Chelsea have always used John Terry and Frank Lampard as their leaders in Premier League matches and the pair helped the Blues to a narrow 1-0 victory against Everton today.
There may be pressure on Jose Mourinho to herald a new era of young and exciting players but Chelsea certainly still need their experienced talismen in the shape of Lampard and Terry. The two England internationals still continue to play some monumental 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea may have reinforced their defensive and midfield ranks in January in the shape of Matic and Zouma but there is still a need to respect the elder statesman.
1. Lampard and Terry continue to ensure their contribution with crucial goals Post by FootballFanCast.com. 2. The England pairing have been a crucial part of Jose Mourinho's successful home record 3. If Chelsea are to win the title they need leaders on and off the pitch
Newcastle United centre back Steven Taylor has brandished assertive yet comical comments towards rivals Sunderland, claiming that none of their team would get into the Toon’s starting XI, as reported by the Metro.
Today’s Tyne-Wear derby was already going to be a heated battle before Taylor’s comments, but a long list of jibe’s at his rivals will not have gone down well with the Black Cats.
“I would rather go and collect stamps than stick on that shirt,” Taylor told the Metro.
“I haven’t got any friends who are Sunderland fans. As for the players, I’m friendly with one or two of them from the under-21s, but that was before they signed for Sunderland.
“We have said it all the time, we wouldn’t take any of their players.
“Even last year the gaffer said it, he has our team above Sunderland. Not even one player, not even one player on their bench, would get into our starting 11. That is the quality we possess.’
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“Adam Johnson is a very good player. I played with him for England Under-21s and he is very attack minded,” said the centre-back.
“He knows all about this game being from Middlesbrough. He can come and play in our reserves if he wants to.”
Sporting Lisbon have offered Joe Hart the opportunity to get his career back on track after a poor season at West Ham which saw him left out of England’s plans for the World Cup, according to the Star.
What’s the story, then?
The Star report that the Portuguese giants are set to lose current first-choice goalkeeper Rui Patricio to Napoli, who have just appointed former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti as their new manager.
They also claim that Hart earns around £140,000 per week but that has not put Sporting off making him the man they want to replace Patricio between the sticks after West Ham passed up on the opportunity to sign the Englishman.
They also report that as the stopper has just one year left on his current Manchester City deal, negotiations with Sporting will also concern money remaining on that contract as well.
Brits can succeed abroad, just ask Bale
The Daily Mail report that Hart will turn down the opportunity to move to Sporting in order to fight for a move to the Premier League.
However, a move away from the goldfish bowl of English football may not be such a bad thing for Hart as he seeks to rediscover some form and confidence before making an assault on the Three Lions squad again.
Gareth Bale has shown that having a willingness to gamble on going abroad and then adapt once you’re out there can bring about great success; he is arguably Britain’s greatest active footballer.
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Ademola Lookman and Reece Oxford are two examples of English youngsters flourishing abroad too and an old hand like Hart should not be worried about moving overseas also.
Everton paid £25m to sign Michael Keane from Burnley during the summer transfer window.
The centre-back had been linked with a return to Manchester United, but it was Everton that acquired the services of the England international.
Keane, who is valued at £18m by transfermarkt.co.uk, has made 24 appearances in all competitions for Everton this season – 16 of which have come in the Premier League.
Whilst there is no doubting that the 25-year-old is a very good defender; it would be fair to say that he has struggled for consistency throughout the season.
A series of niggles have made it difficult for Keane to feature on a consistent basis, although he has now played four of Everton’s last five Premier League matches.
Everton recently posted an interview with Keane where the centre-back discussed his first six months or so at Goodison Park.
The club’s supporters still have faith in the former Man United youngster, but they want to see a lot more from him in the coming months.
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A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:
Manchester United beat Norwich City 1-0 in a closely contested Premier League match at Carrow Road.
The home side enjoyed their fair share of chances in the first half but were unable to capitalise, allowing second half substitute Danny Welbeck to win the game for David Moyes’ club.
The main team news was the absence of Wayne Rooney, with the on-form United striker missing out due to a troublesome groin. Rafael and Antonio Valencia were also absent for the Champions after picking up an injury and suspension respectively midweek against Hull, though that blow was softened by the return of both Nemanja Vidic and Michael Carrick.
After a tempestuous start that saw both sides threaten, Norwich had the game’s first major opportunity when Wesley Hoolahan couldn’t quite reach the rebound after Russell Martin had forced the save from David De Gea.
From there on the Canaries – despite enduring less possession of the ball – dominated the chances column for the rest of the half, forcing a number of stops from De Gea before Hoolahan cut in promisingly from the left only to see his effort well blocked by Jonny Evans.
United – replacing Ryan Giggs with Welbeck – started the second half with renewed vigour, twice going close in the opening two minutes through Shinji Kagawa and Ashley Young. Norwich replied swiftly, with Nathan Redmond fizzing a fine effort inches wide of the upright.
The deadlock at Carrow Road was finally broken when Welbeck capitalised on a swift United break to round John Ruddy and slot into the empty net.
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As they sought to get back into the match the Canaries brought on Ricky van Wolfswinkel and moments later the home side were denied a penalty appeal after Hoolahan went down in the area. From there on United saw the game off, maintaining their attempt to push into the Premier League’s top four.
Leighton Baines scored a late penalty as Everton twice came from behind to salvage a point against Wigan at the DW Stadium.
An outstanding start to the season had catapulted the Toffees up to second prior to kick off but there was a distinct lack of fluency about their performance as Roberto Martinez’s determined side made life extremely difficult.
The Latics find themselves in familiar territory and currently occupy 16th place but they were by far the better team in the first half and deservedly took the lead in the 10th minute.
Arouna Kone, who was a constant thorn in Johnny Heintinga’s side all afternoon, was in the right place to turn home Shaun Maloney’s cross despite the Ivory Coast striker appearing to be in an offside position when he scored.
Justice was perhaps served just 72 seconds later as Nikica Jelavic diverted Steven Pienaar’s cross-shot past Ali Al-Habsi at the far post to continue his excellent scoring record. Wigan continued to press and profited once again from a shaky Everton back four with Franco Di Santo firing past Tim Howard from 12-yards.
Al Habsi had to save smartly from Leon Osman just before the break before Marouane Fellaini was yellow carded after appearing to elbow Maynor Figueroa in the penalty area after swung a kick at Gary Caldwell earlier in the half.
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A tactical reshuffle from Moyes saw him push Kevin Mirallas up to support Jelavic and the Belgian went close twice after the restart, firing narrowly over and forcing Al-Habsi into a save. Kone was then denied a second goal by Phil Jagielka and Pienaar an equaliser by another Al Habsi save.
It was left to Baines to square the game up three minutes from time, lashing his penalty high into the net after Mirallas was felled by Figueroa in the area.
Leeds fans have finally gotten some positive news this morning, and they’re reacting rather hilariously to the club’s new investment deal.
Leeds announced a new investment partnership on Thursday morning, which will see the San Francisco 49ers’ Executive Vice President of Football Operations, Paraag Marathe, join the Leeds board of directors.
Marathe is also president of 49ers Enterprises, an investment entity affiliated with the famous NFL franchise.
Like Leeds, the 49ers have a storied history, and are currently in the development stages of a rebuild to get the franchise back where it belongs.
“It is truly an honour to be invited to join the board of a football club as storied as Leeds United. I share the vision that Andrea (Radrizzani) has for returning Leeds United to greatness,” said Marathe.
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“I believe that the knowledge and experience we bring to the table combined with the hard work being done by Andrea and his talented team will make that vision a reality.
“It’s not rocket science.”
Marathe’s confidence could certainly be a breath of fresh air in the Leeds boardroom, and any NFL fan will appreciate the impressive steps the 49ers have taken to restore their former glory.
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Leeds fans have had a pretty miserable season, but the new partnership, which “enables Leeds United to align with and gain invaluable expertise from the owners of one of the biggest global sports entities” according to owner Radrizzani, can surely only mean good things for the club.
Fans have been reacting rather hilariously to the news, asking the club to follow the announcement with some new signings, most notably former 49er Colin Kaepernick, who was ousted from the NFL for his protests against police brutality and racial injustice. There’s even a few digs for Jay-Roy Grot and Caleb Ekuban as well.
Some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…
Aston Villa crashed out of the FA Cup on Saturday, losing 3-1 at home to League One side Peterborough United in one of the weekend’s big cup upsets.Keinan Davis put the Villans ahead inside 10 minutes, but from that point on the visitors dominated proceedings and had a number of chances in the first half to equalise.Steve Bruce’s side held on until the 75th minute, but three goals in the final portion of the game destroyed their cup hopes and send the home supporters away massively disappointed.Fans were left angry at the result and performance, even if they recognise the top priority this season is promotion back to the English top-flight.Criticism for the side was sharp, with the returning John Terry getting the brunt of it. The veteran defender was returning to the starting eleven after a lengthy injury lay-off but supporters were left looking for more from his performance, believing he is not quite ready to come straight back into the side.They took to Twitter to share their thoughts on his performance…
Brendan Rodgers’ problems at Liverpool don’t lie solely in the lack of quality in the squad, but also in his indecision or inability to land on a winning formula and stick with it.
This summer, Liverpool retained two centre-backs in Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel and added three others, one of whom being the £16 million Mamadou Sakho. The Liverpool manager has toyed with various formations, notably swinging between either two or three centre-backs to varying degrees of success. But those changes were to enhance the quality at the other end – at least that’s the way it appeared – and also to reduce the risk of errors from those who were lacking confidence or even quality.
The loss of Coutinho to injury was a problem that was countered by the return of Luis Suarez. There isn’t much creativity in the squad, but Suarez is one of those players who makes his own chances, as well as setting up opportunities for others.
It’s only now following the loss of Daniel Sturridge to long-term injury and a subsequent defeat away to Hull do we hear Rodgers complain of the lack of quality in the team.
The thing is I’m struggling to accept the notion that Liverpool’s summer acquisitions – all eight of them – were sprung on an unknowing Rodgers. Even last year, he talked up Joe Allen as a player whose value would quickly double. So far, we’ve seen little of Iago Aspas, the initially highly-rated Luis Alberto, and Victor Moses has bemoaned a lack of minutes since making the switch from Stamford Bridge to Anfield. These aren’t bad players, so why is it December and Rodgers still hasn’t developed a clear formula that suits the personnel in the squad?
Versatility can be a useful weapon. It appeared that Rodgers was switching between a set of formations to catch out the opposition. Liverpool are one of those teams who have to score more than the opposition, as oppose to setting up shop and using defence as their greatest asset. So it made sense to bring the best out of Suarez and Sturridge by using them as an attacking duo and in turn reinforcing the midfield so as not to be overrun through the use of 4-4-2. But that was then, when Liverpool looked to be on to something.
The tactics and personnel used against Hull were baffling. Not only was possession lost, but extremely little was created for the lone striker. There is a squad at Liverpool, and regardless of what Rodgers may think of it, there are players who can help to generate something threatening in the final third. Sticking with Jordan Henderson, who does nothing other than offer industry, and Lucas, whose sole purpose is to protect the defence, will of course offer very little going forward.
But the issue at hand, from Rodgers’ perspective, is his lack of quality in the squad. One thing Liverpool are lacking is goal scorers beyond Suarez and Sturridge. Yet Aspas has scored goals in Spain. OK, there is an obvious step up from Celta Vigo to Liverpool, but Rodgers spent £7 million on him so why not use him as Sturridge’s replacement? He hasn’t made the biggest impression in the games he’s played, but that’s expected. The need to adapt again becomes a factor. He’s certainly a better option than Raheem Sterling on the flank, who hasn’t done anything worthwhile since last season.
We know that Liverpool missed out on a couple of targets in the summer, and that may have been due to a lack of European football. But it’s not impossible to get good players regardless, as evidenced by last January’s purchase of Sturridge and Coutinho. There was nothing hampering Liverpool’s summer activity, even with Suarez’s public transfer saga. So why is it now such a surprise that the Liverpool squad is inadequate?
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This is a team who are still in transition. Their position in the top four doesn’t change the need to further invest and build upon the good that is in the squad. But it also shouldn’t be a surprise that Liverpool don’t look up to the task of challenging for the title, as some tipped them to earlier in the season.
Above all, this is Rodgers’ squad. He had a hand in its creation and is tasked with getting the most out it – which has hasn’t been able to do past his two best strikers.
Chelsea have the opportunity to go four points clear at the top of the table when they take on Stoke this Saturday.
Roberto Di Matteo’s men are the only side in the top four to play on Saturday, and a win would give them a decent gap at the top for at least 24 hours.
Stoke City go into the game unbeaten, but still looking for their first victory of the season following four consecutive Premier League games. This will be a tough task however, with Stoke’s last victory at Stamford Bridge coming back in 1974.
Di Matteo has a near fully fit squad to choose from, but midweek hero Oscar may miss out with an ankle injury that forced him off early against Juventus.
Daniel Sturridge is another who remains a doubt, whilst summer signing Marko Marin has still not recovered from a hamstring strain.
Stoke will be without Andy Wilkinson, who was caught elbowing Mario Balotelli during last weekends 1-1 draw with Manchester City, and has since been punished by the FA.
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Matthew Etherington is in contention to start having made his comeback from the bench against Manchester City, whilst Michael Owen is likely to be a substitute once more.