Despite yesterday reporting that Mark Hughes was the man for the job, BBC Sport have today broken the story that Martin O’Neill is in fact set to be appointed as the new Sunderland boss.
O’Neill has been the odds on bookies favourite since the departure of Steve Bruce, and has been linked with multiple posts since leaving his last club, Aston Villa. The former Celtic manager has a stellar reputation as a manger and is seen by the Sunderland board as the man to pull the club away from the relegation zone, which they currently sit two points above, only managing to win two times this season.
The Sunderland board are keen to install a new manager as soon as possible and regain some semblance of stability at the club, with caretaker manager Eric Black not seen as the man to do this long term.
O’Neill for his part is excited about taking on the challenge at Sunderland, and is willing to abide by the budgetary constraints at the Black Cats and work with players who are already there. As Celtic manager said, O’Neill has a history of being able to ‘lift clubs’ and feels that he is more than ready to get back into the game – a sentiment that O’Neill himself certainly shares. It seems that this will be at Sunderland, and sooner rather than later.
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The FA is in no rush to appoint a New England manager and will wait until the end of the season before making an announcement. The official line coming out of Wembley is that they don’t want to unsettle the running of their target’s current football clubs therefore will be happy to wait until the end of the campaign.
Elsewhere in the news today Andre Villas-Boas has spoken about how weak his Chelsea squad is in comparison to Man City; Arsene Wenger is looking for more of the same from his Arsenal side at Anfield today, while Harry Redknapp concedes that the title is beyond Tottenham this season.
Headlines
The FA has confirmed they will wait until the end of the season before appointing a New England manager. It will give the chosen boss just four weeks to prepare before the Euro Championships – Guardian
Andre Villas-Boas claims the Chelsea squad is vastly inferior to that of Manchester City, despite the millions that have been shelled out in the last 10 years at Stamford Bridge – Guardian
Harry Redknapp has conceded that the title is beyond Tottenham this season, but is confident they can hold onto third place – Guardian
David Silva is playing through the pain barrier at Manchester City in order to drive them on to success this season – Daily Telegraph
Demba Ba’s future remains in the balance at Newcastle United as the striker’s get out clause has a lot of rival clubs on alert – Daily Telegraph
Arsene Wenger is looking for more of the same at Anfield to help close the gap on the top 3. The Frenchman would like his Arsenal side to replicate last Sunday’s showing in today’s lunchtime kick-off – Independent
Sir Alex Ferguson is looking to Brazil to find a long term replacement for Rio Ferdinand – Daily Mail
Emile Heskey is set to lead a summer clearout at Aston Villa, as Alex McLeish looks to reshape his squad – Mirror
Lucas Moura has put Chelsea on transfer alert after his brother revealed that he is taking English lessons, with a view of moving to the Premier League. The Sau Paulo ace has been on the Blues radar for some time and Abramovich certainly has the financial clout to secure a deal – Metro
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Jackson Martinez is hoping for a move to Liverpool, despite his club putting his price tag up to £10m – Daily Mail
And so we arrive again at that magical time in the football year, when everyone suddenly realizes there’s an international match on in mid-week, explaining the slight dip in Sky’s usual hyperbolic bluster, the sudden rise in suspect injuries to top players and the increasingly highlighted presence of Fabio Capello at an unfeasible amount of games on the same day. As it happens, for once Don Fabio has a relative clean bill of health, with Fergie and Carlo having plainly exhausted all their excuses as well as every entry from the big book of short-term injuries. Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on your view point – he won’t be able to utilize them in the newly launched, inaugural Nations Cup, which kicked off with the Republic of Ireland beating Wales 2-0 at the new <insert corporate name here> Stadium on the site of the old Lansdowne Road.
The Nations Cup is essentially the old British Home Championship, except with the Irish in the place of the English, who turned down the option to take part at an early stage, only to attempt to revive the BHCs themselves earlier this year, once again displaying the startling and embarrassing arrogance, inefficiency, and dynamic forward planning of the FA in one fell swoop.
Despite being the dodgiest looking thing this side of a Tracey Emin sculpture of Al Pacino’s hair, the Nations Cup is a throwback to the good old days of semi-competitive home nation rivalry. The days when in lieu of being any good against the likes of Italy or Brazil, we could always console ourselves with the prospect of beating someone just as rubbish at us, in something that was vaguely meaningful in a localized albeit trivial way. Due to the obviously tight window available, the first round of games will finish this week, after Scotland has played Northern Ireland, and not renew until the end of the domestic season in May, whereupon two more rounds will be played.
This may seem a little pointless – and truly it is – but it is at least a chance for some competitive, interesting International football, rather than the ever devaluing and distracting friendly games, often merely played as a token concession to some vague notion that these lads should probably play together once in a while if they’re going to be able to beat anyone.
So far the early signs haven’t looked too promising. Held in Dublin, many locals were put off attending the Republic vs. Wales by tickets priced around the cost of a Premier League game. Much like Wembley Terminal 5 before it, the newly built Lansdowne Aviva Christmas Disco Multiplex needs to be paid for, and this means bums on seats and cash in wallets. Generally however the expectation is that the potential is there for something exciting eventually, but that the FAI – much like the English FA – will almost certainly make a hash of it somehow. With the meatier, more interesting ties scheduled for May, we ‘ll likely have to wait until then to see if it pans out well or not, but it’s certainly worth keeping an eye on for all those who bemoan the lack of excitement in International football these days.
It’s hard to imagine the Republic vs. Northern Ireland, or even the Republic vs. Scotland playing out to anything but raucous full houses, even if FAI chief John Delaney does decide it’s an excellent opportunity to add a new conservatory to his house.
The assumption that any eventual England inclusion would lead to a tiringly monotonous parade of victories is not really grounds for concern. Given the current state of the English national team, the Celtic nations would be hard pressed to field a team of physically handicapped semi-professionals who couldn’t have improved on England’s performance at the World Cup, and the intense rivalry that could be re-generated by a home nations grudge match would go at least some way to leveling any supposed uneven playing field.
And of course it hardly matters who wins the thing. Which is handy because it’s hideously ugly anyway and no one in their right minds would want it on display in their custody for a whole two years. It looks like the kind of thing ball boys bring tennis balls to the court in, except containing three relay batons instead, which has then been hit viciously in several places by a particularly angry Tennis player and then had ribbons tied around it like bandages in the vain hope of giving it some dainty presentational appeal. No one really cares who wins it, it’s about the event natures of the games themselves. The one-upmanship, the bragging rights and the actual competitiveness. Something for the fans to get their teeth into other than a complimentary salmon roll.
Some fans and politiks don’t want England involved, mainly due to the way the FA rather shambolically went about trying to dismiss it’s existence, but many do see the financial and atmospherical benefits of the Three Lions inclusion. I think it’d be in everyone’s interest if England did take part. From blooding young players, to getting fans more into it (which, lets face it, is a problem at the new Wembley “lets all do Mexican waves after 20 minutes” Stadium.) It’d certainly be more interesting than playing Denmark. No offense Denmark, but I just can’t get very excited about you.
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You can follow Oscar on Twitter here, http://twitter.com/oscarpyejeary where you can forward your complaints about his unfair treatment of Denmark to Top Gear. (No really please do, if only to just confuse them)
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Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier will be absent from the dugout for Saturday’s match against Stoke, having been admitted to hospital with chest pains.The former Liverpool manager needed a major heart operation during his time at Anfield but will not require surgery this time.
Villa assistant Gary McAllister will take charge for the match at Villa Park and he said: “He is on the coronary ward. He was great and bubbly. He had a tough night but he was looking surprisingly well and in fine fettle.”
“They (the specialists) are definitely saying there is no surgery needed, which is a massive plus.”
“The last time there was major surgery. This time there will be no surgery needed, purely medicine and rest.”
Villa are likely to be unchanged after collecting seven points from their previous three games to climb into the top half of the table, easing their relegation fears.
Midfielder Fabian Delph was the only previous absentee and he has recovered from a groin injury.
McAllister was at Liverpool when Houllier required major heart surgery in October 2001 and the Villa assistant is confident the team will be able to cope as well as he managed the first time Houllier suffered a scare.
He added: “There was shock within the Liverpool dressing room and we knew there was a major problem with the length of the surgery and what it entailed. It was a big operation.
“But Phil Thompson came in and that midweek we went to Kiev for a Champions League game and it was the first time Kiev had been beaten at home.
“The players rallied and were playing for the manager and I’m sure that is what will happen here. A perfect tonic for the manager will be getting three points against Stoke.”
Liverpool and Sunderland shared the spoils at Anfield in what was the battle of the debutants.
No fewer than 7 players made their debuts for their respective new clubs, in a game that was very much a clichéd game of two halves.
Liverpool was by far the better team in the first half and created numerous chances and although Luis Suarez missed an early penalty, was able to head home from the impressive Charlie Adam.
The penalty caused friction within the Liverpool camp who felt that Phil Dowd should have sent off Kieran Richardson for the challenge on the Uruguayan. Whether Dowd felt Suarez was going away from goal remains unknown, but it is hard to argue that this was a goalscoring opportunity that was thwarted by Richardson’s challenge. Dowd issued a yellow much to the dismay of the Reds.
Sunderland impressed in the second half and looked the much better of the two teams and scored a wonderful equaliser through Sebastian Larsson. Sessegnon’s cross was met with an acrobatic effort from the Swedish international that gave Pepe Reina absolutely no chance.
Both sides huffed and puffed in the end but neither could make a breakthrough to secure the points. The spoils were shared in a result that Steve Bruce would arguably be the happier with.
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Thierry Henry made a dream return for Arsenal on Monday night, by coming off the bench to score the side’s winner in a 1-0 victory over Leeds in the FA Cup.
The mercurial French attacker completed a two-month loan move from MLS team New York Red Bulls in time to be included in Arsene Wenger’s matchday squad, and replaced Marouane Chamakh after 68 minutes.
Ten minutes later the club’s all-time top goalscorer found the back of the net to give the hosts the win, and seal progression through to the fourth round; Wenger is happy to have the club legend back on board.
“You could see straight away when he came on that he was a presence on the pitch and if we could find him he would be dangerous,” the French coach told Sky Sports.
“He’s sharp, strong physically and in the end he added a bit more than just score.
“In training I’ve seen that he was sharp and ready to play and I wouldn’t have put him on the pitch if he was not ready.
“He’s a special player, and he’s good to have around the young players. He has done it all, prepares 100%, is motivated and has an immense desire to do well,” he concluded.
Arsenal now take on Aston Villa in the next round in an all Premier League affair.
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For any football fan to come to the conclusion that Spurs have the best of any anything, no offence Tottenham, in the Premier League seems slightly more than unlikely, yet that is the prospect we are faced with. They might have qualified outside of the top four last year, but perhaps that was down to their maiden season in the Champions League rather than a poor squad. If their squad last year was good then the additions this year have taken it to the next level. In particular their midfield is arguably the best in the league. Last year I think it was Arsenal’s. Any midfield that had Nasri on his then form, Fabregas and Wilshere all playing in the centre was always going to be formidable, however this year Spurs have taken the mantle from their north London rivals.
It’s not just that Scott Parker has proved to be one of the best buys of the summer; it is that the players around him have grown as well. Parker may be the only addition to the Spurs midfield from last year but he has acted as a catalyst in the middle, liberating his team-mates, especially Luka Modric.
There weren’t many people, other than Daniel Levy, who wouldn’t have simply taken the £40m offered by Chelsea for Modric in the summer. It seemed an extortionately large sum for a player who whilst very good was never worth that much. I’m not saying that he is worth that now, but Modric’s performances this season have at least proved that Levy was right to hang on to him. Last season when Modric was playing beside Wilson Palacios or Tom Huddlestone on Sandro he was playing well but the sheer amount of work Parker does for the team means that Modric has been allowed to play with a sense of freedom that very few in Premier League midfields are allowed. As a result I don’t think that there is a team that Modric, on his current form, would not get in to.
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They also have arguably the best winger in the league in Gareth Bale. David Silva’s form this season was untouchable for the first few months but that form has cooled in recent weeks and whilst Bale has a similar level of technical ability his physical attributes greatly outweigh those of Silva. Clearly on his day there doesn’t seem to be anyone better than Silva but for consistency in quality performances there are none better than Bale. He has also improved a lot this year from last. This season he has seven assists in the league. That is already more than his last three years put together.
Then you have Aaron Lennon on the right, he clearly isn’t the best right-winger in the league, but he has improved a lot. You have to watch Lennon regularly to realise just how consistent and valuable he is for the Tottenham team. Though his recent spell on the sidelines was only for a few weeks it was clear to see how much Spurs missed him. His acceleration, first touch and driving runs are crucial for opening up space in opposition teams and when you combine his presence with that of Gareth Bale on the other wing the partnership they have is ruthless. It may not be a conventional partnership in that very few passes are played between the two but both rely on the other. With both Bale and Lennon on the pitch it not only stops opposition full backs from attacking but it stretches them defensively.
So if you consider that midfield four of Bale, Modric, Parker and Lennon, then remember that Spurs have Van der Vaart, Huddlestone, Sandro, Pienaar and Kranjcar as reserves it is hard to argue against the fact that not only do Spurs have the best starting midfield players but also the best strength in depth. Clearly Man City has some very talented individuals. Samir Nasri, David Silva and Yaya Toure are all exceptional players. However Adam Johnson, Nigel de Jong and Gareth Barry are consistently underwhelming in their performances and even Silva and Nasri have been disappointing over the Christmas period. No other teams even come close, United have excellent wingers but the fact that they need to bring a 37-year-old Paul Scholes out of retirement is testament to the quality of their other central midfielders. Then you have Liverpool who have extravagantly assembled the most mediocre midfield in the league, Chelsea who lack a defensive midfielder or any real midfield partnerships and Arsenal who are desperately trying to deal with a season in which they lost Nasri, Fabregas and Wilshere all at the same time. Believe me, as an Arsenal fan, it took me a long time to come around to this conclusion, but ultimately you can’t really argue against it. Hopefully it won’t last.
Follow me on Twitter @H_Mackay
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The decade is nearly over, ten years have swept by never to be reclaimed, kept purely in the recesses of the mind. Well that is if you don’t read lists such as this which have been complied to jog your memory about some of the greatest matches to have ever been played in the Premier League. There are a number of contenders, but there can only be ten in all, so without further ado let us list the matches worthy of our attention.
Manchester United 4-3 Manchester City (2009)
An enthralling Manchester Derby played out at Old Trafford, contrasted vastly against the mundane draw seen last night, if only they could be this entertaining. United went in front three times, only to let City reduce the deficit and equalize on all three occasions. Craig Bellamy looked to have secured a memorable draw, with an outstanding strike, until Michael Owen gave his most significant contribution to date, by scoring the winner in the 96 minute.
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Arsenal 4-4 Tottenham (2008)
A London derby this time, which was full of drama, suspense and excitement. Tottenham went in front with a superb 40-yard volley from David Bentley; this only appeared to ignite Arsenal who then went to score three goals with Mikael Silvestre, William Gallas and Emmanuel Adebayor all contributing to a 3-1 lead. Darren Bent pulled one back, but Robin Van Persie replied, seemingly sealing Arsenal’s victory until Jermaine Jenas and Aaron Lennon provided the late show to earn a jubilant draw.
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More cracking Premier League matches on PAGE TWO…
Liverpool 4-4 Arsenal (2009)
A little Russian by the name of Andrey Arshavin stole all of the headlines in this eight goal thriller. Arsenal went ahead and went into the break leading, but Liverpool replied with intent in the second half with goals from Fernando Torres and Yossi Benayoun giving them the lead. Arshavin went on to claim his hat-trick, but Torres claimed his brace to level, not to be outdone Arshavin capped his incredible night with a fourth. Benayoun then managed to salvage a point in the dying minutes of stoppage time.
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Portsmouth 7-4 Reading (2007)
Who would have thought these two sides were such entertainers? Benjani scored twice, giving Portsmouth the lead, then Stephen Hunt pegged on back. The second half was to see 8 goals with Dave Kitson equalizing for Reading, Herman Hreidarsson made it 3-2 and then Reading capitulated with Bejani, Niko Krancjar, Sean Davis and a Sulley Muntari penalty giving a 7-3 score-line, as Shane Long had made it 5-3, netting after Krancjar. Nicky Shorey would provide only a consolation to this crushing defeat by scoring Reading’s fourth late on.
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More cracking Premier League matches on PAGE THREE…
Arsenal 5-3 Middlesbrough (2004)
Arsenal had to fight back from being 3-1 down whilst at home, with Thierry Henry leading the charge with his scoring prowess and netting two goals. This win saw Arsenal equal Nottingham Forest’s 42 game record of remaining undefeated, they eventually would proceed to amass 49 games without defeat and set a formidable record.
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Newcastle 3-2 Sunderland (2005)
A five goal thriller ensued in one of the greatest North East derbies on record with both sides fiercely contesting every ball, as you would imagine. Newcastle went in front with Shola Ameobi, Liam Lawrence equalized and Ameobi scored again. Stephan Elliott made it 2-2 until Emre scored a free-kick to take all three points.
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More cracking Premier League matches on PAGE FOUR…
Liverpool 1-4 Chelsea (2005)
Under Jose Mourinho, Chelsea would claim an emphatic win over their rivals. Frank Lampard opened the proceedings with a penalty and Steven Gerrard would equalize with Liverpool’s only goal. Damien Duff, Joe Cole and Geremi would then seal the win which saw Chelsea go nine points clear in the League and finish as eventual champions.
Fulham 3-3 Tottenham (2007)
Another London encounter saw Tottenham outplay their opponents and must have walked away from the game pondering how they had let the win slip. Younes Kaboul poked home to take the lead and it was doubled when Dimitar Berbatov smashed in. Fulham pulled one back through Clint Dempsey, but Gareth Bale made it 3-1 until Fulham staged a comeback with Alexey Smertin and an overhead kick in the 90th minute from Diomansy Kamara.
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More cracking Premier League matches on PAGE FIVE…
Everton 3-3 Manchester United (2010)
A brilliant late fight back saw Everton come from 3-1 down to secure a memorable draw with United squandering their dominance and lamenting the absence of Wayne Rooney who was dropped amidst rumours of his private life. Two injury time goals came from Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta which gave rise to ecstatic celebrations from the home crowd.
West Ham 3-4 Tottenham (2007)
Tottenham found themselves 2-0 and 3-2 down at separate stages of the game, but managed to rectify these situations by finishing victors. They had Paul Stalteri to thank after an injury-time winner broke the hearts of West Ham fans who had to endure their fair share of worries throughout the season. Carlos Tevez scored in the game and became a cult hero who helped West Ham to secure their Premiership status.
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Almeria climbed off the bottom of the La Liga table with a 3-2 win over relegation rivals Osasuna on Sunday.
Jose Luis Oltra’s men got off to a dream start, with goals to Carlos Garcia Badias and Leonardo Ulloa putting them two-up after just 11 minutes.
Badias was on the end of a Hernan Bernadello corner to finish from inside the six-yard box, before Michel’s cross found Argentine striker Ulloa three minutes later to give the hosts a strong lead.
Osasuna pulled a goal back via the boot of Carlos Aranda, whose shot from the edge of the area sparked the visitors into action.
But they could not find an equaliser, and shortly after the break the home side restored their two-goal buffer when Ulloa scored his second from Michael Jakobsen’s cross.
Osasuna striker Dejan Lekic struck two minutes into second-half injury time to create some nervous moments for Almeria but they held on for three vital points, lifting them to 18th on the table and just one point from safety.
Real Madrid kept the gap between themselves and Barcelona to four points on the table, with a 1-0 victory over Mallorca.
France forward Karim Benzema’s strike in the 61st minute was all Jose Mourinho’s side needed to get maximum points from the clash at the Bernabeu.
Espanyol consolidated their fifth placing on the table with a 3-1 win away to Getafe at Coliseum Alfonso Perez.
Miku put the hosts ahead in the 14th minute, and they maintained their lead to the break.
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But it was all Espanyol after half-time, as Luis Garcia, Jose Callejon and Sergio Garcia all netted in the space of 12 minutes.
Real Zaragoza continued their resurgent league form, bringing up their third win in four with a 1-0 triumph over Deportivo La Coruna.
Sporting Gijon upset Atletico Madrid 1-0 home, with striker David Barral on target for the victors.
England winger Adam Johnson said the team is enjoying the lack of media scrutiny ahead of Saturday’s Euro 2012 qualifier with Switzerland.With the majority of the media spotlight focusing on the woes at FIFA, England have enjoyed a low-key build up to the Wembley match.
But Manchester City’s Johnson said the side will be out to put on an impressive showing against Switzerland – a country England have not lost to since 1947 – as they look to move clear of Montenegro on top of Group G.
England are level on 10 points with Montenegro but top the group on goal difference, and Johnson said the lack of attention was being enjoyed by the camp.
“I think it’s definitely suited the players,” Johnson said. “A lot of games before there has been a lot of pressure and build up on the team, on individuals as well which is sometimes not good.”
“Obviously it’s massive for us. It’s the last game of the season for a lot of the players – well, for all of the players. It’s one last big push before we get a break and everyone wants go into the break off the back of a big win and in a good position.”
“We are at home, at Wembley. We’ve got to win or try and win every single game we play at home in front of a big crowd. If we play like we did in Switzerland (a 3-1 win in Basel last September), we have got a good chance of winning the game.”
England goalkeeper and Johnson’s City team-mate Joe Hart said the lack of attention before the game did not bother the players at all.
“I don’t think anyone really cares whether the media spotlight is on us or not,” Hart said.
“It’s a massive game (and) it’s a massive three points for us to get that end goal of being in the European Championships.”
“England are expected to win every game. If we played against a team of 500 people, we would be expected to win at Wembley, so nothing changes there.”
“But we are just going to turn up and do our best and I think we have got enough to get those three points and go to the top of the group again.”