With Wayne Rooney set on leaving the green grass of Old Trafford for pastures slightly greener elsewhere, we count down 10 other players whose moves from one club to another never met the perceived image they had in their heads.
I’ll also be throwing in a couple of unfamiliar faces, whose failed moves should not be missed!
Click on West Ham misfit Joey Beauchamp to get the ball rolling
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Now we’ve seen it. A short list of players that thought they were able to fulfil their desires, improve their finances and shockingly fight the horrible feeling of being homesick! So heres a message for you Mr Rooney. Think long and hard before you make potentially the biggest mistake of your life!
Now it’s inevitable that I’ve forgotten players who thought the grass was greener elsewhere. Let me know!
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Chelsea haven’t exactly lamented the absence of Frank Lampard who has missed Chelsea’s last 12 matches, out of these games Chelsea have won nine, drawn one and lost two. This record would be a favourable one even with Lampard in the starting line-up, but without him, it goes to show how capable Chelsea are of continuing winning ways even if they do miss Lampard’s influence. The likes of Florent Malouda, Michael Essien and new arrival Ramires have filled the void left by Lampard without any signs of longing for his return. Having scored 27 goals in the Premiership and sitting commandingly at the head to the pack by five points, it seems as though Lampard might have been watching the games at home with a slight doubt over his starting prominence when he returns.
Do Chelsea need Lampard within their ranks at present or should they continue as they are, not wishing to disrupt the team? This question strikes as a non sequiter due to the fact that just because Chelsea are progressing without Lampard, it doesn’t follow that upon his return from fitness that they’ll be reluctant to play him. It should be self-evident what an exceptionally consistent and gifted player Lampard is after having scored 22 goals last season and having scored twenty or more goals for five consecutive seasons in all competitions. In the 2007-08 season when Lampard played a mere twenty-four games, as opposed to the regular thirty-five plus in all other seasons, Chelsea missed him in their bid for the Premiership and finished second.
Carlo Ancelotti confirms how auspicious it is to have Lampard in the squad by having said that Chelsea aren’t at full strength without him, when speaking he said: “The team has been doing very well without him, but when he comes back we will have a stronger team.” With the incessant amount of games a successful club has, the return of a star player such as Lampard is welcomed with arms opened so far wide you’d be reminiscent of a certain Stretch Armstrong.
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However, the thirty-two year old could be worth cashing in on and investing the money in a replacement. This imposed experiment has shown that Chelsea can survive without him and not only survive but flourish also, I ask then, would it be a worthwhile thought to entertain?
He has won every major trophy with Chelsea apart from that elusive Champions League title that is lusted after more than any at present by The Blues. He has three years left on his contract, which rises to a peak of £140,000 before being reduced in the final two years. Does this suggest that during those two final years of his contract, he may start learning a foreign language? If Chelsea win the Champions League this year and there is every possibility of that, Lampard will have won all there is and may be motivated to seek new experiences abroad.
Life after Lampard will have to be addressed in the coming years and possibly even sooner if my musings come to fruition. He is without question, when fit, one of the first names on the team sheet and will be in the coming weeks a massive boost for Ancelotti.
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The inclusion of Cardiff City striker Jay Bothroyd in the England squad may have come as a shock to many, including yours truly. But what I found truly shocking was that the dearth of English striking talent in the Premier League is so evident, Fabio Capello had to go into the second tier of English football to complete his squad.
Now I mean no disrespect to the Football League, but when choosing a national team, especially one of England’s respective calibre, you would tend to seek out your players from the upper echelons of the ‘Premier’ (hence the name) League in your country, and if they were unavailable, then you should look to the middle and lower sections of the table to find suitable replacements. Capello clearly saw no fit replacements in these clubs. So much so, that he felt it imperative to continue his search at the top of the Championship.
With the likes of Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe and Darren Bent out injured, Capello has had his hands tied somewhat over the issue of strikers for the friendly against France, but what does the inclusion of Bothroyd say to the likes of Kevin Davies and Carlton Cole (even if Cole has since been called up to the squad as a ‘replacement’)?
What it says is that they are not good enough, and neither are any of the other English striking options in the Premier League. With their new squad rules, the FA are trying to get more English talent through the ranks at club level in the Premier League, but with the inclusion of Bothroyd in the squad, can these new rules be seen as closing the gate after the horse has bolted?
We have of course seen the Football League represented before in the recent past when Preston North End striker David Nugent was included in Steve McLaren’s squad to face Andorra in March 2007. At the time this decision seemed more like McLaren was giving lip service to the lower leagues rather than anything else, but Capello’s inclusion of Bothroyd seems slightly more serious.
I realise the France game is only a friendly and it is only fair to give in-form strikers the opportunity to shine whether they ply their trade in the Premier League or elsewhere, but Capello’s move to include Bothroyd in his squad is a damning indictment of the English strikers available to him in our nation’s top league. What also remains to be seen is whether the Kevin Davies’ of this world will see Bothroyd’s inclusion as an incentive, or an insult.
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Chelsea are already being linked with players for the January transfer window and next summer, but should Bayern’s Bastian Schweinsteiger be the Blues’ number one target at the end of the current term?
I personally feel that the Germany midfielder is a perfect fit for Chelsea’s system and would help fill a void which has opened up since the likes of Michael Ballack, Deco, Joe Cole and Juliano Belletti have left the club.
Chelsea have been missing a key man in midfield in Frank Lampard for much of the current campaign due to injury and it is worrying that there is no ready replacement in place. Josh McEachran has won plaudits when he has had the opportunity, but at 17-years of age he needs more time to develop as a player without the pressure of stepping into big shoes like Frank’s.
Schweinsteiger has caught the eye of many admirers during his time with Bayern Munich both domestically and in the Champions League, but it was his displays in South Africa for the 2010 World Cup that led to many calls from Chelsea fans appealing to the west London club to sign the 26-year-old. The Stamford Bridge outfit were even linked to him pre-tournament after Ballack’s departure was confirmed.
The midfielder impressed in South Africa and was in my opinion one of the players of the tournament. He bossed the midfield for a young and exuberant Germany team that ended up finishing in 3rd place, with one of his best moments in the competition being the superb run and low cross which setup Arne Friedrich’s tap-in for Germany’s third goal against Diego Maradona’s Argentina side.
Schweinsteiger has been successful in a deep-lying midfield role, similar to the role played by Ballack towards the end of his time with Chelsea (a role which Jon Obi Mikel has made his mark on), but the Bayern man is also capable of playing a more offensive midfield position or even in a wider role. Due to his versatility he would arguably be well suited to the Blues’ 433 formation and Ancelotti’s originally preferred diamond option.
He has been at Bayern Munich for the entirety of his professional career, so it could be tough to prise him away and that is made especially hard considering the fact it is Real Madrid who are favourites for his signature should he leave Germany. Roman Abramovich has been rather frugal in the transfer market in recent years, but Schweinsteiger is a genuine world-class talent and could be worth the hefty price tag… I realise under current circumstances this is unikely, but I live in hope.
Schweinsteiger has never really been prolific himself, but can chip in with the odd goal (38 goals in 324 Bayern Munich games). More impressive are the amount of assists he makes (62 in his Bayern career). He has also earned 84 caps for his country and has scored 21 goals.
Who would you like to see the club go for (if anyone) in January or the summer?
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One story will undoubtedly dominate in the run up to this game which will prove handy for Roy Hodgson, who’ll welcome the distraction from his side’s terrible away record this season. He’s unlikely to escape the questions altogether but with Alan Pardew taking up more of the column inches, Hodgson can focus more on repeating the level of performance which saw his side cruise past Aston Villa at Anfield on Monday. Something which he’s struggled to do so far this season. And pretty much every other season he’s managed in the Premier League.
If positives can be found in Liverpool’s away record it comes from their last four games. Other than the disappointing showing against Stoke, they looked good for 45 minutes at White Hart Lane, handed Bolton their only home defeat of the season and picked up a point against Wigan. It’s not exactly title winning form but if Liverpool can start picking up more points away from Anfield then his hopes of making it in to one of the Champions League places come the end of the season may not be as slim as they currently appear. Especially not if some wise purchases are made in January.
The big question for this weekend’s game is just what effect the senseless sacking of Chris Hughton followed by seemingly equally senseless appointment of Alan Pardew will be on the players. If, as expected, recent events cause turmoil in the St James’ dressing room, Liverpool could continue their recent good record over Newcastle and secure just their second away win of the season at evens.
FREE £20 Bet – Pardew is 11/4 to get off to a winning start
Strangely it was without Gerrard, Torres and Carragher that the reds put in one of their more impressive displays of the season, albeit against a Villa side with a similarly poor away record. Not having them in the side, particularly Gerrard and Torres, will allow other players to take a more prominent role. Mareilles has more freedom to get forward from midfield and Babel may play from the start instead of getting ten minutes at the end of games, a situation which seems more conducive to getting a good performance from him. The Dutch player finished well against Villa and is possibly a better option than Ngog to partner Torres if Hodgson opts to play two up top.
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Top Odds:
Babel at 6/1 to score first is worth a look. Kyrgiakos at 9/1 to score anytime or even 25/1 to score first. Liverpool -1 goal at 11/4 could be a winner. The Reds have also won three of the last four by a scoreline of 3-0 which is a 17/1 shot. Liverpool to win at evens.
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As the Carling Cup semi-finals get underway this week, the old adage of the competition being second rate seems far from the truth. All four teams left in the cup will see it as a massive chance to win some silverware. Considering the debate over the importance of the much loved FA Cup which accompanies the third round every year, are we looking at the new trophy to win?
If you ask any fan up and down the country, they will tell you they would much rather see their side lift the famous FA Cup, I’m sure the players would as well. History would prove though, that as the big teams become stronger, any club outside of the top six stand very little chance of making it anywhere near Wembley.
So realistically, do the rest of the club managers look more favourably upon the Carling Cup? The likes of Chelsea rarely play their best team so the chances of beating them are automatically increased. Manchester United may have won it twice in the last two years, but in both seasons, the likes of Tottenham who faced them in the quarter-finals in 2010 saw it as a chance missed given Sir Alex Ferguson’s team selection.
Speaking to a Man City fan, he often wonders why Roberto Mancini hasn’t done more to try and get the trophy to Eastlands as it would send out huge signals that Manchester City are ready to win silverware. Until they do manage to win a competition, they will have to live with the burden of spending so much with few rewards, so why not the Carling Cup?
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So for Birmingham City, West Ham and even Arsenal, this week’s fixtures could be the biggest of the season. What would it say about how far Birmingham have come in the last few years if they could make it to a final of a domestic cup? Likewise it would provide a welcome distraction and maybe even a boost for West Ham after a disastrous season whilst as little as he may think of the cup itself, Arsene Wenger needs a trophy sooner rather than later. This isn’t to rule out Ipswich Town altogether – similar to West Ham it would certainly take their mind off league matters but as good as it would be for the game if a Championship club could make it to Wembley, they have a very tall order.
And what about the players themselves? Will there ever be a better chance for the likes of Mark Noble or Steven Carr to win a major honour?
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The competition was introduced with an American format in order to increase the excitement of a knock-out competition. There has to be a winner on the day of every round, apart from the two-legged semi, of course. It never did achieve such status as the fixtures fans dare not miss, but are we now starting to see the importance of the cup often disregarded?
You will often hear the Carling Cup described as the ‘Mickey Mouse’ competition but for all teams involved, there is nothing funny about getting through to the final. Whichever of the four sides go on to lift the trophy, I’m sure they will agree that the Carling Cup is definitely worth being part of.
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Morocco and South Africa have been awarded the hosting rights to the 2015 and 2017 African Cup of Nations football tournaments.
The Confederation of African Football’s executive committee met in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday to announce the hosting rights to the countries at either end of the continent.
Morocco and South Africa were the sole remaining bids to secure the rights for the respective tournaments after DR Congo withdrew their bid.
South African Football Association president Kirsten Nematandani said despite missing out on the rights to host in four years’ time, the Bafana Bafana can now use the extra two years to prepare themselves for a shot at the illustrious title.
“We are not disappointed at all (at missing out on 2015 hosting rights), it gives us more time to prepare our national team for the event. This time we also want to win it on home soil,” Nematandani said.
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The 2012 Cup finals will be hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, before the 2013 event will see the best footballers in Africa travel to Libya.
Former Holland international Ronald de Boer believes the soaring heat in Qatar during the 2022 World Cup will not affect players, only fans.
Qatar’s intense summer has been the subject of debate since the tiny Gulf nation was awarded the right to host football’s biggest tournament in December.
Concerns have been raised about player safety given temperatures can reach up to 50 degrees Celsius during the day, prompting FIFA boss Sepp Blatter and UEFA chief Michel Platini to consider shifting the tournament to January.
But Qatar World Cup bid ambassador De Boer – who finished his career in the country with Al-Shamal – believes players will not be affected by the heat due to air-conditioning technology installed in yet-to-be-built stadiums in Qatar, though he worries about the safety of supporters outside the arenas.
“Playing is not an issue because we have the technology already that will cool down the stadium inside, so for me the players there won’t be a problem,” De Boer said.
“The only worry for me is for the people. Football is for the fans, so I see a little issue there maybe, but football wise for the players they will have great conditions. I don’t see any problems with that.”
“If it was up to me I would say move it a month backwards because May is perfect, so you would have it from the beginning of May to the beginning of June.”
“That’s my opinion but who am I to say? Qatar has always bid to host it in the summer so we’re not deciding that it should be in the winter or some time else.”
De Boer also revealed he is to replace Dennis Bergkamp in leading Ajax’s youth team, fuelling speculation that the former Arsenal star is to become an assistant to Ronald’s twin brother, Frank.
Frank de Boer was appointed caretaker manager of Ajax following Martin Jol’s resignation in December.
“I will move back to Amsterdam in the summer, as I’m going to start coaching the youth team,” the younger De Boer said.
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“I’m also doing my coaching badge and trying to get that and see how I like it.”
“My kids are getting older now; they are turning 18 and 15 so they want to be in Amsterdam so it’s time for me to go back.”
“But I want to make sure the link with Qatar is very strong. I’m going to be involved in the World Cup and let’s see how it goes.”
This week on FootballFanCast.com we are celebrating the cult hero! Every club has one and football wouldn’t be the same without them. Cult heroes may not have the skill levels of some of the greatest players in the game, but they have managed to endear themselves to their fans either through their hard work on the pitch, feats that will be remembered forever or simply a silly hair cut!
There are central ingredients that go into making a cult hero, whether they are appearance or eccentricity, and every cult hero has a defining feature that the fans can replicate or at least a song that everyone in the ground knows. So join us as we take a look at football cult heroes from yesteryear and the modern day and pay homage to one area of football that will surely never die out.
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Blogs:
Top 10 Premier League Cult Heroes
Whatever happened to… Laurent Robert?
The Premier League’s ‘Cult Heroes’ XI
Whatever happened to Benito Carbone?
The Essential Ingredients of a ‘Cult Hero’ in football
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Whatever happened to Paolo Di Canio?
‘Cult Heroes of English Football’ – the man behind the football results
Ashley Cole will play for Chelsea against Manchester United despite being disciplined for shooting a work experience boy with an air rifle.Cole has apologised for Sunday’s incident, described as an ‘accident’ by Chelsea after players messed around with the rifle at the club’s training ground at Cobham, and is also expected to be fined by the club.The accident left student Tom Cowan requiring treatment, but not seriously injured. And it seems Cole has escaped calls for him to be sacked.Manager Carlo Ancelotti said: “He will play tomorrow, yes. Obviously we are not happy with what happened but I have spoken with him. He was really disappointed about this, he said sorry – he made a mistake, it was an accident. Now we are taking proper action but tomorrow he will play and I think he is in focus to play a good game.”When it was suggested Cole should be sacked, Ancelotti was adamant the English Premier League club would stand by the player and denied discipline was a problem in his squad.”No, there is no way for this. He’s our player. He always took very good behaviour here. He made a mistake, he knows this. Now we have to move on,” he said.”When one player said sorry it’s difficult to do different. We have to take our decision.” “Cobham is not out of control. Cobham has discipline, the players have to respect this. If some players step over the line, we take a decision. This is normal life.””But I think from outside nobody can say it’s out of control. They are not here. We have internal discipline. We don’t want to speak about it. It’s not true that there is no discipline here.” “You can judge the players on the pitch, and on it they are showing respect for referees and for the fans. This is what we have to judge, not other things.” “He said sorry to everyone. He said sorry to the guy that was involved in this and second to his teammates and third sorry to the club.””He’s a good player, a fantastic player, maybe he did a mistake in this situation but he remains a very good player and in my opinion and very good professional.”Cole will line up against United in a match that could have a huge impact on the Premier League title race, even if Chelsea – at 15 points in arrears – are now almost certainly too far behind the leaders to win the championship themselves.Ancelotti said: “It’s a very important game for them, for us – a very important game for the future of Man United and of Chelsea. We are excited to play this game. We are in a very good moment, we have confidence to win.””It will not be easy because Man United until now is the best team in the Premier League but we hope to play our game and to win.” “For us it’s important to win to improve our confidence. It will be a good step.”Ancelotti refused to say whether Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres would both line up against United but said both players would have ‘some minutes’ on the pitch and gave his backing to Torres, who is yet to score since a 50 million-pound move from Liverpool in January.”For a striker, it is obviously very important to score,” he said.”But over the last games he played really well. He had four opportunities to score with just the keeper and he moved really well for the team. I was really happy about his performance. He would prefer to score but he will score.”