All posts by h79snht.top

Arsenal could be looking for a new midfielder this summer with Barcelona desperately wanting to sign Cesc Fabregas. Just who Arsenal will look to fill the Spaniard’s shoes is a mystery and one rumour doing the rounds is Fiorentina and Italy midfielder Riccardo Montolivo, but is he really good enough to step up to the plate?

Montolivo has started the last two games for Italy in South Africa, in place of the injured Andrea Pirlo. However whilst he has shown flashes of brilliance on the whole he has been quite disappointing as Italy have lacked a spark which Pirlo usually provides. Indeed the 25-year-old midfielder is of a similar mould to Pirlo and therefore not a like-for-like replacement for Cesc. That’s not necessarily a bad thing for the Gunners, but due to his style he would probably need a defensive midfielder alongside him to clean up his mistakes. Gennaro Gattuso has done that for Pirlo at AC Milan and Daniele De Rossi currently assists Montolivo in Italy’s engine room.

The playmaker was named as captain of Fiorentina this year and he showed great maturity in leading his club when given the responsibility, however despite his best efforts he could stop the Viola from finishing a disappointing 11th place in Serie A. His form was clearly good enough to get into the Italy squad where there was a lot of competition for places, his technical ability and superb passing skills were seen as vital to the squad by manager Marcello Lippi. However he does possess weaknesses to his game and is over reliant on his midfield partner to cover for him. Defensively his tackling ability isn’t great either which is one of the reasons why he needs someone else there. He has also been known to bottle a challenge or two.

In truth compared to Fabregas, whilst Montolivo is a good player he is miles away from being a successor to him because he just isn’t in the same class. Fabregas is a complete midfielder and could pretty do anything required of him; Montolivo is not able to do that. His passing whilst it is good isn’t at the same level as the Spaniard’s.

There is something missing from his game that is the difference between a good player and a world beater and Montolivo won’t ever develop that. By all means he could be a good signing for Arsenal but he won’t fill the void of Fabregas by any stretch.

Arsene Wenger would be beater off investing his money elsewhere on a player who is more of an all-rounder rather than splash out on somebody who excels at a few things but is lacking in other areas. Fabregas will be very difficult to replace at Arsenal but not impossible, however Riccardo Montolivo is definitely not the answer.

Follow me on Twitter

Get the latest Arsenal news on Twitter

**

Click image below to see a gallery of the German babes at the World Cup:

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta claims transfer target Cesc Fabregas will play one more season with Arsenal before heading back to Spain.

Fabregas has been involved in a protracted tug-of-war between the two clubs during the off-season, with the Gunners refusing to sanction the sale of their captain back to his former club.

The Spain midfielder reportedly told manger Arsene Wenger of his desire to return to the Camp Nou after seven seasons in north London but an initial bid in the region of £25million was still turned down.

Fabregas refused to discuss his club future during the World Cup and has remained tight-lipped following Spain's success in South Africa.

However, Iniesta claims the midfielder will stay at the Emirates Stadium for one more season before finally returning to Barcelona next summer.

"Cesc wants to be with us, but he told me how close the Arsenal fans are to his heart," he said in the News of the World.

"He is a special player and I hope he wins the title at Arsenal this season.

"For them to win Cesc will have to stay fit and injury-free but he deserves to finish with a title.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

"For all the work he has put in at Arsenal it would be a shame if it was all fruitless.

"I have seen time after time Lionel Messi win games for Barcelona when the rest of the team have not been on form and Cesc can do that for Arsenal this season."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

New Liverpool signing Brad Jones is hoping to put pressure on number one goalkeeper Pepe Reina following his arrival at Anfield.

The 28-year-old Australia international joined the Reds in a £2.3million deal from Middlesbrough on Tuesday and accepts that he will be the understudy to Spain keeper Reina.

However, Jones fully expects to keep both the World Cup winner and his current back-up, Brazilian Diego Cavalieri, on their toes.

"They've told me they want me to do what I do and put pressure on Pepe Reina and Diego Cavalieri," he told the club's official website.

"That's fine, I'm happy to do that, I've got to give it a go.

"(Manager) Roy Hodgson hasn't promised anything and I would never expect that from a manager. It's up to me to work hard and make his decisions for him.

"It's not going to be easy to get past Pepe. He's shown over the last couple of years how good he is.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

"You don't play for the clubs he's played for and the tournaments he's played in and not be world class.

"Obviously that side of it is going to be tough but I'll do what I can and try to put a bit of pressure on him."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

New Fulham manager Mark Hughes has praised striker Bobby Zamora after he secured a first call-up to the England senior squad.

The 29-year-old netted 19 goals for the Cottagers last season, helping the club reach the Europa League final, but missed out on the squad for the World Cup finals, with an injury ending any hope of a call-up for South Africa.

However, Zamora is in the 22-man squad for the Wembley friendly against Hungary on Wednesday evening and Hughes is pleased for his new charge.

He told the club’s official website:“We’re delighted for Bobby.

“What Bobby’s got to do is build on last year. If he has a similar season this year, we will benefit and obviously England will benefit.

“You can see the qualities he has. He’s a good player and he needs to kick on and be one of the main players in the Premier League.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

“If he has an opportunity and gets the shirt it’s all about grasping that opportunity and not allowing the progress that he’s made to waver and wane.”

Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Out-of-favour goalkeeper Shay Given is determined to win back the Manchester City number one jersey from Joe Hart.

The experienced Republic of Ireland international has started the new season behind his younger rival in the Eastlands pecking order.

Given was strongly linked with moves to Arsenal and Fulham before the transfer window closed on Tuesday with him still a City player.

But rather than feel sorry for himself, the 34-year-old former Newcastle United shot-stopper is determined to win back his starting place from Hart.

"For me, now the window has closed, that (the possibility of a transfer) has gone," said Given.

"I have got to put my head down and work hard and try to get back in the team.

"I don't feel I have done a lot wrong since I have been at the club, so I suppose it's about proving the manager wrong and trying to work hard to get back in the team and if I get a chance, taking that and seeing how it goes.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

"It is frustrating, but this is life at a big club which can buy as many players as it wants. You have got to be patient."

Given joined City from the Magpies in February 2009 and has made 60 appearances for the Eastlands club.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Footballers do not need twitter accounts. Nothing good can come from a professional player having, and using on a regular basis, a twitter account.

I appreciate that all people are entitled to freedom of speech, and it would be wrong to dictate what people should and should not do. Lots of celebrities use social networking as a way of keeping in communication with their fans to some extent. But for most celebrities, they are simply responsible for their own actions, and are not members, or ambassadors, for their club.

I should also say that I have enjoyed some of the twitter highlights concerned with footballers (Darren Bent’s illumination of his contract negotiations at the end of his Spurs career spring to mind), but purely from an entertainment point of view. However, in regard to how I perceive a player’s intelligence and attitude, I find it incredibly difficult to comprehend what possible positives can come from tweeting messages that should surely stay confidential.

Manchester United have obviously decided that they do not want to run the risk of Darren Fletcher telling everyone what he had for dinner over the internet, or Rio Ferdinand going back and forth with Robbie Savage with what every sportsman is seemingly in love with; ‘banter’, and so have deleted/banned/prevented all social network profiles that any of the players had. So if Wes Brown is still your friend on Facebook, chances are it’s a 12-year-old boy called Giles, rather than the United defender.

I can totally understand why United went through with such a procedure. Everything with professional clubs today is kept so closely guarded, why would you give players the opportunity to vent any frustrations, or make fools of themselves, through such a widely available and instantaneous avenue?

Changing sports (briefly, don’t worry) to Cricket, both Dimitri Mascarenhas and Kevin Pietersen have been guilty of expressing their anger over their bosses decisions through the form of a tweet. Pietersen had an issue with being dropped from the Twenty20 team, and Mascarenhas called Geoff Miller (the England selector) a ‘complete knob’ and ‘effing prick’. How did they think doing those things would help? The thing is, that they probably didn’t think. Whether professional sportsmen are not thinking , or making ridiculous decisions under the impression that they are doing the right thing, neither covers themselves, or their sport, in any sort of glory.

While they may bring amusement, the unsolicited updates by footballers can only cause problems for both themselves and their club. Players will always want to exercise any freedoms they have, small or large, minor comments or high-end prostitutes, depending on who they are. Clubs are surely aware, that left to their own devices, there are players that won’t toe the party line and have to be reminded that they are still employed, and paid vast sums of money along the way, to follow certain codes and protocols. Those are the same players that are susceptible to bleating something out that can damage the reputation or professionalism of their respective club. By cutting the danger off at the source, they can eliminate the possible embarrassment that it may cause.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Maybe I’m missing the point. Maybe seeing these players making these posts and updates is an enjoyable thing, adding a bit of drama. And you’ve got to hand it to Bent, he got the move he publicly stated he wanted. I’d like to think I’m not being a jobsworth, and hope that players can understand that it doesn’t do them any favours. I’m going to tweet this article, maybe Darren will read it?

Follow me on twitter and pass this on to Darren Bent, if his account his still active.

It was defeat for the Scotland under 21’s football team against Iceland last night, but at least they showed more grit and determination than their inadequately woeful, senior counterparts.

It was never going to be an easy task for Billy Stark and his team who finished top of their qualifying group, needing a late finish to beat Austria 2-1; to seal their passage to the play offs.

In the end, two 2-1 defeats both home and away was the icing on the cake against a team compromising of the best group of youngsters, Iceland have ever produced.

Fundamentally, the most important thing that Scotland could take from this tie at Easter Road was that they actually played football. That’s right. Play Football.

The senior team’s 6-4-0 formation which oversaw the 1-0 defeat in Prague on Friday took the case of anti football to new lows and has condemned Scotland to have a lack of self belief in its football destiny.

However, from the under 21’s display, the players that were on show were footballers with craft and excitement that the fans have been crying out for years, with Craig Levein seeming to rule out flair and awareness  in favour of extreme defensive selection policies.

Of course, all the talk from last night was Chris Maguire’s utterly stunning goal from the halfway line straight from Kick off after Iceland had gone ahead. Maguire himself had an impressive match and worked hard for the team, despite having a chance in front of the goalkeeper where his placement of a shot could have been faster.

Never less, Maguire has excelled himself in the matches that matter most, scoring fantastic goals for the national team. Unfortunately, his goal scoring record at club level for Aberdeen has been far from impressive, and he will hope to put that right, this season. Superb goals like last night however will help put him in the shop window, but albeit he needs to make the correct career decision for his next move and not to slog it on the bench wasted for an Old Firm team.

However, it was Aston Villa’s Barry Bannan that stole the show last night, with a performance of an old fashioned style winger, who had a willingness to take players on.

Of course, there was much more to his game than just a winger’s obvious attribute. His passing ability and his awareness to switch play, to the other side of the park showed that he is also a team player, and can bring other players to the game. It might have been a younger level of football, but currently in the senior squad, there are no traditional wingers, and the raft of skills that Bannan display harked back to the days of the passing abilities of John Collins or to an even greater extent, the fine dribbling techniques of Davie Cooper or Jimmy Johnstone.

Bannan has impressed his manager, Gerard Houllier at Club level and has already forced himself into the Villa team on a number of occasions this season, even scoring in the Europa League for them. His recent hat trick against Manchester United, albeit in the reserve team shows the potential, the player has, and in this day and age of excessive spending in the money buck galore of the English Premiership, Bannan will hope to have a career at Aston Villa, a unique club at present by handing out opportunities to young players.

Add to David Goodwillie and Jamie Murphy, who have also shown productive form throughout the whole qualifying campaign and it mocks the argument of Levein’s claim of a no need for a striker in a team.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

However more importantly, what message does it serve to the younger generation of Scottish Football, about the current senior team manager’s philosophy of playing football?

Craig Levein has shown he is stubborn but surely he cannot afford to not have a look in the way that the youngsters, played continuous attacking football last night?

If Levein believes that we are not good enough to go to places like Prague and score goals, then I suggest he bloods some of the crop of the Under 21’s for the Celtic Cup, at least while they can get match experience for the future. Northern Ireland, a country with a limited football pool, capped the untried Corry Evans and teenager, Jonny Gorman still at school, which helped amass a 1-0 away at Slovenia last month. If this works for them, why not let us cap Bannan as an example? The idea of first team football is important but if this is the philosophy that Levein imposes, why not scrap this kind,

Time will tell what takes place against Spain tonight, but the public will demand a Scotland that shows guts, determination and above all, even against the best in the world, a winning mentality instead of a scared nature on Friday.

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was not entirely satisfied with a point from a goalless derby encounter with Manchester City at Eastlands.

A game of few chances for either side failed to live up to its pre-match hype and Ferguson was not content with a result which dropped his side four points behind league leaders Chelsea.

He told Sky Sports:"City are very difficult to beat on their own ground and obviously they set their stall out.

"I think there was too much tension for it to be kind of match people thought it would be. They set their stall out in the second half and made it very difficult for us.

"It's a decent result, but we don't count draws away from home as the target before the game. Our target is to win the game and I think we had enough possession to do that.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

"Some of our football was good, we were good on the ball, but we needed to create openings to win the match and we only really made two, which was difficult."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Who remembers the Brazilian forward by the name of Mirandinha? He was the first Brazilian to ever grace the Premiership and was brought in by then Newcastle United manager Willie McFaul for a record at the time of £575,000. The Toon faithful even created a jaunty little tune for the diminutive winger which went: ‘We’ve got Mirandinha, he’s not from Argentina, he’s from Brazil, he’s f*cking brill’!’ He was the archetypal Brazilian forward with skillful dribbling that saw him, at times, trying to take on entire teams, but possessed superior technique and enlightened the English to the previously unseen Brazilian flair. Unfortunately Mirandinha was to have his time cut short with the dismissal of McFaul and the arrival of Jim Smith causing him to be dispensed of.

What was to become of this player after his brief stint at Newcastle? After his diminutive 54 appearances for Newcastle he moved back to his native Brazil, playing for Palmeiras and moving incessantly from club to club, which saw him play in Portugal and Japan, before finally terminating his career back in Brazil. The unsettled character played for twelve club teams in total and only managed to amount four international appearances for Brazil which attests to the type mercurial talent he was.

Life after playing football must have involved some trepidation for Mirandinha, when speaking to magazine FourFourTwo he reveals that he had the chance to return to Newcastle with Kevin Keegan assuming managerial control: “When Sir John Hall took over and brought in Kevin Keegan, I had the opportunity to return, and then I made the biggest mistake of my life: I chose to stay in Brazil. How I regret that decision…” But then life is lived through the choices we make and Mirandinha has opted to stay involved with football by having managerial roles in the Brazilian league.

Hopefully he isn’t expounding his former retention of the ball tactics to the players under his supervision. Whilst coaching around the world he still holds Newcastle dear to his heart and hopes one day to return: “When Bobby Robson was there, we almost closed a deal – I was going to be one of the youth team coaches.” But instead of being a youth team coach, Mirandinha was using his talent spotting eye (how many Brazilians have Newcastle signed?) in the capacity of scouting for Newcastle.

Whether or not Mike Ashley preserved Mirandinha in his role as a scout, I’m unsure, but it remains doubtful as the motivation to travel has seemingly dictated his career, both on and off the field of play. He was quoted in 2009 as saying, “I have a good relationship with Dennis Wise, so I’m working as a scout for Newcastle. I’m confident that in the future we’ll work something out.” With the ensuing removal of Wise and structural change at Newcastle following relegation and promotion this year, I haven’t the faintest notion of where he finds himself at present. Does anyone know where this currently fabled figure lies?

To read more articles of mine follow me on Twitter or RSS Feed.

Fancy playing your mates every week in a Premium Fantasy Football game?

Now that Man City are able to spend money like it’s going out of fashion and Tottenham have recently underlined their ambition with some impressive results, everyone is talking about who realistically are genuine contenders for this season’s Premiership title. So far, Chelsea and Man United have regained order by occupying the top two spots, but are we really now looking at a five horse race for this year’s Premier League?

Everybody will expect United and Chelsea to be the main front runners come the end of the season, but as most managers are now predicting, the chasing pack are closer than ever. Anyone who hasn’t given a knee jerk reaction to Arsenal’s spectacular collapse at home to bitter rivals Tottenham at the weekend, will also appreciate that Arsene Wenger’s side are better than they have been in years. Even with that defeat, they are only two points off the pace with some of their best players like Cesc Fabregas and Robin Van Persie yet to find form or fitness. Ruling them out would be foolish.

The beauty of the Premier League this season is that the aforementioned big three haven’t exactly been brushing teams to one side. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side have struggled away from home, Chelsea seem to be prone to the occasional blip with four defeats already this season and Arsenal’s home form would encourage clubs to believe that they could quite easily take something from the Emirates.

So that leaves the two latest newcomers to the upper echelons of the Premier League. Man City’s spending spree have equipped their squad with enough talent to win most leagues around the world. If manager Roberto Mancini can get the balance right, there is no reason they can‘t win ours. The Italian has come under pressure for his defensive mentality, and recent back-back home draws are a concern for the fans. So far though, with all that in mind, fourth place and three points off top of the league can’t be too bad for a club struggling to find their feet as a big club.

Tottenham on the other hand, have the balance right. Gareth Bale has been sensational this season, whilst the signing of Rafael van der Vaart has got fans believing that Spurs could be serious title challengers. Results against the likes of Arsenal and Inter Milan have underlined the clubs quality but where they fall down at the moment is consistency. Big wins against big clubs have to be followed by big wins against smaller teams, but that will come with experience. You would also have to agree with manager Harry Redknapp when he says he is still a couple players short, but for the time being sitting three points off a Champions League spot won’t be too disheartening for Spurs fans.

If the likes of Man United, Chelsea and Arsenal were firing on all fronts, it would be difficult to see either Spurs and City realistically challenging for the league this season. But the way results have gone, managers of both clubs must find it hard not to dream that this could be their year.

Come what May, we could be in for the most exciting climax to a Premier League season since it’s began. Tottenham or Man City to be champions? Stranger things have happened.

*

Click on image below to see a gallery of Christian’s lady wife

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.