The relationship between Martin O’Neill and Randy Lerner could be considered one of the best in the league but James Milner’s proposed move to Eastlands has forced O’Neill to admit he is not the sole authority at Villa Park.
Due to the amount of money in football in this day and age, the relationship between chairman and manager is scrutinised on a regular basis. Player transfers are often the bone of contention, a wrestle between keeping key players and business instinct to sell them at the right price.
O’Neill admits “”It is really in the owner’s hand at the end of the day” (Daily Telegraph)
This surely begs the question as to whether Lerner should have a say on the sale of players at all.
This is a footballing matter and perhaps it would be wise to let O’Neil decide whether selling Milner would be a good move for the club.
Milner was key for Villa last season and his versatility would be a credit to most Premier League sides meaning the decision (whoever that will rest with) to sell him would be a big blow if Villa have their sights on reaching the Champions League next season.
Whilst it is clear O’Neill wants Milner to stay, perhaps the quality of the squad would benefit from the 30 million pounds that the young England midfielder is arguably not worth.
Manchester City are set to have a clear-out of some extremely good players in wake of their summer spending and the likes of Stephen Ireland, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Craig Bellamy have all been linked as part of the deal for Milner.
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By seemingly passing the buck to Lerner, O’Neill may soon be searching for a replacement for his winger after detailing that “Whatever they come up with, we will go with. I am not going to be running around dictating. If you own a football club, you can do what you want with it” during their pre-season exploits in Portugal.
It may be concluded that whilst O’Neill hangs desperately onto the bleak hope of keeping such an integral part of the set-up at Villa Park his opinion is overshadowed by Randy Lerner’s business acumen, selling a player for far more than he has yet proved to be worth.
The English FA’s appeal against Wayne Rooney’s international ban will be heard on December 9th by Uefa, as the home nation try to reduce the number of games the striker will miss for his country.
The Manchester United attacker was sent off for violent conduct in The Three Lions’ last Euro 2012 qualifier, a 2-2 draw with Montenegro in Podgorica, and was handed a three-match suspension by the European governing body.
The decision means that Rooney is now ineligible for the entire group stages of the tournament in Poland and Ukraine next year, but Uefa are willing to listen to the FA’s case for reducing the sanctions.
“The Uefa Appeals Body will deal with the case of England striker Wayne Rooney on Friday 9 December at Uefa’s headquarters in Nyon,” an official statement reads.
“This follows Uefa’s receipt on Friday 4 November of the official written appeal from the English Football Association against the three-match suspension given to Rooney by the Uefa Control and Disciplinary Body on 13 October.”
The outcome of the appeal may well have a swaying factor in Fabio Capello’s decision whether or not to include Rooney in his squad for the tournament, as playing the entire group stages without the striker would be a blow.
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News that Rio Ferdinand could be out for the season hasn’t been met with the level of disappointment by many United fans that you’d expect.
While the loss of arguably the world’s best centre back is a massive blow there’s a feeling among many Reds that it needn’t be a devastating one.
The reason for the underlying optimism is a certain Christopher Lloyd Smalling who exceeded everyone’s wildest expectations with a series of assured performances at the heart of United’s defence.
Watching Smalling playing for Fulham last season, I was a little sceptical as to why we’d signed him to be perfectly honest as in the few games I saw him in, he looked a little shaky to say the least. What I, in my infinite stupidity failed to do was watch him over any extended period of time, just simply the occasional game here and the odd highlight there before making a negative assumption.
Smalling has fitted into the defence when called upon with consummate ease, displaying the confidence and ability to move the ball forward you’d associate with Rio Ferdinand. Smalling’s pace and physical presence make him a daunting prospect for any forward to face and he’s shown he’s more than adept at tackling and winning aerial battles.
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Smalling has composure on the ball which belies his inexperience, yet unlike other defenders most notably Ferdinand, who have that same style, his play never seems perfunctory. That’s not to say that Smalling is at the same level as Ferdinand, it would be daft to suggest such a thing, but there can be little or no doubt that he’s certainly living up to the moniker of Ferdinand’s heir apparent.
Smalling’s rise to the summit of club football has been nothing short of awe-inspiring as a man who a mere two years ago was plying his trade in the Ryman league is now first choice for a team chasing the treble.
The concern I have is that while Smalling has gone from non-league to England class in barely two years, he’s still a relative novice in the top flight, who ideally was expected to be United’s third, fourth of even fifth choice centre back this season.
Don’t get me wrong as Chicharito has so ably shown top flight experience isn’t the be all and end all when you’ve got such an abundance of talent, but that shouldn’t detract from the fact a lot’s being asked of a player who’s barely reached 20 Premier League appearances.
Unlike a striker who can miss three chances but score one and still be a hero, if a defender makes just one error in a game, it can prove costly.
With the current United defensive injury problems reaching crisis levels, Ferguson has little choice but to turn to Smalling. With both John O’Shea and Rafael out for at least a few weeks, then surely Wes Brown will be required to fill the right back role.
Continue to the NEXT PAGE…
Jonny Evans is thought to have a strong chance of being fit for the Bolton game this weekend, but here is where one of the main problems lie when it comes to playing Smalling. In an ideal world Smalling would be used sparingly, perhaps even just as cover for Evans and Vidic who played together more than admirably during United’s 11 game clean sheet record breaking run in 2008/09.
Yet since then Evans has been on downward trajectory and other than a few minor glimpses of the defender once considered the most exciting at the club, some even rated him higher than Gerard Pique when they were both fringe players, he’s become something of a worry to say the least.
It’s now got to the point where if Evans and Smalling are both fit, then it surely has to be the former Fulham man who’s preferred such is the level of unreliability you’d associate with the Irishman.
Nemanja Vidic is expected to return after Saturday’s game and take his place in the defence for the following week’s trip to Upton Park.
With a fit Vidic, and no Rafael or O’Shea you’d expect Brown to occupy the right back and either Smalling or Evans be asked to partner the United skipper.
The thought of Jonny Evans being in defence at Upton Park again is almost not worth thinking about as watching him make Carlton Cole look like Eric Cantona in the freezing cold a few months ago was arguably the nadir of any away trip I’ve ever been on.
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It now seems inevitable that Smalling is going to be called upon for a series of games which could make or break United’s entire season. Yet is that really the best thing for both player and club?
Against both Liverpool and Marseille Smalling has shown signs that he’s not as infallible as everyone once thought. I’m not criticising him, merely pointing out an observation that I’m sure many other Reds have noticed.
In the game at Anfield, Smalling was one of United’s better defenders- or at least less bad ones- I know that’s the same thing, but if you think about it there’s a different meaning.
In the game against Arsenal Smalling was immense while the in the Champion’s league after a somewhat nervy start he gradually looked a little more composed.
The point is that Smalling is currently serving his apprenticeship at Old Trafford, he’s shone brightly and impressed everyone but are we asking too much of him to be a first choice centre back for possibly the rest of the season?
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Evans and Brown may have looked shaky at times, but unlike Smalling they’ve been involved in both title run-ins and big Champion’s league games a number of times. The general consensus among United fans is to stick with Smalling until Rio returns- or if that’s not forthcoming, until the end of the season.
Smalling has undoubtedly shown he is the real deal, and alongside Vidic his extra pace and composure is the perfect compliment.
However if he should show signs of the pressure getting to him then would giving Brown or even the much-maligned Evans another chance be such a bad idea?
Everyone was shocked when Ferguson chose Evans ahead of Smalling against Liverpool in the FA Cup, yet the defender proved his detractors wrong with a solid point.
As always I’m keen to hear your thoughts. Please comment below and let me know if I’ve gone off the deep end yet again or actually have a valid point?
Read more of Justin’s articles at the excellent Red Flag Flying High
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Check out Man United’s representative in the Top TEN solo goals of all time…
Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has pleaded with the club's faithful to get behind new signing Titus Bramble.
Bruce, who worked with the central defender at Wigan Athletic, has brought him to the Stadium of Light from the Latics, but he is concerned that the Black Cats supporters will be unhappy with the recent acquisition.
Bramble endured a mistake-riddled spell with north east rivals Newcastle United earlier in his career and, despite his connections with the Magpies, Bruce is confident he has what it takes to be a big hit on Wearside.
"Look, I thought long and hard about signing him, long and hard because I knew it might be a difficult one for Sunderland fans and for him," Bruce said to Sunderland Echo.
"But the great thing is that the lad's got plenty of bottle – he wanted to come here, he wanted to play for me and Sunderland, and I feel sure that Sunderland fans will recognise that and give him a fair crack of the whip.
"At the end of the day, Sunderland fans want the same as me and the same as Titus Bramble, which is success for this club."
"If Titus shows – as I think he will – that he can make us better, then I don't think supporters will have a problem accepting him.
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"The easiest thing would have been not to sign him and to avoid any hassle, but I think he's a player who can genuinely improve us.
"He had a difficult start to his top-flight career. I think the move to Newcastle was too soon for him, it was too big a club at too tender an age and he's had his work cut out to shift the image of himself he created there."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Chelsea manager Andre Villas Boas has been fined £12,000 after being deemed guilty of improper conduct.
The Portuguese coach was fuming with referee Chris Foy after his side’s 1-0 defeat to QPR at Loftus Road back in October, in which the home side were awarded a penalty and Jose Bosingwa and Didier Drogba were both sent off.
Villa Boas stated that the official’s performance in the game was “very, very poor” and queried Foy’s decision making process.
After investigation from the governing body, the Stamford Bridge trainer was found guilty of the charges.
“Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has today been fined £12,000 by the FA and warned as to his future conduct after being charged in respect of media comments which were found by an Independent Regulatory Commission to have constituted improper conduct,” an official FA statement reads.
“The comments were made after Chelsea’s away fixture at Queens Park Rangers on 23 October 2011. Villas-Boas had denied the charge and requested a non-personal hearing,” it concludes.
Villas Boas currently finds himself under pressure in the Blues’ hotseat, as his team have lost their last three league games and are currently 12 points behind leaders Manchester City.
Due to the sizeable gap and the weight of expectation at Stamford Bridge, calls have started for the manager’s head, something that he has been expecting.
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“When results like this happen, the head of the manager is called for execution. I’m not worried by the comments. I want to get my team back to winning ways, and we’ll try and do that against Leverkusen,” he told Sky Sports.
Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas will miss Saturday’s blockbuster FA Cup quarter-final with Manchester United after reinjuring his hamstring.Manager Arsene Wenger said the 23-year-old midfielder – whose careless backheel gifted Barcelona their first goal in Tuesday’s 3-1 Champions League loss at the Nou Camp – would miss around two weeks with the injury, which has plagued him for some time.”He is very disappointed because it is becoming a bit of a problem for him but it is very superficial,” Wenger said. Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny will also sit out the clash at Old Trafford after injuring his finger in the Barcelona game, and with Lukasz Fabianski still missing with a shoulder complaint Manuel Almunia looks set to start between the posts.Arsenal are already missing winger Theo Walcott and midfielder Alex Song, as they look to rebound from the disappointment of losing the Carling Cup final to Birmingham on February 27 and their Champions League exit at the hands of Barca.
Huddersfield Town boss Lee Clark has rubbished speculation linking him with the vacant managerial position at Premier League Fulham.
The 37-year-old spent more than five years as a player with the Cottagers, but says that he is fully focused on the job in hand at the Galpharm Stadium.
He told the club's official website:"I've spoken to the chairman this morning and he has had no contact from Fulham, our chief executive has had no contact from Fulham and I have had no contact from Fulham.
"Most of the time I don't comment on speculation, but there has been absolutely no contact from Fulham and I don't want people to become unsettled.
"It came as a genuine surprise to me when I saw the story on television this morning, but I take the same attitude towards it that I do when our players get linked with clubs from a higher division.
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"It's a good sign that these clubs are interested because it means that we are doing things right here. I'm completely focused on getting things ready for the new season with Huddersfield Town."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
The English FA have revealed that they will have to wait for an extra week at least to learn the written reasons for Wayne Rooney’s three match ban from Uefa.
The Manchester United striker was sent off against Montenegro in The Three Lions’ last Euro 2012 qualifier, and the European governing body handed down a three match ban to the attacker.
The punishment means that Rooney is ineligible for all three of England’s Euro 2012 group games, with the player’s inclusion in the squad for the tournament in Ukraine and Poland now in doubt.
Despite Uefa’s sanctions, the FA may appeal the decision but are waiting to hear the reasons behind the length of the ban. However this will not be disclosed by Uefa for at least another seven days.
“The FA has today been advised by Uefa that we may not be provided with the written reasons regarding Wayne Rooney’s three-match suspension for another week at a minimum,” an official statement reads.
“Once the reasons are received, the FA will determine on any appeal after discussions with Fabio Capello and Wayne Rooney.”
Fabio Capello faces a dilemma in whether or not to include Rooney in his squad, but any reduction in the striker’s ban would surely sway his decision.
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So a slight change with regards to my usual topics of discourse i.e. what happened in the game but a slightly more proactive offering this time, attempting to offer a solution to the quite often mundane football we’ve been subjected quite recently (though some would argue there has been a deeper malaise full stop in terms of attractive football. To those I’d point out our wins v Blackburn / Birmingham and whenever Michael Carrick had Anderson alongside him in an orthodox 4-4-2).
Anyway, the following areas I percieve as problems in the side whenever we adopt 4-3-3 and issues that were much evident against Marseille and other sides away from home, whereby despite the fact we generally look solid defensively. Up front we are more functional and generally devoid of any real ideas and furthermore lacked the ability or cohesion to create a sustained period of pressure.
1. Midfield Malaise (No Anderson…)
Hopefully Anderson’s initial diagnosis is not as bad as we all were made to think and he will slot into the side near the business end of the season, ready to play a pivotal ball-carrying role in the centre of the park. If however he suffers a further set back and generally struggles fitness wise to get sharp (all hypothetical) its clear that the midfield duo of Carrick & Fletcher lacks the required silk to dominate possessionand create chances against top opposition especially considering the form they’re in. So what are we to do? One suggestion would be to play Berbatov in a deeper role, almost as a third midfielder (this task can be interchangeable with Rooney or even Nani drifting off the flanks) and making sure these two always have a more technically gifted playmaker to lay the ball off to under pressure.
Where do Scholes and Giggs come into this? Well games away from home generally require young legs especially in the first half and I think it suits them best to come on in the second half whether it be in midfield or in a wide position as in the case of Giggs.
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2. Lack of Penetration
Its clear to most people that United’s 4-3-3 inevitably drifts into 4-6-0 whenever Berbatov plays up front alone. We simply don’t possess a genuine goal threat when he is up there as he doesn’t have the pace or movement to be a menace behind the backline and wreak havoc on the counter. Similarly when Rooney is made to play up front alone whilst in his current form, he is left isolated and he gets frustrated, his touch goes slightly awry, hold up play suffers and the team has sporadic moments of quality possession and we tend to win games with a moment of magic rather than dominate teams with our conception of a 4-3-3. The solution could be instead to go 4-2-3-1 and introduce the hitherto unused big match weapon Javier ‘Chico’ Hernandez; providing a constant focus point for the team up front, a genuine goal threat and someone who can take the goalscoring burden off messrs Rooney and Berbatov. Furthermore it could also give the breathing space that Fletcher and Carrick are crying out for under pressure, can you imagine Carrick under pressure spotting Hernandez off the shoulder off the last man and dinking it perfectly in the path of the goal-hungry Mexican, I can and his presence could solve two problems with one perfectly aimed little Pea.
Conclusion:
A few unmentioned issues I’ll briefly cover in the conclusion, Rafael in for O’Shea. I think we need the Brazillians presence especially with that midfield. If there is any way we can include talented ball carriers who can aid our industrious but not particularly creative/silky midfield we must take it and his presence is much appreciated and effective. A final issue is that of Ferdinand, it could possibly be Smalling ousts him from the first team set up.. unlikely but with this lads rate of development anything could happen.. in this situation though I’d stick to tried and tested and Ferdinand is top class.
Finally I just want to put across how much I want to see that swashbuckling spirit United used to possess regardless of the situation (home or away, UCL or FA Cup) whilst at the same time maintaining the new found defensive discipline we’ve developed over the years. Its a balance that has tipped too much in favour of result over performance recently and the aforementioned formation / line-up is one example of a proposed selection designed to win games but in an exciting manner – what’s yours?
Written By
Raees Mahmood (Follow me @ www.twitter.com/redrae7 or check out www.thebusbyway.com)
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Someone who could make the starting XI in the near future is Paul Pogba and he should be there for many years to come. Watch the video below to see why…
So… he doesn’t help us qualify, he retired 3 years ago, his side has their worst season in club football for 16 seasons and he declared that he wasn’t all that fussed about representing his country in his autobiography and yet now he has a chance to go to the World Cup. How on earth does that work? Are England really struggling that much for defenders? Many people argue that Carragher is versatile. And? So what? He’s not the only versatile English defender – what about Micah Richards? He was always available throughout the qualifiers and he can be considered to be versatile.
What about Matthew Upson? How must he be feeling? He helped the country get to the World Cup in the first place! While Jamie Carragher was sitting at home with his feet up, Matthew Upson was out there working hard to make sure that his country got to South Africa. Why? Because playing in a World Cup is the most important thing to some people and it is these people who should be contenders to be picked. Naturally there are going to be ‘guarantees’ to go to South Africa. Players like Rooney, Lampard and Ferdinand etc can consider themselves picked already but others, like Upson and Richards, have had to work as hard as they possibly can just to even be considered. Sadly for the pair – it was to no avail. The position went to somebody who didn’t even want it.
Don’t get me wrong. I respect and like Capello. But here it looks as though he’s just like every other England manager. If your name is big enough then you’re in the squad. If England require a holding midfielder and an attacking midfielder – sadly it won’t be a case of: ‘Sorry, it’s either Frank or Stevie for the attacking role.’ It’ll be ‘Well we’ll put Frank in there and then we can try and cram Stevie in somewhere else like Left-Midfield. We can’t not pick him – it’s Gerrard.’ Yes Fabio. You can ‘not pick him.’ In the exact same way that you can rely on English players from clubs outside of the ‘Big Four’. If Carragher played for West Ham – begging him to come out of retirement wouldn’t have even been an option.
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When we go out in the Quarter-Finals and everyone is walking around the country feeling very glum and confused as to how the mighty England didn’t manage to ‘bring it home’, I ask them to look Greece’s win in the Euros in 2004. What do you see? Do you see a strong team of players, or a team of strong players? And yes – there is a difference.