Liverpool were held by Ludogorets but can still qualify for the Champions League knock-out stages thanks to Real Madrid’s win over Basel. Brendan Rodgers’ side got off to the worst possible start as Kolo Toure’s clearance fell straight into the path of Marcelinho, who fired a superb striker at goal, only for Simon Mignolet to parry and allow Dani Abalo to tap home the rebound. Liverpool got back into the game through Rickie Lambert, who once again justified his start in the side, heading past keeper Vladislav Stoyanov. Raheem Sterling then burst into life and attempted to hand Liverpool the…
Author: Staff Writer
Reports that Manchester United have offered Carlo Ancelotti a deal worth £270,000-a-week to become their next manager are ‘false’. English media Metro claim that Spanish daily Marca have reported that Ancelotti has received an offer from the Premier League side to take over Louis van Gaal, who is struggling to find consistency at Old Trafford. Ancelotti revealed earlier this week that he had twice turned down a move to the English club, first to replace Sir Alex Ferguson and then David Moyes. However, the claimed report says that Real Madrid are extremely confident that the Italian boss will sign a…
Liverpool are reportedly ready to spend £47m on Petr Cech, Jackson Martinez and Nathan Redmond this January. Brendan Rodgers is currently under heavy pressure after failing to repeat the form that saw Liverpool push Manchester City for the Premier League title last season. The Northern Irish boss claimed earlier this week in a press conference that he was not planning on making any January signings, but further reports, most notably in the Metro claim that the Reds are eyeing three players. Rodgers spent £133m this summer and is now expected to receive another £47m to sign Petr Cech from Chelsea,…
Pro Player Development has joined forces with Stoke-on-Trent College to help develop potential stars of the future, both on and off the field. PPD is a soccer academy based near Stone and they will seek to deliver a 36-week Scholarship Programme to promising young players. Over 25 young footballers will be enrolled on the course each year and take part in a bespoke Level 3 BTEC National Diploma in Sport Performance, learning fitness and coaching, whilst playing at the Pro Player facility in Yarnfield. Pete Gregory, from Pro Player Development, told Staffslive: “Pro Player Development is designed to go above…
Arsenal target Fabian Schar has agreed terms in principle to join Juventus in January. The 22-year-old has been linked with a move away from Basel in recent summer’s but failed to see a move develop, although his recent comments to Swiss media claim that he would be open for a switch to Italy or England. And, it is being reported that Serie A champions Juventus have agreed terms in principle with Schar, making his ambitions to move to Italy complete. Representatives of the defender visited the Turin based club on Monday afternoon and have now agreed terms over a deal…
Bayern Munich’s honorary president Franz Beckenbauer has confirmed that the club are likely to sell Xherdan Shaqiri in January. The 23-year-old has been heavily linked with Serie A side Juventus and Premier League side Liverpool and it is expected that both will now make a January move after a statement was made regarding his future with the German champions. “Bayern have already sent out a signal and indicated to him that he can probably go in the winter break, when he wants,” he 69-year-old told Sky. The Swiss international has found playing time hard to come by due to the…
Aaron Ramsey has backed under-fire Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, despite recent criticism after poor results. Arsenal have now lost back-to-back Premier League games against Swansea City and Manchester United and they are in desperate need of a result in the Champions League after letting a 3-0 lead slip to Anderlecht in the previous round of group matches. Wenger has been heavily criticised of late and has seen his position as boss come under serious threat. However, Ramsey says that the 65-year-old has the full backing of the dressing room. “With what he’s done for this club and for us as…
In the space of a few days, the Argentine has broken two records, becoming La Liga’s all-time top goalscorer with 253 goals, and now after his hat-trick against Apoel Nicosia, becoming the highest goalscorer in Champions a league history, beating Raul’s record of 71. At the age of just 27, he continues to astound the footballing world, breaking records after records. Not only has he broken these two, but in March this year he became Barcelona’s top goalscorer, overtaking Paulino Alacantara’s 368 goals. He currently holds the record of scoring the most goals in a calendar year, finding the net…
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is worried by Jack Wilshere’s latest injury and said that ‘it does not look good’ for the midfielder. The England international was hauled off during his side’s 2-1 loss to Manchester United after a challenge by Paddy McNair and is now waiting to discover the true extent of his injury and exact time out of action. “It does not look good,” said the Frenchman. “There is no bone damage but there is ligament damage. It is just how [long] it is, which we should know next week. “It is so sad because he just came back and…
Cesc Fabregas has closed the ongoing argument with Sergio Ramos over his availability for the Spanish national side. The Chelsea midfielder missed the recent matches against Belarus and Germany due a hamstring injury but Real Madrid defender Ramos was quoted as saying that he was unsure about the true extent of Fabregas’ injury and doubted his commitment to the national side. Fabregas has now reacted to the claims and said that the situation has been sorted after a phone call between the two. “Yes, I felt offended, and told Sergio how I felt,” he told Spanish radio station Cadena Cope. “We…