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[h=1]Manchester United's Tom Cleverley gives glimpses of his special touch[/h] Midfielder's comeback is perfectly timed for the business end of the season and makes a great alternative to Paul Scholes


Manchester United's Tom Cleverley, left, congratulates Ashley Young on his goal against Ajax in the Europa League. Photograph: Ian Kington/AFP/Getty Images

England can forget about Paul Scholes, as Sir Alex Ferguson made plain with undisguised Scottish disdain before Manchester United's entry into the strange land of the Europa League, but it will not be long before they call for another precision midfielder who has reappeared at an opportune moment in the champions' season. Tom Cleverley was eased back against Ajax and even in a low-key return he showed why he has attracted more tributes than appearances for United.
The first-leg meeting with Frank de Boer's pragmatic Ajax will not register in the annals at Old Trafford other than for the night Cleverely made his European debut for the club at the age of 22. For a United player of such promise it has been a long time coming, a reflection of the level Ferguson's teams had been operating at in Europe prior to this season but also the injury problems that have curtailed Cleverley's progress and saw him given only 60 minutes against the Dutch club.
This was only the midfielder's eighth appearance in a United shirt in a season that was interrupted for six weeks after a foot injury sustained in a challenge with Kevin Davies at Bolton and then, two matches into his comeback, another four months after suffering ankle ligament damage at Everton. His previous seven outings had also resulted in a United victory, notably that 8-2 destruction of Arsenal and his display against Manchester City in the Community Shield when, for the undoubted promise on show, predictions of the new Scholes or the cheaper alternative to Wesley Sneijder always seemed a little premature.
The game reflected the status of European football's long, winding and overblown second competition rather than that of the two opponents but there were occasional glimpses from Cleverely of the energy and accuracy he brings to the United midfield. A direct confrontation with Ajax's coveted young Dane, Christian Eriksen, a player linked with Old Trafford, offered the glimpse of a potential midfield of the future. That never materialised as caution consumed the two sides.
Twice Cleverley demonstrated vision worthy of Scholes. In the first half he demanded a ball inside from Michael Carrick and instantly swept a superb pass for Wayne Rooney in space down the right. In the second, as Ajax cleared a United free-kick, he picked out Javier Hernández inside a crowded penalty area with a precise volley. Both opportunities were squandered by United and it did not help Cleverley to find so many of his outlets – Nani, Hernández and Ashley Young, irrespective of their goals – enduring nights when a good first touch was often beyond them.
United's young players require European experience as the team's feeble exit from the Champions League in Basel, and the analysis from Roy Keane that so irked Ferguson, underlined. Injury absolved Cleverley from any culpability for the Champions League campaign and here he showed the pace and movement to support the United attack as Scholes once did but no one could in their absence in Switzerland.
To the United manager, who recently salivated at the prospect of his midfield being improved by two players at opposite ends of the age scale, Cleverely's comeback is perfectly timed for the business end of the season and allows him an alternative to playing Scholes for 90 minutes, regardless of how exemplary those 90 minutes were against Liverpool on Saturday. "It will be great to get the boy back because I think he's special," said Ferguson as Cleverley completed his latest rehabilitation. "He will be desperate to play with Scholes. We have a great collection of midfield players."
The master replaced the apprentice in Amsterdam and the expectation upon Cleverley is immense. As Eric Harrison, the former United youth coach synonymous with the best of the club's production line, said: "Tom for me is, without question, so good that he is the best young player at United since Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and David Beckham came on to the scene."
 
[h=1]Arsène Wenger has allowed Arsenal youngsters too much of a comfort zone[/h] Theo Walcott's and Aaron Ramsey's poor performances in Milan symbolise the failure of Wenger's entire development philosophy




Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, left, played only 25 minutes against Milan as Arsenal slipped to an emphatic 4-0 defeat. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Thierry Henry left the pitch on Wednesday night with his arm around the shoulders of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and in possession of the shirt of the man whose performance for Milan had been as decisive as those the Frenchman used to produce on Arsenal's behalf. In what will almost certainly prove to have been his final appearance in the colours of the north London club, Henry had spent 45 minutes trying desperately to help his team-mates out of the hole in which they found themselves at San Siro. It was sad to see a player of such class unable to avert the catastrophe of the club's worst defeat in 222 European matches.
Sadder still was the sight of the 18-year-old Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, thrust into the fray with 25 minutes to go, also striving to rescue a semblance of respectability from a performance of such dismal incompetence that Arsène Wenger's critics will have been sharpening their knives long before the final whistle.
Oxlade-Chamberlain left the stadium clutching the shirt of another prodigy, Alexandre Pato. In his short time on the pitch the £12m forward had proved himself capable of dominating Luca Antonini, Milan's left-back, and produced two excellent crosses, one of which forced Christian Abbiati into a scrambled save. He will be uncomfortably aware, however, that he is part of a team whose performance has fallen far below their own standards. Until a year ago, Wenger's sides won 58% and lost 18% of their 831 matches. Of 56 games over the past 12 months, they have won 47% and lost 30%.
It would be wearying to repeat all the familiar charges levelled against the manager since Arsenal's last trophy was captured in 2005, but there can be little doubt that Oxlade-Chamberlain should have been on from the start against Milan. This was his third appearance in the Champions League, following the home and away matches against Olympiakos earlier in the season, and his first on one of Europe's really big stages. Nothing in his recent displays gave evidence that he would be overawed by San Siro, or anywhere else. He is fast, he is powerful, he has a wonderful technique – thanks no doubt to the tutelage of his father, the fondly remembered former Stoke and England winger Mark Chamberlain – and he seems to do the right thing whenever possession comes his way. Like Jack Wilshere, whose presence has been so sorely missed, he makes his decisions before the ball arrives: a sign of an exceptional football talent.
In one other way he resembles Wilshere while differing from many of the other young men deployed by Wenger in recent seasons: every gesture, every movement betrays a competitive hardness. His physical strength appears to be matched by the mental toughness that prompted him to complain, earlier in the season and after only a handful of months after his transfer from Southampton, about the lack of first-team opportunities. Behind the polite eloquence of his interviews, there is the hint of the very obduracy and abrasiveness that Arsenal need so badly. These are not qualities readily associated with – to name only two of Wednesday's culprits – Theo Walcott and Aaron Ramsey.
Six years into his career as a first‑team player at Arsenal, Walcott ought by now to have shed the boyishness that so often makes him seem easy prey for experienced defenders. Youthful zest is one thing, ingenuousness is another, and at 22 he should be showing a greater maturity. The same is true of Ramsey, who is a year younger. After an extended recuperation from a double fracture of his right leg, the Welshman has been back in the side long enough for his contribution to be assessed without making allowances, and he is showing little of the inventiveness and dynamism that he brought to the team before his dreadful injury in February 2010.
He, too, betrays clear signs of that fatal boyishness: when he misplaces a pass or scuffs a shot, he dramatises his despair by putting his hands to his head and striking a pose, wasting the seconds in which he should be getting on with trying to rectify his error. An infuriating habit, thrust into even higher relief when the team are performing badly, it is surprising from one whose leadership qualities persuaded the late Gary Speed to make him Wales's youngest ever captain.
It may seem unfair to single out Walcott and Ramsey after a night when virtually the entire team failed to do themselves justice. But by symbolising the dominant thrust of Wenger's player-development philosophy since the end of the era of the Invincibles and the dispersal of such battle-hardened figures as Patrick Vieira, Dennis Bergkamp and Tony Adams, they embody the failure of an entire project.
Although both are capable of sporadic excellence, one wonders what sort of progress Ramsey, for instance, might have made under Sir Alex Ferguson or David Moyes, both of whom were keen to sign him in 2008. He chose Arsenal after Wenger flew him and his family to Switzerland for talks during which he became convinced that north London offered the right sort of opportunity for his development. Many others, including Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain, have come to similar conclusions. Perhaps, however, an indulgent Wenger has provided too much of a comfort zone for his young prodigies, creating an environment in which they can hone their delicate skills but not their core resilience, and in which naivety is too easily forgiven, with consequences that were laid bare in Wednesday's chastening defeat.





 
[h=1]André Villas-Boas admits losing support of certain Chelsea players[/h] • 'They don't have to back my project,' claims manager
• Villas-Boas remains confident of backing from owner





André Villas-Boas is confident that he still has the backing of Chelsea's owner, Roman Abramovich. Photograph: Jed Leicester/Action Images

André Villas-Boas has conceded he has lost the support of a section of the Chelsea dressing room but is unconcerned since he is confident of retaining the all-important backing of the club's owner, Roman Abramovich.
The Portuguese manager has endured a turbulent period, which reached a low after Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Everton, when a training-ground inquest on Sunday turned into a blazing row between himself and some of the squad's senior players, who question his ability and wonder whether he is the right man to take the club forward.
Villas-Boas, though, has sought to assert his authority publicly by reminding everybody it is he who makes the decisions, with Abramovich's blessing, and anyone who wanted to stay at the club in the longer term had to perform. Nicolas Anelka and Alex were sold last month and further individuals, he noted, would depart in the summer. It is clear he feels that certain members of the squad are playing for their Chelsea futures.
"They [the players] don't have to back my project," Villas-Boas said. "It's the owner who backs my project. Some of them don't back the project? That is normal. I think the owner has full trust in me and will continue to progress with the ideas that we have.
"Players compete, in the end, for their place and for their place towards the future in the team. So if you want to be in the team in the future, you are competing to win something against your colleague. I would put it exactly like that: performance to have reward ... reward in terms of results and reward in terms of future continuity.
"My authority is total because it's the owner's authority. I have told you that we set out this team to try to win four trophies, believing in this team. Next year it's another one because there are different ongoing situations regarding contracts which will have to be addressed so that means different changes. Two players have already departed and further will depart in the future and won't make part of the project, which more or less they expect but this is the reality of any football team. We prepare to be more competent in the present and we have to prepare the future as well.
"They know there is a manager in position holding on for a project of three years so, if they want to be part of that project, [it is about] performance level, or continuity of performance level and display. I think that's pretty basic of any football team. You don't contemplate with a reward people who underperform in any football team."
The bust-up took place after the players had been called in on their day off in the wake of the Everton debacle, which was, by common consent, the team's worst performance under Villas-Boas, who was appointed by Abramovich last summer. Chelsea have now taken 12 points from an available 30 to sit fifth in the Premier League. Villas-Boas, though, hoped that the exchange of views could prove positive, as the squad prepare for the crucial fixtures in the FA Cup fifth round against Birmingham City on Saturday and in the Champions League last-16 first leg at Napoli next Tuesday.
"It's something I have used in the past and it's part of my leadership style to evolve on a very, very frontal, honest relationship," Villas-Boas said. "I think it helps because the leader is showing that there is a two-way leadership process going on – the players and the leader. But there are different styles that have proven successful in the past on a more dictatorial style.
"I think that the results we are having at the moment are not good enough and, when they are not good enough, you try to reach ... to find out what is the situation. Why don't you get better results?"
Villas-Boas said Abramovich shared in his feelings of anger and frustration because "in the end he expects us to be successful". He added that the Russian had not been at the training ground this week, though he was present at Cobham on Sunday, having visited the complex on most days last week.

"I am completely happy [with Abramovich] ... I have no problem with him at all," Villas-Boas said. "It is a relationship that is perfect at the moment. We have discussed how we can correct what's going wrong. I don't feel I am under pressure for my job, although I know I am under pressure for results."





 
[h=1]Arsène Wenger stuns Arsenal squad with furious training-ground tirade[/h] • Players claim dressing-down was unprecedented in its fury
• Wenger was publicly critical of players following Milan defeat





Ther Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger, has let his squad know that Wednesday's performance in Milan was unacceptable. Photograph: Massimo Pinca/AP

Arsène Wenger unleashed a tirade at his Arsenal players on Thursday which startled some of them in its severity, as he sought to refocus minds following the club's Champions League humiliation at Milan.
The manager bolted shut the doors of the dressing room at the training ground before the squad's warm-down session to turn the air blue. Having repeatedly employed the carrot, this represented the use of a large stick and the players could not remember seeing him so incensed.
Wenger had been quiet in the dressing room at San Siro after the 4-0 last-16 first-leg defeat, which has all but pressed the club out of Europe's elite competition for another season. It was their heaviest loss in Europe. Wenger prefers to analyse matches with a cool head and not deliver assessments in the heat of the moment but, after the early-morning return to Luton airport and a little sleep, his anger had not abated.
He had given the players a taste of what was to come in his post-match press conference, when he was unusually critical of their efforts, describing the result and performance as a "disaster". "We were punished and deservedly so," he said. "I felt we were never in the game, we were very poor offensively and defensively. It was shocking to see how we were beaten everywhere."
Wenger has run the gamut of emotions during a turbulent season but the Milan reverse was too much to take. He must hope that his outpouring can galvanise the team ahead of Saturday's FA Cup fifth-round tie at Sunderland, when Arsenal's last hope of winning a first trophy since 2005 will be at stake. The priority, though, is to finish fourth in the Premier League and qualify for next season's Champions League.
Wenger is expected to be without Laurent Koscielny, after the defender injured a knee at San Siro, and Thierry Henry has said his goodbyes at the end of his loan spell from the New York Red Bulls. Wenger will make changes to his starting lineup at the Stadium of Light and he is considering whether to rest the captain, Robin van Persie.
The forward Gervinho is in line to return after the Africa Cup of Nations, where he missed the decisive penalty for Ivory Coast in their shoot-out defeat by Zambia in the final.

The mood in the Arsenal dressing room remained dark. "We're really disappointed," Mikel Arteta said. "You fight for fourth place to play in games like this. We were all waiting for a game like this, against a great team in a great stadium, but you go down 4-0 and it's a difficult one to take.
"We were counterattacked too many times, playing away from home. We can't allow that to happen, and that was the key. They scored three goals on counterattacks. It's very, very disappointing, it's difficult to take and we have to change our minds because we have another tough game on Saturday."






 
[h=2]Chelsea v Birmingham City, FA Cup fifth round, 12.30pm Saturday 18 February[/h] [h=1]Fernando Torres: I feel better than ever at Chelsea but cannot score[/h] • Striker determined to be a success at Stamford Bridge
• Spaniard has three league goals in over a year






Fernando Torres is confused as to why he cannot score for Chelsea the chances he used to convert when at Liverpool. Photograph: Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images

Fernando Torres has admitted that he just "cannot score" for Chelsea more than a year after his £50m move from Liverpool which has yielded three league goals in 34 appearances.
The striker told ESPN: "To be honest, after one year I was expecting things would be better than they are now. It is a difficult situation because I am happy in my personal life. We really like the club and we're very happy here to be involved with the staff and the players. On the pitch it is a difficult time for Chelsea because we are not finding the results but we're changing things like playing a different style and still we have a young team to do it.
"Personally I have to improve. In my time at Liverpool there were games where I would not be playing well or I would be doing nothing but every time I touched the ball I scored. It's such a strange feeling now because I am feeling better than ever physically. I am not finding the chances and, when I do find the chances, I cannot score."
Despite his difficult 12 months Torres is clear he wants to stay at Chelsea. "My present and my future are here. I have many things to do here and I want to do it because I always did what I wanted in every club I've been at, so this is not going to be different," he said.

Torres will get another chance to find his scoring touch against Birmingham City in Saturday's FA Cup fifth-round tie after André Villas-Boas confirmed Didier Drogba will not feature as he is still recovering after the Africa Cup of Nations, where the Ivory Coast lost to Zambia on penalties in last Sunday's final.
The manager said: "I spoke to him the day after the game. I think it is obviously a major disappointment for him. To what extent personally I don't know. But I think there were great prospects for the Ivory Coast to get that trophy for their country.

"It was a major disappointment for them with the dimension of the players that they have. "




 
[h=1]Guus Hiddink appointed new head coach of Anzhi Makhachkala[/h] • Former Chelsea caretaker signs 18-month deal in Dagestan
• Hiddink's new role eases pressure on Andre Villas-Boas




Guus Hiddink is the new head coach of Anzhi Makhachkala. Photograph: Carl Recine/Action Images

The big-spending Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala have appointed Guus Hiddink as their new head coach.
The Dutchman, a former Russia coach, has signed an 18-month contract with the club, who earlier this week sacked Yuri Krasnozhan after just over a month in the job.
"We discussed Anzhi for quite some time at the end of last year so now I took the decision quickly," Hiddink said. "I'm happy that I got this chance – to work not only in a football club but to work with friends who invited me here."
Anzhi are bankrolled by the billionaire Suleiman Kerimov and have signed players such as Samuel Eto'o and Roberto Carlos
The news will strengthen Andre Villas-Boas' hold on the Chelsea job. The spectre of Hiddink has been hanging over Villas-Boas for three months after the Dutchman left the Turkey post following their failure to qualify for this summer's European Championship.
There has been speculation that the Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich, was considering sending another SOS to Hiddink amid reports senior players at Stamford Bridge wanted their former caretaker boss to be brought in to replace the Portuguese.
But if Abramovich had planned to do that, he appears to have waited too long. Hiddink was Abramovich's go-to man three years ago when Luiz Felipe Scolari was sacked as Chelsea boss, the Dutchman transforming the club's season and winning the FA Cup.
However, Hiddink being out of the picture will not keep the wolf from the door entirely, with Villas-Boas still under real pressure to qualify for next season's Champions League.
Fabio Capello – who was strongly linked with Anzhi after quitting the England job – remains available and there are plenty of other candidates Abramovich could turn to.
 
[h=1]EXCLUSIVE: Vidic set to return this season![/h] Published 23:01 17/02/12 By David McDonnell

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/new...season-after-knee-surgery-article866620.html#


Nemanja Vidic is poised to make a sensational return before the end of the season - and perhaps even in time for the Manchester derby.
Manchesyer United's talismanic skipper Vidic was ruled out for the season after suffering cruciate knee ligament damage during the shock Champions League exit to Basel on December 7.
But the Mirror has learned the defender is at least a month ahead of schedule in his recovery programme and could return to give United a major boost in the title race run-in.
Vidic had surgery before Christmas and is said to have progressed to the 'weight-bearing' stage of his rehab programme - and could even start running by the end of the month.Sir Alex Ferguson and his medical staff are mindful of rushing the player back and running the risk of him breaking down and having to endure a longer spell out of action.

United did just that in their Champions League semi-final defeat to AC Milan five years ago, when Vidic was brought back from injury too soon and was patently not fit.
But the club's medical and fitness believe Vidic has a realistic chance of coming back before the end of the season - without major risk - to help in the battle for the title.
United are scheduled to visit City, who are two points clear at the top of the table with 13 games to go, for a potential title decider on Saturday April 28, although the game may well be moved for live TV coverage.
Rio Ferdinand and Jonny Evans have former United's regular central defensive partnership during Vidic's absence, with Chris Smalling and Phil Jones also filling in there.
The champions' injury crisis - Ferdinand, Smalling and Jones have all been ruled out at times - has been such that midfielder Michael Carrick has also been deployed at the back.
Ferguson currently has 10 players out injured, including Antonio Valencia, Ryan Giggs, Dimitar Berbatov and Anders Lindegaard, while Darren Fletcher is out for the season with a bowel condition.
Vidic has already outlined his desire for a swift return to action.
Speaking last month, he said: "Everything is going well. It's progressing in the right way.
"I have the motivation to work hard and I want to be back as soon as possible."
 
[h=1]Wenger: Milan mauling will haunt me until I die[/h] Published 23:00 17/02/12 By John Cross

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/new...-for-the-rest-of-his-life-article866726.html#


Arsene Wenger admits his Arsenal side's Milanese humiliation will haunt him for the rest of his life.
The Gunners boss gave his whole squad a furious training-ground rollicking after the 4-0 Champions League thumping at the San Siro.
But Wenger has now issued a strong rallying cry and urged his Euro flops to prove they ARE fit to wear the shirt.
The Frenchman is demanding a "committed" reaction after the worst European defeat in club history, and has promised to field a full-strength line-up in their FA Cup clash at Sunderland on Saturday.He said: "It never gets out of your system, because you take it with you until the last day of your life.
"But when you love competition you always strive for the next one - to prove that you are ready for a new fight. That is what competition is all about.
"The reflection is that you can find 100 explanations that we had a poor performance and an off day.
"We lost against a good AC Milan team, not an exceptional one. Unfortunately, we were punished severely.
"I believe, for us, for the rest of the season, it is important not to dwell on that too much.
"We must focus on the next performance - respond in a positive way and ensure we have the mental qualities to be at this club.
"We have to ensure straight away that we are capable to respond, that is where the real test is.
"We cannot change what has happened, but we have an influence on the rest of the season.
"We had put together a good series of results before and we can consider that night in Milan was just where we had an off day.
"We go into a new battle now where we need confidence, belief and great commitment."
Wenger has been considering resting players and rotating his squad as Arsenal visit the Stadium of Light for the second Saturday in a row.
But now they are effectively out of the Champions League, he has revised his plans and will field his strongest line-up - which will be boosted by the return of forward Gervinho from the Africa Cup of Nations.
Wenger insists there is a lot to play for and maintains they can still finish fourth and win the FA Cup, a competition he concedes has taken on a new importance after Wednesday night.
The Frenchman added: "We are in fourth position and we have an opportunity to qualify for the quarter-finals of the FA Cup [by beating Sunderland].
"It is important that we are up for that challenge and do not feel sorry for ourselves.
"The Cup was always important, but it's even more important now.
"It is the next game and, because we had a big disappointment in the last game, it is more important.
"But the FA Cup was always one of my priorities and therefore, coming off the Milan game, it becomes even more important.
"After what happened on Wednesday night it is important for us to have a great performance.
"The team will be full strength. I will refresh a bit because some players have played many games recently, but we will do the maximum to win this game."
Central defender Per Mertesacker has undergone season-ending surgery on the ankle injury he suffered in the 2-1 League win on Sunderland's heavy pitch last weekend.
Kieran Gibbs may be rested after starting his first game at left-back for four months in Milan, which could mean midfielder Francis Coquelin filling in at the back.
Captain and star striker Robin van Persie is jaded, but Wenger is reluctant to risk resting his main goal threat.
It is clear that the manager's strong words, his dressing down for the players and the demand for a response, means Wenger expects a good display and victory over the Black Cats, despite their big improvement under new boss Martin O'Neill.
Wenger added: "It is not only the FA Cup at stake, but the response and mental attitude of our team is at stake too. That is something that is very important.
"I expect Sunderland to be more offensive, because they were maybe happy with a draw in the last game - which you can understand because they have done so well recently.
"Certainly, I expect a bit more forward drive [from Sunderland] and it will be important that we defend well.
"They will be going for it more. The pitch will be the same, but their attitude will be a bit more adventurous.
"We want the fans to be on our side and of course they were really great in Milan – fantastic – and we can only say sorry to them.
"There will be another fight and we want them to be on our side, of course.
"I am sure that they will be."
Henry's farewell plea: Arsenal fans must keep the faith
Rebuilding Arsenal want to go to the Hoilett
Arsenal need to sign five or six star players says Petit
Team news: Cattermole could return, Bendtner ineligible
 
[h=1]EXCLUSIVE: City plan £35m Benfica swoop[/h] Published 23:01 17/02/12 By David McDonnell

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/tra...ty-plan-35m-Benfica-swoop-article866621.html#


Manchester City are ready to make a £35million bid for Benfica star Nicolas Gaitan.
The Argentina international is also on Manchester United's radar, but City are hoping to beat their local - and title - rivals to his signature by simply out-bidding them.
City officials are understood to have contacted their Benfica counterparts this week and made clear their desire to sign the 23-year-old attacking midfielder.
Gaitan is viewed as one of the most exciting and dynamic young players in the world, and impressed in Benfica's Champions League encounters with United earlier this season.City had him watched in a recent Portuguese League Cup game against Maritimo, and football administrator Brian Marwood is understood to have begun the process of trying to formalise a deal with Benfica.
United have been keeping tabs on Gaitan for the past year and had their scouts assess him last month, having also had him watched in games against Naval and Sporting Lisbon earlier this season.
But with manager Sir Alex Ferguson understood to have been set a spending limit of around £30m to spend in the summer, Gaitan looks to be out of reach - unless he raises additional funds through player sales.
Gaitan has a release clause of around £35m written into his contract and City are said to be willing to meet that figure in order to get their man.
United may instead switch their attention to Gaitan's team-mate Javi Garcia, a more defensive-minded midfielder who also impressed in those Champions League games against the Reds.
Is Nicolas worth nicking? Check him out here:

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[h=1]Transfer news, rumours and gossip from Friday's papers[/h] Published 10:04 17/02/12 By Football Spy

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/tra...ssip-from-Friday-s-papers-article866445.html#


The transfer window may be shut, but managers up and down the country are already plotting for when the next one opens, and we've got all the gossip from all the papers right here.
Transfer stories from today's Daily Mirror
United and City chase England starlet
Paris Saint-Germain want Suarez

Anelka hopeful of Drogba reunion in China
Eden Hazard's dad hints at Spurs switch for his boy
Toon's Lovenkrands is loan target
Stories from other papers and websites
Palermo are considering making a bid for Liverpool striker Luis Suarez (Metro)
Arsenal are considering cashing in on under-performing star Theo Walcott in the summer (Daily Mail)
Manchester United scouted Valencia defender Adil Radi at Stoke last night (The Sun)
Spurs sent scouts to watch Ajax centre-back Jan Vertonghen against Manchester United (Daily Mail)
Chelsea say they will not sell Petr Cech or Daniel Sturridge (London Evening Standard)
Fulham are watching Hoffenheim's Ghanaian defender Isaac Vorsah (Daily Mail)
Zambia star Stoppila Sunzu wants to move to the Premier League with Chelsea and Bolton preferred options (Daily Mail)
Tottenham will battle Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus for Leandro Damiao (TalkSPORT)
The agent of Borussia Dortmund midfielder Mario Gotze claims Manchester United want to sign him (TalkSPORT)
Chelsea have pulled out of the running to sign Eden Hazard (Goal.com
 
[h=1]Rebuilding Arsenal go to the Hoilett[/h] Published 21:32 17/02/12 By John Cross




Arsene Wenger is eyeing Blackburn's Junior Hoilett as he plans his rebuilding at Arsenal.
The Canadian winger has been watched by Bayern Munich, but it is understood he wants to stay in the Premier League.
Tottenham, Liverpool and Newcastle are also keeping tabs on the 21-year-old, who is a free agent at the end of the season.
Any move for Hoilett would be part of a summer clear-out following Arsenal's Champions League drubbing by AC Milan.

And Andrey Arshavin is likely to be first out of the exit door.
He interests super-wealthy Russian outfit Anzhi, but his former club Zenit St Petersburg are also keen.
Arshavin's departure would make space for another wide player, with Hoilett fitting the bill.
Arsenal are also willing to listen to offers for Abou Diaby and will want to turn loan deals for Nicklas Bendtner, Carlos Vela and Denilson into permanent transfers.
 
[h=1]Manchester United make Gotze inquiry (video)[/h] Published 11:09 17/02/12 By Football Spy

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/tra...his-goals-and-skills-here-article866458.html#


Manchester united are the latest club to have inquired about highly-rated midfielder Mario Gotze.
The 19 year-old Borussia Dortmund star is wanted by a string of top European sides and is also known to be a long-term target of Arsene Wenger's.
Gotze's agent Dirk Hebel said:"I think in Europe all the top clubs are interested in Mario.
"I can confirm that I have had contact with Juventus and Manchester United but not only them. I don't know if he'll go away after this season, you should ask Borussia.

"But I think that they will not let him leave for less than €40m."
Watch the video below to see why Dortmund value their young star so highly.
 
[h=1]It's time for a change at Arsenal.. and if Arsene won't do it, Jose will[/h]

By Robbie Savage
Published 22:59 16/02/12






I've seen at first hand why Giggs would be a great successor to Fergie
Kenny got it wrong over Suarez but he'll get it right on the pitch
It's hard to look shabby in Milan but Arsenal managed it... and now it must be time for a change of style at the Emirates.
Over the next few days and weeks, Arsene Wenger must look at himself in the mirror and decide whether he is the man to deliver it. Or whether it's time to slip away quietly and with dignity.

Is he prepared to admit he was wrong and rip up the side he has put so much misplaced faith in? Or is he going to leave it to someone else? Because In Arsene We Trust is no longer an option.
Look, we all knew back in August that Arsenal would fall short again this season - and that would have been my assessment even if Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri had stayed.
The current crop of players who Wenger has been predicting will come good so so many years simply aren't good enough to compete at the top.
Not now, not when Jack Wilshere gets back, not if Financial Fair Play gets brought in.
Not without the addition of four or five superstar buys. And maybe not even then.
It is time for a huge change of mindset and of personnel. And if Wenger won't do it then two outstanding candidates who are likely to be available in the summer probably will
Jose Mourinho looks a cert to leave Real Madrid. The way he plays football might not be to Wenger's liking, but there's no doubt that he would bring silverware back to the Emirates.
Pep Guardiola's Barcelona future is in doubt too. Again, he would be an excellent choice and I think both men would be attainable for an outfit that is still one of the world's top 10 clubs.
Tottenham fans might sneer at that, and say they have more of a chance of landing either man in the summer to replace Harry Redknapp. But despite their great strides on the pitch, Tottenham will be too far behind financially until they get their new stadium. That's when you'll get the likes of Mourinho and Guardiola paying attention.
I have been one of Wenger's fiercest critics in recent times. I don't like his lack of grace in defeat and I don't think any other Premier League managers in his position would have got away with six trophyless years.
But as I took in Arsenal's Champions League devastation, all I could think about was what a great manager he has been, one who has created some wonderful sides, developed magnificent players and changed our game for the better in so many ways.
And when you're thinking like that, it usually tells you something. It's the end of an era.
**
ROBBIE'S STORY OF THE WEEK
After a month on the Strictly Come Dancing tour, I finally won my first audience vote and lifted the coveted Glitterball on Wednesday night.
Of course, the fact that we were in Cardiff and I was dancing while wrapped in a Welsh flag had absolutely nothing to do with it.
 
[h=1]I've seen at first hand why Giggs would be a great successor to Fergie[/h]

By Robbie Savage
Published 22:58 16/02/12


http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opi...r-after-Sir-Alex-Ferguson-article866151.html#



It's time for a change at Arsenal.. and if Arsene won't do it, Jose will
Kenny got it wrong over Suarez but he'll get it right on the pitch
Could Ryan Giggs really be the next manager of Manchester United?
Sir Alex Ferguson said so this week, once again proving why he is the shrewdest operator in football.

Unfortunately for me, it's not always the loudest voice in the dressing room who becomes a great gaffer.
Big personalities like Bobby Moore failed. Quieter men, like Martin O'Neill, have suceeded.
In my early days with the Welsh squad, Mark Hughes was a softly-spoken character who mostly kept his opinions about football to himself. Yet when he took over the national team, and later Blackburn Rovers, I know from personal experience what a forceful presence and a thoughtful manager he became.
Giggsy is a similar personality to how Sparky used to be. But having heard him speak in the dressing room as Wales captain, I know he has what it takes to inspire a dressing room.
And his status as probably the greatest Premier League player in history and an Old Trafford legend would command respect and attract the best in the world to play under him.
**
Carlos Tevez is back with a snarl. Mealy-mouthed apologies and moaning about being treated like a dog are not the way to win back the affections of Manchester City fans or my mate Roberto Mancini.
In most walks of life, his latest outburst would have been deemed unforgiveable. But with City so close to the Premier League title and Tevez now picking up his wages again, I think Roberto will have to hold his nose and find a way to bring him back for the run-in.
The leaders have looked a bit predictable in attack lately but imagine what damage Tevez, Sergio Aguero and David Silva could do down the stretch. It'd be nice to see the Argentinean causing havoc on the pitch, rather than the training ground.
**
With a strong accent and a habit of winding people up, some people say Crawley boss Steve Evans is quite like me.
And I suppose if you took away the stunning good looks, the twinkle toes and the winning personality, there might be something to it.
I lost at Crawley in my final FA Cup match last January and I know what a tough place it can be. But even though their fifth round opponents Stoke are struggling, I still think Tony Pulis' side will have too much Premier League nous.
Likewise for Chelsea against Birmingham - who are too big a club to lose Chris Hughton to Wolves - and Liverpool against Brighton.
 
[h=1]Tevez MUST apologise to Mancini admits City team-mate[/h] Published 21:31 17/02/12 By David Anderson

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/new...ays-tesam-mate-Yaya-Toure-article866588.html#


Manchester City rebel Carlos Tevez is being urged by team-mate Yaya Toure to apologise to boss Roberto Mancini and end his Eastlands exile.
Tevez has been training away from the main group with a fitness coach since his return from three months AWOL in Argentina on Tuesday.
Mancini is prepared to let him rot on the sidelines until the club can offload the £198,000-a-week striker in the summer.
But Toure has implored Tevez to swallow his pride and apologise, in the hope that Mancini may reconsider.

The Ivory Coast midfielder feels that Tevez could be a great asset to City on the title run-in, but accepts the player and not Mancini must make the first move.
"Carlos is a fantastic player and I hope he will continue with us because we need him," said Toure. "He's an amazing player and I hope he can join us.
"For me, it's no problem that he is back because he is a great player and everybody likes him.
"He knows what he has to say to the boss and the rest of the players.
"Me and the rest of the players will be happy if he comes back."
Mancini has not even lain eyes on Tevez since he returned to the club's Carrington HQ, and has no plans to sit down with his former skipper to sort out their differences.
The City manager remained in Portugal on Thursday night after their Europa League win over Porto.
As City do not play this weekend, having already been knocked out of the FA Cup, he will spend a few days at his holiday home in Sardinia before returning to England at the start of next week.
Mancini made it clear on the eve of the Porto game that Tevez is not in his thoughts for the rest of the season.
The Italian was hurt by Tevez's accusations in a recent TV interview that he had "treated him like a dog".
City have still to decide if the player should be hit with another fine following those comments.
 
[h=1]Redknapp rules out bossing England just for Euro 2012[/h] Published 21:31 17/02/12 By Mike Walters

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/new...hen-returning-to-club-job-article866599.html#


Harry Redknapp has told the FA: "The England job is for keeps, not just the summer."
The Tottenham manager, overwhelming favourite in what appears to be a one-horse race to succeed Fabio Capello, has yet to be approached about taking on football's toughest gig.
And he is in no rush to discuss it with Football Association's kingmakers, because he is committed to seeing out the season with Spurs and leaving their return to the Champions League as his legacy.
Redknapp, 64, has ruled out taking charge at Euro 2012 as an interim appointment - and he is not expecting puffs of white smoke to appear above Wembley any time soon.

He said: "If somebody takes the England job to the end of the Euros and it doesn't go well, where do you go then? Back to your club with tail between your legs, I suppose.
"I think it is a job where somebody has got to go in and do it full-time.
"That is only my opinion - some people might see it as a good plan, but I think it would be a tough one to take the job and then go back to your club afterwards.
"If Sir Alex Ferguson struggled [Fergie took Scotland to the World Cup in 1986 following the death of Jock Stein and then returned to Aberdeen], it has got to be tough, hasn't it?
"Mind you, that was Scotland, so it was always going to be difficult!"
Although England Under-21s coach Stuart Pearce will be holding the fort, Redknapp wants to take a watching brief at England's friendly against Holland a week on Tuesday.
He said: "I'd like to go, but let's see what happens. There are two weeks to go before then, and two weeks is a long time in football - as we've just seen.
"But I've had no contact about England and I just want to concentrate on the job at Tottenham.
"We've had a great season up to now, and I wouldn't want the players to start looking for excuses by suddenly starting, 'What's he doing - is he going or is he staying?'
"I'm here, and I've got to be here until the end of the season, whatever happens, that's for sure."
Back from taking a four-day break in Dubai to try to recover from the stress of his tax-evasion trial, which came on top of minor heart surgery just before Christmas, Redknapp now leads Tottenham into an FA Cup fifth round date at League One Stevenage - where Newcastle were beaten last season.
He wants to stay at White Hart Lane until the summer to see if he can deliver the FA Cup as a leaving present to Spurs.
Redknapp also stands to earn a £500,000 bonus if Tottenham qualify for the Champions League for the second time in three seasons.
The Spurs boss also repeated his mantra that an Englishman should replace Capello - even if it doesn't turn out to be him.
He added: "I have said all along I would like to see an English manager in charge of England. We've been down the other route.
"Big Phil Scolari nearly had it, didn't he? He was only an overnight decision away from taking it, and then he ended up at Chelsea.
"Sometimes you build people up because they are foreign and people think they are better than anybody in England.
"But I just think there's the passion of it.
"This is your country.
It's like chairmen who buy football clubs when they support another team - I have always found that strange."
Team news: Van der Vaart to miss Stevenage trip
Simon Bird's FA Cup previews and predictions (round 5)
***
WHEN the manager admits his finest hour in the FA Cup was *impersonating a duck on TV, he is papering over the quacks.
When his assistant's only taste of European football, while on loan at Tottenham, culminated in an 8-0 rout by FC Cologne in Germany, you could see the punchline coming a mile off: Oh dear, Cologne.
The goalkeeper's career has gone backwards since he played centre-forward in the same boys' team as David Beckham.
Your historic run to the last 16 - for the first time in the club's history - included beating a non-League side being offered an incentive of free *treatment from the dentist sponsoring them.
And when boy-racer Lewis Hamilton deserted your part of Hertfordshire for a Swiss tax haven, the popular *wisecrack was that he had managed to find somewhere even more boring to live than his hometown.
But cup specialists *Stevenage hope the jokes will all be on Harry Redknapp this weekend.
If they ruffle the cockerel's feathers, the Stevey wonders will be the talk of football – and reconnect new boss Gary Smith with his twitcher roots.
During his unsung playing career, Smith was a member of the Aylesbury United side whose waddling duck celebration achieved nationwide acclaim when they reached the third round in 1995.
The Ducks – Aylesbury's nickname – took to their brush with fame like, er, ducks to orange sauce.
"The team was invited on to They Think It's All Over as the mystery guests when the panel is blindfolded and they have to guess who's on stage," said Smith.
"We waddled into the studio, performing our ‘duck' celebration, but I was right at the back, and by the time I made it on stage I'd only waddled once.
"That just about sums up the impact I've made on the cup in my career."
Stevenage No.2 Mark Newson was Redknapp's captain at Bournemouth.
Like Stevenage keeper Chris Day, he was part of a *makeshift Spurs side who accepted a hospital pass to play in the 1995 Intertoto Cup - a diplomatic move to preserve English clubs' full quota of places in Europe.
Newson was loaned from Barnet for a short-lived campaign that ended with that hammering in Cologne.
For Day, who comes from a family of die-hard Spurs fans, split loyalties will run deep.
Day, who once scored 63 goals in a season as striker for Ridgeway Rovers kids' team in Essex, where Beckham learned to bend it, said: "My five-year-old son Louie will be wearing a Stevenage shirt and a Tottenham badge.
"And my wife, Andrea, will only be supporting Stevenage on the day because blood is thicker than water."
 
[h=1]Redknapp rules out bossing England just for Euro 2012[/h] Published 21:31 17/02/12 By Mike Walters

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/new...hen-returning-to-club-job-article866599.html#


Harry Redknapp has told the FA: "The England job is for keeps, not just the summer."
The Tottenham manager, overwhelming favourite in what appears to be a one-horse race to succeed Fabio Capello, has yet to be approached about taking on football's toughest gig.
And he is in no rush to discuss it with Football Association's kingmakers, because he is committed to seeing out the season with Spurs and leaving their return to the Champions League as his legacy.
Redknapp, 64, has ruled out taking charge at Euro 2012 as an interim appointment - and he is not expecting puffs of white smoke to appear above Wembley any time soon.

He said: "If somebody takes the England job to the end of the Euros and it doesn't go well, where do you go then? Back to your club with tail between your legs, I suppose.
"I think it is a job where somebody has got to go in and do it full-time.
"That is only my opinion - some people might see it as a good plan, but I think it would be a tough one to take the job and then go back to your club afterwards.
"If Sir Alex Ferguson struggled [Fergie took Scotland to the World Cup in 1986 following the death of Jock Stein and then returned to Aberdeen], it has got to be tough, hasn't it?
"Mind you, that was Scotland, so it was always going to be difficult!"
Although England Under-21s coach Stuart Pearce will be holding the fort, Redknapp wants to take a watching brief at England's friendly against Holland a week on Tuesday.
He said: "I'd like to go, but let's see what happens. There are two weeks to go before then, and two weeks is a long time in football - as we've just seen.
"But I've had no contact about England and I just want to concentrate on the job at Tottenham.
"We've had a great season up to now, and I wouldn't want the players to start looking for excuses by suddenly starting, 'What's he doing - is he going or is he staying?'
"I'm here, and I've got to be here until the end of the season, whatever happens, that's for sure."
Back from taking a four-day break in Dubai to try to recover from the stress of his tax-evasion trial, which came on top of minor heart surgery just before Christmas, Redknapp now leads Tottenham into an FA Cup fifth round date at League One Stevenage - where Newcastle were beaten last season.
He wants to stay at White Hart Lane until the summer to see if he can deliver the FA Cup as a leaving present to Spurs.
Redknapp also stands to earn a £500,000 bonus if Tottenham qualify for the Champions League for the second time in three seasons.
The Spurs boss also repeated his mantra that an Englishman should replace Capello - even if it doesn't turn out to be him.
He added: "I have said all along I would like to see an English manager in charge of England. We've been down the other route.
"Big Phil Scolari nearly had it, didn't he? He was only an overnight decision away from taking it, and then he ended up at Chelsea.
"Sometimes you build people up because they are foreign and people think they are better than anybody in England.
"But I just think there's the passion of it.
"This is your country.
It's like chairmen who buy football clubs when they support another team - I have always found that strange."
Team news: Van der Vaart to miss Stevenage trip
Simon Bird's FA Cup previews and predictions (round 5)
***
WHEN the manager admits his finest hour in the FA Cup was *impersonating a duck on TV, he is papering over the quacks.
When his assistant’s only taste of European football, while on loan at Tottenham, culminated in an 8-0 rout by FC Cologne in Germany, you could see the punchline coming a mile off: Oh dear, Cologne.
The goalkeeper’s career has gone backwards since he played centre-forward in the same boys’ team as David Beckham.
Your historic run to the last 16 - for the first time in the club’s history - included beating a non-League side being offered an incentive of free *treatment from the dentist sponsoring them.
And when boy-racer Lewis Hamilton deserted your part of Hertfordshire for a Swiss tax haven, the popular *wisecrack was that he had managed to find somewhere even more boring to live than his hometown.
But cup specialists *Stevenage hope the jokes will all be on Harry Redknapp this weekend.
If they ruffle the cockerel’s feathers, the Stevey wonders will be the talk of football – and reconnect new boss Gary Smith with his twitcher roots.
During his unsung playing career, Smith was a member of the Aylesbury United side whose waddling duck celebration achieved nationwide acclaim when they reached the third round in 1995.
The Ducks – Aylesbury’s nickname – took to their brush with fame like, er, ducks to orange sauce.
“The team was invited on to They Think It’s All Over as the mystery guests when the panel is blindfolded and they have to guess who’s on stage,” said Smith.
“We waddled into the studio, performing our ‘duck’ celebration, but I was right at the back, and by the time I made it on stage I’d only waddled once.
"That just about sums up the impact I’ve made on the cup in my career.”
Stevenage No.2 Mark Newson was Redknapp’s captain at Bournemouth.
Like Stevenage keeper Chris Day, he was part of a *makeshift Spurs side who accepted a hospital pass to play in the 1995 Intertoto Cup - a diplomatic move to preserve English clubs’ full quota of places in Europe.
Newson was loaned from Barnet for a short-lived campaign that ended with that hammering in Cologne.
For Day, who comes from a family of die-hard Spurs fans, split loyalties will run deep.
Day, who once scored 63 goals in a season as striker for Ridgeway Rovers kids' team in Essex, where Beckham learned to bend it, said: “My five-year-old son Louie will be wearing a Stevenage shirt and a Tottenham badge.
"And my wife, Andrea, will only be supporting Stevenage on the day because blood is thicker than water.”
 
[h=1]Henry: Arsenal fans must keep the faith[/h] Published 21:31 17/02/12 By John Cross




Thierry Henry has called on Arsenal's fans to keep believing in their team.
Striker Henry flew to America on Friday to rejoin New York Red Bulls after his close-season loan back to the Gunners finished with THAT humiliating defeat to AC Milan.
The result prompted some fans to question manager Arsene Wenger's future, but Henry insists they must stick behind the team.
The Arsenal icon, 34, said: "The difference is how this team can react and I think this team can do that.

"We realise it is going to be a hell of a task, but who knows? The Sunderland [FA Cup] game is just around the corner, so we have to go there and win.
"You have to remember that you go through moments where it is not always nice.
"If you are an Arsenal fan, then you are an Arsenal fan, that's the way it is. Once a Gunner, you are always a Gunner. You can't change.
"I can't talk for people whose families have supported Arsenal for ever, but I am sure if you talk to their parents, and their parents too, they will tell you to enjoy this generation because they had some bad moments.
"I am sure the fans will understand that they have to stay with the team.
"We all need to be together, because it's the same when the team is winning and also when you lose."

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[h=1]How much longer can Arsène Wenger be offered the benefit of the doubt?[/h] The Arsenal manager is providing the evidence that even the greatest can lose their way, inexplicably and irretrievably




Arsène Wenger looks on during Arsenal's FA Cup defeat at Sunderland. Photograph: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

Arsène Wenger's achievements are so monumental it is not an easy thing to find ourselves at the point when we have to acknowledge, however reluctantly, he is straying dangerously close to fully fledged fantasy if he seriously believes restoring true greatness to Arsenal is going to be anything but a dauntingly long-term project.
The evidence was overwhelming even before their ordeal at the Stadio Guiseppe Meazza and the latest directionless effort at Sunderland that, once again, takes them out of trophy contention and makes it felt even more absurd that Wenger had begun the week expressing his belief that they had realistic aspirations of outdoing Milan, Barcelona, Real Madrid and all the rest to win the Champions League.
Nobody had taken it particularly seriously because, put bluntly, we assumed a man of this calibre was surely more in touch with reality and, if not, what happened at San Siro ("not a football match but a massacre," as La Repubblica put it) made the point with the force of a sledgehammer.
After that, if Wenger's judgment is skewed enough to believe it was simply one bad night, rather than the cumulative effects of a decline that has gone on longer than most Arsenal fans would care to remember, then maybe what we are looking at here is compelling evidence that even the greatest football men can lose their way, inexplicably and irretrievably.
This is not said lightly in an age when football's blame culture and unending demand for scapegoats can be incredibly wearing and Wenger has already revolutionised Arsenal to the point that, even now, it feels almost sacrilege to question his suitability for what needs to happen next. Yet how much longer can we offer the benefit of the doubt when it is so plainly obvious that much of the old magic is no longer there? The decline is year on year and when the man in charge appears to believe it needs only some fine-tuning it becomes increasingly difficult to sustain a legitimate defence.
Already this season we have seen open mutiny at the Emirates Stadium and the most voluble abuse Wenger has ever encountered from his own crowd. This frustration has been building since they won their last trophy seven years ago, and who can say it will get any better soon when they will surely lose their outstanding player, Robin van Persie, at the end of the season?
Wenger has already seen most of his better players picked off by predators. Inferior replacements have been brought in and you know things are bad when Sir Alex Ferguson starts referring to him with the kind of 19th-hole chumminess that could make you think they were Rotary Club buddies rather than embittered adversaries of old. Ferguson and Wenger could once have fallen out over a game of Pooh Sticks but, seriously, why would anyone at Manchester United be overly concerned now about the manager of such an ordinary team, 17 points off Manchester City at the top of the league?
The truth is Arsenal are in fourth position despite recording only one league victory of real substance all season. That was the 5-3 at Chelsea in October, when they came across a side enduring their own slump. Otherwise they have lost every single time against the other four other clubs with aspirations of challenging for the top positions. A good barometer of a team's competitive spirit can usually be found in their away form and Arsenal, on their travels, have conceded more goals than every other team bar two of the sides in the bottom four, Blackburn Rovers and Wigan Athletic. In truth, fourth place flatters Arsenal.
What we have now is a team regarded as such a soft touch that, before a ball had even been kicked at San Siro, the former Milan coaches Carlo Ancelotti and Arrigo Sacchi, with four Europeans Cups between them, could casually dismiss Wenger's men in a click of the fingers, and nobody saw it as the slightest bit impudent. Dennis Bergkamp, Martin Keown and Patrick Vieira have all weighed in from the Invincibles era. These are serial winners, as perplexed as the rest of us. Roy Keane, an old foe now on television duty, was still shaking his head as he boarded his flight from Malpensa airport on Thursday. This team, he said, were going nowhere fast. "The worst Arsenal side in 10 years," Sacchi volunteered.
This is why nobody can really blame Van Persie if, at 28, he wants to join a team that represent more than the elegant frustration Arsenal have become. This could be the first season under Wenger that they fail to qualify for the Champions League and will almost certainly be the only time in his tenure they finish below Spurs, currently 10 points better off. The deterioration has been nothing short of staggering and you have to wonder whether Wenger, already planning for next season, is in danger of joining the list of football greats who stayed too long.

[h=2]Porto chutzpah over racism beggars belief[/h] Manchester City have complained to Uefa about the monkey noises directed at two of their black players during the Europa League tie at Porto, but the Portuguese club say there is a simple explanation.
According to spokesman Rui Cerqueira, the oo-ooing when Mario Balotelli and Yaya Touré were on the ball was actually both sets of supporters chanting in support of their respective players, Hulk, and Sergio "Kun" Agüero. "Kun, Kun, Kun; Hulk, Hulk, Hulk," Cerqueira said, demonstrating the chants. "These can be easily confused with racist chants."
It is an interesting defence, especially as Agüero was not on the pitch at the time and, without wishing to be too pedantic, doesn't actually go by that "Kun" song anyway. Funnily enough, neither he nor Hulk were playing when Chelsea's Didier Drogba and William Gallas suffered the same abuse at Porto in 2004. "It makes me angry our supporters could do these things," Benni McCarthy said at the time. "There are a lot of stupid people at Porto but if we make a big deal out of it things will get even worse."

Uefa, we trust, will impose the usual fine (a few thousand euros seems to be the going rate). Is it really too much to think Porto could apologise in the process?



 
[h=1]Harry Redknapp admits to Spurs interest in Lille's Eden Hazard[/h] • 'Hazard is a player who is definitely on our list'
• Rival bidders may include Arsenal and Barcelona




Eden Hazard has admitted he could join Tottenham Hotspur this summer. Photograph: Mathieu Cugnot/EPA

Harry Redknapp has confirmed Tottenham Hotspur's interest in signing Eden Hazard, the Lille playmaker and one of European football's most exciting prospects. The 21-year-old played an instrumental part in Lille winning the French league and cup double last season, after which he became the youngest ever winner of the Ligue 1 player-of-the-year award.
Discussions between Redknapp and the Spurs chairman, Daniel Levy, over a move for the player began before the close of the last transfer window and, while the club did not make a move for him then, Redknapp has revealed that he and Levy have continued to monitor Hazard's progress and raised the prospect of a transfer bid being lodged with Lille in the summer. "Hazard is a player that we have spoken about," Redknapp said. "He is a player who is definitely on our list."
Any deal for Hazard is unlikely to be straightforward, however. First, there remains the strong possibility that Redknapp will leave Spurs before the start of next season to take over England and, even if his replacement is still happy to sign the player, the London club may not be able to match the asking price, which is believed to be in the region of €40m (£33m), or fend off competition from rival bidders, who are expected to include Arsenal, Chelsea, Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Spurs will, though, have been encouraged by an interview the player gave to the French television channel RTBF last week in which he stated his openness to a move to White Hart Lane. "Maybe it will be Tottenham [I will join]," Hazard said. According to France Football, the Belgian has already agreed personal terms with Spurs.
Joe Cole, who has played alongside Hazard since joining Lille on loan from Liverpool in August, has likened him to Lionel Messi. He has scored nine goals and created nine others for Lille this season, and the club know they stand little chance of retaining Hazard beyond the end of this season, despite his contract there running until June 2015.
Redknapp, meanwhile, has reiterated that despite being the firm favourite to take over from Fabio Capello, he has no desire to leave Spurs before the end of this season and is focusing solely on their FA Cup fifth-round tie with Stevenage on Sunday.
 
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