Martin O’Neill is reportedly in line to replace Avram Grant as West Ham United manager, regardless of the outcome of Saturday’s match against Arsenal.West Ham are bottom of the English Premier League, but have lost only one of their last seven games under Grant, seemingly earning the former Chelsea manager a stay of execution.
West Ham beat Birmingham City 2-1 in a Carling Cup semi-final first leg on Tuesday, but it appears even having one foot in a Wembley final will not be enough to dissuade West Ham owners David Gold and David Sullivan from showing Grant the exit.
The 55-year-old Israeli, who took over at Upton Park with a four-year deal in June 2010, has been consistently linked with the sack throughout a difficult first half of the season for West Ham.
He left Fratton Park after failing to save Portsmouth from relegation in 2009/10 and was also removed as Chelsea manager in 2008, despite guiding both clubs to the FA Cup and Champions League finals respectively.
Survival specialist Sam Allardyce, who was dismissed from Blackburn Rovers in December, had been tipped to replace Grant, but O’Neill has now emerged as the surprise front-runner.
The 58-year-old Northern Irishman – a former Leicester City and Celtic boss – made an abrupt exit from Aston Villa at the beginning of the season.
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After reportedly walking out of Villa Park due to transfer budget cuts and a perceived lack of ambition from the club’s owner, he is an unlikely choice to take over at relegation-threatened West Ham.
West Ham host title challengers Arsenal at Upton Park on Saturday.
Aston Villa boss Gerard Houllier has praised his ‘physically and technically superior’ side for outlasting Wigan Athletic 2-1 on Tuesday.
Gabriel Agbonlahor headed Villa into the lead five minutes after the restart of the English Premier League encounter, and Ashley Young made it 2-0 from the penalty spot 12 minutes later.
James McCarthy drew one back for Wigan in the 80th minute but Villa held on through a frenetic final 10 minutes plus stoppage time to record back-to-back wins for the first time under Houllier.
The Villa boss, who took over the position left vacant by Martin O’Neill in September, was delighted by the character shown by his side to hold on for a valuable three points at DW Stadium.
“I think we had everything,” Houllier told Sky Sports.
“They (Wigan) really made it difficult at the start. We had a couple of chances but we didn’t control the game as much as we did in the second-half.”
“I think we were physically and technically superior to them. The players today, in terms of the discipline and the effort, were tremendous.”
He added: “It’s never easy. There’s a very fine line between winning and losing.”
“I was disappointed because I wanted to see a clean sheet for the defenders. But at the same time I was happy with the way we reacted. They were composed and confident and not scared.”
“But I was very pleased with my players because, after a huge game against Manchester City (on Saturday), I thought that some of them could be flat.”
“But they worked very hard, probably as hard as they did last Saturday. Nathan Baker and (Jean) Makoun, I thought, did extremely well.”
Wigan boss Roberto Martinez was deflated by the loss but could still take a number of positives from the close-run match.
“When you play at home, you are disappointed (to lose),” Martinez said.
“But, looking at the first-half that we had, we created two very good chances and sometimes that lack of composure, or good defending, will stop you from getting that first goal.”
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“In the second half, in a very short period, we conceded a goal from a corner and then the second goal from a penalty is a real mountain to climb.”
“But the reaction from then on was brilliant to see; we got one goal back and it seems like, if the game had been longer, we would have got something.”
“I’ve got no problem with losing a football game when you show that desire and that effort. I think the players today performed in a great manner.”
“We never gave in and that’s very, very important.”
Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini blamed poor refereeing decisions for his side’s 2-0 Coppa Italia quarter-final loss to Roma on Thursday.
Roma took the lead after 65 minutes when Mirko Vucinic finished well after being picked out by a quality ball from Daniele De Rossi, and Rodrigo Taddei put the result beyond doubt with a 90th-minute strike.
But Chiellini believes his side should have been awarded a penalty when Alessandro Del Piero was brought down by Philippe Mexes late in the second half, and insisted the Roma defender should have been sent off for the challenge.
“I am disappointed to go out of the Coppa Italia,” Chiellini said.
“The game was headed for a 0-0 draw and without a piece of magic would not have been unlocked. “
“If then Del Piero had got a penalty and Mexes had been sent off, we would perhaps have seen a different game.”
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“That aside we experienced a difficult moment. The players coming back from injury are forced to play immediately and can’t recover calmly.”
“We have to roll up our sleeves and get back to winning ways with the help of our fans.”
As a child, I can still distinctly remember being told by my dad about a young Northern Ireland midfielder named Paul McVeigh. Apparently, the young prodigy was mustard, and reminiscent of his countryman the late great George Best (sans the whisky). He could beat people for fun, me’old Dad told said, and was going to be a star! Unfortunately, this didn’t quite turn out to be the case…
Ever since, like many Tottenham fans, I am cynical whenever I hear about a youngster Tottenham are about to sign, or is emerging from the youth team, as it’s fair to say, over the years, there have been one too many Paul McVeighs…
So here they are in all their glory, the Tottenham wonder kids that never were, or as I like to call them, latter day John Bostocks…
Steffen Iversen
Iversen served the club well between 1996 and 2003, winning the League Cup with Tottenham in 1999, and was by no means a poor player. However, when Iversen signed for Spurs, it was viewed as a real coup. Iversen had scored 18 goals in 50 appearances for Rosenborg BK, and his contribution to their success led Spurs to spend £2.7m on the striker, with clubs all over Europe looking at the player. Despite a promising first season, where he scored six goals including a hat-trick against Sunderland at Roker Park, Iversen never became the goal scorer fans hoped. Injuries halted his progress, and Iversen failed to live up to the hype.
Jonathan Blondel
Blondel signed for Tottenham in August 2002, with Glenn Hoddle and David Pleat confirming they had convinced the young Belgian to sign for Spurs over Manchester United. Blondel’s signature was thus celebrated in North London as a major coup at the time. In hindsight, Blondel had only played 18 times for his club Royal Excelsior Mouscron, and despite his reputation and fee (Spurs had spent £800k on the youngster), he had only been playing in the Belgium league. Blondel was hyped as a skilful attacking midfielder that would soon be challenging the likes of Freund, Poyet and Anderton for places. In actual fact, Blondel would make just two substitute appearances, before being shipped off to Club Bruges. Spending £800k on a player, playing him twice, then allowing him to leave on a free two seasons later, may not make sense to most, but is classic Tottenham.
Helder Postiga
After José Mourinho took over the reigns as Porto manager, Postiga soon exploded onto the scene in Portugal. He scored 13 goals in their 2002–03 campaign, and before his twenty-first birthday had become a star in Portugal, earning a permanent slot in the Portuguese under-21 side. This prompted Glenn Hoddle to part with £6.25m to bring Helder to White Hart Lane, with much expected from the Portuguese. Hoddle told the official Spurs website:
“He is a player who will add definite striking quality to our squad and is a young player of proven ability… I’m sure our supporters will enjoy watching him over the coming seasons.”
Actually, Postiga would make only 12 full appearances and score just 2 goals with Spurs.
Well done Glenn.
Continued on Page TWO
Simon Davies and Matthew Etherington
Davies and Etherington are perhaps unfairly placed on this list, as it was not their fault that Championship Manager 1999/2000 had rendered the pair famous. On ‘Champ’, the Peterborough duo were awesome, (although Davies was always the better player for me), but hopefully, that’s not why George Graham departed with £700k to bring them to the club in December 1999.
The dreaded words ‘Manchester United’ and ‘trial’ can also be attributed here, as the pair were both given the once over (not like that, grow up) by Alex Ferguson. However, the boys ended up at White Hart Lane, and it was only a matter of time before they brought the title with them…
Unfortunately, Etherington turned out to have an inability to cross the ball, whilst Simon Davies could be blown away with a gust of wind. In the end the only thing that developed whilst the pair were at the Lane, was Etherington’s penchant for a flutter.
In fairness, both presently have careers with Premier League clubs, and Etherington is now cured of his afflictions after attending Tony Adams’ Sporting Chance Clinic. However, they remain yet two more examples of Tottenham wonder kids that never were…
Wayne Routledge
At the time most Spurs fans were probably thinking “Wow, if Simon Jordan is this hacked off about losing Routledge, he must simply be a super football player!” Now plying his trade with Premier League chasing Newcastle United, it is clear that Routledge didn’t quite live up to the hype.
The lad joined the Spurs from Crystal Palace for an ‘undisclosed fee’ in August 2005. However, the fee was supposedly just over £1m, and seeing as though Routledge helped Spurs win the Peace Cup pre-season, where the prize money was around £1m, technically he paid for himself.
Routledge was just 20 when he came to Spurs, and after creating 8 assists for Palace the season before, it was believed he would be just what Tottenham needed on the wing. After impressing in pre-season however, Routledge suffered a bad injury on the opening day of the season. A certain 17 year old Aaron Lennon came in to replace him, and Routledge never won his place back…
After a succession of loans at the likes of Portsmouth and Fulham, Routledge eventually left Spurs for Aston Villa in January 2008. After all the effort Tottenham had gone to, the wonder kid inside never materialized… perhaps Simon Jordan was right after all.
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Bobby Zamora
Zamora joined Glenn Hoddle’s Tottenham revolution in 2003 for a fee of £1.5m. Zamora had an excellent record in the lower leagues, his 70 goals in 119 league games helping Brighton and Hove Albion win back to back promotions to the Championship, or First Division as it was then.
Predictably, the Tottenham faithful didn’t take to the clumsy looking Zamora, and the fact that he had been highly rated before joining only added to the disappointment when he left the club, deemed failure.
Last season saw Zamora’s stock rise and an England call-up to boot, so Zamora is clearly not a bad player. However, at Tottenham, like so many before him, he failed to produce the goods.
Zamora left the club just 6 months after joining in January 2004, with Jermain Defoe coming the other way in an player-exchange plus cash deal with West Ham. Zamora managed just 16 league appearances, and managed just one goal… sighs.
Well, there you have it, a team of wonder kids who never quite did it for the super Spurs. With the likes of John Bostock doing their best to go the same way, there might well be more inclusions to add in a few years time. However, for now let’s push the doom and gloom out of our minds and believe that somewhere out there, the next Helder Postiga is ready and waiting to heed the Tottenham call…
You can find me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mark0turner
In lieu of the best nights for English football, which I will look at later this week, hopefully after a Tottenham and Arsenal double, (19/1 with bet365) I look back on the worst nights for English clubs in European football.
This week is sure to provide some amazing memories for English fans, be it through victory or loss, the games of Arsenal v Barcelona and AC Milan v Tottenham will prove to be colossal occasions. Today I look back on some of the worst nights for English football.
Be it through loss, tragedy or violence, here are the TOP TEN worst European nights for English clubs. I am going through the list chronologically, so this is almost like a history of the worst nights in European football. We start in 1958 with one of the most tragic incidents in footballing history…
Click on Didier Drogba below to see the TOP TEN
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West Ham manager Avram Grant is relishing the ‘challenge’ ahead of him to keep his side in the Premier League.Grant’s side welcome Stoke to Upton Park on Saturday and a win would see the East Londoners climb out of the bottom three.And Grant claims he is thriving on the pressure as the relegation battle heats up.”I feel the pressure and I enjoy it as much as you can,” he said. “If you are in a comfortable position it’s enjoyable but pressure can push you to think of solutions and what you can do better, so I think the pressure is good. Another word for pressure is challenge and I like the challenge.”West Ham have been reinvigorated of late and are currently sixth in the form table behind the ‘big four’ and Tottenham, but Grant is unwilling to set his team a points target that could secure safety.”Even if you calculate it, it doesn’t affect the preparation for the games,” he said.”We want to win every game and each team in the last 10 places from the bottom has the chance to be relegated.””When we are at our best we are hard to beat, but we have tough games and no game will be easy, including tomorrow (Saturday).”Stoke are on a run of five successive Premier league away defeats but Grant is well aware of their threat.”Even the top teams have a difficult game against Stoke. They are very well organised, have a good manager who knows how to get the best from his players, but we must do our job and take the points,” he said.Demba Ba almost joined Stoke in January but a deal fell through after the Senegalese striker failed a medical. But he has adjusted quickly to life at West Ham with three goals in two league starts and Grant was quick to praise his impact.”I followed him for a long time in the Bundesliga. I like his movement and intelligence. He can score goals and we have seen that in the last games. He is not at his best yet but every game he is getting better,” Grant said.Captain Scott Parker looks set to return after his shoulder injury and defender Matthew Upson has recovered from an Achilles injury while midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger has also been declared fit.
Defender Cristian Chivu has recovered from a calf injury and should play for Inter against league leaders Milan on Saturday.Chivu had been in doubt after injuring his leg during Romania’s training camp ahead of the Euro 2012 qualifier against Bosnia last Friday.
The return of Chivu is good news for Inter boss Leonardo, who will be without suspended centre-back Lucio, while Walter Samuel still isn’t match fit.
Leonardo is expected to play Chivu at centre-back alongside Italy international Andrea Ranocchia.
Meanwhile Inter striker Samuel Eto’o, the Serie A’s leading goalscorer this season with 19, does not expect the match to decide the title race.
Milan are two points clear of their cross-town rivals but Eto’o believes there is plenty of football left in this campaign.
“The derby is a game that can change the course of the championship for just one week,? the striker told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“After the game there will be another seven matches to go and only the last four rounds will decide who wins it.”
“But it all depends on Milan because they are first at the minute. If they win all of their remaining games then they will take the title.”
“They are the favourites, the favourites are always the team who are first.”
Milan will go into the game without the suspended Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but the former Barcelona player is happy with another absentee.
“It?s good that my great friend Pippo Inzaghi isn?t available,” he continued.
“He?s one of the best centre-forwards in the world, one who hurts you when you least expect it.”
The Cameroon international has been in fine form this season where he has averaged 0.78 goals per game across all club competitions.
“I don?t know if this is the best year of my career, but I know that the older you get the more you try to improve on what you did in the previous campaign.”
With Kenny Dalglish expected to take the Liverpool manager’s job permanently in the summer, both he and Director of Football Damien Comolli will be looking to shape a squad capable of challenging for the Premier League. With Comolli stating it will be a “busy summer” in the transfer market, it looks as if Reds owner Fenway Sports Group will be looking to splash some cash. With perhaps 4 or 5 players needed in the summer (two wingers, left back, defensive midfielder and a centre back?), a clearout of deadwood will be needed.
Starting with the strikers, the arrival of Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez, means there is greater strength up front but I think we can expect Serbian forward Milan Jovanovic to depart this summer. He has been used relatively little by both Roy Hodgson and Kenny Dalglish, and rejected a move to Wolfsburg in January. I anticipate the Serbian to depart just a year after arriving from Standard Liege on a free transfer. The future of David Ngog is a little less certain. Although still young at 22 years of age, Comolli and Dalglish may seek to look for another striker, and with Dirk Kuyt being used more often as a striker, instead of Ngog, under Dalglish, there is a chance of the Frenchman leaving if another striker arrives.
The midfield is certainly the area where most changes will be implemented in the summer. With Christian Poulsen completely failing to adapt to the pace of the Premier League, the Dane will almost certainly be departing in the summer with Udinese his most likely destination. It will leave Lucas Leiva as the only really effective defensive midfielder in the squad, barring Jay Spearing, and I would expect Damien Comolli is already scouting a new holding midfielder. Moussa Sissoko stated to L’Equipe yesterday that he is seeking to leave Toulouse and the Reds have been touted as a possible destination. In regards to Alberto Aquilani, the future is less certain than Poulsen’s and he could very well find himself back at Anfield come the summer.
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In regards to the wings, the failures of Jovanovic, Maxi Rodriguez and Joe Cole to really perform to their optimum level means all three of their places in the squad are under threat. As mentioned above, Jovanovic is likely to go, but the summer could also see Joe Cole departing. Injuries and a lack of form have hampered the former England international’s first year at Anfield, and the fact that he is not a regular starter in league matches under Dalglish, means there are massive question marks over his future. With ex Reds, and other pundits, calling out for wingers to support Andy Carroll, Comolli and Dalglish will probably be very focused on this area of the pitch, and Maxi Rodriguez maybe the only one to survive as a squad player next season.
At the back, the massive problem for the Reds, over the last couple of years, has been at left back. Paul Konchesky looks set to return to Fulham next summer after not even being given a game by Dalglish before being sent out on loan to Notts Forest. The constant injuries to Fabio Aurelio will also mean that the Reds may look for two full backs in the summer. Emiliano Insua is likely to return from his loan spell at Galatasaray, and could fill one of the two spots if deemed worthy by Dalglish, but I would anticipate the Argentine departing this summer too. The centre of defence may also be addressed with Soto getting on in years and the big Greek maybe a surprise departure in the summer if the Reds can find a suitable younger replacement who can also deputise for the injury prone Daniel Agger.
In goal, everyone hopes Pepe Reina will stay but his future is still up in the air. The deputy goalkeeper Brad Jones may depart though as Dalglish has sent the player out on loan to get first team action while using young keepers as reserves for Reina.
Read more of David’s articles at Live4Liverpool
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Former France defender Lilian Thuram will launch the opening of a new football stadium in El-Bireh, Ramallah, on Thursday.The 1998 World Cup winner has taken time to visit the Qalandia refugee camp in Ramallah, where he met with boys studying at a United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) school.
The 142-time France representative has been invited by the Palestinian Football Association to open the new stadium.
“I think it is very important to come to these places to see the reality and this is the case of Palestine,” Thuram said.
“It is a personal experience and it is a very important visit.”
Thuram said it was important to understand the traditions of the locals, particularly the younger children.
“I found that it is very important to understand the children’s history and their culture,” Thuram said.
“I am originally from Caribbean Islands and my favourite dance is the traditional dance of the Caribbean Islands.”
In 2010, France contributed almost US$10million to the UNRWA.
UNRWA spokesperson Chris Guinness said it was important for the area to benefit from the presence of a French football legend.
Bayer Leverkusen are not giving up their pursuit of Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund as the season nears its climax.With only three games to close a five-point gap, the onus is on Leverkusen to take maximum points, while hoping that Dortmund slip up in their remaining three matches.
Leverkusen manager Jupp Heynckes – who will leave the club for Bayern Munich at the end of the season – needs only to look at history to see that such a feat is not impossible.
The roles were reversed in the 2001/02 season, with Leverkusen five points clear of Dortmund. But a late push from Dortmund saw them close that gap and claim the title, leaving Leverkusen with a score to settle.
But Heynckes was reluctant to buy into the title talk, instead preferring to concentrate on earning a Champions League place ahead of Bayern and Hannover.
“I think we should not get involved in all the speculation,” Heynckes said ahead of his side’s meeting with Cologne on Saturday.
“As I have said before it is a huge performance by the team (and) the club that after seven years we will be back in the Champions League. And we will manage it. I am convinced that we will manage the three points.”
Borussia Dortmund have led the Bundesliga table for much of the season, though their commanding grip on the title has slipped after an unconvincing run of form after the German winter break.
Losses to Hoffenheim and Borussia Moenchengladbach have left the door ajar for Leverkusen.
Dortmund manager Juergen Klopp conceded that the situation can be tense for fans, but is confident that they will soon have something to celebrate.
“It is close of course,” he said.
“And as I have said before, this is not the sport for those who cannot deal with this. The higher you get, the thinner the air. If you are at the very top, then everyone can be put out. You therefore have to win every game.”
“That is the problem. We have only lost four games but still no decision has been made. I am sorry about this. I don’t think it is such a bad thing but those who want to can be with us on Saturday when we go the next step.”
Klopp’s men play host to Nuremberg on Saturday knowing that if they win and Leverkusen fail to triumph in Cologne, the title will return to Dortmund for the first time since the 2001/02 season.