Manchester City have entered the race to sign Le Harve teenager Jules Ntcham, who has been labelled the ‘new Desailly’, according to The Telegraph.
The midfielder is captain of France under-16 side, has been scouted by Juventus, Arsenal and Inter Milan, and is widely recognised as the most promising player of his generation in France.
The starlet has resisted the French club’s attempts to tie him down to a long-term professional deal, and has remained on a youth contract since his 16th birthday back in February.
Ntcham comes from the same club as Manchester United prospect Paul Pogba, and the Ligue 2 club will face a battle to hold onto their young gem.
Inter are believed to be in pole position to win the race for his signature, but Roberto Mancini has sent scouts to watch the young midfielder also.
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When the highlight of the afternoon’s entertainment is the mascot winning £200 for charity by scoring a goal from 35 yards out, you know things have gone badly, badly wrong. The chants of “sign him up” sung by the Kop at Elland Road on Monday afternoon were only slightly ironic. Leeds fans are desperate for any signing to improve the team and Lucas the Kop Cat is available as far as I am aware and he certainly looked like he had a modicum of skill, and his desire to see the club succeed cannot be questioned. That is more than can be said for most of the team on display against Derby. What the owner of the club wants to achieve on the field is anyone’s guess.
Things have been bad at Leeds United for the last 18 months, but 2012 has been an unmitigated disaster. Monday’s 2-0 home defeat to Derby County was a record equalling 10th of the season, meaning the Whites have now lost more times at home this season than in the relegation season of 2006/7, but at least that Leeds team had some fight in it. Bar a particularly inept display in a 3-0 defeat to Stoke City that side did at least keep games close. This season has been a series of damp squibs and gutless performances . Pitiful defeats to Blackpool (0-5), Birmingham City (1-4) and Nottingham Forest (3-7) are now coupled with some of the most horrible football witnessed at Elland Road in the last 25 years.
Neil Warnock’s arrival was supposed to galvanise the squad. The reason for his appointment by the board was to get more out of the players than Simon Grayson could do. Let’s not forget the Whites were on the fringe of a play-off place when the man who got Leeds back into this division after three years in the wilderness of League One was relieved of his duties. Now without the points gained under his tenure before Christmas, Leeds could have been dragged into a battle to avoid a quick return to the third tier of English football.
Rather than improve the performances of the rag-tag unit Grayson had been left with due to the decisions to strip the squad of any real quality, Warnock seems to have destroyed the team, turning them into a team bereft of ideas and seemingly wishing to finish their own seasons, and that of members of the opposition, prematurely with a succession of ridiculous challenges that have brought three red cards (and there should have been more) in successive fixtures.
The Leeds boss is constantly saying that the majority of the squad won’t be playing for him next season, yet has made minimal changes to the starting line-ups. He should have plenty of players to choose from, with the playing staff pronounced as being the largest in the Championship by the chairman, who has spent the last few weeks rubbishing the achievements of his previous appointment.
The season has an end of an era feeling around it, similar to the last knockings of the Howard Wilkinson era in 1996. Then Wilko had seen his side tipped as one of the favourites for the Premier League title and reached a cup final. However a 3-0 defeat at Wembley to Aston Villa precipitated an awful run of form in the league. He cleared the decks at the end of the season and spent heavily in the summer, only to be sacked after losing 4-0 at home to Manchester United in September.
Where Wilko’s replacement, George Graham, moulded Leeds into a miserly outfit who were incredibly hard to beat, Warnock has curbed the attacking instincts which were the hallmark of Simon Grayson’s team and has made no real impact on an already leaky defence.
There has reportedly been a series of meetings between Warnock and Ken Bates this week to discuss the planning for next season, Leeds’s 9th outside the top flight. With the ground improvements which seem to have been of more importance than investment on the field now completed, surely it is time for the chairman to put some of the recently announced profits into the playing side of the football club.
What is needed is for the ownership of Leeds United to realise that success on the field will bring the commercial rewards they so brazenly desire. Two years ago we were on the verge of exciting times. On the brink of promotion it felt like we were on our way back after falling down to the deepest depths in the history of the club. We had a young vibrant side, backed by a reinvigorated support who felt vindication for sticking with the team was about to be forthcoming. Within 12 months a side who just missed out on the playoffs has been decimated, the support is disillusioned and back on the brink of rebellion and the club feels like it is about to go down the next dip of the roller coaster, one which may be a drop too far.
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The end of the 2011/12 season cannot come quick enough, but the start of the following season begins after the final whistle against Leicester City in two and a half weeks’ time. Leeds need to be fast out of the blocks if their ambition is to match that of its supporters. If they aren’t then they may be left in the blocks forever.
Manchester City playmaker David Silva has stated that he is happy at the Premier League side, and has no plans to leave the club.
The Spain international is one of Roberto Mancini’s key men, and after spectacular performances for the Etihad Stadium side has been linked with a move back to his homeland.
However, Silva has admitted that he is only concentrating on the job at hand.
“What I’m thinking about is the next match on Sunday,” he told The Guardian.
“I’ve got two years left on my contract and I’ve always said I’ll be happy to stay here. I’m not thinking of an extension to my contract at the moment.”
Silva has suffered a slight dip in form in the second half of the season, but the attacking midfielder has revealed that he has been carrying an ankle injury.
“I’ve been quite unlucky in the second half of the season because not only have I been knocked and knocked and knocked on the same ankle that’s caused me a lot of trouble but just at the moment when I felt the worst physically we had a dip in form as a team.
“That seemed to show up even more what was happening with my ankle. But we’re finishing strongly as a team and I’m concentrating on finishing this season.
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“My ankle is feeling slightly better but the team is also playing better, which helps. I’m just having a lot of physical treatment, getting a lot of movement in my ankle. As you know I had an operation in that ankle years ago and it’s just a question of keeping the movement going,” he concluded.
As the dust settles on a tumultuous week at White Hart Lane as Tottenham embark on the search for Harry Redknapp’s successor after he was sacked on Wednesday evening. It’s certainly been a torrid eight weeks for Redknapp after losing out on the England job to Roy Hodgson and seeing the Blues steal their spot in the Champions League despite guiding Spurs to a fourth place finish. That being said the 65-year-old’s demise was undoubtedly self inflicted. He seemed nailed on to take over the national team after Fabio Capello’s departure but fatally took his eyes off the ball and well… the rest is history. Their North London rivals crept above them into third and denied them an automatic seat on Europe’s top table. It proved to be the decisive blow. However Redknapp stated in the wake of his dismissal that even if he had delivered Champions League football he would have been ousted by chairman Daniel Levy sensationally claiming that none of the Tottenham hierarchy didn’t like him. Whatever the reason it’s now up to Levy and the board to appoint the right man to succeed Redknapp and match his achievements at Spurs. It’s a decision that will ultimately define the clubs future.
This week on FFC did Redknapp unintentionally engineer his axing from Spurs and is David Moyes the man to fill his shoes in North London?
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Best of FFC
The TEN ‘Transfer Targets’ Tottenham should be looking at this summer
Where do Tottenham go from here?
The architect of his own Tottenham downfall?
The ideal man to fill the Tottenham void?
Facing up to another midfield renaissance?
Lack of Transparency Cost Harry his Job
Would Premier League Clubs Benefit From South American Affiliations?
FOUR possible Replacements Should Redknapp Leave Spurs
Premier League trio on alert as Heldt reveals £17m release…
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Best of WEB
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The Word on the Street – Spurs musings from Jimmy G2
From Inside The Lane – Harry Hotspur
Harry Redknapp. Thank you and goodbye. – Dear Mr Levy
Spurs Hunt For Tactician After Redknapp’s Outdated Approach – Transfer Tavern
Luka and ITK mathematics – Dear Mr Levy
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Goodbye & Good Riddance – Harry Hotspur
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Quote of the Week
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We finished fourth and were unlucky at the end, but I think the same outcome would have happened. It’s always disappointing but that’s football.
“The people who run the football club have to make decisions that they think are right and that’s their decision. You know I abide by it. I don’t spend my life holding grudges, thinking about what could have been. That’s life, we all move on.” Harry Redknapp believes he would have been sacked even if he had secured Champions League qualification for Tottenham
Tottenham’s continued pursuit of a prolific goal scorer was always likely to lead towards Signal Iduna Park and Borussia Dortmund’s Robert Lewandowski. The young Polish striker, who had his breakout year last season with the German Champions, has successfully taken over the responsibilities in attack since Lucas Barrios was relieved of his first-choice duties and subsequently sold. If there was ever a striker for any club, not just Tottenham, to pursue with long term ambitions in mind, it’s Lewandowski.
The striker was much more of an impact player in Dortmund’s 2010/11 title-winning season, coming off the bench for the most part but still contributing to a good degree. It showed the amount of faith manager Jurgen Klopp had in the Polish striker when he opted to give him a starting and starring role in Dortmund’s starting XI last season. The injury to Barrios paved the way, but the excellent work ethic of Lewandowski did more than enough for him to be considered an important figure.
His record last season of 33 goals is no great surprise; the Dortmund team is awash with outstanding attacking talents who are able to provide for their strikers from a number of areas of the pitch. Along with Lewandowski’s predatory instincts, the high return of goals was to be expected.
But is there reason for clubs, specifically in the Premier League, to be concerned over his ability to transfer his good form into another league? The real case in point is that Lewandowski has only produced like this in one season. His natural, comfortable environment now is the Bundesliga, and it’s likely he will have another season of similar numbers playing with Dortmund. However, transferring to the Premier League brings a number of problems for the striker, namely the issue of adapting to English football and, of course, the pressure and expectation to produce.
It’s been reported that a hypothetical number Dortmund would be willing to listen to approaches is 35 million euros. However, that’s Dortmund’s valuation of their striker; he’s an integral piece to their title defence and they are now light in that area considering Lucas Barrios has recently departed. But that’s not to say that Lewandowski’s market value necessarily points to north of 35 million euros. Again, it’s unlikely that he would transfer his 30 goals a season performance into another league immediately, and it remains to be seen whether Tottenham are willing to part with that kind of money for a player.
But as for the player and style he represents, he is certainly in the right mould of what Tottenham should be looking for. His ability to play as a lone striker with heavily attack minded players on either flank does greatly suit him. Lewandowski has performed with this formation for the entirety of his career at Dortmund, and the Polish national team has also lined up in a similar formation to suit his strengths.
The desire of many clubs on the continent to ditch the traditional 4-4-2 formation in favour of five players operating in the midfield—Spurs being included—has opened up the market considerably to players who are capable of playing in similar systems to great effect. His height and strength is a significant plus, as is his technical ability and movement. Again, he had a wonderful season scoring a variety of goals, but it was just one season. The Dortmund team are engineered to create many, many chance in games, some of which come from unlikely sources on the pitch. The need will be to see if he can reproduce in what would technically be his “sophomore” season.
The real elephant in the room with this story is Dortmund’s lack of willingness to part with another one of their key players this summer. The need to sell Nuri Sahin last summer was obvious—the player had one year left on his contract. But the team replaced him and carried on in similar fashion to retain their league title. This summer has been another case of allowing one of their stars to move on. Shinji Kagawa is likely to be replaced in the same manner Sahin was, and other than Barrios’ departure, it’s unlikely we’ll see much more significant movement out the door at Dortmund.
The club have a smart way of running their club without disrupting the balance in the squad too heavily, and at this stage there is really no financial need for the club to part ways with Lewandowski.
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The admiration from Spurs for one of the most lethal finishers in Europe last season is understandable, and he absolutely represents the type of player the club should be looking to pursue: A young, hungry talent with plenty to prove. Players like Emmanuel Adebayor just do not fit that description.
“Unbelievable quality and talent” were the wisely selected words that Mikel Arteta used to describe compatriot and potential new teammate Santi Cazorla. Reports have been surfacing this week that Arsene Wenger is close to completing a deal for the Spanish International that would take the total of new Gunners acquisitions to a promising trio of talent. However, with a reported £20 million being requested by Cazorla’s current club Malaga, what makes the 27-year old so expensive and can he really assist in filling the void that may be left by Robin Van Persie’s imminent departure?
A popular face in his native country, Cazorla has already made 45 appearances for his national team; a feat that deserves unrelinquishing praise, especially given that the Spanish can arguably claim to have the most talented array of midfielders to have ever represented a national squad.
Having spent most of his career with Villarreal, the Llanera born playmaker was sold to Malaga last summer for around £16.5 million, after the ‘Yellow Submarines’ experienced major financial troubles. Cazorla impressed in his debut season with ‘Los Boquerones’, assisting the club to their first ever Champions League qualification and finishing second in the club’s goal scoring charts, with 9 from midfield.
The impressive superlatives used by Mikel Arteta to describe his compatriot may be valid. He is known as an exciting player, who has the rapidity and aptitude to alter the rhythm of a game. These attributes may allow him to slot in perfectly with Arsenal’s exciting brand of football.
If he were to make the move to the Emirates, Cazorla would be able to fill any position across the middle of the park. He is ambidextrous to the point of perfection with both feet, allowing him to flow with ease down either flank. His intelligence and speed could also allow him to play off a lone striker. However, when or daresay if Robin Van Persie departs the Emirates, it is likely that Cazorla would play on the wing, leaving new blood Lukas Podolski or Olivier Giroud to the impossible task of filling the void that will be left by their want away Dutchman.
A big money signing like Cazorla will be just what the Gunners supporters’ need. With their talisman searching for the exit, a new star needs to be crowned in North London and Cazorla and his eye-catching abilities could prove the remedy. Not only would the Spaniard inject energy and skill into the team, his international caps could prove vital to the younger members of Wenger’s squad. His small stature is more than made up for by his confidence and experience and with an unwavering eye for goal Cazorla could be the signing that many of the Emirates faithful hoped Andrey Arshavin would be.
About to enter the prime of his career, ‘Santi’ could have timed this move to perfection. Spanish flair is of small majority in the Premier League, with David Silva and Fernando Torres the only ‘Rojas’ to dip their talented toes into the English game. Not only could Cazorla become a favourite at Arsenal, he could also become a major player in the best league in the world.
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David Gill believes that the Glazer family fully understand the importance of success on the pitch, following the club’s floatation in the US yesterday. 6.6 million shares that equates to 10% of the club, were floated on the New York Stock Exchange, with the American owners reportedly set to pocket around £75million. The Manchester United Chief Executive believes that the Glazers as owners are entitled to do what they wish, as long as the level of success on the pitch is maintained: “They own the club. They are entitled to sell to investors who want to be a part of Manchester United going forward; however what I would say is that the level of debt in the club since they have taken over hasn’t had an impact on what we have done in the team. We have won four Premier Leagues in that period, we have been to the Champions League final three times, and we have had ongoing success on the pitch.”
Elsewhere in the news Joe Allen feels ‘incredible’ after his Liverpool move; West Brom win the race for Lukaku, while Manchester City give up on Robin van Persie.
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Headlines
Roy Hodgson has said that only a lengthy FA ban for John Terry would rule him out of international football – [Guardian]
Manchester United’s first day on the New York Stock Exchange got off to a flat start as shares eked out a tiny gain in early trading before falling back to the slashed launch price – [Guardian]
Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo calls for improved performances in Premier League – [Daily Telegraph]
Joe Allen has revealed he feels ‘incredible’ about joining a football club with the history, traditions and size of Liverpool – [Sky Sports]
Villas-Boas has told Modric to get his head around the fact that he will not be sold unless a club meets Spurs’ asking price – [Independent]
Roberto Mancini has given up on signing Robin van Persie after expressing his frustration with Man City’s transfer policy – [Sky Sports]
Michael Carrick earns England recall after Hodgson’s ‘retirement’ confusion – [Independent]
Roberto Di Matteo has challenged his Chelsea players to make history as they start the season with the chance to win seven trophies – [Daily Mail]
Matt Jarvis hands in a transfer request to force through West Ham move – [Mirror]
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Liverpool is lining up Atletico Madrid defender Diego Godin, as a potential replacement for Daniel Agger – [Metro]
Tottenham are eyeing a move for Inter keeper Julio Cesar and could pick up the 32-year-old on a free – [Sun]
PLEASE NOTE – click on the sources to view the original articles
After what has seemed a long, long summer of sport (were the Euros really only a few months ago?) our favourite time of year is nearly upon us. In just a few days’ time, Blackpool kick off their season away at Millwall with an unusually high level of expectation on the terraces.
After last year’s play-off disappointment, there were fears our squad could suffer a long hangover, or be torn apart – Or both. But neither has happened and there is a definite optimism coming from Bloomfield Road. Whether this optimism is reasonable only time will tell, but there are a few genuine reasons to expect Blackpool to be challenging at the very top of the table. We have two of the hottest properties in the division in Matty Phillips and Tom Ince and if we manage to keep hold of them, which it looks as if we could, then no defence will look forward to facing us. We have a style of play that has served us and other teams very well in this league, and a manager whose passion has seen us perform well above our capabilities. And keeping hold of Holloway is far and away the best news we could have hoped for over the summer.
In some ways, it has been a summer like no other. We have created a development squad with it’s own manager, with his own credentials, who we had actually heard of. We have opened a classy hotel within the stadium with gym facilities for the players. And we have been linked with young players from PSG, Lille and Athletico Madrid rather than Mansfield or Barnet. Yet in other ways, it has been a case of same old same old, with fans moaning about the chairman’s lack of investment, missing out on targets and late arrivals.
But it has really been a first for us this summer, with no real overhaul in the squad. We have kept hold of our best players thus far and the only departures have been fringe players with Keith Southern being the only player to leave who may have featured. So, looking at how we did last year, it feels sensible to say that with a few tweaks here and there, we could progress a bit further and aim for an automatic spot.
We are one quality striker away from getting really excited about this season. But then, how many teams are saying the same thing? It appears to be the only position in which we are lacking and with us creating so many chances, we could really do with someone who is going to start most games and put them away regularly. Hopefully this will be addressed in the next few days, or at least before the window closes.
It seems silly to say we have a tough start – away to Millwall and Leicester and home to Leeds and Ipswich – when in fact, this might well be the toughest year in the Championship. Of the 3 teams relegated from the Premier League, I can’t see any of them performing well enough to run away with the league, and without a team at the top taking points away from everyone else, it will make the league even tighter. Then at the other end, the three teams who have joined the league are big clubs. Charlton, Sheffield Wednesday and Huddersfield will all be expecting a top half finish.
If we are to succeed this year, we need to use our squad as best we can. Thankfully, we have built a squad with real quality in depth, which will hopefully stand us in good stead come May.
What will be nice this year is having a few local games. After last season’s nearest neighbours being Barnsley some 90 odd miles away, we now have Blackburn, Bolton and even Huddersfield who are closer. Getting shot of West Ham, Southampton, Reading and Portsmouth was also a bonus. So overall, there should be a few more happy travellers from the seaside, and hopefully the players will perform better on the road this year after disappointing last season.
So, we have a great squad with some star players, and a great manager with some star quality, and another year in arguably the toughest league in the world. Unfortunately, this could well be our last chance with this squad and this manager. I can’t see us keeping Holloway out of the Premier League for another year, but this could well work in our favour and inspire the players to get into one of those 2 automatic spots.
All in all, as usual, it’s damn near impossible to predict how things will go this year, but I’ll throw a guess out there.
Top 2: Blackpool, Leicester.
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Manchester United and Manchester City have been alerted by the news in Spain that Cristiano Ronaldo is unhappy at Real Madrid, The Sun claim.
The Portugal international scored a brace in Los Blancos’ win over Granada at the weekend but did not celebrate, revealing after the game that he was sad and unhappy.
“I am sad and the people at the club know about it. It’s about professional issues. I can’t say any more,” he told local reporters after the game.
It is believed that Ronaldo sat down with Madrid president Florentino Perez on Monday, with rumblings that the talented forward has asked to leave the Santiago Bernabeu.
Ronaldo has three years left on his contract in the Spanish capital but is thought to be frustrated that the La Liga champions have not looked to renew his current deal.
Given the quality of Ronaldo and the fact that he may be available, both Manchester clubs are monitoring the situation and ready to make a January offer to bring the Portuguese attacker back to the Premier League.
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Arsenal and Chelsea will put both put their unbeaten records on the line this Saturday lunch time.
Chelsea arrive at the Emirates sitting top of the table, whilst Arsenal know a victory for them could see them temporarily climb to second.
Arsenal are set to welcome back their captain Thomas Vermaelen, who missed the draw at Manchester City last weekend with a virus.
He is likely to replace Laurent Koscielny, despite the Frenchman giving an impressive performance at the Ethihad, which also saw him grab the equalising goal.
John Terry is set to captain Chelsea, whilst he and his club decide whether to appeal his 4 match ban for racially abusing Anton Ferdinand.
Roberto Di Matteo is likely to make several changes from the side that thrashed Wolves 6-0 in the Capital One cup in midweek, with Daniel Sturridge remaining the only doubt with a hamstring problem.
Arsene Wenger will go into the game looking for his 350th Premier League win, and with no Didier Drogba to contend with for the Gunners, you feel they may find it slightly easier than in recent seasons.
The corresponding fixture last season ended in a goalless draw. The Gunners have looked more solid at the back so far this season than in recent seasons, so expect it to be another tight affair.
Prediction: Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
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Click on the picture below to win a copy of FIFA 13!