No one can disagree that this is turning out to be a great season for Sheffield Wednesday.
With us now sitting pretty in second spot ahead of the final game of the season at home to already relegated Wycombe I think that promotion could well be on the cards although it is not time to get out the champagne just yet but we can look at the top performers for the club during this fantastic season.
During the course of the season every man has been outstanding in their own way this season but one player who has been consistent week in week out is Portuguese midfielder José Semedo. Brought in from Charlton in the summer he made an immediate impact on the pitch showing his combative determination right from the first whistle up until this point in the season with his work ethic being second to none.. Not a goal scorer but has a goal to his name and helped the team with a few assists including the cross for Gary Madine’s equaliser against United in October. Playing every single league game this season in the heart of midfield every Wednesday fan knows him for crunching tackles quickly earning him the song ‘You’ll never get past Semedo!’
Another impressive player for me this year although not our man is central defender loanee Danny Batth. Because of his age I have given him my accolade of Young Player of the Season which in my eyes he thoroughly deserves. Playing at the back with different men through the course of the season forming a strong partnership with whoever is beside him showing his strength, ball control and awareness. A young man with a very bright future ahead of him plays as if he has played for many more years than he actually has. A permanent transfer to the club for Batth in the summer would be a fantastic addition for next seasons hopeful Championship campaign but if not we wish him the best of luck at a very lucky Wolves.
When he signed from Plymouth in mid-January last year everybody recognised we signed a very strong centre back in Réda Johnson. He seemed an ideal buy as a very competent centre half until converting into a left back for cover. Before too long manager at the time Gary Megson and the whole of Sheffield Wednesday realised he was also very capable in this position. Now running down the left channel he always looks a threat going towards goal which has seen him pitch in with seven goals along the way. This great form has even seen him earn more recognition after being called up for Benin.
When Julian Bennett was signed at the start of the season from Nottingham Forest thoughts were we had signed a high profile left back and during his first few appearances he looked a promising; dynamic defender who was able to attack. He possesses a long throw and pace but always seemed shy to cross the ball into the box. He looked a great signing but after a few weeks was ruled out with injury and Réda was there to fill the gap and Bennett was then unable to break back into the first team and when now put in the team to cover Johnson, he seems out of place trying to impress the manager too much. Once he returns to full fitness I can see him claiming his place back in the side, hopefully in the Championship.
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The United States opened their CONCACAF Gold Cup campaign with a 2-0 victory over Canada on Tuesday, while Panama held off Guadeloupe.Villarreal striker Jozy Altidore, who spent the second half of the 2010-11 season on loan to Turkish club Bursaspor, opened the scoring 14 minutes into the match at Ford Field, Detroit.
Fulham’s Clint Dempsey doubled the US lead just after the hour mark.
And it would have been 3-0 to the home side, but for a missed penalty from San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski four minutes from time.
The win sees the US lead Group C on goal difference from Panama, who held off a Guadeloupe revival to win 3-2 earlier at Ford Field.
Two goals in the space of three minutes, the first from Club Leon striker Blas Perez and the second courtesy of Juan Aurich forward Luis Tejada, gave Panama a 2-0 lead just 31 minutes into the match.
Guadeloupe’s position worsened when they lost defender Mickael Tacalfred to a red card in the 37th minute.
Panama went 3-0 ahead courtesy of a penalty from defender Gabriel Gomez on 56 minutes.
But Guadeloupe’s 10 men almost managed an unlikely comeback, as a brace from Le Havre striker Brice Jovial saw the team from the Caribbean island threaten to restore parity.
But Panama held on to record the win to sit equal with the US on three points.
Everyone will have their own view on the Rooney shenanigans of the last week – some will say he was an idiot for questioning his manager, some will say his performances do not merit an improved contract, some will say he has the right to question the club’s ambitions, some will blame his agent.
Either way, I don’t really care. What I do care about is how yet again a footballer has been blamed for all the world’s evils. Well it’s certainly annoyed me a bit anyway.
I was reading the Daily Mail at the weekend (I want to make it absolutely clear I was in a sandwich shop at the time, and fancied a laugh). Rooney’s new contract was the headline story – under the premise of his unbelievable greed.
As the rest of the nation faces job threats and austerity over the next five years, Wayne Rooney can afford that self-satisfied smirk.
They questioned how he could earn £250,000 a week just for kicking a football.
Yeah, cos that’s all he does isn’t it? Just kicks a pig’s bladder around for 90 minutes a week – I mean, I could do that, for a lot less money.
But it was the last paragraph of the headline story that had me slumped on the shop counter in despair. It quoted a nurse bemoaning cuts at her nursing home, saying how disgusting it was that he could get so much money when people are losing their jobs.
Shame on you Wayne.
Football has long been blamed for much of the world’s ills, usually by people who don’t like football – overpaid prima donnas, bad role models, ill-disciplined, ill-educated, run by idiots. Nothing has changed there.
But just what level of stupidity leads you to believe that Wayne Rooney is somehow responsible in any shape or form for the state of the NHS, or our recession? Would that nurse have felt better if Rooney had taken a massive pay cut? Would that have helped keep more of her colleagues in jobs?
No, of course it wouldn’t, but let’s blame him anyway.
Continued on Page TWO
The ironic thing is that the only link Rooney has to government policy, jobs and the recession is the wage he gets. And the best thing for those nurses is for him to get paid as much as possible – the more he gets, the more tax he pays, the more money the government has. They should be thanking him.
You can blame footballers as a whole if you wish for the financial troubles many clubs are facing, but at the end of the day, those clubs chased impossible dreams, spent beyond their means, and no-one forced them to pay these figures. And even if you feel players should be blamed, you can’t lump all the guilt on one player, and for all the acquired debt that the Glazers have introduced to Manchester United, no single pay rise is going to trouble Rooney’s club. This was a contract negotiation between an employee and his employer, simple as that. A very public one, admittedly, but a contract negotiation nevertheless. However ill-deserved it was, the club agreed to it, and can afford it. Rooney, like everyone else, is simply demanding the best payment he can get for his services. If United didn’t like it, they can always get rid of him.
Are movie stars earning £20m a film ever called greedy? Pop stars, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, JK Rowling or Richard Branson? What’s their responsibility to our faltering economy? I mean, all Formula 1 drivers do is drive a car round a track every couple of weeks!
Of course it was widely reported that Rooney’s deal was worth £250,000 a week, the media using that well known trick of adding on every bonus imaginable to make him look even greedier, knowing full well that to earn that he would have to score a hat trick every match, lead United to the treble every season for five years, and find a cure for cancer. This is how Yaya Toure is on £230,000 a week and Carlos Tevez cost City about £97m. And all the while there’s people in Doncaster that can’t even afford their next packet of fags. It makes me sick.
Miranda Sawyer wrote in The Mirror in an appalling little piece about how she imagines Rooney to be like a spoilt little child, commenting on how he is spiffing away money (what?) whilst United fans face up to recession. Yawn.
One United fan slated him for jetting off on holiday when his club needed him. Need him for what? He’s injured, but then again maybe he wanted him serving behind the bar on match days.
The world is a strange place when I turn to Tony Cascarino for some sage advice, but about the only sensible thing he has ever said was in an article five years ago.
“For all the improvements to stadiums and the great popularity that the sport enjoys now, the majority of players are still poorly educated working-class guys. They’re not, for the most part, paragons of virtue. If society wants to hold them up as role models, that’s society’s choice, not football’s. The last time I checked, I was responsible for bringing up my children properly, not Wayne Rooney or El-Hadji Diouf.”
Of course, there’s no need for abusing referees all game, something kids may well copy – on the pitch players have a responsibility, as kids will mimic what they see footballers do when they themselves kick a ball around. But off the pitch I don’t see them as something to aspire to at all, and a section of them will inevitably misbehave as they always have done, and as many of the rest of society do – they are human beings.
Concluded on Page THREE
But back to society in general, This myopic view of the world and how football should take some blame first came to my attention when Manchester City were kindly taken over two years ago by some very wealthy men with whom you will now be familiar, and Mark Lawrenson questioned how City could be throwing obscene amounts of money in trying to sign Kaka when hospitals were closing down around the country and people were living in abject poverty in their millions.
“At a time when people have been left devastated by the credit crunch, football is in danger of shooting itself in the foot. It would be bad enough during a boom time, but during these tough economic times it is sick. If City do this then they will lose the sympathy and support of fans who will begin to question the morality of how someone can spend that sort of money on a player rather than build a new hospital or pay for some lifesaving medical care. People will turn round and say: ‘The world has gone mad. I’m not sure about football any more’. How would you feel if you can’t pay the bills while a player at your club is on mind-boggling money?”
It’s hard to put into words how stupid this comment was, but I’m going to try anyway.
Imagine if you will the time I was packed and ready to go on my holiday. Waiting for the taxi to arrive at my parents’ house (both at work, in the days before mobile phones), I popped out to the newsagents for some crisps, and came back to discover my house keys were packed in the suitcase. After crying for a bit, I tried to kick the front door down, failed, but set off the burglar alarm, alerting a few of my neighbours. I tried to climb in an open window on the first floor, but fell off the porch, injuring my ankle. In the end I was forced to break a window, which had the knock-on effect of spraying the cat with glass. I left a note for my mum apologising, and off on holiday I went.
Anyway, it’s about that level of stupid.
Steve Coppell too said it was completely wrong when people were losing jobs in credit crunch times for City to be spending so much money. Apparently football clubs can only spend money during times of economic boom. And it seems players can only get pay rises too if unemployment levels are low enough.
PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor then told the world of his disapproval of City’s reported £100million bid for Kaka.
“It is a bit bizarre that, in these times of credit crunch, we are talking about a club paying £100m for one player,” he said.
“One of the things we have to ask is…is football sending out the right signals given the current financial climate? Football needs to set a good example to the rest of the world, as we do with our anti-racism programmes and community projects. Football cannot be immune from the credit crunch and whilst City are an exception to the rule, the game has a duty to show financial propriety at this moment in time.”
Gordon Taylor is the highest paid union official in the world. Taylor earns a £1million yearly salary – five times the remuneration of the second highest-paid union official and around ten times that of the average League Two player. For this money, his jobs seems to consist of blindly defending the rape allegations, prison sentences, two-footed tackles and roasting sessions that his members seemed so keen to enjoy (thanks to football365.com for that quote).
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It’s this obsession with “making a gesture”. Sadly, these gestures don’t actually achieve anything. If Rooney had for some reason agreed to play for free, not one person in this country would have benefited as a result. A few Americans maybe, but none of us, no one on the breadline, no one out of a job, no one looking for football to make some gesture that will make them feel better for ten minutes before the reality once more hit home.
Put simply, some footballers earn a lot of money because they generate a lot of money. Supply and demand. Wayne Rooney is worth every penny to Manchester United plc, even when his form dips.
I am a Manchester City fan. I have no particular warmth towards Wayne Rooney, or most footballers to be honest, (him more than most). There is a lot to dislike about Rooney – he is not someone I would aspire to be, or want kids to look up to. But let’s focus the blame for society’s ills where they are deserved, and for once give football a break.
Written By Howard Hockin
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Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini was present at Lille’s 4-0 win over Valenciennes at the weekend, and it is believed that the Etihad Stadium outfit are ready to enter the race to sign Eden Hazard.
The Belgian playmaker, who scored one and set up two more in the Ligue 1 fixture, has countless suitors around Europe, including Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal.
However, The Sun state that big-spending City are ready to launch a move for the attacking midfielder, who has admitted he is likely to leave France in the summer and has a £33million release clause in his contract.
Hazard stated that he knew Mancini was in the crowd, but was focussed on winning the match for Lille.
“I heard before the game that Mancini was there,” he confessed.
“For my part I always try and play the same way, whether Alex Ferguson’s there or Mancini now.
“I try and forget about that when I’m on the pitch, I try to play my own game. No matter who’s in the stands I just try to show what I can do.
“We’ll see what happens, but for now I’m concentrating on finishing the season well with Lille,” he concluded.
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All eyes are on Wembley tonight as both Manchester United and Barcelona seek their 4th European Cup success. Sir Alex Ferguson believes that the game could be the best Champions League final in years as the two most successful sides in Europe in the past 10 years face off for what is arguably the biggest competition in domestic football.
In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that include FIFA opening an ethics case against Blatter; Sam Allardyce set to move in at West Ham, while Gareth Bale has called upon Tottenham to do everything to keep Redknapp at White Hart Lane.
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Fifa opens ethics case against Blatter – Guardian
Hiddink expecting the call from Chelsea – Daily Telegraph
Ferguson: United are playing Barça for pride not revenge – Guardian
Harry has to stay! Bale predicts dark future for Spurs if Redknapp moves on – Daily Mail
Platini may step up if Fifa charges stick – Daily Telegraph
Reo-Coker among 10 Villa departures – Guardian
It’s West Sam United – Sun
Liverpool flop Acquilani’s dream move to Juventus looks in doubt – Daily Mail
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Karim: I’m Gunner stay at Madrid – Sun
Newcastle trying to beat Sunderland to Hammers star – Mirror
Chicharito almost quit football after just one goal in two years – Mirror
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Imogen Thomas Joins Paddy Power For a Champion Offer! They will refund losing Champions League Final bets if Man United lose the match Make your bets now!
The Merseyside derby has always been hotly contested despite protestations to the contrary from those who instead name it the friendly derby. However, since the inception of the Premier League the game has had more red cards than and any other. As a neutral, I always look forward to this explosive fixture and Sunday will almost certainly be no different given Liverpool’s desperation to share the spoils. It is the longest currently running top-flight derby in England, having been played at that level since 1962 when Liverpool were promoted to the First Division so naturally there have been some classics. Here are my top five:
1) Everton 2-3 Liverpool (Premier League, April 2001)
If you look back 9 years to this fixture, you will be reflecting on one of the most pulsating and tempestuous Merseyside derbies of all time. Liverpool were seeking to close a nine-point gap on third place whilst the Toffees were desperate for three points in order to combat the threat of a relegation battle. It saw 12 yellow cards, two penalties, a red card and five goals in total. Emile Heskey opened the scoring for Liverpool after just four minutes in wake of a claim for handball from Jamie Carragher, who then played it Dietmar Hamman. The German slid a clever pass into Big Emile who shrugged off Steve Watson to crash the ball past Paul Gerrard. Everton’s equaliser came on 42 minutes when Michael Ball crossed into the opposition penalty area and Kevin Campbell gave chase only to be tackled by Carragher. In Carragher’s attempt to prod the ball away from Campbell, he inadvertently prodded it to Everton’s big number nine, Duncan Ferguson for 1-1.
After the break Liverpool hit an Everton side that were dominating proceedings on the counter attack. As Robbie Fowler attempted pick out Smicer, the ball found its way, via a deflection to Markus Babbel who slotted it home. 2-1. Liverpool’s Robbie Fowler then missed a penalty before Everton won one of their own – Jeff Winter pointing to the spot following a lunge on David Unsworth from the already booked Igor Biscan and as Biscan went to run an early bath, Unsworth dusted himself down and smashed it Sander Westerveld. In an already frenetic game, there was to be a final twist. In stoppage time, Niclas Alexandersson fouled Gregory Vignal over 40 yards from goal and Gary McAllister curled the ball majestically past Paul Gerrard to win it for the red half of Liverpool.
2) Everton 4-4 Liverpool (aet, FA Cup 5th Round replay, 1991)
It was a crazy game which produced one of the most exhilarating FA Cup games of all time. Peter Beardsley put Liverpool 1-0 up with a simple half-volley from close range and the men in red looked comfortable until Everton hero Graeme Sharp met Andy Hinchcliffe’s cross at the far post and headed them level. It was Beardsley again to make it 2-1, shimmying his way past Martin Keown and placing his left foot shot past Neville Southall. It was beginning to heat up and Sharp levelled in the 73 minute after an infamous mix up between Grobelaar and defender Nicol to make it 2-2. Everton needed to rescue it in the final minutes after Ian Rush’s goal and Tony Cottee was the man to do so and take it into extra time. In extra time, you’d have thought for all the world Barnes had sealed a famous victory with his curled effort for 4-3 but Cottee nabbed another leveller in minute 114th of this classic. Dalglish bizarrely resigned following the game.
3) Everton 3-0 Liverpool (Premier League, September 2006)
Everton continued their great start to the season with this victory over their Merseyside rivals with Andrew Johnson scoring twice. They showed a ruthless streak in front of goal and stood firm in the face of a Liverpool revival to record the biggest derby win in 42 years. Toffees fans who look back fondly at that day, will have Pepe Reina’s fumble of Lee Carsley’s shot for Andrew Johnson to nod home at the forefront of their minds.
4) Everton 1-0 Liverpool (FA Cup 2009)
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Teenager Dan Gosling fired home the winner in this one with two minutes of extra time remaining to gift Everton bragging rights in this fourth round replay curling home a measured finish past Pepe Reina sparking wild celebrations from the Evertonians in Goodison Park.
5) Liverpool 3-1 Everton (FA Cup Final, May 1986)
Seven days after Liverpool had secured the title, with Everton coming second, the two met at Wembley for this historic FA Cup Final. Everton were appearing in their third successive final whilst Liverpool were bidding to be the third team in the 20th century to do the double. Gary Lineker latched onto Peter Reid’s 40 yard ball to open the scoring for Everton in the 27th minute. But Ian Rush equalised in the 56th minute and then five minutes later Johnston stabbed home for 2-1. There enough time for Rush to complete a brace with another goal late on linking up with Jan Molby. Bobby Mimms thwarted the Welshman in getting his hat-trick.
Crystal Palace are reportedly keen on bringing young West Ham United prospect Declan Rice to Selhurst Park, the Sun reports.
What’s the Story?
After the arrival of highly-rated Issa Diop to the London Stadium, it appears Rice being pushed down the West Ham pecking order and will not be an automatic starter under Manuel Pellegrini next season.
Crystal Palace and Bournemouth are mulling over bids for the Irish defender, who is valued at £9m by Transfermarkt. It is unclear whether Palace and Bournemouth will have to meet or exceed this price tag to snap up Rice this summer.
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Do Palace need the centre-back?
Although Rice has undoubtedly shown he is capable of cutting it at Premier League level, he has been solid whilst not setting the world alight. With Mamadou Sakho, Scott Dann and James Tomkins all experienced Premier League centre-backs, it is unlikely he will break into Roy Hodgson’s starting eleven.
Rice would clearly add some much needed cover, if injuries strike Palace this season in the same way they did the last, but the centre-back position is not the biggest area in which the Eagles need strengthening. A new central midfielder is paramount if Palace are to push on next season, as is a new forward option and a winger as cover for Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend. Valued at £9m, Rice would take a significant chunk out of Hodgson’s budget for some much needed reinforcements and the budget could be better used elsewhere in the squad.
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If the 19-year-old aims to guarantee a starting spot, Selhurst Park is unlikely to be a destination that will suit either club or player.
[brid playlist=”4766″ player=”12034″ title=”World Cup 2018″]
Aston Villa will look to maintain their push for automatic promotion to the Premier League when they face Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday night, and Villa fans are divided on whether returning midfielder Jack Grealish, rated at £4.5m according to Transfermarkt, should start on Wearside.
The Midlands outfit currently lie four points behind second-place Cardiff City, and they missed out on the chance to close the gap to the Bluebirds when their game against Queens Park Rangers at Villa Park on Saturday was postponed because of the bad weather.
Steve Bruce’s side will get another opportunity to do that against the bottom-of-the-table Mackems however, with 22-year-old Grealish fit to play again after recovering from a calf injury he suffered last month.
Aston Villa supporters have been quick to have their say on his possible participation via social media, and they are divided with their opinions.
While one said “wouldn’t risk Grealish back if he’s not 100%”, another said “if Jack is fit he comes straight back in”.
Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…
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Liverpool will be a better team with their raft of new signings and Luis Suarez no longer around, according to 2005 Champions League winner, Dietmar Hamann.
The Reds sold their talismanic forward to Barcelona earlier this summer in a £75m deal, and have since taken their spending past the £100m mark to draft in eight new stars – providing Alberto Moreno’s expected switch from Sevilla goes through.
Although Suarez is currently banned from all footballing activities for his biting controversy at the World Cup and spent large chunks of his time at Anfield out of action through suspension, many have suggested that the forward’s exit will spark a downturn in fortunes at the club.
WANT MORE? >> Liverpool transfer news | Latest transfer news
His 31 goals last term fired Liverpool to within a whisker of a first ever Premier League title, for which he was named the division’s top player.
Although Hamann acknowledges that Suarez is a top talent, he believes that his lack of self-control means that the Merseysiders are better off with their new bunch of stars:
“I think Liverpool have bought well.” He is quoted by the Liverpool Echo.
“I have always been very critical of Suarez’s antics. In footballing terms, he is a big loss, but somebody else will score the goals and I think, long-term, they will be better off without him than with him.
“I’d rather have the six or seven players they have now than Suarez, because at the end of the day, if you want to win things, you need people you can trust, and he can’t be trusted.
“If he does something stupid again, he could be out for years, or for good.
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“Yes, he has been great, there is no doubt about it. But what could have been if he had not missed all the games he did when he was here? Maybe the team would have been in the Champions League a while ago. All he has to show from his time at Liverpool is a League Cup winner’s medal (from 2011/12). He is not leaving a team that was ruling the Premier League or Europe during that the last few years.”
Bacary Sagna has revealed he is enjoying life at Arsenal and believes feeling ‘at home’ is what is behind his improvement at the Gunners.
The French defender joined Arsenal from Auxerre in 2007 and has since been a regular fixture in Arsene Wenger’s team.
And the 29-year-old believes he has improved as a player since moving to the Premier League and feels relaxed, despite his family still living in France and several of the club’s best players leaving in the five years he has been at the Emirates.
He told Sky Sports: “It has been magic. Arsenal is like my family.
“My personal family is in France but I feel at home here. I feel happy to come training. I feel relaxed.
“There are not many big clubs where you feel that confident. I think I have progressed a lot. That was my target. To come to such a club and improve.”
Sagna also revealed he was initially nervous about moving to England due to his lack of English skills and having to leave his family behind, but is now happy with London life, his team mates and his manager.
“I was a bit nervous, because my English was basic,” he added.
“I was leaving my family and friends and it was a new life. I used to be stressed before games but now I am totally relaxed, because of my team mates and the manager.”
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Sagna has made 209 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal, scoring four goals.