Liverpool offered Fulham the chance to sign Jordan Henderson, Stewart Downing and Jose Enrique as part of an attempted deal to bring Clint Dempsey to Anfield, The Daily Mail claim.
The United States international was a summer-long target for Brendan Rodgers, but in the end the attacker moved to Tottenham after the Reds failed to meet the Craven Cottage club’s asking price.
It is believed that the Merseysiders’ owners Fenway Sports Group would not offer the Northern Irish manager any additional transfer funds, and as such the coach tried to broker a deal using the exchange of players.
A deal to trade Henderson was initially discussed before the England international midfielder rejected the chance to move to Fulham, but it has emerged that Downing and Enrique were also used as pawns in Rodgers’ attempts to sign Dempsey.
The failure to land the American has left the Reds short in attack, with only Fabio Borini and Luis Suarez left for Rodgers to pick from after the loan of Andy Carroll to West Ham.
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Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has once again had to answer questions surrounding his relationship with temperamental striker Mario Balotelli after the forward was not included in City’s Champions League squad to face Real Madrid on Tuesday night.
Some major news sources were claiming that Mancini dropped Balotelli after he was seen on a night out with British boxer Amir Khan in Manchester on Saturday, but was forced to travel with the squad to the Spanish capital despite knowing he would not be playing.
However, Mancini wanted to make his feelings clear in his weekly press conference that his relationship with the Italian forward was completely fine.
“I want to make this clear; there has been no argument, and no row. Absolutely not,” he told the Daily Mail.
“Mario went in the stand only because we started to play with Carlos Tevez in attack and we couldn’t have three strikers on the bench.”
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If Brendan Rodgers thought life on Merseyside was going to be all plain sailing he should never have left the comfy confines of South Wales. A week earlier seemed to signal a turning point for the Northern Irishman as the Reds strolled out of Carrow Road with three points under their arm after doing what Sylvester the Cat has been trying to do for years and maul a Canary. Luis Suarez was the man of the moment in Norfolk, firing in a superb hat trick, but was at the centre of controversy once again as Rodgers presided over another frustrating Anfield draw. In no uncertain terms Suarez has built up a reputation as a notorious diver but his pitiful attempt to con the referee into awarding his team a penalty plumbed new depths. Quite frankly it even went as far to repulsing sections of the home crowd. There is no doubt the Uruguayan is talented but this constant stream of play acting only serves to overshadow the positive aspects of his play. For Rodgers, who curiously defended the striker despite the irrefutable evidence, must wonder when he will wake up to the contention free working week.
This week on FFC do FSG need to open their cheque book in January to solve the Reds’ problems and which striker is Rodgers hoping to sign in the New Year?
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Best of FFC
Liverpool need to heed the warnings from the failed Arsenal experiment
A real pressing problem at Liverpool FC?
What to make of ‘Being: Liverpool’
Will Liverpool forever rue the decision to let him leave?
Liverpool and City join race for £12m Palace star
Living on borrowed time at Anfield?
Time for FSG to splash the cash in January?
Rodgers is playing a dangerous game with Raheem Sterling
Reaping the rewards of his footballing bravery in quitting Liverpool
Liverpool eye up surprise move for Celtic ace
Liverpool to move for striker
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Best of WEB
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L4L Exclusive: We Talk To Reds Midfield Star Lucas Leiva! – Live 4 Liverpool
Get off his back! Angry LFC Hero blasts Brendan Rodgers ‘doom merchants’… – Liverpool Kop
Uruguayan FA write to FIFA to defend Suarez – This is Anfield
Fowler: Forget Gerrard – This guy is ‘best I’ve ever played with’. Good choice? – Liverpool Kop
Xenophobia, Hypocrisy and Cheating – The Tomkins Times
Kids Rising to Gerrard’s Challenge – Live 4 Liverpool
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5 things… Liverpool 0-0 Stoke – This is Anfield
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Quote of the Week
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As manager of this football club I find it incredible that in nearly all the coverage about Luis Suarez this weekend, very little focus has been placed on the fact that he was actually the victim of a stamping incident within the first five minutes of the game. At this moment there seems to be one set of rules for Luis and another set for everyone else.” Brendan Rodgers comes to Luis Suarez’s defence after his diving antics at the weekend
The mathematical equation of four into two isn’t one that would appear to be particularly manageable to most people, but you try telling that to Roberto Mancini at Manchester City. The Italian boasts an attacking quartet that most other Premier League bosses could only dream of. And as we saw against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, the depth of talent within that quartet is a somewhat invaluable asset.
Boasting any one of Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli would have most supporters salivating but to have all four in the squad at the same time? It almost seems greedy.
But until now, Mancini seems to have been able to pull off the task of keeping all four of his gifted frontmen, relatively happy. Of course, there have been injuries, suspensions and several months worth of gardening leave in between, to keep his strikers fully occupied. Yet this season could be a somewhat different scenario for the Italian to get his teeth into.
As Manchester City fought back from a goal down with a one man disadvantage to beat Steve Clarke’s side 2-1 at the Hawthorns on Saturday, they exhibited all the gleaming attributes that saw them become Premier League champions in such dramatic style last term. But beyond their startling mental resilience to overcome the odds, it was their wealth of attacking options that Mancini could call upon to change the game, that were just as unique.
All great teams have the sort of proven strength in depth that allows them to turn a game on it’s head from the bench and although Dzeko didn’t quite turn in a showstopping performance, it speaks volumes that Mancini had a striker of the quality of the Bosnian to bring off the bench. He offers City a different dynamic to all three of his striking rivals and his superb headed goal for the equalizer was executed with an aerial ability that is perhaps unrivalled in the ranks up at the Etihad.
Yet after the game, Dzeko wasn’t particularly all smiles, despite his match winning brace.
“I’m not a super sub and never will be,” he said, speaking after the game.
“I scored a lot of goals before I arrived at Manchester City and not as a sub. I’ve scored goals from the beginning. Sometimes it will be from the bench, sometimes from the beginning of the game.
“In the last few games the situation has been like today. I will never be a super sub. I want to play.”
Such is Dzeko’s amicable tone, that even as he has delivered his disgruntled sentiments to the cameras, he didn’t seem like a man who was fuming with his manager’s decision. Indeed, the Bosnian had just returned from an international double-header that would have influenced the decision to leave him on the bench, as Mancini’s assistant David Platt was particularly eager to point out. But it does suggest that the City are now entering a critical period in the management of their mercurial attacking unit. A long season awaits, but the chances are that at least one of the four are going to be left particularly unhappy as the term plays out.
You can make the very valid argument that all four of Mancini’s fevered quartet made a cameo against West Bromwich Albion, but you would have thought that last Saturday’s fixture represented something of a one off. It’s not going to be every week that City find themselves a goal down with ten men left on the pitch and nothing to loose. Such a gung-ho approach won’t be in effect every week.
And while all four of them bestow their individual qualities, you could perhaps argue that Mancini is left with a very small amount of room for tactical manoeuvre with his quartet. Both Balotelli and certainly Dzeko, require central accommodation within a starting line up and Carlos Tevez doesn’t offer much more flexibility. Sergio Aguero has the ability to play as a second striker, or even slightly wider if pushed, but with 23 league goals last season, you’d be hard pushed to meddle with him too much.
Ultimately, four top class strikers are ultimately competing for two starting spaces and you get the feeling that something has to give sooner or later.
The school of thought is that the Argentine pair of Tevez and Aguero are Manchester City’s de facto first choice strike partnership. But in Mario Balotelli, City bestow a striker who not only exhibited a glimpse of finally fulfilling his startling potential during the European Championships, but a player whom Mancini clearly believes in. His continued showing of faith despite a deluge of misdemeanours, suggests as much anyway.
Yet in Dzeko, they have a striker who harnesses a better goals-per-minute ratio than any of his Manchester City peers, during the calendar year. The Bosnian may not have be able to conjure up the sort of sublime pieces of skill his three striking rivals can, but his abilities as a goalscorer aren’t in any doubt. Dzeko toiled behind Aguero last season, was stuck behind Balotelli for long periods and Carlos Tevez upon his return, in City’s pecking order last season, Yet he still conjured up 19 goals in 42 appearances in all competitions last term.
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Being able to call upon four strikers of the quality of Aguero, Tevez, Balotelli and Dzeko is a wonderful story, but it’s one that is surely destined to have an unhappy ending. No one can predict the way the winds of injury will blow, but you’d imagine that none of Mancini’s strikers will go on any four month holiday’s this season, to break up his striking dilemmas.
Who will be the first to break? Dzeko has stated his desire to stay and fight for his place at Eastlands and undoubtedly, the smart money would have to sit with the enigmatic Balotelli. But one thing’s for sure, if it is Dzeko, someone would be picking up one hell of a goalscorer. And with his knack of picking up important goals, you wouldn’t bet against him coming back to haunt City, either. It’ll be interesting to see how this one plays out at the Etihad and make no mistake about it, Mancini has a real test on his hands to keep all four of his strikers happy.
How do you see the striking situation playing out at Manchester City? Can Mancini keep all four of his frontmen happy? Let me know on Twitter: follow @samuel_antrobus and tell us how the Italian should play this one out.
owner Tony Fernandes claims he is completely behind manager Mark Hughes after he saw his club slump to their sixth defeat of the season away to Arsenal on Saturday.
Hughes has been the subject of increased speculation regarding his future at QPR following a winless start to the Premier League this season.
But Fernandes took to Twitter to defend his manager and explain that whatever has been written in the press has no truth at all.
He tweeted: “Mark has my backing and the shareholders. We need a little luck and no injuries. What’s written in the press is all rubbish.
“I honestly believe we have one of the best managers in the premier league. And we are in for the long term. Whatever happens. We love QPR.”
Fernandes also pleased with the fans to trust him in on his decision to stick with Hughes through what is a difficult time for the club and welcomed any fans with any questions to approach him at their next home fixture against Reading next Sunday.
“I’ll be there at Reading so Rangers
fans I’ll be available to meet and chat. Trust me on this one. Keep the faith. Stability is the key.”
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Hughes brought 12 new players in at Loftus Road in the summer, in an attempt to improve on their final day relegation survival last season, but still finds his side bottom of the league with just three points from their opening nine games.
Arsenal look set to make a £1.5 million move for Croatian U17 International Ante Roguljic, according to The Sun.
The starlet who currently plys his trade at NK Adriatic Split is thought to be ready to make the step up to Premier League action.
It is believed that Roguljic has been the subject of scouting missions from several Premier League clubs, and Arsene Wenger is looking to steal a march on his rivals by tempting the Croatian to North London.
The 16-year-old attacking midfielder has made a real impression at youth level and has been likened to Real Madrid playmaker Luka Modric.
Roguljic competed for Croatia under-17s in the European qualification for Slovakia 2013, producing a number of dominant displays.
The player impressed in Croatia’s latest set of games as the under-17 side have won all three of their qualifiers with Roguljic scoring in two.
The Gunners have a proven track record of developing and nurturing young talent. It is thought that they would look to bring the player through in a similar style to the way they have with several of their youth products, the most notable being Jack Wilshere.
The trend has also emerged this campaign with both Serge Gnabry and Thomas Eisfield successfully stepping up into the first team to appear in the Capital One Cup.
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However, he is not the only player from the Arsenal academy to break through into the first team in recent seasons with Francis Coquelin, and Wojciech Szczesny also graduating with flying colours, establishing themselves in the Starting XI and matchday squads.
Everton manager David Moyes is not surprised that his former player Mikel Arteta has been a success at Arsenal.
The Spaniard moved to the Emirates Stadium for £10m during the summer of 2011, but his arrival was met with bemusement by some sections of the club’s support.
However, the 30-year-old has won over the doubters and Moyes believes that this in no shock:
“I’m not surprised. He is a very gifted footballer, he is a great lad to work with,” he said ahead of their clash with the Gunners on Wednesday.
“I think the manager (Wenger) was probably surprised what he offers: he is a great professional, a really good footballer and I’ll be delighted to see him back – just disappointed it is in an Arsenal jersey.
“I see Mikel now and when they are having a bit of a huddle he is the one who is the leader and I think they look to him, he has taken on a lot of the leadership qualities in that side.
“He was part of the rebuilding process that had to take place at Everton when we tried to develop the team and move it on.
Moyes did confess that he was unsure of Arteta’s ability when he brought him to England:
“We took Mikel on loan from Real Sociedad after he’d been at Rangers and it hadn’t quite worked for him.
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“We were a bit unsure when he first came here. He was a bit lightweight to play in the middle and so we played him off the side and he was great there for us, he really was.
“Eventually he moved on to be a real key figure in that period and was a big part of us developing and moving Everton forward.”
Transfer windows just wouldn’t be the same for West Ham if they weren’t linked with every Tom, Dick and Harry who are coming to the end of their careers but have once been regarded as world class. In the past we’ve had the likes of David Beckham, Ronaldinho, Roberto Carlos, Ricardo Quaresma and Dejan Stankovic linked with unlikely moves to Upton Park.
This January it’s Nicolas Anelka’s turn to be the subject of West Ham’s interest, although this time it looks like a real possibility compared to some of the others, which where obviously just paper talk.
We all know what Anelka is capable of in the Premier League. During his time in England he scored 123 league goals in 352 appearances for Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Bolton and Chelsea. It was at Bolton, of course, where he worked with Sam Allardyce and at the Reebok he enjoyed one of his best goal scoring records with the net bulging every 2.41 games.
But do West Ham need, or can they afford, a player like Anelka in a team that is in desperate need of a regular goal scorer up front? He’s currently in talks with current club Shanghai Shenhua about the termination of his £200,000-a-week contract and will be available on a free, but his wages will still be quite a stumbling block for a club still £80million in debt.
However, on the pitch he could still be an effective signing. He wants to return to the Premier League after a dismal experience in China and a new lease of life and direction for him at a club like the Hammers could be what he needs.
At Chelsea he wasn’t the biggest name on the team sheet and, therefore, was constantly under pressure to perform and outshine the likes of Didier Drogba. Whereas, at West Ham and considering the position they are in and their expectations for their first season back in the Premier League, the Frenchman will be able play without as much weight on his shoulders and will be able to play with freedom up front.
Most importantly, he is a proven goal scorer and that’s exactly what the Hammers need. Of the 21 goals West Ham have scored in the Premier League so far this season, only five have been scored by strikers/attackers, with the majority coming from midfield. It may have been an enjoyable and surprising return to the top-flight for Allardyce’s side, but their goal scoring threat up front is a huge worry.
Allardyce knows Anelka well from his time at Bolton and will know how to get the best out of a player who has built up a reputation of sulking when he doesn’t get his own way. With the manager slowly adopting a Bolton-like approach to his West Ham tactics, albeit with a slight twist, he’ll know exactly how the player will fit straight in to the team.
Moreover, he will act as the perfect strike partner for Andy Carroll when he returns from injury. Carroll will be there to nod the ball down or flick it on and Anelka will be there to finish, just like we’re so used to seeing from him in the top-flight.
That’s another plus side that signing Anelka will bring to West Ham. Playing with a player who has so much experience and talent will bring the best out of the likes of Carroll, Kevin Nolan, Matt Jarvis and Mark Noble, while Carlton Cole will need to step his game up even more to remain in contention for a place in the side.
His arrival will add a healthy competition for places and his experience will be priceless in helping West Ham compete as strongly in the second half of the season as they have done in the first.
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The only real problem, as mentioned above, is his wage demands. He clearly moved to China for the money (who wouldn’t at that stage of their career) and will no doubt be reluctant to take a huge cut in his wages to return to the Premier League at a club battling out for mid-table mediocrity.
However, co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan seem to have developed a way of persuading players to join on big wages and then magically finding a way of paying them without making too much of a dent in the club’s finances. Andy Carroll being the main example with his wages apparently coming out of their own pockets.
Anelka is a player who would be a great signing for Allardyce and West Ham, and one that would show great ambition from a club who are trying to increase their image and status ahead of their proposed move to the Olympic Stadium in a few years time.
What do you think? Is Anelka the ideal signing for West Ham? Or should Allardyce be looking for younger players for the long term? Leave your comments below.
It took until his late-20s before the world woke up to the talents of Robin van Persie. Sure, it was always obvious that he was a magnificent footballer with skills that would see him waltz into any club side in Europe, but the Dutchman’s move to Manchester United has given him a platform, the full backing of a surrounding cast and the starring role in another potentially thrilling title race.
That’s not to be disrespectful to Arsenal and van Persie’s time in north London; I always maintained that Arsene Wenger never gave his most talented stars the means to properly accelerate towards silverware. Other issues played their part in what might be seen as a largely disappointing or slow Arsenal career—notably the injuries—but Arsenal fans only really saw the best of van Persie last season.
It didn’t stop them professing their admiration for the player, a striker who in their eyes was comfortably the best forward in England. Wayne Rooney had the status, the trophies, the year-on-year seasons that would end in May as oppose to sometime in November or at a stretch February, but van Persie was always the most gifted. Van Persie always had the silky skills to be a Galactico, the immeasurable talent to be a graduate from La Masia, the impact to be the very best and acknowledged as such if he were playing in any other generation.
But the Premier League has always had figures to properly define various points in it’s young age. Eric Cantona, Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo. Van Persie is more than good enough to be spoken about as equally defining as each of those individuals. He’s a player who helps to draw audiences in the same way Lionel Messi does at Barcelona, he’s an absolute joy to watch, even if supporters of his former club struggle now to admit any interest in seeing him play.
But it’s not a discussion about van Persie the man and his choices in football, it’s a celebration of one of the world’s best players. He’s a footballer who has that golden touch, and one which was kept so long out of the limelight due to the frustration of his injuries.
Manchester United lost the league title on goal difference last season. It’s now theirs to lose this season, and van Persie is a player who will lead them to more successes in the near future. That’s the disappointment from Arsenal fans, but it’s what gives the Premier League as a whole a strong hand when battling the powers from abroad.
There’s nothing deceiving about the way van Persie plays the game, there’s no question that he is the finest player in English football today. It’s not about debates and rivalries. It’s not about trying to add worth to players who don’t really deserve it. How many more times will we see Twitter blow up because the footballing world has been stunned by another van Persie master class in front of goal? How much of a shame is it that he’s approaching 30 and who for some is just riding the momentum of last season?
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I don’t want to get into the idea that he deserves to be in a title race, because in some way that gives off a sense of entitlement. But van Persie is top of the league, top of the scoring chart and top of the mountain for good reason. If Manchester United play their cards right moving forward, he may not be knocked off that perch.
Emmanuel Frimpong believes that he will not be embroiled in a relegation dogfight with Fulham after joining the club on loan from Arsenal.
The Cottagers have struggled of late, picking up just two wins in their last 15 Premier League games which has seen them fall into 14th position.
Only six points separate the West Londoners from the bottom three, a precarious position to be in ahead of the latter stages of the season.
Despite this, Frimpong feels that his new club will turn their form around and move clear of the drop zone:
“The lads are very calm, I think when you are in a position like Fulham are at the moment you need players to be calm and not to panic.” He is quoted by Sky Sports.
“Every team goes through a patch in the season when you’re not getting results.
“As long as the manager and the team know there are players that can perform and it is only a little slip, I think we will be fine.”
He believes that the amount of experience within the squad will be enough to steer them clear of danger:
“We have some experienced players in the changing room, obviously the captain Brede Hangeland, Damien Duff and Dimitar Berbatov.
“You have got some very experienced players and I don’t think we should start panicking yet.”
Since breaking into the Arsenal first-team set-up Frimpong has struggled for game time.
A series of injuries and competition for places saw him loaned out to both Charlton and Wolves in the last year.
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His time Fulham will only be temporary, but he insists that he is happy to be at Craven Cottage:
“It has been a very good start,
“It has been good training and the lads have been really welcoming to me so I am looking forward to my first game.”