Liverpool fans would have woken up with big smiles on their faces today following a memorable night at Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp’s side took on the Premier League champions-elect and completely outplayed them in the first half.
Mohamed Salah, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sadio Mane all scored for the Reds inside the opening half an hour on Merseyside.
Despite City’s attacking prowess, Pep Guardiola’s men failed to produce a single shot on target, which could in part be to do with the fact that the manager threw in an extra midfielder.
It was a worthy victory for Liverpool, with the entire team receiving praise, including captain Jordan Henderson, who will miss the second leg due to suspension.
Former City midfielder Joey Barton tweeted his thoughts on the game, and once the dust had settled, the radio pundit suggested that Liverpool fans were going overboard in their praise for the team.
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In fairness to the outspoken figure, the Reds have to come through another 90 minutes against City in order to reach the semi-finals, and they will not have the roar of the crowd to support them.
Even so, Liverpool supporters were not best pleased with Barton’s tweets.
With Alan Pardew leaving his managerial role at Newcastle United to head for Crystal Palace last week, Mike Ashley must get a new manager on board as quickly as possible to get the Magpies’ season back on track.
Pardew’s last game in charge of the Geordies was a hard fought 3-2 win over stuttering Everton at St James’ Park a fortnight ago. Shortly after the victory, rumours broke that the former West Ham United and Southampton boss could be on his way back to Crystal Palace – the place where he spent four years of his 18 year playing career. The news didn’t come as a huge shock to the football world, as it was obvious Pardew had taken the club as far as he possibly have could and it had long been apparent that he wasn’t the man the Toon Army wanted at the helm.
The only surprising thing about his move to Selhurst Park is the fact he left a club in top half of the Premier League to move to a side who are embroiled in a relegation battle. But the new Eagles’ boss has an affinity with the south London club, and the Crystal Palace fans are sure to be happy with the appointment of the 53-year-old.
That leaves Newcastle without a manager at arguably the most important time in the season. The Magpies may sit comfortably in tenth place in the Premier League table, but they will want to get a new manager in as soon as possible. Assistant boss John Carver has taken charge of the last two games, but unfortunately for the 49-year-old, hasn’t done an awful lot to impress Ashley.
In his first game, Newcastle took the lead three times in the home league encounter with Burnley on New Year’s Day, only for the Clarets to hit back three times and earn a surprising 3-3 draw. Then Carver took his side to Leicester City in the FA Cup where they were disappointedly beaten 1-0.
With the January Transfer Window open, it’s imperative that Ashley gets the right man in with a vision to take the club forward. With leading scorer Papiss Cisse away on international duty, and star man Moussa Sissoko attracting huge interest from the Premier League big hitters as well as French club Paris Saint-Germain, the vacant managerial role at St James’ Park has to be number one priority.
With Derby County boss Steve McClaren and St Etienne’s Christophe Galtier both ruling themselves out of the job, we are still none the wiser as to who is going to succeed Pardew in the Newcastle hot seat. Ex-Spurs boss Tim Sherwood is the new bookies favourite, and Remi Garde, who recently spent three years in charge of French giants Lyon, is allegedly in talks with the club.
Newcastle are undoubtedly a huge club who have massively underachieved in recent times. Their 60-year wait for a domestic trophy will go on for at least another year after being knocked out of both competitions.
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Newcastle face arguably the toughest test of their season when they travel to Stamford Bridge to face table-toppers Chelsea tomorrow. John Carver will be in the dugout, but for how much longer is anyone’s guess.
It’s the sort of schtick that’s wheeled out in the Barclays Premier League all too often, but even by the giddy standards of English football’s top flight, the last twelve months have been amongst some of the most memorable on record.
From final day, injury time title deciders to unsavoury controversy both on and off the pitch, if nothing else this year can hardly be accused of being boring. But beneath all of that there was some half-decent football being played too, if you hadn’t had noticed. And here are 15 men who went some way to making 2012 what it was.
So click through, enjoy and be sure to vent your rage below or on Twitter if you feel I’ve committed any cardinal sins by leaving your favourite player out. And before you ask, no, Ryan Shawcross has been kept well away from Football FanCast’s shiny final 15.
Click on Robin van Persie below to unveil the 15
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French football programme Telefoot claimed this weekend that Spurs have joined the race to sign Monaco’s Thomas Lemar.
What’s the story?
According to Telefoot, Spurs are the latest Premier League side to toss their hat in the ring for Lemar, who recently expressed his disappointment that he had not been allowed to leave Monaco in January.
“I am not going to hide it, I was a bit disappointed,” Lemar said. “But there is no point fixating on that.
“I have continued to work so that these clubs might come back for me in the following transfer window.”
Liverpool and Arsenal are also chasing Lemar, but Telefoot claims the 22 year-old is now a top summer target for Spurs.
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Should Spurs do a deal?
There’s no doubt about it, Thomas Lemar is ridiculous talented. The creative winger, valued at £57.1million by Transfermarkt, scored in France’s 3-2 defeat to Colombia on Friday, and it was his sublime pass that set up the other French goal.
The only question is how much he would cost, which is why Spurs should offer Moussa Sissoko as part of a player plus cash deal. Lemar would be an instant upgrade to the Spurs attack, and could certainly hold his own competing with the likes of Dele Alli and Heung-min Son for a starting role.
Not only could he compete with the attacking players for one of the three roles behind Harry Kane, he could even start alongside Mousa Dembele in midfield, especially against teams who defend deep. Despite primarily operating as a winger, the Frenchman can play as a deeper creative influence, similar to the role Philippe Coutinho played before he left Liverpool.
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This is why a swap deal for Sissoko makes sense. Not only could Sissoko excel in France given his somewhat surprising form for Spurs, there simply wouldn’t be room for both of them, and it would knock down the currently ridiculous asking price.
After an incredible season last year, Lemar’s output has slowed this season, but he has still managed two goals and seven assists in 20 league starts for Monaco. He would bring pace, flair and an absolute wand of a left foot to North London. It would also be a great chance for Spurs to prove they are outgrowing Arsenal, as the Gunners are also interested in a deal.
Spurs fans, would you back a summer swoop for Lemar? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…
Jason McAteer believes that his old club Liverpool must stick by Brendan Rodgers amid reports that Rafael Benitez is open to a return to Anfield.
The current Kop chief has come under intense pressure on the back of difficult start to the season and a host of underwhelming summer buys.
With Luis Suarez sold during the last window, Rodgers oversaw a £100m mega spend, but performances on the pitch – Liverpool sit in 11th spot – after 11 games have been below par.
WANT MORE? >> Liverpool transfer news | Latest transfer news
Even though he guided the Merseysiders to second place last term the Northern Irishman’s position is rumoured to be under scrutiny, which has prompted rumours of a stunning comeback for Rafael Benitez.
The Spaniard coached the club to Champions League glory in 2005, and has recently hinted that he would consider a switch back to the North West of England.
But McAteer is adamant that his old side must be patient with Rodgers:
“Rafa has spoken many times on the record of his love for Liverpool and I’m sure if he got the opportunity he would come back and manage the club, but you can’t disregard Brendan after a poor start to the season,” he told talkSPORT.
“The fans are talking about maybe changing Brendan but I think, on the whole, Liverpool are happy with Brendan Rodgers. I think he will be given time. I certainly don’t think he will be sacked this season.
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“People are judging his signings at the minute. They haven’t gone down too well, but he has got a lot of talent in that squad and it is going to take time to integrate them and for the players to believe in his philosophy. We have lost [Daniel] Sturridge though injury and Luis Suarez in the summer so it is a big thing to start again. Liverpool have taken a couple of steps backwards but I have big hopes for Brendan Rodgers and I’m sure he will do really, really well in the next few games and we will be talking about Brendan being the manager we talked about last season.”
As club vs country rows go, the one which appeared to come from nowhere to dominate the headlines between France national team boss Didier Deschamps and Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas over goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, but did the ‘water carrier’ have a point after all?
Now, for those of you that may need refreshing, here is what Deschamps had to say on the matter of his captain and number one not getting enough action for his new club back in November: “He hasn’t had enough playing time, and I can see why it would not be good for him. To be on the on the bench the weekend after the game he played for us in Spain is not easy. He cannot get any consistency with this few games.”
This then prompted something of a tit-for-tat, with the press obviously pouncing on this somewhat minor issue by this point, with their anti-Villas-Boas agenda, which brought the following response from the Portuguese coach, clearly tired at the constant attempts to undermine his authority: “It goes in one ear and comes out the other.”
Never one to be had not having the last word, though, Deschamps piped up just a few short days later with the following, reported by L’Equipe: “I have two ears as well. What he (Villas-Boas) says has the same effect on me. We are not talking of a player who does not play. Since he played his excellent match against Spain (France’s 1-1 draw last month), he has kept goal three times. Hugo is playing one match per week. Of course, he would like to play more, and it is not the case for the moment. He is getting on with it as best he possibly can (but) obviously he would like to play more.”
Of course, when you look at the actual words themselves all together at once, there’s nothing unusually scandalous about them, simply more of a casual disagreement spread over a few days, played out in public and ramped up to sell easy copy while bashing a manager the media clearly doesn’t like all that much. Nevertheless, considering the mild-mannered relationship that most managers share, particularly between club football and the more docile international arena, it’s certainly more barbed than usual.
Upon completing his £12m to White Hart Lane on transfer deadline day from Lyon, there was no clear need for a new goalkeeper at the club given Brad Friedel’s decent early season form, and the 42-year-old looked like he at least had one more season left in him in the top flight.
Lest we forget, the game immediately after the signing of the 25-year-old France international was the 1-1 draw at home to Norwich where Friedel was fantastic in keeping the visitors at bay with a string of superb stops; to drop him after that would have been grossly unfair and a gradual easing in of Lloris into the English game was a sensible approach to take.
Slowly but surely, after the baptism of fire that was the 5-2 hammering when put down to ten men in the north London derby against Arsenal, his displays against West Ham, Liverpool, Fulham, Everton and Swansea in the league have shown what an accomplished shot-stopper he is and while his signing was not an immediate priority in the summer, it certainly would have been at the end of this season and it looks as if they have a long-term solution to a troublesome problem in recent years, given the error-prone Gomes and Friedel’s age.
Villas-Boas finally gave the seal of approval that after starting the past five successive league games that Lloris was his preferred number one this week: “Yes at the moment you have to say so. It was difficult for Hugo at first. We recognise it was not easy for him at that time. There were expectations for him to come straight into the team.The transfer was completed just before the Norwich game in August and Brad performed extremely well in that game. After that we gave a sequence of games to Brad, using Hugo more in the Europa League, although we included him against Aston Villa to give him experience of Premier League opposition. He was very patient. I can see Brad coming back into the team because I certainly respect what he has done for us. We are extremely happy with our goalkeepers’ competition. When the decision was in favour of Brad, Hugo accepted it and now the decision has fallen in Hugo’s favour, Brad accepts it.”
We should notice that criticism of a similar goalkeeping rotation policy at Old Trafford between David De Gea and Anders Lindegaard is in short supply when compared to the over the top reaction the press hammered Villas-Boas with. If anything, the situation is far worse given that Lloris was simply given time to settle in whereas both of the goalkeepers at Manchester United have been in the country for over a season and it is clearly having a destabilising effect on them, while Lloris is now flourishing precisely because of it.
There are plenty of reasons to have a pop at Villas-Boas, but this was certainly not one of them. You always suspected, just as everyone else did, that he was simply giving Friedel a fair crack of the whip which is all you can really ask for as a player before ushering in the better option in Lloris. Tottenham now have a decent deputy and a fantastic, potentially world-class number one.
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While Deschamps may have had a point that the goalkeeper needed more games, his request was completely taken out of context and misconstrued to come across as an attack, completely ignoring the settling in period required with the change in language, style and culture. The route to get to the point where Lloris is a regular in the side hasn’t always been smooth, but the end result is what matters most.
Matt Henry is the only senior seamer left standing in the squad
ESPNcricinfo staff18-Feb-2025New Zealand have lost their most experienced fast bowler to injury with Lockie Ferguson ruled out of the Champions Trophy 2025. Ferguson, who has played 65 ODIs, including the last two World Cups where his team reached the final four, suffered a hamstring injury while playing in the International League T20 (ILT20) tournament in the UAE earlier this month. Kyle Jamieson has taken his place in the 15-member squad who are slated to kick off the ICC event on Wednesday with a game against hosts Pakistan in Karachi.Ferguson picked up the injury at the start of February when he left the field without completing his full quota of four overs for the Desert Vipers. He did not play their two remaining matches of the season and was on the sidelines during the ODI tri-series that followed in Pakistan. Ferguson tested his hamstring out on Sunday, bowling three overs in a warm-up game against Afghanistan. On Tuesday, he was ruled out of the Champions Trophy.Related
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Ferguson is the second fast bowler that the Black Caps have lost in the last week with Ben Sears also down with a hamstring complaint. Although the Champions Trophy is expected to be played in conditions that might be hard work for the quick bowlers, New Zealand’s stocks now look very green. Jamieson joins Will O’Rourke, Jacob Duffy and Natham Smith as seamers with less than 15 ODIs’ under their belt, which places added focus on the only senior fast bowler left in the squad, Matt Henry.Jamieson, 30, has only just recovered from a back injury of his own, having spent 10 months out of the game. His hiatus from ODI cricket stretches back even longer – till September 2023. He has recent form going his way though. Jamieson proved his fitness during the Super Smash T20 competition, along with the talents that made him eye-catching in the first place, bowling full lengths and getting the ball to swing in. He picked up 14 wickets in 12 innings at an economy rate of 5.95. Helped by that performance, his domestic team, Canterbury, made it to the final. Jamieson has also earned a PSL deal and will play for Quetta Gladiators later this year.New Zealand are one of the pre-tournament favourites at the Champions Trophy. They won the tri-series final at the same venue where they will open their campaign, with their batting depth and their allrounders proving key at crucial moments. New Zealand are in group A and after the game against Pakistan, they play Bangladesh in Rawalpindi on February 24 and India in Dubai on March 2. The top two teams in each group go on to the semi-finals.
The players went off four overs into the chase – one over before the game constituted a completed match – with Sixers already ahead of their five-over DLS target
AAP30-Dec-2023 No resultSydney Sixers were denied a BBL win over cross-town rivals Sydney Thunder in dramatic fashion, after rain washed out the match at the Sydney Showground. With five overs needed to constitute a match, Sixers were 34 for 1 after four overs in pursuit of 152 for victory when persistent rain stopped play and did not let up in time for players to return.Sixers would only have needed to be on 33 at the end of the fifth over to win under the Duckworth Lewis Stern system, provided they did not lose another wicket.The decision prompted Sixers captain Moises Henriques to walk on to the ground with his bat in hand and helmet on in frustration, seemingly arguing that play should not have been stopped.”It started raining obviously, but just with one over to go, the position we’re in, obviously we wanted to compete the over to constitute a match,” Sixers batter James Vince said.”I can understand in their position why they’re obviously [keen to] get off, but you know it just started raining. It would have been nice if we could just get the six balls down and have a result in the match.”Adding to Sixers’ frustrations was the fact that Thunder were one over behind on the over rate, according to the ground’s clock.The stoppage came after Thunder captain Chris Green had been in discussions with umpire Greg Davidson between overs, before players were taken off.Vince quipped that it was “borderline intimidation” in a reference to Tom Curran’s recent ban for defying an umpire’s direction.Thunder batter Alex Ross admitted there had been some gamesmanship.”It was a little bit of gamesmanship,” said Ross, who top-scored for his side with 44 off 39 balls. “But we did see in the end it came down hard enough to be off, so I think the right decision was made.”The result keeps Sixers in third spot on the BBL ladder, while Thunder are stuck in second-to-last on points with one win from their opening five games.Earlier, Sixers allrounder Jack Edwards produced the best bowling figures of his BBL career to keep Thunder to 151 for 7.Edwards bowled superbly and took the key wickets of Alex Hales (26) and Daniel Sams (30) in figures of 3 for 24.It came as Thunder stumbled to 53 for 4 in the eighth over, before Sams and Ross helped bat the hosts towards a somewhat competitive score.But still, the innings belonged to 23-year-old Edwards with the ball. One of the few bright lights of New South Wales’ domestic season, Edwards stood tall on Saturday night. After Hales threatened to go large with a massive six over the leg side off Sean Abbott, Edwards had him caught in the deep in the next over.And when Ross and Sams looked as if they were setting up for a big finish, Edwards was the man to remove the latter at long-off.He also accounted for Nathan McAndrew courtesy a neat Jordan Silk boundary catch, in a superb 18th over that went for only three runs.
Birmingham Phoenix suffer second defeat after being dismissed for 104 chasing 123
Charlie Peters28-Aug-2022Manchester Originals 122 for 6 (Lamb 30, Arlott 2-17) beat Birmingham Phoenix 104 (Elwis 32, Ecclestone 3-8)Manchester Originals left Birmingham Phoenix shellshocked by masterminding an 18-run victory at Edgbaston, successfully defending a total of just 122 to claim their second victory of the season.England internationals Kate Cross and Sophie Ecclestone led the charge for the visitors, ripping through the home side’s star-studded top order to leave them spluttering at 22 for 5 after 34 deliveries. A plucky sixth-wicket partnership of 46 from Georgia Elwiss and Issy Wong kept Phoenix within touching distance of a stunning turnaround in front of a record attendance at Edgbaston, but it wasn’t to be as Originals held their nerve at the death.Wong, Emily Arlott and Kirstie Gordon had earlier bowled admirably to restrict the Originals to 122 for 6, a score that threatened to be some way under par until Phoenix found themselves rattled by an electrifying new-ball performance that put paid to their chances of moving up the table into second place for now.The Phoenix reply got off to a rocky start from the outset. First Eve Jones popped one into the hands of Lee off Kate Cross for none. Then Amy Jones was clean bowled attempting to cut a Hannah Jones delivery that looked far too straight for such a shot, leaving the home side 10 for 2 after just 13 balls.Captain Sophie Devine fell soon after for 4, then Ellyse Perry edged through to keeper Ellie Thelkeld a few sets later. When Ecclestone pinned Sophie Molineux in front, things went from bad to worse. Phoenix were now teetering on the brink at 22 for 5, still some 101 off the target.An enterprising partnership from Elwiss and Wong bought Phoenix within arm’s length of a tight finish. Elwiss in particular looked to accelerate, smashing three fours in the rebuilding period as the duo put on 46 to leave them requiring 54 from the last five sets. After a quiet period, the Edgbaston crowd were briefly back to their usual raucous self.But when Jones sent Wong’s bails flying after posting a valiant 24, it seemed a tall order. Elwiss soon followed back to the dugout for a fighting 32, and with her wicket the game was as good as sealed.Earlier, Originals had started their innings off at a decent rate, as openers Lizelle Lee and Emma Lamb racked up 41 between them inside the powerplay. But it was an injection of pace that saw the first breakthrough – rapid England seamer Wong caught Lee bang in front lbw for 20, after having greeted her with a fiery bouncer the previous delivery.Lamb fell not long after to Arlott for a streaky 30, driving uppishly into the hands of Elwiss. The new partnership of Erin Burns and Amy Satterthwaite struggled to find momentum, as Wong, Arlott and Gordon were able to dry up the visitors’ ability to find the boundary.Phoenix’s pair of slow left-armers continued to apply the pressure, and not long after Gordon had breached Satterthwaite’s defences and bowled her for 13, a mix-up off the bowling off Molineux saw new batter Ami Campbell run out for a duck.Only Ecclestone was able to bring some impetus to the death of Originals’ innings. A quickfire 20 off 14 balls, including a slog-sweep for six off Molineux, was just about enough to help her side post a competitive score
Fast bowler suffered cut to hand in January that will now require an operation
ESPNcricinfo staff27-Mar-2021Jofra Archer is set to undergo a surgical procedure on his right hand next week, having also received another injection in his elbow after being ruled out of England’s ongoing ODI series in India.The news means Archer’s participation in the upcoming IPL hangs in the balance, although it is understood that Rajasthan Royals, the franchise he represents, have decided to wait until next week before deciding their next step. The Royals were already braced to be without their star fast bowler for the first half of the tournament after he returned home early from England’s tour of India.In a statement the ECB said that Archer had suffered a cut to his hand in January, which had been managed on tour, but specialist advice had now recommended surgery.Archer missed two of England’s four Tests in India due to an elbow problem and although he subsequently played all five of the T20Is, he was sent home to rest after the injury was deemed to have “deteriorated” further.Related
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Having returned to the UK earlier this week, Archer underwent a scan and a consultant review on his hand.”Jofra suffered a cut to his hand while cleaning at his home in January shortly before flying to India to prepare for the Test series,” the ECB statement said. “The injury was managed by the ECB’s medical team through the tour and it did not impact on his availability.”Further investigation and a specialist opinion was sought upon his return to the UK and, in conjunction with the ECB medical panel, it has been decided that surgery is the best option to manage his injury in the longer term.”Archer previously suffered a stress fracture of his right elbow in early 2020, ruling him out of the Sri Lanka tour that was subsequently called off due to Covid-19. His fitness is set to be carefully monitored by the ECB, with Archer central to the twin goals of a T20 World Cup and the Ashes in Australia later this year.