Former Aston Villa boss Gerard Houllier is confident new manager Alex McLeish will be successful.The Frenchman was forced to leave Villa Park on June 1 with heart problems which reoccurred late in the season.

McLeish crossed from rivals Birmingham City, who were relegated to the Championship last season, to take up the role despite protests from Villa fans.

Houllier said he had respect for McLeish and believed he could bring the club success.

“I’ve known him for a long time. He’s a nice person, a nice guy, very straightforward,” he told the Birmingham Mail on Wednesday.

“He’s football through and through and I think he’s a good signing for the club. I think he came to visit me in Lyon, but I had met him before.”

“During the 2004 European Championships in Portugal, I had a couple of meals with him. We’ve got mutual friends as well so he’s a person I know quite well.”

“We were together at a charity event the day after we played each other in the Carling Cup.”

“He’s just arrived. I think he’s strong enough. He’s got the personnel to win football matches.”

Houllier agreed with striker Gabriel Agbonlahor, who said McLeish should be given time to make an impact.

The 63-year-old said he was disappointed he could not continue at Aston Villa, where he felt he had more to achieve.

“It’s just a shame that my health let me down a bit but that happens and you’ve just got to take that on your chin and get on with it,” Houllier said.

“I’ve no ill feeling I can tell you. I loved the people I worked with.”

“There is no bitterness, no resentment, nothing, just the regret that I could not carry on the task. It is a bit like unfinished business.”

“I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. It’s just a shame that after we won at West Ham and were practically safe, I had this problem with my heart.”

“But everybody I worked with was fantastic and I hope they can’t say a bad thing about me.”

Houllier was admitted to hospital on April 21 after complaining of chest pains and assistant manager Gary McAllister, who left the club when McLeish was appointed, took over for the last five games of the English Premier League season as Villa finished ninth.

Alexis Sanchez’s transfer to Barcelona is ‘basically a done deal’, according to Udinese’s Spanish representative Quique Pina.It was reported on Monday that the sought-after Udinese forward would break from Chile’s Copa America training camp to sign with the Catalan giants.

Barca will reportedly part with an upfront fee of 28 million euros, as much as five million euros in performance-based variables and Spain Under-21 international Jeffren Suarez in order to snare their man.

According to reports in Italy, Manchester City attempted to hijack the deal with a 40 million-euro bid for Sanchez’s services.

However, the Chile international is believed to be interested solely in joining the Camp Nou.

Pina, who is also the chairman of Granada, believes the deal with Barcelona will be complete soon.

“At the moment, Barcelona are on the verge of completing the final details of the move and we could say that it’s basically a done deal,” Pina told Spanish radio station Cadena Cope.

“The deal is 80 percent done and we’re working on the remaining 20 percent.”

“The transfer will be worth an amount in the region of 45 million (euro), a figure close to the initial valuation of the player. This fee included some variables and one player.”

Sanchez is on national duty with Chile ahead of the Copa America, which begins on July 1.

Chile coach Claudio Borghi said on Monday he would allow Sanchez to leave training camp before the tournament begins, lest the national team be held financially liable for any injuries incurred by the striker.

Liverpool look set to add to their youth ranks, trialling Mexican under-17 striker Marco Bueno next month according to The Guardian.

The player, his current club Pachuca, and his parents all agreed arrangements which will see the youngster arrive on Merseyside around the 10th August to begin training with the Red’s reserves, in view of signing a possible 5-year deal. Speaking to El Universal about the proposed move, Pachuca’s vice-president stated: ‘A pre-contract with the parents and Bueno was signed to be sent to Liverpool so we are accepting the 10-day trial and the conditions, if the English decide to keep him.’

Bueno himself added: ‘I have to face it with great motivation and commitment to represent the country in the best way, and with faith that everything is achievable. It’s a life experience that I will never forget, I’m very excited about that and will give my best. Where the opportunity arises I will make the most.’

The Reds have reportedly also struck a deal for Spanish under-18 youngster Nacho, according to the media in Spain. Nacho, who interested Villarreal, Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid and Málaga, will sign from Albacete in a deal worth up to £500,000.

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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

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.

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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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Continuing our look into the foreign wags that put the Premier League ones to shame…

Davide Bombardini is a pretty unremarkable footballer who is currently plying his trade in Serie B with AlbinoLeffe; however the same certainly cannot be said of the experienced midfielder’s other half, Giorgia Palmas.

A former Miss World runner-up, Giorgia Palmas is model and TV personality in her native Italy and I’m sure you’ll agree by flicking through the gallery that she more that puts the Premier League WAGs firmly in the shade.

While life in Serie B cannot be much fun for Mr Bombardini, I’m certain Davide must take a lot of comfort knowing the little lady he has waiting at home for him.

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Click on Giorgia Palmas below to see here in all her glory

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Football fans’ willingness to show their dedication comes in all shapes and sizes. One such way is to splay their dedication over their body in the form of a tattoo. I can understand why somebody might choose to tattoo their footballing allegiance onto their body. Whilst women come and go, a football team is for life. It’s the manly man’s equivalent of getting “I love mom’ yet a tattoo is a big commitment, so it’s important to get it right. As you can imagine, this process isn’t always a success.

Below are the top 10 Newcastle United tattoos to be found on the net – the good, the bad and the plain ugly – click on image below to unveil gallery:

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Have you got a better Newcastle tattoo? Football FanCast would like to invite the readers to submit their own entry via our Facebook Page. The winning entries will go forward to our grand competition to find the best tattoo in the Premier League.

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Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has stated that he hopes to return to football for the White Hart Lane outfit’s next fixture against Aston Villa, and is confident of being involved again earlier than predicted.

The Spurs boss underwent surgery to unblock two coronary arteries, and has missed his side’s games against Rubin Kazan in the Europa League and Fulham in the Premier League after the procedure.

Despite being advised to take an extended layoff of up to five weeks to recover, Redknapp has the game against Villa in his sights.

“In an ideal world I would like to be back for the game against Aston Villa next weekend but it would be unfair of me to say whether I will or won’t at this stage,” he told the Sunday Mirror.

“I’ll have to speak to the specialist this week, get his thoughts on it and take it from there.

“Obviously it’s extremely frustrating staying away and being stuck at home and, as much as I’m anxious to come back, it wouldn’t be fair to disrespect the specialist who is advising me.

“I’m fairly confident I will return earlier than they anticipated,” he stated.

Assistant manager Kevin Bond, Joe Jordan and Clive Allen have been in charge of the North London team in Redknapp’s absence, and there has been constant communication despite the fact that the sick trainer is supposed to be resting.

“I speak to them every day and things are ticking over in my absence.

“I’m fortunate there is an international break and most of the players won’t be returning until Thursday or Friday this week.

“It was just a precautionary measure to advise me to stay away from football.

“I think the specialist felt the stress of it all would not be conducive with my recovery from the operation. Knowing me as they do, I think they felt I probably wouldn’t help myself jumping up and down and kicking every ball on the sideline,” he concluded.

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Meanwhile, Redknapp’s health problems will not be boosted by the news that he will be required to attend court to answer allegations of tax evasion in the new year.

Both Redknapp and former Portsmouth owner Milan Mandaric will answer the charges in court on January 23rd 2012.

By Gareth McKnight

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Robin Van Persie’s sensational volley proved to be the match winner for Arsenal as they left it late against Everton at the Emirates Stadium on their 125th birthday.

The Dutchman was on hand to power home his 33rd goal of 2011 to break Everton’s resolve after they soaked up 70 minutes of pressure from the home side. Van Persie is now only three away from matching Alan Shearer’s record of 36 in a calendar year and it was a strike worthy of winning any game. It was the Gunners’ seventh victory in their last eight games and moved them above Chelsea and into the top four for the first time this season. Arsene Wenger’s side should have been home and dry long before their talisman struck with Aaron Ramsey, Gervinho and Theo Walcott all guilty of wasting chances. Everton, who haven’t won in North London since 1996,  had an opportunity to snatch a point late on in the game struggled in front of goal once again as they slipped to a second consecutive defeat.

Winning at the Emirates was always going to be a tough task for David Moyes and his players but they did well to frustrate the hosts for over 70 minutes before Van Persie’s divine intervention. The Merseyside’s did well too stifle Arsenal’s fluid passing and movement although the Gunners still managed to create a number of chances. Ramsey had two chances in the first half seeing his effort blocked by Tony Hibbert before curling one wide of Tim Howards post. The American keeper had to be at his best to deny Gervinho with his legs before keeping Walcott’s effort out with a superb one-handed stop as the home side failed to take advantage of their supremacy. It was a similar story in the second half with Moyes bolstering his defence by sending Sylvain Distin on at half time in an effort to ensure his side left the capital with a point.

Despite not creating much in the opening forty five minutes the Toffee’s almost snatched the lead just after the break with Phil Neville firing onto the roof of the Arsenal net before Thomas Vermaelen’s intervention denied Tim Cahill from meeting Leighton Baines’ deep cross. It proved to be a vital piece of defending as the Gunners finally broke the deadlock with 20 minutes remaining as Van Persie guided Alex Song’s searching long pass across Howard’s goal and in off the post. It was a goal fitting of the occasion and he could have doubled his tally only to head over before a late rally from the visitors saw youngster Connor McAleny drive a shot inches wide.

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