Category Uncategorized

Emmanuel Adebayor is one of the most gifted strikers in the Premier League, but he also possesses one of the most difficult personalities in the top flight. The Togolese front man is capable of brilliance and can be unplayable at times; one just has to look at his performance in Manchester City’s 4-2 win over Arsenal at Eastlands last season. In the match Adebayor scored a goal and dominated the Gunner’s defence, but also clashed with Robin van Persie’s head and rushed over to the away end to celebrate in front of the Arsenal fans, almost prompting a full blown riot in the process. Manchester City would have known they were getting this when they signed him, a match winner but also someone that can be a disruptive influence at the club. It has only taken one year at Eastlands before Adebayor is up to his old tricks, and Man City fans will probably not be best pleased with the striker’s recent comments.

Concerned at what he believes will be a lack of first team opportunities at Man City, Adebayor has spoken to Italian newspaper Tuttosport.

He stated “I know there will not be many chances for me and so I am considering the many offers I have received. I will be sorry to leave the Premier League, but in Europe there are other top leagues. Juventus are a great club in which I would like to play for.”

This is not the sort of thing Man City fans or Roberto Mancini will want to hear. If Emmanuel Adebayor is worried about his lack of first team chances, he should be trying 100 per cent and performing to the best of his ability to make sure he is one of the first names on the team sheet. The galling fact for Man City fans is that Adebayor is more than capable of doing this if the inclination is there, but it appears as if it is not.

It is also questionable whether there is justification for Adebayor to be so worried about his place in the team. In fact Man City have already released a statement on Twitter regarding their plans for Adebayor this season.

“Take it from us everyone, despite reports, MCFC has no plans to sell Emmanuel Adebayor; our new no 9 for this season – and thats official.”

If Adebayor needed further encouragement there are other factors as well. As of yet Mancini has not signed a new striker this summer; the move for Inter’s Mario Balotelli now seems to have run out of steam. In the current squad Carlos Tevez is probably the first choice striker, but after that it would most likely be Emmanuel Adebayor. City played with two strikers last season and this duo was the preferred partnership, there is no real reason to think it will be massively different this season. Robinho is unlikely to stay at Man City, whilst Craig Bellamy and Roque Santa Cruz are also in the transfer frame.

Emmanuel Adebayor’s words are childish and they betray a distinct lack of team spirit in the player. Adebayor will have plenty of chances to play this season, but it is not up to the manager to guarantee him a place in the first eleven. Adebayor will need to perform and exert himself if he wants to play this season, but this should be taken as standard and not an optional extra as it appears Adebayor perceives it. The fact is that many Arsenal fans were not too sad to see Adebayor go to Man City last summer, as although he had doubtless ability, he also had a bad attitude that City fans are now bearing witness to.

If you liked this article please follow me on Twitter. Or subcribe to my RSS feed.

With the PL season nearly upon us, let’s see the WAGS that will be keeping the players on their toes. Click on image to VIEW gallery

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.

Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has acknowledged that the games against Estonia could be his last in charge of the nation, and states that his side are ready.

The emerald isle take on Estonia in a back-to-back tie to decide which of the country’s will compete in Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine.

When asked if he was aware of the importance of the games in respect to his future with the nation, the Italian coach was unequivocal with his retort.

“Yes, yes,” he told Sky Sports.

“But I am not nervous about this because I know football. I was talking the other day about standing on the edge of the cliffs – that’s our life, it’s a manager’s life.

“Our life is dangerous. I have a habit of looking down on dangerous situations.

“But I think I will live, if not here, then maybe there is another. I don’t know where, but sure, I am not stopping here,” he stated.

Trapattoni has admitted that if his side do qualify for the European Championships it would be a source for great pride.

“In football every Sunday, or in England Saturday, you see little teams beat the great teams. That’s football. For me, it is no surprise.

“But we must think these 180 minutes is our life, players, manager, the Irish people.

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.

“I will be very proud if we achieve this result because it means up until now we have done our jobs well,” he finished.

By Gareth McKnight

[ad_pod id=’writer-1′ align=’right’]

Yesterday saw John Terry in his first press conference since being reinstated as England captain and the Chelsea defender was as defiant as ever, with what he said being analysed in great detail by the British press today.

Elsewhere in the sports pages of the country’s newspapers, the link between Daniele De Rossi and Manchester United has emanated once again, while Roberto Mancini is reported to be lining up a replacement for Manchester City bad boy Mario Balotelli, and could Guus Hiddink be set to return to Stamford Bridge in the near future?

Terry defiant over actions at World Cup – Daily Mirror

Man United set for £18m move for Italian midfielder – Daily Telegraph

Mancini has already identified replacement for Balotelli – Daily Star

Guus Hiddink could be set for shock Chelsea return – The Sun

van der Vaart expects substitution storm to blow over – Daily Mail

Man United’s parent company posts record losses – Guardian

Mourinho has unfinished business in England – Daily Telegraph

Arsenal seal deal for young defender – Daily Mail

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.

Ferdinand could return to Upton Park – Daily Mirror

Terracing could be reintroduced to English football – Guardian

[ad_pod id=’fox-mpu’ align=’left’]

Luis Fabiano has come out today and told the world that he would like nothing more than to join Tottenham this summer (despite previously dismissing a move a few weeks back) claiming that the North London outfit are a smaller team than Sevilla…does he have no shame?

The Brazilian has attracted many top clubs this summer after producing good performances in the World Cup finals in South Africa earlier this month.

Manchester United, Milan and of course Spurs all expressed their interest in acquiring the striker’s services, after he made it clear that he will be leaving Spain during the summer window. However, with his favoured moves to both Milan and United now looking remote as the days go by, the Brazilian has made a dramatic u-turn and opted for a move to Whit Hart Lane instead. Speaking to ESPN today, the striker stated:

“I must admit it’s only in the last few weeks I have understood just how big Spurs’ ambition is.”

You can’t help but burst out with laughter after reading the striker comments, especially after dismissing the move to Spurs altogether. A few months ago he slated Spurs and their ambitions, now the 29-year-old is praising them because other interests have cooled down. Harry Redknapp will not mind this of course, all the Englishman is concerned about is bringing in the right faces for the club this summer and Fabiano is possibly one of them. Redknapp pinpointed the striker as a possible target this summer which could help the club in their European adventures and of course domestic competitions.

In regards to Fabiano’s latest comments, it’s clear to see that players in today’s modern game have no shame. Footballers love to tout themselves from club to club even if they have already slated or belittled an interested club one week, and want to join them the next. Javier Mascherano is a fine example of a player that does this on a weekly basis. The midfielder is constantly yapping on about how he would love to play for Barcelona or Inter Milan this upcoming season but struggles to remember that he is in fact a Liverpool player. Arsenal’s Andrey Arshavin is another example of a player that clearly wants a move away from the North London outfit, and the only way he’s going to get it is by praising other clubs in the process. Emmanuel Adebayor was also tipped to make a move to A.C Milan before he signed for money-bags Manchester City last season.

Luis Fabiano isn’t the only shameful footballer that has ever readjusted his appraisal of a club in order for a move; in fact it has become somewhat of a trend these days, as shown by the examples above. Fabiano couldn’t obtain his preferred move to either United or Milan this season, so is now settling for second best, which in this case is Spurs. The simple truth is footballers will do anything and everything in order to get what they want, even if it means looking like a complete idiot which Fabiano looks right now.

What do you guys think of players touting for moves?

Follow me on Twitter – http://twitter.com/TMer4kl1

*

Click on image to see a gallery of the BEST BABES at the World Cup this summer

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.

Chelsea, still smarting over their embarrassing defeat at home to Arsenal last week, travel to relegation threatened Blackburn with boss Steve Kean expected to bear the brunt of more fan protests.

Rovers were seconds away from beating Norwich at Carrow Road last week only to see a farcical penalty las awarded against Steven N’Zonzi at the death with Grant Holt scoring to send them home with one point instead of three. Their performance warranted more than what they eventually got but being pegged back after leading 3-1 and being on the end of poor refereeing decisions is part and parcel of life at the bottom. Kean must feel the whole world is against him at the moment with several thousand Blackburn fans continuing to remind him of their displeasure over his tenure as boss. Despite his critics being a touch on the harsh side their anger could be justified with the fact they’ve won just one Premier League game all season and just three in the 24 they’ve played since January. The fact is that they continue to leak goals at an alarming rate despite a defence possessing Christopher Samba, Ryan Nelsen and summer signing Scott Dann who could be in for a second relegation in successive seasons after he went down with Birmingham in the last campaign. Coming up a gainst a Chelsea side desperate to bounce back after two defeats on the trot isn’t ideal for Kean and another defeat will surely force the clubs Indian owners to bring his job under review despite stating they wouldn’t sack him for the duration of his two year contract. Their record against the Blues doesn’t provoke much confidence with only one win in 16 top-flight meetings.

Andre Villas-Boas’ side are unbeaten in their last 10 against Rovers but shouldn’t go into this game thinking it’s going to be a guaranteed three points. Their last two performances have been well under-par with their Portuguese coach coming under increasing pressure to turn things around at Stamford Bridge. They surrendered third place last week after they were overtaken by Newcastle and will be out to reclaim their spot and keep themselves in with a chance of challenging for the title. One thing Villas-Boas needs to addresses the defence after they were carved open again and again by Arsenal last Saturday. They have failed to keep a clean sheet in 10 games since the opening day of the season with 15 goals conceded in the process with the fragile performances of John Terry causing concern. The back line was unable to cope with the Gunners pace or creativity with Ashley Cole also experienced an afternoon to forget up against Theo Walcott.  It’s a far cry from the days of Jose Mourinho where Terry was virtually impenetrable and the game plan was to snuff out the opposition attack rather than score goals. I’d expect Chelsea to adopt a similar approach at Ewood Park and play for a 1-0 like they used to do under the Special One. That could mean a reshuffle up top with Fernando Torres, Daniel Sturridge, Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba all battling for a place in attack with Villas-Boas likely to chose one out for four to lead the line.

Key Players

Junior Hoilett – It’s easy to point out that the Canadian winger has been Rovers’ best player this season. His pace and tricker on the wing is vital to the way they attack and his stunning goal at Norwich last week and he’ll be looking to do a similar job to the one carried out by Walcott on Cole last week.

Frank Lampard – If theres one man that can get Chelsea out of their current rut it’s Lampard. His performance last week was top notch with his desire in midfield and passing guile giving the Blues something going forward in what was a lacklustre display. The goals have started to flow again so expect to see him hitting a few long range efforts this week.

Prediction: 1-2

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.

Blackburn covered 119,527 metres in that game, and a frantic second half that saw six goals scored saw Rovers cover more ground in the second half (60,151m) than in the first half (59,376m) While most teams show a depreciation in distance covered in the second half, Rovers have covered more ground in the latter 45 minutes in 6 of their 10 games this season Frank Lampard has contributed 4 assists, meaning he has had a hand in 43% of Chelsea’s goals this season Lampard is also the top passer in the Chelsea squad, having completed 209 passes (one every 3 minutes 57 seconds) and has covered mnore ground than any Chelsea player other than Ashley Cole and John Terry for the Chelsea cause

[ad_pod id=’writer-2′ align=’right’]

Inter Milan manager Leonardo thanked the heavens after his side stole a Champions League quarter-final spot from Bayern Munich on Tuesday.Inter, who defeated Bayern in the Champions League final last season, looked set to be dumped out of Europe in the last 16 as they travelled to the Allianz Arena on the wrong side of a 1-0 aggregate.Samuel Eto’o levelled the tie at 1-1 with a goal in the fourth minute, but first-half goals to Bayern duo Mario Gomez and Thomas Mueller put Bayern up 2-1 ahead.But Leonardo’s men rallied in the second half as goals to Wesley Sneijder and Goran Pandev sealed a 3-2 victory for Inter on the night, with the 3-3 aggregate result seeing the Italian champions progress on away goals. Leonardo, who was overcome with joy after witnessing Pandev’s 88th-minute winner, was still too moved to speak of the game after the match.”It is very difficult to explain this game – we won, that’s all that matters,” Leonardo said.”I don’t want to go into technical details now. I prefer to focus on my players’ heart.””I’m so happy for Pandev, who has had a very difficult period. He has been criticised for missing a few chances but he has always continued to work hard and he has been repaid tonight.””It’s a great moment, a fantastic joy and I can only thank God for letting me experience this feeling tonight.””It’s a sign that these players have great faith in the team, we never give up. The European champions are still standing.”Bayern coach Louis van Gaal, who is resigned to departing the club at the season’s end without a trophy, said his side simply wanted victory too much.”It is a pity. It’s not the first time this has happened, four or five times already this season we have given away a match we should have won and today it happened again,” van Gaal said.”We could have settled matters earlier. Instead Inter are still standing, still have a chance – even if they hardly created any tonight, they did convert them. That’s always a possibility in football.””We should have stayed compact, but we didn’t and ran into trouble. That’s what I meant when I warned them not to want too much. We made too many defensive mistakes, conceded too easily.””The players gave their all, which is the criteria for a coach to judge if he is still getting through to the team.””They enjoyed the match and so did the fans; now we are all disappointed we lost but we witnessed a good match.”

South African striker Benni McCarthy is determined to prove his worth at West Ham United, having struggled during his first few months at Upton Park.

The 32-year-old made just five appearances for the Hammers following his arrival from Blackburn Rovers in January, being hampered by injury and a lack of match fitness.

McCarthy is already back in training and eager to improve, telling the Epping Forest Guardian:"I am very determined and that is why I decided to come back earlier.

"I wanted to make a fresh start. What I couldn't do then, I want to be able to do now. I still have loads to prove to the West Ham fans.

"For me, I am like a new player coming in, because last season I am writing off.

"The injury is completely fine and the weight is back to normal. I have been following my programme since the end of the season.

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.

"It is the first time that something like this has happened to me and I need to make sure it doesn't happen again.

"I have been training hard for two weeks now and it is all off my own back."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Swansea City’s approach has been a breath of fresh air to the Premier League and Brendan Rogers is finally chalking up the results their early season performances have deserved. The Swans boss is quick to point out that a lot of his success with the Welsh outfit is down to his predecessors who had already laid down an excellent platform for him to work from:

“Certainly Swansea is a club with a tradition of having teams that play good football, and obviously they changed their structure when Roberto Martinez changed from a 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3, and from that moment the club brought in coaches and managers who understood that way of working and playing. Certainly that enabled me to fast-track and implement my own ideas into the group. They’d had a very good year in the Championship where they had finished eighth. Paulo Sousa took over and did an excellent job and they reached seventh position, and then I had the big challenge to take the club forward on a very limited budget. So it was really about trying to implement my own ideas – but the core of the group knew and believed in that way of playing. It was then a case of developing and improving that way rather than having to create it right from the beginning.”

Brendan Rogers was fortunate to work under, and with, Jose Mourinho and Andre Villas-Boas during his time at Chelsea and both men certainly had an influence over him:

“I think you obviously have your own ambition, and you need people to give you a chance, who think you have the capacity to work at that level. But obviously when you get the chance to work with such managers it gives you a chance to learn from the best and develop, and Jose was a fantastic influence for me. When you move into management, you’re working alone – you can’t look to imitate or be anyone else, and you have to carry your own ideas with you. But the more experience you have the better, and I have been very fortunate to be able to work with lots of very good managers, world-class managers. I have then hopefully been intelligent enough to take on board the good and the bad, and work it into my own identity.”

Rogers is certainly making a good fist of his first time in the Premier League and having had the good fortune of working under a manager like Mourinho, he certainly has had a good grounding of how to grind out results in this division. Whether the Swans take a similar pragmatic approach that Chelsea adopt as the season goes on remains to be seen, but for the time being it is clear that Swansea are going to have a go their own way first.

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.

For more insight from Brendan Rodgers and other leading managers plus exclusive Barclays Premier League highlights go to www.yahoo.co.uk/sport

Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish will sweat on a knee injury to Alexander Hleb ahead of next Sunday’s Carling Cup final against Arsenal.Hleb was stretchered off the pitch during the Blues’ 3-0 FA Cup fifth round win over Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, souring what should have been a celebratory moment for the club as they reached the quarter-finals with ease.The on-loan Barcelona midfielder left St Andrews on crutches and will undergo scans to determine the severity of the injury, but McLeish is hopeful the Belarus international will be back in action in time for the trip to Wembley.”The latest is he’s limping heavily in the dressing room,” McLeish said.”He’ll hopefully have a scan in the next 24 hours. I need to firm that up with the doctor. We’ll know after that if there’s any damage.””It’s his knee. We don’t believe it’s a cruciate (ligament) problem. He got a fair rattle. The guy was late in the tackle.””He’s a great player and we still believe he’ll make an impact for us at some stage this season and hopefully he’ll be okay for the final.”Striker Cameron Jerome should be available despite a minor ankle injury suffered in the win, which was achieved by a squad of fringe players following a number of changes to the first-team side.”(Jerome) went over on his ankle. We don’t think it’s too serious. He should be available,” McLeish said.”We’ve got a thin squad as it is. If Alex misses out then that’s another man down.””In terms of allowing players to recharge batteries, being able to change the team and give the players some much-needed match practice it was a good day for us.””The strength of the squad was shown today. All of the guys who came in all played extremely well. I don’t think we had a passenger today.”

Tottenham are on the verge of sealing a partnership deal with Ecuadorean club Independiente del Valle, as a result of which six of the South American side’s young stars will travel to White Hart Lane this week to begin trial periods at Spurs with a view to a permanent move. Among the triallists is Junior Sornoza, who starred for Ecuador at the South American Under-20 championships.

Although the link is yet to be made official, it represents a new approach to talent scouting by Spurs, who are not alone among Premier League clubs in turning their interests to South America in search of the next Lionel Messi or Ronaldinho. Manchester United have been in a partnership deal with Brazilian side Fluminense since 2007; Liverpool are believed to be pursuing a similar relationship with Uruguayan powerhouse Nacional.

Relationships of this nature are much more common between English and European clubs; a quick search on the internet will bring up countless such parterships. But the European football network is now so tightly interlinked it is becoming difficult for a club to spot a truly undiscovered prospect. Spurs have already established links in unusual places – they are currently affiliated with SuperSport United (South Africa) and South China (Hong Kong).

But the search for talent has, in recent years, been moving ever-closer to South American prospects. Although it is commonplace in Portugal, Spain and Italy (with many Brazilian-born players in the Portugal set-up, and numerous Argentines appearing for Italy),  the Premier League is relatively new to scouting in this region. The path has been laid, in large part, by Birmingham City and Wigan Athletic.

[ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’left’]

Birmingham have introduced the likes of Jean Beausejour, Wilson Palacios and Cristian Benitez to the Premier League while Maynor Figueroa, Hugo Rodallega and Antolin Alcaraz are currently on the books at Wigan, who also gave Antonio Valencia his first big European break after two years in the Villareal reserves.

Now, though, there is an increasingly Latin feel to the Premier League; clubs are making conscious efforts to expand their scouting network to the continent. Recent seasons have seen Stoke City sign Diego Arismendi from Nacional and Blackburn pluck Mauro Formica from Argentine side Newell’s Old Boys.

The growing success of Central and South American sides in World Cup tournaments, signified by Uruguay reaching the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup, has provided an excellent shop-window for those nations’ key players, as well as the Copa Libertadores, which has marketed a constant stream of young stars being plucked from the continent into Spanish and Italian academies.

With the European game almost completely covered by vast scouting networks, English clubs must look to the next stage of talent identification. If they are to stay ahead of the opposition, it is vital for Premier League sides to start tapping into the previously unexplored depths of South American football talent.

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.

[divider]

FREE football app where you get paid to view apps

[ad_pod id=’qs-2′ align=’left’]