With new players and bigger squads comes the juggling act of finding a team that is balanced and effective. Harry Redknapp now has that problem more than at any other time in his career. Although the Brazilian, Sandro was Spurs’ first bit of business of the summer, he has only just arrived in London after helping Internacional to the Copa Liberatores. Add to this the incredibly predictable scenario that Harry pushed through a transfer at the last minute in Rafael Van Der Vaart, and there are some big decisions to be made.

This time last year the partnership of Tom Huddlestone and Wilson Palacios was blossoming, and providing an affective balance at the heart of the Spurs’ side. The form that both showed looked as though it would give Redknapp the opportunity to invest elsewhere, but where Huddlestone’s form grew to match his stature, Palacios began to struggle.

While injured towards the back end of last season, Modric took his place alongside Huddlestone in the middle, and Bale exploded down the left wing: as a formula, it worked. When Palacios returned, his form was underwhelming, and it has continued with the beginning of this season.

What Palacios has gone through regarding the kidnap and murder of his brother, would clearly have an effect on him personally, but directly after the incident he was playing some of the best football of his career. In the three games he has played this season, Palacios has struggled. In Switzerland he spent the first half like a lost child (although he wasn’t alone) and his other two games haven’t been a vast improvement.

All this means that Sandro’s initiation into the side can’t happen soon enough. Whether the 21-year-old is Redknapp’s first choice will be for him to decide. A young South American, trying to adapt to the rigours of the Premier League, and a new lifestyle and culture, may take a while to settle and find his feet, and that is totally normal. But Spurs’ loss to Wigan has already got the cynics reeling out the European hangover excuses, and their fixture list will only get tougher.

When the likes of Inter come calling and Spurs need someone to get to grips with Wesley Sneijder, Palacios will need to step up to the plate. If Palacios continues to struggle in finding his form, then Redknapp will have to rely on Sandro far quicker than he may have intending on doing.

It is difficult to know what Redknapp’s first team will be now that their squad has been finalised, maybe Redknapp doesn’t know yet himself. If it remains as a midfield four, then the central possibilities include any combination of Sandro, Modric, Huddlestone, Palacios and Van Der Vaart (for Spurs fans piece of mind I won’t consider Jermaine Jenas a viable option).

Harry certainly has his work cut out. This is the biggest and most talented squad he has ever assembled, and it is down to him to find a system that works. Sandro has a lot of pressure on his young shoulders already, and it could end up being a rude awakening for the Brazilian. Spurs fans will hope he can live up to his price tag; he has made them wait for him and is still relatively unknown, with positions still undecided, a good start could lead to him making the role his own.

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The Italian Football FanCast is the podcast for fans of Serie A and Calcio.

Serie A was awash with strange results this week, as AC Milan lost to Cesena, AS Roma were destroyed away to Cagliari, leaving the Flying Donkeys, Chievo Verona sitting upon high in the league with the only 100% record.

Elsewhere, there was action in the Champions League with Milan, Roma and Inter all involved, and as usual Kris Voakes joins us to talk all things Calcio including the events surrounding the planned players strike.

We also have a special treat for everyone. We are delighted to welcome former Bari star Paul Rideout to the show. Moving to Bari in 1985 he played against some of the toughest defenders Italian football had to offer and we find out what life was like for a young British striker plying his trade in the peninsula.

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Harry Redknapp has come out and suggested that for all of Rafael van der Vaart’s abilities, he is providing him with a selection headache as it makes balancing the team difficult. I personally find that hard to fathom, especially when in MY VIEW, there is an easy solution.

Van der Vaart has been an absolute sensation since his arrival and we finally have a midfielder that is capable of chipping in with 15-20 goals a season. As much as I admire Luka Modric as a footballer, I do get frustrated at his reluctance to test the keeper from distance, or get in and around the front men like Van der Vaart seems to do with relative ease. Maybe the real problem facing Harry is can he afford to play VDV, Modric and Huddlestone in the same midfield, week in, week out, given the lack of defensive cover they’ll provide.

I personally believe that we should solely go with Van der Vaart in centre midfield and give him the freedom of the park. Harsh on Huddlestone and Modric perhaps, but Rafael is far more dangerous in the final third and is just more effective in creating chances than the pair of them. Huddlestone and Modric don’t provide a suitable amount of steel in the midfield to justify their selection alongside him in the centre, unless Harry looks to play five across the midfield. After Saturday’s performance there could be a call to play him upfront alongside Crouch or Pavlyuchenko in the absence of Defoe, although whether Harry will look to carry on with it remains to be seen.

So how does Harry solve his dilemma? Do you agree with my view that Van der Vaart should be given the sole playmaking role in midfield? Or should Harry persevere with Modric, Huddlestone and VDV in a midfield three?

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Written By Matt Wright

Matt Jarvis was a star performer in the Championship the year Wolves won the title, but the question was whether or not he could make the step up into the Premier League. The answer is an emphatic ‘yes’. Now a star performer in the Premier League, many are wondering if Jarvis can make the grade at international level. But a question that’s just as relevant is whether or not he will get the chance.

There have long been claims that the England national team is elitist and that players who represent less glamorous sides don’t get a look in. So is the colour of Matt Jarvis’ shirt blinding England selectors to his ability?

Wolves’ last three games have been against Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City, and Matt Jarvis has been a star performer in each of them. The form of Jarvis has finally started to hit the back pages and they are saying things that many Wolves fans have known for a long time. He has a threatening final ball, good pace and isn’t frightened to take on full backs and get to the line – what you would call a traditional mould for a winger, something that is arguably missing from the current England set-up.

In an England team where there is reasonable strength and depth in almost every position, the right side of midfield is a role crying out for a fresh face. Since David Beckham; Aaron Lennon, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Ashley Young and Theo Walcott have all recently tried, but ultimately failed to make right midfield their own. The position is up for grabs, so why not let one of the most on-form Premier League players have a chance?

Of course, Matt Jarvis isn’t the only player struggling to get England recognition while at an ‘unfashionable’ team, but there is evidence that the tide is starting to turn. In the last few games Fabio Capello has given the Bolton duo of Gary Cahill and Kevin Davies time on the field to prove themselves. Darren Bent was wrongfully omitted from the World Cup squad over the summer, but he kept scoring goals for Sunderland and has since scored his first international goal. Phil Jagielka has also recently put himself in serious contention for a regular England place due to his form for Everton.

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So it doesn’t seem like players from ‘lesser’ clubs don’t get their chance, they just have to prove themselves for a little longer. Jarvis appears to be in a similar situation to Andy Carroll of Newcastle. Both have found top form so far this season for their clubs but are yet to get the England call, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. Jarvis and Carroll are both relative new comers to the Premier League, and while they have played very well so far, I don’t see any harm in waiting a few more months to see how they progress. If they carry on playing well for their clubs they will get noticed, I have no doubt about that.

A call-up for the England team is the highest honor a player can achieve, and the last time Wolves fans saw one of their own in England colors was back in 1990 when Steve Bull wore the No. 9 shirt against Poland. But in Matt Jarvis they have a player who looks set to add his name to the increasing number of players who are breaking the glass ceiling and getting into the England fold. It may take time, but I am confident that should he continue to light up the Premier League his time will come.

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The dust is just beginning to settle from the Man United Tottenham game last weekend and I’ve decided that we should have a little look at the top 10 most devious footballers. The list doesn’t fail to entertain and reminds us of all those conniving and deceitful footballers through the years.

10. First up we have El-Hadji Diouf. The former Liverpool player was fined two weeks wages for spitting on a Celtic fan during the two clubs UEFA cup quarter final clash back in 2003. This was not the first time Diouf had been at the centre of such an incident. The previous November he was accused by West Ham fans of spitting at them. Police investigated however no further action was taken.

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9. Next up we have Wayne Rooney. Remember the Manchester United Chelsea match in January 2009. Cristiano Ronaldo had what United considered a perfectly good goal disallowed in the 45th minute – the assistant referee insisting Wayne Rooney’s quick corner was illegal because he failed to place the ball first.

[youtube FIvZeo1BBdc]

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8. I’m a massive fan of this next player but his relentless diving has confirmed his place in the list. José Mourinho has also finally admitted that Didier Drogba, the Chelsea forward, is a diver. When your former manager who holds you in such high esteem stops defending you, then things must be bad! Check out this compilation.

[youtube FAATMG91KUU]

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Continued on Page TWO

7. In seventh place we have Montenegro’s Mirko Vucinic. Devious might not be the best word to describe him but damn right silly is. During a qualifying game for the 2012 European Championships he scored and celebrated by putting his shorts on his head. He deserves recognition but only for his terrible choice of celebration.

[youtube Xw7uarSzAV8]

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6. This one is a blast from the past. In 1990 Gary Crosby scored one of the most devious and controversial goals I have ever seen. After stopping a Forest attack Manchester City goalkeeper Andy Dibble stood in his 18-yard box with one hand on the ball, waiting to clear his lines. Just then Forest winger Gary Crosby nipped in from behind Dibble, headed the ball out of the goalkeeper’s one hand. Crosby then finished off by scoring a goal. Check this out!

[youtube Ss0z_idbEso]

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5. Starting off our top 5 we have Rivaldo. During Brazils World Cup clash against Turkey in 2002 Hakan Unsal kicked the ball to Rivaldo who was waiting to take a corner kick. Clearly hit in the leg the Brazilian fell to the floor obviously feeling the pain searing in his face. This consequently led to Unsal being sent off. However, after the game Rivaldo was fined £5180 for his devious ways.

[youtube cVksdN4QnvA]

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4. In fourth position we have Diego Simeone. “Before he was deified, David Beckham was a sack hanging from lamp posts.” He owed his unpopularity to Diego Simeone, who, flicked by Becks’s back heel in retaliation after a foul, toppled theatrically in England and Argentina’s World Cup match up in 1998.

[youtube _zTne4JzgBM]

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Continued on Page THREE

3. So here’s where peoples blood really starts to boil as we see three of the most devious footballers to ever grace the footballing world. Heurelho Gomes thought his team had been awarded a free-kick. The Spurs keeper puts the ball down accordingly, only for Nani to nip in and put the ball into an empty net.

[youtube 7ycZoJb51Ak]

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2. Its not surprising that this man finds himself on our top 10 most devious footballers. Diego Maradona’s goal against England at the 1986 World Cup is also known as the Hand of God. In the fifty first minute of the match the Argentinean Striker scored a completely illegal goal with the use of his hand. How devious is this?

[youtube DbbsytHDp2o]

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1. Henry was once known for being one of the best footballers in the world; however this image seems to have been tainted slightly since setting up William Gallas to score a massively controversial goal against Ireland. Henry intentionally handled the ball to set up William Gallas’s decisive goal against the Republic of Ireland in a World Cup play-off match.

[youtube jxw1-Id91lQ]

So now you’ve seen the top 10 most devious footballers. What do you think? It’s inevitable that I have missed some, so why not comment and bring some to light. I must admit my favourite was the Gary Crosby goal for Nottingham Forrest, Pure devious Genius!

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Veteran Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted that he has had to change his methods to cope with modern footballers' 'fragile' personalities.

Ferguson is famed for his so-called 'hairdryer' technique of drawing the best out of his United charges, but accepts that that is no longer the right approach at all times.

He told a conference in Doha:"I've mellowed a great deal. The world has changed and so have players' attitudes.

"I'm dealing with more fragile human beings than I used to be. They are cocooned by modern parents, agents, even their own image at times.

"They need to be seen with their tattoos and earrings. It's a different world for me, so I have had to adapt.

"There is nothing wrong with losing your temper if it's for the right reasons, but I never leave it until the next day. I don't believe in that."

Ferguson also spoke up for Wayne Rooney, who recently signed a new contract at Old Trafford after earlier having stated that he wanted to move on.

"You don't necessarily have to heed advice after listening to it," Ferguson added."Some young people take bad advice.

"He has an agent who is not the most popular man in the world and he obviously sold it to Wayne to ask away. The boy rushed in.

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"But the minute he heard the response of the public and our supporters, he changed his mind, he knew he'd made a mistake.

"There's nothing wrong with that as long as you recognise it. He immediately apologised and agreed a new contract within a couple of hours."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Sir Alex Ferguson has become the longest-ever serving manager at Manchester United, and that is solely because he is a one-of-kind visionary.

Everyone knows that, “hindsight is always 20/20,” but the foresight that Ferguson possesses is uncanny to say the least, and that has enabled to carry on managing at the highest level for over 24 years.

The patience of the United board of directors, should be mentioned as well, because without it, Sir Alex would not have been able to bring his ideas from conception to reality, and re-lay the groundwork that Sir Matt Busby had done himself.

Like Sir Matt was able to do, the Ferguson has amazingly been able to adapt his way of thinking as the game has progressed over the last quarter of a century, and, of course, United and their supporters have reaped the benefits from his prophetic mindset.

Sir Alex’s resume clearly speaks for itself as he has simply become the most successful manager in English football, and now some of his closest rivals are trying to mimic his vision.

However, these artificial emulators are now realizing just how good Ferguson, who is one of the greatest man managers the sport has ever seen, is at what he does and have been served a conscientious dose of the saying, “Often imitated, never duplicated.”

As everyone is cognizant of, Arsene Wenger has introduced an influx of young players into his Arsenal squad, and he has learned the hard way that there must be a proper balance of youth and experience – something that the Gaffer has done very well over the years.

However, it has been over five years since Arsenal won a trophy, and that is down to Wenger letting some of his prized assets, like Thierry Henry and Patrick Viera, go rather than using them to help flourish his poor man’s version of Ferguson’s Fledglings.

Wenger has resorted to conjuring up umpteen excuses, like blaming the pitch at Old Trafford, as to why his team has failed to live up to the expectations, and the Professor clearly does not offer the protection of his players that the Gaffer does, either.

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Now it is there for everyone to see that another one of their other title-chasing challengers has been trying to replicate the Ferguson mould, and completely abandoning their original ideas of bringing in just experienced, over-priced players.

After winning two titles during the middle of the last decade, Chelsea lost out to a youthful United team, and that conveyed dollars signs into the eyes of their owner, Roman Abramovich, which could very well be the reason why Jose Mourinho left his managerial by “mutual consent.”

Being the business man he is, as well as the encouragement of Peter Kenyon, the Russian billionaire saw this as a chance to develop a youth system and he brought in Frank Arnesen to build up the Chelsea academy.

Both of them have failed to live up to the Blues’ dictator’s expectations and Kenyon was fired last year, and it was just announced that Arnesen is out of his job at the end of the year.

Yes, Chelsea are reigning champions of the Barclays Premier League, but the lack of balance and youth in their squad right now show just how significant Sir Alex’s influence is on levels at Old Trafford.

Chelsea has parted with ways with some of the aging stars that helped them to those titles, and now their fans have to wait and see if their owner is patient enough to allow the likes of Josh McEachran, Jeffrey Bruma and Gaël Kakuta prosper into professionals.

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Sunderland may have fielded the youngest team this year in the Premier League, but that included just one of the many hungry United youngsters, who are about to be unleashed in the next seasons and set the English top-flight alight.

There has been a lot of commotion about Sir Alex offering long-term deals to this player, or that player, but that is only because he knows how important the nucleus of a team is, and to be successful in the near, or distant, one needs to do that.

As Manchester United’s Board of Directors did at the beginning of his tenure, the supporters now trust Sir Alex Ferguson to bestow even more success in the coming years, which has all been down to his vision.

Read more United blogs at the excellent The United Religion

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Before I start I should probably warn you that this could be classed as a rant, an interesting rant though I hope you’ll agree. It is a topic that has been discussed much before, but now I feel it has gone to a new level and as such English football is suffering dearly. Now in no way do I want to go back to the days when defenders used to give strikers a good kick for ninety minutes (although El Hadji Diouf could do with a bit of that) and I want creative players to be protected to some extent, but not to the detriment of football in such a way that players can no longer tackle without a fear of being sent off.

The tipping point for this argument in fact came in an FA Cup match, but similar examples can be taken from the Premier League every weekend. The player in question is Newcastle’s Cheik Tiote, a player who likes a tackle for sure, but can hardly be classed as a malicious player. Tiote was slightly foolish to jump into a challenge in the second half against Stevenage, but he didn’t go in with two feet, unlike Steven Gerrard against Manchester United on Sunday (for which I thought Stevie G deserved to go), and most importantly he won the ball, a fact that seems to be lost on many Premier League referees these days.

Despite winning the ball, Tiote’s challenge was considered to be reckless – something that you could argue in regards to any sliding challenge, and Andre Marriner wasted no time in brandishing a red card. In my opinion Newcastle manager Alan Pardew was spot on in his assessment of the situation, saying that “he (Tiote) was aggressive in the challenge but in no way was he intending to hurt the player.” Newcastle of course appealed but to no avail, which is hardly surprising as the FA is keen to stick by referees, but this is just the latest example of tackling becoming a dying art in the English game.

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I can see some thinking behind the FA’s decision to clamp down on bad tackles as a means to try and minimise injuries, but of course it often isn’t the worst tackles that result in horrific injuries. I come back to Newcastle again and Nigel de Jong’s tackle on Hatem Ben Arfa. The Manchester City midfielder made what seemed to be a fair challenge; even after watching the replay from many angles it’s hard to tell whether there was any malice in the challenge. De Jong won the ball, didn’t show his studs, yet Ben Arfa suffered a leg break; unlucky on the part of the Frenchman, but part and parcel of football.

There have been some horrific tackles in recent years, with the one on Arsenal’s Eduardo at the forefront on many people’s minds, but tackles like that one seem to have been taken out of all context. Now it takes very little for a referee to show a red card; diving in with two feet off the floor, is now almost a guaranteed sending off. In fact in that respect it’s pretty irrelevant whether the tackler wins the ball or not, which cannot be right, can it?

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This weekend sees three of the great rivalries in English football: Liverpool v Everton, Sunderland v Newcastle and Birmingham v Aston Villa. Many football fans will be tuning in to watch some great play, but what marks these games out from the rest is the passion that is on show and in turn that commitment that is illustrated through tough tackles. Derbies would be lesser spectacles without tough tackling, just as the Premier League is, but I fear that we’re already at a place where great tackles are punished if they’re considered ‘dangerous’, whatever that means. By all means send people off for bad tackles, but please don’t brandish almost every sliding tackle ‘dangerous’, the game will certainly suffer for it. Rant over!

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Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp has rubbished reports of a bid for Sergio Aguero and predicted a quiet deadline day at White Hart Lane.

English Premier League outfit Spurs were linked with an audacious 38.5-million-pound transfer bid for Atletico Madrid striker Aguero on Sunday.

The club also reportedly made advances to forwards Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao), Giuseppe Rossi (Villareal) and Alvaro Negredo (Sevilla) in an attempt to shore up their front third before the transfer window slams shut at 2300GMT on Monday.

Reporters peppered Redknapp with questions as he arrived for Tottenham’s Monday training session, but the Spurs boss insisted he was not expecting any new faces at White Hart Lane.

“No, I don’t know anything about that one,” he said when asked of Aguero, who signed a new contract with Atletico on Monday.

“We’d have all of them, they’d improve us. But I can’t see any of them being here.”

“I would tell you, honestly. I should be going home after training today. I don’t intend to be sticking around here until 11 o’clock tonight, there’s nothing happening.”

“I would be very surprised if anything happened today. There is nothing very close.”

Meanwhile, Redknapp ruled out allowing centre-back Jonathan Woodgate and Croatian midfielder Niko Kranjcar to leave on loan.

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Woodgate has been cruelled by a groin injury since late 2009 but is nearing full fitness once more, while Kranjcar has struggled to break into a first team loaded with talent of the ilk of Luka Modric, Gareth Bale, Aaron Lennon and Rafael van der Vaart.

“No chance, we can’t weaken the squad anymore,” the Spurs boss said.

Said

“The transfer window is going nuts as it comes to a close”. Rio Ferdinand wasn’t wrong when he posted this on his Twitter account earlier on Monday morning. Liverpool could have been accused of panic buying after losing their top marksman, whilst Carlo Ancelotti attempted to get Chelsea’s season back on track by signing Fernando Torres and David Luiz.

Kenny Dalglish needed to react after losing Torres. It’s not exactly been straightforward for the Anfield club this season but making Andy Carroll England’s most expensive ever striker after signing him for £35 million is excessive. The player has demonstrated huge quality since he was handed the heralded number 9 shirt at Newcastle, but we have to put things in to perspective. Wayne Rooney didn’t cost that much, neither did Torres when he joined Liverpool. Tottenham have been linked with pretty much every striker who isn’t already at White Hart Lane, but even then, players like Sergio Aguero were rumoured to cost less than what Carroll has gone to Liverpool for.

In the capital, Chelsea have been arguably the most active on this frantic last day. Ancelotti clearly feels that his side need some added quality as he has brought in cultured Brazilian defender Luiz and of course, Fernando Torres. Not a bad way to give the title chase one last stab!

Done

I think it’s fair to say that Liverpool’s signing of Carroll was a little knee-jerk. He doesn’t represent value for that kind of money. Carroll now has a massive task. If justifying that kind of money isn’t hard enough, Carroll also has to fill the shows of someone who achieved hero status in the Kop, in a very short space of time. Speaking to a Newcastle fan, he was screaming to sell – let’s not forget what £35 million can get you these days. Newcastle’s aim this season was to stay in the league. If they achieve that, which they should do even without Carroll, then they can use the money to rebuild.

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Chelsea have obviously identified that they are weak, too weak to mount a real title bid, so they have gone for it. Considering the money spent, and the pressure he has already been under, the two signings represent something of a last chance saloon for manager Carlo Ancelotti.

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