Sir Alex Ferguson has stated that the owners of Manchester United, the Glazier Family, have had a positive impact on the club.
The American businessmen have been heavily criticised by some factions of the Red Devils’ fanbase, but the Scottish trainer has defended the club’s major shareholders.
“I’m absolutely comfortable with the Glazers situation,” Ferguson told Sky Sports.
“They’ve been great. So if you’re asking me for my views, I don’t have any complaints.
“I’ve never encountered opposition. They’ve always been as sensible as they can in terms of financing the team, and they have to invest in the team to maintain the value of their asset.
“I think there are a whole lot of factions at United that think they own the club. They will always be contentious about whoever owns the club and that’s the way it has always been.
“When I came to the club, Martin Edwards was always getting pelted because he was going to sell to (Robert) Maxwell, then to (Rupert) Murdoch, Michael Knighton and when they became a PLC there was disaffection.
“Then, when the Glazers took over, there was disaffection, so there have always been wee pockets of supporters who have their views… and there’s nothing wrong with that.
“But I think the majority of the real fans will look at it realistically and say it’s not affecting the team. We’ve won four championships since they’ve been there, one European Cup.
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“I think the problem is they are not publicists. They don’t go out of their way to seek good publicity. They are quite happy to stay in the background. Roman Abramovich is the same,” he concluded.
As the transfer window slam shut last night, Tottenham Hotspur fans were reflecting on what could have been after missing on Bolton and England defender Gary Cahill. The White Hart Lane club added Adebayor, Parker and Friedel to their squad during the window while letting Crouch, Hutton, Jenas, Palacios, Keane, Bentley and Woodgate leave, but is it enough for them to challenge for a Champions League spot?
One of the aims for the window was to shift most of the deadwood on and Levy has been successful as seven players departed the Lane. I think this has to be a positive as these players are off the wage bill and it means that a strong 25-man squad remains, but there is also a risk involved if Spurs were to encounter an injury crisis they would be left with just young inexperienced players covering.
After hanging onto Modric despite a late £40m offer from Chelsea, Spurs look to have had a very decent transfer window but I think it was actually a chance missed. Just think of the sorts of players Tottenham could have purchased if the Modric money would have been made available, Cahill would have been a certainty. I can understand why supporters were happy to see Levy stance on Modric but was it actually the wrong one to take at this time?
With the club having to put up with the Europa League for the new season the calibre of transfer targets was always going to fall, there was unlikely to be a Van der Vaart this year, although I think Adebayor is an astute signing who will add to the side and last years’ Writers Player of the Year, Parker, will give the side more bite in midfield.
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However, the one thing that have puzzled me is that if they got a reported £10m for Peter Crouch and £8m for Palacios and plus the all other money brought in and wages freed up there was obviously money available but in the end only £5m was spent on a 30-year-old. It was a crucial window for Tottenham if they wanted to keep pace with Liverpool and Manchester City and as a result I think the board have failed Harry as they had the funds to get Cahill and the like, even if they thought they were paying over the odds.
However, I think there is an ulterior motive over the lack of movement into White Hart Lane as it has been long been rumoured that Daniel Levy and Redknapp’s relationship is at breaking point and that as such Harry is in his last season with the club. He also has an impending court case in October which could affect his role as manager and so Levy may not have been willing to release any funds to a manager he does not trust or believe will be in the job for the long term. Instead they are saving the money for a new manager to spend in January.
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Another reason for the lack of support for Redknapp is that he favours buying older players who have a lower sell on value like Scott Parker and most of the targets he missed out were also older and more expensive players, which could explain Levy’s reluctance to give the fees to Harry for them and they could be keeping the powder dry for the new manager to bring in younger players.
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I think Spurs still have a strong squad and an impressive first team to pick but it may be a case of what might have been in this window. With their rivals bringing quality into their team, it will be hard for the side to keep up especially if they experience injuries and I can see them failing just short of gaining a top four place, but maybe with a bit more investment it could have been possible.
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One of the most entertaining mangers in the Premiership this year is Ian Holloway. He is outspoken, brash, and not scared to disagree with people, or offend them. One of the battle grounds he has been fighting on recently is the value of his best player. Just how much is Charlie Adam worth?
As Sir Alex Ferguson said this week, there is no value in the market, but that has not meant that transfers have not taken place. I heard a little witticism that I think is accurate in transfers; a player is worth as much as someone is willing to pay for them.
So, in this financial climate, I ask firstly, how much should Holloway demand for Charlie Adam? And secondly, how much should someone be willing to offer for him?
I don’t think you can really be sure either way as to how Blackpool would manage without him. This year he has scored 4 goals and got 5 assists. In the two games he has not played they have won away at Sunderland, and lost away at Villa. So how good they are without him is yet to be determined.
What is certain though is that when he does play he is influential. He is a fantastic passer of a football, seems able to dictate the pace of a game, and he is willing to put himself about in the midfield. If Adam kept Blackpool afloat he could be said to earn the club as much as £20 million.
However, I don’t think him staying at Blackpool will keep them up. They are only 6 points above the relegation zone at the moment, and their game in hand is against Manchester United. While they have been unlucky in recent weeks, they are frail in defence and are unable to close out a game. At 7/2, Blackpool to be relegated could be a decent bet.
Teams now do not underestimate Blackpool, and they know what to expect from the Tangerines. I would not be surprised if we see them coming unstuck more and more. With Charlie Adam or not.
So, Holloway should be willing to sell Adam for the largest possible fee. That is now, while Blackpool are still in the Premiership and not in the summer when they could be playing Championship football. Blackpool would more than likely go down if they sold Charlie Adam, but I think they are on their way out anyway.
So, how much should someone be willing to pay for him?
On the one hand, If Liverpool bought him and he helped them finish in the top 6, then he could arguably cause Fernando Torres and others to stay at the club for another season, a decision he may not follow through with should his side miss out on any kind of European football.
On the other hand, I don’t think he would have a massive impact. Rather than improving the squad with 7 million pound players, Liverpool should invest in a superstar (but that is another matter). Liverpool’s main problem is their lack of strikers and their over reliance on Torres. Not, the lack of an ‘Alonso-esque’ type midfielder that Adam has been recognised as. Liverpool should keep their money and spend it elsewhere. Adam is not the solution to Liverpool, so he is worth only a bargain offer for them. If they can get him on the cheap then it would be a great signing. But as he is likely not to be cheap they should give up.
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With the current size of the club and ground, Blackpool desperately needs some investment. The answer has to be that he should be sold for the right offer; I believe that to be around £6-7 million. Not the £15 million that Holloway wants. If Holloway is more realistic, he will get more respect.
There is no way that Blackpool could turn down 6 million pounds. Holloway’s apparent wish for his player to play for one of the ‘biggest clubs in the world’ should come after the club’s desire for some cash. And I don’t think that cash should be Liverpool’s.
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West Ham are back in the big time next season after clinching promotion to the top flight via the play-offs under the stewardship of Sam Allardyce, but already they’re being tipped for the drop in various quarters, which to an extent, simply ignores what a good manager they have at the helm, which begs the question, does Allardyce get the credit he deserves?
The modern fascination of winning in style has seen effective managers like Allardyce unfairly criticised for the style of play that their teams play with. Roberto Martinez is lauded at Wigan for the mediocrity he oversees simply because it’s aesthetically pleasing while people like Allardyce are lambasted for achieving just as much but without the panache. Successful football should be all that matters at any club to any fan, if you can incorporate a modicum of craft to the graft, then all the better, but it’s far from a pre-requisite.
Allardyce has managed eight teams in his managerial career to date – Limerick, Preston (caretaker), Blackpool, Notts County, Bolton, Newcastle, Blackburn and West Ham – three of these were in higher divisions by the time he left, with promotions with Notts County, Bolton and West Ham, while he won the league with Limerick.
His eight-year reign as Bolton manager, though, is the one that’s worth remembering most because there he took a team from the lower reaches of the Championship and established them as a top eight side in the Premier League and in 2004-5 they finished as high as sixth. While at the club he brought players such as Youri Djorkaeff, Jay-Jay Okocha, Fernando Hierro and Nicolas Anelka to the Reebok.
After winning promotion courtesy of Ricardo Vaz Te’s injury-time winner against Blackpool at Wembley he stated: “I was considered the top of my industry at Bolton. We were fifth in the Premier League and I had to suffer two sackings that were harsh. It damaged my reputation, but I’m still achieving great things. Bolton, Blackburn and Newcastle in the past all went down. I don’t take any satisfaction from that but I must have done something right at those clubs.”
It’s soundbites such as this and the now infamous throwaway line: “I’m not suited to Bolton or Blackburn, I would be more suited to Inter or Real Madrid. It wouldn’t be a problem to me to go and manage those clubs because I would win the double or the league every time” that give every hack their column inches and increases the negative press. To rate him as a manager, you don’t have to like him as a man. He can be hugely egotistical, and sometimes come across as an arrogant old fool, but he’s definitely someone who gets the job done.
At Bolton, the two times that the club tried a more expansive approach after Allardyce left the club, they suffered relegation under Owen Coyle, while Sammy Lee was sacked after winning just three of his 14 games at the helm with the club firmly entrenched within the relegation zone. It may be something of a pragmatic approach, but achieving what is expected of you is a hugely overlooked quality in a manager these days.
Would Blackburn have ever become the circus show they have under Steve Kean if Allardyce had been at the helm? Of course they wouldn’t. His football isn’t as ugly as his detractors would have you believe, but neither is it as beautiful as the man himself would try and claim. It may be a touch more direct than the punters down at Upton Park have become accustomed to over the years, but the club have suffered two relegations inside a decade from the top flight, so it’s time for a change because something clearly wasn’t working.
Last season, with an expensively-assembled squad and the highest wage bill in the league by some distance, the pressure was on Allardyce to deliver promotion at the first time of asking. Undone by some ropey home form and a penchant for drawing winnable fixtures, they had to go up the hard way as they narrowly missed out on automatic promotion by just two points.
But in the midst of all that, his side went 20 games unbeaten at one point, amassed a respectable total of 86 points, which would have been enough to finish second the year before and pick the confidence up of a bunch of under-performing players while adding a fair share of his own.
The Championship respects winning football above all else over the course of an extremely tough 46 game period, the task now is to add a degree of finesse to the side ahead of the coming campaign. Norwich should act as the blueprint next term for the club – capable of playing it on the deck and the longer stuff if required – but I wouldn’t bet against a top half finish with Allardyce in charge.
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Personal objections to the man always lead to the inevitable criticism of his style of play, but when it comes to results, there are few better around than Allardyce and it’s conveniently always an area where critique is few and far between. I would go as far as to say he’s the most underrated manager in England, but that would imply that anyone is as clueless enough to not rate him at all, which judging by his past CV, would seem a tad churlish to say the least.
Santos president Luis Alvaro de Oliveira Ribeiro has revealed that Neymar will remain with the Brazilian Serie A club.The 19-year-old striker has starred with Santos since 2009 and he has also impressed at national level, representing the Brazilian Under-20s and the senior side since 2010.
But Ribeiro said the forward would not be going anywhere and that he was disappointed at clubs and their ongoing attempts to illegally lure the striker.
“If Real Madrid or any other club (that has approached Neymar) decides to meet his buy-out clause, we have no other option but to report them to FIFA for approaching the player without our permission,” Ribeiro told Terra.
“Negotiations have been stalled and won’t be re-opened.”
“Real Madrid spoke with Neymar’s management in Paris and made an interesting offer. I’ve told him that we won’t let go of him though and he wants to stay with us, too.”
“I can assure you that Neymar will play for Santos at the Club World Cup. I have already said it before and that’s the way it is.”
The situation could change if clubs are willing to meet his minimum fee release clause of 39.4 million pounds but until then, it appears that the in-demand forward will be staying in Brazil.
We have seen so many times before players coming towards the end of their careers join Celtic only to have been massive flops. Roy Keane, Juninho, Ian Wright and Dion Dublin to name a few, can Freddie Ljungberg be any different?
In recent times it has seemed that the former Swedish international has been more interested in his modeling career and the big money moves that the US offers than continuing his football career, I can’t help but take a cynical view on the former Arsenal man’s transfer.
It is fair to say that Ljungberg didn’t exactly enjoy the most fruitful of times at his previous two clubs in America, The Seattle Sounders and Chicago Fire, so what makes us think that playing in the SPL will be any different? Surely the SPL isn’t any better or worse than the MLS?
You can bet that the part time model is on big bucks and for what he offers is it all really worth it? Some would argue that he has a point to prove and with his eagerness to return to a place where football means so much it is only fair that we give the Swede a chance.
Before last weekend’s Old Firm match there was no doubting the fact that he was keen to impress and raring to go. He says “This is the kind of game I’ve missed. Henrik and Johan Mjallby would tell me about the game against Rangers whenever I met them on international duty with Sweden. They’d tell me about the passion, the unbelievable atmosphere and how much the people cared about the outcome. Ever since I arrived in Glasgow the Celtic supporters have been coming up to me in the street and saying, Please sign for us. Freddie”.
Time will only tell whether Celtic have managed to bag a prized asset, however I can’t help but feel Ljunberg is just another has been who is eager to end his career at one of Europe’s top clubs with a healthy cash pay out.
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Disenchantment with goalkeepers is a widespread problem, as is securing the services of a reliable one. And, as with most players in football, the grass always seems greener on the other side. Subsequently, coveting other teams’ goalkeepers is common practice in the Premier League. Unless you have one of the world’s finest sitting behind your back four, the chances are that watching your team week after week will inevitably lead to some hairy moments involving suspect keeping. And what does mistrust breed? Transfers.
So, with the transfer window opening in eleven days time, who’s got their eye on who?
Shay Given
It’s fair to say that the Republic of Ireland keeper was one of the worst individual performers at Euro 2012. He was totally erratic, slow to react to shots and even scored a beautifully timed diving-header in to his own goal. Nonetheless, there is no shortage of interest in the Aston Villa man. His season in the midlands was somewhat underwhelming and given that his former manager Mark Hughes has expressed an interest, and that QPR have money to spend, a move seems likely.
Possible destination: QPR
Rob Green
Green is currently out of contract after spending six years with the east London club. The Hammers’ joint chairman David Gold said that he hoped Green would agree to a new deal but it was not to be. Arsenal have shown interest in Green in the past and are expecting to lose both Almunia (already gone) and Fabianski this summer so are in need of a back up keeper. Whether Green would want to play second fiddle to Szczesny at this stage in his career is a different matter.
Possible destinations: Arsenal, QPR, Aston Villa, Sunderland, West Brom
Brad Friedel
Friedel started last season brilliantly. Lauded by many as the signing of the summer, he was attributed with the steadying of Spurs’ often-flappable defence and their subsequent surge up the table. However, as the season wore one Ledley King showed sings of weariness and Friedel showed signs of being forty. The pair’s form dipped and it was rumoured that Redknapp had once again run out of patience with a first team keeper at the club. Redknapp may have been sacked since then but it still may be too late for the American. With Craig Gordon being released by Sunderland, O’Neill could be tempted to move for his former keeper as backup to Mignolet.
Possible destinations: Sunderland, West Brom,
Ben Foster
On loan at West Brom this season from his parent club in the Championship – Birmingham. Any hopes of the Baggies signing Foster on a permanent basis may have slipped away with Hodgson but Steve Clarke could yet pull off a coup. Spurs could be another option for the 29 year old who has had an impressive season in which only an unfortunate injury kept him out of Euro 2012.
Possible destinations: Spurs, Aston Villa
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Paddy Kenny
Kenny must have watched as new owner Tony Fernandes spent vast sums of money improving all areas of the QPR squad and wondered when his time would come. It appears that time is now. Manager Mark Hughes has already expressed an interest in bringing in a new keeper and if Kenny wants first team football he may have to move on. Kenny has had a reasonable season yet, realistically, you’d have to say that he’s one of the poorest ‘first choice’ keepers in the league.
Argentina striker Sergio Aguero is edging closer to a move to English Premier League big-spenders Manchester City.Aguero, 23, touched down in Manchester on Wednesday to thrash out the terms on a five-year contract with Roberto Mancini’s side, with City reported to have agreed a 38 million-pound fee with the forward’s current club, Atletico Madrid.
“Just arrived in Manchester to finalise details of deal with City. Everything is going well,” Aguero tweeted on Wednesday.
Atletico manager Gregorio Manzano confirmed the deal was coming to an end on Spanish radio station Cope.
“It does look like this long-running issue will be resolved in the coming hours. It is at an end,” Manzano said.
“The truth is that I hoped to reflect on (Aguero’s) decision to leave favourably. I had hoped that he could have chosen a better, more professional way to leave and shown more love to the club.”
Atletico’s La Liga rivals Malaga have also splashed the cash, signing Spain international Santi Cazorla from Villarreal for a reported fee of 20 million pounds.
Malaga announced the transfer on Tuesday after the midfielder completed a medical and he has signed a five-year-contract.
Cazorla is the 10th new signing at Malaga, joining the likes of new signings Ruud van Nistelrooy, Joaquin and Jeremy Toulalan.
Newly promoted English Premier League club Swansea City have moved to bolster their strikeforce, with Brendan Rodgers’ side said to have agreed a 1.75 million-pound fee with Middlesbrough for forward Leroy Lita.
With another year almost up, and a new one on the way, we can officially enter the ‘assessment’ period. Who has impressed this year? Who is likely to kick on in 2011 and grab some headlines? The Premier League is full of talented young players and the aim of this list is to determine the cream of the crop. All players included are 21 or under (with one exception) and have already managed to impress in some way this season. It’s heartening to see that this list is so populated by young British talent. Given the furore that currently accompanies the state of the England team, the amount of young English talent in the Premier League can only bode well for the future. But this isn’t a list of young British talent – this is a celebration of young talented players from every origin currently playing in the Premier League. Without further ado, I present you with the top ten young Premier League prospects for 2011.
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Click on Phil Jones below to see the top TEN starlets looking to take 2011 by storm
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Nottingham Forest’s 2011-12 season has been diabolical, but despite that fact, away games at Birmingham and Leeds will be fondly remembered in amongst the drab everyone aims to forget. One match that is memorable however, isn’t necessarily for the game itself, but the occasion.
When Forest drew our little brothers from down the road, Notts County, in the League Cup 1st round, there was always going to be added interest, predominantly from the Black and White side of the Trent. Notts County, despite their geographical distance, don’t take up much time in the minds of the Forest faithful, as for a while now, they’ve been nowhere near competitive enough to take a genuine interest in, although they’re showing signs of possibly changing that.
The pre-match build up was marred by events that had nothing to do with football, as rioters descended on various cities across the country, mainly London, and put many games in serious doubt, as policing numbers became an issue. Matches involving Tottenham, Charlton, Crystal Palace, and the England team, were all postponed, as parts of the country came to a standstill, praying common sense would prevail.
The Nottingham derby was also plunged into doubt, and it looked at a time, that it would have to be rearranged. Fortunately though, the game went ahead, and we were treated to a great spectacle, spoiling the 21,000 fans that turned up. Notts County took the lead, through Mike Edwards, and Forest hit back, with an outstanding curling free-kick from Lewis McGugan, which gave Steve McClaren his first goal as Forest boss.
In the second half, Forest gained the lead of the first time in the match, with Robbie Findley’s first goal in a Red shirt. The enthralling encounter continued to entertain, and former Forest benchwarmer Craig Westcarr grabbed the equaliser, and strangely celebrated inticingly in front a of the baffled A Block, as the deluded idea that Forest fans cared about him seemingly got to his head.
Extra time arrived, and Notts took the lead nine minutes into it, when Lee Hughes placed his shot to Paul Smith’s left, hitting the inside of the post and finding its way into the back of the net, to the delight of 6,000 Notts fans who’d made the long journey. With time ticking over, and Notts fans growing increasingly excited at the prospect of victory, it was looking like it was going to take something spectacular to take the game to penalties.
Up stepped Wes Morgan. Rarely did his attempts of playing as a striker in the dying seconds of a game succeed, but Wes didn’t want to keep with the script this time. Receiving the ball from Findley, he ambitiously and fearlessly, wellied it towards the top corner, and to the shock of everyone present, it found its way into the red and white coloured net.
Forest beat Notts 4-3 on penalties, sending the Reds through to the 2nd round.
The most integral point wanting to be made, is the trouble free, commendably brilliant atmopshere before, during and after the game. This enabled local police, in their high numbers, to deal appropriately with the other troubles occuring in the City of Nottingham that night.
Nottingham gets a bad press. Football gets a bad press. On this night, 21,605 supporters attended the local derby between Forest and Notts, and no arrests were made. Not one. It only takes one idiot to lose all sense of what’s right, and for something to spiral out of control, but not at this game.
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The game held little importance, but nobody can deny that the immense pride of being a part of that occasion, did over-ride the sour feeling of seeing the negative aspect, as Nottingham hit national headlines for all the wrong reasons.
A highly contested meeting, with all of those observing remaining responsible, and overall, doing Nottingham, and the game of football proud.