David Ngog is certainly a player who divides opinion on Merseyside. Some view the young Frenchman as a waste of space, while others believe that he has been hung out to dry at Liverpool and not been given the opportunity he deserves to enable him to find his feet at Anfield. I personally find myself somewhere in between, although I do believe that some of the criticism is a little harsh given that he is a young player and still learning his craft.
Unfortunately last season was a harsh one for all Liverpool supporters and it was easy to pinpoint scapegoats. With Torres out injured Ngog was expected to take on the goalscoring burden, which was a tough gig for the youngster and the expectation levels on him were a little high and in my view unwarranted given his inexperience. He did show some promise at times last season and it makes you wonder what Roy Hodgson should do with Ngog for next season.
There have been contrasting rumours in the media in the last two weeks with regards to his future and whether he has one at Anfield. It has been mooted that West Brom are keen to take him on a season long loan, while other reports suggest that Hodgson is putting him up for sale at £6m to raise funds to strengthen the squad. Some of the forums suggest that we should attempt to get as much as we can for him as he is deemed a lost cause; personally I would send Ngog out on loan for a season at least, to give us a better reflection as to whether he can cut it in the Premier League.
So what should Hodgson do with David Ngog? Does the Frenchman deserve one last chance at Anfield?
Click on image to see a gallery of the BEST BABES at the World Cup this summer
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Wolves boss Mick McCarthy admitted he was relieved to finally end the opening day jinx which had plagued his side for over a decade.
Saturday's 2-1 victory over Stoke City at Molineux was Wolves' first win on opening day since 1999.
David Jones gave McCarthy's side a 37th-minute lead when he volleyed home and Steven Fletcher, a summer signing from Burnley, bundled home the second two minutes later.
"I was told it's been 11 years since Wolves won on the opening day of the season," McCarthy told the club's official website.
"Well I can accept the four since I've been here but I wasn't going to take the blame for the seven before that.
"It was nice to break the hoodoo. I suppose it was about time!
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"It could have been more comfortable with the chances we had but we played well today.
"It didn't turn out to be a convincing win but it was a convincing performance I thought and overall it was a really pleasing first day of the season."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson has set a Sunday deadline to resolve the future of unsettled midfielder Javier Mascherano.
Mascherano is wanted by Barcelona and was left out of the squad for Thursday's Europa League play-off encounter with Trabzonspor in Turkey.
Reports claim the Reds are holding out for a £25million fee for the Argentina captain but that the Spanish club have offered just £12million.
"I am seriously hoping that in the next couple of days it will be sorted out one way or another," explained Hodgson.
"Although I have no idea which way that will be."
Hodgson has not ruled out selecting Mascherano for Sunday's Premier League encounter with West Bromwich Albion should Barcelona not match their valuation of a player signed for £18million three and a half years ago.
"I wouldn't want to say he has played his last game for Liverpool," he added.
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"The negotiations are ongoing between the two clubs and if he had played here (in the Europa League) it might have prejudiced the transfer and I didn't wish to do that to the player.
"Tomorrow night (Thursday) was out of the question but Sunday is very much a question because I think by then I should know one way or another whether he is going to play for Liverpool this season or Barcelona."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
This weekend’s biggest fixture is undoubtedly the clash between England’s traditional powerhouses Liverpool and Man United, both sides could do with the three points and the kudos to energise their seasons. The game obviously won’t write each side’s entire campaign as Sky would have many believe but a win for either team could kick start a good run of form.
United have gathered eights points from their first four matches which many in the press are portraying is a bit of a disaster. When you consider however that they have played Everton away and Fulham (which has recently became a tricky fixture for the club) it is a fair points total for Ferguson’s side.
The spotlight will again as in midweek be on Wayne Rooney who doesn’t seem to have entirely got back to last seasons form. He will be under constant pressure from both the press and fans alike and Rooney will have to don some thick skin and keep his head down or his ugly temper could surface like in times of old. Fortunately for Wayne it is a home match but with the volume of the Liverpool fans he will no doubt be subject to intense abuse throughout. If this wasn’t problem enough for Ferguson he also has the trouble of picking a side unable to call on one of their most consistent performers in Antonio Valencia who suffered a broken ankle mid-week. Park Ji Sung could be the man to fill in for him who despite lacking in the quality of his team mate will surely guarantee effort and persistence. Potential future captain Vidic will certainly be hoping for a better performance than he is used to against Liverpool and Rio Ferdinand may well start next to him to provide Manchester with their first choice centre half pairing. As well as this expect the usual from United with Evra starting at left back who along with Nani will hope to give Liverpool’s right flank a hard time. Van Der Sar will definitely return to the starting eleven after sitting on the bench for Kuszczak against Rangers and will be expected to provide an assured performance in goal. Scholes will be hoping to continue his early season form and produce the magic United fans have came to expect from him even in his Autumn years and Berbatov too will be expected to continue with what has so far been a fair impressive begriming to the season. Also expect Ferguson to again start with permanent central midfielder Darren Fletcher who will be called upon to give a typically gutsy performance over the full ninety minutes for the team. As far as other positions go it will probably be O’Shea at right back and it can safely be said that Ryan Giggs will feature at some stage in the game if not as a starter.
Like Ferguson, Roy Hodgson too has some problems to deal with. Collecting 5 points from his first four games isn’t quite as disastrous as it looks when you remember that Liverpool’s first two games against Arsenal and Manchester City were far from easy. Liverpool are the only side to have taken points off the Gunners this season and they certainly wont be the first side this year to visit Eastlands and suffer defeat, similarly St. Andrews is a hard place to go and despite a disappointing performance from Liverpool a point away to Birmingham is still well earned. The big concern so far for supporters isn’t strictly the points total but the performances that have gone alongside, with the exception of the performance against Arsenal the Reds have looked very pedestrian so far this season and fans will be hoping a good performance against one of their rivals could help rectify this.
It is hard to see where Roy will go with his formation as things sadly haven’t gone to plan for him just yet. Against Arsenal he was restricted to ten men having had Joe Cole sent off, Mascherano going missing against City to a point forced his hand and in the end he plumped for a 442. The last two games has seen Hodgson line up with a very Benitez-esque formation with two holding midfielders, two wide men and Steven Gerrard playing just off Fernando Torres. One would then expect that Hodgson’s preferred formation is the one that lined up against Arsenal. Instead of two deeper holding midfielders he may choose to go for one alongside Steven Gerrard who would be expected to get forward more than either Lucas or Poulsen. Joe Cole’s return will be welcomed and he will hopefully provide a little more class and guile in the final third, possibly slotting straight back into the side just behind Fernando Torres. The two wide positions will probably be occupied by Jovanovic and Rodriguez as they were against Birmingham and fans will be hoping they get involved a lot more than they did in that game.
This however is just speculation, Hodgson could again for two holding midfielders allowing Gerrard to link up with Torres, and forcing Joe Cole into a wider position at the expense of either Maxi Rodriguez or Jovanovic. The defence will surely be the same four that lined up against Birmingham assuming that Konchesky is definitely fit. Fans will be hoping for a more assured performance from the back four in this game, especially from Martin Skrtel who against Birmingham looked weak in the air on a few occasions. With many Liverpool supporters gunning for Daniel Agger to be the regular centre half alongside Jamie Carragher it may soon become a reality. In regards to substitutions there may well be cameos from Raul Meireles and Ryan Babel and for some fans an appearance from Dani Pacheco would be very well received.
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Some of the other news surrounding the game is that Howard Webb will make his premiership return after his summer break following a less than spectacular World Cup final appearance. Given the way many fans perceive him to have a preference for a certain team from Manchester the spotlight will as usual be on him and any mistakes will be heavily scrutinised. If I had to make a prediction, it may be because I am a fan but I would have to say a 1 – 0 win courtesy of Fernando Torres. The favoured score line amongst the bookmakers is 1 – 0 to United and it would be fair to say that many would agree with this prediction, United are definitely favourites for this game with the bookies and your average football fan but I am backing on Torres to find some form with the occasion of the game in which case Liverpool would be impossible to rule out.
Federico Macheda's agent has played down talk linking the Manchester United teenager with a move to Juventus.
The 19-year-old striker joined United from Lazio in 2008 and has gone on to score three times in 20 appearances for Sir Alex Ferguson's side.
Macheda has been linked with a return to his homeland recently, but his representative, Giovanni Bia, was quoted on calciomercato.it as saying:"Interest from Juventus? These rumours are pleasant, but I do not think Macheda is for sale.
"This is not the time to talk about the market. Federico is only thinking about the Under 21s and Manchester United.
"He plays in a great team and he would think two thousand times before leaving, even if the club ever thought about selling him.
"Sir Alex Ferguson always speaks well about him and declares him non-transferable.
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"It is normal that clubs take an interest in him also because he is very young. But he is happy in Manchester."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
In light of the big debate as to whether Fulham’s new away kit is one of the worse the Premier League has ever seen, I have taken the time out to assess the worst Liverpool kits of our time.
There’s something unsettling about a multi-national sports manufacturer managing to botch the simple task of designing a football shirt. However, whilst Liverpool have had some decent kits over the years, some of the shirts Liverpool fans have been cursed with would have been more at home in an avant-garde fashion show for Vivienne Westwood. However, we haven’t got all day, and so here are arguably the top five worst Liverpool shirts…
5. 1981-82 3rd strip, Umbro
Perhaps this pinstriped number has a sense of wistfulness about it for some Liverpool fans. They did, after all, win Division 1 and the League Cup the season this shirt was worn. Further, the legendary Bill Shankly tragically died of a heart attack at the age of 67 at the start of the 1981/82 season.
However, nostalgia aside, this shirt looks more like a school PE kit than a professional football team’s jersey. The shimmering, shiney material looks cheap, and that shade of yellow is wrong on many levels. Shame on you Umbro.
4. 1987/88 away strip, Adidas
This was the first ever grey Liverpool away shirt, and so is responsible for all it’s equally grey ugly siblings that that came along later.
If this kit were a child at school, it would definitely have been picked on profusely, and it would only have itself to blame. When has grey been part of Liverpool colours? When has a murky grey ever been part of the Reds tradition? Historically, Liverpool played in white shirts and black shorts away from home. However, in 1987/88 all hell broke loose and Adidas went with a grey abomination.
However, Liverpool did win their penultimate championship with this as their away kit, and last season they came close to winning the league again for the first time in 19 years with another grey shirt…perhaps they’re lucky?
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3. 1991/92 home strip, Adidas
Is this a Liverpool shirt, or an Adidas t-shirt? It looks like something even a Mancunian might have mistakenly picked out to wear at an early 90s rave. Seriously Adidas, we get it, your logo is three stripes, but where’s the Liverpool in this red eyesore?
Liverpool fans might still harbour fond memories of this kit however, as they lifted the FA Cup in 1992 wearing this shirt, with Ian Rush and Michael Thomas getting the goals in a 2-0 win over Sunderland. However, with Graeme Souness at the helm, Liverpool were a club in decline, finishing sixth in the league that season.
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2. 1996/97 away strip, Reebok
All hail Reebok’s first stab at a Liverpool away kit. The result: beige.
Beige? Why beige? Did Reebok think that there was some sort of intrinsic link between Liverpool and the colour beige? They must have, because they couldn’t have looked at the shirt and thought ‘that looks nice. Yes, we’ll go with the beige’.
It looks like the neutral colour people paint their bedrooms on those annoying property daytime TV shows, of which I am unfortunately all-too familiar. Liverpool need a bold colour, something representative of their proud histroy. Liverpool, under the management of Roy Evans, couldn’t even manage a League Cup or FA Cup in this kit, and I’m not surprised.
1. 1994-1996 3rd strip, Adidas
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Here we are then, ladies and gentleman. Possibly, the worst kit Liverpool have ever had. Personally, I class this kit as orange. Maybe it is yellow, but for me, it’s at least bordering orange and so the damage is done.
It’s difficult to make out the black outline of the Liverpool badge here, to the extent that it could be just another old orange t-shirt left, on the shelf.
It’s actually such an ugly colour, it leaves you yearning for the grey number, or even one of those various green fashion disasters.
Well, those were the days, and these are the kits. Apologies to those who bought and wore these shirts, we’ve all been there. Let’s just hope that next season, Adidas don’t pull out another orange number…
1. Just when you think you’re out..They pull you back in. – Driving reflectively away from Wembley (if you can drive reflectively) listening to Alan Green masterfully squeeze in another shot at David Beckham whilst debating a completely unrelated point about Montenegrin weather cycles, the overwhelming feeling of “here we go again” stuck prominently in our collective minds. Oh England. England England England. What are we going to do with you ey? What had seemed like a semi-exciting semi-revival a few months ago – with impressive victories against Bulgaria and most notably Spanish conquerors Switzerland – transpired to be merely a blip in the otherwise steady dribble of mediocrity that is the England national football team.
2. The Vanishing – It had all started fairly ominously for team England, with little or no traffic hold ups anywhere up the A406. And as sure as night follows day, thunder follows lightening and Danielle Lloyd follows the Tottenham team bus, the third successive low Wembley attendance followed this North Circular exodus. A healthy sounding Old Trafford like 73,000 witnessed this moribund spectacle and whilst that doesn’t sound too bad out of context, the fact that the most heavily supported country in world football, a country who can muster forces up to 100,000 to travel mostly ticketless to other parts of the globe biennially, and who have sold out their national stadium’s 90,000 capacity allocation for games against such titans as Andorra and Macedonia, can leave over 16,000 seats empty for three consecutive games, only two of which surpassed the attendance for the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Final, and even then only barely, is a sad one. Stock in England is down, way down after South Africa, and nights like this aren’t doing much to help.
3. Embarrassing Bodies – After entering the fray to what sounded like the theme from Big Brother, the teams lined up for the national anthems with Montenegro facing away from the Royal box, cameras et all and towards their own fans. This was presumably some stirringly patriotic gesture but could just as easily have been seen as a deep embarrassment at being seen standing anywhere near the England team. And who would blame them really?
4. Back, and to the left. Back, and to the left – Once Steven Gerrard had done playing quarter back for 10 minutes and realized he probably would have to do some running in this one, England settled in to a hypnotically repetitive rhythm which consisted mostly of Gareth Barry losing the ball, Gerrard winning it back again before hitting a hopeful long ball out to Johnson and/or Young, who were then expected to do practically everything penetrative on their own whilst Wayne Rooney complained about something somewhere on the pitch 20 yards behind where he should’ve been. Peter Crouch missed his customary easy header because he’s rubbish at heading the ball despite being the size of a tree, and the half ended to the now mandatory chorus of boos and crocodile shoe steps as the Club Wembley brigade hurried back inside to see if their complimentary cheese platters had arrived yet.
5. Always look on the…. – In the second half things perked up a bit and were it not for the alarmingly continuous poor form of Wayne Rooney combined with the impressive panther like reflexes of the Montenegrin keeper, England could have been relatively comfortable by the end. For all the miserableness, we did at least create chances, unlike say, against Algeria, where we were so inept a bird could sit quite happily on the opposition netting without so much as a hint of disturbance. And hey, we held the group leaders. Result!
Continued on Page TWO
6. Degrees of Kevin’s Bacon – After 20 minutes of realizing the tactic of having someone tall up front wasn’t working, Fabio decided to switch things up by replacing him with a bruising if ineffectual center forward to foul people then complain about it but offer little else, presumably forgetting – as everyone else had – that Wayne Rooney was already on the pitch.
7. In out, in out shake it all about – I’m not entirely sure what Shaun Wright Phillips keeps doing to earn his caps, but his introduction did at least inspire a brief injection of urgency, and the opportunity for the Montenegrin right back to add some variety to his game by fouling someone else for a while. Why he needed to come on on the left however, whilst the left footed Adam Johnson was busying himself fervently on the right, unpredictably cutting inside as often as he could, I’ve no idea. But then I’ve no idea how Barry stayed on the pitch either. Or how we got to this point in the first place. Can someone wake me up when it’s over please?
8. Hooof, there it is! – And so as the game petered out uninspiringly, England resorted to that good old tried and tested method of kicking it long up to the big man, forgetting of course that the big man had already been taken off. It was depressing. More so than the rather sad and predictable booing that now accompanies any sub standard performance or unlikable Chelsea player (or Chelsea player, as they’re more commonly known) these days. This is all we have isn’t it? This is us? Despite all the money, all the fame, all the world wide adulation and million pound contracts this is still all we have in our locker when confronted with stubborn opposition. Whack it up field innit John. Hooof! Just like Spain did when confronted with line of upon line of heavy-handed Dutch opposition for 115 minutes. Oh wait no, that’s not what happened is it?
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9. Who are ya?. – Credit must of course go to Montenegro. They came with a game plan and carried it out. They’re not top of the group for nothing. They were a bit cynical at times but then they have 56 million fewer people than us. Bettering us would’ve been shatteringly embarrassing. They held their shape and almost nicked it at the end with a terrifying dipping volley. Their fans also did their very best to rival our own Geordies in shirtless shouting, and made an impressive amount of noise for their numbers. Especially since most of them probably had to get back pretty early to make sure all the shops were open.
10. On Englands green and pleasant pitch – On a final, rather wistful and unrelated note, I think it’s about time we replaced our national anthem. Unbeknownst to many in fact, it isn’t even our national anthem. It’s the anthem of Britain, and one Scotland, Ireland and Wales can (but obviously choose not to) sing. Instead they have their own individual separate nation anthems to add to this unneeded Great British one. We are the only ones who don’t. And since we’ve started singing Jerusalem in this months Commonwealth games (a far superior song in both words and melody, if equally packed with bizarre religious rhetoric) it’s about time we stop this cringe worthy paean to monarchy, empire and slavery and adopt something a little more resonant and relevant in modern England. May I suggest It’s Chico Time perhaps?
You can follow Oscar on Twitter here; http://twitter.com/oscarpyejeary Where you can help him debate the relative qualities of Jaffa Cakes, Eggs and Crack. Which is better?
Arsenal have not scaled the heights this week- they struggled to see off a resolute Hammers side last weekend, and slipped to their first Champions League defeat of the season on Wednesday night, as a number of young players tasted Champions League football for the first time.
In the blogging world this week; Arsene Wenger has a potential problem on his hands as one of his young prospects has begun firing from the hip. There are also discussions of Wenger’s long-term future as well as an analysis of why football needs the Frenchman’s managerial approach to succeed.
We also have a look at Arsenal’s best stories on the web.
Featured Articles
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Should Arsenal really bow to this upstarts ultimatum?
Why Football needs Arsene Wenger to succeed
The Spanish solution to Arsenal and Manchester United’s pending problem
Walcott and Bale finally fulfilling the hype
The strike duo to fire Arsenal to success?
Who provides the engine in the ‘Ultimate Premier League XI’?
A Chance for Clubs to Take the Power Back
8 games that could define Arsenal’s season
Has Jack Wilshere highlighted a flaw in Wenger’s policy?
The Van Persie Poser
Transfer Madness: I’ll have 1 defender and 2 midfielders please
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Click here to see the Best ARSENAL BLOGS around the Web this week
Best of the Web
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Rooney’s running atmosphere at Arsenal stadium– Online Gooner
Diaby isn’t the player he was, so why play him then? – Le Grove
Glad Fab stayed, or still think we should have sold him? – Highbury House
Arsene’s privacy, contracts and van Persie – A Cultured Left Foot
Remember, remember the whole month of November – Online Gooner
Ian Holloway will not allow transfer rumours and contract negotiations to distract his Blackpool players.
Holloway is keen to focus on the task in hand – securing Premier League survival – and the Seasiders boss is keen to keep his players performing despite transfer speculation surrounding his big names.
David Vaughan, Charlie Adam, Luke Varney and Matt Gilks are among the names at Bloomfield Road whose futures have come under the spotlight in recent weeks but Holloway is keen to ensure the speculation does not detract from Blackpool's efforts on the pitch.
He told the Blackpool Gazette: "Whether it be lads who are yet to agree new contracts or someone being linked with Charlie (Adam), staying in the Premier League is more important than anything. Nothing will get in the way of it."
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Blackpool have been the surprise package in the Premier League this season as they currently sit in 13th place despite being tipped for the drop at the start of the campaign.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Having blown their attempts to go top of the league ladder for the first time since 1929, Manchester City’s response to their recent struggles when they visit St James Park, on Boxing Day, will be vital in determining if their talk of a title challenge is just bravado.
Alan Pardew returns to the scene of his excellent opening win as Newcastle boss, fresh from assuring fans over the futures of a number of the Toon’s key assets.
This fixture is given extra spice on several levels. City old boy, Joey Barton, will be out to make a point or two against his former employers, and Carlos Tevez will be desperate to win over City fans outraged by his bizarre proclamations about his future at the club.
For Newcastle, reliable stalwart Steve Harper, may make a return between the sticks, and whilst his presence would shore up an improving back line, the Newcastle puzzle is one I expect Roberto Mancini to be able to solve without too many problems.