All posts by h79snht.top

Stoke were trounced by Chelsea on home turf, Jon Walters experiencing a torrid game in particular, while Pavel Pogrebnyak was the last gasp hero for Reading at the Madjeski Stadium. Southampton gave their survival hopes a timely boost courtesy and Sunderland contined their fine recent run with a comprehensive win over West Ham. And a rare phenomenon gripped the Premier League as 40% of Saturday’s games ended in stalemates.

Stoke City 0-4 Chelsea: It was an afternoon to forget for Jon Walters after he scored two own goals and missed a penalty as Stoke were steamrolled by Chelsea at the Britannia Stadium. The Republic of Ireland striker must have wished the ground would open and swallow him whole after heading Cesar Azpilcueta’s cross into his own net just before the break. He repeated the trick on the hour mark, this time from a Juan Mata corner, before Frank Lampard put the result beyond doubt with a penalty three minutes later. Eden Hazard blasted home a fourth from 30-yards soon after before Walters’ misery was compounded when he blasted a spot kick high over the bar as the Potters’ 17-match unbeaten home run came to an abrupt end.

Reading 3-2 West Bromwich Albion: Reading scored three times in the final eight minutes to come from behind to beat West Brom to secure a third league win of the season. The visitors looked home and dry after Romelu Lukaku struck either side of half time to give his side a deserved lead. The Belgian striker was hand to convert from close range in the 19th minute before finishing cooly past Adam Federici in the 62nd. But the Royal’s finally kicked into gear as the game dripped towards its conclusion and Jimmy Kebe headed in to give the home fans hope before Le Fondre converted from the spot to restore parity. The turnouraround was complete in stoppage time Pavel Pogrebnyak bundled the ball past Foster to boost Reading’s survival hopes.

Aston Villa 0-1 Southampton: Aston Villa ended a wretched week on another low note as they slipped into the bottom three after fellow strugglers Southampton left the West Midlands with a valuable win under their belts. After losing to lower-league Bradford in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday the need for a reaction was crucial for Paul Lambert’s men. However they will feel hard done by after Enda Stevens was penalised for a foul on Jay Rodriguez 10 minutes before half despite the Saints striker appearing to dive and then profess his guilt to referee Mark Halsey, who pointed to the spot. Rickie Lambert stepped up to sweep home what proved to be the winning goal and, despite Villa’s best efforts, they couldn’t force an equaliser in the second half and find themselves in real trouble.

Sunderland 3-0 West Ham United: A superb long-range strike from Sebastien Larsson put Sunderland on course for an impressive win over West Ham at the Stadium of Light. The Swedish international produced a 30-yard thunderbolt with his weaker left foot to break the deadlock after 12 minutes as the Hammers crumbled early on. Adam Johnson then pounced on a mistake from teenager Dan Potts to make it 2-0 in first half injury time, before James McLean finished from an acute angle to ensure the Black Cats faithful were celebrating come 5pm.

Fulham 1-1 Wigan Athletic: Franco Di Santo’s ended a three month barren spell in front of goal to earn Wigan a vital point against Fulham. The Argentinian has struggled to find the net once again this season and it looked as if his infertility would continue after missing from close range in the first half. His woes were compounded in the 22nd minute when Giorgios Karagounis broke the deadlock with a sweet 25-yard strike. But Di Santo would have the last laugh and with 20 minutes to go he drilled past Mark Schwarzer after cutting in from the left to deny the Cottagers a second league win on the bounce.

QPR 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur: Harry Redknapp’s first meeting with former employers Tottenham failed to produce the desired result as QPR sank back to the foot of the table. The R’s boss had goalkeeper Julio Cesar to thank for earning his side a point with a number of fine saves to thwart a laboured Spurs. Jermaine Defoe went closest to breaking the deadlock when he cracked the bar with a fierce long range effort before Cesar pounced to deny Emmanuel Adebayor on the follow up.

Everton 0-0 Swansea City: 

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Norwich City 0-0 Newcastle United: 

Believe me there was no one in Old Trafford more stunned that Andre Villas-Boas after Spurs wiped the floor with United in their own backyard last Saturday. So much so that the Portuguese tactician resolved to punching himself in the face mid-celebration just to certify that he wasn’t dreaming. One thing is for sure and that is the North London club were on cloud nine as the final whistle blew to confirm their first victory at the home of the Red Devils since 1989. It was arguably Villas-Boas’ finest hour since taking over as Spurs boss and provided a demonstration of effect he has had on the players and club as a whole. To say they ripped the hosts apart with a deadly mixture of unrelenting pace and power would be an understatement as the United defence was obliterated with the midfield forced to sit and watch. Not many can say they’ve done that over the years!

This week on FFC is AVB running a huge risk playing full strength teams in the Europa League and which Portugal star won’t be coming to White Hart Lane?

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Best of FFC

Time for Tottenham Hotspur to finally put these to bed

Already proving The top TEN ‘transfer coups’ this summer

Slowly pushing for a start at White Hart Lane?

Are Tottenham taking a risk in the Europa League?

Tottenham vs Aston Villa – Match Preview

Why Jan must stay central within Tottenham’s plans

Tottenham show how laughable the situation is

Liverpool and Spurs keep tabs on Palace ace

Portugal playmaker dismisses move to White Hart Lane

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Best of WEB

Dust to Dust: Athens to Athens. – Spurs musings from Jimmy G2

Shameful Self Indulgent Time Wasting No Mark Booze Hound Bums On Tour – Harry Hotspur

Unleash purgatory! – Dear Mr Levy

£25M Is Far Too Much Money …As Levy Is Bound To Point Out… – Transfer Tavern

From Turmoil to Triumph – Spurs musings from Jimmy G2

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The only Hazard that matters – Dear Mr Levy

Jan Vertonghen Mashed Up – Harry Hotspur

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Quote of the Week

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“It doesn’t stop here. The emotions we were living (after the United win) are very inspiring and results are also good to build confidence. That confidence is good for us as we approach our next couple of games. We have two games at home now, and we have to improve our home form to make sure that this becomes a sequence for us.” Last weeks win at Man Utd is just the start for Spurs according to AVB.

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Featured Video

Rio Ferdinand could leave Manchester United in 2013 with clubs from the US and Middle East interested in signing him, the Daily Mail reports.

The 34-year-old defender is expected to be offered a one year contract extension with the Red Devils after overcoming his back problems and proving his fitness to the Sir Alex Ferguson, playing regularly for the last 18 months.

Ferdinand however has interest from the Middle East and US while also being an attraction to other Premier League clubs, although a move abroad would seem more likely.

He arrived at Old Trafford 10 summers ago from Leeds for a deal in the region of £30million, which at the time made him the most expensive British footballer in history.

Despite certain controversies off the pitch, the most publicised of course being the missed drugs test, Ferdinand has enjoyed a hugely successful time at the club. A mainstay of the United defence since his arrival in 2002, he has helped his side to numerous prizes, most notably five Premier League titles and a Champions League.

The player himself has not given any indication on his intentions for the future and whether he will remain at Old Trafford or continue his career at all, despite Ferguson openly expressing his desire for him to delay his retirement.

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It is believed that Ferdinand wants to see how his body copes with the demands of a busy fixture list over the Christmas Period before making a decision.

Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong will be out of action for two months after receiving surgery for a knee injury.

Frimpong picked up his injury during a loan spell with Fulham, being forced off during the 3-0 victory over Swansea City on the final day of the season.

The Ghanaian has struggled with a number of injuries in his career and he made only five appearances for Wolves in 2012 before he suffered a previous knee injury which also required surgery.

The 21-year-old was scheduled to represent his country during the summer as they aim to secure qualification for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Frimpong tweeted: “I had surgery yesterday night and am expected to be out for 8 weeks. It saddens me that I couldn’t go play for Ghana in the World Cup qualifiers next month but i wish the coach and the players good luck for the matches.

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“I Hope we get maximum points from the games. I wanna thank everyone at Fulham for their support but it is a great feeling to be back at Arsenal.”

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said that he was delighted with the performance of Andrey Arshavin, during the Gunners’ 6-1 thrashing of Coventry City, according to Goal.

Arshavin was the stand-out performer in a comfortable night for the Premier League outfit. The 31-year-old started the move which led to Arsenal first goal of the night and perhaps more importantly Olivier Giroud’s first goal for his new club.

Arshavin then won the penalty after a clever piece of trickery which the Frenchman Giroud subsequently failed to capitalise on. To add to this, the midfielder set up Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s blast for the Gunners third of the night, scored the fourth himself and produced a sublime ball for youngster Ignasi Miquel to nod home to convert Arsenal’s fifth.

Wenger believes that the key to the Russian internationals success last night was the fact he was played in behind the striker, Giroud, rather than out on the wing. As a consequence, this enabled the playmaker to get on the ball more often, “His best position looks to be behind the striker now. That’s where his vision and creative side of game becomes most efficient. When he is central, he can influence the game.”

Perhaps with a new role, Arsenal fans may witness a new lease of life with Arshavin, who, over the past year, has cut a consulate disinterested figure on the left-hand side of midfield for the Gunners. Maybe it was only League One Coventry City, but most Premier League defences would have been struggling to have kept up with the movement and acceleration of pace that the former Zenit man showed last night.

One man who saw his chances of playing a more central role for the north London club do no harm was Theo Walcott. The 23-year-old disproved any doubters who are sceptical about his ability to finish in front of goal. If the first of Walcott’s goals was polished, the second was classy with a sublime side-footed curler past the despairing Sky Blues stopper Joe Murphy.

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As for Giroud, the Frenchman has got the proverbial monkey off his back, for now. Although he would have been grateful for the opportunity to grab his first goal for the club in the Capital One Cup, he would surely love to get his Premier League tally off and running too.

Arsenal will now travel the Premier League’s bottom side, Reading, in the fourth round of the competition.

West Brom defender Liam Ridgewell wants to keep Dimitar Berbatov quiet tomorrow after watching the Bulgarian run riot the last time he lined up against him.

Berbatov scored a hat-trick for Manchester United when Ridgewell was forced to fill in at centre-back for Birmingham City just before they won the Carling Cup in 2011. Tomorrow he will have to be on top form if he is to thwart the 31-year-old striker, who looks certain to make his home debut for new club Fulham. The 28-year-old told the Birmingham Mail:

“He’s a new face but everyone knows about him and how good a player he is. It is sometimes worrying because you can get a bit laid-back, then suddenly he spurts into scoring a hat-trick. So you’ve got to keep your wits about you. They have got a lot of good players, though, and we will have to be on our game to make sure we stop them. We will definitely be up for the game, that’s for sure.”

Berbatov made his Cottagers debut from the bench in the 3-0 defeat to West Ham last time out but couldn’t affect the result. Albion will be hoping he fails to kick-start his career for a second game running but Ridgewell knows Fulham have plenty of other players who can cause damage if he does have a quiet day. He continued:

“Over the years they have always been good at home and they are a good side, whoever they’ve got in their team. “Fulham away is a tough game but we will be going down there with a lot of confidence and hopefully we will be able to come away with a positive result.”

West Brom face Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday.

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Iago Aspas will not go down in Liverpool history as one of the greats; in fact he has not left any sort of legacy at Anfield.

Some fans, though, feel that the attacker had plenty of potential, but former manager Brendan Rodgers failed to get the best out of him.

Aspas joined the Reds from Celta Vigo in 2013 and spent two unsuccessful years at Anfield before rejoining the Spanish club.

Last season, the 30-year-old impressed by scoring 23 goals in 37 appearances for the La Liga outfit in all competitions.

How far will England get in Russia? Tell us now and win any World Cup shirt of your choice.

Aspas also created five assists, and he has played an important role at the World Cup for Spain.

On Monday, the forward replaced Diego Costa in the 74th minute of the nation’s final Group B clash against Morocco.

La Roja were trailing 2-1 before Aspas flicked the ball into the back of the net in stoppage time.

VAR was required to grant the goal, which helped Spain secure top spot heading into the last 16.

On Twitter, some Liverpool fans took aim at Rodgers for Aspas’s failings at Anfield.

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James Morrison has said that West Brom have “to move on as quickly as possible” from defeat to Newcastle on Sunday, insisting they have a chance at home to Southampton.

Morrison believes they have an opportunity to win because of their record at home.

He said to The Birmingham Mail: “It’s a good opportunity to get three points and forget about what happened on Sunday. We need to move on as quickly as possible.

The Baggies star has also admitted that morale amongst the team was low after the loss at the weekend.

He said: “The dressing room was very flat and we almost wanted to shed a tear as we played really well. We were the only team that looked like winning. The second goal was particularly difficult to take. He shanked the ball and I don’t know whether it hit one of our defenders or Cisse but it hit the back of the net and I think that’s our luck at the moment. We kicked on from there and we had chances to win the game.”

Midfielder Morrison signed a deal lasting four years last month, with boss Steve Clarke calling him one of the side’s “best players.” It has been five years since Morrison left Championship side Middlesbrough to join West Brom, and he had had two more years left on his last deal.

Manager Steve Clarke is hoping to be able to bring back skipper Chris Brunt, Claudio Yacob, Jerome Thomas, Boaz Myhill and Billy Jones for Monday’s match.

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An intriguing sub-plot to Robin van Persie’s surprising move to Manchester United from Arsenal this summer is the potential impact that it could have on the positional future of last season’s top goalscorer at the club, Wayne Rooney – is his time as a striker coming to an end at Old Trafford, in the short-term at least?

Last term, Rooney was widely criticised for the nature of his overall performances, even if he managed to bag 27 goals in the Premier League, second only to the Dutchman on 30. It’s a theory that certainly carries some weight and Rooney appears to have forsaken a measure of his unpredictable, creative nature in favour of a more ruthless cutting edge in front of goal, which is no bad thing in itself, he’s just evolved as a player into a slightly different beast to the one we’ve become accustomed to seeing.

The trouble is now, though, having forked out £24m on a 29 year-old striker with a rotten record of injuries in the past is that Van Persie is likely to be given the mantle of leading the line, but whether that means in place of Rooney or beside him remains to be seen. The inevitable comparisons to the club’s treble-winning strike-force of 1999 – Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – have been made by plenty of people, even Ferguson himself, but will Van Persie’s arrival change the shape of the side?

Ferguson said after the former Arsenal man signed: “In 1999 I had Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the four best strikers in Europe. We are going towards that now. They (Rooney and Van Persie) are two fantastic players and it will be great to have both of them. It gives us more strength and more combinations up front. It is a fantastic collection of players and hopefully I pick the right combinations. It is great to have a player of Robin van Persie’s qualities to come into the squad. I am very pleased.”

When he talks about ‘combinations’, that intimates a partnership between Rooney and Van Persie which would effectively mean a 4-4-2 system or something very similar to it, which will only put even more strain on an increasingly weak and fragile centre-midfield area which has been overrun repeatedly in the past year by more energetic and combative opponents.

There’s also the fact that because the move came relatively out of the blue, with Ferguson admitting that he hadn’t planned for such a deal until the Dutch international stated he wasn’t going to sign another contract at the Emirates, is would they even have bought Shinji Kagawa this summer otherwise had they known?

The Japanese creative midfielder is capable of playing out wide on the wing but arrived from Borussia Dortmund for an absolute bargain £12m fee with the idea of playing in the hole behind the striker, with Rooney likely to be that man. Would you really play Kagawa in a two-man central midfield?

Probably not is the answer to that one, which leaves them then with four wingers into two spaces and while that’s some admirable strength in depth from the club’s and fan’s perspective, you suspect that keeping Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia, Nani and Kagawa all happy and with enough playing time will be a difficult task, which partly explains the speculation linking the Portuguese wide-man with an exit this summer, even if that would be an ill-advised move considering the sheer weight of his end product in terms of goals and assists.

There’s also the consideration that Rooney could be pushed out wide onto the left, a role he often occupied in Europe to great effect with Cristiano Ronaldo taking the lone central role a few years back. Van Persie has often played out wide for Holland in the past, but the physical demands of the Premier League and international football are two different kettles of fish entirely and Rooney’s energy and versatile nature make him more of an ideal candidate for the switch.

It’s certainly a bold move recruiting Van Persie and Ferguson appears to have allowed himself this one indulgence as he seeks to overhaul Manchester City this season, who also possess a frightening forward line in terms of both depth and quality.

United failed to score in just three separate games last season, less than City with five and they scored an impressive 89 goals, only marginally less than City’s 93, so recruiting a goalscorer, on the face of it at least, would not appear to be a pressing concern. However, Ferguson has clearly decided to try and fight fire with fire and this may allow Rooney to return to a deeper role than he’s played in previous seasons gone by and return to his creative best.

Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez are exceptionally strong third and fourth-choice strikers to have in your squad and they both bring different skills to the table, but the temptation with playing Rooney and Van Persie up front together has to be tempered with the sneaking suspicion that they may be a bit too similar to hit it off right away.

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Of course, Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez are broadly similar players and they have a fabulous partnership together, so good players can often co-exist alongside one another in the same side as long as the support structure behind them is right. It is an interesting concept to see if Rooney will be pushed back, perhaps not as far as he was at times last season, but deeper than we have become accustomed to seeing him of late.

Shifting a man who has scored 64 league goals in his last three seasons and 85 across all competitions is an extremely risky strategy, but the rewards if it does come off are huge and it may just be a gamble worth taking that has the potential to benefit both players in the long-term and help the club impose themselves more on the top table of European competition this term.

You can follow me on Twitter @JamesMcManus1

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Arsenal appear to be well down the road to signing Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona, essentially killing two birds with one stone in their need to address the centre-forward position and add depth beyond Theo Walcott for the flanks.

If there was any doubt about Alexis’ credentials, especially after a frustrating and completely forgettable 2012-13 campaign with Barcelona two years ago, the World Cup in Brazil has shown the Chilean to be exactly the kind of marquee forward Arsenal’s supporters have been crying out for.

We’ve been here before though, and many will be sceptical until pictures of Alexis with an Arsenal shirt in hand emerge. Last summer, Arsenal were said to be on the brink of signing Gonzalo Higuain, only for the Argentine to land at Napoli instead. The north London club had accused Real Madrid of moving the goal posts on the deal at the last minute.

But Alexis would more than make up for that loss. With Olivier Giroud also experiencing a good World Cup with France, Arsenal, on paper at least, would look a far more threatening outfit over the course of next season.

The Chilean would also negate the need for Angel Di Maria, who is another big-name South American who looks set to leave La Liga.

Arsenal were interested last year and could have landed the Real Madrid winger had it not been for Carlo Ancelotti’s intervention, instead securing the signing of Mesut Ozil. What is certain is that Arsenal need two forwards, one capable of playing on the wing. In the case of Alexis and Di Maria, one would cancel the other out.

Di Maria does provide different qualities to the Chilean. This past season he showed himself to be a more than capable central midfielder, playing alongside of Xabi Alonso and Luka Modric and given the freedom to roam. He was sensational against Barcelona in particular, while his best season in the white of Real was capped with victory in the Champions League.

There’s no doubt that Di Maria is a player who would improve Arsenal over the coming seasons. He and Mesut Ozil would interchange roles in the attacking three while both were playing at the Bernabeu, and there’d be an opportunity for both midfielders to strike up a similar partnership.

But Arsenal would be getting that and much more in Alexis, who, unlike Di Maria, can play at centre-forward and relieve some pressure from Giroud.

To venture down the avenue of suggesting Arsenal don’t need Di Maria would be wrong; it wasn’t too long ago that many, including myself, were talking up the value of having Cesc Fabregas return to the club. Above all, Arsenal need strength in depth.

But Real want £40 million for Di Maria, while Alexis would be a little under £30 million. With a high-class defensive midfielder needed, as well as a right-back and another forward (possibly Loic Remy), the focus must be on what the team need first and foremost. In addition, Fabregas was available for a deal that was far better value for money than Di Maria’s price tag.

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If the club can wrap up a deal for Alexis in the coming weeks, it will be a positive sign to the supporters, who need convincing after the failure to properly strength during the last two windows and the complete collapse last season.

If what is said to be on the table does come to fruition, missing out on Angel Di Maria will be dusted away with the kind of renewed confidence that can only be delivered by star forwards such as Alexis.

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