Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has backed Demba Ba to start hitting the net again soon, as his early-season goalscoring form has recently dissipated.
Ba has only scored once since countryman Papiss Cisse joined the club, with his fellow Senegal international hogging all the limelight since the pair returned from the African Cup of Nations.
Despite this, Pardew feels Ba could end the goal-drought against Swansea on Friday.
“Demba isn’t going to be happy if he’s not scoring goals,” the Toon boss told reporters, covered by Sky Sports.
“It’s just the nature of the beast. He’s a goalscorer so Papiss (Cisse) getting all the goals and getting all the credit isn’t going to keep him happy.
“I hope he gets angry on Friday and slaps a couple in himself,” he admitted.
Newcastle can leapfrog Chelsea into fifth place with a win at the Liberty Stadium, but Pardew knows that his men are in for a tough test.
“We’ve managed to beat teams who are on their game and that’s very important.
“We’ve had a couple of upsets here and there in a positive way and upsets in a negative way, but what we have been is consistent.
“It’s a very competitive league. We’ve been competitive every game.
“You play teams in tides really. Sometimes the tide is in and sometimes the tide is out.
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“Swansea have lost a couple and their tide is out a little bit and we’re very much in and that will even that fixture up as Swansea away is a very difficult game,” he concluded.
Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher has admitted he wants to end his career at the club.
The Scotland international has been at the club for a decade and has already made 255 appearances for Sir Alex Ferguson's first team.
The 26-year-old is dreaming of emulating the successes of veterans Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville, who still remain at Old Trafford.
Speaking to reporters, he said:"You look at it as a step down if you leave. If you're lucky enough to stay, you'll have played at the top for your whole career and it doesn't get much bigger than Manchester United.
"Players who left say, 'think twice before you leave, because there's nowhere like Manchester United.'
"Everything about the club makes it the place you want to be. No-one really thinks about leaving when you're here.
"Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs are almost like urban legends. They're fantastic role models for younger players like me to have."
Meanwhile, Fletcher has admitted he can see why the likes of David Beckham and Thierry Henry have opted to join Major League Soccer in the United States.
The Red Devils are currently in America as their pre-season preparations continue and the Scot has been impressed with what he has witnessed so far.
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"Everything about MLS and America – it's a great country – appeals to players," he added."You see how MLS has progressed, the league keeps getting bigger. It's a massively growing sport.
"There are great teams that would be big attractions to players. I wouldn't be surprised to see more players head out here."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Birmingham City defender Liam Ridgewell insists Premier League survival has to be the club's top priority despite their ninth-place finish last term.
The Blues performed admirably on their return to the top-flight following their promotion from the Championship at the end of the 2008/09 season and they have recently bolstered their squad by adding Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster and Valencia striker Nikola Zigic.
Manager Alex McLeish was allowed to spend £6million on each player, but Ridgewell, who signed a new three-year deal at St Andrew's this week, is still looking on the cautious side.
Speaking to reporters, he said:"I was pleased to sign on the dotted line and get the contract done and dusted.
"The ninth-placed finish came into play (when extending his contract) and I want to be at a successful club and this club is driving on.
"But survival will be the main thing next season. After doing so well last season people will be wondering how we are going to do – but our aim is to stay in this league and hopefully push on from that ninth place.
"There have been some good signings. Ben is a world class keeper and coming from Manchester United he is a good acquisition for us.
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"Filling in Joe's (Hart) boots will be hard for anyone in the world. Ben will come in well and get into the running of things. I think he will be brilliant for us.
"The big man coming in up front (Zigic) gives us something different in that department."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
David Gold will be welcomed back to St Andrews when Birmingham play West Ham in the Carling Cup, just weeks after he was barred.
The former Blues chairman was told to stay away from the ground when the two sides met recently in the Premier League, but the Hammers chief will be allowed to take his seat in the directors' box this time.
Gold was refused access to the whole stadium on grounds of personal safety after his comments in a national newspaper about his former club and in particular acting chairman Peter Pannu who he described as "disgusting".
However, Pannu is now ready to draw a line under the matter ahead of their two-legged semi-final, with the game at St Andrews set to take place on Wednesday, January 26.
Pannu said: "Birmingham City would like to take this opportunity to confirm David Gold is welcome at the stadium and the Blues board look forward to seeing him, and of course David Sullivan and all members of the West Ham board, at the game."
Gold fell out with his successor in the aftermath of the sale to Carson Yeung after claiming he had been promised the chance to stay on as chairman.
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Pannu denied ever making such as an offer and Gold was upset at insinuations that he had lost his mind.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Since Arsene Wenger’s arrival in North London way back in 1996, the wise old Frenchman has always singled out youth as an important fixture in his plans. Always one to think long-term, Wenger has more recently seen the rise to prominence of Jack Wilshere, Wojciech Szczesny and Emmanuel Frimpong and did not hesitate to throw them into the limelight over recent years. With Arsenal youngsters gaining more invaluable experience than most with playing time in the league and numerous cup competitions including none other than the Champions League, it is no wonder that a few precocious talents have really gone on to forge successful careers.
At times, Wenger has received widespread criticism for his narrow minded approach in blooding youngsters amidst a lack of experience and guidance. Arsenal sceptics will again point to the Alan Hansen cliché that ‘you can’t win anything with kids’, but you can’t underestimate how good a job Wenger conducts in overseeing the development of youth and failing a decent career at Arsenal, moving his products successfully onto pastures new. With young professionals Nico Yennaris, Oguzhan Ozyakup and Chuks Aneke making their senior bows this term, there remains substantial evidence that the Arsenal youth system is as strong as ever. Let us take a look at the top ten talents waiting to emerge from the clubs London Colney set up.
Click on Jon Toral to unveil the top 10
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Tottenham’s hopes of securing a deal for Karim Benzema have been dashed by Real Madrid’s Director General Jorge Valdano.
The North Londoners have been heavily linked in the Spanish Press with a move for the out of favour Frenchman, as Harry Redknapp looks to bolster Tottenham’s attacking options in January.
However Jorge Valdano insists that why it has been tough for the Frenchman to settle in at the Bernabeu, it is far too soon to write him off and move him on:
“He is a very young player and everyone needs some time to mature…we are all trying to give him the necessary framework to show the talent he showed in a very difficult league in France.”
When pressed on Benzema’s immediate future amid speculation over his future:
“This season is too short a time to make a final decision on the player.”
“Last season I remember Higuain had not scored a single goal at this point in the season. And just look at what he has shown the world of football since then.” L’Equipe
Federico Macheda has denied calling Manchester United team-mate Wayne Rooney 'working-class and vulgar'.
Macheda has moved quickly to diffuse a possible conflict with the England striker following comments attributed to him while away on international duty with the Italian Under-21 side.
The 19-year-old striker's comments to the Italian press have been seized upon by their British colleagues and he claims the terms he used have been exaggerated.
Macheda used the term 'coatto' which he claims is far from the 'chav' and 'vulgar' translations used by some tabloid papers.
"I said 'coatto' in the Roman way, but with the minimum intention to offend Rooney," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"I like him and I have maximum respect for him.
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"What I wanted to say is that for me he is a free spirit and genuine.
"I sent a message to Rio Ferdinand to clarify everything with Wayne and Rio told me not to worry, everything is fine."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
You only have to look at the way Manchester United have started this season to recognise the impact great young players can have on a team. However, not all are good enough to play straight away in the first team. Perhaps they are better off in staying at their first club for a little bit longer before making their big move.
Spurs youngster John Bostock could well fall into this category. Since making his move from Crystal Palace in 2008, the 19-year-old has struggled to make an impact. He hasn’t made a single league appearance for Spurs. He has had loan spells at Hull City and Brentford. It’s easy to say now but in hindsight, he would have been much better off to stay at Crystal Palace for a few more years to continue his development.
Playing with Palace would have given him grounding and a much better chance of playing first team football. Although it’s very hard to turn down the overtures of a club like Spurs, there is a lot to be gained out of playing regular first team football at a young age. There’s the experience you gain from it and also the more somebody plays, the more he will grow in confidence.
Had Bostock been playing consistent first team football for the past three years, barring any injury he might have picked up, he would have arguably developed much more than he has at Spurs. The proof will come in how long it takes for his career to launch from here, if it all.
The short term gains of a move will always be much more prominent in the mind of a young player. For example, by leaving for a bigger club, they will earn more money and their profile as a player will be raised significantly. There is also the opportunity to work with better players and potentially better coaching staff. The standard of facilities would also feature somewhere in a player’s thoughts. From the clubs point of view, they will want to integrate into their way of playing as soon as possible. Look at the style possessed by all of the players who come out of Barcelona’s La Masia.
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You have to wonder whether it is worth players moving from the perceived smaller club when in all likelihood they will just get sent out on loan or play reserve team football. Players would be much better off playing in competitive lower leagues with their club. The Championship and League One are good platforms for a young player to excel.
Perhaps it is now the modern way to move when you’re young to give you more time to progress at your next club. However, Connor Wickham is a player who made a big move this summer to the Premier League. He might well have benefited from another year in the Football League.
Wickham has made an inauspicious start to his career on Wearside. At the age of 18, he would surely have been better off continuing to learn his trade in the Championship, a league where he scored 13 goals in 65 appearances in total. That is not the greatest record for a striker but who’s to say he wouldn’t have improved that this season with Ipswich. Instead he moves to Sunderland for £8 million and expected to be one of their main goal scoring outlets. The pressure on him will only increase with the departure of Asamoah Gyan to the UAE.
It begs the question whether players are being advised by the right people. Agents don’t seem to have the best interests of their client’s playing career at hand. They seem to focus on what will make the most financial sense to them and the player. There is no doubt that Connor Wickham will earn significantly more at Sunderland this year then he would have at Ipswich. It might not have hurt him so much to say he’d like to stay at Ipswich for another season to develop further.
Maybe there is a fear factor for players like Wickham. If they turn down the move now, will they ever get the chance again? That comes down to how confident they are in their ability. The more confident players are able to turn down the overtures in the knowledge they will continue to impress.
It’s not necessarily the same with young players abroad. Borussia Dortmund’s Mario Gӧtze has already signalled his intentions that he wants to stay in Germany for another year. Under the stewardship of Jurgen Klopp who has manufactured a team with many great young prospects, that cannot be a bad thing for Gӧtze.
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It is understandable how players see the bright lights of clubs like Manchester United and immediately want to join them. However, in terms of a player’s career, they would perhaps be better off to stick it out at their club for a little while longer, learning their trade and playing regularly even if it is at a lower level.
Nobody knows when the term “world class” crept into the language of sport – or who first qualified for the distinction – but I imagine it must have been more than 50 years ago, coinciding with developments in football that made it truly international. It is a description used so often and so loosely today that if the author still lives he may feel a burden of responsibility for corrupting the minds of sports followers.
A friend of mine suggested that “world class” is a rating often heard as a basis for negotiation. “People use it all the time,” he said, “and I wonder how they arrive at the assessment. Surely, to argue that anyone or anything is world class is purely a matter of opinion and has no definable substance.”
This brought to mind remarks once passed by Sir Alex Ferguson shortly before the start of a Premiership season which are no less appropriate as another campaign has just begun. Manchester United’s manager recalled being at Hampden Park, Glasgow, in 1960 when 135,000 spectators, the great majority Scots, hailed the thrilling virtuosity displayed by Real Madrid when overwhelming Eintracht Frankfurt 7-3 to secure a fifth successive European Cup. In the context of that enthralling performance, Ferguson addressed the issue of greatness. “The description ‘world class’ can only be justified if a player has had success in World Cups,” he said.
This is one way of determining the completeness of a footballer, but is inevitably flawed. It would, for example, rule out one of Ferguson’s all-time favourites, Eric Cantona, who never took part in the World Cup finals for France, and Ryan Giggs who has yet to enjoy the experience with Wales. It also disqualifies George Best, who was unfortunately denied an appearance on the ultimate football stage, which may help to explain why his career went into rapid decline when Manchester United’s European Cup-winning team of 1968 broke up.
You can go on and on like this. In golf, I suppose, the clearest, most obvious way of electing a player to world class is to go for those with major championships to their names. A number of cricketers stand out as much for their presence as statistical evidence. All the gold medallists at next month’s Olympics in Athens will be accorded world class status, although there are examples in history of outstanding athletes who, for one reason or another, didn’t come through on the day. When there were only eight weight divisions, world class status in boxing was clearly defined. Now there is such a proliferation of world titles that the term has no real meaning.
At some point in last week’s informal debate in the pub, I introduced a list of footballers held for some time in my head and acceptable to managers, past and present as irrefutably world class. It includes, of course, Pele and Diego Maradona, who were jointly honoured by Fifa as the outstanding players of the 20th century. In no order of preference, there are seven others – Alfredo di Stefano, Best, John Charles, Ferenc Puskas, Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer and, the most recent entry, Zinedine Zidane. By their towering standards others are judged.
We hear and read so much about the supposed scale of excellence in modern football that it might not be a bad idea at this stage of proceedings to suggest that things are not necessarily a great deal better than they were and that people should not be deceived into thinking otherwise. Nobody is obliged to share this point of view, but whenever questions crop up about greatness in football, some of us keep seeing faces from the past.
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Interestingly, of the players mentioned above (plenty of others come close) only three, Pele, Maradona and Beckenbauer, managed to become World Cup winners. Puskas (1954) and Cruyff (1974) appeared in a World Cup final but ended up on the losing side. Di Stefano, once described by Sir Matt Busby as the best player he had ever seen (“Magnificent. The complete footballer”) and Charles, who was rated the most valuable player in Europe when he appeared for Wales in the 1958 finals, were denied the ultimate stage. More recently, the hotly-debated enigma of Lionel Messi has also struggled to win trophies on the international stage, yet has been hugely successful at Barcelona.
Doubtless, any number of players operating in the Premier League this coming season will be rated world class. It depends, of course, on how you look at things; curious how often that consideration crops up.
A host of Premier League clubs are interested in signing Yoan Gouffran from Bordeaux, The Metro reports.
Gouffran has endured a difficult time at the Stade Chaban Delmas, scoring just 24 goals in 150 appearances since arriving from Caen in 2008.
The 26-year-old is in the last year of his contract at the club and has already made it clear that he will not sign a new deal, meaning he could be available for just £3million in the January transfer window.
Everton were reportedly interested in signing the player back in August, but it is understood they were put off by the French side’s £5million asking price- although news of a lower price-tag is likely to attract the attention of David Moyes.
Liverpool are also keen on the former France Under-21 international, with both clubs seemingly happy to sign him on a free transfer next summer when Gouffran’s contract expires.
Brendan Rodgers in particular will see the player’s versatility as a real asset, as Gouffran can play on either wing or at wing-back.
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The likelihood of a move to Anfield is increased by the Frenchman’s long-term admiration for the red half of Merseyside.
Newcastle could express interest in Gouffran if Demba Ba decides to leave Tyneside, with his agent not ruling out a move away in the near future.