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Jonathan Woodgate`s playing career contains many peaks and troughs but the pinnacle came on 24th February 2008 when his name was forever enshrined in the Tottenham Hotspur Hall of Fame for his winning goal in the League Cup Final.

It was the first League Cup Final to be staged at the new Wembley and Spurs faced Chelsea.

Chelsea took the lead with a typically superb 25 yard free-kick by Didier Drogba just before half-time. Spurs pressed for an equaliser for most of the second half and were finally rewarded on 70 minutes when Dimitar Berbatov kept his cool, after what seemed an eternity of delay, to stroke home an equalising penalty.

Tottenham seemed to have the upper hand from there on in but squandered two good chances to settle the game in normal time.

With only four minutes of extra-time gone, Jonathan Woodgate stepped forward to claim his place in history with one of the most bizarre goals in the history of Wembley finals.

Spurs were awarded a free-kick 30 yards from goal, on theChelsearight. Jermaine Jenas floated the ball into the area and Woodgate climbed, just outside the six-yard box where, inexplicably, he was met by the flailing palms of Peter Cech. With barely inches between them, the Spurs man flicked his forehead at the ball, which deflected on to the goalkeeper`s gloves, back on to Jonathan`s forehead and back over Cech to bounce, once in a totally unmanned six-yard box, before crossing the line.

The Spurs defender then set off on a memorable lap of honour before climbing the steps to receive his first senior winner’s medal.

Not only did Jonathan`s winner claim the League Cup for the White Hart Lane trophy cabinet it also secured UEFA Cup qualification, something they would not have achieved via their league position.

Woodgate started at Leeds in 1997 and featured regularly for the first team that reached the semi-finals of the Champions League and contested the leading places in the Premier League.

He joined Newcastle United in 2003, for £9 million plus add-ons and his performances in their march to the UEFA Cup semi-finals led to his £13 million move to Real Madrid in August 2004, at a time when his CV was blighted by regular injury absences, indeed he was injured when he left for Spain.

Injuries delayed his debut for a year but despite his troubles, Woodgate became a cult hero at the Bernabeau, indeed one of the myriad Spanish football newspapers christened him `Madrid`s true leader`.

By 2006 he had established himself as a first team player but injuries struck again and in 2007 he was nominated, by more than a third of voters on a Spanish website, as the worst signing of the 21st century. By then he had returned toEngland and signed forMiddlesbrough.

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Injury and the emergence of David Wheater saw Woodgate leave for Tottenham for £7 million in January 2008.

In 2008-09 he made 44 appearances but over the next two seasons he played just four times and in July 2011 he agreed a pay-as-you play deal with Stoke City. After limited first team appearances he was freed and immediately signed forMiddlesbroughin July 2012 on a three year contract.

Woodgate’s goalscoring attributes wouldn’t have looked out of place in this year’s Capital One Cup goal fest, but it’ll be a surprise if we see a stranger and more important winner this time around at Wembley on the 24th February.

David Ginola recently tipped Gareth Bale to be one of the very best in the world. The former Tottenham winger also said that Spurs would struggle to keep the Welshman at the club in the future. Both may be true, but with Barcelona reportedly interested in the player, it’s extremely difficult to see a successful partnership between the player and La Liga club in the future.

That’s not to suggest that Bale isn’t good enough for Barcelona, yet that also shouldn’t force the assumption that he is; plenty of the world’s best are not necessarily right fits for Barcelona. And that’s the main point: you can’t always pair a good team and a good player and expect it to stick.

Gareth Bale has terrorised defences both domestically and in Europe, with his elevation to stardom starting in that game against Inter Milan and specifically Douglas Maicon. Not a far shout to suggest the Brazilian right-back has not been the same since. Tottenham were said to have been playing the best football in England last season. It was quick, it was rampaging and it excited plenty of people. But it was very traditional of the English game; it was two wide players using their pace to their advantage with a target man in the centre. Obviously there was more to it, but that was where Gareth Bale shone.

He was used from a central position as well, and there may have been some reason to belief that he could make the successful transition from a wide player to a central player. But his natural game is suited to having plenty of room to run into on the flanks and using his pace and strength to beat his opponents.

Again, not to suggest that Bale is not quite good enough, but where do Barcelona fit in?

Bale is not a left-back, and using him there is a waste of his talents. But even if that was a fair suggestion, Barcelona have already spent a decent amount of cash on Jordi Alba, a player whose age suggests he’ll be the team’s left-back for many years. Dani Alves is certainly not looking his old self, and there are plenty of suggestions that he’ll be out the door at some stage in the near future. But suggesting that Bale could take up a right-sided position seems pointless.

I’ve already touched on the idea that Alexis Sanchez is not a great fit for Barcelona. Another very good player, of course, but his game doesn’t seem to work well or even consistently enough for him to be seen as a great addition to their starting XI. He brings with him plenty of attacking qualities, notably his pace and ability to get behind the defensive line, but he seems to be a precursor to what we may see if Bale moves to the Nou Camp.

Barcelona don’t play a counter attacking game, quite plainly because they don’t need to. They see so much of the ball that their game is based around patient build-up play (or boring football to some). When there is so much passing around the edge of the penalty area and the opposition defence are defending deep, where is the space for Bale to showcase his talents and play to his best?

Imaginings of a parallel world where Cristiano Ronaldo plays for Barcelona would raise equal concerns. Ronaldo is the perfect fit for Real Madrid and their game, but putting him into the Barcelona team would certainly change all that. You’ve got to wonder if the world’s best players should be able to adapt, but there are obvious and reasonable lines of thinking that would suggest Ronaldo and Barcelona’s qualities would clash.

Coincidently, Gareth Bale would be an ideal fit for Real Madrid. But you’ve got to believe that a move to the Bernabeu is a no-go: nothing would allow him to replace Ronaldo on Real’s left flank.

With Barcelona, however, it’s also worth looking at the pace they do have in the side besides Sanchez. Pedro and Cristian Tello both move incredibly quickly, but they are often players who move in and out of the side, changing things when the game needs stretching. They’re also a set of players who do not compromise Barcelona’s natural passing game and the focus that is placed on Lionel Messi.

Tito Vilanova may look to significantly alter the way Barcelona play, and there is certainly some notable changes from the team under Pep Guardiola. Perhaps Gareth Bale would be seen as a natural fit for them, but at this stage that’s just guess work.

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Despite his age, It’s also important to refer to David Villa and his role in the Barcelona team. A striker who was moved out onto the left yet remains one of the deadliest finishers in European football. He was a huge miss last season, and there could be a decent argument that Barcelona would have retained their league title had Villa been fit.

But then even if Barcelona do acquire Bale and he adapts his own style, how would he fare in their passing game? His natural game would suggest he’s one of Europe’s best wide players, but does that mean he’s equally able to perform to Barcelona’s current system and be a success?

Zlatan Ibrahimovic didn’t fail at the Nou Camp, but it certainly didn’t work out for one reason or another. Alexis Sanchez has been mentioned and there were even suggestions that Cesc Fabregas was struggling. It just rounds out nicely to the fact that not every player can fit into every system, and that is the overriding reason why Gareth Bale to Barcelona makes such little sense.

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Manchester United and Manchester City are both understood to be in pursuit of Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Fernandinho in January, the Mirror reports.

It is believed the two Manchester rivals are poised to do battle for the signature of Shakhtar’s £16.5million rated Brazilian, with the player also stating earlier this month that he was set to leave the Russian champions in the winter window.

It had been suggested that City had become favourites to sign the 27-year-old however Sir Alex Ferguson is now ready to rival Roberto Mancini in a bid to bring him to Old Trafford instead.

The Ukranian champions have had an impressive Champions League campaign this season, qualifying in second place in group E ahead of current cup holders Chelsea.

Brazilian Fernandinho has been instrumental in this success, scoring in the 2-1 win over Chelsea last month and his performances in Europe have attracted interest from a host of top clubs, but it seems Manchester will be his destination.

He joined Shakhtar in 2005 and during his time has scored 51 goals in 273 appearances in all competitions while also earning his first international cap for Brazil in 2011.

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Manchester United currently sit six points clear of City at the top of the Premier League. If they could snatch Fernandinho out of the grasp of their neighbours as well, then it would leave the Red Devils in an even stronger position to claim their title back.

Liverpool FC have entered the race to bring Feyenoord’s contract rebel Stefan de Vrij to the Premier League as concerns grow around the future of Sebastian Coates, reports the Daily Mail.

Liverpool’s Uruguayan defender has attracted the interest of several big name clubs in Italy with Juventus looking to replace their 34-year-old Brazilian, Lucio.

Speaking to German newspaper Bild, Lucio hinted that he was unsettled at The Old Lady saying, “I am unhappy at the moment because I don’t play much at Juventus.”

The Bundesliga and Wolfsburg are seen as Lucio’s next move, with the player admitting that, “VfL would definitely be an option for me.’

If Juventus finally replace the aging Lucio with Coates, Liverpool will be desperate to enter the race to sign de Vrij, who is currently being tracked by Chelsea.

De Vrij has thus far refused to sign a new contract at De Kuip, leaving technical director Martin Van Geel to consider the Dutchman’s departure.

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The young defender’s contract is up in 2014 and will be hoping for a swift exit to fulfil his ambitions elsewhere.

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The brief international break is over and Manchester United resume their Premier League campaign on Saturday when they take on Norwich City at Carrow Road.

During this same fixture last season in February of this year, a Ryan Giggs stoppage-time winner – in his 900th appearance for the club – helped the Red Devils snatch three points. In the reverse fixture at Old Trafford in October of last year, goals from Danny Welbeck and Anderson led to a 2-0 defeat of the Canaries.

Manchester United enter the weekend top of the Premier League table with 27 points from 11 matches – 2 points clear of Manchester City and 3 clear of Chelsea. Since a late September defeat by Tottenham Hotspur, the Red Devils have won eight successive matches combined in league and in the UEFA Champions League. Their most recent victory came last weekend in a 3-2 defeat of Aston Villa at Villa Park. United have already clinched the top spot of their Champions League group with two group-stage fixtures to spare.

Norwich City currently sit 15th in the table with 11 points from 11 matches. It was a slow start for manager Chris Hughton at his new club and he didn’t find a league win until their eighth fixture – an impressive 1-0 defeat of Arsenal on October 20 at Carrow Road.

Since that match, the Canaries have gone four league games unbeaten with their last point coming from the weekend’s 0-0 draw at Reading. They have also reached the quarter final of the Capital One Cup.

It’s hard to look beyond United here – as long as the Red Devils can keep a lid on Grant Holt, three-points should be in the bag.

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Prediction – Norwich 0 – 2 Manchester United

Tottenham goalkeeper Brad Friedel will continue to be Spurs’ number one goalkeeper after an impressive display in the 1-1 draw against Norwich on Saturday, according to The Guardian.

Lloris, who is sixteen years the junior to his goalkeeping colleague and rival at Tottenham Brad Friedel, is number one choice goalkeeper for the French national side.

Lloris wasn’t signed in time to be eligible for the Norwich game. Regardless of this, and perhaps to many people’s surprise, Villas-Boas revealed that Lloris is likely to be a signing for a few years down the line, “the Premier League’s a specific league and we want to build for the future, so we decided to bring in Hugo now as he can be our keeper in the future. We have to work with that and he will have to adapt to the Premier League.”

What Villas-Boas can rely on is the sort of professionalism from Hugo Lloris which has earned him the privilege of being the French captain. Lloris accepts that he may have to be patient before he can stamp his authority in the Tottenham goal, “I’m here because I believe in Tottenham. There are a lot of great players here and a great manager. Everything is in place to qualify for the Champions League. But the most important thing for me is to show I am up for the challenge on the pitch. I’m ready to do the utmost for the team and the supporters.”

Former Tottenham defender Sebastian Bassong believes that Lloris will learn a lot from studying Friedel at White Hart Lane, “I think he’ll learn a lot. He’s [Lloris] a really good goalkeeper but now he’s in a new competition and a new country, he’ll need Brad’s help.”

Lloris is one of a number of arrivals who is a part of a transition period at White Hart Lane following the key departures of Luka Modric to Real Madrid and Rafael van der Vaart to Hamburg. Another one of the arrivals at Spurs, Moussa Dembele, did manage to make an appearance for his new side and subsequently made an immediate impact scoring the opening goal in the 1-1 draw to Norwich.

Dembele said after the game that he has been impressed by Villas-Boas’ management style thus far, “the manager is very clear what he wants me to do and he just told me to play my game the same way I always play.”

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Charles N’Zogbia has said that he will “work harder” for boss Paul Lambert, to start for Aston Villa.

N’Zogbia, formerly a Wigan player, who signed for Villa in 2011, has found it a struggle so far at the team. He did not manage to start against Spurs or West Brom, as well as struggling striker Darren Bent.

However, N’Zogbia has praised his manager and seems keen to keep working to make the team more often. He said to the Daily Star: “It’s not about money, how many games you’ve played or international appearances. If he thinks you are not good enough to play at the time, you have to stick to it and work harder. It keeps you on your toes and it’s good to have a manager like this.”

He also believes that Bent will be able to fight to be picked by Lambert again. He said: “The manager will decide. What Darren has to do when he plays is to show a reaction. Darren Bent is a fighter, so this will not be a problem for him. Maybe he’ll miss the old game and be on the bench but when he starts playing, he’s going to score.”

N’Zogbia also admitted to Sky Sports News earlier this week that he had problems with former Villa coach Alex McLeish. He said: “The manager and I did not get along and sometimes this happens. We don’t have to like everybody in football. We are humans. We just have to move on and that’s it.”

Earlier this week, Aston Villa denied rumours of a problem between Paul Lambert and Darren Bent.

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When Liverpool take on Udinese in the Europa League tonight at Anfield, one Italian desperate to impress will be Liverpool’s new striker Fabio Borini.

The 21-year-old became Brendan Rodgers first signing in the summer, but goals have been hard to come by thus far, netting just once in a Europa League qualifier against Belursian side FC Gomel in August.

Liverpool fans are not quite sure what to make of their new number 29, unsure whether he has been bought as a wide man or a central striker.

It seems Brendan Rodgers and perhaps even Borini himself also remain unsure.

He has been in and out of the side since his summer move, most often featuring on the right of a front three. During Liverpool’s recent draw with Sunderland he started as the central striker, and gave arguably his best performance since his summer move, looking a constant threat and only being denied his first Premier League goal by some fine goalkeeping.

During Liverpool’s recent 5-3 victory over Young Boys, he tipped the balance of play in Liverpool’s favour. With his side trailing 3-2, he came off the bench to play in that central striker role, and his hard work and movement caused all sorts of problems. Liverpool ran out 5-3 winners.

But when featuring in the wide positions Borini has struggled. In the home matches against Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United he was virtually anonymous, and was let down by his final ball or finish when in decent positions.

What you can say for the Italian is that he does not lack passion or confidence. He has been seeing geeing up the crowd at every available opportunity, and celebrates each goal his side score as if its the winner in a World Cup final.

He has come out this week and said he is confident his goal drought will end sooner rather than later, saying : “it is just a matter of time”.

Brendan Rodgers is convinced Liverpool have got themselves a top player who is only going to improve.

“He is a young player I know very well and over time he will only get better and better,” Rodgers said.

“He is a good kid who wants to work and there is no doubt over the coming years he will prove to be a very good player for the club.”

It will be interesting to see if Borini features in his favourite position as a central striker tonight, as Rodgers will look to shuffle his pack once more.

The pressure is on for Liverpool’s strikers to fire following the departure of Andy Carroll, with Luis Suarez currently thriving in his role as Liverpool’s main man.

However Borini needs to start chipping in sooner rather than later. Let us not forget he is only 21 years of age, and started slowly at Roma last season, before firing ten league goals in the second half of the campaign.

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Rodgers needs to do all he can to help his young forward and give him a run in the side playing as a central striker. A first Premier League goal could open the floodgates, but it is unlikely to come soon if he is continues to be shafted out wide.

The Europa League campaign could be seen as a chance to really show what he can do, playing in his favoured position.

Playing against European teams without the physicality of a Premier League side could be the opportunity he needs to score some goals and gain further confidence.

There have been some encouraging signs to suggest Liverpool have got themselves a decent player for the future, which is what he should be seen as at present. Goals are what’s missing to prove they have a decent player for the present.

What do you think of Fabio Borini? Follow me on Twitter @LukeGreenwood89 and let me know your thoughts. 

Celtic boss Neil Lennon admitted the UEFA Champions League win over Barcelona was one of the proudest nights of his career.

Lennon’s side wrote their names into the history books with their momentous 2-1 win over the Spanish giants at a buoyant Celtic Park.

“It is right up there, one of the proudest nights of my career,” Lennon told Sky Sports. “It’s just a monumental effort from those players tonight on the anniversary of the club. It is a very special occasion to do themselves justice tonight and they’ve just beaten the best team in the world. It is two of the stiffest examinations they will ever get in their careers and they’ve come through it with flying colours.”

Lennon admitted they pinpointed Barcelona’s weakness at set-pieces with their first goal coming from a corner as Victor Wanyama netted from Charlie Mulgrew’s cross.

“Charlie Mulgrew is one of the best dead ball players around and his delivery was magnificent and Wanyama, who just keeps getting better and better, scores a great goal for us and then you try and weather the storm and you know it’s coming and there is not a lot you can do about it but we saw it through. Young Tony Watt comes on and a few of them are dying on their feet as they’ve given everything and Watt gives us a new lease of life and scores a brilliant second goal and it is going to go down in the history books of the club.

Lennon believes the win gives them a real opportunity of reaching the knockout stages with Celtic in second place behind Barca and three points clear of Benfica.

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“It gives us a great chance,” added Lennon. “Benfica beat Spartak Moscow so they are still on our tails so we’ve got to go to Benfica and try to raise our game again and we will cross that bridge when we come to it and we will enjoy the evening and the moment.”

Highly rated South Korean midfielder Ki Sung-Yueng has become Swansea City’s record signing after putting pen to paper on a three-year deal from Celtic.

Ki, 23, will not be able to play for the Swans as they take on West Ham in today’s lunchtime kick off but he is clearly excited to have arrived.

“When I look at Swansea I see a club that is growing and growing, and the style here is very attractive to me,” he told the club’s official website.

“Last year I watched them a lot in the Premier League and they did things very differently to a lot of the other teams. They wanted to keep the ball and pass it around, which I love to do. When they didn’t have the ball they worked so hard to get it back quickly.”

“This is something I have dreamt about since I was a child – playing in the Premier League against the best players in the world. I can’t wait to play my first game.”

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