Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has laughed off speculation that he has placed a £20million price-tag on rising midfield star Jordan Henderson.
The 20-year-old is being hotly tipped for a senior England call in the near future, having impressed for both club and the Under-21s in recent weeks.
That has parked talk of interest from the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City, but Bruce is not preparing to part with one of his side's top performers.
He commented:"I haven't put any price tag on anything.
"The only thing I know is that Jordan is an exceptional footballer and has got the world talking about him since he scored for the Under-21s in front of the England manager.
"The speculation that he is going to be in the next England squad has had everybody talking about Jordan.
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"We have known about him for about 18 months now. He is a fantastic player.
"I haven't put any price on his head at all, that would be ridiculous of me."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Mick McCarthy has spoken of his dismay after winger Matt Jarvis was overlooked by England manager Fabio Capello for Wednesday’s friendly with France.
The Three Lions tamely lost 2-1 at Wembley and the Wolves boss was disappointed that Jarvis was axed from the preliminary squad.
Jarvis only found out he failed to make the full squad through the media, much to McCarthy’s bemusement.
“There was lots of hype about Matt playing so you get warned you might be going, but you find out through the media that he isn’t going,” he said.
“There might be a different way of handling that – if you’re not going to be called up, a little phone call or text might not be out of order.
“A text saying ‘sorry, you’re doing brilliant, keep going’ – a pat on the head would do no harm.
“My point is that if you get notification that you might be called up, you might call or text someone to say ‘sorry, you’re not in’ – we’ve all got each other’s numbers.
“So, of course, the hopes had been built up for Matt – I said in the press conference that he’d been named in the provisional squad.
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“I think friendlies at this time of the year – and certainly if they’ve got one in February – are more notoriously difficult to get players in for. But he had some good competition in Ashley Young, Adam Johnson and Stewart Downing.”
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Manchester United’s midweek draw with Valencia proved to be enough to get them through to the next stage of the Champions League as group winners. The Red Devils were anything but convincing but they got the job done, which for the most part has been the story of United’s season to date. After the postponement of their game at Blackpool last weekend they will be desperate to regain top spot on Monday in what is guaranteed to be a spicy affair.
On FFC this week there has been plenty for United fans to enjoy. They can find an analysis of their latest crop of young players, a run down of January targets and what the so called professor could learn from Sir Alex Ferguson.
We also bring you the best United blogs on the web.
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The top TEN Man United Tattoos…well sort of
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Hit or Miss – An analysis of United’s latest crop of youngsters
FIVE changes Manchester United need to make in January
Wenger could learn a valuable lesson from Fergie
Fergie vs. Wenger – time to dust off the gloves?
Should United fans be concerned by the next generation?
Top TEN worst foreigners to grace the Premier League
Why I’d still take him over Guardiola at Old Trafford
The 10 signings that got away from Fergie
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Click here to see the Best MANCHESTER UNITED BLOGS around the Web this week
Whatever happened to the great United/Arsenal rivalry? The Busby Way
Getting back to Good – The United Religion
What’s next for Becks? – United Rant
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STATS: Which Fans Don’t Go To Their Ground? Arsenal, Chelsea, City, Liverpool, Spurs or United? – RoM
The Red Report: New faces welcomed, the Evans conundrum & the World Cup – The Busby Way
Kenny Dalglish is not a man to mince his words. However, after three games back in charge of the club he led to so much success in the late 1980s, the former Scotland international might be forgiven for worrying about the scale of the task he has been left with.
Some of the concerns that the new Liverpool boss had about his latest assignment appeared to surface in the run-up to the Merseyside derby yesterday, in which his new charges supplied a far stronger performance than has been witnessed in recent weeks to record a 2-2 draw with rivals Everton.
Dalglish had suggested that the Reds need to stop dining out on the success of the club during the 1970s and ’80s – often an accusation directed at Liverpool fans by rival supporters, but never by a manager.
“I don’t think the history and tradition should ever be forgotten and it certainly should never be seen as a problem or an excuse for how we’re doing now,” said Dalglish.
“Showing that this club have enjoyed success in the past provides a target for everyone. But there is a generation of fans who are fed up with hearing about the European Cup victories from my time.
“I would really like this generation to share the times that the previous ones have done, as they did when they got a bit of glory in 2005. It is a huge ask to get back to where we were in the Seventies and Eighties, but you always have to aim as high as you can, while at the same time being totally realistic.” (Daily Mail)
Undoubtedly a statement of this nature made by any other Liverpool coach over the last ten years may have automatically resulted in a mutiny on the Kop, and in fact would be something more likely to come out of Gary Neville’s mouth in a pre-match tirade at Liverpool fans than a current Reds boss.
However, Dalglish is clearly not just any Liverpool manager. His comments are the reflections of a concerned fan rather than a cynical opponent, but is he right to be so harsh on a team that won the European Cup as recently as five years ago? King Kenny would argue that the excellence he nurtured during the 1980’s required a winning mentality that simply no longer exists at Anfield.
It may be hard for some fans to hear Liverpool supporters going on about being a ‘big’ club when in the near 20-year history of the Premier League, the Reds have only had one serious title challenge. It is because of the extraordinary level of success during King Kenny’s period at Anfield that Liverpool remain such a revered name in English football. Surely it is time to forge some more domestic success to preserve their status within the English game.
Nevertheless, is this statement going to actually improve Dalglish’s chances of returning his beloved club to something near their former glory? One might argue that only a major personnel overhaul is likely to enable the Merseyside giants to compete with the greater squad strength of the Premier League’s current top five.
Much is often made of how top class managers are able to push mediocre players to play far better than was ever believed possible in the past. There is no doubt that when John W Henry called upon the experience of Dalglish to steer the Liverpool ship for the remainder of the season, he would have wanted the former Reds legend to inspire the current squad to a top half finish, without any major expenditure in the transfer market.
Whether Dalglish’s statement will instil confidence in players that have previously shown to be very short of self-belief in recent months is very much up for debate. In his previous incarnation as Liverpool head honcho, twenty years ago, the culture of the Anfield ‘boot room’ was ingrained in the minds of the players, and a statement like this would only go to push under performing players into action. With the 2011 Liverpool vintage hanging perilously above the relegation zone, King Kenny must hope that his words can fire a similar camaraderie before the unthinkable happens.
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Manchester City have offloaded out-of-favour striker Emmanuel Adebayor in a loan deal with La Liga giants Real Madrid.
Adebayor, 26, will join Real for the remainder of the season, with an option for a 14.5 million pound transfer in the close season.
“We can confirm that the club has agreed to loan Emmanuel Adebayor to Real Madrid for the rest of the season,” a statement on City’s website said.
“The player will travel to Spain on Wednesday to have a medical. Madrid have an option to purchase the 26-year-old at the end of his temporary spell in the Spanish capital.”
City’s reluctance to contribute to the player’s wages are understood to have delayed his departure.
But with Gonzalo Higuain ruled out for up to three months, Real’s desperate need for a centre forward has forced them to pay all of Adebayor’s reported 165,000 pound-a-week salary.
Their failure to secure the return of Ruud Van Nistelrooy from Hamburg also contributed to the decision to bring in Adebayor.
The deal represents a victory of sorts for coach Jose Mourinho, who has been at loggerheads with director of football Jorge Valdano over the need for striking reinforcements.
Adebayor joined English Premier League outfit City from Arsenal in July 2009 for a fee believed to be approximately 25 million pounds.
He scored 19 goals in 35 appearances for the club, but has fallen behind new arrivals Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko in the battle to partner captain Carlos Tevez in attack.
The former Togo international becomes the latest purchase of former City manager Mark Hughes to leave the club, with full-back Wayne Bridge and underused front-man Roque Santa Cruz also departing.
Shaun Wright-Phillips is understood to be next in line for an exit.
Adebayor will be available to play in the Champions League with Real despite featuring in the Europa League earlier this season.
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No stranger to controversy in his short career, he may test Mourinho’s famed man-management skills upon his arrival at the Santiago Bernabeu.
After alienating Arsenal fans by agitating for a move away from the club during his final two seasons in north London, he enraged them further by celebrating provocatively upon scoring for City against the Gunners shortly after his departure.
In the same match, he was pictured raking his studs down the face of former teammate Robin van Persie.
After numerous rows with his national FA, he retired from international duty following a fatal gun attack on the Togo team bus during the 2010 African Cup of Nations.
Alberto Zapater scored his first Liga Sagres goals as Sporting Lisbon returned to winning ways with a 3-0 victory over Maritimo on Tuesday.
Having been surprise 3-2 losers to Pacos de Ferreira on January 16 in their last league game, Sporting appeared intent on bouncing straight back at Maritimo’s Estadio dos Barreiros.
But despite their ascendancy in the game’s early stages, Sporting had to wait until the 44th minute to take the lead.
Having acquired a taste for goals with his brace in Sporting’s 4-0 Taca de Portugal win over Penafiel on Friday, Zapater picked up where he left off when he arrived late in the box to power Simon Vukcevic’s precise cross past Maritimo goalkeeper Marcelo Boeck.
Zapater arrived at the Lisbon club from Serie A outfit Genoa in July 2010 for two million euros as part of the arrangement that saw Sporting favourite son Miguel Veloso move in the opposite direction.
The former Spain under-21 international is yet to produce his best form in Portugal, but showed he is perhaps settling in his new surroundings when – in the 67th minute – he clinched his second brace for Sporting in as many games.
Zapater took possession in the area after striker Liedson was well tackled, showing composure to feint back onto his left foot before firing home.
Sporting’s three points were made secure when an unmarked Liedson tapped home nine minutes later, ensuring Paulo Sergio’s side maintained its three-point buffer in third over Vitoria Guimaraes.
After dubbing the season a rebuilding one in the wake of several key departures, Sporting’s campaign has slowly gathered steam.
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They remain eight points back from second-placed Lisbon rivals Benfica and still a whopping 16 points off league-leaders Porto, but are on track for Europa Cup qualification.
Maritimo’s loss keeps them in 11th place, with a nine-point gap between them and the relegation zone.
Blackburn Rovers hope to welcome back club captain Ryan Nelsen to their squad for Wednesday’s meeting with Tottenham at Ewood Park.
The New Zealand defender, who recently committed his future to the English Premier League club, has returned to training after shaking off the knee injury which ruled him out of Rovers’ last two games.
Manager Steve Kean will be without star striker Roque Santa Cruz, however, after the Paraguay international limped out of Saturday’s FA Cup defeat away to Aston Villa.
On-loan Manchester City man Santa Cruz suffered a groin strain in the early exchanges at Villa Park and is expected to be out of action for up to two weeks.
Gael Givet is also likely to miss out with a groin problem he picked up in training.
The French full-back will have a late fitness test before being considered for selection.
Rovers are bolstered by the return of Brett Emerton after his Asian Cup duties with Australia came to an end, while fellow midfield trio Steven Nzonzi, Keith Andrews and Vince Grella will all be hoping to get more match time under their belts after lengthy lay-offs.
New signings Mauro Formica and Ruben Rochina – who agreed long-term deadline day deals from Argentina outfit Newell’s Old Boys and La Liga powerhouse Barcelona respectively – are not expected to feature due to a lack of match practice.
“I’ve got a big squad and a lot of selection issues to deal with as we go in search of a fourth-straight home win,” said Kean, whose side has beaten West Brom, QPR and Liverpool in their last three games at Ewood Park.
“I went to see Tottenham in action at Fulham the other day (which Spurs lost 4-0) and I would expect (Spurs manager) Harry Redknapp will be looking for a reaction from his side.”
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“So we will have to be wary of that and stand up to the challenge.”
“However, no team gets an easy game at Ewood Park and we will be looking to protect our proud home record.”
“It should be an attacking and exciting game, and one that the players and the fans are all looking forward to.”
Tottenham will not die wondering in the Champions League with manager Harry Redknapp pledging an attacking mindset against AC Milan.
Spurs face the Italian giants at the San Siro on Tuesday in the first leg of their round-of-16 clash as they look to secure a place in the quarter finals of Europe’s premier club competition for just the second time.
The north Londoners were the joint-top scorers during the group stage this season, and Redknapp said they would continue to attack against Milan.
“Attacking football is what got us here in the first place,” said Redknapp.
“We have had a go all through this competition so we will have a right go again at San Siro.”
“We can score here. I don’t want to concede bags of goals for sure. We can’t afford to make the same mistakes (as we made against Inter) and can’t start like that again.”
“But as far as shutting up shop goes it’s a non-starter because we don’t have the players here.”
It will be an injury-hit Spurs side which lines up at the San Siro following the news winger Gareth Bale would be unavailable because of a back injury.
Central midfielder Luka Modric is also missing, as are Jermaine Jenas, Younes Kaboul, Tom Huddlestone and Ledley King.
In better news for Redknapp, striker Peter Crouch (back) and forward Rafael van der Vaart (calf) have been deemed fit to play.
“We can’t come out and be completely gung-ho but what I’m saying is that I do have a problem setting a team up to defend,” explained Redknapp.
“Rafael van der Vaart plays the way he plays. Niko Kranjcar and (Aaron) Lennon – we haven’t got defensive players to play with five across midfield and soak it up.”
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“If I had two wide men who could do a job and sit there and just be solid, I might think about it. But those type of players are not at this club.”
“The only two midfielders we have who are fit are Sandro and (Wilson) Palacios for the middle of the park. There is no one else.”
“Sandro is not a Luka Modric, he plays differently. He has hardly been in my team all year. It’s a big ask but he is up for it.”
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has slammed his UEFA improper conduct charge following their 3-1 loss to Barcelona in the Champions League.The Londoners were level 1-1 with the Catalan giants, and ahead 3-2 on aggregate at the Camp Nou on Wednesday when star Robin van Persie was given a second yellow card for time-wasting following an offside flag.The French boss was furious with the decision, approaching referee Massimo Busacca after Arsenal were eventually ousted from the competition courtesy of a 3-1 loss following van Persie’s sending off.Wenger has followed up his outburst by denying he was at fault to protest the decision.”I deny completely any charge. I do not understand where that comes from,” he said.”It is a shame for me that the referee took the decision to send Robin van Persie off. It was the wrong decision.””The first leg was a fantastic advert for football and the second game has been destroyed. People now will only remember the sending off.””It would be good for UEFA to show some humility, to apologise for what has happened, not charge people who have done nothing wrong.”Midfielder Samir Nasri has also been charged by the European football body for inappropriate behaviour at the final whistle, with punishments yet to be decided upon for the pair.
Sir Alex Ferguson was fined £30,000 and given a five match touchline ban for comments he made about referee Martin Atkinson. Ferguson called for a “fair referee” following the 2-1 defeat by Chelsea on March 1.
Sir Alex Ferguson has a disciplinary advisor in the shape of Graham Bean; Mr Bean is a former FA compliance officer. The suggestion from Graham Bean is the FA has taken a tough line on Manchester United, because of their reputation as the most powerful club in England.
Bean also advises other Premier League football clubs including Liverpool. He suggests that Ferguson has been harshly punished, while other similar offences from Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp and Wigan’s Roberto Martinez have been overlooked.
Bean told Telegraph Sport “Where it goes seriously wrong for the FA is that there have been cases of managers in the Premier League making comments which have been a clear implication of bias against the referee, or questioning the referee, yet virtually nothing has been done. The FA has serious questions to answer in terms of why they have not taken action against other individuals. There are two cases which we referred to in Ferguson’s defence against the Atkinson charge.
“Firstly, Roberto Martínez — three days before Ferguson made his comments at Chelsea — claimed after Wayne Rooney had clashed with James McCarthy that one of his players ‘would have been lucky to stay on the pitch’ had he committed the foul. That was a clear allegation of bias towards Manchester United, but the FA did nothing about it.
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“Harry Redknapp, making comments about the referee and assistant after Nani scored a controversial goal at Old Trafford against Spurs earlier this season, said, ‘They [officials] will go in and come up with a story that will make it all look right, that’s what happens’.
“That was clearly worse, one of the major comments of the season, yet the FA did absolutely nothing about it other than send him a letter. That comment in itself suggested collusion between the match officials. The FA says it treats each case on its merits, but in effect they have bottled it on many occasions in terms of dealing with post-match comments by managers. That’s because they move the goalposts to suit themselves.”
In response, an FA spokesman said: “Consideration is given to any comments reported to us and all comments are reviewed in their entirety, taking into account the full context in which they were delivered.”
Ferguson imposed a nine-day media blackout following the charge, but Bean insists the reason for this was the belief by Ferguson that the media are the driving force behind the FA’s disciplinary process.
Ferguson does have previous problems regarding referees after a charge in October 2009. In that case he labelled Alan Wiley as “unfit” to referee, he was suspended for two games, with a further two suspended (now activated due to the Atkinson charge). The FA warned Ferguson that his increased profile bought with it increased responsibility (a bit like that great Spiderman line on a similar vein).
Bean argues that Ferguson and United shouldn’t be judged based on their profile. “The FA reacts to media pressure and Alex believes that,”
Bean said. “In all of his disciplinary issues we have made a point of noting that the media coverage of Manchester United is out of comparison to every other club in the country — it’s twentyfold bigger and that causes problems in itself. They are being punished because of their profile and not because of what they have done. In the Atkinson case, the penalty did not fit the crime. While the FA might say that Sir Alex or the club should know better, that’s not the way it should be.”
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The Verdict
Does the aforementioned Mr Bean have a point? Rules are rules and no manager should break them – but surely when the rules are broken all managers/clubs should be treated in the same way. Bean may have a point but the FA is hardly likely to back down or admit they got it wrong, are they?