Everton manager David Moyes is disappointed with the way his club’s season has gone.Their respectable seventh place in the table masks a poor start to the season where it took them eight games to register their first league victory.
But Everton have won two of their last three away matches and are looking to finish the season strongly with another win when they travel to Wigan Athletic on Saturday.
“We were disappointed with the first six months or so of the season but the players have picked up and we are in a position where more people would have thought we might be,” Moyes said.
“I’ve said from the start of the season I think we have a really good squad of players.”
“But I definitely hoped we would have done a little better.”
“I have given some young lads a game and that has given the team something extra.”
“We have tried not to complain too much about injuries and get on with it.”
“To be fair to the lads they have knuckled down and got the results.”
Wigan are struggling at the wrong end of the table and will be battling for their lives with just four games left to drag themselves out of the Premier League relegation zone.
But Everton have faced other struggling clubs Blackburn Rovers and Wolves recently so Moyes is confident his players will be able to cope.
“They are quite similar to Wolves who we played a few weeks ago.”
“Roberto Martinez has them playing a good style of football and we will have to deal with that.”
“He is doing a brilliant job with the resources available.”
“Roberto wants to play good football and all managers want to win so I am sure he would take not playing that well and still winning.”
“We all would take that but if you can do it by playing well too then that is even better.”
“We have played a lot of teams in their situation recently.”
Defender Johnny Heitinga (hamstring) is a doubt. Forwards Louis Saha (ankle) and Marouane Fellaini (ankle) will be missing.
Movies. Movies are great aren’t they? A wise man once said; “Men like films where lots of people die very quickly and women like films where one person dies very slowly”. Failing this of course, sports films can often do the trick for men in lieu of a decent body count per minute ratio. Except that is, if they’re football films. Football films are almost all universally rubbish. If they’re actually about football.
American sports fans can get stuck in to a wide variety of over dramatic cheesy waffle. Their homegrown sports are ready made for it. Ostensibly, a lot of American sports are geared more towards entertainment than sport anyway. Cheerleaders, hot dogs, silly mascots. All things football has tried to appropriate with varying degrees of cringe worthy success, and all aimed at making it more of a “day out”. Even the multi point scoring “something must be happening at all times or else our bums’ll fall off” logistics are cater made for the all action brainless blockbuster treatment. In fact almost all sports are so inherently dramatic and possessive of rich narratives that it’d be hard to find one you couldn’t make into a suitable movie of the week starring Ted Danson’s hair and Sean Maguire.
Of course, most sports dramas don’t depend largely on the sports themselves. In football films, the good ones don’t at all. Fever Pitch or Looking For Eric for example are both great films, that succeed entirely by virtue of at no point having any of the main characters be footballers.
When they are, the main bulk is usually taken up by the heart warming life story of some dashingly hansom yet brooding individual and their struggle to find time for their passion whilst working 3 jobs as a single parent and looking after their crippled black lesbian transsexual brother on life support …or something. The sports action usually comes as a climax and will almost always involve someone scoring something in the last seconds of play, often from a daringly maverick tactic of some sort that’s “never been done before” or has, but with disastrous consequences.
My point, if I have one, is that these clichés seem to work in almost all sports films, but football/soccer ones. The jaded football fan will yawn at such dramatics on the silver screen. Not because it’s so implausible that the young renegade with a heart of gold can come on with 5 minutes to go and score a hat-trick against the club that killed his parents, but because the drama can never be as potent or emotive as it is in real time.
Invictus, Clint Eastwood’s film about South Africa’s stirring 1995 Rugby World Cup victory staring Matt Damon as François Pienaar and Morgan Freeman as Morgan Freeman in a hat, is a good example of it working for another sport. The political and social backdrop was the main focus, with the Rugby itself being ramped up dramatically with slow motion, music, and all sorts of other manipulative jiggery pokery that works because Rugby can be made more emotional with the use of such tactics. Take for example England’s 2006 World Cup win. Johnny Wilkinson won it with the last kick of the game. It couldn’t possibly have gotten any more dramatic than that, and yet if you watch a replay of that moment, you can see a plethora of England fans behind the sticks, joyfully standing up with their arms raised aloft, already in mid “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” in a sort of “Yes! My 8 year old son has just won the 100 meters at his school sports day” type celebration. The level of euphoria differed from person to person of course, but that kind of fist pumping is the general reaction you get from the climatic moments in most sports.
Now imagine, if you will, that Wilkinson had been Beckham, and old golden balls had converted a last minute free kick in the football World Cup final to send England to glory. Finding just one person in the crowd even able to stand up with their arms aloft amidst the melee of flying legs, arms, cups, wallets, phones and teeth would be a monumental achievement. The reaction would be seismic.
Because football makes us wait for it’s scores, the emotional out pouring that results from a particularly dramatic late goal trumps anything in any other sport on the planet. Even most players themselves say the sensation can’t ever be topped in life itself, so it’s hardly going to be achieved by a slow motion hero shot of Shia LaBoeuf.
You could make quite passably adequate films of both Manchester United and Liverpool’s ‘99 and ‘05 European Cup final wins. Both would seem ludicrously over the top to someone without knowledge of the games themselves but those with that knowledge, would never be able to top the feeling of actually watching it. United’s almost identical 5 goal comebacks against Spurs in 2001 and 2009 would seem appallingly Disney on the big screen, as would Kiko Macheda’s debut winner for the reds, or Deportivo’s four goal comeback against Milan in 2004. I could reel off hundreds of these, because football’s scripts are weirder, odder and more unbelievable than any hack writer could possibly come up with.
And this is why football can never be made into a good film, as long as the narrative focuses on the action. Because football is too good for film. But it won’t stop them trying. Here are some of the more notable efforts.
Goal: The Dream Begins – A young Mexican immigrant gardener is spotted having a kick about by a kind hearted gruff Scottish football scout and rescued from his harsh, dangerous life in lush, affluent, sunny Los Angeles and taken to the hallowed heavenly promise land of Newcastle upon Tyne to fulfill his destiny of becoming the 345th Messiah at St James Park. Complete with bizarre wistful hero shots of Kieron Dyer and Titus Bramble, the film also treats us to an awkward cameo from Becks, and a bar scene to match anything written by Tarantino as Raul and Zidane impart their guru like wisdom to our young hero, by telling him “hey, you look good, keep it up”…or something equally inspiring. The most interesting thing about this terrible film is that the actors were constantly positioned in full kit along the touchline at Newcastle games, and instructed to run on the field to celebrate any actual Toon Army goals in order to achieve the quite commendably realistic action sequences. This is all rendered useless however, as Anna Friel failed to get her kit off.
When Saturday Comes – Sean Bean lives out his own personal fantasy by playing a tough, maverick Sunday league player inexplicably scouted and signed by his boyhood love Sheffield United. After drinking, swearing, shagging, fighting and occasionally doing a passable impersonation of someone who can just about play football, Bean is brought on to face the evil Manchester United who, in contrast to the efforts of the Goal team, are portrayed here by fat, balding middle aged extra’s in ill fitting kits. Inspired by Sean’s natural skill and mullet, the Blades come back from 2-1 down to triumph 3-2, thanks to two goals from our hero, one from the penalty spot, which I do sort of have a problem with realism wise. No one would let a trainee on their debut take a penalty would they?
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Escape to Victory – Pele, Bobby Moore, Ossie Ardiles and Sylvester Stallone fight the Nazi’s with the help of Michael Caine and Ipswich Town. This is quite possibly the most fantastical football film ever made and is so ludicrous that it’s actually quite good. The highlight being Sly Stallone’s slow motion penalty save at the climax, which is the most pointlessly over the top save seen since Bruce Grobbelaar hung up his tash. The ball is basically hit straight at him, as he’s so small anywhere near the corners would’ve been too much of an ask, but the very fact he actually catches it, in a completely non goalkeeper-like way and a bit like he’s handling a hot egg, makes it’s surrealism all the better. The only football film with any football in it that deserves the status classic.
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You can follow Oscar on Twitter here; http://twitter.com/oscarpyejeary, where you can remind him of some other, equally appalling attempts to make films about football.
Porto head coach Andre Villas Boas insists he will be staying at the club, despite reports of interest from English Premier League side Chelsea.The 33-year-old has enjoyed an impressive first season at Porto, winning the Liga Sagres title and leading his side to the Europa League final against fellow Portuguese outfit Braga in Dublin on May 18 – the first ever European final between two Portuguese teams.
He secured the league championship with five games to spare, and Porto only need to avoid defeat in the final game of the season on Saturday against Maritimo to go through the entire league campaign unbeaten.
They can complete a treble if they beat Braga in Dublin and Vitoria Guimaraes in the Taca de Portugal final on May 22.
Braga coach Domingos Paciencia has already announced he will be leaving the club at season end and is hotly tipped to join Sporting Lisbon.
But despite speculation linking him with a big-money move overseas, Villas Boas has declared he is keen to remain at Porto next season.
“I don’t think this news conference is aimed at discussing the future, the futures of both coaches. Domingos Paciencia chose to speak about it, very well,” Villas Boas said.
“My future, as you know, is completely linked to Porto.”
Porto born-and-bred, Villas Boas owes much of this season’s success to strikers Hulk and Radamel Falcao.
Colombian Falcao has hit 37 goals and is the Europa League’s top scorer with 17, while Brazilian Hulk leads the Primeira Liga standings with 23.
Like their coach, both have been linked with top European clubs but they insist Porto is where they want to play.
“I have two more years on the contract with the club and if I am saying goodbye, it’s only because it’s the end of the season,” Falcao said.
“On June 30, I will be training again. In my mind, I am only thinking of winning these two competitions we have ahead.”
Similarly, Hulk said he has no intentions of moving on in the off season.
“The Europa League final won’t be my last game for the club,” the Brazilian said.
“I still have three years on the contract with Porto. It will be an unprecedented final, for us it’s an important European title that could stay with us and the club for life, so we will do our best to win this title.”
Porto last won European football’s second competition in 2003 – when it was known as the UEFA Cup – under Jose Mourinho, and Villas Boas said he was looking forward to what he expects will be a tough game.
“It is going to be a one-off game, I mean finals are like that, you can approach them in various ways,” Villas Boas said.
“Being the first Portuguese final it brings something special to the game. Both teams know each other very well but anything can happen in the game.”
“I think it has nothing to do with what happened in the league, because leagues are completely different, and it’s a challenge that is very difficult for us.”
Roberto Martinez likened the feeling of staying up on the last day of the season to winning a trophy after Wigan beat Stoke City 1-0.The visitors had to survive intense pressure at the Britannia Stadium, but they slowly came into Sunday’s match, before Hugo Rodallega’s 59th-minute winner guaranteed Wigan’s Premier League survival.
Martinez heaped praise on his players after two wins from the final two matches of the campaign saw them escape from the bottom three.
“It’s like winning a trophy – that’s the way I feel,” Wigan manager Martinez said.
“I’m extremely proud of this group of players and their achievement is phenomenal.”
“We haven’t chosen the easy route and it’s a great feeling because this squad has been written off so many times in this campaign.”
“We knew we had the talent but in the last two games we had to show more than that.”
“We were 2-0 down against West Ham and we needed a reaction and people with real responsibility and bravery.”
“Again today we weren’t ourselves in the first half and we had to defend for our lives. I am probably prouder of that side of the two performances.”
Martinez also had sympathy for the relegated teams, with Blackpool and Birmingham losing on the last day to join already-demoted West Ham in the Championship next season.
“I don’t think there were any bad sides who went down,” he said.
“To get relegated on 39 points is harsh. It is the small margins that go with you and against you.”
Stoke boss Tony Pulis was less than generous to Wigan, claiming the victors enjoyed more than their fair share of good fortune, not to mention some favours from the referee.
“They rode their luck a little bit in certain areas and there were some generous decisions that also went their way – but I’ve got to be careful not to incur the wrath of the FA,” Pulis said.
“In the first 20 minutes of the second half we were poor. We started as if the game had already been won and it was all over.”
“Wigan were fighting for their lives and although we got some balls in the box we never looked like scoring in the second half.”
“It’s gone Wigan’s way – they rode their luck and good luck to them.”
Marlon King has completed a move to Birmingham City after his contract with Coventry expired, incurring the wrath of former boss Andy Thorn.The 31-year-old underwent a medical with Birmingham on Thursday and formally signed with Alex McLeish’s team – who were relegated from the English Premier League last season – on Friday.
The move has angered former employers Coventry, who handed King a short-term deal in September 2010 following his release from prison.
The former Nottingham Forest and Watford striker received an 18-month sentence in October 2009 after being convicted of sexual assault.
Thorn, who succeeded Aidy Boothroyd as manager at Coventry in April this year, had hoped the player would remain with the club who offered him a route back into professional football.
According to Thorn, King verbally agreed a new three-year deal at the Ricoh Arena.
The striker claims Coventry delayed in providing him a written contract, allowing Birmingham to offer terms.
“I feel betrayed on a personal and professional level by what has happened,” Thorn told The Coventry Telegraph.
“I have no idea what sort of advice he has been given but I think he should have considered how well he has done here, the way the supporters have backed him and accepted him.”
“What Marlon is claiming simply does not stack up.”
“He spoke to me last Thursday to confirm he wanted to stay, the story came out in the media that he had agreed to stay with us, yet 24 hours later we heard rumours that he was talking to Birmingham.”
“I am staggered and dismayed at what has happened.”
King confirmed that he verbally agreed to remain with Coventry, but insists he was not provided with a written offer.
“I haven’t done anything wrong,” King said.
“Yes I did phone the manager because I was happy with the three-year deal and I was willing to sign.”
“I said let’s do it, I want to sign. I said get the contract over to me but that didn’t materialise. I called my adviser, Tony Finnigan, and asked what was going on and he said nothing had come through on the computer in writing.”
King joins winger Chris Burke as a new arrival at Birmingham – the Scottish international signed a two-year deal on Wednesday after leaving Cardiff on a free transfer.
He is the ultimate enigma, a man who has polarized opinion at Old Trafford since his arrival from Sporting Lisbon in 2007.
Nani is a man of unquestionable talent, a player who possesses that unique ability to change a game with one moment of magic, but also that not so unique ability to be a frustrating presence, a selfish influence that brings an end to every promising attack.
However, 2010/11 heralded the emergence of a different Nani. All of a sudden, the Portuguese looked more like Ronaldo and less like Quaresma, a man improved in the last third, now finally able to deliver an effective final pass. With eighteen assists in the league, Nani was without doubt one of the Premier Leauge’s most effective creative players, and he soon became Manchester United ’s default starter on the wing; the go to man in any hour of need.
And then came the injury. A horrific tackle by Jamie Carragher looked to have ruled Nani out for months, only for the Portuguese to return just days later, but something was different. Nani finished the season with a respectable ten goals, but none of those came after the match at Anfield, Nani seemed to have lost something, and fast became United’s second choice winger as Antonio Valencia returned from injury.
In a season that had promised so much, Nani eventually disappointed; unable to build upon a fantastic first half, Nani slipped back into his old frustrating ways by the season’s conclusion. Since United’s loss at Wembley ended 2010/11 in disappointing fashion, Nani has been linked to a whole host of European clubs, including Inter Milan and Real Madrid. Rumor has had it that Ferguson is willing to sacrifice Nani, that his use in a trade deal might not be out of the question.
If rumor of an exit was rife before, it certainly is now. As we all know, Ferguson secured the signing of Aston Villa winger Ashley Young earlier today, a player who in many ways is an equivalent of Nani; it would be unlikely for both of them to start. Given Nani’s dip in form towards the end of 2010/11, Valencia’s immense impact and Fergie’s consistent preference for Park in the big games, it is possible that Nani could start the 2011/12 season as third choice winger, something which you can be sure would anger the Portuguese international.
Nani must now be reflecting upon his position at Manchester United, for a player with so much talent a sub’s place is unacceptable, and Nani will know that if he declared his intent to leave there would be suitors aplenty.
It is always difficult to know what exactly is running through Sir Alex Ferguson’s head, but the signing of Young does indicate that he is not one hundred percent convinced by Nani, and if the opportunity to use him as a makeweight in a deal for an attacking midfielder arose, then I imagine he would give it due consideration.
With Lennon rumored to want out from Tottenham, Nani could be a potential target for Redknapp, and there is a certain Croatian at White Hart Lane who could do wonders for our central midfield… Perhaps more likely though is a swap with Inter Milan, I for one would relish the arrival of Sneijder, even if it meant that Nani would have to go the other way.
Wherever his potential destination, there is no doubt about it, Nani’s future at United is in more jeopardy than it was several months ago, the ball is now in his court, so it will be interesting to see how Nani responds to Young’s arrival. It would be a refreshing break from the normal petulance and sulkiness of Nani, to see him really pull his socks up and work hard to regain a place in the first team, but that could be a bridge too far for the Portuguese international; I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he handed in a transfer request first thing upon his arrival at Carrington for pre season training.
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Should United sell Luis Nani? Feel free to comment below?
Read more by David Yaffe-Bellany at Red Flag Flying High
West Brom boss Roy Hodgson is looking to add reinforcements to his squad ahead of the 2011/12 season and has been linked with moves for Ben Foster and Zoltan Gera.
The England international goalkeeper had a strong 2010/11 despite Birmingham’s relegation, and is valued at £8 million. The Baggies boss is thought to be weighing up a club record £6 million bid, but this may not be enough to capture the former Manchester United stopper.
The ex-Liverpool boss is also keen on Hungary international Gera, who would be a familiar face at The Hawthorns after playing for the Midlands club between 2004 and 2008. The midfielder is not guaranteed regular first team football at Fulham, and may be interested in move back to his old employers.
Any additions would join defenders Gareth McAuley and Billy Jones, who signed from Ipswich and Preston respectively, as new faces at the club.
Meanwhile Hodgson is hopeful that 2010/11 leading goalscorer Peter Odemwingie will sign a new deal at the club. The 29-year-old has been subject of transfer speculation, but his boss feels negotiations over a new contract are going well.
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“Peter has been excellent in training this week. He sails through the training when everyone else is fighting hard to do the work. He seems to do it with relative ease. He seems very satisfied, very happy, so I presume the contract discussions are going okay,” he told Sky Sports.
The Reds have continued their best of British transfer policy after Stewart Downing made his long awaited move to Anfield last night. His arrival takes Kenny Dalglish’s spending to close to the £50m mark as the Liverpool Legend plots the club’s return to the top.
At FFC this week we have seen a mixed bag of blogs that include the ideal finishing school for Kenny’s fledglings; Liverpool unearth their own Red-Bull, while Charlie Adam is set to provide the bullets for Andy Carroll.
We also look at the best Liverpool articles around the web this week.
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The REAL reason behind Liverpool’s transfer policy
‘X’ marks the spot in Liverpool’s midfield
Liverpool finally uneath their own ‘Red Bull’
The ideal finishing school for Kenny’s fledglings?
Liverpool need width – not Mata!
Has Kenny unearthed the man to fuel the Liverpool strikeforce?
One big balancing act facing Kenny at Anfield
Kenny Dalglish’s transfer pledge
Liverpool FC vs The 24 Hour Rumour Mill
*Best of WEB*
Do you expect our £16m man to start next season? – Live4Liverpool
Is Stewart Downing Actually Stanley Devastating? – The Tomkins Times
Dalglish spends big and buys British, but are they worth it? – The Independent
Stop worrying and learn to love Stewart Downing – The Guardian
Meireles – A Victim of Versatility – This is Anfield
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Click on Wayne Bridge’s misses below to see her in all her glory
As the 2011/12 season gets underway, the prospects of Tottenham Hotspur remain uncertain. Much depends on their business before the close of the transfer window. Should Spurs retain the services of Luka Modric and recruit a top class striker, their chances of keeping pace with the top four will be greatly improved. Should Spurs lose Modric and not secure a striker, any improvement on last season’s fifth place finish seems highly unlikely.
Over the course of the 2010/11 campaign there were many positives for Tottenham. Benoit Assou-Ekotto still shows occasional moments of madness but is maturing into one of the best left backs in the league. Gareth Bale has propelled himself, literally at great speed, into stardom and Aaron Lennon has become an electric winger with a delivery. Add to this the signing of Brad Friedel to minimise costly errors at the back and the emergence of the highly rated Kyle Walker at right back and Tottenham have the potential for a great season.
The deciding factor this season, as with the last, will be the strikers’ ability to finish the chances this team creates. Too often last season, Tottenham let teams off the hook, particularly at home. It’s no good dominating possession if you don’t make it count. Without a new striker on the books, there will be huge pressure on Defoe and Pavlyuchenko to step up and find form, otherwise this season may also become a tale of missed chances and dropped points.
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Whilst Tottenham do have the ability to finish in the top four this season, their chances would be massively increased by the addition of a top class striker that the club don’t seem to be able to afford. Spurs have the ability to see off the challenge of Liverpool this season and with the potentially imminent departures of both Nasri and Fabregas, they would do well to target Arsenal’s place in the top four, however I wouldn’t hold my breath on those transfers so another 5th place finish looks the likeliest outcome.
Undoubtedly the player to watch this season will once again be Luka Modric. As he is constantly on the ball it is impossible not to watch him anyway but his ability to control the tempo and possession is always lovely to see. He is also incredibly hard to knock off the ball. If the constant reports of his professionalism are true then I expect to see him dominating games all season long.
This year will also be huge for Kyle Walker, the attacking right back will definitely get chances to impress during this campaign and has been gaining rave reviews for loan clubs and country over the last 18 months. Expect to see him edging out Corluka and bombing past Lennon on the right wing.
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Let’s hope business goes well and Spurs are in the chase for Champions League football once again.
Reports are circulating in Italy that Arsenal are edging closer to the signing of Italian international Riccardo Montolivo, after a contract dispute has seen him become disillusioned with life at Fiorentina.
Fiorentina’s Sporting Director Pantaleo Corvino confirmed that sale of the player is imminent and suggests that a move abroad is on the cards:
‘Montolivo doesn’t believe in the Fiorentina project. As a result, the player will be sold abroad.’
Whether Arsenal sign him remains to be seen, but his lady would certainly be a welcome addition to the Premier League. Cristina De Pin is a famous Italian model who regularly models for Playmate magazine.
Cristina has previously said that she needs to use her brain as well as her physique to win the heart of her Italian boyfriend, but I’m not so sure that’s the case…
Click on image below to take a closer look at Cristina