Controversial midfielder Joey Barton may well be heading out of the Premier League, as QPR look to loan him out to Blackburn according to The Daily Mail.
The temperamental midfielder has had a career full of ill-discipline and scandal, with the latest incident his sending off for the R’s against Manchester City on the last day of the 2011-12 season.
Barton was dismissed for elbowing Carlos Tevez, but also tried to head-butt Vincent Kompany and kick Sergio Aguero, resulting the FA handing down a 12-match ban.
With Mark Hughes stripping Barton of the club captaincy already, the ambitious London side are thought to be ready to offload Barton as he is thought to be more trouble than he is worth.
QPR owner Tony Fernandes has admitted that Barton is on his last warning, but the midfielder could well be on his way to Blackburn for a season-long loan deal.
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Rovers were relegated from the Premier League last term, and Steve Kean is eager to bolster his squad this summer, with Danny Murphy and Leon Best already joining the Ewood Park club.
It’s that time of the year where the season is quickly approaching and with only two weeks to go, football supporters up and down the land are considering whether or not they should include Wayne Rooney or take a risk on a less profile name like Darren Bent.
Yes it’s that time to pick eleven players and maybe some subs (depending on the site) for your fantasy football team again. If you had a few players that let you down last year like the normally consistent Frank Lampard or perhaps you even thought that Joe Cole was going to be the next big thing at Liverpool, it is time to make amends for these errors of judgement and get it right this time round.
It is really important to find out what you gain points in the fantasy game you are playing as the different ones give points out for various things and these could help sway your selections. If you have to select a captain as you have to in some games look for that player who will contribute the most to your team.
You should try to select an all-round team and players who take set pieces must be included as should goal scoring defenders. Then you look at maybe one or two players who you think will have a big season and can surprise people.
Before you start, it is vital to make sure you understand the scoring system of your chosen game. You should make a short-list of players you want wish to include and check their performance from last year as it is not always the obvious players who score highly and aslo be prepared to take some risks.
This is a list of 10 players who you should try to include as they are all likely to score highly and may make or break how successful your fantasy team is. Remember if you realise you have made a mistake you can always make a transfer so it is not the end of the world but getting it right from the start gives you a better chance.
Click on Luis Suarez to see the selections you would be mad to miss out in your team.
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Throughout a season where it seems every other club has been immersed in one crisis or another, both Stoke and Bolton have made serene progress.
Tony Pulis has defended his striker Tuncay, after the Turkish forward posted a video on Facebook displaying some of his best goals. Pulis has been one manager not to ban social networking sites amongst his squad, conceding that any ban would be unworkable.
Bolton have not cashed in on the poor run of form befalling several of the clubs around them. The Trotters have lost two of their last three league games and needed two late goals to see of non-league York in the FA Cup.
With both sides almost certain to avoid relegation, and barring a stunning run of form highly unlikely to grab a European slot, both managers may find themselves focusing on the FA Cup in the coming months. A draw here would keep both well out of the battle engulfing the bottom half of the division.
Well, we’re deep into the summer recess now, and with no league or cup action to satisfy our footy cravings, we turn to the Euros.
Here’s my latest blog on players and staff at Euro 2012 with strong, or extremely tenuous links to Crystal Palace FC.
Where better to start than the manager of the England team?
Roy Hodgson grew up in Croydon and was on the books at Crystal Palace as a school boy during the mid-1960s. Hodgson never quite made it as a pro player, knocking around the non-league ladder before finishing up at another local club Carshalton Athletic. (Author note – I’ve actually played a couple of games for Carshalton too, although I think it was the 7th team or something!)
Hodgson has selected as his right hand man a coach with much stronger links to the boys of SE25. Ray Lewington joined Crystal Palace as coach in the late 1990s, before becoming assistant manager to squint-eyed gaffer Alan Smith. Following Smith’s demise, Palace had a short-lived spell where they tried to adopt a more ‘continental’ approach to football management with Lewington being appointed as Head Coach, but again this did not really work out. Lewington has been around the football circuit from managing Brentford to coaching in the Premier League with Fulham, and is highly respected amongst the footballing fraternity.
You might think this is where the Palace connection’s to the England coaching staff ends, but no. Ray Clemence, one of the two goalkeeping coaches that Hodgson is taking to Poland, is actually Dougie Freedman’s father in law. Clemence’s daughter Sarah is married to our Dougie, lucky lady. Not a lot of people know that… If I can stretch the tenuousness of these Palace connections to breaking point, clearly Gary Neville, another of Hodgson’s new coaches, is a Palace fan.
Who could forget him describing Darren Ambrose’s wonder strike against Neville’s other love, Manchester United, as “…the best goal I have ever seen an opposition player score at Old Trafford.”
So, what players heading for Poland and Ukraine have any connections to the Red n Blue army? Well the most obvious one is Ashley Cole. Before Cashley was tainted by the glitz and glamour of the Premier League, he was loaned out to Palace from Arsenal in the 1999-2000 season making 14 appearances in the red and blue, scoring once. It was during this period that Cole made 2 appearances for England under 20s. Cole now holds the record for the most capped England left back, eclipsing another former Palace player, Kenny Sansom in 2011.
Away from England, Paul McShane was a last minute called up to the Republic of Ireland squad. In fact, the call up was a slightly controversial one, replacing Kevin Foley who was in Trappatoni’s originally announced final squad of 23. McShane, the flame haired defender, spent the latter half of the season on loan to Palace from Hull. The big Irishman had hoped to get some game time in order to impress the Ireland manager enough to make the plane to eastern Europe. Clearly Palace had worked their magic again.
Another Irishman started out at Palace too. Stephen Hunt came through the Palace academy and made three appearances for the first team before moving to Brentford under the influence of Sir Steve Coppell. He followed Coppell to Reading before moving onto Hull, and was relegated this season with Wolves.
Slightly more exotic, Cédric Carrasso, the third choice French ‘keeper had an extremely brief interlude at Crystal Palace during the 2001/02 season. He came on for the injured Matt Clarke during a 0-0 draw against Birmingham City. Carrasso had been on loan from Marseille at the time, as part of his rehabilitation following a broken leg. Hopefully his roly-poly physique of that era can be attributed to his lengthy lay off, and having broken into the French squad, he now has the frame more befitting an international level athlete! Carrasso has is now plying his trade at Ligue 1 side Bordeaux.
So, will a connection to Palace be a good omen to those out in Poland and Ukraine? History would suggest otherwise. Remember England crashing out at the group stage in 2000? Who was in goal for the final game against Romania? Former Palace keeper Nigel Martyn. Martyn, a top drawer club keeper for Palace, Leeds and Everton, never really captured the same form at international level and performed poorly on the night.
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What about 1996? What a great tournament! Would have been even better if former Palace skipper Gareth Southgate hadn’t pea-rolled the decisive penalty comfortably into the German keeper’s arms in the shoot-out. Anyway, not sure if Southgate can claim to have any remaining Palace connections, having been disowned by a lot of Eagles fans due to his development of the much criticised Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP).
It felt as though he was handing the keys of the very academy that brought him through, over to the dirty handed agents and scouts of the Premier League. We all want the national team to do well, but does it need to cost the integrity of the league, and the soul of small clubs like Palace?
Come on England! PS Keep your eye out for the number of players wearing red and blue striped boots. It’s surprisingly high.
Juventus and Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini says his team-mates are impressed by new head coach Antonio Conte.Conte, who led Serie B side Siena to the top-flight in the last campaign, was pegged to take over at the Stadio Olimpico following Luigi Delneri’s sacking in May.
Delneri was axed after Juve finished the 2010/11 season with a whimper, winning just one of their last six games and finishing five points shy of the Europa League places.
Chiellini, who has made nearly 170 appearances in six years for the Old Lady, believes the injection of fresh ideas will serve Juve well as they look to return to challenging for the Scudetto, a trophy that has eluded the club since 2003.
“The first impression is positive. He is a very clear coach, convinced of his ideas, he knows what he wants,” Chiellini said.
“We are working very hard to do 100 percent what he wants. We still have a lot of time ahead, and we will improve day after day, and match after match, but he proved he is convinced, competent and above all, clear.”
The 26-year-old also predicted Juve would show signs of improvement in the coming Serie A season without the distraction of a European campaign.
“It’s true we are a new group, but it’s also true we are a group to discover and we can have pleasant surprises too,” he said.
“The fact we won’t play in international competitions will help us give something more in the championship, as it happened in (Claudio) Ranieri’s first year (in 2007/08).”
“We are working and we must keep working with this intensity and the same desire to do well, after these two unhappy seasons.”
What on earth is going on at Chelsea at the moment? After last night’s 1-0 defeat to Wolves at Molineux, the Blues sit 5th in the Premier League table, outside of the Champions League qualification places. Chelsea have won just once in their last 9 Premiership fixtures, and that was a less than convincing victory over Bolton at Stamford Bridge. There seems to be no escape from the current dreadful run of form that Carlo Ancelotti’s men find themselves in, but ultimately who is responsible for the mess that Chelsea are in?
There are a few people that you can direct the blame towards here. The firing of Ray Wilkins still seems like a strange decision and Chelsea chairman Roman Abramovich has to take the wrap on that one. Unsurprisingly Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti is under extreme pressure right now, and less than positive post-match press conferences from the Italian in which he seems to have already given up on the Premier League title will not please the fans. Then there’s the players, with the likes of Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda simply not reaching the levels of performance they did last season. So who do you think is to blame for Chelsea’s current predicament and is there a way forward out of this mess?
Dimitar Berbatov has admitted that he will leave Manchester United this summer, after becoming frustrated at a lack of first-team opportunities.
The Bulgarian forward has fallen behind the likes of Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez and Danny Welbeck in Sir Alex Ferguson’s preferences, and has had to watch on from the sidelines for the majority of this campaign.
Berbatov will look for a new club, and feels he can still play at the highest level.
“My time at Manchester United is running out. I no longer feel like a valuable part of this team,” he told bTV, translated to English by Sky Sports.
“I think I did well in the few opportunities that I received. But I am a little frustrated by the way this happened, I do not think I deserved it.
“I’ve talked 10 times or even more with the manager and he always told me there would be a place for me in the team. But after that I continued to stay on the bench.
“But I have dignity and I stopped going to such meetings, it is clear that I’m leaving United. It’s obvious that I have to leave.
“I’m looking for a new place now… I know I can still play at the highest level,” he concluded.
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Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has stated his desire to bring both Sergio Aguero and Samir Nasri to Eastlands.The Italian believes Argentina forward Aguero could be the ideal replacement for the unsettled Carlos Tevez and has not been shy in announcing his interest in Arsenal’s Nasri, either.
Atletico Madrid star Aguero put football’s biggest clubs on alert after revealing his intentions to leave the La Liga club, and is set to make a decision on his future after playing for Argentina in the Copa America.
Atletico’s rivals Real Madrid look to be City’s biggest competition in securing the 23-year-old’s signature, with the player reportedly open to a move within Spain or to England.
Mancini believes Aguero would be a perfect fit at the English Premier League club: “At the moment I am waiting because if we lose Carlos, Aguero is a player that can play for Manchester City because he is young, because he is a good player like Carlos, he can score a lot of goals and can play with Mario (Balotelli), with Edin (Dzeko),” Mancini told Sky Sports News.
“It is probably yes, (we will make a bid). I think in this moment we only have to wait.”
The former Inter boss also made no secret of his desire to bring in France midfielder Nasri as he continues to stall on a new contract at Arsenal.
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“Samir is under contract with Arsenal. Also, for Samir it depends on many things,” Mancini said.
“I hope that we can buy because we need other players and I hope that this player can arrive before the end of the month.”
Yes, Christmas is finally here. Well, not really, but we have already entered the festive period and whilst many are counting down to the 25th of December and the New Year, most football fans are counting down to the opening of the winter transfer window! I don’t normally get excited about January transfer windows since they are usually low-key for us, our last major January signings being Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic for a total fee of £12.5m but for those who have experienced the Football Manager revolution, it can be fun to speculate on squad changes! Here are some thoughts in bullet points:
1. Replacing the old guard: You might have noticed that we have a fair few oldies in our squad who will be most probably retire in a year or two. I think we are well covered for Gary Neville (who hasn’t really been indispensable recently) with Rafael finally showing some kind of consistency. I still hope De Laet has a future at United, given his versatility and promise. Yesterday I read Giggs hinting about this season being his last and we could see problems in ‘replacing’ Giggs and Scholes. We do have Anderson at the moment, but unless Gibson gets more chances, I don’t think we would have enough options in midfield once the Ginger Prince leaves. I am more worried about our left wing. Park is an able winger, but he is more dangerous when he ventures infield and as for Obertan, he also looks better just behind the striker. We are crying out for a natural left-winger. If only Adam Johnson was really unhappy at Eastlands…
2. VDS defying Father Time: Van Der Sar has been a mainstay of the United side for some time now and as he recently turned 40 and with Fergie effectively saying that this season could be his last, we need some changes in the goalkeeping department. With Lindegaard joining us in January, speculation about incoming goalkeepers refuses to go away. We could potentially have an unhappy Kuszczak on our hands too who despite his less than stellar performance against West Ham during the week, I still value and I would be gutted if he didn’t get a crack at the No.1 spot.
If he does leave, I would rather have someone with more experience than Lindegaard. If we are planning to throw cash at this, instead of a young De Gea who admittedly is a tremendous talent, I would rather go for Lloris or even Buffon! Akinfeev looks good too and very experienced for his young age but I don’t know if how long he might take to settle down in North West England.
3. Creative attacking midfielder™: United have been in need of a creative attacking midfielder for years. I don’t remember us ever having a creative attacking midfielder in the last 10 years, not in the mould of the ones we have been linked to. Scholes has been very creative for us, but he likes to lie deep and occasionally venture in the area for a goal or two. Fans and the press have been talking about Sneijder, Ozil and Van Der Vaart who I think would definitely improve our side, but we are not a team who just buy players who would theoretically make us have a stronger starting XI, so we need to think about what exactly we need and what we could realistically acquire.
I, for one, don’t think we are screaming for a creative attacking midfielder we just need more options in the centre of midfield and I think Bastian Schweinsteiger, who is stalling over a new contract, would be an utterly brilliant acquisition… Even Ballack thinks so!
Continue to PAGE TWO for the final two points…
4. Defence review: Since some of our youngsters were ‘exposed’ in the Carling Cup, we are in a state of crisis and Jonny Evans is now officially the worst player in England or indeed the universe! I still think he has a future at United, although, on current form it really makes you think! Rio and Vidic have some more years left, so it is not critical to think about their replacements. Smalling looks like a good signing, one who is only going to improve and defeats like Tuesday’s are part of the learning process for our youngsters. Wes Brown is also around for to relieve Vida and Rio when need be. In the full-back positions, the Da Silva twins are finally getting more games and the only way is up for them. Evra will be dominating that left-back position for another 3-4 years I reckon and John O’Shea is an option on either side so no big upheavals expected or required in defence.
5. Youth: Now, we might not need to replace or revamp any of the above players or areas if we can find someone in our youth and reserves sides to help us out! At the moment, apart from Rafael, Welbeck seems to be our brightest young talent. He is having a great season at Sunderland, playing Premier League football week in week out. My only worry is that we do not actually need strikers at the moment, and the only way he could come back to United would be if we sell 1-2 of our current attackers. Even then, he will be on the bench. The fact that he is increasing his price tag might sadly mean that we could be tempted to sell him off for a nice profit. Cleverley is another one to look out for finally getting some games at Wigan. He might provide further options in midfield for us, for free! We also have loads of burgeoning talent in the form of Eikrem, Morrison etc, but it may be a while before any break into the first team.
Finally a word about Macheda who doesn’t seem to be lighting up Old Trafford according to some. I would preach patience, he can still succeed at United and hopefully he gets to play with a partner rather than on his own when he is reduced to holding the ball up and passing it back to a midfielder!
What are your thoughts regarding potential squad changes in January and beyond?
Written by Yashi
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After another disappointing end to the season for Sunderland, Martin O’Neill finally gets the chance to stamp his authority at the Stadium of Light this summer.
The Black Cats have been busy in the transfer market during previous seasons but have little to show for their efforts after big spending former managers Roy Keane and Steve Bruce left them with an unbalanced squad. After the improvements made under O’Neill it’s expected chairman Ellis Short will back him with funds but can Sunderland actually afford to invest heavily again?
Every fan craves a little transfer action but it may not be so easy for Sunderland as clubs around Europe prepare for the new UEFA Financial Fair Play Rules. Teams will have to spend within their means and many will use the time to streamline their squads before the rules kick in. Sunderland have already released nine players this summer including Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon and more are expected to follow.
It’s a difficult situation for O’Neill as he knows his squad is lacking in a few areas but he can’t spend big to flesh it out. His rebuilding job will have to coincide with the club offloading fringe players and tightening the purse strings.
Becoming a self sustaining business is something many teams are focusing on but there are some Sunderland fans who can’t understand where the money has gone. Bruce was backed heavily but his transfers actually made a profit for club. The sales of Darren Bent (£24m) and Jordan Henderson (£16m) combined with the money from TV rights and the reward of a mid table finish means they should have plenty of funds to work with.
Unfortunately it’s never as simple as that. In reality Bent was bought for £10m rising to nearer £16m and his short stay in the North East meant Sunderland still owed instalments to Tottenham when he left. Also Aston Villa didn’t pay £24m in full so the club isn’t as rich as some might think. Early season criticism of Bruce was that he never replaced Bent but he actually signed Stephane Sessegnon during the same January transfer window so it was only the Henderson money that really inflated their bank balance.
After Henderson’s departure Bruce embarked on a massive recruitment drive that saw over 10 players join the side. The permanent arrivals did much to appease fans who were frustrated by years of loan signings that only papered over the cracks. While spending £30m on 10+ players sounds great, each player was only worth roughly £3m so Sunderland were actually left with an inflated wage bill and a team full of squad players. It meant the club were unable to improve on last seasons 10th place finish and O’Neill told Sunderland Echo that any strides made during his reign will not hide their fragility for long.
“Despite us wanting to finish in the top 10, had we done so it might have glossed over a few things that we needed to address in terms of strengthening.
“After spending the second half of the season in charge here, I’ve a great idea about the strengths and weaknesses of the side and what we need to do to try to improve.”
Unfortunately Short has told O’Neill he must lower the wage bill before he can bring new players in so how much can he actually spend?
Loans of Wayne Bridge, Sotirios Kyrgiakos and Nicklas Bendtner will not be made permanent and the impending departure of Asamoah Gyan should help swell the coffers. There are returning loan players who are surplus to requirements and rumours over the futures of Kieran Richardson and Ahmed El Mohamady so Sunderland should generate enough funds to improve the team.
The only problem is selling current squad members will mean replacements are needed. Sunderland already need a left back, centre back, cover for both fullbacks, right and left wing cover and at least two new forwards to form a competitive squad with depth in every position. Fans know they also need a creative midfielder to counter grafters like Lee Cattermole and Craig Gardner so suddenly O’Neill has gone from choosing a few select signings to needing a complete overhaul of his squad.
It’s exciting for the fans but would another season of massive player turnover be a good thing given the clubs recent lack of stability?
Sunderland’s transfer policy will have a major say in their aspirations for next season. They have potential but need quality to embellish the consistent performers they already own. It wouldn’t be the first time they’ve failed to maintain a balanced squad and this time the situation is magnified because they have to sell before they can buy.
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Rivals Newcastle recently illustrated what can be achieved with some successful wheeling and dealing. It’s a precedent Sunderland fans would begrudgingly love to follow for they know if O’Neill struggles to improve the squad they’ll face another year going round in circles and have little to play for come the end of the season.
The phrase ‘In O’Neill We Trust’ has never held so much importance and fans will hope he uses his funds wisely to propel them into the top 10 for good.
Do you think Sunderland should spend a lot this season? Do you trust O’Neill to invest wisely this summer? Let me know your views and opinions by following me on twitter – Tweet me @Alex_Churcher