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Post by Webster on Mar 3, 2023 18:53:54 GMT
(The Guardian) Eddie Howe sidesteps Newcastle ownership questionIn a not-at-all shocking development, Eddie Howe has straight-batted questions on Newcastle’s ownership. The club have been thrust into the spotlight after court papers filed in the United States claimed chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan is a minister of the Saudi Arabian government – raising questions over the Premier League’s confirmation that it had received “legally-binding assurances” of the separation between the state and its Public Investment Fund, of which he is governor. Did Eddie want to talk about that? TL:DR: no. -- For me, my job is training the players, trying to get them in the best physical, mental, tactical condition to win the game. The minute I deviate from that is the minute I go into dangerous waters for me and I waste energy in areas that don’t help the players. For me, my main job is to coach the players and get them in the best place possible.
Obviously the focus comes on me because I’m sat in front of you every week. But I don’t think – as I’ve said many times – it’s a conversation for me to necessarily brief on these matters because I’m not really qualified to do it.
I’ve had very open communication from the day that I joined with various people connected to the board. But my conversations with them are all football-related, at no stage has it ever gone political. That’s not my area, I don’t want it to be my area, I want to concentrate on how I can improve the team, what tools do I need to do that and the relationships with those people around me at the football club are very important.
Now obviously if I felt there was a time I needed to ask a question, I could. But I haven’t done that.
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#1979e6
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Post by Webster on Mar 3, 2023 18:57:16 GMT
(The Guardian) Erik ten Hag has been speaking ahead of the big one. -- I have been to Anfield. I am looking forward to it. I know the ambience and the atmosphere will be great. It will be hostile against us - we like it. It is of course a test to be facing Liverpool but we are really looking forward to it. We know these players - my squad, my team - will be prepared to go with fight and confidence. We know it is going to be difficult. We know we have to suffer. We have to sacrifice to get a good result.
Liverpool has really good management, with a really good way of playing, good philosophy and good strategy. So no, I don’t think so. But we are not talking about other clubs. We are talking about us. I think we are going in a good direction with our philosophy, strategy and culture. We have to keep progressing - it is all about that.
It is about the future, it is about now. We face a fantastic opponent and we are looking forward, so it is all about us getting the right preparation to be ready for that game.Back in August, he was staring down the barrel of three defeats and yet Manchester United beat Liverpool 2-1, and won well, and that set the foundations for this season’s progress.
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#1979e6
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Post by Webster on Mar 3, 2023 18:58:57 GMT
(The Guardian) A spot of Leeds team news, for their game at Chelsea tomorrow, and the new manager, Javi Gracia, could give club record signing Georginio Rutter his first Premier League start at Stamford Bridge. More from PA Media: Rutter started in Tuesday night’s FA Cup defeat at Fulham in place of Patrick Bamford and Gracia has hinted at pairing them together in a two-pronged attack at Stamford Bridge. Gracia said: “It’s an option, a real option, to play with two players up front. In the last game I’m happy with the way Georginio played.
“Now, speaking about the next game, I think it’s a good option to play two players up front, whoever it is, with Georginio, with Patrick, with Rodrigo, with (Brenden) Aaronson, with all the attackers we have in the club.”…
Luis Sinisterra, Pascal Struijk, Liam Cooper and Max Wober all missed the Cup tie at Fulham through injury and remain doubtful for Saturday’s trip to the capital as Leeds seek their sixth league win of the season.
More from David Moyes, beyond that standard-issue deadbatting of The Newcastle Question we reported earlier, and he’s been pouring praise on West Ham’s opponents tomorrow, Brighton. -- “I think we’ve all been impressed with Brighton over many years because of their build, their model,” Moyes said. “I think there are models throughout Europe which are interesting and exciting to look at. I always talk about the Red Bull model and how well they’ve done it with their clubs.
“I don’t know how many years they’ve been at it for, maybe 10 years now, Brighton, you see the players they’ve bought in are younger.
“They’ve been able to go out and buy young players who are maybe not ready, give them a few years before they put them in the team and they’ve got so many good young players coming through now. Credit to Brighton as a football club and how they’ve done it. Not everybody does it the same, but how Brighton are doing it is a very good job.”
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#1979e6
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Post by Webster on Mar 3, 2023 19:00:32 GMT
(The Guardian) Some nuggets from Mikel Arteta, who talks of Arsenal being “in a good place” and looking forward to tomorrow’s home game against Bournemouth. He also tells the assembled that Gabriel Jesus is “not far off” being ready to return from injury. “I don’t want to give a timeline but he’s dong certain things with the team [in training] and certain things without. We’re not very close but we’re in a good place with him I think. We were concerned at the state of the injury but Gaby has been through that before, his mentality is incredible and our medical team have done a good job with him. Asked about the state of contract talks with Bukayo Saka and William Saliba, the manager says: “Every player is very important, some players have contractual circumstances and we are trying to deal with them but I don’t want any distractions and when there’s news I’ll announce it.”
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Post by Webster on Mar 3, 2023 19:01:37 GMT
(The Guardian) It’s a mark of these times that so many of the weekend’s press conferences have a “no comment” segment about murky political or finance matters. And Pep Guardiola pulls down the shutters when asked about La Liga chief Javier Tebas’s criticisms of Manchester City over their financial fair play charges. “No comment. I’ve made my statement to the club and the lawyers and that’s it.” Away from all that, Guardiola welcomes City’s impending FA Cup quarter-final against Burnley, who are running away with the Championship under Vincent Kompany, who Pep predicts will manage City one day: “I’m very impressed with the consistency Kompany has shown in the Championship, given the amount of games. Personally I’m delighted with what he’s doing ,all of us will be happy he will be back in the Premier League. His destiny is to be manager of Man City – it’s written in the stars. He knows the club, our fans, the environment.”
Sean Dyche meanwhile has scoffed at the idea that Everton’s trip to Nottingham Forest should be singled out as a “must-win” match. “Every game should be a must-win in my opinion, going to Arsenal was a must-win, that’s my approach,” he roars. He says Dominic Calvert-Lewin is “recovering getting stronger” and “we’ll see” if he has any involvement at Forest. Questioned about transfer window regrets, Dyche responds: “That’s irrelevant now, gone, I’m just working with the players we’ve got, working on improving as a side, as a unit.”
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Post by Webster on Mar 3, 2023 19:04:27 GMT
(The Guardian) Patrick Vieira was talking about trying to drag Crystal Palace out of their current listless run of form, and not over-relying on Wilfried Zaha. Here’s PA Media’s account: Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira has warned his players they cannot rely on the returning Wilfried Zaha alone to get them where they want to be. The 30-year-old Ivory Coast international is back in the fold for Saturday’s Premier League trip to Aston Villa after missing the last four games with a thigh injured suffered against Newcastle in January.
The Eagles have lost only once in Zaha’s absence but have drawn their last three matches and, while the striker will provided an added cutting edge, Vieira is adamant that his is only one of his side’s weapons.
He told a press conference: “He doesn’t take the pressure off other players, it is more just one strength that we have in the squad. Of course, Wilfried can score goals from individual quality or individual talent that he can show during games.
“The responsibility of the players around has to be massive as well. We can’t put all our hopes on only one player. I want everyone to take responsibility, I want everyone to perform as best as they can. There are lots of players who can give more to the team to allow Wilfried or the other players around to score goals.”
Zaha has trained for the last two weeks and Vieira is hoping his return helps Palace to build upon draws with Brighton, Brentford and Liverpool. He said: “Having Wilfried back is one more weapon. There is no doubt about his confidence and his self-belief, and the quality he has in front of goal. But if we want Wilfried to score those goals, we need to create opportunities, create chances and the team has to perform well.
“If we manage to keep the quality we have shown in the last couple of games, we will get three points.”
Palace are 12th in the table after last Saturday’s 0-0 home draw with Liverpool, four points behind Unai Emery’s men, who won 2-0 at Everton last time out, and Vieira knows things will get no easier this weekend. He said: “It’s been really challenging. It’s a tough run, but you have to play those teams. It is difficult, of course, one after the other, but I strongly believe there are no easy games in the Premier League – especially when every point is important.
“We have to focus on ourselves, how we can improve between the Liverpool and Villa games. There were a lot of positives to take from Liverpool to challenge ourselves, to build confidence and to perform.”
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Post by Webster on Mar 3, 2023 19:06:17 GMT
(The Guardian) Graham Potter speaks: And he begins with some fitness news – Thiago Silva is “making progress” but is still around six weeks away from returning, Édouard Mendy is also improving along a similar timescale. Reece James is a doubt for tomorrow’s game against Leeds with a tight hamstring and while César Azpilicueta is also on the mend, head-injury protocols will keep him out. Potter dismisses the idea that the forthcoming games against Leeds and Dortmund are make or break. “I dont tend to look at games like that, we just need to improve our results, and that’s my responsibility, I accept that.” “In training, I’m seeing a lot of positives day to day but they haven’t translated themselves into results. Our performances have not been as bad as results but in terms of training and how theyr’e becoming stronger and growing that’s all positive.” Asked about doubts over Mason Mount’s long-term position at the club, Potter replies: “For us he’s been great to work with, he’s suffering like the rest of us – but I’m not thinking about the summer I’m thinking about tomorow’s match and getting out of the bad run we’re in.” On tomorrow’s opponents, he adds: “We know Leeds have played with that intensity and that’s something we have to deal with and understand what the opponents bring, but we’ve got to play ourselves and assert ourselves.”
Unai Emery’s been speaking and reckons Gareth Southgate could do worse than include Ollie Watkins in his next England squad. competitive. “He deserves to be in the England squad but he has to keep improving,” says the Aston Villa manager. Asked about what he’d done to coax the striker’s current hot streak, Emery credits the players himself. “At the beginning he was the first one who wanted to change, who tried to improve and develop individually, and doing omore things than just score goals, But he has to keep challenging himself individually.”
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Post by Webster on Mar 3, 2023 19:15:02 GMT
(The Guardian) Bournemouth boss Gary O’Neil has been buttering up opposite number Mikel Arteta ahead of their 4-0 defeat to Arsenal this weekend. “He was intelligent on the pitch. You can generally tell in the way that they play that they’re going to go on to be managers,” mused the Cherries boss. “You can see they have a real tactical awareness of what’s going on around them. Not always the case, but with Mikel that was definitely the case. “He’s done a fantastic job, very impressive. Obviously a big job to get so early on. I don’t think they started too well, if I remember rightly, when he first went in. There were maybe a few questions being asked. So to have turned it around and had the team in the place he has them at the moment – very, very impressive. Having watched them a lot this week, no surprise that they are where they are and they’re clear at the top. They’ll be difficult to catch I’m sure but, from our point of view, we go there, we try to be well organised, we stick to our plan and we use ways that we feel we can hurt them.”
Stephen Long emails in: “Bobby Firmino never quite makes it into the best Liverpool 11 of all time. If the formation is Klopp’s 4-3-3 with the false nine that Bobby made his own, I think you have to go with Dalglish in the “Bobby position”, flanked by Salah on the right and Rush or Mane on the left. If it’s a conventional 4-4-2 there are too many in the front two ahead of Firmino. But he has been absolutely fundamental to Liverpool’s success in recent years and I don’t think I’ve seen a player who plays with such joy. He’ll always be a Liverpool legend.” Yes, a tough gig getting a place up front in an all-time Liverpool XI. Probably fair to say that Bobby – “does he also answer to Roby, Bob, Rob, Bobcat, Robbo (not you, Andy), Bobby Boy, Robbie, asks Peter Oh” – would be a very useful squad player if the all-time Liverpool XI broke the space-time continuum and started out on a league campaign.
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Post by Webster on Mar 6, 2023 21:32:58 GMT
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#1979e6
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Post by Webster on Mar 7, 2023 6:23:21 GMT
(BBC Sport) Brennan Johnson scored twice for Nottingham Forest to salvage a point against an Everton side whose display was "a great building block" in their Premier League survival bid, according to Sean Dyche. The visitors had led twice but missed the chance to move out of the Premier League relegation zone. Everton, who have won two of six games since Dyche was appointed manager in January, remain in the bottom three on goal difference behind Leeds United. "I am pleased," Dyche told BBC Radio 5 Live. "We are doing the right things and there's been real commitment to the cause since I joined. It's just the details now. We've got to stamp out the mistakes but we defended well and countered today. "There was a lot of plusses about the performance. We know that we have to win games but you have to restart and this showed a really step forward. This was a really good away performance. It's a great building block to carry on the journey with." In an electrifying contest, Demarai Gray put Everton ahead from the penalty spot following Jonjo Shelvey's trip on Dwight McNeil. But Forest were soon level. Toffees keeper Jordan Pickford parried out Morgan Gibbs-White's shot and Johnson coolly slotted in at the near post. Abdoulaye Doucoure restored Everton's lead by nodding in from close range before half-time, but Johnson's delightful curler into the top corner with 13 minutes remaining earned a point for the hosts. (BBC Sport) Liverpool delivered the complete performance and Mohamed Salah became the club's record Premier League goalscorer as Manchester United were overwhelmed at a joyous Anfield. United's renaissance under manager Erik ten Hag already has the tangible reward of the Carabao Cup but Liverpool unleashed a brutal reality check on their progress with a severe thrashing. Liverpool took control of what had been a tight game, with Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford missing presentable chances, when former Old Trafford target Cody Gakpo applied a smooth finish to Andy Robertson's perfect pass two minutes before the break. The second half was a tale of sheer joy for Liverpool and unrelenting misery for United, starting after 47 minutes when Darwin Nunez's header diverted Harvey Elliott's driven cross past goalkeeper David de Gea. Salah bamboozled Lisandro Martinez to play in Gakpo for another classy finish three minutes later before the Egyptian resumed his long-time role of United tormentor by getting on the scoresheet himself. Salah ended a swift counter-attack by lashing a finish high past De Gea and the rout continued as Nunez flashed another header in from Jordan Henderson's cross. Salah then scrambled in the sixth to become Liverpool's highest Premier League goalscorer with 129, passing Robbie Fowler. He is also Liverpool's highest marksman against Manchester United with 12 - and 10 of those have come in his past five encounters. And in a fitting finish, Roberto Firmino - who has announced he is leaving Anfield at the end of the season - completed a remarkable game by making it 7-0 from close range. This is the biggest win in the history of the fixture, passing Liverpool's 7-1 victory in the 1895-96 Second Division. Liverpool are now an ominous presence in the chase for the Champions League places, standing only three points behind Tottenham with a game in hand.
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Post by Webster on Mar 7, 2023 23:32:33 GMT
(BBC Sport) Brentford's impressive Premier League season continued as they overcame west London derby rivals Fulham at the Gtech Community Stadium to keep their hopes of European football very much alive. Bees' striker Ivan Toney was the talisman once more, making it 22 successes out of 22 from the penalty spot for Brentford as they closed to within three points of sixth-placed Newcastle United. Toney is playing under a cloud as he faces a ban after accepting breaking Football Association betting rules, but he was outstanding here as Brentford secured a deserved three points. Thomas Frank's side made a lightning start and could have scored three times even before Ethan Pinnock's shot deflected off Tim Ream to put Brentford ahead after only six minutes. Fulham are having an outstanding season of their own, and they finally gained a foothold before drawing level six minutes before the break when Israel forward Manor Solomon continued his rich vein of form, heading in the rebound after Andreas Pereira's free-kick struck the post. Brentford regained the momentum, with both Bryan Mbeumo and Toney hitting the woodwork with free-kicks, and were awarded a 53rd-minute penalty when Issa Diop fouled Christian Norgaard. Toney, as is his custom, beat Bernd Leno with ease. Mathias Jensen sealed the win from close range five minutes from time following good work by Kevin Schade with Carlos Vinicius' stoppage-time goal for Fulham nothing more than a consolation.
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Post by Webster on Mar 10, 2023 19:53:32 GMT
(The Guardian) Manchester United 4-1 Real BetisEuropa League: Manchester United bounced back from their Sunday afternoon humiliation at the hands of Liverpool with an enphatic win over Real Betis in the Round of 16 first leg. Sporting 2-2 ArsenalEuropa League: Arsenal dominated for long periods but were forced to come from behind courtesy of a Hidemasa Morita own goal in Lisbon to leave themselves in a good position ahead of next week’s second leg at the Emirates Stadium.
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Post by Webster on Mar 10, 2023 19:54:27 GMT
(The Guardian) Brighton: Of all the teams challenging for fourth spot in the Premier League, it could be argued that Brighton are currently playing the best football. Currently seven points off the pace being set by Spurs in the final Champions League qualification spot, Roberto Di Zerbi’s side have three games in hand over the north London side and have also played fewer games than Fulham, Newcastle and Liverpool, who are all above them. The Italian manager has been linked with the Tottenham job and has addressed the speculation in his press conference ahead of Brighton’s match against Leeds at Elland Road tommorrow. ““I have a long contract with Brighton and I’m happy to work here,” he told reporters. “I enjoy working with these players, I’m delighted with their performance. I can’t ask for more, it’s a good moment in my life. “We have a dream. I think we know we can write a new history for the club. This is a nice challenge. It will be difficult, but now we have a complete squad with many young players and we are stronger.”
Manchester United: Elliott Management have made it through to the second phase of the Manchester United sale process. The American hedge fund are not interested in buying the club outright but do want to invest in the club. They join the bids fronted by Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani and Sir Jim Ratcliffe in ther next round of the bidding process.
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Post by Webster on Mar 10, 2023 19:55:36 GMT
(The Guardian) Newcastle United: Newcastle host Wolves at St James’ Park on Sunday afternoon, with Eddie Howe’s team looking for their first win in six games in all competitions. Eddie Howe’s men have taken just three points from the past 15 available but remain in fifth place in the table. “Julen Lopetegui has had a really big impact on their team,” said HOwe of Sunday’s opponents. “I’ve watched them closely this week. They have some very good players. I think the manager has come in and given them confidence and now they look like they are back to the Wolves we have seen in previous seasons.” After Wolves, Newcastle are away at Nottingham Forest next weekend, ahead of the international break. “They are two big games because of where they are situated,” said Howe. “We have the international break afterwards and we want to go into that break really good. We want to feel good going into that and we’re also running out of games. They are going to go so quickly, 14 left. We need points and we are determined to end this run of games we have had in a confident way.”
Eddie Howe was asked about his side’s poor recent form and their chances of turning it around in the hope of qualifying for next season’s Champions League. “There’s a belief that we can win again and we need to very quickly to fulfil that aim,” he said. “I’ve never sat here and talked us up in terms of targets and top four but I have talked us up in terms of what we can achieve and the quality in our group and I’m not going to change now. “Through every season there are difficult moments and there are patches where you for some reason don’t win the games maybe you should and sometimes you win games you shouldn’t. We’re in the first one and that’s where you have to be strong mentally and know it will change.” Newcastle are expected to spend the international break doing some warm-weather training in Dubai. During the World Cup, Eddie Howe, his staff and the players who were not on international duty in Qatar, travelled to Saudi Arabia for a training camp.
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Post by Webster on Mar 10, 2023 19:57:19 GMT
(The Guardian) Everton boss Sean Dyche chucks some football philosophy our way ahead of Saturday’s home match against Brentford. Perch on the edge of your seat and take this lot in. “A manager’s dream; if you speak to the best managers they love a 1-0. You can never guarantee any score, the only worry about scorelines is how you are managing the game. What I do know is the relentless mentality I want from the players and we have been speaking about that with them. Anything is achievable at any given moment so we take on the game until the last breath. “These are all learning curves. You have to remember these players are wise players, a lot of them have been in the Premier League for a long time and they know the details and that is the frustrating thing. You want to play and enjoy it but you know there is a professional responsibility and the players should understand that. You win because you get everything right all the way through a 90-minute match. “We have never wanted pure football every time, it is ‘how many times can you affect the opposition?’. It is reading the game, understanding the nature of the game and game management as you mature as a player and a group. Knowing the moments when to be more attacking, that is on-pitch stuff. You can only coach so many things on the training ground.”
Arsenal make the short trip to Fulham on Sunday but after their 2-2 Europa League draw with Sporting Lisbon, PA Media report that the Premier League leaders had to change travel plans due to illness in the camp. The PA news agency understands Arsenal originally intended to travel back on Friday after a light training session in Lisbon. Those plans were changed after an illness in the camp affected a number of players, with the squad instead returning to London on Thursday night. As well as Odegaard, it is understood Kieran Tierney, Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson have also been laid low with minor symptoms. The travel alteration also meant Gabriel Jesus did not head to Portugal, having initially been scheduled to be on the plane to take part in the Friday session. As soon as the plans were adjusted, Arteta saw no value in taking the forward out to Portugal as he continues to train ahead of a comeback from knee surgery.
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