New Oman coach Paul Le Guen says he wants his team to dare to dream that they can qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.Former Lyon, Rangers and PSG coach Le Guen took over as the Oman national team boss in June.
Oman won the 2009 Gulf Cup of Nations under Frenchman Claude Le Roy but failed to progress to the final round of 2010 World Cup qualifiers, while they also missed out on the 2011 Asian Cup.
However, Le Guen, who guided Cameroon to the 2010 World Cup finals, told fifa.com his new side needs to believe in the dream of qualification for the Brazil tournament in three years time.
“It’s not so much an aim or target, as a dream: we want to give everything we’ve got and qualify for the FIFA World Cup,” Le Guen said.
“We know that we’re not expected to make it to the finals, and that there are lots of sides better than ourselves, but I believe we have to dream: we have to try to achieve the unexpected.”
Le Guen, who has never coached in the Middle East before, also revealed he had been wooed to the job by Oman’s Football Association (OFA) president Sayyid Khalid Hamad Al-Busaidi.
“I met with the president of the OFA in London in February and then again in April, and we clicked,” Le Guen said.
“I had a number of options open to me, but I took my decision then.”
“It’s a new adventure and an opportunity for me to continue working with my friends, which is something that’s very important to me.”
Oman begin their 2014 World Cup qualification campaign at home to Myanmar on Saturday.
You never know which Everton team is likely to show up and today David Moyes saw his side surrender a golden opportunity to drag themselves away from the lower reaches of the Premier League.
For the neutral it is hard to put your finger on where it is going wrong for Everton at the moment, but something is certainly missing as they seem a shadow of the team that we have witnessed in previous seasons.
So where do Everton fans think it is going wrong, and what are the five things we learnt about the Toffees this afternoon?
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Didier Drogba is rumoured to have agreed terms on a move to Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua, according to The Daily Mail.
The Ivory Coast international was the west London club’s hero in the Champions League final win over Bayern Munich on Saturday, scoring the equaliser in normal time before slotting home the decisive penalty in the shoot-out.
Despite the African forward’s heroics, it is believed that he has kicked his last ball for the Blues, and will now join former team-mate Nicolas Anelka at the big-spending Asian side.
Drogba’s contract is expiring in the summer, and is eager for a two-year deal at Stamford Bridge, however Chelsea are thought to be unwilling to offer anything longer than one year.
Shanghai are thought to have offered Drogba £250,000-a-week, and confirmation of the deal may well be forthcoming.
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Are Everton fans unfairly blaming their long-standing chairman, Bill Kenwright, for the lack of progress at the once great club?
As another summer passes on Merseyside, what has now become par for the course in these parts is occurring yet again during another major football transfer window – Liverpool are seemingly linked with every player under the sun (remember that big yellow thing in the sky?), whilst their neighbours and derby rivals Everton, have hardly been linked with any. In fact, the Blue’s have hardly featured in any of the many major transfer gossip columns around the country – and sadly for their fans, it is not something new.
Lack of transfer action is something which the Evertonian’s have grown accustomed to over the years. Amongst the proud fans of this grand, historic club, frustration and restlessness has been growing for some time towards Kenwright and the board, and this is now in danger of turning into pure anger. Indeed the Chairman is already seen as a hate-figure, by many in the blue half of the city. His crime? That depends on who you talk to, and which blue camp you are sitting in.
The immense frustration has led to a number of ‘groups’ being formed by Everton fans, newest of which and perhaps most interesting is ‘The People’s Group’. Created with the aim of getting the national media to highlight what they see as ‘the failings of the board’, and in the hope of getting answers from them, they have garnered quite the following in a short space of time. Nearly 2,000 members joined the cause in just 10 days, mostly through the medium of social networking sites Twitter and Facebook. They’ve had their voice heard through the national media already; getting a slot on Talksport to promote their cause, and hope more media outlets will start to pick up their campaign and investigate what is going on at the club.
The People’s Group highlight that, to them, Evertons’s size and stature in the English game, should dictate they’re in a better position as a club – both sportingly, and economically, through marketing etc. They point out that when the Premier League was formed, only one club had won more top-flight titles (presently only three clubs still boast a better trophy haul) and no other English club has played more top-flight matches. They say since the Premier League began, their club has stagnated and various opportunities to progress have been missed, especially under the Kenwright regime, who has promised so much but delivered very little, if anything at all. Lack of investment, lack of signings, lack of a new stadium, this group has had enough of the apparent broken promises from the board and the vast majority of the supporters I’ve spoken to want some direct answers. However, as mentioned above, there is another camp…
You see, for all the apparent lack of progress at Everton, there are still some supporters who refuse to blame Kenwright, who is, by the way, a life-long Everton fan. They say, sarcastically, that his only crime is that he is not a billionaire sheikh. They say, as a fan, he has the best interests of the club at heart and doesn’t want to hand over the proud heritage of the club to just any foreign investor that comes along. Others say that Kenwright inherited a club that simply isn’t an attractive proposition for any would-be investor. After all, the club has only won one trophy in 24 years. Kenwright was also responsible for bringing manager David Moyes to the club, who is held in high-regard around the league.
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So, just who is to blame for the current situation at Everton? Are ‘The People’s Group’ right in blaming the current board? Is it all Kenwright’s doing? Is manager David Moyes’ partially to blame for lack of success due to his, sometimes questionable tactics? Should Everton’s historical record give their fans the right to demand they be in a better position? Or do Everton fans feel that the current Chairman is doing a remarkable job, and that a minority are being ungrateful, as other clubs have been in drastically worse positions than the club from Goodison Park? Let the debate commence…
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Cardiff failed to close the gap on Championship leaders Queens Park Rangers as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat away at Middlesbrough.
The Bluebirds remain four points behind Neil Warnock's men after a 40th minute penalty from Julio Arca was just enough to earn struggling Boro all three points at the Riverside Stadium.
In the come back of the day Leeds United moved to fourth spot in the Championship as they defeat Burnley 2-0 at Turf Moor.
Goals from Easton and Jay Rodriquez had put the Clarets in control at the break but Leeds came fighting back to take the win thanks to goals from Max Gradel, Luciano Becchio and Jonny Howson.
Leicester were rampant at home to Doncaster as they ran out 5-1 winners. The visitors were 1-0 up at the break thanks to a goal from Billy Sharp in the 6th minute but goals from Paul Gallagher, Richie Wellens, Kyle Naughton, Martyn Waghhorn and Darius Vassell after the restart completed the rout.
Barnsley won the South Yorkshire derby against Sheffield United 1-0 thanks to a goal from Hugo Colace on 37 minutes and reports suggest it could be Gary Speed's last game in charge of the Blades as he is being lined up to take the Wales Job.
Play-off hopefulls Derby slipped to a 2-0 defeat away at Bristol City as Brett Pitman got a brace for the Robins, while Coventry remain in the top six despite a goalless draw away at Reading.
Norwich also stuttered going down 2-0 at home to Portsmouth as Dave Kitson and Greg Halford got the goals for the visitors.
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And finally Preston gave their survival hopes a boost as a goal by Iain Hume in the 5oth minute earned them a 1-0 home win over Ipswich Town.
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Are we about to witness a cultural shift in English football? It would appear players are increasingly eager to gain Oscar recognition for their performances on the pitch, with an array of theatrics that wouldn’t look out of place in the WWE. You’ll often hear pundits and commentators yearn for the ‘good old days’, when football was comprised from blood, sweat and tears rather than snoods, alice bands and unfortunately, the replacement of sportsmanship with gamesmanship.
Queens Park Rangers’ midfielder Shaun Derry recently declared that play-acting was “very much in fashion at the moment.” His comments were perhaps designed to rile Didier Drogba ahead of their encounter on Sunday but aside from that fact his remarks still carry a certain degree of merit. It’s a sad fact of the modern game that players will resort to underhand tactics if there is even the slightest chance of gaining an advantage.
“It happens, it is part of the game. I really don’t think that footballers go out intentionally to get the upper hand on the opponents. What I do believe is that they try and get an advantage for their team and that is part of the game unfortunately, it is not nice to watch at times.” (Daily Mail)
Manchester United’s Ashley Young has found himself in the tabloid firing line after a series of flamboyant lunges in the area. This prompted his manager Sir Alex Ferguson to have a ‘word’ with his precarious winger, three words in fact, “well done Ashley” or perhaps simply “keep it up.” You see, although the guilty party may get stick from the crowd or rinsed in the papers, by the time the next set of fixtures roll around it’ll all be but forgotten. In fact, if you score the winning goal against the greatest club of the past decade, the 3 minutes 18 seconds you spent on the floor will be nothing more than a comical footnote, aye Didier?
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Speaking of the Catalan giants, perhaps the fact that El Clasico has descended into a derisory drama performance has meant we now accept such incidents as normality. The encounters between Barcelona and Real Madrid are hailed as the pinnacle of club football and yet it quickly transforms into a competition of who can produce the best impression of a fish out of water, starring Messrs Pepe and Busquets. Lionel Messi is arguably the only player who retains any dignity during these matches, which is strange considering he spends the entire match trying to avoid a Galactico’s boot wrapping itself around his knee.
In foreign cultures, such as in Spain, Italy and especially South America, conning the referee is considered an art form. How often do we see players celebrate winning a penalty, as if it’s an achievement rather than simply the chance to regain your goal-scoring opportunity?
Perhaps this mentality is beginning to worm its way into the Premier League, with players striving to sell their phony performance to any nearby official. Arsene Wenger has spoken of his disgust that players often continue their pretence long after the supposed foul has been committed.
“When they roll down the sock, take the shin-pad out like he has been kicked like mad, it’s a bit overboard. Everyone who has played football can understand they try to win the penalty but what he does afterwards to get a bit more, we don’t need that.” (Daily Mail)
The stark reality reveals that officials can no longer trust players, making their difficult job almost impossible. If the incorrect decision is awarded than the blame often lies with the referee rather than the offending player. This leads on an increased amount of pressure to make the right call, meaning officials cannot help but suffer further lapses of judgement, especially when it’s so easy to be swayed by the hoards of incensed supporters.
One issue referees have managed to eradicate is this pretentious waving of the imaginary card. Howard Webb went some lengths to redemption in the eyes of many when he booked Gonzalo Higuain in their recent Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich. What strikes me is that players know how many cameras grace the average Premier League stadium and yet they continue to employ such drastic measures. Perhaps the pressure and expectation that weighs heavily on their shoulders compels them down such an immoral path, especially when they know the punishment of a potential yellow card is insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
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It must be time for the FA to inflict penalties (not the kind from 12 yards) in the aftermath of such blatant incidents. The moment a suspension is successfully implemented, players will perhaps think twice about throwing themselves to the floor. Otherwise if this trend continues, footballers will become more and more like jigsaws, not complex or interesting, but likely to fall to pieces once they get into the box.
Join me on Twitter @theunusedsub where this incident in the Australian A-League final would perhaps warrant a lifetime ban under my leadership.
The Portland Timbers’ grip on the Cascadia Cup is slipping after the Seattle Sounders edged them 3-2 in the MLS on Sunday.Along with the Vancouver Whitecaps, the Timbers and the Sounders play off for the fan-sponsored cup to decide the best side in the Pacific Northwest.
Winners of the trophy in 2010, Portland face a huge task to wrest it from Seattle this season after the loss in Sunday’s match, which exploded to life after an unremarkable first half.
Twice Portland took the lead in front of their home fans at JELD-WEN Field, but twice Seattle pegged them back through goals from designated player Fredy Montero.
Jeff Parke’s own-goal under pressure from Timbers forward Jorge Perlaza handed the hosts the lead just a minute into the second half, only for Montero to cancel it out four minutes later with a perfectly weighted free-kick.
The Timbers restored their advantage in the 69th minute when Perlaza was set away on the left by fellow Colombian Diego Chara.
He opted to shoot when a cross might have been a wiser option, but his effort took a deflection off Seattle defender Tyson Wahl and looped over goalkeeper Kasey Keller.
Not content to let his countrymen have the last laugh, Montero clinched his brace five minutes later when he tapped in Mauro Rosales’ cross.
Drama is never far away when the two bitter rivals meet, and the match was settled in contentious circumstances when Timbers defender Eric Brunner conceded a penalty and was sent off for a high-booted challenge on Lamar Neagle.
Cuban midfielder Osvaldo Alonso dispatched the penalty to make it 3-2, extending Seattle’s unbeaten run to eight matches and moving them into second on the Western Conference table.
Conversely, the Timbers are now winless in seven and need to arrest their form slump if they are to make the playoffs.
According to Sky Sports, Andres Lindegaard is having a medical at Carrington this afternoon. Aalesund chairman Bjarne Haagensen has revealed he is currently in England with Lindegaard’s agent, Henrik Hoff, to talk with United.
“Henrik and I are in place in Manchester,” Haagensen told TV2.
So if the deal goes through, we survey what Manchester United will be getting for the reported £3.5m fee.
The 26 year old shot stopper will come to Manchester United with very little experience. He has only been capped three times by Denmark, but has kept two clean sheets. As well as this the keeper has a presence in goal, standing at 6’4.
Lindegaard has been touted as the new Peter Schmeichel in the Danish press and few could argue with this. He is a strong commanding goalkeeper who has a presence in goal. The keeper has an excellent command of his area, with excellent handling skills, he will a huge success in English football. As well as this he is a superb shot stopper, well skilled in getting down low despite his height. Lindegaad is also a very agile goalkeeper. He is quick to get up from saves, demonstrating these skills against Portugal in a recent international.
Despite his apparent talent, Peter Schmeichel himself has criticised the goalkeeper. The ‘Great Dane’ has expressed his surprise in the transfer, claiming the goalkeeper is not good enough.
‘We are talking about Manchester United here.’
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‘You can look at young talent, you can look at young, good players. You don’t want that. You want someone who can go straight away and give performances in 80% of the games the No 1 keeper will play Manchester United.’
The worry is that Schmeichel works for Danish television and has watched the keeper for many years. Although United have sent out Eric Steele to watch Lindegaard, have United done enough homework on the goalkeeper? We will wait to see, but the Danish press have heaped a huge amount of praise on the goalkeeper. With every new signing, there is a worry that they wont make the grade but if he performs as he has for Denmark this season, the goalkeeper will have no problems settling in at Old Trafford.
Comment below on your thoughts on the new goalkeeper. Also, contact me on twitter
Not long ago the Premier League was an almost pre-determined list, with the usual suspects finishing in their predicted positions at the start of the campaign. Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool were labelled the ‘big four’, with the likes of Tottenham and Everton occupying the places just below the quartet. As you journeyed down the table, for much of the 38 games, the bottom five often consisted of the same names, sitting behind the remainder of the sides in mid-table obscurity.
However, the past couple of seasons have seen a shake-up when it comes to end result of the English season with the emergence of new title challengers, and teams joining the mix from the Championship proving that the leap isn’t as vast as feared. It looks increasingly likely that both Liverpool and Chelsea will miss out on Champions League football for next season due to the exploits of Tottenham or Newcastle, allied with the emergence of the Abu Dhabi backed Manchester City. The appearance of these sides, has been met with fear from managers who had become used to their almost guaranteed position in the upper echelons of the division, and are now looking over their shoulder at the ‘new kids on the block’ and the former occupiers attempting to re-establish themselves.
As well as the shifting dynamic in the top-flight, the reputation of Premier League sides in Europe has taken a hit, with Chelsea the only side to make it to the quarter-final stage of the Champions League. Over the past decade English sides have enjoyed large levels of success, with Liverpool claiming victory in 2005 and Manchester United beating national rivals Chelsea in 2008, but over the past few seasons the dynamic has shifted toward other continental nations, mainly Spain.
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As a result it’s believed that the summer spending by the upper level teams of the Premier League will once again be vast, as they all look to cement their status within their nation, and continent’s elite. There was a period of complacency on the part of some of the higher level sides in England during the course of the past few years, as teams allowed star men to move on, never really believing that those below them could emerge. Liverpool in particular have struggled with this, allied to financial difficulty, allowing Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano to depart, eliminating the spine of the promising 2007-08 team. As well as this Manchester United sanctioned the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo, albeit for a world record £80 million, as well as refusing to spend big money to keep Carlos Tevez from the clutches of local rivals Manchester City.
Moves such as these have seen a real drop in the quality at the upper end of the Premier League, shifting momentum away from the established forces, and handing a sense of optimism to the chasing pack. Due to this a summer of transfer activity is expected on the part of the United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal, who have seen their cosy quartet blown apart. Red Devils’ chief executive, David Gill, has recently admitted that there will be comings and goings during the next window, hinting that the side are likely to spend big once more, after a relatively quite period of time in the transfer market. As well as the defending Champions, Arsenal have already made inroads to sign German international Lucas Podolski, while rumours surrounding wholesale changes, and a phasing out of the ‘old guard’ at Chelsea have gathered momentum throughout the season. It’s likely that Liverpool will once again spend big, with Kenny Dalglish keen to put the disappointing memories of this season behind him, while Manchester City will be linked to anybody who becomes available at a price of over £20 million, and Tottenham will be looking to build upon their recent upturn in fortunes.
Such actions show a sign of fear from the former ‘top sides’. Arsene Wenger has never been one to spend big and secure the signatures of proven players, yet this summer he could buck that trend, as he did during his deadline day flurry last season. The case of Manchester United is another fascinating one, as over a period of time their formidable squad gained an increasingly porous look. With the rumoured financial issues at the club, a big spend would hint at a genuine fear for their status as ‘top dogs’ after the emergence of their noisy neighbours.
The recent shift in the power dynamic at the upper end of the Premier League looks to finally be sinking in. This summer will once again be a busy one, with a spot in the top-four becoming ever more important.
What are your thoughts? Comment or follow @Alex_Hams to have your say
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One of the biggest doubts I have over the move for Jordan Henderson is about why we are prioritising central midfield when there are plenty of other areas that need strengthening. In my mind, maybe using as much as £20million (if David Ngog is not included in the deal) of our transfer budget, with perhaps £8million more on Charlie Adam , doesn’t seem to be at all logical when we are struggling in positions such as left back and on the wing.
I am prepared to put these doubts to the back of my mind because I trust in Kenny Dalglish ’s judgement. After all, who are we to question one of the greatest manager’s in the game and as he stated himself, he would only spend money on players who he believed could improve the squad. Obviously King Kenny believes that Henderson will do just that.
At just 20 years of age, Henderson certainly has a lot of potential, and what I have been able to gather from some Sunderland fans is that he is certainly Kenny’s style of player. Very composed on the ball, Henderson is very adept at passing under pressure and when tightly marked. Delivering crosses and putting through balls in tight spaces is something that would have attracted Kenny and Damien Comolli to Henderson as he would certainly fit in to the pass and move philosophy that the Reds will be playing under Dalglish.
However, it is important to emphasise that Henderson is nowhere near the finished article. Starting off as a winger who can expertly cross the ball, the young Englishman has found himself in more central positions as he has settled in Sunderland’s first team eleven. According to reports in the papers too, Kenny wants to bring Henderson to Liverpool as a central midfielder primarily.
No doubt, there will be other doubters, like me, about whether Henderson is the right fit for Liverpool . If he doesn’t get off to a good start there maybe fans who get on his back, like they did with Lucas, but like the Brazilian, I hope the youngster has the mental strength to fight through the difficult times and get through the other side as a very talented player
Part of the excitement about his move to Liverpool will be over how King Kenny can mould Henderson into a world class player. Dalglish has a fantastic record of cultivating young stars, and if he gets it right with Henderson, there is no doubting Liverpool’s central midfield future will be very secure after the retirement of Steven Gerrard.
Certainly there will be pressure on the youngster after such a big money move, but if he develops his game and keeps his head when things aren’t going his way, I have complete trust in Kenny that this move will work out the way it is intended. Is it blind faith? We will have to wait and see.
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