There are few players that move between fierce rivals. It is a rarity for a footballer to move from Newcastle to Sunderland, Liverpool to Everton, Arsenal to Tottenham and vice-versa, but one player has done just that by moving from Aston Villa to Birmingham and it has helped to kick start his career. Former Aston Villa midfielder Craig Gardner moved to St Andrews in the January transfer window for a sum of £3 million and he has gone from strength to strength in the blue half of Birmingham.
The move earlier this year was made even more surprising by the fact that Gardner spent the whole of his youth career at Villa Park, although he is a life-long Blue. In his five years at the club Gardner made over 50 Premier League appearances for Villa, but failed to hold down a first team place during his time at the club. This is the exact opposite at Birmingham where he has become an important first team player under Alex McLeish and has even been in great goal scoring form as well. He started off the season by scoring twice against Blackburn Rovers as Birmingham came from behind to win 2-1, and he also netted in the game against Bolton Wanderers.
There are few fiercer rivalries in the Premier League than the one between Aston Villa and Birmingham and both teams’ sets of fans will be greatly looking forward to the match at Villa Park on Sunday 31st October. It’s a particularly good time for football in the Midlands, with both Wolves and West Bromwich Albion being in the Premier League too meaning that there are 4 clubs within 12 miles of each other. But will we see many more players cross the Midlands divide any time soon. It’s definitely worked wonders for Gardner:
With January fast approaching the media is clogged up with rumours about big money signings that could go through in the New Year and one player in the North East is of particular interest. Cheick Tiote has built up a reputation in the English game as one of the best holding midfielders of the past two years and so it is not surprise that interest is high.
Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea appear to be the front runners to sign the Ivorian international with a fee of over £25million being reported in some newspapers over the past month. Considering Tiote arrived on Tyneside for just £3.5million less than 18 months ago from FC Twente and the fact that some would say Toon owner Mike Ashley is extremely money motivated, would it be a surprise if the club cashed in on a £20million plus profit next month.
Geordie fans are desperate to hold on to their prized asset who returned to Premier League action at the weekend in a goalless draw at home to Swansea after over seven weeks on the sidelines. The likes of Kevin Nolan and Joey Barton along with Andy Carroll may have been the prominent players at St James Park last season but the supporters will not have missed Tiote’s rise in the team and his consistency level that was hard to beat in the Premier League.
But the big question is going to be whether Ashley allows his player to leave just as he did this time last year with the before mentioned Carroll who turned out to be a great piece of business for Newcastle. However, the profit from the Carroll deal is yet to be spent and so the club are in a good position financially, meaning the need to sell Tiote is minimal. Selling the naming rights of St James Park has also increased revenue and so the club that seemed to have a different issue each month in years gone by appear to finally be on the straight and narrow.
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The consistency in the board room has reflected their excellent start to the season and Alan Pardew is continuing his impressive management record at a very big club. So if Newcastle want to be taken seriously and have the possibility of challenging for European football in the next 18 months they have got to keep players like Tiote. There is no need to sell financially and so Ashley has got to reward the fans and Pardew with not only keeping the top players but adding to the squad so they can attempt to get on the same level as the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal in the near future. Demba Ba and Tiote will be at the African Cup of Nations in January and miss crucial games and will need to be replaced.
Newcastle cannot afford to become a selling club to the top teams and holding onto certain players will be just as good as a new signing at the Sports Direct Arena. Ashley has got to stand strong with the fans and the manager and a top half finish will definitely be on the cards this season with the ability to improve on that in the coming years. Things are still looking good in the North East but transfer windows are always a nervy time for Geordies, but that has to change.
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Braga coach Domingos Paciencia is adamant his side can overturn the 2-1 deficit in the reverse Europa League semi-final tie against Benfica.Paciencia’s side could not contain Benfica, who scored a 2-1 win at the Estadio da Luz on Thursday courtesy of a sumptuous free-kick from Paraguayan Oscar Cardozo.
Braga now welcome the Portuguese giants to the Estadio AXA next Thursday, and will be hoping their precious away goal will count in their favour in front of their home crowd.
“Defeat is not a good result but we know that everything is open,” 42-year-old Paciencia said. “We will try to come back at home and go through.”
“What I can say is that it will certainly be a different Braga than here.”
Paciencia admitted the occasion caused pre-match jitters within his dressing room, and that may have impacted on their display early in the game.
“We need to start better. We were very nervous because of the importance of the game. As the match went on we got better and in the second half we created chances,” he said.
“We could have scored one more but we know that 1-0 will be enough, so the players have confidence. Playing at home in front of our fans we will be great.”
Benfica manager Jorge Jesus, while lamenting his side’s failure to put more goals past their opponents, is confident his side is headed for the final in Dublin on May 18.
“We have won the first match,” he said. “It was like that against PSG and Sttutgart, so this result at home is nothing new for us.”
“We deserved more (or) at least to end with a two-goal advantage. Braga didn’t create any chances to score.”
“Their goal was from a set-piece situation and they didn’t create many difficulties for us. We go to Braga better than we started the tie. Of course I believe that I will go to Dublin, the result gives us that faith.”
Former Valencia playmaker Pablo Aimar, who is suspended for the corresponding fixture, reminded his Benfica team-mates that there was still another 90 minutes to play before they could think about the final.
Should they progress to Dublin, they will likely face bitter rivals Porto, who recorded a resounding 5-1 win over Villarreal in the first leg of the competition’s other semi-final.
“We knew that they would defend well – they came to prevent us from scoring,” the Argentine said.
“We created many chances to score, especially in the first half. A 2-1 advantage is narrow; the tie is still open. It will be hard to miss the second leg.”
Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini claims Mario Balotelli will prove a better signing than Fernando Torres.
Mancini landed the 20-year-old Italian from former club Internazionale for a fee in the region of £25million last week.
Balotelli scored on his City debut after bagging the winner in Thursday's 1-0 Europa League play-off victory over FC Timisoara.
Mancini turned to Balotelli after failing to prise Spain striker Torres away from Liverpool during a lengthy summer transfer saga.
However, the Italian coach has no regrets about the route he has taken, with the two strikers set to go head-to-head in Monday's clash with Liverpool at Eastlands.
"Torres is a fantastic striker but I think it was difficult for Liverpool to sell him because he's such an important player for them," explained Mancini.
"But it's good for us that we got Balotelli instead.
"Balotelli could be even better than Torres because Torres can only play as a striker. Balotelli can play as a striker or as a winger.
"What is sure is we are talking about two fantastic players.
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"In my view, there are eight or nine fantastic strikers in the world – and Torres and Balotelli are two of them.
"Then there's (Zlatan) Ibrahimovic, (Cristiano) Ronaldo, (Carlos) Tevez and (Lionel) Messi. They're all fantastic players and we've managed to get one of them."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
It’s been something of a rocky road for Everton this season. David Moyes’s men had their traditional slow start to the season and after a small recovery, back-to-back defeats have again hampered their progress in the Premier League. The Toffees currently sit in 12th position in the Premier League table, which is two places behind their opponents at Goodison Park on Saturday.
Newly promoted Norwich City have had a very encouraging start to the season. The Canaries have just snuck into the top half after a 4-2 win against Newcastle at Carrow Road, and Paul Lambert’s men have definitely shown that they’re no pushover in the top division. Norwich have just one away win to their name, a 2-1 victory against Bolton back in September, but will be full of confidence heading to Goodison.
Heading into this week’s game, unsurprisingly as the home team, Everton are strong favourites, priced at 4/7*. The Toffees are also 10/1* to win 3-1, while for Everton to be leading at half-time and at full-time is 4/3*.
What about our market of the week? Well, with Norwich’s free-scoring nature and their somewhat leaky defence, there are likely to be goals in the game. It’s evens* for there to be more than 2.5 goals in the game, which is pretty likely.
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*odds correct at time of writing
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Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon is expected to be fit for Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League quarter-final second-leg against Real Madrid.Spurs were without the speedster during the 4-0 thrashing at the Bernabeu after he withdrew due to illness minutes before the first whistle.
Lennon took no part in the 3-2 victory over Stoke City in the English Premier League on Saturday, but manager Harry Redknapp expects him to be ready by Wednesday.
“Aaron wasn’t well again on Friday and not well enough to play against Stoke,” Redknapp said.
“He did some work on Friday with the fitness coach and then joined in with a little game but didn’t feel well enough.”
“I think he will be fit enough to play on Wednesday.”
Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia has suggested he could leave the club if manager Arsene Wenger brings in a replacement.
The Gunners have been strongly linked with Fulham shot-stopper Mark Schwarzer in recent times and the Spaniard has admitted the media reports are proving to have an unsettling effect on him.
"To be honest, it is so difficult to concentrate because Arsenal is a big club and speculation is always in the news and everywhere," Almunia told the London Evening Standard.
"The only thing I can do is keep working because I have a contract here and I have to do what the manager wants from me.
"I have not spoken to him. If somebody comes in, I will have to talk about my future at Arsenal. That is it. I cannot talk now, because the talking would be for nothing.
"I have to work and if one day I am not good for Arsenal, I will talk. That is no problem. I am very happy here.
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"The only news I have is from third parties – people at the training ground. When I go out and when I come back from training, I switch off."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Liverpool would have taken a step further in their progression had they won the Champions League on Saturday night.
However, it was not to be as Real Madrid earned a 3-1 triumph, and they were helped along by some goalkeeping howlers from Loris Karius.
The German’s performance highlighted Liverpool’s need for a goalkeeper this summer.
After the final whistle, Karius was visibly distraught and in floods of tears, much like his teammate Mohamed Salah, who was forced off the pitch 31 minutes in with a dislocated shoulder.
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Liverpool have received plenty of plaudits this season for their scintillating attacking form.
In the Premier League, Jurgen Klopp’s side finished fourth, but in three of their four fixtures against title winners Manchester City in all competitions, they showed that they are more than capable of matching Pep Guardiola’s side.
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Some may have felt that the Reds would be title challengers next season, but after their disappointment in the Champions League final, have things changed?
According to reports in the Daily Mail, Arsenal could lose out to the Premier League’s bottom side Swansea City in the race to sign AC Milan striker Andre Silva, who could be an alternative option if a move for Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang falls through this month.
What’s the word, then?
Soccer Football – Europa League – AC Milan vs Rijeka – San Siro, Milan, Italy – September 28, 2017 AC Milan’s Andre Silva celebrates scoring their first goal REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini
Well, French media outlet Le10Sport reported back in December that the Gunners were interested in bringing the Portugal international to the Emirates during the January transfer window, having been impressed with his performances for the Serie A giants.
However, there has been no further progress in the north London outfit’s interest this month and now the Daily Mail says that Swansea are targeting the 22-year-old having been rebuffed in an attempt to sign Kevin Gameiro from Atletico Madrid.
Silva only joined Milan in a £32m deal from FC Porto last June, but a move away from the San Siro appears to be on the cards before January 31 with Le10Sport reporting that he hasn’t lived up to expectations.
How has Silva done this season?
He has done very well in Europe, but not so well in Serie A.
The 22-year-old centre-forward has scored all eight of his goals this term in 10 appearances in the Europa League, but he is yet to find the net in 12 Italian top flight outings having largely played second fiddle to Nikola Kalinic at the San Siro.
According to WhoScored.com, his main strengths are his ability to play key passes, his passing, finishing and headed attempts, and the Portugal international has made 17 key passes in 18 appearances in Serie A and the Europa League group stages this season, winning 25 of the 55 aerial duels he has faced.
Would he be a good signing for Arsenal?
He certainly could be, yes.
While Silva has failed to find the net in Serie A he has largely been restricted to cameo appearances form the bench, and his record in the Europa League, as well as the fact he scored 24 goals in 58 games for Porto and has 11 in 18 caps for his country, show the quality and potential that he has.
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He is certainly a different player to Lacazette, but the north London outfit’s reported interest in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would sideline any potential move for the AC Milan man.
Things are going slightly better at Old Trafford. Since the humiliating and alarming loss at home to West Bromwich, Manchester United have gone on an eight game unbeaten run, and are now just three points off the second spot in the league. After last night’s goalless draw against Real Sociedad, they are also in a strong position to win their group in the Champions League. A season that began with concerns about Moyes’s ability to manage the champions, and escalated in to a media perception of catastrophic proportions, is about to pick itself up.
Yet, the composed but toothless performance against Sociedad suggests that there are still concerns in the United team.
But firstly, let’s establish one thing: Manchester United were never threatened last night. A point away to the fourth best team in Spain is hardly a disaster, and the Reds bossed the home team, creating enough clear cut chances to kill the game. The frailness that weighed them down in the opening league games look resolved, but I have one major problem with David Moyes’s United. They seem so reluctant to attack.
There’s a caution about Man United now that we never saw during Sir Alex Ferguson’s 26-year reign. I spotted it the first time in the home draw to Chelsea in the second round of the Premier League. Although they displayed good balance and composure in that game, there was no edge nor desire to really test Mourinho’s defense. The new manager can be excused for not risking conceding a silly goal, but as reigning champions, United are expected to threaten any back four, especially at home.
That game faded out in a boring scoreless draw. I am convinced that the Red Devils of old would have had a go. Even opportunities to counter attack were measured and considered to the degree that they lost the advantage of running at an unorganized defense. The same thing happened against Sociedad. The ball was moved around the pitch at a snugly, complacent pace, and I got the feeling they were more concerned with not loosing than winning.
Even in-form Wayne Rooney looked unwilling to properly run at the Spanish back four. Had the emphasis before the game been on winnning convincingly and secure progression from the group stages, we would have seen Rooney move the ball quicker through the middle, demand that his teammates made quick transitions, and force them to hassle Sociedad when dispossessed. Instead he looked happy to take the draw.
The midfield constellation of Ryan Giggs and Marouane Fellaini suffered from the same attacking apathy. Even if they are defensive midfielders, at the level United should aspire to achieve, they should initiate attacks and put the ball in the danger areas. Furthermore, Fellaini had one of his better performances so far, looking comfortable on the ball, and making few mistakes. But the few he made got him sent off, and this will not make his attempt to settle down in Manchester any easier. You can call the refs decision harsh, but the second yellow, received for his 639th clumsy challenge of the night, was in my opinion fair enough.
What kept Moyes’s men from claiming all three points in the end was wasteful finishing. You would put your kidneys on Chicharito to score a tap in, but this time the Mexican skied his shot. Van Persie should have converted from the spot, though the post seemed to embody karma itself when it kept Claudio Bravo’s sheet clean. Ashley Young’s pathetic dive further disgraced the reputation of a player that have yet to contribute to single positive event this season. No doubt, Moyes’s patience with the winger must be running on fumes, and I can’t see him appearing in the starting XI any time soon.
However, in the long run, I expect David Moyes to succeed at United, and I will not start posting #MoyeOut tweets on my Twitter account. Though I’m not sure his cautious approach is doing him any favors at the moment. This weekend’s clash with Arsenal gives the Red Devils an opportunity against the in-form team in England to prove that they intend to retain the title in May.
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Question is – will Moyes try to score more or concede less than his opponent?