As Wolves suffer their 4th straight defeat in a row Adam and I mull over the events that followed:
This week’s show!
Wolves News: Van Damme’s homesick, Injury update, Matt Murray’s reward and a 3rd Wolves Kit?
Wigan: Over after 10 mins? Did the lads play well enough? Best Wolves player on the day? Who will slot into the centre of midfield – Mancienne, Mijias, Edwards? West Ham – an even bigger 6 pointer?
The Henry debate: Has the media over-hyed Wolves so-called ‘dirty’ play too much? and Adam v BBC Matt Slater round 1
and finally….. Henry or Hanry?
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“He is not as good as Messi yet, but he has the talent to become this kind of player. He is the kind of player you have got every 10 or 15 years. He has got a very rare talent. I think he has been blessed by God.”
Lille Youth Coach Stephane Adam.
Eden Hazard is currently strutting around with the title of ‘most prized asset in European football’. This week saw the Lille hotshot light up message boards and social networking sites with news of his supposed imminent arrival at White Hart Lane.
Many would agree that Hazard has earned the right to be held in the same regard as official Ballon d’Or collector Lionel Messi. They share the same minute stature, which contributes to a low centre of gravity enabling them to drift past players with deceptive ease, and both fleet footed attackers have scored memorable solo efforts that mean they’re a constant presence on YouTube.
However, his wavering work rate has previously been brought into question and he was sensationally dropped by both Lille coach Rudi Garcia and Belgium national team coach Georges Leekens, who accused him of being lazy in training. Despite 9 goals in 22 league games this season, his strike rate is often described as ‘erratic’ meaning he’s usually criticised for not scoring more goals. He should fit right in with Luka Modric then.
Although reports of a done deal were a tad premature, Tottenham’s new found ability to seemingly attract a player of Hazard’s calibre is a true testament to their progress in recent years.
Redknapp’s side are now highly regarded as modern connoisseurs of free flowing attacking football, Hazard himself told Belgian talkshow La Tribune “It is a nice club with a lot of good players and absolutely a top coach.” The signings of seasoned internationals Scott Parker and Van Der Vaart, for relatively insignificant fees, have clearly enhanced their reputation on continental shores.
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The transfer of Hazard would certainly signal a new dawn at Spurs. His valuation is touted somewhere north of the £20m mark and his apparent wage demands would surely dwarf the highest earners currently residing at the Lane. No question then, this transfer could propel Spurs towards the same status as London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea.
Rumours of a potential deal struck a sour note with Arsenal fans and they immediately sought to quash its credibility, even going to the extent of creating the hashtag #hazzardtospursjokes on Twitter. It’s no secret that Wenger has tracked the petite playmaker for a number of years but once again he has refused to spend the money required to meet a parent club’s valuation. Having recently missed out on Gary Cahill, isn’t it time Wenger swallowed his pride to ensure the Gunners don’t descend into the laughing stock of the Europa League?
Chelsea are another club said to be sniffing around the twice named Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year, a feat that the legendary Zidane nor Henry managed to achieve. However, you would imagine their capture of Mata combined with the emergence of Josh McEachran has helped satisfy their appetite for an attacking midfielder.
Surprisingly, one club who doesn’t appear to be pursuing Hazard are Manchester United, whose much-publicised pursuit of Wesley Sneijder has dominated the back pages for many months. Surely Hazard represents a better long-term investment with his raw pace and ability to take on players. It would also prevent Wayne Rooney from having to drop back to the halfway line every time he wants to create a meaningful United attack.
Hazard has also been linked with a move to Spain where the style and intensity of La Liga would arguably better suit his game, and the pessimists among us would endorse the notion that this story is simply a ploy to encourage interest from these ‘big’ clubs. It’s fair to say he is one of only a few players who could improve a side like Barcelona and it would be foolish to rule out Real Madrid adding him to their expensive collection of Galácticos.
My initial reaction upon seeing this story was that this was a last ditch attempt by chairman Daniel Levy to convince Redknapp to shun a future with the England national side. Spurs look on course for a top 4 finish and with proposals for a new stadium emerging every five minutes, this landmark signing maybe the motivation Redknapp needs to remain at the club.
It remains to be seen where the finance will come from in order to bring these developments to fruition but it may explain the club’s unexpectedly quiet involvement in the January transfer window. The legions of giddy Spurs fans may have a change of heart when they realise they could be playing their home games at the Compare The Market Arena.
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In amongst all the speculation one thing remains clear; Tottenham Hotspur will struggle to make the next step without major investment.
Simples.
For more terrible puns and reaction to all the new developments in the world of football, join me on Twitter @theunusedsub
Blackpool almost claimed the three points they desperately needed to avoid relegation but had to settle for a point in a dramatic 1-1 draw with Tottenham.Charlie Adam missed a penalty with 15 minutes to go after Michael Dawson handled in the box but the Scotland international had the chance to atone for his miss, again from the spot, just 21 seconds later when Spurs keeper Heurelho Gomes tripped Gary Taylor-Fletcher.
This time, Adam netted to seemingly give Blackpool a crucial win but Jermain Defoe’s strike on 88 minutes salvaged a point for Tottenham, whose dreams of holding on to fourth place and a Champions League spot are hanging in the balance.
It can be argued that Adam was lucky to even be on the pitch after a foul on Gareth Bale should have been punished with a red card.
Bale left the field on a stretcher and replays showed his ankle buckle under Adam’s boot in a challenge that is likely to rule the Welshman out of Spurs’ final games of the season.
The match sprung into life after a tepid first half. Both sides seemed pretty lacklustre in the opening exchanges and even when Spurs found a way through, Roman Pavlyuchenko failed to test Matt Gilks in the Blackpool goal.
Sergey Kornilenko looked slow in attack for Blackpool and Adam failed to influence the match from deep in the first half as Spurs coasted towards a goalless conclusion after the first 45 minutes.
The second half had all the drama the first half lacked and the game exploded into life late on. With Blackpool increasingly getting a foothold in the game, Dawson handled Adam’s corner in the box and referee Lee Probert rightly awarded a penalty.
Gomes saved Adam’s spot kick but from the resulting corner, the error-prone goalkeeper brought down Taylor-Fletcher to incredibly give Adam the chance to redeem himself.
Having taken the ball off DJ Campbell, Adam this time sent Gomes the right way to seemingly give Blackpool a point in their hunt for survival.
But Defoe found space in the dying minutes to slam the ball past Gilks and earn a point for Tottenham.
If one thing was evident in Chelsea’s defeat to Manchester City yesterday it was just how important Frank Lampard is to the Blues. Granted Didier Drogba didn’t have one of his better games and on another day the result could have easily gone Chelsea’s way, but it is in those types of games that more often than not Lampard steps up to the plate and performs a little bit of magic to turn the game. Lampard has scored more than 20 goals in his last five seasons and without him Chelsea are down one player who can change a game and that can be the difference between winning and losing.
Lampard was ruled out of the match due to a hernia injury, which he has had an operation on, and Chelsea’s number eight looks set to miss the next two games before the international break, including the big one at home to Arsenal in a week’s time. That means that the rest of Chelsea’s midfield will have to get the job done and although they have their fair share of quality players, they are all similar in nature. John Obi Mikel will sit in front of the back four and while both Michael Essien and Ramires will get forward, you wouldn’t class either of them as an attacking midfielder.
One man who may be able to fill that role for Chelsea in the future is 17 year old Josh McEachran. The Stamford Bridge faithful are already raving about this hot prospect, who himself has admitted to The Mirror that “Chelsea say to me, ‘Look at Frank Lampard’. I need to get in the box more and score more and that will help me as a player, so I will try that more this season.” There is no doubting that McEachran will become a top player but that is still some way off just yet. For now Chelsea fans will be hoping that Lampard is back out on the pitch at Stamford Bridge rather than sitting in the stands with Christine Bleakley sooner rather than later.
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Here’s a video reporting on the fitness of Lampard prior to the defeat to Man City:
David Goodwillie’s equaliser 18 minutes from time kept Blackburn from dropping back into the relegation zone as they held Everton at Goodison Park.
Steve Kean’s side looked set to fall back into the bottom three after Tim Cahill’s first goal in over a year put Everton into a controversial first half lead before Goodwillie equalised in fortuitous circumstances late on. There is no doubt that Rovers will have been happy to leave Merseyside with a share of the spoils before kick off but their encouraging performance should have seen them go home with all three points. It was another drab home showing from David Moyes’ men who have now picked up only three wins from 11 at Goodison Park as their top half ambitions continue to slip away.
An entertaining first period saw both sides go close in the early stages with Victor Anichebe squandering a volleyed chance before Tim Howard saved smartly with his feet from David Dunn’s strike at the other end. It was Blackburn who looked more likely to open the scoring as Scott Dann saw his looping header hit the post before Phil Neville went close to celebrating his 35th birthday in style. The home side were celebrating soon after though as Cahill put the Toffees into the lead in controversial circumstances tapping the ball in from close to score his first goal in 34 games after being found by Marouane Fellaini. However Rovers felt the goal shouldn’t have been ruled out after the Belgian midfielder appeared to control the ball with his hand in the build up only for their appeals to referee Mark Halsey falling on deaf ears. But instead of complaining the visitors went in search of an equaliser and Dunn was left ruining his luck after seeing his strike bounce back off the post.
Radosav Petrovic went close just after the break flashing a 30-yard effort just after the break as Kean’s men strived to get the better of Everton’s injury hit back four. Everton threatened nothing in the second half prompting Moyes to throw Royston Drenthe on with the Dutch winger having an immediate impact flashing the ball across Blackburn’s penalty area. Still, the away side continued to press and they finally made the breakthrough in the 72 minute after Howard let Morten Gamst Pedersen’s free kick slip through his hands only for Cahill to see his clearance bounce back off Goodwillie and into the net. The hosts desperately tried to regain the lead and went close through Shane Duffy’s header but had to settle for a point that will serve Rovers well in their fight for survival
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We all love a spectacular goal, and since the start of the Premier League back in the 90s, we have seen a fair few stunners. But what would you regard as the greatest Premier League goal of all-time? Would you go for a goal that required a great technique? Is a long-range strike what you’re looking for? Or does it all depend on how important the goal is?
Choosing the best Premier League goal of all-time is too great a task for one man, so we’ve gone all democratic and decided to give you the fans the final say! There will be no coalition here, just one great goal that has received the most votes. There’s no way you can remember all of the great goals that the Premier League has seen, so we’ve even got some videos to jog your memory. Simply watch a bundle of great strikes and then vote for the greatest Premier League goal ever!
Click on the image to see the contenders – ENJOY
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Former Italy boss Roberto Donadoni has applied for the Aston Villa managerial post, according to his UK representative.
The 46-year-old led Italy to the last-eight at Euro 2008 but has been unable to secure a job since leaving Napoli more than ten months ago.
Charles Collymore told skysports.com:"Roberto is a great student of the English game and he is very interested in the job at Aston Villa.
"He knows Villa are a top club with an ambitious owner and he feels he could be a success there.
"Roberto has worked at the highest level and he has always dreamed of coaching in England.
"Roberto has the experience and talent to help develop the best young English talent and also the knowledge to help find the best foreign talent available."
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Kevin MacDonald has been in caretaker charge at Villa Park since Martin O'Neill surprisingly left the club last month.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Arsenal rose into the Premier League top four after Robin Van Persie scored the only goal at the Emirates Stadium to see off a spirited QPR side.
The Dutchman was chasing Alan Shearer’s record of 36 goals in a calendar year but had to settle for one less ending 2011 as the Gunners match winner once again. It was fitting that Van Persie was the man to score Arsenal’s final goal of the year striking the ball low past Radek Cerny on the hour mark to send Arsene Wenger’s side into the top four at the expense of London rivals Chelsea. It was a deserved victory for the home side who missed a host of chances during the 90 minutes although QPR did have their moments with Shaun Wright-Phillips and Jay Bothroyd wasting chances early on. Neil Warnock will now be nervously looking over his shoulder after his side slipped to 17th and now sit just two points above the drop zone.
He will be unhappy that his side failed to take advantage of Arsenal’s slow start to the game with Wright-Phillips and Bothroyd going close in the early stages before the home side woke from their slumber. It took the Gunners just over 15 minutes to create their first clear cut opportunity but Van Persie could only shoot straight at Cerny from a tight angle after twisting and turning into space. He then glanced a header wide of the post before poking the ball just over after escaping the clutches of Luke Young. The Dutchman was having a similar afternoon to the one he had on Boxing Day against Wolves and missed another volleying over after being found by Theo Walcott’s cross. Aaron Ramsey then had his volley cleared off the line by Joey Barton before Cerny thwarted Mikel Arteta punching away the midfielders strike.
It looked like it was going to be one of those games for Arsenal as Walcott dragged the ball wide early in the second half despite being one-on-one after being sent clear by Ramsey. However the winger’s blushes were spared as the clock approached the hour mark as Van Persie struck for his 35th goal of 2011 latching onto Andriy Arshavin’s through ball and cooly finishing first past Cerny to ease the tension around the Emirates and put the Gunners into the top four heading into 2012.
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Tonight Manchester United and Chelsea go head-to-head at Old Trafford in the second leg of the quarter finals of the Champions League. Sir Alex Ferguson’s men have the advantage thanks to a Wayne Rooney strike at Stamford Bridge and unsurprisingly Man United are odds on to progress to the semi’s and a likely tie with Schalke. However, can Carlo Ancelotti’s men give Man Utd the Blues and will a certain Spanish striker finally find his goal scoring boots?
It would be fair to say that Fernando Torres hasn’t had the best of starts at his new club and Torres is 3/10 to continue his drought and 5/6 to be substituted against Man United. bet365 spokesman Steve Freeth says “The introduction of Yossi Benayoun seemed to give Torres a lift on Saturday, but he still wasted a number of chances. These days we’re odds-on about the Spaniard firing a blank as opposed to a few seasons ago when he was scoring for fun.”
However, this could be the match where Torres makes his mark in a Chelsea shirt. Torres is 4/1 to outscore Wayne Rooney, which would be quite a feat considering the form of the two strikers right now. A more sensible bet might be for Fernando Torres not to score a Premier League goal for Chelsea this season, with odds of 5/1 available on that scenario.
Other than Torres’ form or lack of it, the major talking point to come out of the first leg was Chelsea not being given a late penalty when Ramires was fouled by Patrice Evra. Added to John Terry’s penalty miss in a certain Champions League final, Chelsea fans will feel that Manchester United and penalties aren’t a great combination.
bet365 are 6/1 about Chelsea getting a spot-kick at Old Trafford in the return leg and 33/1 about Ancelotti’s side winning on penalties. Steve Freeth says “Fergie had a penalty decision go his way on Wednesday and Chelsea fans won’t need reminding about Moscow 2008.” Given the amount of penalties awarded to away teams at Old Trafford over the years, this might be a market to steer clear of.
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Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has leapt to the defence of goalkeeper Jose Reina after his horror own goal at the end of their Premier League opener against Arsenal on Sunday.
The former Fulham boss has refused to place the blame on the shoulders of the Spaniard, despite his error in the dying moments of the clash enabled the Londoners to return to the capital with a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw.
Speaking to the club's official website, he said:"He took it hard because he is a very serious professional who really believes in himself and the team.
"He will be the first one not to try and apportion blame to other people, so of course he's taken it hard.
"But I thought he played well considering he didn't have an awful lot to do – and what he did have to do came very spasmodically. His concentration was good, his kicking was excellent.
"He's had a shoulder injury and came back quicker than we thought he would, so there are an enormous number of positives.
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"The one negative, unfortunately, was he let in a goal which in normal circumstances he would have kept out."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email