Roberto Mancini has stated that Manchester City have concluded a difficult run of fixtures, and is glad that his side are still top of the Premier League.
City have been struck down with injuries and suspensions, and have had a month of tricky domestic fixtures.
Despite this, the Italian coach feels that his team have come out of the period unscathed, and are ready to progress and challenge for honours.
“It’s important to be at the top at the moment,” Mancini is quoted as saying in Mirror Football.
“During the season, we know there are difficult moments.
“I don’t think we had a bad month in January, but we had a difficult month because this can happen with injuries, players away and players banned.
“If you have these problems, maybe it’s clear that you can’t always play very well,” he concluded.
City are two points ahead of Manchester United at the top, and face Aston Villa on Sunday.
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In March, the Football Association was roundly criticised for their failure to retrospectively punish Wayne Rooney for a savage elbow attack on Wigan’s James McCarthy, with chairman, David Bernstein, claiming that under FIFA guidelines, “if the referee sees the incident, which in this case he did do, the FA has no authority except in what is called exceptional circumstances, really exceptional.” This is the FA’s routine response, often maintaining that action can only be taken after an incident in the case of mistaken identity, and yet they continually appear comfortable rescinding red-card decisions despite FIFA disciplinary statutes confirming: “An expulsion automatically incurs suspension from the next subsequent match.”
Despite this seemingly concrete ruling, John Mensah recently saw his red card received during Sunderland’s 2-0 defeat to Liverpool retracted following an appeal. What’s more, the actual law regarding retrospective action states that the disciplinary committee of a particular national football association is responsible for: “a) Sanctioning serious infringements which have escaped the match officials’ attention; b) Rectifying obvious errors in the referee’s disciplinary decisions; c) Extending the duration of a match suspension incurred automatically by an expulsion; d) Pronouncing additional sanctions, such as a fine.” As I’m sure most of you have noticed, the b) component of the above decree opens the door to what most of us would consider a natural sense of justice. The definition of an ‘obvious error’ is, of course, subjective, but no more subjective than a Regulatory Commission sitting in judgment on a claim for wrongful dismissal. If the FA can overturn a referee’s decision, why are they so reluctant to punish the culprits involved in incidents missed by a match official? Surely the authority to do so is justified based on the FA’s power to ‘rectify obvious errors?’
Last weekend was by all accounts a fairly uneventful weekend of Premiership football, but White Hart Lane, as per usual, offered an inevitable degree of drama. Heurelho Gomes delivered a predictably calamitous error to allow Blackpool to take the lead against Spurs, but it was Charlie Adam’s stamp on Gareth Bale’s ankle that produced the most controversial post-match talking point after the points were shared. Tottenham manager, Harry Redknapp, refused to blame Adam for ending Bale’s season prematurely, but Blackpool’s captain will now be available to feature in his club’s final two survival-deciding games despite rupturing the Welshman’s ankle ligaments.
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Anyone who has since seen the challenge agrees that Adam stepped not only directly on to Bale’s ankle but also outside of the law, yet the FA will undoubtedly ignore the case particularly as Spurs are unlikely to lodge an appeal. In fairness to Lee Probert, Saturday’s referee, he had to make a decision in real time from one angle and then confirm his action immediately and in the heat of the moment. Unlike pundits and spectators, referees are not afforded the luxury of several replays in different speeds and from various angles, but there has to be a way of ensuring that players guilty of career-threatening tackles or serious assault are punished accordingly, even if the referee has initially misjudged a challenge’s severity or failed to acknowledge an infringement at all.
In 2006, Manchester City’s Ben Thatcher launched an elbow in to the head of Pedro Mendes, which knocked the Portuguese midfielder into the advertising hoardings, rendering him unconscious and requiring oxygen. Referee, Dermot Gallagher, showed Thatcher a yellow card at the time as on this occasion, it was decided that in fact Gallagher had not seen what he thought he saw, and, following review, the FA handed Thatcher an eight-game ban. Greater Manchester Police later made public their intentions to open an inquiry in to the incident had the FA not taken retrospective action. In September 2009, Eduardo da Silva was banned for two Champions’ League games by UEFA for diving to win a penalty against Celtic in the second leg of a qualifying tie. Although the suspension was overturned on appeal, how can UEFA attempt to ban a player for two games for an offence that, had it been seen by the referee, would have seen him just cautioned? The gravity of the punishment surely shouldn’t increase because the referee missed the initial offence.
It would appear that retrospective action is possible despite the FA’s denial, seeing as the association not only retains the authority to do so as stipulated by UEFA declarations but has also endeavored to punish those involved in particularly distasteful incidents in the past. I’m sure most fans would welcome the FA to interpret FIFA’s disciplinary ruling pertaining to ‘rectifying obvious errors,’ by administering appropriate sanctions to persistent bad tacklers, instead of allowing them to play the next game and beyond. However, this is the FA, an organisation that at one point believed that Steve McClaren was capable of managing England’s greatest talents at international level and who, let’s not forget, initiated the Respect Campaign to help referees – but aren’t they actually doing the exact opposite?
Should Adam be punished? Have your say on Twitter
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Internationally the past few weeks have not been great ones for Jack Wilshere, first he was dropped from the senior England squad for the qualifiers, after coming on as a sub in the friendly against Hungary, and after being called up to the England U21 squad, he was dropped for the game against Portugal as well. It was due to the events that surrounded Jack Wilshere at the end of August, when he was arrested after a night out for being involved in a ‘fracas’. Arsene Wenger though, was surprised that Wilshere was left out of the team to face Potugal, he is quoted in the Guardian,
“I was surprised and I don’t think it needs any more comment. Jack is quite focused on training and he wants to do well. From what I’ve heard Jack hasn’t done a lot wrong.”
As with Wayne Rooney’s situation in recent weeks, it again brings up the question of whether a players private life should affect their professional one and if it should stop them from being picked for a game. I generally hold the view that unless it is going to interfere with a player’s game, cause ructions in the dressing room or if the incident is a very serious one, if that individual is happy to play he should do, and the content of his private life should remain his own. An arrest of course, is more serious than an alleged infidelity say, and it is understandable that it would affect a managers decision to pick that player or not. With Stuart Pearce this is obviously what happened, and the England U21 boss stated,
“There have been one or two stories in regard to him. Whether there is any truth in them or not I am not particularly interested – but I felt he had taken his eye off the ball. This game was too important to put a player on the pitch who hadn’t had a full focus in respect of that.”
If Pearce believes that an individual is not fully focused on playing football for whatever reason, then he is absolutely right to drop that player. You get the impression that had Wilshere been concentrating solely on his football, despite the arrest, Pearce would have played him.
Arsene Wenger would not have been with the England camp so it would be impossible for him to say whether or not Wilshere was in the right frame of mind to play. If Wenger was in the mind that Pearce had dropped Wilshere just because of the arrest, you can understand why the Frenchman may have been surprised by the decision. In spite of the arrest it appears from the first stories that Wilshere was not an antagonist, and that he was trying to break up a fight between his friend and another individual. This is why Wenger has continued to play him, if Wilshere had been arrested for a more malicious deed, it may have been different for his club as well as country.
You can see why Wenger was upset with Wilshere being dropped from the England U21 squad, and a manager will virtually always defend their players, but he should also recognise that it was Stuart Pearce’s prerogative to make that call, and he was best placed to do this. If Pearce believed Wilshere to be in the wrong frame of mind, I for one would accept that judgement.
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Take a quick glance at the League 1 table and you’d be forgiven for thinking that most followers of Chesterfield FC would be down-in-the-dumps right now. After all, Derbyshire folk are hardly known for their happy-go-lucky nature (just ask the Bournemouth fans whose coach got bricked after a game at the B2Net last week that the Spireites had won!).
Go back to the 7th of January and you’d be spot on with that gloomy assessment.
Following a 0-2 home reverse against Exeter City there were calls for the manager, John Sheridan, to resign, people in the ‘popular end’ were questioning the club’s owners and their commitment to the cause and quite a few, previously heralded players, midfielder Danny Whitaker included, were getting all manner of unwarranted abuse.
Exactly four weeks later and things suddenly look a lot brighter. Chesterfield are no longer bottom of the league, they’ve won four games on the bounce, they’re off to Wembley in March for the Johnstone Paint’s Trophy final and, wonder of all wonders, they’ve signed a striker. It’s a remarkable turnaround and much of it is down to the impact of the transfer window. While the big clubs only spent £60m on players, smaller ones, like Chesterfield, were bringing in players on loan that could potentially turn their whole season around.
This is why.
During a deeply unpleasant 17 match run where the Spireites didn’t win a single game of football, several things were lacking: energy and tenacity in midfield, full backs that could get forward with purpose, a strong, regular centre half pairing and, most pressing of all, someone who could regularly put the ball in the back of the net.
The transfer window couldn’t have come soon enough. And when it did, fortunately, Mr Sheridan proved to be exactly what most people had hoped he was: a half decent football manager. He filled the gaps accordingly. But whereas in pre-season he had opted for players with League 1 experience he, instead, sought out quality from higher divisions.
David Davis from Wolves has instilled some steel and voracity into the midfield. Young West Brom defender James Hurst has brought pace, enthusiasm and attacking intent – not to mention decent delivery – to right back. And Josh Thompson, a Celtic player previously, has brought speed, power and big match experience to a central defence that now includes the revitalized (and fully fit) Neal Trotman.
All of sudden Chesterfield look like they can compete at this level. They’ve kept a couple of clean sheets, they’ve won football matches and they’re playing with pride. It might not be pretty at times but at least they’re fighting. The only thing lacking is a striker.
True they have the ‘Old warhorse’ Jack Lester (copyright Sky co-commentator Garry Birtles) who is one of the best players to ever have pulled on a CFC shirt. But while he still has brilliant touch, a neat trick and an eye for goal (not to mention some wiley ways) he lacks pace and cannot play every week. They also have the young but raw Jordan Bowery who ‘looks the part’ one minute but seems destined for Matlock Town or Stavely Miners Welfare the next. And there is Scott Boden who has his talents. But between them there are not enough goals there to keep Chesterfield up.
In hindsight the Spireites have sorely missed last season’s top scorer Craig Davies, a player now plying his trade down the road at Barnsley. A contract was offered but terms were not agreed. Perceived wisdom suggests that just a few pennies more would have kept him at the club and much of the pre-Christmas mess could’ve been avoided. To fill the void early in the season Sheridan took a chance on Swindon’s Leon Clarke after he fell out with his own manager Paulo Di Canio. It paid off with nine goals. But his wage demands were said to be too high for that loan to go any further.
In the end Chesterfield have signed young Nicky Ajose from Peterborough, a former Manchester United player who was as brilliant at Bury last season as he was anonymous at Scunthorpe this. He’s not a big name but he’s the kind of forward that is required. Quick, lithe and with a decent scoring record. A younger Craig Davies (it is hoped). Whilst on loan at Bury last season he tore the eventual League 2 Champions to shreds at the B2Net. This alone probably makes him a good signing.
It’s only a loan deal, as are the agreements for Curtis, Davis and Thompson. But as they’re all young, keen players from higher divisions who are (based purely on several recent tweets) ‘up for the challenge’ they’ve provided great dollops of enthusiasm for followers of the team currently 23rd in League 1.
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For once, weather permitting, a 330 mile round trip to Carlisle (the next league opponents) seems like an alluring prospect.
You’ve got to love the transfer window.
By Will Strauss. As well as writing about his first love, Chesterfield FC, he is currently coming up with cooker spares articles for the Leeds-based appliances company ASD.
Fernando Torres claimed the pressure had finally been lifted off his shoulders after he scored his first Chelsea goal in their 3-0 league win over West Ham on Saturday.The Spanish striker, who cost Chelsea 50 million pounds when he joined from Liverpool in January, had not found the net for 901 minutes for club and country, including 732 for the champions.
But it took him just eight minutes to do so after coming off the bench in the second half at Stamford Bridge, and the resultant celebrations in which the remainder of the Chelsea XI piled on top of Torres spoke volumes about the goal.
“It was not the beginning I was expecting when I signed, but it’s not easy to go in January or February,” Torres said.
“I kept working and it’s thanks to all my team-mates that I scored. There’s less pressure for me now, now I can enjoy it.”
“Today the pitch was not the best to score the goal, but football is like this.”
Torres insisted he had never got disheartened by the tough start to his Chelsea career, but admitted he owed the fans that goal.
“The fans have been very patient with me,” he added.
“I had more and more anxiety for them than for me. Hopefully this is the first of many.”
Didier Drogba, who made way for Torres having performed impressively up front, was delighted that Torres had broken his drought.
“We know we have a great player here. Next season is going to be fantastic for him,” he told ESPN.
“The most important thing today is the three points and Nando’s goal.”
“We have to focus on second place. Winning this game and being in front of Arsenal is the first step.”
Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has dismissed recent speculation suggesting that he had tried to sign Rafael van der Vaart before the Dutch midfielder opted to join Tottenham Hotspur.
The 27-year-old headed to White Hart Lane from Real Madrid as the transfer deadline passed, with Hodgson claiming that he had already ruled out any interest in the talented playmaker.
He recently told Sky Sports News:"Liverpool were interested.
"In the end you have to have a good feeling and with this manager I got a good feeling. I am happy and I am going to Spurs."
Hodgson responded by telling reporters:"Those stories can get very irritating.
"First an agent rings you up and asks you if you want to sign Rafael van der Vaart, you say 'no' and the next minute you are one of the ones trying to sign him.
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"I apologise to van der Vaart if his agent gave him another story. I think he is a very good player, but he is not the profile of the player we were looking for, so when it came up I made it clear we had players in van der Vaart's position."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Liverpool host Rovers on Boxing Day in the hope of closing the gap on the top four. Gerard Houllier believes that the Reds are certainly good enough to take one of the Champions League spots but feels it is too soon into Kenny’s Anfield revolution to challenge for the title this season.
At FFC this week it’s there has been plenty of Liverpool blogs that include a leaner and meaner Reds team; transfer activity at Anfield, while Luis Suarez delivers the perfect response.
We also look at other Liverpool articles from around the Web:
Is the old Fernando lost forever?
Does the Liverpool situation call for more accountability?
Two summer signings that Liverpool fans can be thankful for
Fast becoming the most important role in football
Luis Suarez’s perfect response
Transfer activity at Anfield?
When do football fans say enough is enough?
A potential transfer coup by Liverpool?
Kenny and Harry’s transfer battle for Silkmen
The £100k solution to Liverpool’s problems?
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Best of WEB
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A Letter to Fernando Torres – Live4Liverpool
Wigan frustration just another case of déjà vu – This is Anfield
Suarez ‘Is Not A Racist’ –Tomkins Times
Meet The €11M Man Lined Up To Replace Lucas Leiva – Transfer Tavern
Do Liverpool need to buy anyone this January? – Anfield Index
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Click on Wayne Bridge’s current lady below to unveil our WAG XI of the season
Manager Roberto Mancini said he believes Manchester City can finish higher than fourth place on the table after his side’s 1-0 win over Blackburn.January Bosnian signing Edin Dzeko opened his English Premier League account with an effort in the latter stages of the second half to send his side four points clear of Tottenham in fourth place, edging City closer to securing a Champions League berth next term.
But the Italian boss hinted he might not be content with fourth place, as he eyed off passing rivals Chelsea (second) and Arsenal (third) in their remaining five matches despite trailing the two London sides by eight and five points respectively.
“If Chelsea lose all their games and we win we can arrive in second position. But I think that it is very difficult,” Mancini told Sky Sports.
“Now, after this game (against Blackburn), I think that we should think about Sunday’s game against West Ham because it will be very, very hard like this evening.”
Mancini said he felt the 1-0 result flattered the hosts at Ewood Park.
“I think that in the first half we played a fantastic game,” he said.
“We should have scored two goals – minimum. But in this period I think that all the games are very difficult.”
“In the second half the game changed because Blackburn played very hard and we fought with them for every ball.”
Blackburn manager Steve Kean lambasted the refereeing in the loss, saying his side could have been awarded two penalties and that Dzeko’s goal should have been disallowed for offside.
“There was contact (for the first-half penalty appeal), Jason (Roberts) was saying he wanted to go through and finish,” Kean said.
“We also thought we had a late (penalty) shout with Niko Kalinic.”
“On the goal, (Mario) Balotelli was right in front of Paul Robinson so I’m saying that was offside.”
Sunderland boss Steve Bruce is delighted to have central defender Michael Turner available to make his first league appearance of the season against Manchester City this weekend.
The 26-year-old missed the clashes with Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion due to suspension, but returned to the fold in midweek for the Carling Cup win over Colchester United.
Bruce told the Sunderland Echo:"It's good to get Michael back on the pitch again because it's been agony for him sitting it out. He's one of those players who hates missing games.
"He played through injury several times last season because he didn't want to miss matches – that's the sort of footballer he is.
"So to miss out on the first two games after completing a full pre-season was exactly what he didn't want.
"I know he's found it frustrating not being able to help in the games against Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion, but he's back now and we're all delighted with that.
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"The Colchester game was probably the ideal warm-up.
"It's great for Michael that he has been able to get that match under his belt before having the challenge of a Premier League game against one of the country's top teams."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Every football club has ‘the one that got away.’ The one player whom we all believe held the key to our aspirations and dreams for our football club – if only he had signed on the dotted line.
Harry Redknapp admitted before this weekend’s game that he had decided against bringing Luis Suarez to White Hart Lane after mistakenly thinking he was too like what they already had. Although Suarez had a quiet game yesterday he will has still been a fantastic signing by Liverpool and he looks like being a world-class player in the future. Spurs could regret missing out on the Uruguayan forward for many years to come. This isn’t the first time a mistake has been made and throughout football history there have been players that got away.
These are the signings that could have changed the course of history for your club but instead never happened and if you’re a Sheffield United fan you’ll be forever ruing the day your club let one of the best players of all time slip through the net.
Click on Gazza to see the top 10 transfers that got away
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Compiled by Aidan McCartney
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