Christian Benteke is determined for his debut goal to be the first of many for Aston Villa.
The striker came on as a substitute and netted in the weekend’s 2-0 win over Swansea City as Paul Lambert picked up his first Premier League victory as Villa boss. Benteke, 21, was happy to open his Villa account but the former Genk man is now looking forward to making a similar impact during the rest of the season. He told Aston Villa’s official website:
“I was very happy. It was my first game with my new club and I scored. I had a good feeling when I scored and after the game when we won. Everyone was happy in the dressing room because we know Swansea is a good team, with good players.
“It’s only the start. Now I have to keep on going and continue to work.”
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Aston Villa travel to St. Mary’s to face newly-promoted side Southampton next.
The Premier League is arguably the greatest league in the world. When we think of the fine players we are blessed with, I’m thinking, David Silva, Robin van Persie, Santi Cazorla, the list goes on. However, as with everything in life you can’t have everything. Here is a list of 20 of the top players in Europe who all Premier League managers would love to field in their starting line-ups week in, week out.
They are the players that will inevitably make that illustrious move to one of Europe’s elite so that we can drool over their ability in the Champions League.
From bright prospects for the future to players who are already established as some of the continent’s best, these lads will have the Manchester City and Barcelona’s of the game sniffing around their clubs trying to lure them away at any given opportunity.
Click on Yann M’Vila to unveil the top 20
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Former Manchester United manager Ron Atkinson stated earlier last week that the side are deeply missing the presence of Phil Jones so far this season, with the utility man confined to the sidelines through a long-term knee injury since the start of the campaign, but does his theory carry any weight?
The 20-year-old’s versatility was a useful asset to the side last term where he made 29 appearances in the league across the back four and in midfield and a further 12 came in cup competitions. To my knowledge at least, the thing which has held back Jones in his development so far is the precise thing which he is lauded for, his ability to adapt to multiple roles, and he’s struggled to make a position his own at Old Trafford so far, but with the side’s defensive frailties being cruelly and most importantly, routinely exposed already this season, so with that in mind, has his energy and aggression been missed?
Here’s what Atkinson told BBC Sport on the subject: “They’ve had injuries in defensive areas but I think they’ve missed Phil Jones. If he can get himself fit, he might solve a big problem for them. I think he’s an excellent right-back and is probably going to end up at centre-half. But in some of the games I saw him play in midfield last year, he was strong, he could run, he got behind people and he put himself about.”
The 73-year-old logic is flawed at best here to be frank and there’s a reason that he’s been out of a job in football management since a short and deeply unsuccessful stint at Nottingham Forest since 1999. Aside from the obvious incidents involving racial slurs which have prevented him from a return to the game and rightly so, Atkinson looks extremely out-of-touch by lauding Jones simply because he can ‘put himself about’. The game has moved on from that.
Positional ill-discipline is the one thing which has always grated about Jones and his lack of awareness of not only his surroundings but of his role and responsibilities in the side. While marauding runs up the pitch may look good, it’s the gaps he leaves behind himself to be exposed which are most important point to note and there’s a reason why Ferguson has been so reluctant to play him as a centre-back so far during his stay at the club.
Of course, that will come with time but fellow youngster Chris Smalling already looks streets ahead of Jones in terms of his decision-making and awareness, so we can’t lay the blame squarely at the door of his tender years and lack of experience within the game, even if it is a mitigating factor in this instance.
For my money, Jones will never be the saviour of English football that he has often been made out to be and the comparisons to Duncan Edwards in the past, while patently laughable and ridiculous, show the media’s need to create the next big star more than anything actually to do with Jones’ ability, strengths and weaknesses.
If he were to play at centre-back, he’d simply be the latest in a long line of heroic but ultimately flawed English defenders in the mould of John Terry, Jamie Carragher and Terry Butcher – an example of passion being lauded over position; a deeply worrying but intrinsically English trait to praise.
Where Atkinson may have had a point, though, was not about Jones being missed in defence, but further forward in midfield: “When you look at them through the years, they’ve had a Bryan Robson, a Paul Ince or a Roy Keane. I think Fergie would love somebody like that to play in there now. Great players, but someone who will frighten the opposition a little bit when they’ve got the ball. There’s been a lot of criticism of the back four and maybe sometimes it’s because they haven’t got a midfield destroyer in front of them that puts the back four under more pressure.”
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While the first-choice central midfield pairing of Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick do have the ability to control games against certain teams, they can also be intimidated, rushed and cajoled by more aggressive opponents and you can disrupt the flow of their game, while Tom Cleverley, Anderson and Darren Fletcher all have their flaws too. The side certainly have missed a recognised holder since the days of Owen Hargreaves and Fletcher remains the closest thing they have to one at present, which effects how they press off the ball and win possession back.
The former Blackburn man looks like a true box-to-box midfielder in the making and his naivety is likely to be exposed and punished less frequently in the middle of midfield than it would be in defence. Manchester United have kept just two clean sheets in 10 games so far this season and their problems don’t necessarily lie with the depleted back five or their subsequent lack of form, rather having someone to cut off the supply line further forward and while he may have been touted as a solution to their defensive woes originally by Atkinson, it’s his second statement that he might be missed in midfield which rings a lot truer.
Newcastle United are interested in Sporting Braga ace Éderzito António Macedo Lopes, who goes by the far simpler name of ‘Eder’, according to Sky Sports.
The striker has been in emphatic form scoring 4 goals in as many starts and his reputation appears to be on the rise.
It was mooted that Everton were interested in snapping up the Portuguese ace prior to him moving to Estádio Municipal de Braga.
The 24-year-old starlet could be the perfect tonic for the club’s flair players such as Ben Arfa and Cabaye as he is known for being a powerhouse up front.
Despite having both Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse available during January, the club are aware of the potential for the players to burn out, particularly in the attacking department.
Newcastle United know that Portugal has been a great breeding ground for several of the Premier League’s current top stars, and they believe that in ‘Eder’, they have unearthed another talent from the country.
The 6ft 2in marksman also has three caps for Portugal to his name and his recognition for his country is further testament to the player’s pedigree.
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If the centre forward is to continue on this upward curve it is thought that a move to the Premier League is crucial to his development.
Despite a strong standing within the Portuguese game, the striker would have it all to prove if he was to move to St James’s Park, with Demba Ba setting the goal-scoring benchmark at the club this season with six Premier League goals to his name.
Andre Villas-Boas has expressed his disappointment as Tottenham crashed out of the Capital One Cup, but vowed that the club will move on quickly.
The North Londoners were seemingly cruising through to the last eight of the competition before a manic last seven minutes that saw two Norwich goals, as well as a missed penalty by Spurs’ Clint Dempsey.
The Tottenham boss was happy with their performance, which made the result difficult to take:
“It’s a pity to see the game slip from our hands. We had a good performance with good chances. It’s difficult to take – in the end we congratulate them.
“Norwich did well to get back into the game – credit to them. In the end, they took their opportunities in the final minutes.
“We go back to the league and focus on winning there.” BBC
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Tottenham will look to get back to winning ways when they host Wigan at White Hart Lane this weekend.
Arsenal and Liverpool FC are set to battle it out in January for the signing of Wigan goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi with a £7 million bid enough to prise him away from the Latics.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is keen to add strength to his goalkeeping ranks and sees the Oman shot stopper as an ideal candidate to rival current number one Wojciech Szczęsny.
Wenger has been monitoring Al-Habsi for over a year now and seems likely to make a move after being unimpressed with current understudy Vito Mannone. While the Italian has had some decent performances, Wenger is keen to have two world class keepers at his disposal.
Al-Habsi has become one of the most highly rated keepers in the Premier League with some fine performances against top opposition.
The Latics are desperate to keep hold of the 30-year-old who they signed in 2011 from Bolton. Wigan manager Roberto Martinez is aware that over the years the club have had to sell their best players as they can’t compete with fellow Premier League rivals and have slapped a price-tag of £7 million for their highly rated goalkeeper.
Arsenal will face stiff competition from Liverpool who are also keen to bring in another top keeper to push Spanish number one Jose Reina, after a number of inconsistent performances.
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Crystal Palace manager Ian Holloway is concerned that speculation surrounding a January move may distract star attacker Wilfried Zaha.
The England international has been linked with a whole host of top Premier League clubs, following an impressive start to the Eagles’ Championship campaign.
Arsenal are thought to be in pole position to land his signature, but Manchester United and Liverpool are also rumoured to be in the race.
Holloway wants to keep the 20-year-old at Selhurst Park beyond the winter transfer window, but is wary that he may become disheartened if a big money move fails to come to fruition:
“When a young player gets a chance to move and the club say no, we need to manage that disappointment and refocus that person.” He told the London Evening Standard.
Zaha is regarded as one of the finest emerging talents in England, with his direct nature making him a threat to opposition defences.
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Despite his youthful age, and the fact he plays in the second-tier, the wide-man was called up by Three Lions manager Roy Hodgson to face Sweden last month.
It has been speculated that this was just an emergency measure from the FA to ensure that Zaha would be ineligible to represent the Ivory Coast at a later date, the nation he was born in.
In 1660 Samuel Pepys began to pen one of the most famous diaries of all time; the finished article granting historians with an unrivalled insight into the English Restoration period.
Centuries later, amidst the horrors of World War II; a young Anne Frank documented her family’s haunting ordeal living in hiding from an anti-Semitic regime.
Today, a new literary masterpiece is being produced. You may not have read it, nor even heard of it. That it is because it is the closest of closely guarded secrets. Always the master of rhetoric; André Villas-Boas has been keeping a personal account of his musings, feelings and personal life since his humble beginnings in charge of the British Virgin Islands.
Today, Football FanCast is very excited to reveal that it has exclusive access to this elusive window into the mind of everyones’ favourite auburn-stubbled Portuguese tactician. Click the video below to listen to a reading of the first of many instalments from The Secret Diary of André Villas-Boas.
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Queens Park Rangers boss Harry Redknapp is hoping to bring Fulham defender Brede Hangeland to Loftus Road in January according to the Express.
Redknapp is desperate to sure up Rangers’ leaky defence that has conceded 33 goals in 19 games and sees them bottom of the Premier League table.
Redknapp has been critical of some of QPR’s high earning players this week and bringing a model professional like Hangeland to club would be a sign of intent from the former Spurs and West Ham manager.
Norwegian defender Hangeland is mulling over a contract extension at Craven Cottage as his current deal expires at the end of the season, so a move in January could be beneficial to all parties if he wants to leave.
The 31-year-old has been superb for the Whites since his arrival in 2008 and has turned down moves away from Fulham in the past.
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A short trip down the road to QPR could be an option though as they will be able to offer him better wages and a longer contract than Fulham.
Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas believes his team did enough to deserve their 1-1 Premier League draw with Manchester United.
Spurs levelled the scores in second-half injury time, with Clint Dempsey slotting the ball past David de Gea.
Robin van Persie had given United the lead early on with a fine header in the first-half.
Although his team left it late, AVB believes that they did enough across the 90 minutes to deserve at least a point:
“It was important for us. We dominated the whole game – possession and shots,” he told Sky Sports.
“We controlled the game and played well. We deserved to win, to be fair.
“But Manchester United made the most of their opportunity and we were chasing against them, which is very difficult.
“But 60 per cent possession against United and 15 shots against four – we should have gone out with a win. We deserved this last-minute goal.”
The Portuguese coach was also delighted with the performance of his defence, who kept the league leaders’ attack very quiet:
“It might be the game where United have the least opportunities ever in the Premier League.
“It gives you a boost playing so well and getting the goal in the last minute.”
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Van Persie opened the scoring after 25 minutes, heading home at the back post from Tom Cleverley’s cross.
Tottenham pressed for long periods of the second-half and found the equaliser with moments to spare. Dempsey poked home from close range from an Aaron Lennon pass deep into injury time.