Arsenal - Can they succeed without Fabregas and Nasri?

With Cesc Fabregas finally making his awaited trip back to Barcalona and Samir Nasri seemingly days away from walking out the door as well, I ask and try to answer the question running through every Arsenal fan's mind. Can we cope without our two main creative midfielders? Can the likes of Ramsey, Wilshere and Rosicky lead the London club to premier league success? Personally I feel the answer is pretty obvious, no. No they cannot.

Not in my mind personally. Wenger will have to go back on his policy of saving pennies for a rainy day and wap out that dusty cheque book and bring in a marquis name to fill the gigantic hole left with the Spaniard's and Frenchman's exit. If one of them would stay then I feel that Arsenal would still be able to compete fully with the likes of United and Chelsea but when two of your main players leave it is bound to affect the team. I am still in awe of West Ham United's ability to play so well despite the loss of Luis Boa Morte and Jonathon Spector, I don't believe the Gunners will be able to pull off those sort of heroics and should definitely be dipping into that rarely used transfer fund. Will they? Who knows... I don't think that they will sadly. Hope that doesn't heap too much pressure onto the young shoulder of Jack Wilshere! Someone like Juan Mata would be ideal to try and help Arsenal challenged that much needed bit of silverware.

Matt Cooper

Clichy Completes Move To City

 Gaël Clichy has completed his move to Manchester City. Clichy completed his medical on Monday and spent this afternoon meeting club officials to seal his move from Arsenal.

It has been suggested City would pay £7m for the full-back, who is Roberto Mancini's first summer signing. Although Arsène Wenger was keen to keep his fellow Frenchman, Clichy was set to enter the final year of his contract and, having indicated he was not willing to agree an extension, left Arsenal with little option but to cash in.

Clichy has signed a four-year contract and becomes the latest in a succession of former Arsenal players to join City. Not all have been an unqualified success, such as Adebayor and Viera.

Possibly The World's Ugliest Kit?

Ladies and gentlefolk, I give you... THE NEW ENGLAND GOALKEEPER'S KIT!

And isn't it a beauty? Joe Hart will look a treat turning out in this fine garment for international games.

Personally, I think this is possibly the worst shirt that's come from the England kit makers Umbro since they started making the outfits for the team. And Apparently it's not going down too well with England supporters. Don't blame them to be honest, this is a joke. It looks like the pattern was done by a drunk bloke in pitch black darkness. Good luck to the stoppers wearing this monstrosity.

Matt Cooper

Touchline Banter WAG Of The Week - Edurne Garcia Almagro

Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea has a real sizzler on his hands with girlfriend Edurne Garcia Almagro.

The Spaniard completed his transfer to the Red Devils last week with a shiny European Under-21 Championship medal hanging around his neck.

But he arrived in England with a different sort of trophy on his arm as he introduced the British public to his gorgeous other half, who we (pretty much just me and Ben) are glad to announce as this week's WAG of the week.

Matt Cooper

Rumour Of The Day - German Star To United?

According to reliable reports Manchester United are ready to continue their extravagant summer spending with an ambitious bid for Bayern Munich's Bastian Schweinsteiger as their search for a decent replacement for Paul Scholes continues.

United created English football history by winning their 19th title last season but they have refused to rest on their laurels, knowing that rivals Chelsea and Manchester City are likely to flash their cash in a bid to knock them off the top. With the transfer window only month old, Fergie has already sanctioned £50m worth of purchases with Phil Jones arriving from Blackburn, Ashley Young joining from Aston Villa and David de Gea of Atletico Madrid replacing the retired Edwin van der Sar.

With defensive and attacking positions pretty much dealt with, United now want to address the middle of the park which is seen as a potential area of weakness. Schweinsteiger is seen as providing the answer to that problem and United will now attempt to prise him from the German club.

However, the Germany international is hugely important to Bayern having spent his entire professional career there. The situation is all the more complicated after the 26-year-old signed a new contract with the club last autumn in light of strong interest from Chelsea, a deal that commits him to the Allianz Arena until 2016.

Officially the player is not for sale but United hope an offer of £30m will change their mind.

A player I have always respected, I feel he would be a suitable addition to the Manchester United midfield and would make a sufficient partner for Darren Fletcher in the middle of the park.

Schweinsteiger? Modric? Sneijder? Surely United have to bring in someone soon.

Matt Cooper

Wow.

Possibly the world's stupidest goalkeeping mistake? What on Earth was he trying to do there? I'm not a goalkeeper but even I know that the safest thing to do there is just get rid of the bloody thing!

Did make me chuckle.

Matt Cooper

Manchester City Just Taking The P*ss Now...

New Manchester City Operations supremo John Williams  has announced radical plans to revamp the way the club conduct out going transfers. In a move that is sure to send shock waves through football he has decided to put unwanted players on display in the club souvenir shop.

Williams, who left Ewood Park after claiming that he could no longer work with the club’s new owners has been given the brief of reducing the Eastlands first team squad from an unwieldy 468 to a more manageable 30 senior pros backed up with 20-30 young prospects.

Speaking yesterday Williams:

“The club have tried all of the usual channels over the last twelve months and have had no joy so we are hoping that by putting them in the new shop we’ll get them a move”

“The set up will be similar to a dogs home where people can come in and meet the players, we’ll even let people feed them and take them home for the weekend….the important thing is that we find them the right home with someone who can give them the love and attention they need”.

The worst part is I don't actually think he was joking...

Matt Cooper

Aquilani Removed From Liverpool Training Ground

Eyes too close together?

One of the more amusing Football stories released in the news lately:

Italian midfielder Alberto Aquilani insists that he still has a future at Anfield even after a mix up that saw him arrested for trespassing at Liverpool’s Melwood training ground.

Aquilani, 26 who recently returned from a loan spell at Juventus, had been ordered by Kenny Dalglish to report back early for pre-season training but was forced to leave the premises when security guards mistook him for an intruder.

Melwood security guard Steve Hill takes up the story:

“We saw this long haired fella kicking a ball around and couldn’t understand what he was trying to do”

“He kept taking shots from the edge of the area but the ball was flying all over the place, we presumed he was a local drunk and decided to throw him out before he smashed any of the windows”

“We asked him nicely to leave but he refused and said that he was a £20 million Liverpool player……This cracked us both up but we admired his cheek and asked him to prove it”.

The Italian then challenged both security guards to prevent him scoring a spot kick.

“After 76 failed attempts we told him enough was enough, we both had homes to go to and we could have been there all night, I’m not being funny but if he’s a footballer he did a really good job at hiding it” said Hill.

The security guards forcibly ejected Aquilani who later filed a complaint with the club. However he has since accepted that the security guards made an innocent mistake and the good news for Liverpool fans is that he has pledged to see out the remaining 3 years of his contract.

Matt Cooper

Liverpool - Too Many Midfielders?

With the return of central midfielder Alberto Aquilani from Serie A outfit, Juventus, it occurred to me that maybe the Merseyside club may have too many players competing for the 2 or 3 central midfield spots. Think about it... Gerrard, Meireles, Lucas, Henderson, Spearing, Poulsen, Cole and now Aquilani all vying for the same spots, all of them Premier League standard, there could be a bit of a selection problem for gaffer Kenny Dalglish. How he intends to keep all these players happy when they all believe they should be starting will be interesting to see come next season.

It is also dependant on what formation the manager decides to play, if it's 4-4-2 then only 2 central spots will be available. 4-5-1 means that 3 would be available but I think Luis Suarez would then be competing for one of those spots. With 2 quality strikers in Caroll and the Uruguayan I feel that Dalglish will probably opt for 4-4-2 but obviously that means that a lot of the central midfielders will unhappy at being left on the bench.

But I have the soloution!

A rarely used formation, the 3-6-1 is one I feel would truly benefit Liverpool as it employs the use of 4 central midfielders and I can guarantee that the increased amount of midfielders truly does take 'You'll never walk alone...' to a whole new level. It may get a little crowded in the middle of the park but I think it would be the easiest way of keeping the vast number of midfielders that the club possess happy. Who knows? 3-6-1 could become the formation of the future, you saw it here first.

Only a slightly less optimistic note I still rate Meireles as a better player than Henderson and would have him and Gerrard as my first choice central midfielders. However, Gerrard isn't getting any younger and I believe that the new signing Henderson will be the replacement for him in future seasons. But surely before the season starts, Dalglish must offload one or two of these centre mids? God knows what will happen should that move for Charlie Adam go through.

Matt Cooper

Nasri To City?

After weeks of intense speculation, Samir Nasri looks set to leave Arsenal after it was reported that Manchester City are close to finalising a £20 million deal for the player.

Nasri, 24, is regarded by many as one of the finest midfield talents in the Premier League and the French international has been strongly linked with a move to Manchester United as Sir Alex Ferguson looks to replace the now retired Paul Scholes.

However, Ferguson looks set to miss out on one of his number one targets as Roberto Mancini closes on his first major signing of the summer window. City are also close to agreeing a deal to bring Nasri’s Arsenal team-mate Gael Clichy to Eastlands.

If Nasri does complete the reported £20 million deal to Manchester City, he will more than double his current wage which he earns at the Emirates stadium. It is suggested in reports that City have offered Nasri £180,000 a week to make the move which many other former Gunners have made in the past.

This really is a massive blow for Arsenal. Nasri is, without doubt, one of the club’s most valueable assets and if he does, as is now expected, leave the club, I personally believe they will struggle to find a decent replacement. I am sure Arsenal fans and indeed fans of both Manchester clubs will have plenty to say about this. 

Matt Cooper

Wickham To Sunderland

Ipswich Town have accepted Sunderland's bid of £8m, rising to a possible £13m, for their teenager ­Connor Wickham and the striker has arrived in the north-east ahead of a medical scheduled for today.

Although it is conceivable that, providing personal terms are agreed, Wickham could become part of Steve Bruce's squad within the next 24 hours, the potential deal remains vulnerable to a last minute hijacking from a bigger club.

At only 18, the 6ft 3in, England Under-21 international has attracted interest from Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham. Despite Sunderland having made "significant progress" in their attempts to persuade him that the Stadium of Light is the right destination at this particular stage in his development, Bruce will not rest easy until the forward has actually signed.

 Should he sign for Sunderland this is what the fans can look forward to:

Not a bad run and finish ey?

Matt Cooper

5-Way Shootout For Neymar

Santos have confirmed that five clubs have met Neymar's release clause of €45million (£40.3million) and they have been given permission to talk with the Brazilian sensation.


The clubs are understood to be Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester City and Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala.
It was previously believed that Real and Chelsea, who have been tracking Neymar for years, were leading the chase with the Spaniards in pole position.


But now it has emerged that they are not alone in the race for his signature, with Barca and City also showing their hand.
The outsiders of the five are Anzhi Makhachkala - although they have plenty of finances and they would hope their current Brazilian contingent, which includes Roberto Carlos, could help push a deal through.


I think for the Premier League to remain as the best league in the world, players such as Neymar (young prospects with big futures) should be coming to the English top division. Would personally love him to join either City or Chelsea. This kid's got a big future ahead of him.


Matt Cooper

Rumour Of The Day - Villa Bid Rejected By Barca?

Apparently, according to The Daily Mirror, Chelsea have made a bid for David Villa.

However, the £27million offer was not successful. I can see why, Barca have possibly the most effective front 3 in the world so I cant see them letting one of them go. Especially for a cheap fee such as £27million, When Andy Caroll is worth £35million, surely David Villa is worth a lot more than that? Obviously not in Chelsea's mind.

The paper reports: 'According to Barcelona, Chelsea's inquiry was immediately rebuffed, with the Stamford Bridge outfit informed that Villa's buy-out clause stands at a ridiculous £178m and that there was no point in any further negotiation.'

So there you go.



Matt Cooper

De Gea Set To Finalise Move To United

Spain U-21 goalkeeper David De Gea is finally expected to complete his protracted move from Atletico Madrid to Manchester United in the next few days.

According to the Daily Mail, De Gea will seal a £17.8million switch to Old Trafford now he has come back from the U-21 European Championship in Denmark.

The 20-year old has been Atletico Madrid's first-choice for the past two seasons, and has the backing of friend and Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina, who himself has been linked with replacing De Gea at Madrid.

Reina said: "I very much welcome this news because David is a great keeper. When it becomes official he is going to start working to prove in the Premier League what a good goalkeeper he is."

Matt Cooper

Gunners in for £17million Cahill?

Arsenal are reportedly on the verge of securing defender Gary Cahill's signature.

The England international has been linked with a handful of Barclays Premier League clus in recent weeks, with Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City both vying for the Bolton Wanderers player's signature.

However, the Evening Standard reports that Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is on the verge of securing the player's signature, with both Cahill and Lille striker Gervinho set to pen deals at the Emirates this week.

It's claimed that talks are in advanced stages between both parties in relation to the Cahill transfer, with Arsenal set to activate the player's £17 million release clause or offer a player-plus-cash deal.

A defender is thought to be high on the Gunners' agenda this summer, with Wenger keen to add reinforcements in the position following last season's injury debacle at Arsenal.

The French manager revealed in May that he would be looking to spend in the transfer winddow, providing the 'right' player becomes available to Arsenal, and Cahill appears to fit the bill for the north Londoners.

Finally! Arsene Wenger actually splashing some cash on good players! A tall centre back must have been top of the gaffer's wishlist and should either Cahill or Blackburn's Christopher Samba join the gunners, the manager will have his new rock at the back. I personally rate Cahill very highly but would much rather have Samba in my team. He's just a monster and must be pretty scary to play against. Both player's should be playing at a higher level and hopefully Arsenal can bring one in.

Matt Cooper

Possibly one of the greatest saves of all time?

After scrolling through the many football related videos on YouTube I suddenly remembered a save I had seen on TV when I was a bit younger, It was the amazing save from Arsenal keeper and legend David Seaman to deny Paul Peschischolido an almost certain goal. 1 word... wow.

Very very impressive.

Matt Cooper

A Round Up Of the News Today

The Independent reckon Liverpool are about to complete the signings of Stewart Downing and Charlie Adam any minute now.

Adam is set to move for £8million today which means he may already be a Liverpool player by the time you read this. What’s wrong with Raul Meireles?

Meanwhile, Aston Villa’s Downing is expected to put in a transfer request before the end of the week.

No figure has been mentioned for Downing but Liverpool would surely expect to pay less than Man Utd paid for Ashley Young. If Downing costs more than £15million then Kenny Dalglish has been well and truly stitched up.

The Daily Mirror are reporting Manchester United are after Barcelona’s 20-year-old midfielder Thiago Alcantara. United are offering £15million which both sides seem pretty happy about, although Barca want a buy-back clause put into the contract.

That’s taking the p*ss a bit, isn't it? The Premier League isn’t your feeder league yet, Barca.

That deal doesn’t look like it will happen, but Thiago could be heading to the North West with Bolton Wanderers on a loan deal.

And in three word transfer news…

Mata to Arsenal

Keane to Blackburn

Hulk to City

Matt Cooper

Touchline Banter WAG Of The Week - Amaia Salamanca

The winner of the Touchline Banter WAG Of The Week (Week 3) is the lovely Amaia Salamanca, current girlfriend of Real Madrid and Spanish right back Sergio Ramos. For a bloke who looks like an ugly woman I reckon he's done pretty well for himself!

Congratulations to Miss Salamanca

Enjoy, Matt Cooper

Rumour Of The Day - Lennon To Liverpool?

                  I still think he looks like a muppet with those shaved eye-brows!

It has been revealed today that the Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish is still desperate for two top class wingers at Anfield, and after losing out on Ashley Young he has decided to target the Tottenham star Aaron Lennon instead.

This week Dalglish is hoping to secure Young’s old Aston Villa team-mate Stewart Downing, but then the Liverpool boss has instructed Damien Comolli to turn his attention to Lennon.

Should all these proposed Liverpool signings go through they could be looking at a midfield 4 of:

Downing       Gerrard       Henderson       Lennon

Not too shabby and a real improvement on the current midfield as I personally really do not rate Lucas or Maxi Rodrigues. As Tottenham have previously stated they will not sell they top players and become a 'selling club' I am not sure as to whether Harry Redknapp will sanction the move of one of his players to a rival team but who knows? Spurs need to get some money from somewhere or they wont end up bringing anyone in, something they desperately need to do to stand any chance of challenging for the top 4 this coming season.

Matt Cooper

Mackail Smith Coming to WHU?

According to reports Sam Allardyce looks set to win the race to sign Peterborough striker Craig Mackail-Smith for West Ham. The Posh hotshot has already turned down a chance to play in the Premier League with Norwich City.

But Big Sam is convinced the forward, 27, would move to Upton Park and is ready to make a £3m move for the striker, who bagged an impressive 35 goals last season. The Watford born Scottish international has netted an incredibly 90 goals over the past four seasons helping Peterborough to three promotions, and one relegation, in the process. Sam Allardyce clearly feels that Mackail-Smith can cut it at a higher level and has forked out a decent whack accordingly.

The signing of Mackail-Smith may mean that England international Carlton Cole is on his way out and West Ham already lost Demba Ba to Newcastle United.

Like the sound of an accomplished goalscorer coming to Upton Park and I reckon he can fire us back into the Premier League and fully justify that £3million price tag. Things are looking good for the hammers as we prepare to return to the top division in our first season after being relegated.

Matt Cooper

The Pictures We Have Always Been Waiting For...

Finally, for billions of people the wait is finally over... after months of speculation and rumours it's finally happened. THE WEST HAM UNITED HOME AND AWAY KITS HAVE  BEEN RELEASED, AND HERE THEY ARE:

I get goosebumps every time I see these kits. Chic, classy, sophisticated... the list could go on. Simple yet gorgeous, opposition teams must look on in awe as we turn out every weekend in one of these shirts.

I know what you're thinking... fashion like this must come a luxury price but let me be the first to tell you, The only thing that isn't high quality on these shirts are the price-tags. Go down to WHU mega-store and you can pick up one of these bad boys for around £40. So go on, treat yourself. Buy the best looking shirt in the world for the 2011/12 season and see how many heads you can turn wearing the classic West Ham United home or away strip.

Enjoy, I'm sure you will.

Matt Cooper

Crouch Caught On Camera

Peter Crouch practising his new celebration for next season? The Lanky legend didn't realise the whole thing was on camera...

Enjoy,

Matt Cooper

Abramovic getting impatient as Villas-Boas enters second trophyless day

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovic is said to be growing impatient with new manager Andre Villas-Boas as he began his second day on the payroll without securing the Champions League.

Early indications are that Abramovic is unlikely to wield the axe just yet, but club insiders say that his frustration is already growing exponentially.

A Chelsea source told us, “Roman wants to win the Champions League, and Andre hasn’t yet done that for Chelsea, so of course his job is on the line – why wouldn’t it be.”

“In modern football you don’t get the time to build an empire like in the years gone by.  If he hasn’t won the Champions League by Christmas don’t be surprised to see him on the way out.”

“Just because we paid nearly £14m to secure his services doesn’t mean for one second he’ll be allowed an entire season to win the lucrative trophy – Roman didn’t get where he is today by working to other people’s timetables.”

New Chelsea Boss

Villas-Boas spoke to the media “I thought he was joking, when the moment I signed the contract he looked me in the eye and said, ‘So, have we won it yet?’.”

“I can assure every Chelsea fan that I am doing everything in my power to find a way to deliver the Champions League before the leaves are off the trees.”

“Ideally, Jack Warner and Mohamed bin Hammam would get themselves a post with UEFA and make this whole thing a lot easier.”

Manchester United - How Will It Work?

Ashley Young has just been brought in and personally I think he will be used an out-and-out winger and not in the classic number 10 role behind the striker as Rooney has got that spot wrapped up, So with 4 main wingers in Nani, Valencia, Giggs and Park-Ji-Sung I am struggling to see how the United midfield and strikers will line up come the 13th of August and the start of the new season. Towards the end of the last campaign the team adopted a 4-4-1-1 formation with Rooney in the hole behind Javier Hernandez while Ryan Giggs was used more centrally as a partner to either Darren Fletcher or Michael Carrick. But with the arrival of Young and reports saying that Nani is NOT going to be offloaded... how will they fit all of them into the same attacking unit?

I can see two possible line ups for the new season:

Sacrifice one of the holding midfielders and replace with Ashley Young playing in a similar way to Rooney and being another creative spark behind the main striker Hernandez. This would make United a much more threatening team going forward with more creative players being in more forward positions but the balance of the side would be much different from previous seasons when the manager has opted for two original organised central midfielders who do both the attacking and defending and not just one or the other (e.g. Keane and Scholes, Fletcher and Carrick) And this possible new formation could see Darren Fletcher out run in midfield and could lead to United being more susceptible to counter attacks from opposition teams.

Or....

A more traditional 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-1-1 if the wingers sit back a little more, this is a much more balanced option and will allow Ashley Young the freedom of the left wing to cut in and cause havoc. It does however, mean that either Nani or Valencia, more likely Nani, will have to be sacrificed for the new signing and I thought the Portuguese winger had a brilliant season in 2010/11 and this led to him becoming the league's top assister with 17 assists for his team-mates, Nani's problem is that he does not produce the hard work and graft that is produced by the likes of Park-Ji-Sung and Valencia to get back and help the defence out and that it why it is likely that Valencia will be the winger that keeps his starting spot. The two central midfielders would be much more effective at preventing opposition attacks and Rooney and the sole creative spark should be able to create chances for Hernandez while bringing the two wingers into play, with Valencia hugging the touchline stretching the defence, Young will cut in and cause more problems, this is still an attacking formation and one that has worked for United over previous seasons.

So... what do I think?

Personally, as much as I feel Nani should be in the starting 11, I would go for the second formation and stick to the way United have played over the previous campaigns as it has served them well and led them to many sucesses. I feel that Ferguson will want the reassurance of two regular central midfielders in the middle of the park and I'm sure Young will be encouraged to drift in off the left wing to become a more central player where he could cause more damage. Either way, I feel that Young is a top signing who will hopefully succeed at Europe's 2nd best club. Whether he will do a better job than Nani did last year... only time will tell.

Matt Cooper

FATC World XI Of The Year

After reviewing the Premier League season and picking my team of the year, it got me thinking about the global game and who I would pick in a World 11. After long deliberation I think I can now reveal that team and who I would pick to manage the side.

Formation - 4-3-3
Manager - Jose Mourinho - Just love his attitude and confidence in himself.

GK -  Iker Casillas - Reliable and a good leader with a safe pair of hands and the ability to pull off big saves


RB - Maicon - Defensively sound and a real attacking threat all season for Inter

CB - Gerard Pique - Solid defender and an unsung hero in the best team in the world at the moment

CB - Nemanja Vidic - Been a rock at the heart of the United defence all season.

LB - Patrice Evra - Consistently the best player at left back all year, great defender with real pace.


CM - Xavi - One of the most influential players in World football. Best passer in football and makes     Barca tick.

CM - Wesley Sneijder - Quality playmaker who created and scored goals all year long.

CM - Iniesta - One half of the World's best midfield partnership, very attack minded and very creative.


RF- Christiano Ronaldo - What a season. Justified his price and tag and couldn't be left out.

CF - Lionel Messi - Best player in the World right now and first name on the team sheet for me

LF - Alexis Sanchez - Big season for the little winger, created and scored a number of goals and this has resulted in big interest from big clubs.


For me all these players shone in their respective positions and fully deserve to be ahead of the rest. Consistently they have been the best all round players for their clubs and countries over the course of the 2010/11 season. Honourable mentions should go to the likes of Carlos Puyol,  Sergio Ramos, Samir Nasri and David Villa as they all were considered when picking this team. I bet no one would want to be playing against this 11!

Matt Cooper

Young Move Confirmed

Manchester United have signed Aston Villa winger Ashley Young for £15million on a five-year deal. The 25-year-old had been widely expected to sign for the Red Devils after rejecting new contracts to stay at Villa Park.

The England international wants to play Champions League football and will now have the opportunity to do so at United. Young, who rejected a move to Liverpool to join Sir Alex Ferguson’s side, underwent a medical yesterday and will join up with the champions for pre-season training.

“Manchester United is delighted to announce it has reached agreement with Aston Villa for the transfer of Ashley Young,” a statement on the club’s website read.

“The player passed a medical in Manchester this week and has agreed a five-year contract.”

He becomes Ferguson’s second signing of the summer after the capture of England Under-21 international Phil Jones from Blackburn for £16.5million.

Matt Cooper

Keeper Goal Earns Draw Against England Under 17's

What a surprise. ENGLAND'S week of international misery took a comical turn last night when the Under-17s conceded a late equaliser from Canada's GOALKEEPER.

With three minutes to go, England were leading 2-1 when Quillan Roberts ventured out of his goal to take a free-kick just inside Canada's half.

He launched the ball forward and after it evaded a melee of outfield players, it took one high bounce before clearing the despairing dive of Jordan Pickford in England's goal.

The 2-2 draw gave Canada their first ever World Cup point at U-17 level.

After the under 21's failed so miserably in their tournament the focus turned to the age group below to see how they would fare against the world's best. Against possibly the worst side in the world cup yet another English Goalkeeping has scuppered the team's chances of doing well. But to be a little sympathetic to the young lad, it did take one hell of a bounce. 

Top finish by the other lad though!

Matt Cooper

Rumour Of The Day - Mata to United?

Manchester United will lodge a 23m bid for Valencia playmaker Juan Manuel Mata, according to sources close to the club.


Sir Alex Ferguson has been impressed with the Spain midfielders performances at the the Under-21 European Championship in Denmark and is ready to make a concrete offer for the player. Fergie sees the 23-year-old as the ideal replacement for the retired Paul Scholes and is planning to make an offer for the player next week.

United now appear front runners for Matas signature, after Manchester Citys interest waned in the wake of their pursuit for Udinese star Alexi Sanchez.

Mata was a member of Spain's World Cup-winning squad, is regarded as one of the rising stars of La Liga and the Red Devils could face stiff competition from Champions League winners Barcelona. The versatile performer can operate in several positions, including midfielder, left wing or as a secondary striker. He is seen as a cheaper alternative to Uniteds long-term target Wesley Sneijder, with the Inter Milan star valued at 35million.

Whilst Mata has a 45 million buyout clause in his contract, the Spanish clubs financial struggles mean United could secure his services for around half that amount. I think he is a cracking young player and has performed well on the international stage at the under 21's and I'm sure he will be making more frequent appearances for the senior team in the nearby future. Sadly I don't see him much on a domestic level with Valencia and my only real experience of him has been on Fifa 11! However he is a young prospect I would love to see in the Premier League and I believe he would definitely benefit the United midfield.


To be truthfully honest, my form of research is simply watching some video highlights.  Putting his name into youtube, the first video that came up showed me this:

                                                        Not too shabby. It is him who does the skill by the way!


Matt Cooper