Joe Hart and Daniel Sturridge have pulled out of England’s squad for Wednesday’s international friendly against Italy, the FA have confirmed.
The Three Lions face the side that eliminated them from Euro 2012 in Switzerland in midweek, but will be without two members of Roy Hodgson’s experimental squad and will not call up replacements.
Hart did not feature in Manchester City’s 3-2 triumph over Chelsea in the Community Shield on Sunday, and has withdrawn due to a back strain.
This means that either Jack Butland or John Ruddy will make their international debut against Cesare Prandelli’s men.
Sturridge has been competing for Team GB this summer in the Olympics, but has also been forced to miss the game due to a toe injury.
It is not known whether Hart and Sturridge will be fit for the new Premier League season that starts next weekend.
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Fulham are ready to battle Tottenham for the signature of Roma goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg, The Daily Mail state.
The Netherlands international moved to the Italian capital from Ajax last summer, but is said to have failed to settle at his new club.
As such, Stekelenburg has been linked with a move elsewhere, with Tottenham eager to bring him to White Hart Lane after being priced out of a move for Hugo Lloris.
However, Andre Villas-Boas’ men are set to be rivalled by Fulham, who are also set to launch a £6 million offer for the stopper.
Martin Jol hopes to bring his Dutch countryman to Craven Cottage, who would follow in the footsteps of former fans’ favourite and compatriot Edwin van der Sar .
By Gareth McKnight
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Alan Pardew has reaffirmed his belief that keeping Newcastle United’s current group of players was more important than majorly adding to the squad this summer.
Discontent has been growing in the Toon Army ranks as a lack of additions has some fans questioning whether Newcastle have the depth of squad to deal with the rigours of combining European football and Premier League fixtures.
There also fears the club has stagnated by failing to capitalise on last year’s fifth place finish, Pardew stated to The Journal: “We did most of our work in the transfer market last summer. That was the important period for this football club because it was either going to take us forwards our backwards.
“Fortunately we made the right selections and it took us forward and then we have secured them as well. You have to look at six month segments in this football world now. It goes from window to window and from now until January we are stable again.”
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Arsenal forward Lukas Podolski has admitted that he is considering getting a club emblem tattooed on his arm.
The Germany international has settled into life in north London well, scoring three goals in his first five games for Arsene Wenger’s men.
The forward has a tattoo of form club Cologne and is considering a Gunners’ crest to rival it.
“Maybe on this one – my left arm – in a few years,” he revealed to Mirror Football.
“Cologne meant so much to me because I was there a long time. Maybe I will do the same with Arsenal because I like this club.
“It is a big club and maybe we can do a tattoo. We can speak about this in the next three or four years.
“When I came on the first day to the club everyone made it easy for me. Not only the team around the team, the coaches, the physios, the president and all the staff make it easy for me. I feel happy at Arsenal. It is good for me.
“The team and Arsene Wenger make it easy on the pitch. Last week we played very well. This is the style of football that I like – we play with one or two touches.
“We play straight to the front and this is the style that I like. But we have only played four or five matches and we are not ready to speak about the title or the Champions League.
“We must carry on playing like the last few matches and we must keep on fighting.
“When you are playing up front you want to score goals and like to score goals. when you score goals you are very happy for yourself and for the team.
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“I don’t know about targets – we will see. We have only played four or five matches and I have three goals and I am very happy about the good start for me and for the team.
“We must keep fit and well – it is a long, long season and we don’t have a break in the winter like in Germany. So it is different for me, but I like to play football and be on the pitch,” he concluded.
Stuart Peace is confident that his side will show how much it means to play for England when they take on Serbia.
The U21 team are due to play a two-legged playoff against Serbia with a place in the European Championships at stake, the first leg commencing at Carrow Road.
If they succeed, it will be the first time any nation has qualified 4 times consecutively for this particular tournament. And the need to show passion and determination in order to create this history is certainly not lost upon the manager.
However, a lot of the build-up has been dominated by claims from Manchester City’s football development executive, Patrick Vieira, that young English Premier League players simply do not love playing for their national team.
These assertions have been rebuked by the former City boss who believes he has created a good atmosphere and camaraderie within the camp.
“I can’t give the staff around me enough credit for creating an environment that the players enjoy coming to and representing their country,” Pearce told the Daily Mail.
The England players themselves have certainly illustrated a desire to succeed winning 15 out of their last 23 competitive matches dating back to June 2009.
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There is an acute awareness that the home game will be crucial in overcoming a physical Serbian outfit, and players such as Liverpool’s young prospect Raheem Sterling will be expected to shine.
England U21s play Serbia tonight in an 18.00 BST kick off.
Kick It Out chairman Lord Ouseley has hit back at criticism of the organisation and blamed the FA for the continuation of racism in the English game.
A number of Premier League footballers including Rio Ferdinand refused to wear the company’s t-shirts as a front against racism in the weekend’s fixtures, with the players disenchanted with the organisation’s efforts.
Ouseley has stated that the FA are the governing body of the game and as such the players’ disillusionment should be aimed elsewhere.
“We don’t make the decisions, we don’t run football. We are a small charity trying to help football come to terms with the reality of the 21st century,” he is quoted as saying in The Guardian.
“We can shout from the rooftops and I can understand what the black players are saying: you are too involved in the game in the way you operate to be independent and say the things that have to be said.
“The power and decision-making is with the Football Association and the Premier League. We all would have liked the John Terry case to have been wrapped up within days last October, alas it’s lasted a whole year and it has caused a lot of pain and grief.
” They know what has to be done. We’ve been knocking on their door for a long, long, long time so they know what their responsibilities are. The absence of their voices during all this has been noticeable,” he concluded.
The English game has been blighted by acts of racism over the last two years.
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Theo Walcott continues to make a good case for himself to finally get a role through the centre of Arsenal’s attack. His well-taken goal for the Gunners away at West Ham was another impressive finish to add to the two goals against Coventry in the League Cup. But is it enough to warrant a starting role for Arsene Wenger’s side?
I’m yet to be convinced of Walcott as a leading striker for a top Premier League team. He may flourish into one in the near future, but I’m not seeing it now. Goals in the manner that he put them away are impressive, despite the opposition, but the best thing the player can do at the moment is keep his head down and continue on the same path.
The injury while on international duty will be a big blow, and it’s something we’ve seen in the past from Walcott. He’ll get himself set for a good run of scoring form only to be sidetracked by injury. It was a regular occurrence prior to last season and was arguably a big contribution to his slow development. However, even with the issue of a new contract needing to be ironed out before January, Arsene Wenger may not totally trust Walcott as his central figure in attack.
There’s no doubt that the player can come off the bench and make an impact. Champions League ties against AC Milan and Liverpool in the past are good evidence of that, but we’re not seeing the second half scoring performance against Tottenham in last season’s 5-2 win regularly enough. The first half in that game was typical Walcott. Poor first touch and no great contribution is how those first 45-minutes will be remembered. Even the recent loss to Chelsea in the league saw Walcott provide very little, and that was also from an appearance off the bench.
Quite plainly, there’s nothing about Theo’s game that suggests he’s ready for the responsibility of the team’s main striker. But I do believe he’ll become one in the future.
He’s had enough with the wide position in the right flank, and rightfully so. Walcott was never a winger, despite his pace, and he lacks the attributes of a traditional wide player to be effective. He also doesn’t have the aggression and drive that you’d like to see from a key attacking player. He seems too hesitant to take a defender on and use his pace, often dithering on the ball and eventually losing possession. However, that may just be another indication that he’s not good enough for a role in the build-up play.
This system that Arsenal want to deploy using differing attacking styles with Gervinho and Olivier Giroud may work in Walcott’s favour. What if he does start putting away all his chances from the bench? What if he doesn’t use just one or two examples and point to his readiness for a central role? A flurry of goals and consistently good performances will only leave the manager with thoughts about starting Walcott. It’s another option for Arsenal and another system that will only leave the opposition ill-prepared.
I’ve made the point in the past that Walcott can’t be used as the striker in games where the opposition defend deep and have no intention to attack. In games such as those, Walcott becomes close to useless. He doesn’t have the intelligence to get behind a packed defence, nor has he displayed an ability to hold the ball up for his team mates.
Part of the reason he’s been so good coming off the bench is because the opposition have been worn out. They’re in no state to deal with his pace in the 80th minute of a game, often allowing him to race past and advance on goal. It was the theme in which we saw him capitalise in Milan and at Anfield, and how much would West Ham’s defenders have had in the tank to deal with his attack in the recent win at Upton Park?
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It’s a learning process at the top level that Walcott never had. He’s never had a run in either the Arsenal or England teams as a striker, thus making the transition a potentially problematic one. The role he has been given of late—one which surely has a lot to do with the contract situation—is one that works for both him and the team. The rest of the Arsenal players are not slowed down by his inferior technical skill, but he’s still getting goals when he finds an opportunity.
If he decides to stay at Arsenal and listen to Wenger’s advice, this could be the season where Walcott establishes himself as a successful central player rather than a frustrating and frustrated winger.
Tottenham assistant manager Steffen Freund has insisted that his side are close to overtaking Arsenal and ending their spell of dominance over them in the Premier League, according to Talksport.
The North London rivals clash this weekend at The Emirates with Spurs currently holding a one point advantage, with both teams sitting in seventh and eighth respectively.
Andre Villas Boas took on Freund, a former Tottenham ace, as part of his backroom staff when he moved to the club this summer.
Freund soon realised that things had changed since his time at White Hart Lane, in particular the gap between his side and Arsenal.
Despite the respect for what the Gunners have achieved, the German believes that there is a real opportunity to take advantage of the drastically reduced gap between the sides and finish above their rivals:
“In my time Arsenal used to be involved in the title race every year and we finished ninth or 10th.
“That has changed now. We are really close to our biggest rival.
“It would be great to finish above Arsenal.
“It would be a great experience for me too because it has never happened for me in the past.
“I can’t wait for that game. It’s a special game.”
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The last few weeks have been fantastic for Leeds. We’ve seen new owners come onboard who instantly provided funds to recruit players that have made a real difference to the team, we’ve seen performances on the pitch improve in an impressive fashion, and we’ve seen the atmosphere finally return to Elland Road.
Unfortunately one thing we haven’t seen return, is the attendance.
Before the takeover was completed fans were understandably boycotting games to ensure that their money didn’t end up in Bates’ pocket, it made sense, even if it wasn’t agreed by everyone as the correct way to do things.
What doesn’t make sense is why, after the clubs ownership changed hands, the majority of fans that opted to boycott have failed to return. Throughout the entire takeover saga GFH were repeatedly told not to worry about falling attendances, as they would definitely pick up again once they became owners. How disappointed they must’ve been to look over a half empty stadium on their first game as owners against Crystal Palace.
I’ve heard a few excuses over the last few weeks – ‘I’m not coming back while Bates is still there’ being the main one.
I have to question this.
Bates is still Chairman for the time being, but he has sold his entire share of the club to GFH. He has zero power, zero say in anything and importantly, zero control. He is simply there to give GFH his advice on how to run things. That doesn’t even mean GFH have to take his advice, in fact I’d be surprised if him staying on ‘til the end of the season was anything other than a demand he made to ensure the takeover went through.
GFH own the club, any money you spend on tickets, programmes or merchandise goes to GFH and towards the rebuilding of the club.
If Bates being around on an advisory basis is enough to keep you from Elland Road then I’m sorry, but he’s beaten you.
Another excuse for staying away is ticket prices.
A quick check on the online ticketing system suggests that the Chelsea game is almost sold out. Tickets for this game are £24 each.
Not only that, but it’s for a cup game. It’s all good and well filling the stadium for Chelsea, but where are the other 20,000 fans on Saturdays while our team are scrapping for promotion?
The atmosphere at Elland Road lately has been amazing, those of us that have been there have given everything to the players and look how they’ve responded? Can you imagine the difference a 30,000 crowd would have on a game with all four stands bouncing?
The club is finally going places again, so forget Bates, It’s time to start supporting the team. Your team. They’ve shown more fight and desire over the last few games than any Leeds team in recent memory, not only that, but they’ve looked good.
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This season looks like it could still have a very happy ending, promotion back to the Premier League is a serious possibility and I personally couldn’t imagine missing it for the world.
Gareth Bale could return from injury in time for Tottenham’s Premier League clash with Stoke on Saturday.
The Welsh winger has been sidelined since the start of the month, after suffering a hamstring injury in the Londoners’ 3-0 win over Fulham.
It was suspected that Bale would be unable to return until the New Year, but Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas revealed that his star man is close to making a full recovery:
“It’s good news,” AVB responded when asked about the wideman’s progress by SkySports.
“First for the player because he wants to be back in the group and he’s made a tremendous recovery. He’s worked extremely hard.”
Centre-back Michael Dawson suffered a similar injury in the same game, and AVB confirmed that he is also in contention to make his comeback:
“Michael was injured in the same game as Gareth and they’ve both returned to training. It’s great to have them back.”
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The Portuguese coach went on to state that left-back Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Scott Parker are also nearing full fitness:
“Benoit Assou-Ekotto is also recovering his fitness, along with Scott Parker. Scott is a little ahead of Benoit, but he’s getting back into shape and back into contention.”