All posts by h79snht.top

Tottenham playmaker Luka Modric has reiterated his desire to move across London to rivals Chelsea, and claims current club chairman Daniel Levy has broken a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ between the two men last summer.

The Blues had a £22 million bid rejected earlier in the transfer window, but the Tottenham supremo met the wantaway player last week, stating the issue was resolved and the ex-Dinamo Zabreb midfielder was not for sale. Modric tells a different version of events however.

“A lot has been published in the press about the meeting with Levy, who gave the public a twisted account of what happened. I must say that I am genuinely disappointed about what Levy said to me. He didn’t care about what I was telling him. It all only convinced me further that I was right to consider moving on to another club,” the 25-year-old told Croatian newspaper Sportske Novosti.

“I reminded the chairman of our gentleman’s agreement when we were in Dubrovnik last summer and I agreed a contract extension with Tottenham. Then I had an open chat with Levy – that if a bigger club came in with a concrete offer, we would consider it and agree the best solution for all concerned.

“The chairman said, ‘Okay, we’ll sit and talk [about any offers]’. Now Levy doesn’t want to talk to me and said there is no possibility that I can leave Spurs. He threatened me – he said if I didn’t accept the club’s stance, they would make me sit on the bench or in the stands,” he continued.

Modric maintained his intent to leave, and stated that he hopes a sale can be reached amicably.

“I hope that eventually he will understand the situation and that we will reach an agreement and go our separate ways in an appropriate manner.

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“There is no doubt that Chelsea want me – they sent a concrete offer to Tottenham. I know that the new Chelsea boss said he wants me in his team. Of course I am flattered by this interest in me, it’s a club that all players dream of joining, fighting for every competition available.

“It wasn’t a snap decision; I talked a long time with my family and people whose opinions I respect. I thought about it, weighed it all up, and finally decided this was the best option,” the eastern European concluded.

Former Manchester United captain, Gary Neville, will begin his new career at the start of next season, replacing Andy Gray as Sky Sports’ chief pundit. One half of England’s infamous sibling duo, Gary has proclaimed that, “now I have retired this feels like the perfect way for me to stay involved in football and I am looking forward to bringing my 19 years of match experience into television.”

Neville has appeared sporadically as a pundit for Sky during lengthy injury spells and, based on his playing style, will probably look to cause controversy and provoke debate as an analyst. Before he starts his new job, Neville should take a look at some famous former players who have made the move from dressing-room bench to studio sofa with varying results. Here is a list of the ten most inept pundits who made the same career shift as Neville and failed to utilise their playing experience for imparting knowledge of the game…

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Click on Lawro below to see the Top TEN

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List compiled by Josh Sheridan

I was never really sure why Harry Redknapp was professed to be so interested in West Ham ’s midfield-general Scott Parker . It strikes me that despite his quality, Tottenham just don’t need another body in that area of the park. Thus, I was relieved to hear Harry’s recent quotes that suggested Tottenham ’s interest in Parker had bottomed out.

Parker isn’t expected to be a West Ham player for much longer, following the Hammer’s descent down into the Championship and is thought to be seeking further Premier League action. Aston Villa are rumoured to have made a £7m bid for Parker, whilst Chelsea are thought to be interested in bringing the English International back to Stamford Bridge.

Parker’s name had also appeared in regular conjunction with Tottenham and Redknapp has made no secret of his desire to bring him to White Hart Lane. Thanks to the finances, however, Redknapp appears to have admitted that such a move would not be financially viable. He told the Sunday Mirror:

“If you take into account the fee of around £8m, signing on fees and wages you’re talking about a £30m deal. There is no way the club would sanction a deal for a 30-year-old who would have no resale value at the end of his contract.”

There has been talks of a potential loan move but I hope that there’s no reality behind them. Even with Sandro ’s injury Spurs have plenty of options in that area of the park. Rafael van der Vaart can be pulled back into the centre of the park to play alongside Luka Modric . Then there’s Tom Huddlestone who deserves more game time.

When Sandro returns from injury there’ll be plenty of competition for places in the centre of midfield without having Scott Parker in the squad. Let’s not forget that a loan move also wouldn’t be cheap for Tottenham. Parker’s wages are pretty substantial and West Ham have hinted that a loan move could come with a potential fee.

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At the moment, Tottenham just don’t have a need for another central-midfielder. I don’t doubt that he’s talented and plays with passion and grit, but Tottenham already have players on their books with these qualities and more. That’s why, I, for one am glad that Harry has hinted that Tottenham won’t be making a move for Parker.

Read more of Harry’s articles at This is Futbol

Reigning champions Genk kicked off their defence of the Belgian First Division title with a 3-1 win over Beerschot on Saturday.An own-goal from Beerschot’s Croatian defender Tomislav Mikulic gifted hosts Genk a 1-0 lead 20 minutes into the match at the Cristal Arena.

Israel forward Elyaniv Barda then doubled the lead on 32 minutes, and just three minutes later David Hubert netted to make it 3-0, effectively ending the match as a contest with 55 minutes still remaining.

Uruguayan Gary Kagelmacher pulled one back for the visitors from the penalty spot with 15 minutes to go, but it proved no more than a consolation.

Also on Saturday, Mechelen joined Genk on three points following a 2-1 win at home to Sint-Truiden.

French midfielder Julien Gorius struck the winner for Mechelen with five minutes remaining after Sint-Truden’s Gregory Dufer had cancelled out Boris Pandza’s opener.

In other matches, Jelle Van Damme’s second-half equaliser secured a point for Standard Liege as they drew 1-1 away to Mons.

Gambian Ebrahima Savaneh had put the home side ahead three minutes before half-time.

Kortrijk also drew 1-1 in their match at home to Lierse.

The visitors led from the 17th minute courtesy of Milos Maric’s opener.

Kortrijk went a man down when Cameroonian Ernest Webnje Nfor was shown a red card just five minutes into the second half.

But the 10-man hosts still managed to produce an equaliser through Brecht Capon’s penalty on 54 minutes.

Cercle Brugge struck late to take all three points in their match away to Gent.

Ukrainian Oleg Iachtchouk hit the winner for Cercle in the 80th minute of the match, just two minutes after Gent were reduced to 10 men.

Defender Valery Nahayo, who joined from South African outfit Kaizer Chiefs earlier this month, was the man to go, shown a second yellow card on his league debut for the club.

Elsewhere, Lokeren were held 0-0 at home by Zulte-Waregem.

Bolton defender Gary Cahill has revealed that the transfer saga regarding his future was mentally tiring, and that he is looking forward to concentrating on playing football.

The central defender was subject of bids from both Arsenal and Tottenham, with a move to White Hart Lane almost coming to fruition on deadline day.

“I’m not going to lie – it affected me a little bit,” the centre back told reporters in a press conference.

“I’ve not experienced that on a deadline day before. It was just a matter of me thinking of what was happening, wondering if they [Bolton] were going to accept a bid or not. It was a bit mentally tiring. Then when the window was shut, it was a question of focusing on the job in hand,” he continued.

Despite this, Cahill put the uncertainty behind him to start his first competitive fixture for England against Bulgaria on Friday, and scored a crucial goal for his country.

“I want to stay in the side. At the minute there is a nice freshness about the side, with new players coming in and players that are desperate to impress. There just seems a new freshness about the whole thing,” he stated.

With Cahill in the last year of his contract at the Reebok Stadium, he expects the rumours over his club future to continue, but he is focussed on playing well for Bolton and England.

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“No doubt the speculation will go on but I’ve had speculation for probably a year and a half. All I can do at the moment is put my performances in for Bolton. You see the [England] manager coming and watching the games and, if he is not impressed, he won’t carry on picking me. So it’s down to me really.”

Cahill is in line to start for his country against Wales at Wembley on Tuesday night.

Owen Hargreaves has had a sensational debut for new club Manchester City, as he scored on his first appearance and put in a man of the match performance.

The midfielder signed for Roberto Mancini’s side in the summer on a a free transfer following an injury ravaged spell on the sidelines at rivals Manchester United, but was back to his best on Wednesday night.

It took only 18 minutes for Hargreaves to open his account, firing home from 25 yards in the first half of a 2-0 win over Birmingham.

The performance comes in the wake of Hargreaves’ comments that he hopes to make it back into international consideration.

“Yes, I’ve written down a few targets. I’ll keep those to myself but I just want to get back and play football,” he told The Independent.

“I’m a competitive person. I like to set my targets high. I’ve never not succeeded in achieving something that I’ve set myself out to achieve – so yes.

“I’ve just got to take it step by step. I’ve just got to get back in training, consistently playing. It’s a natural progression. If I do a great job here, then I will be in the England team probably again. So we’ll take it step by step first,” he concluded.

Hargreaves will hope to continue his run in the side, and the acid test will be whether he can command a place in the star-studded first team for Premier League and Champions League fixtures.

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After good performances against the giants of World football that are Birmingham City and Leeds United respectively, there are calls in some quarters for Manchester United’s Michael Owen and Manchester City’s Owen Hargreaves to be reinstated to the England team. Should England look to return these experienced players to the fold, or do they need to forget players of the past and move forward?

Owen Hargreaves has suffered from horrendous injury problems over the last three seasons. He made his return to the game in Manchester City’s Carling Cup victory over Birmingham, scoring a screamer and playing 57 minutes, and all of a sudden he is England’s saviour and should be returned to the international side.

There is no doubting Hargreaves’ ability, and his flexibility as a box to box midfielder is what England have been lacking in the midfield, but thoughts of a recall seem premature. He was England’s best player at the 2006 World Cup, and has experience at the highest international level, but he has a long way to go before we can realistically begin to talk up a recall to the squad. He needs to look after himself both physically and mentally, and start playing regularly for Manchester City, which considering the options they have at the club will be a tough ask. Playing 50 odd minutes in three seasons highlights that this discussion is a little premature, and it is yet another example of the ridiculous hype that characterises the coverage of football in the media of late.

Another suffering from being over-hyped in the media in recent weeks is Michael Owen. He scored twice against Leeds United, also in the Carling Cup, and came off the bench against Stoke, and suddenly the discussion on his return to the England set up has been fired up again.

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There is no doubt over Owen’s natural finishing ability, his excellent stike rate is indicative of that, but he simply doesn’t play regularly enough for his club to be considered a good option for England. He plays very few games at Manchester United, finding himself at the back of the line in their long list of quality striking options. Unfortunately, it seems as if he has sacrificed his England career, at the expense of his move to United. It has been one year since he started a Premier League game, and having played little part in England’s Euro 2012 qualification campaign, it is unlikely that Capello would pick him again.

The only logical reason that this debate is now occurring is because of England’s dearth of quality up the field, obviously Wayne Rooney is a shoo-in, but the other options are average at best. We have seen the likes of Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe and Darren Bent tried out, and any side that regularly uses Emile Heskey and even considers calling up Jay Bothroyd is clearly lacking options. Michael Owen isn’t any worse than these players, but it is just whether he plays enough to warrant selection. To risk a squad place on someone so injury prone would also be of concern.

The current media debate over these two players, is indicative of the media circus and hype currently surrounding football. It is ludicrous to suggest that on the basis of a couple of Carling Cup games either should return to the England fold. Both Hargreaves and Owen need game and training time, at their best neither should be beyond consideration, but we are a long way from that point.

There are players now ahead of them in the England set-up and bright young talent like Jack Wilshere, Daniel Sturridge and Danny Welbeck are the future of the England side, and must be selected ahead of the likes of Owen and Hargreaves. Perhaps it is time for England to stop looking back, and start looking forward. Capello needs to put his faith in the players who are going to be there over the next decade or so, and the media needs to stop looking back to players whose best international days are behind them.

Do you think Hargreaves and Owen should return to the England set-up? Let me know your thoughts by commenting below, or follow me on Twitter @LaurenRutter for more comment and debate.

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Sunderland make the long trip south to take on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium with both sides once again trying to give their flagging seasons a much needed kickstart.

The Gunners have self destructed numerous times already this season leaving fans up and down the country open mouthed at their dismal form. Seven points from their opening seven games represents their worst start in 37 years with Arsene Wenger’s unable to get his side into a stable rhythm. They sit only a point and a place above the Black Cats in 15th and need to start winning games if they are to qualify for Europe next season. It won’t happen unless Wenger sorts out his frail defence which continues to disintegrate when placed under pressure. Summer signing Per Mertesacker has struggled to adapt to the pace and physical nature of the English game with his weaknesses plain to see in the humiliating defeat to Tottenham in the North London derby a fortnight ago. The back line was weakened further after Bacary Sagna broke his leg and was ruled out until the new year.  Going forward isn’t the problem with captain Robin Van Persie as potent as ever whilst Mikel Arteta as slotted in and replaced Cesc Fabregas with ease. The Spaniard has has been a creative spark in the Gunners midfield and his work with Van Persie has encouraged the Emirates fans. A win should be a mere formality on Sunday as they are unbeaten at home against Sunderland since 1983.

Steve Bruces side have failed to win in North London since picking up a 2-1 win 28 years ago at Highbury and will be hoping his side can take advantage of Arsenal’s feeble defence and improve on their worst start to a season since 2005 which ended in relegation. The Black Cats boss has been under constant scrutiny all season with his side only managing one so far which came in the form of a 4-0 thrashing against Stoke. A summer of intense transfer activity hasn’t paid off with his Bruce’s new recruits failing to gel thus far. There has been flashes that they might be a force to reckoned with later in the season but mistakes are costing them dear and they need to cut them out if they are finish in the top half. Stephane Sessegnon needs to up his level of consistency and be Sunderland’s creative hub whilst Craig Gardner needs to start gambling more often and get himself into the penalty area. The loss of Niall Quinn as chairman has also kept the dark cloud hovering over Wearside and only a win will help the sun shine though and offer Bruce some much needed respite. It’ll be a tough ask at the Emirates though especially without on-loan Nicklas Bendtner who scored his first goal against West Brom in their last game but is unable to play against his parent club. His absence could see youngster Connor Wickham step into the fold and make his first top flight start.

Key Players

Robin Van Persie – Who else for the Gunners with the Dutchman in great scoring form despite the clubs poor start to the season. after reaching 100 goals at home to Bolton last month he will be ravenous to hit the net again having failed to convert a number of chances against against Spurs two weeks ago.

Stephane Sessegnon – Infuriatingly inconsistent since his arrival from PSG he is still a vital cog in the Sunderland attack. His pace and skill can unsettle even the best of defences. Bruce will be relying on him to shoulder the majority of the attacking burden in the absence of Bendtner.

Verdict: 2-0

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Transfer rumours surround van Persie at present, and the Dutch striker has been doing all he can to lift the Gunner with three goals from 30 attempts at goal, including an impressive 63% on target Van Persie has also contributed an assist, meaning he has had a hand in 4 out of Arsenal’s 10 goals so far in the Barclays Premier League Midfielder Sebastian Larsson is Sunderland’s top ranked player in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index in 31st place having scored twice and also won 82% of tackles attempted and delivered 18 crosses into the box Wes Brown is also ranked above Arsenal’s top ranked player in 47th place. The former United defender has been relishing regular first team football under Steve Bruce and won 83% of tackles attempted this season adding 14 clearances and 9 blocks

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With the international break interrupting the exciting business end of the Premier League season, England fans will be looking unenthusiastically to the game with Montenegro. Especially since the dismal World Cup display last summer, the fact that no one seems to want Fabio Capello as manager – it’s not one of the best times for England.

So, why not enjoy a look at the negative side to England’s past with a list of the worst players to ever be capped wearing the Three Lions on their football shirt. Whilst the Jules Rimet trophy hasn’t gleamed for a while, there was a long list to choose from, in fact I shortlisted well over 50 players that could fit into a top ten.

Although, many fans may point out that it should feature 10 players that underperformed in South Africa, I didn’t want to get that band wagon started again. So the following list is my very own ten worst players to be capped by England, with an honourable mentions list at the end to save extended comments about any omissions. It was also hard not to make the list just those players capped by Graham Taylor.

Click on Graham Taylor below to see the Top TEN

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List compiled by Matt Freebody

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Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish’s gripe at the FA appealing over Wayne Rooney’s three match ban for Euro 2012 may seem like an unnecessary dig at the United striker.

Looking closely though Dalglish actually does make a valid point regarding the FA and their penchant for taking the moral high ground when it suits them and not when it doesn’t. Wayne Rooney has been one of the biggest victims of the FAs double standards in recent years and a prime example of how the Chelsea and City fans at Lancaster Gate play by their own set of rules.

Last season we saw Rooney banned for two games for swearing during United’s win at Upton Park, yet he faced no censure for a similar tirade whilst playing for England during the World Cup.

Dalglish stated, following the FAs successful appeal of Rooney’s three match Euro ban:

‘I find it a bit strange the FA are supposed to be setting an example for things yet they appeal against Wayne Rooney’s three-match ban.

‘I don’t think that’s a good example to set.

To be fair to Dalglish and it pains me to agree with the Liverpool boss, I think he’s bang on the money – at least on this occasion.

The FA dish out bans left right and centre whenever they see fit, with an appeal just as likely to incur an increase as it is a shortening of the games a player will miss. Yet becuase they know England need Rooney, they’re more than willing to appeal his ban, despite discouraging clubs from doing the same.

Dalglish also commented on the Luis Suarez racism charge:

‘The fact it has taken nine weeks to get a decision on one of the other charges is a bit of a joke as well,’ added Dalglish.

‘I don’t think that has helped as well. The circus which is around about him has been caused mainly by that.

‘That will be done sooner rather than later and we will move forward.’

Amazingly I find myself agreeing with the Liverpool boss again- although arguably for different reasons.

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Why the FA need so long to gather evidence and hold a hearing for Suarez is beyond me, but again it seems English football governing body make up the rules and the times it takes to enforce them as they go along.

I’ve never fully trusted the FA, I feel there’s far too much partisanship and politics involved in an organisation that’s supposed to be totally objective. Although Dalglish and I may have differing reasons for not being fond of the way the FA have dealt with certain issues, we do agree on their faults.

Article courtesy of Justin from Red Flag Flying High

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