It has emerged that Real Madrid have secured the first option of buying Gareth Bale if Tottenham decide to sell their star winger, Mirror Football report.
The Wales international attacker has shot to superstardom over the last 24 months, and is widely recognised as one of the Premier League’s top players.
Bale has been linked with a big-money move away from White Hart Lane over the last number of seasons, with Barcelona and Manchester United potential destinations.
However, it is believed that Jose Mourinho’s men will now have the first refusal on Bale if Spurs do opt to sell him.
Tottenham and Madrid signed a new alliance after the sale of Luka Modric to the Santiago Bernabeu club, which will involve ‘players, coaches, best practices and commercial relationships.’
It is said that Bale’s potential asking price will be in the region of £45 million, with Spurs having the option to bring a number of Madrid players to north London as part of the deal.
Bale signed a new four-year contract back in June.
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Steven Gerrard said he was proud of his side’s performance against Manchester United on Sunday, and is confident a first Premier League win of the season is just around the corner, reports Liverpoolfc.com.
Gerrard once again produced an outstanding captain’s performance, giving 10-man Liverpool an early second half lead after Jonjo Shelvey had been controversially sent off just before half time.
The 32-year-old believes the best team on Sunday lost, and is convinced a repeat performance against Norwich next weekend will lead to that all important first victory of the season.
“We played really well today with 11 men and we played even better with 10, so we’re disappointed to come away from the game with nothing. We showed great determination,” he told Sky Sports.
“You can’t fault any of the players in our dressing room, they gave everything they had. But sometimes that’s not enough against quality teams like Manchester United and they managed to get themselves in front after we took the lead.
“If we keep playing like that and showing that amount of effort and determination, then it will only be a matter of time [before we get our first win].
“If you analyse all of our performances, it’s not that we haven’t been playing good enough – maybe we just need a bit of luck. We’ll keep plugging away and it will come eventually.
“But we know that we need our first win very quickly. It needs to be next week at Norwich.”
Gerrard was also pleased with the pre-game tribute to the victims of the Hillsborough disaster, and the behavior of both sets of supporters on what was an emotional afternoon at Anfield.
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“I thought it was a nice touch, there was a lot said before the game about how the supporters on both sides were going to behave and credit to them both, I thought they were fantastic.
“We’re talking about what happened in the game, which is exactly what everyone wanted. So credit to both sets of supporters,” he added.
Football is a worldwide game, and has always been based on a set of rules, whether set in stone such as three points for a win, or the rules based off sportsmanship, such as kicking the ball out of play if an injury has occurred.
Obvious rules include not fighting on the pitch, while those that are deemed more for respect reasons include not criticising the referee.
Nearly every one of these rules gets broken every season, and in turn, a hefty amount of fines are dished out in return. Here are the top ten fines:
Roberto Martinez
Slapped with a £10,000 fine recently for criticizing an officials performance, for giving Manchester United a penalty against his Wigan side, this punishment may be seen as rather harsh on the Spaniard, as replays judged United striker Welbeck to have dived to win the penalty. While the punishment seems to be a formality in terms with the Respect Campaign for officials, what Martinez said is nothing more than what is on many fans lips, in that United always get favourable decisions at Old Trafford.
Joey Barton
Footballs perennial bad boy made headlines again on the last day of the season, getting sent off in the all important match between Manchester City and QPR, add to that his incredible misconduct after his red card, kicking out at Aguero, and Kompany. QPR fined him six weeks worth of wages, and stripped him of the captaincy. On top of that though, the FA banned him for twelve games and added a £75,000 fine too. A massive overall fine, both in cash and pride, leaving this one of the biggest in the Premier League.
Carlos Tevez
While this incident is more of an internal issue, it still remains one of the biggest total fines. After Tevez decided to go perfect his golf game in Argentina for four months, Manchester City began to fine him of his £200,000 a week wages, with six weeks worth overall, totalling £1.2 million pounds in lost earnings. Including that huge fine, Tevez’s lack of loyalty ended up with him effectively fining himself, losing a total of £9.3 million in lost wages, fines, and voided bonuses.
Joey Barton
So bad I’m including him twice, most people are supposed to mature with age, their actions while younger deemed a simple case of naivety. However, on top of Barton’s recent episode of stupidity, he also committed another daft act in 2007. After a training ground altercation between him and Ousmane Dabo, the latter requiring medical attention, he was banned for 12 games by the FA, six of them suspended, along with a hefty £25,000 fine.
Rio Ferdinand
Talk about inserting foot into mouth, or perhaps it should be fingers onto keyboard. Rio decided to make reference to the racism case between John Terry and his brother Anton Ferdinand, using the term ‘Choc Ice’ on Twitter in regards to Ashley Cole giving evidence in favour of Terry. This simple Tweet resulted in him being landed with a £45,000 fine by the FA, and warned about his future conduct.
Andre Villas Boas
During his stint in charge of Chelsea, Andre Villas Boas criticised referee Chris Foy and his performance in the derby match between Chelsea and QPR. His comments wound up leading him to being charged £12,000 by the FA, after being found guilty of improper conduct.
Roy Keane
After publishing his book admitting that his tackle on Manchester City midfielder Alfie Haaland had been deliberate, the FA decided to throw the book (no pun intended) at Keane, punishing him for four matches, and what was then a record fine of £150,000. A huge amount, but nothing in comparison to what Keane probably earned for the book in the first place.
Arsene Wenger
Near the end of last season, with Arsenals win over AC Milan in the Champions League, yet still eliminated on aggregate, Arsene Wenger confronted referee Damir Skomina, immediately after the match, and then continued to rant about him in the following press conference. This did not go down well with UEFA, who subsequently banned the Frenchman for three Champions League games, and added a £33,000 fine on top for good measure.
John Terry
Despite him being cleared on criminal counts of using racial language against Anton Ferdinand, during the match between QPR and Chelsea, the FA held their own hearing on the matter and found him guilty of racial abuse. Not only was he banned for four games, but Terry also received a massive £220,000 fine for his troubles too.
The FA
Seems fitting that the FA receiving a fine, instead of administering one, is included. During the Euro 2012 match between England and Sweden, several dozen England fans attempted to invade the pitch during the 3-2 victory. This led to UEFA resorting to fining the FA, a small, but still relatively meaningful fine of £4000.
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What do you think were the best/worst fines in football? Leave your comments below.
Liverpool FC boss Brendan Rodgers could be set to make a bid for Turkish striker Burak Yilmaz in the January transfer window.
Last season, Yilmaz netted 33 goals for Trabzonspor, making his total 55 in 74 appearances for the Turkish side. Premier League clubs Fulham, Tottenham and West Ham were all interested in acquiring the Turk’s goal-scoring abilities over the summer.
Yilmaz decided to remain in the Turkish League however, joining champions Galatasaray for €5 million, where he has now scored five in six so far this campaign. It now appears Rodgers will attempt to bring the striker to Anfield.
The Liverpool boss could certainly do with more options up front. With Andy Carroll off-loaded to West Ham, and the Reds pulling out of a deal for American forward Clint Dempsey, Rodgers has been left with Luis Suarez and 21-year-old Fabio Borini as his only options to spearhead the Liverpool attack.
Suarez has been amongst the goals this season, scoring seven in all competitions for the Merseysiders. Borini however, has only scored one in ten appearances since his £10.5 million move from Roma in the summer. The Turkish goal poacher would certainly fit the bill at Liverpool, who have netted just nine times in the Premier League this season, and find themselves in 14th place.
However, it is unclear whether Rodgers will be able to afford to bring the 27-year-old to Anfield. It is believed Galatasaray will want a considerable mark-up on their new striker and value him at no less than £13 million.
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Considering Kenny Dalglish’s over-spending last season and the £28million spent by Liverpool this summer, it is unknown whether American owners John Henry and Tom Werner will make funds available to the Liverpool manager.
Former Liverpool FC midfielder Dietmar Hamann believes the club and its fans must protect young starlet Raheem Sterling.
Sterling made his Liverpool debut towards the end of last season and has become a permanent fixture in the Anfield side’s starting XI so far this Premier League season.
The German, who appeared 253 times for Liverpool between 2000 and 2006, admitted that the 17-year-old has impressed him so far this season but claims that the club must be prepared to support him through times when his form may dip.
Hamann told Sky Sports: “He is very impressive. I think to play at this level when you’re 17 years of age, he scored his first goal on Sunday, and I think it is fantastic to see him being in the first team.
“When these kids come in, you only see how good they are when they start playing for the first team and certainly he doesn’t look out of place. I think he has got a tremendous future ahead of him.
“But at the same time I think the club and the fans have to protect him because there will be a time when his form will dip, because he is only a kid, but at the same time the way he has been playing at the moment has been fantastic.”
Hamann also believes that, ahead of the 219th Merseyside Derby on Sunday, that Everton are now a force to be reckoned with in the Premier League and that Marouane Fellaini is a big threat.
“Everton are playing like a top four team at the moment, there’s no reason to believe they can’t finish in the top four,” he added.
“I think their squad now is bigger and stronger than it has been over the last few seasons.”
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“If Fellaini doesn’t play on Sunday that could slightly swing it in Liverpool’s favour.”
It has emerged that Manchester United have shown an interest in signing Celtic midfielder Victor Wanyama, according to the Daily Mail.
The 21 year old put himself firmly in the shop window for Europe’s elite clubs following a commanding performance against Barcelona, as Celtic secured a shock 2-1 win.
United have apparently had an interest in the ace since July, but this most recent performance has convinced the Old Trafford hierarchy that Wanyama has what it takes to make it to the very top.
Celtic Manager Neil Lennon came out last week and told any potential suitors that his transfer value would be £25 million.
Despite this being a slightly unrealistic figure it is reckoned that Sir Alex Ferguson is willing to test the waters with a bid for around half that amount in the region of £12 million.
Wanyama’s contract is set to expire in 2014 with the Scottish club believed to be keen to extend his current deal, but the player is thought to have already rejected improved terms.
The Kenyan who made his international debut at just 15 years of age is seen as a traditional box to box midfielder with a high intensity and work rate, something Ferguson has been craving to find.
Now that Carrick and Paul Scholes are no longer in their years of peak performance, Sir Alex has been eyeing up central midfield reinforcements.
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Tom Cleverley certaintly has showed encouraging signs of development, whilst Anderson and Fletcher remain viable options, but it reckoned Wanyama would add real steel to the midfield that Manchester United have been searching for.
West Brom manager Steve Clarke believes his side can maintain their excellent form in the Premier League.
The Baggies are riding high in fifth place, following a 2-1 win away at Wigan.
As well as this, the Midlanders have beaten the likes of Liverpool and Everton to amass 20 points.
Despite many predicting that his side won’t be able to maintain their challenge, Clarke believes the depth of his squad will give them a good chance:
“We’ve got a lot of options in our squad which gives me some fantastic problems.” He is quoted by the Daily Mail.
“We play with intensity going forward and I was a little concerned the ones who played on Monday night might be carrying fatigue.
“I’ve got a quality squad and I have to use them. They know they’re all valuable in terms of the club going forward.”
Clarke has enjoyed a good start to life in the hot-seat following his switch from the assistant manager position at Liverpool.
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He appears to be getting the best out of players such as winger James Morrison, who netted the opening goal of the win on Saturday.
Clarke’s next challenge comes in the shape of Chelsea, who will be visiting the Hawthorns next weekend.
Martin O’Neill applauded the fighting spirit of Steven Fletcher, who overcame a late fitness test, for his part in Sunderland’s 3-0 Premier League win against Reading.
The Scottish international was doubtful for the game after suffering an ankle injury last week, but made a speedy recovery in time for kick-off.
He managed to get on the score-sheet as the Black Cats rose out of the relegation zone, and O’Neill was delighted with his striker’s attitude:
“Fletcher had done absolutely no work whatsoever. When you were talking to me yesterday, I genuinely wasn’t sure that he could play in the game.” He told SkySports.
“He came out this morning just to do a bit of a loosener and thought he wanted to give it a go.
“I personally thought if he could see it to half-time and just slightly into the second half, he would do great for us.”He has been terrific for us, really terrific. You just feel that he is likely to get you a goal in there.
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“Danny Rose did very, very well, but when it came in, he turned it into a goal for us and it was great.”
James McClean gave Sunderland the lead after just three minutes, before Fletcher flicked home with half-an-hour gone to double the lead. Stephane Sessegnon completed the scoring late on with a calm finish.
Tottenham Hotspur were sitting pretty in third place when last season’s January transfer window reached a sorry conclusion. The club were keeping London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea at arms length, while the coattails of both Manchester outfits hovered tantalisingly close above them.
However, Harry Redknapp’s decision to purchase the dilapidated duo of Louis Saha and Ryan Nelsen arguably triggered a monumental collapse that would eventually mean they missed out on the bright lights of the Champions League. At present, Spurs are locked in a battle for fourth with rapidly improving Everton and surprise package West Brom, meaning the ability to learn from past mistakes has never been more important.
Andre Villas-Boas appears to have his feet firmly under the table at White Hart Lane, having finally brushed aside the smear campaign that seemed destined to execute his downfall. As a result, he must use this opportunity to stamp his own authority on an area of football where his predecessor was highly prolific.
A host of premium names have once again been linked with Tottenham, with fans inevitably dreaming of yet more inspired purchases. The spotlight will fall on Porto playmaker Joao Moutinho, who came within a whisker of joining the club in the summer. Other targets reportedly under consideration include Shakhtar Donetsk superstar Willian and Ajax starlet Christian Eriksen. Both players may strike you as mere figures of a proverbial pipedream, but how many people were caught aghast at Rafael van der Vaart’s arrival in 2010?
The January window is a notoriously difficult playground to conduct business in, especially as negotiations would typically last for weeks rather than days. Teams are increasingly reluctant to destabilise their squad midway through the season, which can lead to transfer valuations soaring through the nearest roof. I imagine both Liverpool and Chelsea are still paying for their rash moves for Fernando Torres and Andy Carroll, in more ways than one.
Nevertheless there are bargains to be had, glistening in the spring sunshine like diamonds in the rough. David Moyes and Alan Pardew benefited profusely from their courting of Nikica Jelavic and Papiss Cisse, which saw their respective seasons continue to flourish. It is this environment that brings out the best in chairman Daniel Levy as he hustles and haggles his way through numerous financially bewildering deals, but the budding relationship with his new manager will surely be put to the test as they both tussle to get their own way.
According to reports, the signing of Emmanuel Adebayor was the only purchase positively reinforced by Villas-Boas. Levy was the mastermind behind the acquisition of the likes of Gyfli Sigurdsson, Clint Dempsey and Hugo Lloris, which have perhaps hampered the Portuguese boss as much as they’ve helped him. It will be interesting to watch which targets – if any – the club are able to attract and whether we will witness yet another modern manager lament his lack of free reign in the transfer market.
Levy may have his intentions diverted elsewhere during the New Year, as the club look to finance their new £400m stadium. He will also be keen not to upset their creditable wage structure that has seen them triumph over adversaries Arsenal, even if they failed to do so on the pitch.
The startling statistic that reveals Spurs would be top of the table if games finished after 80 minutes is particularly interesting. Whether you consider such data fruitless or not, it could be evidence of an inferior mentality under Villas-Boas or a sign that the options on the bench simply aren’t good enough.
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Either way, if the club wants to reaffirm their lust for Champions League qualification then they need to use this transfer window as a real statement of intent.
Aston Villa host Wigan and both teams will be hoping to have some relent from the respite they have had to suffer in recent weeks.
Villa have had a humiliating run as they were smashed for 8 at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea looked to be playing round them like a controller on FIFA. They then added insult to misery with a 4-0 drubbing last time out in front of their own fans against Tottenham
Wigan have not had it much better mind as they are on a desperately disappointing sequence of form, they have sunk into the relegation zone after 5 defeats in 6.
The Aston Villa players though will be shot for confidence after their last two heavy defeats, but they won’t be facing any players of the calibre of Torres or Bale this time out.
The First priority for Paul Lambert will be to stem the tide of goals that appears to be causing havoc for the Villains.
Roberto Martinez may be keen to expose his opponents defence but his is not exactly squeaky clean either with them conceding on average 2 goals a game. Wigan also have a habit of giving their opponents a head start before getting back into proceedings.
Paul Lambert will be without Nathan Baker after he was ruled out with a hamstring injury in the Boxing day defeat. Fabian Delph is also unavailable with suspension.
Baker joins the substantial injury list of Ron Vlaar (calf), Gabriel Agbonlahor (thigh), Charles N’Zogbia (knee), Darren Bent (hamstring), Richard Dunne (groin) and Andreas Weimann (calf) out of contention.
Antonio Alcaraz could come back from a groin issue but Ivan Ramis not quite ready yet. Adrian Lopez (hamstring) is still just short and James McCarthy can’t play due to an ankle injury.
Martinez is without Ryo Miyaichi (ankle), Albert Crusat (knee) and Ben Watson (shin) for the long term.
Wigan have conceded more penalties than any other team this season (six) but Villa are one of five teams yet to win one, and that could all change on Saturday.
Prediction: Aston Villa 2-3 Wigan
Check the odds ahead of the game at Villa Park with William Hill here
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