All posts by h79snht.top

Joey Barton comes of age and Gerard Houllier peers nervously at the drop zone as mid-table Newcastle United visit Aston Villa on Sunday.Barton, a controversial figure throughout his football career, will pull on the captain’s armband in place of the suspended Kevin Nolan for the Magpies’ trip to Villa Park.

The 28-year-old, as polarising a figure as there is in the English Premier League, seems a left-field choice to lead Newcastle, but manager Alan Pardew believes Barton has earned the opportunity.

“Everyone will be watching him to see how he handles it, but he deserves the chance to take on that responsibility – not just with his displays but also his behaviour,” Pardew told the Newcastle Journal.

“There is a maturity and a calmness about Joey and, apart from one mishap against Blackburn (when he punched Morten Gamst Pedersen), he has kept his control.”

While Barton-bashers may be keeping a close eye on how he deals with – or deals out – his added responsibility, Villa boss Houllier will be too busy watching the weekend’s results unfold.

Villa are 16th in the standings and two points above the bottom three, and could already be inside the drop zone by kickoff on Sunday depending on the results of fixtures involving fellow relegation battlers Wolverhampton, West Ham United and Blackpool.

Houllier was backed by the Villa board as early as this week, with chief executive Paul Faulkner declaring the Frenchman had ‘total support’ from the club.

But the same cannot be said of the supporters, who showered Houllier with vitriol after a 1-0 loss to Wolves in Villa’s last home match on March 19.

Houllier’s tenure is only going to come under increased scrutiny unless the club starts winning, and for that the manager will likely turn to Darren Bent.

The England striker became Villa’s record signing when he ditched Sunderland for a fee of 24 million pounds in January, and has scored five times in nine appearances for the Midlands club.

Should he score again on Sunday, he will become Villa’s joint top-scorer alongside Stewart Downing and Ashley Young.

Nolan shapes as Newcastle’s biggest absentee, but the Magpies could be boosted by the long-awaited debut of Stephen Ireland.

Jose Enrique and Leon Best are also a possibility to make Pardew’s squad after progressing well from hamstring and ankle injuries respectively.

Aston Villa have no fresh injury concerns.

Arsene Wenger and Carlo Ancelotti have both talked up their title chances, despite being six points off the leaders Manchester United. You can understand their optimism given that both sides still have to play the Red Devils in the run-in, but I can’t help but feel that the horse has already bolted on this occasion.

In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that include Houllier hospitalised after being taken ill; Inter plan a summer raid on Spurs, while Ian Holloway admits that Charlie Adam’s future is out of his hands.

*

Wenger refuses to concede Arsenal’s title challenge is over – Guardian

We haven’t a clue! FA admit they are in the dark over Leeds’ ownership – Daily Mail

Houllier hospitalised after being taken ill – Guardian

We can still win it! Ancelotti’s rallying cry as Chelsea climb into second – Daily Mail

Inter plan summer raid on Spurs (but not for Bale) – Mirror

Platini apologises for Wembley prices – Guardian

Adam’s future out of my control – Holloway – Mirror

Carrick unfazed by United fixture pile-up – Daily Telegraph

Dimi: I’ll be the Berba of Seville – Sun

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Pardew Sow keen on Lille hitman – Sun

[divider]

[ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’right’]

[divider]

Kenny Dalglish has been rewarded for his performance as caretaker manager of Liverpool with a permanent three-year contract.A league championship winner as a player and manager at the Anfield club, Dalglish, 60, took over on a temporary basis following the dismissal of Roy Hodgson on January 8.

The Scotsman has since guided the team from the lower reaches of the English Premier League to fifth place and into contention for a Europa League place.

After first resigning in 1991, he has now been re-appointed until 2014, with assistant manager Steve Clarke also agreeing a three-year permanent deal.

“I said when I took the job on in January that I was just happy to help the club out for the remainder of the season,” Dalglish said.

“Now the owners have decided in their wisdom that they want me to stay a little longer and it’s fantastic news for both myself and Steve Clarke that we have signed these contracts.”

“This is a unique football club and I’m delighted to have the opportunity to help build something special here again.”

“I also want to pay tribute to Steve Clarke’s input since we started working together … the players enjoy the training sessions, understand their relevance to our actual football games and have responded brilliantly.”

John W Henry, the principal of Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group, believes the decision to appoint Dalglish on a permanent basis was an easy one given the team’s considerable improvement during his tenure.

“Kenny is a legendary Liverpool figure both as a supremely gifted footballer and successful manager,” Henry said.

“Since returning in January he has shown extraordinary leadership and the ability to bring the best out of so many people associated with the club.”

“It was obvious to us very early on that the atmosphere surrounding the club had been transformed by his presence. No one else could have produced such a response.”

“Therefore, I’m delighted we have agreed to a new contract. We didn’t need nor want to look elsewhere for the right man to manage the team.”

“I’m also pleased we have reached an agreement with Steve Clarke, as his contribution to Kenny’s backroom team has been significant over the past four months.”

Relegated Blackpool are likely to lose goal ace DJ Campbell, who is determined to continue playing in the Premier League.The striker, who scored 13 goals last season, still has two years left on his contract with the Seasiders but a relegation clause allows him to move if another club bids upwards of one million pounds.

Sunderland and QPR have all shown interest in the 29-year-old, with Fulham also keeping tabs on the situation.

“I love Blackpool and we had a better season than many people expected but to go down was heartbreaking,” Campbell told the Gazette.

“I played in the Prem before with Birmingham, and maybe I wasn’t ready then. But this time I was.”

“There’s nothing like playing at Old Trafford, Anfield and Stamford Bridge. Now I want more of it. I think I’ve proved I can play at the top.”

Blackpool manager Ian Holloway will be devastated if Campbell leaves, especially as the pair have a great relationship.

Holloway spent all last summer tying up his signature, eventually agreeing a club record 1.25 million pounds deal with Leicester on transfer deadline day.

“DJ is a terrific striker and at times he is unplayable,” he said.

“It goes without saying I want him here next season, because I believe he can score goals at any level.”

“His movement is second to none, and the way he works for the team in such a selfless manner is great.”

“He is also a cracking lad and the kind of person you want in a dressing room.”

West Ham are confident they will be Olympic Stadium tenants, but Steve McClaren will not be leading them in the Championship.Hammers chairman David Gold has reaffirmed the east London outfit’s commitment to move to the Olympic Stadium despite their relegation from the English Premier league, with the club having factored in a loss of revenue after dropping to England’s second tier.

“Oh no, absolutely not,” Gold told Sky Sports, when asked if their move to the stadium was affected by relegation, which had been confirmed on Sunday.

“We were budgeting last year for relegation, fortunately we managed to survive under (Gianfranco) Zola.”

“There are absolutely no financial issues at all. We’d always budgeted for the possibility of relegation.”

Speculation has begun in earnest over who will replace the sacked Avram Grant at the Hammers, but former England boss McClaren has announced he does not want the hot seat at the relegated club.

“It is very flattering to be linked with a club of West Ham’s size and historic stature, also one that has tremendous fans,” McClaren told Sky Sports.

“However, at this moment in time I do not wish to be considered for the position. But I wish everybody at West Ham all the very best for the future.”

Despite McClaren’s declaration, Gold said the club would aspire to hire a manager at their earliest convenience to begin the work of guiding West Ham back into the top flight.

“The sooner the better, that is important,” he said.

“There is lots of work to do, an enormous amount of work. But at the same time we mustn’t be rushed.”

“This will be a very, very important appointment. We are choosing a manager capable of getting us out of the Championship and continuing once we’ve achieved that.”

“We are looking at everybody. It’s important that we have time for CVs to come in to us. I’m sure that there will be many managers who will see the West Ham job as challenging and exciting.”

“It’s important that we pick the right person.”

With Mark Hughes, Carlo Ancelotti and Gerard Houllier leaving their respective posts recently, I want to analyse where the managerial art has gone.

Firstly, I understand that there are circumstances that can’t be helped. Houllier was ill, his ticker couldn’t take it and despite having a record of re-building teams to some success (e.g the treble winning Liverpool side of 2000-01), there was no way that the board could get the assurances they needed.

He is clearly upset at not having the opportunity to oversee the development of a team with bags of potential, stating; ‘I am extremely disappointed that I will not have the opportunity to manage Aston Villa next season’.

He must feel robbed, deprived of an intriguing project that might have brought success to the ambitious club given more time.

Instead, his lasting legacy will be the signing of Darren Bent in January, leaving behind him a more than capable strike force.

His situation differs to Mark Hughes, who has jumped at the chance to further his career, clearly viewing Fulham as ‘stepping stone’.

Upon resigning, he claimed that he had left a ‘strong foundation from which they can go forward’, a foundation that will surely be wiped away and built on again by a new manager looking to develop and integrate his own management styles.

Having been introduced into management 7 years ago, Hughes has had predominately successful spells at Wales, Blackburn and Fulham.

At Manchester City, he was in charge of a club that would sign anyone and everyone to achieve success. He handled his egotistical squad well and produced some exciting football, but their final position wasn’t enough to convince the owners and the one project he might have been excited about was snatched away from him.

Despite demonstrating his abilities as a top flight manager, it is frustrating to witness his refusal to commit to a team who lack the funds of the big boys.

It is hard, but not impossible to build something that can challenge for a Champions League birth. Just look at what Harry Redknapp has achieved at Tottenham, taking over a side that was in the relegation zone and bereft of confidence and transforming them into top four contenders.

Sure he had access to more money perhaps than Hughes, but he also showed faith in players that were becoming a laughing stock. Gareth Bale is now one of the world’s premier players, as opposed to the guy that didn’t win a match of football for 24 games.

Players such as Bobby Zamora can become hugely effective if they have the backing of their manager, as proved under Roy Hodgson before unfortunately breaking his leg. I accept this a farfetched statement, but could he have been the next Gareth Bale?

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Whether it is at the top or bottom of the Premier League, the appreciation of this perverse football hierarchy at some clubs is rife. Certain managers have this sickening reverence to the teams that have the most money, rather than focusing on their job.

There appears to be less respect of the managerial art by greedy chairmen looking to play a real life version of the PC game Football Manager.

All this has left me confronting the actuality that we may never see another manager like Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger or Bill Shankly, a sad indictment of the modern game.

Read more of Lewis Constable’s articles at This Is Futbol

It’s now becoming a commonplace in modern day football to see young English players being bought and sold for wallet aching transfer fees.  The value of these players has continued to soar higher and higher with each passing season seeing another absurd height reached.

2011 has already seen four players fee’s smash the £100 million mark in cumulative transfer fees. Liverpool have invested heavily in Andy Carroll and Jordan Henderson whilst Manchester United have spent big on Phil Jones and Ashley Young. Apart from Young, who has been performing consistently for four years at Aston Villa, the rest can hardly be labelled as experienced players.

Carroll’s transfer is the most baffling of the lot with the Merseyside club shelling out a staggering £35 million pounds for his services in January. It really does beg the question as to whether these clubs have more money than sense or is there a serious issue in the production of quality English players starting at grassroots level?

It’s likely that a mix of the two is causing the downward spiral in quality and speedy rise in price. The standard of English players certainly has decreased over the last 10 years or so and big clubs seem to be panic buying. Many have seen the failings of the national side and come to the conclusion that England are now producing more players at an average standard. It seems that when one really good player comes through the ranks the vultures all start circling and a bidding war ensues.

The transfer of Carroll is the best example of the lot.  For Liverpool to pay such an extortionate amount of money for a player with very little experience is staggering. From the eyes of a Newcastle fan I was sad to see him leave because he did well for us but £35 million for an academy graduate who is very limited in what he does was too hard to turn down. Obviously Tottenham were interested and they’ve been known to splash the cash before but even they weren’t stupid enough to pay the fee. To put it into perspective, David Villa moved to Barcelona just a few months earlier for the same fee. Which one would you have in your team?

[ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’right’]

Don’t get me wrong Carroll is a good player if you mould the team around his style of play, which Newcastle did to great effect. But for a player with only six months Premier League experience, 11 goals and a hoard of off the field problems it seems hard for Liverpool to justify the outlay on him. The same applies to Jordan Henderson who has played consistently in the last two years for Sunderland but hasn’t set the world alight. He isn’t a midfielder who will score important goals, create openings or take a game by the scruff of the neck and drag his team to victory.

For Liverpool to open their chequebook and pay £55 million for the two is ludicrous. Looking at their strategy it seems as if they are playing the transfer window like an adolescent on Championship Manager. Spending like this is nothing short of madness and is leaving clubs with crippling debts.

A more serious problem in the decline in English talent is the state of the grassroots game. It’s been well documented that there are participation problems with the number players, coaches and referee’s falling dramatically. Issues like pitches, facilities, and behaviour and coincidentally, the cost to actually play football, is driving people away.  To get young players out onto the pitch is becoming increasingly difficult for parents and clubs financially.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

If money is the problem then it’s up to the FA to rectify the problem.  They aren’t pumping enough money in to alleviate these problems despite it staring them right in the face. Coaching standards are falling and this is having an effect on a player’s ability to learn and evolve. Youngsters aren’t being given the opportunity to play, be coached and guided properly before they are spotted by a club and taken on. A majority of these players will fail to make the grade at a professional top-flight club because of this.

The small number of English players that do fulfil their potential, come through the ranks and show glimpses of their talent are instantly snapped up and lured by the bright lights of big clubs. This also puts the selling club in a strong bargaining position to get the best and most extortionate price possible which is wrong. The smaller clubs, both in the Premier League and Football League, who are producing the players, are merely turning into feeders for the bigger clubs.

Desperation to secure the best English players ahead of their rival’s means it’s impossible for smaller club to resist hiking up the price in the midst of a bidding war. With Carroll now the most expensive English player in history it will be no surprise if one of our own finally breaks the £100 million barrier. When that day comes we’ll know for sure that football has finally lost touch with reality.

There is no more sobering a moment as a football fan than when you see players that are younger than you start filtering into the first teams of clubs at any level. But when those players then go on to secure big-money moves to European giants like Bayern Munich at the end of their first year of football, well that’s just plain depressing.

Obviously it is Dale Jennings, formerly of Tranmere Rovers in League 1, who is being discussed here. But one of the nagging questions about this move is why he ended up on a plane to Germany when there were surely plenty of other suitors in England?

What is important to remember about this transfer is that it is highly unlikely that Jennings will appear regularly, if at all, for the Bavarian side for the first couple of seasons that he is at the club. While this might seem like a backward step due to the fact that he has just finished his first full year in first team football, he is heading to Munich as a young player with a lot to still learn. Arguably Germany has a much better system of progression from youth team through to First Team than a lot of clubs in England, particularly those playing at the upper end of the Premier League.

An example of this can be seen from the sheer number of players that have made the step up from Bayern Munich II, the reserve team, to the Bayern first team. The set-up in Germany, similar to how it works in Spain, is that the reserve teams play in leagues against other non-reserve teams. This allows the players to achieve promotion (up to a certain point), suffer relegation and feel as if they are part of an actual team rather than the back-up squad in case of injury to a ‘genuine’ star player. Players such as Dietmar Hamann, Owen Hargreaves and Bastian Schweinsteiger all began life in the Bayern II squad before breaking into the first team. Last season’s club captain Philipp Lahm also started in the same squads, however he was loaned out to Stuttgart for 2 years before being brought back to the Allianz Arena.

The system seems to work better than in the top clubs in England, with the likes of Manchester United buying in the majority of the young players that will eventually play regularly in the first team, such as Chris Smalling and Phil Jones. Although Bayern have in fact done this to bring Jennings to the club, it is a move that the player himself will have to work extremely hard on in order to make it a success. He has burdened himself with having to learn a new language, a new culture and a different style of football at a young age, which is an extremely brave thing to do.

Bayern also called upon the testimony of the previously mentioned Dietmar Hamann while weighing up their options. The former Liverpool and Manchester City midfielder reassured the club that from what he had seen, Jennings had the makings of a great player and would fit well into life in Germany.

What we as fans of the English game should worry about is that this could have been a move inspired by Jennings realising that going abroad would make him a better player. After all, that is the reason that the host of foreign stars that arrive to play in England give at their first press conferences. Is it possible that we no longer offer the best chance for young British talent to fully develop because of the nature of our transfer market? If so, it is a worrying trend should it continue.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Is the Jennings transfer a sign of things to come? Or is this simply a case of an exceptionally-talented young player achieving a dream move? Let me know what you think on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/_tomclose

[ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’right’]

League Two side Crawley Town have upstaged AFC Wimbledon 3-2 in their Carling Cup qualifying clash on Friday.Crawley made headlines last season with a fairytale run in the FA Cup, which saw them travel to Old Trafford where they lost to Manchester United in the fifth round.

After earning promotion by winning the Conference National division, Crawley have begun their League Cup campaign in style by coming from behind twice to beat fellow promoted side Wimbledon.

The visitors at Broadfield Stadium took the lead on 26 minutes, when Luke Moore found the back of the net, before Hope Akdan ensured the sides went to the break at 1-1 with his 38th-minute effort.

Wimbledon off-season signing Jack Midson, acquired from Oxford United, put his new side back in front just a minute into the second half.

But goals to Sergio Torres (53rd minute) and Matt Tubbs (64th) ensured the home side will enter the League Cup’s first round proper, where they will take on Championship side Crystal Palace.

Kenny Dalglish may have to sell before he can buy if he wishes to make further additions to the squad this summer. Damien Comolli hinted that further funds need to be generated by clearing some of the dead wood at Anfield.

At FFC this week we have seen a mixed bag of blogs that include Liverpool should learn from their mistakes with Torres; Gerrard speculation wide of the mark and what next for Lucas Leiva?

We also look at the best Liverpool articles around the web this week.

*

Is this Liverpool’s ideal starting XI next season?

Has Kenny Dalglish done enough?

What next for Lucas Leiva?

Liverpool should learn from their mistakes with Torres when handling Suarez

Are Liverpool sacrificing long-term development for short-term gain?

Why speculation about Gerrard is wide of the mark

Conflict of Styles or Will it All Blend Together at Liverpool?

Liverpool set to sign young duo

Liverpool now favourites to land Championship ace

*Best of WEB*

Did we do justice to the £47million spent this summer? – Live4Liverpool

The youth of today, the stars of tomorrow – Liverpool FC’s academy – This is Anfield

Do Liverpool Possess Enough ‘Magic’? – Tomkins Times

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

What happened the last time Dalglish rebuilt a Liverpool side? – Our Kop

Out Of The Frying Pan…? – This is Anfield

*

Click on Davide’s misses below to see here in all her glory