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Post by Webster on Aug 26, 2022 18:35:26 GMT
 (The Guardian) Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva will stay with the Premier League champions as there have been no bids for the Portugal international, manager Pep Guardiola said on Friday. Guardiola had said earlier this week that he would not stand in Silva’s way if Barcelona came calling but he has now changed his stance. “He will stay here, absolutely,” Guardiola said. “We don’t have any phone call from any club regarding Bernardo Silva, so that’s why he’ll stay.” Guardiola also refused to acknowledge if French champions Paris Saint-Germain had bid for Silva. City host Crystal Palace in the league on Saturday, the only team they failed to score against last season while also losing 2-0 at home. “They have resilience and an incredible amount of quality,” Guardiola said. “They defend the 18-yard box really well, good set pieces, good transitions. They have weapons, experienced players in the middle.” The Palace manager Patrick Vieira said the challenge will be whether the London side can repeat the same kind of performance this weekend. “The game will be clear: they will have possession, they will have really good moments and it’s about how we manage those moments,” the Frenchman said. We’ll have to defend well, there’s no doubt about it. We’ll have to be clear about roles and responsibilities, what we need to do. It may not be enough but we’ll go there and compete.” |
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Post by Webster on Aug 26, 2022 18:41:31 GMT
 (The Guardian) The Leeds head coach Jesse Marsch has not ruled out signing a forward before the transfer window closes. Seven players have been added to Leeds’s first-team squad this summer, but they missed out on their top target earlier this month when Club Brugge’s Charles De Ketelaere joined AC Milan. Wolves’ Hwang Hee-chan has been linked with the Yorkshire club and, with lingering fitness doubts over Patrick Bamford, their search is not over. Marsch said: “Striker, yes. How likely it is is dependent on how things play out and what availabilities are of players. We certainly don’t have a surplus of big amounts of money to go out to spend and bring in a huge transfer. But I think we’ve done a good job of evaluating players that are of high interest to us. Then we’re waiting to see and having good communication with different clubs and agents and players to see if there might be flexibility and what their contracts are and what their situations are, (so) that we can still add a quality piece to what we’re doing.” |
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Post by Webster on Aug 26, 2022 18:43:51 GMT
(The Guardian) The Nottingham Forest manager, Steve Cooper, says he is keen to sign more players before the transfer window closes. Forest have already brought in 16 players this summer. The Everton defender Michael Keane plus the Tottenham players Sergio Reguilon, Japhet Tanganga and Harry Winks have all been linked with a move to the City Ground in recent days. Forest host Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon. “I can’t and I won’t talk about any players until they sign,” Cooper said. “We have been linked with a lot, some are maybe true, some are definitely not. We would like to sign more players, I know we have signed a lot and we are not going to shy away from talking about that. “The reality is we would like to have signed more than we have by now, but that’s the nature of the transfer window. We have a few more days and we will see where we end up. I don’t have an exact number of how many more I’d like and my number might be different to other people’s thoughts. “But there is lots of work going on. But the number we end up with at the end of the window will be inclusive of people leaving, so still a bit of work to do. We want to get to a point when the window closes that we have good cover for every position but also a challenge for every position as well. “We want to give ourselves the best opportunity to be able to compete. That is all we are trying to do. I would rather get questions about how many players we have signed than not signing enough, because it shows we have the right ambition. We are still going through the process, when the window shuts hopefully we have enough players in our squad to cover each position, so we have a competitive environment on the training pitch.”
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Post by Webster on Aug 26, 2022 18:44:49 GMT
 (The Guardian) Marco Silva becomes the second manager today (that I’m aware of) to employ the term “It is what it is” talking about transfer window dealings … The Fulham boss Marco Silva remains hopeful the club could still bring in four new players as he looks to build on a solid start in the Premier League. Smart recruitment, including landing Germany goalkeeper Bernd Leno, Joao Palhinha from Sporting and Manchester United’s Andreas Pereira, has helped Silva’s cause before tomorrow’s match at Arsenal. With Fulham looking to avoid a third straight return to the Championship, the former Hull and Everton manager wants more recruits. “It’s four players that we need,” he said. “When the players come in, they have to show their quality, they have to show they are better options. Football is so easy in this situation, of course, when we sign players, we don’t sign players for the starting XI or the bench, we sign players to be Fulham FC players. “We have to wait. We have been linked with so many players from the beginning of the market. Some are true, others are not so true. Some we tried and unfortunately we couldn’t. It is what it is. We have to do something. I expected them earlier in the market. Unfortunately we go to another game not with the solutions we should have on the bench at this level. “Let’s hope until the 31st things change for us. Because the players have been working really hard. They have been playing really well as well. They need help. Let’s see what we can do.” (PA Media) |
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Post by Webster on Aug 26, 2022 18:45:52 GMT
(The Guardian) Thomas Frank has marked his Brentford side “seven out of 10” for their start to the season. The Bees, embarking on their second Premier League campaign, have banked four points from nine. They came from two down to draw at Leicester on the opening day before the 4-0 demolition of Manchester united. However, their unbeaten start came to an end at Fulham last weekend. “In general terms, seven out of 10, I would say,” said Frank. “I’m very pleased with the comeback against Leicester, there were a lot of positives in that. It was a very good performance against Manchester United and then against Fulham from minute 20 to minute 75 we were good. A decent seven I would say - we’ll aim for 10. The offensive part is something we are very pleased with. I would like us to sharpen the defensive side but we’ve played more good minutes than bad minutes.” The Bees host Everton on Saturday with Mikkel Damsgaard poised for a Premier League debut. The Denmark midfielder, a summer signing from Sampdoria, made his first appearance in the midweek Carabao Cup win at Colchester. Kristoffer Ajer, Sergi Canos and Ethan Pinnock remain out injured. Defender Ajer is due to make his return from a thigh injury in a behind-closed-doors match, however. “That’s very good news and we look forward to integrating him in the squad again,” said Frank. (PA Media)
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Post by Webster on Aug 26, 2022 18:46:32 GMT
 (The Guardian) Steven Gerrard remains confident misfiring Aston Villa will hit form. Villa host West Ham in the Premier League on Sunday following an inconsistent start to the season. “We’ve got a lot of talent and ability in the group but that doesn’t guarantee you consistency. There are a lot of things that need to fall into place,” said Gerrard. “When you take over a club the size and the challenge of Aston Villa there are numerous things you need to work on and progress: the team, the squad, the culture of the club, and the mentality of the players and staff around the building. It takes time and it’s a process. “I believe we’ll get there in the end. I didn’t expect any quick fix or overnight fix. We’re certainly working every minute we can to improve the team and get to those consistent levels.” (PA Media) |
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Post by Webster on Aug 28, 2022 7:39:10 GMT
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Post by Webster on Sept 1, 2022 21:00:27 GMT
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#1979e6
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Post by Webster on Sept 1, 2022 21:04:25 GMT
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#1979e6
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Post by Webster on Sept 2, 2022 20:18:14 GMT
(BBC Sport) Manchester United reeled off their third successive Premier League win under new manager Erik ten Hag to ensure Leicester City's troubled start to the season continued at King Power Stadium. Jadon Sancho's smooth finish from Marcus Rashford's pass after 23 minutes maintained United's recent revival and allowed them to build on victories at home to Liverpool and away to Southampton. United remained largely in control against an out of sorts Leicester, who remain bottom as they search for their first league win of the season and who, along with manager Brendan Rodgers, felt the impatience of the home fans. Visiting keeper David de Gea was forced into a fine save from James Maddison's free-kick in the second half but otherwise United were rarely troubled, with Casemiro emerging as a substitute and Cristiano Ronaldo, another late replacement, coming close with an acrobatic bicycle kick.
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Post by Webster on Sept 2, 2022 20:23:19 GMT
(The Guardian) Eddie Howe loves an early press conference and Newcastle’s manager has already previewed the home match against Crystal Palace on Saturday. He was asked about the summer spend of £106m and said his club might have been busier if Premier League rivals were willing to do business with them – but it sounds like they are shunning them and their Saudi riches. -- I would say that that has definitely been something we’ve felt in the market. Domestic clubs didn’t really want to be seen to be helping us. We’ll have to take that. That’s part of where we are at the moment.”And after Newcastle were criticised for their perceived time-wasting antics at Liverpool, Howe isn’t going to be changing his tactics anytime soon. -- We’re just trying to be very competitive, we’re trying to play our way. We don’t want to lie down and accept anything. We want to fight for every point, every tackle and do everything we can to win. If that’s unpopular with people, then so be it, but we’ll continue to hopefully play in the way that we all see that we should. We’ve got to fight for everything.”
Brendan Rodgers spoke at length after Leicester’s 1-0 defeat against Manchester United about his frustration at not having been able to strengthen his squad. There was a touch of the Scott Parkers about what he said – and if ever a manager needed a win on Sunday it is Rodgers. They face fourth-placed Brighton away, mind. It’s not like the Leicester manager to be this rattled in public. -- I’m happy that the window’s shut, if I’m being honest. I mean, there were huge distractions for this window. You’ll have read the programme notes and seen the situation that the club is in, so to have to watch virtually every single club in the top five leagues get players in and for us not to be able to improve, that was difficult, not just as a manager but for the players, because players want to compete. This group have shown that they can compete, but we needed [help] – but unfortunately, we haven’t been able to get that. So, in terms of the results, it’s my responsibility. I take that. We should have won by now. We’ve been in a couple of games and in really good positions, but we weren’t able to see it through, so I totally understand it. Supporters want to see the team win and if they’re not, they’ll tell you. So, for us, we won’t hide behind the rock and go away. We’re ready to fight now but it’s going to be really, really important that the supporters really get behind the players. As I said, it’s a really, really challenging situation with not being able to freshen up this team and this group of players. We really need their encouragement and help to push the players through. We’ll get a win sooner rather than later but we really need them behind us and that’s important.”
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Post by Webster on Sept 2, 2022 20:25:00 GMT
(The Guardian) Nottingham Forest face Bournemouth at home tomorrow. They’ll be hoping to bounce back after being tormented by Erling Haaland during their 6-0 evisceration at Manchester City. It’s a decent fixture when looking to recover from defeat – just ask Liverpool – but has Steve Cooper signed too many players (21!!!) to bring order to his team quickly enough? -- I’m not going to use it [the number of new players] as an excuse, I am not going to say ‘we will be ready in X amount of time’ because we have got a game on Saturday and we have to be ready for that. That is what my focus is – I never look further than the next game and never have done. Whether there is players that have been here for years or whether they have come through in the last couple of weeks, it is irrelevant to me. We work the way we work, we train the way we train, we stick to our our values and beliefs, day in day out. I believe that is what helps you become the team that you want to be. For me I want us to be connected on Saturday in terms of a team and we will commit to every game as it comes. It is not so much a big squad. It is a normal-sized squad in terms of the numbers that you need to train well every day. It is nine subs this year … it is just a big amount of new players.
Steven Gerrard is a manager under pressure after a poor start to the season by Aston Villa that is hardly likely to get any better when Manchester City come to town this weekend. The Villa manager is mighty relieved to have Douglas Luiz available for selection after fending off bids from Arsenal all day yesterday. But will Luiz have a raging funk on after being denied a move to the table-toppers? Probably but here’s what Gerrard had to say in his pre-match press conference. -- I’ve got confidence he’ll understand the situation and the club’s decision we didn’t want to lose a very important player and a top player so late in the window. From a personal point of view, I very much back the club’s decision and stance on that. I spoke to Dougie face to face yesterday and he understood where it was at and the position that the club was in. He very much respects the decision. Hopefully it will calm down in the hours and days to come and he’ll be fine moving forward.
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Post by Webster on Sept 2, 2022 20:26:48 GMT
(The Guardian) West Ham might be languishing down in 14th after an underwhelming start to the season but David Moyes is feeling pretty perky about his side’s chances of racing back up into the European places after spending around £150m this summer. The Hammers, who finished sixth and seventh in the last two seasons, brought in eight new players before the transfer window closed: Alphonse Areola, Nayef Aguerd, Flynn Downes, Gianluca Scamacca, Maxwel Cornet, Thilo Kehrer, Emerson Palmieri and £52m club-record buy Lucas Paqueta. -- I’ve think we’ve tried to bring in players we really believe can keep us up near the top end. We needed the players in. We were short and I think it was always going to be a year where we needed eight new players. I think the top clubs have recruited well also. We’re trying to keep up with them, that’s the job. Hopefully, in time, we can get the players to show how good they are.”West Ham travel to Chelsea on Saturday in a match which was rescheduled from its original Sunday slot just last weekend due to the Blues’ involvement in the Champions League. It means the Hammers will have played Sunday, Wednesday and then Saturday – a run of fixtures Moyes is not particularly impressed with. -- I think it’s disappointing because it was known there would be Champions League games and European games for us as well. I’ll tell you something about the Premier League, they’ve got a great organisation and in the main these situations don’t happen that often. When I was fortunate enough to manage in Spain for a year, the one thing that was completely different from the Premier League to La Liga was that the Premier League’s organisation was fantastic. La Liga was really late with organisation. When was the game going to be? Was it going to be 6pm, 10pm? Was it going to be Sunday, Monday, what day was it going to be? When I was out there it was the thing that annoyed me a little bit. I hope the Premier League is not going like that because I think they’ve got this one wrong. The lateness for the supporters is not correct.
Mohamed Elneny will be out for “months”, according to Mikel Arteta. “We are talking weeks with Thomas [Partey], hopefully sooner.” Oleksandr Zinchenko will also miss the trip to Old Trafford on Sunday, so Albert Sambi Lokonga is almost certain to start in midfield. Arteta also said that Aaron Ramsdale and Martin Odegaard are being assessed and will hopefully be able to train with the team tomorrow.
Bad news for Southampton: the teenage midfielder Romeo Lavia, who has made an outstanding start to the season, is out for around six weeks with a hamstring injury. He looks a player, that lad.
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Post by Webster on Sept 2, 2022 20:39:58 GMT
(The Guardian) Thomas Tuchel has been discussing Chelsea record-breaking splurge. -- You can discuss endlessly if it’s too much money but the players that we got are very, very good players and very good personalities. It was desperately needed to rebuild the group and inspire the group. I think we made excellent signings. It does not help if we talk about the price too much. It’s hard to argue if people say maybe it was too much money, but this is how the market was for us. The players we got fit perfectly. I’m very happy to work with this group now.
Manchester United team news Anthony Martial, who unexpectedly finds himself as the first-choice No9, will miss the game against Arsenal through injury. Erik ten Hag says he doesn’t know when Martial will be available again. Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka could return to the matchday squad on Sunday.
Spurs team news Antonio Conte says Cristian Romero and Rodrigo Bentancur will return to the Tottenham Hotspur squad for tomorrow’s game at home to Fulham. Spurs have had a mixed start – 11 points from five games is about par, but they haven’t played particularly well.
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Post by Webster on Sept 2, 2022 20:42:35 GMT
(The Guardian) More Liverpool team news The new signing Arthur Melo is unlikely to receive international clearance in time to play at Goodison Park tomorrow. Jurgen Klopp expects him to be available for Napoli away on Wednesday. That will probably mean a midfield of Harvey Elliott, Fabinho and Grandpa Milner* for tomorrow’s game.
It’ll be interesting to see how Tuchel balances the side once Aubameyang is up to speed, especially if he persists with a back four. But any formation that includes Aubameyang should be an improvement for a team who have been desperate for a decent No9 since Tuchel came to the club.
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