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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

New England manager Roy Hodgson has admitted that he will wait until after the last game of the Premier League season before naming his squad for Euro 2012.

The West Brom man was unveiled as Three Lions boss on Tuesday, and revealed that he will take a considered approach when selecting the players to represent the home nation in Ukraine and Poland.

“It’s going to be very important to get straight down to the task, making certain that when the time comes to name the squad, which we are likely to put back until after the last game of the season, that I’ve done as much research as I can and spoken to as many players as I can,” he confessed to reporters, published by Sky Sports.

“It’s going to be difficult, of course, but hopefully I’ve got time. Obviously I’ve been working here for the last five years so the players are pretty well known to me, even though I haven’t worked with them all.

“I’ve done as much research and spoken to as many people as I can.”

Hodgson did confirm that Wayne Rooney would be in the travelling party despite being banned for the first two games, and that he has one eye on glory.

“I’m looking forward to Wayne Rooney coming to the Euros with us and making a contribution, even though he cannot play the first two games.

“England always have to go into tournaments to win them because we are a major football nation.

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“I certainly think the players would be very disappointed if we expected anything less of them than to win the tournament,” he concluded.

By Gareth McKnight

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Kevin Nolan’s defection to West Ham United left a burning hole in the Newcastle United squad. If you think I’m talking about his midfield slot you’d be mistaken. Nolan’s departure left the captains armband hanging lonely on a peg in the dressing room for over a month. Numerous candidates were thrown to the fore with Joey Barton, Fabricio Coloccini and Steven Taylor the frontrunners to lead the Magpies next season.

The obvious choice was Barton after the season he had and his continuous professing his love for the club via twitter making him the ideal candidate in the eyes of the fans. Taylor was also a popular choice with the Geordie fans with the defender spending his entire career to date at the club. Even long serving goalkeeper Steve Harper was mentioned alongside midfielder Cheick Tiote although both would have proved to be the wrong choice.

In fact the armband went to one of the biggest favourites in St James’ Park and capped a massive turnaround in a career that looked doomed just two short years ago. The man affectionately known as ‘The Love of My Life’ Mr Fabricio Coloccini was chosen by Alan Pardew to sport the cherished armband next season. The Argentinian looked certain to be one of the first to scamper away from Tyneside in the wake of relegation after a disastrous first season. Signed for £10.9 million from Deportivo by the king of cowards Kevin Keegan he looked like yet another expensive flop. He was shown to be frail and incapable of dealing with Premier League forwards week after week.

But a season in the rough and tumble of the Championship was the making of him and his performances last season, manic goal celebrations and wild hair have endeared him to the Geordie faithful. It’s obvious he’s earned the captaincy on merit of performance but there is a sneaking suspicion that he wasn’t Pardew’s first choice.

Whilst I’m a big fan of Coloccini’s and believe we’d be weaker without him at the back I still think Barton was the first choice to replace Nolan as skipper. The problem with Coloccini is that his English isn’t exactly as fluent as it should be for a captain. Being a defender he’ll need to communicate from the back and make his voice heard throughout the team. With a legion of French speakers now joining the team along with the other nationalities in the squad why appoint a man who can’t speak English good enough to communicate with those who were born and bred here. He’ll have no trouble barking orders in Spanish to Jose Enrique and Jonas Gutierrez though.

Especially when the other players will be learning English to try and fit in with the manager and the majority of players who speak the native tongue. If the entire team is going to be speaking English wouldn’t it make sense to have a fluent English speaker as captain. Not only to communicate properly with the English players but to also help out the others who are learning the language and assist them in understanding any mystifying words or phrases.

I’m also not a fan of captains playing in defence. In my opinion a midfielder is the perfect position for a captain and that is why Barton was always going to be my first choice. It’s easier to communicate with the defence and forwards whilst playing in the centre of the park will give a player greater license to exert more influence on games. That’s what we got from Barton last season especially in the Arsenal game at home. He literally dragged us to that 4-4 draw having a hand in all four goals and scoring two himself. Unfortunately his contract situation and constant outbursts on twitter caused him to lose out in the race for the armband.

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Don’t get me wrong Coloccini won’t be a bad captain it’s just his communication that will be a major problem. Nolan was such an influence in the dressing room and away from the field and I can’t see the Argentinian doing the same. However what he will give the team is years of experience of playing at the top level, knowing what it means to play for Newcastle United and a consistency that seems to be unwavering at the moment. The way he fought back after his calamitous first season show that he is a player people can look up too. There is no doubt, as captain, he will continue to serve the club with great dignity. I just hope his French is up to scratch!

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

Highly rated Rennes midfielder Yann M’Vila has admitted that he would relish the opportunity to work with Arsene Wenger and would be open to a summer move to Arsenal.

The France international looks likely to leave the Ligue 1 club for a bigger team when the transfer window reopens, with the Gunners thought to be long-term admirers of the battler.

M’Vila has confessed that a switch to north London would be one of interest.

“Inter, Arsenal, Real … I will take the fun everywhere!” M’Vila told Canal +, translated to English by Sky Sports.

“These are great clubs.

“If the coach calls you and tells you he wants you to make you play, especially a French coach, it changes everything.

“The important thing for me is getting playing time for the France team,” he revealed.

M’Vila’s signature would come at a price however, as The Telegraph indicate that Arsene Wenger would almost certainly have to break the club’s transfer record to bring the player to the Emirates.

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Arsenal’s current record is the £15 million paid for Andrei Arshavin, but Rennes are believed to want close to £20 million for M’Vila.

By Gareth McKnight

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Despite the thrills and excitement that modern football provides us with, from the ever improving Premier League to the glamourous Champions League battles which are shown on our televisions, talked about on our radios and written about in our newspapers (and on the world wide web), football today is not all it’s cracked up to be. Today in modern football, there are all-seated stadiums, a variety of football boots and of course the celebrity footballers who are treated like movie and rock stars, but what about the football of ‘yesteryear’, the football that I am sure most of us grow up with and still like to remember.

Of course football today has improved in terms of fitness levels and professionalism which has coincided with the big money involved in the sport. It paints a very different picture from the football from the early 1990s to the start of the 1980s and an even different picture looking back further to the seventies and sixties eras – but as football fans, we do love to look back with a sense of joy and loss for football as we knew it.

I am sure most of us would like to see a few changes made in football today, with the cost of ticket prices or a cap on player wages, but the following Top Ten is on Football Nostalgia – what we used to love from the beautiful game that got lost in its own decade but still provides us with great memories. Join me for my Top Ten of Football Nostalgia….

Click on the League Ladder below to see the Top TEN

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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!

Blackburn have given their chances of Premier League survival a real shot in the arm by beating Sunderland 2-0 at Ewood Park on Tuesday night.

Second half goals from Junior Hoilett and Yakubu ensured that the hosts got the three points, much to the delight of the home faithful.

Steve Kean has admitted the importance of the victory, and hailed his goalscorers.

“To get back-to-back wins and back-to-back clean sheets I think, at this time of the season, is very important,” he told Sky Sports.

“We’ve kept our momentum going, I thought we played very well tonight.

“We put that partnership together in the Wolves game and I think it paid dividends. I think what you’re seeing now is Junior Hoilett probably playing in a position that he prefers but such as the ability he’s got, sometimes we need him wide as well.

“We’ve got Marcus Olsson and Mauro Formica in the wide areas and we’ve got Junior and Yak proving a difficult partnership for any centre-backs to deal with.

“I think overall we’re getting at teams a little bit more with that twin-striker combination,” he concluded.

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The win moves the Lancashire club six points clear of the relegation zone, and will give the team’s fans real optimism that Rovers will stay in the top flight.

By Gareth McKnight

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West Ham just can’t keep themselves out of the news as there end of season party got out of hand and police were called in to resolve the incident. It has not been a great week for the Hammers owners who are reportedly desperate to get a new manager in as soon as possible.

In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that include the FA in £50k bung probe; Ferguson gets the go-ahead to rest players, while Liverpool’s planned summer spending convinced Reina to stay.

*

Ba brawl! West Ham players clash with fans at London hotel – Mirror

FA in £50,000 bung probe – Sun

African confederation backs Blatter – Guardian

Ancelotti faces a year’s gardening leave after Chelsea axe – Mirror

Ferguson gets go-ahead to rest players – Guardian

Sunderland defenders Onuoha and Mensah in dressing-room scrap- Daily Mail

Spending promise convinced Reina – Guardian

West Ham exodus begins – Daily Telegraph

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Harry eyes a spending spree – Sun

Arsenal and United on alert as target Hazard admits he wants to leave Lille – Daily Mail

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Being a goalkeeper has always been a dangerous occupation and they seem to be prone to plenty of gaffes. Of course these are highlighted when you’re inbetween the sticks and here are three recent classics that will give any goalkeepers out there nightmares. You wouldn’t be picking these ‘keepers in your fantasy football team!

This goalkeeper stops a penalty but gets surprised by a sneaky hidden player. This is something that Manchester City ‘keeper Shay Given always protects against now by looking over both shoulders after being caught out by Coventry’s Dion Dublin while playing for Newcastle.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=xo9r9YEsHuo%3Ffs%3D1%26hl%3Den_GB

A match between Irish CCFL Division 3 teams Melville Celtic and Ballymahon B. Not only does the goalie hit his own player and the ball loops back into the net, but he strikes him so hard that it knocks him out!

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Here the goalkeeper thinks that the striker has missed the penalty, but how wrong he was! Bizarre: