Tag Futebol

Fabio Capello is reportedly furious at the failure of the FA to inform him that they will taking action against John Terry and stripping him of the England captaincy. Apparently the FA made the decision based on reports from some of the England squad’s black players were uncomfortable with him remaining as captain, leaving Fabio Capello in the dark over the whole affair.

Elsewhere in the news Arsene Wenger reveals he will review his transfer strategy if Arsenal fail to qualify for the top four; Roberto Mancini has refused to rule out Carlos Tevez returning to Manchester City starting line-up, while AVB suggests the ghost of Jose Mourinho is haunting every top manager within the Premier League.

John Terry could quit international football altogether after his sacking, and reported dressing room mutiny against him – Guardian

Sir Alex Ferguson has called upon Patrice Evra to shake the hand of Luis Suarez when they meet in next week’s encounter at Old Trafford. The United boss won’t make the Frenchman do anything against his will, but feels it would prevent prolonging the argument even further – Guardian

Roberto Mancini has refused to rule out the possible return of Carlos Tevez into the starting line-up. The Italian has suggested that if he returns fit then he will be considered for selection – Guardian

John Black QC has called on the jury to ignore Harry Redknapp’s standing within the game, as they retire to consider their verdict – Daily Telegraph

Andre Villas-Boas says that the ghost of Jose Mourinho haunts every top manager in the Premier League as rumours persist he is looking for a return to England in the summer – Daily Telegraph

Arsene Wenger has revealed he will review his transfer strategy if Arsenal fails to qualify for a top four finish this season – Independent

Manchester United and Arsenal are facing a battle with Benfica for the Bosman signing of Claudio Yacob – Daily Mail

David Moyes is confident that his January signings can push Everton to greater heights. The Toffees have been woefully inconsistent this season and the Scot is hoping the new faces will kickstart the team in the final 15 games – Daily Mail

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Real Madrid are plotting a summer swoop for Sergio Aguero. Madrid will finance the deal by letting Higuain leave the club, with Stamford Bridge a likely destination – Mirror

Darren Bent insists he is happy at Villa Park and the talk of him moving to Liverpool is simply laughable – TalkSport

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Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was ecstatic as his side moved to the brink of a historic 19th Premier League title on Sunday.A goal from Javier Hernandez after 36 seconds and a first-half header from Nemanja Vidic set United on their way to a 2-1 win of reigning champions Chelsea at Old Trafford on Sunday.

They extended their lead at the top of the English Premier League to six points with two games remaining despite Frank Lampard pulling a goal back in the 69th minute.

United only need a point to guarantee the title and with games against struggling Blackburn and Blackpool to come, they are odds-on to claim their 19th crown and surpass Liverpool as the most successful club in English football.

“It’s fantastic to be the most successful team in the country,” Ferguson told Sky Sports.

“The minute we won that first title in 1992 the door opened and we’ve been involved in the first two all throughout that period. It’s a fantastic achievement.”

“For the last 17 or 18 years, it’s been Arsenal and Chelsea as our nearest challengers and the last few years it’s been Chelsea. Arsenal made a great attempt this year, but them losing today has finalised it.”

“We deserve the title and hopefully we’ll get that point now.”

Ferguson said United could have scored more with striker Wayne Rooney particularly unlucky.

“We could’ve scored six in the second half, but we expected a tough game and we got a tough game,” he said.

“We were brilliant. We got a great start, but (Petr) Cech made some fantastic saves.”

“When we gave the ball away for their goal, we were a bit nervy but the fans helped us. We kept making chances and Rooney could’ve scored six today.”

Carlo Ancelotti admitted Manchester United deserved to win the title after beating his Chelsea side 2-1, but re-iterated his desire to keep his job.

Ancelotti, who has only one year left on his contract at Stamford Bridge, is due for talks with owner Roman Abramovich later this month and is widely tipped to be facing the sack after Chelsea ended the season without a trophy. But the Italian does not want to go.

He said: “You know my position, I have another year of contract and I would like to stay. But I have to accept the decision of the club; they will take a decision at the end of the season so we wait and see.”

“Manchester United played better than us and deserved to win and deserved to win the title this year.”

“Manchester United has a possibility now to take a point that they need to win the title. We have another two games and we want to finish the season well.”

Darren Bent is not a name many people would suggest when asked who the best Premiership striker is. Instead, you would hear the likes of Torres, Drogba and Rooney.

However, because of injuries and lack of form – it’s easy to see why Bent is getting increased media attention and being touted for further involvement in the England setup. With Bent also scoring his first England goal this year, the question remains as to how long Sunderland can keep hold of him. So, why is Bent so special?

Attributes

He is tall and incredibly quick, meaning he can play alongside virtually anybody up front or by operating as a lone striker. He scores goals with both feet and utilises his height and agility to get his head on the end of speculative crosses, recently seen when he scored the equalising goal against Liverpool. He uses his pace to good effect by latching onto through-balls and beating the offside trap against defenders that are slow to react.

Injury free

Last season Bent was involved in all thirty eight of Sunderland’s league games, an impressive record given the amount of running that the pacey forward puts in each week. With Kenwyne Jones now at Stoke and new boy Asamoah Gyan yet to fully prove himself, Steve Bruce hopes his fitness levels remain sky-high.

Goalscoring record

Bent has consistently been hitting the back of the net since breaking into Ipswich’s first team. For the Tractor Boys he hit 46 goals in his first full 3 seasons, at Charlton he scored 31 in 68, and he even managed 18 goals in 60 appearances whilst competing with Robbie Keane, Jermaine Defoe and Peter Crouch at Spurs. Last season he was Sunderland’s top scorer with 25 goals and is averaging a goal a game this season.

Knows the game

Bent is still only twenty six, yet has played for three Premier League clubs with vastly experienced managers. He learnt his trade at Ipswich under George Burley and Joe Royle, before being managed by Alan Curbishley at Charlton and Harry Redknapp at Spurs. He continues to improve under the guidance of Manchester United hero, Steve Bruce.

Attitude

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Although it didn’t work out for him in North London, Bent wasted no time settling into the groove at Sunderland – scoring on his debut, a 1-0 win over Bolton. Despite missing out on a place to South Africa and seeing the like of Emile Heskey (who hardly featured for Villa at the end of season) travel, Bent refused to speak out against the decision to leave him behind. Instead, saying that it was the manager’s choice and that he simply needed to further prove himself.

Written By Jon Ireland

Rejuvenated Bolton go in search of consecutives wins for the first time this season against a Newcastle side who are one defeat away from a full blow crisis.

Owen Coyle’s side gave themselves a major confidence boost ahead of their Boxing Day date with the Magpies after they came out on top against fellow strugglers Blackburn on Tuesday night. The Trotters’ fourth victory of the season was arguably their most important as they beat their North West rivals to move off the bottom of the table and give themselves a real chance of beating the drop. Supporters will be hoping that their side have finally turned a corner and can now string a positive run of results together after seeing their three previous ones followed by a succession of defeats. There were a number of positives from the win at Ewood Park with summer signing Nigel Reo-Coker putting in his best performance in a Wanderers shirt since his move from Aston Villa. Mark Davies has also emerged as a key player in recent weeks and Coyle will be expecting the duo to keep their form up going into the New Year.

Newcastle are also desperate for a win after seeing their strong start to the season unravel in the last month and a half. The Magpies haven’t recorded a victory in six games and with boss Alan Pardew seeing injuries and suspensions take their toll on his paper-thin squad. Defeat at home to West Brom on Wednesday night means the Geordies have taken just one point from their last three games against the Baggies, Swansea and Norwich. Despite still sitting seventh in the table after racking up 27 points there is massive room for improvement and Pardew will be expecting that at the Reebok Stadium. With 13-goal top scorer Demba Ba in the side Newcastle are always a threat but with their attack being proving to be frustratingly predictable in the last few games Pardew may opt to rejig his side in an effort to ensure his side are celebrating a win on Boxing Day.

Bolton 19th : 12 points

Team news: Summer signing David N’Gog could miss out after picking up a knock and joins eight other first team players in the treatment room.

Key Player: Mark Davies

The young midfielder has become a key player for the Trotters in recent weeks and it was goal and all round performance at Blackburn on Tuesday that provided a base for victory. He’ll be expected to be the playmaker once again against Newcastle.

Newcastle 7th : 27 points

Team news: Davide Santon misses the trip to the Reebok after limping off against West Brom with a knee injury. Yohan Cabaye will return though after completing his one match suspension whilst Mike Williamson could also start.

Key Player: Demba Ba

There will be a host of Premier League clubs ruing the day they passed over the chance to sign the Senegal forward. Ba has been a revelation since his free transfer move from West Ham and his two stunning goals on Wednesday took him to 13 for the season. He’ll be a massive miss for Newcastle when he leaves for the African Nations Cup in January.

PREDICTION

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Bolton will bet full of confidence after their win against Blackburn but are still not safe yet but they have a good home record against Newcstle. The Magpies are determined to halt their slide and know defeat at the Reebok Stadium will see them go from blip to crisis mode. However with Demba Ba up front they will be favourites for this one.

Score: 1-2

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Aston Villa assistant manager Gary McAllister called on his players to continue their march up the table after a 1-1 draw against Stoke City.A Darren Bent equaliser cancelled out Kenwyne Jones’ opening goal to see the spoils shared in the English Premier League match at Villa Park.

Villa, unbeaten in their last four matches, have climbed to 11th in the table.

And McAllister – standing in for hospitalised manager Gerard Houllier – believes the team can now aim to catch Bolton Wanderers in eighth position.

“We are on a good run at the moment so the place is buzzing,” McAllister said.

“We need points to catch Bolton. Two or three weeks ago we would have been looking the other way.”

“We want to keep the run going. Four games unbeaten. Since we lost to Sunderland here in January, we’ve not done bad.”

McAllister was a Liverpool player in 2001 when Frenchman Houllier underwent a life-saving heart operation and was absent from the dugout for five months.

The Scottish coach revealed that his colleague was recovering well and is not expected to undergo surgery again.

“I spoke to him before the kick-off and his main concern as always was the players,” McAllister said.

“He wants them to do well. I’m going to go up to the hospital now.”

“All the signs are encouraging. He has got a bit of colour in his cheeks and he doesn’t look like a guy who has had a tough couple of days.”

“We will be guided by the specialists. It won’t be Gerard or Aston Villa’s decision when he comes back. There is no surgery this time. It will be rest and medicine.”

Stoke manager Tony Pulis believes his players – who defeated Bolton Wanderers last weekend in the last four of the FA Cup – may have been distracted by thoughts of the final.

“There is a danger you think of Wembley before it comes along and then players take their foot off the pedal,” Pulis said.

“We must not do it. The Premier League is still our main priority. We still need points.”

Stoke City manager Tony Pulis believes Eidur Gudjohnsen can play a key part in the Potters' season.

Pulis snapped up the Iceland international on deadline day as well as Marc Wilson, Jermaine Pennant and Salif Diao and was pleased with his late transfer business.

He said:"If the new players work as hard as the rest of the players do, with that little bit of extra quality they have, you hope it will make us a better team.

"Over the next 12 days Eidur will do a mini pre-season with Salif and hopefully be ready for Aston Villa (on September 13).

"He is a fantastic player and will add that bit of extra quality we want.

"We paid £1.5million for Wilson, plus the two other players (Liam Lawrence and Dave Kitson) going that way, so we think that is good business.

"He has good qualities, has had Premier League experience and is one we hope will come in and grow with this club.

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"We spoke right at the start of pre-season to find out what the situation was (with Pennant) but it was too difficult a deal to do then.

"As we got closer to the deadline the deal became more viable to us as a football club."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Tottenham Hotspur should consider making a move for Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah if Toby Alderweireld leaves the club this summer.

What’s the word?

It is increasingly likely that the North London outfit will not have Alderweireld in the squad next season.

The two parties are at a standstill with regards to a new contract, which suggests that Spurs will sell now rather than allow him to leave next summer at a cut price of £25m.

According to The Express, Manchester United are prepared to up their pursuit of the Belgian international.

Selling to a direct rival would not be the smartest piece of business, but chairman Daniel Levy could potentially gain a huge figure from the Red Devils.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”252976″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch 21 things that will definitely happen at the World Cup”]

Who should be Alderweireld’s replacement?

There is no denying the centre-back’s quality, so Tottenham need to make sure that they recruit someone worthy of playing alongside Jan Vertonghen.

The club already have options within their own squad, with Davinson Sanchez being the leading figure.

However, the North London outfit should still swoop for a new defender, and they should certainly consider Bayer Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah.

The 22-year-old – valued at £27m by Transfermarkt – is already a Germany international having picked up three caps.

Last season, the defender played in 28 Bundesliga matches and also provided two assists in that time.

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Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has proven that he can help young players shine, and Tah would get that opportunity.

However, Leverkusen tied the centre-back down to a new deal in March, which means that Spurs would have to spend big in order to land his signature.

The silver lining, though, is that the club failed to qualify for the Champions League, so Tah may push for a move.

Celtic host Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership this weekend as their busy schedule after the mid-season break continues.

So far the Hoops have managed to put their poor form of December behind them with a Scottish Cup victory and a comeback win against Partick Thistle on Tuesday night.

However, there are tough tests left before January ends, with both Edinburgh sides set to visit Celtic Park looking to show why they are top six sides.

Neil Lennon’s Hibs have given Celtic a hard time in each of the games they’ve played this season and even drew with Brendan Rodgers’ outfit the last time the two sides met in the East End of Glasgow.

While results have been going their way recently, there’s still some question marks about Rodgers’ team selections and tactics, with some established first teams stars either not performing or not getting a game.

These are the three dilemmas he must get right for Saturday’s match…

To play Moussa Dembele or not?

The ongoing saga surrounding Moussa Dembele has reached near farcical levels this week with Brendan Rodgers and Chris Davies having to field questions through regarding his future.

First Chris Davies suggested his head had been turned for a potential exit, then he was left out completely against Partick Thistle, for the second match in a row, and then Brendan Rodgers came to his defence and assured fans he was fully committed to the club.

The only people losing out right now are Celtic supporters who want to see their biggest and best players in action when fit and available. That Dembele hasn’t seen a single minute of action since the mid-season break is odd.

Rodgers should put all the speculation behind them and give him a start at home to Hibs on Saturday. He needs game time and regular action to try and recapture his form of last season and his value isn’t getting any greater sitting on the bench.

Is it time to drop Mikael Lustig?

Mikael Lustig has been coming under increasing criticism over the past couple of months for poor performances, both at home and abroad. He was particularly poor in the 4-0 thrashing away to Hearts, but has also struggled to rebound from that, whereas the rest of his teammates have.

He was again at fault for conceding a goal against Partick Thistle on Tuesday night, conceding a clumsy penalty which Connor Sammon duly converted.

The Swedish international has no doubt been a fantastic player for Celtic over the years and is a leader in the dressing room, but if there’s ever been a time to change things up in the right back position then now would be it.

Unfortunately Anthony Ralston is injured, so if Lustig was to be dropped then Brendan Rodgers would likely have to deploy James Forrest as a wing-back, which has actually worked well on occasion this season.

Is it time to give Lustig a rest and ensure he doesn’t become complacent? Yes.

Without Tom Rogic, should they play two strikers?

Celtic’s regular 4-2-3-1 system under Brendan Rodgers works best when the Hoops have a genuinely creative and dynamic midfielder in the number ten position behind the striker.

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However, with the likes of Stuart Armstrong and Tom Rogic unavailable right now, packing the midfield has become a hindrance rather than a positive. It hasn’t helped that the usually reliable Callum McGregor has seen his performance levels dip in recent matches.

Is it time again to experiment with two strikers at the same time?

Leigh Griffiths gave the side a fresh spark coming off the bench against Partick and combined with the potentially returning Moussa Dembele, the Hoops could hit their stride again in the final third and a couple of goals will certainly be needed to defeat Hibs.

Odsonne Edouard has looked sharp on occasion this season but so far has failed to reach the levels of these two and it should be time to test out the partnership once again.

Former Swansea manager Michael Laudrup has moved to reveal the details behind his shock departure from the club.

The Dane was dismissed earlier this month amid rumours that his relationship with the South Wales side had reached breaking point due to a series of off-field problems.

Laudrup had been extremely successful in terms of results with the Swans, guiding them into European competition via Capital One Cup glory while securing an impressive finish in the league.

However speculation suggesting the club had an uneasy relationship with their manager and his agent began to circulate over the summer, culminating in his sacking shortly after the January transfer window had closed.

Laudrup says that he was made to wait nine days for an explanation as to why he was relieved of his duties, and that the whole episode has been puzzling for him:

“Mid January, I’m told they’re not satisfied and that’s that. They wanted to change the coaching staff,” he is quoted by The Mirror.

“After the game against West Ham I got another message: I should really, really, really change my staff.

“I had a personal matter on the Monday morning. I wasn’t in Paris. It was a personal matter and the chairman knew about it.

“On the Tuesday, we had a meeting again. I shake hands. They say ‘thanks for the work you are doing’. Then, Tuesday afternoon, I receive mail that due to breach of contract it will be terminated just a few hours after the meeting.

“I was very confused so I called the club and asked what was going on. While I was on the phone, my wife said things were already on the internet that I had been dismissed.

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“I was advised not to speak out because I needed the letter from the club and reasons for my dismissal. It took nine days to receive that letter.”

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Calm is the operative word at the Emirates Stadium nowadays. Such has been the Gunners’ excellent start to the season that the naysayers who wrote them off as title contenders before a ball had even been kicked are now picking humble pie out of their teeth. Arsene Wenger has ridden an almighty storm in the wake of Robin Van Persie’s acrimonious departure and came out unscathed to steer his side through August and three quarters of September unbeaten and playing an attractive brand of football that became synonymous with the club during the Invincible’s era. Wenger has even gone out on a limb to stress that his current squad is far more well rounded than the one that navigated an entire Premier League season without incurring a single defeat. Another milestone was achieved in mid-week as Oliver Giroud finally opened his goalscoring account, albeit against lower league opposition, with many expecting the floodgates to open for the Frenchman. For Wenger the objective now is to ensure his players remain grounded and focused on their objectives for the campaign.

This week on FFC are the Gunners a more resilient unit than in previous years and would this Spanish star suit a move to the Premier League?

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“We want to spend our money in the right way. We are not scared to spend the money. With some clubs we can’t compete on certain players – and for the rest, we only want to bring in players who add something to our squad and give a chance as well to the young players we have. We have good players, because to buy one more, we have to get one out.” Arsene Wenger says he is not afraid to splash the cash at Arsenal if necessary 

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