The County Ground was under siege on Saturday morning as members of the public tried to get their tickets for the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy semi-final between Somerset and Warwickshire on August 11th.There was a large numbers of personal callers, and four members of staff manning the telephones were hardly enough to cope with the volume of the demand.Chief executive Peter Anderson told me: “Tickets are going very quickly, and if they are not all sold today the remainder will be snapped up early next week.”This is the biggest match that we have hosted at Taunton since we beat Surrey in the Nat West semi two years ago, and we are expecting to win. People who are coming to the game are advised that no alcohol will be allowed inside the ground. Special parking arrangements are in the process of being finalised, and a press announcement will be made regarding this during the week. The advice to everyone is to get to the ground in plenty of time.”In front of the Ondaatje Pavilion, a temporary stand was being erected which is expected to increase the ground capacity for the match by an additional 1,000.The stand will be used mainly by the travelling Warwickshire supporters on the day.
As per ESPN, Manchester United are at a crossroads with out of form forward Marcus Rashford regarding a new contract.
The lowdown: Rashford’s demise at United
Having burst onto the scene in 2016 with a debut brace against FC Midtjylland, the academy graduate appeared to have the footballing world at his feet. Since then, the England international has accrued 93 times in senior football for his boyhood club, adding 58 assists in 298 matches.
As a remarkable 300th club appearance looms, the 24-year-old has endured a difficult 2021/22 campaign thus far and desperately needs to re-ignite a stalling career at Old Trafford.
However, where Rashford may ply his trade in the long-term remains in question…
The latest: Rashford contract confusion
According to sources who have spoken to ESPN, United ‘want’ the 46-cap England international – whose career is ‘at a crossroads’ – to sign a new deal with the club to replace his current contract, which expires in 2023.
It is claimed that United have an option to trigger a 12-month extension, although Rashford may decide to move on if the Red Devils aren’t ‘delivering’ for the versatile forward.
The report added that any newly-appointed manager could view the out-of-sorts attacker as a ‘problem’ and decide to cash in on him.
The verdict: Is it time to move on?
Whilst his ailing form would suggest that United would be wise to call time on Rashford this summer, it isn’t all that cut-and-dried given the proven track record and the history of the player.
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So far this season, the Manchester-born attacker has scored just five times and provided two assists in 27 appearances, way short of the 36 direct goal contributions from last term.
Once hailed as ‘unplayable’ by ex-United favourite Louis Saha, the £63m-valued star should have enough credit in the bank to stave off talk of a departure, although there is no immediate need for a new deal just yet given the 12-month extension option that the club hold.
In other news, Manchester United are closing in on a managerial target. Find out more here.
While the world patiently waits for the new Premier League season to arrive, a flurry of activity relentlessly flows through every club, with players arriving and departing in equal measures. While there has yet to be a bank-breaking, marquee signing this summer, the media is awash with rumours of big name stars searching for new employers. Many of the players who receive the most coverage are star strikers. The men who pose the greatest goal threat for their respective teams are often the players held in highest regard, demanding lucrative transfer fees and generating excitement around any club. Whilst there are no doubts that there will still be a considerable amount of movement and new additions to the Premier League, these 10 players may be the most likely to claim the golden boot when next May arrives.
This list includes previous winners of the prized top scorer trophy, new signings that are untested in this league and outside bets who have shown enough talent in finding the net to acquire a place in this group of stars. While some performed admirably last campaign, some had relatively quiet seasons. Have a look at this list and see if you agree whether one of these players will add an individual trophy to their career come the seasons climax.
Click on Papiss Cisse to unveil the 10 candidates
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Cesc Fabregas looks to finally have got his dream move to Barcelona and a medical is taking place as we speak. It has been arguably the biggest transfer saga of the past two years and Arsenal have decided that the time is right to cash in on their talented Spaniard. £35m is the fee and the Gunners support will be hoping that Arsene Wenger will look to use the funds to strengthen the rest of the squad.
Elsewhere in the papers Roberto Mancini has called on fans to be realistic; Sir Alex Ferguson has called on critics to lay off De Gea, while Villas-Boas accuses Stoke of underhand tactics.
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Arsenal and Barcelona finally secure terms for Fábregas deal – Guardian
Mikel’s father in suspected kidnapping – Guardian
Touré to train at City before ban ends – Guardian
Mancini: fans must be realistic – Daily Telegraph
QPR need cash injection – Daily Telegraph
Record signing Carroll vows to repay Liverpool boss Dalglish’s faith – Daily Mail
Keane in race against time to join LA Galaxy after Tottenham accept £1.8m bid – Daily Mail
Liverpool line up shock swoop for Celtic’s ‘Derry Pele’ McCourt – Daily Mail
Sir Alex: Lay off De Gea – Mirror
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Villas-Boas accuses Stoke of underhand tactics – Mirror
A Danny Allsopp brace all but booked Melbourne Victory’s spot in the finals as the home side defeated Gold Coast United 2-0 at AAMI Park.
In a preview of a likely-first week final, Melbourne dominated the play and thanks to Allsopp’s well-taken goals either side of half-time have moved within touching distance of a confirmed spot in the finals.
Allsopp, who only re-joined the club at the start of January, is now the form striker in the league, having managed five goals in his past four matches.
With Archie Thompson and Robbie Kruse set to come back into the side in the next two weeks, Victory will have their best attacking line-up available for the finals.
As temperatures neared 40 degrees Celsius in Melbourne on Sunday, Allsopp scored a cracking goal on 28 minutes from over 25 yards out and then showed his versatility by turning John Curtis in the box and firing accurately 11 minutes into the second half.
The veteran striker could have had his first-ever A-League hat-trick, spurning several chances, but it mattered little as Melbourne made it two wins in a row.
Elsewhere, a first-half goal from Dylan Macallister was enough to give Wellington Phoenix a vital 1-0 win over 10-man Newcastle Jets in Wellington.
Macallister’s goal in the 20th minute secured a club record fifth straight victory at home for Wellington but more importantly the three points lifted the Phoenix to sixth (35 points) on the table and in the process dented Newcastle’s hopes of reaching the play-offs as they stayed in eight spot with 31 points.
The Jets were not helped by the red card shown to Ryan Griffiths in the 66th minute for abusing referee Chris Beath, who also booked captain Nikolai Topor-Stanley in the first half.
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But the Phoenix did not escape either with Andrew Durante, Troy Hearfield, Vince Lia, Ben Sigmund and Manny Muscat all shown yellow cards by the referee.
Sigmund’s yellow was his eighth of the season meaning he will miss the next two crucial away matches against Adelaide and Sydney.
Ipswich Town have had a week of good news and bad news. The bad news is that Paul Jewell’s main transfer target Joel Ward turned down the chance to sign for Ipswich and chose to sign for Crystal Palace.
However, the good news is that Ipswich have now made their first summer signing in Macclesfield right back Elliot Hewitt. The young Welshman turned 18 years old on Wednesday and this signing shows Ipswich are heading in the right direction.
Joel Ward put in some very encouraging performances at the back for Portsmouth last season and at 22 years of age he looked like just what Ipswich needed. Many see the club’s failure to sign Ward as bad news but others are actually pleased that the club failed to lure the former Portsmouth man to Ipswich.
If Joel Ward did sign for Ipswich he would have been joining the club for the wrong reasons. Over the last few seasons the Ipswich squad has consisted mainly of players who clearly don’t care about playing for the club and are only playing for the money. Their lack of passion and desire to play for the club was always clear to see.
It was obvious that Grant Leadbitter never cared about Ipswich because he only started to play well when his contract was coming to an end and he needed to sell himself to other clubs by playing well. Joel Ward is not necessarily in the same category as Leadbitter as he turned down higher wages to join Crystal Palace and be closer to his family. However, if Ward did accept Jewell’s offer it wouldn’t have been for the right reasons and it would have showed in his performances on the pitch.
The great thing about this week has been that Ipswich have signed a player who looks like he will be proud to wear an Ipswich Town shirt. Elliot Hewitt is exactly the right type of player fans have been crying out for. A young lad with the desire to make a name for himself and more importantly a desire to play for Ipswich. Picking the gems out from the lower leagues is a far superior transfer policy to what Ipswich used to do when they only searched for players in Premier League Reserve teams.
It seems that Paul Jewell may well have learnt the lesson that other managers have failed to. If he keeps up this transfer policy then there will be a different atmosphere at Portman Road next season. Fans will turn up to the games and see the team play with passion and determination whether they win or lose. It will be refreshing for the fans to see a new attitude within the team after so many years of seeing failed Premier League players lug around the fine pitch.
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A change in the teams work rate and philosophy won’t come with just one signing though.
It is concerning to think that Paul Jewell once named Grant Leadbitter as his Ipswich captain. At the time myself and most other fans were unhappy with the decision as I can’t think of a worse player to captain the side. It can hardly be inspiring for the team to play under a captain who doesn’t care about the club. Thankfully Paul Jewell did strip Leadbitter of his captaincy later on in the season and all we can do is hope that he has learnt his lesson. The next few signings will shape the team for next season and whilst the signings don’t necessarily need be young they need to want to play for Ipswich.
Arsenal battled to a point at St James this evening, much to the frustration of Arsene Wenger. You did sense that the performance epitomised his side of recent seasons where the football is very pretty but lacking an end product. Gervinho was the one bright spark on the day; however his sending off will mean a three game ban for Arsenal’s big money signing this summer which clearly only added to Wenger’s disappointment.
At FFC this week we have seen a mixed bag of Gunners blogs that include thanks to Cesc Fabregas, £12m reasons to question Wenger’s strategy, while Arsenal must not make the same mistake with Chamberlain.
We also look at the best Arsenal articles around the web this week.
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Cesc Fabregas: Thank you and goodnight
Here’s hoping the press don’t destroy Arsenal ace
Are Ian Wright’s concerns justified?
£12m reasons why Arsenal fans may be questioning the club’s transfer strategy
Will this new transfer strategy see other Premier League clubs follow suit?
Why Arsenal must not make the same mistakes with Oxlade-Chamberlain
The ‘Cesc Fabregas Effect’ transforms future deals
Bremen star’s ‘Come and Get me’ plea to Arsenal
Clearly a blindspot for Arsene Wenger
2 players for the price of one
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Best of WEB
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The thoughts of a frustrated tourist – Gunnersphere
New Signings Imminent? Wenger to begin Spending Spree? Saga draws to a Close.. – Highbury House
Wenger press conference: The beginning of the end I’m afraid –Le Grove
Time to limit players’ wages – Online Gooner
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One Of Us Speaks: The Not A Season Preview Blog – A Cultured Left Foot
Arsenal to replace Nasri with this Marseille midfielder? -Gunnersphere
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Click on Miss Blasi below to see her in all her glory
Never one to shy away from voicing his opinions, Arsene Wenger has been in the news again recently for condemning the FA for saying they will take the ‘strongest team possible’ to the European Under-21 tournament in Demark next year. The bone of contention Wenger has is that this will inevitably mean a call-up for 18 year-old Jack Wilshere, who may have already featured just a week earlier for the England senior side in a Euro 2012 qualifier against Switzerland on June 4th.
Wenger has noted that;
“Jack Wilshere will play more than 40 games this season and, at 18, you have to be conscious that every time he plays, when he goes into the fight, he has to put in 200 per cent to win the ball. When a guy like him has played 40 games in the season, he needs a rest.”
Whilst also stating that;
‘The FA have to decide if he is in the first team or the Under 21s. Personally, I don’t believe a player ever performs when he has been in the top team and comes back to the Under 21s.’
We are by now, very used to the Wenger take on things, and love him or hate him, he invariably has an opinion. But is he right to be worried about the national team’s utilisation of one of his side’s prize assets?
It seems to me rather demanding of the FA to expect Wilshere to play for both the senior side and the Under-21s, and as Wenger says, the FA should probably make there mind up as to where they want him, not that this is putting Wilshere himself off the chance to play for both. However, I feel Wenger has a point.
This is perhaps not a typical club vs. country row; for starters Wenger has not expressed his dissatisfaction with Wilshere playing for his country full stop, more that he dislikes the idea of a potential summer off for one of his young talents being dashed by two facets of the national side.
I for one, can sympathise with Wenger, because how many times have we seen prodigious young talent have their career’s ruined by overzealous managers and officials, wanting to utilise their talents at every turn? The issue I believe is that Wenger himself is not in control of England’s usage of Wilshere. Wenger can use Wilshere as much as he likes, after all, Arsenal pay his wages, but with the youngster at the mercy of the FA all summer long, the decision is taken out of his control, and right or wrong, isn’t this the crux of the issue?
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There is a popular belief in society that all the best artists are crazy, for it is only these individuals who have the capability to produce something we’ve never seen or even considered before. What about footballers? Do they have to be mad to be brilliant? Surely the best players are those who can conjure something completely unique on their grassy canvas.
For all their positive attributes, the ‘workhorses’ or ‘no-nonsense’ defenders will only ever be truly loved by their own managers. As fans, our idols are those who dazzle further up the pitch, always flirting with the idea of doing some entirely unconventional. If I were to offer you the choice of a glass of tap water or a brash cocktail – containing equal measures of flamboyance and frustration – which one would you chose? The water is without question better for you and infinitely more reliable but you’ll still find yourself opting for the beverage with the umbrella sticking out of it, because of the unexpected excitement it might bring.
A perfect example is Paul Gascoigne, a player of effortless genius who had the unfortunate ability to match every extreme high with an equivalent low throughout his career. His lust for the ball when others shied away from it was inspirational and that was before he started to weave his magic. ‘Gazza’ is still idolised today, partly because of his exploits on the pitch but also because his off-the-field antics resonated with so many ‘normal’ individuals. You’ll often hear him described as a proper ‘character’ in football, as if he played the lead role in your favourite television programme.
Players like Paul Gascoigne, Paolo Di Canio and even the likes of Tino Asprilla all attracted legions of fans during their time in the Premiership. They were by no means perfect in the way they played football, nor did they dominate at the end of season awards, but they all possessed the uncanny ability to try something beyond the normal realms of comprehension. Instead of looking for the easy option, they would seek the most entertaining one and because they had the talent to execute such unusual moves, everyone fell in love with them.
Mario Balotelli undoubtedly represents the next talented star to blend both the brilliant with the bizarre. The Italian is blessed with flair, pace and textbook technique but he is not adverse to a fireworks display in his bathroom or leaving the house disguised as Feathers Mcgraw. Despite a series of ill-disciplined outbursts, the 21-year-old has notched 17 goals in 31 club appearances this season and deserves credit for carrying the torch in the absence of Carlos Tevez.
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Having endured a turbulent first season in the Premier League with more ups and downs than a typical rollercoaster, an air of doubt has surrounded his future at the club after a petulant display against Arsenal. He certainly lacks the composure of his elder team-mates but when he has the ball he is such a rare and intriguing spectacle that English football would be far less attractive without him.
Elsewhere in the world of football, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi both seem able to be exceptional on the pitch without the accompanying acts of ludicrously. Messi may have a tattoo of his mum on his back and Ronaldo may be guilty of pantomime reactions when he’s fouled (and even when he’s not), but these appear futile compared to throwing darts at youth team members or an unannounced visit to a women’s prison.
In fact Messi can be further admired by the way he conducts himself on the pitch, he rarely complains, rolls around on the floor or waves an imaginary card after he’s been fouled for the umpteenth time. His maturity is an example to all young footballers but it will be interesting to see how he copes with the increasingly desperate measures the opposition will employ to try and stop him. Need I remind you of the legendary Zinedine Zidane at the 2006 World Cup.
The very best players compete without any boundaries or limits, they thrive on the adulation of the supporters but when the whistle blows and the lights go out, some will search for that same buzz in those less desirable recreational activities. Perhaps there is an argument that the modern day culture of the sport drives certain players to commit such acts of outlandish behaviour. We as a nation are more than willing to propel players to such dizzying heights of stardom only to berate and criticise them the moment they make an inevitable mistake.
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With sensationalised media coverage and the growing levels of expectation for club and country, players are constantly walking a tightrope of their own success. You may not have to be crazy to be brilliant at football, but some would argue that it certainly helps.
The notion of standing in football stadiums immediately conjures up thoughts of disasters.
A number of accidents involving British sides have left a permanent scar on the game and resulted in the condemnation of terraces in football stadia around the world.
Of course there are still standing specific areas in stadiums around England and the world but regulations mean that you won’t see legal standing in lets say a World Cup or Champions League game.
Last season over on The Busby Way we looked at the possibility of reintroducing standing at Old Trafford. The terrace at Old Trafford is famous and prior to the Taylor Report in 1990 there were plans for the Stretty End to be all standing with a cantilever roof to link with the rest of the ground.
Of course the idea we suggested was met with scepticism and responses of it’ll never happen but what if I was to say there is a safe way to return standing to football stadiums in England?
When we looked at bringing it back to Old Trafford we cited the German model of ‘safe standing’ and having had the chance to meet Jon Darch from the Safe Standing Roadshow and Malcolm Clarke of the Football Supporters Federation it is apparent that not only is there a market for standing at games but that it can also work.
German football is member (fan) controlled and they believe that standing is an integral part of football support thus have designated areas in stadium specifically for standing and as long as the game is run that way in Germany it will never be outlawed.
But as expected they encountered problems.
In the late 1990s UEFA outlawed standing in stadia that wanted to host European football competitions like the Champions League and the then UEFA Cup so the Bundesliga teams were faced with a problem, how would they convert their standing areas into seating areas to satisfy UEFA regulations?
Hamburg came up with an idea convert every second step in their standing areas into a fold up chair. When folded down it was just a metal step but in event of European football it could be flipped up into a seat.
It wasn’t a popular idea though as more teams chose to go with the ‘rail seat’.
Approved of by UEFA and FIFA, the variositze or rail seat consists of one step or two depending on preference to be stood on, then a rail with seat in front and behind.
The seat can be unlocked and folded out with a key but when in the locked position the rail in front and behind prevents the spectator from being pushed forward and toppling, unlike the danger presented when standing in stadiums today with the low back or even no back chairs.
This railway chair is what the Safe Standing Roadshow want to bring to English football and personally I was sold by their presentation.
The actual ruling behind standing in itself is quite daft, standing is prohibited only in the top two flights of football so League 1 and below can have terraces whilst if you are fortunate enough to be promoted into the Championship from League 1 then your stadium will need renovation.
I find it hard to see the correlation between fan safety and the quality of football you play yet the ruling still stands.
Another interesting point raised was the fact standing is only prohibited at football games. So you may find yourself expelled from Old Trafford for standing at a football game but if you go back the following week for the rugby that Old Trafford can be found to host, the same stewards won’t bat an eyelid as you stand and cheer.
Although attempting to make the game safer the ruling on standing at football games for me does not actually address the real problem.
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When Trafford Borough Council threatened to reduce Old Trafford’s capacity due to persistent standing they commissioned a report to show just how dangerous standing is.
Unfortunately it didn’t quite work out like that and instead the report found:
Jumping up and down when celebrating Squeezing through narrow aisles when going toilet Taking the stairs out after a game
were all more dangerous than just standing during a game.
Most footballing disasters have occurred due to poor crowd control at entry or exit. Very rarely have accidents occurred due to standing during action.
Standing during games is something that will always happen and although stewards will try to enforce it early on very rarely is it strictly adhered to. At the FA Youth Cup semi final first leg between Manchester United and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge we were threatened with expulsion in the Shed End but after a while the stewards gave up and allowed us to stand for the whole 90 minutes whilst at Bramall Lane for the final we were allowed to stand for 90 minutes unopposed.
John Darch and the Safe Standing team believe as fans we should get the choice whether we stand at games, there is a misconception that they are trying to return to the days of terraces but simply they want to give fans the option to stand at games safely and having seen their model for doing so if given the choice I would like to.