As reported by The Scottish Sun, Rangers defender Russell Martin is a major doubt for the visit of Celtic in the Scottish Premiership this Sunday.
What’s the story?
The upcoming derby is Rangers’ biggest match of the season by a distance and coming off the back of six wins in all competitions, there’s a confidence coming from Ibrox that hasn’t been seen for years.
However, it looks as if they’ll have to contend with an injury or two heading into the match, with defender Russell Martin struggling to make it.
That’s according to The Scottish Sun, who say that the 32-year-old was ruled out of training on Thursday with a back injury, instead receiving intensive physiotherapy treatment.
While still clinging on to some hope he could make the fixture, the paper say that Bruno Alves is set to start in his absence.
How big a miss will he be?
Martin has brought experience and quality to Rangers’ defensive line at a key stage of the season and his loan signing from Norwich City has been a definite success so far.
Graeme Murty’s side have lost just once in the matches he has played and alongside David Bates has built an effective partnership for Scottish Premiership level.
Bruno Alves is still getting back to full match fitness after a significant period out and supporters definitely have their doubts about the decorated Portuguese star.
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David Bates coped well at Celtic Park in the last match between the two sides so, alongside Alves, Rangers might not miss Martin too much, but Murty would undoubtedly have preferred the Scotland international to be available.
Adnan Januzaj is determined to get off of the Manchester United bench and take on the likes of Wayne Rooney, Angel di Maria and Juan Mata for the No. 10 role in Louis van Gaal’s side, according to his agent.
The Belgian starlet was one of the few bright sparks in the Red Devils’ woeful 2013/14 season, with his emergence under David Moyes blisteringly quick.
But despite the signs of promise from the versatile attacker, Van Gaal has, on most occasions this term, overlooked the 19-year-old – he is yet to start in the Premier League playing just 122 minutes from the bench.
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And with the likes of Rooney, Mata and Di Maria all fighting for advanced roles in Van Gaal’s midfield, Januzaj’s chances of game time appear slim.
However, his agent, Dirk de Vries, says that the teenager is determined to gain experience in his favoured position at United:
‘We want to stay,’ said the teenager’s agent Dirk de Vries. ‘Adnan wants to gain experience in England as No 10 — he doesn’t fear the competition.” He is quoted by the Daily Mail.
“Just like anyone else he wants to play but he will wait for his opportunity. He is a super professional and he is still motivated, even when he has to play for the Under 21s.
“We’re not angry. We know the club is very happy with him and they want to keep Adnan for the rest of his career at Old Trafford. They believe in him, otherwise he wouldn’t be handed the No 11 of Ryan Giggs.
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“We have to wait until Van Gaal gives him a chance. But we cannot look into the Dutchman’s head and know what he thinks. I believe Adnan plays well at this moment and I’ve heard that he could start the game on Monday.”
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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Roberto Firmino has had to play a bit-part role for Brazil at the World Cup, much to the dislike of Liverpool fans.
The 26-year-old was a key player in the Reds’ season as he formed part of a scintillating attack alongside Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.
In total, Firmino scored 26 goals in all competitions, including 15 in the Premier League to help Liverpool finish fourth, and 10 in the Champions League to push them to the final, which they lost to Real Madrid 3-1 in Kiev.
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Despite the forward’s fantastic campaign in front of goal, Brazil coach Tite has opted to select Gabriel Jesus in all four of the nation’s matches so far.
Firmino has only played 37 minutes of competitive action in Russia across three fixtures after coming on as a substitute.
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The Liverpool star opened his scoring account on Monday after Neymar slid the ball across for his teammate to knock into an open goal, which signalled a 2-0 victory over Mexico in the last-16 stage.
Somewhat bizarrely, a handful of Brazil’s players ran to Neymar first instead of the goalscorer.
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Some Liverpool fans took note of this and criticised the Paris Saint-Germain star on Twitter.
Manchester United recovered from 2-o down to beat Crystal Palace 3-2 last night, thanks to Nemanja Matic’s stoppage time stunner.
It was an abject first half from United, who struggled to cope with Palace’s front two of Christian Benteke and Alexander Sorloth and failed to offer any cohesion in attack.
After Patrick van Aanholt’s strike caught the Red Devils cold early in the second half, there were signs of improvement from many players but one man who still struggled to influence the game was Paul Pogba.
There has been much discussion about Pogba’s best position in recent weeks, with many observers feeling that he was stifled as part of a two-man midfield alongside Matic earlier on in the season.
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Recently, Pogba has been freed up to play on the left of a midfield trio in a 4-3-3 system, where he shone at Juventus but it failed to make any impact last night as the game largely passed him by, even when United launched their fightback.
Pogba posted a message of celebration on Twitter which drew a mixed reaction from fans. Some feel he is showing signs of improvement and giving his all but others are still not impressed and are calling on the French superstar to up his game ahead of Saturday’s crunch clash at home to Liverpool.
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We’ve taken a closer look at some of the reaction from United fans…
While Manchester United, Southampton and Hull fans, among others, were enjoying watching transfer deadline day unfold, Leeds supporters’ experiences were a little less inspiring.
The go to place for fans of the Whites was the club’s own Twitter account, but those who followed with baited breath may wish they hadn’t bothered as they were met with a barrage of disappointing updates.
It all started on a promising note with the permanent capture of loanee Souleymane Doukara, which was quickly followed by calls to stay tuned for big deals and a retweet from their excited captain, Jason Pearce. A top striker coming in? An Italian wonderkid plucked by Massimo Cellino?
Erm… not quite. The following hour saw Matt Smith’s move to Fulham unfold before talented youngster Dominic Poleon slipped out of the door to join Oldham.
But was there a last minute deal to save the day? Not quite. Take a look at the tweets below and try not to laugh or cry, depending upon whom you support…
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.
Sunderland fans were in high spirits when Jack Rodwell looked to be nearing an exit, and they are hilariously bashing the midfielder now his contract has officially been terminated.
Sunderland announced yesterday that Rodwell will leave the club at the end of June.
The club said the decision was by mutual consent, though it seems fans suspect the 27 year-old would be happy to keep picking up a wage packet if it were up to him.
According to BBC, the ex Manchester City man earned £70,000 per week in the Black Cats’ season in the Championship, and would earn a further £43,000 per week in League One for the remaining year on his deal.
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Rodwell swapped Manchester for Wearside in 2014 after making just 16 league appearances for Manchester City, but didn’t exactly impress fans at the Stadium of Light either.
The 27 year-old went an incredible 1,370 days without a win, and played just twice in the Championship last season.
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Roker Report have made a superb Twitter thread of Rodwell’s finest moments, and you can find eight of the best reactions to his departure down below, along with one hilarious meme…
Everton are keeping a close eye on Atalanta midfielder Josip Ilicic ahead of the summer transfer window, according to Calciomercato.
What’s the story?
Everton have been very busy in the past two transfer windows; under former manager Ronald Koeman the club spent in excess of £100m on several new faces.
With Sam Allardyce at the helm, the buying continued in January as Theo Walcott and Cenk Tosun joined the party, while Eliaquim Mangala arrived from Manchester City on loan.
According to Calciomercato, another player has been added to Everton’s transfer wishlist, in the form of Ilicic from Atalanta.
The midfielder has made 33 appearances in all competitions for the Italian club so far this season, scoring 11 goals and creating eight assists.
Do Everton need another attacking midfielder?
That is one area where the Merseyside outfit are certainly not short!
Even though the 30-year-old’s statistics are impressive, there are more pressing matters that the Toffees should be focusing on.
During the January window, supporters demanded a left-back, but the Merseyside outfit did not deliver.
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Right-footed Cuco Martina has been taking on the role in Leighton Baines’s injury absence.
With the latter turning 34 next year, the club should priorities bringing in another man to fill his boots, rather than an attacking midfielder.
When England line up to face Norway in this evening’s international friendly at Wembley, they are expected to do so in front of a record-low attendance.
As of Monday, 30,000 tickets had been sold, and despite last-minute ticket sales, as well as some of the 17,000 Club Wembley members actually bothering to turn up to watch the game from the comfort of their premium seats, the size of the crowd is not expected to surpass the 49,000 who saw England beat Sweden in October 2011.
This particularly extreme case of apathy, it has been argued, stems from the frustration of England fans at repeated failures in international tournaments, the most recent disappointment being the Three Lions’ tame group stage exit at this summer’s World Cup in Brazil. This indifferent attitude looks set to persist into England’s European Championship qualifying campaign. An undemanding group containing Switzerland, Slovenia, Estonia, Lithuania and San Marino will hardly generate much excitement for the next 18 months. The expansion of Euro 2016 to 24 teams means that England will almost certainly qualify, and so it is generally believed amongst England fans that the next two years up to and including the tournament in France will pan out in a depressingly familiar manner – routine qualification from a tediously uncompetitive group, followed by early elimination from the tournament proper when the team comes up against half-decent sides.
England coach Roy Hodgson has attempted to shake things up following his side’s meek, winless surrender in Brazil. Prompted by the retirement of former captain Steven Gerrard – who, along with the similarly recently retired Frank Lampard represented the last of England’s so-called ‘golden generation’ – he has turned to Wayne Rooney as his next skipper to lead the Three Lions into a new era. Even that decision, however, has been met with a collective grim acceptance that the Manchester United striker received the honour almost by default, with no other senior player – bar Joe Hart of Manchester City perhaps – resembling anything like a leader of the national team. It is yet another piece of conclusive evidence, they say, that England is in crisis, and has been for a long time.
Understandable though these concerns may be, the cries of a crisis are hugely exaggerated when we consider the potential lurking among the younger players of the England set-up. In Calum Chambers, Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana, Nathaniel Clyne and James Ward-Prowse (all of whom received their footballing education at Southampton’s academy), not to mention Daniel Sturridge, Raheem Sterling and Jordan Henderson of Liverpool, England clearly has a pool of talent that has the potential to rival any other in Europe.
Potential, of course, is the crucial word in this argument. If it is not harnessed effectively then the talent is ultimately laid to waste. This was certainly the case with England’s ‘golden generation’, and many fear a repeat with the current crop. For many, the reasons for this wasted potential are threefold: a negligent attitude towards developing technically gifted youngsters, a harmful lack of patience and steadiness with regard to international football at youth level, and club football in England coming above all else. Though the Football Association have attempted to tackle at least some of these issues through the opening of St George’s Park National Football Centre, there is a worry that the multi-million pound complex is not being used properly, and that with its location in Staffordshire, is something of an expensive nuisance.
In reality, the issue with the England set-up is not as deep-rooted, multifarious nor complex as it is being made out to be. To tackle each point in the preceding paragraph, in the money-saturated world of modern football, clubs will always take precedence over national sides; that is fact. As for developing technically gifted young players, these clubs are far more responsible than the national set-up. It is on the training grounds of their employers that youngsters hone their skills for the majority of the time; development at a National Football Centre is minimal by comparison. As has been previously noted, Southampton have made a remarkable job of developing young, skilled players without outside interference. The second point is the only one which holds water; judging by the successes of the Spanish under-21 side, the English FA should pay more attention to its equivalent and resist from fast-tracking inexperienced players into its senior side.
The real problem with England lies with its coaches, not with its players. Football has evolved, with the Spanish – and latterly German – model being the vanguard for this change. By ensuring that the way in which football is coached in this country is progressive and adaptable, rather than stagnant and unchangeable, English football will be able to properly compete with its European rivals. The likes of Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool and Garry Monk at Swansea prove that young, talented British managers do exist; by educating coaches in ways suited to the modern game and incorporating them into the national set-up, there is no reason why England cannot taste success in the long term.
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In the bleak sea of pessimism and apathy surrounding England, there is still cause for cautious optimism. It is up to the FA to act on it.