Sam Allardyce says that he is happy at how his West Ham squad have bonded.
Allardyce says that though the team was overhauled when the Hammers were relegated to the Championship at the end of the 2010/11 season, he feels they have “a healthy squad.”
Hammers fans were worried about the appointment of Allardyce 16 months ago, but the manager seems to have won them over after they got back into the Premier League for this season.
The Hammers have done well so far this season, and the club currently sit seventh in the league table.
Allardyce says the squad had to see changes after relegation due to the effects financially of relegation. However, Allardyce has praised how the squad have shown commitment and passion despite the overhaul after relegation.
He said: “The cost-cutting happened because it needed to. There were also a lot of players that didn’t want to stay. So, they moved on. And then as time goes on, you re-emerge.
“I think that in the end some 40 players left and about 26 or 27 came in during my time. At the moment, even with all that, I think we have got a healthy squad.
“Not quite as many as they were the last time they were in the Premier League. But I think it’s a very committed squad and a very passionate squad. They have gelled and bonded together as a team and are committed to the cause, which is to try and win every game that we play.”
West Ham’s next game is at Wigan on Saturday. They will be hoping to repeat the success of last weekend, where they beat Southampton 4-1.
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Andre Villas-Boas has revealed that he could go back to using one single striker for Spurs’ Manchester City clash this Sunday.
Tottenham enjoyed their first Europa League victory of the season last night, with the 4-4-2 system despite the manager never having used it so far this season, switching from the 4-5-1 formation.
However, Villas-Boas insists that the structure of team has not permanently changed ahead of the Manchester City game.
He said: “We’re still a team that creates a lot of attacking opportunities with one striker. We go four steps up in competition [on Sunday], it’s a different scenario.”
Villas-Boas is pleased with his team’s Europa League performance last night after some poor results previously, but has warned that Manchester City’s players will be fresher.
He said: “”It was a good performance, it was important for us to bounce back. To do it in such a good manner was fantastic. At the weekend we play the champions of England [who are] a totally different proposition. They will want to bounce back after a run of bad results. City have two days extra than us, this is the main difference. The reality is they have that extra freshness. But there is enough time to recover. The body takes 48 hours to recover from physical effort and we’ll be able to make that recovery.”
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Last night’s goals scored by Jermain Defoe, whose hat-trick took him into second place in Tottenham’s leading scorers in Europe behind Martin Chivers.
After the Venky’s took control of Blackburn in 2010 they talked of taking Rovers into the Champions League and back to the top of English football. Their grand scheme included bringing in some of the biggest names in world football and quite unbelievably Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho was one of their targets. It was a sensational proposal that inevitbaly never mateirialised as Rovers offered the money but the Brazilian wasnt ready to swap stylish Milan for bog standar Blackburn.
2. John Terry to Man City – 2009:
When Sheikh Mansour took over at Eastlands every top player under the sun was linked with a move to City and Chelsea captain John Terry was probably the most outlandish of all. It showed City’s ambition but even a proposed £200,000 a week wasn’t enough to tear Terry away from his beloved blues.
3. Carlos Puyol/ Steven Taylor swap deal – 2010:
It was one of those rumours that you had to read twice just to check that it had actually been printed. The thought that Puyol would leave Barcelona after just winning the Champions League to sign for newly promoted Newcastle is pretty extraordinary. However if you throw in the fact that magpies defender Steven Taylor was reportedly headed in the other direction it defies belief that this kind of transfer rumour was even conceived in the human mind.
4. Cristiano Ronaldo to Man City – 2012:
Cristiano Ronaldo has always stated that it was his dream to play for Real Madrid and it was the main reason behind his world record transfer to the Bernebeu in 2009. So after a brilliant 2011/12 season in which he helped Madrid claim back the La Liga title, why would Ronaldo ever want to ditch his dream role in Madrid and head back to Manchester to join his former teams rivals. This unlikely turnaround of desires coupled with the astronomical fee of £120million certainly signaled that this rumour was born out of a City fans fantasy rather than hard evidence.
5. Jay Bothroyd to AC Milan/Juventus/Inter – 2010:
It only took a premature England call up and a handful of goals in the championship to cast Jay Bothroyd as the star of a fantasy transfer to the creme de la creme of Serie A in 2010. The former Cardiff striker looked like he was about to hit the big time in Italy but had to settle for a supporting role at QPR instead as this rumour was clearly a work of fiction.
6. Steven Fletcher to Real Madrid – 2012:
I bet when Sunderland signed Steven Fletcher from Wolves this summer they didn’t realise that it was from right under the nose of Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho. Well, Martin O’Neill didn’t know because this rumour was probably untrue, Mourinho was apparently keeping an eye on Fletcher for the Real Madrid B team so there was at least some believable aspects to the story.
7. Wayne Rooney to PSG – 2012:
There are so many unbelievable aspects to this transfer that there would be too many to list. Besides the obvious problems of United not wanting to sell and anything other than the Premier League is a step down, there is also the fact that Wayne Rooney would have to learn french.
8. Iker Casillas to Man City – 2012:
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This rumour is another that will make you do a double take as certain sections of the Spanish press believe that because Casillas doesn’t exactly see eye to eye with manager Mourinho, he is ready to jump ship and join Man City. None of this rumour seems realistic as City don’t need a goalkeeper and Casillas doesn’t need to move.
9. David Beckham to Blackburn – 2012:
Although all of David Beckham’s previous transfers have been pretty sensational, a move to Blackburn Rovers under the tumultuous ownership of the Venky’s would have topped the lot. Beckham has stated on my occasions he is committed to his contract at LA Galaxy and it seems like this transfer rumour was plucked out of the stratosphere.
10. Alessandro Del Piero/Filippo Inzaghi to Watford – 2012:
When the Pozzo family added Championship side Watford to their portfolio of clubs around Europe and appointed Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola as manager, there was a new found optimism surrounding the club. But even the most optimistic of hornets fans probably couldn’t believe that they were about to sign Alessandro Del Piero and Filippo inzaghi to complete a trio of Italian striking legends. Obviously this was a rumour that came about with the whirlwind of the takeover rather than reality, but it will have given some Watford fans a brief moment of ecstasy.
Day 2 of the FootballFanCast.com Advent Calendar gives you the chance to win an England shirt, as worn by Roy Hodgson’s men in Euro 2012.
Euro 2012 might not have been a great success for the Three Lions, seeing as England were knocked out by Italy on penalties in the Quarter Finals, but Roy Hodgson’s men have a chance to redeem themselves in qualifying for World Cup 2014 in Brazil.
The shirt is manufactured by Umbro, as has been the case for a number of years and features a red star above the Three Lions crest, which represents Bobby Moore and Co’s 1966 World Cup success at Wembley.
Congratulations to Samantha Fernley, Kyle Cann and Vicki Elizabeth Cullen who won a copy of the Secret Footballer yesterday.
Fancy winning an England shirt?
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To be in with a chance of winning click below to FOLLOW FootballFanCast.com on Google +
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The winners will be announced tomorrow, when we will also be unveiling our prize for Day 3. Don’t forget to come back to FootballFanCast.com then!
Malcolm Clarke, chairman of the Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF), has dismissed suggestions that nets should be erected behind goals to protect players from attacks by supporters.
His comments come after Rio Ferdinand was left with a cut above the eye from a coin thrown by a Manchester City fan towards the end of United’s dramatic victory at the Etihad.
But Clarke feels netting is unnecessary, pointing to the vast reduction in arrests at grounds over the last year.
He told The Guardian: “Netting is not something we feel is necessary to have. No one condones the throwing of missiles, but arrests last season were 24% down on previous seasons and not many social phenomenon alter that much.
“It is undoubtedly improving and I think before we start making knee-jerk reactions to particular incidents we ought to bear that in mind.”
Sunday’s scenes had prompted Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association, to suggest separating fans from players with netting.
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Taylor told BBC Radio 5 Live: “I think you’ve got to give consideration to possibly, as has been suggested, some netting in vulnerable areas, be it behind the goals and round the corner flags.”
Thirteen arrests were made at the Etihad Stadium, nine of whom have been charged for a variety of offences, including racially aggravated public order offences and football banning orders such as drunk and disorderly behaviour and pitch encroachment. All nine are due before Manchester City magistrates court on 4th January.
QPR are negotiating a deal for Liverpool midfielder Joe Cole, according to reports from Sky Sports.
The 31-year-old has been a bit part player at Anfield under Brendan Rodgers this term, leading to speculation that he may be available to leave during the January transfer window.
Super Hoops manager Harry Redknapp believes that he can take advantage of this to bring the playmaker to Loftus Road when the transfer window opens later this week.
Should an acceptable bid be made it’s likely that Liverpool will accept, as they are keen to remove Cole’s £90,000-per-week wages from their expenditure.
It remains unclear as to whether the ex-Chelsea man will want to stay and fight for his place at the club, but with Daniel Sturridge and Tom Ince rumoured to be close to moving to Merseyside, it would appear that competition for attacking roles may increase.
Redknapp is keen to add to his squad at QPR, in a bid to haul them clear of the foot of the Premier League table.
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Having coached Cole earlier in his career, ‘Arry knows of the attacking midfielders abilities and will be confident that he can add some creative quality to his side.
Cole was absent from Liverpool’s squad as the teams met on Sunday, furthering speculation that he is set to leave the club.
Manchester City should consider themselves fortunate that AC Milan are one of the few teams – probably the only team, in fairness – to show an interest in Mario Balotelli. It’s not that the player isn’t good enough to play at big club in Europe, or even produce moments of brilliance in City’s quest to retain their Premier League title. But it is an awful lot of baggage to retain unnecessarily.
So why, then, have City reportedly gone out of their way to hike up the price of a player that no one really wants? Milan are offering him an escape route out of England, but instead of thanking their stars that a saviour has materialised out of the mist, the league champions are looking to milk this one for all it’s worth.
If Manchester City were willing to pay £20-plus million for Balotelli when they purchased him from Inter Milan then fine, but it doesn’t mean other clubs should have to pay that much for a player who clearly isn’t worth it.
Balotelli is a young, supposedly elite striker who performed exceptionally well for Italy at Euro 2012. Well, what else? How else can City or the player himself enhance his reputation and advertise him as a striker who warrants another club offering City back their investment as well as interest?
Talent will take you a long way, but it won’t force the giants of European football into a mad scramble for your services if that’s all you can muster. For a player who apparently is worth a fee pushing £30million, where is the guarantee or even hint of 20 goals a season? There’s a rotation policy in Roberto Mancini’s side, but that hasn’t stopped the other three strikers performing when they’re called upon.
Does Mancini even want the player anymore? Up until recently, it seemed as though the manager was determined to create a mini project for himself, one which would see him brush the dust away and reveal Balotelli as the definition of a diamond in the rough. But the striker isn’t the first and he won’t be the last. His mentality seems to suggest that he doesn’t appreciate how precarious his career currently is. He has the big wages and a spot in the Italian national squad, but how long will clubs put up with his behaviour and disrespect? Teams like PSG and others on the continent may have the funds to pick him up, but overwhelming financial backing doesn’t equate to a lack of values and sense.
Financial Fair Play may be starting to take effect, but do clubs like City really fear UEFA and what they may do if finances remain out of place? It’s no problem for the Manchester club to part with Balotelli for a loss, while links to other strikers in Europe gives evidence that City are looking to and are financially capable of replacing or strengthening their forward line.
It depends entirely how you want to view Mario Balotelli. He was once an enigmatic figure who created plenty of headlines, and with it he managed to put together a decent following. For whatever reason, people found entertainment or interest in the actions of a footballer, but not for what he’s actually paid to do.
His actions with fireworks, darts and most recently that hair spells it out. He’s a kid enjoying the high life, but one who has no desire to put his career on course. Manchester City’s owners have always come across as people who want to maintain the high levels of respect for senior figures at the club, and that’s specific to Roberto Mancini. For all the money spent and the trophies that have come along in the past two seasons, Manchester City are still not at the big time, and they know it. They might be the champions of England, but the club continue to grow their brand as well as their image on the pitch.
But with everything the club are trying to achieve, it’s players like Balotelli who throw spanners in the works. He received two red cards last season in the league, both of which came in high-profile games against Arsenal and Tottenham. This season, he has one goal in the league. For all the money he’s currently being paid, it’s just not good enough.
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Mancini’s squad may be short of numbers, but that should be put to the side for now. They’re only competing in two competitions for the remainder of the season, and any lack of investment surely won’t force blame to fall at the manager’s door.
AC Milan have come along and presented a get-out clause. The loss for a club like City shouldn’t matter. Their priority should be to move Balotelli on and out of the club.
Tuesday night saw the visit of Brighton to CCS and the handing out of free red Cardiff scarves to all city fans in attendance.
After the official announcement from the club about the freebie, most supporters had said they would never wear red at a Cardiff City game, and indeed the talk amongst many during Saturday’s 2-1 victory against derby rivals Bristol City, echoed that of the chatter across all social media. The mood was that of bitter rejection of the insulting ‘bribe’- many pledging they were going to accept the ‘Judas scarf’ as one fan next to me called it and launch it onto the pitch.
Posters were distributed and the word was put out that regardless of your acceptance of the rebrand, all supporters should wear blue on Tuesday as a mark of respect to the clubs history, to all the supporters of the past who no longer walk amongst us that the club was more than the sum of its current form, that fans did indeed still carry fire and passion in their bellies. It wasn’t to be a protest at the rebranding, but a defining moment that reunited a badly divided fan base, and a powerful symbol to the watching world that sneers and mocks Cardiff City and its fans.
Those who felt unable to embrace the old were encouraged to wear neutral colours, and some people did indeed do that, it should be noted that they too made a stance!
However, the scaremongers came out in force again, singing the same old tune, that to not wear the ‘generously provided scarves’ would be a direct insult to Vincent Tan the financial backer of Cardiff City, with stark and dire warnings that to dare to alienate him would have consequences – Cardiff would end up like Portsmouth and Rangers, and that it would certainly rob everyone of the long for desired place in the top flight because Mr Tan would feel insulted and demand his investment back immediately!
That scaremongering, coupled with a golden carrot that photographs would be taken of all the supporters and one fan wearing the red scarf would be given a refund on their season ticket or if they were not a season ticket holder they would receive one as their prize excited many – unsurprisingly given the current economical climate.
Alarm bells rang for many, given the hostility that the Keep Cardiff Blue brigade faced day in day out, many who had stood on the side lines refusing to be drawn in questioned whether they wanted to be branded a blue militant. Also, another rumour surfaced, that the club would know by looking at the photographs, who had refused to wear the red scarf and therefore could easily, if they so wish, choose not to allocate tickets for cup ties and away games next season to those who had insulted the rebrand, a brainless and unfounded rumour, but one that did scare a few of the more gullible of the Cardiff City fans.
In the end on a bitterly cold night an alien sight happened at CCS most supporters took the scarf and wore it! Few of the scarves made it into the pitch – supporters were warned by stewards that to do so could result in an abandoned match and docking of points for Cardiff City FC and people who had sworn they wouldn’t be seen dead in red wore one, some wore a red and blue scarf.
Some people left at half time vowing never to return – one of those had been for the rebrand but had felt sick at the sight of a sea of red, one friend of mine who I had bantered with on the subject, had told me he didn’t care if the team played in pink with purple spots said he felt sick and now realised it did matter to him.
People wearing blue were abused – when I say people I mean women and youngsters were abused, verbally and one woman pushed and shoved by scum who in my opinion have no right to a seat in any football ground! The scared sheep mentality won out, this wasn’t a “we hate the Malaysians” protest. This was more about respecting our history and tradition, all those that went before us, all the Dads/Granddads that aren’t beside us – who when we picture them in our minds eye are bedecked in blue and white.
That is how I and many other interpreted the protest and that is why I dyed a section of my hair Bluebird Blue for the game and bought, prior to kick off, my first ever Cardiff city football scarf. old school blue and white which I proudly wore, a symbol of respect to the past, the Dad’s that no longer stand by our sides, maybe one last salute to their era – for the time being at least, I did so with pride against the tide, right up until the moment I too had a torrent of abuse fired at me – the worst of which was whispered chilling into my ear. I promptly, I am ashamed to say tucked my hair into my leather jacket and did likewise with my scarf.
I had gone Blue on the spur of the moment that afternoon, I had intended to dress neutrally, as I usually do, but I had decided I wanted to honour the past – as a historian ( I have a degree in social and economical history) I felt it would be hypocritical of me not to!
In the end Cardiff City lost 2-0 they had a lot of good chances and hit the woodwork and upright on six occasions, but it was another display that was lacking. The difference being that for the first time this season, the sides luck had deserted them.
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And those scarves so proudly worn – they weren’t even in team colours, the shade of red was totally wrong and the secondary colour was white! Not the black of the teams strip, add to that the bluebird on the crest was red! The omittance of the word City and the insult to the history of Cardiff City football club was complete!
The in-fighting between fans and supporters has increased and the club has yet to do anything to discourage the bullying that is going on, Talk amongst blues has been the reds were plastics, the new fans who hadn’t been there in the old division four, kids who know nothing, but a look at the photos of supporters shows, the older fans wearing the red scarf and a fair number of ‘kids’ wearing nothing but blue.
It is a very sad state of affairs, elements on both sides red and blue seem unable and unwilling to live and let live and the saddest thing of all is that it has come to this, that a year on from Cardiff City playing in one of the greatest league cup finals in history the supporters who had sang, laughed, looked on nervously, hugged and cried on each other – now can barely manage a civil conversation, a family that has been torn apart, Cardiff City football club sit top of the league, but the celebrations after each victory feel hollow always tempered by a fresh row.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is reportedly considering a £6m summer move for FC Basel defender Aleksandar Dragovic, according to the Metro.
Wenger is believed to have held a long-standing interest in the Austrian centre-half, who featured in his side’s 2-2 Europa League draw at Spurs on Thursday, and is expected to launch a move for Dragovic in the summer.
The Frenchman has had scout Steve Rowley watch Dragovic in action, according to the Metro, and is ready to make a move at the end of the campaign as he seeks to bolster his defensive options in the close season.
It has been suggested that Swiss side Basel will listen to offers in the region of £6million for the 22-year-old Austria international but Arsenal may face competition for his signature.
Premier League rivals Everton, Liverpool and Manchester City have all been credited with an interest but it remains to be seen whether or not they will make a move when the transfer window re-opens.
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Long-term Tottenham Hotspur target Joao Moutinho is once again on the Premier League club’s radar after he asked Porto to let him leave at the end of the season.
Spurs thought they had struck a deal last summer, after a £22 million agreement with the Portuguese club, but a delay sending the paperwork to the FA finally put pay to his move to White Hart Lane.
Andre Villas-Boas, who managed the midfielder at Porto, remains keen on signing the 26 year-old, who has also made his move by asking the club to ease his transfer, The Metro claim.
The midfielder talked to his coach Vitor Pereira earlier this week to request for permission to go should a suitable offer for both parts arrived.
Russian giants Zenit Saint-Petersburg, as well as some Italian sides are reportedly interested in the player, but the Portuguese international is keen to be back under Villas-Boas’ management, giving Tottenham the lead in the race for his signature.
The transfer, which is likely to cost a similar fee as what was offered last summer, is planned to be partially funded with the sale of players like Heurelho Gomes, Bongani Khumalo, Danny Rose, David Bentley and John Bostock.
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Moutinho has established himself as a regular in both Porto and Portugal national team, and was part of the squad that won the treble (Europa League, Portuguese Liga and Portuguese Cup) with the Dragoes under the guidance of Villas-Boas in 2011.