All posts by h79snht.top

Regardless of how the rest of this season pans out, the future of Blackpool’s want away captain, Charlie Adam, is likely to dominate headlines throughout the summer transfer window. Reports this week suggest that Tottenham’s Niko Kranjcar appears set to leave North London with a view to getting more regular first team action, and with this being the case, the Seasiders’ star attraction could well be the man touted to replace him.

Bearing in mind that Adam was bought from Rangers for half a million pounds 18 months ago, the thought that the dynamic midfielder could become the subject of a bidding war is likely to please the money men at Blackpool. Ian Holloway, on the other hand, might have a few regrets about seeing his most prized asset leave in the summer, particularly if the club are contemplating life in the Championship.

Holloway may consider himself lucky to still have Adam at the club at all. It is understood that there were a number of passionate exchanges between player and manager in the final days of the transfer window as Adam attempted to negotiate a move higher up the Premier League food chain. A fragile truce appears to have been reached for the time being, however, it appears that should the Scotsman be plying his trade at Bloomfield Road come August hell may very well have frozen over.

Yet, of his potential suitors, the most likely destination for Adam could well be the most damaging for his career prospects. Having struggled to make a proper impact in the SPL when at Rangers, the thought of becoming a squad player at Tottenham should in theory encourage the Scottish international to look elsewhere.

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If Tottenham do make the Champions League next season, the imperative for them will be to continue to build on a squad that has not quite had the consistency this season to challenge for the title. The focus should arguably be on recruiting reinforcements up front, as Spurs have an incredible amount of midfielders on their books.

How Adam would react to going from being the main man at Blackpool to anything but that at a ‘bigger’ club is incredibly difficult to gauge. Having made few appearances at Rangers across his six-year stay in the SPL, and the history of similar players to have made moves to White Hart Lane in recent seasons, the omens for Adam are not brilliant.

It is equally difficult to know who else would want to obtain Adam’s services. Liverpool were one party interested in the midfielder in January, but the effect that having a summer to spend further funds may well weaken their resolve to try again. Other Premier League clubs may be interested, but with those potential buyers not consisting of any of the current top four, the former Ross County loanee may see the white half of North London as his only realistic choice.

Blackpool’s captain was understandably frustrated at missing out on what he must have seen as the best chance he will get to play in the Champions League again, and to secure regular Premier League football. That being said, the chance that Adam now has to secure his current employer’s Premier League survival before moving on is something he may well feel he owes to the club that made his name south of the border.

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It has been revealed that West Ham are to send ‘expert’ representatives to India for ‘player identification’ camps this summer in order to uncover the best young talent the country has to offer. The camp will provide workshops for coaches and parents and a shortlisted few will be invited to the club’s London academy for trials, where the best candidates will be granted opportunities to break in to the first team.

Those first team opportunities are currently being reaped by a collection of underperforming, overpaid and some overweight players, whose time in the Premiership will surely be coming to an immediate end whether or not the Hammers survive their relegation challenge. The likes of Luis Boa Morte, Lars Jacobsen, Danny Gabbidon, Carlton Cole and Matthew Upson, who all featured in the Irons’ most recent performance – a 2-1 defeat at Manchester City – no longer provide the quality, individually or collectively, to compete in England’s elite league.

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But what has gone wrong for West Ham this season? Scott Parker, the captain, was recently awarded the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year award, Demba Ba, a January signing from Hoffenheim has scored 5 in his eleven appearances since joining, and Thomas Hitzlsperger now appears to be rewarding Avram Grant’s trust following a lengthy injury sustained before the start of the season. So there are certainly positives hidden underneath the evident turmoil at Upton Park, which implies that Grant may have to shoulder some of the responsibility for the club’s form, but the Hammers avoided the drop narrowly last season and are only three points behind their total for 2010 with 3 games remaining this term.

Although the club had invested in ten reinforcements between last summer and January’s transfer window, none of the permanent or loan recruits can claim to have performed to a top-half cailbre. The East London side’s finances have been managed erratically (to say the least) since the Icelandic takeover and through the Tevez mess, and Grant has been particularly restricted in the transfer market since succeeding Gianfranco Zola last June. But maybe it’s too easy to say that the Israeli faced an impossible task by taking the helm, particularly as Blackpool boss, Ian Holloway, has implemented a recognized style with far fewer internationals and reduced transfer funds at the club which emerged from the Championship just eleven months ago. Grant took Portsmouth down last season with a points tally reading 19, having lost the FA Cup Final to Chelsea two years after he led the West London club to final defeats in the League Cup and Champions’ League.

West Ham legend, Tony Cottee, firmly believes the manager is to blame for his former club’s instability, recently stating: “I don’t think the club has progressed since Avram Grant was appointed. Under [Gianfranco] Zola it was acknowledged that we played good football and the players were certainly behind the manager in terms of his philosophy and beliefs. Unfortunately, since the [new] manager was appointed we’ve been in the bottom three for most of the season.” Cottee isn’t the only former Hammers icon to express his views on the team’s failings, and retired defender, Julian Dicks, has also vented his frustrations by declaring: “The players don’t work hard enough. If you’re struggling you need people who are going to put themselves about, make tackles and pressurise the other team. Only Scotty Parker does this on a consistent basis.”

Both make a valid point, and it is hard to see how the club are going to make the vast improvements necessary in almost every department in order to reverse their continual demise. Last year’s takeover by David Gold and David Sullivan only served to prevent the club from being placed in to administration, but in practice simply papered over the cracks which have been growing for several seasons. A change of manager is required, but that is just the start.

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What’s gone wrong at West Ham? Have your say on Twitter

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Listen to the latest episode of our award nominee podcast – The Football FanCast. – Featuring Razor Ruddock, Gary O’Reilly and King Jacks! Don’t forget to help Razor and O’Reilly become award winners in the 2011 EPL Awards

Dennis Tueart is one of football’s most forthright and eloquent characters, and his long-awaited autobiography is the refreshingly honest story of his days as a flying left-winger with Sunderland, Manchester City, the New York Cosmos and England.Typically candid in his views on his career, his clubs and his team-mates, Tueart recalls his spell at Sunderland in detail – from his early days under inspirational manager Alan Brown to the famous Wembley triumph in 1973 when the city was brought to a standstill and Bob Stokoe and his men returned home to a red and white heroes’ welcome after achieving one of the most sensational FA Cup final triumphs of all time.As well as Dennis’s reflections on his football journey, and his forceful views on Manchester City and the game itself, the book is also packed with great stories – from the Sunderland training session which involved the defenders heading golf balls, to a tour to the Far East with City when Asa Hartford offered to help stretcher him off then promptly dropped him. At the New York Cosmos – who had signed him to replace none other than Pelé during the razzmatazz heyday of the North American Soccer League, and for whom he starred alongside Franz Beckenbauer and Carlos Alberto – he rubbed shoulders with icons of showbiz and sport like Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall, Rod Stewart and Bjorn Borg.Offering an intelligent insight into the world of football from the perspective of both a player and a club director, Dennis Tueart: My Football Journey is a powerful and entertaining story of the Sunderland cup final hero, Manchester City legend and one of the game’s most opinionated and enduring personalities.All Dennis’s royalties from the sale of this book will go to the teenage and young adult cancer unit at The Christie cancer centre in ManchesterAbout the authorBorn in Newcastle but considered too small to play for his hometown club, Dennis Tueart was snapped up by local rivals Sunderland, with whom he sensationally won the FA Cup in 1973 against the mighty Leeds. He signed for Manchester City as the iconic Bell/Summerbee/Lee era came to a close, famously firing the Sky Blues to League Cup glory in 1976 with the overhead kick pictured on the cover of this book. In 1978 he was signed by the New York Cosmos to replace arguably the world’s greatest ever footballer, Pelé.He returned to City in 1980, eventually playing 268 competitive games and scoring 108 goals for the club he continues to follow, and later played briefly for Stoke, Burnley and Derry City. After hanging up his boots, he forged a successful career in business, one that he combined with his nine years as a director of Manchester City between 1997 and 2007.He now continues to run a successful conferencing business, Premier Events, and still follows City from his executive box at the Etihad Stadium.

The excitement can begin, even though 2012 is just a few days old, preparations should be under way for this summer and Euro 2012 in Ukraine and Poland where England will once again fall at the quarter finals stage and the players will be roundly slated.

But the main positive for me and for plenty of Premier League players is that Mr Capello will be leaving his post as manager when England’s tournament comes to an end. The overpriced Italian coach has failed to improve the Three Lions in his spell here, even though a promising group of youngsters have emerged to work well with some key experienced players.

I feel that a number of players have not been given a fair chance over the past few years in a time of need; especially at the World Cup in South Africa where the squad was missing some key attributes that were obvious to the majority of fans. On that note, here is an alternate England XI that have been harshly ignored by Fabio Capello during his reign.

Click on Steven Taylor below to unveil the alternate England XI

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Who do you think should be in the alternate XI? Let me know on Twitter: @Brad_Pinard

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Temperamental QPR playmaker Adel Taarabt did not stay to watch his team’s 6-0 defeat at the hands of Fulham on Sunday after being substituted at half time, and instead chose to get the bus home.

Fans of the Loftus Road club were shocked to see the former Tottenham midfielder standing at a bus stop still wearing the side’s tracksuit before the match had finished, as he was upset at being replaced by DJ Campbell at the interval.

Despite the incident, manager Neil Warnock feels that he has bigger worries after the heavy defeat.

“That’s not my problem. I’ve no idea. I’ve got more worries than individuals at the moment. I don’t think you can blame Adel Taarabt today,” he told Mirror Football.

“You’re going to get days when Adel throws his toys out the pram. If you’re not bothered about being subbed.. I’d rather have players like him. I’m not concerned about it. You write what you like,” he concluded.

The result continues Rangers’ inconsistent start to their Premier League season, with hard fought wins being undone by heavy defeats.

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The London side sit in 11th place, with eight points from their first seven games.

By Gareth McKnight

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As a football fan there will be dates which stick in the mind; and these memories can normally be categorised into “the good,” “the bad,” and as has become the norm for Leicester City fans, the “unbelievable.” Whilst my first game was the play-off game against Swindon Town in 1994 as an eight-year old, I’ve been hooked ever since, and during the last seventeen years I’ve experienced my fair share of the above, which include:

The Good:

It’s these moments which make standing shoulder to shoulder next to complete strangers in the freezing cold winter evenings, hoping to grind out a win that make being a Leicester fan so worth while; and I don’t think anyone can argue against the three examples of the “good” times being an LCFC fan.

1)      Martin O’Neill era, including Cup victories against Middlesborough and Tranmere

2)      Matt Piper getting the last ever league goal at Filbert Street; how fitting that it should go to a product of our academy team!

3)      The Monday night after that game also falls into the “Good” category as the curtain was brought down on the true home of Leicester City Football Club, the moment the lights went out and the packed out crowd joined together to sing Auld Lang Sign, it was enough to bring a lump to the throat, tears to the eye and the hairs on the back of the neck to stand on end.

The Bad:

As hard as you try, you can never forget these moments, and some that I’ve experienced include the Carling Cup defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur in 1999, it was my first experience of Wembley and the way I felt when the only goal of the game went in will live with me forever, along with the crowd violence which hit the headlines; and the season we were relegated to the third tier of football for the first time in our illustrious history.

The Unbelievable:

These can range from the good, such as Stan Collymore’s hat-trick against Sunderland in what was his only appearance alongside Emile Heskey in-front of the Filbert Street faithful; and the bad, such as Brian Little declaring that he won’t be leaving Filbert Street, before being unveiled as the new Aston Villa manager a few days later.

Saturday July 30th 2011 also falls into the “unbelievable” category as it was the day our new(ish) owners brought one of the greatest teams in the world, Real Madrid, aka Los Blancos,  to the King Power Stadium to face Leicester City.

From the day that this fixture was announced back in May it caught the attention and imagination of nearly everyone as they thought of the likes of Kaka, Casillas and Ozil taking to the pitch for our only home pre-season game. It was a game which I too was looking forward to, and one which when it arrived didn’t disappoint.

The owners, with the help of Susan Whelan ensured that the day lived up to the build up, and laid on a “fans village” which featured free Thai massages, Thai dancing and entertainment from local singer and Leicester City fan, Jersey Budd who took to the stage to sing Leicester’s anthem “When You’re Smiling.”

As the Madrid coach pulled up outside the players entrance, the atmosphere heightened further, as fans queued for hours to catch a glimpse of the arrogant as ever Cristiano Ronaldo walk from the coach to the entrance of the ground without even a glance towards the fans. Fortunately the Leicester squad, including new-boys Matt Mills, Neil Danns and David Nugent spent time signing autographs when asked.

On the pitch, unfortunately there isn’t a great deal to write about. It wasn’t that the game wasn’t entertaining, but it was a pre-season and it certainly had that feel about it. As the players lined up, I along with a large section of Leicester fans aimed one of our first chants to the rest of the crowd (which totalled 32,000), asking them where they were when we were *****. (I’m proud to say that come rain or shine, good times or bad I was behind the team, and will continue to be!)

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Despite the millions that Real Madrid are worth, it took them until the 43rd minute to get their first goal against what looked a solid back five of Peltier, Bamba, Mills, Konchesky and Schmeichel; and it was a mistake from the rock-solid Mills which gave Los Blancos the chance to break on an almost empty goal.

Up until the goal, the Foxes battled bravely and didn’t look fazed by their multi trophy winning side. Yuki Abe, Danns, Richard Wellens all looked to hold midfield well, Nugent looked promising in attack, whilst Darius Vassell and Paul Gallagher looked dangerous on the wings, and each player was clearly playing with pride; and some may say an eye on our next game against Coventry next Saturday.

The start of the second half summed up the difference in money the two clubs have. Whilst many are casting looks at the Foxes for the money we’ve spent this summer on our nine (soon to be 10) new signings; nothing can beat the bench of the visitors. Whilst we brought on Andy King, Michael Johnson and Lloyd Dyer; Mourinho turned to his bench and introduced the likes of Ronaldo, Ozil and Casillas; but despite their will the Spanish couldn’t prevent Dyer grabbing a consolation goal in the 83rd minute; and following the game Sergio Ramos also managed to heap praise onto the Leicester side, saying they’re definitely a Premiership side (here’s hoping!).

As entertaining as it was to host one of the greatest club sides in the world, I personally cannot wait for the start of the season next Saturday. Come 12:30 August 6th 2011, I’ll be standing with the rest of the travelling faithful at the Ricoh Arena, as we take on our minor M69 rivals, Coventry!

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It’s one thing to watch your team play badly, but having to watch them in what can only be described as a major fashion faux pas is just unforgiveable. From clashing colours, to odd pictures and animal-esque designs (yes I’m being deadly serious), football isn’t quite the beautiful game when it comes to designing kits. It appears from my ‘research’ that the 1990’s and Mexico’s keeper Jorge Campos are the main culprits for offending our eyes week in week out, without even so much as an apology. Put some of these on a canvas and we would be comparing them to Picasso’s masterpieces, but on a football pitch on a Saturday afternoon at 3pm, and the game is lost before a ball is even kicked.

To sum up the horrors I have seen, even David Beckham would struggle for sex appeal in these…oh who are we kidding? The guy would easily pull off Tiger stripes.

Click on Stade de Francais to see the worst 20 kits of our time

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Compiled by Dan Blazer

Mid-table Maritimo extended their unbeaten run to four with a 1-1 home draw with Nacional in the Liga Sagres on Friday.The hosts entered the game on the back of three consecutive victories, which had lifted them to eighth, and grabbed a result against a Nacional side who are still fighting it out for third position with the likes of Sporting Braga and Sporting Lisbon.

Campos Djalma put Maritimo in the lead after just 16 minutes, with the Angolan continuing his hot streak of form with the early goal.

It was Djalma’s fifth goal in six matches for his side and handed the free-scoring Maritimo the initiative, although they could not add to their advantage in the first half.

Nacional came out in the second half keen to impress and grabbed an early equaliser through Brazilian Diego Barcelos.

Neither side could find a winning goal in a tense finale as both sides shared the spoils at the Estadio dos Barreiros.

Premier League leaders will be expecting to maintain their five point lead at the top of the table with victory over newly promoted Norwich at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

Roberto Mancini’s men dropped points for only the second time this season with Joleon Lescott’s own goal gifting Liverpool a share of the spoils at Anfield last week. That draw meant City missed the chance to widen the gap between themselves and rivals United to eight points after the Red Devil’s were held at Old Trafford by Newcastle. That draw on Merseyside ended a run of seven consecutive wins that had catapulted City to the pinnacle of the top flight and made them firm favourites for the title. A majority of the credit for their unbeaten start to the season has to be laid at the doorstep of Mancini. The Italian has brought together a legion star names and moulded them into a finely tuned unit that puts in highly accomplished performances every week. Against the backdrop of the Carlos Tevez affair Mancini has kept his players motivated and focused on the task in hand which is testament to his man management skills. He’s worked wonders on the temperamental Mario Balotelli who has looked a shadow of the petulant teenager he masqueraded as for much of the previous campaign. The 21-year-old has been in sparkling form in front of goal and, despite his harsh sending off against Liverpool last Sunday, has enjoyed a relatively trouble free season thus far. The same goes for the likes of David Silva, Micah Richards and James Milner who have all become indispensable to City in the last few months. For now City are sitting pretty at the top although bigger tests are coming in the near future and it will be interesting to see whether they can sustain the momentum built up over the last 13 games during a packed festive programme. However supporters will be expecting victory on Saturday against a Norwich side who they’ve lost just once against in the last six meetings.

The Canaries returned to winning ways last week with a hard fought 2-1 win over QPR at Carrow Road but will be preparing themselves for a backs to the walls job in the blue half of Manchester. Paul Lambert’s side ended a run of one win in six with victory over Rangers but knows his side will have to perform much better if they are to come away from the North West with points under their belts. Halting the City express is arguably their biggest test since winning promotion back to the top flight and one that the Norwich players are sure to relish. They’ve performed well against three of last seasons top four despite losing each game they’ve come away with a sense of pride after taking the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea right to the wire away from home. I doubt anyone expected them to be sitting comfortably in 10th place going into December although that is likely to chance when they come up against City. However it would be wrong to count out Lambert and his side before a ball has even been kicked at the Etihad. Performing above expectations and confounding the critics has become somewhat of a speciality in Norfolk over the last few years with back-to-back promotions and a strong start to life in their first Premier League campaign in seven years. Their is a feel good factor flowing around Norwich at the moment that is sure to generate enough positivity to assist them in staying clear of the relegation zone. One concur does remain for Lambert though and that is his sides propensity to concede goals. His side have yet to keep a clean sheet in the league this season and coming up against free scoring City isn’t the ideal time to try and correct the problem. Whilst a heavy defeat may be on the cards don’t expect the Canaries to just lie down and accept that.

Manchester City – 1st

Last Five: Drew 1-1 v Liverpool (A), Won 3-1 v Newcastle (H), Won 3-2 v QPR (A),Won, 3-1 v Wolves (H), Won 6-1 v Manchester United (A)

Potential Starting X11: 25. J. Hart 2. M. Richards 4. V. Kompany 6. J. Lescott 13. A. Kolarov 34. N. De Jong 42. Y. Toure 21. D. Silva* 7. J. Milner 16. S. Aguero 10. E. Dzeko

Injury News: Mancini has no new injury worries going into the game against Norwich with Owen Hargreaves the only man in the Etihad Stadium treatment room.

Key Player: David Silva

He is the man that makes City tick, the conductor of the sky blue orchestra. David Silva’s form this season has been nothing short of mesmerising and his importance in the side has grew substantially throughout. The Spanish midfielders creative influence has seen him become a major part of the way City attack with his elegance and vision cutting defences wide open time and time again this season. Norwich’s creaky back four will be no match for the Manchester magician and his enormous box of tricks.

Match Fact: This will be only the ninth time City have met Norwich in the Premier League era with their last encounter coming in 2005. Mancini’s side enjoy playing the Canaries though having won three and drawn four of their previous eight top flight meetings.

Norwich City – 10th

Last Five: Won 2-1 v QPR (H), Lost 2-1 v Arsenal (H), Lost 3-2 v Aston Villa (A), Drew 3-3 v Blackburn (H), Drew 1-1 v Liverpool (A)

Potential Starting X11: 1. J. Ruddy 23. M. Tierney 20. L. Barnett 2. R. Martin [C] 25. K. Naughton 7. L. Crofts 4. B. Johnson 11. A. Surman 12. A. Pilkington 14. W. Hoolahan 5. S. Morison*

Injury News: Apart from long term injury victims Zak Whitbread and James Vaughan manager Lambert has no fresh injuries in his squad.

Key Player: Steve Morison

The summer signing from Millwall has performed superbly in his debut season in the Premier League scoring five goals and proving to be a real nuisance in and around the penalty area. To give you a measure of just how good Morison has been he is keeping the Norwich captain Grant Holt on the substitutes bench. The Welsmans’s physically intimidating approach up front will come in handy against a City defence that has hardly been troubled during the current campaign.

Match Fact:  Norwich don’t enjoy playing in the blue half of Manchester winning just two out of their last 24 visits to City. The first of those came in September 1964 and they had to wait 33 years before winning their next in 1997.

Last Time at Maine Road

Premier League 1 November 2004

Manchester City 1-1 Norwich

Flood, 11

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Francis, 46

Attendance: 42,803

Referee: Steve Bennett

PREDICTION

City are unstoppable at the moment and the minor blip at Anfield last week will be corrected with a  massive win against mid-table Norwich on Saturday. Maintaining that gap between themselves and rivals United is imperative going into the potentially damaging festive period that will be a true test to their title mettle. Norwich on the other hand will be looking beyond this game although thats not to say they won’t give the league leaders everything they’ve got on the day. Their leaky defence coupled with City’s razor sharp attack should see them slide to a defeat.

Score 4-0

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West Ham’s season has lurched to another low after reports of a brawl at the relegated club’s end-of-season gala awards on Monday.Police were called to Grosvenors House Hotel in Park Lane in London after tables were reportedly overturned, a vase smashed and chairs thrown, with security allegedly pursuing a group of fans as they fled the premises.

It has been suggested the trouble began when a West Ham player refused to sign an autograph for a fan.

The brawl capped a dark few days for the Hammers, whose relegation from the English Premier League was confirmed on Sunday after a 3-2 loss at Wigan.

The result led to the immediately sacking of manager Avram Grant, with West Ham hosting Sunderland in their final game of the season on Sunday.

Captain Scott Parker followed his Football Writers’ Association footballer-of-the-year win with the player, supporters’ player and goal of the season awards at the Hammers’ gala event.