Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is unconcerned that the club will struggle to keep hold of players at the end of the season.Redknapp steered Spurs to the quarter-final stage in Europe this season before being edged out by Barcelona and he is confident the club can build on that success rather than having players picked off by other clubs.
Although they have missed out on the top four finish they needed to qualify for the Champions League again, Redknapp’s men travel to fifth-placed Liverpool knowing a win could put them in line for a Europa League place next season.
“I don’t think it will be hard to keep hold of our players. We never had Champions League football before,” he said.
“Players have not signed for us because we’re in the Champions League. If people want to leave it’s up to them, we can find other players. There are plenty of other players about.”
“It has been a fantastic season, one of the best Tottenham seasons since I don’t know when.”
“We were in the last eight of the Champions League and were pushing to finish in the top four all year.”
“We have done better this year than last. We beat teams like Inter Milan and AC Milan in the Champions League. It has been a great run.”
“If we finish fifth, for me it would be a better season than last year. It’s tough to get into that top four and is getting tougher.”
“We need to improve a little bit again if we want to keep pushing and that’s the challenge for next season.”
Sunday’s hosts Liverpool have been resurgent since Kenny Dalglish took charge in February and Redknapp said they will be a force to be reckoned with next season.
“Kenny has done a great job since he’s taken over. He’s a top man, a different class, a proper legend of the game,” he said.
“Liverpool fans love him; he’s Liverpool through and through. It’s a great club with a great tradition and I’m very pleased to see Kenny back in charge there.”
“Next season Liverpool will be stronger again.”
“Suarez has done great and there’s Carroll up front too.”
“Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher are the backbone of the team and they have a fantastic keeper. They have the nucleus of a very strong team.”
Liverpool will be without defender Fabio Aurelio (thigh), Daniel Agger (thigh), Gerrard (groin) and forward Milan Jovanovic (knee).
Croatia play host to Georgia on Friday while Greece are at home to Malta a day later as the race for top spot in Euro 2012 Group F heats up.Heading into the weekend’s qualifiers, Group F shapes as one of the tournament’s most open.
Greece – the 2004 champions – top the table on 11 points, just one ahead of Croatia and Israel, with Georgia in fourth place on nine points.
Greece and Croatia have both played one game fewer than Croatia and Israel, and will be keen to claim full points from their home matches this weekend to put some breathing space between themselves and those chasing.
Croatia will be hoping for more good form from Spurs’ midfielder Niko Kranjcar, who has four goals in the campaign so far.
Israel journey to Latvia on Saturday in the group’s other match.
Group B is also a competitive one, with Slovakia, Russia and the Republic of Ireland deadlocked on 10 points in a three-way tie for top spot.
All six teams in the group are in action on Saturday, with Russia hosting Armenia in St Petersburg, Slovakia at home to Andorra and Ireland doing battle with Macedonia in Skopje.
Robbie Keane needs just one more international goal to reach the 50 mark for Giovanni Trapattoni’s Ireland, while Slovakia are missing key quartet Vladimír Weiss, Marek Sapara, Miroslav Stoch and goalkeeper Jan Mucha.
Group A takes centre stage on Friday, with Germany holding a five-point lead on top of the table.
The battle for second is on in earnest, with Belgium a point clear of Turkey and three ahead of Austria.
Belgium host Turkey in Brussels as Austria face the visiting Germans in Vienna. Group A’s other match sees Kazakhstan play host to Azerbaijan.
New Real Madrid midfielder Nuri Sahin misses out for Turkey with a knee injury. Genk goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, 19, will be between the posts for Belgium, while captain Thomas Vermaelen is back after a long injury layoff.
In Group C, Italy can build on their five-point buffer at the top of the table when they take on Estonia at home on Friday, with second-placed Slovenia journeying to the Faroe Islands.
Romania face Bosnia and Herzegovina in Group D, as Belarus welcome the group’s leaders France in the other match.
The Netherlands have a nine-point lead in Group F, but second-placed Sweden can bridge the gap when they visit Moldova and San Marino will try to get off the bottom when they welcome Finland.
Keeping striker Mikael Forssell quiet will be key for San Marino, with the Hannover forward boasting five goals to his name in Finland’s qualifying campaign.
In Group I, Lithuania visit bottom-placed Liechtenstein looking to keep their slim hopes of second place alive, in a group dominated by Spain and the Czech Republic.
On Saturday, Group G sees England play Switzerland at Wembley as they look to break their deadlock on top of the table with Montenegro, with both sides possessing 10 points from their four games.
They will have to it without the suspended Wayne Rooney, however, and Montenegro can keep the pressure firmly on England with a win from their home clash with Bulgaria.
Norway can go a long way towards winning Group H when they travel to Lisbon to do battle with Portugal.
The Scandinavian nation tops the group on 10 points, three ahead of Portugal, with both sides level on goal difference.
Crucially, captain Cristiano Ronaldo returns to Portugal’s squad after missing friendlies against Chile and Finland in March.
Denmark are also in the mix on seven points, and they face a difficult trip to Reykjavik where they will do battle with bottom-placed Iceland.
Twitter ’s influence on football is growing ever stronger. Not just can you read about what smug Michael Owen is saying, but you can get closer to footballers in an age where the fan and the player are quite a way apart. Well, now it seems like Twitter is not only giving fans the opportunity to find out more about their players, but it’s also allowing them to have an influence on teams’ transfers. I bring to you the ‘twansfer’.
Ok, that’s a stupid name and one that I won’t use again, but fans of Yeovil Town have actually had a real influence on who the club has bought by airing their views on Twitter. Young Yeovil manager Terry Skiverton asked fans to tweet him suggestions on who the club should buy in the summer, and the ideas came flooding in. A little time later and Yeovil had signed free agent Kieran Agard, a player who had been highly recommended by many fans. So, is this innovative strategy possibly one that Newcastle could use in the future?
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To be honest it seems pretty unlikely. Newcastle pay Graham Carr and the rest of their scouts hundreds of thousands of pounds to search out the best talent across Europe and around the world, and of course their job depends upon how good the players that they recommend are. Sign a few Cheik Tiote ’s and the scout gets a pat on the back, bring in someone like Xisco and you’re given a right rollicking.
However, with all the football that is available to watch on TV and online, there’s no questioning that a lot of fans have a great knowledge of many different leagues. Fans are no longer just going by the stats on Football Manager, we’re actually watching football from around the world, being tipped off by fellow fans and then checking them out for ourselves. Whether that means we could do the jobs of professional scouts, I’m not so sure.
It is a good idea, though, and perhaps the way to go about it would be to see who the fans recommend, then get the scouts to go and watch them for themselves. It’s nice to see a young manager showing a bit of innovation and trying ideas and for smaller clubs who can’t fork out a lot of money on scouts, it might well turn out to be a decent idea. For the likes of Newcastle and other Premier League clubs it’s perhaps a bit far-fetched, but if Alan Pardew asked you to tweet some transfer targets to him, who would you suggest?
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Read more of Tom’s articles at Nothing But Newcastle
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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.
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
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
With the final day of the transfer window drawing nearer the mad rush for that big last minute deal will soon commence. The window officially shuts at 11pm Wednesday evening and this late finish means that clubs will undoubtedly be doing their business late into the night.
Whilst fans regularly enjoy the excitement of Sky Sports News excellent deadline day coverage, for the clubs the pressure to get the right players at the right prices often means they leave their business to the last day.
With only hours left a transfer story can break and even though there looks to be no time left to complete a deal, those final hours and minutes can be crucial in a teams’ season. But what are the top ten deadline day swoops of past seasons?
Click on Luis Suarez to see the top 10 deadline deals
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Do you agree with the top ten? Have I missed an amazing last minute deal? If you want to read more of my bite size, 140 character views and thoughts follow me on Twitter @jennyk5
Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere is making good progress in his rehabilitation from an ankle injury, and has stated that he hopes to be back playing soon.
The England international midfielder picked up the knock in pre-season, and has missed The Gunners’ terrible start to the 2011-12 campaign, as he tries to get back to full fitness.
Wilshere was initially believed to be sidelined until November, but his latest post on Twitter may give Emirates fans hope that their star man may make an early return to the Premier League fold.
“Good day at football today! In the gym again! Ankle feeling a lot better hope to be back playing soon,” he stated on the social networking site.
With the summer loss of Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas, the Arsenal midfield has looked bereft of it’s usual quality, and the return of Wilshere will be sure to be a big boost for the side.
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Wilshere is set to miss a number of further games as Arsene Wenger will not want to bring him back before he is ready, but Arsenal need the playmaker as they are languishing in 17th in the table after being beaten 4-3 by Blackburn on Saturday.
Since 2008 there has been a consensus that two players in world football stand alone from the rest of the bunch, battling it out on an annual basis to be crowned the unofficial ‘Best Player in the World’. Those two, are of course Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Officially too, the footballing world has recognised this. From 2008 to present, both players have won the FIFA World Player of the Year, Ballon d’Or, or the FIFA Ballon d’Or as both awards have now become known. A rivalry of sorts developed, and became even more intriguing since both players are now in direct opposition of each other, lining up for bitter club enemies Barcelona and Real Madrid, in Spain’s La Liga. But if you were the manager of a Premier League club and had the opportunity to sign just one of those players, who would you, choose?
Having either of these world greats in your Premier League team is the stuff of fantasy football – or Football Manager! Although they are the attacking fulcrum for their teams, both are distinctly different from one another, each having their own unique characteristics. The difference is even more apparent when you consider the personality traits of the two.
Many now consider Messi to stand alone as the world’s current best. He has won the FIFA and Ballon d’Or award, two years running. But does that mean he would automatically succeed in the infinitely more physical Premier League? Would he really be a better fit than Cristiano Ronaldo? We’ve all heard the (arrogant) jibes from the British media; ‘he may be great, but could the little Argentine do it on a cold Wednesday night at Stoke City?’ A figure of speech, inferring that many believe Messi couldn’t hack the physical nature of the Premier League, coupled with the bitter cold and boisterous atmosphere the stadiums produce. Up to now, it’s hypothetical. But this is one area to make a case for Cristiano Ronaldo – he has done it.
As a manager of a football team, gambling on player selection at one time or another is inevitable. So if presented with a ‘sure thing’ over the ‘unproven’, which would you choose? It sounds ridiculous to refer to Messi as ‘unproven’ but the point is valid – Ronaldo is proven in the Premier League and the Argentine isn’t.
After a slow start to his career with Manchester United many quickly dismissed him as just a ‘show pony’ – full of pointless tricks with no end product. Yet he grew into his massive potential, terrorising defences up and down the country, culminating in an amazing 2007-2008 season which saw him score 42-goals on-route to winning the League title and Champions League, before being crowned both World Player and Ballon d’Or winner.
Thunderous shooting, fantastic skill and lightening-footed, Ronaldo’s speed is a major attribute both with and without the ball. As a specimen he looks more of a fit to the Premier League. Taller, he is better in the air than the little Argentine, and physically appears stronger. Yet appearances can be deceiving. As many Premier League fans remember, the Portuguese was (and still is) keen to go down with the slightest of contact – then display a full act of histrionics and scowling. Messi on the other hand receives just as much contact, if not more rough treatment from the opposition, but diving isn’t a part of his game. If felled, more often than not he bounces up, keen to get on with play. No fuss, no drama, no petulance. Out of those two characteristics, which is the most Premier League-like?
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The major difference between the two however, is their egos. Ronaldo’ unquenchable thirst to be the worlds greatest has led to him to become an individual in a team game, where the matches are ‘his’ show. Shooting from all angles and distances when team-mates are better positioned, consistently demanding the ball then preferring to charge-off in favour of a more considered team-approach, and his overly-dramatic free-kick routine – that’s without mentioning his constant on (and off) field preening and petulance. It’s no wonder he’s been rumoured to hire an ‘image’ coach this season, in hope of changing his perceived public persona.
Messi, by vast contrast, is very much a team-player. However, with such unique and immense talent he stands out as the individual. Whilst he can seemingly dribble round an opponent at will, if a team-mate is in a better position, he will pass. His outrageous technique makes the ball appear glued to his foot, whilst his outstanding vision, calmness and finishing are almost second-to-none. A Maradona-like clone, at the age of just 24 he is already considered one of the greatest players ever.
So, who would you choose for your Premier League team? The man who’s already been there, seen it and done it? Or the man who is currently considered the best, and could quite possibly be regarded as, the greatest player of all-time?
If you want to read more from myself including news, thoughts and views you can follow me on Twitter @fantasista1077 thanks!
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On Saturday, Germany Manager Joachim Loew visited London to watch Per Mertesacker, one of Low’s choices at centre back for the national team. He won’t have been impressed at the quality of the defending on show between Chelsea and Arsenal in their eight goal thriller. Perhaps ‘Jogi’ would have benefitted from staying to watch Saturday’s action in Germany.
No doubt Loew will hear good reports of Marco Reus’ performance against Hannover. His decision to call up Gladbach’s finest to the national team last month is looking increasingly vindicated. There has been little streaky about the form of the man whose hair resembles that of a skunk. He continues to flourish under Lucien Favre with free reign behind the lone striker. This caught out Mirko Slomka’s side (who are?) as Reus notched a double in a tight 2-1 success reigniting Monchengladbach’s Champions League bid after three outings without a victory.
Elsewhere, the national team coach could have probably predicted the outcome in Munich as Bayern bounced back imperiously from last week’s defeat in Hannover. Nuremberg were the latest team to be dominated, something which almost every visitor has to endure at the moment when coming to the Allianz Arena. It only took Mario Gomez 85 seconds to Bayern to open their account in this game and from then on, it was the usual procession.
Bayern’s nearest challengers prior to the weekend were Borussia Dortmund. Their manager, Jurgen Klopp was born in Stuttgart but there was no happy return for the Dortmund boss. Borussia could not overcome Stuttgart at the Mercedes-Benz Arena as they drew 1-1 in a well contested game. This meant they dropped to third with Schalke overcoming Hoffenheim 3-1 with Werder Bremen staying in touch with an away victory at Mainz.
If Loew was searching for entertainment then he would have been well advised to visit Wolfsburg on Saturday afternoon. Hertha Berlin came to town and produced a clinical performance winning 3-2 in an exciting match. Markus Babbel’s team’s determination ultimately shone through and Felix Magath must be wondering what he has to do in order to ignite his second managerial reign at Wolfsburg.
Loew still managed to get his fill of Bundesliga before he left for London as he ventured to South West Germany on Friday night. Last year’s runners up Bayer Leverkusen travelled to bottom club Freiburg where he saw his former captain Michael Ballack inflict further pain.
Nevertheless, how impressed Joachim Loew will have been with Mertesacker in a match where his side conceded three is questionable. Judging what he saw on Saturday and the action he missed, the 51-year-old coach would have been better off staying put in the Bundesliga last weekend.
Matchday 11 Results:
Freiburg 0-1 Leverkusen
Bayern Munich 4-0 Nuremberg
Schalke 3-1 Hoffenheim
Stuttgart 1-1 Dortmund
Wolfsburg 2-3 Hertha Berlin
Gladbach 2-1 Hannover
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