Forget the players. Forget Alan Pardew. Even forget Mike Ashley’s debilitating lack of investment. The real reason behind Newcastle United’s slump in form was revealed over the weekend.
After Pardew’s comments blaming the local media for Newcastle’s latest troubles on the pitch, regional newspaper the Sunday Sun decided to issue an apology to their readership. Accepting full responsibility for the club’s horrendous recent run of results, the newspaper also held themselves accountable for “headbutting David Meyler too.”
The Toon Army on Twitter have reacted positively to the sarcastic headline.
Fans of the Magpies have grown tired of Pardew consistently blaming anything other than himself for the club’s troubles, with the Newcastle Evening Chronicle even producing a random excuse generator to aid the manager in future interviews and press conferences.
The “apology” came after the Toon Army publicly expressed their anger with Pardew at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday, with the latest defeat hardly strengthening the manager’s case.
However, Newcastle fans can now relax their campaign. The Sunday Sun have finally accepted responsibility for the club’s troubles this season.
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Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has stated that he hopes he now gets a run in the Spurs team, and can become the club’s first choice between the sticks.
The France international moved to White Hart Lane in the summer from Lyon, but has had to bide his time as Brad Friedel has continued to impress for the north London side.
Lloris got his first Premier League start against Aston Villa in a 2-0 win on Sunday, and is now keen to be trusted by Andre Villas-Boas.
“I was used to playing every three days in Lyon,” he is quoted as saying in The Telegraph.
“Necessarily, to progress, to be effective, it’s better to play every week with his team. I hope to play more and more to be at my best. When you sign at the last minute, it’s never easy. I still need a few games to find the rhythm.
“Over the past month, I’ve played only three games. It takes a little more concentration, especially working at training. I try to compensate but what matters is the game at the weekend.
“It was an important game for me, an introduction to the Premier League after three to four weeks of waiting and working. Whether with Brad, goalkeeping coaches or even with the manager, everything has gone well,” he concluded.
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Lloris is currently on international duty with Les Bleus.
According to ESPN, West Ham United striker Javier Hernandez was reportedly asked while on 2018 World Cup duty with Mexico whether he would prefer to play for a mid-table Spanish club in La Liga for $5m-a-year or the MLS for $10m-a-year, and Irons fans have been quick to react to his comments.
The 30-year-old endured a difficult debut campaign at the London Stadium where he struggled to get a regular spot in the starting XI under previous boss David Moyes, instead often finding himself as back-up to Marko Arnautovic in the centre-forward role even though it isn’t the Austrian’s natural position.
When asked whether he would prefer a return to Spain to play for a mid-table side on less money or to play in America for more while on duty with his country, he replied, as per ESPN: “$5 million in Spain.”
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”252976″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch 21 things that will definitely happen at the World Cup”]
West Ham supporters, who could be about to see co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan make their best decision since they arrived at the club, took to social media to give their thoughts on the quotes, and while one said “he clearly wants to leave”, another said “I’m starting to think that selling him could be a good idea”.
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To celebrate 25 years of the Premier League each week in Football Fancast we’re going to be looking back at a memorable game that took place on the corresponding date. This time out we revisit an infamous evening in south London.
So far in 2018 this feature has cast its mind back to two unforgettable Premier League classics at Anfield and a ding-dong affair at Carrow Road. Combined those three games lavished us with twenty goals. This time out we head to Selhurst Park for a 1-1 draw played out between Crystal Palace and Manchester United in 1995. Both scorers were centre-backs.
So what gives? On first glance the ordinariness of this contest jars and you wonder why it is that when the referee blew up in the ninety-gazillionth minute to conclude a clash that represented two precious points dropped for the visitors this low-scoring draw entered the pantheon of all-time greats.
Then your memory catches up. Oh, it was that game.
Four days earlier United had beaten Blackburn Rovers 1-0 to claw back a slim deficit at the top as Jack Walker’s expensively assembled side looked on course to parade a major trophy around Ewood Park for the first time in seventy years. That match had been all about Andy Cole, Ferguson’s guarantee of goals whose arrival for £7m ten days before had shocked British football to the core. Only Cole flattered to deceive on his debut – in fact the pressure was so great that he was virtually anonymous throughout. Instead the deciding, crucial goal came from the boot of Eric Cantona.
The following Wednesday evening Cole was again in the spotlight with all eyes on his performance but away from his initial toils a fascinating sub-drama was brewing that the more astute of observers switched over to. Palace defender Richard Shaw had been instructed to man-mark Cantona and was doing his job a little too well, bumping and shirt-pulling and generally being a rash on the Frenchman’s patience. Having been sent off on three occasions the previous season the stocky virtuoso was undoubtedly a man with a short fuse and by the time half-time came around it had been whittled down to a nub. “Yellow card!” he plaintively cried to the referee as they headed to the tunnel. Ferguson, typically, was more forthcoming, telling Alan Wilkie to ‘just do your f***ing job’.
Cantona endured another four minutes of smothering before he snapped. A long punt downfield by Peter Schemichel had Shaw on his heels and straight after on the deck as Cantona kicked out in sheer petulance. Alan Wilkie had no other option but to do his f***ing job and brandish a straight red.
The part-time poets’ reaction to this is pertinent. For a short while he stays rooted to the spot not in outrage but similarly with scant surprise. It’s as if he’s absorbing his actions and subsequent decision that may now cost his team the chance to get their nose in front in the title race. It’s as if somebody else lashed out in anger on his behalf and he’s just been told about it.
Instinctively he strays towards the dug-out but Ferguson doesn’t want to know, studiously staring away, and perhaps it’s this indication of disorientation that prompts a member of United’s backroom staff to begin shepherding Cantona towards the exit.
This right here is football’s version of Kennedy’s final wave on Dealey Plaza, those insignificant few seconds before history is made and forever seared onto our consciousness.
As Cantona is buffered along close-by the touchline a 20-year-old double glazing fitter named Matthew Simmons rushes past 11 rows of seating unknowingly casting himself in infamy. “Off you go Cantona, it’s an early shower for you,” is what he hilariously claimed later to be his words. Others more realistically attest there were mentions of the player’s nationality mingled up with a litany of f-bombs. A lady unfortunate enough to be stationed on the front row, standing mere yards from the controversy as it unfolded, later insisted that so great was the noise that Simmons’ words were drowned out by it.
Whatever the truth – and we can of course rule out the first option – Cantona’s alter-ego took over once again and he released himself of his chaperone. It could be said this was the first time all night that he’d slipped his man-marker.
The kick that knocked Simmons staggering backwards has gone down in legend as being karate in origin. If so it’s the inelegant fling a child takes on his first lesson. The punch that followed, well that was straight from any rough boozer on a Friday night.
“Millions of times people say these things, and then one day you don’t accept it,” the enigmatic striker offered up on a later date. Once that day came he was off for an early shower.
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What happened next?
Blackburn pipped United to the title by a single point while Palace were relegated despite finishing fourth from bottom due to a rejigging of the league structure.
As for the player, the seagulls that followed the trawler gleefully reported on an eight month ban and 120 hours of community service.
Many anticipated the Premier League clash between Aston Villa and Crystal Palace at Villa Park would be a relatively drab affair, and managers Paul Lambert and Tony Pulis did little to challenge expectations.
The visitors sat back to wait for opportunities on the break, whilst the Villians failed to capitalise on a wealth of possession – 80% after the first twenty minutes, and 65% at the final whistle.
The game struggled to inspire and was mainly lost to long-ball football, which proved incredibly unproductive for both sides with Palace’s Marouane Chamakh and Villa’s Christian Benteke both absent through injury.
The only significant chance of the first half went to Libor Kozak, who had an injury time header from a corner blocked by Adrian Mariappa.
After the break however both sides upped the ante, with Yanik Bolasie and Jason Puncheon causing headaches for the Villa defence. Brad Guzan managed to beat away a Puncheon toe-poke in the 48th minute.
A quick end-to-end flurry in the 54th minute saw a decent effort from Andreas Weimann held by Julian Speroni after an excellent ball from Fabian Delph, followed by the visitors countering down the other end and former Villain Barry Bannan hitting the woodwork.
The intensity grew as the final whistle drew closer. Bolasie and Puncheon both remained considerable threats, whilst Dwight Gayle came off the bench for Cameron Jerome. Jordan Bowrey then entered the fray for the Birmingham outfit, and forced Julian Speroni into an acrobatic save from a header in the 89th minute.
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It was the Palace sub who proved to be the deciding factor however, netting an unbelievable stoppage time curler that saw the visitors go back to South-East London with all three points. It puts Crystal Palace out of the relegation zone and Aston Villa just three points above it.
A vital win for Tony Pulis, but Paul Lambert will be concerned with the groans of discontent at Villa Park after the final whistle.
Arsenal are set to give Jack Wilshere his first game of football in 14 months this Monday in an under-21 game against West Brom, The Daily Mail state.
The England international midfielder suffered a torrid 2011-12 season, missing the entire campaign due to injury, but has made a return to training recently.
Wilshere has been pictured in first-team training with the rest of the Arsenal squad, but Arsene Wenger is determined to nurse the star back to action slowly after he suffered a relapse of the initial injury last term.
Wenger and the rest of the Gunners’ backroom staff have been monitoring Wilshere’s progress in training, and are set to make a decision on whether he should feature in the under-21 game in the near future.
Wilshere’s return to the Arsenal senior side would represent a massive boost for the Emirates Stadium side, and boost the club’s options in the centre of the park after the summer sale of Alex Song.
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Tottenham Hotspur defender Anton Walkes is on the verge of leaving the Premier League club for Portsmouth, according to Portsmouth News.
The 21-year-old ended the 2017-18 campaign on loan at League One outfit Portsmouth following a spell with Atlanta United in the MLS.
Walkes has made a first-team appearance for Tottenham, but that came in a EFL Cup match back in September 2016, and he has not featured since.
Walkes, who is capable of operating in both defence and midfield, was highly-rated during his time in the youth system at Tottenham.
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The Englishman has struggled to make the step into the first team, however, and it is being reported that he is closing on a permanent move to Portsmouth.
The Tottenham fans, who have also been commenting on the rumours surrounding Ivan Perisic, have been reacting to the report, and many are not surprised to learn that Walkes is nearing an exit.
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That said, one Spurs supporter claimed that Walkes is currently better than first-team defender Serge Aurier, and should be given the chance to stake a claim.
A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:
West Ham United have been linked with an array of midfielders in the last few weeks.
Bournemouth’s Harry Arter is one of them, but it seems that the pursuit is not going to plan for the Hammers.
According to The Sun, the East London outfit tabled an initial £5m bid, which has been rejected by the Cherries.
The coastal club reportedly feel that the midfielder is worth much more given his five-year spell at the club.
Arter has been struggling to keep a regular spot in the team lately, though, with his most recent appearance being in Bournemouth’s 2-2 draw with Brighton on New Year’s Day.
So far this season, the midfielder has had 15 outings in all competitions, and 11 of those have been Premier League starts.
West Ham have less than three weeks to recruit a new man to strengthen the middle of the park, but their rumoured pursuit of Arter has not got off on the best foot.
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After the news emerged on Twitter, fans had their say.
AC Milan and Inter Milan have both set their sights on former Arsenal midfielder Alex Song, according to talkSPORT.
The Cameroon international may be on the move in January, after struggling to establish himself at Barcelona since his move in the summer of 2012.
He had been strongly linked with a possible return to Arsenal, although Arsene Wenger does not appear interested after signing Mathieu Flamini on a free in the summer.
The Frenchman has excelled in the holding midfield position, meaning Wenger does not need to spend money to re-sign Song.
However, San Siro giants AC Milan and Inter Milan have both made enquiries about the 26-year-old’s availability, and could be set for a January battle for his services.
Song is under contract at the Nou Camp until 2017, and has made just 22 league starts since arriving at the Nou Camp almost 18 months ago.
A brief stint at centre half did not have the same impact as Javier Mascherano’s positional change, and the Catalan club are thought to be ready to listen to offers in January.
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Song made close to 150 league appearances for the Gunners, after joining as a youngster in 2005. His final season at the Emirates saw him produce arguably his best form, as he struck a devastating understanding with Robin van Persie, although both were to leave the club the following summer.
Newcastle boss Alan Pardew says he may have to enter the transfer market and try to land a defender on the last day of the transfer window after Ryan Taylor was injured in last night’s 1-0 win over Greek side Atromitos.
The victory was marred by Taylor’s serious-looking knee injury that occurred early in the game. Pardew admits if Taylor faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines, he may be forced into a late move to bring in defensive cover. The Newcastle boss remained realistic over the situtation, telling Sky Sports:
“I fear that the news isn’t going to be good on that injury, if I am honest, which is a shame because he is an important player for us. We will have to wait and see.
“The Ryan Taylor injury will make me think about whether we perhaps need another defender. I shall go to see the chairman and have a discussion with him.”
Last night’s victory means Newcastle have progressed into the Europa League group stage. The draw for the next phase of the competition will be taking place at 12:00 BST, and Newcastle are situated in pot three with potential clashes with Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Leverkusen on the table.
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