Swansea midfielder Joe Allen’s move to Liverpool is almost a done deal, according to the South Wales Evening Post.
Liverpool have reportedly offered the Swans £12.5 million for their 22 year old, with Jonjo Shelvey likely to go the other way on a season long loan.
Should the move go through, Brendan Rodgers will be reunited with his former player having already pursued Gylfi Sigurdsson prior to the Icelandic international joining Premier League rivals Spurs.
Rodgers’ replacement at the Liberty Stadium; Michael Laudrup, said of the situation; we all know he is a very good player, but I can assure you there is nothing concrete at this moment.’
Having been with Swansea since the age of 9, the board at the South Wales club are eager to do all they can to keep hold of Allen, who is currently at the Olympics with Team GB. However, with the Welshman desperate to have the honour of representing a club as big asLiverpool, they are resigned to fighting a losing battle.
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They will however, try to maximise their profit from the deal, and are set to ask the Reds for £15 million which would trigger a release clause in Allen’s contract.
The chairman of the Football League, Greg Clarke, is throwing his support behind the ‘Rooney Rule’ campaign. The campaign surrounds an attempt to change the legal code of the FA to ensure that at least one black or ethnic-minority applicant must be interviewed for every managerial vacancy, provided they apply. The ruling would in no way enforce clubs to employ anyone other than the best candidate for the job, but is an attempt to ensure more equal opportunities for all members of our football society.
In other news around the papers this morning, The Sun takes the inevitable look at whether Manchester City can actually win the Champions’ League in their first appearance; Harry Redknapp admits the England job would be difficult to turn down if the FA come knocking; Sir Alex Ferguson assures Dimitar Berbatov that there is a place for him at Old Trafford; and Martin Jol admits to knowing that Bryan Ruiz was ineligible for the Europa League but not telling the striker until he’d signed for Fulham.
Agent McKay denies he made over £1 million on Barton deal – The Independent
Football League chairman gives backing to ‘Rooney Rule’ campaign – Daily Mirror
Can Manchester City dominate the Champions’ League? – The Sun
Ferguson: Berbatov will get games… just not yet – Daily Telegraph
Redknapp: You don’t turn down the England job – Daily Mirror
Carson Yeung refused re-entry to UK for Braga game – The Guardian
Everton facing race to tie Fellaini to a new deal – Daily Mail
Lennon tells Celtic to seize Euro lifeline – Daily Mail
Jol admits to pulling wool over striker’s eyes – The Sun
Pulis forced to apologise for Ukraine quip – Daily Mail
Bardsley handed four-match ban for stamp – The Guardian
Wright-Phillips sees good times ahead for new-look QPR – The Independent
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Wigan manager Roberto Martinez will be hoping to turn around his side’s poor home form this season when they welcome Blackburn on Saturday.
The Latics have won just two of 13 games at the DW Stadium this league campaign, while Blackburn have won three in 12 away affairs.
Martinez said, however, that keeping his side together during the January transfer window was his main aim, as he hopes to lead Wigan out of the relegation zone.
“Our intention this window was to finish with a stronger squad. We had two major objectives, getting all the players back from injury, and we didn’t want to lose any of the prize assets,” Martinez said, alluding to influential winger Charles N’Zogbia, who was thought to be leaving the club.
“We managed to do that. In the past, the fans have been a bit disappointed at losing players at the wrong time. Everyone is proud that Wigan showed a bit of a statement by keeping the players for the important challenges we have at the moment.”
New Blackburn signing Mauro Formica could make his debut for the club, with Steve Kean likening the signing to legendary Argentine footballer Gabriel Batistuta upon his arrival at Ewood Park.
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Roque Santa Cruz continues to miss for Kean’s side, while Wigan have only Tom Cleverley on the sidelines.
Former Manchester United player Gary Neville has stated that Stuart Pearce was right to leave David Beckham out of his Team GB squad for the Olympics.
The LA Galaxy midfielder was expected to be one of the overage players in the British squad, however Pearce opted for other competitors.
Neville has stated that the manager was correct in his decision and could only pick players on merit.
“I’ve spoken to David and he’s disappointed. He wanted to be part of it. It was a dream of his. This would have been a great occasion for him,” Neville is quoted as saying by The Sun.
“I’m disappointed for him as a friend, but professionally I can understand that there are difficult decisions to be made. We live in a man’s world. You have to front up when you get disappointments.”
Ryan Giggs will be part of the Team GB squad however, and Neville is expecting the Welsh maestro to show his worth.
“He’s an absolutely brilliant player who I’m sure will light up these Olympics. But he’ll only think it’s a great moment if GB win,” Neville confessed.
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Manchester City playmaker Samir Nasri has reportedly broken a bone in his hand whilst on international duty for France.
L’Equipe state that the 24-year-old, who came off the bench in a 0-0 draw with Romania, suffered a possible fracture to the fifth metatarsal in his hand, but this is yet to be confirmed by the Premier League club.
Nasri is said to have flown straight back to Manchester after the game, where further examinations are to take place to determine the extent of the injury.
The former Arsenal man has started his time at Eastlands well, having an impressive debut in the 5-1 win over Tottenham at White Hart Lane, but it is yet to be seen whether he will be available for City’s Premier League fixture against Wigan on Saturday.
Meanwhile, under-fire chief executive Garry Cook will not watch the game with Wigan at the weekend, as investigations continue surrounding his conduct.
Cook is said to have mistakenly sent an abusive message to Nedum Onuoha’s mother, who is also his agent, belittling her fight against cancer.
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Onouha meanwhile has been told that he can train with the first-team squad after failing to secure a move away from Roberto Mancini’s team in the transfer window, and will be considered for the game against the Latics.
A mixed week at Anfield has seen six points achieved, the Reds agreeing a fee for Luis Suarez, while at the same time being rocked by the news that Fernando Torres has handed in a transfer request. Just when it seemed that Kenny Dalglish was turning things around at the football club, he has to deal with yet more upheaval.
At FFC this week we have seen a mixed bag of Liverpool blogs that include frustration growing over Liverpool transfer; Reds hold all the transfer cards, while 51 reasons why Liverpool need to change their focus.
We also look at the best Liverpool articles around the web this week.
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TEN things we can guarantee on Transfer deadline day
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Liverpool’s pressing transfer dilemma
There was something in the air that night, the stars were bright, Fernando
Frustration grows over Liverpool transfer
Goal of the Week – Raul Meireles
Are Liverpool playing a clever transfer game?
Last minute transfer dealings at Liverpool?
Why Liverpool hold all the transfer cards here
Promised Liverpool so much, but ultimately delivered so little?
Inflated deals causing Liverpool to up their bid
Was Roy the cause of the problem at Liverpool or merely the victim?
Guilty by association, but deserving of a 2nd chance at Liverpool?
51 reasons why Liverpool should switch their transfer focus
Would Liverpool really be wise to splash the cash?
Great signing, but where does he fit in at Liverpool?
*Best of Web*
It’s time to look to the stars – This Is Anfield
Dalglish – Master of the Game – Kopblog
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Roy Hodgson and The Great Brainwashed – Kop Source
THREE Scenarios Surrounding the Torres Controversy- Live4Liverpool
Suárez & Torres: Dream Team? – Tomkins Times
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The Premier League is meant to be the best league in world. It’s attracts the top players and earns the highest TV rights while being watched by fans in every country across the globe. The blood and guts style of English football has gone a long way to impressing it’s far flung spectators and the possibility of any team winning on their day has provided a competitive nature that makes for an exciting contest.
The fact a side like Wigan Athletic now has every chance of beating the likes of Manchester United has added an unpredictable quality to matches but is this progression a sign that the lesser teams are getting stronger or that the Premier League is getting weaker?
It’s a difficult distinction to make but comparatively speaking the top sides seem to be getting worse. While the Sunderland’s and Fulham’s of yesteryear would give their present day equivalents an even run for their money, most fans would agree that the Arsenal Invincibles or the Manchester United treble winners would brush aside their modern replacements. This logic may stem more from nostalgia than factual evidence but the manner with which these sides dominated their respective eras gives them a distinctive reputation.
In reality Manchester United won their last league title with just 80 points, the lowest for over a decade and a long way behind Chelsea’s record haul of 95 points in 2003/04. This may give an impression of decreasing standards and very few would even try to compare the Red Devils of 2010/11 with their treble winning heroes of 1998/99. Strangely that legendary side amassed a mere 79 points on their way to League and Cup triumph and while they may have been spread thin across more than one competition, they’re still regarded as a far better side than their predecessors despite claiming less points overall. Schmeichel, Keane, Beckham, Yorke and Cole, Sheringham and Solskjaer, all have found their place in Old Trafford folklore and yet subsequent squads have performed more successfully across an entire League season to far less acclaim. If the current squad is deemed to be the worse of the two and yet can finish with more points over a season, what does that say about the standard of the Premier League?
Logically the overall standards must be getting worse but Arsenal’s unbeaten season is an unrivalled achievement despite the likes of Lehmann, Vieira, Bergkamp and Henry only earning the Gunners 90 points in comparison to last season’s champions Manchester City who finished with 89. Not only was that equal with their archrivals United but both halves of Manchester also lost 5 times and still finished only 1 point shy of the North Londoners’ legendary side. If both can afford a handful of losses yet still almost earn as many points as the Arsenal greats then perhaps the standards haven’t really changed as much as some suspect.
After all many fans feel the League is currently at its most successful, especially since the powers that be recently signed the biggest TV rights deal in their history proving how lucratively popular their product still is. While this improvement may be the natural progression of financial investment, the increasing popularity can also be attributed to the competitive nature of League and as more teams challenge for the title or at the very least a top four spot, the closer the League becomes and the harder it is to win. 10 years ago sides like Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea would rarely offer much of a fight against the League leaders but nowadays they’re genuine rivals and as such the eventual champion must earn their title by giving their all week in week out. Naturally professional football teams always give 100% but there was often a sense that the top sides could walk certain fixtures over the course of a season whereas now they know they must be at their best every time they step out onto the field. The likes of West Brom and Stoke City have become difficult fixtures but it all boils down to whether or not they’ve become stronger by learning to compete with what they’ve got or in fact the top sides have just become easier to tackle?
The answer is its all relative. Nostalgia says old United are better than new United but in reality they had less opposition. While new United don’t seem as strong on paper, they’ve still competed for the title with a supposedly inferior squad and earned more points. It’s impossible to know whether or not City’s title winners would beat Arsenal’s Invincibles but even if the old school were better man for man, neither side outperformed their rivals with any more distinction than the other so relatively speaking they’re extremely similar.
Regardless of whether fans believe the standards have dropped, the League winner must still outperform nineteen other sides so if those sides are more difficult to beat than in previous years then surely the League as a whole is stronger, even if the winning team is not.
Do you think the Premier League’s standards have dipped? Are matches more competitive or have the better teams got worse?
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It’s hard to criticise Arsene Wenger when you see what he has achieved at Arsenal. He has transformed the side into a team that play wonderful attacking football, and helped them get through a difficult transitional period without too much upheaval. However, success is measured in trophies and the lack of them is a growing concern year on year for Arsenal fans.
Post-Invincible’s and Pre-Emirates era, Arsenal looked at how they could achieve their aim of building a new stadium without tumbling into freefall, deciding that to do this they needed to go through a transitional period of four or five years. They had to decide how they would try to stay at the top whilst there was less money available. Wenger put off-field matters first and choose a policy of investing in the youth, as he was restricted by the constraints placed upon him by the board. Arsenal worked on a self-sustainability approach, which has left them on a stable foot going forward, the urgent debts are taken care of, and they are in nowhere near the amount of debt as their rivals. This is an admiral achievement in the current climate.
Wenger managed through that difficult transitional period-with little to no resources-to keep the side within the top four year after year. As well as retaining their place as one of the big four he ensured that the books were balanced, and the financial model stable, this is a huge achievement and one to be commended, as not many Premier League managers would have managed through that difficult time.
During the transitional period Wenger moved on some big names, and kept his transfer spending policy tight to ensure profits that would keep the ship afloat, and accelerate their reduction in debt. Has this rigid towing of the financial line cost them though? Could they not of gone on to greater things and achieved more had Wenger thought less about matters off-field and more about matters on-field. He sacrificed big names to turn a profit, at the cost of the experience throughout the side that could have bolstered a number of their title campaigns.
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Wenger has always acted in the best interests of the club, but now it seems that his obsession with youth and saving money has gone too far, alongside his stubborn nature and refusal to buy big. The Arsenal squad is still young and developing and who knows they might even challenge this season, but this stubborn belief that the youth will come good seems to have been going on for too many years.
Wenger weathered the storm and got them through the tough times, so now that they are on a stable footing, why is he not making the moves necessary to strengthen the side? Wenger makes money for the club every year, and this needs to be used for squad strengthening rather than lining the pockets of those in charge. If Arsenal don’t start to shell out and add quality to their squad, then they will continue to lose big players year on year and their trophy drought will go on.
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Arsenal are now finanically sound, the transitional period is over, and Wenger saw them through it, but now is the time for some success to be seen on the field. The money should be there to invest, and I’m not saying go crazy, but one or two investments in experienced players to shore up the squad wouldn’t go a miss. It may be against Wenger’s policy to buy experienced Premier League stars, but he needs to adapt if he is to bring success to Arsenal on the field, as well as off it.
Wenger has been a dream for the chairman and board. He has towed the financial line to keep the club healthy. By choosing not to spend, he has made them millions, thus ensuring Arsenal are a financially viable club, but is his biggest mistake choosing to generate club profits at the expense of sporting success?
Let me know your thoughts below or follow me on Twitter @LaurenRutter
Wolves boss Mick McCarthy is planning to bolster his leaky defence by making bids for Aston Villa’s Curtis Davies and Middlesbrough’s David Wheater.
Wolves have the league’s joint worst defence and their back four frailties were hopelessly exposed by Wigan on Boxing Day.
McCarthy knows that he is under mounting pressure at Molineux and his job could be on the line unless results start to improve.
Curtis Davies, who made his name at Wolves’ midlands rivals West Bromwich Albion, has been on loan at Leicester City this season after falling out of favour at Aston Villa. He has been earning praise for his strong performances with the Foxes and it is thought that McCarthy is preparing a loan move of his own for the player.
Wheater is also believed to be on Wolves’ radar and with his contract expiring in the summer, could be available for a cut-price £2 million.
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Any hope that Wolves had of signing Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott are thought to have disappeared. Lescott is on £90,000 a-week at Eastlands and Wolves would be unable to meet the players’ wage demands.
With the Premier League now widely considered the best domestic football competition in the world, the expectation levels have continued to expand and competition for places in the division are stronger than ever. A now extinct chasm between the top 4 teams and the remaining stragglers was once so prevalent that it was thought to have removed a percentage of the leagues dramatic excitement. With Man United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea dominating the Champions League positions for a period, other clubs considered breaking into the quartet a feat of extraordinary distinction.
Fast forward to 2012 and the clubs challenging for the summit of the table have now doubled, with eight teams seemingly cementing themselves as the best that England has to offer. Along with the aforementioned top 4, current Champions Manchester City have erupting bags of moola that they can spend on whomever they wish. Tottenham have announced themselves as genuine contenders and another 4th placed position last season seems to have clarified their qualities. Under David Moyes, Everton have transformed from a team staving off relegation to finishing within the top eight positions in the Premier League for six consecutive seasons. Newcastle are the newest addition to the elite pack but are an attractive package to any world class player who they choose to add to their already impressive squad. A glance at last seasons table indicates that Fulham were the only team within touching distance of these eight contenders. However, with the amount of interior transition and expenditure at the elite clubs this summer, could the remaining twelve Premier League participants ever be able to catch up without serious investment or serious luck?
Assuming that both Manchester clubs, Arsenal and Chelsea have the finances and squad ability to never drop out of the higher positions, the only teams that could feasibly be caught and have to bow out of the leagues upper echelons are Liverpool, Newcastle, Tottenham and Everton.
Liverpool had the least successful season of the eight contenders last time out. A beloved manager under-performing and a refurbished squad that had yet to develop left the Reds in dire straits. With a new manager and investment almost certain, the club looks more likely than ever to push on and ascertain a league position that is far more recognisable to the Anfield faithful.
Alan Pardew and his Newcastle squad have a difficult task ahead of them in trying to improve on their 5th placed finished last term. However, with a French revolution exciting punters on Tyneside, an improved squad looks likely and a similar league position next season shouldn’t be unexpected.
Tottenham’s future has a distressing unknown quantity to it. Although the departure of Redknapp was lauded by some fans, their is no question that the former West Ham player had an excellent tenure at White Hart Lane. With untested transition ahead and rumours of a mass exodus of the clubs top players, achieving a top 4 position may be slightly out of their reach. However, it would be one of the more surprising moments in Premier League history should the club finish outside the top eight.
If asked to select a team that is in the most danger of sliding away from the elite contenders group, most would say Everton. Squad investment is few and far between at Goodison and “a shoestring budget” may once again be the dreaded words that ring in David Moyes’ ears throughout the summer. However, the clubs track record in recent seasons is nothing short of incredible and the capture of out and out goalscorer Nikica Jelavic was one of Moyes’ most astute moves as Toffees boss to date, so expect a similar, dogged and possibly rewarding season for Everton in 2012/13.
Recapping the status’ of the top eight teams in the Premier League breeds little hope into the chasing pack, who are so desperate to prevent an unbridgeable gap between contenders and also-rans. A glance at the clubs hoping to break the fast cementing octad of clubs at the leagues preferable end, may indicate who can make a genuine attempt at closing down the exclusive eight.
Fulham surprisingly impressive 9th placed finish last term may give the club some positivity entering into a new season. However, with star man Clint Dempsey (often bailing the club out of trouble single handedly) in high demand, the Cottagers would need to reinvest in a quality striker if they are to improve on their previous term.
Under Martin O’Neill, Sunderland could be the team most likely to improve next season. With money to spend and a coach who is admired by many professionals, the Black Cats could make a real attempt at shifting themselves up the table. However, their current squad is depleted in some key areas so investment will be key this summer.
Stoke have now firmly cemented themselves in the Premier League after dodging the second and third season syndrome cases that affect so many newly promoted sides. Now entering their fifth season in the top flight, the Potters have tasted European football after a reasonably successful run in the Europa League last term. With no games on the continent next season, Tony Pulis can concentrate his squad fully on the domestic competitions, especially the Premier League. With Peter Crouch leading their team and back line to scare off even the burliest of opposition strikers, Stoke may be able to challenge for a top eight position next season.
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With clubs such as Aston Villa, West Brom, Norwich, QPR and Swansea all entering periods of transition, a challenge for the top eight may be a step to far. However, with such a fluctuating season in terms of results last season, the leagues predictability is now more puzzling then ever before. Who is to say that the three new entrants to the division can not make a fearless attempt at a position in the top eight? You only have to look at clubs like Ipswich and Wigan who achieved top half finishes in their first full seasons in the Premiership recently, to know that a first season flourish is not impossible. However, what has to be conceded is that for any team to remove the increasing gap in quality between the top eight and the chasing twelve, investment may have to be boundless and prosperity may need to be immeasurable.
Do you think your club can make a case for a top 8 position? Have your say and tweet me @mattpegg1