This weekend’s action in the Premier League was brought to life by Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney. He lit up the Manchester derby and won all three points for Man United with a stunning overhead kick that came from absolutely nowhere. There is no doubting that this was a brilliant finish and some people have been saying it’s the goal of the season in the Premier League, but is it even the best overhead kick scored by a Manchester United player?
If you cast your minds back to earlier in the season, Rooney’s Man United striker partner Dimitar Berbatov also scored a great overhead kick, this time against Liverpool. The Bulgarian’s strike even went in off the crossbar to give it that extra bit of wow factor! But which goal do you think is better? Here they are below so that you can take your pick.
Here’s Rooney’s effort…
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Here’s Berbatov’s effort…
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Were Manchester City to fail to qualify for the Champions League for a second successive season under the watch of Roberto Mancini, there is every chance that more finances will be made available to strengthen a side that will eventually usurp one of the established big guns in the top four. Mancini himself may well not survive the failure, but finding a new manager would not be the biggest test the City board face at the end of the season.
For all the millions of pounds that could be spent in the summer and the potential search for a new manager, the far more pressing concern would be to convince club captain, Carlos Tevez, that his future lies in Manchester. Such has been the importance of Tevez to the City cause over the last two seasons, that his commitment to the project on a longer term is absolutely fundamental.
Another season without Champions League qualification could realistically give some City players itchy feet over the speed at which the club are moving forward. Further transfer targets could well become increasingly difficult to acquire if a top four place isn’t secured this time around.
Unfortunately for City’s owner Sheikh Mansour, the decision for Tevez is not one based on European football qualification, nor a financial one. One of the highest paid players in the world, the Argentine has been away from home since his deadline day move to West Ham in 2006. In that time he has become of the most respected attacking talents, but his hunger for the game appears to be waning. A bizarre transfer request saga in December betrayed his homesickness, and whilst there are no clubs likely to offer him a similar package to the one he enjoys at City, a return to South America and his native Argentina is fast becoming a likely next move.
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A return home could well spell the end of the former West Ham striker’s career at the top level, a crying shame for a player who has only recently celebrated his 27th birthday. Last season, Tevez expressed a plan to retire from playing after the 2010 World Cup after being dropped from the national side. Whilst no such retirement was forthcoming or even expected, Tevez’s statement was indicative of a troubled mind.
What it would take to retain the diminutive striker is unclear. Whilst other players may demand Champions League football, Tevez’s list is likely to depend on the happiness of his two children – if he can handle spending further time apart from his family then there is every chance he will see out the remainder of his contract in Manchester. If, however, Tevez gets another bout of the feelings that triggered his transfer request before Christmas, I’m not sure any promises or amounts of money will stop him boarding the first plane to Buenos Aires.
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Losing the Argentine would be a major blow for the culture of success that the City hierarchy have spent so much money trying to construct. Few of the club’s expensive imports have performed to the level expected of them, and while Tevez remains at Eastlands the credibility of the City project will remain intact from the viewpoint of the club’s worldwide transfer targets.
For more football news and views, feel free to find me on Twitter. I’ll be trying to convince Tevez to join me on a night out at ‘Club 69’ when he’s next in Buenos Aires.
As the utterly dire game between Manchester City and Fulham meandered to its inevitably even conclusion, I found myself sitting in my seat at The City of Manchester Stadium wondering if it was just me that was a sane and reasonable City fan. Of course, the worrying thing is, if my opinion isn’t of the sane and reasonable variety, then that, by definition, makes me a moron. I’ll leave you to decide whether that’s true come the end.
Sunday evening saw a bigger overreaction to a draw than even the draw with Birmingham at home earlier in the season. The players, responsible for the club being in third position in the league no less, were booed from the field for not playing very well and not beating a well organised team.
And, during the game, listening to the people sitting around me in Eastlands made me wonder if I’d slipped into a parallel universe. Regular readers will know of several characters (that was the kindest word I could use without being censored) that sit around me. But this wasn’t just Angry Lady and Casual Racist who were responsible for these bouts of verbal excretions. It was much more widespread. All of the following were shouted by different people.
“Come on Carlos! You should be scoring three or four against this lot!” All too often, it seems, these days, do fans come to City and expect a big win because “it’s only such-and-such”. You’d think City fans would know better, given the club’s got previous when it comes to not getting the result they should. But teams won’t come to Eastlands and roll over, no matter their league placing. Fulham may well be lower in the league, but that doesn’t mean we will score four or five goals without playing well.
“Oh, don’t keep hitting it long!” (and this was quickly followed by “Don’t play it short, get it forward!”). I’m not quite sure what the team could have done in this instance. Playing football by neither playing long nor short passes is somewhat difficult.
“Vieira?! He’s taking a striker off and bringing on a defensive midfielder?! We should be trying to win the game! We need a decent manager!” Mancini is a decent manager. Better, I would say, than most, if not all, of the fans sitting in the crowd. And, actually, the change of Vieira for Dzeko made sense to me. City had, at that time, three strikers on the pitch, but they couldn’t get the ball to them without lumping it long. Sacrificing one for a defensive midfielder allowed Yaya Touré to push forward (where he has been effective this season) and gave City more of the ball. Perhaps Milner would have been the better choice, but I can definitely see the logic in Roberto Mancini’s substitution.
“The wages you’re on, you should be quicker than that Yaya!” I must have missed the memo that said that people who earn more money run quicker than people who earn less.
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Now, I know that these are just one-off examples of pent up frustration being released during what was a very frustrating game. And I know it doesn’t reflect the opinions of the majority of fans and that I only said the thing about me being the only sane one as a useful writing device to give me a rather snappy and perhaps controversial introduction. I know the majority of City fans are sensible and reasonable and watch telly and eat chocolate like everybody else.
City didn’t get going on Sunday and, arguably, were lucky to escape with a point. But that draw is hardly the end of the world. Tottenham may well be able to draw level on points with their game in hand, but they’d have to smash in twelve without reply in that match to overtake us on goal difference. And United’s visit to Stamford Bridge won’t exactly be one to look forward to for Chelsea. And we still have to play both of these teams.
I’m not one to go for booing players. I’m not really sure what it achieves; I’m yet to see someone put in a better performance for being booed by their own fans and, at the end of the game, it looks a bit rich booing a team off when they are third in the league. Especially after they had, not long ago, been flirting with regular lower league football.
Some fans need to realise that throwing money at a team won’t instantly solve all the problems. While you can assemble a championship winning team on computer games by spending a wad of cash and racking up five goal victories every week (except I can’t, I’m rubbish at these games, I lied earlier), it doesn’t scan in real life. When the whistle blows, it’s between two teams and whoever scores the most goals wins… However much the team cost to assemble doesn’t give anybody a right to win, it simply increases the chances of them being able to score a goal (in theory, of course, because it does depend on who you spend your money on).
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As for the fact that, since yesterday, it’s now been 35 years since City won a major trophy, I’m not really that fussed (though thanks to the United fans for reminding us constantly… Not that you care about City, obviously). I’ve waited all my life to see City win something and I’m sure I can wait a bit longer if need be. It’s not as if there haven’t been any improvements at City over the last eighteen months, is it?
They say that patience is a virtue. We just need to have patience. Fourth spot is definitely within our reach, third spot too. We’re still in the FA Cup with a favourable draw in that, providing we can beat Aston Villa tomorrow, we have a home tie and then one of United or Arsenal will go out. And the Europa League is still there, too.
The season’s not over in February and that’s not because of an impending relegation, for a change. Just sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. Anyway, I’m off to elbow somebody in the head, since I’ll probably escape punishment for it.
Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is a target for Manchester United, according to the Bundesliga club.The 24-year-old has held onto Germany’s number one jersey despite his club’s indifferent season, with Schalke Chairman Clemens Tonnies claiming United have lodged an interest in bringing Neuer to the club to replace the retiring Edwin van der Sar.While English Premier League rivals Arsenal, Serie A heavyweights Inter Milan and reigning Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich are also thought to be in the running for the shot-stopper’s signature, it appears United have stolen a march in the race to land Neuer.”An international consultant has approached me and informed me that Manchester United are interested in Neuer,” Tonnies told German newspaper Bild. “If Manchester United present us with a written request, then we will deal with it.”Van der Sar is just months from retirement and Tomasz Kuszczak is reportedly out of favour at Old Trafford, leaving 26-year-old Denmark international Anders Lindegaard as the only goalkeeper certain to be at the club next season.
During a frustrating game against West Ham on Saturday in which the sides drew 0-0, Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp subbed Rafael van der Vaart off after 71 minutes. Van der Vaart then disappeared down the tunnel at White Hart Lane and did not return for the rest of the match.
Redknapp criticised him; “if you are part of a team you should stay to watch the rest of the game”. Van der Vaart explained his actions, saying “I played well, and did not find the substitution necessary. Often I like to play 90 minutes, but at Spurs that hardly ever happens”. So how far out of line was van der Vaart?
With the way that Tottenham set up this year, Redknapp had to make a decision of who to bring off, Defoe or van der Vaart. Tottenham can’t play to their strengths (with two wide men) and have three strikers. Defoe and van der Vaart don’t play well together so one of them had to come off.
I think Harry chose to take off van der Vaart for a few reasons. Firstly, van der Vaart has had niggling injuries, and Harry will want to look after him. But secondly to try and keep Defoe happy.
Redknapp would have been aware of Defoe’s frustration at not featuring at all in the Champions League game against AC Milan. He likes Defoe and will probably do his best to appease him. With this in mind, Redknapp had probably decided before the match that he would give Defoe 90 minutes.
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However, it was the wrong decision to take the Dutchman off and leave Defoe on. Defoe was playing awfully and squandered chances throughout the match. Admittedly, Defoe can score something from nothing, so it doesn’t always matter if he is having a good game or not as he can grab a goal, but van der Vaart is the same. I would have preferred to see van der Vaart stay on the pitch because he offers more to the side. Van der Vaart’s storming off was wrong, but I can understand why he did it.
It seems Defoe’s moaning in the last few weeks kept him on the pitch. Defoe even said earlier in the month that he has considered leaving Tottenham if he does not feature in more games. But Redknapp should be picking the team, not Jermain Defoe. The way I see it, both players are in the wrong, but van der Vaart to a lesser extent because his frustrations are more justified.
Furthermore, Defoe’s head seems to be all over the place at the moment. Last season he was the first choice striker, now he cannot get in the team. On Saturday, he chose to wear a ‘100 goals’ shirt under his Tottenham kit, clearly with the intention of scoring and then ‘proving a point’. For me, even if he had scored, he would not have proved his point. He would only have reaffirmed that he can score against the weaker teams.
It seems, in Defoe and van der Vaart, there are two players that want to play every game but cannot fit in the same team effectively at White Hart Lane. The problem for Harry is that they both think they should be playing, and both have a bit of an attitude. I doubt he will ever keep both of them happy.
In the short term, like van der Vaart said, “[he] won’t be back for 10 days, by then a lot of it will have blown over.” I hope it does, as Tottenham don’t need these distractions.
But, looking towards the summer, Harry might have to axe one of his favourite players for the benefit of Tottenham. I would offload Defoe, because he doesn’t score against the better sides and is a one-dimensional striker. To be the best team, you have to keep your best players happy; Jermain Defoe is no longer one of them.
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It’s an important couple of weeks for Roberto Mancini, as he aims to win silverware in the form of the FA Cup and ensure Manchester City qualify for the Champions League next season. Here’s how the Italian is feeling and where he thinks the club will be in five years time…
How important was your time at Leicester City in giving you an insight into English football so that you understood the culture when you came to manage at Manchester City?
I have very good memories from my time at Leicester but it was a very short period of time because I only stayed there for one month. After a month I had to start my career as a manager in Italy. It was a fantastic month for me as I learnt a lot about different cultures and different games and it was fantastic for me.
What are the main differences that you can identify between managing in England and managing in Italy?
In Italy your job is only with the squad and on the pitch every day. In Italy we have a sporting director and a general director who take care of decisions. Here in England the manager has everything under control for everything regarding the team.
What is the best way to manage the expectations that come from managing a top club?
I am very happy to manage here at Manchester City as it is a big challenge. I think we can become a top team in two or three years. We have improved a lot and this for me is a good squad and I am very proud to be here.
Modern football is very much a squad game. How do you manage a dressing room where you have 20 international players who want to play every game?
It is very difficult when I have to choose a first eleven because I understand the feelings that players gave when players are on the bench, it is very difficult. When you have 20 top players it is more difficult because every player is different but this is my job and when a manager chooses, he chooses the best players in the team. It is not easy when you have 20 different players in your team. You can only win if you have good players.
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How important is Carlos Tevez as your captain in delivering your message and your aims on and off the pitch?
Carlos is very important for us because he is a fantastic player. We also have other important players in the dressing room. Having five or six players like Carlos or Yaya this is very important for the team.
It can be a big change for a foreign player when he has to adjust to playing in a new country and new environment. What steps can you take as a manager to help new players?
I think that in other countries it is easy but England it is very difficult for every player because the football in England is different from Italy, Spain and Germany. I think that every foreign player who comes to England needs a minimum two or three months to understand the Barclays Premier League.
Ten years ago you wrote an essay about the Trequartista. Do you think this is a role that David Silva can fulfil for Man City?
Trequartista is an important position in the team. For me David Silva is a fantastic player because his technique is incredible and he understands when is the right time to pass the ball.
What is the idea of the hill you have had built on the training ground?
The hill is important for the players. This year we have not had much time to use the hill because we have been playing every three days, but in pre-season or when we are playing once a week there are some players who like to use the hill.
It is important for any manager to set targets in both the short and long term. What are your aims for Manchester City this year?
This year our target at the start of the season was to finish in the top four and be in the Champions League. I think we deserve to achieve this because we have been at the top most of the season with United and Arsenal, always being between first and fourth position. We now have eight games until the end of the season and we will do everything to be in the Champions League next season.
What are your aims for Manchester City over the next five years?
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It is very difficult to predict, in football the situation can change every five weeks. In my opinion Manchester City will be one of the top clubs in Europe in the next five years.
What would it mean to beat Manchester United in the Semi-Final of the FA Cup to help you achieve your aims?
I don’t know what will happen in the semi-final because it is very difficult to tell over just one game. When you play in such a big game like this against Manchester United anything can happen. We want to go to the final for sure, but of course so do Manchester United.
Is the Barclays Premier League in your opinion the best league in the world?
Yes. In my opinion the Barclays Premier League is the best league in Europe now because during every game the stadium is full. The players in the Premier League are the best in the world because the game is played at such a fast pace and every game is difficult for every team.
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Real Madrid host Barcelona on Wednesday in their Champions League semi-final first-leg match, buoyed by improving fortunes against the Catalans.After suffering a 5-0 thrashing at the Nou Camp in their first La Liga meeting of 2010-11 last November, Real held Pep Guardiola’s side to a 1-1 draw at home on April 16 – although they needed a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo eight minutes from the end to salvage a point.
Last Wednesday, Jose Mourinho’s men claimed their first Copa del Rey since 2004 when Ronaldo’s extra-time winner lifted them to a 1-0 win over Barca in the season’s third El Clasico encounter.
Now, with Barca easily accounting for Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk and Real eliminating Spurs in their respective Champions League quarter-finals, the two giants of Spanish football will prepare for meetings four and five in the space of the next week.
Despite a 2-0 win over La Liga relegation battlers Osasuna on Saturday, Guardiola looks like the manager with most of the problems heading into Wednesday’s first leg at the Bernabeu, especially at the back.
Versatile Brazilian defender Adriano will miss out with a hamstring injury, while Eric Abidal is still recovering from surgery to remove a tumour from his liver.
In the centre of defence, Carlos Puyol and Gabriel Milito are both under fitness clouds.
Meanwhile, Mourinho’s squad – who mauled third-placed Valencia 6-3 away from home on Saturday – seems to be hitting their best form at the right end of the season.
Although they will be without injured Germany midfielder Sami Khedira, Brazilian playmaker Kaka and Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain look to be back on song after missing large chunks of the season through injury.
Higuain scored a hat-trick while Kaka bagged a brace in the Valencia game to give Mourinho plenty of options in attack, with winger Angel Di Maria and striker Emmanuel Adebayor both missing the match through injury.
Queens Park Rangers were due to be presented with the Football League Championship trophy at Loftus Road on Saturday following their final match of the season against Leeds. But, following the hearing into the seven violations of FA regulations in relation to the signing of midfielder Alejandro Faurlín in July 2009 and the extension of the original deadline, it seems there could be a change of plans for Saturday afternoon.
The club itself faces five charges, whilst Chairman Gianni Paladini faces a further two; with the results and punishments originally scheduled to be announced on Friday afternoon. But, at this late stage in the season with the Championship already won on the pitch, what would be the best punishment for QPR?
Many seem to think QPR will be deducted points thereby stripping them of the Championship title. They currently sit 5 points clear of second-placed Norwich and 9 points ahead of the playoff positions. When Luton Town were charged for similar offences they were docked 10 points. If the FA were to follow this precedent, as former FA chief Mark Palios claimed they should, then QPR would drop into third place, Norwich would be crowned champions and either Cardiff or Swansea would gain the second automatic promotion place.
But QPR have without doubt been the best team in the League this year and have deserved their success. To be punished retrospectively would, in many people’s eyes, be unfair whilst Norwich’s resultant title would feel undervalued and not recognised as a true victory. Surely this would turn the whole season into a sham?
If the FA is to look for precedent then it will undoubtedly examine the case of Carlos Tevez at West Ham in 2007. Despite scoring some crucial goals that ultimately saved the club from relegation, the Premier League refused to dock points and relegate West Ham and instead fined the club a record £5.5 million. A further £26.5 million was later paid to Sheffield United out of court as compensation for their relegation. Whilst a fine would have the least impact on other clubs and would be easiest for the FA to impose, QPR is, in terms of owners, one of the richest clubs in football and surely would be getting off lightly?
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Others have speculated that perhaps QPR should be faced with a points deduction for next season or even a transfer ban. Whilst these two options would ultimately hamper any hopes of Premier League survival next season, they would have much less impact on other teams and league standings than by punishing QPR for this season.
If the FA were to dock QPR points at this stage and relegate them to the playoffs, at least the team would still have a chance to fight for promotion and carry on their fantastic form on the pitch this season. Admittedly it would tarnish this year’s Championship but at least Rangers would have a chance to redeem themselves and it would definitely make for an exciting playoffs.
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Ultimately the main issue is that action is required fast as the Football League comes to a conclusion this weekend and the playoffs are just around the corner. The Football League have notified potential playoff competitors that the calendar might be subject to change so a points deduction is clearly not out of the question. The transfer itself was nearly two years ago and it has been nearly eight months since it first came to light following the player’s contract extension. Therefore, the FA must act now, particularly if QPR feel their punishment unfair and undertake an appeal process.
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According to Spanish journalist Guillem Balague, Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina has decided to stay at Anfield. There was a fear prevalent amongst Liverpool fans that their number one would seek a move to a club that offered him Champion’s League football this summer, but Balague’s comments should put a stop to the worry. Balague has close Liverpool ties, having wrote a book called A Season on the Brink: Rafael Benitez, Liverpool and the Path to European Glory back in 2005 and is thought to have maintained a close relationship with Rafa.
He took to his Twitter recently to announce that Pepe Reina has decided to remain a Liverpool player for the foreseeable future because he “believes in the project” and the transformation that Kenny Dalglish is engineering at Anfield. Given his Liverpool ties, his comments have a certain degree of plausibility. In fact, Balague was the man who broke the news that Fernando Torres would be leaving Liverpool.
Balague’s comments followed a commitment from the man himself, Pepe Reina, who recently declared himself very happy at Liverpool. The Spanish stopper told radio station Cadena Cope:
“I am happy, calm and comfortable here. I am looking towards the future which I reckon will bring a lot of happiness and hopefully the new project with the new American owners will be a convincing one. Obviously Benítez brought me here but that doesn’t mean that I’m unhappy with Dalglish, quite the opposite. I think he’s the ideal man for Liverpool at this moment.”
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Whilst this isn’t as deliberate or unequivocal as him coming out and saying ‘I’m pledging my future to Liverpool’, the signs are very positive. Reina understands that progress is being made at Anfield and for all intents and purposes, he wants to be a part of it.
If Pepe Reina does stay, as it seems he will, it will represent a huge coup for Liverpool. The importance of having a world-class goalkeeper in the Premier League simply cannot be under-estimated and it’s clear that Reina is one of the best keepers currently plying his trade in England. He’s up there with Manchester City’s Joe Hart and Manchester United’s Edwin van der Sar and Liverpool simply can’t afford to lose him.
If he were to go, Liverpool would have to begin a search for a new world-class keeper, which is a challenge that is beginning to look more and more difficult by the day. When you see price-tags of around £20m affixed to the likes of Schalke’s Manuel Neuer and Atletico Madrid’s David De Gea, you can’t help but feel a little disheartened.
Pepe Reina’s remaining a Liverpool player will save the club both a great deal of cash and a great deal of bother. It seems to me that Liverpool’s toughest transfer battle has already been won.
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After their victory over Liverpool on Sunday and the allocation of an extra place to the Premier League for next year’s Europa League, Tottenham now look certain to play in European football’s second tier competition. But, this will be a stark reminder of a season of domestic underachievement as Spurs failed to qualify again for the Champions League.
Manager Harry Redknapp has himself criticised the Europa League as an ‘unwelcome distraction’. The majority of the seventeen fixtures required to win the competition occur on a Thursday evening meaning many Premiership fixtures are rescheduled to Sundays and Redknapp feels this causes definite disruption.
But, if Spurs are to improve on this season’s performance, experienced additions to the squad are required. With a big-name striker apparently top of Tottenham’s shopping list could the potential of European participation be crucial in attracting top signings?
Tottenham’s marquee signing of last summer, Rafael van der Vaart, has spoken out in support of the Europa League. Whilst he admits he would rather play in the Champions League, the Europa League still offers the opportunity of European success and the chance to play football more regularly than once a week. So would potential future transfer targets feel the same?
Tonight represents the final of this year’s competition and pits Portuguese rivals Porto and Braga against each other in Dublin. On paper this does not compare to the spectacle of Manchester United against Barcelona at Wembley, whilst the Portuguese sides will receive half the prize money for making the final than their Champions League equivalents.
But, the Europa League does represent a chance to win another major trophy and maximise a team’s earning potential. Likewise, it represents the opportunity for players to participate in Europe against more high profile opponents than in the likes of the Carling Cup. Surely a potential signing would be more inspired to join an optimistic side intent on winning any available trophy in comparison to a team turning their nose up at the chance to win silverware.
Fortunately for Tottenham they have far more incentives for attracting players than simply the lure of European football. The side have come on leaps and bounds under Harry Redknapp and the chance to be part of such an exciting project under a good manager must be attractive to players. Admittedly Spurs have underperformed domestically this year but their fantastic run to the Champions League Quarter Finals was a great sign of the progress under Redknapp. Hopefully the club will be able to reproduce this form and achieve further European success in the Europa League next season with suitable signings to match.
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Yes, it may come at the expense of some domestic success but it is up to Redknapp to build a squad capable of dealing with both as, where European participation is concerned, beggars can’t be choosers.