Mirror Football is reporting that WBA manager Roy Hodgson is ready to offer Chris Brunt a bumper new contract in a bid to kill off interest in the player from Liverpool and Aston Villa. Hodgson is keen to tie West Brom skipper Brunt down to a longer contract and prevent his exit from the Hawthorns this summer.
Liverpool’s director of football Damien Comolli is a huge admirer £8m rated midfielder – who was made West Brom captain by former Anfield boss Hodgson earlier this year. Aston Villa is targeting the 26 year old as a potential replacement for Ashley Young at the end of the season.
Brunt really made a name for himself in the lower leagues with Sheffield Wednesday and in the earlier part of his spell with West Brom. Brunt has since proved himself to be a highly accomplished Premier League footballer and also won over 20 caps for Nothern Ireland.
However, Hodgson has recommended a new deal for Brunt – who has two years remaining on his current deal. Hodgson said on the issue “At the moment, we have spoken internally about plans and ideas, but if it was up to me I would not want to make wholesale changes.”
West Brom are also keen to tie down leading scorer Peter Odemwingie and defender Abdoulaye Meite to longer term deals.
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Stricken Wolves midfielder Adlene Guedioura believes he will return from a broken leg before the end of the season.
The 24-year-old Algeria international was left with a fractured tibia following a Steve Sidwell challenge during Saturday's 2-1 defeat by Aston Villa.
"It depends on how my recovery goes but I hope to play again this season," he told the Express and Star.
"I think I'll be stronger mentally and I'll work hard physically.
"What's happened is sad, but I'm not down about it because I know I'll come back stronger.
"I've got time to work hard and when I come back I'll do my best to fight for Wolves again."
Guedioura, who joined Wolves on a permanent basis during the summer after spending the second half of last season on loan from Charleroi, bares no ill-feeling towards Sidwell.
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He added:"I don't think he wanted to injure me. He wanted to get the ball and it wasn't malicious.
"I don't bear him any bad feelings – he was trying to win the ball."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Fulham manager Martin Jol has admitted that he is eager to sign at least one player on loan this January, but has stated that it won’t be Catania striker Maxi Lopez.
The Cottagers have been linked with a move for the Argentine forward, who has also been a target for AC Milan in recent times, but the Dutch coach feels a temporary move for the South American is unlikely.
“We said we would like to do something on loan with one or two players,” Jol stated in a press conference, published in Sky Sports.
“Catania were probably not in a situation to put Maxi Lopez, who is a good player and scored some goals for them, on loan.
“I don’t think he will go anywhere else on loan. It is a non-starter,” he admitted.
Jol was also quick to deny claims that his side were over-reliant on Clint Dempsey for goals, despite the fact that the United States international bagged a hat-trick in the club’s last match.
“We have other players that can score. We have got goals in us, with Bryan Ruiz, Moussa Dembele and Bobby Zamora, who was involved in at least three goals the other day,” the trainer stated, this time in The Sun.
“We have got the quality but I can’t deny that Clint is very different for us this year.
“Maybe he was in the past. I think so because he was our top scorer before.
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“You always like your top scorer to be up front but if it’s Clint, it’s Clint. If it is Bobby, it is Bobby. It doesn’t matter to me,” he confirmed.
Despite reaching a Champions League quarter final and still challenging for qualification again through their league position, Tottenham’s forwards of Jermain Defoe, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Peter Crouch have only managed 31 goals between them in all competitions. With constant speculation that Harry Redknapp will be looking for a new striker in the summer transfer window, who represents the best option?
Lisandro López
Known as ‘licha bianca’ (the one who wears you down), López was seen as the ideal replacement for Karim Benzema after the Frenchman’s move to Real Madrid, and the Argentinian forward duly obliged in filling his predecessor’s boots. López can either be deployed as a lone striker, wide on the left or behind an orthodox centre-forward; the former Porto’s man versatility would be a key asset in Tottenham’s side, allowing Harry Redknapp to partner him with any of his current mis-firing forwards, should they still be there after the summer.
Asamoah Gyan
A favourite amongst fans for his obvious love for the game, is truly a real entertainer and arguably one of the signings of the season. The Ghanaian international thrived in the early stages of his Black Cats career, forming an understanding with fellow forward Darren Bent, however, since the Englishman’s departure to Aston Villa, Gyan has only added two goals to his tally (with one of them being against Spurs). My point is that Gyan is without a doubt a real talent, but the Black Stars striker needs a fellow competent forward alongside him, something Spurs do not have. They are looking to sign an attacker who can lead from the front and score goals consistently, not another supporting striker.
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Didier Drogba
We all know the talents of the Ivorian forward, and rather surprisingly he is rumoured to be available for transfer despite still overshadowing £50 million signing Fernando Torres. Drogba would be the perfect solution to all of Tottenham’s attacking troubles, with an eye for goal, a powerful presence in the attacking third and vast amounts of experience; the only slight hesitation ‘Arry may have about signing the Chelsea man is that at the age of 33, Drogba has two seasons left in him at most and despite his age, the reported figure for the former Marseille man is £13 million, just £2 million shy of the supposed fee for the much younger López.
Diego Milito
Any forward that averages just over a goal every two appearances over his entire career would be a player any manager would want. Last season Milito was voted UEFA Club Footballer and Attacker of the year; the Argentinian had a fantastic year, but ignoring accolades, is he the man to lead the Lilywhites front line? The Argentinian is a fantastic forward, with the ability to score all sorts of goals, including the big match winning goals against the likes of Arsenal, and with rumours rife of the prolific forward being available for a mere £5 million many of Europe’s elite will be surely sniffing around the San Siro. Milito, it seems, ticks all the boxes for the striker that Tottenham need.
Giuseppe Rossi
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The Italian has been linked with Tottenham for at least 12 months now and despite having had a successful spell with Villarreal, Rossi still has his doubters after a very poor spell with Manchester United; perhaps he has just found his level at La Liga? Coupled with the inflated price required to sign the former Parma man (after he signed a contract extension last year), and also the fact that he plays in much the same role as Van Der Vaart, a deep lying attacker, means that the Italian really isn’t the best option for Spurs.
Aston Villa have re-signed veteran goalkeeper Andy Marshall to act as cover for Brad Friedel and Brad Guzan.
The 35-year-old has penned a contract that will keep him at Villa Park until the end of the season.
The former Norwich City, Ipswich Town and Millwall shot-stopper was released by Coventry City at the end of the 2008-09 campaign before starring for Villa's reserves as they won the Barclays Premier Reserve League South title last season.
"It's been in the pipeline for the last three weeks that it potentially could happen," Marshall told Villa's official website."I was released in the summer with the possibility of coming back.
"I am absolutely delighted it has been done and I am very thankful for Kevin MacDonald for bringing me back because I have got a good relationship with Kev.
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"I worked very well with him in the reserves with the young lads last season and he sees it as an opportunity to get Elliott (Parish) out on loan and get him some games. There is still the cover having myself here in case anything happens with either of the Brads."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted that he was happy with Manchester United’s 2-0 win over QPR on Sunday, but feels that his team should have scored more goals.
An early opener from Wayne Rooney was backed up by an excellent individual effort by Michael Carrick, in what turned out to be an easy day in London for the Premier League champions.
Despite the three points, the Scottish coach feels his side should have had the game wrapped up in the first half.
“I thought it was a good performance but I thought we were wasteful with the chances we had in the match,” he told Sky Sports.
“We should have really had the game won by the 30 minute mark but their goalkeeper had two fantastic saves, obviously we missed a couple of really good chances.
“But all in all, it was a very good performance,” he continued.
Carrick’s strike was his first in almost two years, and Ferguson is happy with how the midfielder is playing currently.
“I think (Carrick’s goal) puts the game to bed really and he did fantastically well. He’s been at the top of his game now Michael, I’m really pleased with his performances and he gave us that control in the middle of the pitch with Phil Jones.,” he stated.
Finally Ferguson applauded his team’s response to being eliminated from the Champions League, and feels his players have reacted well to the disappointment.
“We are not immune to losing a game, obviously we don’t want to lose big ones it has to be said. But, in the nature of our club, it’s been put down as another day in the history of Manchester United and we get on with it.
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“We don’t sit and moan about it, we do something about it and I think the players have done that,” he concluded.
This article may be perceived by many as an easy swipe at a still target, but let me assure you readers, I’ve felt this way for quite some time. Steve Bruce stated today that he was the right man to lead Sunderland forward in the future, but after daring to delve a little deeper into Bruce’s muddled team selection and transfer policy while at the club, it’s fair to say that the only thing keeping Bruce in a job at the moment (in my opinion) is his relatively high standing within the game, all of course, garnered during his time as a player, as a manager, however, Bruce leaves a lot to be desired.
Sunderland at the moment look to be a club in absolute freefall. On form, they are currently the worst team plying their trade in the top flight, with just one point and seven defeats from their last eight league games. The main mitigating factor in Bruce’s defence has been the at times crippling injury list which he has had to work with. But this article isn’t solely about the dismal run the club are currently on, but whether Bruce remains the best man for the job.
Bruce stated that: “Eight games ago, I was the best thing since sliced bread – in some people’s eyes – and within eight games, now all of a sudden people want me out” before going onto add “It is what it is, managing in the North East. But I still don’t regret it, I am still confident I am the right person for the job.”
Now an eight game winless run, in a league as difficult to read and close as this year’s Premier League is always likely to render you in trouble. Sunderland have gone from a side challenging for a European place, to one which is now just six points off of 18th placed West Ham and in real danger of being sucked into a relegation dogfight.
One thing to extrapolate from Aston Villa’s troubles this season has been their relative success since the acquisition of Darren Bent and his former club’s troubles since his departure. With Bent at the club, Sunderland managed to gather 34 points from 23 games, since he left for Villa they’ve only accrued 4 points from 9 games. Aston Villa on the other hand have added a much needed 15 points from 10 games, whereas prior to his arrival it was 22 points from 22 games.
As of now, Villa now stand just one point behind Sunderland in the league, despite the troubles of Houllier’s spell at the club. Should Villa leapfrog Sunderland in the league and go onto finish ahead of them in the league at the end of play, then there will be no greater vindication of Bent’s move than that. With the price of relegation ever more costly, the £24m Villa shelled out on Bent in January is starting to look like something representing value for money.
Asamoah Gyan has proved a successful signing, yet he cannot be relied upon in the same way to deliver a consistent stream of goals in the way Bent was during his time on Wearside. It’s fair to say that they’ve felt his loss a lot more keenly than they had ever previously anticipated.
Bruce thinks he remains a divisive figure among Sunderland fans due to his Geordie heritage, however, I think this would prove to be nothing more than a useful deflective tactic of the manager to use when under pressure. In a league as competitive as the Premier League, where hopes are dashed and reignited on an almost weekly basis, would Bruce still be in a job were it not for his standing within the game as a player?
Also, when looking at the Sunderland squad, it’s difficult to define quite what a Steve Bruce player is. Baring the smorgasbord of nationalities, which make a mockery of the petulant tantrum by Marcos Angeleri earlier on in the campaign, Bruce has no definable quality that he looks for in a player which makes entrusting him with the task of rebuilding the squad in the summer all the more worrying. The squad lacks a coherent plan behind it and the shape of the first-team line-up looks like an ever-changing scenario, even without the bad run of injuries that they‘ve had.
During his time at Sunderland, Bruce has received significant backing from messrs Short and Quinn, yet there has been little progress made to represent value for money in the faith emplaced in Bruce in the transfer market so far. The side still looks short of width and pace as well as a leader or two among the ranks.
Such is the paucity of quality within the bottom rungs of the Premier League, that Sunderland should be just about safe come the end of the season. They have a modest run-in in which they should be able to pick up the points required to ensure their safety, yet there has to be real concern around the hierarchy of Sunderland football club that Bruce’s time at the club is spent and that in order to rouse the troops going into a new campaign, fresh ideas and methods are needed at the helm.
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Under Bruce‘s management, Sunderland remain a Premier League side (just about) lacking direction and in search of an identity; it is because of this that Bruce deserves to go, not because of his Geordie roots or the eight game winless streak that he will inevitably point to as reasons for discontent on the terraces. His failure to arrest the club’s slide and the downturn in performances on the pitch is an indication of a wider, larger problem at the club and one that I very much doubt Bruce is capable of turning around.
Wigan Athletic manager Roberto Martinez is still looking to add another two or three new players before the transfer window shuts at the end of the month.
Martinez has already brought in defenders Antolin Alcaraz and Ronnie Stam, midfielder James McArthur and striker Mauro Boselli this summer, but is keen to add further depth to his options.
The Spaniard told the Evening Post:"We are trying to bring two or maybe three players in before the end of the transfer window.
"It's a long time to go until January, when you can next do something about your squad.
"I just feel that, even though I am pleased with the quality we have here, we need to make sure we have good strength in depth and numbers.
"It is hard at this stage of the season, but we have been following a number of players, working extremely hard and hopefully something will happen.
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"If they come off, then great. If not, at least all the major targets we were after are already at the football club and that is great reward for the amount of work we have put in."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
First there was Feed the Goat. Now, in the feeding stakes at least, it is the time of the Yak. The man who goes by the name of Aiyegbeni Yakubuis doing all he can to keep Blackburn afloat. He became the first player in the Premier League to net four in this campaign as Blackburn secured their second win. Having been shipped out to Leicester on loan last season by Everton, some were questioning whether he could still hack it in the Premier League. Ten goals so far says he can.
Goal of the Weekend
Although there were some 29 goals this weekend, there weren’t too many screamers. So for sheer audacity, let’s give Mario Balotelli some recognition. Where most players would head the ball in from a yard, the Italian forward decided to shoulder the ball over line nonchalantly. Only Balotelli…
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Save of the Weekend
Tim Krul managed to earn Newcastle a point last weekend at Old Trafford. He did all he could to save the Toon this weekend but his attempts were ultimately futile as Chelsea ran out 3-0 winners. However, his penalty save from Frank Lampard was sublime. The Dutch ‘keeper tipped the Englishman’s spot kick onto the post and Krul has to be rated as one of the top stoppers in the Premier League at the moment.
Controversy of the Weekend – “Who is the last man?”
The laws of football are open to interpretation as all managers will testify. However, decisions made by Mike Dean and Stuart Attwell will get many talking over the coming days.
At the Sports Direct Arena, David Luiz hauled down Demba Ba and had the forward not been fouled he would have been clean through on goal. However, Dean deemed this to only be worthy of a yellow card. Meanwhile at White Hart Lane, Gary Cahill was sent off after Scott Parker nipped in and stole the ball from him on the halfway line. Despite Zat Knight looking like he could cover, Attwell thought Cahill had committed a professional foul and dismissed him.
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Two undoubtedly questionable decisions but Newcastle had their fair share of fortune with a penalty decision at Old Trafford last weekend – swings and roundabouts some might say. However, this doesn’t justify what was a wrong decision on Saturday yet they lacked the mental strength to overcome Dean’s decision. As for Bolton they had hardly made an awe inspiring start at White Hart Lane. Owen Coyle might want to question why Gary Cahill is attempting to do a Cruyff turn out of trouble.
Nevertheless, there needs to be consistency from referees and currently certain laws of the game are perhaps too open to interpretation. Whilst there is a continued lack of consistency, players won’t know where they stand and managers will continue to criticise referees. It’s time for officials to be helped – laws need to be clarified and video technology must be brought in to assist.
Where do you stand on the matter? Tweet me @arhindtutt or why not comment below.
Ahead of the Euro 2012 qualifier between Wales and England at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday, former Wales international Chris Coleman has been talking about the future of Welsh football, and why it is definitely on the up…
Wales have two outstanding young players in Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey. Could they head a ‘Golden Generation’ of players for Wales over the next few years?
Well, if there is to be a golden generation around the corner then Bale and Ramsey will be at the head of it. I’m sure there is though, because we have been waiting and waiting for it, but some of these players are not 19 or 20 anymore, they are 24 or 25 now. They’ve got to step up to the plate. It’s no good just talking about Bale, Ramsey and Craig Bellamy, the other player have got to step up. They need to have some pride in pulling on the Wales jersey and turning up for every game.
If you look at the last half a dozen games, if you can show me another country which has had more players pull out then I would be incredibly surprised. Wales are having about a dozen withdrawals every game, and you can’t have that, I’m not putting that all down to injuries and suspensions, no way. Whether players had a problem with the previous manager or not, as a player you still turn up and do your best because playing for your country is one of the highest accolades you can have in your career. I just feel that because we were having a bad time with Wales, putting that red jersey on has been watered down a little bit by certain people, which disappoints me. If you can’t get your best squad together on a consistent basis, the results are not going to be good, especially for a small country like ourselves.
So, first and foremost, let’s make sure we have our best players playing every game, because that’s when we can start climbing the rankings. That’s when we get a bit of pride and confidence back.
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Which other Welsh players should we watch out for aside from Bale and Ramsay?
I have been very impressed with Andy King, the Leicester midfielder. Sven-Goran Eriksson has been getting the best out of him. I saw him a few years ago and I thought he was a good player. He plays that central midfield role very well, either in a flat two or as part of a three pushing forward and trying to run in behind the striker. He times his runs into the box very well.
Joe Ledley left Cardiff and went up to Celtic where he has performed well. He’s a good midfielder with a great left foot and I actually think that he’d have made a big impact at a Barclays Premier League team.
At the back, Ashley Williams of Swansea is a very good player, and obviously he plays with James Collins of Aston Villa at centre-back. I think those two complement each other very well.
We’ve got some good players, we really have, if we can get them all together and if they are all fit. There is not a lot of pressure on them for this game because England are expected to win, but we have a couple of players in there who can do a bit of damage ourselves.
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How much would a Welsh side (or possibly two) being in the Premier League boost the Welsh game as a whole?
I’m a die-hard Swansea City fan, a born and bred Swansea Jack. But also I am a football enthusiast and I love football and I love my country, so I’d like Swansea and Cardiff to get there. I really would. Obviously, if it were a toss-up I would want Swansea to get there, but I would love the pair of them up there. It would give welsh football a massive boost. The Barclays Premier League is the best and most publicised league in the world, and it would be a tremendous step forward for Wales as a football nation.
Visit the Dugout www.yahoo.co.uk/dugout for new interviews every week with England’s top football managers