Manchester United forward Robin van Persie has escaped FA action for his reported elbow on Yohan Cabaye.
The Dutch forward appeared to strike the Newcastle midfielder in his side’s 3-0 win at the Sports Direct Arena on Sunday, with Alan Pardew calling for the visiting attacker to be reprimanded by the governing body.
However, The Telegraph state that match official Howard Webb has recommended that no action be taken against Van Persie, and that the incident did not deserve any punishment.
Van Persie had already been booked in the game before the incident, and Sir Alex Ferguson was quick to substitute his striker soon after.
The Netherlands international appeared to be in hot water, but has escaped punishment in a boost for the Old Trafford outfit.
Similarly, Luis Suarez will not be in the FA’s gaze over claims from Stoke boss Tony Pulis that the Liverpool forward was guilty of diving at the weekend.
The Britannia Stadium chief called for action to be taken against Suarez, but this will not be forthcoming.
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Nani’s future at Old Trafford is in doubt following increasing speculation over a potential transfer to Italian Champions Juventus.
The Portuguese winger has moved down in the pecking order at Manchester United following the arrival of new signing Shinji Kagawa and youngsters Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley breaking into the first team.
Nani has made just five starts this season, suggesting he is no longer integral to Sir Alex Ferguson’s first team plans. Juventus are rumoured to be leading the race to sign the winger, and will attempt to lure the United ace away from the Premier League in January.
When quizzed by reporters on his future at United, the Portugal international replied: “Only God knows what awaits me,” suggesting he is unsure whether he will stay with the Red Devils.
Nani went on to dismiss claims he hasn’t been playing due to fitness concerns.
“I am in perfect condition – I am physically good and feeling confident. I am the same Nani as always.”
Meanwhile, Sir Alex Ferguson has invited 16-year-old Brazilian striker Bruno Gomes to train with United for further trials. The teenager, who has trained at Carrington before, is on the radar of many top European clubs; however it seems he has his heart set on signing for United.
“My goal is to become top scorer in the league, being the first Brazilian to do so, while also to be English champion and to win the Champions League,” said the ambitious youngster.
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“[Ferguson] is a legend in Manchester, where everybody respects him and to be close to him was great. In fact, he only asked about my position and if I spoke English. Then he talked with the club representative who took me to Manchester,” he added.
Manchester United winger Nani is reportedly the subject of much interest at the moment with as many as six clubs thought to be chasing his signature after it became clear that the club would be willing to listen to offers for him for the first time after a series of disappointing displays this term, but should they really be looking to move him on?
The 25-year-old has been at Old Trafford for six years now and has always provided a steady and consistent stream of end product. Having scored 38 goals in 201 games so far for the club and he finished last season with 11 assists in the league, with only Antonio Valencia providing more as they were pipped to the league title by local rivals Manchester City by the narrowest of margins on the final day of last season. This is a player who had the joint-highest combined goals and assists record in the Premier League two seasons ago, with nine and a remarkable 18 respectively, as well as scoring eight and assisting 10 in 2011-12.
Nevertheless, there’s been a growing frustration at his performances over the past year or so and as he approaches his 26th birthday, it becomes harder and harder to explain away his poor decision-making. Cristiano Ronaldo suffered from a similar weakness in his initial years at Old Trafford and simply due to the nature that the two are from the same country, his apologists have often pleaded patience with Nani arguing that he will come good just in the same way that the Real Madrid man did, but it looks unlikely at the moment.
When you compare Nani to Valencia, his rival for a right wing berth, then it’s clear why Sir Alex Ferguson has largely favoured the Ecuadorian given that his delivery from wide areas is dependable and even if he may be something of a one trick pony, it’s a trick that works most of the time. Whereas with Nani, you simply don’t know what you’re going to get, which in itself can have an impact on the rest of the side with other players less willing to make a run off the ball for the fear that he’ll simply have a crack from distance or pelt one into the nearest man from out wide.
There’s also the fact that Ferguson has brought in two simply superb attacking options this summer in Shinji Kagawa and Robin van Persie. The Dutch striker is likely to be the focal point of the club’s attack while Wayne Rooney drops off behind him, with both Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez displaying good form at home and abroad of late.
This saw Ferguson go with three up front in their last home game against Stoke and start with a midfield diamond against Braga, with neither system lending itself to what United have become traditionally known for, which is playing two recognised wingers every game, which also decreases Nani’s chances of regular football.
His ego has also been a problem and had an impact on performances, and for every wonder goal he strikes from range, he balloons ten into the stands and why he insists on taking free-kicks from ‘Ronaldo range’ is beyond me. He’s a strange player to characterise fully, though, given that during some games he can be unplayable, with the 4-4 draw against Everton last term an example, and others absolutely appalling, which points to a player with a confidence level that’s more fragile than we are often led to believe.
The financial aspect is also worth considering and the club have spent a sizeable amount this summer and with over £50m spent on potentially crippling interest repayments in the year ending June 2011, with the promise of more to come, if the club could seal a deal for a fee in the region of £25m, particularly with his contract entering its final 18 months, would be far too tempting to turn down.
Much in the same way that Anderson frustrates but always offers a ray of hope every now and again with a superb showing, Nani does the same and they are probably the two most divisive players at the club right now. He is inconsistent yet creative, egotistical yet fragile and he flits between terrible and unplayable with the sort of consummate ease not normally associated with a Manchester United player.
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There’s no denying his talent, but with the numerous attacking options available at the moment, he’s far from a guaranteed starter, yet at the same time, while the money on offer may be extremely appealing, would the squad be in better shape if they did let him go? When discussing the rumoured departure of any player, that above all else is the question that needs to be asked and in his case, I’m not so sure it would be. He may have his flaws, plenty of them even, but he’s a player capable of unlocking doors and every side needs someone of that caliber from time to time.
A more precise game isn’t more beautiful. Mistakes keep the sport exciting, be they in a pub match or a World Cup final.
Opposing goal-line technology appears, on the face of it, to be a fool’s errand. Who doesn’t want referees to make the right decisions? Which English football supporter, remembering Frank Lampard’s wrongly disallowed goal against Germany in the last World Cup, wouldn’t dream that maybe the national team might have avoided ignominious defeat had that goal been allowed?
Football fans, however, should be careful what they wish for. The drive to GLT is not the result of a desire for fairness and accuracy. Instead the words its proponents routinely invoke when demanding its introduction are: “With so much at stake …” By which they mean, with the rewards for success and the costs of failure at top-level football so immense, human error is unacceptable.
Why so? The beauty of football is that every officially sanctioned game is the same. The pitch must be of a size conforming to the strictures of the laws of the game; the goals are the same size regardless of the teams; the officials apply the same laws, whether it’s a World Cup final or a Sunday league game between two pub teams. GLT will destroy this thread of consistency running through the game: economics dictates that cameras (and officials to study their pictures) will become too expensive only a little way down football’s pyramid. The park players on a weekend morning will be playing a different game to the professionals in the afternoon. Indeed, most of the professionals will be playing a different game to the elite few at the very top level, which is where GLT will likely find its home. And once GLT is in place, the demands will begin for further technological aids – to decide offsides, penalties and so on.
The only logical way for the referee to maintain his authority and work with technology is for technology to be applied to every element of the game. Then he can be tucked up in an office somewhere in the stadium with a load of blinking screens analysing every blade of grass, every tugged shirt and every sleight of hand. With all this information available to him, he’ll be top dog, free to interpret every subtle nuance in line with the Laws of the Game. He’d need an assistant on the pitch to actually enact his decisions, and there’d be lots of pauses to double-check possible offsides, bad tackles, handballs etc.; but so be it.
For me, and for many other fans, one of the beauties of football is its imperfection. Your favourite player might be capable of beating six opponents then calmly sidefooting the ball wide of the target. Your goalkeeper might make a wonder save then inexplicably throw the ball to the other side’s centre-forward. And it is the very same with referees and their assistants: most of the game they get everything right, but then – to the bafflement and anger of 30,000 people – they’ll make a decision so wrong it beggars belief. And you know what? I’m fine with that. It is a reminder that we are all but human, and our lives are littered with errors.
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The imperfect, in fact, is celebrated above all else in football. Players and managers cut deep with flaws are celebrated above the metronomes who do their job without incident. That’s why we still talk about Diego Maradona and Eric Cantona or Pele. It’s why one of the best-known TV clips, from the 1970 World Cup, shows Pelé missing a goal, not scoring. It’s why people watch compilations of terrible mistakes.
More to the point, though, disputes make football more exciting. Where commentators view an on-pitch fight and pompously declare “No one wants to see scenes like that”, fans see the same thing and bellow their approval. Equally, everyone who’s ever crowded into a stadium knows the up-swell of anger and adrenalin that follows a horrible call by the referee. They know the way the atmosphere picks up, the way voices rise, the way the fans exhort the team on to greater heights to compensate for the perfidy of officialdom – until 20,000 people are singing “You don’t know what you’re doing” at the referee. Those moments, when passion becomes uncontainable, are exactly what makes football great. Why on earth would anyone want to take them away from the game?
Kevin Nolan has labelled his goal scoring return to Newcastle as the ‘perfect scenario’ following West Ham’s 1-0 win yesterday.
The midfielder joined the Hammers from the Magpies at the beginning of last season and marked his first game back on Tyneside with the winner, giving Sam Allardyce’s side their first win at St. James’ Park for 14 years and lifting them to sixth in the Premier League.
And the West Ham captain, who refused to celebrate his goal, has admitted it was an emotional return to the place he once called ‘home.’
He told West Ham’s official site: “It was the perfect scenario for me, of course.
“It was quite emotional when I did score a goal because I had a little moment just after it. I was never going to celebrate and I never will [against Newcastle].
“I am just delighted for us because we got the three points and it moves us further up the table and it keeps us in the mix.”
Nolan also paid tribute to the Newcastle fans who applauded his return before, during and after the clash on Sunday afternoon.
“I was a bit emotional because the reception they gave me was unbelievable. I had a fantastic time here,” he admitted.
“I would like to thank the Newcastle fans for the fantastic support they gave me while I was here and for the reception they gave me on Sunday.
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“Obviously I could not have asked to have gone to a better club than West Ham for the following we have got and the commitment they have shown, so I’m delighted to be at another wonderful club. Hopefully I can do as well for them as I did up here.”
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew believes his side didn’t deserve to lose their Premier League clash with Stoke.
The Magpies appeared to be on course to end a run of three straight league defeats, but the Potters came back from 1-0 down with two late goals.
Pardew was disappointed with the result and felt that his side deserved to leave the Britannia Stadium with all three points:
“The improvement from Sunday was immense and we deserved to get something from today and we certainly didn’t deserve to get beat that’s for sure, we were the better side,” Pardew told SkySports.
“There is a crucial moment in the game at 1-0 where I thought we had a handball and I just looked again and I think it is a penalty and then two sucker punches really and we have got beat,” he said.
“Their keeper has made two good saves, and it is galling really as we are on this run and we are having setback after setback and I feel sorry for the players today as they were brilliant,
“Sometimes you don’t get what you deserve and we certainly didn’t today.
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“We made a couple of errors in those goals and that has cost us. We do not make many errors but we have tonight.”
Papiss Cisse gave Newcastle the lead just after half-time, but goals from Jon Walters and Cameron Jerome in the final ten minutes swung the tie.
When Andy Carroll arrived at Upton Park on the last day of the summer transfer window many people were shocked at how a so-called £35 million player had ended up at a newly promoted side in the Premier League.
His transfer from Newcastle to Liverpool was equally as shocking considering he only really had one good season at St. James’ Park. But the big question now is whether West Ham should take up the option of first refusal at the end of the season or send him back to Liverpool where he clearly isn’t wanted.
The striker’s impact at West Ham was immediate after he was involved in Kevin Nolan’s 1st minute opener in the 3-0 home win over Fulham in September. He continued to be a handful up front and he seemed to fit perfectly into Sam Allardyce’s style of play.
However, just one goal in 10 appearances wasn’t the contribution West Ham were expecting. Many believed a new club with new surroundings and the opportunity to link up again with best friend Kevin Nolan would see Carroll re-discover the goal scoring form that earned him that big money move to Liverpool in the first place.
But should we be looking beyond his lack of goals and be appreciating the extra dimension he gives the Hammers up top? There’s no denying he plays a major part in West Ham’s attacking threat and his aerial presence was un-rivalled in the Premier League before injury struck a few weeks ago.
During his absence, West Ham have struggled to pick up results and are clearly missing him. That makes you wonder whether he is imperative to West Ham’s success in the Premier League regardless of how many goals he scores.
Is he worth the money? Seventeen million quid is a hell of a lot of money for a club like West Ham to be paying for one player, but if he can remain fit and continue building up an understanding with his new team mates then it’s a sacrifice I think West Ham must make.
With him due to return to action in mid-January, he will no doubt have another striker to compete for a starting place with. Allardyce is not likely to play 4-4-2 so we shouldn’t expect to see him being partnered up front with an old fashioned goal poaching forward, but the extra competition for places will help him improve and try harder to impress. After all, the pressure that huge price tag has given him will urge the striker to prove the country that he was worth every penny.
From West Ham’s point of view, and especially Sam Allardyce, it will all depend on how well he does in the second half of the season. If he gets a few assists on the board and scores some important goals then there will be a case for the club to spend a lot of money to keep him there. We all know he is the perfect fit for West Ham and their style of play, but if he can’t prove it then taking a punt on the hope that he’ll be better next season is risky.
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With Andy Carroll, he will need to make a decision on whether he wants to remain at West Ham or not. There’s no point playing at a club when your heart is elsewhere and it’s clear he dreams of a return to Newcastle. Captain Kevin Nolan will play a huge part in that decision, I’m sure, and he’ll be eager to keep Carroll in London, but if he doesn’t feel it’s right for him here then the club or the fans wouldn’t begrudge him turning down a permanent move.
It is a lot of money but, in my opinion, he will be worth every penny. He works hard and fits in well at Upton Park and with the support of the fans, Allardyce and his team mates can give him, he’ll soon realise West Ham is a perfect place for him to justify the money Liverpool paid for him. Dig deep, Gold and Sullivan, because Big Andy is what we need to continue improving in the Premier League.
Do you think West Ham should splash the cash on Andy Carroll? Or is £17 million too much for a player who we are still waiting to see the best of in the Premier League?
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew believes that a loss to QPR in Saturday’s Premier League encounter could lead to fear of relegation.
The Magpies have endured a tough start to the campaign, with the act of balancing Europa League football and domestic games weighing heavy on the squad.
This has seen the St James’ Park outfit slip down to 15th position, just two points from the relegation zone.
Pardew believes that their weekend clash with second-bottom QPR could be a tricky one:
“We’re going to have a lot of pressure this week,” he is quoted by The Mirror.
“QPR will be expected to lose, so they can come and play with a little bit of freedom – but not us.
“We’re going to have to play under monster pressure.
“The fans need to be right on our side, whatever happens – even if QPR go 2-0 up.”
Newcastle face back-to-back trips to Manchester United and Arsenal before hosting Everton in the coming weeks, and Pardew feels that points must be won ahead of this tricky set of fixtures:
“It’s going to be one of those days when we must win,
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“Usually, people say it’s a must-win game – but I’m telling you it’s must-win.
“That’s what we need to do.
“We’ve always been about the next game. It’s the next game because that’s the only thing that you can legislate for. Already, I’m looking forward to it and it can’t come soon enough.”
Aston Villa’s Alan Hutton is closing in on a loan switch to La Liga outfit Real Mallorca, according to reports from Sky Sports.
The Scottish international is believed to be surplus to requirements under manager Paul Lambert, and has been loaned to Championship side Nottingham Forest this term.
This has led to speculation that he will be allowed to leave the club this month if he can find a willing suitor.
Real Mallorca are reportedly interested, and are keen to take him on a temporary basis with a view to a full transfer this summer.
Talks are at an advanced stage, with the Spaniards setting a deadline of early next week to have a deal tied up.
Hutton is open to the prospect of playing abroad and would relish the opportunity to play regular football at the highest level.
The 28-year-old started his career with Rangers, where he was dubbed as one of the rising stars of Scottish football.
Tottenham swooped for his signature in 2008, but he failed to match expectations at White Hart Lane.
He was loaned to Sunderland two years later, before completing a permanent switch to Premier League rivals Aston Villa in 2011.
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Despite his below par domestic form, he has won 28 caps at international level and is keen to remain a part of the Scottish international set-up.
It’s hard to sum up the general feeling around Elland Road at the minute. Worryingly, I can’t decide whether that’s due to the amount of different opinions flying around, or whether it’s simply a fact that there just isn’t much feeling at all.
Our fans are renowned for their passion and commitment to the cause. We wont ever give up a fight even when it seems like all is lost and we’ve been written off by the rest of the watching world. Being Leeds is more to people than just football, there’s a sense of a pride that surrounds the club, an aura, the mere fact that we are still scrapping away despite being down for the count numerous times over the last few years shows just how much belief, at times blind belief, we have.
Unfortunately, over time that belief has been tested and stretched to breaking point, and it appears that this time there is no quick fix. The club as a whole has lost that spark that has always been the difference between us and anybody else.
You can look at attendances as proof of this, but my worry goes deeper than that.
What reason do the younger generation have to support Leeds? In the past we’ve always been one of the bigger clubs, battling it out in the Premier League and in Europe with the elite teams from around the world, not only that, but we still had that spark that made us different from the rest.
When kids grow up, they look at their friends who all support the usual big teams, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City etc and have a decision to make. Most of them will just go with the popular choice at the time, but there are always a few that want something different.
That has always been our advantage.
No crowd roars like an Elland Road crowd. It amazes me watching fans from other teams celebrate when they score, barely even bothering to applaud. Any youngster that gets given a taste of Elland Road at its best wont ever look back.
But as it stands, they wont have that option. The passion is dwindling and for the first time in my existence I can see people starting to care less about what happens to their club. They’ve put that much effort in to sticking at it through low after low that it’s got to the point where they don’t have the energy for it anymore.
It pains me to say it, but we are slowly but surely turning into just another average football team. The difference between us and the other clubs now is disappearing. We are no longer a big draw in the Championship, teams don’t fear Leeds United anymore.
I don’t blame GFH for this, they’ve inherited a club on it’s knees and they’ve been making an effort to get the fans back. The transfer window closed last week and most rational thinking fans will understand that despite not spending endless amounts of money, we have improved the squad and we’re quite clearly happy to pay the wages of better quality players. I’ve no doubt that we’ll see what GFH are truly made of in the summer, but by then who knows what position we will be in.
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Leeds need their spark back. Our recent win over Tottenham in the cup was a timely reminder of just how things could be, a capacity crowd filled with pride and passion, the players working hard together and our name back in lights for all the right reasons.
This really could be the breaking point. If the next few months go well for us then there is still hope for our recovery, if they don’t, I fear that the damage may become permanent.