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.”
The sight of Fernando Torres pulling up injured in the World Cup final would have been far more of a concern for Liverpool fans than those cheering the Spanish on. As with the last three seasons he has been at Anfield, he will be an integral part of any success Liverpool hope to achieve, and – assuming they can hold on to him -Roy Hodgson will hope he stays as fit as possible. But while Torres stuttered in South Africa, another Spanish forward has been excelling on the international stage.
Dani Pacheco has been the catalyst of another batch of talented Spaniards, at the under-19 European championships currently being played in France. The diminutive forward has been at Liverpool since 2007 after honing his craft at Barcelona’s La Cantera since he was 12. Although Liverpool have already picked up players in the transfer window – Cole, Shelvey, Wilson and Jovanovic – Hodgson isn’t blessed with an abundance of strikers. When Torres was absent last season Rafa Benitez turned to David N’Gog. Dirk Kuyt and Ryan Babel, both strikers in their native Holland, have been used in wide positions and it remains to be seen – with Babel especially – if they are given a chance down the middle. Pacheco made just four appearances last season, but if Hogdson looks at his new team as a blank canvas, it may be the least experienced of Liverpool’s strikers who catches the new manager’s eye.
Part of the reason that other strikers have found it hard to cement themselves in the Liverpool team has been Rafa Benitez’s preference for a single striker. When playing Torres, with Gerrard just behind, the two have excelled and the team has performed well. For the likes of Robbie Keane, Craig Bellamy and Peter Crouch, the lack of opportunities has seen them move on. Pacheco is still only 19 and may be more patient in waiting for his chance. Much will depend on whether Hodgson will buy another striker and what system he decides to play.
As with so many who have come through the ranks at Barcelona, Pacheco is blessed with quick feet, good passing and a clinical finish. With Joe Cole and a more settled Alberto Aquilani, the team will hopefully offer more creativity than last season. Far be it from me to tread over old ground, but Alonso was a loss last season, and already this squad looks a more balanced one than twelve months ago. If Liverpool are to play the type of football that they have been capable of in the past, Pacheco, along with the new signings, could add an extra spark.
The system Hodgson deploys will also play a part in how he can utilise Pacheco. At 5″6″, there is a lack of physical presence so being asked to fill in for Torres up front on his own may be asking too much. But playing alongside him, on either side of a front three, or even as a central midfielder would play to his strengths.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
While he is performing well for Spain at the moment, he is not playing in front of Hodgson every day like the rest of the squad, and the new boss may wait until he has cast his own eye on him properly. I’m not saying his performances will not have gone unnoticed, but I’d hope that the fact that he’s missing part of his club’s pre-season, and that he may not have had a decent rest over the summer, do not go against him when trying to break into the first team.
Clearly Liverpool haven’t been where they want to be over the last couple of years, and if ever there was an opportunity to start afresh and give new players and ideas a chance, this must surely be it. The ongoing frictions between the board and the pitch mean that funds are at a premium for Hodgson and his team. Maybe in Dani Pacheco he has what he needs right under his nose? He has consistently turned in quality performances for the reserves and youth team, and he may now be ready to make the step up.
Welcome ladies and gents to the live blog for tonight’s Carling Cup Fourth Round tie that sees Premier League champions Manchester United make the long and daunting trip down to Hampshire to face League Two minnows Aldershot Town.
Just 48 hours after their derby day humiliation Sir Alex Ferguson’s side will still be licking their wounds after being thrashed 6-1 by noisy neighbours City at Old Trafford. An insipid display from the Red Devils prompted Fergie to deal out some of the famous ‘hairdryer’ treatment to his players in the aftermath of their biggest home defeat since 1955.
It’s been reported that a number of senior players will be dropped by Ferguson tonight after their poor displays on Sunday with the likes of Michael Owen, Dimitar Berbatov, Antonio Valencia and Michael Carrick set to feature. There is the worry that the deflated squad may still be shaken and another embarrassing defeat at the hands of Dean Holdsworth’s Aldershot may be too much to handle. United should be confident though in what will be their 100th League Cup tie. They haven’t lost in the fourth round since 2006 when Freddy Eastwood’s delicious free kick gave Southend a memorable 1-0 victory at Roots Hall.
The Shots are the lowest ranked team left in the competition but have lost their last three home games at the Recreation Ground. In fact they’ve lost all three Carling Cup games since being promoted from the Conference in 2008 and haven’t progressed past the third round since 1984. Former Wimbledon striker Holdsworth has done a decent job since taking over in January and will be banking on 10-goal Danny Hylton to inspire his side to a giant-killing of epic proportions. Interestingly this is only the second time the two sides have met and the first since Aldershot Town were formed in 1992. Their last meeting came over 40 years ago when United strolled to a 3-1 win over the Shots in the League Cup. I’m sure they’d be happy with a similar result tonight!
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.
Many people have been a little disillusioned by many aspects of the World Cup in South Africa. There is a lot of fans and players that cannot stand the noisy vuvuzelas, others complain that the ball is too round and of course England’s failure to win their opener has upset a few…but at least Spain lost their opener and no team has ever won a World Cup after losing their first game.
Then there’s the TV coverage, why are the BBC paying Emmanuel Adebayor to appear as a pundit on Match of the Day Live, the guy embodies everything wrong with the beautiful game?
I did find his faux pas pretty funny though (Alan Shearer did too), when his phone rang during his analysis of the Japan v Cameroon game in Group E. The bemused looks on Gary Lineker and co’s face as they try to world out what the Adebayor is saying during his ramblings is quite amusing too, but in general there is nothing likeable about the man.
Like the vuvuzelas the Togolese forward generally just generates a load of hot air and noise, it seems an odd decision that the BBC pay him to talk rubbish at us…I suppose the likes of Mark Bright and Mark Lawrenson do that anyway, but Adebayor is even worse than them and adds nothing to the programme.
As a player Adebayor has become something of a hate figure, especially amongst Arsenal fans after he left the club in search of money and completed an acrimonious move to Manchester City (after a history of claims and counter-claims over transfers) last summer for £25.5m. During the Citizen’s 4-2 victory over the Gunners at the City of Manchester Stadium he stole the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
During the game Adebayor scored and ran the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of his former fans and they were understandably incensed by the ex-Arsenal man’s stupid actions. Amongst other things a stool was thrown at him (no, not that kind of stool) and he put the safety of the stewards under threat by his actions.
When he’s not inciting crowd trouble he is kicking lumps out of his former team-mates and during the heated 4-2 game against Arsenal he hurt both Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie, who he studded in the face and was lucky he did not do more serious damage to the player.
After his actions since coming to the Premier League he has not exactly endeared himself to anyone (some say he is even more hated than Ashley Cole by Arsenal fans) and does not do a whole lot for Manchester City’s image, so he can’t be doing too much for the Beeb’s either.
What has Adebayor ever done? What has he achieved in the game that makes him a World Cup expert? His air of arrogance isn’t even warranted as he doesn’t possess the quality of other hate figures such as Didier Drogba or Cristiano Ronaldo as he won nothing at club or international level.
As much as I hold Abebayor in utter contempt perhaps there are worse things about the World Cup TV coverage like the talentless James Corden being allowed a primetime slot on ITV, or the constant talk about England even when we are not playing and the fact that irritating DJ Colin Murray has been installed as presenter on MOTD2.
Could the BBC have done a lot better than Adebayor? Don’t we deserve better pundits?
I expect Emmanuel Adebayor had to have a little media training before his BBC appearance, judging by this previous interview:
[youtube dA-DuGGCf68]
Follow me on Twitter
Get the latest World Cup news on Twitter
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
–
Click image below to see a gallery of the German babes at the World Cup:
Victor Wanyama has unequivocally committed his future to Tottenham by saying he wants to see out his contract – which runs until 2021 – at the club, according to Goal.com.
That shows just how committed Tottenham’s players are to the project Mauricio Pochettino is putting together and that unity should eventually lead to trophies, despite increased riches elsewhere.
What’s the story, then?
Wanyama told Goal that despite making just 18 Premier League appearances in an injury-hit 2017/18, he is committed to fulfilling his current deal at Tottenham, and is determined to feature more next season.
It goes on to say that the Kenyan international – who is valued at £27m by Transfermarkt – is happy at the club despite rumours linking him with a move away in the summer transfer window.
Pochettino needs the players to buy in
Tottenham have made impressive progress under Pochettino but the fact remains – and although the revamp of White Hart Lane is geared towards closing the gap, it will likely remain the case in future too – they cannot compete on the same financial plane as Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United, not to mention continental superpowers.
That means that keeping their elite players relies on them having major faith in what Pochettino is trying to achieve at the club, especially in the absence of tangible silverware to measure their improvement by.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Having a player such as Wanyama quell all doubts so early on shows that spirit is there on North London and with similar commitment from other players in the squad, Tottenham will eventually get the trophies to show for their performances.
Arsenal defender Calum Chambers posted on his official Twitter account after the 2-2 draw against Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night, and Gunners fans were quick to respond to his social media message.
Having failed to make a single Premier League appearance until the 3-2 win against Crystal Palace on December 28, the 22-year-old made his third consecutive top flight start against the Blues as Hector Bellerin’s last-gasp equaliser secured a point for Arsene Wenger’s side.
However, it wasn’t an easy night for the former Southampton man, who was thankful for Alvaro Morata’s poor finishing after he failed to stop the Spaniard getting a clear opportunity on goal.
Arsenal supporters were quick to react to Chambers’ tweet, and while one said “you are just a burden to Arsenal”, another said “take off that jersey and don’t ever wear it again”.
Mario Balotelli just loves making the headlines – it seems as if he is prepared to do anything to get himself on the back pages, (sometimes the front pages too).
Let’s run through the list of Balotelli antics. From celebrating a goal at Old Trafford with the words ‘why always me?’ strewn across his shirt to nearly burning his house down with a set of fireworks. Then we have randomly entering press conferences when your manager is speaking to shake everyone’s hands to struggling to put on a training bib. Poor Mario.
But wait is Mario really poor? The Italian striker is widely regarded as one of the gems of world football despite his pastimes off the field. His talents have finally been realised after leaving father figure (and child-minder) Roberto Mancini at the Etihad Stadium to join up with AC Milan (this via a fight with Mancini close to the end of his career in training).
It seems Mario’s talents aren’t limited to the football field however. Here is the great man playing piano for the legend that is Andrea Pirlo. The song is no less than the Italian national anthem. The charismatic Balotelli clearly doesn’t take himself too seriously unlike many of his Italian teammates (Pirlo himself perhaps?).
Check out the video below…
[youtube PuylbPlzbH0]
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Arsenal have agreed terms with Nuri Sahin, who will now move to north London on a season-long loan according to The Daily Mail.
The Emirates Stadium club are eager to bring in an extra central midfielder after selling Alex Song to Barcelona, and have been in pursuit of the Real Madrid playmaker for the last fortnight.
Sahin has found his opportunities in the Spanish capital limited since moving to the Santiago Bernabeu from Borussia Dortmund last year, and has prospects with Jose Mourinho’s team for 2012-13 were not good.
However, Sahin is eager to reignite his career with Arsene Wenger’s men, who have beaten off competition from Liverpool and AC Milan for the Turkey international’s hand.
There was a stall over the deal between the clubs, but a fee of £14 million has been agreed should the Gunners want to make Sahin’s move permanent next summer.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Tottenham Hotspur fans are eager for their club to do a deal for Ryan Sessegnon this summer after his latest stand-out performance for Fulham on Monday night.
The teenager was in lethal form against Derby County in the English Championship play-off semi-finals, scoring and assisting the two goals they required to book a place at Wembley to play Aston Villa.
Playing in a variety of defensive and attacking positions on the left flank this season, he’s scored an impressive 16 goals and assists seven times, emerging as one of the brightest English talents in the country.
The player is rated at £22.5m by Transfermarkt.
With Mauricio Pochettino having a track record for developing young, English prospects, a move to Spurs seems like a natural fit.
Fans certainly think so, believing he has the talent required to make it at the club and pleading with them to enter the transfer market for him this summer.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.