Wolves are in talks with Burnley over the possible transfer of striker Steven Fletcher to Molineux.
Fletcher, 23, scored 13 goals for the relegated Clarets last season following his £3million arrival from Hibernian and was named his new club’s player of the year.
The Scotland international has been linked with several other Premier League clubs since Burnley’s fate was sealed but Wolves are believed to be leading the chase to sign him.
Earlier in the week, the Molineux club sanctioned the departure of striker Chris Iwelumo to the Clarets.
However, Burnley boss Brian Laws is refusing to accept defeat in his bid to persuade Fletcher to remain at Turf Moor.
“We don’t want Steven to go, but if he decides to leave we will replace him,” he told his club’s official website.
“People may read into the fact that Chris Iwelumo is a possible replacement for Fletcher, which is not the case.
“We need power and strength because the Championship is a very physical league, hence Chris’s arrival.
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“But I’m still looking for a goalscorer to complement my squad.”
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Blackburn Rovers duo Ryan Nelsen and Brett Emerton have spoken of their delight ahead of the club's trip to Australia later this month.
The Ewood Park-based outfit will take part in the inaugural Sydney Festival of Football where they will take on Rangers, AEK Athens and their Aussie hosts as they get their preparations for the upcoming Premier League campaign started.
Speaking to reporters, New Zealander Nelsen said:"The World Cup was an incredible experience, something I will remember forever, but now it's back to business with Blackburn Rovers.
"I'm really looking forward to heading across to Sydney for the Festival of Football and I know the lads back in the UK are too.
"It's an exciting concept and there are certain to be no easy games with Rangers and AEK Athens amongst the strongest clubs in Europe."
Meanwhile, Emerton, an Australia international added:"Events like these are vital if Australia is to host the 2022 World Cup.
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"Everybody knows Sydney is a beautiful city, but there are football purists out there that would rather the game's showpiece event go elsewhere.
"This is an opportunity for Sydney to stand up and show the world we are a footballing country worthy of hosting the World Cup."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes Wayne Rooney will mature into "the complete footballer" in the coming years.
Rooney followed up a career-best 34-goal last season for the Red Devils with a disappointing World Cup campaign for England.
The 24-year-old failed to find the net in South Africa as the Three Lions bowed out at the last 16 stage.
But despite his international disappointment, Ferguson fully expects to see a greater return from an improving Rooney when the new Premier League seasons kicks off next month.
Speaking from the club's US tour, he said:"He had an improvement in terms of his timing and movement in the penalty box. His positioning also improved from the previous season.
"He got us over 30 goals and if he does that again and adds a little bit to his game then that is what we expect.
"The boy has got an incredible armoury of talent and what we have to do is to wait for that maturity.
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"We also do nurture it and try to advise and coach in a fashion which will improve his game.
"But the most important thing I think he needs now is maturity and, when he gets that, I think you will see the complete footballer."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Wigan Athletic boss Roberto Martinez accused his players of lacking courage and commitment following their season-opening defeat to Blackpool.
The Latics lost 4-0 at the hands of newly-promoted opposition and afterwards Martinez pulled no punches.
"The first half was unacceptable," he said."When you play against a team that is newly promoted you know they are going to be ready for the battle and we were a yard off.
"We were very slack and sloppy and Blackpool took advantage of that. Then after that everything that could go wrong did go wrong.
"At the start of the Premier League you need to be ready. That's nothing to do with any football issue.
"You need to be ready to earn the right to be on the ball and we didn't do that.
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"We allowed Blackpool too much space and we thought having the ball would be enough to win a football game and that's what cost us."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
With James Milner on the verge of a big money move to Manchester City, his days at Villa Park seem to be numbered. However, James Milner would be wise to resist the overtures of City’s millions and stick with Aston Villa, given that he is guaranteed a first team place and an integral role in the development of Villa’s future.
Under Martin O’Neill, Milner has become the fulcrum of Aston Villa’s midfield, becoming a dynamic and reliable presence in the middle of the park. His ability to link the play and provide assists has become a trademark of his game. Milner’s contribution of seven goals and twelve assists certainly proves his value to the attacking play of this current Villa side.
Along with his attacking prowess, Milner’s versatility is another great asset to the squad. Milner is naturally a winger by trade but his ability to adapt to different positions has proven invaluable to Martin O’Neill.
Milner has played in a number of different positions for Villa this season from right back to winger to his current position of central midfield. By incorporating different facets from each position that Milner can play to his new central role, Milner is able to bring unparalled nous to a hugely important role.
His displays in Villa’s claret and blue have resulted in Milner being crowned the PFA Young Player of the Year 2010, ahead of Cesc Fàbregas and Wayne Rooney. Unfortunately for Villa, the PFA weren’t the only ones to notice Milner’s potential as Manchester City declared their interest in signing the playmaker as part of Roberto Mancini’s new-look midfield.
With the promise of megabucks for Milner to sign on the dotted line, the temptation for Milner is certainly high. But he would be well-advised to steer clear of the Eastlands revolution as he would find himself near the bottom of the pecking-order at the City of Manchester stadium.
Mancini already boasts a wealth of midfield talent at his disposal with the likes of new signing Yaya Touré, Nigel De Jong, Patrick Vieira, Steven Ireland and Lord Voldemort himself Gareth Barry all vying for a few places in the centre of midfield. If Milner were to join Manchester City, he would be hard pressed to command a regular first team place with the amount of competition for a limited number of spots in the line-up.
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Similarly, on the wing, Mancini has the likes of David Silva, Adam Johnson, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Craig Bellamy battling it out for two places in the team.
Given the ferocious competition for places in the Manchester City squad, Milner would be foolish to join. If he did so, he would most probably find himself warming the bench and in so doing, severely damaging his chances of cementing his place as an England regular in the years to come.
Unless Manchester City match Villa’s £30 million valuation, Milner is going nowhere. And that is absolutely fine by me.
This week, our featured future England star in the making is West Ham United and England U-19 defender Jordan Spence.
Spence is a product of the hugely successful West Ham academy which has produced a number of notable England internationals, including the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and Michael Carrick and Spence will be looking add his name to this illustrious group of West Ham players who have gone on to feature regularly for England.
He joined the academy back in 2004 as a precocious 14 year old and impressed almost immediately at Upton Park. The 2005-2006 season saw a young Spence make his academy debut in West Ham’s 5-1 defeat at Ipswich Town. In addition to featuring for the academy side, Spence’s talents were such that he was selected to play in the reserve team that very same season, making his reserve team debut as a substitute in the Hammer’s 3-0 defeat to Watford. A 15 year old Spence would go on to make a total of 5 appearances for the youth team and 2 substitute appearances for the reserve team.
His potential was not to go unnoticed by the England youth setup who called up Spence to the U-16 team. He played 6 times for Kenny Swain’s team, captaining the side and leading them to triumph in the Victory Shield in November 2005.
The next season saw Spence become a regular fixture in the academy side while also making the jump up on the international stage to U-17 football. The summer of 2007 saw Spence captain the England squad which competed in the FIFA U-17 World Cup where England produced a solid display, reaching the last 16 round under Spence’s leadership.
As a result of Spence’s increasing reputation, he found himself more heavily involved with the reserve team during the 2007-2008 season. He scored his first goal for the reserves in a 2-2 draw with Arsenal and went on to make 11 appearances for the reserve team as well as playing regularly for the academy side and the England U-18 and U-19 teams.
Manager Alan Curbishley rewarded Spence’s form by calling up the defender to the substitute’s bench for West Ham’s first two Premier League games of the 2008-2009 season and again in the Hammer’s League Cup victory over Macclesfield Town. September saw Alan Curbishley replaced at the Upton Park helm by Gianfranco Zola. The Italian sent Spence on loan to League One team Leyton Orient to give the youngster a taste of first team football. He joined the O’s in November 2008 initially on a one month deal and made his debut for the club in an FA Cup second round tie against Bradford. He returned to Upton Park in January only to be loaned back to Orient where he played regularly for the O’s until the end of the season.
The beginning of last season saw Spence go out on loan again, this time to Championship team Scunthorpe United on a one month deal which was extended until January 2010. Spence played eleven times in all for the Lincolnshire side before returning to West Ham where he was named captain of the reserve team.
After 6 years at the club, Spence finally made his first team bow at the end of last season when he came on as a late second half substitute for Alessandro Diamanti in the Hammer’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City.
During his time with West Ham and the England youth team, Spence has distinguished himself as an outstanding England prospect. He plays with an assurance beyond his years and possesses pace, versatility, positional awareness and is comfortable in possession. His style of play is very much reminiscent of fellow West Ham academy graduate and England captain Rio Ferdinand. He has captained England at U-16, U-17, U-18 and U-19 level so he certainly has the necessary leadership qualities to be a future England captain down the line. Time will tell whether he will be able to reach these lofty heights but there is no doubt that he has the potential to do so.
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Scoring a goal should be one of the best feelings a footballer should ever experience. Unfortunately for these 10 hapless souls, that euphoric feeling was lost on them when they managed to score some of the most spectacular own goals of all time. Here’s our list of the top 10 own goals ever scored.
10. Lee Dixon vs. Coventry
Who knew that Arsenal full-back Lee Dixon was a trendsetter? His sublime chip over David Seaman was faithfully recreated by Nayim and Ronaldinho who repeated the trick years later; however, Dixon can lay claim to being the first to have lobbed Seaman from 30 yards. And believe me, that is no mean feat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpSo1aciPqU
9. Franck Queudrue vs. Bastia
Carrying on the theme of glorious lobs is former Middlesbrough and Birmingham City favourite Franck Queudrue. The French defender started his career with Lens and this beauty comes from his time at the French club. Queudrue shows remarkable technique in volleying the ball almost 40 yards up in the air past his despairing goalkeeper who does a remarkable job impersonating David Seaman.
8. John Arne Riise vs. Chelsea
During his time with Liverpool, Riise became renowned for scoring spectacular goals. Unfortunately, these weren’t restricted to the opposition end. Riise found the back of his own net in stoppage time against Chelsea when he converted a Salmon Kalou cross with a bullet diving header that beat Pepe Reina all ends up. Riise’s own goal proved decisive as Liverpool were eliminated from the Champions League after they lost the tie 4-3 on aggregate to Chelsea.
7. Djimi Traore vs. Burnley
Like the venerable Martin Luther King, Djimi Traore had a dream. His dream was that he believed he was a half-decent footballer. He decided to put his dream to the test against Burnley in the third round of the 2005 FA Cup. He attempted a drag-back turn on his own goal line. To no-one’s real surprise, it didn’t come off and Traore ended up dragging the ball clumsily into his own net, looking more like Ronald McDonald than Ronaldinho. Traore’s delusions of grandeur were put firmly in check and he went back to the average footballer we all knew that he was.
6. Jamie Pollock vs. QPR
Manchester City defender Jamie Pollock shows all the poise and composure of a centre-forward with this consummate finish against QPR. He manages to lift the ball over an onrushing attacker and skilfully loop a header over his own goalie with a header than even John Arne Riise would have been proud of.
Continued on Page TWO
5. Peter Enckelman vs. Birmingham City
Aston Villa goalkeeper Peter Enkelman will forever be remembered for this howler in the Birmingham derby of 2002. Defender Olof Mellberg took a quick thrown-in to Enckelman who failed to control the ball which then rolled under his foot and into the goal. There have been question-marks about whether the goal should have counted as Enckelman said that he did not touch the ball. However, what is certain is that Enckelman’s mistake has landed him the number 5 spot in list of top 10 own goals.
4. Gary Neville vs. Croatia
The number 4 spot goes to Gary Neville’s freak own goal against Croatia. The United defender attempted an innocuous looking back-pass to Paul Robinson. However, the ball took a wicked bounce over a divot. With Robinson kicking fresh air, the ball rolled agonisingly into the back of the net as Borat looked on. Yakshemash indeed!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEuyfJGg7AA
3. Goran Rubil vs. Locomotiva
The first foreign entry in our list is probably the best finish of the lot. Hadjuk Split’s Goran Rubil shows others how a real own goal is scored by doing so in emphatic fashion with a right-footed pile-driver against Locomotiva.
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2. Tony Popovic vs. Portsmouth
Crystal Palace’s Australian defender Tony Popovic displayed skill that no-one thought he had by scoring a sumptuous backheel goal which Gianfranco Zola would have been envious of. Portsmouth’s Steve Stone puts in a hopeful ball into the box which Popovic finishes with a nonchalant flick of his heel into the top corner.
1. Chris Brass vs. Darlington
While not the most beautiful or the most emphatic of the goals on our list, Chris Brass’s effort against Darlington takes the top prize simply for being the most comical. The Bury defender’s attempt at an overhead clearance goes horribly wrong when the ball smashes off his face and into the net. To add insult to injury, Brass broke his nose when the ball hit him in the face. Football to the face. An absolute classic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1csQG0ZciFQ
Any other own-goal calamities you feel should have made the list?
Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt fears that the ankle injury he suffered while on international with the Netherlands will keep him out of action for several months.
The 30-year-old landed awkwardly during the 4-1 victory over Sweden in Amsterdam on Tuesday evening and admits that he is facing a lengthy absence.
He told reporters:"The swelling is so bad it will take three to four days (to be assessed) to be sure, but I fear the worst.
"You know your own body and it doesn't feel good – the doctors have the same feeling. They say I've probably torn ankle ligaments, so let's hope they're wrong."
Kuyt, who has only recently recovered from a shoulder injury, was given little hope of a better prognosis by Netherlands head coach Bert van Marwijk, who said straight after the game:"Dirk wanted to play on, but our doctor prevented that and told me to substitute him.
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"Following the doctor's first opinion it could be very serious and keep him sidelined for a long time."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
For a man that has yet to prove himself on any real level, Arsenal’s Polish goalkeeping prospect Wojciech Szczesny (every spellchecker’s nightmare) sure has a mouth on him. He’s told the Press: “If you are fighting for trophies, you should pick your best players, not your oldest. I am not interested in being the number-three keeper, only the number one. But no-one at Arsenal is brave enough to let me play.” Strong words that are rendered even more powerful by the fact that this highly rated youngster’s contract will run down next June.
He continued: “I’d love to play for Arsenal but am expecting more than a few words (from Wenger) at a Press conference that, one day Wojciech will be the No 1”. Szczesny isn’t messing around and in the position he’s currently in, he’s free to make these kinds of demands and ultimatums. The 20-year-old Polish keeper seems to be pursuing a path often trod by impatient youngsters who are keen to make their mark: he has made his demands public.
This puts Arsène Wenger in a rather awkward situation. He has a talented youngster that he wants to keep on his books, but his outburst and its public nature makes it all the more difficult to keep the situation under wraps. It’ll be interesting to see exactly how Wenger handles this. At a Press Conference after the young Pole’s remarks, Wenger commented on the situation: “He is right, he deserves a chance but the keeper in front of him, Mannone, deserves a chance as well”. He continued,
“It’s part of their job as a football player to live with competition and decisions. I believe the best thing for him is just to focus, work hard and trust us. No club in the world has started more players at the top, top level than we have. Nobody, so he is in the right club. But impatience is a characteristic of youth.”
Sensible comments as usual from Le Boss. If Szczesny is keen to play at the top -level, Arsenal is quite likely to be his best option. If he just wants to be first-choice and is not willing to bide his time, perhaps it is best that he moves on. Szczesny is in the privileged position of being at a top-level club with a manager keen to give young talent a chance. Perhaps he needs to stop and consider what a good situation he’s in and whether the grass would be any greener on the other side of his current circumstances.
Another thing to note is that these comments are a result of the young Pole’s boisterous bravado. Yet if he’s so confident in himself, doesn’t he believe that he can get his head down, work hard, perform well when he gets his chance and make his way into the first team of his own accord? If he’s so talented, why is it necessary to make these kind of public ultimatums? Let’s not forget that Szczesny’s main rivals in the goalkeeping position are Manuel Almunia and Lukasz Fabianski who do not provide the staunchest competition.
For Szczesny, it’s vital that Wenger emphasizes the importance of being patient. When he does get a chance in the Carling Cup or as a result of injuries, it’s then that he can stake his claim for a first team place in real terms, not merely in an unearned ultimatum issued to the Press. It’s time that he turned his confidence and belief in himself into good performances on the pitch.
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This weekend we discovered that Wayne Rooney’s ankle injury was causing the Manchester United striker more hassle than we originally thought. Sir Alex Ferguson told the Sunday Express: “I think Wayne will be out for another five weeks, He will have to pick up his fitness again. I would think five weeks should be about right.” It was originally hoped that Wayne would be back in the space of three weeks and fingers were crossed that he’d be back in time for the Manchester Derby on 10 November. The chances of this happening now are nil.
Now of course there’ll be those who are wondering if something fishy is going on here. Is Sir Alex taking his revenge for Rooney holding his club to ransom during his transfer negotiations? Is the injury quite as bad as reported? Since we’re not likely to find out, it’s more important to focus on the implications, of the news, which I believe could be quite positive for Manchester United.
It’s never a good thing to have one of your best players out injured, but nonetheless, Wayne Rooney hasn’t exactly convinced on or off the pitch this year. He has, let’s face it, been a rather disruptive influence at Old Trafford. It’s unlikely that Manchester United will miss Rooney over the next month or so, since they have two on form strikers currently banging in the goals. One of them is a man everybody had written off and the other is a youngster nobody expected to be so effective so early on in his career.
Berbatov has scored an impressive 7 goals in 12 games so far this season. If he continues at this rate, then this’ll likely be his best season for Manchester United to date (not that this is too hard a feat). Regardless, it’s been a fine start to the season for the dilatory Bulgarian.
More impressive still has been Hernández’s start to the season. Despite his being new to English football, the prodigious Mexican has scored 6 goals in 12 appearances. He’s fast earning a reputation as a quick-footed, assured young striker with an eye for goal.
Whether or not they can keep up their form is another question entirely. For now, it’s interesting to see these two players develop and if they continue to carry the mantle then who knows what will happen when Rooney returns. It’s likely that he’ll slot back in, but if he doesn’t find his form soon and he has these two players breathing down his neck, things might get a little difficult for Wayne Rooney. As things stand, having three viable striking options isn’t a bad situation for Manchester United to be in at all.
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