Norwich will pitch fit-again keeper John Ruddy in to face West Brom at Carrow Road on Sunday following his five-month injury absence.
The England international has battled his way back from a long-standing groin problem and, despite being fit in the past few weeks, boss Chris Hughton was unwilling to throw him back into the first-team too soon and risk doing any further damage.
However, it seems Ruddy will get the nod ahead of Mark Bunn for Sunday’s visit of the Baggies, as the Canaries still require a win to be almost certain of Premier League football next season.
Winger Robert Snodgrass has recovered from cramp which saw him substituted in last weekend’s late 2-1 home defeat by Aston Villa, but centre-half Michael Turner is still sidelined with a groin injury.
Meanwhile midfielder Anthony Pilkington insists the squad is in good spirits ahead of the game as they look to secure only their third win in 20 outings which would take them six points clear of third bottom Wigan.
“Everyone’s been positive around the dressing room, all around the club, and everyone’s behind each other,” said Pilkington.
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“Everyone was disappointed and gutted after the defeat to Aston Villa. But the boys have picked each other up and the staff have picked us up as well.”
Newcastle United supporters have been pretty downbeat in the Transfer Tavern this week after seeing their team’s four-match winning run in the Premier League come to an end at the hands of Everton on Monday night.
Rafa Benitez’s men went into their clash with the Merseysiders off the back of beating Arsenal, Leicester City, Huddersfield Town, and Southampton in their preceding four games, a run which saw them breach the 40-point mark and thus all but seal their place in the top-flight next season. Yet they were unable to keep their impressive run going on Monday night as a Theo Walcott effort six minutes into the second half was enough to clinch all three points for Sam Allardyce’s side, thus leaving Newcastle tenth in the division.
As such, there have been many quiet Magpies supporters in the Tavern in the last few days, several of whom are hoping that their team can finish the season strongly to build momentum ahead of the 2018/19 campaign.
In the meantime though, there has been much for our resident Newcastle fans to discuss, not least recent reports linking their club with a move for Hull City striker Abel Hernandez.
And while the 27-year-old might well be a useful addition to Benitez’s squad, the Magpies must forget about a move for the forward and instead land £13.5 million-rated Championship star Tom Cairney (as per Transfermarkt).
Ultimately, while Hull’s Hernandez has been in fine form for the Tigers this term in netting eight goals in just ten appearances, he has suffered repeatedly from injuries in the last few years, hence his lowly appearance tally this time round.
Even his Premier League record, in which he has netted eight times in 49 games, isn’t horrendous, but it would be too big a risk for Newcastle to take given his injury problems over recent years.
Whereas they know exactly what they’d get with Fulham’s Cairney, who has without doubt been one of the best attackers outside of the Premier League in the last few years.
The 27-year-old inspired Slavisa Jokanovic’s side to the Championship play-offs last season with 13 goals and 11 assists for the Cottagers, and while his first half of this season was disrupted by injury, he has still managed four goals and five assists in their run to second place in the table.
Thus, it’s just a matter of time before the Scotland international makes the step up to the Premier League, and if Newcastle are keen to move to the next level themselves in the coming years, a peak and in-form Cairney can certainly help them with those aims.
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Ayoze Perez has performed much better recently for the Magpies, but one still senses that they need a number ten with greater attacking pedigree and an ability to make things happen out of very little – Cairney can do just that.
Obviously, it would be a risk given the 27-year-old hasn’t played much in the Premier League, but given his fine form for Fulham in the last few years, and indeed the age he is at, the Magpies must forget about Hernandez and instead focus their efforts on luring Cairney to St James’ Park.
Last week Liverpool suffered another bump in the road in their turbulent season. Dumped out of FA Cup, the Reds will not be winning a trophy this year, but it may also be significant in their quest for European football.
Liverpool are still on course for a Europa League spot, but only have faint hopes of Champions League qualification. Getting knocked out of the FA Cup means they’ll have to grab their European place via the league, because they won’t get a place from a cup competition.
Realistically, they’re not going to make the Champions League this season. They have just too much to do. Manchester City might slip up a little bit more before the end of the season – and have a tough game against in-form Aston VIlla this weekend – but surely not enough to finish behind Liverpool. Qualifying for the Europa League would be a consolation prize of course, certainly not something they’d have eyed at the start of the season, but it’s definitely a competition they’ll expect to be involved in at the very least.
But there are teams behind them in the league that also have their eyes on the same prize. Liverpool are in fifth place, and so they’re clearly in the best position for qualification. But if Southampton and Spurs start to win games, Liverpool could be in trouble.
England get three representatives in the Europa League, and with Liverpool missing out on the FA Cup final against Arsenal who are all but qualified for the Champions League Villa will get one of those spots.
Champions League-bound Chelsea won the League Cup, so the two spots left will go to fifth and sixth place in the league. And so Liverpool will need to finish in one of those spots in order to qualify.
Currently they sit fifth, and they do have a game in hand over Saints and Spurs, but they’re only a point ahead of the Saints and only above Spurs on goal difference.
So it’s lucky for Liverpool that the two teams directly below them play each other this weekend. They’ll have the chance to gain points on at least one of those teams. Crucially, if they win their game against West Brom, they’ll gain points on 7th place by 5:15 on Saturday, when City kick off against Villa.
But if Liverpool show signs of a hangover from their cup exit and the defeats to Man United and Arsenal, it could have a catastrophic effect on their season. Both of the teams below them, even if they were to lose their next game, would still have enough games left to accrue the points to oust Liverpool from the Europa League places. Even with Liverpool’s game in hand.
There is added pressure on Brendan Rodgers, though.
In this age of managerial merry-go-rounds, impatient owners and mega-money competitions such as the Champions League, the job security for a top manager is frighteningly low. To make matters worse for Rodgers, Jurgen Klopp is available. He’s announced his imminent departure from Borussia Dortmund this summer, and declaring that he won’t be taking a sabbatical means he’s single and ready to mingle.
In fact, there has already been talk of Brendan Rodgers leaving and the BBC’s Sportsday even had a public vote asking who will be Liverpool manager next season. That’s hardly a vote of confidence for the Northern Irishman.
So finishing 7th in the league with no silverware and no European football to show for it would be disastrous for the club, the players and crucially for the manager too. It just can’t happen.
With the Champions League looking very unlikely and no cup competitions to play for, the concern is that Liverpool may struggle to get motivated for their remaining fixtures, too. That’s the kind of situation that could give hope to both Saints and Spurs, and make them believe that they can catch Liverpool.
On paper, Liverpool have the players to keep it together, they have also been in good form despite the defeats I’ve mentioned. They’ve lost the big games – United, Arsenal and an FA Cup semi-final – but the games they have left shouldn’t pose them too many problems. The only one you’d expect them to struggle with is Chelsea.
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But actually, if Chelsea lose to Arsenal and we’re left with something vaguely resembling a title race on Sunday evening, the Liverpool Chelsea game could be important. And wouldn’t Liverpool just love to cause Chelsea the same problems that Mourinho and his team bus caused the Reds at Anfield last season.
If Liverpool’s problem is getting up for the games they have left, then there should be no problem getting up for this one.
Liverpool should be fine for a Europa League spot. But they need to be careful because not getting one would be disastrous and may cost their manager his job. With Jurgen Klopp free, lurking like a lion stalking its prey, you’d fear for Rodgers if he does guide his team to a poor run from now until the end of the season. His job just might depend on his ability to motivate his team for their final few games.
Gareth Barry says he loves life at Manchester City and is hoping to commit his future by signing a new contract.
The 32-year-old has just under 18 months to run on his current deal but he is keen to stay well beyond 2014 and is hoping to open talks with the club over a new contract in the summer.
Whether City will offer a player of his age anything long-term remains to be seen, but Barry has no thoughts about moving on and would love to put pen to paper.
“I am happy here and very settled,” Barry revealed. “I spent 12 years at Villa and I’ve spent four years at City and I’m not really one for moving around. I’d like to stay as long as possible.
“For a player to feel settled and feel very comfortable, you generally want to be playing regular football – and I’ve been lucky enough to feature in a lot of games this season.
“That’s one reason why I am happy to stay.”
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There has been no shortage of cash at Manchester City ever since Sheikh Mansour bought the club in 2009.
The Abu Dhabi-borm billionaire is a major reason why the Premier League club have become a powerhouse in England.
At the weekend, City earned their third league title in seven seasons after taking an unassailable 16-point lead.
Manchester United’s shock 1-0 defeat to West Bromwich Albion on Sunday officially handed their neighbours the crown.
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The joy came after a difficult week in which the club were knocked out of the Champions League by Liverpool in the quarter-finals and were beaten 3-2 by United at the Etihad Stadium.
With the league title wrapped up, attention now turns to the summer transfer window.
According to the Daily Mail, City’s hierarchy are prepared to put all their faith in manager Guardiola by handing him in excess of £100m to spent on new players.
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The publication claims that the club are likely to target a new central midfielder and a winger, but could end up recruiting four new faces before the window closes.
City fans have been giving their reaction to these reports on Twitter.
The last few weeks have served as somewhat of a reality check for Manchester United after their magnificent run of form was not only halted; but has been followed by a drastic change in fortunes.
Their latest defeat to West Bromwich Albion was not only their third successive loss, but also saw the Red Devils make it three games in a row without even finding the back of the net.
Just a month ago things were looking rosy at Old Trafford, and they had their sights set on second place after impressive victories over Tottenham and Liverpool before an emphatic display against rivals Manchester City saw them run out 4-2 winners.
It seemed Louis van Gaal had finally found a system and starting 11 that would bring about a solid end to the season with the goals starting to fly in.
But remarkably Chris Smalling’s header on April 12 was the last time United got on the score sheet, and their recent run must come as a real worry to the manger.
Thankfully Van Gaal’s side still hold a four-point advantage over Liverpool with three games remaining; which should be enough to secure a return to the Champions League which was their primary focus at the beginning of the season.
But having failed to register a point or even a goal in defeats to Chelsea, Everton and West Brom, it shows there is plenty of work to be done and those getting carried away with talk of a title challenge may have to rethink such claims.
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So where’s it gone wrong for United? And how can the Dutchman solve United’s attacking problems?
Perhaps the biggest issue for the Reds has been the injury problems. Michael Carrick’s absence from the side since leaving the field in the closing stages of the Manchester derby has had a huge effect on the team both in defensively and in attack, and they haven’t looked the same since.
The holding midfielder had been a key part of the team while they went on that winning run, kick starting attacks and shielding the defence ensuring they looked more solid. It’s no coincidence that since losing him, that they have lost three league games in a row for the first time since December 2001, and failed to score in three successive games since 2007.
United have shown they have nobody who can perform anywhere near as effectively as Carrick, and this has also had an effect on the role Wayne Rooney has been playing in recent weeks.
The England striker had been performing brilliantly as the main man in attack, coinciding with the good run of results. But ever since Carrick’s injury he has been forced to drop back, often playing in midfield and as a result United have lost his effectiveness when going forward.
With Rooney playing a deeper role, this had led to both Radamel Falcao and Robin van Persie getting starts in the team, but once again they have failed to impress.
Falcao continues to struggle and looks like a man hugely short on confidence, while Van Persie’s return from injury at the weekend probably couldn’t have gone any worse. The Dutchman looked rusty and missed a few good chances before seeing his spot kick saved to sum up a terrible afternoon.
Although they have both proven themselves to be two fantastic strikers, to ensure they stop the losing streak Van Gaal needs to revert back to the side that looked so impressive just last month. And that means pushing Rooney upfront on his own and leaving out the other two.
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Rooney has shown he is most effective playing up top, and going forward into next season this is how he should be deployed. The manager has a decision to make about Falcao, one that should result in him playing his football elsewhere next season after failing to deliver on numerous occasions.
And as for Van Persie, he’s sure to come good again and so selling him wouldn’t be the best of decisions particularly given his experience. But maybe his days as a first choice striker are coming to an end, and although it takes a brave man to keep him on the bench, this could be the best option for United especially in the big games.
There’s no doubting they need further investment in attacking areas, and the addition of Memphis Deepay would prove most welcome. But it’s cover for Carrick that they also need, to ensure Rooney’s attacking threat is not wasted and he can remain upfront.
It’s going to be another interesting summer at Old Trafford, but despite talk of a new striker it wouldn’t be the worst decision to hold back from signing one. With Rooney leading the line, and Van Persie in reserve there isn’t room for another big name in the side, and with Javier Hernandez due to return from Real Madrid at the end of the season, you could argue they already have enough options.
Arsene Wenger has prided himself on the 15 consecutive years that Arsenal have qualified for Europe’s most prestigious cup competition, the Champions League. Further than priding himself, the Gunners boss has used the impressive feat as a justification for the club’s inability to keep up in the title race over the past five years; although failing to get past the round of 16 for three campaigns in a row is hardly anything to write home about.
In addition to the glory and pride that comes with playing in the Champions League, comes huge financial rewards in Television revenues, which is calculated by a rather complex formula to divide UEFA’s overall earnings accordingly between each club based upon domestic standing as well as which round they reach in the European competition. Additionally, there are win and draw bonuses, and fixed fiscal prizes for each stage.
For example, in the 2011/2012 season, according to The Guardian, UEFA cashed in €1.1billion in selling TV rights and sponsorship deals. 79% is then divided between all of the participating clubs, and the rest is kept by UEFA to cover the tournament’s running costs. The remaining €865 million (79%) split between the clubs is divided into two pools, firstly the fixed rewards, such as €3.9million for reaching the Group Stages, plus €550K per win, and secondly for their final standings domestically and in the European competition.
Perhaps the £25million Arsenal earned from the Champions League in the 2010/2011 season is not as much as one would have first thought, and although it creates a big difference between the clubs at the bottom of the table in the Premier League, it is still a fraction of the club’s overall revenue; 11% in fact for the year in question.
But along with the financial rewards of the Champions League itself, comes a number of commercial opportunities for exposure and sale of merchandise. Essentially, being in the competition gets your club’s name heard around the world, as it’s broadcasted in 220 different countries, and therefore boosts your profile globally, allowing for independent sponsorship deals to be made.
So how have Tottenham Hotspur, a club with a single year of Champions League experience under its belt, come to eclipse their local rivals in terms of league standing as well as quality in their roster, despite the obvious financial rewards and commercial exposure Arsenal have benefited from for 15 years straight?
I am not arguing it is the end for Arsenal, or that they will now and forever always be a lesser team than Spurs, but excluding Theo Walcott, Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere, would any of the Gunners starting XI be guaranteed a hypothetical place in the Tottenham first team? Furthermore, whilst Arsene Wenger possesses a squad full of injury-prone-has-beens and lacklustre flops, Andre Villas-Boas is spoilt for choice in defence and midfield, with a balance of young and old, and a natural pecking order established at White Hart Lane.
The Arsenal wage structure has come under scrutiny this season and it’s easy to see why. According to The Independent, the club’s total wage bill is verging on the £150million mark, whilst Tottenham’s stands at just £90million. The difference is more understandable when taking into consideration the contracts of players like Marouane Chamakh and Sebastien Squillaci, who are both on £50k per week deals for literally making up the numbers at the Emirates and doing nothing more.
Squillaci has made just a single league appearance over the past two seasons, whilst Chamakh has now been farmed out, along with Johan Djourou, Denilson, Andre Santos, Park Chu-Young and Nicklas Bendtner, but all are on deals that vastly surpass their roles at the club considering none have been first team regulars for quite some time. Of course, Champions League clubs are held to ransom by agents demanding Champions League wages for their players, but considering much of the Gunners roster are now not Champions League quality, the club’s wage structure, which has been described as “socialist” by a number of the newspapers, clearly isn’t providing value for money.
Furthermore, some of the blame has to be attached to Arsene Wenger. His lack of ambition in the transfer market has left the squad deteriorated in depth, and similarly the first team have depreciated in value and quality over the past five years. Without Robin Van Persie carrying out a talismanic role up front this season, the rest of the team has been shown up for its widespread lack of talent compared to the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham.
The club’s record transfer fee is currently the £16million spent on Santi Cazorla in the summer, whereas Chelsea’s is £50million, City’s is £37million, Liverpool’s is £35million and United’s is £31million. Out of the five clubs, who have all been Champions League regulars at one time or another, Arsenal’s is by far the least, and is even £2million less than Tottenham’s record fee of £18million for Luka Modric. It’s clear that whilst other clubs have taken advantage of the additional revenues and commercial exposure provided by the Champions League, the Gunners quite frankly have not.
Arsene Wenger has used the building of the club’s new stadium as a justification for his reluctance to spend big in the past. But now that all debts are paid, he should have a free reign in the next transfer window, and has already discussed an apparent £80million transfer and wage kitty that will be at his disposal in the summer. However, it could easily be a case of too little too late if the Gunners miss out on a Champions League spot to their local rivals, which will seriously hurt the Arsenal supporters.
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Whereas in the past, Wenger had the opportunity to pay large fees for players desperate to play European football, which he turned down, he may find recruitment for the 2013/2014 season much harder should the North Londoners fail to qualify. Similarly, he will now have a group of players on Champions League wages, who aren’t Champions League quality, without the additional revenues of the tournament to cover their salaries.
Of course, being in the Champions League is no guarantee of success. Liverpool won the competition in 2005, and have since slid down the Premier League table and now find themselves squandering in the middle order of the English top flight. But the fact that Tottenham’s rise has collided with Arsenal’s decline highlights just how the inefficiently the club is being run, with the majority of profits being sucked up by the wage bill alone, leaving little left for transfer funds. Furthermore, and most importantly, it symbolises how Wenger has failed to take advantage of his 15 years of success, and has now allowed local and league rivals Tottenham to better him.
Gary Cahill’s first season as Chelsea captain – having replaced John Terry in the summer – hasn’t quite gone as planned.
The Blues have slumped from runaway champions to fifth – facing the very real prospect of Europa League football next season – and on a personal level, the former Bolton defender hasn’t featured as much as he would have liked.
Nevertheless, the defender – valued at £13.5m by Transfermarkt – got the nod from Antonio Conte on Saturday as Chelsea played out a dress rehearsal for Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Southampton.
It looked as if Cahill’s return would turn into a nightmare as the Saints raced into a 2-0 lead and with just 20 minutes remaining, Chelsea were staring down the barrel.
Three goals in eight minutes turned the game on its head and Cahill’s numbers from the game are quite solid and he made a late claim to be in the starting 11 for the cup semi at Wembley.
Seven headers won and four clearances are the standouts as Cahill helped the Blues ride out a late onslaught but his other numbers also showed evidence of a man who wasn’t rusty and is ready to take his chance if he gets the nod at Wembley.
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“If I had played in England I would have destroyed it, like I have everywhere else.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic never has been one to mince his words, even if this one particular quote has in-fact been abruptly denied by the player since it first emerged. He goes down as one of the most enigmatic, skilful and entertaining players of his era, but as he is yet to ply his trade in the Premier League, the 33-year-old striker seemingly hasn’t ticked off everything European football has to offer.
But it’s not like that will come as a great regret to the player himself. Zlatan – in his words – has ‘destroyed it’ in the Swedish Allsvenskan, the Dutch Eredivisie, Italy’s Serie A, the illustrious La Liga in Spain, as well as in the French Ligue 1 with PSG. Ibrahimovic therefore has a footballing CV to be proud of and the game is certainly better off because of his involvement.
However, after reportedly claiming that ‘Zlatan doesn’t do trials’ after his proposed move to Arsenal broke down early on in his career, English football ultimately seems to have missed out on playing host to the ever controversial striker.
In light of such a decision, were the Gunners always going to be just fine without the Swedish star on board, or does Zlatan Ibrahimovic remain ‘the one who got away’ for Arsene Wenger and Arsenal?
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A remark like that could only really be made by two types of person: The first would be someone with grand ideas but also a strong degree of delusion, but the second would be a person who would not only fail to regret turning down a move to the Gunners in such dramatic style, but also someone who had it in them to go on to achieve even higher accolades in the world of modern football.
Zlatan definitely falls into the second category – the majority of goals that he has scored throughout his career would not have been put away by anyone else. Whether it be through the deadly power of his net-breaking shots, the supreme confidence that somehow comes every time he steps out on the pitch – or maybe just his reported black-belt in Taekwondo – the former Ajax, Juventus and Barca striker is simply unplayable on his day. Just ask any member of the English national side that saw their team pummelled 4-2 in what many have labelled ‘the Zlatan Ibrahimovic Show’ in late 2012.
Arsenal would have therefore loved to have seen Zlatan do his thing at Highbury or the Emirates – there simply isn’t any other way of putting it. Under the guidance of the likes of Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp, the Swedish international would have likely become even more of a talent than he currently is today – especially with someone as experienced in player development as Arsene Wenger supervising his progress.
If things had gone well, Ibrahimovic could have played on in the absence of Arsenal’s now retired strikers, and subsequently won more trophies for the Gunners as a result.
Having said that though, the player himself would have likely never properly fitted in at a club such as Arsenal. The fact that Zlatan didn’t even think Arsene Wenger was worthy of an audition really tells you all you need to know. Yes – he would have wowed fans of the Premier League with his incredible talents and ability with the ball, but it simply remains too hard to imagine the enigmatic front-man ever wanting to play second fiddle to anyone else – no matter how talented his senior teammates may have been.
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For that reason alone, the player himself can’t really go down as ‘one who got away’ for Arsenal. His apparent outlook at the time just wouldn’t have allowed for the partnership to work out for all parties involved. Zlatan seemingly had to make his own way in the footballing world – and as his career really is one to behold in the modern era – that is exactly what he’s done.
Perhaps though, in the ever changing realms of the current game, maybe – just maybe – one last move to the Premier League awaits Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the final curtain call of his illustrious footballing life.
Arsene Wenger is targeting centre-backs in a bid to improve his team’s defence in the summer transfer window.
After a string of bad performances in the Premier League the Arsenal boss has been left frustrated by defenders Per Mertsacker and Thomas Vermaelen, and he is eyeing up replacements.
Current captain Vermaelen has had a huge dip in form this season and there is reports that the captaincy is to blame but he has also suffered an ankle injury. Mertesacker and Sagna could also be leaving the Emirates come May.
The Arsenal scouts having been trying to find central defence targets and it has been indicated that they are interested in Swansea captain Ashley Williams as well as Fernando Amorebieta, Nicolas N’Koulou and Raul Abiol, according to The Daily Mail.
Arsene Wenger has never spoken publicly of individual failings in the team but behind closed doors he is frustrated that the defence aren’t playing as well as they should be. He considered a change in formation before Christmas, which would have meant placing an extra defender into the backline, but decided to stick with the current formation.
He has spotted a weakness in the backline and he wants to improve that, but the French boss is also looking for a new goalkeeper, right-back, defensive midfielder and a forward which he hopes will enable Arsenal to compete for silverware next season.
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Wenger is considering removing the captaincy from Vermaelen and handing it over to 21-year-old Jack Wilshere next season bringing forward the plan to do from 2015.