All posts by h79snht.top

One man that you can guarantee was watching the Manchester Derby at Eastlands in the Premier League last night as Manchester City and Manchester United drew a blank is former Oasis front man and massive City fan Liam Gallagher. Liam has set up a clothing label that many Premiership footballers would be proud to wear and we’re giving you a chance to sample it for yourself as you can win a £200 shopping spree at Pretty Green’s new Carnaby Street Store!

Football FanCast have teamed up with Liam Gallagher’s clothing label, Pretty Green, to offer one lucky reader the chance of a £200 shopping spree at the recently opened Carnaby Street store. Pretty Green is a British clothing label founded and designed by Liam Gallagher. There are two distinct collections:

Green Label is a focused, casual range dedicated to providing quality, everyday signature pieces.

Black Label is classic British tailoring, using fine fabrics with an innovative attention to detail.

Click here to see this beautiful range of clothing: http://www.prettygreen.com/

To enter the prize draw simply answers the following question:

What is Liam’s new band called?

A – Big Brother

B – Beady Eye

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C – Tailgunner

Email your answer to [email protected] to be in with a chance of winning this fantastic prize!

Wigan Athletic manager Roberto Martinez was left to lick his wounds after Saturday's 3-1 setback to fellow Premier League side West Ham United.

The Latics were undone as the men in claret and blue cruised into a 3-0 lead thanks to goals from Valon Behrami, Victor Obinna and Scott Parker at Upton Park before Tom Cleverley struck for the Latics with a late consolation.

But the Spaniard was unhappy with the nature of West Ham's goals, Mauro Boselli's penalty miss and a late effort from Steve Gohouri that was chalked off.

"In a way, we knew how important the game was and in a way goals are the biggest aspect of the game and obviously, the three goals which we conceded were very cheap," he said.

"We didn't start too bright, but we were slowly getting into the game, but then, when you concede a goal, it's such an emotional day in terms of the importance that the first goal is very important.

"Even then, we kept trying to get back into the game but we left ourselves exposed and we conceded another two goals before the end.

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"Then again, you look again. A certain bit of luck with some decisions. We missed a penalty and had a goal wrongly disallowed and that's hard to take. I just felt the reaction at the end deserved more than losing.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Newcastle United need to recruit a big name manager to replace Chris Hughton, otherwise it would be a "joke" says Jose Enrique.

The Spanish defender, who has already played under five managers in his four years on Tyneside, has revealed the players are angry at the club's decision to sack Hughton.

Captain Kevin Nolan and veteran defender Sol Campbell have already spoken out about the dressing room unrest at St James' Park and Enrique has now offered his thoughts, pulling no punches with his frank assessment of the recent goings on at Newcastle.

Enrique feels it will be a "joke" if the club do not appoint a big-name who has won trophies in the past to replace Hughton, with Alan Pardew set to take over within the next 24-hours.

The 24-year-old does not specifically name Pardew, but it seems safe to suggest he does not fall under the category of a "big-name" having been sacked by League One side Southampton earlier in the season.

"The fans are not happy, the players are not happy," Enrique told the Shields Gazette.

"It was a big surprise and we haven't been told a thing about why he left or who might come in."

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He added:"If they are going to fire someone as good as Chris, they have to then bring in a big name, someone who has won trophies.

"And that doesn't even mean he will necessarily be better. If they just bring in someone similar, it's a joke."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

After Celtic’s vitally important 2-0 victory at Ibrox yesterday its time to state five things we learnt from the game.

1. Just when doubt was beginning to surround Celtic manager Neil Lennon, the former Northern Irish international stepped up to the plate and reassured those less than convinced Celtic fans. Neither team were at their strongest and Lennon was able to mastermind a vitally important victory, which now see’s Celtic lead the division by four points, shifting the pressure from the East end of Glasgow to the west end.

2. If anyone thought the Old Firm was losing some of its bite on the field, they were wrong. The match yesterday had all the intensity this kind of game deserves, Celtic’s Biram Kayal thoroughly got stuck in breaking up the play in midfield. When Kyle Lafferty came on he predictably threw his weight around trying to agitate the opposition.

3. Although there is intense and bitter rivalry between the two Glasgow teams and their supporters, Sundays game which was in memory of the Ibrox disaster in 1971 proved that there is an immense amount of respect between the two sets of fans. The minutes silence prior to the eagerly anticipated match was respected by all and marked a fitting tribute to those who sadly lost their lives on that horrible day.

4. Special mention must be given to Celtic’s Giorgios Samaras, the much maligned Striker has often failed to gain the support of the Celtic faithful, but his match winning performance yesterday certainly put him in the hearts and minds of all attached the club, if only for a short time. After the match Lennon heaped praise on his big Greek centre forward yet made it known that the player’s one consistency was his inconsistency. If Samaras can play out the remainder of the season in similar fashion he may well secure a future for himself at Celtic Park, that’s if he hasn’t already been shipped out during this current transfer window.

5. Finally, with Ally McCoist a certainty to take over the reins when Walter Smith leaves Ibrox at the end of the season is the future of the club in somewhat uncertainty? From the looks of things McCoist played an even bigger part in the team selection and tactics yesterday, in turn the balance of the team looked off and Whittaker as a midfielder was less than convincing. Should McCoist get the job, Should Celtic fans be filled with confidence?

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Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish has revealed Ryan Babel will be staying at Anfield for the remainder of the season.

The Reds accepted a seven-million-pound bid from Hoffenheim for the Dutch international last week, but it appears Babel was unable to come to personal terms with the Bundesliga club.

It was mooted that Babel may be used as part of a deal to sign Ajax striker Luis Suarez, but Dalglish was giving little away about Babel’s future, saying only: “He’s staying here.”

It was a typically tight-lipped performance from Dalglish at his pre-match press conference ahead of Liverpool’s clash with Fulham on Wednesday, with the Scot refusing to comment of potential bids for Suarez and Blackpool’s Charlie Adam.

“I’ve said before, when we’ve got some business to discuss, we will discuss,” Dalglish said.

“We’ve said that we will try and adopt the way of Liverpool Football Club, certainly one of our ways is to be respectful to other club, and certainly players at other clubs.”

“The most important thing we have is the ones at our football club, not somebody else’s players.”

Dalglish earned the first win of his second managerial stint at Anfield with a 3-0 away victory over Wolves on Saturday.

The victory brought a sense of relief to Liverpool fans and Dalglish believes the impact of the win spread through his dressing room.

“There were thousands or even millions of Liverpool fans that had huge smiles on their faces on Saturday but, by the way, so did the players,” Dalglish said.

“We stick as one, we need their help and we’ve got to help them at times.”

“Together we will move forward, as individuals we will get nowhere. We will stick together as a unit and stick together as a football club and see what happens.”

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“Every game is different, just because we’ve won one it doesn’t mean we will get carried away. We have seen what it takes to win a game and now we need to repeat that.”

Dalglish denied there have been wholesale changes since he took over from sacked predecessor Roy Hodgson, and said Fernando Torres’ upturn in form is all down to his own attitude.

“We have done training the way we think it should be done. There has never been any doubt about many the players’ ability here,” Dalglish said.

“I think Fernando Torres comes in the same bracket as many others, they are doing better than they were before and they are more like themselves than they were before which is a great credit to them.”

Avram Grant’s men are just 90 minutes away from a trip to Wembley and a chance for West Ham to take something positive for this season. While the Hammers are far from dead and buried in the Premier League, you feel a Carling Cup final would do them the world of good. Alex McLeish’s Birmingham of course have other ideas, but does Wembley beckon for West Ham?

Everything points towards the match tonight being extremely tight. When you take into account that Birmingham have only scored 10 goals at St Andrew’s in the Premier League this season, the same amount that West Ham have scored away from home, it’s likely that few goals will be scored. Thus it would be worth betting on…

Under 2.5 goals @ 4/5

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If there is to be a goal then with Frederic Piquionne suspended, West Ham will be largely relying on Carlton Cole to provide it. Cole scored in the first leg of the semi final and is well priced in the first goalscorer market…

Carlton Cole to score first @ 15/2

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As for Birmingham, they’ve scored 6 of their 21 goals this season in the last 15 minutes, and with West Ham conceding 8 goals this season in the same time period, you might want to put a bet on the Blues scoring near the end of the match…

Birmingham to win the second half @ 13/10

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Bayern Munich attacker Arjen Robben completed a training run on Tuesday as he nears a return to full fitness after his hamstring injury.

The Dutch international was left out of the Netherlands squad for Wednesday night’s friendly against Austria after manager Bert van Marwijk decided to rest him.

And after recovering from a bout of flu, Robben was back in training on Tuesday and being put through his paces by Bayern assistant coach Andries Jonker.

The 27-year-old made his return to Bayern’s first team on January 15, having not played since the 2010 World Cup. He was put through his paces in order to rebuild his fitness, with the aim of having him Robben fit for Bayern’s Bundesliga clash against Hoffenheim.

“Normally we would have had the day off, but Arjen has been ill, so we have to get him fit again. He needs a bit of extra work. This is a special exercise after his long-term injury,” Jonker said.

“He needs that extra bit (of training), because he wants to get back to full fitness as soon as possible. And Luis Gustavo tries to do what we want to him to do as well. He wants to do a little more, so that’s why we are doing extra work.”

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“Well you saw it, it is looking good, he (Robben) can do everything he wants. He will take part in the training session tomorrow as well, so everything should be fine.”

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is confident Wayne Rooney will start scoring again – but he will not start him against Crawley Town.

Rooney netted a goal-of-the-season contender against Manchester City last week, a strike which could herald an upturn in form.

However, the England international is likely to be on the bench for Saturday’s FA Cup fifth round tie against the non leaguers.

Ferguson is trying to juggle resources ahead of a key 10 days for United, which includes trips to Marseille and Chelsea.

He will be without inured Michael Owen at the weekend, with Javier Hernandez pencilled in to start against Crawley.

Rooney is the man of the moment though, and Ferguson is hoping he can recapture the kind of form he was in until he was injured against Bayern Munich in last season’s Champions League quarter-final.

“Up until last season Wayne used to go on these scoring bursts,” said Ferguson.

“He used to do it in five or six games in a row and then go missing in terms of goals for a few games and then come back again.”

“I would be quite happy for him to go on a burst now because we have some really important games coming up.”

On the subject of Hernandez, who has impressed during his first season at United, Ferguson said: “Javier’s training performances have improved tremendously in the last couple of months. His work-rate and practice ethic have been very good.”

“He comes in early and stays behind. He has done very well in that sense and is improving all the time.”

“He is a great impact player.”

Despite the absence of Rooney, Crawley will not relish facing the Mexican, who will be joined by some fringe players in a United side that will not be at full strength – but which should still win comfortably.

Rafael and Fabio da Silva are set to start, along with Wes Brown, John O’Shea, Darren Gibson, Michael Carrick, Anderson and Bebe.

Goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard made his debut for United in the last round away at Southampton, and will be recalled to the side for his Old Trafford debut.

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United will be without Rio Ferdinand, Park Ji-sung, Jonny Evans and Owen, and Ferguson has warned those who start will have to be at their best.

“They talk about the FA Cup dying but it won’t die as long as you’ve got giant-killing acts that Crawley have already produced,” he said.

“It will be brilliant for the Crawley fans but their team’s performances against Derby County, Swindon and Torquay tell you they deserve to be in this round.”

“We respect the fact that Crawley are the best non-league side for quite a while.”

After a week of speculation, it emerged last night that Ashley Cole is unlikely to face formal charges after allegedly shooting a student at the Chelsea training ground 10 days ago.

For Cole, the news is undoubtedly a relief, although for many fans across the country, I’m sure the lack of police action is something that will leave many annoyed and frustrated.

I have heard several times over the last week how Cole would have “been sacked” had he worked in a normal job. Of course this is probably true – but surely that misses the point? The left-back works in the most highly scrutinised of industries and nothing he experiences on a day-to-day basis even touches on the ‘normal’.

This is not to defend his actions, but why are we so indignant about such an incident? It is no secret that Cole is deeply disliked by many fans across the country, but he is not here to be judged morally or ethically – his worth is measured as a footballer and to that end he is arguably the finest left-back in the world.

There is evidently a line between behaviour that can defended as being private business and that deemed irresponsible towards a legion of impressionable youngsters who watch Cole every week and have seen the displays of petulance build up. Understandably, warming to Cole is not an easy task. His aggressive attitude towards officials and reputation for being a mercenary, ticks several boxes on the “reasons to hate modern footballers” list.

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Yet, can he really be that bad? A man that has racked up 87 international appearances before his 31st birthday is clearly a dedicated professional – and over the last five years he has improved as a player, working tirelessly to improve the attacking element of his game to the benefit of club and country.

When Cole was named the national team’s player of 2010, the award was laughed off as representing one of the worst years in recent memory instead of appreciating a player at the peak of his powers.

The man himself is a difficult one to read. He rarely gives interviews, and as such the public perception is driven by his on-field persona and tabloid stories- inevitably these hardly give the defender a glowing reference. Nevertheless there has to be more to the man than we are lead to believe – remember it was he that stepped up to convert crucial penalties at Euro 2004 and Chelsea’s defeat to Manchester United in Moscow three years ago.

When Andres Iniesta hammered home Barcelona’s decisive equaliser against Chelsea during their 2009 Champions League semi-final, the cameras instantly focused on Cole’s face for a rare peak at his soul. Having stopped the Catalans from registering one single shot on target across 90 minutes of football, Iniesta’s rifled strike flew inches above the full back’s head. Cole’s expression told you everything you needed to know about how much that elimination hurt him, yet, at the final whistle he was one of a very select few not to hound the officials deemed to have wronged the home side.

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As someone with a huge respect for what Cole has achieved in the game, I hope that we can attempt to be kinder to a man who in an era of Gerrard, Rooney, Lampard, Beckham and Wilshere might just turn out to be the finest English footballer of his generation.

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Fluminense brought up their first win of the Copa Libertadores group stage with a late 3-2 win over America on Wednesday.Mexican side America got off to an ideal start at the Estadio Olimpico Joao Havelange in Rio de Janeiro, going ahead on the quarter-hour mark courtesy of Vicente Sanchez.

Brazilian defender Gum equalised for the home side six minutes later.

It was Sanchez again who found the back of the net for America, scoring in the 72nd minute to seemingly wrap up all three points for the visitors.

Not to be denied, Araujo equalised for Fluminense once more, before former Chelsea midfielder Deco scored the winner in the 87th minute to send the Brazilians off bottom spot in Group 3, and within one point of the second-placed America.

Godoy Cruz came from behind to earn a point against Independiente in an all-Argentine clash, which finished 1-1 at the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza.

Matias Defederico gave the visitors a dream opening when he netted in the first 60 seconds, but the home side were level after 34 minutes when Ruben Ramirez scored.

Godoy Cruz went top of Group 8 on seven points with the result, while Independiente remain bottom, three points in arrears of the leaders.