All posts by h79snht.top

Queens Park Rangers capture of Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton on a free transfer at the end of last week looks to be a fantastic deal for the newly promoted club. The 28-year-old will add steel, bite and leadership to a team that can greatly benefit from his Premier League experience. But as QPR and manager Neil Warnock assemble a team to try and stay in the top division, are they risking too much by adding another big character to the dressing room?

For fans of the Premier League these big characters are great entertainment but for clubs they can be a real headache. Barton’s well documented troubles means he arrives in London with a reputation and he will not shy away from confrontation on the field. Already in the handful of games he played for Newcastle this season he has been at the centre of the action, the most notable of which involved being slapped by Arsenal’s Gervinho. You can argue over whether that was the former Newcastle midfielder’s fault but Barton can’t keep away from the headlines.

After impressing with Newcastle last season Barton should rightly slot straight into the QPR midfield. But by doing so Barton is likely to play alongside Adel Taarabt, another big character that could hinder as much as he could help his team. Barton and Taarabt as a central midfield partnership has as much potential to explode as it does to shine and QPR are taking a risk by putting faith in controversial names. Premier League football and the battle for points that will inevitably ensue with often require calm heads and unwavering focus. I have my concerns whether Barton and Taarabt can not only do that as individuals but also as a partnership.

As well as the likes of Barton and Taarabt on the field, QPR also have another well-known character on the touchline in the form of Neil Warnock. Whilst I am an admirer of Warnock’s talent as a manager and he deserves a lot of credit for guiding QPR back to the top tier of English football, he too possess the unpredictability that could so easily destabilise a football club.

But have QPR got the right mix by bringing in Barton? Both Barton and Taarabt are strong characters and they need a tough form of leadership to properly guide them. Warnock will provide that and may relish having someone of Barton’s personality in his dressing room. Whilst big personalities can be liabilities, they also find themselves as leaders. As captain last season Taarabt guided his team to promotion and was the inspiration for much of their success. Similarly Barton has the ability to command and lead a team, a useful attribute if or when QPR find themselves in a sticky situation this season.

Whether Barton’s arrival at QPR turns out to be a success this season will depend on what league his new team find themselves in come the end of the season. It is going to be a tough season for QPR and Neil Warnock has taken a risk by adding another big character like Barton to his ranks but whilst it is far too early to tell whether it will all end in disappointment, there is no doubt that it is going to be a far from boring down at Loftus Road.

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Do you think QPR are taking too much of a risk with the likes of Barton, Taarabt and Warnock? If you want to read more of my bite size, 140 character views and thoughts follow me on Twitter @jennyk5

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According to legend, Berbatov ’s Mancunian adventure started unconventionally – under a blanket in the back of Ferguson’s car, as he was speedily whisked away from the admiring hands of Manchester City.

In years hence though, all has been predictable. The daily abuse, the cheap cracks and descriptors starting with “l” are functions of a society inherently against footballers in the mould of Dimitar Berbatov.

Despite standing at six foot two, the Bulgarian hardly intimidates. His stature is slightly offset by a permanent slump of the shoulders and furrowing of the brow, two characteristics most manifest in times of struggle. And for Berbatov, struggle is never far away.

Quite apart from the expectation automatically applied to all Manchester United front players – especially ones that cost in excess of thirty million pounds – Berbatov is the subject of a special kind of scrutiny. There is an unshakable feeling among commentators and journalists alike that his case deserves questioning of an intensity normally only applied to England managers, brothel frequenters and John Terry.

To see Berbatov play is for many to have triggered a sort of righteous indignation, anger at an individual so distinctly different from the Premier League’s proletariat masses. The haughty exterior, hair band (until it was shorn a couple seasons ago) and deceptive, almost arrogant movement, all made great copy throughout each season of supposed under performance.

It is here however, that logic becomes flawed and evaluation teeters towards imbalance. In every appraisal, only the negative aspects of Berbatov’s profile are cited; his “lackadaisical” attitude and “languid” style of play always shadow a superb touch and breathtaking range of passing. Perhaps though, he was always destined to be under appreciated. After all, this is the country whose national team rejected Le Tissier and alienated Hoddle. Sheer skill, unadulterated by buckets of sweat, just isn’t valued in England to the degree that it is in other European countries.

And contrast doesn’t help either. Alongside the bustling Wayne Rooney and feisty Javier Hernandez, Dimitar Berbatov looks every bit an extrovert, the antithesis of English football’s myopic ideology. He’s everything that the prosaic hum drum of traditional English forward play lacks, while at the same time short of everything it has. The immaculate touch and precision passing that define his game are wonderful, but they tend to be forgotten in a whirlwind of parochialism and cliche.

Now only visible a few fleeting times a month, Berbatov’s under rated Manchester United tenure is likely to take an undeserved place alongside that of Diego Forlan and Juan Sebastian Veron. Neither of them ever finished as United’s top scorer, though. Neither of them netted a hat trick against Liverpool, nor five in a single match.

The Premier League missed an opportunity in Dimitar Berbatov. A seemingly conscious, pre-meditated decision by the press has led to the undermining of all his most fantastic achievements; most obviously, the dismissal of his golden boot -it being too reliant on only a small number of games. While there is beauty in its current product, what England’s top flight is missing is a general acceptance of footballers cut from Berbatov’s intricate cloth. It’s that veneer of quality which Italians and Spaniard’s savour – a subtle brilliance that us English are too blunt to notice.

Article courtesy of David Yaffe-Bellany from Red Flag Flying High

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Melwood was the scene as four stars of Liverpool FC took part in an exclusive skills challenge set up by the club’s official betting partner 188BET.

Stuart Downing, Jordan Henderson, Martin Skrtel and Jonjo Shelvey were put through their paces in a crossbar challenge, a test of speed with extreme keepy-ups, then finished off with a test of shooting accuracy by trying to score through small target holes in a covered goalmouth.

The lads were joined by a certain £35m Geordie striker. Andy Carroll was originally only a spectator but wanted to join in the fun… and showed a couple of reasons why he commands such a massive transfer fee.

The crew from LFC TV were on hand to capture it all and 188BET have uploaded the video for you to enjoy.

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Fancy seeing those skills up close? CLICK HERE and enter the competition to win VIP tickets to see Liverpool v Man United at Anfield There’s only two spaces left so enter now. Good luck!

Newcastle fans, as expected, have reacted angrily to the club’s decision to sell the naming rights of St James’ Park.

Club owner Mike Ashley has decided to change the name of the stadium to the Sports Direct Arena for the remainder of the season, with the intention of signing a long-term sponsorship deal next summer.

The move is expected to bring in extra revenue to the Tyneside club, but it is a decision that has also alienated the team’s fans.

“What the club has done just reinforces what everyone has thought about them, that no matter what strides the likes of Alan Pardew and the players might take on the pitch, there is always something from above that undermines everything,” Mark Jensen, editor of fanzine The Mag stated.

“It’s no coincidence that they have performed a typical politician’s trick and waited until things are going well to slip in something like this on the back of a cut-price season ticket deal which has filled the empty seats. It’s quite cynical.

“It showed when Kevin Keegan was here the first time as a manager that when you start a bandwagon rolling at Newcastle like he did, it’s a pretty powerful force.

“They should have been spending these two weeks really reinforcing the feel-good factor.

“As it stands today, this announcement has brought no extra money into the club, but they have seriously annoyed a large proportion of their fan base.

“Maybe now people who were thinking of buying a shirt or whatever from the club shop will think, ‘Right, I’m not doing that’.

“Certainly in the short-term, the only person who is benefiting is Mike Ashley and Sports Direct,” he concluded.

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Newcastle are still unbeaten in the league this season, but face an acid test after the international break as they take on Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

By Gareth McKnight

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has urged the club’s fans to stay united in their support of the team, as if they do not the Emirates outfit will not be able to compete with the biggest sides in the Premier League.

The French coach spoke at the North London club’s AGM on Thursday, and also stated he understood some of the supporters’ reservations and concerns over the future of the team.

“I believe the values we defend are highly defendable,” Wenger stated.

“We want to do things with class and be very brave. Courage is a quality I admire, because it is highly needed in the modern world.

“I can see a lot of fear and discontent among you – and I can understand that because we live in a world where we fight with people who have extremely high resources.

“We can compete by trying to be intelligent and to be united, because football is very difficult to be consistent and we have been more consistent than anybody in the world in the last 15 years.

“To stay at the top, top level we have to stay united.

“That does not mean I am not to be criticised, or the board – we accept that, but we have to show to the outside we are united. If you are not, then you have no chance.”

Wenger also stated that he was confident that star striker Robin van Persie, who has 18 months left on his contract, would soon sign a new deal.

“Robin has 18 months to go and I’m confident he’ll sign a new deal. I’m always confident,” Wenger admitted.

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 By Gareth McKnight

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It cannot be ignored that this is setting up to be a vital season for Theo Walcott. Once a young boy who made a big money move and gained huge attention from this, not to mention a place in Eriksson’s World Cup squad, Walcott is now older and wiser and his performances have started to show the one thing they can have previously been accused of lacking – consistency.

This has come at an opportune time for Walcott, as not only do Arsenal need him to step up now more than ever, but the emergence of a certain Oxlade-Chamberlain has meant that Walcott’s place has been under threat – with some even feeling that it is this very competition for places within the Arsenal squad that has made Theo step his game up.

Although Chamberlain himself would say that Walcott is a ‘totally different player’ to him – with the older and more established of the two preferring to play either as an out and out winger or a striker, and Chamberlain favouring the attacking midfield position, later moving out wide, comparisons are inevitable, and after yet another stellar performance by the 18 year old in the defeat to Manchester City and the youngster keen to have more experiences in the first team, Walcott is under more pressure at his club than ever before.

In seasons gone by,  Arsenal fans could have been forgiven for putting Walcott’s face on a milk carton he went missing so much during games, yet at  22 the player  will soon reach the 200 appearance mark for Arsenal – a remarkable feat for one who is still so young.

It is easy to forget just how well Walcott does play, and just how much the once sporadic winger has improved since arriving and being taken under the wing of Arsene Wenger as a 16 year old, with the player flourishing this season, especially since the departures of Nasri and Fabregas, with Juve rumoured to be interested in the English man and much more expected to come from the player.

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In terms of international football, selection before the 2006 World Cup gave so much hope to a then teenage Walcott, yet after failing to play at all in the tournament and with Eriksson lamented for including the lad, Walcott’s England career petered out before it had even began, and he has struggled to establish himself as a first teamer down a right hand side which has lacked a firm starter since the decline of David Beckham.

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One major worry for Walcott will be the form of Spurs player Aaron Lennon, who has been more than worthy of a watch over the last couple of seasons and is really becoming an integral part of a very successful Spurs side and would be the majority of people’s first choice for his country, meaning that not only does Walcott have to worry about his place in the starting line-up at his club but also breaking into the first team for England to boot.

For his part, the player has been doing everything he can to gain acclaim from both fans and his respective managers, and whilst always able to boast impressive statistics due to bursts throughout games, has finally been able to show the consistency that has eluded him so long and can both edge Lennon and Chamberlain out and bring him the recognition he feels he deserves.

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Manchester City playmaker David Silva has stated that his side have a fighting spirit that can lead them to silverware this season.

A 1-0 battling win over Arsenal on Sunday keeps the Etihad Stadium outfit on top of the Premier League table, two points ahead of cross-town rivals United.

The game was overshadowed by a training ground spat between Mario Balotelli and Micah Richards, but the Spain international feels that incidents like this show the side’s fighting spirit.

“Stuff like that, you can always turn into a positive for the team,” he told Mirror Football.

“Everyone is going at it 100 per cent in training, and stuff like that can happen. But we are very united and there is a great team spirit out on the field.

“I don’t get involved [in training-ground scraps] because I’m very cool-headed and calm.

“You have to respect everyone’s character but I try to keep a back seat view of everything and stay calm,” he stated.

Silva knows that Sir Alex Ferguson’s men will push City right to the end of the season, and the attacking midfielder is hoping the current leaders can keep up their winning form.

“We’re aware that United are going to be pushing us all the way but we have to focus on ourselves,” he added.

“We have to keep on the road we have been on up to now, keep our own affairs in order and the rest will look after itself.

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“At the moment it’s United just behind us, but others will be gathering towards the end of the season. To keep the gap as it is, we have to keep winning our games,” he concluded.

By Gareth McKnight

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Manchester City winger Adam Johnson has admitted that it would be disastrous if his side were to blow their title chances, after being top of the Premier League for the majority of this campaign.

The Etihad Stadium outfit take on fellow challengers Tottenham at home on Sunday, with cross-town rivals Manchester United lurking three points from the top.

The England winger is hopeful of success this season, but knows it will be a difficult task for Roberto Mancini’s men.

“I’d be devastated if we didn’t win it now,” he stated to Mirror Football.

“Everyone knows we deserve to be where we are and to throw it away would definitely be a disaster.

“Obviously, with the position we’ve got ourselves in now, it’s for us to give it away.

“We’re top of the league by three points and it’s up to us not to make mistakes. But none of the lads want to think about that, nor does anyone else at the club.

“Tottenham are the team who have nothing to lose and all the pressure is supposedly on us and United.

“But the pressure is on whoever is up there to sustain it. If Tottenham do that, there will be massive pressure on them. In the last four or five games, when things are still tight, that is when we can see who will hold their nerve.

“If we win the title, we will have deserved it. We have top-class players but we have to play 38 games.

“We have to try and win every one. Hopefully in May I will be saying that we did it,” he concluded.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Arsenal’s 4-0 humbling at the hands of AC Milan just further emphasised the dawning realisation about just how far off this current Arsenal side are in terms of quality when compared to the old Arsenal teams of yesteryear. But when it comes to the issue of the manager, and whether the club should continue to back him or politely thank him for his services and usher him out the back door quietly, it appears that the club’s supporters are split.

Every single time Arsenal are dealt a thrashing these days, we have to go through the inevitable rigmarole of listening to the Wenger Out bridge. It’s a divisive topic that’s for certain, but has Wenger taken the club as far as he can go?

The two camps now take completely polar views with concerns to Wenger’s future position at the club. There are those that still trust Wenger’s judgement to deliver and hail the job that he’s doing at the club with comparibly small finances to his nearest rivals.

On the other hand we have those that decry everything Arsenal have come to represent. This is, after all, a team formed very much in the image of its manager. The power that he has over recruitment at the club is nearly unparalleled in the english game. It is in Wenger’s judgement that players like Djourou, Walcott and Rosicky are up to the task, when at the highest level, the evidence just continues to mount that they are patently not.

From an outsiders perspective at least, I find it simply amazing the sheer amount of bile-based rhrotic that is sent Wenger’s way. It’s disrespectful and ignorant of the superb job that he’s done at the club. Arsenal wouldn’t be where they are today without him, it’s as simple as that.

He didn’t reinvent the wheel when it came to dietary requirements as it’s often made out to seem. He isn’t the first manager to appreciate that pasta instead of chips and a pint are better for a professional athlete’s body and diet.

Nor is he in anyway professioral in style apart from being French and quite posh looking . He isn’t a master tactican and the malaise in terms of playing style and squad depth is almost entirely of his own making.

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These false myths built up around him at the height of his success appear to be the very things hindering him most now. He isn’t all of a sudden a complete dunce, but at the same time, the personality cult based around the principle of ‘Wenger knows’ is equally just as ridiculous a notion.

Against AC Milan, his face had the look of a beaten man already resigned to his team’s fate. He is continually let down by a group of players that he has emplaced so much belief in. He lauds their ‘mental resilience’ at every turn and to what effect? They were out-played, out-fought and out-thought.

Is it simply that Wenger has raised expectations so high by over-performing in the past that he is now unable to meet them with an inferior squad? Or is it more to do with the modern-day football fan and their penchant for knee-jerk reactions and drama?

Of course, as is often the way with issues as complex as this, the truth lies somewhere in between. To criticise Wenger, as his supporters often complain, is not to completely disregard the job that he has done in the past. His successes in the past grant him a degree of freedom, a measure of credit if you will, but it’s worth noting that he is becoming in increasing danger of fully cashing that in now.

The rumbles on the terraces are growing and Wenger looks to be running out of answers. Is fresh impetus needed? Most definitely, but that doesn’t neccessarily mean a change in management, it could simply mean a new coach or two, perhaps even a new assistant manager instead of Pat Rice; but most importantly, someone with new ideas willing to challenge Wenger’s all-encompassing authority.

Wenger can be criticised for a lot of things – a near constant obsession with planning for the future, a failure to spend money in positions that require reinforcements and the failure of the experimentation with club’s change in playing style.

However, should the club banish a manager after so many years of  distinguished service after one and a half seasons of indifferent form? We are often told that no one person is bigger than the club, but when it comes to Arsenal, that just simply doesn’t apply or ring true.

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Arsene Wenger is Arsenal. If the club’s fans think that a change in manager will supply a quick fix to a team and infrastructure formed completely in Wenger’s image, then they have another coming. Any decision to remove Wenger could have wider-held implications to the club than we cannot possibly fully envisage at the moment. This is not the time for snap decisions based on a bad performance or two.

It’s easy to criticise the manager when performances go south, and Wenger certainly deserves a lot of the flak that goes his way, but the influence of the manager is often overstated in today’s game. The players simply aren’t holding their end of the bargain up.

Results are the managers perogrative, performances are the players. So far, against the odds, Arsenal are on course to secure Champions League qualification for the 12th successive season, which in itself is tantamount to a title win at the moment; a salient point worth remembering for Arsenal fans everywhere in the aftermath of a what will ultimately go down as a deeply humiliating evening for the club.

You can follow me on Twitter @JamesMcManus1

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For many people the Premier League is deemed the best league in the world, given its competitive nature and the quality of players that have plied their trade on these shores.

Whether it be a Jurgen Klinsmann, Thierry Henry, Eric Cantona, Gianfranco Zola, or in more recent times Cristiano Ronaldo; few can deny that the Premier League hasn’t had its fair share of talents to grace the pitches around the country. It is also important to recognise that it has also had to witness some absolute shockers as well, with the likes of Mido, Boogers, Prunier and Cheyrou still etched on the minds of Premier League supporters up and down the country.

The Premier League has always seen a mixed bag of players and I, for one, always welcome witnessing a mismatch on the field whether it is Ramon Vega looking to mark Dennis Bergkamp; Tony Hibbert attempting to shackle Cristiano Ronaldo, or simply Gregorsz Rasiak attempting to take on any Premier League defence. The bad will always play a major part in adding to the excitement of the league.

This current Premier League season has been no different and this is the FIRST PART of my look into, who I consider to be, arguably the worst players plying their trade in the league at present.

Click on Stefan Savic to unveil the top 10

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