Aston Villa face plenty games against three other clubs down at the bottom end of the Premier League over the Christmas period with manager Remi Garde calling them “must-win” games. Bottom club Villa are without a league win for 15 games and Garde knows that dismal run must end over the congested holidays fixtures if their battle to stay in the top flight does not start to look like mission impossible. Garde’s men take on 15th-placed Newcastle United on Saturday and are also up against Norwich City and Sunderland soon. “I knew the size of the challenge before coming. Now…
Author: David Folami
Swansea’s actions in dismissing boss Garry Monk were “crazy” and a “very bad decision”, says Southampton boss Ronald Koeman. Monk left the Liberty Stadium on Wednesday but guided the Swans to eighth place in the Premier League last season. “He can’t do every season what he did last year,” Koeman said. “It’s not what Monk deserves. Why couldn’t he turn it around?” Koeman was widely praised for leading the Saints to a seventh-placed finish last season – one position above Monk’s Swansea – but has seen his side fail to win their last four games. He added: “It’s strange. It…
Swansea defender Ashley Williams says he has “lost a mate” after Garry Monk’s sacking as manager. Monk left the Swans after a run of only one win in 11 Premier League games. Williams and Monk had been together at Swansea since 2008, first as team-mates and latterly as captain and manager. “It’s been even more difficult than a normal kind of situation because he’s a mate – you feel like you have let him down,” Williams told BBC Radio 5 live’s Wednesday Night Club programme. “Then he goes so you have lost a mate that you see every day. It’s…
<img src="https://www.theinfostride.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Jose-Moeague. The sides have faced each other in the past two seasons and it's fair to say that familiarity breeds contempt. Last year, at the same stage of the competition, PSG prevailed via the away goals ruling. A 1-1 draw in the French capital was followed by a dramatic second leg at Stamford Bridge where former Chelsea cult hero David Luiz cancelled out a Gary Cahill goal to net a late equaliser and send the tie into extra time. Eden Hazard restored the Blues' lead from the penalty spot, but Thiago Silva levelled the match at 2-2 sending PSG…
Manchester United have a clause in place to recall James Wilson from his loan spell at Brighton, the Championship side’s manager Chris Hughton has revealed. Wilson, 20, joined Brighton until the end of the season last month and has already scored two goals in four appearances for the club. United’s problems up front have been well documented this season, having scored just 21 goals in 16 Premier League games, so recalling the striker could be an option for Louis van Gaal. Under the rules of any such arrangement a player cannot return for the first 28 days, meaning Wilson could…
It is a strange moment for Manchester United. There was a time when it seemed that all that needed to be fixed was the team’s midfield, yet now there are considerable concerns over the defence and the attack too. “Considerable” might seem to be a strong word, given the club’s fourth place in the Premier League table, but there is a sense of stagnation that suggests the team are unlikely to rise much higher on the domestic or European stage if things continue as they have been. A compelling question is why, after so much investment, there is still so…
It feels like a long time since Manchester City were unbeaten in the Premier League and were putting in the kind of performances that made it appear as if they’d win the competition at a canter. Five games into the campaign, City fans were beginning to feel like their club could make this one of the most dominant top flight seasons in the last 20 years. But from the moment Manuel Pellegrini’s side conceded the equaliser in their 2-1 home defeat to Juventus in September, the team have been on a downward spiral — and it’s largely come because of…
With Barcelona currently in Japan for the FIFA Club World Cup, the players decided to put on a bit of a display for the sparse crowd watching them train in Yokohama by unleashing a few trick shots at a miniature goal set up on the opposite touchline. However, when you happen to have Lionel Messi in your team, most skill challenges rarely last longer than a few minutes — the Argentinian star stepping up and nonchalantly tucking one away from 50 yards at the first attempt. The rest of us should really just give up.
It is not unusual for Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard to strike a discordant note. England spent a decade waiting in vain for them to click as a central midfield partnership so perhaps it is no surprise that, on the subject of Aaron Ramsey this past week and a half, their opinions have jarred. Ramsey’s performances since assuming a central role for Arsenal in the wake of Santi Cazorla’s long-term injury have engaged the brains of two of the greatest Premier League midfielders. Last week, speaking ahead of Arsenal’s 3-0 Champions League win over Olympiakos, Steven Gerrard first championed Ramsey…
Madrid city officials have rejected Real Madrid’s plans to upgrade the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. The city says it will only accept a remodelling proposal that does not affect the interests of local citizens. A Spanish court earlier this year annulled permission granted to Real Madrid by the previous city government, saying it broke Spanish land use law. The city said on Wednesday that a new project will only be considered if it is “in the best interests of the general public.” Real Madrid wanted to remodel the stadium’s exterior, and add a hotel and a shopping centre. Opened in 1947,…
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s agent has insisted Ligue 1 is “nothing” without the Paris Saint-Germain forward among its ranks. The Sweden international has rewritten the record books at the Parisian club since joining from AC Milan in 2012, most recently becoming PSG’s all-time leading scorer in Ligue 1 and also in continental competitions. Following his move to Paris, PSG have won each of the past three Ligue 1 titles and are in strong position to collect a fourth this season, sitting 17 points clear atop the league table. Speaking to France’s RMC on Wednesday, Mino Raiola said his client has been a…
Barcelona striker Neymar had a run-out on the training pitch for the first time in Japan on Wednesday as the European champions prepared for their Club World Cup semifinal against Guangzhou Evergrande. Neymar, who missed the first two days of practice since arriving in Yokohama, is unlikely to play against the Asian champions on Thursday. The Brazil captain, who has not played since sustaining a groin injury in training last week ahead of Barca’s 1-1 Champions League draw at Bayer Leverkusen, trained with a fitness coach away from the rest of the squad the day before the match against Chinese…
UEFA president Michel Platini will not attend his FIFA Ethics Committee hearing on Friday in protest, because he believes his case has been pre-judged. Platini’s lawyers said in a statement on Wednesday that the verdict “was already announced in the press by a [FIFA Ethics Committee] spokesperson [Andreas Bantel] … without regard for the presumption of innocence.” Though FIFA investigators have asked for a life ban to be imposed, the UEFA chief could reportedly escape with a suspension of several years that would still effectively exile him and end his FIFA presidential ambitions. “Through this decision, Michel Platini intends to…
West Bromwich Albion winger James McClean has said Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is “a bit of an idiot” after the sides’ 2-2 draw on Sunday. Klopp did not shake West Brom boss Tony Pulis’ hand after his team had claimed a late point at Anfield thanks to Divock Origi’s deflected shot. In a competitive game, Klopp saw defender Dejan Lovren stretchered off following a strong challenge by Craig Gardner. The German said of Pulis at the weekend: “No. I didn’t see him after the game. I can’t say anything, because I only talk about football. “Maybe I can’t remember –…
Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea has said the club’s players are “very together” despite their drop in form. United have not won since Nov. 21, with the side failing to reach the knockout phase of the Champions League and on Saturday losing 2-1 at Bournemouth. Sources have told ESPN FC that the club are increasingly concerned about disenchantment with Louis van Gaal’s managerial approach among the players and will discuss the situation just before the January transfer window. But De Gea told Inside United: “There’s a great atmosphere. The dressing room is very together and united, they are a…
Atletico Madrid’s players will not allow praise to go to their heads even though they are level on points with Barcelona at the top of La Liga, coach Diego Simeone said on Wednesday. “When people talk well of your work it is good to help you keep improving,” Simeone told a news conference. “When you get too much praise then you can start to think that it all happens naturally but it isn’t like that. It is down to work and we realise that. “When you are sure of yourself you are not nervous about a criticism or a comment.…
Manchester United are extremely concerned about disenchantment with Louis van Gaal’s managerial approach among the players and will discuss the situation just before the January transfer window, sources have told Theinfostride. We have been told that some senior members of the squad have even privately complained to club officials about the restrictive style of play and Van Gaal’s strict nature. Recent United briefings to English newspapers had indicated that the club’s support for the Dutchman remained emphatic but Old Trafford sources have repeatedly insisted that was never a unanimous view among club officials, and that some senior figures have doubted…
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and the rest of the club’s board were continuing to hold intense discussions about Jose Mourinho’s future on Wednesday with the manager’s future in serious doubt, according to current widespread speculations. Sources say Chelsea’s top officials met for nine hours on Tuesday following the 2-1 defeat to Leicester City on Monday night and that talks were continuing on Wednesday. Theinfostride has been told that a vote will be taken on Mourinho’s future, although that will be used merely to guide the final decision, which will rest with Abramovich. The Chelsea owner has been keen to retain…
A cracking volley from Spain international Xabi Alonso sealed Bayern Munich’s place in the German Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday after a 1-0 win over Darmstadt. The 34-year-old midfielder launched a long-range strike from outside the area with 40 minutes gone at Munich’s Allianz Arena which hit the top left-hand corner and gave Darmstadt goalkeeper Christian Mathenia no chance. “Even I wouldn’t have tried to pull that one off,” said Bayern’s impressed Germany striker Thomas Mueller when asked about Alonso’s strike. Having knocked out holders Wolfsburg in the previous round, Pep Guardiola’s remain the team to beat in the cup. Bayern…
Head coach of Nigeria’s Under-23 football team, Samson Siasia insists success at the just-concluded 2015 Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) is not “an end” as regards his project with the Dream Team VI. Nigeria beat Algeria 2-1 on Saturday in the Under-23 Afcon final to emerge champions in Senegal, booking a ticket to the 2016 Olympics as a result. While admitting that the victory pleased him to no end, Siasia revealed that only success at the 2016 Olympics will represent Utopia. “I was coach of Nigeria during the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008, when we reached the final,…