Aston Villa goalkeeper Shay Given has warned his new teammates to expect a ‘baptism of fire’ when they kick off their campaign against newly-promoted West Ham on Saturday, reports The Mirror.
Villa new boys Ron Vlaar, Karim El Ahmadi and Brett Holmon could all be in line for their Premier League debuts against Sam Allardyce’s side, and Given is keen to stress just how demanding playing a Sam Allardyce team can be.
The trio of Villa signings have arrived from Holland, with Vlaar and El Ahmadi signing from Feyenoord and Holmann signing from AZ Alkmaar. It remains to be seen how they will come to terms with a Sam Allardyce team, so soon after joining from the land of ‘total football’.
Given said: “I know what is coming, because I have played against teams of Sam Allardyce before and even played for him.
“He is quite direct how he plays.
“Some of our new signings haven’t played in the Premier League and, coming from Holland, it is going to be a bit of a baptism of fire.
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“We must be on top of our game as we’re going to a right den.”
The Premier League, for as far back as I can remember, appears to be going through a real dearth in terms of the overall quality and standard of the league. Now, more than ever before, games are won by the collective as opposed to individual moments of brilliance. After attending the Merseyside Derby at the weekend and seeing first-hand the teething problems that Liverpool’s central midfield partnership of Charlie Adam and Lucas are going through, it brought one thing to mind – who can lay claim to having the best central midfield partnership in the Premier League?
Man Utd this season have started with all attacking bluster, yet they still retain a degree of frailty at the back. This is in part due to the forward-thinking attitudes of the likes of Anderson and Tom Cleverley. Both make similar runs at the same time and as such, they leave the Utd back line exposed. Darren Fletcher has come back and done reasonably well, but as yet no real ‘partnership’ has emerged as such.
Man City can certainly lay a strong claim. They predominantly operate with a midfield triumvirate of Yaya Youre, Gareth Barry and Nigel De Jong. Toure is given a free role to attack the opposition, but De Jong and Barry usually sit in front of the back four and keep it simple. While there may be an understanding positionally, it’s rare that they dominate the opposition. They’re decent, but little more than a platform for their supremely talented forward line to build upon.
Chelsea are still going through a change in style and formation under new manager Andre Villas-Boas. He appears to chop and change depending on the opposition, which in turn makes a mockery of the media circus surrounding Frank Lampard. Ramires has shone brightly on occasion so far this term, but he still looks to be lacking a settled partner.
Liverpool are still most certainly a side in transition too, struggling between the sublime and the abject. Inconsistency has dogged Dalglish’s charges this season and while Lucas could most definitely be said to be one of the finest central midfielders in the league, easily the most improved, I still have my reservations about Adam. On no more than 3 separate occasions during the Derby match alone did I catch Lucas shaking his head in disbelief at another attempted Hollywood pass by Adam, when a simple 5 yard-ball was comfortably the best option available – The Scot clearly infuriates the Brazilian.
Newcastle have begun the season in excellent form and not enough credit can go to manager Alan Pardew for the superb job he’s done under difficult circumstances. Step forward our first major contender – Cheik Tiote and Yohan Cabaye. The pairing have dovetailed excellently despite their ‘partnership’ being in its’ relative infancy.
For the first time in a long while, the Newcastle defence is not the joke that keeps on giving. A lot of credit must go to Tiote for the job he’s done patrolling the space just in front of the back four. His ferocious tackling ability, while it may over step the mark at times leading to the Ivory Coast international currently in possession of a terrible disciplinary record, is exactly what the side needs.
Cabaye has adjusted to the English league fantastically well. Many were surprised that Newcastle were able to lure Cabaye away from current Lique 1 champions Lille, in what many saw as a sideways move at best for the French international, with Cabaye missing out on Lille’s Champions League adventure. However, he offers them real drive from the centre of midfield and excellent delivery from dead balls. Joey Barton who, I hear you cry? They’re certainly my nomination for best midfield partnership.
Spurs can also lay a strong claim. Scott Parker has settled into the Spurs midfield alongside Luka Modric excellently. So in tune are they with each other’s game, that they are the only side in the Premier League to complete more than 600 passes in two separate fixtures this season (Wigan and Liverpool).
Parker keeps it simple and plays the short, easy passes and Modric is granted the platform and freedom to express himself. The greatest compliment that you can pay them is that Redknapp’s overdue return to 4-4-2 has gone relatively smoothly and now it’s Van Der Vaart that’s struggling to secure a place in the starting eleven, with the Dutchman having to be shoehorned into the side on the right of midfield – a tactical switch that is fraught with danger, as Arsenal’s goal on Sunday clearly served to highlight. A close runner-up in my eyes.
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Everton certainly have the talent at their disposal, but with Moyes often forced to plump for a striker-less 6-4-0 or 4-5-1 formation, it leaves the players little time to settle into the same position. There may be potential further down the line in a Jack Rodwell/Marouane Fellaini partnership, with the Belgian mightily impressive in the Derby and Rodwell desperately unlucky to even be given a card by the ridiculously out of his depth Martin Atkinson. Ross Barkley also looks quite the talent to keep an eye on too.
Arsenal’s central midfield has been one that’s gone through a degree of upheaval over the last few months. Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere showed on occasion last term that Arsene Wenger may already have found his replacements for Fabregas and Nasri, but they’ll have to wait until February now with Wilshere out for the long haul.
A crisis of confidence has affected Alex Song’s game just when he was beginning to emerge as a player of great quality and Arteta will require a bedding-in period. One bright spark of their defeat to Spurs, though, was the performance of young Francois Coquelin and a bright future awaits him.
Casting my eyes around the rest of the league, the only other side that catches my eye is Swansea – with the likes of Mark Gower, Joe Allen and Leon Britton’s impressing for their ability to keep the ball under pressure.
There are of course other midfielders that stick out as being exceptional – Wigan’s James McCarthy, returning Bolton man Stuart Holden, Joey Barton at QPR, Aaron Ramsey at Arsenal and Danny Murphy at Fulham – but whether they are part of a ‘partnership’ yet remains to be seen.
Much in the same way as there appears to be a lack of genuine out and out strike partnerships in the league at the moment, the lack of central midfield partnerships is notable. Newcastle’s Tiote and Cabaye, for the time being, hold the mantle for me, although Parker and Modric look to have more potential going forward. It’ll be interesting to see whether Newcastle can continue their rich vein of form throughout the campaign, because if they can, a lot of it will be down to their dynamic duo Tiote and Cabaye.
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Bolton have been dealt another injury blow with defender Sam Ricketts facing an indefinite spell on the sidelines.After losing Zat Knight for up to six weeks with an ankle ligament injury sustained in Sunday’s win over Everton in the Premier League, Bolton boss Owen Coyle can now add Ricketts to the casualty list.The 29-year-old damaged his Achilles during his side’s 1-0 win over Wigan in their FA Cup fourth-round replay at the DW Stadium and had to be carried off on a stretcher.”He has damaged his Achilles and it doesn’t look great at this time,” said Coyle.”The medical team think it could be quite severe and we hope that is not the scenario, but the way it is looking right now, I think it is going to be a lengthy period of time.”I think he just went to recover as Moses was raiding for Wigan, and it looked innocuous, but because of the speed the game is played at – he has certainly damaged his Achilles, that is for sure. I just need to find out the extent of it on Thursday when it is looked at properly.”
Carlos Tevez throws his toys out of the pram and the football world unites in sheer disdain at the actions of the Argentine forward. Am I the only one who saw this coming – given the fractious relationship between the player and the football club?
Tevez is something of an enigma in football, a complete one off and a player who in my opinion has no real love for the game. He wouldn’t be the first who plays the game simply as a living and the Argentine himself has suggested more than once that he is considering quitting the game for good. The very fact he initially joined West Ham and then had the sheer audacity to cross the Manchester divide tells you everything you need to know about a player who clearly has no emotional attachment to the game. He will kiss the badge and all that to appease his fans, but as he showed with United and now City, he will happily look after No.1 as and when it suits him.
The reason I wasn’t surprised at the events in Munich was that for the first time this summer, what Carlos Tevez wants he didn’t get. The Argentine was on a one man mission to get himself out of the Etihad Stadium and used every medium possible to let everyone know how unhappy he was in Manchester. I guess the sheer arrogance of the player thought that there would be a queue of teams as long as his arm willing to buy him, but everyone steadfast refused to pay the reported £40m asking price on his head and the player had to remain at City. Unfortunately the player and his advisors had no one to blame as the Citizens put him on the market and were prepared to take a £7m loss on the player to grant Tevez his move. The fact is no one wanted him and he had to return to City with his tail firmly between his legs.
What Tevez couldn’t have bargained for is that City have moved on without him and he returned being stripped on the captaincy and another Argentine had stolen the love and affection of the City faithful. Suddenly the player who thought he was untouchable in these parts was no longer needed, leaving the player well and truly up the creek without a paddle. It was only a matter of time before he cracked and that came out in Munich last night – I’m just surprised it hasn’t happened sooner.
So where does Tevez go from here? I am sure City will look through his contract and see if there are any loopholes within that allow them to further their punishment. I am sure Carlos is privately thinking ‘job done’ and he will force his move, however I hope for football that Manchester City hold firm and let him rot in the reserves. They are probably the only football club who can afford to do so and I hope they do and make a stand against these parasites within the game. It is about time the clubs took control once again and put these multi-millionaire prima donnas in their place once and for all.
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It’s been a strange old season so far for Liverpool. The fans have certainly had to put up with a lot already, even more than usual in fact. Roy Hodgson came and went, but not before making some questionable decisions, like Paul Konchesky for example, who is now playing Championship football. And now Kenny Dalglish has finally taken the reins and brought some much needed normality to the club. But what is King Kenny doing that Hodgson wasn’t?
On the face of things, he has pretty much the same squad, minus Konchesky who has hardly been missed, and of course Fernando Torres. Surely, Hodgson must be sat at home feeling pretty let down watching players like Raul Meireles smash goals in and Maxi Rodriguez actually offer something positive.
Admittedly, Dalglish has made a few changes which most of us were crying out for the former boss to make a long time ago. Christian Poulsen was getting in ahead of Lucas and Jonjo Shelvey, Sotirios Kyrgiakos was often preferred too over Daniel Agger and the less said about Konchesky the better – especially with Martin Kelly proving to be such a talent. But other than that, should we just put the turn in Liverpool’s fortunes down to the fact that he’s a man motivator? I know that ‘King Kenny’ breathes the club and is as close to the club’s all-time cult hero as Anfield is ever likely to see, but wasn’t Roy Hodgson quite good at getting the best out of his team himself? We shouldn’t forget that he took a very ordinary Fulham to the final of the Uefa Cup not that long ago.
Liverpool have had their critics – I’m not ashamed to admit that was one of the biggest, but I still felt that Hodgson was dealt a bad hand. He inherited an average squad with a couple of underperforming gems and was expected to work miracles. Yes he made some bad signings, but doesn’t every manager? Surely the rest of the team who are now playing for their shirts the way Dalglish and co would have done, should have been doing it for Hodgson as well? It takes a lot more than a club icon to make better normal players better.
In terms of Meireles, it just looks as though all he needed was time to adapt to life in the Premier League. So the fact he wasn’t doing a job straight away, does that make Hodgson a bad manager? What it says to me is that he recognised a good player, but won’t get credit for bringing him to the club because he wasn’t given the chance to see the Portuguese star settle into life at Anfield. Instead we attribute his new found quality down to Dalglish getting the best out of him.
There is no doubting that Kenny Dalglish has done a marvellous job at turning the club around so the decision to replace Hodgson seems vindicated, especially as his 6-month spell wasn’t exactly successful. But I hope within the realms of football management, his ability to coach a side hasn’t now been tarnished. He has proven pedigree and his ill-fated reign at Liverpool wasn’t all down to his bad spending and tactical naivety. The players simply didn’t want to play for him and the fans soon turned on him – a brutal combination.
King Kenny will continue to motivate the troops at Liverpool, but I hope Hodgson will be back doing the same thing at a club who want him there, sooner rather than later.
Like my rants? Follow me on Twittr @Joino
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West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has admitted that his side’s attempts to sign Andy Carroll on loan have been unsuccessful.
The England international is believed to be surplus to requirements at Liverpool after Brendan Rodgers’ appointment, and has been linked with both a loan and permanent exit from Anfield.
The Upton Park team were one of the potential suitors for the burly forward, but Allardyce has confessed that the chance of Carroll moving to the newly-promoted club is slim.
“I would probably have stuck my neck out and said we would almost certainly stay up with him on board,” The Daily Mail report the West Ham boss as saying.
“We wouldn’t have thought we would have had any chance of signing a player of Andy Carroll’s capabilities but it became clear a couple of weeks ago there was a possibility of a loan. Unfortunately at this moment, it’s not the case.”
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After the two week international break, where England have put themselves on the brink of qualification for the Euro Championships, a welcome return to the Premier League action is nearly upon us. It seems like an eternity since Rooney was sticking three past Arsenal and Dzeko hammered four past Tottenham, but in just over 48hrs the battles will resume.
Three games in, the Premier League has been exciting and at its entertaining best with goals aplenty. While the usual suspects remain at the top end of the tree, few would have expected the likes of Wolves, Newcastle and Wigan making up the top 8. Mick McCarthy (ever the optimist) claims that all he cares about is where the next 30pts are going to come from to ensure Premier League safety.
Elsewhere it has been a bad start in North London – with both clubs in the bottom four and suffering heavy defeats at the hands of the Manchester Clubs and Messrs Wenger and Redknapp will be hoping that their NEW transfer window signings will kick-start their stuttering starts to the season. Arsenal could have no fewer than five players making their debuts at the Emirates this Saturday, as Wenger finally puts his hand in his pocket, to freshen up his squad.
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It promises to be an absolute feast of football, but to give you a taste of the thrills and spills we have witnessed so far in the opening weeks of the Premier League season – go to the excellent ESPN Goals App for a review of season so far.
Click here to download the ESPN Goals App – a must have for every football supporter!
Manager Luigi Delneri is expecting a warm reception from Sampdoria fans when he leads Juventus out at his former club on Sunday.
Juve sit in sixth place on the Serie A table heading into the clash at Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris – eight points ahead of Sampdoria in tenth.
Delneri played one season for Sampdoria in the early 1980s and returned to manage the club last season, guiding them to fourth place in the league.
The Italian said there would be mutual respect between him and the fans when he takes up his place in the technical area.
“They (Sampdoria fans) will definitely be expecting applause from me. Our relationship was short, only one year, but it was very deep from an emotional point of view,” Delneri said.
“We carved out some great results together so I will definitely be happy to meet them. On the other hand, I think they will also be happy to meet me and be grateful for what we did together last year.”
“I’ve always held that club in high regard. Both as a player and as a coach, we know each other very well.”
The 60-year-old boss said he was wary of Sampdoria’s presence up front – featuring the likes of Giampaolo Pazzini and new loan man Federico Macheda – as well as their tactical nous.
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“Juventus will be even more spurred on by Sampdoria because they are a strong and solid team. They are a side that knows how to keep the play on the pitch and know how to find the right resources. We should pay particular care to what we do best, and do it as fast as we can,” he said.
“We have to pay attention to their pressing tactics and to some of their key players, especially to their strikers, because they are really strong up front.”
I was very shocked to find out that one of Fulham’s poster boys has decided to jump ship now that his contract has come to an end.
I am talking about the seemingly ageless Danny Murphy who has swapped the middle class Craven Cottage for the tops turvy roller coaster ride that is going on at Ewood Park.
Word on the street was that QPR made a late bid for the Premiership journey man but were unable to offer what Steve Kean could and so Murphy will be a Blackburn Rovers player next season. If you thought that was strange then you should see who The Daily Mail think Fulham are lining up for a replacement.
Wales captain Aaron Ramsey!
Reports are saying that even though Ramsey is settled at Arsenal he may be forced to leave due to some imminent transfers for example the much talked about Yann M’Villa but it seems that they are jumping the gun a little bit.
Arsenal haven’t actually signed another midfielder yet and even if all the rumours are true about M’Villa then surely the Brazilian Denilson would be the one Wenger lets go not the young and highly promising Welshmen.
Aside from a few shaky displays toward the end of last season Ramsey has returned from his horrendous injury at the hands – or should I say feet – of Ryan Shawcross with aplomb and was rewarded for his efforts by receiving the armband for his country when under the late great Gary Speed.
He shows maturity, patience on the ball and good passing. All attributes that Arsene Wenger believes to be essential for any holding midfielder so why on earth he would be considering selling him to a fellow London club is beyond me.
Stranger things have happened however and although I think due to Ramsey’s age he won’t be let go by Wenger I think that, as a replacement for Murphy, Ramsey would be great. Right now he is a squad player for a team that is used to playing in all the major competitions and may benefit from being made the dictator of midfield.
He would bring a new injection of energy and vision to this Fulham side that is trying to be reinvented by Martin Jol. Jol has made the clever decision that in order to bring the club forward he must move away from the blueprint of Roy Hodgson and apply his own philosophy on the club. This has been shown by the new and exciting players Jol has brought in and helped to adapt to the rigours of the Premier League. Ramsey could be the marquee signing if somehow Jol could convince him to move.
A player like Ramsey and a strong centre forward that will get you goals are needed more than a new poultry free owner of Blackburn Rovers for Fulham next season. Without them they will certainly struggle to maintain a top half finish and a push for Europa League places.
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The likeliness of Aaron Ramsey himself swapping the Emirates for Craven Cottage is about as likely as Mario Balotelli chucking his career as a footballer to go and live on an island somewhere and spend the rest of his days fishing in peace and serenity but then again Chelsea did sign Steve Sidwell.
Last season in brief: Pre-season expectations were very high, we had two of the SPL’s top goal scorers in modern history in Boyd & McDonald and on paper looked like a very good hard working team and of course all of this under the guidance of the ‘wee ginger man’ Strachan.
The bookies fancied us, the wee man had been given the customary financial backing by the ever reliant Steve Gibson. What could go wrong?
Strachan had invested in players from a league that was to be fair, no better than league one standard. They didn’t gel, we got some unlucky injuries i.e. Willo Flood on the first day of the season and Strachan was persistent in attempting to make ‘his’ players and system work some times to the detriment of our own promising younger players, a good example of this would be young Joe Bennett who he nearly destroyed when subbing him when he’d came on as sub then farming him out loan.
So left flirting with relegation and facing a real possibility that it could happen, Strachan did the decent thing and admitted defeat walking away without a severance package from the club.
Once the fans had heard that ‘mogga’ Tony Mowbray was in the frame to take over, there was no going back. Mogga was and is a cult icon hero amongst theAyresomeParkregulars during the 80’s.
So in came Mowbray who tried to influence his footballing style on a rigid and poor performing team. In short, Mowbray did bring stability and at times fans could see the attacking football that he is has promised.
He wasn’t afraid to blood the youngsters once relegation was avoided, with young academy products such as Joe Bennett catching the eye and showing promise for the future.
2010/2011 Final Finish: 12th
Who’s New: Malaury Martin 22 year old French midfielder on the books atBlackpool, however injury put pay to any impact, capped at every level Martin could be a real interesting addition.
Curtis Main, released byDarlington, Mowbray offered the 20 year old striker a trial and was impressed enough to offer him a contract.
Who’s Out: Boyd to a Turkish league team I’m not even going to attempt to spell- Free.
Finally Digard has got his permanent move to Nice-Nominal Fee.
Andrew Taylor to Cardiff- Free
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Who to Watch: Young Joe Bennett, after being shot on the proverbial football scrapheap by the ‘ginger’ one, ‘Mogga’ came in and rejuvenated the player who in turn repaid the faith showed in him to put in some classy performances which in turn attracted the attention of a number of premier league clubs.
Merouane Zemmama he maybe no Juninho, but hopefully this season he can wave his magical wand and conjure us up much needed victories. I suspect that if fit, most of the play will be coming through this little Moroccan.
Who’s going up: It’s hard to look past Leicester & West Ham really, though I think McClaren will be there or there abouts with Forest. But I think I’ll plumb for Leicester.
Who’s going down: Peterborough, Doncaster and Bristol City. For no particular reason but to just pick 3 teams I feel will struggle.
Where will you finish: Heart: 2nd, Head: 10th. If we are pushing for a playoff space come late May, I and many other Boro fans will be delighted.