CSKA Moscow's Serbia international winger Milos Krasic is moving closer to joining Juventus, having definitely decided against trying his luck in England with Manchester City.
The 25-year-old has made it known that Juve is his preferred destination, even though a deal is taking some time to be agreed.
Krasic's agent, Dejan Joksimovic, told Tuttosport:"There hasn't been direct contact in the last week, but the situation is now favourable.
"Milos can't wait to be able to sign his contract with Juventus. He has been waiting for this moment all summer.
"He refused Manchester City's offer and he expressly told the CSKA directors that if they were to let him go to Juventus, he would be happy.
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"Juventus only have to resolve some questions linked to the sale of one or two players. They won't be able to proceed with Milos' signing until these have been resolved."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Didier Drogba has rejected a Chelsea offer of a new contract and a loan deal to AC Milan, and instead will leave Stamford Bridge in the summer in search of one final pay day according to his agent.
The Ivory Coast international is in the last year of his deal with Andre Villas Boas’ men, and has not been guaranteed a starting place in the Premier League side’s starting XI this season.
The African forward’s representative Thierno Seydi has clarified that money will be a deciding factor in the veteran attacker’s choice of destination at the end of the campaign.
“Milan came in for Didier, but I said no straight away. Their offer, for a loan with an option to buy, did not interest us,” Seydi told reporters.
“He’s had the offer of a one-year extension from Chelsea, but that does not suit us. At his age, he has nothing left to prove as a player.
“Once you are well into your thirties, you have to go to a club where you can be certain you’ll be able to pay your bills.
“He will go where he is offered the most money. It could be the United States, Qatar, Russia or somewhere in Asia. He’ll go wherever he feels good from a financial point of view,” the agent concluded.
Nicolas Anelka is in the same boat as Drogba in that his contract at Stamford Bridge is running down, and both of the veteran strikers are expected to leave the London team come the summer.
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Former Ghana captain Stephen Appiah has blasted England’s decision to rest star players for their friendly on Tuesday.Appiah, 30, is not a part of the Black Stars squad forthe Wembley fixture, but he said his nation’s football fans – 21,000 of whichwill be in London for their first clash against England – will be disappointedat Fabio Capello’s decision to rest John Terry, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard,Wayne Rooney and Michael Dawson.Manchester United’s on-loan Sunderland striker Danny Welbeckwas called up in place of injured Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon, who was only selectedalong with Liverpool’s Andy Carroll and Wolves’ Matt Jarvis as replacements forTerry and company.”A lot of Ghanaians have travelled from America,Canada, from around the world. It’s a dream come true. It’s huge, it’s big andGhanaians are going to follow the match,” Cesena midfielder Appiah told the BBC.”Ghanaians are disappointed. They really wanted tosee those players. The players wish they could play against JT (John Terry).””It’s their dream to play against Wayne Rooney,Frank Lampard and all these players. Maybe some of them will not play in thatstadium again.” When asked if Capello’s move to rest several would-be Englandstarters – for reasons regarding their respective commitments in the ChampionsLeague – was disrespectful to Ghana’s football team and supporters, Appiahagreed.”I think so, yes (it is disrespectful). SomeGhanaians are really sad they are not going to play. Maybe Mr Capello has hisown reasons, we have to respect those,” Appiah said.
Since FootballFanCast reported on the breaking news last week that West Ham co-owner David Sullivan had unilaterally blocked Tottenham Hotspurs’ reported approach for Scott Parker, the story has continued unabated. Rumours and press reports have duly circulated, suggesting that Liverpool may now be interested, that the player wishes to hear Spurs’ offer and that the Lilywhites may have received some form of encouragement from West Ham prior to their bid. David Sullivan’s fervent remarks were widely welcomed by Hammers fans but is there any substance to these reports? Is the colourful co-owner reassessing his stance or is media speculation simply rearing its head over Upton Park?
The new Irons boss Avram Grant has echoed the comments of David Sullivan in the past week regarding the sought after midfielder. “We want to plan to improve for the next few seasons and Scott Parker is a big part of this process.” For West Ham fans the hope was such comments would put this unwanted story to bed. The club’s evident displeasure at Spurs’ bid for Parker was counteracted by Harry Redknapp’s criticism of Sullivan’s decision to make the bid public. “I’m sure the chairman got some form of encouragement or he wouldn’t have made the offer.” In scenes reminiscent of a school slanging match, Grant hit back claiming that there was no truth in this suggestion. It is worth recalling that relations between the two London clubs have not been amicable in the recent past. West Ham’s former chief executive Scott Duxbury stated that under his watch the club would not do any transfer business with Spurs and the new owners remain bitter at their rivals’ late and successful attempt to sign Eidur Gudjohnson earlier this year. However, do Redknapp’s comments allude to a conscious decision by West Ham to unsettle Parker and increase his price tag?
Sullivan is not averse to saying one thing when meaning another. Shortly after his takeover of the east London club with partner David Gold, he made a series of comments about Gianfranco Zola’s affability and the need for players to take a sizeable pay cut before a home clash against Birmingham. When West Ham came through that contest Karen Brady portrayed Sullivan as a ‘smart old bird’ as he had purportedly united the dressing room and took the pressure off the players. It was a tactic he had employed before but had it gone the other way it would have been less of the wily old fox and more of the old man in the fanciful claret smoking jacket.
Does this raise the prospect of Sullivan attempting to be double-handed by unsettling Parker whilst securing the best possible price for him? West Ham fans would not welcome such a strategy but there are a few reasons why media outlets, including talkSPORT are intimating a potential U-turn. The co-owners were not reticent to outline the size of the club’s debts following their takeover which they estimated at over £100 million. Player sales are the most efficient way of raising revenue and despite saying the best players would not be sold, the top performers at a club will attract the most attention. The Hammers have signed four players this summer but the only players who have left have done so on free transfers. With twelve senior midfielders on their books this is the area where player sales are most likely. Following the signing of Thomas Hitzlsperger and the improvement of academy graduate Mark Noble, are the club hierarchy reviewing the stance adopted last week?
The West Ham faithful will hope not and the duration of this story will depend on Parker who has given no concrete indication that he is seeking a move away from the Boleyn Ground. His commitment and passion on the pitch have made him a revered figure at West Ham. The fans may just be starting to realise, however, that Sullivan’s comments should always be taken with a pinch of salt.
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New Arsenal manager Unai Emery has inherited a squad of attacking quality but one that also has a soft centre and an inability to win often enough away from home in the Premier League.
The Gunners’ timidity has become arguably the most frustrating aspect of a team that has become unable to fight for the title in the way the fans crave and one of the former PSG boss’ most urgent priorities is sorting out their leaky defence.
Being tighter at the back is a must for Arsenal if they are to break back into the top four and get the fans back on side after seasons of mutiny under Arsene Wenger, but how does Emery go about it?
We’ve taken a closer look at some of the potential methods; from the transfer market to the training pitch through on-field and off-field strategies before asking you to choose the one that holds the ultimate key…
Solution 1 – Upgrade on Petr Cech
It looked as if Wenger had finally snared an elite goalkeeper who could radiate confidence throughout his team when he signed Cech from Chelsea but it is clear to see that his best days are behind him now.
That nervousness can permeate through a team and when the defence is already leaky and resilience is at a premium, that is a real problem. As experienced as Cech is, it could well be time for Emery to look at getting a younger, commanding alternative this summer.
Liverpool are another example of how a dodgy goalkeeper can bring nervousness to a defence while David de Gea’s consistent excellence is the main factor behind Manchester United’s strong defensive record.
An elite goalkeeper can make all the difference.
Solution 2 – Switch to 4-2-3-1 and properly protect the defence
Just like having a top goalkeeper, offering proper protection to a back four can bring about a marked improvement in defensive performance.
Emery’s preferred setup is 4-2-3-1 and while Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny are not the most gifted players in the Arsenal squad, fielding both of them as a defensive screen would help make the side more secure.
That would provide quite the platform for the Gunners’ attacking players, who do not always contribute the most defensively to go forward.
A new holding midfielder of the requisite bite and quality would also go down a treat at the Emirates.
Solution 3 – Sign Sokratis Papastathopoulos
According to reports, Borussia Dortmund’s Greek international defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos will join the Gunners in a £16m deal to bolster Emery’s defensive options.
With Laurent Koscielny out, another body was needed and while Calum Chambers, Rob Holding and Konstantinos Mavropanos all have talent, Emery clearly wants someone for the here and now.
Virgil van Dijk has had a transformative effect on Liverpool’s defence so Emery will be hoping that new blood in the shape of Sokratis has a similar impact.
Solution 4 – Coach improvement from Shkodran Mustafi
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In this era of bumper spending, many observers often lose sight of the fact that one way modern managers should justify their huge wages and reputation is by coaching improvement out of their existing players.
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In central defensive terms, Jose Mourinho appears largely incapable of that at Manchester United but Pep Guardiola, with Nicolas Otamendi, and Jurgen Klopp with Dejan Lovren have shown that it is possible and in some cases, necessary.
Mustafi, valued at £22.5m by Transfermarkt, is an international defender with his best years ahead of him so Emery should be able to get more out of him than Wenger could.
Potentially, the aforementioned formation change to offer him more protection may be transformative for the German.
Delve into West Brom’s history and there is a lot to love and a lot to admire. A roll call of alumni ranging from Jeff Astle to the incomparable Laurie Cunningham evoke a warm smile while the more seasoned supporter will recall Vic Buckingham’s magnificent, free-flowing side that illuminated the nineteen-fifties. Then there was that yellow and green kit. You know the one, the one that rightfully still makes grown men swoon decades on.
Now though, what are they? Who have they become? After finally shedding their yo-yo status and enjoying seven consecutive years in the most lucrative league on the planet what adventures have they delighted in? What model of entertaining excellence have they aspired towards?
Well, they exist; that’s one thing we can definitely say about them. They exist and they breathe and they show up each weekend on the dot dulling whatever passes for the Premier League’s soul that little bit more with every fulfilled fixture.
Aside from that I’m done bar the occasional splendidly taken goal thrice a season and that 5-5 draw with Manchester United a few years back. In comparison to the swashbuckling sides of their past they are Fun Bobby from Friends and where once they were the party now they only deign to poop it.
Year after year the TV bonanza continues to pour in and their top flight credentials grow ever stronger yet there is scant evidence of the Baggies loosening their firm grip on caution, a strategy that amounts to safety first, second, third and so on with little consideration to contributing anything meaningful beyond survival.
The campaign that saw them promoted in 2010 also brought Blackpool up and though the Tangerines plummeted thereafter they could be said to have made more positive impact on the Premier League in that one rollercoaster season than West Brom have in seven. If you believe that to be a deeply flawed correlation, in effect counter-intuitive praise for Albion’s pragmatism given that the Seasiders are now residing in the third tier while Alan Pardew’s men have gone to-to-toe with Arsenal and Manchester United in recent weeks, then consider too other clubs who have hauled themselves into the elite in that time period.
There was Swansea six years ago, Southampton and West Ham five years ago, Crystal Palace four, Leicester three, Bournemouth two and Burnley in 2016. If I was writing about their stints in the highest echelon within a much shorter time-frame – how they have developed and progressed and took flight with ambitious verve – then even discounting the Foxes’ incredible title triumph I would be spoilt for choice, picking out exciting individual talent and memorable moments.
With West Brom nothing comes to mind unless I Google, and that would be cheating. Nothing but banal mental images of James McClean and Chris Brunt mouth-breathing like Sunday League cloggers and an endless sequence of set pieces.
Seven years is an eternity in top class football yet in that whole time West Brom’s brand has never deviated from being muscular and industrious and this perhaps isn’t very surprising when it’s factored in that former chairman Jeremy Peace loves nothing more than to employ stolid fare in the dug-out. From Roy Hodgson to Steve Clark, from Alan Irvine to Tony Pulis it is a litany of uninspiring choices that lays down a template for competency and little more. And now there is Alan Pardew, which is just perfect.
Imagine being in a pub with all of them. They’d probably line up at the bar in a 4-4-2 formation, each ordering the craft ale and paying just for their own, before indulging in a twenty minute conversation about spark plugs.
Presently rooted to the bottom of the table it’s starting to look ominous for the Baggies this term. Relegation looms and should they indeed ensure the drop will there be any regret at eking out their tenure in the Premier League without ever daring to explore what might have been possible had they rolled the dice?
Probably not, after all this is a club who have had fifteen attempts at domestic cup competitions since becoming one of the ‘big boys’ – each an opportunity to discard the suffocating pressure of league commitments and chase a dream – and with the exception of a singular quarter final appearance all have resulted in early exits, usually as a result of fielding severely weakened line-ups.
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Whoever is in charge this is a club happy to get by, do enough, and all the while take up a spot in the top flight rota over a club who might have admirable ambitions to expand and enthral.
In their third most successful era, West Brom have only succeeded in devaluing their past becoming the team that deflates enthusiasm when they’re scheduled for Super Sundays or paired with your club. They’re the ad break in the greatest show on earth.
There’s no accompanying pleasure in saying this, but perhaps it’s time that West Brom boinged again.
Leicester City caused arguably the biggest upset in Round 4 of the Capital One Cup with a thrilling 4-3 victory over Premier League strugglers Fulham at the King Power Stadium.
Foxes manager Nigel Pearson insisted his Championship side were not the underdogs heading into the game and he was proved right by his players who dug deep to clinch a quarter-final spot.
The result will be a painful one for Fulham boss Martin Jol whose job becomes more and more in the balance after a uninspiring start to the season.
Hugo Rodallega headed the visitors in front after 18 minutes but Leicester’s resilience meant they went in to the break in front thanks to goals from Wes Morgan and Chris Wood.
Ignasi Miquel headed home eight minutes after the restart to double Leicester’s lead and seemingly put the game to bed before a second goal for Rodallega and a bullet free-kick from Giorgos Karagounis levelled things with just three minutes left on the clock.
But just as the game looked to be heading into extra time, Lloyd Dyer pounced in the 89th minute to hand Leicester the win.
Leicester’s form in the Championship so far this season, compared to Fulham’s in the Premier League, had many touting them for a win. And when Rodallega tapped in a Damien Duff cross mid-way through the first-half it looked as if Fulham might be the ones ready to cause an upset.
But Leicester came to life after going behind and former Fulham defender Paul Konchesky twice went close with long-range efforts for the visitors before Morgan took advantage of Maarten Stekelenburg’s failure to keep hold of a Anthony Kncokaert free-kick to head in the equaliser.
And moments before referee Keith Stroud called time on the first-half, Leicester took the lead through striker Chris Wood with his fourth Capital One Cup goal of the season after Philippe Senderos made a meal of his clearance.
Eight minutes into the second half and Leicester doubled their lead when Ignasi, on loan from Arsenal, got on the end of a Danny Drinkwater cross to nod home his first Foxes goal.
But Fulham got themselves back in straight from the re-start when Elsad Zverotic went unchallenged to cross in for Rodallega’s second goal of the evening.
Leicester looked like they would hold out for a 3-2 victory but Karagounis smashed home an unstoppable free-kick from 25-yards to force a nervy finish and, perhaps, extra-time.
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But the prospect of extra-time and penalties did not interest the hosts as they responded perfectly by sending their fans into raptures with a winner two minutes later.
Substitute David Nugent’s first touch of the game played Dyer in who made no mistake with his finish to end this seven-goal thriller.
The last time Leicester beat Fulham in this competition and reached the last-eight they went on to win it in 2000, and they’ll be hoping that kind of coincidence takes them to Wembley this time around.
There is a certain Paul Scholes shaped wound situated somewhere on the Three Lions that simply will not heal. It may have been inflicted over a series of years, but since the Manchester United legend’s international retirement some eight years ago now, it doesn’t seem to get any less painful.
They say time heals everything. For England, seeing Paul Scholes continue to produce the goods as he did against Wigan on Saturday, it just makes things worse.
Of course, you could be accused of smothering yourself in nostalgia by continuing to wheel out the Paul Scholes scenario. The year is 2012 and Scholes himself is now approaching his 38th birthday in November. England must be focusing on the next generation of talent and carving a squad capable of making real progress in Brazil 2014- should they qualify, of course.
But sometimes it is implausible to move forward, without looking back. Years of board level mismanagement, a crass neglect for the grass roots game and the odd bit of rotten luck along the way, have contributed in no small part to the 46 years of hurt and counting that the country currently finds itself enduring. But perhaps the tale of Paul Scholes’ international career represents the biggest sin of all.
Pep Guardiola described him as the best midfielder of his generation. Barcelona playmaker Xavi, once said that he was the best midfielder he’d seen play in the last two decades. Bobby Charlton, Alan Hansen, Marcelo Lippi – the list goes on forever – have all waxed lyrically about the ability of Salford-born genius over the years. But perhaps most poignantly, it was the more recent descriptions of one Robin van Persie, which really hit a particular chord.
“I have to say a big thank you to Paul Scholes. When he came on everything started ticking. Every single pass he hit was the right one. Everyone felt that, I certainly did,” the Dutchman said, following United’s 3-2 win over Southampton at the start of the month.
“He hit a couple of unbelievable passes over 30 metres. With him you are always on your toes because anything can happen with his qualities. For me, he is the man of the match.”
Let’s put that into perspective for one moment. The man fitting Van Persie’s description is 37 years of age. In the words of one of Europe’s finest strikers, who’s played with some half decent midfielders himself over the years, Scholes was depicted as the best player on the pitch. Not Michael Carrick, nor the fleeting young English talent he replaced either, in Tom Cleverley.
By Van Persie’s assessment and countless others, on his half hour cameo against Southampton, Scholes would walk, if not crawl on his hands and knees, into the Roy Hodgson’s current England line-up. But even though he’s now retired, you would have assumed that a player as praised, as talented, as gifted as Scholes, would be a legend for his country. Think of his peers and the 127 caps Luis Figo won for Portugal. Or the outstanding 108 that one Zinedine Zindane won for Les Bleus. Or even 117 and counting that Xavi has for Spain.
Paul Scholes played only 66 times for England. That’s only 13 more than Gareth Barry’s current total.
When Scholes initially retired from international competition in the August of 2004, there was a whole quarry of critique aimed at why the then 29-year-old would turn away from running out for England. But not necessarily whole-hearted uproar; owing much to the international emergence of both Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. Criticism for Scholes was also, nothing particularly new.
Because for all his talents and gifts with the ball at his feet, the fascination was why he wasn’t putting the ball in the back of the net. Despite Scholes’ powers in front of goal perhaps already being in slight remission at this point, both the media and the management seemed displeased with a lack of goal scoring edge to his game internationally. It was felt the duo of Lampard and Gerrard could give the Three Lions what they needed. During the peak years of the Sven-Goran Eriksson era, he was always fit around the pair, not as a key component himself. A move that seems a fitting motif for both the failures of English football and the current predicament we currently find ourselves in.
The most gifted player of his generation in an England shirt – yet seemingly we were the only ones to recognise it. Nearly ten years on and still, the penny only now seems to have dropped. Although that’s pretty much the only thing that has dropped, as even after one short-lived retirement, Scholes performances show absolutely no signs of relenting.
Maybe he can’t play 38 games in a season anymore and it’s not likely he’ll undergo quite too many 90-minute lung-sapping shifts this season. But as he showed in his half hour cameo against Southampton, the class, the vision, the gift, is still there for all to see. The fact that he remains arguably one of the best English midfielders in the Premier League today is testament to this nations devaluation of the skillset he possess. We must ensure that the current emphasis on the technical aspects of the game, the ability to pass, control and move isn’t some flash in the pan.
The new multi-million pound St. Georges Park complex will be worth nothing, if say, barring injury both Jack Wilshere and Tom Cleverley fail to make more than 100 appearances for England between them. The coaching philosophies have to value the talents that both they and Scholes possess. The thought of say, Tom Cleverley being forced to play on the left so Ashley Young and squeeze in more centrally might not seem like much. But once upon a time it was Scholes shunted out of position for the more Hollywood players. History suggests that was one of the biggest mistakes in recent English footballing history.
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Every time Scholes pulls on a United shirt and so effortlessly pulls the strings as he did against Southampton, part of an England fan’s soul will always hurt. But it must act as a burning reminder to ensure it doesn’t ever happen again. Otherwise it’s not just Brazil 2014 you can forget about.
How do you feel about Scholes’s recent performances and the state of England’s current midfield? Could it be possible that a similar scenario could happen again? Let me know what you think on Twitter: follow @samuel_antrobus and bat me all your views.
You wanted attacking football? Well, you’re going to get attacking football.
West Ham’s defence – which conceded ten goals in its first three Premier League games this season – will hardly be helped by the arrival of all-out-attack’s Manuel Pellegrini, but that’s far from the point: at this stage, Hammers fans really just want to *feel* something. They’ll certainly feel it with the former Manchester City manager who loves a risk in attack. With a bit of luck, the whole Premier League will, too.
There are some within the game whose eyebrows will rise at the prospect of that. A team who have been in a relegation battle for much of the year should be sorting out its defence before worrying about the attack, you can imagine them arguing. In many cases they’d be right, but at the London Stadium a bit of joy might go a long way.
Pellegrini’s teams provide that.
He’s not like a Kevin Keegan figure, a coach famed for attacking at the expense of his defence. But what he does have is a very clear idea about how football ought to be played – with the ball at your feet and bounding flat-out towards the other team’s goal.
That sort of attacking mindset will – hopefully – lead to a happier atmosphere around the London Stadium. The creation of a team with a positive, attacking identity may go some way to healing some of the wounds opened up by the move to the new ground.
The bigger question might be whether or not West Ham are simply attempting to attract a big name in order to paper over the cracks. That might be a more accurate charge and we’ve seen that it doesn’t always work: we’re living in an era of super clubs, and that’s brought with it a collection of super managers. Pellegrini – whose recent jobs include Manchester City and Real Madrid – is one of those men. But the Hammers aren’t currently one of those clubs.
The key, then, is what success looks like for the Chilean.
Given the top six dominance over the league, a spot in the Champions League looks well out of reach. Indeed at least two members of the top six will miss out. And that probably leaves seventh place as the glass ceiling. That is likely to bring with it a Europa League qualifying spot, though only if the domestic cup competitions are won by top six clubs, too. West Ham don’t have the best memories of those qualifying rounds.
Pellegrini, however, has a track record at managing at that level.
His biggest success is arguably with the Villarreal side of the mid-2000s. Taking over at a small club from well outside the footballing hotbeds of Spain, he brought them to a Champions League semi-final where they lost to Arsenal in 2006 and turned them into one of the most recognisable names in European football.
More recently, at Malaga, he negotiated some choppy waters with an erratic board and a dysfunctional squad to create a side who came within seconds of making a Champions League semi-final.
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There’s no doubt that this is an exciting appointment for West Ham, and indeed for football lovers throughout the league. The question marks will be around his suitability for the role of a club who, just a few weeks ago, looked like they could easily have been relegated if they lost at home to Southampton.
This might be an appointment to stimulate a fanbase starved of entertainment since they first arrived at the London Stadium, but if the Hammers board have taken a risk appointing Pellegrini, his attacking style and his track record with ambitious, overachieving clubs make him the safest choice they could possibly have made.
It’s hard to pick out any individuals from Liverpool’s stunning victory over Manchester City on Sunday, such was the nature of the performance from Jurgen Klopp’s side. Although individual quality was a factor, especially when it came to finishing chances, the manner in which the Reds pressed, harried and broke forward as a cohesive unit was the defining element behind them becoming the first side to beat City in the Premier League this season.
Accordingly, choosing a Man of the Match is a rather difficult task. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was at his robust and offensive best in midfield, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah netted superb strikes, Roberto Firmino was his ever-industrious self between them and Andrew Robertson gave much-maligned former Red Raheem Sterling a torrid afternoon from left-back.
So, Liverpool fans, who do you see as the crucial influences behind that huge win? Here’s the perfect chance to have your say by giving each Reds player a rating out of ten for their performance vs City…
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