Newcastle head coach John Carver says the loan of five players to Rangers will benefit all parties concerned. . Midfielders Gael Bigirimana and Haris Vuckic and defenders Kevin Mbabu, Remie Streete and Shane Ferguson joined the Scottish Championship side on Monday. . “First of all, Rangers are getting some good players,” said Carver. . “Secondly, we are getting our young players some experience of playing in front of big crowds.” . He added: “They will play in front of of 35,000 to 40,000 every other week, under pressure because we know how big that club is – it’s a worldwide…
Author: David F.
Southampton boss Ronald Koeman believes European qualification will be crucial to keeping his top players this summer. . England internationals Adam Lallana, Luke Shaw, Rickie Lambert and Calum Chambers, as well as Dejan Lovren, all left the Saints last year. . But Koeman, whose side is fourth in the Premier League, hopes playing in Europe will help avoid a similar talent drain. . The Dutchman said: “It will be maybe easier for us if we play in European cup football to keep the players.” . Southampton were also hit last summer by the departure of manager Mauricio Pochettino to Tottenham,…
Angel Di Maria has been worried about his family’s safety after an attempted break-in at his Cheshire home says Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal. . Intruders failed to get in after triggering an alarm when they smashed a patio door at the 26-year-old’s home. . The winger, who cost a British transfer record £59.7m, has moved into a hotel. . “He was worried about his wife and child,” said Van Gaal. “I believe in the total human being principle. So his environment is important.” . Van Gaal spoke to Di Maria before United’s FA Cup fourth-round replay win over…
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard does not expect to get a fond farewell from Everton’s supporters when he plays in his final league Merseyside derby. . Gerrard, 34, has been a target for Everton fans for many years and thinks there will be little change at Goodison Park on Saturday (17:30 GMT). . He said: “I doubt it very much. I love the banter with Everton fans. It’s what it’s all about. It’s about rivalries. . “I don’t mind it at all. Bring it on, as far as I’m concerned.”
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho suggested Manchester City should not be allowed to be league champions because they broke Financial Fair Play regulations. . City won the Premier League title last season but were then fined in May for breaching Uefa’s financial rules. . The Premier League has its own form of financial regulation. . But Mourinho said: “I don’t think a team can be champions when you are punished because you didn’t comply with Financial Fair Play (FFP).” . City were fined £49m – £32m of which was suspended – and had spending restrictions imposed on them as part of…
Tottenham midfielder Nabil Bentaleb is available to face Arsenal after returning from the Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea. . It means head coach Mauricio Pochettino has a full complement of players. . Arsenal are again without top scorer Alexis Sanchez because of a hamstring injury, but Danny Welbeck has overcome a thigh problem. . The game has come too soon for Jack Wilshere, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is also among the Gunners’ absentees.
Manchester United over the past couple of years have invested in their midfield and that’s maybe not an area they’ll look to strengthen again come the summer. Louis van Gaal needs to look at his defence and surely will as the next transfer window approaches. If the Dutchman does decide to add in midfield over the next few years then there’s already several candidates who look the likeliest. . Paul Pogba is linked on an almost daily basis and Kevin Strootman’s arrival at Manchester United is seen by some as inevitable, despite his continuing struggles with fitness. Atletico Madrid’s Koke…
United are 10 points behind leaders Chelsea and five adrift of second placed Manchester City and Van Gaal admits his first priority is to ensure they freturn to the Champions League next season by finishing in the top four. . But after a run of only one defeat in their last 16 matches in all competitions, Van Gaal believes his team can not only catch City but also threaten title fasvourites Chelsea. . He said: “Can we catch City? It would be fantastic, of course, for the fans. It will very difficult to catch Chelsea but it is mathematically possible…
Italy national team head coach Antonio Conte has revealed to La Reppublica that he spurned a significant offer from the Premier League last year. . The 45-year-old left Juventus in a surprise move in July, leaving behind a squad with which he had won three straight Scudetti and established a Serie A record for points. . Max Allegri was immediately brought in by the Bianconeri to take over for the former midfielder, while Conte’s future hung in the balance for nearly a month. . In mid-August Conte was announced as the successor to Cesare Prandelli with the Azzurri on a…
Thibaut Courtois named his dream five-a-side team in a recent questions and answers session on Twitter. . The Chelsea keeper decided to pick himself between the posts and picked two current Blues players in his line-up. . Courtois also selected two former Atletico Madrid colleagues in a five-a-side consisting of the best players he has featured alongside. . The goalkeeper had to pick himself in the team. The keeper has been in fine form this season and has managed to fight off competition from Petr Cech to be Chelsea’s number one. . The Manchester United striker spent two years at…
Thursday was Adnan Januzaj’s 20th birthday, and the young man will be feeling much better about life after featuring for Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United. side in recent weeks – after being left out for the vast majority of our games until the back-end of January. . Januzaj has impressed in the few games he has played in since the turn of the year however, but that didn’t stop the media questioning whether the 20- year old would leave Old Trafford on loan until the end of the season. . A loan move didn’t come to fruition, and now he’ll…
According to reports in The Sun, Man Utd may already have their first summer signing in the bag, with the £10m signing of the so-called ‘Dutch Ronaldo’, Memphis Depay, looking very likely to happen. Depay is a goalscoring winger for PSV Eindhoven – which is probably how he’s earned the comparison to the Madrid legend – who has for many years seemed poised to finally step up and prove himself at a bigger club, and Louis van Gaal, who knows Depay from his time as coach of Holland, is a known admirer of his talents. Where Depay would slot into…
Tranquillo Barnetta scored the only goal as Schalke beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 1-0 on Friday to move into the top three in the Bundesliga for the first time this season. . Schalke shrugged off the absence of suspended Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to add to their 1-0 win over Hanover and 1-1 draw with champions Bayern Munich since the resumption following the winter break. . They have 34 points and are four points behind second-placed Wolfsburg although Roberto di Matteo’s Schalke have played a game more. . Schalke opened the scoring in the 11th minute when a perfectly-timed cross from Kevin-Prince Boateng found…
Two bad defensive errors by Eibar gifted a 2-0 win to Deportivo La Coruna in the Spanish league on Friday. . Lucas Perez scored his third goal of the season after Eibar goalkeeper Xabi Irureta raced forward to the edge of the penalty area and parried Oriol Riera’s shot straight to him in the 52nd minute. . Ivan “Cavaleiro” Neves reacted quickly and sprinted forward to follow Borja Ekiza’s lazy backpass and skilfully stole the ball off Irureta for his third league goal in the 80th. . “My goal wasn’t as important as the win – because we now face…
Former Nigeria international striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni was in fine form on Friday as he spoke to the media for the first time since his move to English Championship side Reading. . The striker is confident of extending his scoring record in England even farther following his move to the Royals. . “I hope they feed me, then I can score,” the Yak told assembled media at Reading’s pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s confrontation with Wolverhampton Wanderers. . The 32-year-old added that, as a striker, his primary responsibility remains scoring goals which he says he hopes to do at Reading.…
Increased security measures have been ordered for Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations final between Ivory Coast and Ghana in Bata. . “We have asked for extra police and security to be put in place,” the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) media director Junior Binyam said on Friday. . “We want to have a bigger police presence and more guarantees about the safety of spectators.” . The request was made after violent semifinal scenes in Malabo on Thursday saw at least 36 people injured, one seriously. . The game between the hosts and Ghana, who won 3-0, was halted for more…
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal will fight his Football Association charge for comments he made about the referee after an FA Cup match last month. . Van Gaal made the comments about referee Chris Foy after United were held to a 0-0 draw by fourth-tier side Cambridge United. . “Every aspect of a match is against us,” he said at the time. . “Then you have seen the referee. It’s always the same. Everywhere I have coached these games and I have coached them also with other clubs, it’s always the same.” . The Premier League giants won the…
The West Ham boss was disappointed when he wasn’t offered the chance of a glass and a chat with his Manchester United counterpart when the pair faced each other in September. . Allardyce said: “My office door is always open but the sad thing is that lots of managers don’t even bother any more – and it’s not just the foreign managers. . “It’s another tradition gone out of the window. I can understand it because there’s so much media we have to do after a game. . “But it’s a chance to talk, isn’t it? It’s not very long…
In seven days the club would have to sell 75,715 pies to cover Radamel Falcao’s hefty £260,000 weekly wage, and therefore it comes as little surprise that those less patient Manchester United fans are calling for the Colombian’s head. . Signed on a season-long loan deal from AS Moncao, the Red Devils have the option to sign Falcao for £43.5 million at the end of the season. But the striker, who missed the World Cup due to knee ligament damage, has had limited impact during his £6 million loan deal so far, due partly to injury. . Having scored just…
The West Brom midfielder asked his former boss at Old Trafford for guidance as he weighed up moves to the Baggies and West Ham. . A switch to the Hammers fell through and he completed a free transfer to The Hawthorns on Monday after 340 games at United since making his debut in 2003. . Fletcher is in line for his Baggies bow at Burnley on Sunday and admitted legendary United boss Ferguson’s help was invaluable. . “Yes, I spoke to him, why wouldn’t you? When I was making my decision, I bounced a few things off him,” said the…