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The FA revealed that they are keeping their options over the New England manager, although their preference would be an Englishman. David Bernstein says they are conducting a shortlist in the coming days and there are many candidates that are likely to enter the frame. It appears that Harry Redknapp is everyone in the game’s favourite to take the England job, with some papers suggesting that he will only look to manage the country on a short term basis this summer, before resuming his duties at White Hart Lane.

Elsewhere in the news today Andre Villas-Boas has revealed that he doesn’t fear the sack at Chelsea; Patrick Viera believes that referees are out to get Manchester City, while Sir Alex Ferguson has shrugged off concerns about Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra shaking hands before tomorrow’s encounter at Old Trafford.

The FA have been left red-faced with reports that England’s caretaker boss Stuart Pearce, was alleged to have racially abused Paul Ince back in the mid-90s – Independent

Sir Alex Ferguson has shrugged off concerns about whether Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra will shake hands at Old Trafford in tomorrow’s lunchtime showdown – Guardian

The FA is keeping their options open as to who will manage England in the Euros in 2012. While Harry Redknapp remains everyone’s favourite for the post, David Bernstein was quick to point out that the Tottenham boss was not the only one under consideration – Guardian

Andre Villas-Boas reveals that he does not fear the sack from Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich – Guardian

Harry Redknapp may be interested in managing England but only on a short term basis. The Tottenham boss could well take on the job of managing the country at the Euros, before settling back into his role at White Hart Lane ahead of next season – Daily Telegraph

Diego Maradona believes that the FA used the John Terry row as a way to remove Fabio Capello from his England post – Daily Telegraph

Tottenham are putting a £10m fee on Harry Redknapp’s head if the FA wish to appoint him as the next England manager – Daily Mail

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Patrick Viera believes that referees are out to get Manchester City this season, as they don’t want to see the Citizens win the title this year – Daily Mail

Real Madrid are reportedly set to test Arsenal’s resolve with an approach for Robin van Persie – Mirror

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Queens Park Rangers celebrated promotion from the Championship despite losing 2-1 at home to Leeds United on Saturday.After the Football Association announced earlier in the day the club would not be docked points over the transfer of Alejandro Faurlin, Neil Warnock’s team was guaranteed promotion to the English Premier League.

Icelandic striker Heidar Helguson gave QPR a first-minute lead at Loftus Road, but Leeds scored either side of half-time to take the three points.

Goals from midfielder Mark Gradel and Scottish attacker Ross McCormack left Leeds relying on Nottingham Forest to record a three-goal loss to steal the sixth playoff spot.

But it was not to be as Forest took a 3-0 win against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

Midfielder Lewis McGugan opened the scoring on 17 minutes and their task was made easier when Palace defender Dean Moxey was sent off eight minutes later.

Goals in the last 20 minutes from Marcus Tudgay and David McGoldrick guaranteed Forest would face Swansea City in the playoff semi-final.

Swansea rose to third on the back of a 4-0 thrashing of Sheffield United and the failure of Cardiff City, who drew at Burnley.

A brace from Scottish attacker Stephen Dobbie, along with a Scott Sinclair penalty and a Leon Britton strike, were enough to hammer League One-bound United.

Michael Adams’ team was in the game until Australian defender Shane Lowry was given his marching orders in the 54th minute.

A 90th-minute strike from Craig Bellamy was all that saved Cardiff from defeat at Burnley in their 1-1 draw.

His goal cancelled out a 13th-minute opener from Jay Rodriguez as Burnley finished the season in eighth.

Norwich City celebrated promotion, but only after a 2-2 draw against Coventry City.

All the goals at Carrow Road came in the second half as Coventry’s Richard Keogh and Norwich’s Grant Holt began the scoring after they exchanged strikes.

On-loan Liverpool attacker Daniel Pacheco gave Norwich the lead, five minutes after coming on for Holt, but Lukas Jutkiewicz pegged them back two minutes later as the teams were forced to share the points.

Reading ended a three-game winless run with a 2-1 win over Derby County.

With fifth place assured, Reading will enter their playoff clash with Cardiff City in winning form thanks to Hal Robson-Kanu’s 72nd-minute winner.

Ian Harte’s 24th-minute penalty had been cancelled out by Jamie Ward in the first half.

Elsewhere, Barnsley finished their campaign in style after a Reuben Noble-Lazarus goal gave them a 1-0 win over Millwall.

Middlesbrough ended the season with their fourth-straight win, a 3-0 victory over Doncaster Rovers.

Barry Robson broke the deadlock two minutes before the interval, while Leroy Lita and Adam Reach scored second-half goals.

At Glanford Park, Portsmouth forward David Nugent struck nine minutes before the end to secure a 1-1 draw against Scunthorpe United, who had led thanks to a Ramon Nunez goal.

Preston North End ended their season with a 3-1 win over Watford.

Andreas Weimann had given Malcolm Mackay’s team an early goal, but Barry Nicholson, Iain Hume and Jamie Proctor hit back for the hosts, who have been relegated.

Bristol City breezed past Hull City 3-0, mainly thanks to goals from Jon Stead and Brett Pitman in the opening 14 minutes with Jamal Campbell Ryce wrapping up the points early in the second half.

Leicester City recorded an entertaining 4-2 win over Ipswich Town after holding a three-goal lead at the break.

Andy King, Yakubu and Yuki Abe scored before the interval, but two goals in the space of as many minutes put Paul Jewell’s team back in the contest.

Grant Leadbitter struck from the penalty spot and Connor Wickham made it 3-2 a minute later, but Diomansy Kamara restored the two-goal buffer in the 72nd minute.

What is the modern day full back? If you’re looking for the best around you needn’t look much further than Dani Alves and Maicon. The marauding Brazilians deliver crosses, score goals, have great energy, and more importantly are rarely at fault for conceding goals. Bar the latter, this is also relevant to current England right back Glen Johnson. Unlike the mentioned pair, Johnson is increasingly suspect at the back. And it has got to the point where I can’t figure out why Roy Hodgson or Fabio Capello persists with playing him there.

One minute he’ll look like a rabbit in headlights whilst defending and then loses his concentration at vital times of a match. Then he’ll dribble past a few players and create havoc in the opposition penalty area moments later. This has been noticeable in England matches in the last couple of years. Considering these qualities, it’s a wonder why nobody has given him a chance in a more advanced role, with less defensive responsibilities.

Prior to Johnson, we’ve witnessed Gary Neville play consistently well in an England shirt for over a decade. Neville has been known in the past to be a “proper full back”. Defending well then playing from there. It seems that Johnson is built in the opposite mould. Attacking well then defending weakly. Maybe this is the way of the modern day full back. But it can damage your ‘goals against’ column quite severely if the full back isn’t quite the all rounder they need to be. Just ask Liverpool fans. If Johnson was played on the wing, he has the ability to affect the ‘goals for’ column much more frequently.

Switching a player from full back to winger has proven to bring the best out of certain players. Take Gareth Bale. Left Back all the way throughout his career until last season where Harry Redknapp gave the Welshman consistent starts on the left of midfield. That was the period in which his career took off. I specifically recall Bale carving open Arsenal and Chelsea within the space of three days last season from the left hand side.  Without question he’s now become a serious asset to Tottenham and their Champions League credentials.

We also see the best out of full backs when there are fewer defensive responsibilities placed on them. Dani Alves has Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano covering him when he thrusts up the Nou Camp turf. Similarly, Maicon has Lucio, Walter Samuel and Esteban Cambiasso keeping an eye on any astray positioning. World Class individuals who know each other’s games very well, and will always assist their full backs when they attack. Does knowing they can bomb forward and not get caught at the back make Alves and Maicon the players they are? It certainly gives them a positive mindset.

My point is not that Glen Johnson should be dropped, far from it in fact.  He just needs to be moved further forward.  He possesses all the qualities to be a good winger, however less of the qualities that are needed to be a top flight defender. He will score you goals, create you chances, and won’t be the last line of defence if he’s a midfielder. Surely it’s worth a go.

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Written By Rob Edwards

Sunderland’s renaissance under Martin O’Neill continued at the Stadium of Light as they saw off Swansea with two stunning goals from Stephane Sessegnon and Craig Gardner to move into the top half.

Defeat at Chelsea last week was the Black Cats’ second in seven games under their new boss and they wrapped up a fifth victory of the O’Neill era with Sessegnon and Gardner scoring in either half. It will be a bitter pill to swallow for Brendan Rodgers after seeing his side dominate proceedings on Wearside only to lack a cutting edge in front of goal; something that wasn’t absent in their breathtaking win against Arsenal six days prior. Their latest loss was their seventh on the road this season and saw them drop to 11th in the table as the hosts jumped a place above them collecting their 10th point in 12 since changing managers.

A breathless opening saw the hosts take a surprise lead with Sessegnon doing brilliantly to open his body and curly a magnificent strike beyond Michael Vorm and into the top corner following a quick passing exchange with James McLean on the left. Vorm had earlier tipped Sebastian Larsson’s venomous volley onto the post but had little to do for the rest of the half as Swansea dominated in their pursuit of an equaliser. Despite missing the last three games though injury Wes Brown showed that his sharpness hadn’t deserted him thwarting Nathan Dyer with last ditch tackle before Phil Bardsley denied Scott Sinclair. Chances came and went for the Welsh side with Sinclair firing over from six-yards before Gylfi Sigurdsson saw his cross headed over by Danny Graham jut before half time.

The Icelandic midfielder then tested Simon Mignolet for the first time in the game seeing his 57th minute free kick palmed away by the Sunderland keeper. The home support became restless as Swansea continued to control the contest as they tried and failed to fashion an equaliser allowing the Black Cats to come alive in the final quarter hour and seal the game with an outstanding goal from Gardner. The former Birmingham midfielder controlled Sessegnon’s cross field pass on his chest before lashing a dipping 25-yard volley past Vorm to lift the hosts into 10th and maintain new boss O’Neill’s unbeaten record at the Stadium of Light.

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Lazio and Milan both recorded victories after scoring four goals in their respective Serie A matches on Saturday.Lazio’s 4-2 triumph over Genoa snapped a run of three successive losses and took them above Udinese into fourth, which would enable them to enter the qualifying stage of the Champions League.

But Udinese do play tomorrow – away at 12th-placed Chievo – meaning Lazio will be hoping for the hosts to record some form of result.

Their win on Saturday was largely down to a superb start to the second half, although Giuseppe Biava set the tone of the match nicely with his seventh-minute goal.

Rodrigo Palacio hit back five minutes later for Genoa to ensure both sides entered the break on level terms.

But in the 21 minutes after half-time, Edy Reja’s side scored three times to wrap up the victory.

Naturalised Italian midfielder Cristian Ledesma provided the assist for Tommaso Rocchi’s goal after 52 minutes and he was the provider again four minutes later when Brazilian Hernanes made it 3-1.

Hernanes doubled his account on 66 minutes and, while striker Antonio Floro Flores pulled back a late consolation for Genoa, Lazio were easy winners.

In the day’s other match, Milan romped to a 4-1 home win against Cagliari thanks to a first-half masterclass from Robinho.

After opening the scoring on 22 minutes, the Brazilian set up captain Gennaro Gattuso for just his second goal of the season two minutes later.

Robinho grabbed his second strike of the game ten minutes before the break and, although Andrea Cossu replied almost immediately, victory was never in doubt for the champions as Dutch veteran Clarence Seedorf wrapped up the rout with 13 minutes to play.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini still believes Chelsea will win the Premier League title despite Saturday’s 1-0 victory over the champions.

City ended the table-toppers’ 100 per cent start to the new season as a Carlos Tevez goal earned the hosts all three points from a scrappy Eastlands encounter.

Before the match Mancini had raised eyebrows by suggesting that Chelsea would “easily” retain the title.

He suggested the Stamford Bridge club were still more likely than his expensively assembled side to finish the 38-game season on top of the table and Saturday’s hard-fought victory did little to persuade him otherwise.

“I still think they (Chelsea) will win it easily because I think they are the best team in the Premier League,” he said.

“Sometimes you might get a result like today. But they are the better team.”

Meanwhile, Mancini defended his decision to stifle Chelsea rather than go for goals at home.

He added:“It is not possible for them to score five goals every game.

“If Chelsea find space it is easy for them to score. But if they don’t have space it is too hard and our players defended very well.

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“But we cannot think everything is okay just because we won this game.”

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SkySports reports that Chelsea boss Andre Villas Boas has rejected suggestions from Carlo Ancelotti that Fernando Torres would prosper if the club were to sell Didier Drogba.

The ex-Stamford Bridge manager believes that the struggling Spaniard is floundering due to the African striker’s continued presence at the club, but Villas Boas disagrees with this analysis.

“For me, it’s not the case,” he told reporters at a press conference.

“Fernando has been with us a year and is in a great moment of form and looking sharp.

“It’s nothing to do with one being present and the other one not. In a club of our dimension, we have top competition.

“The people you compete with are as good or better than you and you have to compete to reach the starting XI.

“It’s the same with Barcelona and Real Madrid. You compete with the best within the group,” he stated.

Drogba is currently away on international duty at the African Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast, and added responsibility will fall on Torres’ shoulders in his absence.

The veteran frontman’s contract expires at the end of the season, but Villas Boas has admitted that he has had no thoughts to sell Drogba in January to avoid losing him on a free transfer come the summer.

“It’s not something that crossed my mind.

“I count on Didier, on what he represents as a player and an icon,” he concluded.

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By Gareth McKnight

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AC Milan will aim to take another step closer to their first Serie A title since 2003-04 on Saturday when they travel to Brescia.Massimiliano Allegri’s men are six points clear of second-placed Napoli with five games to play, but the coach is demanding the full attention of his squad ahead of their trip to strugglers Brescia.

Milan head into the match high on confidence having won their past three league games, although they were held to a 2-2 draw by Palermo in Wednesday’s Coppa Italia semi-final first leg.

“We must remain awake because there are five games remaining and if we are not careful, we could also lose,” Allegri said.

“Brescia are fighting to avoid the drop and this is a delicate game for us.”

Allegri will be without strike pairing Alexandre Pato and Zlatan Ibrahimovic through injury and suspension respectively.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Napoli travel to Palermo keen to respond from their 2-1 loss at home to Udinese last weekend.

Third-placed Inter Milan – who are eight points behind the league leaders – play fourth-placed Lazio at the San Siro, sixth-placed Roma host Chievo Verona and Udinese will look to keep their Champions League drive going strong when they welcome Parma.

Seventh-placed Juventus will continue to push for a Europa League berth when they welcome Catania, and Fiorentina travel to Cagliari in a mid-table clash.

Cesena will be keen to move further away from the relegation zone when they visit Bologna, as will Lecce when they travel to Genoa.

And bottom side Bari will confirm their relegation from Serie A should they fail to win against fellow strugglers Sampdoria at the Stadio San Nicola.

Tottenham have signed Rafael van der Vaart after the Premier League ratified their deadline day swoop for the Real Madrid midfielder.

The north London club made an late move to sign the Netherlands international on Tuesday afternoon after manager Harry Redknapp learned of his potential availability.

Spurs were left in limbo while the league looked into whether the deal had been completed in time.

However, they have now given the transfer the green light and van der Vaart will now move to the Premier League for £8million.

"We are delighted to announce that we have reached agreement with Real Madrid for the transfer of Rafael van der Vaart," confirmed a brief club statement.

Van der Vaart moved to Real from Hamburg two years ago and went on to score 11 goals in 68 appearances for the La Liga giants.

He helped his country reach the World Cup final in July and came on as a substitute in the final defeat to Spain.

Speaking about the last-gasp nature of the deal, Redknapp had earlier explained:"It was a last-minute job. When I came in on Tuesday morning it wasn't something I was looking to do.

"I think he was going to Bayern Munich on Monday for £18million and suddenly he became much cheaper.

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"They let me know around 1600 BST that he was available for £8million and, for that money, he is a top player who will definitely improve us.

"The fee has come crashing down because the deadline is so close."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

I think it’s fair to say that Arsenal lost against Man City on Sunday due to the lack of firepower we currently possess.

To restrict a team that’s been scoring almost three goals a game to just one but failing to find the net ourselves is very disappointing to say the very least. However, it provides food for thought for Arsene Wenger and also shows that it’s upfront that we currently lack personnel, not in our defence.

Injuries have depleted our back-line vastly, but with none of our forwards sidelined, we still look short of options and attacking prowess. That is an important aspect for quality teams to have and Andrey Arshavin and Marouane Chamakh certainly failed to provide this yesterday afternoon in Manchester.

So in my opinion Wenger has to look into reinforcing our attacking options this January, especially with the African Cup of Nations set to handicap us even further.

So here are five possible forwards that our manager should look into singing this January:

Lukas Podolski:

Currently the name on every Arsenal fans lips, and rightly so. Anyone who is capped 95 times for Germany must have serious quality, and he would certainly help Arsenal’s fortunes upfront. The 26-year-old’s contract expires next year and it is believed that FC Koln would consider bids of around £13-17 million for their star forward this winter. Podolski can play anywhere across the frontline and he’s reaching an age where strikers are at their best. However, Wenger might have reservations about signing him given his dramatic failures at Bayern Munich, which has led many to assume that he lacks the mental strength to play for the bigger clubs. Wenger though has a reputation of bringing the best out of those who struggle, and Podolski’s recent form alone is enough to tempt the Frenchman into luring the German to London this January.

Thierry Henry:

The French striker is currently training with his former club and Wenger has recently declared that the Arsenal legend looks in good shape. I think it’s fair to say that Henry is a pale shadow of his former self, but class is permanent. The former French international is an intelligent player and at 34, he still has his goal scoring instincts intact. Furthermore, Henry would be a huge inspirational presence for our younger players and will certainly adhere to the fans as well. Wenger might need to shed a few extra bucks to loan him till the end of season, but a short-term deal is on the cards. However, if I’m not mistake, Wenger isn’t someone who looks for short-term solutions. But it happened once with Sol Campbell so why not again, this time with the club’s record goal-scorer.

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Olivier Giroud:

The Montpellier striker has fired his club to the upper echelons of Ligue 1 and has reportedly attracted interest from Newcastle and Arsenal in recent weeks. There appears to be no credibility in these rumors, but the 25-year-old would certainly appeal to Wenger given his French roots and transfer fee of around £7-10 million. Giroud certainly hasn’t got the same quality of Van Persie, but the French international would be a good understudy and back-up option for the in-form Dutchman. Giroud has the technical ability and intelligence to succeed at Arsenal and is my personal choice, along with Podolski, to join The Gunners this January.

Matias Suarez:

Very few Arsenal fans are aware of this 23-year-old Anderlecht striker, but Wenger has reportedly got scouts watching him at the moment. Touted as someone in the Javier Hernandez mould, Suarez would be available for as little as £6 million. The departure of Lukaku has allowed Suarez to flourish and you can always bet on the Anderlecht academy to have imparted him with good technical skills and ability. He’d certainly want to move to a club like Arsenal and looks like someone Wenger likes to sign – he’s young, technical and cheap.

Marco Reus:

One of the breakthrough players in the Bundesliga this season, the Borussia Mönchengladbach striker is one of the hottest properties in European football. The German is being linked with a move to Bayern Munich, but will find it hard to establish himself in a star studded line-up. The 22-year-old also has a £16 million release clause in his contract that reportedly comes into effect this summer. Though an extremely costly target, the German international has the talent to become one of the best players in world football. If Wenger decides to move for him in January, then he may have to pay up to £30 million due to his club performances this season and I don’t think there is any realistic chance for us to land him, as he is being chased by a lot of big clubs.

If Wenger is looking beyond the African Cup, then the Frenchman has options like Moussa Sow , Salomon Kalou and many others to look at.

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No matter how much he snubs talks of players coming in January, I’ve seen enough from Wenger’s press conferences to suggest that he’s aware of his team’s shortcomings. I am pretty sure that Wenger is searching for reinforcements and trust him to make the right moves this winter.

 Article courtesy of Vivek Arulnathan from Gunnersphere

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