Fulham recorded a 3-1 win against Northern Irish side Crusaders on Thursday in the first leg of the second qualifying round for the Europa League. Goals from Matthew Briggs, Bobby Zamora and Danny Murphy give the Premier League side a real advantage going into the second leg at Craven Cottage next Thursday.
Fulham were without new signing John Arne Riise, but still fielded a strong line-up. The semi-professional IFA Premiership outfit went toe-to-toe with their English opponents however, and it was only a long range Briggs strike that separated the sides at half-time. However the Seaview club equalised on 54 minutes, with Timmy Adamson controlling well in the Fulham box and cooly dispatching the finish past Mark Schwarzer.
Despite this and a good performance by the underdogs, the London outfit’s class showed in the last 15 minutes as a Zamora header and Murphy’s penalty put paid to any potential giant killing feat.
“We knew it could be tough,” Martin Jol stated after the game.
“They [Crusaders] play a very direct style, with two good, big strikers, and that’s always difficult. But we came through it well. The only disappointing thing for me was the way we conceded the goal.
“Other than that, though, we did well in the first half and recovered nicely after their goal to win. It was nice to see the youngsters like Briggs and Kerim Frei come in and do well as well,” he concluded.
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When asked about out of favour Tottenham striker Robbie Keane, who the Dutchman coached during his time at White Hart Lane, the former Ajax manager was full of praise.
“Robbie’s a great player, but we’ve got great strikers here. I’m a big fan of Robbie.”
A feast of football is upon us this afternoon with fixtures to whet the appetite of the neutral. Manchester United need to maintain their impressive record at White Hart Lane if they are to return to the Premier League summit, while a real six pointer takes place at St Andrews as Aston Villa look for a win to drag themselves out of the bottom three. King Kenny returns to Anfield for the much awaited Mersey derby, while Sunderland looks to avenge their 5-1 beating in the Tyne/Wear derby this lunchtime.
In the papers this morning there has been a mixed bag of stories that includes Fergie hitting out at his critics; Capello in the dark about new coach and Grant fighting on as West Ham boss.
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Grant lingers on at West Ham as prospect of O’Neill looms – Guardian
Dalglish aims for unity – Daily Telegraph
Barton: I’m the most in-form player in the country! – Mirror
Ferguson hits out at United’s critics – Guardian
Is Blackburn rookie Kean the Premier League’s first ‘sackproof’ boss? – Daily Mail
Capello in dark about new coach – Daily Telegraph
Van Der Vaart lifts the lid on his Real torment – Mirror
Baines: I was axed by England boss Capello outside Toys ‘R’ Us – Daily Mail
Ameobi feels the hate in unique game – Guardian
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Suárez tops Liverpool’s wanted list – Daily Telegraph
Tottenham line up €15M move for Giuseppe Rossi – IM Scouting
Arsenal boss Wenger priced out of move for Bolton defender Cahill – Daily Mail
The conclusion of the Championship season marked the end of an awful season for Nottingham Forest.
The team struggled to adapt on the pitch to, new manager, Steve McClaren’s philosophies and a lack of results alienated the fans. This came to a head following the 3-1 home loss to Birmingham, which ended with both the manager and long-time chairman Nigel Doughty stepping down from their posts.
Steve Cotterill took over the reigns as manager but despite a good start of four wins out of his first six fixtures, Cotterill’s side followed this with a sequence of seven games without finding the net. It wasn’t until the end of February that the club were able to turn around the form which saw them languishing in the relegation zone and they were able to climb, albeit only slightly, to the lofty position of 19th at the end of the season.
However, it wasn’t just on the field which saw the club endure a torrid year, as touched on earlier, Nigel Doughty’s resignation and subsequent death in February has had an enormous impact on the club, with finances looking tight for the first time in a decade. Over the last number of seasons Forest have been losing over £13m a year, which without Doughty’s backing is not sustainable.
The club has revealed that the money received in January from Leicester and Chelsea for Wes Morgan and Patrick Bamford has already been spent on bringing loan players to the club and the costs of running a football club. Forest will no longer be able to compete as one of the biggest spenders in the division on transfer fees or the wages that players demand; no longer will the club be linked with the likes of Max Gradel or Nicky Maynard, whilst big money signings, such as Ishmael Miller will also become a thing of the past.
Of the match-day squad which beat Portsmouth 2-0 on the final day of the season, nine of the sixteen are either out of contract during the summer or were at the club on loan. The club’s policy of allowing contracts to expire, risking losing players on free transfers is nothing new, with Kris Commons, Kelvin Wilson, Nathan Tyson and Robbie Earnshaw all leaving for nothing over the past few years.
This year it is the contracts of club captain Luke Chambers, stand out players Joel Lynch and Garath McCleary and squad members Paul Anderson, Paul Smith and George Boateng which have been allowed to run down. This will have to stop given the cost it takes for the club to replace them; they don’t want to find themselves in a similar position next summer when Lee Camp, Chris Cohen and Dexter Blackstock are all out of contract.
Whilst the club risk losing a number of players for nothing over the coming months, without new investment it is also unlikely that they will be able to continue paying the wages of high earners Ishmael Miller, Matt Derbyshire, Jonathan Greening and Andy Reid.
However, whether the club will be able to persuade other clubs to take these players off their hands is another matter, with only Andy Reid performing to an acceptable level over the past 12 months. The squad is also unbalanced with the club employing a huge number of strikers whilst, at times, Cotterill struggled to name a back four this season; Guy Moussi often found himself out of position at the heart of the defence.
All this information paints a rather bleak picture of what the summer and next season will bring for Forest. Nevertheless the club will continue to battle on and it isn’t inconceivable that new owners will buy Forest in the coming months; one thing that the club does have which their rivals do not is a name known throughout world football, one which makes them an attractive proposition to potential buyers.
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The eventual introduction of Financial Fair Play could also be of a great advantage to Forest if managed correctly over the upcoming seasons. Forest had the seventh highest average attendance in the division last year, a year in which the club finished 19th. Financial Fair Play should allow Forest to remain competitive in the Championship as long as the club are sensible in altering their wage bill over the summer and adding realistic talent to an already decent squad, it is easy to forget that the majority of the players at the club are the same players which reached the play-offs two years in a row under Billy Davies.
The future is difficult to predict for Forest. Whilst the club is likely to lose a number of players this summer hopefully they will retain a solid core of the current squad, removing the players on larger contracts and redistributing that money on more suitable targets. If Cotterill is able to move on those players which haven’t performed at the club and is given the opportunity to bring in a few on smaller money it isn’t impossible for the side to enjoy a successful season following an exhausting summer for the manager.
Mohamed Bin Hammam has vowed to fight the life ban for corruption handed down to him by the FIFA ethics committee.Qatari Bin Hammam, formerly president of the Asian Football Confederation, was a challenger to Sepp Blatter in the FIFA Presidential elections before his withdrawal in May following corruption allegations.
He was suspended from FIFA activities after being accused of attempting to bribe Caribbean Football Union officials to secure their support in his bid to oust Blatter.
On Saturday the ethics committee handed him a life ban, precluding him from all FIFA activites.
But the 62-year-old is unlikely to go quietly, threatening to take the matter to an independent court to force FIFA to publicise the details of their case against him.
“This is just the battle, not the war,” Bin Hammam said via twitter and his website.
“I reject the findings and maintain my innocence and will continue to fight through the legal routes available.”
“We are confident of the strength of our case and invite FIFA to make available now to the media a full transcript of these proceedings.”
Lawyers representing Bin Hammam also released a statement questioning FIFA’s findings.
“The FIFA ethics committee have apparently based their decision upon so called ‘circumstantial’ evidence, which our case has clearly demonstrated was bogus and founded on lies told by a senior FIFA official,” lawyer Eugene Gulland said.
“FIFA, either directly or through third parties, with selective and continual leaking of documentation that have been part of these proceedings to the media (has sought) to influence public opinion and create bias.”
Acting AFC President Zhang Jilong, the favourite to succeed Bin Hammam as head of the confederation, was disappointed by the findings, but accepted FIFA’s decision.
“This is a sad day for (the) AFC and Asian football,” Zhang said.
“AFC respects world football governing body FIFA’s decision and we also acknowledge former AFC President Mohamed Bin Hammam’s inalienable right to lodge an appeal against the decision.”
Liverpool have experienced a transfer set-back after Russian target Aleksandr Kerzhakov dismissed any chance of a move away from current club Zenit St Petersburg.
The 28 year-old has spent the majority of his career in Russia with two spells at Zenit St Petersburg and a brief stint at Dynamo Moscow. Despite interest from Liverpool, Kerzhakov has made a statement issuing his intent to remain in his native country.
Kerzhakov said regarding his future: “I’m not planning to go anywhere… I feel at home here and I don’t want to move anywhere.”
The striker has scored 17 goals in 52 matches for the Russian national side and is currently Zenit’s top scorer this season with 13 goals.
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Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson was keen on Kerzhakov to partner, and take some of the goal scoring burden, off of misfiring striker Fernando Torres but will now have to look elsewhere.
As the transfer rumour-mill is in full flow, the latest name linked with West Ham is Joey Barton.
Despite strong rumours and some fans wanting Barton to be a Hammer, a move will not be made to transfer the controversial player across London. For me the reason the East Londoners’ will not be moving for Barton is their new found pride.
West Ham enjoyed a great season that saw them return to the Premier League at the first time of asking, but, if you ask most fans what they enjoyed most about this season, it would be one thing.
Pride has finally returned to the club. This is a club that has lived in the shadow of controversy and drama. Bankrupt Icelandic’s, illegal Argentines, and dodgy Italians all came and went in a short era that saw the club aim for the Champions League but fall into the Championship this time last season.
The club went from rich to poor overnight, but most sickening for the fans was traditions and values of the club were being put in jeopardy, and the ambition for the future was non-existent.
It takes a lot to drive the Upton Park faithful away but many were just turning up ‘for the day out’ and because they felt they had to. But this season it changed. The fans didn’t turn up because they had to, they wanted to. They enjoyed winning, playing well and being ‘a big fish in a small pond’ and more often than not leaving the ground with a smile on their face.
The attendances were superb throughout the season, especially on the road. Record away attendances at Peterborough and Coventry were highlights. Fans enjoyed going to see their team play again and last weekend, when West Ham beat Blackpool at the home of English football, it was clear to see that the pride had been restored to the East End.
David Gold said: “You know, people talk about the money, but pride is so important, everybody here will be saying we’re back in the Premier League and they’ve had a tough time. We’ve had previous owners who have caused problems for the football club and of course we got relegated, but its pride.’’
So where does this return of pride at Upton Park fit in with that loveable character Joey Barton? Well, the bookies have made West Ham favourites to buy the QPR man despite the West Ham co-owner stating that would never happen.
It’s taken years to restore West Ham’s name, not just with their own fans but the F.A, the media, and other clubs’ fans. These were broken relationships that all needed to be fixed. By signing Barton, a player described by David Gold as: ‘’a player that could self-destruct’’ the Hammers would put their new name and pride at risk.
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If Joey was to behave like he did against Man City, then it would cause grief and harm to all the hard work that has gone on at West Ham. Barton’s track record clearly makes him a risk to sign, and is he worth the risk based on his football ability? Probably not.
There was a time when Joey Barton and West Ham would go together quite well, where they would be suited, but not now, the two parties are very much moving in different directions. Not under this management and ownership, this is a new West Ham, a club to be proud of.
have kickstart their spending this summer with a double deal for Phil Jones and Ashley Young. It is a real signal intent from Sir Alex Ferguson who is looking to build what will arguably be a strong youthful legacy at Old Trafford.
At FFC this week we have seen a mixed bag of Manchester United blogs that includes 7 into 2 doesn’t work at Old Trafford; the solution to Nani problem, while Park Ji Sung is the consummate pro who needs to remain a United player.
We also look at the best Manchester United articles around the web this week.
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‘Suits you sir!’ – The Premier League club’s Kit collection for 2011/12 season
WAG Weekly – Man United new boy scores a beauty!
VIDEO: The GREATEST Premier League goal ever…you decide!
A credit to Manchester United and who must retained at Old Trafford
United Fans Could Be Given The Chance To Prove their Real Worth
Caption Competition: Fergie signs on the dotted line
7 into 2 doesn’t add up at Old Trafford
The ideal solution to the Nani problem?
Is Manchester United’s latest signing a victim of the hype machine?
Does Fergie’s transfer policy signify intentions?
Am I the only United fan happy with this signing?
1-0 to Sir Alex Ferguson in the transfer stakes
*Best of WEB*
Fergie’s ‘keepers: good, bad and ugly – United Rant
United Youth – How will they fare next season? – The Busby Way
Exactly Why Berbatov Has Not Fulfilled His United Promise – The United Religion
Squad Players: Moved On and Kept on for Squad – Expertise on United
Kiko Macheda Entering Last Chance Saloon – Red Flag Flying High
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Click below to see the latest addition to the WAG Arena
Forget Boca Juniors and River Plate – we witnessed the real rivalries in Argentina and the passion that emanates for Atlético Banfield, a local club in the city of Banfield. Through local perspective and their unique self-expression, Atlético Banfield has created a rabid fan base that has a very different way of expressing the love for their club. In stark contrast to the hooliganism that often mars soccer in South America, this group, known as the Banfield Mystics, express themselves through street art. In the days leading up to matches they cover all the walls of their neighborhood with art and poetry espousing their team and the pride they have for it. Some of these murals have been painted by local artists, in the honor of fans, players, and of course, the neighborhood. On this trip to Banfield, friends and families showed us how they show their support and what it means to be part of the Banfield Mystics.
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For an insight into the We Are Eleven series check out our interview with producer Santiago Stelley.
We have seen it very rarely over recent seasons; probably because the demand for success or survival is simply so high nowadays. But playing players out of position is a dying trend in the Premier League and on the few occasions it does happen, fans and punditry panels alike are quick to undermine the decision, giving it little airtime as a rash and brainless dabbling of the system. One of the most extreme changes of position was that of Blackburn’s Christopher Samba last term as the centre back was deployed in a forward’s role to hold the ball up and give Rovers more of a physical presence or should I put it more bluntly; battering ram up top. The decision, although eyebrow-raising at the start was a relatively successful one with Samba possessing a surprising good touch and an astute holding up of the ball.
More successful shifts in position famously include Gareth Bale who has forged a reputation as one of the finest wingers in the Premier League following advancement from the left full back berth. Perhaps the most recent example of a positional change has been Martin Jol’s decisions to deploy Moussa Dembele in a central midfield berth for Fulham. The natural second striker has been dropped deeper for his dribbling abilities and ease on the ball and it seems to have paid off with the Belgian flourishing in his new role over the past month or so.
So why don’t managers execute positional changes far more often? It must be contended that for every first choice there is a usually a backup squad player and it would frustratingly resemble an insult to play a player out of position rather than deploy a natural replacement. Nevertheless, with the modern breed of full backs raiding down the channels more greatly than ever before, surely there are more ‘Bale’s’ out there in the sense that the pacy full back is almost a second winger anyway. For example, Aaron Lennon at Tottenham has been injured in spells this term and has often had to be replaced by Niko Kranjcar or an unpopular decision to shift Luka Modric to the flank, where it is understandable that he isn’t best suited here. Kyle Walker would be adept at fulfilling Lennon’s role in that he is fast, can whip a cross into the box and is direct in his attacking of the opposition full back. Whilst we must accept Spurs let go of their replacement right back Vedran Corluka in January and need Walker’s consistent abilities at full back in this particular scenario, you see the point I am trying to make.
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It has been noticed at Manchester United also, that Antonio Valencia is an unorthodox, yet trusty full back when widespread injury strikes. The fact the Ecuadorian is one of the Premier League’s hardest working players, possessing substantial upper body strength and good tracking back skills, means he can drop back into the full back position and achieve an assured performance as a Rafael or Fabio might do for example. Of course, United have flourished recently using Valencia’s excellent crossing abilities to create many assists further up the pitch, but by discovering players’ hidden versatility and looking even closer at their exploits, costly decisions to carelessly wade into the transfer market just might be avoidable.
Undeniably, the monetary repercussions of football nowadays mean experimenting and dabbling with positional changes usually occur in an involuntary sense; whereby a manager is forced into the decision, as the pitfalls or dissenting abuse for a positional gamble or risk are huge. Perhaps pre-season friendlies could employ more of a focus on positional changes but such an idea would be met by likely dissent.
Centre backs transformed to full backs are generally accepted as a fairly safe transition with many of the tackling and strength attributes being required at full back also. Branislav Ivanovic has probably been the best example of this. Also defensive midfielders moving to centre half have been met by some applause with Alex Song and Javier Mascherano at Barcelona representing that this positional change can breed relative success.
But cavalier decisions such as Dembele and Samba are still of the rare variety and positional changes still have that ‘emergency’ tag when they could be judged with more astuteness. Only time will tell, and the random nature of the Premier League means we just may uncover a hidden gem who currently is yet to find his new prosperous role.
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Are these points too radical or can you see the benefit in such decisions? Follow me @ http://twitter.com/Taylor_Will1989
Retired Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes says the time was right for him to call a halt to his career at the end of last season.The 66-cap England international, who spent 17 seasons in the United first team, called an end to his time as a professional footballer after helping his side to a record-breaking 19th English league title last month.
Scholes, 36, said manager Sir Alex Ferguson had told him he could still contribute at Old Trafford, but he felt the time was right to finish up.
“I was struggling a little bit in my legs even with training and playing games. They didn’t feel great and I just felt the time was right,” Scholes told Sky Sports on Monday.
“I’m someone who likes to think that they can contribute every week and I think as a midfield player for this club you need to be doing everything – you need to be scoring goals, you need to be making goals and you need to be giving everything in defence as well.”
“So I just felt it was the right time and I wasn’t contributing as much as I think a midfield player for this club should be.”
Asked whether Ferguson had tried to convince him to play on, Scholes said: “Not really, no. He did say that he felt I had 10, 15, maybe 20 games in me next season and he’d like me to stay.”
“But I just told him I wasn’t feeling great and I’ll think about it again and I’ll get back to him towards the end of the season which I did do.”
Scholes, who is set to take up a coaching role at Old Trafford next season, was again forced to defend accusations he was a dirty player.
A red card for a crude challenge on Manchester City’s Pablo Zabaleta in the FA Cup semi-final loss in April was his last dismissal.
The midfielder collected 90 yellow cards in the English Premier League, the third most in history, but he said he was unlucky, rather than dirty.
“I have just been unlucky. I never had red mist against anybody,” Scholes said.
“The one against Zabaleta, I didn’t do on purpose. It was just bad timing. The ball was up there and the way your leg goes it has to come down and unfortunately it came down on his leg.”
“I would never intentionally try to hurt somebody. Nobody has ever had to go off following one of my tackles and nobody has broken their leg.”
“I have never been nasty.”
Scholes will play his testimonial against the New York Cosmos at Old Trafford on August 5, with Manchester United legend Eric Cantona set to make a return appearance.