Fresh from the club making their latest summer purchase, Liverpool chairman Tom Werner has promised to keep investing in the club, in order to bring ‘the lustre’ back.
Liverpool today completed the £6 million capture of leftback Jose Enrique from Newcastle United, taking their summer spending to £54 million – adding to the £57.8 million spent in January on capturing Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez, marking the biggest spending spree in the club’s history – and there are no plans to cut back.
Speaking on an interview with LFC TV, Werner also stopped short of defining any targets for the coming season: ‘I don’t want to promise so much. I know John [Henry] has said we’re going to be top four and Kenny [Dalglish] says well why can’t we win. But we just want to move forward – we want to be better this year than last year and just keep going on the right track.
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He added: ‘I think the most important thing, and it may seem obvious, is put on a quality product for your fans. These are people who spend their hard earned pounds to come to see the club, and we’ve got supporters all around the world, who expect a quality product, and so it’s been our goal to try to improve our position on the pitch and to try and create an environment for players to say they want to play in Liverpool, and to bring some of the lustre that all the fans know back to the club.’
Is it possible to feel sorry for people who are employed in a dream job and paid vast sums of money for doing so? Normally I’d say no, and then slap you for asking, but occasionally there is the opportunity to feel sorry for even the most privileged of people. Take football managers for example. Of course they are under pressure, of course they have a duty towards their employers and the fans, and of course their every move is going to be scrutinised by the media. However have we reached the stage where we are simply over-zealous, and too ready to jump the gun in our criticisms of the top managers?
I rarely, if ever, agree with Gary Neville on any subject whether it be football or his stupid little moustache that he sometimes grows but I recently read something that he wrote, yes he writes, for the Mail in which he pointed out how much pressure the press had put on Mancini after he lost the Charity Shield, and then after that Arsene Wenger was supposedly heading for the chop and Arsenal were going to be relegated, then Man Utd lost 1-6 at home to their local rivals and suddenly Ferguson had lost it, and then we were flooded with stories about how Andre Villas-Boas was heading the same way as Scolari.
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We’re not even half way through the season and already fans from a variety of teams have had to put up with ignorant, over-eager and often insulting articles written about their respective managers. Is it because we have genuinely lost any patience that we once had for managers, is it that there is so little news that we have to regurgitate stories about how so and so has lost it and is about to be sacked or is it because some writers genuinely believe that a manager is brilliant one month but a little while later he deserves to be sacked? Are we really that fickle that we could change our mind once, maybe even twice in the course of just a few months?
What makes the situation even more farcical is how much criticism the top managers come under for their performances even though there are teams that are being managed to a much worse standard who are largely being ignored until that manager gets the sack.
All managers know that being criticised is part of the job, that they are paid so well because their job is so difficult and competitive but it almost seems that the press are cutting off their nose to spite their face. These constantly repeated stories about how certain managers are not good enough are born largely out of a lack of originality an imagination rather than actual consistent below par performances. Why would the press call for the heads of Wenger or Villas-Boas when their teams are so entertaining to watch and therefore are so good to write about?
Moreover, for our newspapers to be such harsh critics and then avid supporters of the same manager’s abilities in the space of half a season devalues their very opinion. For fans to erode their authoritative voice by constantly announcing different outlandish statements is one thing, but for professional journalists to do it too is just ridiculous. The fact is that out league is more competitive than ever. Any team really can beat any other. That doesn’t make that manager worthy of being sacked, nor does a poor run of form. These things happen in football and I would far rather read a rational and objective analysis of sporting phenomena than I would an opportunistic trashy piece that merely jumps on the bandwagon of insults in an attempt to smear the reputation of every big manager that loses a couple of games. Aren’t we better than that? Aren’t the press?
Follow me on Twitter @H_Mackay
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‘It’s just a natural reaction from a demanding public. It’s nothing new. It’s the same everywhere.’
These were the words of Chelsea’s new manager after only his first home game in charge when addressing the issue that his team was subjected to booing by the home support. Villas-Boas then appealed to the Chelsea fans to get behind their team, claiming a negative atmosphere off the pitch effects players on it: ‘What I would say is empathy can be decisive because you have to put your opponents under pressure. You put opponents under pressure by raising your voices and supporting your team. In our game we need support and tranquillity. We suffered a goal in the fourth minute and people need to be behind us all the time.’
So is Villas-Boas right? Do supporters have a greater responsibility to lift their team when things are not going to plan on the pitch? Or should the ultimate responsibility lie with the players, whose job it is to lift the crowd and inspire their support?
In the context of what was only their first home game of the season, and, when the boos rang out, during half-time at a goal-down, it seems absurd that any supporter would be booing their team. Indeed, many fans would never dream of publicly booing their team, no matter what stage of the season, no matter how low things had gotten –I’m sure there are many of you out there. But how many, hand on heart, could say the same? Maybe supporting a ‘top four’ club spoils a supporter a little. How dare their team not perform, and be second-best at any stage on the pitch to a team that is seen as more inferior. But I suppose that’s where a paradox lies; ‘top four’ clubs contain world class players, who, particularly in Chelsea’s case have been bought in for massive amounts of money. If a loyal supporter who is lucky enough to only earn in a year, what one of these players earns in a week, see’s that player not pulling his weight or performing, isn’t that supporter well within their rights to let their feelings be known?
Booing for many is a step too far however. Many can get frustrated, shout ‘constructive’ abuse (often the source of much amusement between fans and helps lighten the mood!), moan and groan, but booing the team is a no-no. Like it or not, when you are a fan, it is your duty to support your team through thick and thin. And when crowds famously unite in support and passion, as many English crowds do, it can motivate your team. Pick the players up off the floor and inspire them to great things, even when all hope seems lost. It is a sentiment not lost on Villas-Boas: ‘There are a couple of stadiums in the league where there are good examples of pressing the opponent by the crowd behaviour’ the Chelsea manager said on the subject. But still keen to emphasise his point and scrutinise those fans who were awfully quick to let their feelings known to the new manager, he simply stated: ‘Last year I was whistled at Porto and the season ended with four trophies and no more boos’.
He was right, and one tends to agree with his sentiments that those quick to judge, should wait to see what happens during the course of a whole season, not, the course of a whole half – especially in the opening home game of a new season, with a new manager at the helm and new tactics being deployed. But then again, patience is a virtue that seems to have no place in modern football.
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The controversial plan to unite Argentina’s first and second divisions into a 38-team national championship from next year has been scrapped.”The AFA resolved tonight (Monday) to suspend consideration of the proposal,” the sport’s national governing body said in a statement on its official website, while not ruling out looking at it again at a later date.
Players, coaches, fans, club directors and media slammed the idea, made public last week, which would have been introduced in the 2012-13 season.
Fans called for a demonstration at AFA headquarters in Buenos Aires.
The plan to include the 20 first-division sides and 18 from the second-tier Nacional B was regarded by many as a means of helping relegated giants River Plate return to the top flight as quickly as possible, while also ensuring other big teams did not risk the drop.
Reports also suggested it might have been a plan for the government, which controls broadcasting of first-division matches, to expand into the Nacional B, which is televised by a private channel.
The Apertura championship, first of two in the Argentine first division season, kicks off this weekend.
The Nacional B is a single championship, with River set to compete in it for the first time after being relegated in June.
Struggling Wolves go in search of their first win in eight games in Saturday’s Midlands Derby against rivals Aston Villa.
Mick McCarthy’s men haven’t tasted victory since they beat Sunderland at the start of December and sit just a point above the relegation zone. Its been another season of disappointment for Wanderers fans who saw their team win just twice in 19 games. However their 1-1 draw with Tottenham last week did seem to mark a turning point as they more than matched Harry Redknapp’s title chasers. Steven Fletcher was once again amongst the scorers and his goals will prove crucial in the second half of the campaign. Keeping them out at the wrong end has been their biggest problem and they’ll need to defend much better against Villa. Captain Roger Johnson will need to be wary of Darren Bent’s movement in the penalty area whilst his full backs will need to quell the threat of Gabriel Agbonlahor and Marc Albrighton. Stop them from getting the ball to Bent and Wolves will have a platform to go on and win only their fifth game of the season.
Villa are also desperate for three points after winning just twice over Christmas and losing their position in the top half. A strong start to the season came undone at the beginning of October after a heavy defeat to Manchester City. Alex McLeish’s side have won just three games since with their inconsistent performances giving supporters cause to moan. Their 3-1 win over Chelsea on New Years Eve wasn’t built on as they lost to Swansea at home 48 hours later leaving fans frustrated. The return to form of Stephen Ireland has been a surprise bright spot in the last month or so with the midfielder becoming the clubs chief playmaker. His intelligent link up play has seen him become an important part of the Villa attack and his link up with Bent and Agbonlahor will be key to ensuring a much needed victory is attained at Molineux.
Wolverhampton Wanderers 16th : 18 points
Last six: D L D D D L
Team news: Jamie O’Hara could return to boost Wolves’ survival bid but Ronald Zubar won’t make this one.
Key Player: Steven Fletcher
Another impressive performance from Fletcher saw him notch another important goal in the draw with Tottenham. The Scotland striker has everything in his locker and if he continues scoring Wolves have a chance of staying up.
Aston Villa 13th: 24 points
Last six: D L W D L L
Team news: Villa have four first team players injured with Emile Heskey and Carlos Cuellar amongst them.
Key Player: Stephen Ireland
December saw the former Manchester City midfielder emerge from the Villa shadows and take up the playmaking mantle. Ireland has excelled in the last couple of weeks in an advanced midfield role and it’s likely he will initiate every attack at Molineux
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PREDICTION
This one ended 0-0 back in August and neither side have really improved since then. Villa continue to drift around in mid-table mediocrity whilst Wolves are still battling to keep their head above water. It’s likely both teams will cancel each other out as they chase a confidence boosting win.
Newly appointed Feyenoord boss Ronald Koeman believes he has a team capable of taking the Eredivisie by surprise this season.The former Dutch international signed a one-year deal to replace Mario Been at the Rotterdam club and end his two year absence from coaching.
Koeman, 48, said he had the players to cause a surprise in the league after Feyenoord finished 10th last campaign, their worst result since 1989-90.
“Feyenoord is a great club for me to resume my career as a coach,” he told the club’s official website.
“With Jean-Paul van Gastel and Giovanni van Bronckhorst I have two great assistants next to me who I also already know well.”
“I am strongly convinced that we could be very surprising this season. There is indeed plenty of quality and talent in this young squad.”
“Just like the players and the entire club, I share a burning ambition to show that we are much more able than the recent past has shown.”
Koeman managed AZ Alkmaar in 2009 after stints at Ajax, Benfica, PSV and Valencia and is returning to the club where he ended his days as a professional player.
As a midfielder and defender, Koeman won two European Cups, five Dutch titles, three Dutch Cups, four Spanish titles, the Spanish Cup and was part of the Netherlands squad that won the 1988 European Championships.
After moving into management, he led Ajax to two Eredivisie titles and PSV to the Dutch league crown in 2006-07.
Chelsea host Newcastle for the second time at Stamford Bridge this term, after the boys from the North took the spoils at their last visit.United won 4-3 in a thrilling Carling Cup encounter in West London last year, with Shola Ameobi netting twice in the upset result over Carlo Ancelotti’s men.
A lot has changed at St James’ Park since, with notable differences to the first-team squad being striker Andy Carroll and manager Chris Hughton – both being moved on respectively.
Both sides fielded second-string outfits in United’s entertaining win in September, and both Ancelotti and Alan Pardew could look to do the same, with Chelsea’s title hopes all but gone after their 2-1 loss to Manchester United last start.
Should Sir Alex Ferguson’s men earn a point or more at Blackburn on Saturday, this match will be rendered a ‘dead rubber’ for both sides, and a chance for some youth to be injected with an eye to the future.
Striker Fernando Torres should have the chance to add to his lone goal for Chelsea, should Ancelotti start with the Spanish World Cup winner.
The Italian boss opted to start proven front man Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou in their most recent English Premier League clash, against Manchester United.
Chelsea have no fresh injury concerns going into Sunday’s affair, while United will be minus long-term absentees Hatem Ben Arfa, Stephen Ireland, Alan Smith, Dan Gosling, Leon Best and Mike Williamson.
On Thursday 2nd June, Mark Hughes resigned as Fulham manager, and despite his claims to the contrary, he was expected to take up the vacant Aston Villa post, following the departure of Gerard Houllier on health grounds. As it turned out, things were never going to be that simple. Almost two weeks later, and Aston Villa are still looking for a manager, and the new hot favourite is not inspiring the Villa faithful, not surprisingly. Elsewhere though, clubs have done rather well out of the yearly merry-go-round.
As football365.com’s Mediawatch section showed this week, few in the media know what is going on regarding managerial moves. Here are some of the newspaper headlines the site highlighted:
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‘Alex McLeish has emerged as the favourite to take over from Gerard Houllier at Villa Park after resigning from his post at Birmingham’ – The Daily Star, June 13.
‘Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner is set to move for Everton boss David Moyes’ – The Daily Mirror, June 11.
‘Simon Grayson is the new favourite for the Aston Villa manager’s job following a flurry of bets on the Leeds United boss’ – Metro, June 11.
‘Roberto Martinez has been given permission by Wigan Athletic to speak to Aston Villa about the vacant manager’s position’ – The Guardian, June 9.
‘Villa move for Rafa’ – Sky Sports, June 8.
‘Steve McClaren set for Aston Villa manager’s job’ – The Daily Telegraph, June 6.
‘A candidate who has so far remained under the radar could yet come to the fore at Villa Park, with Owen Coyle of Bolton Wanderers having been mentioned’ – The Guardian, June 3.
‘Aston Villa eye former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti’ – The Daily Telegraph, June 2.
‘Mark Hughes has moved a step closer to joining Aston Villa following his resignation as Fulham manager after only 11 months’ – The Metro, June 2.
‘Villa tempting manager Moyes as Everton feel the Premier League pinch’ – The Daily Mail, May 28
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As it turned out, Fulham wasted little time sourcing Hughes’ successor, appointing Martin Jol, to general applause. The genial Dutchman is a popular figure with the British media and fans alike, and is another sound appointment by Mohammed Al Fayed. He’s not the Messiah though, as some would have you believe.
Aston Villa though have wasted plenty of time. None of us really know what is going on behind the scenes, but all evidence points to a board that do not know what they want. Lerner’s low profile at Villa is similar to his profile at another club he owns, the Cleveland Browns, but I have read that there he has a general manager to make managerial decisions – perhaps he is struggling with not having the same structure for Villa.
Hughes seemed the obvious choice for Villa, but Lerner was apparently put off by the way he left Fulham. He was reportedly put off appointing McClaren because of a fans backlash, but in time that may be a decision Lerner and the fans come to regret. Villa went for Martinez, but he said no – this was naturally made out to be a snub, but did Villa actually offer him the job, or just talk to him?
The result was a new contract at Wigan for Martinez, and then the totally coincidental sudden resignation of Alex McLeish. And immediately Villa fans everywhere wished Lerner had appointed McClaren.
Nothing has been decided yet, but McLeish’s appointment would be bewildering. If it happened, then why wasn’t Lerner put off by the way he left Birmingham (by email) or by the reaction of the fans (outrage/depression) to his possible appointment, in the same way Lerner was put off Hughes and McClaren? And why appoint a man who despite having the 3rd biggest net spend of the last two seasons led a team to relegation with the lowest goal-scoring record of the last two seasons. It seems unlikely that McLeish’s particular brand of football will be packing out Villa Park next season. Having celebrated Birmingham’s relegation, Villa fans must be secretly wishing now they had stayed up. In football, be careful what you wish for.
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Whilst all this has been happening, other managers have been brought into the rumour mongering mill, most notably David Moyes, linked with the Villa post, a move which seems unlikely. Predictability Carlo Ancelotti’s name was bandied about until he announced his desire to take a break.
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But for me, the team that did best of all cannot be found in the Premiership – I refer to Nottingham Forest. Having dismissed Billy Davies, they moved quickest of all and appointed Steve McClaren. McClaren will slowly morph into a Nottingham accent, duck, but he remains a fine appointment for the club. A certain Forest-supporting football journalist has commented on being open-minded over the appointment, but if I was a Forest fan I would be very pleased indeed. The scepticism from most remains because of THAT England reign, and the “wally in the brolly” was pummelled as another type of rain helped knock England out of the European Championships on a miserable night at Wembley.
Credit must be given to McClaren though. Not many would have gone abroad to repair their reputation. Not many would have won a title with Twente, and whilst his Wolfsburg tenure was less successful, he was undermined somewhat by those above him. It was not his team to run. And he brought silverware to Middlesbrough, reached a European final and won a treble as a Manchester United coach. Not a bad CV for a Championship manager.
But with McLeish’s exit, so the endless cycle continues. As I type, Steve Cotterill is the favourite for the Birmingham job. Should that happen, then Portsmouth will be on the lookout for a new manager, and on it goes. The cycle can only be broken, as it must be eventually, by an out-of-work manager getting re-hired. Alan Curbishley, come on down (until Hughes shows his hand).
Fulham and Nottingham Forest can look forward to the new season confident of performing well, though Fulham would no doubt like to hold onto a manager for a bit longer this time. For Birmingham the uncertain times ahead have become even more uncertain, but the big losers could well be Aston Villa who are looking to appoint a manager few fans want. If McLeish is appointed, he has a mammoth task turning the fans around. If they will let him.
Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew said English Premier League managers are being made scapegoats for players’ poor performances.His comments come in the wake of Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier spending time in hospital with an unspecified health problem.
Pardew’s men held title-chasing Manchester United to a credible goalless draw on Tuesday but face an equally difficult challenge when they travel to relegation-threatened Blackpool on Saturday.
He said: “From my earlier time in the Premier League to now, the emphasis seems to be so much more on the manager for good and bad, and I don’t really think that’s healthy or right, if I am honest.”
“It’s about the clubs and players. They are the guys who go out there and perform and get you off your seat, they are the ones who really should be spoken to and discussed.”
“Personally, I don’t suffer too badly with stress, although my grey hair gives that away a little bit – but I had grey hair when I played and if you saw me play, it would be stressful.”
First-choice goalkeeper Steve Harper was missing on Monday and will again miss out for Saturday’s trip to Bloomfield Road.
Harper’s understudy Tim Krul put in a credible performance in midweek and will again start between the sticks.
Pardew said: “Harps is not right and we will have to review him over the next couple of weeks.”
“He is not necessarily out of the season, but it could be that he needs a small operation just to sort this little problem out.”
“It is not a major problem but we will have to look at that and weigh it up over the next couple of weeks.”
Also out are midfielders Dan Gosling (knee) and Hatem Ben Arfa (broken leg).
PSV Eindhoven’s sporting director Marcel Brands, has come out this week, stating that Tottenham Hotspur’s Brazilian goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes wants a return to the Dutch outfit, that he spent four years with before joining the Lilywhites. Gomes has had a mixed season for the North London side, mainly turning in solid performances but in the run in to the climax of this Premier League season the keeper has shown signs of returning to his error prone ways. Despite the clangers and the reports, Harry Redknapp is adamant that he is not looking to offload the shot stopper, but if these rumours were to become true, would Spurs really care absolute losing their current number one?
It would be easy for me to go “No, thanks for reading.” but obviously, there is more to any debate in football. A good goalkeeper earns you 6-8 points a season, yeah I know that’s only two wins but that would have meant this season that Newcastle would have finished eighth instead of twelfth and Wigan would have finished tenth as opposed to sixteenth, they are just some examples. Off the top of my head I’ll admit I’m struggling to see where Gomes has earnt Spurs points this season but when you consider that Tottenham have earnt 24 points this season from losing position, surely Gomes had a say in the keeping his side in those games?
Shall I list all the mistakes the keeper has made? We all know the cock ups,Chelsea, Real Madrid and most notably Blackpool. I say most notably Blackpool because that two penalties scenario, exemplified Gomes perfectly. An impressive penalty save, followed almost instantly with the bizarre decision to bring down Gary Taylor-Fletcher, for another penalty which Blackpool scored to take the lead; the do’s and dont’s of goalkeeping in one movement.
I think the real issue Spurs fans and ‘Arry face, is in their heart of hearts they know Spurs need to move Gomes on to pastures new, but who do they replace him with? Cudicini was always only ever going to be back up, and the best goalkeepers from Europe are all linked with Manchester United’s vacant goalkeeping spot. Ben Foster provides a option that, with all due respect to the Birmingham keeper, a Spurs of about five years ago would have happily signed, not this team, one chasing Champions League football. There is also Brad Friedel to consider and should Redknapp persuade the former Liverpool keeper to move to White Hart Lane, he would merely only be a short term option. Outside of those two options, who do Tottenham realistically sign to benefit their European aspirations?
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Spurs fans at the moment have a case of, ‘the best of a bad bunch’. Until Manchester United take their ‘pick’. Gomes will remain at Tottenham, with Spurs fans crossing their fingers that United don’t take up until two minutes before the transfer window closes to sign Edwin Van Der Sar’s replacement.
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