Barcelona’s lead in La Liga has been cut to just five points after the Spanish champions were held to a 1-1 at Sevilla on Sunday.But the visitors will rue a costly mistake from Sergio Busquets, whose infringement during Lionel Messi’s eighth-minute free kick ensured the resulting goal would be ruled out.Substitute Bojan Krkic had put Barca ahead on the half hour with his first goal in three months, but Sevilla midfielder Jesus Navas stole a point for the hosts with an equaliser four minutes after the restart.Bojan, who replaced injured striker Pedro in the 14th minute, calmly slotted into the net after Dani Alves brought down Andres Iniesta’s high cross and slid his pass across for the 20-year-old starlet.Barca should have gone into the break more than one goal ahead given the chances they were afforded, and Navas made them pay early in the second half after rising highest to meet Alvaro Negredo’s floated cross.The Spanish champions again had the better of the opportunities, with Iniesta hitting the bar and Sevilla clearing a shot off the line, but Barca’s lack of finishing touch proved their undoing as they surrendered two valuable points.The result means Real Madrid are now within five points of the league leaders, while Sevilla remain eighth but move within two points of the Europa League places.Elsewhere, Villarreal suffered a setback in their pursuit of the top three when they were held 1-1 at home by nine-man Sporting Gijon.Giuseppe Rossi put Villarreal ahead in the 29th minute, but despite losing defenders Jose Angel (65th minute) and Rafael Sastre (90) to red cards Sporting were still able to match it with their opponents.Not only that, they were also able to level in the dying seconds thanks to a spot kick from Diego Castro.Villarreal remain three points behind third-placed Valencia and a Champions League berth.In other results, Mallorca’s unlikely European hopes were dented with a 1-1 draw at Levante, while Espanyol trumped 10-man Deportivo La Coruna 2-0 to climb to fifth on the table.Ten-man Osasuna kept their dream of top-flight survival alive by defeating Racing Santander 3-1, and Malaga also boosted their hopes of staying up with a plucky 2-0 win at Real Sociedad.
Sunday’s showcase friendly between Brazil and Scotland has been marred by allegations of racial abuse directed at Santos star Neymar.Brazil emerged 2-0 winners in the international friendly match, with forward Neymar scoring both goals in a stand-out performance at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium.
But reports have emerged of a banana being thrown onto the pitch in north London, with 19-year-old Neymar claiming to have been racially abused during the match.
“This atmosphere of racism is totally sad,” Neymar told Brazilian television channel Sportv.
“They were jeering me a lot, even when I was about to kick the penalty the entire stadium was jeering.”
“We leave our country to play here and something like this happens. It’s sad. I would rather not even talk about it, to keep the subject from escalating.”
Neymar became the target of Scotland fans after a lengthy period of treatment by the Brazil physio following a seemingly innocuous challenge in the first half.
“The reason Neymar was booed was because we believed he was feigning injury during the course of the game,” Scotland fan groups representative Hamish Husband said.
The throwing of bananas at black players was a regrettably common occurrence during British football in the 1970s and 1980s.
Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva is believed to have removed the banana from the pitch.
“There is no more space for racism in the world,” Leiva said.
“They say it’s the first world here in Europe, but it’s where it happens the most.”
“That has to change. Everybody is equal today, it’s a matter of respect.”
Neither manager claimed to have witnessed the incident.
“I didn’t see that,” Brazil coach Mano Menezes said.
“We didn’t have the displeasure of watching it. If it happened it is lamentable but we don’t have confirmation of the event.”
Scotland boss Craig Levein added: “I don’t know anything about that.”
It is not certain who threw the banana, which came from a section of the stadium populated largely by Brazil fans.
Sao Paulo edged within a point of Palmeiras at the top of the Campeonato Paulista after they beat Corinthians 2-1 on Sunday.In a battle of two of the division’s heavyweights, Sao Paulo needed to bounce back from a 3-2 loss at Paulista while Corinthians had extra motivation knowing a win could move them top.
But it was not to be as Sao Paulo joined Corinthians in a tight battle at the top and kept the pressure on the league leaders.
In a fiery match, Dagoberto gave Sao Paulo the lead at the Arena Barueri just four minutes before half-time to give his side a boost.
Goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni then doubled the lead after 53 minutes, with the keeper’s free-kick marking the 100th goal of his career.
Ceni holds the world record for goals scored by a goalkeeper and was booked for taking his shirt off amid the celebrations.
He was not the only player booked with Corinthians’ Alessandro, Dentinho and Sao Paulo’s Dagoberto all sent off within a 10-minute period early in the second half.
Dentinho managed to score six minutes before he was given his marching orders, but it was not enough for his side as Sao Paulo defeated their rivals for the first time in 12 meetings.
Santos joined Sao Paulo and Corinthians on 34 points, one off the lead, with a 3-2 away win at strugglers Ituano.
Jefferson fired the 17th-placed side into the lead after 23 minutes but goals before half-time from Tiago and Keirrison handed Santos the lead.
The win looked wrapped up when Jonathan Cicero added a third and although Allan added a late consolation, Santos held on for a win that keeps them very much in title contention.
In other matches, Linense thumped Botafogo 4-0 thanks to a double from Pedrao and strikes from Tarracha and Eder Marcelo, Americana won for the first time in seven with a 3-1 home triumph against Sao Bernardo and Ponte Preta and Paulista played out a goalless draw.
Auckland City boosted their hopes of qualifying for this year’s FIFA Club World Cup in Japan by beating Vanuatu’s Amicale 2-1 in the first leg of the Oceania region’s club final.Auckland thanked a lucky deflection for the decisive 82nd minute goal in Port Vila on Saturday, a clearing kick from Amicale defender Selwyn Sese Ala rebounding off Luis Corrales across the goal line after the grounded Costa Rican striker had slid in to meet a cross.
There was some doubt about whether Corrales would make it to Vanuatu – he arrived a day later than the rest of the squad – but City will be delighted they got him on a plane.
“There was a problem with his visa but he has been doing very well so we were keen to get him involved,” a relieved City co-coach Ramon Tribulietx said.
“The win has come via a little bit of luck in the end and I think we would definitely have settled for a draw,” said Auckland coach Aaron McFarland.
“Considering they played very well and dominated possession, we’re very happy with 2-1.”
Spanish striker Manuel Exposito scored from the penalty spot after being brought down by the keeper to put Auckland 1-0 up in the 22nd minute, before Amicale captain Fenedy Masauvakalo fired in a 67th minute equaliser.
The second leg for a place at the Club World Cup, and a guaranteed 250,000 pounds payday, is in Auckland on April 17.
Despite nearly repeating the historic treble and still being on course for a double, Manchester United have found themselves criticised throughout the season for not having the best squad. Lack of talent, desire and depth are all accusations that have been labelled at the champions elect this Premier League campaign, so come the next transfer window will it be time for a summer clear out of the ‘deadwood’ in the United ranks?
There are reportedly question marks over nearly a dozen players regarding their futures at the club. Owen Hargreaves and Michael Owen are out of contract, Wes Brown and Tomasz Kuszczak are reportedly up for sale and the talents of Dimitar Berbatov, Darron Gibson and Gabriel Obertan are still being questioned. Is losing so many squad players at once the right way forward for the footballing giants?
Michael Owen finds himself way down the pecking order at Old Trafford, behind Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov and Javier Hernandez; despite rumours of Berbatov heading off to pastures new, the Englishman will still be overlooked due to the return of Federico Macheda and Danny Welbeck from on loan.
Verdict: You’re Fired
Owen Hargreaves, a walking A&E unit, has managed only 39 appearances in nearly four seasons at the club and despite probably fitting the mould of the player to replace the ageing Paul Scholes, with too many questions mark over fitness of the midfielder, the England international is too much of a liability for such a big club like United to take a risk on.
Verdict: You’re Fired
Wes Brown has never really been a fan favourite or a favourite of any kind, but Brown offers the versatility and experience that a club the size of Manchester United needs. Squad players are a key fixture in the modern game with players sometimes playing three games a week, combined with question marks surrounding Rio Ferdinand’s long term fitness and Chris Smalling’s lack of experience, Brown could be a very handy player for Ferguson to hang on to.
Verdict: You’re Hired
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Tomasz Kuszczak has been waiting and waiting for the ever impressive Edwin Van Der Sar to retire, but now that season has come it seems the Red Devils appear adamant on signing a new world-class replacement for him, instead of handing some more responsibility to their unreassuring number two.
Verdict: You’re Fired
Dimiater Berbatov is the Premier League’s leading goalscorer with 21 goals this season, but the tally includes three hat tricks; don’t get me wrong, a very impressive feat but it is the Bulgarian forward’s all round contribution that leaves a lot to be desired. Wayne Rooney, even when out of form, is a given in the starting eleven and Javier Hernandez has been a breath of fresh air for the Red Devils faithful this season, in recent weeks being favoured by Sir Alex for the ‘bigger’ games. Berbatov, ultimately, just isn’t what Manchester United need right now.
Verdict: You’re Fired
Darron Gibson, I feel sorry for the guy, how can you possibly live up to the billing of the ‘next Paul Scholes’? Gibson has been criticised and ridiculed for the majority of his of Red Devils career, but with Scholes more than likely to hang up his boots at the end of the season, should the Republic of Ireland international hang around for one more season without the ‘legend ‘ of Scholes overshadowing him?
Verdict: You’re Hired
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Gabriel Obertan, I’m not sure how long he should be given to make an impact at Manchester United? But all I know is that the Frenchman frustrates me and just doesn’t look like ousting either Nani or Valencia on the wings now, or ever.
Verdict: You’re Fired
There is, in this humble writers opinion, room for a ‘mass’ exodus at United, and Ferguson is the best man to oversee this, the Scot has orchestrated numerous clear-outs during his tenure. Also, with rumours constantly circulating the Salford-based club with such signings as David de Gea, Ashley Young and Gareth Bale being touted, I’m sure United will be fine.
Sulley Muntari’s goal in the dying minutes claimed all three points for Sunderland in their 2-1 Premier League victory over Bolton.Steve Bruce’s men seemed to be heading for a draw when Ivan Klasnic headed home on an equaliser on 87 minutes, but Muntari’s strike in the 93rd minute means Sunderland are on 44 points and surely safe from the threat of relegation.
Sunderland went into the match looking for the win that would virtually guarantee their survival for another season.
But Bruce’s men arrived at the Reebok having won just once in 14 matches and they almost went behind on 10 minutes when Matt Taylor’s low drive seemed destined to open the scoring but Simon Mignolet saved with his legs.
Sunderland, decimated by injury, finally carved out a chance of their own on the half hour but Phil Bardsley headed off target from close range when he really should have done better.
But the visitors were celebrating a little while later when Boudewijn Zenden nipped in to slot the ball past Jussi Jaaskelainen for Sunderland’s first away goal since February 5.
Sunderland shipped 28 goals in 11 games prior to this match, but their defence stood up to the task admirably as Bolton fought in vain to get back into the game.
Having flirted with the idea of Europe, the emphasis now has turned to avoiding relegation and Bruce’s men looked nervy as the match drew to its conclusion.
But just as Bruce thought he was celebrating a crucial victory, substitute Klasnic struck to put Bolton back on level terms.
Klasnic, on for Taylor, rose highest to meet Rodrigo Moreno’s cross three minutes from time to seemingly claim a draw.
However, battling Sunderland struck back and Muntari smashed the ball home to seal the win and surely seal survival.
With one eye on the Champions League, Roma boss Vincenzo Montella has called on his troops to make the most of a trip to Bari on Sunday.Roma are four points behind Lazio and the fourth and final Champions League place on the Serie A table, and can ill-afford another slip-up the likes of their losses to Palermo and Juventus in the run-in.
Next up is a clash with league leaders AC Milan where, depending on the weekend’s results, it is possible the Rossoneri will be within reach of sealing the Scudetto with victory.
Knowing that taking three points against Milan will be a difficult task, Montella has urged his players to ensure they come away with a win at bottom-placed Bari, who are a mathematical certainty to drop to Serie B next season.
“We’ve got to win and put pressure on those teams in front of us,” Montella said.
“We have a great opportunity to stay in the race and creep up on the leading pack. Lazio are naturally the favourites, as they are currently in fourth place.”
“As for us, we cannot try to make a timetable of what results are needed to climb the standings.”
“It’s going to be a delicate encounter with Bari. We must remain concentrated, as in Serie A you can lose to anyone. Bari will be motivated to win.”
As a nation we are very quick to pass judgement on players who don’t instantly deliver, have a blip in form or have a few bad games. Andy Carroll is the latest recipient of unjust criticism after the striker’s display against Tottenham at the weekend earned him bad press from some quarters. Are one or two bad games enough to justify criticism of a player just starting out at a new club, or should fans be more patient to see the best from players? It was only month ago in the game with Manchester City that Carroll was rattling two goals in and was being highly acclaimed as a Liverpool star in the making. Now after inexplicably missing a guilt edge header in a Liverpool loss he is all of a sudden condemned as the wrong man for Liverpool! It’s quite baffling how quick some people are to judge and to demand instant fruition from players.
Fernando Torres is a fine example of a player who twelve months ago many people rated as a contender for the best striker in the world. A poor World Cup campaign and a disappointing Premiership season and now Torres is suddenly a bad player, well not in my book, I think football fans and the press are too quick to write players off. I’m not defending Torres, as I agree he has looked lacklustre since joining Chelsea and he hasn’t even shown glimpses of the sort of form he produced at Anfield. This leads to people constantly looking for answers as to why and the easiest way seems to be by handing out criticism, whereas a little faith and patience in players will often prove to be the best formula to success. On the other hand it could be questioned when clubs are paying out the sort of money that was spent on Carroll and Torres should they be delivering instantly?
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I seem to remember Thierry Henry being written off in his early days at Arsenal after he didn’t make a flying start to his career with the Gunners and look what he went on to achieve at the club. It’s not a new phenomenon in football and it will always go on, but as to pinpointing why we are so quick to judge is not easy to depict. I think it’s mainly as a result of the high expectations fans and the media place on players, which leads to an expectance for continual top draw performances from players. If these performances aren’t instant or consistent then you can be sure a barrage of criticism is waiting around the corner, along with premature claims of players not being good enough, or not being what the club needs.
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It’s funny because in the same way we are quick to write players off who are under performing, we are just as quick to hype players up when they are performing, then once the inevitable dip in form comes around the cycle starts again. I’m sure there are many opinions as to why we are so quick to write players off who aren’t instant successes or have a bad patch and all I would say is, the key is to have a little more patience.
The Newcastle United fans are hoping to see the arrival of a new striker to the club over the summer and I would expect to see thathappen, but is the future of Newcastle’s attack already at the club?In the penultimate Premier League game of the season at Stamford Bridge Newcastle finished the game with Sammy Ameobi, Nile Ranger and Kazenga Lua Lua all on the pitch. These youngsters are all clambering to prove themselves in the first team and while they will have to bide their time, could next season be their opportunity to shine?
Nile Ranger is further ahead in his progression than Lua Lua and Ameobi, having featured throughout this season’s campaign and he is more likely to be the one who pushes for a regular place on the bench next season. Lua Lua had an impressive loan spell at Brighton last season where he scored four goals in eleven games, but it was unfortunately cut short as he broke his leg. It may be that Ameobi and Lua Lua are still not ready in their development to push for the first team and would be better suited going out on loan next season. These are decisions Alan Pardew will have to make in an attempt to blend recognised first teamers and promising young players into the first team squad.
Pardew seems willing to give his young players a chance and he is clearly well aware of what they are capable of, as this quote from Pardew about his young players on NUFC blog shows, “They have been in the right environment and they are ready to step in if needed. They are coming up from a development pool that is well looked after with people like Peter Beardsley, Steve Stone, Willie Donachie and of course John Carver and myself having an input into that.” It’s too premature to say whether these young guns are going to be the future of Newcastle’s attack as they have only dipped their toes into the Premiership waters so far but there are promising signs.
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What I have seen of Nile Ranger this season is encouraging in terms of his work rate, pace and movement, but he doesn’t seem to have that natural finisher’s instinct in front of goal. If he is to be a Newcastle striker of the future I think it’s something he needs to work on, but it’s not unattainable and he could have a promising future ahead at the club. I have seen very little of Ameobi and Lua Lua, other than their cameos against Chelsea, to really cast judgement on the players. However, if they continue to excel for the reserves, they will get more chances like they did at Stamford Bridge to prove themselves.
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It will be interesting to see how these three attack-minded players develop over the course of next season, the activity in the summer transfer window will play a major part in whether or not they are given the opportunity to make the step up. While all Newcastle fans will be expecting and hoping to see new attackers come in to St James’ over the summer, I imagine Ranger, Lua Lua and Ameobi won’t be as keen to see new forwards joining the club as it willinevitably stunt their chances of making the first team. If they have what it takes, their time will come though and there would be nothing better than to see academy developed players making the grade.
The arrivals of Ashley Young and Phil Jones so far this summer have proved that United are willing to spend big to retain their Premiership crown next season and secure title number 20.
While they undoubtedly want to win more titles next year, the signings at Old Trafford this summer bode well for the future, to put United in good stead when Sir Alex Ferguson leaves the club.
Is that what Fergie is doing then this summer then – focusing on the next generation of United’s team and cementing his legacy so the team can continue to perform at such a high level when he retires?
Last season Ferguson finally achieved his ultimate goal by beating Liverpool’s record of 18 league titles, winning United’s 19th league title and the 12th Premiership title of his illustrious reign. But Ferguson will be 70 in December, and realistically he won’t be around forever.
With Ferguson gone, there is a chance that United could struggle without him, Sir Alex is the best and most successful manager in the world – and any manager would struggle to even try and emulate his success at Old Trafford.
But by signing young players with high potential, Ferguson is giving United a solid core of young talent to build around in the future. With Paul Scholes’ and Gary Neville’s retirement the “old guard” and the legendary class of 1992 are all but gone. Ryan Giggs is the only remnant of that great batch so Ferguson is now signing players and blooding in talent that will form that next great dynasty for the club.
That’s what United’s policy of signing young players under 25 is all about. Players that can come in, develop and contribute for years. If they don’t make the grade, they at least have a high re-sale value, so United don’t lose out financially.
If you look at United’s most recent signings, it points to Fergie building a legacy at the club, so they have a good side when he steps down. The vast majority –Nani, Valencia, Smalling, Chicarito, Ronaldo, Rooney, Carrick, Hargreaves, Anderson, Evra, Vidic – all were 25 or younger when they signed for United and yet to reach their peak as players. I can only think of a few players over the last few years – Edwin Van der Sar, Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen – that were the exception to the rule.
The arrivals of Ashley Young and Phil Jones are just continuing this trend. Young is 25 and Jones is 19; both players haven’t reached their peak yet and have great potential to be a big part of United’s plans for the next few years.
They will help establish a legacy for Ferguson as creates a solid core of young, exciting talent for his successor. United have a host of players are all still 25 or younger; Rooney, Valencia, Nani, the Da Silva twins and Chris Smalling are all young and will continue to get better.
And with the likes of Ryan Tunnicliffe, Ravel Morrison, Will Keane, Paul Pogba, Kiko Macheda, Danny Wellbeck and Tom Cleverley on the fringes of the first team and ready to contribute next season in some capacity, Ferguson is simply creating a new generation of young players who are familiar with each other, have played together for a while and can excel together, just like the golden generation of Beckham, Scholes, Giggs and the Nevilles nearly 20 years ago.
And that’s why I ultimately can’t see United signing Wesley Sneidjer this summer. The Dutch playmaker is 27 and is in the prime of his career, and is without doubt a world-class player. While I would love to see Sneidjer in a United shirt, I can’t see Ferguson willing to spend the £40m+ it would take to sign him from Inter Milan, when they would likely not be able to recoup that money in a few years time.
Obviously, there are exceptions (Berbatov being the main example), but a new keeper is a more pressing and important matter this summer (even in that case we are looking at youth in Spain’s David De Gea).
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It would be more likely for United to give Anderson or someone a bigger chance to fill the void left by Scholes, or promote a player from the reserves to come in and contribute next season.
What do you think? Is Sir Alex building his final dynasty?
Article courtesy of Tom Jinks from The Busby Way
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