All posts by h79snht.top

After losing 5-0 in their last game you would expect everyone at Ipswich to be a bit down in the dumps. It doesn’t look like Mick McCarthy allowed his team any time to get down about the result though and the Burnley win was pleasing for a number of reasons.

First of all, it was great to see Carlos Edwards back in midfield. In my eyes he has never been a defender and never will be, his place should always be on the right side of midfield. When Paul Jewell used him at right back he worked hard and did the best he could but the former Wigan boss was clearly not getting the best out of him in that position.

McCarthy obviously felt the same and made full use of Edwards on the right wing. The decision paid off too as the Trinidad and Tobago man set up the late winning goal for DJ Campbell.

Obviously by moving Edwards further up field McCarthy had to rearrange the Ipswich defence. Luke Chambers moved to right back, Tommy Smith was recalled at centre back, leaving Danny Higginbotham to partner him with Aaron Cresswell retaining his place at left back.

In ways this defensive line-up was a gamble but it was one that the Ipswich manager had to take. Against Palace the Tractor Boys defenders were all over the place so something needed changing and in fairness they could not really get any worse after that game.

However, the main change was of course in the team’s mentality. It is something that myself and many other fans had pin pointed as a factor that needed to be worked on if we wanted to stay up. The tell-tail sign of a team destined for relegation is one that crumbles after conceding one goal and that was happening to Ipswich all to often in previous weeks.

After Burnley equalised I think every Ipswich fan inside Portman Road must have thought it was going to be one of those typical performances where the team fall apart in the later stages of the game. What actually happened was the complete opposite as the team remained upbeat and eventually found the winner.

That was what made the victory so important for the home fans. Not only was it the teams first home win in many months but it signaled that there may be hope for Ipswich in dark times. It showed that the players can shake off the negative mentality that they had before. We may see it return every now and again but for the most part we will see the team playing with a much better attitude than before.

Finally I thought I would take some time to discuss the situation surrounding the winning goal scorer, which was on loan striker DJ Campbell. It is a scenario that a lot of teams find themselves in when they take a player out on loan. If the player does well, chances are his club will want him back and if he does badly nobody wants him. There is no doubt that Campbell is doing well and I am afraid to say he is doing too well.

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His goalscoring form will have caught the eye of his parent club who will now be relishing the opportunity to have him back very soon. QPR have only scored eight goals this season, have yet to win and sit bottom of the Premier League table with just four points from 11 games.

Given Campbell’s current form he could walk into QPR’s starting line up and I can’t imagine he would turn that down to play for Ipswich. Either he needs to stop playing so well or QPR’s other strikers need to start scoring. Fingers crossed we will keep him but it saddens me to say that we probably won’t.

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Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas believes his side deserve their spot in the last-16 of the Europa League, after their 1-1 draw against Lyon.

Spurs advanced 3-2 on aggregate against the Ligue 1 giants, with Mousa Dembele netting the all-important goal with just minutes left to play.

The Londoners had fallen behind on the night to a Maxime Gonalons effort, which would have knocked them out on away goals.

However, Dembele slammed home the equaliser, and give Tottenham the victory in the tie.

After the game Villa-Boas said that he felt his team got the result they deserved across both legs:

“The second half was all about our football, and I think we deserved to go through,” He told ITV Sport.

The Portuguese coach went on to praise Dembele for his decisive effort:

“It was a great finish by Mousa. Sometimes we joke with him that he should shoot more.”

Tottenham will meet Inter Milan in the next round of the competition, with the Italians beating Cluj 5-0 on aggregate.

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AVB is happy with the draw, and believes that the clash wouldn’t look out of place in the Champions League:

“Excellent. I think it doesn’t get any better than that. Two Europa League ties, but they’ll be like Champions League ties.”

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It is often easy to sensationalise games as ‘must win’ or ‘season defining’, but looking ahead to Sunday’s titanic clash between Arsenal and Manchester United and it is difficult to argue that any come much bigger or much more important than this. Indeed with Arsenal eight points clear of the defending Premier League champions, this game could even at such an early stage shape the months to follow for both clubs.

Arsenal are a club riding the crest of a wave and flying high in the league, the game on Sunday is another important stepping stone towards their ultimate goals, but for me it won’t be pivotal. By contrast, Sunday’s clash represents the most crucial of moments in David Moyes’ short tenure at Manchester United, a win could galvanise the recovery whilst a defeat could well spend the beginning of the end for the Scotsman in Manchester.

After early season disappointment United have undergone something of a revival of late. A comeback against Stoke and a more comfortable victory over Fulham has seen a return to stability at the club, with Moyes keen now to impress further by laying down a marker against a title rival.

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This is the point about Sunday; it is much too early to worry about points because even at this stage no lead is insurmountable. However, momentum is everything in football and if United are to have any chance this season then they must show themselves able to de-rail the Arsenal title charge. It is all well and good being able to overcome the best of the rest, but if United want to reassert themselves then they must beat the best, and Sunday is the perfect opportunity to do that.

Gary Pallister whilst speaking to Sky Sports emphasised the enormity of the game for United:

“It’s certainly more important for United,” he told Sky Sports News. “Arsenal are eight points clear at the moment and if they were to go 11 points clear, it’s a huge gap to try and catch up.”

“Arsenal can come with a bit of a luxury, they can afford to lose it maybe and still be top of the table at the end of the day.”

“United are desperate to win the game, they’ve got a bit of form back. They had a late comeback against Stoke, the Sociedad game and the Fulham game looks like they’re finally finding their feet. It’s up to be another titanic clash, reminiscent of the years gone by.”

Moyes may still be grappling with an inadequate midfield and the problem of asserting himself on the club, but the reality is that the Premier League doesn’t stop for anyone. Defeat on Sunday won’t mean inevitable sacking, that would be an unbelievable knee-jerk, but what it will do is continue to push United on this downward slope towards failure that even the best managers would struggle to rewrite. A loss of faith in the project and the manager can be fatal to the hopes of a club even at such an early stage and that is why I believe that a defeat at the hands of Arsenal could be good enough to end the clubs chances of achieving anything in the league this season.

Yet it works both ways, United may be standing on edge of the footballing mire but at the same time Sunday affords them the opportunity to re-invent their fortunes. Arsenal are playing well but squad for squad both sides are pretty even, there hasn’t been much change from last season when United finished well clear of the North Londoners so in that sense the advantage should be in Moyes’ favour. If Moyes can get his team prepared mentally for the game and instil some belief in his players then there is no reason why he cannot overcome his opposite number.

It will be interesting to see how brave the Scot is, will he give the exciting young Januzaj a chance or will he look to adopt a more rigid approach? My fear is that the dour traits of the man may well be his undoing; this is a game that needs an assertive approach to really get at Arsenal. If United allow Arsenal to come and play at Old Trafford it may well be to their detriment and I hope for their sakes they choose to show a little bit of bravery.

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Sunday will be a defining game in United’s season. The opportunity to rebuild the fortress and carve out a new dynasty at United. Defeat could well spell the beginning of the end for Moyes at United, whereas victory will re-ignite the title challenge that has appeared so non-existent in recent months.

Is Sunday’s game season defining for United?

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Tottenham centre back William Gallas has dismissed claims that 4th place is success and insists silverware is what every footballer wants.

The Spurs defender is aware that his current side have not won a trophy since winning the League Cup in 2008, and that Tottenham have been challenging for a Champions League place in recent seasons.

Gallas maintains the satisfaction of reaching Europe’s elite competition does not compare to winning trophies, as it something that does not come along very often so they are moments to be cherished.

“For me, a trophy is something you lift at the end of the season and I know it’s a fantastic feeling.

“It doesn’t happen many times through your career, so for me to finish second or fourth isn’t the same as finishing top, as champions. It’s completely different.

“You feel different because you are the best team – the best player. You are so happy to lift a trophy – it’s the real thing to do.”

The Spurs ace emphasized that this competition was important to the club and that his teammates will be doing all they can to win the Capital One Cup.

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The month was September. The year was 1995. And the match was a friendly between England and Colombia at Wembley. If we were playing a Question of Sport, Jamie Redknapp had just taken a shot at goal (he maintains it was a cross) and the ball appeared to be looping over the man in goal for Colombia, Rene Higuita. The question is, what happened next?

What happened next is actually immortalised into footballing history. Kids in the park have copied Higuita’s next move ever since 1995 and will be doing so for ever more. Three words…The Scorpion Kick. Apparently Higuita’s invention, as the ball travelled over his head, Higuita jumps forward and kicks the ball back over his head using his heels without ever looking at it. It’s a remarkable piece of skill that will always top any list of the greatest saves of all time and earned him the nickname ‘El Loco’ that translates as ‘the Madman.’ In case you’ve lived in a cave all your life and haven’t seen it, here it is below:

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Eccentricity was always the order of Higuita’s career, indeed he inspired the likes of fellow South American goalkeeper Jose Luis Chilavert to take free-kicks and penalties for club and country. In fact, in 68 games for Colombia, the keeper managed to bag eight goals, a better goalscoring record for his country than Emile Heskey managed for England. During a career that spanned 25 years, he managed 25 league goals in 380 appearances and although he spent the majority of his career in South America, winning the Copa Libertadores with Atletico Nacional in 1989, not mention the Colombian League in 1991 and 1994 with the same club, Higuita only played in Europe with one team, Real Valladolid, in a spell that lasted just the one season.

It’s a shame for European fans that they didn’t get to see more of Higuita during his playing career, indeed on his day he was a fine goalkeeper. However, he lived up to his nickname on plenty of occasions. Higuita was possibly the first ‘sweeper keeper’ in the game, a stopper capable of playing the ball well outside his penalty area with tremendous skill, indeed you only have to look at Colombia’s 1-1 draw with England in 1988 when Higuita managed to dribble round Gary Lineker outside his box. However, on one notable occasion, during the 1990 World Cup, Colombia were playing Cameroon and Higuita gave the ball away to Roger Milla outside his penalty area, allowing the striker to nip in and knock Colombia out of the World Cup.

Off-field controversy dogged Higuita’s career as well, indeed he was imprisoned in 1993 for his role in a kidnapping that saw him act as a go-between for a pair of notorious Colombian drug barons and get paid for the privilege, landing him a spell of seven months behind bars, meaning he missed the 1994 World Cup. How Colombia missed him, as they crashed out in the opening round thanks in large to the inexperience of Higuiata’s replacement, Oscar Cordoba. In 2004, the mad goalie found himself in hot water again after testing positive for cocaine, earning himself another ban from the game.

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He became something of a celebrity off the field as his career wound down, making appearances on the Colombian version of the TV Series ‘Survivor’, becoming politically active while also securing himself legendary status after having a Subbuteo model created in the mould of his scorpion kick. Coaching is the next step for Higuita and he joined Real Valladolid, his former European side, as goalkeeping coach in 2008 before moving onto to Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia to perform the same role. Higuita has expressed an interest in joining the Colombian national squad in a coaching capacity and that would be an interesting sight, seeing current number one Faryd Mondragon scorpion kicking clearances off his own line.

The legendary goalkeeper played one final farewell exhibition match in his hometown of Medellin aged 43 in 2010 playing against a select XI including Colombian legends Carlos Valderrama and Faustino Asprilla. Inevitably, as the ball went over his head, out came the party trick for one last time. He made not have made much impression in Europe during his playing career, but the world of football will remember him for one thing and one thing only.

Manchester City are set to wrap-up a deal for Swansea winger Scott Sinclair on Tuesday, Sky Sports claim.

The Premier League champions are eager to bring in a new face or two before the transfer window closes, with Jack Rodwell the only signing of note so far this summer.

After selling Adam Johnson to Sunderland last week, a place for a new wideman has arisen, with Sinclair a target over the last month.

The talented attacker is in the last year of his contract at the Liberty Stadium and has refused to extend with the Welsh side.

With Swansea facing losing their player for nothing next summer, Michael Laudrup will sell Sinclair to City for a fee believed to be in the £6.2 million range.

It is thought that only loose ends over the deal need to be tied up, which will happen on Tuesday after the Bank Holiday.

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By Gareth McKnight

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The French international goalkeeper arrived at White Hart Lane at the end of this summer’s transfer window in what many thought it was a strange move. A lot of Tottenham fans didn’t see a whole lot wrong with what they already had in Brad Friedel.

They are now being turned round to this move as being a little masterstroke, whether AVB wanted the player in the first place or not. The reason for this is he is part of the way goalkeeping is moving in the Premier League. A transition is going away from the goalkeeper being isolated for the rest of the team and simply there to save shots. A keeper is a very much active member of the team and is seen as the start of a lot of the counter attacking football that goes on.

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Hugo Lloris is a prime example of how attention to detail in a goalkeepers play is so pivotal to the functioning of a team. The difference between Friedel and Lloris when they have the ball in their hands is the American chooses to bounce the ball a few times before he finds his man, whereas the Frenchman throws the ball out with accuracy to the wings on distributes to the wings with his feet with precision. I do not mean these aimless throws like Heurelho Gomes used to often deliver that looked impressive but often did not find the target. The distribution of a modern keeper is an aspect of a game that is so underrated. Despite the stereotype of footballers, they have to be smarter and Hugo Lloris illustrates an ability to know his team’s strengths. The keepers are meant to act as a calming influence and that is delivering the ball to a player’s feet. Lloris is aware that Bale and Lennon is the fulcrum of Tottenham’s attacking play and if they are released early with the ball on the floor they can easily wreak havoc.

It is for this very reason that I favour David De Gea to win the battle of wills at Old Trafford with Lindegaard to gain the permanent starting position, and why he commanded a fee of £18 million. There is a large aspect of a keeper’s play that is focussed around the ability to stop shots and have an instinctive nature to be able to stop the trouble. This is not a new commodity; there are several goalkeepers who can shot stop well. Bogdan was a prime example of this at Bolton last season, but you didn’t see a rush for Tottenham to sign him.

The reason for this is his distribution is not on the same level as Lloris. As the Premier League becomes more intricate too it is the goalkeeper’s responsibility to notice this too. Manchester United has been a team that have flourished because of their ability to devastatingly pick teams apart within moments due to incisive passing.  The distribution of the Spaniard is stunning and it is clearly irresponsible for a keeper these days to boot it long and hope his team mates can work from there.  The need to be skilful with their feet is often a talent that is forgotten in the discussion of what keeper’s need. They are footballers after all.

When your team is under pressure and shots are raining down and your number one receives a goal kick it is senseless to pump a long ball to the left, unless you have a play which is functioned around this. Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul could take note of the distribution of other keepers in the league, as his is piling pressure upon his teammates. I have never seen Demba Ba’s face light up with glee as a long ball happens to come into his airspace and he has to desperately challenge for the ball.

He has to take what he is given, but this doesn’t exactly encourage him to not panic when he does receive the ball on the floor. Especially when a team is struggling like Newcastle are at the minute you need a keeper who can be there to pass the ball back to and he will simply deliver it to his nearest full back rather than hitting it long and hoping for the best.

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It may have been difficult for Tottenham fans to justify wanting Lloris ahead of Friedel when the 41 year old was making such great reflex saves. Now they have had a chance to see Lloris have a longer stint as number one they may be able to see why they have taken a step ahead of other clubs. The same appreciation I expect to occur when David De Gea fully comes of age. The distribution of keeper’s will be become an ever-growing influence in the Premier League.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HGy950E2ts&list=UUKu98HLF5fkdLOlns9VE96w&index=2

Sir Alex Ferguson is hopeful that Manchester United can make it to the next international break without any more injuries, as their defensive crisis worsened with Nemanja Vidic undergoing knee surgery. The Independent reports.

Phil Jones and Chris Smalling are already out of action, although Smalling could return to training within a couple of weeks.

Johnny Evans and Rio Ferdinand are United’s two fit remaining centre-backs, but Scott Wooton looks set to be in tomorrow’s squad to face Tottenham after impressing Sir Alex in Wednesday’s Capital One Cup win over Newcastle.

After facing Tottenham tomorrow, the Reds travel to Romania to play CFR Cluj in the Champions League on Tuesday before travelling to Newcastle next Sunday.

“Everyone knows the situation with our defenders,” said Ferguson.

“We just hope if we can get through the next two league games it will give us a little breather and we can start to get one or two of them back.”

But there is better news upfront for United, with Wayne Rooney fully recovered from a gashed thigh and Tom Cleverley finally adding goals to his game by breaking his duck against Newcastle.

“I have always scored goals when I have gone on loan, so it was bugging me that I had not been doing it for my club or my country”, said Cleverley.

“I have got the first one out of the way now. Hopefully they will all come at once.”

Former Burnley striker Charlie Austin has been in excellent form so far this season for Queens Park Rangers, scoring eight goals to take him up to third in the Premier League’s scoring chart.

The importance of having a goalscorer when you are struggling at the wrong end of the table is hugely significant. However, QPR cannot afford to rely solely on the 25-year-old’s ability to find the back of the net. Harry Redknapp will have to adjust his side when QPR play Everton away from home due to the fact that Austin was sent off against Burnley. The manager has an alarming shortage of attackers if he loses Austin to injury, as Bobby Zamora and Eduardo Vargas are the only recognisable forwards remaining.

Austin has been pivotal in gaining points for QPR this season, his eight goals mean that he has contributed half of the overall amount of Premier League goals scored by the entire QPR team. Although Austin is finding the back of the net, the biggest problems for Harry Redknapp lie in defence. They have conceded the most amount of goals in the Premier League so far this campaign. An ageing defence that consists of players such as Rio Ferdinand (36) and Richard Dunne (35) is not enough to keep QPR defensively sound this season. Also, Steven Caulker has not lived up to expectations since arriving at Loftus Road from Cardiff City and Harry Redknapp will be desperate to see more from a defender he paid £7m for in the summer.

The real problem for QPR is on the road this season. An ‘elderly’ starting XI can work effectively on the more compact pitch at Loftus Road, however, they are soon found out when they are stretched by the opposition. In seven away games so far, QPR have only managed to find the net twice. They are still waiting for their first point away from home, meaning that they have the worst away record in the Premier League. These are alarming statistics considering the amount of goals Charlie Austin has been scoring to help the side. In fact, Austin remains the only player to actually score for QPR on the road this season. If anything happens to the young English striker, the R’s will find it very difficult to reach the fabled 40-point mark at the end of the campaign. Talk of veteran striker Robbie Keane joining the club in January will hardly get QPR fans’ pulses racing but at least it shows that Redknapp is aware of his lack of squad depth, especially in the attacking areas. A key transfer could be Jermain Defoe, who looked odds on to join QPR in the winter window. However, if he decides to join Leicester City, it could become a major blow to Redknapp’s side with the Foxes another team who are also fighting for their lives.

Another alarming problem for QPR is the player’s lack of motivation. Make no mistake about it; Redknapp is a fantastic man manager, who is famous for getting the best out of his players. Therefore, it seems strange that not all of the squad was entirely fit for the first few fixtures of the season. The issue the manager has had with Adel Taarabt seems to sum up the motivational problems behind Redknapp’s crop of players. Although the squad will have shining lights such as Charlie Austin, his goals may not save an ageing QPR side that look destined for a relegation battle this season.

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The most exposure Jack Wilshere has received in recent times is the snap taken of him smoking on holiday; maybe not the best idea for the Arsenal midfielder considering his somewhat colourful past, but far from warranting the drama it spawned in the media. Oh, and he’s been linked with a move to Juventus, which – and it doesn’t really take much thought – is a no-goer.

Perhaps it’s been for the best that there hasn’t been too much focus on Wilshere from an on-pitch perspective. Arsenal fans have been preoccupied by new arrivals, the performance of Joel Campbell at the Emirates Cup last weekend, and the problem position of defensive midfield.

Even Aaron Ramsey has taken on more attention, and rightly so. The Welshman will be looking to build on the fine season he had last term, with many hoping he can stay free of long-term injury over the next 10 months. He will be pivotal in Arsenal’s charge towards further silverware.

But Wilshere, to contrast Ramsey, has been flying well under the radar, certainly in terms of the reputation he holds in English football.

There was a snippet of what was potentially to come during the upcoming season, with Arsene Wenger denying interest in Sami Khedira by stating Wilshere, back to fitness, was one of many midfield options in the team. It’s well known that Wenger loves a ‘smokescreen,’ anything to create confusion as to where his genuine transfer interests lie. But the idea of Wilshere as a defensive or box-to-box player doesn’t give way to a lot of confidence.

Yes, the England international has plenty of bite to his game, but that shouldn’t be misinterpreted as a positive, thus allowing for a license to play all-action midfielder across the pitch. Wilshere simply doesn’t have the discipline for it, or the effectiveness of someone like Ramsey.

The Arsenal number 10 is just that: a player for the final third. There is plenty of evidence from last season to suggest Wilshere isn’t ready for a central midfield role. The only period in his career where he excelled over a long-term period was when Cesc Fabregas and Alex Song were playing alongside him in a midfield three. Since then, however, it has been hit and miss.

Of course, the situation hasn’t been helped with a lack of defensive solidity in the centre of the pitch. During Wilshere’s particularly poor games last season, he partnered Mikel Arteta, who is evidently declining and no longer capable of retaining a starting place for long spells over a season.

It also isn’t a comment on Wilshere’s stature. A good player is a good player, regardless of his presence and size in the middle of the pitch. And since the move to the Emirates, Wenger hasn’t been one to select his players on their physicality. Wilshere, based on talent and technical ability, could comfortably be a regular for club and country in the centre of midfield. The doubts remain, however, due to his mentality and intelligence to perform in that role.

But what is most worrying is that at 22 and having been around top flight football for so long, we’re still unable to truly identify what Wilshere’s best position or role in the Arsenal team is.

A positive obstacle for Wilshere is that if he’s going to see lots of game time this season, he’ll really need to push on from where he was last season; there are simply too many options available in the Arsenal squad for Wenger to rely on underperforming individuals.

Wilshere will also take a lot of heart from Ramsey’s turnaround, having travelled a strikingly similar path thus far in his career.

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The talent is there. The away win against Aston Villa last season saw Wilshere play a part in both goals in a 2-1 win, while his commitment to the club is undeniable. But he has to ensure he doesn’t get left behind by those in his age group at Arsenal who are regularly showing themselves to be improving.

Wenger has also gone to say that this will be an important season for Wilshere, who, the Arsenal boss says, is in excellent physical shape ahead of the new season. That injury suffered towards the end of last season, while not ideal at the time, could prove to be a blessing for the upcoming campaign.

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