm?

The problem with Roy Hodgson is there is one excuse after another. If he isn’t blaming Rafa Benitez for the failings of the club he is blaming players’ fitness or the lack of funds that he was given in the summer. Now, he may be right on all of these points but he has continued to roll off excuse after excuse. If you are managing a team like Liverpool and you have taken 22 points from 17 games, languishing only six points off the drop zone at Christmas, you have to take responsibility for that. Hodgson is seemingly incapable of doing this.

In terms of transfers, Liverpool need to invest this January. They need to add some extra quality to their first team as well as buying younger players for the future. It is looking increasingly likely that they will lose Glen Johnson this January. If last summer is anything to go buy, Liverpool fans can’t get too excited about this transfer window. Last summer Roy Hodgson purchased Paul Konchesky and Christian Poulsen – for Liverpool? They would be decent signings for Fulham but not acceptable for a club like Liverpool. Does Roy Hodgson really have the foresight in the transfer market to achieve the results that the new owners expect? When you waste nearly £9m, it scares you when Tottenham were able to sign William Gallas for free and Rafael van der Vaart for £8m. Even more worrying for Liverpool fans is Hodgson’s hint that he may not even buy in January.

“Clubs have virtually been destroyed by people making bad decisions. It’s not because the owners haven’t given money or supported the manager. It’s just that they have brought in the wrong people.”

At the biggest clubs in the world, there is expectation. The question is, have Liverpool fans and the press been too harsh on Roy Hodgson? He only arrived in July and to be totally fair he has had very very little money (whatever money he has had, he has wasted) to shape a squad in his vision. He hasn’t had the chance to work with Damien Comolli on transfer targets. This is a fair argument, but to be given time you need to have shown somewhere that you deserve it. Has Hodgson done anything that says he is the man to turn Liverpool around? A very impressive win against Chelsea, and that is it. It is time for John W. Henry and Tom Werner to seriously consider Roy Hodgson’s position. They were incredibly awkward in the recent fans phone-in when asked about Hodgson’s future. They would make themselves very popular with Liverpool fans if they were to fire Roy Hodgson sooner rather than later.

Liverpool are in a transitional phase, but that does not mean they have to be where they are in the table. It is becoming too easy for Roy Hodgson to make excuse after excuse and not take responsibility for his own shortcomings. He sounds like a product of Tom Hicks and George Gillet at the moment. Roy Hodgson is out of his depth at Liverpool in terms of the transfer market and on the pitch. Do Liverpool fans really think that if NESV gave Hodgson a vast amount of money he would be able to attract top names? When a club needs to rebuild, it needs to get rid of deadwood. Sadly, Roy Hodgson is part of this deadwood and he will take Liverpool backwards before any progress is made.

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As we come to the end of the year and look back over the past 12 months, some Premier League players have really stood out from the crowd. There have been fantastic saves by goalkeepers in between the sticks, committed defenders giving everything for their team’s cause, midfielders who have run games with ease and strikers who have put the ball in the back of the net for fun. Picking a Premier League Player of the Year for 2010 is no easy task, and there are certainly plenty of candidates to choose from, but who do you think deserves to win this accolade? These players are regulars in fantasy football teams up and down the country, so here are the nominees for the FootballFanCast.com Player of the Year for 2010…

Click on the image below to see the nominees

Mercurial QPR playmaker Adel Taarabt has talked up his chances of a move this summer to the likes of Manchester United, and while his dazzling displays have delighted fans of the Championship, is he good enough to truly cut it in the top flight?

It’s fair to say that Taarabt was given a bum deal by former club Tottenham. He was a victim of the club’s chopping and changing of their management over a 3 year period and subsequently his development was stunted and his route into the first-team blocked. He always looked lively when called upon and although it would be harsh to call it a failed audition, it’s clear that he feels he has unfinished business with the Premier League.

The Moroccan has been a pivotal figure in QPR’s ascent to the top of the Championship so far this term and it’s entirely likely that he’ll be plying his trade in the Premier League next season with QPR anyway.

Current manager Neil Warnock has consistently waxed lyrical about Taarabt’s talents throughout the campaign, although he has treaded a fine line, going on record several times discussing the player’s deficiencies.

Taarabt has considerable talent, and on ability alone, he probably is good enough to grace the hallowed turf at Old Trafford, it’s in his consistency that the 21 year-old can look to improve upon. He has the ability to win a game on his own in the Championship, and he can even have an off day at the office and still set up a couple of goals – the gulf in class truly is that large.

The quotes attributed to Taarabt are: “Nothing is official yet. I had discussions about my transfer after my performance against Coventry. I’m ready to go to Manchester United. We’ll see later in the season, as I’m hoping to reach the promotion target with my current club QPR. I like England, So I am not against the idea of continuing my career at United.”

What is pleasing about these comments though, is that Taarabt at least concedes that his immediate future lies with QPR. Neil Warnock has been crucial to his development over the last 12 months or so – without his faith and the fact that Warnock has accommodated a formation and style of play to get the best of Taarabt, the playmaker wouldn’t be being linked with the likes of Manchester United now.

The proposed move does have to be taken with a pinch of salt though, for Taarabt is the one doing all the talking and we’ve heard little from Man Utd’s side. There is also the issue over where he would fit in into the current Man Utd set-up. Taarabt is given a free role at QPR and a platform to perform – he wouldn’t get such luxuries at Old Trafford.

The only doubts to be cast against Taarabt at present are not with concerns to his footballing ability, just that his discipline and temperament can at times be called into question. He displays an arrogance and immaturity that will only hold him back over time. It’s worth remembering that he’s still only 21 years of age, and of course, this will only get better with time as he matures on and off the pitch.

The best thing for his future development at the moment would be to stay put at Loftus Road. There is nothing more important to a player at this pivotal stage in his career than playing regularly, week in week out. If he continues to improve on the few deficiencies that are currently present in his game, then the sky really could be the limit with him. His confidence is, at the moment, his biggest asset.

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His willingness to try something different on the pitch is what sets him apart from the rest of the league. But should he let his arrogance, as some would perceive it, get in the way of his development, then he could move to a bigger club too soon, which for me, would be tantamount to career suicide at the minute. With over-confidence can come a degree of complacency and he has to stamp out any threat that this could have on his focus.

He’s got plenty of time to move to the likes of Utd or even Barcelona, a club Warnock concedes on ability alone that he is good enough to play for, in the future – for the time being QPR has been good for him, and a show of faith similar to that which Warnock placed in him would go a long way for the foreseeable future.

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Barcelona have acknowledged there are no plans to lure Arsenal talisman Cesc Fabregas back to the Camp Nou in the next transfer window.

Fabregas was heavily linked with a move to Barca in last July’s window, with the Spaniard fuelling speculation by admitting it would be a dream come true to play for the club of his youth.

For their part, the La Liga club were understandably keen to woo Fabregas back to Spain, but their efforts were stonewalled by Arsenal.

Despite claims from more than one Spain international that Fabregas was unhappy at the Emirates, the 23-year-old respected the English Premier League club’s decision not to entertain a transfer and has continued to lead the Gunners by example.

Now, with the Catalan club set to visit Arsenal in a tantalising Champions League clash next Wednesday, Barca director of football Raul Sanllehi has admitted their hopes of snaring Fabregas have been dashed for the time being.

“Cesc is a great Catalan player. He played for us as a kid and he will be welcome back at Barcelona for the Champions League match,” Sanllehi said.

“Right now, everything is dead regarding a transfer.”

All-conquering Barca have been in irresistible form this season, but Sanllehi knows Pep Guardiola’s men can not take anything for granted against the dangerous Gunners.

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“Arsenal are one of the main challengers for the Champions League,” he said.

“We acknowledge how difficult it is going to be.”

In his column for the Liverpool Echo, John Aldridge stated that the Reds currently have the best youth team the club has ever had. He mentioned that there was as many as 14 youngsters who had the potential to make it the first team:

“I say with some confidence that this is the best youth team Liverpool have ever had, There’s so much promise among the players that fans are excited to see them in the first team when the time is right. Usually, you can identify just one or two who might make the grade from the second strings. Now, there’s up to 14 who could easily appear for the senior side at some stage. Hopefully, in the next few years, the lads in their late teens will be getting some action and it sets up some exciting times for Liverpool.”

I have attempted to identify the 14 players below. He maybe talking about some players in lower age groups but I have selected the best players from the reserves and under 18s (omitting players such as Danny Wilson, Dani Pacheco and Jonjo Shelvey who could be said to be more estbalished first team squad members already) to make up my list. Some of them maybe guesses but I feel the majority are correct.

1. Suso – A talented, tricky Spanish midfielder with a great future ahead of him if he continues to progress at the rate he is going. Has been given the number 30 shirt by Kenny Dalglish.

2. Conor Coady – Selected on the bench for the Europa League encounter last Thursday, the holding midfielder/centre-back captains Liverpool U18s and led England’s U17s to the European Championships last summer.

3. Andre Wisdom – The centre back scored an own goal and a goal at the right end during the U17 European Championship final last year, and has moved up to reserve team football this campaign

4. John Flanagan – The full back is highly thought of at Melwood and was one of the five youngsters who made the trip to Prague last week.

5. Jack Robinson – Became Liverpool’s youngest ever player at 16 years and 250 days when he came on against Hull in the last match of the 2009/10 season. The left back is an excellent crosser of the ball and was also in Prague on Thursday.

6. Tom Ince – Paul Ince’s son had an impressive loan spell at his Dad’s club Notts County last month, but his contract is up in the summer, and it will be interesting to see whether he is still a Liverpool player come next season.

7. Raheem Sterling – Enough has been said about this lad already. Needless to say that he is a very exciting prospect.

8. Daniel Ayala – Out on loan at Derby County, the Spanish defender’s qualities are well known.

9. Nathan Eccleston – Out on loan at Charlton Athletic, and performing well for the Addicks so far.

10. Toni Silva – An exciting Portuguese left winger with a lot of trickery and pace.

11. Michael Ngoo – A tall powerful striker with great pace but lacking a killer instinct in the air as yet.

12. Krisztian Adorjan – The Hungarian striker/attacking midfielder is quite prolific at Under 18 level and could be one to look out for.

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13. Kristjan Gauti Emilsson – The Icelandic midfielder has a knack of scoring vital goals from midfield, and was chased by a host of top European clubs before his arrival at Liverpool in January last year.

14. Jamie Stephens – A talented goalkeeper bought from Swindon last April.

Read more of David’s articles at his excellent Live4Liverpool site

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Lionel Messi’s 25th goal of the La Liga season gave Barcelona a 2-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao at the Camp Nou on Sunday.The Catalans went ahead in the fourth minute when Dani Alves cut the ball back into the path of striker David Villa, who powered the ball into the back of the net.The home side maintained their slender advantage until the break, but five minutes into the second half Bilbao were level when Iraola converted a penalty past second-string Barca goalkeeper Pinto.Messi made sure the Spanish champions did not drop points however, when he netted in the 78th minute by flicking in Alves’ cross.The win restores Barcelona’s five-point buffer atop the league, after Real Madrid had cut the deficit to two points with a victory on Saturday.A flying start ensured Sevilla came away with a 1-0 win against Hercules at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.Striker Negredo was involved early for the hosts, firing a spectacular inside-out left foot strike in the ninth minute that was kept out only by the cross bar.The 25-year-old Spaniard then provided a moment of brilliance to set up his side’s goal, chesting the ball down to Serbian team-mate Ivan Rakitic, who fired home the winner in the 21st minute.Osasuna ensured Espanyol’s losing streak continued as Jose Mendilibar’s men cruised to a 4-0 victory at the Estadio Reyno de Navarra.Javad Nekounam struck a brace for the victors, before Lolo and Soriano added late goals to move Osasuna into 14th place on the table.Bottom side Malaga denied fourth-placed Villarreal a first win in three matches with a late equaliser in their 1-1 draw at El Madrigal.Argentine Marco Ruben put the home side ahead after 36 minutes, but the cellar-dwellers defied their position on the table by levelling in the 82nd minute through Uruguayan striker Sebastian Fernandez.Elsewhere, a late penalty helped Racing Santander to a 1-0 triumph away to Getafe.Racing’s Pinillos converted the spot kick in the 88th minute, following Getafe defender Marcano’s dismissal.Deportivo La Coruna denied relegation-threatened Almeria victory in their 1-1 draw at Estadio de los Juegos Mediterraneos, with Aranzubia scoring a 90th minute equaliser for the visitors.

Nottingham Forest salvaged a 1-1 draw with an injury-time equaliser away to Middlesbrough in the Championship on Tuesday.Hosts Middlesbrough led through a goal from Scott McDonald in the 52nd minute at the Riverside Stadium.Forest goalkeeper Lee Camp produced a string of sharp saves to deny the home side throughout the first half, but he stranded when Julio Arca failed to connect properly with a Barry Robson cross. The loose ball fell to Australia international McDonald, who was left with a simple finish at the back post for 1-0.Camp maintained his heroics to keep Forest in the match, saving from Leroy Lita and Andrew Taylor twice. Forest had a penalty appeal turned down when Arca appeared to use a hand inside the area, before Robson looked to have won it for Boro, only to see his shot clip the outside of the post.The visitors snatched a point in the 92nd minute when substitute Dele Adebola seized upon the loose ball to bundle home an equaliser from eight yards out.The draw moves Forest up to fourth in the table, three points behind Swansea in the automatic promotion places. They are now undefeated in Middlesbrough for 28 years.Elsewhere, Portsmouth secured a fifth consecutive victory with a 2-0 win at home to Scunthorpe United.Second-half goals from Dave Kitson and Aaron Mokoena secured all three points for Portsmouth, who are now up to 12th in the table.Defeat leaves Scunthorpe third from bottom and four points adrift of safety.Doncaster Rovers climbed to 16th with a 3-1 win away to Derby County. Goals either side of half-time from Billy Sharp and a 71st-minute effort from Joseph Mills guaranteed a valuable three points for visitors Doncaster, with Steve Davies’ late strike no more than a consolation for struggling Derby.

Liverpool forward Luiz Suarez has admitted that he expected to lead the line with Fernando Torres when he signed on at Anfield.The Uruguayan, much scorned for his antics at the World Cup, arrived in Liverpool in January shortly after Reds favourite Kenny Dalglish returned as manager and was keen to link up with the Spanish ace.But Torres was sold to Chelsea for 50 million pounds shortly after his arrival and the former Ajax Amsterdam striker admitted he had not envisaged playing alongside anyone else but Torres.”I expected to play with Fernando,” Suarez told Goal.com.”Fernando is a very good player. He’s got great quality and it would have been nice to play with him.””It’s a shame that he’s gone as he is an excellent player and has great qualities. But at the same time there are many other great players at Liverpool.”Suarez, however, is excited about forming a partnership with the player brought in to replace Torres, Andy Carroll, who made his debut as a substitute for the Reds earlier this month.”When one top player goes, perhaps another great player comes in,” Suarez said. “Carroll and Torres are very different players.””Andy has had an injury and he’s just starting to come back into the game. They have different qualities and ways of playing the game, so you can’t really make comparisons.””Andy is a big, strong player with many qualities and it will be exciting to play with him.”Suarez, who hit 81 goals from 110 league appearances for Ajax, also asserted his desire for Liverpool caretaker boss Kenny Dalglish to remain at Anfield beyond his current short-term deal.”Yes, of course (I want him to stay). I’m looking forward to working with him more in the future,” Suarez said.”Having a manager like Kenny Dalglish is really great for me. He is a person of great history and importance at the club. He’s one of the best players the club has ever had and now he’s correcting me and training me.””I think it’s really great for me to work with a legend such as Kenny and I have enjoyed it so far.”

Everton boss David Moyes paid tribute to his captain Phil Neville after the veteran’s brilliant showing in their 3-0 win over Wolves on Saturday.Neville scored his first goal for three years – and only his fourth for Everton – sandwiched between strikes from Jermaine Beckford and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov to hand the visitors all three English Premier League points at Molineux.

Moyes was glowing in his praise of the 34-year-old, describing the former Manchester United player as a model professional.

“I don’t think there is enough you can say about Phil Neville which would actually sum up how good he is, not just on the pitch, but off the pitch and as a man, so anything he gets he certainly works for and deserves,” Moyes told Sky Sports.

“We have done really well today, we got our goals at important times, and they were some terrific goals.”

“Billy’s (Bilyaletdinov) was a real good goal – that is what he does for us – he scores great goals for us.”

“They started the way you would expect a side that are near the bottom of the table.”

“They want to get their crowd behind them and they started very strongly.”

“We probably got our goal against the run of play but I thought after that we had some good play and good goals, but maybe for their goalkeeper we might have scored one or two more in first half.”

Wolves boss Mick McCarthy, whose side remain second from the bottom on 32 points and one point from safety, conceded his men were playing like a team haunted by the drop but praised the fighting spirit of his men.

“We are a bottom-three team at the minute so quite clearly we are not one of the best teams in the league. But we have had great responses, as we did today for 20 minutes,” McCarthy said.

“For 20 minutes we were terrific weren?t we? We started really well. But then they scored the first goal and not us. It was their first cross in our box so hugely disappointing.”

“We almost equalised immediately and we had a bit of play. The free-kick we gave away, it was an unnecessary free-kick. And then Phil Neville, who hasn?t scored for I don?t know how many years, finds an unbelievable strike that goes through about 18 players.”

“I don?t think it made us look fragile actually, I thought we did alright. Then they got the second one and we continued to have a go.”