Tottenham are considering a January move for Athletico Bilbao midfielder Ander Herrera with the club already drawing identifying players who could help ensure a top-four finish this season according to the Metro.
Boss Harry Redknapp along with chairman Daniel Levy are determined to get Spurs back into the Champions League and have already began discussions over a list of targets in preparation of the transfer window opening.
22-year-old Herrera, who was part of the Spain side that triumphed in the under-21 European Championship’s this summer, the is one of those in Redknapps’s sights.
Despite stating that signing a striker is the main priority in January the Spurs boss also wants to strengthen his midfield and the Bilbao midfielder as a serious target.
The La Liga side are considering Herrera but have indicated that offers below the £15 million asking price won’t be considered which could hamper any bid from White Hart Lane.
Levy has overseen a prudent summer in North London with the agenda focusing on squad trimming and inexpensive signings with Scott Parker the only cash purchase.
There is also the matter of Herrera’s current injury status with the player facing a month sidelines due to knee problem. Spurs scouts were hoping to track his progress over the next few weeks but will have to wait until November at the latest to him.
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After years of speculation over the highly anticipated Great Britain football team, the British Olympic Association have confirmed England Under 21’s manager Stuart Pearce as boss for the the London 2012 games.
The former England left-back will be trusted with the task of bringing home the gold medal in front of a home crowd after it was decided that Team GB will enter a team into the competition for the first time since 1960.
Plenty of names have been linked to the post, including Sir Alex Ferguson, Roy Hodgson and even David Beckham, and as attentions begin to turn to the biggest event held on these shores for years, people will begin to wonder whether he can bring home the gold medal.
But despite his lack of experience at the highest level, Psycho is most definitely the man for the job.
Speaking to the BBC yesterday, Newcastle United defender Steven Taylor threw his support behind the former Man City manager.
Having played under him for the Under-21’s he said: “What better man to take the job than Stuart Pearce?
“He was like Alan Shearer in the dressing room – when he speaks, you listen.
“When I was a player [for England Under-21’s] and he was manager – before the games his inspirational speeches were amazing. They’d get you up for the game straight away.”
The main strength that Pearce will have at the tournament is his motivational skills. He will be able to rally a team with his enthusiasm and get every player giving that little bit more when it is needed most. Nobody can ever doubt his passion and desire to win. This is a man who won 78 caps for his country, carried on playing in a game despite having broken his leg and we all remember the penalty celebration at Euro 96!
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Another factor that will benefit Pearce is his four years as manager of the Under- 21 team. With the Olympic football rules meaning that only three players in his 18-man squad can be over the age of 23 and he will have a good knowledge of the players at that age, having scouted many of them as opponents or to bring into them England set-up.
He is alsoexperienced in dealing with the problems that affect the younger players. The problem can often be fatigue and after a long season the Olympic preparations will begin shortly after the end of the season and that can cause the possibility of burnout and muscle injuries.
But it isn’t something new for him to deal with and he will know how to manage the players in terms of pushing them and resting them to make sure they can get through a hectic schedule.
Also, for some players in Team GB’s squad it will be their first experience of a major tournament and nerves could begin to get the better of them. But Pearce is well practised as a player and manager of dealing with these pressure cooker moments and will be able to calm the hot heads in a young and temperamental dressing room before it shatters our chances at another tournament.
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To have a manager already experienced in the workings of international football is beneficial as well because there will be no time needed to adapt his own style of football. Psycho has managed the Under-21’s at three major championships, including a European Championship semi-final so is well skilled in what is needed to be successful at that level, whereas appointing somebody like Harry Redknapp to the role would mean it took time to find his feet and by then the Olympics would be over.
With Stuart Pearce as manager of our landmark Olympic football team for next summer, it may finally be the time to be positive of our chances. In a world now consumed by player power, a manager needs to have an aura that gets the attention of everyone and if Taylor comments are correct then Pearce is that man. Nobody else could offer as much enthusiasm to the role and he will undoubtedly bring a new group of players together with his spine-tingling team-talks. Don’t be surprised to see Team GB taking gold.
Like me? Loathe me? Or just want to chat football. Follow me on Twitter @jrobbins1991 and I’m happy to talk about this or anything to do with the best game in the world.
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Manchester United forward Javier Hernandez has put pen to paper on a new five-year contract at Old Trafford that will keep him at the Premier League champions until 2016.
The Mexico international had a scintillating first season in England last term, and has become an important player for United since moving from Guadalajara in July 2010.
A new deal has been in the offing over the last couple of months, as interest from Real Madrid circulates, and the Premier League holders have confirmed that the contract has been signed.
Sir Alex Ferguson was full of praise for the Central American, comparing him to a United hitman of the recent past.
“The last player I remember making an impact as big and as quickly as Javier is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and he reminds me of Ole a lot,” the Scottish coach told the club’s official website.
“His talent for creating space in the box and his finishing ability mark him out as a natural goalscorer. Off the pitch, he is a pleasure to manage. He works very hard and is a popular member of the squad,” he concluded.
Hernandez could not hide his delight at signing the new deal, and is hoping 2011-12 will be a successful campaign for The Red Devils.
“I never expected my first year to go so well and I’m delighted to commit my future to United.
“To win a title and appear in a Champions League final was fantastic. I’m looking forward to helping my team-mates as we bid to win more trophies for this great club,” the Mexican stated.
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Hernandez started on the bench in the 6-1 loss to Manchester City on Sunday, but will be in contention for a starting berth in the club’s next fixture against Everton at Goodison Park.
Andrei Arshavin has admitted that he is has not been happy with the level of performances that he has put in for Arsenal since joining the Premier League club, calling his personal displays average.
The Russia international has shown some glimpses of brilliance since moving to North London from Zenit St Petersburg in a club record £15 million deal back in January 2009, with the four goals he scored at Anfield in an epic 4-4 draw in April 2009 still in the memory.
Despite this, the attacker has not lived up to his considerable ability, and finds himself a bit part player at the Emirates, no longer guaranteed a place in Arsene Wenger’s starting XI.
As his inconsistency continues, the Eastern European admits that he needs to improve.
“Speaking honestly, I think my performances for Arsenal have been average,” Arshavin is quoted as saying in The Telegraph.
“I’ve done some good things, but I don’t assess my game on goals or assists. I look at the whole picture. Normally when I’m on the pitch I take control of a game but I haven’t really done that here. I’m an extra tool in the team rather than the main one, so it’s been difficult,” he admitted.
Arshavin’s current deal runs out in the summer of 2013, and his future in England hangs in the balance as he looks to be in the best possible form going into Russia’s Euro 2012 campaign next summer.
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Maybe I’m biased but I can’t help thinking that England might have employed the wrong veteran Italian coach when they appointed Fabio Capello. It may be because when I was a 21-year-old kid, who had been sold against his will to AC Milan, Giovanni Trapattoni was the kindest of team-mates and a true friend. It may also be that Capello reminds me so much of the square-jawed, mean-hearted Milan manager Nereo Rocco, whom I loathed during my brief spell in Serie A. But it is mainly down to the outstanding job Trapattoni has done in leading the Republic of Ireland to Euro 2012. And in a month when I was made to feel very old by reading that it was me who had scored England’s 1,000th goal – and that our national team had scored another 1,000 goals since – it was certainly heartening to hear that Trapattoni, who is a year older than me, is in talks over a new deal.
Trap will be 73 by the Euro finals and he will be 75 when the next World Cup comes around, yet he’s desperate to lead the Irish to Brazil. Good on him because it shows that if you are mentally and physically healthy, it does not matter how old you are. Trapattoni is one of only two managers to have won league titles in four countries. He also won the European Cup as a player with Milan, the year after I left, and as a manager with Juventus. From having known him as a player, I’m pretty certain Trap will be the sort of man-manager who is warm and decent with his men – which, for me, is the key quality of any international boss.
At Milan, Trap and Gianni Rivera were the two players who took me under their wing, as they both spoke more English than the rest. During my frequent training-ground rows with Rocco, I can always remember Trapattoni saying: ‘Yimmy, Yimmy, don’t say nothing, Yimmy’. It was good advice – but I usually ignored it, answering back and causing another blazing row with the boss. Trap was a typical Italian player, a ball-winning midfielder who would grab his opponents by the throat or the testicles – yet he was also a visionary passer of the ball.
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It does not surprise me that many Irish fans and commentators have complained that his teams have been too cautious or negative – not that they’ll be moaning any more, of course. That great Milan team was not exactly free-flowing and cavalier. When it comes to football, Italians have always tended to be safety-first. It just seems that they are a little more liberal when it comes to spending euros! But in many respects, Trapattoni reminds me of another former team-mate of mine, Jack Charlton, who transformed Irish football thanks to the strength of his personality.
On a player-by-player basis, Trapattoni’s Ireland should be well beaten when they meet Capello’s England – either in a post-season friendly or in the group stages in Poland and Ukraine. But from what I saw against Sweden the other night – and from knowing how well Ireland always seem to do against the English – I think there’s every chance they could get a result against us. Not least because of Trap’s vast experience and know-how.
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The funniest thing for me about watching the Sweden match on ITV was Adrian Chiles introducing a clip of me scoring England’s 1,000th goal in a 5-1 win over Wales at Wembley in 1960. I’m absolutely convinced that nobody ever told me at the time, nor at any moment since, that I’d achieved that landmark. I wasn’t aware that I had scored the 1,000th goal until they started writing about who would score the 2,000th in Tuesday’s newspapers. Nobody was that botheredabout stats back then – but now football is a vast ocean of facts and figures. Perhaps they’ll present me with a plaque to mark my achievement. Gareth Barry has now been given the 2,000th goal, which is just as well because Swedish defender Daniel Majstorovic sure as hell wouldn’t have wanted any recognition for the milestone goal.
Joey Barton scored and was then sent off as QPR slipped to their fifth defeat at Loftus Road this season against Norwich who moved back into the top half.
After giving the R’s an 11th minute lead Barton then saw red following a confrontation with Zak Whitbread and Bradley Johnson with the Canaries taking full advantage of their numerical advantage equalised just before half time time through Anthony Pilkington. Despite being a man down the home side more than held their own after the break but couldn’t hold on as Steve Morison secured victory for Paul Lambert’s side with seven minutes to go. It was a cruel blow to Neil Warnock who had hoped to guide Ranger’s away from the relegation zone after a poor run of eight games without a win saw them plummet to fourth bottom in the Premier League.
They got themselves off to the best possible start when Barton fired low past John Ruddy after some slick link up play between Clint Hill and Alejandro Faurlin on the left. That seemed to settle the home side who looked nervous in the opening stages and they controlled the game up until Barton saw red on 35 minutes after tangling with Whitbread and Johnson in the centre circle with referee Neil Swarbrick indicating the Rangers skipper had used his head in a threatening manner. That offered Norwich a route back into the game that the grabbed with both hands as Pilkington striking a precise left footed effort past Paddy Kenny to equalise just seven minutes after Barton’s dismissal. Despite having an extra man the visitors struggled to make their advantage count after the break with the R’s putting in a stubborn second half display.
Shaun Wright-Phillips’ introduction proved to be a shrewd one by Warnock with the diminutive winger’s pace causing Norwich numerous problems along with testing Ruddy with a low strike. New loan signing Federico Macheda was then introduced with 10 minutes to go as the home side sought a winner and the young Italian could have had a debut goal but was thwarted byRuddy who stole in to pluck a Wright-Phillips cross out of the air. The away side had failed to trouble Kenny during the second period but the keeper was picking the ball out of his net seven minutes from time after Morison beat him with a sweeping effort to ensure Norwich started 2012 off in the best possible manner.
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Liverpool defender Jose Enrique has stated that the club threaten to lose their battle for a top four finish due to their faltering home form.
The Reds have dropped points unexpectedly at Anfield this season, with the latest disappointment a 0-0 draw with Stoke on Saturday.
The Spanish full back is hoping for improvement in performances on Merseyside, otherwise they will not feature in the Champions League once more next term.
“We lost two points again. We have to improve our home form because we have lost too many points at Anfield this season,” the left back told Mirror Football.
“It has been a similar story all season at home. It is frustrating because we are creating chances, but not taking them.
“I don’t think Stoke deserved a point. We had all of the ball, especially in the second half, and created two or three really good chances, but we just couldn’t score.
“We just have to stay positive. I think, maybe the Swansea game aside, we have deserved to win the other games we have drawn at home.
“If we start to take our chances, we can be in the top four. But if we don’t, then we will make it more difficult for ourselves,” he admitted.
Kenny Dalglish’s men travel to take on Bolton at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday, and the Spaniard is looking to get back to winning ways.
“I think it’s good we have a break now so we can prepare for Bolton.
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“Away from home at the moment we are getting better results than at home so hopefully we can get the three points next Saturday,” he concluded.
Arsenal striker Thierry Henry has apologised to the fan that he had an altercation with after the recent defeat to Swansea, stating that he just wants the supporters to get behind the team.
Arsene Wenger’s men were beaten 3-2 at The Liberty Stadium on Sunday, and after the game the French forward led The Gunners players in applauding the travelling supporters.
However, Henry confronted one specific follower who was deemed to be abusing the players; he now regrets the incident.
“I was really shocked and disappointed on Sunday – and not just at the result,” Henry told The Sun.
“After the final whistle of a very tricky game, I insisted the whole team go and applaud the Arsenal supporters.
“When I arrived in front of our own fans, I couldn’t understand the abuse the team were getting from one of them.
“I wanted to tell the fan in question that we need their support not abuse. The sentiment was right but in hindsight could have been better expressed.
“So I would like to first and foremost apologise for using inappropriate language to that particular ‘supporter’.
“I didn’t intend to be malicious or threatening and I am aware that it could have been said in a calmer manner.
“We have had great moments at this club but we are all in this together. We need your support in the good times but more importantly the bad.
“Let’s get behind the team against Manchester United on Sunday and try to get three points to get the season back on track,” he concluded.
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Birmingham City manager Chris Hughton has stated that he is not interested in the vacant managerial post at Wolves, despite media speculation.
Hughton has been touted as a potential replacement for Mick McCarthy, but he has ruled himself out of the running due to his commitments at St Andrews.
“Anything like that is always very flattering,” he admitted to the Birmingham Mail.
“On the television I saw three names mentioned, so I presume that’s where it’s going and I just hope they pick the right person.
“I have a very challenging job to do here and I’ve got a group of lads who are desperate to do well this season and I’m desperate to guide them through.
“I’m desperate to guide this group of players out to the end, yes,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, Alan Curbishley’s agent has confirmed that Wolves have approached his client and that an interview was forthcoming in the near future.
“They (Wolves) have said themselves they have invited him to see them,” Phil Smith is reported to have said in Mirror Football.
“That is what he will do and then we’ll see because I believe there is Alan, Steve Bruce, Neil Warnock and whoever else in the frame.
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“I’m not going to go into when it (the interview) is going to happen, other than to say it’s imminent,” he admitted.
At first they were almost a novelty. Foreign players in the top flight were deemed a little out of place, unlikely to fit in with the English game and were not expected to last. Before too long, however, the merry band of eleven overseas imports that began the inaugural weekend of the Premier League back in 1992 began to grow and before long captured the public imagination.
Witness Jurgen Klinsmann’s goal celebration and Eric Cantona’s collar – school kids all over the country took to these foreign stars in the way they would in future years with ‘Pokemon’ and ‘Gogos’. These stars were a fascinating commodity.
I’d earmark the transfer of Dennis Bergkamp as a tipping point for the widespread introduction of the overseas player. Whereas Cantona and Klinsmann were both in English football to re-ignite floundering careers, the Dutchman’s move to Highbury was a case of a genuine world class player moving into English football when other top leagues were available.
But since the major influx sparked by the moves made by Bergkamp and Middlesbrough’s Juninho, what has been the impact on football in this country?
Diving, club disloyalty, badge kissing, exorbitant wages and ridiculous fashion accessories are some of the clichéd suggestions when the foreign legion is mentioned in relation to the Premier League.
It would be ludicrous to suggest that foreign imports have only had a negative impact on English football, so why are we so slow to laud the incredible product their introduction has created?
The world of football has moved on dramatically from the days of Michel Vonk and Tony Dorigo, and whilst we have every right as fans to be cynical about the role of the ever-deepening sea of imported players, there can be no doubt that the quality and intensity they have brought with them is remarkable.
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Does the influx of non-English footballers hinder our national team? Several key media figures have in the past bemoaned the lack of opportunities afforded England’s brightest and best, but is this a fair reflection?
Was the English national team in a better position when the top flight was filled with home grown players in 1992 than it is now, with only a handful making it into each Premier League squad?
There most certainly is blame to be apportioned towards various bodies within English football for the consistent under-achievement on the world stage, but I have always found attaching so much flack to the transfer policies of Premier League clubs as simplistic and inaccurate.
The Bosman ruling, mixed with an expanded Champions League format and relaxed EU regulations on worker freedom of movement has meant that player fluidity has exploded in the last fifteen years. Combine this with the financial spending power of sides like Chelsea and Manchester City, and the rise in overseas talent arriving on these shores is inevitable.
Arguably, however, the higher number of foreign managers has had an even greater impact on the division than most of the players. Love them or hate them the roles of Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho in crafting the tapestry of the league over the last 15 years has been absolutely huge.
Wenger, in particular was instrumental in bringing a higher level of professionalism to the game, improving player’s diets, ending the drinking culture at Arsenal, and securing a domestic double within two years of arriving at Highbury.
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From there, and with Manchester United also setting a bar of professionalism and excellence, the rest of the division has been forced to raise their game or risk being left behind.
But what is the legacy of this prolonged period of influx, and can it continue? The need for continued financing of bigger contracts and larger transfer fees has, everyone knows, forced several clubs into financial ruin. UEFA and FIFA are trying to push clubs towards more responsible spending and use of home grown talent. This is all well and good, but as Chelsea have shown, you can attempt to streamline and taper off spending on expensive players, but if results are not coming, there is, if you can locate the finances, only one option.