Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas celebrated the performance of Gareth Bale during their 4-0 Premier League win over Aston Villa.
The Welsh winger notched a hat-trick at Villa Park, with all three of his strikes coming in 23 second-half minutes.
The 23-year-old, who has now scored ten goals this term, drew special praise from his manager after the final whistle:
“He is up there with the best.” Villas-Boas responded when asked by Sky Sports if there were many better players in world football.
“He is showing tremendous skills and talent, I think he is improving every day – he is such a young player – and he is helping the team. He is one of our major assets.
“His personality is wonderful, he is going through an excellent moment of his professional and personal life, and we are benefiting from that.”
The Portuguese coach went on to claim that the pacey winger will get even better:
“I think so. You always expect that the team can make an individual even better.
“The team changes so much from one year to another, and as he keeps learning, he will feel even better and probably his performances will improve.
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“His finishing is very accurate. He has been prolific in front of goal this season and I think he is enjoying getting into those positions.
“His left foot is wonderful and the power and direction he applies on the ball is wonderful too.”
Jermain Defoe broke the deadlock shortly after half-time before Bale added the remaining three goals.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is ready to move for Valencia winger Sofiane Feghouli after Alexis Sanchez’ agent ruled out a move to Anfield.
The Reds poor start to the season continued at the weekend as they were comprehensively beaten 3-1 at home by strugglers Aston Villa.
Despite being quoted as saying not to expect too much from the January transfer window, Rodgers is still keen to bolster his squad and reports in Spain have linked Liverpool with a move for the Algerian wide player next month.
SuperDeporte suggest the Reds have already made contact with representatives of the player who predominantly prefers to play on the right hand side.
MirrorFootball’s Spanish correspondent David Cartlidge believes Feghouli, who’s current contract runs out in 2014, would be a great addition to their squad:
“Liverpool would get a player who is hard working, direct, skilful and has a lot of potential. He can replicate Kuyt’s success at the club.
“A deal could happen due to Valencia’s need to sell, and Feghouli’s unresolved contract situation. Also, Valencia have already identified replacements.”
It is believed Rodgers has intensified his interest in the player after suffering a blow in his pursuit of Barcelona winger Alexis Sanchez, with the Chilean’s agent ruling out a move to Anfield.
Liverpool currently sit 12th in the Premier League after an inconsistent season in which they have had to rely heavily on inexperienced players such as Raheem Serling, while struggling to provide sufficient support for star striker Luis Suarez.
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It hasn’t always been the best career move for a youngster to accept a transfer to Real Madrid, as Sergio Canales will provide evidence. It didn’t help the young Spaniard that Jose Mourinho doesn’t have the best track record for developing young players, seeing to it that the current Valencia midfielder only saw 15 games in his first season at the Bernabeu. Sergio Ramos is the exception to that rule, a masterful defender who has risen up the ranks at Madrid and become one of the senior figures in the team. That exception also applies to Raphael Varane.
You could more or less see the likely trajectory of Varane’s career over the next few years: plenty of promise, winds up at Real Madrid (due to the recommendation of Zinedine Zidane) but loses his momentum and, importantly, vital years in his development.
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But that hasn’t really been the case. Ok, last year when Real Madrid were storming to the La Liga title and looked good for their 10th Champions League crown, it became well-known that Mourinho didn’t have the depth of squad he wanted. Pepe and Sergio Ramos are his first-choice centre-backs and two of the very best on their day. In reserve, it wouldn’t really fill many managers with confidence to place an ageing Ricardo Carvalho or a hugely underperforming Raul Albiol in against either Bayern Munich’s attacking trident of Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben and Mario Gomez or Barcelona. For that, it’s wholly understandable that we didn’t see much of a then 18-year-old Varane.
However, for the young Frenchman, the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final against Barcelona this season was his watershed moment at the Spanish champions. The teenager was paired with Carvalho at centre-back but far outshone his more experienced partner; it was a wonderful defensive display from a youngster who looked like a seasoned veteran.
Maybe it would have been seen as a fairly hefty price to pay for a teenager out of Ligue 1. Real Madrid, however, took the initiative when others wouldn’t and parted with the 10 million euros for Varane’s services. The summer of 2011 was also the window where Manchester United paid Blackburn Rovers £16million for Phil Jones, and who had completed the signing of Chris Smalling from Fulham in January of 2010 for just under £10million. Both defenders, at the time either still a teen or having just left his teenage years, more than warranted another club spending heavily for Varane.
What you have in Raphael Varane is a player who has always looked promising but really needed a good run in the team to solidify his place as one of the best rising stars on the continent. Dropping in and out of the starting XI is always good for the player’s development, but you don’t get many baptisms of fire quite like the Clasico against Barcelona.
Pepe was out injured and Ramos was completing his final game of a five-game suspension; you could forgive Jose Mourinho for feeling a little uneasy with his back line, which featured Michael Essien at right-back and Alvaro Arbeloa on the left. But here was a youngster who displayed the pace of a natural athlete to keep up with even Lionel Messi. His tackle to deny Cesc Fabregas was arguably one of the finest, if not the finest tackle you’ll see all season. Varane showed power, confidence, an unwavering desire to prove that he was good enough for Mourinho to look at when he was short of numbers. Varane’s equaliser with less than 10 minutes left of the 90 was the perfect way to sum up a perfect game.
So you have to ask what that performance means for the youngster. What you have here is a player who was always building towards something like that. It wasn’t a fluke or something that was totally unexpected. It’s always been said for the past 18 months that Real Madrid needed another centre-back who was good enough to come in and offer similar contributions to that of the first-choice pairing. In Varane, and at only 19 years of age, Madrid have a sensational talent and one who is destined for the big time in near future.
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Queens Park Rangers manager Harry Redknapp is under no illusion that the clubs debt could be significantly eased if his team survive in the Premier League this season.
Rangers have one of the highest wage bills in the country and the clubs long term future could be in doubt if they are playing Championship football next season.
Big money January deals for the likes of Loic Remy and Christopher Samba could be fatal blows if Redknapp’s team fail to conduct the great escape between now and May.
Rangers gave themselves a lifeline with a crucial victory at Southampton last week and they ‘entertain’ an out of form Sunderland side at Loftus Road today with victory potentially moving them just one point adrift of survival.
Redknapp is no stranger to a relegation scrap having been here with West Ham, Southampton and Portsmouth in the past but surely this would be the great escape to beat all great escapes if the club can avoid the drop and not plunge into further debt.
“If the debts are high the chairman and the board must understand that,” Redknapp told The Sun.
“They’re not silly men, they’re successful businessmen.
“They know what they’re doing so I’ll leave it to them. It’s their business.
“It’s important obviously to stay up. But when you are a football manager we are not involved in that side of the business.
“I’ve said it a million times, we are not involved in players’ wages.
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“That’s done at a different level to what we work. We work with the team and on the pitch.
“The financial side of it I don’t know. Those results were from before I came here.”
Southampton forward Rickie Lambert is convinced his team-mate Jay Rodriguez will earn an England call-up if he keeps playing well.
The striking pair have both touted as possible contenders for the national team this season after playing a key role in helping the Saints move away from the Premier League’s relegation zone.
Calls for Lambert’s inclusion in Roy Hodgson’s plans have been made for some time off the back of his impressive scoring record for the South-Coast club during their rise through the divisions.
However, the 14-goal man’s sidekick is making an equally compiling case with his form since Mauricio Pochettino’s appointment as manager really catching the eye and justifying Nigel Adkins’ decision in the first place to sign him from Burnley for £7m.
“I think it is only a matter of time before Jay does get a chance with England if he carries on like this,” said Lambert.
“Everyone has seen what a good player he is. It makes my job so much easier when playing alongside him.
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“He is like a player reborn. At the start of the season he wasn’t as confident as he hoped he would be – but slowly and surely the confidence has come back.”
The 16th of April will go down in Cardiff City folk law, a chilly Tuesday spring evening, as the night that Cardiff City ended 50 odd years of hurt
When Cardiff were relegated from the old First Division in 1962, the world hadn’t (outside of Liverpool and the seedy red light area of Berlin) even heard of the Beatles and Ipswich Town had just been crowned champions.
Along with The Bluebirds, Chelsea went down into division two, while Liverpool and Leyton Orient took their place. Ironically, for a team that now boasts five former Coventry City players and two Coventrians in their first team, that it was Coventry born Frank Ifield who was number one with I Remember You.
Unfortunately, after 51 years, few people remembered Cardiff City had ever been a top flight team, even the Bluebird supporters themselves, two generations bloodied into the fold against the tide of supporting glamorous big named English clubs, only knew because they had been told. They’d seen the grainy footage on club produced video’s and Dvd’s, instead they had become accustomed to disappointed, of being the perpetual bridesmaids, used to relegation and playing in the lower leagues, of being on the verge of administration, of being saved at the 11th hour by shady deals by shady little men.
So it came to pass that a scoreless draw against Charlton provided the sweet magical moment, one which came 53 years to the day since a home victory at Ninian Park against Aston Villa secured Cardiff’s previous promotion from the second tier to the promise land.
Promotion this season is something Cardiff City fans had demanded, having been made to sacrifice too much, put up with so much abuse, of being accused of selling their souls ( no matter what and where their personal feelings and allegiances lay) of a season of constant taunts from opponents’ fans. Fans have had to endure the one season in Cardiff City’s history it’s been the hardest to be a supporter, to settle for anything less was unthinkable failure wasn’t an option, but it was a deep-rooted fear, a dread that Cardiff City were going to do a Cardiff City and blow it, but as the season began to draw to a close that became all but impossible.
Cardiff City in the end achieved promotion with three games to spare, finally burying the painful ghosts of three successive play-off failures. The Bluebirds can now prepare for the financial rewards, the umbrella payments, the added bonus that this season will bring – The television rights are up for negotiation, a fact that will add even more coffers into the Cardiff City bank account. Then there will be the publicity that comes with a place in the top flight, sponsors will now be fighting to endorse the club from Welsh capital.
Malky Mackay undoubtedly must take the majority of the plaudits for the promotion, for building a team capable of winning the Championship.
And there is no doubt this is a team moulded by Mackay. Of the Eleven that started against Charlton, only two players – goalkeeper David Marshall and right-back Kevin McNaughton – remained from the team that played in the 3-2 play-off final defeat against Blackpool at Wembley in 2010, the only other survivors of the Dave Jones era who remain at Cardiff City are Mark Hudson (side lined by injury), Peter Whittingham (relegated to a place on the bench) and Craig Bellamy who had spent part of the 2010/11 season on loan from Liverpool under Jones.
The game was a nervy affair with passes going astray – it was clear it meant so much to both sides.
Highlights of the match itself were a David Marshall save, and a disallowed goal from the head of Craig Noone.
After having shown few signs of nerves in the majority of the game, understandably anxiety crept into Cardiff’s play in the closing 10 minutes, anyone with a connection to Cardiff City football club were willing the sound of the final whistle, knowing that if the score remained as it was it would signal their entrance to the Premier League.
The supporters were becoming increasingly edgy, but tentatively as the seconds ticked by we started to celebrate, the chants becoming frenetic and deafening “The Blues Are Going Up” (although rather bizarrely) the commentator on Astro sports channel in Malaysia who were streaming the game live, repeatedly stated the Cardiff City fans were chanting “The Reds are going up”?
As the news filtered through to us supporters that Watford were losing away at Millwall, meaning even a loss would suffice for we Bluebirds’ to realise our promotional dreams at long last!
The game seemed to slow – but then, when the referee finally blew his whistle it brought about total jubilation. Cardiff City were promoted to the Premier League.
Screams of YES! GET IN! Chants of “The Blues Are Up!” rang out among the mass hugging and dancing, the pitch invasion began, the Charlton players fled the field. A few of the Cardiff City players were in less of a hurry – two in particular – the Silver Fox and Bluebird favourite Kevin McNaughton who is The Blues longest-serving player and the only player in the current squad that had played in the 2008 FA Cup final.
Super Kev had been with us through all those nearly years, it meant as much to him as it did to us – that was plain to see! The other player was a lifelong supporter who had his Dad and Son cheering from the stands – Craig Bellamy who had twice taken a cut in wages to play for ‘his’ team.
I wriggled free from a hug and set off down the terrace sending this prepared tweet as I went – “@RealSarahJPrice: YAYAY!!! BLUEBIRDS ARE PROMOTED!! Excuse me off to invade the pitch BLUEBIRDS!!!”
I went onto the pitch to celebrate for (in my mind) all the supporters who were not there to see this historical moment, from my friend who had missed the game due to a recent foot operation, to all the friends, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, Grampy’s and Nan’s who hadn’t lived to see the day, I even found myself at one point looking at the night sky staring at the moon, which was now clouded by the blue and yellow smoke from canisters let off by supporters and tearfully said “Stuart we made it” directed to the late former Stereophonics drummer Stuart Cable who had been a much-loved figure on the terraces even at the height of his fame Stuart made every game humanly possible.
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Crying tears of joy tinged with a deep sadness for two supporters in particular, Dads that should have been there – I saw Kevin McNaughton lifted high upon the shoulder of one Bluebird supporter after another – arms in the air, face scrunched up in exaltation, screaming and swearing his head off, the gist of which was ‘Yes at last’.
With these scenes on the pitch and chants of The Blues are going up clearly audible, and ringing in his ears Vincent Tan in the tunnel being interviewed live on Sky Sports News grabbed the red Cardiff City shirt he was wearing and said “lucky red, lucky red”
The promotion to the Premier League and what it meant to the blue part of south Wales was better described by Craig Bellamy who had his father and teenage son, Ellis, who is on Cardiff’s books, watching from the stands, Bellamy tearfully said “Football wise, this is certainly the best moment.”
“To have people I truly love around me, to share this with me, to see my dad afterwards and all the heartache he has been through watching Cardiff over the years. I have lost count how many games I used to go to with him on a Tuesday night against some team, and him pulling me to the side, leaving 10 minutes before the end, and saying we would never go back.”
So Saturday away at Burnley Cardiff City could confirm the title. That’s all we wait for, for the party to really begin that and the promised promotion song written and performed by lifelong Bluebird James Fox.
The Bluebirds are flying high and are really happy about it too!
Manchester United’s young Dutch winger Gyliano van Velzen looks to have a bright future in the game. The lanky left winger may not have the appearance of a typical tricky winger, but van Velzen is a tall, skilful and pacy winger. The Dutchman can also be used up front, like he did for the youth team when first choice strikers Will Keane and John Cofie were injured.
Manchester United signed van Velzen from Dutch side Ajax. United’s scouting team had been watching van Velzen for a while and decided to act quickly after reported interest from other clubs around Europe.
Van Velzen is a product of the famous Ajax academy. The same academy that has produced the likes of Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Kluivert, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart and the legend Marco van Basten.
The youngster had initially turned down an offer from Manchester United and decided to stay with Ajax’s under-17s. Van Velzen, who was affiliated with Ajax since he was 13 years old, then decided that a move to England was the right move to make. It was believed that United had offered the van Velzen family a house in the Manchester area and offering their son, Gyliano, a professional contract.
The deal of van Velzen to Manchester United angered Ajax. They felt that Manchester United had illegally poached their youngster and wrote to United’s chief executive David Gill asking for compensation. It is believed that if Ajax were not happy with Gill’s response, they will look at other avenues to take, although they would rather not take legal action.
Van Velzen joined Manchester United in November 2010. He started to impress during the 2011/12 season and only youth team star Tyler Beckett made more appearances than van Velzen. The Dutchman scored eight times and has seen his game starting to develop an end product on regular occasions. His impressive performances for the youth team saw Warren Joyce bring him into the reserve squad and hand him three substitute appearances.
At the start of this season, van Velzen was loaned to United’s partner club in Belgium, Royal Antwerp. Van Velzen started his loan spell brightly, scoring in a 2-0 win over Brussels. But his form dipped and he was sent back to Manchester United.
On his return, Royal Antwerp manager Dennis van Wijk told Voetbal international.
“He had a very good start, but then became a little tentative. He’s a young player. He’s very talented but that does not always play a role in whether or not they’ll reach the top. But he has enough quality.”
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Next season will be interesting to see if Sir Alex Ferguson will look to introduce first team football to youngster.
Southampton could be without top scorer Rickie Lambert (back) and 17-year-old Luke Shaw (virus) with neither training this week. Gaston Ramirez and Danny Fox are still banned.
Charlie Adam is suspended after his red card against Tottenham last week, while Glenn Whelan is struggling to be fit. Andy Wilkinson (back) could return and Michael Owen is hoping to feature in his last game before retirement.
Mauricio Pochettino…”My future in Southampton has to be with Nicola. reality is we share a common passion and long-term plan for this club. It would not make much sense for me to continue at this club if he is not here. I do not understand Southampton without Nicola in the future. Nicola has created everything we see at Southampton now.”
Tony Pulis… “He (Owen) has been fantastic around the place. He has been a really, really good lad. He’s not had the playing time he’s wanted, and I know he has been disappointed with that. So there will be a send off for him at Southampton on Sunday for what has been an absolutely wonderful career. As to whether he’ll play, I’ll be telling him first before anybody else.”
Match Statistic: Southampton have managed just one goal in the six-and-a-half hours of Premier League football.
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Prediction: Southampton 2-0 Stoke City
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Arsenal are close to signing Bayern Munich midfielder Luiz Gustavo, according to the Telegraph.
The Bundeslia and Champions League winner will cost the Premier League side around £14million, as Wenger looks to finally strengthen his squad.
20-year-old Yaya Sanogo is the club’s only addition this summer, despite Wenger being reportedly given a £70million transfer kitty. Although the Gunners have targeted star players such as Wayne Rooney, Gonzalo Higuain and Luis Suarez this summer, Wenger is still yet to spend a penny on a transfer fee.
But the French manager is close to changing that with his pursuit of the Brazilian midfielder. Gustavo has slipped further down the Bayern pecking order after the Bavarian side signed Thiago Alcantara from Barcelona, and the 26-year-old looks set to try his hand in the Premier League.
Gustavo, who can also play centre-back, is expected to instantly rival Mikel Arteta for a starting place, with the Spaniard having to play in the holding midfield role due to injuries to Abou Diaby. The Brazilian would effectively be a replacement for Alex Song, who left for Barcelona last summer.
Wenger is hopeful that they can push through a deal for Gustavo before Saturday, when the Gunners face Aston Villa on the opening day of the new season.
Will Gustavo do well at the Emirates? What else do Arsenal need?
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If you’d have asked Atletico Madrid supporters whether they’d accept a 14-year wait to beat Real Madrid with two wins coming along within the space of four months, both being at the Bernabeu and one landing them the Copa De Rey, they’d probably have snapped your hand off.
Further fantasy and uncharted territory has been added to the mix. Not only are Atletico currently as good as Barcelona in La Liga, with both reaching this point in the league season unbeaten, Diego Simeone’s side have a midfielder who could play for Barcelona now and who could possibly replace Xavi in the Spanish national team in the near future.
It can be an eye-opener to realise that Koke is still only 21. He’s not a youngster, though, and he’s not a player with potential to fulfil – he’s done it already. He’s a veteran of two major cup finals over the past two seasons, as well as the UEFA Super Cup win over Chelsea at the start of last season. His name wasn’t brought up as often as Thiago Alcantara or Asier Illarramendi following this summer’s European U21 Championship, but he was just as good.
Spain have known about him, coming through the ranks at Atletico, evolving from a central midfielder to a wide player but with just as clinical a pass. And now, rightly, the rest of Europe are starting to pay attention – and it’s far from fleeting.
Koke is being lined up for a January swoop by Liverpool. You can bet, however, that Diego Simeone will not allow the Vicente Calderon to be besieged. There will be a party waiting to greet any unwanted visitors, with the man mountain German Burgos, Simeone’s assistant, leading the defensive charge if need be.
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Diego Costa is taking plenty of plaudits so far this season. The forward has picked up where he left off last term, forcing many to forget Radamel Falcao and allowing Atletico to uncover the Colombian’s replacement in house. But Koke has been just as vital and just as good. It was the 21-year-old who put Costa through on goal for the winner in the Madrid derby earlier this season. It has been Koke, too, who has provided Costa with his most scoring opportunities thus far. At present, Koke stands alongside Cesc Fabregas as the leading assist-maker in La Liga. Koke is industrious, a work horse like Simeone was in his time, but capable of as much elegance as Fabregas.
It’s not just that Liverpool would be a step down for Koke; it’s that most teams in Europe would be a step down.
Spanish football has been burnt too many times with the notion and hope of a new dawn in La Liga: a third power to break up Real Madrid and Barcelona’s stranglehold at the top. But there’s something different about this Atletico, a club who have always had the status but who have been a mess for too long. Simeone has restored pride, organisation, to a degree, from top to bottom, and they’re winning. In comparison to Real Madrid and their unequalled wealth, Atletico have won three trophies under Simeone in the past two years to Real’s two. And here’s the thing: more will come. Unlike others who have fallen once European football had been introduced to the calendar, Atletico are winning, having already beaten Zenit at home and Porto away.
Atletico having good players isn’t anything new. Whether it’s been academy graduates or high-profile names brought in via the market, Atletico have always held hot commodities. But Simeone has turned this into a winning team. Gabi and Mario Suarez are the first-choice central midfield pairing, but Koke drifts in from the wing to provide even more stability defensively and an edge to Atletico’s game that allows for so many scoring opportunities in each game.
Koke, in the progressive mindset of the game, is the perfect midfielder. He’s not as diminutive as his compatriots, standing at 5’10, so he’s able to assert himself in a defence capacity. But he combines that rougher side of his game with the spectacular, such as the cross-field pass to David Villa in the Madrid derby, executed with the outside of his right boot. Had Villa taken the volley first time and scored, it would have been one of the best goals this season in all of Europe.
From a talent standpoint, Koke is a one off. But such is the factory in Spain, there are multiple candidates who could stand forward and legitimately stake a claim to being the replacement for Xavi in the national team. Atletico have one of their own, not a hazy dream well off in the distance, and they’ll battle to keep him.
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Why would Liverpool target Koke want to leave Atletico Madrid now?