You wanted to leave. And you still do. When they realised that, your fans wanted you to leave too. Well, some of them did. Some of them have thrown abuse your way. Worse, they have called you a Spaniard. There has been graffiti against you sprayed across the windows of the club shop. The manager has not included you in a single squad yet the club wouldn't let you go. They're pointing at your buyout clause. But you'll go anyway.
In January, you'll be free to negotiate with whomever you want and in July you'll walk for nothing. It's week four and you finally get included in the squad. In the second half you even get thrown on, with your team struggling. So what do you do? You score with your first touch, of course.
Welcome back, Fernando Llorente. Mallorca defender Nunes and Osasuna striker Llorente were sent off during their draw on Sunday. In the same move. For simultaneously trying to assault each other, using the rough proximity of the ball to throw an elbow and a fist respectively.
Javier Saviola: golazo! Leo Messi was left on the bench for Barcelona's trip to Getafe. But still scored twice. He now has six league goals, 61 in 2012. His best total yet. And it's only September. There was a goal too for the returning David Villa. The bad news for Barcelona is that Carles Puyol will be out for four to six weeks with a knee injury, meaning that he will miss the clásico in October. 4-0 up with nine minutes to go, Atlético Madrid had to hold on for a narrow 4-3 victory. "We lost because of what we did for 70 minutes," admitted Rayo Vallecano's manager Paco Jémez, "and we almost drew because of what we did in seven." Falcao only scored one.
Tuesday 18 September 2012
Sevilla bring back the good times as they cut through Real Madrid
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| Sevilla players applaud their supporters as they celebrate after beating Real Madrid 1-0 in their Spanish league encounter. |
Iker Casillas had already made two saves; rocking back on his heels, he could not save this one. It was in the net – the top, not the back – before he could move. It was still the first minute and Sevilla were 1-0 up. It had all happened so fast and it did all happen so fast. It was intense and aggressive, almost breathless.
The noise from the stands seemed to flow right through them, every drum beat and cymbal crash another challenge or another shot, like a trailer. The energy rolled down the ground and up the pitch. Sevilla's coach talked about the "symbiosis" between fans and footballers. Players were flying into challenges and flying out of them again, tumbling and snarling.
They were nasty and cheaty at times – Álvaro Negredo and Fernando Navarro are specialists, although it was Madrid's players' hitting out – but mostly they were just relentless. Relentless and fast. "The goal was great," beamed Trochowski, "but the brilliant match was even better." There was no Beast , no Luís Fabiano and no Renato, no Pablo Alfaro sticking his fingers where he shouldn't and no Javi Navarro maiming opponents; no Dani Alves impersonating Sonic the Hedgehog or Freddie Kanouté, gliding past while all around him people lose their heads.
There's still no truly creative midfielder. And let's face it, there will never again be a title challenge like in 2007, the year they should have won the league and might have done had they not won the Copa del Rey and the Uefa Cup. But there was Jesús Navas, still the tiny impossibly fast kid in every school team, and for one night only Sevilla were Sevilla. One night only? That is the question now. Saturday night: a one-off or a new start? Discuss.
Once upon a time, Madrid hated going to the Sánchez Pizjuán. A tough, aggressive team awaited: one where the match-day delegate warned the young players that if he caught them asking to swap shirts with a Madrid player before the game would take the shirt from them and burn it. But those days seemed to have gone.
In each of the past two seasons Madrid won 6-2 in Seville. The last time Sevilla beat them it was 2-1 early in 2009-2010 but it was a false dawn. Manolo Jiménez, the coach, was sacked within five months. Antonio Alvarez followed him and didn't last long but did, said the critics, last too long. He was replaced by Gregorio Manzano and things briefly looked up, but he too was sacked.
And the man that followed him, Míchel, was … well, Míchel. If Sevilla had built a reputation on aggression and pace and character, Míchel had built his on finesse; if they were rugged, he was smooth. Somehow, he just didn't quite fit. That, at least, was the way that many fans saw it.
It didn't help that he played out his career at Real Madrid. Or that coming into this match, he had never coached a team to victory against José Mourinho. Besides, there were deeper problems. A win over Madrid may have been just two years ago, but genuinely competing felt like a lifetime back. The sporting director Monchi's magic touch seemed to have deserted him. The man who made almost €60m profit on Alves and Baptista, signed Tom de Mul and Abdoulay Konko for eight times what the two Brazilians cost.
That generation had gone: Kanouté departed this summer, possibly the best signing in the club's history, bringing an era to a close. It was not coming back either. Andrés Palop is still around but he's not what he was. Sevilla's squad just did not seem that impressive any more. The good players – Negredo, Rakitic, Perotti, Medel – could not find consistency.
José Antonio Reyes came back and was the Reyes other clubs had had, not the Reyes Sevilla once sold. Last season, Sevilla finished ninth. The season before that they were fifth but finished 38 behind Barcelona and from week three were never in a Champions League place. They also were not much fun to watch.
Even the connection between fans and club appeared to have been undermined: on Saturday night, the Pizjuán wasn't full. Míchel talked about a "atmosphere of pessimism". But this time Sevilla got it right and next time maybe it will fill. Nothing is as cathartic or contagious as a win over Madrid. Three men packed the middle of midfield, Maduro and Medel behind Rakitic, while Trochowski played narrow on the left.
Up front, Negredo was the target. And on the right, Navas actually had a partner, a full-back who would race up the wing with him. Alex Sandro Mendonça dos Santos, "Cicinho", is not Dani Alves. But more importantly nor is he Konko, Mosquera, Stankevicious, or Dabo. He is the first Brazilian Monchi has signed since Luís Fabiano in 2005.
Sevilla got the opener and made chances to add to it. The more Real Madrid pushed, the more Mourinho threw on attackers, the more Navas was released, sprinting up the right, legs whirring. And although Madrid hit the post twice and Sergio Ramos somehow headed over from a yard, that makes it sound like they had far more opportunities than they really did. Sevilla deserved to hold on for a 1-0 win.
It may be a one-off. Manzano, Alvarez and Jiménez all saw their side produce excellent performances that seemed to rekindle something of that Sevilla and the problem will come not so much against sides that open up and offer Sevilla space to play directly, seeking to play off Negredo and to release Navas, as against teams that are happy with a draw, in those games where they have to be more creative. But Míchel was entitled to feel satisfied.
This morning Sevilla are fourth. "Playing like this," Navas added, as Sergio Ramos headed towards Madrid's team bus, pausing to plant a kiss on his cheek, "it's going to be very hard to beat us."
"This invites optimism," the coach said. "Tonight was a perfect night and one we needed: we played very well and got the fans back on board." "This is," he said, "more about our success than Madrid's defeat." Only it's not. It never is.
"What are they playing at?" asked the cover of Marca. The answer is simple: nothing. There was little football, few chances and fewer ideas. Real Madrid were as poor, Mourinho noted, as they had been against Getafe and Granada and, even during moments, against Valencia. They have picked up just four points from the opening four games and have lost their first three competitive games away from home for the first time in their history.
It's not just that they're not even second, it's that they're not even second in Madrid. Both Atlético and Rayo are above them. And they already trail Barcelona by eight points. Yes, it's early, but they have never overcome an eight-point deficit to Barcelona in the league and they only dropped 12 points in the whole of last season. The week before the game was marked by the attention surrounding Ronaldo's announcement that he is "sad" – after Saturday's game Madrid director Emilio Butragueño would not deny that Ronaldo has asked to leave – and Mourinho admitted that it was not so much that Barcelona have an eight-point lead that worries him as the fact that Madrid are simply not playing well.
Asked why he thought Madrid had performed so badly in the first half, he responded: "Only the first half? You're too kind." He continued: "I made two changes at half-time; I could have made seven. There are very few whose heads are focused on football."
Mourinho ended his press conference by delivering the killer blow: "Right now," he said, "I do not have a team."
Russian money is starting to change Europe's football map
Manchester City, perhaps, although they seem to be retrenching. Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), certainly, although they are hamstrung by French tax rates. Manchester United? Chelsea? It's just about possible, although they aren't as free-spending as they once were. Not an Italian team. Not a German team. So that leaves China or the Middle East – or, assuming Ronaldo wants to stay in Europe, Russia, where there still appear to be any number of oligarchs willing to take on the Financial Fair Play regulations.
In an otherwise fairly sedate last week of the transfer window, the startling move came from Zenit St Petersburg, who spent £83m to land Givanildo "Hulk" Souza and Axel Witsel from Porto. Even Russians seem a little bewildered by Hulk's arrival. An interview in Sport-Express reminded the Brazilian that last year he had said he would only leave Porto for a "great" club. "The most important thing for me right now is to do well in the Russian league, to take Zenit to first place and to help Zenit get as close as possible to the Champions League," he replied. "These challenges come from a proposal the club from St Petersburg made to me. In addition, I had a lot of discussions with the president of Zenit and discussed everything with him."
To which came the sceptical follow-up: "But you have the feeling that Zenit are a big club?" Hulk, diplomatically, said they are "growing very rapidly". Yet Hulk's first appearance saw Zenit fall from top spot to fourth as they lost 2-0 at home to Terek Grozny, who are the surprise leaders of the Russian league after eight games. Taken in isolation the game perhaps wouldn't be too worrying for coach Luciano Spalletti. His team faced well-drilled, well-organised opposition and ended up being undone by two late goals, both of which were largely the result of individual errors. But Zenit have now won just one of their last four games and there is a distinct sense of a side having lost its rhythm. "I am disappointed with the home results but I am sure my team will alter the situation," said Spalletti. "So I'm not worried. But, yes, we have to do a lot of hard work to improve."
Zenit's style hasn't changed much since Spalletti took over three years ago. It's still the same, basic, 4-3-3 with Aleksandr Kerzhakov – a far better player than his wayward shooting at Euro 2012 suggested – flanked by Vladimir Bystrov and Viktor Faizulin. Assuming Hulk does force his way into the side, he would presumably play on the right, and there's still Danny to return on the left, giving Spalletti a wealth of options. Witsel, presumably, is seen as a long-term replacement for Konstantin Zyryanov in midfield alongside Igor Denisov and Roman Shirokov, but he has not travelled to Spain for Tuesday's Champions League group tie away to Málaga. The key to this game is probably whether Zenit's three in midfield can dominate Málaga's Ignacio Camacho and whoever replaces Jérémy Toulalan (plus whichever of their plethora of attacking central players is chosen to support whichever of the many centre-forwards they play).
The biggest problem for sides from the east is the calendar. Although both Russia and Ukraine now run an autumn-spring season, the necessarily long, winter hiatus means a comparatively short break in the summer and so, by the time the Champions League groups reach their climax in November, the eastern sides have been playing for almost nine months with just a brief rest, while those from the west are fresh and finding their best form three months into their season. Of course, as has been demonstrated in the Uefa Cup/Europa League by CSKA, Zenit and Shakhtar in the past eight seasons, if Russian sides can make it through the group stage, and can get through the first round of European games after the winter when they're still shifting into gear, they should be far fresher than the western sides come April.
The sides from Russia and Ukraine need results early, hoping to get enough points on the board to be able to battle through November. That's a concern for Zenit as they stutter and also for Spartak, who started the season with three straight wins, lost 5-0 at Zenit, and are without a victory in their last four as they adjust to life under Unai Emery. The Swedish midfielder Kim Kallstrom and the Argentinian centre-back Juan Insaurralde were their most eye-catching summer signings, but with Emery likely to opt for a defensive 4-2-3-1, his big decision is whether to start with Artem Dzyuba as his lone forward or the Nigerian Emmanuel Emenike.
The form of the Ukrainian contenders has been rather more convincing. Shakhtar have been awesome, scoring fewer than three goals only once as they've won their first nine games of the season. They have an abundance of creators, all pulled together by the intelligent, creative play of the 23-year-old Armenian Henrik Mkhitaryan. Mircea Lucescu's side has been dominant for some time in Ukraine; where he has always fallen short in Europe, but a home start against the Danish champions Nordsjaelland, who have won just four of their first nine league games of the season, shouldn't present too much of a problem.
Dynamo, meanwhile, having won seven and lost two domestically (one of the defeats to Shakhtar) warmed up for the trip to PSG with a 3-1 win at home to Karpaty, Niko Kranjcar scoring twice. Yuri Semin has been under pressure for months, but he endures, as does his 4-1-4-1/4-2-3-1 hybrid, with Denys Harmash flitting between the back of midfield and supporting Kranjcar, who is used centrally behind Ideye Brown. If Semin is to retain his job, Dynamo, you feel, have to get off to a good start.
Shakhtar may be in the best form of the four Russian and Ukrainian sides in action this week but, purely because of the money they've spent, it's Zenit who seem at the forefront of the ongoing eastern development.
How Tyler Hamilton sheds light on doping world and Lance Armstrong
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| Lance Armstrong, left, alongside his compatriot Tyler Hamilton during the Tour de France in 2003 |
It was difficult not to be inspired by the suffering Hamilton was going through, just as it was difficult not to raise eyebrows and wonder what the hell was going on when he rode away from the entire field in the Pyrenees, up the steepest climb of the race, broken collarbone and all, to win in Bayonne. Struggling to stay in contact with the leaders seemed within the bounds of possibility; winning a stage by four minutes did not add up.
So it was not a massive surprise to learn that Hamilton had injected a bag of blood the night before the stage to Bayonne, increasing his performance by 3%, or so he writes in his account of his doping journey, The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France: Doping, Cover-ups and Winning at All Costs. That is pretty much what the book, written jointly with the American journalist Daniel Coyle, inspired in me: not surprise so much as the occasional jolt of shock at the grimy practicalities and the odd drop of my jaw at the means Hamilton says that he, Lance Armstrong and others used to stay ahead of the testers and the police.
In the broader sense this book is old news, at least compared with Willy Voet's Breaking the Chain, which I translated following its publication in 1999. Voet's revelations were fresh; the Festina scandal had broken less than a year before it appeared. In the same way that the Armstrong saga has been a 10-year drip-feed of revelation, we have had eight years to get used to the idea that Hamilton was riding on blood transfusions, because he was busted for blood doping in 2004, while leaks during the Operación Puerto inquiry left no room for error about his prolific drug-taking.
What Hamilton's account does do is offer an initial, and deep, insight into the evidence that Armstrong refused to confront when he opted out of arbitration in the case that the US Anti-Doping Agency had built against him and his associates. Armstrong's surrender – with its implicit acceptance of the charges the Usada had raised against him – made a contorted kind of sense on 25 August, as it does now, given the material in the book.
Looking back to 1999, I was naive to assume that year that the threat of police raids would make the cyclists leave their drugs at home. While the fear seems to have made many of them ride clean (a vast percentage of the samples from 1999 tested later for erythropoietin were clean), that in turn rewarded those who took special measures and doped up. In the case of Armstrong and Hamilton this meant hiring a motorcyclist, nicknamed Motoman, to transport their EPO.
The following year, with a new test in the pipeline for that blood booster, Armstrong and US Postal switched to microdoses of EPO (to reduce "glowtime", as they call the period when a rider will test positive after an injection) but primarily to blood transfusions – a bigger boost to performance but involving trips to Spain by private jet to have blood removed before it was reinjected for the key moments in the race. Blood doping later became more sophisticated, once Hamilton had left Postal and taken up with the egregious Dr Eufemiano Fuentes, alleged supplier of blood doping services extraordinaire, albeit one who insists he is innocent. Blood is taken out and reinjected in epic quantities; it is frozen and manipulated. Occasionally it goes off, to disastrous effect.
The methods used for concealment are the stuff of the underworld: multiple pay-as-you-go mobile phones, constantly changed, codes for the numbers of rooms in obscure hotels where blood is taken out and put back in, elaborate measures to dispose of evidence, on one occasion hiring a flat in Monaco for one transfusion, hidden there for a month with Hamilton and his then wife, Haven, keeping an eye on it. But above all, constant paranoia, fear of the opposition, fear of discovery. It is sport but not as mere mortals can imagine it or report it, in the case of my colleagues and I. We suspected and conjectured, while being unable to put our disquiet into print; quite how we could have uncovered it I cannot imagine, given the elaborate measures to which the drugtakers were resorting to ensure secrecy.
Amid the blood there are telling insights into Armstrong: "He believed – still believes – that he wasn't cheating, because in his mind all the contenders in the race … had their own version of Motoman, everybody was doing everything they could to win and, if they weren't, they were choads [an insult particular to Armstrong, somewhere between a chump and a toad] and didn't deserve to win."
If there is a note of optimism that can be taken from this book, it is not from Hamilton's story, but the background: testing, more and more stringently, particularly out of competition, clearly does have an effect: it piles on the pressure, forcing the drug takers and the men who run the blood banks into mistakes, such as traces of banned drugs unintentionally finding their way into a bag of blood which then show up positive. Testing does not net them all – Armstrong never failed a test – but it catches enough to make a difference.
Hamilton's downfall, that positive for blood doping in 2004, it seems, is most probably due to an error by Fuentes, who was seemingly supplying so many names in the peloton that he may have given the American the wrong bag. (In a wry-smile footnote that you simply couldn't make up, it seems that his sidekick may have suffered from dementia.)
This is not an account that will engender a great deal of sympathy, at least not in my mind. Hamilton suffered severe depression, sacrificed his marriage and lost a million dollars fighting for years to maintain the lie that he had raced clean. He does not paint himself as a victim: he had a choice and he made the choice. His story, and that of the seven-times Tour winner with whom it runs in parallel, is a defining example of what we all tell our children: one lie leads to another, they grow and take on a life of their own.
Any residual feeling I might have felt for a man who fouled up his life as Hamilton did evaporates on page 19, after his account of that stage win in Bayonne, where he writes: "You can call me a cheater and doper until the cows come home. But the fact remains that in a race where everybody had equal opportunity, I played the game and I played it well." The ultimate drug taker's argument: they all did it, so I had to do it. Not everyone in that race had access to Fuentes or Motoman. Hamilton did not have to do it. They do not have to do it.
Monday 17 September 2012
Milan's lack of imagination sees them break unwanted 80-year record
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| Atalanta players celebrate after Luca Ciganini gives them a 1-0 lead against Milan. |
Often the findings may be spurious, failing to take into account such variables as opposition or shifting financial realities, but sometimes a statistic arises that is too remarkable to ignore. When Milan were defeated by Atalanta at San Siro on Saturday, having already been beaten there by Sampdoria three weeks previously, observers got to wondering how long it had been since the Rossoneri lost both of their first two home fixtures of a Serie A season.
The answer was more than 80 years ago. Only once in their entire history, in fact, had the Rossoneri begun a top-flight campaign quite so poorly at home – all the way back in 1930-31, when they opened with a 3-0 defeat to Juventus and a 1-0 loss to Lazio.
Each of Milan's losses this time around have been by the latter scoreline, though they might consider themselves fortunate in that regard. Gazzetta dello Sport was not alone in naming the club's goalkeeper, Christian Abbiati, as their man of the match in this week's reverse against Atalanta, noting in particular a close-range save from Maxi Moralez with the score already at 1-0.
Atalanta's own goalkeeper, Andrea Consigli, was never tested in quite the same way – his team restricting Milan mostly to pot-shots from outside the area. The Rossoneri did not go without possession in the relevant parts of the pitch, but suffered from a chronic lack of imagination. Without Zlatan Ibrahimovic to pull rabbits out of hats, the team were content to simply place their metaphorical headgear on a table and gaze at it wistfully.
If that might seem like the inevitable consequence of Milan's having been shorn of a player such as Ibrahimovic – whose talent was such that he could be relied upon to resolve matches such as these single-handedly – then it is worth remembering how the club's neighbours, Inter, coped with the loss of the same player three years ago. José Mourinho used the Swede's departure as an opportunity to reshape his team entirely and went on to win the treble.
Milan's Massimiliano Allegri has not been afforded anything like the same resources, of course, and nobody is expecting similar results, but his refusal thus far to amend his tactics to reflect the new reality is nevertheless holding his team back. A 4-3-1-2 with Kevin-Prince Boateng behind Giampaolo Pazzini and Stephan El-Shaarawy suited none of the three, with neither forward particularly adept at holding the ball up and nobody providing width.
Allegri's troubles had been building since long before the weekend, of course, with Alex Pato openly criticising his man-management last season and suggestions emerging in recent weeks that the coach might be partly to blame for the club's horrific injury record in recent years. Milan have overhauled both their fitness and medical teams in the past 18 months, leading some to observe that the manager himself is the one remaining constant.
His relationship with Silvio Berlusconi has not always been a comfortable one, and there were eyebrows raised when an apparent appointment for Allegri to meet Milan's vice-president, Adriano Galliani, over dinner at Forte dei Marmi last week went unfulfilled. Both parties made light of that occurrence, yet after this latest defeat the pair dined together on Sunday at both lunch and dinner.
"More than a dinner with Galliani, what Massimiliano Allegri really needs is group therapy. With his whole team," wrote Marco Pasotto in Gazzetta dello Sport. There might have been an element of that for the several senior players who met at the captain Massimo Ambrosini's house for a shared meal of their own on Sunday.
Galliani, for his part, insisted on Sunday that the manager's job is not under threat. "Allegri's position is absolutely not under discussion," he said. "[The manager] should stay calm." It might be easier to do so if such words were not coming from the lips of a man who earlier this summer had insisted that it was "99% certain" that Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva would be staying at the club.
The primary concern for everyone at Milan right now is simply not allowing this poor run to spill over into the Champions League, with their campaign to begin against Anderlecht on Tuesday. Unfortunately for Milan, the fixture is to be played at home.
It is not just the Rossoneri who have struggled at San Siro this season; Inter have failed to win any of their three fixtures there – between league and Europe.
That may have to do with the installation of a new, partially synthetic pitch over the summer – a move which was also hoped to be part of the solution to the club's injury problems by providing a more consistent surface. Then again, with such a small sample size it might also be nothing more than a sheer coincidence.
What is known is that the level of support Milan can count on at home continues to dwindle. The club have sold only 23,618 season tickets this year – 7,615 fewer than last season and more than 4,000 fewer than the previous lowest figure achieved under Berlusconi's ownership. After seeing not only Ibrahimovic and Silva but also other such long-standing servants as Clarence Seedorf, Gennaro Gattuso and Alessandro Nesta depart, such dwindling enthusiasm can hardly come as a surprise.
It was noteworthy, indeed, against such a backdrop, that several hundred supporters showed up to watch Pippo Inzaghi take charge of Milan's Under-17s during a match at Verona on Sunday. There is already a section of supporters who would sooner see the former striker – a club man, even if totally lacking in experience – replace Allegri.
Should Milan go on to match the 1930–31 side by losing their third home game as well, such a scenario might quickly start to sound a lot less far-fetched.
TOP FIVE BETTER PLAYERS THAN STEVEN FLETCHER FOR SUNDERLAND TO SPEND £14MILLION ON
1. 2.8 x Emmanuel Adebayor
A proven Premier League goalscorer, Adebayor’s chip on the shoulder doesn’t negate his evident talent. And given that Sunderland had Nicklas Bendtner last season, the club knows what to expect. As a bonus, Manchester City would actually have paid some of the Togolese striker’s wages.
2) 7 x Michu
Quite why no club in Spain was able to pick up the top scoring midfielder in La Liga last season is a mystery to many, but their loss is south Wales’ gain. Scoring twice on his Premier League debut, Michu looks creative, hardworking and pacy: the dream combination for success in English football.
3) 5.2 x Arouna Kone
An African striker that may score goals but is just as likely to let them run dry and then seek a move elsewhere shortly after. Wigan snapped up the Ivorian but you know what, after Asamoah Gyan, maybe Fletcher is a decent shout after all.
4) 4.7 x Alberto Aquilanis
The Italian struggled to make an impact at Anfield, but injuries were a huge reason behind this. And Aquilani is still a 28-year-old with more than 20 caps for his country who has turned out for Roma, Milan and Juventus. Plus, Sunderland owe Liverpool a favour after robbing them for £20million for Jordan Henderson.
5) Infinite x Kevin Kyle
A big Scottish striker with international pedigree (one goal for his country) and the added advantages of already knowing Sunderland (from his prolific six-year spell from 2000) and being available on a free after being released by Hearts. True, Kyle would have almost certainly failed to score a single goal, but having just joined a club that have 54 league titles and 60 domestic cups, Sunderland must surely have missed out on a trick?
Friday 14 September 2012
Fulham v West Bromwich Albion: Squad sheets
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| Fulham v West Bromwich Albion: Probable starters in bold, contenders in light. Photograph: Graphic |
Venue Craven Cottage, Saturday 3pm
Tickets Sold out
Last season Fulham 1 West Brom 1
Referee Roger East
This season's matches 1 Y2, R1, 3.00 cards per game
Odds Fulham 10-11 West Brom 3-1 Draw 5-2
DON’T FALL ASLEEP IN FRONT OF MANCHESTER UNITED GOALKEEPER DAVID DE GEA
De Gea showed a total lack of respect for fellow Olympian Iker Muniain’s beauty sleep by arranging and taking the photograph above at Jerez airport as the Spain squad waited for a flight to Madrid.
Muniain’s gaping mouth proved too tempting for the young goalkeeper, so he got to work on taking advantage of his mate’s siesta.
As if he hadn’t invaded enough of Muniain’s privacy he then tweeted the photo to his 669,000 Twitter followers.
ARSENAL’S DECISION NOT TO PURSUE YANN M’VILA… AND FIVE OTHER ARSENE WENGER TRANSFER FIASCOS
Newspaper reports suggest Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has cooled his interest in French midfielder Yann M’Vila because he feels his squad is already adequately prepared in that department.
Despite rumours claiming Jack Wilshere may not play again until October, Wenger believes that signing M’Vila would have an adverse effect on the potential of the injury-prone Abou Diaby.
He even claimed that Diaby would walk into the France national team if fully fit. That may not be quite true, and Diaby’s fitness record suggests him staying off of the treatment table long enough to make an international squad – let alone starting eleven – would be a challenge in itself.
But this is not the first time Arsenal’s manager has overlooked a potential signing, citing how another player in his squad would suffer as a consequence as the reason for not opening the club’s chequebook…
1. Jose Enrique
Last summer Gael Clichy’s £7m move to Manchester City left a gaping hole in Arsenal’s squad at left-back. Wenger felt that moving for Newcastle’s Jose Enrique would put the blockers on young Kieran Gibbs’ development, so he opted for Andre Santos instead. While Santos has looked OK when called upon, Enrique would have been an upgrade, and Gibbs spent a large part of the season injured anyway.
Last summer Gael Clichy’s £7m move to Manchester City left a gaping hole in Arsenal’s squad at left-back. Wenger felt that moving for Newcastle’s Jose Enrique would put the blockers on young Kieran Gibbs’ development, so he opted for Andre Santos instead. While Santos has looked OK when called upon, Enrique would have been an upgrade, and Gibbs spent a large part of the season injured anyway.
2. Xabi Alonso
Arsenal were set to capitalise on the Xabi Alonso/Gareth Barry/Rafael Benitez debacle at Liverpool in 2008, with Wenger putting a bid in for the Spaniard. However as Alonso was travelling down to London, Liverpool insisted for more money and Wenger called off the deal, stating that publicly that he didn’t want to ‘kill’ Denilson. Arsenal fans are now likely to suggest that wouldn’t have been the worst thing, as the Brazilian has just spent the last season back in his homeland on loan.
Arsenal were set to capitalise on the Xabi Alonso/Gareth Barry/Rafael Benitez debacle at Liverpool in 2008, with Wenger putting a bid in for the Spaniard. However as Alonso was travelling down to London, Liverpool insisted for more money and Wenger called off the deal, stating that publicly that he didn’t want to ‘kill’ Denilson. Arsenal fans are now likely to suggest that wouldn’t have been the worst thing, as the Brazilian has just spent the last season back in his homeland on loan.
3. Yaya Toure
Yaya Toure – the man driving the Man City revolution from midfield last season – could well have ended up playing in the red of Arsenal instead if things had been different. While at the Gunners’ feeder club Beveren, Yaya trialled at Arsenal after a recommendation from brother Kolo, who was playing for the club at the time. But no permanent deal was done. Yaya played in a friendly game against Barnet, but Wenger decided he had enough midfield options in his squad and let the Ivorian move onto Olympiakos. A big mistake in hindsight.
Yaya Toure – the man driving the Man City revolution from midfield last season – could well have ended up playing in the red of Arsenal instead if things had been different. While at the Gunners’ feeder club Beveren, Yaya trialled at Arsenal after a recommendation from brother Kolo, who was playing for the club at the time. But no permanent deal was done. Yaya played in a friendly game against Barnet, but Wenger decided he had enough midfield options in his squad and let the Ivorian move onto Olympiakos. A big mistake in hindsight.
4. Juan Mata
Another transfer Arsenal could have secured last summer was that of European Championship winner Juan Mata. A clause in his Valencia contract allowed Arsenal to agree in principle a deal of around £21m, but the club dithered on finalising the signing because of the situations with Cesc Fabreags and Samir Nasri, and Chelsea eventually swooped in.
Another transfer Arsenal could have secured last summer was that of European Championship winner Juan Mata. A clause in his Valencia contract allowed Arsenal to agree in principle a deal of around £21m, but the club dithered on finalising the signing because of the situations with Cesc Fabreags and Samir Nasri, and Chelsea eventually swooped in.
5. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
PSG’s most recent signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic could have been an Arsenal player, and picture evidence suggests he would have suited the club’s colours too. However, when the big Swede was available for transfer from Malmo, Wenger wanted him to come on trial first. Ibrahimovic said he didn’t do trials, negotiations broke down and he joined Ajax instead.
PSG’s most recent signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic could have been an Arsenal player, and picture evidence suggests he would have suited the club’s colours too. However, when the big Swede was available for transfer from Malmo, Wenger wanted him to come on trial first. Ibrahimovic said he didn’t do trials, negotiations broke down and he joined Ajax instead.
BET’S BE ‘AVIN YOU: FOOTBALL BETTING TIPS FOR THE 14-16 SEPTEMBER
£40 staked last time out and £40 returned, thanks to England’s victory to nil over Moldova. Would have been considerable more had Croatia won by more than one goal, but c’est la vie.
First bet this week drops down to the Championship, where Nottingham Forest host Birmingham City. Forest have started the season in great form, moving up to third in the table before the international break. Birmingham, however, have stuttered despite pre-season predictions that they could gain automatic promotion following the end of their financial woes. When a side that has won both its home games is odds against (6/5) to beat a side that has lost both its away games, I would advise you to pile on.
£15 on Nottingham Forest to beat Birmingham City gets you £33
£15 on Nottingham Forest to beat Birmingham City gets you £33
Next up is the Premier League action, and a couple of first goalscorer bets to examine. Firstly i’m going for Edin Dzeko. The Bosnian is not first choice at Eastlands, but scored four goals during the international break and may be given the nod here with Sergio Aguero not yet at full fitness. And at 6/1, even if he doesn’t start your stake will be returned. Next I’m going for Mladen Petric. The Serbian has scored two goals already in England, and odds of 6/1 again look generous.
£5 on Edin Dzeko first goalscorer gets you £35
£5 on Mladen Petric first goalscorer gets you £35
£5 on Edin Dzeko first goalscorer gets you £35
£5 on Mladen Petric first goalscorer gets you £35
Another £5 available to take the stakes to £40, so let’s make this one an accumulator. Manchester United will be backed on the handicap to beat Wigan, Charlton should see off Crystal Palace in Friday night’s London derby, whilst Tranmere will look to continue their excellent start to the season against struggling (and managerless) Coventry City
£5 on Manchester United (-1), Charlton and Tranmere gets you £35
£5 on Manchester United (-1), Charlton and Tranmere gets you £35
IT’S A HUGE WEEKEND FOR… LIVERPOOL FC, NIGEL ADKINS, SPURS’ GOALKEEPERS AND HANDSHAKES
Liverpool FC
Finally, vindication. Finally, the truth. Finally, redemption. It doesn’t matter if you know the truth, the truth still needs to be known. Scars will not heal, wrongs have not been righted and the lost cannot be found. But finally, Liverpool football club and its family can sleep knowing that the truth has now outed.
Finally, vindication. Finally, the truth. Finally, redemption. It doesn’t matter if you know the truth, the truth still needs to be known. Scars will not heal, wrongs have not been righted and the lost cannot be found. But finally, Liverpool football club and its family can sleep knowing that the truth has now outed.
I am not a Liverpool fan (indeed, as a Forest fan I knew people there that day, and at four years old could not comprehend the tragedy), but this is not about which club you support, because it’s not even about football. It is about humanity. And when, at 2.55pm at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, the Liverpool fans sing You’ll Never Walk Alone and think of their lost ones and loved ones, they will do so with a pride that says “we put this right”, and Sunderland fans could do worse than sing it to. Simply writing about it makes my spine tingle.
Bill Shankly was wrong. It is not more important than life or death. And the events of April 15th 1989 demonstrated that hauntingly. I just hope that finally, the families of 96 sadly-missed people can be proud of their club and their city.
Nigel Adkins
Ian Holloway knows that simply impressing people in the Premier League means nothing without the substance of points. Southampton may have the well wishes of the neutral after their opening three games, but they have no points.
Ian Holloway knows that simply impressing people in the Premier League means nothing without the substance of points. Southampton may have the well wishes of the neutral after their opening three games, but they have no points.
A trip to Arsenal makes things no easier, but Adkins must be hoping that his side does not simply play well, but instead demonstrates a backbone, a steely side with which to accompany the joys of their August football.
Spurs’ goalkeepers
An early season headache for a Portuguese manager. Having lost his job at Chelsea through trying to move the old guard out too quickly, AVB has now been criticised by the tabloid media for apparently attempting to do the same with a 42-year-old goalkeeper at White Hart Lane.
An early season headache for a Portuguese manager. Having lost his job at Chelsea through trying to move the old guard out too quickly, AVB has now been criticised by the tabloid media for apparently attempting to do the same with a 42-year-old goalkeeper at White Hart Lane.
Brad Friedel has been a wonderful performer, but Hugo Lloris cost £12million and is the French number one. Pick the Frenchman and he makes a mistake, it was the wrong choice: AVB loses. Pick the American and he makes a mistake, AVB has unsettled his keeper: AVB loses. Pick Friedel and he performs well and Lloris begins to get uneasy: AVB loses. Pick Lloris, Spurs win at the Madejski and his goalkeeper makes some decent saves without his side coming under significant pressure: AVB wins.
Handshakes
After the shittingly awful week football has had, it would be nice to think that this weekend could be about sportsmanship, fair play and wonderful football. Luckily there is a West London Derby in which Chelsea’s captain is approaching a hearing at the FA related to alleged racially aggravated comments during the fixture last season.
After the shittingly awful week football has had, it would be nice to think that this weekend could be about sportsmanship, fair play and wonderful football. Luckily there is a West London Derby in which Chelsea’s captain is approaching a hearing at the FA related to alleged racially aggravated comments during the fixture last season.
And we all shake our heads at football’s disgusting underbelly of immaturity, unpleasantness and ignorance. Oh joy.
QPR and Chelsea players must shake hands, says Premier League
 |
| Anton Ferdinand and John Terry have faced each other twice since the incident, but the handshake was cancelled both times. |
The Premier League has announced that the pre-match handshake before Queens Park Rangers' match with Chelsea at Loftus Road on Saturday must take place.
Anton Ferdinand and John Terry, who has recovered from his ankle injury, will meet for the first time since the Chelsea captain's race trial in July. Terry was found not guilty of using a racial slur against Ferdinand in the corresponding fixture last October, but remains the subject of a Football Association investigation over charges that he denies.
The QPR manager, Mark Hughes, revealed on Friday afternoon that they were awaiting guidance from the Premier League, who has confirmed it must go ahead.
"There has been dialogue between the Premier League, Queens Park Rangers and Chelsea in relation to tomorrow's match between the two clubs," said a Premier League statement. "All parties understand and acknowledge that the pre-match handshake will go ahead as part of the normal pre-match activity."
Walton and Humphreys In Frame To Face Cherries
Hartlepool United duo Simon Walton and Ritchie Humphreys are in contention to face Bournemouth at Dean Court tomorrow.
Both impressed manager Neale Cooper during a midweek reserve match and are now pushing for first time slots. Humphreys is yet to feature for the first team this season while Walton was dropped in favour of Paul Murray after a disappointing start to the season.
''I was at the reserve game during the week and Simon and Ritchie both played well and were the only two positives really.'' he told the Mail.
''Simon looks a lot sharper and fitter, which he had to be, and I've told him that. He's worked really hard since I've brought Paul back.
''That's what I want - a reaction from boys - and to get the best out of Simon I thought he had to be a bit fitter. But he's in the squad and we could use him this weekend.
''We'll have to think about what we'll do.''
Both impressed manager Neale Cooper during a midweek reserve match and are now pushing for first time slots. Humphreys is yet to feature for the first team this season while Walton was dropped in favour of Paul Murray after a disappointing start to the season.
''I was at the reserve game during the week and Simon and Ritchie both played well and were the only two positives really.'' he told the Mail.
''Simon looks a lot sharper and fitter, which he had to be, and I've told him that. He's worked really hard since I've brought Paul back.
''That's what I want - a reaction from boys - and to get the best out of Simon I thought he had to be a bit fitter. But he's in the squad and we could use him this weekend.
''We'll have to think about what we'll do.''
Ricky Hatton in the wrong business if he is looking for redemption
Pride and ego are dangerous impulses for a former champion mistaken in believing he can rule the boxing world again
Ricky Hatton has every right to fight again. Boxing is in his blood and in his bank account. He says he has an obligation to do so, an obligation to his fans. But no amount of money or spurious attachment to sentiment can disguise the dangers involved in his latest enterprise.
The former two-division world champion, who will be 34 in October, announced on Friday he will return to boxing after an absence of three years in Manchester on 24 November against an opponent yet to be named.
Clearly, there is still good money to be made in the Hatton industry – his second career, as manager and promoter, has been financially tough – and there is little question he needs a TV deal to bolster a promotional career that took a hit when Sky did not renew his deal earlier this year.
But he knows this fight will draw, no matter who the opponent. British boxing has never had a ticket-seller like the Hitman. Yet it is impossible to separate the business from the many other issues, his health being paramount.
"Too many miles on the clock," was Hatton's assessment after Manny Pacquiao knocked him unconscious inside two rounds in Las Vegas in May 2009. "Right thing to do," he said of his decision to quit, "rather than lead the fans up the garden path."
Hatton sees no discrepancy in insisting he now wants "British boxing to be proud of me again. The only way to convince everyone I'm back is by flattening someone. It's not about money, it's not about winning a world title".
In the next breath, he says: "I don't want to be fighting at four- or six-round levels – I want to fight for world titles." The confusion is obvious.
Hatton strikes a more credible note when he says: "It's more than a comeback. I'm fighting to redeem myself."
But all of these are the wrong reasons for a former champion to fight again. This plainly is about ego and pride, shrugging off the monkey that has been on his back, the monkey that drove him to the depths of despair over the past couple of years.
Comebacks happen because fighters spend even their good years telling themselves little lies. And the biggest lie is that they never grow old. If Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali could not defy time, why does Hatton imagine he can? The answer: there are not enough wise voices around him to tell him otherwise.
And this is what sets the alarm bells ringing, the confusion. If Hatton wants redemption over money, he is in the wrong business. He must know the only way he can restore his lustre is to do again what he did then. And then was a long time ago. It is not going to happen. There is not the time and there are too many good, young fighters out there, with sharper reflexes and colder eyes.
"People say nice things about me," he says, "but they don't know what's been going on between my ears."
People do say nice things about Ricky. Whatever his failings – perhaps because of them – they love the guy. He has always been someone hardcore boxing fans and the people of Manchester can identify with. It was that blind love that dragged up to 30,000 of them to Las Vegas to watch his finest nights – and his worst.
Barry McGuigan supports his return; so does Nathan Cleverly. They are two intelligent voices at either end of the boxing spectrum, the retired world champion and the young fighter with his career in front of him. But I can't agree with them.
Hatton has only recently got back into decent shape after a honeymoon of relaxation, during which he has come through the trauma of alcohol and drug use, considered suicide and, to his great credit, kept his promotional career on track despite significant pressures. If getting fit has done some good, it has restored his self-respect.
Standing outside the ropes, or even banging out a few rounds of sparring, was never going to "scratch the itch" as he put it. Hanging around fighters in the gym was always going to stir his old instincts. He is the sort of retired boxer who punctuates every conversation with little shadow-box shifts and twitches.
He misses the sport desperately, so he takes up the skipping rope. He hits the heavy bag. He cuts down on the booze. He gets on the treadmill. But he has no rating, just a wonderful past. Now he has to find the hunger to undertake the far more rigorous training needed to compete at the highest level.
It is said he wants to fight Paulie Malignaggi, the WBA welterweight champion whom he stopped in 11 rounds nearly four years ago. He looked good in that fight, which was the second after being laid out by Floyd Mayweather Jr — and the last before he got in the ring with Pacquiao.
Hatton may see the light-punching Malignaggi as a soft touch and that is revelatory in itself; he does not want to risk another night like the Pacquiao disaster. Nonetheless, the boxing landscape has shifted markedly since he fought Malignaggi, who has had eight fights in that time. He has a defence of his world title lined up against Pablo César Cano in New York next month and Hatton could be closer to 35 by the time he puts himself in contention for a title shot. So, who will need whom more, by then?
"We saw the best of Ricky when he beat Kostya Tszyu," his one-time promoter Frank Warren said. Unless anyone has forgotten, the date of that fight was June 2005. Hatton was 26.
RONALDO SAYS MESSI IS THE BEST IN THE WORLD
In an interview with CNN World Sport, the two-time World Cup winner – who played for both Real and Barca – overlooked national rivalries to say he thought Messi was the better player.
Ronaldo said: “Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo without a doubt are the best players today. I give a preference to Messi, because he’s a player who fascinates us more, who shows more creativity. Even though he’s from Argentina, which has a big rivalry with Brazil! But he’s a player I admire a lot.
“In fact, both of them. But I think Messi is a little above Cristiano Ronaldo.”
In case you were wondering, he was handed a safe Brazilian option of Neymar but turned it down.
He said: “I think Neymar still has a phase to complete. To play in Europe and triumph playing in Europe.”
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