Gareth Barry gave England manager Fabio Capello a massive boost on Friday when he was able to take part in training on the Royal Bafokeng training pitches in South Africa.
There has been fears that the Manchester City star would not be fit enough to be included in Capello's 23-man squad for this summer's tournament but Barry was named by the Italian on Tuesday.
The former Aston Villa star suffered ankle ligament damage during City's defeat to Tottenham at Eastlands on May 5, a result that ended their hopes of playing in next season's Champions League.
However, the 29-year-old has made a quicker than anticipated recovery from the injury although he is still a major doubt for next week's Group C opener against the United States in Rustenburg.
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Ledley King was also able to take part in the session despite his ongoing knee problems.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Joe Cole’s future remains uncertain as Manchester United balked at the England midfielder’s high wage demands and it is believed that only Arsenal and Tottenham remain in the race to sign the Chelsea man on a free when his current deal expires.
Is Cole’s greed costing him?
It appears as though the Red Devils have distanced themselves for a move with Cole as he is demanding wages in the excess of £100k-a-week and the England man may have blown his chance to play at Old Trafford.
I’m a fan of Cole and it is with heavy heart that I am criticising him, but I am at a loss to think why thinks he warrants such a lucrative deal. It seems as though his own greed had already cost him his career at Stamford Bridge and to be honest after the past two seasons he has disappointed more than he has performed well and it would have been ridiculous to pay him more than players like Michael Essien. The offer Cole did receive from the club was more than generous at £90k-a-week and was rightly withdrawn in my opinion as he dragged his feet for far too long.
Cole has had his injury woes over the past few years too, so it may be a slight risk for a club to take a gamble on him and his wage demands.
There was an argument which suggested that Cole was unhappy to be on the sidelines for Chelsea and as he did not think he would feature in Carlo Ancelotti’s plans for next season. Cole struggled to get into the team ahead of Florent Malouda, Nicolas Anelka and Salomon Kalou, so may want to leave the club in order to play first team football.
However, if reports are true and Cole is failing to agree terms with other clubs because he is sticking to his guns over the wages then it would suggest that it is his greed that is hurting his chances to find a new club.
On the other hand, Cole has a young family and may be unwilling to uproot from London where he is settled to move up north unless he receives the terms that he is after.
The midfielder is now 28-years-old and may feel that at his age he may feel as though he has at least one more big contract in him. Also, whoever decides to sign him will be getting a top quality player without having to pay out any transfer fee and could probably afford to improve his terms.
Cole’s focus for the meantime will be on the Three Lions’ World Cup campaign which is understandably delaying his decision over his future and like many other England fans I would like to see him get his chance in the England XI…perhaps he could earn that new deal with an impressive performance against a young Germany side which may even contain his replacement at Chelsea in Mesut Ozil.
What do the fans think about Joe Cole and his wage demands? Is he being greedy, or is he worth the money?
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Click image below to see a gallery of the German babes at the World Cup:
Fulham have vowed to appoint a new manager "in the soonest timeframe possible" after being knocked back by Martin Jol.
Jol rejected the chance to replace Roy Hodgson in the Craven Cottage hot-seat on Thursday in order to stay in charge of Ajax.
The former Tottenham boss had agreed personal terms with the Cottagers but has decided to remain in his native Netherlands.
Fulham have been without a manager since Hodgson left to take over at Liverpool at the beginning of July and Jol had been the number one choice for the job.
However, chief executive Alistair Mackintosh must go back back to the drawing board and the club has issued a statement stressing their insistence in making the right appointment.
"When Fulham commenced negotiations with Martin Jol, the club was informed that an exit clause existed in his contract with Ajax," it read.
"Subsequent negotiations revealed that the clause was no longer valid and Ajax remained steadfast in their desire to keep their manager, therefore dialogue between the two clubs has now ended.
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"Since Roy Hodgson indicated that he wanted to leave Fulham, a short list of potential managers was identified, and the club is committed to ensuring that the right candidate is brought on board to continue the club's progress, in the soonest timeframe possible."
Caretaker manager Ray Lewington will remain in charge of first-team affairs but a host of candidates, led by Cardiff City boss Dave Jones and former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, are now back in the frame.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
At Everton, Steven Pienaar and Mikel Arteta are given freedom to express themselves. David Moyes has moulded his team over his tenure at Goodison Park into a balanced, competitive outfit. To match the creativity and guile of Pienaar and Arteta, the likes of Neville and Fellaini add the extra bite. Regardless of of who plays at the back – Yobo, Jagielka, Heitinga, Distin etc – there is an organisation that exists throughout. Everton have a lot of good players, and because of the fact that the club isn’t in the upper echelons, those players are always susceptible to rumours of bigger deals elsewhere.
Everton have struggled to make the inroads that Villa, Man City and Spurs have managed over the last few seasons because they simply don’t have the money to compete. David Moyes has to be certain in the transfer market because his board cannot afford expensive mistakes (think James Beattie). It’s not that Moyes has no money to spend, the likes of Fellaini, Saha and Yakubu didn’t arrive for nothing, but in terms of offering big contracts, and trying to match other clubs over transfer fees, then they are more limited than their rivals. If a bigger club come calling, it can be difficult to fend them off, case in point – Joleon Lescott. The biggest help Everton can get, is the commitment of the player them self.
Mikel Arteta and Steven Pienaar have both been linked with bigger clubs, most notably Arsenal, but would it really be the right move for them? Would Steven Pienaar get 40 games a season at Arsenal when competing for places with Arshavin, Nasri, Rosicky and Walcott? What he has at Everton may be very difficult to recreate elsewhere. Understandably, players want to play for as bigger club as possible; it takes a brave person to turn down a move to a big club and the chance of proving them self on a higher stage. Understanding that you have a good thing and not being greedy, balanced with the lure of trophies and success at the risk of a lack of games, is a difficult thing to come to terms with. For some it pays off, for others it can be years in the wilderness.
Louis Saha, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Scott Parker are players who moved to bigger clubs only to find that maybe it was a step too far. All have moved on from those transfers with varying success, but how different would their careers have been if they had stayed put. Then again, if Man Utd want you, how do you say no? It has happened to Everton before, Duncan Ferguson and Francis Jeffers both moved to bigger clubs only to find their career hit a stumbling block. Francis Jeffers is currently on trial at Blackpool, what would be his eighth club in the nine years since he left Goodison. Leaving Everton for a bigger club, for Jeffers, was a gamble that failed to pay off.
Players can spend entire careers trying to find a club that fits them; Craig Bellamy, Marcus Bent or Peter Crouch for example. Pienaar and Arteta have found their club. They are adored by Toffee fans, their team plays a brand of football that suits them, they are integral members of a squad that competes with the top teams in the country and enjoys European football. Everton have helped raise the profile of both players, considered far better than the ones that arrived at the club, and in response, the midfielders should realise they are part of a good thing. For fans of any club, it would be sad to see them have to start from scratch somewhere else, than continue to blossom at home.
Click on image to see a gallery of the BEST BABES at the World Cup this summer
Manchester City will have to be more successful this season than they were last, that is if Roberto Mancini wishes to retain his job. Although fifth place was the club’s highest finish in the Premier League yet, there was a sense of disappointment around Eastlands as they failed to grab a Champions League place. Sheikh Mansour and his cohorts invested a lot of money in the club last season, under the proviso that they would get into the Champions League and would thus be able to attract the world’s best players as Chelsea had done when Roman Abramovich took over. Had Mancini been City’s manager at the start of the season, he would undoubtedly have been fired. But having already gotten rid of Mark Hughes, the Man City heirarchy would have risked their reputation had they sacked two managers in one season. This year however, Roberto Mancini starts the season as manager, and he will take ultimate responsibility for the club’s fortunes. If he does not bring success to Manchester City after a huge summer spending spree, there will be nowhere to hide for the Italian and he will not last if he is not successful. But what exactly will the Man City owners, and fans expect of their club this season?
Fundamentally, what Manchester City desire is Champions League football. This will be seen by the club’s owners as a minimum requirement this season. The fans will have more patience, but given the amount of quality players Mancini has at his disposal they will be expectant too. There is an outside chance of Man City challenging for the Premier League title this season, but it is a lack of Champions League football that is currently holding them back from mounting a serious challenge. Being in the Champions League brings kudos and money into a club, and it is also a major attraction for possible transfer targets. When a club starts playing Champions League football, the calibre of players it can attract is greatly increased, until then Manchester City will find it difficult to be regarded as one of the top European sides, and as a result will find it hard to sign the very top names. Who knows how the Kaka deal may have panned out had Man City been playing Champions League football. This makes a place in the top four absolutely necessary if Man City are to progress and become a major force in English football, and the owners will be more than aware of this fact.
Having not tasted any silverware for many years, Manchester City supporters will also be keen for the club to end their long trophy drought. City have not won a major honour since their League Cup triumph in 1976, 34 years ago. If Roberto Mancini and his players really want to endear themselves to the fans, then picking up a trophy would go a long way towards doing this. Winning the league title is unlikely, but Man City are more than capable of winning the FA Cup or the Carling Cup. In fact I am making them my early prediction to lift the Carling Cup this season. Although it is not the most important of competitions, victory in either this or he FA Cup would give the club a massive boost, and could play a big part in pushing them on to greater things. This season for Manchester City, the minimum requirement is Champions League football, and this will be their primary goal; if Mancini could win a cup tournament along the way, he would be firmly embedded in City hearts.
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The departures of Alberto Aquilani and Robinho this summer show that high-profile, gifted footballers cannot always flourish in the Premier League. Fans, journalists and managers are divided over the time it takes for a player to adapt to the rigours of the English game. Yet the PL is still an attractive destination for huge swathes of foreign talent and for every flop there is a success story. Here are ten PL new boys to watch out for this season.
Mario Balotelli – Manchester City
Signed from Inter Milan for a fee of £22.5 million, the talented if troublesome striker will team up with Roberto Mancini for a second time. The 20-year old thoroughbred was routinely criticised by the Italian media and his team-mates for being immature and unprofessional. Patently unperturbed, Mancini believes the youngster will soon become a world class forward. ‘Super Mario’ scored on his Manchester City debut against FC Timisoara in the Europa League play-offs. Whether it is for his on or off-field antics, the Italy international will be impossible to miss.
Yaya Toure – Manchester City
David Silva, Jerome Boateng and Aleksandar Kolarov may all arguably warrant places on this list but the PL’s first £200,000-a-week player is worthy of consideration. Having moved from Barcelona to play alongside his brother Kolo, this versatile midfielder has already demonstrated his varied skills to the Eastlands crowd. Powerful, physical and technically proficient, the Ivorian has proved a handful for PL defences in recent weeks by pushing forward to support Carlos Tevez.
Chicharito – Manchester United
City’s rivals Manchester United believe they have found the signing of the summer in the form of the youthful Javier Hernandez. The Mexican international had a fantastic World Cup but was actually snapped up in April from Guadalajara. Known for his pace, skill, movement and finishing ability, he has been likened to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The Norwegian would have told him that every goal counts after his peculiar finish against Chelsea in the Community Shield.
Pablo Barrera – West Ham United
Fellow Mexican international Barrera has been the only bright note of West Ham’s worst start to a PL season. Signed from Pumas for a fee of £4 million this speedy winger glistened during the first half of West Ham’s home defeat to Bolton. Unafraid to run at players, exhibit skill and go for goal, Hammers fans will hoping that this Mexican import can improve their fortunes.
Asamoah Gyan – Sunderland
It is an old adage that you should never buy a player off the back of a good World Cup. However another player who shone in South Africa has been signed by an ambitious club. On transfer deadline day Sunderland paid in excess of £13 million for the Ghanaian striker. Gyan has moved from Ligue 1 Rennes after the departure of Kenwyne Jones and the serious injury suffered by Frazier Campbell. Gyan missed a penalty that would have taken the Black Stars to the semi-finals in South Africa but was the team’s best player of the tournament, scoring three. The 24-year old is already said to be looking forward to the Tyne-Wear derby.
Continue to Page 2 to see some more brand new foreign talent…
Hatem Ben Arfa – Newcastle United
Ben Arfa is another Ligue 1 import eagerly anticipating that fiercely contested derby. The French international has moved to St James’ Park on a season long loan from Marseille. The winger/attacker is a prodigious talent who has 8 senior caps for France and rather stereotypically went on strike from training in an attempt to force through his protracted move. Are Newcastle ready for yet another abrasive dressing room character?
Marouane Chamakh – Arsenal
The French top flight has been a fruitful source of talent this summer, particularly for Arsene Wenger who has also added Laurent Koscielny to his squad. The Moroccan striker had been linked with a move to the Emirates from some time but was made to wait until his contract with Bordeaux had expired. He scored his first PL goal with a header against Blackpool, despite missing a hatful of chances throughout that drubbing. Sporting a suspiciously oily hairstyle, Chamakh is seen as an intelligent, strong centre-forward who is aerially adept. Arsenal fans will be relieved that in the absence of Robin van Persie they will not have to solely rely on Nicklas Bendtner.
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Nikola Zigic – Birmingham City
Another striker who will undoubtedly catch the eye is Birmingham’s 6ft 8in Zigic. The 29-year old Serbian international did not have the best World Cup nor did he boast a good scoring record at Valencia. But he did prosper on loan at Racing Santander last season and subsequently made the switch to St Andrews. With his giant frame, the Serbian target man will seek to intimidate and out-muscle defences.
Raul Meireles – Liverpool
After the unsettled Javier Mascherano eventually left Anfield for the Camp Nou, Roy Hodgson did well to swiftly swoop for Porto’s Meireles. Signed for an £11.5 million fee, the player who has 38 caps for Portugal has said he is no Mascherano clone. Presumably he would not take kindly to being talked of as a replacement to Xabi Alonso either. If the combative midfielder is somewhere between the two Liverpool fans will be satisfied.
Moussa Dembele – Fulham
This Belgian winger moved from AZ Alkmaar to join Mark Hughes’ Fulham. He scored 10 and assisted many in the Dutch side’s 2008/09 title winning season. Fulham hope to have secured a bargain who can perform in the PL. He found the net in their 6-0 victory over Port Vale in the League Cup and set up both goals as Fulham drew 2-2 with Blackpool at the weekend.
Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson believes there is reason to for optimism after watching Fernando Torres put in an improved performance during the Merseysiders' 3-2 loss at rivals Manchester United on Sunday.
The Spain World Cup winner has struggled to regain form after a number of troublesome injuries, but the former Fulham boss is confident he is beginning to come good.
Liverpool were undone by Dimitar Berbatov's hat-trick, but the Reds showed resilience as they tied things up after falling 2-0 behind.
Steven Gerrard scored from the spot after Torres was chopped down by Jonny Evans and the England captain curled a free-kick through the wall to restore parity before Berbatov's late intervention.
Despite the setback, Hodgson was pleased with the second-half performance.
"It was a lot better, there's no doubt about that," he said.
"Fernando is still a player who needs more games and needs more time and more training. We will get a lot of tremendous use out of him over the course of the year.
"I think he was a lot better than the game against Birmingham, but I don't think he's firing on all cylinders.
"Having said that, we are playing against a very good team in Manchester United who don't surrender the ball to you that often.
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"I thought our second-half performance was good and I think we deserved to get back in the game.
"I thought we were a bit unlucky to go 2-0 down when we did and, of course, to concede late on is always tough.
"The three goals were from crosses – one a corner kick – and there is disappointment in that, but otherwise I thought we made a really good effort in the second half to bring us back in the game."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
A familiar face from Arsenal’s past can currently be seen at the club’s London Colney training ground, and his name is Robert Pires. The French winger is a free agent after being released by Spanish outfit Villarreal in the summer, and Pires has been training at the club in order to keep up his fitness. It is a remarkably similar situation to one that occurred last season, when Sol Campbell trained with the club and was then given a contract by Arsene Wenger after he impressed the Arsenal boss. So will the same thing happen with Pires? And would it be a good move for the Gunners?
Many fans would be delighted to see a firm favourite in the form of Pires return to the club and pull on the red shirt of Arsenal once more. In a six year career in North London Pires delighted the Gunners faithful with some sensational performances on the wing, he had trickery, technique, was strong on the ball and also scored a good number of goals. During his time at Arsenal Pires won two Premier League titles, three FA Cups and won the FWA’s Footballer of the Year award in the 2001-02 season, and in 2008 he was voted as the club’s sixth greatest player of all time in an online poll on the official Arsenal website. Safe to say then that Robert Pires is something of an Arsenal legend.
Many fans believed that Pires was let go by Arsene Wenger too early in his career, he was 32 when he left England for Spain and joined Villarreal. Pires had a good spell at Villarreal as the club confirmed themselves as one of the best teams in La Liga. Pires provided great experience and was a mainstay before being released by the club this summer, and Wenger was more than happy to allow him to train at Arsenal to keep his fitness up.
So is a move back to the playing ranks of Arsenal likely? Going on Wenger’s words you couldn’t really say. The Gunners boss stated in French newspaper Le Parisien
“He is sparkling. He’s happy on the ball and physically he is fine. He can be of service in Ligue 1.”
Wenger obviously believes that Pires has still got it then, but whilst he believes Pires can still do it in the French Ligue One, he doesn’t actually state that he could definitely still perform in the Premiership, which as we know is a much more competitive league. But Wenger did not exactly rule it out, and he was speaking to a French audience when he made his statement. It could be imagined then, that there is an outside chance of Wenger signing up Pires on a short term contract.
One thing Robert Pires would certainly add in abundance is experience, and this could be very useful for a squad that is still young. I obviously haven’t seen Pires in action in London Colney, but you imagine he could still do a job for Arsenal, and he would not be having to play week in week out which would be questionable. Pires best work might in fact come on the training field though, imagine what players like Samir Nasri, Jack Wilshere and a host of others could learn from him, it would only improve them as players.
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Arsene Wenger showed last season that he is not averse to signing up veterans who have played under him in the past, and Sol Campbell was on the whole a success. If Wenger sees enough in Pires I am sure he will have no hesitation in giving him another opportunity to play for Arsenal, and it would certainly be an exciting prospect to see him walk out of the tunnel as a Gunner once more.
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Scotland coach Craig Levein hailed the heroic team performance which almost resulted in a sensational European Championship qualifying victory over Spain.
The reigning world and European champions won 3-2 at Hampden Park on Tuesday evening but were given an almighty scare when the home side fought back from two goals down to level the match.
Steven Naismith's first international goal and Gerard Pique's own goal had given Scotland hope of a major scalp until substitute Fernando Llorente netted a 79th minute winner.
"It's very frustrating," said Levein."I was immensely proud of the players tonight.
"They were heroes every one of them – from the first minute to the last.
"I didn't think it was over and the reason I say that is I believe I've got a group of players that will work, work and work till they drop.
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"I believe I've got players that have got good quality on the ball and have good team spirit and belief in themselves.
"To get one back, then I realised we had an opportunity to keep pressing forward, and I'm just sick that we didn't manage to take anything from the game."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger insists he is more than happy with his current crop of players and he believes they could end their five-year wait for a trophy this term.
The Londoners take on Premier League basement boys West Ham United at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday and the Frenchman is delighted with the way his youthful squad are going about their business.
Arsenal sit five points behind leaders Chelsea in the league table, but following their emphatic 4-0 Carling Cup success over Newcastle United at St James' Park in midweek, Wenger is ecstatic with their recent run of results.
A fine 5-1 Champions League triumph over Shakhtar Donetsk on October 19 before last Sunday's exceptional 3-0 thumping of Manchester City at Eastlands has raised morale tenfold and their shrewd coach is hopeful that their hunt for silverware will end sooner rather than later.
"There is a lot more to come out of this team," he said.
"I feel the ingredients of teams which I had before who were successful are in there. It is just how much we can get them out and of course we need to keep all of our players fit.
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"As long as the attitude is right and at the end of the season when you look back you think 'this team has given absolutely everything they could', you will be proud of them."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email