Italian giants Juventus are said to be keen on Arsenal’s Theo Walcott and could line up a January swoop.
The Turin-based club are believed to have monitoring the speedy wide-man for some time and are keen to offer him the chance to swap the Premier League for Serie A.
Liverpool and Manchester City are also interested, but Juve boss Antonio Conte has urged his club’s hierarchy to splash the cash for the ex-Southampton man.
Walcott has slipped down the pecking order at the Emirates Stadium this term and his refusal to pen a new long-term contract has opened the door for potential suitors.
Despite the interest, Wenger is keen to keep his man:
“They (talks) are going on, but there is no news about that.” He said according to the Mirror.
“My determination has always been the same, to extend his contract. That other clubs are interested or not, the determination is the same.”
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The Italians are also set to beat Arsenal again in the transfer market as they step up their pursuit of Spanish striker Fernando Llorente.
The Gunners are said to have been tracking the lanky forward for some time, but the Old Lady have reportedly agreed a £145,000-per-week deal with the Athletic Bilbao man.
West Bromwich Albion are already preparing their transfer plans for next summer, according to the club’s technical director Dan Ashworth.
The Baggies enjoyed a successful summer window in which they secured the likes of Claudio Yacob and Romelu Lukakau who have both looked promising in the Premier League so far.
Ashworth, who will leave the club later this season to become the FA’s director of elite development, has said that the club are already working towards summer 2013:
“For the first time there probably wasn’t any criticism (of Albion’s summer signings),” he told the Birmingham Mail.
“Short of any injuries, or any fantastic offers for any of our players, I can’t see us doing much in January.
“When the window closed on August 31, an email went the next day with our summer targets.
“We are now looking towards summer 2013 and we will spend the coming months doing that.
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“If any are available in January, either on pre-contract which we can do from abroad or people running into the final six months of their contracts, then maybe but we know the positions we want to strengthen next season.
“The board meetings we have all take into account where we might need to strengthen, who is getting older, who might want to move on.”
All eyes will be on Robin Van Persie as Manchester United welcome Arsenal to Old Trafford this Saturday lunch time.
It will be the first time the Dutchman has come face to face with his former employers since leaving them for £24million in the summer, and will surely be expecting a tough reception from the travelling Arsenal fans.
Both teams go into the game on the back of Capital One Cup thrillers, with Arsenal coming back from 4-0 down to beat Reading 7-5 on Tuesday, and United going down 5-4 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, with both games going to extra time.
Goals look certain to come at Old Trafford, with United looking vulnerable at the back and often superb going forward, proving this in their 2-3 win at Stamford Bridge last Sunday.
Arsenal struggled to a 1-0 at home to QPR last time out, and will be slightly apprehensive of their trip to Old Trafford. The Gunners haven’t won in eight visits in all competitions, losing seven.
Ferguson will have a tough selection headache, with Javier Hernandez pushing for a start after scoring two goals in a week, whilst Wenger will decide whether to start Jack Wilshere after the midfielder played his first league game in over 18 months against QPR last week.
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Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar has revealed that he met representatives of Arsenal before deciding to sign for QPR.
The 33-year-old completed his Premier League switch from Inter Milan last summer, in a move that shocked many.
Having won the Champions League, it was expected that Cesar would move to a team fighting for domestic honours, but he instead opted to join the Tony Fernandes revolution at Loftus Road.
However, he revealed to the Sunday People that he held talks with their London rivals, but was more tempted by the package offered by QPR:
“I accepted this proposal because I wanted to live in London.
“I have an amazing way of life here and I’m giving my family a great opportunity to grow up culturally.
“I talked with Arsenal in the last transfer window, and they were really happy about me playing for them, but at the last minute I moved to QPR.
“QPR has a project, and I dream about that project coming true. But I came here because I was thinking about my future once I quit football, that’s true.”
The stopper also believes that his new team will achieve success on the field, once all of the new arrivals have settled into the system:
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“The directors have signed 11 footballers, and when you put them all into a team, it will be difficult for that team to work immediately.
“That’s why QPR haven’t won yet. We don’t have an identity yet. But let me tell you we are on the right track.”
The FootballFanCast.com Advent Calendar reaches day 3 and gives you the chance to win a Miscellany book of your choice. Whether you’re a supporter of Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United or Tottenham Hotspur, we have a book for you!
The fully revised and updated 2012 edition of the Miscellany book is essential reading for fans of each of the above clubs. With its extensive array of facts, feats and anecdotes to chew over, this labour of love is the perfect Christmas present for the football fan in your life – young or old.
Congratulations to Sue Harrison who won an England shirt yesterday.
Fancy winning a Miscellany book?
FOLLOW and RETWEET to #win a Miscellany Book from the club of your choice! twitter.com/FootballFanCas…— FootballFanCast.com (@FootballFanCast) December 3, 2012
The winners will be announced tomorrow, when we will also be unveiling our prize for Day 4. Don’t forget to come back to FootballFanCast.com then!
Two games, 38 shots, an average of 60% possession, total domination and chance after chance created.
It was an exciting Christmas of football, but all this led to just 2 goals and 1 point, leaving the Blackpool fans, manager and players feeling like they had all the presents robbed on Christmas eve.
If there was a phrase to sum up the last two matches it would be “numerous chances”. It has been said numerous times by numerous people to describe the numerous chances that have been squandered by a profligate Blackpool frontline. The midfield has taken complete control of games and created enough chances to win every game from now until the end of the season, yet the frontmen can’t seem to put anything away. The fact that we were a last minute equaliser away from taking nothing from Huddersfield is cause for concern, but you can’t fault the effort of the players.
In the last few weeks we have seen a progression under Appleton. The defence has started to look pretty tight, we look like we can defend crosses, and we have taken control of games without leaving ourselves exposed. But you have to wonder whether working on the shape of the team and the defensive side of the game has left the strikers feeling a little rusty.
Against Wolves it was ‘one of those days’ where it just wouldn’t go in. Everything was thrown at the Wolves goal with Gomes twice hitting the post, Thomas missing an open net, Ince choosing to pass when he should shoot and vice versa, and Ikeme having to make save after save to keep them in it. Unfortunately, the Wolves keeper was inspired and did make save after save, including a fantastic set of three saves in 90 seconds. Wolves barely left their own half in the match, yet got an easy opening goal after 2 minutes and then were awarded, what turned out to be, a match-winning joke of a decision. A tug on the shirt that has never been a penalty. The majority of the time such a thing wouldn’t even be punished if it were on the halfway line, but the referee on the night (who judging by his performance must have been a blood relative of one of the Wolves players) saw fit to gift the visitors the game without even realising that the incident happened outside the box. One of those days indeed.
The players dusted themselves down and headed to Huddersfield along with a hefty away following. Boxing day footy. You just can’t beat it. Aside from any exciting or nerve-shredding final games of the season, the Boxing day fixture has always been my favourite, and it looked as though we would have a lot to celebrate when the game started.
Within about 6 seconds Blackpool should have taken the lead after a fine pass by Gomes sent Taylor-Fletcher through, only for him to boot it high over the bar. A minute later and he had another chance after a great cross by Thomas gave him a free header at goal, but he hit the post. Now, it would be churlish to suggest that Taylor-Fletcher spent the Christmas period munching too much turkey, but had he put just one of his ‘numerous chances’ away during that match, we would be sitting pretty.
He wasn’t the only one to blame though, not by a long way. After all, we are only in the second minute here. Ince missed a sitter, Thomas missed a sitter, Taylor-Fletcher missed more sitters, and even Isaiah Osbourne managed to wriggle his way into the box and miss a sitter. And this is just the first 20 minutes.
Ince later took on the entire Terriers defence only to consider it too simple before turning back and doing it all again. By the time he had a shot, it was blocked on the line. How that game was 0-0 at halftime I will never understand. It wasn’t a case of it could have been 5 or 6, it SHOULD have been 5 or 6. Proper, genuine goalscoring chances. Throw into the mix a dozen half-chances too and the game should have been out of sight and players should have been cruising, saving their energy for the trip to Middlesborough.
This wasn’t quite as unlucky as against Wolves though. For all the dominance and opportunities, I can’t recall a save in the first half. Their keeper didn’t put in the performance of his life because, if anything, he was underworked.
After the break it was more of the same with Blackpool creating chances freely yet failing to take them, and when the home side got a corner on 66 minutes, the inevitable happened. Against the run of play seems like a gross understatement, but it was and out of nowhere Gerrard popped up to give Huddersfield the lead and leave Blackpool fans furious at the wastefulness of their team.
Following the goal the same pattern continued, but the chances were starting to dry up. Blackpool’s players were losing patience and running out of ideas. Gomes missed a chance, a horrendous touch by Delfouneso led to another missed opportunity, another poor header from Taylor-Fletcher added to the list and it looked as if, somehow, Blackpool would leave empty handed.
That was the case right up to the 93rd minute when, in a moment of sheer wonder, Tom Ince discovered the had a right foot hanging from the bottom of his right leg. Buoyed by his latest discovery, he swung the previously unknown object towards the ball which fired into the box and was tapped home by Delfouneso via a deflection of a lunging Huddersfield defender.
Not so much a cheer as a roar of frustration released from the Blackpool fans. What would normally be one of the great sporting moments, grabbing a last minute goal, was enjoyed only momentarily as the reality sunk in at the final whistle. This game should have been dead and buried, yet here we are celebrating a last minute equaliser. The joys of football hey!
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Appleton’s interview after game was interesting listening. He sounded exactly how we felt. Stunned and annoyed. Laughing every few sentences as he struggled to come to terms with the game. And again, as is becoming the norm, he said all the right things. To paraphrase, he told us that after what he’d just said to the players in the dressing room, he will need to remind in training them how good the performance actually was. And that is exactly the right way round. The players needed a good rollocking for not winning that game, but we mustn’t forget some of the football which was scintillating at times.
So we head into the last game of the year in 11th place on 33 points. Only 4 points of the playoffs which, if we had finished properly, we would be sitting in right now. It’s easy to forget that we are only half way through the season and we don’t even require a string of results to get back into the mix. Just a little bit of consistency and some composure in front of goal, and we will be right up there.
It is hard to diagnose a problem really, because everything happened. Poor decision making, rushed finishing, taking too much time, snatching at shots, pretty much everything. In there somewhere, normally, would be about 10 goals. But there wasn’t and all we can do is look at the positives. We are back to dominating games and creating chances, whilst at the other end we look a lot more solid. Somebody is in for a right old tonking soon, so watch out Boro.
Liverpool have joined the chase for unsettled Inter Milan midfielder Wesley Sneijder, and have made a £9.5million bid to sign him in January, the Daily Mail reports.
The Dutch international has been unsettled at the San Siro after disagreements over a suggested annual pay cut of £1.6million.
According to Gazzetta delo Sport’s, Liverpool have been the first to move for the midfielder who is also said to be a target for the likes of Manchester United and Tottenham.
The reported bid from the Anfield club is £9.5million while their Premier League rivals are confident that £11million will be enough to secure a deal for the 28-year-old.
Sneijder spoke of his current situation at the club and said, “Clearly it’s best for everyone concerned that in January I am transferred.”
“If that doesn’t happen then I will stay. I have a contract with Inter until 2015.”
Sneijder has been dropped by Inter boss Andrea Stramaccioni over the incident and both parties look to have reached a stage where the only option may be to part ways.
The midfielder is currently earning £200,000 a week with the Italian club, figures which Liverpool may struggle to match, while his agent quashed rumours of a move to Spurs by telling Dutch paper Algemeen Dagblad, “there is nothing, absolutely nothing true about that.”
Sir Alex Ferguson is also believed to still be interested in a deal as he continues his search for a replacement for 38-year-old Paul Scholes.
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While a move to England looks increasingly likely for Sneijder, exactly where remains to be seen.
The past few days may be some of the most defining in Coventry City’s season. An unbelievable match and result on Thursday night was quickly followed by a disappointing loss on Sunday afternoon resulting in mixed emotions for Coventry fans.
Thursday night’s Johnstone’s Paint Trophy tie against Preston is a match that will live long in the memories for everyone involved with Coventry City FC. A 3-2 victory in the dramatic fashion that we achieved it was an unforgettable experience for everyone involved. The match as a whole was not great in terms of the quality of football on show but what it did have was a true cup tie feel to it. It was clear that both teams really wanted it and were really fighting for the victory.
The match began with Preston having the better of the opening exchanges but the match quickly levelled out and city got a foothold in the game. A couple of missed opportunities for both sides went by and then four minutes before half time the Skyblues got the first goal of the game. A free kick whipped in by Baker was headed towards goal by Edjenguele and was steered into the back of the net by Jennings who poked home from close range.
The score remained at 1-0 until the 67th minute when Preston equalised from a poorly defended corner. A free header from Foster deflected off Adams into the Skyblues net. Coventry were feeling a little hard done by at this point having been the slightly better side in the second half but then ten minutes from time they were feeling even worse. Another deflected effort left Murphy wrong footed as the ball nestled in the Skyblues goal to the disbelief around the majority of the ground.
The dream of a trophy and a trip to Wembley looked to be over as the board went up for 5 minutes of stoppage time. The City fans roared in a final attempt to get the team to take the game to penalties. Then on 93 minutes a lovely touch from Jordan Clarke played in Baker who from a tight angle powered a shot underneath the despairing Simonsen who was being forced to continue in goal after picking up an injury only minutes before.
We had done it and everyone’s attentions turned to the inevitable penalty shootout that was about to follow. However there was a minute and a half left of stoppage time and the Coventry player went in search of a winner. Thirty seconds past and then the ball fell to Baker who came inside from the right wing and sent a shot towards Prestons goal from just outside the area. Everyone expected it to be saved comfortably but Simonsen seemed to panic and whilst he did save the initial shot he could only parry the ball straight back into the danger area where there just so happened to be three Coventry players who had gambled on him making the error.
Everyone held their breath as Leon Clarke who had missed at least one guilt edge chance earlier on in the game held off his teammates to poke the ball passed Simonsen into the net and the unthinkable had happened and it was utter elation around the stadium.
Coventry had done it, they were in the area final and now only two games away from an historic Wembley appearance. No one could quite believe what they had just witnessed as the Coventry song rang round the Ricoh in a way that it had never done before.
A victory in that manner against any club would have been special but I have to be honest in that it did make it all the more special in that it was Preston who we beat. Now I have nothing against the club itself and its fans but the current management and playing squad are everything that there is to hate about football.
They are a thuggish team who were throwing elbows and leaving their foot in whenever they got the chance. Despite this aggressive behavior on their part they were also going down from the slightest touch from our players. All sport not only football should have sportsmanship at its heart and well it looked to me that Graham Westley has completely eradicated this from his squad of players. They had clearly been told to throw their weight around to see what they could get away with and in turn try to bully their way to victory. For me Thursday’s match was not only a victory for Coventry City it was a victory for what football should be about.
After the elation of Thursday night the Skyblues went into Sundays trip to Carlisle brimming with confidence. It did however end in disappointment as Coventry slipped to their first away defeat in the league since defeat to Brentford on the 23rd of October to end a six game winning run away from home. It was City’s second defeat in a row in the league and it was far from a great performance.
This loss combined with the loss too Shrewsbury has really put the brakes on our ascent up the league one table. Sitting now in 13th place our hopes of a playoff place have taken a real hit. It is by no means an impossibility far from it in fact but it has made a hard goal even harder to achieve. Six points is the current gap with the teams above us having a game in hand. Victories for them will leave us 9 points off the pace and I have always considered this to be the tipping point in terms of trying to catch teams. Anything below and there is a real chance of catching but anything above in the double figures and they begin to look out of sight.
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Six points from the two home games against Tranmere and Oldham will be a huge step back in the right direction. With Tranmere topping the league one table Wednesday’s match will be far from an easy one but a big performance and victory is needed to reignite our charge up the League One table.
Sunday was a poignant reminder of just how far Leeds have fallen. Matched against the current Premier League champions who had clambered their way to the top from similar depths to us, in a cup tie that was never even a contest.
Leeds were outplayed, outfought and outdone in every single department. Except one.
Once again, the fans were the only good thing to be associated with our club. Non-stop chanting throughout a game that was beyond us as early as the fifth minute meant that the players had no excuses about being intimidated by the home crowd, Leeds fans gave it their all and once again, were let down by the team representing them on the pitch.
This club is nothing without it’s fans. They are the difference between us and every other mid-table Championship team, the heartbeat of the club.
It’s about time they got rewarded with more than just half hearted performances and after match excuses.
I’m not speaking solely about the cup game, we were never expected to win, but how many games this season have we come up against teams that are struggling or out of form and crumbled.
We’re tired of hearing the same old excuses, I’ve lost count of the amount of people in the football world that have claimed that Leeds will be back in the Premier League in no time, only for us to be found wanting time and time again. There is no quick fix, the club needs direction and it needs it now.
If GFH are to stay then they need to act quickly, this season is well and truly over but bringing in a new manager now gives them time to assess the squad and then he needs serious backing in the summer. This is obvious to every single Leeds fan that I’ve ever spoken to, so why does it appear to be falling on deaf ears at the club?
I understand their loyalty to Warnock at the time of the takeover, fair enough, he’d stuck with us while the whole sorry saga dragged on, but that was months ago and for him to claim that he deserves a medal is nothing short of ridiculous.
What do the fans deserve Neil? Did we not stick with the club too?
The difference is that we don’t want medals and we don’t want recognition, because sticking with the club is what we do. That doesn’t mean that we deserve to sit and watch dire performances week after week and then listen to the excuses afterwards about how great a job you’re doing. If this is what you would call a great job, then we should be seriously thankful that you aren’t doing a bad one.
While we’re here, I agree. You aren’t doing a bad job Neil, you’re doing an awful job.
I read somewhere that Warnock had claimed to have turned Leeds around. I can only assume he’s referring to the way that we’re now rapidly going backwards.
No matter what happens over the next few months, GFH have to start listening to the fans. We aren’t chanting ‘Warnock out’ for the laugh. It’s all good and well keeping Ken Bates around to help guide you, but you have all the help you could ever need sat around you watching the club fall apart every Saturday afternoon.
If GFH want to succeed, they need to trust the fans in what we’re saying, we know the club better than anyone ever could, and after 8 years of being ignored we’re more than willing to help. Advice is only good advice when it’s given by the right people, if GFH choose those people wisely there’s every chance they can bring success to Elland Road.
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If not, we’ll carry on going backwards until it’s too late to recover. The next few months will see some of the most important decisions made off the field, the only thing you can guarantee is that the fans are going nowhere.
Wolfsburg are lining up a summer move for Arsenal centre-back Per Mertesacker, according to reports from talkSPORT.
The German international has endured a turbulent spell in the Premier League since his arrival in 2011, with his sometimes languid playing style opening him up to criticism.
Despite seeing his first-team opportunities rationed for much of last season, the 28-year-old has become a key man under Arsene Wenger this term.
But, Wolfsburg are keen to lure him back to the Bundesliga at the end of the season, as the Gunners step up their pursuit of other defensive targets.
Swansea’s Ashley Williams is said to be on their radar, and if a move is made, it’s likely that one of the north Londoners’ current defensive men will have to make way.
Wolfsburg’s sporting director Klaus Allofs worked with Mertesacker at Werder Bremen, and is keen to set up a reunion with the towering centre-half.
He could be tempted to return to his homeland, with his chances of football at international level likely to increase if he is playing regularly in an environment where he is exposed to the German side.
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Mertesacker arrived at the Emirates Stadium at the back end of the 2011 summer transfer window, as Wenger made some late additions to his underperforming squad.