FIFA are killing football, says Giovanni Trapattoni
[Goal.com]
Arsenal track a pair of Bari defenders
[Daily Mail]
There is plenty more to life if I’m not picked in the England squad,” says Michael Owen, who is desperately trying to get into the England squad
[The Mirror]
Are Manchester Utd looking to sign Inter’s Maicon?
[Betfair Football]
This was meant to be the season where Ben Foster established himself as Man United and England number one. The way things are going he won’t even be at Old Trafford for much longer…
Last March, Ben Foster had only ever started one league game for Manchester United and yet somehow, on the strength of one penalty save in the Carling Cup Final, developed a reputation as a superstar.
Fabio Capello was wowed by the display and breached his own guidelines later that month to cap Foster in a friendly against Slovakia, despite the fact he wasn’t playing regular club football.
Being talked up so much in the press without actually achieving much was always going to prove problematic, especially when an Edwin van der Sar injury in pre-season provoked articles about how Foster would prove so successful that the Dutchman would never get the shirt back.
When Capello was asked what had impressed him about the 26-year-old, he said: “He plays without fear and with confidence.” His assuredness has since been eroded though by a series of horrendous blunders.
First there was the embarrassing pre-season mistake against a Malaysia XI where he failed to control a backpass, then disaster in the Community Shield, later followed by humiliation against Manchester City and most recently the screw-up for Sunderland’s second last weekend. Rumours in the press suggest the latter was the catalyst for a “furious dressing room bust-up” between the keeper and Sir Alex Ferguson.
In March 2008, Alex Ferguson was quoted as saying “the haranguing of referees is ridiculous,” a comment that sat well with the FA’s Respect campaign. The Manchester Utd manager seemed to forget this sentiment when he accused Alan Wiley of being “unfit” to officiate on Saturday, and could now be kicked out of the beautiful game. Possibly. Alan Leighton, the national secretary of Professionals’ trade union Prospect, told BBC Radio 5 Live:
“I think there has to be some recognition that this is a serious allegation that needs to be properly dealt with and punished severely.
“There are issues around suspension from the job that would be new territory that hasn’t happened before, but I think the FA has to grab the nettle on this one.
Bulgarian striker offers a pessimistic self assessment
According to his Wikipedia entry, Dimitar Berbatov is the most prolific striker the world has ever seen, but sadly this is not the case. The Bulgarian has not threatened defences quite like he did when he wore a lillywhite shirt, and thanks to his unique “relaxed” playing style, he doesn’t earn an ‘A’ for effort in the eyes of most Utd fans (nor the players, who frequently infer that he is the laziest player at training).
Berbs has never appeared short of confidence - and his performance on Wednesday showed flashes of brilliance - but he has today been very critical of his own performances for Manchester Utd:
“In my first year I was disappointed in myself. I need to say that.
“It was a big pressure for me and maybe I failed myself. I think I wanted to prove myself to these supporters.
“You must remember, they are used to Best, Charlton, Cantona. I am just Dimitar.
“I got a number of assists, but I must score more goals.”
While Berbatov seems to suggest that his £30m price tag is an albatross around his neck, some Manchester Utd fans have jumped to his defence. Scott at ROM argues that Carlos Tevez ran around like Sonic the Hedgehog on Red Bull, but his strike rate was less impressive than Dimitar’s: the Argentinean managed one goal per 371 minutes, compared to the Bulgarian’s one goal per 282 minutes.
So, has he been a failure, or is he being a little harsh on himself? Votes and comments below, please…
Fit & Healthy striker knew he was second best from the outset
Until now, The Spoiler had assumed that Michael Owen fell off his horse/ out of his helicopter in paralysed shock when he first learned that Manchester Utd were interested in his signature.
The tiny striker, however, has now revealed details of the phone call from Sir Alex Ferguson, in which the red-faced Scot made it perfectly clear that in an ideal world he would be phoning a young Frenchman instead:
“The manager’s voice is pretty distinctive, so I knew it wasn’t a wind-up. He said, ‘We are looking for a striker. I’m going to be up front, we went for Benzema and once that was a no-go we looked around for players who are going to score goals. Obviously the big question is if you are fit, but if you are and we can get plenty of games, then words to the effect that it’s a no-brainer. Anyway, there’s no point in talking on the phone, we’ll chat about it tomorrow if you are free and fancy coming round.’
Manchester Utd striker failed to cope with being blacklisted
Thanks to three Premier League titles, an FA Cup and a Champions League, Dwight Yorke undoubtedly enjoyed the best days of his career at Manchester Utd. The Trinidad and Tobago striker, however, has revealed that he also endured some of his darkest days at the club.
After a high profile relationship with vacuous publicity whore glamour model Jordan put him in the media spotlight for the wrong reasons, Yorke fell out with Ferguson, who attempted to ship him off to Middlesbrough.
The striker felt encouraged when Sir Alex announced his intention to retire, but when he subsequently retracted that intention, Yorke turned to the bottle. He claims he spent his final three months at Old Trafford getting tanked while watching his colleagues on the TV:
“I started to drink again. I wasn’t an alcoholic. But it helped to ease the loneliness. I was like a zombie.
Real Madrid star still looks out for previous employer
Despite creating the impression that he couldn’t wait to get away from smelly rainy Manchester, Cristiano Ronaldo has admitted that he stilllooks out for the results of his old team now he is based in equally-smelly-but-less-rainy Madrid. The Mirror quotes:
“Every time I can I try to watch United’s games on television.
“I still like to know what’s happening at Old Trafford. And despite now being at Real, I’m always happy when I know when United have won.”
C-Ron also took the opportunity to wax lyrical about Nani, who he believes is destined to become one of the “best players in the world”:
“I’ve also seen that Nani is playing much more than he was last season when I was there. That’s good for him and he will benefit from that.
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