Sergio Aguero could be fit to faceStokeCitytomorrow after resuming training following a knee injury. Manchester Evening News reports.
Aguero was stretchered off the pitch in the opening-day win over Southampton and missed the matches withLiverpooland QPR.
But manager, Roberto Mancini feels the 24-year-old has made sufficient progress to be considered for the trip to thePotteries.
He said: “We try this morning with Sergio and after training we decide. He is getting better – maybe.”
Fellow striker, Mario Balotelli will also feature in Mancini’s plans as the Italian has now recovered from laser eye surgery.
Balotelli was suffering from conjunctivitis and had been having difficulty wearing contact lenses.
Gareth Barry is also close to returning to the fold and has almost recovered from abdominal pains which ruled him out of Euro 2012.
Although, fellow England international, Micah Richards is not expected to return to training until the end of the month.
But Mancini has no new injury concerns after the international break, with the focus on getting those already on the treatment table back into action.
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“We don’t have any players with (new) injuries, we are all okay”, he claimed.
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Former Manchester United midfielder, Nicky Butt, believes the return of Darren Fletcher and Wayne Rooney to the side is absolutely crucial for United’s chances of success this season. Sky Sports reports.
The Red Devils progressed into round four of the Capital One Cup, after beating Newcastle 2-1 at Old Trafford, with Rooney back in the starting line-up and Fletcher captaining the team.
The goals were scored by Brazilian midfielder, Anderson, who broke the deadlock just before half-time; and Tom Cleverley, who scored his first goal for the club to make it 2-0.
Papiss Cisse then scored what proved to be a consolation goal for the away side, meeting a Shane Ferguson cross at the far post.
Butt highlighted the importance of both players on their return to Sir Alex Ferguson’s side.
“They are both very good players and top performers for this club. To have Wayne and Darren back in the squad for selection is great, especially Wayne.
“Darren has still got a way to go yet. He has been out for a while so he needs to be patient but Wayne needs to get back in as soon as possible and start firing again.”
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Butt was also pleased with the fact that Tom Cleverley scored the first goal of his career- especially after missing a golden opportunity to score for England in the 1-1 draw against Ukraine, and another clear-cut chance in the first-half of last night’s match.
“When you miss a few chances, which he did for England as well, it does play on your mind – it plays on anyone’s mind – but he kept going and it was good that he got his goal in the end”, he added.
James McFadden is set to complete a season long deal at the Stadium of Light.
The 29 year old has been unattached since his release from Everton in the summer, but is near to penning a deal on Wearside.
Scotland international, McFadden has been training with Sunderland for a fortnight and has seemingly done enough to complete a short-term deal.
Martin O’Neill told the Daily Star, “James had trained with us and I think he’s done well. I’ll have a proper word with him this week.”
The versatile attacker had also trained with former club, Motherwell, but looks set to extend his nine year stay in England with another run in the Premier League.
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McFadden may pressurise formerly guaranteed starters, Stephane Sessegnon and James McClean, who have endured mixed starts to the season. His arrival may trigger loan deals for Sunderland’s inexperienced frontmen with, O’Neill keen to send fringe players, Ryan Noble, Connor Wickham and Ji Dong Won out on loan.
Reading’s Jason Roberts has explained the reasons behind not wearing a Kick It Out t-shirt at the weekend.
The striker was the first Premier League player to announce that he wouldn’t be wearing the anti-racism t-shirts at the weekend, which sparked a mass following from other black players in the Premier League.
But Roberts has admitted that his actions were personal to him and that he didn’t aim to lead a protest.
Writing for the Daily Mail, Roberts said: “When I said last week that I wouldn’t wear a Kick It Out T-shirt I wasn’t trying to lead a protest.
“I was speaking for myself. But what happened over the weekend has, I believe, underlined the depth of the issues I was trying to draw attention to.
“Myself and a group of other players have been in detailed discussions with the PFA for some time. We suggested to them all along that this week could be an issue, because people didn’t want to wear the T-shirt.”
The striker went on to stress that for the game to move forward from the recent racism issues it has suffered, there needs to be substantial changes to the way organisations like Kick It Out are funded.
“Kick It Out has done some substantial things, but as an organisation it is not seriously funded, and it should be,” he added.
“The equality department in the PFA needs to change and should have stonger leadership and more than just one or two staff. It doesn’t have the resources or the manpower to tackle the job.
“These are the issues that I felt needed to be raised. Detailed discussions and recommendations have been tabled for a year now, across several meetings, without any progress being made.”
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Roberts tweeted this morning: “I am passionate about the work I have undertaken for the PFA and Kick It Out but we must listen, improve and act.
“I hope this gives an insight in to my thoughts and motives and confirms my commitment to us all moving together to tackle these issues.”
With exactly two months to go until the January transfer window opens, all twenty Premier League managers will be contemplating who they would like to have on their shopping lists. With so many of our top flights leaving themselves short in the striking department, the need for a top quality forward is paramount.
Throughout the continent some of the very best attackers in Europe have announce their intentions to leave their respective clubs. Some clubs are intent on keeping their aces whilst others will be looking to offload their unwanted players for cut-fee prices.
Either way, these players (except for two in the list) would make great additions to the incredible league that we all love so much. The best thing is that all these players have realistic chances of appearing on Match of the Day on a Saturday in the near or distant list.
Click on Isco to unveil the top 10
[divider]
If I missed a player who you really think should be in there don’t forget to leave your suggestions @matt_of_the_day
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Aston Villa’s failure to keep hold of their lead at home to Norwich on Saturday, only served to put their poor start to the season under more scrutiny.
Paul Lambert has endured a difficult start to his tenure at Villa Park, sitting just one place above the bottom three, with just one league victory and six points from their opening nine games. The poor start has only reaffirmed how difficult the task of reestablishing Villa as a top ten Premier League side will be.
There are signs of frustration emerging from the Villa supporters, having endured two disappointing seasons since the departure of Martin O’Neill, first under Gerard Houllier, then narrowly avoiding relegation under the stewardship of Alex McLeish.
The days of top six finishes under Martin O’Neill have long appeared a distant memory, with many genuinely concerned about Villa’s capability to avoid the drop this season.
A lot of the blame has been laid at the door of the clubs owner, American billionaire Randy Lerner. Upon his arrival in England, Lerner was hailed as something of a messiah by Villa supporters and the media.
Whilst Manchester United struggled with the Glazers, and Liverpool were desperately looking to remove Tom Hicks and George Gillett, Lerner served as an example of the perfect American owner.
His stock has fallen since, with Villa fans frustrated at his failure to invest further in the playing squad, with the likes of Ashley Young, James Milner, Gareth Barry and Stewart Downing all leaving the club for sizable transfer fees.
However I am of the opinion it is not all doom and gloom for Villa just yet. Lerner has spent over £200 million since his arrival at Villa Park in 2006, and is now seemingly more reluctant to reach into his pockets. Villa seem to have looked to a new transfer policy, in the hope of balancing the books whilst at the same time building for the future.
Having allowed vast amounts of money to be spent by Martin O’Neill, alongside writing a cheque for £24million to allow Gerard Houllier to sign Darren Bent, Lerner appears keen to invest more in the clubs youth policy.
Saturday’s game with Norwich saw Villa field a side with the average age was just 24, whilst three academy graduates made the starting eleven, with another three on the substitutes bench.
More young players have emerged into the Villa starting line up in the past couple of seasons, with varying degrees of success. It is still early days however, and it is an approach that should be admired and given time. Too often have we seen promising young players shafted by mediocre signings at a number of clubs. It is not just academy graduates that have featured either.
Another three of the starting line up for Saturday’s game, Joe Bennett, Matt Lowton and Fabian Delph, were all signed from the Football League, alongside substitute Ashley Westwood.
This has been another trait of the Randy Lerner era in recent years, often looking to the lower divisions for cheaper alternatives. Again, this has been done with varying degrees of success, but the idea is for Paul Lambert to mould these young players into a competitive Premier League team, which I am confident that given time will be achieved.
Lerner has also sanctioned signings from Holland and Belgium, leagues known for selling decent players at affordable prices. Ron Vlaar, Karim El Ahmadi and Belgium international Christian Benteke all arrived in the summer, and have shown glimpses of quality so far, as Villa look to form their new identity.
It is an interesting approach from Lerner, but one that will only benefit from the influence of a strong manager. Whilst the last two managerial appointments can be deemed as failures, Lambert looks a shrewd acquisition. If the Scot is given time to mould these young players, Villa should have brighter days ahead.
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There will be mistakes along the way, and more days of hurt for Villa fans to endure. But patience and a glance at the bigger picture may hold them in good stead. Lerner was trusted and backed fully upon his arrival in England. If he feels he must lower the clubs debt then so be it. Giving youth a chance is a good way to go about it, and given more time and experience may prove to be a smart move further down the line.
Villa fans are naturally going to worry and demand more, after two seasons struggling in the lower ends of the table. The poor start to the season will do little to quell these concerns. I am of the opinion Villa have too much quality and too good of a manager to go down this season. This season will be about Lambert moulding the young players at his disposal into the team he wants for the future, and then looking to build further. However some positive results in the meantime would be extremely welcome.
What do you make of Aston Villa this season? Has Randy Lerner let the fans down? Or do you have faith in Lambert and the young players? Follow me on Twitter @LukeGreenwood89 and let me know your thoughts.
The entertaining comeback against Colchester as of a week ago meant Crewe made the short journey to Shrewsbury full of optimism that the corner had been turned in the search for the elusive consistency that had undermined the season so far.
The Colchester victory made it 2 wins out of 2 and over 1,000 fans who had caught the bug of positivity travelled to Shropshire full of hope that they could indeed make it 3 out of 3 against a side that was struggling in the relegation zone on a run of no wins in five matches. With the outlook in the near-packed away end as bright as the winter sun that beat down on the Greenhous Meadow, it was so easy to predict what was to follow from the eternal balkers of Crewe Alexandra; a flat performance and a frustrating defeat.
As Steve Davis had voiced following his half-time dressing salvo against Colchester, the 0-2 win at Doncaster as well as that storming comeback vs the Us had showed what this Crewe side is capable of, yet they are finding it so easy not to produce that kind of form on a regular basis, deciding instead to churn out the kind of disjointed, sluggish performance that angered so many with home defeats to Yeovil and Oldham.
Davis will continue to wrestle with the curious case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde such is his drive and desire to win, though there was no denying his disappointment and desperation with yet another deceiving performance from his men on Saturday afternoon. One would tend to agree with his assessment that Crewe ultimately deserved a point from what was, in truth, a dour match but his decision to condemn referee Christopher Sarginson’s refusal to hand his team a penalty for what was a clear tug on loanee striker Lauri Dalla Valle was slightly misjudged. Shrewsbury were unlucky not to be awarded two valid penalty appeals of their own and such was the dejection of the Alex’s performance that saw only a speculative Chuks Aneke effort and a Mathias Pogba header trouble Chris Weale in the Shrewsbury goal, it would have been wrong to expect a bail out on behalf of the officials.
Shrewsbury carved out a chance for Luke Summerfield which he buried past Alan Martin with a bullet header and unlike the preceding Saturday, there was no way back after half-time. Despite Davis’ words and the disappointment of the journey home, the bottom line dictated that the home side were clinical and Crewe were so prevalently short of a cutting edge in a match sparse the way of chances. It was yet another time, as the Alex are surely mastering by now, to take stock after an anti-climactic, deflating defeat and prepare for the next match, an imposing Tuesday night trip to Sheffield United.
The Blades were second in League One with just one defeat in their opening 18 games as they have become the model of consistency Crewe could only dream to be, so even a point would have been out of the realms of expectation for the Alex fans willing to brave the cold on the travel to Yorkshire. Even if there remained a hopeful element upon the 200 or so that populated the away end in the impressive setting of Bramall Lane, it probably probably have been wiped out within half an hour as first Shaun Miller, to follow the rule of the haunting ex-player, and centre-half Harry McGuire both striking with corners as Sheffield United raced into a 2-0 lead.
This presents a problem in itself; again Crewe conceded first, the 12th time this season that has happened, and the feebleness of the way his side defended the two corner kicks, the second of which McGuire rose to no attention to head past a helpless Martin, would have been of serious concern to the on-watching manager. It would have seemed a long night would be in store as he stood on the touch-line, helpless as yet again Crewe struggled, but such is the clamour for eccentricity from this Alex side, they suddenly went against all expectation to draw level at 2-2 before half-time. First Mark Ellis headed home a rebound after a strike from the once again excellent Luke Murphy, before Mathias Pogba turned in from close range. If that wasn’t unbelievable enough, Chuks Aneke put the visitors ahead just after half-time only to see it cancelled out by Nick Blackman for 3-3. Both teams had chances to steal a win, but the roller-coaster night ended in a draw, just reward for both teams who had served up such wonderful entertainment.
Again, it was so evident to see the capabilities of this side as they raced back again from the brink to nearly clinch the most spectacular of three points, but the frequency in which they deceive that must cause unparalleled anger to the management team who have put an emphasis on consistency in recent weeks. It would have been hard to live with the Blades’ potency in attack, but in a performance that was notable for the impressive displays of Pogba, Murphy and Abdul Osman, any supporter would have been hard pressed to identify a poor showing from any member of the side, they were fully deserving of an unexpected point.
That’s what will wrangle with Davis in the next few days, just why can’t they produce it with regularity? He will continue to wrestle with Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde as he approaches Saturday’s meeting with Crawley, but it’s anybody’s guess just which one of Robert Louis Stevenson’s characters we will get.
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Manchester United ensured they would head the Premier League table at Christmas after being held to a frustrating draw by Swansea at the Liberty Stadium.
After seeing local rivals Manchester City halve their six point advantage at the top Sir Alex Ferguson will be worried that his usually potent attacking force failed to fire in South Wales despite a point keeping them firmly in pole position.
The Swans, on the other hand, will be more than happy to take a share of the festive spoils from the league leaders as they looked to keep their faint European aspirations alive heading into the second half of the season.
However, Michael Laudrup knows his sides defending from set pieces will have to improve if they are to nab a surprise top 10 finish after they fell behind just after the quarter hour.
Michel Vorm, back after 10 games out, palmed away a Wayne Rooney hit early on before turning Ashley Young’s close range strike round the post after he latched on to a defence splitting pass from Michael Carrick.
From the resulting corner, delivered by Robin Van Persie, in came Patrice Evra to take advantage of some careless marking and squeeze the ball past Leon Britton into the far corner for his third headed goal of the season.
The home side rallied and put a United defence, that has conceded 25 goals already this term, under pressure and their equaliser came in the 29th minute after a slick move saw Michu tuck the ball home from after David de Gea palmed Jonathan De Guzman’s strike.
De Gea saved again from De Guzman, while Rooney shot tamely at Vorm from Evra’s setup as both sides laboured in their search for a second goal.
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In fact the only flashpoint of the second half came when Van Persie grappled with Ashley Williams after the Swansea defender blasted the ball off the Dutchman’s head while he lay prone on the turf.
Luckily referee Michael Oliver quickly diffused the situation as the home side stood firm to further amplify Ferguson and United’s ire.
Newcastle midfielder Moussa Sissoko has revealed that he is happy with his start to life at the club.
The French midfielder moved to the Premier League last month from Toulouse and has made an instant impact for the Magpies.
His second-half double helped the club secure a stunning victory over Chelsea, a game in which they trailed.
Sissoko, who only cost £1.8m, is delighted with the start he has made in the North East and feels he is is settling in to the first-team well:
“I could never have imagined making such a good start to my time at Newcastle. My first home game was against Chelsea, the European champions, and we managed to win and scored two goals.” He told The Chronicle.
“I was very happy on a personal level, although it was a collective performance from the whole team. We all played a big game.”
Sissoko was regarded as one of the finest holding midfielders in the French top flight prior to his move.
However, under new manager Alan Pardew he is being encouraged to break into more advanced positions on a regular basis to support Papiss Cisse.
He is more than happy to occupy this role and feels that his abilities are well suited to English football:
“At Newcastle, I have been asked to take the game to the opposition. I am playing in a more forward role and I can express myself.
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“This is the championship for me. This is the one that fits my style best. The last few weeks at Toulouse were not easy, so when Newcastle offered me the chance to join in January then I did not hesitate.
“I know it is a very good club and I am still getting to know it.”
The 23-year-old arrived alongside Mathieu Debuchy, Massadio Haidara, Yoan Gouffran and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa. [cat_link cat=”newcastle-united” type=”grid”]
West Ham co-owner David Sullivan was physically threatened in the January transfer window by an agent he revealed in an in depth column in the Daily Mail.
The Hammers boss has hit out at greedy agents calling them ‘scavengers’ and claiming the transfer window is now deeply unpleasant.
West Ham managed to bring in five new signings in the window without spending anything on transfer fees and also kept hold of much sort after midfield Mo Diame, despite him having a miserly release clause in his current Hammers contract.
Despite being one of the most active clubs in January, Sullivan was disappointed that he couldn’t bring in one or two more faces to the squad that are struggling to pick up points at the moment.
Sullivan is desperate for the FA to step in and put a cap on agent fees with people being threatened and abused for the sake of transfer deal.
“In this window, I have had an agent threaten me and threaten one of our West Ham players with physical violence, because he thought he was being cut out of a deal,” Sullivan wrote.
“I heard of three or four agents trying to jump in on other deals. Some of these people are like scavengers.
“It was all deeply unpleasant and I’m glad it’s over.
“Agents who would once demand £50,000 for their part in a transfer, now want £500,000 to £1million to either bring a player or keep a player.
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“It is quite outrageous and the FA should cap the amount paid to agents for their work.”