are hoping to bring Valencia’s Jonas to the Premier League in the January transfer window, according to TalkSport.
The 28-year-old attacking midfielder has been Valencia’s stand-out player in La Liga so far this season, despite Los Che only winning two from their opening seven league games.
Andre Villas-Boas is believed to be in the market for an attacking midfielder to replace the departed Luka Modric and the Tottenham manager’s close relationship with Valencia sporting director Braulio Vazquez could help him secure the Brazilian star’s signature.
Jonas has three goals and two assists already this season and netted 19 times in all competitions last year. The midfielder currently has six caps and two goals for Brazil and he recently scored both goals in Valencia’s 2-0 victory over Lille in the Champions League.
The midfield ace, who arrived at the Mestalla in a €1.2 million move from Campeonato Brasileiro side Gremio in January 2011, is reported to be happy at Valencia but may be tempted to a move away if the club’s league position doesn’t improve before January.
It will be the second time Villas-Boas has approached Valencia over the possible signing of one of their top players, with striker Roberto Soldado claiming he turned down an offer to join the North London club in the summer transfer window.
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Meanwhile, Spurs have been boosted by reports that defender Benoit Assou-Ekotto is set to return to training this week after it emerged his knee injury, which has left him sidelined for six weeks, does not require surgery.
The Nottingham Forest back five was subject to much change over the summer. Despite not being at the forefront of the headlines, the only area of the side that can claim to have gelled the most, is the defence.
In the three games before the last international break, Forest had conceded seven goals. Heading into this one, only a single goal has been let in over the past three matches, and it should be noted that this goal was scored by Derby, minutes after The Reds had been reduced to ten men.
When Luke Chambers departed for Ipswich Town in the summer, Nottingham could be felt erupting with delight, amidst the takeover saga. Chambers had to be replaced, along with Joel Lynch, who left for Huddersfield Town.
Greg Halford, Daniel Ayala, Danny Collins, Dan Harding and Sam Hutchinson were all brought in. No headline makers.
Like with players from every other position, they had to gel, but they had an added problem. This problem was goalkeeper Lee Camp.
In previous years, Lee Camp has been a fans favourite. Making himself available for Northern Ireland and airing his unhappiness at certain figures at Forest who refused him the opportunity of talking to Swansea City. These two factors saw his confidence take a dramatic slump, meaning the arrogance and distinctive, chest-out walk were nowhere to be seen.
On his day, Lee Camp is the best goalkeeper in the division. But for his day to come again, he needed a capable back four in front of him, which he now has.
In the last three games, the old Lee Camp has returned. His brilliant distribution, his admirable command of the area, and the unrivalled presence he once had, is now back. Those who were worried early in the season after a few dodgy moments, needn’t worried.
Camp needs confidence in others, before he can be confident within himself. Now, with a formidable looking defence in front of him, he can start believing he’s invincible again, which can only be a positive.
The back four themselves, haven’t totally convinced some.
In the last two matches, Forest have faced an expensive Blackburn side, and a Peterborough side who despite their difficult start to the season, are still known to be high-scoring, and took quick 2-0 leads against Barnsley and Hull in recent games.
For the second time this season, Forest made Jordan Rhodes look like a a striker worth £8, and on the whole, looked comfortable against a Blackburn team who had previously scored in every league game.
Peterborough rarely threatened Forest, but when they did, it was calmly dealt with by the defence.
Left-back Dan Harding has received his fair share of critics, quite unfairly. Andy Reid is often prone to drifting in from the left side, leaving yards of space on the opposition right wing unoccupied. When Forest have lost possession, Harding has found himself faced with two players springing on him with pace, as Reid struggles to track back.
Daniel Ayala, another individual who has his critics. The more games he’s playing, the better he is becoming, and the progression of his partnership with Danny Collins is evident.
As Blackburn and Peterborough plugged away at the Forest defence in spells, the organisation was clear to see. For the first time in a long time, Forest looked as if they weren’t going to concede. An extra willingness from the eleven on the field to block every shot, to challenge for every ball.
An enthusiasm to defend, something that was lost for large parts of last season. The feeling that whatever Blackburn or Peterborough were going to throw, Forest had the tools equipped to handle the storm.
All of this without Sam Hutchinson, the man Jose Mourinho once predicted would be the next John Terry.
The telling sign that Forest are much improved in defence?
As the full time whistle blew at London Road, and every player walked towards the 3,300 travelling supporters to show their appreciation.
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One man trailed behind. Lee Camp, with his famous, passionate celebration. This time, there was meaning behind it. The look on his face, was one of a man who is up for the battle for promotion.
Andy Reid grabbed the headlines, but Lee Camp and his defence will go into the break equally as delighted, as they’ve made Nottingham Forest a difficult team to beat.
A trait that is always needed, if you’re going to be up there.
With ticket prices rising, the regular punter being forced out of the stands and into the nearest pub and with chief executives arguing that football is little more than an ‘entertainment’ business now, the level of detachment, bordering on disillusionment that most supports feel is entirely understandable; the sport is no longer a game of the masses, rather an elitist cash cow that increasingly treats fans as customers, so holding on to a shred of folklore, a relic from a bygone era when times were simpler represents a tangible and attractive connection for most between the pitch and the terraces, found none more so than in the cult hero, but what ingredients go in to making one?
At the weekend, Newcastle held on to draw with Sunderland 1-1 despite going down to ten men in the first half after Cheikh Tiote’s red card, but the main incident that caught the attention prior to kick-off was that Shola Ameobi, otherwise referred to as the ‘Mackem slayer’ for his derby goals record, was handed his first start of the season.
Now there’s no denying Ameobi’s status as a cult hero on Tyneside, but he perfectly encapsulates the main factors – he’s a bit rubbish, he occasionally has moments of sublime quality, he tries really hard, he seems to genuinely care about the club he plays for, he’s loyal and most importantly of all, he seems to genuinely dislike his club’s rivals and more often than not raises his game against them to make a telling contribution. I support neither Sunderland nor Newcastle, but I quite like Ameobi, he seems like a passionate, thoroughly likeable footballer, which is rarer than you might think these days.
Cult heroess are never the best players in your side and they should always have at least one massive weakness which you love them for having all the same. For Duncan Ferguson, it was his infamous temper, which combined to numerous hilarious anecdotes off the pitch and his seemingly unlimited hatred of certain footballers on it made him a loveable character in a game increasingly short of them
How a player acts off the pitch usually has an effect on how view them as a player, despite our best intentions to judge them objectively. Jimmy Bullard was widely liked not because he was a tidy player with sound technique, but because it looked like he was having such a great time when he was playing and his enjoyment was infectious; there was nothing cynical about him, just the dawning realisation that he was living every fans dream.
There’s a different route to the status of cult hero, though, and that could often mean hitting a last-minute winner in a game of importance. I wouldn’t quite classify Sergio Aguero here simply because he’s a world-class footballer in his own right and there’s very little of the cult about him, but Jimmy Glass, Gary Mabbutt, Gary McAllister and Paul Dickov certainly fall into this category.
Another important factor is the one man club status, born out of loyalty to the shirt, but the temptation with this one is that if often gets muddled up with the status of ‘legend’. Steven Gerrard, Ryan Giggs and John Terry for example, are not cult heroes, but Matt Le Tissier, Sammy Lee and Tony Hibbert most certainly are, which in itself represents the various contradictions with trying to quantify something like this and there are several grey areas which leave themselves open to interpretation and personal preferences.I happen to have a weakness for Pablo Zabaleta, even though he doesn’t play for the club that I support.
For instance, Roma’s Daniele De Rossi is a world-class player, similarly to Aguero, but I’d classify him as a cult hero simply because he’s turned down the lures of Manchester City’s millions in the summer to stay put at the club he loves, which is exactly why aside from his penchant for scoring outlandishly brilliant goals, Le Tissier is still widely held in such high esteem by neutrals.
The sense of ‘what might have been’ can also play an important part – unfulfilled talents are almost always referred to as cult heroes. George Best, Paul McGrath and Ledley King were all hampered by injury to such an extent that they never made the most of their outstanding ability, but at the same time, there’s something appealing about a limited player making the most of himself and doing well, like Shaun Goater or Dennis Irwin.
Coming from a foreign country can often aid your cult status among the fans too, offering something a little out of the norm and during the mid-90s, the top flight was awash with flawed but creative geniuses such as Juninho, Georgi Kinkladze and Eyal Berkovic – the sort of players you’d pay good money to watch simply due to their ability to do the unexpected. They provided thrills not normally seen at these provincial clubs and they brought a previously unforeseen glamour to proceedings and a hope that there is something better out there.
There is not one clear path to the status of cult hero and it’s this malleable definition which lends itself to them being so highly regarded by supporters, often disproportionately so when compared to their ability. Whether it be through blind loyalty, genuine likeability or commitment to the cause, one thing is for certain, though, they are a dying breed within a game becoming increasingly aloof, introspective and self-serving and we could do with a whole lot more cult heroes to worship in the not too distant future.
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What one quality above all else would you say is most important for a cult hero to have?
Markus Babbel secures a vital win as Schalke are hassled by die Hoffe…
Hoffenheim’s season so far has been eventful to say the least. On the pitch, there’s been plenty of entertainment with the matches involving die Hoffe averaging just under four goals per game – the Bundesliga’s highest. That’s impressive when you consider they’ve even had a goalless draw against Augsburg, though that was one of the more sombre moments of the season.
It came just a day after Hoffenheim midfielder Boris Vukcevic was nearly killed in a car crash. Thankfully, he’s no longer in a critical condition and is now recovering out of hospital. Vukcevic’s team hadn’t won in his absence but they didn’t get off to the best of starts with him either, picking up six points in five games. Going into this weekend’s game against an in-form Schalke, Markus Babbel’s side were lurking just outside the relegation zone.
At the beginning of this season, Babbel was both the coach and the director of football. However, as results caved in, Andreas Müller arrived to allow him to focus on coaching the team. The pressure hasn’t relented. Babbel made fourteen signings in the summer and with results not picking up, rumours have circulated that he was close to losing his job. A win in the Bundesliga was imperative. Somehow it arrived on a weekend when Hoffenheim faced one of the division’s best teams.
In true Hoffenheim style, it was a most crazy victory, encapsulating the bizarre nature of their season. That comes in itself by having Tim Wiese in goal. The German goalkeeper is one of the Bundesliga’s more eccentric characters but he’s been a figure of ridicule this season after some of his performances. Wiese though was able to answer some of his critics on Saturday.
But for a goalkeeper to do this, he needs to be tested a fair amount. Schalke’s dominance at the Rhein-Neckar Arena provided this opportunity as Wiese made some crucial saves. Even so, Hoffenheim weren’t faultless defensively. Then again, what would you expect from the worst defence in the Bundesliga?Twice the home team went ahead. Twice they were pegged back by Schalke. In their previous home game against Fürth, they managed to do this “trick” three times. Saturday was to prove different.
With the game just about to enter stoppage time the seemingly luckless Babbel made one last roll of the dice by bringing on striker Sven Schipplock. Minutes later, he was celebrating an unlikely win. Schipplock combined with another substitute, Vincenzo Grifo, to send the ball past Lars Unnerstall and lifting Hoffenheim away from the relegation zone.
It might not be long until they’re back near it. After all, this was their first victory since September. Hoffenheim are having to work hard for their wins this season too. On the three occasions they have won in the Bundesliga, they’ve scored three. Already they’ve netted three in two other instances and not emerged victorious – there’s still plenty of work to do for Coach Markus Babbel.
He talked of Saturday providing another exciting game but what he could really do with is his side grinding out a few more results and gaining some consistency. Neutrals will be hoping otherwise as Hoffenheim are proving to be one of the Bundesliga’s most entertaining teams this season.
Elsewhere in the Bundesliga
There was increased attention on Bayern Munich this weekend – what would happen after their first league defeat of the season? Well, a win of course. They beat Hamburg 3-0 as their challengers slipped up. With Schalke beaten in Hoffenheim, Borussia Dortmund failed to close the gap on either Bayern or their rivals. The Champions were held at home by an ever improving Stuttgart. Armin Veh’s Eintracht Frankfurt had to settle for a point too against a fellow promoted side, with Greuther Fürth drawing at the Commerzbank Arena. No need though to get the Veh-olin’s out just yet… For some, it was a case of getting back on track this weekend. Nuremberg won for the first time in six games beating Wolfsburg in Franconia. Hannover on the other hand recovered from their first home defeat in over a year by defeating Augsburg. For Borussia Mönchengladbach though, it was disappointment after last weekend’s heroics in Hannover. The Foals slipped to a 1-1 draw against a Freiburg side progressing well under Christian Streich. And finally, Sunday proved to be another entertaining day in the Bundesliga. Leverkusen and Düsseldorf played out a five goal thriller with Bayer coming out on top. Werder were the day’s other winners despite Mainz’s Adam Szalai becoming the joint top goal scorer in the division. For more on the Bundesliga, follow @archiert1 on Twitter
Matchday 10 Results:
Eintracht Frankfurt 1-1 Fürth
Borussia Dortmund 0-0 Stuttgart
Gladbach 1-1 Freiburg
Hannover 2-0 Augsburg
Hoffenheim 3-2 Schalke
Nuremberg 1-0 Wolfsburg
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Newcastle target Moussa Sissoko has admitted that he is flattered by rumours of interest in his signature.
The Toulouse midfielder has been heavily linked with a switch to the Premier League side, as well as the likes of Anzhi Makhachkala and Juventus.
When asked about his future, the 23-year-old refused to rule out a switch away from Ligue 1, stating that he is happy to be the subject of interest:
“I have not yet decided what to do, I’m in a phase of reflection.” He told calciomercato.com.
“Juventus, Newcastle and Anzhi interested in me? I know nothing about it.
“Of course all these rumours please me, but that is the business of my agent, my uncle Bakary Sanogo.
“I have no preference about the type of league, the important thing for me is to play at a high level.
“Italy and England are historically among the major championships, but I want to clarify that I would not have any problem even to go to play in Russia.”
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The French international has made over 150 appearances for his current club since breaking into the first-team set-up during 2007.
The holding midfielder has been on the radar of many of Europe’s top clubs for some time, with the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool having been linked with moves on numerous occasions.
West Ham United’s Guy Demel has called time on his eight-year international career with Cote d’Ivoire in order to concentrate on his club’s current Premier League campaign.
Originally a French citizen, Demel acquired his Ivorian passport in 2004 and went onto make 35 appearances for Les Elephants, featuring in both the 2006 and 2010 World Cup.
Having missed a considerably large part of the Hammers’ promotion campaign through injury, news of Demel’s international retirement comes as a firm statement of commitment to the club’s current Premier League campaign.
“I have decided to quit international football and it was not an easy decision for me,” said Demel.
“Last season I was injured a lot and I want to prepare and make sure I perform for West Ham in the Premier League,” the right-back continued.
Demel, 31, feels that age was a factor in his decision, noting that “it is right to quit,” allowing him to concentrate on progressing with West Ham without any extra national team duties to fulfil.
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“I have enjoyed playing for my country and going to the 2006 and 2010 World Cup [with] my country means a great deal to me.”
The defender later expressed his hope for the continued success of the national team, wishing that “they do well at the Africa Cup of Nations.”
So Saturday was yet another day when a footballer was accused of diving.
Santi Cazorla was the subject of a diving claim on Saturday, after giving the impression he had been caught by West Brom’s Steven Reid, which led to Arsenal being awarded a penalty by referee Mike Jones.
It feels like diving is like a disease spreading over English football, it seems diving is becoming a common occurrence, whether it is Luis Suárez, Gareth Bale, Ashley Young or some other player who appears to have tried to be opportunistic.
So with it seeming that accusations of diving are increasing; it feels like the obvious option would be to enforce retrospective bans on dives. However, a rule like this does not exist in FIFA laws, so the FA can make up its own rules on this. Additionally, FIFA do not seem to be even keen on the idea, fearing it makes the referee look supreme and that it could start a precedent of incidents being re-refereed at later dates.
An FA spokesman has also indicated that change will not be coming soon saying: “While stakeholders in the English game continually review their agreed position regarding retrospective action, there are no plans currently to apply it to simulation.”
However, could it be said that ignoring diving is not going to get rid of the problem, but make it worse? Even Arsène Wenger himself said earlier this year: “If an obvious dive is punished by a three-match ban, players would not do it anymore.”
It could be said that if players had the impression that they were going to face a lengthy ban for falling down too easily, they may not be so keen to dive.
It seems like the FA has not done much to tackle the problem, how many times has Luis Suárez been punished for diving despite being caught doing it on many occasions?
Other potential options are also open to the FA. Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association believes technology should be used to help referees come to the right decisions. This could be a good idea, and could ensure that the referee is really sure of a decision, with some believing Mike Jones made the call on the incident between Santi Cazorla and Steven Reid without knowing for certain whether Steven Reid had committed a foul or not, that he may have thought it was a foul from the angle he saw it from.
Another idea that has been suggested is having additional referees behind goal. UEFA president Michel Platini seems to believe in this option, while Pierluigi Collina feels it has reduced incidents. However, it has been claimed how it has not had a distinct effect on the amount of diving incidents at Champions League matches.
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Although it could be said that reducing diving dramatically may not be possible. Is it a problem that the mentality of certain players cannot be changed? Even Santi Cazorla himself said that “it’s not something that should be a big controversy.”
So, should the FA do more to tackle diving? Well, it seems that the problem is not getting nearer to an end, and with it appearing that more players are diving; can the FA really ignore the issue?
Liverpool assistant manager Colin Pascoe was delighted with the performance of his side during their 3-0 win over QPR.
The Reds netted three times in the opening 30 minutes to move up to ninth in position in the Premier League, leaving their rivals rooted firmly to the foot of the division.
Pascoe, who was filling in for the ill Brendan Rodgers, celebrated his team’s display after the final whistle:
“All of the lads were magnificent. The chances we created were phenomenal. We could have had a couple more. Some of our play was exciting to watch and I’m sure our fans will be happy tonight.” He told Sky Sports.
“It was fantastic to watch, the way the lads passed the ball around and the weight of our chances.”
Pascoe went on to reveal that he had only found out that he’d be in charge earlier in the day:
“This morning he phoned me at eight o’clock,
“I wasn’t feeling very well myself this morning, but he’s worse than me.
“The way the medical team and the doctors tried to isolate the players and the staff, they’ve been fantastic.
“Hopefully they’ll have nipped it in the bud and not too many will be affected by it.”
However, there was some bad news for the stand-in manager as Jose Enrique suffered a hamstring injury:
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“It looks as if he’s got a little tear.” He added.
“He was terrific today and he’s been a joy to watch in the last few months, so hopefully he’s not out for too long.”
Luis Suarez netted the opening two goals, with a Daniel Agger header completing the scoring on 28 minutes.
AC Milan have once again distanced themselves from a move for Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli.
The controversial Italian appears to have fallen out-of-favour with the Premier League champions, following a series of off-field misdemeanours.
On the pitch he has also struggled, netting just once in 14 league appearances.
This has led to speculation that he may leave the club this January, with AC Milan rumoured to be a likely destination.
However, the club’s chief executive Adriano Galliani has ruled out a move for the 22-year-old:
“If no-one leaves, no-one will arrive.” he is quoted by Sky Sports via Sport Mediaset.
“Mario Balotelli? We have five strikers for two/three roles, so we are fine.”
The San Siro giants have allowed Alexandre Pato to leave in recent weeks, but Galliani feels that they do not need to draft in a replacement:
“I always said that if only one striker were to leave, we would not have taken anyone, and we have sold only Pato.
“AC Milan needs a bit of time to get back to the top, but I’m sure we will. We want to invest in young players also in this market window.”
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Manchester City have been linked with a number of strikers in recent weeks, with manager Roberto Mancini hoping to get the club’s title challenge back on track.
To bring in another front-man it’s likely that he will have to move on one of his current attackers, with Balotelli expected to be allowed to leave.
Sunderland manager Martin O’Neill has quashed rumours that goalkeeper Simon Mignolet will leave the North East in the summer.
The Sunderland boss has revealed that he plans to hold contract talks with the Belgian stopper in the coming weeks and that he believes there will be no problem in doing the deal.
Mignolet has been on inspired form for an inconsistent Sunderland side who appeared to have turned a corner in late January before slumping to three consecutive defeats.
The 24-year-old has fought off impressive competition in the form of Craig Gordon and Keiren Westwood to be first choice at the Stadium of Light and O’Neill hopes it will remain that way for the long term.
Atletico Madrid were reportedly tracking Mignolet in recent weeks with a view to a summer move and it was thought that Champions League football could tempt the ‘keeper to the Spanish capital.
However, O’Neill is looking forward to contract talks to get under way so Mignolet can focus on playing for Sunderland.
“We would really like to try to tie him down to a longer contract,” O’Neill told Sky Sports.
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“There have been talks about that for some time, but I think we would really want to try to firm that up as soon as we could. I think he’s receptive to it.”