Bolton’s tricky start to the season continues as they host Champions Manchester United in Saturday’s teatime kick-off. After the Red Devils obliterated opponents Arsenal 8-2 in their last outing Owen Coyle’s side will have to be at their very best to prevent the Manchester United juggernaut rolling on.
Although his side have a midweek Champions League tie away to Benficia to think about, Sir Alex Ferguson is expected to continue with the same IX that started against Arsenal apart from Danny Welbeck who is out with a hamstring strain. The more than capable figure of Javier Hernandez will probably step in to partner in-form Wayne Rooney in leading the United attack. Captain Nemanja Vidic, Antonio Valencia and Rafael are still all missing for United but Darren Fletcher should be back in the mix having played 180 minutes for Scotland on international duty in the last week.
The Trotters, who are coming into the game on the back of two successive league defeats after losing to Manchester City and Liverpool, have a number of long term injuries. Lee who is out for the season and Stuart Holden head the list while Sean Davis also appears doubtful for the game due to a knee injury. Owen Coyle has used the same starting XI in all three of his side’s league ties thus far and this is likely to continue on Saturday. Gael Kakuta, who is on loan from Chelsea and David N’gog who signed on a permanent deal in the transfer window are both likely to start their Bolton career’s from the bench.
It will be a much tougher game than what Man United faced in their last outing with United likely to meet a resolute Bolton side who have a decent record against the Champions but despite this I still think United will maintain their fine start to the season with another away victory.
Key Players:
Gary Cahill: After impressing whilst playing for England in the recent Euro 2012 qualifiers, Cahill will surely be an important player for the Trotters as they try to contain the lethal attacking force of Manchester United.
Ashley Young: The former Villa winger has really hit the ground running at Old Trafford and looks to be in the form of his career. Expect him to be influential in another United victory this weekend.
Verdict: 0-2
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Blackburn boss Steve Kean has spoke of his disappointment that a section of the club’s fans are unhappy with him at the Ewood Park helm, especially as he feels the side have been playing well.
Around 700 supporters protested outside the Lancashire outfit’s ground on Saturday, and Kean has admitted to meeting and speaking with one of the disgruntled fans.
“I was aware there was going to be a protest and I met one of the organisers from the unofficial supporters’ club and we had a real good chat at the training ground,” the Scottish coach told Sky Sports.
“They were asking lots of questions about different aspects of the training and young players at the club and I had a very open and frank conversation with them.
“Then I was aware there was I think five or six hundred people, which if you take that into perspective you know if you’ve got one or two per cent of the fans that are not happy, 98 per cent are happy and I’m quite happy with those figures,” he admitted.
The protest came before Blackburn’s 4-3 win over Arsenal, and the team looks to have turned the corner after a slow start.
“The thing that disappointed me was that we’ve been playing well and I know we’ve been playing well. We played very well in the second half against Everton and missed two penalties. We played excellent against Fulham with the ball in the first half and it was a bit of backs to the wall job in the second half but any point at the Cottage is a tough point.
“We’ve been playing well and our performances have been good, so it’s been disappointing to get a bit of stick, but you take it on the chin and we bounced back,” he continued.
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Kean’s future at Ewood Park was looking increasingly dubious as speculation in the press maintained that the club owners, Venky’s, were ready to sack him. Despite this, Kean did not think he would lose his job, even if they had lost to Arsenal.
“No, I didn’t think that. I’ve had fantastic backing from the owners and they were at the ground,” he concluded.
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has stated that Stoke striker Peter Crouch is constantly guilty of committing fouls, as the Scot fumes over the 1-1 draw on Saturday.
The Premier League champions lost their flawless record at the Britannia, as Nani’s opener was cancelled out by the former Spurs forward on 52 minutes.
Despite admitting that the England international was a handful, Ferguson questioned the legality of some of the challenges Crouch put in over the 90 minutes.
“He fouls all the time. He gets off with it because of his height but he jumps on top of defenders all the time,” the Scottish coach told reporters after the game.
“He has been doing that for a long time. Referees know that. Even with the goal he has maybe caught Phil Jones, but he is right above him.
“He is a handful in the air, there is no doubt about that,” he continued.
Although the draw means that United’s 100 per cent record is no longer intact, and Chelsea and Manchester City won, Ferguson believes it was a fair result.
“As expected, if they were going to score, it was going to be from a set-piece. They have so many big lads in their team and they do keep you under pressure that way.
“In terms of the attacking part, we showed some good play and maybe should have scored more than the goal we did. A draw is probably a fair result. It is a difficult place to come to.
“We have always done well here, but maybe making the changes we had to unshipped us for parts of the game. I was pleased with the performance. They battled really hard and played like real champions in every sense of the word,” he concluded.
The result means that Manchester City are now equal on 16 points with The Red Devils, with Chelsea back in third, three points off the pace.
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Arsenal are through to the Carling Cup quarter finals, after the London side beat Bolton 2-1 at the Emirates on Tuesday night.
Fabrice Muamba scored for The Trotters before goals from Andrey Arshavin and Chu-Young Park sealed victory for the home side.
The Gunners will join Manchester United in the draw for the next round, as Arsene Wenger looks to end the six year spell without silverware.
Bolton boss Owen Coyle stated that he felt his side were unlucky however, and felt they should have been awarded a penalty when Emmanuel Frimpong seemed to impede Gary Cahill.
“We have lost the game 2-1. I don’t think there is anybody who was here tonight who would recognise it,” the Scot told Sky Sports after the game.
“We certainly, I feel, created the clear opportunities and should have been in the next round of the cup. But we’re not and that little bit of luck is going against us just now.
“We had a stonewall penalty in the second half not given as well, which doesn’t surprise me.
“Coming to the Emirates, we have not really had much fortune over the years.
“But the lads stuck to their task, created loads of goalscoring opportunities and, as I say, Lady Luck never shone on us tonight,” he concluded.
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Bolton travel to take on Swansea at the Liberty Stadium next, while Arsenal have a London derby against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Former Manchester United defender Wes Brown put through his own net as Sir Alex Ferguson celebrated 25-years in charge at Old Trafford with a 1-0 win over Sunderland.
Before kick off United honoured their boss by naming the North Stand after him also revealing that a statue will be built and unveiled before the start of next season. However despite the sides built under Ferguson beaching synonymous for free flowing, attacking football his current crop failed to serve up a performance to fit the occasion with the party atmosphere prior to kick off appearing more deflated at the final whistle. In their first match at home since the derby day humiliation suffered at the hands of neighbours City the class of 2011/12 struggled to overcome a Sunderland side managed by Ferguson’s former captain Steve Bruce. The Black Cats boss was an instrumental part of the Scot’s sides in the early nineties skippering the side to their first Premier League title back in 1993. Since venturing into management Bruce has failed to gain the upper hand on his mentor in 18 managerial meetings now and will be disappointed that his side didn’t travel back to the North East with at least a point.
The first half was a particularly dour affair that was bereft of any incident before Brown’s own goal in first half stoppage time. Sunderland did suffer a major blow in the early stages with 18-year-old striker Connor Wickham stretchered off. The £8 million summer signing from Ipswich fell awkwardly onto his knee and had to be carried off. That was as exciting as it got before ex-Red Devil Brown unwittingly diverted Danny Wellbeck’s header past Kieron Westwood after Nani’s corner. United took the upper hand in the second half and should have doubled their lead in the 64th minute through Javier Hernandez. The Mexican did superbly to meet another Nani corner only to see the ball hacked off the line by Kieron Richardson. Sunderland also had opportunities and thought they had a chance to equalise after Ji Dong Wong won an aerial challenge in the penalty area. Assistant referee Jake Collin signalled for a penalty only for his superior Lee Mason to award a free kick for handball against the Korean much to the annoyance of Bruce.
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It was United who continued to create chances with Wayne Rooney denied brilliant by full debutant Westwood who sprang to his feet to keep out Patrice Evra’s followup. The visitors were far from out of it though and after an extended spell of possession went close to levelling proceedings only for Nicklas Bendtner to narrowly miss out on getting a touch on Sebastian Larsson’s whipped delivery. It was all Bruce’s side could muster to hand Ferguson the perfect present on his Silver anniversary as boss.
Manchester City players remain confident that they will qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League, despite it being out of their hands. Defeat in Naples means that Manchester City must beat Bayern Munich, while hoping Napoli come unstuck in their final group game.
Elsewhere in the news Sepp Blatter states race row is over; Kean gets Blackburn pay rise, while Redknapp urges his Tottenham team against complacency.
News
Manchester City players remain confident
Bendtner may stay at Sunderland
Blatter states race row is over
Kean gets Blackburn payrise
Redknapp urges his Tottenham troops
Beckham in PSG talks
England World Cup qualifiers announced
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Transfer Talk
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Arsenal set to be priced out of move for Hazard – TalkSport
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Gaitan rules out £40m Manchester United transfer – Daily Mail
Spurs want £9m Hoilett to bolster Europe hopes – Independent
Kaka linked with £30million move to Premier League – Mirror
Topal being watched by Man City and Chelsea scouts – Metro
Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish has stated that the club will continue to stand by Luis Suarez, as the striker is subject to investigation by the FA.
The governing body are currently looking into Patrice Evra’s claims that the South American attacker insulted him due to his race in October’s 1-1 draw between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield.
If the Uruguay international is found guilty of the charges he is set to be fined and potentially suspended from action, but Dalglish is sticking by his star player.
“We have said many times before we cannot say anything which will be prejudicial,” the Scottish coach told reporters.
“We are standing right beside him and helping him as much as we possibly can. After it’s finished there is a chance to have a conversation.
“As I said last week the FA should have given you (the media) the information when everything was happening, not us,” he concluded.
Suarez has also been charged with making a derogatory gesture towards Fulham fans at Craven Cottage following the Merseysiders 1-0 defeat to Martin Jol’s men on December 3rd.
Liverpool are currently five points adrift of the top four, and travel to take on Aston Villa in Birmingham on Sunday.
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Some teams at the top have been questioned over their defence this season: Arsenal , Manchester United and Chelsea, surprisingly. However, this campaign has seen a high volume of goals conceded and in fact, they’ve been flying in at a rate higher than any campaign since Manchester City last won the top division in 1967/68. They’ve conceded fewer than 17 of the other Premier Leagues teams and sit top. They’ve also scored the most.
With goals coming thick and fast since August, not only does it highlight some lacklustre defending that we’ve been gifted from the likes of Bolton and Blackburn, but it has given a platform for the men behind them; the often described “loneliest players on the pitch”, the last line of defence and the point winners (Michel Vorm ) or the point losers (Bartosz Bialkowski.) As is the nature of the role, they’re either lauded by their team mates after making a terrific save and earning their team victory, or they’ve just suffered the pains of the most unforgiving role in football.
But in between the sticks – who has been the best and worst this season?
Paul Robinson – the worst?
At the beginning of last season the former-England ‘keeper may not have been former anymore; when Fabio Capello called him up for the first set of friendlies post-World Cup melancholy, it was the Blackburn ‘keeper that was the deciding factor in him not featuring in the games – he pulled the plug on his international career, retiring at the ‘keeping young age of 31. He, unlike the F.A, told Capello “no more” having been mucked around enough by the meddling Italian.
15 months later and I for one am grateful that Paul Robinson didn’t seize the opportunity to step between the sticks for England once more. While Hart enjoys an unbeaten spell for England of 16 games and sits at the top of the Premier League, having conceded only 15 in 15 games, with Manchester City, Paul Robinson is second to bottom in the league with Blackburn Rovers, having conceded the most goals in the league. Quickfire critics will shout the obvious “Joe Hart ’s got Richards , Lescott , Kompany and Clichy in front of him,” and I’ll give you that; well done, good knowledge. However, Paul Robinson’s not just behind the 2nd worst defence: he’s got the lowest saves-to-shots ratio of any regular Premier League goalkeeper this season at 52%, he’s only 14th in the leader board for most saves, despite facing 69 shots, and he’s the ‘keeper that’s seen the most points lost from leading.
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Michel Vorm – the best?
When the Netherlands World Cup second-choice goalkeeper was signed for little over £1m from FC Utrecht, by Premier League new boys Swansea City FC, predicting such success would’ve been hasty. However, the international shot-stopper, who’s been capped by his country 8 times, has arguably been the best Premier League goalkeeper so far this campaign.
His penalty save against Clint Dempsey in the dying stages of his club’s weekend 2-0 home win against Fulham, was his second penalty save of the season, making him the #1 in that category along with Howard, Hennessey and Al-Habsi, and his 59th save of the season. Only David de Gea, Hennessey and Brad Friedel have made more saves, but what they can’t brag is a home record that stands at only two goals conceded.
In Michel Vorm ’s 15 games in goal for The Swans this season, in the Premier League, only two of the twenty goals they’ve shipped have been at home and they’ve kept six of Vorm’s seven clean sheets at the Liberty Stadium. No ‘keeper has kept as many clean sheets as Vorm has so far this season and none can brag as many home clean sheets either. At home, Michel Vorm ’s side has only lost once – a 1-0 loss to Manchester United , thanks to an acute header from the Mexican, Javier Hernandez. Vorm has kept a clean sheet whilst making over five saves, three times too.
The rest of the contenders – who else is shutting teams out or letting leads slip?
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Brad Friedel ’s debut saw the most saves in one game so far this season with 13 shots being stopped by the aging American, but he let 3 past him, meaning that save success rate for one game comes in at 81%. Over the campaign, Friedel’s only been on the losing side three times, but in the top six, only Arsenal have conceded more and 8 of them were in one game.
David de Gea has conceded fewer than all other #1s bar Pepe Reina, who has conceded the fewest in the whole Premier League with 13, and this is down to his own handy work, not his defence; Manchester United’s Spaniard’s saves-to-shot ratio was 79% 10 games into the Premier League, 33% better than his Top 4 rival’s, Petr Cech , who at the same point in the season had the then worst saves-to-shot ratio, since taken by Paul Robinson . Since then the Czech has kept 3 clean sheets in his last five games.
The weekend highlighted the enormity of contribution a ‘keeper can have, with Victor Valdes showing how you can give away a goal 22 seconds in and Michel Vorm showing how you can take all three points with a penalty stop 87 minutes in. Whether you’ve got Paul Robinson, John Ruddy or Joe Hart in goal, who’s been the best between the sticks for you?
Article courtesy of Jordan Florit from This is Futbol
Harry Redknapp has had plenty to say ahead of Tottenham’s trip to the Etihad Stadium; a game which the Spurs boss believes is not the ‘must win’ that everyone would have you believe. Redknapp feels that 8pts is a small margin to retrieve at this stage of the season where everyone will take points each other.
The Tottenham manager of course is the master of deflecting the pressure of his football teams and he has bundled a shed load onto City by suggesting that if Spurs were in a position to pay players £250k a week then he would fully expect them to be top of the table and winning the title. While many will see Redknapp as having a point; the actual reality is that splashing the cash brings no guarantees. Tomorrow’s game promises to be a classic, although it is certainly a tough one to call.
In this week at FFC we have seen a mixed bag of blogs that includes Tottenham could find inspiration from Germany; now or never for Redknapp, while conflicting reports over the club’s pursuit of Loic Remy. We also have new features including quote of the week and a full match preview ahead of the trip to the Etihad Stadium.
Best of FFC
Tottenham can find inspiration from Germany and France
Tottenham arguably have the best in the Premier League…don’t they?
Will the Premier League’s top stars find the allure of Spain too hard to resist?
Tottenham’s top TEN ‘Cult Heroes’ of all time
Simply foolish to write off Tottenham
Now or never for Tottenham Hotspur?
Why Harry needs to strike a transfer balance
Conflicting reports in France as Spurs chase Remy
Coyle plots £4m raid on Tottenham
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Best of WEB
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A day to forget, yet worth remembering – Dear Mr Levy
We could have danced all night – Spurs Musings From Jimmy G2
Pav’s Gone AWOL – Harry Hotspur
Good But Not Good Enough. Or FFS Shoot! – Tottenham On My Mind
Klaas Jan Huntelaar: Surely A Better Bet Than Loic Remy, Anyway? – Transfer Tavern
Quote of the Week
“That is new to us and maybe people would expect us to fall away in the second half of the season but, as players, we believe in our ability and we believe we can keep getting results. We have lost just one in the last 19 and that is great form. If we keep it up then we are in with a chance,” Ledley King (Mirror)
Match Preview v Manchester City
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Tottenham will be eager to dish out some payback on league leaders Manchester City when they travel to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Roberto Mancini’s men thrashed Spurs 5-1 in September and should be fearful of a backlash from the North Londoners. Despite a slight wobble in recent weeks City remain comfortable at the top three clear or rivals United and six ahead of Harry Redknapp’s side. Having spent much of the season playing breathtakingly exciting football their win at Wigan on Monday night owed much to their ability to dig in and grid out results. The loss of Vincent Kompany to suspension has hit them hardest in recent week with youngster Stefan Savic struggling to adapt to the pace and physicality’s of the English game. However the grit and determination displayed at the DW Stadium will go a long way for City as they aim to bag their first ever Premier League title. Their record at the Etihad Stadium is perfect after 10 wins in a row whilst they scored 31 goals and conceded only four. They’ll need another valiant display on Sunday if they are to maintain that unbeaten home record and put some distance between themselves and their third placed visitors.
It’s been an unbelievable campaign for Spurs as they continue to stay involved in the title race. Redknapp will be desperate for his side to enact some revenge on City after the White Hart Lane mauling they suffered although since that game they’ve won from 14 out of the 19 subsequent fixtures losing just once. Since then Tottenham have been irresistible and deservedly sit in the top three just two victories away from top spot. Despite being held at home to Wolves last week they will be confident of toppling the league leaders on their own patch especially with Scott Parker and Luka Modric resuming their midfield partnership. The signing of Parker in the summer was seen as the final piece of Redknapp’s jigsaw as it would allow Modric to concentrate on creating goals instead of worrying about fulfilling his defensive duties. The Croatian has been a driving force in attack linking up to great effect with Gareth Bale and Emmanuel Adebayor whilst Parker sits back and cuts out any threat from the opposition. The duo will be key to keeping City’s midfield three quiet on Sunday as well as getting wingers Bale and Aaron Lennon into the game and providing killer balls for Jermaine Defoe who will start in place of Adebayor who can’t play against his parent club.
Manchester City 1st : 51 points
Last six: W W L D W W
Team news: Vincent Kompany is still serving a ban and misses out alongside Micah Richards who has a hamstring injury. Mario Balotelli could feature despite picking up an ankle knock.
Key Player: David Silva
After spending much of Christmas on the sidelines the silky Spaniard roared back into life on Monday against Wigan. City will be grateful that Silva has finally recovered from injury and he’ll be sure to make up for lost time against Tottenham on Sunday.
Tottenham Hotspur 3rd : 46 points
Last six: D W W D W D
Team news: Spurs have seven first team players out injured for their trip to the Etihad Stadium whilst Emmanuel Adebayor will be missing as he isn’t permitted to play against his parent club.
Key Player: Luka Modric
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Breaking down a City defence that has conceded just four times at home will be extremely difficult but a challenge Modric will savour. The Croatian has been superb for Tottenham this season as they aim to close the gap on the league leaders.
PREDICTION
City’s record at the Etihad Stadium is phenomenal but they’ve been shaky of late and Vincent Kompany’s absence continues to haunt them. Spurs will see an opportunity to write the wrongs of the 5-1 they took in September and inflict a first home defeat of the season on Roberto Mancini’s men.
Score 2-2
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Click on Roger Johnson’s misses below to unveil our current Premier League Wag XI
Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has backed Harry Redknapp as an ideal candidate to be the next national boss.
With Fabio Capello quitting from his role as England head coach, bookmakers have installed the Tottenham coach as favourite to succeed the Italian.
With Redknapp cleared of tax evasion charges, Eriksson feels the White Hart Lane boss has all the qualities to coach at international level.
“I think Redknapp will be a very, very good choice. He’s English; he knows his football,” the Swede revealed to Sky Sports.
“He is doing a great job with Tottenham and has done a great job with every team he’s had in the past, so I guess it will be him.
“You need to be an experienced manager used to dealing with the big names and some knowledge about international football would help. I think Harry has all these things,” the Scandinavian concluded.
Meanwhile, Leeds chairman Ken Bates has revealed that Eriksson has applied for their vacant managerial position, but will not be considered as the next man in the Elland Road hotseat.
“We’ve had Eriksson, would you believe, but he won’t be coming,” the executive told The Yorkshire Post.
“But we’re not going to make any hurried appointment because the next appointment is the big one. Not necessarily big in name but big in significance for the future of Leeds United.
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“It would be any manager’s ambitions to manage a big club and Leeds is that. It also brings a wealth of unwanted applications for the wrong reasons. That’s why we’re having to be careful.”