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Claudio Ranieri is adamant he will not resign from Roma despite protests calling for the coach’s removal on Saturday.About 200 fans had to be dispersed by police after they hurled fireworks and flares into Roma’s training ground on Saturday morning, angered by the Serie A club’s run of poor form.Roma were defeated 3-2 at home by Ukrainian outfit Shakhtar Donetsk in the Europa League on Wednesday, and sit a lowly eighth in the Italian league following back-to-back losses.But Ranieri is determined to ride out Roma’s latest slump and remain at the club he supported as a child.”Relax, I’m not going anywhere. I will not abandon the ship,” Ranieri said ahead of Roma’s trip to Genoa on Sunday.”I won’t leave mid-season. It is a difficult situation, so as a native Roman I feel twice as bad, but I don’t like to give in. I have always faced challenges head-on and will continue to do so.”American consortium Di Benedetto are believed to be close to purchasing the cash-strapped club from Rosella Sensi, and reports from Italy have suggested the potential new owners may be planning to oust Ranieri from the position he has held since 2009.But the 59-year-old believes he may be in line for a contract extension should the American group take over at the Stadio Olimpico.”The Sensi family is selling up, while there is a new buyer who still has to complete the process. I received positive messages that they want to renew my contract, but we cannot rush these things,” Ranieri said.”You have to consider the situation when I arrived, as there was no money and I knew it was an extremely difficult situation.””I could’ve easily walked away last season, knowing the next term would be tough. However, that would’ve been like betraying myself.””The fans want to see a team that gives everything on the field. They are focusing on tomorrow’s game against Genoa and want results.””They couldn’t care less about club plans and strategies for the future.”

Manchester United are set to increase their bid for Inter’s Wesley Sneijder, despite the Italian club claiming the midfielder is not for sale.

According to The Telegraph, the Premier League champions are set to offer a club record fee of £35 million for the ex-Real Madrid ace and pay him wages in excess of £200,000 a week.

The Daily Mail stipulates that such high earnings could cause frustration amongst the existing Old Trafford squad, with highest earner Wayne Rooney not relishing being eclipsed financially by the Netherlands international.

Despite this, Nerazzurri technical director Marco Branca has rejected claims that the 27-year-old will leave the Giuseppe Meazza, and has stated he is ‘untransferable’.

“Wesley Sneijder  is untransferable. There is nothing to update,” he told Sky Sports.

“It’s not surprising Sneijder is wanted by other clubs, but we have received no formal offer, nor do we intend to wait for one. We know what we have to do and there are no meetings planned with his agent. Sneijder is not for sale.”

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Sir Alex Ferguson is in the market for a playmaker to replace the retired Paul Scholes, with moves for Luka Modric and Samir Nasri looking dead in the water.

Just the six games in the Premier League this week,

Who would prove mighty and who would be meek?

Well, Sunderland and Wolves could’ve played in the dark,

The difference in the result wouldn’t have been stark,

Man City mow Canaries in a six goal treat,

As Paul Lambert’s men become shredded tweet,

Swansea City end their losing run,

But Blackburn gloomy and having no fun,

Brendan Rodgers can thank the Swans super Sig,

The Icelandic maestro just loves having a dig,

But Manchester United five points clear,

As Manchester City enviously leer,

Two weeks now til the big showdown,

With United likely to retain their crown.

Goal of the Weekend

The performances of Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero have often been overshadowed this season by the antics of his fellow strikers, namely Mario Balotelli and Carlos Tevez. However, Aguero’s two goals on Saturday helped City thrash Norwich but his first strike in particular was magnificent.

He arrowed a 25-yard shot into the top corner rendering John Ruddy’s dive futile. It was the Argentinian’s first goal in the Premier League this season which has come outside of London and Manchester. Considering this statistic, it’s impressive that he’s third in the goal scoring charts with 21 goals in the Premier League.

Player of the Weekend

Had Papiss Demba Cissé not been performing so well for Newcastle United in recent weeks, it would be easy to label Gylfi Sigurdsson as the best signing in the January transfer window. The attacking midfielder, who’s also the chairman of an Icelandic fishing industry company, has seven goals in 14 appearances. This is the first time he has played in the Premier League having never had the opportunity to do so with Reading.

As he showed again on Saturday, he’s relishing the opportunity. Sigurdsson scored another spectacular effort against Blackburn, something which has become a trademark of the Icelandic. It was his first goal at the Liberty Stadium and he also grabbed an assist. Sigurdsson’s shot rebounded off the post onto Scott Dann and in turn into the goal, rounding off a 3-0 defeat for Blackburn and another good day for Gylfi Sigurdsson and Swansea.

Interview of the Weekend

Carlos Tevez is hardly a darling of English football after his refusal to come on as a substitute for Manchester City against Bayern Munich in September last year. However, his second start since Roberto Mancini declared he would never play for City again brought the Argentinian a hat-trick.  This meant he was named man of the match by Sky Sports – cue Carlos facing the cameras, but not for very long.

After asking questions to Vincent Kompany, Sky Sports’ Andy Burton turned to Carlos Tevez and what happened next was bizarre, yet somehow expected….

Andy Burton: Carlos, you happy to be back?

Carlos Tevez: Yes [Laughs, then Pauses] I man of the match?

Andy Burton: You are man of the match, you’ll get that [bottle of champagne] in a minute

Carlos Tevez: Thank you! [Takes Champagne and tries to walk off] Thank you, see you

Andy Burton: Very quickly, did you dive?

Carlos Tevez: huh?

Andy Burton: Did you dive?

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Carlos Tevez: I don’t know [Rushes off}

Andy Burton: OK, he’s off!

It’s doubtful this interview will endear Tevez any further to those who dislike him but if he helps claw Manchester City back into the title race, their fans won’t mind!

For more on the Premier League, follow @archiert1 on Twitter.

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If I’m being honest, the 2010 World Cup, the event billed as football’s biggest showpiece, has been somewhat of a disappointment. Low on goals, low on quality, low on drama, Africa’s first World Cup has certainly failed to live up to expectations thus far. Whilst one would be spoilt for choice when asked to select the tournament’s most underwhelming game, one would be hard pressed to look beyond France’s opening Group A clash with Uruguay last Friday.

Emblematic of the tournament as a whole, the opening day’s drab 0-0 affair with Uruguay painted Les Bleus as a shadow of their former selves. Devoid of the inspiration of the French sides of 1998, 2000 and 2006, the performance of Raymond Domenech’s side alluded to a team in turmoil, begging the question, what exactly is wrong with France?

France skipper Patrice Evra blamed his side’s dismal showing against Uruguay on the horns used by fans at the World Cup, claiming that “[my team-mates and I] can’t sleep at night because of the vuvuzelas. People start playing them from 6am. We can’t hear one another out on the pitch because of them.”

Even the most ardent French supporter would fail to believe that their side’s problems are entirely attributable to the use of vuvuzelas. Since the contentious nature of their qualification for the World Cup, French football has been shrouded in controversy and confusion. The team travelled to South Africa amidst a backdrop of unrest, disharmony and mediocrity. The apparent rot that has set in amongst Les Bleus can be traced back as far as the summer of 2008. At the last European Championship finals, France suffered the ignominy of finishing bottom of their group, with just one point and one goal scored. Determined to swiftly banish the memory of their abject display in Austria & Switzerland, France were unable to top their qualifying group for World Cup 2010, finishing a point behind group winners Serbia.

As such, finishing second led to their now infamous two-legged play-off clash with the Republic of Ireland, whereby the ‘handiwork’ of Thierry Henry created the tie’s decisive goal. Despite securing qualification for the World Cup, many were unhappy by the way in which France won the tie, with former World Cup winner Emmanuel Petit explaining to The Sun that, “the feeling among the French public is one of embarrassment.” More recently, French football was rocked by the news that national team players Franck Ribery, Karim Benzema and Sidney Govou had slept with the same underage prostitute. Despite the fact that full investigations into the matter have been postponed until the end of the World Cup, there is no doubt that the revelations would have had a negative impact upon the squad.

Although unrest and cliques within national team camps are commonplace, the level of press coverage claiming divisions within the French squad suggests that all is not well amongst Domenech’s charges. Eschewing the initial omissions of the likes of Karim Benzema and Samir Nasri, Domenech’s decision to leave out Chelsea’s Players’ Player of the Year Florent Malouda from the side’s starting line-up to face Uruguay was baffling. Although Malouda has since expressed surprise at being left out, reports have suggested that his omission stemmed from a bust-up between the pair, with Domenech thought to have expressed displeasure at Malouda’s “over-zealous” attitude in training. Malouda’s usually outspoken compatriot William Gallas allegedly refused to speak to the media throughout the entire duration of the World Cup due to anger at being overlooked for the French captaincy.

Patrice Evra has sought to quell such speculation; speaking of rumours of unrest, the Manchester United man stated, ‘‘That’s bull. That’s not true. The mood is good.”

Aside from issues off the field, it is clear to see that France have problems on the field. The absence of Real Madrid anchorman Lassana Diarra has led to an enforced formation switch from 4-2-3-1 (France’s preferred system throughout the qualifying campaign) to the more attacking 4-3-3 (the formation that was debuted in France’s friendly against Costa Rica on May 26). Whilst the change in system indicates a new found proclivity for attacking play, altering the formation so close to the start of tournament failed to provide the players with the chance to sufficiently adapt; unconvincing draws against Tunisia and (latterly) Uruguay, as well as a defeat to China would suggest that this is the case.

France’s lack of cohesion against Uruguay was symptomatic of the fact that many of the players are not yet accustomed to the new system. Former French international Jean-Pierre Papin, highly critical of Domenech, highlighted the inadequacies of Nicolas Anelka as a lone frontman, stating “Nicolas Anelka is not a striker. You need a player who is astute in front of goal. I would play Djibril Cisse or even Andre-Pierre Gignac.” The lack of fluidity and creativity in France’s midfield meant that the intelligent Anelka was starved of service, and forced to play deep and wide, thus meaning that France spent long stretches of the game without a recognised centre-forward to trouble Uruguay’s defence.

Most bookmakers currently rank France as eighth in the list of favourites to win the World Cup outright, a staggering fact when considering the international success the nation have enjoyed over the last 12 years. Unfortunately, their display against Uruguay did little to suggest that the bookmakers have gotten it wrong.

Follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/zarifrasul

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Werder Bremen have denied receiving any offers for Germany World Cup star Mesut Ozil.

The 21-year-old playmaker has been one of the standout performers in Germany's impressive march to the semi-finals in South Africa.

Spanish giants Barcelona and several Premier League clubs, including Chelsea and Manchester City, are reported to be interested in signing the former under-21 international.

However, manager Klaus Allofs has denied reports that the Bundesliga club have already started to fend off official interest from suitors.

"Mesut had appeared in the focus of clubs before the World Cup had kicked off," he said."Now he is playing a fantastic World Cup campaign, this is definitely increasing interest.

"But when it comes down to concrete bids, nothing has been done. We want him to stay on and actually there is no news. There are no indications he does not want to see out his contract at our club."

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Ozil has scored one goal in five World Cup appearances for Germany in South Africa.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Manchester United defender Chris Smalling has stated that he wants to be more of a threat at set pieces, and contribute goals to the Premier League champions.

The versatile defender has chipped in with three goals since joining from Fulham, and is eager to up this tally in the future.

“I’m definitely working hard on my role at corners and free-kicks in order to make an impact,” Smalling told Mirror Football.

“When I joined, one or two of the coaches pointed out that they were looking for goals from the centre-halves.

“Obviously, Nemanja Vidic scores a few and if you can add goals to your armoury, it’s a massive plus point.”

“Hopefully I’ll keep finding the net and contribute a bit more in the future.

“I don’t want us to be relying all the time on the strikers for goals,” he concluded.

Smalling is in contention to feature for United against Liverpool at Old Trafford on Saturday.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Fulham boss Mark Hughes says Fulham’s comfortable 3-0 win over Bolton has vindicated his belief that the Cottagers are a top-10 side.Goals in either half to American Clint Dempsey and a Brede Hangeland header handed the Londoners the three points on Wednesday and also propelled them into the top half, effectively slimming their chances of an unlikely drop into the English Premier League’s relegation zone, with only four games remaining in the season.

Former Manchester City boss and Manchester United player Hughes was delighted with his troops’ showing.

“We were excellent. We are in the top 10 now,” the Welshman told the BBC. “I think it’s only the second time this year that we’ve been in the top 10 and now it is up to us to make sure we stay there until the end of the season.”

“You have had heard me time and time again say that I felt we are a top-10 side (and) I think we proved that again tonight. We have got good quality, we play the right way and I think we deserve to be in the top 10.”

“I thought some of the play we produced was excellent and thankfully tonight we added goals to the quality of our play. It is very satisfying for everybody.”

Bolton manager Owen Coyle expressed disappointment with his side’s spurning of the chance to move into seventh.

“Certainly it is disappointing,” Coyle told Sky Sports. “We came here to try win the game and we could have moved to seventh.

“We know Fulham are a good side. They have been in good form at home, but from our point of view we have lost three goals from set-plays and that is disappointing in any game. But I can’t deny Fulham deserved the win.”

Coyle partially attributed the side’s loss of personnel through injury, with Daniel Sturridge unable to start the game and in race for fitness ahead of their league clash with Blackburn on Saturday.

“Ultimately I’m disappointed to have lost this game and we are not making excuses, but we have players dropping like flies. But there is no debating that Fulham deserved the three points,” he said.

“Time will tell and (midfielder) Mark Davies is the same. (The players) have been terrific all season but that happens to everyone all season and we didn’t deal with that tonight.”

“(It’s as) simple as that.”

Former Chelsea boss Ruud Gullit has urged the Stamford Bridge club to try once-more to sign Luka Modric from Tottenham come the January transfer window.

Andre Villas Boas’ men had at least three bids for the Croatian midfielder rejected by Spurs chairman Daniel Levy over the summer, with a deadline day offer of £40 million knocked back by the White Hart Lane outfit.

Despite this, and Modric’s willingness to continue to play for Harry Redknapp’s team despite the speculation, the Dutch coach feels another attempt should be made to pry the playmaker away from Spurs come the new year.

“The player Chelsea still need, for me, is Modric,” Gullit told Mirror Football.

“They have great players all around the pitch but he has something Chelsea doesn’t have at the moment. He is creative and dominates the passing game in the midfield – he could be like Xavi or Iniesta are to Barcelona.

“I was surprised Tottenham didn’t accept £40m because they are known to sell their best players for good offers. I think Chelsea will try to sign Modric again in January and maybe this time they will get him,” he concluded.

Harry Redknapp has previously stated that Modric is pivotal in Spurs’ development as a team, and the North London side are reportedly set to offer the Eastern European a pay rise to keep his suitors at bay.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Arsenal are set to open up contract negotiations with star attacker Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain in the near future, The Sun claim.

The England international has four years left on his existing deal at the Emirates Stadium, but has made a dramatic impact since moving to north London.

The Gunners have had to watch on as Robin van Persie and Samir Nasri have forced a move away from the club in the last year of their contracts, whilst Theo Walcott is in the final 12 months of his deal and is refusing to extend for the time being.

Oxlade-Chamberlain is set to be rewarded for promising showings for the north Londoners with a prolonged deal and a pay increase to boot.

Arsene Wenger hopes that signing the Ox up on a new long-term contract will avoid a similar tricky situation arising in the future, and may even convince Walcott to consider a new contract with Arsenal also.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Liverpool forward Fabio Borini has stated that he is confident that he will end his goal drought in the near future.

The Italy international moved to Anfield in the summer, and along with Luis Suarez is one of only two recognised forwards at the Merseyside club.

However, the diminutive attacker has not lived up to goalscoring expectations as yet, but feels that it is only a matter of time before he starts to hit the net.

“It’s just a matter of time for me. The same thing happened last season,” Borini explained to The Telegraph.

“I scored one goal before October, then got injured for three months and after that I scored my second goal in January. From January until March I scored ten goals. I know from past experience that the goals will come.

“In Swansea I scored six goals from March until May. I am always late. The position I have been playing at Liverpool has been different as well. It hasn’t been as the main striker.

“I know I have been bought to score goals but I don’t feel the pressure. I don’t need to rush my performances. I’m working hard every day in training and the goals will come. I feel good. I’ve settled in quickly and everything is going well for me. It has probably been easier for me to settle in because I’ve had so many different clubs in the last few years.

“I’ve moved a lot so I know what it needs to settle in quickly. You can’t wait for things to happen, you have to make things happen quickly for yourself,” he concluded.

Liverpool face Udinese in the Europa League on Thursday night.

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