Today there have been stories linking Jermaine Jenas in a transfer to Aston Villa. My question today is, would Spurs fans shed a tear if Jenas moved on?
At this minute Modric is probably one of Redknapp’s first names on the team sheet, along with Bale and Van Der Vaart. This realistically does not allow for Huddlestone, Palacios, Jenas, Sandro, O’Hara , Kranjcar and Piennar (if he is tried them in the middle), to play in the centre of midfield.
Importantly, Aston Villa appear willing to splash a good amount of cash on Jenas. While I would not call for his head before others (particularly O’Hara after his comments last year), if Jenas represents the best value for money, it should be him that makes way. If Tottenham get an offer around £8-10 million then they would be unwise to turn it down.
Since Harry has made it clear that he does not want to sell Crouch in this window, and since the policy of ‘sell before you buy’ seems to be in place at White Hart Lane this year, the option of £8-10m for a squad player seems very reasonable.
It seems this year that Redknapp has real ambitions of breaking into the top four and a desire to bring in experienced and/or world class players. Diarra is a name that has been linked with Spurs and he is an option that would definitely improve the Spurs squad and move them in the right direction.
People may feel that an anchoring midfielder like Diarra is just a better version of Palacios, and if Diarra comes in it should be Palacios that goes. However, Jenas at £8-10m would prove better business. Furthermore, if Harry is looking to strengthen with players other than Diarra, the loss of Jenas would prove less of a blow than that of Palacios. Yes, Jenas may be better at keeping possession, but Palacios remains superb at winning the ball. The winning of the ball in the defensive half of the pitch will be crucial to Tottenham’s counter-attacking style.
The worry for a Tottenham fan if they lose Jenas is that he is just coming back to full fitness and has looked brighter this season than last and he is always willing to try his best. Plus, he is English which is important for the ‘home-grown players’ ruling. Add that to the fact that he is eligible to play for Spurs in the Champions League, something that a cup-tied player like Diarra is not, and you can see how he may be missed.
So if a Spurs fan has ambitions to succeed in Europe, they may well have a strong case in bemoaning the sale of Jenas. However, if you believe Spurs to have a genuine chance to finish in the top 4, the sale of Jenas for a good price would be a smart option and would allow for a better midfielder. If Harry wants to bring more playersin , the sale of Jenas would allow him to do that. If he is not looking to further strengthen the squad, he will need Jenas.
Either way, time is running out for Spurs and they will have to make a decision quickly, but that seems to be the way with the transfer window these days.
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Tottenham are ready to offer £7 million for highly-rated Blues goalkeeper Jack Butland according to The Daily Mail.
The north London club are thought to be in the market for a new goalkeeper, as new coach Andre Villas Boas is said to have identified this as an area that needs strengthening.
Butland was called into the England squad for Euro 2012 and has impressed in club appearances in the lower leagues sufficiently to have a raft of Premier League clubs chasing his services.
Southampton are thought to have had a £6 million bid rejected by Birmingham City for the talented goalkeeper, and Spurs will now up the ante in a bid to capture his signing.
It is believed that Villas Boas would even allow Butland to remain at St Andrews on loan for the first year of the deal.
Meanwhile, Rafael van der Vaart’s future is also very much in the balance, as Spurs are supposedly ready to offload the forward.
The Netherlands international’s wife works for a TV station in Germany, and as such the playmaker has been linked with a move to the Bundelsiga.
Former club Hamburg and Champions League qualifiers Schalke are thought to be keen to sign him, with £10 million sufficient to convince Villas Boas to part with the attacker.
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Pick over a current world eleven? Easy. Decide upon the worst FA Cup final suit in the history of Wembley clashes? No problem. Choose from a list of classic football video games and identify a winner? Impossible.
I thought this was going to be the most fun article ever. The idea of smashing out hours of qualification drama on FIFA: Road to the World Cup with a fledgling Trinidad and Tobago side and once, just once winning the league title on Pro Evolution Soccer 5 sounded incredible.
Alas, my task was a little tougher than I thought it might be. Can I justify including Steven Gerrard’s Gameboy Advance game in the list, even though no one will have heard of it? Can I possibly get a mention in for ‘Michael Owen’s World League Soccer’ and the painstaking banter between the forgotten Peter Brackley and Ray Wilkins every time there is a lull in play?
I know I can’t possibly please everyone, but all of the games on this list are absolute masterpieces, one way or another- let me know your favourite…
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10: FIFA Street (2005)
Presumably inspired by the Nike advert from the 2002 World Cup, FIFA Street was EA Sports’ attempt at trying to bridge the gap between themselves and the phenomenally successful Pro Evolution Soccer series.
Released in between their 2005 and 2006 editions, the game never really took off, and was a little too complicated, however there was enough about it to admire its inventiveness. Putting Peter Crouch on the front cover, however, was not the smartest move in the world…
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9: FIFA 2000 (1999)
By the turn of the century, the FIFA series was almost untouchable. Helped by a number of turkeys released around the same time, such as; ‘Michael Owen’s World league Soccer’ and ‘This is Football’, the game franchise was a significant force to be reckoned with. This edition, released in October 1999 managed to pack in the first comprehensive season mode and the ability to unlock classic teams.
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8:World Cup Italia 90 (1990)
Not quite the game that started it all off, but one of the first attempts to try and tie in a major tournament with a video game release. Sega’s Mega Drive was not renowned for its sports simulators, however there was much here that later games would build on.
The interface is very reminiscent of arcade soccer games that adorned cinemas, leisure centres and airports throughout the 1990’s, and for a game that is over 20 years old, the concept and graphics hold up well.
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7: FIFA RTWC (1998)
Back when I first acquired a football game for the PC, my main requirements were that the goalkeeper could get sent off and that you could give every player on your side a peroxide blonde haircut in tribute to the Romanian side that donned the look in that year’s World Cup.
Sadly, the holy grail of the goalkeeper getting sent off was still some years away, however this game remains very close to my heart. A meticulous qualification process was available to those with patience, and the database of players and teams from across the world was unrivalled. The commentary of Des Lynam, Andy Gray (R.I.P) and John Motson was also world class.
6: Pro Evolution Soccer 2 (2002)
Who would have known that a game which referred to West Ham as ‘Lake District’ would go on to be such a major success? The Japanese company, Konami, were responsible for the creation of the Pro Evolution Soccer (Winning Eleven) Series and in the early years of the PS2 implementation, rose to become FIFA’s biggest rival.
Games snobs initially refused to play PES because of the lack of licencing on any of the top sides or players, however the addictive nature of the series took off, even with a control system which was in direct contrast with its rival.
Played now, the game feels very dated, but the framework for success was laid here for more illustrious successors.
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5: Championship Manager 2 (1995)
Before the 2004 Eidos/ Sports Interactive split put paid to this top selling franchise, Championship Manager, was a humongous hit for football fans. Like Sensible Soccer, it was the first game of it’s kind with creators Paul and Oliver Collyer, designing the game from the confines of their bedrooms.
Starting slowly, the series exploded with the release of Championship Manager 2. Implementing many of the key features which adorn management games today, the 1995 release remained popular even after more updated versions were made available.
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4: FIFA 2010 (2009)
When the Playstation 3 finally hit shelves in the first quarter of 2007, the big question surrounded how EA Sports and Konami would deal with the transition from PS2 to PS3.
FIFA games from the early noughties had become formulaic and to be honest, pretty dull. As always they were a visual treat, but the ability to bend the ball in on the volley from 40 yards every game quickly became mundane.
When PS3 came along, everything changed. Konami struggled to transfer the fluidity of the PS2 hits when developing a visually more impressive product for the new console. EA Sports were quickly ahead, learning from many of the mistakes they had made in the PS2 era.
FIFA 2010 was an amalgamation of the best parts of the franchise’s visually stunning past, and the addictive playability that had contributed so much to the success of EA’s rivals.
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3: Pro Evolution Soccer 6 (2006)
I once sat down with a friend at university and had a race to 100 (ish) wins on ‘Pro Evo 6’ over the course of a term. It was the sort of titanic tussle that I will look back on with my grandchildren and explain how I gave away a 35-6 lead and recovered from being 95-70 behind to draw level at 99 apiece.
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There was something about Pro Evo 6 that compelled you to keep playing. It had neither the technical wizardry of recent FIFA Playstation 3 versions, nor the endearing loveableness of earlier Konami incarnations, but it was just so damn addictive.
Despite drinking enough Red Bull to believe that Tal Ben Haim might actually be a decent central defender, taking the shoulder buttons out of my controller because I believed it made Michael Ballack run faster, and not showering for three days I eventually lost the series 105-103. Needless to say, I struggled with the ladies that term…
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2: Football Manager 2005 (2004)
After being the product of the Eidos/ Sports Interactive split in 2004, Football Manager has set new standards for sport’s management games. Quite simply, the level of detail and control afforded the armchair fan is insane.
Sports Interactive have done particularly well in creating a consistent interface across each edition which they still release on an annual basis. The biggest advantage over competitors, however was the introduction of the network game, linking armchair fans all over the world. Millions of courses, degrees and exams have been failed the world over as a result of this particular feature.
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1: Sensible Soccer (1992)
When I took a straw poll of my friends’ favourite games on this list, Sensible Soccer was the first name on everyone’s lips.
When you look at the game’s level of invention, it is not hard to see why it remains such a popular title. Originally released for the PC, later 3D versions were released, however, it was this basic, birds eye view of the football pitch that initially won over fans.
The 1994 release of The Sensible World of Soccer was later named as one of the ten most important video games ever created by a Stanford study. Most uniquely, SS managed to transfer it’s charms across all platforms and systems- a feat that both FIFA and PES have yet to manage.
Arsenal will hope to keep up with the Premier League pace setters Manchester United with a victory at home to Everton tonight. The Gunners are just 5 points behind their old rivals but will face a tough test against an in form Everton side. The Toffees have only suffered one defeat since November and were unlucky not to beat Chelsea in the FA Cup at the weekend.
Samir Nasri limped off during Arsenal’s FA Cup win over Huddersfield and faces a month on the sidelines, which could prove costly as he is their leading goal scorer this season. Also missing tonight will be central defender Sebastien Squillaci, who is suspended and that could mean Alex Song dropping back from midfield as cover.
David Moyes has questioned their lack of firing power to win games and this may be the case tonight; his side came close to winning at the Emirates last season when Arsenal scored a last minute equaliser. Tim Cahill is back from international duty but will be rested for the game so an unchanged team from Saturday is expected.
Prediction: 1-1
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Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini has admitted that he would be open to a move away from Merseyside, but will be happy to stay at the club if no offers come in for him.
The Belgium international has been praised of late for excellent performances in the Premier League and for his nation, and as such Chelsea and Real Madrid are thought to be monitoring the £20 million-rated man.
Fellaini has confirmed that he is unaware of any offers for him as yet but is ambitious to play in Europe.
“If I have got to go, I will go, if not, I repeat, I am at Everton,” he told Belgian radio station RTBF, translated to English by Sky Sports.
“I am ambitious; I want to play in the Champions League or in the Europa League. Last season we finished seventh with Everton, and we were not able to qualify us for Europe, which was a shame.
“If an ambitious club comes in for me? Why not, just to gain experience but I’m on vacation right now, I do not give [speculation] too much attention.
“Every year they say I’ll be transferred to the left or right. But I’m still at Everton.
“If it comes, I take, if it does not come, I stay at Everton, where I am happy, and where I still have a four-year contract.
“Everything goes fast in football. You can be transferred tomorrow, as you can be in one or two years. For now, I’m on vacation, I try to arrive fresh at the start of next season. If there are any concrete offers yet? If this is the case, I am not aware.
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“They talked about me in Chelsea? If I had to go there, I would have several friends – Hazard, Lukaku, De Bruyne, Courtois … There are many Belgians! It’s good for the national team,” he concluded.
Sergio Aguero’s move to Manchester City is edging closer to completion and I couldn’t be happier. No I am not a Manchester City fan but in Aguero I think City are acquiring one of the most exciting talents in world football and he looks set to grace England’s top tier next season. Like most wonderkids from Argentina he carries huge expectation with him whether he goes but whilst City line him up to be the next Carlos Tevez, can Aguero go on and be better than the man he is replacing?
Aguero, or El Kun, has been plying his trade with Atletico Madrid in Spain’s La Liga for a number of years and like his former teammate Fernando Torres, he also now looks set to test his talents in England. Despite the attacking wealth at City’s disposal, the possible departure of captain Carlos Tevez has obviously left Roberto Mancini needing a replacement. And in Aguero you are getting that like-for-like replacement that the departure of Tevez would require.
Both Argentine internationals are small in build (both around 5ft 7in) and not your conventional target frontmen. At 23 Aguero is four years younger than Tevez, allowing Aguero time to develop and adapt to the English league. When Tevez arrived in City he had experience of the Premier League with West Ham and Manchester United but Aguero may take slightly longer to settle at City than Tevez. If the quoted £38million figure is correct then City are also doing a good deal business wise if they can sell off Tevez for a higher amount.
But what about goals? The success of Tevez at City came down to his fantastic goal scoring record and ability to change a game. With Aguero City have the same attributes. Aguero has scored 121 goals in 280 appearances for club and country (compared to Tevez’s 151 in 361). Aguero also matched Tevez’s 20 goals in their domestic leagues last season.
Another attribute so crucial to City’s success last season was Tevez’s ability to create a moment out of nothing. Aguero’s skill, pace, fast feet and eye for goal means he has similar quality. He has the frightening ability to take on and beat defenders with the upmost ease. Premier League defenders may be relieved to read about Tevez’s probable departure but with Aguero they will have little to time to relax.
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But there are ways in which the two differ. Tevez’s inability to stay at a club longer than a couple of years has been very unsettling. He clearly wants to leave and there is no doubt that this very public desire to move on has affected the club, players and manager in some way. Aguero joined Madrid aged 18 back in 2006. After understandably taking time to settle in a new country, Aguero went on to have a huge impact in La Liga. He has been on the radar of the European elite for many years and despite obvious interest in his services, he has shown a loyalty to the club that developed him beyond what many would have expected. Aguero seems keen to join City and that is crucial for Mancini. But one thing that may be lost in replacing Aguero with Tevez is Tevez’s ability to influence the team. Tevez’s played an integral role on the pitch last season in rallying the City players to victories with his endless work ethic and leadership skills. Aguero won’t offer the same presence but it will be up to City’s more senior players to take up that particular void left by Tevez.
Despite City’s obvious intentions to replace Tevez with Aguero, there is still a slim chance that both could be playing at the same club next season. The saga that is Tevez’s transfer looks far from completion whilst Aguero is nearing his move to Manchester. I do expect Tevez to still leave, with City maybe more willing to do business after signing a suitable replacement but it would be an interesting situation if both were at City come the start of the season.
The loss of Carlos Tevez will always be a blow to City after his influential time with the club but in Aguero, they have the best replacement possible to continue their aim of reaching the very top of world football.
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Robbie Keane’s proposed move to Birmingham City has hit a snag after the Irish striker reportedly demanded a wage increase.
Spurs accepted a £6 million approach for the striker from Birmingham City on Friday and the deal seemed set to go through in the days following. However, Keane’s desire to increase his current £65,000 a-week salary means that the move could now be at risk of collapsing.
The snag is likely to be frustrating to both teams involved in the deal. Tottenham are desperate to bring in a new striker in January and getting Keane off of the wage bill, plus any money earned from the sale, would help in funding a move for potential targets Andy Carroll or Luis Suarez. Birmingham too are keen to add striking talents to their ranks and with a move for Rangers forward Kenny Miller falling through, the expected arrival of Keane would have been a big boost for the club.
Keane’s only goal this season came in a League Cup encounter with Arsenal and he has found his first team action severely limited since the start of the season. Keane is behind Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe and Roman Pavlyuchenko in the pecking order at Spurs and, despite his reported wage demands, is likely to be moving to be moving on before the window shuts.
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Tottenham are weighing up a move for Brazil international striker Leandro Damiao, and may well opt to try and sign him over other attacking targets this summer, according to Mirror Football.
The Internacional forward has impressed for club and country, and the north London club sent chief scout Ian Bloomfield to South America to watch the hitman in action over the weekend.
Harry Redknapp’s men missed out on Champions League football for next season after Chelsea won this term’s tournament on Saturday, which could have a major bearing on the club’s transfer policy this summer.
With Emmanuel Adebayor’s loan spell finished and the African returning to Manchester City, Spurs have a gap to fill in attack.
The Togolese marksman’s wages are thought to be a stumbling block for the White Hart Lane outfit, whilst an inflated transfer fee for Marseille’s Loic Remy is also a barrier.
However, Spurs may opt to try to sign Damiao, who is being monitored by a raft of European sides and is valued around the £15 million mark.
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The recent influx of new faces at Liverpool this summer has simultaneously served to reignite optimism amongst the club’s fans and place doubts over the futures of several members of the playing personnel.
Among the players rumoured to have the Anfield axe hanging above his head is forgotten man Alberto Aquilani. Aquilani, a marquee signing two summers ago, has returned to Merseyside after Juventus failed to stump up the fee needed to turn his loan deal into a permanent one.
The player’s agent Franco Zavaglia has dampened speculation that his client will be the next player to follow Paul Konchesky out of the club. Speaking to milannews.it, he said: “The possibility of seeing Alberto back in the Italian championship is very small at the moment. At the moment I believe Aquilani will be wearing the Liverpool shirt next season.”
The former Roma man featured in both of Liverpool’s pre-season friendlies last week, and turned in a particularly noteworthy performance in the second half of the side’s 6-3 win over a Malaysian All-Star XI on Saturday. Indeed his display was deemed to be so impressive that it prompted a complimentary tweet from club owner John W. Henry, who said: “One missing link last year: Acquilani. Put the ball near Ngog and the goal and it’s going in. Too much talk of them somewhere else.”
Whilst pre-season friendlies against vastly inferior opposition are seldom the barometer of a team or player’s quality, Aquilani’s contributions sought to reassure the club’s management of his undoubted ability and class. Many, including the player himself, will be hoping that these recent performances and Henry’s ringing endorsement will prove to be catalysts for a revival in his Anfield fortunes.
A successful transition to life in the Premier League is an accomplishment that has eluded some of the continent’s most distinguished footballers. The high-profile examples of Andriy Shevchenko and Juan Sebastián Verón illustrate how hard adapting to English football can be. Aquilani’s initial introduction to the Premier League was made even harder by several aggravating factors.
The midfielder arrived at Anfield carrying an injury, and may have forced his recovery in order to hasten his return to first-team action. Aquilani’s return from injury also coincided with a dismal run for the Reds, which included an ignominious early Champions League exit. Most tellingly, many erroneously saw Aquilani as a direct replacement for the much-loved and much-missed Xabi Alonso, despite earlier suggestions by then manager Rafa Benitez that the two were very different players.
Speaking after the Italian’s arrival, Benitez said: “Alberto is a player who has quality, game intelligence and can pass the ball quickly. He can play more offensive than Alonso did in the final third, and he has more accuracy in his final pass.”
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After enjoying a sustained run in the team towards the end of 2009/10, Aquilani actually ended the season with the best assists per minute rate of any player plying their trade in Europe’s top five leagues, vindicating Benitez’s earlier assertion.
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Since replacing Roy Hodgson, Kenny Dalglish has emphatically demonstrated his mastery of man-management and motivation. Glen Johnson and Martin Skrtel were two notable beneficiaries of the Scot’s return, whilst youngsters John Flanagan and Jay Spearing can also attribute their first-team ascensions and subsequent success to the faith of Dalglish. Should he stay, Alberto Aquilani could be the next player to reap the rewards of a little bit of King Kenny confidence.
Do you see an Anfield future for Alberto Aquilani? Let me know below or on twitter at www.twitter.com/zarifrasul
Continuing our look into the foreign wags that put the Premier League ones to shame…
Bernardo Corradi, as Man City fans will testify, is a pretty unremarkable footballer who is currently plying his trade with Serie A side Udinese; however the same certainly cannot be said of the experienced striker’s other half, the beautiful Elena Santarelli.
Miss Santarelli is a model and TV personality in her native Italy and I’m sure you’ll agree by flicking through the gallery that she more that puts the Premier League WAGs firmly in the shade.
While Mr Corradi currently does little than warm the bench at Udinese these days, I’m certain Bernardo must take a lot of comfort knowing the little lady he has waiting at home for him.
Click on Miss Santarelli below to see her in all her glory