Everton winger Steven Pienaar has retired from international duty.
The South African midfielder made 57 appearances for his nation over ten years, but has stated with regret that he will only focus on club football in the future.
“It is with regret that I wish to advise you that with immediate effect I’m no longer available for selection to represent South Africa,” he stated in a press conference, published in The Daily Mail.
“After having given more than 10 years service to the national team I’m now at a stage where physically I’m struggling to balance the demands of playing in England with the number of games required by the national team.
“I’m proud to have represented and captained my country, for this I sincerely thank you and wish the team all the best in the future,” he concluded.
South Africa coach Gordon Igesund admitted that Pienaar’s decision was a blow for the side.
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“He’s given us 10 years of service and his body is tired. Yesterday was the first time I found out he wanted to retire,” the trainer confessed.
Former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour has expressed his concern at Arsenal’s lack of creativity after their 2-0 loss at home to Schalke in the Champion League last night.
Arsene Wenger’s side lost their first Champions League game at the Emirates since 2003 after goals from Klaas Jan-Huntelaar and Ibrahim Affelay ended their 100% start in Group B.
And Parlour believes Wenger needs to go back to basics in order to improve on what was a lacklustre performance.
He told TalkSport: “They need to create more chances. They should go back to basics.
“Arsenal over the years have created ten to 15 chances a match and often the problem has been them finishing those chances off.
“Against Schalke they didn’t have any chances whatsoever though. Their goalkeeper must have expected to be bombarded with shots but there was nothing.
“I’m not going to say there were loads of positives because there weren’t. It was a poor performance. The players will be the first to admit that.”
Parlour also wants the likes of Gervinho and Santi Carzorla to be more consistent but is still confident that Arsenal will qualify for the last 16.
“There was no creativity. Santi Carzorla has been quality all season but he had a quiet night down the flank,” he added.
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“You never know what you’re going to get out of Gervinho, he could be an 8/10 or a 4/10.”
“They still should qualify. The 2-1 win against Montpellier away from home looks a massive result now.”
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has praised his team after their first home Premier League win of the season.
A goal from youngster Raheem Sterling, his first as a senior professional, secured a long overdue win at Anfield the first since a 4-1 victory against Chelsea back on the 8th May.
The deserved 1-0 victory against Reading was only the club’s second league win of the season, following their 5-2 victory at Norwich.
“It’s been a long time coming, Rodgers told the Liverpool Echo.
“We should have had three points here long before today. But on the back of an international break and players travelling all over the world, I thought this was a terrific performance.
“We need to improve our finishing, which is an on-going theme, but as long as we get three points and a clean sheet that’s the most important thing.
“I’m delighted for the players and the supporters. You don’t want it to keep dragging on. What always gave me comfort was the mind-set and ability of the players. They’ve kept working.”
At the sound of the final whistle against the struggling Reading, the relief around Anfield was clear for all to see.
In a match which could of once again proved to be another hard luck story for Liverpool, as they made the match a little too uncomfortable for their supporters.
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The Reds should have had the game out of sight, but an un-wanted familiar script was trying to make its presence felt again as Liverpool saw a host of chances go begging.
It’s fair to say it’s been a bit of a miserable time for Emmanuel Adebayor since making his move from Manchester City to Tottenham a permanent one in the summer.
As well as being absent for the first few weeks of the Premier League season with back and then hamstring troubles, the Togolese striker has been limited to just five league appearances, all from the substitute’s bench since his return from injury. While the chorus of boos that resonated around White Hart Lane in regards to the substitution which involved Adebayor once again replacing Jermain Defoe was more in association with the popularity of Defoe rather than the unpopularity of Adebayor, it still wouldn’t have done wonders for a 28-year-old whose confidence already appears fragile at the moment, and was indicative of the way his season is going at the moment.
As a result of Adebayor’s unhappy start to the campaign, Andre Villas-Boas has had to fend off suggestions in recent weeks that the Togo international wants to leave White Hart Lane after just three months back at the club.
It seems as if part of Adebayor’s problem currently is that he has struggled to adapt to the change of managerial style at White Hart Lane. Harry Redknapp’s managerial style was especially paternalistic. Redknapp was an oddity in the sense that he appeared to love certain players and distain others. And he loved Adebayor, which was instrumental to the striker’s success last season, simply because Adebayor is a player who just wants to be loved. This was evident by the way he ran across the full length of the pitch to taunt Arsenal fans when he scored for Manchester City three years ago, he just feels the need to be adored more than most.
Now under the leadership of AVB, Adebayor has to contend with a managerial style that doesn’t cohere with his personality. AVB has a much more robotic style than Redknapp, more conscious of the intricacies and technicalities of the game rather than concerning himself over players’ feelings and happiness at the club. This was very much evident at Chelsea last season when he just didn’t bother connecting with the ring leaders at the club such as Terry, Lampard and Drogba. And ironically AVB’s management style is remarkably similar to Roberto Mancini’s at Manchester City, who of course deemed Adebayor surplus to requirements as soon as he replaced Mark Hughes as manager at the Etihad.
One thing that Adebayor couldn’t foresee was the revival of Jermain Defoe’s career at Spurs. Seemingly on his way out under Redknapp last season, Defoe has been in incredible form scoring five goals in ten Premier League appearances, making it hard under AVB’s formation, for the Togolese striker to get a look in. And while Adebayor may consider himself more of a household name than Defoe, Villas-Boas has proven with the goalkeeping situation regarding Brad Friedel and Hugo Lloris that reputation counts for nothing.
That being said, Defoe’s recent purple patch hasn’t detracted most Tottenham fans from wanting to see Adebayor regain his place back in the first eleven, especially as £6 million man Clint Dempsey hasn’t made the impression he would have wanted since leaving Fulham in August. Spurs fans are beginning to get slightly frustrated at Villas-Boas’ inflexibility regarding Adebayor’s lack of minutes on the pitch, and the Portuguese manager will have to be careful that he doesn’t wear the patience of the Spurs fans and Adebayor alike too thinly, especially if results continue to be patchy.
One would think it will be unlikely that AVB, who as mentioned is stubborn at the best of times, will consider playing both Defoe and Adebayor up front together as they visit the champions Manchester City on Sunday. Where many Tottenham fans may disagree with their manager, AVB likes to play Dempsey as a second striker, which may not be required in games such as at home to Wigan, but will come in more useful in games where they will be expected to be under the cosh, and worked wonderfully in Spurs’ 3-2 victory over Manchester United last month.
With no guarantee of starting on Sunday, Emmanuel Adebayor may well become increasingly frustrated at his lack of opportunities. As cited in the article, Adebayor is a player who needs to be loved and he is not the type of personality who will keep hushed about not being the main man at White Hart Lane.
Therefore, can we realistically expect to see Adebayor leave in January? Whilst it seems unlikely at the moment, it may not be beyond the realms of possibility. Obviously it is primarily dependent on whether AVB begins to start Adebayor more regularly. I don’t think we can underestimate what a crucial month in the season November is for both Spurs and Adebayor’s future at the club. It is such a tough month for the club, with the visit of Man City, as well as two London derbies away to Arsenal and at home to West Ham followed by the visit of Liverpool, who despite their poor run of form, is never an easy game. Depending on how much Adebayor features in these four games will give us a real indication of how important he is to AVB’s plans. It is finally dependent on what the Spurs manager’s thoughts are regarding bringing transfers into White Hart Lane. Whilst reports that the north London club are in for Newcastle’s Papiss Cisse seem unlikely, I think speculation surrounding AVB’s interest in Schalke’s Klass-Jan Huntelaar and Shaktar Donetsk’s William appears more genuine.
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Do you think Adebayor will stay at Spurs past January? Let me know on Twitter @matt_of_the_day
It is a bizarre time of the year that sees as a large percentage of the male population decide to grow a moustache and in the main look absolutely ridiculous. You should see the state of some of them on the London Underground commute every morning, but I suppose I should admire their reasoning for it.
As we know Premier League footballers have jumped on the bandwagon and some of them have gone that extra mile. Michael Owen has exaggerated his one (perhaps to show he has a hint of personality about him), Peter Crouch is looking more and more like Blakey from ‘On the Buses’, while there are many other players whose moustaches wouldn’t look out of place at a Village People concert. Even a few managers have got in on the act, although the less said about Sam Allardyce’s the better.
This latest top 10 list is a celebration of arguably the worst moustaches that English football has ever seen.
Click on Joey Barton to unveil the top 10 worst taches in football
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Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has rejected talk that he is set to move to Juventus in January and claims that he is very happy at Liverpool.
Suarez had been linked with the Italian champions ahead of the January transfer window but the Uruguayan claims that Liverpool is the club that people want to play for.
Liverpool’s main man is suspended for today’s trip to London to face West Ham and Jonjo Shelvey is expected to start up front for the Reds who are massively low on forwards this season.
There is no doubt that Suarez has been a huge player at Anfield since his arrival from Ajax and despite confirming that Juventus and their manage Antonio Conte are interested in him, he is staying on Merseyside.
Suarez has a goal ratio that is better than one in two for Liverpool and their valuation of £28million is a tough ask for any Italian club to meet.
“Serie A is very nice and a competitive league with great teams and great players,” Suarez told Mediaset as reported by Sky Sports.
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“I know (Conte wants me at Juventus) because it’s been talked about quite a lot and I always read a lot of stories in the newspapers.
“But I’m very happy at Liverpool. It is a club where many people would like to play.”
’s Welsh wing wizard Gareth Bale today praised his teammates for the win against Aston Villa on Boxing Day, as reported by Sky Sports.
The Premier League clash at Villa Park saw Spurs dominate possession in the first half as they failed to break the deadlock before half time.
Bale acknowledged his team’s difficulty at finding the opening goal and commented on two very contrasting 45-minutes. The Welshman noted that, “The most important thing was that we got the three points. We created a lot of chances and controlled the game in the first half, probably better than the second half when we scored the goals.”
Jermain Defoe claimed the opener, taking his Premier League tally to 10 goals. Bale then rounded the goalkeeper in a solo effort, making it 2-0 to Spurs. His second and third goals both came from runs through the middle where Bale’s teammates found the winger in space before he calmly slotted home, making it 3-0 and 4-0 respectively.
“It was great to get the hat-trick, my first in the Premier League, but I couldn’t have done it without the lads. It was a great team performance,” said Bale.
“It was crucial we got the first goal and the sooner the better. That showed when we scored. In the end, we won quite comfortably.
“It was a frustrating but I always believed – as the manager said – that if we kept playing like we were playing, the goals would come.”
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Manager Andre Villas-Boas added his opinion on the winger’s positional ability and eye for goal, noting that “[Gareth’s] finishing is very accurate, he’s been prolific in front of goal this season, so I think he’s enjoying getting into those positions.”
Teammate Jan Vertonghen also saved a few words for Bale, reminding us “His left foot is lethal.” The Belgian then went onto say “There were good assists in there as well but you know if he’s in front of goal with his left foot it’s 80 per cent a goal.”
Liverpool’s dominant and richly deserved 4-0 victory over an out-of-sorts Fulham side at Anfield at the weekend was followed up by a deeply disappointing 3-1 loss away at Stoke, so are Brendan Rodgers’ methods finally starting to take hold and translate into results and tangible progress out on the pitch, or are they still too far away to truly challenge the top four?
It’s been a difficult year both on and off the pitch for the club, with the crumbling fortress that is Anfield witnessing just six Premier League wins in 2012 and only 12 in total across two different managers, while the upheaval in terms of replacing Kenny Dalglish with Brendan Rodgers has seen a shift in transfer policy, a ruthless cutting of the wage bill and a change in the club’s style of play to a more possession-based game. While it hasn’t quite matched up to the turbulent times of the last few days of the Hicks and Gillett era, the club’s supporters will be hoping for an altogether quieter, more reserved 2013.
While Rodgers’ talk of a top two finish looked foolish even before the 3-1 humbling at the hands of Aston Villa on home soil this month, that result has very much been the exception rather than the rule of late given the team’s decent form which has seen them earn impressive wins on the road against West Ham and Udinese. There are initial signs that after a ropey start to the season, with profligacy in front of goal hampering the side once again and results simply not matching up to performances, that an alignment of the two is now starting to take place.
The side currently sit just eight points off fourth-placed Tottenham, but after being out-fought and out-thought during the 3-1 loss to Tony Pulis’ side at the Britannia Stadium on Boxing Day, it’s that sort of inconsistency from one game to another which is proving frustrating for many of the club’s fans.
Captain Steven Gerrard’s magnificent display at the heart of a midfield trio against the Cottagers perfectly encapsulated the team’s up and down, inconsistent nature so far under Rodgers. The 32-year-old has looked ill at ease and unsure of his role in the team’s 4-3-3 system up until this point, decidedly average and ineffective going forward; shackled further back while still coming to terms with his lack of drive.
[cat_link cat=”liverpool” type=”list”]
However, on Saturday, Gerrard was at the hub of all of Liverpool’s best play, spraying sumptuous pass after pass out to either wing with unerring accuracy and timing his runs from deep to perfection, while also shielding his back four and keeping it simple when the occasion called for it. After six months, Rodgers’ methods appear to finally be breaking through into the players’ psyche and while there will be hiccups along the way, the side are certainly on the up along with their much-vaunted skipper’s form.
One of those hiccups came against Stoke, and while not as large as the Aston Villa defeat in terms of context, it will still have knocked the confidence of a young and relatively inexperienced squad. Despite taking the lead early on courtesy of a superbly taken Gerrard penalty, who was once again the team’s best player, they were pegged back almost straight away when Jonathan Walters equalised moments later – a trait that the team is becoming increasingly well-known for – conceding straight after they score and they appeared a touch lightweight, which when you come up against the Potters is at least understandable, but the result seemed inevitable after Kenywyne Jones nodded them ahead, with a distinct lack of fight on show.
The conditions under which the 39-year-old took over the reins at Anfield were not enviable ones; he has had to throw numerous youngsters into the mix ahead of schedule, he’s been continually hampered and undermined in the transfer market, all while having to reduce a hefty wage bill which has robbed him of the squad strength and depth required to stage an assault at both home and abroad like he has been tasked with this season.
Bumps in the road are commonplace, but along with Gerrard, the former Swansea manager deserves credit for instilling confidence in his troops and making them believe that their footballing ‘philosophy’ is one which will reap dividends further down the line. Knee-jerk reactions after every disappointing result or performance, like the ones after Aston Villa and Stoke, are simply part and parcel of being a big club going through a tough patch; a vocal minority given airtime, despite lacking any semblance of patience or rational thought to back up the bravado and shouty opinions.
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This is a club in transition, one which is pursuing with a new possession-based style of play while planning for the future at the same time. For those supporters brought up on years of success, seemingly mollycoddled by glory, they’ll simply have to calm down for the time being, for anything more than a top eight finish this term will be seen as a step in the right direction and a halting of the decline of recent years.
Champions League football is the ultimate aim, and the likely arrivals of both Daniel Sturridge and Tom Ince in January will help add goals to a threadbare attack and provide depth over the coming months, even if a return to Europe’s elite competition will surely have to wait for the coming seasons. Put into perspective, the side is struggling for consistency and against physical opposition, but that will change the more the players get used to the way that their manager wants them to play.
For far too long the club has been in search of an identity, even resorting to one of decade’s past by returning to Dalglish in the first place, and while there are plenty of problems left to fix and issues to iron out, Liverpool finally look like they’ve found one that they see as relatable to the modern game; for a team increasingly comfortable in their own skin, while expectations need to be kept in check for the time being, inconsistency will be rife, but it’s important to keep the long-term objective in mind, despite the temptation to give in to the vocal knuckle-draggers that every club suffers with.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is preparing a last ditch move for Newcastle target Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, according to reports from The Mirror.
The Magpies have reportedly agreed a £6.7m fee with Montpellier for the French centre-back, who is due to travel to St James’ Park to negotiate a move in the coming days.
However, the Gunners are believed to be firmly in race for the 23-year-old, and could make a rival bid to snatch him away from Alan Pardew.
This would come as a real blow for Newcastle, who were believed to have a deal for Loic Remy wrapped up last week as they searched to replace Demba Ba.
But, QPR offered the striker superior personal terms, leaving the Tyne club short of attacking options.
They could now face a similar fate, as they look to find a replacement for wantaway defender Fabricio Coloccini.
Wenger is believe to have some reservations about Yanga-Mbiwa, but could shelve these in fear of losing out on a long-term target.
AC Milan are also interested, but it is thought the battle for his signature is between the Premier League duo.
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Pardew seen Yanga-Mbiwa as the ideal addition to his stretched squad, with the defensive man able to fill in at centre-back, full-back and in a holding midfield position.
are determined to thrash out a pre-contract deal with Keisuke Honda, ahead of a summer switch to Anfield.
Brendan Rodgers is desperate to add striking reinforcements within his Liverpool squad and he sees a deal for Honda as one that is too good to turn down for a player who can play in a variety of positions in the final third
The CSKA Moscow star is available on a Bosman free this summer, as the Russian giants failed to agree a new deal with the talented Japanese ace and they are now resigned to losing him:
‘We tried to extend his contract, but we can’t force him,’ confessed CSKA director Roman Babaev.
‘It is up to him what happens next.’ (Metro)
Honda has scored nine goals in twenty-two matches this season; the 26-year olds best return since arriving in Russia, and Liverpool can expect serious competition for the Japanese star’s signature.
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