Chile international Jean Beausejour will miss Birmingham City's Premier League clash with Arsenal next weekend because of a knee ligament injury.
The 26-year-old, who impressed for his country at this summer's World Cup finals in South Africa, has made only one start for the Blues so far this season, the Carling Cup victory against MK Dons, because of a lack of match fitness.
The £3.3million summer signing is now struggling to recover from a knee ligament strain.
Boss Alex McLeish said:"Jean came to us half-fit and hadn't played many games and that is part of the problem when you sign players right at the end of the transfer window.
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"Now he's strained his medial ligament and we have to make sure we don't take any unnecessary risks with him. He needs to rest to make sure he is right and he won't be available next weekend."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Scottish giants Rangers have announced that they are in financial trouble, and are considering going into administration.
Ally McCoist’s men lodged legal papers with the Court of Session in Edinburgh that signal that they are ready to go into administration, but this has not come into effect as yet.
“The Rangers Football Club plc has today announced it has filed a notice of intention to the Court of Session in Edinburgh to appoint administrators,” an statement on the club’s official website reads.
“The club will conduct its business as usual and will not be in administration until it decides whether to formally proceed with an application to appoint administrators.
“Until such time, the club will not face any sanction from the football authorities in terms of points deduction within the Scottish Premier League.
“Sanctions such as a 10-point deduction will only apply if the club proceeds with the appointment of administrators. It is expected to be 10 working days before a decision is made whether to appoint administrators,” it concluded.
The financial issues are based around a tax case, that could leave the side having to pay over £50million, which the Glasgow-based team feel is impossible to fork out.
Rangers are currently four points behind Celtic in the race for the SPL title.
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Mirror Football is reporting that Fulham are very close to wrapping up a permanent deal for on-loan forward Eidur Gudjohnsen. The 32 year old joined Fulham on loan from fellow Premier League side Stoke City in January. But he would be free to join Fulham on a free transfer in the summer because his Stoke contract will run out.
Gudjohnsen has yet to score a Premier League goal for Fulham – but his promotion to the starting line-up has coincided with a good run of form for the team; Fulham have won seven points from their last three games.
Mark Hughes said on the transfer “we’re trying to make that happen. I’ve been really pleased with what Eidur’s brought to us and I know that he’s enjoying his time here. Eidur would like to stay, I’m sure, and we would reciprocate that as well. We’re hopeful it’ll get done quite soon.”
Gudjohnsen has enjoyed much of his playing career at the highest level that has included spells with various English sides. The most significant of those spells were at Bolton and then Chelsea – but Gudjohnsen also spent four years at Barcelona – where he became the first Icelandic player to win the Champions League in 2009. Gudjohnsen has always been a very important player for Iceland and has scored 24 goals in 63 games at international level.
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Several things struck me during Manchester City’s 0-2 Europa League Group A win in Austria last night. Having spent the day messing around on my Twitter page making up facts about Austria (did you know, for example, that, due to an oddity in the country’s one-way system, every road in Austria is uphill? Or that Austria actually gets no rainfall, but that all of their precipitation is controlled by the government?) and the pope (he was the original choice to play Indianna Jones, but he turned the role down, y’know), I was in quite a jovial mood at kick off, despite having watched a frustrating City performance recently, at home against Blackburn.
A lot of City fans I know, after that Blackburn game, were none too happy with the tactics employed by Sam Allardyce in their visit to Eastlands – wasting time, long balls, sitting behind the ball, etc. – but that’s a viewpoint I can’t really subscribe to. Too often I heard the phrase “that’s not football” or “it’s anti-football” when the game was being discussed post-match, but when it comes down to it, I wouldn’t have expected Blackburn to go to a side that is aiming for a top four finish, not to play to their strengths and, instead, to try to beat them with possession football. It wasn’t as if City didn’t create chances – the worrying part of the game was the stat of 20 attempts on goal, but only one scored.
City didn’t play especially badly against Blackburn, they just failed to break their opposition down. Too often, the opportunity for a quick break was declined for a series of short passes in midfield or the opportunity for a first time pass was declined in favour of several touches. And that allowed Blackburn to get back behind the ball and regain their shape.
There were plenty of shots on goal from the home side, but it was frustrating to see them being largely, with one or two exceptions, of course, comfortable saves for Robinson or off target to begin with. It was doubly frustrating when it took so much work to get into a shooting position.
But then roll forward five days. What struck me in the game last night, albeit against different opposition with a different style of play, was that the Manchester City that turned up in Austria, as a weakened side, too, mark you, didn’t look the same Manchester City that passed and passed and passed the ball in front of Blackburn the weekend previous. There were penetrating runs, successful through balls, dangerous attacks, one-touch football, and two good goals to finish it all off.
The biggest reason I can see for this improvement was that David Silva was given his chance to start. From the kick off, he was involved in virtually everything positive that City did until he was substituted five minutes from time. His vision and work rate were as good as ever, but his ability to execute the right pass at the right time looked second to none.
For someone his size, he didn’t look too put off by a tough tackle here or there. He’s not the bulkiest of players, which does aid his agility, but he isn’t afraid to get stuck in, too. He showed flashes of this in his substitute appearance against Blackburn – in my personal opinion, he should have been introduced to the game much earlier than he was – and, last night, it helped him run the game.
It summed his entire night up when he broke his neck to support Tevez, who was battling his way into the Salzburg box, to end up with a shooting chance (though he did decide to cut back onto his left foot and consequently gave the goalkeeper time to adjust). Tevez, traditionally, isn’t the most selfless of players and will normally take a shot on if he can, so Silva bust a gut knowing he mightn’t have even gotten the chance to shoot. But he did and he should have scored.
Keeping our feet on the ground, for a moment, though, we should remember that Red Bull Salzburg aren’t Arsenal or Chelsea or Manchester United. But, equally, they’re not a poor side; last season, they won every one of their Europa League group stage games and were also the Austrian Bundesliga winners. Ok, so it’s not the English Premier League, but it’s hardly the Northwest Counties League, either.
The second thing that struck me was my parents’ ability to fall asleep at the drop of a hat. Not just a problem when hat shopping, but also a completely strange sight when, only seconds after the half time whistle had been blown, I was able to look across and see them snoozing away on the sofa, despite having been in full conversation with them virtually right up until the whistle.
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Gareth Barry’s return to the starting line-up and subsequent influence on the match was the third thing that struck me. Looking back to the Blackburn match, with Milner and Yaya Touré struggling to find form and Vieira as the third, deeper, central midfielder, there was little service to Tevez (and later, Jo). And it was no coincidence that it was Barry’s introduction that made the home side more threatening.
I was genuinely quite worried for Barry at the start of the season, especially after he struggled, like most of the other England players, in the World Cup (though he was battling back from injury). With the midfield talent that Roberto Mancini brought in to City, Barry was one of the favourites among several fans to be starting more games on the bench than on the pitch, condemned to proving his worth in European or League Cup matches.
However, the man himself had no such thoughts of being a bit-part player. He’s been nothing short of outstanding so far this season and last night was just another example. It’s the hard work he does that goes unnoticed. He links the defence with the attack with simple passing and, in the case of creating one of Jo’s opportunities yesterday, superb vision and through ball execution.
He’s not a Nigel de Jong, who will break up play and protect the back four, while offering very little going forward – anyone who saw his miss (read: backpass) in City’s 1-2 victory at Fulham last season can testify for that: if the ball breaks free for a first time shot eight yards from goal, it’s not Nigel de Jong you want it to fall to.
It’s a popular misconception, especially amongst television pundits who don’t get to see matches in their entirety (yet are expected to comment on them perfectly), that when City start with Nigel de Jong and Gareth Barry that they are starting with two defensive midfielders. And it’s usually followed by a criticism, especially if City are at home.
While it may be true that de Jong won’t give the side much on the attack, the same cannot be said of Barry. He is the player responsible for finding Yaya Touré in advanced positions or moving the ball wide to Milner or chipping it in to Johnson or making the late drive into the box.
In fact, here’s me calling for Silva to join the starting eleven, but I can’t for the life of me decide who I would drop – personally, I’d like to see Nigel de Jong start, Gareth Barry start, Yaya Touré start, James Milner start, Adam Johnson start and David Silva start. Though, I’m not on the same contract as Roberto Mancini, so I’ll probably be left with that selection headache on Football Manager only.
I also wondered, during last night’s match, whether the captain’s armband was having something of a negative effect on the new club captain, Carlos Tevez. When it was announced that he would be club captain for the season, I could certainly see the reasons why – if your captain is chasing everything and working hard, it’s leading by example and, in theory at least, the rest of the team should be inspired by his efforts. But I also found it a somewhat strange decision, certainly with there being other, perhaps more natural, candidates in the squad. Personally, I had been expecting the armband to be wrapped around Vincent Kompany’s arm this season.
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It would be fair to say that Tevez hasn’t yet recaptured his form from last season – he’s started this season like a BBC Three sitcom: trying hard to do its job, but struggling and being taken off before the series is over. Then again, he was very involved in the World Cup (granted, any game that Tevez plays in he generally is very involved with) and he did start last season slowly, as he recovered from injury. And, while he doesn’t strike me as somebody who lets pressure get to him, I have wondered more than once this season if it is an extra burden he would play better without.
After all, it seems to have worked for Kolo Touré. Though, I suppose seven games into the season, one of which Tevez didn’t feature in and one of which he scored twice in, is a bit too early to judge. And certainly taking the captaincy off someone who’s only just been given it isn’t going to help his confidence.
Now, all that being said, City travel to Wigan this weekend. While not somewhere you would expect a team that has had great investment over the last couple of seasons to struggle, City have never actually won at the DW Stadium in the Premier League (three losses and two draws). I expect it will be a game in a similar ilk to that of the visit of Blackburn to Eastlands, so it’s going to need City to move the ball around as quickly and lethally as they did last night.
Five points from four Premier League games isn’t a great start and I think, like myself, every other City fan was expecting better. But it’s not panic stations, yet. And a victory at Wigan would be a nice kick-start to City’s season and could be the boost the side needs. City are due that kick-start. Especially after having kick-started so many other teams’ seasons over the years.
You may love him or loathe him, but you would be hard-pressed to find a better chairman than Daniel Levy in the Premier League at present. Sir Alan Sugar once described the Spurs chief as the toughest negotiator he had ever faced; so you can understand why he has been so successful in getting a lot of success in transfer deals over the years.
I was listening to TalkSport this week and an interesting comment was made about Tottenham and their transfer dealings. They were talking about how they couldn’t understand why Spurs were holding out for big money for players like Giovani Dos Santos and Roman Pavlyuchenko, given that their value has hardly increased in value, based on their performances on the pitch. Similar murmurings were made in the summer over Niko Kranjcar and David Bentley; who seemingly were priced out of moves this summer. I’m a big believer, certainly in the case of Dos Santos, Pav and Bentley that we should cut our losses and move on, but clearly Levy is intent to get his money back, despite their poor performances and subsequent drop in value. Some would say he was proved right by holding out, given the success in getting the club’s money back for Darren Bent, but surely we can’t expect to achieve such a result every time.
The reason for my concerns is that it is clear from the outset that Tottenham need to sell before they can buy. Ever since the purse strings were opened up when Redknapp first took the reins of the football club, largely down to ensure our Premier League survival, we have been rather prudent in the market and seemingly operating on a tight budget. Why it is certainly understandable, given the millions that Damien Comolli squandered during his time at the football club, I do wonder whether Daniel Levy is in need of another pair of hands in our transfer dealings in order to ensure that business is conducted more efficiently. I’m not saying the club should perhaps go out and look for another Sporting Director to take control, but certainly someone who can help take a part of the recruitment burden away from the Chairman, who on top of player recruitment has to deal with other issues such as securing a new stadium following the failed Olympic bid. Having to negotiate to sell and then having to negotiate to buy players in such a short space of time in my mind is too much for one man in my opinion; especially when the stakes are even higher on the football pitch.
I know it may seem somewhat premature, given we still have a few days before the window shuts, but can anyone see any significant deals in the pipeline? Had we shipped out the deadwood sooner from the squad, would we be in a better position to secure deals? I think so.
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The Scottish Premier League title race is still too close to call after leaders Rangers drew 0-0 at home to second-placed Celtic.Celtic missed a chance to overhaul their fierce rivals when Greek striker Georgios Samaras had a penalty saved with eight minutes remaining at Ibrox Stadium.
Sunday’s draw leaves defending champions Rangers top by one point with four matches left.
Celtic, meanwhile, have five games still to come, leaving Neil Lennon’s team slim favourites to collect their first league championship since 2008.
The match was played against a backdrop of mounting sectarian tension after a parcel bomb was sent to Celtic manager Neil Lennon.
But despite the usual deafening atmosphere inside Ibrox, the match appeared to pass without incident in the stands.
The same cannot be said on the pitch, where a full-blooded encounter never appeared likely to end in a goalless draw.
Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor had to keep out shots from Daniel Majstorovic, Charlie Mulgrew and Emilio Izaguirre.
And the Scotland international confirmed his status as the hero of the day for the home team when he pushed clear the 82nd-minute spot-kick of Samaras after substitute Anthony Stokes was fouled inside the box.
Rangers might also have broken the deadlock with chances to Kyle Lafferty, Maurice Edu and Steven Naismith.
Stokes was booked for diving late on by referee Craig Thompson after an unconvincing attempt to claim a second penalty for the visitors.
But with neither side able to claim the decisive goal, a stalemate leaves everything to play for over the closing weeks of the campaign.
Reports suggest Arsenal are close to agreeing a deal with Sevilla for their France international Sebastien Squillaci.
Spanish publication Marca reports that Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has indentified the centre-back as the man to help bolster his defensive options at the Emirates Stadium.
The 30-year-old has spent eight years playing top-flight football in his homeland with the likes of Monaco and Lyon.
It is believed that Squillaci asked to be removed from Sevilla's Champions League squad roster this week so that he will be able to represent the Gunners in European football's premier competition.
Sevilla director Ramon Rodriguez confirmed: "The player asked us not to play in this game due to an important offer from a team, although for the moment, we consider the bid to be inadequate and Squillaci remains a Sevilla player."
Squillaci is valued in the region of £8million but looks set to join Laurent Koscielny, Thomas Vermaelen and Johan Djourou as Wenger's central defensive options.
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Wenger has lost Philippe Senderos, William Gallas, Mikael Silvestre and Sol Campbell since the end of last season.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Newcastle fans have been debating a move for Garry Rodrigues, after reports from Turkey claimed the Magpies will have to spend €20m (about £18m) to land the Dutchman.
After failing in a bid to sign him last summer, Newcastle look set to reignite their interest in Galatasaray’s Rodrigues this summer, but is he worth the price tag?
According to Turkish outlet Aksam, Newcastle have once again stepped up their pursuit of the pacey winger, but will have to pay the €20m price tag to get a deal done.
The Magpies had a bid for the 27 year-old rejected last summer, reportedly in the region of £6m, but his price has now gone up even more after a wonderful season.
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Rodrigues had the best season of his career so far with Galatasaray, grabbing nine goals and ten assists in 33 league appearances.
Rafael Benitez is desperate for some more attacking flair to help create for a potentially big signing up front, and Rodrigues has the tools to play on either flank.
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Fans have been voting if they think they should pay the asking price, and it’s a pretty even split, with 56 per cent backing a move for the Dutchman.
Tottenham Hotspur star Harry Kane has told Real Madrid that he will join the Spanish club if they meet his list of demands, according to Diario Gol.
What’s the story?
Barely a day goes by when Kane is not linked with a move to the Bernabeu.
The striker’s stunning form, which led him to top the scoring charts in Europe by the end of 2017, is bound to attract attention from other clubs.
Kane has not publicly entertained a move to Madrid, but according to reports in Spain, the 24-year-old is privately considering a switch.
Diario Gol reports that the England international has told club president Florentino Perez that he will only ponder a move if certain conditions are met.
Kane reportedly wants Zinedine Zidane to be sacked as manager, and has also allegedly requested that Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema be axed.
Current Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino is believed to be at the top of the striker’s list of replacements for Zidane.
Could these outrageous demands be true?
All stories of this nature should be taken with a pinch of salt, but there is no denying that nowadays footballers have much more of a say than they used to.
The astronomical wages and marketing pull that certain players have gives them much more control.
Many fans adopt the saying that ‘no one player is bigger than the club’, but there have been reported instances of teams dislodging managers.
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If it is true that Kane has made these demands to one of the world’s biggest clubs, then player power has gone way too far.
Give and take is normal for any negotiation, but telling a club to change coaches or drop some of their star players is ludicrous.
Liverpool hero Jamie Carragher believes that Andy Carroll’s £35m valuation had a major impact on his failure at Anfield.
The burly Geordie is set to face his former club for the first time since making a permanent switch to West Ham later today, in a game that is a must win for the Reds in the hunt for the title.
Carroll was regarded as one of English football’s top talents prior to his ill-fated 2011 transfer, when he became a record buy for the Merseyside club.
His £35m price tag appeared to weigh heavy, with the now Hammers idol enduring a tough spell under the guidance of then manager Kenny Dalglish.
In the build up to the game at Upton Park many have been speculating that he may come back to prove himself to his former club, and Carragher – who played alongside the powerful front-man – believes that the pressure of the fee to get him to Liverpool was detrimental to his time at the club:
“If we could have got him for between £12-15m, it would have been good business. The feeling around the club when we were in for him was that maybe he could mature into our Didier Drogba.” He wrote in his column for the Daily Mail.
“Unfortunately, though, Liverpool’s decision to pay £35m was a big mistake and it never did Andy any favours,
“It quickly became apparent he wasn’t the right fit for the club.”
Carragher went on to say that Carroll’s playing style and work ethic also contributed to the botched spell:
“In training, he’d complain if the ball was not flung into the box — and I don’t mean from out wide,
“He wanted the ball to come in to him from close to the halfway line, but at Liverpool that was never going to happen.
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“There were other things. He found the intensity of playing three games every week difficult.
“Before he might have been used to getting himself right for a match on a Saturday, then spending time socially with his mates — as we all did when we were young — but at Liverpool the training and professional demands are relentless.”
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