Oliver Giroud scored his first Premier League goal for Arsenal as they came from behind to beat West Ham at Upton Park.
The £12 million summer signing from Montpellier had struggled to get off the mark for the Gunners in the league but struck the crucial equaliser that set Arsene Wengers’ side on the way to victory.
Sam Allardyce will be disappointed that his side failed to build on an impressive win against QPR on Monday after taking a surprise 21st minute lead through Mohamed Diame.
The Hammers, including Andy Carroll for the first time since his debut against Swansea last month, were forced to defend for much of the first half with the on-loan Liverpool striker proving his worth blocking a Giroud effort just moments after the Arsenal striker saw Jussi Jaaskelainen tip his second minute shot round the post.
Diame took advantage of the visitors’ wastefulness in front of goal, stepping inside Aaron Ramsey and curling a wonderful finish past Vito Mannone for his first goal for the club since joining from Wigan.
Diame’s celebrations were short lived as his surrendering of possession in midfield led to Arsenal’s equaliser five minutes before half time. The ball was pushed out wide to Lukas Podolski and his cross was clinically turned home at the near post by the on rushing Giroud to the visible joy of Wenger
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
West Ham went close twice to retaking the lead through Carroll and captain Kevin Nolan before Theo Walcott came off the bench to put Arsenal in front, latching on to Giroud’s through ball and cooly finished past Jaaskelainen with 13 minutes remaining.
Another costly miss from Nolan was punished by Santi Cazorla as the Spaniard lashed home a magnificent 20-yard strike to cap a superb individual performance.
Stoke City’s top scorer Peter Crouch believes his side can go to Old Trafford full of confidence as his side continues to improve in the Premier League.
Despite only picking up 8 points from their opening 7 games, the Potters have played the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City at home, and away trips to Chelsea and Liverpool in what has been a difficult start to the season.
Crouch, who has scored 5 goals this season believes his side are looking more dangerous away from home. They have only lost once due to an 85th minute strike from Ashley Cole at Stamford Bridge, and last time out got a credible draw at Anfield.
“Anfield is a tough place to go, so to get a point there is fantastic. We had chances to maybe nick it too, so it was a deserved point he told Staffordshire news.
“The Chelsea game was frustrating because we felt we could have got something out of it. We got something at Liverpool, but the biggest test will be at United.
He added, “We have had some tough games, so to get the points we have been brilliant. It has given us a good foothold and we will look to improve on that when we get some easier fixtures.”
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Stoke are currently in twelfth position as they set out to improve on their 14th place finish last season.
We hear every week from some source or another that footballers are overpaid, undeserving, greedy… you get the picture. Yet some are far greedier than others. So greedy in fact, they make a banker’s bonus look like change in a beggar’s hat. Whatever happened to playing football simply because you enjoy the game? With so much money in the game these days, loyalty and commitment are rare commodities to find – as these big money-grabbing individuals prove.
Perhaps it’s not the money, but rather the things it brings – flashy cars, model girlfriends, fashionable clothes, large houses – but still, surely the priorities of these footballers are all wrong? What football fans would give just to play a single game for their club…
Click on Emmanuel Adebayor to unveil the top 10
[divider]
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Have I missed any? Who do you think is the greediest footballer of all time? Let me know on Twitter @dudeyoungy
exciting young trio are set to leave on loan to the Championship. It has been revealed that Robbie Brady, Michael Keane and Jesse Lingard will be all be handed the opportunity to prove themselves elsewhere, according to the Daily Mail.
Sir Alex Ferguson has handed a number of the club’s youngster’s appearances in the Capital One cup this season, which would have provided them with invaluable experience.
Now the Manager is set to use the Championship as a test for some of his players to see if they can ply their trade in the football league.
Keane has been provided opportunities for Manchester United at centre back, making two appearances against both Chelsea and Newcastle, and is set to move to Leicester City.
He has been tipped for a bright future making 5 caps for the England U19’s, having switched allegiances from the Republic of Ireland and is expected to be joined at Leicester by Jesse Lingard.
Lingard has also made several appearances for Manchester United at both youth and reserve level and will see this as a huge chance to shine at a competitive level.
Brady, possibly the most exciting prospect of the three is expected to make a move back to Hull City where he spent a loan spell last season.
The 20 year old managed to score three league goals in his time at the KC stadium and clearly showed enough to be welcomed back.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Ferguson was not the only one impressed with his development as Giovanni Trapattoni provided him his international debut for the Republic of Ireland against Oman, in which he instantly made an impact, scoring a goal and providing two assists.
QPR legend Trevor Sinclair insisted that he was devastated by his old side’s start to the Premier League season.
QPR have struggled to find their form at the beginning of this campaign as they have only managed to secure 4 points from 11 games.
He acknowledges that this has put the manager Mark Hughes under immense pressure. Despite believing he is the right man for the job, he feels that next month is crucial in order to salvage their season.
The ex-winger believes that the damage could soon become irreversible and that the players need to start settling and taking accountability for the club’s form.
The summer transfer window heralded a plethora of signings causing a belief that QPR could push on, but Sinclair insisted results were now of paramount importance.
“I’m absolutely devastated and I know personally, because I’ve still got a lot of friends that are Queens Park Rangers fans, they’re disgusted, gutted, astounded by the situation the club is in at the moment.” Sinclair told the Kick Off show on talkSPORT.
He went on to further add “I think the manager is under severe pressure now. I like Mark Hughes. I was a massive supporter of his as a player, our careers intertwined, and he was someone I always looked up to as being a fantastic player.
“They need a change of fortune and if they don’t get it in the next month and start moving up the table I can’t see any way out for Queens Park Rangers, which is sad to say because I love the club.”
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
David Beckham’s LA Galaxy fought back from 1-0 down to retain the MLS Cup in the former England captain’s last game for the club, as reported by Sky Sports.
Beckham was brought off to an emotional standing ovation in injury time after deciding that he would not renew his contract in Los Angeles, throwing his future plans up in the air.
“It’s special to get any victory in a cup final, in front of our home fans,” Beckham told ESPN.
“It’s an amazing day today. I’m sad it’s the end – it’s been a special place for me and it will continue to be a special place for me.
“I’m going to continue my commitment to this league and this country and my commitment will be the same as it was when I first came here six years ago.
“I might not be playing here anymore but my commitment stays the same to growing this league and growing this sport.”
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
The wettest summer for many a year, nationwide flooding, frosty nights and a very wet and windy December.
All these things don’t help if you are a groundsman, but at Blackpool they are catastrophic. On a pitch that even in perfect weather conditions struggles to hold up for an entire season, the recent weather on the Fylde Coast has left the pitch looking more like a quagmire more suited to mud wrestling than a pitch fit to grace Championship football.
It’s only about 10 or so years ago that Bloomfield Road had one of the best pitches in the country. This was when the stadium still consisted of four tin sheds at each side of the ground and the sunlight would pour onto the pitch. It was a tough and hardy pitch too, holding up in winter and with it being a sand-based surface, it would drain reasonably well.
Then, along came the new stands, making Bloomfield Road a much nicer place, but the pitch was relaid and when the South Stand was eventually built, it meant that a lot of the pitch didn’t see direct sunlight.
So, we had a problem. Unfortunately, nobody saw fit to make any changes to combat the problems and now, a few years down the line, the pitch has surrendered and decided to take its own life, one root at a time. We are only just in January and we are already looking at a cabbage patch. It started with a few big divots coming up during tackles, then it started cutting up in general play and now the players can’t trust any area of the pitch.
Sat in the stands you can see the ball bobbling its way towards a player. You can see turf slipping away under a player’s feet. But the one thing you can’t see any more is football.
Against Hull, it was an incredibly boring game of football. It wasn’t horrible or ugly or disgusting, it was just boring. Neither team got hold of the game. Neither team had a spell of possession or pressure and other than a few shots in the final 10 minutes, the goalkeepers had nothing better to do than count blades of grass – which could only have taken them till half time!
After a disappointing result and performance at Middlesborough, Appleton promised changes. In came Eardley, Sylvestre and Osbourne and out went Cathcart, Gomes and Delfouneso. Having seen his man score from a corner at Huddersfield and at Middlesborough, Cathcart couldn’t have too many complaints about his omission. He is the best defender at the club, reading the game brilliantly, having composure on the ball and acting as a one-man defence in many games, but he has one mistake a game, and it usually leads to a goal. If he can cut that out, he would be a really fantastic player. Eardley finally got his chance under Appleton, but judging by his body language after he played a slightly over-hit pass down the wing, you get the impression he knows he needs the perfect match if he is to keep his place. And he needs something more than a perfect display if he is to win some of the fans over.
The game kicked off and 45 minutes later it was half time. I did tell you it was a boring match!
The second half started in much the same manner. It looked as though both sets of players were feeling a little ropey after New Year and the fans weren’t much better either. Nothing excited the fans enough to make any noise, meaning the players weren’t feeding off an atmosphere. Everyone wanted the final whistle really.
The few bits of quality in the match came through Ludovic Sylvestre who, despite the pitch, showed some nice footwork to create some space and set up a chance for Ince to have a shot, only for it to be smartly saved by Jakupovic.
At the other end, Hull really should have had a penalty as Crainey made a stupid challenge, barging into the back of the Hull forward who had gone past him into the box. The referee seemed reluctant to blow his whistle throughout the game though and wasn’t about to budge here either. Perhaps he wanted to avoid loud noises after a few too many shandies the night before.
The one true highlight of the game was the removal of Gary Taylor-Flecther, who’s only contribution to the game had been to lose the ball and make a crazy challenge to receive a booking. Yet again he was asked to play in about 4 different positions before being subbed, but he is just providing absolutely nothing at the moment. Dicko, Kevin Phillips and Delfouneso must be wondering how this guy starts before them up front. Whilst Martinez, Sylvestre and Gomes must be perplexed as to how he starts before them in midfield. On his day, Taylor-Fletcher can be a great player and he was a huge miss at Wembley last year. But at the moment, rather than shoehorning him into the side in a variety of positions, just accept that there are better midfielders, better wingers and better strikers than him in this squad.
Delfouneso ended the match with a nice curing effort on goal, but again Jakupovic tipped it round the post and the game ended at 0-0. A true stalemate if ever there was one. In fairness, both teams were happy with a point and just glad to get off that swamp of a pitch.
Both managers and a few played ‘slammed’ the pitch in their post-match interviews and on Twitter. As annoying as it is, I think it will be with us until at least the end of the season, and even then I’m not sure anything will be done about it. Although we do have the money, I can’t see the pitch being relaid this season. If it isn’t relaid in the summer there will be outrage, but I wouldn’t hold your breath.
This game also saw us enter the transfer window and with both Ince and Baptiste starting, it would indicate that a move away is still not sorted for these lads. I am fully prepared for the rumour mill this month. I’m simply going to read the local paper and club website for official news, otherwise I will assume everything I hear is a load of old wotsits.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Nobody really knows Appleton’s plan in this window. We don’t know what kind of player he likes and we don’t know what connections he has. Hopefully a central defender will come in and if he is a leader figure then even better. With the potential departure of Baptiste, people wondered who would be captain and to be honest, I would rather an outsider was brought in for that role because nobody in our side seems suitable.
A striker and a goalkeeper would also be nice additions. The goalkeeper would have to be better than Gilks though as I don’t see the merit in bringing in someone else to warm the bench. As for the striker, I would still be happy to take a punt on a young, hungry forward instead of looking for a big name. Wes Thomas isn’t the answer, but his 3 goals in 7 games isn’t a bad return.
Don’t be surprised to see a whole host of players leave, either permanently or on loan either. The manager has been charged with chopping the squad down to size and with nearly 50 names on the books, it will take some chopping.
Appleton stated that his main wish for this transfer window was a new pitch. I hope he had a few more back-up targets on his list…
Norwich have joined Sunderland in the race for Swansea striker Danny Graham, according to reports from Sky Sports.
The Canaries have offered £5m for his signature, matching the figure reportedly tabled by Martin O’Neill.
Swans manager Michael Laudrup is believed to have deemed the 27-year-old surplus to requirements, and may be willing to do a deal in order to raise funds for other signings.
This has alerted Norwich, who are keen to strengthen their attacking options after a solid start to the Premier League campaign.
Newcastle, QPR and Reading are also believed to be interested, and could spark a bidding war.
Swansea are thought to have targeted Stoke’s Kenwyne Jones as a replacement, prompting talk that Graham may have to wait for a move.
The Potters will reportedly allow the Trinidad and Tobago international to speak to the South Wales club, although a deal is believed to be some way off.
Graham enjoyed a solid 2011/12 season, scoring regularly under former manager Brendan Rodgers, following his £3.5m arrival from Watford.
However, Laudrup appears to prefer Michu as his centre-forward, with the Spaniard having made an excellent start to life in the Premier League, netting 13 goals.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Graham has returned to the first-team recently, weighing in with a number of important strikes, including the club’s second at Stamford Bridge in the Capital One Cup.
Simon Mignolet has been targeted for a summer transfer by Premier League clubs Man United and Arsenal, according to The Sun
The 24 year-old Sunderland goalkeeper has been in superb form over the last 12 months and this weekend will be awarded with the North-East Football Writers’ Association’s Player of the Year, with Hatem Ben Arfa and Tim Krul in second and third respectively.
The Belgium stopper has impressed both Fergie and Wenger this season and both managers are in the market for a new goalkeeper. Arsene Wenger is said to be impressed with Mignolet’s performance when Arsenal played Sunderland at the Emirates this season, and is interested in looking for a replacement for Wojeich Szczensy, who has made a series of mistakes this season that has cost the Gunners.
Mignolet is earning the title as one of the best young goalkeeper’s around at the moment and he is also competing for a first team place in the Belgium team with Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois, who is currently at Atletico Madrid.
The Belgian signed for the Black Cats in June 2010 at a cost of £2million, but it is thought that Sunderland will try and aim to get up to £10million for the shot-stopper.
[cat_link cat=”premiership” type=”grid”]
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Tottenham Hotspur and Wales hero Gareth Bale has signed up to become a BT Ambassador. He will feature in TV adverts for the new BT Sport channels as well as regularly appearing as a guest.
Bale, 23, currently the hottest name in the Barclays Premier League, will be at the forefront of BT’s marketing campaigns to promote BT Sport, which will show 38 live Premier League games a season for three years starting in August 2013.
The Welsh wingman, in the form of his life having already scored 25 goals in all competitions this season, has built on his relationship with BT by agreeing to act as an ambassador for the next three years. Bale starred in BT’s TV ads in 2010 when the company started selling Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 to its customers.
He has also helped to promote the Life’s a Pitch football website. Recently, he exclusively revealed to the BT site that he believes he is playing the best football of his life this season.
Gareth said: “I am delighted to continue my relationship with BT by becoming a BT Ambassador. I feel honoured to join an exciting band of inspirational sporting figures, which has included Olympic heroes like the Brownlee brothers and Paralympic gold medallist Jonnie Peacock.
“A great deal has changed in my football career since my first partnership with BT, and I am happy to extend that relationship for the next three years. I am excited about the launch of BT Sport and I am happy to play my part in making it a big hit.”
Simon Green, head of BT Sport, said: “We are thrilled that Gareth has agreed to feature in our TV adverts and some BT Sport programmes, as well as becoming a BT Ambassador. He has developed into one of the most-admired and coveted players in the Barclays Premier League in recent years. He is also an inspiring role model for young sports fans, who remains dedicated and focused on developing his considerable talent. We are delighted that we’ve managed to do what dozens of top football managers would like to do – sign Bale.”
As well as the rights to show 38 live games a season from the Barclays Premier League, including 18 of the top picks, BT Sport has also secured the rights to live top tier matches from Serie A in Italy, Ligue 1 in France, Brasileiro in Brazil and Major League Soccer in the USA.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
And BT’s acquisition of ESPN’s TV channels business in the UK and Ireland has also brought the rights to show live games for the FA Cup, Scottish Premier League, Europa League and the German Bundesliga.
BT Sport will also show up to 69 live rugby union games a season from the Aviva Premiership. In addition, BT has signed a deal with the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) to show up to 800 hours of live tennis, including the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships. The BT Sport channels will be based at the iCITY development at the Queen Elizabeth Park in Stratford. The company has opened a pre-registration site for customers to register their interest in BT Sport at www.btsport.com