Cardiff blew a golden chance to take second place in the Championship on Sunday after twice relinquishing the lead in their 2-2 draw with Barnsley.Three points would have seen Cardiff leapfrog Norwich and Swansea into second place in the table, and things began brightly enough when midfielder Peter Whittingham handed them the lead after 21 minutes with a spectacular long-range effort.Eight minutes later Barnsley were level, however, when Scottish striker Andy Gray fired a shot past Cardiff goalkeeper Stephen Bywater from the edge of the box.Dekel Keinan found himself on the end of a great cross from winger Chris Burke to head Cardiff into the lead once more, but again it was Gray who equalised with a fine header just one minute from the end to ensure a share of the spoils.The point helped Barnsley climb to 15th place, while Cardiff remained in fourth position, but moved a point clear of fifth-placed Leeds.
Celtic manager Neil Lennon has revealed that talks have begun in an effort to lure goalkeeper David James to Parkhead.
Lennon is hoping to sign the veteran England international from Portsmouth following the departure of former number one Artur Boruc to Fiorentina.
The 39-year-old shot-stopper is out of contract at Fratton Park and available on a free transfer following the south coast club's relegation from the Premier League last season.
The former Liverpool, Aston Villa, Manchester City and West Ham keeper has been offered a player-coach role by Pompey but has yet to put pen to paper.
"We are still a long way off and it's early days in terms of negotiation," Lennon is quoted as saying.
"But just the fact he is interested is very encouraging from our point of view.
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.
"I want to get the best goalkeeper I possibly can.
"Not only for the league and Europe but also someone who can fill Artur's shoes – and he's one who can."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Football is a funny old game. One minute your team looks like they have a match or a league title in the bag, the next it can escape their grasp. The term ‘choke’ is synonymous in sporting circles with people or teams that are in a commanding position but suffer a meltdown mentally, losing their composure and consequently the match or competition. With the United States choke against Panama in the Gold Cup fresh in the memory, I have decided to look at some of the famous footballing chokes over the years.
AC Milan, Champions League Final 2005
The Champions League final is the biggest stage in world club football and AC Milan and Liverpool contested the 2005 final in Istanbul, Turkey. The game was a story of two choking sides, firstly Liverpool were the team to freeze up as they were overawed by the occasion and let in a soft goal in the first minute to veteran Italian defender Paolo Maldini. From there Rafa Benitez’s team conceded two more in the first half, with Kaka the architect and Argentine striker Hernan Crespo the executioner. Half time; Liverpool 0 Milan 3, it looked like it could get embarrassing for the English side. However choking can be infectious and the Rossoneri caught the bug in the second half, as Steven Gerrard inspired his side to fight back and the Italian side capitulated under the pressure of being 45 minutes away from European glory. Goals from Gerrard, Vladimir Smicer and Xabi Alonso saw the match finish 3-3, go to penalties and it was Milan’s darling Andriy Shevchenko who eventually crumbled under the pressure and missed the decisive penalty, giving Liverpool the Champions League title.
Bayern Munich, Champions League Final 1999
Manchester United and Bayern Munich contested the 1999 Champions League final in the Nou Camp, Barcelona, in what would be a prime example of the footballing choke. In an end to end match the German side started the brighter, and deservedly took the lead through a Mario Basler effort after only six minutes. United attacked well but the German side had key chances to win the game by getting the decisive second goal; firstly Mehmet Scholl hit the post and then Carsten Jancker struck the crossbar with an overhead kick. With time almost up, Die Roten started to defend and retreat, looking to protect their precious goal advantage. Enter substitutes Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. In injury time Peter Schmeichel came forward to attack a United corner, and in a me-lay in the German box Sheringham managed to convert a poor clearance and give The Reds parity. However the best was yet to come as less than thirty seconds later Solskjaer toe poked home the winner following a Sheringham headed effort. Totally capitulation and a great football choke achieved by Ottmar Hitzfeld’s team in three minutes of injury time.
Tottenham, vs Manchester United, September 2001 and April 2009
Tottenham took on English Champions Manchester United at White Hart Lane on Saturday September 29th 2001, with much anticipation around the London club. In a barnstorming first half performance by the home side, goals from Dean Richards, Les Ferdinand and Christian Ziege gave Spurs a 3-0 lead at the break. North London was full of energy. This could be the start of something big for Glenn Hoddle’s men. Sir Alex Ferguson and United had other ideas as five second half goals from Andy Cole, Laurent Blanc, Ruud van Nistlerooy, Juan Sebastian Veron and David Beckham broke Spurs hearts and the game ended 5-3.
Almost eight years later and Harry Redknapp took his talented Tottenham side to Old Trafford to lock horns with The Reds, and in an attacking performance in the first half the London club found themselves 2-0 up at half time with goals from Darren Bent and Luka Modric. Redknapp will have urged his team not to solely sit back and defend, to have belief in themselves and to go and win the game in his half time teamtalk, but instead his team choked and again conceded five second half goals to Cristiano Ronaldo (2), Wayne Rooney (2) and ex-striker Dimitar Berbatov, with the game finishing 5-2 to United.
Continued on Page TWO
Chelsea, vs Arsenal, October 1999
Fourth placed Chelsea hosted second placed Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in a highly charged match on 23rd October 1999, with local bragging rights and the Premiership title up for grabs. Arsene Wenger had started to mould the Gunners team into his own, an had signed Nigerian striker Nwankwo Kanu from Inter Milan in February 1999. In the match Chelsea took the lead through Norwegian striker Tore Andre Flo on 39 minutes and Dan Petrescu gave The Blues a 2-0 advantage on 51 minutes. The chant of “we want five” rang around The Bridge from a euphoric Chelsea support. In a wet and windy day, Kanu stepped up and got one back for Arsenal on 75 minutes, slotting home a miscued Marc Overmars shot, and the home side, and their fans, became slightly edgy. Kanu shocked the home faithful with seven minutes remaining as he drove home an Overmars cross, but the African striker still had more to come. In the last minute of the game, Kanu closed down a clearance and found himself close to the cornerflag, confronted by home keeper Ed de Goey, who had rushed out of his goal. The lanky striker avoided de Goey’s sliding tackle and converted from the tightest and most impossible angle to give the Gunners the match 3-2, with Chelsea in despair.
Real Madrid, 2003-2004 La Liga Season
In the 2003-04 La Liga season, Real Madrid had a star studded team full of world beaters, were champions from the previous season and followers at the Bernabeu had Ronaldo, Beckham, Figo, Roberto Carlos and Zidane to surely lead them to a second consecutive title. This looked very likely, as by the end of February Los Blancos were eight points ahead at the top of the standings and looking for the treble. However a four month choke by Carlos Quieroz’s side saw them lose the Copa del Rey final to Real Zaragoza, get kicked out of Europe at the hands of Monaco and lose their grip on the domestic title. A loss in El Classico and a 4-1 home defeat to Real Sociedad on the last day of the season saw Valenica lift the title, and the Galacticos finish fourth behind Barcelona and Deportivo La Coruna.
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.
Newcastle United, 1995-96 Premier League Season
Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle side of 1995-96 were labelled ‘The Entertainers’, as the Toon amassed a quality side with the likes of Les Ferdinand and David Ginola in their ranks. Keegan’s men dispatched all in front of them and rushed into a 12 point lead at the top of the Premier League. The Geordies had finished second a couple of years earlier, but for the St James Park faithful this would be the season of glory. However Keegan’s men fell victim to a run of inconsistent form and perennial strong finishers Manchester United caught Newcastle up, and won the league from under their noses. Newcastle have fallen from grace since, and the choke of 1996 has significantly impacted upon the team’s fortunes.
The old cliches of ‘it’s not over til it’s over’ and ‘it’s a game of two halves’ spring to mind when reminiscing about some of the great footballing chokes, and it shows that a team must be mentally prepared as well as physically and tactically to succeed at the highest level.
Lazio defender Lionel Scaloni said his side’s experience helped them keep a clean sheet in their victory over Palermo on Sunday in Serie A.The Roman club triumphed 2-0 at the Stadio Olimpico, courtesy of a first-half brace to Giuseppe Sculli.But 32-year-old Scaloni said the striker’s defensive capabilities in the clash was just as crucial.”Yes, it was a great match, above all we showed our maturity, because today we played against a great team and a draw would have meant losing fourth place in Serie A, with the derby on Sunday ahead of us,” Scaloni said. “The team played excellently in the first fifteen to twenty minutes, it was clear we wanted to win. That’s why I say Lazio has improved a lot especially in our attitude.””We now start difficult matches differently from last year. We played against a great team and the goals came one after the other. That was important for us. However, it’s also true they created difficulties for us. It was always two against one, (but) luckily (Giuseppe) Sculli and (Alvaro) Gonzales came to help me and we managed to win the match.” The win put Lazio back into fourth place on the table – 10 points from league leaders AC Milan – but Scaloni said the club had more realistic ambitions than dreaming of the Scudetto.”We are on our way. I think we need to take one match at a time. We need to keep playing like we did today, especially the way we played early on in the match. If we play like this for 45 to 60 minutes then we might have a chance to battle for third place,” the Argentine said.
Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton has confirmed that no bids have been tabled for the Premier League outfit since they were put on the market by owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett in May.
The Merseysiders, who announced Roy Hodgson as the club's new manager on Thursday, have been the subject of buy-out rumours recently, but British Airways chairman Broughton has admitted no offers have actually been made.
However, he has suggested a number of interested parties are lining up lucrative offers for the English and European giants.
Speaking to reporters, he said:"There have not been any offers at this stage.
"There haven't been any offers to turn down and I wouldn't have expected there to have been at this stage. There are a number of interested parties but there's no specific deadline on it.
"We are looking to the middle of July-ish for the first round of bids but that's not a final stage – that's a first entry through.
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.
"We're hopeful – and I wouldn't put it any stronger than that – that a deal can be done by the end of the transfer season.
"That was always from the outset a hope rather than necessarily an expectation, because these things can take time. We are on course, pretty well, with where we would have expected to be."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Since Torres scored the infamous goal against Germany in 2008, there haven´t been all that good performances from Fernando Torres in a España-shirt. But recent performances has seen Torres find his way back into the hearts, and mostly hopes of a nation. “The kid”, often called in Spain has seen players like Villa, Llorente and Negredo take his place in recent times. But Spain´s National Team coach, Vicente Del Bosque has said before that “Torres is one of us”, despite the fact that it was quite a while ago that Torres performed on the international stage with Spain.
I’ve seen signs that he could prove to be a joker during the European Championships next year, something we´ve all seen during the recent weeks with Chelsea, and this hasn´t gone unnoticed as Vicente Del Bosque says he´s in the troop:
“Because he has proved to be good in his club. He has had his verdicts that haven´t passed by anybody but for the European Championships nobody will receive priveleges.”
You could agree to that extent that Torres has performed for Chelsea during recent weeks, but on the other side there are many fighting for places in Spain´s starstudded side. Torres will have to prove his critics wrong and I hopefully think he will, as having a Fernando Torres in your side (which are expected to win gold again) is of benefit rather than what some pundits want to claim: A burden they say.
Del Bosque is also very keen on reiterating the same answer when questioned about Torres, something that may annoy Torres himself in more than one way:
“You got to extend the perspective far more before those in power try to judge him permanently. We have to be just, there has been much competition (for places). Torres has a precedent and a present but I am not a traitor and he´s found stability and performed good for his club, as anyone have seen.”
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.
El Niño, or the kid, is a major plus to any team, but he might get to have a smaller role this time around in Spain´s quest for gold.
There has been an increasing call for an improvement in the English game over the last decade with the increase of foreign players into the Premier League and the failings of the English national team, but how are we perceived by people abroad? Well, Spain and Barcelona’s tricky midfielder Xavi has given his opinion on the English game by saying that although it has improved technically, there are still cultural differences that effect the way we play the game. Does he raise some good points or is it a case of stereotyping?
Firstly, Xavi admires English football and the technical players that this country has produced over the years, with the likes of Chris Waddle, John Barnes and Matthew Le Tissier – with also praise for current players like Gerrard and Scholes amongst others. However, despite saying there was a change in style in our game where defenders no longer play hit and hope to the big centre forward, there are some cultural differences compared with his native Spain. He used the example of Jamie Carragher making a defensive clearance into row Z of the stand which would create a cheer from the crowd, but in Spain it would never be applauded.
[ad_pod id=’fox-mpu’ align=’right’]
It is always great when you hear opinions on our football from abroad, especially when they admire our technical players – with the continuing under achievement of the England national team it is nice to be reminded as an English fan that we do have talent and our expectations are not too high. However, I do agree with the point about the football culture we have compared to Spain.
With the likes of Ian Holloway and his new football philosophy which is based on Barcelona’s, it is a step forward into improving our view on how the game is played. Arsene Wenger has helped us become a nation that admires watching attractive, attacking football compared to the common long ball tactics of the past. But if we are to gradually change our football philosophy in this country is there a case for losing our identity in the process? It’s something that is very important to Xavi, who says that although Inter won the Champions League last season, they lacked an identity by just wanting to win, whereas Xavi and his team mates gain satisfaction for how they play football – it’s important to them as winning is.
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.
I believe that Xavi’s comments on our game can be taken quite positively. We do have talented English players and with a changing trend in philosophy, we can start to create a better identity in our football future – starting with applause for technical players showing their creativity on the pitch rather than cheering the ‘if in doubt, kick it out’ motto of old. We can still keep our (as Xavi called it) ‘Warrior’ identity, but with a better focus on celebrating our technically gifted players.
Valencia’s star Spain midfielder David Silva has admitted that he is aware of interest in his services from England, but insists that his only current focus is on the World Cup finals.
The 24-year-old has been linked with the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool, but Silva is content to wait for reported interest to be firmed up.
He told Superdeporte:“My future right now is with the international team and I do not think beyond that.
“I am devoting myself to training ahead of the World Cup – that is the most important thing, nothing else.
“The club is in a difficult situation, but we did well to get into the Champions League, which was important. I have a contract signed up to 2013 and I do not have any problems with the club.
“I have heard about the interest from the Premier League, but any questions will be answered by my agent and 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.
Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Many international sports are becoming popular across the globe. Citizens of other countries are becoming avid followers of the game. One game that seems to have a large global appeal is football. There are numerous organised football leagues all over the world. Perhaps the most successful one of these to be exported is the English Premier League. More than 200 countries are able to watch the sport live. These foreign TV rights bring in additional revenue for the Premier League which is almost £500 million annually.
Australia is one nation that has many Premier League fans. Many of these fans have their favourite football clubs. Perhaps they are big fans of United or die hard Burnley enthusiasts. Overall, a vast majority of Australians follow the four major clubs of the Premier League. These would include Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. The overwhelming majority seem to back Manchester United with Liverpool fans being a close second. Some of the fan base in Australia has been encourage by seeing Aussie Tim Cahill participate in the Premier League.
Whatever the team, many Australians follow the game. There is a time difference between England and Australia. Australia of course is hours ahead of England. Therefore, many Australians must record the matches rather than watch them live. However, many night owls will stay up watching the events live. Also, Premier League Football is popular in sports pubs across Australia. Also, fantasy leagues based on the EPL are popular in Australia.
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.
One of Australia’s sports channels carries all of the English Premier Games live. Also, they permit viewers to switch between as many as five games on one channel. Australia’s number one sport continues to be Aussie Rules football. However, many Aussies do enjoy following the Premier League which remains popular. In fact, some people follow both sports. Due to Australia’s love of online casino and online betting there is never a shortage of bets on either sport!
Sir Alex Ferguson believes that the media have an agenda against De Gea and all want the young Spaniard to fail. Speaking ahead of today’s Super Sunday clash against Chelsea, the Scot spoke out for the second time this week when pressmen questioned who will be between the sticks at Old Trafford this afternoon.
Elsewhere in the papers Villas-Boas calls for the introduction of B-teams; Barton set for FA probe, while Lescott glad to be on the Blue side of Manchester.
Villas-Boas calls for introduction of B-teams – Guardian
Kean shrugs off protest and claims 99 per cent of fans behind him – Independent
You all want De Gea to flop at United, says furious Ferguson – Daily Mail
Flop Torres set to be loaned out in January – Mirror
Wayne Rooney bids to do the impossible – Independent
Arsenal battle it out to sign Valencia starlet Paco Alcacer – Metro
Barton could face FA probe after rant and branding Wolves midfielder Henry an ‘idiot’ – Daily Mail
Lescott glad to be on the blue side of Manchester – Mirror
Spurs plan to resurrect move for Brazilian striker – People
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.
Downing: I was so close to joining Tottenham – Independent
‘Gutted’ Saha takes to Twitter after being left out of Everton squad – Daily Mail