Blackburn boss Steve Kean has pleaded with the club’s fans to give him time and back the side, despite the northern club’s poor start to the 2011-12 season.
Rovers have lost all three of their Premier League games this term, two of which were at home, and some of the Lancashire outfit’s fans have asked for the Scottish manager’s head.
Despite this, Kean has remained upbeat and feels the Ewood Park team will get out of danger.
“It doesn’t make me feel bad at all. I have a great relationship with the owners. I can understand the fans’ frustration that we don’t have points on the board right now, but if you speak with the fans and the way we are playing, I don’t think we could have done too much more,” he told Sky Sports News.
“I think there are a minority of the fans that are frustrated and we are sharing that frustration that we haven’t got points. But the way we are playing, with the squad that we have got, I think it’s a stronger squad than we had last year.”
When asked is he had a message for the disgruntled Rovers fans, Kean asked to be judged at the end of the transfer window, rather than after only three games.
“Bear with us. We have said judge us at the end of the transfer window because during the window we didn’t get players in as quickly as we wanted. I think we have got a stronger squad than we had last year, and I’m sure most of the fans would agree,” he concluded.
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Blackburn travel to take on Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday, and will know that a defeat will pile more pressure on the manager and the players.
Fabio Capello will hope to begin a new chapter of his international managerial career next month, when England face Denmark in Copenhagen in their first campaign of 2011, on 9 February.
The Italian has been subjected to a pile of criticism following England dramatic summer exit from the World Cup in South Africa, and has been looking to mix up the squad and replace those old long-lasting batteries with a fresh pack of Duracells.
Capello’s much awaited return to the helm at Wembley since the summer shambles began with both fans and players looking for the 64-year-old to shake up the starting line up and introduce the much needed injection of talented youth.
However as we all learnt, this was not the case.
All in all, Whilsere and teammate Gibbs were the only two players to feature on the bench who could be considered the new prospect of English football against Hungary back in August. But after a long 90 minutes, England had fallen to a 1-0 demise against Hungary and needed a double brace from Steven Gerrard to rescue them.
It must be bought to attention that Capello’s tactics have not exactly been popular amongst the public or even successful. Walcott’s axing from the squad probably came more of a surprise to the lad than his call-up from good ‘old Sven back in 2006.
As England fans, we realise that Gerrard doesn’t complement Lampard in midfield, and that Gareth Barry is far beyond his sell-by-date. But with England’s newly promised era of 2011 approaching, is Capello really going to take Jack Wilshere, one of England’s most emerging talents, and play him in Barry’s place, or even (dare I say) alongside the former-Brighton boy?
Many people seem to have dubbed Wilshere as Barry’s successor, however he does not have the physical build that holding midfielders need to control the centre of the pitch and force playmakers off the ball.
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The youngster was a breath of fresh air to the Arsenal squad this season, notably in Cesc Fabregas’ absence. The way he has been getting forward for Arsenal this season not only shows his movement capabilities both on and off the ball, but in due time, will help him partner up nicely with teammate Walcott.
Spain are World Cup champions because the vast majority of the starting line-up have grown up playing alongside each other since first arriving at La Masia, and play together at club level. England need to get a team together that knows how each likes to receive the ball, right or left, overhead or on the ground.
The same cannot be said for England, which perhaps explains how badly Gerrard and Lampard are together, but if Arsene manages to convert Walcott into a striker like he did with Thierry Henry, then Wilshere will undoubtedly be shifting latch-ons left, right and centre.
Therefore it is important for Capello not to play him as a defensive midfielder but as the constructive, attacking midfielder he is already promising to become, instead of the Makalele-esque role he is planning on auditioning Wilshere for against Denmark next month.
Barry has failed to replace Owen Hargreaves since Man Utd labelled a treatment room in his name a few years back, and Capello is finally suiting-up and realising he has just not produced worthy enough performances on the pitch.
With Wenger describing his current squad as the best team he’s ever had, he is keen to see Wilshere do well for his country and produce the goods on the pitch, especially at a time when England desperately need them (no, Steven Gerrard, not you – you rescue us too much), and has claimed that the youngster can “play anywhere”, but surely it is better to play him in his strongest position. Surely?
There is no questioning the youngsters defending, but from what he has produced on the field so far this season, he looks for the one-two’s and the typical Arsenal-styled continuous passing when pushing up-field.
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Wilshere will be eager to build on the 7-minute cameo that he got against Hungary back in August, but will more hopeful to release some of his youthful energy and land his name onto the score-sheet rather than the referee’s (could be male or female, no Andy Gray here) book.
I firmly believe that Wilshere should operate a more attacking role – Xavi and Lothar Matthaus style.
What do YOU think? Post your comments below.
Ask me your questions on Twitter, best questions will get a mention in the response article.
It was unprecedented. Three consecutive major international tournament triumphs ensure that this Spain generation will rank among the greatest teams to have ever played the game. Not only because of the glory they have achieved, but the manner in which they have done it. The beautiful game used to be commonly associated with Brazil and South American flair, yet now it is the Iberian nation that is widely considered as the home of football’s most fascinating team.
What chances are there of retaining their World Cup title and securing their fourth consecutive trophy in Brazil in 2014? The only player who may be uncertain of participating in that competition could well be Xavi, who will be 34 when it rolls around. He may be the heartbeat of the side, but they have an abundance of talent who can step in and attempt to replicate the role of the Barcelona man. Defensively they will remain strong. Even without Carles Puyol at the European Championships they rarely looked troubled and it is this solidity that will provide them with a terrific foundation from which to launch their defence.
The same cannot be said for many of the South American nations, where suspect defences seem endemic and will severely hamper any prospective charges for the trophy and indeed even their qualification for the tournament. Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Chile and indeed Argentina all have their faults at the back.
Though Ecuador currently sit fourth of nine in the marathon CONMEBOL qualification group for the 2014 World Cup, their lacklustre form away from home could make it difficult for them to maintain that position. Tim Vickery pointed out in his recent article for the BBC that La Tri will need to improve on the road if they want to provide any sort of opposition should they manage to make it to the tournament proper. It is a similar case for Peru who despite vast attacking talent, currently languish at the bottom of the qualifying table and suffer from a lack of quality at the back.
Another squad with a similar imbalance of talent is Chile, yet Claudio Borghi’s side are at the top of the table. Former coach Marcelo Bielsa turned them into one of the neutrals favourites at World Cup 2010 with his novel 3-3-1-3 formation and a philosophy of a possession based, high intensity game. They can count on a vast array of attacking and midfield talent and with their domestic league improving at a rapid rate they should only get better. Tim Vickery noted how they were unfortunate to defeat Spain last September and it was by no means against a second-string side. The threw away a two-goal lead in that game and unfortunately they do not appear to have someone capable of orchestrating a tighter defence in Brazil.
Following recent managerial changes at both Paraguay and Bolivia they must be considered among the outsiders to progress. Dark horses for qualification however are without a doubt Venezuela. Their fourth-place finish at the Copa last year encouraged a number of European-based players to declare their allegiance which added to the squad. Cesar Farias side have shown tremendous resilience despite not possessing huge quality in defence and are capable of giving anyone a game. This was borne out in their defeat of Argentina and a 1-1 draw against Uruguay in Montevideo.
Indeed the Uruguayans should perhaps have done better in that game. Despite a forward line the envy of many teams across the globe with Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, one of their strongest assets is actually the partnership of Diego Perez and Arevalo Rios in midfield. The former will be 34 by the time the World Cup comes around and Uruguay will need to find a similar partner for Arevalo if they are to remain as competitive. Diego Lugano and Diego Forlan could also be on the way out too but there is no shortage of talent to fill those places.
Another of the continents traditional heavyweights Colombia have struggled for consistency in the early stages of their qualification but they too possess an extremely potent attack. If they can ensure qualification then they could well cause some trouble to the favourites. In Radamel Falcao they possess one of the best strikers in the world whilst recent European moves for forwards Dorlan Pabon and Jackson Martinez can only serve to improve that. Along with the craft of James Rodriguez, who shone in the Under-20 World Cup last year, they will provide formidable opposition. But an ageing defence again could cause problems with solidity at the back in Brazil, but their firepower may be enough to counteract that.
Argentina face similar difficulties as defensively they remain week, as was shown by Brazil in the recent friendlies. Alejandro Sabella still searching for the right balance to his side but Lionel Messi is starting to produce his best form at international level at the right time. The criticism regularly levelled at him is that he does not perform for Argentina but nine goals in his last seven games, and eight in his last four, suggest otherwise and his link-up with Sergio Aguero has proved devastating at times.
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Then of course there is the hosts, Brazil. It was the right decision not to sack Mano Menezes after an abysmal Copa America campaign but a lack of competitive fixtures will have been frustrating for the coach. He may have stumbled across the core of potentially his best team in the build-up for the Olympics. They will undoubtedly possess the best defence on the continent when the tournament comes and will have to hope that home pressure does not become too great. With the likes of Neymar, Leandro Damiao and Thiago Silva there is plenty of talent throughout the squad that should be more than capable of reaching the latter stages.
Whether any of these sides will be able to overthrow the Spaniards remains to be seen. Brazil surely have the best chance but their home advantage could just as easily work against them due to the fickle nature of their fans. If Argentina can find the right balance to the team, then with Messi leading the charge up the front few would bet against them. Colombia and Uruguay must also not be written off in a tournament that could well see the Jules Rimet trophy heading back to South America.
Bolton could be thwarted in their attempts to sign Shaun Wright-Phillips with the Metro reporting his wage demands could scupper the deal.
The Trotters are favourites to sign the Manchester City wide man who is considered surplus to requirements at the Etihad Stadium.
Boss Owen Coyle is a long term admirer of the England winger and knows he faces competition from Wigan, Aston Villa and Sunderland for his signature.
He remains keen on bringing Wright-Phillips to the Reebok Stadium despite his wage demands.
Coyle said: “He’s a player I like and have always liked, but then you know that from last year.
“In an ideal world, I’d be interested if he was available, and I have to say ‘if’ because there have been stories hanging around that we’ve been granted permission to speak to him.
“I don’t know about the other clubs but I haven’t been granted permission by anyone at Manchester City. He added
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“He’s very talented but you have to accept that sometimes players at the elite clubs are difficult because of finances.”
Coyle is desperate to sign a right sided winger after seeing Lee Chung-Yong and new signing Tyrone Mears break their legs last week whilst he also sold Matt Taylor to West Ham earlier this summer
Valenciennes caused a major boilover in Ligue 1 on Saturday with a 2-1 home victory over fourth-placed Lyon.
Despite being separated by 12 spots on the league table, the hosts at Stade Nungesser took the lead six minutes after half-time through a Milan Bisevac penalty after a foul on Gael Danic inside the area.
Gregory Pujol then doubled the lead for Philippe Montanier’s men in the 58th minute to give the home side more belief that an upset was on the cards.
Michel Bastos pulled a goal back for Lyon with 20 minutes remaining, but Valenciennes held on to secure three points that could be vital to their hopes of survival in the league.
Sochaux tore apart Stade Rennes 5-1 at the Stade Auguste Bonal in another stunning upset.
A Modibo Maiga brace, complemented by goals to Marvin Martin, Ideye Brown and Ryad Boudebouz saw off mid-table Sochaux, with Razak Boukari scoring the only goal for the visitors in the second half, prior to the sending off of Rennes goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez.
A Mevlut Erdinc brace helped Paris Saint-Germain to a 2-1 away win over Arles Avignon at Parc des Sports.
Saint-Etienne climbed above Toulouse in the standings with a 2-1 win over their mid-table rivals, courtesy of a first-half brace to Bakary Sako.
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Caen moved level on points with Auxerre after they beat them 2-0 on Saturday in their relegation six-pointer, with Benjamin Rivet and Kandia Traore scoring for the promoted side.
A double in the space of eight second-half minutes to Kevin Gameiro handed Lorient a 2-0 triumph over Brest.
According to reports in the Sunday Mirror, Tottenham Hotspur are ready to spend more than £100m to sign Lazio duo Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Ciro Immobile this summer.
What’s the word, then?
Well, the Sunday Mirror says that the pair have been heavily scouted by the north London outfit in recent weeks, and while they wouldn’t come on the cheap, Spurs feel that they can afford them by offloading some of their fringe players at the end of the season.
The Sunday Mirror says that the players that could go are Toby Alderweireld, Danny Rose, Mousa Dembele, Moussa Sissoko and Victor Wanyama, whom Tottenham fans on Twitter have been discussing the futures of, with the money used to strengthen the Tottenham squad before they move into their new £750m home.
The report adds that signing either Milinkovic-Savic or the 6ft 1in Immobile would be a coup, with the former being watched by several of Europe’s biggest football clubs, and the latter able to offer a strong alternative to Harry Kane up top.
How good have the duo been this season?
They have been excellent.
Striker Immobile has scored a remarkable 41 goals in 45 matches for the Serie A outfit, as well as providing a further 11 assists, while Milinkovic-Savic has found the net on 12 occasions and picked up nine assists, even though he has often been deployed as a central midfielder.
The Serbia international has shown how useful he can be at both ends of the pitch, and he has great ability on the ball, too.
Meanwhile, his Italian teammate is obviously a great finisher, but he is strong in the air too and is no stranger to scoring goals with his head.
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Would they be good signings for Spurs?
They certainly would be.
Milinkovic-Savic in only 23 years of age and looks to have a massive future ahead of him, while Immobile certainly looks as though he could be more of a success with the north London outfit than Vincent Janssen and Fernando Llorente have been.
Will they get them?
It’s difficult to say.
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They will certainly have to pay through the roof to get Milinkovic-Savic, which they may not be willing to do, while they would have to convince Immobile that he could still get regular minutes on the pitch even though he would likely be Kane’s back-up.
Considering the number of goals he has scored this season that is going to be difficult to do, and it would perhaps make more sense if Pochettino has a plan to play both of them together in a new formation with two strikers.
We’ve seen plenty of tactical madness from Louis van Gaal over the last twelve months.
Playing Dirk Kuyt at wing-back and substituting on a goalkeeper for a penalty shoot out at last summer’s World Cup was pretty crazy from the former Oranje boss. But since taking the Old Trafford helm, he’s attempted to remodel Wayne Rooney into a deep-lying playmaker, Marouane Fellaini as a centre-forward and Angel Di Maria as an out-and-out striker.
Needless to say, not all of LVG’s tactical quirks have paid off – who remembers Manchester United’s horrendous 3-5-2 at the start of the season? So fans are quite rightly concerned regarding how his latest one will pan out.
When Luke Shaw came off injured against Crystal Palace, many assumed the ever-versatile Daley Blind would fill in at left-back – or failing that, Ashley Young, who performed well as an emergency wing-back earlier this season.
But proving he’s the most unpredictable manager in the Premier League, the United gaffer has gone for the audacious choice of right-footed centre-back Phil Jones.
Needless to say, Twitter erupted. Here’s some of the best responses:
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Trying to force parallels between the Premier League and Portuguese Liga is a difficult thing. From a footballing and competitive perspective, many would like to argue that Portugal doesn’t hold a flame to England. However, the manner in which FC Porto in particular are run is something many in England, including Arsenal, should look to replicate.
It may seem ironic to praise Porto and their transfer and building policy while so many in England have been quick to criticise Arsenal. Are both clubs so different? In terms of results and trophies, the answer is an undeniable yes. However, the premise remains a constant: buy low, sell high. It just so happens that the well is yet to run dry for the Portuguese club, while it has been argued for a number of seasons that Arsene Wenger has lost his touch in the market.
It’s a policy that saw Arsenal greatly benefit from the sale of Nicolas Anelka to Real Madrid in 1999. The training ground at London Colney was built and Thierry Henry arrived as the replacement. Not too dissimilar to what we’ve seen with Porto in recent years, selling Lisandro Lopez to Lyon when the French club needed a replacement for Karim Benzema, and then dipping into the South American market to pick up Radamel Falcao. If there are any who are going to suggest the buck stopped with Falcao’s sale to Atletico Madrid, his replacement and countryman Jackson Martinez has bagged 25 league goals this season.
And then the problems arise. How do clubs like Arsenal go about cherry picking the players from South America in the way Porto do? The employment restrictions in place in England make it near impossible, yet that isn’t the basis of the argument. Porto have found a market that suits them, one which has continued to keep them competitive because of excellent scouting. Yes, arguably it is a comfort zone, but who could argue that players from South America’s top leagues aren’t better than what’s on offer in France?
Shakhtar Donetsk are the same, with their attack comprising almost exclusively of Brazilians while their defence takes on a look that is far more in keeping with their roots. As an addition to that, many clubs and fans in Western Europe are quick to heap praise and admiration on the Shakhtar players, with Tottenham and Chelsea attempting to bring Willian to England, Manchester City chasing Fernandinho and Manchester United missing out on Douglas Costa prior to his move to the Ukraine.
Like Porto, Shakhtar have continued in their very balanced and extremely successful model, pocketing €35 million for Willian and replacing him with Taison.
I’m all for the idea that Arsenal are armed with £70 million going into this summer’s market. What I am concerned about is the manner in which it will be spent.
Fans in England have been fed the idea that a figure like £70 million isn’t enough to build a title-winning side. It’s a lot of nonsense fed by a company who live on blockbuster transfer deals. England want £40 million strikers but are quick to criticise and mock Liverpool and Chelsea for their purchases in January 2011. The most recent observation to do the rounds was that the entire Dortmund starting XI which beat Real Madrid cost less than Andy Carroll.
It’s not really that surprising. Dortmund had their backs against the wall and had to be smart. They picked up Robert Lewandowski from Lech Poznan while others were focused elsewhere, and grabbed Mats Hummels from Bayern Munich for much, much less than his market value. Of course, Dortmund have been aided in a great way by the German production line, but credit is due for their approach to the transfer market.
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On an equally important level, clubs like Porto and Shakhtar are where they are now because their board take on an almost ruthless attitude when dealing in the market. This isn’t so much with regards to player purchases but rather player sales. Porto know how to make a tremendous profit and not allow themselves to be bullied by stronger forces across the continent. As an addition, Tottenham’s Daniel Levy is often credited as one of the toughest negotiators alongside Porto’s Pinto da Costa and Lyon’s Jean-Michel Aulas. With Arsenal consistently selling off key players to raise funds, they could certainly learn a couple of tricks from some of the best in the business.
It’s a drum worth beating all summer long because it is absolutely vital. Arsenal will only make that £70 million count if they are smart in their approach to building. The summer of 2011 saw Arsenal spend around £50 million, and yet only Mikel Arteta and Per Mertesacker are regulars in the current starting XI. With so much on offer in the way of world-class talent beyond the borders of Western Europe, it would be a welcome change if Arsenal adopted the transfer strategy of clubs they currently have plenty in common with.
Atletico Madrid attacker Antoine Griezmann impressed and scored in his side’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final tie at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday night, and Manchester United fans have urged their club to sign the Frenchman, rated at £90m by Transfermarkt, to play alongside Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku in a front three next season.
The versatile forward has long been linked with a move away from the La Liga club, but he extended his contract with the team from the Spanish capital by another 12 months last summer, and has gone on to score 27 goals in 45 appearances in all competitions for Diego Simeone’s side.
Meanwhile, the Red Devils are still yet to find a real solution to their right-sided issue with the likes of Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata playing there this season, and Jose Mourinho could look to make an addition in that position during the summer.
Man United supporters, who also want Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich to solve their right-back issue, were quick to have their say on Griezmann’s latest display via social media, and while one simply said “sign Griezmann”, another said “Alexis – Lukaku – Griezmann. Front three next season, make it happen @manutd”.
Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…
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Once again it looks like Queens Park Rangers are headed for the drop back down to the Championship.
At present, they’ve collected just 26 points from 33 games and are in 18th place. They are level on points with Burnley, but Sean Dyche’s men have a game in hand. In dead last is Leicester City, with one less point, yet two goals in hand. But, if QPR go down, will they struggle to come straight back up?
It’s becoming all too clear that Queen’s Park Rangers are not cut out for an elongated life in the Premier League. The story of this season is one the West London club know all too well. The yo-yo’ing the side are doing, in and out of the Championship, has been going on for the last four years.
Back in the 2010/11 season, QPR were promoted to the Premier League, but definitely struggled in their debut season in the top flight.
Queen’s Park Rangers finished that 2011/12 season in 17th – just one place from safety. They cut it fine as they ended the season with just a point separating them and Bolton Wanderers, who were relegated. It is always hard for newly promoted teams to stay up in the Premier League, so credit where it is due for the Hoops, but they did it by the skin of their teeth.
A year later, QPR weren’t so lucky. They found themselves back in the Championship after finishing rock bottom in the Premier League. Their Championship days were short lived though, as they made their way back to the top flight through the play-offs.
After bouncing in and out of the Premier League for the last few years, and toying with relegation once again, it looks like QPR’s days are numbered.
It’s becoming tiresome, if anything, to see a team make their way into the top flight and do so little with their opportunity. There is only so long that any side can play this game.
If they do face the drop, they should remain in the Championship for a good while: they cannot hack the pace of the Premier League.
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