Blackburn defender Phil Jones is set to sign for Premier League champions Manchester United.Jones, 19, impressed at the heart of defence for Rovers during the 2010-11 season and has represented his country at Under-19 and Under-21 level.
The fee is expected to be 16 million pounds, with a five-year-deal on the table for Jones in Manchester.
He had been the subject of a war between rivals Liverpool and Manchester United to secure his services, with the Old Trafford outfit said to have beaten off competition from Kenny Dalglish’s side, who were expected to tie up a 20-million-pound deal for Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson on Wednesday.
Arsenal and Tottenham were also keen on signing Jones, who is reported to be undergoing a medical on Wednesday, on the same day he is meant to travel to Denmark as a member of the England Under-21 squad for the European Championships, which starts on Saturday.
Jones partners Manchester United’s Chris Smalling as the duo at the back for Stuart Pearce’s side, with the pair likely to become teammates in the coming hours.
The central defender made 26 Premier League appearances for Blackburn in the season just completed, with his campaign interrupted for almost three months with a knee ligament injury.
Tonight Manchester City host bitter rivals Manchester United in what should be a hostile and highly charged Premier League encounter. Manchester United sit three points above their ‘noisy neighbours’ in the table and will be looking for a win to put pressure on Chelsea. For Manchester City, its an opportunity for revenge after last seasons heartbreaking last minute defeats. As well as this, City can’t afford to drop six points behind Manchester United and lose further ground on Chelsea.
We have put together 5 iconic Manchester derbies to remind you of some classic games, before watching the big game this evening. The Manchester derby is never without surprise, and these five games examine the history and the drama that the Manchester derby has offered fans over the years.
Manchester United 0 – 1 Manchester City, April 27, 1974
Dennis Law scored 237 goals for Manchester United but arguably his most famous was his goal for Manchester City that effectively relegated Manchester United. In truth, his goal was irrelevant as Manchester United were already doomed – but this is the way it has gone down in footballing folklaw. The Scot was so distraught he had to be substituted – his back heel goal was his last touch in football. United fans invaded the pitch in a vein attempt to get the match abandoned. It wasn’t, and United were relegated.
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Manchester City 5 – 1 Manchester United, September 23, 1989
Dubbed the ‘Maine Road Massacre,’ Manchester City humiliated Manchester United with stylish attacking football. Manchester United fans will argue that in the 80’s they looked a shadow of the team that dominated the 90’s and Ferguson was still modeling him team. However, that day City were superb and goals from David Oldfield 2, Trevor Morley, Ian Bishop and Andy Hinchcliffe gave Manchester City their superb win.
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Continue to PAGE TWO for 3 more cracking Manchester derbies…
Manchester City 2 – 3 Manchester United, November 7, 1993
Manchester United had just been eliminated from the Champions League after surrendering a two goal lead against Galatasaray. Manchester City raced into a two goal lead and it seemed that United had lost all fight. However, up step Eric Cantona. Manchester City allowed United back into the game after a terrible defensive header, pounced on by Eric Cantona to get United back into the game. A second from Cantona and a last minute Roy Keane strike gave United a famous win.
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Manchester City 4 – 1 Manchester United, March 14, 2004
The first derby at the City of Manchester Stadium and it couldn’t have been sweeter for City. It would be fair to say that City fans never warmed to Robbie Fowler but they forgave his taunting after his performance in the derby. Along with Trevor Sinclair, Jon Macken and Shaun Wright Phillips, Fowler gave one of his best performances for City. Although the scoreline was flattering – but did City fans care?
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Manchester United 4 – 3 Manchester City, September 21, 2009
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The game had an edge as it was Carlos Tevez’s return to Old Trafford, there had been bitter slurs of ‘noisy neighbors’ and the ‘Welcome to Manchester’ poster had riled both Ferguson and United fans alike. One of the most pulsating Manchester derbies in recent years. On show, two quality teams, playing attractive football – a game that should go down as the best Manchester derbies ever. Wayne Rooney gave United the lead, before a mistake by Ben Foster gifted Gareth Barry an equaliser. Fletcher made it 2-1 before Craig Bellamy’s superb equaliser. A second from Fletcher had looked to have given United all three points, but Rio Ferdinand’s mistake gifted Bellamy an equaliser – and it looked like United had thrown away two points on three separate occasions. However, six minutes into the four added minutes allocated, Michael Owen pounced to give United the win, sparking wild celebrations from Sir Alex Ferguson as he danced down the touchline.
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What is your favorite derby game? Comment below and follow me on twitter
Click on image below to see a gallery of Cristiano Ronaldo’s latest lady
Champions League contenders Chelsea and Tottenham have both been warned that a summer move for unsettled Milos Krasic will cost as much as 15.5 million euros.
The Juventus man is clearly out of favour in Turin but the Serb is likely to seek pastures new when the transfer window re-opens at the end of the season.
Krasic who has opted to stick the current Serie A season out despite reported winter window interest from Spurs, will retain his value regardless of a lack of playing time according to the players representative Vlado Borozon.
‘Juventus intend to at least recover the money (15.5 million euros) they spent on signing Milos Krasic’ (TalkSport)
The winger who possesses a canny resemblance to former Old Lady hero Pavel Nedved made his name in Russia with CSKA Moscow with his elusive and technical dribbling skills from the flank.
However, he has struggled to rediscover this form in Italy and most recently appeared for Antonio Conte’s side in a January home draw with Cagliari.
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It remains whether Chelsea will plump for the wide man in what is likely to be a summer of rebuilding at Stamford Bridge. What’s sure is that Krasic will be seeking a permanent transfer following Lazio’s failed bid to take the player on loan in the past.
Jack Wilshere has denied refusing to play for England at the Under-21 European Championship, despite fears his tired body is due an injury.The Arsenal midfielder was a surprise omission from coach Stuart Pearce’s 23-man squad for the tournament, which begins in Denmark on June 11.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger had openly requested Pearce leave out the talented 19-year-old, who has made 55 appearances for club and country this season and has been named in Fabio Capello’s senior squad for a Euro 2012 qualifier against Switzerland in June.
Arsenal had become concerned by GPS data collated by their sports science department showing a significant dip in Wilshere’s work-rate over the past month.
The evidence suggested the midfielder was close to burning out and putting himself at risk of an injury.
“When they showed me the stats, it didn’t really sink in at first, but it just kept going down, on a downward spiral,” Wilshere told The Mirror.
“It scared me a bit, made me realise (that) as much as I’m 19 and can keep going and keep going, there’s going to be a time when you’re going to hit the wall.”
Wilshere said he repeated these concerns to Pearce in an ‘awkward’ phone conversation last Thursday, prior to the squad’s announcement on Monday.
However, he is adamant he did not request to be omitted and would have gladly represented his nation had Pearce included him.
“When I said I wanted to play for the Under-21s, I meant that,” he said.
“I wasn’t lying. I wanted to play and I still want to play so that’s why there’s frustration.”
“But I think it’s the best thing. Obviously there’s a risk of injury and missing some of next season if I had gone to Denmark.”
“I’m not saying I would definitely have got injured but I want to be 100 percent. I didn’t want to break down next season or going towards the Euros.”
“I am 19 and I have just got into the England team and there have been players like Steven Gerrard injured so I can keep my place in the England team.”
“And with the Euros coming up, it was in everyone’s best interests for me to rest. I think Stuart Pearce agreed with me. He’s been great about it.”
“Even today, if they had announced that I was in the squad, I would have gone. I would never have pulled myself out and said, ‘I’m not going’.”
With the Liverpool nightmare that has been Hicks and Gillett finally at an end, NESV now have the responsibility of rebuilding the football club and help restoring it to its former glories. Mr Henry and co. will be hoping that the Reds season will be kick-started at Anfield tomorrow when they take on Rovers.
This week at FFC we have seen a mixed bag blogs which has included…Rafa 1-0 Roy; PSV star puts Liverpool on alert and £6m is a small price to pay for Liverpool’s Plan B.
Plus we have taken a look at the best Liverpool stories on the Web this week.
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Featured Articles of the week
FAO NESV – Liverpool’s Iconic Moments
Liverpool’s ‘Greatest Foreign XI’ Of Our Time
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Other Liverpool Blogs
Why Liverpool fans need actions not words
Rafa 1 – 0 Roy
PSV star puts Liverpool and Man United on transfer alert
Time for Liverpool FC to address their huge mistake?
Who’s really to blame at Liverpool – Have Your SAY!
£6m is a small price to pay for Liverpool’s Plan B
NESV must respond to transfer speculation with an iron fist
PART ONE – ‘If Premier League Clubs Were Musicians’
The man to restore Liverpool to their former glories?
Who makes YOUR ‘Ultimate Premier League XI’ – You Decide!
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Click on PAGE 2 to see the BEST LIVERPOOL ARTICLES around the Web this week
Best of WEB
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TOP TEN Liverpool Transfer Bargains of All Time – Live4Liverpool
A New Hope – Kopblog
You can’t blame Torres for his current form – This is Anfield
End of an Error – Why Roy Has To Go – Tomkins Times
FOUR Candidates tipped to replace Roy – Live4Liverpool
RAFA BENITEZ: *Gross/Net Spend* figures during the Hicks and Gillett era – Liverpool Kop
It has been some five years now since Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey made his debut in senior football. His first touches came at the KC Stadium at Hull in April 2007, where he replaced Paul Parry on the Bluebirds left wing during stoppage time.
Jump forward to present day and Ramsey finds himself embroiled in the engine room of Arsenal’s midfield three pairing, aiming to thread through those intricate passes to the likes of Robin Van Persie to convert. But is the central midfield position the best that the man from Caerphilly can vacate? Let us identify why he may be better suited elsewhere going forward.
Ramsey’s major attributes include his innate passing abilities. Being two-footed he has the ability to pick a pass; whether long or short, and is one of the few Gunners players to often employ the cross field pass amidst the clubs tippy-tappy culture.
According to the Opta Index, Aaron Ramsey ranks a high fourth amongst 20 Premier League players judged upon their distribution abilities. He achieves 86.5% productivity per minute whilst on the ball.
Although it may be argued that Ramsey fulfils his current central position by spotting runners either side, gaining the full picture of Arsenal’s attack ahead of him, his talents could be much better employed further forward.
The attacking midfield position or glorified ‘number 10’ role requires skill, agility and the ability to create space. Ramsey is this man.
Mikel Arteta may disagree but a fully fit Arsenal side would include Alex Song sitting at the base of the midfield, Jack Wilshere slightly advanced and on his favoured left foot, with Ramsey at the forefront of this trio in a new attacking position.
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Whilst Aaron creates many assists, he would be the first to admit he doesn’t score enough goals. His last Premier League goal and fifth league goal of his Arsenal career came way back in October in the defeat to Tottenham. At international level he has too notched five goals but in much fewer appearances; 20 compared to 56 league games at Arsenal. But why such a contrast?
Indeed, it was the late, great Gary Speed who used Ramsey in the attacking midfield mould and actually gave the midfielder the number ten jersey in the latest friendly international with Norway. Andrew Crofts and Joe Allen were employed as sitting midfielders in behind him. Ramsey is much more of an attacking menace in this position and can use his intricate passing skills to thread those eye-of-a-needle passes to the Bellamy’s, Morison’s and Van Persie’s of this world. Ramsey notched a goal from this very position in a rejuvenated Wales’ sides triumph against Montenegro, in the country’s final Euro 2012 qualifier back in September.
Arsene Wenger heavily relies on the goals of Van Persie as all Arsenal fans would admit, with the Dutchman hitting 22 in the league with second placed Mikel Arteta managing just four. Ramsey still remains on one but a move to spearhead the Arsenal midfield may heighten his fortunes.
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It has been a long time since Arsenal fans purred over consistent goal tallies from the midfield positions including impressive hauls in the past from the likes of Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg.
It is now time for Wenger to alter his 4-3-3 formation and use Ramsey in an attacking midfield role to feed Robin Van Persie and kick start their most unpredictable of seasons to date.
Agree with me or is Ramsey already at home in central midfield? Join the debate @http://twitter.com/Taylor_Will1989
Inter Milan came from a goal down to beat Cesena 2-1 on Saturday, keeping the Serie A title race alive until the next round of fixtures.Inter trailed through Igor Budan’s 55th minute goal at the Stadio Dino Manuzzi and looked to be heading for defeat until substitute Giampaolo Pazzini struck to level the scores in the 91st minute.
The striker netted again five minutes into injury time to secure an unlikely comeback victory for the defending champions.
Inter, second in the table, are five points behind league leaders Milan, who play Bologna at home on Sunday.
With three rounds of the season still to come, even if Milan beat Bologna they must wait until next weekend at the earliest to secure their first Scudetto since 2004.
In Saturday’s other match, third-placed Napoli beat Genoa 1-0 to secure their first win in three matches.
Slovak Marek Hamsik scored the winner for Napoli with eight minutes remaining at the Stadio Sao Paolo.
Napoli are six points behind Milan and one back from Inter, but hold an eight-point buffer ahead of fourth-placed Lazio.
Chelsea forward Daniel Sturridge has been called many things but ‘shy and retiring’ isn’t one of them. Sturridge is a player who is supremely confident in his own ability; some might say this confidence is bordering on arrogance and it is easy to see why.
Despite only starting 6 Premier League games, Sturridge secured a £60,000 a week contract with Chelsea after failing to agree a new deal with Manchester City. With such a large contract at such a young age, Strurridge could be mistaken for a player who has proven himself as the highest level but this is far from the case. It’s time for the youngster to show the Chelsea faithful that he is worthy of such a lucrative deal by putting in the performances on the pitch.
From a very young age, Strurridge has been tipped for greatness and it seems that he has bought into his own hype.
As a youngster growing up, he was almost destined for a career at the highest level in football.
He comes from a footballing family- his uncles Dean and Simon Sturridge both had successful careers as professional footballers while father Michael just failed to make the grade at Birmingham City.
He hopped from one youth academy to another, looking for the perfect place to showcase his talents and he ended up in Manchester, signing for Manchester City. His talents were clear for all to see and he was training with the first-team at the tender age of 16. He made his debut for City in 2007 and went on to feature 32 times and score 6 goals in his time at Eastlands.
Coming from a football family, Sturridge was no doubt made aware of the brevity of a career in football and he has been keen to maximise his earning potential. There were rumours that his decision to leave Aston Villa’s youth academy for Coventry and Coventry’s for Manchester City’s were motivated by money. The accusations of greed levelled at Sturridge are given further weight by the fact that he reportedly demanded £65,000 a week from Manchester City or else he wouldn’t sign a new contract. City were unwilling to meet his demands and he moved to Chelsea and signed a £12 million 4 year deal at Stamford Bridge.
At Chelsea, it would be easy for Sturridge to slip into complacency and convince himself he had made it. There were whisperings from within the club that this was indeed the case as he was reluctant to take advice and failed to apply himself properly in training.
While this may have been the case, you wouldn’t have known it looking at Sturridge’s goalscoring record from when he has started. In his 8 starts for Chelsea, Sturridge has scored 6 times. He put in an impressive performance in the midweek Champions League game against MSK Zilina where he started the game and scored an excellent goal. However, Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti has demanded more from Sturridge:
“He’s a Chelsea player with good quality. He could do better. I expected more of him on Wednesday and he knows this.”
“He has fantastic ability, and I’d like to see these skills and ability more in a game. He scored with fantastic movement, but we need to see more of that.”
There’s no doubt that Sturridge is a player with a huge amount of potential and he has shown maturity by concentrating on improving his game which he seems initially reluctant to do. If he does continue to do so, there is every chance that Sturridge can make everyone a believer of his talents.
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Ajax playmaker Hakim Ziyech impressed for Morocco in their 1-0 defeat against Portugal on Wednesday that saw them eliminated from the 2018 World Cup, and Everton fans have urged their club to sign the 25-year-old, who is rated at £22.5m by Transfermarkt.
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The silky attacker has tended to play as a central attacking midfielder for club and country in recent times, but he started out on the left-hand side against the Euro 2016 winners on Wednesday, and he made a big impression despite his nation failing to get on the score-sheet.
According to WhoScored.com, he had four shots and made four key passes, while he also successfully completed three dribbles to suggest that he could be a good addition to the Toffees frontline alongside the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson, Theo Walcott and Cenk Tosun this season.
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Everton supporters, who hate the idea of signing a 26-year-old attacking target following his opening World Cup performance, were quick to have their say on Ziyech’s latest display via social media, and while one said “Ziyech could be the new Mahrez”, another said “throw a load of money at Ziyech please”.
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Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino is on Paris Saint-Germain’s wishlist of potential replacements for Unai Emery, according to The Mirror.
What’s the word?
Pochettino has managed to transform Spurs into genuine title contenders since his move from Southampton in 2014.
In the last two seasons, the North London outfit have finished third and second in the Premier League.
In the current campaign, the club are in the battle for a top-four spot as Manchester City are running away with the crown having taken a 16-point lead at the top.
According to The Mirror, PSG have been noticing Pochettino’s progress with Tottenham, and have placed him on a list of potential candidates, which also includes Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho.
The report claims that PSG’s hierarchy have been left disappointed by the club’s recent 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Despite the fact that the club have a 12-point advantage at the top of Ligue 1, Emery’s job could still be in trouble.
What should Pochettino do?
Most managers would jump at the chance to take charge of a European heavyweight, and nobody could blame Pochettino for considering it.
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However, Tottenham are at a very important stage of their development.
Next season, the club will move into a new state-of-the-art stadium, which can compete with the dominant Premier League clubs.
Given how instrumental Pochettino has been in transforming the team on the pitch, the former Southampton boss should be the man in the dugout when the club begin their new chapter next season.