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.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is excited ahead of tough Premier League clashes with Arsenal and Chelsea, believing they could go a long way in deciding who lands the title this season.
The Red Devils take on Blackpool at Bloomfield Road on Saturday before welcoming the Gunners to Old Trafford on December 13.
Ferguson's side then face a daunting trip to Stamford Bridge six days later and the Scot is looking to get the best out of all his squad players over the busy festive period.
"You always want to win those games because they are really significant," Ferguson said.
"We have managed to claw ourselves into a position where we are two points ahead of Chelsea, so the game at Stamford Bridge and Arsenal's trip to Manchester will certainly be very important, there's no doubt about that.
"We saw that last season – some big decisions didn't go our way in the two matches against Chelsea and they ended up costing us important points.
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"You are aware that you have to use your squad well because there are so many games, particularly during that week between Christmas and New Year.
"Three matches in six days is a lot. It is a hectic period but we have the players to cope. Hopefully we're in the right position come the start of January."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
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!
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Arsene Wenger is reportedly set to make a club record bid to sign Spanish U21 star Juan Mata. The signing of Mata would certainly prove a coup by the Frenchman and will certainly go some way of appeasing his doubters.
In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that include a plot to bribe Carlos Tevez; Chelsea deny that Hiddink was first choice, while Manchester United eye up a move for Thiago.
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Southgate wants major change – Sky Sports
Plot to bribe Tevez – Sun
Arsenal make club record £18m bid for Juan Mata – Daily Mail
Taxpayer stumped up £311k for multi-millionaire Gerrard’s legal aid bill – Mirror
Hiddink ‘not approached’ – Daily Telegraph
Arsenal’s Song fined by Cameroon FA after bust-up with team-mate Eto’o – Daily Mail
Villas-Boas must win over players, says Wilkins – Independent
Magpies reject Barton rumours – Sky Sports
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Harry Dos deal for Gio’s Spurs exit – Sun
United’s shock bid for Spain and Barca hero – Mirror
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Liverpool fans must be a collective of nervous wrecks with the type of football that they have been subjected to this season. What’s made more nail biting are the whole plethora of players that they’ve been linked to purchase in the January transfer window. Roy Hodgson isn’t, to many Liverpool fans, the manager that inspires majestic football or even the type who has well laid plans that will soon come to fruition. Maybe that last statement was slightly unforgiving and that the January transfer window will present the opportunity for Hodgson to bring in players who will reflect his ideology more coherently.
All we have are previous events and decisions to inform us of the sorts of players that will likely be turning up, kitbag in hand, at Anfield over the January period. The first player signed by Hodgson, but instigated by Rafa Benitez, was Milan Jovanovic who operated originally as a striker, but has been finding himself on the wing and more recently the substitute’s bench.
His second recruit was Joe Cole, who has been a disappointment after the potential he displayed at West Ham and Chelsea. But players such as Cole, after being injury stricken, require time to adjust and gain match effectiveness, he seemed a brilliant acquisition but has yet to produce. We’ll grant these two mentioned signings as unsuccessful so far.
The most notable signings during the summer were Christian Poulsen, Paul Konchesky, Raul Meireles and Fabio Aurelio. Poulsen was obviously an attempt to fill the void left by Javier Mascherano and not a very successful one by all observations. The loaning out of Alberto Aquilani absolutely baffled me, he was bought for £17 million and looked to be a player of quality, much of the same mould as Xabi Alonso, who could sit, dictate play and free Steven Gerrard. Liverpool will ultimately lose the player to Juventus, who will no doubt grasp at the option to make his loan permanent.
Meireles, for me, appeared a decent signing after having watched him during the World Cup for Portugal, he has a perpetual engine and while he may not be as technically gifted as one may wish, he still could act as decent defensive midfielder. The abundance of destroying players is probably the one downfall of Liverpool, as without Fernando Torres firing they lack goals and creativity.
This attacking deficiency should have been identified by Hodgson during the height of summer and given recourse to remedying. But thankfully for Hodgson, life is full of chances that present themselves to be either made the most of or squandered in haste. January is this chance to placate the fans and sign some truly superior players who will fabricate the kind of football that Liverpool requires.
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There are so many reports day after day of tenuous calibre linking players to Liverpool that fans must either receive them with delight or utter dismay. How apprehensive are you over Hodgson having January to buy what he deems as adequate for the club? Will he mould a resurrection of fortunes or leave the club floundering languidly from game to game?
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It has been heavily documented this season that without Robin Van Persie, Arsenal would be somewhere unthinkable in terms of their league positioning. Picking up the PFA Player of The Year last night, nobody can deny that the Dutchman has had an incredibly prosperous 2011/12, striking 27 league goals and firing the Gunners to a more respectable third at present. However, whilst Van Persie has been individually brilliant, his team as a whole has flattered to deceive and if you judge a successful season by trophy contention, the Gunners have been further of the mark this term than ever before in seasons gone by. Early cup exits and inconsistencies have weighed heavy on the club and juvenile calls of ‘one man team’ might not be that immature as first billed. When Van Persie has scored, Arsenal have usually gone on to win, and when he hasn’t they have struggled. It has been as simple as that and whilst Arsenal fans may flauntingly gallivant that they have the best striker in Europe, it’s a bittersweet emotion in many Gunners fans heads that secretly there is a reluctant acceptance that he is over-relied upon, individually outstanding and therefore prone to widespread interest in the forthcoming transfer window.
This so-called curse of individual brilliance may not be limited solely to Arsenal however when we look at the squad dynamic of rosters elsewhere. Whilst the curse in the case of Van Persie refers to a reliance on goal scoring in particularly, other squads’ merits are usually hinged upon a certain few individuals too.
If we embark on the continent and Barcelona in particularly, a few weeks ago, only a brave individual would question Pep Guardiola’s tactics with certain calls of weaknesses being shunned and laughed off as ludicrous nonsense. With the recent two defeats to Chelsea and Real Madrid, stupid punditry calls for ‘it being impossible’ to defeat Barca have been justifiably answered with aplomb. With Chelsea’s rigorous focus on the art of defending, a method was efficiently carried out to counteract the train-like consistency of Barcelona’s attacking play with the rare case of players looking solely to Messi alone for inspiration. Whilst we already know many of Barcelona’s players acquire the skill and know-how to win as a team, the semi-final first leg highlighted that when the chips are down, Messi was the player given the ball most often to try and run and weave between the Chelsea lines of four. You would expect the world’s best player to be looked towards but the rare lack of penetrative passing from Andres Iniesta and Xavi meant Lionel Messi was the focal point or in the case of this article, the example of individual brilliance looked upon in terms of skill, flair, and that ‘opening up of the door’ in regards to the Chelsea defence. Over the past couple of years, Guardiola’s side have been ‘at it’ more often than not winning with tremendous style from a variety of goal scorers but when they haven’t more recently, the reliance on Messi to make those darting runs has been clear to see.
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Similarly, you wouldn’t expect much criticism of current Premier League leaders Manchester United given all of Sir Alex Ferguson’s wisdom and their hard working style, but for many when Wayne Rooney isn’t available for selection or rarely isn’t ‘at it’, the squad struggles in terms of attacking vibrancy and chance conversion. Nobody is there to replace the tireless energy of those gut busting runs from deep and those clinical finishes nearly as often as Rooney achieves it. This could describe the curse of Rooney’s individual brilliance. The Van Persie’s, Messi’s and Rooney’s of this world bring all the strands of a team together with their distinct attributes and take them away and you have significantly weaker first eleven’s despite the rich heritages of their respective outfits.
Manchester City have also struggled despite their large accumulation of talent when a few vital cogs have been missing during the campaign with Yaya Toure’s and Vincent Kompany’s absences coinciding definitively with a lack of energy and drive in midfield and a shaky, mistake laden back line. If you look further down the table also, clubs such as Blackburn Rovers are often in wanting of flair and chance creation during the ninety minutes and Junior Hoilett has been the man over-relied upon in sparking some life into Rovers one-dimensional attacking play. Liverpool could also be said to still over-rely on the individual battling merits of their captain Steven Gerrard who is their only example of a player who makes such characteristic and purposeful strides forward.
Look closely and you will source just who the match winners are in teams across the nation. Perhaps Van Persie is the most noticeable and extreme example yes, but the idea is applicable to many other teams also, whose respective individual brilliance is looked towards probably just as often, but for different and less traceable reasons, whether they be flair, camaraderie or fighting spirit.
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The United States clinched a spot in the CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter-finals while Canada fell short as the group stages wrapped up on Tuesday.The US needed at least one point to make it to the last eight but picked up three with a 1-0 defeat of Guadeloupe in Kansas City.
Villarreal striker Jozy Altidore scored the winning goal in the ninth minute for the host nation, who should have won by more, given their complete dominance of play.
Altidore blasted a strike past Guadeloupe goalkeeper Franck Grandel from 25 yards out, but at least six easier chances went begging as Bob Bradley’s side struggled to kill off the contest ahead of the final whistle.
Nevertheless, the US sealed up second place in Group C and will advance to face undefeated Jamaica in the quarter-finals.
That is more than can be said for northern neighbours Canada, who crashed out of the tournament in heartbreaking fashion with a 1-1 draw against Panama.
The Canadians looked to have secured a berth at the expense of Group A third-placegetters El Salvador as they ushered a 1-0 lead into injury time.
But Panama attacker Luis Tejada scored seconds from the whistle to ensure his nation would finish on top of Group C and face the Salvadorans in the next round.
Dwayne De Rosario had earlier been dragged down by Eybir Bonaga in the 62nd minute and gratefully converted the penalty for Canada.
Canada finish third in Group C, a mere two goals shy of El Salvador’s superior goal difference and a place in the last eight.
Guadeloupe finish bottom with three straight losses.
Against Wolves on Saturday, if a few more of Manchester City’s stars had showed the passion of Emmanuel Adebayor and Vincent Kompany, maybe Manchester City wouldn’t have found themselves on the end of a defeat by a club that hadn’t won since the first day of the season. How Manchester City went from a united team – with their backs to wall against Arsenal, to a team devoid of any passion, hunger or ideas must be beyond most fans. For all Emmanuel Adebayor’s faults it is difficult to question his passion for the game. He is a player that may step over the mark but his desire can’t be called into question.
On the incident, Manchester City were quick to draw a line under the spat, and Adebayor himself spoke to the clubs official website.
“Sometimes you have to shout and bawl to try and get a reaction from your team-mates and sometimes that means getting them worked up in order to do the right thing for the team,” Adebayor told City’s official website.
Of course the ugly scenes at Molineux do not do the team many favours. What must frustrate City fans is that in the second half their players had shrunk into themselves. Mario Ballotelli started the game well and looked bright but one fan described his second half performance as ‘a disaster.’ He was not the only one, the team looked flat and if Adebayor was trying, like he said, to gain some sort of reaction – well someone had to try something. It would be very easy to blame Roberto Mancini, but on the pitch the players have to take responsibility for themselves. Though it looks ugly, Adebayor’s intention was roundly positive and he can’t be faulted too much for that.
Does Saturday’s game tell us a little more about Manchester City though. Manchester City were without their inspirational captain Carlos Tevez against Wolves, and it showed. City were devoid of any ideas, and most worryingly they lacked a leader. It is easy to lead a great side when things are going well but when there are issues it is much more difficult. Clearly, captain for the day Kolo Toure does not require the skills Tevez has. The players look up to Carlos Tevez, but when he is not there will City sink in on themselves more and more often, or was this a one off.
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Both Adebayor and Kompany clearly have a burning desire to succeed with this Manchester City squad. If done in the right way, such an argument can inspire a team to victory. It is very easy to say after an incident like this the squad lacks unity and the manager has lost the dressing room. In fact it was just an argument after Adebayor gave away possession and Kompany needlessly fouled Kevin Doyle. They both want to win and they hate to loose. Premier League winning teams need more players like this, and less players who accept when you concede goals. What happened on Saturday was only a show of passion – a desire to succeed. It is not like the two had a fight on the pitch and were sent off. It was a passionate disagreement, something fans everywhere want from their players.
Emanuel Adebayor showed on Saturday his desire to play for Manchester City. As well as his disagreement with Kompany, Adebayor was one of the few City players that came out of the game with credit. His work rate and desire were matched only by James Milner and David Silva. Maybe his passion to play and win spilled over. However this incident is so different to the Adebayor of old. This was not about ego’s or off field problems, it was simply about loosing a game City should have won.
For a player who has had to make do with mainly substitute appearances in the Premier League this season, Adebayor’s attitude has been refreshing. He wanted to win and show he can lead the line as well as or even with Carlos Tevez. The worrying thing for City fans must be the performance of Mario Balotelli. On his Premier League début he looked lethargic and played without desire. Compare that to Adebayor and the difference is colossal.
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Arsenal are again readying themselves for a swoop for Fiorentina’s Riccardo Montolivo this summer, according to the Mirror.
The 27-year-old Italian international was watched by Arsene Wenger’s assistant Boro Primorac in the Viola’s recent game with Genoa and the midfielder would come on a Bosman if signed.
The new move for the midfielder comes after Arsenal enquired about the player last year.
Montolivo has been one of the stars of Serie A for a number of seasons now and the Fiorentina schemer is affectionately known as the ‘magician’.
Appearing in all of Italy’s games at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Montolivo represents one of the finest talents on the transfer list this summer and would add even more creativity to the midfield ranks in what is the Gunners chosen game style.
It has been heavily documented that there is a lack of experience in the Gunners roster as a whole and Montolivo would provide added guidance to the likes of younger midfield counterparts Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey and Francis Coquelin.
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With the Gunners likely to spend big on the retention of Robin Van Persie and the recruitment of Lukas Podolski, a move for Montolivo on a free seems sensible business and there is likely to be substantial transfer activity in a summer of upheaval at the Emirates Stadium.
Manchester eyes are certainly smiling this morning as they achieved a domestic double after both clubs landing the silverware yesterday afternoon. City finally end their barren spell and it could finally prove the catalyst for a period of sustained success.
In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that include; Wenger persuades Rice to stay; Dalglish promises not to blow £50m on greedy players, while Mancini turns pot of gold into silverware.
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Bernstein: FA cannot change Fifa alone – Guardian
Tevez considering future – Sky Sports
Gold: Drop would not finish West Ham – Guardian
Hart: Cup win silences critics – Daily Telegraph
Wenger persuades assistant Rice to stay on at Arsenal for one more year – Daily Mail
The truth about Grant: good managers do not relegate big clubs – Independent
Dalglish promises not to blow £50m on ‘greedy’ players – Mirror
Mancini turns pot of gold into silverware – Guardian
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Tottenham enter chase for in-demand Friedel – Mirror
Wenger: Choose referees by secret ballot to take the pressure off – Daily Mail