Liverpool fans hopes of a January spree were dashed this week as John Henry suggested that perhaps the summer would be a better time to make significant changes to the personnel. History has proven that January isn’t necessarily a good time to buy players and therefore the Liverpool owner may well have a point.
At FFC we have seen a variety of blogs this week highlighting the aforementioned transfer dilemma; reflecting on the shafting the Reds received from the FA and the real reason for Damien Comolli’s appointment.
Plus we look at the best Liverpool blogs on the web this week.
Hola bebé – Carles’ lady puts Premiership WAGS in the shade
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Good to see NESV getting a head start on the Academy front
Should Liverpool keep these transfers underwraps?
Do Liverpool have every right to feel shafted?
Right to curb Liverpool’s transfer enthusiasm?
Liverpool cannot contemplate letting starlet move on
The REAL reason behind Comolli’s appointment
FIVE potential replacements to take the reins from Roy Hodgson
What to do with Roy Hodgson?
Liverpool’s Top TEN stoppers of all time…in my view
Transfer threat does little for Liverpool star’s credibility
Further evidence to suggest why Roy is the wrong man for Liverpool
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Click here to see the Best LIVERPOOL BLOGS around the Web this week
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10 disastrous quotes of Roy Hodgson’s LFC reign – This is Anfield
Dead Man Walking – Kopblog
Why Henry’s philosophy is all about “the numbers” – Live4Liverpool
Comolli outlines plans for the future – This is Anfield
The Tomkins Times: Liverpool’s season so far after a third of the Premier League campaign – Tomkins Times
It has been nothing short of an exceptional week for Spurs. A second half comeback in the north London derby secured a first win away against their fierce rivals in 17 years. This was then followed up by a 3-0 victory over Werder Bremen to send the club through to the last 16 of the Champions League at the first time of asking. Off the field was also eventful with London major Boris Johnson confirming the planning permission given by Haringey Council to develop the land surrounding White Hart Lane.
This week at FFC we have seen a mixed bag of Spurs blogs which has included…Tottenham face up to catch-22, Is the League really a five horse race and Bale gives Pavlyuchenko a piggyback.
Plus we have taken a look at the best Tottenham stories on the Web this week.
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Hallå Underbar – Christian’s lady puts Premiership WAGS in the shade
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The Tottenham fans dilemma
Is this the Premier League team from HELL?
Tottenham face up to transfer catch-22
Will ill discipline force Luis into Premier League move?
Is it really now a five horse title race?
Where do Tottenham go from here?
Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs – who represents the best move for Ivorian?
Rafael van der Vaart: A missed opportunity?
Are these Tottenham views so farfetched?
Something to bring a BIG smile to Tottenham fans’ faces
Bale piggy back, Man City prank, Obertan’s no Jacko
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Click here to see the Best TOTTENHAM BLOGS around the Web this week
A nail in the coffin of Stratford? –Dear Mr Levy
Who’s afraid of the Champions’ League? – Spurs Musings From JimmyG2
Utd stars showed me how to win – Sun
Arsenal release North London Derby DVD – Harry Hotspur
The future is bright, the future is Lilywhite – Dear Mr Levy
Blackburn Rovers manager Sam Allardyce has been sacked today to bring his two year plus spell at the Premiership to a club to an end. New Blackburn owners the Venky’s Group from India relieved Allardyce of his duties, alongside his assistant Neil McDonald. A statement on the Official Blackburn Website says: “We have taken this decision as part of our wider plans and ambitions for the club. We would like to put on record our thanks to Mr Allardyce for his contribution to Blackburn Rovers Football Club.”
Big Sam’s departure comes with Blackburn having lost three of their last five matches and sitting 13th in the Premier League table. It also comes just a week after former Newcastle manager Chris Hughton was sacked by Mike Ashley. This decision isn’t as absurd as Ashley’s but it is still extremely strange. Did Sam Allardyce deserve to be given the boot or is this just another example of Premier League chairmen losing the plot?
Article courtesy of Rob Morris from the NEW ‘Clean Sheets All Round’
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6. Emmanuel Frimpong: Age 18; Signed by the Gunners aged nine, Emmanuel’s tough-tackling and physicality is arguably Arsenal’s answer to Michael Essien.
Representing England at youth level, the midfielder has risen through the ranks at a rapid rate and following a successful Emirates cup, looked to make a strong impression in the Carling Cup this season. Unfortunately, Emmanuel suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in training which has seen him on the sidelines for 9 months. If he can come back fighting fit, expect the Ghanaian-born youngster to develop under the guidance of Alex Song and Abou Diaby.
5. Ignasi Miguel: Age 18; Miguel captained the reserves during the second half of last season and his move from left-back into a more central position has certainly helped his development. Question marks have been raised about his lack of pace but his strong tackling and distribution has drawn comparisons to another Spaniard, Gerard Pique. High praise indeed.
4. Chuks Aneke: Age 17; Under 18’s manager and Arsenal legend Steve Bould recently labelled Aneke as one of the hottest talents in English football.
Barcelona were interested in bringing the attacking-midfielder to the Camp Nou before he signed professionally with the Gunners and now a battle between Nigeria and England has commenced over his international future. Expect big things.
3. Wellington Silva: Age 18; Despite not being granted a special visa by FIFA, Arsene Wenger has high hopes for the Brazilian winger who has been touted as ‘the next Robinho’. Hopefully we’ll get to see a lot more of the Samba star when he joins a Spanish club on loan during the January transfer window.
2. Benik Afobe: Age 17; Currently on loan at League One side Huddersfield Town, Afobe joined Arsenal’s Academy aged six. If you wondered what the hype was about, the striker shares Michael Owen’s strike record for the England U-16s and belted 20 goals in 25 matches for an Arsenal side that won the Premier Academy League for the second successive season last year. England fans, watch out for this prolific finisher!
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1. Wojciech Szczesny: Age 20; Your spell checkers enemy, Wojciech Szczesny, is without doubt the future between the sticks. A successful spell out on loan to Brentford last season confirmed that this 6ft 5in stopper is the real deal and if Arsenal fans needed further prove, his clean sheet against Newcastle in the League Cup did just that. Lukasz Fabianksi’s recent form has kept the number one jersey in the balance, but it’s only a matter of time before this Pole takes pole.
Manchester United will host non-league Crawley Town, while Leyton Orient welcome London rivals Arsenal in the FA Cup Round of 16.
Crawley Town’s 1-0 win over Torquay on Saturday gave them the distinction of being the first non-league side to reach the last 16 of the cup in 17 years.
League One outfit Orient welcome Arsenal to Brisbane Road, while Aston Villa will play the winner of the replay between Notts County and Manchester City, who drew 1-1 on Sunday.
League One pacesetters Brighton will play Stoke at the Britannia Stadium and Reading will meet either Everton or Chelsea after they drew 1-1 on Saturday.
Fulham or Tottenham – who play on Sunday – will meet either Bolton or Wigan, who drew 0-0 at Reebok Stadium on Saturday, in what could be the only all-English Premier League showdown of the round should Notts County knock out Manchester City.
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The full draw: Notts County or Manchester City v Aston Villa, Stoke City v Brighton, Birmingham City v Sheffield Wednesday, Leyton Orient v Arsenal, Everton or Chelsea v Reading, Manchester United v Crawley Town, Fulham or Tottenham v Bolton or Wigan.
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew said his side would have won had his players not been urged to over-attack in the final stages against Tottenham.
Spurs equalized in injury time at St. James Park via Aaron Lennon, with the goal cancelling out defender Fabricio Coloccini’s opener for the home side.
Pardew said if it was not for the eager support of the home faithful – and a natural tendency to entertain by pushing for a second goal – his side may have clinched the three points.
“We’ve come up against a Spurs side that in the first half looked like they were going to give us a really tough afternoon. They knocked the belief out of us with their movement and passing,” Pardew told Sky Sports.
“And it wasn’t til half-time when we sat them down and adjusted a couple of things and put a bit more belief in the players that we looked like what we can do, caused them all sorts of problems.”
“We took the lead and if it wasn’t for exuberance at the end, trying to get a second and the crowd urging us on and all getting a little bit carried away, we would have a really big victory today. Unfortunately for us, it’s only a draw.”
Coloccini, who scored a rare goal on his 29th birthday and in his 100th match for United, earned man-of-the-match honours from his manager.
“I thought he was the stand-out player today. He was brilliant in everything he did,” Pardew said.
Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp said the substitution of Gareth Bale due to a back injury was a concern, and admitted the star winger had been carrying a complaint for some time.
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“It’s been dragging on and we need to get a cure for it. I think we need to get him looked at now and make sure that we get somebody who can sort it out for him. It’s probably not something too serious I don’t think but he’s important to us,” Redknapp said.
Redknapp added that he believed a draw was a fair result.
“I felt it would have been hard on us getting beat. I felt first half we played some great stuff, passed the ball well, had some good opportunities. Jermain (Defoe) had a great chance right on half-time to put us one up,” he said.
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy believes his club has no obligation to keep the athletics track if they take over the London Olympic Stadium.
Spurs are competing with rival Premier League club West Ham for control of the stadium after the completion of the 2012 London Games, but have sparked controversy with their proposal to completely rebuild the venue after the Olympics, minus the athletics track.
West Ham intend to retain the multi-purpose original, in keeping with the promise made by the London Olympic organising committee, but Levy insists Tottenham’s proposal is just as valid without the athletics facilities.
“There is no moral argument to retain the running track,” Levy said. “Any bid process sees commitments made and then things change.”
“The original plan was to reduce the stadium to a 25,000-seat stadium just for athletics and nobody wanted it. The minute they went away from that commitment then it all changed.”
“From the viewpoint of the taxpayer and therefore the Government a lot of money has been spent on the Olympics and it is important the taxpayer is not asked to put more money into it in the future.”
The chairman denied demolishing the Olympic Stadium to create a football venue after the Games would be a waste of the 500 million pounds already invested in it, with Levy saying part of the demolished stadium would be used in the redevelopment of the Crystal Palace athletics stadium.
“The 500 million pounds is the total investment for the total site and it was always intended for much of the structure to come down after the Games – at a cost of 80 million pounds,” Levy said.
“Under our proposal the vast majority of the stadium will be reutilised in the new stadium or at Crystal Palace.”
“The notion that the whole thing is being knocked down and wasted is incorrect.”
“In my opinion we would bring a much bigger contribution to athletics at Crystal Palace, the original home of athletics. The only thing we would not do is have it in the Olympic Park.”
While Levy said he could understand fans’ issues with moving from the club from their North London home at White Hart Lane, he is confident the move would be for the best.
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“I understand that (the fans’ concern) because I have been a Spurs fan all my life,” Levy said.
“But our fans travel on average 40 miles to each game from all around London and the south east.”
“If we have to move five miles down the road for the greater good of the club, then that’s what we have to do.”
On the morning of their game against Blackpool, Harry Redknapp identified Tottenham’s biggest problem this season. To put it concisely, he highlighted his strikers and their lack of Premier League goals – a rather eerie prophesy of the evening’s forthcoming events .
They say a picture paints a thousand words, well the same can also be true about statistics. Looking at the stats from Blackpool vs. Tottenham you can get a good idea of the game, even if you didn’t watch it.
Spurs had 62.8% possession, 20 shots on goal and seven corners, and what was the product from all of this industry? One goal and no points. If we delve a little deeper we also discover that of the 20 shots that Spurs mustered, a whooping 15 of them were off target. Last night Spurs’ problem was stark and it made clear the reason why they were linked with deadline day moves for no fewer than four strikers in January.
To finish in the top four you need at least one striker that can win you games single-handedly. Manchester United have had it this season in Dimitar Berbatov, Arsenal have had it in Robin Van Persie, Manchester City have had it in Carlos Tevez and Chelsea have had it in Didier Drogba. But I fail to recall a league game this season when Spurs have won a game where the performance of a striker could be highlighted as the key reason for victory.
For three international strikers to have only scored eight goals between them since the start of the season is simply not good enough. It is clear that Tottenham have been relying too heavily on the midfield goal-scoring contribution of Gareth Bale and Rafael Van Der Vaart who have contributed nearly half of their 38 strikes so far this season, and their absence last night became more damaging with every chance that flew over the bar.
It hasn’t always been this way of course, it wasn’t too long ago that White Hart Lane provided the home for the best striking quartet in the league. Dimitar Berbatov, Robbie Keane, Darren Bent and Jermain Defoe were all vying for places and the problem was who to leave out rather than who to pick.
Fast forward to now and Spurs’ goal difference and goals scored record lies some distance behind their closest rivals. A key contributing factor to this has undoubtedly been the injury, and alarming lack of form, of Jermain Defoe. The injury that he picked up on England duty has kept him out of the team for a prolonged period, but not to score a single league goal in 12 appearances is a shadow of the form that he was showing at the start of last season. Defoe has always seemed to prefer power over placement in a one-on-one situation, but his composure in front of goal appears to be severely lacking this year.
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So with the chance to move up to third and extend their lead over fifth place to five points now gone, maybe Harry needs to try his hand at science and invent a machine which will keep Van der Vaart fit because without him, winning league games looks a great deal harder. And if Defoe is planning on going on a scoring spree like Harry Redknapp so desperately hinted at, then now would be a great time to start.
We’ve been treated to a few hum-dingers of the football moans in the past couple of weeks. Sir Alex Ferguson has been the king of the post-match rant and rave, ever since he pushed Kevin Keegan into psychological melt-down way back in 1996. But his old foe, Arsene Wenger, has been seemingly attempting to wrestle the title of chief-moaner off Ferguson, as the Arsenal manager has recently embarked on whinging about everything and everyone not associated with his beloved football club.
It’s almost born into a manager these days. If you don’t have at least three improper conduct charges by the time you retire, then in the management world, you’re deemed a failure. They will all tell you – the nice guys finish last. Maybe that’s why the Arsenal manager now insists on rubbing up the whole of football the wrong way. He came to England and was classified intelligent, insightful, calculated. 15 years on and the Frenchman looks like he could have an argument in an empty room.
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But Wenger’s recent tirade of abusive behaviour has got me thinking: what are the funniest and most memorable manager rants of all time? There has been quite a few since the Premier League took shape in 1992. So I’ve tried to compile a list and some footage of some quite remarkable manager outbursts. Sit back and enjoy. If there is a particular favourite of yours I have left out, please let us know – I’d love to see more!
10. Arsene Wenger on Martin Taylor after he broke Eduardo’s leg was definitely one of those ‘heat-of-the-moment’ type rants. “He shouldn’t be allowed to play football again” – Pretty harsh, Arsene.
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9. Over the years, Ferguson has had a pop at pretty much every referee, journalist and opposition manager. His attack on Alan Wiley was one of his best. He labelled him not fit enough and got himself a two-match suspended touchline ban for his troubles. Mind you, saying he ‘feared the worst’ when Martin Atkinson took charge of a recent game comes pretty close. But here is another type of Fergie rant: the whole Rooney saga got right under his skin, and he lets loose on a journalist after a Champions League tie.
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8. Maybe not a Premier League game or the best known manager, but John Sitton really rips into his players at half-time. Leyton Orient are 3-0 down and he’s not happy. A rant of a different kind, but a rant, all the same.
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7. Neil Warnock is another who is known for his post-match ranting. This may be a little calm for him, but he was clearly upset. Let’s be honest, who wouldn’t be with El Hadji Douf.
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6. There couldn’t be a list of this kind that didn’t include everybody’s favourite ranting manager. Blackpool boss Ian Holloway, gives us his view on Wayne Rooney. Let’s be honest, we could have filled this list with Holloway rants, but I think this is the best from his time in the Premier League.
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5. Excuse the language, but Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp, tells us exactly what he thinks of his ‘wheeler dealer’ nickname.
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4. Whilst in charge of struggling Coventry City, Richard Keys managed to get under the skin of manager Ron Atkinson, who proceeded to finish the interview irately. Watch out for the bit at the end where he chucks the headphones at someone and quickly apologises. Good old Ron…
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3. FACT. Rafael Benitez wasn’t ranted he just wanted to talk about ‘facts’. Another manager who fell victim to the Alex Ferguson mind games. Priceless…
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2. During Joe Kinnear’s short and sweet stint as Newcastle manager, he approached the media and told them all exactly what he thought of them after writing stories he deemed untrue.
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1. The most famous outburst of all time: Kevin Keegan in 1996. I referred to his special moment earlier on as this rant has gone down in football folk-law. Just once more. You all know the words… “I’d love it…”
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has backed West Ham to avoid relegation, but hopes to extend their woeful run at White Hart Lane.Redknapp was the man in charge of West Ham the last time they last took all three points from a clash at Tottenham – 12 years ago.But the current Spurs boss knows his team will have to be at their best to stop Avram Grant’s resurgent Hammers from halting Tottenham’s challenge for a top-four finish this season.West Ham have lost only once in their last six Premier League outings, a run which has dragged them off the foot of the table.And according to Redknapp, they now look well placed to avoid relegation.”I think they’re a team who are capable of going on a decent run and getting out of trouble so it will be a difficult game,” Redknapp said.”It will be a tough game for us, they are playing very well and I have been very impressed with them.””They made some good signings and got Thomas Hitzlsperger fit again which has been a big bonus for them.” “I think Wayne Bridge was a great signing for them on-loan, he is one of the best loan signings of the window. Demba Ba looks strong upfront and they look like a good team.””I think they will be ok, they’re looking strong and I’m pleased for Avram.””He has toughed it out a bit this year with lots of injuries but he has got them back now.””I remember I was the manager when we won there 1-0 (in 1996), and there was another time when Eyal Berkovic ran the game and we won 2-1 (in 1999). It was fantastic but that was a long time ago.”Tottenham midfielder Tom Huddlestone has returned to full training following four months out with an ankle injury but he will not be ready in time to face West Ham.Fellow midfielder Wilson Palacios is also out with an ankle injury while defenders William Gallas (hamstring), Jonathan Woodgate and Ledley King are also unavailable due to groin problems.