All posts by h79snht.top

Everton escalated Wolves’ relegation woes with three clinical first-half finishes that sealed a comfortable 3-0 win at the Molineux on Saturday.A treble of well-taken goals from Jermaine Beckford, Phil Neville and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov stunned a Wolves side that has conceded seven goals in their past two games and face an uphill battle to climb out of the bottom three with just six matches remaining.

The hosts began on the front foot with Adlene Guedioura – making his first appearance since breaking his leg in September – neatly turning and firing in a half-volley that Neville dived in to deflect wide and Leon Osman clearing Stephen Fletcher’s hopeful header.

Deprived of the attacking thrust of several first-team regulars, Everton survived an uneasy opening period to suddenly strike against the run of play.

Beckford edged past Richard Stearman to flick a 21st-minute header past Wayne Hennessey following excellent approach play from the Toffees, that allowed Osman to supply the right-wing cross.

Guedioura curled a teasing shot narrowly wide as Wolves looked to bounce back but Beckford should have added a second goal just past the half-hour mark, but he miscued his headed attempt from another right-wing Osman cross.

Everton then escaped a desperate goalmouth scramble as Wolves failed to find an equaliser, and David Moyes’ men responded with a brilliant breakaway goal of their own seconds later.

Hennessey had already pawed away a deflection off his left-back George Elokobi, but was powerless to stop Neville lashing home his first goal since 2008 with an angled shot from the edge of the area.

Worse was to follow for the hosts who contrived to set up Everton’s third as Bilyaletdinov seized upon a mix up by Wolves in midfield, to stride forward and rifle a lethal 30-yard drive in to the top corner to leave the hosts shell shocked at the break.

Wolves rallied briefly with Karl Henry and Guedioura both forcing excellent saves out of Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard but with any hint of vital survival points snuffed out by half time, the visitors coasted to a sixth match unbeaten in the league.

It is crazy to believe that this is even being debated, but such has been the dip in form of Manchester United’s left-back Patrice Evra that he has become somewhat of a liability in the United defence. Two years ago, in both the Premier League and the Champions League, Patrice Evra was thought of as Manchester United’s most consistent player. Clearly the player has not lost any ability, but there has been a change in his mentality. Is his mentality right to lead Manchester United into a Champions League semi final and two crucil games against Arsenal and Chelsea?

The Champions League semi final second leg against Chelsea was a game in which Manchester United were comfortable, even with the second half introduction of Didier Drogba. Patrice Evra found himself out of position on so many occasions, Drogba was able to roll of the full back very easily, something that led to Chelsea’s goal at Old Trafford. Last season in the Champions League quarter final first leg, Evra was found wanting against Bayern Munich. Against lesser opposition in a less important fixture you can sometimes excuse such sloppiness, however these are big games. Manchester United need their back four to be switched on in these high pressure games – is Evra letting the side down?

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It is an argument that seems a little flawed. Patrice Evra is still one of the best full backs going forward. He is constantly bombing up and down the line, looking to drive Manchester United forward, and that part of his game hasn’t changed too much over the years. However, unlike Ashley Cole, it seems as though Patrice Evra has lost a certain amount of confidence in the defensive third. Very rarely would you see Evra diving in at wingers, but nowadays it is the norm. A fair excuse for his dip in form would be what happened at the World Cup and his subsequent suspension from the France national team. His mind at the start of the season could have been all over the place, something Sir Alex Ferguson must have been wary of. However, he has got himself back into the France team and you would feel whatever happened at the World Cup is now behind him.

Manchester United do not have a player that could replace Evra, and there are few players in Europe that are considered better than him. I am not for one minute arguing that Manchester United should sell the full back, merely that a bit of competition may bring Evra back to the level he set himself. There is no doubt that he his standards have dropped this season and he must improve. Manchester United are not carrying Evra yet, but in a consistent back four he is looking ragged as we approach the end of the season. As it stands he is still at a level where he is a first choice player. However, if he continues to perform like he did against Chelsea and at the weekend against Manchester City, a player that is now 30 may not be considered as indispensable as he once was.

Read more of Tom’s articles at ThisIsFutbol.com

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Blackpool could be facing D-Day when they host bottom-placed Wigan Athletic in a relegation scrap at Bloomfield Road on Saturday.The Seasiders have so far led a charmed life in the English Premier League and managed to stay afloat despite all expectations to the contrary, but there is no longer any denying just how dire their season has become.

With six games to go, 17th-placed Blackpool are one point off the relegation zone and two points from Wigan.

Moreover, the Tangerines are in the worst form of any team in the top-flight, taking just one point from their past five matches and losing 12 of 15 in 2011.

Blackpool boss Ian Holloway has publicly stated that he believes 39 points – six more – will keep the minnow side in the Premier League.

If his troops are to keep their necks above the crowded relegation scrap, where four points separates the bottom six teams, they simply must defeat Wigan.

But injuries are biting at the wrong time for Blackpool. David Carney’s season is over after the Australia international relented to shoulder surgery, while midfielder David Vaughan is in doubt with a hip injury.

Vaughan missed Blackpool’s 3-1 loss to Arsenal on Sunday, a defeat that highlighted the main flaws in the Seasiders’ game – they are too slow at the back and haemorrhage goals; a league-worst 66 to be precise.

Wigan, Newcastle United, Stoke City and Bolton Wanderers all have to visit Bloomfield Road before the season is out, a factor alone that should be enough to secure Blackpool’s survival.

But they are the only club in the top-flight to take more points on their travels than at home, where they struggle and have yet to maintain a clean sheet.

All of that bodes well for Wigan, who can leap out of the drop zone and condemn Blackpool to its borders with victory, but the Latics have eked out just two goals in their past five games and could struggle to score.

That is where Wigan midfielder Tom Cleverley could be the spark manager Roberto Martinez needs.

The on-loan Manchester United starlet may not have the pace to expose Blackpool’s back four but works hard and has an eye for goal.

For Blackpool, striker DJ Campbell will be lurking hungrily near the goalmouth after failing to find the net against Arsenal – his first game back from a three-game suspension.

Following on from the ‘Most Hated XI’ is another team but this time made up of some of our favourite cult heroes.

The first question is ‘what is a cult hero?’ Well for starters, here’s what it isn’t- a truly great player that’s admired by everyone both inside and outside his club. Someone like Eric Cantona could never be a ‘cult hero’ because all United fans love him while fans from other clubs may at least have a grudging respect- I stress the word ‘may’ and obviously Crystal Palace fans are not among them.

No, a cult hero is the sort of player that not all fans love but the ones who do, adore with a passion. They’re the players that many of the opposition fans hate, or the strikers who’ve turned out for you team and scored one goal in twenty games which happens to be a winner against your arch-rivals. They’re sometimes the comical figures that we love to hate, the panto villain types that a core of us actually admire.

Then there’s that other type of cult hero, the genuine, decent talented player that for some reason never gets the respect of admiration of the mainstream media, so its left up to us fans to let the world know just how great they are. Cult heroes more often than not play the game we imagine the way we would for our club- what they lack in skill they make up for in effort, never giving up and always leaving the pitch having given 100%.

Most of these players may only play a handful of games for your club, others may be there for their for slightly longer, but they will always be admired for making supporting our team that little bit better. All of the players have played in the Premier League but some made their ‘cult hero’ status assured in Division One.

Click on Julian Dicks below to see the Premier League’s ‘Cult Hero XI’

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List compiled by Justin Mottershead

There is a lot of hype over the approaching summer transfer window in world football with clubs expected to spend and improve on their squads, especially in the English Premier League. But whilst the media constantly generate rumours on players going here, there and everywhere in multi million pound transfers, there isn’t so much focus on any potential bargains.

A number of players are out of contract come May/June 2011 and it appears most of them are waiting to see what offers come in before they put pen to paper with their current club or a new club altogether. In some cases, it’s the club that don’t see a future for the player and they’ll be hoping to impress other managers with the run-in of games to the end of the season.

But what are some of the best potentially free agents that could turn up at your club this summer? Last year we saw the likes of Tottenham Hotspur gain the experience of William Gallas for free and despite his Arsenal and Chelsea connections, he’s certainly proved a bargain.

So join me for the Top 10 out of contract players this summer, there’s certainly a variety in class. Of course there will be an honourable mentions list.

Click on Robert Green to see the top TEN Bosman deals to be had this summer

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List compiled by Matt Freebody

The NEW Premier League fixtures are out and both Tottenham and Arsenal will certainly be feeling they drew the short straw with their opening run of fixtures. It hasn’t been kind on the North London giants who will be facing all their main Champions League rivals in the opening weeks of the season.

In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that include Alex McLeish vows to win over the Aston Villa fans; Samuel Eto’o issues a come and get me plea, while Brooking believes England need ten Jack Wilshere’s to succeed.

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Full list of Premier League fixtures 2011-12 – Guardian

Villas-Boas challenges Hiddink for Chelsea job – Daily Telegraph

McLeish vows to win over Villa fans – Guardian

England need TEN Jack Wilsheres to win – Brooking – Mirror

Inter striker Eto’o issues ‘come and get me’ plea to Premier League – Daily Mail

Kid Varane’s Fergie fear – Sun

Marveaux set to complete Liverpool switch (PLUS video) – Mirror

Spurs defender Walker flattered to be dubbed the ‘new Roberto Carlos’ – Daily Mail

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United set to enter race for Modric – Guardian

Arsenal rebuffed in new move to sign Shakhtar Donetsk’s midfielder Costa – Daily Mail

£35m for Cesc… not a penny more – Sun

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Blackburn have sensationally accused Manchester United of approaching Phil Jones without permission, but ruled out further action.On Monday, Rovers agreed in principle to a reported 16.5-million-pound fee to part with Jones, who is away with the England under-21 squad in Denmark for the European Championships.

On his return, the 19-year-old is expected to sign a five-year deal at Old Trafford, where he will be groomed to form United’s future defensive partnership with 21-year-old Chris Smalling.

Talks between the two clubs appeared cordial on the surface, however Blackburn have since revealed their suspicion that United were ‘tapping up’ Jones months before they were granted permission.

Anuradha Desai, chairperson of Ewood Park owners Venky’s Group, said the club considered making a complaint to the English Premier League but were talked out of it by manager Steve Kean.

“We have reasons to believe that the player’s agent and maybe the player had been in touch (with United) for two-to-three months before permission was granted,” Desai told the Mail on Sunday.

“I was ready to take Manchester United on, ready to go to a tribunal if that’s what it led to. But we spoke at length to Steve Kean and we knew Phil wanted to go to United.”

“We concluded that the person who would be most damaged by a delay and legal action was Phil. That wasn’t fair on him.”

Despite their anger at United, Desai insisted the club hope for nothing but the best for Jones.

“We wish Phil well,” Desai said. “Phil is an outstanding young English player and I’m proud of the role Blackburn played in developing him.”

“We made him an enormous offer to stay with us and we wanted to keep him.”

Jones’ agent, John Colquhoun, stopped short of denying any impropriety on United’s behalf, saying: “I won’t be coming on the confidential process that was undertaken.”

“Everyone is telling me they’re happy with what went on so, unless I hear different and unless I’ve got questions to answer, I don’t feel I have to comment.”

For any Liverpool fan obsessed with statistics about players or the club, I fully recommend visiting Anfield Index who utilise Opta Index stats. Comparing some of the Premier League’s top left backs, one of the shocking things is that Gael Clichy comes out favourably in terms of his defensive stats but is surprisingly poor in the offensive third.

Myth 1) Gael Clichy Cannot Defend – Looking at the stats, it is apparent that Clichy gets an unfair press for his defensive frailties. On 50/50 challenges, he wins 58% of a total of 351 challenges while Everton ’s Leighton Baines is at 55% and Newcastle’s Jose Enrique is at 51%. In regards to total tackles, Clichy made 50 more than Enrique and 27 more than Baines with a favourable success percentage of 81% to Enrique’s 84% and Baines 74%. On aerial challenges too, Clichy attempted 111 compared to just 44 by Enrique and 43 by Baines and winning just over half at 51%, a better percentage than Enrique (32%) but less than Baines at 63%, although the number of aerial challenges attempted means Clichy won more in total.

Myth 2) Gael Clichy makes too many crucial mistakes – A very simple stat that shows that Clichy is equal to both Enrique and Baines. Clichy made one defensive error that led to a goal last season, according to Opta Stats, while Leighton Baines made 2 and Jose Enrique made 1.

Myth 3) Gael Clichy creates chances going forward – Bizarrely, considering how Clichy is perceived as an offensive full back, his chance creation stats don’t reflect too favourably compared to Baines’ and Enrique’s. Over the course of last season, Clichy only created 21 goal scoring opportunities while Baines managed to create a staggering 74 (although the figure is skewed by the fact he is a set piece taker), with Enrique creating a solid 30.

In regards to dribbling, Clichy made 21 successful dribbles compared to 26 by Baines, but they are both overshadowed by Enrique’s 65 over the course of last season.

In the attacking third, crossing is also an important factor and Clichy does pretty poorly in these stats too (although it must be said Arsenal don’t cross the ball that often). The French full back only made 15 accurate crosses out of 88 attempted, while Baines completed 100 out of 351 attempts, making him 10% more likely to deliver a killer ball. Enrique had 31 accurate crosses out of 132 attempted.

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Of course stats can’t tell us everything but if Liverpool are working under a Moneyball Strategy model, they may look at these stats, and think to themselves that both Clichy and Baines maybe worth looking at for opposite reasons; the Everton defender for an attacking minded option and Clichy for his defensive talent.

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Sunderland have returned to training ahead of the new English Premier League season with no fewer than nine new faces at the club.Having seen his squad beset with injuries over the last campaign, manager Steve Bruce has been busy in the transfer market and has added plenty of experience to squad.

Former Manchester United duo Wes Brown and John O’Shea have joined in defence, while midfield has been bolstered by the arrival of Birmingham City duo Sebastian Larsson and Craig Gardner.

Highly rated striker Connor Wickham, 18, joins from Ipswich Town for a fee that could rise to 12 million pounds, while goalkeeper Kieron Westwood (Coventry) and David Vaughan (Blackpool) arrive on free transfers.

“It’s nice to see that the club’s been able to attract players like O’Shea and Brown – big players who’ve been at a big club for a long time,” Larsson told the BBC.

“I think it’s a sign that the club’s trying to move in the right direction.”

Sweden international Larsson signed for the Black Cats after the expiry of his contract at Birmingham, who were relegated to the Championship in the same season they won the League Cup.

The right-sided midfielder said he was keenly anticipating playing alongside Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan, and wanted to play his part in helping Sunderland improve on their 10th place in 2010/11.

“I’m not saying that we’re going to be playing Champions League football next season but you’ve got to always keep trying to move in the right direction, step-by-step,” he said.

“Hopefully, that’s what the club’s doing right now.”

Sky Sports understands that Chelsea will make another offer for Tottenham star Luka Modric.

It will be the third time they have tried to sign the Croatian midfielder after having two previous bids of £22 million and £27 million rejected.

An offer of £30 million is now being prepared by the Stamford Bridge club and will be submitted early this week.

Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas is refusing to give up on landing the playmaker despite Tottenham insisting he isn’t for sale.

Modric is seen as a vital part of Villas-Boas’ plans as he continues to remodel the dressing room in West London.

Manager Harry Redknapp is keen to retain his services and has insisted that his star player is going nowhere.

“He told Sky Sports: We are not going to sell our best players, the likes of Modric and (Gareth) Bale. We’re looking to sell some fringe players but we have had no takers.”

The 25-year-ol is keen to leave White Hart Lane and believes he has been mistreated claiming agreement was in place to let him leave for a ‘big club’ after he signed a new contract last year.

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A transfer request was handed in during pre-season only to be rejected by chairman Daniel Levy who is adamant he will remain at the club.

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