Manchester City right-back Maicon has defended his manager Roberto Mancini after recent outbursts.
The Italian boss clashed with Sir Alex Ferguson in the Manchester derby last season and went head-to-head against Paul Lambert in the Premier League champions’ defeat to Aston Villa in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday night.
However, the Brazil international feels that the incidents show that Mancini has passion and is determined to succeed.
“All winning coaches are the same so if Ferguson has the hairdryer, Roberto has the same passion,” The Telegraph have Maicon as saying.“All winning managers are the same and they show this passion to the players because they really want to win and the players can feel that. It is the same man I knew at Inter, the same passion, the same will to win, the same intensity. I found the same kind of manager.“That is the way he should be, to see a passionate coach who demands high standards. If he gets angry he reminds everybody of the standards required.“He’s a winning manager like the other ones, so he has the same passion and the players appreciate it when the manager speaks up for the team and the players, especially because he puts the pressure on himself rather than giving it to the players,” he concluded.By Gareth McKnight
It may be the biggest sporting game on the planet full of super stars and beyond super goals, but it is still a little bit of a shock to see someone like Jennifer Lopez wearing a football shirt and cheering like mad during the game. As one of the world’s most famous singers and indeed beautiful women, J-Lo is instantly recognisable, but in a Real Madrid shirt even she inspires a double take. Of course it cannot be forgotten that celebrities no matter how famous they are just as passionate as us normal folk about football and can become just as enthusiastic. With that in mind, here is a look at the top ten famous football fans.
From ones who we are fully aware of and ones who are very vocal about their love for the club that occupies a spot in their heart – maybe not to the level of ‘let’s be having you’ Delia Smith- to the most unlikely of fans, and indeed ones who have come to support their club in the most bizarre of circumstances here is a look at the top ten football fans.
Click on Angelina Jolie to unveil the top 10
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Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers hopes Stewart Downing will benefit from a major confidence boost after his stunning goal secured victory over Anzhi Makhachkala.
Despite being deployed in an unfamiliar left back position, Downing produced one of his best displays for the club, in which he struck the winner to send Reds to the top of their Europa League group.
Rodgers, who questioned the wingers appetite earlier in the season, singled him out for praise after the game and is confident he can call upon the 28-year-old to fill in at the back in the future.
“It was a wonderful strike from Stewart,” said Rodgers.
“It’s been difficult for him since he has been here. It was just something to help his confidence. The Kop recognise it was a wonderful goal at that end.
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“If you get that applause it means a lot. I hope that will do him well going forward. He has the qualities to play in that position.”
Sam Allardyce has admitted that his team have exceeded his expectations this season.
West Ham beat Southampton 4-1 at Upton Park on Saturday and Allardyce has been impressed with the start the Hammers have had.
“This is a fantastic start considering we have just been promoted… We’ve done the job better than I expected with 14 points from eight and we’re on two or three more points more than I had hoped,” he said.
The former Blackburn Rovers gaffer has made it clear that the Hammers will now concentrate on their away fixture at Wigan and getting two wins in a row.
“We focus on Wigan away now. Our last away game was against Queens Park Rangers, which was a terrific performance and a well-deserved victory. Can we now go and get our first back-to-back wins in the Premier League?
“When you’ve won a game, to go and try to win the next one is a massive ask and it makes a huge difference. That’s our aim. Wigan haven’t won at home so there might be a lack of confidence there, so if we can take advantage of that then we might do back-to-back wins,” he added.
However, he has warned that bigger tests are to come, “We don’t get too carried away because the fixtures have been very kind to us. The teams that we have played in our first games were very difficult but there’s only Arsenal in there that might be in the top four that we’ve played.”
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Mark Noble, Modibo Maiga and Kevin Nolan scored the Hammers’ goals in last weekend’s victory over Southampton.
Much has been made of Arsene Wenger’s tactical short-comings against Manchester United. Aaron Ramsey starting on the right wing, ahead of an under-utilised Theo Walcott, persistence with Olivier Giroud and the catastrophic decision to not drop Andre Santos against the league’s best collection of wingers.
While these are all valid points, there’s a much greater problem at Arsenal undermining their ambition – their wage structure. I also think there’s an argument no matter what team Wenger put on to the pitch they would have struggled due to the inferiority of Arsenal’s squad in comparison to the best three teams in the Premier League.
The Gunners spend a vast amount of their riches on wages but receive none of the reward for their spending with their top players often looking elsewhere to earn more and win more. The fault comes from the over-spending on mediocrity. Players like Nicklas Bendtner, Denilson and Johan Djourou whose first team importance have always minimal receive much higher weekly wages at Arsenal then they would at either Manchester club or Chelsea. Arsenal are always near the top of the wage bill table in the Premier League easily exceeding £100 million expenditure per year on their wages. Bit part players such as Marouane Chamakh, Bendtner and Sebastien Squilacci shouldn’t be earning over £50,000 per week.
If Arsenal didn’t blow such a high percentage of their wage budget on irrelevant players they’d be a lot closer Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United. If the weekend’s match is anything to go by they’d do well to finish within 20 points of England’s three premier teams in 2013. Prior to his move away from Arsenal in the summer, The Arsenal Truth, reported Carlos Vela was earning £50,000 a week at the club, which is madness, considering the Mexico international never established himself in the first team. I doubt any Arsenal fans would rather see the current egalitarian system than an alternative where players are paid according to ability and the club offer greater deals to marquee men such as Robin van Persie and Samir Nasri who criminally suffered due to the structure.
I’m not suggesting it’s as simplistic as offering squad players less lucrative contracts and doubling the money your best players receive. Chelsea outspend the Gunners on wages reportedly having a squad costing £191 million last year. United and City’s wage budgets are also supposedly higher, but not to the disparity currently seen between squads. Wenger must also take the blame for poor transfers, the lacklustre Andrey Arshavin remains one of the club’s highest earners and due to his £80,000 a week wages shifting him has proved problematic. The Frenchman’s misplaced trust in Giroud and Gervinho has also affected the team; seemingly the £20 million blown on their combined transfers could have been spent better.
Much like Arsenal’s transfer policy which has seen them slip from title contenders, to their current state, where now their 63-year-old boss considers finishing fourth to be a trophy in its own right, it will be hard to gauge whether it’s the club or manager’s policy until Wenger’s gone. Many believe that there’s money available to spend at the Emirates but in buying proven talent, instead of improving and developing a group, the club would be going against their current manager’s wishes.
If it is Wenger and not Stanley Kroenke or Ivan Gazidis who enforces this farcical wage structure then further questions must be asked about whether Wenger’s the right man for Arsenal. While he has endured bad luck and has changed the footballing philosophy at the club where he has had an overwhelming impact, if his presence is undermining one of the country’s biggest club’s ambitions then he must go.
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Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker believes he is adjusting to life in the Premier League following a difficult first season.
The German international arrived in North London during 2011 and has struggled acclimatise to the demands of English football.
He was widely criticised by fans of the club who openly questioned Arsene Wenger’s decision to sign him from Werder Bremen.
However, his performances have improved this season and Mertesacker puts this down to having adjusted to his new surroundings:
“I had a very difficult first season, with all the settling in and the new things at Arsenal, but now I feel much more confident with the situation.” He is quoted by ESPN.
“It is much more physical in England compared to the Bundesliga. You have to make up your mind when to make your tackles, about the way you cover your partner.
“The improvement for me has been so big after training for one year with Arsenal. This is why you can see the players who have come into Arsenal this year also need some time.”
He also believes that the Gunners’ 5-2 victory against Tottenham will restore a sense of confidence within the squad following some shaky results:
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“We had three consecutive clean sheets at the start of the season and managed the situation well as a team, but the international breaks did not help us,
“It meant we needed a great game to get our confidence back, and we had that on Saturday.”
Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere is set to sign a bumper deal with the club as they look to secure his long-term future, according to reports from the Daily Mail.
The Premier League giants are keen to prepare the 20-year-old for an eventual role as club captain and believe that handing him a pay rise will display their faith in the injury prone starlet.
Preliminary talks have already taken place and it’s thought that Wilshere will receive a substantial hike in his weekly wage of £50,000.
Lukas Podolski is the highest earner at the Emirates Stadium, pocketing £90,000-per-week, but the England international is unlikely to be on level terms with the attacker.
Despite having two-and-a-half years remaining on Wilshere’s current deal, the North Londoners are believed to be keen to get negotiations tied up to prevent any immediate interest from rival teams.
A long-term deal does present a risk for the club, with the youngster having suffered from a series of recurring injuries.
He has just returned from a 17-month absence thanks to knee and ankle problems and it’s unclear as to whether he will suffer a recurrence in the future.
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The playmaker is a product of the Arsenal academy, which has made him an instant hit with club’s loyal support.
Arsene Wenger made Cesc Fabregas captain at the age of just 21, which hints that Wilshere could be wearing the armband very soon.
When Mick McCarthy took over we all expected him to chop and change everything in order to get results, but in fact it seems like the opposite has happened.
The Ipswich boss has actually said that he would like to keep as many of the current players at the club as possible which in ways has been surprising.
After all, earlier in the season a vast majority of the players were putting in performances that would be considered poor even by League One standards. It is safe to say that most of the fans had given up on those players and were just hoping for a January overhaul, but McCarthy has other ideas.
He has made just a couple simple changes to the side and focused on getting the best out of the under-performers. Results have improved drastically and the relegation worries now seem like a thing of the past.
January will still be a very interesting month for Ipswich even without a huge overhaul though. There are still six or seven players on short-term deals and the club need to decide which ones they want to keep on permanently.
I expect that Ipswich will end up keeping around half of them and the other half will move elsewhere. The players that leave will probably be replaced by one or two quality signings but even then I won’t be expecting too much.
McCarthy has said that he will refrain from buying too many players in January because he believes that prices will be high due to a number of clubs being desperate to make changes. This is probably the smart option to take for a number of additional reasons.
First of all, the current team are getting good results lately so there is no real need to make big changes. The Tractor Boys are not winning every game but they are winning just as much as they are losing, which will be enough to keep them safe.
Secondly, with the financial fair play rules now in place it would be foolish to waste money for no real reason. Ipswich aren’t going up this season and as long as they don’t go down to League One it will be a successful season. I would much rather see McCarthy invest the money he has at his disposal on the right players in the summer, rather than waste it on January panic buys.
It is encouraging to see the former Wolves manager taking an approach that looks after the club in the short-term as well as the long-term.
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Of course it is frustrating to roll out the usual phrase of “it is all about next season” because I have heard everyone repeating that line for nearly ten years now. However that is all we can do as fans; just patiently see this season pass by and hope that the next brings us better things.
Personally I am hoping that McCarthy uses what is left of this season to give some younger players a go in the first team. As soon as we are completely safe from relegation then that should be the priority and hopefully we can develop the core of a decent side for next season.
Marseille are hoping to make Joey Barton’s loan move from QPR a permanent switch at the end of the season.
The midfielder moved to France over the summer after falling out of favour with the Premier League strugglers.
Barton has had a successful spell at the Stade Velodrome so far, settling into the first-team and making eight appearances.
Marseille are impressed with the 30-year-old and have stated their willingness to extend his spell at the club:
“We haven’t started the discussions yet with QPR but he’s a likeable lad and we want to keep him, although we have no guarantees.” The club’s sporting director Jose Anigo told Sky Sports.
“We have very good relations with QPR and extending the loan could be on the cards.
“He likes it in Marseille, he loves this city, which breathes football.”
Barton is seen as somewhat of a controversial figure in English football, with a series of off-field issues leading to a reputation as a troublemaker.
However, Anigo praised the former Manchester City man’s approach, and believes that a lot of the club’s other players could learn from him:
“He has a good attitude. He’s a good professional in his work and in his day-to-day commitment. A lot of French players should take their example from him.”
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Barton started his senior career with Manchester City before a series of incidents led to his eventual departure.
He joined Newcastle in 2007 and then switched to QPR four years later.
With Arsene Wenger amid his most unsuccessful season to date since taking the reins at Arsenal back in 1997, the French gaffers is expected to and has hinted at making a u-turn in the summer on his tight-fisted transfer policy and finally make some large fiscal investments during the next transfer window.
With the London club already eliminated from the domestic cup competitions, well away from the Premier League title race and up against the seemingly impossible task of overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the second leg of their Champions League clash away to Bayern Munich, their 2012/2013 campaign is already over, having just the pride and financial rewards of remaining in the top four left to play for.
The shoddy season at the Emirates has quite rightly bred discontent amongst the fans, who are dismayed by the club’s announcement of making annual profits, without any stand-out talent being brought into the squad or adequate replacements for the number of top quality players who have left to domestic and European rivals in recent years.
But just as the pressure had begun mounting on Wenger, with his position as manager becoming seriously endangered for the first time at Arsenal, he begins talking big when it comes to transfers. A few weeks ago, he openly discussed the possibility of signing Radamel Falcao – the most sought after striker in world football.
But something doesn’t quite add up. Would Wenger, a man who has constantly turned his nose up at the big money deals, launch a £48million bid to buy out the Columbian hitman’s contract? Furthermore – and even less likely – is the Frenchman ready to disrupt the club’s incredibly rigid wage structure to pay the striker’s estimated £40million in wages spread over five years? It seems unlikely, and from the other end of things, would Falcao be willing to join a club that is on the decline when he could sign for any team that are willing to pay his transfer fee?
Of course, he’s not the only striker on Wenger’s radar. Arsenal have been linked with a number of high quality forwards over the year, as the side struggle to fill the void left by Robin Van Persie, most notably Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and more recently Stevan Jovetic.
However anything further than a wink and a nudge speculating at a move is yet to materialise regarding the latter, and the Gunners missed their chance in January to sign the Dutchman, who has now decided to extend his contract at Schalke.
So with the knowledge that Wenger has an £80million transfer kitty at his disposal, Arsenal fans will surely be expecting some major transitions in the summer, but will he stick by his word or will it be another transfer window of relative disappointment for supporters screaming out for a marquee signing?
It wouldn’t be the first white lie that Arsene Wenger has dished out to the Arsenal faithful. The Gunners boss has a track record of promising bucking his trend in regards to transfers only to continue on his usual route of settling for a cheap alternative rather than the real deal. In January, he assured disgruntled fans he would be signing a forward, only to end the transfer window with a number of outgoings and only bringing in former Malaga defender Nacho Monreal.
Perhaps this time it’s different – Wenger’s back is well and truly up against the wall, and the fans will not put up with another season of mediocrity. Their ambition is to be challenging for the Premier League title, not aiming for a fourth place finish.
It’s clear the policies over the past few seasons in regards to transfers and contracts haven’t worked. Allowing player’s deals to run down to their final year has lead to impromptu departures, and the replacements brought in at mid range prices are simply not as good as the team’s former personnel. Over the course of a few seasons, the constant cycle of transfers has left the side depreciated in terms of value and quality.
To an outsider, it seems obvious that a big few signing is required to turn the club’s fortunes around, as Wenger currently possesses the makings of a good team, but is lacking in that true star quality needed to compete with the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea.
Whether Wenger shares that view or not is hard to tell. Like almost every top level manager in the world of football, he’s arrogant and egotistical and firmly believes in his sole vision of Arsenal’s future. I don’t wish to criticise; they’re all characteristics that come with the trade. However, the growing concern is that there’s no one at the club who can confront his views, or scrutinise for the sake of progress. In politics, it’s referred to as checks and balances, and it appears there are very few placed up Wenger largely because of his integral role in the Gunners’ past successes on and off the pitch.
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I won’t attempt to second-guess the man. He quite rightly has pointed out that in the past few years, transfer funds have been limited by the debt payments on the club’s new stadium. But now that he has no financial constraints, there is no reason the Wenger can’t compete with the rest of the Premier League’s elite when it comes to spending power.
I will point out however, that Wenger has always been relatively reluctant to change his ways, taking outside criticism as a misunderstanding of the facts rather than a valid argument. But one thing is for certain; if he is not relinquished of his duties at the end of the current season, which he most likely won’t be as he’s now discussing large transfer fees to appease the Arsenal fan base, the next campaign will be his last if it’s the case of another white lie to stop the discontent.
It’s not that a quality signing must dictate a large fee, although that appears to be the way the transfer market is constantly moving towards – especially in England – but it’s the large fees that prove the club’s ambition. More than anything, what the Arsenal fans most desire and miss from the glory days is simply the ambition.