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Chủ Nhật, 28 tháng 12, 2014

Alan Pardew identified by Crystal Palace as the man to replace Neil Warnock

Crystal Palace are expected to talk to Alan Pardew this week as they make an ambitious attempt to lure him back to the club where he excelled as a player.

The Newcastle United manager has been installed as the firm favourite to succeed Neil Warnock and refused to answer questions about the link before his side’s 3-2 win over Everton on Sunday and did not appear for the post-match press conference.

Given his team had won to halt a run of four successive defeats, it was a strange move that will fuel talk of his departure.

It is understood that Palace have identified him as the man to take over from Warnock, who was sacked on Saturday, and believe that they would be able to buy him out of his long Newcastle contract for £5 million

At the very least Pardew must be thinking about any offer given his situation on Tyneside. Few Newcastle supporters would be sorry to see him leave and he has a strong emotional attachment to Palace, where he spent his best years as a player.

Pardew has been regularly linked with the Palace job and while he has always denied he is interested in public, privately he has admitted it is something that appeals to him because of the emotional attachment he has to the club.

It may seem like a strange swap, given the respective resources of the two clubs, but significantly few Newcastle fans would mourn his departure and many would celebrate it. Pardew is well aware of the animosity towards him on Tyneside after weeks of protests calling for him to be sacked in the autumn.

Although the win over Everton halted a run of four successive defeats, the most painful of which came at home to local rivals Sunderland last weekend, Pardew is not liked on Tyneside after several months of poor results in 2014.

It is easy to see why he would be tempted to leave of his own accord rather than wait to be pushed. Interestingly, Pardew has also been repeatedly ignored when it comes to his views on player recruitment and last week made it clear he expects Newcastle to sign another centre forward in the January window. His desires have not always been the same as the board’s at St James’ Park.

Pardew sent his assistant manager John Carver to do his post-match media duties. That is not unheard of, although the timing of it raised eyebrows, particularly as his team had just won and moved back up to ninth in the table.

When asked directly whether Pardew had told him why he would be filling in, Carver said: “No. He just said ‘will you go and do the press for me’. That was it. I was actually eating a pie at the time.”

Source : telegraph[dot]co[dot]uk
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Press Pass - Sunday, December 28

Press Pass - Sunday, December 28

Ray Stubbs is joined by Patrick Barclay and Tom Hopkinson to discuss all of the latest sporting action.

The lads reflect on all the weekend's Premier League results, with Chelsea Manchester City and Manchester United all being held to draws.

audio_title: 
Listen again to the Press Pass
Source : talksport[dot]com
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Manchester United tracking highly-rated Brazilian forward Gabriel Barbosa

Louis van Gaal
Louis van Gaal is monitoring the progress of young Brazilian forward Gabriel Barbosa of Santos IBTimes UK

Manchester United are reportedly tracking young Brazilian forward Gabriel Barbosa, who currently plays for Santos.

According to the Mirror, young Barbosa is one of the hottest properties of Brazilian football and Louis van Gaal is keeping tabs on his with a view to a move in the future.

However, the report claims that Barcelona have the first option of signing the player as they had put an agreement in place when they signed Barbosa's former Santos teammate Neymar.

United are hoping that they will be first choice if the Catalan side do not take up their option with the Brazilian club.

Apart from the Premier League side Serie A giants Inter Milan and 10-time European champions Real Madrid are monitoring the forward and have made their interest known to the young forward's current employers.

Barbosa has been in Santos his entire career, and signed his first professional contract in 2012. He is contracted to the Brazilian club till the summer of 2019 and it is believed that he has a release clause of £39m in his current deal.

The 18-year-old forward was impressive form this season for Santos and it is claimed that the striker will be called up to the senior Brazil squad in 2015.

Meanwhile, United midfielder Michael Carrick has vowed that the Old Trafford club will not stop their pursuit of title contenders Chelsea and Manchester City.

After a poor start to the season, the Red Devils are one of the form teams in the league following seven wins and a draw in their last eight fixtures.

"The signs have been good in recent weeks. We were bitterly disappointed not to win last week [at Aston Villa] but we beat Newcastle and now have two big away games. They will be a good test for us to see where we are at," Carrick told United's official site.

"We're continuing to look up and will continue to try to catch them [City and Chelsea]. We're not satisfied with third – it's obviously an improvement and we're getting better, but we want to keep looking up," the English midfielder added.

Source : ibtimes[dot]co[dot]uk
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Sunday Football: Live Blog


28 December 2014, 13:08
Tweet

Welcome to our live coverage of the Barclays Premier League with nine matches on offer. Catch the action live on SS3 HD through to SS7HD as well as live streaming on supersport.com.

Live Scores

First up, Tottenham will play host to Manchester United in the 2pm kick-off. Leaders Chelsea will then travel to Southampton for a 4:05pm kick-off. Six matches are scheduled for a 5pm kick-off, then Newcastle will entertain Everton at 6:15pm the final clash of the day. Liverpool and Swansea will have a day off as they prepare for the 10pm clash on Monday.

Seven matches will be broadcast live and will also available via live streaming.

Follow the action right here and use #SSFootball to leave your comments on Twitter. We'll pull the best of them into our coverage below.

Source : supersport[dot]com
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Nottingham Forest 1-3 Birmingham City: Blues revival continues under Rowett

Nottingham Forest 1-3 Birmingham City: Blues revival continues under Rowett

Gary Rowett got his Birmingham revolution back on track and piled more pressure on opposite number Stuart Pearce as three goals in 10 first-half minutes helped them snatch a 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.

The Blues manager tasted defeat for only the second time since returning to St Andrew's when they were hammered 4-0 by Derby on Boxing Day. But two goals from Clayton Donaldson and another from David Cotterill helped stretch Forest's miserable run of form to two wins in 17 games, with Britt Assombalonga's 91st-minute header no more than a consolation.

Rowett has now won six of his 10 games in charge to lift Blues well clear of the relegation zone, while Pearce finds himself needing to address a frustrating Forest slump.

It was Birmingham who piled on a short flurry of early pressure, with Cotterill firing a shot into the side-netting and Demarai Gray twice coming close.

Henri Lansbury, restored to the Forest side after illness, was a whisker away from a goal in the 13th minute, as he followed up a burst of short passing on the edge of the box with a low shot that was close.

Matty Fryatt then had his head in his hands after getting a tiny bit too much power on his header, after connecting with a fine cross from Michail Antonio.

Assombalonga twisted and turned his way into the box beautifully, only to be denied by a smart save from Darren Randolph and, when the ball ricocheted loose to Lansbury, his rocket of a shot was deflected just wide. From the resulting corner, Michael Mancienne headed over.

It had looked as though it was Forest who would take the lead, but it was Birmingham who struck first. Lansbury brought down Gray as he threatened to cut into the box from the left, to collect his 10th booking of the season and concede a dangerous free-kick. And Cotterill took full advantage, somehow finding the bottom corner of the net with a low shot through a crowd of players.

That goal came in the 35th minute and three minutes later Birmingham doubled their advantage. Cotterill was again an integral figure as he drove in another low shot which found the bottom corner of the net, this time with the aid of a slight touch from Donaldson who was quick to claim the goal.

The game was all-but killed off just before the interval when Donaldson pounced on a deflection to scramble the ball past an exposed Darlow to give Birmingham a 3-0 advantage, although Robert Tesche did clatter the crossbar with a spectacular strike that bounced down just the wrong side of the line for Forest.

Tesche came close again after the break, this time with a header, as Forest looked for a way back into the game. but Birmingham were doing a decent job of seeing the game out, with Cotterill even coming close to a fourth with a 20-yard shot.

A corner from sub Ben Osborn picked out Assombalonga at the far post for the striker to head home a consolation goal in injury time, but it was too little too late for the hosts.

Source : talksport[dot]com
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Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United, Premier League: live

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Can United still mount a Title challenge? How, if at all, are Spurs coming along? Email alan.tyers@telegraph.co.uk with all your thoughts

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35 mins: Mason battling hard with Falcao, wins it fair and square.

33 mins: Falcao surges onto a long ball, he cuts inside, he ignores the other Man United runner - they have a two-on-two situation - and bends a shot at goal. Easy for Lloris.

32 mins: But here is Eriksen with a chance to deliver a freekick into the Man U area... he wastes that moment.

30 mins: After a splendidly exciting first 25 minutes or so, something of a lull.

26 mins: Strombouli has had the game's first card, for a high tackle on Carrick. Shortly afterwards, Townsend has the games second yellow, for a needless foul on Young.

24 mins: United corner. Falcao heads on. Jones hooks at it. Is it over the line? My goodness it's close. Apparently not... a matter of milimeters surely as Vertonghen flicks it clear. Ah, the ball WAS over the line... but it was offside. Somewhere, Jonathan Pearce seethes.

23mins: The freekick flipped over the wall, it takes a deflection and hits the post! Falcao and RVP both in the six-yard box, the ball bobbling about... surely one of them has to put it in! No! Spurs somehow hack it clear.

22 mins: Vertonghen, who is surely going to be booked sooner or later, hauls down RVP. Just outside the D.

21 mins: And now here is Andros T with a strong run and a shot, straight at the keeper. This is a good spell for Spurs.

20 mins: Spurs should have scored! Chadli with some excellent work, the United backs have nodded off, he slips it through and Kane only needed a tiny touch in the six-yard box. He got none

19 mins: Rooney, to Mata, and this is a lovely ball through to Falcao... shoots at the keeper.

17 mins: Excellent cross from the dangerous Young, who is having the better of his all-England duel with Townsend so far down that flank.

15 mins: Vertonghen and Falcao tangle for the ball. Vertonghen, to be fair, has got his arms up near Falcao's face but the Colombian has made quite the meal of that, clutching his fizzog in an attempt, or so it seems to me, to get the Spurs man in trouble.

13 mins: He does, however, give a freekick when Jones brings down Davies. Rooney is the man who clears the United lines with calm authority. Van Gaal having a tantrum about the freekick award. Looked pretty solid call to me from the ref.

12 mins: RVP controls, spins, and goes down under a challenge from Vertonghen. Ref not bovvered.

10 mins: A United corner. Rooney delivers. Cleared well enough by Spurs. Rooney with a sweet reverse pass now, but Mata - and indeed a couple of other Reds - are offside as the Spurs push out.

7 mins: United though go right up the other end, where Rooney sort of controls a long ball from Mata and slips it to Falcao, who is likewise bundled off it by a tag-team of Tottinghams.

5 mins: Nice bit of play from Harry Kane, excellent grit to win the ball and then vision to slip a through ball for Eriksen that United's Jones scrambles clear.

3 mins: Young down the left reckons he should have a corner off Chiriches, but the ref says no.

2 mins: Chadli's done well to release Townsend down the right, and Andros stands up a cross for the same player at the back post. Bit too high for him to get anything meaningful on it.

1 mins: Some nice bright passing from Spurs early on in a busy, packed midfield.

11.58 And there is the aforementioned minute's applause... and we're off.

11.55 Rooney, brilliant in that deep midfield role against Newcastle, has scored six times at White Hart Lane. How will Spurs counter him? Mata also looks to be coming into some form.

11.54 The players are out on the pitch, chilly day,

11.52 There'll be a minute's applause before the game in memory of Ron Henry, who won the double with Spurs in 1961. He died yesterday, aged 80. His grandson Ronnie plays for Stevenage.

11.50 It's true.

11.40 The ever-brilliant Opta Joe is on the button with the stat

11.35 More than two years since United last named an unchanged team in back-to-back PL matches. Is that a tough ask, given that they played Boxing Day?

11.30 Here's how everyone expects the teams to line up.

11.25 As for Spurs, well, more or less everything good will come through and from Eriksen. He's been a delight, that boy. Hopefully Andros Townsend can get up the park and put Ashley Young on the back foot.

11.20 Dutch love. Samuel Luckhurst tweets:

Twitter Van Gaal out early to embrace Michel Vorm. Offered some polite Spurs fans a little wave, too

11.10 Tall order for Spurs today, you feel. United's attack has been looking dangerous. Young was brilliant against Newcastle, I thought - that Spurs backline will need to look lively against United's crossing.

11.05 Congratulations to Martin Tyler, who celebrates 40 years as a commentator today.

11.00 Good morning. And a lovely crisp one it is here in London as Tottingham prepare to do battle with in-form Manchester United. After a shaky start to the season, to put it mildly, it looks like Louis va Gaal might have cracked it. He must have liked what he saw against Newcastle at any rate - United are unchanged.

Tottenham: Lloris, Chiriches, Fazio, Vertonghen, Davies; Mason, Stambouli; Chadli, Eriksen, Townsend; Kane. Subs: Vorm, Dier, Walker, Lamela, Dembele, Paulinho, Soldado

Man United: De Gea, Jones, McNair, Evans, Valencia, Carrick, Rooney, Mata, Young, van Persie, Falcao. Subs: Lindegaard, Rafael, Smalling, Shaw, Fletcher, A.Pereira, Wilson.

------

Michael Carrick insists Manchester United should be targeting the Premier League title, rather than Champions League qualification this year.

United made it seven wins from eight matches on Boxing Day when they swatted Newcastle aside with an easy 3-1 win.

Despite the impressive recent run, United remain 10 points behind Chelsea and seven shy of second-place Manchester City, who have won their last nine matches in all competitions.

Chelsea and City have a far more-settled starting XI than United, who have suffered because of injuries this season, but Carrick believes it is not unreasonable to think the Red Devils can catch them and top the table at the end of the season.

"We're continuing to look up and will continue to try to catch them [City and Chelsea]," the midfielder told United's website.

"We're not satisfied with third. It's obviously an improvement and we're getting better but we want to keep looking up."

It has not been lost on the United hierarchy that the team's resurgence has coincided with Carrick's return to the starting XI.

Since Carrick recovered from an ankle injury at the start of November, the Red Devils have dropped just two points - a fact not lost on Sir Alex Ferguson, who described the 33-year-old as "the best English player in the game" this week.

Carrick prefers to think that United's upturn in form is partly due to the attacking options Louis van Gaal now has at his disposal.

On Boxing Day the United boss started with an enviable attacking quartet of Wayne Rooney, Radamel Falcao, Juan Mata and Robin van Persie.

"That's four world-class players you're talking about there," Carrick said.

"Going in to a game with those lads in your team gives us a real threat and a lot of confidence knowing we can create chances and score goals. Against Newcastle they clicked nicely and hopefully in the weeks coming up we'll see something similar."

Van Gaal, ever the perfectionist, was not completely satisfied with his team's victory against the Magpies, which came courtesy of a Rooney double and a Van Persie header.

The United manager was delighted with his team's attacking play, but was less than happy with Phil Jones for clipping Jack Colback in the area to give Newcastle a late consolation from the penalty spot.

"We did a lot of bad things," Van Gaal said.

"Did you see the penalty? It was from our throw-in... it's not possible to give that penalty away.

"We can improve and we are improving every match. That's the most important thing.

"It's a process not for one day, but for a year."

Van Gaal was also unhappy with the Premier League for scheduling United's next game at Tottenham 43 hours after the game against the Magpies ended.

Carrick, who played for Spurs for two years before signing for United, thinks he and his team-mates must not dwell on the inconvenience too much, though.

"Going to Tottenham is always a tough game and to go there two days after this match at 12 noon makes it very tough," he said.

"But we have to get ourselves ready for that and it's the same for them as well. It's a game we look forward to and we go there confident."

Van Gaal will rotate his team for the match in north London.

British record signing Angel di Maria is a big doubt because of a pelvis injury he suffered in training on Christmas Eve.

Marouane Fellaini and Adnan Januzaj are out through illness. Daley Blind (knee) and Marcos Rojo (thigh) are unavailable, but Luke Shaw took part in a post-match training session on Boxing Day and could feature for the first time since November 22, when he injured his ankle against Arsenal.

Join Alan from 10am for all the build-up to today's game...

Source : telegraph[dot]co[dot]uk
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Thứ Bảy, 27 tháng 12, 2014

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Paulinho will not join Inter in January, agent confirms

Paulinho
Paulinho has become an increasingly marginalised figure at Tottenham this season. (Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Paulinho will not join Inter Milan during the January transfer window, according to the player's agent.

The Brazil international has struggled for game time under Mauricio Pochettino this season and has been tipped to leave White Hart Lane.

Inter are currently languishing in 11th place in Serie A and are under pressure to make significant additions to their team in the New Year.

But Paulinho's representative Giuliano Bertolucci has ruled out the possibility of the Spurs midfielder being part of the recruitment drive.

"I deny that [Paulinho joining Inter].There is nothing true about Inter's interest in Paulinho," Bertolucci was quoted as saying by Inside Futbol. 

"There is no chance to see him in Italy in January. It is just the usual rumours."

Tottenham have this week confirmed that USA international DeAndre Yedlin will join the club in January but Pochettino has ruled out the possibility of further arrivals in the New Year, insisting he is happy with his current options.

"January is not about whether we sign a player or not," he said. "I am happy with my squad.

"I never put pressure on the club to sign a player. As head coach I try to explain to the chairman and the sporting director my thoughts and after we decide together what is best for the club."

Tottenham host Manchester United on Sunday and could move into the top four with a win, should other results go their way.

Source : ibtimes[dot]co[dot]uk
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