Sir Alex Ferguson believes there is no way back for Rio Ferdinand into Roy Hodgson’s England squad, despite John Terry announcing his international retirement.
Ferdinand was omitted from Hodgson’s Euro 2012 squad, but the decision was marred in controversy after Terry had been accused of racially abusing Rio’s brother, Anton in October last year.
The England manager insisted the decision was based on “footballing reasons” and Ferguson feels Ferdinand will not be selected anytime soon.
“It’s entirely up to Rio but I wouldn’t think he’ll get called up,” said Ferguson.
“Roy made his decision for the European Championship and I can’t see him changing that.
Ferdinand has said that he would never shut the door on his international career, but England’s focus has now turned to younger players- with the likes of Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka set to battle it out to claim Terry’s place in the team, alongside Joleon Lescott.
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But defensive injuries to Ferdinand’s club teammates, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones, means that a shock recall is not out of the question.
Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has once again reiterated his desire to lead the club to European glory again this season and he looks set to name another strong looking line-up in the team’s upcoming clash against Greek outfit Panathinaikos, but is he taking something of a gamble to taking the competition so seriously?
The club were handed a group stage entry position this term as a knock-on effect of Chelsea winning the Champions League last season and they’ve only had one game in the competition to date so far, at home to Lazio, so in that regard it is somewhat difficult to truly tell how the Portuguese boss is approaching it. However, it seems as if he’s in it to win it so to speak this season and repeat the feat he achieved in guiding Porto to the trophy back in 2010 before moving to Stamford Bridge later that summer for his ill-fated reign at Stamford Bridge.
Against the Italian side, while Hugo Lloris may have been handed his first start at the club in place of Brad Fridel and Kyle Naughton coming in at left-back for the injured Benoit Assou-Ekotto, it was pretty much as close as you could get to their first choice starting eleven, with only Younes Kaboul and Emmanuel Adebayor perhaps coming into contention when they both return from their spell out on the treatment table.
All the talk since he took over at White Hart Lane in the summer has been focused on winning silverware, not finishing fourth in the league, so often deemed as tantamount to success by large swathes of Arsenal supporters these days and I for one welcome the ambitious approach it displays and Tottenham are perfectly capable of going deep into the competition should they treat it seriously, I just wish more teams would follow suit.
The sheer amount of managers that treat the Europa League with disdain is shocking; they treat it as a distraction to their domestic campaign, a needless disruption to the real business of finishing in the top eight in the Premier League. The money that the Champions League brings with it by qualifying for it year on year is obviously a huge advantage and not to be missed out on if you have the chance of finishing in the top four, but somewhere along the way how we judge success has become distorted, it’s no longer measured by something tangible such as silverware, but what your club might be able to do next year and next season should they reinvest well enough.
We’ve seen in the past Martin O’Neill’s Aston Villa side bust a gut and spend huge sums of money to finish 6th in the league three years running, which in itself was a great achievement, only to then go and name weakened sides in the Europa League, which makes you think, what was the whole point of last season for then?
Why qualify for a competition only to then disregard it as soon as you have a chance to play in it? Portuguese and Spanish clubs do well precisely because they take the opposite viewpoint; they realise that they don’t stand much chance of domestic success with Barcelona and Real Madrid around, so this is there one chance of winning a trophy every season and that’s the approach some English clubs would be better served looking to adopt.
While Brendan Rodgers has been naming weakened sides in it this season at Liverpool, with a first-team squad of just 19 players to choose from, he doesn’t really have much else choice, while Alan Pardew with his recent defensive injury crisis at Newcastle is in a similar boat, but there’s no reason that if they qualify out of the tricky groups stages that they couldn’t do well in the latter stages and make a real impact.
Last term Tony Pulis’ Stoke side were superb in the earlier rounds but the affect it was having on their league from was hugely noticeable and he then decided to field a weakened side away at Valencia in the first knock-out phase with the deficit at just 1-0. During that game, the Spanish side were there for the taking, but Pulis couldn’t even fill a subs bench, naming ten changes and just four subs, with only Robert Huth deemed a guaranteed first-team regular in the starting side.
It was embarrassing and Pulis left nine players at home to kick their heels in frustration, seemingly looking forward to the prospect of facing Swansea at home three days later instead. Perhaps I’m romanticising European competition too much, but it just seemed like a wasted opportunity to do something special for a club that doesn’t often get the opportunity to give its fans much to shout about.
They limped out of the competition with a 1-0 defeat at the Mestalla, but honestly, how much better does it get for Stoke? Aren’t occasions like the one in question what the club and its fan-base have been hoping and dreaming for after all those years spent in the doldrums of the lower leagues?
In such financially testing times as these, the common football fan doesn’t have all that much disposable income to spend on going to games, let alone trips abroad, so imagine their frustration at seeing a largely second-string side turn out in what represented the biggest game in their recent history? A pretty flawed and defensively suspect Valencia side went all the way to the semi-final stage before being knocked out by the side that would go on to win the tournament, Atletico Madrid.
Of course, playing a strong line-up now in Europe may hinder your side further down the home straight and key players may grow tired or jaded at the business end of a long campaign, but I honestly don’t see the problem this early on in the season playing your strongest side most weeks no matter what the competition. They’re professional athletes after all, playing 40-odd games a season shouldn’t be that tough.
Last season Harry Redknapp, and to a lesser extent Roberto Mancini’s handling of a clearly knackered David Silva after the festive period, were called into question, with many slamming how much football they had played and that their respective squads simply hadn’t been rotated enough to keep the side fresh. This is why rotating your side if you get the chance in the ‘easier’ home games around January and afterwards is crucial the later the campaign goes on, but not quite at this stage of the season.
The Europe League is often seen as the annoying younger sibling to the all-consuming money monster that is the Champions League, but for my money, it’s more unpredictable, exciting, entertaining and enjoyable than anything the largely predictable so-called premier competition has to offer, where the same teams reach the semi-final stages every year.
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Villas-Boas has become an easy target for the media simply by virtue of not being Harry Redknapp, a man who they all have an irrational love for it seems, so a stick is often used to beat him with and double-standards and hypocrisy are common place, but to chastise a manager for treating a winnable competition with the respect it deserves is ridiculous. Playing to win it is the right approach that Tottenham should be looking to take this season and the 34-year-old manager should be applauded rather than criticised.
Micah Richards played centre back at the weekend for the first time in five months, and put in a performance to spark claims of an England call up.
After the recent international retirement from former captain John Terry, and Roy Hodgson appearing to rule out picking Rio Ferdinand, there does appear to be a vacancy at the heart of defence for England.
Richards’ ability at the highest level has consistently been questioned, and in a 6 year career he has only managed to secure 13 caps.
Despite his decision to reject the chance to be on the stand-by list for Euro 2012, the Birmingham born defender has added fuel to the fire in showing that he is ready for England.
Manchester City team mate, Pablo Zabaleta told The Telegraph, “I think Micah is a fantastic player and he deserves to be in the national team, Micah came back to the team, he was solid at the back.
“He is young, he is strong and he can give England what he wants to give Manchester City. He can play either at centre back or right back.”
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His versatility also adds scrutiny to England managers who have overlooked the talented defender.
“Terry’s not in the international team any more so maybe that is a good chance for him to get into the England team,” Zabaleta added.
Aston Villa have brought in the man who exposed attempted match-fixing in Italy last year as a community coach.
Simone Farina will aid Aston Villa in spreading a message of fair play. He will help in the development of the next generation of players in Aston Villa’s community programme.
Farina, now 30 years old, was at Serie B team Gubbio, when he turned down an offer of £160,000 (200,000 euros), which was double his yearly salary to influence the Italian Cup match between Cesena and his team last November. However, Farina, who also used to be a defender for Roma, refused, before reporting the offence to the police, leading to 17 people being arrested .
As a result, he was made the Fifa ambassador for fair play by Fifa president Sepp Blatter and was awarded a commemorative medal by Interpol, a police organisation for the contribution to law enforcement and crime prevention. Additionally, it was Interpol who recommended Farina to Aston Villa chairman Randy Lerner.
Farina has been in Birmingham for the last few weeks and will help children aged between five and 12 and find talent for Villa’s Bodymoor Heath academy.
Lerner has said that Interpol’s Secretary General recommended Farina for “his immense courage and dignity when confronted with a very difficult situation.”
Lerner added: “I’m really pleased that Simone has taken up this opportunity and that he has fit in quickly and so well with our community coaching programme.”
Farina says that he is “delighted” to work with Villa and help with the development of younger players.
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He added: “I wanted to move on with my life. Now I feel that I have real purpose again because of the support and opportunity Villa have given me. Randy Lerner and Paul Faulkner have been fantastic and already I feel I am part of the Villa family, with the way the club have embraced me. The opportunity here at Villa is perfect for me.”
Farina is an FA qualified coach, and has a Level One Award in Coaching Football.
Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert insists he has a good relationship with owner Randy Lerner, ahead of the American’s visit to the Midlands.
Lambert and Lerner are set to meet next month following the disappointing start that Villa have had to the season and the manager believes he has the full backing of his boss.
The club have made their worst start to a season in 43 years and have just the one victory in the first nine games this season and the last time the club started the season off this badly they were relegated to Division Three.
Lerner is set to visit the Midlands in a fortnight, but Lambert has revealed that he is in constant contact with the American who has been very supportive of the team so far.
“The chairman has got the club at heart. I have a good relationship with him, which is mutual, and he will come over in a couple of weeks’ time.
“At the end of the day, you just keep going. Has he been really supportive? Yes. Honestly. I have a good relationship with him.”
Lambert is adamant his side will not be relegated this season and has faith in his players.
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“We will be fine, I always have belief in the team.”
Liverpool’s on-loan midfielder Nuri Sahin has only impressed in patches so far this term, but is the fact that he’s been unable to hit the ground running in the way many would have hoped a cause for concern, or do we simply need to be more patient with him?
The 24-year-old Turkey international moved to Anfield in the summer after Arsenal baulked at the £2.8m loan fee that Real Madrid were demanding, on top of paying 70% of his £90k-per-week wages, making the move cost approximately £6.2m in total. Arsene Wenger withdrew his interest at the eleventh hour after the Spanish giants withdrew a £14m agreed buyout clause in his contract, due to the lack of security and protection the club were given if the deal happened to be a success, which allowed Liverpool to swoop.
The concern is that in the three games this season where the side have needed him to step up the most, against Arsenal, Chelsea and Everton, that he’s gone missing for prolonged periods and there’s a worry that he may be a little too similar to Joe Allen, but lacking the Welshman’s neat turn of pace to get away from his marker to be able to make an impact in the top flight, a suspicion long-since held before he came to these shores.
There’s no denying that he’s been tidy in possession, as a 92% pass completion rate against Arsenal will testify to, but he always seems to be the sacrificial lamb in games of importance. He was taken off in the 66th minute against the north London side, in the 59th minute against Chelsea and at half-time after a truly anonymous performance in the Merseyside derby during which he made just seven passes for a 54% completion rate, so why has he struggled so much?
The knock-on effect of Lucas Leiva’s injury is still being felt in the side and it’s played a part in both Allen and Sahin’s form dropping off to an extent, as they’ve had to occupy deeper roles than they may have been comfortable with. The Brazilian is back in full training now after recovering from a morale-sapping thigh injury and could return to the starting eleven over the next couple of weeks.
During his Borussia Dortmund pomp, Sahin dictated the play from deep, protected by the brute force of Sebastien Kehl or Sven Bender at different times, and he was granted more time on the ball to thread his intricate passes from range, which quickly became his trademark. However, after an injury-disrupted season spent sat largely on the bench at Real Madrid, dusting off the cobwebs after he had just gotten used to a slightly slower league in terms of tempo must be difficult and a transition period was inevitable.
You sense that Sahin would be a lot more comfortable in the role at the tip of the midfield trio just behind Suarez, a position he did well in against Norwich during the 5-2 win at Carrow Road where he is just behind the opposition’s midfield and away from the hustle and bustle to a larger degree, in a position where he can influence play more.
There’s also the fact that the club are competing in Europe this term and due to the small nature of the squad, had they just been focusing on their domestic campaign, Sahin would likely have featured more often and on a consistent week-to-week basis, but due to the thin nature of the squad, rotation is essential so that Rodgers has enough options for both competitions and Sahin’s form may have suffered at the hands of the constant chopping and changing as he tries to adapt to a new culture and climate.
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At the moment, with Jose Mourinho likely to want to sell in the summer, utilising the loan market was merely a way of driving Sahin’s price up, and Liverpool remain in the driving seat for his signature, but a fee around the £14m mark would simply not be feasible, particularly as his performances simply haven’t justified such a significant outlay as of yet. Unfortunately, performances such as the two-goal match-winning display against West Brom in the Capital One Cup have been the exception rather than the rule so far.
His quality and pedigree are undeniable, but he hasn’t fully settled just yet, which if the likes of Jonjo Shelvey, Suso and Raheem Sterling hadn’t performed unexpectedly well this term for such young players, would have been much more of a problem. The jury is out on whether he has the ability to successfully integrate himself into the English game, and while it is still early days, he’ll need to do more as the season wears on if he wants to secure a permanent move to Anfield in the summer, even if his slow start up until this point is somewhat understandable.
Wigan Athletic striker Franco Di Santo has received an international call up to the Argentina squad for their next round of fixtures.
The striker received his first call up in November for a friendly against Saudi Arabia and was able to record his debut for his country.
Despite this, the striker did not expect to again be recalled with the South American nation being able to call upon a wealth of talent.
Di Santo has however made the squad when notably Carlos Tevez failed to be included in the travelling party.
The Wigan striker believes that this is a strong indication of his progress under Roberto Martinez at the DW Stadium, and he was full of praise for his footballing education.
“When I saw my name in the squad list but Tevez’s wasn’t, it was a real surprise,” the 23-year-old told the Daily Mirror.
“It told me that what I was doing at Wigan was good. The gaffer has taught me many things.”
Di Santo has been a regular fixture in the starting line-up for the Latics so far and will be keen to maintain his form.
He is aware that regularly playing 90 minutes will increase his chances of receiving a call up.
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Di Santo played the whole match at the DW stadium on Wednesday as his side lost 2-0 to Manchester City where as his fellow compatriot Carlos Tevez remained an unused substitute.
The Argentinian will hoping to feature at St James’ Park on Monday as his Wigan Athletic side take on Newcastle United in a 20:00 kick off.
Over the years, West Ham striker Carlton Cole has had to endure an increased amount of criticism from the club’s fans. Regular moans and groans have echoed throughout Upton Park when he has either entered the field of play, failed to win an ariel duel or missed a goal scoring opportunity.
But what these fans fail to see is his commitment to the club and the effort he puts in to playing for West Ham. They fail to see his contribution on the pitch and remember what he has done for the team since he arrived from Chelsea in 2006.
So, as a self-confessed member of the Carlton Cole fan club, I’d like to jog a few people’s memories, starting with his attacking contribution.
In 221 appearances in all competitions for the Hammers, Cole has scored 58 goals – his most recent being the equaliser in the brilliant 3-1 win over Chelsea last weekend. In the last four seasons he has finished as the club’s top scorer, with his highest tally coming last season (15). Additionally, the striker has assisted 27 goals in the six and a bit seasons he has enjoyed at the club with his most successful season being the 2007/2008 campaign when he chipped in with eight assists.
Now, many people will argue that averaging a goal every 3.81 games is not a good enough return for a striker will be partly right. But, when you consider that he has spent half of his West Ham career in a side battling relegation and one season playing in the Championship, it is fair to say that the 29-year-old hasn’t exactly been given the opportunity to thrive in a Premier League side performing well consistently.
His goals last season were also massively important to West Ham’s promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking. Without seven of his league goals, the Hammers would have been 12 points worse off at the end of the season, which would have seen them finish seventh, missing out on the play-offs. Then, of course, he scored the opener and assisted the winner in the 2-1 play-off final win over Blackpool.
Cole doesn’t get enough praise for the commitment he has shown to the club, either. After the club’s promotion, the striker revealed he had opted to take a 50% pay-cut in order to help with the club’s finances while out of the top-flight. For someone that has been regularly criticised in a West Ham shirt, that is a decent thing to have done.
He also has to endure endless abuse from idiots on Twitter and he has conducted himself well, only reacting to a couple of tweets that may have got him in trouble if seen as anything other than banter. He regularly keeps the fans informed about how training is going and has tweeted his love for the club in the past.
Further more, upon the high-profile arrival of Andy Carroll at the end of August, Cole told the Sun: “I don’t want to leave. I have told the board that I want to stay for the rest of my career. I want to stay and help out the club anyway way I can.”
For a player that doesn’t have 100% of the fans behind him to pledge his future to the club like that shows his commitment is unrivaled and there are fans out there that need to recognise that.
Cole may not be one of the best strikers to have ever had the privileged to wear claret and blue, but he deserves a lot more respect than what he receives from some fans. His contribution to the team goes unnoticed at times but if you look closely you’ll see a man who is always giving his all for the team.
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His performance against Chelsea proved just that, too. A goal, an assist and an all round good performance, which will surely go some way in keeping Andy Carroll out to the team – when he returns after injury – if he can take that into the next few games and beyond.
Loyal footballers are a rarity these days, so Carlton Cole should be praised for that rather than be hounded by the fans of the club he is so evidently devoted to.
What do you think? Does Carlton Cole deserve some of the criticism he receives from fans, or do supporters fail to see exactly what he has done for the club since signing from Chelsea? Let me know your thoughts below.
Everton defender Sylvain Distin believes referees should do more to stop “wrestling” at set pieces, in the wake of Marouane Fellaini’s head-butt on Stoke defender Ryan Shawcross.
The Toffees’ midfielder apologised after the game for his actions after the game, but may face a retrospective ban as referee Mark Halsey missed the incident.
The Belgian went on to bemoan the lack of protection players receive from officials, a stance that team-mate Distin reiterated:
“It’s wrestling, it was tough. It was difficult to run through, they just catch you all the time and grab you.” He is quoted by The Metro.
“I think the ref could have a better look at it. But that is football and it’s going to happen when you come to a place like Stoke.”
The French defender went on to call upon an incident in which his team conceded a penalty against Manchester City as a prime example of the issue:
“There is just no consistency. That is the problem as a player. Sometimes you get grabbed or blocked and it is not a penalty.
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‘Then you see what happened against City when the ref gave them a penalty, and you think ‘there should be a penalty every week’.
‘There is no consistency so it’s a bit frustrating when it’s not going your way.”
Mike Ashley has stood by his manager and facilitated the arrival of five new first-team players to St James’ Park this January. But Newcastle aren’t out of the woods yet. While it’s always exciting to see a wave of new names through the door and the hope they may bring for something a little brighter in the immediate future, these next few months until the end of the season are absolutely crucial for the stability of the club moving forward.
There was never any excuse for Mike Ashley not to significantly strengthen the squad last summer, unless, of course, he was more than happy with the fifth place Premier League finish last season and was content to sit back on it. Even if it’s a myth, the dreaded ‘second season syndrome,’ relatively speaking, was looming and about to hit Newcastle and Alan Pardew hard. The injuries didn’t help either, but the squad needed freshening up in a big way.
The problem with all these new arrivals is that you’re normally accustomed to seeing such an obvious change during the summer, not in January when a team are so precariously placed. Newcastle may go down, and it’s certainly not impossible, but unlike others who are in or around the relegation scrap, Newcastle do have the means to make a convincing escape.
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But how much of an impact can the new signings make? None of them are Premier League experienced, and despite being players of sufficient quality to help Newcastle in the long-term, the priority will be to get them well up to speed with what’s expected of them in English football. Moreover, such a swing in playing personnel is likely to affect both the newcomers and those already in Newcastle shirts.
Newcastle are sitting in 15th place and have a very difficult tie at home to Chelsea on the weekend, followed by Tottenham away. Between now and May, it isn’t about finishing as high as possible, it’s very much about remaining in the Premier League and having this new squad prepared for a strong season beginning in August.
The lack of notable buys in the summer has made this season a write-off, but that’s football. You can’t expect to bring similar results in back-to-back campaigns after very little spend while everyone else is making noticeable improvements to their squad. That view applies to one or two others in the league as well, but this should be seen as a learning curve for Newcastle and Mike Ashley especially. He’s done a good job of digging himself out of a hole when all the good work of last season was looking to be undone. Yes the club finished fifth last season and above Chelsea, but what good is it if the following season sees shredded nerves, the high probability of relegation and near total capitulation?
It’s also worth pointing out that selling clubs are not ‘catching onto’ Newcastle’s prudent but effective ways in the transfer market, as has been suggested in the past. Yes, a lot of clubs around Europe might have noticed Newcastle’s smart approach in recent windows, but that doesn’t mean there hasn’t always been and will continue to be bargains available. Moussa Sissoko and Mathieu Debuchy are just a couple of names who would have done very well at clubs further up the table in the Premier League, and yet Newcastle picked them up for next to nothing. They’ll undoubtedly improve the squad and give the club the option to make profits via the sale of others.
It’s all down to Alan Pardew now, however. He’s been given the tools, albeit a bit late in the day, and now has to create a working atmosphere between the growing French contingent and the rest of his players.
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If survival can be ensured, this could prove to be a very threatening and attractive Newcastle side next season. A team with quality all over the pitch and who are ready to launch out of the gates in August, as opposed to sometime down the line when the alarm bells ring.