All posts by h79snht.top

Newly promoted Norwich City have landed full back Kyle Naughton on loan reports Sky Sports.

The Tottenham defender, who can play operate at both right and left full back, joins the Canaries until the end of the season.

Naughton was being chased by a number of Premier League clubs with Aston Villa showing strong interest in him.

But the 22-year-old has decided a move to Carrow Road would provide more first-team opportunities and boss Paul Lambert was overjoyed to secure his services.

“We’re delighted to have secured Kyle’s services for the season,” Lambert told Sky Sports

“He’s a quality player who will come in and give the current group a hand as well as providing more healthy competition for places.

“He’s a pacy player and he’s also young and hungry to continue developing his career and we’re obviously pleased he’s got the chance now to do that with us here at Norwich City.”

Despite moving to Tottenham in 2009 he has failed to nail down a regular starting place at White Hart Lane with manager Harry Redknapp opting to loan him out.

The move will now give the full back a chance to establish a presence in the top flight after two seasons of playing in the Championship on loan at Leicester City and Middlesbrough.

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He’ll be hoping the loan can revitalise Naughton’s career in the same way it did for Kyle Walker who shone on loan at Aston Villa last season.

The issue of third party ownership is threatening to rear its ugly head again – insert sigh here-  with clubs in England and France making increasing noise about the fact they are not allowed to undertake in such shared ownership of players (think back to the Tevez / Mascherano debacle and you can see why)  and feel this hampers them in comparison to other European clubs who use such deals when ‘complying’ with the FFP regulations.

The sad thing is, the FA actually have a point, with multiple clubs in Spain and South America to name but a couple using third party deals in order to keep their costs when buying players down, and attempt to come under the £38 million target from 2013-2014.

It seems baffling that the FFPR allows such ownership yet will point blank refuse to entertain the notion of “transparent owner equity investment” ie Abramovich at Chelsea or the Sheik at City, and the Premier League, along with the French FA feel that not only is this contradictory, but places them at a huge disadvantage and are determined to get UEFA to look more closely at this issue.

Uefa are willing to ban clubs who do not comply with the FFPR, and exclude them from their competitions, with Chelsea and City being especially vulnerable here, with third party ownership being outlawed in the EPL due to it compromising the ‘integrity of the competition’ with this placing EPL clubs at a significant disadvantage in comparison to their counterparts in Europe who enjoy this benefit with Hertha Berlin raising €44m from selling the economic rights of players to a third‑party ownership fund since 2009 – something Premier League clubs are simply not allowed to do.

Whether Uefa would actually take action over these concerns remains to be seen, as although they have ‘promised’ to look into it – a Uefa promise is worth about as much as one from Carlos Tevez – and even now they will have you believe that the issue is much less prominent than the Premier League would claim it to be.

The idea of allowing third party ownership rights in the Premier League is not what is being pushed for here, and the main issue of both the French and English is that they feel at a significant disadvantage when compared to Spanish, Portuguese and German clubs who can use the FFP rules and third party ownership to keep losses down and essentially be in a better position in the transfer market.

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If any kind of resolution can be reached the Premier League would be open to this, with even the idea of where revenue is raised from directly selling a stake in a player, this is then exempt from FFP calculations. Whether Uefa would be willing to entertain this notion however remains to be seen.

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Following the controversy of Carlos Tevez’s refusal to come off the bench against Bayern Munich in midweek, news has emerged that Roberto Mancini’s son Filippo did the same thing for the Manchester City reserve team last month.

The Italian coach has stated that Tevez’s time at the club is finished, following the Argentina international’s refusal to come off the bench in the Champions League.

Despite this, Mancini has been embarrassed by the fact that his son refused to enter the field of play for the club’s Elite Development Squad (EDS), comprising reserve and youth players back in August.

In a fixture against their Liverpool equivalents, Filippo preferred to stay on the bench, and this has been confirmed by the Etihad Stadium outfit.

“Filippo is a non-contracted, unpaid player who was on the substitutes’ bench for the non competitive game in question,” a City spokesman stated.

“In these circumstances, a disciplinary procedure would have been invoked, however, as he was not an employee of the club, this was not a viable option. The matter has been dealt with internally. Roberto Mancini was not aware of this incident,” the statement concluded.

The news is sure to add to Mancini’s plight, as City investigate the Tevez incident in more depth during the South American’s two week suspension.

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By Gareth McKnight

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When the highly rated 16-year-old Theo Walcott made the switch to Arsenal from Southampton on a pre-contact deal for an initial £5m, it looked like he could be the next Thierry Henry and comparisons were made between the two.

However back in 2006, then Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp, who had given Walcott his debut during his time at Southampton, warned against making any comparison with Henry. “He is a million miles away from Thierry Henry and if he ever gets anywhere near his standard he will be one of the best players we’ve ever seen in this country.” This warning has proved to be quite accurate but maybe now is the time to test Walcott in the striker position.

In the last five years there have been glimpses of Walcott’s potential including in 2008 when he single-handedly destroyed Croatia in Zagreb but these moments of quality have been quite rare and I feel his potential is being wasted on the wing where he lacks the ability to succeed.

Arsene Wenger made the decision to turn him into a right winger due to his young age and slight figure but with the 22-year-old declaring that he wants a move up-front to help his progress, it could be finally time to test the winger in the central attacking position.

Walcott said: “I hope I’ll move inside. It just depends on the players the boss brings in. I was signed as a striker, I want to play up front. I’ve done my trade out on the wing. A lot of people forget I’m not a winger.”

There has been evidence that Theo has worked on his all-round game this season, he has always looked like a natural goal-scorer but now his finishing is more composed and with his blistering pace he could cause problems to any defence.

However he still lacks consistency and common sense as a footballer, often taking the wrong option, and his passing is typically wayward. If he wants to succeed as a striker he will need to work on his distribution especially in holding the ball up as he would be required to do playing in a central attacking role. His on-field intelligence, although improved, is still holding him back from fulfilling his potential.

With the current formation that Wenger employs it is difficult to see where Walcott would fit in alongside Robin Van Persie especially if the Dutchman can continue his impressive end of season form in a one man attack. I think a move back to a 4-4-2 looks unlikely but after the acquisition of Gervinho this summer, there may be the possibility that Wenger could turn to a new 4-3-3 formation, with Gervinho on the right, Van Persie down the middle and Walcott on the left. This formation would be effective on the counter attack but could leave the team fallible in the midfield.

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Walcott scored goals as a youngster and although he has taken time to adapt to the top-level, with his useful attributes there is no reason why Walcott would not make it as a striker, something that Wenger has always believed would happen. Although for this season it looks to be ambition rather than a genuine reality as Wenger would need to change tactics to complement him in the team. He may never be as good as Henry was but one day he could well be a successful out and out striker and finally become the talent he looked six years ago.

Do you think Walcott deserves a chance to prove himself as a striker? Do you believe he is still a work in progress or is now the time to give up on his potential? Let me know your thoughts!

Sir Alex Ferguson has stated that his Manchester United team are aware of the physical challenge posed by Stoke, and are ready to combat Tony Pulis’ men on Tuesday at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils suffered a setback at the weekend by being eliminated from the FA Cup by Liverpool, and are currently three points behind Manchester City in the race for the Premier League title.

Although the Scottish coach knows his team are in for a tough game against The Potters, he is looking forward to it.

“You know what Tony Pulis’ team will be like, they are the same all the time,” Ferguson told The Guardian.

“They will be 100% committed and they always get stuck in. You have to cope with that. To be honest, I always enjoy it to.

“It was like when we used to play Wimbledon. No one used to look forward to playing against them but my team started to because it was a physical challenge and in terms of taking the ball and playing football.

“Stoke are a different team altogether but they still have the same qualities of never giving in, so it is always a good challenge for us,” he stated.

United have a critical month, in which they take on Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham, and Ferguson knows that his team must be at their best to retain their Premier League crown.

“It is a big programme. From the middle of January until we go to Tottenham, it looked quite a daunting programme.

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“But when you go back years ago in our title campaigns, we have always had periods of must win-games in a row and that is what we have here. It is important to keep on City’s coat-tails and hopefully come the important part of the season, we still are,” he concluded.

By Gareth McKnight

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Football fans’ willingness to show their dedication comes in all shapes and sizes. One such way is to splay their dedication over their body in the form of a tattoo. I can understand why somebody might choose to tattoo their footballing allegiance onto their body. Whilst women come and go, a football team is for life. It’s the manly man’s equivalent of getting “I love mom’ yet a tattoo is a big commitment, so it’s important to get it right. As you can imagine, this process isn’t always a success.

Below are the top 10 Liverpool tattoo’s to be found on the net – the good, the bad and the plain ugly – click on image below to unveil gallery:

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Have you got a better Liverpool tattoo? Football FanCast would like to invite the readers to submit their own entry via our Facebook Page. The winning entries will go forward to our grand competition to find the best tattoo in the Premier League.

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After being robbed of a famous win at Anfield on Saturday Liverpool will be looking to maintain their push for a top four finish against Swansea this weekend. It promises to be an open game with two teams that like to attack and we would like to give supporters to watch it in style at the Legends Lounge at Anfield.

The good people of 188BET have once again provided an EXCLUSIVE competition for Football FanCast readers, where three pair of VIP tickets in the Legends Lounge is available for this weekend’s clash.

Entering is simple and all you need to do is sign up to 188BET via the banner below and make a deposit between £10-25 to be in the running for this once in a lifetime experience. It’s as easy as that and the good people of 188BET will happily refund your opening bet up to the value of £25.

So if you want the opportunity to win this fantastic prize on Saturday then click on the banner below – what have you got to lose?

West Brom have completed the signing of Dundee United midfielder Scott Allan, with the youngster moving to the Premier League side for an undisclosed fee.

The 20-year-old passed a medical and will now join The Baggies’ first team squad with immediate effect, and be eligible for his debut against Norwich on Saturday.

Allan’s contract at Tannadice was expiring, and with the starlet set to become a free agent in the summer, the Scottish side decided to cash in on their young talent.

Old Firm duo Rangers and Celtic were also thought to be interested in signing Allan, but the news of his departure to Roy Hodgson’s outfit was confirmed by United manager Peter Houston.

“I’d like to wish Scott all the best for his future career, it is a fantastic opportunity for him to go down to the English Premier League,” the coach told the side’s official website.

“The completion of the deal at this time was beneficial for both the player and the club.”

By Gareth McKnight

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Tottenham Hotspur may battle Liverpool in the signature of Manchester City forward Craig Bellamy.

According to the Mirror, City have agreed to let Bellamy leave Eastlands on a free transfer which would open the door for a return to Liverpool after the Reds insisted they weren’t prepared to pay a transfer fee for a player who left Anfield in 2007.

However, Tottenham could yet scupper a deal by making a move for the 32-year-old themselves. Harry Redknapp’s side have already secured a loan deal for Manchester City’s Emmanuel Adebayor and could also add Bellamy to their ranks.

Bellamy’s national team coach Gary Speed has promoted a potential move back to Liverpool. “Liverpool are a fantastic club and if that’s true and it comes off, that would be great,” said Speed.

“Hopefully by the end of the transfer window things will be sorted out.”

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Article courtesy of Matt Wood from the excellent Clean Sheets All Round

Following Wigan Athletic’s defeat to Newcastle on Saturday, Roberto Martinez gave additional firepower to the age old argument that referees favour the so called bigger sides. Martinez was quoted as saying, ‘it’s just that we’re Wigan Athletic and it’s very difficult to get it wrong against us.’

The idea has been around for so long that many football fans and managers mention it as if it is fact, but following Martinez’s comments, a question must be asked. Is it merely a myth that small sides do not get the decisions?

As a fan of English football, any suggestion of considered bias towards certain clubs is disappointing, we all want to see fair, unbiased officiating in football. Yet it would be naive to think that incorrect decisions really do even themselves out over the course of the season, as if by magic.

The reality is that certain clubs are going to get more decisions over a season, the campaign after that, that club may get less, but do the bigger clubs get more of these decisions? The evidence does not suggest that they do, indeed no evidence or study has ever proven such a claim.

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However, there are other factors that influence the chances of teams getting decisions. Manchester United famously went 10 years without a penalty being scored against them at home, with only 3 penalties awarded in that time. This led to many fans to declare that it was impossible for smaller clubs to get a decision at Old Trafford.

Yet, those claims do not allow for the quality of player at Manchester United, the team throughtout that the time was top draw and logic dictates that top quality players are less likely to concede penalties and more likely to win them than lesser players.

It is true that the more fans in the stadium, the more voices the referee has to block out. Naturally, some referees are going to be better at this than others. It could be argued that teams with bigger stadiums such as Arsenal and Manchester United are more likely to get decisions due to this. However, if the crowd is raucous, such as at Loftus Road on Sunday, surely the amount of people in the stadium is insignificant in comparison to the atmosphere.

This season, both Kenny Dalglish and Andre Villas-Boas have argued that decisions have consistently gone against their sides. As the managers of Liverpool and Chelsea, their claims do not do much to support Roberto Martinez’s words.

Roberto Martinez may feel harshly dealt with and he may feel that Wigan get less decisions because of who they are. In reality, there is no reason that Wigan will not be on the end of beneficial decisions before the season comes to an end. The fact is, the argument that ‘smaller clubs do not get the decisions’ is just a myth.

Remember to join us for tonight’s LIVE Carling Cup Blog by clicking below

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