Celtic were unceremoniously dumped out of Europe on Thursday night, collapsing 3-0 away to FC Zenit and failing to protect their 1-0 aggregate lead from the first leg at Celtic Park.
It was a typically frustrating performance away from home in Europe from the Hoops, who failed to deal with the threat of the Russians from kick-off through to the 90th minute.
Roberto Mancini’s side didn’t even have to work too hard for their victory, with Branislav Ivanonovic unmarked in the box to stick home a header from a corner and Daler Kuzyaev scoring from distance with a shot that should have been easily saved by goalkeeper Dorus De Vries.
The tie was put beyond doubt when Aleksandr Kokorin capitalised on slack defending from Mikael Lustig to tap home from a cross to the back post.
Given the manner of defeat, Celtic fans were left fuming with the performance of Brendan Rodgers’ side and had particular criticism for De Vries, who failed to make the routine stop for Zenit’s second of the night.
Fans are now calling on new signing Scott Bain to get a chance against Aberdeen on Sunday, with a huge three points up for grabs at Pittodrie.
Can the loan signing prove he is the man to trust between the sticks while Craig Gordon is out?
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Supporters took to Twitter to share their thoughts.
With Italy’s World Cup exit and AC Milan Vice President Barbara Berlusconi’s assertion that no player is “irreplaceable”, the wait for Mario Balotelli’s much-anticipated transfer to Arsenal seemed to be drawing to a close.
Except, as it turns out, Arsene Wenger was never interested in Balotelli.
When asked about the striker, the Arsenal manager described the story as “pure invention”, saying “we cannot believe absolutely everything that is on the internet or in the papers.”
With these comments, Wenger could obviously be hiding his genuine interest from the media. But by the same token, the manager has not publicly expressed any sentiment to fuel the speculation.
Regardless, the need for a new striker at the Emirates remains. And with the World Cup ongoing, there is plenty of attacking talent on show for Wenger to consider.
Balotelli may never have been a target. But in any case, here are SIX World Cup alternatives to the Italian for Arsenal to consider.
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Click on Karim Benzema to start
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KARIM BENZEMA
A striker that has been repeatedly linked with the Gunners since last summer, talk of a move for Benzema has gone strangely quiet in the last month. However, with three goals and two assists for France so far, the Real Madrid star has issued a timely reminder of his talents.
If this late effort against Switzerland hadn’t been bizarrely cancelled out by the referee, Benzema would be level with Lionel Messi and Neymar in the race for the Golden Boot right now.
With talks over a contract extension at Madrid stalling, there seems to be an opportunity for Wenger to make a move. A huge fee would be needed but the Frenchman could be the elite striker Arsenal need to bolster their challenge for honours.
MARIO MANDZUKIC
With the arrival of Robert Lewandowski, Mandzukic’s future at Bayern Munich has been under scrutiny for some time. It is hard to envisage a scenario where both can be content at the Allianz Arena next season.
Mandzukic’s recent declaration that he intends to leave the German champions has put a number of clubs on alert. Although the 28 year old is certainly a top-class striker, there are some concerns that he is too similar a player to Olivier Giroud for any potential partnership to succeed.
Nevertheless, he is an alternative that Wenger should certainly consider this summer.
JACKSON MARTINEZ
Another name that has been touted in connection with Arsenal, Martinez has only started once for Colombia so far. But with two goals in the 4-1 victory over Japan, it would be safe to say that the 27 year old has staked a strong claim to retain his spot for Saturday’s clash with Uruguay.
The striker turned nicely and finished with aplomb for his second goal in Colombia’s final group fixture.
Having constantly found the net in his spell with Porto so far, Martinez had undoubtedly attracted the attention of a number of Europe’s leading sides. But with a release clause of £33 million and indications that the Portuguese side will accept nothing less, there are doubts over whether he is the best option for Wenger this summer.
LOIC REMY
With Benzema currently firing on all cylinders for France, Remy hasn’t seen much game time in Brazil so far. But the 27 year old remains a player in demand and despite QPR’s return to the top flight, the Frenchman isn’t expected to feature in Harry Redknapp’s plans for next season.
Having racked up fourteen strikes in a blunt Newcastle side, Remy is a proven goalscorer in the Premier League and probably the most affordable alternative on this list. Capable of playing anywhere across the front three, Wenger could view the 27 year old as a smart investment for next season.
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WILFRIED BONY
Despite being introduced to the Premier League in a struggling Swansea City side, Bony still managed to impress in his debut campaign in England. The 25 year old managed to net 16 league goals and started ahead of Didier Drogba for the Ivory Coast’s opening two fixtures in Brazil.
With the Swans signing of Bafetimbi Gomis, there is the feeling that Bony is almost a certainty to leave this summer. Although he would certainly deliver goals, there is a debate as to whether the Ivorian represents an upgrade on Giroud and it is difficult envisage the pair working in tandem.
ROMELU LUKAKU
Football – Belgium v Algeria – FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014 – Group H – Estadio Mineirao, Belo Horizonte, Brazil – 17/6/14Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku during the national anthemsMandatory Credit: Action Images / Andrew CouldridgeLivepicEDITORIAL USE ONLY.
Many people’s tip for the Golden Boot, Lukaku has endured an abysmal start to the World Cup. The 21 year old’s place in Marc Wilmot’s side is reportedly coming under serious threat from rising star Divock Origi.
Despite this, Mourinho’s apparent willingness to sell Lukaku means Wenger should seriously consider making a move. The Belgian seems certain to develop into one of European football’s leading strikers and would most likely serve as a replacement to Giroud rather than a partner.
Judging by this effort though, Wenger shouldn’t sign him on the strength of the 21 year old’s rapping skills.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has admitted that the club will have to seriously look at bringing in a few fresh faces during the January transfer window, none more so than up front, a position that’s currently woefully short of depth.
After Andy Carroll left the club on loan to join West Ham and the Merseyside outfit failed to bring in a replacement, given that Luis Suarez is having to carry the Liverpool attack at the moment and that Fabio Borini looks set for a prolonged spell on the sidelines, a new striker is of paramount importance to the side, with Samed Yesil and Adam Morgan still too young an inexperienced to be relied upon yet.
Daniel Sturridge – The obvious first port of call should the club move for a striker in January given that Rodgers is known to be a fan of his and that he turned them down in the dying moments of the summer transfer window. His reluctance to move out on loan may be tested once more now, though, and given that he’s fallen way down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge under Roberto Di Matteo and that he would prefer to revert back to his favoured central striking position, a short-term move could be on the cards leading to a permanent transfer next summer should he impress.
Dries Mertens – Another Belgian international that’s been heavily linked with a move to England in recent times, the 25-year-old has excelled during his stay at PSV so far, to the tune of 25 goals last season and they could be tempted by an offer in the region of £10m. Comfortable playing out wide or through the middle, the pacy forward could also allow Suarez to switch to a role wide on the left that he’s done well with in the past and he bares comparison with Everton’s new man Kevin Mirallas in terms of style.
Loïc Remy – The versatile Marseille forward has struggled to force his way into manager Elie Baup’s first-team plans at the Stade Velodrome so far this season, with the French manager often preferring to place his faith in Jordan and Andre Ayew, with Andre-Pierre Gignac enjoying something of a resurgence in recent weeks. The 25-year-old international appears to have suffered from Didier Deschamps exit to take the national team post and he could be looking for the exit door sooner rather than later, even if Tottenham may challenge for his signature should he become available after holding a long-standing interest in the player.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar – While Rodgers may have refuted that he was interested in signing the Dutch international just a few short months ago, and the prolific front-man may be a little out of the club’s price range, he represents a bankable return and consistent stream of goals and a viable focal point to the team’s fluid attack. Suarez is at his best when he has a fixed reference point from which to play off and around and with 53 goals in his last 55 games for Schalke, he may be worth pushing the boat out for, even if at 29 years of age, he maynot be quite the long-term solution that the manager is hoping for.
Gary Hooper – The Celtic striker has started the season in scintillating form so far this campaign and his performance away at Spartak Moscow which handed Neil Lennon’s side their first away win ever in the Champions League, during which he bagged a double, showed he’s capable of making the step up. While many may contest that being clinical in front of goal in the SPL and the Championship counts for little, the 24-year-old is certainly a realistic target, affordable and he knows where the back of the net is and you suspect he’d absolutely jump at the chance to make the move to Anfield.
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Which striker would you like to see the club move for in January? Any other options that I’ve failed to mention?
Aleksandar Kolarov left Manchester City last year, but he remains loved by the supporters.
The left-back, who can also play in central defence, spent seven years at the North-West outfit before dropping down the pecking order under manager Pep Guardiola.
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Kolarov, who has won seven trophies including two Premier League titles in his professional career, moved to Roma last year.
The 32-year-old remains a prominent figure in the Serbia dressing room, and he is currently with his nation in Russia for the World Cup.
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On Sunday, the left-back put in a man-of-the-match display to help Serbia earn a 1-0 victory over Group E opponents Costa Rica.
Kolarov scored the only goal of the fixture as he struck from a free kick, which he bent around the wall and into the top corner.
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Unsurprisingly, City fans stood up and took notice of their former player, and some even called for the reigning English champions to bring him back.
Others just reminisced about Kolarov’s time at the club.
Comment from discussion Kolarov scores a great free kick!!!.Comment from discussion Kolarov scores a great free kick!!!.Comment from discussion Kolarov scores a great free kick!!!.Comment from discussion Kolarov scores a great free kick!!!.Comment from discussion Kolarov scores a great free kick!!!.Comment from discussion Kolarov scores a great free kick!!!.Comment from discussion Kolarov scores a great free kick!!!.
According to an interview with Turkish Football, Everton striker Cenk Tosun has spoken out about being dropped to the substitutes’ bench and when he expects to return to the starting XI, and Toffees fans have been quick to have their say on his comments.
The 26-year-old joined the Merseyside outfit in a £27m deal at the start of January but despite lining up against Tottenham Hotspur and West Bromwich Albion, he has found himself on the bench in their last three Premier League matches, and he was an unused substitute in the 3-1 win against Crystal Palace at Goodison Park on Saturday.
The centre-forward isn’t too concerned though and via Turkish Football, he said: “I did not play in the last game but it does not bother me.
“I am just focused on my game and training hard.
“I am going to be a lot fitter in a fortnight’s time and then return to the starting 11.”
Everton supporters took to social media to give their thoughts on his comments, and while one said “he’s going to do us proud with this approach”, another said “great attitude to have”.
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Everton boss Roberto Martinez is set on six new summer signings, after given a transfer kitty of more than £20m, to transform Everton into a European contender, Daily Mail reports.
The Toffees are currently only six points behind fourth place Arsenal, and with the Gunners facing Manchester City this weekend, Everton could cut it down to three with a win at bottom side club Fulham.
However even if the Merseysiders are to fall short, they are still likely to secure a Europa League spot and Martinez intends to sign six new players to cope with the demands of Europe.
The Spanish manager is looking to sign Romelu Lukaku on a permanent basis from Chelsea as well as making Gareth Barry also a permanent signing from Manchester City.
He is also looking to bring Jack Rodwell back to Goodison Park, who left for the Citizens in the summer of 2012 but has rarely featured for the Sky Blues.
“Whether we are in Europe or not is a big factor,” said Martinez.
“We’ve got money but I didn’t think spending in January was the right thing to do. If we get in Europe I think that makes a difference of six players
“You need around 27 players plus keepers for Europe. It doesn’t have to be 27 senior players, it can be young players too, but 27.
“We have identified what we need for next season in terms of the areas, and then you start working on your wish-list.
“If you get into the Champions League you can look for your number one choice. If not, you’re going to number four, five, six and maybe seven or eight.
“But we have got the money and it is there to be spent.”
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The landmark court ruling involving little-known footballer Jean Marc Bosman back in 1995 at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg is still being felt to this very day, but what exactly did it do for the game and what was it’s wider impact on the way that football is run?
The ruling itself stated that Bosman had been unlawfully barred from changing teams when his contract with R.F.C. Liège in the Belgian first division expired after the 1990 season. By coming to that decision, it essentially created freedom of movement laws for all professional footballers within the European Union, while also simultaneously knocking any sort of quota system that UEFA or the independent leagues tried to impose on its membership, such as the three foreign players per squad rule that was used back in Spain and Italy in the 1980s. It became clear, the power no longer resided with organisations or the clubs themselves, but the players.
It increased competitive balance and ensured that the game became something more than just what was traditionally concerned with a starting eleven and now the power of a squad with depth was vitally important.
The main criticism often levelled at the Bosman ruling it’s that while on the whole player power has risen, which has had an adverse effect on player and club relations in the past, that the power resides in the few and not the many that can afford to pay top wages to out of contract players.
That this then distorts the competition because it means that the few at the top get the best players on the cheap and has resulted in just 12 clubs winning Europe’s premier competition since its inception back in 1992 from just seven different countries. However, when you consider that Real Madrid won the old European Cup format five years on the trot between 1955-60 and that Ajax, Benfica, Bayern Munich, Inter, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Milan all managed to retain their trophy after they first won it, then it becomes clear that pwoer has always been centralised among the few rather than the many.
The Bosman ruling has seen several leagues such as the ones in England, Spain, Italy and most recently the resurgent Bundesliga in Germany become Super Leagues in a way and without a generational glitch in terms of an influx in talents, the smaller European leagues now no longer prosper in quite the same way when mixing it with the big boys. There’s unlikely to ever be another Red Star Belgrade nor a Steaua Burcharest.
Prior to the rule, a player could only ever move clubs if the one that had ownership over his signature agreed a fee with the prospective interested party. As such, dictatorships, presidents and club officials prevented Eusebio from ever leaving Portugal and Pele in his peak from leaving Brazil.
It’s also had an impact further down the leagues where money is tigheter. With player power rife, clubs higher up the ladder will always sign their key players to lucrative long-term deals to keep them right where they are, but all across Europe, this revolving door policy can often be more of a hindrance than it is a help and it’s hardly condusive to a settled side which often breeds success. It’s now near enough impossible to rise through the leagues and then go on to have a huge impact in the top division like it was in the past, and money plays a much bigger part these days than it ever did prior to 1995.
There’s also the consideration that while players like Sol Campbell, Edgard Davids, Gary McAllister and David Beckham have proved to be bargain signings simply because no transfer fee has ever had to be paid, it also offers clubs more freedom in their transfer dealings, no longer shackled by the pressure of a players fee and the debate over whether they may flop.
The obvious downsides of the ruling is that it’s created the millionaire culture which football has gone on to indulge today, making the selected few clubs richer while also protecting the egos of the industry. This mollycoddling has meant that football has increasingly moved away as the pasttime of the masses, and become more of an entertainment outlet worldwide than a purely sporting vehichle.
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At the same time, though, in no other industry of profession is loyalty demanded so quickly as it is in football. They have just as much right to move freely between jobs and pick where their futures lie just as much as a plumber or secretary does. The fall-out may be hard to bear for some, even overhwlemingly negative for others, but in the modern day, it’s a necessity.
Has the Bosman ruling been good or bad for the game on the whole? Name your favourite Bosman dealing below.
According to club insider EXWHUEmployee, West Ham United are interested in signing West Bromwich Albion duo Salomon Rondon and Craig Dawson in this summer’s transfer window.
Rondon has been linked with a number of clubs since West Brom’s relegation from the Premier League was confirmed, and West Ham are believed to be very much in the hunt.
Dawson is also believed to be attracting a lot of interest, and it would not be a surprise to see the centre-back pitch up in the Premier League once again.
Tottenham Hotspur have also been credited with an interest in Rondon, who scored 10 times for West Brom last term despite their troubles.
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Dawson, meanwhile, has more than proved himself at Premier League level over the last few years.
The West Ham fans have been reacting to the claims that their club could move for the former Premier League duo in this summer’s transfer window.
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And it would be fair to say that a number have differing opinions. One thing is for sure though, if West Ham do not snap the pair up then another Premier League club will.
A selection of the Twitter reaction from the West Ham supporters can be seen below:
Manchester United midfield duo Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba struggled in their side’s 2-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley on Wednesday night, and Red Devils fans have urged the club to sign Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, rated at £49.5m according to Transfermarkt, in the summer as a result.
The duo started as the deep-lying midfield players in Jose Mourinho’s preferred 4-2-3-1 system, but they were overrun and lethargic against the likes of Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli and Son Heung-Min, with the former giving Spurs the lead after just 11 seconds.
Matic was also left on his own far too often as Pogba looked to break forward, and the Old Trafford faithful know who they want to see arrive at the club at the end of the campaign to solve the issue – Milinkovic-Savic who has been an impressive performer for the Serie A outfit with nine goals in 29 games this season.
Man United supporters took to social media to give their thoughts on the situation, and while one said “this game was a clear reflection of why United need to sign Sergej Milinkovic-Savic in the summer”, another simply said “Matic out, Mili-Savic in”.
Tottenham are considering a move for Roma’s American midfielder Michael Bradley, according to the Daily Mirror.
The Italian giants have recently completed the signing of Belgian midfielder Radja Nainggolan, which could see Bradley made surplus to requirements.
The 26-year-old is currently behind the likes of Kevin Strootman, Miralem Pjanic and Daniele De Rossi in the pecking order at the Stadio Olimpico, and could look for a January move following the arrival of Nainggolan.
This could alert Tottenham and their Technical Director Franco Baldini, who took Bradley to Rome in 2012.
Bradley has previously played in the Premier League, where he had an unsuccessful loan spell with Aston Villa.
London rivals Fulham have also been linked with a move.
Tottenham could be in the market for a new midfielder, following the news Etienne Capoue could be on his way out of White Hart Lane, less than six months after signing.
The French midfielder has failed to impress during the first half of the season, and has often been played out of position at centre back.
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Napoli are reportedly ready to test Tim Sherwood’s desire to keep the midfielder, after manager Rafael Benitez missed out on moves for Lyon’s Maxime Gonalons and the previously mentioned Nainggolan.