The January transfer window is now just a few weeks away and Premier League clubs will have set out their preferred signings for the New Year. With very few clubs able to splash mega bucks in the window, plenty of top flight clubs will be looking at the much improving Championship for possible targets next month.
There are definitely some bargains to be had in the second tier of English football and also some genuine Premier League quality that is waiting to be snapped up by the big clubs. Youngsters are breaking through into Championship sides and it may be the case that the clubs look to cash in on the future stars.
Last season Premier League clubs Birmingham and West Ham have held on to the majority of their quality players and some experienced heads are having a much welcomed second wind in their careers that could be worth a gamble on in January. Here are the ten players that have the Premier League clubs sniffing around.
Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish lamented his side’s luck and lack of creativity after their European campaign ended on Thursday.After losing 1-0 to Sporting Braga in the first leg in Portugal one week ago, Dalglish’s side were uninspiring in a dull 0-0 second-leg draw which sent them packing out of the Europa League.The Portuguese side were well organised and limited chances for the Reds, who could not find the back of the net despite a first start for 35-million-pound club record transfer Andy Carroll.”Over the two legs, a penalty has separated the two teams,” Dalglish said. “There wasn’t much between either side. They were very well organised and we knew the responsibility was on us to break them down and score a goal. If Andy’s header had gone in, in the first half it could have been a different outcome, but we never put anything past the goalkeeper.””You need to be really strong creatively if you are going to break down a very organised side or you need a bit of luck and we certainly have not had much fortune over two legs – but I guess everyone says they should have more luck then they get.””Like every other team in the world we could do with a bit more creativity but we are no different than anyone else.”Dalglish was pleased with Carroll’s performance but admitted he did not expect him to play the full 90 minutes and it was only the necessity for a goal that kept him on the pitch.”Carroll stayed on longer than we hoped he would have to stay on but necessity meant he had to stay on the pitch because we were looking for a goal,” he said.”Overall we are pleased to see him back on the pitch and we were not disappointed with his contribution in any way. It was a bit unfortunate he did not score a goal; he put one header wide in the first half and then had one stopped by Dirk Kuyt in the second.”Considering it was his first start I think he can be very pleased with how he played.”Dalglish said he was unsure whether it would help his side in the latter stages of the season to avoid playing European football, something his side won’t do next year unless they finish fifth or higher in the Premier League.Despite very excitable celebrations from his team after the match, Braga manager Domingos Paciencia did not apologise, preferring to explain the significance of the aggregate win for his side as they reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League for the first time.”We have reasons to be proud tonight,” Paciencia said.”We achieved a different level that we have never achieved before. I ask Liverpool supporters to appreciate the way we celebrated the way we did because this is a different level. Don’t take things the wrong way for the way we celebrated. We are proud.”
Bolton Wanderers boss Owen Coyle remains hopeful of being able to draft in two or three new players before the transfer window shuts at the end of August.
Coyle has so far brought in Robbie Blake, Martin Petrov and Marcos Alonso since the end of last season and is aware that his squad requires several more new faces.
He told the Bolton News: “I’m always looking to improve and I’m not finished yet.
“It’s easy to say there will be two or three new signings, but what I can say is that I’ll look to add a couple more before the end of the month.
“You can never say definitively that it will happen, because, as you saw with the Marcos Alonso deal, it can be quite complex.
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“We’ll do our utmost to improve the squad by the start of the season and if not, certainly the close of the window.”
Bolton boss Owen Coyle has stated that he is happy with the manner of his side’s 5-0 win over Stoke on Sunday, and hopes the result can be a catalyst for a good run of form.
The side from the Reebok Stadium have had a poor start to the season, and many are tipping The Trotters to struggle against relegation this term.
Despite this, Ivan Klasnic and Chris Eagles doubles and a Kevin Davies strike gave the home side a comfortable victory against Tony Pulis’ men.
“I think the most important thing was to win the game, but how we won it and the level of performance was so pleasing for everyone,” Coyle told Sky Sports.
“We had to stand up and defend for our lives because Stoke put you under more pressure than any other team in the league in terms of defending in the box.
“Every one of them to a man showed a level of performance today that could be a catalyst for us moving forward.
“We know we had a slow start but we also know we have good players and a very good team.
“We have probably have five players who would have a great chance of starting in the team today missing through injury and we know the fixtures we have had and that probably ate into a little bit of confidence. But today you saw the confidence pulsing through their veins again,” he concluded.
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Bolton are still in the relegation zone despite the win, but will look to get out of the bottom three with a positive result against West Brom next weekend.
Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish says key duo Steven Gerrard and Andy Carroll will not be rushed back from injury.Gerrard is returning from groin surgery while record Carroll is on his way back from a thigh injury ahead of Saturday’s trip to West Brom.
Dalglish said: “We’ll be patient and Andy will be ready when he’s ready.
“His 60 minutes for England [when he scored in Wednesday’s friendly draw with Ghana] was useful and it would not have been as good to play him for more than that.”
“We’ll have a look at Gerrard because he’s recovered really well from surgery. We’ll see how he is but certainly he’s done a lot of training this week.”
“It was a great milestone for Andy Carroll to score his first England goal in midweek. He’s got a bit to go until he gets to match fitness but he’s here for five and a half years not a few months.”
The West Brom trip will see Dalglish’s side come up against former manager Roy Hodgson for the first time since he left Liverpool in January.
Hodgson has enjoyed relative success since taking over at The Hawthorns after a tricky spell in charge of Liverpool.
Dalglish said: “Roy’s brought his own style to West Brom like I have done here.”
“Everybody knows what we can expect and they have played games that have shown the way they play and it is up to us to be better than them on the day.”
“They were tough to beat when we played them at home. They played very well and I think we beat them 1-0 but it was a difficult game.”
Luis Suarez (groin) and Jonjo Shelvey (knee) are also in doubt for the clash.
Defender Fabio Aurelio (hamstring) is definitely out.
These are two men that have a very important part to play in Liverpool’s immediate future, chairman Martin Broughton and manager Roy Hodgson. The 2009/10 campaign was one that Liverpool fans will want to forget as quickly as possible and the best way to do that is to make a storming start next season. It’s hard to argue which of the British duo has a harder job. Off the pitch Broughton has been given the task of selling the Anfield club, something he hopes to do by the end of the summer transfer window. I’m sure every Liverpool fan would be glad to see the back of Tom Hicks and George Gillett as soon as possible. After being hired by the Reds last week, former Fulham manager Hodgson has the equally difficult task of firing Liverpool to success on the field. That will be no mean feat given the performances of last season, but what are the two 60 plus year olds discussing here, the availability of transfer funds perhaps?
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Guus Hiddink has been sacked by the Turkish national team after they failed to qualify for Euro 2012, sparking rumours he could head back to Chelsea in some capacity.
The Dutch coach received his marching orders after a 3-0 aggregate defeat to Croatia in the European Championships playoffs, and is free now to take on a new project.
“Following the meeting between Turkish Football Federation Executive Committee and Turkey head coach Guus Hiddink, the Dutch coach’s contract has been terminated by mutual consent,” a statement on the TFF website confirmed.
“We would like to thank Mr Guus Hiddink for his services during his working period, and wish him all the best in his future career.”
Hiddink steadied the ship at Stamford Bridge when he took control on a temporary basis in 2009, winning the FA Cup in the process.
When asked about his future the 65-year-old remained apathetic, but admitted that he enjoyed his time in England.
“I’ve not made up my mind about the future yet. I’m going to take some time off and then we will see what happens, but I had a wonderful time in England,” he stated.
“It was great at Chelsea, a terrific time, but that doesn’t mean I am ready to start tomorrow. I need some time to reflect.
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“I’m not ready to retire, I like to be involved with a team on a daily basis. But maybe I am ready to step out of the limelight a little bit, away from the cameras. Hopefully I will still be involved but perhaps it will be as an adviser or a consultant,” he concluded.
It was a case of what could have been for Aston Villa today, as Gerard Houllier’s men twice forfeited the lead and in addition missed a penalty as they lost 3-2 to Bolton at the Reebok Stadium.
Darren Bent fluffed a great chance to put Aston Villa ahead, before he did just that after 15 minutes. They were then pegged back by a goal by former Villa player Gary Cahill on the stroke of half-time. After hitting the woodwork, Villa retook the lead through Marc Albrighton, before they missed the opportunity to put the game to bed as Ashley Young’s penalty was saved. They would live to regret that, as Cahill scored his second equaliser of the match, and then with five minutes to go Ivan Klasnic sealed all three points for the Trotters.
So what FIVE things did we learn about Aston Villa today?
Despite the more intriguing nature of second and third-round group stage games, it seems as though bad refereeing decisions have unfortunately marred several World Cup games. The decision of Koman Coulibaly to puzzlingly disallow a seemingly legitimate winning goal for the USA against Slovenia, and the even more baffling decisions of Frenchman Stephane Lannoy to send off Brazil’s Kaka and to allow Luis Fabiano’s second goal to stand despite two instances of handball during a clash against Cote d’Ivoire have inevitably placed the standard of World Cup refereeing under scrutiny. USA coach Bob Bradley, understandably infuriated by the decision of Coulibaly, was perplexed by FIFA’s lack of clarity with regards to refereeing issues.
Speaking at his side’s base camp, Bradley stated, “We’re all accustomed to the fact that if it’s an NFL playoff game and there’s a call that’s in question, there will be a statement by the league from the referees, but FIFA operates differently.”
The ire aimed at the aforementioned referees has been exacerbated by the refusal of officials to explain their decisions. Is a more stringent approach from FIFA required to curb bad decisions in matches?
The merits and demerits of video technology have been discussed and dissected several times (click here to see an earlier article I wrote on this issue), so I won’t spend time delving in to this area. However, the short nature of international tournaments means that the margins between success and failure are unbelievably fine; had Landon Donovan failed to net his last-gasp winner against Algeria yesterday, Coulibaly’s decision to rule out Maurice Edu’s ‘goal’ from six days ago would have borne much more prominent significance. Although Coulibaly is ‘highly unlikely’ to participate in further World Cup matches, punishing referees after abject displays is often scant consolation to teams disadvantaged by incorrect decisions.
With regards to the issuing of erroneous yellow and red cards, there is very little retroactive action FIFA can take to diminish the significance of such a decision – if a team, incorrectly reduced to ten men, subsequently loses a match, FIFA cannot do anything to rectify refereeing wrongdoing. However, FIFA’s rules denote that neither the organisation nor the referee in question is required to explain a disputed decision. In doing so, FIFA fail to implement any sense of accountability, placing less pressure on referees to make the right decision.
Implementing such accountability would allow for referees to explain decisions and formally apologise, thus showing an intention to try and redress the victims of poor officiating, as well as helping to maintain consistency within the refereeing fraternity. I for one believe it is time that FIFA introduce a more stringent approach within the game.
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Click here to read an earlier article on the use of video technology within football
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Over the years there have been many great players who’ve graced the Premier League, making it the most enjoyable entertaining and exciting domestic competition in the world. Players such as Cantona, Shearer, Henry, Ronaldo, Fabregas and Franny Jeffers have given even the non-football lovers a reason to tune in to Match of the Day on a Saturday night as they show us how the beautiful game can be truly just that. There have also been another set of players though, throughout the years, men who may have footballing ability but also have the knack of causing most of us to scream in anger whenever they touch the ball. I’m talking about the sort of players who if your daughter brought them home, you’d wish she was a lesbian. Players we love to hate.
Now, not many of us actually know Premier League players on a personal level, but we can pretty much garner all we need to know about someone from their attitude on the pitch. Some players such as Paul Scholes for example, will never be truly hated, which is somewhat surprising considering he’s fouled every single Premier League player at least twice, because they just get on with the game in a quiet manner. However for every Paul Scholes, there’s a Robbie Savage, the sort of player that even some of his own fans struggle to find a fondness for. Here’s my own personal Premier League XI made up of players you’d rather glass, than have a pint with.
Click on William Gallas below to see the Most Hated Premier League XI of all time
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List compiled by Justin Mottershead
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