Liverpool midfielder James Milner had a reputation for being ‘boring’ due to his monotone post-match interviews, but now that he is on Twitter, the former England international has proved to be anything but.
The 32-year-old has shown his sense of humour on social media, and he even poked fun at himself following an unfortunate moment during Wednesday night’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Roma.
Just six minutes after Sadio Mane gave Jurgen Klopp’s side the lead, Roma equalised with a freak own goal from Milner.
Dejan Lovren attempted to clear a cross into the box, and in doing so, the ball bounced off the midfielder’s head and into the back of the net.
In the end, the goal did not prove costly as even though Roma won 4-2 on the night, Liverpool secured a place in the final 7-6 on aggregate.
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Following the celebrations, Milner, who has created 11 assists in all competitions this season, took to Twitter to make a joke about the own goal, and the Liverpool fans lapped it up.
Meanwhile, Liverpool supporters will be hoping that Mohamed Salah finds his shooting boots for the showdown against Real Madrid in Kiev following an uncharacteristic lacklustre performance at the Stadio Olimpico.
Anyone who thinks that the last ball had been kicked at Emirates Stadium this season couldn’t have been more wrong!
Competition was still alive and kicking yesterday, as the illustrious ground played host to the inaugural Europcar Cup. The five-a-side tournament, hosted by Europcar, the official car and van rental provider to Arsenal Football Club, gave lucky fans the once in a lifetime chance to show their skills in the home of their footballing idols.
The tournament capped the end of a first full season’s partnership between Europcar and Arsenal, as the team representing the Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire Arsenal Supporters Club, captained by Ben Roberts, was crowned champions by Arsenal Legend, Ray Parlour.
The former midfielder, and member of the club’s famous ‘Invincibles’ side, had been on hand throughout the day for team talks and a Q&A session with fans before presenting the trophy. At the start of the day fans even prepared for the competition in the official Arsenal changing rooms.
“Today’s tournament was a great way to celebrate a fantastic year’s partnership with Arsenal,” explained Ken McCall, Managing Director, Europcar UK Group. “But, more importantly, it was an opportunity to give back to the people that really make the club such a special place: the supporters.”
There were eight teams competing including four fans teams – each selected through a competition on social media – plus the team from Arsenal’s Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire Supporters Club, a team of bloggers, another comprising travel and sports journalists and another made up of Europcar’s suppliers.
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“Playing on the same pitch as my heroes was truly a unique experience, and one which I will never forget,” said Ben Roberts, from Hemel Hempstead. Fellow team members were Rob De Bell, Mark Kenneally, Craig Wiseman, Harry O’Riordan and Sam Rawlings.
“Getting to share this experience with my friends and family has made the occasion even more special. I have been an Arsenal fan for many years and to be able to play, and win, on a football ground that is so special to me means the world. Meeting Ray, getting changed in the official Arsenal changing rooms and then winning. has been an experience I will never forget.”
Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert recently argued that the club’s star young striker Christian Benteke was worth upwards of £25m should another club come calling for him in the summer, but these kinds of absurdly inflated prices serve no purpose than other to frustrate fans and make them sigh at their manager’s myopic nature and it’s an irritating diversion tactic that has to stop, for the sake of all our sanity.
The Midlands outfit has finally climbed out of the bottom three in the Premier League, where they sit nervously in 17th, three points above Wigan having played two games more. Their top flight fate still hangs in the balance, but that hasn’t stopped Lambert making preposterous claims about the value of Belgium international Benteke in an attempt to warn off any potential suitors.
Lambert told reporters on Thursday in the build-up to the club’s crucial clash against Fulham at home: “He is hot property. If you wanted to prise Christian away from here you would want a sizeable cheque, that is for sure. He has the potential to be fantastic. If you look at modern day figures then £25m is probably a good start.”
A good start? Who is he trying to kid? A 21-year-old striker with one season of top level experience in one of Europe’s five biggest leagues is suddenly worth £25m? It’s a bizarre strain of bravado, but I’m not even entirely sure who it’s aimed at; is it for the Villa fans? The ‘well the manager’s got our back over this matter’ viewpoint? Because any club currently operating at the top level will be acutely aware of the club’s finances and what sort of offer they’ll be tempted to accept. Undisclosed transfer fees are fed to the public, but when it comes to budgets, there are no secrets in the modern game.
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That is not to say that Benteke isn’t worth a significant hike on the £7m they paid to Genk in the summer for his services. After 15 league goals in 30 games in his first season in England, with the potential he’s shown at international level with four goals in 2013 for Belgium, he’s certainly a talented player capable of stepping up a level or two. Nevertheless, with Villa in such a perilous position, Lambert’s stance is fooling nobody. It’s just amateurish mind-games gone horribly wrong and there’s a question mark over whether he’s even the best young Belgian forward in the Premier League, with on-loan Chelsea man Romelu Lukaku looking the more complete player at West Brom this season.
Next up on the inflation wall of shame is quite possibly the most misplaced example of nepotism committed to the public sphere since Francis Ford Coppola cast his daughter Sofia in The Godfather Part 3, with Blackpool manager Paul Ince going off at the deep end about what his son Tom is worth.
“If you’re talking £15m for Zaha, Thomas has got to be £25m. If you compare the two, Thomas should cost more. Zaha is a fantastic player, don’t get me wrong. Zaha’s a stronger runner and does a lot of tricks, whereas Thomas is more direct, he makes things happen and he scores goals. You’ve got a kid playing in the Championship who has scored 18 goals. When you look at the leading scorers, they’re all strikers, and he’s there amongst them.
“Potentially, I think he can reach that value. If Palace want £15m for Zaha who has scored six goals, it makes you wonder what price he’s going to be. You’re not going to get it because he’s not proven in the Premier League, but if United are paying £15m for Zaha, on the stats you’d have to say Thomas is worth a lot more than that. That’s my opinion.”
That my be his opinion, but Ince has shown himself to be little more than a cliche-happy ‘football man’ during his time in management, which translates to roughly ‘has no real knowledge of how the world actually works’. Given that his son’s contract expires at the end of the season and Blackpool are unlikely to figure in the play-off mix, as they sit just four points above the drop zone in an extraordinarily congested table, once again he is in no real position to set the agenda or any sort of terms, let alone ones as bonkers as that.
The 21-year-old has done extremely well in the Championship this season, hitting 18 goals in 39 appearances in the league, but he lacks top level experience and it’s very telling that Liverpool weren’t willing to go above the £6m mark for him in January, despite retaining a 30% sell-on clause which would essentially see them pay around £4m, given the state of his current contract.
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What is clear, though, is that a player’s valuation isn’t judged by similar players around them playing for different clubs – so what if Ince has scored more goals than Zaha? They’re different players with different strengths. Boiling it down to a simple statistical debate, bereft of any sort of context, is not only misleading, it’s downright moronic. Zaha cost Manchester United £15m because he had a long-term deal still in place at Crystal Palace and they could still feasibly be promoted to the top flight next season, and ignoring those sorts of determining factors is just a brain-dead comment of the highest proportions. The silly season is well and truly upon us.
Managers will obviously always seek to use the media to ramp up a player’s price, particularly when the team they are in control of is struggling while the footballer in question is performing well. It’s a natural technique that’s been used for years, but the sheer cheek of both Lambert and Ince is just baffling. They’ve gone too far the other way and in trying to promote a position of strength, they’ve only succeeded in showing how weak their hand really is.
We all think of footballers as well paid individuals and indeed they are. If a Premier League star invests his money correctly, then there’s a good chance he’d never have to work again for the rest of his life. However, a football career isn’t exactly a job for life, as you never know when injury or loss of form may strike that could result in your career plummeting to depths of horrendous lows.
It’s wise therefore, for players to have some sort of other interests outside of football, to keep them occupied off the field, but also to earn a living if things go wrong. The vast majority of players just invest their money into property or start life as a media pundit, but others take a more interesting route and immerse themselves in something a little different. We bring you 15 footballers with a different life outside the game that you should definitely know about.
Click on Stuart Pearce to unveil the 15
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As Manchester United kept alive their chances of silverware this season with a 2-1 win over Tottenham to reach the final of the FA Cup, it was clear that Jose Mourinho had already turned his thoughts towards next season.
With Michael Carrick retiring and Marouane Fellani looking likely to leave, midfield might be the main area of reinforcement but Mourinho said that he will not spend ridiculous amounts of money.
Instead, he is looking – in keeping with the club’s proud traditions – to give opportunities to younger players. That is something he has been accused of neglecting in the past but, if he makes good on his word, that could be about to change.
In a season where the former Inter manager has divided opinion – to say the least – that promise, combined with a win in such a big game has got the United fans back onside, to some degree anyway.
We’ve taken a closer look at the best of the reaction…
Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly preparing to make an offer for Marseille midfielder Florian Thauvin in the summer transfer window.
The north London club put in an offer for the 22-year-old in January, but his current club rejected the enquiry. Spurs have been keeping one eye on the winger in the second half of the season and have been impressed by what they have seen.
It is believed the French club are now hoping to offload some of their players to raise some well needed funds for the club. Thauvin can also play behind the striker and while Tottenham are interested, they also have competition from Valencia.
Fans opinions on the Frenchman are mixed, with many not knowing enough about him to decide whether or not he would be a good signing. An online survey between Tottenham fans found 63% thought he would make a good signing.
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In his first season at Marseille he became an instant sensation, scoring 10 goals and getting six assists, and fans thought he was going to develop into a force to be reckoned with – even calling him the ‘new Frank Ribery.’
Sadly, this wasn’t always a nice comparison as his attitude to other players and officials has grown steadily worse.
This season he seems to be suffering from “second season syndrome.” There is a spooky correlation between players who exceed expectations in their first season at a club and then go on to struggle in their second season. James McCarthy at Everton and Tom Ince at Blackpool are prime examples. In Thauvin’s second season for Marseille both his goal and assist tally has halved.
Last week, the 22-year-old was pulled off at half-time after a dire performance, which saw Marseille beaten 5-3 by Lorient. In recent months the winger has given the ball away too often and hasn’t been as involved in games as manager Marcelo Bielsa would like. In last week’s game Thauvin finished the first half with an accuracy of 66% and only managed one shot on target.
This shot was where his game went wrong. At the time, the scores were level and he took Marseille’s motto “straight to the goal” literally. Instead of using the options he had around him he hit a weak shot straight at Lorient’s keeper Benjamin Lecomte, which was poor for the skill he has shown in the past.
Thauvin is still developing as a player but with only five goals in 33 appearances this season, there are a lot of question marks over his ability. Tottenham are still pushing for European football for next season, and when they spend money over the summer they need a player who can add experience and help them progress in the competition.
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If Spurs are looking for a player that can give them an edge to push for the top four in the Premier League then Florian Thauvin is one which should be avoided.
Everton are preparing to enter a three-way scrap with Sevilla and Valencia for Paris Saint-Germain striker Kevin Gameiro, according to reports from talkSPORT.
The 25-year-old, a former target of Liverpool, is believed to be surplus to requirements in the French capital, and may be allowed to make a cut-price exit this summer.
With the arrivals of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ezequiel Lavezzi last year, Gameiro has struggled for game time, and could be pushed even further don the pecking order if more big names stars are brought in during the next transfer window.
Despite only making a handful of starts this term, the ex-Lorient hit-man has registered seven goals in all competitions, displaying his lethal edge.
This form has tempted a number of clubs from across Europe, with Everton, Sevilla and Valencia believed to leading the chase.
Toffees boss David Moyes is said to be keen to add some more attacking flair to his squad, and sees Gameiro as the ideal man to challenge the likes of Nikica Jelavic, whilst offering another dimension to the squad.
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Liverpool failed with an approach for the forward during January, and it’s unclear as to whether they will revive their interest, particularly with reports that Andy Carroll could return to Anfield.
Newcastle, Norwich and Aston Villa are tracking Cluj winger Modou Sougou, according to reports from talkSPORT.
The Senegalese star has been in impressive form the Romanian outfit both domestically and on the continental stage this season.
This has led to reports that the Premier League trio are monitoring the situation ahead of a possible swoop next month.
The 27-year-old has gained a reputation as a goal scoring winger during his time in Europe, which has been shown by his four goals in five Champions League appearances this year.
It’s unclear which side holds the upper hand in the chase for Sougou, but the presence of fellow countrymen Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse at Newcastle may give them an advantage
Villa are also firmly in the race and are expected to bring in delve into the transfer market this winter as are Norwich who are thought to be looking to strengthen their attack.
Sougou’s career began in his homeland before he moved to Portugal playing for Uniao Leiria and Vitoria Setubal.
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His most successful spell came with Academica, for whom he made almost 100 appearances.
Cluj swooped for his signature in 2011, handing him the number 99 jersey.
West Ham fans are absolutely furious after a report in the Sun claimed Arthur Masuaku is a target for Tottenham.
According to the report, Chelsea and Monaco are also interested in the fantastic Frenchman, but Tottenham are determined to sign him for £20m as they seek a replacement for the outgoing Danny Rose.
There hasn’t been much to cheer about for Hammers’ fans this season, but the emergence of Masuaku as a wonderful wing back has certainly been one of the bright spots.
The 24 year-old struggled as a full back when he arrived in London, but since being given more license to roam forward he has been phenomenal for the Hammers.
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Masuaku has three assists in just 16 league starts, and is completing a superb 3.2 dribbles per game while also pitching in 2.3 tackles and one interception per game.
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Tottenham seems like the perfect fit for the flying Frenchman, but it doesn’t seem like West ham fans are going to let that happen.
Fans are incensed by the reports linking him with Spurs, mainly due to the quoted price of £20m, and some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…
Sam Allardyce and everyone involved with West Ham United left White Hart Lane gutted on Sunday. The Hammers squandered a two goal lead, with a last-gasp Harry Kane rebounded penalty giving Tottenham Hotspur a precious point.
Any team that leads 2-0 with ten minutes remaining and leaves with just a point would be naturally devastated. Spurs struggled to deal with Allardyce’s side at times, and were lucky not to fall even further behind. Mauricio Pochettino’s side had to rely on a controversial injury time penalty to get them out of jail.
But it’s the fact that West Ham would have really fancied their chances of getting a positive result at White Hart Lane that’s the difference this year. The Irons may have beaten their London rivals three times last season, but even the most ardent of Hammers’ fans would admit that it was hugely unexpected. However, this season, the way West Ham have played and the results they have produced throughout the campaign just shows how far the east London club have come from last term.
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Despite West Ham enjoying one of their better seasons under Sam Allardyce, it does seem to be a case of no matter where the club finishes this term, he looks more and more likely to be on his way out of the Boleyn Ground in the summer. With the Mail Online reporting that the West Ham board are ready to get rid of Big Sam, and have Michael Laudrup and Frank Rijkaard lined up as possible replacements, it looks as though the 60-year-old boss’ days at Upton Park are numbered.
Sometimes, though, you have to be very careful what you wish for in football. When you really analyse his time in east London, Allardyce has undeniably done a superb job at West Ham. He was initially employed to get the Hammers out of the Championship and back into the Premier League – he did that. Back in the top flight, he has subsequently guided the club to 10th and a 13th place finishes.
The Irons now sit in eight place in the Premier League table, after somewhat tailing off in recent months. But another top half finish would be an excellent achievement by the Hammers boss – setting them up nicely for their last season in the Boleyn Ground.
Allardyce did some superb business in the summer, bringing in the likes of Diafra Sakho, Enner Valencia and Alex Song – amongst many other successful signings. He has turned them into a much better footballing side than what they were at this stage last season.
The protocol at the start of the current campaign would have been survival at all costs. West Ham have obviously done that with ease, but with every good result, the expectation levels have risen slightly.
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The club have come an extremely long way this season, and Big Sam deserves an awful lot of credit for that. At present, it’s a very exciting time to be a West Ham fan – and no one man has contributed so much to this as Sam Allardyce.