Fulham will continue their pursuit of Martin Jol on Wednesday by meeting representatives of the Dutch coach's current club Ajax.
Chief executive Alistair Mackintosh is in Amsterdam to meet with Ajax officials as he attempts to negotiate the release of the former Tottenham manager.
Jol is believed to be keen to return to the Premier League to replace Roy Hodgson in the Craven Cottage hot-seat.
The Cottagers have been without a manager since Hodgson joined Liverpool almost three weeks ago, since when Ray Lewington has been in caretaker charge.
On Tuesday, stories from the Netherlands claimed the 54-year-old had agreed to stay with Ajax in principle after the club agreed to his demands that new players needed to be signed before the start of the 2010-11 campaign.
However, it now appears that Ajax are refusing to negotiate and the two clubs are at an impasse.
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Ivory Coast coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has also been linked with the vacancy at Craven Cottage as have United States coach Bob Bradley and Switzerland's Ottmar Hitzfeld.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
When people talk about the best striker that ever lived you’ll always hear the same old names. Van Basten, Muller, Ronaldo etc. It’s extremely rare you’ll ever hear someone mention Henrik Larsson in the same breath though. For me he’s without doubt the most underrated striker ever. And the reason he gets so little credit is always that old chestnut, “he only scored goals in Scotland”.
Not true. He’s scored goals in Holland, Spain, England, UEFA Cup’s, Champions League’s, European Championship’s and World Cup’s. In fairness the majority of his goals did come playing for Celtic, but two hundred and forty two goals in three hundred and fifteen games can’t be scoffed at.
At international level he notched thirty seven in one hundred and four. One of which I’m sure everyone can remember. At Euro 2004 he scored goal of the tournament with an unbelievable diving header against Bulgaria.
One of his most impressive games though was for Barcelona. 1-0 down to Arsenal in the Champions League final of 2006 Larsson was brought on from the bench. He changed the game, assisting both Barca’s goals in a 2-1 win. Thierry Henry said after the match: “He came on; he changed the game, that is what killed the game. Sometimes you talk about Ronaldinho and Eto’o and people like that; you need to talk about the proper footballer who made the difference, and that was Henrik Larsson tonight.”
Larsson left Barcelona a hero and went back to his native Sweden with Helsingborg. He did however have a short loan spell with Manchester United in which he scored three goals. He was that impressive for United that Alex Ferguson tried everything to convince him to stay ‘till the end of the season. Larsson being a man of his word though went back to Helsingborg in the middle of March.
While I’m not saying Henrik Larsson is the greatest player to ever live, let’s give the guy a bit more credit.
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I mean, Celtic would probably have him back now if they could.
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Flair, defined by one as ‘a special or instinctive aptitude or ability for doing something well’ or as ‘a sophistication or elegance in style, bearing, or manner’. Combine the two and you go some way to describing the talents of the uniquely gifted ten players who appear on the list below. Enjoy.
Fleet-footed Brazilian midfielder Juninho had three separate spells on Teeside with Middlesbrough and was voted their greatest ever player in December 2007. Juninho inspired Boro to the FA & League Cup final in 1997 before returning to win the latter in 2004.
Nicknamed ‘The Little Fella’ due to his 5’ 5’’ frame, the former Brazilian Player of The Year mesmerised defenders with his dazzling runs, quick feet and astounding playmaking abilities. As one of the most technically gifted players ever to grace the Premier League, Juninho is fondly remembered by fans up and down the country.
[youtube sHQd3OSsSyg]
9. Jurgen Klinsmann, Tottenham Hotspur (1994-95 & 1997-98)
With a reputation as a ‘cheat’ and a ‘diver’, German international Jurgen Klinsmann had his work cut out to change the British public’s perception of him when he first arrived in England in 1994. However 50 appearances and 29 goals in his first full season later and the striker had become a legend in the eyes of the Tottenham Hotspur faithful.
Klinsmann was a genius with the football at his feet, while his anticipation, technique and aerial ability meant he scored some truly stupendous goals for Spurs. Klinsmann, or course, returned to North London for a second spell in 1997 where his four goals in the penultimate game of the season against Wimbledon ensured Spurs avoided relegation. Watch his debut goal away at Sheffield Wednesday and his memorable celebration below-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8Bx8Jc2HrQ
8. Paolo Di Canio, West Ham (1999-03)
Despite spells at Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton, Italian Paolo Di Canio is best recognised for his four-year spell at West Ham from 1999. Di Canio was a magical footballer who endeared himself to Hammers fans with his outrageous skill and passion for the club.
Despite the controversy which has followed him throughout his career, Di Canio is still considered one of the greatest foreign players to have ever graced the Premier League. He is widely remembered for a special goal against Wimbledon in 2000, one which is still considered one of the best strikes ever seen in Premier League history. Enjoy it below-
7. David Ginola, Newcastle 1995-97 & Tottenham (1997-00)
French international David Ginola oozed style, charisma and class on and off the pitch, impressing at both Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur during the late-90s.
Ginola is remembered for his magical velcro-like first touch and mesmerising dribbling skills, abilities which won him the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year while playing for Spurs in 1999. The next season Ginola scored one of his best-ever goals against Barnsley, weaving between four players before dispatching a clinical shot goalwards. A goal which perfectly demonstrates all the attributes which made the floppy-haired Frenchman such a hit at White Hart Lane.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCTbNqBP9h8
6. Matt Le Tissier, Southampton (1986-02)
Described as the greatest talent ever to be wasted by England, Matt Le Tissier scored 211 goals for Southampton during an astonishing 17 years at The Dell.
Nicknamed ‘Le God’ by Saints fans, the attacking midfielder had supreme technical abilities unmatched by most in the top-flight. As the first midfielder to score 100 goals in the Premier League, Le Tissier had natural flair and ability in abundance. Le Tissier was a one-club man and a true maverick of the game. Watch his top ten goals below-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSsdfe4Z69g
Continued on Page TWO
5. Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United (2003-09)
Speed, skill and performance, world record £80m Real Madrid signing Cristiano Ronaldo has all of them and remains one of the most entertaining foreign imports ever to play in England.
Ronaldo has the arrogance and ego to match the outrageous ability which lit up the Premier League during his six years at Old Trafford. A specialist in free-kicks, theatrics and wonder goals, Ronaldo certainly won’t be forgotten in a hurry.
[youtube tsiMrl92RK0]
4. Eric Cantona, Manchester United (1992-97)
Eric Cantona combined creative style with artistic genius to inspire Manchester United in 1993 to their first English league title since 1967. Cantona had immaculate ball control, visionary passing ability and a clinical striking technique.
The charismatic Frenchman was an imposing figure on the pitch and inspired those around him with a fearless attitude and ability to win a match with a moment of brilliance. Skills, flicks and tricks, Cantona was a master of all. Relive his best moments below-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etAwiDwZHQc
3. Thierry Henry, Arsenal (1999-07)
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Thierry Henry showed both pace and creativity in abundance during his time at Arsenal from 1999. The French World Cup winner dazzled fans with his manipulation of the football and ability to beat players with ease. With 226 goals for The Gunners, Henry remains one of the greatest players of his generation.
2. Gianfranco Zola, Chelsea (1996-03)
Audaciously talented Italian Gianfranco Zola used to study Diego Maradona as a youngster at Napoli and it seems some the Argentine’s genius rubbed off the on diminutive attacker.
Back heels, volleys and bicycle kicks, Zola had an astounding repertoire of tricks to entertain his beloved Chelsea supporters during seven years in West London. Zola was a truly wonderful player and the publicity shy player let his football do the talking. Take a look at his best moments below.
1. Dennis Bergkamp, Arsenal (1995-2006)
Elegance, grace and poise are not the usual attributes associated to footballers but they sum up Dutch master Dennis Bergkamp perfectly. Signed for £7.5m in 1995, Bergkamp entertained Gunners fans with his exhilarating skills and exciting play. He scored over 100 goals during his time at Arsenal.
Former team-mate Henry sums up the ability of Bergkamp perfectly:
“When Dennis Bergkamp scores, it’s not a common goal; it’s always what we call ‘a Dennis Bergkamp goal’.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3n4CTLDn_w
Who would make your Top Ten? Leave your comments below. Alternatively you can read more of my blogs HERE or follow me on Twitter.
Tackling has always been an integral part of the beautiful game, but in the modern era it is a dying art. A perfectly timed tackle may have pundits and fans alike purring but get it wrong and you must be well prepared for a plethora of media endorsed criticism.
It has been in the spotlight in recent weeks after Nigel de Jong’s tackle on Ben Arfa and Karl Henry’s thuggish lunge at Jordi Gomez in Wolves’ defeat against Wigan with many re-iterating a desire for drastic action in order to stamp such tackles out of the game.
Danny Murphy called upon managers to take responsibility for reckless challenges saying: “You get managers who are sending their teams out to stop other teams playing, which is happening more and more – the Stokes, Blackburn’s, Wolves. The pace in which some players go into tackles now is ridiculous. There are no brains involved in the players who are doing that.”
He continued “If you are going at someone at a certain pace and you don’t get it right you are going to hurt them. Players should be culpable for that, in terms of punishment I don’t know what – but they need to show a little bit more intelligence, especially the ones who are doing it repeatedly.” Whilst Fifa’s top medical official Dr Michel d’Hooghe claimed that some players come on the field to “break a career” and that “some acts really are criminal”.
And although I like the next man enjoys a full-blooded challenge that results in dispossession, such tackles may soon taint the unblemished beauty of the English Premier League. Questioning the malice of such challenges would prove peripheral but it would hardly be surprising if old school managers like Mick McCarthy, Tony Pulis or even Sam Allardyce had told their players to get stuck in to their opposing number or to let him know your there.
All is well and good if challenges are hard and fair.
The challenge from Wolves skipper Karl Henry inside ten minutes at the DW Stadium however touched upon absurdity – at least a red card and Gomez curling home a beautiful free kick just past the hour offered amnesty. Nigel De Jong’s challenge on the contrary did not receive a card at all.
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It with this you have to question the stringency from referees on such issues and whether they should be coming down harder on players for challenges that put opponents out for months in order to alleviate this from the game. Harsher punishments may separate the blatant offenders from those who actually “aren’t that type of guy” as Mancini described the man nicknamed the “Lawnmower” during his time at Hamburg.
For although we like to defend our players, I can only imagine the fury a tackle similar to those seen in recent weeks would elicit if a player from my team, Birmingham City, was on the end of it.
Continuing the Chelsea Football FanCast awards for player and goal of the month we have September’s candidates for you to vote on. The player of the month candidates are based on the statistics I am recording to try to evaluate the squad’s performance in ways other than analysis based on stats such as passing and shooting percentage (as discussed for last month’s vote).
As Chelsea recorded a couple of defeats in September (and did not hammer opposition as was the case in August) the average ratings are lower this month than last. The best players were:
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John Mikel Obi – 7.62 Ashley Cole – 7.25 Nicolas Anelka – 7.21 Michael Essien, John Terry & Alex – all 7.00
John Mikel Obi was the best performer in my opinion, continuing his excellent form from the start of the season with composed displays in every game. Interestingly, in spite of his hot start to the month, Michael Essien averaged a 7, dropping back a notch due to an ineffective game at Man City (not the only one of course!). The worst performer was new signing Ramires at 5.98, although he put in an improved display at the weekend against Arsenal. Interestingly, Josh McEachran averaged out at an impressive 7.44, but only played 57 minutes.
In terms of the players’ “Plus Minus” scoring (accounting for every goal either scored or conceded while on the pitch) the figures were a lot lower this month with no 6-0 spankings to speak of! Salomon Kalou tops out the list at +2.92 team goals while on the field of play but only made two starts due to his injury against Newcastle. Of the main contributors, Ramires was again the worst offender with +0.99, which is still a credible figure.
John Mikel Obi – +2.18 team goals per game Petr Cech, Branislav Ivanovic, Michael Essien – all +2.00
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For the involvement in goals statistic (goals + assists per 90 minutes) Nicolas Anelka is on top thanks to his haul of 5 goals in September, while Kalou again grades out highly at 1.46 but recorded too few minutes to make the list. Michael Essien had a productive month for a midfielder, hence his nomination in the player of the month category.
Nicolas Anelka – 1.24 goals + assists per game Didier Drogba – 1.06 Michael Essien – 0.85 Florent Malouda – 0.74 Click here to vote now in the Chelsea Player and Goal of the Month Awards for September!
Everton midfielder Leon Osman has been ruled out for six weeks with an ankle injury.
Osman was replaced at half-time during last weekend’s 2-0 Merseyside derby victory over Liverpool and manager David Moyes has reveaeled the extent of the problem.
The 29-year-old’s absence has left Moyes with a midfield selection headache ahead of Saturday lunchtime’s Premier League trip to Tottenham.
Mikel Arteta is a doubt with a hamstring problem, while Marouane Fellaini (ankle), Steven Pienaar (groin) and Jack Rodwell (ankle) are definitely ruled out.
Strike pair Louis Saha (calf) and Victor Anichebe (knee) remain absent with long-term injuries.
“There is no getting away from it we have another bad set of injuries like we had last year,” said Moyes.
“Hopefully they will not be as bad as that in terms of the length of time the players will be missing for.
“Leon Osman has a bad ankle injury which will keep him out for four to six weeks which is a real blow.
“We’ll also have to have a close look at Arteta’s fitness as well.
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“There are others we will have to assess today, we are getting some players back but maybe some not quick enough.”
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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has defended Blackpool boss Ian Holloway for making ten changes before Wednesday's Premier League clash at Aston Villa.
The Seasiders narrowly lost 3-2 in the Midlands with a perceived weaker team following Saturday's 2-2 draw with Everton.
Premier League officials are investigating the situation, but Wenger believes the new 25-man squad guideline works in Holloway's favour.
But the Frenchman insists that it is of paramount importance that wholesale changes do not disturb a team's performance in the future, otherwise disgruntled supporters may rightfully speak out.
"We are allowed only 25 players now in our squad, so you would think if you are allowed only 25, then you have to declare you can use them how you want," Wenger said.
"When you had 50 and you could use 50, you could say there was an opportunity sometimes to throw a game away.
"That is one of the few positive aspects of the 25-man squad, that you have to present decent players, which is what he did, and they gave big problems to Aston Villa.
"What is most important is the performance of the team. We are all in professional sport and what is the most important thing is to respect people who pay the money to watch the games.
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"If people who bought a ticket at Aston Villa and think the game against Blackpool was a waste of money, we have to think about the problem.
"They are the decider and we must always have that in our minds. We have to respect people who pay to watch football. It is not only my opinion or the opinion of the press, it is the opinion of the people who watch the games."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Article courtesy of the excellent Harry Hotspur blog
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I began yesterday by referring to this whole affair as a fiasco.
And after dwelling on the matter I’ve confirmed it to myself. The whole idea of ‘relocating’ and staying where you are defies sanity. It is (to quote Chief Wiggum, or was it George Bush Jnr – I watch so many cartoons – I forget) unpossible.
N17 is a significant room in my memory palace. And true to life, despite all it’s magical and life affirming content, it’s an absolute pig to get to – through all the kitchens I’ve ever stood in, past every chair I didn’t find comfortable and beyond all the old furniture crammed into my grandparents house I used to visit as a boy. And then, eventually I am there.
Rather than a room as such, it’s a long high ceilinged corridor. The walls bare vast images. Some in sepia which are animated but playing at half speed. Others are so loud I’ve had to mute their soundtrack just to prevent myself being aurally fried by the sensory overload – like terrorists being played a medley of Barney and Megadeath at 300 decibels.
The floor is suddenly really hard and my arches ache just two steps in. Everything is so close. I have other rooms that this room could become lost in. But this is almost claustrophobic there is so much packed in. The sensations are expectation and excitement and everything is so bloody close and well, a bit daunting.
I’m outside Seven Sisters. The ceremony of the long walk.
The stadium was miles away and it’s now as if the back drop to a play has dropped, hurtled down about ten feet away from me. A crime scene hits me like toothache. Horses, men, horseshit, lager, fags, mobile phones, laughter and a helicopter. A helicopter!
I am of course in 1983 and as the phrase goes, the very portrait of a younger man.
Curiously the game itself is so big that it’s out of focus. electric green with microscopic fuzzes of white bustling about in to an out of sync grinding wave of crowd noise. This is actually exhausting. Devouring a sensory overload starts off being brilliant, but I’m tiring fast.
It’s over. Back outside and I can zoom in on a fruit and veg stall. I can hear cheers after a win alternate with the grunts and groans peppered by the noise of the seat flaps hitting their backs that follow a loss…
If you’re still here, thank you for indulging me. And if you’re skim reading – welcome back.
My point is that if some reprehensible fiend were to blow up The Lane tomorrow, I have my memories and the rest of my days to revisit them. That room provides not just one event. That room houses perhaps the most sophisticated cinema of Tottingham memories I can imagine.
I often use the phrase, ‘emotional investment’. And I don’t use it cheaply or in a disrespectful way. For all of us White Hart Lane has become a part of our lives. We revel in its history like a happy dog rolling on grass.
But outside of our minds (which themselves gently fail, little by little) nothing lasts forever.
I’ve stood outside the house I was born in. Is it still there or now just a small corner of an Asda car park? I don’t know. But I’m still here. As noisy and slippery as the day I blessed the world. I haven’t been paved over.
What if I had lived forever in that two up two down? Blimey. All the anecdotes I would not have now is one thought. Compared to the marginally less than dull life I’ve had so far, the idea of having been shackled to a terraced house in the same country for 42 years doesn’t appeal at all.
My parents remember it fondly. But then they had the luxury of memory whilst sitting in rooms big enough to swing cats in – not a continued existence in an ever decreasing terraced reality.
The last blog was one of the best we’ve done. I don’t mean we, as in the Harry Hotspur team like my mate Simon at ENIC did, bless ‘im. I meant you and me. I know the mood. I don’t need a poll to tell me. Hell, I’d vote to stay if it did any good. But what inspired me to blog that piece yesterday wasn’t that there was going to be some chap on the radio or whatever, it was the inertia, the collective dumbfoundedness of everyone as the airbrushed arena we’d all been gawping at for months seemed to have been shelved or near as dammit.
Even the ‘powers that be’ have been questioning THFC’s intent over Stratford. Pah, it’s simply to put the wind up Haringay. No it isn’t. I get the sense that the proposed redevelopment plan in N17 has been met at every turn with self interest and protocol that would make you wanna self harm. No surprise that two immediate consequences of the Stratford bid is the threat of civil disorder from mentally malnourished West Ham hams and the threat of the compulsory purchase orders being revisited.
Calling cards of the grimly stupid and the greedy.
The reality is that Levy & Co are used to making unpopular decisions. I’d speculate that they make ten unpopular ones for every one good one. In fact the ratio is probably worse. Maybe we should lend them our support.
Let’s swerve the whole, ‘it’s a sh*thole’ argument’ for both locations. Neither areas are magnificent and many good decent folk who don’t fritter away any part of their days being witty on the web – using hundreds of pounds worth of computer- live real lives in both parts of north and east London. Self interest must take a back seat. And the first casualty may just be you, dear reader.
The benefits to the Club would be enormous. The redevelopment of the Lane in N17 would not guarantee the future. Despite the cost. It would be like taking over a derelict pub in Birkenhead and making it a destination gastro-pub run by the next Heston Bloomingwotsit.
And just who is going to flock to buy the Spirit Of Gracious Living that will be the apartments? Who will stroll the magnificent aisles of the supermarket? Come off it, you nipping in for a prepacked sandwich doesn’t count.
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Stratford will not have a running track.
The suggestion as things stand is to pretty much rip the Olympic thing down and use the resources that surround it. I made the analogy (woulddathunkit) to herself last night that West Ham’s willingness to take the stadium as it stood was akin to us sleeping in our car. It was the opposite of ideal, but could be done if beggars couldn’t be choosers. Olympic legacy my arse.
Stay where we are and we will become a really, really big Fulham. Spurs fans need to embrace the fact that for all the ranting, raving and negotiating, the Tottenham legacy is the one to safeguard. A legacy is not made of bricks and mortar.
View the overall debate at Harry Hotspur here
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Read more of Harry Hotspur’s musings at his excellent blog here
As we come to the end of the year and look back over the past 12 months, some Premier League players have really stood out from the crowd. There have been fantastic saves by goalkeepers in between the sticks, committed defenders giving everything for their team’s cause, midfielders who have run games with ease and strikers who have put the ball in the back of the net for fun. Picking a Premier League Player of the Year for 2010 is no easy task, and there are certainly plenty of candidates to choose from, but who do you think deserves to win this accolade? These players are regulars in fantasy football teams up and down the country, so here are the nominees for the FootballFanCast.com Player of the Year for 2010…
Every year we receive at least one present that was really not what we were expecting or more tellingly, what we wanted. I have been looking around at football club related Christmas presents and I have seen so much useless tat that it was worthy of a blog. It left me hoping and wishing that I don’t receive anything like what I’m about to show you lot this Christmas.
Click on the image below to see the TOP TEN
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So there you have it, 10 pieces of cheap tat at Christmas from the clubs you spend your hard-earned cash with. If you hadn’t guessed I’m pretty gutted with the gifts I’ve seen, so I’m off for a warm Christmas drink down my local!
By the way, the perfect Christmas present is a pair of Champions League Tickets, which you can buy here!
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