Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has ruled out allowing midfielder Tom Cleverley to leave the club on loan this season.
The 20-year-old has been linked with Wigan Athletic, Newcastle United and Bolton Wanderers in recent times, but Ferguson now expects Cleverley to be an important squad member at Old Trafford.
He told reporters:"Tom Cleverley is going to stay. He is an exceptional young player in the sense of his ability to play in different positions.
"He is such a mobile boy, who can play wide on either side and in central midfield. Also, which he showed at Watford last year, he is a goalscorer.
"The days of expecting Paul Scholes to score 15 goals a season have gone now. We have to look at that area of the team, because we must get goals from midfield.
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"Tom has got outstanding qualities as far as goalscoring is concerned, so he is going to stay."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
With the prospect of Champions League football on the horizon, it promises to be an exciting season for the Tottenham faithful. Harry will be disappointed that he hasn’t added any real numbers to the ranks, due to the dead market, to ensure they cement their place among the Premier League elite.
This week at FFC we have seen a mixed bag of Spurs blogs which has included…Tottenham’s forgotten man can save the millions; Bostock should do his talking on the pitch and Levy should take the financial hit.
Plus we have taken a look at the best Tottenham stories on the Web this week.
FIVE things Harry must do to ensure success this season
Tottenham’s forgotten man can save Harry millions
The only place Bostock should do his talking
Tottenham transfer targets continue to confuse
Trendsetting Tottenham set a benchmark for others to follow
‘England Star in the Making’ – Dean Parrett
Really NO sense in Tottenham cashing in
Tottenham should take financial hit to get transfer ball rolling
English clubs set for Champions League struggle?
Soccer Saturday Vs Final Score
EIGHT things that will happen this Premier League season
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Best of Web
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It Begins – Dear Mr Levy
Pre season 2010 – Spurs Musings with JimmyG2
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Sausage – Who Framed Ruel Fox?
Why Are We Being Linked With So Many Ex-Gooners? – Tottenham Blog
How many times did you give up last season? -Dear Mr Levy
When Jamie Redknapp was a 16-year-old learning his trade at Bournemouth he used to have to scrub and clean former AC Milan and England international Luther Blissett’s boots until his arms ached.
The practice of young apprentices being given mundane tasks such as cleaning boots or mopping the toilets was commonplace in almost every club across the country up until the introduction of the Premier League. They may have been simple tasks but this system defined the pecking order in the dressing room and separated young upstarts who had yet to achieve a thing from the older pros that had managed to forge a career in football. It taught young players the values of hard-work, discipline and respect and Redknapp Junior was a massive fan.
Like his son, Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp shares a similar view and this week disclosed his concerns over the lifestyles of pampered young footballers. Players live in a fantasy bubble of mega-wages and flashy lifestyles, where perceived success and a good income can come quickly to extremely young players. The former Portsmouth manager believes such excess is ruining the desire of young players to better themselves and improve as a footballer.
”I’m concerned about the younger kids because I think we are ruining them,” he says. “These days, clubs are giving four-year contracts to 15-year-olds.”
“By the time they are 17 or 18 they are on six grand a week. Plus bonuses and all that rubbish. It’s crazy, and I think a lot of the lads lose that hunger. They get a professional contract and they think they’ve already made it.”
Redknapp’s comments come after former Republic of Ireland international Stephen Ireland slammed Manchester City’s ‘money-obsessed’ youngsters for showing a lack of respect and walking around training with a nonchalance ‘as though they had played 200 games for the club’. Although, it seems these observations were only specific to City as Ireland thought the Villa youngsters were nice enough lads!
It’s certainly easy to see whose example these young impressionable men follow. A host of Premier League footballers have been doing exactly the same thing for years. Breaking contracts in search of the next big deal, showing a lack of respect to opponents and referees on the pitch and sharing their fair share of sordid headlines along the way too. It all boils down to the overindulgence, gluttony and greed of the Premier League.
I would be harsh to tar all footballers with the same brush but the unstable Premier League environment does not help matters. Of course youngsters have to make sacrifices and natural talent alone may not be enough to make it to the top. But it’s time players started to learn the traditional values and morals of the game first and foremost before they are handed over a mega-money contract which sees them earning thousands before they hit 18.
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Fulham’s England striker Bobby Zamora is facing at least four months out of action after suffering a serious leg injury in the 2-1 win over Wolves at Craven Cottage.
Zamora damaged his right leg in a challenge with Karl Henry just before the half-hour mark and had to be stretchered from the field after receiving oxygen.
Cottagers boss Mark Hughes later confirmed:“If the injury is as we think it is, it’s likely to be four months.
“If the surgeon goes in tomorrow and finds other damage rather than just the break, which is four centimetres above his ankle, it will be even longer than that. The four months looks like a minimum.
“It’s a shame but I don’t really lay the blame on the player (Henry). It’s one of those.
“There’s always a danger if you get tackled from the side or from behind that players’ legs can get trapped.
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“I don’t think there was any intent to hurt Bobby. You don’t expect the circumstances of the injury to be the result of a challenge like that, but it can happen.”
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The body language of Liverpool striker Fernando Torres had been widely criticised in recent weeks as the Reds picked up just six points from their opening seven Premier League games of the new season.
The Spanish striker remains an isolated and frustrated figure as the focal point of Roy Hodgson’s side, one which is still gelling and adjusting to a new style of play under the former Fulham man. Following a dismal World Cup marred by niggling injuries, Torres has scored just once this season and has found chances limited given the distinct lack of service he is currently receiving.
The hitman’s attitude on the pitch has also been widely criticised, with former club captain Jamie Redknapp questioning the player’s hunger, desire and passion to play for Liverpool. On the flip side, Torres is still returning to full fitness following a series of injuries and will take time to hit top form. Despite his current lack of goals, the attacker has turned provider in recent weeks, setting up his side’s last four goals before limping off in the early stages of the Merseysider’s shock defeat to Blackpool last weekend.
Yet the media and opposition coaches continue to focus on the player’s perceived negative body language. They claim it’s a sign that the player no longer wants to remain at the club, something picked up by one Premier League assistant manager who wanted to remain anonymous. He told the Daily Mail:
“People talk about body language and as a coach it is something you look for.
“I have to say, with Torres it stands out a mile at the moment. It’s just not right.
“The question is, is it because he is unfit or because he feels he doesn’t want to be there?”
It seems unlikely that so early into the new season that the former Atletico captain is already regretting his decision to commit his immediate future to the club. If anything, you could say that the clinical striker, along with Steven Gerrard, cares too much about their side’s worrying form. Both players have let their frustrations and anger boil over on the pitch in recent weeks, something which clearly has started to affects the duo’s performances. They should instead focus on the challenge of dragging Liverpool up the league and not let their disappointment affect what they are striving to achieve on the pitch.
In a world of media scrutiny, constant spotlight and over-analysis on everything a player says and does, the best thing both Gerrard and Torres can do is to attempt to keep their emotions in check. Clearly body language is regularly picked up upon; while expert Tonya Reiman believes a player’s mannerisms and the gestures they use on the field of play can be an important factor in sporting success.
“This is extremely important in sports,” Reiman said, referring to body language.
“If you’re trying to work together, you need some kind of rapport. You show rapport through body language.”
Bad body language is continually interpreted as a sign that a player is unhappy with his current situation. Gerrard’s perplexed shake of the head after Torres was substituted against Birmingham last season was highlighted as an indication that former manager Rafael Benitez had lost the dressing room and was no longer trusted by his players. For Torres, it could also be a sign of his own unhappiness with his current form or concerns over his fitness.
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Players’ body language will continued to be analysed, and while it does give an insight to a player’s emotional state, it can often be misinterpreted or sensationalised. Torres will hope to end the debate surrounding his state of mind by getting back to best and start scoring the goals that are expected from one of the world’s finest players. We then may just see a slightly happier glow emanating from El Nino.
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In their quest for the status of super club, Manchester City look like they’ll be taking their next logical step, by adopting a feeder club. The idea of a feeder club is somewhat frowned upon by football authorities, although there has been, and will continue to be, loopholes around any legal stumbling blocks. Some sort of ‘joint venture’ or ‘sponsoring of City’s development squad’ has been muted; regardless of what it is called, we know the club will perform two main duties for City.
1. Offer young players within the squad the chance to go out and gain experience, before they have made it into City’s first team.
2. Act as a stopping point for young talent around the world. Players from South America and Africa in particular, who are ineligible for a work-permit, can play in Europe before moving to City when all the necessary criteria has been met. The feeder club in return, gets the best talent playing for them for the selected amount of time.
It is a system that has been tried by a few clubs in the Premier League, but has had limited success. Certainly Man United have had a long tradition with Royal Antwerp, and has sent players on loan there far more than they have used the club to harbour international talent. At Chelsea, Alex spent three successful years at PSV as part of the deal that took him from Santos to Europe. It was here that he got a taste for football on the continent, not to mention Champions League experience. He is now a first-choice pick in Chelsea’s backline, and on that evidence, the system can work. But Alex is a rarity when it comes to feeder clubs producing top talent for the big clubs to hand-pick when they ripen.
Despite a modest track record, Man City appear to be serious about the venture. They believe that after the exuberance of the last couple of transfer windows, they now have a squad that they can selectively add to, rather than overhaul. Their emphasis has already turned to the finding, and nurturing, of young talent, in particular from overseas. They already have a good youth system, producing a respectable amount of PL talent, and have invested heavily into their academy: it all seems to be part of the grand plan.
How much City actually need a feeder club I think is questionable. It is almost as if the club are going through a box-ticking exercise to make sure they’ve got all their possible bases for domination covered. With the investment Sheikh Mansour has poured into the club, he can fully expect for them to pursue all possible avenues that may lead to success. Despite the club’s growth, they still don’t have the gravitas for young players that Barcelona, (or dare I say United?) possess, and understandably want to find ways to compete with the big trophy hoarders of the last decade.
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Whether it works or not isn’t of massive concern to City. With the amount of players that have come into the club recently, this is a viable option to keep young, talented players happy to be with the club in some form. Let’s be honest, City can afford to try this system, and if they see genuine merit in proceeding with finding a suitable partner, then there is no reason not to progress. If they are serious about altering their transfer policy, and they believe this will help them do that, why wouldn’t they give it a go?
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It’s November 1st, which means that the January transfer window – that beacon of hope for many supporters – is now just two months away. Those clubs who didn’t quite manage to provide solutions to their on-field troubles in the summer, or didn’t even know they had problems to solve will be awaiting the chance to right those wrongs with baited breath. As the window draws ever closer the papers will fill with rumour and the internet will be awash with supposition and fabrication. The reason for this is obvious – we love a good transfer rumour – we all dream that a star player will join our club and entirely turn around its fortunes. We’ll read some of the rumours with a giddy hopeful air and huff and puff at others as we lament that player x just couldn’t cut it at club y.
Fans spend the period of time between August and January analysing their team – its strengths and its weaknesses. The natural evolution of this is that they step into a kind of faux-managerial role, where having assessed the squad’s strength in depth, they target certain areas for improvement and scour the globe (and youtube) for players that could improve the squad.
To take an example: Liverpool is a club not without its problems (although they have had two decent results on the trot). Mostly, however, they’ve had a torrid start to the season and have been lacking in a number of departments. As far as I can tell, Liverpool could do with better support for Torres upfront, a defensive midfielder and probably another defender. Of course, the clamour for new signings has already begun in earnest and rightfully so. A lot of players simply aren’t performing to a standard befitting Liverpool FC and must be moved on to make room for new signings that can improve the squad and help Liverpool challenge for trophies.
Now Liverpool are no strangers to making transfers. Some of them in recent years have been a success (Torres) and some of them haven’t been (Babel). Unfortunately, the players they’re left with this season haven’t really been doing the job. Is further transfer activity really what’s needed at the club, or is there a need for a change in ethos?
Having been acquired by the NESV, it looks as though a new Arsenalesque ethos is slowly going to bleed into the club. It would be foolish to not grant any importance to transfers. They’re needed to keep the proceedings fresh, to bring in new talent and to ship out unneeded players. But it is transfers in combination with a good ethos that will start to see a change in fortune for Liverpool and other clubs. Nobody wants to see their clubs spending wildly and bringing in players who either aren’t good enough or aren’t needed. I’m afraid to say that this may have happened in the past at Liverpool and it may have been exacerbated by the fans need for signings.
What’s important is not how many people are brought in, but who and how they brought in. Do they really want to play for this football club? Does the club need a player of this type? Despite Arsenal’s failings in recent years, I think a lot of football clubs have a lot to learn from Wenger’s dealings in the transfer market.
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Wigan Athletic boss Roberto Martinez says that winning football is all that matters in the short term, with his club in trouble near the foot of the Premier League table.
The Latics have won just twice in 12 league games so far this season and their Spanish manager is eager for points rather than plaudits in the next few weeks.
He told reporters:"One thing is clear – it is important to know how you play and your style because that is for the long-term ambitions of the club, but we are working for the short-term and the future.
"It doesn't matter how you play, everything is to win. Sometimes you need to sacrifice certain results in the short-term to achieve a certain level.
"But to say you would prefer to get relegated playing good football is wrong – I don't believe it is good football if you don't win games.
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"In football it is about winning and being competitive on the pitch and it is important to develop a way to play which allows you to win games."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Sir Alex Ferguson admits that Wayne Rooney is still a long way from his best even after the England international scored from the penalty spot in Manchester United's 1-0 victory against Rangers in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Rooney was starting his first game in two months after recovering from an ankle injury but slotted home his 87th-minute spot-kick to ensure United sealed their place in the last-16 of the competition.
However, Ferguson said after the match of Rooney:"He needs games. The way we are going to do that is to keep him on the pitch for 90 minutes.
"That will continue now as we try to get him to his level. He is rusty, that is obvious, but it is a start for him.
"Our away form in Europe has been very good over the years.
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"But for that injury-time winner Bayern scored against us we would have had an unbeaten record that stretched over three years."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Speaking recently to Manchester City’s official magazine, Carlos Tevez said that it was time for City to “get their act together” and find a patch of form good enough to see them challenging for the Premier League this season. He added that “It is a case of thinking about it properly and getting our mindset right in order to get those half-dozen wins in a row which will give us that belief that we can be champions.”
Just a minute, Tevez is telling his squadmates to get their mindset right? Despite a decent win over Bolton over the weekend it was his remarkable theatre of dissension that cast a negative light upon both the game itself and City’s title-tilt. In the last minute of normal time, Roberto Mancini had the sheer audacity to substitute Tevez for James Milner. Tevez responded accordingly by seeming to shove Mancini as he walked off the pitch and the two exchanged ‘heated’ words. Exactly what kind of mindset does that demonstrate Carlos?
This comes on the back of a rumoured dressing-room bust up that the Argentine engineered against Mancini earlier in the season. The truth of the matter is that on the pitch, Tevez has been City’s best player this season. But will it be his goals or the damage created by his attitude that will be Tevez’s most telling contribution to City this season?
Bolton captain Kevin Davies who would have witnessed the event first hand, had sensible words on the subject. He took to his Twitter account and argued that “If you have a problem it is best to sort out behind closed doors rather than make an issue in front of millions.” He added, “Seeing Tevez’s reaction to being subbed assures me there [are] problems within at City, great players individually but as a team?”
That’s the problem with City at the moment, they are a collection of quality players, but they are not a team. Tevez’s antics are yet another reminder of this fact. It is this lack of unity that means City are not genuine title contenders this season.
I’ve seen some City fans attempt to defend Tevez’s action. I understand his importance to the team and how vital he will be if City are to have any success this season, but his response to being substituted was petulant at best and disruptive at worse. To use words like ‘passionate’ and ‘committed’ to attempt to defend the Argentine miss the point.
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A captain simply should not speak to a manager in that manner. It’s time for City fans to start expecting their players to perform off the pitch, not just on it. No more excuses.
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