A Christmas No.1 is just what Sir Alex Ferguson wanted and his United squad certainly didn’t let him down. As they enter the second half of the season the title is theirs to lose, not bad for a team that the press claim are struggling to get into gear.
At FFC we have seen a mixed bag of articles which include a Madrid swoop would provide United with a different dimension; why Fergie was right to veto deal, while Welbeck provides United with a welcome dilemma.
We also look at the best Man United articles around the web this week.
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TOP TEN Grand Entrances in Football sponsored by Heineken
Fergie’s ‘greatest’ Manchester United XI of his time?
Fergie’s Worst Manchester United XI of all time?
If I could only sign one player for Man United this January it would be him
Raid on Madrid could provide Manchester United with a different dimension
His loss to Manchester United cannot be underestimated
There’s no power shift in Manchester, the real shift is in London
Why Man United were right to turn down permanent deal
United starlet provides Fergie with a transfer dilemma
Top TEN United starlets who promised much but delivered little
Could United have an invincibles team of their own?
Sir Alex Ferguson’s greatest feature
* The best MANCHESTER UNITED blogs around the web this week. *
Glazers “will sell” but when? – United Rant
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My First United Game… – RoM
The Red Report: An un-Sung hero, the big boss & a Gooner’s nightmare – The Busby Way
Bring back Becks – United Rant
Manchester United: Looking back – The Busby Way
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Kenny Dalglish assessed the size of the task facing him last night as Liverpool came up short against Blackpool. There is clearly a lot Kenny needs to do and I am sure he’ll use his planned meeting with John Henry to try and free up some funds to bring in new faces to Anfield.
In the papers this morning there has been a mixed bag of stories that includes Spurs’ plans to destroy the Olympic Stadium; Real Madrid are in the hunt for Adebayor, while David Miliband is in talks with Sunderland.
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Pires – No players’ jealousy – Sky Sports
Spurs plan to destroy Olympic Stadium – Guardian
Henry flies in to meet Dalglish – Daily Telegraph
O’Neill in torment over Hammers – Sun
Clubs should serve the fans, nothing else – Guardian
Real Madrid in hunt for Adebayor – Daily Telegraph
Pardew in Toon for Ash cash talks – Sun
Liverpool ready to open the bidding for Luis Suarez – Daily Mail
Grant limps on without board’s backing – Guardian
Drogba and Malouda face Chelsea axe – Mirror
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It was recently confirmed that Blackpool’s Charlie Adam handed in a transfer request to leave the Seasiders and join England’s most decorated club – Liverpool.
Without a doubt, legendary manager Ian Holloway had the first words to say on the matter, claiming that £4 million was not enough for the player – but you know what? He’s exactly right.
It is possible that Charlie Adam is not worth the outrageous, even funny, Holloway estimation of forty odd million, but he does represent a player that one of England’s top clubs need, and should not be allowed to leave for such a small amount.
Damien Comolli reportedly approached the Blackpool board on numerous occasions, offering sums of money which he thought the club would accept generally because Blackpool are Blackpool and Liverpool are Liverpool – who remain European giants, no matter how bad the season.
There was no element of surprise to Adam’s transfer request, as he is allowed the opportunity to play with the country’s finest players shall such occasion arise. However there is a difference between a player who wants to leave, and a player who can leave. Remember that Adam has still got a lengthy time on his contract yet to fulfil, and Blackpool are not exactly keen on letting their player of the season leave without a hefty wad of those $100 American bills John Henry is so kindly willing to provide.
“He ain’t going for that price, he’s got too long left on his contract and he’s much too important to us. Liverpool needed to start talks at around four times that amount; now it’s time for them to put up or shut up,” said Holloway.
The Reds have been in all kinds of mess over recent months, with previous manger Roy Hodgson sacked because he failed to turn the club around in a mere six months, and recruiting a squad full of players who were inevitably not good enough for a quality of Liverpool’s calibre.
New owners, new managers and a new assistant coach stemming from Mourinho’s era at Chelsea, it is obvious that the red part of Merseyside is undergoing massive transformation, and ‘specialised’ directors of football such as Damien Comolli believe that Liverpool need someone of Charlie Adam’s strength to complete the squad.
Holloway made a solid point about Liverpool not successfully replacing Xabi Alonso upon his departure, yet whether his claims that Adam was their man remains a tad ambiguous. It is true that he is a great passer of the ball, but he could arrive at Anfield and realise that he is way out of his depth, then again he could be exactly what the club need – someone who is in form and can provide Torres with sufficient ammunition to get him back to old ways.
Dirk Kuyt revealed on Sunday that Liverpool needed a new striker, and that it was the only way to get them climbing back up the ladder in the Premier League. Summer signings such as Raul Meireles have begun to perk up, but transfer hopefuls like Joe Cole have simply not stepped up to the mark. Their interest to snatch Luis Suarez from Ajax could be key to realising Europa League football again next season.
Adam could fit in nicely at Liverpool, and Holloway is right not to let him go for so little, but he is not worth double-digits and the fact that a club as big as Liverpool actually want a player who is in his mid-twenties who plays for Blackpool, should be sufficient ammunition for Adam to step it up a gear and really tell Blackpool that he wishes to leave.
If Liverpool do not get Adam in the winter transfer window and Blackpool go on and slip into the relegation zone, it is highly doubtful that Comolli will attempt to sign him again, mainly because Liverpool don’t sign players from Blackpool unless they are the next 17-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo.
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Adam is not worth millions upon millions of pounds, but he must bear in mind that this is possibly the chance of his career to move to one of the Premier League’s elite, and should probably begin to push for the transfer a bit more, as Comolli is keen on him joining Liverpool.
The ex-Rangers midfielder has caused a fair amount of upset so far this season, ruining relations between Holloway and Aston Villa manger Gerard Houllier, after another Holloway classic of providing his stern opinion to the media.
Follow me on Twitter for exclusive football opinion and the latest on Charlie Adam’s situation!
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Tottenham welcome Bolton to White Hart Lane on Saturday hoping to further their push for a top-four spot in the English Premier League.
Spurs’ Champions League rivals Chelsea were bolstered by the signing of star striker Fernando Torres on Monday, while Tottenham’s own rumoured big-money move for a striker – said to be Villarreal poacher Guiseppe Rossi – came to nothing.
With the Blues three points above Spurs in fifth, Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp concedes tracking down their London rivals had become even more difficult.
Redknapp believes Chelsea could now be so strong with Torres they could defend their crown, despite lying 10 points behind league-leaders Manchester United.
“For us to finish above them would be a real feat. They have spent about 70 million pounds in the transfer market. We have just got to keep going and it would be a fantastic achievement,” he said.
“I would not write Chelsea off from winning the championship. Although Manchester United look as though they keep getting results, they are not playing as well as they have done in the past.”
“They are red-hot favourites but Chelsea have won the championship and have Torres to come in.”
“They could go on a run and be a big danger to everyone.”
The strength of Spurs’ squad was highlighted on Wednesday, however, when they beat Blackburn 1-0 at Ewood Park minus key players Luka Modric, Gareth Bale, Younes Kaboul, Steven Pienaar and Tom Huddlestone.
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Bolton were fortunate 1-0 winners over Wolverhampton on Wednesday, courtesy of a late Daniel Sturridge strike on debut for Owen Coyle’s men.
The Chelsea striker vindicated his switch to the Reebok on loan with the match-winning goal, and will be keen to back up his performance against his parent club’s bitter rivals.
The last time the two sides met, Bolton defied a late Spurs rally to win 4-2 at the Reebok in November.
I’d like to apologise to Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew. When Newcastle owner Mike Ashley sacked Chris Hughton at the back end of last year, the only reason I could think he’d made that decision was to bring in an exciting new manager at the helm. That was not how I would describe Pardew, and fears of relegation returned. News that Pardew and Ashley were big mates and went to casinos together further disappointed me. He was of course given a five and a half year contract and I was thinking ‘here we go again’.
I was clearly not alone. In a poll of 40,000 Newcastle supporters only 5% were said to be pleased by the appointment of Alan Pardew. Like the rest of the Toon Army, despite my dismay at the appointment of Pardew, I got behind the manager and the team and things couldn’t have started much better – a 3-1 home win against Liverpool, but that was essentially a match played with Hughton’s team. A home defeat to Manchester City and a disappointing performance at Tottenham followed, before back-to-back wins against Wigan and West Ham, meant that Pardew won 3 of his first 5 matches in charge of Newcastle – not at all bad.
Then came Pardew’s darkest day as Newcastle manager so far – a 3-1 defeat to Stevenage in the FA Cup. Newcastle fans love a cup run as much as anyone, and to go out in the third round was a bitter blow, but the way Pardew and his team have recovered has been admirable. Two draws against Sunderland and Tottenham followed, with the Magpies denied three points in both games by late equalisers, then there was the Fulham match – the less said about that the better. That was quickly forgotten as the magnificent comeback against Arsenal at St James’ Park took centre stage. Whatever Pardew said at half-time clearly worked, and he showed on that day that he could get the team to play for him.
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An away draw against Blackburn in a match Newcastle dominated, was followed by a comfortable win at Birmingham and a home draw against Bolton on Saturday – a match Newcastle could have won if Ryan Taylor hadn’t of been sent off and it had been eleven v eleven for ninety minutes. So in Pardew’s 13 games so far, he’s won 4 (could have easily been 6), drawn 5 and lost 4 – not particularly impressive. But since that loss against Stevenage and aside from the Fulham game, I have been pleasantly surprised by the way Newcastle have played and in particular the way they’ve kept the ball – some credit must go to Pardew’s coaching.
Of course, like every Newcastle manager over recent years, things haven’t been made easy for Pardew. The loss of Andy Carroll and being unable to bring in a replacement has left him with an uphill task, but he seems to have his head screwed on and he strikes me as an extremely sensible bloke. John Carver spoke to 5 Live on Friday and explained that Pardew said that as neither knew how each other worked and whether they would gel together or not, that they would work together on a four month basis to start of with when he arrived on Tyneside, a sort of trial if you like. This has obviously worked out well and now Carver is on a five and a half year contract at Newcastle and Pardew has an assistant manager who knows the club inside out.
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As far as signings are concerned, he gets a big tick for securing the permanent deal of Hatem Ben Arfa and tying Cheik Tiote down to a long term contract. The loan of Stephen Ireland seems to be a strange one, but you never know it could work out, and bringing in Shefki Kuqi was clearly a case of desperate times calling for desperate measures. The big test for Pardew in terms of acquisitions will come in the summer when he gets to spend some of the Carroll money; whether he has the reputation to bring in exciting players we’ll just have to wait and see but hopefully he’ll be able to encourage some to sign on the dotted line.
So, as we come to the end of Alan Pardew’s first three months on Tyneside and with Premier League status seemingly secure for next season, it’s time to look ahead to Newcastle’s future under him and I have to say that I’m pretty optimistic. When Pardew joined I thought we were doomed to relegation; now I think he can do a decent job at St James’ Park, bring a bit of stability and challenge in the top half of the table. So Alan Pardew; I’d like to apologise for thinking the worst when you were appointed Newcastle manager, and may you continue to exceed expectations long into the future!
Barcelona midfielder Adriano is anticipating a capacity crowd when he visits former club Sevilla in La Liga action on Sunday.The Brazilian called the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan home for five years between 2005 and 2010, but the midfielder is ready for high-pressure surroundings when the rampant league leaders travel to the eighth-placed Sevilla.”There is going to be a great atmosphere, because games like this usually fill the stadium. It is always a special game when I return to the Sanchez Pizjuan,” the 26-year-old said. “It is very exciting, the people have received me very well and the stadium is always going to be special to me.”Adriano said he was used to Barcelona being the hunted club in Spain as they lead the league by seven points, but he said their Sunday opponents would also be pushing for the Champions League save for some crucial injuries.”Every team is motivated to beat Barcelona. Every time that Barcelona visit, the stadium is full as they try to help the team. There will be a great atmosphere,” he said.”They are a team who are always up there. They have pressure on them to be in the top four, and I think that Sevilla have had many injuries to important players. That is why it has been hard to keep up their form.”Pep Guardiola’s men have already got one hand on the league trophy, but Adriano was all too aware of the amount of points up for grabs and the possibility Barca could slip up in the final 11 games.”It is a difficult away game (at Sevilla) – one of the most difficult. There are still many points in play. Thirty-three points are a lot, and even if we are seven points clear of Madrid there is still a long way to go,” he said.
Athletic Bilbao kept their European dreams alive after stealing a 2-2 draw at Getafe in La Liga on Monday.Bilbao, who were displaced from fifth spot by Espanyol on Sunday, maintained a three point gap between themselves and Atletico Madrid in seventh thanks to an equaliser from substitute Urko Vera in the last minute of injury time.Until that point, Getafe captain Manu had accounted for all three goals on the scoresheet – two for his own team and an own goal in the 69th minute.The two clubs fought out a goal-less stalemate for 58 minutes before Manu finally found the net.The Getafe striker was on the scoresheet again 11 minutes later, only in the wrong column after his attempted clearance sailed into his own goal.Manu nabbed his second five minutes before injury time, putting Getafe ahead 2-1 and within reach of ending their five-match winless run in La Liga.But Bilbao’s desperate search for an equaliser paid dividends as Urko rose to meet a corner kick and nodded the ball beyond Getafe goalkeeper Codina in the 94th minute.
As long as Arsene Wenger continues to stick to his guns and carry on trying to win trophies by playing football his way, we will continue to have this debate until we are blue in the face. But seeing as a former player has recently had his say, maybe something is about to change. Emmanuel Petit has come close to being the first former Wenger-lover to suggest that something has to give soon if Arsenal are to end their six-year trophy drought. Is he right? More importantly, will Arsenal finally take note?
As a self-confessed Arsenal fan, Petit stopped short of saying that the Gunners had no fighting spirit. But reading in-between the lines, it was pretty obvious that this is what he was getting at. He suggested there was a distinct lack of ‘proven winners’ in the ranks and the senior players were started to ‘crack up’ under the pressure of fighting for honours on 4 different fronts.
As we know, four has quickly become one thanks to defeats to Birmingham in the Carling Cup final, Barcelona in the Champions league and Manchester United in the FA Cup. So surely the Frenchman has a point? I mean, how much longer can fans sacrifice success in order to play football ‘the right way’? Speaking to some supporters, they still adamantly stick by their manager, and I certainly do condemn them for that. Wenger has proven to be one of the world’s best, and he specialises in bringing through some of the best youngsters around. But no team has won trophies with just kids. Automatically, you will be reading this and are about to throw Manchester United in my face. But even that team had the likes of Peter Schmeichel, Roy Keane and Gary Pallister in. Plus a certain Eric Cantona was awaiting his return from suspension in October of that year. My point is, Petit is right. I don’t see the experienced head in Wenger’s ranks who can carry the team through a game which isn’t going their way – Birmingham in the cup, perhaps.
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I am by no means saying Arsenal should desert their way of playing football, but they certainly need a plan B, which Wenger never seems to have. They miss a Patrick Vieira, or a Tony Adams. As much as I hate him, I happen to think Jens Lehmann will be a good signing for the club all things considered, as he may be able to use some of his experience around the place. Arsenal certainly miss Thomas Vermaelen, but injuries are no excuse; they should have players ready to come in who can handle the big occasion.
Arsenal are very much still in the race for the Premier League, and you could argue they have an easier run in than rivals Manchester United. But we’ve been here before. There is every chance The Emirates club will slip up in games they should win, because they just don’t have the bottle to keep it together. The Gunners have a huge game on Saturday away at West Brom. It’s the type of game they should win, but at this stage of the season it is also the type of game which I wouldn’t be surprised to see them slip up in.
Now that Petit has echoed a sentiment many non-Arsenal fans have been thinking for quite some time, maybe a few more will start to take note. Wenger needs winners and players with physical presence to do the ugly work around Cesc Fabregas, Robin Van Persie and Jack Wilshere. But how long are fans seriously willing to wait for the manager himself to realise this? Maybe one more trophy-less season, perhaps.
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The latest player that Tottenham have been linked with is the 24 year old Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani. Cavani plays for Napoli in the Serie A and has scored a stunning 25 goals already this season. His form has put Napoli in 2nd position in the Italian domestic league just three points behind AC Milan.
The player would be an ideal signing for Tottenham who have struggled to find a consistent goal scorer to lead their attacking line this season. With Van der Vaart’s arrival, Tottenham have begun playing with one striker and the Dutch Maestro just behind him. While this benefited Van der Vaart (at least in the first half of the season), it has not benefited the strikers. Peter Crouch has been Redknapp’s first choice due to his height and ability to link up with Van der Vaart, but Crouch has not been potent enough in front of goal. Nor has Defoe who has scored just twice all season. Pavlyuchenko, perhaps the most well-rounded of the strikers, has not managed to impress Redknapp enough to play regularly.
With this in mind Tottenham definitely need a new front man, and I think Cavani fits the bill perfectly. He moved to Napoli last summer and started the season very well in Serie A, scoring in all of his first 4 games. Since then he has gone from strength to strength. Cavani scores goals with his feet as well as with his head. He has also made a great partnership with Napoli’s Merek Hamsik, who plays a similar role to Rafael Van der Vaart, just off the striker.
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Crucially he has played well and scored goals in the big games. That is exactly the type of player Tottenham need if they are to continue their development and progress. He scored a hat-trick against Juventus and has since followed up with a brace against Roma and another hat-trick against Lazio, this time from 2-0 down. The guy seems like a big match player with a winning mentality.
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However, Cavani’s recent success will make him an expensive player and a well sought after one too. Tottenham are not the only side interested in the Uruguayan and there is likely to be a bidding war for his signature in the summer from Italian giants Inter as well as clubs in Spain and England.
Furthermore, he has only been at Napoli for one season. If his side come in the top 3 of Serie A (which they are likely to do being 8 points ahead of 4th with 6 games left) Napoli will play in the Champions League next season. It would therefore take a huge bid to persuade Napoli to sell and massive wages for Cavani to part with his new team, after all he has been central to their recent success. Further still, if Tottenham do not finish fourth and do not secure Champions League football, he is even less likely to move to White Hart Lane.
It seems that Cavani is emerging as one of the hottest talents in European football. The question has to be asked, where were Tottenham last summer? Although the player was linked with White Hart Lane, he eventually moved to Napoli for around £12m. Tottenham will now have to pay as much as £30m if they want to sign him, but as I have already mentioned, the decision of Cavani’s future could be decided by Cavani himself, who will have a choice of places to ply his trade next term.
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Former Liverpool winger Mark Gonzalez has revealed he would be interested in signing for the Anfield clubs arch rivals Manchester United given the chance.
The nippy left sided winger is quoted in the Daily Mail as telling ADN radio, “It would be a dream to have the chance to join Manchester United.”
The 26 year old Chilean had a disappointing spell in England with Liverpool and was sold for £5 million to Real Betis after a solitary year with the club. This clearly hasn’t prevented Gonzalez from craving another crack at the Premiership.
Gonzalez went onto say, “We all know the quality that the team has and of course I would like to play in England again, even more at a team like Manchester United”.
These comments won’t have endeared the CSKA Moscow man to his former club. Gonzalez’s lofty ambitions to play in the Premiership again with the league’s most successful club do seem unlikely.
The Anfield flop finished off by underlining his commitment to his current club “But while I am at CSKA I will only have my mind focused on my current team, trying to play and showing what I am doing.”
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