The Manchester Derby is the pick of the FA Cup third round draw – United will be out for revenge after their 6-1 drubbing by City at Old Trafford, as well as their semi-final defeat last season. Other notable ties see Leeds United travel to the Emirates for the 2nd season running, while League Two high fliers Cheltenham Town have a tough game away at Tottenham.
The FA Cup 3rd Round Draw in full
Middlesbrough v Shrewsbury
Nottingham Forest v Leicester City
Manchester City v Manchester United
Dagenham & Redbridge/Walsall v Millwall
Crawley v Bristol City
Doncaster v Sutton Utd/Notts County
Bristol Rovers v Aston Villa
Tottenham v Cheltenham Town
Sheffield Wednesday v West Ham
Milton Keynes Dons v QPR
Hull City v Ipswich Town
Coventry v Southampton
Brighton v Wrexham
Fulham v Charlton Athletic
Birmingham v Wolves
Norwich v Burnley
Arsenal v Leeds United
Derby v Crystal Palace
Fleetwood/Yeovil v Blackpool
Swindon v Wigan
Barnsley v Swansea
Chelmsford/Macclesfield v Bolton
Newcastle v Blackburn
Everton v Tamworth
Sheffield United v Salisbury City/Grimsby
Liverpool v Southend/Oldham
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Gillingham v Stoke
Chelsea v Portsmouth
Watford v Bradford
Peterborough v Sunderland
West Brom v Cardiff
Reading v Stevenage
The ties will take place the weekend the 7 and 8th January
Tottenham will look to get their winning run back on track as they travel to Carrow Rd on Tuesday. It represents a stiff test for Harry Redknapp’s men who will be keen to get the three points to strengthen the club’s push for a top four finish.
At FFC this week there has been various Tottenham blogs that include what next for Luka Modric; not a transfer necessity for Harry, while January represents the defining moment for Spurs.
There is also a selection of the best blogs from around the web:
Manchester could get caught up in a two way battle and let London in
Fast becoming the most important role in football
Freidel, Hart, De Gea…who has had the greatest impact?
Time to give credit where it is due at Tottenham?
A long time coming for Scott Parker
Simply a marriage of convenience at Tottenham?
What next for Luka Modric?
Ledley King – the best of a generation?
Harry Redknapp claims transfer deal is dead
Are football writers too eager for blood?
Kenny and Harry’s transfer battle for Silkmen
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Best of WEB
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Observations – Dear Mr Levy
London’s top, top, team – Spurs Musings From JimmyG2
Those End Of The Year Awards In Full – Harry Hotspur
A Night Of Tension Not Glory – Tottenham On My Mind
Van der Vaart, the Tottenham romantic who loves to entertain – Guardian
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Click on Wayne Bridge’s current lady below to unveil our WAG XI of the season
Thierry Henry was involved in an angry exchange with a couple of Arsenal’s supporters, following the Gunners’ 3-2 defeat at the Liberty Stadium. The Frenchman called on his fellow teammates to acknowledge the travelling support at the end of the game and he took exception to the negative response from supporters who questioned the fight and commitment of some of the players. Henry called upon the fans to get behind the football club, rather than make the situation worse by turning against them.
While Henry was dealing with supporters, his manager revealed that he is tempted to start with Thierry in the coming games given the influence he has on the football pitch.
Elsewhere in the news this morning Jamie Carragher reveals his concern about Liverpool’s ability to make the top four; Florent Malouda is desperate for more action at Chelsea, while Roberto Martinez reveals he won’t be letting Hugo Rodallega leave the DW Stadium in January.
News
Florent Malouda keen for more action
Wigan won’t sell Rodallega
Jamie Carragher expresses his concerns
Parker talks up Tottenham’s chances
Blackburn board letter revealed
QPR admit Samba interest
Wenger reveals his frustration
Newcastle’s discipline spot on
Interest in Berbatov as Arsenal weigh up more for wonderkid
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Transfer Talk
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Liverpool ready to pounce on £10m Defoe as Spurs search for new buys – Daily Mail
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Kean: We’ll hold on to our Samba star – Sun
United and Liverpool warned off Palace star Zaha – Mirror
Inter lodge Tevez bid – Sky Sports
Redknapp suffers blow in striker search as Remy rejects Spurs switch – Daily Mail
Another weekend, and yet another deeply disappointing performance by Kenny Dalglish’s charges on the pitch, as they failed to take full advantage of those higher placed in the league table’s slip-ups. Many will point to a direct link between Luis Suarez’s absence from the starting line-up and the recent downturn in both performances and results, however, I think if you dig a little deeper, the club’s most important player is another absentee altogether.
Brazilian midfielder Lucas Leiva has emerged as a player of genuine world-class ability over the past year or so. Since Dalglish’s return to the helm, he has been integral to any success that the side has had.
After damaging his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the Carling Cup quarter final win over Chelsea, Lucas underwent surgery that will see him miss the rest of the season. Since that fateful day, while trying not to sound too dramatic, Liverpool’s form has been up and down more times than a yo-yo and the club have gravely missed one of its most consistent performers in recent times.
The club have had 11 fixtures across all competitions since the Chelsea game on 29th November – they have a record of won five, drawn three and lost three; with two of those victories coming in cup competitions. It’s hardly the sort of league form that will help the club ensure Champions League football for the coming season.
Not enough has been made of the fact that a significant portion of NESV’s transfer investment has been staked on the premise that the club deliver Champions League football next season. The huge sums of money spent on the likes of Downing, Carroll and Henderson were made early and decisively so that the squad’s performance on the pitch would help shore up any losses that the club may incur in the short-term.
The ‘Moneyball’ approach as it has so often been termed, in reference to Billy Beane’s Oakland A’s, has failed to live up to expectations so far, with many of those big name signings and summer acquisitions failing to perform.
In those 11 fixtures since Lucas’s absence, Liverpool have scored just 14 goals, with 5 of those coming in the victory over League One Oldham at Anfield, in a game in which the performance on the pitch was hugely distorted by the somewhat unfair scoreline at the final whistle on Paul Dickov’s side.
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The one thing that has hampered the side all season has been a lack of cutting edge in front of goal. It’s clear that the side lacks the requisite pace to truly trouble any side that’s organised or determined enough to stop it. The team also lacks a recognised goalscorer, simply settling for the ‘Suarez or bust’ tactic.
Categorising Lucas as the club’s most important player is not to undervalue the importance of Suarez, though. The side are all at sea without his invention and craft. Nevertheless, the lack of organisation shown by the Liverpool back line during the Bolton performance was a knock-on effect of the fact that the midfield in front of them simply aren’t doing their jobs as well as they were just a few short months ago.
Jay Spearing is a decent deputy to Lucas, but he cannot replace his calming influence in the midfield engine room. Nor can returning club legend Steven Gerrard for that matter. Gerrard has been asked to perform a deeper role than many would have assumed since his return to the side through injury; in short, helping to compensate for the absence of Lucas.
Gerrard’s strengths lie in his innate ability to make something happen further up the pitch. He’s wasted lying deeper against the so-called lesser-sides. It has become patently obvious over the last few seasons that Gerrard just doesn’t like tracking back anymore either, and a degree of laziness has certainly crept into his game.
Of course, this isn’t to do a disservice to his superb job in marshalling the midfield in the Carling Cup game against Man City that saw the side come away with an unlikely yet crucial 1-0 victory as they head into the second leg at Anfield. The context of this, though, is that little was expected of the team in that game, whereas against sides like Bolton, Liverpool are expected, on reputation alone, to make more of a go of it, Gerrard is clearly best utilised higher up the pitch. He is still a crucially important player at the club, there’s no doubt about that, but the side have shown a resilience in the past without his presence that they currently aren’t displaying in Lucas’s.
Suarez is missed hugely, but with just five goals to his name in the league so far this season, the existing problems of failing to put the ball in the back of the net consistently are not fresh ones. It would be ignorant to think that his presence in the side automatically turns games like Bolton into easy fixtures. These very same problems existed with and without Suarez and a lot of that comes down to a lack of planning on the manager’s behalf.
However, the recent lack of organisation is a new problem. The club’s saving grace this season has been the excellent partnership of Agger and Skrtel at the back and the promising midfield partnership of Lucas and Adam in midfield that was just beginning to show signs of bearing fruit. They are far from being dominant like Newcastle’s Tiote and Cabaye or Tottenham’s Parker and Modric, but they were, for the most part, complementing each other well.
The midfield had a stable platform. Both players knew their roles and the side had an ebb and flow to their style of play that was reminiscent of some of the great Liverpool sides of years gone by, even if the side wasn’t on a par when it comes to individual ability.
Liverpool obviously require more pace out wide and a much more clinical edge in front of goal, but these aren’t essential to the side achieving top four football this season, they are desired improvements. Whereas the club, inactive so far this transfer window, may have to seriously look at replacing Lucas in the short-term, for his influence in the middle of the park has been hugely missed.
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Joni Mitchell once wrote that: ‘you don’t know what you’ve got ‘till it’s gone’, it’s only in his continued absence through injury now that we are truly beginning to gauge the importance that Lucas has had on the club’s revival under Dalglish.
In Lady Antebellum’s 2008 record, the American country music group sing about “exactly where I’m supposed to be”, claiming it “is just south of the Mason Dixie line”. Crewe Alexandra can share such a fondness for a place as the Antebellum trio, except it is just sitting on a totally different train line that provides the railwaymen with where the comfort resides. The heart of the band was in West Virginia but for Crewe, the form truly lies at Gresty Road.
Having fallen to league leaders Southend at Roots Hall in what was a narrow defeat earned by the peerless figure of Bilel Mohsni, the feeling was one of resignation amongst elements of Crewe support that the chase for the play-offs, the club falling to five points off seventh position, was due to be put on the shelf for at least another year. Steve Davis’ transitional period still wheels slowly into effect ready for a proper onslaught on the higher reaches of the league in the forthcoming season.
Steve Davis complained about a debated free-kick, Steve Phillips was fined for losing his discipline in a fracas with David Artell, heads were lost as Moshni kept his in the process of reminding the Alex faithful of his gilt-edged ability that still racks clear on the mind after his two goal salvo back at Gresty Road in October. The journey back up the M1 would have been entertained with a feeling that 1-0 result would bring the white flag in terms of pretense that Crewe had maintained in eyeing the playoff positions. Southend occupied a match-winner, a difference and we were not quite there in terms of what it takes to compete with the big boys, next year maybe?
However any feeling of resignation would not have lasted long. Sunday and Monday passed desolately before Accrington’s Tuesday night visit to South Cheshire and Crewe duly revived the play-off optimism that seems to be based solely on the foundations of a home form that reads five wins out of seven since Davis took control in November. A fourth home win on the spin, 2-0 the score-line read and the fans left the stadium with the top-seven-chasing petrol tank fueled back up to the top with due momentum.
Any optimism can be truly justified however, for this was a different type of Crewe win. Accrington, under the infant guidance of new manager Paul Cook, were resolute and worked hard to contain Crewe’s atypical nimble, quick footed passing and it worked to the extent that the home side achieved the rhythm of a goat on a drum-set in a first-half that slipped away to a forgettable drab. As the match continued in the same vein, flowing helplessly towards a rare 0-0, up cropped teenage substitute Max Clayton to break the deadlock, summon the collective gasp of relief and open the doors to a hard-fought victory, grinded out through the art of sheer endeavour and persistence.
In archetypal League Two surroundings, the occasion was marred again by poor refereeing; Robert Madley missed a handball by Aristote Nsiala and decided to book Nick Powell for diving when the troublesome forward draw the leg of Kevin McIntyre when he was on the verge of going clean through on goal. The treatment of Powell continued into the second half where again he was prevented from moving in on goal, this time by Nsiala, who was booked for dragging him down when the seventeen year old decided to hand out some humiliating trickery in an act of defiance against such desperation to stop him that reached a ridiculous pinnacle in Nsiala’s arms enclosing themselves around a full-motion Powell like a Venus fly-trap.
Accrington’s organised unit, that failed to threaten anything of note on Steve Phillips’ goal in their own attacking quarter, were finally worn down as Clayton reacted with the agility of a Gazelle to turn home Ashley Westwood’s corner-kick ten minutes from time. Clayton had replaced Shaun Miller, who continues his own struggle for form with no goal since September tenth, repaying Steve Davis with another high-impact cameo. It was yet another reminder that the fellow seventeen year old prodigy is slowly beginning to realise his own talent in the shadow of Powell who maintains his progression at a ferocious rate of knots.
Powell had his own part to play in the second, still defying the logics that suggest he should be burnt out by such pressure that comes with playing a regular flow of a games, left his nemesis Nsiala for dead. In a frightening burst into the box, he crossed for Luke Murphy, once more a steady force in central-midfield alongside Ashley Westwood, to compose himself and slot neatly underneath Ian Dunbavin to round up the night at the office.
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Comfortable in the end was the most benign summary of the night, but it wasn’t pretty by any means as Crewe were made to stretch hard to churn out a win when a draw was looming on the horizon hand in hand with more supporters ready to cast the idea of a play-off place to the wind. Another example of the steel injected into this Crewe side by Steve Davis shone through like a beacon though to deliver a victory and ensure optimism maybe back on the menu, only in starter form until the pest of an away form is ironed out. For Crewe as well as Antebellum, the home is where the heart is and up next, it’s AFC Wimbledon and a chance to make it five wins out of five, where? You’ve guessed it, at home.
Owen Coyle said the next 24hrs was crucial as Fabrice Muamba fights for his life in a London hospital. The Bolton Wanderers midfielder collapsed on the pitch at White Hart Lane after a suspected heart attack and is currently deemed critically ill and in intensive care at the London Chest Hospital in Bethnal Green.
Elsewhere in the news today Wayne Rooney has urged his United teammates against complacency; Kolo Toure welcomes Carlos Tevez return, while John Terry insists that the work of Andre Villas-Boas won’t be forgotten at Stamford Bridge.
Headlines
Owen Coyle response and statement to the tragic plight of his midfielder Fabrice Muamba – BBC
Jose Mourinho’s complaint in 2007 over the delayed medical response to Petr Cech and Carlo Cudicini may have played a big part in the quick response that Fabrice Muamba received on the White Hart Lane pitch – Guardian
Wayne Rooney has urged his Manchester United teammates not to underestimate Wolves in today’s crucial title encounter at Molineux this afternoon – Guardian
Kolo Toure has welcomed the return of Carlos Tevez to the Man City line-up and hopes the Argentine is the man to spearhead their title chase in the last 10 games of the season – Guardian
John Terry insists that he is still in touch with Andre Villas-Boas and his work won’t be forgotten at Stamford Bridge – Daily Telegraph
Ashley Young revealed that the United ‘winning mentality’ has been well and truly drummed into him – Daily Mail
Kenny Dalglish has come out on the defensive, after questions were raised about Liverpool’s inconsistent season – Daily Mail
Arsenal are weighing up a shock move for Alessandro Del Piero, after the Juventus legend is set leave the Old Lady after 19yrs – Daily Mail
Manchester United are looking to pip Tottenham Hotspur to the signature of Brazilian striker Leandro Damiao – Metro
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Peter Crouch says that a day doesn’t go by when he doesn’t thank Steven Gerrard for giving him the greatest gift of his football career – Sun
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If you have a spare 5mins then watch the latest episode of the ‘Football Coffee Break’
Uefa might be on the brink of imposing their new Financial Fair Play ruling, but Anzi, backed by the billions of Suleyman Kerimov, have made it quite clear that they have no intention of playing along to Michel Platini’s tune.
An investment of 300million euros to get the team into the Champions League on a consistent basis and perhaps conquering Russian football while, at the same time, bringing in a galaxy of stars from around the world might be a nice idea for Anzhi and their owner—yes I’m aware it sounds condescending. However, unfortunately for them, it’s not the reality we live in, and there are a whole host of reasons why Anzhi are nowhere near to becoming the superpower they hope to be in the near future.
Roberto Carlos might have been at the end of his career when Anzhi came knocking, happy to see out his remaining days in Brazil, but the Hollywood name of the former Real Madrid full back was an impressive coup for the Russian club. Even though Carlos was close to running on empty at the time, it brought the attention from the rest of Europe that is always necessary for any club hoping to make great waves in sport.
Capturing Samuel Eto’o’s signature may have made most think twice and begin to believe that this club hidden away in one of the far corners of European football might actually mean business. Well, not really. Throwing a boatload of money towards one of the Europe’s top players was bound to stick at some point. If they weren’t going to get the Messis or Ronaldos, then why not go a step down, and then another level lower until someone actually bites. Samuel Eto’o still had much to offer one of the top leagues in Europe, but, in much the same way Christopher Samba has committed to his immediate future, I just don’t see what Eto’o is gaining in Russia other than that Peyton Manning-style contract.
The fact is—and not in that infamous Rafa Benitez way—Anzhi haven’t got a prayer of attracting the best players of this generation. We saw similar promises of intent from Manchester City on the day they signed Robinho and tried to gatecrash Manchester United’s impending signing of Dimitar Berbatrov; Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Lionel Messi would all be wearing City shirts in the coming year they said. Credit to them, they’ve gone and spent very impressively, picking up a number of top stars from La Liga who were available. But even the recent reports of Ronaldo to City is met with nothing but a roll of the eyes. Seriously, how many people genuinely think something like that is on the horizon? Maybe that fan who prematurely tattooed Wayne Rooney onto his back.
But unlike City, Anzhi aren’t able to back up their confident words with arguably the best league in the world, competing for one of football‘s most recognizable trophies, and with realistic views of competing regularly in the Champions League.
On top of that, the Russian league is incredibly strict with regards to foreign players and their desire to fast track their youth development, meaning at any time during a match there has to be five homegrown players on the pitch, including a player under-21. An interesting idea perhaps, and maybe even something other leagues should look into, but how do you accommodate all the foreign players you hope to bring in as well as those already at the club? Players like Messi won’t stand for any of this rotation nonsense, as we’ve seen at Barcelona, and you then face the problem of upsetting others who arrived at the club earlier. Although sitting on £100,000 a week wouldn’t cause much of a stir from those who are aware of their great inferiority to Messi and Ronaldo.
It would be fantastic if the forces in English football were to combine their might and launch a synchronised attack on Barcelona in order to land Lionel Messi and bring him to the Premier League. What would that do for this league and how much attention and increased revenue would it generate. Yes I know, an absolutely ridiculous idea. Well if England can’t do it—the post profitable league in the world—then how do Russia plan on completing the task?
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Like I said, it makes for nice reading and the promise of superstars is always bound to draw attention from fans and the media. But realistically, Anzhi are nowhere near to competing with the powers in European football at the moment.
It has been a pivotal week in the history of Barcelona, as Pep Guardiola announced yesterday that he will step down at the end of the season, bringing to an end a four year tenure which yielded as many as 13 major honours. Only a few weeks back, just a distinct minority could have envisaged the fall from grace Blaugranes have now suffered, scuppering their chances of securing the La Liga title and the Champions League crown in the process. Of course, what is one team’s loss is inevitably another’s gain but we will all have to wait until the 2014/15 season at the earliest to witness the Catalan’s casual swagger on another famed touchline in Europe.
Arsenal have continually been linked with Guardiola over the last year-and-a-half, with his linkages reaching a head whenever Arsenal have been going through a difficult patch, but with the Gunners resurgence of sorts, Wenger doubters have been silenced somewhat with the Frenchman’s revolutionised transfer tact going forward. With the signature of Lukas Podolski all but announced and transfer negotiations with Yann M’Vila on-going, many feel Wenger deserves one last chance to prove us all wrong. It is exactly that though; one last chance, and if the same old story materialises, this would coincide definitively with the conclusion of Guardiola’s yearlong sabbatical and a potential successive appointment.
It remains whether Guardiola would truly be a hit in the Premier League, despite widespread blind faith that he would be an exciting successor. The Spaniard is likely never to manage such a successful crop of players again in his career as he did at Camp Nou, but to turn the fortunes of an underachieving giant would certainly instil some versatility to his managerial CV. Although the likely suggestion, it seems the instinctive one as Arsenal and Guardiola do seem to complement each other well upon first glance.
The 41-year-old has willingly thrown youngsters such as Isaac Cuenca and Cristian Tello into big games in the first team ranks this term, and this has been the recent legacy of Wenger, if indeed the Gunners wish to maintain such a policy. The La Masia academy has generated technically gifted pros, and Barcelona have confidence in their ability to play out of situations, whether it be further up the field or more dangerously on the edge of their box; something as witnessed by Kieran Gibbs, Jack Wilshere and Abou Diaby. Guardiola has also been an advocate of the 4-3-3 formation in Spain and one that the Gunners employ similarly with wingers cutting inside and most attacks going more centrally though the opponent.
It was heavily documented in the week that Barcelona had no plan B to Chelsea’s resistance with mazy weaving runs continually being thwarted by the over-extending limbs of the Blues back line. This has too been a criticism of the Gunners current ranks with big brash sides such as Stoke City having ‘found out’ Arsenal’s game by simply not allowing Wenger’s side time on the ball to create havoc with their superior movement. Guardiola would be inheriting a well-known similar system, but it could be argued far fewer sides in the Premier League would do a Chelsea and park the bus, paying such a compliment to Arsenal with more upsets and underdogs toppling the favourites occurring in England than anywhere else on the continent. In this way, maintenance of the Gunners plan A by Guardiola would still function 75% of the time.
Aside from the obvious comparisons, the man himself seems a snug fit for the Arsenal hotseat. Guardiola has built a reputation as rarely threatened, level-headed and gracious in defeat with an essence of class overriding as his most employable asset. The Catalan’s suave style and polished exterior would certainly look at home amidst the plush surroundings of Arsenal’s state-of-the-art Emirates Stadium home.
Wenger has soured with age, and his once astute demeanour has been traded for laborious moaning and unsavoury ungentlemanly conduct with fellow managers (and UEFA!) whenever the going gets tough. In this way, Wenger-doubters have grown tired with the Frenchman’s child-like tantrums, as opposed to digging in and solving the issue head on. Wenger’s stubborn defence of his weaker players and countless perseverance with troubled talents has too left a lot to be desired with the loyal Emirates following. Whilst it is almost unimaginable to observe anybody else in charge of the Gunners after such a long and respectable time in charge, Guardiola’s forthcoming availability may just represent a chance Arsenal can’t afford to miss.
Of course, people will point to the ill-fated appointment of Andre Villas-Boas at Chelsea with Guardiola being just seven years his senior, but the longevity of the Catalan’s success in relation to the Portuguese serves as evidence that he didn’t just fluke his accomplishments. With the financial fair play regulations coming into place over the next three years, it will be that much more observable how much an impact a manager makes with the restriction of expensive imports being far less advantageous. Guardiola has undoubtedly had amazing talent at his disposal, but his efficiency and togetherness with them should not be overlooked. Only time will tell, and Wenger’s next term will really tell us a lot more about what direction the Gunners are heading in but Guardiola might just want to flex his muscle in England’s top flight in years to come.
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Would Guardiola be a good fit for Arsenal or do you still have faith in Wenger long-term? Follow me @ http://twitter.com/Taylor_Will1989
The agent of Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic has dismissed rumours that the Premier League champions will sell the defender to Juventus this summer.
The Serbian centre half has been injured for the majority of the season with cruciate ligament damage, after picking up the injury against Basel in the Champions League back in December.
With a raft of younger central defenders coming through the ranks at Old Trafford, rumours were rife that Vidic may well be shipped on once the transfer window reopens.
Juventus are thought to be long-term admirers of the eastern European defender, but Silvano Martina has rubbished a potential move to Turin for his client.
“Vidic is still out with a cruciate ligament injury,” he told Italian reporters, translated to English by Mirror Football.
“A future in Italy? You have to consider that he has a non-EU passport, and that would make it difficult for him to arrive in Serie A.
“I can assure you that I have never spoken with Juventus about Nemanja,” he concluded.
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The Premier League has played host to some of the greatest talents to have ever played the game. It is arguably the best league in the world and attracts fans from all across the globe. It is therefore unsurprising that huge numbers of players wish to ply their trade in England at the heights of the career. With the vast sums of money flowing through the top flight, it is not rare to see huge sums of money splashed out on some unknown quantities. Even the clubs down the bottom end of the table will occasionally shell out for a big-money signing, in relative terms, but of course these do not always work out for the best. It could be that a player is not cut out for the style of play or they feel the pressure of their price tag, they may find the step up too demanding or it could just be bad luck. Numerous players have blessed the Premier League with some of the finest moments in football history, but now we take look at a few who failed to make the grade.
Click on Robinho to unveil 15 Premier League Transfers That ‘Didn’t quite Go to plan’
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