Everton duo Seamus Coleman and Victor Anichebe will both remain at the club until 2015 after signing new contracts on Thursday.The pair both penned new four-and-a-half-year deals that will keep them at Goodison Park for the foreseeable future.
The news will come as a relief for manager David Moyes, who will pleased that two of his most talented youngsters are staying with the club after South African Steven Pienaar left to join Tottenham earlier this week.
The form of Coleman, 22, has been nothing short of outstanding this season with the former Sligo Rovers product announcing himself to English football with five goals from 22 appearances.
Signed in 2009 for just 60,000 pounds, Coleman was immediately shipped out on loan to Blackpool, before returning to Merseyside and making a dramatic impact in his first full season with the club.
The signing of Anichebe – also 22 – will be met with joy, with the Nigerian striker’s deal due to expire at the end of the current Premier League season.
Anichebe has struggled for first-team football with constant injuries in the last two seasons but after veteran striker Yakubu departed on loan to Leicester City, there was no way Moyes was letting go of another of his forwards.
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Anichebe has made just six appearances this season, but can expect more first-team football if he is fit throughout the second half of the Premier League season.
Sir Alex Ferguson said that the business part of the season is well and truly underway and United are facing to a couple of crunch months to cement their push for a record breaking 19th title. Few would bet against Manchester United achieving it, especially on the type of form they showed at Old Trafford this afternoon.
At FFC we have seen a mixed bag of articles which includes Rafael needing to learn his lesson; Fergie should bust a gut for signature, while six boy wonders who represent the future for Manchester United.
We also look at the best Man United articles around the web this week.
VIDEO: Behind the Scenes at Manchester Utd
Where are they now? Manchester United’s 99 Treble winning side
Talent isn’t an issue for Man United star, but his temperament is
Manchester v London – where does the future of the Premier League lie?
United and Tottenham pairing leaves Capello with cause for concern
The NINE key factors behind every transfer fee
Great player, but not the right signing for Manchester United
Why aren’t Fergie and Wenger busting a gut to sign him?
FIVE things we learnt about Manchester United this week
Tottenham or Man United – who represents the best move for Frenchman?
Did Louis ever get the credit he deserved at Old Trafford?
SIX ‘boy wonders’ who represent the future for Manchester United
*Best of WEB*
The defence has it – United Rant
Morrison mystery set to un-ravel – Red Flag Flying High
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Sir Matt’s impact at Manchester United can still be felt – The Busby Way
Is Evra Leaving To Pat-rol Another Left Flank? – The United Religion
David Gill says Manchester United can compete with City in the transfer market – but we aren’t spending –Andersred Blog
It’s up to you, New York, says Cantona – United Rant
Inter Milan coach Leonardo has credited Adriano Galliani – chief of city rivals AC Milan – for inspiring him to become a football manager.
Leonardo, 41, has quickly endeared himself to the Inter faithful since replacing Rafa Benitez at the helm of the troubled club, leading Inter to four straight Serie A victories.
The Brazilian got his managerial start at arch-enemy AC Milan, serving as a technical director before being promoted to head coach when Carlo Ancelotti moved to Chelsea in May 2009.
And Leonardo, speaking ahead of Sunday’s clash at Udinese, admitted he owed a great deal to Inter’s bitter rivals.
“I’ve always had an excellent relationship with Galliani,” Leonardo told reporters.
“I respect him a lot, he gave me a lot. He gave me many opportunities and what he said is true – he was the one who convinced me to be a coach.”
“I am a coach now and I consider myself a privileged person for the past year and a half.”
The Inter boss also confirmed that both Maicon and Thiago Motta are ready to return from injury at Udinese, and praised his attacking trio of Samuel Eto’o, Diego Milito and Goran Pandev for their contribution to Inter’s superb January run.
“(Maicon and Motta) will be playing so they’re fine,” he said.
“We’ve waited up to now to see their conditions and they’re fine, they will be at our total disposal tomorrow.”
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“We will meet many good players. Udinese is a solid team, they have clear ideas of what they want, they are gaining good results so we definitely have to be careful.”
“Eto’o and Milito together are an extraordinary couple. Pandev is improving too and today I see him more as a striker rather than out of position, like he’s recently played.”
“Having three players who can score goal is important and today Samuel is in excellent shape.”
There is a duopoly in Spanish football and it is not helped by the distribution of the TV rights. As it stands Barcelona and Real Madrid organise their TV deals independently. The total income of all La Liga clubs through television rights is around £500m, but over 50% of it goes to the two giants Barca and Real.
It is only a matter of time before the bigger clubs in England push for a similar structure where teams can secure their own TV deals. But I would hate to see that happen.
The Premier League’s total TV revenue is currently £850m. Despite this, Manchester United were given £50m from TV revenue, a fraction of the £125m Real and Barca earned. This is because the Premier League sells collective rights and then divides the money up according to a team’s league finish. In England the team coming first earns about £50m and that in last about £30m, but in Spain the same teams would earn roughly £150m and £3m respectively.
When the FIFA fair play rules come into action, teams are going to need to generate extra income, as clubs will only be able to spend a percentage of what they earn through football in a year. Organising TV rights individually could be one such way to achieve this. There is definitely a strong case for the bigger English clubs to try and earn more money in the same way Barca and Madrid do.
Let me consider the argument…
One of the biggest problems with English football, from a financial perspective, is the effect of foreign billionaires who are bank-rolling teams. At the moment, the only reason Chelsea and City can afford to keep spending is because of their benefactors, while sides like United and Arsenal have brought in no new players at all. After the fair play rules, this will no longer be possible.
English teams are falling behind the two Spanish clubs, both on the pitch and in the transfer market because of the two different structures in place that manage TV revenue.
As Arsenal take on Barcelona this week, we could witness the gap between the standard of our two best ‘footballing’ sides. But Arsenal have spent next to nothing in the last two seasons, buying Vermaelen and Koscielny for £18m and picking up Chamakh on a free. Barcelona, on the other hand, have bought Mascherano (£20m), Villa (£35m), Ibrahimovic (£60m plus Eto’o) and Dmytro Chygrynskiy (£21m) to the Nou Camp.
You can see that money plays a huge part in forming any modern football side. Even Barcelona.
Individual TV deals would allow bigger English clubs, like Chelsea, to compete with the highest transfer fees and wages in Europe without relying on their sugar daddy, and for others like Manchester United to start spending an amount that reflects their worldwide support. With this in mind, you can see why the top clubs may want to copy Real’s and Barca’s policy of independently organising their television rights.
I can see the objectives of the FIFA fair play rules and in the most part agree with them. But, to eradicate super-rich teams as a result of foreign investors, just to make way for sides to become super-rich at the expense of the other teams in their league is hypocrisy.
Why should Spanish teams be allowed to organise their own broadcasting deals? Rather than seeing the Premier League copy La Liga, in order for our teams to compete with their domination, I would prefer to see them copy us. The fair play rules should include a requirement for each league to have a structured TV deal that does not allow teams to individually organise their TV contracts, and rewards teams fairly depending on their final position.
One of the reasons the total Premier League income from TV rights is more than that of la Liga is because the league is much more competitive and passionate. We don’t watch a two horse race every year; in La Liga they do.
Furthermore the Premier League as a whole is more supported because each club has a greater chance of doing well. I’m not saying we are glory hunters, but the prospect of winning something is what it is all about. In Spain the smaller clubs have no hope in hell, and don’t even get rewarded financially for their troubles.
The problem in Spain is that it is an upward spiral for the big 2. The better Barcelona get, the more they can earn, and then bring in better players. It’s a joke. Last year, David Villa played for Valencia, who finished 3rd (albeit 25 points behind 2nd), but in the summer he was bought by Barcelona. The gap is remarkable and only made worse by the inequality of revenue from TV.
If the Premier League allowed the bigger clubs to negotiate their own deals it would not be long before our competitiveness is lost, and with it the essence of British football. I want to see our clubs competing with the best in Europe, but this cannot be achieved while they are allowed to accrue vast sums of money at the expense of all the other clubs.
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If you want to hear more about my passion for the Premier League and my increasing dislike for Barcelona and La Liga, you can follow me on Twitter @joeaustin8
In a recent article discussing the managerial changes this season, I left on a point about the lack of long serving managers in English football. Today the likes of Manchester United’s Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger are looking like a dying breed in what is becoming a sport concerned and effective by instant success rather than long-term stability (and success). Every time a manger is sacked, the question is often raised about how much time a manager should be allowed at a club with comparisons made to the successes of Wenger and Ferguson. So will we ever see the likes of Steve Bruce or Roberto Mancini for example staying with their current clubs for the next decade?
It is highly doubtful with the demand for instant success in today’s football mixed with the ambitions and questionable loyalties of managers themselves. In the case of Roberto Mancini and the money pumped into Manchester City there is an instant demand for Champions League qualification this season and a trophy or two. Compared to Steve Bruce at Sunderland, the demand for success isn’t as high but the club still want to progress into an established Premier League side that finish in the top 10 and so on. So are long serving managers only for football clubs who have a slower long term plan in place for the future?
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It’s not just the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea that demand instant success; the teams that are promoted from the Championship have the pressure of staying in the top flight in the first season. Some clubs panic and sack their manager at the first sight of trouble, despite the promotion that was achieved under his reign. Ferguson’s reign at Manchester United is the longest, this November will mark his 25th year in charge but his start at United was not instant. After 3 years, despite some improvements since his arrival there were fans and media alike calling for him to be sacked but the United board of directors backed Fergie and the rest is history.
Apart from Accrington Stanley’s John Coleman (11 years as manager), Everton’s David Moyes is one of the longest serving at a top flight club. Moyes, who was appointed in March 2002 will be approaching his 9th year at the club but with their recent performance at Bolton at the weekend, there is speculation about his future. Despite not winning any trophies during his time on Merseyside, Moyes is one of the highest rated managers in the Premier League with his astute signings and regularly finishing within the top 8 of the league (bar the odd season), it is a credible achievement compared to the money other clubs around them have spent. As I mentioned, John Coleman’s reign at Accrington Stanley is as impressive despite being in the lower leagues – just like Crewe’s Dario Gradi who, despite a year out as full time manager has been with the club since 1983, which has seen the club go through promotions and relegations. Aside from those mentioned, other managers have a long way to go before serving a decade in charge at a club with the likes of John Still at Dagenham & Redbridge and Dave Jones of Cardiff City currently at 6 and 5 year reigns respectively, both have a long way to go.
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In conclusion, a long serving manager provides the club with a great sense of identity, focus and style but with the instant demand for success in football the board of directors or the fans can lose faith in the long term plan. In certain cases, like that of Roy Hodgson, some managers and clubs just don’t work and a change is needed but if teams like West Bromwich Albion are going to become an established Premier League side, perhaps more faith in the manager is needed for a more long term success.
Dirk Kuyt’s hat-trick handed Liverpool a memorable 3-1 victory over Manchester United at Anfield to the leave the visitors’ title dreams hanging in the balance.The remarkable result, just days after the Premier League leaders were beaten 2-1 at Chelsea, leaves Sir Alex Ferguson’s side only three points ahead of second-placed Arsenal and with a game more played.To make matters worse, Manchester United lost key winger Nani to injury and were ripped apart by a Liverpool side inspired by Dutchman Kuyt and Uruguay striker Luis Suarez, only scoring themselves through Javier Hernandez in the very last minute.Suarez helped set up the first two goals for his team-mate after 34 and 39 minutes before Kuyt bundled home a third in the 65th minute after Steven Gerrard’s free-kick had been saved.It was a classic match full of feisty passion as well as exciting football and moves Liverpool back into sixth place on the table.In a rip-roaring start to the game, Liverpool created two chances in the first five minutes, first for Suarez who could not quite connect with a Meireles cross and then for Maxi Rodriguez, who should have done better after a flowing move. And that set the tone for a pulsating afternoon at Anfield.United had their moments, not least when Dimitar Berbatov’s clever shot from 20 yards beat Pepe Reina but struck the far post. But in most areas of play Liverpool had more energy and more invention.Kuyt provided the first part of that equation with his non-stop running but Suarez was responsible for the second part, producing moments of exquisite skill.He set up the opening goal with a twisting and mesmeric run deep inside the United area, eventually poking a shot past the prone Edwin van der Sar that Kuyt finished off right on the line.United were stunned and Liverpool caught them again within five minutes, this time Suarez’s cross being bizarrely headed back into his own box by Nani – where Kuyt was lurking to head home from close range.An already passionate match then caught fire as tempers boiled over before the break, leaving referee Phil Dowd shaking his head in disbelief.First Jamie Carragher’s vicious tackle on Nani, crashing down on the winger’s shin, saw him booked before the Portuguese jumped temporarily to his feet to remonstrate.Nani then fell to the floor as Gerrard pushed him away, leading to a furious melee as players rushed from all over the field to get involved.Eventually Nani was carried off on a stretcher, to be replaced by Javier Hernandez, but the bad feeling continued when Fabio flung himself into a challenge that infuriated Martin Skrtel – leading to another skirmish and a booking for each player.Fortunately for a beleaguered Dowd, the half-time whistle eased the tension but there was still plenty of action to come.Meireles cleared off the line from Berbatov and then almost scored at the other end before Kuyt completed his hat-trick when van der Sar spilled Gerrard’s free-kick straight to him.The arrival of 35-million-pound striker Andy Carroll after 74 minutes to make his Liverpool debut cheered the home crowd even further and although substitute Javier Hernandez headed a last-minute reply it was a convincing victory for the hosts.
Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has warned his team mates that Friday’s Euro 2012 Group C qualifier against Slovenia will not be easy.Slovenia sit second in the group after four matches, three points behind leaders Italy.
They qualified for the 2010 World Cup and only a narrow 1-0 defeat to England in their final group game, coupled with a last-gasp win for the USA against Algeria, prevented them going through to the knock-out stages.
And Buffon said Italy do not consider themselves favourites heading into the match.
“Neither team can be deemed as the favourite,” Buffon said. “This is particularly true when playing against emerging nations such as Slovenia, who have some players with great individual skills coming through.”
“We should try to play intelligently and do everything we can to win and qualify for Euro 2012 as soon as possible.”
Manchester City’s Mario Balotelli and Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi were both left out of coach Cesare Prandelli’s squad for the match and Tuesday’s friendly against Ukraine in Kiev for disciplinary reasons, having been sent off recently for their clubs for violent conduct.
Much has changed in the Italian national team set-up since a disastrous 2010 World Cup campaign saw them knocked out in the first round after failing to win a match.
Italy have lost just one match since the World Cup – a 1-0 friendly defeat to the Ivory Coast – and Buffon said most of the credit for the revival should go to Prandelli.
“Well, the best signing has been the coach Cesare Prandelli,” Buffon said. “He is suitable for the kind of team we are which is a young team with strong ambitions.”
“Mario Balotelli won’t be playing. Antonio Cassano, Giuseppe Rossi have very good skills. In all roles there are skilled players, such as De Rossi, Pirlo – as soon as he’s available – Thiago Motta, Montolivo, (Giorgio) Chiellini, (Leonardo) Bonucci.”
“There are many players able to make this team a very good and important team, if there are the right conditions.”
Suspended Manchester City defender Kolo Toure believes his side have what it takes to be Premier League contenders in the future.Toure, who is currently suspended after testing positive for a banned substance, also thinks the club are yet to see the best of troubled striker Mario Balotelli, and predicts big things for the Italian.
“I’m feeling really happy at City now, we have some new players and a new vision of football,” the Ivorian said.
“We want to win things and at the moment we’re doing well and we hope to finish in the top four and see if we can qualify for the Champions League.”
“We are improving every season, last season we finished fifth and if this season we can finish in the top four that will be great and it will show we’re progressing and I think that is the most important.”
“To win the Premier League is very difficult because there are some top teams but when you have good players (and) you all want to win, that can happen definitely.”
Toure believes the senior players at Eastlands have a responsibility to the help the younger players, such as Balotelli, adjust to life in the Premier League.
“We have some young players some more experienced players and I think the experienced players just try to help the young players,” he said.
“I think Balotelli is a young player and he needs to adapt to the Premier League and the English culture and to the English spirit. I think from next season you will see better coming from him.”
Twente defeated PSV Eindhoven 2-0 to take the lead in the Eredivisie, while bottom side Willem II lost 5-4 at home to Roda.Theo Janssen opened the scoring from the penalty spot for hosts Twente in the 64th minute at De Grolsch Veste.
And the midfielder claimed a brace and wrapped up the win with his second goal six minutes from time.
The victory sees Twente replace PSV at the top of the table.
The defending champions are now two points clear with five matches left until the playoffs.
Elsewhere, Willem II led Roda 1-0 at half-time through a penalty from Andreas Lasnik.
Norwegian Pa-Modou Kah equalised for the visitors before Bart Biemans restored the hosts’ advantage.
Goals from Morten Skoubo, Ruud Vormer and Davy De Fauw then gave Roda a 4-2 lead.
Lasnik made it 4-3 with his second, before Vormer netted to restore Roda’s two goal cushion, and give the visitors a 5-3 lead with seven minutes to go.
There was still time for Willem II to go down to 10 men with the sending off of Arjan Swinkels.
Maceo Rigters struck the ninth goal of the game three minutes into injury time to make it 5-4, but Roda hung on for a topsy-turvy victory.
NAC Breda won 3-1 away to De Graafschap, who finished with nine men after Rogier Meijer and Leon Broekhof both saw red in the last 10 minutes.
Heerenveen led 2-0 by half-time in their match at home to Excelsior, but Geert Arend Roorda equalised with a five-minute double, before Nayib Lagouireh snatched all three points for the visitors with a goal two minutes into added time.
In the late kick-off, Charlison Benshop’s 44th minute effort helped AZ Alkmaar beat Feyenoord 1-0 away from home.
As we approach the end of the Premier League season, many footballers, especially those at clubs who have little to play for, will now be looking forward to their summer holidays and be deciding on the destination for their extended break. Most players can’t get away fast enough and as a result the final few games of the season are often played by footballers whose brain is already on the plane, so to speak. Anyway, this got me thinking, what would be the ideal holiday destination for some of the Premier League’s top players?
What better player to start with than Ashley Cole? The Chelsea left back was of course in trouble earlier on in the season for shooting an intern at training. So the left sided defender in the PFA Premier League 2010/11 Team of the Year could do with a bit of practice on the trigger. That means there’s only one place for him to go – America! There he would be allowed to own a gun and could get his eye in, so that when he’s back in England there aren’t any more ‘accidents’. Cheryl might well be judging on the US version of X Factor, so Ashley might bump into his ex-WAG in the States too!
While America might be perfect for Cole, his England teammate Wayne Rooney would do well to steer clear of Dubai. While Wayne and Coleen took a trip to Dubai year, given Rooney’s recent misdemeanours it might be better to cross the popular resort off their list of possible destinations. The Manchester United has of course recently been banned for swearing directly at the camera against West Ham, and given that the United Arab Emirates has strict rules that outlaw swearing in public, a four letter tirade by Wazza in the UAE could result in a six month jail sentence. Fergie wouldn’t be very happy about that.
Arsenal fans will be hoping that Cesc Fabregas doesn’t head to Barcelona in the summer. The Arsenal captain has been linked with a move to his hometown club for years and while rumours may have died down recently, they are sure to appear in the papers again in the close season. If the Spaniard were to take a trip to Barcelona there would be fears from the Emirates Stadium faithful that he might never come back, and that Carles Puyol, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and co would persuade him to stay at the Nou Camp for good.
If any Premier League players are struggling to choose a holiday destination there’s no need for them to worry as help is at hand. There’s a really rather clever holiday matchmaker application on Facebook brought to you by Halifax Travel Money, which does all the hard work for you. Simply go to the Halifax Holiday Matchmaker app and it analyses content from your Facebook profile to give you your perfect getaway destination, which is my case was Las Vegas, so it’s pretty good if you ask me!
As well as choosing a destination for you, all the information you need about the city is provided for you. Everything from the ideal hotel to stay in to where the best places to eat and drink are listed, in addition to how much a tenner will get you thanks to Halifax Travel Money. You’re even told how much a stamp, taxi and other necessities are, although Ashley and Wayne will have to find out how much bullets and a swear filter are respectively themselves! So whether you’re a Premier League footballer or just a regular fan, check out the Halifax Holiday Matchmaker app on Facebook to get a tailor made destination for your summer holiday.
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